Absentmindedly, Reese Chloris stared as the girls across from them relished in their victory.
Of course, in all honesty, she saw fatigue more than anything.
That was the similarity both of them shared.
Yet, she could also see an underlying satisfaction beneath it all.
Not that it was even hard to spot.
Or maybe, it only felt that way because Reese was viewing them from the perspective of the loser.
A more mature person would have been happy for Team RWBY's success.
After all, from the very start, the win wasn't going to go to the both of them. If Reese's team had won, she knew she would feel awkward if she saw the overly disappointed faces of her competitors.
But even if she knew that...
We lost, Reese thought with inexplicable finality.
Their ragtag team from Haven had the chance to participate in the most famous tournament Remnant had to offer, only happening once every two years, but they were now out of the competition, having not even made it past the first match.
They weren't even good enough to climb even one rung of the ladder.
Would it be strange if Reese started laughing?
Because really, whose fault was it that they had lost?
Well, wouldn't that go to the kind of fool who had rushed in, blinded by self-confidence, and had been immediately penalized for it? With the kind of unawareness of blind old dog, Reese was lured in and knocked out of the arena, all in one fell swoop.
Feeling inadequate didn't even begin to cover it.
If only she had reacted differently and had not been led around by the nose by that black-haired girl. Maybe then their team could have actually turned things around.
But then... what did it say about them as a team when a victory could have only been secured through individual fights?
If they were the better team, they should have been able to strategically overwhelm one person with numbers while properly distracting the rest.
Team RWBY had done that.
That's why they were the ones with subtle cheer on their faces, and not the other way around.
Even now, the girl in red was jumping up and down.
Reese released a breath, right as something invisible began to claw at her chest from the inside.
Also, she didn't feel like it was her imagination that she had begun to squeeze her mecha-shift board tighter than before.
What kind of expression did Reese have as, without so much of a word to those who shared in her defeat, she turned on her heel and walked towards the arena exit.
In a perfect world, she did so with the kind of calm that could be envied, unbothered by the hundreds of thousands of eyes on her.
But because that kind of world didn't exist, she was well aware of her trembling gait as she all but scampered to the arena's underground archway, desperate to hide her mortifyingly red face from view.
Bolin, Nadir, Arslan—they might have called out to her pathetically retreating form, but she didn't hear anything, either because she was too far, or that her mind had already rendered everything else as unnecessary white noise.
Although if she thought about it, it would only be Bolin and Nadir who would have bothered.
Arslan wasn't the type to say unnecessary things.
But Reese already knew that.
Arslan kept their team together through a no-nonsense attitude and strict training. Nadir and Bolin kept it lively with their antics, trying to one up each other like the boys they were. Reese liked to think she fit well in between that, being able to have fun but also knowing when to get serious. She definitely knew Arslan appreciated that.
Except right now, with this feeling, that dynamic wasn't something she wanted in the background.
She was simply running away from them.
She knew that.
Still, it wasn't a good idea to be around them right now.
It wasn't that she couldn't trust them enough to be vulnerable, because she could.
No, it was because she couldn't trust herself.
She didn't want to lash out at them accidentally when Arslan would be analytical over everything that went wrong.
Because that's what was going to happen if Reese didn't calm down first.
She didn't want to strike at her team, just because her measly pride didn't even possess the necessary tact to accept a loss and move on.
Unconsciously, Reese sped up, making her already impatient pace even quicker as she traveled through the dimly lit tunnel.
But that was when her vision began to fog up.
No, no, no. No way...
Surely not?
She couldn't be this pathetic, could she?
Reese was nearly an adult, a young woman training to fight the monsters of this world. There was simply no way that losing something as stupid as a televised mock battle was enough to have her tearing up like a little kid.
"Ugh..."
But it was enough, wasn't it?
It was just one fight. There would be a next time. It wasn't even a life-threatening situation. She was overreacting.
But even though Reese tried telling herself things like that, putting one foot in front of the other, her shortness of breath and subtle hiccups made it clear how little her self-hypnosis was working. And the furious swipes she made at her eyes, her sleeve growing damper by the second, certainly wasn't helping things either.
Reese didn't have a destination in mind, but there didn't have to be. As long as it was place where she couldn't be seen like this. She just wanted a short escape. It didn't have to be long. She didn't even have to cry her eyes out. She just wanted to steady herself.
To steady it all. The weight of her defeat, the squirming envy she felt looking at those smiles, and the inadequacy that followed. Only then could she saunter back to her team and say the words "Aw man, we lost," with a sad but accepting smile.
That was the plan, so Reese kept on moving.
She kept moving right until she promptly collided with something.
At first, she thought it was a wall, that she was simply that out of it.
But after the knee-jerk reaction of closing her eyes and crying out, she realized the inconsistency in her assumption.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you, Miss."
Walls didn't politely apologize immediately after being hit.
Reese felt lightheaded.
That was likely a side effect of the shame feverishly seeping into every part of her body.
Shame from being seen.
And that she couldn't see back was perhaps even worse. Her sudden bout of dizziness, combined with her blurry vision, meant that she couldn't even see the person's face, even in the reasonably lit hallway.
But they, a boy from the sounds of it, could see her.
Her and her tear-stricken face.
"I-It's fine. It's my fault anyway. Excuse me."
With a forced laugh, one that didn't even come close to hiding how much of a mess she was, Reese pushed past him, seeking escape. She was sure her face was burning even further now, even more so than the tears she had been absolutely convinced were made of scalding magma.
All of Reese's thoughts were focused on hunkering down somewhere, anywhere, to hide for who knows how long.
So that was why something grasping her wrist shocked her so much she forgot to speak and move.
In the first few seconds, her brain refused to boot up and tell her what was happening. But once she realized that the something touching her was instead most assuredly a someone, agitation sprung up from her gut.
Without turning around, the words left her mouth.
"Look guy, I'm really not—"
Fingers brushed against her palm, but before she could even feel surprised, something slightly weighted and cool to the touch slipped into her hands. But just like that, the foreign touch instantly retracted, leaving her to hurriedly close her hands around the object before she dropped it.
It felt metallic, thin.
Her anger, now only barely extinguished, was forced to allow in confusion as well.
But even as her mind was still whirring in this way, she heard words that couldn't have been for anyone but her.
"This may be needless meddling on my part... but please use that to unlock the first door on your left. That's the only key, so you won't be bothered by anyone, me included. That's all. I'm sorry for being so forward."
And that was it.
Footsteps marked the person leaving.
Reese didn't turn around.
She just stood there for a bit.
Eventually, she held her hand aloft, revealing the small curiosity now cradled in her palm.
It was indeed a key, its onyx sheen reflecting the low-power lights above her.
In a daze, Reese's feet carried her forward after that, and she found herself stopping right in front of a door.
The first one on the left.
When the key actually slotted into the lock and audibly clicked its success, she let out a breathy laugh. Or perhaps it was an incredulous sob. Either way, she couldn't have been in more of a hurry to open the door and slam it closed. But still, unexpectedly, something halted even that.
It was caused by her eyes accidentally shifting to the right.
Along the wall, there was a metal plate neatly positioned for all to see. Several characters were inscribed on it.
Reese read it, the name that was plastered there.
Only after reading it three times did she finally react, and in a way she felt the most appropriate.
"...huh?"
The name inscribed on the plate was a familiar one, after all. It couldn't not be after the events of yesterday.
[ Rio Amakawa ]
...
...
...
To celebrate Team RWBY's victory, the girls saw fit to head down to the fairgrounds.
So.
Rio wondered what he was doing here as well.
After the match concluded, there had been... a slight hiccup... on his way over, but after that, he had really just wanted to meet up with them to congratulate them on their win, letting them know he saw them, per his promise with Ruby.
So, it wasn't really his intention to join them.
But because adamantly refusing would have been rude — prying the strangely excitable small statured girl off his arm even more so — Rio supposed he had no choice but to tag along.
Why, they had even met up with Mercury and Emerald on the way.
...That encounter had been a draining one.
— "Yo, Rio. Out with the harem I see."
Mercury had been, as ever, completely without filter.
And yet, a part of Rio couldn't help but be impressed.
Because, not even the surrounding female gender subsequently turning on him — his own partner even — was enough to wipe off that impossibly chipper smile off his face.
Anyway, they really only talked about casual topics after that, like how they would be placing themselves in the upcoming doubles rounds.
On a side note... there had been some odd behavior from the girl beside Mercury.
Every time Rio would accidentally catch Emerald's eye, she would look away.
She hadn't looked annoyed, per say... but he couldn't really say she had looked happy either. She was for the most part silent as she let Mercury do the talking.
But back to the topic of the tournament, the girls had decided on Yang and Weiss, and Rio even found himself agreeing with the decision. After all, if he were to steal terms from his old world, a magician and a brawler was hardly an impractical team-up.
But truthfully, Rio had been more curious about Emerald and Mercury's decision.
They would be the ones competing for their team.
Not Mint, who possessed that unique ability of hers, or even Cinder, who according to the magical essence hanging off of her, was supposedly leagues stronger.
Either away, the gray and green haired teens departed after that, although... not before he got one more fleeting glance from Emerald.
Rio's smile grew cramped.
Had he done something to her?
He briefly put it aside, as their current location was distracting in its own right.
After all, where they were all now sitting was irrefutably a ramen stand, and he didn't know whether to be feeling confusion, nostalgia, or exasperation at the fact that this distinctly Japanese delicacy was being made normal right before his eyes.
In any case, Team JNPR's impromptu arrival was a welcome distraction, and soon, it was all nine of them sharing a meal and chatting away.
Well, some were chatting more than others.
Rio kept to himself for the most part, really only engaging in conversation when asked something.
He and Blake were the same in that regard, although she seemed even more determined in her role.
Or, perhaps that was due to the sizable helping of tuna she had in her bowl of noodles?
"—about you, Rio?"
Rio blinked, suddenly the center of attention despite having not even heard the question. He could only smile apologetically. "I'm sorry, I must have spaced out. What did you ask?"
"Our fight," Weiss clarified concisely, although with a strange amount of nervousness. "How... do you think we did?"
At first, Rio was perplexed by the girl's apparent restlessness.
Ruby, Yang, and Blake's too, by the looks of it.
But that quickly turned to understanding as he remembered his current placement. He was the student who had already been granted entry into the singles rounds, after all.
Rio was silent for a spell, mulling over the question.
It wasn't a clean win by any stretch of the imagination, and if it were a real fight, against someone who wanted to murder them, their initial lacking teamwork would have been a death sentence.
But.
It wasn't a real fight.
It was sanctioned match, meant to pit the fledgling huntsmen and huntresses of the world against each other in a safe but rewarding way.
Why did Rio need to taint that with the cruel reality?
Because it was correct?
Or was it actually because he had lived in that world for far too long, and the only way forward was to force them to live it as well? And if that really was the case, that would make him scum, even more so than he already was.
These girls were young, kids practically, and they were talented.
And what were these years of schooling for if not to blossom those talents?
Yes, they had barely managed to secure a victory, but wasn't that something?
In what world did he have the right to say otherwise?
He was the last person who should be going around critiquing others, after all.
So Rio smiled faintly. "I think, I'm a little envious. ...I've actually never been very good at fighting with a team, but you girls made it look effortless. I was impressed."
And that was no lie.
Whether intentional or not, at a certain point, fighting by himself became the norm, and to the point where he preferred it. Even when traveling together with allies, he usually always found himself in similar roles.
So, if anything, he could stand to learn a lot from Ruby and the others.
Regardless, his praise had been incredibly bare bones.
Hardly meaningful.
And yet, the girls somehow seemed pleased by them? If the suddenly giggling Ruby was of any indication. Weiss, Blake, and Yang weren't quite so obvious, but their pensive looks soon gave way to satisfaction, allowing a bit of pride to mix in as well.
"Heehee. You sure you're not just saying that, Mr. Lone Survivor?"
And maybe because of that, Yang, who happened to be sitting on his right side, took that as her chance to all but pounce on the boy, wrapping an arm around his neck.
That said, Rio immediately went stiff at the contact.
Yang's... everything... being pressed against him made for quite the uncomfortable experience, especially because of how many eyes were currently needling into him. But while he was figuring out how best to deescalate the situation, the girl kept speaking.
"Well, I think we did alright too. But you just sit tight, Mister. One of us will be with you in the singles before you know it."
Smiling halfheartedly, Rio unconsciously shifted his face away a bit. Yang just brought hers closer, not getting the message or simply not caring.
"Why, it might even be me, and then we can get our special little rematch."
Yang was quite obviously just teasing him, likely in a good mood thanks to her victory.
Regardless, when Rio eventually spoke, it was with a nervous chuckle.
"Well, whichever outcome, I'll look forward to it. Though, you'll have to forgive me, Yang..."
Suddenly, his voice lowered in tone a bit, and it had the unintended side effect of making it slightly deeper than normal, to those in close proximity especially.
"I don't plan on being quite so... rough... this time."
Now, Yang wasn't looking at Rio's face.
If she had been, she might have been able to place the tell-tale apologetic smile on his face, the usual amounts of social awkwardness behind it even.
But because she wasn't, both her heart and imagination ran off with her instead. And despite it contrasting with the boy she knew in every way, it still didn't stop her face and neck from heating up splendidly.
Meanwhile, all Rio was thinking was that a verbal reassurance was in order.
After all, it didn't matter if things hadn't come to blows when he lost his cool during that quick spar of theirs. It didn't change the fact he had almost done so, something he still regretted. Thus, he didn't want the girl to think he would be quite as violent.
That being said, Rio expected the girl to take the words as challenge, as the boisterous blonde was want to do.
But?
Rio was a little confused when Yang suddenly slinked away from him, returning to her food in complete silence. Even more so when, in a word, she looked... well, meek?
Eh?
"Declined? What do you mean declined?"
Rio was snapped out of this curiosity, however, and by the distressed voice of Weiss, who by the looks of it, seemed to be having trouble with what was most likely a credit card of some kind.
Running out of money during an outing with friends, or even a date?
That kind of embarrassing situation had been a struggling college student's worst nightmare, Rio remembered, or rather, Haruto did.
But then he realized it was Weiss, and that her family's exponentially successful company wouldn't have just lost all their money just like that.
"I... I don't understand why it would be... why he would..."
Well, wasting time guessing on the situation when Rio knew nothing was pointless. Besides, the pinched expression on Weiss' face was enough of a reason to act.
Chanting a silent "(Dissolvo,)" he was suddenly holding the appropriate banknotes for the meal.
It was hardly a cheap sum for all nine of them, but Rio wasn't exactly destitute of cash. Or lien, as this world called it.
But it did take a sizable chunk of what he currently had on him.
He supposed another trek into Vale was in order.
As Haruto, even.
After all, his procurement of money in this new world hadn't exactly been legal thus far.
But that was a story for another time.
With a wry smile on his face, Rio paid the man. "Here you go, sir. Thank you for the food. It was delicious."
The stall owner took it with a nod and a hum, seemingly pleased.
Meanwhile, watching this entire exchange, Weiss sank back down to her seat with an embarrassed flush.
A few of the others even looked the same.
Well, in Weiss' case, something like this had probably never happened before.
"I could have paid, Rio. With... with my career and everything," Pyrrha suddenly said, looking awkward.
Ah, for a humble girl like her, he imagined it was more than a little difficult to say: I'm extremely well off, so let me pay for all of you.
"I am so sorry Rio..." Weiss additionally murmured.
But the white haired boy was already shaking his head.
"Oh, it's no issue, really. You could say I've always wanted to do something like this? It's a bit embarrassing to say but..." Rio suddenly looked to one side, sheepish. "I've always been quite the loner. Sharing a meal between friends in general isn't something I have too much experience in, haha."
Well, before he met Latifa, anyway.
The others from the Spirit Folk Village, too.
After that, they didn't seem to want to allow him to eat alone.
Rio shrugged before he got too lost in thoughts.
"Besides... I rarely get to spend what I've amassed from my days taking out monst—... taking on Grimm bounties on the frontier roads. So please don't worry about it."
Everyone seemed to perk up at that.
They had gleamed some key instances, but it was true that most of the white-haired boy's past was still a mystery to them.
Reminded of this fact and growing excited because of it, Ruby's eyes lit up.
"You were a bounty hunter, Rio?"
"...Well, in a sense," Rio allowed, still only slightly smiling.
Even in his previous world, most of his wealth did in fact come from his periodic culling of nearby monsters, selling their parts for profit thereafter.
"...It was simply a practical way to make use of my average skill," he further clarified.
"Ha!" Nora made a noise. "Average skill, he says. As if going place to place, roughing it out in nature, killing Grimm that attack you in the dead of night isn't the mark of a true badass. Guuuuh! I'm so jelly!"
"I... think you're romanticizing it a bit too much there, Nora. You seem to be giving Jaune the wrong idea."
Or so Rio said after sending a slightly amused glance Jaune's way, who for his part, couldn't decide whether to look in awe of the narrative, or envious.
But seeing everyone's attention on him, the blond boy snapped out of it.
"I-I wasn't really thinking anything," Jaune said dismissively. But then, as if struck by a thought, he looked back to Rio. "Oh hey, Rio, you must have been travelling at a young age, right? Were your parents really okay with that?"
Tugging at his collar, Jaune grinned nervously.
"Mine, uh, certainly wouldn't be."
Ever so slightly, Rio's movements stilled, that is, his chopsticks did, having been twirling through a dollop of his dish.
But...
Contrary to the suddenly tightened expressions of Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss...
That was all the boy did.
With a blink, he looked up and stared at Jaune with a neutral expression.
"...H-Hey Jaune," Ruby tried to say—
"It was against their wishes, unfortunately."
Rio's voice wasn't particularly loud.
Still, it carried, sequestering the others into silence.
Naturally, Jaune and the rest of team JNPR shouldn't have been aware anything was wrong. Yes, even with Ren's sudden inquisitive stare, and the now small smile Rio directed Jaune's way... it shouldn't have meant anything.
After all, there was nothing in such an expression that suggested anything was wrong, and it was almost enough to make Ruby and them doubt what they had heard in that viewing room.
Almost.
Because they also knew something else.
That when the white-haired boy wanted to, he was incredibly skilled at hiding his true feelings. To the point where he would even pretend they didn't exist, so as not to give others a reason to waste time being concerned.
It was a kind of consideration that approached unhealthy, but the boy performed such acts as simply as breathing.
"Leaving as I did... they definitely wouldn't have wanted it," Rio repeated softly, kindly even, with that same expression.
"R-Right."
As for Jaune, he just shakily nodded his head, returning to his food.
However, he didn't so much as touch it.
It now looked unappetizing.
His mind... lay elsewhere.
Because with surprising accuracy, and in a way the blond couldn't say he was prepared for, Rio's words had struck home.
—"It was against their wishes."
But Jaune shook it off with a smile, and his friends and him returned to Beacon talking about various things.
For 'that girl' though, it wasn't so easy.
Because, listening in silence that whole time, Blake's guilt ran much deeper.
Her as well; her parents' faces plagued her unbidden for the rest of the day.