Well Then, that was a process. Hello, it's me, your friendly neighborhood writer here with another piece of writing for you to read at breakfast. Is it good? Who knows. All I know is that it's done. And I'm proud of it.
For Amy
Yossif gently opened his eyes, squinting as the light hit him. He sat up in a slow and fluid motion so as to not wake his teammates.
"Uh oh, big man's up." He heard Rexus say with amusement. "Look Anna, you're not alone with little old me anymore." Yossif kicked off his covers and sat on the edge of the bed, quietly evaluating their living space.
The room had definitely become lived in over the two weeks they had been at school. The space was clearly divided up into four sections belonging to each team member. Anna and Rexus had, by far, the cleanest spaces. No clothes on the ground, organized papers and folders, and an almost geometrical art to how they placed things. Though Rexus did win out over her with the nicest made bed out of all of them. Luka, on the other hand, had the most unorganized and dirty section of the room. Clothes were strewn about around and on her bed. Her work was piled up haphazardly on her nightstand. And, most egregiously, her furniture was all slightly tilted and out of line with everything else. Yossif's own space was a mixture of both sides. A little dirty, a little clean. Compared to his teammates, it made his space look bland and uninteresting.
Anna was sitting at the only desk in the room, dutifully scribbling something down onto a piece of paper. "Finally, now I won't have to listen to Rexus' incessant droning."
"How rude, harumph!" Rexus did a little impression of Anna's voice, ending with the noise that wealthy people made in plays when they were insulted.
Yossif grabbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, "What time is it?"
"Eight in the morning." Rexus replied while stretching. Yossif nodded to himself in surprise. It had been awhile since the last time he slept in. Perhaps Rexus had read the time wrong.
The boisterous noise of a team walking past their door confirmed Rexus' time. Unless people from Vale were just up and being loud at six in the morning, it was probably eight. Yossif looked out the window at the beautiful day. The sun was shining hard, no clouds detracted from the pristine blue sky, and the flora glowed a deep green. "Wha'cha looking at, Yossif?" Rexus asked as he looked for something.
"It looks great outside." Yossif said, entranced by the outside world.
"Speaking of outside, you guys wanna go out today?" Rexus asked as he pulled a shirt from under his covers and put it on.
"What?" Anna asked, leaning back in her chair to get a look at Rexus.
"I mean, it's Saturday, the sun's out, and I finished my work for the weekend yesterday. Seems like a great time to go visit Vale." Rexus said as he fixed his bedsheets and stood. "It's not like we have anything else to do."
Yossif shrugged. He had finished most of his work yesterday, and he could finish the rest on Sunday. "Eh, sounds entertaining at least."
"And Anna?" Rexus looked towards his other team member.
She finished writing and turned towards the two. "Shouldn't we ask Luka? She is our leader after all."
"You guys ask her then, Imma ask everyone else." Rexus turned and walked to the door. "Get showered and put your makeup on, it's gonna be a good day." Rexus opened the door and walked out into the hallway, dressed in fabric pajama pants and a band t-shirt bearing a skull and wings design Yossif didn't recognize.
As the door closed, Anna looked to Yossif. "I'm going to take a shower, would you care to ask Luka about whether or not she is on board."
"I don't think that's necessary, Rexus is going out regardless.." Yossif stated. Anna just shrugged and walked into the bathroom with her clothes. A second later, the shower came on, causing Luka to groan.
Yossif stood up and put on his shirt from yesterday night. After, he walked over to Anna's bed and sat down so he could be across from Luka, "Luka." No response came from his leader. "Luuukka." Still nothing. "Luka!" He got a bit louder and tapped her arm.
Luka, who was sprawled out in her bed, jerked awake. "Hmm- bah...what?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"Moring." Yossif greeted.
"Moring." Luka responded as she looked around. "Where is everyone?"
"Anna's taking a shower," Luka looked to the bathroom, "And Rexus is out asking people if they want to go out today."
"Rexus is asking people out on...dates?" She asked, confused.
"No, he just wants to go outside with someone." Luka nodded her head. "That reminds me, you're good with everyone going out?"
"I mean..." Luka looked around her bed for something. "Is that allowed?" She unearthed a shirt from the mess and donned it.
Yossif shrugged, "Unless they radically changed their rules from last week, it should be."
Luka once again rubbed her eyes and yawned, "Sure... just give me a minute."
Rexus walked into the room solemnly and locked eyes with Yossif. He quietly closed the door.
Yossif raised an eyebrow towards his friend, "Well? Anyone else coming?"
Rexus walked a bit away from the door, before it burst open and revealed a beaming Nora and a giddy Ruby. "We're going on an adventure!" Nora yelled in excitement.
Rexus pumped his fist into the air and joined Ruby in a cheer, "Yeah!"
Once the three teams were ready, they made their way to the Beacon helipads. It had taken them only an hour to get ready, but the hot sun already beat down on them.
Team RWBY walked a bit quicker to the pads compared to the others, driven on by their leaders excitement. Speaking of her, Ruby was wearing her usual attire, only eschewing her leggings and sleeves to combat the heat.. Weiss also decided to keep cool by leaving her jacket behind and only sticking with her dress, butBlake and Yang changed nothing, already cool enough with their current outfit. Yang remained the only RWBY member armed, her shotgun-gauntlets disguised as simple yellow bracelets.
JNPR and LYAR walked side-by-side, mingling as they meandered away from Beacon. The only one on their team JNPR to change was Jaune, who left his hoodie in the room. He still wore his armor over his t-shirt, but his sweat stains and complaints of chafing illustrated his folly. Crocea Mors remained sheathed at his hip, cutting a sharp contrast against his blue jeans.
Finally, LYAR followed behind RWBY, not bothering to keep pace with the latter. Yossif had left his cloak and long sleeves in the dorm, along with his extra ammunition, opting instead to wear a beige t-shirt. Anna ditched her jacket and traded her white pants for jeans, keeping her emergency boot knife. Luka had thought about wearing her leggings, but decided against it, leaving her bandolier in the dorm, too. Rexus was the only one from LYAR to keep a main weapon, with Butcher Pete displayed proudly on the back of his beltline. Otherwise, he remained unchanged.
They watched as other teams boarded one of the six waiting Bullheads, probably heading to Vale just as they were. "Oh oh, we should take that one!" Ruby quickly pointed at a red-accented Bullhead, leaving everyone in the dust as she rushed towards it.
By the time everyone else got to her, she was already in conversation with the pilot, her singsong voice clearly grating to the man who looked as if he'd been awoken from a snooze. "Soooo, can you take us to Vale?" She excitedly asked, one hand indicating her group.
"Yeah, sure, but there are only enough seats for eight of ya. The rest are gonna have to stand or, uh, sit in each other's laps, I guess." He replied, climbing into the pilots seat.
Luka was the first to speak up. "We can stand, if you guys want," she offered. "But we'll all have to bear Anna's whining."
"Hey! Now wait a minute! You can't just offer up my seat without asking." Anna whined.
"Sure she can," Rexus lightly patted her shoulder and stepped into the aircraft, "You agreed to come with us, and so you agreed to stand in the bullhead. It was in the fine print, you see?"
She sighed, her shoulders drooping as she climbed into the vehicle. "Whatever, lets just go."
"That's the spirit!" Rexus happily said as he moved to lean against the opposite door of the Bullhead. Pretty soon after everyone had piled in, the engines spooled.
The machine slowly shook itself awake, casting a loud noise from its engines. "Close that door!" The pilot shouted over the ship's growing roar. Yossif quickly complied, sliding the metal door shut and returning blissful silence to the cabin."Thank you!" The pilot called before abruptly gunning the throttle, causing the ship to jerk and rattle as the engines growled and pushed against the gravity of Remnant. After a minute, the beast lifted from the ground and tilted towards Vale.
The Bullhead was quiet on the inside. Neither the sound of the engines nor the rushing winds could cut through the metal hull. For that very reason, Ruby was starting to fidget. Looking around at the group, she realized that they had no real plans that she knew about. Sure they were going out to Vale for the day, but then what? She turned towards Rexus, "So what are we doing today, Re-." Her stomach growled hungrily. Ruby's cheeks quickly erupted into the color of her namesake as she looked down in embarrassment. Her only saving grace was that several other stomachs growled in solidarity.
Rexus found the whole thing extraordinarily funny. After a quick fit of laughter he said, "Well, I guess we know what's first on the list. Anyone else up for breakfast?" He said as he stifled another chuckle. A resounding 'yes' reverberated in the cabin, making Rexus smile.. "Good, I know just the spot. Don't worry, I'll pay."
The group walked down the sidewalk, hungry. Rexus led them a ways away from the landing pads to a quieter part of town. A residential district greeted them with songbirds as they passed apartments, houses, along with the occasional public building. The sounds of wind and birds kept the quiet place alive, passing cars creating occasional interruptions to the peace.
Unfortunately, the pleasant soundscape did little to alleviate the growing hunger of the group. "Rexuusss." Nora said as she clenched her stomach. "Are we there yet?"
Rexus turned as he walked, "Almost, just give it a minute. You guys are gonna love it, trust."
"You've been singing this place's praises for the entire walk." Weiss asked. "Is it really that good?"
"Come on Weiss, when have I ever misled you?" She raised a brow at him. "Fine, other than that one time when have I misled you?" Her brow raised higher. Rexus put his hands up and turned around. "Alright, just trust me." Rexus said as he rounded a corner.
As the rest of the group also turned the corner, they spotted Rexus standing a bit down the sidewalk, proudly staring at the building in front of him. Luka got to him first, "What are you looking at, Rexus?"
He gestured up at a sign hanging above the door. The rest of the group looked up. The sign read "The Spot" And below that was "Bar, Grill, & Café" in smaller print. Without waiting for everyone else, Rexus walked in with a smile.
As the group followed Rexus through the door, their noses were assailed by the smell of cinnamon rolls, French toast, eggs, and every other type of imaginable breakfast food. It was so good that Ruby and Jaune actually had to stop and breathe in deeply.
Four person booths lined all but the back wall of the establishment, and a bar was situated on said back wall. The bar had a doorway into what was assumed to be the back room, and another door was on the wall right next to the bar. The sound of clattering dishes came from behind it.
Rexus approached the bar and loudly announced his Presence in Atlesian. The bartender, a white horned Faunus man in casual clothes, stared at Rexus. In response, Rexus leaned on the bar and asked something Atlesian. The only word anyone other than Weiss could pick out was Jackariah.
Jackariah responded in more Atlesian, gesturing to the group with his left hand as he leaned on the bar. Rexus waved him off with a chuckle. Jackariah looked past Rexus and towards the group, "Get your people set, Rexus. I'll send Tipia out in a second."
"Gotcha." With that, Rexus turned towards the group, who were awkwardly loitering at the door. "Don't be shy, guys, take a seat." He gestured towards three empty booths to the left, one of the few empty spots (hopefully) large enough to accomodate all of them. Most of the other booths were occupied by people of all different ages and creeds, creating a pleasantly diverse cacophony.
There was a small problem with the three empty booths, though. One was separated from the others, with two particularly shady folk inhabiting the booth in between.
Luka glanced at the men. They were both wearing grey trench coats, under which were nice suits and ties. One of them displayed an impressive rack of antlers poking through a pair of holes in their fedora, and the other one had an immaculately slicked-back head of black hair.
She doubted they would give up their booth, so one of the teams would have to sit away from the group. Maybe her team would take the hit, but that might not please Anna.
Rexus swaggered up to the two men. "Eyy boys, you mind giving a team your seat?" The gangsters looked at Rexus like he had grown a second head. Anna, Jaune, and Ruby swallowed a gasp. Nora and Ren's muscles tensed, ready for an oncoming fight. Pyrrha's eyes darted between Rexus and the gangsters. Yossif and Blake remained stoic, internally planning how they would react. Weiss didn't seem to care, and pushed past the commotion to sit in one of the booths. Luka took a cautious step forward, ready to help Rexus if he needed it, her eyes gaining a blue hue as her semblance began to activate.
The hatless gangster stood and stared at Rexus. As they locked eyes, the rest of the group got ready for a brawl. "You think you can come in here and ask me to move..." The gangster marched right up to Rexus, getting in his face.. Everyone, save for Weiss and Rexus, tensed.. "Without giving me a hug first?" The gangster yelled with a smile. Rexus cheered and embraced the man. The middle aged gangster placed a kiss on both of Rexus' cheeks before breaking away. "Boy has it been long! Me and Zean here thought you had died!"
"Yessir I did! But Hell was kinda boring, so I came back to the land of the living to haunt your ass!" Rexus laughed and poked the gangster hard in the chest before turning to turn the aforementioned Zean's hand. "And how's it been with you Zean? Roman?"
Roman, the gangster that had embraced Rexus, shrugged and smiled. "The usual, cheap strippers and blow all around."
"Good, good. And you Zean? You still the same Jackrabbit I used to know?"
Zean, the hatted and horned man, smiled and spoke in a distinctly Menagerian accent. "Still the same. I can speak good Valeian now." He said in a broken form of the language of Vale.
"Yup, sure can brother." Rexus said while giving Zean a thumbs down. The Fanus flipped him off in response. "Oh, I see someone taught you that."
"Ah, well," Roman picked up his plate and moved out of the booth. "We'll get out of your way." Zean followed after his partner. "Oh, and could you put in a good word for us with the Don?"
Rexus placed his hands on his hips, "You sure you don't just don't want money for your troubles?" In response, Roman said something in Atlesian to Rexus as he sat down in another booth near the door. Rexus gave a loud "Pssshh" and patted Zean on the back as he walked past to join his friend.
Rexus turned back to his friends, a smug grin on his lips. "Alright guys, take a seat." Everyone wore a look of complete bewilderment, as if he had just greeted two mafiosos with the cordiality one would only show to family, and remain completely unfazed when they told him that they spent all their time with strippers and blow, only then to ask Rexus if he could put in a good word with the Don. Everyone save for Weiss, who had been sitting in the booth for five minutes browsing her Scroll, stood dumbly for a minute as the recent event sunk in.
Out of everyone, Ren was the first to regain his voice, "How did you...do that?" He asked with pure confusion. Some of the other students nodded their head at Ren's question, also wanting answers.
Rexus put a single finger to his mouth in a shushing motion, "That's a secret. Now, take a seat guys." Rexus walked past them all and made his way to the doors leading to the kitchen, "I have some business to attend to." As he walked through the doors, he beckoned for the bartender, Jackariah, to follow. The bartender took his time to finish polishing the glass he had before following.
The entire group stood for a minute in pure shock. That was...confusing to say the least. They looked around at each other with a million questions, but dared not break the stunned silence. Ren, only slightly less confused than everyone else, sat down in a booth next to the one Weiss was at. And after him, Yossif took the booth on the other side of Weiss's. Then, slowly, every other team member made their way to a seat.
There was a time when Weiss remembered being this confused. Rexus certainly did have a large bag of tricks. So large, in fact, that she was willing to bet that she hadn't seen all of what he could do. She wouldn't be surprised if he personally knew every business owner in this city.
"Hey, Weiss?"
Weiss turned to Yang, "Yes?"
Yang had the question plastered all over her face. She didn't even need to ask. "You knew Rexus before you came to Beacon, right?"
"Correct." Weiss confirmed as she leaned back.
"That was...what was that?" She asked as she glanced over to the gangsters.
"I can't say, perhaps he knew them well?" Weiss responded and stole a glance at the men as well.
"Yeah... Rexus just happens to know two gangsters well enough to ask them to MOVE in the middle of their meal." Blake said in a sarcastic tone.
"Maybe they're related?" Luka said in an effort to defend her teammate.
"Unless he's fanus, I doubt it." Blake added.
"The other one was human." Yossif countered.
"Why don't we ask?" Pyrrha said and pointed towards the kitchen door. Rexus walked through the door with a little waitress. Tipia was her name, at least, that's what her tiny nametag said her name was. She was almost a foot smaller than him, and carried a little notepad and menus. Rexus whispered to the waitress, his voice far too hushed for anyone to hear. She nodded and fished another notepad out before handing it to Rexus, who took it with a smirk. She also gave him a few of her menus, and they both walked towards team RWBY's booth, Rexus on the right, and Tipia on the left.
"May we take your order?" They both asked in unison. It was so in sync that they burst out laughing before passing out the menus. Tipia shook her head and asked her side for drink orders.
Rexus did the same, "Alright, what's everyone drinking?" His side consisted of his team, Weiss, and Blake.
Anna looked at him with a smirk, "You work here?"
"Eh, briefly." Rexus admitted. "But I'm just enjoying myself now. You guys should too. No sense in breakfast being boring."
"Kinda hard when you left us with a mystery to solve." Yossif said.
"When did I do that?" Rexus asked with a slight tilt of his head. Yossif nodded towards the gangsters. "Ohhhhh. Alright, let me get you orders down first and then I'll fill you in." He went in order of where he stood, starting with a tea from Blake, a coffee for Weiss, water for Yossif, juice for Luka, and more tea for Anna. He shrugged and put himself down for a tea as well. "Here you are Tipia." He handed the notepad back to his friend. "Please don't bring me a tea bag in an empty cup again."
"Oh my God it was one time!" She quickly turned to hide her embarrassment. With that, she hurried off to the kitchen.
Rexus smiled and sat down in the empty space next to Anna. "Now...what did you need?"
His team tried to say what they were thinking in a civilized way. They didn't want to accuse him of anything. After all, he had just talked to some people.
Blake had no such reservations, "How'd you move the gangsters?" She asked bluntly. The entire group leaned into the conversation, also intrigued.
"Gangsters?" Rexus laughed. "You think they're gangsters? I suppose you also think they're gonna go hold up a bank with tommy guns after they finish eating?" He laughed some more tapped the table. "Oh oh, don't tell me. It was the coats, right?"
"Well, what are they then?" Luka asked.
"They're bouncers for a club a few blocks away." He laughed and mumbled to himself about gangsters and banks.
The group sat silently for a bit before accepting the answer. The men did look like bouncers, and Rexus hadn't lied to them yet.
The door to the restaurant opened, two cops entering in its wake. They spoke in cryptic tones, throwing out words, abbreviations, and acronyms in ways only they could understand. One said something particularly entertaining to the other as they walked towards the counter. "Please officers, I've no coke anymore. I gave it all to a couple of crackheads." Jackariah joked as the men sat at a couple of barstools.
One of the men spoke up, "You gave it away before we could get some? We should arrest you for that!" The officer who spoke was tall and skinny, with a tanned forehead and little hair. His face was more gaunt than your average man, no doubt due to his occupation. The uniform he wore was tailored to the heat; A black jumpsuit with the sleeves pulled up, a light vest on the outside of said jumpsuit holding an assortment of police equipment, and a pair of sunglasses resting on his head.
"And trudge through that river of paperwork? No thank you!" The second cop added, this one the polar opposite of the first. He was a short and stout man. Where his partner was nearly bald, skinny, and had a gaunt face, he did not. Cop number 2's face was full, and he had a head of gray hair. He had also apparently forgotten his sunglasses.
He was built like a barrel, and his vest placement didn't help that look. The vest was under his jumpsuit, making him look bigger around the stomach than he was. All he needed was situated on his duty belt rather than his chest. He apparently wasn't as bright as his friend in the area of heat, as he wore the jumpsuit straight as it was. His glossy head told a tale of sweat, but his mind refused to heed it.
The entire group watched the pair with interest as they chatted up Jackariah.
But out of them, Rexus was practically staring holes into their backs.
Luka noticed this, and suddenly became very apprehensive. She quickly elbowed Yossif to alert him, but was stopped by Yossif's own elbow. He looked at her with the same worry she had, though more concealed
Anna also noticed, and slowly put a hand on her partner's shoulder, "Rexus?" She asked cautiously.
"Hmmm?" He asked without looking away from the cops.
"Are you ok?" She asked even more cautiously than before.
"Yup. All good." He said, still staring at the officers.
"Ok." She slowly started to remove her hand. Luka hopped to whatever higher power there was that those men were really bouncers, and not what they thought.
As soon as Anna fully removed her hand from Rexus, he raised his voice towards the cops. "Hey, I got a question for you guys. Where are your donuts?"
Luka's heart sunk, Yossif's eyes widened in surprise, and Anna swore in her native tongue.
Drinks were spit out around the restaurant, Team RWBY and JNPR were pulled back from whatever they had been talking about and sat in horror, and even Weiss became a bit concerned. Only the cops themselves remained relatively calm, having to deal with this on a regular basis.
The two men calmly turned towards Rexus, taking a few seconds to look him up and down. Rexus himself sat back in his seat, a look of pride plastered over his face
The cops looked at Rexus for a bit longer before their faces changed.
Relief washed over them.
"Rexus!" The taller one said.
"Guys!" Rexus cheered. Rexus stood up and embraced the officers before launching into a conversation with them.
The teams were once again stunned to silence. THe only person to speak up was Yang, "He just did it again." She said with wide eyes. Her team nodded.
"An ever expanding bag of tricks." Weiss mused to herself. Now she was fairly certain he knew every person in this kingdom.
As she watched Rexus mingle with the police, using the same dialect they did, she remembered a time when they weren't friends, and how she despised him. She remembered it, and shuddered. She knew now that she had walked a thin line, even with her heritage. A fight with Rexus was a fight not even her family could win. A fight with Rexus, was pretty much a fight with most of the world.
Ozpin sat at his desk, solemnly staring at the cover of an ancient text that was most likely older than himself. The black book, which was no bigger than an average novel, seemed to call to him. It pulled at his very soul, trying to find some crack to slide its horrible power into.
He reached across his desk and towards a small crystal. Gently sliding it towards himself, the book gradually stopped reaching out to him. As soon as the crystal was between himself and the black book, it fell silent. He chuckled a bit. It was rare that he used this trinket, but when he did it always worked as advertised.
He once again turned back to the book. With a gentle hand he caressed the cold and black leather. With a sigh, he opened the book and peered into the first page. Rows of unintelligible runes lined the aged paper. Ozpin never knew why he always expected the book to suddenly switch to a language familiar to him.
It was of no consequence, the translation tool was always close. He opened his desk and produced a book that was about twice the size as the black book. Where the black book was, well...black, the new book was a pristine white. Compared to the smaller book, it seemed to glow. He pushed the black book and crystal away from him, and placed the white book right in front of him. Then, with a drink from his mug, he set to work flipping back and forth between the two books.
His "Perfect Plan" had more than a few holes as it seemed. No doubt due to the stirring of Princeps. And that stirring itself was no doubt due to the school's resident mobster.
Rexus Gallant.
Did he know what hand he had in fate? Ozpin wholeheartedly believed that he didn't. He was too good of a kid. But the facts still stood. He either needed to be turned to the right path…
Or...Regrettably...
...Removed from every path.
The entire group, now full from breakfast, wandered around Vale with Ruby and Yang at the head. They were receiving the full tour of the city, or at least what their tour guides knew of. Blake was at the back of the group and was a bit interested in the guided tour, as she had never seen the city from quite this close before. Why wasn't she fully interested, you ask? Rexus. He was a mystery to her. She could get good relations with the police, but with both cops and gangsters? There was something off about that. Oh, and they were gangsters. There was no way they weren't. Foreign gangsters maybe, but gangsters nonetheless.
She knew everyone else was also a bit wary, but they were all focused on the tour. That left Blake to keep an eye on Rexus. Speaking of, he was currently looking at his scroll and keeping pace with her leader. His back was turned to her, but she did see a bit of his face. It was curled into a small frown. Apparently he wasn't happy with what he was looking at.
Eventually, the group rounded a corner. They, on the left side of the street, were heading to an arcade or something. On the right side of the street, there was a plaza. Currently, it was being choked by an open air market. The noise drew the attention of a few people, including Rexus. He stared for a bit, before nodding to himself and leaning over to Ruby. He said something to her, to which she nodded. Blake watched the exchange with interest, wondering what was being said.
Rexus suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He waited until Luka caught up to him, and then continued on next to her. Blake watched as he once again leaned over and whispered something into his leader's ear. Luka nodded as Ruby had and gave him a thumbs up. Rexus then proceeded to jaywalk across the street in clear view of a police cruiser. The officer inside rolled down his window and yelled something to Rexus, who proceeded to wave him off. The officer shrugged and went back to whatever he was doing. More cop friends? Rexus was certainly connected.
Blake briefly thought about asking Luka what Rexus had said, but she quickly realized how fruitless that would be. If he lied about the gangster, why would he tell the truth about what he was doing here? Without a word to anyone, Blake broke off from the group and followed Rexus across the street. The cop did nothing, perhaps he saw that they were in the same group, or maybe he just didn't want the hassle. Regardless of the reason, she was thankful for it. If she had waited any longer Rexus would've been gone in the crowd.
She kept her distance. Which wasn't much seeing as the crowd was so close. She took that as an advantage, as it meant she'd be able to blend in with the crowd more easily. Well, it would be an advantage if she didn't have to rush to keep sight or Rexus. The way he bobbed and weaved out of the crowd was extremely hard to keep track of.
Wait.
Where'd he go?
Blake peered ahead through the people for Rexus. He was gone. No trace of him was left.
"My God Rexus! How long has it been?" Someone in the crowd shouted from the left of her. She quickly turned and cut through the ocean of people. After a little shoving, she made her way to a stand. It sold flowers, and Rexus was smelling one. The person who called out to Rexus, the owner of the stand, was an older woman that seemed to be in her eighties at least. A Grandma type, missing only the tray of cookies. "How has it been honey? I heard you're a Hunter now!" She lightly slapped Rexus on the cheek
"Good, Aunt Charlotte. How're the flowers?" They were related? That wasn't right. Charlotte sported a pair of bunny ears, and her skin was a dark brown. Perhaps it was an adopted relation?
"Please honey, they're always the best." Charlotte placed a hand to her chest. "After all, I couldn't disappoint you after your help with the Don!" There that name was again, the Don. Who was that? She had never heard of anyone called that while she was in the White Fang. Was it a new hood? Or maybe it was just an Alias?
"Speaking of, how was that business after I left? They boys were understanding, I hope?" After he left? And who were the "boys?" Blake had to give it to Rexus, he could certainly hide his life.
"Oh just wonderful! Much better than that one kid."
"He was reprimanded, rest assured. It was my fault for not making sure he was ready." Rexus scratched the back of his neck in shame
"Oh no no no, it's quite alright. I understand." Charlotte waved like she was trying to brush away his sadness.
"Yeah." Rexus said, unsure sounding. "How much for this beauty?" Rexus held up the flower.
The flower was a strange one. It looked like a rose, but had white pedals. So white that they seemed to radiate the color to all its surroundings. Actually, now that she looked at it, it did. A light white mist slowly drifted away from it. "Ah," Said Charlotte as she cupped her chin, "My special flowers. Roses grown with Ice Dust extracts. My invention, you know? Very expensive." Rexus slowly rotated the flower in his hand, taking in it's look. "But for you, free of charge!" Charlotte pinched Rexus' cheek.
"Really?" Rexus asked, amazed.
"Yes really." She gave a warm smile that only an old woman could.
"Come on, let me pay you." Rexus attempted to fish his wallet out of his pants, but was stopped by the woman.
"No, keep your money. If that flower is for who I think it is, you'll need it."
From where she stood in the crowd, Blake saw a small blush form on Rexus' face. "Thank you, Aunt Charlotte."
Charlotte smiled, "No, thank you. I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here." Charlotte waved him off and went back to cutting and potting flowers. With that, Rexus left.
Blake was conflicted. Since the dinner, she had been building this mental picture of Rexus. A picture that portrayed him as a nefarious and crooked gangster. A firmly bad guy. Now? It was clear that wasn't right. Even with the things that Charlotte woman said about Rexus, he seemed inherently good. Perhaps he was the classic example of the romantic gangster. A man fighting for good outside the law.
Blake was already following Rexus, so she might as well continue to. Perhaps her first thoughts about Rexus would still hold true. He made his way through the crowd slower now. Stopping every now and then to take a glance at his rose. He was moving so slowly that Blake actually took a moment to look around. The market was lively. Stands were everywhere, selling everything imaginable. Live music was playing somewhere in the distance. Grilled meats and kettle corn held the dominant space in the air. Every breath she took made her mouth water. The sun beat down, though not oppressively. And the sound of laughter and conversation drowned out the bustle of the city.
Blake was hit with a major sense of Deja vu and looked to where Rexus was.
Key word was.
He had moved off somewhere while she gawked. Blake mentally scolded herself and rushed forward. She had gotten a little better at navigating the crowd, so she didn't have to shove. She still did in her haste. After a few seconds, she caught sight of Rexus again. He was turning into a sort of alley. At least that's what it looked like to her. She quickly made her over to the wall leading into it and peered around the corner. It was a dead end.
With no Rexus.
Where had he gone? Blake walked out into the middle of the alley and looked around. There was no way he disappeared. She slowly walked forward into the shadow cast by the buildings. Where was he? As her eyes adjusted to the shade, she spotted a door on the back wall of the alley. It was slotted, like all the secret hideouts in movies.
Had she found a hideout?
Rexus had to be in there, surely. It was the only explanation that didn't involve invisibility.
"You know, you should probably get some more practice with sneaking." Blake wheeled around to face Rexus. He stood straight, with his hands behind his back and the rose who got tucked safely into his vest collar.
"Where did you-?" She started, only to be silenced by him pointing to his left. A small dark crevice in the wall was his hiding spot. Tucked safely out of her line of sight.
"Could've just asked if you wanted to come with me so badly." Rexus said as he glanced at his scroll.
"Who are you?" Blake asked while taking a cautious step backwards.
"A man who wanted to do something nice for someone." He pointed lazily towards the rose.
"I mean the diner, and all the people you know, and the gangsters!" She said with resolve.
"Didn't buy the bouncer excuse, huh?" Rexus asked as he moved to lean against a wall to his left.
"No." She said plainly while slowly taking a step forward.
"Hmm, well I guess someone was bound to get weird about it. What do you wanna know?"
Blake slowly walked closer while speaking, "Who are you, who do you work for, why do you know everyone." By the time she was done speaking, she was standing face to face with a leaning Rexus.
"To answer your questions in order, I used to work for the wrong crowd. But then Ozpin picked me up and cleaned me up. So now I work for him. As for the fact that I know everyone, that circles back to my evil days. Let's just say I kept the peace, which means shaking a lot of hands." Rexus told his story very calmly. He even looked a bit ashamed when he mentioned his past. He seemed to be telling the truth, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that he was holding something back. But for now she would have to take his word. "Well, now that that's sorted, why don't we get something to eat?"
"We just ate." Blake replied.
"Eh well, I can always go for some market food." Rexus shrugged as he got off of the wall. "They got some real gourmet popcorn here. You sure you're good?" She nodded. "Alright, your call."
Rexus and Blake finally caught up with the rest of the group at an arcade. Well, outside of an arcade. They both arrived like legends, carrying a bag of popcorn for each team. Yes, Rexus had gotten Blake to change her mind on getting food. Well, it wasn't him. It was the nice ladies that worked the stand that convinced her to get some. They tried to get her to pay, but backed off when Rexus offered to instead. That was one thing he never understood. People always gave him stuff for free. They never accepted money. Sure, he didn't mind it most of the time, but he always felt a bit bad when he took stuff from the little old ladies. Felt like he was scamming them of their livelihoods.
"What's up guys!" Rexus yelled at his friends, raising both of the bags he held as he did. "Me and Blake brought gifts!" Blake also lifted her bag a bit.
"Wooooohooh!" Nora cheered and ran over to see the popcorn. "What is it?"
"It's like, candy popcorn." There was variety of flavors in each bag. Even a kettle corn portion, which Rexus would avoid.
"Blakeee...you scared us for a minute." Yang said jokingly to her friend.
"Yeah. Why didn't you tell us you were going with Rexus." Ruby added, hands on her hips.
"Sorry." Blake said as she looked down a bit. She then handed the popcorn to her leader as a sort of peace offering.
Rexus felt a hand on his left shoulder as he watched team RWBY. It was Luka. "Where'd you get this stuff?" She asked curiously.
"That open air market we passed."
"Really? And do they also sell magical flowers there too?" Anna asked as she pointed towards the rose, still nestled into his vest collar.
"Yeah, actually. I know the lady who grows them." Rexus stated proudly.
"Of course." She responded with a tired voice.
"And what is the rose for?" Luka asked.
"It's a gift." Rexus stated.
"Let me guess-." Yossif started, but was cut off by Rexus.
"For your mother. I'm meeting her for a movie tonight." That earned a chuckle from Yossif and Luka. Anna, like normal, just stood unamused. Rexus smiled at his friends. "Jaune!" He called and turned towards his right. "This is for your team." He tossed a bag of popcorn to his friend. Janue nearly missed it, and yet still somehow caught it straight to his face. This earned a couple of chuckles from everyone around.
"Well, what next?" Asked Jaune as he rubbed his nose in slight pain.
Ozpin was still amazed at how hard it was to read the Black Book. It wore you down, like reading something not because you enjoyed it, but because you had to. Though, Ozpin supposed, that was exactly what he was doing.
He stood and stretched. By his count, several hours had passed, and several cups of cocoa as well. And by his own estimation, there was still several hours left of work left. Ozpin decided to momentarily focus on something else. He looked around his office, eventually settling on staring at the moving gears beneath his feet. His old friends, the gears, seemed just as tired as he was. They slowly clicked on though, undeterred by the years of strain. And as they were undeterred, so would he be.
There were a few knocks on the door, "Come in." Ozpin called. In walked Glynda Goodwitch, with a fresh cup of cocoa. "Glynda." Ozpin greeted.
"Ozpin." she greeted back and extended the cup to him. He gratefully took it, and slowly walked over to the window overlooking the school. "How is your work going?"
"Oh, fine." He took a small sip of his warm drink, "You know how translating old texts can go."
"I still don't know why you don't just translate it into english. That must be quicker than starting from scratch each time you want to read that book."
"And make my job easier? Preposterous." His old friend chuckled and took a spot next to him at the window. It was sunset, and a warm orange light bathed the world.
"May I help with anything?" Glynda asked.
"No, I'm alright. Go prepare your lesson plans and enjoy your weekend."
"Thank you. If you need help just call." She said, then turned and left. As the door closed, Ozpin let out a sigh. Glynda was a great help to him. So great of a help that he had told her about his fight against Salem. After that she seemed to only get more helpful. But should he tell her about Princeps? And Rexus for that matter? He just didn't know.
Ozpin made his way back to the desk and peered into the Black Book. Would anyone but him be able to shoulder the weight of the information? The pure cruelty and hate of it? Only a few beings knew, and of those only a few remained sane. Even Ozpin himself nearly lost his mind when he first learned. He did not doubt Glynda's resilience, but there was a limit.
Would Rexus even be able to comprehend his own existence?
Ozpin did not know. He barely even comprehended his existence himself. And the violence he foretold? That was the essence of the incomprehensible.
Rexus was a good kid, but an undeniably violent being.
It was only a matter of time until he would become uncontrollable. And when that happens…
Nothing would be the same.
The day had been rather uneventful since Rexus and Blake returned. Weiss was rather impressed with how Ruby had led the group. Sure, Ruby hadn't done much actual leading today, but it was a good start. Weiss would have to coach her leader later. For now, she was going to enjoy the last bit of the day.
It was sunset, or around that time. Weiss didn't want to check her scroll for fear of rushing herself. They'd get back on time, but it never hurt to enjoy something for a bit longer. And there was much to enjoy. The group had strolled to the pier, which was a short distance away from the landing pads. The sun shone, the sea gently lapped at the shore, a bird sangits last song of the night somewhere in the distance, and the foot traffic had slowed. Even the wind, usually loud around the ocean, had quieted itself in order to appreciate the world.
Weiss had lagged behind the group a bit, taking it slow. She heard Ruby say something loudly about the pier to everyone else. A smile formed on her lips. In terms of team leaders, she could've done worse. "Careful, if you smile too widely you risk looking happy." She was brought out of her thoughts by Rexus. He now walked next to her on the right, a bag of popcorn slung over his right arm, and a white flower poking out of his vest.
She frowned a bit, "I usually look happy."
Rexus gave her a deadpan look.
Weiss huffed. "Whatever, maybe I only frown when you're around." Her brows were furrowed as if she were angry, but Rexus could see the hint of a smirk. She quickly turned away to hide her face, the evolving smile proving too powerful for her to repress.
"Oh, how you wound me!" Rexus cried, placing his hand over his heart as he feigned the fatal blow. She may have been looking away from him, but he could see her shaking shoulders and hear her repressed laughter.
After a short bout of laughter from Rexus, the pleasant silence returned. The sunlight was minimal, now, the sky darkening as the sun eked out its last breath before dipping behind the horizon. The sky remained painted in purples and yellows, the perfect backdrop for Rexus to try something new. Something… risky.
While Weiss' eyes were on the beautiful horizon, Rexus carefully removed the rose. He approached her slowly, keeping the rose hidden behind his back as he gave her a light nudge. She turned to him, one eyebrow quirked in curiosity.
Rexus gave her a toothy grin that belied his hammering heart. It was normal to give friends roses, right? Rexus' anxieties began to loom behind him, but he stuck the rose out before they could get any worse.
Weiss gasped. "What is that? It's beautiful."
Rexus slowly handed the flower to her, his free hand clenching hard to keep him from shaking. "It's a rose. I saw it in the market and thought you might like it." Weiss stared for a few seconds, causing the butterflies in Rexus' stomach to go mad. He could feel a blush threaten to bloom.
"This is for me?" Weiss asked, her voice becoming slightly more quiet. Rexus nodded, opting to stay quiet lest his voice betray him.
Weiss blushed. "Wow, I don't get gifts this often." She whispered before tentatively reaching out. She gently grabbed the stem, pulling the incredible flower from Rexus' hand. To call it a rose would be blatantly inaccurate. Although some roses have white petals, no roses to her knowledge were able to exude an aura of cold, nor did light blue mist slowly pour from their stigma. She brought her nose close to it, deeply inhaling the fragrance. It smelled like winter. Like feet crunching snow underfoot, like the silence of a forest covered in cold powder, like the comfort of being bundled up in a blanket. She looked back up at Rexus with a light dusting of pink across her cheeks.
"I...Thank you Rexus. It's great." Weiss said.
Rexus stared at her for a good few seconds before putting on a grin. "Yeah! Yeah, it's great, right?" He chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.
Weiss gave him a curious look before smiling. "It's wonderful."
Rexus could feel a genuine smile bursting out through his joking grin. It had been a great day.
Well then, that was fun. A bit of procrastination and some elbow grease can make a story huh? OI'd like to offer a big thank you to my boy SwagMagusSupreme for the help. Without you this would've probably taken forever to write. Next chapter is gonna be a doozy. Anyway, I appreciate the two people who actually read this story. Who would've known that my passion project could attract any type of interest? Strange world we live in.
As always, have a good day!
And don't die!