Rain takes a sip of his tea, leveling Ronin with a curious gaze.
"So, Ronin...tomorrow is the qualifying round of the Champions' Tournament. You ready?"
She raises her eyebrows at him.
"Of course. Is there a reason I wouldn't be?"
He suppresses a small smile, and shakes his head at her.
"No, I guess not. Well then, what do you want to discuss today? More sword stuff? I confess...you've told me so much already that I'm not sure I'll remember it all."
She stares back at him in silence for several moments, her expression one of typical stoicism, but her eyes seem...conflicted. Eventually, her tone becomes hesitant as she speaks.
"Actually...no. Something else, I think. Do you still not consider us friends?"
Rain's expression turns bewildered.
'Where the hell did that come from?'
He tries to keep his tone lighthearted as he responds, cautiously.
"Uhm...I mean, perhaps not close friends. But like I told you before, we're friendly enough. I'm happy with our relationship...are you not?"
Ronin looks away thoughtfully for a moment, before turning back to him with a resolute gaze.
"No, I'm not."
His eyes widen in shock, and after several moments' pause, incredulity invades his voice as he responds.
"Uhm...alright. Can I ask why not?"
She seems to think over what she wants to say for a few moments, then nods at him confidently.
"Because I've decided that I want your help...after the Crucible. I know that you've already insisted on that, but we never discussed specifics. Before, I expected less direct assistance, like gathering information and helping me manage my Quirk. Now though, I'd like...more...from you. But, what I want your help with will be dangerous...potentially lethal.
"Our lives would depend on being able to fight and plan seamlessly as a team during the endeavor, and I don't think we're...close...enough for that. We don't know all of one another's abilities, we lack sufficient trust, we have no experience actually working together, and we don't understand one another's inclinations well. In essence, we aren't, as you said, real friends. So, if you're willing and able to help me...fully, then we need to change that."
Rain purses his lips, contemplating Ronin's words as she stares at him patiently but intensely.
He hasn't forgotten what he promised...what he demanded. Even after all these weeks, even with Tess now in his life, his feelings about Ronin's situation haven't changed. If he's being honest with himself...he can no more walk away from her than he could bury the discoveries about Falling and Nether he made with Bright.
It's not in his nature...not anymore, at least.
That said, while he's on board with undermining whatever is bearing down on her at all costs, and he agrees that they're not exactly the dynamic duo they may need to be for that task, he's not sure how to fix that. It's not like one can just manufacture trust, battle synchronicity, and personal understanding on demand.
He casts a hesitant gaze at Ronin.
"My position hasn't changed, and I'm on board with being directly involved. But...I have a couple of questions. First, I obviously want to know what changed for you...to make you so adamant about the nature of my involvement. Though, that's an ancillary concern. More importantly, while I agree with your assessment of our dynamic and how it would need to change, how exactly do you expect to facilitate that? That's not the kind of thing you can just wish true."
The corners of Ronin's mouth tug downward, and her eyes seem to fill with a touch of...pain, but she responds in a relatively flat tone.
"Your first question is easy to answer. My last caretaker, Elisa, she's...missing. Two weeks ago, she traveled to Asphodel for business that was only supposed to last a week. Ten days at most. Yet, I haven't heard from her. If my past experiences are any indication, that means she's never coming back...likely dead. So, Rain, that makes you the only living person I trust at all. I....don't have anyone else left to help me."
Rain feels his jaw clench, the heaviness of Ronin's words like lead in his veins. After a moment, he's still uncertain what to say. Sorry's won't do any good...not from him, and not for this. Eventually, he just looks at her with a sorrowful expression.
"Thanks for telling me, and...if you need anything, just ask. You know, anything mundane. That aside...do you know where in Asphodel she was headed when she disappeared? Or why?"
He sees her eyes warm slightly, her tone taking on a hint of gratitude.
"I'll keep that in mind...thank you. As for the details of her travel, for once I know both where she was going and why...to a degree. Her destination was a small territory at the periphery of colonized Asphodel, managed by an independent, minor clan – Clan Moonveil. She'd heard the Veyron and Abel clans were searching for something nearby. She thought that whatever it was held sufficient importance to them to serve as leverage...if someone else could find it first."
Rain rubs his chin thoughtfully, realization dawning on his face.
"I take it that the dangerous thing you want my help with involves following in her footsteps?"
Ronin nods solemnly, her demeanor growing serious.
"Yes...the place the clans are searching within is called the Wailing Woods. It's dangerous enough that even Demigods don't venture there recklessly."
He sighs regretfully, giving her a bitter smile.
"I see...okay. Well, in that case you should probably tell me your plan to magically turn us into besties for resties. You know, so it's appropriate for you to be inviting me to such nice places."
The corners of her mouth twitch upward before she responds.
"Obviously I don't expect it to happen overnight. After the Crucible, we'll need to grow stronger before we travel there anyway, so we can train together in Asphodel. However, there are some things we can and should do even before that, before the Crucible. For one, we can start sparring some during these meetings. Also, we should...bond...more..."
As she trails off, Ronin's expression becomes nervous, her eyes moving away from Rain's gaze. He raises his eyebrows incredulously.
'Uhm...the rest of that sounds fine, but...what the hell does someone like her consider bonding?'
His tone becomes slightly concerned.
"Uh...bond how?"
She continues avoiding his gaze for several moments, before turning back to him, her eyes clearly conflicted.
"By sharing some of the secrets we've been keeping...our abilities...what we can do..."
Rain has to fight the urge to snort. In his mind, that's the kind of personal information you share once you have deep trust, not something you sacrifice in the hopes of building trust. His tone becomes darkly amused.
"You make it sound so easy, Ronin...sharing our capabilities and weaknesses when you've just acknowledged how insufficiently we trust one another."
She winces, showing a rare amount of emotion, and she looks away dejectedly. Her tone becomes almost...bitter...
"I-...it's...I know. I never said it was easy...it's asking a lot, in fact..."
She trails off for a moment, falling silent for several seconds. But then she seems to make up her mind about something, and she turns back to face him once again. The conflict in her expression is gone, replaced by a cold resolve in her pale blue eyes. Her tone becomes...stern...absolute.
"That's why I'll go first. I'll tell you everything about my abilities that I've been keeping from you...starting with the details my Quirk. After that, tell me as much about yourself as you're willing to, when you're willing to...I can wait for you to trust me more."
Rain blinks in surprise, his expression blank for a few moments as Ronin stares back at him evenly. Then, he feels inexplicably...angry...concerned for her, even. He's unsure why, but...suddenly he's glaring at her like she's insane, his voice becoming nearly shrill.
"Ronin, you don't know me! Why would you risk telling me something like that!? What could you possibly gain!? Are you nuts!?"
She stares back at him, unperturbed, meeting his incredulous gaze in silence for several moments. Then, her expression darkens...grows deathly serious...and she leans towards him, her demeanor becoming uncharacteristically menacing. Her blue eyes begin to boil with a rage that he hasn't seen since the first time she visited him, when he inadvertently touched her.
"Yes, Rain...I'm a little nuts these days, because I've been backed into a corner. Because I'm being forced to fight tooth and nail for my very survival. Because I've had everything taken from me, without ever getting a single...fucking...explanation. And I'm so sick of it. I want to fight back...to live. But more than anything, I want to see the people who drove me to this position suffer, Rain.
"If all I cared about was surviving, I might take my chances on my own...not involve you. But I can't stand the thought of sparing the people responsible for the death of my parents and everyone who's ever tried to look out for me. Those enemies are strong...relentless. And now, I'm alone, and I don't know if I'm enough to make them suffer...I don't know if anyone is. But I know that I want to try...gods, I want to do everything in my power, Rain, even if it kills me.
"So, I'm asking for your help...I need it. Because as unsubstantiated as the feeling may be, I think I can trust you. More importantly, I think your help will actually make a difference. I saw it in your eyes the other day when I asked you what would happen if we fought. You're strong... determined...ruthless, even, and I want that person on my side. The person willing to prevail at all costs...someone committed to seeing these monsters suffer...someone like me.
"You're what I stand to gain, Rain, and I want you at your best. I don't want you holding back around me because you don't trust me, or over- or under-estimating me in the heat of battle. I don't want to miss out on whatever you can offer towards my goals, because I worried too much about how much we can trust one another. I've seen enough of you to justify this risk."
As Ronin finishes her rant, the rage in her eyes slowly subsides, and she sits back on her feet, resting her back against her bed frame. However, she continues to watch Rain expectantly... hopefully, even. He watches her in return...wary...thoughtful.
'Is this what I sounded like when I insisted that I be a part of this...all those weeks ago? Did I sound...insane? Yeah, I guess I probably did...'
After several seconds of tense silence, he finally lets out a deep sigh. Then, a darkly amused smile comes to his face, almost despite himself.
"Full disclosure...I'm not sure if I'll be willing to tell you quite as much about myself as you're offering to tell me about yourself."
She looks back at him, her gaze wary but hopeful, her blue eyes studying his face intensely.
"But there's a chance that you might?"
Rain shrugs nonchalantly.
"A chance...sure...with time. Someone else managed to convince me to bring them into my Soul Temple, so I can't pretend that my complete trust is unattainable. It wasn't easy, though. I'm kind of paranoid...so I've been told."
Ronin's eyes go wide in shock, a thoughtful look passing across her face for a while as she scans him intently, her eyes full of curiosity. Eventually, she seems to decide against asking him anything, and she just nods.
"Alright then, Rain...let me tell you about my Quirk."