Akame reached a conclusion, Qrow had told her about a few nice places in the middle levels of the city that they could take for a while, after scoping them out Akame found one she felt would be best, it was on a street that was almost completely empty so if they kept someone on lookout no one should be able to sneak up on them, the only problem with it was the forest it was butted up against but there were no branches that would allow full view into any of the rooms, just the training field, after making sure that the house was free she made a payment for the next few months renting it out on Qrows' card, after that she set to exploring the city
(o)
Ruby groaned, they had been walking for what felt like weeks, it had only been three days but doing nothing but walking didn't really fell good, especially when they got into fights
"Do you know when we'll be hitting the next village?" Ruby finally asked earning a hum from Jaune
"I can't be too sure but there might be a town near here... with such an old map we really can't assume." Jaune answered in a tired tone
"Well its been right for the past month, what could have changed?" Ruby countered aggressively
"Maybe we should rest for a while?" Nora offered earning a glare from Ruby
"Nora is right, we've been hard pressed for the past couple days, so maybe we should take a slow day today." Ren added calmly which earned him a glare from Ruby but he held strong, after what felt like hours Ruby let out a sigh and nodded
"Fine... lets make camp soon." Ruby said caving to the idea and wanting to rest her feet, walking for almost eighteen hours a day for the past three days really didn't help her situation either
"Now we got something to look forward to!" Nora happily cheered as she started walking a little faster now
"I don't understand how she does that." Ruby mumbled to herself as she placed her hand over the mark on her chest
"That's Nora being Nora... pushing what we think to be possible." Jaune sighed as the three tried to catch up to her
"I feel like I should be upset that that actually makes sense." Ruby commented as they began to jog after her
(o)
Yang groaned, she hated this so much. Looking around she watched as the idiots walked around talking about nothing
"Not enjoying yourself?" Esdeath asked to her right, both were dressed in military dress uniforms, Esdeaths' was white and black it was similar to her normal outfit but the only difference was the fact that she was wearing pants instead of a skirt, Yangs' was exactly the same but she wore a yellow band around her bicep
"No, but I guess you're probably having a field day." Yang snarked as she looked to Esdeath but quickly realized that she looked extremely tired
"Not really. I can talk my way through this place but whats the point? I could have anything I want, but whats the point? I hate parties like this." Esdeath explained as she looked at the ground
"You seemed happy at the dance, whats different?" Yang asked giving Esdeath her whole attention
"That was with Ruby, she was the whole reason I enjoyed that dance. It was because I could share it with Ruby, but now... now there's nothing worth enjoying." Esdeath explained, her tone was empty and depressed
"Are you serious?" Yang asked trying to figure her out again
"Of course I'm serious. I am the most powerful person in the world add the fact that I have the charisma to match, there is nothing I cant do." Esdeath said with a sigh "Hell, the whole reason I didn't get the rank of Reichsmarschall is because I didn't want it, I just want James to know that everything he has I can take away." Esdeath added "But Ruby is something that I cant just take, and when I tried to I ended up getting cornered, weakened, and beaten. Ruby is the only person who I will love because she is just as uncompromising as I am."
"You like Ruby because you cant control her." Yang summarized earning a hum from Esdeath
"That is correct, Weiss can be easily convinced, Blake and be scared, you can be reasoned with..." Esdeath explained as she crossed her arms and watched people talk "Qrow can be pressured into specific things, Akame is just as uncompromising as I am. I will admit before Ruby broke Winters nose I was considering Akame to be my love, she fit the bill with the exception if an innocent smile, which Ruby fulfilled." Esdeath continued, Yang was hung on trying to imagine any date between the two... most of them ended in fighting or death
"I'd rather not imagine that."
"I understand that entirely, Akame filled out four of the five criteria that are required of my lover, but Ruby filled all five." Esdeath agreed earning a scrunched eyebrow from Yang
"What do you mean? 'Four of the five.' I thought you chose Ruby because she was powerful."
"I chose Ruby because she has so much untapped potential, she protected over one hundred and fifty people alone before Qrow arrived, after your whole team and Akame were wiped out she still defied me and broke Winters nose, she was raised in Vale far from Atlas and its overly militaristic style, she is sixteen a few years younger than me, and she has such an innocent smile that no one could ever hope to replicate." Esdeath listed off actually sounding interested in the subject
"So you have criteria that determines whether or not you'll date someone? How many do I fill out?"
"You fill out three of the five." Esdeath answered earning a hum from Yang "Blake fills out three as well. Weiss fills out the fewest with two."
"What about Qrow?" Yang asked watching as Esdeath closed her eyes for a few moments
"Ha... he fills out three of four."
"Why doesn't he count for five?"
"Because then he would fill out four for five. When I watched the old footage of him and his team fight I saw his potential was staggering, he has always been defiant, he was raised far from Atlas, and he had an innocent smile when he was younger than me. If fate were different I would have gladly taken him." Esdeath explained with a slight blush crossing her cheeks
"Right, well... I've learned more about this subject than I ever wanted to." Yang commented taking a small step away from her
"You were the one who asked, anyways Weiss will be singing soon, would you care to take our seats?" Esdeath asked seeming a little happier now that she and Yang were holding an actual conversation
"Where are we sitting?" Yang asked as she followed Esdeath toward the stairs
"We're sitting in the nosebleed section, I hate sitting around the... 'people' down there." Esdeath answered with slight disgust in her voice "We can be happy about the fact that we should have very few people to worry about up there, so we can do whatever we want." Esdeath explained as they made their way upward
"I wouldn't count on that." a cold voice came from the top of the stairs, both looked upward at a man wearing a white suit, he had white hair, blue eyes, and what Yang suspected to be a clip on tie
"Jacques, how unfortunate that we have to be near you in any, way, shape or form." Esdeath commented drowning his coldness in a sea of ice
"Who's the cue tip?" Yang asked as they walked up to his level
"Ah yes, you two were never introduced, Yang this is Jacques Schnee, Weiss' father." Esdeath said gesturing from him to her "Jacques, this is Rottenführer Yang Xiao-Long, your daughters' senior in my army." Yang held out her hand for him to shake but he just stared at the metallic appendage in disgust
"I'm sure its a pleasure." he said as he moved his hands behind his back that earned him a glare from Yang
"Man, I can see why everyone hates you now." Yang commented earning a glare from the man
"Now, now, as much fun as it would be to watch this situation play out I'd actually like to see Weiss preform."
"I seem to recall you hating events like this." Jacques snarked as they began to walk towards their seats
"Oh I do, but my subordinate will be preforming." Esdeath answered as they both sat down in two different booths right next to each other, Yang sat down next to Esdeath as they waited for the performance to begin.
(o)
Akame walked along the rooftops of a building staring down at the people walking around living their lives, she felt compelled to watch them for some reason, it was like she could forget about everything going to hell and relax for a while, dropping from the roof into an alleyway she began towards the open street as she slid her hands into her pockets, looking down each direction Akame couldn't count how many people were out but she at least knew that half of them were criminals, that's the problem with looked down from above, you can never tell until you're closer
"Excuse me ma'am." a young voice came from behind her, turning around Akame was greeted by a small child looking up at her
"What is it?" Akame asked as she kept her distance, this little girl my look innocent but she was more than likely a pickpocket
"I'm not gonna rob you miss, geez I thought you were a pro... anyways I was just told to give you this." the little girl laughed as she held out a folded slip of paper to her, Akame reached for it and the girl yanked it away into her fist "Gotta pay first." Akame didn't respond she just opened her own hand revealing the slip of paper
"Pay for what?" Akame snarked as the girl opened her hand and found it empty
"That's... that's literally impossible... how!" the girl tried to figure out as he stared in disbelief
"I'm faster than you. Slight-of-hand is useful but if you don't have the speed to match it you'll find yourself in this situation more frequently than you would hope." Akame explained as she handed the girl a few notes of lien
"Thanks miss." the girl happily thanked as she ran off, Akame stole back her wallet too but she wasn't going to tell her that, unfolding the note she didn't recognize the handwriting
{Akame, meet me at 2390 floor 3. be there at 7:25}
Standing Akame crumpled the note and put it into her pocket as she began towards the meeting place, the sky above rumbled and it began to rain
(o)
Ruby sighed as she pulled her hood up, they were walking into a large storm and could follow through with their plan of resting for a while.
"Can you and Nora do some weird ice and lightning magic and stop it from raining?" Jaune asked as they looked up at the storm
"I can turn the water to ice." Ruby offered as she summoned a very sharp shard of ice, Jaune leaned away from her towards Nora and Ren
"and I can electrify the rain!" Nora added causing him to lean back watching the pink electricity bounce between her fingers
"I'm... I'm good." Jaune quickly said ending their taunts
"It's rude to ask about another persons semblance." Ren explained as both Nora and Ruby let their elemental abilities fade away
"But Rubys' isn't her Semblance!" Jaune complained
"Fair enough, but it is still rude." Ruby sighed as they turned down a new winding road
"Sorry..." Jaune apologized as Ruby unfolded the map and handed it to Jaune
"You can apologize by following us on the map." Ruby ordered and Jaune quickly got to work surveying their surroundings for any notable landmarks
(o)
The curtains fell and applause erupted through out the building, Yang was bored out of her mind, sure it was nice to hear Weiss in public but she sings in the shower all the time so that's all Yang could imagine, Esdeath stood getting Yangs' attention
"I'm going to go get Weiss, meet us in the event hall." Esdeath ordered as she stood, Yang quickly walked towards the exit while Esdeath walked in the opposite direction
(o)
Weiss sighed as she walked off stage and rubbed her eyes, she was tired and just wanted to relax, walking towards her dressing room she was careful to quickly look around to make sure that no one was watching her enter, after shutting the door she looked around the small room, Maria was waiting for her
"Were you followed?" Weiss asked as she quickly took the suffocating dress off and began to fold it up
"No..." Maria answered as she looked Weiss up and down both quickly crossed the distanced and locked lips, it was relaxing for Weiss especially when she felt Maria jump a bit, pushing her away Weiss yanked the blade from the servants gut causing her to gasp in pain
"Don't worry, there's a poison on the blade that will paralyze you, it will keep you from bleeding out." Weiss explained as Marias' movements slowed and she dropped a blade of her own
"You... poisoned me?!" she gasped out
"I'm not a fool like my father Maria. I ran a background check on you and found nothing, so I called up Esdeath and asked her to do the same. You would be surprised what she can find." Weiss continued as the woman tried to stand while she was trying to stand, Weiss began to dress herself in a military dress uniform "You've been running an undercover mission on my father for almost three years now, you got very comfortable with your role, I almost didn't notice." Weiss continued as she walked over to the mirror and pulled it off revealing a small compartment with Myrtenaster within, taking it from the cover Weiss sheathed the blade and turned back to the faunus who was slowly getting to her feet
"I'm giving you a fighting chance, don't waste it." Weiss added as Maria shimmered Orange and she covered the wound on her side as it slowly healed her aura then shattered after a few seconds leaving the wound shallow but still bleeding
"I shouldn't have hesitated." Maria growled as she rushed Weiss and stabbed at her, Weiss leaned out of the way and parried the other dagger Maria tried to stab her with, grabbing her wrist Weiss yanked Maria then kicked her out of the room busting down the door, the woman rolled to a standing position but found herself unable to move, looking down she saw her whole body was encased in ice
"W-What did you..." Maria began to asked but quickly realized what happened "KILL ME! PLEASE! Don't let her take me!" she began to panic and struggle against the ice
"So this is the spy you told me about." Esdeath voice came from behind Maria who turned white as a sheet and began to struggle harder still begging for death
"Yes general." Weiss answered as she sheathed Myrtenaster
"Good, if she wasn't I would be very concerned as to what was going on. I've already sent for a squad to take her back to my ship for... interrogation." Esdeath explained, Maria looked like she was going to throw up other than that she seemed to be completely broken already
"I am ready to rejoin you now." Weiss added as they began to walk away ignoring Marias' pleads for mercy
"Are you certain that there aren't any more infesting your home?" Esdeath questioned as they walked
"I'm sure, the rest are just people hoping to enjoy a comfy life." Weiss answered as she let out a sigh and began to pale "Are... are you really that scary to people? That they'd rather die seems a little..."
"I don't see myself as horrific as they make me out to be, but the White Fang have titled me 'the white death' so I suppose I am a bedtime story for their young."
"I suppose so, you know in Vale bedtime stories don't instill discipline like here?" Weiss commented earning a hum from Esdeath
"Yes, it is a strange bit of their culture isn't it, in the empire we didn't have stories to tell the young, some just prayed to god and slept." Esdeath added earning a bit of surprise from Weiss
"Only one god? That's... uncommon here." Weiss added, she was happy that Esdeath was able to pull her thoughts from Maria so easily with small talk
"There were many religions in the empire, I didn't care about any of them, but yes, the one that became the most prominent was monotheistic, religion has its own tactical advantages, that I could go on and on telling you about but I don't think Yang would enjoy that subject."
"Why not?"
"Because she is still struggling with the concept that good and evil are just words. Bringing religion into that would probably over load her brain." Esdeath answered earning a chuckle from Weiss
"I missed her, for the months I was away." Weiss admitted as she felt Esdeaths' hand on her shoulder
"You could have asked to have her as your assigned bodyguard. You are technically a VIP considering your rank and family, it would have been a simple matter of making the request." Esdeath commented earning a nod from Weiss
"Yeah, I know, I just wanted to deal with this on my own." Weiss answered earning a nod from Esdeath
"I understand that, sadly though, I cant deal with my problems as straightforward as you." Esdeath said with an envious tone
"Are you sure?"
"I mean I could, but doing so would give Qrow and Akame free reign to end my life." Esdeath complained
"Are you sure you cant take them?"
"Oh I could kill them both no doubt about it, but Ruby would hate me and I would have no reason to live." Esdeath answered seeming a little unsure of her statement "I must act accordingly if I want to be happy."
"Is Ruby really your only reason to live?" Weiss asked earning a burning glare from Esdeath
"Yes." Esdeath growled "I don't care about Salem and I don't care about Ozpin, but Ruby cares so I will play my part." Esdeath explained as they entered the event hall, Yang was waiting by the doorway, after hearing the door open she turned to them and was quickly pulled into a hug by Weiss, who quickly returned it
"Sup." Yang greeted "So I've seen some of our guys running 'round, whats goin' on?" Yang asked after a few moments of pleasantries
"Just capturing a spy that will be interrogated by me, Weiss noticed that one of the servants in her home were extremely different to all the others, so she did some investigation and found that she was a spy for the White Fang." Esdeath explained, Yang looked to Weiss
"It's true. To think she'd been working for us for almost seven years... now that shes been caught we can interrogate her for any more useful information." Weiss added
"Not torture... right?" Yang asked looking for clarification
"'All members of the White Fang are to be interrogated in any fashion chosen by the capturing party, be it victims of their crimes or soldiers.'" Esdeath quoted "It's one of my favorite rules." she added "Given Weiss' aid in the capture I'll allow her to make the decision on how we approach this situation, though I recommend torture." Esdeath said as she turned to Weiss
"Um... how would we know if she is telling the truth or not?" Weiss asked after a few moments of thought, the other party goers around them weren't paying attention to the soldiers that made their way through them towards Esdeath
"That is why I recommend torture, as I've said before I can tell when a person is lying with great ease."
"With the exception of Qrow obviously." Yang added with a snicker but a glare from Esdeath caused her to stop and quietly apologize
"He is one exception, he has spent his life telling lies to everyone so in that respect he out classes me. But no where else." Esdeath deflected
"He also killed you." Weiss added earning her a glare from Esdeath
"With the help of Raven, who I might add, might be a maiden. After what Akame told me about Cinder I have come to that conclusion. Both she and Qrow would have been dead otherwise." Esdeath explained again earning a raised eyebrow from Yang, Weiss, and Esdeath continued debating for a while, Yang wanted to ask about Esdeaths' claim but made the mistake of paying attention to their argument too much
(o)
Akame looked around at the buildings, they were dimly lit and crumbling, there were a few people on the streets Akame would trust any of them with her guard slightly lowered, walking up to a nicer looking building Akame read the sign 'Shadowlight Inn' entering the building Akame looked around, a few people looked at her, but most ignored her in favor of their drinks, walking up to the bar Akame waved to the bartender
"What can I get you."
"I was told to meet someone here, I wasn't given a name, just to be here at seven twenty-five." Akame answered earning a hum from the bartender
"Well you're about ten minutes early, there aren't any tables open but if you feel like having a short visit head upstairs. Branwens' use those tables." the bartender explained as Akame turned away and looked to the stairs, it was strange to know that Raven has scared so many people that bars in the area have a special place reserved for them
"Do you have a name I can give to whoever might be looking for you?" the bartender asked
"How would you know who's looking for me?" Akame asked rhetorically "I'm sure I'll recognize who is looking for me." She added as she made her way towards the staircase, making her way up she saw a few people sitting around all looking tired or miserable, walking towards the back corner one stood and blocked her path looked her dead in the eyes then stepped out of her way, Akame shrugged it off and walked to the back corner, then sat. they weren't that far from where Ravens' tribe was set up so it made sense that some would be here, but they all seemed... dead inside, they must have lost quite brutally
(o)
Ruby sighed and looked around, they had reached the ruins of what seemed to be a town in progress, Ren and Nora seemed familiar with it but it wasn't on the map, after a few seconds she sensed... something, drawing closer by the second, whoever it was they were fast
"Guys!" Ruby warned as she drew Crescent Rose, everyone else quickly followed her lead as a man dived through one of the windows near Ruby shattering it and clawed at her, jumping out of the way Ruby summoned blades of ice and sent them at the man, who nimbly dodged them as he ran headfirst at Ruby who jumped back and slashed at him with her scythe, ducking under the attack he kicked her in the gut sending her sliding up next to Jaune
Ren slashed at the man who quickly jumped up in between his weapons and kicked him square in the chest, Nora swung at him only for him to redirect her attack and backhand her
"You three get back, he's too much for you." Ruby ordered after a lull in the fighting, the mans eyes darted to her and he giggled a bit
"How easy you make this!" he commented as Nora and Ren slowly made their way over near Jaune both panting heavily
"Why are you here? And who are you?" Ruby asked as she placed Crescent Rose on her belt and summoned a pair of blades, a Scythe wont be helpful here
"I'm here to capture you; little flower, and my name is Tyrian, pleasure." the newly named Tyrian greeted with a bow
"I'm Ruby." Ruby greeted coldly "Now then, who sent you? Assuming by your tail I'd say the White Fang." Ruby guessed as they two began circling around each other, that earning a laugh from the man
"No, I serve our goddess." Tyrian answered vaguely as he removed his coat and flexed his tail a few times
"Ah... so you're one of Salems' lackeys, how is Cinder doing?" Ruby asked as they continued to circle around each other
"She is just fine, if you don't count the loss of her left arm and eye." Tyrian answered as he extended his blades again and crouched low
"Ha... I hope when I relieve you of that tail you'll remember to tell Cinder I cant wait to take the other eye." Ruby requested as she followed his lead and the two rushed forward, Tyrian laughing his head off as he dodged Rubys first attack, each attack she made left her back open, but the first few times he tried to capitalize on that weakness she summoned spears of ice to stab at him, this was the first time he had to deal with someone with any amount of skill in a while, most other huntsman were weak without a team, but she was powerful.
Ruby leapt away and kicked out her leg missing the faunus who rolled back and began to run around her leaping around onto walls and roofs causing her to struggle to keep her eyes on him, he was faster then her which meant she would have to be stronger, feeling something rap around her leg she looked down to see his tail, before she could react it yanked her off her feel and threw her, as she rolled through the air Ruby placed her hand below her almost instantly forming an ice pillar, grabbing a hold of it Ruby swung off of it and attacked the man who slid under the attack and charged her again, spinning around Ruby slashed at his neck, ducking under the strike Tyrian stabbed at her gut with one of his claws, dodging the blade it still dragged across her gut the follow up strike from his tail sent her rolling, if she hadn't dodged she probably would have taken less damage, Nora and Ren dived to attack from behind but Tyrian dodged both and dealt a heavy blow to Ren and sent Nora into a nearby building which collapsed pining her down, Ren stood and rushed him blindly only to get brutally countered each and every time until he couldn't stand anymore
"Come now I thought this would be fun!" Tyrian laughed as he casually dodged all of Jaunes' swipes, after getting bored with him, Tyrian kicked him away, and began towards Ruby again who rushed him slashing at his legs and head, diving in between the attacks Ruby summoned a third blade in between both attacks, releasing the other blades Ruby grabbed the third and stabbed at him finally dealing some damage, and sending him rolling away from her
"How amusing, did you defeat Cinder with the same tactics?" Tyrian asked as he stood and casually dusted himself off
"No idea, all I remember is cutting her eye out and her arm off. Then I rolled her off the tower." Ruby answered then focused on her aura, it was very low right now, unfortunately he was hitting her very hard
"I think now would be the time to end this, don't you agree?" Tyrian asked as he crouched again, Ruby growled a bit as she prepared to attack once he got close, as he rushed her Ruby swung at him, jumping over her and slashed at her back with blinding speed he shattered her aura, Ruby acted on instinct diving forwards and rolling to a stop, Tyrian chuckled at the act of retreat, ducking down he launched his tail at her only for it to stop on a piece of sharp metal, Ruby barely followed his speed, it was like he appeared out of nowhere
"Hey kid." Qrow greeted with a sigh earning a smile from Ruby
"Good to see you, but you could have been a little faster." Ruby laughed out as she struggled to stand
"I could have also be a little slower." Qrow reminded earning a hum from Ruby, Turning from her Qrow spun around and glared at the man standing before him, both sizing each other up, preparing to fight...
A/N and things begin to kick off, were half way through and I hope that things are moving in a way that everyone enjoys. If you're wondering why Ruby lost so easily, its probably cause she got like... four shot in canon so we can assume that Tyrian hits like a freight train, and Qrow probably hits like two freight trains, ramming into each other from opposite directions.