Ghostly Visions and Living Partners

by Forest of Rubies

"A simple huntsman was all they wanted to be, all they planned to be. Life, unluckily, decided to play." Now hear me out about the OCs. There are only three, and only two of which that is considered important. Follows the main plot, with my own spin, but the main focus is on the main cast and the moments between them. POV is from an OC, but I needed it that way for story reasons.

24. New Meetings

At this point, I'm just going to accept that I am writing these chapters as fast as I am. I'm enjoying it, and as I said back in chapter 21, I really am glad to be back with writing GVLP. Hope you guys are enjoying the large amount of chapters coming out at the speed that they are!

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 24: New Meetings

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.(Chapter Start)

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August 15th

Thursday

Clear

Azura had counted four days since he had last left Beacon grounds. Four days of simply repeating the same things. Wake up early, daily run, study, eat, train alone, and sleep.

And currently, he was playing with the switchblade Neo left again. Aimlessly laying in his bed, spinning around and around.

"Ironic, isn't it? We agree with Weiss that we need some normalcy, and when we get it, it's boring to you." Summer said.

"Did the same thing happen to you, when you got some stuff to do?"

Summer laughed. "I didn't get action until later in my first year. About a month or so from now, if I recall correctly. It seems that you guys are jumping ahead of that to get some stuff earlier."

Azura smiled, twisting the switchblade through his fingers. "You know how us young ones are. We tend to jump at any chance of adventure."

"And there I was, accepting my first mission and being excited just for that. Never would have thought the next generation of Huntsmen would be so thirsty for it."

Azura nodded slightly. "When did you get your first mission, anyway? You made it seem like Beacon will give out a mission to the first years soon."

"They will, yeah. It was small stuff, though. Nothing that'll make you bleed or go into a three day coma."

"That sucks. I really enjoy that stuff." Azura said jokingly, laughing lightly.

Summer laughed with him. "Yeah, I'm sure you do. Are you a masochist or something?"

Azura rolled his eyes. "Not that I know of. I mean, do you think I enjoyed Neo punching my face in?"

"I mean, you did tell her to do it…" Summer said, teasingly.

Azura sighed, laying on the bed and keeping the switchblade on hand. "Don't ignore the context, Summer. I had my reasons."

A giggle was all he heard in response.

"Shush, you."

He listened to her giggle again, then calm down with a small sigh. "I'll admit, I missed this kind of thing."

"I assume...your team had this?"

Azura thought of those memories he saw from Summer, and frowned.

"Yeah. With Raven, Qrow…" The woman sighed. "Tai."

"Who is Qrow? I know Raven and Tai are clearly important, but this Qrow keeps getting mentioned." Azura asked.

"Qrow...well, he's certainly someone. Blake reminds me of him. Paranoid and with a dark past. You also remind me of Qrow at times. When you first came here especially."

"Ruby called him uncle. Are you or Tai related to him?"

"He's Raven's brother. Stayed with us after…" Summer trailed off.

"After Raven left." Azura finished for her.

Summer coughed awkwardly, then continued. "So, yeah, he stayed. Kinda became a part of the larger family. He loves Yang and Ruby to death. It's cute."

Azura chuckled. "Well, that's enough of that. I can feel that you don't like talking about this stuff."

"I've had a lot of time to dwell on the past. It's draining. So...I appreciate it. Thanks, Azura."

Azura hummed in response, lifting the switchblade back up to play with it again. Silence reigned through the dorm, with Luna lightly sitting at the head of the bed, playing with Azura's hair.

Looking at the switchblade made him think of Neo, since it was technically hers. Part of him wondered what she was up to at the moment, but he quickly shook the question out of his head.

"Damn my bleeding heart." Azura whispered.

Hearing the door open, he ended up seeing Jaune and Pyrrha walk through. They were talking to each other, with Jaune walking backwards.

"Oh come on, Pyrrha! You're gonna make my arms fall off!" Jaune whined.

Pyrrha laughed. "Please, you'll be fine. Shouldn't you say something about it building character?"

"I don't want to say something like that while my body is ready to fall apart…" Jaune sighed dramatically, falling against his bed.

Pyrrha smiled warmly as she looked at Jaune, then stepped over to her bed as she took her headpiece off. "You have aura for a reason, you know."

Jaune waved her off. "Yeah, yeah."

Pyrrha shook her head, turning to look at Azura. Her green eyes slightly dimmed, and he could feel her looking at his cheek specifically.

"It's mostly healed, Pyrrha. I just haven't put aura into healing it faster." Azura said, keeping his eyes on the switchblade he was playing with.

Pyrrha blushed slightly, embarrassed. "Don't you worry about me. I'm just doing my...uh…"

"Your mother hen act?" Jaune supplied.

"Yes. My...mother hen act." Pyrrha shook her head. "No matter. Why do you keep playing with that switchblade? You've done it for the past four days now."

Azura stopped playing with it, looking over at Pyrrha. "Just something fun to do in between what I have been doing. Helps me think."

She tilted her head. "Well, what are you thinking of?"

"The ice cream psychopath, apparently." Summer said dryly.

"I mean, she's gonna be in and out of our lives, it seems." Azura said to Summer.

Azura spoke aloud a moment later. "Uh...just recent events. Not everyday that you get punched in the nose, you know."

"Or cut across the cheek." Jaune added on.

"Or have your face licked. Which is gross, by the way." Summer said.

"I see. I do admit to feeling...somewhat concerned for you and team Ruby. You seem to always get in one dangerous situation or another." Pyrrha stated.

Azura sat up and shrugged. "Comes with the job. Or, well, the job we'll eventually get."

Pyrrha frowned at the words, but Jaune chuckled and spoke before her. "He's got a point there."

"Regardless of that." Pyrrha looked between the two boys. "A certain someone never called his team for help. There's an emergency button for a reason, you know."

Azura shrugged again. "Most of the aura I lost was from semblance usage and any other small hits I took."

Pyrrha frowned again, displeased. "Can you at least seriously use it when needed. We were in a bit of a panic when you're aura kept dipping, take a large hit, then suddenly stop going down."

Azura looked away. "Yeah, I will. Sorry."

Pyrrha nodded, then got up. "Well, I must shower. Me and Jaune have been training all day."

Jaune groaned. "I'll be here...probably sleeping."

Pyrrha smiled, shaking her head, then headed into the bathroom and closing the door.

Azura looked over at where Jaune was laying. "You going to need some help there, leader mine?"

"Uh...maybe with getting this armor off. I feel like my arms are made of jello right now." Jaune said, groaning as he sat up.

Azura chuckled, putting the switchblade away in his pocket, then walked over to Jaune. As he placed his hand on the first of the straps keeping the armor on Jaune, he decided to make some conversation.

"So, how has training with Pyrrha been going for you?"

Jaune shrugged. "Not terrible. She's a hard trainer though...but even I can tell when I'm improving as a fighter."

Azura nods, unstrapping on piece and moving on to the other side of the chestplate. "That's good. You feeling more confident? It's easy to see that you weren't comfortable with being a leader at first."

Jaune sighed. "Well, I'm still unsure of that stuff. But you guys seem to not mind it."

Azura laughed. "Course we don't. We're all still learning what it's like to be in a team. Even if me and Pyra have been a bit distant recently."

The chestplate unlatched swiftly with Azura helping Jaune, and Azura brought it to the closet as Jaune responded.

"We don't blame you guys for that. Well, I know that I don't." He looked down at his hands. "I understand what it's like to feel like an imposter to something."

Azura looked at Jaune, a twinge of concern reaching his heart. "You doing okay?"

Jaune looked up, turning to look at Azura. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm doing okay." He smiled lopsidedly, looking like he was about to fall asleep. "But don't be afraid to ask us for help, Azura. You might spend a lot of time with team Ruby compared to us, but you're still a member of team Juniper."

Azura smiled. "You're a good friend, Jaune. A great partner to Pyrrha and an excellent leader, as well."

Jaune smiled back lazily. "Thanks, Azura. You're a good friend yourself." He laid against the bed. "Well, I'm going to sleep."

Azura chuckled, watching him for a moment. "You do that." He makes his way for the door, opening it.

"Going for a night run?" Summer asked.

"Yeah. Feeling a bit restless."

He closed the door, stretching as he walked down the dim hall.

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.(Line Break)

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August 17th

Saturday

Cloudy

Azura had to admit that he forgot about the cracks in the glyphs on his body. So much had happened that day, that it had slipped from his mind.

Weiss didn't care about that fact, it seemed.

"You absolute idiot! How do you just forget about the very thing keeping Summer's semblance in check?"

"It's technically stunting her semblance more than keeping it in check." Azura responded dryly.

The glare he received quickly shut him up. "Okay, okay. I'll just shut up."

Weiss nodded. "At least you have some intelligence in your empty skull."

She was having him sit in front of him while in the training halls. She had been on her way to train when she found him and noticed the glyphs.

"What even caused the glyphs to start to break like this?" Weiss asked as she worked on the center battery of the glyphs.

Azura tilted his head. "Well, as I've told you in the past, it was doing the same hum that they do when I have Summer's semblance active. But I was already pushing the limits of the speed, and it had gotten louder as I did that."

Weiss frowned. "I doubt that would crack the glyphs this badly. You did something else, correct?"

"Yeah. I needed to clear a large space in order to not get hurt in the process. And well, Summer told me to focus on my legs and jump when she told me to. When I jumped, it was like I launched myself with a large burst of speed before it quickly brought me back to the limit that you set. That was when I heard the glyph on my cheek crack. Obviously, the other glyphs didn't like it either." Azura explained, leaving out the details as to why he needed to do it.

Weiss shook her head, as if disappointed, then looked up as her blue eyes widened. "Wait."

Azura kept still, blinking. "What?"

"You said that Summer told you to do that, right?" She asked.

"Yeah." He responded.

"Well, that means that you can use her semblance for more than one use." She smirked in excitement. "Azura, that's amazing!"

"Well, now I'm confused. Why wouldn't he be able to use other things my semblance could do?" Summer asked.

"As Summer just said to me, why is this so amazing?" Azura asked, his own confusion present.

Weiss rolled his eyes. "The two of you...honestly. It shows that Azura is able to fully use someone's semblance outside of basic functions, but he needs to be uh...what's the word you've been using...ah! Soul bonded. Azura can fully make use of Summer's semblance when soul bonded."

Azura nodded. "Yeah. I figured that should have been possible anyway."

Weiss sighed. "Azura, think for a moment. You are the only case of someone being able to use someone else's semblance. You didn't get it from blood relation or something, you are using your semblance to be able to use Summer's."

"Oh." Azura said, as if fully understanding. "So that means that...in a way, my soul is Summer Rose's, and hers is Azura Heart's?"

Weiss shrugged. "I do not know that. This is a very rare occurrence, one that I do not recall ever hearing of."

"But...wouldn't that mean…" Summer trails off.

"Summer?" Azura asked, holding a hand up for Weiss, signaling her to wait for a moment.

"It's...it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Azura felt a hand press on his shoulder, and he looked back at Weiss.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

Azura nodded. "Yeah. Did you finish everything you needed to?"

Weiss shook her head. "No. The main fractures on your legs are finished, as well as your wrists, since those were surprisingly only minorly damaged. The battery glyph and the one on your cheek are left."

Azura nodded again. "Well, why don't we finish those?"

"Right. Give me your face."

Azura did so, and Weiss was quick to examine the glyph. "The action you took damaged the glyphs on the legs the most, and the arms were mostly untouched. So...why is this one damaged? And in such a different way."

He saw her frown, wondering what it was like. Weiss caught his glance, and spoke again.

"Well, outside of the arms, the glyphs on your ankles were splintered from the inside. Think of it like breaking a mirror, you hit the mirror from the center and it fractures outward to the edge of it. That's what happened to those." She pauses, and frowns again. "Well, the one on your cheek is one singular cut through it. Like a trench in the ground." She shakes her head, focusing on her task again. "I doubt it particularly means anything, but it is certainly odd."

Azura simply let Weiss do her work from there until she finished. She moved back and breathed out, moving some strands of hair out of her face.

"You said the battery needs to get looked at as well, right? I had thought you put quite a lot of aura in there for the glyphs." Azura said.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to check if the battery also cracked. That is what I mainly want to check for, but you bring up a point. I can do both." Weiss said.

Azura shrugs. "Sounds good. Shall I?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Azura took his sweatshirt off, and then his shirt. Weiss looked away for a moment, then turned back to him and held her hands just above the glyph on his chest, looking awkward.

"So it did crack. Very slightly though. Which is good. If this one broke as badly as the ones on the legs, you would go flying at a hundred plus miles per hour."

Since it was small, Weiss didn't have to take long to fix it. She leaned back up, looking away again.

"Come on, Weiss. It's hardly the first time you've seen me shirtless." Azura said as he put his shirt back on, amused.

"Don't make it seem like it's an everyday occurrence, you dolt!" Weiss exclaimed.

Azura laughed, putting his sweatshirt back on. "What did I say about nicknames again, Weiss?"

"It's that damnable silver eye, I tell you! I look at you and...ugh. It makes me just want to call you what I call Ruby."

"A dolt?" Azura said, smirking.

Weiss jabbed a finger his direction, narrowing her eyes at him. "Shush, you. I don't need you to be another Yang, teasing me for every little thing."

Azura laughed, standing up. "You got it, Ice Queen."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I still don't forgive you for making that nickname exist."

"Well, why don't you fight me over it?" Azura replied, jokingly.

"Maybe I should." Weiss retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Azura shook his head. "Perhaps. On a more serious note, why don't you and I actually train? Maybe have a spar, since it seemed like you were on your way to do some weapon training."

Weiss nods. "That sounds like a grand idea. Let's do that."

They make their way down to the arenas downstairs, setting up a large arena for them to use. Azura thought about how well-timed it was for them to have already been in the training halls.

"You up for a spar against Weiss?" Azura asked Summer.

"Hm? Yeah, sure." Summer responded.

"First to fifteen percent aura, that's all. No knockouts, given the barrier." Weiss said, stepping to the other side of the arena.

Azura stayed on his own side, looking over at Luna. "You feel like dealing with two? Well, three, if you count Summer."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "I'd rather just have the duel-like fight, thank you very much."

Luna put on a whole sad act, before gently floating off to Azura and tapping his nose. He looked over at her, and saw her put a fist to her hand, then pointed at Weiss. She smirked with a joking look in her yellow eyes before floating out of the arena.

Azura shook his head, amused. He looked over at Weiss. "She wants me to kick your ass, I think."

Weiss blinked. "For telling you no to a two versus one?" She replied dryly.

"Yep." Azura said, popping the 'p'.

She just rolled her eyes in response. "You ready?"

Azura nodded, drawing his sword and dagger, and feeling a motion to do so, twirled the sword and dagger in hand.

"That's new." Azura commented.

"That's my habit. I used to always play with my weapons once I got comfortable with them." Summer explained.

Azura smirked, doing it again. He turned his attention fully to Weiss as a small buzz went off behind him, signaling the start of the match.

Weiss zipped forward with a glyph, and Azura quickly dodged off to the side, then rolled forward as he felt a burst of heat ripple directly over him. He turned on a dime, keeping Weiss in sight. Rose petals went flying, cloak flashing to life, and Azura gave chase.

He jumped right at Weiss, crashing into her with his sword. She dashed off, backflipping on the ground and stopping, crouching down, then speeding towards Azura again with another glyph. Crossing his blades, he brought Weiss's rapier up into the air, and moved to push it to the side. Weiss took the momentum and spun around to slice at Azura.

He leaned back, dodging the blade, but not the extension of the blade she had just created. Coldness ripped into him, and he felt the ice dust breathe against his chest.

More petals, and Azura distanced himself from Weiss again. He mentally noted to remember that Weiss had a lot of utility and surprises up her sleeve. He also recalled that she seemed more resistant to dust.

Azura dashed back towards Weiss, dodging her fire and lightning shots, swinging his blade forward and missing. He flipped the dagger to be pointing backwards and jabbed it to his side as he felt Weiss move around his side. He leapt up as a series of black runes came up around him.

"Much faster this time, Weiss!" Azura said to himself.

"Behind, 5 o' clock!" Summer called out.

Azura landed on the ground, practically cartwheeling to the side as he felt Summer motion him to. He twisted his blade just as Weiss's rapier sliced up along his arm, pushing it off of his aura. He brought his dagger arm up, slicing upwards and hearing it hit aura. Weiss jumped back, and he felt flames hit his leg, the flash of heat hard to ignore, but he went forward to give chase.

He threw his dagger forward, then felt energy surge into his legs. Within moments, he was in the air and Weiss blocked the thrown dagger just as Azura grabbed it and flipped with it, crashing his sword down as Weiss blocked that as well. He kept the combo going as he brought the dagger up again, feeling it hit against a glyph, he brought it back, putting one foot back and pushing his strength into bringing both blades down.

Weiss blocked it, but grunted at the show of strength. Azura pushed further and just as Weiss was about to topple over, a black glyph showed up under her feet, and he quickly dashed back as Weiss shot up into the sky.

Azura crouched down himself, shooting up towards Weiss. As he sped towards her, however, another black glyph appeared and he slammed into it. He hissed in pain, falling on the ground, and quickly getting up. Weiss came down with a glyph in her hand, and Azura quickly followed after Summer's motions, jumping as high and far away as he could.

Fire went flying in every direction, and the flames licked at his feet as he got away. Azura quickly landed, deflecting the sharp icicle that was shot his way as the flames died out. Weiss dashed in, and Azura dodged once more. He swung out of the dodge towards Weiss, hitting her blade, but quickly hissed and dropped his sword as electricity arced through it.

It was then that he realized his mistake. The girl had just electrified her rapier, and now, his sword was missing flung through the arena to the other side. He would go after it, but more and more rose petals came out as he dodged stab after stab.

Eventually, he managed to get out of her assault of pokes and stabs, grabbing onto her arm and jerking her to the side, and crouching below her retaliating slice. He threw the dagger to his right hand, stabbing at her aura.

She stepped back, dancing away from him. Her hair wildly flew around, and Azura took the moment of her getting away to also step away and grab his sword again, switching the dagger back to his left again.

Twirling both in his hands, he smirked. Weiss had crouched down, glyph at the ready, and Azura sped towards her. The girl did the same, and as they were going to meet blades, Azura quickly dragged them down and stabbed up towards Weiss, hitting her aura again.

Heat seared down his arms and along his chest.

"Damn fire dust." Azura hissed out.

He brought his sword arm back, hitting her rapier away, then hopped up as more fire hit the ground in front of him. He slammed his blades down on Weiss, and he grinned as he saw another glyph pop up below her again.

He let her shoot up, then crouched down. He breathed in, then out, and shot up after her again. As he twisted round and round, he brought his sword against him as the tip glowed. One final twist and he saw the black glyph appear. He thrusted his sword arm up, shattering the glyph as it pierced right through it. Feeling his momentum fall, Azura could do nothing but crash back down to the ground, stopping most of the momentum through Summer's semblance.

Weiss landed much more slowly, right next to him, and spoke.

"Match is over. Aura limit."

Azura sat up tiredly, looking at Weiss. He breathed in and out a few times to catch his breath, watching her do the same, then responded.

"Yeah? Who won?"

"Me, at 23%. You dipped down to 14% with that trick you pulled to break my glyph." Weiss nodded. "It was a great idea, actually. It seemed that you used too much stamina right at the end."

Azura nodded, wiping at the sweat on his forehead. "Well, that sucks." He smiles, getting up slowly. "But it was fun. Good match, Weiss."

Weiss smiled in return. "Yes, it was."

As Azura stretched and put his weapons away, Weiss spoke again.

"Did the new adjustments keep the glyphs intact when you did that big speed boost? Well...it seemed to be more of a massive speed burst, but you get my point.

Azura nodded. "Yeah. No cracking was heard. I'll check it later for you, though. Just in case."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "They seem fine, from what you tell me. You ready to go back up? Dinner should be getting served soon."

Azura nodded again. "Yeah. I'm feeling hungry after that match. You go on ahead to the locker room and shower up. I'll be right behind you, just going to talk with Luna."

Weiss nodded, then turned and left the arena room, heading back up the stairs. Azura shook his head, then turned to Luna as she came up to him.

"Well, I didn't kick her ass, as you wanted me to. Was it at least entertaining?"

She nodded, then hugged him as a silent laugh left her. Azura leaned into it, smiling. After a few moments, his scroll went off, and Luna released him so that he could grab it. Seeing the familiar number, he sighed lightly and read it.

"Meet me at The Club tonight, three hours from now. I have someone to meet you. Also, Militia is being mean."

Azura shook his head, but felt a spark of excitement creep in him.

"Glad to actually have a reason to go back to Vale?" Summer asked.

"Yep. Just glad to be doing something different compared to the past week." Azura replied aloud.

Azura got a move on, going up the stairs as well. He supposed that his aura would be able to charge up enough while waiting, though he doubted might fighting would go on. Unless Yang showed up.

He hoped that wouldn't happen. Weiss had tired him out with the spar, and he did not need another fight on his hands.

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.(Line Break)

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Azura walked into Junior's club, weapons hidden as per usual, and at a healthy 40% aura. Loud music was playing, the sound being less jarring than before. If that meant Azura had been here often enough, he wasn't going to complain.

Though, the last time he came here was very much different than this time. He recalled the sinking feeling in his heart as he realized just what kind of situation was unfolding in the darker side of Vale. He had been told a dozen times by Militia alone that his bleeding heart had no place in the underground part of Vale, but he couldn't just stand by now.

Sure, he had around only one reason to trust Neo, but even then, he didn't want to know that she could just die. Militia cared enough to try and keep him out of it, but again, he couldn't stand by while he knew these people were getting dragged into this. The same went for Junior and Melanie. They seemed nice, honest, even.

His thoughts went out to Aurora, the little snake Faunus she was. She reminded him of his mother, mostly because of the eccentric habits they both have. She lived in the orphanage, and he could tell that, while it wasn't in the shadiest part of Vale, it wasn't the safest area either.

Finding his reasoning to be sound, he kept pushing forward, making his way around the central dance floor to the stairs. He was about halfway there when he felt an arm pull on him, gasping in surprise, and he noticed that it was Militia. From there, he stumbled to keep up, but allowed her to drag him off.

They made it through a door to the backrooms of the club, and from there she let go and hissed at him once he was looking at her.

"You! Why do you keep doing what you are doing?!"

Azura remained calm, trying to not look uncomfortable under Militia's razor sharp gaze. "What do you mean?"

"I've warned you to stay away from Torchwick! And what do I find? I find out that his little psychopath personally called you here!" She grits her teeth. "You shouldn't even be involved here!"

Azura frowns slightly. "Militia…"

"Don't you try to pull that shit with me! You ignored everything! And now look at you! You saw a murder happen, clearly agreed to something dangerous, and from what I hear, helped her with something. Torchwick himself called you crazy, doesn't that say something?" Militia exclaimed, annoyed.

Azura sighs. It does, yes. But, look, I couldn't just stand by! Not while people could die!"

"This isn't some fucking fairytale, Azura! You aren't some hero to save us!" Militia retorted.

"I'm not trying to be!" Azura yelled back, feeling overwhelmed by his own annoyance, and by a surge of Summer's emotions, a mix of anger and bitterness.

He took a breath, calming down. "I don't want to be a hero. But if you think I won't try and keep people alive, then you're wrong. I have people I care about that could easily be harmed in the crossfire if I don't try and keep things from escalating. The White Fang is going beyond radical, Militia. I haven't been in this world for that long, but even I can tell that this is different. The world is shifting."

Militia stepped back, as if not expecting it. She shook her head, sighing. "I see. Perhaps I was wrong about you." She looked back up at him. "But this is still no place for someone like you. Do you have what it takes? Would you kill in self-defense? Would you kill to protect others? Would you kill for someone?"

Azura opened his mouth to respond, then lowered his gaze. He frowned, thinking about the questions. He looked back up, and he felt like it wasn't just him responding.

"Only one way to find out what I can do."

Militia frowned, then sighed. "Just no tough guy act, you hear? You have trouble, don't do it. You struggle to get through something that you see...something you do...come here. I...Melanie and I, as well as Junior, have seen our fair share of dirty and bad things. I don't want you to end up like us. Or worse, like her."

"Like her?" Azura frowned. "Like who?"

Militia shakes her head. "No one in particular. Don't worry about it."

Azura sighed. "Got it. Can...I go now?"

Militia grabs his arm tightly. " Be safe, Azura. Don't be afraid to come here for help. Or hell, to even drop it, and stay at Beacon."

Azura nods. "I promise. I'll keep everything you told me in mind."

She let's go. "Good."

Azura smiles at Militia. "Cheer up, will you? I'll stay safe. I do have a trained huntress in my head, and another right next to me."

Militia smirked. "Always believing in the dead, Azura. You're a weird kid."

Azura chuckled. "That's me." He turned away, walking off. "Thanks for caring, Militia."

Militia snorted in amusement, striding in front of him. "Please. Someone has to keep an eye on the newbie."

Azura rolled his eyes, making it back out to the main floor of the club, and splitting off from Militia to get up to the second floor. Once more, the music started to fade out and silence started to fill back in, and Azura finally arrived to the quiet place he was becoming familiar with.

What he was not familiar with, however, was the man standing before him.

"Torchwick." Azura said simply.

"Heya, kid." The man replied, smoking his cigar. "I bet you weren't expecting me, were ya?"

Azura glanced at Neo for a moment, before looking back at the bowler hat man. "I expected a certain someone to have a guest, but I figured…"

"That it wouldn't be me." Torchwick chuckled, taking the cigar out of his mouth. "Well, it is. In fact, I was the one to set this all up, not dear little Neo here. That's right, master thief Roman Torchwick himself."

Azura stayed where he was, staying silent. Torchwick chuckled, waving his cigar hand around.

"Come on, I won't bite. Otherwise that Malachite twin will flay me alive. No, I set this up to meet the person that Neo's been hiding from me." He waved his hand to a chair opposite of him. "Call it a curiosity."

Azura stepped forward, glancing once at Luna taking a position behind Torchwick, then takes the seat. Torchwick waves the cigar lazily, then looks at Neo. "I understand you want to be here, Neo, but this'll be a discussion between me and the kid."

Neo frowns, standing her ground for a moment, then shakes her head. She walks off, down the stairs, but still visible when Azura turned his head to look. She was staring out at the crowd, hand on her tilted head as she looked out at the crowd below, bored.

"Eyes on the prize, kid. I'm the one talking to you."

Azura turned back to look at Torchwick again, speaking plainly. "Sorry. You said you set this up?"

Torchwick rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did. You and I have a few things to talk about." He leaned forward. "For starters...you don't belong in this kind of lifestyle. You could just as easily hide away in that little academy of yours, be a Hunter. And yet, here you are."

Azura frowned. "Everyone who knows about this says that. Why?"

Torchwick chuckled. "Simple, kid. You're too earnest, too honest. In other terms, you're too trusting."

"Well, I don't trust you." Azura replied.

Torchwick grinned. "But you do have a fire in ya. I can respect that." He took some time to lean back, smoking his cigar. "But who else don't you trust?"

Azura bit his lip, thinking of the question. "Neo. The Malachites. I guess Junior as well. And well, I haven't met many people outside of that, but I bet I shouldn't trust them either."

Torchwick taps his bowler hat. "If you didn't trust any of them, then why do you keep coming to this specific place? Cause Junior says he stays neutral? As for the Malachites, they're like me. They like you, but I doubt it goes much further. They either find you amusing, or from what I see with the...uh...Militia. That one. She's likely the most trustworthy out of all of us. She's used to this life, but she can't sit on the side if a 'new blood' comes in."

Azura glanced at Torchwick's coat, but quickly looked back up. "And Neo?"

Torchwick taps his free hand on the table, looking at Azura in amusement. "You say you don't trust her. And yet, you've come to her beck and call each and every time. You think I don't keep an eye on what Neo is doing?" He chuckles. "Still, what an odd thing to see. What you say and what you do are showing two different things."

Azura sat up fully as he replied. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Torchwick grins. "Well, it means that you are either a liar, or you can't actually help yourself from doing it. If I had to guess, I would say that you want to help her. Which means you can't help yourself."

"Is that so wrong?" Azura asked, frowning.

Torchwick shrugged. "Well, yes. Logically, it is. Neo is a fully capable of taking care of herself, I took care of that. Realistically, still wrong. You're a fool to want to help her." He shrugged again. "If you want my personal opinion, I think she was right for trying to get you to help. But she doesn't just want your help."

Azura was taken aback by the words. He had figured that to be the case, that Neo had some ulterior motive, but to see Torchwick say it so blatantly was disconcerting.

"Are you...warning me?" Azura asked, slight paranoia guiding his words.

"That's correct, kid. See, you remind me of someone way back in the day." He leaned forward. "Someone who was impressionable and not able to make way for themselves. Neo could easily take advantage of that."

Azura blinked a few times, trying to process the info.

"I'm not here to help ya, kid. But I won't just let ya drown out here. Consider it a professional courtesy." Torchwick continued.

"Right. What does this mean, then? You won't personally assist me, but you'll steer trouble away?"

Torchwick nodded, and an air of seriousness could be seen. "Exactly like that, kid. You don't want to get involved with what the adults are doing. You're way too young for what we're up to."

"You look hardly over twenty five." Azura said without thinking.

Torchwick shook his head, amused. "And that's exactly what I mean. Too naive and thoughtless. Kid, I may look young, but I'm thirty one. Neo's not quite the old bastard I am, but she's likely at least five years older than you. Small size might make her seem younger than that, but I can guarantee that she's older than you for sure. She doesn't know her age either, or just never told me."

Torchwick leans back. "Think about that, kid. She's been my partner in crime here in Vale for so very long, and I still don't know her history. That's how untrustworthy this criminal underworld business is. Especially nowadays. Things are getting crazy."

Azura stayed silent, and Torchwick got up. He moved over to Azura and patted his shoulder. "Think this over, kid. One of these days, you could end up forced into this life, if you keep this up. But I'm not your parent, I'll let you make your choice."

Torchwick walked off, and Azura sighed heavily. Luna moved to stand by his side, keeping an eye on the stairs to defend him like a bodyguard.

He appreciated the defense. Summer's silence was something he was also grateful

For. He needed some time to think, away from Summer, away from Beacon.

Though, Azura felt like he knew what he would end up deciding.

.

.(Chapter End)

.

And that's a wrap. Just as Ironwood had a full and formal introduction to Azura, so does Torchwick. Not much to say here, other than what I always say.

Have a nice day/evening!