Chapter 21: Finally, a New Volume!
Author's Note: Hello everyone, I'm back with a new episode of Team Akatsuki. We're finally going to start Volume 1 of RWBY, though of course it's going to be different from canon. Mercury is going to attend Beacon Academy for an undercover mission, but he's going to have another objective. I don't have anything else to say, but Rio Skyron has taken up my offer of doing a reading of this story. The "special" chapter will be uploaded once the first chapter of his reading goes up.
Anyway, let's start the story.
It's nighttime in the City of Vale. Its citizens are walking on the sidewalks, minding their own business. However, everyone suddenly began to run for their lives. The reason for it is Roman Torchwick, the most notorious crime lord in the Kingdom of Vale and alley to the Akatsuki.
Roman being an alley to the planet's strongest organization is a secret that only he, his partner Neo, and said organization knows. With the crime lord is a few of Junior's men. Roman asked the club owner earlier for some help in order to pull off some robberies. He promised to share the earnings in return.
Their first target of the night is a small dust shop named 'From Dust till Dawn' that is being run by an old man, who is surprisingly running other businesses. Roman figures this one will be an easy job. He won't even have to hurt the old shopkeeper, allowing him to keep his alliance with the Akatsuki.
Roman enters the shop with the grunts following him and inspects the store. He sees the shopkeeper looking at him with fear. The crime lord smirks and smokes his cigar, approaching the terrified old man. Roman aims the end of his cane at the shopkeeper, threatening and inducing fear into him.
"Please don't hurt me! Just take my lien and leave!" the old shopkeeper pleaded.
"Don't worry, we'll take the lien but also all of your Dust as well. I'm low on it, and I don't feel like spending my earnings," Roman told the old man. The shopkeeper quickly opens his cash register, taking out all of his money and begins handing them to the crime lord. Meanwhile Junior's men begins taking all the shop's Dust, both in crystalline and powdered forms. Unfortunately, one of them notices an unknown attendee and leaves to confront her.
"So I've heard that other stores has been robbed, but they weren't by me," Roman said to the old shopkeeper, loading all the lien into his briefcase. "I want if you have any information regarding that. I do have friends who would like to know those answers." The crime lord taps the counter with his cane, adding a threatening tone to his demand for assurance.
Before the old shopkeeper could provide an answer, one of Junior's men is sent flying through the store's window and lands outside. Roman and the rest of the grunts looks at the direction where the man was sent flying from, seeing a young teenage girl wearing black and red clothing with a red hood. With amazing speed, the girl appears outside the shop and takes out a weapon that transforms into a black and red scythe.
"Boys, avenge our fallen comrade," Roman orders the rest of Junior's men.
"I'm… not… dead," the beaten up grunt said weakly.
"You heard the guy! Avenge him!" the crime lord shouts. All of the other henchmen race towards the girl outside, only to quickly get their asses handed to them. Roman carefully walks out of the store, seemingly talking to his scroll with one hand while holding his cane and briefcase with the other.
"Well Little Red, you took out all of my help singlehandedly," Roman stated as he closes his scroll. "I must commend you for your bravery as well as your foolishness because a little girl like you shouldn't be out in the night unsupervised."
"I'm fifteen years old!" the girl shouted.
"And you've just proven my point," the crime lord replied. "Anyway, I'm not afraid to beat up a teenage girl." He points his cane at the armed girl while the sounds of police sirens can be heard in the distance. Realizing he can't participate in an actual fight without getting caught, Roman begins formulating a plan. "Meh, screw it."
The crime lord fires a blast from his cane at the girl, who uses her weapon to dodge the attack. Meanwhile, Roman uses the distraction to flee the scene and climbs a ladder located at the side of a building. Once he reaches the rooftop, the crime lord hears the sound of a gun and turns around to see the girl land on the roof as well.
"Persistent," Roman muttered. He runs to the other side of the roof, only to find out there's nowhere else to go. "Well shit. I'm trapped."
"I thought you weren't afraid to fight me?" the girl taunted.
"I'm not, but I am afraid of getting caught by the pesky authorities," the crime lord answered. "Then again, I do have friends who'll easily break me out of prison." He reaches into his pocket and takes out a red Dust crystal, throwing it at the girl. Roman quickly shoots the crystal, creating a small explosion.
The crime lord uses his briefcase of lien to shield himself from the explosion, wondering when Neo will show up with their getaway motorcycle. He looks over to see the girl unharmed, protected by the huntress Glynda Goodwitch. Roman scowled, knowing he can't take on the professional huntress with that girl in his way.
"Alright, alright, I surrender," Roman announced as he raises his hands. He overhears the sound of a motorcycle and looks over his shoulder to see Neo waving. The crime lord looks back at the two women right in front of him. He faintly flicks two fingers, sending a signal to his mute partner.
"Make any more moves, and you'll regret that decision," Glynda stated.
"Does talking count as moving?" Roman asked, smirking. The huntress whips out her riding crop, seemingly taking control of the crime lord with her telekinesis. However, the male criminal suddenly breaks into multiple pieces of glass. Surprised, Glynda and the girl rushes over to the spot where Roman was.
"Over here, bitches!" Roman's voice shouts. The two women peers over the roof to see the crime lord on a motorcycle with another passenger. "Try to catch me now!" The male criminal laughs as his partner drives them away at full speed. Glynda and the girl watches as the two criminals got away.
"So… you're a huntress right? Can I have your autograph?" the girl asks Glynda, breaking the silence.
Later that evening, Glynda and Professor Ozpin exits Vale's Police Department. They just finished talking to the girl who fought Roman Torchwick, who has now been identified as Ruby Rose. Generous as ever, Professor Ozpin accepted her into Beacon Academy after hearing her desires to attend the school.
"Professor, are you sure it was a wise idea to allow Miss Rose into your school? I know she has silver eyes, but she's still young," Glynda told the headmaster.
"She may be young, but I see a lot of potential in her. It's better to bring her aboard before it's too late," Ozpin explained. "Salem's operatives are out there, looking for the maidens as well as anyone with silver eyes. Beacon has both the protection and knowledge that Miss Rose needs."
"Professor Ozpin… when Roman Torchwick escaped with his accomplice, presumably his well-known partner Neopolitan, he was on a motorcycle that had a symbol on its front. It was a red cloud, the symbol of the Akatsuki," the blonde huntress stated. Ozpin stopped walking when he heard the last statement.
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence. A lot of street gangs and cults consider themselves "allies" of the Akatsuki despite being just followers and dedicated fans," the headmaster replied.
"Ozpin, Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan are the only major criminals who have not yet been caught by the Akatsuki. If the two were caught, they would've been either in jail or dead," Glynda noted.
"Are you sure, Glynda? This is serious," Ozpin said.
"Before I saved Miss Rose from the explosion Roman created, the criminal mentioned having friends who can easily break him out of prison. At first, I assumed he was talking about Neopolitan before I saw the Akatsuki's red cloud on their motorcycle," the blonde huntress explained.
"If this really the case, then it's quite troubling," the headmaster muttered. "I'm curious on why the Akatsuki would require the services of Remnant's most wanted criminals."
"This could serve as an opportunity for us. If we could get Torchwick, then we can receive knowledge on the Akatsuki and their base of operations," Glynda pointed out.
"Glynda, you know that I can't go after them anymore. I lost my fight against their leader, and I have to honor that lost," Ozpin said. "Besides, Salem and her forces are a much more important matter to deal with. She's after the relics, something that the Akatsuki's vigilante justice is nothing compared to."
"I trust your decision Professor Ozpin, but if you or any other huntsman don't go after him then Miss Rose will," the blonde huntress warned him. The headmaster sighs, knowing that she was right. A recent event has taken place that Ozpin and Glynda learned from Qrow and Ruby's Father, Taiyang Xio Long.
Ruby's half-sister, Yang Xio Long, went missing for an entire day before coming home injured with most of her hair missing. Of course she explained what happened, which infuriated both Taiyang and Qrow. The latter wanted to go look for the Akatsuki to give them a piece of his mind, going as far as to try to contact his sister. Obviously, she never answered. Taiyang, knowing of Raven's predicament, doubted she was even allowed to contact them back.
Qrow, being Ruby's uncle, was also a victim of the Akatsuki, but that was before the Akatsuki's stories became heard worldwide. Ruby would no doubt hear the stories and make the connection to her uncle's attackers. Considering that she views hunters and huntresses as heroes, the young girl will certainly go after the Akatsuki for her uncle and sister.
"If that's the case Glynda, then I'll do whatever it takes in my power to make her prepared," Ozpin stated.
A week has passed since the attempted robbery. While Roman did split the earnings that he received, Junior wasn't happy that the men he lent to the crime lord was caught and taken to jail. Roman's response was that the club owner should've hired better workers. Still, the money added to the amount given to him by the Akatsuki allows Junior to rebuild his club and renovate it to be better.
Right now, Roman and Neo are in their base of operations. With the two criminals are Nagato, Konan, Itachi, and Mercury. Today is the day that first years of Beacon Academy will be taken to the school. The Uchiha will personally take his adopted brother to the stop area for Beacon's airships, the same place where he and Kisame escorted Velvet Scarlatina to last year.
Of course, Itachi is now in a disguise so people won't identify him as a member of the Akatsuki. They're at Roman's hideout because Nagato chose it as their meeting point. Ever since the forge of their alliance, the crime lord proved to be a reliable and trusted ally to the organization. Plus, Konan's new friendship with Neo proved beneficial to both parties.
"Alright, so are you ready for your mission Mercury?" Nagato asked the silver haired teen.
"I'm sure am. If I wasn't, then we wouldn't be here," Mercury answered.
"Good. Remember to contact us through our scrolls. Any information is useful no matter how small it is. If you need anything, Roman will be more than happy to help. If something urgent comes up, contact us immediately without hesitation and meet up here," the Akatsuki leader instructed.
"Wow Nagato, you really sound like a parent right now," Roman joked, causing both Konan and Neo to giggle at that.
"What? No!" Nagato denied, crossing his arms and turns his head away.
"Actually, you do," Itachi told his leader, agreeing with the crime lord.
"I'm merely giving Mercury careful instructions to ensure the success of his mission," the Akatsuki leader explained. "Besides, I'm 18. Too young to be a parent."
"Alright, alright, we all had our fun now. Itachi, you need to take your brother to the Beacon airships. Mercury can't be late for his first day of school," Konan told the Uchiha.
"Couldn't agree with you more, "Mom"," Mercury quipped, earning a round of laughter from everyone else. Konan blushes in embarrassment and pouts, receiving multiple pats on the back by a silently laughing Neo.
"Alright, I think that's enough," Itachi said as he finishes laughing. "Come on Mercury. Let's get your stuff and head to the airships." The silver haired teen gives a nod and goes to get his bags with Itachi following him. The remaining four watches the departure of the two brothers. Neo types on her scroll, before showing it to the other two Akatsuki members.
In all honestly, you two do make good parents.
Nagato and Konan suddenly blush in embarrassment while Roman silently snickers.
With Itachi and Mercury, the two brothers have already made their way to the airship ready to take Beacon students to the academy. Being a shinobi and an apprentice of the Akatsuki respectfully, they used the necessary speed needed to reach their destination in time. Now, it's time for Mercury to go off on his own.
"So, you're ready?" Itachi asked.
"Yup. I promise I won't fail you guys," Mercury stated.
"Don't pressure yourself. Just do your best," the Uchiha advised.
"Right," the silver haired teen replied, giving a nod. He turns around to go aboard the airship.
"Wait!" Itachi called out. Mercury turns around and receives a tap on the forehead by two fingers, both of them belonging to his adopted brother. "Good luck Lil' Bro." Mercury smiles and nods before heading into Beacon's airship. Itachi watches his adopted brother depart and leaves back to Roman's hideout.
Inside the airship, Mercury walks arounds through the numerous crowds of Beacon first-years. While the airship appears small on the outside, it's really big on the inside. The silver haired teen looks at all the unfamiliar faces. This is just like meeting the Akatsuki for the first time all over again.
Mercury inspects the first-years around him. Three of these students are going to be in a team with him. Raven stated that in Beacon Academy, first-years are sent into the Emerald Forest to retrieve chess pieces. If two students meet each other with eye contact, they become partners for the next four years. If two pairs retrieved the same pieces, then they become a team for the next four years.
Considering the information given by Raven, Mercury knew there was nothing he can do. He didn't know any of these people. He might as well let the chips fall into place. Then, Mercury suddenly realized something. There is someone he knew attending Beacon Academy as a first-year as well. The silver haired teen raced in the airship to confirm his theory.
Mercury found himself correct as he sees Pyrrha Nikos not at a far distance, someone he and Itachi met when they went back to Mistral. Since the Spartan girl has developed some sort of connection with his brother, the silver haired teen figured that she would be a good choice for him to partner up with.
However, a sight made him realize something. Pyrrha is currently surrounded by people eager to talk to her, and he knew why. Itachi told him when they landed on Mistral that Pyrrha is famous for winning combat tournaments and being on the box cover of a cereal brand. While she did want to come to Vale for a new lifestyle change, the Spartan girl's popularity could potentially compromise Mercury's mission.
The silver haired teen became conflicted. On one hand, he can partner up with someone he knows. On the other, he would receive a lot of unwanted attention just for being her partner. In the end, Mercury decided to let fate put him in a team. He'll figure out his situation right after the teams are assembled.
This silver haired teen walks away, inspecting the other first-years aboard the airship. He sees Ruby Rose and Yang Xio Long, but to Mercury, they're just another pair of random strangers. He sighs, finding it no use in trying to scout the other first-years. Might as well wait until they all land on Beacon Academy. The silver haired teen turns his head to a news broadcast that's currently being aired.
"The robbery was led by the nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities and surprisingly hasn't been caught by the vigilante organization known as the Akatsuki," the newscaster known as Cyril reported.
Mercury gave a smirk at the last part, knowing true reason why the Roman, and Neo as well, hasn't been put to jail by the Akatsuki. The silver haired teen is surprised though when numerous students began gathering around the newscast after the mention of the organization's name. It seems that the Akatsuki really are popular despite what the media says.
"Torchwick reportedly stole thousands of dollars during the robbery and escaped from a professional huntress. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department," Cyril stated. "Back to you, Lisa."
"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest ended rather peacefully which could lead to another planned protest," Lisa Lavender announced. "Without the attacks by the White Fang thanks to the Akatsuki, more and more protests were demonstrated recently and will continue in the future. With Adam Taurus, high ranking member of the White Fang, still behind bars, the terrorist organization has been lying low. Authorities however are keeping Adam Taurus at high security should the White Fang try to break him out."
Suddenly, the news broadcast ended with an interruption by a hologram projection of Glynda Goodwitch. Mercury paid no attention as he looks to see the airship getting closer to arrival at Beacon Academy. The silver haired teen suddenly heard a commotion, causing him to look at a situation. A blonde boy in white armor threw up vomit on a girl's shoe. Mercury made a mental note not to partner up with him. He doesn't want to be on a team with a "Vomit Boy."
At a forest in Mistral, a scream can be heard before being replaced by the sound of metal. The sound came from a now dead warrior, who now has multiple stab wounds on his body. The cause of those wounds are none other than Hidan, who is in the middle of his ritual. His change of appearance is proof of it.
"Aww, he died too early," Hidan moaned in sadness. Surrounding him is a litter of corpses and weapons lying on the ground.
"Good. You were taking too long," Sasori told the immortal. The puppeteer checks a corpse lying next to his feet, making sure the body isn't heavily damaged. The puppet master wants to add some of these corpses as new puppets to his collection.
"These bandits should be the last of Raven's tribe," Kakuzu stated as he turns off his chainsaw sword. The miser has started to become very skillful with the weapon that he claimed from the White Fang Lieutenant Kisame killed.
When Nagato first read Raven's mind during their initial encounter, he learned that the woman is part of a tribe of bandits. She and her tribe would raid villages, stealing supplies and killing anyone who wouldn't join them. The Grimm would take care of the rest. The Akatsuki leader was disgusted. Ever since Raven became part of the Akatsuki, Nagato would secretly have the other members to kill off her tribe.
"What about that chick with the crazy plant powers?" Hidan asked. "She left during the battle."
"It's safe to assume she was the Spring Maiden. There's no reason to go after her," Sasori answered. Amber has told the Akatsuki of the powers that the other maidens should be capable of having. Nagato did recall that Raven had someone with plant powers in her tribe when he read her mind. Due to the situation Amber was in, the Akatsuki leader instructed them not to kill the supposed Spring Maiden if they didn't already.
"It wonder how pissed Raven's going to be when she finds out that we killed her "family"," Hidan cackled.
"No doubt she'll try to kill Leader," Kakuzu replied. "He's doing an experiment in trying to redeem Raven, but he's recently losing faith in the bitch."
"Might as well kill Raven before she does something stupid. Not all people can be redeemed," Sasori stated as he takes out a sealing scroll, planning to take the corpses that Kakuzu isn't going to use for bounty exchanges.
"So, what next?" Hidan asked.
"According to Leader, there's a specific type of Grimm in these forests that he wants to add to his collection," Kakuzu answered, taking out a sealing scroll as well. There are a lot of bodies littered around, so it's best to keep them contained in a way that won't slow down the three Akatsuki members. After sealing the corpses, Sasori, Kakuzu, and Hidan heads to start their next mission.
Author's Notes: That's it for this chapter. Next chapter will have a more focus on Mercury, and him becoming a part of Team RWBY. Along with that, let's see what else the Akatsuki are going to do in the world of Remnant. Until then, see you next chapter!