[A/N : Day late in updating. This chapter is much more shorter than the rest, as it barely reaches 2K words. Shit's going to get dark in terms of Cera's past. Just a small heads up.]
Chapter 7 : Ruts and Cleaning
Cera's father knew everything that happened around him. Even his daughter knew that.
Young Cera had once again effortlessly flung her opponent over her shoulder. It was clear as day that she had her father's immense strength, while from her mother's side she had gotten her gracefulness.
Although one can argue that she resembles her father much more than her mother in terms of appearance. Large eyes that narrows in the same manner, the way she grumbles whenever something doesn't appeal to her, and even the way she communicated with others.
It was almost like a little female version of her father, and weirdly enough it was adorable.
"Alright class, that's enough for today. Pack up before your parents arrive to pick you up!" The male instructor spoke, his arms crossed over his chest. The children in the room sent glares over at Cera's way as they helped up the recently flung opponent. The young Faunus merely ignored them as she took off her plain karate gear. It was when she began leaving that the whispers started.
"Look at her, acting like she's special."
"Yeah, she's only acting like that because she's a Vermilion."
"She isn't even nice."
"I heard that she crushed her piano teacher's fingers because they told her she played the song wrong."
"What? If that's true then we shouldn't be talking about her!"
"Who cares?"
"I do! I want to keep my fingers!"
Cera's family was known for their cold personality and ruthless nature. Even though they were all in all, a happy family, they still put on the front that a Vermilion shouldn't be so easily readable. Her father would always keep a straight face during work, his eyes narrowed to show that he took his work seriously.
While going out, her mother's head was held up high with her eyes half-lidded. She didn't bother with talking to others unless she was spoken to, but even then she would sound less than interested in the topic currently being discussed.
If a family was brave enough, they would ask Cera's mother or father if they would have dinner together. Whenever that happened, the family would usually be surprised or shocked at how warm and inviting the Vermilions were. It was clearly the opposite of what they were in public.
And so, near the end of dinner when Cera was escorted upstairs to sleep, Cera's father would be asked a question every now and then; why would they need a mask? Why would he want to hide this side of his family?
"You never know when someone will be your enemy, especially when they'll do drastic things to break you down. They can take away your loved ones, torture you in a secluded room with no way of escape, or even try to weasel in and become buddy buddy only to stab you in the back. We wouldn't want that happening to me or you, no?"
The day after the dinner would be the usual for little Cera; school, piano tutoring, karate, dinner, sleep. Although today, she woke up a bit earlier than usual only to see her father's suit splattered with a dark red substance.
"Papa? What are you doing?" He would only give her a warm smile, a pat on the head, then tell her to get ready for school.
"And Cera, whatever you do, don't go into the dining hall." Of course, since Cera was a daddy's girl she listened to every word that came out of his mouth. So after her bubble bath with her rubber duck, Mr. Quackers, she was driven to school by her mother.
Cera's father knew that his daughter would listen to him and his mother. Why wouldn't she?
The dining hall was disgusting, really; blood everywhere with shreds of fabric here and there, along with some bloodied bones in a pile on a large plate that was set where Cera's father usually sat at the rectangular table.
He really didn't want Cera to see the dining hall.
Team OCYN was certainly in a rut. They decided that it would be best to hold a sparring session between one another before the combat tournament, but what they didn't expect was that Yukio absolutely refused to take part in it.
They were all currently outside after helping a few of the booths finish setting up, as the combat tournament was only two days away.
The team leader's eyebrows raised slightly as she waited for his explanation, the other two members sitting next to them on the grass beneath them.
"Well, you see.. I'm not one for fighting people, Cera. I'll fight the Nevermore, but I won't ever fight people whether they're good or bad." Cera's legs were crossed as she listened. "My grandmother taught me that there's good in everybody, even if they're a bad person. They all have lives, families, and even loved ones waiting for them to come back. I just… I just won't be able to fight another person."
"Yuu, we'll be fine. It's not like you want to kill us or anything!" Orel exclaimed, a hand on his shoulder.
"And from what I remember, Principal Norwen explained that the fights would only last until your opponent's aura is depleted." Nero chimed. Yukio still looked unsure about the whole thing.
Cera quietly got up, only letting out a small sigh as she thought to herself. They could continue with having Yukio watch, but…
"Come on, Lizard! We're going to grab some food!" Orel and the other two were walking ahead with him, heading towards the cafeteria entrance. She frowned at that, but nonetheless jogged towards them.
A messy cafeteria with Team STRQ scrubbing the whole place clean wasn't what they had in mind when Orel opened the doors.
Food was splattered everywhere and tables were strewn about. It clearly looked like it was a war zone, but with… Food.
Summer was cleaning off the fruit from the wall, while Taiyang and Raven picked up various fruits, meats and vegetables off the ground to place into the trash can. Qrow, however, was swabbing the stained marble ground with a wet mop. A bucket of water was next to his feet, but what really made Cera's day was that he was in a frilly apron.
The Faunus covered her mouth with her hand, hiding her smile as she glanced away. However, Orel decided to laugh loudly right then and there. A bandaged finger was pointed at the apron-clad male.
"Wh-who made you put that on, Qrow?! It's fucking great!" Nero frowned at Orel's foul language, although he couldn't help but agree that the apron on Qrow was hilarious. Yukio, on the other hand, had his hands on his hips.
"Guys! I wore an apron while helping out my grandmother, you know!" Orel wiped away a stray tear.
"But yours was around the waist and non-frilly, Yuu. Qrow's is just… Pffft!" Cera only shook her head before she looked over at Taiyang.
"What happened here, anyways?" The blonde scratched his cheek with a finger, a nervous smile on his face.
"Well, you see…"
Team STRQ sat at their table in the middle of the cafeteria, trays filled with various foods and drinks. Summer was practically inhaling her food, while Raven was sitting across from her as to make sure she doesn't choke. Taiyang sat next to her, while Qrow was sitting across from him, currently occupied with staring at girls nonchalantly.
Qrow didn't deny the fact that he was good looking. If the girls around him were always a blushing mess when he walked by, then by all means it told him that he was handsome. Although, it irked him that there was a certain Faunus that didn't care at all.
His teammates? Good friends of his and they're not romantically interested in each other. Taiyang was dating his sister, while Summer was like a little sister to him. He was certain that he wasn't gay for the blonde man.
Taiyang only shook his head as Qrow winked at the girls passing by their table.
"Dude, you're going to need a girlfriend." Qrow just gave his teammate a small shrug.
"It's not like I'm interested in them anyways. Besides, it's mostly my little buddy down there doing the thinking." His sister raised an eyebrow at that as the black-haired man began drinking his canned soda.
"First of all, that's disgusting. Secondly, if someone were to be your girlfriend it would definitely be Cera." Qrow spat out his drink to the side, clearly finding the idea of dating the Faunus repulsive.
"As if I'd go out with Lizard! I'm totally fine with her falling for me, but dating her? Sounds like a fucking nightmare." Raven's eyes narrowed.
"Language, Qrow." He only crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at a random spot on the ground.
"I'm eighteen, Raven. I don't need a filter."
"Eighteen and still no girlfriend. Real smooth, Qrow." Qrow's attention was turned to Taiyang as the two glared at each other intensely.
"Guys! No fighting!" Summer exclaimed, a frown on her face. Both of them had backed down, although the glares were still harsh. Qrow's gaze turned to a student passing by with mashed potatoes on his plate.
The next thing Team STRQ knew, Taiyang's face was covered with mashed potatoes, with Qrow's right hand shaking off the rest of it that didn't fly to his teammate. The creamy food slid down the blonde's face, his eye twitching.
"…Oh it's on."
"…And that was how we ended up having to clean up the whole cafeteria." Taiyang concluded. Cera clearly had nothing to say, deciding to turn around and leave to go back outside.
"Come on, we're going to try and work on Yuu's situation." Qrow leaned the mop against the wall, his arms crossed.
"What, you're not going to help us clean?" The redhead paused in her steps, turning her head to look at him from the corner of her eye.
"We were never part of your food fight, now were we?" She turned her head forward and resumed walking, her teammates trailing behind her as if they had no choice in the matter. The girl was right anyways.
As they were leaving, Cera had noticed that Orel had a depressed aura around him. She sighed, clearly knowing the reason for it.
"Fine. We can go back and help them." His mood immediately perked up at that.
"Thanks, Lizard!" The boy gave her a quick hug before he turned around, dashing back into the cafeteria with enthusiasm. Yukio ran after him, yelling something about being careful.
Cera and Nero were left behind to stare at each other awkwardly in the middle of the large hallway.
Memories of last night shot through the redhead's mind, resulting in her looking away first.
"We should catch up to them." Cera began walking back to the cafeteria, faintly hearing Orel's loud laughter. Nero cleared his throat and adjusted his tie before following her footsteps.
Who knew the Faunus could be adorable when she blushes.
The updates will most likely come in a bit slower, but nothing you should be worried about unlike my two other stories which I clearly have no idea what to do with.
If you have any questions, by all means, ask them. /Shrug
I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities without spoiling anything.
