Breathe Chapter 68: Now and Then

Sitting on his porch overlooking the fields in front of his home, Oscar took slow meaningful breaths. Sitting to his side was a book on Huntsmen, although it only contained basic information about them and their duties, nothing about how to become one.

Well, not how to become one without attending a combat school. It did tell him a little about Aura and Semblances, but not how to unlock them.

Unfortunately, being well and truly in the middle of nowhere, there just wasn’t any place for him to learn... At least not without him having to move to a new city on his own, but doing so would mean leaving his parents farm behind... And Aunt June.

Living here wasn’t all bad. Farming was rewarding, if somewhat boring, work. He still had his books and Aunt June to keep him company when he felt lonely and thanks to the breathing technique Coal taught him, he was stronger than ever.

He was able to handle the farm without much effort. He could move faster, lift heavier objects and work longer without feeling fatigued... And that wasn’t even mentioning his recovery rate which was quite frankly monstrous.

Aunt June had been worried when she caught him pushing the old rusted tractor around the edge of the farm, thinking that he’d somehow managed to unlock his Aura on his own, but, seeing as he was still able to get hurt and that his wounds didn’t heal within a few seconds, she realized that wasn’t the case.

Oscar often wondered what it would feel like to have Aura on top of his rapidly growing strength. He’d seen Coal effortlessly fight off that pack of Beowolves once before... If Oscar had Aura, would he be like that? Would he have been able to help others... Like his parents?

Hearing a weird, almost inaudible sound coming from the small town in the distance, Oscar looked up, an oddly nervous feeling clenching at his heart. Getting up, he headed over towards the barn to the side of his house, grabbing the old axe that rested behind the door.

“Oscar! Where are you?” Aunt June called out worriedly as she stepped outside, an Atlesian rifle held in her hands.

“Over here,” Oscar answered, stepping out of the barn with his axe in hand. “What’s going on?”

“It’s the Grimm!” She answered. “You need to get inside. Start boarding up the windows, I’ll–“ Whatever June was about to say next got caught in her throat as a pack of Beowolves stepped out of the forest and onto their property, breaking the wooden fence surrounding the farm in the process.

Muttering a curse, June got down on one knee and began open firing on the Grimm, taking several out, before the pack began to charge towards them.

The thunder of June’s gun had nothing on the pounding of Oscar’s heart. Feeling panic begin to take hold as the Grimm grew nearer, he wondered if this was the moment where he was going to die. Aunt June couldn’t kill them all... Not on her own.

Watching as June pointed her gun to an approaching Beowolf and pulled the trigger, only for it to click empty, Oscar’s blood froze. This was it... The moment that he lost what remained of his family.

“NO!”

Tensing his legs, Oscar exploded forward.

Forcing his arms to stop shaking, he appeared in front of his Aunt, bringing his axe down on the Beowolf’s neck.

Black blood sprayed into the air as the Grimm hit the ground, its head rolling next to its body. Looking over his shoulder, Oscar was relieved to find his Aunt unharmed.

“Oscar?” June breathed, looking up. “Your face.”

His face?

Bringing a free hand up to his cheek, he pulled it back to find it covered in blood. A stinging sensation soon made itself known, before blossoming into a sharp, stabbing like pain.

He’d been cut... He’d been cut and he hadn’t even realized it.

“WATCH OUT!”

Turning just in time to see another Grimm rapidly approaching, he brought his axe up and hacked through its arm, causing it to let out a pained roar as it brought its lone claw down on him.

Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to block the Grimm’s strike in time, panic once more reared its ugly head. This was it. He’d simply gotten lucky with the last one. This one was bound to kill him.

A loud bang sounded through the farm as the Grimm fell over, a large hole in its head. Standing behind him with a lone pistol in her hand, June scowled at the approaching Grimm. “Stay away from my nephew, you sons of bitches.”

Firing off several more shots she took down another Grimm while wounding the rest before finally running out of bullets.

“A–Aunty?”

Slipping her pistol back into its holster, June grabbed her rifle and began reloading it.

“Thanks for the save, Oscar, but I think I can handle the rest.” Replacing the magazine, she snapped the bolt back. “Listen to me carefully, I want you to head into the house and start fortifying the windows and doors with anything you can. Tables, chairs, bookshelves... Whatever you can. With an attack of this level, the military is bound to get involved. All we need to do is survive long enough for them to get here.”

Part of him really wanted to listen to his aunt and wait for this whole thing to blow over... At least that way, they’d both survive. But a larger part of him felt that he could do more out here.

Coal had said something similar himself before leaving. How he needed to leave in order to fight stronger Grimm and help more people. Now it was Oscar's turn to choose between what was right and what was easy.

Choosing the right thing wouldn’t always be easy, but it would always be right.

Looking between the Grimm for the most wounded one, Oscar took a focused breath and tensed his legs. Exploding into motion, the world blurred around him as he shot past the first Beowolf, slicing through its neck with his axe.

“Oscar!”

Skidding to a stop, he looked for his next target, only to hear a low growl behind him. Jumping forward to avoid the Grimm, it turned out to be unnecessary as June blew a sizable hole through its chest, putting an end to the Beowolf.

Moving on to the next Grimm, Oscar hacked his way through it, cutting through its uninjured arm, before burying his axe in its chest. Removing his weapon from the Beowolf’s chest cavity, he grimaced as it made a wet snapping sound.

He’d never considered just how gory it could be fighting Grimm, it was almost overwhelming. Luckily there were only two left.

Watching as his aunt gunned down one of them, Oscar focused his attention on the remaining Grimm. Both of its arms were uninjured, but it was only able to use one of its legs as the other had several bullet holes in it.

Realizing that’s where he’d need to attack next, Oscar’s form blurred once more. Ducking under the next Beowolf’s slashes, he slid underneath it, hacking through its one good leg, dropping the Grimm on its back.

Not stopping there, Oscar stood up and raised his axe high. With one deep breath, he brought it down, cleaving the Grimm’s head in two, bringing an end to the fight.

Ripping his axe from the Grimms' evaporating head, Oscar felt sick when he saw just how badly he’d damaged it... How its brain was...

Turning to the side, he hacked out a cough. Luckily, he hadn’t eaten anything recently, so nothing came out... Regardless of what his stomach was telling him.

Hearing a twig break, he gripped his axe and looked up, only to find his Aunt standing in front of him with a look of understanding.

“Auntie...”

“It’s okay, Oscar. You did well,” June said comfortingly, pulling him into a loose hug. “Let’s get back to the house where I can get a better look at your wound. We can board it up afterwards and wait this whole thing out.”

He really would have liked that, but there was just one thing holding him back.

“What about everyone else?” Oscar asked. “If the Grimm came here that means they probably attacked the town too.”

“Oscar–”

“We can help them,” He continued. “Please, I know it’s dangerous, but... I don’t want to wake up tomorrow thinking about how many people I could have helped, but didn’t because I was afraid.”

Sighing, June pulled back from the hug and gently placed her hand against the less bloodied side of Oscar’s face. “You’ve got a good heart, you know that? Just like your parents... I probably couldn’t stop you even if I wanted to.”

Reaching into a pack she had tied to her belt, June pulled out a small bottle of disinfectant that she proceeded to spray on Oscar’s wounded cheek.

With adrenaline no longer racing through his veins, Oscar let out a hiss of pain, suddenly able to feel the throbbing wound on his face.

“If we’re going to do this, then you’ll need to listen to me,” June continued. Grabbing a cloth, she cleaned off the blood on his face, before finally pressing a bandage against it that she tapped down. “If you make a mistake out there it’s not only your life that you’re risking but mine and everyone else’s. I need to know that I can trust you.”

“You can... I’ll listen to everything that you say, I promise,” Oscar swore.

Nodding, June turned around and took a few steps towards the house, before stopping to look over her shoulder. “I just need to get some more ammo from inside... Are you coming?”

Staring at his aunt for a moment, Oscar nodded. “Yeah... I’ll be right behind you.”

It was a scary thing, fighting Grimm, but Oscar was sure that he wouldn’t regret his decision.

...Breathe...

Taking a turn down a nearby hallway, we stopped near the cafeteria that was only just beginning to fill with students.

“That’s pretty much it,” Oscar finished. “We moved from farm to farm killing Grimm, saving as many people as we could and once it was over, we started to rebuild. A few days passed and the Atlesian military drifted through, helping clear the forests, before using Dust to help create walls, further fortifying the town.”

I shot him a curious look. “And the uniform?”

“Oh, right,” Oscar said sheepishly. “I kind of forgot about that. After seeing how I defended the town, a few of the locals recommended that I become a Huntsman... It’d be a waste of my talents if I didn’t. Aunt June wasn’t that happy with the idea, but she eventually warmed up to it.”

“But what do you think of it?” I pressed. “This is something that you wanted too, right? You’re not just being pressured into this life?”

“It kind of felt that way at first,” Oscar admitted. “But... The longer I thought about it, the more it just... Made sense. Because of my actions, some people didn’t die. I was able to save them. It got me thinking about what I could be capable of with the right training... How many others I could save. I just... Want to help those that I can.”

“You want to... Help people?”

I could see now why Oscar was Ozpin’s next host. Beyond all else, there was one simple desire that kept them moving forward... The desire to help. At their core, they were just ordinary people that were stuck in a terrible situation. But still they pushed on, regardless of how difficult it would be.

I guess he had me beat in that regard. When I first started training under Maria it’d been so that I could survive whatever Salem threw my way. Then I met Pyrrha and my motivation changed to helping prepare her for what was to come... To keep her from dying.

“Yeah.“ Oscar nodded. “Although, that probably sounds naive and dumb to someone like you who was able to save everyone. I can only protect what’s right in front of me, but you... You stopped something impossible.”

Feeling something well up inside me, I shook my head. Smiling, I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I wouldn’t say that. Wanting to help others is a great mindset to have... So long as you don’t neglect yourself in the process.”

“You mean it?” He asked nervously.

“I do,” I nodded. “Don’t count yourself short. What you’ve managed to accomplish after Maria and I left is nothing less than impressive. Though we only knew each other for a short time, I can honestly say that I’m proud of you.”

Staring down at the floor, Oscar’s vision briefly misted over, before he dried his eyes with his sleeve, putting on a bright smile, only to look over my shoulder.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What’s going on here?” Yang asked, slinging an arm around my neck. “You’re not bullying some helpless transfer student, are you?”

“Bullying?” Oscar tilted his head, before his expression turned to a panicked one. “Oh, no, that’s not what’s happening here. I just got a little–“

“I’m shocked... Insulted even,” Yang said, channeling her inner Weiss while  shooting me a teasing grin. “Why didn’t you invite me? We could have even played good Huntsman bad Huntress.”

As far as I knew, that wasn’t actually a thing here, but seeing as Remnant had a famous actor called Spruce Willis... Yeah.

Meeting Yang’s grinning face, I glanced back to see the rest of her team standing only a few feet behind us. Weiss with an exasperated look on her face, Blake appearing to have decided that she could care less as the cafeteria was serving sushi today and Ruby... She stared at us like a deer caught in headlights, a copy of ‘The Girl who Fell Through the World,’ held at her side.

“Actually,” I began, meeting Yang’s grin with a smile of my own. “This is a friend of mine that I met a while ago... Back when Maria and I were travelling to Argus on foot. He even helped me master my breathing,” I explained, surprising the gathered team.

That did bring up a worrisome subject. Oscar was quite literally the first person I taught Total Concentration Breathing to. I’d initially done it because the risk of others coming across him using it was minuscule at best, but now... He’d seemingly spent an entire semester at Haven.

“By the way, you didn’t tell anyone else about it, did you?”

“Ah, no,” Oscar shook his head. “I kept it to myself... It’s not like the others at Haven would believe me either. I once told Sun that I met you, but he just laughed it off. Everyone thinks that I have a Semblance that lets me regenerate Aura faster.”

Well that was a relief. The last thing I needed was for Total Concentration Breathing to get out right now, especially while Cinder was in Vale.

“Wait,” Weiss said, stepping forward. “Are you saying that he knows how to use Total C–“

“He does,” I interrupted. “I’ll explain everything to the four... Five of you later.” I was going to need to have a talk with Oscar now that he was here, directly in the middle of things. “This isn’t exactly the best place to be having this conversation.” I gestured towards the various students that’d filled in to the cafeteria. Most of them were preoccupied with lunch, but there were a few that were looking our way.

Realizing where we were, Weiss smiled awkwardly. “Right... Later then.”

I nodded my thanks at her understanding. “In the meantime, could I ask the four of you a favour?”

“You need someone to show Oscar around? No problem,” Ruby said enthusiastically.

“Actually, I was going to ask if you could help him find Sun Wukong... Another Haven exchange student here for the Vytal tournament. Blonde hair… Monkey Faunus… Likes to wear his shirt open at all times. He’s... Hard to miss.”

“Oh... I guess we could do that too,” Ruby hummed.

“I saw him heading outside where Team ACRN likes to train,” Blake answered. “Although, since it’s lunch time, he’ll probably be here pretty soon.”

He’d taken to hanging out with Team ACRN? I guess with RWBY being absent this past week, he didn’t really have the chance to connect with them. Although, it was a little strange as both Ren and Nora were currently here.

“Then I guess I’ll leave things in your hands,” I said. “As for right now, I need to meet up with Pyrrha and Winter... Any idea on where I could find them?”

From the looks of it, none of them knew where Pyrrha and Winter were.

“Yeah... kind of been in class all day... Sorry,” Yang apologized, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. “If you want, I... We... Could help you find them,” She suggested. “Our next class is with Professor Port, so it’s not like we’ll be missing anything important... Although, we might need a note from you so we don’t get in trouble.”

Port? Yeah, I could get why Yang wasn’t fond of his class. I’d only met him a handful of times, but from what I was able to gleam, the man loved to talk about himself and his past deeds which, while interesting to listen to from time to time, quickly became boring if you were exposed to it on a daily basis.

There was also the fact that the Grimm he had his students fight was in no way challenging to them anymore now that they’d learnt their Breathing Styles. It’d take something like a Goliath or a Deathstalker to pose a danger and even then, they’d need to fight it one on one instead of as a team.

“Maybe next time,” I said, much to their disappointment.

...Breathe...

As it turned out, finding Pyrrha and Winter was a little tougher than I’d initially thought. Having checked most of the places they usually were during the day, I found them oddly absent. They were just... Gone and so was Maria oddly enough.

It wasn’t until I heard the soft booming of thunder in the distance and followed it, that I found them sparring in an isolated area of the forest... Specifically where Ozpin and I had our spar after I mastered my Aura, although, finding them left me with a significant number of questions.

It seemed that they’d picked up a new sparring partner. One that was a little more on their level... Raven Branwen... And she wasn’t pulling any punches. From the looks of it, this spar had been going on for a while now.

Blocking a heavy blow with her shield, Pyrrha was sent skidding backward until she collided with a tree, coming to a full stop.

Raising her blade high, she rapidly brought it down on Raven’s approaching form, landing a glancing blow on the Maiden that forced her to divert her own strike that hit the tree just behind her, crumbling it.

“Flame Breathing: Blazing Universe.”

Sweeping her blade around, she managed to score a direct hit against Raven, smashing her blade into the former bandit's back that sent her crashing through the broken tree.

“Flame Breathing: Unknown Fire.”

Grunting as she hit the ground, Raven rolled onto her side, narrowly avoiding being hit by another of Pyrrha’s strikes.

“So that’s the way you want to play it, girlie?” She muttered, her eyes lighting up with dark red flames. “You may be strong for a Huntress, but I am beyond that.”

Stretching her arm towards Pyrrha, said redhead disappeared in a blur of speed just as a bolt of lightning hit the spot where she’d just been standing.

Flashing around the forest, Pyrrha managed to stay one step ahead of Raven’s lightning, avoiding being struck. That being said, they were at a bit of a stalemate as she wasn’t able to land a clean hit on Raven without being struck, just as Raven wasn’t able to land a hit on her.

For a moment, it seemed like the entire fight had devolved into a game of tag with neither side able to make progress, before something new happened.

The forest grew darker as what appeared to be hundreds of summoned miniature Nevermore flew overhead, blocking Raven’s lightning with their bodies.

At the center of it all stood Winter who appeared a little winded at the sheer amount of Aura she’d just used. Taking a breath, she slipped her second blade into her hand and charged forward, rushing towards Raven’s position with her blades poised to stab her from above and below.

“Frost Breathing: Icy Maw.”

Turning her body to the side in order to give as little area for Winter to strike, Raven held her sword with one hand, ready to thrust into the attack, only for Pyrrha to suddenly appear in front of her, forcing her to take a much more solid stance as she blocked the Invincible Girls blow.

“Flame Breathing: Unknown Fire.”

Gritting her teeth as she weathered Pyrrha’s heavy blow, Raven found herself unable to block Winter’s strike and was forced to take the full blow instead, dropping her Aura by a none insignificant amount.

”So you finally made your way here,” Maria commented, landing next to me. “You certainly took your time. I would have thought you’d be here sooner.”

“Well it’s not like I knew where you four were,” I said. Being sure to keep an eye on the fight while I talked with Maria. “Besides, I ran into an old friend of ours.”

Maria’s goggles blinked. “While you were meeting with Roman Torchwick?”

“No... Here at Beacon,” I replied. “Oscar Pine... He’s a transfer student from Haven. It turns out that he decided to become a Huntsman after we left.”

“Oscar? Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while,” Maria murmured. “I might need to check in on him myself after they’re finished with their little match.”

“Yeah, about that,” I hummed. “Do you think you could explain what’s going on here?”

Last time I checked, both Pyrrha and Winter had a strong dislike for Raven and from what I could see, the feeling was mutual. I just couldn’t see them wanting to spend any time around each other... Even in a spar.

“What’s there to explain? Raven ran into them while they were training, ran her mouth a little and here we are,” Maria shrugged. “It hasn’t gotten too serious yet, but if things carry on then–”

As if to prove her point, the fight suddenly escalated.

Hovering a few feet above the ground, Raven held her hands together, forming a large blade made out of condensed blue energy... The same one she tried to use on me when I fought her.

Standing opposite her was Winter who had a far more relaxed stance with Pyrrha standing a short distance behind her with her blade held over her shoulder, both ready for what was to come.

It happened in an instant with Raven’s form blurring towards the duo, only to come to a sudden stop as her blade smashed against Winter’s own with dozens of little chips and cracks forming in her ethereal sword.

Before Raven was able to react, Pyrrha’s form suddenly appeared in front of her. Feeling a massive amount of force crash into her, Raven was thrown backwards, sent tumbling through a few trees, before finally coming to a stop. Her ethereal sword once more laid on the ground, completely shattered along with her Aura.

“I... Lost? Again?!” She breathed, flames flickering around her eyes angrily. Summoning what strength she had left, she reformed her sword, only this time, much smaller. “No, I... I refuse to lose like this.”

Given a few minutes, Pyrrha and Winter would fully recover their Aura, but Raven on the other hand would only grow more tired and thus, more prone to injury.

Whistling lowly, I stepped forward, intending on putting an end to this fight before anyone got seriously injured.

Catching sight of me, Raven gripped her sword tightly only for it to crumble in her hands, leaving her without a weapon or Aura. Her hands shook nervously, but she stood her ground all the same. It was a marked improvement from the last time we interacted.

My gaze drifted across Pyrrha to Winter, before finally settling on a new figure that’d just arrived… Although, no one else was able to see it but me.

Standing in the center of the clearing, the Shadow pointed off into a seemingly random direction, between Vale and Beacon. It seemed to be gesturing towards Mount Glenn, only it was a little off to the side.

Taking note of the direction, I sighed. The Shadow never showed up without a reason and that reason was generally something I needed to fight. From Raven to the Leviathan class Grimm back in Argus all the way to Salem’s abominations. There was something in that direction it was warning me about.

Great. What now?