Indigo exited the elevator alongside the sound of a bell alerting her presence. She entered the Headmaster's Office, a place she utterly despises every time she visits it. Though her hate for it had somewhat begun to fade after seeing the inner workings of Ozpin's faction. Even though they can be slow and a bit too relaxed on doing their objective of countering 'The Black Queen' as a whole, she had to give it to them, they're pretty dedicated to their job.
After she became unofficially affiliated with the ever enigmatic headmaster of Beacon Academy, the meetings she went through had given her insight on just what they're actually handling. Now she knew the scope of it all, the threat that Remnant may be facing alone and unprepared if it were not for them. Ozpin agrees that 'The Black Queen' will inevitably make their move even with their existence, but with it they've slowed them down by a lot. Even if they fail the first time, contingencies are planned to be commenced to regroup and prepare.
Within the room, three people can be seen talking to each other. That being Ozpin himself who is sitting on his chair, who turned to her after noticing her arrival. Ironwood who also noticed her. And Professor Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's right-hand woman in handling academic matters.
"Shiro Indigo, coming in for another report?" Said Ozpin who focused his eyes on her, laying back on his chair.
Indigo stopped and stood next to Ironwood, who looked at her wearily. She nodded, "Another pair of otherworlders had appeared. Natsuki said that they're part of his family." She explained, "Two females, one at around the of 13-14, maybe younger by a tad few years, she calls him 'Papa', could be an adopted child from my observation. The other is the more….troublesome of the two, calling herself Shaula. Half naked, has no common sense whatsoever, an airhead who called Natsuki her master, and allegedly wants to be his sex slave."
"Sex slave?" Ironwood questioned, "You gotta be kidding"
"Trust me, I wish I were to," she replied, glaring at him before looking back to Ozpin for answers.
"No wonder I've been getting reports of a child and a bimbo causing a scene with your team present…" Glynda realized, her eyes widened while blushing a little at the term 'sex slave', "where are they now?"
"In our dorm, Natsuki and Beatrice are currently having a talk with them after a short reunion. I gotta say, pretty emotional," Indigo explained to her.
"Well that means Scarlet is watching the tournament?" Ozpin asked her.
"Yes, she is, now would you help me solve this problem or are you just gonna sit there and look pretty?" She replied.
"Well, if you do want a quick answer, I would say that covering their origins would be a priority, similar to Natsuki Subaru and Beatrice," Ozpin replied. He remembered the time when he gave a cover up story just right after Subaru and Beatrice's first day in Beacon Academy.
Both of them were said to be late joiners that the headmaster had found interesting due to their potential, and had offered them a place to study at Beacon. He had even went so far for Scarlet to be pardoned for her crimes and be given a second chance, and it was a stroke of luck that she has no records of murder that relates to Beacon at all, aside from the one where she attempted to kill Subaru and almost killed half of team RWBY.
So far, only team NBSS, team RWBY, and JNPR had known the truth of it all, and the headmaster had entrusted said secret to them very dearly. Because the whole story would come to ruin and other forces would be aware of their unique existence if it were to come to that. "But right now, we have other matters to discuss. We're just waiting for a dusty old crow to arrive before we start. How about we wait for him and talk about something else?" He continued
"Well, I would suggest a topic then," Indigo responded.
"And that is?" Said Ironwood looking at her with an eyebrow raised.
"Think of the origin story for both Meili and Shaula while also figuring out how to integrate them into society. You know that you have time to think about this right?" She answered. Sometimes, she just wishes that Ozpin can act faster when needed to. His most recent decision was something that she always despised as an aspect of his personality.
Glynda sighed heavily, pinching her nose in frustration at her answer, while realizing the obvious after thinking about it. Ironwood only looked at Ozpin waiting for a response, his arms tucked behind his back. The headmaster laughed, taking a sip of his coffee before leaning forward, "If you insist, I will consider it as our second topic as we wait for him to arrive. But right now I would like to discuss with you about the matters of the tournament. Care to join?"
She scoffed, his tactic of stalling potentially important proposals is another thing that she disliked about him. "Fine."
Subaru and Beatrice sat down on their bed within the dorm of team NBSS. Beatrice is reading a borrowed book from the library which she had yet to finish, listening in to the conversation. Subaru looked at her briefly, smiling, before moving on to the two girls in front of him, Meili and Shaula.
However, Shaula decided to sit beside him, hugging him ever so tightly after their reunion, humming as she goes. He ignored her, even though struggling a bit to breathe. He focused on his daughter. With all of the recent events being so sudden, he was not sure what to do. So, he decided to wait for a word to be uttered by her so they can start a proper conversation between father and daughter.
Now that he thought about it, from how she acts and looks, Meili had grown a lot within the span of one year. She's now a young maiden, and a lot more reserved with herself. Her petite figure had grown to be as tall as Ruby herself, though her chest is still smaller than hers. Even with that, a bit of her childishness is still present in front of his eyes, even if she is a bit embarrassed to show it to the public.
As a currently single father, Subaru's quite proud of her growth as a normal child, now turned young teen. Meili must've taken lessons on how to be a lady from Frederica in her spare time. And with that in mind, Subaru can conclude that his friends and family back home were safe, knowing just how different in contrast Meili is now in his eyes compared to the one during his time in the watchtower.
"Papa..." Uttered Meili, her gaze downward hiding the dry tears, her face turning red from apparent embarrassment as she continued, "You know that we should've not gone this far right? A lot of people saw me crying, and now they could've thought that you somehow made a young girl cry all of a sudden."
His eyes widened, he was not expecting that response from her. "W-well, the thing is Meili...the dorm is the only place I can think of where we can talk privately! Sorry if I embarrass you in front of the crowd with all that." He replied, a bit embarrassed as well.
"Still, I'm an adult now! I've recently turned 12 a few weeks ago, Papa should know that you shouldn't treat me like a small child anymore!" She responded, pointing towards him, her face beet red.
"I know you're experiencing a growing sense of independence right now as an emerging young teenager, so your Papa knows how it feels, but in this world you're still a kid!" Said Subaru. He really needs to teach her Remnant's customs.
"Ankle Biter #1! You should listen to Master you know~! You don't like it when he's mad!" Said Shaula, scolding the little girl at the opposite side of her, to which Meili replied with a pout. Shaula then looked towards Subaru. "And Master, when are you going to propose to me? We both know when a man falls onto a woman's chest that they should get married immediately!"
"No I won't propose to you with just that event! I plan to propose to Emilia-tan once I get back okay!? And since when did I teach you that sort of thing!?" He replied.
"Betty agrees with Subaru, since when has that kind of perverted knowledge been a fact, I wonder!" Beatrice added, supporting her contractor's notion.
"Don't you worry Master! Even if you have proposed to another girl, polygamy is always an option according to Saudi Arabian law, just like how you taught me! I'll show to whoever this Emilia is that I love you more!" Said Shaula, raising her hand.
"Even though that's a fact, I still doubt that she would even allow it! Plus, we're in another world, that kind of law is non-existent here!" He responded.
"Debunked again!? Truly Master is the wisest among all!"
"Thank you for the compliment, but don't you dare try to praise me just to hide your defeat!" Subaru said, before sighing at her antics before she went back to hugging him again shortly after.
Whoever that Flugel guy was with how much of a troll he was even in death, Subaru can still agree with him on how much of an annoyance the scorpion girl really is. He now knows how hard it is to control Shaula now that he fully accepted her as her new master, even if she doesn't know who he truly is yet.
He looked back towards Meili, fully energized after pushing back Shaula's advances. He can see that she felt left out after Shaula had interrupted their talk, looking down again while swinging her legs. "So, Meili?" He called her.
"Hmm?" She looked up, responding to his call.
"Mind telling me how you two got here in the first place? Also! Maybe a small recap on what had happened while I was gone? Papa really wants to know!" He said.
She hummed a playful tone before replying, "If Papa wants to hear what had happened for the past year, Papa has to tell Meili about his adventures here too! Promise?"
He nodded, gesturing to her to continue. Her words gained the attention of Beatrice too, who wanted to hear what had happened with the rest of the Emilia Camp.
"So to begin….not a lot had happened for the past year until the later months. With Papa Nii-Chan and Beatrice-Chan being gone, life had been pretty dull in the old mansion. Otto Onii-San did try to take your place and liven up the mood of the entire camp though, and his success with the help of Tiger Onii-san really did start up the camp's morale again…"
Subaru nodded intently listening to her explanation, which was almost childlike in nature. Though he was quite infuriated that Otto had decided to replace him as the annoying one. But eventually he gave up in trying to curse him interdimensionally, and congratulate him on saving the camp from eternal depression. At least he knows that the camp is okay now.
Meili continues, "After that, an invitation was received from the Felt Camp, it was something along the lines of handling the situation with Mama and the Pristella recovery. When we were there though, Mama attacked us! Meili was so scared of Mama since Papa Nii-chan was not there to help us. She was angry that I failed my mission to kill you, but most importantly she wanted to get her revenge on you! Magic Clown-Sama managed to get out of his shut-in hole and helped us in handling her. In the end he died alongside Mama in a fire, then some boring talks happened and the Emilia Camp got absorbed. Felt-chan became Queen of Lugunica after that…"
"So Emilia-tan failed to become queen then?" He asked, a bit saddened. He was not even fazed with Roswaal's apparent death. In his view, he somewhat deserved it, even if he had redeemed himself with that sacrifice. He cannot change the fact that he died, so he is forced to quickly move on. But at least he knows that even if Emilia had lost, everyone is alive and well.
She nodded, "But don't worry, she's actually happy with that decision! Because somehow being a person that handles demi-humans is easier for her than being queen. As for how I and Half Naked Onee-san got here in the first place, it's like in a blink of an eye! I didn't realize it at first, but we were in some kind of forest with red leaves and not the royal stables with Patrasche-chan, there were hundreds of weird black animal-chans that attempted to kill us, but Half Naked Onee-san saved me, then we meet team Jay-N-Pee-Arr, then we meet Papa!"
"Meaning the Lust Witch Factor got here alongside both of you then…" He uttered under his breath, now fully knowing who is responsible for sending both of them, Satella. He wonders just what she is planning to send all of them here in the first place. But, he quickly shrugged that thought off before moving on to address the new witch factor present inside his body.
The cursed dragon blood suddenly being gone and 'purified' in his view could mean that it was the lust authority activating immediately as it entered him. No wonder he felt so energized suddenly, a bit stronger and tougher too because of that, "Beako, can you check my body before the tournament begins?"
"Betty is not sure what Subaru is trying to do with that kind of order, I suppose. But Betty will comply," she replied, closing the book that she was reading.
He looked at Meili once again, her face turning away from him as he looked, trying to hide herself from him. It was probably from the fact that she has to remember her old life again with Capella. Subaru can relate and empathize with her, no child of her age should experience all of the things she has seen or felt. Even Shaula was concerned, looking at him, waiting to give an order. Beatrice only looked at her, her expression neutral as always, but he knew that she's pitying her.
Meili was sitting on the opposite side of him squirming, biting her lip, holding back her tears, her breathing turned incoherent. Her trauma is getting back to her, all of the nightmares she had experienced are firing back at her again. The feelings of her body turning into various….things, by her Mama sent chills down her spine, and it's messing up her mind a little. She felt cold, she felt that no one was there to comfort her, but she knew that it's not true. Her Papa is in front of her, only one hug away so she can cry her eyes out again and again, like the past six months she had been with him before he went missing, and got himself into this new world both of them are now in.
Subaru sighed. He knew that it was going nowhere trying to get her to start talking to him. So he decided to take matters into his own hands, like he always does.
"Meili?" He asked her, his voice soft and tender, trying to persuade her to talk. "Tell me what's wrong, your papa can always help you. You know that right?"
Suddenly, she stood up, still holding back her tears, and hugged him once again. It shocked both Shaula and Beatrice, but not him. Subaru smiled and caressed her hair, deciding to push further so she would talk, "Go on, say what you want from your heart. Your papa will listen. Even if you can only cry, I'll listen to that too."
With that gentle push from him, Meili closed her eyes, and tears began to form and fall down. She kept sobbing as her Papa slowly caressed her. She kept sobbing as she thought of the times she had spent alone in the world without him. Even if it had been only a year she had been separated from him, and even if the time she had spent with him in the old world was only half that, her life had changed so much because of it. She felt like a little girl again, growing up normally like the others, even though she knew that her trauma was still there. So many times in the past six months her Papa helped her go through it, just like he is now.
She sobbed her eyes out, as a chain of memories came rushing through her mind. All of the bad and traumatising memories transitioned into ones she cherished for all her life. Her time with Elsa before her death, and her time with her Papa and her reunion with him. Her tears kept streaming, her sobs muffled as she planted her face on his chest. She has no words to say, only cries, but she knows that he'll listen nonetheless.
Subaru can only listen, still keeping up on trying to calm her down. He felt like an actual parent now that he reunited with Meili again. He felt calm, focusing only on his daughter as he calmed her down.
Though soon enough, just a few minutes later, she began to quiet down, her eyes began to feel tired from all the crying. Her sobs slowed and eventually stopped, and her breathing stabilised. Soon she fell asleep, and shortly after he noticed it, Subaru placed her down on his bed. Beatrice skirts away to give her space to rest. Shaula can only watch and learn with her curiosity, taking notes on her master's techniques in calming down a child.
Subaru watched her sleep, fixing her hair and position so she could optimally rest. He smiled, subconsciously head patting Beatrice since he doesn't want to disturb Meili sleeping. The spirit was not expecting that, but quickly accepted it, earning a pout from Shaula out of jealousy.
As the three watched her, a knock from the door was heard. Subaru ordered Shaula to answer the door, which she happily obliged. She quickly opened the door to reveal Scarlet in front of her, peeking in to see what's going on.
"Baruba-Oh! It's yo-!" She said half-yelling, before being hushed mid-sentence in unison by the trio of Subaru, Beatrice, and Shaula. Scarlet peeked into the room to see what's going on, and she saw a little girl sleeping on Subaru and Beatrice's bed, who she remembered as Meili.
"Where's Indigo?" Subaru whispered to her.
"On a meeting with Mr. Ozzy again, probably about the tournament and the situation with Shaula and your daughter. Is she alright?" She responded, this time quietly.
Subaru briefly looked at Meili before looking back at her, "She is, I'll have Shaula guard her once we need to prepare for our round. What's up?"
"Just going to say that the victors for the latest two rounds are team JNPR and SSSN. The first fight was super boring. I almost fell asleep, the second one was pretty decent, though below average in my opinion, but I recorded it just for you!" She explained.
Subaru nodded. As expected, she would rate them as below average by her standards. "Anything else?"
"From what I can see, Indigo would be pretty busy talking to Mr. Ozzy and his merry band of friends just before our fight. So I'll suggest that you plan in advance on what her role is in the fight, capiche?" She replied with a smile.
Shaula who was beside her raised an eyebrow at what the last word she just said was. She might want to ask her master what the meaning of 'capiche' is.
Subaru chuckled. "You really make Oz-chi and his circle sound so friendly and innocent with how you describe them Scarlet"
She laughed a little at his remark in response. Subaru wanted to question why Indigo would be unavailable for most of the preparation time they'll have, but it was quickly interrupted by the faint rumbling of an airship engine in the distance. All of them looked towards the window, and they saw an airship posing with a unique Atlesian-esque design. It reminded Subaru of an X-wing just from how the wings are configured, but the cockpit is much bulkier and less aerodynamic than it, and it's much larger and possesses a tail of its own. It's heading for the landing pads, so he guessed that it must be some Atlesian VIP coming to visit and take a tour of the Vytal Festival. But he's not sure.
"Scarlet, mind telling me who that ship belongs to?" He asked her.
"That would be Winter Schnee, Barubaru, sir!" She replied, playfully acting like a subordinate.
"That's Weiss' big sister right? What is she doing here all of a sudden…" He questioned.
"She might be visiting for some inspection on Ironwood's toys, afterall, she is his second in command." Scarlet responded.
"Second in command…" Subaru pondered about that very title for a moment, before proceeding to look down at the festival grounds below. He can see two familiar silhouettes in the distance, and it seems they're heading for the landing pads too. He just knew who they might be from their distinctive colours of red and white. It seems that Ruby and Weiss are going to meet said Second in Command soon.
"Hey, Scarlet?" He said, turning towards Meili before looking at Scarlet.
"Yeah?" She replied.
"Let's do some preparations for our round now, the break won't be long. We can wait for Indigo, I have a plan for her in the fight." He said to her, "We can talk about some strategies once we reach the locker room."
Scarlet nodded. "Got it! Make sure that Kuro boy doesn't sneak up on us again."
Subaru nodded and turned towards Beatrice, "C'mon Beako, we won't have long," He then turned towards Shaula shortly after Beatrice nodded and dropped herself from the bed, "can you guard Meili please? If you want to watch the fight, I'll have the TV automatically be tuned to the channel when you press the button."
Shaula nodded, saluting towards him as both he and Beatrice went towards the door and exited the room, "Shaula will do as ordered, Master! Ankle Biter #1 will be safe by my hands!"
Subaru simply chuckled, "thank you."
Both Subaru and Beatrice soon closed the door in front of Shaula, leaving their dorm with Scarlet behind them to head towards the locker room to get their gear. Shaula happily waits at the door for a short while, her pony tail swaying left and right before she turns to head over to Indigo's bed, watching the sleeping Meili in front of her.
She crossed her arms and smiled happily. "As the Master ordered, I'll protect you no matter what, Ankle Biter #1!" She exclaimed to her, earning no response with the exception of the audible breathing of the sleeping girl.