"Hmm, hmm, hmmmmm….hmm, hmm, hmmmmm~" Sonara hummed, happily skipping in front Rosalie as the two of them advanced through the halls. The brunette moved with vigorous purpose, so much that her friend had to try and keep up with her.
A few minutes earlier, Sonara had felt the urge to check out the selection of books at the school library. Initially she had asked Kyra to join her because of all the novels the girl read in her free time, but the invitation had been declined. So, as per usual, her partner and best friend agreed to go on her little adventure.
"Hey, ya think they have the story with the white rabbit and the disappearing kitty?" Sonara asked hopefully, skipping backwards to look at Rosalie.
The rose haired girl shrugged, smiling warmly. "Dunno. Guess we'll have to find out, won't we?" she ventured in a light tone.
"Mmm, I guess," Sonara replied, turning forward again.
The pair soon arrived at the library entrance. Sonara was positively bursting with anticipation, her feet fidgeting sporadically. She hadn't visited this part of the school much, and it felt really exciting! Anything new was always fun to explore. At least to her it was.
Just as Sonara reached for the brazen handle of the door, it abruptly swung outwards, almost smacking into the short-statured Huntress-in-training. She barely managed to jump out of the way without getting hurt. On the other side, four boys walked out of the library laughing and bragging about something the two girls couldn't quite make out. Sonara felt herself growling in anger at their seemingly obliviousness at what they almost did.
"Wh-Hey! Watch it!" she shouted heatedly, snapping at the four boys.
The four members stopped, looking at the small girl with blank stares. The tallest one, a boy with short brown hair and blue eyes, scoffed at the hostility he received.
"What?" he asked, annoyed.
"What d'ya mean 'what'?! You almost whacked me with the door, you big jerk!"
"Tch, did not. You just got in the way, short stack."
"What?! Why I…" Sonara growled furiously as she moved towards the boy, only to be stopped as Rosalie put out her arm.
"Look, we don't want any trouble," her pink haired partner stated, a look of calm sternness etched onto her face. "Just be more mindful of what you're doing."
All the boys looked at the two of them as if they were crazy, and their leader scoffed again in annoyance.
"Pfft, whatever," he mumbled. The tall boy then motioned for the other three to follow. "C'mon, let's get out of here. See ya later, ya broads."
"BROADS?! Grrr, that's it!"
"Don't bother… " Rosalie stated, halting her partner as she watched the four boys strut away. "They aren't worth it."
Hot steam shooting from her ears, Sonara glared daggers into the backs of the four young men, sticking her tounge out in defiance. She then rustled her muted brown hair around before entering the library, any lingering anger melting away when she saw the inside.
"Woooooooooooow….." the brunette breathed in awe, her sapphire eyes sparkling. It was ginormous! Rows upon rows of shelves chocked full of books, tables with holographic computers, and an entire second floor filled with wonders she couldn't even fathom! It was something truly spectacular!
Rosalie softly giggled at seeing her partner's amazement. "Shall we go check it out?" she asked, a light smile gracing her face.
With an affirmative nod from her partner, the duo went their way through the forest of literature. In a matter of minutes, they managed to locate many stories they were familiar with, as well as a plethora of new works. After an hour, the girls decided to take a break, delving straight into the worlds of fantasy and fiction they had found. Sonara instantly tore through the story she and Rosalie grew up on; the tale about a little girl who stumbles into an upside down world of whimsical chaos. As for Rosalie, she'd found a novel about the plight of twin princes who had conflicting ideals on how to rule, apparently filled with excitement, drama, and adventure.
The late afternoon suddenly turned to evening before either of the girls decided to stop, the lights in the library illuminating inside instead of the sun. Softly closing the musty book she was reading, Sonara stretched as far as she could go, her joints popping. It was definitely getting late, and Val n' Kyra were probably making something for dinner by now…
Rosalie mimed her partner, relieving the tension in her body as she finished reading. "Wanna head back now?" she asked.
Sonara nodded firmly. "Yep," the brunette responded, getting to her feet and grabbing the books she checked out. "Imma do one more look, though."
Nodding, Rosalie followed after Sonara as she scanned the shelves one final time. The young girl lightly zipped around the aisles, following a path she'd made after the first few times she browsed. But as she made a certain turn, something, or rather someone, abruptly caught her eye.
"Huh?" she asked herself, recognizing the person instantly.
Sitting at one of the tables alone, piles of books in front of them, was Gayle. The faunus looked spaced out, and fumbled with a intricate paper bird in her hands.
"Gayle?"
Upon hearing her name, the girl snapped out of her daze with a jolt. She looked around in alarm, only to relax after realizing who had called her.
"O-oh, um, hi," she greeted, straightening her uniform as Sonara and Rosalie walked up to her.
"Hey!" Sonara responded, jubilantly smiling. She then noticed the paper bird, and drew in closer to observe it. "Woooooooah…. That looks awesome!" she commented, stars in her eyes. "Did you make that?!"
"Y-yeah," Gayle responded, awkwardly stumbling for words, "I, uh, I did."
"That's. So. Cool~! Can you teach me how to do that?!"
Gayle perked up at her eagerness. "Oh, sure! Honestly, it's a lot easier than it looks."
"Awright!" Sonara cheered, giggling happily. Just as she was about to join the faunus, she then remembered what she was doing previous. It also helped when she noticed her partner behind her, waiting.
"Oooh, but maybe not right now. We need to head back," she said with a hint of disappointment, only to hop back into her normal, energetic tone, "but you'll definitely teach me later, right?!"
Gayle scooted her chair back, as Sonara was literally staring her in the face, and nodded. "Of course. I'll show you whenever you'd like," she replied with a friendly smile.
"Awesome! Thanks, friend!"
"You're wel-hguuurrrk!" Gayle was suddenly captured in a vice-like hug by Sonara, catching her completely by surprise.
"Can't…breathe…" the faunus whispered, running out of air.
"Alright, let her go," Rosalie stated calmly, and Sonara released on command. After catching her breath, Gayle let a faint chuckle escape, grateful to be free.
"So why are you all by yourself?" Rosalie asked the faunus girl.
"Huh? No, I'm not."
"Then where is everyone else?"
"They were just…" Gayle trailed off as she noticed the items around her table, and that they were all hers. "Oh...they must've left while I was still studying... " she mumbled absently.
Rosalie raised an inquisitive brow. "Gayle...how long have you been studying here?"
"Ummmm...since school ended, I think?"
"And...how long do you think you've been in here?"
"Uhhhmmmm….a few hours?"
"A few?" Sonara suddenly interjected, "it's nighttime!"
"Wha-?!" Gayle exclaimed, surprise written all over her. The faunus scrambled to look out a window, deflating when seeing the last few golden rays of light disappear over the horizon. She let out a sigh, slumping back into her chair and organizing her notes.
Sonara and Rosalie exchanged a glance.
"Hey… are you okay?" the shorter of the two asked, at the quietest volume she'd been the entire encounter.
Gayle smiled faintly, "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied quickly, "I just really lost track of the clock. It's not the first time, heh heh…"
Another shared glance, this time followed by a moment of silence.
"Well, okay!" Sonara spoke up, smiling cheerily, "if that's all, then we won't worry." She looked up at her partner. "We going now?" she asked.
Rosalie nodded, but her eyes were on Gayle. She studied the young faunus, and couldn't fight her growing hunch that there was more to this than what was presented. After all, she and everyone else on the team had begun to notice how unusual Gayle had been conducting herself recently. Regardless, Rosalie decided to follow her partner's example and play it off like she didn't notice. If Gayle wanted to talk about it, she'd probably go to her team instead of them.
"Yes, we should," Rosalie responded to her partner, also putting on a friendly face. "It was nice to spend a little time with you, Gayle. You going back soon?"
Gayle nodded.
"In that case, how about we lend you a hand with those books? Seems a little much for just one person. Not to mention all of your spectacular little paper creations."
"Huh? Oh no, no, no. I can take care of it," the faunus hastily replied. "Really, I got it."
"Aww, don't be silly!" Sonara stated, "We'd love to help! Friends help each other no matter what the problem!"
Before Gayle could protest further, Sonara stacked a good three-quarters of all of the faunus' books and hoisted them off the table, grinning happily as she walked to the exit. Rosalie felt her own smile widening and gathered all the remaining notes, leaving Gayle to carry her few paper creations. They followed after Sonara, Gayle's head bowed with fatigue.
"You know…" Rosalie told the faunus as she saw the girl lagging behind her. "If you want to talk about anything, Sonara and I are always be willing to listen. I bet the same goes for Valerie, and even Kyra. We've got your back," she said, smiling to hopefully lighten the girl's spirit.
Lifting her head, Gayle responded mildly, "Yeah, sure. Thanks…" before returning her gaze to the ground.
"Aaaand that's the last of it."
With Sonara finishing her story, Azure, Rember, Jad, as well as Valerie and Kyra sat at the table in silence.
"Mmmm..." the fox girl grimaced, ears slightly slanted down.
"That's why she showed up with you guys last night…" Jad mumbled.
"So I guess everyone knows for certain something's up, huh?" Valerie asked aloud, glancing across to the empty gap in KRME's row. Gayle was absent for lunch. Again. It was becoming increasingly difficult to find her at all outside of class, and everyone was worried about the young girl.
The three present members of KRME all nodded. They all knew for a while Gayle was troubled by something. Yet still she wouldn't open up, even after Jad and Azure (as well as Sonara and Rosalie) had their own chances to find out the problem. So now they were left with their own ideas on what was keeping her tongue tied.
"We've tried to get her talking," Jad answered, disappointed, "But it's been no dice for all of us."
"...Maybe she wants to deal with her problem alone." Kyra spoke up, tone apathetic. " Deducing from what you've said, she probably doesn't feel that she needs help. From what you've told us about her, she's been homeschooled, had private tutors, and is rather socially awkward. Doesn't seem like the kind of person that relies on others. Or am I wrong?" She finished, posing the cold question to a still audience.
At the moment, no one disagreed with Kyra's logic. But as the drawn out silence continued, Rember's ears perked up, and she looked to Sonara inquisitively.
"Question…" she asked, "Who were those four people you mentioned?"
"Hmm?" The short brunette perked up. "Oh! Um…" She looked around the room in fast sweeps, trying to locate the four boys from her story. "They're...right…there!" She exclaimed, pointing across the hall.
Everyone at the table glanced over to where Sonara pointed.
"Yes. That's them." Rosalie confirmed upon observing. It was the exact same four young men from before.
"Anyone know who they are?" Valerie asked.
"Oh, I do." Rember answered with a hint of hostility, fox ears lying flat. "That's team CRDL."
"The newest batch o' sons of bitches?" Jad piped up in response to his teammate's darkened look.
Rember merely hardened her gaze, not responding verbally. Across the room, the four members of CRDL hadn't seem to notice the seven stares directed at them. Azure was privately sizing them up, trying to get a good read on them. From what he could see, they were...mostly arrogant. The four boys were like a stereotypical pack of belittling jocks, always holding their power over any of the other students. Not to mention they were all extremely prejudiced, especially towards faunus. Now that he thought about it, Azure did recall them picking on numerous different faunus students since the beginning of the year. And the more he thought about it, the more his neutral expression began to crack with hints of disdain. He never liked those kinds of people, and when he checked on how the others were looking, neither did they.
"Hrmmm…" Sonara grimaced, "I really don't like them."
"For once, I agree with you." Kyra mumbled, to which her smaller teammate stuck her tongue out at her. Suddenly, CRDL left their seats, swaggering off to who knows where. As they left, Rember picked up bits of their conversation, fox ears twitching every which way. Azure caught the sight, and looked to his partner with questioning eyes.
"What's up?" He asked.
"I...I don't know." The fox girl answered, "It was hard to hear 'cause of all the noise...but…" Rember trailed off, but quickly finished her statement, "I think someone's in trouble."
Azure immediately honed in on how uneasy she sounded. Valerie, Kyra, and Rosalie caught the fox's foreboding words too, but Sonara and Jad missed it, the tall boy too occupied with lunch while he tried to figure out what was happening with his partner, and the young girl still giving the stink eye to CRDL as they left.
"You don't think...they're going after Gayle, do you?" Rosalie whispered worriedly.
"...Say that again."
Azure and Rember flinched upon hearing a deadpan voice beside them, cautiously glancing sideways at Jad. The tall young man apparently was paying attention and stopped eating, a literal dark energy exuding off of the boy. AMBR also were taken aback by the sight, and Rosalie cautiously spoke again.
"I...I said you don't think it's Gayle-"
"Yeah, I got it." Jad replied, cutting the girl off. Without another word, the redhead got out of his seat and made his way out of the dining hall, the black energy growing in size as he left.
Everyone still seated were frozen for a good moment as they watched Jad depart.
"...Rem?" Azure posed, looking at his partner.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" the fox girl answered, springing after Jad. Azure followed close behind, leaving his incomplete lunch behind. They also left a really concerned and confused team AMBR, unsure of just what they should do next.
"Jad, just hang on a sec." Azure urged as he and Rember blocked their teammate's path. They finally caught up to him after he got his head start. The tall young man halted, eyeing them both.
"What?" The redhead asked in a deadpan voice, an unsettlingly neutral look on his face.
"Look, just calm down." Azure insisted, holding firm. While he understood Jad's anger, they needed to handle this tactfully. His friend's 'Break things first, ask questions later' way of thinking would only get him (and probably everyone else on the team) in trouble.
"I am."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"...I doubt that...Look, before you go off and destroy everything, have you at least thought about a different angle to go about this."
"I have."
"How hard?"
"Very."
Azure paused. "So...?" He asked.
"I got a plan, Pasty." Jad assured.
Azure and Rember shared an incredulous glance.
"You're not stopping, are you?" Rember asked.
"Obviously."
"And if we let you go, what are you going to do?"
Jad took a moment to think, his teammate's still blocking him. "Oh, ya know… poke em." he answered, poking Azure to exemplify. The albino felt his face scrunch up in doubt. Whatever Jad wanted to do, it most likely involved killing CRDL. Or at the very least, life scarring beat-downs. No matter what Azure thought of, he couldn't calm down Jad, and the young man sighed in defeat.
"Is there anyway we can get Gayle and NOT have bloodshed today?" He asked his tall friend.
Jad's eyes focused on the hall ahead of the three of them, the black energy growing darker.
"Get to them before I do…"
Gayle sighed to herself as she slowly walked the school halls alone. The weight in her arms seemed heavier than usual today, which was odd as she was only carrying the usual amount of notes. She did feel a bit tired, but that wasn't going to stop her today. Soon as the food she had earlier kicked in, she'd be feeling better...right?
Subconsciously, the young faunus started to let her mind wander. The others were probably having their own lunches right now, likely talking about what's been happening with her. Gayle knew they were all wanting to know why she had been so...introverted by now. But everything was fine. If she was patient enough, the situation would solve itself. It always did, so no need to get them into her own problem.
Without warning, Gayle felt a force push her from behind. The girl lost her balance and fell to the cold floor, dropping her books everywhere.
Ow... Gayle thought to herself, rubbing the pain in her right arm away. She looked up to see who pulled had pulled the unprovoked move, and she felt her stomach churn.
It was the four boys who had been hounding her since, well, for a while.
"Hey, bookworm," The tallest one said, smiling smugly. "How's it going?"
Without a word, Gayle went about collecting her things. Her silence didn't sway her confronters, the leader addressing the faunus again.
"Hey, I'm talking to you."
It wasn't till being pushed backwards that Gayle responded.
"I heard you." She mumbled, looking in any direction other than at her aggressors.
The lead boy huffed in satisfaction, "Good. Then I also bet you remember hearing about those notes from Oobleck me and my team needed for tomorrow. You wrote a copy for us, right?"
"What? No. You should have written your-"
Gayle was suddenly lifted off the ground and forcibly placed against a wall. The move took her by surprise, her breath rushing out of her when making contact with the stone wall.
"No talking back." He growled. "You do what I say, and life goes on. But if you refuse, or you blab about this to anyone...You'll get yours, plus interest."
Gayle said nothing. She tried squirming free, but physical prowess was never her forte.
"Heh, nice try." He snickered. The other members went through the spilled contents of the faunus' belongings and found what they were looking for, tucking the notes away. "Thanks. Now, ah, how 'bout you make a copy for us next period? The boys and I have a busy schedule." The boy continued.
The small faunus felt her face scrunching into a frown. "Excuse me?! No way!" Gayle retorted, but stopped as the grip holding her up tightened, the girl shifting around to loosen it. After a moment The boy let Gayle go, the faunus slumping back down. She did her best to control the shaking in her body, trying not to appear frightened. She was outnumbered, outmuscled, out...well, just about everything by herself. This wasn't the first time she was picked on...but darn it, why couldn't she still not do anything!
"Cardin, We got what we need. Let's go before-"
"HEY! ASSFACES!"
Cardin, his teammates, and Gayle all jumped at hearing an enraged voice cutting off the tall young man. Looking around the quartet of boys, the short girl felt her heart skip a beat, surges of happiness engulfing her.
No...No way...! Gayle thought to herself in disbelief.
Azure, Rember, and Jad had come looking for her. All three of them carried an air of anger, with Azure's the most subdued, and Jad's the most visible, a black energy surrounding him whilst sucking away the light in and around the area.
"SOME RATS GONNA DIE TONIGHT!" Jad roared, wisps of the black energy breaking off before dissipating.
One of the member's of CRDL backed away in fear, and Cardin raised an eyebrow.
"And what's your deal?" He asked, acting tough.
"Excuse me? That's our friend." Rember hissed, getting into an offensive stance. "And nobody bullies our friends."
"Is that what you think this is? You shouldn't be so quick to judge. But I should've expected you faunus freaks to stand up for each other."
Rember hissed, the temperature in the room rising.
"Oh, we're done here…" Jad growled darkly, cracking his knuckles.
"Wait." Azure commanded, walking calmly in front of Jad to face off against Cardin. "...Let her go." he ordered the tall human boy, eyeing him sternly.
"What?"
"Let. Her. Go." the albino repeated slowly. "I don't care what you have to say. You'll let her go, and you will leave her alone."
Cardin ground his teeth together, refusing to crack under Azure's cold stare. Without another word, Azure walked past the bully, helped Gayle to her feet, and led her over to Rember and Jad.
Cardin scoffed again. "Are you kidding me? You're protecting her? Why would you or the one wearing a hat even bother defending someone like her? They're animals!"
Azure stopped in his tracks. It was then CRDL noticed a change in atmosphere. A darker, more foreboding feeling surrounded the white haired boy. It sent chills down their spines, and the latter three boys warily moved away.
"Jad..." Azure spoke up, not moving. The tall redhead looked over to his friend, barely containing his urge to maim the people responsible for hurting his partner. "Poke 'em." Azure finished, and Jad's eyes lit up.
Team CRDL were hit with confusion. Just what did he mean by-?
Suddenly, a miniature explosion sent the four boys into the far wall, the stone cracking whilst also leaving impact craters the four of them rested in. The black energy Jad had been collecting as his rage builded was being released, swirling around him wildly as he laughed maniacally.
"MUAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! TIME FOR THE RATS TO DIE!" The tall redhead yelled with zeal, the surrounding light seemingly being sucked into the blackness around him. He began sprinting towards CRDL, a crazed look in his eye. As the four young men recovered from getting blasted into solid rock, Jad jumped as high as he could into the air. With no warning the young man slammed back down into the ground as close as he could to his victims, and the entire school shook with an ear shattering explosion. The rest of KRME shielded themselves as best they could.
It took a minute, but the ringing inside everyone's ears eventually stopped , and the lingering dust settled. Cautiously, Gayle ventured a peek at the outcome of her partner's outburst. She felt her entire self be taken with shock. A large section of wall was demolished, with at least two more farther down also sporting a wide hole. So that's what her partner was capable of...
Stretching his arms, Jad let out an extremely satisfied sigh. Proud at his handiwork, he turned back to look at his team.
"Thanks, Pasty!" he chimed happily.
Azure hummed whilst closing his eyes. "Well, he finally pissed me off. I don't care anymore what Goodwitch will say." he explained.
Jad grinned, and picked up his partner off the ground. "So...how about you start letting us back you up a little bit more, huh? I'm always ready to break something or someone if you need it, Pipsqueak!" He said merrily.
"Damn straight!" Rember added, handing the lizard girl her belongings that had been strewn. "You're our friend and a part of the team, Gayle. Don't ever think you can't come to us for anything."
Gayle looked at her teammates. Azure chipped in a simple nod and a smile, and the combined boosts perked the lizard faunus right up.
"Okay." she replied, smiling. "Thanks, you guys."
"You betcha!" Jad beamed. The young man then turned on his heel, adjusting his hat whilst strutting towards the administrative offices. "Now let's go find Goodwitch! Oh, she's gonna be so proud of us!"
"By the way, you meathead, make sure to leave enough for us to get a hit in next time! I was so wanting to land one across Cardin's stupid jaw!" Rember huffed, following behind. Azure and Gayle were right behind them, listening to the continued banter of their partners. The young leader slid a glance in Gayle's direction, catching a small grin on her face.
"What's up?" he asked calmly.
The young faunus softly shook her head. 'Nothing." She replied plainly, and Azure let her be. Suddenly, Gayle remembered an extremely important something, stopping dead in her tracks. The small girl then ran as fast as he could in the direction of Jad's destruction.
"Hey!" Jad hollered when noticing Gayle was again running off on her own, "Where the heck are you going now?!"
"My notes!" Gayle shouted over her shoulder, "They still have them!"