~NRK~
The day had gone by with more training than half the group knew they were capable of.
So, come midnight, the group were all lying down on brought blankets, small pillows, and sheets in light sleepwear, an orb of flames softly blazing above.
Obito was the last to come and lay down, the former shinobi nodding to all the wood-covered windows as he entered from the stairway. "There, that's everything," he said to Sienna and Vine as they nodded.
"Good work," Vine said with a smile in a sleeping bag as he wore a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeve top. "You can do a lot of good, Obito, these elemental powers of yours are beyond incredible."
"Thanks," the other Mistralian said, wearing a simple black shirt and shorts, him the most unbothered by the weather around them. "We have a lot of things to work on after all of this is over with, I know these will help our goals."
"Is that also classified?" Vine asked and Obito shrugged as he sat down by the wall on the same side as the door inside the apartment, right next to Sienna who was currently fiddling with her Extension skills.
Wearing a pair of some weird black things called 'insulated spats', she shot her stepbro a look out the corner of her eye, a red bathrobe over her torso with a black tank top beneath it.
"It is," she said quickly while Obito raised a brow. "No offense, Vine, seriously, we're not up to no good but that's kinda a big secret."
"No, please, I understand."
Obito hummed at that as he crossed his legs, sitting against the wall with proper posture-
"You're going to sleep normally," Sienna told him as his eyebrow twitched. "Seriously, dude, my ears will hear anything, don't give me that sentry shit."
"Sie, this is fine-" Obito tried to say, Sienna's eyes narrowing in challenge.
So, obviously, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him down.
"G-Goddammit, woman! Let me sleep how I please!" Obito hissed in whispers as she, embarrassingly to all his experience, overpowered him. 'Fuck this second life and its downsides!'
"How about no?" She shot back as she adjusted their positions with a blush but a grin, the two of them laying on their sides comfortably. "Now, go. To. Sleep," Sienna hissed into his ears, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine.
Obito felt mortified in ways that nearly had him using force but he was too spent from the day of training. Too tired to try and give this more thought.
Too worried to ever use such force on his comrades again.
'I'm such an idiot,' if this was the first symptom of what was to come 'two favors down', he feared for his own chastity. 'Speaking of,' he had to think about that.
What constituted 'too far' with the 'favors' he'd promised? He hadn't thought too much about it because he thought such general statements would be fair.
But that all turned around when Sienna had kissed him. Her brother! Well, stepbrother, yes and… Obito wasn't attracted to her like that, definitely not so much, but he admired certain qualities she had.
Strong, purposeful, honorable somewhat, family-oriented, and having a kind heart, Sienna was an amazing person. She would likely go far and, if he could help, he would do his best to ensure her future.
But this threw their entire relationship into the proverbial gutter and made things… awkward, sometimes.
Obito's not sure the last time he was alone with Sienna in the past four days, their inner circle had been around damn near all the time and, if not them, it was Derry, at least.
So, in a way, he'd ignored it for the most part. Maybe this was one of those things? Like from TV?
Where teens wanted to fit in and the like, doing odd things for the sake of understanding the feeling… but now Obito wasn't so sure.
'What did she think of our relationship when Mr. Moreno officially disowned me?' Oh, right, Obito was basically disowned for over 8 years. 'Did that change her? Was it that?' Or, more worryingly, had it been something even before? 'I don't… I don't know,' Obito wasn't sure what this whole situation was anymore.
So, with all that in mind, what would he do if Sienna desired another kiss? What if she desired more than that? Wasn't that 'too far'?
'It should be,' but Obito also remembered that he'd forced this on her.
He'd been the one to force her to take these 'favors' despite the origin of it all. Obito had told her to use them up within the year, at that.
This was his fault, again, emotions were always his weakness.
He grunted as he felt her snuggle in. 'I'm… I…' Obito feared he'd likely just give in to it if only because this was all his fault and Sienna was HIS responsibility. 'I'm not prepared for this,' could he ignore it? Sure, he was confident in his ability to mindwipe himself. 'Then, I'll allow her free-range and just forget it all,' it was the best-case scenario.
The feeling of a female's arms around him did, embarrassingly enough, please him on some level.
Now, if only it wasn't his stepsister.
~NRK~
The week had been spent doing nothing but effort, along with the weekends.
Training, work, studying, and practicing. It was a rather full week.
Well, okay, there were three things that had been a change to plan.
One, well, he'd visited Bleu.
~NRK~
"Mister!" The small Faunus boy cheered from a couch in Taliesin's home. "It's GREAT!"
Ms. Cabba giggled a bit as her sister blinked at Obito's food in their laps, the odd dish they didn't know the origin of on a paper plate the boy had brought over by his own whim.
He was currently washing up the used-up pan he'd been working in, dressed as securely as he had last time. 'There, a promise fulfilled and not having to deal with Taliesin on my own,' thank God the boys' mother visited.
"What the hell did you put in this, coke?!" The lion Faunus gasped at her nearly empty plate, Cabba snickering beside her. "I ain't had food like that in years!"
'You've had food like that?' Obito blinked at the information. "Well, I'm glad you liked it. I made a promise and I told Bleu I was a good cook, I didn't plan on skimping on either category."
The woman barely looked like she'd cared as she ate with reckless abandon.
'I need to get the girls in on this food,' and if they were lucky? A little bit of 'play time'.
Obito knew that look before he'd even seen it on her face.
'I'd best not make myself comfy here.'
~NRK~
The second would have been the Freshmen's personal mission parties.
He, Vine, Sienna, and Atella had spied on the groups. Obviously, with the woman and Vine being completely unaware of one another.
"This is…" Vine grimaced as they watched ten of the 20 Freshmen of Atlas Academy currently moving cages of knocked-out people into storage units in a far-off better side of town. "Disgusting."
Obito was of a similar mind, pressing a finger to a toy CCTalker earpiece. "This is bad," he whispered as it sparked.
Down and across, in a still-being built hotel floor, Sienna grimaced while Atella's eyes narrowed.
"It's horrible," she told him and her leader. "This shit… h-has it really been going on for so LONG?"
"Yes," the silver-haired woman frowned. "This isn't good… if it's what I think it is, they're transporting these guys secretly to their compounds most likely," Atella bit her thumbnail. "If that's the case, they could slip them in while rubbing some shoulders and have slaves on fucking sale."
This situation was worryingly, far too well-planned, leaving them with more questions.
"Have we seen anyone who looks like they're important?" Atella asked her. "Your boy know anything?"
Ignoring the remark despite how much it made her core hum, Sienna asked.
"... I don't see anything too weird, unfortunately," Obito said. "We'll have to zone this place out, Sie, we might not be getting all the angles."
-Yeah, I figured.-
~NRK~
The third had been the most 'exciting' as Obito watched from a high-rise apartment's rooftop as the Burst Brights went to town on an opposing gang.
On the floor behind him, a man and woman laid unconscious, their sniper rifles broken into pieces.
'Dammit, I wanted one of those,' Obito grunted before focusing back on the events below. 'Tali's still not in play,' he guessed she took taking care of her nephews as a rather important duty. "How's it looking, Sie?"
-Seems like we'll be owning this shit in a couple minutes- Sienna told him as he heard another grunt. -Hmph! Honestly, this feels so easy-
"That's training for you," Obito said.
-Yeah, I get ya-
Minutes later, her words came to fruition as the Burst Brights cleaned-up, took prisoners, and just generally moved things around in a way they wished.
-So, that's your boy on the line?- Came the familiar voice of Atella as Obito groaned.
Down below, Sienna blushed a bit but huffed. "Sure, since you keep on saying it, yeah, it's Ito. What's up?"
"We got some funny shit over here, too," Atella told her as Sienna's eyes widened. "Yep," she said as she passed her something.
Taking it, Sienna's jaw dropped.
"Fucking jackpot," she said with a grin as she looked at the cracked Scroll that was far too new and good to have been bought in Mantle. "We can get our techie on it, right?"
"Yep. Might finally get some shit on these fucks," Atella smirked before turning her head and observing some of their spoils of war. "... Excuse me, gonna go and place some claims," was all she said before hurrying on over to the crowd of women seemingly bidding on the men they captured. "Move it, sluts, leader gets first pick!"
Sienna sweatdropped as Obito groaned over the line.
-That is your leader- He grunted as she winced.
"Yeah, I get it, real piece of work," Sienna admitted. "It's just… A's an amazing leader, Ito, she's not a bad… leader," she found the title with another wince. "Okay, the fact I found that hard to say might say a lot."
-It does. For now, just get as much info off that Scroll as possible-
~NRK~
The information had been such a BANG of good luck that, come the last Sunday before they'd be skipping school, Sienna explained to their training group about the situation.
"So, we've got names of the five leaders," Sienna grinned as they all sat in the dojo apartment. "And we know the basic path they're taking those guys to," she told them all as Vine frowned, looking down. "Sorry, Vine, but it's about as real as you can get," she told the Academy student who sighed.
"No, if this is as solid as it sounds, this is it," he said.
Sienna nodded before bringing out her Scroll and pulling up the plans of their annoying 'student' enemies.
"From what we've read," Obito began with a frown. "These slaves, they're being sent to two separate places," he explained as Sienna nodded.
"Some kinda old laboratory in… wait, this isn't right," she blinked, looking alarmed. "T-This says they're going out into the middle of the tundra to give it to some guy by the name of 'W'... What the fuck?"
Obito and the others blinked before the former frowned and checked it on his Scroll.
"... he seems to be a doctor of some sort," Obito said as he scrolled down the large assortment of notes and the like. "... And, weird enough, this isn't related to our current situation," he frowned at that. 'So, is there some student masterminding all of this?' Or was it this 'W'?
"The more we learn, the more problematic it gets," Derry said with a wince. "T-This feels like it's getting farther and farther away!"
"It is!" Perry wheezed. "Dude, I can't leave my mom like that! I've got a Summer job to help with the house!"
"And I don't wanna worry my pops," Aster frowned. "This… Are we sure we can't just leave this to the coppas and just go on with life?" She asked them with a bashful frown. "I know how Obi sees this but, Sie, come on. What about you? Your 'rents are gonna be worried sick and then there's Marrone."
Sienna flinched while Obito's eyes closed with a nod.
"That's not wrong," he said as her eyes snapped to him. "They're right, Sie, Mr. Moreno, Mrs. Ireed, and Marrone need you."
"And you're gonna say it's the opposite for you?" Sienna asked with a conflicted expression as Obito sighed.
"Look, despite how things have changed, there's no doubt in my mind that Mr. Moreno nor Mrs. Ireed would be so broken up about me being gone."
"And Mars?" Obito was silent at her words. "You realize you'd be going out into the tundra, that shits bad enough on the edge of Mantle, you'd freeze to death!"
"... while I can't answer your question," Obito began with a frown. "We all know that I'm the damn best person to go into the cold and survive, let's not start with that shit."
Sienna's eyebrow twitched as Vine frowned.
"Please, both of you, be calm. The current situation is as Ms. Rose says, there's no need for either of you to go and do that," the oldest among them explained as they all blinked.
"Wait, why?" Obito and Sienna asked before looking at one another.
The boy sighed as the girl huffed, looking off to the side.
'Tonight,' they both thought for similar but differing reasons.
Obito knew she would pull something on him, likely 'rank'/'favor'.
Sienna was getting a bit fed up and would be getting a 'piece' of him.
Needless to say, they knew tonight was gonna be rough.
"By then, will the general not, hopefully, be up?" Vine offered with a smile, causing the two to perk up. "It's already past the halfway point of the month, it won't be too long until he's back in some manner of working order."
It was likely true but that meant they weren't the only ones who'd know.
"Still, what about the other Academy students?" Perry offered. "I mean, if we know, they'd totally know."
"Sadly, there's nothing to really say in that regard," Obito said. "What would we even do? Tell him he's in danger from his own students? Right now, the general isn't aware of this situation, we need to accept the possibility they'll do nothing since he's uninformed."
"R-Right," Aster said, rubbing the back of her head. "Still, a-am I the only one who thinks there's some mad scientist shit going on where this 'W' guy is?" She asked, looking a bit pale as the others' eyes widened.
"S-Shit! Don't say that!" Perry said, skin dropping in color.
"I-I know! But if this guy's a doctor and he works with the bad guys…"
Yes, while stereotypical, it's not like there were many reasons for a doctor to want a number of individuals who'd never be missed…
"Oh, fuck," Perry uttered. "W-We need to tell someone!"
"I know but only… the general, if it comes down to it," Obito frowned. "We don't know who is or isn't involved, while it's clear the numbers of our adversaries are small, thankfully, we've no idea how far this can travel. Hell, it's rich kids, we don't know if any of their families are in on this."
It was true, wasn't it? Right now, this could have been bigger than all of Mantle if any of these kids were important enough.
"Speaking of, I don't think you'd need to fear any of the big families," Vine said with a shake of the head. "If it's those fourteen then the only ones of actual note are Katrina and one of the other leaders," he frowned. "Gold Bastion, a student who is essentially a fourth-year but he took off a year to mind his uncle's business."
"Is he tough?" Aster asked.
"... He's a third-year who's essentially a fourth-year, he's essentially a fresh Hunter."
Obito and Sienna's eyes narrowed in unison. 'We can see how we compare.' If they could find and fight this 'Gold' guy, they might know how big the difference was.
Between what was still a student and a Huntsman.
~NRK~
Once midnight arrived, leaving the duo of Obito and Sienna alone, it was 'time'.
Obito entered the apartment to find Sienna sitting by the door, her clawed Aura limb moving a meter away from her to touch whatever she could.
With the two wearing similar black outfits of sweatpants and tank tops, he knew that she was certainly strained from the past couple of days.
"Did you know, you can feel the things you're touching with Extension?" She asked him simply, eyes closing as she moved the technique around before Obito found its palm on his cheek.
"..." Obito's eyes closed before he let out a soft breath. "It's your life enhanced, I'm not surprised," he told her as she looked at him fully, getting up from the floor. "Likely, it does depend on the body part it's Extending from, too," he whispered as her tiger ears twitched once she was in front of him.
Sienna dropped the technique and reached out with her actual hands, holding the sides of his face, Obito's right eye opening for her to lock gaze with him.
"I'm gonna use up my favors right now," she told him, noting no flinching from him. "..." Sienna blushed a bit, tail waving around in interest. "Does it bother you?" She asked completely and truthfully.
"?" Obito blinked, looking at her in surprise, noting the older teen's red face and conflicted expression. "... Yes, though, somewhat unfortunately," he began as she shot him a look. "Not as much as it could have, at least, not with how we grew up."
"I don't think I was an older sister to you at all."
"I mean…" Obito found sprinkled examples throughout his life. "You helped look out for me, despite everything… yes, it wasn't a lot, I know you had a life of your own but it's not like I don't appreciate everything you had to go through to help keep this family running."
"And then Marrone was born," she told him with a tilt of the head as he grinned nervously. "You realize you basically raised him, right?"
That knowledge wasn't… Obito wouldn't be someone to say that.
"I can tell, you don't think so."
"I was in his life, I know that, he's my brother even if not by any form of blood," he sighed. "But I can't accept that I raised him."
"When dad and mom weren't home?" She countered, pressing their foreheads together.
"... I had to ensure, I doubt the two would have looked at me favorably."
"Fighting for Marrone?"
"He's young, he shouldn't have to deal with all that violence."
"Teaching him?"
Obito grunted flatly as she smirked at him, victorious.
"I'll concede on that point," he admitted as her face twisted in thought before nodding. "Dammit, you're getting my language."
"Hmm, yep," she grinned as he chuckled a bit-
Their lips met right in the middle of it, his eyes widening as hers closed and she pressed against him, pushing him against the wall.
The kissing wasn't like the first time, she hadn't been surprised by her own actions, Sienna had been prepping for this one.
No, by this point, Sienna gave him her best and Obito hesitated before settling his hands on her waist and reciprocating only somewhat.
Yet, even that seemed to be enough for her as her tail curled around one of his wrists as his eyes closed.
'This is wrong on so many levels,' God help him if he wasn't going to hell for this. '... Wait, what is the Brother Gods' policy on this-Is that TONGUE?!'
Sienna had clearly been studying as they separated, a trail of saliva between their lips before they swallowed, looking embarrassed to all hell.
"... I-I…" Obito burned despite himself. 'What the fuck did I just allow to happen?!' And why was his body happy about it?!
Sienna, meanwhile, felt like she was dancing on clouds, nuzzling him a bit and sending his skin color back through the roof.
"Goddammit."
"That wasn't a favor, by the way."
Obito's jaw dropped as she lifted her head to smirk at him before she blinked, leaning down a bit.
"Huh, you got taller-" Sienna began to say.
"What do you mean that wasn't the favor?!" Obito nearly shrieked, Sienna wincing but grinning all the same.
"I never told you those kisses were ," Obito's eyebrow twitched as it hit him. "I've been picking up on that loophole stuff, ya know? Last time, I-I told you it was one of the favors," she admitted with a bigger blush but a nod of determination. "Now, I'm gonna tell you the favors."
"..." Obito wondered if freezing to death wasn't a good idea. "Yes…?"
"I'm giving up those two favors to get a shot at more favors."
Fuck him all to hell, that wasn't good. "W-What?!"
"I mean, it's not against the rules, you never said I couldn't get more favors."
"I-I didn't but I…!" Obito looked very worried now. "And… if I was to allow it, what are the rules?"
"I've been thinking about it," of course, she had. "And I want it to be worth something, I want to know we got through all this shit together so, every time we accomplish something, I get a 'favor'."
"... Define-"
"Like, our goals, dude," Sienna told him as he burned a bit. 'Come on! I know how you are!' She knew this was a bit underhanded but she didn't see it as being that bad.
Obito was a good person and he was smart, he knew that this wasn't the worst deal they could have. A-And if he was feeling something, he'd likely make good on it during a favor!
'Deny it, deny it,' he told himself even as his emotional side sprung up. 'Once again, this is your fault,' Obito groaned. "... Fine," he uttered like it wasn't even him making the decision.
This was all his fault and now he was basically playing 'bitch', though she'd never say or imply it, to Sienna.
How had this second life gone so wrong?
"Great!" Sienna looked so happy, what exactly did the shinobi think was 'too far'?
He wanted her to be happy, he wanted the same for Marrone, but his and Sienna's fates were more intertwined than he and the young boy.
This young woman who had an ambition that Obito could get behind, this girl who apparently liked him if those kisses meant anything, made Obito fear the conclusion of their 'favors'.
This Faunus who was, surprisingly, okay with a human affectionate, it was rather odd and worrisome.
Obito could really do without 'worrisome'.
~NRK~
With the others gone, Obito and Sienna delved into deeper training than they ever had before.
There was no 'going back home' to pick up supplies, they'd long since packed as much as they could to last the week and, well, when they were feeling a bit more alive…
The glowing red claw snatched the bird out of the air with precision, its owner dropping down from a four-floor apartment rooftop on a Wednesday afternoon.
"That's the last one!" Sienna declared as she landed without too much trouble, tail waving about casually as she brought the squawking creature to Obito. "Oh, wait, one second."
There was a harsh crack as Obito handled a large stone pot with several other dead birds next to him, the boy's creation boiling with vegetable stew within.
"Thanks," he said as she sat next to him, the two of them currently farther out on the edges of Mantle. "I'm surprised you're so capable at that," Obito told her, raising a brow as she looked down at their tenth dead bird.
"I used to not be, ya know? But Atella would… well, I guess you might have guessed already, Ito, but I've killed before."
The area silent as Sienna winced while Obito considered the fact.
"... No, it's fine, I do understand," he told her, the girl shooting him a surprised look. "Despite my future plans, it's Mantle, Sie," Obito uttered as she nodded.
"It's do-or-die out here if you're not associated with a gang or leave the neutral areas," she agreed, feeling more relaxed. 'I'm not surprised,' Obito was likely very willing to end someone's life with everything she knew about him.
Had he been stronger… would he have killed Taliesin back during the SDC raid? Would he have or would he have just beat her?
She didn't know.
Fifty minutes later, after all the plucking, eviscerating, and cooking, the two ate their food fast and properly.
As she swallowed one last time, Sienna sighed in relief, finishing her last bird and bowl of stew.
"Ahhh," she leaned back on the icy stone platform they were on. "Hmm, you good?" Sienna asked Obito who rolled his eyes.
He nudged his last bird on a wooden plate towards her and she grinned without remorse before grabbing it and eating.
"Hmm!"
"Glad you're such a fan of my cooking," Obito chuckled as he finished his fourth bird, drinking the last bit of his own stew. "Hmmm… There, finished," he said before sweatdropping at Sienna's already half-eaten bird. "I know we both ate a lot due to the energy we use up but I have to assume the tiger in you has some effect."
Sienna stopped, chewed, shot him a raised brow, and shrugged.
Obito smirked nervously. 'That wasn't a great response.'
~NRK~
Thursday morning came with a bit of a surprise.
Vine blinked at the awaking duo, Sienna's hold on Obito's waist ironclad as the human boy groaned.
"Again like this?" Obito muttered while Vine smiled in amusement. "Nope, not from you. What's going on?" He asked as Sienna stuffed her face into his hair with a groan. "We need to wake up."
"Mno," she 'said'.
Obito rolled his eyes as Vine chuckled. "What's going on?"
"I think there's been some murmurs amongst the team we're in," Vine admitted with a hum as Sienna lifted her face out of Obito's hair. "You might wish to cut that."
"I'm considering it."
"Don't!" Sienna said with another face-full of his hair. "Your hair's way too soft, dude!"
"Why is that your issue? It's my hair!" Obito argued with a huff. "Continue, please, I know I'm gonna be dealing with her in a bit."
"Quite. So, I've been doing my best to mind my underclassmen, doing my best to give them no time to… amuse themselves," they nodded. "And I've been hearing about a gathering they're having to 'celebrate' their first couple of weeks in Mantle."
"... That sounds suspicious," Sienna said as she perked up. "I mean, if that's true, we might see the leaders!" She realized as Obito nodded.
"Still, did they even tell you, Vine?" Obito asked and the older male sighed. "I figured, that must mean it's related to their under-business."
"It seems so, even Katrina got invited," the Mistralian-Atlasian mix said. "Still, this might be more difficult than you believe, Gold will be there and he's likely going to fund this event in the better sectors."
"... Oh, gods, you mean the really good center by Atlas?" Sienna asked with a gobsmacked expression. "We'd stick out like sore thumbs!"
"So it seems."
Obito considered their options. "... I know none of our Faunus members can go so that doesn't exactly leave us with a bunch of options," Obito said as Vine cupped his chin. "And Vine was clearly not invited-"
~NRK~
Thursday night, Obito cursed.
"Goddammit, Vine," he grumbled.
-Apologies but this is for the best- Vine said through their more military-grade earpieces. -With your looks, you can 'live out' the night and then get a haircut as soon as you get back-
"That's not dangerous or anything, my arm," Obito whispered even as he walked down a street. "And where did you even get these clothes?" He asked flatly.
Wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt, a pair of black gloves, a black vest, slacks, and shoes, Obito's hair had been straightened out and brushed to make him look more like a woman than he ever wanted to be.
A gray eyepatch sat over his scarred eye with more hair coming down to cover that, obviously, leaving the last bit of his disguise to be a pair of bronze rings with floral imprints on his pointer and middle finger of his gloved-right hand.
"Along with the jewelry."
-Those were gifts I'd received from uncle, he's a jeweler in a town by the name of Kuroyuri, I'm actually considering visiting him and my aunt after the coming year- Vine explained. -He tells me a family there, the 'Lie' family, inspired them-
"Well, glad they're so helpful," Obito muttered as he kept on walking. "Whatever, what am I looking for?"
-A place by the name of the Crystal Bard?- Sienna said. -Seriously, Vine, how did you hook this thing up to a toy?-
-CCT connections are rather seamless at times, I know a little technical know-how and matched their frequencies before creating a custom channel for them. Most students, of any school, in Atlas could do something that simple-
-... Simple, right- Obito was of the same mind.
These guys were kind of ridiculous.
Still, he found the location in a few minutes, finding a small crowd of Atlas Academy students there, familiar ones, fifteen in total.
Katrina and Alfons stuck out because he knew them but Obito noted the three individuals the woman spoke to.
The moment he and Katrina locked eyes, 'eye' in his case, for even a second, he turned away and ignored her look of awe.
"I've got visual on the targets," he told the group, across the street from the students and flashing his Sharingan for a mere moment. "Give me a bit," Obito whispered, quickly finding a space in an alley for privacy.
He explained their looks.
One of them had been a woman of average height, fair skin, black eyes, and short blonde hair that covered her eyes with only a few thin strands allowing him to have seen them.
Another had been a man of almost Vine's height with tan skin, spiked-back dark brown hair with slightly faded sides, an angular face, and yellow eyes.
The last, though, had been the one Obito saw the most Aura on.
He'd been a taller-than-Vine individual with white skin, an effeminate face, black eyes, and long blonde hair that fell into a long ponytail. He hadn't looked all that built, seeming almost waif-like like their student comrade.
-The last one- Vine said as Obito hummed. -That's Gold Bastion, the yellow-haired woman would be his sister, Plasma Bastion. Finally, the other man would be Winston Babel, I along with Katrina and those third-years have been noted to be some of the best in our year-
"Just great," Obito said before stepping back out of the alley-
"Oh, I knew I saw a pretty face!" And nearly cursed at the suddenly-there Katrina, the short woman grinning up at him as she sauntered over in a pale-pink dress with a slit down the side that revealed her leg. "Very. Pretty," she said with a blush but an even bigger grin. "What's going on, hon?"
Obito blushed on command. "E-Excuse me?" Oh no, he fucked up!
Her eyes widened as he covered his mouth.
He'd used the same voice-
"You were slumming it in those parts, I get it, I get it," Obito blinked at Katrina in disbelief as the young woman grinned, coming around and hooking her elbow to his. "Come, come, I can tell, you're probably one of those types."
This might be good or bad, Obito hoped it'd be only a little of the latter. "W-What do you mean? A-And can you keep this… quiet?" He pleaded.
~NRK~
Atella laughed next to Sienna as the tiger girl's eyebrow twitched, the two listening in with apt interest.
With her having Vine make one of these toy earpieces for only listening, she'd brought her leader.
Now, she regrets it. "What the hell?" Sienna muttered in annoyance as that annoying bitch, Katrina, basically macked on Obito like some kind of whore! "Bitch."
"Y-Yep, seems right!" Atella said, wiping a tear from her eye. "By the Brothers, this is gold, who knew this kid could play the weak card like this?"
"I wish she could leave the card where it was."
"Oh, come on, it's better for us, anyway."
Sienna questioned if that was right as they heard more of the conversation.
~NRK~
Obito rubbed the back of his head as he was audience to the weird looks of all the Atlas Academy students.
"So, we ignore most of our own but add a straggler?" Alfon asked as the one known as 'Gold Bastion' came forward with a smile, leaning down a bit to stare Obito in the eyes.
"And you'd be?" He asked, voice like silk and getting blushes out of the girls of the group save for Katrina… yes, including his own sister.
What insanity had he been reborn into? Why was this a situation AGAIN?!
"Tobi," Obito introduced with a shaky grin. "Tobi Akatsuki," he bowed a bit on account of Katrina on his arm.
"Oh, Mistralian!" The short woman grinned brightly. "I hear all kinds of things about your culture!"
"W-Well, I'm only really learning nowadays, didn't know I was, h-hahahah," God, kill him now. "So, um, about this whole thing, why bring me? I was just a guy on the street."
"Oh, please, I need more pretty company!" Katrina declared seriously as Obito sweatdropped. "No, no, no, Tobi, you need to understand that good company needs to win in all aspects, there's no point to half-arsed win."
"... You strike me as a wealthy person."
"You have good eyes… eye," she corrected as Alfons smirked. "Now, come along, come along, I need to spin you tales of my worship."
Even the other 'leaders' felt sympathy as 'Tobi' looked so confused.
"She's gonna hurt that young man," Plasma said to her brother. "But she does have a good eye for beauty, brother," she told him as Gold nodded.
"He's a pretty man," he admitted without hesitation. "Now, come, I'm sure Katrina will go on another tangent if we leave her alone with a boy," Gold smirked as the others either swooned, sweatdropped in Alfons and Winston's cases, or nodded.
They followed the two in and navigated to a reserved part of the Crystal Bard, the bar-restaurant-entertainment establishment meant only for them and their kind of money.
Katrina had already seated 'Tobi' before scooting over with her chair and leaning on him while professing her own deeds, 'misfortunes', and wealth.
So, needless to say, the beautiful, but normal, man looked lost.
"Apologies, she's usually a lot less affectionate," Gold said as Obito nodded.
"She's just energetic, there's no reason to disparage her for that," he said nervously as Katrina beamed. 'What are you, a cat?' Obito wondered.
"A charmer~!"
Yep, definitely a cat.
As soon as they all got seated, Obito found a menu on the table and a sigh in his mind.
'This is likely going to bite into my funds,' he thought as he opened up the lacquered food list before raising a brow. 'Okay, it won't be that bad,' not unless these kids were trying to trick him into paying for them.
He'd be damned if he accepted that shit.
"Have you viewed this part of the sector before, Tobi?" Alfons asked if only for the sake of conversation.
"Honestly? No, I've been working to earn some money," Obito admitted without hesitation, eye-contact at its utmost, getting a blush out of the older male. '... No, this isn't happening,' he now looked worried and confused.
Was everyone out to get a piece of him or something!?
Katrina snickered as Alfons blushed more. "Ho ho HO~ Fonsy, baby, you should pick your own."
"I didn't say anything, Mrs. Katrina," he hissed as she pouted while Obito's face contorted slowly.
'... What?'
~NRK~
"WHAT?!" Sienna and Atella balked. "She's married?!"
Listening to the pouting young woman's words fried several of Sienna's nerves.
-A woman's secrets are very important, Alfons-
-I don't doubt it but teasing me may end in a few more revelations-
They could hear the pout over the line but that wasn't the point.
"Whelp," Atella blinked. "Yeah, I got nothing."
Sienna growled.
~NRK~
Vine hoped Obito left this entire situation with his chastity in-tact because he had a feeling that Katrina was going for the belt.
Perry was simply snickering at his side, rolling with mirth.
~NRK~
The next hour was filled with bits and pieces of chatter, food, and compliments.
Mostly to their wealth but it wasn't Obito's issue to care.
Still, as time went on, he found two 'curious' situations about.
One, the group was speaking in vague terms over him which was fine, he knew what was happening.
Secondly, and most worryingly, Katrina's ten-wine-glasses-in form was currently moving her hands down his bicep to his wrist and whatever was beneath that.
"M-MRS. KATRINA," he whispered quickly as she giggled drunkenly. "I don't wish to assume your marriage status but is everything well in the home?"
She looked up at him with an oblivious smile and Obito began to sweat.
"Hmm~? No, no, things are fine, Jarvin is just off on a long deployment in Vale," she pouted, leaning on Obito. "Mmm, Tobi, you're very nice and FIRM."
Bad luck, leave him alone! "Y-Yes, well, you have to be rather fit to last down here. I've been caught up a few times," he tapped on his eyepatch and showed his earpiece. "So, I know better now. These senses of mine took a harsh blow," he whispered to her, the woman shivering in delight before she looked bothered.
She frown-pouted, somehow, at him. "Mmm, these individuals will get a righteous purging," she whispered to him before falling into a giggling fit even as Obito's eyebrow fought to raise.
'Don't! She's saying something interesting!' Don't fuck this up! "Yes, well, those guys could certainly have… gone away," he pretended to frown, keeping her inquisitive gaze in the corner of his eye. "There are quite a few individuals down here who could be taken care of."
"I know exactly. What. You. Mean~," she whispered huskily to Obito, sending an actual shiver up his thigh and spine. "It's going to be a lot less crowded down here, eventually, honey. There are big people at work."
~NRK~
Vine's eyes widened as he listened in, Perry freezing in horror.
~NRK~
Sienna's eyes widened as Atella frowned.
-No offense, ma'am, but that sounds like something I really shouldn't know-
-Mmm, no, it's fine, the others have their own little favorite people to take up when it's in play. Ya see, Tobi-honey, the Bastion family's quite big up top. Goldie is so important, he could give a Schnee a run for their money-
"What does that mean?" Sienna almost asked the earpiece.
"I mean, yeah, the Bastions are big. They're a family that focuses purely on the use of technology and Dust outside of the SDC," the gang boss said with a frown.
-Ma'am, once again, please keep it as VAGUE as possible, I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble-Obito played the part of a normal, if not smart, Mantle dweller.
-Well, tell me, what do you know about Dust?-
~NRK~
"Um… the normal amount?" Obito offered, confused.
"Well, what if I told you that there are different ways to harness it?" She whispered into his ear, sending a jolt down his shoulder blades.
"I-I'm… picking up that you might want to see more of me… t-tonight."
"I like ya smart, Tobi, I do~" Katrina grinned pervertedly. "I need something warm in my bed, it's so lonely in Atlas and I already gave Jarvy a go-ahead to fill his own bed to mind the nights," Obito's jaw dropped along with his radio personnel.
"I-I see," he really didn't. "... Rich life seems so alien compared to my own."
"It's the perks."
~NRK~
Vine looked embarrassed while Perry burned bright red.
"... So, uh, Vine-" He tried.
"No, I don't… I turn those down," Vine responded and Perry's jaw dropped. "I'm considered a… curious specimen if you will, I don't like it," he frowned as the Faunus picked up his jaw before rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry, I kinda know what it means to be a 'specimen'."
"No issue, it probably sounds as alien as it is," Vine smiled. "The rich and elite's sensibilities are different, they speak in money that can't be considered at times, but they're still human, on some level," he frowned.
~NRK~
Sienna burned up as Atella tilted her head.
"Ya know? I kinda get it," she said and her subordinate's cheek twitched nervously. "I mean, I'd pass around some ass on occasion if it got me new dick."
"Atella, focus!" Sienna hissed.
"I am, it's the topic, isn't it?"
"Godsdammit."
~NRK~
The night had progressed with little extra interaction with the others.
Obito assumed that the 'leaders' conceded him to Katrina.
Now, Obito had a decision to make, a very dangerous decision.
'Do I sleep with Katrina?' That question was alarming in and of itself but he needed more information.
Leaving the establishment, more of the others left with nods aplenty and thanks to Gold and Plasma, the siblings smiling as they accepted the praise and compliments.
"Ah, Winston, will you be… going home with US?" Gold said with a lecherous gaze as the shorter man blushed a bit but nodded.
"Yes, it's better than going to my suite alone," he said as Plasma giggled.
"Or to bed," she grinned and he blushed some more.
Obito's eyebrow shot into his hairline. 'These kids are LOOSE!' What the hell was this? "Hmm," he turned his gaze to the head of choppy brown locks on his shoulder. "Mrs. Katrina, do you have a personal carry for you? Is your room… near here?" He asked in vague, hopefully unsexy, terms.
No such luck as she blushed, snuggling up to him some more. "Maybe."
"... Should I walk you… home?"
"It'd be your honor, dear," she grinned cheekily, waving to the Bastion siblings and Winston. "Bye-bye~!" Katrina said with some pep in her step and her hips locked side-by-side with 'Tobi's'. "Tonight will be an experience, Tobi, Mantle escorts are something I've never dabbled in."
Obito had likely just given in to sleeping with the woman to get this information. "Well… I'm not a p-professional," he grinned shyly and her eyes danced with a hunger for the innocent. "B-But life down here is… difficult, the stresses m-might need some… relieving."
"I'm aware~."
~NRK~
"No fucking way, r-right?!" Perry hissed in disbelief. "My boy's getting laid, tonight?!" He'd be so proud if it wasn't one of their dreaded enemies. 'Wait, no, that's perfect!'
DICK HER DOWN, BITO!
Vine just looked uncomfortable, changing the channels on the earpieces to speak with Sienna.
"Should we… assist?" He asked, unsurely.
~NRK~
Sienna's tail had been bristled all the way from the restaurant up to now.
With everything put into consideration, she was PISSED.
"Hmm, Sie, I get you, you're one of those 'I fuck one guy only'-types," Atella said seriously. "But ya gotta let this happen."
"What?!" Sienna looked appalled. "W-We don't know WHAT she'll do to him up there!"
"I know but would you rather us come back with just this much info? Or give up your boy getting a bit more laid than you'd think?"
Don't… don't put her in this situation!
Sienna flinched, tail going limp as her ears flopped. "I-I… Dammit, is this really what needs to happen?" She whispered in defeat as Atella sighed.
"Trust me, for info, some stuff is just more important than ya dignity. That said, it's not like it's the end of the world, it's one night of sex, it's in and out… in and out, in and out-"
"I get it!"
~NRK~
Obito held onto the drunk Katrina as they rode up a glass elevator to the top floor, the opulence of the entire elevator box, the golden frame, nearly invisible glass, and the carpet making him aware of how much of a big wig her parents must have been.
Still, he had a 'duty' to fulfill.
"Lead the way," he whispered into her ear and her form vibrated in excitement. 'I hope they'll go radio silent when this comes,' or before he did.
But Obito wouldn't make such a crass joke in a time of desperation.
As they reached one of the four doors on the entire floor, they went in with a flash of Katrina's Scroll, being greeted by a space that had a window wall that allowed them views of the city, carpeted floors, a large kitchen, and what had to be three bedrooms.
'Lord above, this place looks more expensive than our house!' Obito thought.
The Akatsuki hadn't ever needed such a place, they were shinobi, dammit, they only needed a place to convene and maybe a decent resting area.
This was enough to have Kakazu rolling in his grave!
"Hmm, hmm, come on in," she grinned, pulling him inside, the door locking behind them. "Here," Katrina pulled something out of the wall and handed it to Obito.
He observed it. "Is this a speaker-?" He tried to ask before the feeling of lips on his startled him.
Obito gave in without a thought, the taste of lemon-flavored alcohol, spicy fish, and savory tomatoes formed a ridiculous taste profile that somehow fit on a woman's lips.
By the time she pulled away, he was blushing and choking.
"O-Oh," he whispered in shock as she slipped into a room.
"I'll slip into something… comfortable while explaining a bit more."
"O-Okay?" Obito said unsurely as the door closed, leaving him alone in a penthouse suite. "Whelp, I walked into this," he realized nervously.
The small speaker sparked to life, topping his night off with at least some good news.
Because everything afterward had been neither good nor bad.
Just pleasurable.
~NRK~
"Yes, w-well, we'll leave that be," Vine said before any 'action' started, Perry blushing while sneaking over. "... P-Perry?" The older man wheezed a bit, red all over.
"H-Hey, I mean, if they say anything in the heat of the m-moment?" The lizard Faunus tried.
"..."
~NRK~
The fur on her tail, ears, and nape shot up at the sounds of muffled… kissing.
"T-That whore!" Sienna shouted, saving grace being that they'd muted their end. "That BITCH! How DARE she?!"
Atella was too busy laughing the whole while, disrobing a bit as she kept an earpiece in.
"Uh, yeah, so I'll just keep on monitoring this for ya while you get some sleep," she said brazenly, not even hiding what her soon-to-be action was.
"A-A, for the love of the gods!"
"Nope! This oughta be good!"
~NRK~
Friday morning at 9 am, Obito sat in their HQ.
Sienna's bright red face didn't look at him, face in his hair, while Vine coughed into a balled-up fist.
"... I know," Obito began slowly, ignoring that he had Katrina's phone number in his Scroll. "And, despite everything, I'm sorry."
The Faunus burned some more, tightening her grip on his abdomen as her tail wrapped loosely around his thigh possessively. "..."
"For now… Let's simply focus on the task at hand, please?" Vine asked quickly.
~NRK~
Four hours later, the others sat with them, looking red in the face with only Perry being able to look Obito in the eye.
"Why?" The human boy asked him in horror as Derry went neon red. "Why did you tell them?!"
"I-It just came out!" Perry admitted shakily. "I'm sorry, dude!"
Oh, looking the girls in the face would be a pain in the ass.
~NRK~
Still, Saturday morning, the group was back in their spot with… a little pair of guests.
"Bro, this is so cool!" Marrone grinned as he ran around on the large amount of blankets and sheets, Fiona looking around the area in awe.
"Y-You have an apartment!" She said to Obito, standing by his sitting form. "It's nice and comfy, too!" Fiona said, wiggling her bare toes and enjoying the warmth.
"It's not a safe place, don't forget that," Obito reminded her. "You have to be strong enough to be out here, Fiona, Marrone," he addressed the kids who perked up.
"Alright!" They answered as Sienna chuckled.
"Still, we picked up babysittin' duty," she said as the group shrugged. "Derry, you might need to keep an eye on 'em the most."
"That's fine," the deer Faunus said with a smile. "Still, what kind of training can you guys do?"
"We can still do Extension."
"I mean, is Aura Shot really not usable here?" Perry offered as Aster sweatdropped. "Ya know? Without Obi over there blowing a hole in the wall?"
Obito rolled his eyes while humming. "... Actually, you all," he grinned as they all blinked while Sienna looked excited. "How about we all go into the new bunker?"
Vine gaped at it all, the others following suit as they looked at Obito's handiwork.
"It was something I'd been doing for the past week," he said as they looked up at the lights above. "I had to do a lot of serious studying to get at least this room working," Obito explained as he pointed to a wooden panel in the ground. "I did a bit more food vending at Mrs. Ireed's workplace so I could afford this underground generator."
"D-Dude! We have power!" Perry gawked as Derry nodded rapidly while Aster looked around the walls.
"W-Wait, how many rooms did you make?" The bear Faunus asked as Fiona gasped while Marrone had stars in his eyes.
"This is so COOL!" They cheered as Sienna snickered.
"We were considering what to do with these four rooms," she explained as they walked into a doorway that led into a room with… materials? "So, we figured, we might as well stock up on stuff."
"Amazing," Vine chuckled. "It's not a lot, I understand, but it's still quite incredible… hmm?" He blinked as he looked at six stone hooks coming out of the wall.
Oh them, clothing sat and not normal clothing.
"What are these, sis?" Marrone asked as he walked up to them and pulled on one. "I-It's so thick!"
Sienna grinned smugly while Obito smiled.
"Uniforms," they said as the group perked up.
"Ito decided to do it by trading some of mom's sewing stuff for food," Sienna looked very amused. "And then he did some for Mrs. Thyme."
"I asked her if she could order some reinforced, Hunter-grade, cloth," Obito said, surprising Vine. "Of course, I had to trade an entire day of food making for her company so I'm still gonna have to fill in that deal. That said, I've gotten to work on our uniforms with as much advantage as we can get."
Aster and Perry walked over before picking up some of the uniforms.
"Y-You got our sizes," Aster figured out, looking embarrassed.
"My eyes give me good guesses along with your clothes," Obito said. "Thankfully, Perry's only taller than me with a thinner frame, you were the hardest to create for," he admitted as she burned. "It's not a strike against you, I just had to assume how this would fit on you."
"Alright, let's find out!" Sienna declared as she picked up a uniform that was different compared to the others. "Hehehehe~," she giggled a bit, looking very pleased with her design while Obito huffed but got his own altered uniform.
They separated by gender into different rooms before putting on their uniforms.
Perry whistled. "Dude, this design is kinda awesome," he said to Obito, the two of them half-naked as they finished putting on the slightly-taut black pants of their outfits. "I'm guessin' Sie had a hand in it?" He asked.
Obito nodded. "At the end of the day, I'm still just a newcomer to all of this, it's her group, not mine," he explained as Marrone jumped up and down in excitement. "I simply made it in her image with a bit of personal input."
"I'm loving it already," Perry said as a skin-tight white tunic found itself on his torso, the long sleeves fitting well on his body. "And, yo, if we're gonna look good with more members, we'll need more money."
"Hmm?" Vine raised a brow and Perry flinched while Obito shook his head.
"Apologies, Vine, classified," the younger Mistralian said with a shrug as Vine nodded. "Still, that part shouldn't be hard to say. As a group, we'll be doing our best to make services that we can offer to gain monetary funds. It's the hardest part of all this."
"Aren't you running a stand?"
"Yes but that's only going to work for so long. We're five people, while I could abuse my power for this bunker, we'll need more amenities, technological increases, actual electricity," Obito emphasized as Vine nodded. "And more. Consider us a small up-and-coming militia but without the support."
"Ah," Vine understood. "That's quite a goal but, I'm sure, once this is all over, you could go to the general," the boys stopped to stare at his smile. "Remember? The general has been trying to assert more of his influence around Mantle to help modernize and upgrade it. There's actually a wall system that's currently being worked on with scientists."
Perry and Marrone's jaws dropped. "Seriously?!" The lizard boy gaped. "D-Dude, that sounds incredible… but I don't know if Sie would run with it," he winced as Vine tilted his head.
"No offense meant to anyone but I'd ask why? Not to say you all aren't competent in your own ways-"
"You mean Obi and Sie."
"Perhaps… but would such support not make life easier? You could recruit members from the army, likely the general could even make you a special operations force to protect the more hidden cracks of Mantle."
Perry's eyes grew hazy. "Gods, that sounds so COOL," he whispered as Marrone rapidly nodded.
"Y-Yeah but… Sis loves her freedom, Vine guy," the small tiger boy said as Vine blinked. "Like, no offense and stuff but she wants to fix things with her own hands."
Vine understood and didn't, those facts obvious on his face.
So, Obito handled it. "We'll always be thankful, Vine, you're helping insure we can live our lives… but, despite how much trust in the general we might have, there are things his hands can't be involved in," he said seriously. "Imagine when this all comes out? Elites being involved with gangs? That'll ruin their images and those NOT involved will be hurrying to assert they have no such connection. Now, what do you think will happen if General Ironwood were to be revealed to have such agents?" Vine cupped his chin with a frown. "I also wish for us to not be monitored like Sienna, not to say we'll be doing anything illegal that'd hurt people, but we can't be a known quantity, it's too dangerous."
"... Haa," Vine sighed. "I suppose… I don't mean any harm."
"We get ya, you're, like, the second-best human we've ever met outside of our school teachers," Perry admitted. "It's good to know there are MORE good guys around, it's just we got our own thing going on."
Aster sighed in relief as Derry and Fiona giggled while Sienna grinned.
"Oh, thank the gods, this fits," the beat Faunus said, touching the plate of half-an-inch-thick brown stone around her chest, the item fitted with black straps that went around her torso to her back where another brown plate was held. "Ya know, he's getting a lot better with his stone powers," she whistled as she tapped at the item before touching the stone gauntlets on her forearms.
"Those were cut with wind," Sienna smirked as she adjusted a similar set onto her own forearms. "Ito's good at controlling earth but he can't make super-smooth sharp shapes, he's gotta use wind for those," she chuckled as she put on the last bit of her unique uniform. "Hehehehehe, I'm so glad he could work this bit in," the tigress smiled as she put on the red article.
"You guys are looking good," Derry said, not putting on either of the last two uniforms. "Sorry, again."
"It's fine, seriously."
"Hmm, you're the boss lady, Sienna?" Fiona asked, finger to her lips. "I thought you and bro were the leaders."
"Hmm, I don't think he wants to be it," Sienna considered, hand on her chest as she looked at herself in the smudged-up mirror Obito had made. "The thing is, he knows this was originally my group and said he'd respect it. Ito's… he's rather honorable sometimes, he's perfectly willing to play a 'Sage' role."
"Sage?"
"O-Oh! Uh, don't worry, it's a term for stuff I need to have looked at by someone else," Sienna hadn't used the term in so long, she winced at her slip of the tongue. "A-Anyway, for now, we've got our roles," she chuckled nervously. "Though, seriously, we're gonna need money like a mug."
"Oh, yeah," Derry sweatdropped. "You realize that if those are as good quality as I think, expanding your group's gonna be pricey."
Sienna looked more nervous at the thought. "L-Let's not think about that."
Aster nodded rapidly. "Seriously, Obito having this good of a control is lucky…" She considered something as Sienna raised a brow. "And maybe we can see if my dad can't put in a good word for him? Maybe he can do some good down at the site?"
"... Maybe, we'll have to think about it later, let's go out there and show Obito's work," Sienna grinned.
They left the room and found the boys waiting in the… huh.
"What should we call this part?" Sienna asked Obito as he crossed his arms, looking around. "I mean, if this is our HQ, we should name these rooms."
"... I don't mind 'Central Hub'," he offered as she grinned.
"Sounds good," she chuckled before taking him in. "Looking good," Sienna said, offering the boys a thumbs-up.
Perry looked smug while Obito snorted.
The outfits between men and women had been something they'd decided to put into action.
With the men's outfit being mainly composed of knee-high black boots, similar-colored slightly tight pants with thin 'plated' stone pads over knees, a long-sleeved white tunic with stone elbow pads, and stone gauntlets along with chest & back plates, the difference from the women's was tight capri pants with black yoga pants beneath it, and a thicker tunic.
With both normal uniforms having a black hoodie with a beast-like logo on the back, Perry and Aster looked pleased while Obito and Sienna sported different 'cover wear'.
Wearing a familiar black cloak minus some familiar red clouds, it bore a hood now and sported not the red clouds but a beast's insignia on his back in bright red.
The young woman, their 'boss', grinned as she sported a completely different outfit.
It was the same as the women's uniform for her lower half. Wearing a sleeveless thick black tunic, a similar chestplate and backplate like the others, and stone elbow pads, her arms were covered by black athletic sleeves and clawed gauntlets, while over her shoulders rested a long cloak and cowl.
It was a vibrant red with her insignia on the back, with the item secured over her torso with a pair black straps and the Faunus's confident figure, Sienna cut a strong figure despite being tied for fourth-tallest teen in the room.
"I am ready to crack some freaking heads!" She cheered with dual fistpumps. "Ito, I don't know how you do it!"
Obito smirked a bit before gesturing to a series of face masks and… were those stone visors?
With the black face masks ignored for later, they looked at the colored stone visors that'd likely end up over their eyes.
"We want as much secrecy as possible," Obito said. "Though, maybe the face mask might be a bit much, we've never practiced wearing them," he admitted.
"It's all so cool," Marrone said in awe as his sister chuckled. "A-Are these your uniforms, Sie?"
"... Hmm," Sienna considered it.
"Wait, are these not?" Aster asked in disbelief. "S-Sie, Obi probably spent hours on these!" She said as Obito shrugged.
"The thing is, it's her call," the creator of the outfits said. "You also need to remember that, if we ever get seen, that's going to make us known quantities."
Obito wasn't wrong, Sienna knew that much… But she realized something.
"But then we can turn this into an advantage," she grinned as he chuckled. "If we're gonna make a group, having it at least seen once might actually give us some invisible cred."
"I… I-I don't follow," Derry said. "If you guys disappear for months and never do anything else, how is this useful? Besides, if you drag people here due to rumors, that's no good."
"Actually, since we're here," Obito said, going to a wooden shelf and bringing back a pair of rolled-up pieces of parchment. "I think it's time we pinned down two things," he told the group as they converged on the wooden table.
He rolled out both scrolls and the group realized what they were.
One of the pieces was a map of the city of Mantle while the other was a rendition of their mechanical foe.
"Whoa, bro," Marrone said as he and Fiona stood on two of their chairs to see the two bits. "You can draw good!"
"We saw the machine, once, in full face," Obito said with a smile tossed Marrone's way before he nodded to the others. "My Sharingan allows me to see and record the entire image I'm looking at. This is as much detail as I could manage."
Vine stared at the machine in a trenchcoat. "... Have you noticed its flight pattern?"
Obito nodded, pointing to points on the map of Mantle. "I'll show you," he said as his black arm's finger sprouted small blocks of stone.
A perimeter of small ones traced a path while bigger ones were placed on key spots.
"I've only ever followed it once," Obito frowned. "But this is what I could figure out. There are key points on the map that I saw it perch on, likely because it had a huge range of vision of the part of the city it was in. Its flight path grew a bit wider each time and I think it's coming close to the border of Mantle and its outer sectors… here."
He pointed to a point and they all noted where said finger was going as Obito trailed it around a bigger perimeter than the one made by his stones.
"It's gonna end up over here soon?" Sienna wondered with a frown. "If that's true, that means we have to catch it out here."
Obito considered it before going over to that shelf again and grabbing one more bit of parchment.
When he came back and laid it down, most of the group saw a familiar schematic of the pipe system of Mantle.
"I think, right now, there are two spots we can catch this thing while throwing it underground," Obito explained as Sienna perked up. "If we want this to be as unseen as possible, these are the spots. If not," he pointed to two different points. "These spots have old gas lines… I don't think I need to tell anyone why that would be important."
"... They're far from our HQ," Derry said in relief as Vine nodded.
"And they're even farther outside of Mantle's edges. That said, you're teetering on a precarious line," he explained as Obito nodded. "We're heading further outside of Mantle, the moment we do, the temperatures are going to be lower. We're lucky enough on the edges we went to but you all must realize, there will be no buildings to find cover in, there won't be safe spaces, there likely won't be good vision."
Perry flinched as Aster bumped his shoulder.
"If it gets to that point," Sienna began, eyes closed as she laid her hands down on the table. "... Only me and Obito are going out there, no. Questions. Asked."
"What?!" Fiona flinched as Marrone pouted. "S-Sienna, you'll die out there!"
"Not with me, she won't," Obito said. "That said, it's a worst-case scenario. If it comes down to it, I might even be able to push my Hamaya further since I'll be freezing anyway," he told the others, confusing the kids. "For now, we have locations but now we need tactics. We have to draw that machine to us without it catching up or on."
"If that's true… why don't we just attack it?" Sienna offered, confusing him. "I've thought about it, Ito, and I'm realizing, we have resources," she grinned as he perked up.
"... the news."
"Exactly! Like when you trapped Katrina, we bring in the news, we might even be able to get this over with by doing nothin'."
Obito smirked. "I do like that idea, it'd be simpler," he chuckled as Vine nodded with a smile. "And if we're lucky, Vine could coerce his team to help 'subdue this wild robot' since they're not in on it."
"It'd certainly be a plan," the thin man said. "Still, you'll need to ensure you're not caught."
"I have some ideas on that," Obito said. "For now, we have almost everything. Now, we need a trap formation."
~NRK~
The last three days were spent planning before they were resting on Sunday night.
Sienna grinned as she poured out wine into Obito's glass, the others already finished serving each other.
"Hmm, with this, it's quite likely to be your last chance," Vine said softly as the six of them sat in a comfortable circle in the apartment. "I hope, to the Brothers above, that this won't be the last week we'll all meet."
With the windows covered, they all sat in light clothes as Obito's normal-sized Kokudama (Black Sphere) covered the area in warmth from its flaming form.
"It won't be," Obito said with determination as Sienna sat down next to him, Derry on his right who was next to Vine who was next to Perry who was finally next to Aster who sat between him and Sienna. "There's a definitive way out of this, we will win," he declared as they raised their wooden cups.
"We will!" The others cheered.
They drank from the wine with only Obito and Vine hissing a bit at the burn in their throats.
"Whoa, even you?" Sienna asked Derry who smiled a bit.
"We'd celebrate with the Barrons, sometimes, usually for the sake of filling the manor," the deer Faunus said as Vine blinked in surprise. "Oh, you probably didn't know but my… I and some estranged family work as staff for the Barron family."
"The disgraced ones?" Vine asked and she looked a bit surprised. "It's spoken about on occasion during history, they're the most recent example of families who 'fell from Atlas'," he twitched his fingers. "The last one before themI think I'd heard about was… I believe the Gele family?"
"Never heard of it," Aster said as Perry, Sienna, and Obito nodded. "What happened to 'em?"
"Sadly, no one truly knows, apparently they just disappeared from the public eye," the student shrugged. "It's a shame but people come and go, families included."
Obito hummed. 'I'll look into it,' it'd be a problem if such a family came back into the public eye. "... Sienna? Where did you get this wine?"
"From a group who has a wine business," she said with a nod as he hummed.
"Are they good at it?"
"What do ya think?" She grinned cheekily as he huffed.
"It's not like I drink, Sienna," here, that is. "Besides, God knows how wine in Atlas compares to other places."
"Hmm," she nodded, crossing her legs as she drank heartily from her own cup before smacking her lips. "It's from Mistral if it helps, some kinda wine that 'A' said was supposed to match some legendary 'sake' thing but didn't work out."
"Huh, I wonder what that sake is."
"Beats me."
~NRK~
And that puts an end to this chapter, too, along with Uzumaki At Camp.
So, now it's time to focus on TCL and ADFE.
Ciao.
~NRK Out~