For Suggested Listenings, I highly recommend you Google "Infinite Looper" which will save you the trouble of looping any video URL you throw in there from YouTube!
Enjoy the chapter!
RWBYS
Chapter 6
Leading the Blind, Uncovering the Crimes
-Beacon Library-
-Two Weeks post Desol Event, Late Morning-
"Eireen."
The girl paused, her hand reaching for one of the many books lining the shelves. Her finger was resting on its spine, a tentative thumb and ring finger gracing the edges of the rough material. It was a tome on the Grimm war, an oddly small book for such a large issue, but it was one that intrigued her the most out of the reading material for Oobleck's class, especially since it apparently went into detail about Grimm physiology. But that wasn't the important thing at the moment.
She turned to see who it was that had called her name, tied hair ribbons softly shifting across her scalp. Soon enough her crimson eyes fell upon Dante, the boy standing uncomfortably at the end of the aisle, rubbing the back of his neck with an absent hand. He bit his lip and bobbed his head.
"Can we talk?" the boy asked nervously, one heel tapping the ground rather rapidly.
The girl scanned his face for signs of any type of deception. Failing to find any, she sighed and closed her eyes briefly, retrieving the book she'd been touching with a gentle tug. She'd aimed to spend a quiet day in the library, out in the main foyer with the other students around to help drown out her own buzzing thoughts and keep them at bay when she was studying. However in her pursuit of suitable reading material Dante must've tracked her down, actually managing to corner her in a secluded section of the archives. She squirmed slightly under his uncomfortable gaze. At least it was a mutual awkwardness.
"I… that's fine, I guess…" Eireen muttered out weakly. "There's a table not too far from here," she explained, padding past him and out of the aisle. She heard him fall into step behind her, his gait a little more confident than his pose had demonstrated.
It only took the two a minute to reach the small table situated between the rows. Eireen set the books she'd already collected on the surface and quickly took a seat at the heavy mahogany desk. Her chair creaked as her slender form sunk into its cushion. Dante followed suit across from her, earning an even louder squeak from his own aged chair. She looked at him quietly as he adjusted himself and made himself comfortable. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers before folding his hands into one another, leaning forward on the wooden table.
"So… uh…" he started, taking a breath and biting his lip again. He looked up into Eireen's calm, almost emotionless eyes before continuing. "About yesterday…"
Eireen flinched, though the movement was subtle. This wasn't exactly what she wanted to talk about. Then again, she had agreed to talk with him.
"I'm sorry," he muttered quickly.
That also wasn't exactly the reaction she was expecting to get from him. She twitched as her brow furrowed into a confused knot.
"I… I'm the one who disobeyed orders… You had your right to yell at me…" she stumbled out, faltering a bit behind her bafflement.
Dante pursed his lips and shook his head, waving off her assumption with a loose hand.
"I was, but that doesn't mean I was right to do so," he explained, glancing off to the side to look at the rows of bookcases surrounding them. He grimaced just a bit before facing her again, his frown slowly dissipating into an impassive line. "We've been having these… issues for the last week and a half, and every time I try to ask for advice, everyone says that sitting down and talking with you about it would be the best course of action…" he clarified, sitting up a little more confidently in his seat. "And then I got some better advice and I think I see the reason we're not… gelling."
Eireen blinked.
"Okay… so…" she almost whispered, raising her brow inquisitively.
The boy took a breath and looked at his hands. Moments later his eyes returned to hers.
"Well, I would like to know… how… hmm…" Dante thought briefly about how to word it. "How… How you operate…" he posed, swishing his hands in the air as he tried to collect what he was saying. "How do you deal with things, with situations? I've been assigned as your leader, but that doesn't mean I can't ask; how would you like me to lead you?" he poised earnestly, opening his hands towards her as a sign of good will. He flashed a sad grin as he continued, "I'm stuck doing something I'm not good at and I don't want to do, and you're stuck as my subordinate which is something you don't like, but we're both being measured on it. So, while we're both stuck between a rock and a hard place, we might as well try and work together on this…"
The girl listened to the boy's argument and leaned back in the chair, raising a finger to her forehead. She closed her eyes and tapped the spot gingerly, a mental debate beginning to unfold beneath her midnight tresses. Her middle fingers silently scratched the curve in the left side of her nose. Briefly she rose from her seat and began pacing. From the sounds of the room around her she could tell that Dante had stood with her, most likely preparing to run after her if she decided to flee the conversation.
Not a bad assumption, it was tempting. He was a smart boy if he could read that in her posture.
She sat back down across from him and opened her eyes, eyes twitching just a bit, their movements becoming slightly more chaotic.
Tears began to pool in her ducts, giving her eyes a painful twinkle.
"I… I'm not good at taking orders…" she muttered, glancing to the side and chewing the inside of her lip.
Dante leaned forward and pointed an open palm to her.
"So wh-," he started. A flat hand shot up to block his face, forcing him to stop speaking.
"I… I'm not done, okay?" she shuddered, her breath becoming shaky. "This is hard for me, so, just… bear with me, okay?" she asked, another tremble vibrating through her. She briefly felt another set of eyes on her, but in her state she forced herself to ignore it. "When I fight, especially Grimm… I… zone out, just a bit. Things turn into a blur and I almost completely lose control," she explained, stuttering every few words. She inhaled deeply and dropped her arm, self-consciously hugging herself while leaning forward on the table.
She suddenly found the mahogany surface incredibly interesting and thus directed her gaze to the nearest corner. Oh look, someone vandalized it with a knife carving. How cute.
"So… It's not so much that I won't take orders… It's that I really… I really can't…" she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders. Her lips took on a somber pout as she slumped even more against the hard wood panel.
Dante leaned back in his chair and sighed, kicking back just a bit to lift the front to legs of his seat into the air. He balanced one foot across the closest table leg and used his hands to push off the tabletop to stay in the pseudo hover. He tapped the table thoughtlessly, trying to sort out ideas. Finally, one seemed to come to mind, however imperfect it may have been.
"Okay… here's how I think we should proceed…" he stated, moving forward to put his chair firmly on the ground once more. He leaned onto his templed hands once more and looked at the girl with a rather determined intensity. "You can maintain control when you're not… berserking, correct?"
The girl looked up and into his eyes, giving a deft nod.
"Okay… so, in that case, I'm going to ask you to focus on trying to hone yourself while you're in that state of mind, enough so that I can give more complex orders…" he said calmly, flexing his thumbs forward towards her. She moved to speak but he held up a pinky to stop her. "Until such time that you can… comprehend things in that state, I think I'll limit myself to giving you one order at the beginning of combat… and that will mainly be pointing you in one direction and hoping for the best… do you think that'll work?" he asked, raising his brows.
The girl sat in silence for a moment. Her eyes flicked back and forth readily as she processed the information, ideas and concepts flooding her brain almost immediately.
She blinked.
"I… I guess that will work…" she mumbled, flicking her gaze back to the table. "I'll… I'll try to be more…" the words didn't come to her.
"…communicative?" Dante asked, trying to fill in the gap in her speech. She looked up and nodded.
"Yes, that, I'll try to listen more… I just… hope you understand that I can't really make promises…" she answered, rubbing her arms self-consciously.
Dante gave himself a friendly smile before standing from the chair.
"I… don't understand to be honest… but I can at least appreciate the effort…" he answered earnestly, reaching out with a free hand towards her. "And I really am sorry about screaming at you on the field," he expressed, scratching the back of his head with his unoccupied arm. "Are we cool?"
She offered him a weak smile before accepting the hand and shaking it lightly.
"I think so… and thanks… for trying," she said quietly. Their hands fell away and Dante popped his back.
"No problem. I'm here for my teammates anytime they need me," he smiled, shifting his pose to move away from the table. "Right now though I was going to head into town with Corr and show him around. Said he's never visited Vale before so I thought I'd give him a grand tour," the leader said, sauntering away from the table with a distinctly more relaxed posture than when he'd approached it. He looked back at the girl and flashed a smile. "I'll see you at the dorm tonight…" he turned and continued his trek out. "Have fun studying!"
Eireen sighed and shook her head. As straining as it had been, the meeting had freed up some stress that had building within the team. She didn't hate her teammates, but keeping them at a distance was one of her priorities. Dante was likable, but she needed to keep her status with him purely as a subordinate. Avoiding people was what kept her alive, no way was that going to change. Speaking of which, she had someone else to get rid of at the moment.
"You can come out now…"
A soft shuffle came a few rows down the opposite direction Dante had walked. Walking out from behind a shelf of books came girl that was slightly taller than the raven haired huntress-in-training. The figure wore a button-up silver shirt along with faded black jeans and a prim little fedora that seemed to house her long red locks. The girl offered an embarrassed grin though it was still oddly relaxed.
"I never was the quietest person… Dante and Lati are better at that…" the girl muttered, discomfited.
Eireen met the woman's warm green eyes and narrowed her own crimson ones. It was the girl that had helped in taking down the Sleipnir during imitation. Her memories of that day were still somewhat hazy, but she distinctly remembered the Islander girl who had jeered her at the end.
Noting that she wasn't in harm's way and the nonchalance the other girl exuded, Eireen decided a tepid approach was in order for escape.
"You weren't too bad, though I don't appreciate being spied on," the black haired girl grumbled, gathering the piled books on the table. It was obvious she was going to have to go somewhere private to study; the library had already been compromised twice. "Especially," she continued, "during a private conversation."
The other girl choked, jaw locking in chagrin.
"I… I didn't want to intrude…" the redhead responded with a weak shrug. "I was actually coming to talk with you, and when I heard you talking with Dante I couldn't help myself…" the girl muttered, feebly kicking at the carpet. "Sorry…"
Eireen paused at the girl's second statement. Then she continued collecting the books and standing upright.
"You wanted to talk; here I am," the berserker invited, turning to leave. This seemed to make the Islet girl even more anxious.
"No! I mean… yes! I wanted to talk to you," the redhead fumbled, searching for the right words. Seeming to fail that, the girl kept speaking, tailing the raven-haired girl the entire time through the winding annals of the library. "Sorry if it seems like I'm assuming things, but you always seem lonely. I just thought I'd keep you company…"
That thought alone made Eireen quirk her brow, though it was impossible for the other girl to see.
"And what would we do? Talk, or something?" Eireen asked, stepping down the stairs from the second level to the first, soft-soled heels padding against the smooth marble. It only took a moment for the other girl to respond.
"Well… I can help you with that issue you have… zoning out, that is…" the redhead paused, waiting for a reaction. Luckily she got one as Eireen paused for consideration, hand hovering over the stair's banister with hesitance. "I have experience with trying to keep cool under pressure…" the Islander continued, stepping a little closer to the girl. "Not to say I'm the best at it, but I've had some issues I've needed to straighten out before, so I can at least point you in the right direction!" the girl muttered quickly.
Eireen tilted her head left and right, a very slight motion that was almost too miniscule to pick up on. She turned on her heel to face the other girl, once more met with those glittering green eyes, though this time there was a burning determination behind them.
"…Do you think you can?" Eireen posed back, a dead serious lock in her voice.
"If you let me, I think I can help you," the other girl nodded in beat with her breath.
It became readily apparent at this point that Eireen wasn't going to be able to get rid of the rather aggressive Islander anytime soon. And to her own chagrin, she found that she didn't mind it one bit.
Eireen sighed; she wasn't going to get any studying done that day.
"My name is Eireen, Eireen Kaliannah," she said curtly, turning on her heel a second time and continuing her way out of the library. "Let me drop these off at my dorm and then we can go to the practice fields," she explained, hefting the books in her hand for emphasis.
"Sounds like a plan. The name's Aveline Zaira. It's nice to meet you Eireen!"
And with that, the two friends-in-the-making went along their mutual way.
-Beacon First Year Dorms-
-Two Weeks post Desol Event, Afternoon-
"I need your help."
"Uh… 'oro?" Sven vocalized, sitting up at his desk. Very curiously he glanced to his left, giving a brief thought admiring the gold trim that divided the patterned grey and beige walls of the dorm. Soon his vision snaked its way to the door, where he was surprised to find his partner holding the entrance open. Sven was so busy with studying that he failed to hear someone knock.
He leaned back a bit and found the shadowy, slumped form of Voreia Lancea, standing and half obscured by the doorframe.
Her soft lavender locks were rustled and spry, the short tendrils of hair drooping weakly before frizzing out near the tips. The goggles that adorned her scalp were pushed to an irregular angle; still attached to her, but showing signs that they had been replaced improperly after being removed. Her lightning blue eyes were sallow; red-puffy lids along with bloodshot scleras betraying a recent outpour of tears. If that wasn't enough, her firm cheeks were gaunt, creating dark shadows across her normally relaxed jawline. Glints of fallen moisture webbed over the almost skeletal skin, further giving credence to the fact that the girl had been crying.
His heart gave a leap of empathic pain as the depressed aura around her hit him. Almost immediately Sven felt the pencil in his hand snap by constriction. He did not flinch.
Wordlessly, Okdes motioned the girl in, letting the quiet figure into the boys' room. Once she had cleared the entrance he could clearly see the tightly emotionless face of Lati, who likewise strode into the room.
Sven immediately stood and shuffled to the door, grinding a hand into his Signal classmate's shoulder, stopping the woman in her tracks. He exchanged glances with Okdes. His leader looked between Sven and the girl that had seated herself on Okdes' bed, a questioning glint in the burlier man's dual chromatic eyes. The Islander nodded to himself and then to Lati, confirming the silent inquiry. The Paladin gave one last nod before moving over to the bed to comfort the muted girl.
Seeing Nikko being attended to, Sven tightened his grip on Lati's shoulder, glancing into her brown orbs.
"Lat'i, 'ow long's she be'n like this?" he whispered, concern dripping into every inch of his voice.
Laviana's steely gaze bore into him quite deeply. Her façade was a good one, he'd give her that. If he didn't know her he wouldn't have been able to guess at the amount of turmoil she was going through under the mask.
"She came home late last night, like around three…" Lati muttered, her face visibly weakening in resolve.
Sven removed his hand from her shoulder.
"What happened?"
Lati gave him a mile long stare before snapping out of it and licking her lips.
"She walked over and woke me up… then she just started crying… said she'd explain everything in the morning…" the girl huffed, teeth grating now as her stilted gaze slowly broke away into one of wear. "I went back to bed and she fell asleep I assume… she woke up two hours ago and… well… I'll let her explain it…" Lati tapered off, notioning to her partner with a bob of her head.
Sven turned and looked at the lavenderette, who was being awkwardly comforted by a seated Okdes. The man was patting the girl on the back as she huddled over her knees with her elbows, thick purple hairs drooping over her fingers and hiding her face.
The Islander turned and quietly ushered Lati into the room, closing the door behind him and locking it. Staying silent, he crept towards the mechanic, quickly going over how to approach her in his head. Deciding on one on the spur of the moment, he bent down on one knee and rested his right palm on her closest pant leg. Craning his neck he tried to get a read on her face. To his dismay, he found a fresh set of tears building under her lids and a distinct downward curve to her mouth.
"Nikko, 'ehy…" Sven cooed in a hushed tone. "We're 'ere fer ya…" he reassured her, gently shaking her leg. '"What's going on…" the plea came out a little harsher than he intended. Internally he flinched at the small amount of grating the accidentally seeped into his voice, but he hoped that his face did a better job at conveying his sincerity than his words.
To his relief, she seemed to smile. Then, to his disappointment, it morphed into a wound grimace. A crass 'hic' escaped her throat before she pounded down on her left knee with a closed fist. She leaned back and fell into the crook of Okdes' shoulder, catching all the other occupants of the room off guard, especially the muscled bruiser. Her chest gave several heaves as she began to sob into his shirt, clinging to it with her larboard hand, staining the material with tears.
Very gently, with no grasp of physical affection, the Paladin patted her back, letting her dig her nails into the fabric of his clothing in pain. He sent a somewhat confused and panicked gaze to both Sven and Lati, looking for an escape vector. Sven tightened his neck and gave a shrug, his mouth forming a contortion of equal confusion. Lati offered much the same, scratching the back of her head while lifting her shoulders to signal baffled defeat. The knight turned his attention back to the girl gripped to his side.
"Uh… I'm not sure… I… I was never really good at this whole… 'comforting' thing…" he stammered, loudly enough for everyone to hear.
The girl looked up, fresh coating of moisture trailing down her cheeks. Her grip tightened into his clothes, making the man wince. Sven swore that the girl was going to draw blood if she continued doing that. There was a visible shutter as she took in a gulp of air. Her movements filled with purpose, she curled back and repositioned herself to sit on the bed properly once more. Her fingers dug into the comforter, the right hand noticeably tearing the fabric of Okdes' bed.
Sven twitched and made it a point not to point out the damage; handling the angry engineer was top priority.
"My…" finally, Nikko spoke. Her voice was raspy and strained, lending the already alto voice to become even deeper and scratchier. She took in another gulp. "My brother… he… he was k-killed…" she stumbled, a few more drips falling from her lids. She used the back of her hand to manage that, ending with a streak of wetness horizontally across her cheekbones. "Murdered… I… I don't know who, but I want… I need to find out who did it…" she choked, her voice slowly becoming clearer and more controlled as she went on.
Nikko raised her head to glance all of them in the eyes, bringing her vision back to her lap once she'd done so.
"I told Lati… and I asked her if she'd help…" the mechanic mumbled, aimlessly cracking the knuckles on her left fist.
Sven threw his own glance over to his old friend, the JAVL leader squirming where she stood under his gaze.
"She just… she just made me promise not to hurt anyone if I could avoid it…" Nikko continued, ceasing her hand motions. "She also said that we couldn't do it alone, that it's hard to track criminals down…" the girl looked back up into Sven's eyes. "She said that you'd be willing to help," she explained. Her eyes fell then to Okdes, meeting his oddly discolored gaze. "And I remember you said something about being a gentleman so I just kinda…" she gave a small laugh. "I just kinda thought that maybe you'd be willing to help to…" she said with a small, sad smile. Once more her eyes fell to her lap.
A silence fell around the four, draping them all in an awkward cradle of cold. Okdes' jaw had become more set the more she had talked, a chilling steel rocking into his eyes. Lati remained motionless, her lids closed and ears wide. Sven himself was twitching somewhat uncomfortably, shifting his head the entire time trying to get a beat on Nikko's stare, hoping to catch the sad eyes so he could better read her emotions.
"But…" Sven questioned, giving up on his hunt for her eyes. He turned to Lati. "Why us? Why not Avey or Jake, yer teammates? 'ell, what 'bout Dante? You know 'ow 'ee get's into things like this…" he asked, trying to make it clear it was not a question of spite but one of logic.
Lati shook her head and leaned back on Sven's desk, which was positioned just behind her.
"Aveline would want to kill the guy more than she already does," the saber girl noted, motioning to Nikko. "And Jake, though observant, is rather indifferent. You should know that after the whole cream-cake incident sophomore year," Lati recalled, rolling her eyes.
Sven joined her in that motion, giving a disheartened nod.
"As for Dante," she continued. "You're right, but we couldn't track him down. Figured he went into the city," a gentle wave in the general direction of Vale followed. "So, process of elimination; the only other idiot headstrong enough to help people with their problems… for the most part" Lati finished, giving a similar wave to Sven.
The Islander gave an irritated huff.
"If ye wer'n't right I'd beat you fer that slight…" he scowled, standing and glancing out the tall window embedded in their room. For a moment the boy peered out into the bright summer day. It was soothing to see such nice weather befall Vale, especially after the torrent of rain that had wracked their initiation. He cracked the knuckles on each hand with his thumbs before cracking the air pockets in his neck. With a sly grin he turned to the three and asked, "So… wh're d'we start?"
Lati and Okdes looked at him with a neutral gaze, one neither approving nor decrying his swift decision. The latter of the two actually returned to patting the girl on the back, this time understanding exactly how to do so in a comforting fashion.
"If you're brother's been murdered, we'll find his killer…" his final pat ended with him gripping the left side of her shoulder, a vice that mimicked how she had clung to him not a few minutes prior. "And we'll make sure he gets what he deserves. That is my vow to you," the Paladin growled, his voice becoming more vehement with each word.
Sven narrowed his eyes at the sudden zealotry he could find in the burlier teen's eyes. It was legitimately terrifying to see that in a man who could probably bench-press the Islander two times over.
"There's… one more thing though… and… well…" Nikko stuttered, finally having calmed herself to an acceptable level. She stood and walked to the middle of the room, turning to face the three while gripping her right arm shyly. "We might be getting into some… dangerous stuff with this…" she continued. Her gaze tore away from any possible eye contact, finding the heavy wooden door suddenly very interesting. "My brother and I kinda have… a history?" she said with an embarrassed grimace. "We were… well… we made things. For bad people. You know; anything to keep ourselves alive after our parents passed away…"
Sven leaned back on the ledge of the window, crossing his arms as he did so. His eyes narrowed. Lati shook her head slowly, obviously also having been informed of it.
"What kinds of bad pe'ple?" Sven raised his brow. Nikko looked him in the eye and he felt his insides twist into a knot. Something about the thunderous tone of her eyes kept catching him.
"Some kind of syndicate…" she replied, her heel beginning to tap nervously. "We were never told who exactly we worked for. All we know is that we got the equipment and we got paid…" Nikko explained, biting her lip. A sorry laugh escaped her throat, her head twitching side to side in amusement. "I actually came to Beacon to get away from that shit… at least once he and I could afford it…" she sighed, her face falling. "Guess he never got his chance…" she mumbled, a fresh tear falling down her chin.
Sven set his jaw and stepped forward and gripped her bicep. The mechanic looked him in the eye once more and he flashed her a sad smile.
"Hey, death 's nothin' to w'rry about… 'ee's in a better place now…" Sven whispered, calmly. Regrettably, the girl understandably wasn't as level headed.
"Really?" she bit, her face being drawn into an enraged scowl. "Then where does that leave us? If he's in a better place I should be there with him!" Nikko snapped back hoarsely, a flare of anger striking through. She attempted to wiggle out of his hand. Sven took it in stride and deftly wrapped his arms around her completely. She thrashed against him as he squeezed tighter.
"We'r' stuck in a shitstorm, tryin' ta make sense o' a world tha' 'as none," he quipped with a grin. The girl continued to wriggle in the hold until his words finally cracked her skull. A few moments later her resistance died down. Sven leaned back and looked her in the eye "Now let's say we dry up thos' tears and solve this myst'ry like the madmen we are, aye?"
The girl gave him an uneasy glance before taking a breath and nodding.
The Islander's grin widened and he slapped her shoulders confidently.
"Well then, I ask again," he started, backing up and grabbing his white jacket hanging from the coat rack. "Wher' d'we start?"
She looked to him and then to Lati, the other girl moving to the center of the room and pulling out her scroll. With a few flicks, a map of Vale popped up on the holographic screen.
"According to the obituary, Notia Lancea was killed in this alleyway during the Desol Fallout roughly two weeks ago," Lati explained, dropping a pin next to a building in the residential district. "According to Nikko the police have only just identified the… him, and so they've probably not scoped out their home yet. The scene of the crime's already been cleaned for traces though, especially since the building it borders burned down during the curfew," she dragged her finger where a pin had been previously dropped on a small apartment building, one marked as containing the Lancea residence.
"So we'll start at the home, see if there was anything he left that might give us a clue," Okdes finally stepped in, leaning in next to Lati to look at the data pad. The girl shut it and stowed it in a section of her belts, saving it for when she would need it later. The Paladin looked to the three of them before turning to equip his armor. "If I recall correctly, next shuttle into the city departs in twenty-five minutes. We best try and catch it," he explained, hefting his greaves from where they sat on his armor podium.
"Good plan, there are a few things I think we'll need from our room," Lati explained, moving to the door. "C'mon Nikko, it's time to kick some ass," the brunette smiled, pumping a determined fist in the air.
The mechanic wiped her eyes and smiled, the same infectious determination leaking into her own electric orbs.
"We'll meet you guys at the platform, don't be late!" a moment later, Lati disappeared behind the doorframe.
Nikko shifted to follow, but Sven held her up, placing his hand on the doorknob.
"And… hey… next time ya need a plac' ta cry…" he mutterd somewhat awkwardly. "I've got a pr'tty dry shoulder…" he said with a grin that had a mix of genuine concern and smug pride. He followed that up with a half-hearted chuckle, a single jostle of his lungs, "I bar'ly shuteye anyway, so you don' 'ave to ruin Lati's beauty sleep ta talk ta someone; God knows she ne'ds it." His eyes twinkled of a mix of playful joy and genuine concern.
The girl smiled, a small laugh escaping her own lips as he opened the door for her and motioned her out with his hand in a very gentlemanly show of elegance. She gave him another amused tweak of the lips before walking out of the dorm.
"I'll… I'll keep that in mind, Sven…"
-Vale Luxury District, Anam Sealaithe Training Grounds-
-Two Weeks post Desol Event, Afternoon-
"Well, well, well… so soon, I didn't expect you for another week, and here you are a day later!?"
Doil's voice filed the air as the mercenary threw his arms up in welcome. The man was surprised to find his next target wandering into his dojo so quickly; he had hoped to stop by Beacon once more to drop some more advice once the attacks had gone down at the city council, banking on the confusion opening up the Beacon attendee to more subliminal pushing. Now it looked as though that visit would be unnecessary.
"Yeah, well, had a free Saturday, and... your advice seemed to have paid off… so thought I'd stop by and say 'thanks'… so… thanks…" Dante explained with a smile, closing the training center shop's door behind him.
Doil watched as the teen observed the room, quickly finding himself doing the same in tandem with the younger man. The dojo was small, intimate as Doil would market it, with a shallow entry foyer that extended from the door to the fighting center proper. A set of Plexiglas panels formed a straight barrier that separated the guest area and the purple fighting mats that comprised the battle floor which consisted the other four-fifths of the building itself. Various training weapons, from simple to complex, wooden to steel, lined the walls, creating a maze of white space where the plaster surface could poke through.
"Huh… I guess the proper word to describe this place is… quaint…" came a third voice from just behind Doil's target.
The mercenary's honed senses swiftly locked onto the 'intruder', immediately finding a boy several years Dante's junior. Iron grey hair coated the boy's head and his deep crimson orbs set an unsettling aura about him, one that could put most men at unease rather quickly. Doil was unfazed by the stare, but it would be easy to forgive anyone for the kid's unsettling demeanor. Though there was something about the child that clicked in the back of the man's head. Something familiar…
Dante seemed to picked up on Doil's gaze and turned to wave a hand to his companion.
"Oh, and this is Corr. He's my partner from Beacon," the teen explained. That raised even more questions to Doil. He knew Beacon well and the only student that had been accepted younger had been fifteen at the time, a girl that was currently a third year by his recollection. This caused a bit of a disparity since the boy in front of him was no more than thirteen or fourteen. "I told him he didn't have to tag along, but he's like that puppy that follows you home…" Dante snickered.
Corr just bushed his eyebrows and crossed his arms.
"Hey, don't talk like I'm some kind of dog!" the boy retorted, a bemused grin setting on his face. Dante rolled his eyes and smiled before grappling the shorter boy into a headlock.
"Yeah, well, make me, squirt," the slasher laughed, his partner and him breaking out into chuckles as they playfully squirmed. Soon enough they untangled and returned to the conversation with Doil.
"So," Dante started, "I was hoping to arrange a time to practice with you. When do you think's a good time to start training and… how much is it going to cost?"
Doil rolled his eyes good heartedly and waltzed over to the small office desk that served as the administrative area of the dojo.
"For you, I was planning on doing the sessions gratis. This is a side-job, so I don't really need to make too much money from it. That's why I think I can be a good adjunct at Beacon," the man explained, sitting down at the chair behind the surface. He leaned back and leaned his cheek on his gloved fist, his elbow being propped on the arm of the chair.
"Actually, that brings up a question I wanted to ask…" Dante voiced hesitantly, stepping up to the desk with tepid feet. "I was wondering if… well…" he muttered, craning his neck back towards Corr.
Doil's eyes narrowed. He had solely been focused on recruiting Dante. He was nearing his quota as is, and there were still several potential candidates that he wanted to look into after the first wave of recruits went after the council. However, as soon as the young boy had stepped into sight there was just something that Doil could not put his finger on, something that made the kid a complete mystery to the mercenary. Deciding to give it a try and see if the young boy was worth any trouble he might cause. For all Doil knew, the child was a prodigy if he had been accepted to Beacon so early…
"Well, this was supposed to be one-on-one…" he sighed playfully, leaning forward and spidering his fingers on the desk. He was mildly amused by the distraught frown that broke out on Dante's face. "But, I suppose a two-man tag-team is one of those unseen routes that are often untread. So, so long as you both obey my instructions, I'll allow you two to practice here under my care. We all good?" the man asked with a smile.
Immediately the other two followed suit, slight grins replacing the dejected sorrow not seconds earlier. Doil stood and laid a hand on both of their shoulders, briefly using one to wave into the dojo.
"Step into my office, I'm eager to see what kind of skills got you two into Beacon," he explained, walking over to the wall and retrieving a pair of wooden staves about the length of his long swords. He craned his neck to the duo, waving to the extensive armory of prop weapons. "What weapons do you two prefer? Grab a set off the rack that strikes your fancy."
Dante immediately headed to the left and retrieved a small pair of wooden daggers, each blunt and roughly cut as to simulate only the weight and shape of actual blades.
"These are a little heavier than I'm used to," the teen said, hefting the sticks backhanded.
Doil nodded at the comment, approaching the center of the room.
"Training weight, makes your actual weapons feel lighter once you've practiced enough," the man explained, giving his chosen weapons a few test swings. "Makes a far greater difference than you realize. The flash between life and death is instantaneous; your reactions need to be equally as fast if you want to keep that division clear."
Doil observed as Dante nodded, practicing a bit with the false blades in order to get the feel right. The strange dual-back fisted style Dante took intrigued him. There was something peculiar about it. Again, Doil found himself unable to solve another unspoken mystery.
Instead of voicing this, the man returned his attention to Corr, who had not moved from his spot.
"Aren't you going to get any weapons?" Doil asked, raising a brow over his deep brown eyes.
"I don't use weapons. I'm a martial artist…" the boy responded with a shrug. Doil's brow rose even further.
"Interesting choice for a monster hunter…" the man noted, planting once faux sword into the mats and leaning over it. He stared down at the boy, trying to get a read on the kid's thought process.
"Well, I'm just better when my hands are empty is all. Faster, stronger…" Corr responded numbly.
Doil swished his jaw.
"I see… I'll keep that in mind… I'm not use to training unarmed combatants…" the man explained, standing to his full height and turning to Dante.
"I think it'd be best for me to gauge what you're already good at, one-on-one of course and then together," the man explained, raising his staff to Dante's nose.
Dante grinned and hopped back, taking a defensive stance. Corr slowly backed away from the stare down, quietly settling into a corner to watch.
"Sounds like a plan to me…" Dante smirked, cracking his neck.
Doil flashed his weapons, clashing them above his head before taking a very forward offensive stance.
This should be quite entertaining…
"Then… let's begin…"
Author's Note: Heya folks! I managed to get this out today, though a little bit late. I've been trying to get in contact with my Beta, but she's been preoccupied so this chapter is completely unedited. So, for all of it's failings, I apologize and point to the mess of a week that Christmas creates! ^_^;;
I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and that Santa brought all of you good little boys and girls exactly what you wanted :3
As for me, I've been doing a lot on my new Pokemon X and 3DS (another reason for the poorish quality XD)
Next chapter I'll be sliding back from the OCs (mainly Dante, Lati, Okdes, Nikko and ESPECIALLY Sven) since I feel they've hijacked the focus. Not entirely sure WHO I'm going to focus on, but I'm going to try and see what team RWBY and JNPR are up to, maybe delve a little into the issues going on between Jaune and Pyrrha I touched on.
On a side note, some author's I'd like to point out, since I keep meaning to do so and forgetting o-o;;
: Elfenleid1012 : with his amazing story "Snowy Vale" which is taking White Rose rather carefully and slowly. Nine chapters in and only now are things starting to hit the really romantic, which is an impressive feat when that's your focus. I suggest you all give it a look.
: xT-Zealot : with all of his beautifully written and detailed works. He's just recently finished a Three-Shot called "Reunion" that is an interesting look at White Rose as it ages and how Weiss deals with the stress of being Ruby's girlfriend while also running the Schnee company AND being a Huntress. Not to mention, I'm still waiting with baited breath for the next part of his "Recurring Dreams", which has some great comedy and some great White Rose/Bumblebee drama.
: Momoxtoshiro : who has too many to name, all of which are awesome, some of which he's even allowed me to use as reference for events that are canonical in RWBYS. The King Taijitu incident referred to by Yang a chapter or so ago was, in fact, his story "The Greatest Team".
So shout out to all of these guys for their incredible work and a hefty endorsement for them to keep the great things coming! :D
Until next time guys, I'll do my best to get another chapter (actually edited as well) out next Saturday. This is Gear001 saying SERVUS! :D
Chapter Stats:
Pages: 16
Words: 6,700
