Author's Notes
*Rises from the depths of an inky pool of abyssal black ichor*
IT HAS BEEN 3,000 YEEEEEEEEAAAAAARSSSSSSSSSSSS!
And nowadays that's the extent of my like for Pokemon X/Y. I mean, I enjoyed it back then, but the direction of the series nowadays leaves me wanting retroactively. I miss Black/White…
But I digress. These last two weeks have been the longest two weeks in recent memory. And this is taking into consideration we're on August and February was six years ago!
As expected, haven't had much time to work on these with my freelancing job. Wanted to also post the next chapter along with this one, but it's not meant to be. Better than nothing, I suppose.
On other news, did I mention my Capstone is officially finished and now I'm cruising on autopilot to finish my Master's? *Checks* I didn't! So hooray for me! What else?
Oh yeah, minor changes to Chapter 26 and 27. Mostly grammar fixes, but I added minor details here and there. Nothing too big or worth going back for. I think the biggest thing is me playing up a bit the Dr. Seuss joke on Chapter 27.
Finally… RIGHT! This set of chapters! Like I think I've already said, these next five chapters take place between Volume 1 and 2. They'll be labeled as "Interludes". Hope you like them.
Review, Follow, Fave, and all those things, if you feel inclined. And if interested in humor, maybe check my other story, RCRDL.
Interlude 27.3: The Burrow
Seeing it from above, it put into perspective how small Burrow was compared to Vale. With only around 600 inhabitants, it was easily one of the smallest permanent settlements in Vacuo. Rather than being located in the desert like most other settlements, Burrow's founders put down roots in a manmade clearance on the edge of the jungle to the West.
On one hand, resources like water, food, and shelter weren't as scarce as in the desert. On the other, the danger of Grimm was ever so slightly higher, having to deal with both the jungle and desert variants of the dark creatures. But given that Vacuo settlements ravaged by Grimm was an unfortunate, and common, reality, that wasn't saying much. The fact the village has survived for so many years is due to a bit of brilliant foresight from the original settlers.
They burrowed deep and wide trenches around the entire thing. The kind that hinted at someone with an earth Semblance. If you fell in the trenches, you were not coming back. You have three guesses as to where the name 'Burrow' comes from and the first two don't count.
Brilliant foresight. As brilliant as it was lucky and against the Grimm, that was the best you could hope for.
Over time the trenches became a bit of a moat that protected the village from most ground Grimm, leaving the militia to only really worry about the flying ones. At least Kohaku thought it was a moat based on the splashing sound that eventually came out of it if you threw a rock into it.
Burrow had expanded beyond the moat since then, with houses and facilities scattered in the jungle proper for those willing to brave the dangers associated with it. While the militia and the few Hunters that lived there helped with the Grimm, there was only so much they could do.
As far as buildings go, there was a clear gradient from the wooden shacks and cabins around the edges to the brick and stone structures towards the heart of the village, built through the years as the materials became available. By the time the center plaza was reached, Burrow resembled one of the modern settlements in Mistral or Vale more than the ramshackle nomadic ones littered across Vacuo's dessert or the close-knit ones in Mantle's tundra.
"Where did you and Teach ended up by the time you left?"
Kohaku's attention was stolen by Sun, who stood next to her as they both overlooked the village from the bullhead.
"Around there." Kohaku gestured at a residential area halfway from the center to the edge. The kind of place with affordable housing for bachelors with a steady income and no need for space to raise a family.
The kind of space two orphans would kill for. After their parents' death, Kon took upon herself to raise her as best as she could, but it wasn't long before she went to Shade for a chance at improving their lot in life. Once Kon started to bring money doing odd jobs as a Shade student, Kohaku's quality of life improved dramatically, moving out from a communal building they used to inhabit alongside other orphans.
That brought Kohaku a nostalgic smile. It wasn't like living in that impromptu orphanage was bad. Burrow's residents care after their own, including parentless children. For the most part they were left to their own device. The caretakers – volunteers that lived close by – really only worried about the toddlers, dealing with the older orphans only for the indispensable and problems too big for any children.
Most the day to day logistics were left to the older kids, who learned from their predecessors. Kohaku and Sun at one point were among that crowd, the younglings looking up to them for guidance. Kon had been one of them too, for a little while. One of the oldest, in fact, since most were like Sun or Kohaku herself and left way before they were seventeen, in the search for their lot in life amidst the harsh life in Remnant. Kon had stuck around right until she left for Shade. That made her a bit of a legend among the impressionable kids.
That, and the fact that back then her sister was smarter than most of her peers. Or at least more knowledgeable. Whatever education their parents gave Kon when they were still alive was clearly superior to the education given to your average orphan.
While the orphanage wasn't that bad, it didn't beat owning your own house. Soon after Kon entered Shade, Kohaku found herself progressively improving her living quarters thanks to her sister. She still would spend the days with her friends at the orphanage, but it wasn't where she would spend her nights.
While Burrow communally caring for the orphans was done out a patriotic sense of duty of sorts, it wasn't like it didn't have its own share of practical benefits. Having a Huntress like Kon, one that considered the village home and would send money back to help the orphans – and by proxy the village – was a boon. Sun and herself were not far behind and, last time she checked, Kyota intended to follow that legacy. And it wasn't only Hunters. Last time she saw Jin almost six months ago he was well on his way to becoming every bit the genius someone like Copen is. And Maria was starting to show interest in medicine. Healers were a boon any village would kill for. Ironic, but true.
"Stare any longer and you kids will start growing white hair," the pilot said, looking back at the pair of Hunters-in-training.
"Thanks for the ride, man. You saved us a ton of money in airfare," Sun said
"You save us from him attempting to contraband himself inside a crate," Kohaku corrected.
"Don't diss it until you try it."
The pilot laughed. "You kids never change. Don't worry too much about it, Kohaku. I'm always glad to give a hand to Hunters like you and your sister. Wouldn't be here if it wasn't for more than one Hunter that just happened to be sitting back there at the right time. Blade included."
To hear a concrete example of her sister's heroics; it brought a her a smile. Kon might have become a Huntress for the money, but there was no doubting the good she did. For Kohaku, that good was the reason she wanted to be a Huntress. To help people, even if only one old pilot that did runs between Vacuo and Burrow.
"Do you need me to drop you somewhere?"
"Huh?" Kohaku looked at the pilot in confusion. "Aren't we going to the air dock by the market?"
"I am," the pilot confirmed, "but you are Hunters. You have that fancy landing strategy of yours, don't ya'?
Kohaku nodded. "Yeah. I even have a teammate who jump out of bullheads for fun." If Copen heard her… he won't do anything, but she was sure she would feel his glare throughout the remainder of the day. Hell, she could feel it right now.
Sun leaned into the cockpit. "Oh, drop us by the orphanage. We can visit the old gang!"
"Sun, my landing strategy isn't that great without tall objects to hook into."
Sun dismissed her worries. "Leave it to me. All you need is some of that good ol' reliable Wukong magic!"
-o-
The plan was simple.
Sun jumped out of the bullhead first. Flipping a couple of times midair, for style, before taking a lotus position and using Via Sun ('Really, Sun? Via Sun?') to summon two clones. One of them picked him up while the other used them as a springboard to jump upward. With the counterforce from the jump, Sun and his clone landed on the floor forcefully, the clone taking the brunt of the impact.
Kohaku followed out of the bullhead shortly after. Now, here is where Sun's plan differed from hers. He wanted to have his clone catch her and absorb the landing. So, when she approached the clone, she dodged.
"Kohaku, what are you doing?"
She ignored the real Sun's question. She was not going to be bridal carried by him or a clone of his. She unsheathed her sword and swung upward, activating the whip mechanism at the right moment.
And impaling the clone right through the chest.
"What the hell!"
She continued ignoring the real Sun. Stabbing an object moving upward decreased some of her downward speed, but not enough. Recalling the whip, she decreased her momentum further as she and the clone dragged towards each other. Ripping her sword from the clone, and ending its ephemeral existence, she angled herself to aim her fall.
Right on top of the second clone that had helped Sun, driving it to the floor, letting it absorb the remaining momentum, and terminating its short life. Much cooler than letting clone-Sun bridal carry her. And the spectators agreed, clapping politely at the show.
The genuine article looked at her in abject horror. "Not cool," he breathed.
"Yeah, well, I disagree," Kohaku stuck out her tongue.
People were looking at the two Hunters-in-training with curiosity. Some with recognition, even. She recognized the area they had landed on. It was on the 'main street. In all fairness, it was beginning to take the form of a main street. What was once a dirt road was in the beginning stage of being properly paved and transformed into a proper street. Seems like her village was still on the uprising. It wouldn't be long before its entirety could flaunt proper housings!
"Does the lady want to lead the way?" Sun offered with a small bow gesturing in the direction to the building that served as the orphanage.
Kohaku giggled with a hint of tease. "Making a lady do all the work? How ungentlemanly of you." Nonetheless, she led the way
Laughing, he followed. "You win some, you lose some. How do you think everyone is doing?" Sun asked, taking note of his surroundings, especially the kids that started to follow them with curiosity and awe. It was to be expected. Hunters, even those in training, demanded attention by design. Kohaku even saw some recognition dawn on the older kids, who would have met her and Sun before their time was occupied by their training.
Sure enough, the closer she got to the orphanage, the more she started hearing murmurs that sounded like her name. Even closer, and Sun's name joined hers in the gossips. And with the two-story, wooden building now in sight…
"KOHAKU!"
She didn't have time to react before she was blindsided and tackled to the floor from behind. Now that she thought about it, it has been some time since she last thanked Aura for existing.
"Y-you're back! I…" – a sniff – "…missed you so much!"
Lying on her stomach, Kohaku couldn't see the girl hugging her from behind, but her voice and sniffling was all she needed to know.
"Hi Maria, would like to say, 'Nice to see you', but you're making it difficult."
"Eeep."
With the admittedly little weight receding, Kohaku rolled to face the girl she dotted as a little sister. Maria looked the same as she did six months ago – a munchkin with blond hair done in two buns and a patchwork dress. And it wasn't a matter of her being a short because she was a kid. She was short for her age. While signs of puberty were settling in and helped in diminishing her kiddy looks, it was clearly a work in progress still a few years away from providing results. A late bloomer, probably to Maria's dismay.
What really caught her attention was the nurse cap resting on top of her head. Kohaku's eyes gleamed with glee.
"Maria, it's so good to see you." It was now her turn to hug her assailant, lifting her a few feet off the floor and spinning her around. "And you have a cute nurse cap. You started your training!"
"Kohi! I'm dizzy. Put me down!"
Settling the nurse apprentice back on her feet, Kohaku pointed at Sun. "You remember Sun, right?"
Sun waved back at Maria, who nodded and waved back. Kohaku thought that was weird. Sure, Sun was more popular with the boys, but he merited a little more enthusiasm, right?
The answer to her musings came in one word.
"Abs…" Maria eyes were glued to Sun's midsection. Huh, now that she thought about, the girl was at the beginning of that phase, right? Maybe a little early, but Kohaku hadn't been the most average of teenage girls around, so maybe she wasn't a good base of comparison.
Still…
"Sun, cover your indecency! Maria, I'll protect you!" She covered the girl's eyes. Now if only she had more arms for the eyes of the girls that were shamelessly leering at Sun. Damn you, Huntsman physique!
"I'm fourteen, not four!" Maria grabbed Kohaku's hands and pulled them away from her eyes. "And I'm a nurse in training. I know about birds and bees and how to do ass exams!"
Kohaku blinked. That was…
"Wow, I never thought you had it in you to use such a vocabulary," Sun said as he patted Maria on the head. The girl leaned into the pat and hummed happily. At least she still craved attention. That hasn't changed. "Where did you learn to be so crass?" Sun asked.
Kohaku blinked again. Was that an unintentional pun? Is Yang actually infectious? That hypothesis was starting to gain ground scarily fast.
"Kyota."
Kohaku sighed. "That makes sense." He had nearly six months to corrupt the youth without her intervening. "Where is the little twerp, anyways?"
"That little twerp challenges you to a duel!"
The challenge came from a light brown-haired boy with blue eyes holding what seemed to be a mechashift bat. Except for a bit more muscle definition, Kyota looked pretty much like Kohaku left him.
The boy decided he wanted to be a Huntsmen earlier than her. And not in the sense that he was younger. By the time Kohaku started her training, the boy had already done some work into looking the part of a Huntsman, with an open light green jacket, baggy pants, a yellow scarf, and a helmet, as well as some physical conditioning. Except for some tweaks, his ensemble had stay persistent throughout the years. The only reason he hadn't started training before her was because not many people were willing to train a prepubescent boy in the art of killing monsters. It wasn't until Kohaku was already one year into her training that Kon decided to give him somewhere to start.
And it seems he hadn't slacked off either.
Before any more words were traded, Kohaku rushed to hug the boy. While initially taken aback, Kyota returned the hug.
"Still as big mouthed as ever. Good to see you, Kyota!"
"Hahaha, right back at ya, Koh. And great to see you, too, Sun. I'll beat those abs of yours!"
"Ha! Looking forward to it, you brat."
Kohaku glared at Sun. "Sun, I told you to cover your indecency." Kohaku was booed by the female population in the vicinity. And some of the boys. Why was she the bad guy in this?
"Whatever," she muttered, before looking back at the kid she saw as a little brother. "I see you have kept to your training. I'll fight you before I go back to Beacon, you… little…"
She trailed off.
"Hey, Koh, you ok?"
She was looking directly at Kyota's eyes. Not looking down, but straight ahead.
She gave a little laugh of disbelief. "You're as tall as me." And she bet he still had a couple of inches to go while she probably peaked. And Kohaku was not a short girl when compared to the average.
"Hehe, yeah. Seems like we are growing, huh?" Kyota said sheepishly.
"Yeah. Seems that way." To Kohaku, it felt like it was only yesterday that she looked after these kids, young enough that they needed her to reach the upper cupboards. And now? One was training to be a medic. The other was as tall as her and well on his way to becoming a Huntsman. If she looked around for the other kids, she was sure she would see the same. But Kyota and Maria were especially close. Her own clique, along with Sun and…
"Hey, where's Jin?" She asked.
"Oh! He got a job not so long ago," Kyota explained. "Pretty fancy. Pays really well. He moved out to an apartment by the plaza."
"Really?" Sun asked in amazement. Kohaku herself was speechless. To make the jump from the edge of Burrow to its center was nothing to scoff at.
"Yep," Maria added. "I'm not entirely sure what he does. He's like a consultant to important people."
"I'll give you his scroll information and address," Kyota added, pulling his own scroll.
"You got a scroll?" Sun asked. That wasn't a common sight for people of their economic background.
"Yeah. Needed to work my ass off for it, and I owe Jin money, but it has been an immense help in my training, for information and stuff."
"Thanks, Kyota," Kohaku said upon receiving the Jin's contact information. "Sun and I will be staying until the end of next week. You know where I live. Let's meet and hang out, yeah?"
"I'm not letting you run away from my challenge, Koh!" Kyota proclaimed while pointing his bat at her.
Kohaku laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it."
-o-
The area surrounding Burrow's plaza was a world apart from the poorer edges. Concrete and bricks replaced wood. There was a clear difference in the way people carried themselves. It was less familiar, less personal. Each inhabitant minded their own business or kept their snooping to discreet glances rather than the open curiosity.
"Is this the place?" Sun asked.
Kohaku double checked the instructions, then nodded. This wasn't exactly a residential area. It was mixed, a combination of storefronts with the storeowners' houses close by. It wasn't a hard rule, but it was clear that was the intention, given most stores had a second floor that yelled 'living quarters'.
And the building Sun and she were sent to has a regular drug store at the bottom with a second floor that could be accessed from outside.
The instructions say second floor, so…
Making their way upstairs, they were met with a metal door and an 'Open' sign. Was Jin using his home as a store of sorts? Well, only one way to find out. She opened the door.
What greeted them was a messy, repurposed living room. A rectangular space with shelves upon shelves of parts for all kind of machines and gizmos decorated the walls. The center of the room was dominated by a table dense with more complex parts; less nuts and bolts and more motors and batteries.
Kohaku spied two doors towards the right wall. If she had to guess, a kitchen and a small bedroom. Probably with a bathroom in the bedroom.
And towards the end of the room, behind a makeshift counter in an area the served as a working station…
"Be with you in a minute…"
Not even looking up from where he was working, a bespectacled boy with shoulder-length, messy black hair was fastidiously tinkering on what Kohaku identified as the blade of a mace-like mechashift weapon… guess the Weapon Crafting and Upkeep class was working its magic. He wasn't really working on the blade itself; you want a blacksmith for that. But on the moving pieces that defined mechashifts. Not every Hunter was a Ruby Rose, capable of servicing their weapon while blindfolded. Some hired third-party shops that provided such services. This was especially true if the weapon was severely damage.
Setting down his equipment, the boy used a towel close by to clean some of the grime in his hands and turned to greet them.
"So, what can I help-"
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes blinking rapidly while he registered just who his guests were.
"Kohaku! Sun?" Jin asked in disbelief. Seeing the monkey faunus wide grin, Jin gave one of his own as he approached the pair of Hunters. "Sun! It's been way too long, dude!"
"Not long enough," bumping fists with the blue-clad boy. "You are still the nerdy, lanky guy I knew. I was expecting a muscle-bound monster that could bench-press me with one hand. Way to shatter my expectations."
"Har har," Jin said the mocking laughter. "Just for that, you're paying double for my services when you need them." He turned towards Kohaku, ignoring Sun's hurt theatrics, and gave her a quick look.
"You're ogling," she accused with a smirk.
"I-if you want to call it that," he said, his cheeks flushing red a bit as he adjusted his glasses. "But no, it's just odd to see you in those clothes. I was wondering if you were still going around in a bikini in the middle of Vale. Those look good on you, by the way. More mature."
"Oh?" Kohaku wolfishly grinned. "So, I have a more mature allure now, eh?"
"I-I, well, you s-see…"
Sun lightly slapped Kohaku on the back of her head. "Give the boy a break. Don't you see he's getting lightheaded?"
Right. She shouldn't be teasing Jin like that. After a sheepish apology from her part, Jin managed to calm down. "What are you guys doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"We're currently on break," Kohaku explained. "Sun hasn't been here in a while, so we figured we could visit and catch up. And if we're lucky, we can push him down the moat. Make it look like an accident."
"See the abuse I have to endure," Sun lamented.
"What about you?" Kohaku asked Jin, while picking up and inspecting some odd spherical contraption sitting on the middle table, begging to be picked up. "What is this place?"
"My workshop," the boy explained casually. "I mainly do repairs for anything mechanical or electronic. However, the quick cash influx came from my gig as a consultant. It's how I got a place like this in short order."
Kohaku looked up from the gizmo on her hands. "What do you mean?"
Jin scratched a cheek nervously. "You know how it is. Be in the right place at the right time overhearing the right conversation as the right man, and suddenly you have a group of Atlesian archeologists vying for your time, claiming you a local expert and guide, talking about shipping you to Atlas for a sponsored scholarship."
Sun whistled. "Nice."
Kohaku let the grabbable sphere drop to the floor with a clank. "You're serious?"
Jin gave a wary nod. Before anyone could react, Kohaku jumped to cling from Jin, giving him a tight hug while the boy struggled not be dragged down to the floor. It wasn't the first time it happened, the boy having surpassed Kohaku in height by the time of her acceptance to Beacon.
"Let him breath, Kohi," Sun pried Kohaku from the almost collapsing boy. With the Huntress struggling to escape his iron grip, ordering to put her down, Sun spoke. "Congrats man. Guess all that time buried in books paid off."
Jin nodded. "The scholarship is in anthropology, archeology, or anything along those lines, of course, but I'm allowed to get a second degree. Was thinking engineering. Lucking out with my general knowledge might have net me this place but fixing machines and Hunter's weapons is steadier income.
Finally breaking free, Kohaku gave Jin a knowing smile. "Glad to see your fancy-pants future diploma doesn't blind you to the one true master of Remnant."
"It's just really nice to live here, ok?" Jin said flustered.
With the shock behind her, Kohaku picked the orb she dropped earlier and started poking into it, keeping her hands occupied. "So, when do you start?"
"Three weeks from now."
"That's soon," Sun noted, "have you told anyone?"
Jin expression soured. "No. I've… been trying to prepare for the waterworks. You know how Maria got when you two left."
"You're in luck, my good sir!" Kohaku proclaimed, sphere under left arm, right hand over chest, and with unrequited pride. "I can help with that! I'm an amazing social lubricant."
Silence reigned, following Kohaku's statement.
"Forget that last part," Kohaku added, pose and tone unchanged but hints of a blush creeping on her face. Silence still reigned.
Kohaku was saved from further embarrassment as the sphere she was holding whirled to life, escaping her grip to float a couple inches above ground.
"Recalibrating…sensors…assist…module…bzzt"
The mechanical voice died in static, as the sphere fell lifelessly to the ground with a heavy thud, a wisp of smoke akin to its last breath signaling its demise.
"Ahhh, it fizzled." Kohaku pouted. Giving the little machine a soldier's salute, she said, "it was the best distraction a clumsy girl like me could hope for. Its life might have been short, but not meaningless."
"S-sure, I'll pretend that d-distraction worked," Jin granted Kohaku a respite, not that he could say much given his own reddened cheeks. He picked up the machine. "I'm surprised it just sparked to life like that," he said while inspecting it critically. "I hadn't had any luck since I came by it. I suspect some pieces were damaged beyond repair. At least now I know it's supposed to be some sort of assistant."
"Where did you get that thing, anyways?" Sun asked.
"Contraband." Jin placed Kohaku's dead buddy aside and turned towards his guests, in time to notice their questioning looks. "It was scavenged from an Atlesian airship, to the north. Laws technically say to return such objects to closest Atlas military outpost, but nobody really does that, hence contraband. It was brought to me to identify, but I had no luck. Seems to be a prototype for something by a prominent weapon manufacturer, going by the serial number.
"Back on topic. Thanks, Koh; I'll build up the courage to tell them before you leave. I have some work to do, so I don't have much in the way of free time these days. Let's work a schedule. You owe Kyota a match, right? We could do that later next weekend, Friday. Then spend the rest of the day just hanging out."
"Sounds like a plan," Kohaku declared brightly. She pulled out her scroll and sent her info to the scroll number Kyota had given her. "Sun and I will be around."
"Being obnoxious tourists!"
"What Sun said." She wasn't going to bother arguing that. "If you're free for lunch or something, give me a call."
"Sure," Jin agreed, verifying the contact details sent to his scroll. "I need to finish the weapon I'm working on by day's end. It's an expedited job. One of the Huntresses guarding the researchers got unlucky."
Kohaku nodded and made her way to the exit. "We'll leave you to it." Grabbing the doorknob and turning back, she sent him a smile. "It's good to see you again."
Sun chipped in. "And congratulations. Don't forget about us little people from your hardcover throne in academia."
Jin chuckled. "I would never. Somebody has to be there to educate you dirty peasants. Take care. Talk to you later."
-o-
The week that followed was a nostalgia trip for Kohaku. It reminded her of the last two years in Burrow. She would wake early in the morning to get some training, albeit assisted by Sun, before going to the orphanage to spend some time with the kids there, helping out however she could. Maria was occupied with her apprenticeship, but Kyota would spend the morning with them, trying to get Kohaku to fight him ahead of time before giving up and going to do his own training in the afternoon. This left the entirety of the afternoon to explore Burrow and reacquaint themselves with the village. For her part, not much changed in a little less than half a year, but Sun had been gone for about three years. He was acting the part of an obnoxious tourist to a T, albeit the 'obnoxious' bit was tempered by Kohaku intervening every time he attempted to steal a fruit.
While Kohaku didn't know every citizen of Burrow, sometimes she felt the opposite wasn't true. At the very least they recognized her as 'Blade's sister'. It was both flattering and tiresome. She felt the slightest of empathy for Pyrrha. Some even approached her. Thankfully, it wasn't just for empty conversation. Twice during the week someone asked if they could procure her services as a Huntress-in-training for a quick trip outside the village proper, having recognized her current status as a Beacon student. She didn't mind as it was at worst a two hours trip. It kept her occupied, she was paid, and she liked to help.
"This place is quite… cushy," Sun observed.
And said payment was used for the meal Sun and she were currently enjoying.
"Kon and I used to visit it a lot after training. She acquired a taste for these kind of smaller establishments during her time at Shade."
The restaurant was a two-story building. The second floor consisted mostly of a balcony with the tables and a bar, with the first housing the kitchen. It was a small place, hidden away from the busy main streets. The kind of place you went more for the atmosphere than the food itself. Not to say the food was bad. Quite the opposite, in fact. But with an ever-changing daily menu and most preparation done at the moment, any expectation of consistency and efficiency was thrown out of the window. Or the balcony, as the case may be. You came here for the quality and atmosphere and little else.
"When is your team arriving to Vale?" Kohaku asked, looking to make small talk. She knew Sun ditched Haven in favor of stowing away in an airship… to Vacuo, to then stow away in a ship headed for Vale. It was a very roundabout way to skip classes and one she called him out on. She asked him if Haven was really that carefree about this whole thing. It wasn't, but Sun was on-track to transfer Team SSSN to Shade after a lot of pushing and pestering his team. Hence his pit stop in Vacuo.
"Oh, I received a message from my partner, Neptune. He will be arriving just before the end of the break. You'll love him. Your accusations of being ogled will actually ring true with him."
"Yay," Kohaku said without the excitement commonly associated with that expression. "I'm dying to meet him."
"Nah, don't worry about it. He fancies himself a flirt, but he's actually a big nerd and goof. Can be a bit insensitive, though. Sage and Scarlet should be arriving in time for the preliminaries."
"Looking forward to it." And she was. She wondered what kind of people could look at Sun and say 'Yep, I'll follow that man to hell.' Or in this case, Vacuo. It was within her margin of error. They had to be characters.
The sound of plates and silverware crashing to the ground, behind her, broke their conversation.
"Didn't they teach you to read? No pets allowed!"
Taking a deep, calming breath, she let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through her hair in annoyance, willing herself not to turn around. She had no desire to look at the ass in the eyes. Was this guy seriously going to choose this hill to die? It wasn't like anti-faunus sentiments were novel in Vacuo. But it wasn't as widespread as in the other kingdoms. When most of the kingdom's environment was out to kill you, putting down your fellow men lost its luster. You just couldn't afford to make enemies like that.
You needed to go to specific settlements and places for racism to get really bad and, despite its relative stability, it was downright rare in Burrow. If there was a resident of the village who hated faunus, they were normally smart enough to keep quiet or they would find themselves not a resident before long. So, chances were this guy is a visitor. Perhaps a merchant of some sort.
It didn't matter. Soon the owner of the restaurant will come up those stairs and give the man two choices: walk away or be thrown out from a second floor.
"Is there a problem here?" A cordial, but stern, voice addressed the racist.
'Wait. That isn't the owner,' Kohaku thought. 'In fact, that sounds like…'
"Great, another one. Why don't you take your friend and your monkey ass out of here and let us eat without worrying about fur in our food?"
'Damnit, Sun. You and your bleeding heart.'
Kohaku set aside her own silverware, standing up and mentally preparing to play interference. The other patrons, as she expected, were looking with annoyance and disgust at the man causing a scene. It was some middle-aged civilian that she didn't recognize and, based on his clothing, wasn't from around here. It looked southern Mistrali, the same style as Ren.
She spared a look at the victimized faunus who was currently lying on the floor; a young sheep faunus, in her early twenties, dressed primarily in shades of green and browns. Kohaku didn't recognize her either.
She has a mechashift weapon on her back…
…
Did… did the civilian SERIOUSLY assaulted a Huntress?
'Deep breathes, Kohaku. Head in the game. You might actually need to prevent bloodshed. No matter how much the guy was asking for it.'
"Ok, what seems to be the problem?" She asked, maintaining a confident tone, hoping to give off the impression that she was the authority here. Truthfully, she had seen the person manning the bar leave to fetch the owner. She was just buying time, making sure Sun didn't take matters into his own hands. Or worst, the HUNTRESS faunus doing so. Seriously, some people…
"This public menace," the guy pointed at the faunus, "attempted to mug me as she walked pass my table."
"I did not!" The girl defended herself from the floor. Was she pushed at some point? It truly was a small miracle the man was still in one piece.
"She spoiled my meal and now her friend here is trying to save face."
Kohaku just stared; face carefully carved into an uncaring expression. She allowed the seconds to add up. It wasn't like she had nothing to say. She was just struggling deciding whether to let the owner take care of this or tell Sun to pick up the guy and throw him off the second floor. Save the restaurant the trouble of doing it themselves. He would survive. Probably.
Ok, the fact she was wasting time already made it clear what she was hoping the end result would be.
"Look," she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're a racist idiot- Stop! Let me finish." She halted the incoming rebuttal. "This is what's going to happen. You either leave the restaurant on your own volition, you wait quietly until the owner comes up those stairs and kicks you out himself, or you say one more foolish drivel and I'll throw you off the second floor myself."
Sun, damn him, gave her a low whistling. The sheep girl stared in awe. Kohaku was reminded of Velvet.
The prick was fuming. "And just who are you, little girl?"
Face still apathetic, Kohaku took note of the guy's height. She was taller. She looked into his eyes. She noted they were brown. How boring. She just continued to look. All in the name of wasting time.
This, however, had an unexpected side effect. It allowed people to talk. And for them to listen to the not quiet-enough gossips.
"Isn't that Blade's sister?"
"That's Kohaku Mino."
"Didn't she go to Beacon?"
"Hey, that's Sun!"
Kohaku raised an eyebrow. Kon was a minor celebrity in Burrow, and a fairly recognizable Huntress on her own right, but Kohaku didn't know some of that fame rubbed on her by association. Good to know. And it seems the guy was recognizing this if his growing apprehension was anything to go by.
"Kohaku! What's going on here?"
Finally! The owner, a senior citizen that hadn't let age keep him from maintaining a respectable physique, stalked towards the commotion, fury written in his eyes. He had a zero-tolerance policy for this kind of attitude. Throughout the years, more than one employee who didn't keep themselves in check suddenly found out they were unemployed, unemployable, and blacklisted from every business this side of Vacuo.
She would have wondered how he managed that, but after GV blacklisted pancakes in Vale, blacklisting a food employee sounded downright pedestrian.
"Faunus," she gestured at the faunus. "Racist," she gestured at the racist. "Sun."
"Hey," Sun waved.
"Me," she gestured at herself. "He discriminated, she fell, he meddled, and I bought you time."
The owner nodded at the too-concise explanation. He glared at the prick. "Out of my restaurant, either through the exit or jumping off the balcony, I don't care… NOW!"
Seemingly realizing this was not a battle he was going to win, or that he even wanted to fight, the man, stumbling upon his own words, finally gave up and made a hasty retreat.
The restaurant owner approached the sheep girl, bowed, and in a 180 degree turn to his demeanor, addressed her with a soft-spoken voice that reminded Kohaku of that time the twins landed them in a five-star restaurant. "My apologies, ma'am. Rest assure, that behavior is abhorred in Burrow. I hope it doesn't color your opinion of our humble village. Should you desire anything, I will personally cook it for you. On the house, of course." His attention snapped towards Sun. As well as the tone of his voice "Boy! Have some class and help the lady up. And cover your indecency."
"Yes sir!" Sun knelt and offered a hand. The other worked masterfully on buttoning his shirt.
The old chef turned towards Kohaku. "Thanks for your assistance, Miss Mino. Sorry for ruining your meal. If I may-"
"Kohaku is fine," the brunette stopped the owner from continuing, knowing where the conversation was going. "Just doing my job. No need for a show of gratitude with free food."
"Free food?" Sun head snapped in her direction after helping the faunus.
"Down, Sun," Kohaku growled.
The old man chuckled. "If you insist. If I may be so bold, a meal is best enjoyed with good company." He sent Kohaku, Sun, and the faunus girl a meaningful look. "I'll be sending a waiter your way shortly." With those last words, he retreated to the kitchen. Slowly, with the scene done, the other patrons lost interest and returned to their meals.
Kohaku dragged a free chair towards her table and took her own.
"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose," the sheep girl rapidly raised her hands and shook her head.
Before being led to the table by Sun, who placed a hand on her back and gently pushed her towards the table, earning a little 'eep' from the girl. "Vanish the thought."
"Sun would have asked you to join us anyways. He will tragically die from a heart hemorrhage by the tender young age of twenty-two," Kohaku lamented the upcoming fate of her friend.
The faunus girl wasn't entirely convinced. She looked at the half-finished plates on the table. "You almost finished eating."
Kohaku took a seat and sent her a sly smile. "And you are our ticket to a meal prepared by the old man himself."
"I only ask you to spread the word of our noble sacrifice," Sun added solemnly, joining them at the table.
The faunus girl smiled shyly. She was giving in, letting her guard down. Just a little push.
"I'm Kohaku," the brunette nudge her head towards her current partner "And this goof is Sun."
Kohaku offered a silent invitation to their guest. After a pause, the girl relented.
"I'm Fiona. Nice to meet you."
Author's Notes
I should stop ending chapters with people introducing themselves. But they make for easy chapter ends and this fic did start with four chapters doing just that.
These and the next few chapters serve as an interlude before the start of Volume 2 events. They weren't in the original plans, but it allows me to explore the characters and their past a bit without cutting into the main plot. Because that's what I need more of… That's my excuse, at least.
Originally, this and the next chapter were going to be one. But it felt wrong to skim over the entire break without anything of note happening. So, I started wondering what I could fill the gap with that would be informative. The answer was fairly obvious (and will be touch upon next chapter). But I needed a vehicle for the information.
And well… let's do our rundown:
Blade: I derped with her age. Way back in Chapter 3, I gave her an age of 26 going to 27. This doesn't work for the purposes of something discussed next chapter, since I need her to be a third year at Shade ten years ago. Therefore, she was between 18-20 years old, making her more or less 28 in the present. This also means that Blade does remember her and Kohaku's parents, was orphaned at some point, and was left with a 5 years old Kohaku under her care.
Burrow: Kohaku's and Sun's (and Blade's) home. Originally, I imagined this place as less a village and more a hamlet. The kind where everybody knows everybody. I decided against it. It's still small for a village, but not a collection of huts that you would see in a history book about the Caribbean's natives (or taíno, as some of them were called).
The idea for the trenches/moat came AFTER the name Burrow. Following Vacuo's settlement naming theme, I was looking for something rock/stone related. But Burrow is not that, is it? It is still related to earth, but far enough from the naming convention to indicate it is not quite the same as your average settlement. That's my justification and I'm sticking to it.
Orphanage and ages: I originally went on a tangent about worldbuilding in this section. But it went for too long. To summarize: Applying real world sensibilities to Remnant causes inconsistencies to crop up. Having a hard cutoff of eighteen for adulthood is odd considering the Academies. Ruby, the character, complicates things further. Most settlements, especially in Vacuo, cannot realistically support a modern education system, leaving apprenticeships as a more viable option for technical fields.
These and more are my justifications behind the approach I took for Jin, Kyota, and Maria. Why Jin is a sixteen years old freelancer, Maria a fourteen years old apprentice nurse, etc. With how relatively lawless Vacuo is, I wanted the orphanage to be less an institution and more a community outreach to unfortunate children. They are taken care of, but with minimum supervision. The resources for anything more are just not there.
The Minos kids: If you recall Kohaku's original author notes in Chapter 3, 'Mino' is originally a shortening of the word 'minority', used to describe humans (i.e. non-Adepts) in Luminous Avenger iX. Jin, Kyota, and Maria are also Minos. But that's in the Gunvolt games. Remember that in this fic, Mino is Kohaku's last name. The kids remain with no last name until I need them to have one.
I tried to imagine what would each of these kids do with their life (in Remnant), given an opportunity. Kyota was the easiest: he would definitely become a Huntsman, especially if Blade, Kohaku (and Sun) did. Jin was a bit harder since his deal in the games is that he's the smart guy, with general knowledge about… everything. Recalling he had a conversation with Copen where he dissected how Divider (in this fic, that's Mytyl's gun) works, an engineer became an obvious shoe-in. But I still wanted to keep his general know-how, so I gave him his big break through something that isn't engineering. Finally, Maria was the toughest. Being the youngest and existing to be a haughty cinnamon roll, there wasn't much for me to work with. So, after careful consideration, I opted for medicine. This was inspired by how devastated (sort of) she looks during the sequence where Kohaku is ill and delirious, with a signed death warrant unless Copen acquires the medicine she needs. It's Copen, of course he succeeds. I can see something similar happening (switch Copen with Blade) in this fanfic, funneling the girl towards medicine.
As a side note, these characters break the naming convention for the most part. Jin could be taken as gold in Chinese or gin (the juniper-based alcohol) in Japanese. Maria could be argued to be derived from sea if you look deeply into the name's roots. Kyota I have no idea. At any rate, I didn't give them any last name because I don't need them and they are not in a team, so I didn't need all the help I could get coming up with a team name. If I ever give them a last name, be assured it will follow the color rule.
Finally…
Fiona Thyme: What the heck is she doing here? I'll be honest: it's a whim. I love her character design and how adorkable she is and would like to use her in the fic. But she has no reason to be in the main plot and I'm not keen on twisting the narrative's integrity to add her.
But the same is not true for an appearance in what's effectively a side-story. I don't know how old she is and with people like Glynda and Ozpin around, she could be anywhere from her twenties to her mid‑fifties. I'm going with twenties. Specifically, I'm going with 21-22. This would make her a recent Atlas graduate. With the events of Volume 7 still over two years away, this gives her time to be a proper Huntress before joining the Happy Huntresses. Sure, she could have joined Robyn immediately out of Atlas Academy, but why do that? That just keeps her one-dimensional. We already know she looks up to Robyn, we don't need to know she looks up to Robyn even more. This way she could be a Huntress, find out she's dissatisfied being a freelancer, and then find a purpose following Robyn.