Breathe Chapter 58: Wakeup Call

Sitting up in a panicked jolt, Raven groaned and fell back into the tangled mess of blankets and pillows. Grabbing a stray pillow, she covered her eyes, hiding from the afternoon sun.

Life in Beacon had been... Well, she wouldn’t say that it was bad. Her basic needs were met. Under Ozpin’s protection, she’d been given a place to stay, unspoiled food, clean water and access to a bathroom, something that she rarely had back with her tribe.

It was comfortable... It was everything she’d sought to do away with. She was a survivor... Someone who had taken the worst the world had to offer and through sheer grit, managed to make it out in one piece.

Surviving until tomorrow was all that mattered. She didn’t care if she drank from a crystal chalice or a muddied puddle. The only important thing was that she survived.

Luxuries would only make a person soft. It was the struggle of a hard life that made her strong... That made her worthy of the power that she wielded... At least, that’s what she believed... Used to believe.

With everything that's happened to her in the past year, she wasn’t exactly sure what to believe in anymore.

In the span of one night, her entire life had been turned upside down... And, as much as she’d rather blame someone else, it’d been entirely her fault.

She’d grown arrogant... Thinking that so long as she had the Spring Maiden’s powers, nothing, excluding Salem and Ozpin of course, could touch her. Oh, how wrong she’d been.

She woke a monster, one that appeared to enjoy toying with her. During their first encounter, he’d beaten her with a kiss that had done a significant amount of damage to her. It’d taken her a week to recover.

During her second encounter... Well, she’d tried to use her abilities as a Maiden, but that was next to useless.

Groaning, she turned over in her bed. Hearing a clink of glass on glass, she reached for the bottle she’d placed next to her bed before passing out in a stupor, only to end up knocking it off her bedside table, spilling its contents on the floor.

Sighing, she gave up and turned over, opting to ignore it. It wasn’t the end of the world, she could always steal another bottle from one of the teams here in Beacon.

Heh, who would have guessed that she’d be a positive influence on the kids here... Preventing them from drinking by stealing their alcohol for herself. Qrow would probably find it funny...  Hell, if he knew what she was doing, he’d probably help out.

It wouldn’t be the first time either. Back before they graduated Beacon, they’d often stolen from the other teams in their year... Rarely ever being caught. Those were happier times.

Turning over fitfully, Raven groaned as a stray beam of light hit her face. She wasn’t going to get anymore sleep, that much was painfully obvious. That, however, didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to give it her best shot.

Hearing the sound of glass clinking again, Raven tried to ignore it, only to suddenly realize two things. It wasn’t coming from her room and that she lived alone.

Ignoring her throbbing head and the sense of nausea, she opened her eyes and scanned her room. Finding that she was alone, she slunk out of bed, stepping over a pile of laundry and grabbed her sword... Doing her best to ignore how her hands shook as she did.

Stepping over a floorboard that she knew creaked, she made her way towards her door. Taking a calming breath, she kicked her bedroom door off its hinges and rushed into her lounge, ready to attack whoever it was that’d snuck in only to suddenly freeze.

There, sitting on her couch, stacking an assortment of bottles on top of each other as if it was a house of cards was a person she’d never expected to see ever again.

“Taiyang?” She murmured, dropping her sword.

“Raven,” Taiyang jumped, accidentally knocking over his house of glass, shattering it on the floor. “This... Isn’t what it looks like.”

Of all the... Raven nursed her throbbing head. Trust Taiyang to show up in her home and create even more of a mess. “Look, I might have hit rock bottom, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested in hooking up with you.”

Taiyang blinked. “You think...” He trailed off, stifling his laughter. “Hah, no. That ship sailed a long time ago, Raven. No, I’m here for another reason... Well, reasons.”

“And those are?” She asked, heading over to her kitchenette to grab some pain killers.

“Qrow mentioned you were having a crap time and I wanted to check in on you.”

“To mock me?” Raven idly asked, plopping two fizzy pills in a glass of water.

“You’d think, but no,” Taiyang replied. Falling into Raven’s chair, he winced and pulled out a shard of glass that he’d just sat on. “Believe it or not, but I’ve been exactly where you are right now. After Summer died, I just... Gave up. I stopped looking after myself and worse... I stopped looking after my girls.”

Watching as the two pills slowly dissolved, Raven gave Taiyang a dull look. “Is there a point to this story or should I just kick you out now and be done with it?”

Taiyang met her look with a smirk. “There is a point. You see, I was content to wallow in my misery, not caring how it affected those around me and it almost cost me the two people I love most in this world. The thing is... Back then, I was so self absorbed that I didn’t even know they were missing. Qrow was the one that realized they weren’t there... He was also the one that saved them.”

Exhaling slowly, Taiyang stared at the glass shard in his hand, before clenching his fist around it, crumbling it into powder.

“But that’s all the past. Qrow gave me the mother of all beatings and I realized how much of an idiot I’d been,” He continued. “I also realized that it wasn’t just about me, it’s about them... Ruby and Yang... If Summer saw how I’d been acting, she would have been disgusted.”

“So what? I’m just supposed to live my life in a way that’d appease some dead woman?” Raven snapped. “What happens if I refuse? Will you and Qrow try to make me?” Her eyes briefly sparked with the Maiden’s power.

“Nope. It’s your life. You get to make your own decisions and you get to live with the consequences,” Taiyang shrugged. “Besides, as you are now, I doubt Qrow and I could make you do anything. It’s just a shame that you’d choose to live like this. If your teenage self could see you now, she’d kick your ass.”

Calming down, Raven swirled the liquid in her cup, reminding herself of how it was just another luxury item that she never really had access to back in her camp... But... She wasn’t back at her camp.

“Yeah, well... She’d died,” Raven muttered. Downing the fluid in one gulp, she placed the cup on the ever growing pile of dishes in her sink. “And I’m all that’s left.”

“If she was dead, you’d be too,” Taiyang hummed. “It might just be the nostalgia of being back here, but I can’t help but think about the day that we became a team... Team STRQ. We didn’t get on at all. You and Qrow kept to yourselves and I hit on everything with a pulse. You remember what happened when I tried to flirt with you?”

“I broke your nose,” Raven deadpanned.

“And Summer stepped in and kicked the crap out of you,” Taiyang nodded, smiling fondly at the memory. “She even beat up Qrow when he tried to help you out. For a pair of bandit wannabes, you weren’t exactly a challenge for her.”

Feeling her headache begin to fade, Raven relaxed a little and leaned against the nearby wall, crossing her arms. “We were sent to Beacon in order to learn how to kill a Huntsman. Of course we wouldn’t know how to fight someone like Summer who’d been training to become one.”

“I know,” Taiyang replied. “But that didn’t stop you from fighting. Regardless of what the odds were, you never backed down and that was something I used to admire about you. Even after that fight with Summer, you were beaten and bruised, but, instead of giving up, you got up, spat out a tooth and were ready for more.”

It was funny. Even after all these years, she was still able to recall that fight with almost perfect clarity. It’d been the first time she ever fought someone that was training to be a Huntress and it’d been completely one sided. She’d lost.

Back then, it’d only fuelled her will to grow stronger. The strong survived and the weak died... And she refused to allow herself to stay weak. If it killed her, it killed her, she needed to constantly exceed.

But, as she’d learnt over the years, some things were beyond strength. The Spring Maiden’s powers were supposed to bridge that gap, but all they’d done was make her a bigger target in a game that was being played between immortals.

Clenching her hand shut, Raven took a moment to calm herself. “That’s all in the past now,” She muttered... Whether it was to herself or to Taiyang, even she didn’t know. “You said that you were here for two reasons. What’s the other one?”

“Right. I wanted to ask you about Ruby and Yang’s mentor. I heard from Qrow that you’ve encountered him a few times. Coal Calavera,” Taiyang explained. “I got an interesting message from Yang. Something about a mad scientist and how they accidentally blew up an unexplored island...”

“Calavera...” Raven said stiffly. “Yes, I... Know of him.”

“Good, then can you tell me a little bit about him?” Taiyang asked. “I’m already checking on Ruby and Yang, so I thought I’d meet their so-called mentor.”

“That... Isn’t something I would recommend,” Raven answered cautiously. “He’s... Not like everyone else. He might put on a friendly face, but deep down, he’s just like Salem and Ozpin.”

“...Okay, but what can you tell me about him?” Taiyang repeated his earlier question.

Sighing, Raven slapped a palm to her face. “I just told you. You’re best off avoiding him. If pushed, he can and will kill you.”

Taiyang smirked confidently. “You obviously don’t understand. It doesn’t matter if he’s just like Salem or if he was one of the brothers. Those are my daughters he’s training and I am their father. So long as there’s breath left in my lungs, I’ll continue to care for them and do my best to ensure that they’re okay.”

“You always were an idealistic idiot,” Raven muttered. “Outside of the fact that he was able to beat me in a fight while I was using the Spring Maiden’s powers, I don’t know much about him. You’re better off asking Ozpin... Or that redheaded girl he likes to keep by his side.”

“Eh, that seems like too much work,” Taiyang said, stretching as he stood up. “Instead, I think I’ll just go straight to the source.”

“Don’t say that I didn’t warn you,” Raven replied.

“Yeah, yeah. Big scary unbeatable Huntsman,” Taiyang waved her off as he stepped towards her door. “See you some other time, Raven. Think about what I said, alright?”

“Goodbye, Taiyang,” Raven answered, gesturing towards the door.

Nodding, he left and Raven was alone once more.

In a strange sort of way, she’d almost have preferred it if he’d been more like Qrow and had pointed out her many failings. Instead, he’d actually tried to help her... Leaving her feeling conflicted.

Part of her wanted to mope around and drown her problems with a bottle, while another... Lesser heard part was demanding that she get off her ass and stop feeling sorry for herself. Worse yet, it seemed to be winning.

Picking up her discarded blade, Raven’s hands shook, her heart beat faster and her breathing became erratic, but she refused to drop it.

“Stop shaking!”

…Breathe…

Sitting in the Amphitheatre, I watched as Pyrrha sparred with the entirety of Team RWBY. She was good... Easily capable of simply overwhelming the team if she wanted to, but, since this was a training exercise and not actual combat, she held back.

It certainly helped Team RWBY train. Fighting a superior opponent did that. Pyrrha also got a little practice in as well... Even together, they weren’t really a match for her, but Yang seemed to have really taken to her new speed as she sped around the arena, helping block some of Pyrrha’s heavier blows.

“They’re doing fairly well, all things considered,” Winter commented. “They’ve certainly grown stronger... Especially Yang. I’m not quite certain that I recognize that technique she uses to move as fast as she does.”

“It’s just a simple technique I taught her before we left Argus,” I replied. “It’s a method of building up a large amount of momentum before releasing it in an instant.”

“I see,” Winter nodded stiffly before softening. “Is... Everything alright? You seem a little distracted.”

“I’m fine, it’s just... There’s a lot on my mind,” I admitted. “Merlot... Salem... The Vytal festival... Mentoring Team RWBY. I’m not really sure what I should focus on.”

Humming to herself, Winter glanced towards Pyrrha before looking back. Nodding to herself, she shifted a little further away from me, but not before grabbing my shoulder.

“Winter...”

“You need to lean into it,” Winter explained, pulling me down. “This is something that my...  That Willow used to do when I was younger and I always found it relaxing.”

Resting my head on her lap, she slowly began to rake her fingers through my hair. I had to give it to her... This was certainly relaxing.

“Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I think back to when I was still in training to become a Specialist... It was something General Ironwood said to me. ‘We’re all in this together.  Each and everyone here is working to make a better tomorrow,’” Winter continued. “I found it to be a comforting thought... That no matter what threat is out there, we’re all in this together, taking it one step at a time.”

One step at a time, eh? I could get behind that.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly, feeling a little lighter for it.

“Thanks... That helped,” I hummed.

“You’re welcome.” Winter smiled.

Falling into a comfortable silence, I continued to watch Team RWBY fight Pyrrha.

Weiss... Almost as if she was able to feel my gaze, turned to look in our direction. Locking eyes with the younger Schnee, her mouth fell open and she unintentionally hit the trigger on her blade, sending a wave of ice towards Ruby and Blake... Neither of them had expected to be attacked by their teammate.

“Hey, what the heck?!” Ruby squawked.

“Weiss,” Blake snapped.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t looking,” Weiss apologized. “I’ll get you out in just a sec–Gah!”

Thrown across the arena with the wind knocked out of her, Weiss clutched the offending object that slammed into her waist... Pyrrha’s shield... Only for it to jerk out of her grip and return to the red headed warrior.

“Never allow yourself to become distracted, especially when in a fight,” Pyrrha chirped. “Even during a spar. You really don’t want to develop a bad habit like that.”

“Um, uh,” Ruby hummed, trying to pull herself free from the ice as Pyrrha approached. “Weiss... No, she’s out. Yang, a little help here, please!”

Darting around the arena at a speed comparable to Ruby’s Semblance, Yang reared her fist back, ready to shatter the ice that trapped her sister and teammate, only to come to a dead halt as she collided with Pyrrha’s spear.

“You might be fast, but you’re not really experienced with that speed,” Pyrrha noted. “You should have tried to distract me first before attempting to free your teammates.”

“Don’t... Need to,” Yang grimaced. Grabbing Pyrrha’s spear, she swung it to the side and stepped into her guard, only to be bashed by her shield. Grabbing onto it to keep herself from stumbling backwards, she shot Pyrrha a vicious grin. “I’ve been... Saving up... Throughout this... Entire fight.”

Watching as Yang’s eyes turned red and her hair lit up as if it was on fire, Pyrrha jumped back in an attempt to put some distance between them, only for Yang to follow her step for step.

Using her Semblance to help reposition herself, Pyrrha raised her shield, blocking Yang’s fist just moments before it impacted her.

A thunderous crack sounded through the area as the energy from Yang’s punch exploded outward, throwing her and Pyrrha in opposite directions

Hitting the ground, Yang slowly rolled to a stop. Breathing heavily and with sweat dripping down her face, she pushed herself up and turned towards Pyrrha, feeling a sense of worry that she might have accidentally hurt her friend, only to find that her worry was misplaced.

Standing tall with her spear gripped in one hand, Pyrrha held her shield in front of her... Its body glowing a dull red and radiated a good amount of heat. Lowering it, she revealed an excited smile that quickly faded when she took in Yang’s exhausted form.

“Are you okay?” She asked, taking a step towards Yang.

“That’s just insane,” Yang muttered to herself. “That was literally everything I had and you took it like it was nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say nothing,” Pyrrha hummed. “I did have to get serious there for a moment. If your punch landed, it would have drained a substantial amount of my Aura.”

But not enough to beat her. It was actually a little terrifying how tough Pyrrha was. Even though she’d been holding back, she was still able to beat their entire team, all of whom had been using Total Concentration Breathing.

It was insane.

It was awesome.

“You–“

“Ambush!” Ruby roared as she appeared in a flurry of rose petals, only to be swiped to the side by Pyrrha’s spear.

Stepping to the side, Pyrrha avoided a sword, attached to a black ribbon. Stabbing her spear into the ground, she grabbed a hold of the ribbon and gave a harsh tug, dragging Blake towards her.

Darting forward far faster than Blake could follow, Pyrrha circled the Faunus, wrapping her in her own ribbon.

“You should probably surrender,” Pyrrha advised the team. “You’re not going to win this one.”

Raising her shield, she blocked several sniper rounds. Shifting her spear into its rifle form, she took several shots of her own, only to pause when she saw that both Weiss and Yang were standing by Ruby’s side, ready to continue fighting irregardless of their own exhaustion.

“We’re not done yet,” Ruby yelled back.

Gripping her rifle tightly, Pyrrha smiled brightly.

...Breathe...

“Well,” I said, examining Yang’s arm. “It’s not broken, but you have damaged the bone. It’ll heal once your Aura kicks in, but you might want to ice your arm after we’re done here.”

“And the rest of my body,” Yang groaned. “Seriously, I’m pretty much one giant bruise right now.”

“I’m sorry,” Pyrrha apologized, blushing lightly. “I... Might have gotten a bit carried away.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Yang said. Attempting to wave her off, she froze in pain. “It... Was still an awesome fight.”

“Speak for yourself,” Weiss muttered, holding her gut. “I think I might have internal bleeding.”

“That’s where the blood’s supposed to be,” Yang grinned.

“You... I... Gah.”

Seeing Winter’s alarmed look, I glanced over Weiss and shook my head, easing her worries. She didn’t have internal bleeding... She did however have a bruised ribcage which was bound to cause her some pain for the rest of the day.

I... Might need to escort them to the on campus med bay. A few painkillers and a night's rest would go a long way to fixing them up. Aura was handy like that.

As for Blake and Ruby, they got off a lot easier. Sure they were still a little beat up, but it wasn’t anywhere near as Weiss or Yang.

Pyrrha on the other hand... Aside from a little sweat, she was completely fine. The only thing that might have been able to hurt her was Yang’s punch and she’d weathered that pretty well. She’d easily be able to go another few rounds without any issues.

“So, what else have you got for us?” Yang asked. “It’s not some other breathing exercise, is it? If so, could we do it tomorrow because all I want to do now is get a hot shower and climb into bed.”

“No, it’s not another breathing exercise,” I chuckled, drawing a relieved sigh from Yang. “But it is something I need to discuss with you four,” I said, glancing over at the four Huntresses in training.

“We… Didn’t do anything wrong, did we?” Ruby asked.

“Nope,” I hummed. “With how far you four have advanced, I thought that it was about time we kicked your training up a notch. You’ll still need to focus on Total Concentration Breathing, but, outside of that, you’ll also be learning how to use your Breathing Styles.”

“Hell yeah!” Yang cheered. Jumping up in excitement, her expression soon morphed into one of pain as she fell forward. “Catch me, catch me, catch me!”

Reaching out, Pyrrha caught Yang under her arms while I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her waist, keeping her from falling over.

“Thanks,” Yang breathed a sigh of relief, before smirking. “I always wanted to know what it would feel like to be the stuffing in a sandwich… And now I do.”

“…Right,” I chuckled softly while helping Yang sit down.

“Um… When will we start learning our Breathing Styles?” Ruby asked, raising her hand. “I mean, I’m down for whenever, but I do have a ton of homework for tomorrow… But I could blow it off if we’re starting tonight.”

“Actually, that is something I needed to talk to you four about,” I noted. “Before we begin, you four are going to need to… Upgrade your weapons.”

“Wait, so… That special metal?” Ruby asked.

“Yep,” I nodded.

If I taught them their Breathing Styles now, they’d just run into the same problem as Pyrrha and Winter… And this time, Ruby wouldn’t be able to help out. I mean, I could always ask Ozpin for help, but I’d rather just avoid the problem entirely by holding off on their Breathing Styles for a week.

“Special metal?” Weiss asked before turning towards her teammate for an explanation. “Ruby?”

“That’s a surprise for later,” I said, stepping in. “Trust me, the wait will be worth it.”

“Sweet, so since Ruby seems to know what to do, we'll just get the details from her tomorrow,” Yang added a little impatiently. “I can go get showered now, right?”

“Well… I suppose so,” I replied.

I had wanted to explain a few things to Blake and Weiss. Since they’d helped out a little with Merlot’s lab, I thought that now might be the right time to tell them about Salem, but I suppose I could delay it… At the very least, it’d give me some time to figure out how to explain Salem’s existence to them.

That was odd… Someone just entered the Amphitheatre. Maybe I was right to hold off on Salem. I didn’t want some random student knowing about her.

“Yes,” Yang cheered from her seat. “Now does anyone think they could help me into the showers… Anyone at all?” She asked, looking between her teammates. “Do I hear any takers? If no one speaks up, I’m just gonna have to ask Coal. Is that what you want? For him to see me naked?”

“Who’s going to see you naked?”

“…Dad?!” Both Ruby and Yang squawked.

“Hey girls, how’s it going,” Taiyang smiled. “Yang, I got your text… Something about blowing up an island.”

Eyes widening, Yang seemed to fold in on herself. “I meant to send that to Nora,” She breathed.

Well that kind of explained why he was here.

“Yes, well… I think it’s time that your mentor and I had a little chat,” Taiyang said. “Tell me mister Calavera… What exactly are your intentions towards my daughters?”

“Dad, no.”

“Gah, parental embarrassment… Why?” Ruby moaned, pulling her hood over her face.

And suddenly his  arrival made a whole lot more sense. Sure, I’d taken them on a dangerous mission, but that was expected of Huntresses. Dating, however…

“I’m just… training them so they’ll be ready if anything chooses to come for them,” I explained.

Giving me a hard look, Taiyang sighed. “So you’re not trying to start something with one of my daughters?”

“Dad!” Yang yelled while Ruby retreated further into her hood.

“…No. I’m kind of already in a relationship,” I said, nodding towards Pyrrha and Winter.

“Oh… OH… oh,” Taiyang hummed, going through various emotions. “Damn, good work, kid. I’d give you a high five, but… Wait. What’s wrong with my daughters? They not good enough for you?!”

I slapped a palm to my face. Maybe I should see if Maria was busy… I could call her over and have her mess with Taiyang a little.