Stepping into the club was like traveling back in time. Everything was business as usual, with the DJ cranking out the newest beats, while people partied on the dance floor and enjoyed business and pleasure over at the bar. A stark contrast to how the young man felt as he entered the party scene, a small smile masking his real feelings as he weaved his way through the crowd. He appeared to be in his late teens, with short brown hair and dark brown eyes that were almost black. He towered over most heads in the crowd, and was dressed in a long black trench coat which he wore open, revealing the white shirt and torn-up jeans he wore underneath. The bouncers gave him sideways looks, but otherwise didn't stop him as he came to a stop at the counter.
"I'll have the usual, but with an extra kick tonight. Need a little pick-me-up if you catch my drift," the young man said lightly, glancing to his left towards two girls who appeared to be twins. They also wore a similar style of dress, with one in white while the other wore red. The girl in the red dress frowned at the young man, while the one in white gave him a smile and wink. Smirking, the boy blew a kiss in their direction, which caused the girl in the white dress to giggle and the red dress girl to roll her eyes.
"Huh, that looks like an interesting story. How do you know the twins?" A gentlemen in a vest and button down shirt came up to the young man, handing him his drink as he gave him an inquisitive look.
"Oh, about what you'd expect. Dated Melanie for a while, Militia didn't approve, things kinda felt apart. Still on good terms with them, well with Melanie anyway," the young man replied casually, taking a swig while he glanced at the bartender. "How are things holding up Junior?"
"About what you'd expect," Junior said, giving the bar a quick scan before leaning in. "I'm surprised your back on your feet so soon Ezra. I thought the whole gang was wiped out."
"All but one," Ezra replied, frowning as he glanced down at his drink. "It was a set up. They were hunting us down, and when we tried to regroup, that's when it all went to hell. If I had caught on sooner, things would've been different."
"Hey, count your blessings kid. That whole neighborhood got torched, and it's a miracle you're still alive," Junior responded, giving Ezra a sympathetic expression.
"Is it? Sometimes it feels like a curse," Ezra said darkly, setting his drink down on the counter. "When I find out who did it, they're going to pay. With interest. Lots of it."
"Boy, I don't want to be around when that happens," Junior muttered nervously, glancing up and sighing as he straightened up. "Sorry but I have business with a new client to deal with. See ya around Ezra."
"Have a good one," Ezra said smoothly, glancing at the man Junior was looking at. He was dressed in a white pinstriped jacket, with a black fedora he wore on top of combed back red hair. With a cane to complete the image, he looked like quite the con-artist.
Sighing, Ezra turned back to the bar and was about to take another drink when a chill ran down his spine. Putting his drink down, he glanced at the entrance as a girl entered the club. She appeared to be a few years younger than him, with light purple eyes and a mane of golden blond hair. She was dressed in a tight leather jacket and mini skirt, showing off a good portion of her body while remaining modest. With a belt and orange scarf to round out her appearance, she had a look of complete confidence and no small amount of swagger as she made her way towards the bar.
Hmm this should be interesting, Ezra thought, looking at the girl out of the corner of his eye as she stopped at the bar on his left side.
"Strawberry sunrise, no ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas," she said cheerfully, oblivious to Ezra observing her closely.
"Aren't you a little young to be in this club blondie?" Junior asked, walking up to the girl in question.
"Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?" she responded, smiling as she turned in his direction.
"So you know who I am. Ya got a name, sweetheart?" Junior smirked as he sized her up.
"Yes Junior, I have several. But instead of 'sweetheart', you can just call me 'sir'", the girl replied, grabbing his junk in a death grip as he squeaked in pain.
Ezra smirked as he took a sip of his drink. I don't know who she is, but I like her.
"People say you know everything. Tell me where to find her and I'll let you go," the girl said, her expression serious as she pulled out a phone and showed him a picture on it.
"I've never seen her before, I swear," Junior groaned, glancing at the image while frozen in pain.
"Excuse me?!" she tightened her grip, causing Junior's voice to go up on octave.
"I swear, sir!" Junior whined, as his bouncers came running up to the bar to see what was happening.
"Hmm looks like we have an audience. This must be kinda embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward," the girl said smugly, smiling again at Junior's increasing discomfort.
"Listen blondie, sir! If you wanna make it out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go. Now!"
At this, the girl released Junior, causing him to groan in pain as he muttered, "You'll pay for that."
So she's lost someone too. Although she believes she can find them, Ezra mused, taking another sip of his drink as the blond followed Junior out onto the dance floor. I've been down that road before myself. Hopefully she turns out better than I did.
Suddenly there was a crash behind him, and glancing around Ezra saw that Junior had been sent flying into the far side of the bar, knocked unconscious by the blond in a single punch.
Well this is more entertainment than I was expecting, Ezra pondered, turning around as people ran for the exit.
As the bouncers rushed the blonde, he saw the gloves she wore morph into full length gauntlets, equipped with shotgun shells. As she proceeded to beat them all unconscious, Militia walked up to Ezra, that familiar frown on her face.
"So are you going to do anything more than just watch?" She asked irritably as the blond started going for the DJ.
"Sorry, can't, doctor's orders. Good luck though," Ezra said cheerfully, waving as Militia sighed and started walking towards her sister.
While the sisters worked as a team against the blond, they too were knocked out, despite getting quite a few good hits on her. At that point, Junior came to and joined the fight, pulling out his trusty rocket launcher bat. After getting several solid hits on the blond, Ezra noticed that her energy level seemed to spike, and her eyes changed to a bright red.
I see. So that's how she works, Ezra thought, frowning as she broke Junior's bat and then sent him flying through one of the windows of the club. Downing the rest of his drink, Ezra left a small sum of money on the ruined counter as he made his way out of the club.
"What are you doing here?!" a young girl with dark red hair and wearing a red cape was talking to the blond, completely ignoring the unconscious Junior between them on the ground.
"It's a long story," the blond sighed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
"Thanks for the show, I haven't been that entertained in ages," Ezra called jovially, making his way towards the two girls.
"Huh? Who are you?" the blond turned to Ezra, shocked to see someone walking out of the remains of the club.
"Oh, just a passerby. Say, next time we run into each other, I'll buy you a drink. You didn't get the one you ordered from the club," Ezra offered, putting his hands in the pockets of his trench coat.
"That's right, I didn't get my sunrise!" the blond exclaimed, slapping a hand to her forehead in realization. "Uh thanks, that sounds great."
"Yang, what's a sunrise?" the redhead looked confused at the conversation going on in front of her.
"I'll tell you later Ruby," Yang replied, giving the other girl a small wave as she turned back to Ezra. "Say, why can't you buy me a drink now? The night's still young."
"While I'd love to take you up on that, there's somewhere I have to be. Next time though, I'll definitely get you that drink. Well, have a great night ladies." With that, Ezra turned and started walking down the street.
"Wait! How do I find you?" Yang called, walking a few steps after Ezra.
He paused as he glanced over his shoulder, giving her a knowing smile. "Most of the time, I find you. But if you need to get in touch, go to any bar and say you need to get a message to 'AP'. They'll know what to do. See ya around."
Ezra's smile turned thoughtful as he turned around and continued walking down the street.
I certainly hope our paths cross again…Yang, Ezra thought, vanishing into the night.
Hey everyone, I'm slowly getting back into the groove of writing after several weeks of drama physical exhaustion. Here's another story I've been sitting on for a bit, a fanfic on RWBY this time around. Discovered the show a few years ago and fell in love with it, from the characters and art style to the action and world building, I can't get over how great of a show it is. This is an alternative take on the show, with a few changes made to make my oc fit in. Any reviews and feedback would be great, and if your looking for other stuff of mine, I have a Fire Emblem story and Persona story that might be fun reads. There are more chapters coming up soon for this story, so stay tuned.
