Hello everyone and welcome back to HellFall!
So a new RWBY episode finally came out. After my tangent last week you can probably assume that I was quite happy. And the episode did not disappoint as much as the last two. Despite the fact that the fight was still nothing like those in the first two volumes, it was still cool enough to keep me interested. Unfortunately, it felt like a more fast-paced version of a Dragon Ball Z fight. The rest of the episode was good too, a nice break from all the light-heartedness of the last two episodes.
This chapter is a lot slower and shorter than some others, but it's important, so pay attention. And by the way there's a point where some people may be offended, but let me just assure you that it is done because it fits the character and not because I'm trying to shun some of you.
Anyways, on with the chapter!
Ten hours passed without disturbance, which meant that it was time to wake up. I sat up, my eyes slowly opening and adjusting to the sunlight shining through my window. Pulling my blanket off myself, I stood and headed out to the kitchen, where I injected myself for the day.
My dryer was located on the opposite end of my kitchen. Popping it open, I pulled out my now dry clothing and slipped into them. I then adjusted my hair, tied it back with a hair elastic, and headed outside. I'd fallen asleep with ShoGun still in my back, so I didn't need to worry about grabbing it.
As I walked down the sidewalk I checked my scroll. Sure enough, round three was starting today, and team WRGE was on the list of expected participating teams.
Pocketing the device, I quickened my pace, only to remember that the tournament started after lunch. I slowed down again, wondering what to do for the day. Training crossed my mind, but I felt like that would be a waste of energy.
"I'm impressed kid" I heard a voice say. Cocking my head, I saw the man from last night, leaning against a building.
"Did you not get the message?" I asked, stopping.
"Oh I did all right." He replied, "I'm trying to compliment you buddy, take a chill pill"
I paused for a second, "Who are you?" I asked.
"Rain." He replied, "Rain Fall. I'm sure you've heard the name before"
"Doesn't ring a bell" I replied.
"Really?" He asked, "It's pretty popular. Where're you from, Sho?"
"How do you know my name?" I demanded without hesitation.
"Chill, bro," He said, "You're in the tournament. I'm a fan"
"If you were a fan you wouldn't have tried to kill me last night" I pointed out.
Rain smiled, "Got me there" He said.
"What do you want with me?" I asked.
"Relax, bud, you don't need to-" He started.
"I asked you a question" I interrupted.
He shrugged, "I dunno man," he replied, "just something about you that yells 'trouble'! You know?"
"Answer the question" I said, reaching for ShoGun.
"You wouldn't cut down a man in broad daylight, would you?" He asked.
"For you I might make an exception" I replied.
"Well," he said, sounding impressed, "you've got me all figured out, haven't you?"
I lowered my hand back to my side, keeping my gaze with him even.
He snickered, "'Atta boy" He said.
I glared at him.
"Is that a death stare?" He asked, "Because honestly, I can't tell. Your face hasn't changed at all since I first met you. Do you gamble? Because you have the best poker face I've ever seen"
"Listen here punk," I said, under my breath but loud enough for him to hear, "I've got my eye on you. Try something like last night again, and I'll rip your damn head off and mount it on my wall. Got it?"
"What an honor" He smiled.
Forcing myself not to punch him, I kept walking. I felt his gaze on me as I walked, but I didn't look back.
Quite a ways down the sidewalk I saw Grizzly and a pink-haired woman leaving a house which I assumed to be his.
He turned and waved when he saw me, "Roy!" He called, "Over here!"
I waved and quickened my pace. Once I'd caught up with him I slowed down.
"Are you excited for today?" He asked.
"I guess so" I replied.
"Aw, come on, Roy!" He said, "Cheer up a little!"
"Have you ever heard of a fellow who calls himself Rain Fall?" I asked.
"You just destroyed the positive atmosphere I was trying to create" Grizzly said, his face suddenly switching to a frown.
"Sorry," I replied, "Have you though?"
"Not the name Rain, but Fall is definitely familiar" He replied.
"What happened with him?" I asked.
"Not him," He corrected, "her. Cinder Fall once involved herself with the White Fang and lots of bad stuff happened. A bunch of students from Beacon Academy ended up stopping her though"
"Okay," I said, "I'm a little lost"
"There's not much else to it." The pink woman said, whom I hadn't even realized was still following us, "No one really knows what Cinder was trying to accomplish, she eventually just kind of disappeared after several hunters-in-training at Beacon got involved in trying to stop her." She paused for a second, "Did you hear the name recently?"
"Just this morning." I replied, "Rain Fall confronted me after trying to kill me last night"
"Well that's a dead giveaway." She said, "Chances are he's related to Cinder. You should probably report this"
"Who are you exactly?" I asked bluntly.
"Oh sorry," She said, holding out her hand as we walked, "Nicole Rozovyy. I'm Grizzly's caretaker while the tournament is going"
"I see." I said, shaking her hand, "Roy Sho"
"I assume you're one of Grizzly teammates?" She asked.
"You are correct in assuming so" I replied.
"Okay." She said, "So you fought off this Rain Fall last night?"
"Correct" I replied.
"Well it's good to know Grizzly's in powerful hands" She said.
I didn't know what she meant. I wasn't holding onto Grizzly. I glanced over at him, wondering if there would be muscular hands hanging onto him. There weren't any.
"So where're you headed this morning?" Nicole asked me.
"Nowhere." I replied, "I forgot that the tournament started after lunch today"
"Hey, you should join us!" Grizzly suggested.
"Where're you going?" I asked Nicole.
"I'm going grocery shopping," She replied, "Grizzly just wants to join for the free snacks set up around the store. I don't want to waste your time though; you should probably head to the police station to make the report"
"I haven't anything else to do." I replied, "Other than the report. That shouldn't take long though"
"Okay" She said, as if she knew that I'd be disappointed but decided to let me learn that myself.
Once we reached the store Nicole grabbed a shopping cart and started to move down a seemingly memorized path. She didn't waste time looking for her groceries, she knew exactly where everything she needed was.
Occasionally we stopped when Grizzly wanted to try one of the snacks set up around the store to allow us to taste the food they sold in the hopes that we'd buy them. Grizzly tried to feed me the snacks, but I always refused them.
"Do you really think you should be bothering your father like that?" The snack person would often ask.
"We're not related" was always what I said before moving along, leaving behind the shocked faces of those serving the food.
In one of the far sides of the massive store there was make-up, and Nicole spent only a bit of time there, picking out large amounts of it.
"Why do you wear make-up?" I asked. I had no idea why anyone would.
"So that I look better" She replied.
"Oh." I said, "But isn't natural beauty better?"
"It's less expensive, yes." She replied, "Not everyone is gifted with it, unfortunately"
"So you'd rather live your life behind a mask?" I asked, "Isn't that considered lying?"
She froze in place, clearly taking what I'd said into consideration. "Sometimes it's better to tell a small lie over a big truth that may hurt those that you love" She finally said, sounding offended.
"Okay" I said simply, not quite understanding but accepting it either way.
After returning the shopping cart and piling everything into bags, we headed home. We didn't take the bus for some reason, and instead walked. "It's easier for someone to snag something of yours from one of your bags on a bus than if you walked on the open street" Was Nicole's answer when I asked why.
"Don't you have somewhere to go?" Nicole asked after we reached her house, "Something to report maybe?" She sounded a little annoyed.
"I do." I replied, setting the bags on her doorstep, "I'll be going then. Thanks for allowing me to come along"
"No problem" She said, opening her door and heading inside.
"See you at the arena!" Grizzly said, following the pink woman inside.
"See you" I said, turning around and heading for the police station.
So there you have it. Blue-haired man=Rain Fall. Sound familiar? It really should...I think. I haven't read the previous chapters in a while, but I'm quite certain that his name was mentioned a few times. Either way, now you know.
The potentially offensive part was the conversation about make-up that Roy had with Nicole. I'm not trying to shun those of you who wear lot's of make-up, it just fit Roy's character and I also wanted Nicole to say what she did.
Recently I've started thinking a lot more about the climax of Part 2. How it'll play out, who will fight who, where it'll be, all that good stuff. No, we are not getting incredibly close to the climax, but we are getting closer, and the story is moving a lot faster than I thought it would when I first started Part 2. I'm super excited for some of the match-ups that I have planned, and I hope that all of you are too.
Also, I just started an original story on Fictionpress! If you aren't already following me there, then you should. It's titled 'The Pumpkin Carver' and its a mystery/thriller/drama sort of thing. It's my first time with that genre and I'm hoping that it goes well. If your interested then check it out! (and in case I need to repeat myself I'm under the same name, SquigglyCrunch, on Fictionpress)
Anyways, that's about it, so as usual, favorite, follow, review, tell your friends, tell your enemies, or don't if you don't want to, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!