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(Pine PoV)
So I was honest enough to admit that the little green dress probably looked better on me than Yuma. But Yuma liked it more. I could tell. So I gave it up. I found this dark black gown with a ribbon that went around my hips which was golden. And the entire wrap dress had very gold trimmings. It didn't match my hair or eyes but I still felt like that would be too much green.
I saw Peach in the white bodycon with her hair drawn back and her eyes glowing. She would be tough to beat but I had the whole angel-girl thing going on for me so I thought I was at least competition. I needed to take this dress to seamstress for my wings anyways. I could probably fold them up behind me but that wasn't really super comfortable.
When Rosé bought the dress for me I left it with the seamstress and gave the young man my shipping address. He wore a suit jacket and slacks and button up shirt with no tie. He took the measurements of my wings and left tiny cuts in the dress where the wings would poke through. He didn't blush at my proximity despite our age because he knew I was a customer. He must have been used to pretty girls being close to him in cute dresses.
Rosé had found a silvery pink skirt that she liked and I had to admit she looked pretty good in it. It matched her hair and had lots petal-like filaments near the waist. It was a good fit and the skirt was fairly short. For her sake she seemed to want it to be short enough to give men ideas about her. Yuma went with the loose green gown. It also didn't match her eyes or hair but she looked good in green like that. Part of her huntress clothes were green so she had to be comfortable in the color.
The others besides me carried their new dresses in shopping bags. Mine would have to be delivered at a later date with the modifications for my wings in tow.
"My dad… I don't know… he was never so masculine that it was toxic. My mom passed when I was too young to know her. He never really got over it? I don't think? But he was there for me in the emotional ways that mattered," Yuma told us over the festival fair.
"Good for you," Peach sounded like she meant it. "But you must have known guys like that. Right?"
"Not really… I was pretty much the only one my age in the village. Beacon has been my first real experience with boys my own age."
"Not impressed. Are you," I fired.
"Well… no. I'm not. But then again it's not really their fault. Maybe I just like older men?"
"Maybe you like men and not boys," Rosé cut across.
"Yeah. Maybe. But it almost doesn't seem fair for the boys. Does it?" Yuma asked.
"Who cares? They're boys," Peach cut in. "I've been with boys before. They just want to lay around and play video games. They don't know how to entertain me or touch me. Guys our age don't know how to treat us. They'll buy you coffee and won't even talk to you or ask you meaningful questions. That's what boys are like, really."
I was inclined to agree with her. I'd been on a few dates with guys before. If they couldn't engage my mind, then what was the point? The Professor was good conversation material. He was interesting. I mean… I'd brought it up before as a bad thing potentially but he had weapons from people he had killed in his office under glass cases. That might be concerning but it definitely wasn't boring. He was engaging in a conversation and wasn't just a passive noodle in the breeze.
And maybe they were all right. Maybe his trophies aren't something to really be concerned about. Maybe if I hunted serial killers in my career I'd take a memento too. I think it would depend on the serial killer. Khagan Branwen was one thing but a common bandit was another. And it wasn't like he took something like every bandit's right ear or something else horrific. I'd heard of bandits who did that. Instead he took the occasional weapon off a really dangerous, horrible person.
Maybe it really wasn't something to be concerned about.
I wasn't sure. I didn't have any good answers.
We entered into the Jefferson Gardens where seats had been set up and we bought four tickets. We sat and watched a ballet. There was an entire accompanying orchestra to the dance and something like fifty people in the show itself.
It was a fantastic performance of synchronization and perfect fluid movements.
I was a fighter with aura. It took a great deal to impress me in terms of physical movement. I'd seen some of the best from people my age and above in actual combat. Fluid impossible grace and flow on the battlefield was a bit like a dance. Neutral was an ebb and flow between two people. It was a conversation. So maybe I read a bit further into the movements on stage than my teammates did.
It also meant maybe I read into the Professor's motions more than them as well. I'd seen how he maintained advantage and moved like a fluid wave at his opponents. He always held them within his range and himself outside of theirs. I'd seen him move in floating rolls and sweeping dashes where his feet left the ground and he soared through the air after his opponents in training. He penetrated his opponents space and once he entered he never really left.
Once, when I fought him, he put me into a tumble situation. I'd tried to teleport away and back to my feet but he flowed and oozed to my new position before I could breath and he hammered me with his broadsword as gently as he could.
It was a dance. It was a game of cat and mouse. There were mental battles to win and wage against your opponent. Tricks and empty movement. The Professor was the best dancer I'd ever seen. He knew when to call you out on your attacks or your footwork. He knew how to make you overextend or undershoot. He was a master at getting into the head of his opponent and scaring them into picking a bad option. But he still forced you to pick an option. It felt from the moment you started fighting him until he beat you like you were in disadvantage and it felt like no matter how hard you tried or how you teleported or blocked or fought back you were still playing into his hands.
And he didn't really use his semblance either. Some kind of Breaker power that did gods know what for him.
I watched the dancers on the stage drip around and run in little streams. I was impressed but I'd seen a hurricane in the body of a man. All the fluid power and force of the most powerful storms contained in body and fighting the way angels fought for the gods.
So the dance was immaculate and well performed. But I'd seen the Professor improvise and break up his opponents flow and force them into his rhythm like he'd danced with them before. He fought me like he'd fought me a couple dozen times while I fought him like I'd never really known battle.
When the play was over I lended my applause but I still was thinking in the back of my head how he hovered towards with his sword held in both hands by the enormous handle.
"Rosé?" I asked. "You know what the Professor's semblance is? Don't you?" I asked as we walked out of the amphitheater.
"I do. I don't know all of it's details and rules. But I have a general picture."
"The flight and strength and speed," I nodded. "But the Breaker state. What does it do?"
"I'm not sure I should say… he strongly implied I should keep it a secret."
"Come on, think of what else you've told us," Peach protested. "We can keep a secret."
"I've seen it," Yuma whispered. I turned to look at her. "In Wutai when he saved my life I saw him using it."
"And? What was it like?" Peach asked.
A semblance was perhaps the most important thing to a person in a battle and maybe in life in general. You could read a lot into the power somebody's soul unleashed granted them. Probably more than anything else could. Who they were? What they really were like? What were their strengths? When would they falter? It was incredibly important information and the Professor held his close to his chest where no one could really see the hand he was dealt. I may have asked what his soul was really like. At his essence what was he?
"He's stronger and faster in his breaker state," Yuma said. "Like, half again as fast and almost as strong. I saw him fight Raven Branwen. He had her on the backfoot from the get go. There's a power to him in that state. One that he can use on an incredibly powerful attack option."
Peach whistled lowly.
"It's a charge that he can spend once his semblance is activated," Rosé informed us. "It's a comeback mechanic and a win condition. If he activates his semblance then you've pretty much already lost. He can use the charged energy of the elevated state on a single or series of attacks which are stronger by an order of magnitude than they would be in his normal state. I've seen him take down big game in a single good hit with it. He crushed a manticore like it was nothing."
"He hit Raven Branwen with it. She barely survived," Yuma murmured. "I saw him crush men and women with a casual ease while he was glowing."
"What's it called?" I asked.
"I don't know," Rosé said. "But it's easily the most powerful semblance I know of."
"Me neither. I've never seen anyone in his league except maybe Raven Branwen," Yuma agreed. "My dad couldn't hold a candle to him. And he's not weak. My dad is the second strongest person I truely know. I mean, I've heard the headmistress is powerful. But I wouldn't really know. And I struggle to imagine anyone being able to really keep up with him."
A carnival marched past us down the street. It was a parade of acrobats and flag twirlers and even two enormous elephants which shambled along down the six lane street.
"He hits like a truck when he doesn't have it," Peach mumbled. "It's hard to imagine him even stronger than he already is. I could barely keep up and hold him off while he fought me. He rattled me every time he hit me and unless I miss my mark I'm the raw strongest of us. Maybe I'm the raw strongest in our entire age group. I'm… I'm so far behind him that it's not even funny. Are there hunters even stronger than him, too? If there are, I'm way behind where I need to be in order to be competitive."
"He's got to be among the strongest hunters alive. No question," Yuma talked just barely over the crowd and the music. "I mean… no one was able to take down Raven Branwen. She was Mistral and Vale public enemy number one. There were armies out combating her and her bandit horde."
"And he killed her," I said. "He has her sword. Was it difficult for him?"
"They were a match when I saw them," Yuma informed me. "He edged it out over her but she got her fair share of licks in. It wasn't one sided."
"I didn't watch when they met the second time… I wish I had," Rosé had her head down and was looking at the ground rather than at the circus. "I hadn't wanted to watch him kill anybody. I was scared of what he was doing to himself. Like what was he doing to his soul by killing people. He told me it hadn't been fun so it may not have been a slaughter."
"Would it have been fun for him if it were a slaughter?" I wondered, feeling slightly repulsed.
"I don't know. I really have no idea. I suppose… I suppose what? We could ask him? He would know where he stands among hunters better than we do," Rosé murmured.
"What? Just go up and talk to him about it?" Peach asked.
"It worked pretty much every time I needed to talk to him about something. I'd just ask and he'd give it to me pretty straight," Rosé defended.
"Hm," I hummed noncommittally. I thought if he wanted to keep his powers secret he would probably not be too keen on sharing it with us. Maybe there were subtle interactions to it that somebody could use to hurt him. And if he was stronger with it active it stood to reason he was also weaker without it. My dad's power was a little like that. He had a Breaker ability that let him move in straight lines faster but he couldn't change directions or interact with the world very well when he was in it. Some Breaker powers had trade-offs like that.
We were all quiet for a minute as we walked past a crowded cafe with a blue roof and brown open bar themed in a western style. On the other side of the street in harsh contrast was a very modern looking building with all glass and next to that was a tree nursery with a green house. You could see condensation on the green house walls.
"My dad was always emotionally available," I muttered. "About what you guys were saying earlier. My dad was always empathetic and not afraid to feel. So maybe I take that for granted. Did either of your parents have aura?" I asked Rosé and Peach. They both shook their heads.
"Mine does. Have his aura unlocked. Maybe that's a part of it. Having your aura unlocked makes you an empath. Or it can, at least," Yuma cut in. "I mean… there are serial killers, bandits, and what not who also have their aura unlocked so that's not a very good argument either."
"Adam Taurus comes to mind. And Cloud said he killed another serial killer," Rosé agreed. "So aura isn't the answer either."
"But I bet it helps if you let it. You can feel someone's emotions coming off of them if you both have aura or a close connection. My emotional connection to my dad let's me know what he's feeling even from Menagerie," I cut in.
"Really? So far?" Peach asked. "I could do it when we were close a little but not with continents between us. You and your dad are close then?"
"Yeah. I mean. I guess so. I didn't think much of it until you two started talking about being too masculine but I guess we really are. He's in touch with his emotions. He's a gentle spirit. He always believed in me and knew when and how to push me. We're close. And I could always reach out to him emotionally. I mean, I could with my mom too. She's a faunus and he's a human. So I was sort of close to both of them. I didn't really think much about what it would be like if he was distant or unreachable because I've never dealt with that."
"My dad tried his best and you could tell. I was a bit of a handful…" Yuma started. "Not to take away from what you're saying… I mean he could have done more but every parent could have done more, right?"
I gave her a slow shake of my head. I disagreed. I don't know how my parents could have done more.
"Oh…" Yuma trailed off quietly. "Well… oh…"
"Are you upset with him over it?" Peach asked. "A little resentful that he didn't do more for you?"
"I-I-I guess. It's hard to think that way. He's my dad. You know? I love him. It's hard to blame him."
"But," Peach emphasized. "But could he have done more for you? Are you a little resentful that he didn't. Don't you want to hold him a little accountable for your emotional wellbeing?"
"Yeah, I think so…" Yuma almost whispered.
"See? I don't have that with my parents. My parents were… they are the best. They got my aura unlocked and trained me and supported me. But they also disciplined me but when they did they made sure that I was okay still," I said. "Am I really the only one out of us four who can say that? That my parents made sure beyond all reasonable doubt that I was doing not just okay or managing and I was happy?" I wondered.
My friends didn't say a damn thing. And it was loud.
"Kids are probably hard," Yuma murmured.
"Yeah but they knew that when they decided to have them. Didn't they?" Peach sliced.
"Yeah. They did," Rosé muttered. "They had to have known that."
"Yeah. It's hard. But really? All three of you?" I asked.
Peach just slowly nodded. "I'm probably lucky still. I mean my dad wasn't abusive. I'm probably lucky anyways."
"Me too," Yuma said.
"My dad was emotionally manipulative. But he never hit me," Rosé confessed. "I'm probably lucky too. I could be Cloud."
"Why? What's up with family?" Peach asked.
"His dad is the mad scientist Merlot. And I don't know who his mom is but he's physically and emotionally terrified of her," Rosé informed us.
"Wow," Yuma breathed.
"Merlot?" Peach reaffirmed.
"As in the laboratories you all mentioned? That Merlot?" I asked.
"Yeah. He talks about killing him. His own father," Rosé said.
"Hard to blame him. I grew up horrified of Merlot's experiments on Grimm. He made human-like ones that terrorized Wutai."
"He made Grimm?" I wondered.
Yuma just nodded.
"Cloud says he's responsible now because he has the power to stop his father. He says he can't stay a Professor because he has to go after Merlot again," Rosé pressed on.
"Yikes," I whispered. "I can't imagine having the responsibility to kill my dad."
"Me neither," Yuma agreed.
"Nope," Peach chimed in.
"I think it's different. If your parents are totally abusive like that," Rosé said softly. "I mean it's one thing if you love your parents but if your parents are seriously murderers who tortured you your whole life, then it's different."
"Yeah but that's still awful," I pointed out. "That's not any better. Like at all. Because you still got tortured by murderers."
"When was the last time someone made sure that Cloud was okay?" Yuma asked. "I mean your parents made sure you were okay and happy." She pointed at me. "Has Cloud ever been okay or happy?"
"Yeah," Peach agreed. "Probably not."
"Yikes," I repeated.
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-WG
