I dabbled in kendo some time back. As such, I've a couple of bamboo swords in my room.
They have become my tool of destruction in killing these bugs that somehow enter my room.
Said bug killing may or may not have inspired the beginning of this chapter. Also because it's one of my favorite Support conversations in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
. . .
. . .
Fear can come in many ways, shapes, and forms.
The most common one, despite what many would believe, is the fear of the unknown. It is the source for most other fears that humans may or may not have. For it was this very fear that had many people afraid of the dark, especially as children. If one does not know what may be lurking in the shadows in which normal eyes are unable to see through, one's imagination would go wild, thinking that something of the supernatural lies in wait.
At the same time, by not knowing how one's neighbors would act, or by not knowing what was going on behind closed doors, one would be paranoid of their neighbors. This, in turn, is quite possibly the biggest fear of those of high status, whether it be in the military or politics, though the two of those tend to go hand in hand quite often.
Of course, this is not to say that the fear of the unknown is the root cause for all fears. Irrational fears, or phobias, were called that simply because they were simply that. Irrational. Rarely would there be a logical conclusion for one to have a phobia, such as a traumatizing event that one experienced as a child.
And when faced with a phobia, one will react in a variety of manners. Some may become paralyzed in their fear, unable to take action as their body refuses to move. Others may violently lash out at those in their vicinity, all in the hopes that they may put some distance between them and the cause of their phobia. There are others that have a mental breakdown as their fears overload their brain are they become incapable of forming rational thoughts for a period of time.
The most common reaction, however, was simply to let the body respond with the voice. Or…to scream.
Which was exactly what happened in the dorm rooms of a certain first-year team at Beacon Academy.
. . .
When she first heard the scream, she planned on passing it off as her teammate's normal actions. It was a common thing to hear, after all, especially when her team leader would spend a good chunk of her time playing video games on either her scroll or on the game systems.
However, this scream was a bit different from the usual screams of surprise, anger, or joy that her team leader would let out from time to time. It had a bit more of a…primitive aspect to it, one that sent a trickle of worry down her spine.
Which was exactly why Weiss ran out of the shower that she just finished before hastily wrapping a towel around herself and bursting into her team's dorm room. A quick look around the room told her that there was no invader in their room, but that didn't change the fact that there was one Ruby Rose sitting in the corner of the room. Her pale skin was even paler than normal, and a wave of relief flooded the younger girl's body upon seeing Weiss.
"Ruby, what is going on?" Weiss hurriedly asked as she ran over to her friend. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"W-Weiss!" Ruby sobbed. The young girl threw her arms around Weiss, tightly latching on to the Schnee with as much strength as she could muster in her small body.
Weiss began to rub her hand in a circular motion between Ruby's shoulders, an action that surprised both of them. The Weiss of a month ago would have never done such a thing, much less allow hugs.
"Deep breaths, Ruby," Weiss gently said. "Take a moment to calm down and then tell me what happened."
There was a slight shift in the girl's head - a nod, Weiss realized - before Ruby deeply inhaled. After a few more seconds, Ruby muttered something into Weiss' bosom, which was muffled due to the girl's head being buried in Weiss' chest, and she most definitely not think that the minute vibrations felt ticklish.
"…ch…"
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I didn't catch that, Ruby. You'll have to speak clearly if you want me to understand what it is you're saying."
Ruby looked up at her with tearful eyes. "A roach!"
"…" Weiss momentarily blanked out as the words registered in her head. "I-I'm sorry, but I think I might have heard you incorrectly. Did you say…"roach"? As in…a…bug?"
There was a frantic shaking of Ruby's head. "Not just a bug! A roach!" Ruby tried to clarify. "A freakishly, disgustingly-huge one with hairy legs and a gross movement and - and it's HORRIBLE!"
Fighting down the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, Weiss pursed her lips and gently pushed Ruby off of her.
"You're telling me that your ear-piercing screams and your terrified actions just now…were over a cockroach?" She let out a sigh. "And here I thought something terrible had happened."
"It is terrible!" Ruby argued, pointing her finger in some direction across the room. "Look at that thing!"
Weiss turned her head to look where Ruby was pointing and saw the 'thing', as Ruby had put it. It was on the wall just beside their doorway, and while it was definitely bigger than the average roach, it was not something that was worth screaming about; it was only just about the size of a Beacon ID if one were to cut it vertically down the middle.
"Really, Ruby?" Weiss looked back at her teammate with an eyebrow raised in an unimpressed manner. "That's what got you all worked up? Honestly, I don't see what all the fuss was about - "
And then it happened.
There was a wet crack, similar to the sound of an egg's shell breaking if the egg was ten times larger. The shell on the roach split down the center before it began to spread. The roach's body fluids seeped out from the cracks, creating a thin trail of clear liquid. A thin and firm film-like substance began to expand from beneath the open shells, and it jumped off the wall as it spread its wings.
" - IT CAN FLY?!"
And that it could.
Fresh screams escaped from the throats of Weiss and Ruby as the roach buzzed around the air. The girls scampered back to the corners of the room, wanting nothing to do with the flying monstrosity. It zipped a few inches away from their face more than a few times, almost as if it was mocking and teasing them on purpose.
Weiss swiped her hand at the fiendish insect, but she completely missed. The bug was too fast for her and she merely hit air, which only served to dramatically increase their already-high levels of panic.
"You see?! SEE?! It's the stuff of nightmares - EEK!" Ruby squeaked and grabbed Weiss as it flew a little too close. "Kill it kill it killit killitkillitkillit!"
"Oh no, I am not going anywhere NEAR that disgusting thing!" Weiss hotly said.
"WHAT?!" Ruby sputtered. "Just throw some Dust at it or something!"
"Do you want to blow us and our room up?!"
"How do you plan on becoming a huntress if you can't even kill one, stupid little roach?!"
"This and that are two different things, Ruby, and that is nowhere near "little"! And what about you? Didn't you want to become "the greatest team leader ever"? How can you become one if you can't even lead yourself to kill a roach?!"
"What's there to lead?! Who needs leadership to kill a bug?! Besides, since I'm the leader, I order you to kill that bug!"
Weiss bit her lip. As much as she didn't want to do it, she did make a promise that she would be the best teammate ever, and let none say that she was not a woman of her word.
"Very well. I suppose I must…" Weiss sighed. "I'll…I'll do something about it…"
Her slavedriver of a leader cheerfully threw up her arms.
"Yes! Thanks, Weiss! You're the best!"
Instead of answering, Weiss began looking around for anything that she could use as a weapon against the airborne demon. Only now did she realize that she and Ruby were in Blake's corner of the room.
Her brain made a list of things to use in a fraction of a second. The list was as follows: books, books, more books, a book that had a cover with three, left-facing warriors, a book with a cartoon-looking, sleeping knight, a book with three people lying down a field of grass, a book that had a teenage girl with red and white colored hair, and a book that had something to do with ninjas being in love with a shirtless man on the cover.
Absolutely shameless.
The revolting beast flew by once more and Weiss grabbed the nearest book. Later on, she would never admit that she let out a startled yelp that most definitely did not sound like a "Kya!", but that was neither here nor there.
Just as she was about to hurl the book in her hands with as much strength as she could, the door to their dorm room burst open and Yang, Pyrrha, and Blake all rushed inside.
"Ruby, Weiss!" "What's going on?!" "What happened - why are you holding my book?!"
Weiss froze like a deer in headlights as she stared at her friends. Then back at the flying roach. Then back at her friends. Then back at the bug.
Pyrrha must've noticed it as well, and Blake would've seen it too were it not for her focus being on the book in Weiss' hand.
"Honestly, you two…" In a picture-perfect look of absolute confidence and a calm state of mind, Pyrrha made her way across the room in three, long strides. In a flash, her arm snapped out and caught the roach in her bare hand and crushed it in her palm. "All that commotion over a silly insect? What were you thinking?"
At the very least, she and Ruby and the decency to look ashamed.
"We're sorry…" they replied in tandem.
Thankfully, Pyrrha didn't seem very angry. She turned to them with an angelic smile on her face and said, "Next time, you can come and call me over if you need a bug gone."
Weiss and Ruby nodded repeatedly, and with the smile still on her face, Pyrrha exited the room. Not a second later, she poked her head back in.
"Oh, one more thing," Pyrrha added, staring directly at Weiss. More specifically, at her body. "You might want to cover up a little more than that."
Weiss looked down and heat rushed to her face. It was only now that she realized that she was still wearing the towel from earlier, which did very little to protect her modesty. At the very least, it hid the more important parts of her womanly anatomy.
Said towel immediately turned traitorous as it unraveled, most likely due to her excessive movements from earlier coupled with Ruby's hugs, and her entire body was laid bare.
She didn't think that it was humanly possible for her face to burn as much as it did at that moment.
Yang's wolf whistle definitely did not help her at all.
. . .
A blissful sigh was released as he placed his glass onto the countertop. The pale, green colored drink in front of him was down to half with just the one swig he took earlier, and he mentally berated himself for not savoring his drink. The times that he'd get a break from work were far and few in between, and so it wouldn't do for him to just down his drink just like that.
On second thought, screw savoring his drink. It was his last week of work before he'd leave that damned group, so to hell with worrying about when his next vacation would be. With his savings from living as a minimalist for the past decade, he wouldn't have to worry about his budget for a long time.
'Say what you will about the White Fang, but damn…' He took a sip of his drink. 'They paid anyone that isn't a grunt handsomely.'
Sure, he wasn't that high up in their chain of command, being nowhere close to the likes of Adam Taurus or one of the regional overseers, but he was still in charge of over half a dozen platoons of White Fang members, each one having their own captain.
So yes, while he wasn't one of their top ranks, he was nowhere near the bottom. And coupled with the odd jobs that he took every now and then when he had the time to spare, he was easily set for life.
Which is exactly why he was sitting down at a bar with an alcoholic drink in hand.
A man with white hair walked through the doors, inadvertently drawing attention to himself like the countless others that came before him. And as it normally went, almost every eye went back to whatever it was that they were originally looking at, but his eyes stayed on the man and narrowed slightly. Not out of suspicion or any other negative sort of emotion, but merely out of curiosity and a slight bit of confusion. And a bit of respect.
Anyone that could keep their cool while bound to a chair with no access to Aura deserved a small bit of respect. Even more so when the person in question could crack jokes at their interrogators and playing along while having the means to escape the entire time.
Speaking of which, he still had no idea how the bartender in front of him managed to escape the Aura binding chains and escape. While hilarious at the time, it did cause problems for him and his partner as the higher-ups weren't too pleased with how things unfolded.
'Oh well. It's not as if they could do anything about it,' he thought to himself as the white-haired man began making his way over to his table.
If the higher-ups wanted to expend more manpower in getting what little information that they might be able to pry from the bartender, they were more than welcome to try.
Not that they'd succeed, of course. The man was not someone that was so easy to capture. Hell, he was sure that the man willingly allowed him and his partner to bind him in the Aura chains for his own amusement. He was sure that, if the man wanted to, he could've easily taken him and his partner down without a second thought.
'You don't live long in the world if you can't gauge someone's strength upon a mere glance.'
And just like how he didn't want to mess with Adam Taurus, he sure as hell did not want to mess with the man.
Or cafe owner. Whichever it was.
The familiar clink of a cup getting placed onto a table broke Gator out of his reverie. Looking up, he saw the Robin pulling up the last seat in his table of four.
"A bit late there, aren't you?" he smirked.
Robin gave a small smile in response. "Got caught up in a little side job." He then looked at the two other people that were seated around the table, and Gator began the introductions.
"Going by how our names went last time… Hawk, Wolf, meet Robin. Robin, meet Hawk, Wolf," Gator said, motioning at the seated members. "Robin's the owner of Shepherd, Hawk and Wolf are my fellow…" He paused, looking around and changing his words to suit the environment. "…associates."
Hawk, a man with brown hair and sharp eyes, raised his glass as a greeting.
Wolf, on the other hand, had wild, grey hair that partially covered her right eye went down to her upper back, and flashed Robin a grin that was…well…wolfish. "Yo."
"Pleasure to meet you," Robin politely said.
"You the guy that Canis and Kain captured a while back, yeah?" Wolf asked Robin, who raised a slightly confused brow in response. Catching the look, she elaborated, "Ah, my bad. Gator and Ram. Ha! Never gonna let him live that one down!"
"Ah." Robin nodded in understanding. "I was indeed the one that Gator and Ram apprehended a month ago, though our meeting was short-lived."
"Might I ask what happened?" Hawk asked in a gentle tone. "According to the reports, you were able to escape from Aura binding chains easily without breaking free of them. They were neither damaged nor unlocked, so I am very curious as to how you managed the feat."
Robin gave them a knowing smile. "A magician never reveals his secrets."
"Hmph. Friggin' smartass," Gator scoffed, but there was no malice in his voice.
"Got some secrets, huh? Can't say I'm not familiar," Wolf said. "None of us here, in fact."
"Deception is quite the useful tool when dealing with unknowns, especially in combat," Robin sagely said. He then glanced at the drink's in everyone's hands - a beer for Wolf, a glass of whiskey for Hawk, and a bright, green drink for Gator - and raised a curious brow at him. "I mean no offense, but I did not take you as the type to enjoy cocktails."
Gator raised a brow back at him. "Took me as a beer or whiskey guy?"
"More or less. You've quite the grizzled face. Were it not for your scales and eyes, I would have pegged you as a bear faunus."
Gator barked out a laugh while Wolf choked on her beer. The woman quickly set her glass down and struggled to down her drink and Hawk began to rub circles on her back.
"I've been told," Gator grinned. "Won't change the fact that whiskey and beer tastes like garbage."
"Heh, some would find your words to be heresy," Robin chuckled, glancing over at Hawk and Wolf respectively.
"As if I care 'bout what others think," Gator said. "Think about it logically; why the hell would I willingly drink somethin' that I think is nasty when I could get a drink that actually tastes good?" He raised the glass. "And comes with more drink per lien?"
"No arguments there," Robin said in agreement. "Life is much too short, so why not spend it doing what you love doing? Or in this case, drinking what you enjoy?"
"You some sorta philosopher now?" Gator huffed as he glanced over at Wolf. She was only just recovering from almost dying. "'Sides, I don't think you should really be one to talk 'bout life bein' short. You don't look nearly old enough to be talkin' that old person crap."
Robin raised an eyebrow in amusement, almost as if he knew something that he didn't. "Looks can be deceiving. I could very well have lived for over a millennium while retaining my youth."
"Friggin' smartass," Gator said again with a roll of his eyes. "Let's say you really are immortal. How'd you get to become immortal in the first place?"
Without missing a beat and with the straightest face possible, Robin replied, "I took an odd job for some crazy woman who's essentially death itself, and she made me an immortal being that can't be permanently killed so that I could keep doing the shit jobs that she doesn't want to do."
For a full five seconds, all eyes were on Robin as he held a perfect poker face.
"Pfft."
A small burst of air escaped Wolf and Gator's lips before they could stop it, followed by another. Wolf quickly covered her mouth with a fist as a chuckle rose from Gator's chest. Not a second later, both of them threw their heads back in full-blown laughter.
Strange looks were thrown their way from the other patrons in the store, but none of them paid it no mind as they continued to laugh.
"You're a damn good jokester, y'know that? Almost believed you there for a second!" Gator grinned.
"Only for a second? Pity. I was hoping that I could push this for a day at the very least," Robin replied with a grin of his own.
Hawk, being the collected member of their group, calmly set his glass down as he peered at Robin with a small smile on his lips. "You have quite the talent there, Robin. If it is not talent, then I must applaud you on your accomplishment. Being able to weave a tall tale such as that, however short, while making it sound convincing is no small feat. It is even more impressive given the fact that you managed to pull a cloud over our eyes."
There was a slight nod from Robin. "Am I right in assuming that the three of you work in fields that lean more towards the non-combat side of things?"
"Your assumption lies true," Hawk confirmed. "Gator heads the…information gathering team -" Gator simply shrugged at the slight wording change for 'Torture and Investigation'. " - alongside one of the main combative groups, while Wolf and I are in the scouting and tracking division."
Another nod. "While I do appreciate the information given, I cannot help but think that this is something that most people outside of your…group are not exactly privy to."
"You're right about that. We're not exactly supposed to be some sorta open group," Wolf said with a wild grin. The grin then dropped immediately along with her voice, having turned into a menacing grow. "Now that you know, we're gonna have ta' kill ya."
It was an intimidation tactic, one that was utilized by the White Fang more often than not. While slight, some features on faunus, specifically the predatorial ones such as wolves and lions, could be used in the same manner as the original animals did. If used properly towards the right people and in the right situations, the victim of the intimidation tactic would succumb to their fear.
Not that it would work in this case. If Robin was such a weak-willed man, then Gator would not have had any problems when he and Kain had him chained to a chair.
Just as he expected, Robin grabbed his glass (Gator never knew when it arrived) and very casually took a sip. There wasn't the barest hint of trepidation, not the slightest whiff of fear, nor the tiniest tells of body language to show that he even acknowledged the not-so-veiled threat in Wolf's words and tone.
It was a much longer wait than it should've been as Robin slowly set his glass back down. The tension wasn't exactly high, but since the focus of the table was on Robin and his reply, the noise of the entire bar sounded so far away to Gator.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they received his awaited response.
"Sounds fun," he smiled. A smile that held no malice in it. A smile that was normally shared by two friends from an inside joke.
"Holy shit! This guy's a blast!" Wolf howled in laughter as she lightly punched Robin's arm. "No reaction at all!"
"I must say that I am surprised," Hawk admitted. "Not many people can sit still when under Wolf's threat, and far fewer can retain their composure. How did you know?"
Robin raised a brow. "Know what?"
"That Wolf wasn't goin' to follow up on her threat," Gator clarified. "Know that she was bluffin'."
The raised brow furrowed. "That was a bluff?" he asked incredulously.
Hawk fumbled with his glass while Wolf and Gator started laughing again.
"You had a contingency plan prepared?" Hawk asked, having quickly regained his composure.
"Should I not have?"
"Hell no!" Wolf laughed, hitting Robin's arm again. "One of the biggest rules in our crew is that infighting is a big 'No'. Especially during drinking nights! Like honor among thieves and all that, only we ain't exactly thieves."
There was a slow nod from Robin. "I see. That would've been nice to know earlier."
"It is not entirely a bad thing in itself," Hawk said. "We are, for all intents and purposes, strangers to you. Taking precautions against unknowns is something that keeps people alive."
"That being said, now I've gotta know…" Gator leaned forward a little. "What were you plannin' on doin' if Wolf actually followed up on her threat?"
Wolf's eyes widened by a fraction. "Oh shit, didn't think about that." She placed her chin in her palm as her elbow rested against the table's surface. "Now you've got me curious."
"That's easy. I would've…" Robin slowly raised a hand and the White Fang members tensed. A sly grin formed on his face and his hand flicked over towards the bar's door. "…ran like hell."
There was a sudden thud as Wolf's hand slipped, causing her head to slam against the table. Hawk slowly closed his eyes in exasperation, and Gator began laughing.
"Come on, three against one? I'm clearly outnumbered, and getting beaten down in a bar fight would be terrible for my image," Robin continued with a shit-eating smirk plastered on his face. "Now, if it was one-on-one, that's a different story."
Eyes turned to him again with a hint of a challenge in their eyes.
"Because then I'd have a chance at actually running away without getting caught," Robin finished.
Wolf's head hit the table again, this time on her own volition. "Gods damn it! Why did I take him seriously?!"
"Perhaps it is because he is more than capable of escaping without much trouble," Hawk reasonably said.
"It was a rhetorical question, birdbrain," Wolf said, throwing him a half-hearted glare.
"And I gave you a logical answer to it," Hawk replied without missing a beat.
"You don't reply to rhetorical questions! That's the entire point of it being rhetorical - "
Wolf was interrupted by three simultaneous beeping noises. The joviality that hung in the air was lost immediately and Gator pulled out a small pager from a hidden pocket.
"The hell?" Gator scowled. "All they had to do was make a presentation…"
"Work calls, I presume?" Robin asked.
"Got that right," Gator grumbled, pocketing the pager. "The day's almost done too."
Robin gave him an understanding nod. "A feeling I know all too well. Best of luck to you three."
"Hopefully, luck will be something that we won't even want this time around," Wolf said with a sigh.
"One of our warehouses was broken into," Hawk reminded her. "I'd say that we want as much luck as possible in face of the incoming paperwork that we will no doubt have to deal with."
"Ugghh…don't remind me…" Wolf groaned, downing the last of her drink. When she was done, she gave Robin a fanged smile. "It was fun, Robin. Let's meet up again, yeah?"
With that, the three White Fang members left the bar, leaving Robin alone at the table. Just as the bar door closed behind them, the realization struck Robin like a colossal Risen's punch.
"They left me with the bill…"
. . .
Not ten minutes later, Robin was walking down the streets in the direction of his house. Even though it was late into the night, the streets were relatively filled with people walking around. Most were in groups of three to five while a few could be seen in pairs.
As he walked, he caught murmurs of a rampaging Atlas robot being thrown around, and the White Fang were involved.
'I do hope they aren't too heavily involved,' Robin thought to himself. 'They were pleasant enough, even if our time was short-lived.'
He walked by a food stall that was still open. The aromatic smell seemed to invite him to take a seat, and given how he didn't have a chance to eat before meeting with Gator and his friends, Robin decided to listen to his stomach.
Pushing the curtain aside, the food stall turned out to be a noodle shop run by a single, aged man. He wasn't the only one that was in the store, evident by the two of the four seats being occupied.
"Ah, welcome to A Simple Wok!" the old man brightly grinned. "What can I get for you?"
"Mm…" Robin eyed the menu on the wall as he took the rightmost seat at the countertop table. Having decided on what to get, he pulled out the appropriate amount of lien and placed it on the counter. "…I'll have the Shrimp Tempura Udon with a cup of water, please."
"Coming right up!" the old man beamed, taking the payment.
Robin let his body relax as the sounds from the old man working became background noise to his ears. His eyes weren't focused on anything in particular, but he was still able to see the old man's movements as he prepared the food. Not a single movement wasted, every motion connected to the previous one, and eyes that seemed to be everywhere at once - telltale signs of someone who's been doing his job for many, many years.
He was abruptly broken out from his musings by one of the two other occupants letting out a tired sigh. Both of them were teenagers, one with short, golden hair with an unbuttoned white shirt and a monkey's tail, and the other had a rooster head of a pastel blue.
"They'll be fine, right?" the rooster head asked.
The monkey faunus didn't reply as he chewed the food in his mouth. Once he swallowed, he casually shrugged. "Probably."
Robin's eyes quickly looked over their profile, taking in their features and the two weapons that were leaning against the counter. One was a red bo staff with golden accents while the other was some sort of folded glaive. He figured that there was some connection between the faunus and a legendary figure from a different world, but given that it was from a different world, he decided to not voice his thoughts.
He looked up and caught the eye of the rooster head teen, who raised an eyebrow in response.
"Students?" Robin asked the two.
Roosterhead looked a little surprised at the fact Robin talked to him, resulting in him taking an extra second to reply. "Y-Yeah."
Robin gave him a slow nod. "Not from Beacon, I presume?"
"Nah. We're from Haven, here to participate in the tournament," the blonde faunus answered with a confident smile. "You?"
"I'm no student," he replied with a small shake of his head. "So…no. I will not be participating, though I am looking forward to watching it."
"Are you going to be cheering for your sister?" Roosterhead asked.
Robin's brow furrowed in confusion. "Sister?"
"Yeah - wait…" Roosterhead's eyes slowly widened as a look of horror flicked across his features. "You're…not a Schnee…are you?"
It took a second for the words to click. When it did, Monkey brought a hand over his face while Robin began to laugh, all the while Roosterhead held his head in his hands in embarrassment.
"No, I am not a Schnee," Robin said as he controlled his laughter. "The only characteristics that I share with them would be the hair color, but even then, theirs has a slightly bluer hue to it. Mine is more of a flat white, and no, I'm not talking about the drink."
"I'm so sorry," Rooster apologized, still holding his head.
"No harm done," Robin lightly said with a wave of his hand. "It is quite understandable as white hair is uncommon in those in their younger years. Though I must ask: what brought that up?"
"The nerd here has a pretty big crush on the Weiss Schnee," Monkey said, gesturing to his friend.
Rooster raised his head to look at Monkey. "I am an intellectual, not a nerd."
In return, Monkey rolled his eyes. "Same thing."
"No, it's not," Rooster indignantly said before looking over at Robin for confirmation. "Right?"
"They, for the most part, do mean the same thing," Robin said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "The only difference would be the fact that one tends to be said in a more derogatory manner."
At this, Monkey tossed a smug grin over at Rooster.
"If one goes into technicalities, however, the two words do mean different things," Robin continued. "One can mean 'fool' while the other can mean 'genius'."
"Ha! See? They aren't the same thing!" Rooster said.
"Same difference!" Monkey huffed in response.
A small smile formed on Robin's face as he watched the two go back and forth. His eyes then moved across their clothes, taking note of the slightly battered looks and the occasional scuff mark that dirtied them. He remembered the few rumors that he caught on the way here, and a question formed in his mind.
"Your Shrimp Temura Udon!"
He was interrupted when a steaming bowl of udon was placed in front of Robin. He blinked as he turned to the shopkeep, having forgotten that he ordered food earlier. With a smile, he thanked the old man and picked up his chopsticks.
"By the way…" he started, grabbing Rooster and Monkey's attention. "The two of you wouldn't know anything about one of Atlas' pilotable mechs that was causing a ruckus earlier, would you?"
The two shared a glance with each other before turning back to Robin. Their hesitance to reply served as an answer.
"Were there four girls also involved? Specifically, the four members of Team RWBY from Beacon?" Robin continued.
"Yeah… How did you know?" Rooster asked.
Robin let out a small sigh. "Lucky guess. Those girls seem to be quite involved in many things."
"Really?" Monkey raised a brow. "Like what?"
"Ruby Rose was involved in a robbery before the school term even started and fought off Roman Torchwick, the entire team then somehow blows up a restaurant not two weeks later, and fought off Torchwick and a large number of White Fang members at the docks not too long ago," Robin counted off on his fingers.
"Oh hey! I was part of that last one!" Monkey grinned.
"I see." Robin nodded as he recalled the reports of the dock fight. "So you're the student from Haven that was mentioned in the reports."
Monkey's smile faltered as he swallowed the last of his food. "You're a…a cop?"
An idea popped into Robin's head. It was an idea that he really should not have acted on. It was an idea that was neither 'smart' nor 'life-changing', though one may argue that it was 'clever'. It was nothing more than him just being what one would call an "asshole", but he was presented with such an opportune moment to be "that guy".
"Not exactly," he replied with a small smirk.
In his many years of living, both before and after his initial death, Robin learned that, sometimes, a vague answer can do so much. It plays into people's imaginations and fears, making them overthink situations and often making them scare themselves.
In this certain scenario, it simply started because Robin mentioned that he saw the blonde faunus mentioned in the reports. It wasn't a police report or anything of the sort since he was covering for Glynda at the time, but that was precisely why the vague answer worked so well in this situation.
Monkey had no idea if Robin was actually a police officer or not. All he knew in this instance was that there was a 'report', and in his suspicion and fear, cornered himself by asking if Robin was a cop. If it was not for that question, there would never have been an opportunity. Unfortunately for him, that opportunity was capitalized upon by Robin's reply.
"Ah."
Monkey nodded and both he and Rooster slowly rose to their feet. Without another word, they bolted from the stall with their weapons in their hands, leaving Robin alone in the stall.
Satisfied with his results, Robin chuckled to himself as he turned back to his meal. The noodles had gotten a little soggy, having soaked up a little too much of the broth, but it was still hot and enjoyable.
On the other side of the counter, the old man asked him, "You're not really a cop, are you?"
"Nope," Robin smiled. "I'm just the owner of a small cafe."
The old man gave him a crinkled smile before returning to his work. "It's a beautiful night, you know," he said.
Robin nodded in agreement. "That it is."
"You are a spritely young man. Pardon an old man's words, but you should be spending your time with those close to you instead of being alone."
'If only you actually knew how long I've been alive for,' Robin said in his mind.
"Of course, your eyes are a different story," the shopkeep continued. "You are not as young as you look, are you?"
Robin raised an eyebrow in response, neither confirming nor denying his words. He knew that wisdom often comes with age, so he was quite curious as to where the old man was going with this.
Seeing his look, the old man chuckled and said, "Wayfaring souls tend to find comfort in other souls like theirs."
Robin's eyes widened by a fraction. His curiosity grew and nipped the back of his mind, but he remained silent in the chance that the shopkeep would elaborate further. Unfortunately, the old man simply shook his head and didn't say anything else.
'Perhaps the old man has a Semblance that delves into some form of clairvoyance.'
He never had the chance to expand upon that thought as a loud voice came from just outside the store.
"A noodle house! Yes!"
The perpetrator turned out to be a woman in a blue kimono with red accents, and pink hair that was styled into a sun-shaped bun. She joyfully took a seat next to Robin and threw up a hand.
"Old man! A bowl of udon and some dango if you have!" the woman cheerfully ordered.
The old man smiled and nodded to confirm her order. However, before he could even start preparing her food, the woman let out a sharp gasp that almost sounded heartbroken as her hands grasped at the air by her hips. Her movements grew more frantic as both her hands began to pat down her hips and thighs before she dejectedly lowered her head.
"Sorry, old man," the woman sheepishly said. "Turns out I lost my wallet."
The shopkeep gave her an understanding nod. "Ah, I see. That - "
" - won't be any problem. I'll pay for her meal," Robin cut in with a smile, and the old man nodded again.
Not having expected her meal to be paid for, the woman turned her head to look at Robin. Upon seeing his face, her eyes widened in recognition and she jabbed a finger in his face.
"Y-You!" she sputtered.
"Me," Robin smiled. "I did not expect to see you here of all places, but it's a pleasant surprise to see you again."
The woman gleefully threw an arm around his shoulders with a bright grin on her face. "Seriously! The last time I saw you was half a year ago during New Years! What have you been doing? How'd you end up in this wor - in this land in the first place? Are you still on that contract you told me about?"
"I've opened up a coffee shop in this city, and yes, I'm still on that contract. It's also why I'm here, and I'll be here for some time longer until I get another long-term job," Robin answered politely. "Did you arrive here recently?"
She happily hummed and nodded, signifying a "Yes" as her answer. "The weird travel thing saved me again, only this time, it wasn't some cheating Yagyu-whatsit after my head."
"Oh? Then who, or what, was it this time?" Robin asked. "You're no slouch with the sword, so I'm quite curious how you almost died again."
"You make it sound like I'm almost dying a lot," the woman grumbled. Her playful demeanor returned not a second later and a spark of excitement appeared in her eyes. "Listen listen! So I was fighting a bunch of oni, right? I swear I was born in the wrong era because the oni that I fought were so beautiful! Anyway…"
As the woman animatedly talked about the recent events in her life and Robin listened, he recalled the old man's words from earlier, and he found himself in agreement.
It truly was a beautiful night to spend alongside another wayfaring soul.
. . .
. . .
I tried sounding wise. Pretty sure I completely failed in that regard.
Original idea for this chapter was to have Robin involved in the RWBY vs AtlasMech!Torchwick fight. It was also going to take place in the street right outside of Robin's store, which would've prompted the lines:
"Torchwick, what the hell are you doing in that thing?"
"Robin?! What are you doing here?"
"I live here..."
Then they [RWBY, Torchwick, Neo, and Robin] end up inside Shepherd for a really awkward moment of all of them sitting at the same table.
But, alas, that was not what happened, which also resulted in a lack of the original cast being present in this chapter. On the other hand, it was a prime opportunity to bring back Gator from a few chapters ago, seeing how he's in the White Fang and all. Not to stroke my own ego, but I think it segmented quite well into the last couple of scenes with Sun and Neptune.
Speaking of Neptune, I was trying so hard to not make a Rooster Teeth pun with Robin's name for Neptune, 'Rooster'.
As usual, thank you all for the reads, favorites, follows, and reviews.
. . .
On a completely different note, you know that MHA idea I had back in the A.N. of Chapter 9? Yeah, I ended up not doing that but instead went with the other thing mentioned, which was to adopt the 'Half Hot Half Cold' story. If any of you are interested in a story about a f!Izuku-that-also-happens-to-be-Shouto's-twin, feel free to check it out. (Just saying, I've no idea on how to go about that story since I'm stupid enough to start another fic without putting much thought into it. I'm gonna be winging it just like A Shepherd's Rest and Plegia's Strategist)
Did I just self-promote my own story?
...Yup. I have no shame. Ha. Ha. Ha (deadpan laugh).
