My Guardians - Abused RWBY Fanfic 5 A New Home

"It's p.r.o.nounced as faunus, mr. Aurelius." Ozpin informed.

Aurum had sparkling eyes as his interests have been peaked about the subject. So, he continued to inquire Ozpin all about the faunus.

It took a while for Qrow to process the newly gained information. Then, a realization hit him. Ariene, Cyrus, and Samson all appeared out of nowhere, the 3 kids stated that a figure was reaching out to them, each with a different excuse but has the same purpose. All of this started after Aurum finally escaped his personal h.e.l.lhole dubbed as the 'Xiao Long household'.

Qrow:" You're spirits?!" as he stood up and pointed at the 3 children with wide-eyes, who had wry smiles on their faces.

What he stated caused Aurum to turn his head to him quizzically while Glynda gazed at the trio dubiously. They just heard a tale about spirits, and now Qrow claims that the children, except Aurum, are spirits.

Ozpin sat at his chair calmly as he took the mug of cocoa at his right and took a sip. He raised an eyebrow to Qrow, signaling him to continue his words.

Qrow:" Ariene conveniently appeared and dragged away Aurum when he was about to be killed for real, his wish for a guardian must have summoned her. Samson and Cyrus appeared when Aurum was hospitalized, his wish for a friend and a guide must have been the catalyst since he didn't know anything about the procedures in an operating room. Considering the roles they were individually given, all of this stemmed from his longing for a proper family. Something he didn't experience at that place. The reason they didn't appear earlier is unknown, but this could be because the age of 10 is the earliest age a person can unlock their semblance. Meaning, he unlocked it due to the near-death experience and his soul forcefully summoned a spirit to save himself from the danger, giving enough time for me to coincidentally appear. That, or this might be the work of the person who left Aurum in front of Tai's house but, it sounds like it's a mix of both. Does that sound right Oz?"

Qrow looked at Ozpin while grasping his chin with his index and thumb, tilting his head slightly up with his left eye closed. Ozpin gave a small nod as Glynda was stupefied, while the spirit trio smacked their foreheads with their palms and groaning.

Aurum had question marks on top of his head as Qrow shrugged, sitting back down his chair and taking a sip from his flask out of habit. The smell of alcohol caused the kids and Glynda to frown, Aurum trying to not overlap the image of a drunk Taiyang and Qrow as he focused his efforts to look at Ozpin's cup of cocoa, it's definitely not because he was curious of how it tasted.

Aurum:" They're spirits? why are they not glowing?"

He seriously pondered over the issue, while a single white hair stood up from his head.

Ariene:" Humans of the Aurelius family could make families with spirits, that's why the spirits nowadays have human bodies instead of glowing figures. But it's not like there aren't any, it's just those are the naturally born spirits that evolved from being an elemental. Most of these take form of animals, though there might be human-shaped ones. All of these types are called the evolutionary spirits, and once they gather enough power, they can transform fully into humans, in exchange for the cost of a significant amount of aura."

Aurum only nodded at the explanation even though he didn't get any of it.

Cyrus:" The glowing spirits are animals that can turn into humans and the human spirits are humans that can turn into animals."

Aurum nodded with an enlightened facial expression at the explanation, signifying that he understood that. Ariene smacked her left palm to her forehead at that as Cyrus had a smug expression and Samson snickered.

Ozpin:" That is an apt in-nutsh.e.l.l explanation. The children of Lucius and Freya Aurelius were the ones who started this trend. This was a shocking event that changed the history of the spirit world. As more human and spirit families were made, the total population of the pure-blooded spirits slowly withered until only a few pure spiritual families are left. Sometime after that, the technology of the spirit world caught up with the humans at that time. Using the new knowledge, the spirits used their newly gained technology to their advantage in the war against the demons. This period continued until the war ended with the demon king vanquished. The demons weren't extinguished, however. There are theories that there are some remnant demons who escaped from death, but it was confirmed to be false when a natural born spirit was contaminated with the darkness element when its negative emotions consumed it, which transformed its being into a demon."

The trio of spirits were astonished with the knowledge Ozpin has about the spirit world. This made them vigilant, which made Ozpin raised his mug at them as he explained how he gained this intel.

Ozpin:" I know about the spirit world because there has been a past few cases of exiled spirits that made their way to the human world. Some of these were rescued by our group in the past, and we gained the information after earning their trust."

Out of the three, only Samson didn't have any further suspicion as he breathed out a sigh of relief, but both Ariene and Cyrus' faces contorted to an even more doubtful expression. Ozpin only gazed with his poker face on, not letting any doubt.Brus.h.i.+ng it off, Ozpin then said.

Ozpin:" Mr. Aurelius, this might, no this will be painful for you, but can you please talk about what... you experienced back at the Xiao Long household?"

Aurum immediately stiffened from that, as he then shakily hyperventilated. He went through many tortures in that prison.

He held his head and gasped erratically like he's choking, as a past memory stirred.

.......................................

*Flashback weeks before Summer died*

It was after dinner, Aurum was tasked to do the dishes by Taiyang. He stood in a stool and was was.h.i.+ng the plates with soapy water as Ruby and Yang were playing tag in the house, much to his pain. The water hurts in his hands, which were wounded recently when Yang "accidentally" caused a fire, to Tai's rage, as he dragged Aurum to the kitchen stove and fried his hands.

Aurum grimaced at the memories, as a plate almost slipped from his hand. Luckily, he tightened his grip when it was about to fall off. He just breathed a sigh of relief when Yang pa.s.sed through and b.u.mped him, causing him to fall and to the ground as the plate flew from his hands, flying to the through the door and into the hallway.

The sound of the plate cras.h.i.+ng into the floor echoed around the house as the kids let out a yelp, Aurum's with a painful one and the kids were out of fear from the sudden sound. As you can imagine, Taiyang was furious as he rushed to where the plate broke, picked up a broken porcelain, and stabbed Aurum in his palm.

Aurum screamed in pain as Summer hurried to the scene. Once she saw the blood coming out of Aurum's palm as he wailed and wailed and Taiyang screaming out some mental abuse, she unconsciously fidgeted her thighs.

She walked to Aurum, picked him up much to Tai's complaints, and dragged him into his prison for some "fun time".

*Flashback End*

......................................

The trio of spirits immediately piled on Aurum, hugging him while speaking of rea.s.suring words. Seeing this, the adults all thought of one thing. 'What he experienced may be much more worse than we have ever imagined.'

Qrow stood up and also joined the kids on it.

Qrow:" Don't worry kid, you won't ever have to go to that place ever again. I might not be father-material, but I do know that I can take better care of you even if I might not always be there at your side."

Even with the incessant comfort given out by them, Aurum continued to to hold his head in pain, as another memory flashed in his head.

.......................................

*Flashback to the first incident*

It was when Aurum was 2, almost 3 years old, when it first started. Young Aurum still had proper brown hair and only started to make baby steps on the proper way to speak a word, none of that baby babbling. He remembered that time, when it first started. He was playing outside as per usual, instinctively scared of whatever is happening within that house, almost every day. He was playing with the action figures he was given, it was a red human figurine that roughly looked like a victorian era gentleman that he named as Red, and a yellow horse with wings Yellow. It is what his mama Raven taught to be the color of them.

He heard yelling, and gla.s.s breaking, scaring him out of his wits. Nonetheless, he pretends to have never heard of it, focusing on playing with his "friends".

Tai:" DO YOU EVEN LOVE ME ANYMORE?! ARE YOU CHEATING ON ME RAVEN?! YOU'RE GONNA ESCAPE TO YOUR MAN-Wh.o.r.e BACK AT YOUR TRIBE?!"

Aurum heard something crash into the floor a cry of pain, as Raven yelled back.

Raven:" THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU."

Tai:" WHERE DO YOU THINK ARE YOU GOING?!"

Aurum heard a crash, as the door broke as Raven came out flying with her sword in front. She had a bruise on her forehead, with a bit of blood trickling out as the wound immediately got recovered because of her aura. Despite the cold glare she had plastered on her face, she looked visibly shaken. Her legs trembled, as some tears unconsciously dripped from the corner of her eyes.

Raven:" HOW COULD YOU?! I LOVE YOU TAI, WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?!"

The blonde man came out of the house, wearing a dangerous look as he looked ready to pounce on Raven.

Tai:" NO! HOW COULD YOU! I LOVE YOU RAVEN, AND WHEN THAT b.a.s.t.a.r.d CAME, YOU STOPPED CARING ABOUT ME!"

He pointed at Aurum as he screamed with undisguised hatred and envy. Aurum was very scared of what was happening.

Raven:" YOU'RE A GROWN MAN TAI. I GIVE CARE TO THE BOTH OF YOU, AND I ONLY GAVE EXTRA CARE TO AURUM BECAUSE HE'S ONLY A CHILD!"

Taiyang didn't like the excuse. And so, he rushed at Raven who looked hesitant to attack back. He took a wide swing at her, to which she dodged. Taiyang kept at it, mixing in some elbow strikes and leg sweeps. Raven only backed away, as her emotions were broken at her lover's actions. Even when he hit her, she endured it, all because of their child. But now, now that Yang was born, she couldn't take it anymore.

So, she attempted to use her semblance, thinking that she could teleport away from there. Nonetheless, it failed.

The momentary lapse of concentration left an opening, which Taiyang took. He swung his elbow at her side, to which she reflexively countered.

Tai:" AHHHH."

The blade of her sword found itself stuck on his arm, to her horror. Tai let out a painful wail, as his aura did all it could to fix it. Raven unconsciously pulled the blade out, much to Tai's pain. Scared, she did what "strong" people did. Run away. She opened a portal to her tribe, and scampered away.

The portal closed, leaving Tai crying in pain and anger as Aurum naïvely neared at him with his toys to see what he could do to help. When he neared, he was of help. As a sand bag to vent Tai's pain.

Tai kicked the child, who had blood flying out of his mouth as he landed far away from Tai leaving behind his toys that he let go out of weakness. Tai crushed the both of them, as he neared the kid.

Aurum:"....hurts.....it...hurts....."

Unfortunately, the first proper words he spoke of were "it hurts". The beating went on and on, until the kid was half-dead. Seeing his situation, Tai was scared. So, he rushed him to the house and fed him. This was something they discovered after Aurum got scratches when he tried to walk properly. He glowed in a golden light after eating food.

So, Taiyang fed the kid some soft food, the frozen yogurt and pudding that was in the fridge. After eating it all.

Taiyang let out an unconscious sigh of relief, before realizing what he had done. He had a remorseful look, but remembering the feelings he got when Raven cared more about the kid, his expression turned for worse.

Clicking his tongue, he hoisted the kid on his shoulders, went upstairs, and threw him at Aurum's bed. He now realized that baby Yang was crying. Seeing how his true child was upset for a while now, he returned downstairs to get her baby bottle.

*Flashback End*

.......................................

Aurum:" Ma..ma...why...did you...leave..."

Qrow was surprised. 'Did he somehow know something about his true parents? no, that can't be.' he thought. 'It must be Raven. Tai's excuse was that Raven left out of the blue without stating a reason. But thinking about how Aurum was beaten to a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp regularly, that means...'

Now knowing why Raven left Tai behind, it just left another reason for him to kill the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. A painful gasp let out of Aurum, which woke Qrow out of his thoughts.

Seeing him still panicking, Qrow decided to...sing. He cleared his throat, and thought about how embarra.s.sing this would be. But with the reason for this is to try and comfort Aurum, he decided to sing the song his mother used to sing to them in private when they were still training to kill.

Qrow:" ♪Hush your cries, close your eyes,

Stay with me

Let's just dream

Quietly

Of what might be-"

Everyone there was surprised when Qrow started to sing, much to his embarra.s.sment. He continued at it, as the others had their own thoughts. Glynda thought that his singing voice was surprisingly nice to hear when he's not totally drunk. The trio thought that he was very caring, which they appreciated.

"-♪ Calm your fear

I'll be near

To you I'll cling

Rest my friend

Time can mend

Many things-"

Once Aurum heard Qrow, he got sucked into what he was saying. Finding the song's lyrics familiar, he thought of Raven. Even though he doesn't know what it meant, Aurum still liked it whenever Raven sung it to him in private.

"-♪ I don't know the answers

Tomorrow's still unknown

But I can make this promise

You won't be alone

I don't know

Where we should go

Just feeling farther from our goal

I don't know

What path we will be shown

But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home

Yes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at home

There's a quiet place

In my embrace

A haven of safety where

I'll dry your tears

Shelter here

In my care

But even when we stumble

And someday when we fall

What I will remember

That I had you through it all

I don't know

Where we should go

Just feeling farther from our goal

I don't know

What path we will be shown

But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home

Yes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at home

Yes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at home♪"

Once the song ended, Aurum was crying with more ease, as he hugged Qrow very tight. Qrow let out a bit of a pained grunt.

Qrow:" Oof, wow kid, didn't know you were strong."

Aurum didn't comment on that, as his tears stained Qrow's chest. Qrow only sighed before he caressed Aurum's back gently.

Aurum:"Mama....Mama....."

Aurum continued to state that word until he finally stopped after a few minutes.

Still red-eyed, Aurum sniffled as he let go of Qrow.

Qrow:"....It's okay if you rest you know? Let's talk about that another time."

Aurum shook his head sideways. Qrow relented, as Aurum grab hold of Qrow's hands as he talked about his experience.

Of when Raven ran away from there. Of getting beaten up for nothing. Of getting beaten up because of a blunder. Of getting stabbed because of breaking something. Of Yang joining in on Tai. Of getting sliced. Of getting burned. Of getting raped by Summer. Of Ruby joining in after they learnt of Summer's disappearance. Of eating only moldy bread and dirty water once a day. Of almost dying almost everyday.

As imagined, Everyone there was horrified of his experience. Ariene even cried mid-explanation, as Glynda had to excuse herself to the bathroom, when Aurum described how his tortures felt.

Ozpin:"...This, is even worse than what we thought was worse."

Qrow only nodded weakly, as Aurum finished talking about it. He was shaking in his boots as Qrow continued to caress his back.

Ozpin:" Qrow, I'll lend you a spare room in the teacher's dorm. Spend the night here with the kids. Let's continue our talks tomorrow."

Qrow once again nodded, as he lifted Aurum out of his wheelchair and carried him like a baby. Aurum found it comforting,as he rested his chin on Qrow's shoulders and slept. Qrow brought the children to the dorm room after Ozpin gave him the keys, and they rested after that story despite the time only being early in the afternoon.

Qrow:" You'll pay for this Tai. Not only for Aurum, but for my sister.

The flames of vengeance filled Qrow as he swore to uphold justice.

...............................