Kuchinashi. A place where all the riffraff escapes from Mistral when all they know is the life of crime. Most corrupt families center here with the most notorious bosses and dangerous folk working for them. What did Raymond think when he sent the message to gather here?
Granola Canis was a mountain of a Faunus standing at 6′8″ and with muscle that would make many jealous. With long orange hair tied into a pony-tail and dressed in simple Huntsmen attire underneath his coat. He was sitting alone at the Vagabond, a pub where they were supposed to meet. Getting out of Vacuo, where he felt comfortable, was not his idea of spending the time, but Nina, his life partner for a few years now, wanted to see their old friend. After graduating from Shade Academy, they all moved their separate ways and worked in duos from there on out. Not that Gran complained, his time working with Nina was the best part of his life.
He took a sip of his beer, and the cold, bitter fluid slid down his throat, warming him up.
"What a guy like you is doing drinking alone?" A shady character sat next to Gran. He had two more friends that situated themselves behind Canis. They were almost as big as him. "If you get some for us, we just might keep you company." He smiled, trying to appear friendly.
"I don't think I will," Gran answered and took another sip of his beverage.
"Don't be that way," the goon changed his tone to more intimidating. "You seem like a capable guy, so I might have a work opportunity for you."
One of his comrades that were standing behind Granola put a hand on his shoulder.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the mountain of a man said, trying to keep his composure. His temper was well known by his friends, but he didn't want to harm someone he just met.
"Or what? You'll beat us up?" The hoodlum sounded cocky. "Listen, you seem like a reasonable guy. We're a part of Hana, and we think a guy like you could be useful to us." The man leaned back in the chair, looking smug at the Faunus. "And a reasonable guy would understand that if anything happened to us, it would be his skin on the line."
Gran didn't know what 'Hana' was, and frankly, he didn't care that much. All he knew now was that those guys were seriously getting on his nerves, and he was losing patience. Gran used his semblance to manipulate the blood in the hand on his shoulder without moving himself. He didn't like being touched, and he wanted it away from him.
The moment the thug's arm was pushed away, all three goons were taken aback.
"I told you I wouldn't do that if I were you," his tone was deeper, as it usually gets when he's angry. He almost sounded like a wild animal.
The man sitting in front of him suddenly raised his hand, but Gran didn't want to take any chances and suspended him in the air, motionless. The utmost terror in the attacker's face was amusing to look at, but a familiar voice calmed him down.
"Gran! I can't even leave you for a second before you go scaring the locals." It was Nina, the love of his life and a work partner he wouldn't change for anyone in this world. She knew him well, and the scolding was more playful than actually angry.
"I'm sorry, honey," he smiled and let go of the man who fell to the ground and started running to the door with his friends close behind him. They shouted something about 'Hana' getting them for this, but he didn't care for that.
Nina Iris, a Faunus girl with a slender figure, long dirty-blonde hair, and mouse ears, quickly jumped on the man's lap. Her hands slid under Gran's coat finding his chest while she kissed him. Nina looked almost like a child compared to her partner. At the height of 5′4″, she was rather petite next to a giant like Granola.
"Still no sign of the old gang?" She asked.
"Not that I've seen," he answered, looking around the place, noticing a familiar face.
Amethyst Tautara, a Faunus girl with a lizard tail and a real fighter physique, was already at the pub arm wrestling with the locals. She didn't lose a single match even when not using her dominant hand. One of the competitors even wanted to 'arm wrestle' her tail, which she also won. After a commotion in one part of the pub, she noticed that Gran was bothered by some low-lives. He could handle himself with ease, but they were supposed to meet here anyway, so she walked to him. Before she could say anything, Nina calmed him down and jumped on his lap.
Amethyst was amazed by how much more beautiful Nina has become. She just couldn't let her eyes off her. The kiss made her a feel bit jealous, but ultimately she was happy to see them so.
"Hey, love birds," she made her presence known.
"Ame!" Nina immediately jumped on her feet and run to hug the huge woman.
Gran stood up to greet her. She changed a bit since the last time he saw her. It seemed she changed her training regiment, focusing more on muscle tone instead of mass. It was far from a general idea of 'feminine beauty,' but it was still impressive.
"You look gorgeous, Nina," the lizard Faunus also hugged the energetic friend. She could not resist at least an attempt at flirting. "You know, it's not cheating if it's with a woman." She winked.
Gran turned toward her with a disapproving stare. "Don't even think about it."
"Too late," she answered with a smug smile.
"You know she's just joshing you," Nina smiled and pushed Ame to sit with them. "Where's Neil? You two weren't working together?"
"He should be here shortly. He said he needed some dust if Ray summoned us for a job together." She mimicked his tone for that delivery, which made Nina chuckle.
Just when she ended the sentence, doors to the pub were blown wide open, and all eyes turned towards the person who entered. Mostly men's gazes lingered on him, however.
"Speak of the devil," Amethyst leaned back on her chair.
Neil Regolith, a man of a slim build with long, bright red, neatly groomed hair and style that many would consider highly effeminate. He was wearing a skin-tight bodysuit with a bolero vest and a belt that was a bit hanging on his hip. When he entered the pub, he quickly noticed Amethyst sitting next to their old friends from the Academy. With a warm smile, he sat down next to them. Being this close, both Gran and Nina noticed that his left eye is now hazel instead of the naturally bright blue. This always indicated that he was using his semblance.
Neil noticed that they were staring and laid their concerns to rest. "Oh, this? I guess it's just a normal progression of my power. After accepting my semblance, the eye just permanently changed color." After initial pleasantries, he asked where is the rest of the team.
"Still waiting for them," Granola grunted.
"Not all of them," Vivian suddenly sat down to the empty space beside the huge man and laid her head on his shoulder. "Did you miss me, big boy?"
Nina quickly jumped on Gran's lap, pushing the woman away and separating them with her legs. Gran was flustered initially, but after his girlfriend's intervention, he was glad he doesn't need to deal with Vivian's behavior.
"I already forgot that you're a tease," Nina pouted.
Vivian Black, a rather tall and lean girl with a tomboyish style, was the team leader back in the day. She hasn't changed that much since the days they were at the Academy. Still sporting a similar attire with the buggy pants and violet top, and the same short, spiky hairstyle.
"I see the big boy has now a chaperone," she smiled deviously towards the couple. "Too bad, now I have to set my eyes on another man," she made a cradle from her hands and put her chin on it, looking in the direction of Neil.
The redhead leaned back on his chair, challenging her coquettish advances with his own. "Oh, I think that's about time." His eyes now locked with Vivians.
She scoffed, "You're no fun."
"So we're now just waiting for Raymond," Amethyst rolled her eyes.
"I figured he would be the first here," Neil pointed out.
"Ah well," Vivian added, sitting straight. "Can't do anything without the main culprit of the meeting here."
Nina looked around the group. "Did he tell any of you what exactly he wanted?"
"Something about a job," Amethyst was first to answer. "Easy money, he said." She added, mocking his tone the same way she did Neil's earlier.
"So the same message," Gran concluded. "At least he's the same Ray I remember."
"He had his moments where he wasn't all business and such," Vivian added, looking like she was reminiscing about something in her head. She shook the thought, however, and returned to the topic. "I'm just guessing there's something he can't do alone. Hence, this is where we come in…"
"As perceptive as ever, Vivian." Raymond appeared beside them, almost like he materialized from thin air. He pulled a chair to sit in and turned towards the group. "Hope I gave you enough time to catch up with private stuff?"
Raymond Merlot, a fighting prodigy who wanted to become a Huntsman, didn't change at all from what his friends remembered him. Still wearing a similar battle outfit, which downed black and red color scheme. He also had a buzz cut dark hair, now accompanied by a short stubble, and an eyepatch that he had mechanically engraved in him using Atlas technology. It could slide to the side, hiding under his skin for when he used his semblance. Ray had an option to simply have a prosthetic eye, but he wasn't sure how that would affect his powers, so he opted to use the sliding blinder.
"We always could use more time to catch up," Nina answered. "We didn't see each other for years, after all."
Ray exhaled through his nose, signifying amusement. "Well, that's all the time you get for that. Let's move to the issue I wanted to see you guys for."
"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Vivian looked at the man, almost angry.
He ignored the remark and continued. "There is a job I've heard about that could be quite profitable."
"Does it involve killing Grimm?" Gran interjected.
Raymond looked at the Faunus with his maroon eye. "It might. I don't have all the details." He considered his words for a short while before continuing. "To be honest, no one actually knows what's going on. For the past week, there was a large spree of disappearances. At first, no one cared because the people missing were homeless or Faunus."
Gran growled under his breath but was quickly calmed by Nina, stroking his chest.
"Now, more significant folk started to disappear. Folk that wants to look deeper into the matter."
"So the job you proposed is a wild goose chase?" Neil sounded disappointed. "We're going on a manhunt without any man to hunt?"
"Oh, I have few leads," Ray rebuked, looking smug. "I just need a more diverse approach that you three can provide." He added, pointing out Gran, Nina, and Amethyst.
The lizard Faunus girl raised her eyebrow. "So you need a Faunus to cover some of your leads? Let me guess: You still have some bad blood with the Faunus kind? Even after the White Fang disbanded?"
"Hey! It's not my fault that you get on my nerves."
Amethyst looked at him in disbelief. She was sitting close enough to slid her tail towards his leg. He instinctively swatted it away, almost jumping out from his seat.
"Don't EVER do that again."
"Come on," she teased the man, "you're a big boy and can handle a little tail."
Vivian bursted out laughing. "I would totally use that if I had a tail."
"Tsk," Ray sat back down and continued. "Faunus slave trade is still a thing in these parts of the world, and I doubt anyone would like to talk with a human about the recent kidnappings."
"So that's why you want someone who appears like he cares to look into it," Gran concluded, not looking at the man. "Are there any other 'leads' you might have?"
"Yes," he pulled out his scroll and projected the map of the city for the group. "This is the main reason why I was interested in those disappearances myself. Apart from the general Faunus population and random derelicts, some gang members from the mafia houses started to go missing as well."
"When Faunus go missing, no one bats an eye, but have some thugs disappear, and suddenly there's a problem!" Gran was pissed, and even Nina had problems with calming him down.
Ray smirked, "I say we hit two Nevermores with one stone with this one. We find and save the Faunus while keeping the houses from tearing each other apart."
"Is it that bad?" Neil suddenly interjected. "I understand that in a situation where some members of the criminal organizations go missing, the tension between them could provoke an attack. But do you think this could go that far?"
"As I said earlier: I don't have all the details. But the head of house Hana gives a ton of cash for anyone who finds his men. Especially his son, who disappeared as well."
"So the second lead you're referring to is the head of the Hana organization," Neil concluded. "What could he possibly know that could help us?"
"I'm not talking about him directly," Ray pressed a few buttons on his scroll, and the map it was depicting changed colors. "The city is ruled by three different crime houses. If the members of Hana go missing…"
"The other two should be responsible," Neil finished his train of thought.
"Exactly," Ray smiled.
"But how do we get the information we need from mafia members?" Nina was concerned.
Amethyst punched her open palm. "I think I can be quite persuasive when I want to."
Ray shook his head, "I was rather thinking about Neil's semblance."
The redhead nodded, deep in thought. "If they just tell everything they know, there's no problem of being hunted by them later. That might be the right course of action in that situation."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Amethyst started waving her hands towards Neil. "We didn't even agree to take this job. Don't be so gun-ho."
He chuckled, "Just a moment ago, you were the first to propose going out and beating up some heads."
"Um…" She had no rebuke to that remark.
"So if we are on the subject," Ray said, eyeing everyone at the table. "Are you in?"
Everyone looked around to feel out their expressions. The first one to speak was Neil.
"I can get behind that. Solving a kidnapping mystery seems like a fun thing to get paid for."
Vivian seconded his idea. "This thing does sound interesting. And working with you guys again is a really nice bonus."
"If the slave trade business is connected somehow," Gran started to think out loud. But it was Nina who ended that sentence.
"I think we might actually do some good with this one, so we're in."
Her partner looked at her, and she just ran her fingers through his long, orange hair and kissed him.
Raymond now looked at Amethyst.
"I can't just leave good friends hanging like this," she said and slapped the table twice before adding that she's in. "Oh! And that reminds me. With the teams back together, what should we call ourselves?"
Neil slapped the table and said with enthusiasm: "Team AVNNGR (Avenger), of course!"
The Faunus girl blinked a few times and then slid her chair back. "Wait, wait, wait. I'm not a good leader. Why would you make me the leader?"
The redhead put two fingers on the bridge of his nose, almost like he had a headache. "Semantics! Not always the first letter of the team name must represent the leader."
"Wouldn't team VNNGRT(Vanguard) make more sense if we wanted to keep Vivian as the leader?" Nina added after a short while of pondering.
Neil raised his eyebrows. "That... That actually makes a lot of sense..."
Vivian chuckled. "I'm ok with team AVNNGR." She winked towards the redhead. She remembered her promise.
Ray again shook his head. "Whatever. With that out of the way, let's get the job started."
"So, where are we going first?" Amethyst asked. "Asking the Faunus or the houses?"
"First, we take the job from the Hana gang boss," he stated.
Vivian blinked a few times in shock. "You didn't even take the offer yet?"