Roman
When his partner in crime went ahead to, and he quoted "Care of some business" with a skip to her step, he assumed many things. Which include, but not limited to, assault, vandalism, death of innocent civilians, the destruction of minor gangs, etc.
But what he did not expect was for the ice cream mercenary to be followed by some bootleg Schnee with silver eyes, as if he wasn't white color themed hair and skin enough. Even the faunuses that worked within the dilapidated repository had to glance twice, they already had to work with one racist, adding a Schnee onto the mix wasn't particularly ideal.
But Roman's glare was enough to settle down their rampant thoughts and gazes, forcefully making them redirect them back to their assignments, lest they piss off the ginger man with a dangerous amount of eye liner.
Rubbing his temples with his left hand, he could only watch as the Ice Cream Mercenary strolled into his hideout, the child following her steps very closely: as if that provided some form of safety. Neo and safety, two words that had no right mixing.
Giving a deep and exhausted sigh, he exasperatedly spoke "When I said you could get a pet, I meant a cute little puppy or beowolf, maybe even a faunus, not the little child we met in the dark alley!"
Although his racist remark left some glares to redirect to him, none of the faunus workers dared to retaliate to the verbal comment. They simply gnashed their teeth and continued to push on boxes but their scowls remained the same, even if they were forced to work for the man, that didn't mean they had to enjoy it.
Roman's headache only increased by the forming string of letters, ever since she learned her new neat trick, it's been a pain to simply get her to text him.
[What, he's cute enough, plus, his hair, it's fluffy.]
As if to prove her point, Neo pushed the boy forward and with a grasp over his shoulder she ran her pale and small hand through his snowy locks, occasionally rubbing his scalp like one would to a small pup.
Watching his expression change between flushed and irritated, it actually drew out a grin from the ginger haired gentleman.
The brat was amusing, he'll give her that.
Roman only watched for a few more seconds before humorously scoffing "Don't do that, you don't know where the child has been."
Much to the boy's credit, he only looked mildly annoyed at the comment, it almost seemed like he was going to snap back before his features relaxed into a tight frown. Huh, not just any pup, an anti-social pup.
He always knew Neo had a thing for questionably young and awkward guys, in his mind, he laughed at the joke. He wouldn't dare to say a joke like that in front of her, lest he desired to meet his creator or at the very least the heel of her boots.
Neo glared at him, almost as if he had dropped kicked her favorite puppy. He glanced at the boy with a barely hidden smirk, which in this case, he practically had.
[Even if he hasn't washed a year or two, he still smells better than you, you smell like you've been doused in cheap cologne.]
A visible vein bulged from Roman's forehead, he took a step forward -which was reciprocated by the short female- and glared down at the mercenary with intense annoyance.
"For the last time! It's not cheap cologne, I had it shipped from Atlas I'll have you know, premium and highly sought after even by the wealthy!"
Neo gave a deadpan look, almost in disbelief as she formed another string of words in between their tense gaze. A sly grin began to make its way onto Neo's facial features, a doubtful eyebrow to accompany it as the words finally settled down.
[As if I didn't see you swipe the half empty bottle of cologne from Jay's body.]
Roman seemed to have been struck by lightning, the sight of his repeatedly closing and opening jaw was a delightful view for the workers, it seemed like he was at a loss of words. But as he drew a blank, eventually he came to a revelation. Why was Neo there of all places, that was the only plausible way she could've known, by following him to the crime scene.
But that didn't explain why she was following him, not unless she wasn't at all, but also had other intentions?
Instead of showing his inner thoughts, he rubbed the temples of his forehead, although what she was planning was something that would be discussed later, he knew further arguing with the girl would lead to nowhere.
Nowhere except pain.
Well, pain in the way of having some of his workers mysteriously 'disappear' and him having to explain to the new appointed leader of the White Fang on the reason as to why. Well it wasn't something he took delight in.
Ugh, seriously, wasn't she some sort of cat faunus? Or was it a puma, eh, what was the difference either way? He got cash and workers, that's all he really cared about and if he kept arguing, both of those would go up in flames: quite literally too if Neo was in the mood.
Instead, he opted for the safest option and surrendered "Fine fine, you win, but what's up with the brat?"
He did leave him alive due to nostalgia but that didn't necessarily mean he expected Neo to pick him up, not unless she had ulterior motives with the boy. Or she was a pedophile, he honestly didn't know which alternative was scarier.
Neo shrugged, pushing a worker away as she sat upon a crate with a small jump. With a wave of Roman's hand, the frustrated faunus was sent away. Neo crossed her legs as she leaned against the palm of her left hand, allowing the index finger to tap her cheek in thought.
Of course, her answer was simple.
[Eh, he's fun, he has a crazy amount of aura. Maybe I can make him the next Roman Torwick or more preferably, me. He could be like my sidekick, wouldn't that be cool?]
Silence.
Each tap of her finger pulsed in synchrony with his own heart, when it slowed, his own slowed. His peachy skin under the dim light of the warehouse paled considerably at the thought, another Neo? Wasn't that simply a calamity to all living beings?
Neo hummed in thought, slowly tapping her finger as time went by. Roman even thought his heartbeat would cease altogether by the shallow beat. Meanwhile, Neo took her time enjoying their expressions, even if she could see Ludvik standing confused at the corner of her eye.
And in the end, she materialized four words for all to see.
[Nevermind, too much work.]
In a moment of rare harmony, all onlooking workers along with Roman allowed a collective sigh of relief to be let loose. Quite frankly, it was better for him, the faunus, and every human being that lived on Remnant. The thought of having another Neo roaming around petrified Roman, but even if Neo trained him it wouldn't be able to be done, with his meek personality it was nearly impossible to be akin to Neo.
At least he hoped so.
Roman gave a deep and heavy sigh, she had barely arrived from her… hangout with the brat and he was already developing a migraine. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if gray hairs were going to appear soon.
…
He wasn't old, he wasn't.
"So tell me the truth, why'd you come back if you were having fun with that brat? And something tells me you aren't here to help us relocate all the dust." Neo covered her mouth in a fit of laughter, Roman's eye twitched.
'At least pretend…seriously, this girl.'
Sometimes he questioned who the leader of the 'relationship' was. He gave an inward chuckle, for some reason he didn't mind it. Coming back to reality though, he gave a wave of defeat and questioned.
"Yeah, I figured, what do you want?"
Recovering from her mocking laugh, Neo stood and grabbed Ludvik, pulling him closer to her as she flashed an innocent and sweet smile at Roman.
[I need weapons, lots of weapons, guns, explosives, anything with dust. Actually, just give me one of everything.]
The ginger gave a look at the psychopath, almost as if he was asking her for her mentality's wellbeing. While he loved a good ol' round of explosions as much as the next guy, he didn't particularly want all of Mistral and their legal -and non legal- organizations to hound them down.
Like, you know, the thing he was trying to avoid.
The assignment was too significant to allow Neo to roam free, too much money was being placed onto the table here: money that could be theirs. So it was without the slightest of heisations he spoke a single word, a word that earned a silent nod of approval from Ludvik.
"No."
Neo nodded slowly, as if contemplating the word, she narrowed her eyes to the ground before lifting her head and giving a thumbs up to the thief.
[Thanks Roman!]
With a wave and innocent smile still in place, her figure popped out of existence. It was almost instinctively that he lunged to grasp her form before she did so, he groaned in exasperation before intaking a sharp breath.
"Stay away from the explosives, Neo!" Just as Roman was about to run off after the mercenary, he stopped and gave a quick glance at Ludvik "You, stay here okay? If any of the faunuses here bite, just give them a good whack, that should make them back off."
Without waiting for the boy's response, he dashed right towards the weapon storage unit. Just because he couldn't see her didn't mean he didn't know where she would be, it just made it a bit more inconvenient.
000
Ludvik
Watching the near comedic scene between the two partners, the young boy's eyebrows furrowed at the sight. While he was rather fine with throwing Neo over to Roman, allowing him to deal with her antics, the uncomfortable and eerily silent atmosphere of the building did disturb him somewhat as he sat there.
The sharp leers, of untrust and wariness, penetrated into his skin, almost as if they were observing him: they prickled the back of his mind, but he ignored them, content with sitting atop of the boxed crate with unknown contents.
But eventually his boredom and interest bested him, forcing him to drag his eyes to any conceivable detail of the no doubt base of the criminals. Wooden crates, multicolored crystals of varying sizes, weird containers of powder, none of it made sense to the curious white haired boy.
Were they precious jewelry? If so, then what were the weird canisters that held the powder? A sort of drug from this world that was similar to meth? The more he dwelled into his inquisitive mind, the more his desire to know increased.
Was it his fault though? He didn't even know the name of the world, only knowing that the town was Wind Path -weird name- but besides that he didn't know much else. Nibbling on his lower lip, he decided to take his chances and hopped off the wooden vessel.
Intaking a breath of air, he approached one of the workers, a heavy dressed man who moved the cargo of rainbow crystals into the boxes. Taking a good look before approaching, the man didn't seem to stand out all that much, if anything his single deciding feature could be his tall stature and long spiked onyx hair could be said to be the deciding features.
Ludvik got closer, and as he did the man's facial details became all the more clearer. Scratch his earlier comment, the most prominent of all his characteristics wasn't his scarcely hidden physique, nor his roguishly long black hair.
There wasn't any simple way to describe him, only one word was allowed to enter Ludvik's mind as he looked at him.
'Handsome.'
He wasn't devilishly handsome nor even movie star beautiful, but he had the temperament of a calm river, reminding Ludvik of a time where he played with red lotuses besides one. The stranger was a blank canvas, an empty shell, listless with a reserved and solemn aura that hung around him.
No, to be more precise, he lacked a presence, an aura.
For the briefest of moments, Ludvik seemed dazed, but with the realization that that would be a bit more than just creepy he dragged his gaze away. Eventually, he mustered up the nerves to talk to the man just as he cleared his throat, earning him the attention of the man.
"Sorry to trouble you, uh, sir, but would you mind answering a few of my questions?"
Even his blatant lack of social skills didn't seem to shift the man's expression, instead he cocked his head to the side before nodding. Joyful and relieved, Ludvik breathed in as he asked his first and possibly most important one.
"Where are we, what's this place called?"
Without missing a beat, the man responded "This town is called Wind Path, officially it's a city but that was in the past due to bandits taking refuge here, it's been practically abandoned by the main Mistral Council. It is still somewhat funded though, as it is just north of the kingdom's main city."
Ludvik blinked, that wasn't particularly what he had in mind when he inquired about the place. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, guess he should've been more specific when he had asked
"Ah, I mean, what's the name of this world?"
It was a more direct question than what he would've preferred, but even if he was heard by others they would merely give him weird looks or chock it up to him being nothing but a curious little kid.
The man paused, narrowing his eyes as if recalling a memory, but either way it didn't take long for the long haired male to respond.
"This world is named Remnant, a planet with four kingdoms and a multitude of other minor cities and towns like Wind Path. It has aura, dust, and other sorts of near magical resemblance" before Ludvik could open his mouth to ask another question, the man continued in almost a wondering and curious tone "although to me, the most special thing about this world is its fractured moon, it's almost beautiful in a way."
Saying so, the longed haired worker raised his head to the ceiling, eyes gazing into the moon. Curious by his statement and action, Ludvik himself lifted his small head in the direction of the glass panes that acted as a ceiling: although small, they were enough to see into the moonlit sky.
And there it stood, round as his home planet, the silver disc hung in the lonely sky. Glimmering and luminating those down below with its humble glow, covered by the black heavens, staying ever close to the bright and overflowing glory of the arrogant sun.
Ludvik's eyes hazed over, an almost entranced look growing on his face. The moon seemed to particularly shine tonight, with the howling winds muffled by the hard rusty steel that acted as the walls, and yet it seemed as if the natural cold air still engulfed his sense of smell with a certain stinging pain at the coldness.
Just as he had continued to engulf himself in the sight, a single soft tap to his right shoulder forced him to jump back into reality, surprised, he turned to the person. She was a young girl -albeit taller than him- with black cascading locks of hair, reaching all the way to her back and sitting neatly on top of her head were none other than a pair of fuzzy chocolate bunny ears.
"A-are you okay…sir?"
Almost hesitant and scared, the girl formally addressed him. He frowned, even a young girl like her was forced to work? There was little doubt in his mind that what Roman was doing was in no way legal, much less rewarding towards the… animal like people.
He felt a bit awkward, he probably shouldn't mention, maybe it was a characteristic of people in this world? He bit back his confusion and replied to her with a small smile.
"Of course, I was just chatting with one of the workers here."
She was near his 'age' there wasn't any need to be afraid, she was but a small child, well more of a teen to be precise but still. Which raised the question even further into his mind, why was she in a place like this?
The girl gave a puzzled look, glancing behind them and then in her near vicinity, she gulped "Sir, there's nobody here besides us. This section of the warehouse has already been packaged so no worker should be here."
Ludvik frowned, turning to point behind him "How can that be, he's right…" His words were cut short by the appearance of the area behind him, or more specifically the lack of one "here."
The words died in his mouth just as he uttered his last word, confusion overcame him as he turned every direction, up and down, but no matter how much he tried, it was as if the man had disappeared along with the wind. Or as if he had never existed.
The young girl shot him a worried glance.
Still dazed with confusion, he responded half heartedly, hesitation clear in his tone as he tried to recall the last few moments "Y-Yeah, perhaps I'm just tired. It's been a long night after all."
He was with someone, wasn't he? Hadn't he been talking with some worker? He was sure of it. Unless the hunger and tiredness from exerting himself from the running and training had caught up, was that it?
…
What was he talking about again? Oh right, he was asking the girl his questions.
Not sensing the awkwardness or hollowness of his words, the girl reciprocated with a tired smile "Of course, everyone has been working hard, sir, you especially must be tired after following all day long with your training."
The boy in question raised an eyebrow "Training?"
Seeing his surprise, the girl gave a quizzical look to the equally young boy "Of course, you're 's apprentice aren't you?"
He was a bit shocked at the question. Did she manage to see the conversation between Neo and Roman? Was that why everyone gazed at him wearily, because they thought he was Neo's apprentice?
His lips twitched, him, Neo's student? He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, if it hadn't been for her persuasive words -along with the alternative being death of starvation- then he would've refused her offer and be on his merry way-
Scratch that, he would've been forced if Neo held enough interest in him.
In response to the question, there was nothing Ludvik could do but simply roll with it, what was he supposed to say? That he was a teen reincarnated into the body of a child? That he was following her for the sole fact he would obtain a form of safety, following her out of necessity?
So instead, he nodded, earning a smile in response from the girl.
"Well, wanted me to inform you that she has… acquired the weapons? And wants you to head back… for well, she never told me, she only wanted me to notify you."
He understood that and even expected it from Neo, but why did she send some random worker to come fetch him? It seemed like his confusion was well transmitted as the girl hurriedly spoke, almost as if she didn't want to offend him.
" has extremely important matters to attend to, and so had decided for me to come and grab you. I-I apologize if I didn't come here fast enough."
Ludvik would've chuckled at the stuttering girl's attempt of professionalism if it didn't mean two simple things.
She was either too lazy to come get him herself or she was arguing with her… dad? Partner in crime and lover? He didn't know, but whatever it was he would rather avoid that relationship unless absolutely necessary. Maybe he should wander around the area, there was a chance that it would incite Neo herself to come get him.
It would also help to talk with the people around, getting to know the world and what exactly they were doing. It would be a good start as to figuring out his situation, and seeing how he is seen as a superior then it shouldn't be too difficult to get answers.
That was his thought until…
"Oh and for some reason she wanted me to mention she has food, steak and smoothie."
He gave her a stare, his fingers twitched as he breathed in, well there went his plans to gather some data.
Allowing a sigh to escape his chapped lips, he gave a rueful nod to the girl, even if she appeared to be his age she was still a fair bit younger than him; well, if he counted his past life. He smiled as he said "Thanks for answering my questions, I greatly appreciate it."
It was with that simple nod that he had started to walk back, the hurried and almost nervous sounding shout echoing a bit behind him "It's my pleasure as a worker, sir!"
Sir, it almost sounded foreign to him to be addressed in such a formal manner, like a superior, it felt…nice.
A larger smile blossomed on his lips as he continued on his way.
000
Neo
Listening to Roman rave as she piled the weapons into separate categories, an annoyed vein began to grow on her forehead, the ranting voice of the ginger gentlemen disturbing the clicking of weapons and clattering steel.
"I'm telling you Neo, we'll be lucky to even have a week before she knows we're here. Heck, she could even be busting down on our door if we're unlucky enough. If you do anything to alert anybody do you know how fast the guillotine will fall on us?"
Without turning, she threw a message his way [Then I'll be careful, staying away from the spots with the most people and huntsmen. I'll even go to the forest farthest from the main base.]
Roman gave a sigh "Harming people isn't the main issue, or even an issue at all, have you seen that boy's aura? We'll be lucky if he doesn't attract an alpha, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a swarm of them, you do know that right?"
Neo rolled her eyes, of course she knew that, her time spent in Lady Browning's Preparatory Academy For Girls wasn't for nothing after all. It was a commonly known fact that emotions attracted Grimm, even young children could pick up the knowledge from a library book. But what wasn't commonly known was that the aura of beings attracted them as well, acting as a smelling scent for them. The higher quality and quantity ones specifically drove them wild with hunger, it was information only those who bothered to know.
If it was widespread info that was common, then some citizens might even have the thought of abolishing aura altogether; which has happened in the past before, but was easily crushed by those who sought value in aura and as a weapon to fight back against the Grimm.
But the fact still remained, if she went out with Ludvik to the forest, she would be facing some form of danger. How fun.
She couldn't help but spitefully and almost tauntingly comment back to Roman.
[Of course I know that, but would you rather I test these weapons on your cute little 'pets'?]
Jabbing her thumb to an unsuspecting Faunus worker, her grin only grew at his defeated expression. There wasn't any way Roman could possibly allow her to do that, not with the new stick in the ass leader they had; conflict with another entire criminal organization wasn't something they particularly needed.
With his arms crossed, Roman stood and contemplated before turning his back with a twirl of his cane as he finally acquiesced "Fine, but remember to stay away from the streets run by some of the gangs. Although none of them have a connection with Spider, if they do it's a minor one: so they aren't worth plundering or killing."
Neo pouted, seriously, at times she felt like a partner and more of a kid who he had to inconveniently babysit; well compared to him, she was a child, but still.
[Yeah yeah, I know.]
Her casual remark earned her the sound of shuffling cloth, a glance told her it was Roman pulling out one of his usual cigars, the cancer sticks he usually breathes in to calm his nerves or to think of some large heist.
Heh, she wondered which of the two it was.
Walking away from her as he took in a long drag of his cigar, he glanced at Ludvik who happened to be nearby and coming back; maybe it was out of pity or genuine concern for his well being, but Neo heard him say "Kid, if you want to be specifically buried somewhere near this town, now is a pretty good time to tell me. Because there is a high chance I won't ever see you again."
Ludvik nervously chuckled "Noted."
And it was with a pat of Ludvik's shoulder that Roman left the young boy to her, almost as if saying goodbye to the boy with a tear. She enjoyed the unnerved and worried smile he gave her, even if it was a bit forced, it was still rather cute.
She took her time as she gazed at him, narrowing her multicolored eyes as she walked up to him, her fingers probing his skin and glossing over his white locks of hair. And it was within a few seconds, and eye twitches from Ludvik, did she finally come to a conclusion.
'By the time he reaches his older teenage years, he'll be fighting off hordes of women, probably some older than him.'
It was simply the truth, given some nutritious food to get rid of his showcased ribcage, a hot steaming bath to unfurl the thick and stuck white curls, and a good sense of fashion to accompany it and he would be on the cover of every fashion magazine in Mistral. Especially with his uncanny Schnee look, the press would love drowning him with false conspiracies.
If given enough time that is.
She silently mused at his raised eyebrow, his thoughts and emotions oh so clear to read, confusion, embarrassment, anxiety, they were all laid before her. Previously, he was some toy that she could find some fun out of in the boring town, but now he had potential, potential to become something.
And it would be even greater than it is now, if his own self wasn't holding him back.
Watching as Neo continued to stare at him, the boy in target of her view fidgeted where he stood, while he was somewhat used to the mocking and smug Neo, he still couldn't really get comfortable around "I-Is there something on me?"
Being brought back out of her intrusive thoughts, she smiled an amused smile, giving a look once over before bringing the smaller weapons under the folds of her clothes: Roman refused to lend her some of his workers to carry the explosives, something about not bringing attention to themselves.
Whatever.
[Nope~ I obtained what we needed for our next part of fun, just give me a moment.]
Continuing to him as she rummaged through a canister, emptying it out for all its dust, she conveniently ignored the alarmed cry of Roman who watched her plunder a whole container of dust: it even contained hard light dust crystals, something he almost gave an audible whimper for.
Heh.
Ludvik could only watch in embarrassment as she bent over, snatching as many crystals as she could and stashing vials deep into her pockets, all while wiggling and moving around in haste. His blush continued to deepen, unknowingly failing to notice the activation of her semblance as she stood beside him, watching her rear end along with him. It was admirable that he was attempting to look away.
Man, she has a nice ass.
Eventually though, Ludvik did regain his bearings, looking away with a large crimson streak splashing across his face. If she wasn't putting up pretenses and wanting to tease him, she would've run up to pinch his cheeks.
Ah, what the hell.
Losing her patience and allowing her smugness to reach its way onto her face, the 'Neo' in front of them crumbled apart, a clear dark and bolded message laying before Ludvik, one that caused him to pale.
[Enjoying the view?]
If that didn't frighten him enough, the tap on his shoulder surely did, nearly collapsing as he rigidly turned his head. The Cheshire grin attached upon her face couldn't have been wider, they stayed in the position for several long and insuffering moments.
[Perky, right?]
He knew what she was talking about, she knew what she was talking about, and even then he robotically started walking towards where 'she' previously stood. Her amusement only grew as he grabbed a knife, almost as if he was subconsciously doing it so as to avoid the question.
And then, he proceeded to utter one of the lamest excuses she would ever come to hear.
"I-Indeed, being a superior does have a lot of perks."
His hands trembled, it didn't take a genius to figure out his shaken mentality was attempting to calm itself down. She giggled to herself, if he was just a tad bit older she would've pushed it more, and maybe if she had more time at that. Alas, not everyone could get what they wanted.
[Yup, so why don't you be a darling and grab those crystals and a dagger so we can leave? It's better to go during the night then day, less of a chance to be spotted.]
Just those two sentences seemed to pull Ludvik back from his embarrassment, all traces of the former emotion being nothing less than a hue of pink as he turned to her with a tilt of his head. He almost replied disbelieving "Huh, w-we're leaving now?"
It did make sense, they had barely been in the base for two hours or so, their sudden leave was surprising. Perhaps he even expected to stay for the night, which actually would've been the case, were it not for the underlying threat that approached the more ticked by.
But still, possibly couldn't mention that, so instead she shot him a grin as letters piled into each other before forming a coherent sentence.
[Why, you wanna stay here longer with your little faunus girlfriend?]
Her grin enlarged as the words were formed, but not even a second later it began to falter. Instead of embarrassment or awkwardness, it truly seemed as if Ludvik was going to cry in the next moment.
Of course, not for the reason she expected.
"...I never got the food you promised."
If she had a voice, many would've heard the sound of her laughter echoing in the large storage unit, but instead came out an adorable and silent version; Ludvik grumbled under his breath as this continued, staying silent in his complaint as Neo brushed away a tear, the hint of humorous laughter still tugging at her lips.
But still, she abided by what she promised.
[Fine fine, we can grab something to eat on the way.]
For that moment, his expression shifted into a large blossoming smile, the warmth of it briefly reminding Neo of the rising sun, as if it itself was gazing upon her with its rays. A fluttering sensation spawned in her abdomen, giving her an odding tingling sensation that ran through her stomach.
Her expression turned strange as she took a second glance.
"W-What" Seeing her stare, Ludvik couldn't help but shrink back as she sighed.
He's going to be the death of every woman he meets.
000
It didn't take long for the two to head down path towards the forest on the outskirts of the town, a few pieces of lien and a bit of - threats- luck allowed them to safely get through the gang territories without alerting anyone; all the while Neo attempted to show him the art of stealth and hiding weaponry, one that he showed some talent in.
She liked to poke fun at him at times, using projections of fake people catching them, it made for an amusing scene as he panicked. Sadly enough, it lasted for no more than four times before he merely gave her an unamused stare.
Tsk.
Of course, much to the young boy's delight, they did eventually come to a stop at some diner. One that she had to enter alone with her semblance, every nice part of the town always ended up being owned by some gang, and if they weren't then it's just a matter of time.
Neo couldn't help but deadpan as she watched the young boy bite into the still steaming hot dog, chewing on its contents as if the heat weren't sizzling his tongue's nerves. Was he an idiot or something?
[Seriously, how the hell have you lived up until this point?]
Ludvik swallowed, occasionally sucking in the cool air as he responded in between breaths "I haven't… why do you think… I was being chased by those… gangsters when you first… found me."
Neo frowned as she stared at him, his head lowered in a way that didn't allow her to glean any from his eyes, but she was sure of one thing: he seemed hesitant in his response, as if he wasn't sure himself. It would seem a bit suspicious, but the way he acted and performed his attempt in pickpocketing did back it up, it seemed like he was recently thrown out or orphaned.
She reached out with her palm and ruffled through his dried and unkempt curls of white hair. Which was another thing she should've done, set up a shower for the boy, even if it only was to see and touch the potential softness of his locks.
He blinked at her, and in turn she grinned.
[You looked like a sad puppy, I heard giving them rubs on their head made them happier.]
His eye twitched despite his apparent blush, he grumbled under his breath but nevertheless allowed her to continue on. She hummed, enjoying her walk with an outstretched arm atop of Ludvik's head. The aforementioned embarrassed male did nothing except continue to chew in silence, it has clearly been a while since he last enjoyed a good meal
'Ek, how long is this going to take?'
To be able to head to the forest the furthest from the storage house without being detected, it required the two to take twists in turns, often in moments of being gazed at by strangers Neo would have to use her semblance: it was rather draining.
Plus, the only source of entertainment she could -abuse- was Ludvik who was too used to her antics, she feared one day he would become completely immune to her tactics. It was truly a frightening thought.
She pulled out her scroll, a red dot singling her position and an outer layer of a darkened aqua box to differentiate from the screen, it represented the town. Almost like a little child noticing a new toy, Ludvik's eyes brightened as he leered over the device.
"What is that?"
She grinned as the screen shattered before their eyes in a display of glass like sparkles, flying past their figures and flowing into the wind. Ludvik was too shocked to even react, too shocked to notice her using her semblance as she slid her scroll back.
[Nothing~]
Ludvik pouted, taking glances on occasion as if he was trying to decipher her. It also made her wonder, just how ignorant was he? A mischievous grin arose from her lips, did that mean there was a possibility that he didn't know the existence of Grimm?
A chuckle escaped her lips just as Ludvik's skin began to crawl, the evil smile that settled upon her face no doubt doing nothing to calm his nerves.
Just as she delved into her thoughts, while the boy took steps to the side, a muffled and distant voice overlapped with Ludvik's shuffling. She turned her head to get a closer look, taking a few strides of distance to hear better.
With no choice, the white haired followed suit. Through an annoyed sigh, Neo manifested her semblance to cover both of them, after this she needed a good long break, maybe with some ice cream.
"Yes Ma'am, we're sure of it. Roman Torchwick has returned to Mistral."
Oh?
Turning towards the source of the voice, was a man of small stature with a shiny and hair free head to boot, he wore an eerily conspicuous cloak as he stood at the outer of some dark alley: a restaurant sitting right next to it, and close to his ear was a bright aqua scroll.
Was this guy even trying?
Leaning in closer, her eyes narrowed onto the back of the man's palm, or more specifically on the spider-like tattoo that was inked onto it. A sadistic grin overcame Neo's features, Roman said she should absolutely avoid any type of gang and their members, but she doesn't recall him ever stating that she couldn't extract info.
Info that he would very much like.
There was a pause but then very briefly could Neo hear a voice being transmitted through the scroll "yes we have received confirmation from inside sources. His partner seems to be lurking around as well, do we have permission to engage?" A shorter pause, a shorter verification or disapproval "Got it boss."
The man gave a sigh, closing his scroll and sliding it into the folds of his pants. He seemed exhausted, which was only backed as he lifted his head up and took a big breath, closed his eyes only to forever close them.
With the cracking sound of his aura being shattered, a single hard slam from the bottom of Neo's umbrella and onto the pavement seemed to have done the trick. She stayed silent for a moment, she was confused as she stared at the collapsed man.
'They really don't make gangsters like they used to. He didn't even have his aura up.'
Ignoring the gaping look of the fearful teenager, she walked around the boy and grabbed the unconscious man by the arms, slowly dragging him until she suddenly stopped and looked at the teenager.
Watching the shocked and questioning Ludvik panicked, she rolled her eyes as she shot him a text box.
[Come on, help me drag him somewhere a bit away from here. After that, we can leave and let Rowan's worker finish the rest.]
The boy hesitantly nodded and proceeded to help, grabbing the large adult by the legs and with one heave the man was picked up. Taking a nervous look back, her 'apprentice' couldn't help but ask her "W-where are we taking him?"
[Just somewhere from out of the spotlight so to speak, at least far enough so any of his pals don't find him any time soon. And preferably in a spot where the men can find him before anyone else.]
Seemingly taking in the information, he nodded as he helped her drag his unconscious form away. And as they did so, Neo couldn't help but mull over her initial thoughts, whatever was said may increase or decrease Roman's days within Windpath.
And even more pressing was that her time with Ludvik would be extremely… limited, unless she simply snatched him away from the town, but something told her that he wouldn't be particularly open to the idea.
Eh, it was something she could propose to him at some other time. When they're not dragging an unconscious gang member.
000
Ludvik
Lifting a grown adult male was surely one of the things Ludvik didn't expect to be doing, especially with the assailant being the one that helped him. Fortunately for him, it only took a couple of minutes for them to be in a far enough distance from where the man originally collapsed.
"Are…are we just going to leave him here?" He hesitantly asked, he felt a bit of sympathy for the man but he wasn't really in any position to ask. When it came to matters like this, he was utterly clueless.
[Unless you want to give him a foot massage, pretty much.]
Was Neo's uncaring reply, dusting off her hands as if they were dirty [Come on, any more time and someone might see us standing here.]
Giving a shake of his head, he followed the mercenary as he paused for a step, since when did she inform Roman's workers? Tracing Neo's figure over with his gaze, she turned back and winked before continuing to walk.
Deciding it was better to not receive the answer, for his sanity, the boy tossed the matter to the back of his mind as he accompanied Neo. He carefully watched her, on occasion she would whistle, sometimes snatch some snack from a passerby, other times her expression would flicker to exhaustion and of thoughtfulness.
He kept silent about the last part, content with allowing his mind to run, lest she became annoyed with him. If he lost her support and training, who knows how he would resume to survive in the streets, his aura can do so much. Especially with his lack of knowledge regarding, well, everything.
If aura was the projection of the soul, then didn't that imply that souls truly did exist? He might've not been a geek, despite how much his brother claimed him to be, but he did know the implications of it. It allowed for possibilities like reincarnation to exist, possibilities that remained unknown to his own world.
He allowed his mind to wander even further, what exactly was a soul? Was it an ethereal creation that remained in the body of a person, unseen and untouched? Did it have components, akin to veins and nerves?
Did it allow the gate to reincarnation to open up, was that the whole reason why he was in another body? Or were his fears true, that he had stolen the life of an innocent boy with no say in the matter? But that didn't make any since, that meant-
Before he could finish the rest of his train of thought, a force smacked his forehead, leaving a slight stinging sensation. Hissing, his silver eyed glare was met with a deadpanning Neo who formed a bold text before him.
[Don't go making weird thinking expressions, you might make people think you're constipated.]
Ludvik's eye twitched, hanging around with the short woman almost made him believe that the night before was nothing but his mere hallucination. If it weren't for the reminder in the dark alley mere minutes ago, then he would truly think that she was nothing but an annoying ice cream girl.
'Perhaps that's the reason why she doesn't seem so…'
Watching as she almost tripped from a pebble, he proceeded to watch as she kicked the stone out of anger only to slightly flinch as she took in the recoil from kicking it so hard.
'Menacing.'
Seeing her smug smirk of self-pride -even as she lightly limped from the pain-, his belief was firmly cemented. She was indeed a psychopath with too much power in her hands, either that or just a really good actor.
[You think the guy I knocked out is alive? We did check if he still had a heartbeat, right?]
Too good of an actor.
000
As the two finally reached the forest, Ludvik gave in a sigh of relief, traveling with Neo shouldn't have been that exhausting: especially considering the fact that the distance wasn't all that much.
Granted, they had to take twists and turns, but it shouldn't have granted her that much… for the lack of a better word, freedom. He even felt a bit of sympathy for Roman, who no doubt had to deal with her antics on a daily basis.
Being pushed outside of his thoughts, a flick towards his forehead was sent, reviving back the stinging sensation once more. Grimacing in pain, he narrowed his eyes at Neo "What was that for?!"
She shrugged her shoulders, twirling her umbrella with a mysterious smirk.
[I don't know, I just felt like I needed to.]
He gaped, could she also read minds?
He received a response to the question.
[Not really, you're just really easy to read.]
Grumbling under his breath, his eyes were dragged towards his surroundings. Moonlight illuminated the veriscent forest with a humble hue, giving it a lively yet serene scenery that would drag anyone into a peaceful atmosphere. In all honesty, it seemed more of a calming spot than what Ludvik had in mind.
Frowning, he turned towards the psychotic child known as Neo and questioned "What are we doing here? I thought you were going to be training me in self defense."
In all honesty, he had no idea what she was planning, one moment she was speaking about giving him a weapon the next moment it turned into a self defense class. Unless she wants him to fight her again, but with the weapons?
He shuddered, even with a gun or a cannon, he had no confidence in being able to take her down or even graze her. Maybe with a rocket launcher, but he felt like it would actually decrease his chances.
[I am, but we need something around your' level' for this to be fair, oh and try not to use your aura, okay? Even if it was instinctively, like last time.]
Around his level, did that mean someone was coming? Looking around the forest, he couldn't see or hear anybody, did that mean they were early? His questioning gaze landed on Neo, her large grin going from ear to ear.
His heart couldn't help but tightened as he asked "A-are we waiting for someone?"
He almost grimaced as she took a step back, her figure slowly disappearing before his sight, leaving behind a multitude of weapons behind her. Ranging from a silver gun, a simple azure lined dagger, to even a hand grenade, they were all there in display.
[We were, but it seemed like it had just arrived.]
It was the only message he got before a low and animalistic growl shocked him to his senses, turning his head slowly, what he saw caused his face to pale considerably. Behind him stood a large primal and dark creature, standing upon their hind legs, the large creature held bone-like armor that covered their body, sharp teeth of the same material seem to poke through the angular skull they called a face.
The large vertical row of piercing white material that was angled like a spine only added to its ferocity, their accompanying sharp and long ivory claws digging into the soil. Ludvik stared at the beast for a second, his thoughts empty as he managed to form a single word.
Oh...
000 000 000
AN
Yeah, a little bit of a lore fact, emotions AND aura attract Grimm. Funny thing is, I only knew about this after I already gave Ludvik's his unholy amount of aura. Sucks to suck I guess, I'll be using that little piece of lore.
I've actually enjoyed writing this chapter, like really it's been fun writing this fanfic overall. Especially Roman's character, writing from his perspective allows me to explain a few things and just expand more, also I find him funny. Never did like the fact he died so early on, so much comedic potential, especially the way he was killed off.
Will he survive due to Ludvik's existence? Will Neo stop being Neo? And will Ludvik survive being the character of some sadistic author? Who knows. I'm just having way too much fun.
Oh, and concerning the mistake in the last chapter (For those who read it before I could remove it) I was going to have Summer there, had something planned, until it came crumbling when I realized she's dead during that time period. I would be forced to make the MC younger than he already is for her to be there, which would derail a whole lot of other things.
So yeah, no Summer, you instead get another dude with different eye color. Cool, I know.
Anyways, that's all for now, have a great day everyone~