War in Remnant: Vol 0

Chapter 10 - Dawn of the Beginning

It had been a day since everyone had returned from Mountain Glenn. Of course the students immediately interrogated Sheik about him not having an aura, but the boy chalked it up to having aura deficiency, preventing him from manifesting aura. However this wasn't enough, especially since he managed to overpower a grimm.

"What's the truth?" Weiss probed.

"We won't tell anyone," Blake assured. She knew what the feeling of harbouring a deep secret was, so she understood why it was difficult for the boy.

"I say we just force him to say it," Nora suggested, dropping into a combat stance, though she was quickly held back by Ren.

Sheik looked at everyone, noting the determination they held behind their eyes. He then sighed and closed his eyes temporarily before looking at everyone again.

"I can't tell you everything, but it wouldn't hurt to say some things," Sheik said.

Luna, who was sitting beside him, held his hand to grab his attention. With her brother's eyes locked onto hers she asked if he was alright with telling them.

He nodded at her with a gentle smile and said, "It wouldn't hurt, if it's just a bit."

Sheik then turned back to the others, he took a deep breath before beginning his short tale.

"Luna and I were from a city known as Valla, some of you may know it as the home of the Vulcans," Sheik revealed, earning a couple of gasps from the crowd. "These warriors were formidable and our mother was the empress of the entire place. But me and Luna left on our own when we were young."

Sheik hung his head, his sister followed suit but not as much. "In order to survive I gave up something in exchange for strength. It resulted in me gaining aura deficiency, but it did do wonders for my physical prowess."

The others soaked in the information, but it was too vague to fully understand.

"So how do you defend yourself against grimm?" Yang questioned.

"I don't, I get injured a lot in my fights, no aura to heal means I just have to take the hit and let the wounds heal with medicine or just blood clots. That's why I mainly fight from a distance, though my increased physical capabilities does allow me to be faster than the grimm, not to mention that I've trained my senses to be sharp enough to detect danger from a good distance," Sheik explained, he was really hoping they would accept it, cause it was all he had.

"What did you give up?" Ruby anxiously asked.

Sheik's eyes slightly widened, he then began to ponder on how he could explain it. Words only jumbled in his mind, never forming coherent sentences. His heartbeat increased in speed as nervousness was starting to settle on his mind. Meanwhile his sister also had the same problem, she too was fearing the words that would come out of his mouth.

With shaky hands, Luna gripped her brother's hand which caused everyone's attention to be on her. What everyone saw, drove them to feel guilt: Sitting before them was a shaking Luna with her eyes welling with tears and lips quivering rapidly.

Holding her in his arms, Sheik began to softly rub Luna's long hair while the girl just rested on her brother's chest.

Without turning to the others, Sheik answered Ruby's question. "I gave up something that would be considered important. To protect this one and looking back, I didn't really need it."

It was vague, but no one had the heart to continue their interrogation. Not after witnessing Luna silently break down into her brother's arms.

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Elsewhere, Glynda and Ozpin were watching a video in his office. The video was a badly captured fight between the faunus group the White Fang and a mysterious creature.

Though blurry, the footage showed the creature's slim body, what they assumed were horns on its head that slightly curved backwards like a goat's and finally a tail. They also witnessed how it fought: wild and animalistic, yet it seemed intelligent knowing parts of the body that would result in an immediate kill.

"My goodness," Glynda exasperated in slight fear.

"Although I already knew, this took me aback as well," Ozpin answered. "I've seen many grimm, but this is a first for me."

"What? How can you be so sure that this is safe then?" Glynda questioned, slamming her hand on the headmaster's desk.

The headmaster then turned his chair to the window and stared out into the forest. "The world is changing Glynda and I have a feeling a dark entity will fall upon Vale soon. We need all the help we can get. Even if it is from beings that are steeped in darkness."