Gunfighter of Remnant

Chapter XVII

I slept through the night freezing in the dark wishing everything that happened was nothing but a bad dream. As dawn approached I woke up right as the sun started to shine over the horizon. My stomach hurt from the lack of food and water, my head was throbbing from where that blow landed on me, and every memory started to flood back into my mind causing me hug my knees and cry for another twenty minutes, or so. I regain my composure and grabbed the pickaxe, shovel and the harmonica on the ground before I started to walk back down the path, back toward my home. The sun was past noon before I found any answer to what happened yesterday while I was out cold. I was on top of the hill overlooking the valley when I saw some smoke rising from the trees at the far side of the forest the lined the western side of the valley before the open fields where we-I lived. I started to walk towards the smoke when I realized it was in the general direction of the Dempsey's house was, giving some hope that they maybe alright. That my father may have been wrong for once. I never felt so alone when I got to their home, or what was left it. Burnt, burning, or smoldering. That's all I could think about when looking at their house. I felt like crying, but no tears could be mustered at this point. I had nothing left to cry for now, not a damn thing. I dropped the two tools as I walked to the two bodies lying near the house's front door when it clicked. Mister and Misses Dempsey!? Upon closer inspection, I notice the melted rings on the bodies fingers on each of their hands confirming what I hoped wasn't true. I looked around heavily breathing, keeping all my anger locked away while searching for Vanessa's body. Her parents were here, but she wasn't. I had mixed emotions wondering if she might have escaped, or fell victim to something else out there. Out in the middle of the woods alone. I looked back at her parents and finally lost control. I fell to my knees and hung my head finally mustering what tears I could and cried again. After shedding tears for losing them, I finally gathered my strength and dug three graves near the wrecked house in the backyard looking towards the trees they admired the most around this hollow valley. After putting the dirt back on top of their remains I put the tools down and went out into the woods looking for any signs for Vanessa. I knew darkness was gonna come around and I felt the urge to scream for her. To call out and pray to whatever god was listening, but I fell silent when I came to a tree with ripped piece of a dress laying near it. I slowly walked towards the tree and and felt everything in me just die right there. I started to stumble as I came around once I saw the feet, then the body itself. Laying there holding their side was Vanessa. Blood and burns riddles her body as she laid there lifeless holding what looked to be a gunshot. I wanted to yell in rage, but time was burning as the day started to go dim once again, so I got up off the ground and picked her up like a bride and took her back to her family. Even as a kitsune with great powers,Vanessa nor her mother were able to escape that monster of a man hiding behind that gun and glasses surrounded by thugs. I laid her i the third grave between her mother and father before putting the soil back on top of her lifeless remains and put one last cross at the edge of her grave. As I held to it, hugging the makeshift cross I said to myself, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." I felt the wooden cross shift as I started to fall onto my knees again. "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away." I felt like a horrible person, not being able to save my family. Not even able to save a friend. Now there was only one last thing I could do...time to go home.

Present POV:

Gunfighter's POV:

I sat there in silent while they stared at me with painful, sad, yet curious expressions to what I was gonna say next. "Did you bury her?" I raised my head to look at Pyrrha and said nothing as I sat there. "Your mother, did you get the chance to bury her?" As I stared at her, she started to look away thinking she upsetted me but I reassured her with my answer. "Yeah." She looked back at me. "I did get the chance to bury her. Just not by father like I wanted." The sound of silence filled the cafeteria while we all sat there. I heard something sound like a click and looked at the doorway to the cafeteria to see a dress move back behind the corner out of view and I knew who it was right off the bat. "You know it's rude to eavesdrop on someone's conversation Goodwitch." The others looked in the same direction after the heard someone made an eep sound trying to keep silent, yet failing. Glynda came around the corner saying, "I do apologize for that. I was curious to what the students wanted to talk to you about, so I thought I would listen from afar." We all looked at her until I said, "You could have just joined us. It didn't stop Port here." I said pointing to him while looking at her. She stayed where she was standing as I got up and started to walk to the entrance saying, "They can fill you in on what you missed. I'm gonna stretch my legs right now. We'll catch up later if you all don't mind." Once outside I sat near the tree where JC came back to lay next to me. As I sat there, the thought of someone rummaging through my weapons came to me and started to have me think about where I could hide the Engraved Ranger. After sitting there for some time I walked back to my room as I heard the sound of voices walking around looking for me, so I quickened my pace. I locked my room quietly and started to look around where I could hide it, yet find it without anyone ever guessing to look there. After some time contemplating about where to hide it, I looked at the large shelf and moved it to the side far enough for me to get at the back wall behind it and set to work. It didn't take as long as I thought, but the mess I made took the most time. I made damn sure to clean every little thing around the shelf, wall, even the rest of the room to hide any and all evidence of my little project. I hid the real Engraved Ranger and decide to carry some other fancy revolver in replace. I had one as a reward for saving some business man's daughter, and since I never used it, it would be perfect piece to replace it with. Who ever was looking for it, they obviously didn't know what it truly looked like. I holstered my new dummy gun and decided to lay down and rest since I didn't get much last night. Sadly that wasn't gonna happen since someone started to knock on my door getting my attention. I cracked the door a small bit with one of my Colt Walkers in hand, cocked and ready, only to see Glynda and Port standing in front without the other three teams. "What's the occasion?" I asked curious to their company. "We were curious about what Ruby, Velvet, and Jaune along with their teams told us. They went to Vale to get something to eat for lunch, so we'd thought we could talk to you by ourselves." I gonna say something until a new voice joined in. "I'm not late am I?" Someone asked rather quickly. I opened the door to see Professor Oobleck holding a thermal mug of coffee catching up to these two. "I guess it wouldn't kill me to answer some of your questions." "We weren't interrupting you are we?" Port asked. "What's there to interrupt? Ozpin already did more than interrupt me." They looked at one another before I eased their second thoughts asking, "Wanna come in, or take this to the teacher's lounge?" They looked at me after staring at each other and agreed with the teacher's lounge getting us started. Once we got there I took the same seat like always as they made something to drink and sat near me this time and one by one started to ask me about different things. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you get all these weapons? I know you didn't make them, so I thought I'd ask." I looked at Port and replied, "I collected them here and there. The Walkers are my father's where as the other guns and blades I collected along the way. You know that shotgun I have?" He nodded as the other two listened. "Ever heard of Bob Olinger?" Oobleck chimed in, "He was the last victim of Billy the Kid." I chuckled and said, "That's what everyone thinks Oobleck." "What you were the one to shoot him?" Glynda sarcastically responded. "As a matter of fact, I did." She looked at me surprised. "I thought you only wanted criminals!" "Now hold your horse woman. It wasn't a murder, I shot him in self defense." "How so?" Oobleck asked. "When Billy was caught, I was locked away since I was part of his gang for some time. Originally I went to him about information of the man who killed my family, but he was under attack when I got dragged in. In return for saving his hide, he said to travel with him. Apparently he heard about the man, but he was traveling with old man Clanton. Leader of the Cowboys at the time. When Sheriff Pat Garrett arrested us, I was locked away until Billy made his famous escape when some woman planted a pistol for him i  the privy. The little punk used me as bait while he ducked and ran out of town after he killed James Bell While I take the fall, but I had a nasty surprise for those morons...I manage to get a hold of Bob Olinger's mean ass shotgun. Double barrel, twelve gauge, the damn thing could cut man clean in half if used properly." "So? He was killed months later." Oobleck interjected. "You right, he was also blamed for the mighty depopulation of that town that day, but he didn't stick around to gun them down. I was stuck in the middle trying to find a damn horse to escape myself. By the time I found the stables I was stopped by Bob Olinger. He asked me, "Where do you think you're goin boy?" I replied, "You know I'm innocent Bob. You best let me go." "I don't think so boy. Not with my shotgun." We ended up having a duel. The tension was high, and a lot of civilians saw what was going down right there on the edge of town. I killed Bob in fair duel that day, everyone there that saw that." Oobleck scoffed while Port and Goodwitch listened intently. "Don't believe huh? Tell me-" I leaned forward towards Oobleck. "-where did you hear or read who shot Bob?" He stared at me and said, "In an old newspaper article written by..." "By?" He stayed quiet when he thought over who the author was. "Who?" Port and Glynda asked. "By an associate of Sheriff Pat Garrett, who happen to be a first hand witness of Bob Olinger's death." After a moment of silent Glynda asked, "Did anyone hunt you after that?" I looked at her, "No, but I started hunting them right after. Boy was I in over my head at the time." "Where does that money go?" Oobleck and Port stared at Glynda in shock while she was looking at me asking that question. "Gave near most of it away after helping some unfortunate soul who's been kidnapped or enslaved to some prick." The three looked at me confused as Port asked, "Why do you do that?" I leaned back and replied, "Why? I knew someone like them once. There was no one there to help. No hunter, no huntress, no lawman, or even Atlas soldiers. Not a damn person helped them except me." I growled the last part irritated about how crooked this school, like all the others, is." They didn't say anything, letting what I told them sink in. Port regained the moment and asked, "Why did you take this as a career? Being a gunfighter?" I make a small smile while saying, "The first town full of villainy I roamed into a man once said, "You'll get rich here, or you'll be killed. Juan De Dios tolls the bell again." And you'll be damn surprise that the crazy bellringer was right, there's money to be made in a place like that" They gave me a look of curiosity as I continued, "A man life has near equal value as gold in the middle of nowhere. I made quite a lot of that town before moving on." "What town was that?" Port asked. "San Miguel." They looked at one another in surprise and shock before Oobleck asked, "You're the one who killed both factions!?" I smiled a small bit and replied, "I didn't kill both factions. I pit them against each other one last time and killed the last faction standing. They both had it coming." The three started to whisper to one another before Glynda asked, "Did you ever catch up to the people who killed your family?" I sighed and quite leaning back in my chair and was about to answer until Ruby and her large gang of friends showed up with Coco asking, "Continuing without us?" Hanging her sunglasses off the bridge of her nose looking at me. I looked at the three teachers and said, "Better start telling them what I already told you three."