Hey guys! I'm so sorry about not updating in such a long time. (I don't exactly have a schedule). A lot of other commitments were taking up my time. So as an apology, here's a long chapter! I tried a few new things here and I would like to hear your thoughts! I hope all of you are in good health and staying safe during this scary time. Take heart, be socially responsible and do your part to keep your communities safe. We WILL get through this.
Before we continue, I'll answer some questions.
Oliver Otter1: I hope you like this chapter.
ChunkyFunkyMunky: Thanks for your suggestion! Was really at wit's end trying to come up with a name. Alas, I could not find something more directly related to colour but it is what it is.
Coment9: Thanks for coming up with the first suggestion for the team name! Unfortunately, Chunky's won out. Still, thanks for the input!
Ewerton Da Silva Rodrigues: Hopefully this answers your questions sufficiently.
XT3100: Oof. Sorry dude/dudette but I don't plan for her to be Lelouch's gf. Tbh she wasn't going to be a major part of this fic. Hope you can forgive me. However, your review gave me some ideas for future chapters.
werwolffr (Guest): Thanks!
With regards to XT3100's comment: I'm not sure whether I said this previously but I DO NOT plan for C.C to be in this fic. It's not that I hate her or the pairing for that matter. It''s just that narrative-wise, she would feel very shoehorned. On that note, the powers of Geass DO NOT EXIST within the bounds of this fic.
Alright. I've said my piece. As always do let me know if I missed any glaring grammar errors (I'll make amendments in the future) or anything else of the like. All pointers are welcome! (Also please be gentle in the reviews, if possible) Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Now, onto the fic!
Note (must I do this?): I own nothing except for any OC material.
(Warning: This fic is EVEN MORE dialogue intensive)
Uploaded: 05/05/20 Last edited: 10/05/20 (Poll cycling)
Chapter 4
In contrast to the violent, chaotic dawn that the city of Vale awoke to, the late morning was much more tranquil. Despite the havoc wreaked upon the city by the beasts beyond its walls, birds sang and its citizens milled about as if the roads hadn't been torn asunder. Truly, the city was at peace, its residents safe and no threats in sight. Chaos, panic, intimidation and other feelings of fear found no place in the city after its defence that day,
*GARFF* *CHOMP* *SLURP* *CRUNCH*
Almost.
While they were hungry, most of the trainee huntsmen and huntresses of Beacon seemed to have lost their appetite after seeing the display in front of them.
Three members of JNPR lightly snacked on sandwiches, having already eaten breakfast. Team RWBY, having not eaten anything before their early morning pursuit, ate heartily.
Meanwhile, their Britannian peers, patched up from the fight and still wearing their wrecked clothes (and Nora), sat across from them, INHALING a comically large mountain of food. The students were stunned by their acquaintances' hunger, a nearby stack of plates testament to that. Luckily for their wallets, the owner of the eating joint was an ex-Huntsman and more than happy to let them eat free as thanks. One can imagine that the hungry teens abused this privilege as much as they could, not that he minded really. Meanwhile, a television hung in the corner outside of the entrance, tuned in to the new channel and relaying the morning's events to the patrons of the cafe.
The trainee huntsmen were a sight to behold for the other patrons of the diner, with the occasional Vale denizen coming up to thank them for their defence. "How do you handle all the attention Pyrrha?" asked a curious Ruby. After the initial high she felt from all the praise, each and every "Thank you!" and "You're so brave!" began to get on her nerves. That's not to say that she enjoyed being seen as a hero! It's just that she wanted to eat in peace and not have to stop every time to answer or take a picture and give a smile or hold a conversation with an overly grateful civilian or-
"You need to have some faith Ruby," consoled Pyrrha. The little scythe wielder snapped out of her self debate and turned to the hoplite. "Just remember that your actions are the reason they are alive. Take joy that you played a part in keeping them safe and you'll never get bored of it."
"But what about the attention? I mean it's nice and all but I wanna eat!"
"Well you just have to grin and bear it," scoffed Weiss. "Besides, take it from an heiress. You WILL get used to it."
"She is correct," admitted Pyrrha. "You eventually do learn how to handle them in your own little way. The crowds just want to get up and close with their idols and have their thanks and appreciations heard. Hopefully they won't be too much trouble."
That last part was barely whispered.
"Don't go jinxing us now, Miss Nikos. Though those are some wise words," chimed in the black haired britannian as he bit down on some toast. His retort got a surprised "eep!" from Pyrrha and drew the attention of the Beacon students across the table towards their guests.
The britannians stood out in particular. In contrast to the relatively clean Beacon students, they looked like, in the words of their blond member, shit. Bandages, plasters and dressing galore adorned their figures. Their skin had the sheen of recently applied salves and their sunken eyes had small but noticeable purple bags under them. With the battle over, they were now in a state of undress, their weapons against the wall behind them. Lelouch had shed his armoured jacket, baldrick and chest piece, leaving him in his red t-shirt with most of his sweat dried off and a pair of sleeves on his elbows. He had also disposed of his hand bandages, revealing bruised, purple knuckles. While his kit hung on the back of his chair behind him, he absentmindedly scratched his cheek plaster as he ate.
To his right, the blond had put away his own carapace, settling down to eat with a forest green shirt. Underneath was a black, long-sleeved compression piece while a thick, red and blue checkered band wrapped around his left arm, sticking out like a sore thumb. His forehead was wrapped up with a bandage, a little bulge of gauze over his gash. Behind him, a tattered set of webbing lay draped over the back of his chair and a blue, battered chestpiece and pauldrons underneath his chair.
His left saw the mistrali boy, who seemed content with his current attire, only untying his gauntlets, which he left hanging on his weapon, before digging in. Noticeably, his arms were wrapped in bandages now, with cooling salves below to soothe his burns.
Rolo, meanwhile, was without his beanie, his hoodie unzipped for a simple brown shirt to be shown underneath.
Surprisingly, for their seemingly exhausted state, they looked well enough to not only come to a diner to eat but also hold a conversation with the Beacon students.
"How do you guys eat so much?!" gawked Jaune. It was normal for those around their age to have monstrous appetites, true, but this was insane. 'Barbarians' Weiss thought ruefully.
'Though they did save the people of Vale,' she paused. Pushing away a prejudice born from countless news reports of war far away and the anger she had felt as death tolls poured in and families wept, she supposed that they could be given a chance. 'After all, if I can do that for Blake and the White Fang, I can do it for them too', she reasoned.
Their black-haired leader, Lelouch if she remembered correctly, swallowed a mouthful of cereal before he spoke up. As he did, he scratched his cheek plaster to soothe an annoying itch.
"Well on top of us being hungry teenagers, we haven't had breakfast, have just fought off a Grimm horde, we need to eat for our bodies to heal and dinner last night was minimal. After all, as the saying goes: Breakfast like a king,"
"Lunch like a prince," continued the mistrali looking boy.
"Dinner like a pauper," finishes the tall blond.
"Except we prefer if all three men were kings, which is usually what happens," quipped the youngest among the quartet.
"What they said!" butt in Nora, waving a pancake drenched in syrup. The little gathering laughed at her contribution, and when it died down, Ren stepped up to the plate to do his duty of reining in his excitable friend.
"Hey Nora," asked Ren in trepidation, "what exactly is that syrup?"
"I dunno," she replied with a mouthful of pancake, "see for yourself." She slid a bottle of the suspiciously dark red ooze over to Ren.
Taking his time to read the label, his only response came moments later in the form of a mournful and depressed comment. "Oum dammit," he uttered. Was he crying?
A painful silence permeated among the Beacon students, imagining the horror that made the stoic JNPR member say that while the Britannians (having roughly deduced what would happen in the near future) managed to hide their amusement quite well. While his team leader reached over to comfort Ren with a gentle pat on the back, Blake, wanting to pull away from the subject, chose to speak.
"Soooo," began Blake, sipping on some tea, "I hear that you got Ruby to dance with you. How was it?" she asked, directing her gaze to the smallest member of the foreign team. The other students turned to Rolo, who was currently stuffing a rasher of bacon into his mouth.
Meanwhile, Ruby, in the middle of a plate of cookies that Yang ordered for her (which she INSISTED was a proper breakfast, Weiss and her dIEtarY RecOMmeNdATioNs could shut up) choked and sputtered out cookie crumbs, shocked by the sudden question. As Yang thumped her sister's back, eager to hear the boy's answer at the same time, she reached over and gave Ruby her tall glass of milk, which was chugged down quickly.
Rolo, set down his fork, wiped his mouth and drank his apple juice before replying.
"Well, my toes are actually still a little sore."
His shy yet unknowingly deadpan take left most of the table sputtering in surprise, sans his teammates, who let out little chuckles. Ruby's face flushed deeper while Yang let out a soft giggle that quickly escalated into her laughing heartily, banging the tabletop. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she attempted to calm down, ruffling her flustered little sister's black mop.
"Awww, my widdle Wuby is getting social!" she teased. "Your knees must've been paper, 'cause you were TEARABLE!"
The awkward silence hung heavy in the air, the tearable pun (forgive me) killing the mood. Though there was a little giggle from one of the boys. "Eh? Eh?!" she prompted. Still, no reply.
"Yaaang, stop it!" groaned an embarrassed Ruby.
"C'mon Ruby! Don't you Rolo your eyes! You don't know great humour!" quipped the blonde. The sound of laughter trying and failing to be contained was heard as the tallest newcomer (Gino, was it?) spat out some of his scrambled eggs onto his plate. That small release was enough for his teammates to join in, heartily chuckling at the blonde's puns.
"See? They get it!" retorted Yang. Ruby was about to say her piece but was interrupted by the foreign leader. He stood up, wiped his mouth with a nearby napkin and took a long look at the youngest huntress.
"So, you are the one he's said so much about?" Meanwhile, Rolo buried his face in his hands, ready for the worst.
Slowly, Lelouch stalked over to Ruby, the table now silent as they watched in trepidation and curiosity. At the centre of his gaze, Ruby shifted uncomfortably yet felt entranced by his eyes. So when he politely asked "Please stand for me Miss Rose,", she meekly obliged with nought but a squeak of "Okay". She very well could have refused but she felt compelled to heed his command.
He circled her like a predator would its prey, scanning her with his eyes, the sound of his boots on the cafe tiles filling the silence. He had her lift her arms, he measured them, he opened her mouth to look at her teeth and shined a light in her eyes. Meanwhile, the rest of the group watched with fascination. Even Yang, who in any other context would have intervened for her sister. Oddly enough, Rolo seemed annoyed and embarrassed.
Yet she didn't feel like it, partly because she wanted to see how this ended and also because she just loved to see Ruby squirm.
As she was "examined", she hoped that one of her friends would come to her rescue after seeing her in silent distress. Yet none did, which really annoyed Ruby.
She felt so uncomfortable and no one was helping her?! Oh her teammates would pay for this! But what to do? She could confiscate all of Blake's books! Yes, yes. And not the "safe" ones that were in plain sight. Oh, she knew Belladonna's weakness. That FILTH which she knew was hidden in a false bottom in her clothes drawer would have the feline girl grovelling at her knees!
And what about Weiss? She had all her belongings locked up tight. Well her cleanliness and clothes were always a concern for her. Yes, that's it! She would dye the Schnee's clothes neon pink! Oh, the chaos that would reign. Inwardly Ruby began to cackle with glee, following Lelouch's instruction to the bare minimum. A tiny mutter of her plans and a deranged giggle somewhat clued him into her thoughts and his suspicions were confirmed.
'We'll see how successful you are after I'm done with this Ruby,' he mused.
The tiny leader was faintly aware of Lelouch's actions, who currently was measuring her.. leg length? Odd, but she would follow. While she robotically obliged him, she continued to scheme.
'...I could feed Nora a ton of that syrup from earlier to punish Ren! And Jaune? Oh, I'll just take all his clothes and make his wear his onesie on the weekend! Perfect!'
Finally, Yang. Her treacherous sister. What to do? She could do the same as she would to Weiss. But that wasn't enough! She saw the blonde giggle away at her plight! She deserved more! Dye her clothes a hideous colour! Deface her stuff with cookie crumbs! Erase the save file for the games on her scroll! Yes, that would be almost enough. And for the cherry on top, oh she would do the unthinkable!
Put hair dye into the blonde's shampoo, "accidentally" leave some gum in her hair and for her coup de grace, Yang would have a fun midnight meeting with a shaver…
She was brought out of her musings by a waving hand in front of her face. She blinked her eyes and saw Lelouch trying to get her attention.
"Hi Ruby, just need you to do one more thing for me. Is that alright?" he asked. Turns out, he had finished all his "measurements" on her, if the tape in his other hand showed anything.
"Huh? Oh yeah, sure."
"Thanks. So, Miss Rose," he said, switching back to a formal tone, "what is your preferred snack food?"
There was a moment of silence as she looked at him like he grew a second head. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked as she frantically gestured to her plate. "Cookies!"
"Hmm, so Rolo was right then," mused Lelouch, with his younger brother remarking, "Told you so!" from the other side of the table. With that, he rolled up his tape, marched to her front, and in a serious voice, addressed the young team leader.
"Miss Rose, following my examinations, I have collated the results and have come to my conclusion. Rolo," he said as he turned to his brother, "I…"
The three boys slowly rose from their seats, their meals temporarily forgotten as they awaited the outcome.
"..approve. Congratulations," he said with a smile.
The mistrali boy and the tall blond leapt in joy and celebration, shaking their youngest teammate, who just sat slumped in his chair, his expression one of mild shock and disbelief. Someone actually passed the test?! Lelouch approved someone?!
Was this a dream?
The blond teammate raised his glass of milk and boisterously toasted, "To a good first relationship!" A round of cheers from his teammates of the same age, plus the excitable Nora and ever tease-loving Yang, ensued. That however managed to spur Ruby into speaking up. As they began to settle back down into their breakfast, she slammed her hands on the table, getting their attention.
"N-now wait just a minute!" she stammered out. Her face was the reddest it had ever been so far, almost matching Pyrrha's hair. "It's not like that! We're not dating or anything we only danced! We're just friends!" she frantically defended.
There was a collective hiss and "oooh" as the older occupants of the table winced in sympathy.
"Ruby!" gasped Yang in mock shock, a hand flopping over her heart, "How could my dear little sister say that! You don't just friendzone a boy like that!" she said as she smooshed Ruby's cheeks and turned her head to across the table. "Look at him! He's all sad now."
Contrary to what Yang said, Rolo was not. He waved his arms around in frantic denial as he gave his own reply. "I-It's no problem. Really!" he began, "She's right. We're not dating or anything. We only met at the ball and hadn't really seen each other till now! We've only just become friends!"
"Riiiggghht," drawled Lelouch as he munched on his waffle. That got some laughs from the students while Rolo pouted in annoyance. "You do realise that one of the duties of the elder sibling is to tease their juniors' about their love lives right?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Yang happily, "Someone gets it! Put 'em there. Up top!" As she and Lelouch celebrated newfound common ground, Rolo decided that enough was enough.
"Well, at least I have some form of a love life! You've never even gone on a date!" lashed out the boy. Much to her glee, Yang had just found something new to tease about.
"Oooooh. So you're telling me that prince charming over here is completely green? Never dated before you say?" she questioned as she wiggled her eyebrows. Lelouch let out a sigh of resignation and drank his milk before answering.
"It is true. I just never really had time for relationships after the… war. I have had crushes though," he said. The blonde winced in sympathy as she listened in interest.
"And when you do get one," interjected Rolo, "I'll tease you to the ends of Remnant. I'll see you burn! You will rue your days of teasing me! I bet that your first partner will be every bit the demon they are!" he cackled. He could see it now, oh the things he would do t-
"Yeah right shortstack," dismissed Lelouch. The younger brother grew red once more and pouted in anger.
"I'm not short, I'm average height! You guys are just freakishly tall!" he furiously defended.
"Well, you should've drunk your milk when you were younger," cut in his mistrali teammate.
"Which is what I do! I'm a big girl!" asserted Ruby.
"We know you are Rubes," replied Yang dismissively.
"Hang on. Rolo, you blast me for my lack of a love life, citing that you have 'some form' of it," stated Lelouch as he steepled his hands. His eyes, sharp and calculating, bore into Rolo's own.
"Uh oh," muttered the mistrali under his breath. Jaune, who was seated across from him, leaned over. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"When Lelouch does something like that, he usually pins someone, if not outright destroys them," answered the mistrali. The students watched the conversation with bated breath. Meanwhile, Rolo could not help but feel a sense of dread, as if he just screwed himself.
"So is there someone else you're seeing or are you and Ruby here more… intimate than you let on?"
'Check and mate, little brother,' he mentally finished.
This time, both subjects sputtered out denials and reaffirmations of "just being friends", which for all parties concerned, was just a ticket for them to tease the two even further.
"Alright, that's enough," spoke Weiss, "surely we can talk about other things than my dolt of a partner's love life right?"
"But Weisscream," whined Yang," I need to do my own exam! If he gets to check out my sister, I get to do the same to his brother!" She then leaned across the table, stretching across to get a closer look of Rolo, much to the Schnee's irritation. Couldn't they focus on something else?! In his flustered state, he failed to move out of the way of a grasping hand that shot forward and took his chin.
"Hmm," mused Yang. She tilted his head from side to side, up and down. "Cute eyes, sharp nose." She pulled his chin down, opening his mouth. "Good teeth."
Seemingly satisfied, she pulled her hand away from the boy and proclaimed, "Well boyo, I think you're just fine for Ruby! I think you'll make a cute couple."
"Yaaanng, stop it! You're embarrassing me!" whined Ruby.
"Aw what's wrong Ruby, don't want to be embawwassed in fwont of your widdle crush?" teased Yang. "Besides," she said as she turned back to face him, "polite, meek, honest, what's not to like?! His cute widdle cat ears are a bonus too!"
"Oh please, M-miss Xiao Long. You're t-too kind!" stammered Rolo, trying to be modest. "Like we've said before, we're only friends! There needs to be time before we can decide if we're ready to...to...to..."
Unfortunately for him, when Rolo tried to look away from the blonde's lilac gaze, he made the mistake of looking down. With her leaning over the table, he got a good EYEFUL of her two glorious fleshy mounds and the valley between. He tried to speak, but his tongue would not respond. As he struggled to finish his sentence, he began to heat up.
"Yo Rolo. Everything alright?" asked the tall blond as he leaned over. He hadn't been paying much attention after Lelouch's retort, instead focusing on his seventh serving of pancakes. He only started listening when Yang began talking about Rolo.
So imagine his surprise when he decided to check on his teammate only to have his jaw drop at the full view of her wonderful... assets. Slowly, he sat back down, clasped his hands together and looked towards the sky.
"Thank you," he whimpered as a lone tear came down. Never let it be said that they were not blessed that day.
"Hey!" barked Yang as she snapped her finger in front of Rolo's stunned face. As he blinked out of his stupor, she continued. "I know, I know, they're amazing but geez! You can only pick one of us and I think Ruby is better suited for you. So no staring at the girls unless..you prefer me?" She said that last bit in a soft and tender tone, sending shivers all over the Britannian team.
"N-no. I don't." stammered out Rolo. "B-but that's not to mean that you don't look good yourself it's just that.."
As he tried to defend himself, he felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping his flustered rant short. Looking behind him, he saw Lelouch standing behind him, an amused grin on his face.
"Relax Rolo, she's just teasing you. You don't have to worry about offending her… for now," said Lelouch.
"Can we please just talk about literally anything else?!" butt in Weiss. She couldn't stand this nonsensical banter anymore!
Ignoring Weiss, Yang continued to speak to Rolo as she sat back down in her seat. "You're alright," she said, "However, if you ever make my little sister cry, I will make you regret even meeting her. Got that?" she threatened as she leaned forward, looking menacing.
Though that image wasn't really put across as their attention was drawn to her breasts (again). The red eyes and the glowing hair did help her case though.
Rolo gulped nervously before responding, "Y-yes ma'am!"
And just like that, she switched back from her scary disposition to the carefree, fun-loving blonde they first met at the battle.
"Good boy!" she praised.
"I must agree with Miss Schnee by the way," cut in Lelouch, "As fun as it is to tease our younger siblings concerning their romantic commitments, I admit that it is tiring. Perhaps we can change the subject to something more… relevant to the rest of the table?" He gestured to the rest of the students, who silently watched the exchange unfold as they ate their breakfast.
Yang winced when she realised just how long this had been going on. "Yeah, you're right. We should," she conceded.
"But before we do, you never had a girlfriend right?" she asked.
"Yes as I've said before, I never found the time for a relationship in the past, nor do I encourage one given the tournament in a month's time. However, you are free to act on that information as you wish. Who knows? We may end up together," he replied. Reaching across, he took her hand.
"Mademoiselle," he punctuated as he kissed it. Yang blushed slightly at his ministrations but collected herself. She could revel in the attention later.
"Well then, perhaps we could practice now. For when I do act on it," she coyly replied. Slowly, she prowled across the table from her side to his. His teammates watched in anticipation while the Beacon students watched in curiosity. As they came closer, faces inches apart, the spectators held their breath. Were they about to…? The two could now feel each others' breath. Just a little further and-
"YANG!"
The shout brought them out of their little moment, her little sister now trying to change the topic. "Stop being gross!" she complained, "Now's not the time!"
"And why not Ruby?" cheekily replied Yang as she sat back down. "Scared that you and widdle Wolo will be cowwupted?" she continued. Her little sister's hasty denial was all the confirmation she needed.
"She is right," chimed in Lelouch, "it is hardly the time nor place for… this. Perhaps sometime in the future. And even then it's unlikely."
"I guess you're right," relented Yang with a sigh. "Just remember that my offer still stands, prince charming. We might just have a ball of a time" she said with a flirtatious wink.
It was a pity they were interrupted, but oh well. She could see herself trying again in the next few weeks. Even if she couldn't get him, his teammates would do nicely too. The braided one (Gino was it?) especially.
"Yes. Well, moving onto other topics-" began Lelouch after having finished a fruit bowl.
"FINALLY!" cut in an irate Weiss.
"-do you guys have any plans after this? Just curious to know," he finished.
"I think," said Ruby as she yawned and took a stretch, "we're just gonna head back to our dorms and konk out. What about you JNPR?"
"Eehhh, we're probably going to take about an hour more to rest up before we hit that deputy mission we had before the battle," replied Jaune. The sheriff was just a call away after all.
"And you Lelouch?"
The black-haired boy in question, having just polished off another plate of food (how much did they eat?!), took a sip from his espresso before replying.
"Most likely? We're going to follow Team RWBY and sleep as long as we want. Just need to clear up any paperwork, get our bags, find our room and confirm that we've got free time from our handler. Though we might be due for a media appearance. We're on standby for the prime minister."
A chuckle brought their attention to Lelouch's blond teammate. "That's so like Lelouch," he began, "any chance he gets, he sleeps if there's nothing to do. Just a lazy little fu-"
"Ap!" cut in Lelouch, placing a hand on his shoulder. He threw a thumb to the Beacon students, to Ruby in particular. "Kids around," he stated. His teammate's eyes widened with understanding and with slowly, the leader removed his hand.
"Fffuuuuuuu-dgesicle!" finished the blond.
"Nice save," sarcastically remarked Rolo.
"Hey um, quick question," probed Ruby, "we never actually learnt your names so could you introduce yourselves to us… please?" She faded into a nervous mutter at the end. She just made these friends. She didn't want to lose them!
"That… is true actually. Can't believe we forgot that," said Lelouch. He took another sip of his coffee and stood up.
"Right, well," he started, "We're Team LRGS (Largesse). I think you already know me but I'll introduce myself again. I'm Lelouch Lamperouge, the leader of this motley crew."
"Hello!" greeted Rolo with a wave, "My name's Rolo. Rolo Lamperouge. I'm Lelouch's younger brother."
"And Ruby's boyfriend," coughed out Yang.
"SHUT UP!" exclaimed Ruby as she shook her sister by the arms.
"Anyway," chimed in Lelouch, "this swordsman here is my partner, Suzaku Kururugi." He gestured to his side, towards the now named mistrali (presumably). The boy with bandaged arms gave a wave of his own, swallowing his toast before acknowledging them with a polite "Greetings!"
"Nice to meet you Suzaku," said Jaune as he reached over for a handshake. "Hope your arms will get better in time for the tournament."
"Oh! Thank you for the well wishes," spoke Suzaku, " but I'm sure they'll be fine by the end of the week, especially with aura."
"That's good to hear!" responded the blonde leader. An understanding nod left their conversation at that, sitting down and turning their attention to the final LRGS member.
"And this brutish, brainless blonde here is Gino Weinberg." He pat the back of the blonde on his right, who had just downed some orange juice. In his spate of inattention, he did not initially process the introduction, only wiping his lip to look presentable.
"'Sup!" he greeted jovially. Meanwhile, a mesmerized Yang savoured her view as her gaze hopped from one Britannian to another, tuning out of the general conversations.
So many choices.
But when she heard "brutish, brainless blonde", her mind was taken back to all the times in combat school when she was labelled just that, her schoolmates bullying her in an attempt to push her down. Of course, she'd beat them down afterwards but such insults were still a sore spot. Thus, under that assumption, her eyes turned red as she reared herself to retaliate, locking on to the so-called "culprit".
With Gino, as he observed the muffled giggles, he was left wondering, 'What are they laughing about?' Then, as realisation dawned on him, his laid back demeanour gave way to an annoyed scowl. At the same time, Yang decided to confront Lelouch at that moment. So, as one they closed in on him.
"Hey!"
Lelouch stared calmly at Yang's burning gaze, inches away from his own, taking a moment to take in his surroundings. Gino had leaned over in his response while Yang had slammed her hands on the table and practically shot over to him, burning glares directed at him.
"Yang," he calmly began, "you do know I'm talking about Gino right?"
"He's right you know," chimed in Blake. She placed her hand on Yang's shoulder and pulled her partner back to her seat. "He was introducing Gino here."
As the rage dissipated, Yang blushed upon realising her actions. 'Can't believe you did that Yang!' she mentally chided herself. "S-sorry for jumping to conclusions," she sheepishly apologised.
"It's alright," assured Lelouch. "And Gino, you took like 7 seconds to realise what I said. The evidence speaks for itself, you git."
Gino turned away and scoffed. "Whatever, you pompous prick."
"Back on topic!" cut in Suzaku. Thankfully, the argument hadn't gotten too heated yet. Didn't want a repeat of the gym incident after all.
As the two arguing boys sat back down, Gino cleared his throat and muttered out, "Sorry."
"My apologies," followed Lelouch.
"So back to the conversation," spoke Pyrrha, "you guys showed up with and reported to an official back at the battle. A Schneizel el Britannia right?"
"Correct," remarked Lelouch. "Also, he's the Prime Minister, not just an official," he corrected.
"I've rarely, if not never, heard of trainee huntsmen being assigned as bodyguards to a diplomat, much less one as important as the Prime Minister."
"Especially considering the recent history between your Kingdom and ours," remarked Weiss. The Beacon students, save for Ruby, mulled over her words and almost immediately caught onto the hidden meaning, eyes widening in realisation wincing in what they thought was a jab. Any student worth their salt in recent history would know about the longstanding rivalry between Atlas and Britannia after all.
Lelouch sucked in air through his teeth as he tried to formulate a response. "Yes, well," he began, "we were more like a temporary addition to his security detail. We are here for the tournament after all. Our tenure as part of his escort lasted only till we arrived in Vale. Then we would break off. Besides, it's not as if he's more at risk because his guards are students, even given the local reception towards our Kingdom. We were chosen for this task for a reason. Also, His Highness is not just the Prime Minister. He's also the Second Prince."
"Right," replied Weiss.
"In the end, it boils down to appearances," he continued, "Think about it this way. We want to rebuild relations with the Kingdoms but we can't risk reminding the people of the war, lest they still cling to the memories and foster hatred towards my homeland. We don't want another conflict on our hands. So a large escort force was not favourable. Which is why you only saw the Pinafore this morning. A relatively small vessel. Not to mention the rivalry between Atlas and Britannia would cause some trouble if we were thought to be invading. The same reason why we trainees were part of his security detail. Huntsmen, or in our case Paladins, whether student or professional, are symbols that are meant to inspire hope in the public. Naturally, they are viewed as more trustworthy and benevolent. Even if some are only in it for the money. So our presence instead of, say, professional soldiers, barring his personal guard, is more appealing and calming to the public. While soldiers are the logical, professional and typical choice for security details, we have an image that we need to get rid off. The presence of troops would only backfire on us. That answer your question?"
"...Very much. Thank you," said Weiss after digesting everything.
"Wuhhh?" voiced out Ruby. She was completely lost.
"They didn't bring soldiers, they cause fights. Huntsmen don't," summarised Weiss.
"Not to mention that His Highness is a certified Paladin," chimed in Gino. "He can hold his own if he needs to."
"That too," conceded Lelouch. "So, any other questions?"
"Umm," hesitated Ruby, "What's a Prime Minister?"
The chatter among the group ceased and was replaced with silence as their heads turned toward her, incredulous stares plastered onto them.
"You dolt! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to ask such a basic question?!" admonished Weiss as she bonked Ruby on the head. "Did you pay any attention during the history lesson?"
"I was sleepy from all our assignments and you know it!" defended Ruby. "Besides, Oobleck goes too fast!"
"Oh that's ironic!"
"I don't know what that means!"
"Actually, what is a Prime Minister?" asked Jaune. "The opening lesson covering your Kingdom was really content-heavy."
"I made a paper giraffe that lesson!" exclaimed Nora with her mouthful of pancakes. "I broke its neck!" she said in an eerily chipper tone.
"... Rrrrrright. Well, most of the Kingdoms have been run by councils for the past few generations so really I can't blame Ruby for not knowing," spoke up Suzaku. "Lelouch?" he asked as he turned to his partner.
"You can think of the Prime Minister as the leader of your council. I know you don't have one but just imagine, say for example, that one had more votes or power over the others. Like General Ironwood. The Prime Minister is like the aide to the throne and helps the monarch carry out policy and preside over the regional representatives while also sitting on the royal council. In some emergencies, when the current monarch and their heirs are unavailable, the Prime Minister takes up responsibility in running the Kingdom."
"So the Second Prince is like the King's right-hand man?" probed Pyrrha.
"Emperor Miss Nikos," corrected Lelouch. "Some of my countrymen are very anal about the terminology."
"Interesting," remarked Weiss. 'And typical,' she finished offhandedly.
"So any other questions?"
"Yes!" answered Blake in a muted, yet unusually eager manner, "Is it true that Faunus have better social standings in your Kingdom?"
"Empire, Miss Belladonna."
"Call me Blake."
"Well Blake, that is in fact-"
Suddenly, a scroll's message alert chimed. Lelouch reached into his pocket and looked at the screen of what seemed to be a brand new scroll. Custom too if that purple casing was any indication.
"Sorry folks," said Lelouch as he put it back in his pocket, "looks like we'll have to continue this conversation another time, if not during our classes themselves. Need to oversee the transfer of some Grimm AND we got a press briefing afterwards. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for your answer, Blake. Though I will say that it is true." With that, he waved to the chef, who waved back cheerfully. Meanwhile, the bystanders who watched their home's defenders in awed stupor rushed toward them, young children and grateful citizens eager for the chance to snap a picture with their valiant defenders.
" 'Hopefully they won't be too much trouble' huh?" deadpanned Ren as he looked at Pyrrha. To her credit, she sheepishly looked away and whimpered out, "Sorry!"
"Here we go again" bemoaned Jaune. Couldn't they catch a break?! He glanced over to Team LRGS, who not only had fully kitted up, but were clearing their adoring public at surprising speeds, taking photos and acknowledging thanks in seconds.
'How are they doing that!?' Ruby asked herself. While they seemed to glide through the crowd and bask in the limelight, she and her schoolmates were absolutely SWAMPED by their "fans". Some of them took it in their stride, like Pyrrha, Weiss, Nora and Yang. Her sister was taking time to pose for crying out loud! Others tried, and failed to, sneak past the people. As scroll cameras flashed, she could only desperately look for a way out but to no avail, only able to scoot through the fans at most.
Oh, what she wouldn't give to escape this ordeal! Apparently, Pyrrha had the same idea and acted upon it, using her semblance to slowly but noticeably push her schoolmates towards the edge of the throng.
Meanwhile, as he worked through his adoring crowd (with a suspiciously large female denomination), Lelouch felt that something was… off. So, he scanned his surroundings. The crowds were risks but in no way, the primary threat and the street cameras were sweeping their usual arcs. His teammates were swamped by their fans, giving them pats on their back and posing for pictures. None of them seemed to be suspicious so it wasn't the crowds.
As he looked to the rooftops of the commercial district, a noticeable glint caught his eye. There! Right there!
Apparently, the mysterious eavesdropper saw him too, for not long after he spotted them, the glint vanished, a silhouette too far away to make out escaping his gaze.
"Lelouch? Everything alright?" asked Gino.
"I'm fine," he replied without turning to the blonde.
"Sure. Whatever you say," gave in Gino. Lelouch continued to squint at the spy's vantage point. To most, it would seem that the Team Leader was taking in the sights. But Gino knew better. He did not spend a childhood with his teammate without knowing his ticks and habits. The way he scanned the environment meant one thing.
Someone was watching them. But who?
At 07:50, Cinder Fall could be found standing atop a building, revelling in the glory of a flawless plan. As her pawns both stirred and quelled the chaos in the streets of Vale, she could be found watching from afar, satisfied with how everything turned out. Roman played his part well. Beacon and the Atlas forces responded as predicted. The council WILL lose their trust in Ozpin. All according to plan.
At 08:00, her pawns came back to her and with the results of her plan in full view, the bull-headed "colleague" that was Adam Taurus was more than willing to commit to her future scheme. Perfect.
Then, at 08:20, her usual calm, composed, smug demeanour was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was fiery, unbridled RAGE, just barely held together. She silently seethed as she took in the information about the britannians' intervention. They dare!? The second wave was meant to cripple the public's confidence, not galvanise them!
Great. Instead of a doubtful reception, the citizens of Vale were now more than grateful for the military presence. And with the britannians present, the unknown elements just made things a lot more difficult. A few (discreetly) wrecked rooftops and warehouse items later, she finally managed to calm herself down. Now was not the time to throw a tantrum. 'It certainly is a setback,' she told herself. 'But one that I can use.'
Her time will come. She will have her vengeance. NOTHING will stand in her way, in her quest for power. Not even a few pesky unknowns. She will have power, so that she would no longer suffer as she once did.
The Britannian-Atlesian rivalry was well known and so was the general public's opinion of the empire, barring today's events. If she could stir those feelings and whip up a storm, her grand scheme would practically set itself and her goal would fall right into her lap. Perfect.
The best way to do that? Target the symbols of cooperation. Find their weakness.
And then strike.
The nuisances (Paladins, from what she heard) won't know what hit them. They, along with any hope of unity the fool Ozpin had for the people, would be crushed under her heel.
But one must know their enemy, no?
So, as the twelve students made their way back to Beacon, a pair of amber eyes tracked their every move like a predator.
"Intriguing," purred Cinder to herself. After she had been spotted the first time, she had relocated from the bakery across from the diner to a clock tower a few blocks down.
She took out her scroll and dialled a number, keeping her gaze on her quarry. "Mercury, are you getting this?"
"Got them in my visual boss lady," came the silver-haired boy's voice. A few blocks down, closer to the bullhead ports, he lay prone on a roof. His scroll lay next to him on speaker as he trained a camera onto the targets. No flash, of course.
The sound of the shutter clicking away made Cinder glad. "Good," she spoke, "Keep it up. We'll meet up at the dorms afterwards. Don't get spotted. I almost was."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Ending her call with the assassin, she dialled in the number for her thief. "Emerald, do you have your eye on them?"
"I do, ma'am."
"Did you manage to plant the bugs on them?" she asked.
"Yes, I did. Blending into the crowd was a piece of cake."
"Perfect. Patch us through and tail them. Make sure you are not seen."
"Right away."
Turns out, all that dust that Roman stole for them was very valuable, especially to his associates. With the promise of a steady supply, they were eating out of the palm of her hand and were willing to oblige any requests.
These listening devices were definitely worth the trade.
Emerald's voice brought her back to the present. "Ma'am, we're online."
"Good. Let's learn a little more about the guests, shall we?"
-Page Break-
"So, Lelouch. How old are you guys? How are all of you so tall? What are you doing with that coin?" asked Ruby.
"Rolo's sixteen going on seventeen. The rest of us are nineteen. Good genetics. Dexterity exercise," briefly answered Lelouch. As the twelve made their way to the bullhead ports, he absentmindedly played with a silver coin, flipping it between his fingers. While the others made small talk, Ruby decided to try and rub shoulders with her fellow team leader. It seemed that Jaune had the same idea, pulling back from asking Weiss out (again) to listen in.
"Wait, you're a third year?" queried Jaune.
"First year, actually. We're freshmen. Paladin schooling starts later than a Huntsman's."
"Why do you guys call yourselves that?" asked Ruby.
"What, paladins?"
"Yeah, that. Why not huntsmen?"
"It's a cultural thing. I'll save the details for another time," replied Lelouch.
"Soooo Rolo is an early entry like me?"
"Very much so. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. It's just nice to know that I'm not the only one."
"Ah, I see. You were feeling apprehensive, scared about entering Beacon early. Is that it?" he probed.
"Yeah! How did you know?"
"He confided in me about similar feelings. I can tell. Any other reason you're asking?"
"Wellll," hesitated Ruby. She took a glance at Jaune, who thankfully slotted himself into other conversations ahead, before turning back to Lelouch.
"He lied to me," she said bluntly.
"...Is it about where he's from?" guessed Lelouch.
"Yes. He said he was from Nihon. And he sounded so sincere too! He didn't mention anything about Britannia."
Lelouch could feel the hurt in her voice. 'Already breaking hearts, Rolo' he chuckled to himself. "Think of it this way, Ruby," he began. "While he was alone, widespread knowledge of his... origins would bear no benefit. I'm sure you are aware of the events concerning our Kingdoms?"
"Yeah, I do. Kinda."
With a chuckle, he continued. "Then you must realise the amount of heartbreak most of the Four Kingdoms experienced during said events. I think that he feared to draw any negative attention towards him while he was without his team. You see, he was just as scared as you were. That and he did not want to bring negative attention to any of the friends he made here. Like you."
"Oh. I ...didn't know that," she whimpered. He lied because he was concerned for her? And she was mad at him? How could she have done that?! She could have pushed him away! What happened to friends and normal knees?! Now she just felt awful, the guilt in feeling the way she did made her want to crawl in a hole.
A ruffling hand on her head made her turn back to the older ravenette. "There, there," he comforted with an assuring grin, "No need to be upset with yourself. He still lied after all and you are entitled to feeling angry, if you want to. Besides, I promise to give him a talking to and get him to apologise. Will that help?"
"A bit," sniffled Ruby as she collected herself. 'You can't be crying at every little thing now Ruby,' she chided herself, 'You're a big girl now!'
"I do suggest that you approach him on the topic however. It coming from me is not the same if it came from a friend he made on his own. Is that alright?"
"Yeah," replied Ruby, "I'll do it!"
"Alright. Cool," grinned Lelouch. "Feeling better now?"
"Yes. Thank you!" she chirped.
"No problem. Now, any other questions?"
A light *PING* drew her attention to the coin, which did a flip in the air before dancing in his fingers again.
"Umm. Could you teach me how to do that?" Ruby meekly asked.
A light chuckle came in response. "Of course Ruby. So, you need to position your fingers like so…"
-Page break-
"What idiotic conversation is this?! Makes me want to puke," complained Emerald. "Are you sure these are the same guys Cinder?"
"Don't question me Emerald," chastised the pseudo-maiden. "We have need to study them further."
"But they're only making small talk! The most we have is that the cat lied to little red and that she feels guilty! That's it!" whined the thief. This was such a waste of time.
"I assure you, profiling them will do us wonders for our plans. You need to know some patience. Understood?"
A defeated sigh on the other end signalled an end to the argument. "Yes ma'am," ground itself out from the other end of the line and Cinder could hear the gritted teeth.
"Good," she smirked. "Let's continue now shall we? Hopefully, Mercury has good pictures." With that, she turned back to her binoculars.
-Page Break-
"..You've got the movement down but you need a bit of practice to speed it up. I'm sure you'll get it!" encouraged Lelouch.
"Cool! Thanks Lelouch. Hey Yang! Look what Lelouch taught me!" Ruby ran off to the front of the group like a little puppy, excited to show off her new tricks. Lelouch smiled and giggled at the sight, bringing him back to simpler times. 'Happier times,' he added ruefully.
His eyes glanced up at a convex mirror as they approached the junction. Up ahead was the bridge that linked the commercial and residential districts of Vale. 'That old lady has been on the same route as us for the past half hour' he scrutinised. His eyes sharpened as he came to a realisation.
'We're being followed.'
He looked ahead to the rest of the group, looking to pass on the information. It was unlikely for Ozpin to do such a thing given the situation. Ironwood perhaps but this was not his style. 'Nonetheless,' he mentally asserted, 'I need to let one of the others know.'
"Gino!" he called out, "Do you have a moment? Need to talk to you about the Grimm transport later."
"Sure thing! Just a sec! Ruby, that looks awesome! Keep it up! Now, if you'll excuse me ladies," said the blonde as he exited the conversation. He was chatting happily with Yang, Blake and Ruby when Lelouch called to him. Letting the rest of the group proceed ahead of him, he let Lelouch catch up. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked.
"Oh it's nothing. But I think we should go over how we'll.." Lelouch snapped his fingers twice as he spoke, catching Gino's attention and causing his eyes to narrow, "..incapacitate and subdue them later. Any ideas?"
"Well I think the cages should hold. Why do you ask?"
Lelouch put a hand on Gino's shoulder, slowing down and putting distance between them and the rest. "Schau nicht hin. Wir werden verfolgt," whispered Lelouch with a cautious tone.
"Was?" hushedly replied Gino.
"Konvexer spiegel voraus. Dieselbe alte Dame, seit wir das restaurant verlassen haben," murmured Lelouch.
Gino's eyes darted up and took a look at the mirror. He could see the reflection of the old lady and something was definitely off. She was holding a bunch of shopping but was moving remarkably fast, all things considered, maintaining the same tailing distance.
"Das denkst du?" he questioned.
"Ja," Lelouch briefly answered.
"Was machen wir?"
"Reagiere nicht. Stellen sie sich vor, sie bemerken es nicht. Hat dich jemand im diner berührt?"
Gino scoffed. "Ist der Himmel blau?" he asked rhetorically.
"In Ordung. Dann wurden wir wahrscheinlich mit Abhörgeräten markiert. Chatte weiter, bis wir zu unseren Schlafsälen kommen. Wir haben ungefähr eine Stunde Ruhe. Wir werden sie dort loswerden. Verstanden?"
"Ja," Gino replied.
"Good! So we've come to an agreement then?" asked Lelouch, switching back to the common tongue.
"Yep! So to summarise, we may need to restrain one or two right?"
"Yeah just make sure the rowdier ones stay in place. The hardware should hold by itself. They need to be on display for the tour after all."
"Gotcha. Anything else?"
"No, I think we're good."
"Hey Lelouch! Gino! You guys gonna catch up or what?! We're getting ice cream!" called out Yang.
"At this time of day?!" came Weiss' incredulous cry.
"Shut up Weiss!" came Ruby's response. "We're celebrating!"
"Coming!" called out Gino as he and his leader jogged up to the rest.
Up on a nearby roof, Cinder had put down the binoculars in favour of sitting in daze, trying to process what she heard.
She understood squat.
"-inder. Are you there? Cinder!" Emerald's voice crackled over the scroll. Her visage of lost confusion morphed into the beginnings of annoyance as she snatched up her scroll.
"What?!" she demanded in irritation.
"What the hell was that?! What were they saying?!" Emerald was clearly beginning to panic. That hushed tone though told Cinder that she was still tailing them.
The half-maiden sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Things just got a lot harder. Gritting her teeth, her response ground itself out.
"I don't know."
Down by the sidewalk, Emerald gave the faintest of gasps, focused on maintaining her illusion and keeping a distance. Did Cinder just admit to a shortfall?
"What do you mean?" she asked nervously.
"I'm saying that I do not understand what they said!" hissed her leader over the line.
Back on the rooftops, Cinder took a moment to breathe and compose herself. This was not how she should be acting! Tantrums were for children!
Once she was calm, she picked her scroll back up. "You're still following them right?"
"Yeah."
"Are the bugs recording their conversations?" she followed up.
"They always were," came Emerald's brief reply. 'Where's Cinder going with this?' she wondered.
"Good. Keep recording. I'll send what needs translation over to… Watts," said Cinder. She had to repress a groan at that last part. No doubt that once they contacted him for help that he would hold this over her head for a long time.
Sometimes she wished she could wring that smug scientist's neck and be done with him.
"What? Why? Don't you hate him or something?"
"Because he's the most likely one with the knowledge to understand and translate what they said, you idiot!"
There it was again. That anger at herself was seeping through again.
"Apologies," Cinder continued as she cleared her throat. "As much as it pains me, we… need his knowledge and expertise in this area. The most I could make of it was that they were speaking in an old dialect."
"Right then. Any change of plans?" asked Emerald. By now she sat in a bus stop opposite the ice cream parlour the students were in. It was really hard to focus on their conversation while talking to Cinder.
"Keep following them back to Beacon and keep recording till then. I have a feeling that the bugs will be discovered anyway. Then we meet up back in our room. We should have enough info on them to complete those profiles by then. Now back to work, I have other errands to attend to," ordered Cinder.
"Alright, ma'am."
A short *beep* chimed and the call ended, leaving Cinder alone to stew with her thoughts. As she did so, she moved over to another roof and brought her sights onto the gaggle of students. As much as she tried to ignore it, the conversational curveball she was thrown just now would not get out of her head. And so, she found her gaze drifting to the back of the group, towards the black-haired britannian, who currently was chatting with the redhead from JNPR (the dumb one). Something about "robots" and "skinning an Ursa". Such trivial topics.
Yet, as she continued to watch them, she found herself unable to take her eyes off him. She saw something that the others seemed to have missed.
A mask.
She had to give him credit. He had a nigh flawless facade. But she knew. She could tell that his mind was not completely there, she could see that his eyes were darting around when no one was looking. His stance, seemingly relaxed, held tension. As if he were ready to spring into battle at the slightest trigger. Turns out all that training she underwent had its uses. And it wasn't as if he was like this all the time. She saw him back at the diner. He was completely relaxed.
'What are you hiding, Lelouch Lamperouge?' she wondered.
Now, how was she to go about this? She could just carry on as normal. Trample over them once the power was hers. But as long as she did not have an accurate gauge of the unknown threats, it was far too risky to do that. A more personal touch was needed then.
"But who to choose?" she mused.
She needed time to think it through. But what was certain was that she could not afford to have them stand in her way. They were enticing candidates as unwitting pawns, however.
"So many choices," she purred smugly. Oh she was going to enjoy this.
-With Team LRGS-
"Alright Lelouch, what was going on back there? You were tense," noted Suzaku. Shortly after they had arrived at Beacon, they had to part ways with their newly made friends and collect their belongings. Now they were just getting settled in their room. (Which up till now had been Rolo's.)
He was silenced with a quick "shh!" before his team leader spoke. "We were being followed."
"What?" asked Rolo.
"Check your clothes and weapons. I think we were bugged," continued Lelouch. As he did, he casually reached up to his right shoulder and picked at what seemed to be a random spot until his hand pulled back and held a small, black piece of plastic no larger than a button. "Look for these."
The four boys began to frantically pat themselves down, looking for the tiny devices. Eventually, they managed to pluck off all of them, finding a dozen bugs in total. After they were done, Lelouch passed one over to his teammates. "Tell me what you see."
"Very low-tech," noted Rolo.
"Small too. Probably has a short range," said Suzaku.
"I think it's Atlesian," inferred Gino.
"I thought so too. But remember, Ironwood is currently operating under the banner of peace with Ozpin. They would not want to jeopardise this opportunity. And even then, this is not the General's MO. That said, we should keep an eye out," commented Lelouch. After he did, he took the pile of bugs, brushed them into a bin and put it in the bathroom. "I think I'll burn those afterwards when it's convenient."
-With Team CM(N)E-
"Looks like you were right Cinder," drawled Mercury. In Beacon's eastern student dormitories, the trio had regrouped in their room and were sitting around Cinder's scroll, casually listening in on the conversation. The scroll gave a short *blip* as the servant of Salem cut the connection.
"Of course I was," she offhandedly said.
"Now what?"
"We continue to blend in. Make sure to analyse them in the upcoming lessons. Find any weaknesses. I'll figure out how to handle them."
-With Team LRGS-
"So in other words, you're saying there's a third party?" asked Suzaku.
"That is the most likely scenario, yes," affirmed his leader. "But who though?"
"Outside the General, we have no other lead suspects. So I think that the culprit is either connected to our "associate" in some way or form OR they are blending into the student cohorts," continued Lelouch.
"Maybe it's both," joked Gino.
"Perhaps. We don't know."
"How did you come to this, brother?" asked Rolo.
"Let's call it experience with grandfather plus a gut feeling."
"But what could they want?" wondered Suzaku.
"That is what remains to be seen. Currently we can only guess."
-With Team CM(N)E-
"But what about them? Or at least the leader. He's obviously suspicious now!" worried Emerald.
"Fear not. Once little Neo, I'm sorry, "Noire" joins us, we'll have a full team. You just need to act your parts. That's all. Besides, I doubt that a barbarian, much less a britannian, could catch on so quickly and precisely," Cinder calmly replied.
-With Team LRGS-
"But what is certain," continued Lelouch, "is that someone wants to know about all our hard work. Possibly sabotage it too."
"So should we seek them out first? Nip this in the bud?" prompted Gino.
"No, it's fine. You guys just carry out our orders and keep your eyes peeled. Otherwise, enjoy your time here. I'll look into this personally," refused Lelouch.
-With Team CMNE-
"Of course," Cinder continued, "arrogance comes before the fall. But we would have already succeeded by then."
-With LRGS-
"I'll find our little spies. And when I do,"
-With CM(N)E-
"Once that happens, I'll find the vermin. And when I do,"
-With Lelouch-
"I'll make them beg for death!"
-With Cinder-
"I'll burn them to ash!"
x
Team Profiles:
Subject: Team LRGS (Largesse)
Members:
- Lelouch Lamperouge (Leader)
- Rolo Lamperouge
- Gino Weinberg
- Suzaku Kururugi
A.K.A:
- The Four Horsemen
- Monastery's finest
- The bois
Headmaster's comments:
Team LRGS is, without a doubt, one of the finest teams that Monastery Academy has seen in years, all fine young men. As Squires, they excel at what they do and possess impeccable teamwork. They cover each other's weaknesses well and when one member is around, it is not often that his team is somewhere nearby. Despite their status, however, they connect easily with the rest of the student body, with two of their members taking up positions on the Student Council. It is a blessing that they do not face as much harassment as one would expect considering some of its members' heritages. But boys will still be boys and while they have stellar performances, this leads to them occasionally skipping class and wreaking havoc in the school. Nonetheless, they are a well-oiled machine when the time calls for it. Should they be offered an advance in their education, I would be remiss to ignore it, seeing their boundless potential.
But it would be foolish to cap their growth by sending them out to the field full-time so soon. They have much more to learn, no matter what it may seem, and they are all entitled to make memories and experience their late youth like the rest of their peers, especially considering what some of them are fated to become in the future.
Signed,
Ruben K. Ashford
Headmaster of Monastery
Translations (by order of appearance)(rough google translations):
-Don't look. We are being followed.
-What?
-Convex mirror ahead. The same old lady since we left the restaurant.
-You think so?
-Yes.
-What do we do?
-Don't respond. Pretend you don't notice. Did someone touch you in the diner?
-Is the sky blue?
-Alright. Then we were probably tagged with listening devices. Keep chatting until we get to our dorms. We have about an hour of rest. We'll get rid of them there. Understood?
-Yes.
Hoo whee! That was a tiring chapter! It may be messy when it comes to describing the food but that's kind of the effect I wanted. So just put in any arbitrary breakfast food you can think off.
Note: I got Neo's pseudonym and Cinder's team name from here - wiki/Thread:344019
I thought I'd try something a little different. You can see that I'm gonna incorporate some euro languages here and there (terribly; I'm using google translate after all. I'm sorry). Their names will be changed to fit the story of course. But should I continue typing in different languages, and posting the (rough) translations below? Or should I use special quotations to denote them speaking another language (eg (x), [x], {x} etc)? Do lmk.
Also, I set up some new polls and I tweaked the first one so do go and check them out!
Until next time, this is backwardsaile, thanking you for reading and hoping that y'all stay safe out there!
(Note: 06/05/20. I just realised that you can only have one poll up on your profile at a time [which sucks]. So imma be cycling the polls occasionally.)