Author's Note: I uphold my promises of shipping. I swear.
"Tell... Me.. Grrk-Why I'm.. Carrying all of this?"
Weiss held a sly smirk. "Well, Akamu, you never apologized to me for being rude!" She looked at the clearly struggling wolf faunus, holding several white suitcases in his arms, among other suitcases that matched the rest of his team. While he had been training with both Pyrrha and Yang, meaning his normally thin frame had been gaining slight mass, it wasn't enough to consider carrying over 100 pounds of stuff was a simple task.
"What... Do you mean?" Akamu struggled out, tongue threatening to hang out as he panted.
Weiss was clearly having fun. "Well, you see, on friday, you were quite rude to me!"
"So?" Akamu stopped to readjust the load he was heaving. "I don't see Blake carrying anything!"
"She apologized to me, you didn't." Akamu was angry that she had a point. He was also angry at life in general, but that was besides the point.
Thankfully, Ruby was carrying her own luggage, along with Akamu's bag and guitar. "We're almost to the truck, Akamu, just a little bit longer!" She encouraged, unable to see his face through the mass of bags. All she heard was a halfhearted 'Woo' from the boy.
There was a gap in conversation, only filled with Akamu's stumbling steps and grunts before a voice Akamu had never heard before called out. "Ruby, Yang, good to see you two again!"
"Dad!" Ruby called back, running forward. Akamu had lost another one of his auditory guides and was that much worse for it.
"Heh, good to see you!" He said, before noticing the wolf faunus. "Oh, let me help you with that." Akamu heard a set of feet approach, grab the whole stack, and walk away like it was nothing.
"Wha-..." Akamu said, stunned.
Yang laughed. "Don't worry about it, my dad's super strong."
"No kidding." Weiss said, also surprised.
The surprisingly strong man loaded the bags into the back of the truck before turning around and waving. "Hi, I'm Taiyang, nice to meet you all!" He said with an enthusiasm that could only be matched by the missing Penny. He held up a hand to stop everyone from answering with their names. "Ahp- wait."
First, he pointed at the Ice Queen. "Weiss Schnee, right?" She nodded, a bit more surprised.
Then, Tai pointed to the cat faunus. "Blake Belladonna?" The girl in question also nodded, along with an extra 'Yep.'
Finally, his finger landed on Akamu, but he hesitated. "A... Amaku?" He asked, very uncertain.
"Akamu." The wolf faunus corrected.
"Heh, sorry, just a weird name. It's like I want to say Amaku." Taiyang said, trying to make excuses.
"I know, right?" Yang said, getting into the back of the truck among the cases of luggage. "I've had to stop myself so many times."
Weiss was about to speak up with a question, but Taiyang interrupted her. "Right, I know all of your names because I force Ruby to write me every month." He said, rustling the girl-in-question's hair, making her 'Bweh' in response. "Alright, everybody in the truck."
"I call shotgun!" Ruby called, quickly running to the passenger door.
"Welp, looks like we're riding in the back." Blake said, much to the distraught of Weiss.
"Wait, what!? But my hair!" She cried, nobody listening as they all got in the back of the truck, Akamu needing help.
Akamu looked out into the forest, noting the natural beauty. Yang interrupted his thought process. "Hey, you said you've been all over Remnant, right? Ever been to Patch?"
"No, actually." Akamu responded, still looking out at the trees. He began feeling a strange pull in his stomach. "It's... It's like a brighter Mistral."
"Hey, you feeling alright?" Blake asked in the direction of Akamu. "You look a little pale."
Akamu looked at her, before closing his eyes to try and get a basic rundown of his bodily functions. "I feel alright, but my semblance is going off."
Weiss responded to the conversation. "Isn't that bad? Should we be worried?"
"No, not necessarily. Sometimes it just... Goes when something's strange." Akamu responded.
"Well, anything strange?" Blake asked Yang, who was now sat up trying to look around.
Yang looked a bit more, curiosity in her eyes. "I... Don't see anything wrong, other than we need to brace for a tree root." She said, grabbing the edge of the bed. Following the uneven bump, she threw another question at Akamu. "Where's it coming from?"
Akamu took a moment, focusing. "Where we're heading. And it's not a bad feeling, let me clarify, but it's..." Akamu swore he knew a word for it, but couldn't think of it. "Can't think of the word. It's most likely fine, let's not worry about it."
"Alright, if you say so, fortune teller." Yang said, jokingly.
Slowly, the truck came to a stop outside of a two-storied cabin. Taiyang exited the car, exclaiming to everyone. "Welp, here we are! Make yourselves comfortable, I'll unload your stuff."
"I'll give them the tour, dad." Ruby said, getting out of the passenger side. "Come on, everyone!"
Taiyang gave a nod, paused for a moment, and called out to the now, running Ruby. "By the way, Zwei saw a bird and started chasing it yesterday, haven't seen him since."
Yang gave an exasperated noise. "Ugh, not again!" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear, that dog..."
"Isn't that bad?" Weiss said, repeating her earlier sentiment. "Should we be worried?"
Taiyang answered. "Pfft, nah, that dog's practically invincible." He laughed for a moment. "I still remember the time he took on a Beowulf defending Ruby. She was so worried for him after, but we couldn't find a scratch on him."
"He's probably fine, guys, come on!" Ruby said, practically hopping in place with excitement.
Directly through the door was the living room, which housed some bookshelves, a large couch, a chair, and some tables. One thing that caught Akamu's eye, and nose, was the small dog bed at the opposite end of the couch from the chair. Akamu guessed that was where Zwei spent most of his time by the deep impression.
"Welp, here's the living room. We've got a TV and some games if you guys want." Ruby said, before noticing both Akamu's and Blake's eyes looking at the bookshelves. "You're also free to read anything here, just..." Ruby's face began to light up red. "Stay away from my dad's scrapbooks, please."
Going upstairs, Akamu began feeling the same strange pull in his stomach that he felt in the truck, only far stronger.
Interrupting his thoughts was Ruby opening the first door on the right. "This is mine and Yang's bedroom." She said, letting everybody look inside. There were two beds, each color coded. Akamu noted how Ruby's side of the room had a shelf of Grimm figurines. Continuing down further down the hallway, Akamu felt even more sick, Blake looking at him curiously without him noticing.
Opening the last door on the left, Akamu looked into the room. Two beds with a night table. On top of the night table was a sunflower, obviously fake. Akamu looked around, confused as to why he was so terrified of this room. Then he blinked, and saw the exact scene he had witnessed months earlier from a different perspective. Inside the room now was a single bed with a boy a year or two older than Akamu, blonde hair similar to Yang's, and with eyes that matched his own, hazel replaced with a bluish purple. As soon as Akamu opened his eyes again, the entire scene was gone, back to the present.
"Oh." Akamu whispered, feeling ready to vomit as he stumbled back.
Yang immediately grabbed his shoulder in an attempt to catch his attention. "Woah, dude, you okay?"
"C-can we go back downstairs? I don't feel very good." Akamu pleaded, his normally slightly tanned face turned pale white. "I-I think I figured out why my semblance was going crazy."
Quickly, he was ushered back down the stairs and practically thrown onto the couch while Ruby ran into the kitchen to get Akamu a glass of water.
"Woah, you okay?" Taiyang asked, his language reflecting Yang's. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Blake responded, noticing his skin changing color back to it's usual hue. "Well, on the way here, Akamu said that his semblance was... telling him something." She paused for a moment, making sure Akamu was still okay. "Whatever it was, it was inside the guest bedroom."
"Wait, his semblance?" The man asked, sitting down on the couch.
Weiss explained. "While most semblances appear to work on command, it seems that Akamu's works in sporadic bursts." She thought for a moment on how to explain it. "We've started calling it Foresight, but I can't imagine what could..." Placing a hand on her chin, she looked down, deep in thought.
A cold glass of water was pushed into Akamu's hands as he took deep breaths. He took a small sip before finally speaking. "I think I've seen that room before."
"Well, that's cryptic." Yang said, glad he was speaking again.
Akamu chuckled, a small smile gracing his lips. "Let me explain as best I can." He took a deep breath. "So, this starts back when I first joined the team. The first night I had in the dorm I..." The wolf faunus tried to find the best way to explain the supernatural visions he's been having. "It was like a dream, but I was fully lucid in thoughts."
"I don't see how..." Blake said, looking intently.
"I was sat in the bed by the window, and everything felt... wrong." Akamu's face contorting. "It's like I wasn't even myself. The whole energy of the house felt down and... Ruby walked in the room, concerned. We had a conversation but I couldn't control what I was saying."
"What was the conversation about?" Taiyang asked, sat back.
Akamu sighed, trying to figure out that whole vision. "Something... Dramatic happened. I couldn't say what, but it was big." Akamu made a frustrated noise, throwing his head back. "It's so frustrating get something this big given to you on a silver platter, but they won't open the lid!"
"Welp, whatever it was, I'm sure it'll turn out fine." Ruby said, trying to encourage her teammate.
"Well, I feel fine now." Akamu looked up for a moment, smiling. "Thanks for that, by the way. But... I wouldn't be upset if I never saw that room again."
"If you don't mind sleeping on the couch." Taiyang responded, glad for the shifting in topics.
Akamu laughed. "Please, anything's better than the floor." He said, shooting a look at Weiss who held up her hands in defense.
"It's not like we have anywhere else to put you!" The Ice Queen said.
"Well you could've gotten me a mattress at the least." Akamu retorted.
Tai leaned over to his older daughter while the teammates with similar hair argued. "Are they always like this?"
"Yep!" She responded happily.
"How!? How are you beating me!?" Ruby yelled, clearly frustrated with the con-scroller in her hands.
Akamu shrugged with a big grin on his face. "Maybe it's because I'm better?"
Ruby let out a frustrated noise as her character landed on the ground, unconscious. "Wh- How? You haven't even played this before!"
"So?" Akamu said, flipping his hair out of his face. "Just because you've spent a long time doing something doesn't mean you're any good." Akamu said, recounting the words from his pig faunus mentor.
Yang laughed. "Alright, my turn to face the newcomer!" She said with confidence, slamming her fist into her palm.
"Sorry to interrupt, but dinner's done!" Taiyang called, leaning into the living room from the kitchen.
Akamu silently thanked the universe while he stood up. "Looks like that match is going to have to wait, Yang."
"Hmph." Yang groaned, upset. "This isn't over!"
'Dangit, not out yet.' Akamu thought, entering the combined kitchen and dining room. Across the table was a menagerie of various food items. Though most of it was simple, Akamu did everything he could to stop himself from flinging into the table, the only thing keeping him in check was Weiss sitting at the opposite end of where he stood.
"Figured you'd all be hungry." Taiyang explained, looking at Akamu's wide eyes. "So I made just about everything in the fridge."
Following Akamu was Yang, who also stopped in her tracks. "Holy crap, dad!"
"Woah..." Ruby said, peaking in from the living room. Taiyang laughed to himself as he turned around to get something from the fridge.
Weiss finally spoke up, nearly being blocked by a mound of mashed potatoes. "If you guys don't start eating, Blake's going to be comatose in a minute." Pointing out the cat faunus ravaging a whole portion of the table.
Noticing she was being watched, Blake looked around at the rest of her team, wide-eyed. "Mine." Was all she stated, pulling in close a leg of some sort of fowl.
"Woo, I'm stuffed!" Yang said, leaning back in her chair. The whole table of food was practically demolished.
"I've never seen Blake eat so much..." Ruby said, a mixture of fear and curiosity in her voice.
"I don't think I've ever seen Weiss even eat." Akamu stated, chewing off any remaining edible material from a rib.
Weiss, who was in the middle of patting her mouth with a kerchief, responded. "Unlike Ruby, I have to watch my diet to maintain this physique." Looking at the red-motifed leader, everyone saw her sneaking down another cookie. Noticing she was being watched, all she could give was a guilty smile.
Akamu thought for a moment. "Maybe it's her semblance that keeps her thin?" He put the rib into his mouth partway and began scratching his chin. "Surely moving as fast as that burns calories like no other..."
Weiss, also following her intellectual teammate's lead also began hypothesizing. "Maybe it's hereditary? I mean, Yang doesn't exactly eat healthily but she still maintains a peak figure." She cocked her head to the other shoulder. "And look at Taiyang, he's in top shape but he's not exactly an active Huntsman either!"
Yang, clearly weirded out finally broke the murmuring. "Uh, guys, you're being kind of creepy right now, I think you need to go to bed."
Like a bell chiming, Akamu suddenly felt the call of sleep hit him, his eyelids suddenly gaining an exponential mass. "Good idea." The wolf faunus yawned. "I'm absolutely tired for some reason." He shot a dirty look at Weiss who retorted with indignantly by sticking out her tongue.
Something about the surrounding area encapsulated Akamu and he couldn't say why. All the following day, he'd been staring outside into the forest, feeling some sense of familiarity. Maybe it was because of his time in Mistral? Partially. He can still remember the taste of blood in his mouth from departure. However, this familiarity was different. It's like he knew exactly what was behind every tree, and it was slightly unnerving.
Finally, Akamu's serenity was interrupted by a soft set of footfalls hitting the front porch wood, approaching him. "Hey, Akamu, you doing alright?" Akamu recognized the voice as Blake's. "You've been sitting out here all day. Is it the dog smell?"
"I-..." Akamu began trying to find a way to form his words. He chose to dodge the question. "It really is a lot like Mistral out here."
Blake sighed. "You're being vague again."
"I don't think I ever said my mentor's name, or anything about her." Akamu waited for Blake to respond with a head shake. "Her name was Valerie. A pig faunus, and one of the most hardheaded people I've ever known." Akamu sighed a laugh "I would say I miss her, but I know that's just how brains work. Remember the good times, right?"
"I said that she wore armor, right? Had something to do with her semblance, made parts of her body as hard as rock. Apparently that leads to a 'The only way is through' mentality" Akamu began recounting, trying to make sense of his technically adoptive mother. "Taught me just about everything I know. Reading, writing, fighting, anything I know now is thanks to her." Akamu grimaced. "The only thing that I would thank her for."
There was a moment before Blake sat down next to Akamu, who still stared out into the forest. "I had someone in the White Fang close to me, too." The cat faunus sat silent for a moment. "Left on bad terms, too, but I don't think you had the same sort of relationship." Blake laughed, airless. "You know, if you ever want to talk, you have a whole team."
"Yeah, I know." Akamu replied. "Just... Had a thought. We should go inside." The wolf faunus said, standing from the chair.
"Hey." Blake said, wanting Akamu's attention. As the boy looked over, he was met with a hug. And just as fast as she hugged Akamu, Blake let go, and started for the door.
Akamu followed, making a remark. "Wow, physical affection from Blake?"
"Shut up." Blake said with a laugh.