Chapter 9: Scars of the Past

"Big Bro! Big Bro!"

A young boy turned around to look at another boy half his size running towards him.

"What's got you in tizzy squirt?" asked the older boy with a grin.

"Don't call me that!" pouted the smaller boy.

"Haha! Sorry, sorry," said the older boy unapologetically while ruffling the younger one's hair.

The younger boy let out a whine of discontent as he moved away from his older brother's grasp.

"Anyway what's up?" asked the older brother.

The younger boy's excitement came back.

"I'm gonna go hunting with Dad today!"

The older boy's grin grew at this news.

"That's great! You'll be able to show those Grimm what for!" said the older boy.

The younger boy let out a grin of his own taking a pose with a look of determination.

"Just you watch Big Bro! I'm gonna help Dad kill more Grimm than even you!"

"Oh? Is that so?" asked the older brother, "Well you're not gonna have to work that hard, I only killed two."

The younger brother's excitement didn't falter.

"It doesn't matter because I'm going to be the best warrior of our village, even better than them!"

The older brother smiled at his younger brother's enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit little brother!"

The younger boy let out a giggle at the praise before looking at the ground.

"I wish you can come with us to watch…"

The older boy ruffled his younger brother's hair again, only this time the smaller boy didn't attempt to move away.

"Sorry squirt, this is your warrior's trial, I had to go through the same thing, remember?"

The younger boy pouted with his arms crossed.

"Still…"

"Don't worry about it too much! Besides, we can share stories after you finish and you can brag to everyone about how many Grimm you killed!"

This brought a smile on the young boy's face.

"Yeah…"

"So cheer up and show the village how great you are!" stated the older boy with a blinding grin, "I'm rooting for you, Ian!"

Childish laughter echoed throughout Ian's mind as he opened his eyes to stare at the top bunk above him. The room was still dark, telling Ian that while it may be morning, it was early in the morning, early enough that the sun hadn't truly shown its brilliance as of yet. Ian slowly sat up, ignoring his aching muscles as he made to stare at the wall ahead of him.

"So cheer up and show the village how great you are!"

No smile appeared on Ian's lips; instead an irritated snarl appeared as he tried to push down the memory. He always became annoyed with himself whenever he allowed his subconscious to bring up the past. It made him feel vulnerable, and Ian hated feeling vulnerable. Memories that made him feel exceptionally weak were memories of his older brother, a cruel reminder of why he was here in the first place. They only pissed him off even more.

With a small growl, Ian threw off his sheets and stormed towards the bathroom, throwing water on his face and allowing the cold water to jumpstart his brain. He then stared up at the mirror in front of him. It was for a fleeting moment, but Ian was suddenly staring at a boy that looked just like him, a bright, hopeful smile on his face as he readied himself to take the world.

Naïve brat.

Ian let out a snarl of disgust as he pushed himself away from the mirror and made his way back into the bedroom. He haphazardly rummaged through his clothes and picked out the first things that met his hand, which ended up being a black muscle shirt and a pair of black basketball shorts. Ian didn't blink as he swiftly changed before heading over towards the dorm's exit. He didn't spare the room behind him a second glance as he closed the door behind him before making his way towards the dorm's gym, hoping to clear his head of these annoying memories.

"Where are you going in such a hurry, Reinhardt?"

Ian glared at the speaker.

"I don't believe that is any of you concern, Winchester."

Cardin Winchester, the notorious first-year bully walked up the stairwell towards Ian, most likely headed towards the gym as well. Ian cared little for the details, but apparently Cardin was starting to turn a new leaf as of late, spending less time terrorizing other students and spending more time strengthening his body and spirit in order to become a better huntsman. As to what caused the change… Ian couldn't be bothered with the details, but rumors say that the Arc midget had something to do with it.

"No need to bite my head off Reinhardt, it was just a question," said Cardin with a grunt as he walked passed Ian towards the gym.

Ian glared at Cardin for a bit before letting out a small growl and following the larger boy towards the gym. Upon entering the gym, Ian made sure to head towards the opposite end of the massive room of the brute as the said brute predictably went for the weights. Ian walked towards the punching bags, stretching his limbs as he did, glaring at the leather bag of sand in front of him.

"Hi there! I don't think we met before!"

Ian's anger flared as he immediately fell into a fighting stance before sending a jab at the bag, the sound of flesh meeting leather ringing into Ian's ears.

"Haha! I forgot you guys haven't met my lil bro, yet!"

Ian let out another three quick jabs before following with a kick.

"I feel like I already have with how much you talk about him!"

Ian let out another punch, a small growl emanating from his lips.

"Can't an older brother be proud of his younger bro?"

Another punch was thrown, this one harder than the last.

"Hiya Ian! I'm-!"

Ian let out another growl as he sent yet another jab forward.

"Yo Mini Reinhardt, I'm-."

Another punch.

"Sup Ian! My name is-."

And another.

"Howdy smallish Rein, name's-."

Then another.

"I'm-."

Two more in rapid succession.

"Her name is-."

A kick.

"And that's everyone! Or wait we have one more."

Ian unleashed a small combo on the poor punching bag, each strike stronger than the last.

"You guys are mean!"

Ian's strikes became even harsher as he felt rage build.

"Anyway it's nice to meet you Ian!"

Ian dropped any semblance of technique, simply jabbing forward.

"I'm the man who will stand at the top as the best huntsman in the world! And my name is-."

Ian let out a roar as he poured all his anger into one last punch… that ended up completely demolishing the punching bag in front of him, sending sand everywhere. Ian panted as he stared at the ruptured bag in front of him, willing the memories to the back of his mind. All except for the last one. The previous names were all just reminders of what Ian had lost, they made him feel weak and that was something Ian wouldn't tolerate. The last one, however… it was Ian's main drive, the main reason why Ian became a huntsman in the first place.

"Reinhardt?"

Ian blinked, suddenly remembering he wasn't alone. He straightened up and turned towards the exit, not even acknowledging Cardin as he walked by. Right as he reached for the gym doors, however, it opened, revealing another person that Ian remember the name to as someone he needed to defeat. Pyrrha seemed startled to see Ian in front of her.

"Good match!"

Ian growled at the memory.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were-," began the Mistral Champion.

"Whatever," interrupted Ian as he shoved passed Pyrrha and down the hall back towards his dorm.

Pyrrha stared melancholically after Ian as he stomped down the hallway back towards the dorm rooms below. She was unfortunately used to such treatment as she received it from all of the opponents that she had defeated during her time in the arena. Some swore that they'd defeat her one-day, others simply quit fighting all together declaring to never want to see her face again. Either way her fights never ended on friendly terms thus was the case with Ian, although the difference between him and all the rest was that he had come the closest to defeating her.

And likely hates me the most because of it.

"What's his beef?"

Pyrrha blinked and looked over towards the other occupant of the gym, Cardin who was sitting on a bench with a dumbbell in his hand. Pyrrha was still feeling rather neutral about Cardin, especially with how he treated his fellow trainees during the early days of Beacon. The notorious bully had it out for everyone, especially faunus and Pyrrha found him detestable for it.

But I didn't do anything about it.

Nobody did really, and thus Cardin continued on with his tyranny... nobody, but her leader, June Arc, yet another reason why Pyrrha was glad to be a part of team JNPR.

"I'm sure he is just having a rough morning," Pyrrha stated politely.

Cardin shrugged his shoulders with a grunt.

"Well hopefully he can work his shit out," stated the burly student.

Pyrrha frowned at Cardin's crude language, but held her tongue and walked over to the mats to start her warm-up. As she sat down to start her stretches she couldn't help but allow her mind to wander back to Ian and his animosity with her. She wondered idly if there was anything else she could have said to mend the gap between her and the estranged boy.

"There is nothing a winner can say to a loser."

Pyrrha felt herself mentally flinch at the harsh words of her father, a fierce gladiator before he passed on his legacy to his daughter. While the words seemed cruel at first, Pyrrha found out the hard way that her words only brought more resentment from her defeated opponents no matter how sincere they were. The same could be said about Ian.

"Good match!"

Pyrrha had meant those words genuinely, having never fought such a hard fight in all the years as the Mistral Champion, but to him those same words must have sounded demeaning and patronizing. Pyrrha felt a sigh escape her as the memory flowed through.

Perhaps it would have been best if I said nothing at all.

"If you do that, then you wouldn't be earnest now would you?"

Pyrrha let a smile appear on her face. Those weren't the words of her father, but they still were words that she found much wisdom in… as well as comfort. They were words that were spoken from the person that inspired Pyrrha to become a huntress in the first place.

"Hey Nikos."

Pyrrha blinked and looked up at Cardin who was now standing up, the dumbbells back in their proper places.

"You happen to know where the cleaning tools are?" he asked.

Pyrrha blinked in confusion until Cardin motioned towards her left. When she looked she was surprised to find a ruptured punching bag with sand piled up all over the floor. It was then that Pyrrha remembered out stormy Ian's expression was as he left the gym, telling Pyrrha who the culprit of this mess was.

Was I so lost in thought that I didn't notice?

"I-I believe there's a utility closet in the back corner over there," said Pyrrha pointing over towards a door behind the numerous exercise machines.

The said door looked like it was meant to blend into the background, unnoticed as it was painted over with the same color as the wall it resided on. It blended in so perfectly… almost as if it wanted to be invisible to the world… until Cardin walked up and opened it to reveal it contents. Pyrrha shook herself from her thoughts as Cardin pulled out a broom and a dustpan before walking over to the sand pile and brushing the sand onto the pan.

"What are you…" began Pyrrha in confusion.

"Someone's gotta clean up this mess," stated Cardin.

This was true, but staff was usually around for cases like these… and Cardin didn't seem like the type to want to go through the trouble.

Make up for his time bullying, perhaps?

"Think whatever you want Nikos," stated Cardin as if reading her mind, "I'm just doing this because I want to, not because of some higher meaning."

Pyrrha stared at Cardin for a long while before she got up herself.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Pyrrha.

Cardin looked over his shoulder at her for a moment before he motioned towards the wastebasket near the entrance of the gym.

"Mind bringing that trashcan over here?" he asked.

Pyrrha immediately set to the task, which was easy enough since the said wastebasket was made of metal. Polarity was a very useful thing to have. Cardin let out a grunt of thanks when Pyrrha set the container down next to him before proceeding to dump the first load of sand into the wastebasket. Pyrrha watched him work, all the while certain thoughts began to plague her mind, memories of a past long passed.

"Something on your mind Nikos?" asked Cardin suddenly as he continued to work, "Or are you just gonna keep staring at me?"

Pyrrha started slightly at the sudden questions, heat reaching her cheeks in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry!" stated Pyrrha automatically as she went back to do her normal routine.

After taking just a couple steps, however, she stopped again, thoughts of her near-death experience yesterday and her mysterious savior breaching her mind again.

"Have you ever had anyone you looked up to?" Pyrrha asked.

Pyrrha could hear the sweeping sounds of the broom come to an abrupt halt, its wielder likely taken aback by the sudden question.

"Huh?" asked Cardin dumbly.

Pyrrha sighed.

"Never mind, I'm just rambling, ignore me."

Pyrrha mentally berated herself for bringing a complete stranger into her inner turmoil, and Cardin Winchester of all people! Yes he may be turning a new leaf, but still! Pyrrha went back to her stretching excercises as she listened to Cardin slowly get back to work. For a while there was awkward silence as Cardin continued to clean up while Pyrrha tried her best to fight off both her embarrassment and the memories plaguing her. The silence continued after Cardin finished cleaning up and put the broom and dustpan back to where they belonged. Cardin then moved to the wastebasket to put it back as well while Pyrrha moved to the treadmills.

"Yes."

Pyrrha started at the sudden answer and looked over at Cardin with wide eyes. Cardin however seemed lost in thought as he stared down at the wastebasket. Pyrrha waited for clarification, but after a moment more of silence Pyrrha started to slowly turn back to the treadmill-.

"When I was five Grimm invaded my hometown just north of Vale," said Cardin.

Pyrrha's eyes widened at that and she turned back towards Cardin who was now looking out towards the window, his eyes glassed over as he lost himself down memory lane.

"My three-year-old sister and I were separated from our parents in the chaos and eventually we were cornered by a couple of Beowolves."

Pyrrha slowly turned to look back at Cardin as he continued to recount his tale.

"I remember wanting to cry and run because I was so scared, but I also remember thinking that I wanted to protect my sister and it kept me rooted to where I was."

Cardin let out a hollow chuckle.

"For all the good it did against the Grimm."

Cardin shook his head.

"But there I stood, thinking of all of my regrets in my short life, lamenting the little love my parents gave to me or my sister, hating myself for being so weak…

Cardin allowed a ghost of a smile to appear on his face.

"Then she came."

Pyrrha blinked and leaned forward at this.

"Who came?" asked Pyrrha.

Cardin seemed to finally acknowledge Pyrrha's presence and turned to look at her.

"A huntress," answered Cardin vaguely.

Pyrrha frowned at the lack of information, but didn't get a chance to press Cardin as he was already back in memory lane.

"One moment we were surrounded by Grimm, the next, she was standing there with the Grimm dead at her feet," said Cardin, "She looked so bright and strong like nothing I've ever seen before."

Cardin let out a grin at this.

"And do you know what the first thing she said to me was?" he asked.

Pyrrha didn't answer the obviously rhetorical question as Cardin answered not to long afterward.

"That I was brave," said Cardin with an even wider smile, "The first words of praise that I have ever heard from anyone other than my little sister."

Pyrrha felt a pang in her chest at the insinuation that Cardin left unanswered.

"It was then that I vowed to become as strong and bright as my savior so that I can protect my sister myself without being afraid and maybe one day return the favor," Cardin said his smile slowly fading, "I guess I forgot about that somewhere down the line…"

Pyrrha stared at the boy before her; unsure if it was Cardin Winchester she was speaking to. This boy seemed far more different than the bully she first knew during the initial days of Beacon. At the same time, however something else plagued her thoughts more.

"What did she look like?" asked Pyrrha.

Cardin was brought back to reality once again and looked a Pyrrha for a moment before suddenly turning red with embarrassment and anger.

"It was a long time ago," he grumbled in sudden agitation as he picked up the wastebasket and walked towards the exit at a brisk pace.

Pyrrha watched him go in disappointment that her question was never answered, still she learned that there was more to the apparently reformed heartless bigot that was Cardin Winchester. Pyrrha listened to the heavy thud of the wastebasket hitting the floor before Cardin made his exit.

"I don't remember much."

Pyrrha looked up to see that Cardin had paused at the gym door.

"But what one thing I remember vividly was her silver eyes."

Pyrrha's eyes widened a fraction at that, while Cardin quickly made his exit. Pyrrha continued to stare at the doorway where he disappeared.

Silver eyes…

"Yes… my eye color is a little unique, but hey, at least I stand out!"

The eyes that belonged to her idol, the huntress that she strove to become like when she became a full-fledged huntress herself.

Could she have been the one who saved me?

"I live out in this little island called Patch just off the coast of Vale!"

It was very possible, especially since Patch was specifically closer to Vale's capital city, which also happened to be where Beacon was located. Hope settled in Pyrrha's heart as she thought of the prospect of meeting the woman who inspired her to live her dreams. Pyrrha let out a smile as another memory passed through her mind.

"Well my name is Summer Rose, what's your name?"