As the rain poured heavily on a small farmhouse, a small family rushed out of the house. The mother carried their young son towards the nearby wagon. The wagon has a cloth rooftop with a couple of horses attached to the reins. A couple of gunshots can be heard from inside the house. The mother quickly turned around to follow the sound. A couple of seconds later, the father ran out of the house while holding a shotgun. The father ran towards the mother and child.
"Hurry!" The father told the mother.
The mother quickly climbed up into the wagon, struggling while carrying her son. The father ran around the wagon towards the front. The father climbed onto the seat in front of the wagon. He placed his gun behind him as he grabbed the reins. With a sudden whip from the reins, the horses quickly ran.
As the wagon rushed away from the home, everyone quickly looked behind them. They watched a multiple Grim of the Beowolves rush out of their homes as they began their chase. There were two paths to take at the end of the driveway: a left path and a right path. As the wagon reached the end of the driveway, the father made a left turn. The mother was very confused.
"Why didn't you take the path towards town?" the mother questioned. "We could have gotten protection from the town's guards."
"We can't!" The father shouted from the front seat. "I spotted some grim from that side."
"Mommy, I'm scared," The child spoke from the mother's hug.
"It's alright, honey," she reassured the child. "We will be safe soon enough."
As the wagon continued to barrel down the path in the heavy rain, the father glanced back from time to time to find the Grim continued chasing them. The father looked forward to finding a fork in the road. The path continued forward while there was a path that head right. As they approached the intersection, the father watched as Grim emerged from the side of the road blocking the path in front of them. He quickly forced the horses to turn right. They continued down the path for a couple of minutes. However, looking forward past the rain, the road leads to a dead end. The path ended with a trail of trees. The father wanked hard on the reins, causing the horses to slam on their legs in order to stop. The father quickly climbed into the wagon with the mother and child. He grabbed the gun and realize the gun doesn't have any more ammo. The father gave a sad look to the mother before giving a smile. The mother knew what was happening before embracing the child more.
"I wanted to say I have always loved you," the father spoke to the mother. "Nothing can change that."
"Until the end, I have never stopped loving you, dear," the mother told the father. "I have never had a reason to stop trusting you."
The father gave another sad look before he leaned towards the mother and child in for a tight hug. They remained together as the Grim finally caught up to the family. The pack of Beowolf surrounded the wagon. The family did not move as a couple of wolves lunged into the inside of the wagon. The rain continued to fall heavily as the event reached to end.
-*RWBY*-
Asarirn stood there with his arms crossed as he was trapping his arm with his pointer finger. He wore his usual black coat. In front of him was the rest of the team. The girls all wore their usual combat outfits. They stood there quietly as they stare at Asarirn. Around the team were other students from other teams. Everyone appeared to be wearing outfits that were made for combat. Students were talking among themselves about various things.
The room everyone was currently inside was rather large that can occupy a large number of people. Within the room, there were multiple kiosks lined up each displaying different sets of information.
Asarirn stopped tapping his finger before letting out a sigh. "So, explain to me, one more time what are we doing here?" Asarirn asked the team.
"As part of our school's curriculum," Ruby began to explain, "we will be shadowing full-fledged Huntsman on a mission. They give a better understanding of what to expect once we reached their level."
"But on a Saturday?" Asarirn questioned again.
"Technically, we will be gone for the whole weekend," Blake clarified.
"This is a requirement in order for everyone to graduate," Weiss added more to the topic.
Despite having the hood, the girls could feel Asarirn was not happy about the whole situation. However, Asarirn withheld any comments related to this curriculum.
Asarirn gave up before letting out a sigh. "So, what is the purpose of this room?"
Ruby smiled as a way to give some comfort before explaining. "This is where, as a team, we will pick a mission for us to take. If we found a mission that no one picked, we can register to take this mission. The system will notify the Huntsman related to the mission."
Ruby began to move towards an unoccupied kiosk. She turned around to gesture for the rest of her team to follow along. Weiss didn't say anything as she headed toward Ruby. Yang and Blake each gave a pat on each Asarirn's shoulders, a way they understand his pain before they follow the leader. Asarirn did not say anything himself but started to follow without a choice.
The whole team surrounded the kiosk. Ruby took charge as she accessed the screen. There was a list of different types of missions anyone can take.
"I see a mission in assisting children across the street after school," Ruby started to go through the list. "Helping the local police department, doing portals around the city..."
"If we finish any of these missions early, can we have back what days off we have left?" Asarirn asked.
"You really don't want to partake in this," Weiss stated.
"Not on my days off," Asarirn stated himself. "I don't understand why they couldn't have us do mission during school hours."
"That time is for learning," Yang jokingly commented.
Ruby continued to scroll through the list of missions to find a mission. She needed to find something that everyone would like, especially a pouting hooded teammate. She scrolled to the end of the list and her eyes widen in surprise at the last mission.
"Guys," Ruby getting everyone's attention. "There is a mission to find a missing family."
"What is so special about this mission?" Yang curiously asked.
"This mission is located at Blossom Spring," Ruby stated.
Almost all the girls widen their eyes in excitement as they heard the name. Everyone except for Asarirn.
"Are you serious?!" Yang asked if what Ruby said was too good to be true.
"Blossom Spring?" Asarirn said confuse.
"Blossom Spring is a famous hot spring that is located outside of Vale," Blake explained.
"They said their water is great to relax the muscles to get rid of fatigue," Yang added. "And great for the skin."
"Wait," Weiss stopped herself before becoming enticed in the hot spring. "We can't just accept this just for the hot spring. We will need to focus on the mission than having the chance to relax."
"I am confident we will find them quickly," Ruby stated.
Asarirn could only listen to their conversations since he had not much to contribute. He had heard bits and pieces about this place, but enough to withhold the information.
Ruby looked back at the screen to read more about the mission. Her eyes were filled with sadness.
"Oh, this said they are taking students that are second year or higher," Ruby broke the news.
"I knew this was too good to be true," Weiss stated.
"I want to see if we input our team in, just to see," Ruby said as she started to type. She entered the information into the mission system. The screen returned saying the team was registered to the mission.
"It worked!"
"Really?" Yang questioned.
"This has to be some kind of mistake," Asarirn stated.
"Well, that does not matter now," Ruby told Asarirn as she started to get excited about the upcoming mission.
"This could cause issues for other students with other missions, not just mission," Asarirn explained. He quickly noticed that all girls had somewhat sad looks. Asarirn thought about how much do these girls want to go. Asarirn brushed off the thought as he started to look around. He noticed Professor Ozpin off in a distance, accompanied by Glynda Goodwitch. "Look, I see Professor Ozpin. I will explain the issue."
Asarirn started to head toward the teachers but his path was intercepted by Ruby. Ruby appeared in front of Asarirn at blinding speed.
"Hear me out, what if we don't tell them," Ruby tried to convince Asarirn. Asarirn only stared at Ruby for a few moments before shaking his head. He didn't say he walked around and continued to head toward the teacher. Ruby reached out a hand to Asarirn despite not being close enough to grab him. She could only sheepishly follow Asarirn along at this point.
-*RWBY*-
Ozpin noticed Asarirn was approaching him from a distance with Ruby taking her time to follow.
"Our team noticed an issue with one of the missions," Asarirn stopped in front of Ozpin as he started to explain. "We managed to register for a mission that only allowed a second year or higher."
"The missing family cases?" Ozpin asked to which Asarirn nodded. " I was hoping your team would register for that mission."
Asarirn tilted his head as he was confused about it. Ozpin didn't say anymore as he handed him a small stack of paper. As Asarirn held the paper in his hand, he noticed a folded piece of paper on top. He used his other hand to open and read the contents. Under the hood, Asarirn's eyes widen with surprise.
"What's happening?" Ruby asked as she finally caught up. Asarirn quickly crumbled the small piece of paper in his hand without Ruby noticing.
"I was explaining to mister Shadow here," Ozpin began speaking. "I have made your team an expectation to the mission since your team is comprised of five members instead of four."
"Really?" Ruby's eyes beamed with happiness. The rest of the girls finally caught the rest of them to join the conversation.
Ozpin nodded his head to confirm. "Make sure you work with the Huntsman that is assigned to the mission."
Ozpin started to walk away before turning as he forgot something. "Make sure the team doesn't overwork themselves. I heard the hot spring can help relieve stress and exhaustion." Ozpin smiled as he walked away.
"Mister Shadow," Glynda grabbed Asarirn attention. "Before you head out, your new equipment should arrive at your room."
Glynda nodded her head and departed.
"So, what was that all about?" Yang asked.
"We got the mission and an okay from Ozpin himself," Ruby explained. All girls' eyes widen in excitement as they are excited about the mission. Asarirn didn't say much as he was deep in thought.
-*RWBY*-
The whole team was walking outside towards the airship landing. Everyone has their own small pack they are carrying around. Since they are gone for a couple of nights, they are traveling light.
After a brief talk with the pilot, they quickly found the airship that would take them to their destination. Each of them boards the airship without issues. After a moment of waiting, the doors closed and the airship started to take off.
Within the airship, everyone was sitting as they are waiting to arrive at the destination. Ruby was glancing at each of her teammates. She was making sure everyone was okay as a team leader until she reached Asarirn. Ruby noticed something hanging off of Asarirn's belt. The item looked like a white oval-shaped bowl. The curiosity got the best of her and decided to approach him. The other girls watched Ruby since this would pass the time.
"What is that hanging there?" Ruby asked.
Asarirn looked down to see what she was referring to and realized the white item. He didn't say anything as he unclipped the white item from his belt. He held up the item close to his face. The item covered the whole face.
"A mask?" Ruby realized the white item was a mask. Asarirn only nodded in response.
"Was that the new equipment Ms. Goodwitch mentioned?" Weiss was curious.
"That and a sword," Asarirn clarified.
The girls gave a quick glance over at Asarirn. They realized there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"I don't see a sword," Blake stated.
"I didn't think I would need one to find missing people," Asarirn stated as he crossed his arms.
"But would you bring your usual equipment for any mission though?" Yang added.
"Also, I didn't get a chance to test the sword," Asarirn added. "If I don't get the right feeling of the time, I don't think I will effectively use the sword."
"Can I borrow that?" Ruby asked as she pointed at the mask. Asarirn thought for a moment before handing in the requested item.
Ruby, without a moment, covered her face with the mask. She flipped up her hood as she moved over to stand next to Asarirn. Ruby finished by crossing her arms. Asarirn watched the girls snicker among themselves as they are looking at Ruby and Asarirn. Asarirn glanced over to Ruby. For some reason, Asarirn felt he should be annoyed.
Ruby took off the mask while her laughter died down. She handed back the mask while smiling as she had her fun.
"So, besides working on the mission, what is everyone excited about once we get there," Ruby asked as she pointed towards her blond sister to start.
"I'm excited to try some of their food," Yang could not contain her excitement.
"I heard they always have fresh seafood," Blake added.
"Of course, the Blossom Spring is next to a large lake," Weiss commented.
"What about you, Weiss?" Ruby asked as she pointed to Weiss.
"I am looking forward to relaxation in the hot spring and skin care in the spa," Weiss explained.
Ruby nodded her head with acknowledgment. She turned to Blake. "What about you, Blake?"
"I am looking for some peace and quiet," Blake stated. "We never had a break like this since we started the year."
"With the amount of homework, we were given, I thought the nightmare never ends," Yang stated.
"I'm just excited to be able to create some fun memories with the team," Ruby said with a gleam in her eyes. She turned to the final member. "What about you?"
Asarirn was almost taken aback as he was not expecting to be asked that question. He thought for a moment to find an answer. Never gave much thought to the trip besides completing the mission. Asarirn recalled there was a poster at school that was related to Blossom Springs.
"I am interested," Asarirn started to speak, "in the sweet bread."
The girls simply stared at Asarirn with blank faces. To the girls, they were not expecting that answer from Asarirn.
"Oh yeah!" Yang was able to process the information. "I heard the bakery in Blossom Spring is famous for its sweet bread. Their bead is warm and flakey on the outside. But if you bite into one, it tastes so sweet. People often compare them to glaze donuts."
"Really?! I need to try one myself!" Ruby sounded as if she was interested. Ruby turned to Asarirn with a thumbs up. "Nice call!"
The girls resumed their conversation as Asarirn remained silent. The feeling of being included was something Asarirn haven't experienced in a long time. Really can't whether or not Asarirn wanted to be part of more of these conversations with the girls. Asarirn considered the fact this may be a normal thing talking to people around his age. Asarirn didn't say any more as he simply listened more to the girls' conversation for the rest of the flight.
-*RWBY*-
The airship lowered its speed as the ship began to hover over the landing pad before descending to a full stop. The whole team waited patiently for the door to open. As the engines began to die down, the door slowly slid out of the way to create an opening. The girls of the team began to step out of the ship one by one. As the last one left the ship, Asarirn started to head towards the exit before stopping at the door. Without a word, Asarirn pulled the mask from his belt and placed the mask over his face. With the mask fitted snuggly on his face, Asarirn departed the ship himself.
Asarirn caught up to the girls as they stood a distance away from the airship. Each of the girls had a degree of excitement in their eyes. Each of them looked in a random direction to bask in the scenery. One side of the town is completely blocked by a large body of fresh water. Among the waters were boats that are fishing for fish. Another side was dedicated to a large nicely built structure with steam pouring out. The third side of the town was made up of shops of different varieties. The final side was the area in which the residents currently live. Directly in the middle of the whole town, there were stalls that sells a variety of different things. The smell of fish that fill the air can tell people what they are currently selling.
"Look at the market!" Ruby pointed at the stalls.
"Look at the steam from the hot spring!" Weiss point at the building with the steam.
"Look how clear the water is," Blake pointed at the large lake.
"Look at the shops we can check out!" Yang pointed towards the shops.
Asarirn tried his best to look at the directions each of the girls are pointing towards. However, there was a lot of information to take into all.
"I will take you are the team that was assigned from Beacon Academy." A voice caused everyone to stop what they were doing to look toward the source. A middle-aged somewhat round man stood off to the side. He was wearing a colorful button shirt with a palm tree pattern on them and dress pants. Accompanying this person was a woman who appeared younger than the man. She wore a button-up shirt with a business skirt.
"That's right," Ruby spoke for the team. "We're Team RWBY from Beacon Academy and I'm Ruby, the leader of this team. This is Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Arranis." Ruby pointed to each person as she called out their name.
"Arranis," The man repeated the name. "Ah, you must be the fifth team member that everyone was talking about."
Under the hood, Asarirn was surprised to hear people were talking about him. He simply nodded his head. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I didn't realize people were talking about me."
"Of course, we have seen your entrance exam online," the man explained. "The way you handled those Grimms was quite outstanding."
Before the man could say more, everyone heard a loud cough from the woman standing next to him.
"Ah, I suppose we should introduce ourselves," the man reminded himself. "My name is Mike Laker and this is my wife."
"Hello, I'm Laura" Laura greeted with a simple wave.
"And I'm the mayor of this town," Mike continued. Everyone was almost taken aback to find out they are talking to the mayor. "I would like to take the time to appreciate for answering our call in our time of need."
"We will do everything in our ability to help," Ruby answered with confidence.
"That's the attitude we are looking for in future huntsman and huntresses! I heard the huntsman that is in charge of the investigation is already here."
"Really?' Ruby had beams in her eyes with excitement.
"Of course," Mike continued. "He was part of the survey team from Atlas before you folks arrived here."
"He is a huntsman from atlas," Asarirn whispered under his breath. However, Blake was standing next to him and heard him. She shifted her eyes to Asarirn for a moment before turning her attention back to Mike.
"You mean they already made their investigation?" Blake chimed in.
"Oh heavens no," Mike answered. "They were merely investigating the missing family farm home outside of this town. They were the ones that told us there was a lot of Grimm activity and advised us to prevent anyone from heading north."
"What did they find at their homes?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know," Mike responded which left everyone in confusion. "Due to the Grimm activity, the Atlas survey team couldn't get near the farm. But that doesn't mean there are some other ways to find their whereabouts."
"Couldn't we go ourselves to investigate their home?" Weiss asked. "We certainly had our experience with dealing with Grimm." Weiss made a small gesture towards Asarirn to make a reminder to them.
"Trust me, I would love to let your team through but I feel that would be too dangerous in your current experience. If I had a team of Huntsman and Huntresses, I would let them go."
The whole team was stumped on their next course of action, but in their current state, they have to make do with what they had.
"Don't worry, we will still investigate," Ruby answered.
Mike answered with a smile. "Great! Over by our famous hot spring is our luxury hotel where everyone will be staying for the next few days." Mike gestured towards a large building next that is next to the building where the steam is emitting from. "During those few days, all of your breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all complimentary. Of course, everyone here will have access to the hot spring at any time. I figure everyone will be bound to be tired from investigating."
All the girls had beams in their eyes as they heard they have access to the hot spring.
"We appreciate everything you are doing for us," Ruby said with excitement.
"Well, we should leave you girls and guy to your investigating," Mike waved his farewell as he and Laura started to walk away. Mike managed to walk a couple of steps before stopping. He turned back to the group before speaking. "Oh, by the way, if your investigation leaves with unable to find the family, I would not write them off as deceased.
The whole team watched as Mike and Laura walked off after Mike left them with that advice. Each member looked at each other to see if anyone has anything to say.
"Well, there goes the weekend," Asarirn was the first one to speak.
"At least we are staying in a nice hotel," Weiss trying to look at the bright side of things.
"And free food," Yang added.
"What does he mean by the last thing he said," Ruby couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not too sure," Blake responded. "But, sounds like things are going to get complicated with the whole investigation."
"Was that what you meant by, Arranis?" Ruby towards Asarirn while everyone else watches.
There was a brief pause from Asarirn before he answered. "I'm not hundred percent sure about the current situation. There could be a chance we might be overthinking about what he said."
"I agree with Arranis," Blake spoke up. "I think the best action is to get the whole investigation underway."
"Before we start," Weiss interjected, "We should check in our rooms and get things settled."
"All right team!" Ruby jumped with excitement. "Let's go and check out our rooms!"
Ruby started to head toward the direction where the mayor had pointed earlier. One by one the team followed Ruby in tow.
-*RWBY*-
The whole team arrived at their destination. Everyone was amazed to see the building up close. The hotel building was rather large. The building has multiple levels that could house quite a bit of people. The entrance has glass automatic sliding doors with a nice decorative flower bed near the entrance.
As the whole team came close to the entrance, a man was sitting on a bench nearby. The man has short spiky black hair. He wore a simple open button-up shirt with nothing underneath to show off his guts. Along with the shirt, he has simple shorts. To make him stand apart from the rest of the tourists, the man was outfitted with metal armguards and shin guards. The man was drinking his drink from a straw when he noticed Team RWBY approaching the hotel.
"I didn't know they were going to be pretty ladies helping out," the man spoke out loud.
The whole team stopped checking the building in order to find the source of the voice. The team looked over in the man's direction. The man took one last drink before putting the drink down. He stood up and approached the team.
"Hello, ladies," the man greeted while giving a small bow. He noticed Asarirn among the group. "And guy."
"And you are?" Yang spoke for the group.
"I go by Zak," Zak introduced himself. "I was assigned to assist with the survey team."
"Are you the Huntsman that is in charge of the investigation?" Ruby asked.
"Of course, my dear," Zak gave Ruby a smile with a small wink.
"Great," Ruby showed some excitement. "We will be under your wing during the whole time here."
"That is great to hear," Zak was pleased to hear. "Just on and get checked into your rooms. I heard the meals were amazing. If you have any questions or if you want to hang out with me and have fun, just let me know. Otherwise, you girls enjoy the weekend."
Zak waved as he started to walk off. Everyone was quick to become confused as they quickly look at each other.
"Hold on!" Ruby cried out before Zak had to walk too far away.
Zak quickly turned around with a smile. "Did you already want to hang out with me?"
"That's it?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah?" Zak was a bit confused himself.
"What about the investigation?" Yang added.
"Oh, that," Zak was reminded. "You don't have to worry about the investigation."
"What?!" all the girls were quick to question while Asarirn remained quiet.
Of course," Zak continued. "The survey team here has already concluded the family might have escaped up north towards a nearby settlement. That gives everyone here the chance to relax. Take this as a chance to take a break from your studies and have fun." Before anyone has a chance to ask, Zak added more. "As a huntsman to the young huntresses in training, I would advise you, girls, to rest at every chance you get. There is nothing more you girls can do."
Zak turned around once more and started to walk away once more. The girls, once again, turned to each other to figure out what to do. Before any of them have a chance to say anything, Asarirn decided to speak.
"Are you really a Huntsman?" Asarirn questioned. That question made Zak stop once again. He turned around towards Asarirn and tilted his head a bit.
"What was that?" Zak asked with an irritated tone.
"At Beacon Academy," Asarirn started to explain, "We were told our job as future huntsmen and huntresses are to help the people around the world. Besides actively exterminating any Grimm activity, we help the people such as finding missing people. I feel like you are neglecting your job as a huntsman."
"I have been a huntsman far more than you can count on one hand," Zak explained. "I have experienced a lot of life and death encounters. Who do you think you are?"
Zak took one hard look at Asarirn before he realized something.
"Wait a minute, you are the fifth member of this team, Arranis Shadow," Zak stated. Zak started to walk up to Asarirn before stopping right in front of him. The girls tensed up as Zak confronted Asarirn as they don't know what was going to happen.
"A mysterious boy appeared out of the blue with no record before attending Beacon," Zak continued. "And yet no one had the chance to see your face as you hide your face behind the hood."
"Have any of you ladies seen this boy's face?" Zak questioned the girls, but none of them answered. "No, then that is quite suspicious. What are you hiding under the hood?" Zak quickly swoop his head underneath to peek at Asarirn but was met with a blank white mask.
"A mask?!" Zak leaned back. His attempt at identifying his face end with failure and his eyebrow furrow in anger. He clenched his fist but held it to his side.
"Woah there," Yang stood herself in between Asarirn and Zak. "Guys look pretty ugly when they are fighting in front of girls."
Zak snapped out of the anger he was experiencing. He looked at Yang as he noticed the pair of breast Yang had, which caused him to smile.
"If you want to hang out with me later tonight, I can show you how much of a man I really am," Zak said as he gave a wink.
Yang responded by quickly moving to Asarirn's side. She wrapped her arms around Asarirn's arm as she went in for a hug. As Yang hugged Asarirn's arm, her breast pressed against Asarirn's arm. She looked at Zak with a smile, "Sorry, I already have plans."
Zak's face quickly changed from pleasant to disgust. "Tsk, whatever," Zak turned around and started to walk. "You all are wasting your time if you try to find the missing family."
Nobody said anything as they continued to watch Zak walk away from their views. Some of the girls let out a sigh of relief as that encounter was over. Yang released her hug on Asarirn's arm before both of them turned to the rest of the girls.
"Nice Knife," Blake commented to Asarirn.
The rest of the girls turned their attention to Asarirn. Asarirn didn't say anything as he held up a hand that is closed. He slowly opened his hand to reveal one of the knives Asarirn had carried around. The girls gave surprised looks.
"When did you get the chance to pull a knife out?" Ruby asked out of curiosity.
Asarirn does not let out a word as he held out his arm. He gave his arm a shake to gesture to the loose sleeve of his coat. Ruby approached Asarirn's held arm and peeked into his sleeve. She noticed there was another knife attached to the sleeve.
"You have hidden knives!" Ruby sounded excited for some reason. "That's so cool!"
"You certainly know how to bring out the worst of people," Blake made another comment.
"He brought out the worst of him?" Weiss questioned. "Have you not seen the disgusting behavior when he was talking to us?"
"Sounds like Zak doesn't want to help with the investigation," Yang stated as she crossed her arms.
"What does mean for us?" Ruby added.
"Sounds like things are getting complicated," Asarirn finally spoke.
Everyone fell silent again. There were barely for a bit and they are hitting some roadblocks.
"We should hurry and get checked in," Yang broke the silence.
"You're right! Let's go, Team!" Ruby started to head towards the building while everyone follow suit.
-*RWBY*-
Within the ground level of the hotel, the room was rather spacious with enough room for people to lounge around. At the front desk, the team already started talking to a nice woman behind the counter.
"Let's see here," the receptionist spoke as she was peering into the computer screen in front of her. "You must be the students from Beacon."
"That's us!" Ruby confirmed.
"Great! Looks like they booked you three rooms. Two rooms with two queen-size beds and one room with a single queen size. Unfortunately," the receptionist turned towards Asarirn, "We have a policy that we don't allow males and females who are students to sleep in the same room. Hence, the single room."
"I have no issues with that," Asarirn stated. The receptionist placed a keycard in front of Asarirn after hearing his words. "I will take this opportunity to get some space for once," Asarirn grabbed the keycard as he started to walk away.
"You made it sound like you are happy to be away from us," Yang couldn't help but chuckle.
Asarirn didn't say anything as he continued to walk away as he didn't want to confirm or deny. However, he simply waved back at the comment.
"I will message you when and where we are meeting up!" Ruby called out to Asarirn. Asarirn held up a thumbs-up in response before he disappeared around the corner of the hallway.
"And here are the rest of the keycards," The receptionist placed the rest of the keycards in front of the girls.
"Thank you!" Ruby thanked the lady behind the counter.
"Before I forget," the receptionist reminded herself, "these keycards also served as badges to access the hot spring next door at any time. Please let your male teammate know as well."
Each of the girls had excitement in their eyes as they heard the word: hot spring. They thanked the lady receptionist before departing for their rooms.
-*RWBY*-
Asarirn opened the door as he entered his room. The room was rather large for one person. The queen size bed sat at the center on one side of the wall with a large television on the other side. A mini fridge sat next to the tv stand with an assortment of snacks on top. Finishing the furniture was a desk and chair for work productivity. There was another door that led into the bathroom.
After thoroughly checking the room, Asarirn determined the room was safe. With silence filling the room, Asarirn sat on the edge of the bed. Without warning, Asarirn's upper body fell backward. The cushion of the bedding softens the landing. The Asarirn's hood slid off his head leaving a masked face. Asarirn took the mask off, revealing his face, and sat the mask next to him on the bed. The silence in the room felt unnatural to Asarirn. Normally, there would be at least a conversation or two happenings. Maybe this is the first time in a while he was away from the girls. Besides showering, bathroom, or personal shopping, Asarirn has been with them in school for a while.
Asarirn dismissed the thought for a moment. He reached into his pants pockets and pulled something. In his hand was a crumbled piece of paper. The same paper he had to crumble before handing the case file over to Ruby. He unraveled the paper to reveal what was written. Asarirn stared at the word written.
"Beware the Huntsman from Atlas."
Asarirn let out a sigh as this was something Asarirn might have to deal with sooner or later. Asarirn dropped his arms with the bed cushioning the fall. Asarirn stared at the ceiling as he maintained his pose.
After ten minutes of silence passed, a chime was heard from Asarirn's pants. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll. He checked the notification and saw there was a message from Ruby.
"We are meeting up in my room. Room 607."
Asarirn stood up from the bed. He pulled up his hood to cover his head and face. He grabbed the mask off the bed and clipped the mask on his belt. Asarirn did not waste any time as he headed out the door.
-*RWBY*-
The girls from the team all sat in the hotel room. The room itself was similar to Asarirn's room with the only difference being having two beds instead of one. Weiss and Blake each sat on a bed. Yang sat on the chair backward as she rested her arms and head on top of the chair's backrest. Finally, Ruby stood in the middle of the room. Everyone was waiting patiently in silence.
The silence broke as there was a sound of knocking on the door. Ruby did not waste any time answering the door. Everyone watched as Asarirn entered the room while Ruby closed the door behind her. He gave a simple gesture to greet everyone. Asarirn walked over to an empty wall before leaning against the wall.
"Looks like everyone is here," Yang commented.
"What is there to talk about?" Blake asked.
Ruby stood in the middle of the room before answering, "After everything that has happened, should we continue the investigation?"
The whole room fell into silence as everyone was pondering the thought.
"With the investigation only confide to only the town," Blake started to explain, "we won't find them at all."
"Also, they are not letting anyone pass on the North entrance," Weiss added.
"I think also our school needs us to listen to the Huntsman in charge," Yang added.
Ruby did not say anything as she did not like the direction of the conversation. Her dream of helping as a Huntress was not going as planned. She couldn't help but give a sad look.
"What about you?" A voice caused Ruby to snap out of her thought. She turned to the voice to find Asarirn.
'What?" Ruby asked for clarification.
"You are the leader of this team," Asarirn stated. "What do you want to do as a team."
"He right," Yang agreed. "Whatever you want us to do, I have no issue following you."
Ruby took a moment to herself before speaking her wish, "I want to find the missing family. I feel like that is the right thing to do."
There was yet another moment of silence as everyone pondered on Ruby's words. This was the moment someone can take the easy way out or help out the people of this town. Weiss was the first one to break the silence.
"I want to find the family," Weiss stated. Everyone looked at Weiss as to process her decision.
"Are you sure the main reason is to go to the hot springs?" Yang questioned.
"The hot springs would be more rewarding if we are to find the missing family," Weiss stated. "The hot spring is not going anywhere."
"This is our first mission," Blake decided to add, "I want to see through to the end to complete the mission. This would be our first real steps to becoming huntresses."
"She right," Yang agreed. "Once we start something, we need to see through to the end."
"What about you?" Ruby looked towards Asarirn. Everyone else looked towards Asarirn.
"You did say this whole mission ruined your weekend," Blake stated.
Asarirn continued to remain silent for a moment before answering, "I think you know my answer." Everyone looked confused as they don't know what Asarirn really wanted. "I don't like that Huntsman," Asarirn explained. "I want to prove him wrong that we are capable of completing this mission. I'm In."
Ruby couldn't help but smile as the whole team supported her. This could bring a tear to her eye.
"All right, team!" Ruby addressed everyone in the room. "Let's go investigate!"
A/N: There you go, another chapter completed! I will make a note that I have also updated Chapter 2 to reflect the changes made to the first chapter. Well, until next time. o/