Chapter 4-
A Cold Wind
He had not expected there to be this many people.
It was an uncomfortable feeling to be the center of attention of such a large crowd. It was a feeling that he was unused to, and one that he did not particularly enjoy. He wasn't sure what to expect, but the complete and utter silence had been a surprise. It unnerved him, to have so many pairs of eyes stare at him in complete speechlessness.
Thankfully, Neopolitan's laughter had served as a quick fix to that issue.
Now, the only problem was that it seemed everybody in the building wanted his head on a platter. He let an amused smile grace his face. At the very least, that was something that he had experience in dealing with.
A swarm of bullets flew towards him, only to harmlessly bounce off Orpheus' metallic body as the master of strings hovered protectively in front of him. Kinetic weapons had little to no effect on Personas and the White Fang seemed to soon realize this as they stopped firing.
When a few of their members had started to activate those huge mechanized suits, he frowned. While Orpheus could hold its own against those machines, he could not; not without a proper weapon at least. He would have to leave those mechanical menaces to Orpheus and handle the rest of the foot soldiers himself.
That was a daunting task in its own right as the White Fang easily numbered in the dozens. While he was used to fighting against the odds, it was never alone. Where he once had a vanguard of Aigis and Akihiko, along with the support of Yukari, there was now simply empty space.
A sad reminder of a time that he dearly missed.
As the mechanized suits began to move, the gears in their mechanical limbs slowly whirling to life, Orpheus surged forward. With a mighty swing from its lyre, the Persona smashed the machine in, leaving a large dent in its aftermath. A large metal fist shot towards the master of strings, but Orpheus easily dodged the attack as it zigged and zagged through the air.
As massive and heavily armored as those machines were, they possessed a surprising amount of agility, a testament to the skill of the engineers that had manufactured them. Nonetheless, as agile as they were, Orpheus was even more so, with the master of strings dodging another from a large mechanical claw.
He turned his attention away from the battle of giants and back towards the group of White Fang members that had now begun to slowly surround him. Wickedly sharp blades that ranged from scimitars to longswords all slowly began to creep closer and closer. He was not very skilled in hand to hand combat so he would have to rely on his spells, for Orpheus could not assist him while it was fending off the large mechanized suits of armor.
Mabufu.
Great pillars of ice erupted from the ground, engulfing all who were unlucky enough to be nearby as the temperature in the building took a quick nosedive. It was a simple spell, but it served its purpose well enough. It had whittled away at their numbers and those that hadn't been encased in ice were beginning to have second thoughts about continuing their attack.
He brought his hand up to the side of his head as a sharp pain began to ring throughout his skull. Having to maintain Orpheus' form without his Evoker was beginning to take its toll on his psyche. The chaotic noises that continued to echo throughout the building did little to help his case. Whatever White Fang soldiers that still had their will took this chance and charged forward. He couldn't help but grimace as he attempted to ignore his raging headache and braced himself for the onslaught.
He could tell from their clumsy strikes that they were as inexperienced as they were untrained. Yet, in his disorientated state, it was a struggle to even simply dodge. Most of their numbers were encased in blocks of ice, so he only had to finish the few stragglers off and be done with it all.
If only it were that easy.
A wickedly curved scimitar went straight for his neck. In the last moment, he ducked, narrowly dodging the swing by a hairs width, and in one smooth motion he swung his leg out, knocking the White Fang grunt onto his back.
Another overhead swing forced him to quickly roll out of the way. This time, instead of a scimitar, it was a broadsword. That played to his favor, as the bigger the weapon, the slower the attacks, and the easier it was for him to dodge.
"Enough," A familiar voice growled, "He's mine."
The loud ear-splitting sound of a revving chainsaw was the first thing that caught his attention. The hulking White Fang Lieutenant from before now appeared to be brandishing a menacing looking chainsaw.
And he was running straight at him.
If Mercury's kick had shattered his arm, he didn't even want to imagine what taking a hit from the White Fang Lieutenant would feel like.
He didn't plan on finding out.
The mammoth of a man raged forward and swung the menacing looking weapon with ease. He dodged left and right, taking great care to stay out of the Lieutenant's range. Against a heavy hitter like the man in front of him, one small misstep could prove to be devastating.
At the very least, the massive sawblade's swings were wide and predictable. Compared to the silver haired assassin, the White Fang Lieutenant's attacks were much slower and a lot easier to dodge. Although, from the way the giant of a man managed to swing the weapon one handed with almost childlike ease, whatever he lacked in speed he probably made up for in strength.
"You can't run forever," The Lieutenant snarled.
The man was right, he could not. His stamina was not what it had once been in the past, when he scaled the treacherous floors of Tartarus along with the rest of SEES. The ringing in his head had not gotten much better either.
The White Fang Lieutenant charged forward once more.
Bufu.
A single pillar of ice stopped the man in his tracks. It burst from the ground and spread from his legs to the rest of his body, encasing him in a solid block of frost. Like a man frozen in time, the Lieutenant stood with his sawblade mid-swing.
And then, the ice began to crack.
Slowly, but surely, tiny little cracks began to spread throughout the surface of the block. They were insignificant on their own, but together, the tiny cracks began to split off into long running crevices. Crevices that soon morphed into large fissures that threatened to fracture the frosted block in two.
And then, it shattered.
It shattered into a thousand little pieces. He lifted his arm and shielded his eyes as tiny little fragments of ice scattered across the room. The block of ice was no more, and what had once been a man frozen in place, was now a raging bull that was making a beeline straight for him.
He ducked, narrowly avoiding the sawblade's swing. Only to be met with the Lieutenant's steel-toed boot. The kick sent him flying into a nearby crate, splintering it into pieces.
He let out a shuddered breath as he slowly forced himself up. The sudden spike of pain from his ribs caused him to wince. He muttered a quick healing spell. After a small flash of light, he could feel the broken bones begin to mend while the torn flesh started to knit itself back together.
It was too bad that the spell couldn't help with the ringing in his head.
"Your tricks won't save you, human," The White Fang Lieutenant revved his chainsaw and took a menacing step forward, "You will die today."
Once more, the Lieutenant rushed at him, with bloodlust so thick that he could feel it pouring out of his mask. He eyed the sawblade wearily as he got ready to jump out of the way.
What he hadn't expected was for someone from what remained of the crowd to jump in front of him.
It was a girl, the long black hair and shapely figure did not argue otherwise. It was a girl, and a Faunus one at that, with cat-like ears that stood out neatly atop her head. She wielded a sleek looking katana and met the White Fang Lieutenant head on, their weapons crashing against one another in a shower of sparks.
"What are you doing, recruit?" The Lieutenant hissed.
"Stopping you…" The girl ground out, "From continuing to tarnish the name of The White Fang!"
"Tarnish?" The Lieutenant laughed, "I'm doing you a favor by killing this human, girl. Now, get out of the way."
"Why don't you understand that what you're doing is wrong?!" The girl all but shouted, "You think that using violence as a means to an end is the right way to get equality?!"
They glared at each other as the deadlock continued, neither one budging an inch.
"…I thought I recognized you, girl," The White Fang Lieutenant slowly began, "Ah yes, you're the traitor. A betrayer of her own people, even after all that The White Fang has done for you."
He could see the girl visibly recoil back at the statement. The Lieutenant took this chance and revved his chainsaw, breaking out of the deadlock. Sparks flew once more as steel grounded against steel. The girl leaped back as she dodged another wild swing from the massive sawblade. Gears began to turn, metal parts started to move, and what had once been a katana had now morphed into a small little handgun.
"Sun, now!" The girl yelled out as she squeezed the trigger.
Bullets bounced harmlessly off the chainsaw's hard outer exterior, but the girl was not expecting to bring down the Lieutenant with mere 9mm rounds. She was merely playing the role of a distraction.
"You got it!"
He was not sure what he was seeing.
Golden wraith like specters dashed forward. They appeared to be incorporeal beings of some kind, a Semblance perhaps, but he was unsure. The glowing apparitions leapt at the Lieutenant, and once contact was made, they exploded in a golden flash of light.
As wondrous as the technique was, it proved to be ineffective as the White Fang Lieutenant merely shrugged off the explosion. The blonde haired boy, Sun he believed was his name, did not appeared to be deterred. Instead, Sun merely drew out his weapon, a sleek looking staff, and took a casual step forward.
"Another traitor among our people?" The Lieutenant growled, "How disappointing."
"Sorry," Sun playfully shrugged, "I'm not really into cults."
And then the fighting began once more. Despite its slender frame, the blonde's staff managed to fend off the massive sawblade with relative ease. The black haired girl in front of him soon joined in, brandishing her katana as well. Steel met steel once more as the battle in front of him continued on in earnest.
Their sounds of combat meshed in flawlessly with the rest of the chaos that was happening around them. Orpheus was still battling against the White Fang, and whatever foot soldiers that remained of the group had turned their attention towards the master of strings. It was a futile effort, for Orpheus would not fall, not by their hand.
He brought a hand towards his head, a pained expression evident on his face. Orpheus would not fall to the White Fang, but that meant nothing if he could not maintain the manifestation of the master of strings.
Enough was enough.
While Personas could do battle on their own, they were always more effective when being actively commanded. With the White Fang Lieutenant now being distracted by the rather odd pair of Faunus, he could take control of Orpheus once more. And with Orpheus, came power, the power of high-end spells and incantations forged through the trial of fire that had once been Tartarus.
Niflheim.
If it had been cold before, it was absolutely freezing now; for the embodiment of winter spared no expenses. Ice and snow plastered the building, covering over all like a powdery white carpet. Icicles hung from the frostbitten walls, reflecting images of man and machine now frozen in time. The sound of battle was no more, for now there was only peace.
He hated the cold, but he could not deny its place; for while fire and lightning could only destroy, ice could preserve. He was no killer; he had no wish to take their lives. A misty steam of breath escaped from his lips. It was cold, too cold, but even the truest form of winter could give off a familiar kind of warmth; warmth formed from the peace and quiet that only the icy season could give.
Orpheus floated overhead, ready in waiting for its next command. He dismissed the master of strings and let out a small sigh of relief. Maintaining a summon without a Plume of Dusk was a tiresome task indeed, and it was a burden that he did not wish to carry again.
In the nearby distance, through all the snow and ice, he could make out two figures eyeing him wearily. It was the strange duo of Faunus that had come to his aid. They were one of the few individuals in the building that had been spared from winter's bite, unlike the rest of their people. The White Fang Lieutenant stood frozen in place once more, only this time, the man would not be breaking free from his prison of ice.
He was dimly aware that another certain duo was missing. Neopolitan and her friend were nowhere to be seen. It was a pity, for he had some choice questions for the miniature girl and her companion. He supposed that he would meet them again soon enough.
He was so enamored with his thoughts that he had not noticed that the black haired girl from before had approached him. As he got a closer look at the woman, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. Long black hair and yellow colored eyes, an uncommon sight.
Ah, of course.
It was a diluted memory, but the description still rang true in his mind. The only thing missing was the black bow. It was the girl that the Schnee heiress had been searching for.
"You are Blake?" He eventually asked.
The girl let a brief look of surprise flash across her face before she quickly stamped it out.
"How did you know that?" She questioned in return, wearily, "Who are you?"
"Minato Arisato," He drawled, "You're friends have been looking for you."
"My friends…?" She asked in confusion, before realization lit up in her eyes, "Oh, that."
He nodded briefly before he stepped around her.
"Hey wait, where are you going?" Blake asked.
He didn't bother responding as another sharp pang of pain shot through his head. He walked past Blake's blonde haired companion, who only regarded him with an unreadable expression. He paid it no mind as he continued to make his way through the ice and snow.
He found her in the corner of the room, with her arms draped across her chest, shivering all the while. It seemed he was not the only one that disliked the cold.
"M-Minato?" She managed to utter out as her teeth clattered together, "W-why is it-t so c-c-cold all of a sudden?!"
Despite the ringing in his head, he couldn't help but allow a small amused smile.
It was absolutely freezing and the synthetic fabric of her zip-up shirt did little to stave off the cold. Were it not for her Aura, she would have probably gotten frostbite by now. Sun seemed to be faring no better, his once open jacket was now zipped tightly shut, for what little it helped. Blake was not sure what she had seen. One second she was fighting against the White Fang Lieutenant, and the next second she was staring into a solid block of ice.
The one that had been responsible had been none other than that human boy, Minato Arisato. Semblances that could summon other creatures were rare, but not unheard of. What that boy had managed to summon, Blake had never seen anything like it in her life. While it resembled a human in form, the mechanized body parts it possessed left little up to the imagination.
"Hey, Blake?" Sun began as he approached, "What're we going to do now?"
She blinked and took a glance around the room. Ice and snow draped over the place, and whatever White Fang members that hadn't run away were now all frozen in place. This was a gathering for new recruits, but a good chunk of the White Fang forces in Vale were also here.
Those same members that were now mere blocks of ice. Blake wasn't a fool; she knew that they wouldn't have been able to stop a White Fang gathering. She and Sun were merely here to gather information, to glean some insight regarding the White Fang's plans.
And yet, here they were in the midst of a recent battle. No, to call it a battle would've been a sham. It was more akin to a slaughter than a battle, the White Fang and their newly acquired Paladins hadn't stood much of a chance. The White Fang, one of the most dangerous groups in the entire planet, hadn't stood a chance against a single human boy. Not a famous huntsman or anything of the sort, but a complete unknown, an abnormality.
Just who was Minato Arisato?
Sun seemed to have noticed her questioning gaze.
"Blake?"
Her gaze flickered towards the boy.
"So, what're we going to do now?" Sun asked once more, "I mean we didn't exactly get what we came for but…"
The blonde haired boy paused before letting an amused smile cross his face.
"…We did stop their meeting."
"We didn't do anything," She corrected, "He was the one that stopped the White Fang and their gathering."
"Hey, we helped didn't we?" The boy shrugged, "I mean it looked like he was struggling there for a second, until we came into the picture anyway."
She chose not to respond, instead turning her attention back towards where the abnormality had vanished. After a brief moment, he finally reemerged from the run down walls in the back of the building, only he wasn't alone. A blonde haired human woman followed from behind, one that she did not recognize.
"Who's that?" Sun asked.
Blake simply shrugged in response as she mulled it over in her head. The White Fang had to have captured that woman, perhaps as a prisoner or a hostage? Just the thought of the idea caused her mood to go sour. Truly, the White Fang was no longer the one that she had loved so dearly in the past.
She watched closely as the blue haired boy slowly made his way past the field of ice while the blonde haired woman followed not too far behind. She found herself beginning to approach the boy once more, crushing through ice and snow alike underfoot. When she finally drew close enough, she could see his gaze flicker towards her, an apathetic look in his eyes.
"You have questions," He stated with indifference.
Blake nodded.
"I will answer what I can, but not today," He gave a strained smile, "I am not in the best state of mind right now."
She frowned.
"Then when?"
"Another time," He brushed off.
She crossed her arms over her chest.
"And where will I find you?"
"Y-you can f-find us at Char's C-café in downtown V-vale," The blonde woman clattered out, "B-bring your f-friends when you s-stop by for a g-g-group discount!"
The blonde haired woman managed to force out a grin despite the clattering of her teeth. Clearly, the cold was bothering her a lot more than it was them.
"And," Blake began slowly, "You will be waiting there?"
"I work there," He drawled.
Blake blinked.
He worked at a café. Not as a huntsman, or anything of the like, but at a café. She wasn't sure if she could actually wrap her mind around that idea.
It was absurd.
"H-hey, Minato," The blonde haired woman eventually murmured, "L-let's get out of h-here already, it's f-freezing."
He seemed to agree with the woman and began to walk away. Blake did not miss how he tilted his head at her in acknowledgement as he passed by.
"Hey, wait!" Sun called out as he approached, "What're we going to do about these guys?"
"You are huntsmen, are you not?"
His words were more akin to a statement than a question.
"Huntsmen-in-training," Blake corrected.
"Nonetheless," He shrugged, "I leave them to you."
He had a headache.
A terrible, unforgiving headache. A headache that wouldn't go away, no matter how many healing spells he tried to cast. He brought a hand up to his head and sighed.
"You sure you don't want to take the day off Minato?" Charlotte asked with concern evident on her face, "I can handle the place just fine by myself."
He waved her off. While the reoccurring pangs of pain were annoying, it would not affect his ability to work. Regardless, he was a creature of habit anyway and disliked going against his set routine. Keeping oneself busy was a good way to stave off boredom as well as certain unpleasant thoughts that liked to haunt his dreams.
They worked quietly in the wee early morning hours, readying the café for another day of business. Tables were cleaned, supplies were prepared, and condiments were laid out. It was tedious work, but he enjoyed it for the simple peace and quiet that it provided.
"So, are you going to tell me why the White Fang seemed to want your head?"
He kept his attention on the dirty dishrag and the table in front of him.
"The White Fang wanted to kill Tukson."
"Tukson? The bookstore owner?" The blonde's eyebrows furrowed as she connected the dots, "So, he was the "traitor" they spoke about then? And you saved him?"
He simply nodded in response.
"I see," The woman nodded as well, "Now it all makes sense."
He stopped scrubbing at the table and glanced at the woman.
"I am sorry."
"For what?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
"For getting you involved," He softly replied, "The kidnapping, I should've seen it coming."
The look in the woman's eyes softened.
"Don't worry about it Minato, you did the right thing. Everything turned out okay in the end right?"
He sighed.
"This will not be the end."
"No, it probably won't be," The blonde agreed, "Groups like the White Fang tend to hang onto grudges."
"If you…" He paused and averted his eyes, "If you no longer wish to be associated with me, I understand."
His boss seemed to regard him with an unreadable expression. He had expected many things, but a dirty dishrag slapping him in the face had not been one of those things.
"Minato, I don't care if you have the entire world after you," The woman said as she gave a cheery grin, "You'll always be welcome here, got that?"
He blinked.
"But, the White Fang-"
"Forget the White Fang! If they want to mess with us again, we'll just take care of them again!" Charlotte huffed, "Now enough slacking off! It's time to open shop!"
He watched her quietly for a while, his mind still processing what had just transpired. His lips twitched, and slowly, he found himself breaking into a smile. He couldn't help but chuckle.
She was right, it was indeed time to get back to work.
It was a slow day.
Normally, it was one of the days that Neopolitan would stop by. He was not surprised that she had not shown up, not after what had happened. Though, he had this inkling that he would run into the petite woman once more, soon enough.
Fate always seemed to have a way of throwing curveballs in his direction.
When the bell at the top of the door rang and a familiar face walked in, he raised an eyebrow. He had been expecting her to come, but not this soon. The black haired girl briefly met his gaze before taking a seat at a nearby table.
When he approached with a menu and his notepad, he did not miss the cross look on her face.
"Are you ready to talk now?"
"I am still on shift," He softly replied.
Blake pursed her lips together.
"There's barely anybody here."
He shrugged, "Nonetheless."
She rolled her eyes.
"Fine, I can wait."
"And your order?"
She took the menu and gave it a brief once more, clearly uninterested in its contents.
"Just a cup of tea is fine."
He simply nodded and jotted the order down onto his notepad.
The rest of his shift went about as he had expected it to. It was a slow day and aside from the occasional customer, there was not much to do. He did not mind, the slow tempo suited him just fine. The peace and quiet did wonders for his headache as well.
He did not miss how the Faunus girl had kept her eyes on him the entire time. While he tried to not let it bother him, it was still hard to not be conscious of it. Eventually, his shift came to an end as the sun began to dip and the store's hours began to near its closing.
He stifled a small yawn as he made his way over to Blake's table once more. Pulling out a chair, he dutifully took a seat across from the Faunus girl.
"Are you ready to talk now?" She dryly asked once more.
He simply nodded.
"What is it that you wish to know?"
"Just who are you?"
"Minato Arisato," He drawled.
Blake narrowed her eyes.
"And just who is Minato Arisato?" She questioned with a bit more tenacity this time, "What is your connection with the White Fang? Why are there barely any records of you, if any at all?"
He thought about the first question and was unsure on how to go about answering it. The other two however, were far easier to answer, so he decided to settle on those.
"I suppose you could say that the White Fang hold a grudge against me for interfering with their plans," He slowly began, "As for my records, that is simply because I am not from here."
"A grudge…?" She repeated, "Explain."
"They wanted someone dead, and I stopped them," He simply stated.
"An assassination attempt?" Blake sighed, "Just how far are they willing to go…"
He watched as her features grew hard in a way that reminded him of Tukson. It seemed that she was quite familiar with the terrorist group. He did not choose to pry, for everyone had their own secrets after all.
"You say that you are not from here," She began once more, "Clarify that."
He hesitated, unsure of whether or not he should speak the truth.
"I am from a far, far away place."
In the end, he had decided on a rather cryptic answer. He was not exactly lying, but he was not telling the whole truth either. The way that the girl glared at him very clearly showed that she wasn't pleased with his answer.
"You are from somewhere beyond the wall then," Blake finally settled on, "It's the only explanation as to why there are so little records on someone of your caliber."
He did not deny it, and simply remained silent on the issue. It was better to let people fill in the blanks themselves as that led to far less questions.
"Are you satisfied now?" He tilted his head towards the clock on the wall, "It is getting late."
"One more," She stated, "One more question and I'll be finished."
"Alright," He agreed, "One more question."
"Do you know what the White Fang are planning? Any idea whatsoever?"
He did not miss the intensity in her eyes as she asked her question. Clearly, the White Fang was a topic of great importance to her. After what he had seen, he could not deny that it bothered him as well. The surge in Dust robberies, the stockpiling of weapons, clearly something big was happening in the background. People did not gather supplies like that without planning a use for them.
"I'm afraid not," He eventually replied.
She frowned, a downtrodden look evident on her face.
"But," He continued as he glanced over towards a familiar empty table near the corner of the café, "I may know of someone that does."
Author's Notes: This took a little longer to write than I wanted it to, but it's also a little longer than usual, so I suppose that evens it out. I'm curious to know, do you guy's prefer shorter chapters more often, or longer chapters with a little more delay in between?
As usual, thanks for all the love and support. And thanks to Croniklerx as well for helping beta the chapter. I'll see you all next time~
-SFX