AN- First things first, thank you to the reviewers of last chapter!
HaFschu: Of course of course... Maybe. And thank you again!
Masso 2010: I figured that since Fox didn't really have a lot of screen time, and that he isn't really involved in a lot of fanfics, that I would give him some time to shine here, and so far it is working out wondrously. At least in my opinion. The tournament will have to be handled delicately, I can't say much else because spoilers but rest assured I already have nearly all the plans for it completed. Kai's mom will be returning soon, you can look forward to that and for Kai getting Silver Ebony back.
DaggerFan: I will count your vote to the poll young one, Yang was the original pairing but then I second guessed myself but in a way that is something I am glad I did, it opened up a lot of opportunities for other characters to get involved.
Astra: The Astral family has returned, welcome back to the story. Neo please, I am but a humble writer that brings entertainment to a few hundred people, please have mercy. Poor Vernal doesn't get enough love, and for once when I decide to get a little crazy with her character you all don't believe in her. It's okay Vernal, you can give them frostbite later. Two is an interesting character, she can talk, but decides to answer in hums instead, I think it is an original idea for the most part. Hehehe, the Violets and Nora cannot be stopped, at least when the meet, they will love each other and poor Ren is going to have to deal with them all, and you just gave me a GREAT idea for what I am going to do with the Beacon arc… Just you wait. I actually don't know what it is like having four ears, since I am a human, but I'd guess that I'd be able to listen to music and talk to someone at the same time without raising my voice unconsciously. Orchids mom shall not be named until I deem the readers worthy to hear it, and you couldn't be farther with the name you just made up. Orchids obsession with carrots comes from her mother of course, did you forget the time her mom tried to fix Kai's blindness by getting him to eat carrots? Shame on you. Coming up with semblances is hard, and coming up with a way for a person to see without the use of their eyes is also hard, I couldn't just make him see the same way Kai could because I didn't feel like it and I wanted to challenge myself, but they are bonding, the adorable little things they are. Poor Cardin getting abused as usual, I am just trying to get him to not be hated or bullied by everyone else and also get him to be a character who doesn't get forgotten so easily. Kai did live in Vacuo, and in the RWBYverse there isn't really a lot of cameras like the one that Velvet has so in a world like that I can see how he could have not known what it was unless he had working eyes. By the way, CFVY were third years in the show, so in this they would be first years, cuz two plus one is three. Quick maths. Unless I have that completely wrong, in that case I am sorry. Mahogany can be used in a lot of ways, in this case EVERYTHING is mahogany, even the computers. Yes, Orchid has a greatsword that can collapse into two smaller swords that can be used in each hand. Slightly psychotic Orchid is much different from full fledged Bloody Murderer Maniac Orchid, who may or may not be coming in a future extra… shush. Lol, the skirting won't stop until Beacon, sorry to disappoint, that was a joke by the way. You're on a mental vacation huh? I wish I could go on a mental, physical, emotional and spiritual vacation, but nah. I'd rather write Fanfiction every day. Fox doesn't get used much, and you know how I like to be original, hell, this entire story is original so far. So I decided to give him a more powerful role in this story at least, may last a while, may not, who knows things may change. I thought I made it pretty clear what Kai is going to show Orchid, but I guess you will figure that out pretty soon. Oh no all of MAVR is dead except for Malikai, currently being held against his will (kinda) by Raven, and Adrian who is MIA and has been for the past thirty years. Around that time. It hasn't been that long really, barely over two months, but you know me. Mr three chapters a week here. See y'all in the next one! Thanks for returning!
Thank you all for the reviews!
Poll results as of this very moment:
Ruby Rose- 23
Yang Xiao-Long- 17
Weiss Schnee- 16
Orchid Rosa- 7
Blake Belladonna- 6
Pyrrha Nikos- 4
Neo- 3
Huh, look at that, Ruby is still in the lead. Nothing much else to say, pretty much the same thing as last time. Thank you for voting if you did, and if you haven't voted yet I suggest that you do!
Now let's get right back to the story
RWBY: The Blind Huntsman
Chapter 13- Volume 0, episode Episode 11
Utmost Importance
"Yeah, he is definitely here." Mercury said into his scroll after looking around to make sure the coast was clear. Emerald nodded to him beforehand to affirm his timing.
"You are certain?" Cinder's voice answered through the scroll.
"Unless there are other Matsuoka's that we don't know about, I am about one hundred percent sure." He quipped. He was always more confident over the scroll, if he said something that Cinder didn't like, then it would take a few weeks for her to get close enough to punish him for it, and by that time she wouldn't find it worth the effort and head back.
"Ignoring your annoying attempts of amusements." Emerald laughed at that, making him glare at her with soft snarl. "We must move on to actual important business, Kai Matsuoka is attending Signal, we know he is the son of Malikai Matsuoka, I assume you know your assigned task?"
"Yes, Cinder." Mercury automatically responded. "We haven't been able to even get a glance at his eyes, he constantly wears a stupid blindfold over his eyes and if me and Emerald even try to take it off he'll get hostile. One of those annoying Violet kids tried and they got blasted into a wall." He chuckled at the memory, it's what those kids deserved in his opinion, in a way he could relate to Kai because of his robotic legs that he lets no one touch, he can understand why Kai doesn't want anyone to see what he assumes to be blind and scarred eyes. It won't ever be as bad if he revealed his legs though, at least in his opinion.
"Violet kids? I hope you two aren't getting attached to any of them, you are only staying there for as long as Qrow Branwen is on his mission, if he spotted you then it would ruin the long term of our plan, I trust that you have been avoiding him?"
"Yes, Cinder." It was Emerald to respond this time, in a much more positive mood then her gray haired partner ever did. "Everytime he gets near us I use my semblance on him, he doesn't know we are here, nor does he know either of our names."
"Good job Emerald, every day you prove your usefulness to me."
Emerald gleamed at the compliment and stuck her tongue out to Mercury, who rolled his eyes in response.
"And none of the other students have grown suspicious of your age?" Cinder asked next.
"No, we can't lie about our ages since Kai has that annoying ability to detect lies with that sensing thing that he does." Mercury answered before Emerald could. "But none of them seem to be suspecting us, I feel both insulted and complemented at that."
"Hm, good job you two, keep doing what you are doing, it is important for our plan that you grow one-sided bonds with these kids so that they don't suspect you." this time it was Mercury who stuck his tongue out at Emerald, who is already resisting the urge to throw up at the thought of having to become even closer one-sided friends with those kids they are forced to be around.
"Once you find out if the child has silver eyes, you will transfer to Haven academy, we have secured his loyalty to our cause, so when you arrive you will be already be official students, I will meet you there." Cinder was about to hang up the long distance scroll happily invented by disgraced Doctor Watts, as was Mercury, but suddenly something stops the both of them. "Before I end the call, what is this I've heard about a championship tournament coming up in Mistral? And that almost every first year student will either be attending or competing, as well as the headlines being 'The Blind Huntsman vs the Invincible girl, is this the tournament where Pyrrha Nikos could be finally defeated for the very first time?' I hope that my eyes deceive me, because if this is true then no one has told me about it."
Mercury and Emerald both wince at the question, both not knowing how to respond in a way that won't get both of them punished for informing Cinder about this upcoming tournament.
"No answer? Very well, change of plans. You are not to fight in the tournament, but you are to attend, and you will not be transferring back to Signal Academy, by this time I hope you will have completed your task. If not, then I will find out myself, and if that happens…" She left the sentence unfinished purposely, knowing that both of her underlings already have a good very well understanding what that would mean if they are not able to complete this task assigned to them.
"We understand mam." Mercury and Emerald both said in unison, even as a shudder went down both of their spines. "We won't fail you." Emerald said next.
"I certainly hope not." With that, Cinder hung up the phone, the promise of a punishment being let unspoken, not that it needed to be spoken anyway. They both knew very well what could await them.
"I suddenly really regret helping her get some of that Maidens powers…" Mercury sighed to himself.
"Shut up, we'll do what we have to do, and we won't have to worry about anything." Emerald herself didn't even sound like she believed it all the way, partly at most.
"Careful Em, you're making it sound like you actually care about my life." The cyborg teased, the same cocky grin overtaking his features.
"And everytime you speak I am reminded that I shouldn't."
"Shouldn't!?" Mercury just had to catch her little slip up. "Awe~ Emmy you do care!"
Emerald blushes embarrassedly before pushing him away so hard that he falls on his butt, not that he cared, he laughed all the way down.
"I will kill you in your sleep the next chance I get." Emerald threatened like she had so many times before.
"Meh, you'd just get bored without me, and you know that, so I don't think you are going to be killing me anytime soon."
"I hate you, and I know that."
"Love you too Em."
The day went by quickly after getting to know Team CFVY, so fast in fact that Kai didn't even notice until it was already time to go home. He had another lesson for Fox that he thought up as a way to get him used to seismic sensing faster, and of course to his excitement the older Beacon student listened intently, and he could sense that he didn't have any shoes on as well.
Coco pulled him into a one armed hug of course, laughing at his easily embarrassed nature when she let him go and noticed his red face. In his defense he did have a facefull of side boob for a good couple of seconds.
After recovering from that it was Orchids turn, and she did not have the same reaction that he did. He couldn't see it, but he did here something about a 'Titty size' competition that is scheduled to be when Orchid and he get accepted into Beacon. Whatever that means… girls are weird.
Then there was Velvet, who simply shook his hand excitedly and said that they will meet again in the morning. The same went for Yatsuhashi, but before he could let go of his hand the brawn teen told him to work on his footwork. Then with a pat on his shoulder he left to go join his team who is staying at some hotel probably, maybe even in Signal. He doesn't know, all he feels are feet walking in all different directions.
He wondered how Cardin and Sky's goodbye-for-now moments went. In fact he hasn't been around them ever since the training session they all had earlier. He could only hope that Coco hasn't been giving the two of them too hard of a time, but at least some progress may have been made today.
But that is not his concern at the moment, after a quick hug and goodbye to both Yang and Ruby before Taiyang took them home, he walked with Orchid and her mom toward their homestead. The whole way Orchid has been chatting about their day, and the training session that they had, as well as the upcoming tournament in a few weeks. With both of them switching personalities as they spoke, Kai wisely decided that it would be better if he didn't speak unless specifically spoken to. He didn't want to interrupt two women who each have more than a dozen personalities within their heads.
"Hey Kaizy! Wanna play I spy?" Bubbly Orchid and Bubbly Orchids mom asked as they both appeared on both sides of his body, startling him for but a moment, he as luckily gotten used to being addressed in such a way.
"Orchid, I am blind so I don't know how that will work." Kai said with a soft chuckle. While the running joke of his friends forgetting about his blindness is annoying sometimes- okay no most of the time, when his partner does it he can't help but always find it amusing.
"That's why you are going to be the one taking the lead!" Excited Orchids mom exclaimed. "Now tell us, what do you spy young sir?" Investigative sounding Orchids mom said asked as she looked around with slitted eyes before he could even think of protesting.
"Uh… okay hold on." Kai said as he focused his sensing more, he can sense the insects crawling on the ground, and how each leaf rustles with the wind, and even small animals hidden in the foliage. But he doesn't want to give them anything too hard, but at the same time he really does so he can stop playing this game that is harder than he thought it would be. "I spy something with my little… feet." The girls laughed at his alternative way of playing along with this game. "Something that starts with an I."
"Insect!" Both of the Rosa exclaimed in unison before bursting into a fit of giggles, both startling and surprising Kai with their sudden answer.
"H-How did you figure that out so quickly!?" Kai asked.
"We both know you're blind silly, and that you have a really over complicated way of seeing things." Orchids mom began to explain. "So we decided that you would have gone for something a normal-er person wouldn't have, and we can't see any bugs around here, but I bet you can~!" She sung that last part out, before suddenly moving ahead of the group and in front of the house that he has slept over in more then once before already. "Good luck with your training you two!" She said as she nearly broke the door by how hard she slammed it shut, he wondered why she had a metal door the first time he came over, but understood every time both she and Orchid slammed the door shut every time, and why he always sensed a pile of wood in the corner of nearly every room within the house.
"Your mom is funny." Kai said with a chuckle.
"Heh, yeah that's where I get it from." Orchid agreed. "What is the thing you wanted to show me?" She asked as the two went to their usual hang out spot next to an orchid tree that grows every color of orchid their is.
"W-well…" Kai suddenly gets very nervous, saying that he would do it was a lot harder than actually doing it. But he wants to take Fox's advice, and the first person he thought about to reveal his eyes to was Ruby, but if he did that the he'd have to show Yang soon after because he knew that Ruby would run up and tell her because that was just how she is, and then after Yang Tai might want to see, then after that Qrow would want to see and then if they found out and the news got to his partner because of Yang's big mouth… oh dear.
But the more he thought about it, Orchid was the best decision to show first. She understood what it is like to try to keep something a secret. Given her multiple personality situation, and so she wouldn't go bragging that she saw his eyes. More than that, she has been such a great friend during their time at Beacon. They've trained together, fought together, studied together, did boring things together. In the end, he found only good reasons to tell her, and not one bad one. Mostly because he has never really seen her bad side yet beside when he first met her.
"It's s-s-something I c-couldn't show in s-school, n-not in front of e-e-everyone out of fear t-that someone might have seen." He stuttered, rubbing the back of his head and tracing the loose knot that keeps the blindfold around his head.
Orchid gasped, and began feeling very hot and embarrassed. "O-oh, Kaizy, I didn't know you were thinking of me that way." Shy Orchid said as she smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear to reveal her hidden eye. The red blush on her face obvious to any who could see and her heart skipped a beat.
"We are still really young, but if you really want to do this then... well…"
"The Flamingo is ready." Freaky Orchid said as she began to lift her shirt.
"Body is ready- No I didn't mean it like that!" Kai exclaimed quickly as he finally understood her meaning, a red flush taking over the color of his entire face. Luckily his blindness meant that he couldn't see anything that he shouldn't until he was a few years older.
"Of course!" Shy Orchid exclaimed as she slid her shirt back down with loud fake laughter. "I was just kidding around Kaizy, hehehehe, so what was it you wanted to show me?" She asked and went back to normal before Kai could call her out on such an obvious lie.
"Uh…" He paused to take a deep breath. "Well… I wanted to show you my eyes… if you want to see them that is." He stammered, his previous nervousness coming back to him with a vengeance.
"Oh! I have no problem with it whatsoever!" Regular Orchid said with a bright smile as she sat up straight. "Whenever you're ready of course, or do you want me to take it off for you?"
"N-no, I got it." He said with a soft smile as he raised his hands to the knot on the back of his head.
His heart is going a million miles a minute, and his brain is screaming at him to stop and do it another time. But his heart… his heart tells him to do this now, and that it would mean a lot to both himself and his excitable partner.
With a deep breath, he undid the knot, but kept the blindfold around his eyes for just a bit longer. He felt the parts of his skin that was covered by the feel cool as the air makes contact there for the first time in days.
His eyes seemed to glow in the dark shadows as he let the blindfold fall from his face and down into his lap, and his white pupils looking around as if trying to find something or someone. His breath gets caught in his throat and he nearly put the blindfold back on, but stopped when Orchid slapped her hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes, which were now staring in the right direction straight into her magenta orbs.
She smiled, and let him know what she thought.
"So you do have eyebrows!" Orchids exclaimed as she let go of his face, dissuading him from tying the black piece of soft cloth back around his head.
"W-what?" For the first time, Orchid could see confusion in his silver eyes.
"I don't know what you were so worried about Kaizy, whatever scars you think you have are barely even noticeable." Observant Orchid said as she leaned in slightly to get a better look at his now revealed eyes. "They do look like… really pretty though." Bubbly Orchid said as she smiled and leaned back again.
"Badass to, the white pupils really goes well with the silver iris' that you have. They also seem to glow in the dark is that normal?" Perplexed yet cheerful Orchid asked with a tilt of her head as she looks into his eyes with more focus. "You're also like even more handsome like this…" She then entered her Goddess persona. "The Flamingo demands that you keep the blindfold removed from this day forward."
Kai couldn't believe it, the first time he showed his eyes so someone other than his mother or father, and they have this kind of reaction. He always traced the skin on his face around his eyes, and always felt the scars he has had ever since the day he was born. It is possible that they could have faded, but to the extent being told to him right now?
…
No, it was entirely possible, and actually very likely. He has had those scars since he was a baby, it makes perfect sense in a world like this where aura can work miracles that he probably didn't even notice how they faded away with time. He has been afraid by what other people would think that he didn't even bother to ask his parents if they have faded away at all. The last time he did show either of them was years ago, when he was around twelve years old. Of course as he expected they said that he looked perfectly normal besides the white pupils of course He wished he knew what colors looked like in order to picture it, he wished that he could see what people actually looked like without having to feel them.
He never wanted to see more then he did now.
How long had it been since he showed anyone? It's been two years at least, after all that time he hasn't showed anyone, not Yang, Qrow, Tai, Ruby, any of his friends at school, not even Orchid. And after all this time thinking that his scars were still in full force and looking ugly as ever, now that he was being told that wasn't the case at all.
He couldn't help it, the tears began to flow out before he even knew it, and Orchid hugged him with a laugh and whispered comforting things to her young partner. When they parted she grabbed his hands and placed them on her face so that he could feel her smile, which made Kai smile and laugh along with her instead of happily sobbing tears of joy.
"Thank you… I really needed that." Kai said as he wiped his face of the happy tears, and did his best to find her eyes with his own again. "I didn't know that something I feared so much happened to be just a mental block in my mind."
"I finally found what you are afraid of too? This must be my lucky day! Two revelations in one day, no pun intended of course." They both shared a laugh as they think about their newest friend with a number as a name. "I think I know what her last name is to." Orchid said as she pulled Kai to whisper in his ear, who didn't resist her might. "Three." They both shared a laugh after that little joke.
As they were laughing, Kai's scroll rung for the first time since he received it. He nearly forgot that it was in his pocket. The vibration ran up and down his leg and then into his hand and arm as he took it out, and traced his thumb over the buttons to find the accept key.
As soon as he did Yang screamed his name.
"Kai! Get back here we found your mom!" She yelled at him through the scroll.
He almost dropped it when he heard he words, and judging from Orchid suddenly pulling him up from the ground she must have heard her words to. With one hand he grabbed on to his blindfold and tied it back on, even as he began running and with only one free hand.
"I'm on my way!" He yelled back just a second later, and left Orchid in the dust as he uses air to propel himself forward faster than a car could be driven.
"Tell her I said hi!" Orchid yelled after him as soon as she realized that she has no hope of keeping up with her partner, and could only give him her good wishes, it would be half an hour before she made it to their house, and opts for a check-in call later on at night.
He didn't even hear her, he just kept blasting air to propel himself forward, momentarily dragging his feet on the ground to sense where he is going and in which direction he needs to go in next.
"I'm coming mom." He said as he sprinted through the woods to take a shortcut.
A raven followed him.
"He's on his way dad!" Yang said as she threw her scroll back onto the dining table.
"Good. Now and fill up a bag of ice, she's burning up." Taiyang instructed as he places the now unconcious wife of one of his best friends down on the largest and most comfortable couch that he has. Marron has a fever, she got it after traveling from Vale to Patch in a single day without rest, and Patch is not known for her cool weather, she just kept going even when her body ran out of sweat to produce and began to overheat.
Ruby sped back and brought a cool bottle of water for her to drink, and gently poured small amounts into her mouth to which the unfamiliar woman drank purely out of the instincts of her body.
Silver Ebony laid on the coffee table a few feet away from the bed. The beautiful black shiny metal reflecting what remains of the sunlight into the wall. The letter engravings on the blade that are in a different unfamiliar language much easier to see in the light.
Yang rushed back with a hastily made bag of ice, and with a quick good job from her father he took it from her hands and placed it on the overheated woman, who groans in her sleep as soon as it makes contact. Her tail moves and brushes up against her face instinctively, touching the ice in an attempt to be rid of some of the built up heat within the extra appendage.
"Damn it Marron, why do you always make things difficult." Tai said as he took the bottle of water from Ruby's hands and began to pour it into her mouth himself. "Just like old times huh." He joked as the woman finally began to look more relaxed then before. Before he knew it the bottle was empty, and he ordered Ruby to go get another, who used her semblance to get another and come back within seconds.
"She is Matsu's mom?" Ruby asked.
Tai looked to his youngest daughter, and nodded. "Yeah, I've seen her a couple times before. I… I thought she was gone."
"Why? What happened?" Yang asked as she knelt down beside her father.
Tai contemplates on whether or not to tell his daughters the truth about what happened, Kai already knew, but that was because Qrow went against his orders and told the kid what happened anyway. Exactly like he expected him to. He had a short talk with Kai about it, and he seemed content with what happened, of course he was worried, and wanted to see if they were alright like he expected. Since the truth is already out, he supposes that it wouldn't be bad for his daughters to know.
"His parents were attacked a few weeks ago, and his father is missing at the moment, and well… his mother was presumed dead at the time, at least to most people." He explained simply. "Now here she is, travelled here all the way from Vacuo just to find her son."
"Oh, so she is like a supermom!" Ruby happily exclaimed, her shock at the news replaced by touching warmth.
Yang remained silent, mothers have always been a sore subject for her ever since she heard about her own and after Summer died.
"Yes sweetie." Tai patted Ruby's head. "She definitely is after what she just pulled."
After a few minutes of taking care of their best friends mother, and several bottles of water later. Marron was stabilizing, her heartbeat slowing down finally and her breathing finally back to normal. She must have been enjoying her little nap.
"Is Kai here yet?" Tai asked Yang from his seat, she was staying by the window to keep an eye out for Kai as Ruby kept trying to pick up Silver Ebony from the table. She gave up after the tenth attempt and began looking at it from sort of angles.
"No, but he should be here soon if that tree falling is of any indication." Yang said after she watched a tree in the distance fall over.
"Alright, it's only been a few minutes, just give him some time." Tai sighed as he kept an eye on Marron just in case she woke up suddenly and needed immediate attention. "You girls can go up to your rooms, I have a feeling that Marron is going to want to be alone with her son."
"Can I-"
"No you can't take the sword with you Ruby, it isn't yours." Tai quickly added, instantly knowing what the hyperactive girl of the family was about to ask.
"Awe…" Ruby sighed sadly, but nodded her head and started heading up the stairs.
After they heard the door shut, Yang stopped in the middle of the stairs and she looked at her father with questioning eyes. "Is she going to make it?"
"Yes, she will, I promise you that." Tai promised. "She just overheated a bit and her body shut down to save energy, she should be waking up soon though. Just… keep your sister distracted, I am going to have to talk to her about what happened and she doesn't need to hear that kind of stuff yet."
"Yeah of course." Yang said with an understanding nod as she headed up the rest of the stairs.
As soon as she shut the door, Taiyang went over to the window and peeked out.
"Come on Kai, I know your fast, and Orchid's house isn't too far from here… where are you?"
For some reason, he had a worry that something- no someone was around, and that was what was making Kai late. Someone he once hoped to return…
He really hopes that isn't the case.
"Who are you?" Kai asked as he came skidding to a stop, leaving a trail of upturned dirt behind him. "You've been following me this whole time now, I know you are up in that tree, show yourself!" He demanded as he pointed up at the tree where the mysterious stranger is located.
"My have you grown." A woman's voice said as Kai sense feet make contact with the ground. "You've become very strong for your age, Kai."
The vibe that this woman gave off unsettled Kai, she knew him, that much was obvious with how she said his name. He also felt a strange sense of familiarity, like he has met this woman some time in his life despite this time being the only time he has ever heard her voice.
"Who are you?" Kai asked for the third time.
"A friend of your fathers." The woman answered simply, and he heard a sword being torn out of its sheath. He entered Focus mode as soon as he heard the metal scrape against metal. "Though, he doesn't exactly know that I am here, so I would prefer it if we kept this meeting a secret."
In a split second, Kai found himself pinned against a tree by the neck, and heard the sound of a blade cutting through the air and then later wood, and the tree fell behind him with a loud thud. His feet are off the ground, so he is truly blind and vulnerable at the moment. He wants to try to use his semblance but with how close the blade is to his throat now he would be killed the same second he decides to fight back.
The grip around his neck softened just enough for him to be able to breathe. Painfully, but able.
"Unarmed, and blind, what are you going to do against me?" The stranger taunted as his aura flared to keep the blade from piercing his neck and into his jugular. The blade traced up his face and later cut through the cloth that was covering his eyes. He growled at the woman as the blindfold fell off of his head and revealed his blind silver eyes. The woman laughed when she was no doubt staring into his eyes. "Silver eyes, just like the last time I saw them. A pity that you haven't started learning how to use their abilities yet."
Abilities? Kai thought. What was she talking about? His semblance doesn't work with his eyes. No, he can't think about that right now. Obviously whoever this woman was, she wasn't friendly, and for all he knows, she could have been the one to attack his father.
The thought infuriated him.
He activated the device on his bracer, which has recharged after being used in training today. And felt his body light up with flames as he did so many times before. The sudden heat made the stranger let go of him, and even as she did Kai blasted air at her with his feet, pushing her even farther away.
What disturbed him slightly was how he sensed this woman seem to get excited even after her hand was nearly given third degree burns.
"Black flames, aura can do such strange things." She said with a grin as she got into a fighting stance.
She's fast, very fast, like Ruby. I have to find a way to ground her so I can fight her properly, if I can't do that, I'm dead. Kai thought as he entered his own fighting stance, the flames dancing on his skin and palms of his hands as he prepares to move in a milliseconds notice.
Before he knew it, the woman was on him again, and was already swinging her sword at him. He felt the air get dispersed around him and felt the vibrations run up her body as she moved and slammed her feet on the ground next to him. He rose his bracer just in time to parry the attack, and counters with a blast of fire straight into her stomach. Or at least that is what he thought he hit.
Instead he hit nothing, and the black flames lingered in the air for a bit longer before fading away.
"Good reflexes." The woman complimented from the same spot she was in before. "Much better then any of my tribesmen."
Tribesmen? The only tribe I know of is Qrow's… wait… "Are you a Branwen?" Kai asked as he dropped his guard ever so slightly, and was instantly punished for it when he was forced to dive out of the way of the blunt hilt of her sword being fired out of her sheathe embedded itself into the tree he was once pinned to. This doesn't make any sense, as far as he knew the Branwens were in Mistral. That was what Qrow told him at least, so how is this person all the way over here? Why would the Branwens even go after him? He shook his head of any further questions and instead rose a stone sword out of the ground, prepared to block anything else as needed.
"Good guess." The woman said as she grabbed her sword out of the tree and dashed toward him, this time at a much easier to read pace, even if it was still faster than any of the students at Signal.
They clashed swords, and of course Kais measly stone blade was nothing against this persons metal sword, and it broke right through and nearly cut his hand off if it wasn't for his aura.
"Tch." He did what he does best and used his semblance. He jumped back from the second slash and forced out a three-sixty degree area attack. He won't be able to beat her with close quarters combat, her speed and power was just too much and she was toying with him, that much was easy to tell. Not only that he doesn't even have his sword with him. So he has to make due with what he's got, he doesn't have much time left before people start looking for him, and if that happens he worries for their safety, even Tai's if it were to be him.
With a roar, a dome of black fire pushed outward and away from him, it surprised the woman, and so she was forced to block it, not like she could dodge something like this anyway. It was either this or try to use his beam attack, but even then there was a good chance that the woman would simply dodge it.
Being drained from his flames, he resorts to his stone, and raises stone slabs out of the ground and prepares to use them for defence just in case this woman wasn't damaged from the attack.
Instead he found himself face down in the dirt before he could even react, with a knee in the middle of his back and a blade slightly cutting into his cheek.
"Not bad." The woman complimented, her knee was really hot, so he deduces that the last attack did hit her, but it either did literally zero damage, or a very minimal amount. Either way he realized that he was screwed the minute the fight started, she was beyond him. The best student at Signal… defeated in under two minutes.
"Not bad at all, you lasted longer than I expected. I see that Malikai wasn't lying when he said all that praise about you." Kai's eyes widened. So his father was alive?
"Get up." The woman said as she stepped up and sheathed her sword.
Kai did as he was told, though he kept his guard up and prepared to defend himself from whatever this mysterious woman may throw at him next. "Who are you?" He asked for the fourth time.
"I cannot disclose me name to you yet, the time is not right. Just know that I meant you no harm this night. If I wished it, you would have been dead before you even noticed me." She explained as something formed next to her, it felt so strange to Kai, like a patch of air swirling so fast that he seems solid, but at the same time it is not.
"Give me something at least! You're a friend of my Dad's right? Is he alright?" He pleaded, any fighting mentality he once had gone from his mind.
"I will be training you from time to time." She ignored his concerns. "If you really need something to call me by, then I suppose to can refer to me as… Falcon." 'Falcon' said with a small amused grin at her own nickname that she has given to herself. "I will find you when I think it time to give you another lesson, and you will know when."
Kai wanted to ask about his father again, but he could sense the irritation within this 'Falcon' every time he asked, as much as he wanted to know about her, he simply just couldn't ask again lest he be put in the dirt as a response.
"Falcon… why would you do that for me?" He asked instead.
"Simple, I owe a debt to your father, and I figured that I would pay it in advance." She said as she started walking to that weird swirl of air.
"In advance?"
Falcon looked at the blind boy. "Remember Kai. Just. Our. Secret." That was the last thing he heard from Falcon as she just disappeared. He couldn't sense her anywhere either. She was just gone.
"What the hell did I just get into." Kai said with a shake of his head, he turned around and began sprinting back toward the house that he has been staying in ever since he arrived on Patch. The fact that his eyes are open for the world to see has been forgotten.
As much as he wants to tell someone about Falcon, something tells him that if he does, there will be hell to pay.
I don't know who you are Falcon… but I guess I am going to have to play along.
"I'm here!" Kai yelled as he entered the house, almost breaking down the door with how hard he made his entrance.
Marron woke up as soon as she heard the sound of his voice. She opened her brown eyes and immediately locked onto to Kai's form, and reach her hand out toward him and cried out his name.
"Kai… my son." She called out to her son.
He immediately knelt down next to her, even as Tai asked him how he got that cut on his cheek.
"Mom!" Kai said as their tails intertwined with each other, something they do unconsciously. "Im here mom…" He hugged her as tightly as he could while being gentle, and Marron felt her strength begin to return to her.
"You feel stronger." She said with a laugh as she felt his slightly bigger muscles. With a huff she sat up, and hugged her son to her side as they snuggled up against one another. "Has Tai here been nice to you?"
"Yeah." Kai laughed as Taiyang seemed to pale out of fear. "He's been good to me."
"Good." She said after smiling toward Tai and giving him a nod, which is reciprocated. She then takes her sons hands and places them on her face, something she knows comforts her son. He feel her very familiar features, and seems to calm down at the contact.
Marron then reached a hand up and placed it on the side of Kai's head, and finally decided to point out the elephant in the room that Taiyang kept staring at, thinking he was slick the whole time.
"You have such pretty eyes, you know that?" She said with smug grin that her son felt creep onto her face.
Kai almost began to freak out, before remembering what Fox told him just before they parted from one another.
"Scars and blind eyes are nothing to be ashamed of, that is the lesson I wish to teach you during our time together."
So instead, he laughed and nodded his head, though he did subtly try to hide his face from Taiyang. Oh well, old habits die hard.
"Oh! Uh…" Taiyang seemed to realize that he probably shouldn't be there right now, he makes a note to take his own advice next time. He noticed Kai try to hide his face from him, but it was too late, he saw his blind silver eyes and his surprisingly small scars. "Sorry, I'll leave you two alone for, but in the morning Marron, I am going to need you to tell me what happened."
"I am fine with that, it is good that you are leaving because I am afraid your daughters have been eavesdropping on us this whole time." Marron said as she pointed up the stairs.
"Eep!" Both girls yelped as they ran back into their rooms.
"Don't worry sweetie, they didn't see your face." Marron reassured her son before he could panic. With lots of experience she has gotten very good at that.
"Yang, Ruby! Damn them…" Tai shook his head as he walked over to the stairs to scold his daughters. "How did you know they were there? I didn't even notice them." Tai asked as he walked up the stairs."
"Mother's intuition." Marron shrugged with a small smile. Tai laughed in response as he entered their room and began to lecture them.
"Mom, what happened? Who attacked you? How did you get here?" Kai stammered out all the main questions that he has in his head at the moment, faster then he thought he could speak.
"Kai, calm down." Marron said as she shushed him with a single finger. "As for how I got here, I took up some old friends on a lot of favors, as for why or what? Your father left you a message explaining that apparently." She said as she took out her husbands scroll. "I don't know if it was meant for your ears only, but if you don't mind I'd like to know what they hell is going on and why he was being hunted."
"I don't mind at all." Kai agreed with her reasoning, he could never say no to his mother, not like he could anyway. "I uh… don't know how to work this thing." He said as he fumbled with the device that was handed to him.
"Oh of course. I must be the only parent on Remnant who knows how to work a scroll and their son can't." The shared a laugh as Kai handed to devise back to his mother. "First things first though." She grabbed him by the chin and turned his head so that she can get a better look at the cut on his cheek. "What happened here? I thought they stop sparring matched before their auras get too low."
"Oh… uh." Kai hesitates, he nearly forgot about what happened earlier.
"Just. Our. Secret." Falcons final words before she left echoed in his ears.
"I got it on my way here." He lied. "I was in such a hurry and it was after school, so my aura was already low, not to mention I wasn't ready for that branch that hit me in the face." He lied even more even as an uncomfortable feeling churned up in his stomach.
"Huh, guess I'll have to go find that branch then after we're done." Marron chuckled as she works the device, eventually finding the file that was marked 'For Kai.' Seriously, how they hell did he think Kai was going to work this out? "Are you ready?" She asked in a much more serious tone, as much as they would both like to catch up on a lot of lost time together, this message that Malikai prepared for his son needs to be listened to as soon as possible.
"Yes, I need to know what is going on." Kai said as he put one end of the earphones into his left ear, and his mother puts it in the right. It already came with the scroll.
With a deep breath, Marron pressed play.
"Hey Kai… it's your dad, I have something to tell you... something that I should have told you a long time ago…"
And that is a wrap for this chapter! Whoo! Yeah, a lot of things happened, and once again I wrote this whole thing in a day. Go me. And pretty fast to, like from 8 in the morning to 5pm. Fast fingers, maybe I'll make that a semblance.
For those of you who are wondering what is going on with Malikai, he will be in the next chapter. But for right now, he has been busy training Vernal, just in case you are wondering.
For those who can figure out who 'Falcon' is. Which I really hope you guys figured out on your own, if not I'll explain it to you next chapter or in a PM if you guys want to know right away. But for those who did, just know that it is not going to happen every chapter. 'Falcon' has her own agenda.
There is not going to be an extra this chapter, sorry to say, next chapter though I will have one ready for you all. I had an idea for this chapters short, but I ended up going back on it, it needs more work before I can start writing it down.
Finally, a question for you all. I have been writing for a good amount of time now I think, and I have been wondering if I can even consider asking you guys if now would be a good time to make P a tr eon so I can start to get paid for making stories like this one. I would really value your guy's opinions and advice if you have any for me. Please PM me or let me know in a review if you think I should take that chance.
And of course, Thank you for reading!
Please Review and let me know what you think! I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts!
Disclaimer- I do not own RWBY in any way, shape, or form.