South Boardwalk, Vale, Kingdom of Vale - 15:57
"I suppose you'd say no to a late lunch, huh?"
"That should be obvious."
Ruby sighed and kept walking beside Weiss. They were on a crowded boardwalk that was full of various restaurants and food stands. She found herself eying a hot dog stand as they passed, her stomach rumbling its discontent at being denied the sustenance just feet away. Weiss continued on to their destination, not having heard her partner's stomach over the white noise of conversations and the nearby ocean.
The crowds weren't as thick as they usually were due to the Vytal festival taking place on the opposite side of the city, yet they were a far cry from being considered thin. Ruby had often hated being in the middle of a crowd, but she hadn't been in one this large in years. It wasn't as bad as she remembered.
A loud growl came from Weiss's direction, making Ruby snap her head around.
"What was that?" She asked, looking past the white hair of her employer to the people in the light crowd on the other side of the walkway, none of whom were paying them any attention. She looked back to Weiss who seemed normal except for a minuscule pink blush on her face.
"I still say no to a late lunch…" Weiss said firmly, not meeting Ruby's gaze. "But I suppose a snack would be nice."
"Yes! I knew you'd cave!" Ruby disappeared in a flash of her semblance and reappeared seconds later, carrying two crepes.
"How'd they make those so quick?" Weiss asked, not complaining that she hadn't been asked what she wanted after deciding it actually looked quite appetizing.
"Oh, they didn't. I did." Ruby answered before taking a huge bite out of hers.
"I know there has to be a story here." Weiss said with a sigh, knowing Ruby liked to talk about her past exploits. "They wouldn't just let you walk in and make food just like that."
Ruby laughed at Weiss's observation skills. "Alright… see that guy over there?"
Weiss looked to where Ruby nodded and found herself staring at a very fat man in a floral shirt and shorts. "The large one?"
"Yup! Guess who he is?"
"He looks like…" Weiss carefully took in his features while not looking directly at him and suddenly a sense of familiarity washed over her. "No."
"Yup!" Ruby laughed as Weiss's jaw dropped.
"It can't be… but it is…" Weiss took in the blue hair that fell to the man's shoulders, hiding a scar Weiss had created in a very heated argument during her second year at Beacon.
"Yup!" Ruby laughed gleefully. "That's Neptune!"
"My god! What happened?" Weiss asked, shocked that the once slim and handsome man had turned into an obese food salesman.
"Turns out he wanted out of being a hunter, but his employers were the old Vacuo royalty." Ruby shrugged, taking another bite from her crepe. "Long story short, I flipped him and now he goes by Poseidon and he owns about fourty crepe shops around Remnant."
"No kidding." Weiss took a bite from her crepe and felt the whipped cream escape her jaw and stick to her cheek. She quickly swallowed and turned to Ruby. "Do you have napkins?"
"I got it!" Ruby jumped and Weiss flinched, not used to her old team leader's antics. She closed her eyes for a second and felt something wet swipe her cheek where the creme had been. Just as quickly a piece of cloth gently wiped over the area returning it to normal. Weiss opened her eyes to find Ruby taking another bite from her snack.
"Please tell me…" Weiss took a deep breath as several possibilities flew through her brain. "Tell me you didn't just lick me."
"Okay, I didn't just lick you." Ruby shrugged, continuing on their walk.
"Then what did you do?" Weiss asked, now more confused at her leader's antics.
"Well do you want the truth or just what you want to hear?" Ruby asked as she finished her crepe.
"Did you lick me?" Weiss sighed. She was still getting used to Ruby even after spending a good part of a day with her. It wasn't as if she disliked her friend, only that it had taken her the better part of three years to finally understand her mindset and how to counteract it. Now that they had been away from each other for decades, spare the odd mission together, she found herself woefully out of practice and unprepared to deal with the scythe wielder.
"Yes I did." Ruby watched Weiss rub her temple with her free hand. "And you should keep eating. They go bad pretty quick."
"Fine, but never lick me again." Weiss grumbled, being extra careful not to repeat her initial mistake.
"No promises. Besides…" Ruby grinned before leaning toward Weiss and whispering. "You seemed to like my tongue quite a bit on your twenty fifth birthday."
"God! Put it to you to remember something like that!" Weiss snapped, pushing Ruby away.
"Just saying, even after so many years I still know what I'm doing." Ruby winked before turning back to their path.
Weiss frowned at Ruby's back until she remembered she should eat the rest of her crepe. Once she finished, she tapped Ruby on the back to get her attention.
"What's up?"
"I did make it clear that that was a one time thing, right?" Weiss asked cautious of who overheard.
"You certainly tried to, but somewhere in between your gasping and stuffing your pillow in your mouth your point may have been forgotten." Ruby said with a devious smile on her face.
"You haven't forgotten what I said to you that time, have you?" Weiss asked cautiously.
"No, it's more like I don't give a damn. I never did to be honest, but I think my perspective has changed a bit over the years, and now I care even less." Ruby smiled honestly.
"It's still a big NO. You know that right?" Weiss asked agitatedly. "And what made you think of that all of a sudden anyhow?"
"Can't blame a girl for trying." Ruby replied with a shrug. "And maybe its being here on the boardwalk. I still remember our first date as if it were yesterday."
"That wasn't a date and you know it." Weiss stated.
"Details, details." Ruby waved her hand. "You can't deny that the end was definitely… climactic."
Weiss couldn't help but stare blankly at Ruby's wordplay. Ruby's humor had been influenced far too much by the highly intellectual Blake and the exceedingly crude Yang. "I think we're getting off this topic now. How about you tell me all about how Yang Xiao Long, the setter of countless fighting records, managed to get into a retirement community when she's barely old enough to retire?"
"Well… it started about five years ago. Yang-" Ruby's scroll started ringing, cutting her off. She quickly pulled it out and checked the number on the call display. "Hold on a second."
Weiss opened her mouth to comment on the rude interruption, but shut it again since Ruby had just answered her scroll. The one thing Weiss was proud she hadn't lost over the years was her sense of etiquette and her respect for others that she'd gained from her team at Beacon.
"Weiss, I think we need to pay Ren a visit." Ruby said as she closed her scroll and spun back to face the docks. "He's in some deep shit if Yang's theory is right."
Weiss inhaled at Ruby's curse. Only when things were very close to falling apart did Ruby's vocabulary devolve to common swearing. She let out her breath slowly, knowing how serious her next choice would be.
"I believe the meeting for the four kingdoms' politicians is this weekend. He'll most likely be safe until the end of that due to the extensive security." Weiss said quickly. "If this is really as bad as you think it is, we should find Nora first."
Sunny Side Retirement Community, Atlas City, Atlas - 16:22
Two knocks sounded at the door in the small room that consisted of a single bed and a vanity that doubled as a dresser. A small office swivel chair was occupied by the lone resident who lazily called over to the door.
"It's open."
The door creaked open slowly, revealing a black clad figure with one hand resting on the hilt of a katana.
"You here to kill me kitty?" Yang asked slyly, looking into the mirror at the faunus.
"You invited me, remember? Or have you finally lost your last few brain cells?" She replied coolly while moving to take a seat on the bed after ensuring they were alone.
"Yeah… about that." Yang started, still not turning from her position facing the mirror. "After I sent you that message, I received a tip about my assassination. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"
"It's the first I'm hearing of it." Blake replied. "Either way, I'd have no reason to talk with you if I did."
"You always did like to get work done before pleasure." Yang replied with a smile, finally turning to reveal a small high caliber revolver in her lap. "Just wanted to make sure before I get down to our business."
Blake nodded, eyes tracking Yang's movements as she replaced the gun in a concealed holster under her vanity. In turn, Blake removed her sword and leaned it against the bed post to show good faith.
"So moving on!" Yang cheered as she pulled a small unmarked file out of a pile of newspapers in the corner. "These idiots decided to attack Ruby. I need to know anything you might know about them or who might have hired them."
Blake shifted through the file which had information about a seemingly random collection of people who seemed unconnected. She spent a minute studying each file and searching her memory for any information that might be helpful. As it was, nothing came to mind.
"Sorry, I can't help you this time. These are obviously new graduates from their age, but I couldn't tell you who hired them. I don't know why Ruby would be a target either, though it could be connected to one of her past operations." Blake said placing the files back and returning it to Yang.
"Exactly what I was thinking. So I started some digging and came up with six operations that seemed suspicious." Yang smiled, tossing the file into a drawer. "They were all connected to the third campaign."
"How so?" Blake asked, knowing Yang no longer had access to any of those records.
"Well, remember the other team we were in a squad with for the few missions over the winter?" Blake nodded her response, so Yang continued. "I was checking up on the teams we had worked with and most of them are all still fine or they died at random times between then and now. Except them. That team died within four days just last week. Ruby and Weiss were attacked yesterday and the day before. If these attacks are connected, I'll be next since you're off the grid."
"Noted. We sh-!" Blake's eyes flashed open and she motioned for Yang to be quiet. She gracefully leapt off the bed and took her sword before jumping out the window into the early evening. Taking her cue, Yang spun back to her vanity and quickly drew the large revolver into her lap.
The door swung open to show an athletic man in formal wear aiming a silenced dust pistol at the back of Yang's head. She looked at him in the mirror and sighed.
"Are you here to kill me hot stuff?" She asked as innocently as she was capable. Her tone seemed to surprise the man as he entered the room and closed the door.
"Don't take it personally. This is just business." He replied, not moving a muscle as he waited for Yang's response.
"I don't suppose it matters at this point but would you mind sharing who hired you?" Yang asked politely.
"Don't know his name. But he said if anyone asked to tell them January fourth, second year of the third campaign. Said you'd know who it was." He replied.
"I seem to be having trouble remembering…" Yang sighed. "I don't suppose we could reschedule this?"
"Sorry, I got a deadline." He replied shortly, clicking the safety off his weapon.
"So that's how it is, huh?" Yang asked sadly.
"That's right. That's how it is." He replied as his finger pulled the trigger of the weapon.