Yuki and Fox were standing on the upper outdoor deck, having just finished brunch with the crew. Neither one was saying much as they watched the ever-present wind pushed the water into waves several times taller than a person. Light rain was sprinkling the barren deck, making Yuki miserable. Between the debriefings with security, the dinner with the captain, and trying to figure out what Politano was going to do now that the duo's cover had been blown to high heaven, both hunters had gone to bed exhausted the previous night. Neither one was exactly feeling one hundred percent even now. Yuki would never admit it, but the wind was making the redhead shiver, the cape proving no match against the exhaustion and freezing weather.
"Hey, Yuki?", Fox asked.
Fox wasn't facing the Atlesian. He was leaning on the railing, seemingly lost in thought.
"Yeah?", the redhead carefully replied.
"Can you promise me something?"
Fox's demeanor made it clear what he was going to ask for wasn't trivial. Yuki sighed.
"You know me by now. Probably not. Try me and I'll see what I can do."
Fox laughed.
"That's BS. I don't know you. I know what you've done, or some of it at least. I know what's been done to you, or some of it at least. I know the story, but its main character is still an enigma."
Yuki scoffed.
"How poetic. Besides, would you trust anyone if-"
Fox gave the redhead a hard stare. Yuki paused.
"If I'd been treated like a burden, a disease, by everyone?", Fox cut in pointedly. "I've always been a quiet outsider. Officially, I was Yatsu's partner. In practice, he worked with Velvet. I've spent most of my time watching Coco's back. I never had the kind of connection with them that they had with each other."
"That's what happens when you can't trust people.", Yuki sighed.
Fox threw his head back and sighed deeply as the rain and salty wind washed over his face.
"Anyway. No matter what, she's not worth it."
"Hmmh?", Yuki asked, not entirely certain what Fox was referring to.
"The thief. Politano. If she tries something, we'll deal with it then. As a team.", Fox continued.
"Define 'we'. Define 'team'. How long into the future is 'then'?", Yuki replied.
Fox scoffed, still not facing Yuki.
"Dammit, Winterburn. Or should I say-"
"I will literally knock you out cold if you keep going."
"Team Coffee will protect Team Coffee. We're talking to Yatsuhashi. He may or may not be able to meet us in Mistral, but he'll be back when classes start back up at Beacon. Still...", Fox turned to Yuki. "You're the 'Y' in this team as much as he is. You've already helped us through an insanely hard time. Can you promise you'll continued to help us, for as long as we're in Mistral, at least?"
Yuki raised an eyebrow at Fox.
"That's it? I thought you were going to ask for something more difficult.", Yuki replied.
Fox shook his head.
"You said you'd split when we didn't 'need you anymore'. Honestly, this seems plenty difficult for you.", he pointed out, no venom behind the words.
"I… Lucky coincidence that we'll all be in Mistral. Or maybe a silver lining to the worst luck ever.", Yuki simply said.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
There's… something you deserve to know."
Yuki told Fox about the letter from Professor Lionheart.
"Wait… That''s how you got on board!", Fox exclaimed.
"Yeah. Not a stowaway. I actually had a ticket. I was going to get a cabin when you showed up out of nowhere.", Yuki confirmed. "I… I honestly think I might be able start over. Again. I've done enough running. It's getting exhausting. Again.", Yuki scoffed. "When we get to Mistral, I'll at least talk to Lionheart."
"So you're coming with us to Mistral? Where is this coming from? You weren't too keen on that plan a couple of days ago.", Fox asked, his voice challenging.
"Maybe. Thinking about it. May still end up running. Earlier, though… It's like you said then. I'm scared. I run from my problems.", Yuki replied.
"It's… cool that you trust enough to face your problems with us."
Yuki watched Fox, waiting for him to continue, to elaborate a little. He didn't.
Fox was tapping his fingers on the rail, seemingly nervous.
"Another question.", he stated hesitantly.
"Oh dear.", came the reply, a smirk dancing on the redhead's lips.
"I think it's obvious I see you as more than just a temporary teammate.", Fox continued.
"Go on.", Yuki replied, expression now much more neutral.
The redhead's voice was calm and unreadable. In reality, Yuki didn't have a clue how to approach the topic. As Fox had said, they were temporary teammates.
"The last couple of days have been…", Fox started.
"Difficult.", Yuki finished.
"A challenge. But I'd like to think we've seen each other for who we really are in these last few months, sort of peaking in the last few days.", Fox continued.
Yuki let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"I have a feeling I know where you're going with this. You didn't know about the… extracurriculars I had back in Mantle and Atlas. Don't tell me that doesn't matter.", the redhead softly challenged.
"Doesn't matter. You fought for the right reasons."
Yuki fought back the urge to challenge Fox's comment.
"I'm probably going to stay in Mistral even if I don't get into Haven. Plenty of work and I can disappear into the small villages all around. If, and only if, that doesn't work, I'm going to Argus and then Mantle."
Fox paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow.
"Why would you go back? Why set foot on Solitas ever again? Anywhere else, you're just another hunter."
"Student hunter. No graduation papers, no license. It's because Mantle is what I'm used to. I can get by without documents there.", Yuki explained. "Doesn't matter, anyway. I'm serious about Heaven and getting my license. I can stay in Mistral and do… something until the next semester starts."
Fox lightly kicked the railing in frustration.
"And Team Coffee will go back to Beacon eventually. So we shouldn't be talking about this because it can't happen?"
"We should probably start by actually agreeing on what 'this' is that you're talking about.", Yuki pointed out.
Fox kicked the railing harder. He knew full well Yuki was stalling.
"You know I've… developed feelings for you. You had me flustered the moment we first met."
"Let's be honest. You're bringing this up now because of what happened yesterday. We could have died fighting the pirates, life is too short to wait around… All that."
Yuki stopped and cringed.
"Sorry. That came out cold and dismissive. Sorry."
"It's fine.", Fox replied, his expression cold. "We've been through worse."
Yuki's face fell.
"Please don't remind me."
"Didn't mean it like that.", Fox replied. "We're talking now. Actually talking. You've let me in on incredibly sensitive things about your past. You did it, and thought about running. Planned to. Easy enough to offload onto a stranger and then vanish. But you're not running. If I didn't know better I'd think you trust me.", Fox joked, now smirking.
Yuki laughed.
"I… Wow, you're definitely something else, Fox Alistair. And for the record, you definitely became more than a stranger around the third or fourth time you saved my life. So maybe six weeks in."
Fox didn't notice it, but a mix of emotions was washing over the redhead.
"Fox, if I'm being completely honest-", Yuki started.
Suddenly, Fox spun around, startling the redhead. Fox was reaching for his weapons, so without thinking, Yuki also spun around, pistol in hand. Before the Atlesian really had a chance to assess the situation, an upward strike hit the pistol as well as the wrist holding it. Yuki was momentarily stunned at being disarmed so suddenly. What the hell was happening?
Oh, shit!
Now facing the point of a slender sword, Yuki didn't even have time to blink as an all too familiar parasol hit Fox in the chest lightning fast, sending the brawler stumbling backwards on the deck. The pink-haired menace, Neo, was smirking at the two hunters.
"Why?"
The question had escaped the redhead's lips, as if the criminal was going to explain her actions just because someone asked. Neo Politano tilted her head, studying Yuki.
"Why threaten Velvet? You could have just disappeared."
The girl smirked and rolled her eyes. Mute or not, she was laughing at Yuki.
"Why attack us?! I don't honestly give a damn about you! The second I know you won't hurt Velvet, you can go f-"
Yuki more sensed than saw Fox moving on the deck.
Unfortunately, Neo had also spotted it. Fox, attempting to take cover behind the railing of the stairs that led to the lower deck, aimed both his pistols at the pink-haired girl, and actually got a few shots off. With a single leap, Neo closed the distance, now smirking at Fox. She pulled the sword back, intending to stab through the railing.
No!
Yuki pulled out the staff and unfolded it in one swift motion. The redhead stepped closer to the distracted criminal and swung the weapon at her head. Politano, preoccupied toying with Fox and clearly not taking the teenagers seriously, didn't have time to react. The blow connected with her neck. The metal-reinforced end of the staff would have done severe, possibly fatal damage to anyone without aura. Neo was barely staggered for a second. She somehow had it in her still to whack Fox's head with the parasol. She turned her sword to Yuki, stabbing a few times to force the Atlesian to back off. Meanwhile, Fox seemed to collapse, dropping his weapons. That would have been bad enough on its own, but he'd been standing on the stairs to the lower deck. The redhead was forced to retreat and could only watch with a mix of horror and rage as Fox's barely conscious body slumped out of view down the stairs. The noise of Fox's equipment banging against the metal stairs grew more and more distant, another sound Yuki wouldn't forget.
Yuki wasn't thinking. The next few moments were an adrenaline-filled blur, the redhead charging Neo with nothing but a staff. Neo technically had a range advantage with both the parasol and the sword, but Yuki had more flexibility. The staff could bind the sword and parry the umbrella at the same time. Not that Neo let herself be caught in a flow of attack and riposte. The girl jumped back the instant her attack was blocked, often onto benches, equipment crates or even the railings surrounding the deck. Yuki couldn't match the agility, but also had no trouble parrying strikes coming from above. Did they fight for a few seconds? A few minutes? Longer? The Atlesian had no idea. The wind was still howling, drowning out the sounds of combat. Most of the ship's security was below deck, sorting out the aftermath of the pirates' attack. One thing was clear. Yuki was on the back foot. Fox was he gods only knew how badly. Neo Politano was winning.
Neo lunged. Yuki stepped aside, trying to strike upwards from below. The staff stopped the blade, then kept going, right toward the criminal's face. Neo then did something Yuki would never have expected. She stepped to the side, mirroring Yuki, then grabbed hold of Yuki's staff with her sword hand while using the hilt of her sword for leverage. She practically wrapped her left around the staff before lunging. Yuki tried to pull the staff back but Neo kept coming. The redhead was forced to choose between wrestling the staff back and avoiding getting skewered. The decision was instinctive and instantaneous. Yuki would get the staff back. The Atlesian's aura, on the other hand, couldn't take a direct hit anymore. Yuki jumped to the side, but Neo somehow managed to actually hit Yuki with the Atlesian's own staff. The redhead stumbled and fell.
Shit! How am I- Ow! What the-
Yuki didn't just land on the messenger bag. As luck would have it, the Atlesian fell on something sharp. Something shiny that was poking out of the bag after having ripped a hole in it.
Oh, that's right!
Yuki glanced at the blade that had just eaten into the sliver of aura the Atlesian had left. The blade that Mrs. Sylvie Marron had given as a show of gratitude.
A second chance for a second chance…
Yuki grabbed the weapon and shot up from the deck. It had been designed to be mounted on a polearm, so the handle left much to be desired, but it could still be used as a knife. Neo tossed the staff she was still holding away, and charged. Yuki, focused on parrying the seemingly reckless attack, glanced the the staff as wind carried it over the railing and out of view. The thief's sword scraped against the knife and kept moving forward, the pressure uneven and the blade's direction inconsistent.
She's getting tired.
Everything Yuki had read, and now seen, about Neo made if clear she was all about hit-and-run attacks. She didn't have the stamina to keep a fight going.
Works for me.
Yuki took advantage of the rare time the thief had overcommited to an attack, and instead of retreating, stepped forward. The redhead went to grab the pommel of the sword, pushing the blade down with the knife. The simple move would have probably disarmed the thief, if not for one problem. The thief's sword had a curved umbrella handle, making it much more difficult to grab. After wrestling over control of the sword for what was probably a couple of seconds but felt like minutes to Yuki, it was Politano's turn to do something unexpected. She pulled the sword up and towards herself before rotating her grip and smashing Yuki in the face with the hilt. Yuki, cursing, stumbled back. Neo simply adjusted her grip again and cut upward. Nothing but panicked instinct kept redhead's throat from being cut as the knife rose to protect it. Yuki could faintly hear the sound of ripping fabric as the sword cut into the cape, a hair's width from the arteries in the redhead's neck. Holding onto the "knife with it's short handle and complete lack of balance, was becoming difficult. Gripping the knife, Yuki realized something. The thief was having trouble pulling the sword back. Thinking quickly, the redhead ripped the cape open, sending what was left of the buttons flying. The redhead tossed the cape over the sword and wrapped it around the blade. In a reversal of their earlier positions, Yuki now lunged forward while in control of Politano's weapon. Neo stepped aside, but unlike Yuki, didn't let go of the weapon. Instead, the thief smashed the hilt into the lunging redhead's face. Yuki watch was practically screaming alerts as the last of the Atlesian's aura disappeared. Neo then smashed the parasol into the back of Yuki's neck, just as she'd done to Fox. The redhead slumped, blacking out for an instant.
I'm… a fucking idiot.
Neo stepped closer. Yuki wasn't sure how the thief was planning to finish off the nosy hunter who'd gotten in her way twice now, but...
Yuki didn't feel pain. Yuki didn't feel. There was nothing but a dull ache all over as the redhead's mind flickered painfully between consciousness and unconsciousness, like electric shocks as the mind tried to keep itself awake.
"-p it!"
"-n't!"
Shouts. A loud bang seemed to echo somewhere. Then another. Somewhere far away. Or maybe it was a dream?
The fever dreams, the nightmares, that followed were messy, fragmented. Terrifying. Did they last a few seconds? A few minutes? A few hours? Who knew? All Yuki knew was that they seemed endless.