Chp. 13: Dusty Old Crow
Watson Residence
Back at the Watson household, Watson, Lucas, and Yara all sat on the sofa, while Qrow sat on a chair across from them.
"So... how are your nieces?" Watson awkwardly asked.
"Fine," Qrow bluntly answered.
"You've been drinking lately?" Watson asked.
"I stopped when I went over Volume 8 with my nieces and several others," Qrow answered.
"Wait. You caught a glimpse of Volume 8?" Watson asked.
"We're getting off the subject here," Qrow said.
"What's gonna happen to Augusto?" Lucas asked.
"If you're referring to the other kid your friend here fought, he and those other people that were with him have already been taken into custody. I have read his history and what he has been doing to you all. They're gonna make sure that he won't bother you guys again," Qrow explained.
"Why are you here?" Yara asked.
"I here to talk to him," Qrow answered, gesturing to Watson.
"Is this about my aura?" Watson asked.
"Yes. A couple weeks ago, the U.S. government got a call from the São Paulo Police Department about you having your aura unlocked. So Professor Ozpin decided to send me to investigate," Qrow explained.
"But now, there are more people besides Watson that have their aura unlocked, including Augusto," Lucas said.
"I'm aware of that. The U.H.L. is sending out Huntsman to investigate each and everyone of them to have them all documented and to see if they are deemed a threat or not," Qrow answered.
"U.H.L.?" Lucas asked.
"The United Hunters League. An organization that was secretly founded by a few of Earth's world leaders and the academies' headmasters," Qrow answered. "Its purpose is to act as the bridge between Earth and Remnant once the populace of both worlds found out about each other's worlds and act as guardians of peace and order."
"Will this U.H.L. be made public or is this some secret organization that should stay secret from the public?" Watson asked.
"It will be made public eventually, but there are still things we need to work out, since the events of both worlds' existences have been discovered a bit too early and discovered over Salem's actions. And that has caused some banter," Qrow replied.
"So what's gonna happen now?" Yara asked.
"For now, all activity at the Huntsman academies has been canceled until further notice and businesses on Remnant came to a halt until Earth and Remnant can work some things out, and since Remnant has been alerted of this whole COVID-19 pandemic going on in you world, they had no choice but to follow this social distancing crap," Qrow explained.
"So it looks like our problems became your problems as well, huh?" Lucas asked.
"And eventually, Remnant's problems will also become Earth's problems, if you kids get what I'm saying," Qrow replied.
"The Grimm," Watson said in realization.
"Yep. They're gonna want to migrate to the new world because let's be honest, after looking into a bit of your world's history, your world will become a magnet for Grimm," Qrow said.
"Yeah, I can already picture that," Watson said.
"Members of the U.H.L., including myself were also sent out to find those who have the potential to join the Huntsman academies," Qrow said.
"Really? So you're saying that Watson may end up joining one of those Huntsman academies?" Yara asked.
"I just report my findings to the headmasters and then they will decide if you're worth the effort or not," Qrow answered.
"So in the end, it's up to them?" Watson asked.
"Yep," Qrow answered.
"I only got one thing to say about this... awesome," Watson said.
"So about your combat skills, I've been watching you for the past few days and despite your successes in stopping criminals from getting their way, you're a bit sloppy and reckless in combat," Qrow said.
"What do you mean?" Watson asked.
"Your combat skills need improvement and in some cases, you use your semblance in order to win, much like Yang had with her semblance," Qrow answered. "By the why, what's your semblance anyway? It sort of looks similar to Yang's semblance from my perspective."
"For my semblance, I get stronger and more agile whenever I get angry," Watson said.
"So your semblance is a temper tantrum? Right," Qrow said.
"And I've been learning parkour from Lucas, and learned some knife tricks from Yara," Watson said.
"But it isn't enough, kid. You need proper guidance about how Huntsman works. Even those who were self taught in terms of combat took a little advice from other experienced Huntsman. Besides, you haven't even faced off against the Grimm yet," Qrow said.
"Luca, Yara, and I faced a Beowolf! Plus, I've beaten Augusto!" Watson said.
"But did you kill the Grimm?" Qrow asked.
"No," Watson answered.
"And was Augusto a trained Huntsman?" Qrow asked.
"No," Watson answered, bowing his head in defeat.
"My point exactly. You may not last a few minutes if you were to encounter a Grimm or a rogue Huntsman. I could give you a few pointers tomorrow if you wish," Qrow said.
"Really?" Watson asked, looking excited.
"Yep. And I just so happened to find a good spot where you will be put to the test," Qrow said.
"I'm in," Watson said.
"Now before we get to all this, I need your parent or guardian's consent first," Qrow said.
"Well my dad's not here right now, but I can give you his phone number," Watson said.
"Do that and I'll talk to him and let him know what's going to happen," Qrow said.
Watson gets up from the sofa and walks over to a nearby drawer. He opened it and pulled out a small piece of paper and a pen. He writes down his father's phone number and walks over to Qrow and hands him the note, and then sits back done on the sofa with his friends. Qrow looks at the number for a moment before stuffing the note in his pocket.
"Get some rest tonight. You're gonna need it," Qrow said as he stood from his chair.
He walks over to the front door and opens it. Just before Qrow was about to walk out, he turned his head to face Watson, once more.
"See you in the morning," Qrow said.
He walks out the door and closes it behind him. As soon as Qrow left, Lucas and Yara both looked over to Watson.
"You think you'll be okay with that Qrow guy?" Yara asked. "I mean he is an alcoholic."
"I'll be fine. Besides, he's said he's stopped drinking. And even if he didn't he'd still watch out for me," Watson answered.
"Well, just be careful, Watson," Yara said.
"Will do," Watson replied.
Drug Trafficking Hotel
Meanwhile at the drug trafficking hotel, Manuel was sitting on a recliner chair drinking a bottle of beer. He took one last chug from the bottle and after a moment of silence, he furiously threw the bottle at a wall, shattering it on impact.
"My dealings are being sabotaged, I'm losing more money, and now Augusto is locked up in the slammer!" Manuel said.
He stood up from his recliner in anger and grabbed the chair. Manuel slammed the chair to its side as it crashed through the floor. His expression changed from anger to shock at what he had just done. He looked down at his arms for a moment before walking towards a dresser. Manuel opens one of the drawers and grabs out a knife. He placed the blade on his arm and with one swift stroke, tried to cut his wrist.
Manuel looks down at his wrist to see no damage had been made. He soon came to the realization that he had his aura unlocked, just like Augusto and Watson.
"I'll have my boys find him, and see what he's planning next. And when I get all the information I need, I personally see that the little pain in the ass goes six feet under," he said.
Author's Note: I'm releasing chapters a little bit earlier then normal so that I can move on with the next story for the RWBY and Earth series.
