Chapter twelve: It's a trap!
(a/n- Gonna have another little omake here since no one objected to the last one. These are just little bits of backstory that don't really fit with the main story… but I still want to go over. Anyway, here it is.)
(a/n- also anyone that watched John Wick Chapter two might recognize a part of this.)
Omake: The curious case of Velvet Scarlatina (I honestly don't think that reference works that well here… oh well, I just wanted to use it. This is related to 'The Velvet Conversation' Jaune brought up in chapter eight… and possibly a future omake? Anyway it's about two years before the events of chapter one)
"Uhh… Velvet?" I asked, looking over at my rabbit faunus secretary. I was in my room upstairs, and the fact she was even there already struck me as odd. She suddenly stood upright, her ears going rigid as she slowly turned around. She was dressed differently too, instead of the brown sweatshirt and dark grey trousers I was used to… it was a brown dress. It hugged her figure and, don't get the wrong idea, it suited her just fine… but it still kind of weirded me out. I saw a line of sweat on her forehead as she spoke, she was oozing nervous energy out of every pore. "H-H-Hello Jaune! W-What are y-y-y-you doing here?" she asked, her entire body shaking slightly. I raised an eyebrow, leaning back against the doorframe as I kept the door open with my foot.
"Umm, I live here? In this room in particular actually. What're you doing up here? Did you need something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. I saw her face flush as she looked down, muttering something I couldn't quite hear. "Sorry, what?" I asked, walking closer as I heard the door shut. I heard her gulp as she looked up, walking over to me. "Umm… I d-d-don't know how t-t-to say this… I'm w-w-worried you'll g-g-get mad at me if I m-m-mess it up…" she said, looking down. I honestly thought she was about to cry. I held up my hands, smiling at her, "Velvet, you aren't going to make me angry. Just… just say what you need to." I said, taking a breath to calm myself slightly. Something about this was setting off my 'sixth sense'. I almost felt threatened… which was weird, since the shorter rabbit faunus was the one causing it.
She walked over to me, nearly pressing against me as I pressed back into the door. I felt a line of sweat break out across my own forehead as I spoke, "Umm, Velvet? You're a… a little close there." I said. I grabbed at my collar, lightly pulling on it, "Phew, is it hot in here?" I asked, giving her what was probably the world's most unconvincing and awkward smile. I felt her lean her forehead against my chest, "Jaune… h-how do you f-f-feel about me?" she asked, looking up at me with teary eyes. Yes… she looked like she was seriously about to cry.
"Velvet what's going-"
"ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
I had to force myself not to jump back as Velvet reached her hands up, holding them over her mouth before she jumped back, landing on my bed and shaking slightly. "I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!" she nearly yelled, muffled by her hands. I blinked twice, shaking my head slightly to try and get over the shock of what just happened before I walked over, gingerly sitting down on the bed, closer to the pillow, and reached out a hand. I felt her flinch back and look up, her eyes teary as she gazed at me. "It's okay… and I think you're a great person Velvet. You're sweet, loving, probably the kindest person I've ever met, and you're a pleasure to have around. But… out of curiousity… why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I mean, I'd be fine telling my older friend what she was good at but, well, it seemed out of character for her to ask that. If I even tried to compliment her in the past she'd just start blushing, pull up her sweater and hide in it for awhile. Usually she'd also curl up into a fetal position.
"I… I... " she took a breath, letting it out as I saw her eyes take on a more steely quality, one of someone that was focusing intently on what they were about to do. "Just go for it." she muttered, seemingly talking to herself as she looked over at me. At this point, her face was a blushing mess, and I was equal parts concerned and freaked out of my mind. "Umm… Velvet?" I asked, leaning back slightly. I'd never seen her act like this… and it was really weirding me out. She didn't answer, but instead took a breath… before she lunged right at me. I didn't know what happened, I just couldn't process it. One second she was there, the next I saw and felt her slam her lips against mine… it actually kinda hurt. "What- I-... how? Huh?!" I thought. I just… I just couldn't even think. What the heck was I supposed to do?! Should I shove her off? Wrap my arms around her? I didn't know! So, naturally, I did what I always do when I have no clue how to react to a situation.
Nothing.
I just sat there and waited, my eyes wide and my face brighter red than hers as I just let my hands stay there, frozen in place near her sides. It felt like an eternity before I felt her move her own face back, keeping her eyes shut for a few seconds. I figured she was waiting for a response. When she opened her eyes, all I could do was sit there, my mouth slightly open in shock, my mind not even beginning to process what the hell had just happened. "Uwaaaaawhat?" I said, blinking rapidly as I just tried to make some kind of noise, something other than just sitting there and staring at her. Velvet was about the same, suddenly freezing up as well, her eyes flicking over me as her face slowly brightened, redder and redder.
It felt like hours, though it was probably more like five minutes, when I finally found my voice again. "Umm, what? What just… I don't even know what just happened…" I said as I stared, mouth agape, at the rabbit faunus that had just stolen my first kiss. She looked away, covering her face with her hands as I saw her leaning down, her ears drooping slightly. "I… I RUINED EVERYTHING AGAIN!" she yelled, dashing out the door. I just sat there, watching the door slam shut behind her as I just tried to make a coherent sentence, fumbling like the idiot I felt like… and probably was come to think of it. "Okay… do what you always do in irrational situations Jaune… look at the facts." I thought. It helped on cases, maybe it would help now. When confronted with crazy situations, order and list the facts to come up with a plan. "Okay, so
1. The work day just ended and I'd closed up shop
2. I'd just got done talking with Ren
3. Velvet was in my room in a form fitting brown dress
4. Velvet seemed really nervous
5. Velvet kissed me
6. She ran out and screamed she ruined everything
7. … that's all I got.
I stood up, feeling at least a little more calm about what just happened, and let my hand absently trail towards my lips. "Didn't realize Velvet wore lipstick." I thought, considering the fact my fingers came away slightly red. Not enough to be obvious but, enough that it was there. I opened the door, looking around to see everything the way it normally was, other than one door was open down the hall. I slowly walked towards it, stepping past the creakier floorboards as to try and not startle my faunus secretary. When I got to the door, I looked in, frowning at what I saw. Velvet was sitting in the corner of the room, farthest from the bed. She was curled into a ball, her ears curled up and her arms on her legs. She'd buried her head into her arms, her back arched against the wall. She was even rocking slowly back and forth. I could just barely hear her muttering the word 'Stupid' over and over again.
"Velvet?"
"I'M SORRY!"
She yelled, looking up towards me, her eyes still tightly shut. I was about to speak when she buried her head back into her arms, rocking a bit faster. I walked over towards her, getting on one knee and reaching out a hand. I placed one on her shoulder as she darted her head up, her nose twitching in a way that reminded me far too much like an actual rabbit. "Velvet… just calm down." I said. She sniffed, wiping away at her eyes as I saw some of her eyeliner running. She tried to speak for a second, but all I heard was faint whimpering. "Velvet, it's okay." I said. That seemed to set her off.
"NO IT'S NOT! IRUINEDEVERYTHINGAGAINANDNOWYOU'LLHATEMEANDLEAVEMEANDTON-TONALONEANDNOWOHGODHOWCOULDIBESOSTUPID!"
"Woah woah! It's okay… none of that's going to happen." I said gently, placing a consoling hand on her other shoulder as she sobbed into her hands. After a few minutes of sobbing she finally seemed to gain her composure enough that she could speak. She looked up, streaks of black eyeliner down her face. "It's not?" she asked, her voice high and cracking slightly. I frowned as I leaned in, wrapping my arms around her. I couldn't stand seeing her suffer, or anyone hurting her. I mean, it was like kicking a puppy, who does that? (There's Cardin I guess) "No… no I'm not going to abandon you and Ton-ton, you haven't ruined anything. I just… well, I'd kind of like to know why you just… well, stole my first kiss?" I asked, smiling slightly awkwardly. Velvet's eyes widened as I said that.
"W-Wait, that… oh I'm sorry I, I didn't know…" she said, looking back down as I saw her eyes tearing up slightly. I raised an eyebrow, somewhat confused. "There's no need to be, I told you, it's fine." I said, still trying to console the saddened rabbit. She shook her head, her gaze suddenly having a ferocity I hadn't seen before… at least, not in her. "Of course there's a need Jaune! Your first kiss is special! It's important… and I just stole yours…" she said, looking down as I saw her assumingly trying to scrunch into a tighter ball. I sighed, placing my hands on her shoulders as I moved in front of her. I tilted her head up with my left hand, brown eyes meeting blue one's as I tried to calm her down… at least a little. I wasn't used to panicked Velvet.
"Velvet it's-"
"Jaune… please."
She held up a hand, trying to get me to stop… oddly. I nodded, gesturing for her to go on with my hand. I sat back on my heels as Velvet spoke. "Even if it's no big deal to you… it's a big deal to me okay? Let me pay you back." she said, her face tinted slightly red. I raised an eyebrow, leaning back a bit more as I felt the sudden need to back away from her. "Umm, how?" I asked. She sighed, standing up as she held out a hand towards me. I took it, using her hand and the nearby nightstand to hoist myself back to where I was standing. I stepped back as she reached her hands behind her back. I felt my face burn bright red as I kept my eyes on her face, seeing the dress drop off of her shoulders. Her face was as red as mine as she spoke, "You can do whatever you want. Anything." she said, shutting her eyes as I hazarded a look down. Thankfully at least she was wearing underwear, I probably couldn't handle it if she wasn't. She was wearing brown underwear and, oddly, fishnet stockings. I smiled slightly as I reached into my trenchcoat, "Just remember you said anything." I said, seeing her face flush brighter.
"Huh?"
Velvet opened her left eye, unable to open her right on account of the handkerchief pressed against it. I wiped away at the eyeliner beneath her eyes as she involuntarily shut them. I pulled back, smiling at her confused expression. "What? I'd rather not have your eyeliner stain your face." I said, shutting my eyes as I let out a small chuckle. When I opened them again, I saw Velvet's face, while still bright red, was now more confused than anything. "Wait… I'm in my underwear, I told you… you could do anything to me… and you wiped my eyes?" she asked, blinking twice in what I guessed was disbelief. I shrugged, unable to help the smile on my face. "What? You said anything. Now we're even." I said. Velvet just stood there, about as flabbergasted as I was when she kissed me a few minutes ago, doing nothing but looking at me.
"Put your dress back on Velvet… seriously this is getting awkward." I said, looking away from her. I heard a small squeak from her as I saw her reach down, pulling her dress up around her, zipping it behind her. When she was done, I looked back at her, smiling slightly. She was still confused, "That was it? You… you don't want to…" she gestured towards the bed next to me. I smirked as I grabbed around her waist, her letting out a squeak as she was nearly flung to the bed. I kicked the door shut, smirking towards her. "Well, you brought it up. Let me show you how an Arc does it~" I said, leaning down. I saw her shut her eyes, looking away from me from me as she scrunched them shut. Even so, her voice sounded so fragile and innocent. "Please, be gentle." she said.
"BAHAHAHAHAHNO! STOP! BAHAHAH!"
Velvet was bucking around on the bed as I moved my hands along her stomach, her laughing up a storm. I stopped after a minute, letting her catch her breath for a moment, her face still set in a wide smile. "I… I didn't mean for… Ahaha." Velvet said, smiling towards me. I returned it, sitting down on the bed as she just laid there, still trying to catch her breath. "I didn't realize you were that ticklish." (yeah, he was tickling her… the hell were you thinking?!) I said, still smirking towards her. Her face tinged a bit brighter as she looked away, still smiling towards the wall as she moved her hands off her stomach, laying them at her sides. "That's… not what I had in mind but, this works for you huh?" she asked, smiling over at me.
I smiled right back, leaning over and scratching behind her right ear, the spot I knew she liked from years of experience. The effect was instant, her right leg moving up and kicking against the metal bar of the bed as her eyes shut, her face set in quiet pleasure from simply being pet. "Yeah, it's fine. I have to ask though… why? Why did you… you know." I said, looking away as my face tinged pink. She looked away, sitting up next to me and leaning on my shoulder slightly, still trying to catch her breath from both the petting and the tickling. "Ren said you liked me and… well, I thought I should give you a chance." she said, looking down. I felt my face heat up, for a very different reason this time. "Oh that little-!"
I shot up, moving open the door as I looked out towards the stairs, seeing the man of the hour. He was smirking towards me, leaning back against the door to the staircase. "So… how's it going with Velvet? Give her a good time?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief. I growled towards him as Velvet stepped out of the room, her eyes widening when she saw Ren. "You were… completely lying when you said Jaune liked me didn't you?" Velvet asked, her ears drooping slightly as she leaned down. Ren shrugged, smirking towards me as he held his hand out. "Hey, I figured Jaune here liked you, so I thought I'd give him the proper push he needed." he said. I glared at him, not speaking as I walked over to him. He looked at me oddly, dropping his smirk for his normal expression. "What? Didn't get-"
CRASH!
I huffed out a few breaths as I looked down, seeing Ren laying in the floor, a large hole in the door next to him about where his face would be. "I'm only saying this once. Never. Do this. Again." I said, glaring down at him. He held up his left hand, his thumb up. "Got it…" he muttered before he fell, groaning into the carpet. I turned, walking back towards my own room. When I was about halfway to my room, I turned back to Velvet, seeing her standing in the hall, just looking at Ren in shock. "Velvet, make a note to call a carpenter in the morning… we're gonna need a new door." I said, gesturing to the one that currently may have had some of Ren's teeth in it. She looked to Ren, then me, then Ren, then me again. Then, she giggled, holding a hand up to her mouth.
"I'll get right on it."
(a/n- omake's over… and very long… I'm long winded, what can I say?)
"So did you-"
"For the last time no."
I said, rubbing between my eyes as Blake trailed behind me and Ren, her face likely a blushing mess. Ren had been asking almost the same questions the entire time we were walking around the city. "So did you have sex with Blake?" was the main one, the one he just asked as well. Another one, "Was she purring all night long?" he would ask just as much. Every time I looked over my shoulder I would see Blake standing a few feet behind us, her face bright red as she would absently look at the stores around us. Mine wasn't the same way, being used to dealing with Ren and his smart mouth at this point, but my face did feel a bit warmer than normal. It was more annoying than anything for me.
I decided to tune out Ren's next question, which was likely some cat-related pussy pun. That was the third question he'd been asking almost on loop. I just looked around, absently wondering what place to go in next. I was already carrying a bag in one hand, Ren carrying a similar one in his as well. He was shopping for a souvenir for Nora, and I was doing the same for Velvet, Ton-Ton and Neo. Velvet since she didn't get to travel a lot, Neo since… well I figured she might like something from Mistral. Ton-Ton was an obvious reason, she'd given me that adorable kicked puppy look for weeks the last time I'd forgotten to get her something from Atlas. On the bright side, she was pretty easy to buy for. Some candy, a new doll or stuffed animal she didn't already have, things like that. Conveniently, I just passed a candy shop… and a toy store.
I walked into the toy store, Ren raising an eyebrow as he followed me. "Why are we in here?" he asked, stopping his maelstrom of teasing for a few seconds at least. I smiled slightly, "I've got something for Velvet, now I need to get something for Ton-Ton." I said, looking around for some kind of doll she didn't have, or something she might like in general. Ren shrugged, walking towards the door. "Alright. You get the toy, I'll get the sweets." he said. I nodded back at him as he walked out, me bending over and looking at the dolls on the bottom of the shelves. Blake raised an eyebrow, looking down at me as she approached. With Ren gone she seemed more comfortable to get closer than nine feet. "Huh, nine feet… nine lives… no I shouldn't…" I thought absently. She'd heard enough of Ren's stupid puns, that was bad enough. I mean, they were worse than mine… and even Yang's for that matter.
"Umm, what was that? Why did that just happen?" she asked, walking over next to me and leaning down to my level. I looked over at her, smiling slightly. "Ren and I have a system when we leave Vale on a job. If I decide to buy a toy for Ton-Ton, he gets her candy, same goes if I buy the candy. We've had waaaaay too many close calls when both of us got her the same toy or the same candy… thank our lucky stars she was more gullible back then." I said, muttering the last part of it. Blake raised an eyebrow but, if she had any questions, she didn't raise them. In the meantime, I just kept looking along the lower shelves of the store. I saw dolls with red hair, blue hair, black hair, white hair, brown hair, blonde hair, even two with green and purple hair. I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck as I stood, feeling my back cracking slightly. "Crap, what should I get her…" I thought, scratching my chin slightly.
I felt a light tapping on my arm, causing me to look over. I saw Blake holding up what looked like a large teddy bear, almost the size of Ton-Ton herself. "How about this one?" she asked, holding it up slightly. I scratched at my chin as I tried to remember what kind of dolls Ton-Ton had. Did she have any as big as she was?... okay no, she didn't. "Yeah… I think that could work." I said, smiling slightly as I grabbed it by the scruff… er, fabric, of it's neck. I found that, for being made of stuffing, it was surprisingly heavy. I walked towards the cash register, seeing a rather strange sight. The woman at the front looked… familiar, somehow. She had bright blue eyes, not that uncommon, dark skin, also not that uncommon, and pale green hair. Okay, that was a little uncommon. I set the bear on the table as I took in the details of the woman. She was dressed in the uniform of the store we were in, as I saw a man wearing a similar uniform not five minutes ago. The nametag said 'May' on it, but I felt like I'd seen her somewhere before…
"Will this be all sir?" she asked, giving me a bright smile as she scanned the teddy bear. I reached into my hat, grabbing out a card of lien and laying it on the counter. "Yeah." I said simply, still trying to remember where I'd seen her. The green hair… that had to be it, something about that hair was familiar. I absently looked around as the woman swiped the card, setting it in the register and handing the bear to me. "Here you are sir, have a nice day!" she said, shutting her eyes and smiling. I nodded, tipping my hat towards her as I started walking out, Blake following close by. "She seemed cheerful." she said, hazarding a glance backward. I did the same, though much more subtle than Blake, as I didn't want anyone to know I was looking. I noticed the girl leaning down, grabbing something on the floor. I turned my head back forwards, heading for the candy shop next door. "Yeah, a little too cheerful." I thought.
I pushed open the door to the shop, finding Ren walking over to the counter, laying down a few assorted candies that, fittingly, looked like carrots, at the counter. "Will that be all for you sir?" I heard the girl behind the counter ask. I looked at her, still somewhat suspicious from the last girl, and found that this one looked like what I'd expect a Mistral cashier to look like. She had black hair, brown eyes, and pale white skin. She was what most people thought of when they thought 'Mistral'. Ren paid quickly, not speaking a word as the girl uttered a rushed 'Have a nice day.'. I wouldn't have thought anything of it, if it weren't for the fact I saw her bending over too, reaching beneath the counter, just like the other girl. I looked at Ren, giving him a look that said 'Something's wrong'. Ren nodded, understand and, rather than letting another teasing pun fly, the two of us started walking, towards the center of the little shopping district.
"What do you think it is?" he asked, leaning over towards me so he wouldn't be heard. I shrugged, as slight and unnoticeable as I could make it. I looked around, seeing a crystal blue sky with no clouds, not many shadows were cast, making it difficult to hide. Not to mention there were people walking all over the place, not a good time for an ambush at least. "Not sure. Both the girls at the counter's bent over after we left, and seemed way too cheerful for this place. I don't think it's a coincidence." I whispered, both of us stopping as we reached a few people in a crowd. They were crowded around a woman, dressed in a long black dress. She was eye-catching and, by most people's standards, amazingly pretty. She was wearing what looked to be almost clear high-heels, and black stockings that reached up into her dress. The instrument she was playing was a beautifully crafted black violin. I heard her singing in a language I didn't know, her voice soft and melodious. There was a violin case open beneath her, a few cards of lien present. A street performer.
I looked at the crowd, seeing that, if they weren't leaning against each other on benches, they were leaning against each other while standing, everyone swaying to the melody. Apparently the song appealed to couples. There were seven couples if I counted right. When the woman stopped, all of them applauded, a few people walking past dropping cards of lien for the woman as she bowed. I saw her open her eyes a moment later, bright and flaming with a sort of cold fire. Her eyes locked onto mine as I saw hers flash with something. Though it could've just been the light, since the second I saw it, it disappeared. "Didn't expect to hear The Ballad of the Lionheart this time of year." Ren said, smiling towards the woman. She smiled back, setting her bow against her violin as she laid both against the ground. Ren leaned down, setting a card of lien inside of the open case. "Thank you. I must admit, I hadn't expected someone so… young, to know The Ballad of the Lionheart." she said, her voice almost monotone.
"I know it well, I was raised listening to those types of songs. Do you know The Call of the Valkyries Heart?" Ren asked, smiling slightly. I knew the one Ren was talking about now, it was an old song, a folk song from Mistral, one he said he sang to Nora when they were… well let's just say he'd rarely finish before Nora started having fun. As a Mistral native, I guess it made sense Ren would know about all of them. She smiled, her eyes sparking, "Of course Ren." she said. I felt my eyes widen as I grabbed at my gun, Ren and Blake doing the same. She just chuckled, whistling slightly. I looked around, seeing all the couples, even most of the people walking around us, suddenly stop, all glaring at us. I could see it in there eyes, the cold, the murderous intent. We'd walked right into a trap. "There's quite a price on your heads. Six million lien, more than Mercury's." the woman said, reaching for her violin. I saw her grab at the back, pulling out what looked like a pistol as she laid the violin down on the ground. I looked around, seeing every one of the assassin's grabbing weapons of their own.
"Gotta think of a way out of this… ahah!" I thought, smiling slightly. If there was one way to stop a group of assassins and/or bounty hunters, it was by exploiting their biggest weaknesses, Pride and Greed. "Well, I guess you got us. Quite impressive." I said, holding up my hands slightly. The assassin's around us started chuckling, all of them moving closer as they gripped their triggers. "Though, I just have one question." I said, looking towards the woman, the one I guessed to be the leader. Of course, when she responded, I figured I guessed right. "And what's that?" she asked. I smirked,
"Which one of you gets the reward money?"
This produced the predicted results, all of them looking between each other, some glaring. "What? You can't all claim the reward on our heads." I said, looking around. The woman, assumingly the leader, just looked around, speaking quickly. "Don't listen to him, he's trying to confuse you!" she said. She was right. The masses of assassins didn't seem to listen, many of them starting to yell that they deserved it, some others yelling over them, and others over them, until it just sounded like one big shouting match. I smirked as I grabbed Blake and Ren's hands. "Dive to the floor on three." I whispered. They both nodded. Meanwhile, the woman kept trying to control her group. "Stop shouting! Listen!" she yelled, to no effect. "One, two, three!"
BANG!
I pulled them down, firing a bullet at the woman. She fell back into the fountain and, hearing the shot, exactly what I expected to happen, happened. I heard the gunshots as the assassins turned on one another, shooting at each other as they failed to realize what was going on. I looked up, firing my own revolver towards the people in front of me. I heard the sounds of gunfire close by and I knew Blake and Ren were firing their own weapons. Though I couldn't really see since the giant teddy bear I'd bought Ton-Ton was right between us. It felt like a lifetime, but really it was probably just thirty seconds, when the bullets finally stopped. I looked up, reloading my revolver as I slowly stood, looking and listening for any assassins that might've survived the shooting.
Though, when I stood and looked, all I saw were bullet casings, blood, and corpses. I looked over, grabbing the bear and seeing Ren and Blake both standing up, dusting themselves off. "Okay… that, was impressive." Blake said, smiling towards me. Ren nodded, giving me a similar smile. I shrugged, looking at the fountain as I saw the woman's stocking covered legs sticking out over the edge, her body sunk beneath the shallow water of the fountain. I saw a bit of red coming out around her. I walked over, tapping her knee a few times with my revolvers barrel, she didn't move an inch. "Yeah… think they all killed each other?" I asked, looking back towards my companions. Blake nodded, but Ren shook his head. I was about to ask why when he held up his gun, patting the side of it to eject the mag. He smirked, "I killed at least three of them." he said as he reloaded a full magazine.
"How did you know that would work?" Blake asked, walking over to me as I started moving towards the exit, wanting to get as far away from the area as possible. In my experience, whenever a shootout happened, either Arc family representatives, the authorities, or the press would show up. As of now, I wasn't on great terms with any of the three. I stepped over a pool of blood before I answered, "Simple. Assassin's are almost always three things. Insane, obviously, Greedy, and Prideful. The way they looked, they were closer to bounty hunters than real assassins. I figured all of them wanted the money, so I figured I'd bring up the question of who got the money. You saw how they argued." I said, placing my revolver back into my coat as I started walking back towards the hotel. Blake nodded, smiling towards me. "Yeah. I agree with you now. We need to get out of this damn country." she said. I chuckled, turning my head back around towards the walkway that lead back to our hotel, and hopefully soon, Vale. The place where I at least knew the people that wanted me dead.
~meanwhile~
I pulled out my colored contacts, laying them in their case as I sighed, tugging at the skirt of the uniform I was wearing. "I hate disguising as such a low-life." I thought, walking towards the area I heard the gunshots. I just quickly walked, wanting to see exactly what happened before Cinder started cleaning up. "You don't look half bad as a cashier May." I heard an annoying voice say from behind me. I groaned as I turned, glaring at the man. As if the gray hair, black eyes, and snarky attitude weren't enough to tell me who it was, the black cloak around his neck and guns in his hands were. "Mercury, see this?" I said, holding up a wallet. It belonged to the real May, it was an 'angel investment' from her. She'd been rather generous to not only give up all her clothes and money, but to even hide herself in one of the bears? That kind of kindness was to die for nowadays. "Yeah it's the dead bitch's wallet. What about it?" he asked.
"If you stop talking, it's all yours." I said, glaring at him as we kept walking. Mercury shook his head, his eyes widening as he turned ahead. Mine did too once I saw it. It was an absolute massacre, bodies and shells and blood all over the place. I looked all over, but I didn't see three key things. One, the detective's body. Two, his girl's body. Three, our target's body. Though, I did see what was likely the last thing I expected. "Cinder!" me and Mercury both said, rushing towards our boss. The glass slippers, one of which had fallen off, were easy to recognize. Her legs were leaning out of the fountain, most of her body within. I grabbed one arm, Mercury grabbing the other as we pulled. Cinder was, as expected, still very much alive and mostly unharmed, other than maybe the slight nosebleed. She moved slightly forward so that she wouldn't fall back into the fountain. Then she moved her hands, grabbing at her soaking wet hair and pulling it away from her face. "Cinder?" I asked.
Her response was to spit out a stream of water, even one of the goldfish that was in the fountain landing on the ground. She blinked twice as she looked around… then she sighed, "This is why I hate working with amateurs." she said, facepalming as she looked at the ground. Mercury reached behind him, grabbing out one of his signature black cloaks and wrapping it around her shoulders, fruitlessly trying to dry her off. Though, Cinder still grabbed the cloak when she stood, wrapping it around her as I saw her slightly shivering. She slipped her slipper back on, looking down as I saw her gaze twist into a mask of rage. I looked down, my heart nearly stopping as I saw it. Her violin that had been custom made to house her handgun, was shattered, ripped apart by a stray bullet. "He really did it this time didn't he?" I thought, suddenly afraid for my own life as Cinder leaned down, her rage replaced with a calm and blank look. "Are you okay Cinder?" I asked.
She just stood, clutching the bow of her violin as she smiled, walking towards me. I got down on the ground, ignoring the blood soaking my pants as I shut my eyes. "I'M SORRY MA'AM!" I said. Sorry for what? I didn't know, but I knew the look, it was the one she got when she was about to hurt someone, usually me, over them doing something she didn't like. I yelped as I landed fully on the ground, the piercing sense of Cinder's glass slipper on my back as I looked up, seeing her with that same, evil smirk. "We're going to Vale." she said, striking my back again with the bow once she was done. She frowned, "This isn't working. Come Emerald, I'm angry." she said. I gulped as I nodded, reluctantly kneeling when she moved her foot. I looked up, my eyes pleading with the mad woman. Though, it seemed she didn't care, since the next thing she did was grab my neck.
I felt the sense of pressure on my neck and chest as I tried to breath, feeling myself picked up almost a foot off the ground by Cinder's arms, her gaze one of insanity. "You're pretty blue~ Let's see how far we can go!" she said, her smile full blown mad as I felt her grip tighten. I saw the dark spots on my vision as I felt the air leaving my lungs in a strangled and unintelligible cry for mercy. It burned worse than any fire. Just when I thought I was going to pass out, I felt her let go, my legs thudding against the ground as I gripped at my throat. I started coughing, my chest pained as I tried to get back my last oxygen. "Thank you." I said, still keeping my eyes shut. I felt her hand, soft, cold and wet, moving across my face. I didn't have to open my eyes to tell she was pleased with herself. I didn't know why she latched onto me as her practical 'stress ball', but every time something didn't go right, every time Cinder was angry, she'd take it out on me.
Of course, I was too afraid of her to say anything about it.
Sometimes she just made me do about what I'd expect a maid would, clean or cook something for her. Other times, like now, she was sadistic and cruel, she was The Fallen, the name she'd rightly earned. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Mercury was behind her, his jaw set in anger and his fist clenching and unclenching, his eyes burning. There was a good reason Cinder normal did this in private, Mercury hated seeing other people hurt like this. Not sure why though, I mean, he was an assassin. I felt myself pulled up, Cinder placing my head in her hands as I kneeled, her bending over and standing. She smiled, "We're going back to prepare, come on. I expect you in my room, it's a B-day (this doesn't stand for birthday by the way) for me." she said. I gulped as I nodded, following behind as she started walking. It was always strange how Cinder could do that, make anyone feel small, weak and helpless, no matter who they were. What made her a good assassin I guess.
Mercury walked over to me, pulling me back a bit from Cinder. He leaned down, "Are you alright?" he asked, looking over at me. He was concerned, at least a little. I nodded, not answering for fear of Cinder's somehow all hearing ears. Mercury nodded, leaning back and moving a bit faster to catch up to Cinder. "So, what's the plan?" he asked, full volume this time, since he wasn't trying to keep anything from Cinder. Cinder giggled, tossing her hair back with one hand, getting a few drops on me in the process, before she took a breath. "We're going to Vale and we're completing this contract, just as we planned. With one, minor change of plans." she said, walking forward and looking towards the tall hotel in the distance.
"Bloody Rose be damned, I'm killing those detectives. And that little faunus bitch too."
