Chapter one: The Faunus
"Don't forget your job. Kill the Schnee. If you step into this house a moment sooner the Schnee won't be the only one dead." A man, my father, slammed the door in my face.
I was in a guild, an underground assassin's guild, located in Mistral. My current job was to kill the heiress of the Schnee dust company, rumored to be attending atlas academy that year.
Unfortunately, that meant I was in the lion's den. General Ironwood was the head of the academy. Not only would I have to worry about huntsmen finding my identity, but I also had the military breathing down my neck.
I swung my bag over my shoulder and headed to the airship. I began muttering and complaining under my breath. "That old man really thinks I'll come back." I placed my hand over my left eye, covered by pure white hair. I sighed. "Not like I have a choice."
The first and last time I tried running away from the guild and my father, I learned my lesson. A lesson they won't ever let me forget.
Several minutes later I finally made it to the port.
"Ticket?" A man popped out of nowhere with his hand extended.
I tensed and slowly handed over the ticket.
He smiled brightly and stepped aside. "Welcome aboard."
I side-eyed him as I swiftly made my way onto the airship. It was an open area with seats lining the perimeter. I sat in the back placing headphones on. What a weirdo. I closed my eyes as the ship lifted off on its way to the glorified city of Atlas.
The moment I stepped outside I was shocked at the sight. It was supposed to be such a grand city but to me, it looked like a hell hole for the poor and depressed. Must be Mantle. I heard the rumors, but this is just sad. I didn't have time to admire the scenery; just a few minutes after getting off the airship I had to board another one, to fly me to the actual school itself, in the upper city.
I gave another guy my ticket and walked right back in. I guess I took too long looking over the city, the seats were taken so I had to stand in the middle of the ship. "Don't touch me." I turned to face the person about to place their hand on my shoulder.
A faunus. He had bright blue eyes with jet black hair pulled back into a little ponytail. His grin was so wide I thought his face might just be stuck like that. "How did you know?"
"What?"
"How did you know I was going to tap you?" He gasped. "Are you psychic?"
"I-"
He got incredibly close to my face looking directly into my ruby eyes. "Woah, you're an assassin?!"
I grabbed his face covering his mouth. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?" My eyes narrowed piercing into his.
He pointed to my hand. I let go and crossed my arms. He sighed a breath of relief. "I couldn't breathe I thought I was going to die…"
I put a hand on one of my kunai knives.
The boy threw his hands up defensively. "It's my semblance, I can tell a lot about a person just by looking into their eyes."
I stayed silent and glared up at him.
"I won't tell anyone, I swear. It's not like you can kill your target now anyway."
'What do you mean?"
"The heiress isn't going to atlas academy, I heard she's on her way to Beacon in Vale." He put his hands down and smiled again. "Plus, none of that matters to me anyway. I just want to be your friend. Nicole Peral."
I was about to speak but was interrupted by a hologram of the general. I took the moment to slip away into the crowd. I could kill him. I shook my head. No, I can't draw unnecessary attention to myself, especially if I have to stay at this godforsaken academy until the festival. Before I realized it the crowd of people was moving to the lockers in the next room over on the ship. Shit, I spaced out.
"You know, for an assassin, you got your head in the clouds quite a bit." The faunus.
I turned to walk away. "I guess."
"You aren't ignoring me… does that mean you're accepting my request?"
I sighed. "Yeah. We can be friends." I began to walk toward the lockers. "Not like I have a choice," I mumbled.
He pumped his fist into the air. "Nice! Well, now that we're friends, it's time for me to introduce myself." He held out his hand. "I'm Isaac, Isaac Jackson."
I looked at his hand and reluctantly took it.
"Now I guess I gotta explain what we're doing."
I grabbed my sais and pistols from my locker placing them in their holders.
While we were getting ready Isaac explained what it was, we were getting ready for.
"Oh yeah, a bunch of teenagers jumping out of an airship into the middle of the freezing cold mountains. I don't see anything going horribly wrong." Nikki scanned the room for possible partner candidates. Anyone would be better than this faunus kid.
Two girls caught my attention.
One, a girl with light pink hair pulled into a side braid. Her fire-like eyes darted around the room as she clutched a large cylinder in her arms.
The other girl stood with more confidence. Her appearance was prim and proper as opposed to the girl in the pink. From her expensive clothes to her neat purple hair. Even her gaze had more of a presence than anyone around her.
I sighed. "My options are looking grim."
Isaac slapped me on the back, knocking me forward a bit. "Don't worry Nikki, you got me!"
He was quite expressive. Almost animated.
I mustered up the best smile I could. "Great."
