Chapter Text
Towers of smoke rose from the remains of buildings, and endless rivers of crimson flowed from the remains of people. The world he knew had changed – become distorted, unrecognizable – and there was nowhere in it he could go.
“Sis?”
Sapphire barely recognized his own voice as it tore its way out of his throat. It was shaky and uncertain, filled with a sense of dread he could not understand.
Would she be mad at him? He had just killed a group of soldiers with his bare hands. A nine-year-old boy had just taken the lives of several people, none of whom he even recognized. Would anyone ever be able to forgive him?
“Sis?”
He tried again, but his voice was no stronger than before. Staggering as he struggled to hold in his tears, Sapphire headed home, where Cinder surely was.
His body screamed with every step, and blood oozed from the wounds left by the soldiers’ bullets. Yet strangely, the more he walked, the stronger he felt. What was going on?
Then he fell to his knees. Despite feeling stronger than ever, all energy seemed to drain from his legs altogether, forcing him to lose his footing. And the reason was the scenery before him.
If not for him knowing the location, Sapphire would not have recognized the building. Or rather, he would not have recognized the smoldering wreckage that used to be his home.
For a moment, nothing happened. The next instant, the world changed once more.
Shattering the silence with is overwhelming sense of despair, was Sapphire’s scream.
-
“Sapphire? Sapphire!”
The man in question finally woke, and ceased his thrashing about in the process. Bathed in perspiration and gasping for breath, his scarlet eyes eventually resting on-
“S- Blake?” he stammered. “What’s going on?”
“You were going crazy in your sleep,” Blake explained. “Luckily you weren’t that loud, or the whole team would be up.”
“R-right,” Sapphire panted. “Sorry.”
Blake nodded, and kept silent for a bit while he calmed down.
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
“No, I’m fine,” Sapphire replied. “Thanks.”
Had he hugged her like he had done last time, mistaking her for Cinder, he would probably be compelled to explain. But since he was able to exert some self-control this time, he was spared that awkward moment.
“Alright,” Blake nodded. “But just so you know, your eyes are still red.”
“That… might take a while,” Sapphire confessed.
“Want to take a walk?” Blake offered.
“I don’t think that’s unnecessary- I mean necessary,” Sapphire hastily corrected, shaking his head.
Blake narrowed her eyes. He was pale and clearly shaken, but if he passed up such an easy ‘walking the cat’ joke, he was definitely not himself.
“Come on,” Blake declared, dragging him off his feet. “We’re going for a walk.”
-
The night breeze was chilly, and being in a wet shirt did not help. Nonetheless, Sapphire gave in, trailing after Blake like some creepy stalker.
“Feeling better?” Blake asked without turning around.
“Why are we here?” Sapphire countered.
“To clear your head,” Blake replied simply. “And I need your head to be clear for what I’m about to ask.”
“Alright,” Sapphire sighed. He was in no mood for fooling around. “Shoot.”
“What’re you going to do after this?”
He had braced himself for anything, but the question still caught him off-guard. Staring at Blake wordlessly, Sapphire actually sorted through his thoughts for an answer.
He had failed to kill her. He had defeated Mercury. He had all but killed Adam. There was no reason to stay here – at Beacon – anymore.
“If you’re going to disappear, I’d appreciate if you give us a heads up first,” Blake said. “And we know all about the surgery too; Ozpin told us about the details – including those you left out – while you were unconscious. Ruby was all for it, you know.”
“Not yet,” Sapphire answered at last. “I will be getting that surgery, though, so don’t worry. Just not now.”
“What’re you going to do?”
“Torchwick,” Sapphire replied. “I’ll help you guys round him up, then I’m done. I’ll disappear after that.”
“What will you do then?” Blake asked. “When it’s all over.”
Sapphire stared at the sky. The clouds overhead drifted by loftily, unaware of and unfazed by his thoughts, hiding the moon behind their mischievous shroud as they passed. It cast a dark shadow over his face, obscuring his expression from anyone except Blake.
It’d be nice if I’m still alive then.
“Maybe I’ll settle down and find a girlfriend,” he said, flashing her a bitter smile.
Blake maintained her gaze for a few moments longer, before finally breaking the eye contact. She could tell that Sapphire had no intention of telling her anything serious anymore, and was well aware that pushing it further was no use.
“Will you be alright?” she asked.
The corners of Sapphire’s mouth twitched.
“Of course,” he replied.
Without waiting for a reply, Sapphire turned and walked away.
-
“Uh… So, what’re we doing?”
In response to Ruby’s question, Sapphire merely smiled.
“Training,” he replied. “Since you’re going to chase down Torchwick – and I know you are; don’t try to lie – you’re gonna need a different type of combat lesson.”
“What’d you mean?” Ruby asked, half comprehensively and half curiously.
“I’m talking about one-on-one with human opponents,” Sapphire explained. “And on a level where the other side is actively trying to kill you. It’s not something you learn at school, nor is it something they’ll ever teach you.”
“Okay…” Ruby nodded hesitantly. “But why me?”
“That, I will answer after this,” Sapphire replied slowly. “For now, I’ll address some basic problems about your fighting style. Before I go into the actual focus of this lesson, I’ll be sure to give you the appropriate warnings, so don’t worry.”
“Ooookaayyy….” Ruby said slowly.
“Alright; let’s get started,” Sapphire said, taking a few steps back and pulling out a familiar looking cane. One that happened to belong to Ozpin, in fact.
“Where did you get that?” Ruby asked dubiously.
“I borrowed it from Ozzy,” Sapphire replied. “No, really; does it look like I can really swipe this from under his nose?”
“Good point,” Ruby conceded.
“Now, the first thing to know is to observe your opponent,” Sapphire began. “I don’t know why, but you charged right in and tried to restrain me while I was out of control. That was very brave.”
Ruby blushed.
“And at the same time, it was downright stupid.”
Ruby pouted.
“You need to watch and observe, then react to your opponent,” Sapphire went on. “And there’s another problem: you rely on your Semblance too much. Attack me; I’ll show you what I mean.”
Ruby nodded, and pulled out Crescent Rose. Taking a slightly crouching stance, she charged, running towards Sapphire at a regular speed. Then, when she was inches from Sapphire’s face, she disappeared.
Speed around Sapphire using her super speed, Ruby raised her scythe, aiming to trip Sapphire from behind. However, Sapphire merely squatted down, and blocked the blow far too easily.
Unfazed, Ruby sped up again, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. Putting some distance between them and charging in from the side, she slashed down towards Sapphire’s shoulder – and was parried again.
Sapphire had not even as much as turned his head since the battle started; he merely moved the rest of his body to match Ruby’s movements as though he knew every move she would make. Each time he blocked or parried, he simply waited for her to get close, and thwarted her next attack far too easily. Despite having a clear disadvantage in speed, he was barely breaking a sweat.
“Stop!” he declared, and Ruby stopped, panting a little as she tried to catch her breath. “Now, you notice how I didn’t even need to try in order to stop you? That’s because your attacks are too easy to read. You move in very predictable ways despite your otherwise tricky and odd maneuvers. Now, there are two possible reasons I can think of: first, it’s that the movements are not your own; you’re copying someone else’s fighting style, no?”
“Y-yeah,” Ruby admitted. “I was taught by my uncle Qrow…”
“Oh, him,” Sapphire muttered, rolling his eyes. “It’s good that you’re adding your Semblance to your movements, but because the style isn’t yours, you’re unable to flexibly change your approach, and you’re just depending solely on your speed to make up for the repetition. You need to be able to do more than just copy him; otherwise, a really skilled fighter can learn your pattern easily and you’ll die.
“A second reason is that your Semblance is exactly what it looks like,” Sapphire mused. “What I mean is, when you use your Semblance, the world doesn’t slow down; but rather, you just speed up. Is that right?”
“… Yeah, it is,” Ruby confessed. “Everything else moves at the same speed, but I’m just fasted… That’s why I always move the way I do instead of going close – because I can’t react properly to the opponents’ movements while moving at high speeds.”
“Not a surprise,” Sapphire said. “But that’s okay; it’s more than enough for your run-of-the-mill Grimm and goons. That said, it won’t be enough for orange-head, so I’ll train you to wield your scythe like a regular, no super-speed Huntress first. And since I’m fighting with a cane, it should serve as good practice for when you fight Torchwick. Speaking of which… how does he act towards you?”
“Huh?” Ruby took a while to actually register that question. “Oh, um… well, he treats me like I’m a child.”
“I meant how does he treat you that’s different from others.”
“Hmm… He- wait a minute!” Ruby caught on. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Ahem, never mind,” Sapphire hastily corrected. “Hmm… How about this? Hello, Red; isn’t it past your bedtime?”
“You know, I’m actually considering gutting you right now,” Ruby said.
“Interesting threat,” Sapphire mused. “But you might get your chance, since I’m not protected by Aura.”
The words seemed to have no effect at first, but Ruby was not unaffected; for a split second, she fumbled with her weapon, as though it had suddenly put on a few extra pounds of weight.
“Heavy, isn’t it?” Sapphire asked. Her reaction was only natural; for someone who had never killed before, this was only to be expected. “At the risk of sounding cliché, that’s the weight of a human life on your hands. If you swing, someone can die. There’s no showing off, no looking cool, and no proving anything in there – just violence. That’s what it takes to battle a person to the death, Rose.”
Ruby said nothing, staring at her weapon while lost in her thoughts. Sapphire waited her out, expecting her to complain, drop out of training, or express her displeasure. What she finally said, however, shocked him.
“It must’ve been tough living like that.”
He froze. With just one sentence, Ruby had dealt a blow to his resolve – something almost no one had done before. How did she of all people manage such a feat?
Deep down, he knew. He understood why she was capable of it, and how her sharp insight and unyielding faith came to be: she had an innocence that no one else did. Or rather, no one who battled for a living did.
Because she was earnest, and because she carried herself in a way that reflected her purity, she could see through others easily; in baring her own soul to those around her, she managed to look into theirs. Was it alright for him to ruin that innocence of hers?
A soft, gentle hand rested on his chest, making him flinch. Ruby either did not notice or ignored that reaction, given how she appeared unfazed by it.
“Did it… hurt?” she asked softly. “When you had to…”
Sapphire could feel his heart rate skyrocket. He instinctively recognized that sensation as fear, but could not understand why. He had no reason to be afraid of a girl with inferior combat abilities. He had no reason to fear her, when her only ability was to see right through him-
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Ruby said.
Sapphire involuntarily took a step back.
“You…” he panted. “I… No. No. Let’s carry on with the training.”
“Sure thing,” Ruby beamed. “But before we continue, can I ask a question?”
“You already did, but go ahead.”
“Why me?” Ruby asked. “Surely you could have picked Blake or Weiss or Yang as well, right? Why just me?”
Sapphire looked her in the eye. He did owe her an explanation for all this, but he was curious as to how much she knew. Had she already figured out the reason, or was she really as clueless as she sounded?
“Well, no point hiding it,” he thought aloud. “I chose you because you have a gift that no one on your team does. It’s a talent that’s essential for the battles ahead, but it’s not something you’d be proud of having.
“I’m talking about your uncanny potential to be a killer.”