Chapter 1
"So, do you know when he's getting back?" said the woman next to me. I turned and saw her short blond hair fall nicely by her shoulders, her long and large cloak cover her weapons, and the subtle worry in her gray eyes that made me grab the hilt of my blade a little harder.
"He said he'd be back in about an hour," I said, turning away from her, not wanting to see her eyes beg for pity. "I guess we'll just have to wait."
"Aw…" she responded, her voice making my heart skip a beat. I hated when I was left alone with a crush, especially one I'd known all my life. Cerulean Navy was one of my friends since my time at the battle academy, yet, I still couldn't talk to her properly. Rhodonite Ramsey was not a suave man.
"You got a little something on your checks there, Casanova," her slithery voice made me jump from all the tension apparently only I'd felt. "Why so on edge?"
This woman was even lower on the list of people I'd like to be alone with. Sierra Lapiz, being a faunus, was a part snake and part human, but had the eyes, fangs, tongue, and somewhat dry skin. Her hair was emerald and was long, going all the way down to her back and her eyes were yellow and dangerous. Nevertheless, I addressed her as I always did.
"I wish you wouldn't sneak up on me so," I said pulling on my shirt to alleviate some of the heat that started radiating off of my body. "It's unnerving…"
Our team leader couldn't have burst through the doors of the cafe at a better time. Cerulean's eyes gleamed, Sierra rolled her eyes and I returned to my normal posture.
"Sorry for the wait guys," he said scratching the back of his head. "Apparently, Professor Goodwitch had more than a few things to say about my 'display' in class."
Opal Shade was our leader. He's been my friend ever since primary learning school. He'd told the teacher that he'd be the "Best Huntsman that ever lived." I'd quickly got up and shouted the same thing. Ever since then, we've been having a subtle rivalry to see who would be a better huntsman. The only problem was, he was in the lead.
"So, what's everybody doing crowding around here?" he asked, scratching his chin next. "I'd thought you'd guys would've left to go get ready."
"We were waiting for you because… Rhody told me to," said Cee. "He said he wanted to wait for you after you got out of your scolding session." His perfect smile and watchful graze washed over me like a cold ocean tide.
"Thanks, man," his pat on the back was nothing short of hurtful. "I don't know if it was necessary, but thanks."
"You're welcome." It would be inappropriate now to say that it was, in fact, Cee's idea that we'd come here. "Let's just get ready."
Our trek to our lockers was uneventful, at least in my eyes. People were talking, but I didn't care to listen. Once we reached the lockers, I changed out of my regular dress shirt and jeans I normally wore, and into a flexible, black body suit.
This suit was made for taking damage while staying light on your feet. Perfect for an epée user like myself to maneuver around hits while stabbing from a different side.
After changing, I grabbed the hilt of my trusty epée and lifted it out of the locker.
Some weapons at Beacon were made by hand. I'd decided to take up the challenge myself, and after countless blunders, I found a way to combine my epée with a crossbow. Under the hilt lay a small, black trigger. One press would split the blade, making way for the thin crossbow to come out and for me to load arrows. Then, another press would send it flying.
This paired well when combined with my semblance. My semblance is actually the thing that gave me a reason to study fencing as an art. It was the uncanny ability to be able to pierce any object. What's more, I could apparently transfer this ability to other objects as well. So far, I've only done arrows, but I'm sure with a bit more training, I'd be able to transfer it to something else.
After sliding it into its sheath, I turned and walked outside, finding Sierra waiting there with Cee. They both wore their preferred battle outfits. I walked closer to hear their conversation.
"-and that, my friend, is why I hate the taste of human skin." she spotted me but didn't seem to care. "Wanna taste some?"
"Uh, I'll pass, thanks," Cee said, finally spotting and turning to me. "Where's Opal?"
"I dunno. Probably still changing." I walked over and took a seat at the bench adjacent to the two girls, keeping an eye on the time. Cee was dressed in a special shirt, more shock absorbent than Kevlar, but made from lighter materials. Her weapons of choice were two short swords and her firearm was an old fashioned wheellock pistol, designed especially for long range.
Sierra, on the other hand, took a far more inconspicuous approach, preferring to go in stealthily and take down Grimm than to go guns blazing. She wore simple attire, comfortable and good for staying quiet. She wore a black, longsleeve shirt that stopped just short of the wrist. She also wore a pair of leggings and a skirt underneath. Usually, she'd just wear sneakers, as it didn't really matter to her what shoes she wore. On her back, there was a black, circular sheath for her weapons. Two sickles, both with icy blue blades for some reason. Apparently, they also doubled as boomerangs, making her sickles her weapons of choice. As I studied their armor and weapons, they found this to be a good time to restart their discussion.
"Wait. You've actually bit into another person?" asked Cee. Sierra moved the hair out of her face before answering.
"Of course. I was curious one day and I decided 'why not'? I grabbed someone off of the street and just bit him."
"You bit a random guy off the street!?" Her reaction was in tune with mine. Who in their right mind bites someone for no reason? Reptilian or not, there is no excuse for this behavior.
"Yeah, so?" she said, shrugging her shoulders. "What's the problem?"
"He could have been carrying diseases! You could've gotten sick!"
"I don't think that's the problem here..." I remarked. Opal finally emerged from the locker room. His outfit was similar to mine, as it was a full body suit, but he donned armor over various parts of his body. His chest, legs, and arms were all covered in metal and his weapons of choice were his gauntlets and steel boots. His fighting style was quite barbaric, as he preferred to beat his opponents to death rather than to find a critical spot and strike there.
His choice of firearm represented him nicely. A large, pump-action shotgun was mounted on Opal's back. Great for blasting anything to chunks that dared look down it's barrel.
"I guess everybody's ready then?" he asked. After a nod from everyone, we departed down the hallway and towards the helipads that housed the bullheads. Our pilot and flight were ready when we arrived. After a quick chat with the pilot, we all climbed into the cabin and closed the door. Sitting down in my seat and taking off, I started to feel really sleepy and put my head back on the seat, dosing off almost immediately after the bullhead took off.
I don't know how long the flight was, but when I woke up, the only person awake was Sierra, twisting her hair in her fingers and looking up towards the ceiling. Only a slight shift in position allowed her gaze to fall on me.
"Hi. You awake?" After a yawn and a stretch, I replied with a nod. "Good, I needed someone to talk to." I wasn't really on the bandwagon to talk to her, but I assumed that the worst possibility was just teasing, and continued the conversation anyway.
"What do you want to talk about?" She stopped twirling her hair and looked at me with a smirk on her face.
"Have you lost your virginity yet?" I don't know if she expected me to flush with red, but I responded calmly.
"No, I haven't." she chuckled at my confession. "For lack of a better question, what about you?"
"Nope." Now that surprised me. She didn't look or act like a virgin, but then again, I couldn't really tell the difference.
"Really?" I asked. "Well, you learn something new everyday."
"And don't tell anyone, okay?" her voice contained actual concern, something I didn't know she could do. I always believed she was a carefree soul, you couldn't tie her down or tell her what to do. Then again, she was in training to become a Huntress.
I moved my hand over my lips and pretended to zip them closed. After a few seconds of silence, she asked another question.
"So, how in love are you with her?" she pointed towards Cee in a questioning manner. " You're always swooning over her in public. It's kinda funny." This time, I didn't answer so calmly, rather, my cheeks burned red.
"I mean, I'm not in love with her, I just, like her a bit more than a normal friend would." she didn't seem convinced, so I added, " I think she's a really cool friend, that's all."
"I'm not convinced." she said, dampening my spirits. She wasn't someone I could rely on to keep a secret, albeit one that wasn't confirmed. "But, if you keep my secret, I'll keep yours."
"Deal." I said, being a little too eager. Deciding to change the subject from secrets, I asked, "Do you know when we'll arrive?"
"I don't even remember where we're going." her response shocked me. When we first got the job to work as security detail for the regional contest in Vacuo, one of the regions of Remnant, she seemed excited to be going home. Now, it looked as if she'd do anything just to get to ditch this mission.
"We're going on a mission to Vacuo. You know, your hometown?" she seemed annoyed and ready to slap me in the face.
"First of all, Vacuo is not a town. It's a highly advanced Kingdom. Second, I knew that we were going to Vacuo, just not the place in Vacuo. And finally… sound a bit more excited, damnit. You're not going to be ruining my vacation." A small smile crossed my lips as it was nice to see a new side of this woman other than a sneaky and psychotic snake woman I'd grown to know.
"This is not a vacation, mind you," I reminded her. "It must be pretty bad over there if they're calling in security detail from Vale. We must be very cautious-"
"You haven't heard?" she asked in a more serious tone. "The White Fang have been stepping up their game in Vacuo. I've even heard that they're doing public acts of terrorism." I had to craft my next words carefully as not to offend her.
"What do you think, being a faunus and all?" She sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
"I think that if they try to make a move on my watch, they'll be sorry." Just then, a voice came over the intercom.
"We've got about five minutes till we land. Get ready."
I shook Cee awake and Sierra slapped Opal until he jutted up and stopped her hand.
"So, I assumed everyone's ready?" I asked. Sierra nodded followed by Opal. I turned to see Cee as she yawned in approval.
"Okay then," said Opal yawning. "let's go do our jobs."