Chapter 11
"Micheal, are you sure about this, those terms are ridiculous," Yang asked Micheal for the fifth time since he told them the deal with Weiss earlier this morning.
"Yes Yang, I'm sure, you remember why I agreed to it right," the wolf faunus replied. He was starting to get a little annoyed at Yang constantly repeating her question. He knew the terms were ridiculous, but he needed a way to get some money. It's going to be hard work, extremely hard work that would have an effect on him, but the reward of not worrying about funds was worth it.
"I know, but why didn't you say anything," the blond sighed.
"What did you want me to say," he said turning to Yang. "I mean it should have been obvious, a drifter has no money, and I didn't want to bug ya'll for money all the time," Micheal said with a slight glare. He looked out the window of the airship lying back into his chair. He rubbed his forehead trying to calm himself down. He had told the team earlier this morning about the deal he and Weiss made. They had to tell since the wolf faunus was doing everything the heiress asked him to do and the team got curious as to why he was doing it. Unfortunately, It didn't really go to well, not that there was a fight. It was just some shock due to the terms of the deal and questions for why he accepted. Micheal ended up telling them why he agreed to it but didn't really help his situation. He stares out the small window to his left to pass the time. He looked at the ground below, the vast city of Vale below them. He didn't find anything particularly interesting. He just wanted to drown out the world right now and ignore Ruby's constant pleas to Weiss to lower the standards of the deal. It's not like he hated their concern, he appreciated it in fact. It was just getting annoying listening to pleas and getting questioned for the past couple hours.
The team was on their way into town for groceries and cooking utensils for their kitchen. They had decided that since they had a kitchen they might as well us it. It was Micheal first real time to actually know what Vale is like. Since the other time was the night he appeared in Remnant and got involved in a fight that led to him getting into Beacon. Then he left for Beacon the next day. During that time he really didn't pay much attention to the city. So, he also never got time to check out the city. He wondered how much different it was compared to his world. He hoped it wasn't that much different.
"Weiss, can you please go easier on Micheal, please," Ruby pleaded.
"No, he willingly agreed to it," the heiress said.
"Weiss…," the reaper started to say something.
"Ruby, just drop it, please," Micheal said looking over at Ruby. The girl in red was sitting next to Weiss.
"But…, the deal is ridiculous," Ruby said turning her attention to the wolf faunus.
"Ruby, as Weiss said I willing agreed to this, so I have to hold my end of the bargain, Weiss isn't heartless you know," the wolf faunus said trying to end this issue.
"How so," Yang asked.
"She didn't have to offer me the deal, I mean she could have left me there wondering how I was going to pay for everything and she, along with ya'll, of course, is going to help me get my capabilities up to standards, but she is the only one who can teach me all about dust and how to use it," Micheal replied. Ruby and Yang stayed silent after that. He gave them a reassuring smile. "I really do appreciate your concern, really, but don't worry I'll be fine, I promise," he said and then returned his attention outside. Before he turned his head around, he noticed Blake sending Weiss a small glare. He would have to talk to her once they landed. He noticed the aircraft beginning to descend as the city grew closer. A red light lit up saying "Fasten Seat Belts," and the wolf faunus' ear twitched at each click of seat belts being put on.
"All passengers please remain seated till the aircraft comes to a complete stop," a male voice said on the intercom. The aircraft shook a bit as it landed on the landing pad in the hanger. After a few seconds, the red light darkened and everyone took off their seatbelts. The aircraft doors opened and then the loud sounds of the aircraft filled the cabin. Micheal covered his ear as they amplified the sound making it even louder. The team stepped out the aircraft into the dark hangar. The wolf faunus helped Hitomi into her wheelchair. She was beginning to walk around on her own again, but only for short distances right now. She did all her walking in therapy and in the dorm, other than that she stayed in the wheelchair. They opened the doors to the building and walked out of the hanger, the light of the sun stinging their eyes for a second.
Vale reminded Micheal a bit of Dallas back in his world, a metropolis, except the roads, were very narrow compared to his world. It's was probably because the city is older than it appeared and is old enough to have more traditional roads. The sounds of people walking and talking plus the sound of various cars passing by filled his ears reminded him of Dallas. It made the wolf faunus feel more at home as it both made him both relax and put him on edge, his eyes scanning for danger. He knew from his experiences back in his world to never let your guard down no matter how peaceful a city seemed. He knew other than trying to learn the layout of the city, he would get used to the city. He looked at his team, who were talking amongst themselves.
"Does anyone know where we can utensils for the kitchen," Weiss asked.
"There's a Rem-Mart in the middle of the commercial district," Yang answered.
"Good, I'll call a ride for us then," the heiress said pulling out her personal scroll. Yang grabbed her hand stopping her from pulling out her scroll. Weiss glared at her "What are you doing," she asked in an annoyed tone.
"Weiss, have you ever been to Vale before," the blond asked.
"No," Weiss answered.
"So, wouldn't be better to walk around and learn the city," Yang said trying to reason with Weiss.
"I can learn the city while we ride there," Weiss said yanking her arms away from Yang. The blond turned her attention to the faunus trio.
"Blake, Hitomi, Micheal, have you guys ever been to Vale before," she asked.
"I grew up here," Blake said.
"No, first time," Hitomi said.
"A couple times, but never stayed long enough to know the city," Micheal lied.
"This will be a learning experience then," the blond said with a clap of her hands. Her eyes glanced over to Weiss taping on her scroll about to hit the call button. She nabbed the scroll from the heiress' hand and closed it. She then put it in one of her pockets.
"Hey," Weiss shouted. Yang just waved her finger in front of her.
"No rides, we are walking there, so follow me," the blond said as she began walking.
"Give me back my scroll back you brute," the heiress shouted as she followed behind her. The other member followed behind quietly as Weiss and Yang argued. Micheal finally got his chance to talk to Blake.
"Ruby, mind taking Hitomi for a second," the wolf faunus asked.
"Nah," Ruby responded. She walked next to Micheal. He handed her his partner. He then slowed his pace to walk next to the raven haired girl.
"Blake, you don't have to glare, you know why I did this," the grey haired boy said.
"I know, but faunus labor is why some faunus, including myself, hate the Schnee dust company," Blake said.
"I really doubt that was Weiss' aim Blake, would you rather me starve," Micheal asked.
"No, but…," the cat faunus tried to say.
"Look it would have been worse if she knew my problem and didn't offer me the deal, but she didn't," the wolf faunus interrupted giving Blake a slight glare. He took a breath. "I can understand if you don't like the deal, but understand that Weiss is helping me out a lot by paying for my needs and giving me a job so I can have some money for myself, and please understand that I choose to do this willingly, so please respect that this was my decision and not Weiss', so don't hold this against her, okay," he said softening his features.
"I still don't like this, but okay," Blake sighed and nodded. The wolf faunus smiled and patted Blake's shoulder. He quickened his pace.
"Okay, Ruby I'll take over," he said taking Hitomi from Ruby. Blake quickened her pace to catch up with the group. A few minutes have passed. Weiss and Yang stopped arguing a couple minutes after they started walking. The heiress eventually got her scroll back. On the way there they passed by the store "From Dust Till Dawn," and saw a closed sign on it. The right window was still shattered. The inside was empty with a couple shelves knocked over. They were broken in half. A couple of the glass cases were smashed as well.
"I hope he reopens soon, I liked this store," Ruby said.
"This where you met Micheal, right Rubes," Yang asked.
"Yep," the brunette answered.
"I just happened to be nearby when I hear some gunshots and decided to investigate and Ruby," the wolf faunus said with the last bit said questioningly.
"Yes," Ruby responded.
"How much damage was caused by the thugs and how much was caused by you," and everyone else looked inside. They noticed the damage then they turned their attention to Ruby. Ruby tapped the tips of her index fingers together.
"I caused most of it, all they broke were a couple of cases," She said with a blush on her face.
"Wow…, I think you over did it," Hitomi commented.
"They started it," Ruby shouted.
"Regardless, I don't think they will be able open for a while," Blake said. The group soon stopped at an intersection. They were waiting for the crossing light to turn green. Micheal noticed the many different types of cars passing by, cars, trucks, delivery trucks, etc. The longer he stayed the more he noticed how similar things were to his world. Even if the appearance is different, the function is still the same, like how scrolls are basically a fancier looking IPad, at least to him. Hitomi noticed Weiss with her eyes closed.
"Something on your mind Weiss," she asked.
"Yes, we are going to get supplies for the kitchen, but that got me wondering about something," the heiress said turning to the group.
"What's that," Ruby asked.
"Does anyone here know how to cook," Weiss asked. Micheal and Yang slowly raised their hands. The heiress turned her attention to the wolf faunus. "You can cook," she asked with a raised eyebrow. The other girls turned to the sole male member of team RWBY.
"A little bit," he said bring his hand down.
"Better than nothing, so what can you cook," Weiss asked.
"Just a few pasta dishes and a bit of basic breakfast, like eggs and bacon, really it's just a few things I loved eating growing up," the wolf faunus said. He scratched the back of his head. The cars stopped as the traffic light turned red. The crossing light turned green and the team walked across the street and continued on to their destination.
"I guess it's pasta for dinner tonight," Weiss said.
"Awesome," Ruby shouted.
"Micheal, how long has it been since you last cooked something," Blake asked.
"A little more than a year, but I'll be okay, pasta isn't hard to make," he said. He lied about how long has been. It has been awhile, but not as long as he said. He cooked for himself a couple weeks before he came to Remnant, so basically a month ago for him. He's cooked the same dishes for the past few years of his life so he remembers them like the back of his hand.
"Do you remember what you need," the fox faunus asked.
"Yeah, It's definitely been awhile, but I know what I need," the grey haired boy said. Ruby quickened her pace. She wanted to hurry up and get what they needed. She wanted to eat whatever pasta Micheal was going to make. The group quickened their pace to keep up with their leader. Weiss slowed her pace to walk next to Micheal. She stared at the faunus with a raised eyebrow. "What," he asked.
"Just didn't see you as the type of person who could cook," the heiress said.
"Eh, I haven't had a chance to cook yet that's all," the grey haired boy said with a shrug.
"This makes hiring you more interesting, but you're going to have to cook more than just pasta for diner, as you will be cooking for the team," Weiss said.
"Yeah I know, guess I'll need a cookbook or two, plus Yang could help me cook and cook for us too if she doesn't mind," Micheal said dragging out the 'yeah' a bit. He looked at Yang.
"Of course not," the blond said turning her head back. She smiled widely at Micheal. "It's cruel to make Micheal cook the entire time, princess," she said turning her attention to Weiss. She turned around to look at Weiss directly. She is walking backward. She would turn her head to look over her shoulder to look where she was going.
"This is just one of his tasks; he will have to do if I'm going to pay for him during his time at Beacon, he is going to earn every lien," Weiss retorted.
"It's still cruel as I can cook too, I know he agreed to it, but I think it would be good for everyone if the rest of you guys learned to cook as well," Yang said putting her arms behind her head.
"What why," the white-haired girl asked.
"We could get held up in classes or a mission could go wrong resulting in me and Yang getting seriously injured, you going to drag our broken bodies to cook for you," Micheal said. He doesn't mean to say it like that. He just doesn't know any other way to say it.
"No," Weiss said looking away with a bit of a sad tone. The wolf faunus put his hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry, I don't mean to say stuff like that, but it's just something that needs to be said, and there might other reasons as well, but that's a couple of the most prominent reasons now," he said with a smile on his face. The heiress looked at Micheal. She sighed and her features softened. "Also, it's just nice to know how to cook for yourself," he said.
"Hands off," Weiss said. Micheal lifted his hand off his employer and placed them at his side. "Alright, but how do you two plan to teach us," Weiss asked.
"We'll think of something," Yang replied. The wolf faunus nodding his head as Yang looked at him. The group continued their peaceful journey to the store.
They reached their destination within half an hour. Micheal stared at the huge store in front of him. The first thing that stuck out to him was the sign that said "Rem-Mart," in huge white letters. It reminded Micheal of a Wal-Mart Supercenter. It was bigger than the Wal-Mart Supercenters he's been to. It did make the wolf faunus wonder what else could be in here that would make it bigger. He didn't realize that he was standing still for too long until Weiss grabbed his wolf ear and began pulling on it.
"Hurry up, I want to get this over with," Weiss retorted.
"Ow ow ow, alright, just please let my ear go," Micheal said. The group grabbed two shopping carts, knowing they would be getting a lot of things. The store really reminded Micheal of a Wal-Mart supercenter like almost a carbon copy. The only real difference he noticed from his spot was the different placement of shelves holding a multitude of items. They stood to the side of the first intersection of the store's walkways. They were deciding how to split up. Ruby was leaning on one of the carts they had grabbed and Yang leaning on the other.
"Alright, who goes with who," Weiss asked.
"If I'm cooking tonight then I need to head to the food side of the store for ingredients and plus a cart to put them in, so that's one group," Micheal responded.
"I'll go with you," Ruby said excitedly.
"Okay, that's one for my group, and Yang should be the other group as she should know what we need as far cooking utensils and some pots and pans we need," the wolf faunus said.
"Fine, then I'm going with her, I'm going to make sure she doesn't get us cheap products," Weiss said.
"Hey Princess what do you take me for," Yang said with a twitch of her eyebrow.
"An uneducated brute," the heiress said. The blond tightens her grip on the cart. She was getting an urge to hit Weiss.
"Anyways…," Micheal said breaking the argument before it escalated.
"So that leaves Blake and Hitomi," Ruby said.
"I'll go with…," Hitomi started to say.
"Weiss and Yang," Micheal interrupted.
"I can choose who I want to go with," Hitomi retorted sending a glare to her partner.
"No you can't, because you're in a wheelchair and besides I think you should spend time with other people on our team, you rarely interact with anyone on the team other than me or Blake, and I don't know how you do it, we live in a tiny room, I just think it be good for you," the wolf faunus said. He sees his partner's eyebrow twitching. "Besides I need someone who can move around on their own to help me watch Ruby and locate some items," he said. He wheeled Hitomi over to Weiss.
"I don't need to be watched," Ruby said sending a glare to Micheal. The wolf faunus turned to Ruby.
"Then why do I have a distinct feeling that you do," he sighed.
"She does," Yang said.
"Yang," the brunette shouted.
"Do I get a say in this," Blake asked looking at Micheal.
"You do, but I do need someone to help me who can walk on their own," Micheal said turning his attention to Blake.
"Alright," Blake said. She walks over and stands beside Micheal.
"If you don't watch her, she will fill the cart up with cookies and will try fighting you to keep them," the blond said. Ruby was about to retort when a clap stopped her.
"Enough, I just want to get this over with and get out of here," Weiss said.
"Also I'd rather I wash the dishes first before I use them," Micheal commented.
"Fine," Ruby sighed. The group then split up to each side of the store.
Micheal's group, a few minutes later
Micheal was looking at two different brands of ground beef. He sent Ruby and Blake to get a couple bags of noodles, cans of tomato sauce, and a bottle of red jalapenos. He wasn't worried about the price as Weiss was more than likely paying for everything. It was the quality that was bugging him. He doesn't recognize the brands he was looking at. This is going to be a problem, even if it was a minor one, for him and he knew it. He doesn't know the good brands from the bad. It was going to take some time to figure that out till then he had to lie some more. He really did hate lying to the girls, but he has no choice given his situation. He sighed for about the ten thousandth time since he came to Remnant. 'Who going to believe I'm from another world, nobody that's who, I'm probably going to have to live a lie for the rest of my life, and I really do need to lighten up,' he thought. He ended up settling on the brand in his left hand, which has the least amount on the shelf. He just went by if there was less on the shelf than other brands then it was a more popular brand. He placed in the cart among the other items, such as milk, eggs, a package of bacon, pancake batter, etc. He should have asked Yang if she has a favored brand. He grabbed a couple of the packages. He really only needed one, but got a second one just in case.
The wolf faunus looked around looking for Ruby and Blake among the crowd. He saw all kinds of people both human and faunus, both tall and small, fat and thin. He could tell the different types of faunus by their ears and some by their tail. He saw from what it looked like a rabbit, cat, dog, bear, etc. It was interesting to see these people living together despite knowing that racism is bad in this world. Micheal has been fortunate enough to never experienced racism, at least towards himself. He has seen in the neighborhood he grew up in, mostly through his sister. The grey-haired boy shook his head blocking out that memory. He doesn't need to worry about that anymore. 'No need to think about that and bring my mood down about it anymore,' he thought. He looked around again. "Where are those two," he asked out loud to no one in particular. He pushed the cart down the sides of isles looking for his teammates. He eventually found them. Ruby was holding two bags of noodles, her back facing Micheal. She appeared to be arguing with Blake about the noodles. Micheal silently rolled up on them.
"I don't think it matters Ruby," Blake said in a bored tone. Ruby had been complaining about the right kind of noodle to her for the past five minutes because Blake just grabbed a bag. The cat faunus saw the wolf faunus coming from behind Ruby.
"Yes it does, the pasta could be ruined if we don't get the right kind of noodles," Ruby protested.
"So what kind have you selected then," Micheal said. Ruby screamed and dropped the bags of noodles. She put a hand up to her chest. She turned to see Micheal walking over to pick up the noodles. He gestured his left hand for her to quiet down. It was a bag of spaghetti and shells. He shook his head as it wasn't the kind he was looking for.
"You scared me," Ruby said.
"Sorry about that, but these aren't the kind of noodles I'm looking for," the grey haired boy said with an apologetic smile. He put them back on the shelves in their respective place.
"Aw, those are my favorite though, what kind we're you looking for then," the brunette queried.
"I'm sorry, I should have said, I was looking for spirals or butterflies," Micheal answered.
"Butterflies, gross," Ruby said making a gagging sound. Micheal pulled a packet of farfalle noodles off the shelf and held it in front of his teammate.
"Butterflies or more commonly known as bow-tie pasta, not the insect, I just like to call them butterflies," the wolf faunus said. Ruby made an "Oh," in acknowledgment. "So which one do you want," he said giving the bag to Ruby. He grabbed a bag of rotini and gave it to Ruby as well. The brunette kept lowering and raising the other each bag unable to decide which one she wanted. 'Well we're going to be here awhile,' the grey haired boy thought. A few minutes passed as Ruby still couldn't decide. She liked spirals, but she also wanted to try the farfalle. Micheal shifts a bit feeling the need to go to the restroom rising for the past minute. "Blake, I'm going to the restroom real quick," he said.
"Alright, I don't think I'm going anywhere anyways at the rate she's going," Blake said.
"Oh, I'm not sure if we thought this, but everyone can get one snack along with a drink, I think everyone getting one snack and drink of their choice would be a good idea, mention to Weiss would you, if she shows up before I come back," the wolf faunus said.
"Sure," Blake said turning her attention back to Ruby. Micheal ran off to the bathroom at the back of the store.
Yang's group, around the same time
"Is that everything," Weiss asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Yang answered. She put the last pot in the cart. She inspected the cart just make sure they had everything. "Okay, one small, medium, and large pot, a couple pans, cooking spoons, ladles, spatulas, bowls, for storage and eating, plates, forty pieces of silverware, dish soap, I think that should cover the basics, we can always come back if we missed anything," Yang said. She pointed at the item as she said it.
"I have to say these look okay, and you knew how to organize all that stuff to fit in there," Weiss commented.
"I know my stuff, and I'm actually a pretty organized person, I still feel like I'm forgetting some things, oh well," Yang sighed. Yang glanced over and saw Hitomi leaning on the right armrest with a small scowl on her face. "Hitomi, you got a problem with us," Yang said.
"No, I have a problem with the fact that the mutt forced me in this group without my consent," Hitomi said looking at Yang.
"Okay, it was rude, it's surprising he can be rude despite his gentle voice and how respectful he usually is, but what Micheal said was true, sure it's only been a week since we started to live together and yet you somehow don't try to talk with us, excluding Micheal and Blake, the rest of us try to talk to one another, do you have a problem with us," Yang said folding her arms.
"No, and only you, Ruby, and Micheal, try talking with the group," Hitomi retorted.
"There has to be something wrong if you don't talk to us," the blond said.
"Is it because we're human, you only like to talk to your own kind," Weiss asked.
"No, my adopted family is human, so I don't hold any animosity towards humans, in fact, I love them, and in general I really don't care about race, it's just…," Hitomi said with a sigh at the end. She knew they probably weren't going to drop it if she didn't answer. She straightened herself in her wheelchair. "I just don't warm-up to people easily, it took me a year to comfortably interact with my adopted family, I will admit I do feel safer around a faunus, probably just instinct or something, but I don't trust people I barely know, I'm just not a very trusting person, it's going to take me some time to warm-up to ya'll that's all," she said with a small smile.
"Alright, but just try to talk with us and let us help you walk around, alright, we won't ask you to like us immediately, be we won't hate for not trying at least," Yang said with a smile her face.
"Alright, I guess I'll try, I guess Micheal was right, this was good for me," the fox faunus said. She relaxed into the wheel chair. She looked at Weiss. "It was rude to say I only want to talk to other faunus, princess, still not trusting of faunus huh," she said.
"I somewhat trust you and Micheal, only because you two are hard workers, but no I still don't like faunus," Weiss said.
"Well at least you have some sort of trust towards us, I think it's time we go meet with the others, we got everything right," the orange haired girl said.
"Yeah, I think so," the brawler said. She started to push the cart. Weiss got behind Hitomi and followed Yang.
A few minutes later
The trio found Ruby and Blake in the snack aisle. Blake was leaning on the cart with Ruby looking through the many treats on the shelves.
"What are two doing and where is Micheal," Weiss asked.
"I was looking for a snack and Micheal went to the restroom," Ruby said turning her attention to her partner.
"Who said you could have a snack," Weiss asked.
"Micheal said everyone can get one snack and drink of their choice so Blake and I came over to this isle," the brunette answered.
"He suggested it as an idea; he didn't say that it was going to happen," Blake said.
"Not a bad idea in my opinion," Yang commented pushing her cart behind Blake.
"We didn't come here to waste money on junk food," the heiress retorted.
"Please just one snack, Weiss please, you promise you would be the best teammate I could have," Ruby said giving Weiss her puppy eyes. Weiss tried to resist and to her credit, she lasted a minute.
"Fine, but just one and you have to make it last till we need to go shopping again," Weiss said.
"Okay," Ruby said gleefully. She searched through the shelves until she found some chocolate chip cookies and put in the cart. Yang followed in suit and grabbed a large bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips.
"The rest of you guys don't want anything," Yang asked. Blake shook her head.
"No, I'm not eating any of that unhealthy junk," Weiss said. Hitomi was the only one of the bunch looking for something. She couldn't see everything from her spot.
"Need help Hitomi," the blond asked.
"Yeah, just get me some honey graham crackers, not a big snack eater, but I do like graham crackers," the fox faunus said. Yang walked over and got the requested item. She put in the cart. The group waited for Micheal to return, but five minutes passed and he didn't show up. They moved on without him. The group walked over to where the drinks were and looked around. They decided on the way to send Micheal a message to get his snack then meet them in the drink aisle. Weiss left Hitomi next to the carts to find herself a drink she could deal with. She might as well find herself a drink of her choice. She didn't want any junk food, but she didn't want to die of thirst. The fox faunus closed her eyes and waited. She then heard the faint sound of music coming from her left. She turned her left ear to concentrate on the sound. It sounded like a string instrument being played. It was hard to hear from the sound of people talking so loudly and it sounded as it came from across the store.
"What do you hear, Hitomi," Blake asked. She has a package of herbal tea bags in her arms.
"Music, good music too, or at least the person is playing good, it's hard to hear though over all the talking and it sounds like it's coming from the other side of the store," the orange-haired girl said.
"Oh, someone's probably playing on one of the display guitars," Yang commented. She put hers and Ruby's pack of sodas on her cart. She grabbed Blake's drink and put on Micheal's cart
"Display guitar, they're asking for those to get stolen," Weiss said. She has a pack of green tea. She put on the bottom of Micheal's cart.
"You would think so, but they have a good amount cameras set up to watch that section, along with the hunting gear, and I'm sure it's has a pair of good eyes watching it as no one has been successful in stealing them," Yang said. She walked over to a nearby shelf and grabbed a large case of water. She put it on the bottom shelf her cart.
"Music has stopped and someone seems to be yelling," Hitomi said.
"Well it doesn't concern us, where is Micheal," the heiress said with the last bit in an angry tone. They waited a few minutes and yet the wolf faunus never showed up. She pulled out her scroll. She sent a message to her servant wondering where he was. Her scroll beeps ten seconds later. She looked at it to see the message "Got driven out by a few racist employees, I'm sitting right outside the store, I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'll drink or eat whatever you guys get, if you'll let me that is," and it angered Weiss. She didn't like that her employee was getting mistreated. Blake and Yang were looking over her shoulders reading the message along with Weiss.
"Who the hell do think they are, hating on him because he's a faunus, it's so fucking stupid," Yang said angrily. She slammed her fist together "If I find them I'll…," she tried to say.
"Come on, let's hurry up and get out of here, Micheal is waiting for us," Blake interrupted her enraged partner.
"I'm gonna have a few words with the manager someday, but yes let's go," Weiss said.
A few minutes earlier
Micheal came out of the bathroom feeling refreshed into the hallway the restrooms were located. He stretched his arms. "How annoying, the damn restroom is on the other side of the store in the far corner," he said to no one in particular. From his past experiences in large stores is that they tend to put restrooms in the back, and he was right. He stepped out the hallway and made his way to onto one of the main pathways. He started his way back to his teammates, but then saw something of the corner of his eye caught his attention. The wolf faunus turned to see a familiar object, an acoustic guitar. Micheal instinctively began walking towards the item.
Micheal soon stood in front of the wooden instrument. It was placed on a guitar stand with nothing attaching it to the stand and a black triangular pick in between the strings. 'You're asking for it to get stolen leaving it unattended and not tying it to anything,' he thought. A price tag attached to the stand. It said "Acoustic Guitar, 44 inches, 100 lien," but didn't say much else. It didn't say what Micheal cared about, which was the wood it was made of. He knew the shape, grand orchestra, as he would describe it as an asymmetrical eight with the bottom being bigger. He picked up and examined it closely. 'Top wood is bright, so probably spruce and the body wood is dark so more than likely maple, so overall a well balance guitar, there isn't much I can't play on it,' he thought as he inspected the instrument from all angles. He picked it up, feeling the familiar feel of the cool wood against his fingers. Micheal pulled the pick out of the strings. The wolf faunus then plucked a string and hearing the sound it made brought many happy memories.
"It's been too long since I play one," he said quietly to himself. He wondered if he should play it to see if he still had it. He probably guessed that Yang's group had probably reunited with Ruby ad Blake by now. 'Ah, what the hell, a couple minutes won't hurt; bedsides Weiss would more than likely message me if I'm taking too long,' he reasoned with himself. He looked for a place to sit, but couldn't find a chair. He ended up sitting in an empty space on the bottom shelf on the edge of on the next aisle over facing the main pathway. He placed the guitar in his lap with the neck pointing to his left. He took a deep breath trying to understand the exact mood he's in. The wolf faunus always played from the heart. If he felt sad, he would play a sad song. If he was happy it would be an upbeat song. He then thinks of the lyrics to the song, it helped him stay focused on the tone. 'Alright, I feel happy right now, why, because I found an old passion of mine,' he thought. He plucked a few strings and reached up with his left hand and turned the pegs when he found the pitch was too high. Once he got the right pitch he thought of a song he liked. He imagined the lyric in his head. He closed his eyes and began to play.
'You feel like a candle in a hurricane, /Just like a picture with a with a broken frame'
'Alone and helpless, /Like you've lost your fight,'
'But you'll be alright, you'll be alright,'
The wolf faunus scowled as the sound was off, by a lot, as the song went on though he got better.
''Cause when push comes to shove, /You taste what your made of,'
'You might bend, 'til you break, /'Cause it's all you can take,'
A smile began to form on his face as the sound coming from the guitar sounded a lot better than when he started. It started to match the song he was playing from how he remembered it as his fingers began to match the skill from his world. He felt better knowing that some of his physical skills are still there. He was too focused on the song that he failed to notice a crowd forming.
'On your knees you look up, /Decide you've had enough,'
'You get mad, you get strong, /Wipe your hands, shake it off,'
'Then you stand, /Then you stand,'
He started to tap his foot to the song. The crowd was slowly getting bigger. It was a mix between human and faunus alike.
'Life's like a novel, /With the end ripped out,'
'The edge of a canyon, /With only way down,'
Micheal opened his mouth and began to sing. He found himself getting into the song and wanted to sing.
"Take what you're…,"
"Put that back, you mongrel," a voice yelled. It interrupted him before he could he bring his voice out. Micheal opened his eyes to see a brown haired adult male human in front of him. He is wearing a red shirt and black dress pants. On the upper right of the shirt is "Rem-Mart." Behind him are two more humans, one male with red hair and the other female with blue hair, in the same clothes. The wolf faunus guesses employees. "You trying to steal that, mongrel," the employee shouted.
"No," Micheal simply said with a frown on his face. He stood up and walked over to put the guitar back on its stand. The employee towered over the faunus.
"Bullshit, you were going to steal it," the employee shouted.
"What makes you think I was going," Micheal asked making his face neutral.
"You're a faunus simple as that, you're probably like your white fang companions, you can't be trusted, your just another terrorist, killing innocent humans for no reason, all of you should just die like the wolf faunus did," the female employee said. Micheal's eyebrow twitched at that remark. While he isn't a natural faunus, he embraced his new faunus body. It angers him when he hears that remark. But he took a deep breath and clenched his fist. It would cause more trouble than it's worth to hit the employees, so he decided to leave.
"Alright, I'll leave, if that makes you happy," Micheal said holding up his hands in defense. 'Seeing as they won't listen to me, it's just better to leave,' he thought.
"Good and don't come back," the group leader said. Micheal shook his head and headed outside. Unbeknownst to him was a figure watching him from behind the crowd. This figure has white eyes and silver hair. It appeared to be male and gave off a mysterious aura. It stared at the wolf faunus leaving along with the rest of the crowd. After the wolf faunus left their line of sight the crowd split up. The mysterious figure made an "Hmm," and disappeared into thin air. No one noticed the figure disappear as if he was never there.
A few minutes later, outside the store
Micheal sighed as he sat against the wall. He has his legs crossed and eyes closed. Taking deep breaths he calmed his emotions as he waited for his team to come out of the store. He won't let his anger get the best of him. It never leads to anything good. He thought about playing the guitar again and it brought a smile to his face. He now knew he could still play it even with this body. 'It would have been a sad life if I couldn't play it anymore, wouldn't' it Julie, you were the one who persuaded me into playing it after all,' he thought. He moved his fingers and began to play on an invisible guitar. He played the song from earlier in his head. He got half way through the song until a voice disturbed him.
"Hey Micheal…," Yang said. Micheal screamed and fell onto his back. He looked up to find his team looking at him. They still had the carts with them. Yang was giggling. "Were you pretending to play guitar," she asked through her giggling.
"Yeah," the wolf faunus said slowly. He had no reason to lie as he did get caught doing it.
"That's so cute," the blonde said. A blush formed on her teammate's face.
"Get up off the ground, were heading back to the dorm," Weiss ordered. She pulled out her scroll and called for a driver to get them. Micheal did as told and brushed himself off.
"Are you alright Micheal, those pricks didn't do anything to you did they," Yang asked after she calmed down.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit on name calling that's all, let's head home," the grey haired boy said.
"I'm pretty sure you need to relax after dealing with those kinds of people," Hitomi said.
"That sounds nice, but I have to wash the dishes first so I can use them later, and I'm pretty sure Weiss wants to work on aura when we get back," Micheal said. He began to go through the carts. He wanted to make sure they had everything or most of it at least. 'It would be hard to anything without the proper supplies, like cleaning dishes,' he thought.
"You can rest for a bit, but yes I do want to work on aura some more, a cab will be here soon to takes back to the port," Weiss said getting off the phone. The team waited for the cab.
"Yang, we're missing a dish scrubber from what I'm seeing," Micheal commented as he looked through the items.
"Damn it, I'll be right back," Yang shouted running back into the store.
"And I guess we could have gotten those cookbooks plus other groceries for other days, but I guess that's another visit," the wolf faunus said as he continued to look through carts. He pulled out his scroll and made a note of the missing items.
That afternoon, RWBY dorm
The sunset could be seen from the dorm's window. Micheal was in the kitchen cooking dinner. The kitchen is small but has the basic like a refrigerator, oven, microwave, etc. He was almost done cooking the team's dinner, just mainly stirring the pot. He wasn't wearing his jacket or necklace. He was a little tired from Weiss drilling him over aura manifesting. She was true to her word and the wolf faunus was able to rest for a bit after he washed the dishes. She told him that she wanted that done now so they could get to aura applications as soon as possible, like tomorrow. At the end of it all, she said he was ready to start applications of aura.
A sound from behind made Micheal's ears twitch. He turned his head to look behind him. He saw Yang setting up a small folding table with five folding chairs around it. "Gives us a kitchen, a table, and some chairs, but no pots, silverware, or dishes, I don't understand this school," Yang commented.
"Yeah, but at least we don't have to worry that," Micheal said. He returned his attention to cooking.
"True," the blond said. After setting up the last chair she sat in it. She leaned on the table and placed her head on her hands. She stared at Micheal with a smile on her face. "What are you cooking by the way," Yang asked.
"Pasta," Micheal plainly answered.
"I know that jerk, what kind of pasta," Yang asked sending a playful glare. It earned a small chuckle from her teammate.
"While I say pasta, it's more of a kind of spicy soup with noodles and ground beef, one of my personal favorites growing up," the grey haired boy said.
"Well then I can't wait," Yang said.
"I will warn you, that the first couple of bites will make you cough a little, but that's really due to the spice," Micheal said.
"Duly noted," the blond commented. She was still worried about how her teammate feels after today's incident. "Micheal can I ask you something," Yang asked in a serious tone.
"Shoot," the wolf faunus said.
"Are you sure your okay, those assholes didn't say anything to offend you," Yang asked concerned. Micheal pulled the cooking spoon out of the pot and put it on the napkin on the counter. It looked fine to him at that moment. He walked over and sat in front of Yang.
"Yes Yang, I'm fine, though they said I should have died along with the rest of my kind and calling me mongrel," the wolf faunus said.
"Those fuckers how dare they," Yang said angrily, her eyes turning red. "They…," she stopped when her teammate held up his hand. His eyes were closed.
"Calm down," Micheal said.
"But…," the blond tried to say something.
"But nothin', there's no point in bothering with those kinds of people, it's just better to move on than to cause more trouble for yourself by fighting with them," Micheal said calmly. He grabbed Yang's hand without thinking about it and rubbed the back of it instinctively. The wolf faunus did this because Julie used to do this to him to calm him down when he was distressed. So, it felt natural to him. It always helped calm him down. So he thought it would work on Yang, even though she was angry and not distressed. It seemed to work. Yang's eye returned to their normal color. "I've dealt with worse things than a bit of racism, so what they say doesn't bother or hurt me; I just move on with my life, so should you," he said with a soft smile. Yang sighed.
"Alright, but if anyone says or does anything to you, come tell me and I'll kick their ass," the brawler said.
"Alright," the wolf faunus said. Yang looked down at their hands.
"So," Yang said dragging out the word. Micheal opened his eyes to look at his teammate. "How much longer are going to hold my hand," she asked. Micheal let go with a small blush.
"S-sorry," he said.
"No, it's alright, in fact, you can continue to hold my hand if you want, it was nice with you rubbing my hand like that," the blonde said with a smile on her face.
"I-I have to check on dinner," the wolf faunus stuttered. He got up and walked over to the pot, taking a few deep breaths. It didn't go unnoticed by Yang.
'It's cute to see you flustered,' she thought. She just stared at her new person of interest with a sly smile on her face. The sound of the door opening caught both of their attentions. Ruby walked into the room in her pajamas.
"Micheal is dinner ready," she asked.
"Yeah pretty much, but can you wait a few more minutes for the noodles to absorb the flavor," Micheal said, his blush gone now.
"Fine," the brunette sighed.
"You can get some now if you can't wait," the wolf faunus said. Ruby rushed past her teammate and grabbed a bowl. He rolled his eyes and walked over to serve his hyperactive leader. Micheal grabbed a ladle and poured her a bowl. The other members walked in, or wheeled in, in Hitomi's case.
"Alright, time to see how well you can cook," Weiss said.
The wolf faunus poured everyone a bowl and helped Hitomi into a spot at the table. It went as he expected for everyone's first couple of bites, they coughed for a second and some complaining from Weiss. The coughing went away as they continued to eat.
"This isn't bad, though I don't like how it makes you cough a bit," Weiss said.
"That's just the spice it takes a couple of bites to get used to," Micheal said.
"Yeah, get past that it's actually really good," Ruby said.
"The spice is, in fact, my favorite part, not for the coughing, but the flavor it gives," the wolf faunus commented.
"It does give it a good flavor, I'm overall I'm satisfied," Weiss said.
"Thanks, Weiss," Micheal said.
"Get some good rest, we begin your true training tomorrow," Weiss stated. Her employee just nodded.
Author's Notes: As always criticism is good.
"Stand," by Rascal Flatts
N7 Recruit, I'll answer your question, so scroll down a couple of paragraphs. I kind of wanted to say other things first.
The increased word count and a new line when a new character speaks are due to me reading reviews and wanting to improve the story. The increase word count is due to being told that my pacing is a little off, a little quicker than it should be. So, I'm trying to work on descriptive writing and more inner thoughts. I also got told about repeating words and will be fixing that as well. It for some reason took me an hour to try and fix the first chapter because I had to read the entire chapter again. I feel like I got most of it, but there still might be some repeated words. The new line for when a new character speaks is fixed for all my earlier chapters as well. It should be easier to read now. Also with a review, I have put thoughts in Italics with the apostrophe also in Italics. Any song will also be in Italics and is set up the way I have it. The songs will all ways be on new lines.
But yeah, I do read reviews so please don't be afraid to review or PM me about a part that needs fixing, a question, or a concern. I'll try to answer you as long as I don't have to spoil something. I've been writing little side stories for me to practice pacing and other things. They can range from small fights to fluff placed random spots in the story. I also got rid of the prologue, because most people weren't even going reading past it. I also looked up what a beginner writer shouldn't do, which I should have done from the beginning. So there is no longer a prologue, though I still have it saved on a flash drive.
This chapter was slow in writing towards about the last thirty to twenty percent because as I looked over it felt like I was writing a filler chapter. I don't want that, so I modified it to not be or feel like filler. I didn't want to start over because I was already too far into the chapter to start over. If it still feels like filler, tell me and I can only say that I'm sorry for that. The only other problem I have is that I feel like I'm revealing too much too soon.
Alright, to answer your question N7 Recruit, I still haven't completely decided. I wasn't sure if I wanted to PM you or not, but oh well I answered it. I do have preferences though. I do lean towards Weiss and Yang in the one-on-one relationship if I can say it like that, but honestly, I toss Micheal with Ruby and Blake as well. I lean towards Weiss out of character favoritism and Yang because I love her design, mostly her hair. A little off topic I don't why, but I want to bury my face in her hair. Anyways, I also still have a harem in my heart and it's slowly wildling away at my resolve to not do it.