"The Catalyst" : A Yang Xiao Long AU! #RWBYWATTYS

Chapter 9 : "The Assailant"

Rei walked back towards the group slowly, smiling like crazy.

"To think, this is my shy brother whom I grew up with." Weiss thought to herself as he walked back, his eyes opening to reveal the large crystal-like blue eyes. Weiss suddenly fell forward, a sharp pain in her neck.

"Mother...." Weiss thought to herself as she fell forward, her mind blanking......

Rei saw his sister fall forward, unconscious before she hit the ground. He immediately took off, sprinting to her. Ruby was the first by her side, removing the arrow from the back of her neck. She quickly cradled Weiss' head in her lap, removing the dust and rocks from her face. Yang knelt down to Weiss and Ruby, unsure of what to do.

"You're gonna be okay, Weiss. You're gonna be ok. You're gonna be ok...." Ruby lulled herself, saying the sentences to soothe herself more than anyone. They had just met yesterday, but she and Ruby had grown a rather close bond.

Rei, however, didn't get to Weiss' side. Instead, he was already on top of the roof, chasing the assailant who had shot an arrow at his sister. They both ran as fast as they could, Rei and the assassin in a desperate race. He recognized the assassin. He was still wearing the same hood he had on when he'd killed Rei's mother.

"You're not getting away. Not this time." Rei breathed, drawing his blade and sprinting faster. The assassin smiled once he noticed the gleam in Rei's eyes, then quickly jumped from the roof and onto a lower building. Rei would have followed, except Yang's calls and pleading had finally reached him. She'd been calling his name ever since he had jumped onto the roof. He made eye contact with the assassin, but he couldn't make out the assailant's face. All he saw were the reds of the assassin's eyes.

"Rei! Get back here!" Yang shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Rei turned around, the assassin disappearing in a haze of red smoke. He jumped from the roof, landing next to Yang. The two ran back towards Weiss and Ruby, where Ruby gently held Weiss' head in her lap.

The ambulance had finally arrived, taking Wiess and Ruby and leaving. Ruby had volunteered to go in place of Rei, with the argument that Rei should stay and celebrate. Rei, reluctanct but understanding, knew Ruby was far more concerned for Weiss than he was. He knew Weiss would be fine just by looking at her, but Ruby however didn't.

"What if the arrow was poisoned!?" Ruby argued, but over time Rei allowed her to go. That left Yang and Rei, the only two to not entirely like each other at that moment. They were outside the arena, the rain beginning to pour heavily. Rei eventually sat down on a brass bench, a tree covering him from the rain. Occasionally, a rain drop would escape the labyrinth of leaves and land next to Rei, but he was never splashed.

Yang looked very tense, terrified even. Yang, the flame brawler, was horribly terrified of rain. Yang had sat down next to Rei, but she recoiled from the raindrops.

"Y-ya know, if it weren't for this god forsaken rain, I could be raining on someone's parade right now!" Yang shouted, recoiling from another raindrop shorty after.

"You and your puns...." Rei smiled lightly to himself, acknowledging the fact that her joke actually made him happier.

"But that guy earlier...." Rei thought to himself as his thoughts suddenly stole his mind, occupying his mental state.

"He was strong. I knew that much when i looked at him. He was easily stronger than me, but then why did he run? What did he do to Weiss? She only lost consciousness, but the arrow showed no signs of poisoning. Just...... numbing medicine. She's at the hospital now..... With Ruby....... Only Ruby to guard her...... Fuck."

Rei suddenly shot upward, rocketing out of the bench. He ran forward, into the rain. The water droplets soon soaked his shirt, leaving the blue a darker shade. He didn't know if Yang had followed, but he couldn't focus on Yang. Not now, at least. His sister was far more important to him at that moment.

An explosion sounded, coming from his left. He quickly adjusted his body, running for the explosion. A large gun-shot followed shortly after, bringing more shots with it. He knew those shots too well.

"Crescent Rose..." Rei breathed as he ran faster, the rain still falling on him.

---

Ruby dropped to one knee, blood pouring from her reopened wound above her right eye and several new wounds that had miraculously been inflicted. The poor girl used Crescent Rose as a stick, holding the scythe so that the blade hit the ground. She slowly stood her, her body protesting movement. Her attacker merely stood across from her, the hospital ruins surrounding them. She could see the flash of the brilliant blade, her body and brain barely able to process the turn of events.

"I will only ask once more. Where is Weiss Schnee?" the male's deep voice asked, his blade suddenly being pointed at Ruby. Ruby smiled, still using the scythe as a supportive crane.

"I already told you. I'm not going to tell you." Ruby responded, finally reaching her full height. She stood as tall as she could, straightening her back and defying her current odds.

"Then you will die." The assailant stated, walking slowly to Ruby. Ruby felt herself shake, her mind suddenly becoming dizzy. She fell forward, smiling slightly. She had lost consciousness, her smile giving way to a pool of blood. The assailant suddenly stopped, tipping his head slightly as he registered the unconscious girl before him. He raised his hand, the blade now transferred to his left. With his right hand, he began charging a small blast. The flames gathered in his palm, suddenly rising in power as he prepared his attack. The flames suddenly shot forward, the blaze unaffected by the rain.

The assassin was quite surprised when his flaming inferno was reduced to ice. At first, he wondered if it was the unconscious girl. He quickly deleted the idea from his mind, as the girl couldn't have done that. His answer stood in front of him, a Schnee Glyph attached to the savior's back-hand.

"That Glyph........ Another Schnee!?" The assailant thought to himself. His eyes soon shifted to the youngster stirring on the ground, apparently not having been unconscious the whole time.

"H-Hiya, Rei. D-didn't see y-ya there." Ruby said, weakly. Rei didn't remove his eyes from the assailant, the cloak still covering him and bathing his face in shadows.

"Wonderful day to kill someone, ain't it?" Rei asked, threateningly.

"I was just about to say that. Who are you? You've demonstrated the Schnee Glyph and have even gotten it to rank 2, a feat not even Warren Schnee could attempt. You've appeared from nowhere, easily dispatching a 2nd year team and yet somehow not even batting an eye. However, your last name is crystal. You are not a Schnee, yet you have the powers of a Schnee. Who are you? What are you?" The assailant asked, a little too curious for his own good.

"I am Rei Schnee, an adopted child. My mother, the same woman you killed years ago, was named Crystal. You murdered her in front of me, with that fucking now of yours. Now, I'll return the favor." Rei raised his blade, making sure the tip was leveled with the assailant's neck line.

"With your head." Rei finished, his crystal eyes adapting a bright silver glow.

"G-good luck, Rei." Ruby breathed as she lost finally consciousness.

"Don't worry Rubes. This man will be dead when you wake. I'll make sure of it. Even if it costs me my life."