A Cosmic Journey
A/N: It's Tuesday! And hot, very hot. The whole summer and endless hours of sunlight thing really messes with my perception of time passing, though I suppose that the great equalizer of summer classes is there to firmly ground me, haha. Or you know, just straight up bury me.
Chapter 38: If the Mountain Won't Come
Chapter Date: 06/23/20
"-up…"
Intense heat, from all sides…
"-get up, already…"
Something was sticking in a fine layer…
"OI, GET THE HELL UP!"
It was the sensation of something grabbing onto me shoulder that jolted me up, as my eyes shot open at what should've been a feather-light touch from Vernal. Should've, because I hissed at what were likely at least pinched muscles.
Predictably, Vernal looked to be out of shits to give. "About time you're up! We need to leave, now!"
I hacked for breath, noting the increasing amount of smoke in the air. "Adam…where's-"
"Don't know, don't care, not my problem right now." Vernal wrenched me upright, and I felt more than anything the shifting of some plaster and concrete as it crumbled. I stared behind me at the vaguely circular indent in the wall, along with the humanoid shape deeper into the dent.
"I've got a million questions about all that, but I'll have no answers unless you move your ass." I took the hint and collected my weapons hurriedly, before starting into a trot after my temporary partner. A hand up to my face confirmed that the mask was still intact, though the same couldn't be said for parts of my robe. As I saw flames lick at the sides of the warehouse, I looked up and noticed the gaping hole in the ceiling. A glance behind showed a section of the wall cut conspicuously in two.
"Is your scroll…still working?" I panted past the mask on my face. "Blake and Ilia-"
"'Are fine, idiot. They sent a message once they got out, saw it once I was clear of that explosive shitstorm." A derisive glance back let her see the crumpled burner scroll I was showing. "That explains why you're still so worried. Look, we're nearly out of this mess, so we're clear."
"With Qrow likely on the way, not to mention whoever else is nearby, I'm not taking any chances."
… … …
"You know, for a huntsman, you take injuries without Aura shockingly well."
"I spent the majority of my life without having Aura. I consider it dangerous to forget how vulnerable one can be when the chips are down."
"Which is why your getting sloshed is cause for concern." Junior watched as I tossed another double of whiskey down the hatch, though my mouth burned from the cuts that were still fresh.
"I need to cover my bases so that if anyone asks about my injuries, I can tell 'em I challenged Vernal to a drunken spar." A glance down the counter over to the individual in question showed the former bandit throwing back at least double of what I'd had thus far. "Saying that I got creamed by Vernal is a small price to pay for a decent alibi…though I'm slightly worried the part about the drunken spar might become reality if she continues."
"Right, and I'm sure slamming back copious amounts of drink has nothing to do with mitigating the considerable pain you must be in at the moment," Junior replied, unamused. "Miltia, Melanie, either of you wanna smack…oh yeah, forgot they're pretty deep in the cups too."
"Haha! We smacked Torchwick and Taurus! In your faces, team RWBY!" Melanie's jubilant cries were hushed by an irate Blake seated nearby, not nearly as intoxicated as most of the other members sitting at the counter at the moment.
"You two, didn't do anything," Blake replied. "Though then again, neither did we."
Miltia nodded along sagely. "So in summary, Blake and Ilia escaped, Torchwick appeared and threw the fight, Vernal trashed the warehouse, and Kouzai and Adam Taurus really trashed the warehouse."
"Exactly. I'd be impressed at how coherent you are, if this wasn't the fifth time that you've tried summing things up," Ilia responded dryly. There was a wary eye over to where I was seated. "Though I'm in agreement on a little confusion as well. I've seen Moonslice in action, but that blast…what did you do?"
"Trade secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you," I joked, drawing about half a dozen annoyed glares my way. "Okay, fair. I'm not exactly in a solid state to lecture on the particulars of three different branches of science though, so answers will be coming another time."
"Damnit Kouzai, if you weren't injured…" Ilia set her jaw, then perked up with a glance over at the twins and Vernal before pitching her voice slightly. "Now that I think about it, didn't someone say they wanted to smack Kouzai once the mission was over?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I did!"
"Me too! Time to pay up!"
"I'm already on it!"
"Wait guys, don't-AAAAHHHH!"
… … …
"Hahaha! C'mon Vernal, tell me again about how you handed Kouzai's ass to him!"
"I normally don't pander to brats, but when it comes to talking about beating Kouzai, I am to please." Vernal smirked as she launched into another rendition of our day-long spar and later 'drunken spar', spinning an exaggerated tale between mouthfuls of food. Around her, Ruby and Nora were listening with rapt interest while also stuffing their faces, Weiss was eavesdropping with poorly concealed glee, and Yang hung on every word with completely exposed glee.
Seated outside of the Xiao Long home on Patch, it was pleasantly surprising to experience the bastion of safety and pivotal home to Ruby and Yang. With tables set up, the conglomerate of RWBY, JNPR, KMMI, CFVY, Vernal, Winter, Qrow and Tai all mingled inside and outside of the house as Tai put his back into cooking enough food to feed a couple dozen Huntsmen, which about translated into an army.
"Glad to see some things don't change much." I sighed and bit down on my burger, nodding to the table of Jaune, Ren, Yatsu and Fox as we took refuge in the normality we could provide one another from the insanity that was our teammates. "So, how did everyone else's break go?"
"The horror…the sheer horror…" Jaune looked like a man marooned on an island, his eyes unseeing at the rest of us as we traded confused looks.
"What Jaune means to say, is that the combination of Pyrrha, Nora, and Jaune's sisters was unusually synergistic, incredibly potent, and devastatingly humiliating for our team leader." Ren appeared to be taking the events of his break in stride, but I could tell that he looked a tad thinner and cagier than before. "Suffice to say, the combination of nine headstrong and energetic woman took a toll on our collective patience…and sanity, but I'm sure that comes as no surprise to the rest of you."
"My teammates accompanied me home to Anima during the break. While there, Coco insisted on a team excursion to Mistral proper on what she deemed a 'fashion extravaganza'. Her relentless pursuit…truly, the kingdoms hold great darkness within…"
"Yeah, Ren and I can confirm that Mistral's underworld is pretty legendary, mostly for worse rather than better."
"You misunderstand. I was referring to the world of fashion, the underbelly of the city…" Yatsu shuddered.
'Trust us, the industry is cutthroat,' Fox supplied, and we took their word for it.
"And of course, stories of what you've been up to seem to be making the rounds today," Ren remarked as the girls table shared a laugh, likely at my expense. "Other than engaging in ill-advised bouts with Vernal, how did the rest of your break go, considering that your whole team remained in Vale?"
"Well, there was much drinking done. As for how much, consider how much one might have when having Miltia and Melanie as teammates, and how much it might take to fight Vernal while drunk." Yatsu and Fox winced, while Jaune looked on confused, considering the man still hadn't gotten sauced before.
"On the note of your teammates, I suppose now would be a more pleasant time to inquire about a potential favor to ask of you." Yatsu's statement had me looking towards him curiously, and the gentle giant swallowed. "Regarding your teammates…that is, Miltia and Melanie…if not inconvenient…"
"You want me to help set the two of you up with them?" My question had even Fox nodding along numbly as I scratched my head. "I mean, I wouldn't have refused you. Not to mention, there's no need to use a favor on this or anything, they're both-"
'And there wasn't a need to get favors from you either for saving you,' Fox replied, trying to keep a straight face despite his skin being just a shade darker than normal. 'Why don't we just chalk it up to an ask between friends?'
"Of course, rest assured that your kindness will be repaid, once it comes to asking our aid in setting you up as well." Yatsu's small smile hinted at something that flew over my head, but must've been a private joke between him and Fox.
"Yeesh, and I thought it was just the girls who got up to gossip on hookups and whatnot." Qrow slid onto the bench next to Yatsu before chowing down on his own stack of burgers. "Oh damn these are good. Anyways, got the gist of what your break looked like from the play-by-play over there."
A pointed finger revealed that the girls' tables were down the members of RWBY, leaving Vernal, Nora and Velvet free to start what looked like a burger-eating contest. "Lucky Ruby and Yang aren't there for that, they'd eat the rest under the table. They mentioned something about hearing Blake out about somethin'-Getting sidetracked again. Wanted to ask if you noticed anything peculiar during your time off. I heard from those twins about your team tipping the elbow a bunch down at Junior's, so I figured it'd be a good idea to check in, considering your recent status as abductee an' all."
"Your concern is overwhelming," I drawled, mentally checking a box under the list of moves that Ozpin would likely make regarding the rally. "If you're referring to the White Fang rally that happened downtown, I didn't see anything happen but saw the aftermath of the warehouse in the morning. Read about it in the papers as well, though I'm not sure how credible the sources were, given that the writers made it sound like it was the advent of a Faunus insurrection."
"Damn fearmongers'll do anything to drive sales up. Can't say I had you pegged for the kind to read newspapers though."
"What can I say? I like to dot my I's and cross my t's, literally in some instances." I let the grin slide off my face in a show of seriousness. "On that front though, any advance news you can send our way on behalf of yourself or Ozpin? Any move of the White Fang's might mean a move by those other people as well."
Qrow tussled his feather-like hair back. "Can't say I know much more than you lot do, to be honest. I did a look-through of the place pretty soon after shit went down, but not many clues beyond the obvious. All I can provide is that the arms picked up by Vale PD were very much on the new side of Atlas' newest ventures. Course, not that that matters considering most of it is either crumpled or slag at this point."
"And the perpetrators, or ringleaders rather?"
"No one worth mentioning was caught. All evidence points to someone or something have crashed the party and making things hell, but jury's still out on who showed up and who fought who. I'll tell you though…whoever they were, they've got serious firepower on their side. The kind that means bad news regardless of who has it."
"Well, doesn't that sound lovely? Thanks a bunch though Qrow, being in the know helps, and we know you didn't have to clue us in."
"Nah, keeping you kids in the dark after all this would be doing you bunch a disservice." Qrow smiled easily, despite still keeping a great many secrets to himself. Not that I, or almost anyone, was any different.
"Either way though, thanks for the heads up. Now I'll just have to double down on packing in the food while-huh?" I paused as team RWBY emerged from inside the house. Ruby was smiling broadly, Weiss looked to be contemplative, Blake appeared close to tears of the happy variety, and Yang…her expression was neutral. Frighteningly so. After a moment, the brawler glanced over to our table and gestured me over silently. I gulped and put down the sustenance, though as far as last meals went, it hadn't been bad at all. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'm about to have my face pummeled in."
"What else is new?" Qrow and the others shared a laugh as I followed Yang and the others over to a more secluded part of the yard.
"If this about getting extra licks in, I'll have to advise against that as I'm-OOF!" I was cut off by a surprisingly forceful yet gentle hug from my fellow team leader.
"Thank you for keeping her secret and backing her up…thank you…" I awkwardly patted Ruby's head, unsure of whether doing more or less would have me ended by firing squad considering Yang, Qrow and Tai's proximity. A look over at Blake had her shrugging her shoulders, but she wore an honest smile, which was quite acceptable as legal tender in my book.
"Ahem." Weiss' voice drew me over to the heiress, whose reaction to all of this was the one I was most curious about. "After news of Blake's true identity has come to light, it occurs to me that such explains her initial animosity towards you previously. Furthermore, given that you respected her privacy until she saw fit to properly inform us is justification for appreciation. So thank you, Kouzai Higure."
"You guys are giving me too much credit. It's not like I'm some exceptional paragon of morality after all, considering that I'm not the only one who knew who Blake was before Beacon." I carefully pried Ruby's arms off me before I could start losing air.
"Is that so?" Weiss glanced off to the side towards the picnic area, though I wasn't sure if she was looking at anything in particular.
"I guess I'm next, huh? I'd say I'm insulted that you'd think I'd deck you in front of all our friends and my family, but…" Yang trailed off with a trademark smirk. "Whatever the case is, you had my partner's back even when I was giving you shit, so I'll give you kudos for that."
"W-Well, I'm not sure what to say, but it's good to know that I'm not on RWBY's shitlist anymore. It's quite detrimental to my health and survival." I joked, getting a couple eye rolls from the girls and a sagely nod from Ruby.
"Yup, so you're in the clear, both from looking over your shoulder and being on Blake-duty. Just leave the investigating and crime-solving to us!"
"…Excuse me?"
"Well, when Blake spilled, she mentioned the White Fang rally that's been in the news recently, along with the fact that there's more set to happen, including more Atlas tech getting smuggled in. So rather than busting your back backing her up, let her teammates handle it!" Yang grinned magnanimously, oblivious to the hole opening up in my stomach.
'They want to crash more rallies? But the Paladin…'
"It's admirable that you took such a proactive stance in making up for your kidnapping by this cohort of evildoers, but rest assured that we are not ones to let you risk your wellbeing without a proportional response on our part." Weiss nodded like seeking out terrorists while still in school was a normal thing to do.
'I went out so they wouldn't have to! Ah, how do I stop them from…well, this is gonna go fantastically bad…'
"I don't think any of us should be putting ourselves on the line, now that Beacon and Vale have been clued in. Especially considering how dangerous that first rally was and the aftermath, I think it'd be much safer for everyone to hang back for a while, myself and you all included." I looked down at Ruby, who looked up with eyes shining in defiance. 'Ah damnit…'
"I think we have things handled amongst our team. Right guys?" The other three nodded along to Ruby, and she cheekily smiled at me. "And besides, not that you're a bad leader or anything, but I think my team should be capable of handling things better than a group that got put together on the fly, most of whom weren't your actual teammates."
'I just knew they were gonna be stubborn about this…' I steeled myself for what came next.
"Regardless, I don't think I can allow this to happen in good conscience after the first rally, not to mention the promise that I've made Qrow, Tai and Winter." Predictably, telling a team of huntresses that a man was going to stop them did wonders for the argument to stand down. "You know, a word to Ozpin or even Glynda on what you all are planning would be more than enough to keep you from pressing forward."
"So what, after you yourself busted up one of these rallies, with some people of questionable strength, you're getting on the high horse and threatening to tattle on us?" Yang looked thoroughly unimpressed.
"Honestly, it's more of an empty threat than anything." Mostly because Ozpin would assuredly nudge them on. "Instead, why don't we assuage my concerns and let me make certain that you all are capable of protecting yourselves out there?"
"So you wish to test us in battle? I don't wish to sound conceited, but your record and ranking in sparring compared to our own is adequate at best." Weiss had her heiress tone employed.
"I couldn't do it by myself, no. But with my team, against yours?" It slowly dawned on them what I was suggesting, and that only seemed to make them more confident.
"Kouzai, are you sure you want to do this?" Ruby questioned, and her concern for my wellbeing was appreciated. Demeaning, but appreciated.
"Not particularly, but if it has to be done." I looked each of them in the eye. "A week after classes start, during one of our free training periods. I'll get someone neutral like CFVY or Amber to officiate."
"It's your funeral," Yang joked as I walked off, trying to appear much more confident than I felt.
'I'm not sure what'll suck more…the actual fight, or this next part…' I approached the table where my teammates were at. "Hey guys, quick question…"
"Yes?"
"Mhm?"
"What's up?"
"…How do you all feel about a little spar next week?"
A/N: Welp, you all wanted some action, here it is. In all seriousness, it's an interesting conundrum, trying to keep people integral to the show's plot alive when the plot no longer necessarily holds sway. Now for reviews.
Raidentensho: A different color palette between his normal clothing and outfit as the Specter would likely do Kouzai some good. Unfortunate then that he's already known for his dark clothing, though wardrobe changes aren't uncommon when you're at the mercy of the twins, Yang and Coco.
Gizmo Gear: If by heating up you mean things are on fire, then yes, quite the heat.
Netapel: The benefits of having such experimental weaponry have made themselves pretty clear to Kouzai at this point. The drawbacks of such will start to show themselves though, as so happens with all weapons.
Ivanaccco: Thanks for the comments, and it is true that Kouzai has managed to scrape by thus far by being of the "jack of all trades" persuasion, with his areas of expertise being his contingencies and knowledge through the show. However, advance knowledge goes a long way towards capitalizing on weaknesses, and having that while characters such as Ruby or Ren try to fix their own allows Kouzai to improve himself as well.
Blueassassin996: The amount of asskicking Kouzai is able to produce is strongly proportional to the amount of preparation he has going into the situation. Getting ambushed by Mercury and Neo without his weapons? Loses hard. Fighting a subpar Mercury while also having less than full Aura? Much better result. Going in to fight Adam with full knowledge that he would be there and time to prepare? Well, that's what you've got before you now.
R26: Changing Blake's appearance wasn't really meant to throw off Adam, considering that he expected Blake to be at the rally regardless. It's more for plausible deniability in case questions come out about who was there. Say perhaps, questions asked by a silver-eyed team leader, her team, and her not-so-drunken uncle? As for Kouzai's actions, he's still dependent off knowledge of the show's events, which will have quickly diminishing returns as time passes. Luckily, he can supplement that with information gained real-time, like that which was provided by Torchwick. And regarding Adam's Moonslice, it's not weak at all, but it does happen to be dependent on his Aura level and force absorbed. Couple that with the fact that the sum of Orichalchum, Lightning Dust and Luna is a meticulous combination, it's reasonable as to why that can match up to Adam's brute force.
-SE
Next Chapter Date: 06/30/20