The room was silent.
Perhaps, if someone popped their head in, they would have found it strange.
After all, just like so many others, this was a Beacon dorm room, filled with four people even. And yet, no one said a word. But this had less to do with a lack of things to talk about, and more to do with knowing there were times when one shouldn't be speaking at all.
Cinder thinking—was one of those times.
Those in the room knew that better than anyone, which is why they maintained their silence, if only for the simple fact that their superior could be quite volatile when angry... especially as of late.
Of course, an exception lay in the one girl amongst them who actually couldn't speak.
Though, it was unclear whether the mute girl even cared about the mood her superior was in, given her role was just that of a helper, and one on loan at that.
Then again, the diminutive girl's current actions probably spoke for themselves.
In contrast to Mercury and Emerald tensely waiting in silence, Neo was for all intents and purposes making fun of them, tapping away at her scroll without a care.
"And you're sure it was the same person."
Mercury tore his eyes away from Neo, all but doubling down on Cinder as she spoke. She was asking, no, demanding confirmation. Naturally, he was quick to answer. "Yeah, the guy's hardly subtle. It was definitely him."
It seemed Amber's rescuer had finally made an appearance.
That should have worried Cinder.
After all, it was a complication, no matter how one looked at it. Being spotted, being recognized... it would put the whole plan in jeopardy. And yet, it was woefully expected that Ozpin would call his attack dog back to him, especially now.
It was a problem, yes, but only if this was a game of cat and mouse.
It wasn't.
Not when Cinder would be making her move soon enough, and when she did, a huntsman like Qrow Branwen would have to deal with a threat far more dangerous than some weak domesticated mammal with claws. The entirety of Vale would. After all, all that was left now was...
Setting the mood... sounds like a good way of putting it.
Thinking of the fun she would have in the next few days, Cinder smiled. But, as quickly as it appeared, it vanished without a trace. The satisfaction she had felt doing much of the same.
This was because she remembered something unpleasant.
Cinder bit back on her teeth, as if wrestling with something distasteful.
"And, what of him?"
Only, that kind of question didn't seem to be enough.
In light of her subordinates' stiff confusion, Cinder was forced to elaborate, a scowl working its way on her face without her knowledge. "What of Amakawa?" she repeated with halting venom.
It took Mercury and Emerald way too long to place the name Cinder had just given, and by all means, they should have been terrified in making the woman in front of them wait, but they just couldn't help it.
They hardly expected that name to suddenly come up.
It was only natural their brains stalled under the inquiry.
Even Neo, who usually pretended they didn't exist with seasoned efficiency, very subtly looked up from the screen she was staring at.
In reality, it shouldn't have been that big a deal, since it wasn't any different from asking about Nikos, or even that ever meddling Rose.
But then again, it wasn't the same at all, was it?
Because the sight of Cinder fleeing from Rio Amakawa in the cafeteria, and with unimaginable desperation too, was still etched into their memories.
And that was something they still hadn't gotten an explanation for.
Not that they would be foolish enough to ask.
Cinder's fiery glare told of what would happen if they did.
Or, for that matter, if they continued their stunned silence.
That said, after a very clarifying—oh shit—in Mercury's head, especially when he realized that it was actually him once again who had something interesting to report, the boy coughed in the attempt to buy himself precious seconds.
"Er, right. B-Believe it or not, the guy was actually in the crowd, watching Branwen and the Schnee duke it out. Even stepped in to prevent some civies from getting absolutely fucking bludgeoned by stray debris."
Cinder's lips pulled downward.
...It was why she missed the brief but indecipherable look that flickered over Emerald's face before she hid it.
Neo was hardly so subtle, lips curving upwards for some reason.
Regardless, Mercury hesitatingly continued.
"It... looked like he caught all the hurdling concrete with his wind, but because he didn't even make so much as a hand motion, everyone assumed that Goodwitch woman did it. Had her S&M whip out and everything."
Cinder growled, not even bothering to hide her frustration. She either didn't see or care for the fact that both Mercury and Emerald stiffened. Her spiraling thoughts took all her focus either way.
Irritating. It would have been a stroke of luck if innocents were slaughtered.
Even worse was that Beacon got the credit for preventing the incident.
Amakawa...
It was growing more difficult to keep her anger in check when it came to that name. Displeasure ran rampant across her face, and Cinder didn't school her features in the slightest when she suddenly looked Emerald's way. "Anything to add?"
"Uh, n-nothing new, unfortunately," the girl stammered. "Just that he has been continuing his usual. Interacting with various students, hanging out with friends..."
"Mostly women," someone unhelpfully added.
"Shut up, Mercury."
"Hey, all I'm saying is the guy's social circle is impressively skewed towards the opposite sex. I'd be jealous if he wasn't such a purist about it. Hell, he might even secretly like men or something."
"...He doesn't."
"You sure Em? Because sometimes, even when it's just us talking, he's way too—"
"Silence."
That one word was enough, and Mercury's mouth clamped shut.
Even Emerald wasn't exempt from changing her posture, suddenly facing forward once more.
Meanwhile, Cinder had taken to tiredly rubbing her temples. "Keep me updated on his movements. Anything suspicious or the like. I especially want to know if he shows signs of joining Ozpin's circle."
That was something that could not be allowed to happen.
Cinder paused to let out a deep breath, as if trying to dispel her prior mood.
Then she looked to the room's final occupant.
"And, what of you, Neo? Anything to share on Amakawa?"
Cinder was in part prepared to grow irritated if she were to be ignored. So it was somewhat a relief when the girl's eyes darted over to her. Even more so when she swung her legs off the bed she was sprawled over and began furiously typing something into her scroll.
Cinder's interest was piqued.
The mute girl did have something it seemed.
Of course, that thought died a violent death as Neo turned her scroll to face them.
He made me breakfast.
It was good.
;)
Everyone blinked, Cinder being no exception.
"What?"
...
...
...
Blake jerked awake in a cold sweat.
The sun had long gone down.
In fact, it was nearly midnight.
At least, that's what her scroll told her as she stared at it in a daze, trying to quiet her breathing lest she wake up her team. But without much thought, she slipped out of bed and out the door, her footsteps silent.
Once outside, Blake pandered down the hall, her bare feet bristling against the carpeted floor, all the way until she reached the adjacent lounge room.
Even though a great many students used it during the day, it would be empty this late at night. That was what she thought anyway, as she strode into the room and approached a window lit by the moon. Or more specifically, the armchair right beside it.
Blake sunk into it with a deep exhale, tucking her legs closer to her body as she leaned—no, all but collapsed—against the headrest.
Then, she craned her head to look out the window.
The Beacon grounds, lit up by the shattered moon, but still, filled to the brim with shadows.
Anyone might think monsters would be jumping out at any second.
But Blake couldn't easily imagine Grimm slinking away in that darkness.
No, it was the more humanoid figures preying on her fears, just waiting to spring from cover and drag her back.
Back to the White Fang.
Back to her parents who had told her better.
And... back to him.
Blake's eyes began to sting.
What... was the point of waking up if she was still stuck in her nightmare?
"Blake?"
The sudden voice almost had the girl yelping.
She didn't, though. That would be embarrassing.
Her breath just lightly hitched, and her body may have had the adverse reaction of stiffening like a cat as she did so. Of course, that was until she found the source of the noise, that being the white-haired boy a few paces away, giving her a curious stare.
"R-Rio, don't scare me like that," she breathed out.
He smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. That was my bad… I take it you couldn't sleep?"
In the dark, she could see his amber eyes studying her face, and then, even briefly dip lower for a second. Strangely enough, this had the boy's entire face stiffening for some reason, his eyes hastily jumping back up to meet hers.
"Yeah, something like that…"
Blake answered as such, but was otherwise unable to ignore her curiosity, trying to match where the boy had been looking. A total of three seconds passed before she understood, and summarily, her entire face flushed.
She was still in her pajamas.
What was more, the end of her yukata was skirting dangerously up her leg, flashing a healthy amount of skin. Now, in this sweltering wave of mortification that hit her, she almost didn't hear the soft and hesitant murmur, or the cough that preceded it.
"I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to stare."
Blake didn't say anything, far too busy furiously adjusting the length of the bottom half of her clothes. Of course, she could still feel the heat prickling up and down her neck, showing no signs of subsiding. "I-It's... It's fine," she stammered out, not daring to look his way.
"It's really not..."
That was when Rio's form disappeared from her vision. Shuffling pricked at her ears, and it sounded like he had dropped into the chair behind her, the one facing the other direction. In this way, it was no different from them being back-to-back.
Geez, he's treating me like I'm naked or something, Blake thought with something close to a pout, even if her cheeks were still tinged a healthy red.
Still, it was a little flattering.
Rio's behavior could be way too traditional at times, but even she had to admit it was nice being on the receiving end of such consideration.
Also...
Blake's cheeks burned even brighter.
She would never say this out loud, and had even thought this numerous times since meeting the boy, but...
He really is way too similar to them!
The male love interests in her books.
Ah, the less-raunchy ones, of course.
It was beyond thrilling, seeing such princely behavior acted out, especially since the boy seemed to have no idea he was doing it.
But Blake had to calm down her racing heart, the subtle barrier between them thankfully helping with that.
It was enough for her to throw out the question she had wanted to ask.
"You... couldn't sleep either?"
"That's right."
That sounded like it was going to be the end of it, but surprising her, he added more.
"I've been having... something of a reoccurring dream. No... a nightmare."
Blake's pulse quickened despite herself.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Was… Was it bad?"
Rio sighed before repeating that same word, yet somehow sounding unimaginably more tired. "Yes…"
More silence lingered.
Every second Blake spent mustering courage.
"I… I had one too. Also, reoccurring."
"Was it bad?" he asked this time.
Blake's smile was a faint one.
"Yeah."
She didn't know how long the next silence lasted, but she did know it bothered her, for no other reason than the absence of sounds instilled some kind of anxiety within her, as if the quiet continuing would be the prelude to something bad happening.
So, her mouth moved, and she blurted out what had been on her mind for the last several hours.
"Hey, Rio..."
"Hm?"
"Do you remember the question Jaune asked you earlier today?"
"I think... you'll have to remind me."
"He asked about your parents. Whether or not they were okay with you leaving. And you said... it was against their wishes. What... did you mean by that?"
The boy's quiet chuckling filled the air.
"That's quite the question, Blake..."
The girl flinched. "I... I'm sorry, you don't—"
"No, sorry. Don't misunderstand. I don't mind sharing that with you. It's just... thinking of a way to phrase it is a bit tricky. You're asking for a reason, correct? It would be a shame if my reply didn't satisfy you."
Those words—they came out with not a trace of ill-content, not an ounce of deceit, and despite that, nothing could have been more effective in tearing Blake's already reeling heart in half.
Shame was eager to trickle in to mend the tears, and it was just as suffocating.
"He... let me live."
But then Rio spoke amidst all that, and Blake found herself going completely still.
"H-Huh?"
"The man who killed them. He let a five-year-old kid live. Dumped me in the nearest slums and let me go."
Blake's heart was beating dangerously loud in her chest.
"H-He spared you?"
Rio's laugh was so jaded and foreign that it caused shivers to run down her spine.
"Yes, he spared me alright. But it wasn't because he had a problem killing children. No. It was because he had a better idea. Apparently, the thought of orphaning a boy and having him growing up with thoughts of revenge sounded too fun to pass up on."
The words were said with such weighted mock amusement that Blake felt like they manifested into thick sludge and was seeping into the room. Apt, because the disgust churning her stomach felt very real.
"And the worst part... he was right."
Rio's words lost all feeling.
"That's exactly what I did. I never stopped loathing him. I longed for the day when I'd be able to take his life. Even when I cut off his arm that day and he escaped, running away like a coward, that feeling didn't dissipate. Even though... he let me live when I was younger. Even though my parents would be overjoyed. They would have wanted me to live a normal life, fall in love, all the things that would have happened had they not died. And I could have done all that. I could have given them that piece of mind..."
A cold silence lingered.
"But I didn't," he stated, the finality of it stifling. "Even in death, I'm choosing to make them unhappy."
Blake didn't say anything.
She couldn't even think of anything to say.
She only felt awful.
She felt awful for Rio and the life he had lived. She felt awful every time he smiled for their sakes, even when he carried such a heavy burden with him. She felt awful about ignoring her very much alive parents for so long, just because she was scared about what a confrontation would look like.
But more than anything else, she felt awful for all the bad decisions she made and kept on making.
Running away.
Joining the White Fang.
Contributing to their wanton violence.
Contributing to... his violence.
And then running away again, to Beacon Academy, hiding from all her problems under the pretense of turning over a new leaf.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Blake eventually whispered, barely audible.
"Haha, I am too..."
Rio responded like that, back to that lighthearted concision of his. It was a bit weak, but it wasn't absent. Not even talking about his own suffering was enough to get him to put down his manners.
How did it not get tiring?
"But enough about me," he said abruptly. "Can I take a guess that you're thinking hard over something as well?"
Yes, she was.
But Blake was already in the midst of shaking her head, despite the boy being unable to see it.
Even more, a derisive smile settled over her otherwise calm and pretty features. "...You could say that. But I... just feel like an idiot who's been dragging my feet this whole time."
Blake clenched her fists.
"Yeah, this whole time..."
Rio stayed quiet.
"I... ran away from home."
Blake's tone suggested she thought the room would explode at any moment because of the admittance, and it was both puzzling and unrealistically relieving when nothing like that happened.
So, her mouth kept moving, prompted by a silence that was allowing her to.
"I want to talk to them again. Mom, Dad. B-But it's been three whole years, a-and what I said to them before I left... all those hurtful and untrue things... they hate me, right? That's only fair. Back then, I said I hated them. So, to me... they should... they should definitely..."
Blake's vision went blurry before she even realized it, and as if this alluding fact appalled her, she began to furiously swipe at her eyes, uncaring for the moisture seeping into her yukata's sleeves. "I'm scared actually," she croaked out, her voice foreign. "I'm scared and I don't know what to do."
Blake didn't sob.
She didn't allow herself to.
She just continuously blinked her stinging, leaking eyes, frowning contemptuously when they showed no signs of ceasing. "Sorry, Rio," she rasped out, her voice strained. "I know that probably wasn't what you were expecting. Even when I'm the one who brought it all on with that stupid question. And, y-you don't have to say anything, or come up with an answer. It was nice, actually, haha. Just, getting all that out. So... you don't need to worry about any of this. T-Thank you for listening."
Blake was babbling.
That was her own conclusion as she came up with excuse after excuse to hide the gaping shame she felt over having a meltdown and bursting into tears in front of a boy she didn't even really know all that well.
And yet.
Rio always gave off such a warm kindness, almost brotherly despite Blake never having known the feeling. And like so many others, she had sought to take advantage of that kindness because it was there, because if given the option to refuse or accept, she knew the boy would only do the latter.
And... that made her ugly.
Even more so because of the part of her that actually felt better because of it.
"I'll... go back to my room now. H-Have a good night, and sorry again."
Blake made to stand up.
She made to walk back.
There, she could slip under her covers and pretend none of this had happened. She still had no clue as to what she was going to do, but with this, she felt like she was able to curb what had felt like an inevitable explosion.
It was okay. It couldn't be helped.
So, Blake ran away.
"They don't hate you."
Only, she wasn't allowed to this time.
Blake stopped, even though every part of her had been convinced to flee. She still stopped. She couldn't help it. The boy's words had stilled her. But it wasn't just what Rio said, it was the tone he had as he said them.
The utter certainty there.
So when Blake turned around, it was completely involuntarily, but Rio's face looked exactly as she imagined. Even so, she was surprised. Because along with that profound assured-ness, there was a dash of amusement too. That was the only way she could liken the faint smile on the white haired boy's face.
Rio must have seen the expression on her face, because he gave a small chuckle.
"Ah, sorry. It's not like I don't see where you're coming from. You're... sarcastic and quite moody when you want to be, so raising you was probably quite terrifying? Latifa was only quite clingy when we first met, so looking back on it, I realize I was quite fortunate she already seemed to want to listen to her big brother, haha..."
Blake's mind blanked.
What was he talking about?
No, wasn't she just being insulted at this point?
Her mouth moved to say something, but it merely opened and closed, not able to come up with anything.
And so the boy kept going.
"And when I imagine you when you were younger, you give off the impression that you were quite spoiled. Well, even now, you're, um, cute, so you might have unknowingly used that to your advantage back then. It was probably hard for your parents to tell you no. Of course, I could be wrong."
Rio's face didn't seem to think he was.
No, more than that, there had been a strange amount of calm to his words for a while now, an inexplicable degree of maturity even, with the way he seemed to be rationalizing something, as if it could even be rationalized.
And because it was such a contrast to the somber pitiful mood from earlier, Blake believed she had the right to be as bewildered as she was.
"Wait, Rio, stop. Everything... Everything you just said, I don't understand. What... does that have to do... with anything?"
And yet Rio's reply came without missing a beat.
"I'm saying that a parent will love their child unconditionally, Blake."
But that just infuriated her more.
"And I'm saying I don't understand...! How did you arrive at that conclusion? All of what you just said was hardly flattering. So—"
Rio cut her off.
"You're right. Perhaps it wasn't. But even in spite of all that, you're a really, really, nice girl, Blake."
Rio's face was suddenly neutral.
No, it was strangely serious.
"You really are a nice girl, even more than you know. I'm not a good person. And yet you give someone so undeserving the time of day. And quite frankly, that's still baffling to me. But, if I know that about you, almost a complete stranger, what does that say about the people who raised you? Shouldn't they know it even more?"
Blake just stared.
Rio's words weren't making much sense, even more so when it felt like he was speaking from a position she couldn't even begin to grasp.
But.
That was when something strange happened.
Eh?
Rio's expression suddenly changed.
In fact, it was so abrupt and different, that it caught Blake off-guard, a fact that seemed to go double for the boy in question. That is, the way his entire posture went stiff, and what was more, the now glowing uncertainty creasing up and down his expression.
It truly was as if the words, I didn't mean to say all that, were painted all over his face.
And...
She couldn't help but find it familiar.
—"Wait, father is sorry! Your father didn't mean it, so please don't say that you hate me, dear daughter!"
Oh.
It was because it reminded her of her father, Ghira Belladona, who would act the exact same.
He was never stern with her, and he always tried to accommodate her wishes in the clumsiest of ways.
One wouldn't believe that he could be the same man who rallied the fledgling White Fang, Menagerie too, with talks of peace and prosperity. None of the fierce chieftain was on display when it came to his daughter.
It was just as the boy across from her said.
Her father would spoil her rotten, and would be endlessly restless if he couldn't.
And so, with such pleasant memory resurfacing, Blake's eyes soon drifted back towards the cause, the white haired boy, whose face, along with a stiff smile, had promptly to turned a surprising shade of red.
"Y-You know what? O-On second thought. That was incredibly pretentious of me, h-haha... I'm sorry, please ignore all of what I just said. Obviously, I have no right to speak about your family situation like I actually know what I'm talking about. A-Actually, for me to have even broached the issue at all, when we are still technically little more than strangers, was already out of—"
Looking back, Blake didn't even remember closing the distance. It was more appropriate to say her feet moved on their own, her arms too. It wasn't like her at all, nor was it something she would ever be caught doing, not without steam bursting through her ears because of the embarrassment.
Still, she hugged him.
And the way Rio stiffened, like he had been doused with ice cold water, told her something like this was the last thing he expected. Even more so because his arms continued to remain at his sides. But somehow, that just made her even happier, and she tightened her hold slightly.
"Relax. I'll let go in a bit, but not yet," she murmured, face buried in his chest.
Rio gulped, an action audible to the both of them.
"No... if something like this is enough, I don't mind... just, I'm a bit confused what prompted it, is all. I don't really think I did anything to, um... deserve this."
A breathy giggle escaped Blake's lips, and she couldn't stop it even if she wanted to. "And that's exactly why..."
That was all she said, continuing the embrace, even as Rio's hands eventually hesitantly rose to cup her shoulders. It could hardly be considered a hug, but it was enough.
Yes, I think... I get it now.
In this warmth, this familiar kind of warmth, Blake reached her answer.
Her parents might hate her.
That was still a possibility.
But on the off chance they didn't...
She really, really, wanted to find out.