And...here...we...go. I'd say that the part with Blake and Sun is kinda rushed through, but honestly, it just made sense to not go through each and every day for this. When I was planning it out, it kind of bored me, so I decided to not do that.
Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 14: More Than What Meets The Eye
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.(Starting Chapter)
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June 29th
Saturday
Cloudy
Azura felt odd as he sat at the outdoor cafe table with Blake and Sun. He sipped at his cup of coffee as Blake and Sun discussed things over, and he wasn't even able to be on his scroll after finding out that he had left it in the JNPR dorm. Summer and Luna were currently keeping an eye out in case team RWBY or JNPR found them. Well, he assumed that they would be looking for them.
"Say...Sun. What do you think of the White Fang?" Blake asked, looking at Azura for a moment before looking back at him.
Sun set his cup down, flicking his tail back upwards as he did so. "What I think of them? As far as I know, they resort to violence and outrage to get their answer across that Faunus are equals as well. Kinda hard to argue that when all they do is fight and threaten, if you want my opinion."
Blake frowned. "I'm a part of the White Fang. Or, I was. Back when they were peacefully protesting."
Sun leaned forward. "What changed?"
"I don't know what specifically changed, but it caused a shift in how things were run, and eventually, all of the old principles were over. It was when…" Blake said, trailing off.
Wisely, nobody asked her to finish her statement.
"So, what are we going to do? You ran away, but we can't all do that forever." Sun said, nodding his head to Azura.
Azura agreed, but didn't say anything.
"I don't quite believe that the White Fang have anything to do with the dust robberies that have been happening. But, I'm quite unsure of where to start with trying to prove that they might not be involved." Blake said.
"What would that solve? Whether or not they are involved in the dust robberies means nothing. They have never needed that much dust, right?" Sun asked, confusion written on his face.
Blake sighed. "Well, there's a good chance that they might need it, but I can't see them doing it the way that they are. It's something that Torchwick would do, from what I know about the criminal, but why would they work with him? I just don't understand it."
Azura finally spoke up. "We don't know if they are working together though. Why don't we go over what we do know?"
Blake nodded. "I'll go first if that's what we're going to do." She looked around, leaning forward once she saw that no one was nearby. "As it stands, the dust robberies have been happening over the past few months, and only the dust is stolen. Nothing else is touched, but all of the dust in the stores are stolen, leaving nothing behind but money. The owners are only harmed by getting knocked out, and the police always just happen to miss the mark, suggesting that they get in and out with speed."
"It'll be hard to find anything out if that's the case. Given what you know, they are good enough to escape the notice of the police for the most part. If they are skilled enough to do that, it suggests trained fighters and possibly aura. Unless the White Fang are trained to fight, I doubt that they are involved." Azura said.
Blake tapped her fingers against the table. "Trained? Yeah, for self-defense, but it's possible that things...have changed since I was last with them. Still doesn't prove that the White Fang had anything to do with the robberies though."
"Well, if that's all we have…" Sun said, his tone sounding smug.
Blake narrowed her eyes towards him. "Spill it, Sun. I don't want to play your game right now."
"Well, while I was out on that boat that brought me here, I heard talk of a shipment of dust coming in to offset the losses that the main city of Vale was facing. Do ya think they would know about that?"
Blake thought for a moment before responding. "It's possible. Did they say how large of a shipment it would end up being?"
Sun brought his blonde monkey tail up to his chin. "Hmm, I remember them saying that it would be from the Schnee Dust Company, so I would assume very large. Larger than what is usually brought in."
"No dates at all?" Blake asked.
"For when it would be in? I don't think so." Sun responded.
"Damn it. That would have been perfect for us to use. If I want any information about if the White Fang are involved or not, that would have been it." Blake said, annoyance in her voice.
Azura spoke up again, an idea forming in his mind. "What if we could find out when the shipment would be coming in?"
Blake looked over at him. "You sound like you have something in mind.
"You ever heard of Junior's club?" Azura asked, a smile growing on his face.
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.(Line Break)
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The club was open, but Azura didn't think he would be finding the same kind of environment as last time. He walked in, finding it to mostly be empty, except for Junior, who was cleaning some glasses behind the bar. The larger man looked up as Azura approached with Blake and Sun in tow, not looking at all shocked to see them, but his eyes did linger on Sun.
"Well, I know that the two of ya are up to something shady. Blondie made sure to stop by and tell me to keep an eye out for you." He said.
Luna was behind junior in an instant, ready to move if Azura activated his semblance. He didn't want them to be found out. Not with Blake as she is right now.
"Well, what Yang doesn't know won't hurt you, now will it?" Azura asked.
Junior licked his lips, looking nervous. "You can be just like her when you want to, you know. No, she won't find out." He sighed. "Why are you here?"
Azura looked towards Blake and Sun, then looked back at Junior as he approached the bar. "We need info on something."
"Can't say anything if you don't tell me anything." Junior said, putting the glass down.
"How about information on the Schnee cargo ship full of dust coming in?"
Junior narrowed his eyes, looking around the building before leaning forward. "Oddly specific info that you're looking for. What's your game, kid?"
Azura looked back, seeing that Blake and Sun were looking at him. "It's for recon. I think you know what exactly for."
"And why shouldn't I just get you caught? You don't know the thin ice you are on in here."
Azura hoped his next words would change his mind. "It would suck if a certain bowler hat criminal were to...suddenly find out that you're not working just for him and his crew."
It was a bluff, and he thought that Junior knew that as well. But, as it turned out, it seemed that Junior was more amused than anything.
"You got a fire in your heart, kid. I like that, even if it's a bit dangerous to try your luck against an info broker." Junior said, laughing.
Azura didn't know what to say, and Luna stayed in her position, floating behind him.
"Relax kid, you're safe. I wouldn't sell out a minor like that, it's not my line of work. Still, I have to ask, why do you need to know about that specific information?" Junior said, returning back to his more serious attitude.
Azura looked over at Blake and Sun, who has been listening to the conversation. Blake nodded to give him the okay, and he turned back to Junior.
"It's for an...um, investigation. That specific cargo ship would be exactly what we need, but we don't know when it comes in. It would cause problems to not have the details over it."
Junior sighed. "Then, you already know of what you might find there?"
Azura nodded. "Yeah. Can you help us?"
Junior stared at Azura for a few moments, as if wondering if giving the information would even be a good idea. After a few moments, he broke the silence.
"Alright, fine. Look, if anything goes wrong, it isn't my fault. You got that?"
Azura nodded again. "Yeah, I understand. We don't plan on being stupid about it, I promise."
"If you say so, kid. The shipment is coming in on the fifth of July, at seven at night. I'd keep an eye on it for a few hours after the fact, but that's just my advice. Maybe go after a half hour passes, you hear." Junior said, looking genuinely concerned.
Azura smiled, willing to trust him enough to follow the advice. "That's perfect, thank you. We should really be going, though."
"Wait up, kid. You better stay low if you want to do something like this. It might not be the most crazy thing, but it's better to stay off the radar. You three can stay here, if you'd like. We have some back rooms for this stuff, but it's usually only used for our needs."
Azura considered it, but shook his head. "I'll ask everyone else. Can you give us five minutes?"
Junior smirked. "Course you can, kid. Take your time."
Azura moved back to Blake and Sun, Luna trailing slowly behind him, while Summer remained by the door.
"So, what do you guys think? I'm sure you guys heard what was said." Azura said, wanting their thoughts.
Sun smiled openly. "I think it would be the perfect way to think it over and get an idea of what the place will look like. If this guy is trustworthy, which he seems like he is, I think it will work."
Blake was hesitant. "Are you sure he won't do anything to us? This is all sorts of shady. I'd rather stay on the streets."
"Think of it like this. We're training to huntsmen, we would kick their butts if they tried anything. Plus, we can just stay together while we're here." Sun said, trying to coax her into agreeing with him.
"He has a point. Plus, remember what my semblance entails. We'll be fine." Azura said.
Blake frowned, sighing as she crossed her arms. "I don't like it, but you both have a point. Fine. I'll trust you guys to be as cautious as I am."
"Of course we will! Who do you think we are?" Sun said.
Azura cut in, elbowing him in the chest. "We will be careful. Right, Sun?"
"O-of course!"
Blake rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
They all approached Junior, with Azura in the lead.
"We agreed that we would take your offer up. However, we want to stick to one room." Azura said.
Junior nodded. "Smart. Militia will show you to where you can stay."
"Wait, Militia is around? I didn't even see her." Azura said, surprised.
"Of course you wouldn't, pretty boy. You miss me?" She said, her sharp eyes on his softer yellow.
"Who wouldn't miss those green eyes? It's quite the impression, you know."
"You try, at least. Not very good at hitting on someone, are you?" She said, a smirk on her face.
"Hey, you were the one to pin me to a wall!" Azura said, playful smile on his face.
Militia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, to make sure you didn't do something stupid."
"Don't you have a room to show us to?" Azura asked, to get her to shut up.
"You don't deny it." She said, dragging it out in a singsong voice.
The back rooms of the club were certainly different compared to the dance floor that one would see upon entering the club. It looked drab and dull, and there wasn't much to look at as Azura looked around. They didn't have to go very far, taking a left about a quarter of the way down the main hall, stopping at the end of the side hall, where a simple white door was.
Once Militia opened the door, they saw a room with the same white walls, and a small window opposite of them. Beyond that, there were two beds that were against the wall to the right. The room was devoid of anything else, leaving it looking empty. A small light was overhead, with a switch to turn it on and off if they needed to.
"Well, I'll leave you three to it. Just remember, don't come to the main floor during the nights that you are here, don't cause trouble for Junior, and do nothing dumb. Got it?"
They all nodded, agreeing to the rules that Militia set. They were fair enough. She left the three of them to themselves after that, closing the door behind her.
"Well, I guess this is where we'll be staying for the next few days. Better get comfortable, you two. We haven't gotten any sleep, since, you know…" Sun said, trailing off.
"I can stay up and keep a lookout." Blake said.
"No need. The ghosts can keep watch for us." Azura said.
"Ghosts?" Sun asked.
Blake gave a short laugh. "It's a long story. Don't worry about it. And I will trust Azura on this one."
"Glad you think so."
"I'm stuck with the weirdest people I know. But, I'm beat, so whatever." Sun said, jumping on one of the beds. He was out cold within a few moments.
Azura laughed quietly at the sight.
Blake sat down on the other bed with a sigh. "Azura?"
"Yes, Blake?"
"If...no, never mind. It's nothing." She said, looking away.
"Does it have to do with our teams?" He asked.
Blake was silent for a moment before answering. "Yeah. Do you think they would be mad?"
Azura rolled his eyes. "Of course they would be. But, probably not for the reasons that you think."
"What else could it be? I revealed myself to be part of a group that isn't well-liked. They must hate me…" Blake said.
Azura moved to be in front of her, crouching down to see her amber eyes. "Blake...they don't hate you. And even if they did, I would make them understand. You trusted me enough to drag me along with you. Trust me again."
Blake was silent, but a smile eventually grew on her face. "Okay." She said softly.
They shared a few moments of silence, with Azura feeling like he had said the right thing. Blake eventually spoke again, once Azura stood back up.
"Well, you can take the bed that Sun is in." Blake said.
"Yeah, that works. Just get some sleep." He responded.
Azura looked over at Summer and Luna, who nodded to his silent question, already aware that they would keep watch. Azura was glad that his semblance had little uses like this.
But, as he laid down on the open spot on the bed with Sun, he felt happiness that he had managed to penetrate Blake's shell, and see a little piece of the person she really was.
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.(Line Break)
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July 4th
Thursday
Clear
It was the day before the dust shipment came in, and Azura was nervous. They all were, even if Sun tried to be energetic for them. It was hard not to be nervous, for several reasons. It was technically trespassing where they would be in the docks, and getting caught was his biggest worry. If he had to guess, Sun was nervous in the sense of getting on stage for a performance would be, getting all jittery as it grew closer.
And Blake? Well, that was obvious to everyone. She was nervous about the possibility of the White Fang being part of all of this. Azura couldn't blame her, he would be as nervous as her if he was in her position. It's not exactly a good feeling to think that a group that you were once part of could also be involved in a series of crimes.
Junior, the kind person that he was, made sure to keep their position a secret from anyone. Team RWBY or JNPR have not barged in, looking for them, and no Beacon staff was sent out to look for them, as far as he knew.
Did Ozpin even notice their absence?
Azura was broken out of his thoughts by Summer nudging him on the shoulder. He snapped his head up, finding that Blake was looking at him expectantly.
"She asked you if you were okay to discuss the plan for tomorrow." Summer said.
Azura, finally caught up with what was happening, responded to Blake. "Uh, yeah."
Sun smiled and stretched. "Alright, let's get started!"
"Well, we have everything except for what we are doing while we are there and what we will do with that information." Azura said.
Blake nodded. "I've been thinking about what we would do, depending on what we find there."
Sun tilted his head. "That seems simple enough. How many scenarios were you thinking could happen?"
"Up to three."
"Alright, let's break it down from there. What are you thinking?" Sun asked.
Blake cleared her throat before starting. "Well, the first one that I was thinking of was that we would end up not finding anything at all. There's a chance that it's actually just a small group of criminals that are trying to get big. They wouldn't go after such a large shipment unless they were crazy."
"That could be." Sun said.
"It would make sense, but it seems unlikely. Why would they only steal dust?" Azura asked, skeptical of such a ragtag group being able to pull this off.
"I suppose. We're only going to be scouting the place out for any evidence, so this is the best case scenario." Blake responded.
"True. What's the next scenario you were thinking might happen?" Azura asked, moving on.
"The same thing as the first one, but with Roman Torchwick. It's quite possible that he enlisted the help of a group of criminals. Offered them something to get them to steal the dust for him. That runs the risk of us finding people there."
Sun laughed. "From what I know of the guy, which is very little, he probably would do that. He looks like the kind of guy who would do such a thing."
Blake rolled her eyes. "True enough. Well, there is one more thing that could happen. As much as I...don't want to think of it. The White Fang could be the ones doing all of this. And if they were to be doing it…" She trailed off.
"They would go for the big shipment tomorrow night." Sun finished for her.
"Yeah."
There was a few minutes of silence for all of them to think it over. Azura certainly felt that they would find something there. It was too suspicious, and Junior certainly dropped enough hints to suggest that something would happen. It would make sense for it to involve the Torchwick guy as well, if he was correct in assuming that Junior was involved with him.
"No matter what we do or do not find there, we need to have a plan for what we will be doing while there. What's our game plan for that? I want to make sure we have something that could work for any scenario that we end up thinking about." Azura said, drawing Blake out of her pensive look.
"Well, I have an idea. The docks are surrounded by a few storage areas and warehouses, so it would be best to stay on top of one of the warehouses, specifically the one that would be closest to our escape route if we need one. We would be able to stay hidden and safe, while also being able to see what would be happening." Blake said.
"That works, but what if we see people trying to steal the dust? We can't just let them get away with it." Azura said.
"What about scrolls? We could call the police." Blake suggested.
"We don't have ours. How about you, Sun?" Azura asked, looking over at the blonde boy.
"Yeah, I have mine. We could leave an anonymous call and hope that they come over." He said.
Azura nodded. "That's perfect. And Blake? Just remember that we are here to find something out, not to pick a fight."
Blake nodded, but gave no answer.
"Well, I'm starving, and I think Junior said that it was safe to come to the kitchens at the moment. You guys want to come with?" Sun asked.
"Sounds good. We have to have energy for tomorrow, so we should sleep soon. Azura?"
As Azura went to answer, he saw Summer to the side, shaking her head no. Maybe she wanted to talk about something?
"No, you guys go on ahead. I'll join you in a bit, ok?"
Sun was quick to drag Blake out with him. "Alright, have fun!"
He waited for their footsteps to quiet and move away from the closed door before speaking to Summer.
"Did you need to talk to me about something?" He asked.
Summer sighed, then nodded. "I do. It's important."
"Well, tell me what's on your mind."
"It has to do with what we are doing tomorrow. I'm sure that you have safety in mind, but I want you to consider what the worst case scenario holds in store. Let's say that the White Fang are involved in this. They would send in a large amount of people, many of which would most likely be trained." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I don't mean to be that person, but they are clearly a more radical and violent group than they have ever been. Even with two actual huntresses on your side, how useful can we be if you get knocked out? Assuming that they don't kill you instantly, I'm willing to bet that they would have precautions to stop your semblance."
Azura certainly didn't think of such a situation, but it certainly scared him.
"I'll be careful, Summer. I promise." He said.
Summer looked him over for a few moments before responding. "Good. I just want you to know that despite your semblance having a decently large radius, that doesn't mean that we can be everywhere at once. Like I told you before, I don't want anyone else to die while I can help it. No, I refuse for it to happen."
"Right. I know that. I'll try to stop myself and the others from doing something dumb, okay?"
"Good. I don't want one of you guys to die for this. Well, I guess we'll see what kind of situation we find ourselves in tomorrow, yeah?" Sumer said, a joking tone returning to her voice.
Azura smiled weakly. "Yeah. Hopefully nothing major."
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.(Line Break)
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July 5th
Friday
Clear
"Waterfront in front of us, warehouse on the right and left, and this building is our escape route." Blake said, crouched and looking out over the docks, where massive piles of metal container units were stacked next to each other.
That was the sixth time she had said it in the past hour, but neither Sun or Azura stopped her.
The center of the area below was completely open and currently empty, with the Schnee logo and name on the crates on each side. They set up their outlook slightly after 7:30 PM, and have been looking over it for the past two hours. So far, no movement had been spotted.
"Man, this is the worst part of the entire night. So boring!" Sun complained.
"You wanted to be here." Azura commented as he watched Blake continue to keep an eye over everything.
"Is this the cost for an adventure?" He asked with a sigh.
Azura chuckled. "I'd rather not see anything happen, but I'm not sure about you."
"Shut up, you two. We have to keep quiet." Blake said, her ears twitching, covered by the bow once more.
The next ten minutes were spent in silence. Sun kept an eye out behind them, just in case someone saw them and tried to stop them. Blake was keeping her eyes exactly where they have been for the past two hours, while Azura made sure to try and cover any spots she might not see.
Just as Azura thought they might have lucked out, three small airships come in for a landing within the center path of the docks.
"Damn." He said. "Sun!"
Sun turned around, moving to be next to him.
The blonde frowned. "I guess we'll get our answer."
Blake remained silent, but her cat ears were flicking nervously. Summer and Luna were next to Azura, looks of caution on their faces.
The three airships opened up, revealing three groups of twenty or so White Fang members. They all came out and starting to scout out the area in a radius, clearly making sure that no one was around.
Now that Azura thought about it, where were the guards? They had been in the warehouses, last he saw, but did they not see the airships come in? Did they not hear it?
Something was wrong.
"Get going, you mutts! We don't have all night!" A voice called out, and Azura frowned deeply as he saw Roman Torchwick come out.
Azura just saw it get worse.
"That is very not good." He said.
"Why is Roman Torchwick with them? Why is he ordering them around?" Blake said in disbelief.
No one had an answer to that question.
"No. There has to be an answer!" Blake said, suddenly standing up.
"Wha-Blake!" Sun cried out as she jumped off the building towards the nearby storage container, running along the colorful Schnee dust containers.
Azura was in shock by the random actions by Blake. They all quickly spun into action after a few moments.
"Sun, go after her! I'll send backup and go on the right side. We can pincer them from there!" Azura said, giving quick orders to the boy.
He nodded, following his orders to a T. Azura watched him for a moment before turning to Summer and Luna.
"We're going to be going on the right. I want the two of you to support Blake if she does something crazy, which she will. I'll activate my semblance, then jump down shortly after you. Got it?"
Luna nodded.
"Let's go." Summer said.
As they jumped on to the nearby crate on the right, Azura could see that Sun was sitting by the edge of the crate nearest to Roman. Once Azura was about halfway along the crates, he saw why Sun was waiting.
Blake was holding Roman as a hostage, Gambol Shroud to his throat. She was surrounded by each and every single White Fang member that came here, and she was calling out to them.
"You don't have to be doing this! Why are you working for this man?!"
Roman chuckled. "Now, that just isn't nice. I think you are overlooking something, lady."
Blake held her grip. "What?"
"We're working together on a little joint operation. What can I say, we had similar interests." He said.
He quickly drew his cane, suddenly shooting out volatile fire dust. It exploded, throwing Roman and Blake away. Roman recovered quickly, shooting more fire dust out towards her. Blake dodged, throwing her semblance out to dodge any of the dangerously close shots.
She quickly came to blows with White Fang members, who were attempting to overwhelm her. Just as it seemed that she would fall down on the ground, Sun jumped into the fray, knocking three of them down to the ground.
"Now, don't you think you guys are being unfair?" He asked.
As they came back to rush him, he suddenly summoned three golden versions of himself, all of which were fighting with him. Azura didn't have time to look at the spectacle as he moved back into motion.
"Go ahead of me! You have to help them out!" He called out to Summer and Luna.
Luna quickly jumped off of the crate, boosting in the air towards them. Summer stayed on the crates, speeding ahead with her own version of the speed and roses that Ruby had. They were red and white in color, marking itself as the only difference in semblances between them. Was that also hereditary?
As Azura followed after her, he saw her vanish from the air about thirty feet ahead of him. He shook his thoughts out of his head, suddenly suspicious of what was happening. It was almost like some illusion had been casted.
Azura had no time to ponder what exactly was occurring, suddenly flying off the side of the crates, like he had just been kicked in the chest, as the sound of glass shattering rang in his ears. He focused some aura into his feet, flipping back onto them as he hit the ground. He spun around, blades at the ready as he did so, seeing a small and petite girl in front of him.
She was standing there, twirling an open parasol that rested on her shoulder, a smirk on her face. She had pink and brown hair, and a streak of white within the pink. It reminded him of Neapolitan ice cream. Her outfit was very much the same, with a white jacket that had pink on it's interior, brown pants, white knee-high boots, and a brown corset that partially revealed her hips.
It only took a second for Azura to take in her outfit before she leapt forward, slashing towards him with a visible knife at the top of the parasol, now closed. He raised his dagger to block, having to twist away at the surprising amount of force she had with it.
He had little time to register the sounds of gunfire and explosions, or even the sound of a massive weight crashing with more explosions going off. The little girl that reminded him of ice cream was continuing her assault, forcing him to keep his full attention on her. It felt weird to have a parasol whacking at him, but he had no time to keep the thought.
As he kept playing defensive, the girl kicked out towards, spinning on the ball of her other foot as she hit him. He was sent sliding into the wall, grunting as it hit him. He pushed off of it, shooting ice dust out of Rose Eye, only to see her easily dodge them.
"I think you'll make me hate ice cream." He commented.
She made no response. Azura raced back into the fight, slashing out towards her with Red Fox, the longer blade just barely nicking her aura. He spun into the air on the spot, bringing Rose Eye down, only to be blocked by the parasol. He attempted to swing towards her feet with Red Fox, to which she backflipped away from, raising her foot high and slapping Rose Eye out of his left hand, the dagger flying high and disappearing behind the stack of metal containers.
He swiftly turned back around, seeing the girl standing there, the same smug look on her face. It was starting to annoy him. He dashed forward, meaning to attack her, only for her to crack and shatter like glass, just like what happened above. It was her semblance that did that!
The slash of the knife on the parasol caught him off guard, his aura not active from the shock of being tricked. He was quickly kicked back once more, sliding on the ground from the impact. He felt blood trickle down his cheek to his chin, now forcing his aura to remain active. Any more mistakes might actually kill him, and he knew that this opponent was barely trying, so he had to focus more than he ever had to at this moment.
Moving like a whirlwind, he increased his speed as much as he could, matching the girl blow for blow. He held Red Fox in both hands, measuring his every move to make sure he did not lose this weapon as well. He dodged to the side, now seeing how she was opening the parasol as a counterattack. He slashed forward, slamming right into her side, the pink aura flashing. The girl dodged back and away from him, and when he saw her face, he saw that the playful smirk was replaced with a frown.
She was clearly frustrated by the fact that he managed to land a solid blow on her. He never knew how much he preferred the smug smirk that annoyed him until he saw her angry. He would totally never look at Neapolitan ice cream the same after this.
Instantly, it was like she vanished in a flash. As Azura looked around himself, he suddenly saw three Neos running towards him. He hopped back slashing out in front of him, all three of them shattering, and he was slammed forward onto the ground from behind. He rolled with the momentum, trying to not allow her to push him into a corner. As he rolled back up, he was slammed by the parasol and sent sliding back into the containers that blocked them from the other side. If his ears weren't ringing, he could have sworn he heard a sniper shot go off.
Just as she shook his head and moved to get up, still stunned, he was slammed back into it. He hissed in pain, blinking the pain away, seeing that the girl was holding him against the crate with her foot. He was unable to move, and his weapon was clearly not in his hand anymore, leaving him grasping at air.
The frown vanished off of her face, replaced by a more sadistic and cruel smile. She pulled a scroll out, and started to type away. She pushed it into his face, for him to see.
"You're feisty. I like that. It makes it much more enjoyable to break you."
Less stunned and more in control of his actions, he did the only thing he could.
"Yeah? Fuck you too."
It proved to make her smile grow. It was like she took a sick enjoyment from a weakened opponent staying resilient. She flipped the knife back out of the parasol, dragging it along the aura he kept on his face, stopping to punch him and slam his head back into the container. It dropped his aura enough for her to pierce his shoulder and take it back out.
She looked like she was relishing in his cry of pain, so he bit down on his lip to cut it short. He'd die if he cried out for someone to assist him, so he had to tough it out and think.
Her singular brown eye and other pink eye seemed to glow with delight at his rebellion, her smirk almost turning into a full smile. She started to repeatedly slice at his aura, and he could feel it start to weaken as his rebellion started to turn to panic. It was like he could see the number slowly lowering in his mind.
Thirty percent, twenty seven percent, twenty percent, ten.
He wished that he was stronger, that he could have done more. He hoped that Blake and Sun would be able to run away. He hated the fact that his mother would mourn his death, despite being dead. He hated the fact that Summer would never be able to talk to her own children.
Just once, he wanted to help someone who was alive. To be a hunter that helped those who could not help themselves. To be strong, to be powerful. Powerful enough to slay hordes of Grimm and strong enough to protect those that could not protect themselves.
Then, a cry rang out, and he could barely see Summer running towards him, white and red rose petals flying behind her. He was slammed out of the way as Neo jumped back, and with a sudden flash, and shock stronger than any that he felt resonated throughout his body.
It was like he suddenly had the power of a true warrior, a true hunter. He could feel everything that was going on, like he had suddenly become infused with an otherworldly power. The ice cream girl staring at him in shock. The appearance of an ethereal white cloak, hovering just behind his back and running down to his knees. His hair clashed with the dark red and black, mixing together like a mixture of paint.
And it was like his sight changed, but only in his left eye. It was a feeling of any and all Grimm being below him. A silver eye, an eye that could see all and destroy all.
"Don't worry kid, I got you. Just let me take over."
Hearing Summer's voice almost echo in his head was comforting. It was the last that Azura heard as he succumbed his mind to rest.
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.(Line Break/Character Shift)
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Summer felt the boy seem to fall into a slumber, somehow knowing that she could wake him later. She felt like a different person, and she was sure that was how he felt as it happened. She had no idea if this was what a soul bond was, or if this was something from Azura's semblance, such as possession.
Whatever it was, she didn't have time to think about it. Their bodies had come together, and Summer was more than willing to go with it for now. She had better things to prioritize for the moment. She looked out over at the small girl, who was still staring at them. The explosions from the orange-haired girl dragging the airships back down as White Fang members attempted to escape were enough to snap her out of it and take a defensive posture.
"You dare to hurt him? Then so be it. You are responsible for what happens next." She said, feeling that her voice held more weight than before.
It was like her own voice was laced with Azura's. It was odd, but Summer was just going with it.
With that, she sped towards the girl, having already picked up Red Fox.
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.(Chapter End)
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So, I swear that this makes sense. I'll explain it soon, as well as why there is some inherent knowledge that Summer knows about this, and more that she does not know. Also, sorry for the cliffhanger! It's for the best, I promise.
I'll see you next chapter! Hope you have a good day/evening!