Remnant's new ACE hunter
Chapter 9: Wrapping up part 1: Clichés, Realizations, and Preperations
"Talking."
Thinking.
ATTACK!
DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.
Yang walked the coastline of Patch, admiring the sunset. She noticed a figure standing in the distance, not moving at all. The blonde huntress in training walked in the direction of the other individual, intent on finding out their identity. Once she was close enough, Yang was surprised to see that it was Ace.
"Hi Ace," Yang said, a smile visible on her face. Ace turned and grinned at his best friend.
"Didn't expect to see you here." Ace commented, his gaze returning to the ocean. Yang moved and stood next to him, gazing at the horizon.
"I could say the same thing." Yang shot back. Comfortable silence filled the air around them, neither Ace or Yang saying anything. After a few minutes, Ace spoke up.
"Yang?" Ace asked, tilting his head in her direction.
"Yeah?"
"I… have to tell you something." Ace said, pausing slightly out of nervousness.
"Then say it." Yang said with a slight chuckle.
"The thing is… well… I don't know how to put this." Ace said while scratching the back of his head. Yang started lightly laughing at her friend's nervousness.
"Cat got your tongue?" Yang teased.
"Yang, I've known you for most of my life, and I can without a doubt say you are my best friend." Ace suddenly said. "That's how it's been, and that's how I thought it always would be."
"Where's all this coming from?" Yang teased, still not understanding where Ace was going with this. Her amusement fizzled out when Ace suddenly grabbed her hand.
"I used to look at you and I would see someone I could trust and have fun with. Now, whenever I look at you, I feel something else. I don't know how to explain it. My heart starts beating rapidly and I can't think straight." Ace said, never breaking eye contact with Yang. Said blonde haired girl was staring at Ace with nervous eyes.
"Ace, wh-" Yang tried asking, but as cut off by Ace.
"Let me talk first, then you can say whatever you want to." Ace said. "To me, you've always been the girl who would dine and dash with me, the girl who would make me play videogames so that she could beat me. You were fun to be around, and even funner to play with. I don't know when, but one day you became something more to me. Suddenly you were the girl I couldn't keep my eyes off, you were the girl I wanted to make happy no matter what."
"At some point, you became more to me. I don't know when I started feeling like this, but I do know that I can't keep going without telling you." Ace said. Yang looked at Ace with wide eyes, not bothering to hide the blush that was making her face as red as Ruby's hood.
"We've been friends for years,Yang. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to be more than friends." Ace finished, finally breaking eye contact and looking away in nervousness. Yang took a deep breath, processing everything Ace had just told her. Of course, she was surprised Ace would say something like that. However, the more she thought about it, the more she didn't find anything wrong with what Ace had proposed. He was her best friend. Ace understood her better than anybody. Would Ace being her boyfriend really change anything?
"Ace…" Yang said, finally coming to a decision. Ace looked at her, hope and fear clear in his eyes. She took his other hand in hers and smiled brightly at him.
"I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend." Yang said, a small blush gracing her cheeks. Ace's smile was almost as brilliant as the sun when he brought her in for a hug. Yang wrapped her arms around Ace's neck while Ace placed his arms around her lower back. Both stood there, completely content. For those few minutes, the world couldn't touch them.
Eventually, the started to break off the hug. Ace's hands froze at Yang's hips when he realized that her face was just a few inches away from Yang's. Considering Yang's arms were still around his neck, Yang must have realized the same thing. For a few seconds, all of time seemed to freeze. Then, their faces started to gravitate towards each other, closing the space between them.
Yang was just a few centimeters away from kissing Ace.
She could feel the heat radiating off his body.
When they were less than three centimeters apart, Yang closed her eyes and awaited the bliss Ace's kiss would bring her.
"Yang! Ruby! Wake up!" Taiyang yelled. Yang bolted upright in her bed, nearly falling off in the process. She took several deep breaths as she tried to get rid of her blush. Were Ace and I about to… kiss? Yang mentally asked herself as she stared at the ground in confusion. The blonde haired girl was experiencing a plethora of emotions at the moment. Obviously, she was confused and tired; she had just been woken up. What was really throwing Yang for a loop was that she was mad, mad at her dad for waking her up. Actually, mad didn't even begin to cover it. Furious was a better way of describing what Yang was feeling.
As much as Yang didn't want to admit it, she had wanted to kiss Ace. Why would I want that? We're just friends. I mean, yeah his freckles make him look cute and he has really nice eyes and he has some impressive muscles and… I'm starting to detect a pattern here.
"Wuzz going on?" Ruby blearily asked as she sat up in bed.
"Ace woke up!" Taiyang exclaimed as he threw Ruby and Yang their shoes. Ruby caught hers easily, all signs of weariness vanishing the moment Taiyang had mentioned Ace. Yang, still deep in thought, didn't react in time and ended up being hit in her head. The blonde haired girl mumbled a few choice words as she put on her shoes. Soon they were out the door and on their way to the hospital.
"So wanna fill us in?" Yang asked her father.
"See, I was talking to Qrow over the phone, and right in the middle of his sentence Qrow gasps and drops his scroll. Naturally, I start yelling to see what was going on. About five minutes later, Qrow picked up the scroll and told me that Ace had woken up." Taiyang said.
"Of course he chooses to wake up right when we fall asleep." Yang muttered in amusement. The trio was soon inside the hospital, racewalking to Ace's room. When they were right outside of his room, Taiyang stood in front of them, blocking the door.
"What now?" Yang anxiously asked.
"Ruby, Yang, I know you both are relieved and want to see Ace. I get that, but please try not to hug him." The blonde haired man said, much to the confusion of the girls.
"But hugs are nice." Ruby said.
"FIne, no hugs. Move!" Yang frantically said. The daughter of Raven did not appreciate being kept from seeing her friend.
"Why no hugs?" Ruby asked to the dismay of Yang.
"Remember what Ace looked like a couple days ago?" Ruby and Yang nodded, recalling the weak figure Ace had deteriorated into. "That's probably what he looks like right now. He's really fragile. I'd like to keep on the safe side and not damage his already weakened body." Taiyang said.
"What if I promise to be gentle?" Ruby asked. Yang clenched her fists in frustration as she was forced to wait even more for Taiyang to move
"You guys do realize we can hear you from inside, right?" Qrow said as he opened the door. The veteran huntsman's eyes were red and slightly puffy. Though he really wanted to, Taiyang refrained from calling Qrow out on this. Before someone could say anything else, Ruby had already squeezed her way past Qrow. Having waited enough, Yang shoved her way past Qrow.
Yang froze the moment she laid eyes on Ace. He was sitting up, looking at her and Ruby with an award winning smile, as if nothing had happened. His body still looked weak and fragile, but there was no mistaking that spark in his eyes.
He's okay… he's actually okay, Yang thought to herself as she felt her eyes begin to moisten. The thirteen year old found herself filling with relief. All the anxiety and tension that had flooded Yang melted away, replaced with a jubilant joy.
However, as happy as Yang felt, the young huntress in training was also angry. All the stress she'd felt over the last two weeks began to rise to the surface.
"Ace!" Ruby exclaimed in excitement and relief. Ignoring Taiyang's advice, Ruby jumped on the bed and hugged Ace. "I was so worried! The doctors said you were gonna die! I don't want you to die! I didn't know what to do and dad and uncle Qrow kept telling me it would be okay even though I knew it wasn't okay and you kept coughing up blood and I wasn't sure if you were gonna make it and-"
"Ruby, Tai was right. This hurts." Ace said in a strained, raspy tone. Though he was glad to see his surrogate little sister, Ace's entire body felt like a giant bruise at the moment. Ruby, realizing that her dad was right, quickly let go of Ace and hopped off of his hospital bed. The silver eyed girl sheepishly rubbed her arm as she tried to contain her relief.
"Sorry, I'm just really glad you're okay." Ruby said, a smile as bright as the sun adorning her features. Tears of joy clumped at the corner of her eyes as the silver eyed girl reminded herself for the twentieth time that Ace was going to live. Ace grinned back at her, touched that he meant so much to Ruby.
Yang was broken out of her stupor the moment Ruby stopped ranting. The fiery blonde clenched her fists as she marched forward, catching the attention of Ace.
"Hey Ya-ow!" Ace yelped as Yang slugged his arm. "The Hell was that for!?" The red eyed boy demanded.
"You idiot," Yang said, her voice cracking a little, "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Yang mumbled, still not looking at Ace.
"I'm-"
"You think I like having to stand by and wait to see if you kick the bucket?" Yang said, tears beginning to slide down her cheek. "One second you're fighting Pyrrha and the next you're passed out and coughing up blood." Yang said, vivid memories of the match going through her mind.
"I-" Ace tried to speak only to be cut off.
"Dammit Ace! Why didn't you tell anyone!?" Yang demanded, finally looking at Ace. Yang was openly crying, a plethora of emotions running across her face. The thirteen year old suddenly wrapped Ace in a hug, her face buried in the crook of his neck. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you." Yang said, her voice cracking once again.
"Yang… I… I'm sorry. I know I'm selfish, but your right. I had no right to put you all through this." Ace said as he returned the hug. Yes, the hug hurt, but Ace was focusing on something far more important than some minor pain.
"Damn right." Yang muttered. "Don't ever do that again." Yang commanded as she let go of Ace.
"Almost die?" Ace asked in slight amusement.
"Say you're fine when you're really not." Yang corrected. Ace looked at his best friend for five solid seconds before speaking.
"Alright Yang. I promise I won't ever lie to you or Ruby about my well being again." Ace promised.
"You better." Yang said as she wiped away any stray tears and smiled at Ace. "Now that we got the emotional junk outta the way, you're going to be okay, right?" Yang lightly asked, slightly embarrassed at her little outburst.
"Yep. The doctor said I should be good to in a week." Ace said, to the mild surprise of the sisters.
"Really? Just a week?" Ruby asked.
"That's what they told me."
"How? The doctors told us that their medicine wasn't working very well." Yang added, recalling the conversation one of the nurses had with her father.
"That's the thing. Apparently it's not the medicine that's making me better." Ace said.
"Then what is?" Ruby asked.
"His own immune system?" Taiyang asked in disbelief. He and Qrow were talking in the hallway of the hospital, content to let the kids have their own reunion.
"Yeah. The doctor has no clue how that's possible. He says Ace should be good to go same time next week." Qrow said. The younger Branwen twin would have to question Ace about this later.
"That's… how is that… he was in a coma for two weeks. He nearly died, again, and you're telling me he's going to get off with a clean bill of health?" Taiyang asked in slight shock.
"Yep."
"Qrow, at this point I'm starting to think that there's more to that kid than meets the eye." Taiyang said as he glanced at Ace. The dimension hopper was currently listening to Yang fill him in on what happened these last two weeks.
"Hey, this world is full of mysteries. I gave up trying to solve them a while ago." Qrow said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Seriously Qrow. We both know what kind of poison was in Ace's system. I'm glad he's okay, but no regular person should have been able to survive that. Heck, if I were the one who had been poisoned I wouldn't even be standing here right now." Taiyang said. Qrow internally sighed. His former partner was getting too curious.
"What's your point Tai?" Qrow asked.
"My point is that shouldn't we try to figure out what's up with Ace?" Taiyang asked. He didn't think Ace was suspicious or anything like that, but this latest event had caught his attention.
"Tai, I've already gone through his birth records. Kid's an orphan and one hundred percent human. I say we just leave it as it is. Who knows, maybe it'll all sort itself out someday." Qrow said before walking back into the room. Taiyang paused to consider Qrow's response before sighing.
"I went into retirement to get away from things like this." Taiyang said to himself before joining the rest of his family.
"So you still haven't found whoever did this to me?" Ace asked with slight annoyance.
"Give us a break. Whoever did this did a good job of covering their tracks. Glynda has narrowed down the suspects though. She thinks she'll have the one responsible by the end of the week." Qrow answered.
"Who's Glynda?" Ace asked.
"That Lady who invited you here." Qrow answered.
"How do you know her?" Yang asked.
"We go way back to our academy days, right Tai?" Qrow asked while elbowing his former pirate.
"Yeah, right."
"Well, when you do find that guy, hold off on getting him until I recover. I want to get a piece of him." Ace said while cracking his knuckles.
"You just woke up from a coma and you're already looking for a fight? That's my Ace alright." Yang said in slight exasperation. Truthfully, Yang was immensely relieved that this whole fiasco hadn't altered Ace's personality whatsoever. I like Ace the way he is, Yang thought to herself.
"Is that wise? I mean, look at what they did to you. If you go with us, then you might get hurt again." Taiyang said.
"Hey, they poisoned me. In a straight up fight I could probably destroy them, weakened or not." Ace defended. Just let me get one Hiken in. They'll be spending the rest of the afternoon picking up all the bits, Ace thought to himself.
"As long as we're there, I don't see a problem with it." Qrow said. He knew what Ace was supposed to be capable of. If anything, he was scared for whoever was on the other end of Ace's gun. Taiyang frowned at his former partner, but didn't say anything. Before anyone could say anything, there was knocking at the door.
"Hello? May we come in?" A voice asked from the other side of the door.
"Sure, the more the merrier." Qrow said while smiling. The door opened and an older version of Pyrrha walked in, followed by Pyrrha herself. Ace looked at his friend in surprise. Pyrrha smiled and nervously waved at Ace.
"How did they know Ace woke up?" Taiyang whispered to Qrow.
"I sent her a text." Qrow said while waving his scroll in the air. Pyrrhic had asked Qrow to let them know when Ace had woken up.
"Pyrrha?" Ace asked in surprise. The redhead smiled at Ace, rubbing her arm anxiously. Yang scowled the moment she saw Pyrrha, though no one took notice. The lilac eyed girl subconsciously moved closer to Ace.
"I am immensely relieved to see you in good health, Ace." Pyrrha said while walking up to Ace's bed. The green eyed girl's smile fell as she nervously grasped her hands.
"Ace… had I known… I mean… I wasn't aware…" Pyrrha stuttered. I rehearsed this apology at home, why am I having trouble? Pyrrha mentally asked herself. The invincible girl took a deep breath before starting over.
"Ace, I didn't know you were fighting under such… drastic conditions. I would have never battled you knowing you were experiencing such pain. I'm sorry." Pyrrha said while bowing her head. Ace regarded her with a raised eyebrow.
"Pyrrha, you realize you have nothing to apologize for?" Ace asked.
"Ace, because of me you suff-" Pyrrha began, but was cut off.
"Nope." Ace said
"... nope?" Pyrrha asked in confusion.
"I knew what was happening to me, but I fought you anyways. It was mu fault. If anything, I should be apologizing to you." Ace said. "I can't imagine how I made you feel when I… you know… coughed up blood and passed out." Ace said, eyes lowered.
"I will admit it was a little alarming." Pyrrha said, lightly chuckling.
"I should actually apologize to all of you." Ace said while looking at everyone in the room. "I'll be the first one to admit that I'm a stubborn bastard, but that doesn't give me the right to go and almost die… again."
Ruby's right here, Taiyang thought in annoyance at Ace's use of bad language.
"Again?" Pyrrha asked in confusion. Had Ace been in this kind of situation before?
"I'll fill you in later." Ace said. He noticed the older Nikos standing a few feet away from Pyrrha. "I don't know you. Name's Ace." Ace said as he introduced himself.
"I am aware. My name is Pyrrhic Nikos, and I am Pyrrha's mother, though you may have been able to guess that." Pyrrhic said as she offered her hand to shake. Ace gripped it, but had to suppress a wince. His whole body was like one giant bruise right now.
"You have a really nice daughter. Great fighter too." Ace said, causing Pyrrha to look down in slight embarrassment. The redhead still wasn't very good at receiving praise.
"I am very proud of her. To have been able to beat Pyrrha, even while in a weakened state, is truly impressive Ace." Pyrrhic said.
"That reminds me, did I get a trophy?" Ace asked. "I lost consciousness before I could find out." Ace said. Pyrrha giggled at Ace's priorities. Yang, meanwhile, was silently sizing Pyrrha up, seeing what the redhead had to offer.
I think we're the same height. I can't tell with those stupid heels she's wearing. How do people even fight in those? Yang thought to as she compared herself and Pyrrha. The blonde huntress in training had to admit that Pyrrha was quite the looker. Yang could only imagine what the redhead would look like once she grew into an adult. Although, based off Pyrrhic, Pyrrha definitely had a lot to look forward to.
"Yeah, you got a big shiny one!" Ruby said. "You also got a medal, and a painting of a valley. I don't know why they would give you that. It's pretty boring." Ruby said while scratching her head in confusion.
"That painting was created by one of Mistral's greatest artists. Just one of his works is worth thousands of Lien." Pyrrha said.
"Oh, that's pretty cool." Ruby said.
"So, the painting is like treasure?" Ace asked, slowly growing more excited.
"In a way, yes." Pyrrha answered.
"No one is allowed to touch my treasure." Ace said, his face sporting a giant grin. It was about time he started accumulating another treasure stash.
"I took the liberty of sending that stuff home." Taiyang added. "With all the commotion going on here, I didn't want to risk losing track of it."
"When are we going home?" Ace asked. He missed Patch.
"Soon as you get out of here and we deal with the criminal." Taiyang answered.
"So what, two weeks max?" Ace asked.
"Pretty much." Taiyang said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Are you so eager to leave you won't even allow me to spend more time with you? Our last encounter didn't end very well…" Pyrrha jokingly said. Yang took a deep breath in an effort to fight down a glare she wanted to send at Pyrrha. I'm okay. I'm not jealous. This does not bother me. Why would it bother me that some cute redhead prodigy fighter is interested in Ace? Yang thought to herself.
"I'll make sure to spend the day with you before I leave. Can't leave my rival hanging dry." Ace said with a smile. Pyrrha's eyes widened, a small gasp esxaping her lips.
"Ace, you consider me your r-rival?" Pyrrha asked in surprise and shock.
"Yeah, why?" Ace asked, slightly confused by Pyrrha's reaction.
"I'm sorry, this is a lot to take in for me. You see, I've never had a rival before. I was always so far advanced that no one could keep up…" Pyrrha said as her enthusiasm drooped a little.
"Ace, I would be honored to be your rival!" Pyrrha said as her enthusiasm came back full force.
It doesn't bother me…
"Guess we'll have to have a rematch before I leave." Ace said in amusement.
It doesn't bother me..
"Of course! I am available at your earliest convenience!" Pyrrha said in excitement.
It DOESN'T bother me…
"Wow Ace, you just woke up and you've already scored a date." Qrow said in amusement.
It Doesn't bo-
"Pyrrha what did I tell you about dating?" Pyrrhic jokingly said in a mock scolding tone.
IT DOESN-
"Mother please!" Pyrrha said as her face turned as red as her hair.
DAMMIT WHY DOES IT BOTHER ME!? Yang mentally screamed as she watched the scene before her unfold. The thought of Ace being alone with Pyrrha made her want to pull her hair out, and the most frustrating part was that Yang didn't know why she felt this way. Pyrrha was a very nice girl, yet Yang found herself hating the prodigy fighter more and more.
"You guys mind if I go too?" Yang asked as she grit her teeth in forced politeness. There was no way in Hell she was going to leave them alone again. "I want to see just how good you are for myself." The blonde girl said as she looked at Pyrrha.
"Oh… I would be happy to oblige." Pyrrha said as she smiled at Yang.
It would be easier to hate her if she wasn't so damn nice, Yang thought to herself as she kept up her false politeness.
"Well gang, I think it's about time we got something to eat. Pyrrhic, would you and Pyrrha like to join us?" Taiyang asked as he got up and walked to the door. It was about lunchtime, so they were understandably peckish.
"Why we would be delighted to." Pyrrhic said as she got up.
"Sis, you coming?" Ruby asked as she stood next to Qrow.
"I'll catch up. I wanted to talk with Ace in private…" Yang said as she tried to hide a blush.
"Oh, what a coincidence. I was also hoping to talk to Ace in private." Pyrrha said in an amused and apologetic tone. Yang forced herself not to glare at the redhead.
Oh you dirty little Bi-
"Let Pyrrha talk to Ace." Qrow said as he hid a smirk,
"But…" Yang began.
"You can talk to Ace whenever you want. Pyrrha can't. Let her talk to Ace." Qrow said as he gestured for Yang to follow him. The blonde girl looked down at the floor as she begrudingly walked out of the room. Once again, they make this too easy, Qrow thought to himself.
"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said as Yang walked out of the room.
"Want us to bring you anything Ace?" Taiyang asked.
"I can't have any solid foods until I get outta here, doctor's orders." Ace grumbled. Applesauce and soup for a whole goddamn week. Yay for me, The red eyed boy thought to himself. Taiyang nodded before saying goodbye and leaving the room.
"What'd you want to talk about?" Ace asked now that he and Pyrrha were left in the room.
"Ace… do you remember our match?" Pyrrha asked as she sat down next to Ace.
"What about it?" Ace asked.
"I… wanted to ask you something." Pyrrha said.
"Shoot."
"What's an 'Akainu?'" Pyrrha asked. Ace's eyes widened as he gripped his hospital sheets in an effort to control his panic.
Oh shit…
"Where did you hear that?" Ace asked as he tried to keep the tone of his voice even.
"During our match. You screamed it before attacking me." Pyrrha said, unconsciously shivering at the memory. Ace noticed how she shivered and frowned.
"Pyrrha, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't really remember much about that part. What did I do?" Ace asked, hesitation clear in his voice.
"Oh… well nothing… really." Pyrrha said as she nervously rubbed her arm.
"Pyrrha, tell me the truth." Ace said.
"Ace, I don't want to jump to conclusion, but the moment you uttered that word, you felt… different." Pyrrha said. "You abandoned your weapons and began attacking me with your fists. I don't know what happened, but your blows were shockingly more powerful and brutal. You attacked with such ferocity that I had to wonder if you were the same Ace I was fighting just minutes earlier." Pyrrha said as she rubbed her stomach where Ace had punched her. Said former pirate had remained silent throughout the entire thing.
"When I looked into your eyes, all I saw was pure rage and hatred. It… it scared me, Ace. As I tried to repel your blows, I realized that you weren't fighting to win. You were trying to do something else."
"If… if I'm being honest Ace, I thought you were trying to... kill me." Pyrrha said while looking at the floor. The invincible girl once again shivered as she remembered Ace standing over her, fist raised. The former pirate searched for something to say.
"... Pyrrha… I… I'm sorry." Ace said, not knowing what else to say. The red eyed boy hung his head in shame, not being able to look Pyrrha in the eye.
"I don't hold anything against you Ace. You weren't in the right state of mind then." Pyrrha quickly said. She couldn't hold a grudge to save her life.
"Pyrrha… Akainu is a really bad memory of mine. Please leave it at that." Ace said as he stared down at his hands.
"I imagine that whatever foreign substances were in your body were making you see things." Pyrrha said. Ace nodded in agreement.
"If it really is as bad a memory as you say, I won't press any further Ace. Thank you for telling me this." Pyrrha said as she softly smiled at Ace, grabbing his hand in the process.
"You should probably catch up to everyone else." Ace said, still looking down at his hands. He couldn't bring himself to look at Pyrrha after he'd scared her like that.
"Very well. I will visit soon, Ace." Pyrrha said as she got up and made her way to the door.
"Pyrrha?" Ace suddenly asked.
"Yes?"
"Could you not tell anyone about what we talked about?" Ace asked.
"Of course Ace. This is just between us." Pyrrha said before walking out of the room.
Now that was a close call. I could have very well made an enormous mistake back there, Ace thought to himself once Pyrrha had left.
"I'm lucky I didn't use any of my fire on her." Ace said to himself. As good as Pyrrha was, Ace doubted she'd be able to do anything against Dai Enkai: Entei Then again, not many people can counter a fireball as big as an island.
… With Taiyang and Company…
Okay, what the Hell happened in there? Yang mentally asked herself. You barely know Pyrrha and you're already acting like you've hated her your entire life. She is a perfectly decent girl who doesn't deserve to be called a dirty little Bi-
"You going to order anything?" Ruby asked, breaking Yang out of her stupor. The huntress in training looked up to see a waiter waiting patiently for her to order.
"Oh… uh… Turkey club please." Yang said. The waiter wrote the order down before leaving. Okay, where was I? Being mean to Pyrrha, right. I didn't get mad until she and Ace started talking. But why would… that… bother me… Yang trailed off as she began, then refused to connect the dots. Memories began coming back to her. She realized that every girl who's ever been romantically interested in Ace was on her shit list. She remembered the way she felt whenever she saw Ace with another girl.
Okay, so I get slightly jealous whenever some girl talks to Ace. I'm just being protective…
Yang then recalled how she would become flustered whenever Ace did the simplest things. She remembered how just touching Ace would make her knees weak. Yang recalled how just being near him would brighten her day.
That doesn't prove anything…
Yang recalled what she had been dreaming about earlier, and how livid she had been with her father for interrupting the "good" part. Yang couldn't come up with a legitimate explanation for that one. Yang blushed as she finally realized she couldn't argue this anymore. In hindsight, it all made sense. Ace had always been more than just a friend to Yang. It seemed inevitable that something like this would happen.
Oh dear Oum I have a crush on Portgas D. Ace.
The final nail in the coffin delivered, Yang let her head fall to the table. Ruby looked down at her sister in confusion.
"You okay sis? You seem a little off." Ruby asked.
"I'm fine. I just realized some… shocking stuff." Yang said as she tried to hide her blush with her hair. Yang didn't even know how to properly process this.
"What'd you realize?" Ruby innocently asked.
"That… um… I'm going to be fourteen soon?" Yang said, the statement sounding more like a question. She under no circumstance wanted Ruby to know how she felt about Ace.
"I guess that is pretty shocking if you think about it." Ruby said as she started contemplating her soon to be twelfth birthday. Having satisfied her sister's curiosity, Yang went back to her immediate problem.
What do I do about this? Do I tell Ace? W-what if he doesn't feel the same? That could make things really awkward. Yang had always laughed at those guys and girls in movies who like each other, but didn't want to jeopardize their friendship. She had considered the idea that a relationship could ruin friendship preposterous.
Now, though, Yang was starting to see where they were coming from. She knew firsthand how dense Ace was when it came to romance. She had seen Ace mistake enough girls advances enough times to know Ace wasn't romantically inclined. The blonde huntress in training valued Ace's friendship too much to risk losing it.
Although, Yang had to wonder, would a relationship really change anything? She and Ace were already best friends. They did everything together. As far as Yang knew, the only real thing that would change was that they would get to kiss and do couple stuff. The very thought of kissing Ace caused Yang's face to turn even redder.
"Hi Pyrrha!" Ruby enthusiastically called out to the approaching redhead. Yang looked up and saw the combat prodigy approaching their table.
"Hello Ruby. Forgive me for taking so long." Pyrrha said as she sat next to the silver eyed girl.
"What'd you and Ace talk about?" Ruby innocently asked.
"I'm sorry, but that's between Ace and I." Pyrrha said while flashing an apologetic smile.
"Aw…" Ruby said while pouting. Her sadness was immediately forgotten as the waiter appeared and put a strawberry shortcake in front of her.
"So… Pyrrha," Yang began, "Ace has told me a lot about you."
"All good things I hope?" Pyrrha said.
"Everything he says about you is a good thing." Yang said as she tried her best to keep sarcasm out of her voice. She knew it wasn't fair to the combat prodigy, but Yang couldn't help it.
"Well isn't that flattering? You know, Ace has told me much about you two as well." Pyrrha said as she chuckled. Yang felt nervousness began to crawl into her body. If Ace told her about my mother, I am going to kill him, crush or not, Yang thought to herself.
"What did he say?" Yang asked, knowing that whatever Pyrrha said next could very well decide Ace's fate.
"He mostly talked about what a good person you are. He mentioned that you're his best friend and how he wants to graduate from Beacon with you by his side." Pyrrha said, causing hot blood to rush to Yang's cheeks. Dammit Ace, why is it so easy to like you? Yang thought to herself.
"What'd he say about me?" Ruby asked through a mouthful of shortcake.
"He said you're a weapons enthusiast and the little sister he never had." Pyrrha said, chuckling at the sight of Ruby with whip cream smeared over her mouth. Ruby, happy with Pyrrha's response, went back to demolishing her dessert. While the children bantered, the adults were having a more serious conversation.
"His own immune system?" Pyrrhic asked in suppressed shock.
"That's what the doctor said." Qrow said. Taiyang nodded in agreement.
"How is that even possible?" Pyrrhic asked.
"Your guess is as good as ours." Taiyang said. "I'm just glad this whole ordeal is about to end."
"Yep, once we get our criminal, we're outta here." Qrow said before drinking his favorite liquid from a glass to his right.
"How close are you to catching that ruffian?" Pyrrhic asked.
"Glynda says she should have our guy in a day or two." Taiyang said. He paused when he noticed Yang grinning while Ruby had put her face in her hands and Pyrrha was giving a forced smile.
"Looks like Yang is trying out a few new puns." Taiyang said in amusement and pride.
"This whole poison stuff was a real pain in the Ace, eh, eh?" Yang said while waggling her eyebrows.
"Yang… it hurts." Ruby whined.
"You don't believe that Pyrrha, right?" Yang asked while throwing a cheshire cat grin at the emerald eyed girl. Yang knew Pyrrha was too polite to ask her to stop. The blonde girl had found the perfect audience.
"Not at all… they are actually very clever." Pyrrha said while chuckling nervously.
"Good, 'cause it's really Vytal that you hear these ones." Yang said, once again waggling her eyebrows as if by doing that it enhances the hilarity of the joke.
It doesn't.
… Later That Night…
"Alright kid, explain how your immune system fought off poison." Qrow said. Taiyang and the girls had already gone back to the hotel for some needed sleep.
"I have no idea." Ace admitted. "I don't think it has anything to do with my logia body."
"Can you think of anything?"
"I don't know. Maybe my body works differently than yours?" Ace offered.
"How?" Qrow asked.
"I mean, no offense but you all are pretty weak. Even with yout aura and junk, your bodies are kinda feeble."
"Where's this going?" Qrow grumbled.
"What I'm trying to say is that people in general are a lot tougher where I'm from. Maybe that's why I survived. Maybe my body is just naturally better at this kind of stuff." Ace explained.
"That's actually a pretty good guess. It's probably the only one w have, though." Qrow said. Ace focused on his hands, wondering how to ask Qrow something.
"... Qrow?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"... Hypothetically, could someone explore Remnant by boat?" Ace asked, trying and failing not to make his question that obvious.
"I guess, though there isn't much to explore. I'm pretty sure there are tourist boats that go around showing people landmarks." Qrow reasoned.
"That's not what I meant, Qrow." Ace said with a sigh.
"I know, kid. I get that things may seem kind of dreary for you. Based off what you've told me, you had a degree of freedom in your previous life that just isn't possible here on Remnant. Whether you try to regain that freedom is up to you, but you could end up getting hurt in the process." Qrow said.
"It's not that things are boring. I just… have to sort through some stuff. I thought traveling Remnant would be a good way of doing it." Ace said, not bothering to tell Qrow what he had experienced when he was in a coma.
"Are you saying this because puberty finally kicked in?" Qrow asked with a chuckle. "Every teen thinks they're brooding and unique."
"No, it's not because of puberty." Ace retorted in annoyance.
"Good. I don't feel like giving you the talk."
"You won't ever have to." Ace said.
"Why?"
"I've had the talk before, Qrow." Ace answered. Once he and Luffy had reached their teenage years, Makino had sat them down and told them all about the birds and the bees. Luffy forgot about it almost immediately afterwards, but Ace, being older, had taken it a bit more seriously. It really is a testament to how awkward the talk is that Ace and Luffy, known knuckleheads when it came to this, still felt uncomfortable while Makino was telling them about reproduction. It wasn't all bad though. There was one particular memory that Ace would always treasure.
"Okay, so now that we got the body changes outta the way, we can move on to protection." Makino said, remarkably calm and collected considering she was giving the talk.
"What, like my staff?" Ace asked as he held up his piece of piping.
"Do we have to wear armor or something?" Luffy asked, genuinely curious. Makino giggled at the cluelessness of the adopted brothers.
"No, no. I'm talking about condoms." Makino said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small square. The young woman always carried a few around, on the count that Shanks could strike at any given moment.
"The Hell's a condom?" Ace asked as he inspected the package. Makino opened the wrapper and pulled out the unfurled condom.
"A condom is a way of preventing pregnancy." Makino explained. Both boys eyed the piece of rubber with scrutiny before Luffy spoke up.
"I have to pee." The future king of pirates declared as he went outside, leaving Ace and Makino alone.
"How does that keep a girl from getting pregnant?" Ace asked.
"Well, you put it on your… you know, and it catches all the sperm." Makino said.
"... How?" Acce asked, the perfect picture of confusement. Makino paused while trying to think of a way to answer Ace's question. Her gazed shifted to the kitchen before an idea popped into her head.
"I know! Here, I'll show you!" Makino said as she got up and entered the kitchen.
"But you don't have a…" Ace trailed off when he saw Makino exit with a cucumber. "What's the food for?"
"It's an example. Pretend this is your… penis… " Makino said, beginning to struggle due to the awkwardness that is the sex talk, "You grab the tip of the condom like this, and then unfurl it until it covers the entirety of it." Makino said while demonstrating. Soon the cucumber was covered by the condom.
"Okay… that's not too hard." Ace muttered.
"I'll have to repeat this for luffy." Makino commented.
"Repeat what for me?" Luffy asked as he walked into view. "Food!" Luffy exclaimed the moment he saw the cucumber.
"Luffy no!" Makino cried as she tried to keep the food item out of reach. Luffy, in his hunger, failed to notice the condom. In what could be considered a misuse of his powers, Luffy stretched his arm out and snatched the cucumber away from Makino. Luffy's hunger was so great that he didn't even notice the strange texture of the fruit. Luffy opened his mouth and took a bite out of the cucumber, nearly finishing it with that one chomp. Luffy chewed slighly before swallowing. The son of Dragon was about to finish it off before he felt something weird in his throat.
"You okay Luffy?" Ace asked when he saw that Luffy hadn't already finished the food item. Luffy opened his mouth to speak… only to have the condom inflate as he tried to breathe out.
"What the… ?" Ace asked in confusion. Makino, on the other hand, understood what was happening immediately.
"It's stuck in his throat!" Makino said in panic while Luffy tried breathing again, only to have the condom inflate like a balloon once more.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Ace roared with laughter the moment he understood what was going on. Luffy was beginning to panic as he started inflating and deflating the condom at a faster rate.
"Ooh no. What do we do!?" Makino asked, beginning to succumb to panic as well. Ace paid no attention to her as he was too busy stomping his fist on the counter out of sheer amusement.
"Way to go idiot!" Ace managed to choke out before succumbing to laughter again. Luffy was beginning to turn blue as he failed to get any oxygen in his system.
"Ace stop laughing and help me!" Makino commanded, though she wasn't doing much to help herself. The bar owner thought that it might hurt luffy if they tried pulling the condom out of his throat.
"Haha… hold on… " Ace said between chuckles as he reached for a knife. The son of Roger turned to help his brother, but lost it upon seeing Luffy's expression. It looked like the poor boy's eyes were about to pop out of his skull as he tried to breathe. The sixteen year old fell to the floor as laughter overtook him again.
"Ace!" Makino screamed.
"Ha… I'm coming." Ace said as he tried to stifle his giggles. He picked up the knife and waited for Luffy to breathe out again. When the condom was full of air, Ace jabbed it with the knife, popping it like a balloon and creating a hole for Luffy to breathe through.
"You okay?" Ace asked, sniggering in the process. Luffy did not answer immediately as he was too busy inhaling some much needed air.
"Ha… I'm… fine. Thanks… Ace." Luffy said between gasps.
"Oh thank goodness." Makino said, immensely relieved.
"Luffy still has a condom down his throat. What d'ya think we should do?" Ace asked. You could see the popped protection hanging out of Luffy's mouth.
"I… I don't know." Makino admitted. Never in her life did Makino think she would be a situation where she had to help get a condom out of someone's throat.
"Just pull it out." Luffy said, completely unfazed by what had happened. Then again, Ace doubted that Luffy completely understood just what it was that was stuck in his throat.
"Okay." Ace said before grabbing the part hanging out of Luffy's mouth. Ace tugged, causing Luffy to gag on reflex. Ace frowned as he grabbed the condom with both arms and gave a mighty pull. Luffy made a retching noise before the intruding piece of rubber was pulled out of his throat.
"Makino?" Ace asked as he threw away the popped condom.
"Yes Ace?" Makino said as she checked Luffy for any further injury. Thankfully the younger brother was fine.
"For something that's supposed to protect you, these things are awfully dangerous." Ace said. Makino could only sigh as an answer.
To this day, Ace can't look at a cucumber without laughing.
"Wait… they still call it 'the talk' in your world?" Qrow asked in amusement.
"Yep. I guess it's a trans-universal term." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I bet Ozpin would have a field day with that one." Qrow muttered.
"Ozpin? As in headmaster Ozpin?" Ace asked.
"As if there's another one. Who do you think my boss is?" Qrow said. Ace raised an eyebrow in response. The red eyed boy had never actually thought about it.
"Does Ozpin know about… Fire fist Ace?" Ace asked.
"Yes he does." Qrow admitted. The drinking enthusiast didn't see anything wrong with telling Ace this. In a way, he kind of had the right to know.
"This is the first time I'm hearing this. How many people know about me?" Ace asked in slight annoyance.
"Inclulding me, there are about three of us. One is Ozpin and the other is Glynda," Qrow answered. Qrow was expecting Ace to say something, but the older hunter was surprised to see Ace in deep thought.
"Wait, I was invited to this tournament by Glynda. She told me her boss was the one who had noticed my skill." Ace muttered.
Oh shit. The kid's starting to connect the dots. I didn't think he was clever enough, Qrow thought to himself in slight alarm.
"Is Ozpin Glynda's boss too?" Ace asked.
"... Yes."
"So it was Ozpin who got me a spot in the Mistral tournament. Why would Ozpin go out of his way to get me a spot though, especially if he knows what I'm capable of." Ace muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Don't question it. Trust me, the guy is an enigma wrapped in a mystery." Ozpin said.
"The Hell's an enigma?" Ace asked.
"It's a… look that doesn't matter. The point is Ozpin does weird stuff for no reason. Maybe you can ask him when you go to Beacon." Qrow suggested.
"I guess, but it is a little weird though." Ace said, pushing the thought out of his mind.
He'd think about it later.
… The Following Evening…
"I have good news and bad news." Glynda told Taiyang and Qrow.
"Why can't it ever just be good news?" Taiyang complained.
"Starting with the good news, I have acquired the identity of the criminal you are looking for." Glynda said. The former partners waited for Glynda to continue, but she remained silent.
"... and the bad news?" Qrow asked.
"He os one of the bigger criminal leaders here in Mistral. The Mistralien police have been after this man for a very long time. He is very good at escaping." Glynda said.
"Right, so who's our guy?" Qrow asked.
"His name is Saul, last name unknown." Glynda said as she brought a picture of the man up on her enlarged scroll. "He deals mostly in illegal betting, but he also has ties to drug and arms trafficking, as well as various suspicious arson cases. The man isn't afraid to get his hands dirty."
"We have a who. Now we need a where." Taiyang commented.
"Right. The man isn't stupid. He changes locations frequently to avoid people like us. However, through some… intense… persuasion, I was able to get one of his lackeys to give up his location." Glynda said, smiling lightly. Taiyang nervously eyed her riding crop, wondering if it wasn't just for show. Glynda was scary enough as it is. He could only imagine what she was like when they were in a torture room.
"And?" Qrow questioned.
"Six days from now, Saul will be taking care of some business in one of the clubs he owns. I have reason to believe that the club is also where most of his arms deals go down. If you have the time, please shut that down." Glynda said, showing them a picture of the club on her scroll.
"Six days…"
"That's about the same time Ace'll get out of the hospital. That's good. The kid would complain for weeks if he missed out on this." Qrow said while taking a swig of his flask. Taiyang looked at his former partner in disapproval.
"Qrow, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I don't think it's a good idea to let Ace come with us." Taiyang said as he crossed his arms.
"What, you afraid that he'll get hurt? The kid can take care of himself, Tai." Qrow said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I mean that Ace has never had to fight criminals before. I'm just not sure if he'll be able to handle it. Unlike Grimm, these guys are still human." Taiyang said.
If only you knew, Glynda thought to herself as she watched the conversation unfold. Taiyang was wrong about Ace not being able to handle fighting criminals. Both she and Qrow knew he used to fo that on an almost daily basis.
"We'll be with him. Nothing bad will happen." Qrow defended.
"May I finish my report before you continue this conversation?" Glynda asked. She knew from experience that Qrow and Tai could bicker for hours on end.
"This isn't over." Taiyang told Qrow.
"Thank you. As I was saying, he will be at this club six days from now. However, you just can't go in guns blazing and swords swinging." Glynda told them.
"Why not?" Qrow asked in disappointment.
"Well for one, there will be civilians present. More importantly, Saul has escape routes almost everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if his escape routes had escape routes. The moment he senses trouble he'll bail out. You are going to have to be significantly quieter when apprehending him. Otherwise he will escape." Glynda said. Qrow and Taiyang looked at each other, growing slightly more concerned.
"Wait, are we gonna have any back up? This is starting to seem like a big job for the two of us." Taiyang said.
"No. The police department is unaware of your plot, and I would like it to stay that way. Either you catch him or you don't." Glynda said.
"Well that piles on the pressure." Taiyang said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"If I recall, both of you requested to, and I quote, 'Go this alone.'" Glynda commented.
"At the time, I thought we would just be busting into their hideout and punching some bad guys." Taiyang admitted. "I didn't think things would get this complicated."
"Don't be a pansy, Tai. We can handle it." Qrow confidently said.
"We're going to have to create an entirely new plan, Qrow." Taiyang informed his former partner.
"You mean you have to come up with a plan. Just point me in the general direction and I'll take care of the rest." Qrow said, much to the annoyance of Taiyang.
"I swear, this is exactly what you pulled back at Beacon. Let me and the others do the complicated stuff while just show up and wing it." Taiyang said in slight frustration.
"It worked, didn't it?" Qrow said with a smile.
… Two days later…
Ace was not in a good mood. Taiyang and company had come to visit, but that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that whenever he looked at either Yang or Ruby, he would see flashes of Luffy in their place. Shit, guess older me was right, Ace mentally cursed as he forced himself to stop imagining his little brother. It wasn't fair to either Ruby, Yang, or Luffy to cmpare them like that.
"You doing alright Ace?" Ruby asked, noticing the red eyed boy's discomfort. For a brief second, Ruby's voice sounded like Luffy's.
"I'm fine, Luffy." Ace absentmindedly said before clamping his hand over his mouth. Fuck! Ace eloquently thought to himself.
"Luffy? I'm Ruby, Ace. You know that." Ruby said as she raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"I… was just thinking about the pirate story, and what I was going to tell you about Luffy next." Ace said, thinking up a lie on the spot.
"Oh, okay. We were at the part where Luffy and Ace reunited in Alabasta." Ruby said as she thought back to the story. Ace sighed, knowing that one of these days he would get to Marineford. That would not be a good day.
I could just skip that part, but that would make me a coward, Ace thought to himself. Besides, by omitting Marineford he would have to omit a lot of other events. It was too much hassle.
"Stuff is going to get intense pretty soon." Ace commented.
"Does Ace manage to find Blackbeard?" Ruby eagerly asked. That was another part of the story Ace was not excited about sharing. Not because anything bad happens, at least compared to Marineford, but Ace just found it embarrassing that he had lost to Blackbeard of all people.
"You'll have to wait and find out." Ace stated, causing the silver eyed girl to groan in annoyance. Ace glanced to his right, he noticed Yang, who was sitting in a chair, looking at him. The moment they made eye contact, however, both looked away. Yang because she was embarrased Ace had caught her staring. Ace because he had very briefly seen Sabo's face instead of Yang's.
Come on Yang. It's only awkward if you make it awkward, Yang thought to herself. The huntress in training had not taken her revelation well. She found it difficult to talk or even stare at her best friend. Of all people, Yang had to develop a crush on Ace. She didn't even have anyone to talk to about this. Her sister was too young and, well, couldn't keep a secret. Her dad already had a thing against Yang and boys, so he wouldn't be any help there. The only one who would be even remotely helpful would be Qrow. Yang would avoid him for obvious reasons.
It's times like these that make me miss mom, Yang glumly thought to herself. Summer would have been able to help her. Heck, Yang was willing to bet Raven would be more help than what was at her disposal. The young huntress in training would have to figure this out on her own.
"You know, if you think about it, it's thanks to Ace that we got an extended vacation." Ruby chirped.
"Because the extended part of our vacation was so enjoyable." Yang sarcastically replied.
"What I'm saying is that this is the most time we've ever spent outside Patch." Ruby reasoned.
"It's not exactly a hard record to break. The only other times we leave Patch is when we go into Vale." Ace said, relieved that he could focus on Ruby without seeing Luffy for the moment.
"Yeah, and we're usually back the same day." Yang added.
"The point still stands." Ruby responded. "Besides Ace's whole poison thing, I think this trip has actually been pretty nice."
"I guess it was cool until then." Ace admitted.
"I did enjoy the spa." Yang said.
"Plus we got to meet Pyrrha." Ace pointed out. Yang grimaced and slouched in her chair while Ruby happily agreed.
"Ace?" Ruby asked.
"What?"
"Can I come with you and Pyrrha when you fight?" Ruby asked.
"I don't see why not." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Thanks. I really want to see Pyrrha's weapon up close!" Ruby excitedly said.
"I want to fight her when I'm not… you know… dying of poison." Ace responded.
I want to throw up, Yang thought to herself.
… Four Days Later…
"Can I leave yet?" Ace asked in an impatient tone.
"Give me a second. I have to wait for the paperwork to come back." The doctor responded. Ace gave an exasperated sigh. Everyone knew he was healthy again. A little skinnier from lack of food, yes, but healthy nonetheless. The former pirate had already dressed out of his hospital gown and into his normal clothes. Qrow had already filled out all the necessary paperwork to have him discharged from the hospital. Now all they were waiting for was the doctor to give him the all clear.
"You're impatient." Taiyang observed.
"You haven't been stuck staring at the wall for the past week." Ace retorted.
"Fair enough."
"Ah, here we go." The doctor said as the nurse handed him some paperwork. The doctor skimmed it before coming to a conclusion.
"Well Ace, The paperwork checks out. You may leave now." The doctor said. Ace darted out of the room, not bothering to wait for the others. He sped past the hallways before exiting the hospital. Ace took a deep breath of fresh air as he enjoyed his first moments back in the outside world.
"Geez Ace, I think you broke some kind of world record."Yang commented as she exited the hospital.
"Hold that thought." Ace said before crossing the street. Yang was confused for a moment until she saw Ace stop in front of a food stand. What followed a minute of conversation Yang saw Ace point at something, only for the guy to start laughing. The guy stopped laughing when Ace pointed again. Eventually, Ace crossed the street again, a giant piece of meat on a skewer in one of his hands.
"You were saying." Ace said as he took an enormous bite of his snack.
"What is that?" Yang asked, pointing to Ace's meat.
"It's called Shawarma." Ace said as he swallowed and took another bite. "You know, I didn't realize how much of a gift meat is to the world until I had to stop eating it for a week."
"You looked like you wanted to puke whenever the nurse brought you applesauce." Yang said.
"I like apples, but it's too much in sauce form." Ace explained.
"I forgot how fast you-where did you get that meat?" Ruby asked as she exited the hospital.
"Across the street. The guy thought I was joking when I told him I wanted the entire piece." Ace said, swallowing and biting off another mouthful of shawarma.
"So… what'ya wanna do?" Ruby asked as Qrow and Taiyang exited the hospital.
"First I want my weapons. Where are they?" Ace asked.
"At the Hotel." Taiyang answered.
"I'm glad we live in a world where thirteen year olds can openly carry weapons in public." Qrow commented, pointing to Yang and her gauntlets.
"Not to mention drunks." Yang shot back, eyeing Qrow's sword.
"I'd like my weapons now, please." Ace said, beginning the walk towards the hotel. One good thing about Mistral was that virtually everything was within walkable distance. Not to mention the view was great everywhere.
"You're eager to get your guns." Qrow pointed out.
"I'm gonna need them. What time are we hitting the guy who poisoned me?" Ace asked.
"Yeah, about that. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with letting a kid fight hardened criminals. Maybe you should sit this one out." Taiyang nervously said. The group stopped walking. Ruby and Yang, sensing an impending argument, took a couple of steps backwards.
"I can take care of myself!" Ace protested. I'm not a kid either… well technically.
"I know you can, but this just seems reckless."
"Tai, we'll be there with him. I'm pretty sure we can handle anything they have to through at us." Qrow spoke up. The drinking enthusiast could understand why Taiyang was aprehensive. As far as the blonde man was concerned, Ace was just a normal thirteen year old, normal being a loose term here. Qrow, on the other hand, knew that Ace had dealt with far worse before.
"This is ridiculous. He's a kid Qrow. I don't care if he's strong for his age. Letting him go with us is irresponsible." Taiyan adamantly defended.
"I'm going." Ace stated.
"I don't think so. Qrow and I are going it alone." Taiyang said, crossing his arms.
"If it's really that dangerous, then why don't you let the police deal with it!?" Ace argued.
"Because two huntsmen can get the job done quicker than any police department." Taiyang answered.
"Tai, let Ace come. Nothing bad will happen." Qrow said.
"No! It's like if I were to let Yang come." Taiyang said.
"... can I come?" Yang asked.
"No."
"But you're letting Ace go." Yang responded.
"No, I'm not letting Ace go."
"Yes, I am going." Ace said. "Look, either you take me with you, where you can keep me under supervision, or I follow you and do whatever I want."
"It's not like we can tie him up." Qrow pointed out.
"I… just don't want Ace getting hurt again." Taiyang said, sighing in exasperation.
"Then keep an eye on me, 'cause I'm going." Ace said in a tone that implied an end to their conversation. The red eyed boy began walking again, leaving a slightly peeved Taiyang and an indifferent Qrow in his wake.
"Qrow, when did Ace start doing whatever he wanted?" Taiyang asked.
"Since he was five. C'mon, might as well fill Ace in on the plan." Qrow said as he beckoned everyone to follow him.
"Hey dad, what're me and Ruby gonna be doing while you guys fight crime?" Yang asked. The young huntress in training was slightly put off that she wouldn't be allowed to go with them.
"You girls will be… staying in the hotel room. I already have two kids to look out for. I don't need two more." Taiyang said. It took Qrow a few seconds for the insult to register.
"Hey! Not cool." Qrow grumbled.
"That's no fair. Ace gets to do cool stuff while we're stuck in a hotel room." Ruby complained.
"This isn't a game Ruby. We're going up against criminals and murderers. That's no place for you." Taiyang reasoned, ruffling Ruby's hair in the process.
"Out of curiosity, how are you gonna beat these thugs?" Yang asked as they entered the hotel and made their way to the elevator.
"We're gonna punch them really hard." Taiyang answered.
"That's not what I meant."
"I know."
"Dad…" Yang said in annoyance.
"I'll tell you this much. Glynda says we have to be stealthy otherwise boss man'll know something is up. Luckily, we know where he's gonna be tonight." Taiyang said. The elevator dinged when they had reached their floor. The small family walked out and went to Taiyang and Qrow's room. They entered only to see Ace already checking Straw and Spade for any problems.
"Ace." Qrow said.
"What?" Ace asked, looking up from his work.
"If you're coming with us, then I should probably tell you that we'll have to be on the stealthier side for this. Your weapons are a little too bright for sneaking." Taiyang said.
"You'll also have to leave your hat here." Qrow pointed out. Ace looked at his precious hat before shrugging.
"Alright. What should I do about my guns?" Ace asked.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it's a little too late to give them a temporary paint job. I think we need some temporary weapons for you." Taiyang said.
"We'll stop by a weapon shop before leaving." Qrow said.
"Oh, okay." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Can you girls take care of my stuff?" Ace asked Yang and Ruby.
"Dibs on the guns!" Ruby excitedly said as she made a grab for Straw and Spade. No one bothered to stop her, as the reason soon became evident. Ruby tried to lift Straw, but was only able to lift it a few inches off the ground.
"Need a little help there, Rubes?" Yang said, chuckling at her sister.
"I… got… this." Ruby said through gritted teeth.
"Don't hurt yourself Ruby." Taiyang cautioned. "Hide your ammo." Taiyang whispered to Ace when Ruby wasn't looking.
"On it." Ace said as he immediately went to get his suitcase full of bullets.
"So you're getting Ace a new weapon?" Yang asked.
"Why do I need one? I think I can get by just fine with my fists." Ace pointed out.
"We don't know what we're going up against. Better play this on the safe side." Taiyang said.
"They're just crooks. What can they throw at us?" Ace pointed out.
"Still. You should go in with some firepower." Taiyang reasoned.
"Like what?" Ruby asked.
"You know, in hindsight, this would have been a good time to have my Bo staff." Ace commented.
"Whatever. We'll just get you a pistol and something to hit stuff with." Qrow said witha shrug of his shoulders.
"You know, this would make more sense if you told me the plan." Ace said in annoyance.
"Hang on. We might as well go buy your weapon right now." Taiyang said as he motioned for Ace to follow him. "You girls wanna come?" Taiyang asked his daughters.
"Yes!" Ruby and Yang answered at once.
"You coming, Qrow?" Ace asked.
"No. I want to get a nap in before we go in." Qrow said.
"Fair enough. We'll be back soon." Taiyang said as he exited the room with the kids.
"Hey, I didn't get the chance to ask earlier, but whatever happened to Zwei?" Ace asked as they entered the elevator.
"Dad mailed him home." Ruby grumbled.
"It's a good thing you taught him how to operate a can opener." Ace said.
"I know everyone thinks their pet is smarter than others, but Zwei really is pretty clever." Taiyang said as they exited the elevator.
"So Ruby, find us a weapon shop." Taiyang said.
"Yes sir!" Ruby said while saluting. The silver eyed girl raised a nose to the air and began sniffing. Without a word, she began leading them down the street.
"It's like livinng with a dog." Ace whispered to Yang. The lilac eyed girl blushed lightly at how close Ace was to her.
"Still impressive, though." Yang shot back. Ruby, still sniffing, turned a corner and stopped in front of a weapon shop.
"We're here!" Ruby proudly declared.
"How'd you do that?" Ace asked, mildly impressed.
"I followed the smell of gunpowder and metal." Ruby answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"... you know, she has a point." Ace said as he raised his nose and sniffed the air. "I should try this next time."
"Shall we go in?" Taiyang said as he opened the door and gestured for them to enter. Ruby entered happily and began ogling the various weapons on display. Yang had a more muted excitement about her. Ace walked in, largely indifferent.
"So Tai, what'ya think I'll need on this little excursion of ours?" Ace asked the older man.
"Well, I think some sort of melee weapon is in order." Taiyang said as he walked to the melee section of the store.
"It'd be easier to choose a weapon if I knew what I was getting into." Ace said as he gazed at a variety of weapons. Taiyang checked to make sure Yang and Ruby weren't listening. He was relieved when he saw them arguing over how useful nunchucks actually were.
"Sorry Ace. I just don't want to risk Yang or Ruby trying to follow us tonight. That's why I've kept quiet about my plan." Taiyang apologized.
"How do you know I won't tell them?" Ace couldn't help but ask.
"Because I know you don't want to see them hurt, either." Taiyang immediately answered. "Anyways, I'll give you the details tonight, but Qrow is going to pose as a regular club goer while you and I sneak in from the roof. After that, Qrow'll cause some commotion, taking attention away from us and making it easier to find the boss." Taiyang said.
"Then I'll need this." Ace said, grabbing a knife in a black sheathe without hesitation. Taiyang looked surprised by his choice.
"A knife? Don't you want something with more reach?" The veteran Huntsman asked.
"Any fighting that happens will probably go down in hallways and stuff. A knife is the better choice." Ace said, showing the combat experience he'd gained from his time as a pirate. The red eyed boy pulled the knife out of its sheath and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was similar to the one he used to carry around.
"Good point." Taiyang said, genuinely surprised that Ace had figured all that out from sparse details.
"Why aren't you getting one?" Ace asked in confusion.
"Call me a hypocrite Ace, but I don't need a weapon." Taiyang said while chuckling.
"That's not very fair." Ace complained.
"I'm a full fledged Huntsman Ace. I can take care of myself. Besides, I'm gonna be carrying Qrow's sword with me" Taiyang shot back. "Now let's get you some ranged weaponry." The older male said while walking to the ranged section of the shop.
"A regular pistol will do." Ace said, picking up a generic sidearm and inspecting it.
"I won't argue. Just grab what you need." Taiyang said while going to check on Yang and Ruby.
"Ohhh… a tonfa-gun." Ruby said as she stared at the weapon.
"What's up dad?" Yang asked, slowly becoming bored. Weapon's just didn't hold her attention the way they did for Ruby.
"I think we're about done here. You girls need anything before we go?" Taiyang asked.
"I could use some shotgun ammunition." Yang said.
"I don't really need anything." Ruby somewhat sadly said. It was times like these that made Ruby regret being the only one in her family who didn't have a weapon.
"Grab a few boxes of shells and we'll be on our way." Taiyang told Yang. The daughter of Raven quickly picked out three boxes of ammo before following her dad.
"Just gonna stick with the pistol and knife?"Taiyang asked once he ran into Ace. The red eyed boy had also picked out a holster for his sidearm.
"I don't need anything else." Ace answered.
"Better grab some regular ammunition for that gun. I doubt it can handle the kind of ammo you put in Straw and Spade." Taiyang said. Ace nodded as he grabbed more pistol ammo and clips. Having gotten everything they needed, Taiyang paid for their stuff and they exited the store.
"What now?" Ace asked.
"Wow we took a lot longer than I thought. We need to go back to the hotel and prepare." Taiyang said as he checked the time on his scroll. The small group race walked back to the hotel and made their way to Qrow and Taiyang's room.
"You guys get everything you need?" Qrow asked when they walked in. The kids were mildly surprised when they saw what their father/uncle was wearing.
"Qrow, why are you wearing that?" Ace asked as he looked over his adopted father. The grizzled huntsman had traded is Bohemian prince appearance in favor of a pair of black slacks and dress shoes with a belt. The belt buckle was Qrow's symbol, obviously custom ordered. The younger Branwen twin had a light grey vest over a dark grey dress shirt with the first few buttons undone. He was wearing his usual necklace with the crooked cross and had even trimmed his scruffy facial hair.
"Whaddya mean?" Qrow asked as he splashed cologne on himself.
"You look… clean." Yang said, struggling to find a way to accurately describe her uncle's appearance.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Qrow growled as he fixed an annoyed glance at Yang..
"I don't mean like you're not dirty. I mean that… well… it looks like you actually tried to look good today." Yang said.
"Yeah! You even got rid of that cape that's way too short for you!" Ruby chirped. Qrow sighed, wondering what was wrong with his cape.
"You didn't answer my question. Why are you dressed like that?" Ace asked again.
"Tai tell you the plan?" Qrow asked.
"The gist of it, yeah."
"I can't go in looking like a Huntsman or a thirty-something year old slob. I have to look like I go clubbing every night." Qrow said, doing one final inspection in the mirror. He nodded in satisfaction before walking to his bed and throwing a bundle of clothes at Ace.
"And this is?" Ace asked, easily catching the bundle.
"Appropriate clothing. You're not infiltrating a criminal leader's club in shorts and sandals. Put it on." Qrow commanded as he pushed Ace towards the door leading to his room. "Here's your clothing, Tai." Qrow said as he threw a bigger bundle towards his former partner.
"I'll be back in a few." Taiyang said as he entered the bathroom.
"I feel like I'm on one of those cop shows." Ruby whispered to her sister.
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Yang whispered back.
"So girls… how does it feel to be related to vigilantes?" Qrow casually asked.
"What's a vigl-vega-vagi-what you said?" Ruby asked, struggling with the new word.
"Someone who stops crime outside the law. Technically we're criminals, too." Qrow causally said.
"Don't tell them that. I'd like them to have a good image of their father, thank you very much." Taiyang said as he exited the bathroom. The father was wearing black, form fitting pants and boots on his lower body. His upper body was covered by a short sleeve black t-shirt that just managed to cover the tattoo on his shoulder. The shirt was tucked into his pants and held together by a belt that also happened to double as a strap to hold Qrow's sword. Qrow had even given Taiyang a black beanie to hide his blonde hair. The man had black leather gloves on his hands as well.
"I've never seen you wear this much black." Yang said. In this attire, her dad actually looked kind of intimidating.
"You look so cool!" Ruby complimented.
"I look like a thug. I never want either of you girls to dress like this, understood?" Taiyang said, using this moment to be a dad. Ruby and Yang heard the door leading to Ace's room open, followed by foot steps.
"How do I look?" Ace asked, causing Yang and Ruby to turn around to look at him.
"You look.." Yang trailed off, her face getting hotter by the second. Both he and Taiyang were wearing predominantly black and boots, but that was where the similarities ended. Ace wore black cargo pants, every pocket full of clips of ammunition. A pistol was holstered on his right side and the knife he had picked out was strapped to his lower back. On his hands were black, fingerless gloves. Unlike Taiyang's short sleeve shirt, Ace wore a form fitting long sleeve shirt. Strangely, the shirt continued up his neck and covered his face to just below his eyes.
Yang blushed heavily as she struggled to tear her gaze from Ace. She was used to a carefree Ace who constantly wore shorts and his semi-goofy hat. The Ace that stood in front of her right now was the complete opposite of what she knew. It was almost like night and day. Ace's toned upper body was outlined perfectly on his shirt. The mask extension seemed to lock Ace's red eyes into a permanent glare.
Ace looked dangerous.
Strangely, Yang liked it. She liked the feeling of Ace's crimson gaze piercing her body. It got her excited to know that in an hour this Ace would be using that pistol and knife on the criminals of Mistral. The young huntress in training found that line between friend and love interest blurring even further.
"Wow, you look like a ninja!" Ruby exclaimed, not at all fazed by Ace's appearance.
"Took me awhile to realize that this goes over my face." Ace commented as he pulled the extra fabric down past his chin.
"What's it for?" Ruby asked. Yeah it looked cool, but the silver eyed girl knew enough about the situation to know that focusing on wardrobe choices was not a good idea.
"Good question. Qrow, what's the mask for?" Ace asked his adopted father.
"Protect your identity." Qrow answered.
"Why?" Ace asked as he pulled the mask back in place.
"Tai and I are professional Huntsmen. We do this kind of stuff for a living. You haven't even graduated from combat school. It's better that they don't know who you are. Plus, it adds an intimidation factor to your appearance." Qrow said. Ace nodded as he pulled out his pistol to do one more inspection of it. Yang couldn't help herself as she discreetly took two pictures with her scroll. One was just Ace checking his firearm. Yang would later make that her screensaver. The second was of Qrow, Taiyang, and Ace standing in a semi-circle as they quietly discussed the plan. Ace was in the process of holstering his gun, Qrow was placing his trademark rings in his fingers, and Taiyang was placing Qrow's sword on his lower back.
All in al, it made for a fairly badass picture.
"What're you doing?" Ruby whispered to her sister.
"Taking pictures, what does it look like?" Yang shot back.
"Why?"
"When you have a family this cool, you gotta share it with the world." Yang responded back.
"Okay, so we're all dressed up. Now what?" Ace asked.
"Now, I make a call." Taiyang responded as he pulled out his scroll and dialed a number. "Hello? Yeah, they're ready. Thanks again for doing this. I really appreciate it. Bye." Taiyang said before hanging up.
"Who was that?" Yang asked in confusion.
"Was it someone super important who's gonna help you catch the bad guys?" Ruby excitedly asked. In her mind she was picturing a grizzled, retired police officer who was going on one last hurrah before calling it quits.
Ruby had a very active imagination for her age.
"Well… in a way, I guess." Taiyang said. "I called Pyrrhic."
So much for Ruby's officer.
"Pyrrha's mom?" Ace asked.
"Yeah. She's gonna be babysitting you two for the night." Taiyang said as he pointed at Yang and Ruby.
"Wait what?" Yang asked in alarm.
"We're spending the night with Pyrrha?" Ruby eagerly asked.
"Yep."
"Yay!"
"No!" Yang exclaimed in exasperation. "I can take care of myself. Why do I need a babysitter!?"
"She's going to make sure neither of you try to follow us while we're out. Besides, I figured you girls would get bored staying here by yourselves all night." Taiyang answered.
"But we haven't even packed! How are we gonna be ready by the time she shows up!?" Yang argued.
"I packed for you." Qrow spoke up as he pulled two overnight bags out from under the bed.
"... you know this is suspiciously well thought out." Yang commented through narrowed eyes.
"A lucky coincidence?" Taiyang said, nervously chuckling.
"You think it's gonna take all night to catch our guy?" Ace asked.
"No, but it'd be rude to barge in on Pyrrhic in the middle of the night." Taiyang said.
"C'mon Yang, it won't be so bad. Pyrrha might even let me hold her spear!" Ruby said, lightly drooling at the thought of holding Pyrrha's weapon
"Good for you." Yang sarcastically said.
"I expect both of you to be on your best behavior, understood?" Taiyang said while waggling a finger at the sisters.
"Loud and clear!" Ruby happily said.
"I guess." Yang grumbled. It's like the universe is trying to make me spend time with the redhead, Yang thought to herself as she picked up her yellow overnight bag from Qrow.
"I'm glad that's settled. Pyrrhic should be here in a few minutes." Taiyang said. Yang sat on her dad's bed with a huff, still not pleased at being babysat.
"I'll bring you some souvenirs from their hideout." Ace told Yang and Ruby. The silver eyed girl brightened even further while Yang showed no visible reaction.
"Nothing illegal." Taiyang said,
A/N: I know, I know. I have some explaining to do. First off, I apologize for the long wait. Real life has not been the kindest of people, but hopefully the worst is over. Now, remember that other half of chapter 8 I had ready? I don't know what happened, but when I went to upload chapter 8, the other half was deleted.
I had about 9k words written in that other half. Losing all that hard work kinda demoralized me. I did not have the will to write. Eventually, I began re-writing it bit by bit. As an apology, I was going to do a whole 20-30k word chapter for you guys and gals, but that was taking too long. So instead, I'm uploading what I do have done, and turning this into a two-parter.
I don't know when I'll finish part two, so I can't promise anything.
Once again, thank you for all the support you've shown this fic. It's kind of ironic. I uploaded chapter 8 when the first episode of RWBY volume four had just come out, and chapter nine didn't come until after the volume had ended.
Heh, excuse me while I feel bad about my work ethic.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns feel free to leave a review or PM me. I'll respond to the best of my ability.
That's about all I have to say. I'll see you all next chapter.
Until then.
