Here we are at Chapter 63. This chapter takes place a little before the events of the previous two chapters. Since it's been a while since we last saw them, let's see how Blake and Rokurou are doing in Menagerie. Time for Blake's first lesson with the demon samurai. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 63. Enjoy.
Chapter 63: Samurai vs Ninja
It is early in the morning in Menagerie. Blake had already woken up a little earlier and is now walking to the back of the Belladonna household. However, as she does, she hears some noise coming from out back and decides to check it out. Walking out to behind the building, she comes across Rokurou in the large open backyard, shirt off and practicing some sword techniques with a bokken. And from the amount of sweat she can she dripping down his body, he's been at it for a while.
"You're up early," Blake notes as she walks up to him.
"…The early bird catches the worm, as they say. Gotta keep my skills sharp, or else I'll rust like an old blade. And that's a real waste," Rokurou says while swinging his bokken up and down.
"But if you work out too much, you'll burn out and exhaust yourself. I've seen students at Beacon who were like that," Blake notes, crossing her arms.
"Well, at least they're working hard. Speaking of which…" Rokurou says before he stops and stares at Blake.
The stare starts to unnerve her a bit, "W-what is it?" she asks.
Rokurou shakes his head, "Oh, nothing. I'll catch ya later," he says before getting his stuff and heading inside for a quick bath. "Guess it's time for her training session. She hasn't gotten rusty, but she also hasn't gotten stronger. Luckily, I know just how to fix that."
…
Later in the day, Rokurou is having some sake that he brought in the dining room. A moment later, Ghira enters the room and goes to sit down across from him, with a serious look on his face.
"What's up Mr. Belladonna? Care for a drink?" Rokurou offers.
"No thank you, I'm fine. I was hoping to have a talk with you about something," Ghira says.
Rokurour finishes another cup, "Okay, shoot," Rokurou replies.
"When you arrived here, you said you were helping my daughter because of a debt you owed to one of her teammates. First off, I'm curious, what was this debt exactly?" Ghira asks.
Rokurou reaches up and pulls out Kurogane Stormquell a little bit from its sheathe, "She helped me recover my partner here. A blade is a warrior's life, and I would've been nothing without it. As such, I owed her a great debt and was in her service until that debt had been repaid. We travelled together for a while, taking care of some personal business for each of us, until we managed to take care of some things that Velvet needed to get done. We got…separated after that, and I didn't get a chance to finish repaying my debt. So, I've just been travelling around the world, sharpening my skills, until I meet your daughter and find out that she was friends with Velvet. It was actually a little shocking to here that she went to school and got accepted into Beacon Academy to become a huntress. So, I decided to help Blake out as a means of repaying my debt to Velvet. It's a matter of honor," Rokurou explains as he sheathes his sword.
"I see. But Blake told me that Velvet Crowe went missing after the Fall of Beacon. Aren't you worried about whether or not she's still alive? Try to even look for her as well?" Ghira asks.
"Velvet's not dead. I've been with her long enough to know that she won't go down that easily. Not after everything she's been through. I'm not worried about it either. I'll see her soon enough, and when I do, she'll be stronger than when we last met. I just know it. I don't need to try to look for her, either. Soon enough, we'll meet each other again," Rokurou calmly notes. "Especially since I already saw her before I came to this world."
"You're really that confidant in her abilities. Now then, why would you help my daughter? What she to you?" Ghira asks seriously.
"I'd like to think we've become friends. On a more personal note, I kind of feel bad for her weapon, Gambol Shroud," Rokurou notes.
"Her weapon? May I ask why?" Ghira asks, confused now.
"I hate seeing a good blade get wasted like the way she's been doing it lately. She's been running from her problems, rather than facing them. Actions like that bring shame to her weapon. She has a fine blade, but at this rate, it'll turn into nothing but a paperweight if she doesn't stand up and fight for herself, or for those she cares about," Rokurou says.
Ghira starts to get a little irritated, "I don't appreciate you criticizing my daughter like that. My daughter is not a coward. She may have a few…quirks, but she is a brave young woman. She has faced her past time and time again whenever she went against the White Fang back in Vale," Ghira retorts.
"And yet after suffering such a big loss like the Fall of Beacon, she left her friends behind and came running here. Now I'm not exactly one to talk. There are plenty of things that I've done in the past that aren't exactly noble. I'm well aware that I can be a real jerk. However…I've never turned my back on my friends. If they're in trouble, then I'll be right there to back them up…And I know that Blake's teammates, her friends, need her…Now more than ever," Rokurou counters.
"What do you mean by that?" Ghira asks regarding his last words.
Rokurou sips one last drink, "It's nothing. Anyway, like I said, I hate seeing a good blade go to waste. In a little bit, could you tell Blake to meet me out back? And tell her to bring her weapon with her. Thank you," Rokurou says before he takes his leave.
Ghira just watches him go, now with more questions than when the conversation began.
…
Later that day, Blake heads out back after seeing her father, and him giving her Rokurou's message, to find Rokurou sitting out in a meditative stance in the backyard.
"You bring your blade?" Rokurou asks as he opens his eyes to her.
Blake pulls out her blade, "Yeah, but why?" she asks.
Rokurou stands up and draws his swords, "Because it's time for some training. Of which you are way late on. That blade of yours isn't made for display. It's made for combat, and I ain't letting it go to waste. Now get in here and let's get started," Rokurou says.
Blake sighs, "I'm sorry, but I'm not really in the mood. I've just got a lot on my mind now. I don't have time to waste on pointless training right now," she dismisses him.
However, Rokurou narrows his eyes and a second later, he's already in front of Blake, low to the ground and right blade reeled back. Blake has barely enough time to raise her blade to block as Rokurou swings his blade at her right side and sends her flying into the backyard. Blake rolls on the ground before getting back onto her feet.
"That wasn't a request. You don't get to just walk away after one bad loss. Trust me, I know that better than anyone," Rokurou says, getting a little serious now.
Seeing that he's not going to simply let her go, Blake gets into her stance and readies her weapon. Rokurou smirks a bit before he runs at her again, this time both blades pulled back around his body. Blake jumps into the air when he swings both at her, and switches her blade to its chain-scythe form, taking a few shots at him. Rokurou easily deflects the shots with his blades. Blake falls and uses her semblance to jump around at him, switching back to her blade mode and swings it down at Rokurou. Rokurou blocks the strike with his right blade before he pushes Blake off of him and she lands on her feet. Rokurou comes and starts making a few swings at her. Blake tries to dodge and evade each strike, but she is having trouble. Rokurou swings his left blade down at her and she raises her sword to block it, but finds herself straining against his heavy, but fast and strong swings.
"Unbelievable. His swords are so huge, and yet he swings them around like they weigh nothing, not to mention how strong each blow feels…It reminds me of whenever Ruby swings her scythe around. She's so small, her weapon is so big, and yet she swings it around without breaking a sweat," Blake thinks.
"You'll have to do better than that," Rokurou says before he kicks her in the torso, and sends her flying. "A blade is made for battle. If you're not going to use it, then why did you build it in the first place?" he asks.
Blake gets back on her feet, "I made it to fight for the Faunus, and then it was for the people as a huntress. I want to protect people," Blake retorts.
But Rokurou is right on her once again, "And yet, you ran away," he says before spinning around to swing his swords at her again.
Blake uses her semblance to dodge them, and then pulls out her sheathe blade. However, Rokurou quickly swings his right sword upwards at her and knocks her sheathe blade out of her hand. Rokurou swings around to swing his left sword down at her, but she uses her semblance to avoid it and jump sideways, only to narrowly avoid a thrust of his right blade aimed at her face. Rokurou smirks again before he makes a series of more slashes at her. Knowing that blocking them won't work for her, Blake focuses on dodging his strikes with her speed. At one point, Rokurou uses one technique to zip across the ground at Blake, making three slashes with fire trailing behind him. Blake dodges the first two, but gets hit by the third. Rokurou then appears behind her and kicks her in the side, sending her crashing into a tree.
"I can practically smell your fear, and your guilt. You believe it's your fault what happened to your teammates? What happened to Yang?" Rokurou asks.
Blake looks up, eyes wide, "How…How do you know that?" she asks fearfully.
"My business. You try to distance yourself from your friends, and yet you never stop thinking about them. Those are just the actions of a cowardly hypocrite. I pity your blade," Rokurou retorts.
Blake slowly stands up, "What are you talking about?" she asks.
Rokurou suddenly disappears and then reappears right in front of her, swinging his right sword down on her, which she has no choice but to block.
"Your Gambol Shroud is an amazing blade, no doubt about it, but it's wasted on someone like you. Someone who's afraid to go out there and fight for what she believes in. For the people she cares about! Is that the kind of person you are, Blake?!" Rokurou asks before he kicks her away again.
"No, it's not like that! I'm not like that!" Blake retorts desperately.
"Then what are you?!" Rokurou says before he charges at her again.
Blake jumps around to avoid his attacks, "I didn't want them to get hurt because of me, and yet they did. My past hurt them. It's better if I'm not around. As long as I'm not near them, they'll be safe!" she retorts as she tries to take a swing at him.
Rokurou easily dodges it and deflects another strike from her blade, "And who's to say the White Fang still won't go after them even if you're not there? Or those responsible for the Fall of Beacon? Or how about this, what if your friends decide to go after those who attacked Vale and Beacon. How are they going to be safe if you're not there to back them up?!" Rokurou says before he uses another technique that deals an electric shock to Blake after he lands another blow.
Blake falls to the ground, low on aura and strength from the onslaught, both physical and emotional.
"What are you talking about? Why would they go after the White Fang?" Blake asks as she gets onto her hands and knees.
"I'm not talking about the White Fang. I'm talking about the people pulling the White Fang's strings. You don't think your teammates, like your leader Ruby, is going to go after them?" Rokurou asks.
"But she can't! What about Yang after she…after she…" Blake's retort falters as memories of what happened to her partner flood her mind.
Rokurou sighs and sheathes his swords, "You're not even worth it at this point. You say that you left to protect them, but really, you did it to protect yourself from the pain of having to face your past, or the pain of seeing your friends hurt. That's not how a warrior acts, that how a coward acts," Rokurou notes, looking down on her.
Blake lowers her head in shame, thinking that deep down, he's right. She left to protect her friends, but maybe it was only for her own sake, not theirs.
"Leave her alone!" they hear someone yell, only to see Sun jump into the fray and attack Rokurou with his staff. Rokurou draws his swords and blocks the attack. "Blake is not a selfish coward! She has always cared about her friends!" Sun yells in anger.
Rokurou grunts and pushes Sun away before moving across the ground in a zig-zag formation, swinging his blades each time he gets close to Sun. Sun blocks the attacks, but soon enough finds himself on the defensive. Blake watches them fight, helpless to help Sun in anyway.
"Sun, please stop, don't fight him!" Blake pleads.
"I don't see how this is any of your concern, Sun," Rokurou notes as he parries a few attacks from Sun's staff.
Sun twirls his staff around before turning it into its nun-chuck forms, "Sure, Blake could've just stayed with her friends and continued the fight. But she was only doing what she thought was best for them, even if it was the wrong move to make. She just needs to realize that there are better ways to help her friends, and we need to show her the way!" Sun retorts before he goes back into the fight.
Sun twirls his nun-chucks around, firing off shot after shot. However, Rokurou easily deflects each shot with his blades, making small movements with them like they were shields given their size. At one point, Rokurou thrusts his left blade out, managing to snag one nun-chuck around the blade and pulls it away, out of Sun's hand. He then swings his right sword upwards to knock away the other nun-chuck, leaving Sun defenseless. Rokurou finishes it off with by using one of his mystic arte techniques.
"Rangetsu Style: Heron!" Rokurou yells before he suddenly zips all around Sun, making sword strikes too fast to see and then stopping behind the monkey Faunus.
A second later, Sun falls onto the ground, unconscious.
"Sun!" Blake yells in worry.
Rokurou sheathes his swords again, "Don't worry, he's just knocked out. He'll be fine after getting some rest," he says and goes to pick him up and hoist him onto his left shoulder. "Listen Blake, you need to think about your past actions and decide whether or not they were the right actions to take. Just because we do what we think is right, doesn't mean that it actually IS the right action to take," he says, making Blake think upon his words. "Come on, let's go inside so you two can rest up. I could also use a drink. All that fighting made me thirsty, and a little hungry," he says.
Blake slowly rises to her feet and proceeds inside the house. Rokurou follows her, but stops one moment to glance behind him towards the trees behind the backyard. He narrows his eyes and hums a moment before he continues on. A moment later, a figure lands on top of one of the trees in the forest, wearing a White Fang mask with a pair of horns on it.
And that's the chapter. A little short, but what can you do. Rokurou gives Blake a hard lesson, in more ways than one. But if you ask me, she really needed it. I don't tolerate cowardice, and that's why I had problems with Blake for most of the series, and she still has some work to do. Anyway, who was that watching Rokurou, Sun, and Blake? What will happen next? Until then, please Read and Review.
