Here we go again.
Beta: CrowSkull
The Blind Huntsman
Chapter 114
Volume 5, Episode 2
Accumulative Action
Adam Taurus, the Supreme Leader of the White Fang sat on his throne where Sienna Khan once sat. The large wooden chair adorned with red velvet and black ornaments made to match his own style was a hot seat and a large one to fill. Adam leaned into it bodily, his upper back pressed against the seat while he leaned one chin on one propped-up hand. His bull horns were on full display, and here, on his literal throne, Adam refused to wear his mask. All those inside it looked at him and saw a leader, their savior, the man that was going to change the world and revolutionize the very meaning of culture.
He let them think such things for now. He didn't see himself as a revolutionary anymore. If anything, especially now of all times, he was just a tool. A tool to be used and abused until it broke and was thrown away for a newer, younger, and stronger one. It was disappointing to him how easily he could be replaced. People said Sienna Khan couldn't be replaced, and yet upon him delivering the news that she was arrested by Atlas and then later found dead after the battle for Vale, they didn't hesitate to give him her old position. Ghira and Kali of course disapproved of the decision, but it was no longer theirs to make. He had to work with them, as they were the leaders of Menagerie. Diplomatic meetings were going well, and he felt as though he was gaining their trust however slowly. But for a majority of the White Fang, it wasn't fast enough.
"Supreme Leader, I still suggest that you should take the hand of power while it is being offered to you." Fennec Albain, one half of the Albain brothers, insisted. "You said so yourself, we need the speed of haste and time on our side. The longer we squabble with the Belladonnas the longer we are going to be stuck at a dead end!"
"I must agree with my brother," Corsac added. "I understand your desire to keep things diplomatic, I must admit that it is the right path. But if we are to stay true to our agreement with Cinder Fall, we must take risks."
"Even if those risks involve assassinating the former leaders of the White Fang?" Adam retorted.
"You know the saying. High risks yield high rewards." Fennec recited. "It is a shame and admittedly a hard decision, but it is the fastest and would place you as the undisputed leader of not only the White Fang, but all of Menagerie!"
"Just think about it, Supreme Leader, I beg of you!" Corsac explained. "You can become King of all the Faunus! We can return from our exile to this island and take what is rightfully ours by right of citizenship!"
"That…" Adam sighed quietly, groaning under his breath as he shook his head. "That isn't what the White Fang is fighting for, Fennec, Corsac, we are fighting so that all our brothers and sisters may be free of unjust resentment and discrimination. Not so I can get all the power in the world and name myself a King."
"As I said, we understand that it is a tough decision, but we do believe that it is the right one." Fennec explained. "By making you King, we can finally make Menagerie a recognized Kingdom. You would be the only King, as council would be appointed before the time of your death. Any heir or heiress you may sire will be guaranteed a council seat if they wish it. We aren't going to make a dictatorship. I spoke about it with Cinder Fall already, and she agrees so long as we aid her with-"
"You spoke to Cinder without telling me!?" Adam asked, suddenly enraged as he slammed his fist into one of the armrests.
"O-Only to pass on the idea, she agrees with it, she said that since we've done so much for her already, she would help us find you a grander throne!"
"Yes, a throne made of the bones and ashes of innocent people!" Adam shouted. "Need I remind you that she used us, our brothers and sisters, as weapons to bring down Beacon and Vale? Need I remind you how many people died because of our forced alliance with her."
"High risks yield-"
"I don't care!" Adam screamed. "There is a difference between taking a risk to do what is right and taking a risk that'll lead us down a path of wrongful zealousness and the inadvertent genocide of not just the human race, but the faunus as well!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Cinder does not have the power to cause such an event," Corsac remarked.
"Cinder is not the one I fear most." He pointed out. "It's the one that control's her that I fear. The one who flew in on a dragon and destroyed most of Vale. Listen…" Adam sighed, forcing himself to calm down lest he make more of a fool of himself. "I know you are doing this because you think it is best for the White Fang, but killing the Belladonnas… They are also just doing what they can for the faunus." He said. "They are only doing what they think is right, and from their perspective, it is right for them to distrust me. Give them time, it's not like we are going to storm the next Kingdom immediately anyway, there is no need to rush."
Corsac and Fennec looked at each other, and shared a nod. As one, they bowed down to Adam. "Understood, Supreme Leader, your judgment is the law."
"Hm." Humming, Adam flicked his hand toward them, dismissing them. The Albain brothers departed without another word, leaving Adam alone in his throne room to his own devices. His bodyguards, Ilia and Mercury, shrugged as they met his eyes. Adam sighed, then took out the scroll that was still on a call in his right breast pocket.
"Did you catch all of that, Ghira?" He asked, looking at the giant of a man through the screen on the scroll.
"I did," Ghira looked angry, very angry. "I am still wary of you, Taurus, but if what you said just now wasn't just an act, then you have earned my trust."
Adam nodded at him. "Fennec and Corsac are going to try and assassinate you soon. With or without my consent. I don't know when they will attack, but it will be soon. I suggest that you, Kali, Blake and her friends all prepare for a fight."
"We will be prepared." Ghira promised. "But I also still need to rely on you, Taurus. We can stop the assassins and the Albain brothers, but after that the public will demand answers. You will stand with us when we defend ourselves."
"Of course." Adam promised. "That is what I told Ruby, is it not? I just wanted to prove to you that the effort was being made into protecting you and your family. Set our past aside," Adam continued. "I am aware that I was… not the best man in the world."
"That is an understatement."
"Nevertheless, through my former relationship with your daughter, I care for her family. I won't let you come to ruin."
"Hm…" Ghira squinted his eyes at him, rubbing his beard chin as he did so. "I may just believe you for once, Taurus. Do not prove me wrong, or I will still kill you."
"Hmph." Adam chuckled before hanging up. Afterward, he let out a long sigh, relieved that his efforts hadn't just gone to complete waste after all. Finally, everything was going to start piecing together for once.
"Adam," Ilia walked up to him, a small smile appeared on her face as she looked at him. "I just want to thank you again for letting me help you. I spent so long just fighting blindly… I'm glad I learned from you after setting my fear aside."
"Don't worry about it." Adam waved at her dismissively. "This was always the plan, it just took time for you to accept it. Mercury,"
"Hm?" Mercury stepped up, finally queuing back in after zoning out for several minutes.
"Make sure your Sustrai girl is dealt with when the time comes. I won't have this all fall apart because you were unprepared for what is about to happen." Adam said.
"Heh, don't worry. I can handle her." Mercury smirked at him. "Just give me that boat I asked for, and I'll deal with the rest when the time comes. Emmy is strong, but that's only with her semblance. Catch her off guard, and I can take care of her."
"Then I hope you do so." Adam commented. "Because tonight, we may just well have to do all of our parts. Corsac and Fennec are smart, and they work fast. Both of you better be ready to be called upon at a pen drop."
"Sir, yes sir." Mercury gave him a mock salute.
Is this the place? Oscar asked as he approached a bar. Green eyes wide and filled with curiosity. Mistral was a booming kingdom, active day and night due to the outrageous preparations for a Grimm invasion of colossal proportions. It was enough to overwhelm Oscar, had he not been focusing on his true goal being there.
"Yes, Qrow should be sitting at the bar around this time. I will point him out for you if you don't recognize him yourself." Ozpin explained. Oscar entered the bar with that in mind, seeing dozens and dozens of huntsmen and huntresses combined with soldiers and regular citizens compacted all in a single building. There weren't enough seats for them all to be sitting down, but that didn't bother them. In fact, more of them stood up rather than sit down, leaving more seats open as a result. Hesitantly, Oscar sat down at the only empty table and started looking around, trying to see anyone he - and by extension, Ozpin, might recognize. He didn't get any sign right away, so he kept looking around.
And he kept looking around for the next twenty minutes, then sighed a loud sigh of disappointment. The place was much too loud and boisterous for his liking, he had lived on a farm all his life and only went into the nearby village for supplies. In truth, he was quite the loner before Ozpin let himself into his mind, sharing a soul with him on top of that. So an environment like this one was not one that he could say he enjoyed truly. Still, he was there for a reason. Find Qrow, and then from there gather all of their allies together and make a plan to stand against Salem and her underlings.
"Do you disagree with the plan?" Ozpin asked, sensing his discomfort.
"No… not like that," Oscar whispered to himself, comfortable knowing that with the blaring music and with everyone talking at once, no one would probably hear him anyway. "I… I just can't help but feel concerned. Our adventure here has gone too well, nothing dire has happened, and that's a good thing," he pointed out. "But still, there's such a thing as something going too perfectly. Just about the only two things that worried me on the way here barring any insignificant Grimm that even I could handle was finding that dead body and then running into Hazel, other than that. Well, nothing."
"I know. In truth, I've been thinking the same." Ozpin elaborated. "Usually after my deaths, Salem would order a great manhunt for me, so that she could control my next life. Sometimes she succeeded, which usually led to me being forced to end my own life, or watch as she seduced my carrier and forced me to wait several years longer before I could force a permanent control."
Oscar blanched. "S-Seduced?"
"Not of the sexual variety, dear god no." Ozpin corrected him, finding it amusing that no matter what era he lived, a teenage boy's mind was almost always the same. "I meant in the context that she'd convince my vessel that I was the one in the wrong, and that she could find a way to remove me from them given time so that she may destroy my essence."
"That worked?"
"It worked more times than I'd like to admit." Ozpin said. "I've lived hundreds of lifetimes, some of them good and others bad. The ones I spent forced under Salem's wing were the worst of them. However, I'll assure you that she has not been able to get hold of me in over a thousand years. Well before the birth of technology and worldwide communication systems."
"It's almost too much to remember…" Oscar replied as he rubbed a hand down his face. "It's still unbelievable how I am actually doing this. I'm only fourteen, but the more I spent time with you in my head, talking to you like this…"
"It's only been months, but you feel years older." Ozpin finished for him, to which Oscar didn't deny it. "I understand. That is how it begins, I theorize. Our merging will take years if I take it slow, months usually, just days and weeks if I force it with a willing host."
Oscar winced. "Which route will you take with me?"
"Do not worry. You are a very cooperative host, I have no reason to force anything upon you." Ozpin assured him. "I get no joy out of forcing myself onto any host, child or no. It is truly unfortunate that you are still so young, but perhaps that is for the best. It gives us more time to acclimate to each other, and given time, I may just be able to give both of us free reign and control of this body whenever we each please."
"Is that possible?" Oscar asked tiredly.
"Oscar…"
"I appreciate you trying to assure me… making me feel better about this, it makes it easier." He admitted. "But please, I understand that you have to lie to other people for your own, understandable reasons. But if we are going to merge one day, please, don't lie to me about it."
"I… I am sorry," Ozpin sighed internally. "I take no joy in this."
Oscar, after all the years he started remembering from Ozpin's immortal life, understood. But it didn't make it any easier. They sat in silence for the next few seconds, letting each other take a metaphorical deep breath to calm themselves. When Oscar exhaled, he asked his next question.
"Once we regroup with Qrow and everyone else, what are we going to do about Kai?"
Ozpin also seemed eager to change the subject. "Once we begin training to acclimate with each other, as well as making the others stronger, I will send Qrow out to his sister Raven. She should be able to portal Kai right to us."
"That sounds easy… again." Oscar worryingly remarked. "I'm not liking this, Ozpin."
"Say," Oscar jumped when a strange man suddenly dropped down in the empty seat in front of him. Surprising him out of his concentration in communicating with Ozpin. "What's a kid like you doing in a bar like this? I'd be more worried if you weren't literally surrounded by huntsmen, but I still gotta ask." The man had a scruffy appearance. The iris of his eyes were red, his beard was peachy, and his hair was black and graying on the sides. He looked very tall, even while sitting down. He looked down at him thankfully without any noticeable sign of disgusting interest, but instead curiosity. Genuine curiosity, noticing this, Oscar relaxed.
"I'm waiting for someone…" Oscar said with a shrug, chuckling softly as he did so. "Been waiting for a while now. I'm beginning to think they might not show."
"Yeah, tell me about it." The man chuckled. "I've been waiting here every day for an old friend to meet up with me. Been months now, still hasn't shown." He scratched at his scruffy beard. "Something tells me that we might be able to help each other with that, though."
"Hm?" Oscar looked back up at the man. He knew that he had never met the man before in his life, but now as he was looking at him, a flash of familiarity waved over him. His eyes widened and a soft gasp escaped his lips, his heart skipped a beat, and carefully, he asked; "I'm sorry… but have we met before? I recognize you, somewhat."
"My name's Qrow," Qrow said, smirking as if he had just figured something out. He leaned forward and he patted the boy's shoulder, looking into his eyes and chuckling again. "It's good to finally see you again."
"Qrow." It hit Oscar suddenly. "Qrow! Yes, I was told that I needed to find you." Oscar said suddenly, quieting down when Qrow raised a finger to his lips.
"Not now," Qrow said, standing up. Oscar naturally followed him when he made to exit the bar. "We'll talk when we get back to Haven, there's a few people that you need to meet, kid, and they need to know who you are as well. Is Oz, erm, in there?"
"He is," Oscar confirmed, nodding his head. "He says that it's good to see you again, Qrow."
"Heh," Qrow smirked. "Good to see you again too, Oz."
Qrow took him through Mistral practically by hand. He didn't want to lose him, and Oscar found it more endearing than it was annoying being dragged around by the hand at his age. Qrow was being protective of him, but it made sense. He was Ozpin's new vessel and his next greatest ally. He got a good chance to see the Kingdom of Mistral with his own eyes as they made their way to Haven. It was a beautiful place, although its beauty was now slightly squandered by the sight of an armada of Atlesian battleships hovering overhead. According to the news, forty percent of Atlas' entire army was there at Mistral helping them militarize and prepare for an almost guaranteed Grimm invasion while the other sixty percent stayed at Atlas to prepare and defend it just in case they were the ones attacked instead. Ozpin seemed to approve of General Ironwood's decision, and so he did as well.
"Here we are," Qrow said, finally letting go of his hand and walking ahead of him with his head hunched and his hands in his pockets. "Welcome to Haven Academy, kid. Enjoy your stay while it lasts."
"Why is it so dead?" Oscar asked, immediately noticing the lack of students and teachers walking around.
"Lionheart has put a pause in lessons and class time," Qrow explained. "Instead, he thinks its better if they put their time into helping train enlisters and learn from that experience. Apparently, he'll drop the pause once the threat of the Grimm fades away, but…"
"Isn't this the most crucial time to be training huntsmen and huntresses?" Oscar asked, baffled by the supposedly proud headmaster of Haven he's seen from Ozpin's memories.
"That's exactly what everyone else thinks." Qrow pointed out. "But the council is stretched thin as it is and Lionheart is the only headmaster in Mistral right now. Excluding you, of course."
"The relic…" Oscar said softly. "How is it being protected like this?"
Qrow looked over his shoulder and smirked at him. "I'll show you."
Oscar continued to follow Qrow until they entered the building. Haven was as massive on the inside as it was on the outside. And the first thing he saw was a statue of a woman, adorned with jewels and ornate chains. She looked beautiful, even while carved out of stone. His interest was soon lost on the carving, and he continued following Qrow to the rightmost hallway of the first hall of Haven. From there, they went into an area of Haven that Oscar had never been to, yet he recognized as if he'd been there countless times. He didn't ask which rooms were which, simply acknowledging that they were there, and just knowing what they were meant for.
They stopped when they came across a different building outside of the Academy itself, it was a house. Meant for teachers and staff who moved away to work there, but now it was being used by Qrow and all of his new allies.
"Get ready to get bombarded by questions," Qrow warned as he put a hand on the door entering the house. "They know as much as relics and maidens, but I never told them about you just yet."
"Well, I think I already expected that." Oscar said with a soft smile. "Best get it over with now rather than later."
"Diligent little guy, aren't ya," Qrow scoffed. "Don't say I didn't warn you…"
Qrow did in fact warn him, and yet he was still surprised. First he was surprised by the amount of other teenagers close to his age working closely with Qrow and now him, and then he was quickly cornered into a seat the very second Qrow started explaining to them how Ozpin's reincarnation worked.
Seven bodies faced him, all standing and all with a range of questions written all over their faces.
"This kid is supposed to be headmaster Ozpin?" Cardin asked, raising an eyebrow and scoffing. "I don't believe it."
"I think it would be much easier on all of us if I take control here, Oscar." Ozpin said. "If I may…?"
"I'll show you, instead of just telling you about it." Oscar said with a nod. "I know it's hard to believe- just imagine how it is for me. Anyway, just give me a second…"
Oscar's eyes closed and he hung his head. After a few moments, he raised his head again and his eyes flashed green. Silencing and grabbing the attention of everyone there. When the flash disappeared, Oscar was no longer Oscar, but the old headmaster of Beacon.
"It is very good to see you all again," Ozpin said with a gentle smile, speaking much more maturely and professionally than Oscar. "I am proud to see that you have all grown so much, and you, Miss Rosa. I am happy to see that you have protected the power of the Spring Maiden all this time."
"How did you… could you tell?" Orchid asked, looking down at her own hands to see if there was anything that the boy she perceived could have spotted to narrow it down to her.
"I can sense magic, of course." Ozpin said with the boy's voice. "I do understand that this may be difficult to understand, but I am indeed Ozpin. The man that you all know as your headmaster. That is the name that I shall continue to go by today, anyhow. I do hope none of you try to call me that out in public."
"This doesn't make any sense," Yang said, shaking her head. "We were all there at Beacon, we saw it fall, and we all heard the news - and believed that you died with it. Reincarnation? It's just…"
"Unbelievable," Pyrrha finished for her. "I can hardly believe it myself."
"I mean, let's think about this for a sec," Nora piped up. "We know magic exists, we know about Salem, maidens, and the relics. Something like reincarnation is honestly pretty bland in comparison to all that. No offense to you, of course."
"None taken, Miss Valkyrie," Ozpin chuckled. "To every great force of evil there is another force made to stop it. The opposite of Salem would be me. We've both lived very long lives."
"Can she reincarnate too?" Jaune asked.
"Should we tell them?" Oscar asked in his mind. "The truth?"
"Not yet." Ozpin said. "The truth would break their spirits right now. We need them higher than ever, especially at a time like this."
"She cannot reincarnate like me," Ozpin remarked. "She can be defeated. What makes her dangerous is her magic over the Grimm. I fear the pools of Grimm have extended her life. Think of it this way; You all know Grimm doesn't die of old age. They only grow stronger as time passes. That is Salem, a humanoid Grimm if you will, to this day I do not know how she did it, but we are some of the last humans who are able to control magic. She chose a dark path," he continued. "Which has led to our outstanding rivalry up until now. I did this to myself," Ozpin looked over to Qrow, who nodded his head in turn, confirming it for everyone. "Because I knew that if I passed on, there would be no one left to hold her back. That is why I am here now. All of you are the next generation of defense for humanity. We must stop her. Vale was the farthest that she has ever gone in a very long time. Let us stop her there, together."
"Well, when you put it like that," Cardin held his mace out in front of him, putting his hands on the pommel and nodding his head at the small boy that was now his old headmaster. "Then you have me, and I very much doubt anyone else in the room is going to back out of this at this point."
"Cardin has gotten a lot nicer, as you can tell." Nora teased, elbowing Cardin in the side, who in turn scowled at the floor and sighed a telling sigh. "I think it's because of us, honestly. Once we break through his hard outer shell, he can be quite the softie."
"Shut up, I hate you." Cardin groaned.
"See!?" Nora laughed, wrapping an arm around Cardin's shoulders despite the taller boy's indignation. "He's got spirit, this one."
Ozpin smiled at them. "It is good to see your growth, Mister Winchester. You have become a student of mine in which I am proud of. Now, Qrow," Ozpin looked over to the much taller man, smirking as he did so. "I believe you have something which belongs to me now, don't you?"
Qrow chuckled. "Yeah, I think I do." He said, reaching behind his back and pulling out what appeared to be a small silvery rod with a lever on it. He tossed it over to Ozpin, who caught it and squeezed down on the lever. It extended out into the cane that Headmaster Ozpin was frequently seen walking around with and using as a weapon. Upon reuniting with the one object that has followed him throughout reincarnations, Ozpin let a reminiscent smile crawl upon his face.
"It's good to have you back, Oz."
Weiss reeled back as Myrtenaster barely parried a powerful blow from a silver-black blade. She was sweating, tired, and quickly becoming unable to keep up. Kai was a ruthless training partner, but he insisted that she needed to get stronger, and quickly. Weiss agreed, but she didn't think that he'd be going this hard on her. Between the two of them, he was better and stronger without a doubt, and he was showing that with each exchange. He did refrain from directly striking her however, which was a small mercy given the way she felt despite not being hit at all. In her mind, she couldn't help but compare this spar to the fight they had in the tournament in Mistral several years ago. That one was much closer, and he was much kinder then. Although he actually had to use his semblance to defeat her this time. It really went to show just what kind of beast Kai had become. His strength, power, skill, and stamina had dwarfed hers in every way.
Still, Weiss didn't want to go down without at least making him sweat in turn. She continued fighting, using her glyphs and her skill in every way she could think of. She tried to pin him down using a reverse gravity glyph before, but he was able to power through it and break out. She tried to summon a Grimm or a knight to defend her, but he killed it the second it was summoned. She felt as though she was fighting her sister Winter, who was a Specialist in the Atlesian Military. She treated her summons the same way, although she never allowed herself to get caught by her glyphs like that, Kai showed her a different style of fighting that she was terribly unused to. Fighting to kill instead of maim or take down. If he wasn't holding back, she would have thought that he was trying to kill her. Instead, he simply forced her to block again and again with the intention of making her body stronger, and to his credit, it was most certainly working.
"Weiss," Kai paused to give her a break, letting the tip of Silver Ebony dig into the dirt under him as he scratched a spot underneath his blindfold. "How much training have you been doing between now and Beacon?"
Weiss winced as she fell down to a sitting position, wiping away sweat from her forehead and blowing cooler air into herself.
"I-I didn't get much time to practice my skill in combat." Weiss admitted. "I did practice with my semblance, however. Summoning is something I have become more adept at, not like it's been working against you, anyway…"
"If you want any hope of staying alive against Cinder or any of Salem's underlings, you need to get stronger." Kai explained. "Your style and skill is fine, honestly, it's just your physical ability that needs to be improved."
"I… I agree." Weiss said through her hurt pride. She understood why he was being so blunt. He had to be. There were literal days or weeks, maybe up to a month, they had to spend strengthening their best warriors. Raven was handling the strongest bandits, while Kai spent his time training her, Neo, and even Malienna. Although the latter was definitely being taken easy on, Kai accepted that his little sister would have to learn how to fight and control the power of her eyes, just in case there was a time where he or anyone else weren't around to protect her. "I believe I spent too much of my life believing my semblance was capable of carrying me through every battle. You're showing me here that if you're strong and fast enough, glyphs have little to no effect."
"I don't know how your semblance works to a perfect degree," Kai said. "But it is definitely strong. You can beat me, you're just going about it the wrong way focusing on your glyphs. I had chances to hurt you while you were casting one. Someone like Hazel or Tyrian won't give you that time like I am right now."
"Damn it…" Weiss let out a rare curse. "I have fallen so far behind… It's pathetic how I've allowed myself to grow so little. I feel like I am still at the same level I was back at our fight in the Mistral Vytal Festival tournament."
"Don't be ridiculous," Kai walked over to her and dropped down to his knees so that he sat in front of her. "You've gotten plenty strong. It's just… I have been doing so much, even during my time as a student of Beacon." he explained. "I don't think a lot of other huntsman or huntresses do as much as I do, and I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging, that's just how it is. I went to Vacuo after Vale fell, and then I traveled from there all the way here, training with Neo, fighting people and Grimm alike, killing," he sighed to himself. "All with the purpose of defeating Cinder. I guess you could say I had a purpose to strive for."
"Kai, are you seriously okay?" Weiss asked, concerned after hearing all of that. "When was the last time you were able to stay in one spot and actually spend time resting?"
"Not since Beacon." Kai admitted. "But it's okay, once Cinder is dead and Salem is dealt with, I won't have to anymore."
"Kai, that's-" Weiss cut herself off and thought for a moment. Of course, Kai would know that it wasn't healthy. She couldn't just tell him that it wasn't okay for him to push himself this much when in reality, he might have to if he wants any hope of defeating the world's greatest villains. She bit her lip as she thought, feeling conflicted, as his friend wanted to tell him to stop and rest, but also knowing him, he wouldn't do that no matter what she said. He wouldn't rest when his friends and family are in danger, as they would be as long as Salem and Cinder exist. She looked at it from his perspective, and just understood what needed to be done. "You should still take some time to rest." She said instead. "Rest and allow your body to heal, heal and get stronger."
"Mm," Kai hummed. "I can cut down on it a bit, I suppose. I think I've already peaked for my age anyway. I just have to get older at this point now." She knew that he wasn't saying that with the intention to brag, but she was the same age as him, and she felt somewhat pouty at that. "I am still going to train you, and Malienna every morning though, and then train with Neo after that. Just because I can rest more doesn't mean I should let myself get soft."
"That's true." Weiss agreed. "With that said, I think I am at my limit right now." Weiss said, still not feeling her former strength return to her as her body still felt fatigued.
"That's fine," Kai said, standing up and rolling his shoulders. "Malienna is still sleeping. So I'll just train with Neo until she wakes up. If she's up to it, anyway," Weiss barely saw it, but Kai had a smirk on his face as he sensed Neo stand up from her position in the shadow of a tree and waltz over to him. Her thin blade escaped the compounds of her parasol, and she threw the garment to the ground. Weiss watched closely as they sized each other up, Neo stretching flexibly as she flourished her blade, waiting for Kai to make the first move. Weiss was interested to see how this would play out. To her knowledge, Neo was at least equal to Kai back in Vale, and they've been spending every day training together ever since Vale fell, so did that mean that she was just as strong as him now? She wasn't sure, but she paid extra close attention to the way she moved. Neo, despite her villainous past, was still an undoubtedly skilled warrior who fought with a similar type of blade that she used. Perhaps if she was able to observe her fight, she could pick up some tricks that she could apply to her own style of fighting.
Weiss' eyes widened when she saw Kai make the first move. He was so fast! It reminded her of Ruby's speed, although not quite as fast, it was very near. He was like a blur, and Neo was keeping up with him every strike of the way. Their blades clashed and bounced off each other in a flash of white sparks with such great speeds that it just showed Weiss even more how far behind she was. Though this time she wasn't peeved, she was astonished.
Neo was fighting almost as if she was dancing. Twisting and turning in such angles that made Weiss feel like she was splitting in two. Kai was surprisingly flexible as well, but his bulkier frame made it difficult for him to bend in such ways without making himself an open target. She watched as he already began to sweat as he fought Neo, and Neo began to struggle the longer the fight went on. They struggled against each other, they were each other's equals, and Weiss could certainly tell that they have done this countless times before.
For the first time in a long time she watched as Kai was forced to use his semblance, breaking through Neo's guard with a blast of air shot from Kai's left palm, and then watched as Neo broke into glass and appeared behind him. If it were anyone but Kai, the gambit may have paid off. But Kai sensed her the moment she displaced air and landed on the ground. He turned and drove his elbow into her stomach, tackling her to the ground and pinning her. Neo reached up to punch at him, but he caught it and pinned the arm over her head, and before she could try anything else, his sword tickled her chin.
The mute looked up at Kai and smirked, pushing her lower body up into his. Kai didn't react in a way that Weiss could see, simply smirking back at her as he calmly stood up and held out a hand to help her up. Neo was pulled up to her feet and she did a little hop, touching her hands to Kai's shoulders and pulling him. He leaned down, but before they could make contact Neo looked at Weiss, realizing that she was still there, and looked her in the eyes while her lips met his.
Weiss went from amazed to shocked and slightly disgusted at what she saw. It clicked in her head then and there. The reason why Kai and Neo would ever work together despite their past history together. She couldn't believe she didn't realize it sooner. A young man and a young woman, traveling together alone, fighting together, training together, and killing together. It was only natural at that point, wasn't it?
But it also meant something else. Weiss was planning to tell Kai what Neo did to frame him after they returned to Haven. But now knowing that the two of them were… involved. It just became much more complicated. Sure, Kai would certainly break things off with her and at the very least tell her to leave, but it'd also hurt him in a way that he's likely never been hurt before. Weiss didn't want that for him. Scowling, Weiss looked away as they shared their kiss. Neo would be allowed to have her way this time, but only for now. Honestly, the fact that she would do this, locking her now in this position, was both smart and horrible.
Sighing, Weiss stood up and walked away. "I'll let you two be alone for now." She said, walking to her shared tent with Raven so that she could have somewhere private to think more on what she could and should do.
She felt Neo's cocky gaze into her back the entire way back to the tent.
Whelp, that was yet another chapter done. At this rate, I am not sure whether or not I'll be able to finish this volume by the time I ship out to basic training. But I'll definitely try. I've got other stories to write, my book which I am still working on editing and in the future, publishing, and training to not suffer too much in the first few weeks of basic Lol. I'll try to write this more often for now. Give me… 6-10ish more chapters, and I may be able to finish out the volume in a way that isn't rushed to all hell.
