A/N: Marina certainly has been through a lot, but her story is far from over. After the mission, we now return to Beacon Academy, where Marina lives her life as its professor.
Chapter 75: First Step
The alarm blares. I can hear it piercing through the darkness of my slumber.
I reach out to snooze the alarm. I open my eyes to see it's what it says: November 25th. 5:30 AM.
I sit up to stretch my arms, groaning tiresome as I hear my joints cracking. It's been a long time since I had a good night's sleep. The nightmares ceased to haunt me ever since that whole Vanessa Incident. Honestly, it was a terrifying experience, but I was glad I had wonderful people protecting me.
The door opens. "Come in." I say, tiresome.
The door opens, and even half asleep, I can see Miss Rin walking in. "Good morning, Professor Rishima. You ready to get out of bed?"
I answer with a nod. Rin helps me stand and guides me to the wheelchair. Once I sit, Rin pushes me out of the room. Rin takes me to the kitchen, where I begin cooking breakfast. I used to help out with the cooking in Latte Love. It's been hard to cook since being grounded in a wheelchair, but I have gotten used to it. Especially with Rin helping me out with the kitchen.
As I cook, I can hear Mashika yawning. I look to see she's coming into the kitchen, in nothing but a sleeveless undershirt and a pair of shorts. I can't help but feel butterflies in my stomach seeing her like this. Seeing Mashika looking so beautiful in her morning state.
I watch Mashika tiresomely walking past Rin, but she still rubs Rin's head. "Morning, kiddo." She moans. I watch Mashika open the fridge, taking out a can of beer to drink it.
"Auntie, you shouldn't be drinking this early in the morning! Especially on a school day." Rin says.
"You're starting to sound like Mr. Aki." Mashika says. I can't help but laugh at that comment.
Once I had made breakfast, Mashika picked up hers first, then I carried Rin's and mine as Rin pushed me to the living room. As we ate, Mashika and Rin talked about some things. Rin brings up how things are going in the Student Council. Mashika talks about how her students are doing, especially Patrick. Every time I hear Mashika bring up Patrick, I sometimes can't help but feel a bit worried. I know Mashika treats him like a son, but so talks about him so much. It almost makes me feel jealous. Even though I know they're relationship isn't like that, especially in Patrick's case.
After breakfast, it's time for Rayla to take me to the showers. Only she hasn't shown, and what I hear next puts me in a major surprise. "Rayla called me last night. She's not gonna be able to help you shower, so she asked me to do it in her stand."
I flinch back, and even though I can't see my face, I know it's completely red. "S-Say what!?"
"Hmm? Is something wrong with me helping you bathe?" Mashika asks with a confused look on her face.
"I-I." I can't find the right answer to this; I can't just tell her that I'm nervous about taking a shower with her. I swallow hard before answering. "N-no. Not at all."
Mashika offers a smile before answering. "Good. Let's get going. Classes will begin soon."
Mashika pushes me down the halls until we arrive at the bathhouse. Mashika lifts me off the wheelchair, honestly, I can't get used to her carrying me, being this close in her arms. Mashika puts me in the wooden wheelchair and pushes me in. I started undressing, though it was hard to do being in the same room with the woman I love. But what makes it harder is that Mashika is doing the same. When we undress, Mashika pushes me to one of the shower heads. I did my best to avert my eyes from Mashika's beautiful naked body.
Once I'm alone, I begin my shower. I feel the hot water pouring onto my body as I rub it with soap. During this time, I can't help but think. It's been almost a year since I was rescued from the Abduction Agency, and just several days ago, I was nearly captured once more. But Vanessa is now in captivity, so I feel at ease.
As I was rinsing off, I felt hands on my shoulders, and I was startled. Even yelped. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." I hear Mashika say. "Here, let me scrub your back." I can feel Mashika scrubbing my back, and my face burning up. I can't believe she's this close to me in the showers. I even swallowed hard, and loud enough not to go unnoticed. "Hmm? Is everything all right, Marina?"
"I-I-I'm fine. Really." I say, though I'm not. I feel like I could die of embarrassment.
I then feel the water rinsing off my back. "There, all done." I let out a sigh of relief, then noticed Mashika was hanging on the lofa. "Here. You mind scrubbing my back?"
"I-I uh...sure." I take the lofa.
Mashika then walks in front of me and kneels down to my level. I feel really nervous doing this, but then the nerves suddenly vanished when I got a good look at Mashika's back: Two Large Scars that run down from her right shoulder to her left hip. Staring at the scars, my mind wanders off, and the next thing I know, I'm seeing how that scar happened: The villain Rufus was about to deliver a blow to the 11-year-old Patrick, and that's when Mashika dove in and took a blow. I can even hear the scream he made: "MASHIKA!"
"It's your first time seeing it, isn't it?" Hearing Mashika's voice snaps me back into reality. I didn't realize I zoned out for so long. "I know, it's hideous." Mashika's voice sounds painful. "I don't regret what I did back then, but I still feel embarrassed about it. People had always looked up to me as this gorgeous woman. To think a beauty like me carrying such an ugly scar."
I traced my fingers on one of her scars, not even fazed that I'm touching her beautiful skin. "I-I don't think it's ugly. I think it's beautiful." I can feel myself blushing, saying that as I start scrubbing on her back. "It's like a symbol of your heroism. Being so brave and selfless to protect an innocent child." I can even hear Mashika's voice as I said it: "It's what...a Huntress...does."
I can see Mashika looking at me over her shoulder. "It's the first time I ever heard someone say that. Of course, you are the only one who got to see this scar, aside from Mr. Aki and the Doctors who treated me."
Once I am done with Mashika's back, we both put on our bathrobes and Mashika pushes me back to our room. We both get dressed up, and once that's done, Mashika pushes me to my classroom. Once I'm here, Mashika wishes me a good day and leaves for her classroom. Slowly, my classroom fills up. By the time the bell rings, all seats are filled, and I begin my class.
The day goes on. For the first period, I give a history lecture on Mistral and its people. During the first period, I constantly looked at Mr. Aki. He seems to be focusing on his studies, though I feel panicked when he glances right at me. The second and third periods go by quickly, especially with the second period being Test Day. In fourth period, I was a bit amused seeing Clawdia and Peter having their moment. Peter helplessly staring right at me, and Clawdia shouting and pulling at his ear. Honestly, seeing those two being like this reminds me of when I first saw them on my first day. I remember feeling really nervous that I couldn't get them under control, yet Headmaster Ozpin just let them be.
Lunchtime came, and Clawdia was kind enough to push me around.
I grab some food, and I gather a tray for Clawdia as well, taking any food or drink she asks for. Once we're set, I asked Clawdia to push me around until I find a seat to take. As we looked around, I found Patrick sitting by himself at an empty table, and I asked Clawdia to take me there.
"Hey there, Patrick." I tell him. He only answers with a side glance and a soft groan. I hand Clawdia her tray, and she takes her leave. "How have you been, hon?"
"Pretty much the same since we got back." Patrick says. "I'm still waiting to hear from Ironwood that Vanessa said anything about Rufus's location."
"Oh, Mr. Aki. I wish you would ease up on the whole Rufus thing. I get he caused you a lot of suffering, but you shouldn't obsess with trying to find him." I tell him.
I can hear him grunting, like he's annoyed. "You sound just like Mashika." I don't say anything after that. I know he means it as a bad thing, but I can understand his frustration. "And speaking of which, just how long are you going to hide it?"
I nearly jumped hearing that. He's clearly talking about my feelings for Mashika. "W-What? I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, quit playing dumb. You know you can't fool me. I saw how you reacted to Mashika in that dress, and Yudori was informing me about how you behaved when she was dressed up in that cafe. You're not exactly doing a very good job of hiding it." Patrick says.
I nervously laugh. He's not wrong, I know I can't fool him. He's not the Shadow Hunter for nothing. "H-Honestly, I'm surprised you're chatting with Yudori in a lively conversation."
"Not by choice. She just kept slamming me with messages. Honestly, that girl is just too lively." Patrick says. I suggested that Patrick and Yudori exchange contact info. I thought it would be nice for Patrick to get to know Yudori better, especially since he saved her once. I'm just glad he's not mad at Yudori for the whole alcohol incident. "Honestly, I don't so much as care for this kind of shit, but I can't deny that I do want you to live a peaceful life after the suffering the Agency put you through. Not to mention your father..." I can see Patrick tightening his grip painfully on the glass. I can't help but feel curious how he felt that way just for mentioning my father. I've learned so much from his Forbidden Past. Maybe I missed something? "If being with Mashika makes you happy, then you should go for it. No matter how scared you are."
I give him a smile. "I'll be honest, I didn't expect that coming from you."
"Hmph." Patrick stands up and walks away. "Don't get used to it."
After lunch, I return to my classes. For the last three periods, I taught them at the training halls, teaching the students some of my father's skills. It's been hard to teach them without physically showing them myself, but I have been able to explain well enough for them to understand.
Soon, the final bell rings. I bid my students goodbye. "Make sure to practice your footwork." I tell them.
I sit and wait for Rayla to pick me up. When she arrives, she pushes me to my Physical Therapy. When we arrived, Mashika and the nurse were already there. Rayla pushes me to the one end of the parallel bars. On the other side of the bars is Mashika.
"All right, Ms. Rishima. Last time, you made it over halfway there before collapsing." The nurse tells me. "Let's try this again. Take it slow and steady."
I nod. I take a deep breath as I grab hold of the bars. I pull myself to standing, putting all the weight into my legs. I can feel my legs burning with intense pain. It reminds me of that Burning Paralyzing drug Vanessa used back at Latte Love. I take the first step, I let out a soft groan. The pain really burns. But I kept going, only giving myself a few seconds to make the next step.
I'm only a quarter of the way there. Already, Mashika is opening her arms. Seeing her ready to embrace me really sparks the fire in my soul. I lost my ability to walk from trying to save Mr. Aki from his own darkness, and Mashika is putting a lot of hope and faith that I can walk again. I'm already halfway there, and I can feel the pain intensifying. I grind my teeth trying to swallow the pain for each new step I take.
I take the next step, and all of a sudden, the pain pierces right through my mind. I had a sharp flashback to the time Salem tortured me within Patrick's mind. I let out a painful scream and collapsed. Or rather, almost collapsed. I only fall to my knees, putting all my strength into bracing myself on the bars. I breathe heavily, feeling my body turning hot and sweating.
"Mistress Marina. Perhaps you should end it-"
"No!" I interrupted Rayla. "I can...do this...Just let...me..."
Slowly, I start pulling myself back into a standing position. Switching from knee to foot really hurt. I pause in this position for the pain to fade some. Once it became tolerable, I further raised myself until I'm standing. I take deep, slow breaths for a whole minute. During that time I was recovering, I think back to the happy moments I had with Mashika:
When I unlocked my Semblance.
At the hospital, when she visited me.
That day at the beach.
Our date on Patrick's Birthday.
The night she hugged me with a promise.
Latte Love when she was waitressing.
I then resume taking the next step. The pain still burns. I have flashes of my suffering, such as Salem and Vanessa. But then I put all my mental strength into focusing on Mashika. I don't know where I'm at, but I feel like I must have passed the third quarter. The next step, I felt like I could collapse once again, but I stopped, letting myself catch my breath.
I then have flashes of the moment Mashika hugged me. "No matter what happens, no matter who or what comes at us, I'll protect you. That's a promise." Then came the moment when she came for me when I was taken. "Of course I did. I promised, didn't I?"
I can feel myself moving further, the pain in the legs becoming more tolerable, but not enough to cover the burning pain. I then have a flash memory of that time Mashika and I were in the shower, when I saw her scar. I was being true to my words when I said her scar is beautiful. Just as she's beautiful.
I took one more step, and I felt something strange. I reach my hand to grab hold of the bar, but there's nothing. I look to see that the line of the bar has ended. Then I look ahead. Mashika is only a few feet away, and she's smiling proudly. I look down at my one hand still holding onto the bar. I let go, then take the first step. The pain burns even more, I can even feel myself collapsing, but I kept going. I take the next step, then another, and then the last step.
I reached out and grabbed Mashika's hand. Slowly and carefully, Mashika pulls me into a hug. I hug her as well, feeling a sense of relief. "You did it, Marina." Mashika says.
"I finally did...I walked." I look at Marina with a smile on my face. I was so happy that I leaned in and give Mashika a kiss on the cheek. After that, Mashika gives me a surprised look.
"Marina...Did...did you just...?" At first I was confused, then horrified. I realized what I did as I covered my mouth, muffling my gasp. Tears build up in my eyes. I don't even hold them back, and I can feel them running down my cheeks.
"I...I-I..." I couldn't find the courage to say anything. I then push myself off of Mashika and run, or tried to, but I ended up collapsing. I heard Mashika calling my name, but I kept trying to get away, even while crawling. That's when Rayla helped me up and put me back in the Wheelchair. "Get me out of here."
"But, Mistress-"
"PLEASE! Just GO!" I yelled.
Rayla pushes me out of the room at great speed. The whole time she runs, I hold myself, trying to fight the sorrow and regret building up inside of me. I tell Rayla to take me somewhere private, and eventually, she takes me to the rooftop of the Dorm Building. The sun is setting and it's a beautiful view, but I'm not in the mood to admire it.
"Thanks...Rayla." I say in a quiet whisper.
Rayla moves to my side, looking at me with concern. "Mistress Marina...Are you all right?"
I only look away. "I...I just want to be alone."
Rayla doesn't say or do anything, but after a moment, I watch her bow, and then she leaves. I wait until I hear the sound of the door closing, and when that happens, I let it all out. In crying. I can't believe what I just did.
I kissed Mashika.
Mashika. Another woman.
I even saw that expression on her face, like she was shocked in a horrified way.
All of this just reminds me of how my school years were. People made fun of me for being oblivious to romantic gestures. How I've never noticed when people are flirting with me or understood what they meant. But as I grew up, I started feeling more interested in women. I remember having this one crush on a girl during Teaching School. I mostly kept my distance, too shy to express my feelings. Then came Valentine's and I gave her some chocolates and a rose.
"Wait. You're a girl and you're giving me a love confession?" She told me, in a cold tone.
It didn't take long for the word to spread. And everyone just teased me for it:
"She's a girl and she's hitting on another girl."
"What a freak!"
"I knew she was dense, but this is a new low."
Those comments echoed along with the laughter. I was not only heartbroken but scared. Spending my whole childhood being forced to become a Huntress had cut me from the outside world of treads. And one of the critical things I've missed is that a woman can't be in love with another woman.
And I just made that critical error once more. With Mashika. A woman of such beauty and kindness. Who rescued me not once but twice from slavery.
Not even the autumn cold bothers me in this overwhelming despair.
I hear the sounds of the door opening and closing, followed by footsteps. "Please...Just leave me alone." I say in between my sobs.
"I'm not gonna do that." I gasp and look back. Just as I'm afraid of. That voice I heard was Mashika, walking towards me with a cover in her hands. I can only look away, trying to hide my face from her. But nothing is stopping her as I can feel her putting the cover over my back and shoulders. "Here. You'll catch a cold out here." I don't say anything, but I do see Mashika kneeling in front of me. "Marina, can we please talk about what happened back there?"
"I-I...I..." I swallowed hard before I could say anything. "C-can we...just forget about it. I-I didn't mean to kiss you like that. I-it was just a freak-"
"I'm not talking about the kiss." I was surprised to hear that, even looked at her. "I'm talking about why you ran off like that."
At first, I didn't say anything, even as I looked at Mashika's concerned face. "W-well. It's just...Y-you already know what my life is like. Well...during my school years. I-I started developing feelings for other girls..." I look down in shame. "And people made fun of me for it."
I brace myself for Mashika's feedback on my secret. Expecting to get teased for it. "What if I told you that I've always known you had feelings for me?"
I was surprised to hear that. Even looked at her to see a soft smile on her face. "You...you did?"
"Well, I wouldn't say always. I had my suspicions in moments like when I carried you in my arms or when you complicated me wearing that dress. Then came that time I checked on you during our trip to Atlas and how you were behaving when I was gonna help you bathe." I feel really embarrassed. I made it pretty obvious for my feelings to be noticed. I know Patrick would figure it out immediately. Yudori's no pushover. "If anything, it did give me the idea that it would have helped you sleep peacefully during that Atlas trip. And it worked."
I can't help but think back, when Mashika put her hands on my face and then pulled me into a hug. I remember the warmth of her embrace helped me fall back to sleep peacefully. "S-so...D-do you think it's weird...that I'm...crushing on another girl?"
"Not at all, Love. It's a normal thing to happen. I even have a sister who is into both men and women." Mashika tells me. Hearing that does put me at ease a little bit. "I'll tell you want, why don't you tell me what it is about me that you love?"
I can feel myself blushing hearing that. "L-love about you? ...Uh..." I can't help but feel embarrassed. I'm about to pour my heart and soul into Mashika. "W-well...For starters, I-I do think you are beautiful. B-but there is more to that. You're also brave, like when you face dangers with no hesitation. Selfless, sacrificing your own life to protect Patrick. Strong, I've heard a lot about how you faced armies of Grimms single-handed. Kindhearted, always looking out and taking care of Patrick despite how detestful he is of your motherly nature. And you're so funny too, seeing the way you tease Mr. Aki and how he reacts, or this morning with your niece." I suddenly stopped feeling embarrassed. I didn't realize how lost I was expressing my love for Mashika.
"Thank you for sharing all that with me. Do you want to know what I think?" I don't say anything, I only slowly look towards Mashika, and I wasn't prepared for what happened next.
Mashika leans in and kisses me. Right on the lips. A muffled gasp escapes my throat, and I can feel my heart stop. Mashika is kissing me. Slowly, I can feel the surprise shock fading, and I close my eyes as I return her kiss and wrap my arms around her.
The kiss felt like it lasted forever, I felt totally lost in it, even my body felt warm against the cold night. I didn't even realize Mashika had stopped after a short moment. She looks at me with a smile on her face. "How did that feel? Does it make you feel comfortable to say it?" I nod with a smile on my face. Mashika giggles. "You're blushing again. I'm surprised to hear that, even try to cover my face. "It's fine, love. I think it's cute when you blush."
Hearing that made my heart skip. "You...Y-you think I'm cute?" Mashika nods, and then I smile once more. After that, I then hug Mashika. "I love you, Mashika."
I can feel Mashika returning my hug. "I love you too, Marina."
I let myself be lost in the warmth of Mashika's embrace.
I had made my first step. Not just walking, but also took the first step into living a peaceful life.
And I'm happy that I did.
