Chapter 13

A Hut in Kaka Village- Noon

When he opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw, was Taokaka.

'Again!?'

"Good Guy! You're awake! Let's play!"

"Tao! Don't bother "good guy". Why don't you go get him something to eat." Said Litchi.

"OKAY!"

And she ran off, leaving behind a cartoon dust storm. After she left, Litchi reached out for Ragna's right arm, but he immediately pulled it away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ranga warned her with a warning stare.

"What? It'll heal faster if you use your Drive, right?"

"Never touch my right arm again, you hear me?" Warned Ragna, putting on the most intimidating face he could for an injured person, lying on a bed.

Ragna looked to the other side of the room, and saw another person, lying on a bed.

"She suffers from Seithr poisoning." Explained Litchi.

"Was it your gooey ass "friend" again?"

"Please, no swearing in front of the kids. The last thing I need is Tao imitating you."

Litchi didn't respond, but even so, Ragna got his answer.

"Whatever. As long as your friend doesn't show his ugly face in front of me again, I don't give a damn."

"Actually…" Litchi hesitated a little. "I need to research your Grimoire!"

"What!?"

Ragna then tried to get up, but Litchi immediately stopped him.

"Wait! Your hurt!"

"And what? Stay here? While you steal my arm?"

"I'm not stealing your Azure Grimoire, I'm just asking to study it!"

"Asking huh, well if you put it that way, then the answer is NO!"

"Please!"

?: "There's no point."

Litchi looked behind her, and saw a blonde twin tailed girl, and even though they were indoors, she had a black parasol opened.

"Who-"

"Rachel. What do you want now."

Rachel ignored him, and faced Litchi. "His Grimoire is incomplete. Studying it will be a waste of time, if not dangerous."

"What? Who are you?"

"Let's just say I'm an acquaintance to Kokonoe."

"What? The Professor?"

It was then that the door opened, and Ruby, Yang and Blake walked in.

"Weiss! Are you awake-" Ruby stopped when she saw Rachel. "Oh… hello."

Rachel gave her a small nod of acknowledgment, which Ruby returned, she then walked over to Weiss.

"How's Weiss doing?" Asked Ruby

"The fever will pass, but even so, the long-term effect… we will have to wait." Replied Litchi.

"It can't be that bad right? I mean, Rudy was poisoned too and she's fine." Said Yang.

"You are underestimating the danger of Seithr. Just because Miss Rose here survived the Seithr poison with no repercussions, you thought lightly of the danger. That is the height of ignorance. "

"Wow wow wow… what did you just call me?" Said Yang in disbelieve. "listen here little girl, we just met and you-"

"Yang! Stop!" Said Ruby, walking in between Yang and Rachel.

"Who are you?" Asked Blake, suspiciously. "I don't remember Ruby introducing herself."

?: "How rude!"

A voice! Came out of nowhere, everyone looked around, and saw no one.

"What! Who-" Said Blake, looking around.

They were confused, until they looked up, and saw Rachel's cat shape black umbrella, looking down at them.

"Before you stand Rachel Alucard, master of the Alucard clan!" Said the umbrella cat.

"That umbrella just talk…" Said Blake in disbelief.

"Quit being such a scaredy cat. It's just a toy with a microphone in it." Said Yang, dismissive of the whole talking toy thing.

Blake was a little offended being called a scaredy cat, but decided to let it go.

"I am not a toy! I am Nago, the favorite servant of the princess."

"And I am Gii! The most useful servant of the princess." Said a red plushie bet that was suddenly flown in front of them out of nowhere.

Yang laughed. "You made them call you princess?"

And Yang continued to snicker, and then she disappeared.

"Huh?" Confused Blake.

"I'd sent her to the outside of the village." Answered Rachel.

"What? What happened?" Asked Ruby.

"What do you mean by that! What did you do to Yang!" Demanded Blake, hands on her weapon. 'I thought she was just some high-born little girl. What is she?'

It was then that Yang ran through the door.

"You!" Said Yang, looking at Rachel. "What did you do to me?"

"Quiet for a moment please. Or should I send you outside of the city next time?"

Blake exchanged a look with Yang, Yang nodded and stood down.

Rachel then turned to Ruby. "Still want to help your teammate?"

"What should I do?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Of course! Weiss is my teammate, and more importantly, my friend."

"Alright. Then follow my introduction to the letter."

Ruby nodded.

"First, sit in front of Miss Schnee."

Ruby obeyed and sat in front of Weiss.

"And now look at her."

Ruby obeyed again and stared intensely at Weiss, and then for a long time Rachel said nothing.

"Um… Miss Rachel… Alucard… I'm looking at her… what's next?"

"Nothing. Just keep looking at her."

"Oh… how long should I do that?"

"Until her fever has passed."

"What!?" Said Yang. "Ruby! You've been Duped! Bamboozled! Sucker in!"

"Such ugly accusation. I would never."

"If I do this, Weiss will be fine, right?" Asked Ruby.

"That, will depend on you."

"But…"

"It will depend on you, but know that it will not be your fault if you fail."

That did not make Ruby feel any better.

And then, Rachel walked out of the hut. Blake followed her, but the moment she stepped out of the hut, Rachel had disappeared, and in her place, was her rose-like aroma, and a familiar scent.

"Huh? She gone?" Said Blake, looking around. "But she just went out mere seconds ago…"

"What? Where did who go?" Asked Ruby, as she was still focusing on Weiss.

"Teleportation? Invisibility? Maybe she was an illusion all along?" Blake speculated aloud."No… an illusion can't explain what happened to Yang, or smell like roses."

'And there's another scent… It's for last night! That elderly Faunus was just here!' Thought Blake.

'As confusing as always.' Thought Ragna, as he turned to the other side of the bed. 'Why did she even come here?'

Cinder Sewers Hideout

When Cinder, Emerald and Mercury returned to their hideout, she found Adam back in his corner, and Torchwick, lying on a bed, with Neo treating him.

"What are you two doing here?" Asked Cinder, displeased.

"Why!? Can you see? I'm injured!" Torchwick pointed to his ribs."As soon as we left the hideout, we bumped into those Vale huntresses again! But in hindsight, that was a good thing. At least we weren't on those airships when they crushed."

"Those trainee huntresses beat you again? You are getting more useless by the day." Said Mercury with a smirk.

Neo turned her face towards Mercury, unhappy.

"Of course not! Someone else ambushed me!" Said Torchwick, trying to defend his honor.

"Who?" Asked Cinder, curious.

"Neo, show them."

As commanded, Neo activated her Semblance, and turned herself into… a huge dog.

"…"

That actually was Torchwick's first time seeing what had attacked him too, and for a full five seconds, silent.

And then the dog turned into an elderly man dressed like a butler. And then five more seconds of silence

"Look... Neo has an overactive imagination."

"Pathetic." Said Adam in his comer.

"Pathetic?" Torchwick turned to Adam. "That thing, whatever it was, broke four of my rids in one strike! Let's see you do better!"

"I defeated the hero of the library." Said Adam with a smirk.

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "What hero? Jin Kisaragi?"

"Sure you did." Said Torchwick in a dismissive tone.

"Careful human, my tolerance for you is running low." Said Adam, with his hand on his sword. In response, Neo walked in front of Torchwick, shielding him.

So he defeated Jin Kisaragi. No wonder he was in such a good mood. Totally the opposite of yesterday. Mast has been quite the ego boost.

"So you really defeated Jin Kisaragi, Hero of the Ice Blade?" Asked Cinder.

"You doubt me!?" Said Adam, turning his anger towards Cinder.

"Not kill him?"

"He escaped, just like a cowardly human would."

Cinder ignored that off-handed insult. In all honesty, Jin Kisaragi was never a factor in her plan, so it doesn't matter to her if the NOL hero lives or dies, what was important was Ragna the Bloodedge.

"I thought you were looking for Bloodedge?" Asked Cinder. When Adam looked surprised, Cinder just smiled. "You really thought I was clueless?"

"He still hides from me. But not for long. My sword cries for more human blood. I will claim this so-called grim reaper's head soon enough."

Not if I find him first. Thought Cinder.

"Have you thought of looking in the village where you first saw him?" Asked Cinder.

"Why would a Faunus village let a human stay with them?" Said Adam, scoffing at the mere thought of such a possibility.

Cinder turned to Torchwick. "Rest up. I still need you to hack into the airships."

"What? Are you nuts!?" Said Torchwick.

"All the ships are now grounded, and will stay that way for at least a few more days. With all the chaos, and Neo's power, it should be easy."

"But the ships are now useless."

"We can still use the Knights."

"How many of those robots are even functional at this point?"

"I only need enough to cause a panic! Even fifty is enough! Now rest up, and you better be ready by tomorrow! If the tournament is canceled, that's might be the maximum time we have left!"

Cinder then turned to Adam.

"And you! Forget about Bloodedge and get back to work! I need those paths open."

Adam walked before Cinder, with his sword half drawn.

"You think you can order me around, human?"

"That isn't an order. That is a reminder of our bargain. You do your part, and we'll deliver ours."

Adam's second in command, Saw approached him from behind. "We still need the Dusts they promised us, Adam."

Adam turned and faced him. "Then get to it." And then he just left.

Cinder shook her head, and turned to Saw. "Did you find the opening to the outside?"

"No. too many tunnels."

"No time. Without the airship, we need those tunnels more than ever! Force those Kakas to tell us if you have to!"

Saw looked Cinder in the eyes behind his mask. "I will not attack another Faunus!"

"Then find the opening!"

Jin's office

BOOM!

The door flew open as Qrow kicked it open.

"Okay Brat! Time to explain yourself!" Said Qrow.

"Stop that! Have some respect!" Said Winter.

"Respect has to be earned, Ice Queen, and the brat did nothing to earn it."

"I'm not just talking about the Major." Replied Winter.

?: "Sorry, Major Kisaragi isn't in right now."

A voice from behind, outside of the room, both of them turned, and instead of Jin, they saw the green-haired man they met the day they arrived at Kagutsuchi, walking past them, and then seated in front of the desk.

"Specialist Schnee, and Mr Branwen." The man gave them a nod. "The Major is in the hospital right now."

"Well well. You know who we are, but we don't know you?" Asked Qrow.

"Captain Hazama. Chief of NOL Intelligence."

"You're the head of Intelligence in Kagutsuchi?" Winter asked, looking at this Hazama dubiously.

"Oh no. like I said, I'm the head of NOL Intelligence."

'Head of Intelligence? Here?' Thought Winter.

"So, Mr. Hero Man is in the hospital. What? Did he break a nail or something?" Asked Qrow, trying to be funny.

"Oh no. he's WIA, fighting terrorists."

Qrow laughed. "Him? A sliver spoon brat? Wounded fighting terrorist?"

"Terrorist? What terrorist?" Asked Winter.

"Oh, I'm really, really sorry, but that is still classified." Said Hazama in an apologetic tone.

'Terrorist? Could it be them?' Thought Qrow.

"What happened? When can we see him?" Asked Winter.

"Sorry. But that's not possible right now. He's under als… huh… maybe I shouldn't tell you."

"Oh come on, we're all friends here, right?" Said Qrow, putting his arm over Hazama's shoulders, while treating Hazama like a moron.

"Oh well! We're all friends here right? Just promise me that you'll keep it to yourself, okay?"

"Sure, I promise." Winked Qrow.

"I mean it, no telling anybody, even your friends, family or superiors."

"Of course. You have my word." Winked Qrow.

"Well the truth is, Major Kisaragi is under arrest for suspicion of treason."

"Treason?" Said Winter in disbelief.

"Yeah. I mean, I of course have complete trust in the good Major, but all the evidence points to him working with Ragna the Bloodedge, and Sector Seven."

Sector Seven… the radical science terrorist group, or so say the NOL, and Ragna the Bloodedge, the highest bounty wanted criminal in history.

"Does this have anything to do with the attacks on our airships?" Asked Winter.

"Huh? What attack?" Asked Hazama with a confused look.

"What attack?" Winter couldn't believe this. "All the airships have been taken down!"

"Oh… you're talking about that thing. Well, we have no information regarding that right now. Our best guess is a freaky storm that brought all the ships down."

"No information… you? The head of Intelligence. A storm? What storm!? That was no storm last night!"

This person is full of… Thought Winter who stopped herself before she used a vulgar word.

"And don't you worry. We're already sending rescue parties to the site. In fact, we are prioritizing the lives of Atlasian soldiers over those of our own. General Ironwood and Marshal Invictus are setting up a meeting as we speak. So all is fine. The tournament will begin again tomorrow."

"Tournament?" Qrow couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you for real? Who cares about that right now?"

"I care. We put so much effort into it. Think of the Remnanteans who paid an arm and a leg just to get here to see it in person, think of the children!"

'Does he think this whole situation is funny?' Thought Winter.

"If you need something, well, I'm in charge of the Kagutsuchi branch for now."

Pi, pi, pi.

"Sorry. That's mine." Said Hazama, putting his index finger in his right ear, and a small blue magic circle appeared beside his ear. "Yes, this is Hazama of Intelligence. Huh? The Major escaped?"

Outside of Jin's office

"So, what do you think?" Asked Winter. "Of that Hazama."

"That guy is full of shit." Answered Qrow. "And not very good at hiding his shit."

Winter thought a little. "Or maybe not interested in hiding at all."

"What? Whatever." Dismissed Qrow. "But for now, I'm more worried about Yang and Ruby."

"What? Why?"

"They texted me a message, swore up and down that they're safe, and there's no need to come look for them."

"I got the same text from Weiss, So?"

'It means something did happen to them, and they don't want me to find out.' Thought Qrow, and decided not to tell Winter. 'I trust you kids. If you think you don't need my help, then I'll trust you… for three more hours.'

"As much as I want to check on Weiss, I got other matters that need my attention."

"Like?"

"Making sure the Atlas soldiers station in Kagutsuchi don't do anything stupid."

"How many Atlas soldiers are here in the city?"

"I can't tell you that!" Said Winter. "Not much."

"And no robots either. Unlike Vale, NOL isn't just going to let some foreign army waltz in and do whatever they want in their city."

Winter glanced at Qrow for a second, and walked away.

"Even though we might need them right now." Said Qrow in a lower voice.

Kagutsuchi Port

Captain Hibiki Kohaku stepped out of the airship and looked back at the horizontal, crushed ships everywhere, but for some reason, almost all of them were in one piece, mostly. While he liked to stay and help, he already got a call to return ASAP, by Hazama, of all people.

'Just before our ship hits the ground, an upstream gust of wind cushions the landing. Thanks to that, even though there's a lot of injuries, it seems there's no death.'

Hibiki looked towards the west, it seems the same happened to the Atlas' ships. They had refused the Librarium's aid, and used the crushed ships as temporary medic room, while waiting for their own rescue ship. On the Librarium side, Hazama had taken over command and responded quickly, turning the cathedral into a treatment room.

"I apologize for how my countrymen treated you." Said the orange-haired girl.

And right beside him, stood Penny Polendina, whom he was tasked with escorting to Glynda Goodwitch from the Atlas's crash site. Though Atlas's commanding officers had already received orders and expected his arrival, the experience wasn't pleasant, as the Atlas's soldiers were already convinced he- or rather NOL was the one who brought down their ships, and was… not very friendly to him.

"There's no need. I understand how they feel. It's quite natural and logical to suspect us, they can't do anything to me anyway."

All they could do was a few shoulder bumps, and a leg tried to trip him, which he walked into willingly to ease the tension.

"Besides, you can't apologize for someone else."

"Really? But I saw people do it all the time."

"I… I am not your caretaker. I'm your temporary escort. Contemplate about it yourself, and draw your own conclusions."

"… I understand. I will record that to my memories database."

This girl… best case scenario was that she was some kind of android, worst case, she had a very unhealthy upbringing.

?: "Hi! Bob cut boy! I got a message from Kagura!"

A voice! Speaking in his ears!

'Kokonoe! She hacked my Grimoire! How is she doing this? I had increased security on my on it!'

"Professor, I have someone else with me right now."

"I know. I already scramble the soundwave so she can't recognize what I am saying. You just have to be careful about what you say."

"Alright. Fine then. I'll trust you."

And then Hibiki gestured to Penny that he needed some privacy, she nodded and walked away.

"First, the news, Jin Kisaragi has escaped."

'Major Kisaragi escaped?'

"Why was he arrested in the first place?"

"Something about conspiring with Ragna the Bloodedge and, get this, us, Sector Seven."

'What is going on?'

"Well, is he conspiring with you?"

"Kisaragi? Well if he is, then that's news to me. From what I know, Hazama is in charge right now."

"I understand Professor, Now what is the message from the Colonel?"

"He said, and I quote, "Do what Hazama wants, keep an eye on him, and another eye on Naoto Kurogane." end quote."

'Keep an eye on Hazama and Kurogane?' Hibiki smiled a little. 'The Colonel really working him to the bones.'

Kagutsuchi mid level- back alleyway

Jin rested his shoulder on the well, using it as support as he dragged his wounded body through the back alleyway slowly.

'Why was I handcuffed to the bed? And if I was under some kind of arrest, why is there no one guarding me?'

When he woke up, he was in the military hospital, the only people there were doctors and nurses, who of course couldn't stop him from leaving.

'And all of the airships crushed?'

On the street, all he heard was about the crushes, and gossip about war with Atlas.

'Not importunate. He is all that matters."

?: "Are you sure you should be out and about?"

Jin pulled out his sword immediately, turned to the voice, and saw… a large cat in a yellow hoodie.

'One-eyed cat Beastkin? A coincidence? A fan? Or the real deal?'

"What do you want, cat?"

"Good to see you too, Jin."

"Apology, but I think I would remember if I even met a Jubei wannabee before."

"Jubei wannabee? Now why would anyone want to pretend to be me? I ain't all that special, just a relic of the past."

"I actually don't care if you really are THE Jubei or not, I don't have time to waste on you."

When Jin attempted to walk away, the cat started talking again.

"A comrade, asked me to give ya this message, if I ever run into ya." Said the bipedal cat as Jin tried to walk away.

Jin stopped. "Persistent, aren't you? Fine. Make it quick."

"The world likes its balance. If something becomes too powerful and becomes a threat to that balance, the world creates something to counter that. The power of Order.

'Power of Order? What does that sound… familiar?' Thought Jin.

"This power, it ain't good, but it ain't evil neither, and as some guy once said, with great power comes great responsibility, you need to think long an' hard about how you use it. That's all I'm here to say to ya."

"And that load of gibberish to do with me how?"

"Don't shoot the messenger now. 'side, you're always were a bright kid, I think you already know."

"That had to be the most pointless diatribes I've ever had to endure. And stop acting like you know me, cat."

The cat looked at Jin with a sad look on his face. 'That fateful day… if only I was a little faster… No… what's important now is the present.'

"Jin… if ya ever think that you're lost, or need help, come an' see me, you hear? I'm sure ya know where to find me."

'And how would I know that?'

"Are you done?"

"I guess so." The self-proclaimed Jubei turned his head and sniffed the air.

'He's here.' Judei looked at Jin again. 'Not my place to stop them from meeting. An encounter like that will change him, for better or worse.'

"It's good to see you again Jin, all grown up." Said the hooded cat, as he smiled. He then jumped, bouncing from building to building in the alleyway, until he disappeared on top of a building.

'What a pointless distraction.'

Unfortunately, just after he left the alleyway, Jin came face to face with another weirdo.

"You…" Said the man in the featureless white mask.

To be continued