'Long time no see?'
That was the best he had to offer after the last time they saw each other? No apologies, not even a flimsy explanation. Nothing but that stupid lopsided smile that he always used to get away from trouble... Ruri forced herself to take deep breaths and rooted herself in place; otherwise, she might end the match before it actually started if she got any closer to him.
"I suppose that is one way of putting it..." she said, tearing her eyes away from him, her finger drumming the side of her leg.
"You look... well. You've gained back some weight. That's... good," he commented, and she noticed now that he still had to turn away from the mirror and how his hands were gripping the sink tightly enough to make his visible knuckles look white.
And if Ruri was a better person, she might leave the matter as it was, show him just how 'good' she was getting in the arena, except...
"So do you..." she started. "...It seems things have been looking up for you too." Ruri almost bit her own tongue off when forcing herself to say those words. "All patched back up, an Atlas student, made team leader no less, and now you'll even participate in the Vytal Festival? What an impressive turn of events..."
"I'll say-" he attempted, but Ruri made him eat his words – literally.
"... For a street rat, that is. I hate to put it like that, but I never pegged you for someone who would stake his reputation for a so-called teammate, let alone risk their lives for the sake of the general populace." …Although if he was looking to become like one of those Specialists – sucking up to the Atlas Kingdom while still enjoying the free range given to hunters – then it was perfectly in character for him…
"..." He had finally turned around to see her, but his expression betrayed nothing of what he may be thinking. It only pissed her off even more.
"I wonder if they know. Your teammates, I mean. I expect the General to be smart enough to make a simple background check on each one of his applicants, but what about them? What would they think of their lead-"
"They are not concerned by things of the past," interrupted a new voice, and Ruri had to look down to see a mass of blue hair standing on the other side of the door. He wasn't even looking at her or at Dennis. He seemed way too preoccupied by the chocolate he was munching on. "Professor Glynda sent me to get you. She said that if you take more time, she'll look for new volunteers," he warned them, looking completely nonchalant with his arms behind his head.
"R-right! Thank you, Sora!" Dennis said, laughing a nervous gulp down. "I'll be right there in a minute," he informed him, slipping in between them and disappearing from her sight.
"If I were you, I'd try to keep a cool head," said the kid, smiling at her with a smug air before leaving her alone with gritted teeth, chest swelling up with the drowning feeling she was becoming accustomed to. She tightened her hands into fists.
Aching to lash out.
§
"Do you remember all of it?" Reiji asked her the moment he finished taking the files he needed from the server. "Routes? Names? Dates? Passwords?"
"Don't worry, you don't get to master basic swordsmanship in record time without a good memory, muscle or otherwise," she assured him, taking the scroll she was offering him. "I mean, sure my semblance helps a lot, but don't tell Gongenzaka, or he'll call me a cheater…" Yuzu said with a small laugh, trying to lighten up the situation with what they were about to do.
"Semblance is a skill, I can't see how using it to your advantage would be considered cheating," he said, looking slightly puzzled and Yuzu just stared at him. Sometimes it was too easy to forget he came from a different place than them. "Am I mistaken?"
"No!... I don't think like that, neither does Gongenzaka, it was a joke. It's just little things like, there are people who think semblance usage for anything not strictly combat-wise is like cheating and I can see where they come from… most of the times… but sometimes it's…"
"Stifling?" he offered and Yuzu just nodded; 'Ridiculous' was what she had meant to say, after it was as he said, semblance was still a skill, something you had to work hard in order to master it, there should be no shame in using it as long as other get hurt of course… and he looked like he wanted to ask more about it, but she just shook her head.
They had to hurry.
"Here," she said, handing him her scroll which he eyed with interest before plugging it to the port.
She, on the other hand, clicked on the root processer and got down to business on the numbers, commands and barriers, feeling already her brow sweat both of nerves and excitement – Who would have thought? As she surfed through the server files, a bright red warning flashed on the screen, and Yuzu couldn't help but smile at it.
They were in.
Right on cue to the nod, she saw him connect her scroll into the data service.
§
Being locked inside some cabinet with two boys was not exactly how she had envisioned this 'field report' would end up as.
Carly was ready to admit that she had not exactly thought ahead for this little excursion. She had only been thinking of her goal once the boss finally gave an actual journalism task for a change – because filling in for Lisa most definitely did not count – and now she was reaping the results.
'Calm down, calm down… Nothing is lost yet. Just look on the bright side!' Of course! How had she not thought about it? When she first found them, she had only thought about playing along and after they had busted her bluff in return they had stood in silence for the longest minute of her life and then she was pushed along with the taller boy into their current hiding site, joined by the other one making signs for them to keep quiet.
True to the shorter boy's instincts, there had been a whole group of hospital workers rushing into a nearby room.
Like her they were also intruders, but from what? While – thanks to the dark room – she still had a hard time taking them in fully, they looked too young to be journalists and the shorter boy spoke in a different dialect and had a slight accent which right now she had a hard time placing.
"Ugh, I hope you're happy!"
"Me? You're the one who keeps yelling! If it wasn't for me, we would have been caught back on the roof!"
"Ha! Who's yelling now!?"
"Both of you are!" she yelled and covered her mouth almost immediately. It was just her luck that had her realize that the hospital workers were just outside their hiding spot. If they needed something from this room, they would be so screwed and she was nowhere near high enough in the chain of command at the Vale Network for them to back her up...
"What's the matter?" a feminine voice said right outside.
"I thought I heard something..." another masculine one answered.
"Ugh, those protesters. They're so loud that even the soundproof walls aren't enough. It's giving me a headache."
"I hope it's not bothering the patients; this is the last thing they or anyone needs..."
When the echoes of their conversation and steps finally died out, they took a deep breath, and Carly tried to adjust her eyes to the dark cabinet – who makes a closet with no windows? –but she could barely make out their shadows.
"Hey, I think I found the switch," one of the boys said in a thankfully low voice, and before she could ask, she was briefly blinded by the bright bluish light of hospitals she hated so much.
Afterwards she finally looked at the boys... and she had to suppress a whelp of surprise when she not only recognized the son of the Sawatari Representative now candidate for a seat on the Council, and yet another one when she noticed the furry tail of the other one moving a little too close for her comfort.
"What's the next step now?" the faunus asked.
"Are you serious? Do you think we can still follow the plan after this mess? It's been more than an hour already and we're still on the top floor, nowhere near where the hospital records are supposed to be kept. We have almost been busted twice and now have a hostage. What part of this sounds like it went according to the plan?"
Hostage? Why in the world where they talking about her like that? And as if she wasn't standing right there in the same room as them, no less! She was a 100% responsible adult with a job, rent and bills to pay, while she would be surprised if either of them had ever had a job in their lives – and she knew for a fact that the Sawatari brat didn't – She coughed a little to call their attention.
Only to be ignored as they started to argue again.
"This is all your fault."
"Wow, wow, don't you even dare when you're the one who's done nothing."
"Wa- how- you weren't even supposed to tag along, you little stray."
"What did you call me?!"
When Carly saw that they were both grabbing at each other's neck and ready to punch the other, her arms flailed around for a little while before deciding she she had had enough of this. She rolled up her sleeves and rushed forward, grabbing them by the neck of their shirts - which thanks to their banter were exposed - and dragged them upward so they were at eye level with her.
"Now, both of you listen to me now! If you think for one second that I'm gonna let two brats ruin the (possibly, maybe, hopefully) best scoop of my career, you are dead wrong." Carly had not even been aware that she had been shaking them until she focused her eyes - and glasses - on their disheveled hair. She stopped but then she resumed the manhandling letting out part of her frustration on it. "Have I made myself clear?"
She allowed herself to feel a little proud when they both emitted a whimper and looked like they were about to throw up. She stopped and they nodded their consent. With matters taken care of, she let them go.
"Scoop? Are you like a reporter or something?" asked the Sawatari boy.
"Really? That's so cool!" the faunus boy said, getting up in a skip. "Have you ever been in jail? Or gotten into some scandal?"
Carly just blinked and stared at his starry-looking eyes, trying to process what she just heard.
"Um, Yugo? I don't think 'reporter' means what you think it means…"
"Yeah! We're not criminals or anything. I'm just trying to finish my job," she agreed.
"Uh?" He – Yugo – scrunched his nose and Carly mentally slapped herself because her mind went immediately to a cat. "But… aren't you sneaking into a hospital, attempting to pass as part of its personnel? Now I'm not sure if you know the meaning of 'breaking and entering' or 'impersonation,' but you're doing both."
And when those words were spoken, she felt like someone had kicked the air out of her lungs. Suddenly, all the possible consequences of this little adventure danced before her eyes…
"Well, when you put it like that…"
"NO!" She yelled before she could help it and all three of them fell silent to see if someone had heard her. There were some steps heard in the distance, but none seemed to be coming near... It appeared they were safe… for now. She allowed herself a sigh of relief and looked at them again, more like behind them.
There were a couple of coats and a folded stretcher.
"Fine, me being here might be a little out of place…"
"Uh, I'm pretty sure it's a felony," interrupted the Sawatari boy.
"…Yes, but we are all stuck here unless we make a plan, right?" Carly had started to pace around in front of them, only to stop when she heard a tsk directed at her words. She spun around to see the Sawatari brat shaking his head and smirking at her.
"Excuse me, we already have a plan of our own and we don't need more complications added to it-"
He stopped talking when the flash of her camera blinded him briefly.
"No, but I'm sure people will love to read about Shingo Sawatari's little escapade during an emergency aftermath and breaking a curfew at Beacon, no less," she said, holding the screen of her camera so he could see the file uploading to her scroll drive.
'Gotcha,' she thought, aware of the cheeky grin on her face.
"Oh! She got you there," Yugo said, who had been looking in between them until now, while Sawatari grumbled. "Come on, we're already in a jam. What's the worst that could happen now?" he questioned, getting from the floor and dusting his knees.
Carly could actually think of way too many things that could go wrong, and a surprising number of them ended with her serving at least some jail time or community service, along with her losing her job, her livelihood and in turn her home.
But looking at both of the boys in front of her right now, one sulking and the other smiling, it struck her that they were students, kids, – and she could swear the faunus boy still had some baby fat on his face – and how much they failed to see the big picture, even at a moment like this.
"Besides, I already have a plan to get us out of here," she mentioned after a little while, and forced herself to square down her posture and take control. She had to.
§
Despite what Hokuto would like to believe about himself, he knew he was a gossipy hen. He never saw it as a huge deal, and so far nothing he heard had been worthy of a scandal or anything of the sort. Just some embarrassing stuff, dirty secrets and general information among his peers and before now he had very little shame in admitting it.
"I'm going kill him," the girl had muttered the moment Dennis had won his match against Gongenzaka, which in itself shouldn't have been a big deal. He himself had said the same to Yaiba for the many times he had been woken up way too early by his alarm clock or when Sawatari failed to clear their dorm of his clothes every morning.
But the way she had said it had given him the chills, the same chills he had gotten when he fought those crazy twins at the club months ago; the moment he realized they were going for the kill.
Was he supposed to do something in these cases? – Damn, she already got up – It's not like Professor Glynda will let this get out of hand right? – Oh great, she called Glynda's attention. – Besides wasn't this against the rules? That Atlas guy had just won, someone else had to fight this chick, right? – Shit, now he accepted. Does he have a death wish? – What was he supposed to do now?
Would anything he did accomplish anything? He thought now that they were both on opposite sides of the ring.
The look on his teammates, his friends, particularly Masumi flashed the moment the bell rang, but it didn't matter how lowly they thought about his indecisiveness, because he hated that part of him more than anyone else.
.
.
.
"Perfect, now that our volunteers are here, we can start!" the Professor's voice called, presenting the screen and Ruri felt herself frowning at the picture they had of her: She saw herself smiling, her hair still lustrous and looked after. It was an old photo.
"Over here we have Ruri Kurosaki from Shade Academy!"
But it was nothing compared to seeing the picture of herself compared next to Dennis', all smiles and sunshine, his skin had a healthy undertone to it and he even looked a little taller.
"And as you all know already, going against Dennis Macfield from Atlas Academy!" the blonde woman announced, and he bowed to the cheers of the people, sending a flower to them. How she wanted to set it on fire.
She would enjoy wiping that smile off his face.
His feet were tense and he was looking right past her position, meaning that he was already planning to do the same trick as the past fight.
Always such a coward.
'4, 3, 2, 1,' she counted the seconds for the bell to ring, her claws ready to attack and the moment her feathers reacted to the loud noise, she moved exactly one step to be on his escape route.
Dennis almost crashed against her and he stumbled long enough for her to take the first attack, her hand slashing against his Aura right on his chest.
The force of her attack made a red glowing denture on it, thanks to the burning dust inside her sharp clawed hands.
The speed to which his Aura rushed to heal the denture made her smile. This would only be the first cut of many; one for each of his slights.
.
.
.
"How is she doing?" the newcomer asked, sitting next to the bat faunus from before. Hokuto took notice of his voice sounded deep, harsh and bottom line: someone it was better not to piss off.
"She's… better… At least I hope," the bat answered, crossing his arms. "I'm still not sure how this is supposed to help though."
This, of course, was the perfect way to describe the way this chick was pretty much assaulting Dennis at every turn of the arena, steadily depleting his Aura with every turn. Hokuto almost winced when he watched, on one of the screens, how one of her claws slashed right into his face.
Just looking at it, he had almost expected to see Dennis' face scarred or his eye bleeding, but he looked normal after recovering from the hit.
"Are you implying that she was better off being a sickly little bird? Too afraid to leave her cage?" the blond one asked after a small chuckle left him at the previous sight.
The bat – Ute or something like that – only stared at him with a pout and looked back at the arena.
Right on time to see a blue flame on each hand of the 'little birdie'.
.
.
.
It took everything Dennis had not to run away from the sight of those fiery eyes, looking so beautifully threatening thanks to the bluish tint of her fire coming out from her hands.
He could hardly make anything in the middle of this disaster, with his feet frozen in place while he coughed some blood.
'Dennis!' The roar accompanied by his name was the only warning he got before blinding pain spread through his body…
Almost on instinct his hand went to grab his left arm, and he blinked several times, because it was still daytime and there most certainly was no wind picking up or a sand storm blinding his sight.
He gulped down all the fear he could in one second, just in time to dodge her burning fists.
There was always the choice of touching her, now that her powers were on display… but he did not trust himself to be able to handle it, specially with so little Aura left and it wouldn't serve any purpose.
For now, at least, he thought allowing a flaming fist to his gut to burn what was left of his Aura.
He collapsed right at her feet. Before the black shadows at the edges of his eyes consumed his vision, he allowed himself to appraise her.
Hateful eyes melted into purple thanks to the blue hues creeping into her features, and in her hands she held a crystalline blade, which she probably itched to plunge into his being, one meant only for him.
There was a strange peace that filled him at the thought of it. But he knew no more than the horrified gasps before blacking out.
.
.
.
Glynda was not having the best of days, but to be fair, no one in Vale was probably having a good day either.
And until this moment, she had not thought it could have gotten any worse.
The match should have stopped the moment she saw Dennis' Aura levels to drop below 10%, but she had been unable to move her body or to get the words past her lips. Instead, she had joined her students awed horror as Ruri continued to attack with killing intent, producing a blade from within her person and ready to attack one last time…
Unlike her students, however, she had been forced to it, her limbs frozen in spot even as her mind screamed at them to move and stop the match.
It was like being chained in place, and when the hold on her was lifted, she had to stomp down her boot to not drop on the floor, overwhelmed by the sensation of her body once more, her brow breaking into cold sweat.
Both from the effort and anger.
The moment her body listened to her again, she willed the bell to ring the end of the match, pulling everyone from the haze of the battle, including the combatants – noticing Ruri hid the blade into her red cloth – and discretely scrutinized the whole place, knowing that the person behind the phenomenon had to be somewhere close… and she squashed down the shame at the bottom of her belly at not noticing the figure sitting on the top benches of the arena, not even bothering to hide.
Unlike all the other people in the room, Jean-Michel Roger was smiling all too pleasantly from the spectacle.
§
"I'm gonna be blunt here, since we don't have much time but… we need more manpower," he said after looking at the huge dude sitting right in front of him – at least eight feet and twice his width. Roman tried to wrack his head, trying to remember if he had seen this faunus in particular.
But he supposed someone this high in command didn't prance around in public too often.
"No," he simply said. No explanations or anything… wonderful.
"Do I need to remind you that we are tight on tim-"
"And do we need to remind you that your boss has yet to deliver on their word?" Roman narrowed his eyes at this, and he exhaled some smoke before replying.
"To be fair, that wasn't my fault. If those meddling brats had not been there, you know meddling, you and your… people would have had your side of the deal as we speak…"
"Are you seriously attempting to pin your failure on a bunch of children?" he growled in a low tone. "You will not use more of my kin until we are properly compensated for our bother."
He had to stop his frown to fully form at the word 'failure', as if they knew anything…
"Hey now!" he objected, instead raising his hands in defeat and playing with the cigar on his mouth before adding: "Blame my leading skills all you want, but as I was busy fighting off the police and a professional hunter, weren't you and your men being handled by that bunch of children?"
"…You know perfectly well what happened that night," he replied through gritted teeth, flexing his muscles.
"Right, right. We were short staffed among other issues… but be as it may… It seems to me we are not the only ones not delivering our side of the deal," he countered, trying not to sound too smug. The huge guy still had the numbers on his side, after all.
"If we get you the people needed, then you-"
"Yes, yes. I will give you the traitors on a silver platter. You have my word," he said, getting up and putting his hand on his chest. The giggle almost made it out of his mouth along with the words.
"Your word is not worth shit, Roman," he drawled, his fist balled on top of his knee.
"Is anything in the human-ruled world worth shit?" he countered, all too happy to point at himself at the last word. After their silence, he felt generous and asked, "Can I offer you a drink for the trouble?" He pointed at the bar. "The tab is on me, of course."
Roman didn't wait for their answers and walked to the bar without prompting, only to find that Gallagher was out on his break. Great. These animals may not need a drink, but he was definitely in the mood for one.
His attention was drawn to a couple; he was not sure it they were a 'couple,' considering they seemed to share an awful fashion sense, but he had no reservations about any of it other than the need to burn down their ridiculous outfits, of course.
"Having fun?" he asked, aching for some civilized if awfully dressed people, without looking directly at them. The only thing his sight caught was a mop of red and green and a blue hue hanging from his neck that make his hands itch, but by the looks of it, it wasn't genuine jewelry so his hand relaxed again.
"Uh?" he said, almost stumbling on his words. "Yeah… sure. This is the best!" Roman had to stifle a laugh at his ridiculously fake deep voice.
"And your friend?" he asked, finally turning to look at them, since the other one was too short to notice from the corner of his eyes. Unlike him, he was actually holding a fruity-looking drink and barely nodding in response to his question, his head bumping up and down with the beat of the music.
That's when it hit him: their demure behavior, the way they kept trying to hide their faces, with their hair and the outdated clothes pulled out from their parents' closet probably, or the ridiculous attempt at sounding older…
It was that moment that Gallagher decided to come into his place and he took but one look at the boys and whistled with a grin on his face.
"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" he asked, scratching his chin and finally giving into laughter when the shortie spat his drink and the tomato-haired one practically jumped from his seat.
"What?! What school? I'm not-" The other one shushed him with some colorful thread dribbling down his chin. Gallagher shook his head, clearly accustomed to this, but Roman had to grasp the counter when he felt his belly twitch and another fit of laughter came out of him.
"Relax, I assure you that if I were to report you to the police, they'd be far more concerned with putting him in jail," Gallagher said in between giggles at their fearful looks. "A couple of prep school runaways in a bar are way below their list of priorities, especially now."
"Prep school?" the short one asked, his eyebrow arched along with the question, while the other dropped his shoulders in what looked like defeat… no, not defeat, it was relief.
How curious.
"Oh, come on, don't feel too disappointed. The first time is always like that, and your grandpa's clothes don't do shit to make you look older, not with those huge eyes full of dreams and hopes," he said, blowing some more smoke before continuing. "A tip for next time: don't try too hard, especially with the clothes. Also, a bit of make-up always does wonders for the eyes."
They just nodded and motioned to stand and probably leave since one of them pulled out some liens. Roman pulled out one of his stolen cards and passed it to Gallagher.
"Let me pay for it, boys," he started and nodded to Gallagher to leave after passing the card. "I feel generous today."
"R-right, thank you," both said at the same time and turned around for the exit. Too bad that he still had something else to say.
"By the way… another thing worth remembering is not assuming that all grownups are gullible fools," he advised them before snapping his fingers.
In no time, the boys were surrounded by the group of animals the commander had brought, and they both turned to look at him with those huge, innocent-looking eyes; really like two little sheep going into the lion's den…
"Is this a good start?" he asked to the big guy who was eyeing up the kids, particularly to the one wearing leather.
"Yes, this will do… for now," he answered, cracking his neck on both sides and then his knuckles. Roman felt a little too delighted to see the terror in their faces.
"You bastar-" the little one started and Roman walked to both of them, his Cudgel in hand, pointing at the kid's chest.
"Tsk, tsk, language. Didn't your parents teach you about that?" he asked and looked at the other one, currently scanning the room for an exit. "How about you? I would have thought so… after all, isn't Yusho Sakaki the quintessential gentleman?"
The disbelieving look on his face was priceless and Roman had to stifle yet another laugh before hooking the kid's chin with his fingers, forcing him to look up.
"Now don't look so surprised," he started, lighting another cigarette. "You took me and my colleagues for fools after all… Take this as another lesson, a practical one, Yuya Sakaki."
"How…How did you know?" he asked, his hand sneaking to his waist holder, where a blue and green glint caught his eyes, thus he knew the boy wasn't looking for an actual answer.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Don't you wish to know why your father was targeted? Isn't that why you came all the way down here from Beacon?" he questioned, and the kid's hand froze in place. Roman finally put distance between them.
Still watchful though, a bunch of kids they might be, but ones who managed to bypass Atlas Specialist stationed in Beacon? Now that was something he was interested in hearing.
§
"I trust everyone here has already seen the Council's 'answer' to the recent tragedy happening in Vale…" The person now on stage spoke, once people seemed to have calmed down at the sight of so many weapons in one place.
A wayward bullet could be enough to consume this place in fire.
"I want you to take a moment to consider this: The White Fang took no lives during the Velaris Hall incident. We have no intention to add more bodies to the count in order to spread fear. There are no casualties from either side, other than the building itself, that is. As one of the hallmarks of Vale, I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that many of you must hold beloved memories happening inside its walls… but it's just that: a building. A building made into a symbol, yes, but a building nonetheless. One which destruction forced the Council to make an open statement for the first time in decades…" Rin had yet to see the so-called message, but she could only imagine what some old coots with little to no touch with reality had to say about anything.
She had a bet on what would happen first: Them going senile and finally stepping down before someone put a bullet through their foreheads or kicking the bucket while on service, it was something she and Crow often joked about. She personally had her money on the second one, if the first part of the first had not happened already.
"There have been talks about using Atlas military forces to protect the city in order to avoid more mishaps to happen. There have been talks about possibly canceling the Vytal Festival! Something that even our ancestors during the Faunus Revolution didn't consider to do!" Now that called Rin's attention. She knew Atlas Academy had brought its entourage to Beacon - because nothing is too good for them – but to cover Vale City entirely? This could be a huge problem for them.
Masumi seemed to think the same, for she felt the grip she had on her shoulder tighten significantly and she had to inwardly giggle at this. A natural predator seeking comfort on its natural prey? That was a sight to behold.
All things considering, Masumi would find it anything but funny.
"And yet, the Disappearance of Heartland continues to be a mystery, other than a half-hearted compromise to delay the Tournament. To allow for mourning, they said. To move the resources, they claimed! … To send help, they continuously assured, over and over and yet the disappearance of the entire population of the biggest Faunus settlement continues to be unanswered. Buildings can be rebuilt, better and more resilient… In the meantime, lives which we don't know if they still exist are less important than some hall made of rocks and concrete. I want you to consider that…"
Rin didn't know more about Heartland, no more than any human or person not from Vacuo. But she knew that not many people knew a lot about Mistral's inner politics either, so she supposed that was normal. Besides, she still remembered the months in Mistral prior to and after the news got out and the protests born from it… She was not sure how this made her sound – she still had not dared to tell a soul, not even Yugo or Crow – but if it hadn't been for the Disappearance… then she wouldn't be standing here right now.
The life of a Faunus wasn't all that glamorous as Mistral liked to paint itself to Remnant.
"The Council, the government, the Special Forces and the police, even the Academies, have been the main players in making you believe this lie: the one that says that your lives are worth any less than those of a human. That it is worth nothing in the face of Grimm's threats. That this mockery of peace as they call it is worth your suffering… that it's worth less than a pretty hall."
There was a heavy silence after that, and Rin wasn't unaffected – nor was Masumi… she would have to check for marks later – because there it was: the feeling of being an outsider, a freak, a nameless face, less than a person, put into words.
And there was no one in the room whose words didn't resonate with them.
"We have tried over and over to call these matters to attention in the past, which went ignored and they paid the price accordingly when the peaceful protests of the Faunus all over Remnant made the entire system and economy in each of the Kingdoms collapse for the span of just two years. It was the eve of the 22th Vytal Festival when they went into self-imposed exhile from the cities, concentrating and making small communities within themselves… a movement that they tried to smother to death when they attempted to…"
There was a pause of his words, along with the gasps made by everyone around, including Rin herself.
"…My apologies, I will not be giving you a history lesson on the Battle of Fort or the Revolution it spawned afterwards. Everyone here knows exactly what I'm talking about…" Rin looked sideways to Masumi when her grip had finally loosened up a little. "…And I will not attempt to milk the bloody history in which the White Fang Movement was born.
"I'm offering you all the chance to stop living under the thumb of useless human-rule. The opportunity to make a difference and step out from a forced anonymity into a voluntary self-exile, but…" He stopped once again and the doors of the warehouse were opened on both sides of the place.
The guards were still stationed in place, but none of them had their weapons pointed at the audience, nor did they look like they would try to stop anyone.
"…If what I've told you today has scared you, if you feel content with your lives as they are now, or at the very least consider this a lost cause, then leave and know that I will not stop you and that you shall always be welcome among our ranks if you change your mind."
To Rin's surprise there was a sizeable amount of people who started to discuss among them. A small group fled them the moment the man stopped talking, and another much bigger amount that stood rooted in place without ever bothering to look at the exits.
After some more words exchanged, from which she only caught a few – most of them about having families whom they couldn't risk, unwillingness to stir anything that may attract the ancient Grimms and the like – there were a couple dozens more leaving. The rest stood there, tense as bricks until the ram man and his companions left the stage and some of the younger White Fang members started to bring up some refreshments and snacks.
Right on cue, the place returned to the previous state it had been in before the conference started and small groups started to form again, sharing some more stories. A handful of guards started to stroll in between them and pointed at a couple of the occupants, signaling them to go to the back.
It had started, and before Rin could warn Masumi to keep it cool, a guard was in front of them, scrutinizing them and simply said:
"You." He gestured at Rin. "Come with me. You, stay put," he ordered without sparing a look to Masumi and turning, assuming that they would do as ordered. Even if Masumi's panicked whimper hadn't escaped her, she wouldn't have obeyed.
"No," she retorted and the guard froze in place. "She comes with me." Masumi froze next to her, unable to keep the soda she was holding in her hand. The guard turned around and gave a deep sniff into the air.
"She-"
"Yes, I know she smells, but she's here and she has not left. Isn't that proof enough?" Rin countered, making an impatient gesture. The more relaxed the better. Now if she could only make Masumi understand that much.
"This type of thing can only be decided by the boss," the guard spoke, fidgeting under her stare. "And I don't think he will be pleased if I interrupt him now."
"In that case, tell him she's a wolf from the Koutsu bloodline and that we request an audience from him."
For once, she had to give Masumi some credit as she didn't gasp or protest, nor make a sound whatsoever… then maybe she was still processing what she said. On the other hand, Rin felt like sweat dropping when the guard only shrugged at the name drop she made, completely ruining the dramatic effect she was going for. He was probably young and had no idea of what – or who – she was talking about.
But he gave in once he noticed and heard the mutters of the other people were giving to them now.
"Fine, but I can't promise anything," he grumbled, but Rin did not care. He may not be able to promise anything, but she could guarantee that something would happen the moment he spoke that name.
What would happen though, she couldn't say, but she was looking forward to it.
§
"It is done," he stated and he disconnected from the server, his eyesight a little sore from having to force his sight in broad daylight, but it had paid off.
He looked at Yuzu, who was also rubbing her eyes. Not a surprise, since she was unaccustomed to this. What did surprise him, however, was - before she turned off his scroll and smashed it in her hand like he had instructed her - how far into the net she had been surfing on, the data files she had collected and sifted through in such little time and to the extent she had been avoiding the firewalls and the anti-phishing AI's.
She had greatly under evaluated her own fast learning skills.
"So… what now?" she asked, stretching up a little bit, and looking at the time. "There's still like half an hour left until the meet up time…" she said while he handed her back her scroll. She looked at it with a raised eyebrow, asking if she should destroy it too, but he shook his head.
It would not be wise to deprive themselves of the only direct and safe communication device they had left, and for the first time, they both noticed the amount of people that started to gather nearby.
"Where are all these people going?" she asked, looking back at a place not too far from them in the park. Reiji looked in the direction she was pointing and had to refrain himself from recoiling at the sight of not just the Atlesian Knights, but of the person in the middle on a podium, wearing all white, his medals shining in the light and standing with his shoulders wide, his back upright and hands locked behind him.
General Ironwood.
"It's an official announcement from both the Atlesian Military and Vale's City Council," a voice said behind them. Reiji didn't recognize it, either the voice or the shape of the shadow towering over Yuzu.
What he did recognize, though, was the pristine white Specialist Atlas uniform he wore, a quick glance at his chest made him realized he was a high-ranked one too. Yuzu must have noticed his shifting mood because she tensed as well and narrowed her eyes at him.
Then she turned, bowed and smiled at him.
"What can I do to help you, officer?" she asked, hiding her distaste in a blink and giving a courteous bow.
He seemed unimpressed by the politeness, however, and simple raked at her, Reiji noticed feeling his brow furrow when he noticed his eyes remained on her face for a little longer than pleasantries required.
"Show me your ID, please. Since I can tell both of you are carrying dangerous weapons in the middle of a civilian area, I need you to show me that you have permission for them."
"I would love too!" she said, almost making a pull for her wallet, but she stopped and put her finger to her lips, as if deep in thought. "But, can I see your Vale designated permission to exercise authority on a foreign land, please?" she requested, dropping her hand again, her smile turning into a light smirk.
"Hunters don't require permission to-"
"Oh! But you see, what I'm seeing here is not a hunter but a soldier from the Atlas army who indubitably pledged service to the Atlas kingdom, and a great service for such a number of medals and colors earned, but… we are not in Atlas, are we?" she continued, crossing her arms.
And to this the man did grimace and Reiji noticed he bit his lips and balled his fists at the side of his body. As for Reiji? He was still registered as an Atlas citizen until his graduation; he could do nothing in front of this man.
But right now, he was below his radar thanks to Yuzu and he could not force her to do anything as native of Vale.
"Since the 22th Vytal Festival, Atlas has been in charge of security in order to avoid-" he started, but Yuzu held up her hand once more.
"I'm aware of the Festival's regulations, but the Festival has yet to begin, right? Until then, you are a foreign officer and your authority over Vale's citizens is limited to Red coded threats," she finished with a self-assured nod of her head.
The officer – which only now Reiji noticed was incredibly young for such a high rank – was left speechless for a good whole minute.
And then, he smiled and a little chuckle accompanied it. His shoulders squared and he turned to see a couple of airships, not those meant for passengers, but for cargo, land behind the General.
"Ah but you see…" He waited to see Yuzu drop her arms and for her to exchange looks with Reiji, and pulled out his scroll, "Miss Yuzu Hiragi and Reiji Akaba… I believe you will find General Ironwood's announcement very interesting then."
Phew! Finally new chqapter is up thanks to the hard work of AnimeGirl 144 (Thank you!)
Things are getting heated up, people are getting (maybe?) maimed and others are just chilling out... for now that is :P
I hope that the wait was worth it.
