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Chapter 5
Whoops, with the new chapter 4 how it is, I had to give this a new beginning that was initially at the end of chapter 4. Nothing too big, just for continuity. Which is why it'll be jarring because it will be third person limited then into third person omniscient. Apologies.
I've Dreamed For This Story To Be Made; But All I Found Were Stories That Made My IQ Fade!
Chapter Five: When Wishing Still Helped
"I'm not going," Sasuke said once he was alone with Glynda within her class.
"Mr. Uchiha, the trip today to Forever Fall is part of Professor Peach's curriculum, you can't just not go." He wasn't going for a myriad of reasons, one of which was that Peach's class was near pointless to him, but most importantly he had an appointment with Neopolitan at the same time today.
"It doesn't matter, I won't be going. If this is such a problem, you can take it up with Ozpin on the matter." That clearly didn't sit well Goodwitch. "Or fail me, whichever you find most suitable." The frown on her face deepened, she knew it meant nothing due to his special circumstances.
She sighed, drew out her large Scroll and tapped onto it a few times. "You're name is removed from the list of people going on the expedition," she said. "Though if you wish to return, speak to me." That wasn't going to happen, but he gave a silent nod before exiting the classroom.
With that out of the way, he needed a reason to leave for the capital should he be asked. Fortunately he received a message the previous day from Tucson of books he ordered arriving, now he just needed to know what this 'test' Neopolitan had in mind.
"I'm a little surprised Miss Goodwitch didn't chew your head off back there," he heard Yang say once he exited the class. "You really like playing with fire, don't you?"
"She knows I'm a special case," he explained, seeing the two sisters standing in wait for him. "She also knows not to see me as a full student." But rather as a possible asset. "Where's the rest of your team?"
"They beat us to the cafeteria, Ruby thought we should wait and see if we need to collect your body, fortunately that doesn't seem to be the case."
"Yang, that's not what I said at all!" her sister defended, and turned to the Uchiha. "I just thought it'd be nice if we waited for you, that's all, I swear!" He couldn't help but roll his eyes at their exchange. "What were you talking about, anyway?"
"Merely to inform that I won't be joining you on your trip to Forever Fall," he answered. The trip was within an hour, as was his 'job interview', which was very easy to prioritize which was more important.
"What, you don't want to join us?" Ruby asked, sounding genuinely disappointed. "Come on, it's gonna be fun." Going around planting spouts on trees to collect jars of sap was not something he considered to look forward to.
"You're just going to have to enjoy it without me," he said. "I plan to spend the time in Vale for research purposes."
"Bah! Nerd," Yang said with disgust as they began walking to the mess hall. When she put her arms on the back of her head as she walked, he always had that irking nostalgia. Her carefree attitude, cockiness, and hotheadedness, he'd seen those attributes every day that always made him remember back home.
A lot of people's characteristics here Sasuke could read easily enough, but Xiao-Long's had been the easiest, he'd dealt with it before countless times back home. Some differences, yes, but the similarities had always been the most prevalent.
"-eard she forced him into training, I guess our Pyrrha finally grew some balls," he heard Yang say in the end, whatever she said before completely lost on him, but it didn't take a genius to know what she was talking about.
"I guess what you said really had an effect on her," Ruby added. "Poor Jaune, though, Pyrrha wouldn't even let him leave her sight."
Sasuke only gave a vague hum. Since the first day he fought, when he told Pyrrha his thoughts on her weak teammate, she took it upon herself to train the blonde fool. Well, training the in the sense of waking him up every morning with a loud whistle. And coincidentally living next to the two teams had made him very aware of Jaune's morning life.
"I mean, he wants to go hang out with Cardin of all people, can you imagine that?" Yang said in disbelief. "If it wasn't for Pyrrha, he'd leave to sit beside them." Indeed, at some point Jaune had stood with team CRDL, but it lasted naught for but a minute before Pyrrha literally dragged him back.
Ruby sighed. "I don't know what's going on with Jaune, but I really hope it doesn't bite him in the butt, because then it bites the whole team in the butt."
Yang cooed. "Aww, my sister's learning from Sasuke." She looked to him and his cold demeanor, then back at her younger sister. "On second thought, maybe you shouldn't." He only shrugged, unoffended.
"Hey! You're just jealous you're not smart enough to have any good things to teach me. Wah!" Ruby suddenly found herself in a headlock by her sister.
"What was that, I couldn't hear you?" Yang asked in a low voice, using her other hand to ruffle her sister's hair. "Come on, say it again."
"Sasuke, help!" He only shook his head at the rather amusing scene and walked ahead. "Sasuke, no~," was all he heard the further he got.
In the end the Uchiha reached the mess hall before the two sisters, and it was packed as it always was. Fortunately, he didn't have to stand there waiting long, thanks to an orange-haired girl waving him over.
As he made his way, he spotted three members of team CRDL, the fourth, the one with the mohawk, was his sparring partner in the Combat Class not half-an-hour ago. The match was quickly done, and it seemed the boy had yet to recover from Sasuke's 'earth Dust' technique to test how crushing worked on Aura. While his teammates scowled at him, he paid them no heed, they knew what's good for them when he's involved.
"Hey, Sasuke," Nora greeted as he sat with his own tray of food. She looked around, then back at him. "Didn't Yang and Ruby wait for you outside class, where're they?"
"They should be here shortly," he answered as he took a sip of his tea. And he was right, before a second question was asked, he saw the two sisters make their way to him.
One sister in particular was dazed and groaned as she sat beside him, her hair far messier than before, while the taller one had a look of victory on her face.
Weiss was the first to ask the obvious question. "What in the world happened to you two?"
Ruby's head hit the table, but she managed enough force to raise her arm to point at Sasuke. "Traaaiiitoooor," she groaned before her arm fell too on the table.
"Don't listen to her," Yang said, waving her hand dismissively. "She's just being overdramatic."
"I'm loving Ruby's new hairstyle," Nora nearly shouted, raising herself and leaning in to the poor girl to give her a closer look. "It's so tacky, but so chic!"
Ren sighed. "I don't think those two mix, Nora." A sound explanation, but that hadn't deterred her from grabbing Rose's face and bring it up for eye contact.
"Such a moving statement in hair form!" All Ruby did was extend her groan.
Weiss grabbed Nora's arm and had her sit down. "I think she has enough brain damage, thank you, Nora." She turned to her blonde teammate. "Okay, what did you do?"
"Oh you know, things," Yang answered vaguely. "Just sisterly things you don't have to worry about until you choose someone over your own sister. Right, Ruby?" A groan was her response. "Exactly." And that was that, as though that answered anything.
Schnee blinked and turned to rest of the group. "So, how many of you collected sap before." It was a good tactic to move passed the topic and into an important one. "I never had to do such before."
"Not hard to believe," Sasuke heard Blake whisper, then spoke louder. "It's just digging a spout into the tree itself, shouldn't be hard."
Ren nodded. "Nora and I lived on the road for a while, and as Blake said, it's just digging that spout into the tree," he said. "Though we had to be careful since it attracted Grimm, and even stinging insects."
Weiss nodded. "You're right, it shouldn't be difficult then, it's just that Professor Peach can be bizarre about these things." Sasuke had seen the instructor, and he could agree.
"Well, Sasuke doesn't need to worry about it since he isn't coming," Yang added out of the blue.
"Is that so?" Pyrrha asked, and turned to the Uchiha. "Is there a reason?"
Meeting a criminal underground contact. "I don't believe the field trip is worth more than me walking around Vale to study its culture," he answered.
Weiss clicked her tongue. "You can't know for sure until you try. With all the classes I've seen you miss, who knows what you might've learned as well?" He'd learn sap comes from trees, that's about it, which was about as useful as the increasing amount of classes he missed. "Though I'm most surprised the headmaster allowed it to happen."
"Well, he did say he's a special case," Blake reasoned. "I assume he's not seen as a full student, hence some freedoms." Sasuke nodded. "But I do wonder why they offered you something like that in the first place."
"I'm not certain of the reasons myself," he lied. "Perhaps Ozpin saw me as he saw Ruby, and felt the need to enroll me under special circumstances." He didn't think answering the truth that he may prove to be a useful asset would keep him on the headmaster's good graces.
"Well, this was fun and all," Jaune began as he stood up. "But ma-Ah!" And was immediately was forced to sit back down by his redheaded teammate.
"No, Jaune, you won't," Pyrrha said resolutely. "You need to eat healthily, especially since we have more training to do when we get back from Forever Fall today." The boy groaned as though he was in league with Ruby, and he looked worriedly at team CRDL.
"Why do you even want to go to them?" she asked hotly. "They've been nothing but cruel to you."
"W-What?" he said as though aghast at the idea. "Pyrrha, I think you just don't get how guys roughhouse around, that's all." Her face clearly showed how she didn't believe his lie.
"You're not going there, Jaune," Pyrrha said as fact, one not to be argued against. And considering Sasuke saw her glance his way, he knew why. She casually turned back to her meal. "Eat well, we have much work to do when we get back."
"You heard the boss, Jauney," Nora said with a nod. "If you have a problem, you can submit a complaint in the suggestion box." Jaune looked to Ren for an explanation, who only shrugged in return.
Downing the rest of his tea, Sasuke stood back up. "Since I won't be joining you on your Forever Fall trip, I'll be leaving you here to see Vale," he informed.
"Well, if you're so sure about it," Yang said and grinned. "We'll see you when we get back, dear friend. Sorry, didn't mean to sound sappy."
He left the table at the sounds of groans, and a grape thrown at the blonde's head from Nora with a loud 'boo!'. Which seemed to continue even after he went through the doors and into the hallway.
They were good company, he reminded himself, Yang's incessant need for puns notwithstanding. They didn't ask too many questions, and seemingly just accepted his presence with them. Deterring people from approaching was an added bonus as well.
When he wasn't with them, he kept an eye out for any approaching fangirl, when they did, he'd glare them away, but that rarely stopped the next time they work up the same courage. Perhaps he should put in killing intent, that might help.
Of course, the thoughts were a distraction for what's to come. When he reached the port of Beacon, all those distractions stopped mattering. 'I hate bullheads.' It's been a little over a month, and he'd yet to get accustomed flying in one.
Sasuke got accustomed to not show his discomfort -and it's definitely discomfort, nothing else-, but he has yet to find it reassuring the dozens of time's he used their damned flying machines.
Nodding to one the nearby pilots, he jumped into an empty bullhead and waited for the feeling of pressure then weightlessness. 'I hate bullheads.' Outside the port window, he saw Beacon grow smaller as the distance between them grew. 'I hate bullheads.'
For their abomination of an existence, their speed was praiseworthy, especially since it kept the trip not last more than a minute. When he hopped off, it was always worthy for a breath of relief.
He'd like nothing to do then to run to this club Neopolitan told him about, but it was still far too early and he had books to retrieve. Partially for the cover, but more so because the books were very useful. Beacon's libraries had a good selection, but not very specialized.
From his requests, Tucson had found books that specialized in Grimm theory, Aura theory, and even journals from independent researchers. Sadly, even with reading all he could, neither provided conclusive evidence that Grimm could or couldn't appear in his world or if he could use Aura.
Negativity attracted them, hitting them in vital parts killed them, but their origin? Theories were all they could work with, which meant all Sasuke could work with. He often wondered if someone was responsible, as if it was a unique Semblance that'd gone severely wrong. It was an interesting theory, but no basis other than that Semblances could be material as it could be vague in its power. While researching was not that important, it gave him something to do until a way home was made.
He heard the familiar chime as he walked through the familiar door. "Tucson," he greeted with a nod. The large man behind the counter didn't even need to bother saying his line, he knew he was coming, as Sasuke did several times.
"Sasuke, good to see you again," Tucson greeted. "I've got your order in the back, just browse around while I get it."
Sasuke nodded and just looked at the books when the clerk went to the backroom. He had to admit, Tucson was diligent in picking what books to bring him with the vague request he made. The man knew his books, and was, in a sense, one of his most useful allies here.
Looking to one of those comics, he rolled his eyes at the costume the heroes of this X-ray and Vav comics had, as though it wouldn't attract attention with such standout colors. It's best to be forgettable if hiding from something, with a disguise that attracted the least eyes.
A thought nagged him, having Sasuke look at his faint reflection from the glass. He remembered on his way here from Beacon, the eyes of women who wanted him, one lustful gaze after another. Sasuke Uchiha attracted attention just from walking the halls of Beacon, something that was damning if he were to steal or kill for Dust.
The answer was simple, he needed to be someone else.
"Alright, got em right here," Tucson said as he walked out from the backroom with a bag in hand, snapping the Uchiha from his musings. "I got a few journals on Aura and Grimm like you asked, and my guy actually found one study on Semblances."
Sasuke approved of this and walked up to the counter. "This will do well," he commented, then placed a stack of lien beside the bag before taking the books.
Tucson took it with some added glee. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said as he counted. "You know, you might be my most valued customer."
Sasuke paused to look around the empty bookstore, as it always had been since he visited to collect his order, then turned back to Tucson with a raised brow.
The man let out a sheepish chuckle. "Yeah, business hadn't been going well for us bookstore owners." Clearly. "So by default, you're my best customer."
Sasuke hummed. "You'll have my patronage as long you keep bringing me books of high quality." The man's good at his books, what more can be said?
"Say, why do you need all these research materials, anyway? If you don't mind me asking."
"I do mind." Tucson nodded and didn't follow up. "I'll be back for the next set you bring me," he added before leaving, the clerk waving him goodbye.
Looking around, his previous thoughts held true as a few people, women mostly, took the time to look at him admiringly. He casually walked a distance before going into an alleyway and out of sight. He kept checking his surroundings if anyone followed him, or even perhaps some person looking through a window, fortunately there wasn't any.
'Who do I become?' he thought in contemplation, going through a list in his mind. He'll need someone that doesn't relate to him lest anyone find a connection. He had a long list to select from, thankfully, but what would be optimal?
Someone who appeared threatening for whatever work he might be told to do, but not enough to attract looks; a forgettable, featureless face. Someone who didn't have sharp teeth like Suigetsu, and didn't have bright colored hair like Naruto or Sakura.
A person came to mind, someone he knew but not closely enough to feel concerned if his name was dragged through the dirt. Most importantly, he couldn't have looked more differently.
Forming the seal, Sasuke exploded into a cloud of smoke. This face, if it ever attracted attention, it'd be solely to it, never to Sasuke Uchiha. When the smoke dissipated, Gaara of the Desert stood in the alleyway.
Appraising his transformation, Sasuke found it to be perfect. It's as he remembered Gaara during the Fourth War, younger than the real one at this time, just another difference from the Uchiha he'd benefit from. His red clothes were nothing of note, his face forgettable but intimidating with the right form. He looked as any young Huntsman in training around, especially since he omitted that massive gourd of his.
When Gaara walked out of the alleyway where Sasuke once entered, he was pleased to find himself almost completely ignored. There were a few that looked at him, but more so to move around where he stood. No eyes that laid on him lingered.
With a nod, he moved to where he was supposed to be. The entire time he glanced at passing people to see how well his disguise worked, and he was content with saying it was flawless. People ignored him, the few that did look immediately turned away.
It's a bit of a new feeling, actually.
Taking out his Scroll, he used it to find the location of the rendezvous he was supposed to find Neopolitan. 'Meeting at a tavern, how original.' If it worked, it worked, even in a different dimension apparently.
Vale was rather large, and combined with his inability to run across rooftops at current time, the trip took a longer than it normally would have. The sky had even started turning red as the sun began to set, and the time to meet was coming quick. So when he reached the obnoxiously loud night club, it took some effort to dive into the crowded noisy building.
Ignored he might be, but he was still very corporeal. People kept bumping into him, and since he was a very paranoid ninja, he wasn't having a good time like these people. He tried moving away from being bumped, but it was pointless with so many people while he was searching for familiar pink and brown hair.
Gaara growled, finding the search pointless or damn impossible. The place was too crowded to find anyone specific, especially around the dancefloor, and Neopolitan's diminutive height certainly wasn't helping. He gave up the venture and went to the bar to try his luck.
Thankfully it wasn't as crowded and could even be considered spacious, most of the people getting their fill of debauchery under colored lights of the dancefloor, the loud electronic music almost drowning out the cheers and dancing.
"What can I do you for?" asked the lanky bartender with a shout.
Gaara leaned in to make sure he was heard. "I'm looking for a woman," he nearly shouted in Gaara's voice. "She goes by the name Neopolitan, I was to meet her here."
He hit the jackpot. When he said the name, the bartender's eyes lit up in recognition, but also agitation. Still, he nodded. "Wait right here," he said before leaving to a staff-only area.
And so he waited, looking at the different bottles on the shelves across of him. Beside and around him were a few people, most of them took their drink and immediately left for the dancefloor, none giving Gaara the time of day, which only assured him of his choice.
But it didn't look like it was subtle enough.
Gaara eyed the approaching suited men with suspicion. They had weapons, but they were still holstered, though a few were twitching to their weapons. The only people who noticed were those close by, and they were more than happy to give him and his new company some space.
"So, you're who we're waiting for," a deep voice said from behind the counter. When he turned, it was a bear of a man, with bearded face to match.
"And you're not Neopolitan," he answered, then looked back to the obvious gangsters that surrounded him in a wide semi-circle. Though this time they had two twin young woman, and they looked like they're Huntress trained. Regardless, this wasn't going to go well for them if they wanted a fight.
The man grunted. "Cute," he said, having Gaara's eyes back on him. The man dug a small envelope out of his pocket and placed on the counter. "Don't know who you are, kid, but pass on a message for me." He leaned in. "You tell them if Roman ever wanted to hire more of my guys, we're gonna have a problem. I'd have thrown this messenger boy job in his face if it wasn't for a short bitch with a sword." He slid the envelope across right in front of Gaara, which he took. "Now get the hell out of my club."
Sasuke didn't need to be told twice. He calmly got off the chair and moved through the gap in the wall of gangsters. There were no swords raised, and certainly no gunshot echoing in the club, and it stayed that way until he left through its doors.
Gaara sighed, looked like it wasn't the place to meet, but rather relay where the real meeting would take place. He raised the envelope in his hand and opened it. Inside was a small piece of paper with an address on it. Though the man said the name 'Roman', he wasn't sure why or who that is, though he was sure he'd find out.
He brought up his Scroll once more and input the new location, he silently thanked Ruby for instructing him in the device's use. Fortunately the designated place wasn't far, so he continued his way calmly on foot.
'Why designate a spot just to tell me where to go next?' he asked himself. It wasn't an uncommon action when dealing with new people, when the contractor was afraid of their new recruit being more than he claimed to be. Sasuke became very aware of his surroundings, watching the rooftops and corners for anyone following him.
If the tavern was just a relay, then he must've been being watched the entire time. Well, would have if Neopolitan knew about his disguise and told whoever if not herself taking on the job. If watching from afar, the tail must still be waiting for Sasuke Uchiha, unaware of Gaara.
With a mental shrug, he continued his way to find the location. 'Whoever's waiting is going to be surprised.' He'd have to approach it cautiously since Gaara wasn't who should be there.
After a short walk, and glaring a few pickpockets away from him, Gaara found the location he was supposed to be at. It looked like an abandoned warehouse, its dilapidated state matched well with the nearby buildings. With the night setting, it looked very ominous.
He walked closer to its gates, knowing he was being watched, how could he not be when this close to a hiding spot? Maybe it was a test by Ozpin, and could very well be, but that soon proved untrue.
The rusted gates opened slowly, only enough for six people garbed in uniform, masks, and guns ran out and surrounded him with their weapons pointed at him. Understandable since he wasn't in the form they were expecting, fortunately there was a simple solution.
"My name's Sasuke Uchiha," Gaara said. "I'm supposed to be here." If anything, that prompted more of a hostile reaction. They weren't expecting Sasuke Uchiha either, great. . .
"Don't you fucking move, human," one of them growled out, and turned to his comrade. "Go restrain him, I'll get the Lieutenant to deal with him." Didn't sound like it was for an interview. "Arms up, asshole."
Gaara complied and raised his arms, one of the six moving forward to tie him up. "Don't know if you're stupid or suicidal," she said as she brought out zip ties. When she reached for his arm, Gaara vanished in a flicker. "Shit! He's a Huntsman!"
The six exclaimed and swiveled around to find him. "Find the bastard!" one of them shouted, his gun aimed at anywhere his eyes were pointed at. "Where the hell is he!?"
Someone yelped, and when the grunt looked, his comrade tripped to the floor, and screamed as he was dragged into a nearby alleyway by metal wire.
"Unload on that alleyway," the head of the remaining five shouted, bringing his weapon up to bear, but the gun flew upwards as the metal wire snatched it from him, the same wire that wrapped around his neck and dragged him up a light post. When his head slammed on the bulb and fell to the floor, he didn't get back up.
"Damn it, we lost another one!"
"He's a Huntsman, where the fuck is our back up!?" another shouted, and turned just in time to see a figure in red right behind two of her comrades, she couldn't warn them in time before Sasuke grabbed their heads, lighting up the dark street as the two were engulfed in pale blue electricity. The two fell with only a short scream, right before the figure vanished again before she could even take aim. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
She turned to see the only member other than her, just to make some kind of plan to hold out for reinforcement. "Get over- Kh!" she sounded before an arm wrapped around her neck, having her drop her gun to pry out of it. The last one took aim, but didn't fire, couldn't fire lest he hits his friend.
"Damn you!" the final shouted in rage as the one in Gaara's arms dropped, and just when there was a clear shot, he vanished again. "You fucking human! Come out and fight me!"
"If you insist." The grunt turned around with his weapon in hopes to get a shot out, but he only saw the red eyes of the one who attacked him before he felt a fist lodged into his gut, and another that slammed into the side of his head.
And that was it, six men out on the ground in varying degrees. Sasuke expected more people to come he'd have to deal with, and there had to be more if they were exclaiming about reinforcements.
'The only reasonable explanation would be that this is the test, but it couldn't be, could it?' he thought, just as he heard clapping from the gate they came from. There approached an orange-haired man in a white coat and a bowler hat, clapping as he approached.
He stopped clapping to take his cigar out of his mouth and let out a breath of smoke. "Well, I'd say I'm impressed, but believe me it's not hard to win against these animals in a fight," he said, and poked one of the men on the ground with his cane, causing him to groan. "And they're still alive? Well, I guess that's okay." He turned back to Gaara. "So, what to do with you? While it didn't seem like much, this was a test for someone I was expecting. It's a shame, really, but I have to kill you."
That would go as well as for these six. "You don't have to, this test is meant for me." If it could even be called that.
The man aimed his cane at Gaara, having the cap open up into a crosshair. "Sure, kid. I'm expecting a black haired twenty-something, not a bored redheaded kid, but nice try, A for effort. Now hold still." Gaara was engulfed in a cloud, seemingly giving the smoker enough pause considering he didn't shoot yet.
"As I said, this test was for me," Sasuke said when the smoke cleared, revealing his true form.
The man whistled impressively at the reveal, but most importantly lowered the cane. "Nice trick you got there," he said, sticking the cigar back in his mouth. "I'm starting to see why Neo picked you out, you could prove useful. Not sure about as an enforcer, though." He kicked an unconscious grunt in the gut, making hum vomit. "Not exactly hard to beat them down, to be honest."
Sasuke hummed. "And where is Neopolitan?"
A feminine voice behind him answered. "She was on her way from staking out the club when she heard some redhead showed up at our front door." The Uchiha turned to see Neo standing there. "And here I was thinking you were a no show."
"You should've been more attentive." That got him a razzberry. He turned back to the smoker. "And you are?"
The man blinked, and looked genuinely surprised such a questioned even needed to be asked. "You don't know who I am? You can't be serious." Sasuke's flat, unimpressed look was his answer. The man's shoulders sank with a tired sigh. "Kids these days, playing with their video games being desensitized from reality." He looked back to Sasuke. "I'm Roman Torchwick, Remnant's greatest thief, make sure to put that in memory. Watch the news more often, you might learn a thing or two."
Didn't Ruby say she beat him? He didn't bring it up due to certain implications that would entail.
"Let's just get a move on," he said suddenly and upset. "I've got places to be." Roman turned and walked back to the warehouse he came from.
Neo walked passed Sasuke, and turned to face him as she walked backwards. "Come on, let's introduce you to the family." While he wasn't so sure about that last bit, he did follow her in.
Inside the warehouse was empty, but people in white masks moved around crates of what Sasuke assumed were equipment. He knew who they were from the men he fought outside, the people around Beacon would often speak about 'filthy animals' that's the White Fang, the thorn to the side of society along with the Faunus.
Not even that banner hanging from the rails was needed to tell him.
"White Fang," he commented.
"So this human heard of us," an accented voice said unkindly. The Uchiha saw it was a very large man, or Faunus he supposed, and he walked until he stood close enough that Sasuke had to look up at him. "You heard, yet you come here. Isn't that foolish for a human to enter the lions den."
The Uchiha wasn't impressed at this attempt of at intimidation. "Why would humans fear such poorly trained lapdogs?" He heard Roman smother a snort, almost as loudly as this Faunus growled and leaned in.
"Why don't you say that again, human?" Who was he trying to play?
The Uchiha gestured to the gate he entered from. "I don't think you're at liberty to intimidate me when I defeated six of your men as easily as one would an insect." He moved closer to the large Faunus' face. "I doubt beating you would be any different."
The behemoth growled louder and reached to his back where he kept his weapon. Before it could be drawn, Roman stood between them to diffuse the situation.
"Now now, play nice, boys," Roman said, as Sasuke allowed him to wrap an arm around his shoulders and move him away. "We're going to go talk business, so lieutenant, why don't you go and take those napping soldiers of yours before they catch a cold." The lieutenant raised his mask slightly and spat at the thief's feet before walking away. Roman rolled his eyes with a sigh and unwrapped his arm from Sasuke. "Mongrels, every damn one of them. Come on, we got a verbal contract to work out."
Sasuke could only nod as he followed the thief through this base of operations. He watched men and women unloaded crates from truck beds and moved them to different parts of the building. They seemed to work well doing menial tasks, but not fighting? Granted it was him they were up against, but even he could see they were barely a threat to anyone.
If most of the White Fang were like those during the so-called test he'd done, he could understand why Neopolitan asked to hire him. They might've had the numbers with the White Fang, but quality had to be severely lacking. In fact, he doubted these insurgents, terrorists, freedom fighters, whatever they were labeled, could really fight a single full-fledged Huntsman.
Roman opened a door to what looked like would've been the manager's office for the warehouse. A table, a few chairs and some dusty filing cabinets. They must've only recently came here if they didn't even clear out rooms for better purposes.
"So, Sasuke, do you have any references?" Roman asked, having Neopolitan raising her hand. "I was joking, Neo." He turned back to the Uchiha. "Let me make it clear. We have a job coming up, so you can bet your ass I'll be doing a performance review in the end if you're worth the Dust I'm paying you. Why the hell do you want Dust anyway?"
Shrugging, he answered. "Because Dust prices have no fixed value and are precious resources, I believe it's a more reliable source of income than pure currency." It was more believable than saying he needed it to power scriptures for interdimensional travel.
Roman hummed in thought. "Can't say that's a bad idea, but you can't hide Dust so easily as money."
"I have my ways in hiding them and even a broker, you need not to concern yourself with that." It's called storage seals and the broker's name is Tatsuya.
"Whatever, but you mess this up and get the cops on my tail, you'll be getting cut," he said, and slid a finger across his neck. "And I don't just mean from future jobs." Sasuke could only nod. He had no intention of failing this, and woe to those who'd try to stop him from getting back home. "Good to hear. We have a job coming up soon, so I'll have you settle here on site, so go find yourself a cot for the time being."
"That won't be needed, I have lodging elsewhere in Vale," he answered, smothering his hesitance, because he knew the question was coming.
"Yeah, forget about it, you're living here," Roman said. "Can't go around leaving the new guy who-knows-where and possibly snitch on us."
Sasuke braced himself. "It would raise questions since I live at Beacon Academy." The reactions were exactly as he expected, not good. Neopolitan half unsheathed her blade, and Roman looked aghast at the development.
"Hold up," he said, his cane now firmly in his grasp. "You're telling me you live in Beacon?" Sasuke slowly nodded. He then turned to Neopolitan. "And you brought a Beacon student here."
"Don't misunderstand, I'm not a student, either," Sasuke quickly added. "I'm living there under special circumstances, but my allegiance is to myself and the contract." That didn't calm them much.
"Uh huh, sure." Roman raised the cane and aimed it at Sasuke's head. "Tell you what, I believe you, but stand still for a second." A blade was aimed at Torchwick's throat. "Neo~, what're you doing?"
"Not me," she answered from the side, looking cautiously at him.
He turned to see the red eyes of his assailant. "As I said, my loyalty is to myself and my employer," Sasuke said as his knife poked Roman's Aura from behind. "The headmaster thinks he rescued me from the woods, he hopes that I ally myself and my skills with him as he hosts my lodging away from council arms, but it's nothing but a dream." He dropped the knife. "I need Dust, the headmaster must not learn of my venture to get it."
Roman quickly turned and aimed his cane back at him, his other hand rubbing where the knife was. "You're quick, I'll give you that, but I just don't think it's going to work out." Neo put a hand on his cane and had it lowered, in an action that surprised even Sasuke. "Okay, Neo, now what're you doing?"
"I think we can trust him," she said, her blade now fully sheathed into her parasol. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"
"What's the worst that could happen!? Oh I don't know, have a flock of Huntsmen raid us, take us to custody, then freeze in an Atlas prison, maybe? If not outright killed because someone we know doesn't want us to talk, how about that?"
Neo just shrugged, which even Sasuke was skeptical of her reasoning. He turned to Roman. "In the upcoming job, I can prove myself there," he said. "Before my village was destroyed, I was and am a mercenary. You pay me, you have my loyalty."
"Does Beacon know?" Neo asked, surprising Roman that she even considered this. "Does he know you're a mercenary?"
Sasuke scoffed. "He doesn't even know my ability to transform. All he knows is that I came from a village that was destroyed by Grimm, nothing more bar a few of my talents and skills that had him interested in the first place." Neo just nodded.
"You're just going to believe this!?" Roman half shouted at his companion. "You know he could be lying, right? An undercover agent for Ozpin meant to say what he could to trap us all, did you think about that?" Neo just shrugged, having Roman raise his arms up in the air in frustration.
"You know what? Sure, I'll take this monumental risk to my life, not an issue at all!" Roman pointed towards her. "I'll be blaming you if things go sideways. Also, we need to talk about trusting strangers." He then pointed to Sasuke. "You, if I so much as see a cop or a guy with a sword as big as me outside, so help me God."
He had no intention of losing this golden egg, and he'd be damn sure to maintain it. But along with that, he'd need to maintain his disguise as well. "For me to work with you and not get compromised, I'll need to disguise myself," he told Roman.
"Sure, why not," he answered disgruntled. "What do you need, a mask, or maybe a fur su-?" The Uchiha transformed into Gaara once more. "Right, I actually forgot about that. . ."
Gaara nodded. "While I'm in this form, refer to me as simply Gaara," he said in the Kazekage's voice, he then transformed back to his true Uchiha form. "For my safety concerns, I ask you refer to me only as such when seen in public."
"What hell kind of name is Gaara?" Roman shrugged his concerns away. "Whatever, you have your disguise, now let's talk about the plan. Of course, the really cut down version for our possibly-undercover-agent employee. After that, get out."
Sasuke just nodded and listened as the thief spoke. He understood Torchwick's concerns, but he was sure he'd prove his loyalty as a mercenary to him through his mission, no matter what.
The plan Roman had outlined was simple enough. Get to the docks, steal some freight containers, and leave before any of the police or Huntsmen show up. Should be a quick snatch and grab, a mission Sasuke had done several times before back home. For now, though, he would head back to Beacon. If he remembered correctly his 'compatriots' would have returned from their boring trip a few hours ago.
Sasuke walked through the halls until he heard shouting emanating from a crowd nearby. "It's your fault!" Sasuke kept hearing a familiar voice cry out. Having nothing better to do for the rest of the day, he made his way to the gathering of people.
The students who noticed the shinobi parted like the sea, none of them wanting to accidentally incur the wrath of the last Uchiha. Eventually Sasuke reached the edge of the surrounding circle and found an enraged Jaune Arc grabbing Cardin Winchester by the collar and shaking him. "It's your fault, you bastard!" he kept shouting.
"I didn't do anything! It was the Ursa!" Cardin's pleas were interrupted by Glynda as she made her way through the crowd with the remainder of team CRDL.
"That's quite enough, Mr. Arc." Glynda's tone was angry, but it wasn't directed at Jaune. "Follow me, Cardin. You and your team have a lot more explaining to do once we reach the headmaster's office."
Winchester gulped while being lead away from one angry blonde by another, and the audience soon dispersed. Leaving a clearly frustrated Jaune as he clenched his fist and glared down the hallway where team CRDL and Glynda left.
"Arc," was all Sasuke needed to say to get his attention. Other than a few students milling about and whispering, he and Jaune were the only ones there.
Jaune turned his head to see Sasuke simply standing there. "Hey," he let out irritably before he made his way elsewhere.
The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the response from the usually timid Arc. Sasuke looked around to try and locate the remainder of Team JNPR or RWBY, but they were nowhere near the hallway he was in. 'This is very irregular,' he thought. Sasuke wanted to know what happened but did not wish to use the most obvious method to find out. After some internal debate, the Uchiha decided to take the calculated risk.
Sasuke sighed before making his way to the closest student, who coincidentally was a girl like all the students that milled about nearby. "What happened just now?" He asked plainly.
The teenage girl in question, who stood stock-still as her Romeo came for her, deflated at the lack of fantasies coming true at the moment. But of course as a member of the Sasuke Fan Club, she wouldn't disappoint the Adonis before her. So she cleared her throat and spoke honestly. "Oh, that. Well, Arc was pissed because of an incident that happened during the field trip. I heard that the Pyrrha Nikos was injured pretty badly in the end and was taken to the infirmary. Honestly, one would expect her to be better tha- Hey!"
The Uchiha ignored her continuous drawl and made his way to the infirmary, which was the same route Jaune took after he 'greeted' the Uchiha. Once he neared the doors leading to the infirmary he saw just outside of it were the members of team RWBY. They wore either concerned or angry faces, both of which were rare on the four girls in Sasuke's experience.
Ruby looked up and saw Sasuke making his way to them. "Oh, Sasuke, you just missed Jaune. I guess you heard, huh?" she said with less energy than usual.
"I only heard that Nikos was injured due to an incident on the field trip, nothing more," he replied.
Weiss scoffed. "You didn't hear nearly enough. It's a lot more serious than that."
Uchiha gave her his full attention, a rare occurrence, but it was bound to happen at some point. "Explain," he demanded.
The Heiress pursed her lips and began to retell the incident that had happened. "It seems that Cardin and his goons weren't happy with Pyrrha keeping Jaune away from them. So they decided to have a bit of revenge." She scowled at this point, just like the rest of her teammates did. "They threw jars of red sap at the both of them, and then released a swarm of rapier wasps."
"I doubt that it was wasps that injured Pyrrha," he stated during Schnee's pause.
Blake decided to continue for her teammate. "No, it was the Ursa Major that came out of nowhere. It was inches away from striking Jaune, but Pyrrha pushed him out of the way. Her arm took the swipe and was in pretty bad condition." She sighed. "Jaune killed the Ursa, but the damage had been done. If it wasn't for those damned wasps. . ."
Yang punched her open palm and spoke in rage. "Those bastards will pay for this." Her eyes transitioned from red to lilac and back several times, trying to keep calm.
"And what of the perpetrators?" Sasuke asked.
Weiss spoke with irritation, "they're in the headmasters office, last I heard. Possibly to expel them all together, and good riddance." Her teammates gave sounds of approval at her statement.
The infirmary door opened, revealing a saddened Nora, which was even more unusual than the faces made by team RWBY. "The nurse says you guys can come see her now," she said with much less enthusiasm than usual.
Team RWBY nodded and passed through the door, Sasuke following behind them wordlessly. They passed many open doors that indicated empty hospital rooms, before they reached one room where several doctors and nurses were coming out of. Inside were the three members of team JNPR surrounding Pyrrha, who was laying in her bed with a hospital gown on.
Pyrrha forced a tired smile and spoke in an equally tired voice, "Hey guys." She slowly sat up using her right arm, because the forearm of her left was missing from above the elbow, leaving only a bandaged stump.
Gasps resounded from team RWBY while Sasuke merely raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'She lost her arm while saving her friend from darkness. . . Why is this eerily familiar?' he mused. It didn't elude him that a prodigy and a blonde idiot were involved in the escapade.
"Those bastards," Yang seethed in a low voice as her eyes were blinking from lilac to red again.
"I'm. . . fine," she responded weakly, as the sedatives hadn't left her system entirely.
Jaune was frustrated with himself, and he grabbed and pulled on his hair. "It's my fault, I'm a failure as the leader. It's my fault!" Jaune yelled at the end.
He was then bonked on the head by Nora at the champion's request. "Thank you, Nora," Pyrrha said as she received a toothy smile and a victory sign from her usually energetic teammate. "Jaune, it was my choice." Her voice was still tired.
"B-But-" Jaune was again bonked on the head by Nora. She gave another smile to the nodding champion.
"Enough, Jaune. I'm. . . fine with this result."
Jaune remained quiet, he didn't think his head much more from Nora . He couldn't bear to hear how weak the champion's voice sounded either.
"So, what's gonna happen now?" Yang asked.
Pyrrha looked down and clenched her blanket, tears threatening to fall. "I-I'm going to leave Beacon for a while," she spoke with a slight hitch.
Immediately the atmosphere became gloomy, team RWBY couldn't believe that the Mistral champion and their friend was going to leave the academy. "Why?" The teams finally heard Sasuke's neutral voice for the first time since they entered Pyrrha's room.
Nikos gulped, recalling what the doctors had told her. "I need to be rehabilitated for my missing arm." She moved her right shoulder around, feeling discomfort. "It's gonna take a while to get used to, and the prosthetic I need will take time." She couldn't stop herself from crying. "I don't want to go back to Mistral, I want to stay."
Sasuke looked around to see sniffles coming from the more emotional humans and the hidden Faunus. "Hn," was all he said as Sasuke stepped backward to dodge a double elbow attack from Blake and Weiss to his sides. He looked indifferently at the both of them as they glared at him.
Weiss scowled at the Uchiha. "Be more sensitive to the situation! Don't just give your usual indifferent response like you don't care."
Pyrrha wanted to calm the Schnee heiress, she had enough drama these past few hours. "It's okay, really. It's not like there's anything anybody could do about this."
Weiss gave a final glare before looking away with a huff, but she heard Sasuke speak out again. "Everything will be fine," he said, and she became angry once again.
"Didn't you hear anything at all!?" Schnee snapped at him.
The Uchiha looked to Weiss and stated, "Yes, and everything will be fine." He felt a buzz in his pocket. Sasuke took out his scroll to find that Ozpin had, once again, called for him. "Seems Ozpin needs me again. I'll be leaving." He nodded to Nikos and left the room, leaving her with the two teams.
He didn't stay around to hear the heiress cursing him or the team's failed attempts to calm her down. He said that everything would be fine, and that was all they needed to know.
For now, though, he had to report to Ozpin for the usual talk about fitting in and such. As though his answer would change after a simple week or two. Or it was because Glynda complained about Sasuke's behavior and leeway that reduced her control to nil on him. Either way, he had something to do tonight.
"I am sorry to hear about what happened to your friend. I wish there were something we could do, but there is nothing," Ozpin said in a rather sympathetic voice. He sat in his office chair with Professor Goodwitch standing next to him, who was just as upset at what had occurred under her watch.
Sasuke nodded. 'Nothing you could do, but I on the other hand. . .' He held back a visible frown at the unintentional bad pun. 'Yang's fault, surely.'
"You don't seem all that upset," Glynda said. "I'd have assumed you were close friends with her."
Again, Sasuke nodded. "Pyrrha is not so weak to let this control her, I believe she will come back stronger than before from this." Glynda looked surprised at his confidence in the redhead's abilities. "She'll be distraught, but she'll pull through in the end."
Ozpin looked only at him in approval. "It's good to see that you think highly of your classmate, and I hope it is indeed the case. However I didn't call you here to just speak about her, but also of your performance in Beacon." He brought out a paper and looked through it. "Your grades are exemplary, enough so that I'd have placed you among the older years, but there is an issue of your attendance."
"I do believe due to our deal this shouldn't be a problem."
The headmaster nodded. "It normally wouldn't, but when you start missing over fifty percent of the classes, concerns were made obvious." He had been missing quite alot. "Peach's class being most recent."
"I promised to go to some of these classes, but I found them too mind numbing to continue attending," Sasuke answered. Perhaps if he was attending classes of later years they'd be better, but that wasn't on the table.
Glynda was the one who came to those teachers' defense. "Mr. Uchiha, I assure you those classes were designed to prepare students for their responsibilities and Huntsmen," she said proudly.
Sasuke turned to look at her. "I'm not a student, I fully well know how to fight Grimm and survive out there." He looked pointedly at the deputy headmistress. "Or have you forgotten how I came to be here in the first place?" The lie, not the truth. "I do not say this to discredit your instructors, but to emphasize what I went through."
She held his gaze for a few seconds, but relented with a slow nod. Ozpin then said, "well, whith all that said, I ask that you reconsider your stand on attendance, if even for image's sake."
"I'll think about it." He wasn't, and it looked like Ozpin wasn't believing it.
The headmaster sighed. "With this meeting done, you may continue with your day, Mr. Uchiha."
The Uchiha gave a curt nod to both of them and received one in return before turning to the elevator. He kept eye contact with Ozpin when the doors closed. They had their deal, but he had to make sure the headmaster understood he wouldn't easily be controlled, no matter how much he thought he had a chance otherwise.
Besides, it made the headmaster fairly patient with his demands as long as it wasn't crossing a line.
When the doors opened, he saw a familiar face that immediately had him consider flickering away, and from how the beret woman looked approached him, he was once again her target. If this was going to be a common occurrence, he'd need to settle it before it got worse.
"You're here again," he said as she stopped a small distance away, further than an arms distance unlike last time. "You do realize that whatever it is you wish, I want none of it." Her gratitude was fine, it was the embrace he didn't want and would reject.
"Well hello to you too," she said. "And what can I say? I'm persistent to pay you back."
Sasuke could understand that, it was the same reason he helped Velvet in the first place, but this waiting outside of doors in hopes to find him needed to stop. And if his luck with persistent people was anything to go by, this wasn't going to stop.
"Then tell me, what do you want?" he asked. "Though mind you, leaving me alone is a better show of your gratitude."
She gave an unladylike snort. "Yeah, you can bet your ass that won't be the case, sorry." She didn't even sound the least bit apologetic. "Look, we can do this thing where I wait outside of each door waiting for you and annoy you, or we can have one little chat. C'mon, I'll even buy you a drink. . . or a belt."
"I'm busy." He needed to tell Tatsuya the time for a shipment of Dust he was about to 'receive' and send to Ryūchi Cave. Even if it would simply last a few minutes at most to relay and receive information, it would be better than having to deal with the woman before him.
"It won't take long, I promise!" She said as she lowered her head and put both hands together in a pleading form.
Sasuke considered ignoring the woman, but, again, given his bad track record with persistent peoplem he decided to get it over with. ". . . Only if you stop following me."
She lifted up her head to look at the Uchiha with a look of victory on her face if her smile had meant anything. "Deal!" Coco said cheerfully.
Sasuke sighed. "Lead the way."
Coco's smile broadened as she beckoned him to follow while she was walking away.
The Ex-avenger really hoped he wouldn't regret this decision. Following her through the halls of the academy, drawing the usual hushed whispers and barely disguised stares.
Coco whistled. "I honestly didn't think you were that popular," she said as she noticed the students around her. "I mean, I know there's a website dedicated to you and everything, but this really takes the cake."
The Uchiha snapped his head to Coco. "Website?" he asked. While he had become more or less adept at using a Scroll and he recognized some of Remnants technology, he had never heard of a 'website' before.
"Hmm?" The fashionista looked back to Sasuke and misinterpreted his question. "Yeah, almost like a shrine made for you online with. . . saucy pictures of you. Some look like the real deal too. Velvet visits the site often ever since you helped her out." She froze in place and gave him a sheepish chuckle. "Please don't tell her I told you that, it's hush-hush and was only between us two," she pleaded.
Sasuke stopped listening to Coco ever since she said the word 'saucy'. Back home there were books and portraits about him, but without his consent for its steamy content. The same was happening in Remnant, only at a more technologically advanced editing level. 'This world is far too tiresome for me,' he thought irritably. "Doesn't matter," he replied.
Coco let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks. Velvet may seem timid, but believe me when I say that she isn't one to piss off. She's even working on something really damn strong, in the size of a purse to boot!" She said rather excitedly.
The information strengthened Sasuke's belief that nothing was as simple as it looked in this world. If Neo's umbrella and Roman's cane were anything to go by at least, and now purse-sized objects as well. He narrowed his eyes at Coco's handbag, wondering if that, too, was a weapon.
"We're at our first stop." Sasuke heard Coco say. They were walking towards the rabbit-eared Faunus he had helped previously as she was standing in front of the door.
Velvet's eyes widened at the sight of Sasuke and her team leader approaching her. When Coco had texted them that she was bringing a surprise, she didn't expect her to bring the one and only Sasuke Uchiha.
"Sup' Velvet, where are Fox and Yatsuhashi?" Coco asked her teammate.
The rabbit Faunus broke her little stare at the surprise guest to answer her teammate. "They're changing out of their uniform inside the room," she replied and looked back to Sasuke. "I-I didn't really think this was what you meant as a surprise, Coco."
The names kept getting weirder and weirder the longer he was in Remnant. Named after colors he could understand, but after beverages? And here he thought it was just a nickname she had when he heard it from Ozpin. "Your name is Coco?" Sasuke asked for clarification.
"Yep! Coco Adel, leader of team CFVY," she stated proudly before clapping her hands in realization. "I just realized I never introduced myself until now. Well, it doesn't matter anymore."
Velvet chuckled and turned to Sasuke. "It's good to see you again, Sasuke. I want to thank you again for helping me back then."
He just nodded, accepting her gratitude, though he wished it just ended there. Unfortunately the team leader had more in mind.
Coco decided to add something. "Trust me, she certainly wants to say more than thanks ." That got the Faunus to openly glare at her leader with a blush on her face, Coco responded by raising her arms placatingly. She was saved when the door opened to reveal Fox and Yatsuhashi in their combat gear.
"Alright Coco, what's the big surprise?" The behemoth of a young man Daichi asked before he spotted the Uchiha. "Ah, I see," he said neutrally.
"Velvet's fantasy man," added Fox, who was now under the red-faced scorn of his Faunus teammate.
"Uchiha, the big guy is Yatsuhashi and blank eyes is Fox," Coco introduced, happy Velvet's anger was directed elsewhere. Her two teammates greeted the Uchiha who responded with a grunt. "Now that the introduction is done, let's head out to Vale!"
'That was. . . not as bad as I had expected,' Sasuke thought as he returned from the trip to Vale with team CFVY. As older students with a decent reputation with the professors, they were allowed some privileges not usually given to the common first year-student.
"You sure you don't want to go back out? For something that you might need later," Coco said innocently from beside him.
The Uchiha scowled and turned to the team leader. "I do not require a damn belt, leave me be," he nearly yelled. When they weren't at the cafe or simply wandering around, Coco would attempt to drag him to the nearest clothing store to procure him a belt; it was becoming very irritating. The rope did its job, why would he need a strip of leather to do what's already being done!?
"Yeesh, just saying."
"To be fair, you were saying that every few minutes or so," said Yatsuhashi.
A look of pure betrayal came across Coco's face. "Et tu, Yatsuhashi!? Et tu?" She said rather dramatically before she became irritated. "Could you blame me? Who would use a rope? A rope!"
The Uchiha was becoming annoyed at the team leader. "It's just her way of showing that she's thankful," Sasuke heard Velvet whisper to him over the yelling of her team leader. It didn't matter to him, though, he would have been much happier if she left him be.
They neared the dorm room where they resided, so they gave their goodbyes. Letting out a sigh of relief Sasuke headed onward to his room. It was time to give Tatsuya the news of his latest Dust procurement plan.
On his way, he saw the saddened members of team JNPR entering their own room, without Pyrrha of course. It seemed that she would be staying at the infirmary for tonight. Nora looked up and noticed Sasuke, giving him a small silent wave and a smile, not the loud way she usually advertised her existence.
Sasuke returned it with a nod before entering his own room, quickly locking it and checking that the seals he had put up were in working order. The Uchiha went down on one knee, drew blood from his thumb, formed the hand seals and pressed his palm to the floor. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he said silently.
He waited for the smoke to disappear to reveal Tatsuya, but something was different about him. "Summoner, we were eager to hear from you again," he said with a slight hiss.
"You grow rather quick," Sasuke mused out loud. The garter snake was certainly much taller compared to the last time he had met him. The size of two meters wasn't something animals could just decide to grow suddenly.
Tatsuya scoffed. "You humans are simply too slow." He stated as he lifted his head and pointed his eyes back to the Uchiha. "What news do you wish for me to relay?"
Sasuke went back to a business like tone. "I am working with a criminal of this world, and the Dust I am to be paid with is decent. Tell the wise elder to expect a steady supply soon."
The snake nodded its head. "Understood. The blonde friend and the leader of your den wish to know of your status here in this world. What do you wish for me to tell them?"
The Uchiha lifted his head in thought then looked back to the snake. "Tell them I should be home soon, I'm not focusing on anything other than the mission to return." The snake nodded and vanished from Remnant.
Sasuke sighed and sat on his bed, patiently waiting for night to fall. It had been a while since he used the Rinnegan, he hoped it wasn't rusty from disuse.
Once night fell Sasuke silently exited the room and jumped up to walk on the ceiling. He casually walked while upside down until reaching the infirmary doors. He waited for someone to exit, and before long a nurse clocked out as her replacement arrived.
Before the doors fully shut Sasuke slipped inside, staying on the ceiling. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and walked until he was above the nurse that had just clocked in. He clicked his tongue and the nurse looked up to see the Sharingan-eyed ninja.
"Who are yo-" She fell silent, eyes glazed over under the illusionary technique. She stood up and made her way to another computer, tapping a few keys that shut down all of the cameras in the infirmary. The nurse went back to her seat and decided to sleep, she would forget about things in the morning, or when her replacement came and decided to wake her up.
With a grunt of approval, Sasuke dropped to the floor and walked out of the office. He made his way to the room Pyrrha was in, already hearing the sound of faint crying. He stood in front of the door that contained the champion Pyrrha Nikos and opened it.
Once the door opened, it revealed a single armed Pyrrha with her head on her knees. "I thought I asked you to leave me alone," she said in frustration.
"You haven't asked anything of me," Sasuke replied dully.
Pyrrha snapped her head up to the voice, she expected to see the irritating nurse that wouldn't stop asking of her wellbeing, but she only found Sasuke in his usual bored expression. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?" she asked as she wiped away any remaining tears off her face. "You're not suppo-"
"Do you want your arm back?" he interrupted her. He liked Pyrrha, maybe not much as a friend, but more of a warrior's comradery sort of way. Plus, he felt somewhat responsible for her actions, even if a smidgen. Who knows what the result would have been if he had left the issue with Jaune alone.
The champion glared at the Uchiha. "Of course I want my arm back! You have no idea what it's like to lose a limb!" She snapped, not even noticing the small grin that flashed on the Uchiha's face. "If you're here to mock me, I swear I will-"
"I can give you your arm back," he interrupted her a second time. Pyrrha looked at him as if he grew a second head, and stiffened as his left eye transitioned to a lavender color with multiple rings surrounding the pupil.
She was mesmerized by the eye, they were hypnotic and almost glowing, but she shook her head from the trance. Pyrrha looked to him. "What do you mean? You can't simply give me my arm back."
"And if I can?"
She pursed her lips and spoke, "Then I would be thankful. What's in it for you?"
Sasuke ignored her question and made several seals. "The experience is not a pleasant one," he stated as purple fire erupted on the floor beside him where a giant head-like structure started rising from.
Pyrrha gasped as the demon head of the Naraka path fully materialized. "W-What is that!?" She screamed.
The Uchiha took some amusement from her reaction, and introduced the demonic head. "This is the King of Hell, the one who will restore your arm." The King opened its mouth wide enough for a person to sit inside, revealing it's teeth and tongue. "Go inside the mouth," Sasuke instructed
Pyrrha looked shocked at the command as the demon head opened its gaping mouth. "You can't expect me to believe that this. . . thing will help me."
He asked her again monotonously, "Do you want your arm back?"
"Of course I want it back!" She yelled in anger. "How would that thing get it back!?"
Sasuke sighed at her reluctance and spoke two words he hadn't said in a long time. "Trust me."
Pyrrha was silent, she knew Sasuke was one of little jokes and was of simple pleasures. Even though he had great skill, bringing back a missing limb was never heard of in the history of Remnant.
Although, he was a mystery and remained so, even with weeks she had known him. "Do you promise my arm will be back when we're done?"
Sasuke nodded. She sat there silently in thought. "Fine, what do I have to do?" Pyrrha asked.
He pointed to the tongue inside the mouth, and Pyrrha gulped and stood from her bed, waddling her way to the front of the head while gripping her stump. She stopped short and looked to the Uchiha. "Could you lower its teeth?"
"That won't be necessary," he replied in slight amusement.
She was about to question him when arms from the demonic head reached out and grabbed her, causing even the champion to scream as she was pulled abruptly into the King of Hell. She quieted down, before shrieking out in pain, only muffled by the demonic head.
Sasuke stopped his flow of Chakra towards the head after sensing his work was complete, and that the screaming had died down. The King opened it's mouth and dispersed from existence, revealing Pyrrha Nikos on the floor. She was on her knees, grasping where her stump used to be.
"Congratulations," Sasuke said dryly.
Pyrrha looked to the Uchiha, then to her new left arm, staring at the new appendage in disbelief. She moved her new arm around, touched it, flexed her fingers and made a fist. It was really there, not a phantom arm, not a dream, but actually there. She gripped her wrist and started crying. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I won't ever forget this," she said through her hitching voice.
"Somehow I doubt that."
The now double-armed champion moved her teary eyes to the Uchiha for clarification, but she only saw the red eyes of the Sharingan. She slumped forward, only to be caught by the Uchiha, who picked her off the ground and placed her back in bed. She would wake up and suddenly find an arm where it should be missing without knowing where it came from, it would certainly make for an interesting morning.
He tossed the blanket over her and left the room, walking past the nurse who was asleep before cracking the door open steadily. Once it opened far enough, he flickered to the ceiling and made his way to his dorm room.
Sasuke laid on his bed, recalling what happened that day. He made a deal with Torchwick and his gang, returned to find one of his acquaintances missing an arm possibly due to his action, went out to Vale with an insufferable fashionista and her group, and helped Pyrrha grow her arm back. 'I wonder what will happen tomorrow,' Sasuke pondered. "One step at a time," he thought out loud.
Roman: You don't know who I am? I'm Roman Torchwick, thief extraordinaire, you must've heard of me!
Sasuke: The same Roman Torchwick who was beaten by a girl barely fifteen?
Roman: Fake news!
I fought long and hard not add that in the chapter, but I guess I technically did.
Trivia:
1- Every time I wrote 'Neopolitan', I always misspelled it as 'Neopolitican' at first, and every damn time. Even when I wrote it just now; the curse continues.
2- In Chapter four, Sasuke was meant to transform into Sasori. But my benevolent beta-reader ShadowofheartsXIII pointed out that Sasuke never met Sasori in any shape or form, so we fixed it into Gaara. Did I ever tell you how awesome Shadow is?
3- While people grew up watching Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon, I grew up watching Tekken Chinmi, Thunder Jet: Galaxy Wars, and Detective Conan.
Trivia 3 still sucks.