I do not own/have any rights to One Piece and RWBY

My first Fanfic. Hope you enjoy

Chapter 9 - New Faces


Yury always thought that sunsets were beautiful. There was grace in its ephemeral nature as it slowly vanished over the horizon. The nature's splendors were among the very few things he truly appreciated on this wicked world. Simply watching them... appreciating them, was enough to soothe his mind.

It helped him think, helped him be at peace within himself.

Pity he couldn't afford the luxury of admiring its beauty at the moment.

"So… How's school?"

"..."

"Made any new friends?"

"..."

"Have you been working out? You look like you've lost a few pounds."

"..."

A small, frustrated groan escaped him. The kid's been giving him the silent treatment throughout the entirety of their (air)walk back to his place.

Perhaps a change of tactics were in order.

"Are there any sexy teachers in your school? If so, I wouldn't mind tagging along for the parent-teacher meeting thing." He finished with his signature lazy grin.

Now that got a reaction out of her.

Unfortunately, it was of the nonverbal kind.

"Wha-"

A short question, what would happen when you hold a magnet over a metal?

Now, replace the magnet part with the princess in the young man's arms and metal with the countless cars and buildings below them.

Just as Yury was about to take another "step", the young man felt as though Pyrrha suddenly gained a few tons in weight. His Geppou at that moment was only powerful enough to keep both princess and himself in the air, in other words, it was not powerful enough to support an entire SUV's worth of weight.

Naturally, he "stumbled".

The young man "stumbled" down a few hundred feet vertically before he managed to recover.

"Damn it kid, take a joke!" He gave her a slight glare as he once more hopped back to his previous altitude.

The willful princess gave him a glare of her own, before she looked away once more with a 'humph!'

An exasperated sigh escaped him.

He was a victim too damn it!

Not only did he basically get sexually assaulted by a girl half his size, he had his cafe trashed as well from the fallout of it. But furthermore, he now had to deal with a temperamental teenage bundle of emotions!

'My day started off so well too…'

The Young man's silent lamenting was cut short however, when he saw the familiar glass penthouse on top of the tallest hotel in Vale.

"There's a bathroom up in one of the rooms upstairs." He said as he gently landed on its terrace. If the young Nikos was surprised by his new home, she certainly did not show it.

"Take a shower before you catch a cold." The young man gave her a brief once over. "You look like a drowned rat."

But when he made the motion to let her down, he felt her pinching his arm.

Hard.

When he looked down with a groan to see what was wrong now, only thing that greeted him were the two glaring orbs of emerald. Yet beyond her seemingly furious eyes, he could tell she was just pouting.

Well, he supposed it was a very enthusiastic pouting.

Yury couldn't help but roll his eyes at that, though a small grin did tug at the corner of his lips.

A quiet, almost silent chuckle rang throughout the terrace.

"Geez, milady is being so willful today…" He drawled before he continued to carry the princess in his arms as he made his way into the house. Only after reaching the bathroom door in his room did the young Nikos finally let him go, but not before giving him one last glare as she slammed the door at his face.

Yury simply snorted in amusement.

Although her tantrums were annoying at times, they certainly were rather amusing to watch.

It was like watching a small kitten hissing at you.

They were both adorable and incredibly amusing at the same time.

With one final chuckle, he made his way to the kitchen in order to prepare the brat's favorite teas and cakes.

But just as the kettle was about to boil, he heard a set of rings that he recognized as his penthouse's intercom. At this point, Yury was slightly confused. It wasn't often that he got calls from downstairs.

"Lloyd speaking." He answered nonetheless.

"Good evening, Mr. Lloyd. I'm sorry to bother you, but are you expecting any guests tonight?"

At that, Yury slightly furrowed his brows in thought.

"Guests?" The young man repeated.

"Well… it's just that I have a group of youngsters here claiming that they were invited by you to visit."

'Ah… almost forgot about them.' The young man finally recalled.

"You can send them up, they're my guests."

"Of course, sir." He heard the staff say, but just as he was about to hang up, he remembered a rather pressing issue.

"One more thing… do you have any spare clothes you can send?"

The staff hummed in thought, but it didn't take long for him to answer.

"Will bathrobes suffice?" The man inquired.

"That'll do. Can you prepare four sets?"

"Certainly, sir. Do you require anything else?"

It was Yury's turn to hum in thought now.

"Can you also send someone to pick up some laundries? Priority orders, I need them finished as quickly as possible."

"No problem, I'll send someone up as soon as I can." The man assured him. "Will that be all, Mr. Lloyd?"

Satisfied, the young man confirmed the staff's question before bidding him farewell.

He only had to wait a few minutes before he heard the soft ding of his private elevator, indicating the arrival of his guests.

Yury had to hold in a snort when he saw the state they were in.

The blond was doing an imitation of a goldfish from the moment he exited the elevator, while the orange one had the strangest expression of both satisfaction and disappointment as she occasionally sneaked a glance at the green one. Said kid on the other hand, he looked like he's just gotten into a fight with an Ursa while he was drunk. His clothes were crumpled up, and his already wet long locks of hair were in shambles. Even his eyes were dull and lifeless.

Whatever happened in his car, he did not wanted to know.

'Though I do have a pretty decent idea…' He mused as he subtly observed the orange girl and the green kid.

'Poor guy…' He sympathized.

He really did.

"T-The car… so fast… hotel… so big…" The blond tried to stutter out, but Yury cut him off by holding up his hand.

"Shower. Bathroom. Two down the corridor, one upstairs. Now." He grunted out to them.

But just as the green kid was about to trudge past him, Yury gently clasped his hand on the kid's shoulder. When the said kid looked up, the young man mustered up his most sympathetic expression he could manage as if to say, 'Hang in there.'

The kid's eyes widened slightly, a very noticeable action on his rather emotionless face.

At that moment, both males felt something they haven't felt in years.

Camaraderie.

The young man felt as if he's just found his long-lost brother.


"I'm telling you Renny, he's gotta be some kind of super spy!"

'Well, she's not that far off…' The young man amusedly commented in his mind.

While he was in his kitchen, preparing snacks and refreshments for his guests, the said guests, all warm and cozy after their shower, were having "hushed" conversations amongst themselves in the living room after they've freshened up in the shower. Wild speculations ranging from him being Pyrrha's super rich fiancé, to him being a super spy from Mistral were prevalent in their talks.

It was entertaining to listen in, to say the least.

"Come on Nora, I'm sure he's just an old acquaintance from Mistral who met Pyrrha while he was there." 'Renny' tried to reason.

'Not wrong either.'

"But the car! The hotel! There's no other way to explain it!" The girl remained unconvinced, as she indignantly crossed her arms.

"Super spies aren't the only ones with fancy cars and homes you know…" The blond boy (John… was it?) chimed in as well.

The girl "looked" (as far as his haki could tell) rather frustrated as she grumbled some unintelligent words to herself before turning away in a huff.

'Well aren't they a lively bunch?' The former assassin mused as he soundlessly approached them from the shadows with his tray of drinks and snacks.

A small test, if you would.

So far, only 'Rennie' managed to notice his approach.

'Well… that's good enough for now, I suppose.' They were only in their first year after all, he shouldn't be too hard on them. Having at least one more person with decent spatial awareness would suffice for them to not get caught off-guard during their missions.

Grimm were hardly subtle, and he highly doubted fresh recruits like them would be allowed to go after anything more than petty criminals.

"I believe we haven't been formally introduced yet." With a shrug, he casually commented as he revealed himself, startling the other two unsuspecting guests in the process.

As he set up the snacks and cups with practiced ease, he continued to converse with them. "Yury Lloyd, pleased to make acquaintance with you… what would you like for a drink?"

The orange girl was rather eager to answer.

"I'm Nora! And coffee for me please!" She finished a bit too eagerly.

But before the young man could comply, another voice interrupted him.

It was probably his imagination that it sounded slightly ridden with panic.

"Orange juice! ...would do for her." The kid took a breath to compose himself. "My name is Lie Ren, pleasure is all mine. Green tea would do for me, thank you." He finished with a small smile, completely ignoring Nora's baleful glare.

"Anything will do for me…" The blond meekly replied before he hurriedly added, "My name's Jaune, by the way…"

After serving his young guests their drink of choice (except for one), Yury poured himself a cup of Black Earl before taking a seat himself on the sofa.

He wordlessly regarded them as he sipped his fantastically brewed tea.

The atmosphere became inexplicably tense as the silence dragged on.

Eventually, the oldest of them broke the silence.

"So… you guys are her teammates huh?" It wasn't really a question, but they nodded nonetheless.

Blon-no, Jaune spoke up this time, though for some reason he looked rather nervous.

"W-we are team JNPR by the way, one of the first year teams along with team RWBY and CRDL."

Yury slightly rose his brows at that.

Only three teams?

Unless the academy could turn every single one of them into at least a Marine HQ Captain level by the time they graduated, the entire system seemed rather inefficient to the ex-CP9 operative.

But he supposed they wouldn't be hailed as one of the best huntsmen academy in the world by having a defective system.

With a mental shrug he digressed.

"So…" the young man drawled before his eyes developed a very subtle glint. "How's being on the same team with the princ- Pyrrha?" He had a knowing grin the entire time.

Finally, he had others to share his pain of being forced to wake up at 4 in the morning, and having a slave driver as his shadow. With enough third party testimonies, he could finally make her realize the error of her ways! Justice will be ser-

"Oh, it's great!" Jaune, unknowingly cutting off the young man's thoughts, enthusiastically answered. "I couldn't have asked for a better partner." He smiled before turning to his friends. "Right guys?"

Smiles and nods were all around as they discussed the "greatness" of having Pyrrha as part of her team.

The kids didn't seemed to notice Yury's previous grin becoming noticeably stiffer, and the continuous twitch that was developing in his eyebrows.

"So you mean to tell me…" The oldest of them calmly interrupted. "That she doesn't make you wake up at ludicrous hours, nor does she drag you around like a slave?"

His tone progressively became flat and emotionless, and his steel grey eyes dull and lifeless.

Jaune, wondering if he's said something wrong, meekly replied. "Um… she doesn't?"

"..." For what felt like an hour, Yury just sat on his sofa with one of those thousand yard stares. Eventually, ignoring the worried looks the kids exchanged amongst themselves, he quietly excused himself.

But he wasn't gone for long, and he brought something else with him.

A fancy glass bottle with dark brown liquid and a small shot glass were in his hands.

Wordlessly, the young man poured himself a shot before downing it in a single gulp.

He repeated the process for about 5 minutes, completely ignoring his guests' uncomfortable stares.

Nora, trying to get rid of the heavy, depressing atmosphere in the air, asked the young man something that's been bothering her for a while.

"Where's Pyrrha anyway?" At that the rest of her teammates looked at him, curious themselves.

After gulping down his nth shot, the young man answered her in a tired voice. "In my room, probably brooding while having her own teas and snacks." He finished as he picked up his bottle, and watched the liquor slosh around after gently shaking it.

"Um… why?" It was Jaune asking this time, his tone slightly weary.

If the ex-assassin noticed his tone, he didn't show it as he simply answered the question. "She wants to talk, privately."

All he got in return was a look that said, 'Well what are you doing here then?'

After a heavy sigh, Yury explained. "I'm putting it off for as long as I can, if you couldn't tell."

That only seemed to confuse the blond more, but just as his obliviousness was starting to annoy the young man, a breath of fresh air came to his aid.

"Jaune, let him rest a bit" Ren calmly interjected before stealing a short glance at the oldest of them. His magenta eyes shined with sympathy. "It looks like he could use some."

Maybe Yury should start calling him 'Renny' too.

The guy was a true saint.

With swiftness he didn't display before, he took out a small piece of paper from his wallet.

It was a small black card, finished with fancy golden edges and stylized letters.

In short, looked like a business card.

And before any of the kids could realize, he was standing next to Ren, handing him the card with perhaps the most sincere smile he's ever worn in his albeit short life of 22 years.

"Don't hesitate to visit when you feel like you need to vent, or in need of a break."

While the other teens were confused at the older man's action, once Ren saw his gift, he looked back up as he wordlessly accepted the unassuming card.

Camaraderie, once again, all but rolled off of them. There even seemed to be sparkles around the two.

However the moment was ruined when Yury's scroll began to ring, inciting a muted grimace from the young man.

He supposed he couldn't put it off any longer.

"Well, as nice of a talk this was, the Princess demands my presence." The young man tiredly said as made his way to where his little menace was waiting. It looked like the playtime was over.

But he did give them one last glance over the shoulder before he was about to round the corner. "You guys can do whatever you'd like as long as it doesn't result in getting this place burned down."

With his last piece said, he vanished from their view as he prepared his heart to bear the full brunt of the brat's wrath.


"So what did he give you?" Nora asked as she watched the eccentric man disappear around the corner.

"Just his business card." Ren casually replied.

When Nora just 'hummed' absentmindedly, he silently released a sigh of relief as he once more glanced down at the black card.

Free pass to my cafe, Silence is Golden. Everything is free.

Signed, Lloyd. Valid Thru: Forever

This could be his new sanctuary away from Nora, where he could share his troubles and pains with a fellow kindred spirit.

He could not let Nora know about this. There was no doubt she will all but demand him to take her with him the moment she catches a wind of this.

Don't get him wrong, he still cared deeply about her… more than anything else in this world.

But even he needed some downtime every once in a blue moon.


Taking a warm, relaxing bath certainly calm her down. It's been too long since her last one, and if there was one thing she had to complain about Beacon, it would be the fact you could only take showers in your dorm room.

No bathtubs for bath.

It has been too long indeed.

But as much as the young Nikos wanted to stay in the bath forever, she knew there were more pressing matter.

A heavy frown marred her previously satisfied face.

Just thinking about the incident few hours ago was enough to sour her good mood.

The dreadful sensation that pooled in her stomach, the pure rage that completely consumed her heart, the simple desire to inflict pain to those involved… the feeling was unbearable.

Her instincts quickly took over from then on. All semblance of reason, thought, and hesitation vanished, and only thing that she saw was… him.

Yury, her most precious person in the world.

In any other circumstances, just the mere thought of him would be enough to calm her down when nervous, and to make her smile even in her lowest.

He only belonged to her.

But when she saw him… with her, she felt sick. The sight was so wrong, so painful, she couldn't stand looking at it even a second more.

That should have been her with him.

An annoyed sigh escaped her delicate lips as she got out of her bath.

'It's all his fault!' She whined in her heart. 'Why does he have to be so nice to other girls!? Can't he see that they are all wolves in sheep's clothing?' The young champion cried out in her heart, conveniently forgetting who her most precious person was prior to meeting her.

When she got out the bathroom, she was momentarily confused as she couldn't find her clothes where she left it.

But her eyes shined with realization when she spotted a bathrobe in its place. After all, it wasn't the first time he's done something like this when she was taking a bath.

When she exited the bathroom, a sweet fragrance of her favorite tea immediately caught her attention. To left of where she stood, laid a table overlooking the beautiful night view of downtown Vale. On it were a cup of her favorite tea, along with assortment of her favorite cakes and snacks next to it.

She also saw a small note lying inconspicuously next to the teapot.

When she read it, her eyes softened ever so slightly.

I'll be with you after I get your friends something to eat and drink while we talk. Until then, enjoy.

Signed, Yury.

'He's really too nice…' The young Nikos absentmindedly thought as she took her seat.

She patiently waited as she quietly enjoyed her teas and snacks.

She waited.

And waited.

…And waited.

Her slightly improved mood once again plummeted to rock bottom as she glared at the door.

Without wasting a single extra second, she picked up her scroll.


After taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

There she was, Pyrrha Nikos, in all her glory.

For now, he ignored the heated glare that she was sending him as he focused on her form.

Not much changed since he last saw her, but that was to be expected. It's only been about a month or two, after all.

But still, he idly wondered how much her fanboys would pay to see what he was seeing right now.

She had her hair down from her usual ponytail, giving her a slightly more mature look. The bathrobe hugged her body snugly, while leaving just enough for your imagination to fill in the gaps. She had her arms and legs crossed, which further accentuated her assets and showed off her beautifully toned and silky legs for him to appreciate. Her expression was a complex mixture that of anger with a touch of longing.

At the moment, she looked like the very definition of a modern, sophisticated beauty.

Yury silently gave her his seal of approval as he calmly made his way over.

'But I should probably do something about this heavy atmosphere.' He mused as he steadily neared the princess.

"You know…" He lazily drawled as he joined her on the table. "You're going to get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that." He finished as he flashed her his signature grin.

A sharp pain to his leg told him that she was not amused, while her expression all but screamed, 'Now explain!'

With one last resigned sigh, he did.

Everything from how he decided to relocate, to his deal with the Atlesian General, he told her everything. And while some of the information he shared with her could be considered "classified", the young man knew she wasn't the type to gossip. Plus, she did ask for full disclosure.

Throughout the retelling of his past few months, the young champion simply listened on as she sat across from him. But there was no doubt in the young man's mind that she was meticulously going over every bit of information, checking for any inconsistencies and flaws in story.

Her intensely focused eyes said it all.

"... And here we all are. Any questions?"

After a bit of thought, she glanced up from her cup, emerald green looking directly into his steel grey.

"So you are staying?" She asked, her voice calm and measured.

But the young man did not miss the carefully concealed hope that was hidden behind her eyes.

'Of all the things she could have asked…' He thought amusedly.

"Yes, princess." He answered as he took a sip of his own tea. "Until I get bored, I'm here to stay."

He courteously ignored the slight twitch that was developing on her lips, and the pure delight that was present within her eyes were even enough to make him smile ever so faintly.

'Really… what a kid.' He amusedly thought before he turned his head slightly to regard the downtown Vale as its artificial lights sparkled like countless diamonds before him.

The young man couldn't relax for long unfortunately, as he felt something being held out next to him.

A hand.

Her hand, to be more specific.

For a moment, he was genuinely puzzled. After repeatedly looking at her and her outstretched appendage, he eventually settled for looking at her once more but not before tilting his head to the side slightly to express his confusion.

"... If you're asking for an allowance, I only use cards nowadays."

At that she merely smirked.

A sense of foreboding once more filled the young man's heart.

Whenever she had that look, it never ended well for him.

"Key." She simply said.

"Key?" He parroted before his eyes widened in realization.

"Don't you have dorms in Beacon?" He slowly removed himself from his seat, his eyes subtly darting around for possible escape routes. "Why would you need a key to my boring old home… again?"

She too got up from her seat, and like a predator stalking its prey, she proceeded to slowly make her way towards him.

Her expression was playful, but Yury would argue that "devious" would be the more accurate word.

"Because I want it."

"Don't give me that again!" He indignantly cried out as he briskly back peddled away from her.

It didn't take long before she pounced after him.

Really, she hasn't matured a single bit since he first met her.


A rather large yawn escaped his lips as he lazily mopped up his cafe.

"I thought they were never going to leave." It has already been two days since his "exciting" encounter with the kids. Apparently, there were no curfews during the weekends.

They were only too happy to stay over until it was Sunday morning.

A muted groan escaped him. 'And she just had to take the key too.' And wasn't THAT an exciting night?

'Hopefully they won't make a habit of coming over.' But somehow he doubted that would be the case.

'In any case…' He looked around his cafe. 'Those guys sure work fast.'

Pristine.

His previously trashed-to-hell cafe looked like it only just opened yesterday.

It was only yesterday when he called those "Janitors" over from Atlas (sponsored by his dear General of course), and yet, they've already finished their job. Sure, their main expertise lied in cleaning up after blood and gore, but still, they've done a superb job.

Perhaps he should cut the guy some slack and start looking into the things he's asked of him?

The soft ring of the chime on the door ended his musings as he lazily glanced towards the door.

There stood two customers.

A girl and a boy.

The girl had a very clear theme: black and gothic. Regardless, Yury thought she pulled it off rather well. She exuded an air of mystery and elegance that he's only seen it on a select few individuals. However, judging from her slight frown and her body language that practically screamed fatigue, it would be an understatement that she looked a bit stressed.

On the other hand, the guy was clearly a Faunus, as evidenced by his golden tail lazily swishing back and forth behind him. Ignoring his rather… liberating choice of attire, everything from his body language to his casual expression told him of his easy-going nature.

'A break up?' He idly wondered as he approached them.

It's happened before in his cafe and even a cursory glance was enough to tell, their personality was pretty much the definition of "incompatible".

"Welcome to my humble cafe." He greeted the duo with a welcoming smile.

The young man really hoped that they wouldn't make a scene.

He just got this place cleaned.


AN: Sorry this one took a bit longer to update, a lot of stuff's been going on and I couldn't write as often as I wished :P In any case, don't be afraid to ask me any questions if you have any and have a good one!