Rei walked away from the mangled body of Ken Lockhorn, smiling for the first time in a very long time. He saw Yang's fearful expression, prompting him to address the situation.
"What? None of them are dead. I left them all on death's door."
---
The next day, Rei was returning to the group of friends and former teammates. Not in the sense of coming back, but he didn't spend his entire time outside in the porch staring at the horizon.
"Weiss, want me to help you cook?" Rei asked.
"No thanks, you are horrible at cooking." Weiss happily responded. She also wanted the time to herself, to think about the next phase in life. So for the next thirty minutes, Weiss lost herself in her thoughts and actions.
"Why did we buy an apartment again? Oh right, Rei had nowhere to sleep."
"The Vytal Festival Preparation Tournameng Ozpin announced before the Vale-entines dance is tomorrow. Even though we're on summer break. Ugh!"
"Why did Ruby have to leave all of a sudden?"
Weiss stopped her mental train to focus on her task at hand, marinating the meat and preparing the oven.
"I need to remember to yell at those dolts about doing laundry. Besides Blake."
"Wait. Yang still has me library card. Shit."
"Yannnnng!!!!" Weiss shouted. When no response came in, she became slightly agitated.
"Where's Yang?"
---
Yang angrily attacked the punching bag with the gloves given to her by someone at the gym. Her gauntlets, Ember Celica were in her backpack as she wanted to practice without them. She launched a flurry of attacks at the hung-up sand bag, trying to stop the flow of memories. They'd hit her all the time, usually when she was either alone or wanted some alone time.
"Yang, you know the rule about marrying in our family, correct?" Her father asked her one day.
"No, Dad. There's a rule?" A twelve-year old Yang replied.
"Yes. If anyone wishes to marry you, they must first defeat a huntsman/huntress that has exceeded the rank of 80." Tai Yang Xiao Long stated.
Yang was becoming frustrated with how the bag refused to be punched off the chain holding it up.
"Isn't that a little too hard, Dad?" Yang gently asked.
"I had to do it as well for your mother."
Yang had finally broken the sandbag, sand spilling out of the hole she'd punched through. She'd also knocked the sandbag off the gain holding it, forcing her to place a new one.
"Hey Yang?" Rei asked shyly. They'd just gotten done exterminating the pack of Beowolves and were both sitting down in the grass to catch their breath.
"Yeah, Rei?" Yang replied, clearly more interested in resting. The Grimm were some of the highest ranked Demonic Beasts, as not only were they extremely dangerous but also numerous. As such, Yang was taking great caution while lying down in the grass, glancing to the forest edge near then every few seconds.
"Well, I just wanted to say something." Rei said, an invisible blush spreading across his cheeks. Thanks to the shadow of the night, Yang wasn't able to see his face clearly enough to register the reddened cheeks and nervous breathing.
"And that is? Come on Rei, say it! We're out here, in the middle of a forest infested with Grimm! We don't have all night!" Yang hissed, her tiredness getting o her and making her angry.
"I love you." Rei said solemnly.
Yang stopped, her arms dropping to her side. She'd lost the will to continue abusing the sandbag.
What happened earlier, Rei kicking Ken's ass for hurting her, ignited a feeling inside of her. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew she'd felt it before.
Was it love? Could it have been love? Why? Why, of all people, did Yang had to fall in love with Rei?
---
Rei had left the small apartment hours ago. He'd wanted some alone time, or at least that was what he'd said to everyone else.
"Master Rei." Popsin said as Rei turned into the alley they're agreed to meet in.
"What, Popsin?" Rei asked, almost angrily.
"When are you going to tell them?"
"Tell them what?"
"That your powers are not truly yours." Rei's scroll suddenly blared, a signal someone was calling.
"What?" He answered, a little too harsh.
"Rei. It's Ruby." Weiss' shaky voice sounded. "She's in the hospital."
YOU ARE READING
"The Catalyst" : A Yang Xiao Long AU! #RWBYWATTYS
FanfictionDisclaimer: I do not own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does. I only own my character and the events I put into the arcs. -AU- In the Kindom of Vale, Warren Shnee is king. He was happy until his wife, Crystal Schnee, bore him two kids. One was born 8 years be...
