~NRK~
Sienna went to work with that salve, bandages, paper clips, and tape that Obito had gotten as 'just in case' items for emergencies.
'I really wonder how far ahead you think,' the tiger teen thought as Marrone handed her a warm rag. "Thanks, bro," she said as she wiped Obito's chin, chest, and arms.
Arms. Plural. Her eyes went to that sharp-nailed arm that he now had. The all-black limb had seemed to perfectly replace his old one… speaking of, wasn't his arm just sitting out there on the street?!
Sienna began to look green at the idea that Obito's severed arm was literally sitting on the street in Mantle. 'What happened to my life?' She wasn't sure, all she knew was that he was at the core of it all… well, okay, her father was but he wasn't here and Obito had a big part in all of this.
Once she finished redoing his old bandages, his new ones, and checking his arm, Marrone found his way into the room with something…?
"That's from…" Sienna balked at the Dust Brace. "W-When did you get it?"
"I-It was on the street. I think bro had it," the young boy said and Sienna blinked.
'He stole it from our stash? H-How?! We only passed that thing for a moment! How…' Her eyes widened further.
There'd been a small distraction when a few Faunus girls had gotten into a fight… so, in such a small amount of time, Obito had swiped the brace and hid it.
'You're far too scary, you know that?' She thought as she looked at the unconscious Obito before sighing. '... the only reason we're alive, though, is because he took it.'
He either expected this or was simply worried about the Dust Brace's use in the hands of her gang.
"Speaking of," she grimaced as she looked at her mask on her desk. "This ain't good… the only positive thing about this is that I can hope none of them are related to anyone else in the Burst Brights."
"... Sis?" Marrone looked at her, concerned and Sienna smiled, ruffling his hair.
"It's fine. I'll handle it," she needed to.
She had a lot to make up for with Obito from here on out. Things would be different, dammit.
Then there was a knock at the front door.
"H-Hello?" A small child's voice called out as the two Faunus blinked. "I-Is anyone home?"
"Hold on," Sienna said as she walked out of the room and looked out to see… "O-Oh, I guess the kids got released."
Fiona blushed as she looked down, still dressed as she had been from several hours ago, along with an old woman.
She had wrinkled pale skin, goat-like yellow eyes, and fluffy white hair that was similar to Fiona's own while being longer.
Wearing an old blue coat with a plaid scarf, a black skirt, and brown boots, the woman blinked before smiling at the two, nudging Fiona forward.
"U-Um!" She spoke. "I-Is Obito here?"
"You know bro?" Marrone asked as Fiona blinked.
"H-He's from a Faunus family?"
"Yeah, um, mostly."
Fiona looked shocked out of her mind while the goat Faunus hummed.
"I guess things were a bit odder than expected, yes?" The old woman asked and Sienna rubbed the back of her head with a sigh.
"He's currently resting up, he got wounded in a fight with the Diamonds," she explained as the woman nodded. "Wait, you were there?"
"Yes. Fiona's mother wasn't home so they took me," the woman explained and the two looked surprised as she chuckled. "Phoebe Thyme. Fiona here is my granddaughter, her parents were a fox and bear Faunus couple."
Fiona blushed a bit as the two looked more confused than ever.
"W-Wait, how do two predator-type Faunus make a… goat?" She asked, confused.
"My own husband was a bull Faunus," the old woman said with a smile. "Faunus of different types, when they have children, give them a random mix of sorts. I've seen it in real life, am part of it, and have read about it."
"I-I didn't know that!" Marrone gawked in awe as Sienna rubbed the back of her head some more, the confusion on her face clear as day.
"Well… I don't know about that kind of stuff, Obito might, but I know I don't."
"Hmm, you said he was resting, yes," the woman said as her hands trembled on a cane in her grip. "Apologies, could I sit for a moment?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," Sienna looked at the door itself. "Haa… I'll need to help with this."
"Help who?" Fiona asked.
"Obito… He's good at making furniture," the tiger teen said with a grimace. "I guess he learned sometime in the past ever since things got rough."
"He's seemingly multi-talented," Phoebe said as she let out a relieved sigh, taking a seat. "Hmph. Thank you."
"No problem. And he's likely like that because it helps and he can go places to learn things we can't," Sienna said as she leaned on her door frame, eyes narrowed. "I can't let that just stay that way, though."
"You're his older sister," Fiona said and Sienna hesitated before shaking her head. "?"
"... Oh," Phoebe frowned with a wince, her granddaughter looking to her for answers. "It's… Fiona, that young boy likely isn't from their father or mothers."
"H-Huh? Then why's he here?"
"Because Obito's mom was never on my dad's side," Sienna sighed. "She was working with the Diamonds' boss's father to scam Faunus… and now I'm worried that there are more kids like Obito, maybe, around. I think. That guy made it sound like he and Obito were the only ones."
"Human and Faunus couples still have a chance for a human from them both," Phoebe nodded. "So, while the chance isn't normal, it's still possible."
"Yep."
"Where is he?" Fiona asked nervously as Marrone nodded before pointing over to Sienna's room.
"Over here, come on," he said to the older child as she followed him. "See? Bro's not feeling so hot. He needs tons of sleep, at least, that's what he always tells me about injured people."
"Oh."
Sienna rolled her shoulders as the goat woman hummed.
"Are you alright? That man wasn't weak, was he?"
"He wasn't," Sienna frowned deeply, ignoring the kids' gasps and voices. "That guy… h-he was stronger than anyone I know, even my boss! I have to get stronger so this entire mess doesn't happen again."
"Then we will," came a voice from behind her causing Sienna and Phoebe to blink. "You can't do that on your own."
A hand rested on her shoulder and Sienna turned to see Obito standing on his feet, form steaming a bit.
"H-Huh?! The hell, are you on fire?!" She shrieked as the kids came out from behind him.
"Ah?" Obito looked down at his steaming form before rubbing the back of his head with a sigh. "There's some stuff I need to explain," he said as his black hand came off his hair so he could look at it. "... That Dust Brace, Sienna… I think I absorbed all that Dust's energy into my very soul," he said, looking at her eyes blinking once before they burned bright.
Both of them, not just that odd one.
"H-Huh? When could you… did your Aura awaken?" She asked in shock.
"No, at least, not in the proper way, unfortunately," Obito said as he clenched his hand.
Flames coiled from his stomach before crawling around his form and dispelling in a burst of wind that confused those in the home.
"That thing was an injector, we learned about it from the scientist who'd been watching over us," Obito said as Fiona gasped. "Dust injection, that's what that brace is for and it had all kinds of Dust in it, maybe every kind known to man. All of that I injected when I was fighting Keler and that's what basically almost killed me for good."
She and Marrone flinched while Phoebe frowned.
"That's a lot to take in. How did you… surpass it?" The old woman found the words as Obito nodded, crossing his arms.
"I had to tame all of the elements that were basically destroying my soul," he said as Sienna's hands clenched. "It wasn't easy… but I guess I have Sienna to thank."
She blinked at him, confused, before blushing as she remembered that she'd cried over his body like some kind of bitch.
"T-That so?!" She said in total embarrassment as Obito and Phoebe chuckled.
"Yes. By calling my name, I guess you can say I woke up in here," he tapped his noggin as she grew more red. "Thanks, I mean it. Following that, I had to regain the energy and power I needed, this is a big part of it," Obito said as he raised his black arm.
And then it spasmed before dispersing into a black haze that quickly faded away.
"... Ah, that's going to be annoying," he said as he looked at the left arm stump.
It wasn't a healed stump, a bleeding one, or even, morbidly enough, a perfect sever showing the bone and muscle beneath.
It was like a black cap had found itself onto his amputated arm and, even now, they could see small energy wisps shifting over it.
"This will take some getting used to," Obito said with a grunt as he moved his shoulder. "God, that's so weird."
"I-It doesn't hurt?" Marrone asked concerned before Obito ruffled his hair.
"No, you and Sienna did a good job patching me up."
"I think he means the arm," Sienna said with a huff and blush as Obito blinked before rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, of course. No, I don't feel any pain. I can still feel, mind you, but nothing to be concerned about," he explained as she sighed in relief along with Marrone. "So, for now, what's going on? Where Mr. Moreno?"
"Dad went to talk with the other families, I think," Marrone said as Phoebe nodded.
"They needed to figure out what to do with that man. They also found your handy work with those other gangsters in the alleyways," she smirked as Obito snorted and Sienna grinned. "It's not easy to just announce a gang's been defeated, especially not ones like the Diamonds who had firepower, decently tough members, and a boss who had Aura."
"That's fine," Obito said with determination as they all looked confused. "No, it's perfect. Because they can all say that I did it," he said.
Sienna's eyebrow, cheek, and fingers twitched rapidly.
Obito's head dropped as she slapped the back of it.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" She screamed at him as Obito winced.
"No, wait, listen."
"To what?! How stupid you are?!"
"Sienna, I know how you're feeling. We both almost just died but that's the point!" Obito said as she grimaced, the boy standing to his full height. "The fact remains… we got caught up in all that nonsense because gangs are rampant, the general's reach isn't all over Mantle yet, and these same people feel like they can do as they please. That's only going to make things worse and I don't want to live like I need to fear people who've no interest in helping others."
"And you want a target on your back?" Sienna looked ready to slap him again.
"It'll only do so for a time. They're going to approach me, most likely, if they hear about it. It won't make sense to them," Obito said. "They'll see me as a threat, yes, but they couldn't do anything for a while. No attempts could be made on my life."
"Huh?" Marrone looked confused. "W-Why?"
"Because these same gangs just attacked the SDC and Atlas by proxy," Obito smirked. "And they're not going to try and bring themselves into the limelight while they're being investigated," Sienna gaped as Phoebe balked at his gumption. "The fact remains, they'll now need to keep a low profile from both the SDC and also the general's men who will likely bring down the law on them and start weeding them out."
~NRK~
He frowned as his friend growled at the monitor.
-They're animals, James!-
"I know you're not being racist but I can't help but think this is too heated," 'James' said with a frown. "I'm working on it, Jacques. I think I've finally laid down enough control and help in Mantle to finally begin putting these gangsters out of business."
-You better. What happened last night can not happen again! What happens if they come after our lives? That attack had children within it!-
"No, Jacques, I keep telling you. The children had nothing to do with it. No matter what happened to that boy, the Faunus child could have easily been coerced into stabbing him," James's fair skin creased as he massaged his temple, blue eyes shifting over some information on his desk. "They also took that same boy. I don't know why. That woman had him dead to rights, so why take him when her member told her they needed to go?"
-A hostage most likely-
"But from who?" James blinked at his Scroll. "You know as well as I do, I'm sure. That boy's not related to any upper-echelon in Atlas," he ran his hand through his cleanly-cut and combed black hair. "It doesn't make sense."
Wearing a pair of black boots, white pants, a black shirt underneath a dark gray vest, and an open white coat with white gloves, the man known as James Ironwood, the most recent general of Atlas, frowned deeply.
He enhanced the image to zoom in on the boy's left eye with some surprise.
'His eye is scarred and different?' Hadn't the sensors said none of these kids had Aura?
If that was true, how was his eye so different? And, ignoring that, the boy's abilities, while not changing, had clearly become more precise as he fought that gang boss 'A'.
"... I think we need to find him, first and foremost-"
-Sir?- Came a voice from his desk's intercom.
"A moment, Jacques," James turned to the call. "Yes?" He asked as he pressed a button.
-We have word about that boy being back by his home from our moles on the streets. He's returned before going off to fight with one of these 'Burst Brights' gang members… Sir, there was someone who clearly wasn't some random punk here. A man who seemed like he might have had Hunter training-
James's eyes widened. "What?! Tell me everything!"
~NRK~
"W-Wait, what are you saying?" Sienna looked nervous as Obito crossed his arms.
"Consider it, Sienna. The general has been meaning to bring law to Mantle for a long time but he clearly never had the resources, the presence, a foot in the lower city. So, he simply did what he could, improving areas. Making that new combat school, Alsuis, that'll be open to applicants come the middle of this year, military outposts, and so on. He's finally got a solid foot down here. Now, there's strength for him down here and he's likely been provoked into doing something bigger now because of that attack."
The four Faunus were shocked by his thought process and explanation but none were more worried than Sienna.
"And… Mrs. Thyme," Obito turned to Phoebe whose form shook a bit. "There's nothing for you to fear, ma'am. The general seems legit."
"Hm? Oh, no no no, I'm not scared, that boy up there seems as you say. He's rather upright and straight-laced but he's a good heart. No, I just have a condition," the goat woman said as Obito raised a brow. "My nerves aren't normal and brain issues add onto that."
Obito blinked, tilted his head at her, and then his Sharingan blazed before the commas rotated slowly.
The goat woman froze, shivering a bit, as his eyes blazed for a bit more before stopping, Obito closing them as they bled a bit.
Sienna jumped along with the others as a spark of electricity seemed to shoot between them before Obito's eyes had closed. "The hell did you do?"
"Something that I might have been capable of," Obito winced as one of his eyes bled a bit. "Even something like that hurts, huh?" He thought as Sienna winced at his blood. "It's fine. How are you, ?"
The woman blinked at him, perking up as she looked around.
She breathed in before trembling as she sniffled a bit, startling the others as she took a napkin out of her pocket and wiped her face.
"H-How?" She looked perplexed but happy beyond measure, confusing Fiona.
"Grandma?"
"I'm fine, dearie," the woman chuckled a bit. "A bit better than fine if Obito did something permanent."
"It should be," he said and Sienna's flat eyes got a chuckle out of him. "I simply entered her mind and altered the way her brain shot off."
… "What?" Marrone looked confused as Sienna choked.
"The Sharingan, the name for my eyes," Obito said slowly. "I can enter the mind of others by throwing… I guess psychic waves, of sorts? Maybe even my own electrical synapses?" He frowned before smirking nervously at the sheer confusion on Sienna, Marrone, Fiona, and Phoebe's faces. "... brainwaves," he said quickly. "I enter her nervous network and sort of… put her system under an illusion. I forced it to fire off properly and so she shouldn't be shaking like that."
The three young Faunus choked while Phoebe chuckled.
"I didn't know you were a miracle worker."
"I'm not but I have power now, more than before," Obito said as his right hand sparked. "I think that had a part in this as well. This is also why I need that credibility," he added as he faced Sienna. "The fact remains, I have power, somewhat, now and need to put it to good use."
She looked concerned. "You realize that B will come after you, right?" She said with a frown as he frowned.
"I'd forgotten about her," Obito cupped his chin in thought. "... Haaa, I also need to remember I'm not at full health, either," he said as Sienna sighed in relief. "... If that's the case, we need to talk with the hostages, now, right?"
She began to sweat as he grinned nervously.
"The fact remains that if we don't want our names on the news, we have to stop them from speaking about it but we might be too late. How many hours has it been since you were held, Fiona?"
"U-Um…" The girl blushed a bit. "I-I'm not good with numbers."
"... You don't mind learning alongside Marrone, do you?" He asked as her head came up in shock, her grandmother blinking as the boy in question grinned.
"Bro taught me all my alphabets and numbers!" The 5-year-old said with a grin as the two blinked in shock. "I'm the best in my class and I know how to do sub… s-subtricktion?"
"Subtraction," Obito corrected as the boy nodded.
"R-Really?" Fiona's eyes shined as Obito chuckled.
"Still, does anyone know how long it's been?"
"Give or take… Hmm, five to six hours," Phoebe said as Sienna nodded with a huff.
"It's been close to… an hour and some change since you were unconscious," Sienna explained as Obito nodded. "When you went, it'd been close to two hours before they attacked. Two hours later, you awoke in the territory."
"Gotcha," Obito hummed. "Then it's about to be 3 o'clock. Are you two going to be alright at these times?"
"It'll be a bit rough," Phoebe said before Obito nodded.
He breathed in before kneeling down and placing his palm on the floor.
A pulsing wave of green spread out before mixing with white.
Wood sprouted from the floorboards, shocking the others, before forming into vague shapes with a set of vines over the top of them.
Obito's left eye bled closed as he sweat like a pig, stopping the transfer. "I see… so, it's still feeding on my stamina but I can feel it pulling from my soul as well," he said as the other gaped at his work. "H-Heh, this will be useful," he grinned.
Fiona gawked before touching one and then crawling on it.
She bounced a bit before squealing. "I-It's so bouncy!"
Marrone snapped out of his shock before joining her, the two bouncing on the bed for a bit as Sienna looked at Obito for an explanation.
"I told you, I pulled those elements into my soul," Obito said. "Fire, Water, Wind, Plant, Electricity, Earth, and Gravity Dust were the elements on that brace. All of it has fused into my very being so I can activate the elements with some focus. Though the easiest are fire, earth, plant, and gravity. Wind isn't that hard but it's not as easy as those four while water and lightning are difficult. For now, I should be using these powers lightly. I can't heal like this."
"R-Right," Sienna was simply shocked at the idea of free heat and electricity, possibly water if Obito tried hard enough. "So, uh, I guess we should all get some rest."
With some more effort on Obito's end, they had a new door that didn't lock but it was a door, at least.
But now he was in her bed, Marrone asleep with him, as Sienna considered her options.
Then she realized being near Obito was warm and with some effort, all five of the group in the home slept in her room, Obito's warmth an amazing relaxant.
~NRK~
Hours later, Sunday morning, the group of five were moving towards the Thymes' home.
Obito had on an open coat over his torso but nothing else, wounds enjoying the fresh air.
Still, as they walked, Obito ignored the looks on some of the Faunus around. "That's not good. It seems like they already told the entire neighborhood," he said as Sienna sighed.
Then there was a set of hurried steps behind them, causing Obito to turn around to see a familiar family of three.
"?"
"..." The rat Faunus boy blushed bright red as he speedwalked over and grumbled a bit. "... I-I'm sorry, fuck," he cursed as Obito raised a brow at him. "I-I didn't… I don't…"
"Thank you for saving him," the mother said as Obito rubbed the back of his head, his wounds apparently. "What… happened?" She looked horrified at the sheer amount of wraps on him.
"It's fine, nothing I'm not wearing off," Obito said with a roll of his shoulders. "I hope, from now on, you don't get involved with that side. You've found out that it can be bad and then make you do something worse."
The boy looked pale as Sienna frowned.
"Wait, what happened?" She asked as the boy flinched before Obito waved it off.
"Nothing, he was being forced by that lion woman to try and herd us into a space. That's around when I fought back," he said as Fiona gaped at him while Phoebe hummed kindly. "Let's go. We still don't know where Mr. Moreno is and I'm just hungry right now."
His stomach growled and Sienna rubbed the back of her head before nodding.
The group walked off, leaving the boy to gape at Obito's back as his mother sighed softly.
"He's a kind boy," she said as the Faunus boy looked down in shame, the woman kneeling by him. "Remember, alright?" She said, combing her son's hair out the way."
"Y-Yeah, alright."
~NRK~
Reaching the Thyme home, they'd offered some food out of kindness and Obito simply offered his services back.
Come breakfast, he'd scrounged something up from the things they had, to much acceptance.
The group ate without hesitation as Obito washed the dishes.
"W-What? Since when could you cook?!" Sienna stared at her empty plate of eggs, cheap fake meat, and seasoning. "What?!"
Marrone grinned widely as he finished his food. "Thanks, bro!"
"Y-Yeah!" Fiona smiled widely. "Thanks, bro!"
"Hm, hm, hm, you're welcome," Obito said as he finished up, having eaten his own food already. "I'm glad I finally got to. I never really get to cook at home."
"Mom's an architec!" Fiona said with a grin as Obito hummed while Sienna blinked.
"Wait, how'd she land a job like that?" She asked, interested.
"Um, well, she knew a human in school. He was a lot like Obito," Fiona said as Phoebe chuckled.
"He moved overseas to Vale a year or so ago. From there, Gavin helped out Fiona's mother, Kallen, by sending over orders that she can do with the others that can't be challenged. By now, Kallen has grown a rapport with her human and Faunus coworkers and they all go out on trips to the other side of Mantle to work as a sort of contract group."
"Hmm," Obito considered the idea. "A contractor group, huh?" He considered the idea before chuckling. "Now that's an idea."
"Huh? What'd ya mean, bro?" Marrone asked.
"If I want to start gaining power, I'm obviously going to need money and staff, men, bodies, whatever you call it," Obito held up his hands and vines sprouted out of his wrists, the strain not as bad as earlier. "Either my affinity to certain elements lessens the strain or having food in my stomach helps a lot. Anyway, what I mean is that I'm going to need to make money to fund my path. And I have access to elements."
Sienna's eyes widened at the idea. "W-Well, that could work," she realized, mind calculating some things.
"And that's also another thing, Sienna," Obito said seriously. "If I do this, I'm going to go after the Burst Brights eventually," she winced. "I don't know how you're related but I can't let them continue to do as they please. Especially since I know what it's like almost."
Sienna's ears wilted as she looked down at her food before sighing shakily. "I know… fuck, I know. It's just…" She composed her thoughts. "Look. They've been kind to me… yes, I know it's only really because I'm a woman and don't say anything on what they do but all I'd ask is that they survive to 'fight' another day, so to speak."
"I won't end anyone if I can help it," Obito said with a nod as she sighed in relief. "I don't need blood on my hands if I can help it. I just need to dismantle this system. I don't even need to lord over it, I just need to make a system where I'll watch everything that goes on. That way, I snuff out gangs who do things they shouldn't, at least until the general's eventual sweep of Mantle happens. Speaking of."
He stood up and the others were confused.
"There was something interesting on our way here," Obito said as he looked at the door. "When we were walking, did you notice that a set of people were following us?"
The four flinched. "What?!" Sienna's eyes widened. "W-When?"
"I'm not fully sure but they've been watching us for the last 20 minutes of our trip here."
"Were they gangsters?" Phoebe asked with a frown but Obito frowned at that. "No?"
"No, they… they didn't move like gangsters. And they didn't have Aura, either," Obito said. "They were too good, too practiced. People who learn on their own aren't exactly masters down here, no… I think they're from the military."
"... Oh, crap," Sienna said. "Crap, crap, crap! What should we do?"
"... For now, unless they cause trouble, there's no reason to assume that they're our enemy. It's the military. They likely already figured out what happened down here last night."
"... Fine, fine," it was kind of weird that she was taking his word for gospel right now… but it hadn't been wrong, yet.
He'd been right about the military trying to come down here soon but she didn't think it was so QUICK!
~NRK~
Leaving the Thyme residence and returning home, the trio of Obito, Sienna, and Marrone blinked as they came through the door to see… Moreno.
The man was sitting in the living room with a few of the other parents within, the group of them turning to find the trio.
"... You're home," Moreno said simply without another word or emotion. "..."
Obito crossed his arms with closed eyes. "..."
"We are," Sienna said as the man grimaced before looking away. "What's going on?"
"... The Atlas military approached us," one of the parents said, shocking the three. "... They want to speak with the human boy."
One of Obito's eyes, the normal one from before, opened so he could look at them. "Is that so… Where?"
"... The same area where you went to the SDC," Moreno answered and Obito frowned.
"That's… ominous."
"... It is."
"Wait, did they say they wanted anything?" Sienna hoped this didn't blow up in their faces. "Dad?"
"All they said was they wanted to meet him and ask him some questions," one of the parents said. "Right now… they're trying to figure out what happened to him and if he couldn't lead them to where he was kidnapped."
Sienna's eyes became the size of dinner plates as Obito's mind swirled with possibilities.
A chance to remove the Burst Blights once and for all? Damn! That came out of nowhere!
"... Alright. Did they give a time? Did they say I should come alone?" He asked, curiously.
The Faunus adults looked uncomfortable as he spoke with little fear, heat, or disappointment.
He spoke like he always did. Evenly and with composure.
What the hell was this human?
~NRK~
Obito looked at Sienna. "You know, you don't have to do this," he said. "You could have gone to warn your gang."
"... I-If we do this, they won't be dead and only in jail. You said it yourself, they can't be held on trial for anything big unless someone comes forward and says something," Sienna's eyes hardened. "This will open things up, right?"
"With such a loss in power, the other gangs will fight for their territory," Obito said with a sigh as they walked towards the SDC pick-up point. "It's not going to be pretty. They also can't detain them all so a few will likely be put on either probation or under supervision. That's better than jail and they can still live some sort of life… but that's where your rep becomes a thing, Sienna. If you do this, you'll be turning your back on them."
Her eyes lowered to the ground as her fists clenched. "... I know," she whispered with a sigh, feline ears flopping against her head.
Obito was considering all the lies he could tell to them but he simply didn't know what the military had at their command.
Was there a truth-seeker? A man who could see if they were lying? A woman who'd lock him up until they thought he was telling the truth?
Or would drugs be involved and he'd be put under a truth serum? That had always been Orochimaru's department in his old life but they'd never needed it with the fear the name 'Akatsuki' garnered out of targets.
'... I'll have to see what happens,' and if it came to it, use his Sharingan.
When they arrived at the sight, the energy quickly dropped as they saw that military personnel were all over the area.
Bullheads, soldiers with rifles in numbers that weren't there to make them welcome, and there beneath a tent at the end of this long walk was him.
General James Ironwood. The general was surrounded by Faunus and humans alike… familiar ones.
"Those are the hostages," Sienna realized as he nodded. "... Wait, shit," she cursed and he nodded again, this time with a frown. "They might be-"
"Snitching on you, maybe," Obito said as he saw that familiar mother of two there, the woman not looking distressed so that might be in their favor. "Come on, time for an interrogation, most likely."
As they walked into the thick of it, Obito and Sienna's eyes narrowed as they were boxed in by soldiers.
"The general has been awaiting you," one of them said as they walked in an orderly fashion, the entirety of the soldiers moving in similarly to one another, uniformity in practice. "Both of you."
Their eyes widened. "Wait, what? Then, why did…" Sienna was confused for a moment before groaning. 'Dammit, dad!' What would he have done if they'd chased her down for not coming?!
When they reached the general, he looked up at them and nodded the soldiers off, their 'entourage' leaving them to stand at both sides of the path.
"So, I finally meet you, both of you heroes of the people," the two blinked at his words. "You've made quite an impression on the hostages."
'They said it like that, huh?' Well, it'd be easier to defend. "We couldn't just do nothing. Even if our family wasn't there, we wouldn't have left it alone."
"Hm, hm," the man looked amused and grateful, odd. "I'm glad. I have heard things aren't… great, down here."
"They're… really not," Sienna admitted. "Gangs and stuff are all around and the racism hurts, too."
"Haa, yes, I'm trying to find a way to deal with that," James said with a nod before the two joined with the group of former hostages as he got up. "Alright, would you all come into my tent?"
They followed him to the side to a large tent that looked more like a large building than a tent.
Going in, it was more tent-like but there were chairs, a desk, file cabinets, and a coffee table.
"Will you two speak with me first?" James asked as Obito and Sienna nodded while the others were directed to sit at chairs by the 'door'.
Getting settled, the three sat there and looked at one another.
"There are a few things I want to ask you both," James said. "The first of them all is this, were you two the ones fighting that 'Diamonds' gang the other night?"
"... Yes," Obito answered truthfully.
"Wait, why are you asking this… s-sir?" Sienna asked before wincing.
James waved that off. "It's not important. 'General', 'James', 'sir', pick whichever one you feel more comfortable saying," that was surprising. "Onto the next question. The man you fought and… well, fended off isn't the right word, yes?"
"It's not," Obito said. "He saw interest in me and told Sienna to tell me that he'll be back to fight me to the death," he added as James frowned deeply and blatantly. "I have no idea what his end goal is but… that man has fought numerous times and it's clear to me, he's done this before," he said with a frown.
It was annoyingly true, he had no idea what that man wanted outright.
"Keler was his name," Sienna said. "He didn't look like he was from around here. He looks like he spends WAY too much time in the sun."
"The man was from Vacuo?" James blinked.
So, his people didn't know everything? Interesting. "We heard the leader of the Diamonds say he was hired."
"That's not good. How'd a random man in Mantle hire a man not from this kingdom?" James asked and both teens frowned in unison.
Wait, that was true… how had Victor interacted with Keler if he wasn't from Mantle?
"I don't like this," Sienna whispered but James nodded all the same. "Do you know?"
"Not any more than you two," he said with a sigh. "A contractor? But one who's strong, you believe?"
"His Aura, I could feel it when he used that weird pressure technique on me," Sienna said and James's eyes widened.
"Utilizing one's soul to pressure others isn't something you just pick up. It's a skill that comes from Vale. Why was he here? Why does he have Hunter training?"
"... We don't know. You might find him in your systems, though," Obito said.
James wrote something down before whistling sharply.
A woman soldier slipped into the tent and took the parchment.
"Get that checked immediately."
She nodded before leaving immediately after.
"For now, I'll ask my next question," James said. "Did you steal the Dust Brace, Obito Uchiha?"
"Not from the SDC," Obito said. "The Burst Brights had it and I stole it from them to give back when I could… but I used it to fight Keler."
"Onto that, do you know where they are?"
"They're somewhere here in the better parts of town, that I know," Obito said vaguely as James nodded, writing it down. "Their leader, though-"
"Atella, you mean," Obito and Sienna were shocked. "She used to be from Vale but moved here some odd 7 years ago," James sighed, leaning back in his seat. "She dropped out in her third year, though. No one knows why but she did and we haven't seen or heard a trace of her for that long."
"That explains a lot," Obito said. "What else, sir?"
"... What happened to the brace?" James asked.
"W-We have it," Sienna admitted before frowning. "But… well-"
"I used it and something different happened than a simple injection," Obito intercepted as James looked confused before the teen removed his coat to show him, much to his horror, the black cap on his left arm that seemed to have flowed more up his bicep.
"... It's gotten a bit bigger," Obito realized as James stood up in shock.
Coming around his temp desk, the general frowned as he observed Obito's stump of an arm.
"I'd heard you'd lost your arm but regained it?" He asked and Obito closed his eyes.
Black energy whipped out from the stump before forming that clawed limb, much to James's fascination and the interest of the others in the tent.
Prodding the black limb, the general observed it before taking out his Scroll to take pictures.
Landing on the back of Obito's hand, he observed the claws. "You're not a Faunus."
"I'm not."
"So, why does this have clawed fingers?"
Obito shook his head. "I don't know. I just use it, I don't know why it does what it does," Obito said with a frown. "..."
"Very well. We'll need to observe this one day, young man. What exactly happened to you?"
Obito and Sienna explained everything they could about it and James just sat there stunned by the end of it all.
"He took it into his soul?" What the hell had the boy done? "That… that's the first time I've ever heard of this happening."
Fighting for control over the energies made some sort of sense, the pain that came from injecting them wasn't small.
So, to say he tamed them and doesn't feel pain… what exactly had happened to him to allow this? What special make-up had given him the body to accept it all?
"... Obito, do you mind, on another date, to allow some of our researchers to give you a full medical check-up?" James asked.
"I wouldn't mind," Obito answered and the man smiled amicably. "You look kind of stressed."
"Do I?" James sighed. "Well, the owner of the SDC isn't happy with this. Especially ever since he'd been informed of inventory vanishing for the past couple of years," Sienna's eyes widened.
'Obito was right,' fuck.
"A-And?" She asked.
"He's going to stop the Bright Minds program," James looked saddened. "It's sad to say, it was for the best. Things had gotten too out of control that day."
Both looked annoyed by that. "That's certainly going to be rough for the kids who actually worked hard to get there," Obito said with a frown. 'Fiona didn't deserve this.'
This was also why he had to run this kingdom's underground into the ground. Because it was hurting more than just some people.
It was hurting the future of the kingdom itself.
"You can put your coat back on, I figure it's cold for you."
"Actually," Obito said and James perked up. "The scientist leading us once said that Dust can give possible good side effects. I believe I do have a lot of those," he said. "I'm warmer than most and can change it. I'm not affected by the cold but modesty is important."
James chuckled a bit. "I see. Well… at least we know the project was a success on some level," he said, amused. "Now, as for the last question… Tell me, what do you two honestly think of the underground here and the work I've done?" He asked seriously with a sad smile, both teens blinking at him.
"Sir?" Obito was confused. "... Oh… Your work's admirable, I do think it'll work, eventually. But, right now, the issue comes with those who've thrived off of Mantle's current environment," he frowned as James nodded. "They need to be locked up."
Sienna didn't flinch, she knew it was the right thing to do and would still end with more lives left alive instead of dead.
"That's the truth," James nodded. "Very well, thank you for coming. We both know I'll be seeing you both soon."
They nodded.
All in all? This hadn't ended so badly.
~NRK~
The following Monday, the trio of Obito, Sienna, and Marrone went to school.
Dressed in their usual school clothes, the only one who was with big changes was Obito who now had on a new bandana for his left eye and his body was still in need of fresh air so he was wearing a thin white zip-up hoodie that he'd been graciously given by the Thymes.
The tigress hummed in thought before blinking as they reached the bus stop and the people there looked at them.
They parted like the sea as Obito's flapping hoodie sleeve was heard.
"Huh?" Marrone blinked in his small red coat and black pants, his feet covered in wraps and old tennis shoes. "What are they doing?" He wondered before Obito grunted.
"Come on, there's no point in wondering, it's likely because of Saturday night," the human said as the bus came.
The travel to their schools had never been so… 'vacant'.
Absent of typical backhanded malice and harsh words, the moment they got off the bus, the three of them looked at one another in total confusion.
"O… kay?" Sienna looked more confused as they walked off. "What the hell was that?" She asked and Obito closed his eyes in thought.
"They likely all know the true story. They either fear us or revere us, despite everything," Obito said with a wave of his one hand, those on the street balking at the real-deal of a severed-off arm. "Or they knew you-Are you people being serious?" He asked flatly as they jumped before moving out the way. "..." He rolled his sole-visible eye.
Stopping by Marrone's elementary school, they walked him in… before Obito's eyebrow began to twitch at the gasping, awing, children around. 'This might have gotten too far out into the city,' how had this gotten so widespread?!
The boy's teacher looked at Obito nervously, a Faunus woman with sharp teeth and a lizard's tail, before accepting Marrone like always.
"... You do realize I'm not doing anything, right?" Obito asked neutrally as Sienna chuckled nervously before leading him out.
"We'll see you, Ms. Sala," she said quickly as the woman sighed in relief.
"My bro's a hero, teach," Marrone said with a big grin as the woman chuckled nervously.
"I… Let's just go inside."
Back on the sidewalk, Obito sighed as Sienna chuckled a bit.
"It might be you who has a rep," she said as they walked four blocks to their high school. "All things considered, maybe this'll work out in our favor."
"Perhaps but things like this, I can tell, come with just as many downsides," Obito said as the crowd Faunus and human students they passed eyed him in disbelief.
"I-It's true?!"
"It's really gone!"
"When was he ripped?"
"..."
"Are you blushing right now?"
Obito's eye went flatter than flat as he ignored that particular comment while Sienna blushed a bit, rubbing the back of her head.
"Geez," she mumbled a bit as they made it to the school gates-
"Sie?!"
"Wait, Aster-It's actually gone?!"
Two voices came to an abrupt halt as Sienna grinned nervously while Obito's face remained flat.
"Your friends are here."
"Yeah, I, uh, am noticing."
The two Faunus teens who screeched to a halt by them couldn't be more different.
One of them was a girl who was taller than the average boy by a decent margin with bright blue eyes and pinkish-orange hair in a short ponytail, she'd clearly hit puberty early into her living career and had on some gray sweatpants, a thick-looking light blue hoodie covered in soot, and a pair of too-big-for-her black boots covered in dirt. Atop her head were a pair of what looked like bear ears while her pupils were a bit thinner than a normal person's pupil.
The other was a boy about as tall as Sienna was with short dark green hair, slightly tan skin, sea-green eyes behind a pair of spectacles, and freckles. The boy didn't look all that tough, sporting a nerdy physique, and had on a thick black coat with a tear here and there beneath which he had on khaki slacks and gray sneakers with beat-up laces. Atop his head were a pair of short brown horns that seemed to be emphasized by his hair, his eyes completely slit-shaped.
"I'll leave you-" Obito tried to leave but the big girl lifted him up. "This is completely unnecessary!"
"Wait, hold on, we don't want ta scare ya!" The girl said as Sienna snorted and the boy nervously chuckled. "... This isn't helpin', is it?"
"It's not."
"S-Soz!" She said as she put him down immediately before wincing as she re-noticed his arm… or lack of one. "U-Uh, so, how's the weather over there?" She grinned before her mouth puckered inward on itself.
Sienna laughed hard along with Perry as Obito snorted.
"It's quite drafty, actually."
"O-Oh, that's so?!" She turned to stone. "I'm so sorry."
"I didn't think people would react well as is," he said as Sienna smirked. "I'm sure I'm in for something worse as school actually goes on."
"... Are you a doctor? You seem way too chill about this."
"I've been told I'm levelheaded."
"Sie, who the hell is this guy?" The boy asked her in disbelief. "Who recovers from that in two days?!"
"The boy before you," Sienna said.
~NRK~
Obito had been right and wrong about his assumption.
Sure, the reaction he'd received from his physically-aged peers was big but the way it went about left him with no end to his confusion.
"You can beat gangsters, right?! Teach me how to do it!"
"Y-You know, you always were kind of cool…"
"Come on! You wanna date the baddest bitch in this school?!"
Come lunchtime, he'd hidden on the roof, left contemplating life in the worst way possible.
'If I fell from here would I die?' Oh, the thought was tempting.
"There you are," Sienna said as she and her two friends came onto the roof where he was. "I knew I heard your steps up here."
Obito hummed. "Your hearing is as impressive as always."
"Hehe."
The three leaned on the railings with Obito, the four of them observing the schoolyard full of teens who were simply living their lives.
"It's easy to forget up here, ya know?" The boy with glasses said as he adjusted his spectacles softly. "Oh, I'm Perry by the way. Perry Katt."
Obito's eyebrow rose and Perry blushed.
"I-I-I know!"
"Hm."
"Aster Rose, at your service," came the large girl with a grin, Obito humming at her name.
"Well, one of you fit."
"O-Oi!" Perry blushed harder as Aster laughed boisterously, patting him on the back, the nerd shivering. "S-Stop! Too hard, again."
Aster stopped, blushed, and turned away with a finger scratching her cheek. "S-Sorry, I sometimes forget… hehe," she said as Perry looked ready to keel over.
"Hmph, they seem like they bounce off one another well," Obito smirked as Sienna chuckled.
"Yeah, they're some of the best friends a gal could have," she said. "And I've never seen you with some friends before, ya know?"
"I don't have any," Obito admitted with such ease, Sienna gawked at him. "I never did. Most of my Faunus classmates would think I'm about to pull a prank and the human half are all littered with racist tendencies. There's literally no way for a friendship to bloom there."
"Hmm," Perry blinked as he heard that. "... Well… I might know one Faunus girl who might not hate you," he said as Sienna grinned nervously. "Oh, come on, Derry is not that bad," he rolled his eyes as Obito's eyebrows lowered to almost impossible levels. "... Wait, no, I know what you're thinking!" Perry said immediately with a shaky grin.
"..."
"Yes, she's a deer Faunus."
"My God," Obito facepalmed as the three chuckled nervously. "Are there other Faunus students with names that might give them away?"
"... Maybe."
"The world is insane."
~NRK~
Obito blinked as ten minutes passed before Perry returned with a girl behind him. The former shinobi raised a brow as the girl locked eyes with him and froze.
"H-Huh!?"
"Obito, meet Derry, yay…" Perry said with energy that he knew neither 'occupant' felt. "... Come on, guys."
'Derry', as it turned out, was a girl with short orange hair that came down to her chin who had a heart-shaped face and shaky-looking blue eyes.
Wearing a brown skirt, dirty black boots, a bright yellow raincoat, and a green scarf, she swallowed nervously at the sight of him, her bookbag in her arms.
"Y-Y-You said I should meet someone, P-Perry!" The girl bellowed as Perry grinned nervously. "I-I didn't think it'd be… the b-boy from the rumors," Derry said nervously as she looked away.
"Perry," Obito said flatly.
"No, seriously, he's fine! You don't need to be afraid of him! Please!" Perry pleaded as Derry grew more anxious. "You don't hate humans! He needs a friend."
"Hold on, this is starting to sound like pity!" Obito said.
"I got you, bro!"
"Perry!"
Derry still looked unsure before Aster and Sienna pitched in.
Seconds later, she and Obito were sitting in front of one another, the boy looking at the others annoyed while Derry just seemed to pick at her small deer antlers atop her head in nervousness.
"Now, action!" Aster said as Obito facepalmed.
"How are you, Ms. Derry?" He asked simply, playing along if only to bring this painful silence to an end. "I'm sorry sister's friends coerced you into this."
The girl frowned, tilted her head, and then pulled something out of her bag.
She flipped through the dictionary quickly before blinking at the word. "O-Oh. Um, no, it's…"
"You're not going to say 'fine', are you?"
"..."
"Right," Obito sighed. "How about this? I'll ask a question and you can ask another. We'll keep asking as long as we want to, alright?"
She blinked at him before biting her lip only to nod. "Alright…"
"Do you live near the school?"
"Yes. I'm right down the street," Derry answered in thought, flipping through her dictionary that was riddled with small notes and stickies. "U-Um! Right, my turn… Um, is the rumor true?"
"Oh, wait, we never did figure that out," Sienna said from the side. "What rumor is going around?"
"I-Is…" Derry swallowed, looking embarrassed. "Is it not my turn yet?"
"... Consider them my questions, I'm sorry we're interrupting," Obito said as he picked up on her… peculiarities. 'She's likely not used to getting to talk,' poor girl.
Derry looked surprised before nodding. "W-Well… the rumor is that you beat up the Diamonds on your own," Obito and Sienna choked. "E-Everything heard you lost your arm to do it."
"... I…" Obito just balked at her. "That's not… wrong, I suppose," things might get more 'loud' should these rumors get worse. "You had another question."
"Oh!" She looked down in thought, messing with her fingers around her dictionary. "Are they true?"
Obito considered the answer. "Not fully, no."
"O-Oh… your turn."
"Is that the only rumor?"
"No, another one that was before this one said you were either hiding your Faunus marks or about to get involved in a gang."
"Huh?" Aster balked. "W-What the hell are people thinking?"
"I don't know," Derry said. "Everyone was confused how he was human when his dad was a Faunus… A-Actually! Is that true?"
"... No, by blood, I'm not related to Sienna," Obito admitted as Derry, Perry, and Aster balked. "Did you not find it weird my last name wasn't the same?"
"We thought you just hated your dad, super silently," Aster said with a grimace. "S-Sorry."
"I guess I'm no good at making a good impression," Obito had always been bad at that.
"W-Well…" Derry blushed a bit before swallowing. "Y-Your turn."
"Hmm… It's something I've been curious about," Obito said with a frown. "Derry do you know of any gangs who are connected to the school?"
Sienna looked surprised as Aster and Perry choked.
"Wait, what?" Perry balked.
"Um," Derry looked down.
"C-Come on, there's no way she-" Aster began to say only for Derry to answer.
"T-There are two," she said and the five blinked in shock. "One of them was started by the seniors. They want to m-make a place in Mantle for only Faunus. The other one i-is a human supremacy group by the third-years."
"W-Wait, what?!" Sienna gaped. "Derry, we're third-years, how did we-"
"No one wants to approach you," Derry admitted as the three Faunus flinched. "You… t-they don't like that you have a human brother. T-They talk behind your backs a lot. I hear them a lot in the hallways. Everyone seems to forget I'm there."
"So, wait, other Faunus don't trust us just because us and Sie are friends?" Aster gaped. "What the hell are they on about?"
"Don't know," Derry said. "A-All I know is that they don't like you… a-and the recent rumors have made them… worried," she added in concern as Obito frowned.
"Concerned?" He asked. "Why?"
"They're worried you're going to pick a side," Derry said with a sigh. "They're… I think they're going to-"
"Where is he?!" Came a voice from below, in the schoolyard. "Where's that Obito guy?!"
The group got up and looked over the railing to see a group of similarly dressed individuals in the yard, their 'leader', most likely, exclaiming out for their resident human.
"He's looking for you," Aster said obviously as Obito sighed.
"Do you think beating him and his gang up would solve this?" He asked the group who looked at him before shrugging. "Alright, better question, does anyone on his 'team' have Aura?"
"Well, last I checked, Kyle didn't have any," Perry said as Aster nodded.
"Hmph," Obito hopped up on the railing. "Alright then."
He jumped off, much to the horror of the others.
Down below, the potential gang leader to-be growled as he looked around in his thick black pants, brown boots, white shirt, and black cloak.
"Dammit! Where is he-?!"
An explosion of air rocked the floor a bit as winds shot out in every direction from the front of the school.
"The hell?!" The senior cursed as the winds died down. "What happened-"
"You were looking for me, right?" Obito asked as he stepped out of the dust cloud, the dust seeming to split around his clothing with ease. "What do you want?"
The boy now looked nervous at the entrance, much less the feeling coming off of the one-eyed teen, before gathering his courage. "I want an answer, Freshman. What are you about to do?"
"Excuse me? You came out here and called me. What the hell are you talking about?"
"I mean-!"
"Fuck off, Kyle!" Came a voice from the school gates as the all-Faunus gang arrived, similar uniformity among them as they all wore white boots, a red scarf, black hoodies, and thick-looking gray pants. "Who asked for your dumb face to come to school today?"
"Excuse me, Princess, I don't have time to clean up after you!" Kyle declared as the Faunus group growled in unison. "What? Did that hurt your feelings? Or those dumbfuck ears of yours?"
Obito's eye went flat as the two sides began to bicker before turning to him.
"Join us!" They both called in unison before growling at one another. "We can make it big!"
"Think of all the good you can do with us!" The young Faunus man said.
"Fuck him! You're a proud human, ain't ya?!" The young man said.
The two stepped forward towards him and Obito settled his one arm on his hip, eyes closed as he groaned.
"How about… no?" He said as a blazing red orb snapped open.
He stomped gently on the floor-
The two boys heaved as a force slammed into their stomachs, sending them off their feet without issue.
They coughed, groaned, and gripped their stomachs as Obito walked over them and to their gangs.
"Let me give you all one warning," he declared as the air grew hot. "You come to me with your bullshit one more time and I'm ending your 'gangs' before they can get off the floor," Obito declared to the large groups of growling students. "Haaa," he sighed.
A red eye peered at them all and a sheer cold settled over all those in the school yard's shoulders, down their spines, and causing their toes to curl.
The groups shivered before cowing before him. "..." He made sure to look at them all. "... Damn right," he said as the bell rang. "Get your asses to class," Obito announced as he walked back to the school-
Leaped onto the school's face and landed on the roof's railings in a matter of seconds with nothing but his feet. His hoodie shifted in the wind as he looked down on the gawking students in the schoolyard.
"Time to go," he said to the similarly shocked group atop the roof, moving past them to grab his stuff. "We'll talk after school's over."
~NRK~
School ending couldn't have come soon enough.
Obito ignored his classmates, teachers, principal, and so on, eye stoic and fending off their advances.
Walking out of the school with Sienna, her friends, and Derry, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"God, today couldn't have ended faster," he grunted as Perry chuckled nervously.
"We messed up and got seen from below," he said with a shiver. "I've never wanted so much attention in my life."
"Yeah, it got old fast," Aster frowned as Derry shook her head repeatedly. "And I got approached by humans! It was crazy!"
"Yeah, that could have gone better," Sienna frowned as they walked to the bus stop. "It's weird! They keep on being nice but I know it's only because they want to know about you!"
"Hmph, sorry," Obito said as they made it to the bus stop, the bus arriving on time.
Twenty minutes later, the group of five were by Marrone's middle school, the children being let out moments earlier.
Obito sighed before walking in as the others stayed behind.
"So, you all really aren't related?" Derry asked as Sienna nodded.
"Like, we didn't know until I was… eight?" Sienna and the group winced. "Yeah, so uh, Obito's mom was a piece of shit. We literally just learned Saturday that she was in the Diamonds and slept around to clean out the homes of Faunus men… it wasn't something I wanted to hear, much less Obito."
"That's fucked," Perry grimaced as Aster's mouth set in a deep frown along with Derry. "That's just… damn."
"Yeah, the years following that weren't… great," Sienna said as Aster frowned.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" The bear Faunus asked as Sienna's fists clenched and she looked down. "Sie?"
"... Dad didn't exactly become a great person, Aster," she explained as the three choked. "And he turned all that rage onto Obito from when he was 6-years-old."
"That's wrong," Aster looked horrified and angry all in the same breath. "W-Why?!"
"... I don't fully get it," Sienna hissed with a grimace. "I… I don't know how he can just be so… not bothered by it. I don't think I'd be able to handle it and I hated knowing about it up till now."
"B-But why?" Derry looked pale and green as Sienna's shoulders fell.
"I… I was trying to focus on getting a job so things might be easier," Sienna admitted. "I… Obito was tough, he proved that much to me as we grew up… so I just… I hoped he could just not do anything that'd make it happen more, he was smart, always so smart… but he took up for us more times than I ever imagined in my life. So, I kept trying to see if I couldn't move up grades… that's how we met, remember?"
Perry and Aster choked as Derry frowned, looking down.
"I… I don't think I could do that," she said as Sienna sighed.
"You're a better woman than me."
"Still, while I think you kind of messed up," Aster said. "I get it. Things were probably already bad enough with your dad's… third wife?"
"Yup."
"Three wives, geez, how's he do it?" Perry looked appalled and impressive all at once. "Imagine trying to wife-up three women each time. While he may not have been a good dude for the past 10 years, ya gotta give him props for putting himself out there again and again. Geez."
"Yeah, well… I hope things get better. We barely saw him Sunday and he goes to work before most of us go to school," Sienna explained as Obito and Marrone came around the corner, the small tiger boy holding onto his armless sleeve as Obito held some documents in his right hand. "Oh, right, report cards."
He nodded as he handed her a copy. "He's the top of his class as always," Obito said as Marrone grinned brightly.
"I-It was all super easy with bro's studying!" The boy said as Perry, Aster, and Derry blinked.
"You tutor?" They asked in unison as Obito raised a brow while Sienna chuckled. "Do ya do high school?"
"He's helped me land high Bs and As on the extra credit for the past two years," Sienna explained as the three gaped at him.
"I can if you need me to."
"PLEASE!"
~NRK~
Atella frowned as she replayed her scout's words.
'He destroyed the Diamonds?' How?
Hadn't he been some kind of Aura-cripple that same day? Or was he capable enough to destroy an organization like that?
It's not like the Diamonds were big, 20 members top, but they'd been ferocious and got their names out there. To have dealt with such a loud dog… Atella frowned as she remembered his chained-up form with a blush. 'Stop it, control yourself,' was she that bad right now?
She got up before heading to the medical tent.
"Here for some itchin'?" The man in the cage next to Obito's original one asked with a raised brow. "Well, they went at me all morning but I should be good right now."
'We should have kept him.'
Still, she got herself under control before returning to her tent and reconsidering her options, head on a mental high that made her more effective.
'I need to speak with Sienna,' no one had said anything about her, she thinks. 'I need to know what the hell I'm dealing with.'
~NRK~
As the group, at large, returned to the Khan home, they quickly found themselves situated by a pair of 'vine' tables.
"Where'd you guys find these again?" Perry asked as he felt the vine 'table top'. "Man, that feels real."
Obito and Sienna looked at one another before looking back at the group. "So, uh…"
A quick rundown, a demonstration, and a shaky Q&A later, the group sat there in disbelief.
"So, like, you could do endless electricity, water, and heat?!" Perry asked as Obito crossed his arms, his black limb back in place.
"Not in a way that doesn't feel like I'd be stuck in one place forever," the human said. "Right now, I need to learn everything I can do down to a science," he clenched his clawed hand. "... Oh, wait," Obito blinked at a thought before turning to Sienna and Marrone. "What happened to that katana?"
"That thing broke apart, bro," Marrone said as Obito looked confused.
"It was in pieces," Sienna clarified. "That wasn't even a sword after you cut that Keler guy's weapon."
"Hmm… so that's all I could do, huh?" Obito looked at his black hand. "I was trying to cut him but I only cut the blade. It likely broke right then and there…" His eyes narrowed before they burned bright.
His arm shifted, looking like static lines as he gripped where his 'hand' had been.
The black shifted as he pulled it off, a blade forming from his arm, much to the horror of the others.
"Huh!?" Sienna was on her feet in seconds. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Trying to see how far this shape manipulation can go," Obito said as he held a single black, crude-looking, blade that had no hilt. "..."
Holding it up, he frowned as its form stuttered before losing its shape and turning into a ball?
It floated above his hand and Obito frowned before gripping it.
"Well, that's new," he said as Marrone got up and ran over to it. "..." Why did this feel familiar?
This black orb composed of numerous elements…?!
'Don't show it!' He barely controlled his reaction as he looked at the black energy ball.
"Let me see!" Marrone said with a grin before Obito shook his head.
"Nope. This thing is composed of all the Dust's energies. There's fire and lightning in here, why would you touching it be a good idea?"
"Yeah, no touchy," Sienna told her younger sibling who pouted. "So, uh, what's the dealio with that thing?"
Obito wasn't sure, not yet. "I don't know but it's my energy composed of all elements, as I said… Interestingly enough, I feel fine. I've got more of those elements inside of me," he placed the orb back on his stump of an arm, the sphere returning to his shape with ease, much to his relief. "I wonder if I can't make more of those. Maybe then I'd be able to leave eternal elements about."
"Well… later," Sienna said. "Study. Now."
Obito snorted.
~NRK~
Come evening, after the three Faunus who didn't live in the house left, Obito, Sienna, and Marrone sat in the female's room.
Obito looked at Sienna as she tried to redo that little extension thing she'd done when she'd tried to hit Keler.
"I was angry, super tired, and kept wanting to hit him," Sienna explained as Obito looked at her raised hand, Sharingan blazing.
She kept pawing at the air like some kind of dumb cat, much to her embarrassment.
Obito cupped his chin, stump back to normal, as he observed her…?
"Sienna," she stopped hitting the air and looked at him. "Give me your hand for a moment?" Obito asked and she grumbled before placing one of hers into his right palm. "Huh, despite your height compared to mine, your hands are certainly smaller."
She blushed before shaking away the thoughts. 'Stop! Stop! Stop! You used to think you were siblings for Brothers' sakes!' W-Was she some sort of pervert?! "A-And?"
"..." Obito's eyes narrowed as he held her hand held intently. "Breathe out, Sienna."
She blinked at him before shrugging. She took a deep breath before exhaling harshly.
Obito's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Well, I think I know why your Aura reached out," he said as she looked at her hand to see her red Aura flaring on it. "Breathing, Sienna. It's got something to do with breathing, that's it."
"Breathing?" Marrone looked confused. "Why?"
"I don't know. It's your soul, no? Like the body needs oxygen to work, your soul also follows in some way," the human said with a shrug as he let go of her hand. "The fact remains, breathing exercises are in your future if you want to get stronger."
"..." Sienna looked at her hand before clenching it both from her conviction and how cold it now felt. "I need to get stronger."
"And you will, like I said Saturday night," Obito said. "The fact remains, you'll need to know this stuff if that's true… Keler… he didn't need to breathe to reach me wherever I was."
"Was that him breathing?" Sienna looked at him in disbelief as Obito nodded.
"He was doing it hard either," she looked horrified. "The fact remains, your boss is also able to do that. Maybe you should ask her?"
"... W-Well, I really should check in, huh?" Sienna said as she crawled over to her chest and opened it up.
Rummaging inside of it, Obito raised a brow at the Scroll she pulled out.
Marrone wasn't so reserved. "S-Sis?! How'd you get a-?!"
"Shh!" Sienna shushed him in an instant. "No! Don't say anything! This isn't to get out to anyone! Not even dad."
She handled it like a pro.
"You're used to using one?" Obito asked as she nodded.
"This is for emergencies and long-term rests," she said as she called.
It picked up after four rings.
-Sie?- Atella's voice came over the line causing Sienna to sigh. -I expected this earlier. What happened?-
"Still dealing with whatever happened with Obito," Sienna admitted as the older female grunted over the line.
-Where is he? I'm starting to regret letting him leave. Virile, strong, young men don't exactly just fall into your lap, you know?-
Sienna's eyes widened. 'Shit! Do NOT get focused on him, please!' If Atella became too focused on Obito, that'd be the worst thing. "Yeah, well, it'd be kind of hard to call him 'strong' as he is."
-Him not being able to use Aura isn't really important to me. He's strong for his age and despite his malnutrition. Imagine a young man actually fed well and well-trained? A body like that would be worth it here.-
"You're concerning me, Atella. You're getting awfully focused on one boy."
-I know, it's weird… but I feel like he's special somehow. Someone who needs to be monitored constantly-
Shit! Think, Khan! What could you say that'll keep this status quo? Something that'd make Obito not a prime target… Something…
Like ownership.
Her cheeks went bright red as she looked at the curious Obito before focusing back on her phone, mouthing 'I'm sorry' to him.
"T-Then it'll be fine, right?" She said as Atella made a weird sound. "I… I'm taking this one."
Obito's head slowly turned to the quickly reddening-in-the-face Sienna as Atella's voice rose over the phone.
-Haaa? Since when were you ever interested in this stuff?- Atella's voice was incredulous but Sienna simply blushed more as she kept laying it on. -... Oh, gods, you're not, like, into that kind of stuff, are you?-
"We're not even related!" Sienna barked and she felt more embarrassment arise at the possibility of some of that heat being real. "Look, my family situation is complicated, alright? Just know, we're related like that and it's convenient having a warm body n-nearby," someone just strike her down now.
Anything would be better than this!
-... Oh, that explains a bit, I guess- Atella said. -Geez, you lucked out, huh?-
"Listen, even now, I'm still getting used to this," Sienna said honestly, eyebrow twitching. "I've got this, though. He can't do much if he's tired from school, the distance home, and… t-that, alright?"
-Geez, give the boy some time to breathe, you'll drown him at this rate!-
Dammit, woman! Stop putting those images in her head! "D-Dammit, Atella, I get it!"
-Hm, hm, hm, hm!- The older female chuckled. -Alright, alright, enjoy your boytoy as he grows up. He'll likely be quite the consumable when given time to grow-
The call ended as mortifyingly as she expected, the Faunus teen's clenched fist shaking as Obito's head turned away from her.
"Well… that sounds like it's keeping the heat off of me, at least."
"I'm sorry! Okay?!"
2 hours later, and after Sienna calmed down enough to try and train with him, Moreno returned home late into the evening.
The sound of the door opening and clothing got their attention, Sienna's slight 'Aura afterimage' faded away as her concentration fell away, the tigress groaning.
"Hey, dad!" Marrone greeted as he ran out the room, leaving the two teens to sit in it for but a moment before they got up as well.
"Time to deal with this situation, once and for all," Obito said as he tugged his hoodie on before he and Sienna went out into the living room. "... Oh, Mrs. Ireed."
The woman standing there, with the uncomfortable, stoic-in-the-face, Moreno, was a female Faunus who looked at Obito with some nervousness.
Having slightly dark skin, a few wrinkles, orange eyes, and dark gray hair that rested in a chin-length style on her head, Mrs. Ireed Khan was a stoat Faunus whose tail seemed to hang limply from her rear end as they locked eyes.
Wearing a faded light blue dress with long sleeves that came down to her shins, she had on a black smock from her work, a pair of small brown boots, and bandages around her fingers.
The woman's gaze looked down from him before involuntarily locking onto his bandages, eyes blinking as he and Sienna came closer.
"O-Oh, you're… you're home," she said quietly as Moreno looked even more uncomfortable.
"... I believe it's time to just air things out," Obito said after a moment of thought, confusing her and causing Moreno to look to the side. "Do you hate me, Mrs. Ireed?"
"?!" The woman's eyes widened at his question, looking down as her hands folded together in her lap. "... I don't… I…" Ireed let out a shuddering sigh. "Moreno despises you, I don't want to deal with whatever you're doing."
"... He's… not," the Faunus man brought out of his throat, surprising all of them. "..." He grunted, looking down and to the side. "... I can't forgive that woman."
"... No one thinks you should have to, dad," Sienna said with a solid voice. "But taking it out on Obito was not right. It's not like he knew. He thought he was your son just as much as you did, as we all did before she… did that shit."
Moreno's fists clenched as he turned away with a long, hot, sigh.
"So, I truly want to know. Since you've had your time to think about all of this," Obito said with nary a hint of hate or heat, simple curiosity. "Do you hate me?" He asked the man who looked away. "... Alright then, no one can just change in a matter of days."
"..." The Faunus man grimaced but said nothing as Marrone walked over to Obito.
"Bro didn't do anything," he said as Ireed sighed softly but the boy wasn't finished. "... W-When bro said those guys were picking on someone… h-he lied," Marrone's head fell as Moreno stared at him as he sniffled. "I-I got into a fight at school."
The man's eyes widened as Ireed covered her mouth.
"W-What?! Marrone, why?" She asked as Obito sighed.
"T-They kept on calling bro names and I just…" The boy looked miserable.
Moreno's fists went slack as he remembered the 'punishment' handed out last Friday and looked pale.
"I-I… why didn't you…"
"You wouldn't have cared," Obito said bluntly and truthfully as the man flinched. "Over the years, you never hesitated to find a reason to punish me."
The sheer detachment that Obito had to his… 'efforts' left Moreno stunned dumb and choking on air.
"..."
Sienna winced at Obito's words but they weren't… They were the truth.
There was no biting hisses, no heated accusations, no ice-cold disregard for the man's feelings. There was but a simple truth about the matter.
Their father simply had never cared since that day and it was apparent every day after it. Like he made sure to use Obito to never forget.
"So, why would you have stopped every other time?"
The man winced as his wife looked down. "..."
Obito sighed at that, hand coming up to run through his hair. "... well, that's over with," he said as the two looked at him, confused but uncomfortable. "The fact remains, facing yourselves isn't my job. I've done that already. Now, it's your job, any action that comes after this moment, that's how you decide."
"... You're really lenient… yeah, that's the word," Sienna said before mumbling to herself, quietly.
"It's not like I don't understand their emotions," Obito added as his unfilled sleeve flapped. "While I'm not exactly happy with the treatment, I know where it comes from."
Ireed just stared at the boy in total confusion. "You… even with everything?"
"?" Obito blinked. "As I said, I'm not exactly happy with the treatment. Had I been literally anyone else, things might not have ended so… well, well. It's not easy to not hate people for what they hold against me despite me not doing a damn thing to deserve it," oh, stop, your actual anger was showing. "... Hmmm… the point is, this can be seen as kindness but it can also make me seem naive if I wasn't as mature. That's all there is to it."
"..." The woman's expression fell a bit. "... I get… I think I understand you," she said as Obito blinked. "... You're right, in a lot of ways. I can't really… you're human, you're supposed to hate us… right?"
"... I think you just had to deal with that idea for too long," Obito found the words. "Just because I'm human doesn't mean I hate you just because. That'd be ridiculous. I literally would have been kicked out an awfully long time ago if I did, you can bet on that… people just follow the crowd because that's what they believe is the right thing despite whether their hearts say that it's wrong or not. Humans, Faunus, even just animals, they're all beings who believe in the idea of a person might have an idea but people are right."
Ireed stared at him for a moment as Sienna's face contorted in confusion and Moreno just stared at the wall.
"Bro, you're saying way too much stuff," Marrone said as he hung off Obito's empty sleeve.
"... Ah," well, right, he had to remember that not everyone really got that kind of philosophy on the first go. "... Do you get it?" He asked his little brother who hummed.
"I think I do… this is that.. P-pill… philosophy stuff, I think."
"Correct."
Ireed looked at Marrone. "I… Marrone, how do you know that?" She asked, confused as the boy grinned.
"Bro teaches way better than the teachers at school!" The boy said proudly as Obito snorted.
"They likely don't have enough people to tutor you all as closely as I do. You simply have an advantage in solo learning compared to classmates."
"I mean, maybe!" The tiger boy said. "Still. Bro also teaches me things about the weird numbers."
"He means addition and subtraction," Obito said as Sienna smirked.
"Obito's helping tutor me and my friends on some of the school work," she explained as Moreno frowned, confused.
"Wait… he's a Freshman," the man barely remembered after a bit of thought.
"U-Um, yeah, uh," Sienna looked embarrassed as her father raised a brow. "... So, uh, you know how I jumped a grade, right? Well, Obito's been helping along the way with extra credit assignments and stuff," Moreno looked shocked. "Yeah. Whenever he's bored, it's weird, he does them because… he's weird."
"The stuff in my year isn't interesting anymore," Obito answered flatly. "First-year… everything is more basic. I know it's likely because of the school getting used to the levels of the students but I've looked at the honors classes and they're barely any better. I need something actually worth it before I start just not going to class. I barely pay attention and I still get As. It's sad."
Moreno's eyebrows shot into his hairline as Sienna smirked.
"See, he's a smarty."
The man kind of did, after so long… "But your grades are still up?" He asked, more uncomfortable than ever before.
"Yeah. I can typically do all the work myself but extra credit looks good… everywhere," Sienna said. "But with some of the stuff I didn't get, I'd read over Obito's stuff and it'd kind of make more sense. I don't get all of it but it's more than anyone in my class despite how much they hate it," she grinned viciously. "I've been at the top of my class ever since the early part of the school year."
Ireed blinked at that. "And there aren't any… issues?" She asked, concerned.
"Nothing I can't handle. I get graded normally like all the other students by my human teachers," she explained and both parents looked surprised. "... I mean, I never really thought about it," Sienna realized. "But… yeah, I get treated like any human at school outside of my human classmates."
When she actually thought about it, getting bumped up a year should have been a big hint that she was getting treated like the humans at school. She'd never considered that.
"I-I see," Moreno looked embarrassed, concerned, and more uncomfortable. "Well…" He looked like he was struggling.
"You don't need to say anything," Obito caught on. "If it's hard enough as is, just do what you need to do after this. Right now, I'm just tired."
It had been night already and when Sienna checked the clock, they'd been talking out here for almost 45 minutes.
"Geez, we need to go to sleep," she realized as Obito nodded. "Well… glad we got this talk, pops, ma," Sienna said and realized that, yes, she really felt that. 'This should have happened a long time ago.'
For now, she'd just accept that it at least happened.
She grinned as Obito gifted her one of those beds he'd made for the Thyme duo.
As she thought it, he'd helped her put her mattress atop it, giving her an actual bed, holy shit!
"This is what it's like, that's awesome," she said as Obito smirked, sitting on the side of her bed as Marrone slept comfortably in their shared room.
His left arm's black energy had been left within there and, as Obito had thought, he could allow heat to emanate from it on its own.
At present, his faux Truth-Seeking Orb was just floating in the living room, emanating heat that just barely reached the entire house.
Moreno stood by Sienna's doorway in disbelief as he observed it. "It's… warm?"
The two teens chuckled at his words. "Yes. I don't know all the ins and outs of it yet," Obito said. "But, hopefully, this can be a constant thing as long as I can train it up."
The man just shivered at the warmth in his home before… hesitating.
"Good job," was all he said before powerwalking out of view, leaving two surprised teens.
"... It is a good job, seriously, thanks," Sienna said with a smile as Obito nodded, returning one of his own.
"Well, things seem to be changing, at the very least. So, I'll simply keep doing my best to improve our ways of living. As well as continuing to gain power I need to change things," Obito said. "For now, I'll head off. Good night, Sienna."
"Yeah, good night," she said as he left.
Laying flat on her bed, even without covers and sheets, Sienna fell asleep in warmth.
Awaking in the morning would be kind of chilly but, for now, she'd just enjoy a truly warm home, for now.
… If only her parents didn't DECIDE TO HAVE SEX RIGHT NOW?!
Her eyes shrunk at the constant banging going through her walls?!
'No! Dammit! Stop getting used to it!'
Ugh, the goods and the bads sucked.
~NRK~
That's a rather embarrassing wrap on this chapter.
So, things are heating up as James has entered the fray that is Mantle's underground while Obito's arm becomes an object of fascination.
His powers are still unknown to him and how he can use them but he understands the basics and their 'base form' as something familiar but clearly not. Faux gudodama.
It'll be curious to see how this progresses, especially with Sienna's proclamation to her leader, said leader's interest, and the issue with the 'gangs' at their school handled for now.
Ciao.
Words: 14.9k+
~NRK Out~