Ruined Courtyard (Night)

"Dominic! Open this gate now! Please!" Yang yelled, banging her fists against the stone wall he conjured.

And then, out of nowhere, her eyes started to throb, as if the muscle and blood within was trying to escape. She screamed in agony as she watched and felt her brother's game end. Numbers dropping and red text filled her vision as everything faded to black.

Xiao-Long/Rose Household (Night)

"AGH!" Yang cried out as she woke up, her eyes and hair alight. Once she realized she was in the safety of her bed, her powers turned off. Even still, her eyes remained red. Tears in her eyes, she left her bedroom and walked toward her brother's old room.

The edges of the door were mildly singed, and the doorknob was riddled with dents. Hesitantly, Yang opened the door. Dominic's room was, in a word, a dump. His bed was just a mattress on the floor, and there were dirty clothes strewn about the room, many of which were the same red hoodie. There was also a large burn mark on the floor, but no fire. Something was ignited there, but was recently extinguished. Everything in the room was exactly the same as it was when Dominic left for Beacon. Everything except for the dull gray sword lying on the ground. Summer had come to the room the day after his funeral to place his weapon here.

"Hey." Yang said, struggling to form her words. "It's...It's weird knowing something happened, but not understanding how I know." She thought back to the Fall, as uncomfortable as it was to do so. "I don't know if it's a magic thing..., but I could FEEL you die. I felt your pain." She teared up as she spoke. Something red flashed in the room. Confused, the blonde looked down and watched as Scarlet Showstopper vibrated rapidly before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. Seeing this, Yang completely broke into a crying fit. Her eyes glowing brightly, she punched the floor with all her might. "YOU STUPID, STUPID, MORON!" she yelled mournfully. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO FIGHT HER!? WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST RUN AWAY FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!?" "Because if he did, he couldn't call himself a leader."

What?

"Your brother is a very special person. Connor was inches from dying, and he fought as hard as he could in an attempt to save him. Even if he failed, his efforts allowed his partner to survive. In his mind, that's what a leader is supposed to do. Sacrifice for the sake of the team. I know you think he shouldn't have done it, and frankly, I wish he'd done something, anything, different. But no matter what anyone says, nothing will stop him from doing what he thinks is right."

WHAT?

Forest Village (Night)

While Team JNPR, Ruby, Gregory, and Ivy stayed at an inn, Qrow kept watch at a bar across the road. After a few minutes, a waitress set a glass of scotch on his table. "Oh, I didn't-"

"From the woman upstairs." she interrupted. "Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf."

Turning his head, Qrow saw his sister waiting on the upper floor. "Thanks." he said to the waitress.

"But I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you!" she said cheerfully, not knowing how ironic it was to use that phrase to describe Qrow.

After she left, the swordsman walked upstairs to speak to his sibling. "Hello, brother." she said. Raven was in rough shape. Her battle with Dominic left her badly injured, with bullet wounds and cut marks all over her arms and torso.

"Raven. You look like hell." Qrow said with a smirk as he approached his sister's table. "So, what do you want?"

"A girl can't just catch up with her family?" Raven answered.

"She can, but you're not." Qrow said coldly. "How about we get on with it?"

"Does she have it?" Raven asked.

"Did you care when he died?" Qrow shot back. Just as his sister was about to answer, he stopped her. "Rhetorical question. I know you didn't. It's just obnoxious that you bring up family then carry on like your own son doesn't exist."

"I saved Yang, and he tried to kill me." Raven said. "If I had been just a bit slower, I wouldn't be here." Memories of that fight echoed through her mind. "That look in his eye... He would've made a good bandit."

"We both know that he wouldn't have done that. At the very least, not under your command." Qrow said, taking a drink. "You know, he reminds me of you."

That got Raven to stop.

"He was a stubborn piece of work who wouldn't let anything stand in his way. Wasn't half bad with a sword either." Qrow reminisced, thinking back to the spars he used to have with his nephew. The spars that would never be held again. He then stood up and turned away from his sister. "Salem doesn't have it. Your son made sure of that." he said as he walked back downstairs, leaving Raven to think.

For the first time in her life, she doubted herself. Was she really deserving of judgment? Or could she keep running from her past? She didn't know.

Maybe it was finally time to visit her son's grave.

D2

Age: 17

Gender: Identifies As Male

Species: Magic

Semblance: N/A

Element: Blank

Battle Class: N/A