A/N: Usual Disclaimer of not owning Toaru or RWBY and special thanks to Furaiz for beta-reading and correcting my mistakes! Now, let's roll
Roman considered himself a professional criminal, and a serious one at that After all, just like any worthwhile profession in life, he was paid to do what he does best and if that meant that he had to get his hands dirty on occasion to ensure that his activities proceeded as smoothly as possible, well that was just what he enjoyed about his choice of career the most
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, the armoured convoy is about to pass within the next couple of minutes," Roman announced into his headset, "First Squad, on my mark."
Working with the White Fang had its difficulties, but over several weeks, he finally had turned them into serviceable crooks. They weren't as disciplined as the Howling Battalion or as zealous as the Mistral Seeker's Church, but Taurus's Loyalists made up for that by being able to learn the operational processes decently quickly. Each dust heist he had operated became smoother, more efficient and most importantly, unanswered.
He and the Loyalists silently hid under the shadows of the construction site they sequestered themselves at. The scaffolding and various construction materials had made it easy to hide the group and with the broken moon shining above them and there were no inconvenient civilians they had to worry about to spoil the next hit
Roman's ears twitched as he heard the humming of motors and the grinding of the wheels echoing in the distance, and his face stretched into a crooked grin. The information he had obtained earlier on the convoy had almost made it far too easy as the road near them began to illuminate brighter with the headlights from three incoming white armoured trucks.
"Now!"
The Loyalists and Roman heard a small thunk above them as the trucks were just several seconds away. In an instant, a shipping crate hurtled down right onto the road in front of them, smashing and cracking open in the very middle of the road the trucks were about to drive through, making them swerve to a screeching halt.
The doors of the trucks opened as a handful of men and women in simple white polo shirts with the SDC logo stamped on the breast pocket stepped out, some scratching their heads as they approached the wrecked container in front of them.
"Second Squad, go!" Roman commanded with a grin as he pulled out his Melodic Cudgel, behind him, footsteps stampeded on the road as the White Fang passed the career criminal, some raising suppressed rifles while others wielded various tools, "Let's be quick, remember, two minutes!"
Before any of the SDC security detail could react, the Loyalists fired their weapons, a couple of yelps and strangled cries later, every SDC guard lay on the road, blood pooling underneath them. Some of the Loyalists, approached each SDC guard, kicking the bodies and at the corner of Roman's eyes, he noticed some of the White Fang members even spat on them, almost making Roman snort at the pettiness. Others quickly began their work at the back of the trucks and within seconds, sizzling rang in Roman's ears as he muttered to himself, "Ah… the sound of Lien." In a few more seconds, three popping sounds resounded from the trucks, Roman snapped his fingers and jerked his thumb at the trucks. More footsteps tapped onto the road and soon, the empty street was filled with the sounds of vacuums sucking up the dust inside the trucks.
Suddenly, everyone but Roman perked up and he frowned at their momentary pause before they quickly proceeded with their work. He may not be a fan of the Faunus and even looked down on them, but he would never deny the usefulness of their superior hearing, "Finish up! We leave in thirty!" Soon, enough sirens began to echo over the street, steadily encroaching the road, but Roman wasn't deterred. Once the vacuuming ceased, he noticed the Loyalists nodding to him with a thumbs up, "Okay, let's get head to the Point A." The footsteps were barely being drowned out by the sirens, but as far as he was concerned, they were long gone with all the loot.
The group darted into the shadows of the nearby buildings, opposite of the construction site and as they weaved through the empty streets, they came across their own convoy of vans, waiting for them and their ill-gotten gains. Wordlessly, the Loyalists distributed themselves among the vans, but for Roman, he entered one of the vans alone to see his most trusted partner and a nun dressed in white, Neopolitan and Sister Agnese respectively, waiting inside.
It was a simple heist, executed professionally, he would've added. He didn't even need Neopolitan's assistance to ensure things went smoothly and while the police could be a potential inconvenience, he'd rather not waste any more time or resources than he ever needed to.
Neopolitan beamed at him as she clapped her hands excitedly, earning her a small wave and confident but lopsided grin from Roman as he said, "Why, thank you, my dear, it wasn't much and my fellow… colleagues were excellent."
"...I must admit, your operations are smooth and minimise casualties," Sister Agnese conceded with a small bow. Roman snorted as he closed the van door, taking a seat next to his partner as he banged at the front. The van lurched forward and a gentle hum of the engine filled his ears, he gently brushed at his jacket as if there was some sort of dust on it.
"Of course it would be smooth," Roman scoffed as he leaned back with a smirk, "Three trucks full of dust before the authorities could even arrive." Neopolitan huffed and pouted, turning slightly away, but Roman chuckled as he replied to her silent complaint, "Worry not, Neo! The next operation will have you at the forefront." That easily got his partner smiling again.
Sister Agnese drew a long sigh and chimed in, "There might not be a 'next operation'." The short illusionist pointed a glare at the nun while Roman simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation, "Her Holiness… have requested you for a job at Mistral," she muttered but there was a hard edge to it and it made Roman smile, he could almost imagine the face she was making behind that mask.
"Oh? I'm sure you're intelligent enough to understand that I'm a busy man with a busy schedule," Roman replied with Neopolitan nodding fervently beside him, "Honest to heart, I'm not sure if I can make time to even travel to Mistral."
Sister Agnese's mouth flashed its fangs for a split second, but that was all Roman needed to know that he had made it clear to her what his intentions were. "Hmph… Her Holiness have stated that you would probably say that, that's why we have an incentive for you." She pulled out her scroll and handed it to Roman.
As he examined with Neopolitan peeking over, he snorted in disbelief as he shook his head, "Really? Now, how did some random church get their hands on that?" He asked as he handed back the scroll, "If anything, this just looks too good to be true."
"Hmph, for once, I agree, but it isn't my place to question Her Holiness's command, but merely to convey an opportunity for you…" Sister Agnese stated then she turned rigidly to Neopolitan, "... and her."
"...Okay, let's say I take this job, what does it entail?" Roman asked. If there was one thing he learned in this world of professional criminals, it was that something that seemed too good to be true would be more than likely, an extremely troublesome job. However, the reward offered wasn't something he could ignore.
"... It requires your talents of your current profession… and your previous one," Agnese explained, "The situation is still developing, but Her Holiness expects this to reach a point where we'll need to employ more unconventional means."
Roman's face twitched, her explanation hammered in more questions than answers, but it was enough for him to speculate what kind of job it would be. While he wasn't the most experienced in working in Mistral, he knew that anything to do with that city or region, in general, was a messy one. Plagued by rival gangs, criminal organisations and corrupt officials had often made for lucrative business dealings for criminals, but more often than not, those dealings were very messy.
The cryptic answer made by his accompanying nun didn't make it much better, but her first part of the answer had intrigued him. Had the Church dug into his past that much? Neopolitan poked at his shoulder and he turned to face a rather annoyed face of the young woman, that he shared sentiments with. She had basically told him that the job smelled all kinds of trouble and she was right, but the opportunity would solve a lot of problems he has.
"...Regardless of your answer, my sisters and I will return to Mistral. Our primary mission here has already been completed," Sister Agnese stated, her voice melded into a more calm and serene tone, almost in harmony with the soft humming of the engine.
"Oh? Not going to watch me any longer?" Roman asked in the most taunting grin he could pull, but his mind was on overdrive, trying to weigh the risk against the reward of the job.
"The situation at Mistral takes priority over your meagre activities in this city," Sister Agnese replied, "Should the Loyalists realise your true goals, then we suspect they would pay you in kind."
"I seriously doubt they ever would," he dismissed with a snort, "But that is neither here nor there. Neo, I think it's time we began to expand our business to the international market." Neopolitan's eyes widened at the declaration as she pulled away from her partner. "Oh don't give me that, Neo! There are times where the greater boons require… a little more risk."
"I see… then I'll take that statement as though you have accepted the job," Sister Agnese stated as she tapped on the scroll, "Then we leave tomorrow morning."
Weiss had confidence in her abilities, whether it was in academics, combat or general knowledge, she prided herself to have thoroughly adequate knowledge in every topic. She wasn't arrogant enough to say that she was the best around, but her results in every class have proven time and time again, that she had the requisite capabilities and knowledge. However, despite her vast knowledge in the realm of huntsmen and other fields, there was one thing that had always niggled at the back of her mind.
She hesitated to call Touma Kamijou a friend, despite whatever he may think, after all, she didn't consider her teammates that close either, often telling herself that they were more like colleagues rather than friends. However, as each day passed, and she found herself more frequently in the company of her team, JNPR and Touma for various reasons, whether for something as important as group tasks and study or something as mundane to just laze about, this definition of her relationships at school was harder to justify. Still, there was one thing that annoyed Weiss to an extent when it came from Touma, and it was never about him as a person, but rather his circumstances as a huntsman-in-training.
She had planned to get those answers, especially now that she had known that he was under Winter's tutelage. She even made sure to 'supervise' her partner's construction of his weapon and Weiss was pleased that Ruby had the sense to utilise some of the latest technology that the markets had to offer. However, that had proven to be more difficult than expected, especially when the very same Touma Kamijou was lying down on the ground panting, drenched in sweat with a sheepish looking Ruby standing over him while scratching her head.
On Touma's left hand was a gauntlet frame sort of contraption, and as far as Weiss could tell, it was far from finished, lacking the plating, paint and other finishing touches for a weapon. However, despite the state of Touma, she could see multiple drones lying motionless around him with some bits and pieces scattered around them. Begrudgingly, she had to admit that Ruby's talent for weapon engineering completely outstripped her own capabilities in the field.
"Ahaa… I think there's a little too much power on the CAG," Ruby said with a nervous grin and she bent down to help the boy pull off the weapon, "Yep… this could definitely be too lethal and the recoil could hurt you," Ruby tapped on the gauntlet a few times, humming to herself while Touma remained unresponsive.
"... Ruby… Touma," Weiss greeted as she headed to them with a nod and while Touma didn't even wave back, Ruby perked up and grinned.
"Heya Weiss, we're just testing out the weapons!" Ruby exclaimed with excitement and Weiss raised an eyebrow, she didn't need to be a detective to know that, but the sparkling in her partner's eyes told her that it wasn't the end of the explanation, "Just need to make a few adjustments and some additions and this baby's gonna be awesome!"
"Right…" Weiss responded as she backed a little away from Ruby, "You mind if I talk to him?"
"Sure!" Ruby replied as she began to fiddle with the weapon again.
Weiss crossed her arms with an audible sigh, successfully gaining the attention of her partner again, "Privately, Ruby."
Ruby froze with a grin, as she stiffly replied, "Ah, right, well uh… I'm just gonna do some adjustments then it's gonna be finished, so… uhh, headin out!" She stood up and in a flurry of rose petals, zoomed out of the training facility.
Weiss stared after Ruby's departure in confusion, slowly shaking her head before turning her focus to the Touma, "Well?"
"Yeah… just… just give me a minute," Touma bit out as he tried to wave with his hand, but it looked more like a flop of a dying fish. Weiss placed her hands on her hips as Touma struggled to get up to a sitting position, "Sorry, was just testing my new weapon, still got stuff that needs to be sorted out, but according to Ruby, should be done by today."
"I can see that," Weiss said as she glanced once more to the broken drones, from what Ruby commented earlier, the CAG power settings were definitely too high and Touma probably suffered from the recoil as a result, "You've been avoiding me."
Touma stiffened up and sheepishly looked up, his face guilt-ridden from the accusation, "I… I didn't mean to avoid you, things just… happened."
Weiss rolled her eyes, neither impressed nor bothered by what Touma was trying to say, it wasn't like she was in a hurry to get what she wanted, but she'd rather get it out of the way if she could, "It's fine, can you get up?" Weiss asked as she held out her hand.
Touma stiffly laughed in response and took Weiss's hand with his left, she pulled him up without difficulty and he almost stumbled as he silently berated himself that despite her petite figure, she was still strong thanks to her aura. Touma dusted himself and turned to Weiss who was patiently staring at him, "So… what do you need to talk to me about?"
Weiss looked around before she stated, "Let's head to the dorms, I'd rather we do this in private." Before Touma could utter a response, the young Schnee headed off, leaving Touma to quickly catch up with slight difficulty as he felt his legs feeling a little less solid than before.
"Wait! I still need to wait for Ruby-"
"If you think you are in a condition to continue testing your new weapon, then I'm going to have to call you a 'dunce'. Ruby may be reckless, but she isn't stupid enough to not understand that you aren't in any shape to continue," Weiss interrupted and Touma flinched at her bluntness as he realised he had no response against it. Ruby didn't mention she would be back after all, "Besides, I'd rather we don't have anyone overhear or interrupt us, even if by accident."
Touma sighed but didn't voice any complaints, he wasn't sure what all of this was about, but if Weiss insisted on privacy, then he respected it at the very least. He considered her as a friend, while not as close as someone like Blake or even Yang, she was cordial and even helped him out a few times, all of which he was grateful for.
Within a few minutes, the two arrived at the dorm, but Touma didn't expect Weiss to suddenly make an unexpected turn because he was pretty sure that RWBY's dorm room was in another direction, "Uhh, Weiss?"
"Yes?"
"Aren't we heading to your room?" Touma asked.
Weiss turned to him briefly with a raised eyebrow before she stopped right in front of a very familiar door, "As I said before, I'd rather not have anyone interrupt us." She folded her arms and nodded to the door.
Touma laughed stiffly as he scratched his head and replied, "I don't think using my room is a good idea."
"Don't be silly, as far as I know, you're the only one who doesn't have to share it with anyone else," Weiss retorted as she held out her hand, "Now do I have to open it up for you?"
Touma hung his head, sure he had allowed friends the privilege to enter his room to relax as Yang had more or less declared it the 'hangout' room. He didn't mind it, but from the looks of it, Weiss didn't seem to be aware of it entirely and hopefully, no one else would be there. With a shrug, he pulled out his scroll and opened the door, gesturing to Weiss to enter before him.
With an appreciative nod, she strode inside but her momentum came to a halt as she heard, "Hey, welcome back," from none other than the most silent member on her team. Alongside Blake, who was reading without even looking up, was Ren and Nora, the former who waved but maintained his focus on his own book while Nora was snoozing on a beanbag like a starfish on a rock.
"Hey guys," Touma greeted back and as he felt some sort of pressure emanating from Weiss, he answered her non-verbal question, "They were looking for a place to read, so… I offered."
"Weiss?" Blake finally looked up with a raised eyebrow, Ren following suit, before the two glanced at each other, shrugged and then returned to their books.
Weiss sighed in mild frustration and Touma, feeling a little guilty, supplied, "We could go to your room instead?"
"Hahh… Doesn't matter, they know about it," Weiss replied, but her words didn't reflect her annoyance as she gave one glance at the beanbags before seating herself on the lone couch. Touma followed, a little curious as to what she was referring to, but nonetheless took a seat beside her.
"So uhh… what do you want to talk to me about?" Touma asked.
"Your semblance," the response was short, but it did draw the attention of Ren and Blake, their eyes boring into Weiss.
"My… semblance?" Touma repeated as he glanced briefly at his right hand and at the corner of his eye, he noticed that neither Ren or Blake had returned to their books, "... What about it?"
"It doesn't make sense," Weiss answered with a frown, "You don't have an active aura, but you have a semblance, even with the argument that your semblance is suppressing your aura, it usually shouldn't be a detriment to the user."
"... She's right, most, if not all semblances often provide some sort of benefit in a situation, but not a detriment to most," Ren said with a nod as he closed his book quietly, "And even if there was a general issue of how a semblance works against the user, it isn't usually in regards to the aura of the user."
"Exactly, and your semblance seems to have multiple uses in a standard form," Weiss continued, "Even a versatile semblance like mine requires an external addition to give it a different use."
Blake also closed her book, while she suspected that Touma wasn't completely aware of how or what his semblance is, it wasn't like he was trying to deceive anyone. The fact that Touma's face stiffened as he scratched the back of his head, gave her the feeling that Touma was trying to figure something out.
"Uhh… well… I had my semblance for as long as I could remember, so… all it does is negate Grimm, dust and auras… semblance as well I guess," He replied with a helpless shrug, "I don't know what else to tell you, I mean, I've thought about it… but nothing really came to mind."
Weiss's frown deepened momentarily, before she sighed with a shake of her head, "I suppose not, you're not exactly the most well-versed person on the subject matter," Weiss admitted, but Touma laughed at the jab weakly, "But doesn't that strike you as how strange it is?"
"It does… but it's not like there's anything I could do about it," Touma reasoned, as far as he was concerned, there was no point questioning it and simply work with what he has. So far, he has helped a number of people with Imagine Breaker and he was happy enough to use that power for something he believed in.
"That's fair, you do what you have to do with it, as far as I can see it, you've done some good with it," Blake mentioned, her lips seemed to twitch into a small smile, "You have managed to use it to prevent a fight from Cardin and a senior of ours."
"Now that you mention it, Cardin had even tried to belittle seniors just because they are Faunus," Ren agreed with a nod.
"Regardless," Weiss pressed, "The fact that Touma's semblance doesn't fit the standard of a semblance is just… strange."
"Then… what if it isn't a semblance?" a new voice piped up and the four of them turned to Nora who was paused to yawn while rubbing her eyes, "I mean, if it doesn't fit the whatever for a semblance, then maybe it isn't a semblance?"
"I… haven't thought of that," Weiss admitted, her eyes seemed to become sharper as she focussed to her knees.
"That may be a possibility," Ren almost mimicked Weiss's posture as he rubbed his chin.
Touma scratched his head at Nora's words, as simple as it may sound, he could see how his Imagine Breaker seemed so different to everyone else in nature, "What do you mean, Nora?"
"Well, maybe your Imagine Broker-"
"Breaker," Ren gently reminded.
"-Breaker is… uhh.. Magic or something?" Nora put forth with a shrug.
Everyone else glanced at each other, as is they had lightning speed debate with their eyes before Blake muttered, "Magic?" Nora shrugged with a grunt and shifted in her beanbag.
"Magic doesn't exist, I mean, semblances and aura were considered magic for a time, but eventually it was researched thoroughly enough that it was considered its own science," Weiss explained, but she didn't hold any disdain for the seemingly childish remark of Nora as she added, "But… that might make sense."
"Wait… are you serious that it might be magic?" Blake asked surprised, out of everyone she knew, she expected Weiss Schnee to be the most sceptical of such concept like magic.
Weiss shifted into her seat and crossed her legs, leaning back against the couch as she tilted her head to the side, figuring out how she was going to explain, "Magic had been the 'explanation' for new concepts, perhaps Touma's Imagine Breaker might not be a semblance at all, but a different concept entirely."
Blake raised her eyebrows but didn't comment any further, perhaps her icy teammate was a little more open-minded than she first thought, just a tiny bit at the very least.
"Wait, wait, wait, magic doesn't exist, right? I don't think Imagine Breaker is magic or anything," Touma pointed out.
"No, you misunderstood. What I meant was that your Imagine Breaker might not exactly be a semblance at all, but a different ability category entirely," Weiss rebutted with a slight scowl and sighed for the umpteenth time today, "Are you sure there is nothing else you can tell us?"
Touma's eyes wandered across the room, briefly noticing the inquiring look of everyone else, or in Nora's case, mild yet sleepy interest as he tried to remember anything different about what he knew of his Imagine Breaker, but his mind seemed to refuse to divulge anything, "... Sorry… can't think of anything."
"Hahh… no need to apologize for that," Weiss replied resignedly, "I… will head off, I have some things to look up, I'll tell Ruby that you are here before she wanders of trying to find where you are." With a quick nod to her teammate and half the JNPR team, she stood up and brushed her skirt before striding off out of the room.
"...Huh… she really wanted to know more about your Imagine Breaker," Blake commented as she opened her book once more.
"I admit, I'm curious about the nature of Imagine Breaker, but maybe not as much as her," Ren said as he briefly turned his gaze to Touma.
"Hahh… I wish I could tell her more, but…"
"The way I see it, sometimes you just gotta go with the flow rather than trying to find out what it really is," Nora commented, her mouth then widened as she yawned, stretching her limbs before a loud rumbling emanated from her stomach, causing her to freeze as she smiled, a little embarrassed about her body's whining for food causing her partner to chuckle.
Touma chuckled as well as he stood up and headed to his makeshift pantry cupboard. Sure it wasn't as stocked as when he lived by himself at Vale, but it had enough to pull in a decent dish or two, "Guess I'll make something for you guys." He didn't catch Blake's perking up or Ren's eyes flashing but he definitely heard Nora's gasp of delight.
Blake unconsciously licked her lips, the last time she had Touma's cooking had her floating in heaven. She never dreamed of him being able to do something so masterful with tuna, more specifically, baked tuna with vegetables and aromatic herbs. While she would never admit it, half the reason she spends her time at Touma's room was that he might end up cooking something for her, even if it was rare, it was worth it.
"Really!?" Nora asked, completely awake as she stood up with her hands clasped together, her mouth stretched into a large smile.
"Yeah… pancakes, got some mixture here and I guess I can cook up some raspberry sauce, just give me a few minutes," Touma replied with a smile as he started fishing out his cookery and ingredients, but what he didn't expect after he finished was a bone-crushing hug from the hammer wielder, a delighted Faunus and a very grateful Lie Ren.
Blake had always been aware that she wasn't exactly the most sociable person out there, even among her friends, she tended to have minimal input to conversations even if it hits the ballpark of what her friends would assume was her area of interest, literature. It didn't mean that she disliked interacting with them, she just preferred to enjoy their company in relative silence, something that her friends picked up on very quickly.
However, today wasn't one of those days, rather than that, she was facing Jaune with her Gambol Shroud while the blonde leader held his sword out with his shield covering his body. She hadn't expected to be his training partner outside of class, in fact, she either trained by herself or with her team, but training with someone like Jaune was a bit of a rarity.
With a holler, the blonde boy charged and clumsily brought his sword down and in one smooth motion, Blake flicked her scabbard, knocking his blade away and stepped to his side, softly tapping him on the shoulder with the same scabbard that had him stumbling forward.
"You must watch your footwork Jaune and you need to try and not telegraph your attacks," Pyrrha called from the sidelines.
Funnily enough, Blake found herself at the request to help Jaune with his combat training. Jaune and Pyrrha had sparred with each other a few times, but the latter decided it was a good idea to help Jaune by finding another sparring partner, preferably someone who used a sword or similar weapon. While Weiss was their first choice, she had been strangely absent and by default, Blake was next in line.
She adjusted her grip on her weapon to a reverse grip and prepared her stance, waiting for Jaune to turn to her. Normally by now, she would have him on the ground long before then, but Pyrrha had more or less begged her to be easier on her partner.
"She's preparing to attack, watch how she's gripping her blade and prepare to defend accordingly!" Pyrrha instructed once more and once Jaune nodded, Blake charged swinging her blade at Jaune who managed to move his shield up in time to block it, but Blake sidestepped and nudged at the boy, making him yelp in surprise as he lost his footing again.
Sure she was supposed to 'help' teach and train Jaune, but she wasn't going to make it that easy for him, plus she would never admit it but there was no way she was going to walk away from this session without having the boy land on his backside a few times. Suddenly, a loud beep echoed the hall and Blake looked up at the screen viewing Jaune and her aura levels, the former was dipping into the red zone while Blake's had only a blip at the end of her green bar.
Blake smoothly sheathed her blade and headed to Jaune who seemed to be staring dully at the ceiling, she held out her hand and as he took it, pulled him up as he mumbled, "Man… I got my ass kicked."
"You did great, Jaune!" Pyrrha walked up with a small smile, but Jaune just gazed dully back, a little hunched over.
"I hardly see how falling and tripping half the time is 'great'," Jaune replied dully as he hung his head. Blake raised her eyebrow, it wasn't that bad as he made it out to be, granted that he was easily getting knocked off his feet a few times.
The Faunus's ears twitched as she felt a prickle on her neck and her eyes darted to Pyrrha, who seemed to be trying to tell her something with her emerald eyes. Getting the message, Blake sighed in annoyance, she wasn't the type to say anymore than necessary, but Pyrrha did promise her to get some fresh tuna for Touma to cook with, "Maybe not with footwork, but your form is actually pretty good, all you need is to practice your footing and you'd do pretty well," she said and it was true, despite his clumsy movement, his stances were good enough that she couldn't just spot an opening straight away.
Jaune looked up, scepticism riddled on his face with a frown, "Really?"
Blake shrugged nonchalantly as she slung the weapon on her back, "Yeah, you have to start somewhere right? No one is 'great' in the beginning."
"Exactly, we'll make you a swordsman out of you, Jaune," Pyrrha added with a nod, her hands clasping tightly together, "It takes practice and time for you to get there."
Jaune's gaze fell to his sword, his mind clicking slowly as he murmured, "I dunno… when I heard that my dad became a huntsman, he was my age… he was known as the 'Arc Knight', a hero. He never really taught me anything about fighting and… I just want to be as good as him." His grip on his sword loosened, almost threatening to drop to the floor as he turned his gaze away from the weapon.
Blake tilted her head, it wasn't like she couldn't understand where Jaune was coming from, while in a different way, she used to admire how her dad would always try and stand for Faunus rights. Granted, she sometimes felt his methods weren't forceful enough back then until she had left the White Fang, he nonetheless united Faunus that had been mistreated in a bid to fight for better rights. That charisma her father held was something Blake could never see herself having.
"... Even then, he must have started somewhere to get to that point," Pyrrha said softly. Jaune's figure bristled at the statement, but he made no other reactions after that, "Perhaps, you must face a similar journey he has."
Blake's jaws tightened at the statement as she briefly wondered that had she taken a different path, that she might've been a leader figure for the White Fang. She shook her head, pushing down the thoughts as she knew that it was far too late to change the past, besides, she wouldn't have met her team or Touma.
"Guess you're right…" Jaune murmured as a weak smile crept on to his face, the grip on his sword became more firm, he nodded to himself as he turned to Pyrrha as his eyes shone brightly, "If everyone started somewhere, then I do too."
Blake's lip twitched upwards while Pyrrha beamed at him, she approached as she replied, "You're doing very well, it will be a matter of time before we make you a true combatant."
"Yep, who knows? You might even do well in the Vytal Tournament," Blake commented dully, though she didn't believe it for a second, she couldn't help but tease him a bit, maybe her partner was rubbing too much on to her.
Pyrrha gasped delightfully and nodded fervently as she said, "That's a wonderful idea! It would be an excellent setting to see the fruits of your training!"
"Wait, what!? Vytal Tournament!?" Jaune blurted out, his eyes widened in shock.
"Indeed! It is when the four kingdoms converge to a festival to celebrate the cultures across Remnant, and the tournament is a showdown between the four academies which would be viewed across the world," Pyrrha replied excitedly, but not for just herself. She was more excited at the idea of being with Jaune at the tournament and seeing him grow as a huntsman.
Jaune, however, paled to paper white and Blake had to quickly look away to hide a snort. Now she definitely understood why her partner enjoyed teasing everyone she could, their reactions were too much, but her mind wandered to Touma, he wouldn't be able to participate in the tournament in any capacity and it disappointed her slightly. As Jaune tried weakly to dismiss the idea of him entering the tournament, Blake's mind began to whir to find if there was a way she could spend some time with that unlucky boy.
Beacon was a large campus, outfitted with training facilities, lecture rooms, dormitories and various other facilities, almost like a small town in its own right. Most students could get whatever they need inside Beacon for their studies or extra-curricular activities and rarely would they need to go to Vale city for other needs. Touma had taken days to figure out where everything was, even when he arrived before most of his peers and he still would find himself lost at times, especially in areas he rarely if not never visited.
"Lecture room three…" Touma muttered to himself as he stared at the scroll and then looked up at the golden plating above the door which had the number etched into it. With a short sigh, he knocked on the door and heard a muffled invitation behind it, as he entered, he had expected the blonde teacher to be inside the room waiting for him. What he didn't expect was an unfamiliar student wearing the female version of his uniform sitting at a desk.
She wasn't any student, however, from what the message had told him, she was his senior and at first glance, he noticed the two long brown rabbit ears protruding out of her head. She perked up and with a small yet nervous smile, she waved.
"Hey! Uhh… Velvet, right?" Touma asked as he returned her gesture and headed to the desk she occupied.
She nodded and replied, "Then you must be Touma?"
"Yeah, nice to meet you," Touma said with a smile as he held out his left hand, almost subconsciously.
"Nice to meet you!" Velvet echoed as she stood up and took his hand, "Um… I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh… really?" Touma asked, he was well aware that he was one of the more well-known students on the campus despite being first year. After all, he was basically famous or infamous for being the only student without a team, "All good things I hope."
Velvet giggled nervously then coughed into her mouth and replied, "I'm here to help you catch up for this semester's course." She nodded to herself as her ears flopped slightly, inhaling deeply as if to calm herself down and gestured to a seat opposite to her, "Shall we get to it then?"
Touma nodded and sat down, his new tutor mirroring him and with one more deep breath, she said, "Professor Goodwitch had explained to me about your situation so um… well…" Velvet fished out a small book and handed it to Touma, "This book has everything about the basics of traps and how huntsmen use them, you should read them when you can."
Touma flipped the pages, his eyes catching some of the diagrams and images that looked too lethal for his liking. He noticed the words like, spike traps, dust explosives and corrosive traps. If anything, that was far from what he expected and there was no way he was going to employ any of those kinds of traps, after all, what would happen if an unlucky traveller were to come across those traps instead of a Grimm? "Um… Velvet… I prefer not using any lethal means, even against the Grimm because I have well," Touma held up his right hand and Velvet tilted her head in understanding, "So… I just want to know, what's the point of this Trap course for me?"
"Well, there are non-lethal options, but this course isn't just about making traps," Velvet replied puffing her chest out a little as she held out hand and pointed to the book Touma held, "It also details how to disarm those traps, whether it is simple net trap to improvised explosive traps."
Touma blinked, noting how his senior's timid nature seemed to be all an illusion the moment she started talking about the course. Deciding to put that at the back of his mind, he inquired, "Disarm traps? I don't see how that is useful…"
"... It usually isn't a job most huntsmen come across," Velvet admitted with a stiff grin before it melted away into a frown, "But there are criminal organisations that has used these weapons before and there are times where huntsmen were forced to contain that situation. Having that skill could save hundreds of lives."
Touma frowned at Velvet's statement as he remembered news reports of criminal organisations that had used such weaponry before. Naturally, he assumed it fell under the police's purview to handle such situations like this, but for him to hear that huntsman also encounters those situations had him swallowing a lump. It wasn't as simple as erasing the Grimm with his Imagine Breaker or fending off thugs with his training, but if he had to encounter disarming lethal weapons to protect people, then he would learn how to deal with traps. After all, he might encounter one in the future.
"Also… it deals with a lot of weaknesses that huntsmen have in isolated areas," Velvet continued as she rubbed her chin in thought.
"Weaknesses?" Touma asked.
"Mhmm, huntsmen usually work in small groups, so they utilise traps to cover areas they can't protect. Some huntsmen, especially those that work by themselves, use those traps as a means to cover their lack of numbers," Velvet explained with a fervent nod. Touma raised an eyebrow, even if he worked with a team, he couldn't deny that at the end of the day, he wouldn't be everywhere and something like traps could help him, even if they were non-lethal.
"Okay, let's do this," Touma stated firmly with a nod and Velvet smiled at his determination before her ears twitched, her eyes widening slightly.
"Oh right! Umm… another thing is you'll need to this for class, Professor Goodwitch said this is yours but it's your job to maintain it," Velvet said as she pulled out a small silver pouch, Touma pulled it towards him as he opened it and inside revealed wires, tools and various other bits and pieces. Velvet leaned in with and pointed out, "It's a kit for building makeshift traps, there are some flashbangs and other basic materials for traps to use."
"So… this is… for class?" Touma asked as he pulled out a small silver canister.
"Yep! But you also can use it for a mission or even keep it after you graduate. You're free to customise it to your personal use, but you are responsible for stocking it how you see it with your own Lien," Velvet explained, her figure seemed to grow, whether in confidence or because of her ears, Touma wasn't sure.
Touma nodded satisfied as he zipped up the contents, he would be lying if he wasn't excited to see what he could do with it, but whatever this course holds would be valuable to him. "Alright… sounds good."
Velvet clapped her hands together, her eyes seemed to twinkle with a small smile on her face, "Great, then let's get started!"
"Hey, Rookie! Look alive!" Olive jumped with a squeak at the sudden bark in her chair as she turned around, stood up and snapped to a salute in one smooth motion. Her short blonde hair bobbed at her sudden movement as she snapped her blue eyes to her superior.
"Sorry, ma'am!" Olive shouted and her captain who just entered the security room, sighed. The captain shook her head as she took her cap off, revealing a dark shade of green hair tightly wound in a bun. She then glared at Olive with golden eyes before it softened briefly.
"Brown, I know you had a rough night a couple of days ago on patrol, but I need you on your A game for tonight," the captain said as she nodded, relieving the rookie, who sank back to her chair. The captain took the chair beside her and the two of them turned their attention to a wall of screens, fitted with several live-videos as the older of the two said, "Alright Rookie, I managed to get your request for monitor duty through for tonight. It's simple enough, we're the eyes and ears of Squad Six and the Sixth Gate. You might as well make yourself comfortable, but keep an eye out."
"Yes ma'am," Olive confirmed as her eyes began to dart at each screen as she smoothly snapped the headphones over her ears.
The captain nodded and snapped her own headphones over her ears, "Alright boys, this is Captain Evergreen. Requesting status update."
"Yo, Graves here, quiet as ever like last night… and the night before," a masculine voice echoed into their heads in a dull fashion, almost as if the man was being lulled to sleep by what he was reporting.
"Copy that, keep an eye out for any vehicles. The council have stated that refugees might appear and we have to be prepped to process them," Evergreen stated, her eyes scanning a number of screens as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
"Yeah, gotcha Capt', just sayin though, if it's like last night, ain't gonna be anything to do," the man replied.
"Even then, we are Mistral City's first line of defence, I expect you to act like it," she reprimanded lightly with a huff, "Anyways, you know the drill, update every hour."
"Yeah, yeah, Graves out," the man replied with an air of annoyance.
Evergreen inhaled sharply at the man's lack of professional standards, despite their crucial role in defending Mistral city from outside forces, the lax behaviour of her subordinates had her almost wanting to smash the keyboard with her head. Granted the guards weren't like the travelling huntsmen that actively searched for trouble, they were still charged with dealing with any threat, ranging from random desperate criminals to a small group of Grimm.
At the corner of her eye, she noticed a distinct lack of activity and as she turned to her junior, she noticed that Olive was staring vacantly at the screen, almost as if she was sleeping with her eyes open.
"Rookie, wake up!" Evergreen barked and Olive jumped up, her head whipping towards her with alarm in her eyes. The captain narrowed hers, something didn't seem right with the rookie, normally she was motivated and focussed, "Brown, are you alright?"
The younger woman numbly nodded and replied, "Sorry, just… a little tired." To drive that point, she began to rub her eyes and cover her mouth as if she yawned.
"... If you need some time off Rookie, then you can head back home, you weren't even supposed to be here for another few days," Evergreen said gently.
Olive shook her head, her hair flapping awkwardly around her thanks to the headphones, "No ma'am, I'm alright. I'm ready to work!" she declared, revitalised out of nowhere, but it did little to ease the discomfort the captain felt about Olive. However, if the rookie said she was fine, then the captain would let her continue for now.
"Okay, but if you fall out of it, I'm sending you home, understood?" Evergreen warned, Olive nodded and turned her attention to the screen with the older woman following suite.
The two of them tapped in silence, breaking it every hour or so for a toilet break or the standard status update made by their colleagues at the gates. To them, it was simply another night for the Mistral City Guards where they rarely saw action.
A beeping sound grabbed the attention of the two as they stared at the same screen that emitted the sound. Evergreen frowned, the screen displayed flashing lights and some sort of hulking figures that seemed to glide across the road the camera was watching, "Graves, be advised, it looks like we have a group of vehicles coming in from the Northern road. Can you confirm count of vehicles?"
"Gimme a sec, boss," the man and the two of them could hear the man barking over the radio, but it was difficult to tell what he was saying, "We're seeing four small trucks, probably one of those refugee groups the Council mentioned."
Evergreen grumbled as she stood up in a snap, almost having Olive jumping at the sudden action. "Alright, I'm coming down Graves. Rookie, keep your eyes peeled here," the captain ordered as she swiftly headed for the exit as Olive confirmed the command.
The captain sighed at the troublesome task that lay ahead as she picked up her rifle and blade, clipping them to her back as she headed towards the ground team, outside. If it were Grimm, she wouldn't need to be there, but with the convoy of vehicles potentially carrying a lot of people, she would need to be there to confirm details and documents, a tedious but necessary job.
By the time her boots had hit the road outside, she noticed Graves and his team, clad from head to toe in grey guard's uniform fitted with body armor, already signalling one of the trucks with their hands to a halt while the other half of the team were already at the doors of the other trucks. Each one of the vehicles were illuminated by the dull orange lights above, flooding from the gate Evergreen and the guards watched over, and it revealed that each truck had their wheels and even the lower parts of the vehicles caked in mud. Graves noticed the captain and barked at his team to move onto the trucks before jogging towards the captain and reported, "Hey Boss."
"Graves… Report," Evergreen commanded.
Graves scratched his head, formulating a way to express what was happening right in front of them, "Well, we got four trucks here but the drivers aren't responding." Evergreen raised an eyebrow, but Graves shrugged and continued, "As far as we can tell, they aren't armed but we don't know if they're smugglers or something. My boys are checking the goods."
"Alright, Rookie, do you see anything out there?" Evergreen asked into her radio, but silence was her answer and Graves's questioning glance had told her enough, "Rookie!? Brown? Do you copy?"
As more silence answered her, she cursed under her breath that Olive was likely to be asleep on the console and that she'll need to reprimand her later. Suddenly, a strangled cry echoed from behind the trucks and the guards at the front of the trucks whipped their heads as more cries echoed out.
Immediately, Evergreen and her men raised their rifles, clicking on the lights attached to their guns, some of them aimed at the drivers while others aimed at the back of the trucks. "Brown, do you read me?" Evergreen hissed, but the rookie remained silent and she shot a look at Graves who nodded slightly and signalled his men with some hand signs.
They approached to the rear of the truck very slowly as Graves barked out, "Berry? Loggins? Answer me, is everything alright?" All that answered was the gentle breeze and the rattling of the truck as the guards slowly advanced.
Eventually, a muffled reply cut through the ambient sounds, "Yeah, just dropped some stuff." Graves sighed, his stance relaxing as did Evergreen and the rest of the guards, every single one of them lowering their rifle. What they didn't expect was the sides of the trucks rattling, and lances of black and white shot out, piercing each guard. Evergreen managed to dive out of the way but at the corner of her eyes, she saw Graves freeze up as each lance pierced through his body before he slumped lifelessly to the ground.
Clicking sounds began to fill the night as Evergreen, in a gasp of pain, crawled towards the front of the trucks as she yelled desperately, "Rookie, sound the alarm! Sound the- Guargh!" Evergreen grunted as she felt something pin her down to the ground and pain shot from her back as if lightning was running through her body. Her muscles tensed, disabling her from moving as she felt hissing over and behind her, her eyes watered up in pain and anger, her jaws set as hot breath passed through her teeth repeatedly in an attempt to alleviate it.
The doors of the truck opened and boots popped out onto the floor, each one heading towards the gate, while Evergreen heard the shifting and clicking around her as if trying to drown her into oblivion. She saw the black tendrils drip around her, almost like ooze, one of them licking at her ear as if there was a head right beside hers. What she didn't expect was her voice echoing somewhere other than her mouth as it spoke, "Rookie… everything is fine, please open the gates." In shock, Evergreen turned her head to the side only to see a white mask with a black slit and one bright yellow orb burning into her eyes.
"...Of course, I shall prepare your arrival," Olive replied, almost robotically and the next thing the captain knew was her vision filled with a black void.
Hmm, yes, well things are heating up... or freezing over... or whatever. Hope y'all enjoyed!
