Life at Beacon academy had finally gotten to a positively steady pace, things were finally looking up for Kaiser. Some of his previous inadequacies were slowly but surely disappearing, such as his financial situation. The boy had applied to a work-study program that Goodwitch had referred him to, Kaiser was to mow the grass every week. He would trim the bushes that lined the stone pathways of beacon on the days that he wasn't mowing, he managed to fit in the work between 7:00am to 8:30. This schedule would leave him with just enough time to shower and grab a piece of fruit before class. The entire idea of a routine unsettled him, it was only natural when routines were used to track a person's next step. Kaiser had to remind himself that he didn't have a reason to be paranoid anymore. A deafening clank had broken the boy out of his thoughts.
"I can't believe you actually don't flex in the mirror."
One constant that Kaiser was glad for was his morning workouts with Pyrrha, she had gradually become less and less nervous around him. Their talks had evolved from awkward exchanges to very deep conversations in a short matter of weeks.
"I don't see the point!" Kaiser shot out. "I know my body is in peak condition, I don't need to see it to know it."
Pyrrha was meanwhile flexing her muscles in front of the wall mirror. "I like how the body reflects on the hard work that we put in."
Kaiser could agree with that sentiment, but he also disliked staring at the scars that marred his body. He quickly adjusted his shirt near an old wound caused by feral guard dogs.
"I guess you're right on that one." In a matter of weeks, Kaiser had gained a helpful amount of control of his aura. Every day was spent practicing different aspects of aura usage, manually projected aura shields were quickly becoming a favorite of his. It helped fill in any cracks in his fighting style, he'd have to get hit for it be a problem though.
"But I just feel like I don't need to see how good I'm getting." Kaiser carefully set the bar down on the rack, his chest heaved in sweet relief. Electricity ran through the boy's veins, he felt like he could take on an entire squad of Zodiac assassins. The boy pumped his fist, he'd caught a glimpse of Pyrrha's form in the mirror adjacent to him. Thoughts of asking her to fight him ran rampant throughout his mind, he tucked those thoughts away for later.
She'd fold me like an omelette."Hey Pyrrha, if you don't mind me asking." Kaiser efficiently wiped down the bench. "What are tournaments like?" With the Vytal festival coming up, Kaiser wanted to know the ins and outs to the rules and set-up of the tournament. Anything that could be used as a loophole was on the table for the boy to exploit. Who better to ask about tournaments than the champion herself?
"Well tournaments are generally one on one combat in an uncontrolled environment." Pyrrha loaded the bar with weights before setting the incline on the bench. "Both combatants fight until their aura is depleted. Why do you ask?"
"Ozpin told me I would be moved into the singles division if I choose to participate." Kaiser did push-ups beside the bench. "Hope you weren't planning on an easy win, because you'll have to get through me to get it." The mirth was evident in his tone, he hoped he didn't come across as arrogant.
Pyrrha let out a couple giggles, it was a side seldom seen on television interviews. "We'll see about that, so you better make it to the finals."
"I plan on it." The two continued their workout in comfortable silence for a while. Noises of loud metal clanks were the only things heard from outside the gym. Kaiser stood up to start on a different exercise, he spotted a look of trepidation on Pyrrha's admittedly stunning face. Something must have been bothering her again, he was ashamed to say he didn't have a clue as to what. Kaiser had been busy playing catch-up with the rest of his year, very rare it was that he spent a full nutritional period with teams RWBY and JNPR. Determined to help his friend, he decided to ask her what was wrong. What were friends for?
Pyrrha sighed, "What would you do if somebody you knew needed help?"
Kaiser stopped in between sit-ups, was this a call for help? "Well I'd try my best to understand the problem and then, help this person as best I can." Kaiser finished up his first set, on to the second.
"And what if this person didn't want your help?" Pyrrha's seemed a lot more downtrodden all of a sudden. "In fact, what if the person denied there was a problem at all?"
Kaiser stopped completely, this was really troubling to him. Never had he been presented with the opportunity to console someone, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to help his friend in distress. "If they don't want help, I think the best course of action is to simply be there." Kaiser placed a careful hand on the champion's shoulder. "And as your friend", Kaiser waited for any protest. "I'll be there for you."
"Thank you."
Nobody had really given himself specific instructions on what to do with the shrubbery. He was basically shoved out the door with orders to 'trim off excess'. So there he was at 7:56am making sure the hedges were at an acceptable height. He'd been mindlessly snipping the leaves off the top for a while, a figure carrying multiple books neared the stone pathway.
Kaiser didn't pay any mind to the struggling figure, that is until the books fell with a resounding thump. The sudden movement of it all forced the boy on high alert, the hedge trimmer was held as if it was a weapon. His grip on it slackened when his gaze fell on Jaune Arc, who had spilled a ton of textbooks onto the pavement.
"Last minute studying?"
Jaune chuckled nervously before picking the books back up. "Yeah, never know when Dr. Oobleck gonna drop a quiz on us." The knightly boy had hoisted his books back up just as Kaiser went back to snipping.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but studying five of the same book doesn't equate to studying five times as hard." Kaiser said dismissively.
Jaune nervously scratched his head, "Oh... you know, just doing a team study sesh."
Kaiser could've been richer than Weiss Schnee herself and still wouldn't have bought this pathetic excuse for a lie. Pyrrha had already confessed that her team leader had been acting strangely, Arc was spending time with Cardin Winchester of all people. Kaiser would have cared less with who his friends hung out with, but from what he heard it all felt forced. One side effect of being trained to gather and investigate for information was giving Kaiser the inability to keep out of other people's business. It was only natural for Kaiser to look further into this.
"I see, two heads are better than one and all that." Kaiser snipped off a couple loose branches from the hedge. "Well don't let me get in the way of your studies." Kaiser focused his everything on a particularly stubborn branch as Jaune scrambled towards the school. Something was up, and Kaiser would find out what.
Kaiser never noticed how crowded the cafeteria was until he started eating there, a marginal contrast to when he'd sit down in his barren dorm. He'd decided to sit down with his classmates for longer than ten minutes this time around. He sat down to a couple 'hellos' from those nearest to him. People on the far end of the table just nodded in acknowledgment, Kaiser returned their greetings.
"Ooblecks quiz was bull!" Yang accused the currently absent doctor.
"Maybe you didn't study the right material?" Kaiser helpfully provided.
"Oh yeah?" Yang rested her chin in her palm. "And what do you think I've been studying this whole time."
"Me." Kaiser said without a single shred of hesitation. He liked talking with Yang, it came naturally to him. Nostalgia washed over him as she burst out laughing, her fist slammed down on the table.
"You wish Kai." Yang turned to greet Ren and Nora who had just sat down.
Ren and Nora were an interesting pair, or well… not a pair as Nora often emphasized. Nora was alright, Kaiser didn't have much of a problem with her. Although he'd like it if she were a bit more calm, her erratic movements and loud behavior often had Kaiser on edge. But if that was the price for her companionship, so be it.
On the other side of the spectrum, Ren was the embodiment of peace and tranquility. Always there with a quick word to defuse any situation. One could not help but feel calm around the black haired boy. Interactions with him were pleasant enough, even if Ren always sounded like he was done with people.
A bottle was placed near his tray of food, it was filled with a dark green colored liquid. Ren was holding it out to the boy next to him.
"Nora refuses to drink hers, would you like it?" He wiggled the bottle enticingly while maintaining his passive stone faced demeanor. "It's got a lot of nutrients and helps with eyesight."
Kaiser considered it for a moment, Nora was trying to catch his attention. The hyperactive hammer wielder was making a gagging gesture. The boy accepted the bottle with a soft 'thank you'.
"So what class do we have after this?" Yang asked.
"Goodwitch's, I think." Kaiser took a sip of the green juice he was given. It was terrible, but not undrinkable. Ren looked at him expectantly, it appeared the lotus fighter wanted an answer.
"It wouldn't be good for you if it tasted amazing." Ren nodded, the answer seemed to have satisfied him.
"You can say the same about Pumpkin Pete's cereal. Right Pyrrha?" Nora chimed in, she shook Pyrrha's shoulder. The recipient of the shoulder-shaking seemed distant, all her attention focused on one area.
"Sorry?" Pyrrha had turned to Nora, unclear of what was going on.
"Ugh, come on Pyrrha! You can't keep worrying about Jaune like this." The leader of team JNPR was currently sitting uncomfortably between Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush of team CRDL. "Jaune's going to come back to us once he comes back to his senses."
Kaiser took one look at CRDL's plus one, it was clear that it wasn't being done of Jaune's own volition. From what he could see, this new seating arrangement had caused a strain on the entirety of team JNPR. The entire table's dynamic was off now, JNPR was sort of gloomy without Jaune. Team RWBY acted as if they were walking on eggshells around their sister team.
Time to step in.
Kaiser finished off the rest of his green juice and shuddered, it was still pretty terrible. The boy quickly dumped his empty plate in the trash and strode over to team CRDL's table. He heard snickers coming from the group, they felt specifically aimed at him.
"Room for one more?" Kaiser gave a welcoming smile to the unwelcome chaos in his life.
"Go ahead, me and the boys were just talking about the upcoming trip to forever falls." Cardin grinned, it was fake though of course. The power a fake smile held was that of encouraging diplomacy from both sides. Kaiser would play along… for now.
"Ohhh yeah, we're supposed to get assigned some sort of special task." Kaiser went on as Cardin nodded at him. "We're supposed to be doing it with teams, guess I'll fail this next assignment." The rest of the table let out a couple chuckles.
"Been meaning to ask you, why didn't you get assigned a team?" Cardin directed his team's attention towards Kaiser.
"Ah, I just got the bad luck of the draw." Kaiser rapped his knuckles on the wood of the table they sat at. "At least since I'm alone, I can claim every punch I land is a team attack."
"Really, I just thought they didn't want you dragging anyone down." The table sans Jaune erupted into laughter, he didn't look comfortable amidst the slander.
"What does that say about you since I practically destroyed you." Kaiser received no laughs, there was a sharp intake of breath. "Tough crowd huh?"
A few more minutes were spent exchanging laughs and stories. Kaiser was fairly sure that it was all an act and that Cardin knew what he was here for.
"Well guys, it's been a blast talking to you but Jaune and I got to go ba-" Kaiser motioned Jaune to stand up, the blond boy picked up his tray to follow Kaiser.
"-and what makes you think Jauney-boy is going anywhere?" Cardin yanked the boy back down, his voice held venomous spite.
Kaiser recoiled from the sudden shift in mood, he decided to placate Cardin. "Relax, we're all friends here. It just tha-" Kaiser was cut off.
"You know, for a spy you're pretty shit at acting."
Kaiser's eyes widened, "What?!"
"Yeah that's right, I know what you are." An infuriating smirk adorned his punchable face. "Found it odd you had no last name, but after doing a bit of digging around for you and you'll never guess what I found!" His arms crossed as his shit-eating grin only widened.
Kaiser, shocked and confused, could only try to formulate some sort of response. "But… but how did you…?" Kaiser couldn't even finish his question, Cardin sought to answer it regardless.
"My dads been on the council for 20 years, nothing goes on in vale without him knowing." Cardin's sneer was getting to be unbearable now, he started shouting. "You're a fucking spy and a murderer!"
A sea of gasp erupted from around the table, whispered mutterings and wide-eyed stares surrounded Kaiser. None of it mattered to Cardin though, he just kept on going.
"I read your file, every time you're involved somebody dies in the end!" Cardin was standing up, his height domineering over Kaiser and the rest of the student body. "To think those people could have lived if you're fucking parents didn't pawn you off to the IPS!"
Kaiser winced at the mention of the IPS, that damned organization had put him through the ringer. It barely even registered with Kaiser that Cardin had mentioned his parents, it should have, considering he had no idea what became of them.
"I mean, you could have been dropped off at an orphanage, but they wanted to send you off to die!" Cardin's voice boomed throughout the cafeteria. "Honestly? A fuck-up like you should have!" Cardin sat back down and pulled Jaune near, his voice had dropped spitefully low. "This is what happens to those who don't know their place Jauney-boy."
Numerous things were running through Kaiser's head at the moment. His secret had been laid bare for all to see, every truth felt like a punch to the stomach. Gods, what did his friends think. He certainly wouldn't be able to face them, not with how much they would want to distance themselves from him now. Kaiser kept a calm facade, he took one look at Cardin, the smug bastard was smirking as if he did everybody a favor. Kaiser was clueless as to what to do about his situation.
Breaking Cardin's wrist felt like the appropriate thing to do.
Kaiser drove his elbow down on Cardin's wrist, he howled in pain under the sickening crunch.
Kaiser struck him in the nose with the same elbow, the larger of the two boy's had fallen off his seat. With the entirety of team CRDL's attention on him, Kaiser thought it best if he moved to a more open area between the tables. The spy was focused on the three boys who approached him.
Russel charged forward with a punch, Kaiser grabbed his arm and yanked him off to the side without letting go. Sky lark came in next aiming for Kaiser's face, he blocked Sky's punch with his free hand and delivered a counter punch sending Sky back the way he came. Dove rushed forward but was knocked away when Kaiser back kicked him. Kaiser finally let go of Russel who was kneeling, the mohawked boy received a low elbow strike to the head.
Kaiser heard a guttural roar from his side, he turned to see Cardin charging at him. Winchester was stopped immediately as Kaiser front kicked him in the stomach, the orange haired boy fell on his back. Dove came from behind with a wild haymaker, his punch met thin air as Kaiser ducked under it. The spy pushed him forward while sweeping his leg, Dove was groaning while on his knees. Kaiser dropped into a crouching position so he could sweep Russell off his kneeling position, his chin hit the linoleum floor hard. Dove was trying to get back up, but was promptly kneed in the head.
Sky gunned for him and there was nothing Kaiser could do about it, his back hit the edge of a table as Sky kept pushing at him from the front. Sky kept ramming into Kaiser's chest, Kaiser was bringing his elbows down on Sky repeatedly. Once Kaiser had weakened Sky's hold on him, he threw him by the collar of his uniform. Sky cried in pain as he crashed against another table along with its plates and forks.
There was a momentary pause in the fight. Everybody's eyes were on the white haired boy before them, they all displayed some sort of shock or awe. Kaiser chanced a glance at the table which sat his friends, he could see that some of them looked worried for him.
Kaiser was pulled out his musings when he was roughly tackled from behind, his arms took the brunt of the fall when he hit the floor. A grunt of pain escaped him when he got punched in the ribs, he was sure something cracked. Cardin dragged the boy up by his neck, both boys stood while Cardin held Kaiser in a rear naked choke.
"They should lock you up, you fucking psycho!" Cardin spewed out tauntingly.
Kaiser struck behind him with his elbow before he passed out from lack of oxygen. Kaiser's elbow hit Cardin in the ribs resulting in his grasp loosening, Kaiser grabbed Cardin's arm and threw him over the shoulder. Cardin was once again on the ground, he held his sides in excruciating pain.
"Is that all you can do!" Kaiser mocked. He was starting to lose his breath, he hoped CRDL would back off now.
Sky was helping his leader up off the ground, Cardin growled and shoved him off. "Get off me!"
Guess not.
Cardin charged in with a loose haymaker, Kaiser ducked under it as the orange haired boy lost his balance. Sky charged in after his fallen leader but was knocked to the ground by a reverse crescent kick from Kaiser.
Russel managed to hit the spy with a heavy haymaker, Kaiser was knocked into Dove's grasp. The two struggled grappling each other while Russell closed in on them. The Mohawk wearing teen yanked Kaiser back by the collar, the uniform's neck threatened to choke Kaiser's own. Kaiser kept his hands on Dove's shoulders so he could head butt him. Kaiser struck backwards with a back-fist, it hit Russell's shoulder as he finally let go of the spy's collar. Kaiser finished off Dove with a strike to the cheek.
Cardin got back up for what seemed like the hundredth time and aimed a haymaker at his opponent. Kaiser blocked the punch at the wrist, his arms immediately wrapped around Cardin's neck in the same chokehold he was in before.
"You read what I was capable of so why'd you think this was a smart idea!" In a tournament setting, team CRDL would probably have Kaiser beat. They definitely would have beaten him now if they all had their weapons in hand, but they weren't. They were in Kaiser's domain now, where there were no rules except to survive. Cardin was nothing compared to the deadly fighters he had faced off against before, the gap in experience was only made more apparent by the chorus of groans around them.
That's when he saw it, fear. The fear that was etched across the face of many, all focused onto one person. Soft whispers spread around the room like wildfire, it all jumbled together into one huge mess for the boy. Kaiser felt suffocated, as if he could truly feel the judgemental thoughts going through the student body. He needed to get out, it wouldn't do him good to stay here for now. He quickly released Cardin from his grasp, he straightened himself up and made to leave the cafeteria. He made it two steps before he heard the hacking cough of the person he nearly knocked out.
"I knew it…" Cardin managed to rasp out, he sported bruises and a bloodied face… so did the rest of his team. "You're... a fucking monster!" The brute had just managed to steady himself with his arm.
The spy had stopped in his tracks, he tried getting his uneven breathing under control. In an instant, he hit Cardin with a wheel kick. Kaiser fled the area before the cunning brute even hit the floor.
It took a bit of time to get to the bullhead station, about 14 minutes at least. Kaiser had to ditch his uniform in favor of his coat, there was no use taking the blazer if people would probably try to turn him in for truancy. He boarded the empty vessel that picked up any wandering students.
Kaiser didn't want to go anywhere, he just wanted to leave.