Chapter 23: One Of Those Nights
"My mirrors are stained with pain and portraits of your face..."
Admittedly, it was spacious.
First impressions mattered, especially since it was going to be their nest for the next four years or so.
The dorms of Beacon Academy had four beds, a door that opened via electronic terminal—one keyed into their scrolls, an air-conditioner embedded into the ceiling, and a wooden closet complete with their standard-issue uniforms. It was probably big enough to store all of their clothes. There was even an ensuite bath with a door that locked from the inside.
A large window offered a wonderful view of the courtyard—the fountain shimmery-red at the middle, along with the marble-cut statue of some hero or another. He would have tried jumping out, if not for the fact that an impromptu skydiving session would have definitely traumatized his new team.
"Doesn't it look bare?" Ruby said, her eyes darting between the plain, brown walls and the beds pushed against one corner. "Hey, Nex. As team leader, you gotta order us to redecorate."
Blake nodded, sprawled out on one of the beds, lying on her stomach. "We should probably clean up as well."
The sound of water hitting tiles rang out of the ensuite.
Weiss was taking her shower while the rest of them waited in their combat apparels. Thank his nose for not being as sensitive as his extra pair of ears. The discrepancy between his enhanced senses was probably due to his half-heritage—a hybrid between a human and a faunus. There was no way to know for sure, but the scarce research on the subject led credence to the hypothesis.
It was something to thank his father for, at least.
But it certainly did not make up for ten years of his life. Or even his mother's life.
Oh well, oh well.
Fuck it all then.
Nex shrugged, peeling off his boots and placing them on the brown, wooden floor. His socks followed. "Sure. But let's all take a shower first."
Blake nodded. "I agree. It's better when we're more comfortable."
Nex wiggled his toes. He swiped at his bracer, the lack of stimulus ice around his brain.
The blue hologram flickered, along with his full aura bar. He tapped on one of the filled boxes.
It was something to work on, at least. A hypothesis that, if true, could enhance his versatility by tenfold. If the nano-bots could be programmed to form his mother's cuirass, then it was possible they could be made into weapons. Or even other, more useful objects like ropes and stuff. Maybe even wings—wings that could have really helped in the Emerald Forest.
He smiled, rearranging the dots on the hologram.
It was like painting on a scroll, except he was designing new weapons instead of drawing a landscape. Each dot represented a single nano-bot, with only a finite amount of dots to create objects. Those objects could not use dust or ammunition.
At least, not yet.
The Atlesian tech was bare-bones, limited in its capabilities. There were probably glitches somewhere, but glitches that never happened were an impossibility. Everything had its flaws. Its weaknesses. It was his job as a technician to compensate for them.
"What's that?" Ruby said, staring at the hologram. "A new scroll?"
Nex swiped away the filled box. The hologram displayed the interface one might see on an ordinary scroll. Better to conceal what it really was. "It's experimental Atlesian tech—basically a fancy scroll with extra stuff. Not available to the public, but someone gave me a working model for my birthday."
Right.
A certain, drunk father who just so happened to be missing a pair of balls.
Fuck it.
At least the new duds were useful.
Ruby took the spot beside him, the plump foam sinking under their combined weight. She grinned at the hologram, her eyes tracing it down to his bracer. Her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes fixed on his mother's emblem.
The golden wolf howled at the moon, its snout almost touching the shattered base.
Admittedly, it was eye-catching, especially since the gold was cut into a clear, silvery surface.
"Whose emblem is that? The wolf howling at the moon," Ruby said. "Your emblem is the two swords on the kite shield, right?"
Nex shrugged. A few days ago, the question might have bitten his tongue off. "It was my mother's. Think of it as my remembrance."
One of the scarce few he had, admittedly. There was his guitar, his onesie—Amariss sewed that one herself for his sixth birthday, just resized once he grew bigger, and Oathkeeper and Vigilance. The third one was definitely more useful than the other two. His mother would have agreed. But then again, the guitar did see him through some penniless nights. His onesie, the cold and lonely ones. And it was so like his mother—always looking for him even if she was already dead and buried. Or even dead due to life circumstances.
"I'm sorry," Ruby said, blinking. She frowned, her hands stiff over her lap. "I didn't know."
Of course. Undoubtedly, no one told her. Not even her dear uncle. And it certainly spoke a lot about him.
Nex smiled, ruffling her hair—she pouted. "Don't worry about it. I've moved on from angsting about my past."
Mekel would have called him a reformed edge lord. Not that he was an edge lord.
Of course not.
Everyone had the right to angst and be moody sometimes. In the case of his past self—just months ago, even—it was probably most of the time.
No wonder Jaune and Yang called him Broody Face.
Something from those days must have stuck to him like glue on paper. But he could hardly blame himself. His facial muscles were already used to being a Broody Face. It was too much trouble to practice more smiles on the mirror.
Gods forbid.
Mirrors were definitely gone from his life. He shaved and combed for years without them, maintaining enough personal hygiene to not stink like a certain someone. And even smell like strawberries under the summer rain. Surely he could keep it up.
Ruby hummed as he shut off the hologram. "I have my mother's emblem, too. It's the rose on my dress. Her name was Summer. Summer Rose."
Right.
However Summer Rose and Amariss Shade died, his father had no plans to tell him.
No balls, even.
"I know," Nex said. "I met her when I was a kid."
Ruby glanced at him, looking like a mouse caught in the act. "You did? Where?"
"She visited our flat with your uncle," Nex said. "I think they went on a mission. It's the only time we met, actually."
Some sort of last mission, whatever it was. For the greater good.
Well, it was certainly his mother's last mission, seeing as his father was probably getting drunk somewhere. Or maybe even getting fucked on the road of life. More lien on the second.
Ruby smiled, bouncing off the bed. "Right. Uncle Qrow. I guess we can remember our moms together then."
Huh. That was a thought.
But there really was no point in sitting around like they were old men past their prime, reminiscing about what had been. Or what could have been.
They could only keep moving forward.
And it was his burden.
Not hers.
"I'm finished," Weiss said, the ensuite's door swinging open. She was dressed in a pale blue blouse embroidered with little snowflakes, the same one she always wore in the hospital. A white towel wrapped around her hair, droplets glistening on her slender neck. "Who wants to take a shower?"
Nex shrugged, glancing at the silver-eyed girl. "Ruby?"
"I want to go next," Ruby said, smiling. "Blake?"
Blake looked up from her book, her chin propped up on the edge of the bed. "I'll go last."
Amber eyes returned to the book's pages. Its cover betrayed nothing. The title on the loose, black sleeve—The Man With Two Souls, even less than nothing.
Well, what would having two souls be like though?
"Nex," Weiss said. "Lien for your thoughts?"
Nex looked up.
Weiss was standing right in front of him, balancing on the tip of her toes. She smiled, crumpling the towel away from her hair. The white waterfall cascaded down to her waist. Her scent flitted through his nostrils. Vanilla, flowers and baby blue—the exact scent she had that night in the barbecue place, minus the powder. She smelled the same in the hospital, but that scent was spoiled by the sting of alcohol.
"Just thinking why they made me leader," Nex said. That, and other inconsequential things. Curse his wandering brain. "I mean, you're certainly more capable at talking to people. And organizing stuff, even."
Weiss plopped down beside him, shifting the sheets. "I thought about that as well. But then I realized that's exactly why."
Great.
"Beacon wants students that aren't good at leading to be leaders," Nex said, nodding. "So they can learn how."
It did not lessen his desire to pass on the role to his partner, and it was doubtful she would agree even if he asked. But he was chosen to be the team leader. He had to adapt as best as he could. Well, it was never too late to learn. Maybe he could learn how to be a team leader and be a sleepyhead at the same time.
"Exactly, Mr Shade," Weiss said, bobbing her head into a nod. She flashed him a smile, batting her eyelashes. Her voice sank into a breathy whisper, "if you desire, I can impart some of my diplomacy training to you. I would require significant compensation, but I'm sure you can manage."
Blake glanced at his partner, red swimming over her cheeks. She buried her face back into the book.
How odd.
The fourth recruit of their high society reacted to something just now. But it was doubtful she was eager to tell them, seeing as she was immersed into whatever it was in the book.
Two souls.
Maybe it was a theoretical treatise on aura or something—some sort of controversial research buried under the pretense of not shocking the public or introducing too much change, especially since the Grimm would have a literal smorgasbord if the public so much as twitched the wrong way. But still, a single person having two souls. Maybe even having two semblances.
Fascinating.
"And what sort of compensation would you require, Miss Schnee?" Nex said, grinning. There was no point in continuing that particular line of thought. Not when his partner was here, wanting to talk. "I can't offer you anything but myself. Maybe you want me to hold an umbrella? Pitch my tent with you? Or maybe you want me to spend the night with you, so I can stay until morning?"
Weiss shook her head, giggling as she probably recalled all of those times. "I think I'll have to settle for you, Mr Shade."
Blake reddened, steam pouring out from her ears. She sunk her nose even deeper into the book. If both of those were even physically possible.
Well, if she was feeling shy and awkward, then they would have to give her time to open up. Forcing people into doing stuff they did not want to do was distasteful.
Everyone had a choice. Far be it from him to deny them that.
The door to the ensuite swung open.
Ruby came out, dressed in her black pyjamas. It was the same one in the ballroom yesterday. Probably a different set, though.
"I'm done," Ruby said, holding a splotched, blood-red towel in one hand. "It's our leader's turn."
Nex shrugged, grabbing a midnight-blue towel along with another set of his onesie. "I'm going, I'm going. Don't shoot stuff while I'm gone."
Three pairs of eyes turned to him, definitely confused.
Well, he never claimed to be very good at expressing thoughts with words. His weapons definitely spoke better.
Nex stepped into the ensuite, locking the door behind him. A shower hung on one corner, while a toilet, a sink, a cabinet and a mirror completed the look. It resembled the bathroom in his flat. He flipped off the light, casting the ensuite into darkness.
Old habits died hard.
Ghosts died even harder.
And...
It was better to not see himself in the mirror at all.
Or to hear himself speak, even.
But that one was debatable.
Thus, Nexus Shade came out fresh and garbed in his silver onesie. His musky clothes would need a trip to the laundromat. Convenient that Beacon just so happened to have everything. And for free, too. It was definitely lien well-spent, unlike the money-grubbing of the politicians in Atlas.
"Blake," Nex said. His bare feet padded on the floor, the cold seeping into his soles. "Your turn."
The shy ghost-ninja stood up, holding her clothes and her black towel to her chest. She strode into the darkness. The door locked with a click.
"So, we gotta redecorate," Ruby said, placing a hand on her waist. "Say the word, team leader, and we'll put out some stuff."
Weiss nodded, smiling as her eyes roved over the cute little wolf on his chest. Understandable. It was that cute. "Yes. Our dorm does look a bit drab."
Nex sunk into the bed beside his partner—who smiled and leaned a little bit into him. Their luggage was shoved against the far wall of their dorm—the stuff they wanted to put out. But still, their last teammate was still in the shower. "Let's wait for Blake. This is a team effort."
Even if the ghost-ninja seemed to be the silent stalker type, she was still the Blake of Team SSBR. The B, even.
That had to count for something, right?
Weiss was correct. It took time to form chemistry between pairs—time that could also be applied to their team. The fact that three-fourths of his team was part of the socially-challenged elite meant the process would take longer.
But they had time.
Four years, in fact.
He could kick back and relax. Watch his teammates grow from the sidelines. Maybe he could catch some much-needed shut-eye while they did their own thing. And well, they did not really need him.
Did they?
Blake came out ten minutes later—a miniscule amount of time compared to the period Weiss took. She was dressed in a black yukata—traditional Mistralian wear. Rare to see in Atlas, but fashionable enough that some stores advertised the articles of clothing through their glass walls.
"Blake, we're ready to redecorate. As a team," Nex said, covering his mouth as he yawned. It was highly probable they were all tired. But then again, none of his teammates missed sleep and did the initiation at night. "Any ideas?"
Blake shot them a look. "I'll go with whatever you want. I have no preferences."
Ruby cringed, tapping the floor with her slippers. "Yeah... We'll just see where it goes then."
His team snapped into action.
Nex stood by the window, pointing where stuff needed to go and where stuff did not need to go. He was supervising because he was the leader, and not because his body weighed like two Deathstalkers combined. Seriously, fuck those bulletproof Deathstalkers.
In hindsight, it was definitely why huntsmen and huntresses commissioned blunt weapons. Like that orange-haired woman, even.
By the time the girls were done, their dorm looked like an eclectic cafe in Atlas.
Posters of weapons and gadgets stuck to the wall with the doorway. A shelf filled with books stood against one wall—how Blake managed to fit the shelf in her luggage was a mystery. His acoustic guitar hung beside the shelf, the sleek silver contrasting the brown wood. Some sort of entertainment system sat on the bookshelf's opposite side.
Ruby had to fight both Blake and Weiss for that one—Blake wanted to put more bookshelves while Weiss wanted to put a painting.
Ruby's entertainment system was adjoined to a writing desk big enough for four people. Their beds occupied the wall across the bookshelf, with only inches of space between them. A dining table and the closet took up the windowed wall.
It was a tight fit, but they had to manage.
"Doesn't it look a bit cramped?" Weiss said, frowning as she stared at their beds. "Maybe we should get rid of something."
Both Blake and Weiss glared at Ruby's fancy computer.
The silver-eyed girl pouted, definitely looking at him for help.
Nope. No way he could win that fight. Not even all the lien in the world could have convinced him to save a gaming console. It was much more efficient to play video games on a scroll.
Not that he played those. It was more productive, and even fun, to tinker with the scroll itself.
Nex shrugged, offering her a mournful smile. He was trying to sympathize with the fifteen-year-old kid. It was true. He most definitely was.
"Don't look at me," Nex said, killing the yawn in his chest. "I've got to be impartial. Because I'm the team leader. Yeah."
Yep. That was his story. He was definitely sticking to it.
Let them choose what they wanted. It would probably shave off a lot of time from group sessions, if they needed to decide something. Time he could use for sleep.
"I know," Ruby said, grinning. She pumped her fist. "Let's stack the beds and make bunk beds."
Weiss shook her head. "That seems unsafe. Isn't it?"
"I agree," Blake said, covering a yawn with her elbow. "The beds might collapse while we're asleep."
Ruby frowned, staring at the ghost-ninja.
Three pairs of eyes looked to him for guidance.
Being team leader was definitely turning out to be balls. Balls-deep-sixty-nine, even—if they were in Mantle instead of Vale. Whatever that one meant.
Damn. He was too tired for this.
What did they say again?
Compromise.
Yep.
That was the word.
"I can weld the beds together," Nex said, heaving a sigh. "I'm something of a technician myself."
Now, where were his tools again?
He needed to get some shut-eye, before his lids committed first-degree murder.