Chapter One- Humble Beginnings
The rain poured down on the kingdom of Vale, the downtown district of the city was slick with water and the streetlights reflected in the rapidly growing puddles in the street. It was around midnight, that combined with the poor weather had confined most of it's citizens to their homes until the sun came up in the morning. But as a late traveling car made it's way through the streets it's headlights momentarily revealed a shadow in a nearby alley, just before the figure darted out of sight.
Once the vehicle had passed, the obscured individual ran out of their hiding place to the next alleyway where they took a moment to rest under the nearby buildings overhang to find shelter from the downpour. Her clothes were soaked, her hair was a mess, and the basket in her arms was fairing no better under these conditions.
She hated this. Not just that what she was doing was awful, inhumane, and just generally one of the most despicable things she'd ever done in her life (which was saying something). But the whole thing was just so... cliche to her. The stereotypical mysterious figure dropping a basket off on a doorstep in the rain with a heavy conscience. Ugh. She couldn't resist an eye roll at the overly dramatic situation that would not be uncommon in some kind of unbearable television drama. No doubt she'd find the whole situation hilarious if she didn't hate herself so much right now, the overwhelming grief and knot in her stomach growing as she neared her destination.
Before setting off again into rain, the short woman set down the package in her arms and knelt next to it. She peeled back the cloth covering it's contents and smiled. A brief feeling of doubt crossed her mind as her resolve regarding the task she'd place before herself wavered. The woman brought her hand close to the bundle in the basket, but stopped at the last second, and she quickly re-covered what was inside.
No. No, this was for the best. For both of them. She couldn't afford to have second thoughts now.
After taking a moment to breathe and swallow the lump in her throat, the lone figure stood and picked up her package again, holding it close with both arms. She stepped up the to the edge of the shelter the overhang provided her and looked up into the dark sky, of all the days to forget her umbrella. Once again the urge to smile at the irony of the situation was overshadowed by the sadness in the woman's heart. Resigning herself to her soaking wet fate, she ran back out into the storm.
She didn't have far left to go, and a few blocks later she stopped in front of the building. She didn't bother checking the address she'd written down, this was the place, there was no mistaking it. The nearby streetlights illuminated the gold lettering on the sign sitting above the storefront.
It read; Tukson's Book Trade.
Tukson looked around him, the world seemed inky and dark, the shadows were whispering familiar things to him as his head darted from left to right trying to identify the source of the sounds.
Run Tukson!
... He's lucky to be alive...
... fire killed his whole family...
... Unbreakable faunus...
... the White Fang is changing, my friend...
... No survivors, understood?...
... Good work, Tukson...
Monster.
The White Fang needs you...
Where will you go?
... No escaping what you've done.
Tukson covered his ears and shut his eyes tightly as he tried to block out the voices. When he reopened his eyes he saw the shadows in front of him take shape, becoming monsters with long claws and sharp teeth, their pairs of burning red eyes watched him hungrily. There was a sudden heaviness in his right arm and the faunus looked down and saw a large axe, it's hilt clutched in his giant hand, it's edge was coated in a bright flame. Tukson felt an overwhelming rage start building inside himself, all directed at the figures before him. The shadows moved in and Tukson started slashing at them with a roar.
He swung his burning axe over and over, cutting the attacking shadows to pieces. There were black entrails splashing onto his face, but that did nothing to stop the rampaging Tukson. A few of the creatures slashed at his torso and arms with their claws, but the wounds they created healed almost instantly as his semblance took action. He didn't even feel the pain, he just hacked away at anyone who got close.
Eventually it was over and the faunus just stood there panting. The muscles in his arms were tingling from the repeated impacts of his weapon against the flesh of the beasts. Tukson took in the carnage he'd caused. His yellow eyes went wide in horror. The shadows melted away from their bodies revealing people, human and faunus, their faces contorted in pain, fear, or shock. He recognized these faces. Friends, family members, loved ones. What had he done?
Tukson stepped back, away from the pile of body parts he'd created at his feet. He couldn't breathe. He didn't know they were-
Suddenly there was a noise behind the large faunus, Tukson spun around to face a shadow that had somehow managed to sneak up behind him. He was about to raise his weapon in defense against the smaller shadow, but at the last second he stopped. This one's eyes were different, instead of hate filled crimson, there was one pink and one brown eye staring back at him. The faunus froze in place at the sight of the layers of shadow peeling back to reveal a woman with long curly hair that's color matched her mis-matched eyes; half pink, half brown.
He knew this person. He had difficulty finding his voice when he tried to call out to her, and when he was able to form the word with his mouth, it sounded hoarse and foreign to him.
"N... Nee- Ah!"
Tukson was cut off as a blade pierced his chest, right through his heart.
The surprised faunus looked down at the wound. the needle like blade was still embedded in his body, a pair of small feminine hands holding it in place. The woman gave Tukson a blank, emotionless stare, and with a quick pull she freed her weapon from Tukson's torso, a thick glob of blood splirting out of the wound as it was ripped out.
The puma faunus feebly reached up towards the injury, covering it with his hands in a futile attempt to stop the blood that was now pouring out of him. Tukson's legs went weak and he fell onto his knees. This wasn't right. Why wasn't he healing? He always healed. No one could ever hurt him. What... what had this person done to him?
The faunus raised his head slowly, his attacker was looking down at him and now holding Tukson's axe in her own hand, seemingly unaffected by the weapons size and weight in comparison to her own. She was crying now, tears poured down her cheeks as she gave Tukson a sorrowful expression.
"I'm sorry," she choked out as she raised the axe over her head in preparation for a swing.
Tukson couldn't move... or he didn't want to. Something about the words she spoke hurt him more than any weapon ever could.
"I can't," she said as she swung the weapon down towards Tukson's neck.
The quiet interior of Tukson's Book Trade was shattered when it's owner let out a loud gasp as he shot up in his seat. The pile of papers Tukson had been resting his head on was scattered onto the floor as the bulky faunus' head darted around the room in half awake confusion. The familiar setting of his store calmed him down a bit as he realized he'd been up late working on some paperwork and must have dozed off for a bit. Tukson sighed loudly as he brought a hand to his chest to try and relax his accelerated heartbeat. A sharp sting of pain when he touched himself made him stop and realize that his brown, inch long claws were sticking out of his fingertips, he'd scratched himself, that nightmare must have really gotten to him.
Tukson took a deep breath and was able to retract the razor sharp faunus trait he'd inherited. He wondered just how long this was going to go on. He'd left the White Fang over a year ago, he'd built a new life here in Vale, he was was a small business owner now and was proud to say that Tukson's Book Trade was doing exceptionally well for a newly opened shop in the big city. But all the success in the world wouldn't rid him of the memories of the things he'd done. All the people he'd killed "for the good of his kind", as his superiors had said.
He deserved it, he supposed. The nightmares were a penance for his crimes, one that he'd never be able to repay. But this dream... it had been different.
She'd been in it.
Tukson had spent the better part of the last year trying to forget that pink and brown haired woman whom had just liberated his dream selves head from his shoulders. But she was nothing if not unforgettable.
The puma faunus dragged the palm of his hand across his tired face then looked down. The collection of papers that now littered the floor certainly weren't going to get taken care of now. With a groan, Tukson bent over and started picking up the important looking documents, trying his best to organize the mess he'd made into a neat stack in his hands.
It wasn't easy starting a new life, and he never assumed it would be. As if the nightmares weren't enough, paranoia was another price the puma faunus had been paying since his departure from the Fang. Granted, no one had come after him (yet), but Tukson still felt like he constantly had to be on his guard. Whenever he left the store, or the tiny apartment he'd taken up residence in on the second floor above it, he was always on edge. Continually watching out of the corner of his eye to see if he was being followed or anything as equally ridiculous. Living such a way didn't exactly make him a lot of friends around town, but Tukson always said it was better to be lonely and paranoid than dead.
So when there was a loud knock on his stores front door at 12:21 am, it was completely rational for Tukson to immediately throw the papers he'd picked up in the air and get into a fighting stance, his claws erupting from his fingertips again.
Tukson's eyes were slits of black in a sea of gold as he watched the door waiting for the sound to dare repeat itself. But all the faunus could hear was the rain continuing to pour down outside. Tukson remained still a moment longer before he slowly stalked his way towards the entrance. The storefront windows had been darkened hours ago when he'd closed, offering him no view of whatever or whoever was outside. He pressed his ear up against the wooden door and listened, but again, all he heard was the downpour proceeding unabated.
Wrapping one of his giant hands around the door handle, the other poised and ready to lash out if need be, Tukson slowly cracked the door open. And outside he saw... nothing. Just the seemingly endless supply of water falling from the sky splashing onto the street below.
The bulky faunus furrowed his brow. A prank? Possibly. Yeah, that was probably it. Or maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him? Also possible. Tukson let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Whatever this was, he didn't really want to deal with it in the middle of the-
Then Tukson looked down at his doorstep. There, barely protected from the rain by the entryway to his shop, was a plain looking brown wicker basket with a pink blanket in it. The faunus pulled the door open the rest of the way to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
He wasn't. It was a basket. Confirmed. Well, that was one mystery solved. Next up; What on Remnant was it doing sitting on his doormat at this hour?
Then Tukson saw the folded piece of paper haphazardly scotch taped to the front of the basket, it had his name on it. Curiosity won out over suspicion in the end and the tired puma faunus reached down and plucked the paper off the basket. It was a note, in his still half asleep state, Tukson skimmed it briefly. His eyes went wide at a few of the key words he picked up.
sorry.
forgive.
and by far the most jarring; daughter.
But it was the signature at the bottom of the note that made the puma faunus' eyes almost bulge out of his head in shock. He quickly stuffed the paper in his pants pocket and leapt over the basket into the pouring rain. Tukson looked up and down the street for any signs of life, any signs that she was still here. But again, he saw nothing, and he knew that if she didn't want to be found, he would never be able to even if he tried. A familiar agonizing feeling of grief tugged at the faunus' heart. He'd lost her again. It wasn't any less painful the second time.
Tukson turned to go back inside dejectedly, then he saw the basket again and his now wide awake mind caught up with the situation. He sprinted back over to the inconspicuous container and knelt down to inspect it. He slowly inched his hand towards the blanket covering whatever was inside. Was there really a...
Tukson tentatively peeled back the cloth and there it- she was.
Tucked under another blanket up to her chin was a baby, sleeping and breathing softly through her slightly open mouth. On the top of her tiny head was a small tuft of half black, half white hair done up with a pink bow. Then there was the pair of adorable cat ears on each side of her head matching her hair color. She was a faunus, clearly, like him. But was she really his-
Tukson starred dumbfounded at the child, wondering just what the hell was going on. He half expected to wake up at his desk again any second now, the whole thing felt surreal to him. Then he remembered the note. Tukson quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out the now slightly damp paper and began to read it.
Tukson,
It's been a long time, I know.
I'm sorry things had to end the way they did last time we met, and I don't expect you to ever forgive me for the choices I've made. But that's not why I'm writing this.
This our daughter; Oreonna.
I was as surprised as you are. I guess one of those magical nights we shared are to thank for this little gift. I want to be clear, I have no regrets. I love this child more than I ever thought possible, and I always will. I wouldn't trade these last months since she's been born for anything. But I can't be her mother anymore.
It's complicated, and I don't have nearly enough time to get into it, but just trust me when I say she's better off without me. You can add that the the list of ways I've disappointed the people I love.
So I have to ask you to take care of her now, there's no one else I can turn to and I refuse to put in the same broken system I was raised in at an orphanage. Oreonna deserves to be loved, and I know you are a wellspring of it.
I'm aware I'm asking too much of you, to put your own life on hold to raise a child you never knew about. But please give her the family she needs.
Please be the parent I never could.
Love, Always,
Neopolitan
P.S.- I left a locket with Oreonna. When she's older I'd like her to have it, to remember me, be it for better or worse.
Tukson read and reread the letter, could this possibly be real? Trying his best not to disturb his still sleeping... daughter? (It felt strange to refer to her that way), the distressed faunus lifted the blanket covering the baby and sure enough, a small golden locket strung on a small bit of string was coiled up on her chest.
He carefully picked up the trinket, causing Oreonna to stir slightly but show no signs of waking up. Tukson grasped the small necklace in his massive hands and pressed the tiny latch on the side causing the locket to open. What he saw inside made his jaw drop.
This was real.
He slid the locket into his back pocket and when Tukson looked down he found a pair of rosy pink eyes staring up at him.
The two of them froze in place as they seemed to be appraising one another. The smaller faunus cocked her head to one side causing Tukson to mimic the action.
Those eyes... Tukson had seen eyes like that in only one other person.
Granted they were usually shifting color quickly. But their were few moments, when Neo was truly relaxed, at ease, when she felt safe, that those often mismatched eyes both turned to their natural pink. A very similar shade of irises was staring up at Tukson right now.
This. Was real. He repeated to himself.
The evidence was piling up and it was becoming harder and harder to be in denial of the fact; He was a father.
The two continued their silent observation of each other as Tukson panicked. What was he going to do? He didn't know how to be a dad! He'd never even taken care of a house plant before! Never mind a person!
Well... then again... he'd always liked kids. The White Fang often had way too many parent-less faunus children running around, not unlike he had been when he'd first joined up. No one had ever really assigned him to look after them, but he just felt like he had to. He'd read to them a lot, like Tukson's mom had to him, and he even brought back clothes and toys for them when he wasn't on jobs. He was "Uncle Tukson" to more than a few faunus rugrats in the Fang. He hadn't thought about those days in a while. It's funny how the bad side of his work with the once peaceful organization often overshadowed the good.
But this was different. This was a life that was being put entirely under his care. All of this was happening way to fast for the puma faunus to deal with.
Meanwhile, Oreonna just sat there looking up at the giant man having a mental breakdown above her with a curious expression.
Not knowing what else to do, Tukson picked up the basket and baby all at once to at least get them inside where they would stay dry. He brought the infant up to his eye level and got a good up close look at his daughters tiny... everything. Her face, her nose, her ears (both sets). She just looked so... fragile, and that scared Tukson more than anything. How could he protect something so small and innocent?
Just then, the tiny kitten faunus blew a raspberry right in Tukson's face, and afterward looked pretty damn pleased with herself about it.
The burly faunus was at a loss for words at that, but then his lips started curving upwards and he let out a small chuckle. Then Oreonna laughed too.
Tukson thought it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.
The tiny faunus reached out with her stubby fingers towards Tukson and let out a babble of unintelligible baby talk. Tukson laughed again, louder this time, as he turned to bring the child inside. He didn't really know what the hell he was going to do, but those questions could wait until morning at least.
That's what it would take, he decided. Taking things one day at a time.
Using his foot, Tukson shut the door behind him. Not noticing the figure standing in the middle of the street watching him as the rain poured down unrelentingly.
The short woman smiled sadly, her semblance had kept her hidden when Tukson had come out into the road looking for her. She'd actually only been a few feet away from her old flame at one point. He looked good, maybe a little tired, but it was... nice seeing him again.
Neo had decided earlier that if she stayed to watch, it'd only make it harder to leave. But she had to be sure, she couldn't risk not knowing, she had to see if this was going to work out. And after what she'd just witnessed, her mind was slightly more at ease. Tukson had lived up to her expectations completely and Neo knew he'd take care of their daughter.
Still, despite the pouring rain, Neo couldn't resist reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes. This was for the best, she reminded herself. Oreonna would be happy here, she'd be loved, and that's all the pink and brown haired woman wanted for her.
"Goodbye, Oreonna..." she whispered to herself. Then with a shimmer of light around her, Neo disappeared, leaving the streets empty once again.
(16 years later)
A pair of black boots tiptoed across the cobblestone beneath them, their owner taking slow quiet steps as to not give away her position. She wore a long black dress with a white strip going down the middle, a pair of gray straps holding it up over her bare shoulders. Her short sleeves were wide at the ends and the rest of her arms were covered with long white gloves. On the back of her outfit- near the bottom, was a small hole through which a long, black, cat tail stuck out. On her legs she wore a pair of black leggings with a grey fishnet pattern on them, interrupted by the rugged boots she wore that went up to just below her knees. Her long hair was swept back over her shoulders, white on one side and black on the other, the darker half being held up just above her left eye with a golden hair clip with three musical notes of it. On the top of her head on each side a cat ear of matching color was sticking out, the one sticking out of the black half of her hair had a small chip missing from the tip of the ear. The cat tailed girl crouched low to the ground, her extra set of ears twitching as they listened for any sounds that might give away her enemies position as her sharp pink eyes scanned the darkness around her.
She'd come prepared for this fight. On her right arm was an hourglass shaped shield with razor sharp edges. However, it wasn't just a shield, it also resembled a violin, with four tightly wound strings running from the top of the weapon to the bottom. At one end of the strings was what would be referred to as the scroll of the instrument, with four multi colored tuning pegs sticking out of it's sides. In the girls other hand was a long sword that was sharp on one side and the other had a long string making the weapon serve as the bow for her shield's violin.
Suddenly the cat ears on the young faunus girls head shot up as a sharp set of claws swung out at her. The cat girl sprung to her left to dodge, bringing her shield up as she faced her enemy. The Beowolf stepped out from the shadows, licking it's teeth hungrily as it watched it's prey with a glowing pair of blood red eyes.
The black and white haired faunus spun her sword in her hand and brought her shield to her chin, bringing her bow to the strings of her weapon, then she started to play. An orange glow surrounded her blade's edge as the melody went on, the song was passionate and longing like the flames that were growing on her sword. The Beowolf lowered it's ears in response to the strange music before pouncing towards the faunus with it's sharp claws fully extended. The cat eared girl responded with one quick slash, her elementally enhanced weapon splitting the beast clean in half at the stomach.
There was a bright flash of fire at the impact which reveled several other Grimm waiting in the darkness, all snarling in anger at the young girl before them. The faunus turned to face the monsters with an excited smile on her face as she ran headlong towards them. Another Beowolf lashed out and had it's arm lobbed off for it's trouble before it's head joined it shortly thereafter. A small Ursa stood up on it's hind legs as it lumbered forward swinging it's massive claws. But the cat eared girl merely leaned just out of reach before slamming her shield into the monsters exposed stomach making it bend forward allowing the her to stab upwards through it's jaw. As the tip of her blade poked out of the skull mask on top of the bear monsters head it's whole body went limp. The violinist pulled her weapon free before leaping out of the way of another Grimm's slow attack, leaving the Ursa's corpse to disintegrate on the floor. However, unlike most Grimm, who fall away to inky, black smoke, these Grimm melted away into the ground in sparks of light as the floor seemed to absorb them.
It was a hologram, as all of the Grimm surrounding the cat girl were. All of them part of a highly advanced training program meant to test aspiring young huntsmen and huntresses in their final exam at Signal Academy.
While the cat faunus fought off the digital representations of monsters, a group of teachers were monitoring this exam from behind a one way mirror in a dark room. On a monitor in front of the group nearest the glass there was a picture of the girl that was undergoing the test along with a list of her academic merits and grades. The name; Oreonna Delsole was displayed under her portrait.
"Miss Delsole seems to be doing quite well thus far," one of the teachers observing said.
"No surprise really. She's one of the highest ranked students here. I expect she'll make short work of this exam and pass with flying colors no doubt," another added.
Meanwhile in the back of the observation room another instructor leaned back in his wooden chair. His dark grey hair was slicked back with a bit hanging down over his face and a small patch of stubble covering his chin. A tattered red cape hung over the back of his chair, and a sideways cross necklace hung around his neck. He rolled his red eyes as his fellow instructors continued chatting and praising this girl just for killing a few Beowolf pups. If they really wanted to make sure she was ready, they'd have to throw something a bit more... exciting her way. Luckily, he'd made a little adjustment to their training program this morning in preparation for today. He smiled to himself as he took a sip from the flask he always carried with him.
By now, Oreonna was moping up the last of the Grimm. The handful of remaining Beowolves all threw themselves at the cat girl in one last desperate attack. These holograms may not have been real Grimm, but they were programmed to be just as bloodthirsty and relentless, as well as being able to still do damage if there attacks hit. The technology created to make this kind of training possible was state of the art, a gift from Atlas Academy on the day when Signal had first been opened. It was seen as act of good faith since the days of the Great War to show that all of the schools of the world of Remnant were on the same side, no matter how big or small. These Grimm were just as savage as the real thing, but the simulation was programmed to shut down automatically in the event of the students aura dropping into the red from taking to much damage.
Still despite the danger she faced, Oreonna kept a calm expression, and as the beasts descended upon her she waited until the last possible second before she activated her semblance.
There was a blinding white flash and the group of Beowolves recoiled back at the sight. Then, where there had once been one Oreonna, now stood two. A mirror image in almost every regard, almost. The only differences being the one on the left having all black hair and the one on the right having pure white. Also, each of the "twins" had one pink eye, and one pale white one, making the two resemble a mirror image of each other even more so. Once Oreonna had split up, she also split up her weapons, so the white haired cat girl wielded her violin shield, and the black haired one held her bow sword in front of her with two hands. Lastly, Oreonna's faunus traits, her tail and ears, were split up among her black haired and white haired halves respectively.
Their numbers now doubled, the split faunus' charged forward. The darker version was yelling out with each strike while the lighter one nimbly intercepted the Grimm's blows with her shield keeping stoic and silent throughout the whole encounter. The Beolwoves stood no chance against the odds they now faced and soon the remaining Grimm flopped to the ground lifelessly.
The two Oreonna's glanced over at each other and gave a simultaneous nod. They moved to recombine themselves back into one, but suddenly there was the sound of heavy footsteps rushing up from behind them. The two cat girls looked back in shock as massive gorilla Grimm bounded towards the two.
"A Beringrel!?" That's not a part of the exam!" the teachers watching shouted as they were flabbergasted as to how such a high threat level Grimm had appeared in the simulation. Before they could begin to wonder how though, the man in the back of the room coughed loudly as if trying to get the groups attention.
"Professor Branwen? Are you responsible for this? These students are not ready for this level of combat!" one of the teachers asked indignantly.
The caped huntsman shrugged lazily as he hobbled up to his feet, he seemed a little unsteady at first as he struggled to regain his balance. But after a quick swig from his flask, a sharpness returned to his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were supposed to be training hunters here, not running a kindergarten," he said sarcastically. "The real worlds gonna throw things as that kid that're at least twice as scary as that big monkey down there, and you've got her fighting freshly brewed Beolwolves?" the professor gestured to the training grounds behind the group as he spoke. "What's next? Throw a few Grimm butterflies at her?"
"This is no time for jokes, Qrow,"
"Who's joking? You ever seen those flying bastards before? Actually pretty damn scary if you ask me," Qrow grinned at the aggravated expressions he was receiving as he took another sip.
"You haven't shown up for work in weeks, and when you decide to show your face at graduation day you have the gall to question our teaching methods?" a female teacher on one side of the room said, narrowing here eyes at the most likely inebriated huntsmen.
Qrow smirked back at her as he stepped close. "First of all, if half of the kids that graduated from here were tossed out into the wild they wouldn't last two minutes. That, is my critique on your "methods."
"How dare-"
"Secondly," Qrow interrupted, his face suddenly much more serious. "I'm not exactly on vacation when I'm gone. I'm off risking my life so you can all sit here in classrooms training kids like her to do the same thing someday. So excuse me if I want to make sure they're ready."
The entire room was silent as no one really had a counter point to that. It was no secret that Qrow was far from the most poplar of the teachers at Signal, at least among the staff. But he still gained a great deal of respect from his fellow huntsmen over the years for his accomplishments, not to mention the years of experience under his belt at the academy. Even the group before him had to begrudgingly acknowledge his skills, which was one of the only reasons he remained (barely) employed at the school.
Qrow looked over the groups shoulders and grinned. "Beside, I think she's doin' okay, all things considered."
The faculty members all seemed to remember at the same time that they were supposed to be monitoring an exam right now and spun around to continue observing.
"We will discuss this later, Qrow. Be certain of that," one said over their shoulder towards the caped huntsman.
"Looking forward to it," The dark haired man replied, taking his seat in the back of the room as he leaned back to enjoy the show.
"Give em hell, kid."
Meanwhile, down in the simulation area, the two Oreonna's hopped around dodging the Beringrel's giant fists as it continued it's assault on the faunus. After dodging a particularly savage punch, the sword wielding Oreonna jumped onto the others shield and her counterpart launched her towards the Grimm. The black haired half of the girl soared over the monster just barely out of it's reach and delivered a slash to it's back making the Beringrel stumble forward. The other Oreonna was ready and slammed her shield into the Grimm's chest causing the already off balance monsters to fall back towards the other Oreonna. The darker haired cat girl smiled maliciously and delivered a rising slash as she jumped then stabbed her blade into the beasts shoulder. Using her newfound grip, the faunus leapt up to her perch and prepared to decapitate the Grimm. But was stopped when one of the monsters giant hands grabbed her around the midsection, giving the smaller girls body a tight squeeze.
The sword wielding Oreonna let out a gasp of pain and on the floor in front of the Beringrel the shield wielding version of her fell to her knee in pain. Her semblance allowed Oreonna to split into two copies of herself to double her damage output and confuse opponents, but she was still just one person with one soul. That meant that in addition to sharing aura, the two copies also still technically shared the same body, so when one felt pain so did the other.
The Beringrel held the cat girl above it's head in triumph for a moment before swinging the faunus like a club and throwing her at the white haired Oreonna before it. The two halves collided and with another flash, recombined into one as the original Oreonna tumbled across the floor coming to a stop near the wall. The black and white haired faunus struggled up to her feet using her sword to support herself. The Beringrel huffed proudly as it beat on it's chest and slammed it's large knuckles into the floor, almost as though it was celebrating it's victory.
Oreonna glared at the Grimm's display of power as she stood to her full (though, not all that impressive) height. The faunus brought her shield up to her chin again, placed the bow side of her sword on the strings, closed her eyes and played. The song she chose was the same as earlier, but the way she played it now was different. The melody was faster and there was a greater ferocity than before.
The Beringrel however wasn't about to just stand around to wait for the violinist to finish playing and with a ferocious roar, charged towards Oreonna. The cat girls eyes remained closed and she didn't even budge as she continued playing. The Grimm swung it's huge fist towards her and just before it made contact, Oreonna's cat ears twitched.
The Beringrel's fist slammed into, and then through, the wall, but when the dust settled the Grimm saw Oreonna had hopped up and was now standing on top of it's arm which was now embedded in the wall. The cat girl still hadn't opened her eyes as she gave an amused smirk and kept playing as she stood confidently on the trapped appendage. The Grimm roared in frustration as it tried to crush the petite faunus with it's free hand. But again, Oreonna's cat ears twitched just before impact and she leapt up and over the massive gorilla landing behind it.
Tearing it's fist out of the wall, as well as a large chunk of the wall itself, the Beringrel swung again with similar results. The Creature of Grimm had no way of knowing it, but this fight was already over. Oreonna's focus was unbreakable at this point as she continued to play while seemingly effortlessly dodging everything the monster threw at her. The form and grace with which she moved was a result of years of training in not just combat, but also preforming music. The Grimm's continued frenzy of attacks would get it nowhere at this point. When the monster raised both it's arms in an attempt to crush the cat faunus, Oreonna rushed towards it, sliding on her knees between the Grimm's legs as it uselessly pounded the ground.
Once she got back to her feet, she stopped playing and looked backwards over her shoulder at the Grimm and smiled. The Beringrel spun around, frustration overtaking it as it slammed it's fists against the cobblestone again before charging the cat faunus. Oreonna pointed the tip of her bow sword at a spot on the ground a few yards ahead of the rampaging monster. The spot began to glow red and once the Grimm stepped on it the black and white haired girl flicked her weapon upwards.
A massive column of flames erupted from floor illuminating the entire chamber and overtaking the Beringrel completely. The beast let out a brief yell of pain before the sounds of the inferno drowned it out. With another wave of her hand the fire dissipated revealing the burnt husk that had once been the Grimm.
The remains of the Beringrel fell forward onto the floor and it's body fell apart into ash before it disappeared like the others. Oreonna stood triumphantly over her fallen foe as the lights of the arena turned back on signifying the exam was over. The cat girl let out a quiet sigh of exhaustion and exasperation.
"Okay, easy parts over," she said to herself as she looked up towards the one way mirror where Oreonna knew her instructors were watching her. She really wasn't looking forward to what was coming next.
Oreonna fidgeted nervously in her seat in the large office, the group of teachers that had been observing her sat at the long, semi-circle shaped desk in front of her. It was time for the second part of the faunus students exam; her evaluation. The cat girls fate was now in the hands of her peers.
The short faunus felt incredibly anxious with all the eyes on her. The teachers were murmuring to each other, watching the recording of Oreonna's physical examination on their scrolls as they discussed her performance. She really hated being the center of attention. Granted she knew the group of instructors had been observing her earlier while she'd fought, but at least then she could appreciate having the distraction of fighting for her life. Now however, the cat faunus was keenly aware of every scrutinizing look she was receiving. Oreonna stared down at her feet for the most part, but every once and a while she'd build the courage to look up but then immediately turn her head away when she made eye contact with one of her teachers.
God, she was a mess. The cat girl fiddled with her hands in her lap and started smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress as she waited. Her tail twitched nervously behind her as it stuck out the back of the chair she was sitting in. The minutes seemed to drag on and on as the teachers continued their quiet discussion across the room, all except for Professor Branwen, who kept his red eyes locked onto the faunus girl as he sat there in silence. Oreonna did her best to ignore him, but she was really wishing he'd look anywhere else right now. Give her an army of bloodthirsty monsters to fight any day over sitting in a room full of people focused solely on her.
"Well, Miss Delsole-"
Oreonna practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of Signal's headmaster's voice.
"-You did quite well on your examination my dear."
"Thank you, sir," the cat faunus said with a slight bow of her head.
The headmaster smiled and continued. "And your academic records speak for themselves, I must say."
Oreonna had always been a bit of a bookworm, one of the perks of being the daughter of a bookstore owner she supposed. She'd practically lived in that store all her life which meant she had plenty of time to develop a taste for literature. And thanks to that, she'd also developed quite a studious nature and never really struggled academically. Training her mind was just as important as training her body in Oreonna's quest to become a huntress, and it was nice to hear that her efforts had been noticed and appreciated.
"With this in mind I think I can speak for all of us here when I say, congrat-"
"Not so fast there, cotton top," Qrow suddenly interjected interrupting the white haired headmaster.
The elderly man gave the huntsman a distasteful look. "Do you have something you'd like to add to the proceedings, Mr. Branwen?"
Qrow stood from his seat and started dragging his chair across the floor towards the confused Oreonna, an uncomfortable scratching accompanying it as he slid the metal furniture on the linoleum. The other occupants in the room winced at the sound, especially the faunus girl he was approaching, her second set of ears only magnifying the sound in her head.
"She needs to get approval from all teachers in attendance before we pass her, right?" The caped man stopped his chair right in front of Oreonna who looked up at him feeling more than a little intimidated. "Well I got a question or two for her before she gets my vote."
Qrow sat in his chair and leaned back crossing his arms as he stared a hole through the student in front of him. If Oreonna had thought she'd been nervous before, she was pretty sure that now her heart was about to explode out of her chest with how fast it was beating.
Professor Branwen (or just Qrow, as he preferred to be called by everyone) had been one of her instructors for all four of her years at Signal. Well, he was when he decided to show up anyway, as Qrow had a pretty spotty attendance record to say the least. More often than not it was Professor Xiao Long that was there to cover for him, even though the two of them didn't seem to get along too well. But when Qrow did show up, he was easily one of Oreonna's favorite instructors. He was funny (in a morbid sort of way, which only made Oreonna like him more), he never passed up the chance to help out a struggling student, and best of all- he wasn't afraid to push his pupils a little harder to help them reach there potential. Oreonna had a sneaking suspicion that the Beringrel she'd encountered at the end of her physical exam might have been his doing. But she loved testing herself against tougher foes, to push herself to the limit in a fight. Plus, she didn't die, so what reason did she have to hold a grudge?
But in all the time she'd known him, Oreonna had never seen Qrow give her a look like he was right now. Deadly serious was the only way she could think of to describe it.
"Oreonna?" Qrow finally said.
"Y-yes?" the cat faunus inwardly cursed her habitual nervous stutter and immediately straightened her posture in an attempt to save face. "Yes, sir?"
Qrow studied his student for another quick moment. "Why are you here?"
Oreonna was caught of guard by such a blunt question and when she couldn't come up with an adequate response right away she just went with the first one that came to mind; "What?"
Qrow let out a sigh as he leaned forward resting his elbows on his thighs. He absentmindedly rubbed one of the rings on his fingers. "Way I see it, a kid like you is lucky enough to have options in life," he said.
Oreonna titled her head slightly, wondering where her teacher was going with this.
"I know for a fact your weapon being part violin isn't just for show. You've been playing since you were a kid, had more recitals than you can probably count on both hands. And I'd be willing bet you've had more than a few scouts from music programs checking you out over the years."
That was true. Oreonna had spent years of her life playing the violin, she couldn't really recall a time she hadn't been. She'd started taking lessons when she was really young, and continued playing very seriously into her teenage years. She'd had more than a few professional scouts come to her performances, offering her the chance to take her musical skills to the next level. Many people in her life had done there best to encourage her to take that chance. It was a promising career choice, but it wasn't what Oreonna wanted. She loved the violin...
But it wasn't being a huntress. So the best she could do was find a way to incorporate her love for music into her dream.
"And we all know your old man runs a small bookstore downtown all by himself, and I've seen you helping out there more than once. Seems only natural since he raised you all by his lonesome that he'd want to pass all that on to you someday."
Oreonna couldn't help but feel a small jab of pain at her teachers remarks. She was always pretty sensitive when it came to her father and her home life. So she liked to help out her dad every now and again, what was wrong with that? The man worked hard just so Oreonna could attend Signal Academy in the first place. He barely slept, worked 12 hour days, six days a week, the man was a workhorse. Covering the counter and helping out customers when she could was the least Oreonna could do to pay him back. More to the point, the cat girl wondered just what part of this was any of Qrow's business, the faunus felt a twinge of irritation building in the back of her mind at her instructors line of questioning. Oreonna might be usually timid in most social situations, but when it came to her family, the shy, awkward faunus found an overprotective side of herself that rarely showed it's face. She might even go so far as to say she had a bit of a temper on the subject.
"So, keeping all of that in mind, I'll ask again; Why are you here? Why choose to risk your life as a huntress?"
The black and white haired faunus gave Qrow a lost look. She... didn't really know how to answer that. How do you describe an overwhelming urge that burned inside you? A feeling that anything else you could ever do in life would pale in comparison to this one amazing thing? She just couldn't put in into words, especially under this kind of pressure.
But she had to say something. "I don't-"
"Is it all for a thrill?" Qrow interrupted as he suddenly stood up straight. "What, those other jobs just aren't exciting enough for you?" The huntsman gave Oreonna a discriminating look, a look just as intense as this line of questioning was becoming.
The cat faunus' ears went flat against her head as her anger was getting more difficult to hide and suppress. "N-no, that's not-"
"Let me ask you this then," the huntsman interrupted again, his voice getting louder and louder. "if you're willing to give up so easily on those lines of work, why should we think you won't just give up on this one?" Her professor bent forward and got real close to the now seething cat girl in front of him. "So, WHY. ARE. YOU. HERE."
"I'm here because being a huntress is all I've ever wanted to be! And if that's not enough for you then you can shove it up your ass!"
Oreonna's mind finally caught up to the words that were exploding out of her mouth and instantaneously a feeling of mortification washed over her. She'd just screamed at a teacher. Not only that, she'd just swore at one, or at least what her youthful, and often naive mind considered a swear.
Just like that the quiet, timid side of Oreonna stepped back in control and had no idea what had come over her. She'd always just been shy, nerdy, perfect student, Oreonna. Always getting good grades, never getting into trouble, exhibiting model student behavior at all times. But now as she dwell on the potential consequences of her actions she looked over at the other teachers in the room who'd been there for the duration of her "conversation" with the old huntsman. They looked just as flabbergasted by her behavior as Oreonna was. The cat faunus felt like her face was heating up so much she was convinced it was about to melt off as she took in the looks of surprise and maybe a little disappointment from all of her peers.
Well, all except for Professor Branwen who had possibly the biggest smile Oreonna had ever seen on his face right now.
The old huntsman laughed and slapped his knee. "Alright," he said. "Good answer." Qrow stood and walked back over to the group of teachers. "Okay, she's good with me."
Oreonna just sat there with the look on her face stuck between confusion and embarrassment as she tried to process what had just happened. Wasn't she in trouble? "Wait. I'm... good?" she asked. "Does that mean-?"
"It appears so," The headmaster said giving a sideways glance at Qrow before smiling warmly at Oreonna. "Congratulations, my dear. You've just graduated from Signal Academy."
Excitement shot through the cat faunus' system and finally bubbled over as she leapt up from her chair and pumped both her arms in the air letting out a "YES!"
Then she noticed the faculty still staring at her.
Oreonna cleared her throat awkwardly the offered a slight bow of her head in respect. "Thank you very much. Please excuse me," she said professionally. With that, the black and white haired girl quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her.
But once she was safely out of sight, the faunus girl immediately broke into a victory dance there in the hallway. Well, it would be more accurately described as a bunch of awkward flailing that could be vaguely interpreted as a sign of happiness... or perhaps a dangerous lack of mental health. But who cares? She'd done it! She'd graduated! She'd awkward dance all damn night if she wanted!
This went on for a bit until Oreonna noticed the door behind her hadn't closed all the way and thanks to some un-oiled hinges, had swung back open. The cat girl was frozen halfway through a particularly extravagant dance move and stared wide eyed at the group of teachers watching her. Neither side of the situation seemed to want to say anything about this, so Oreonna took the initiative to slowly step out of the groups view.
OKAY! Pretending that didn't happen. Oreonna thought to herself as she walked the halls of Signal for most likely the last time. She was practically skipping from excitement, her tail swinging freely behind her, she felt like the smile she was wearing would never fade.
She'd passed! I mean, not that she'd been nervous or anything. Oreonna rolled her eyes as she downright lied to herself. Okay, maybe she had been a little once Professor Branwen had gotten all aggressive with her. She still wondered just what that had been about, but it had all worked out in the end so the chipper faunus chose not to dwell on it.
Oreonna was giddy with excitement now, her four long years at Signal were done. Next stop, Beacon Academy!
... someday...
Oreonna's smile faded for a half second as she remembered her complicated financial situation...
No. No feeling bad. You'll get there eventually. She said to herself.
Pushing the bad thoughts aside, Oreonna stood at the exit of Signal Academy. As she placed a hand on the pair of large wooden door handles she looked back briefly with nostalgia. This place had been great to her over the last four years. She'd miss the teachers, her friends, not so much the homework. But still, Signal had been her world for what felt like a long time. But now it was time for her to move forward.
With that last bit of reverence, Oreonna pushed the exit doors open. But then she had a thought; Her dad was most likely waiting outside right now, the man had been a nervous wreck this morning, maybe even more so than Oreonna herself. He was probably standing outside propped up against a wall watching the exit like a hawk. His paternal instincts were strong... but maybe too much so. It was endearing, but at the same time she felt that he went a little overboard with it. The cat girls smile turned slightly wicked as Oreonna decided to mess with her sometimes overprotective father... y'know... just a little.
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A/N- Okay, first off. Bravo to everyone that's stuck with this thus far. This is a loooooong chapter. A lot to take in all at once, I know. You are my hero. They won't all be this long, I promise. This is my first story ever and I guess I got carried away. Feel free to tear me apart in the reviews. We both know it's the only way I'll learn.
Now then, I suppose you also might have some questions/concerns. Rightfully so. So I guess I'm here to address all the fears that haqve haunted me on a nightly bases when it came to submitting this to the masses.
So yeah. NeoxTukson. That's where we're going with this. Ship name- Literal Sundae. Of which I am the captain and first mate. I don't know how it came to this, their are plenty of people to blame. I am one of them.
REGARDLESS! I guess you could call this an AU in that sense. But they way I see it, we don't know Neo's actual age and with her semblance's ability to change her outfit/appearance, I like to assume she's able to hide her true age. So yeah, Neo was/is a consenting adult here. So no creepiness there.
Second. Yeah, Oreonna has cat ears AND a tail, but please lower your pitch forks and other mob related weapons. I designed her before that particular rule came to be, and rather than change/mutilate my adorable cookie cat, I chose to just ignore it. Apparently that wasn't good enough for a lot of people. My mistake. So now when she uses her semblance to split up, she also splits up her faunus traits for mysterious reasons that I have now shoehorned into the plot.
Good enough? No? I'm okay with that.
Well if I haven't lost you yet, let just say that thanks so much for even clicking on this story. I have the first several chapters ready, they just need a little light editing so hopefully I'll be able to update it reasonably quickly. So yeah, if I have you interested, stick around. I had a lot of fun writing this and hopefully you enjoyed it. If this goes good I'll upload more soon!