Reader x Cinder Fall x Summer Rose / The One You Feed: A RWBY Fanfiction

Chapter XIII: Family Matters

"Oh my God." Tai says breathlessly. "(F/N), is that you? It is, isn't it? Holy shit, we all thought..."

"What, you all though I was dead?" You ask darkly. "Or maybe, you hoped?"

"What?" Tai asks incredulously. "No, of course not, why would we..."

"Tell me, did any of you even bother to check to see if I was really dead? Or did you just not care?"

"Of course we cared (F/N)." Raven says, hand still on her blade. "And of course we looked for you. We all did. All of us. For three months."

"Three months, huh?" You laugh bitterly. "Is that what our friendship was worth to you? Three months? I suppose it doesn't really matter now. None of it does."

"You're right." Tai says, taking a step towards you. "None of that matters now. What matters is that you're here now. We can be a family again."

"You misunderstand." You say, causing Tai to look at you in confusion. "I'm not here to start a family. I'm here to end one."

Raven dives and tackles Tai to the ground just as one of your shadows flies for his chest. Sending a few more at the two on the ground, Raven swings her sword from the floor and cuts them to pieces. Back on their feet, Raven rushes at you and tries to slice you to pieces, but you simply summon shadow after shadow to deflect her cuts. As she goes for an overhead cut, you grab her wrist and palm strike her in the chest, sending her flying back. Crushing the blade in your hand, you throw the fragments to the ground and turn your head back towards the couple in time for Tai to punch you across the jaw. Surprised at your unphased reaction, Tai throws another punch. You grab his fist and begin to crush his hand in your own. Hissing in pain, Tai slowly drops onto one knee as you bend his wrist back towards him. You knee him in the face. You look up just in time to see Raven lunging at you again with another of her seemingly endless supply of blades. You raise your hand in front of your face and clench it into a fist, causing her to stop in midair. Turning your wrist, you open your hand, so your palm faces her. A powerful surge of dark energy sends her and Tai flying backwards, crashing through the wall of their house.

You lazily step through the hole in their wall as they get back to their feet. With a simple thought, you summon a dozen shadow tendrils and send them speeding in the dazed pairs' direction only for them to be cut to pieces by a large scythe. Qrow stands in front of his sister and friend, his cape blowing in the breeze and the sun hitting him at just the right angle. He always was the badass. Smirking, you wait for Tai and Raven to recover and for the three of them to rush you.

Their tactics haven't changed a bit. Just like when you were all at Beacon, Tai would act as a distraction while Qrow and Raven would attempt to outflank you. As Tai throws a lunge punch at you, your lower half turns to smoke as you drift backwards just out of his reach. Qrow jumps over his body with his scythe raised over his head but you send a number of shadows towards him, sending him crashing to the ground. If you recall, now is about the time Raven should be striking from behind. Right one cue, you hear the faint sound of Raven's blade being pulled from its sheath. At the same time, Tai throws a roundhouse kick to your head. Grabbing his leg, you spin and throw him around and into Raven.

A bullet misses you by inches. You turn to see Qrow standing with his arm wrapped over his stomach, firing round after round at your slowly approaching figure. Each bullet simply passes through you as you turn separate parts of your body to smoke. Switching Harbinger back into its scythe form, Qrow takes a swipe at you with his blade. You will your entire body to black smoke before reforming behind him, elbowing him in the back of the head, sending him stumbling over to his sister and friend.

Tai helps Raven to her feet and the three face you again. Eyes narrowed, you hold your hands lazily at your sides. Slowly curling your fingers inwards and creating a fist, you summon a daisho, two swords made of shadows, one several inches longer in length. Raven and Tai rush at you while Qrow provides cover fire. You slice each of his bullets in half with your blades while moving forwards to meet Raven and Tai. Bending backwards under Raven's attempt to sever your head, you spin and throw a hook kick at Tai's head, causing him to stumble backwards. You block a cut from Raven and use your other sword to swipe at her stomach, but she jumps backwards and out of the way. Turning, you throw your long sword at Qrow who is running in your direction. Moving his head out of the way of your blade, he spins and swings his scythe at your head while Raven simultaneously slices at your legs. Jumping and pulling your limbs in close, you sandwich yourself between the brother and sister's attack, landing on your feet, one hand placed on the ground. Tai and Qrow rush you again, Raven staying slightly behind. Ducking under a punch from Tai while spinning, you butterfly kick over Qrow's scythe. Raven flips over her husband and brother and lands in front of you, her sword at the ready. Rushing at you, she launches a flurry of attacks which you block with your own shadow blade. Tai bearhugs you from behind as Raven is about to cut you across the chest. Turning to smoke, Raven's sword passes through you, instead cutting Tai down the middle, shattering his aura.

"Tai!" She shouts.

You use her momentary distraction to send shadows flying her way. She does her best to deflect them, but she doesn't stop them all. Several graze her shoulders and sides, her aura flickering. This just leaves Qrow. He comes rushing at you from the side and you step backwards. A large rock trips you up and as you fall backwards, you see Qrow's eyes flash red. You barely manage to turn your body to smoke to avoid being severed by his scythe. The two of you clash blades over and over, sparks flying while Tai crawls over to Raven, clutching his side. Qrow is about to swing at you head when he's stopped by a shadow wrapping around his arm. Grabbing him by the neck, you lift him into the air. He drops his scythe as he claws at your hand wrapped around his throat.

"(F/N)." He chokes. "(F/N), this isn't you."

You can smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Don't try to fight it old friend." You say, raising your other hand to his face. "It'll only make it more painful."

You wrap your fingers around his temple and place your thumb on his forehead. His eyes and veins start to slowly turn black as he screams in pain. Black smoke starts to ooze from his body as he helplessly claws at your hand. A bullet whips past your right ear. Qrow's screams stop as you turn your head over your shoulder.

"That was a warning shot (F/N)." Summer says, her sniper scythe pointed at you. "Put him down. Now."

Dropping Qrow, you turn and direct your attention at Summer instead. She lowers her scythe.

"What happened to you (F/N)?"

"Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?" You ask, slowly approaching her.

"Because I don't know the answer!" She shouts. "(F/N) would never do this to his friends. Not the (F/N) I knew, not the one I loved."

"You never loved me!" You shout angrily. "You used me. Do you have any idea what I've become? The things I've done! You turned me into a monster! All of you!"

"The (F/N) I loved wasn't a monster."

"The (F/N) you used, is dead."

"I don't believe that." Summer says softly, placing her scythe on her back and walking towards you. "I know you're still in there (F/N)."

"You're... you're wrong."

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?"

"I..."

"You once asked me to see you." Summer says. "That's what I'm doing now. I see you (F/N). And I see the good in you."

Summer is standing mere inches from you now and you still haven't made a move to attack her. She takes your trembling hands in hers and squeezes them gently.

"It's not too late for you (F/N)." She says. "You can still be the man I loved."

Summer stands on her tip toes and kisses you. She wraps her arms around your neck and brings you closer to her. Hesitantly, tentatively, you place one hand on her shoulder, the other coming up to cup her cheek. You feel a flame burst to life inside your chest and your eyes shoot open. For the briefest of moments your eyes return to their normal (E/C). You grab Summer by the shoulders and push her away.

"I'm sorry." You say, a single tear leaking from the corner of your eye. "But you're wrong. I'm not the man I used to be. I don't think I can ever be that man again. I've changed too much, done too much." You wrap your hands around Summers like she did to yours just moments ago. "(F/N) is dead. Now all that's left of me, are shadows." You squeeze tightly before suddenly letting go. You turn to smoke and allow yourself to be carried away by the wind.