AN: Beta Read by Brawn1984 and Starrmastrr
AN: I do not own RWBY or Red Hood.
Patch
Coral woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door.
"You gonna get that?" Loki asked sleepily.
"Yeah. It's probably Team SAPH. We did say that we would go back to Vale to Salvage what we could." Coral said grabbing her robe and putting it on before walking to the door.
She looked through the peephole and grimaced. "Shit." She swore under her breath before plastering on a smile.
"Councilman." She said putting as much charm as she could into her voice.
"Ms. Marin." The Councilman said with a decline of his head. "I hope I'm not bothering you."
"I was planning on sleeping in till noon, but what the hell. What can I do for you?"
"We... that is the council and I have noticed some oddities about your... fiancée and her brother."
"Oh?" Coral asked feeling a knot in her stomach. "What oddities?"
"Your fiancée's semblance allows her to show people their worst nightmares come to life, and her brother, while being the owner of Todd enterprises and Todd import export, is very skilled. If he were to work for the council then he would be a very valuable asset."
"But he wants to be a Huntsman."
"Bah. There are too many Hunters. What we need are agents. Imagine having your fiancée and her brother working alongside you. Your fiancée could work with you to break criminals into confessing, you could get rid of the bodies, and your soon to be brother-in-law could hunt them down. He'd still be a hunter; he'd just be hunting criminals instead of Grimm."
"Jason is a good person. I wouldn't want to make him like me."
"It's not like he would be doing any of the interrogations. Plus, that pulse that he generates would be very useful in fighting those White Fang bastards."
"You want to use him to fight Faunus?"
"Sure. Just imagine how much work we could get done if he were fighting those Faunus monsters."
"But Jason has Faunus friends."
"Are they White Fang?"
"No."
"Then he has nothing to worry about."
"Not until you decide his friends are a problem."
"Don't be like that. Imagine what he could do for the kingdom. We would never fall again."
"Wait." Coral said. Something started clicking into place. "You want Jason as something more than an agent. You want to turn him into your own personal super soldier."
"It's for the good of the kingdom."
"No." Coral said harshly. "It's for your own gain. I won't let you..."
"Before you say no, let me tell you one thing. You work for me. So, what I say goes. Otherwise, your fiancée might find herself in trouble."
There was the sound of something coming from her and Loki's room.
"No. What did you do?"
"We simply took her until you cooperate with us."
"Oh really?" A thick British accent said from behind them.
"Bad luck bro." A voice said from the left of the British accent.
"You done goofed Senhor." A Portuguese accent said from the right.
Coral and the Councilman looked behind themselves and saw Team SAPH standing there with Loki wearing Scott's Motorcycle jacket over the lingerie she had worn to bed the night before.
"Did they hurt you babe?" Coral asked.
"They tried injecting me with something." Loki said.
"Don't worry." Scott said. "I was able to switch Loki and another guy, so he got it, and she didn't."
"Thank you." Coral said shaking in rage. "You bastards tried to take Loki to blackmail me into getting Jason to work for you! How... dare... you!"
"Stand down Marin!"
"Screw you!" Coral said reaching into her robe pocket pulling out 'Beckon'.
"N-now, now." The councilman said backing into Scott.
Scott took off his wrist weights and put them on the councilman's wrists.
The councilman fell to the ground. "What is this?" He demanded.
"Those are wrist weights that have been growing heavier since I put them on. There is no way you can lift them."
"Marin! Help me!"
Coral held 'Beckon' to the Councilman's neck. "I'm leaving Vale!" She yelled. "I'm taking Loki with me. If I see you or anyone else come looking for us, I will kill them, and you know that I know how to kill!"
Coral looked at the Team SAPH. "Go get Yang and pack a bag. We're leaving."
Loki went into the house and packed a bag for Coral and herself and grabbed a box with Jason's name on it. When she came back out, she saw Team SAPH and Yang waiting for her. "Okay babe. You can get dressed."
"Watch him." Coral said in a dangerous tone.
Scott looked at the Councilman and cracked his knuckles.
The Councilman flinched.
When Coral came back, she glared at the Councilman. "Remember. If you follow me, I will kill you."
There was the sound of liquid hitting the ground.
Coral smiled before punching the Councilman in the head hard enough to knock him out. "That was satisfying. Grab your Weights."
Scott grabbed his weights and put them on. "Let's go."
Atlas
Whitley fell to the floor in exhaustion. "Wh-why d-do I n-ne-need t-to d-do th-this?" He asked gasping for air.
"You need to build muscle, stamina, endurance, and strength." Jason said standing on the sidelines.
"B-but w-why d-do I n-need t-to d-do th-that?"
"Because you're weak. You need to get stronger. I have one month to get you into shape before I can start training you."
"Wh-what is th-this?"
"This is basically the warmup. After this we have breakfast, showers, then we will go into Mantle where you can see what your father's thoughts on equal pay is. Then there will be lunch followed by helping the people affected by your father's machinations. After that will be dinner followed by Aura and Semblance training, and bed."
"Ho-how lo-long will th-that take?"
"It will be a sixteen-hour day."
"WHAT! wh-why?"
"I could make it a full twenty-four hours."
"NO!"
"Then hurry up and finish your exercise."
"Ho-how can yo-you do th-his?"
"I do five hundred reps of each set. I'm only asking you to do ten."
"He's right you know." Weiss said standing in the doorway ready to go for the day. "Jason has already done his exercises."
"Wh-what time did you g-get up?"
"4:00. I let you sleep in while Weiss, Geoff, Pyrrha, and I were getting ready. Then I had you start your day."
"What?"
"Weiss takes really long showers."
"Hey!" Weiss whined.
"You only let me sleep in until 7:30."
"I'm sorry lad." Geoff said walking in. "He could have gotten ye up at 4:00 with the rest of us. We have a long day in store for us." Geoff turned to Jason. "How many reps has he done?"
"He's done five push-ups."
"Only five? How long has he been at it?"
"Ten minutes."
"Can I talk to him."
"Sure." Jason said leaving room.
"Lad." Geoff said. "I know that ye are having trouble adjusting. Ye went from riches to rags, and now Jason is making ye do things that ye normally wouldn't or couldn't do. I know about pushing outside yer comfort zone."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. I was bullied a lot as a kid. Even when I met my brothers I was bullied."
"So, what did you do about it."
"My dad taught me how ta box, and my brothers helped train me."
"Where are you going with this?"
"I'm a pacifist by nature. I joined the military with the express purpose of being a mechanic. I wanted ta help by fixing stuff."
"Did you?"
"Yeah, but I had to get strong first. I know that ye don't see it right now, but ye are going ta do great things."
"What's the point?"
"I'm a pacifist, and yet my Semblance is so destructive. If ye put in the work, then ye will find a way ta make it work. Now. What if I were ta help ye with yer exercises?"
Jason walked into the training room to see Whitley and Geoff doing his exercises.
"It would appear that Geoff was able to get through to him." Weiss said.
"I would seem so." Jason said before turning to Geoff. "Hey Geoff."
"Yeah?"
"I'm putting Whitley's training in your hands."
"Really?"
"You can pull things out of him that I can't."
Geoff shuddered. "Do you really need to talk like that? You're as bad as Loki."
"I try."
"Grow up Jason!" Weiss scolded. "Whitley is fifteen. Don't say things that could corrupt him."
Jason rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Weiss." He said sheepishly.
The group went to the kitchen where Cliff, Klein, and a Kangaroo Mouse Faunus were fixing breakfast.
"Hello Master Jason." Cliff and the Kangaroo Mouse Faunus said.
"No." Jason said. "I can't make Cliff stop calling Master Jason, but I can stop you... What is your name even?"
"Tyra." The girl said. "Tyra Greene."
"Well Tyra Greene I'm telling you to call me Jason."
"Very well Jason."
"Thank you."
"What are you going to do today Master Jason?" Cliff asked.
"I'm going to show Whitley the darker side of the Schnee family business."
"Very well sir. Try not to traumatize him."
Whitley looked at Jason in horror.
"We have a very dark side." Weiss said.
They had breakfast and got ready to go out.
"So where are we going?" Whitley asked nervously.
"We are going to Mantle." Weiss said.
Jason, Weiss, Whitley, Pyrrha, and Geoff made their way to a bullhead that would take them to Mantle.
"Mr. Todd." General Ironwood said.
"General." Jason declined his head.
"Miss Schnee, Mr. Schnee, Miss Nikos, Mr. Patrick."
"General." They said in unison.
"What can I do for you."
"We were hoping that we could get a Bullhead to take us to Mantle?" Jason said.
"Are you sure that's wise? Taking one Schnee down to Mantle is dangerous enough, but two. Don't you think that is a little unwise?"
"We are going down there to try and fix my father's mistakes." Weiss said. "If they wish retribution then they can have it... if they can get past Jason that is."
"Do you think that letting Jason loose on a group of Faunus is wise?"
Weiss went pale. She was acting just like her father. "N-no."
"Then I suggest trying peaceful means."
"I-I am going to fix what my father has done."
"We will." Pyrrha said.
"Very well. I wish you the best of luck."
The group boarded a Bullhead and made their way down to Mantle.
Once in Mantle they disembarked.
Whitley looked around and shuddered.
"It's not Atlas is it?" Weiss asked.
"No. It's not."
"Let's go." Jason said.
They had been walking less than two minutes when a man yelled. "Look It's a Schnee!"
"No. It's two!" A woman yelled.
"Stay back." Jason said in a strict tone.
"There are more of us than all of you!"
"We are here to fix my father's mistakes!" Weiss yelled.
"Lies!" A woman said. "We should send your father your heads!"
"Let's not and say we did." Jason stepped forward. "I am trying to help. So, either step aside and let me help... or I'll make you."
The crowd became larger.
"Right." Jason said. He took in a deep breath and was about to create an army of shadow clones when a voice came out of the crowd.
"Wait!" The voice said.
A racoon Faunus came out of the crowd. "Let this man and his companion through. They are going to do what they say."
"Yenna!" A man called after her.
"No Amaz! If he says that he can help us, then we need to listen. Now let them through."
The crowd dispersed except Yenna and Amaz.
"Thank you." Jason said. "I was afraid that I would have to go on the offensive."
"You can thank us by improving our working conditions."
"As quickly as I can."
The group walked towards a building.
"What are we doing here?" Whitley asked.
"This is a center that helps Faunus who can't afford rent, food, clothing, even hygiene supplies." Pyrrha said. "Jason helped set it up during the weeks leading up to the Gala."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Now let's get inside."
When they walked inside Whitley was shocked as to how full it was.
"Why is this place so full?" Whitley asked.
"It's a soup kitchen, bank, clinic, and counseling center all rolled into one." Geoff said. "People can come here to get a meal, money, treatment, or even just vent."
"Ragh!" A man yelled throwing someone against the wall.
Jason ran and stood in front of the victim. "Krim?" He asked in a concerned tone. "What's this guy's problem?"
"We just gave him money yesterday, and he drank it away. He said that he had a wife and kids, but..."
"I'll handle this." Jason said turning to the man. "What's your name?"
"Ciane Malachite." The man sneered.
"Well Mr. Malachite. Please tell me what the problem is."
"I was told that I could get money, and they won't give me money!"
"Did you come in yesterday?"
"Yeah. What of it?"
"Well therein lies the problem. You can't come in here every day. Why do you need more money?"
"I need a drink?"
"Do you have a family?"
"Yeah. What of it?"
Weiss noticed Jason's jaw clench.
"Where is your family?"
"They are sitting right there." The man pointed at the far wall where a woman with mouse ears and two kids under six years old were sitting.
Jason looked at them and caught the details that others had missed. He looked at the man. "Yeah... You're not getting any more money from this establishment. Your wife and children are welcome, but you are no longer allowed here."'
"What! Why?"
"I will not give you more money to drink away only to go home and beat your wife while she tries to protect your kids from you."
Whitley noticed that the air was geeing colder somehow.
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is working around here?" Mr. Malachite asked.
"Yes, and thanks to your actions it's about to get a lot more difficult."
Mr. Malachite grabbed Jason and tried picking him up. "What the hell?" He asked. "Why are you so heavy?"
Jason pulled his feet up and kicked Mr. Malachite through the wall. "I hate filth like you!" Jason yelled. "You make me sick." Jason turned to Geoff. "Get this piece of garbage out of my sight."
"I'm not done yet!" Mr. Malachite yelled running at Jason. He was outlined in brown and grabbed him.
Jason felt pain from his touch. "So. You can cause pain just by touching someone?"
"What the... Why aren't you affected by my Semblance?"
"This is nothing. I have felt pain that would make you beg for death, but to make sure that you can't hurt anyone else with your Semblance. I'm going to take it."
"What?"
Jason pulled his fist back, wrapped his fist in Aura, and punched Mr. Malachite. He felt a surge of energy and was outlined in brown. "Now you can't hurt anyone else with your Semblance."
Jason grabbed Mr. Malachite and walked him outside. "And stay out!" He yelled.
When he walked back, he saw everyone looking at him. "What?"
"What was that?" Weiss demanded furiously.
"What do you mean? He was an abusive drunk who had a dangerous Semblance. I took it away."
"How long have you been able to do that?"
"I learned how to do it before the Vytal Festival, but have only done so twice?"
"How can you do that?"
"It's an Alpha ability."
"How many other abilities do you have?"
"So far the Alpha has only shown me that one."
"How many more can you learn?"
"Possibly as many as the previous Alpha's."
"Which is?"
"At least two dozen or so."
Weiss face palmed.
"What? I took out a dangerous threat."
"In front of his family!"
"That he was abusing!"
"There are laws for handling people like that!"
"Those laws protect them more than the victims!"
"The laws are the laws!"
"You can take the laws and shove them up your ass!"
Jason and Weiss stopped shouting.
"Weiss. I-I'm..."
Weiss held her hand up.
Jason could feel the rage rolling off her. "I'm..."
Weiss kept her hand up but walked towards the office.
"Weiss..."
Weiss turned her hand towards Jason before she walked into the office.
Jason heard the lock click. He was so devastated by what he'd said that he didn't notice Pyrrha coming up to him.
Pyrrha has felt many emotions in her life, but this feeling of ferocity was not one she was accustomed to. She pulled her fist in, and punched Jason as hard as she could adding a little bit more with the application of her Semblance sending Jason to his knees.
She grabbed his neck under his jawline and forced him to look at her. "Fix. This." She seethed in a very un-Pyrrha like manner.
Jason pushed himself up and walked to the office door. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked. He disappeared into his shadow and appeared in the office next to the desk which had the only light source.
He looked around and saw Weiss sitting in the corner with her head in her hands. "Weiss?" He asked quietly.
"I really thought you were different from Jacques, I really did, but you're just like him."
Jason flinched at that. "No. I didn't mean to say that. I just... I just got so angry at seeing him thinking he could get away with what he did to his wife that I lashed out. I'm sorry. I did not mean to say that."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Yes. I didn't mean to say that... You know my feelings about guys like him. Sometimes I just..."
"I know about your past, I know about JADE, I know about Violet, and I know that you have to be the best you that you can be, but that doesn't give you the right to take the law into your own hands. I know the law failed you in the past, and I know how you feel about the laws we have in place. Anyone who went through what you went through would feel that way about the laws but believe it or not the laws do protect the victims more than the attackers."
"It doesn't feel like it."
"Your uncle and Jacques aren't good examples."
Jason thought about that.
Weiss looked at the ring on her finger. "Do you really want to marry me or are you like Jacques and only interested in my family's money?"
"What? How can you ask that? Of course, I want to marry you. I love you. I could care less about your family's money. If we had nothing I would scrimp and save to get you that ring."
Weiss took the ring off. "We need to take a break. After a week we can reevaluate our relationship."
Jason felt like someone had punched him in the throat and the stomach at the same time.
"The fact that you feel the way you do gives me hope for us." Weiss said. "Now go help people like I know you want to."
Jason left the office feeling numb and empty inside.
Once Jason left the room Weiss broke down in tears of her own. This break hurt her just as much as it hurt Jason. She knew that what happened between them was just hurtful words, but it still hurt. This week was going to be hard on both of them.
Jason went to his station in the center where he would make meals for people who needed a good meal and someone to talk to. He kept himself as professional as he could, but the food was off, he didn't understand. He was following the recipes, but even Geoff and Pyrrha who always complimented his cooking were disappointed by taste.
"Jason." Geoff asked. "What's wrong? Your food is normally way better than this.
"I don't know. I'm following the recipes, but they are turning out terrible."
"I think I know." Pyrrha said sadly.
"What's wrong?" Geoff asked.
"He is suffering from heartbreak. His hearts not in his cooking therefore it's not as good."
"Oh. Did Weiss break up wit ya?"
"We are taking a break." Jason said sadly.
"Ouch. Fer how long?"
"A week."
"Yer in fer a long week then."
"I know."
"Well at least ye and Weiss aren't sharing' a bed."
Jason looked at Geoff with sad eyes.
"Oh. Well at least yer not intimate."
Jason's face became sunken.
Geoff stopped talking for fear that if he said, 'well at least she's not pregnant.' It would come true in some cruel twist of his Semblance.
Pyrrha didn't know what to say. Jason said some really hurtful things. Weiss knew that the laws weren't fair. She had to suffer under Jacques thumb, and couldn't do anything because Jacques was friends with the cops, and the ones he wasn't friends with he could bribe. "You need to fix this." She spoke.
Jason looked at Pyrrha. 'I'm trying.' He thought.
That night when they got home Jason went to his room and sat at his desk trying to think about what he could do to make up with Weiss, but he couldn't concentrate because of Weiss's scent in his room. It drove him crazy.
"Master Jason?" Cliff asked coming into his room.
"Yeah Cliff?"
"I noticed that you and Miss Schnee aren't staying together. Did something happen?"
"I screwed up Cliff. I screwed up big time."
"How so sir?"
"We got into an argument about the laws, and I lost my cool. I told her to shove the laws up her..." Jason couldn't finish.
"I see."
Jason didn't need his sight to know that Cliff was disappointed.
"And why would you say that?" Cliff asked.
Jason could hear the harsh undertone. "I don't know. We were yelling, and it just came out."
Cliff put his hand on Jason's shoulder, and noticed as his charge flinched. "We say things that we don't mean when we are angry, but that doesn't mean that we don't take responsibility for it."
"I know. I talked to Weiss."
"And?"
"We are taking a break."
"For how long?"
"A week."
"Then take that time to think about what you did, and how you will make it, so it doesn't happen again."
"I will. I hate this feeling."
"The feeling that you hurt someone you love with all your heart, might, mind, and strength?"
"Yes." Jason said before tears began rolling down his cheeks. I hurt, but it's not a pain that I can shut off."
"That means that you know you messed up, and don't want to do it again."
"How long will I feel like this?"
"Until you fix your mistake."
Jason grabbed his chest and held the spot where his heart was. "You're dismissed for the night."
"Very well Master Jason."
When Jason was sure that Cliff was gone, he fell to his knees, and let his emotions overcome him making sure not to make a sound.
Weiss.
When Weiss got home, she and Jason went to their separate rooms.
"Weiss?" Klein asked coming into her room. "I saw that you and Jason went separate directions. Is everything all right?"
"No." Weiss said with a shuddering breath as she grabbed her chest where her heart was.
"What's wrong? Do I need to call a doctor?"
"No." Weiss said as tears slid down her face. "A doctor can't stop this pain."
"What happened?"
"Jason and I got into a fight about the laws, and he told me that I could take the laws and..." Weiss broke down sobbing.
Klein held his hands out, and Weiss hugged him before crying into his shoulder.
Within a matter seconds Klein's shirt was wet with tears.
Klein's eyes turned red. "I'll take care of him."
"No. I took care of it, but I feel hurt, and it hurts... a lot."
"You really love him... don't you?"
"Yeah." Weiss said before crying again.
"You are feeling heartbreak."
"It hurts so much."
"I know it does. What did you say to Jason?"
"I told him that we were going to take a break and reevaluate our relationship on a week-by-week basis."
"That's all you can do."
"When will this pain go away?"
"When he's apologized to the fullest."
"Thank you, Klein. You're dismissed for the night."
"You're welcome. Do try and get some sleep."
After Klein left Weiss sat on her bed and curled into a ball. Her room felt cold. She felt cold without Jason. She started crying and cried herself to sleep.
Klein made his way to Jason's room. He looked inside and saw Jason on the ground in spasms suggesting that he was devastated by what he'd done. Klein left knowing that Weiss had done the right thing, and that the two would only grow from this experience.
The next week was miserable for Jason and Weiss.
They would wake up, head to the center, work for the day, and head home where they would retire to their rooms where they could be depressed in solitude.
One week from the day their argument took place Jason and Weiss were depressed in a bad way.
That night Jason walked up to Weiss's room and knocked on the door.
Weiss answered, and seemed to light up when she saw Jason.
"Weiss." Jason said under great emotional distress. "I screwed up. I have no excuse for my actions, and I am so sorry. I never meant to say that. I will never say anything like that to you ever again. This week has been stressful. I haven't been able to think about anything but what happened all week. I don't ever want to feel the way I feel right now ever again, and so I swear that I won't say anything like that to you ever again."
Weiss looked at Jason. She knew that he was telling the truth and could feel that he felt terrible about what he did. "Jason. You hurt me. Not only did your words hurt me, but because of the break we took due to your actions it hurt me even more. What are you going to do so it never happens again?"
"For one thing I won't let my emotions get the better of me."
"That's a good start. We could have caused a Grimm attack with that argument. What else?"
"I Will think things through before acting."
"Good. If you think things through, then you will not act so recklessly and endanger people you're trying to help. What else?"
"Have discussions, not arguments."
"Good. Discussions are better than arguments. What else?"
"I will let you know what other Alpha abilities I have as I find them out."
"Good, but what else."
"I'm sorry for acting like a jack ass and hurting you."
"Thank you. What else?"
"I will take this experience and learn to respect your opinions. You have as much right to your opinions as much as I have to mine."
"Thank you." Weiss said hugging Jason.
Jason felt the negativity of the last week ebb away and he felt like himself. He could feel the same feeling wash over Weiss.
Weiss looked up into Jason's face with a blush and warmth rising in her stomach. "I've missed you." She said feeling that warmth spread.
Jason picked her up as gently as he could and kissed her passionately.
Weiss returned the kiss with just as much passion.
The two walked into Weiss's room, Jason kicking the door closed behind him, and fell onto Weiss's bed.
Whitley wanted to talk to Weiss. He wanted to ask if she could train him in the use of their families Semblance.
He had been trying to ask all week, but every time he asked, she was too tired or depressed to talk to him.
He stood outside her door and knocked. "Sister?" He asked.
There was no answer.
He knocked again. "Sister?"
Again, there was no answer.
He opened the door and was bombarded with sights and sounds that haunted him, he wanted to disappear. He slammed the door shut and ran.
He was running when he ran into Klein.
"Who's there?" Klein asked putting his hands-on Whitley's shoulders.
"Klein. It's me. Whitley."
"Master Whitley? I can't see you."
"Wh-what? Why not?"
"I'm not sure. What happened to cause this?"
Whitley told him that he went to talk to Weiss to ask her how to use their families Semblance. He told him what he saw in Weiss's room, and how he wanted to disappear.
"Ah. I see. I believe that you have a different Semblance than your mother and sisters."
"But I thought that our family Semblance was passed down."
"It would appear not."
"How do I stop?"
"Try calming your mind."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
Whitley shuddered. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Very well. Let us talk to Geoff and Pyrrha. Maybe they have some tips."
Klein went and gathered Geoff, Pyrrha, and Cliff.
"What seems ta be the problem?" Geoff asked.
"Master Whitley's Semblance has activated."
"Really?" Pyrrha asked. "So, he can create Glyphs now?"
"I'm afraid not. It would appear that Master Whitley's Semblance is a form of invisibility."
"You're kidding." Geoff said.
"No, he's not." Whitley said from Klein's right. "I am invisible."
"What were you thinking when you became invisible?" Pyrrha asked.
There was a pause before Whitley began speaking. "I wanted to disappear."
"Why?"
"It would seem that Jason and Weiss were making up." Klein said.
Pyrrha blushed.
"Well, that was fast." Geoff said.
"How am I going to fix this?" Whitley asked.
"Think about becoming visible again." Cliff said.
Slowly but surely, Whitley appeared.
"That's a useful Semblance. You can use it as a great tool."
"How?" Whitley asked forgetting what had caused him to turn invisible.
Cliff walked to the Armory, and came back with a notepad and pencil, a measuring tape, and a box. He opened the box to reveal a short sword and a dagger. He picked up "This is a Wakizashi. It's a short sword that is used for close quarters combat, and the Tanto dagger is meant to be used to attack while your opponent is distracted or assassinate a target."
"You want me to train to be an assassin?"
"Yes."
"Can his weapons Mecha-shift?" Geoff asked.
In response Cliff gripped the hilt tighter and there was a click before he let go and the blade split in two and fell. "Would you like to inspect it?"
Geoff stepped forward and inspected the two halves. "There's a line there. How did ye make the line so thin?"
"I didn't make this weapon. This is one of the first Mecha-shifting weapons."
"R-really?" Whitley asked. "You're just going to give me one of the first Mecha-Sifting Weapons ever made?"
"If you promise to take care of it. You need to clean it just like any weapon. Are you willing to do this?"
"Y-yes."
"Very well." Cliff said putting the Wakizashi and the Tanto in the box. "Then I present you with 'Night's Blade' and 'Assassin's secret'."
"Th-thank you." Whitley said.
"You start training tomorrow, but first let me take your measurements."
Whitley stood still while Cliff took his measurements.
"Right. I'll get these to Viridian, and he will get your battle gear to you by next week at the latest."
"Thank you."
"I'll leave you to your own devices for the night but remember that you are still going to the center tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Master Jason is trying to teach you something. As soon as you learn what that is, he will let you stop."
"What is he trying to get me to learn?"
"That is for you to find out."
Whitley groaned in annoyance.
"Good night to you."
"Good night Cliff." Pyrrha and Geoff said.
"So." Whitley said. "Any advice?"
"Yes." Pyrrha said. "Remember that when attacking a larger opponent to use your size to your advantage."
"Is that it?"
"For now. You need to come up with your own fighting style."
"What should I do to find mine?"
Geoff got an idea. "What if ye were ta attack Jason while using tha' semblance of yer's?"
"I don't want Jason to kill me!"
"He won't. I'm eighty five percent sure of it."
"That does not fill me with hope."
"Sleep on it lad. I'm sure that in the mornin' ye'll have yer answer."
Whitley went to his room, put 'Night's Blade' and 'Assassin's secret' on his nightstand, and slowly drifted off to sleep.