RWBY: Ebbing Darkness - Blake x MaleReader x Yang

Part 14

For the next twelve hours the world would be dark and silent. The air would reek of iron, chemicals, and unkept hygiene.
In this time, Summer looked over fourteen bodies; all in a row and set to rest with respect.
The young woman from before, Summer didn't have the name to ask her her name, sat beside one of them; her eyes blank and her hand under the bloodied canvas to hold a cold palm.
Y/N's heavy footsteps came from her side, echoing across the deck while blood dripped from his knuckles. Moments prior she had heard screams before the transport lurched as it changed course.
"What happened?" Vernal had asked.
"The pilot was being—uncooperative." He answered vaguely. "Everything's fine."
"Hey, hold on." She jogged up to his side, matching his pace to peer under his arm and at his ribs.
"Mh. It's nothing." Y/N waved off her concerns.
"It's not nothing!" Vernal swallowed and stood firm as they stopped. He looked down at her; his face hidden by ceramite. "You're hit."
Summer heard a faint gasp from beside her. A few of the faunus workers looked over, both concerned and anxious. She couldn't tell, personally. Y/N was caked in so much blood it was hard to tell which was his or not.
"A moment." He asked but waited for no answer. He approached the line of fallen tribe members to stand a silent vigil.
It was hard to imagine him holding compassion for them. It was even harder to acknowledge him having some sort of sympathy. However, Summer quickly dropped it. She hadn't paid them anymore than a somber, encumbering stare since they had taken off.
"Tesino." Y/N called out; the cook's name bouncing off the walls to reach her ears.
"Y-yes?" Tesino replied as she stood.
"Hm." He turned back, pleasantly surprised she had made it. "Is there anything of interest you had gathered?"
"Yeah, I think..." She cleared her throat and approached.
"You think?" He asked.
"We did." She repeated herself, this time with confidence.
Rifles, swords, staffs, state-of-the-art optics, grenades, and some of the finest dust any of them had ever seen. It was only a majority of their haul. Someone had managed to take a few helmets from the mercenaries. Tesino herself had carried a small crate of special anti-Grimm rounds and two of their respective launchers.
Summer eyed the launchers with awe and mild uneasiness. Such weapons were restricted to a kingdom's military. The sheer destructive power of one round was devastating, capable of piercing an adult Goliath's hide. They were the pinnacle of human engineering.
"Well done." Y/N gave a pleased hum and pat her back, nearly throwing her to the floor.
"T-thank you, sir." Tesino said, recovering with a slight wince.

And hour seemed to fly by. Vernal watched everything flow like the waves of a small lake. The tribe settled in and swallowed their grief. The most she saw them convey their hurt was with pained smiles and reminiscing jokes some may think cruel of the dead.
  Y/N tended to his people, making conversation and making sure they were comfortable. She wasn't a doctor, but they seemed energetic enough to make the flight.
  As he parted ways, she immediately felt his eyes on her. It was hard to say what was on his mind, so the answer hit her like a truck.
  "Vernal." He said, beckoning with her name alone.
  It was hard getting used to; her old name was history, practically buried. She figured it was punishment for lying. And as harsh of a punishment it was, she found the noise pleasant when coming from him.
  She followed him to a small cabin separating them from the cockpit. The room was sizable, large enough for him to sit comfortably and stretch his arms.
  It was with a skipping heart she watched him peek into the cockpit, part with a few words, and lock both doors behind him.
  It was a deep sense of anxiety and worry that came over her, punching the air out of her chest. Had she done something wrong? Did he know something she didn't?
  "What's... going on?" She asked with the tail end of her words becoming a murmur.
  "I'll need your help." He told her bluntly and set aside his weapons. "Here."
  A handed her a concealed pouch. Or it seemed to be. In his hand it was small and a worn leather; in hers it was a satchel both heavy and full.
  Without pause or so much as a thought, Y/N had undone the latches to his armor, removing it along with his robe. Underneath it all was a thick tunic, and that too was left on the floor.
  "People might get the wrong idea." Vernal joked with a nervous glance at the door then his bare chest.
  "I'd rather them assume that than anything else." Y/N hummed. He took a seat and relaxed, giving a tired groan.
  "Okay..." Vernal blinked and took an awkward once-over of the room. "What... do you want me to do?"
  "I trust you won't speak a word of this to anyone." He added. A surface scan of her thoughts told him he was right. She wasn't intimidated or obligated to. There was simply a bond between them. Trying to find out what kind was too early to say.
"Sure." Vernal hummed and regained her senses.
"Open it," He waved his hand and got comfortable. "You're going to pull these out."
"Pull what...?" Vernal stopped short when her eyes glazed over his armpit where a dark spot of scanned flesh remained. And just a foot away, seated in his shoulder blades, was another.
She approached and looked him over to see not two, but eight bullet holes hidden behind dried blood and expertly placed within weak points of his armor.
"You weren't using your aura?" She asked, flipping open the satchel with an urgent touch.
"No." He sighed. He didn't give a reason or his thoughts behind it, reinforcing the bond he felt between them.
"How're you still alive...?" She asked in a whispered surprise. He didn't say again, leaving a tense silence for her to get to work.