Rogue Huntsman

Hack

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Draped wings lay drooped behind Arex's slim frame, steaming under the hot cascade of water flowing down her burning feathers. Whatever modest curves her body possessed received the same treatment as she stood beneath the shower of water.

Her music played from her scroll's speaker set up on the vanity next to the sink, the same playlist she selected for Kitsuki just last night. In fact… now playing was the same first song she played for the kitsune to help her sleep.

It was only reminding her of everything they did to get through the storm.

Of course this song comes up in rotation… Arex sighed, closing her eyes as she listened. Water continued to roll down her fanning feathers, slipping over her flat stomach and the smooth curves of her reserved body as she tried to keep her mind occupied.

Why wouldn't it?

Straight, drenched raven locks swayed slightly as she shook her head, not even bothering to run through the probability of that happening.

It was far too small, given how many songs she has in that playlist.

The song played through like every other as she leaned her head against her hands, pushing the flow of water to her back and between her wings as she sighed.

Part of her wondered if Ruby finished working on Crescent Rose last night without her. Another part of her wondered what the reaper thought after she bolted…

But, she could say the same for herself there.

She really did drop everything and take off… didn't she…? She's only been in that kind of situation a few times in her life. But each time it happens, no matter how many times it did happen, the startling emotions remain. Yet, this time, she couldn't shake that one feeling away.

It only happened once before, but it was among the worst feelings she'd ever experienced… and that was being thrown into a situation, much like last night…

Only to make it in time to realize it was already too late.

A soft click suddenly caught her attention, though, drawing her from her bleary thoughts. She pulled her head back, cracking her eyes open to glance toward the noise.

It came from the door…

A door she was irrefutably certain was locked.

What followed was a hushed whisper as the door slowly opened, "Arex, I'm coming in!"

"A-anoel?" Arex quickly pushed away from the wall she was leaning against and gripped at the shower curtain, pulling it aside ever so slightly to peek her head out, "What are you doing?!"

"Currently?" the info-broker replied, slipping into the bathroom and closing the door behind her, "Just testing the security of these locks. Not as touchy as you'd think they'd be… I got in without really trying."

"T-that's… okay," Arex breathed out, fixing her sister with a hard stare, "Well, you tested it. Why are you on this side of the door now?"

"Oh, that's strange…" Anoel sighed loudly, placing her hands on her hips, "How did I end up on this side?"

You've got to be kidding me…

"One moment, I was in the bedroom. Then the next?" Anoel continued to fake confusion, staring at the door with a curious tilt of her slightly unkempt head, "I'm in the bathroom. Weird."

Not weird! You barged in here for a reason! Steam kicked up behind Arex as her affinity flared. Gentle flames licked at the cascade of water behind her as she puffed an exasperated breath at Anoel.

"Oh! I know why…" Anoel snapped her fingers and turned around, golden eyes immediately locking with Arex's burning orange irises, "I need a shower!"

"T-this one's occupied!" Arex retaliated, gripping the curtain tightly between her fingers.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"I don't hear anything…" Anoel's cheeky grin slowly formed on her face, causing Arex's hardened gaze to falter in favor of quickly growing embarrassment.

It wasn't until Anoel actually started taking off her pajamas when Arex's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed red. She immediately threw her head back inside the shower's confinement and whipped the curtain closed.

"Don't worry, Arex," Anoel spoke lightly, a small trace of amusement in her voice as the telltale sounds of soft fabric falling to the floor filtered into the room, "With how long it takes to wash our wings, this'll make two showers three times more efficient and four times more enjoyable. I'll be gentle too."

Arex's shoulders tightened up as she heard Anoel step her way to the shower's curtain, moving to the side furthest away from her. Her wings quickly reacted to the sound of the curtain shifting, and within half a second, Arex covered herself with a flourish of thin, black appendages.

Well… most of herself anyway.

The important bits.

"Awe, come on Arex, we're both girls here."

Anoel's voice was right behind her… the only sounds accompanying it being the two pads of feet stepping themselves into the shower behind her and the sound of the curtain drawing closed again.

"D-did you h-have to use such a cliché phrase?" Arex asked.

"Well, it's true isn't it?"

"Not the point…"

"Then what is the point, Arex?" Anoel asked, her voice far too close now as a set of warm arms wrapped around Arex's partially covered waist.

"I-I…" She didn't know anymore…

"Hmm?" Anoel let her elegant chin fall on Arex's shoulder, leaving her silken voice just within a lip's touch of the other girl's ear, "Having trouble with your words?"

A shaky breath escaped Arex's lips as she nodded her head, "A-anyone would."

"But you're not anyone, Arex. This is only for you," Anoel replied, smiling lightly as she brushed her cheek against Arex's own.

"W-why are you here? J-just… just w-why?" Arex stuttered out.

"Ah, good question," Anoel brought her lips back and breathed softly against Arex's ear, the grip of her arms soon shifting ever so slightly as she leaned the two out of the spray of the water, "Did you and Kitsuki have sex yet?"

"W-what?!" Arex's whole back went stiff and her wings fanned out, leaving their protection from around her chastity in that one moment of shock.

It was all Anoel needed to let go for just a second, allowing those wings to unravel, before locking Arex back in her arms and pressing herself against her, "Or, you know, shared a kiss or three yet?"

"N-no… no! No we haven't!" Arex pushed forward slightly, but her sister's arms failed to budge under any movement at all.

Soon, those erected wings collapsed back down and draped to the floor of the shower, the redness burning in Arex's cheeks simmering down as well.

But the blush still remained.

"Nothing," Arex took a deep breath, breaking it into her lungs before letting it out in a shuddering exhale, "We did nothing. So please, don't ask that…"

"I wouldn't say 'nothing'. You two still spent some quality time together, even cuddled a bit. Don't think I didn't see where Kitsuki's tails were either little phoenix," Anoel chided, giving Arex's burning cheek a quick peck before resting her chin on the girl's shoulder again.

Another smile tugged at Anoel's lips as she felt the girl twist slightly in her arms, head turning away soon after.

"That was an accident."

"But climbing into that bed wasn't," Anoel countered, giving her little sister's waist a small squeeze, "You're improving."

"Improvement is relative…" Arex sighed, but Anoel only locked her chin to keep Arex's naked shoulder in place.

"Just because any progress is improvement doesn't mean all progress isn't good improvement. You're finally getting over it."

"Getting over it is hard enough as it is."

"But you're getting there, and that's what matters. You wouldn't have reacted the way you did if you weren't."

"Still, I just…"

Arex paused, her bright eyes closing in the heat of the shower as Anoel waited. The girl in her arms fell into a fit of her own thoughts for several moments, and just as Anoel was about to say something, she felt Arex's hands on her own.

Her sister gently pulled her locked hands away, pushing Anoel's arms open before turning around in her grasp.

It was then Anoel saw dark blue swirls in her sister's eyes… and it didn't take long for her playful countenance to fall at the sight of them.

She wasn't in here to tease Arex or interrogate her. She walked in on her because she knew she was hurting, even if she didn't own up to it herself.

Arex's delicate arms wrapped around Anoel's waist, something the elder sibling could claim as a rarity from her younger sister. But they pulled her in nonetheless as Arex placed her forehead against Anoel's central chest, just beneath her neck.

"I-I don't know what to do…" Arex breathed out, a winding tightness forming in the pressure of her own chest as she swallowed a lump in her throat, "I never have. I never will. I just… after all this time, I still don't know if I can…"

"If you can love someone again?" Anoel asked softly, placing comforting hands around the back of her shivering sister.

A meek nod was what she got in return before the voices in the shower fell silent.

"You're doing better than I could ever do…"

The crunch of my bagel bag was all I heard in the stale air of Beacon Academy's opening breeding grounds.

Pillars lined the courtyards of stone, trees and foliage ran through the gardens before the school's walls, and the potent smell of the lack of potential still permeated through the air like a plague.

Its stench was unmistakable…

I was back.

The sun rose in the distance as I passed through the opening gates of the Academy, the brushing winds and the smell of the lake far below disappearing in my wake as I walked.

This place was where nightmares were bred. But it was also a collection of sexually charged batteries looking to find new ways to use the 'magic' rushing through their veins.

Maybe try 'not becoming a tool'. I hear it works wonders.

The crunching of my bag continued as I followed the pathways to my dormitory building. Few students were around, most avoiding the pathway I walked on in looming fear of encountering their immediate death.

It wasn't that far off the mark… If they tried for my bagels, I wouldn't think twice about kicking them to the shattered fragments of the moon.

With any luck, they'd fall back down and impale themselves on the spear of Beacon's central spire.

It'd give our dear headmaster a nice little ornament to show off.

I doubted anyone would get in my way anyway, even if they did directly see me.

"You brought BAGELS?!" some short ginger gasped at the end of the pathway, snapping her gaze and nose to the brown bag slung over my shoulder.

Or… so I thought.

She dragged a lifeless ragdoll behind her. Some easterner with a ponytail- oh wait, it was the kid with twigs for guns.

I remember him.

Ren.

He was useless during initiation.

"Nora, please don't rush toward imminent doom like that," Ren pulled his hand free from Nora's tight grip, throwing both hands to his own knees as he bent over to catch his breath, "No offense, Niro."

"I'd be offended if you didn't think that," I muttered, giving the short girl a slanted gaze. She was really short.

No wonder she could go from 0 to 180 from sugar alone.

"Oh, goodie, because we kinda always think that," Nora replied, staring up into my harsh eyes with a happy morning stupor.

"It's a common consensus around here," Ren supplied unnecessarily.

Nicely done. You've pointed out the obvious. Here's a golden sticker.

Now go scratch and sniff it at the bottom of a pool.

"You should've said something about a bagel run! We could've pitched in a little lien for something for our team too," Nora complained, switching her energetic gaze to the bag dangling at my back.

"Forcing your work onto others for the sake of lien? How cruel," I commented, watching as her face recoiled in momentary regret for her choice of words.

"What she meant to say was more along the lines of a request-"

"You don't have to defend her words," I interrupted, switching my eyes to Ren and seeing his own string of thoughts come to a halt, "Most people would say the same thing."

Most people weren't evolved past the 'senseless purpose' phase yet in life. It makes you wonder what'd happen if everyone thought about their short lifespans every night before they fell asleep.

The world would be a happier place.

"Listen, the reason why we're up and about so early isn't for breakfast," Ren slowly began to speak again, pausing for a moment when I looked over to him.

Captain obvious strikes again. Here's another sticker.

"We're… kind of looking for someone," Nora supplied, giving her thin neck a small rub as she smiled meekly up at me.

"A friend, if you've seen her," Ren continued, "She has black hair, a black bow tied atop her head, amber eyes, pale complexion. You probably remember her from initiation."

"I told her to sit in a corner."

"Right…" Ren was about to say something else, but he quickly rearranged his thoughts, "Did you see her on your way back from Vale?"

"If I told you what I saw on my way back from Vale, I doubt it'd be believable to either of you. Well, maybe you," I glanced to Nora, who now stood back at Ren's side as she shifted on the balls of her feet, "but not you."

My gaze then returned to Ren. He managed to compose himself now. His breathing had been evened out, his stance tall again, and his visage and stature perfectly relaxed in the wake of this early morning.

"Anything at all might help us locate her," he reaffirmed, trying to at least get something out of me.

Try this one, easterner.

"I saw a drug addict leap out a window to smoke the clouds, 39 males too stuck up in their own labors to realize they weren't living, 67 females in the same regard, 13 open storefronts, and 9 open cafes. Lastly, I saw a dragon tussling with a white sandbag."

My eyes watched the two before me carefully, seeing both of them remain unblinking and staring after I finished listing off the short list I wanted to disclose to them.

I didn't mention the triple homicide on the southern side of Vale, the small Grimm attack at the north-western villa nearby, the robbery of a Dust store in the main market district of the city, or even the two-for-one sales prices on bagels at Café Royale.

All of that took place in the few hours of daylight I strolled through on my way back to the academy.

Yet, it was still only taking into account a fraction of the events I noticed on my return.

"Did you say dragon?" Nora asked.

"In Vale?" Ren added.

"Yeah. He was rather short, scrawny too, had a jagged toothpick in his grabby hand. Can't remember the color of his scales, he was cloaked in black," I elaborated, staring indifferently at the two before me.

"And… the sandbag?" Nora questioned.

"Worn, leaking sand, padded with new armor, and someone drew a stupid face on it to make it easier to punch."

They remained silent after that, so I took my leave there.

"If you find that girl, tell her I approve of her actions. I'd run away from this place too… if I could," I commented with a small smile. She made a good decision.

Too bad nobody else was as smart as her.

"S-she didn't run away!"

Something gripped my sleeve, a small moment of physical contact that should've been met with enough heat and aura to burn the opposing flesh asunder.

But I held back.

Instead, I cast my gaze down and to my left side, staring down at the redheaded girl keeping me from leaving.

"Her team had a small falling out. She's just lost, and we just want to help. She didn't run away." The grip of her fingers soon loosened as her gaze dipped further, lowering with the fall of her head against her chest.

Then she stepped back.

"Running away isn't simply the idea of abandoning what you know behind you," I said, pulling my bagel bag from over my shoulder and holding it at my side, "It's the abandonment of the people you knew as well. So, if she truly wanted to leave this life behind, she wouldn't be sitting downtown in the café on 34th street across from a golden monkey."

"You saw her?" Ren asked.

I could feel both of their gazes snap to me. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

"They're there now. So if you want to catch them, I suggest hurrying," I informed, resuming my steps forward again as I felt the two turn and take off toward the docks.

They didn't bother with thanks.

Good. I hated the concept of gratitude.

The bag of bagels lay half eaten on their small kitchen table, most of the cinnamon variants missing from the assortment Niro had gathered for the team.

As it turns out, Kitsuki happened to like those the best. So, she was just another cinnamon bagel lover to add to the list for next time. If there was a next time, anyway.

The girl in question was awake and nibbling on a toasted bagel with cream cheese, working her way through the breakfast treat with a plate next to her on her bed. Her eyes remained on Arex's scroll, music still playing through the headset newly settled over her ears as she sifted through the playlist on it.

The events of last night almost seeming forgotten.

She was taking a liking to most of the songs listed, finding none she actually didn't like so far. She'd listened to about a ninth of the playlist by now, having countless more songs to go despite the playlist cycling through overnight.

Anoel was still in minor disbelief about Niro being back so early from his supposedly 'weekend long' endeavor into Vale.

His excuse was that he ran out of jobs to do. But she knew better than to believe that.

Unfortunately, there weren't any other believable reasons for him to be lying in his bed right now, black hat over his eyes and boots kicked up and crossed on the foot of his mattress.

It didn't matter, in the end. The info-broker still happily lay on her own bed, freshly showered and in a new set of clothes for the day. Her hat sat on the bedpost while her scroll played through a movie in her hand, its audio filtering through the same black earbuds she used in the hallway last night.

Her other hand held a separate scroll.

Niro's.

She was using it to sift through forums as she watched, connecting herself through to members of her information network as she scanned around for anything of interest. Being well-informed was the first step of being successful.

Well, that was what the successful would tell you.

In actuality, being well-informed was her version of fun. And her fun was a way to earn money.

Success played no part in the throes of her own enjoyment.

Her eyes were sifting through old Sentinel attacks and reading through the live list of targets it had online. It was nearing eleven names now. Most of the names listed were companies treating their workers, almost entirely faunus, to low wages and heavy workloads.

Others had much less savory reputations to the public. It made sense for people to upvote those kinds of corporations.

But the selfishness of people when given power felt so predictably annoying.

Sparrow was on the list.

No claims were made against her of any kind of injustice at all. The forger's name was simply on the upvoted list because people wanted information on her. Anything about her appearance, her real name, even a potential address or age.

People were trying to get Sentinel to break in and release that kind of information.

Anoel watched as the live list updated in front of her, seeing Sparrow's name transition up one slot after receiving activity over a new post into the forging community. The name at the top of the list, holding the record for leading position in the most hated and upvoted companies across Remnant, was the Schnee Dust Company.

That much wasn't surprising.

Calm, dark green eyes sifted back down through the list. Most of the other names were just more companies to add to the bandwagon of 'things that needed to change'.

Despite the list updating under a live feed, though, Anoel couldn't pry out any potential reasons why a member of Sentinel would infiltrate Beacon Academy.

It made no sense.

With so much power and money, why attend a school, much less integrate into it? Beacon's never been an interest for cyber attacks. In fact, it's avidly avoided by the freelancer group. All of the academies were.

So, why change?

Those calm irises then saw the list before her update again, dropping from eleven names to ten.

Was a name taken off? Anoel's eyes scanned the list again. When an organization was attacked, its name was brought up to the top of the list and separated from the other names. Most of Sentinel's visuals were meant to be theatric.

It kept the public playing into its hand and taking part in its grand game of global equalization.

But… no name was moved.

Her eyes quickly slipped down the page of upvoted names before reaching the bottom.

Sparrow's name was gone…

Anoel's gaze immediately snapped over to her sister, the younger girl's eyes focused on a disassembled scroll on her shared desk with Kitsuki.

Its internal parts were organized across its flat wooden surface, most of its circuitry removed, and small flashes of white light emanated from the motherboard she was focusing on as she soldered new pieces into place with the tip of a thin, iron-plated copper wire.

Small streams of smoke slipped into the air above her, but those were ushered through their partially open window as she worked.

Why would Sentinel remove Sparrow's name from the list? They never managed the list themselves. They were adamant to leave it to the public, only targeting what was worth attacking among the most popular upvoted titles.

Nothing was ever removed.

A small movement of white stole her vision away from Arex's working form. Anoel's worried gaze switched to Kitsuki as the girl crawled across the beds, sitting at the edge nearest to Arex before tugging the girl's sleeve.

No…

The kitsune looked worried, confused. Her delicate eyebrows lay scrunched up as she stared down at the scroll in her hands.

Arex's scroll.

The headphones around Kitsuki's ears soon fell around her neck as Arex looked up, wondering what her partner wanted her attention for.

That was when Kitsuki showed the forger her scroll…

It was black screened.

"What's wrong?" Arex asked, eyeing her scroll before looking up to see Kitsuki's confused gaze. The music had stopped, but something else took over.

The sound of a cascade of crystalline characters and filtering code suddenly emanated out of the speakers on Arex's scroll. A raining endless wall of flashing golden symbols fell down the blackened screen Kitsuki was holding up to Arex.

No… they couldn't be…

Those symbols soon cleared out at the center, the middle of the screen going empty as a softly blinking cursor appeared at its left.

"Hello little bird."

A female voice slipped through the seams of Arex's speakers, the flashing cursor shooting across the black screen as three words appeared in tandem with the voice.

Why? Why were they…?

Arex quickly took the scroll into her hands and stared down at it, the colors of her eyes flashing through an entourage of emotions before settling on a worried dark blue. Three times… they flashed white.

That color alone was enough for Anoel to throw herself from her bed and grab her boots.

Then the voice started up again and the cursor moved further across the screen.

"What's a sparrow like you doing in a place like Beacon Academy?"

"Arex, stay here. I'm finding this asshole," Anoel slipped her boots on and threw a jacket over her shoulder, yanking the door open before disappearing into the hallway.

That member she was informed about by Ozpin was forwarding a direct connection to Arex's scroll, allowing Sentinel to hack into it.

She was going to scour every lab in Beacon to break that.

A writing prompt soon appeared for Arex to respond, but she stayed quiet. Few several more stiff seconds, the room was stifled in a deafening silence. She didn't know what to do…

This was a personal attack. She'd only taken part in the defense of companies she'd been hired by in order to help counter the infamous hacker group. Several contracts were even turned down by her due to her own moral boundaries.

The rest was for contacts and lien to help her get by.

But this?

Her eyes stared blankly at the flashing cursor before her, waiting for some form of response as the scroll's screen shook in her hands. Her nerve-wracked fingers were just as tense as her back, the heart in her chest pounding in her ears as her mind sped up its own tempo.

Then the cursor moved again… and the digital, feminine voice spoke out once more.

"Nevertheless, it's easy to distinguish you from the rest of them. Hard to determine if you're a fake or the real Sparrow. Would you care to fancy a small game of hide and seek?"

If she responded… what… what would happen? Could she stall it out? Could she single-handedly block out an entire organization of hackers? The same hackers infamous for tearing companies down from the inside across Remnant's four kingdoms?

Would not responding only make things worse?

Arex's shaky fingers rattled, but she repressed her nerves as best she could before responding.

"There's only ever been one sparrow."

Sentinel's response was almost immediate.

"We'll find out…"

And then her screen went red with an alert.

Her first firewall had already been breached.

As you can see, Blake took off a bit early. Additionally, Ren and Nora are playing their roles on finding her. It's assumed Jaune and Pyrrha are doing the same. Things have… changed?

Of course they have. Everyone's mood, behavior, and choices have been affected by the events that have already taken place and the new characters already met.

Oh… this'll be fun.

On another note, Sentinel's attacking Sparrow/Arex. I wonder why.

For now, Favorite and Follow.

I look forward to seeing REVIEWS for this. You'll be introduced to a LOT of concepts of mine. Feel free to give me your thoughts.

Cya XP