A Cosmic Journey
A/N: Happy Monday all! Can't believe that we've gotten here, but we're just shy of the six-month mark of this story! I can't even imagine what things will look like come the anniversary of this fic, but I'm dying to see how high this ship can fly! Now for reviews.
AlexFalTon: With After the Fall and the upcoming Before the Dawn, Team CFVY are definitely some of my favorite characters, and are definitely some of the RWBYverse's most developed. And when it comes to making friends in a school or hyperactive, violent, hormonal teenagers, fighting is assuredly a damn good way to find and make friends. And enemies, but who's counting? In terms of Kouzai's tentative acquaintanceship with Ruby, Kouzai would need to commit wholesale cold-blooded murder in front of her to permanently repel someone as pure and good as Ruby Rose. As for backstories, most of Ilia's explanation is canon from one of the Volume 5 character shorts, while everything about Neo that I wrote in the stinger is pure speculation.
Gizmo Gear: Glad to keep things interesting, but rest assured that after some quality time for fluff and development that things will start ramping up again.
R26: Nothing causes more chaos, and more terror, for reasonable individuals than potential harem speculation. And if Jaune ever did come across either Pyrrha or Nora changing in the dorms, well, let's just assume that his training that night would be extra hard. As for grad school, I've still got a few years left of education before diving into the deep end. With regards to the chapter, I am indeed using the characterization of CFVY from After the Fall, so Fox is up to his comedic ways. Interactions with Yatsuhashi will definitely be coming, and Kouzai had best hope that Coco doesn't have her eye on him, haha.
Raidentensho: Whew, having anyone he knows around to see him working as the Specter would give Kouzai the chills, and not in a good way. After all, even in a TV show or piece of media, only so many coincidences can pile up before things start to fall into place.
Oblivious IJ: Well, at the moment, I don't think anyone's trying to claim Kouzai, unless it's Neo trying to stab him with Hush. I'm also curious as to who you currently consider to be the other Waifu?
PyromaniacRabbit: You've pretty much nailed Kouzai's fighting style. Leveraging your strengths as far as they'll go is a strategy as old as time, though I'm torn on whether to take offense at the comment on underhanded tactics, haha. Once the other canon characters catch on to his methods though, boy will his number be up.
Chapter 24: Put Off Till Tomorrow
Chapter Date: 02/24/2020
"Combatants, are you ready?"
"READY!"
"Not really…no chance of bribing you with pancakes?"
"Sorry, Kouzai, but I've been looking forward to sparring with you again for a while!"
"Three, two, one…begin!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
'Ah nuts…' Swinging Mirror's Edge around, I placed the blade in front as a defensive shield against the bombardment of grenades from Magnhild. Planting my feet, I weathered the forceful assault as I counted the number of explosions at four. 'Figures that she'd use the strategies I gave her against me…'
As a particularly well-placed shot burst against Mirror's Edge, I slid back a few inches and tensed for the last shot to be fired. 'Alright, now where's she-oh hell!' Using Chronometry, I had just enough time to swing my sword through the cloud of pink dust to crash against Magnhild's hammer form. Excited teal eyes appeared through the haze.
"Rrrrgh…tricky of you, using a double firing on that last shot…" I pushed against my friend's weapon, both of us locked in a power struggle that'd gone her way every time we'd sparred in years past.
"Well, you know how it is. If I don't fix my weaknesses as soon as you exploit them, you'll just get a big head after winning once," Nora breezed, though her eyes remained sharp while standing firm against my Burst-aided strength. "Now, how's about we spark things up!"
"NOPE!" I disengaged immediately, jumping back as Nora pressed another button along Magnhild's shaft. Instead of shifting into its ranged form, the hammer began lighting up from pink electrical currents running up and down the weapon. Now re-energized, the electric powerhouse rocketed towards me. Splitting Mirror's Edge, I attempted to capitalize on having two swords to her one, but Nora's relentless assault only left me enough time to land glancing blows. Meanwhile, every clash of our weapons sent Lightning Dust running down my arms, draining my Aura faster than I could drain hers. 'I'll lose out if it's a straight match of strength…let's see if this works…'
Activating Burst and Chronometry in conjunction, I had the edge on Nora when it came to speed and reaction time, but still lost out when it came to raw power. Throwing my right longsword, I watched the blade streak towards Nora, before being diverted with a swing of Magnhild and landing behind her. Getting some distance, I pulled out Corona and unloaded shots of Fire Dust at the oncoming hammer-wielder. Only a few landed before Nora grinned and shifted Magnhild back to launcher form. Without both halves of Mirror's Edge, I lost my main source of cover against Nora's explosives, and had to zig-zag towards her as she fired more grenades. Suffering a couple more shots from Corona as I closed in, Nora remained smiling as she charged forward as well, knowing she currently had me both up-close and at range.
'Almost there…almost…now!' As I neared Nora's range, she twirled Magnhild around to shift into hammer form, but flinched as I threw my other longsword towards her. Very familiar with Mirror's Edge and its properties, she knew that both halves of my weapon were approaching one another from her front and back. Meanwhile, I dove to the side and pulled out Luna, and with the Aura that I'd been storing in the knife over the match, I sliced outward to let loose a crescent of silver Aura at Nora's side.
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT, KOUZAI!" Stomping her feet, Nora twisted around and knocked both my longswords away in a full rotation, before turning back to the incoming Aura wave. Before my very eyes, Nora flared her own Aura to take the Aura slash, before she leapt forward with Magnhild beneath her feet. "LIKE YOU SAID-"
BOOM
The red-haired bomber accelerated forward in the air, and I could only brace myself with Luna and Corona held defensively as Magnhild slammed into my guard. Flying back, I leaned low to the ground and dug Luna in the arena floor, firing a few shots of Corona behind me until I stopped by the arena's edge, only to hear the buzzer sound afterwards.
"Winner by Aura level, Nora Valkyrie." I climbed to my feet as the lights turned back on and Goodwitch returned to the stage. Skipping over to me and holding a reformed Mirror's Edge like a toothpick was one Nora Valkyrie, as I reached out with one hand.
"-Always keep at least one grenade for techniques and emergencies," I replied, reclaiming Mirror's Edge and gently knocking the blade against Magnhild. "One of these days, I'm going to get that third win off you, and then it'll be official that I can beat you."
"Oh, but Kouzai, if you keep finding weaknesses in my fighting style to fix, I'm gonna end up not having any." Nora giggled, before straightening as Goodwitch cleared her throat.
"Ms. Valkyrie. Your technique was very polished, and you clearly possessed a strong strategic sense of how to best take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses, be it by forcing them into range or into melee."
"Ehehe, Kouzai drilled a bunch of us into doing that during a fight," Nora replied bashfully, and I was the recipient of a very cool emerald-eyed gaze.
"Is that so? Clearly, Mr. Higure seems to have much experience in critiquing his friends and opponents. However, further improvement is always possible, and your battlefield awareness should be first on the list, lest you take anymore Aura-concentrated techniques or errant Dust projectiles to your own Aura." Goodwitch remained unfazed as Nora saluted like one would to a superior officer, before the professor turned to me. "As for you Mr. Higure, your technique remains solid and practical, your use of various weaponry is flexible as always, and your use of your semblance is supplementary to your combat abilities. When all are used in conjunction, however, your Aura expenditure increases drastically and leaves you vulnerable during prolonged fights. Furthermore, I cannot help but notice that you are still without your full arsenal, a notion that appears rather foolish given your knowledge of your opponent. Would you care to explain your reasoning this time?"
"Well, as you might know, Hard-Light Dust, while very powerful in the durability of its constructs, is also very expensive as well. Until I've further refined the ability to adjust the output of Dust, I would prefer to refrain from bankrupting myself every other fight or so." I kept my eyes focused on Goodwitch despite the sweat running down the back of my neck. 'Plus, I really don't need Ozpin or Ironwood taking a closer look at Mortem and finding out exactly where it came from!'
"Hmm, your logic is sound, and with a well-placed eye on the financial trends of Dust. Be that as it may, the purpose of sparring class is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a student's combat abilities, and without using all the tools at one's disposal, calculating an accurate reading becomes challenging. Throughout this week, I have noticed that your sparring performances remain strangely geared towards seemingly aiding your opponents in assessing their own weaknesses before attempting to claim victory for yourself. In the field, however, criminals and the Grimm will not appreciate such mercies, and certainly may not give you time to ascertain such weaknesses. I suggest that you begin taking your spars seriously, before I adjust your sparring schedule to force serious performances out of you." Goodwitch's eyes almost seemed to glow green, and I almost considered the possibility of her having Maiden powers. "Now, please return to your seat, and I will give my announcements to the class."
Making my way back up into the stands, I sat down as Goodwitch resumed speaking. "As you all know, today's session marks the end of your first week of classes. As done by the professors of your other classes, the following list ranking each student's performance in this class will now be displayed." The rankings appeared on the screen, and everyone leaned forward to evaluate the standings. Absolutely no one was surprised that Pyrrha took the top spot, but I nearly spit out the water I was drinking at seeing Jaune's name right below hers in second.
'Man, that's a disconnect seeing that in comparison with the show. Then again, with his rate of improvement, four years with proper tutelage would've done wonders for him.' Closing out the top three was Yang, with the rest of RWBY and JNPR following in order of Nora, Weiss, Blake, Ren and Ruby. Ilia was actually in ninth place, having only one loss in a close match with Ruby. Finishing in tenth was Cardin, as save for an embarrassingly fast loss to Blake, the leader of CRDL had registered quick victories by way of pounding the Executioner into unprepared faces. Meanwhile, I was in eleventh, after a series of middling performances due to testing out various combinations of weapons against my opponents. 'My analysis of unknown fighting styles has gotten better for sure, but I don't think that Goodwitch exactly appreciates that.'
"Now please keep in mind, these rankings are not infallible with regards to one's educational and combat performance, and will certainly change as the semester and school year progresses. Nonetheless, we at Beacon feel that knowing our current evaluation of your abilities may be motivating in terms of improvement. If there are no further questions, I wish you all a pleasant first weekend."
As we all filed out of the arena, I was met with frustrated looks by all of JNPR. "Uhh, everyone alright? Are any of you upset with how you placed in the rankings?" They shouldn't have been, considering that JNPR was the highest first-year team when it came to both combat performance and academics at the moment.
"Our annoyance is not in regards to our placement in the rankings, but rather with yours," Ren supplied, looking the least disgruntled among them. "They feel that your standing is not indicative with your true combat ability, and that Professor Goodwitch has perhaps overlooked the extent of your abilities."
"Not perhaps, Ren, definitely," Nora growled. "After that match we just had, there's no way you should be below Cardin, or even Ilia! No offense, Ilia."
"None taken," came my partner's voice from behind me, and I turned to see my team approaching, with Ilia's look as one of ambivalence and the twins looking simultaneously annoyed and crestfallen. "I've just had the good fortune of getting the right opponents so far, but I do think that you'd be able to beat Cardin or I in a fight if it came to it."
I was taken aback. "Guys, it's no big deal. Goodwitch said that our rankings go off our win rate and how close the matches are, and all of my matches have been more drawn-out affairs. Besides, I'm not exactly aiming to be valedictorian of the class, what with that title probably going to Pyrrha."
"That, that's…undetermined…" Pyrrha managed bashfully, but everyone knew it was likely a forgone conclusion. With Weiss as her academic rival and Jaune as her combat rival, neither had the other's skill sufficient enough to challenge Pyrrha for the overall top spot. "You're truly indifferent as to your ranking?"
"I came here to learn, and to help out my friends. Nothing more, nothing less," I replied. "Things like top scores only matter to me insofar as they might relate to skills and knowledge out in the field. And things like combat rankings only perceive a fraction of one's overall abilities, so I don't give much weight to them." That last comment seemed to lift the twins' spirits, given their placements in the twenties.
"Such wisdom our team leader has. Oh Kouzai, what a wise teacher you are," Melanie gasped dramatically, dodging a headsmack from me. "But seriously, now that classes are done for the week, it's time to focus on the important things. Namely, what we're doing this weekend."
"Well, given the work that we have received from our professors, I think that-"
"IT'S TIME TO PARTY!" Nora zipped towards my team, and Miltia and I dove out of the way to avoid crushing arms. Strangely, Melanie was enthusiastically returning Nora's grabbiness, and both of them were giving one another equally mischievous grins.
"Umm, Kouzai, what exactly are they planning?" Jaune asked cautiously, eyeing Ren and I as Ren facepalmed while I sighed.
"Something tells me that with your schedule, you haven't been to the shadier part of Vale much."
"Uhhh, no?"
"Figures. I'd prepare then…"
… … …
It was unbelievable. Astronomically improbable. Frankly inconceivable.
"The Invincible Girl does have a weakness! And it's booze!" Nora roared, downing another shot as Pyrrha groaned across from her. Next to Pyrrha, Jaune was casually on his fifth drink of the night, while Ren sat opposite him and contentedly sipped at his first.
"While we will be coming back to our ruthless exploitation of Pyrrha's inability to hold her drink, I'd like to address the other half of this equation," I stated, eyeing Jaune and the glasses surrounding him. "How are you still tanking through those? I know for a fact that those are mixed pretty strongly, considering that it was employee proto-I mean, considering that I know from experience."
"My father said that a man should be able to hold their liquor, and was quite adamant on making sure all his children would be able to protect themselves against the horrors of drunkenness." Jaune gazed off for a moment, before shuddering and looking away. "Just…make sure that I won't have to take any form of transportation for a while…"
"Duly noted." I took a moment to gaze around the familiar interior of Junior's Club, watching various proceedings taking place.
After dressing in slightly, slightly more casual clothing, the entourage of JNPR and KMMI made our way to Vale and to Junior's club. Upon our arrival, however, we found that we weren't the only ones who had decided to frequent the establishment, as seated at another table were Coco and Velvet. In my haste to bring JNPR and my team to another table, I neglected to pay attention to who was ordering the drinks. After our orders arrived, however, I turned to a seemingly oblivious Melanie and intensely-focused Nora, who was attempting to gauge Pyrrha's reaction to alcohol.
"At this rate, we're gonna need to ask Junior to lend us a few extra rooms for the night," I grumbled to Miltia and Melanie.
"Speaking of which…" I turned in the direction of the voice, my eyes landing on Hei Xiong himself. His gaze slipped past mine and focused on the twins, before he reached out and wrapped them in a hug.
"J-Junior! You're embarrassing us!" Melanie whined, while Miltia patted the man on the back. After a few moments, Junior seemed to remember that he was inside his own establishment, and that he was a feared information dealer, straightening up with a grunt.
"We can talk about rooms later, when you two are telling me about how Beacon's going. For now though, I need to speak with Kouzai." All the heads at our table swung to me as the twins sighed, either out of relief or out of resignation to my fate.
"Well, might as well grab the next round while I'm up there." After memorizing the list of drinks, I followed Junior towards the backroom and into his office, taking the seat that I'd been in various times before while discussing the twins or more illicit matters of business. "Soo…I take it we're having that talk you mentioned a while back?"
Taking his seat behind the desk, Junior put his palms flat against the wood and sighed. "Look. I respect privacy, to a certain degree. You have to, as an information dealer. So when you asked about Roman's dealings in Vale, I found it weird, but so long as you didn't make a move against him, one that would lead back to us, I thought everything would be fine. Then, the same day that Roman mysteriously left Vale, you took off like it was going out of style, and didn't return until days later, torn to shit. I had questions, but there didn't seem to be any immediate blowback on me or mine, which would be Roman's M.O. in the event of an attack. So I let it go, filed it under a bizarre blip that accompanies most Huntsmen or operatives in your line of work.
But now? Things have changed, and most of them in the worst ways possible. I'm going to lay my cards out on the table, and afterwards you're going to as well. First is that Roman's still around, and even requested some of my men weeks ago for a Dust heist that went sideways. It's rare that one of Roman's plans falls through, but no one's perfect. The problem is that none of my men came back after, and any contacts I have within the prison system haven't seen them either, meaning that they're more than likely six feet under.
Next is the fact that Dust heists are still happening across Vale, and the handiwork points to Roman as well. I could blow off his need for Dust as some sort of grand get-rich-kind-of-quick scheme, but even he wouldn't risk this much heat being brought down on him. The bigger issue though, is that he hasn't asked for men since, which means that either he's still working with my men, or that he's found a new crew. Roman having a bigger crew isn't such a big cause for alarm by itself though. It's what comes after.
Did you know that Adam Taurus has been spotted in Vale? Or that Marcus Black has recently been found dead after his house burned down? What am I saying, of course you do. You somehow know things that you really have no business knowing, despite you yourself requesting information on Taurus and Roman. So now two of your four persons of interest have appeared in Vale around the same time as one another, with the third having mysteriously turned up dead. What are the chances that it has something to do with this four person, this Cinder Fall?"
I sat there, shell-shocked. Gobsmacked. Trying to bluff my way out was a futile effort, given that my face blankly displayed me being flabbergasted. Plain and simple, Junior was far more cunning than I gave him credit for. 'Or did I put him on the trail, by asking about these people? Would he have discovered any of this if I hadn't clued him in? It doesn't matter at this point, does it…' If he wanted cards on the table though, I had a full deck to offer.
"Junior. You did me the courtesy of speaking plainly, so I give you the respect of the same." I took a deep breath, knowing that whatever I gave the man would irrevocably shift something in the timeline, but the die was already cast. "You guessed right. I sought information on Taurus, Roman and Black because I believed that they might potentially be recruited by Cinder Fall. At this point, two of them are working with her, and Marcus Black is dead."
Junior shifted, a question clearly on his lips, but I pressed onward. "Understand that what this group has planned will lead to death, destruction and the ruin of Vale. An alliance between Roman Torchwick, the White Fang and someone with the power and gravity to command them both is apocalyptic for anyone that enjoys living."
"Enough!" Junior slammed a shaky fist down on the desk, the other grasping his face as his brow was fiercely furrowed. Trembling, he reached out for a bottle on his desk, pouring a generous portion into a glass by its side before desperately downing the liquid. "Kouzai, this…what you're saying, this could shake Vale and Remnant to the core. How sure are you of this?"
I looked Junior dead in the eye. "I interfered in and stopped one of their grand plans, and nearly died in the attempt. Trust when I say that I have staked my life on it."
Junior drew a shaky breath. "So that day…of course. It makes sense…Kouzai, you should know, I don't think you stopped whatever plan they had. Maybe you delayed it, but whatever's going on, something is happening in Vale, and part of that something is this group trying to find you."
Air was scarce, and my vision swam as everything felt cold. "What?"
"Roman was in here the other day, asking for information…he was asking about the Specter, whatever I had on him. Whatever you did, was enough to warrant them wanting to take you of the equation before they execute their next plan." Junior's hand dipped below his desk, and I knew he was grasping his Batzooka out of sheer habit. "I had to make a choice, between giving you up to them, or lying and potentially endangering my whole operation, and the Miss' by extension."
"Shit…Junior, I'm sorry…I never meant to put you or the Lil Miss in that position. This is something I wanted to handle on-"
"On your own?" Junior's tone dripped acid, and I winced. "Kouzai, you haven't been working 'on your own' since you became affiliated with Lil Miss. Sure, we can disavow you and claim you went rogue, but if your services really do get tracked back to Lil Miss or I, how believable is it that two of Remnant's biggest information dealers really had no idea of what you were planning? Not only that, your involvement with these people doesn't just endanger Lil Miss or me…think of your friends. Think of Melanie, or Miltia."
'…Grimmshit…Cinder doesn't even need to know the Specter is Kouzai Higure…all she needs is that he works for Lil Miss Malachite, and the twins are in the firing line…' I clenched my fist, feeling my fingernails straining against my Aura. "What if there's another operative who starts dressing like the Specter in Mistral, to throw them off the scent? Or what if I stop dressing as the Specter and stop taking missions?"
Junior laughed mirthlessly. "You think I haven't thought of that already? If you had come to the Lil Miss or I about any of this sooner, we might have had time to plan for some of this. But now that people, powerful people, are actively searching for you, throwing out a decoy will only have them hunt that lead down and track it back to its source, which is us. And do you really think you can sit back and this Cinder go ahead with her new plan?" I wordlessly shook my head, and Junior sagged a little in his chair. "I didn't think so. All we can do now is try and wage a shadow war on the back foot, and hope, pray, beseech the gods themselves that neither your identity as the Specter nor its affiliation with the Spiders is discovered."
I looked up from my shoes, scarcely believing what I heard. "Wage a-Junior, are you actually thinking about fighting these people?"
"I've hardly got a choice now, do I? Not after you've as good as checked our participation in this war." Junior gazed at me now with a glare full of fire. "Don't think I'm so callous as to abandon a kingdom of innocents in jeopardy. Even those that toe the line or stand firmly on the other side have principles, and terrorism and genocide aren't on that list."
Filling his glass again, Junior downed the alcohol again. "Get back out to the twins and your friends. Enjoy the night, for what it's worth. Once everyone's down for the night, you and I are doing some planning together, so don't expect that you'll be getting any shut-eye."
I nodded, still rather at a loss for words, and made my way to the door. Turning back for a moment, I uttered the only thought that I had going through my head.
"For what it's worth, I am sorry about what I've brought upon you, Lil Miss, your men, the twins…I am sorry." I shut the door before I could hear his response, and made my way back to the group. By this point, Coco and Velvet had joined our table, and the nine of them looked to be a relatively merry group. Well, except for Pyrrha being near-comatose, and the whole concept of Velvet being at a club. Plastering a smile on my face, I made my way back to the table. "Well well well, who do we have here? And here I thought that wearing sunglasses at night was the mark of someone suspicious. Guess I was right."
Coco snorted, before lowering her shades to glance at mine. "I'm sure it takes shady one to know one. And I'm sure that speaks well to all the staff here." A flourish of her hand gestured out at all of Junior's black suit, red tie and sunglasses-wearing employees. "Now, what kept you in the back for so long? You and Junior trying to debate who makes the best Strawberry Sunrise or something?"
'That's an excellent question, and one that I haven't thought of yet!' I rubbed the back of my neck in fake embarrassment, willing myself to think of an answer on the fly. "I…was actually talking to him about…the possibility of using his club for an event coming up…"
"OOH!" Nora jumped up from her seat. "YOU MEAN YOUR BIRTHDAY?!"
Eyes swiveled over to me, and supplied with a verifiable, if inconvenient lie, I seized it like a lifeline. "…Yup, definitely that. It's coming up in a few weeks, and I'm so glad that you remembered my birthday."
"Well, duh. What kind of friend would I be if I nearly forgot your birthday…for the fifth time in a row? Oh look, more booze!" Nora dashed off into the crowds, only marginally impeded from the various drinks she'd already had. Ren maintained a watchful eye over that area of the club, content to let Nora's aura of terror and raw chaos take care of any mundane issues.
"Anyways," I shifted the subject, eager to draw attention away from my possible birthday, and pivoted over to the second-years at the table. "Coco, would you care to explain exactly how you managed to rope Velvet into coming to Junior's club? I can't imagine that it's a particularly joyful experience for her."
"Re-lax, Velvs is loving every second of this." Coco threw an arm around Velvet's shoulders, seemingly oblivious to the despairing look on her teammate's face. "Team CFVY need's a girls night out every once in a while, amiright?...Also, the rest of these spoilsports decided I needed a tagalong when going out to prevent me from having too much fun or something." Coco drew air quotes around the last part of her statement.
"Coco, we wanted to prevent you from becoming so intoxicated that you almost deploy Gianduja on a clothing store for being closed, again." Velvet's emphasis on the last word had me glancing at the rest of my team, thankful that either the White Fang or Junior had taught them the value of being discreet. JNPR however, and Nora in particular, looked to be about three seconds from declaring Coco as her mentor, much to mine and Ren's mutual horror. "Given that Yatsuhashi doesn't frequent such a setting, I'm very sensitive to prolonged exposure to such levels of noise, and Fox is very sensitive to such things, we pretty much have a rotation system going every time Coco wants to spend a night out."
I nodded along sagely. "I can relate. If it wasn't for the fact that Melanie and Miltia already work and almost live her, I'd have my hands full every time they were off-shift." I proceeded to duck under the two swipes the blushing and tipsy twins sent my way.
"That being said, I do believe that our dear leader might have forgotten that we're all supposed to be heading to a movie after this," Velvet added meaningfully, and we all turned to follow her eyes as Fox and Yatsuhashi approached. Yatsuhashi appeared unbothered by the party atmosphere surrounding him. Fox, on the other hand, had what looked to be industrial headphones tight against his ears, yet still rubbing his temples and wincing in pain.
"Hello again, Ren, Nora and Kouzai. We lacked the proper time during the school week, but I wished to give my sincerest thanks to you for fighting on my village's behalf four years ago. I was but a young and brash Sanctum student, and had I rushed out to fight those bandits blindly, I might have lost my life and cost my family immeasurable grief. Although we may not have interacted much since then, please know that you have my aid whenever you so wish it, and that of my team if they deem fit." The rest of his team nodded in response, before Yatsuhashi cocked his head for a moment as if listening to something. "Very well Fox, I won't keep us much longer then. Coco, Velvet, we should be on our way."
"But I've still gotta talk shop with my new giant weapon buddy!" Coco whined, extending an arm out to Nora, who raised her drink in response.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll all be doing this again soon enough. That way, you and Ko-ko can talk shop about giving him some fashion tips on breaking out a few more colors in his outfit!"
"Ko…ko?" The question was a whisper, before Coco sagged dramatically against the wall that was Yatsuhashi. "What am I going to do, Yatsu? He's even stealing my name! At this rate, I'll be replaced by the younger model before the semester's out!"
"Forget that, let's find out why Nora was holding back on this nickname for so long!" Melanie howled in laughter, and the rest of the group save Fox and I joined her.
"Great, and Pand-Nora's box of nicknames has been opened," I groaned, ignoring JNPR and my team in favor of focusing on Velvet, who was making a valiant attempt at not giggling.
"I'm sure Coco will forget about most of this come the morning," Velvet tried reassuringly. "Though, if our teams will be spending more time together, I suppose there are some tips that I could give you on Hard-Light Dust for your gauntlet."
'A non-Ozpin-affiliated way to improve Mortem?' I perked up and grinned. "Thanks a bunch, Velvet. I'll take whatever help you're willing to give."
"My pleasure," Velvet replied, before wincing at a particularly loud bass drop. "Alright, we should be leaving then. Take care everyone!"
"Hey wait a minute!" Melanie stood up from her seat, pointing a finger over at Fox. "This one's been silent the whole time! What, not even a word to us?"
"Maybe I just wanted to surprise the little first-years." Nearly everyone in JNPR and KMMI flinched at the voice in their heads. "Clearly, it seems to have worked."
I glanced over to the blind second-year, and saw the crinkling of his eyes before rolling my own. "Hilarious. Does every team need at least one jokester?" Raising my glass, I waved as CFVY made their way out of the building before turning back to a stunned Melanie. "Cat got your tongue? Or should it be fox in this case?"
"Th-That, him, how…" Melanie spluttered as her face sported a blush at being countered. "Why didn't he do that before?"
"Likely because something like telepathy tends to be a double-edged sword. Even if he's blocking out the physical noise of this crowd, who's to say that he's not hearing the mental noise they're all making when he uses his semblance?" It was a thought that I'd considered before, and judging by the paling faces my friends had, they were imagining it too. "No wonder why he doesn't come out to these types of places. Being blind, nearly deaf with those headphones and without his semblance, he'd be literally stumbling around in the dark if he didn't have Aura vision to guide him."
"It was nice of Yatsuhashi to accompany him while waiting for Coco and Velvet," Miltia commented, before freezing as eyes swung from her twin to her. "What? He just seems nice and polite, which is a far cry from the kinds of people Mel and I have dealt with working here."
"You better believe we're coming back to that," Nora snickered, "But for now, we're getting back to the celebrations! Miss, can I get a hundred shots of tequila?"
"NORA!"
… … …
"She's insane…" Ilia mumbled, stumbling as we walked down the apartment building hallway, keeping a terrified eye on the skipping redhead up ahead.
"Well, you could've gleaned that from your first fight with her, or initiation, or really any time you've spent with her," I commented, slightly supporting her weight as we neared my apartment. "But really, that's just the tip of the iceberg, and trust me when I say that it only escalates over time.
Opening the door, I walked in and was again thankful that I'd kept the space clean and free of any interdimensional time-traveling planning, before turning back to the doorway as Jaune walked inside, gently carrying a sleeping Pyrrha. "You can use the bedroom for you and Pyrrha. Just make sure that you don't subject her to the sounds of you two going at it. Melanie, Miltia, you all right if Nora and Ren stay at your place tonight?"
"So long as they don't break my bed, sure." The three of us ignored JNPR's insistent refusals of any 'indecency' or 'sexy times' happening in our beds, as I lead Ilia over to the couch.
"I paid aggressively medium money to make sure this couch was comfortable, so it should be fine for the night," I joked, before noticing the confused looks at the lack of a sleeping area for myself. "I've gotta head back down to the club once everyone's settled in and work the graveyard shift, as per Junior's orders. After all, I can't just sit back and rest on my Beacon stipend and the investment's off Ren's money, right?"
Grey-blue eyes narrowed from the couch. "Are you sure that you're not pushing yourself too hard? It's only the first week, after all."
All assembled shared a laugh at my expense. "I always push myself too hard. This…this is expected."
Bidding my team and JNPR farewell for the night, I returned back to the club area and found Junior behind the counter. Sliding onto a seat, I put on my serious face. "Alrighty Junior, lemme get one more double, and we'll get to work."
"Sheesh, have I ever told you it's disconcerting how effortlessly you're able to change expressions like that?" Junior slid the glass over to me, before glancing at the bottle he'd poured the alcohol from. "Or how much you're capable of drinking when you want to?"
"Let's just say I'm drinking to make up for lost time." I downed the glass, before smiling. "And I'm pretty sure I get told I'm 'disconcerting' or something similar on the daily."
"Doesn't make it any less true," Junior grunted, before motioning for me to follow towards the backroom. "Now, let's figure out a way to keep Vale in one piece."
… … …
"Ugh…it's been a while since I've felt this awful…" I leaned slightly against the counter, channeling Aura to alleviate the pounding headache drawing its strength from a hangover and lack of sleep. 'Not that I'm complaining, but I've been taking great care of my body lately…apparently too well, considering that just one night without sleep along with a dozen drinks is taking a toll on me…'
It was assuredly morning, judging by the bright sunlight streaming in from the windows. The majority of the night had been spent with Junior going over names, maps, objectives and plans, with me walking the line between being impressed at Junior's breadth of information, and exceedingly cautious at not giving away secrets I didn't need to, like Salem, Ozpin or the Maidens. Eventually though, even Junior conceded that we'd planned enough for the night, and sent me out to the counter to sell the story that I'd been bartending, despite my barely-legal age. I'd spent the last few hours keeping an eye on the few patrons that remained, but thankfully no one had required the under-the-table services that Junior offered during that time. Even more thankfully, no one from JNPR or KMMI had come to visit me, or potentially verify that I'd been behind the counter.
'At least they all still have the typical teenage weakness of sleeping in on weekends…' I yawned, trying to rub some of the tiredness out of my eyes, but froze as I heard soft footsteps approach. Bringing my hands down to where I'd placed Luna and Corona, I turned to view the newcomer, and froze.
"Hi, I'm kind of in a hurry and looking for Junior, so-hang on, aren't you one of my students?"
Sleep-beleaguered and hungover, I must've looked like either a mess, or like Qrow normally. The two weren't mutually exclusive.
"Umm…hey Professor Autumn…"
… … …
… … …
"You know, there's still time for you to come along. I'm sure that Yang would be happy to see you."
"The sentiment is nice Tai, but there's little chance of me openly stepping foot back on Beacon."
Taiyang brought another log over to the firewood pile, placing it down with a soft thump before straightening and facing Raven with an exasperated look. "Rae, you likely would've portaled in and spied on Yang as a raven anyways, if you haven't already done that. You showing up at Beacon doesn't have to be an automatic declaration of your undying loyalty to Oz, you know."
"I would not have…" Raven scoffed, despite the slight tinge to her cheek. "And with Salem's pawns afoot, who knows how our actions are being judged now. For all you know, my appearing to protect the Fall Maiden has been interpreted as the tribe declaring war against Salem."
Taiyang frowned, searching Raven's face. "Do you regret coming to protect her?"
Raven looked away, arms crossed. "No…it had to be done. Salem having the Fall Maiden would've meant the fall of Beacon and Vale, and with Yang there…I am against Salem, but that doesn't mean I'm with Ozpin."
Taiyang sighed, running his hair through his short locks. "Good enough, I guess. Still, if Beacon's out of the question, maybe just visit Vale instead? You've still got a few more weeks before I'm going."
"I…perhaps. I'll need to check in with the tribe, and make sure that the fools won't run the business into the ground while I'm gone. And gods knows Vernal is getting more determined to have her rematch with Kouzai."
Taiyang laughed. "Yeah, that's definitely something that I'll be checking up on while I'm at Beacon. Qrow tells me that this kid is definitely looking out for my girls, but judging from the calls and letters so far, they certainly don't seem to think so. Yang being annoyed and even pissed at someone is par for the course, but if even Ruby was annoyed…" Knuckles harder than steel slammed together.
"I might need to have a word with him."
A/N: A little lighter on the fluff, and a little more development this time. Rest assured that I haven't forgotten details of previous chapters. Kouzai's actions do have consequences, as evidenced by him having to bring Junior slightly into the fold. What follows will definitely have ramifications for the plot going forward, and I couldn't be more excited and frustrated for that! Hope you all enjoyed that, and I'll see you next week.
-SE
Next Chapter Date: 03/02/2020