RWBY: Innocence

Running From Safety

The silence of the night was captivating. The bright moon, half-shattered with most of its broken pieces permanently in its own gravity, hung over the tower. Beacon Academy was completely silent. Soldiers silently stood around the Academy like statues, guarding the students as all of them slept. All except one...

"This is it..."

Kenzo stood in his room, practically blending with the shadows. The only sound he could hear was the soft snoring of his roommates.

"They don't need me..."

He had met them all and had managed to become good friends with them. Indigo, Laura and Raphael were incredibly friendly towards him, but Kenzo refused to believe that their intentions were true.

"They're better than me..."

Indigo was a Magic-obsessed British woman who wielded a cane with a secreted blade that could transform into a Rifle with the press of a button. She wore a long Black Coat with White Trousers, a Top-Hat and Brown hair neatly styled into a bun. She enjoyed looking at the artistic side of battling, but had an annoying habit of keeping her Top-Hat clean. When they were first introduced, she offered him a Palm-Reading, but Kenzo refused.

"They won't accept me..."

Laura was an energetic German girl who had a passion for war. Her weapon of choice was a Mechanical Longsword that could be converted into a missile launcher. Laura wore a set of Black Crusader armour without the Helmet and had short Maroon hair. She truly loved exploring everything there was to know about war, but this passion could become a bit too much to handle at times. She had beaten Kenzo several times art Arm-Wrestling, but that was because he hadn't been trying at all.

"They all hate me..."

Raphael was a tribal American Bull-Faunus who kept to himself. His weapon was a large Axe that could become a Shotgun. All that Raphael wore was a Brown Leather Vest, Dark-Brown Trousers, a Brown Leather Wrap and Light-Brown Shoes. His Brown mop was shaggy and allowed his horns to emerge from the depths of his hair. His idea of socialising was sitting in the woods in front of a fire, but this conflicted with the ideals of the others. Raphael had been interested in Kenzo's life on the run, but Kenzo wasn't interested in talking about his old glory days of freedom.

"They don't need me..."

Kenzo pulled his hood up and tightened the straps on his backpack. His plan was going perfectly and all he needed to do was to be quiet. Stepping towards the door, he looked back at his roommates and frowned. If he had wanted to stay, these people would have been his best friends.

"Goodbye..." He whispered to them.

Kenzo opened the door slowly and peeked out into the hallway. The hallway was empty and devoid of any life. It was at that moment that Kenzo began thinking about Yang. To him, Yang was more than just a personal trainer; she was a really good friend. Instead of putting Kenzo through vigorous training exercises, she sat down with him and had friendly conversations. She was one of the most kind and caring people he had met. He learned about her being Ruby's older sister, growing up on a small little island called Patch and her many adventures going clubbing. She was such a nice person that Kenzo felt as if he could trust her, but because she was under Ozpin's tutelage and she was a passionate Huntress, his instinct was not to confide in her.

Stepping out into the hallway, Kenzo slowly made his way across the hall and stopped at the end of it. All of the windows that dotted the walls showed the beautiful night sky outside. The hallway split into two paths; left and right. Kenzo looked left and saw nothing. He then looked right and saw nothing. He then looked behind him.

"Sir...I'm going to have to ask you to-"

Kenzo barged into the Soldier, shoving him into the left wall as he sprinted away. As soon as he began to run, more Soldiers began chasing him, shouting at him to surrender. Kenzo then ran towards the elevator and slammed his fist onto the button, his breath rapidly increasing in pace. As soon as the door opened, he darted inside and scrambled upwards, opening the emergency hatch as the Soldiers charged in.

"Kenzo! Come back!"

Kenzo recognized the voice as Ozpin's and cringed at the thought of his old Uncle chasing him. Grabbing onto a nearby wire, Kenzo slashed at the wire with a penknife and was sent flying upwards. The rushing air was almost enough to knock him off, but Kenzo remained strong. As he came close to hitting the ceiling, Kenzo activated his Semblance and allowed time to slow down. Darting towards the elevator door, he wrenched it open and jumped inside the room.

"What can I say? I like a guy with a big chest-"

Kenzo's eyes darted towards the source of the noise and saw Yang with a man who he didn't recognize. He watched her slowly turn to look at him and gasp.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered.

Deactivating his Semblance, Kenzo charged towards the huge window and broke through the glass, sending him careening into the air. As he began to fall, Kenzo looked back up at the window and saw Ozpin and Yang, watching him fall with horror on their faces.

"I'll miss you both..." He whispered.

Tears fell from Kenzo's eyes as he waved to them before turning around to face the rapidly approaching floor. Spotting a nearby pipe, Kenzo once again activated his Semblance and grabbed the pipe as he began sliding down it at incredible speeds. Finally hitting the floor, Kenzo turned to run when:

"Gotcha!"

Kenzo grunted in pain as a Soldier tackled him to the floor, driving him into the hard dirt beneath him. Looking up, he saw an entire militia of Soldiers aiming guns at him. Furious, Kenzo screamed out:

"JUST KILL ME ALREADY!"

He looked at the Soldier with tears streaming from his eyes, but not one of them shot him. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, he spotted Ozpin approaching him. He closed his eyes and tried his best to ignore his Uncle, but the emotional pain was too much. How could his Uncle send soldiers after him to keep him locked up?

Kenzo looked up at his Uncle, weeping softly. Ozpin only looked at his Nephew with tear-stained cheeks and shook his head...

********

Yang sat in front of Ozpin. She had gone to his office to ask about the incident, but she feared that she wouldn't get the answers she wanted. But all had gone well, and now she would finally learn about Kenzo's past...

"His Mother died when he was born..." Ozpin began.

Yang gasped softly, but continued to listen.

"We were out in the forest when Kenzo's Mother went into labor. Unable to cope with the pain, she passed away moments after Kenzo was born. Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, we heard the sound of a pack of Beowolves approaching. And so we ran..."

Ozpin took a hurried sip from his tea. The intense look of dread and fear on his face made him look like he was remembering the events in a painful flashback that he had suffered through before.

"His father and I started running, but the Beowolves were too quick for us. Realizing that there was no way out of it, his Father handed Kenzo to me and told me to run, which I did with no question whatsoever. He tried his best to fend them off, but..."

He paused, wiped a tear from his eye and continued:

"...He was brutally murdered... I took Kenzo to my home and raised him to the best of my ability... He was a very happy child, until he asked me about his Mother and Father. When I told him, he... ran away. I begged the authorities to find him as soon as possible, but... it took a long time before we eventually found him. As I built Beacon Academy and rose to the title of Headmaster, I searched far and wide for him, praying that I would one day find him..."

Yang nodded, trying not to cry.

"It's why I'm going to keep him here...I don't want to lose him again...I don't want to let his parents down..."