A Cosmic Journey
A/N: It's happened! Right before I posted this, I hit 100 followers on this story! A big thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read this story thus far, and to those that liked it enough to give it a follow, favorite or review. Every bit of advice helps me make my writing better. Now for some reviews.
The Crowned Reaper: Good to see you again, and glad you liked the chapter. For a guy whose physique is not built to challenge professional athletes, or in this case professional huntsmen, there was very little chance of Kouzai getting out of that situation alive without getting Raven to slip up. I also love well-written dialogue beatdowns, so I hope this one delivered.
andrestar: Thanks for the feedback, and it's good to know my breakdown of character traits and flaws was well-received. I just aim to do justice for the characters that RoosterTeeth has taken the time to flesh out, and humanize the ones they haven't gotten to. As for Vernal and other characters, the nature of a fanfic that tries to stay light on the OC's means there's always a possibility canon characters will come back around.
LordOfTee: Yeah, that was also kind of my reaction, and I'm the one who wrote it. We'll see what effects Kouzai's actions have, be they on Raven or elsewhere. Glad to hear you liked it though.
Captaindrake123: I think that after breaking down all exterior bluster and delivering some good old-fashioned scathing remarks that even Raven Branwen is just as sensitive as the rest of us. How that translates over to her future actions? We'll see. In terms of the first few chapters, this story could have really gone the way of any of the options I'd provided, and I would've been happy with each. The Omakes are just a peek into life for the other doors, so to speak.
Gizmo Gear: I'm not sure how to take your Wow, but I'll assume it's a positive speechless. Thanks again as always for the support.
Alright, now that I've gotten some feedback, onwards and upwards.
Chapter 9: A Stitch in Time
Chapter Date: 10/21/19
"Aaaaaarrrrgghh…"
"You can do better than that, Kouzai."
"Ren, for gods' sake…I'm about to die…"
"How dramatic…do you require assistance?"
"OOH, I'll help!"
"Wait wait, no, Nor-AAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Nora…"
I slumped over, my spine in agony after being forcibly bent for my torso to reach my legs. Nora stood close by, hands covering her face in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Ren passively surveyed the carnage.
"Well, I suppose now is a good point to pause," Ren stated. "But honestly Kouzai, one would think you would be more flexible than you are."
"Not all of us-dust-practice meditative stretching everyday," I grunted back, pushing myself to my feet despite my legs feeling like jelly. "Flexibility is not one of my strong suits."
"Well, it'll have to be, if you wanna polish up that fighting style of yours," Nora replied, turning away and whistling as I glared at her.
She was right, even if she was only parroting back what I'd told them. The first application of my semblance, which I'd since named Chronometry or the measurement of time, that I thought of was applying it to combat. As I'd learned from fighting Vernal, I couldn't count on being faster than my opponent to start reacting. Instead, I had to already be in motion and adapt according to their moves. Trying to move in such a manner led me to using the motto of Bruce Lee's fighting style, to 'flow like water'. Unfortunately, in order to flow from one move to the next without losing speed and power, I needed to brush up on one of my greatest weaknesses; flexibility. It was a hard slog, but I was wearing down the rough edges of my rigidity. I wouldn't be nearing Ren levels anytime soon though, if ever. I'd also taken to wearing Pyrrha's sunglasses, less of a fashion statement, and more so that people couldn't see when I used my semblance and my eyes turned silver.
"Investing more time into firearms training would also aid your fighting style," Ren added as I sighed.
In the time since getting thrashed by Raven, I'd practiced with the handgun she'd provided me. Thanks to my semblance, I was a decent shot, but I still needed work before I could land accurate hits without it. I'd named it Corona, keeping with the theme of my name and my penchant for using Lightning Dust. Another idea I'd implemented was to finally add a ranged function to Mirror's Edge, but not in a way that required mecha-shift. I'd had Weylin reforge part of the blade and handle to integrate pistols. Each longsword had a pistol with a long barrel, with the grips and trigger as part of the handle, the combined product having the barrels form the guard with triggers on the grip and the magazines inserted from the bottom. Similarly designed to Gambol Shroud, these blades lacked the ability to fold. The result was having guns pointing outwards, and when firing a bullet I utilized the recoil to bring my weapon(s) back in a feint or faster backswing. When in my greatsword form, pressing the trigger of the barrel aimed backwards would instead accelerate my swings.
Another thing I'd learned after actually starting to use firearms on Remnant; they were kind of slow. Whatever Dust was being used as the energy propellant didn't require much to fire, meaning whole bullets were used, be they metal or Dust. They certainly packed a punch, but the increased weight meant decreased velocity, which was probably one of the only reasons why I could see shots coming when Chronometry only increased my perception by a factor of around two.
Either way, I hoped having Chronometry and ranged options would give me an edge over anything we might have to face, a possibility becoming more likely with our next task.
"Oh, can you believe it? We're going to get to see the big city again!" Nora exclaimed to Ren, the sight of a barely five-foot girl hopping up and down with a massive warhammer one that'd sadly become normal. Our next task was to visit Mistral and inquire the current status of the Mistral Council on their vote for Yozakura's relay tower. After our approval by the CCT review committee, the matter was now in Mistral's hands to determine if they had objections to its placement.
"You guys have already been to Mistral?" I asked, curious that it went unmentioned in the show.
"We made our way there soon after…meeting, before travelling to Yozakura, and were placed in the orphanage," Ren replied. "We decided Mistral wasn't the place where we wanted to settle."
'Oh yeah, Ren's parents had problems with the way Mistral ran things.' I scratched my head nervously. "Well, checking in with the Mistral Council shouldn't take too long."
"It can take as loooong as it needs," Nora amended. "The longer we're away, the less that Mother Fujiko can bury us in work!"
After our work in Argus and subsequent encounters with the Branwen Tribe, Ms. Fujiko had finally relented that we had a chance of making it as Huntsmen. BUT, she countered, any time spent away for training or missions for Yozakura would be supplemented with informative lessons on Huntsmen work. And who would be giving those lessons, you ask?
"If you knew what kind of teacher I am, Nora, you wouldn't be so happy," I joked as Nora paled.
"But Kouzai, my number-one-friend-behind-Ren, you wouldn't take away the chance for us to explore Mistral by giving us tons of boring work, right heh heh?" Nora tried giving puppy-dog eyes, but I was not Ren, and had long since built up an immunity to them. Then again…
"We'll see how interesting Mistral is once we're there, Ms. Valkyrie," I primly replied, before grinning at both of them. "But if I find out you were just looking to ditch me and go on a date with Ren here…"
Nora 'eeped' and Ren stiffened, as both looked at each other and pointedly away, while I inwardly snickered. Now that I'd laid some groundwork, I could start indulging my favorite hobby; shipping characters. Ren and Nora were the easiest, and practically no nudging was required on my part. Also unsurprising was how fast Jaune and Pyrrha were hitting it off with each other, if what I understood from their scroll calls was correct. With Jaune finally receiving training from his father and tips from Pyrrha, while Pyrrha began to make friends with Sun, Neptune and most importantly, Jaune, it seemed like Arkos would come together naturally as well. Beyond that however, everything was up in the air. All evidence pointed to Sun and Neptune not having any interest in the same sex, and I wasn't about to try introducing the Arc sisters into that equation, lest Nicholas and Jaune slaughter me. Winter, I hadn't seen or heard from since Argus. Cordovin…yeah no.
Raven? I'd been waiting ever since our fight for her to come and finish the job, or even spy on me in her bird form, but I guess I was arrogant in my perceived importance, because she'd been absent ever since. My efforts to keep tabs on the Branwen Tribe had turned up very little, save for the fact that they were still around, so I hoped Vernal and the rest had just let the whole thing go. One could hope.
But more important than the shipping, however much I enjoyed it, I had a secondary objective I needed to see to while in Mistral. An idea that'd come to me after encountering the Branwen Tribe. One that had to be kept secret from Nora and Ren.
It was time to call in a favor.
… … …
The journey to Mistral was short and much safer than the travels made in recent years. However, a much safer journey meant coming across much lower levels of Grimm, to the point where one of our number was more than a little antsy by the time we arrived.
"Must…smash…something…soon…" Nora twitched, Magnhild in hammer mode and her hands firmly clenching along the handle. Ren and I kept a healthy fifteen-foot berth around her necessary for our survival. Ren kept a watchful eye while I did my best to take the city in. Both the higher sections, as well as the lower ones. 'Somewhere down there…'
"Hey Nora, why don't you take Ren and look for a hotel we can stay in while we're here? It might take a while though, so I hope you're fine with some exploring." Ren paled, even moreso when Nora grabbed his wrist.
"YOU GOT IT!" Nora shouted, either from being over-energized or excited at the prospect of time alone with Ren. Or both.
"Uhh, Kouzai. Shouldn't we stay together? What will you be doing?" Ren questioned, desperately trying to avoid being dragged off to a whole afternoon with a hyperactive Nora.
"Well, I'm probably going to hit a couple bookstores while we're here, find some study materials," I mused. "You're both welcome to accompany me, but the more people we have, the more I can buy to teach you later, so-"
"Nope, I've heard enough!" Nora replied, redoubling her efforts and succeeding in pulling Ren along. "We'll leave you to your icky book shopping."
"Send me the address once you've found a place," I called out, smirking at the pure betrayal Ren sent my way. "And don't forget to have fun, you two!"
Waving until they turned a corner, I waited an extra couple minutes before moving out. Actually stopping by some bookstores on my descent down Mistral's mountains, I bought some huntsman academy-recommended books to cover my tracks as I reached Mistral's bottom level. From there, I spent a bit of time wandering the darkened streets until I found the symbol I'd been looking for. Following the trail, I arrived at tavern in question, marked with the spider-and-web symbol. Taking a deep breath, I locked my emotions down and walked inside.
The inside was identical to its setup four years from now when Cinder would walk in, right down to the table in the back guarded by the pair in purple. Seated alone at the table, sipping a glass of wine was the woman in question. Purple dress, a fan and multiple rings all spoke to the casual power held. If that wasn't enough, her slightly narrowed eyes that moved the birthmark by her right eye, along with the raised hand signaling her guards showed clear authority.
"Well now, it's not often we get a young thing like you in here. Take it you know who I am, so you know you better show me somethin' worth my time, or leave while I'm still in a good mood." The statement was delivered casually, but I could feel eyes all around the tavern on me.
"Certainly, Lil' Miss," I replied, taking out a sizeable pouch of lien and placing it on the table. After a glance at it, Lil' Miss Malachite waved her hand as her guards backed off while I took my seat.
"So, what can I do for someone like you?" asked Lil' Miss, now using her fan.
I chose my words carefully. "I am here to request two tasks. The first involves ensuring the success of a vote happening on the Mistral Council in the near future. The other is to gain information on certain individuals, with repeated updates in the future."
Lil' Miss eyed the lien on the table critically. "Hate to burst your bubble Hon, but what you've got isn't near enough for either of those. You're gonna need a lot more for me to consider fulfilling either."
"I am aware that these funds are insufficient. The initial amount was to secure an audience with you," I replied, as Lil' Miss raised an eyebrow. "For the supply of information on certain individuals going forward, I would like to call in a favor granted to me by Preto Reyes in Wind Path, for dismantling of the Cleansers two years ago."
Lil' Miss stopped fanning for a moment, and both her guards' slackened as they heard my words, before Lil' Miss continued fanning. "Well now, you're the one Preto told me about? The one who outsmarted and took down the cleansers? The one who stuck it to the Branwen Tribe and lived?"
'…Where did she even hear that last one from? Hah, it doesn't matter.' The fact that I'd flinched in front of her was proof enough. "I am, though I hope Preto only mentioned positive things about me."
"If by positive, you mean screwy, masochistic and near-sociopathic, then we're on the same page." I winced at every word of Lil' Miss' flippant reply. "Buuuuut…he told me you know how to make a plan work, and you know how to come back alive, things that I respect. So I'll be upfront with you. A favor from Preto is worth its weight in gold, but an indefinite information line on multiple people? That'll cost more than gold. I can satisfy your first request in exchange for the favor, but the second's gonna need quite a bit more oomph to it."
'Well, that shoos in a relay tower for Yozakura, but how am I supposed to get information on Cinder and her crew? Hm…'
"What if I exchanged my services for yours?" I questioned. "Information you provide in return for information and services that I'll provide."
Lil' Miss' fan stilled against her nose, but her crinkled eyes clearly showed her smile. "So you wanna fall in with my crew? Step up to the big leagues? Can't say I expected that, but I guess that means Preto was right about you."
"You can think of me as an independent contractor," I replied, fleshing out the idea. "I won't be directly affiliated with you, but that itself means I can go places and do things your men and women normally can't. In addition, contracting me means confidentiality on both sides."
Lil' Miss laid the fan down and sipped her wine. "I'll say you have me intrigued. It's rare I come across an underaged, competent operative. Normally, I'd skin any arrogant whelp before me for suggestin' somethin' so audacious, but you? Recommended by Preto. That's a fine seal of approval there.
Still, I've learned to be careful if nothing else. I'm amiable to this partnership you're offering, but if you want information, you'll need somethin' to put down first, and I think I know just the thing…"
… … …
"Guess who's back?" I walked into the hotel room with a pose very reminiscent of a certain bombshell blonde. After a moment, I looked over at Ren, tied up in a chair, and Nora, in the process of braiding Ren's hair and failing.
"Kouzai, please…" Ren pleaded, wincing as Nora accidentally pulled too hard and yanked a hair off. I sighed, before reaching into my bag for Nora's weakness.
"Alright Nora, time to study." At my words, Nora sprang back from Ren and pointed Magnhild in grenade launcher form at me.
"Never! I won't get pulled under by the boredom of words! I'm staying free and there's nothing…" Nora trailed off as I nonchalantly pulled my scroll out. "…Kouzai, what are you doing?"
"Oh nothing," I breezed back. "Just calling Ms. Fujiko to make sure you-" I didn't even finish before Nora zipped forward, grabbed one of the books and dove onto one of the beds, opening it in front of her face like it would shield her.
"Noooooooooo! You fiend! How could you use my weakness against me?" Nora cried, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her book was turned upside down as I walked over to Ren.
"You'll have to be more specific, Nora. Do you mean your weakness to studying or your weakness to Ms. Fujiko?" I asked while untying Ren. "Because using studying against you for your benefit really doesn't bother me."
"To be fair, everyone has a weakness to Ms. Fujiko," Ren deadpanned, recirculating his blood flow while glaring at me. "I was stuck in that position for hours, so I hope your materials are useful."
"Eh, time will tell, won't it?" I shrugged, pulling out another book for Ren. "Alright kids, gather 'round. Nora, let me tell you about Beringels. And Ren, we'll be going over the events of the Great War."
… … …
Bzzzzz Bzzzzz Bzzzzz
I pulled my head off my pillow and grabbed my scroll off the nightstand. The ID showing Ms. Fujiko, I picked up with a mumbled, "Hello?"
"KOUZAI! Did you hear the news!" I held the scroll away from my ears in case of further shouting, but when nothing came I hazarded a "Noooo?"
"The Mistral Council approved the relay tower in Yozakura! We got the news this morning in town!" Ms. Fujiko's words had me bolting upright and wide-eyed, as Ren woke up as well.
"Uhhh, they already approved the tower?" I parroted back for both mine and Ren's benefits. "Didn't they still have points on the agenda to debate before then?"
"I know, it's amazing! The council informed us that ours shot to the top of the priority list after they determined how important proper communication across Anima and between the kingdoms was," Ms. Fujiko gushed. "You all must've done a fantastic job with the proposal to get Atlas and Mistral to approve so quickly. This sort of thing normally takes years."
"Yeah, well, you know us…great dealmakers, we are, ha ha." I looked sideways at a shocked Ren as he caught the topic of discussion. "So, do we need to come back now, or…?"
"It's alright. Thanks to you three, Yozakura's future is secured, so take some time off. You've earned it." Ms. Fujiko made to sign off, before remembering. "Just make sure to keep up with your Huntsmen studies at the very least. We all know how quickly looking at a book can knock Nora out."
"Will do." I waved goodbye as Ms. Fujiko signed off, as our conversation finally roused Nora.
"Mmmhmmmph…what happened?" Nora groaned, before looking at Ren's shocked face and my befuddled one.
"Well…" I thought of the task given to me by Lil' Miss. "It appears we're going on a vacation. I hear Kuchinashi is lovely this time of year."
… … …
After a quick journey further south of Mistral, Nora, Ren and I arrived at Kuchinashi to general surprise. Given what Qrow had mentioned about Wind Path and Kuchinashi in those World of Remnant videos, I'd expected Kuchinashi to be similar to Wind Path in structure and atmosphere, with an openly present sense of criminal activity. The reality was much different.
Instead of a down-to-earth and homely atmostphere that Wind Path had, Kuchinashi was a sprawl of high-rising, colorful pagodas. Given that Kuchinashi was relatively flat as opposed to Mistral, the visual effect was even more eye-popping in having the tallest buildings I'd seen on Remnant so far.
"SOOO PRETTY!" Nora exclaimed. "Ooh, can we stay in that one? Or how about that one?"
"I'll admit, such a sight is unexpected compared to what we have seen in Wind Path, Argus and Mistral," Ren added, looking upwards towards the top of pagodas. Both him and Nora were drawn in by the impressive sight of such architecture, distinct from Vale and Atlas' designs and yet breathtaking in its own right. However, having been exposed to the daily sight of New York's skyscapers, I'd become desensitized to the concept. That, and I was focused on a different matter entirely.
'Where is the criminal activity?' I wondered, looking at the ground level instead of towards the air. 'If Qrow mentioned Kuchinashi as a den of liars and thieves, one would expect it to be a little seedier. But everything seems relatively on the level so far.'
Regardless, I knew there had to be criminal activity going on, considering the task that Lil' Miss had given to me. In order to fulfill it though, I had to get a lay of the land first, among other things.
A quick walk found us an affordable hotel as we checked in. As we did, I glimpsed an elevator in the opening as other guests exited. However, my attention skirted past them and focused on the bellhop, standing stiffly in the corner as the doors closed. Or more specifically, at the wolf's ears peeking out of his hair. An uneasy feeling building in my stomach, I did a quick sweep of the lobby area, taking in the décor of the building. I was also taking in a few other sights as well.
A rodent faunus pushing a cart of linens. A deer faunus wiping the floors down a hallway. A reptile faunus cleaning the windows outside.
'Oh…damnit…' So this was the kind of town Kuchinashi was? What a headache, though things made more sense now in context of Lil' Miss' information.
"Has anyone else…noticed how faunus are treated here?" Nora asked as we entered our room.
"It likely isn't just this hotel," Ren replied, confirming our suspicions. "It seems Kuchinashi has its own set of problems, and likely illegal ones."
"Yeah, this…this sucks, but there isn't much we can do to change things altogether, at least not right now. Let's just take our vacation while we can, and return back to Yozakura after. We can try to avoid places with business practices like cheap faunus labor." Ren and Nora nodded glumly at my words, and I couldn't blame them. 'If I wasn't on a deadline with Lil' Miss, and we weren't expected to return to Yozakura anytime soon, maybe I could put my head towards this issue. But for now, I don't think anything is changing the tide of anti-faunus sentiment.'
"In the meantime, why don't we find something to eat? It'll give us a chance to scope the city for any places of interest while we're at it." I opened the door as we filed out. "After all, it can't be that hard-err, nevermind."
"Hmmm…" Nora squinted suspiciously, hand raised to swat at my head.
… … …
"Ah, these are good noodles, right guys? Guys…OW! Come on Nora, I didn't even say it this time, and we're already eating!"
"It took us nearly an hour to find this place!" Nora shouted back. "You thinking it still jinxed us…"
"Again, I don't know how outside events can be considered my fault," I reiterated between bites. 'It's not like I've got a bad luck semblance like Qrow.'
"All jests aside, the pervasive prejudice propagated by citizens here is disheartening," Ren finished. Our exploration of Kuchinashi had revealed much of the same discrimination occurring at other businesses, to the point where we had to intentionally wander into the seedier parts of town to find satisfactory options. And lo and behold, the poorer districts were populated by mostly faunus.
"It's sweet to see you kids worrying out us, but faunus like us are comparatively lucky," our waitress added sadly. "The ones working in the city have it tough, sure, but it beats working in the mines outside of town. They don't even have a chance of making it out, considering the SDC has a research facility set up next to their mine."
I stiffened as Nora and Ren perked up, with Ren asking, "The SDC have a facility in this region?"
"Yup, and you can bet they've been squeezing the mines and faunus there for every Lien they're worth," our waitress replied bitterly. "Stories say money changed hands to keep channels between the mayor here and the SDC officials running smoothly."
Our meals sat like rocks in our stomachs as we finished and generously paid, before exiting.
"It's sickening to hear how the government allows such discrimination openly, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," Ren muttered bitterly, as I remembered his dislike of the Mistral government's style of, well, governing. "I'm still not convinced that all is as it seems with how quickly the Mistral Council approved and finalized our request for a relay tower."
'Why Ren, that's quite the deep hole you're digging me into…' I laughed nervously. "Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth on the whole relay tower business, it's done and behind us. As for the treatment of faunus, it's wretched, but without an idea of how to change things we'd just be banging our heads against the wall. After we're through with the material on the Great War, we'll switch over to the Faunus Rights Revolution, and see if there's a little inspiration that can be gained there."
"I still think slinging Magnhild over my shoulders in hammer mode would put work towards stopping some of these horrible shopkeepers," Nora pouted as I sighed.
"While it might work temporarily, and I say might, it'd just put faunus behind in the long run, and it wouldn't be any better than what the…White Fang…do…" I trailed off as we passed by a jewelry shop in the commercial district. One that looked like a storm had swept through, with shattered windows, overturned displays, lots of sparking wires and even some fire damage on the overhang. "What the…"
"Excuse me," Ren took the initiative and approached an officer canvassing the scene, "Is it possible you could tell us anything about what happened here?"
"I just said, no reporters on-oh, sorry about that." The officer scratched his pink-tinged cheek. "We uh, the authorities are trying to keep a lid on the recent rash of crimes."
"Rash? As in multiple?" I asked. Something niggled in the back of my head, a feeling…
"Yeah. Look, I want to be of help, but I've got orders and my butt's on the line here, so just take a quick look and be on your way." The officer discreetly pulled up a picture of the crime scene from his scroll. The differences were immediate, as the overhang was still in place, and from it hung a white banner of a wolf's head with three claw marks.
"Oh no…" Nora gasped as Ren nodded grimly. I also stayed silent, though the feeling in my head had come true.
"So the White Fang are in Kuchinashi…"
… … …
"So what do we do? I mean, the White Fang are the bad guys with all the bad stuff they're doing. But they're doing it for the faunus, so that's good? But it's actually hurting the faunus, or helping them? This stuff hurts my head…"
"You're not the only one," I growled under my breath. 'Realistically, there's not a thing I can do to either help or stop the White Fang, beyond knowing the names of some of the leaders, which is already known. Even if I could change something before canon, tipping the White Fang to either success or utter failure would derail the canon plot, and almost everything I know would become irrelevant. Still, to sit back and let the Fang continue harming both humans and faunus? I'm starting to understand how Weiss and Blake felt, in different and yet similar ways.'
I shook my head. "Whatever the case is, the White Fang's methods are hurting others. Yes, they may be targeting some of the more unsavory humans, but the fact remains that they're hurting others and innocents could get hurt."
"So we are fighting them?" Nora questioned, head tilted to the side.
"We're going to try to stop them," I stressed. "There's other ways to stop an individual or group beyond fighting them."
"You want to talk, with members of the White Fang?" Ren asked incredulously.
I nodded. "Obviously, there are the extremists that'd like nothing more than to have their property lined with a row of human heads on pikes. However, I'm hoping they're mostly just veterans from the Faunus Rights Revolution. No, I'm thinking about the more moderate members, the ones who are torn about the violence. Maybe we won't be able to change things for the faunus now, but maybe getting through to the more flexible members, the ones who'll grow to become the leaders, is how change happens."
I think my words were sensible, as Ren slowly nodded. Nora replied, "So what exactly are we doing?"
"I think we should split up. Now hear me out!" I exclaimed, throwing up my hands to ward off the tangible suspicion Nora and Ren were lobbing at me. "I mean this only as a strict reconnaissance mission, to look for potential targets of White Fang crime or possible members. Nothing else. Trust me, if a fight breaks out, I'll definitely be running this time around without a Sun to save."
'Plus, a group of thugs is far different from an organization of armed terrorists. If I roll the dice and get a huntsman-level opponent again…' I shuddered.
"So, to be clear, you want us three to note which business owners are the most prejudicial against faunus, and then profile faunus that we observe to be the most likely to turn to violent activity?" Ren questioned as I winced.
"Ok, when you put it like that it sounds bad, but I'm not trying to play judge and jury here. I'm just guessing that an increasingly militant group like the White Fang is going to care less about subtlety, meaning hopefully their plans will become easier to grasp. I'm just grasping for a lead at this point, same as you guys. If we don't find anything, we'll go straight back to our vacation and look down other avenues to help the faunus."
… … …
'Ok, not everything I said was a lie.' I didn't lie about searching for other ways to help the faunus if we didn't find anything. Nor did I lie about guessing the White Fang to be obvious in their plans. Their target though? Definitely a lead there. 'That SDC facility is a shining beacon of faunus abuse in the eyes of the Fang. I'm surprised they didn't target it first…unless they were planning to hit that last, making all this other crime…what? A smokescreen, or information gathering?'
Whatever the case was, with a definite target under my belt, I just needed to find the perpetrators. Asking around the city gave me a list of places that had been hit already, as well as some businesses whose questionable policies on faunus made them appealing targets. Sending the list of potential victims to Nor and Ren, I sought out the locations that'd already been hit, and questioned the business owners already back in business. I was just hoping that I found a common link between the different locations, something that might point to the Who, or perhaps the next Where. Fortunately, I did find a link. Most unfortunately, it was the life-threatening kind.
Now I was seated in a park located across a textiles shop rumored to be severely underpaying their employees, who coincidentally happened to be mostly faunus. Situated hopefully far enough not to rouse suspicion, I browsed on my scroll while my thoughts ran amok. 'Please, for the love of both the brother gods, do not let the person I'm thinking of be here, please…'
And the universe, hearing me and in all its infinite wisdom, decided to screw me over royally as a girl appeared in my sights. One with black hair, amber eyes, pale skin and dressed in a black tailjacket with maroon jeans and black sneakers, features very similar to a certain cat faunus. However, her normal appearance had tanner skin, brown hair and bluish-gray eyes. The only connecting feature between all her disguises; the freckles. As the girl walked inside the store, I sighed and stood up, slowly making my way towards the shop and entering. Ignoring the vibrant displays of fabric around me, I searched for the individual in question. Sighting her towards the back, I casually walked up next to her, making it look like I was examining the same tapestry she was.
"Hello there," I said casually, as the girl looked sideways at me, suspicious of my appearance at the same display, despite there being many other customers in the shop. "Could I trouble you for a quick chat?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm busy at the moment," the girl replied brusquely. "And you aren't my type."
'Yeah, in various ways.' Keeping that thought to myself, I instead opted to reply, "I figured. I'm guessing I would require something along the lines of animalistic features, perhaps?"
The girl froze, then burst into action as she tried whirling around. Tried in her case, as I gripped her shoulder to stop her movement, strengthening my body with Aura to inform her of my combat capability. I didn't enjoy how threatening I must've appeared, but I shoved those feelings down for now.
"I wouldn't make a scene if I were you. Do that, and you'd blow your cover and ruin your potential as a caser for security in businesses like these. Plus, I kind of also have a gun that I can draw and fire at a moment's notice." In order to appear mostly inconspicuous, I left Mirror's Edge at the hotel and just brought Corona along. "I'm offering to keep silent on that matter, in return for one simple conversation alone. Is that agreeable with you?"
The girl stiffly nodded, and I smiled. "Great. Why don't we head over to the park across the street, and we'll be done soon so you can return to your superiors."
I gestured towards the door, looking outwardly content while I inwardly winced, as Ilia Amitola and I exited the shop for a very interesting chat.
A/N: Who would've guessed the White Fang would eventually make their appearance? As the second-most discriminatory kingdom towards faunus, and the closest one to Menagerie, it was the most likely candidate for such an incident. Hopefully everything turns out well for everyone involved, right? Right?
No stinger this week since there were no hugely important characters affected this chapter. That and I was extremely short on time to get this one in. Sorry. There's still the Omake though!
OMAKE
"Ok ok ok, you can do this…" I exhaled slowly as I watched the White Fang bustle back and forth in the warehouse across the street. Tracking routines and search patterns, waiting for the right moment as I wrestled my nerves under control.
It had taken months of planning to set this plan in motion properly. After hearing that the White Fang had begun operations in Vale, I needed to find out how expansive the Vale branch was, and if Cinder had already sunk her claws in the organization. However, if my identity was discovered, or if I encountered any of the big shots, I was dead as a doornail. So I decided on a plan.
Training extensively with my revolver Flare, I practiced a fighting style favoring the gun and martial arts, prioritizing mobility if a quick retreat was needed. Acquiring a domino mask to hide the use of my semblance and regular eye color. A black mantle and different clothes to distort my body type. A blond wig to ensure there were no similar features to be linked to Kouzai Goodwitch. These would hopefully make me indistinguishable from my regular appearance, though I tried to ignore the similarities between the mantle and and Glynda's cape.
'Gotta remind myself to stop by Juniors soon. If the info that I get from this isn't useful to him, at least I can try to fish for info on the Fang's further operations around the kingdom. Before that though…'
I analyzed a vehicle driven by some of their members, watching it loop over and over around the blocks. Pulling my revolver out, I focused on the pattern and for them to drive into place. I took a deep breath, activated Chronometry, aimed with Flare, and fired.
A/N: Well, I did say Mistral was the most likely candidate, didn't I? I didn't say it was the only one for events like this, especially considering that the White Fang operates in every kingdom.
Next Chapter Date: 10/28/19