The Wilted Rose

Chapter 6: Lonesome Road

Eastern Vale

9:37 pm

3 years until the fall

(I'm putting a warning for this chapter. The subject that I touch on is extremely dark and fucked up. So much so that I almost scrapped the idea. But I felt like I had already planted the seeds to this scene in the previous chapter, so I had to see it through. I'm including the scene specifically because it has a effect in this chapter and WILL play a role when we get to Canon events. Think of it as the spark that starts Y/n journey to become the Red Hood.

I will warn you before and have a disclaimer for when it's over. )

Y/n pov

Its been 4 months since my initiation. In that time, we had a issue with the local Huntsmen. After that, Raven thought it prudent to break camp and move. I mean, we're nomads. That's our thing. What I don't understand is why the hell she decided to make camp a stones throw away from the kingdom of Vale. We're trying to avoid the Huntsmen, not go to them! Tensions around the camp have been getting higher with every passing day. We have Raymond and Vash to thank for that mostly.

I suspect that they were the reason the Huntsmen from the border came down on top of us. I couldn't prove that though so we were stuck with them. I didn't like being so close to Vale. It brought back good and bad memories alike. I had thought about going into Vale. It should be fine since I look nothing like I did when I was a child. The thing was, I didn't know if my fake ID would fool detection systems if for some reason I came in contact with the local law enforcement. I figured I shouldn't test my luck until I knew the ID would hold up to scrutiny. 

I was sitting in my tent tinkering with the sword that Raven passed down to me. I had come to learn that my grandfather called it "Dust Breaker". I liked the name but I wanted to personalize it. To put my touch on it, if you will. I had decided to name it "Withered Rose" and repainted the grip and barrel black. Then my final touches on it was a crimson red rose on the barrel just above the cylinder. It went without saying that I modified the cylinder to take both .357 Magnum, and 3 inch magnum shotgun shells interchangeably. Oum bless being a gun-nutt.

My mask was kept pretty much the same with only one small tweak. The masks lenses were replaced with Atlas smart-lenses curtesy of one of the Huntsmen who attacked our camp. Hey, he didn't need them anymore. The lenses were capable of nightvision, which had a red tint to it. The lenses were also flash suppressant so I didn't have to worry about popping one of my flashbangs and accidently blinding myself. I was confident that I would never have a accident with one, but better to be prepared.

It was late, and there was a raid tomorrow morning. I needed to get to bed but I just didn't feel like it. Since being so close to Vale, I continuously thought of Yang and Ruby. I wondered how much they had grown. Where were they now? Did they manage to move past me?

Those were the thoughts I had constantly since coming back. I wanted nothing more than to go back to my sisters but I couldn't. How was I supposed to just come back into their lives after being dead to them for 7 years? I also had the whole "Being a bandit" thing that kept me from going. They would only see a criminal, not their brother. 

I managed to push those thoughts aside and laid down in my cot. I had to get at least a little sleep before tomorrow. Last thing I needed was to be run through because I wasn't at top form. I already died once, I'd like to avoid doing it again.

Weiss Pov

I had once again found myself in a foggy void as I slept. For several years I have had this reoccurring dream. I didn't know why I would see some random boy in my dreams or the significance he holds. The way the dream always played out was that the boy would appear before me, sitting with his back turned to me and crying. I would move to try to find out why he was crying and he would just fade away. I never was a able to reach him before then.