"Up." The sharp order snatched me out of my dreamless sleep, my eyes snapping open.
"Mom?" I muttered through a yawn as I rose up. She stood at my bedside, hair a frazzled mess and a deep frown on her face. Despite that she was already in her usual get-up for their training; a tank top and sweatpants both dark in color, the latter comfortably loose without getting in the way.
"Get dressed and meet me out back. We're training." Her order, which might as well be law for me at this point, laid out, she left my room without another word.
I glanced towards my window. Not a ray of light slipped through my curtains or blinds.
Strange. We always started training first thing in the morning but never this early. What was it? Four? Five? Hard to tell with how dark it was out there.
Either way, what she said went.
I tossed aside my covers and dropped out of bed, my feet settling on cold wood flooring. The ultimate fate of this bleak world might be up in the air but there were plenty of things to appreciate about the situation aside from the fact that my parents gave me an easy connection to plenty of important people in the future.
My own, pretty sizable, room for one. Most of the stuff in here was met for kids. Toys, a bookcase full of fairytales, etc but it was nice to have my own space so early in life. I spent most of my previous life sharing with siblings until I moved out. I'd taken the time to read the fairytales on account of all that stuff in the later volumes of RWBY but most of the stuff went unused.
Once I got older and was given more leeway, I could make more use of the space.
If I stuck around. There was the whole Raven leaving thing to consider after all.
I abandoned my pajamas, switching into the same sort of tank top and sweatpants that Raven wore, before heading out into the hall and downstairs, all the while wiping the sleep from my eyes. I heard familiar smacks and thuds before I opened the backdoor, Raven already starting her routine.
Shoes slipped on, I fully pushed open the door, stepping out in the cool air of the early morning, dew covered grass crunching beneath my feet as I grabbed my wooden katana along the porch's steps and joined her at my smaller post.
Left, right, stab. A simple sequence that I should've struggled to keep track of, let alone replicate.
A faint tingle touched my eyes, my vision momentarily flashing red before settling back to normal.
The Sharingan made it easy, her movements now crystal clear to me. I could see each muscle along her arms, core, and legs. When they tightened up and relaxed. What specific muscles each slash demanded.
More importantly-
I turned my attention to my post, loosening the normally tight grip I kept on my katana.
Left, right, stab.
I swung, swung, and stabbed, perfectly replicating Raven's sequence. And yet each blow was no more than a mockery of what she was capable of. I could tell exactly what parts of my body I needed to use after one look at her but the same muscles she possessed were ill developed on mine, the motions much slower and strikes leagues off from ever producing the same strength.
Superhuman levels of perception meant nothing if the body was too weak to take advantage. A lesson better learned now than in a life or death battle.
Nevertheless, I continued with my swings. All of this would build up the strength I needed to take full advantage of my semblance.
"Hmph." Raven, now standing behind me, grunted as she oversaw my precise swings. No smacks ever hit my back, my aura shield perfectly in place from the very beginning. With my Sharingan active it didn't take any focused effort on my part to maintain it.
If a single tomoe was enough to catapult my progress so far ahead, I couldn't wait to see what a fully matured version was capable of.
We carried out our swings until the sun began to rise and my arms began to numb.
"Breakfast is ready!" Tai called out from inside, the kitchen window slid open.
Tempting as it still was to head in, an inviting aroma already snaking out, I-
"Enough." Raven tapped my shoulder as I raised my arms for another swing. I lowered my katana turning to find her already heading towards the house. "We'll eat then pick things up later."
Hmmm, is this why she started us so early? This must've been the only way she could compromise with the others' insistence that she ease up on me.
I placed my katana against the post and followed after her, wiping the sweat from my brow without ever deactivating my Sharingan. Eating, talking, reading through that book I got my hands on. This was a good chance to gauge just how much aura my semblance burned through just by being active.
XOXO
Raven's blows were heavy. I always knew that, firsthand experience and all that, but the Sharingan really hammered that point home.
Raven stepped in quickly, her latest slash closing in too quickly for me to fully dodge but just slow enough that an interception was possible. I shifted my katana catching it alongside the edge of its side. This should've been the part where I caried out an epic parry and began a counterattack that turned the tables of the fight.
Maybe in some alternate universe where Raven was kind enough to hold back enough for that to happen.
With my Sharingan I was literally forced to feel the endless sea of differences between us. Trying to use our clash to throw her weapon off didn't even shake the single hand she swung with, my tensed muscles crumbling against the force of her swing and my blade the one sent flying backwards instead as she redirected her slash in spite of my efforts.
By the time I brought it back she was already pelting me with more swings, not even giving me enough time or space to backpedal. All I could do was mount a crumbling defense against swings I could track but do nothing about.
My forearms, shoulders, legs. None were spared whenever she made it past my battered katana. Soon enough a crackle filled the air as she swept my feet from under me with a kick, my aura shield shattering into nothingness as my back hit the ground. I winced but I knew better than to just lie around.
I quickly rolled aside, Raven's katana digging into dirt and grass.
A shattered aura didn't mean a fight was over; the very first lesson she wasted no time drilling into my head.
I looked up.
I bit back the urge to curse, stumbling back as I rubbed at my eyes. Dirt? Fucking dirt? Why would she-
I managed to wipe away enough of the uprooted and thrown dirt to clear my vision only to find nothing but the grass and the distant forest line behind our house ahead. Where-
A sharp smack hit my back, forcing me to stumble forward.
I twisted around, katana raised.
And found nothing.
Another, much harder smack, struck my back, forcing a grunt out of me as I quickly twirled around. A hand wrapped around my face, my vision blocked. In swift motion I was lifted clean off my feet and slammed into the dirt below.
Raven stepped back and I couldn't help but glare at her through my squinted eyes.
"You said you wanted to be strong, didn't you? Or was that a lie?" She questioned.
"No." I forced out. Be strong or be canon fodder for Salem and anyone stupid enough to carry out her orders. Only someone suicidal would pick the second option.
"Good. Get up." I followed her order with gritted teeth, still rubbing at my eyes. She dropped to a kneel, katana set aside as push my hand out of the way and took to tending to my eyes herself. "When we're training don't use your semblance unless I say so."
"But-"
"Can you keep up your aura shield without it?"
"No." I muttered.
"Your semblance is just another tool. If you can't make do without it, you're just a weakling playing at being strong." Raven said. "Is that what you want?"
"No." She had a point of course. I hadn't planned on ending up reliant on it, but I guess I was getting swept away by all the things it offered that I wasn't giving the basics she was trying to teach much attention. Honing my Sharingan could come after that.
It should come after that.
"Good." Dirt mostly gotten out of my eyes, her hands settled on my shoulders. "Your semblance, have you been using it all day?" I nodded. Even now, despite running out of the aura needed to maintain a full body shield, my Sharingan remained active. The most aura it demanded was at the moment of activation, the amount it required to persist negligible. "Mmm, go bathe. We're done for today."
With a push she sent me towards the house.
I didn't argue, dropping my katana beside the steps as I made my way up to the backdoor.
"Talon." As I opened the door, she called for me and I turned back to her. "You did good today."
Praise from her? Who would've thought.
For all the criticisms I had about her parenting style and all my frustrations I didn't actually hate the woman. I wasn't looking for her to be my mother and my frustrations only started after this harsh training, something I intentionally brought about. Who wouldn't be frustrated by repeated beatings?
Frustrations aside, she was giving me exactly what I wanted. She could single handedly be the reason I had the strength I needed when the unforgiving future came knocking.
That simple statement had been difficult for her, my Sharingan picking up on the subtle signs of hesitation and uncertainty. If she was going to try and be a mother, I wasn't going to make it any more difficult for her than it needed to be.
I didn't bother with words and just smiled before heading in.
The first genuine smile I'd probably ever given her.
XOXO
(A/N: A lot of Talon's childhood will be focused on his relationship with Raven with peeks into his dynamics with the others. Other the Raven, the only other focus will be establishing rules and an understanding of the Sharingan.
Happy Holidays to those are celebrating something today. If you aren't, still have a good day.)