Akame sighed as she reached a crossroads, both leading in two different directions, one leading towards an abandoned village the other leading towards the mountains, turning towards the village Akame began to walk again, the dead trees and fauna made this part of the trip particularly stressful, but she would have to stick it out as she always does, with another sigh Akame put her hands in her pockets the act of which has become something of a comfort to her.
After making her way down the path Akame eventually reach the village, she could almost feel the fear that has infected this place, taking her hands from her pockets Akame rested them on Murasame and its sheath, this place may be empty but it still put her on edge, there had to be a powerful creature nearby.
(o)
Looking to the sky Ruby thought if Esdeath was staring at the sky right now it brought her some sense of pleasure, her mind constantly wandered to Esdeath, it gave her peace of mind, but it became quite apparent that she had begun to spend more time thinking about Esdeath than just about anything else
"Umm... I think were lost." Nora commented drawing Ruby from her thoughts
"We're not lost! We're near Shion my family used to visit there all the time." Jaune happily said as he pointed it out on the map
"Oh yes, a wonderful trip for your seven sisters... probably hell for you." Ruby commented earning a scoff from Jaune
"Well I got my own tent cause I was special." Jaune happily said as he puffed out his chest
"I'm assuming they kept dressing you up as a girl." Ruby snarked causing him to quickly deflate
"That may have been part of the reason." Jaune conceded as he looked at the ground
"Um... guys..." Noras' voice called both of them, looking to her they caught sight of the village, it was falling apart and smoking, corpses were scattered around
"No..." Jaune let out as he bolted into the village, Ruby walked up to a corpse and began to look it over, it was a young girl, she was dead due to massive trauma to her internal organs, the purple bruising along the spine, shattered back ribs, and the cracked building she was near told her everything about what happened, something flung her with a massive amount of force breaking the wall and her back, walking up to one of the wooden buildings Ruby started to break it down and began to build a pyre
"Ruby what are you doing? We have a live one over here!" Jaunes' voice came from behind her, with a sigh Ruby walked over to the man and knelt down
"Tell me what happened here." Ruby ordered as she froze his wounds shut
"... Nuckelavee, it fell on us... fast, after that... w-we tried... we tried." the man began to cry, Ruby was getting frustrated with maintaining the ice, his blood was warm and the ice she made was thin so it was constantly melting
"Okay, but who killed all these people? I see some slash marks." Ruby questioned again
"Raven... she and her men fell on us with the beast... but... they were... weaker than the reports we got from... destroyed villages." he answered, Ruby hummed as she summoned a blade
"Anything else?" Ruby asked staring him dead in the eyes
"The beast went... east, I don't know where it sets up camp, but its probably not far from here." the man finished then closed his eyes, Ruby then moved faster than anyone else and stabbed him in the throat he seized a bit then fell limp
"RUBY!" Jaune shouted in rage as he pulled her away from the man "WHAT THE HELL! WE COULD HAVE-"
"No, you couldn't." Ruby interrupted as she shoved him away then walked over to the man and undid his left arm strap and pulled lightly, his arm came off with it "His arm was severed inside his armor... strangely enough though..." Ruby trailed off as she stared at the cut, it was horizontal and clean "This cut was made with a blade... but the armor isn't severed." Ruby said as she tilted the arm causing blood to spill out onto the concrete as she inspected it
"Stop staring at the severed limb." Jaune ordered in a sick tone, Ruby sighed and released the limb dropping it to the ground as she turned and grabbed his body
"What are you doing?" Jaune asked as she walked past him and tossed his body on the wooden pyre
"If we leave the corpses they will decay and probably grow diseases. Burning them is the fastest way we can deal with this." Ruby answered as she used some of her ammo to start a fire "If you knew these people... if you knew them, then feel free to sit this one out." Ruby added with a sigh as she grabbed another body and tossed it on the growing fire
(o)
Weiss stared into the fire, she learned that she was growing more unhappy about the having to study up on her singing, she could do something far more productive.
"How you feelin' Weiss?" a voice asked from behind her, turning she saw Maria leaning in the doorway
"Irritated that I have to work on singing instead of something productive." Weiss answered as she sat down on the nearby sofa and gestured for Maria to join her, Maria quickly joined her the general feeling was a bit awkward
"I can't understand that, you literally have to do nothing but sing." Maria commented earning a hum from Weiss
"Yes, but that's not the issue. I originally learned how to sing so I could use it as an outlet." Weiss explained "But he has been using it to his benefit for years..." Weiss trailed off as she let out a sigh
"Well... I'm not one for songs but cant you just... fill your song with lyrics that insult him?" Maria asked as she made herself a bit more comfortable
"Why do you think I still sing?" Weiss snarked earning a quick laugh from Maria "So... tell me, why do you work for my father? It cant be a very respected job among... well just about anyone." Weiss asked looking over to Maria
"Ah... well, most people need to make money somehow and after my parents died I needed some way to make money so I chose to learn from one of the veterans who already worked here, so after he passed away I got his job due to association." Maria answered in a somber tone, it was clearly a subject she didn't want to talk about
"You didn't have much choice in your employment I see." Weiss thought out loud "Is there anything you wanted to do as a child?"
"Apart from being a vet nothing comes to mind." Maria answered earning a hum from Weiss
"With the job that you have here you must be able to afford schooling. Right?" Weiss again wondered
"Yeah, but this place comes with crazy benefits, so I got good reason to stay." Maria answered earning a nod from Weiss, they continued to talk and enjoy the company of each other
(o)
Leone woke up with a yawn then rapped her arm around Blakes' neck and forced her face into her chest causing her to turn red
"Mornin'!" Leone greeted her eyes following Sun who was trying to look at anything else
"Leone please refrain from doing... anything." Ghira requested as Leone gave Blake a suggestive look
"I'm just being a good big sister." Leone commented as she let go of Blake and lied back resting one of her feet in the table "Not my fault your kid wants to hangout with big sis." Leone waved off casually
"The only reason you're even allowed here is because Kali is grateful of your services. Now stop acting like a child." Ghira growled causing Leone to pout and pull her foot from the table
"What exactly does she do?" Sun asked looking over to him
"She's a masseuse." Ghira answered earning a raised eyebrow from Blake
"Yeah! If you want a session I don't mind... but it'll cost ya." Leone confirmed as she sat up as she heard Kali reenter the room
"She is completely worth it though." Kali said as she set down a trey with a kettle on it "I don't know where she learned it. There's no one around here that knows as much on massage therapy."
"Living alone you start to figure out ways to make yourself hurt less and you pick up trades." Leone waved off as she cracked her knuckles
"If you don't mind Leone I'd like to let Blake take my session." Kali said earning a hum from Leone
"If you want. I don't care, so long as I'm still gettin' paid." Leone shrugged off as she stood "Come on Kit-kat, let's get you loose." Leone ordered as she stood and pulled Blake up with her
"Wait- I want to catch up with my-"
"They'll be here afterwards, don't worry. 'sides from what I've seen you really need to loosen up." Leone waved off as she dragged Blake towards the staircase
"Have fun sweetheart!" Kali called after them, she then looked at Sun who was slid a little bit away from Ghira, this was going to be fun to watch...
(o)
the sky had grown dark, but the fires burn brightly and Ruby let out a sigh, the smell of burning bodies started to permeate just about everything
"Are you guys ready to move?" Ruby asked as she looked away from the large pyre of burning bodies, Nora and Ren were watching the fire with blank expressions, but it was clear that Ren was struggling to keep his composure while Nora just looked sad, turning farther around she caught sight of Jaune, he was kneeling his hands folded and he was whispering, clearly he was praying for the dead
"I think its for the best that we move soon." Ren said after a few moments
"Yeah, cant be too sure what could be coming after us now that we've done this." Nora added as she turned away and began to gather the bags they piled up so they could work faster
"Jaune?" Ruby called to him, quickly his eyes snapped open and he stood
"Burning the dead is... disrespectful around here. I was just giving them their last rites." Jaune answered as he rested his hand on the pommel of his blade "Lets get moving." he added the sadness still ruling his voice
"Yeah." Ruby agreed as she took one final look at the burning bodies that were shriveling and cracking under the heat but she felt nothing... the wilderness was starting to get to her again, it had to be the wilderness.
(o)
Esdeath kicked Yangs' legs out from under her just as Raven flipped and kicked at Yang slamming her into the ground, Esdeath spun her blade and stabbed at Yang sending her into the wall of the arena
"Come now Yang, you must be faster than that if you want to get anywhere." Esdeath taunted
"Are you sure shes okay?" Raven asked as she watched Yang struggle to get up
"She has two cracked ribs and one broken, she is not okay. Watch and you'll see that she has more determination than any soldier you've ever seen." Esdeath ordered causing Raven to turn and watch Yang fall and force herself up again that happened two more times but she still stood and rushed the two, swinging at Esdeath Yang let the strike carry through and nearly caught Raven who vanished and reappeared a few feet away from her, both Esdeath and Raven rushed Yang who rushed Esdeath and slid between her legs while firing at Raven who dodged the blast and ran past Esdeath who jumped out of the way and began to watch the two. Yang had grown quickly over the past few weeks, she stopped hesitating for one, so that was a major boost to her combat skill, but she was still wasting so much potential because she thinks her semblance is a massive power boost.
Yang swung a cross Ravens' jaw but it was intercepted and countered, Yang countered the counter they two continued like that for a few seconds until they exploded sending Raven flying into the wall shattering her Aura
"Ow... what the hell?" Raven questioned as she stood and pulled a few bits of steel from her arms and chest
"Yang detonated all the ammo in her gauntlets." Esdeath answered as the smoke faded and Yang stumbled out her Aura still holding "She calculated her Aura, your Aura, and how strong the explosion would be. Add in the fact that her Semblance reduces damage taken it was a safe bet." Esdeath explained
"Actually I just activated my semblance and the ammo and hoped for the best." Yang corrected with a chuckle
"You cant fool me Yang, I saw the look on your face, all those calculations ran through your head faster than you knew and you made a decision based on that, its something akin to instinct." Esdeath explained earning a hum from Yang as she stared at her hand, that moment of peace was short lived as she felt a strike to her gut shattering her Aura forcing both air and blood from her mouth, she collapsed and held her gut as Esdeath rested her foot on the back of Yangs' head
"And that is why you don't drop your guard. We were still in the middle of a fight." Esdeath added as she ground her heel into the back of Yangs' head earning a moan of pain from her
(o)
"You doin' okay? You seem... tired." Jaune asked as they walked, Ruby rubbed her eyes and sighed
"Yeah... I've just been having a hard time getting to sleep lately." Ruby answered ignoring the screams telling her to kill him for questioning her strength, they had gotten louder since they left the village, and they weren't being quiet
"I'm sure we'll reach a town soon." Nora called back to her
"I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about the Nuckelavee that huntsman mentioned." Ruby corrected causing Jaune to sigh
"Yeah, I've heard rumors that there was something in this area but I figured they were just that, rumors." Jaune added "But I get what you mean, if a powerful Grimm is wandering around here a lot of these villages are done for."
"I wasn't worried about the villages, I'm worried for us, if that thing catches us out in the open... it wont be pretty." Ruby corrected as she readjusted her cape
"With Noras' lightning, and your ice I'm sure we can handle it." Jaune waved off casually
"I could freeze just about anything but... that's boring... I don't know why I feel that way, hell in any battle I could have frozen the enemy and killed it... I could have, but I didn't want to." Ruby explained as she stared at her hands, her powers seemed to burn in her body but she didn't want to say that. Thinking back to the town she felt content for some reason watching the bodies burn she didn't want to tell then that though... she didn't want to tell them that she enjoyed the smell either... Esdeath may have effected her more than she thought
(o)
"Its not that big of a deal." Leone waved off as she leaned on the wall next to the door
"That's easy for you to say!" Blake denied her face as red as an article of Rubys' clothing
"Just 'cause mine are bigger doesn't mean I'm going to laugh at yours." Leone dismissed was she looked Blake up and down "Sides, you got your own appeal goin' on. Just strip and let big sis take care of you." Leone coaxed clearly knowing exactly what she was doing, if her massive grin was anything to go off of
"Stop that!" Blake ordered as she grew more red "You're not the one forced into a room and ordered to strip by a complete stranger!" she added causing Leone to sigh, she than slid off her sleeves, then kicked off her boots "W-wait what are you doing?" Blake questioned watching as she undid her belt and dropped her chaps to the ground Blake quickly averted her eyes and stared at... that very interesting ceiling
"You said that I wasn't ordered to strip in front of a complete stranger so... I'll do it on my own..." Leone answered happily "'Sides its nothing we haven't seen before. Now I'm naked, your turn." Leone added Blake was slightly curious about Leone... for science of course, so she quickly let her eyes dart to where the woman was, true to her word Leone was standing there completely naked with a massive knowing grin on her face
"Caught you~!" Leone sung causing Blake to stutter and try and explain but before she could get a word out Leone interrupted her "I still don't care, stare all you want if it gets you off, just get naked and get on the table." Leone ordered, this time though it felt different Blake felt comfortable with the idea so she quickly followed her orders "Finally! I didn't think I'd have to use my semblance for that! Of all things, I think anyone would want to be in a room naked with me." Leone commented in exasperation, Blake felt a weight on her telling her that Leone had sat down on her after a few seconds she was glad that Leone did convince her, it felt like every muscle in her body could finally relax closing her eyes she felt content, for the first time since she left Beacon
(o)
Sun silently sat staring a Ghira awkwardly as he glared at him, Kali was happily watching the scene glad to not be apart of it
"So... we didn't get the chance to ask. Who. Are. You?" Ghira growled it was clear that he had theories
"I'm one of Blakes' friends..." Sun answered confidently with a large smile hoping to disarm this situation quickly... Ghira narrowed his eyes at the boy, who quickly began to stumble over his words as he tried to change the subject to something not Blake related, he did succeed briefly turning the conversation to his team and their fight during the tournament
"So where did you meet Blake?" Kali asked then quickly faded from the conversation, in six words she put Sun back to square one
"I-I-I- I... met Blake after... I was... caught by her friend Akame..." he slowly answered realizing quickly how that sounded
"Caught for what?" Ghira asked his eyes narrowing farther and his scowl becoming ever more apparent, that caused Sun to quickly shrink away from him
"Stowing away." Sun answered earning a hum from Kali as she watched him shrink farther
"Then you must be a pretty bad stowaway if you got caught." Ghira snarked coldly earning a hum from his wife
(o)
Weiss let out a sigh as Maria exited the room, they had talked for hours it was wonderful, Weiss stood and began to walk to her room but was stopped by her brother, Whitley, much like the rest of the family he had white hair and blue eyes, he was short and lanky wearing a blue vest with a black tie all tucked into navy blue dress pants, he was the spitting image of father
"Hello dear sister." He greeted, it was clear that he was trying to be annoying
"Hello Whitley." Weiss responded putting up her usually barrier that she used with family and business partners
"Have you seen mother today?" he asked folding his hands behind his back
"No. I assume shes in the lounge drinking." Weiss answered, he knew that mother was a particularly painful subject for her, so she chose to deny him any leverage
"That would be an astute observation, as usually she was drunk before noon." Whitley tried again with a smug grin, Weiss casually nodded
"It's been that way since we were little. Has father taken notice of you yet?" Weiss countered causing his eye to twitch "Perhaps one day he might give you more than the attention he gives you now... but I wouldn't count on it." Weiss casually attacked but he stayed as composed as he could
"I can see you're in no mood to talk... good night dear sister." Whitley commented through gritted teeth and the two walked away from each other
(o)
Yang stared at the gauze rapped around her chest, she had quite a few broken ribs that weren't allowing her to move, turning her eyes to Esdeath she began to glare at the woman
"Its not my fault, you chose to blow yourself up." Esdeath deflected
"You ground your boot into the back of my head." Yang clarified the reason she was actually angry
"I am strong enough that just about everyone seems to be a child playing with a stick by comparison. Forgive me if I find fun where I can." Esdeath explained in an 'apologetic' tone
"That seems much worse than you just being sadistic." Yang shot through gritted teeth
"I said 'just about' I don't see everyone as children, but the only people I truly respect are your team, Ruby, and Qrow." Esdeath clarified
"Ruby is part of our team."
"In what school?"
"Fair."
"Who is Ruby?" Raven interrupted as she looked between the two
"Ah yes, I completely forgot to tell you." Esdeath commented "Ruby Rose is the woman who has stolen my heart." Ravens' jaw dropped at the revelation
"Why... is... why is she not here? With you?" Raven asked after a few moments of thought
"She was... unhappy with my involvement in how the events in Vale transpired." Esdeath answered, that caused Raven to immediately grow furious
"That ungrateful little sl-" Raven began but was harshly backhanded by Esdeath, before she could hit the ground Esdeath grabbed her throat and lifted her off the ground
"You will never insult her in any fashion ever again." Esdeath growled as black and purple fire burning off her body
"Yes master!" Raven quickly gasped her eyes held shut as tightly as she possibly could, Esdeath then slammed her into the ground and kicked her away from her sending her into the door denting it a bit
"You will report to my office now." Esdeath growled "My boots need cleaning." Raven quickly stood and limped out of the room as quickly as possible
"Why didn't she teleport away from you?" Yang asked finding some pleasure in knowing that she wasn't going to be doing the licking this time
"Because she knows better that to resist." Esdeath answered "She knows my strength and she knows that I own her. I'd prefer if Anna was here to teach you more but she is currently in Mistral waiting on Ruby to arrive. She is my most trusted beast." Esdeath added looking a little reminiscent
"... your most trusted what?"
"My most trusted beast, I used to have my 'three beasts' but right now I have 'two beasts' its not as impressive as three but I've yet to find a third one... it might end up being Qrow again but that's only if I can find a situation that would have no choice but to work for me... I have my doubts on that happening but I am patient."
"I wouldn't hold my breath on it." Yang snarked as she lied her head back "I'm gonna get some sleep."
(o)
Ruby sighed, they had been walking in silence for almost an hour, it was way beyond awkward now, they all kept walking and staring at random bits of scenery
"I'm booooored!" Nora whined
"It's better to be bored than being swarmed by Grimm." Ren commented as Ruby pulled the map from his bag and opened it
"OH! Sweet! If we move a bit faster we could hit the next town before sunset." Ruby happily said, happy that they didn't have to continue walking in awkward silence
"Really? Are we sure it's still there?" Jaune asked looking at the map too, Ruby resisted the urge to sigh
"It should be." Ruby commented through gritted teeth "It's called; Higanbana, and its a big village so we shouldn't worry too much."
"So it should have an inn! Right!?" Nora jumped in, causing Rubys eye to twitch
"I don't know. We can look around when we get there." Ruby growled causing all of them to fall silent
"Are you okay Ruby?" Ren asked as they passed by an overhanging cliff leading them into a large forest
"Yeah... its just... I'm tired." Ruby sighed as she slouched a bit
"Well with some luck we wont be forced to camp in the rain!" Nora added as she pat Ruby on the back
(o)
Watching as they entered the forest Qrow looked up a bit and saw Higanbana slowly begin to light up as the sunset, he then looked to his left at the raven sitting on the tree to his left, it then flapped its wings and flew towards the town
"Luck..." Qrow scoffed as he rested Harbinger on his shoulder as the horde of Grimm faded from existence behind him...
A/N then adventure continues... I have finally found my rhythm, I can now write ANYTHING with (minimal) success... yay.