A/N: Remember this fic? Yep, I'm back. Finally. Goddammit. Even though this fic reached 1000 followers, I stopped posting. I'm a bad author. I'm sorry, dear Guest worrying in the reviews. I couldn't post it on your birthday.
"Manus."
Manus popped an eye in the palm of Zone's hand.
They were sat on the dorm's roof, legs crossed in a posture of meditation.
"What is it, Zone?"
Zone shifted his position and looked in Manus' eye. He sighed. "I've been… I've been feeling down lately."
"Why?"
"You know… Since you told me… our bodies were merging."
This again?
Manus' eye narrowed, and he groaned. "I thought you got over it, Zone."
"Haha…" Zone laughed softly, scratching his cheek. "I wish… Yang cheered me up by taking me out to Junior's club, but… that doesn't mean I'm going to ignore the situation. I'll continue moving forward… however… it's not something we can just put aside."
"Is that so..." Manus hummed, "So, what are we going to do, Zone?"
"I was thinking… At the very least, we need to prepare a plan."
"A plan? Zone, I'm not sure… We can't prevent it from happening."
That's right. No action could be taken to prevent such a change.
Their bodies were slowly merging. Besides cutting off the arm – which would kill Manus – there was nothing they could do to stop it.
And Zone did not want to lose his arm.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing to do.
"Haaa… Yes, yes, I know that." Zone chuckled and smiled down at Manus. "What I mean is: we need a plan in case I… become crazy or something like that."
"Crazy?" Manus repeated, confused.
"If our bodies are merging, then… perhaps I am going to gain Grimm abilities, correct?"
"It's possible."
"Then it would be no surprise if I felt the growing need to… to kill… people. Besides, these anger issues are not going to stop, either."
"It's not really a need to kill, Zone…" Manus tried to explain. "It's… It's hard to put it into words."
"…Is that so…? Well… Nevertheless, we need to plan for the worst in the event that I lose control over myself. If we are prepared enough, it will be easier to overcome difficulties. Preparation is key." Zone explained, nodding to himself.
As expected of him, Manus mused.
Humans are smart.
Zone caressed his chin, deep in thought. "Losing control of Grimm instincts… I don't really know what that means. That's why, I need more information regarding how the Grimms think, Manus."
"Understood. I will do my best to answer your questions, Zone."
"Thank you." Zone smiled down at him. "To begin with, I've noticed you always seem to have complete control over yourself. But… there must be times when you really want to kill humans, don't you? What causes this?"
"Negative emotions," Manus answered easily. "Especially when we are walking in a crowd, there are too many humans around, and they all feel negatively to some degree. Killing the source of these negative emotions… It's like a relief for us Grimm… but at the same time, there is also a sense of satisfaction."
"I see… So, in short, just being close to humans makes you want to kill them?"
"Yes, Zone. They always feel something negative in their heads. Although, even without these instincts, I would still want to kill people."
"Eh, why?"
"Mere convenience and curiosity."
Zone rolled his eyes and scoffed. After a short pause, he ignored that comment and continued, considering the information.
"I already have trouble controlling my anger, so it's safe to assume I'll have problems with that Grimm sense too. In any case, in the worst case scenario, I'll probably have to leave Vale. Find somewhere without humans – without civilization – a place where I can't feel these negative emotions. Then I will try to control it like you do. Outside the kingdoms. You'll have to advise me at that time." Zone sent a glare to Manus. "And not the wrong kind of advice, okay?"
"I understand, Zone." Manus agreed, "That makes sense."
Zone sighed. "I'll admit that solution is only for emergency cases, but… we still need to set it up to make it easy for us."
He turned his eyes to Manus.
"With how things have been going... I'm assuming it's only a matter of time before our true nature is discovered... We'll need to prepare for that, too. Being prepared to leave Vale really is best..."
"Jaune? Weiss is asking for you."
Manus hid his eye swiftly.
"I'm coming," Zone answered to Yang as he stood up.
He raised Manus to his ear and muttered.
"Any question or objection?"
For leaving Vale?
No, that was perfect for Manus.
In fact, he couldn't wait.
To explore the world, outside the kingdoms.
"None, Zone."
"...Then we'll start the preparations this weekend."
Manus sighed at the memory and tapped his finger against the table, preoccupied.
Come to think of it, the Zone Arc of that time was quite depressed, to think such a situation would really happen.
"Haaaa..."
Manus did not manage to find Zone.
He searched everywhere in Vale but he did not find him.
He even sneaked into Ebony's house to check his stuff, but Zone hadn't come back to take anything.
The logical conclusion was that Zone had left Vale...
This was all very problematic for Manus.
Right now, he was at Junior's club, waiting for Junior himself to give him a couple minutes of his time.
Because, maybe Junior knew where Zone was?
But Manus doubted it.
With the current situation, considering Manus' state of being 'half-Grimm half-human', it was only logical to assume that Zone had become the same.
Especially after seeing Zone's black blood splattering on the ceiling and vanishing in dark fumes… There was no mistake possible.
Zone and Manus had fused… Yet, Manus had still managed to separate himself from Zone's body at the last moment.
This meant that there was a possibility that Zone had lost control over his killing intent and left Vale.
Considering the witness' reports from the Police, which described a blonde teen destroy Tukson's wall and run away in a back alley, this was most likely the case.
However, before heading into the wild-lands, Manus needed to search Vale first at several key places Zone could have gone. To make sure Zone wasn't in Vale.
Those places included Junior's club, Tukson's shop, Ebony's house… as well as other places that Zone and Manus had set up.
For example, before the holidays, Manus and Zone had buried the necessary supplies for basic survival in a specific place in Forever Fall, in case they were forced to flee Vale.
It was all in preparation because Zone was quite paranoid at the time.
That bag of supplies… was no longer there.
It had been dug up and taken away.
As expected, Zone had probably taken the bag and left Vale.
However… It was not the only thing they had set up.
They had also made a contract with a man from the underground.
That man lived in the campaign around Vale and rented horses, so Zone and Manus had booked one of the horses to be ready at any time.
This was all in preparation, in case something went wrong.
But Zone did not claim that horse.
Why?
This was why Manus was quite confused.
Was Zone still in Vale after all?
Or had he left and headed to the wilderness… but left the horse behind?
A horse was very convenient to have. Especially in the wild lands.
Why would he not take the horse?
"…I don't know…" Manus sighed dejectedly.
He may have become half-human, but Manus still lacked experience. He wasn't as smart as fully grown humans that lived for dozens of years.
After all… Manus wasn't even one year old yet.
In human age, he was a baby.
"…What should I do now?" Manus wondered in his seat, watching Junior talk with one of his henchmen.
Well… Manus had searched around a lot, but there was still one place he didn't check.
Beacon.
Tomorrow was Monday.
There was a slim chance that Zone would just go back to class.
So he had to check Beacon first, before searching out of Vale.
But… This really was problematic.
He didn't have much time.
"Eighteen days…" Manus mused, staring at the palm of his hand, "This body… is going to last eighteen more days. Maybe I can stretch it to twenty…?"
Manus sighed as he thought back to what happened two days ago.
No…
The flesh around the organs started melting.
No!
They were… really fusing!
Manus was going to get absorbed!
At the last moment, Manus desperately tried to get away from the white light.
NO!
After that, Manus had abruptly woken up a couple hours later, next to Zone's bed.
What had happened?
The one thing he noticed immediately as he sat up, was his body.
His body had instinctively taken the shape of a human's.
Looking a lot like Zone, in fact. Except Manus' hair was white and his eyes were red.
Standing up and performing some movements with his new body, Manus got used to it pretty quickly.
He found out he could still shape it to his will, like doubling the size of his arms and legs, making some tentacles or pop an eye in his palm, or even completely transforming into a Beowolf.
For survivability reasons, he didn't take the form of a Grimm, of course.
After examining, Zone's state, Manus decided it was best to clean everything and wait until he woke up.
With Zone in this state, it was impossible to go to the hospital.
All Manus could do, was wait for his recovery, and make sure nothing in the shop was suspicious to the Police. Zone's recovery could take days… He needed to gain time. That was why Manus cleaned up everything.
As he did just that, Manus noticed a second change in his body.
Aura.
Yes, Aura.
Manus had Aura!
Needless to say, he was quite excited. Aura was very powerful.
After some experiment, Manus was able to make his hand shine just like Zone.
This meant that their semblance was the same.
No…
Rather, this meant that their Aura was the same.
No, that was not it either…
… Was it even Manus' Aura?
It was confusing!
It felt like the Aura was Zone's more than Manus's.
Don't get him wrong, Manus was glad to have Aura – even if this Aura seemed to be Zone's Aura – but there was a problem.
A huge problem.
Something he noticed only after a couple of days passed.
The Aura was slowly decreasing instead of regenerating.
It was very worrying…!
This was why Manus supposed that this Aura wasn't really his.
After two days of searching Zone, Manus' Aura had decreased to 90%.
If it reached zero percent, Manus was afraid of what would happen.
He did have a theory.
Manus originally being a parasite-type Grimm, he should not have been able to leave Zone's body.
However, it seemed that wasn't the case anymore.
Manus was able to walk around, away from Zone's body, for days.
For a parasite… This was no small feat – perhaps even a miracle - and required energy.
There was a cost for that.
Aura!
That was how it felt like.
Manus was slowly consuming the energy provided by the Aura, just to be able to move around outside Zone's body.
Most likely, if the Aura reached 0%, the original ten minutes limit would apply, and Manus would wither in black fumes.
That's right… No matter what, parasites need a body to survive… Even if they had fused, Manus was still a parasite. A parasite that couldn't live without another body.
Somehow, Zone's Aura was what allowed Manus to maintain this form.
Was it Manus' Aura after all?
Manus didn't know.
What he did know, however, was that finding Zone was the absolute top priority.
Only eighteen days left.
Then… Manus would die.
As Manus was planning his future days, Junior finally arrived.
"My men said you wanted to talk," Junior grunted, taking a seat opposite from Manus.
"Yes." Manus nodded. "I would like to know if you have seen Zone, please."
"Zone?"
"Zone Arc."
"You mean Jaune Arc…?"
Manus raised an eyebrow. "That is what I said."
"… Heh, whatever." Junior chuckled, rolling his eyes. "You know, you look just like him." He remarked, eyeing him curiously. "I can ask around… What will you give me in exchange for this information?"
"Ah, yes, of course, you'd want to negotiate something in exchange." Manus hummed.
"Indeed," Junior grunted.
"I have no money," Manus stated.
"Do you have information then?" Junior suggested. "I can take that."
"I have no information either… I don't think…"
"Then you don't have anything…?" Junior scoffed. "Sorry, kid, but my services aren't free."
"Wait," Manus called as Junior was leaving.
"What?"
"I can crash your club." Manus raised a finger in the air. "Or kill you."
The man coughed on his drink. "W-what did you say?" He asked dangerously.
"You were on my kill list for quite some time now. Ever since you sold information to Adam Taurus." Manus explained the matter calmly. "But if you do that for me, I won't kill you. Is that all right with you?" He asked politely. "I think the trade is largely in your favor."
"… Get him out." Junior groaned to his men, who grabbed Manus by the shoulder.
Manus did not move from his seat.
"Ugh! What, he's not moving an inch!"
"Move, asshole!"
One of the men drew his red sword.
With a quick strike, Manus' fingernails sharpened and his hand pierced the man's chest through the heart, causing the clients around them to scream in surprise and terror.
As another man swung his weapon towards him, Manus raised his other hand in a precise movement and caught the man's sword with his hand.
"Do we need to do this?" Manus smiled, amused.
He was still sat on his chair. He hadn't even needed to stand up.
"Although… I will admit, this is fun!" Manus chuckled, and extracted his hand from the first man's chest, leaving the body to fall limply on the floor.
"Kill him!" Junior shouted over the humans' screams.
Everyone raised their guns towards Manus and opened fire.
Manus dashed to the side and bounced off a wall to propel himself towards their group. He swiftly beheaded a man in a single strike, before disarming the others and slashing their throat with his sharp nails.
"Waaaah!" The men screamed in terror.
A weird feeling spread through Manus' mind, as he continued to battle.
The ecstasy!
The fighting spirit!
The rush of battle!
The adrenaline!
The sadism!
The cruelty!
All of these things were…
Well… All these things were very human, in fact.
"Hahahaha!" Manus laughed as he continued to slaughter the men coming after him.
Manus was used to control his Grimm instincts, so he had no trouble walking through the streets of Vale without killing anyone.
However, the same couldn't be said for human emotions. Manus was not used to those.
So, when provoked into a fight… He would gladly take it.
The arrogance of the human race!
Who would have thought, becoming human would make Manus want to kill even more than before!
The humans panicked and continued to shoot him.
Manus did not block the bullets with Aura.
…It wasn't like the bullets could injure him, to begin with.
They merely bounced off his chest.
Manus had hardened his skin considerably to make a thick hide, which acted as an armor made of thin, white bones so that these puny projectiles could not harm him. This armored skin was concealed, of course.
"Waaah! W-we surrender!"
"We give up!"
"No." Manus refused and continued his assault.
Although Manus enjoyed the fighting and the killing, he actually had a decent reason to continue this fight even after they surrendered.
Basically, it was a test for his new body.
An experiment, to see if this new body could handle a group of twenty men armed with swords and guns.
"N-nooo! Get awayyy!"
Some henchmen started to flee, others kept fighting and firing their guns at him.
Widening his eyes, Manus' perception sharpened incredibly, and with a flash of his hand, he caught a bullet between two fingers.
"… So I can do that, too?" Manus wondered, amazed.
With a flick of his thumb, he sent the bullet back to the man, right in the head.
"Diiiie!"
A red sword finally managed to penetrate Manus' arm at a sensible spot without armor, nearly cutting off his limb.
To be able to move around, Manus couldn't harden all of his skin. The part around the articulations had to remain soft.
Just like the Armored Titan.
"Hm...?"
Manus merely raised an eyebrow and observed the wound, which started emitting black fumes.
"Y-you monster!" The man gasped and stumbled away, leaving his blade embedded in Manus' arm.
Manus narrowed his eyes, focused on his arm and contracted the muscle. With a silent twitch of his flesh, he catapulted the blade off his arm.
The sword was propelled away and pierced through the man's chest.
"Hmmm… This really is valuable data." Manus hummed.
He focused Aura into the wound and watched it regenerate, emitting ethereal white fumes.
It seemed this Aura could regenerate Manus' wounds… it wasn't really needed, but it was nice to know.
Satisfied, Manus turned back to the rest of the men.
There wasn't many left. At this point, all the clients had fled the scene too.
The Police would be here soon...
"Get away, everyone!" A familiar voice suddenly shouted. "We will handle him."
The men fled, letting two familiar girls replace them.
Melanie and Militia. Manus remembered them.
"I don't want to kill you," Manus remarked as his sharp-nailed hand came back to normal.
"Wh-whatever, you freak!"
"You will pay for this!"
"Scared?" Manus chuckled. "Haha, it doesn't take much, does it. I didn't even start to fight seriously."
"What do you want!"
"I wanted to use Junior's network to find Zone Arc." Manus explained, "Now, I'm thinking Zone will be mad at me if I kill you, but… I will still crush you if you get in my way. You should leave."
Their legs started shaking.
Manus continued. "Considering you have Aura and are decently trained, killing you would be a valuable experience for me, so… Don't test me. I need to learn, so I will fight back."
They took a step back.
No doubt, they sensed the danger. That was good.
Manus did not want to kill these two.
…If possible, he'd rather spend another night with them like Zone did last time.
"Junior!" Manus called. "I will give you until tomorrow. Okay?"
"What are you doing!" The large man barked to the twins. "Kill him!"
The twins widened their eyes in fear.
…Did Junior not sense his strength?
Well, Manus supposed it was easy to send other people to their death instead of fighting for himself.
Humans often did this sort of thing.
The twins gritted their teeth. After a moment of hesitation, they eventually dashed forward to attack him.
Manus sighed and let them land a blow.
His head merely tilted back as he endured Mélanie's kick.
"I-impossible!" Mélanie gasped.
Manus grabbed her ankle and raised it, making the girl struggle powerlessly in the air.
"Bastard!" Militia slashed her claw towards him.
Manus swung his arm, using Mélanie as a weapon and slamming her into her sister.
With another rapid swing, he threw Mélanie into Militia again, and the two were sent crashing down the stage.
"You can't defeat me," Manus called and jumped towards Junior. Landing in front of him, Manus' hand flashed and grabbed his throat. He glared down at Junior as the man struggled to break free. "Do you not understand the situation? What do I need to do to make you realize what's going on?"
"All right! Okay… Okay." Junior conceded, scared for his own skin. "I'll… I'll see what I can do…"
"Thanks." Manus nodded happily and let go of his throat.
Satisfied, he turned back to the exit as Junior coughed on the ground.
"W-Wait! Who's… Who's asking?" Junior questioned just as Manus was about to leave.
Manus paused, "Why should I tell you for free?" he replied without turning his head back, "And remember… Don't make this harder than it already is."
And with that, Manus exited the bar.
Hmmm, how many was that? He killed a dozen, right?
"Haa, that was fun." Manus clapped his hands together and looked around.
Now, what should he do?
Monday, at Beacon
Manus stepped outside the ship on the docks.
He had simply stolen a student's scroll to bypass the ship's identification scan.
Manus grinned widely as he looked around, expending his perception.
Zone was here! Manus could sense him.
"Of course he'd be back for his team." Manus smiled to himself.
Zone wasn't the type to give up easily.
Manus closed his eyes and allowed his Grimm sense to widen, getting an idea of Zone's location.
"Hmmm, hmm, hmmm."
Manus hummed a tone happily under his breath and headed towards the building where he had sensed Zone.
He was going to get quite the surprise, seeing Manus.
After all, he probably thought Manus had died, as he lost his right arm and all.
Was he sad, Manus wondered.
Manus would certainly be sad if Zone died.
As he walked, Manus noticed that there were a lot more students than before the holidays.
Those new students had different uniforms than the ones of Beacon. They were probably the students from Atlas and Haven coming for the festival.
It was very easy to sneak into Beacon with all the new students arriving for the Vytal Festival.
Because, there were also students without a uniform. From what he heard, those were from Shade Academy, in Vacuo.
So, should he need it, Manus could easily pass as a student from Shade academy… Since they didn't have a uniform either.
Eventually, Manus arrived in front of the building where he sensed Zone.
The cafeteria.
He was probably eating with his team. Why did he not inform his sister of his situation?
Manus stepped inside and scanned the tables, searching for Zone.
He instantly recognized Weiss, Yang, and Blake eating together.
But… Zone was not there.
"Hmmm…?"
Manus frowned confusedly and continued to scan the tables.
There had been a presence, he knew it.
Where…
Where was he?
Zone was here! Somewhere! Manus felt it!
He kept searching and searching, but he couldn't find him!
But there was a presence in this building, he knew it… Where?
After a long moment of scanning the students, his eyes were eventually strangely drawn to a person he didn't know.
Ashen-black hair and bright amber eyes.
Dressed in a uniform different from Beacon's… A student from Haven.
That woman was taking lunch normally with her team.
At first glance, she was just a student… But… There was something wrong with her.
As he observed her, suddenly, the woman confirmed Manus' suspicions.
As if she had sensed his gaze, she raised her head and met his eyes.
Manus felt a chine run down his spine.
GRIMM!
Manus froze in the entrance. His eyes widened as he kept staring into the woman's eyes.
In return, she straightened on her chair, narrowed her eyes and returned his gaze.
Like a staring contest between two alpha Beowolves.
This woman… Manus had sensed this woman…?
The same way he would have sensed Zone, he had sensed this woman.
Which meant… She was at least part-Grimm, too.
And… Zone wasn't here.
He hadn't come back to Beacon.
It wasn't Zone that Manus sensed… It was this woman.
Slowly, Manus' eyes moved down to scan her left arm.
There. It was there.
A parasite… Or was it? In her arm?
It was different than Manus's original form… Yet, so similar.
"…" Manus remained frozen, unsure of what to do.
He had always thought he and Zone were alone. But now there was someone else?
What should he do?
In the end, he decided to try talking to her.
Perhaps she knew where Zone was?
Making his choice, Manus stepped forward.
Bump!
Crash!
"Ah!"
Manus bumped into someone.
He was so absorbed in the staring contest, he had forgotten his surroundings.
Manus glanced at the person he had bumped into.
"I'm sorry! Ah… Jaune? Is that you?"
It was Pyrrha.
Mistaking him for Zone… It was true that he and Manus resembled each other a lot.
"No, I'm not Zone." Manus replied, watching her. "And it was my fault. I was not paying attention."
"O-oh…"
Pyrrha stood up on her own and looked down at her spoiled lunch, dejected.
Uncaring, Manus turned away.
Let's go back to this mysterious woman.
"Hey!"
A hand suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Who do you think you are? You bump into her like that, and you don't even apologize?"
"Hm?" Manus' eyes settled on the hand on his arm, dangerously tempted to twist it in a painful way.
But he controlled himself.
Manus was used to such a thing.
All this time being in Zone's arm, he had kept himself from killing every human they came across.
It was a struggle at first.
But now, he could easily rationalize his Grimm instincts.
It was the human instincts he was afraid of.
"And you didn't even help her up either?" The person continued. "Show some respect!"
"Dude, do you even know who you bumped into?"
The girl gripping his arm was also a student of Haven. She was accompanied by another guy, and they both stood between him and Pyrrha, looking offended for some unknown reason.
"A-ah, it's okay, Reese!" Pyrrha told the two. "I don't mind!"
"It's not okay!" The girl named 'Reese' protested.
The guy beside her nodded furiously. "People like him should show more respect towards a champion like you, Pyrrha."
"…" Manus merely stared at them curiously.
People around them, too, started watching the altercation.
Manus took a deep breath, toning down the annoyance rising within him.
Not good… They were gathering attention. Manus didn't want attention.
Okay… Let's handle the situation expertly just like Zone would.
Which meant… talking it out.
Surely, Manus could do that.
What could go wrong.
"All right." Manus began, turning his body to fully face the two, "First, you asked who do I think I am? Isn't that obvious? Perhaps you wanted to learn my name by asking such a strange question? Then, my name is Manus.
Second. While I did not explicitly apologize, I did recognize it was my fault and explained that I was not paying attention. Furthermore, Pyrrha said herself that she didn't mind. Isn't that considered enough by human's standards?
Also. I didn't help her up, yes. Why is that a problem? Did she need help with that? Her legs seem to be working just fine." Manus waved to Pyrrha's legs, who shifted awkwardly. "She can perfectly stand up on her own.
Finally. Do I even know who I bumped into? Yes, this is Pyrrha Nykos. Why does that have to do with anything? Just because I know who she is, does it mean I should change my behavior?
I apologize, I am not familiar with human traditions, so please excuse me if I didn't do something that was expected of me, or if I said something strange. It was never my intention to offend anyone.
I genuinely don't know why you seem so upset, so please tell me what I did wrong." Manus finished.
.. There!
That should do it, right?
Manus had answered each question they had asked and also explained his circumstances, stating he was struggling with human interactions.
It was perfect!
Manus smiled proudly and looked expectantly at the girl named Reese, waiting for an equally constructive reply.
But no…
No.
The girl just blinked repeatedly and gaped at him like a fish for a moment, while the guy frowned and grimaced distastefully.
Manus raised an eyebrow, confused.
What's wrong? Why don't you answer my questions? I've answered yours.
A few people chuckled around them.
…This… reaction… Had Manus already screwed up somehow...?
Zone! I need you!
"Y-you!" The girl finally snapped and grabbed Pyrrha's shoulder, who grimaced awkwardly. "This is Pyrrha Nykos, the strongest student in our year, she's incredibly famous!"
"So, of course, you have to show some respect!" The guy followed, crossing his arms.
Manus cocked his head to the side, genuinely confused.
"Why? Is the course of action different depending on one's fame and strength?"
"Of course!" The girl smirked victoriously.
"I see." Manus mused. "So for example, if I bumped into you, I wouldn't have to apologize or show respect, then."
"Wh-wha…?"
"Because I don't know you. And you also seem very weak." Manus pointed out, logically enumerating the conditions she had given. "So fame and strength are all that matter…? Is that really correct…?"
Manus frowned. That wasn't what Zone told him at all.
Zone was always fair to everyone… And respected everyone, even weak… That did not make sense, of course, but Manus had always assumed it was something specific to humans.
"Y-you!" The girl growled angrily, pointing an accusing finger.
Yet… Why was their conduct so different from Zone's? Was it because they weren't from Beacon?
Could it be, Zone was actually the one in the wrong?
"Of course not!" Pyrrha intervened and stepped forward, looking offended. "You have to be kind and respectful to everyone, regardless of how strong or famous they are. And you can treat me like anyone else. It… It really doesn't matter…"
"Yes, that's what Zone told me too." Manus nodded to her and got a radiant smile in return.
"Oh come on!" Reese rolled her eyes. "There's no way you can treat Pyrrha freaking Nykos like everyone else!"
… Why was this girl so obsessed with this matter?
"… You are annoying." Manus remarked matter-of-factually.
"Wha- what did you say?!" The girl's eyes narrowed and leaned forward, in a vain attempt at intimidation.
"You. Are annoying." Manus repeated politely.
At this point, the conversations around them had stopped and people had started staring.
Humans. Manus scoffed to himself.
"U-um…" Pyrrha's eyes switched from Manus to Reese uncomfortably.
"T-take that back!" The girl clenched her fists.
"What?" Manus blinked, confused. "I didn't give you anything, how could I take something back?"
A few students from the tables around them started laughing.
"You think you're being funny?!" The guy asked as the girl blushed bright red.
"No." Manus answered. "However, judging from the reaction of the people around us, perhaps I am? I don't really know. I'm sorry."
Laughter intensified around them.
What was so funny, Manus wondered. He didn't understand.
At that moment, Reese finally snapped.
She threw a punch towards his face.
The hit landed, and Manus stumbled back under the force of the blow.
This girl was clearly a huntress in training. Stronger than the average student, in fact.
A few people started cheering around them.
"Hah! How's that!" The girl smirked cockily.
"…?" Manus straightened on his feet and answered her question honestly. "That was weak."
And then he punched her in the face.
In Rome, do like Romans.
The girl was sent flying above the crowd outside the cafeteria, making the crowd cheer even louder.
"How's that?" Manus called after her.
Reese's friend gritted his teeth, and Manus sensed his anger spike. "Dude, how could you punch a girl?!"
"I just reared my arm back and threw it forward," Manus answered, surprised that someone didn't know how to throw a punch.
"She's a girl, dude! I get you're from Vacuo, but we should treat them like princesses, not punch them in the face!"
Why was this guy behaving so irrationally?
Humans don't make sense!
"What…?" Manus shook his head, unable to comprehend what he just heard. "Why would you treat every girl like a princess, when there's only a bunch of them who are. And does that mean if a girl punches you, you're not going to defend yourself?! That doesn't make any sen-"
"Shut the hell up!"
It happened very fast.
The guy drew a gun and shot a bullet at Manus.
In a flash, Manus' hand moved swiftly with extreme precision and caught the bullet with his bare hand.
There were gasps from the crowd around them as people started to talk among themselves.
"Stop," Manus said, eyes wide and alert, ready to catch another bullet.
"F-fuck you!"
The guy turned around and fled the scene, red-faced.
What?
You're going to flee?
Just now, what was that for then?
That didn't make any sense!
Hey, hey, what was that for?!
What the hell! Humans don't make any sense!
The crowd started clapping their hands and congratulated Manus.
"Wow!"
"He caught the bullet! With his bare hands!"
"Amazing!"
"…?" Manus looked around him, confused at the applause.
Manus had always left the 'social' work to Zone. So it was not surprising that he was completely lost, but...
It was so confusing! Why were they all…? Manus didn't understand...!
In the end, hesitantly, Manus decided to clap his hands too.
In Rome, do like Romans.
It only caused another round of laughter in the crowd.
…I give up. I can't understand them.
Killing them is easier... I wish I could just kill the annoying ones.
Manus shrugged to himself and turned back to Pyrrha.
"Sorry if my attitude wasn't correct, I'm not used to this."
"I-it's fine! I think you are great!" Pyrrha laughed awkwardly as they walked away from the center of the attention.
"Really?" Manus smiled. "It was my first time."
Manus was quite proud of himself.
He had successfully handled the situation just by talking!
…There was definitely no punching involved.
"Yes!" Pyrrha nodded enthusiastically. "You're… like a breath of fresh air, honestly."
"Ah?" Manus blinked, confused once again, before shrugging. "Did you see Zone?"
"Zone?" Pyrrha blinked. "Oh, you mean Jaune…?"
"That is what I said." Manus raised an eyebrow.
Pyrrha scratched her head. "U-um, he's not here at the moment… He should arrive any minute now. Are you one of his friends?"
So Zone's friends were not informed yet?
Well, it had only been two days, but still...
"Yes… I was hoping to find him here…" Manus sighed.
"Um, if that's the case, perhaps you can wait for him with us?" She asked. "We could eat together with my and Jaune's team."
Manus paused and looked back at the ashen-haired woman with a Grimm parasite in the arm.
She was back to eating and talking normally with her team.
"...We could…" Manus answered simply as he hesitated. Should he go talk to this woman?
There was a blank.
"W-well, let's go then." Pyrrha flushed and grabbed his hand.
"Huh?"
Wait, Manus just said that he could.
But he never said he actually would eat with them? Why was she assuming that?
It must be another assumption that humans make. Manus deduced, deep in thought as he was dragged by Pyrrha. Perhaps a form of politeness?
Then, me just answering 'we could' was an implicit agreement to eat with them.
Manus groaned tiredly, gripping his head.
Humans were so complicated!
Manus was going to have a lot of trouble to learn how to behave like one.
He was really looking forward to finding Zone. They could teach each other a lot.
Manus and Pyrrha arrived at the table.
"Hey Pyrrha! How were your holidays?"
Silver eyes!
Flee!
Escape!
Kill!
Manus tensed, but easily managed to tone down his instincts.
His Grimm instincts had become quite weak compared to when he was in Zone's arm. Was it because he had become human?
Either way, Manus could control himself in front of this silver-eyed monst- no, in front of Ruby. Her name was Ruby.
"I see you brought back a tasty snack," Yang remarked, eyeing Manus.
"Th-that's not it at all!" Pyrrha flushed, blushing red. "And honestly, it was quite boring, Ruby."
"Aww. Next time just visit us in Patch!"
"Ah, sure!"
Meanwhile, Manus decided to explain the situation to Yang. "You're wrong, her snack dropped on the ground. I bumped into her earlier."
"Ah, it's okay…" Pyrrha chuckled embarrassingly.
"So now she has you instead?" Yang asked with a grin.
Manus frowned. "What do you mean, instead? I'm not a snack."
"Maybe you are." Yang winked, wriggling her eyebrows. "She seems quite thirsty, you know."
"N-No!" Pyrrha gasped.
There was a round of chuckles as they sat down.
Manus felt like he was missing something again.
Oh well.
He was getting used to it rapidly.
Manus grabbed the pitcher and served Pyrrha a glass.
"Here. If you're thirsty, you should drink more." He suggested.
"I-I'm not!" She protested, before sighing and taking the glass. "…You know what, maybe that's a good idea."
"Of course it is. It's always good to drink when thirsty." Manus nodded.
"…Are you for real?" Yang chuckled at Manus. "Even Ruby got that one. How dense can one be?"
"H-hey, what do you mean!" The silver eyed monster in question protested and turned to him. "U-uh, I'm Ruby, Pyrrha's partner! A-and I'm definitely not dense…"
"And I'm Noraaaaaaaa-"
"I know." Manus raised a hand to stop the introductions.
"-aaaaa…? Not fun." Nora pouted.
"You know?" Ren raised an eyebrow.
Manus nodded. "Zone told me about all of you."
"…Zone?" Weiss blinked.
"Your team-leader. Zone."
"Jaune." Blake corrected.
"Zone, yes." Manus nodded again.
"No, his name is Jaune." Blake shook her head.
"…That is what I said…?" Manus frowned, scratching his head just like Zone would in such a situation.
"No…" Blake shook her head. "You said Zone."
"Yes…"
"It's not the same." Ruby shook her head, and leaned towards him, causing Manus to tense. "Listen. Zzzzzzzzzzone. Jjjjjjjjaune."
"Zzzzzzone?" Manus tried.
"…Oh my god." Yang slapped her hand on her forehead.
Weiss intervened. "Zone begins with a Z. Like zombies. Whereas, Jaune begins with a J. Like… Jacuzzi or Jacket."
"Jacuzzi or Jacket?" Manus repeated.
"Yes, that's it!" Weiss approved, causing Manus to smile.
This was nice.
It was just like when Zone was being tutored by Weiss.
"Now, repeat after me," Weiss demanded with authority. "Jacuzzi, Jacket, Jaune."
"Jacuzzi, Jacket, Zone."
Another round of laughter.
Weiss grimaced and threw her arms in the air. "I give up!"
"Are you one of Jaune's cousin or something?" Yang asked. "You look a lot like him."
"No..." Manus answered.
"Maybe a Schnee cousin then?" Weiss questioned. "I thought white hair was supposed to be a characteristic from my family."
"Well, it's not." Manus replied to Weiss, who frowned at him. "In fact, I'm a faunus."
"Is that so..." Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"And Jaune told you about us?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes." Manus nodded. "I'm Manus. Zone talked about me?"
There was a pause.
"Whaaaat!" Nora gasped.
"Manus! So you're that Manus!" Weiss pointed an accusing finger.
"What the hell, casually sitting with us in Beacon's cafeteria!" Yang gaped. "Isn't the Police looking for you?"
"Do you know where Jaune is?" Blake questioned.
"He hasn't come to school today!" The silver ey- – Ruby nodded.
"And he hasn't answered our messages, either," Weiss added.
"No, I don't know where Zone is." Manus answered, "In fact, I came to Beacon to find him… I expected him to come back to Beacon for his classes. But he's not here… I've searched everywhere... He's disappeared."
There was silence as Manus sighed sadly.
"I'm sure he's okay." Pyrrha eventually said.
"It's Jaune we're talking about." Yang nodded confidently, "He'll come for sure."
"Yes, he'll be there." Blake agreed. "Even if he's in a bad situation, he's the type of stubborn guy who doesn't give up easily."
"Yeah!" Ruby agreed.
Manus hummed, frowning at them. "Do you have no idea what happened to Zone? Ebony didn't tell you?"
"No…?" Blake raised an eyebrow.
"Did something happen?" Weiss asked. "I just came back from Atlas."
Well, it had only been two days. It wasn't that surprising that they hadn't heard the news… Vale was big kingdom.
But Ebony should have at least warned them, right?
As Manus was about to explain everything, they were interrupted by Miss Goodwitch.
"Mr… Manus?" The professor called. "Is that right? "
Alarm bells immediately started ringing in Manus' head. How did she know his name?
"…Yes?" Manus cautiously answered.
"Are you a foreign student, Mr. Manus? From Shade? A student reported me an incident. You were caught on camera, fighting with two students of Haven…"
"Ah."
"You shouldn't fight during lunch time." She started lecturing. "The Vytal festival is an event to promote peace between the kingdoms, you children are representing your schools, so please behave properly."
Oooh. That was how she knew his name.
And… That was why that guy had fled, too?
I see. He fled to send another human to confront me?
Humans...
"It wasn't his fault," Pyrrha intervened.
"They threw the first punch… and besides, I'm not a student." Manus answered.
Miss Goodwitch narrowed her eyes. "No? But… Do you have an authorization for entering the school's grounds?"
"No. I did not know I would need one." Manus explained, and added, "Do you know where Zone is?"
"…?" Miss Goodwitch blinked confusedly.
Manus had his priorities!
Even in such a situation, he would ask if they knew Zone's whereabouts.
Miss Goodwitch frowned. "You will need to come to the school's secretary to receive the necessary papers, Mr. Manus."
"I don't need these papers. I'm leaving anyway." Manus shrugged. "Now, please answer my question, as I have answered yours."
Her eyes widened in consternation.
Team ABYS and RPNN's too.
Did he say something wrong again?
"Manus!" Pyrrha hissed. "This is the deputy headmistress! She's the one acting right under Ozpin and carrying out his orders directly!"
"Really? I thought that kind of work was called slavery?"
Pyrrha visibly paled, her fear suddenly sky-rocketing.
Crap, he must have said something wrong.
"…I do not believe I know who this Zone is." Miss Goodwitch groaned in a dangerous tone.
"Zone Arc."
Her eyes lit up in recognition. "Do you mean Jaune Arc?"
"That is what I said." Manus frowned.
Miss Goodwitch glanced at the others who had been observing them, only to receive equally confused and helpless looks.
She turned back to Manus, frowning. "Well… The headmaster wished to talk to team ABYS about the situation regarding their team-leader and requested their presence in his office. I will be able to tell you more after the meeting… But you need an authorization to stay at Beacon."
"Can I come to this meeting?" Manus requested.
"Strangers are not…"
"I'm not a stranger. Zone and I are friends. I have been searching for him all the weekend. I need to find him urgently, please let me come."
Miss Goodwitch frowned. "Even so, this is not…"
"He speaks the truth!" Blake intervened. "Jaune and Manus are very close, I think he can help."
"Can we come too?" Ruby jumped on the occasion.
Miss Goodwitch sighed. "… I suppose I can ask sergeant Arc to allow your presence." She reluctantly allowed. "…as she will be directing the meeting."
Ebony was directing the meeting? With the headmaster?
This… This sounds like a pretty important meeting…?
Was it really okay for Manus to attend such a meeting?
"Come, then, students. The meeting will begin soon."
"Y-yes!"
They went to the headmaster's office.
Miss Goodwitch made them wait for a bit outside, probably to ask Ebony to let them in.
After a short moment, they were allowed inside.
Stepping into the office, Manus immediately noticed.
In addition to Miss Goodwitch, Ozpin, Ebony, and team ABYS and RPNN, two more people were already there.
A well-dressed man, wearing a white overcoat, with a gray undercoat, black sweater, red necktie and a white glove on his right hand. His hair was black with some gray areas.
General Ironwood, Manus immediately recognized. The man was quite famous.
The other man was a tall highly muscular man with a fairly intimidating physique and blonde hair.
He was facing the window, his back turned on them.
Manus did not recognize that man, but he sensed he was quite strong.
Other than that, Manus was a bit worried about seeing Ozpin face to face.
"Who's this?" Ebony asked, glancing at Manus.
"I'm Manus. I'm also searching for Zone."
"Oh… It's you." Ebony's eyes widened in recognition. "You look a lot like Jaune... I guess you can stay... I'll have a few questions for you if that's okay."
"Yes." Manus nodded.
Ozpin did not talk much during the meeting.
It was mostly Ebony.
She was basically informing them all of the attack on Tukson's shop, and the current state of the investigation.
Her voice seemed quite strained. She was clearly exhausted.
Manus did not know why, but he was a bit worried for her.
...Was she sleeping enough?
"… and so, Jaune was reported missing." Ebony was saying. "And Tukson was presumed dead... though we still haven't found the body."
…Heh.
As expected, they hadn't found Tukson's body.
Manus smirked in his mind. This meant that the method of cutting a body into pieces and throwing these pieces into a lake wrapped in bin bags was a valid method to hide his kills.
Manus was definitely going to do it again in the future.
Ebony continued. "…We are still searching for them… and at the same time, we are also investigating the fuckers who attacked them.
We believe the attack was planned by the White Fang, considering Tukson and Jaune's history with the organization. Furthermore, we believe Tukson was the initial target, as he had been leaking information regarding the White Fand to the Police... However, we still lack the required evidence." Ebony finished.
Manus glanced to Zone's friends.
They seemed devastated by the news.
Especially Blake.
"Y-you said Jaune was injured… How bad?" Blake asked, her voice shaking.
There was a solemn pause. Yang and Weiss grabbed Blake to support her.
"J-Jaune… He… He…"
Hm?
Ebony was struggling to talk too…?
Well… It was true Zone had been really badly injured.
In fact, Zone had died.
His heart had stopped and all. But they shouldn't know that.
"His arm was severed." Ironwood declared for her, stepping forward. "Fortunately, a witness used his scroll to film Mr. Arc running outside in the street… And the video is clear. There is no mistake… His arm is missing. We do not know where he went and why he would run away yet… And we did not find the arm, either."
This time, Weiss and Yang too were hit like a hammer, along with team RPNN.
"Even when the Police find him..." Miss Goodwitch spoke. "Even then… Mr. Arc will not be able to go back to class. He will need to train under re-education for at least six months, and take a year off Beacon."
Zone's friends were rendered speechless, their brains not processing what they were hearing.
Why was everyone being so dramatic about this incident?
It was just an arm.
In the first place, Zone had already lost his arm six months ago when Manus had attacked him.
Zone was used to not having an arm.
Well, for humans, Manus supposed it would be inconvenient to lose an arm.
But it was fine. Manus was pretty sure he could make a new arm for Zone anyways.
But now that it has become public… perhaps it was not a good idea?
… Re-education for six months? A year away of Beacon?
That was not good. Not good at all.
"A year?" Manus asked. "R-really?"
"That is the procedure, yes." Miss Goodwitch nodded.
"…Ridiculous! For Zone, it wouldn't even take a month to recover!"
"…You seem to be quite acquainted with my son."
The blonde man Manus had noticed before turned to face them.
His blue eyes landed on Manus heavily.
…Son?
This man was… Zone's father?
…Crap! This was bad. Very bad. If he discovered Zone passed for a faunus… Things could get even worse than they already were.
"Yes…" Manus nodded carefully, holding his gaze. "I know him better than anyone."
"…James?" The blonde man sighed and turned to the general. "Please explain the matter to this young man."
The general turned to Manus with a sympathetic look on his face. "…It's true that with enough effort, one can shorten the time required for re-education to four months, maybe three, at best." General Ironwood explained to Manus. He sighed solemnly. "I speak from experience… However, in this case, it wouldn't matter, as Mr. Arc is a student."
"Indeed." Miss Goodwitch nodded. "As a student… It is in the school's regulations that he takes a year off, as he is severely injured." She explained.
"…Your regulations are bad then." Manus stated. "You should make a decision based on the student's abilities to recover."
Goodwitch's eyes widened. "How dare you!"
"We all know Zone is not going to stop training," Manus continued, "Remember his fourteen-hour training schedule. Why not have him do it at school? To monitor him? Surely you can make exceptions." Manus looked at Ozpin. "Isn't that right, Headmaster?"
"Yes, Ozpin." Zone's father scoffed, giving a heavy glare to Ozpin. "Surely you can make an exception. You already accepted his transcripts, after all. It's not like it could backfire in any way!"
"Dad." Ebony warned.
"…Let us not lose sight of our objective." Ozpin declared, glancing at Zone's father warily before turning to watch Manus with attention. "We can discuss this matter after sergeant Arc finds her brother. Today, we are here to inform everyone of the situation, and to gather information on his and Mr. Arc and Tukson's whereabouts. Do any of you happen to have such information?"
"Anything will help!" Ebony added, looking at them with a hopeful expression.
"No," Manus answered for everyone, while Zone's friends shook their heads quietly.
"...But, um... Can we see the video?" Manus asked. "The one filmed by a witness... If it's possible?"
Wordlessly, Ironwood played the video on a hologram on top of Ozpin's desk.
The scroll's camera was aimed at a panting figure in the middle of the street.
Dust was still settling down from the destruction of the wall.
The sound of an alarm was ringing. Drivers used their horns, too.
The figure clearly missed an arm, however, because of the dust, they couldn't distinguish his features clearly.
With a scream of rage, the figure fled into a back-alley.
"..."
Silence fell in the room.
"We... We are supposing that Jaune became incredibly angry once he found out that Tukson was dead and that his arm was missing..." Ebony explained in a hesitant tone. "He may be after vengeance... What do you think?" She asked. "You're his friends."
"Yes, it wouldn't surprise me," Manus answered, jumping on the excuse.
"From what I know..." Ren spoke up, "Jaune struggled to control his emotions during the first semester. I even offered my help. In particular, I would go as far as to say he had anger issues. It wouldn't be surprising to me if he really went after the ones responsible for vengeance."
"Indeed," Manus confirmed, all too happy to seize every excuse coming left and right.
Better have anger issues than to be a Grimm.
"I-I see... I had no idea." Ebony mused. "Anyone else...?"
The girls were still speechless.
It seemed like only Manus and Ren were able to speak.
"Then that is all, I'm afraid," Ozpin said solemnly. "I am truly sorry for what happened to Mr. Arc. If any of you need anything, please let me know." Ozpin turned his eyes to Ebony and Zone's father. "Please keep us informed of the investigation, sergeant."
"Of course…" Ebony sighed. "General...?"
"Yes, like promised, I will pass a missing person appeal to all my men stationed in Vale." Ironwood declared.
"Thank you."
Zone's father stayed quiet, but by the look on his face, it was clear he had his own plans.
"Now, why don't you go and take the day off?" Ozpin kindly suggested to Zone's friends. "I'm sure you must all be worried."
"Y-yes…" Weiss nodded.
"I'm done here too." Ebony declared, shared a look with her father and left with him. "Manus? Come with me please."
"Ah, okay." Manus moved to follow after them.
"Mr. Manus." Ozpin called. "I would like to talk with you, if that's okay with you."
…Crap.
"Just a minute, headmaster," Ebony called, and turned to the nervous Manus in front of the elevator.
She leaned forward and lowered her voice, making sure no one heard them. "Manus. Before the holidays, Jaune was kidnapped by the White Fang and managed to escape... He said you helped him escape their camp. You also called the Police to inform them of their operation at the docks."
"Yes?"
"... Thank you..." Ebony reached her hand and pat his arm.
"No, it was nothing." Manus shook his head. "If it's Zone, I'll always come to save him."
Because without him, I would die.
Ebony smiled at him. "I'm glad you're his friend. Do you... know anything about the White Fang's involvement?" She asked, staring into his eyes.
Ebony was not mentioning Manus' supposed involvement with the White Fang...?
And why was she being so discreet?
Was she... protecting him?
"No..." Manus answered. "I don't know anything."
"Is that so..."
Manus sensed a wave of disappointment surge in Ebony's heart.
"W-well... I guess you can't be of any help then... Take care of yourself, Manus."
She pushed the button of the elevator and stepped back with Zone's father and team ABYS and RPNN.
"Ebony!" Manus called just as the doors closed. "I will keep searching for Zone. I'm going to find him! Don't worry!"
Her eyes widened for a brief moment, and then the door closed.
"..."
Manus turned back to face Ozpin, Ironwood, and Goodwitch. "What is it, sir?" He asked cautiously.
"You seem very close to Mr. Arc, to make such a promise," Ozpin observed.
"Close?" Manus blinked. "No, he's probably quite far..."
"...That's not what I meant..."
"Ozpin." Ironwood intervened. "Let's cut to the chase already."
"...You're right." Ozpin smiled and slid a scroll to Manus across his desk.
Manus approached and picked it up.
A video was playing on it, displaying a fight in the cafeteria. On the screen, Manus could clearly be seen punching someone with tremendous strength and catching a bullet.
Manus sent a glare to Goodwitch, who returned the gaze.
They sure were working fast on these cameras… It was impressive.
Manus raised a questioning eyebrow at Ozpin. "What of it?"
"You seem quite skilled for a civilian." Ozpin declared carefully.
"Ozpin…" Ironwood warned.
"And you also possess a strong sense of justice, as you have warned the Police of the White Fang's operation at the docks three weeks ago, despite the risks involved." Ozpin continued. "Tell me, young man, have you ever thought of becoming a Huntsman?"
There was a silence.
Manus stared dumbly at Ozpin, not sure he had heard correctly.
He glanced at Goodwitch again, who was observing him, and then at Ironwood, who didn't look happy with the suggestion.
Ozpin continued. "As we do not know what will happen to Mr. Arc's scholarship, potentially, you could replace him in his team. What do you say, Mr. Manus? Put your skills in service of the greater good. Do you want to fight monsters to protect humanity?"
"…?!"
No, Manus heard him right.
This man…
This man…!
Hah!
Manus reared his head back.
And laughed.
It was a long, loud laugh.
It was the first time Manus laughed so much, so uncontrollably.
It was just too funny!
Ozpin, asking Manus to become a Huntsman?!
It was just too damn funny!
In front of him, the three of them waited patiently for him to stop laughing.
"Ahaha! Haaaa…"
Okay, maybe Manus should stop laughing now.
He looked back at them, only to see Ozpin exchange a confused look with Goodwitch and Ironwood.
Aaaand Manus was back at laughing.
"Bwahahahaaha! I'm sorry! Haha… I'm sorry… pfft… hahahahaaaa!"
In insight… You have to admit, it wasn't that funny.
But you have to understand.
Manus was six months old. And he had only been a human for two days.
Manus was not experienced with humor and comedy. He was not used to laughing!
As a consequence, he couldn't control himself!
He could control his Grimm instincts easily, but it was not the same for human instincts.
Laughing was something spontaneous that all humans did.
It was the same for crying, or lusting, loving, or hating, all of those were human things.
Manus could not control those!
So Manus kept laughing and laughing.
After some time, the three adults eventually grew tired of it.
In the end, he was kicked outside of the tower by Miss Goodwitch.
And Manus couldn't stop laughing.
Even as he was carried by telekinesis in front of Zone's friends, who sent him a questioning glare, or other students, like the woman with a Grimm parasite in her arm who was watching with piercing eyes...
Through it all, Manus could not stop laughing.
And so, Manus was dumped into a bullhead by Miss Goodwitch and brought back to the city of Vale.
And Manus still didn't stop laughing.
Hours later
"And then… And then… He tells me:" Manus changed his voice to match Ozpin's, " 'do you want to fight monsters and protect humanity?' with such a serious, inspiring tone!" Manus laughed with his companion and pointed a finger at himself. "ME! Can you believe that man? Hahahaha!"
His companion snickered with him, smacking her hand on her knees.
"Ahaha! That's just too funny… Haaa… Phew." Manus exhaled softly. "…And I thought Ozpin was scary before. But that man just… invites me in, without a care in the world. Here, Grimm, come into my school! Hahahaa…"
Neo giggled quietly beside him.
"Ahaa… haha… Okay… Phew." Manus sighed tiredly. "I couldn't control myself… and I kept laughing, sorry. I'm really not used to this..."
Manus exhaled and stretched his arms happily.
They were sitting at Junior's bar again.
As it turned out, no one in Junior's network had seen Zone. The man was too scared to lie, so Manus believed him and resigned himself to search the wild-lands.
Naturally, everyone in the club had been scared of him.
However, Manus did learn something.
Other people were searching for Zone.
The Police, Manus, and four others had come to Junior to ask where Zone was.
Among these four… was Neo.
Junior had pointed to the girl in question.
The girl was wondering why everyone was fearing Manus, so when Junior pointed at her. she came sitting with them, looking at the white-haired man curiously.
Upon hearing his name 'Manus', she quickly understood who he was, and even offered him a drink, which Manus had politely refused, of course.
However, now it was time to go back to serious matters.
"Now, Neo. Did you see Zone?" Manus asked. "I've been searching for him everywhere."
She shook her head and cocked it to the side, staring at him curiously.
She blinked softly, and her eyes switched colors.
Manus raised an eyebrow and also turned one of his eyes to blue. This made Neo widen her eyes and giggle silently, surprised.
It was one of Manus' abilities, switching his eyes' color from red blue, or his hair from white to blonde. Those were the colors of Zone's hair and eyes.
"So you don't know either… That's too bad." Manus sighed, before chuckling, "Well, I suppose Zone would have tried to kill you if he had seen you. Hahaha."
Frowning, Neo waved her right hand, flexing her fingers as if her hand was some kind of monster, and raised a questioning eyebrow towards him.
Manus didn't understand what she meant by that.
However, he knew one thing.
"I've been looking forward to the next time we meet, you know," Manus said, turning to face her fully. "We've been wanting to kill you… Me and Zone, I mean."
Neo tensed her muscles, eyes widening and freezing into a wary stance, alert.
"I've always wanted to kill you since the first time we met…" Manus confessed. "Zone was too soft before… but now I think he'd be willing to kill you, too. However… I can't fight you right now." Manus sighed regretfully. "I need to find Zone. I'm sorry."
Neo looked down sadly.
Manus sighed again. "I just can't lose so much time and energy… I can't waste my Aura. You know I would love to crush your head on the ground, right?"
Neo made a pitiful crying face and gave him teary eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry." Manus said sadly. "I have to find Zone as fast as I can. I have only seventeen days left now. So, can our fight wait until then…?"
Neo released a soft, reluctant sigh and gave a little nod.
She was… accepting it?
"When I'm certain Zone is fine, I'll be back with him. And then, I promise," Manus smiled radiantly, "We will definitely kill you!"
Neo put her hands over her heart dramatically and sobbed, a tear in her eye.
It seemed like she was moved by his sincerity!
Manus started to feel excited too, happy that his heart's feelings were able to reach her.
"We'll have to set it up, okay?" Manus grinned enthusiastically, "Begin with a hunt, and prepare an array of weapons… To make it unforgettable! It will be our own special day where we'll tear each other apart!"
It was going to be so much fun!
Neo nodded excitedly and grabbed his hand into hers.
Manus returned the gesture in reflex.
The two stared into each other's eyes deeply.
They continued to stare at each other, the two of them getting lost in the others killing intent and blood-thirst.
Then, Neo clapped her hands on her cheeks and stood up, blushing and looking away.
She stepped back and waved at him softly, giving him a gaze full of promises.
And she walked away, leaving the building.
Manus sniffed, blinking rapidly as he stared at her back.
He was deeply moved by the romantic moment!
"Aaah… Is that what it feels like to be human?" Manus wondered, touched by their agreement. "It's… It's so beautiful… Life is great."
All in all, living as a human was very fun for Manus!
- Killing people mercilessly…
- Meeting Zone's friends, sister, and father in person…
- Finding another person with a Grimm in her arm…
- Ozpin openly inviting him in his school…
- Neo and Manus promising to kill each other…
He just had to tell all these stories to Zone, and he couldn't wait to discover more and more things with this body!
With that line of thought, Manus stood up and headed outside with a newfound determination to find Zone, intending on searching the wild-lands.
…
…
…
…
…
Junior scoffed once the two were gone. "…The fuck is wrong with these two psychos?"
Somewhere else.
A train was loudly gliding rapidly through the campaign of the kingdom of Vale.
On such a train, a man was standing, carefully adjusting his balance with his only arm.
The wind was blowing through his light hair wildly, and the man had to squint his eyes to look ahead, because of the speed.
The train started to slow down with a raucous, metallic shriek, as it reached a small town's station.
The man flexed his legs and glanced to the side of the train tracks. With a brief moment of hesitation to estimate the distance and timing, he jumped off and landed in a nearby meadow.
"…"
The noise of the train faded away along with the ugly negative emotions that the humans felt, which decreased the man's desire to kill.
Red eyes darted around the landscape, looking for a potential prey.
His ears sensed every little movement the animals were making around him.
There didn't seem to be any human around.
"…"
Staying alert, Jaune stood up, straightened his bag on his shoulder and walked into the forest.
A few more kilometers and he would reach his destination.
A/N: Mostly Manus in this chapter... Thanks for reading.
So I was down for quite long, huh. I really lack discipline.
This chapter was written three times. The first two were awful so I didn't publish them, preferring to start over. After the second one, I decided maybe taking a break would help so I stopped writing and focused on other things. I even thought about starting another fic I had in reserve. Now, however, I'm decently satisfied with this chapter, even if it's a bit too long to my taste. I also don't like the huge dump of information.
This is really a turning point for the fic, so I don't want to screw it up. Especially Manus' character. Honestly, for a first fic, I feel like I haven't made things easy for me. Jaune and Manus are kinda hard to write correctly because they constantly evolve.
Also. I don't like updating the fic just to inform you guys of what is going on. Instead, I usually edit the end of the last chapter. So if something similar happens in the future, look at the last chapter, bottom page. I don't want to give false hope or bother anyone by sending a notification.
Anyways. Thanks for the support and for your patience.
Next chapter: In a week or so. Hopefully, I'm able to go back to the discipline I had before.