A/N: Hey, guys, Arch here, and time for the next chapter of JPLL. On a side note, I thought I'd clarify something small, just in case: This story has no relation to my other big fic, The New Flames of Hope, despite some... similarities, between the two of them. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, and I'll see you all next time!
The night for Perci, so far, was rather calm. Preparations for the Vytal tournament are coming along just fine, and seeing as she wasn't allowed to leave Beacon, on top of having community service hours to fulfill if she wanted that permit for her little date, Perci had quite the day, carrying things around for Ozpin. Sighing to herself, and walking towards the showers for a well-deserved wash, she heard the footsteps of two coming towards her, as she was strolling along, complete with working clothes and a lack of her favorite hat.
She turned her head, raising an eyebrow as Ash and Melody approached her. Both of them had the expression of grim findings, one she was quite used to from her time on the streets, and so, she stopped, returning their looks with a serious mug. "Alright, I'll bite. What's up with the faces? You two look at me like I just killed someone."
She barely had any time to finish her sentence, before the two of them reached her vicinity, Ash clearing her throat for one acute cough. "Well, you might not have killed someone... But have you ever burned down a mansion before?" Her question was direct and right to the point. Melody looked to the side, trying to avoid Perci's direct glare. Whenever Ash was in her inquisitive moods, she almost always flipped personalities, and it wasn't the most comfortable thing to watch her try and interrogate someone.
Perci's face grew even more somber. From rage, to despair, to mere indifference, a whole slew of emotions passed across her features, before settling on one final feeling that reverberated through her entire form: Acceptance. She closed her eyes, thinking for quite a while, turning their backs on them and slowly walking. "...Fine. You're lucky I have a date with Mel planned on. Just ask me what you want."
Taking up her offer, Ash and Melody started walking behind her, though keeping their distance. It was clear from her posture that she was not happy about any of this, and who knew with Perci when she'd snap at them or anything of the sort. "Alright, then..." Ash finally spoke up, after a good few minutes of awkward, unnerving silence. "Let's start with the basics: Was it you?"
Perci merely shook her head. "You know it's really fun, today. You guys got to have all the fun downtown, while I have to carry shit around and look after the fucking brute when creepy old fuckers try and molest her or some shit. THEN I had to carry crap around for a good two hours, and now fucking THIS. Now I get to talk about THIS." She stopped again, looking at Ash with anger in her eyes. "No, you fucking bitch. I DIDN'T do it. For all I know it was some other fucking asshat that felt like burning a house down." Finishing her little speech, Perci started pacing again, stopped only a few steps after. "I... May have hurt some of them. Severely."
"So it really was you..." Ash pondered out loud, trying to keep herself calm and rational. "Dad said that it was a rumor your parents had a child. Perci, I..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Perci turned to her again. Despite the anger in her eyes, tears started to form there as well. "A rumor, huh? So this is what I was. A fucking rumor. Well, then..." Trying to deter the emptiness inside of her, Perci faked a twisted, cruel smile. "Wanna hear how the rumor started?"
The two of them looked at one another, unsure about the whole thing. Even Ash at this point half doubted herself about coming to Perci in the first place. Blaming her own curiosity for her troubles, she reluctantly nodded, Melody giving a shy gesture of her own.
Perci's smile faded away, as the memories began to flow back in. "Well, you see... My father, as I assume you've heard at this point, was not the most kind-hearted person out there. In fact, I'd reckon he's one of the shittiest people to ever exist." The two of them looked at one another once more, having heard only the most basic of details. "Of course, I didn't know any of it at the time, but you see... Running a gang isn't the easiest thing out there. It's not just a bunch of assholes, sittin' around some fucking table, trying to come up with the next big heist. It's not a smoothly running business, where everything always goes according to plan." Perci's head began to wave. "No, you see... Running a crime network is like a gamble. It's all about risk Vs. reward."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "But how does this-"
"-Relate to me? Simple." Perci finished her question, continuing her story. "Turns out, my father, while being an efficient planner, wasn't the best, how you say... 'people's person,' out there. In fact, I came to learn he had a TON of enemies, both in the underworld and it the importing business."
"S-So... W-What did he?..." Melody, trying to join the conversation, asked.
"Oh he? Not much. Most of the time he wasn't around. My MOTHER, on the other hand..." The moment she mentioned the woman, Perci's tone dropped to a whole new low. "She was... Possessive. Very possessive. Let's just say that the reason I was a rumor wasn't the most pleasant out there for me."
Ash looked at her, trying to decipher what it meant, before everything clicked. "She kept you inside."
"For the first ten years of my life. She always said that if I left, someone would hurt me or something." Perci gave a hollow chuckle, devoid of any actual feeling put into it. "To some degree? She was right. I guess with all the people after my father my neck would have been on the line too. But..." Her tone went down to a combination of somberness and anger. "That's not an excuse to keep a child locked in her house for her entire life, while letting her look through the window."
Looking at her with newfound empathy, Melody started tearing up as well, while Ash kept her calm demeanor. There was still one last mystery to be solved. "So... How did you get here?"
"Ah yes, my 10th birthday..." Perci started to recall the fateful night. "So the house started to burn down. People are running in the halls. I myself was actually on the verge of an escape plan to get out of the house, when one of them grabs me and tries to off me right there and then. I honestly don't think any of them expected there to be a kid, but I was there. If it weren't for my semblance, I would have died that night. But thankfully..." Her voice dropped again, looking down. By now, she held the face of a defeated person, one that truly believed they failed in something important. "I survived. My only regret was letting my bitch of a mother live." Replaying the memory in her head, Perci instinctively lifted her hand, pointing it downwards. "I had her RIGHT THERE... All I had to do was swing that iron and bash her fucking brains out." She sneered at herself, looking back again. "But... I couldn't I couldn't do it."
Staring at her confession, shocked and slightly sickened, Ash tried to open her mouth to say something, anything at all, just to let it pass. Alas... Nothing came to her mind, and between the reminiscing Perci, the sobbing Melody, and herself, there was nothing left to say.
From there, Perci came to conclude her little tale. "From there... I ran out. The seven years after that, I spent surviving on my own, using my semblance to survive. I mean... Where do you think I got THESE?" She looked at the two of them, pointing to her scarred skin. While her face was someone clean from scars, with the exception of the Eldritchan's claw, the remainder of her body was covered head to toe with scars. Mostly hidden under her suit, which covered the majority of her exposed skin, in the working clothes she had on her they became apparent, only hidden behind the story she had to tell. As Ash and Melody looked at her bare form, the signs of cuts, bruises, stabs, and almost every conceivable way to get hurt manifested in one way or another on Perci, worn like a medal of honor. Perci turned around again, beginning to walk once more. "And now, I guess you'll hate me too, huh? I mean, who wouldn't despise a person who talked about killing their own mother?" A dry, sarcastic chuckle escaped her lips. "You know... It's funny. Some part of me actually considered turning over a new leaf. But I guess it will ne-"
Before she could finish her sentence again, Melody rushed over, hugging her tightly, almost exactly like Leila did before her. While usually she'd scoff it off as feigned kindness, or just a meager attempt at winning her favor for a while, the gesture actually made Perci think. "You're... Not disgusted? Scared? ANYTHING?"
"Of course I am!" Melody started to cry out. "B-But I can't leave you like this. I won't let you feel like that!" Sobbing into her stained clothing, Perci gently tried breaking the hug. If anything, she didn't want her sweat all over Melody's face... Yet, at least.
"W-What's with the empathy show, anyway? I'm not the nicest person ever, you know." Trying to suppress her own tears, Perci looked away, attempting to rationalize why there was no reason for any of them to like her at all.
"Well, Perci... There's this thing called empathy, you know?" Ash stepped in, putting a hand on her shoulder, while Melody was still busy burying her teary face into her chest. "Yeah, you're not the nicest person ever, but you stepped up for us, you know? You didn't have to break your parole for us, but you did. That's respect in my book."
Perci looked at her, and then at Melody. Two people, who she believed didn't have any reason to care about anything she did, were now both by her side, comforting her. She slowly let her hand raise, pressing it behind Melody's back, returning her hug with one of her own. The warmth of someone else, willingly embracing her, even knowing the power she wielded, or the scarred body she possessed, managed to move her, to some degree. After a minute or two of simple silence, she tried shaking Melody off again, who seemed to have calmed down to a degree. "Alright, alright, that's enough. I mean I've been carrying shit all day, I don't think hugs are that fitting until I've taken a shower or something."
Realizing her mistake, Melody put a single finger on her face, shuddering as the smell hit her. From there, it didn't take her long before she started running, making a B line to the showers as quickly as she could, wanting to clean herself right away, leaving a chuckling Perci and a giggling Ash behind. "She really is a gem, you know?" Ash turned to the delinquent, Perci returning her smile.
"Yyyyyup... That's why I worked on getting that permit. Her voice, her looks... What can I say, I think I might have falle actually-" She immediately stopped, putting a hand on her mouth, not nearly as ready yet to admit her feelings to anyone.
Alas, it was far too late, Ash already deducing the whole ordeal. Grinning mischievously, she tapped Perci on the shoulder, returning to her usual peaceful attitude, calmed down after having her fill of truth and mysteries solved. "Don't worry Perci, your secret is safe with me. I won't tell a soul." She played with her voice a bit, twirling the words around, borderline teasing her friend.
Perci gruffed, slowly slipping into her usual attitude. However, despite that, a glimmer of change reflected in her eyes. "Just... Don't tell the others, yeah? I don't need this bullshit coming on to the freaking Nun or something. God knows she'd chew me out..."
"Alright, but you know what I think?" Ash started pacing away, heading back to her dorm room to join with the rest of her team. "I think you should try and put some more... Faith in her as well." She finished her thought, leaving the cringing Perci behind to finally take her shower.
The day after, and some much-needed rest, the students of the first year of Beacon all gathered together, alongside some of the transfers from the other kingdoms, for a combined training session in the arena. So far, team JPLL watched as the fabled Pyrrha Nikos managed to beat the snot out of team CRDL alone, and then, to top it all off, took on another student, beating him as well.
"Heh." As the last fight drew to a close, Perci couldn't help but chuckle. "Give me a break, I can take her."
Leila, who so far stared at one of her idols with admiration, gave Perci a questioning look. "I highly doubt you possess the skill to take on Ms. Nikos and win, Perci, You may be strong, but she is far quicker."
Perci sneered at her, replying with a mocking tone. "Hah! This tournament is as good as mine for the taking." From the way she understood it, the fights would be based on low enough aura count. Something that so happened to sit RIGHT up her ally...
"I'm pretty sure that your semblance would count as cheating. Regardless, I do not think any of us are prepared to take on such a challenge." Leila argued, returning her attention to Glynda, who looked for volunteers so far.
Perci couldn't let this stand. Some part of her, hell-bent on proving Leila wrong, made her raise her hand, calling for Glynda's attention. "Oi Teach! I'm up next!" She didn't even wait for a response from the teacher, before jumping down to the stage, looking at the other students. "Now, any of you BITCHES think they can step up to this?" Puffing her chest with pride, she looked at the crowd, demanding a challenge.
Glynda coughed, taking the attention away from her. "Well, since you're so eager... Anyone willing to challenge Ms. Valiére?" She was just about to use her tablet and pick someone at random, before a thin, long hand stretched out, as a particular masked figure stood up, face turned towards the arena. "Very well then, come on down please." Glynda nodded her head, and she walked, each step calculated and careful, slowly descending towards Perci, standing before her. Besides the mask, covering the upper side of her face, nose and eyes included, she a shaft of sorts, collapsed to sections, wrapped around her right arm. From the bottom, going upwards, a sharp, long blade of a scythe stretched out, dull side turned outwards, though that soon changed as she readied her weapon, still compact around her arm.
Perci cackled. She could tell from her stand that she had skill, and plenty of it, but at the end of the day... She had the clear advantage in that fight. Up above them, bars gauging the amount of aura each of them had started to rise, slowly filling up to a 100%.
Or at least, that was the deal for her opponent.
The bars made an audible ding sound when reaching max. However, in Perci's case, the bar just kept going, hitting a second ding, then a third. "yeah... Just give it a minute." She cackled, already sure of her victory. When the fourth 'ding' came up, the bar finally stopped, letting everyone around grasp the direness of the situation for the masked girl from Haven. She now had to face someone with at least four times as much aura as she did, while the amount she would need to get her to lose was the same for both of them, at fifteen percent.
"Righto, then." Perci cackled again, raising her cane. "Come at me whenever you want, bitch."
For the first few minutes, none of them moved. Perci was smart enough to know not to make the first move, and so far, the masked girl didn't attempt it either, patiently waiting for an opening. Despite nothing really going on, Leila was already fixated on the fight, wanting to know how it would end. Hue herself even dropped her book for a change. Thankfully, Jin wasn't around to witness this, as both of them were sure she'd jump down to the arena to try and stop the fight herself. Regardless, the silence resumed some more, Perci slowly losing her patience.
"Well? You gonna do somethin' or what?" She asked, her tone shifting to slight anger. When no response came, she decided to try a different tactic, a sly grin forming on her face. "Oh... I get it. You're SCARED! Hey everyone, look! She's so scared she's stiff as a corpse! I bet you look like, fucking hideous under that mask, right? That's why you have to hide it." Throwing taunts that almost made Glynda jump from her seat to scold her for them, Perci kept trying, getting no response whatsoever. "ooh FINE! YOU ASKED FOR IT!" She finally bellowed in anger, shifting her weapon to gun form, and quickly unloading a whole barrel of bullets at her opponent.
The moment she made the first move, the girl moved out of the way, running close to the ground with surprising speed. raising her right arm with the blade on it, she ran circles around Perci, letting her run out of bullets, before dashing in, aiming the blade straight at her throat.
"Oh no you don't!" Perci managed to react in time, grabbing the blade with her bare hand. Aura sizzling the wound she would have gotten away, she pushed the blade back, transforming her weapon back into cane form, throwing away the used up barrel, while charging at her screaming, aiming to finish the fight as quickly as she could.
Just before she could get close enough, the masked one jumped away, moving far quicker than Perci anticipated. "Get back here!" She ran after her, adamant and almost infuriated at that point, still not even managing to get a single hit, let alone touch, on her whatsoever. Once she had the proper range for it, the young woman raised her weapon, showing two barrels at the very end of her weapon. Pushing some inherit trigger, shards of burning, red dust flew at Perci, each exploding into a fiery blast upon contact.
Attempting to catch her off guard, Perci dashed forward, powering through the blasts as her aura took chunk after chunk of damage, slowly being reduced by the shots. As an explosion hit close enough to her face, the masked fighter was blinded for just a split second, giving Perci just the window of opportunity she needed to push through, and lunge at her.
"Gotcha!" She yelled, now in range, sending out her hand to grab her stupid mask and rip it right out of her face. Before she could, however, her opponent bent backward, not unlike a scene right out of an action movie, watching as Perci's hand just missed her, going over. From there, she grabbed her by the sleeves of her suit, and with one quick motion, slammed Perci into the ground.
Trying to pull her hand away, she realized she couldn't. When the dust settled down, Perci was still standing, holding her hand with a grip of iron. "Bad. Call." She grinned, pulling her closer, and finally securing a hand to her face, or at least, the exposed parts of it. Grinning victoriously, she tapped into her semblance, as the fight became internal, two auras clashing against one another, Perci fully intending to make an example of her by sucking her dry.
At first, things seemed to go with Perci's favor. This one had far more will than she anticipated, forcing Perci to wail on her repeatedly, but slowly, her aura was driven down, Perci's own starting to see a raise, even though slowly. "Just give it up! You can't beat me!" Perci called, taunting her victoriously, when she realized something. It was a slow change, only managed by the sheer willpower of her opponent, but it happened.
The flow of aura reversed.
She had no idea how it was even happening. Pushing her semblance to its limits, a shoving her own willpower against her opponent's, she managed to bring it to a halt, none of them getting anything. Anger pumped through her face, looking at the expressionless, masked face before her with fury untold by all who live. No way she would let some stuck up bitch from Mistral use her OWN semblance against her! It was impossible!
Perci grunted and pushed on, trying to regain control, but alas, the best she could manage was nothing more than a stalemate. Seeing as she had no other option, with her semblance still active, she brought her free hand over, bringing it down on the masked face, coming to bash her skull in, not even concerned with the rules at this point. The retort didn't fail to show up, her own arm being met with its counterpart from the other end, the two of them exchanging blows while being locked to one another, each determined not to lose, both the physical fight at the clash of wills.
Her aura was unlike anything Perci has seen before. She felt it, coursing through her body, burning with ambition and determination. Of course, compared to the endless well of greed for power that was Perci's aura, the two were completely separate entities, common in goal, but different in methodology. Regardless, for the first time in her life, Perci met her match. She couldn't beat her by force, nor could she use her semblance for an easy win, forcing Perci to actually think on her feet for a change.
She let go of the other's hand, aiming a hook at her abdomen. The Haven student quickly jumped back, as the shaft, collapsed around her arm, started to unwind, seemingly extending back to its primary form. "So you're finally gonna take this seriously, huh?..." Wisps of peach colored aura started to form around Perci, as she readied herself for one last attack. She took a quick glance at the bar above, showing that he was already halfway through her aura, leaving her with just enough for the trick she had in mind. At that point, it's not like she had anything to lose regardless. "Alright then, bring it!"
Dashing towards her opponent, who by now had a fully extended scythe in her hand, Perci showed no fear. Her fist, already pulled back, aimed straight for the expressionless face, pumping most of the aura she had into it.
The two met at the center of the arena, Perci bringing down her fist upon her opponent with all of her might. She just felt it, this one would do the trick and finally crack her own. Already seeing her victory in mind, Perci could already envision her flying across the arena, hitting the back wall, and her aura running out or low enough to consider a loss.
However, like many things in life, it didn't go quite as well as she predicted.
The reaction was so fast, Perci could barely process it. Moving out of her punch at the very last second, the Haven Reaper brought down her scythe in one quick swing, sending Perci flying instead. With most of her aura going to her final gambit, it was quickly reduced to below the safe zone, just a tad under it in fact, and a loud buzzing noise was heard, signifying her loss officially.
Out on the stands, Leila stated in awe. The skill the girl possessed, and the mobility she showed were both quite impressive, and for a moment she forgot that Perci had, in fact, lost the match entirely. Hearing others cheer with excitement at the fight that transpired before them, Glynda stepped forward, congratulating the victor, and dismissing her back to her team, all three of them looking at her as if they already saw it all coming a mile away.
"Well, Ms. Valiére? Are there any other points you'd like to prove to the class today?" Glynda asked the knocked down Perci, slowly standing up. While it was a bit out of place for her as a teacher to speak like this, Perci's snark and sarcasm were not at the top of her favorite things list, and the chance to give her back some didn't go unnoticed.
"Yeah, that the ruler up your ass must be reaching your brain." Perci slumped over a bit, walking slowly towards the stand, muttering to herself about masks and scythes and painful, painful things she'd do to said person who had both on her. Reaching her seat, Perci fell on it, looking at the ceiling, as the loss slowly started drifting away from her mind. Despite Leila trying to ask her if she was hurt, or some of the students snickering at her fall and her hubris, she still felt an odd amount of peace, all thing considered.
After all... When her date was so close, it was all right to lose too.