Chapter 26: My Demons
"Take me high and I'll sing, oh you make everything okay..."
"And there were hundreds of them!"
Nora placed her foot on the tablecloth, standing up in her chair. She grinned as she recalled some sort of story about herself and her partner.
It was definitely embellished, like Professor Poop's entire life story probably was.
Yang, Jaune, and Ruby snickered as they leaned into their lunch table, hands pressed into the tablecloth, listening with rapt attention to Nora the Bard.
Blake had a book propped open on her lap, sitting right beside her partner.
Weiss took one glance at their impromptu storyteller, looked away, heaved a sigh—her shoulders sagging—and probably decided it was not worth the trouble to tell Nora to sit down and be quiet.
And well, it was probably not worth it. It was definitely better to just go with the flow when it came to Nora the Bard. Plus a lot of other things, really.
Nex smirked, holding a bagel with one hand, the slick butter hugging his digits. "Just a hundred? Surely you fight better than that."
Nora gasped, putting both hands over her chest. "You're right! I was wrong! It was a thousand!"
"A dozen," Ren said, shooting him a pointed look. "Nex, don't encourage her."
Nora grinned, rolling her eyes. Definitely at the tiny correction. "And there we were, surrounded by thousands of Beowolves!"
"I thought it was Beowolves and Boarbatusks," Nex said, breathing an exaggerated sigh. Lifting his shoulders, even. "I expected too much, I guess."
Nora pumped her fist, punching the lights on the ceiling. Well, if she could reach them. "I forgot! It was Beowolves, Boarbatusks, and Ursa! Thousands of them! And only two of us!"
Nex smirked. It was way too easy.
He leaned into the backrest, snatching a bagel from his plate as Nora the Bard continued weaving her hundredth something tale.
The cafeteria buzzed with chatter and the clanging of silverware, filling his extra pair of ears with a loud energy.
Lunch came after another gruelling battle in Grimm Studies—a battle waged between falling asleep, his partner's heel, and listening to the man embellish another tale about his youth. Well, Professor Poop probably hid important lessons in his anecdotes. But then again, he never claimed to have found them.
Weiss definitely kept a transcript of Professor Poop's stories somewhere. He just needed to borrow them if he was—gods forbid—curious.
"And then the Pancake Maiden showed up and rained pancakes from the sky, destroying all of the Grimm."
Nora finished her tale with a mighty flourish, twirling back into her seat. "So, what do you think?"
Jaune grinned, holding up his thumb. "It was awesome. Better than any of Professor Port's stories."
"That's not saying much," Yang said, elbowing her partner's side. "Our Jaunediced leader could tell a much better story than Professor Port, eh? Eh? Eh?"
Silence.
A fly buzzed amidst the cacophony of voices and silverware.
Fuck.
Pareidolia calculated the odds of Ren developing a sense of humor, and decided those odds were infinitely greater than the chances of someone laughing at Yang's jokes.
But still, someone had to say something eventually.
Droplets of sweat glimmered on Yang's brow when even Ruby turned away and stared at her vegetables. Those broccoli being the same as the ones on the ghost-ninja's plate. He had to throw Yang a bone. Out of the mercy of his frail, withered heart. If there was one, anyway.
Did edge lords have those?
"Yeah, sure," Nex said, shrugging—the trademark I don't care, but okay shrug. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Yang."
Yang turned over the pork chop on her plate, the poor thing swimming in a sea of red. "That bad, huh? Well, I'm glad Jaune appreciates my unique sense of humour. Right, partner?"
Jaune chuckled, grimacing as if someone just stuck a knife to his throat. "Uh, yeah. Sure, Yang. Whatever you say, partner."
A squeal hit his extra pair of ears.
Some brown-haired boy was pulling on a woman's rabbit ears. Extra pair of ears like his, even. The boy smirked as his cronies cheered.
One of them waved his hands over his head, pantomiming an extra pair of ears. The other pointed and laughed, even as the woman's red-stained eyes probably held back a volley of the waterworks.
Fuck.
Fuckity fuck.
The three idiots were the testosterone-sacks of Team PWDS. Always picking on someone when their team leader was absent. And more often than not, the green-eyed redhead was nowhere to be found, for some reason or another. It seemed today was one of those days.
But still, this was probably the first time their antics were so-
"Despicable," Weiss said, glaring at the three idiots. Right. Despicable. That was the word. "How could Beacon tolerate such barbarism?"
Blake looked up from her book—The Boy With Two Souls since a few weeks ago—her amber eyes fixed on his partner.
"Poor girl. Cardin's a bully," Ruby said, practically spitting the word out, like it was bad cookie. Or maybe even spoiled milk. Gods forbid. "Why isn't she fighting back?"
Yang scowled, her fist clenching around her can of soda—the poor thing squeaking out a crunch of pain. "Because she thinks fighting back will make him push harder. Winchester's the worst type of scum."
Nex shrugged, even as his jaw clenched. "Will it though? Hey, Weiss. Want to do a Silverstain on Cardin?"
The smile on his partner's face could have made a professional huntsman urinate in his pants. There was no way—absolutely no way he would admit it to anyone else, but his partner was particularly... interesting whenever her face twisted into that look. A far cry from the look she donned whenever her parents came up.
There was definitely something primal in it. Something stimulating. Something honest and incapable of voicing out a pretty little lie. It was debatable if that interest stemmed from his half-heritage—the part that howled at the moon and coughed up fur balls once every few months.
Not that he actually did any of those, but the metaphor was definitely there.
"It'll be my pleasure," Weiss said, smirking. Her knee nudged his. "You have the dust, don't you?"
Nex reached into his side-pocket, placing some shards of gravity dust on the tablecloth. Pitch-black even in its refined form. "I never leave home without it."
The moment Weiss Schnee planted Hard-on Silverstain into the ceiling was one of the happiest moments of his admittedly short life.
Well, he could have sent the racist into the hospital. Hrunting and Vigilance would have enjoyed the exercise. But then again, there really was no point in dwelling on what-ifs.
The racist was probably rotting in a high-security cell somewhere, never to see the light of the day again, if his home-kingdom's law-enforcement commercials were to be believed.
And now, there was another racist in front of them, multiplied by three. Three. It would be three times the fun.
Jaune frowned, glancing at the exchange as if they were dealing with illegal substances. "You're not going to do anything bad, right?"
Nex hauled himself to his feet. To be fair, this was probably Vomit Boy's first time in a combat school. "Hush, Vomit Boy. Believe it or not, violence is encouraged in combat schools. It's in the name. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."
It was a fundamental truth of the world of Remnant.
Their planet was dangerous, prowled by the bloodthirsty creatures of Grimm, and even the creatures of men and women, killers and bandits—the real monsters who wore the same faces as them.
They could not simply tell the monsters to leave them alone. In the same vein, the rabbit faunus could not simply tell her bullies to stop. She had to act. Someone had to act.
If not her, then someone else.
Once upon a time, he would have shrugged, closed his eyes, and looked away. Or admittedly, asked his partner to do it for him, rationalizing it away in his brain.
But not now.
Not when he could do something about it.
Not when Weiss herself wanted to do something about it.
"Yes," Nora said, pumping her fist. Her eyes narrowed. "Go break their legs."
She did not need to ask twice.
Weiss stood up, circling around the hall, skirting around the rows of tables. She made her way around, almost like she was just taking a leisurely stroll. An admirable effort, if not for the smirk on her lips and the narrowing of her eyes. She stopped a few feet beside the three idiots, waving the back of her hand—definitely a signal for him to proceed.
Nex whistled, clutching a half-empty mug of his lunch coffee. He stood some ways from their quarry, just enough distance for him to dodge any incoming punches, or even some form of projectile-based semblance.
Pareidolia would warn him. It always did.
"I get that you're compensating for your lack of balls," Nex said, pushing his lips into a saintly smile. "But you're going about it the wrong way. Try picking on somebody your own size."
Cardin shot him a glare, releasing the woman's bunny ears. "The Schnee's little pet. But his mistress is missing. You lost, pet?"
The testosterone-addled sacks guffawed at the tasteless joke, filling his ears with the sound of laughter—like knives stabbing into a box of steel.
Their victim shrunk into her slight frame, staring at him with brown eyes—eyes that lingered on his extra pair of ears.
Nex flashed her a smile. It was a smile that did its best to say, don't worry, we got this, to someone who was definitely unused to his little gestures.
And they did have it under control.
Cardin Dumbchester just dug his own grave. That barbed insult definitely earned him an extended stay in the infirmary.
Pareidolia hummed—he was right.
Nex smirked.
Weiss Schnee's face twisted into the living manifestation of a blizzard. The gravity dust in her hand quaked. Three glyphs spun on the floor. All three of them were the color of midnight. All three of them were potentially deadly traps. And all she needed to do was prime them. Then the three idiots would fly into dreamland, straight into three matching beds in the infirmary.
"Cardin Winchester. My partner is not a pet and I am not his mistress," Weiss said. "You will retract those words. Now."
The three idiots turned to face a fuming, red-faced Weiss.
And they made no move to run away.
Did idiots flock together, or was it just them?
If he was in their place, he would have definitely ran away.
No, not ran away.
He would have performed a tactical retreat. Yep. A tactical retreat, as it was definitely called. Live to fight another day and all. Or even die another day.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that the Schnee cared for their animals," Cardin said, snorting. He smirked, staring down a boiling Mt. Weiss. "I thought you mostly use them as slaves."
Damn. It was incredibly difficult to not pat Dumbchester on the back. Doing his job for him and all. It was supposed to be harder to goad—ahem, to encourage the bully into running his mouth.
Yep. Keep going. Dig the metaphorical grave even deeper. It would only make the punchline more satisfying.
Dumbchester's balls of sheer, unbridled stupidity were envy-inducing. And it was the definitely reason why the idiot and his boy-band were going straight up.
Literally.
Weiss growled, her fists clenching. The shard of gravity dust was definitely digging into her palm. Drawing blood if not for her aura. "You'll regret those words."
"What are you going to do, Schnee? File a lawsuit? Oh, I'm so scared," Cardin said, rolling his eyes. He placed both hands on his hips, jutting his chest out. It made him look like an oversized flat-iron. "The big, bad heiress is going to use her company to threaten the poor peasants."
"No. I won't," Weiss said, snapping her fingers. "But I'm going to do this."
Dumbchester and his two cronies yelped, their feet taking off.
Bang.
The idiot and his two cronies smashed headfirst into the ceiling.
Nex squinted. The white stone definitely caved-in from the impact. He blinked and it disappeared—just another explosion on Weiss Schnee's ledger.
The three idiot's flopped on the floor, nursing their skulls.
Oh, how he wanted to help them. He really did.
A concussion was a bitch and a half. Aura did nothing to prevent the raw kinetic force that scrambled their brains.
But there was only one thing he could do to help. One thing to help Dumbchester and his cronies.
For now, at least.
Nex poured his half-empty mug on their uniforms, smiling as they flinched. "Dumbchester. Run. Hurry. My partner's feisty when she's mad."
Weiss smirked, fiddling with a black glyph in her left hand and gravity dust in her right. "I can do this all day, Winchester. The question is, can you?"
Dumbchester and his cronies jumped to their feet. No one else could sprint out of the cafeteria as fast as they did. The brown-haired boy crashed into a pillar, sinking into the coffee-stained tiles. His two cronies dragged him off the floor, their arms shaking as they hobbled towards the exit.
The doors slid open, then they were gone—just another casualty on Weiss Schnee's murderous path.
"That was kinda disappointing," Nex said, heaving a sigh. He shook his head. "You should have sent them to the infirmary."
Maybe make them miss a few classes or something. The catch-up work would be hell. Especially since their next class was with Oobleck.
"Perhaps later," Weiss said, smiling as she turned to the woman. "Are you alright? That ruffian didn't do any lasting damage, did he?"
The woman raised her head, her puffy-pink eyes blinking. "I'm—I'm fine. Thanks for helping me, Miss Schnee. And..."
"Nexus Shade," Nex said, offering her a polite smile. "But you can call me Nex like everybody else. It's nice to meet you."
The woman nodded, flinching as she glanced at his partner. "My name is Velvet Scarlatina. I'm sorry, I have to go."
Velvet Scarlatina sprinted for the sliding door, the extra pairs of ears on her head flapping against the sudden wind.
"Wait!" Weiss said, stretching out her arm—the one without the dust. But the woman was already gone, slipping through the doorway. Almost as if she was being chased by the literal devil. Or even a horde of bloodthirsty, flesh-eating demons straight out the bowels of hell. "That's certainly one way of reacting to being rescued."
Nex shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. His knuckles brushed his scroll and some rough shards of dust. The last of his dwindling supply. Or at least, the dust not folded into his sword. He needed to meet a certain thief again.
Some time within the month.
Maybe they could meet in a steakhouse instead of an ice cream parlour. Or well, maybe just straight in one of Roman's hideouts instead of a meet and greet.
Neo would frown and maybe whack Roman with her parasol, but his fellow thief could probably live with it.
"Can't blame her," Nex said, licking his dry lips. No point in thinking about that one yet. "You're scary when you're mad."
Weiss heaved a sigh, a deep frown tugging on her lips. "Come on. Let's go back to our lunch, partner."
Nora jumped on her seat, punching something in the air. Or a lot of things, judging from the sheer number of punches. She laughed, howling loud enough for probably the entire cafeteria to hear.
A metric fuckton of heads turned to look at them.
Well, let them look.
Let them look while he ate his free lunch—paid for by Beacon. A lot of things really, including his allowance. A generous subsidy for the underprivileged like him and the ghost-ninja. Thank the gods for that. Going into Vale and taking lien from one of his hidden caches was proving to be a hassle, especially since he had to do homework and stuff.
Well, homework that was definitely non-graded.
"Take that, Cardin," Nora said, smirking as she lowered her hands. She sucked in a balloonful of breath, her chest even puffing up like one. "The bully finally meets his match."
Nex shrugged, biting into a much-deserved pork chop. "Well, it was all my partner. I just encouraged him a little. Everyone needs a little bit of encouragement from time to time, right?"
Both Ren and Blake smiled at that, shooting discrete glances at Nora.
"Nope. You poured the mug, Broody Face," Yang said, a shit-eating grin on her face. "I gotta admit. That was satisfying."
Jaune elbowed the blonde brawler. "What if he tells the headmaster? You might get in trouble."
"I don't think Winchester will," Weiss said, pursing her lips. The last slices of her pork were untouched on her plate. "If he does, then it's as good as admitting that he's been bullying students since day one."
Ruby nodded, chomping on a big, fat cookie. Brown crumbs rained all over her white vest. "Yep. Good work, dynamic duo. Down with the bullies, down with Cardin, amirite?"
"Down with Cardin!" Yang said, planting a fist into her palm. "We should make that our battle cry."
Nora grinned, standing on the table. Both of her feet, even. "Yeah! A cry that sends fear into the hearts of bullies everywhere!"
Huh. That was a thought.
The look on Dumbchester's stupid mug would be golden.
Weiss nudged his calf with her heel. "Nex. We need to talk. Alone."
"Sure," Nex said, quirking an eyebrow. "Should we go right now?"
His bagels and pork chops were already gone, consumed by the abyss called his stomach. His coffee was stuck somewhere on Dumbchester and his thugs.
Well, he was definitely ready to go to their next class.
But if Weiss wanted to talk, then they could come in a bit late. History could wait, after all.
Literally and figuratively.
"Sneaking off for a training session? Again?" Yang said, smirking. She waved a hand. Waving them away, even. "Fine. Just don't do anything irresponsible."
Ruby flushed, coughing into her glass of milk. Two trails of white burst from her nose and dripped down her chin.
Blake frowned, shooting her a look, even as the rest of their friends giggled.
Well, except Ren.
That one was probably a lost cause.
Nex smiled and bobbed his head into a nod. Despite the fact that his brain still did not get the idea behind that recurring phrase.
Maybe it was stuck in a thesaurus somewhere?
Weiss sputtered, tomato-pink as she grabbed his hand and practically whisked him away.