Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth
Chapter 28: Looking for an Answer
"Hello, my King..."
The hellish laugh Ichigo had grown accustomed to echo through the darkness. The 'my King' was new though. "Show yourself, damn it!" Ichigo demanded. The laugh only continued as it progressively became more unhinged. A red haze appeared from the darkened floor and mirrors materialized around him, reflecting Ichigo's image.
"Catch me if you can…"
Where is he?
"Catch me if you can…"
Where is he?!
"Catch me if you can…"
Where the hell is he?!
"You better catch me…"
One mirror caught Ichigo's eye. It was covered in blood. He runs over to it. To his horror, he sees, "Ruby!" The girl was motionless, blood dripping from her closed eyes. Ichigo hits the mirror as hard as he can in an attempt to break it, "Ruby!" He sees another bloody mirror, "Rukia!". Another, "Renji!" And another. "Velvet!" More bloody mirrors appear each containing different people Ichigo knew. All dead. Weiss, Yang, Blake, Yoruichi, Coco, team TAIM, team IRYS, and team JNPR and even his own dad and sisters. All dead and covered in blood. The last one contained his Quincian partner. "Ishida!" Uryū was slumped over. Ichigo's blood turned cold when he saw his Zangetsu in katana form lodge in Uryū's stomach. Ichigo glances down at his hands. They are covered in deep crimson. In terror and despair, he hung his head low in his stained hands.
"You better catch me…before it is…too…" Ichigo lifts his head to look into the mirror. Instead of seeing Uryū, he sees himself, face stained as well.
"…late."
The reflection's face twisted into a malevolent grin as its skin and hair turned stark white, its iris turned a sickly yellow and the sclera blacken as black veins started to spread all over its body and black flames emerged. It reminded Ichigo of the Creatures of Grimm. The 'reflection' grabs Ichigo by the throat through the mirror and the black veins started to spread around Ichigo's body. The veins reach into Ichigo's eyes and—
Ichigo fell out of the couch of the living area with a yelp. His head lands on Kon, who, for whatever reason, was sleeping on the floor. "Ichigo, get off!" The plush muffled. The amber-haired man scrambled to his feet in a panic. "Damn it, Ichigo! I was having an amazing dream about bodacious babes in bikinis and you had to go and—" Kon ceased his rant when he noticed how pale Ichigo has gotten and the cold sweat on his face. "Ichigo, is something the matter?" His 'owner' didn't answer. Without a word, Ichigo leaves the room, Kon's words falling on deaf ears.
As he wasn't paying attention, Ichigo bumps into Uryū. "Ishida…" The Quincy is dressed for the school day, most likely came to get breakfast ready. The two stared, eyes locked to each other, until Ichigo is reminded of the bloody vision of his partner in his dream. He breaks eye contact as a pained look took over his face and brisk past the Quincy before he could say anything.
Ichigo make his way to the men's room. Thankfully, no one was in there. He turns on one of the sinks and lets the cool water run over his clammy hands. He starts to wash his face of the cold sweat. He opens his eyes to see his reflection in the mirror in front of him. Skin clear and peach-toned, eyes white with autumnal brown irises, hair a neon orange, "Still me…" He lets out a sigh of relief.
"Still you?"
Ichigo gasped and looks at his reflection again. It changed. It now looks like the thing in his dream. The Grimm-like version of Ichigo.
"…Who are you…"
"I art thou…"
Ichigo backed away, but the image never changed.
"…Thou art I."
You are me and I am…you? Ichigo wondered. As if reading his mind and it very well is, the image nods. Its fanged grin is present. No…no…no..no. No. No. No no no no no nonononononono…
"NO!" Ichigo charges at the reflecting glass, his fist ready. Unconsciously using his Semblance, he punches the mirror, shattering it and cracking the wall behind it. Ichigo panted heavily due to the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He removes his fist from the glass and looks down a large piece of the mirror. He sees himself. Just himself. However, his eyes are glowing yellow, a common occurrence when he uses his Semblance, but now…
Now, he feels dread.
Ichigo places a hand to his head, feeling another headache coming on. He needs a shower. An hour-long shower. As he heads over the showers, he failed to notice someone watching him. A certain blue-eyed, bespectacled Quincy. If Ichigo had paid attention, he would have noticed the dark bruises around Uryū's neck.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Yes. Yes, yes. In order to find water, the Vacuo Voyagers wrote hieroglyphic letters at various locations throughout the Vacuan deserts. Unfortunately, many of such ancient writings were lost to the sands of time… Holding for laugh." When all he got was a few coughs from his 3rd year class, he continued, "let's move on."
Ichigo eventually tuned him out. Lately, he's having a lot going through his mind. From the nightmare from earlier to…what have been going on in the last month. The voice keeps mocking him from the back of his mind, pointing out his flaws, his shortcomings, and all his mistakes. Memories of the Bount Case came in at full force, leaving him with flashbacks and nightmares over what transpired that fateful night. Soon, the voice started to become more…malevolent.
Once, when Ichigo was dealing with a group of punks in Vale, the voice encouraged him to beat them bloody. He blacked out and the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by unconscious bodies and his fists covered in blood. He then heard police sirens. Uryū appeared and took him away before the cops found them. And just last night, the voice made him contemplate on slitting Renji's throat in his sleep. That was the reason why Ichigo slept on the couch. Now his nightmare…
He needs to go to the library after this.
"Ichigo," Rukia, who appeared beside him, started, "we need to talk about—" Ichigo moves away before Rukia could finish what she needed to say.
Seating in front was Uryū, who was watching closely from the corner of his eye.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You'd have to be blind not to see anything is wrong with Ichigo and Uryū Ishida could see it, plain as day. The taller man has been acting strange since Erika Island. He hadn't seen Ichigo act this way ever since the Bount Case.
Uryū's eyes darkened at the memory. That mission was initially a search and rescue mission. The Mistral Council lost all contact with a Huntress and team IURR, due to their fame for finding Ashido, were chosen to locate her. It wasn't long until team IURR got wrapped up in the whole mess. Ichigo, being Ichigo, agreed to help. It all went downhill from there.
Uryū coughed in his hand.
His throat hurts.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ruby held a pencil between her upper lip and nose as she 'listened' to another one of Prof. Port stories. As the man spoke about a time when he fought a Boarbatusk with an axe, Ruby thinks about recent events. Most of which involving one Ichigo Kurosaki. Or lack of. Lately, the upperclassman has been absent. Not showing up for training sessions, declining offers to hang out, or just giving anyone the cold shoulder. What's going on?
The bell rings and the students hurry to get out. "Keep in mind, students: The end of semester exam is at the end of the week. Be sure to study what we have been over and—"
"Stay vigilant." The students finished.
"Oh, right. Have a good day!" Prof. Port said.
"Um, Weiss, what did we talk about today?" Ruby asked.
"Honestly? I have no idea." Weiss said. "It's probably best that we go over the Daemon's of the World."
"Oh, okay. So, the library as usual?"
Weiss shook her head. "Not right now, I have a student council meeting to go to. You can go without me."
"Have a good day, Ruby~." Pyrrha said as she followed Weiss.
"You too!" On her way, she runs into Renji. "Oh! Hey, Renji!"
"Huh? Oh, hey. How's it hangin'?" he said.
"About to go to the library," Ruby said. "Is there a training session later?"
"Ah, well…hm," Renji stuttered. "I don't know…Ichigo hasn't been around a lot lately." Ruby frowns. Ever since the exchange students arrived, Ichigo has been trying to avoid…everyone. Why? "Hey." She looks up at Renji. "Don't let worry ya. I'm sure Ichigo would come around." His strained smile gave Ruby a since of doubt. She wanted to bring up the Bount Case, but she came to know that mentioning it would only make things more awkward.
"O-Okay. See ya later!" she said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"All right, people. Before we're done for the day, our student council Prez has something to say." Coco said to the class representatives and vice representatives. The council members are in their meeting room. The president, Uryū, and the vice president, Coco, are standing near a blackboard. The council's historian, Velvet, is off to the side organizing. The secretary, Mizuiro, is typing on a Scrollbook. The historian, Rukia, is writing something down. The public director, Orihime, is standing near the class representatives. Each year has a class representative and vice representative. For first years, Weiss and Pyrrha has been assigned as the class representative and vice representative respectively.
Uryū clears his throat. "Our summer vacation is about a week away. Which means the Vytal Festival is just around the corner and we should be expecting students from other schools arriving by the end of this week." He announced, his voice slight hoarse. He pushes up his glasses. "As the student council, it's our duty to make sure that this Festival goes off without a hitch. We will begin preparations tomorrow. Be ready. Meeting concluded." As everyone leave, Weiss walks up to Uryū, who stayed behind to file papers.
"Um, Uryū?" She started. "Do you have any plans later?"
"I have these papers that need filing." Uryū said. He clears his throat again. "Why?"
"I wanted to ask if you would like to go into town with me." Weiss said, "Just the two of us."
"I would be happy too. Of course, I need to finish this first. Would you like to help? It would make the process faster."
"I would be delighted." Weiss said. "What do you want me to do?"
"You can help me with these papers, that way we can finish faster and go. Just file the ones I stamped alphabetically."
Weiss nods before getting to work. "Okay."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ruby glowers at the computer screen, as if trying to conjure up what she is looking for. She had been studying over at the library, but then she got sidetracked when she overheard some students talking about a mission over in Mistral, at place called…Sakuka? Sahuha? Sashusha? It was the place where the Bount Case, a mission team IURR was on last year, took place. She wants to find answers. She feels bad for looking it up, but she was afraid to ask the aforementioned team.
"Um, excuse me?" Ruby called out to a student walking by. "Have you heard of a place in Mistral called the Saquya Forest?"
"Don't you mean the Sakuya Forest?" the student asked.
"Yes, that's the one!"
"Not much. Although, I have heard that's where the Bount Case."
"What happened?" Ruby asked.
"I don't remember, I just know that something bad happened. I think you can look it up on the computer." The student said.
"Okay. Thank you for the help." Ruby said.
"It's nothing. Have a good day."
"You too." Ruby said. After the student left, Ruby types, "'Sakuya Forest'." She presses enter and the results. One made her blood run cold. "'The Sakuya Forest Massacre'?" With some uncertainty, she clicks on the link. It was a news report by a woman named Rosa Mary of what happened in the pink forest. Before she played the video, she grabbed her red headphones and connected it to the computer via Ruetooth.
/Sakuya Forest was once a place of beauty in Anima, but it was changed to a battleground when the Sakura Village waged war with the Bount Group. The village had been plagued by the notorious group for almost a year until a Huntress was taken hostage by the Bounts./ The woman said. Behind her was the ruin remains of village, surrounded by pink trees. /When the Huntress failed to report back to the Mistral council, Huntsman Academies Haven and Beacon sent their best student teams, IRYS and IURR. At this point, the Sakura villagers were ready to fight back, but the teams tried to persuade to pull back. Sadly, such words fell on deaf ears and the resistance group rallied up to arms. What ended was a bloodbath./ The camera focused on rows of black body bags. /At the end of the battle, team IRYS and IURR arrested Bount leader Jin Kariya and his cohorts, but the casualties were immense. 40 villagers, some that were children, and 20 Bount members were lost to the battle. Oh, there is team IURR!/ The camera turns to Ichigo and his team walking away from the body bags. Ruby could see their mix emotions. Rukia looked like she was trying not to cry as she bit her lower lip. Renji looked defeated, no doubt over what had transpired. Uryū looked tired, dark circles were evident under his eyes. And Ichigo…his was a wide range of emotions. Anger, sadness, regret, despair… /Ichigo Kurosaki, can you give us a moment of your time?/ He didn't answer. Instead, he knocked the camera out of the cameraman's grasp, causing it to fall to the ground. The video cut off from there.
Ruby placed her headphones around her neck and put a hand over her mouth. Watching that sparked a memory. She remembered seeing her dad watch the Vale News Network with Lisa Lavender telling the story. She didn't think much of it, mainly because she had her nose in a comic book.
A bright shade of orange appeared from her peripheral vision. She looks up to see a familiar face just two tables away.
"Ichigo?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"'People who dream about murder may be more aggressive during waking hours, a controversial new study finds. The researchers also found that people who dream of killing others tend to be hostile, introverted and often don't get along well with others when they are awake.'" Ichigo read on a website from of the Beacon library's holographic computers. He then sat in silence as he processed what he read. Yes, he is aggressive. Yes, he can be hostile towards others. Yes, he is a little bit introverted and there are times where he doesn't get along with others, mainly because they're the ones who started the fight first. But…he would never hurt his friends and family like that, right? He swore at his mother's grave to protect them, right? He would rather die than to harm or kill anyone…Right?
He picks up a notepad. On it was his writing of whatever is happening to him in the past couple of months. He looks over his more recent entries.
07/25/0080
The bastard keeps taunting me in my dreams. I could dream about a nice day and the fucker would appear one way or another.
07/26/0080
I snapped at Ishida. It's normally not a big deal. I think we were arguing about the legend of Satsuma. Everything went black and the next thing I knew, I was on the couch. I tried to ask Ishida, but he refused to talk. Rukia said that I had passed out and that was it.
Why do I get the feeling that was a lie?
07/27/0080
The 'other me' called me 'King' in my nightmare and told me to 'catch' him. What the fuck does that mean?
I also saw everyone I love dead and that…I killed them?
I saw the fucker again in the bathroom mirror and I wasn't daydreaming this time.
Am I getting worse? Should I go to someone?
Ichigo leans back wearily and closes his eyes.
"Whatcha doin'?" Ruby asked, suddenly appearing behind Ichigo.
"Geez, you sure that your Semblance is Speed and not spontaneous teleportation?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. That would be cool…" Ruby said. She notices the website Ichigo is on. "Dream Interpretations? I thought you don't believe in that sort of stuff."
"What? I don't! Wh-What makes you ask me that?" Ichigo asked as he quickly closed the window and turns off the screen.
"Ichigo, is everything okay?"
Ichigo eyes darkened. "I already have Ishida and Rukia eyeballing me. I don't need anyone else to do so too." Ichigo may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he is observant. He had noticed the looks his two teammates have been giving them. Every now and again, he'd catch them looking at him from afar.
"Can't we worry for a friend?" Ruby asked. "Hey, want to accompany me to town?"
"Why?"
Ruby shrugged. "I don't know. Just wanted the company. Yang is off doing something with Nora and Tatsuki, Blake is reading, Jaune is at the greenhouse, Ren and Pyrrha are sparring, and Weiss went to town too with Uryū. So…wanna come?"
Ichigo hesitated. He doesn't want to risk running into Uryū. He even went out of his way to avoid the Quincy and Rukia as much as he could today, especially after what transpired yesterday. He's even been avoiding Yoruichi, who came by for a visit after a mission. "Sure, why not?" He gets up from his chair and grabbed his notepad and stuffed it in his back pocket. He follows Ruby out of the library.
Kon paces around the dorm room, pondering. "What the hell is going with Ichigo lately? He's been acting weird since Uryū got hurt. Hell, he's been acting weird since Erika Island! He knew he should've let me go with him!" He squeezes himself through the bottom of the door and goes over to Uryū's/Rukia's dorm room and crawls through beneath the door. Only Lirin was inside, seating on Uryū's white comforter, reading through a magazine. She uses her beak to turn the page.
"I thought this room is off-limits to you." She said, keeping her eyes on the articles.
"Can it! I was just gonna ask if you know what's going on with Ichigo?"
"I have no idea. The only person who seems to have an inkling is Uryū."
"Where is he?"
"He's in town with Weiss."
Kon sighs. "Well, it's better than nothing. Let's go."
"Why am I going?"
"You did not!" Weiss laughed.
Uryū hoarsely chuckled. "In my defense, there are not many psychoactive cacti out there and most of those species are in Menagerie. I just had the worst luck." Weiss giggled and Uryū smiled.
Before Weiss could take a drink of her iced tea, her Scroll ranged. She sees the caller ID and frowns. She silenced it and places it back on the table she and Uryū are seating at. Just 5 seconds later, her Scroll rang again.
"You might as well answer." Uryū said sympathetically. "I would know."
"Your father is nothing like mine." Weiss commented. In a split second, her posture became poised as she answered. "Yes?..." Her tone became robotic, almost business-like. "I'm sorry, I was speaking with an old friend…Uryū…Uryū Ishida." Her cold expression changed to a perplexed one. She faltered at first, but handed her Scroll to Uryū, to his surprise.
"Hello?" He answered politely.
/Well, if it isn't young Uryū./ Weiss' father, Jacques Schnee, said, his tone nice. Too nice. /How long has it been, I wonder. Five, six years?/
"Seven years, Mr. Schnee." Uryū corrected.
Jacques chuckled haughtily. /Please, call me Jacques. And I must say, I am thrilled to learn that you have taken an interest in my daughter again after all of these years./
"Well, she's a dear friend." Uryū said, a smile shyly forms on his face. Weiss smiles too.
/Yes, yes./ Jacqcues said rather snooty. /Have you had any thoughts of marrying her?/
Uryū blinked. "…I'm sorry, what?" Weiss looked perplex, as she couldn't hear what her father said.
/Marrying Weiss, my daughter, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company./ Jacques said, talking as though he is selling a product. /The Schnee family and the Ishida family has been partners since after the Great War and it could be beneficial for both parties. What do you think?/
Marrying Weiss? Oh nononono. That's not going to happen. He is not going to marry his childhood friend. After a moment, Uryū clears his throat. "While that's a tantalizing offer, Mr. Schnee, I'll have to decline. You see, I'm focusing my attention at becoming a Huntsman and I have no interest in marriage now."
To his surprise, Jacques scoffed. /Once you are married into the Schnee family, you will have no need for such a barbaric career. You will be living in fine luxury. And, when you two are wed, I'll have you be in control of the SDC, with my guidance, of course. What do you say?/ Uryū's jaw dropped in shock. While he always prides himself as being the calmest in various situations compared to his teammates, that doesn't mean that he doesn't have a temper. It was taking all Uryū's willpower to not mouth off the man. Jacques took the moment of silence as the youngest Ishida contemplating. He chuckled. /I'll give you time to think about it. Have a good day./ The Schnee head hangs up.
Still slack-jawed, Uryū stares at the Scroll. "What did he say?" Weiss asked with anticipation. Wordlessly, her friend gives her back her Scroll. "Uryū?"
Finally, the Quincy speaks. "Your father is a…piece of work." Not the first words in his mind about the man, but politeness took over.
"Uryū, what did he say?" Weiss urged.
"He's interested in betrothing the two of us." Uryū said, adjusting his glasses.
"Again?!" Weiss exclaimed. She scoffed in disdain.
"Again?" Uryū echoed, befuddled.
"This isn't the first-time father had been trying to betroth you and me. When we were kids, I've overheard father speaking to your father and your grandfather about it once and after my concert before coming here, father brought it up again to Dr. Ishida at the after-party, but your father wasn't interested." Weiss said. "I knew what he's really planning. Father wants to use you so he could have free reign on any undiscovered Dust mines that may be in Fors territory." She sighs and places a hand on her forehead. "I can't believe this."
"Weiss…" Uryū said.
"When I first heard about it, I didn't like the idea of you and me being married. Not that you'd be a terrible husband or anything, but…I've come to think you as more of a brother than anything. That and I didn't want you to be subjected to…all of this." Weiss referred to herself, but Uryū knew what she meant. She takes a deep breath. "What am I going to do?"
"I would say continue your education here and prove your worth, but that's coming from someone who was in the same situation." Uryū said, remembering his rocky relationship with his own father.
"Uryū, your father…Dr. Ishida, is nothing compared to my father. At least Dr. Ishida cares for his patients and would make sure that they get the medical treatment they need, regardless of class. My father, on the other hand…" Weiss trailed off. She noticed Uryū stirring his straw in his drink thoughtfully. "Uryū," He looks up at his name. ", is something wrong?"
"It's nothing, just…I guess a part of me still finds it hard to believe that Ryuken is such a good person." He admitted.
"That's not surprising, given what happened between the two of you two years ago." Weiss said. "Do you remember me telling you how I got my scar?" Uryū nodded. "Dr. Ishida was the one who oversee my recovery. He actually scolded my father for it."
"What did he say?"
"I was given some heavy painkillers at the time, so it all seemed foggy to me. But, I think he something like 'a father's duty to watch over their child'." Weiss said.
Uryū breathed a small chuckle, almost in disbelief. "It's funny." Weiss could almost hear the wavered tone in his voice. "Now, I can see Ryuken as being a parent, but at the same time, I don't…After my mother died, I guess he development a twisted form of overprotectiveness. He hated the idea of me becoming Huntsman or a Valkyrie and he would scold Grandfather for any hint of training, even though they were improving my health." Weiss nodded knowingly, as she was there. Uryū was born weak and sickly. Throughout his childhood, he would be moved back and forth between the Kingdom of Atlas and the Realm of Fors, until he took full residence at the Atlesian Medical Center. Uryū took interest archery after witnessing his grandfather, Soken, killing a Grimm. While Soken wanted to respect Ryuken's wishes, he thought the training would strengthen Uryū. "It only gotten worse when grandfather was killed. What made it so twisted is that Ryuken didn't care if I hated him for rest of my life."
"That tells you that Dr. Ishida loves you, his son." Weiss said. "So, what's been going on with Ichigo lately?"
"Kurosaki?" Uryū's face turned stern, belaying any emotion. "What about him?"
"Don't play dumb with me. And don't think I haven't noticed the bruising. The make-up doesn't match your skin tone." Weiss said. Uryū's hand instantly went to his svelte neck and has a memory of the night before. He and Ichigo was having a debate about the Satsuma of the Black Cape story. At one point, Ichigo passed out, collapsing where he stood. It unnerved Uryū how out of the blue it was. He was about to call the nurse's office when, with no warning, Ichigo lunged at the Quincy, grabbing him by the throat. Panicked at first, Uryū quickly calmed down as he struggled to get out of the iron grip. The sudden release of Ichigo's Aura Pressure didn't help in the matter. As someone with above average Aura Sense, Uryū is vulnerable to strong Aura Pressures. Despite this, Uryū managed to find the strength to lift his leg and kick Ichigo to the side, hard. He got out of the loosened grip and puts Ichigo in a choke hold until he was unconscious.
After placing Ichigo on the couch, Uryū went to the nurse's office to see the damage. He lied to Nurse Bliss, saying that a shirt he made turned out to be too tight in the neckline. He wasn't sure if the nurse believed him or not. He got his neck examined and learned that it wasn't life-threatening, but he was going to be sore for a while. Uryū declined having Orihime to heal him, saying that using her Semblance for something like bruises is a waste of Aura and that he should be fully healed by tomorrow. Imagine his surprise when it didn't. Rukia noticed it asked what happened. Uryū answered with the same lie he used for Nurse Bliss. Rukia didn't look like she believed it but said nothing else except that she offered to use concealer to hide the bruising.
"It's nothing." Uryū said. "I just made a shirt too tight." Weiss took a napkin, dabbed it in her tea, and get's up. "Wa-Wait a minute, Weiss—" Uryū didn't fight back, as he didn't to hurt her. The girl rubbed the napkin at the side of Uryū's throat, wiping away the make up to reveal what's underneath.
"They don't look like they were caused by a shirt." Weiss said. She would know. All the times her father would grab her by her arm when she did something he didn't like often left some bruises from his tight fingers. "What really happened?"
"…We were sparring hand-to-hand." Uryū lied. Weiss looked him for a moment before she went to throw the napkin away and walked off with wide strides. Uryū gets up from his seat and jogs after her. "Weiss, where are you going?"
"To give that thug a piece of my mind." Weiss said heatedly. "Sparring or not, that's too far." At least took the false story. Uryū catches up with her and stops her by placing a firm, yet gentle hand on her shoulder.
"It was an accident." Uryū said. And it was, sort of. When Ichigo woke up, he had no recollection over what happened. "Kurosaki may look like a thug, but he would never hurt a fly. He would rather die than to hurt any of his friends and family."
"Yet, he hurt you." Weiss said.
"We're not friends." Uryū said. Weiss had a look that said, 'yeah right'. "Anyways, he has been stressed out lately, with the offer of early graduation in his mind as well as…"
"The Bount Case." Weiss finished.
"…Yes."
"Was it…was it really that bad?" Weiss asked. "I mean, I've heard about on the news once, but they didn't talk long about it."
"…It was bad. I don't want to go into detail about it."
"…If you say so… Come on. I have a concealer better suited for your skin tone."
Next Chapter: Resolve