"Sonovabitch!"
While the entirety of Team AMBR were unwinding from a day of classes, Azure was gripped with horror as he came to a realization.
The bag.
His bag.
He hadn't opened it since they got to Beacon.
It'd been a week at this point.
"What the hell is wrong with me?! Why didn't I unpack with everyone else?!"
Azure practically tore the room apart in search of his small sackpack that had been his only luggage to school, whilst the rest of his team stood to the side and observed their leader's erratic behavior.
"Hey, you guys grew up with him, so...is he normally like this?" Byakuya questioned his other teammates.
Rachel shook her head. "It could be the end of the world, and if Azure wasn't directly involved in any conflict he wouldn't pay it any mind. This is weird."
Micah interjected, "If he's so freaked out about this, then it must be something that'll bite him in the ass if he leaves it alone. Wonder what he packed that's so important."
This search continued for hours, and the other dorms paid no mind to the ruckus that came from AMBR's dorm. Finally, at midnight, the search came to a head.
"It's settled!" the blond team leader exclaimed. The eyes of the team turned to their leader.
…
"The bag's not here."
Azure dare not turn to face the atrocities that would afflict him at the broadcasting of such news.
"...your bag...your bag...isn't here?" Micah questioned.
"Didn't you pick your crap up after teams formed?" Byakuya asked, dumbfounded.
"Hey, listen, there was a lot happening at the time! Weiss was mad when we left the forest and I was doing my best not to die before I could even start training!"
"That leaves one question," Rachel announced, bringing the attention to her. "Where is Azure's bag now?"
A silence filled the room as the four thought hard about this query. As if on cue, the door to their room shot open and a little white ball flew through the opening.
If there was any sort of distress on Azure's face before, there was no longer any trace of it. The blond relaxed, and caught the white ball with the utmost ease.
The MBR of AMBR stood in awe as the white ball unrolled to reveal a cat.
"Neko?!" Rachel and Micah asked in astonishment.
"A-a freakin' cat?!" Byakuya stuttered in equal shock.
A certain heiress then stepped in the door frame, still in her blue and white sleeping gown. Behind her, a slightly shorter redhead.
"I knew that if you were gonna forget one thing, it was gonna be your cat. So, knowing you would be none the wiser, I took your bag and held on to Neko for a while. Since you're so adamant about giving the cat real food, I allowed him to chow on all those ingredients you brought, as well." Weiss said with pride, quite satisfied with herself that she managed to hide her brother's belongings whilst taking care of his pet.
Azure stared at his sister in confusion, before morphing into shock. "You fed Neko raw ingredients?!" It was only now that the six noticed the small feline's tears as he clung to his owner.
Weiss stood, trying to understand what the issue was. "Yeah...I mean...ingredients are for food, right?"
"Yeah, but those ingredients come together to make food! They're ass if you just eat it plain!" Azure turned his back on his sister as he comforted his cat. "I always knew you were bad with pets, but it looks like you're just as clueless when it comes to cooking!"
"Well excuse me for trying to take care of your pet!"
"Maybe if you had just given me my damn bag, you wouldn't have had to take care of him!"
And so, yet another bickering match between the two Schnee siblings began. As the war of words was fought bravely, Ruby stood to the side with the remainder of AMBR.
"So...you're telling me…" Ruby began.
"Azure...has a cat?" Byakuya finished.
"Yup, looks like it! I always wondered what happened to Neko, but now we know! He's been with Azure the whole time!" Rachel explained, happy that the cat the orphans had picked up on the streets was back with them.
"And...why exactly did Azure pack ingredients for food?" Ruby asked, still trying to grasp the situation.
However, her confusion only worsened, for as soon as the redhead inquired about the ingredients, Rachel seemed to melt where she stood and a small smile found it's way onto Micah's lips.
"It's because Azure is the best cook!" Rachel answered, in pure bliss of the thoughts of Azure's cooking.
"I'll admit, it's not half bad…" Micah added, salivating.
While Byakuya was still in the dark about what was happening, Ruby seemed to grasp the situation pretty quick after that. "Cool! Azure, are you really that good? Can you cook us something?"
Azure turned his attention away from the argument he was having with Weiss to answer. "I would be happy to, however, all the ingredients I brought are gone, thanks to a certain someone."
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for helping you out!"
"You take a look at this cat and tell me you were helping me out!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Byakuya shouted.
…
The only thing that filled the silence between those in the room were the grievances from the other dorms. Most had been pent up for hours at this point.
Finally someone spoke. "Well...if I'm gonna cook...I need ingredients...I don't know where to get any in Vale…" Azure said meekly.
The Schnee heiress huffed in annoyance. "Well, that's your problem, not mine. Excuse us." She grumbled as she pulled her team leader out of AMBR's dorm and down the hall.
"Well, I guess you'll just have to figure it out tomorrow." Rachel said with a yawn.
Byakuya looked around at his teammates. "Wait, what? Azure, you're actually gonna do it?"
"Yeah!" Azure said with an enthusiastic nod. "I've been a little out of practice, and plus…" the blond looked over at his still weeping companion. "Neko needs real food, like, yesterday."
The night ended with the team agreeing that now was a good time for sleep, followed by a much-deserved weekend tomorrow. However, Azure had a task to complete before he slept…
*You have joined chat as Azure_Grimoire
The_Tragedy_of_L: Azure! Thank god, I thought you were dead!
Azure_Grimoire: What, I can't stay off for a week without you thinking I've been killed now?
Kanra: Well, you are a student at Beacon! If anything, it's like we're waiting for an obituary!
The_Tragedy_of_L: Kanra, don't be an ass.
Kanra: You know it's true, L!
Azure_Grimoire: Whatever, whatever, listen, do you guys know the best place to buy cooking ingredients in Vale?
The_Tragedy_of_L: Cooking?
Kanra: Hunter AND aspiring chef? My, my, Azure!
Azure_Grimoire: Shut it. This is important.
The_Tragedy_of_L: Uh...sorry, man. I usually do my shopping at the Schnee-mart I live close by to. It's affordable for a student, though! You might get some decent ingredients there!
Azure_Grimoire: Everything at Schnee-mart is overly processed and disgusting. I'd rather die than feed that scum to someone.
Kanra: Wow, passionate!
*Private message from Kanra
[Kanra: If you're that interested, I think I might be able to find you a store that sells fresh produce in town. Probably not the most productive use of my resources, but I never turn my back on a friend in need!]
[Azure_Grimoire: Shut up. There's always a catch with you.]
[Kanra: Let me eat it too.]
[Azure_Grimoire: Uh?]
[Kanra: I'm helping you find the ingredients you need, so, I want to taste what you're cooking. Just give me your contact info and I'll send you the location as soon as I find one. In return, I get to have the honors of tasting your gourmet dish! Deal?]
[Azure_Grimoire: I...guess there's nothing wrong with that. My scroll number is (uhh it's Azure's number). I'll only tell you where I'm cooking when I meet you at the store you find, though.]
[Kanra: Of course! Now then, isn't it past your lights out time, schoolboy?]
[Azure_Grimoire: Screw off!]
*Azure_Grimoire has left chat
The_Tragedy_of_L: He didn't even say goodnight or anything? Has he been assassinated?!
Kanra: You worry too much, L.
Micah walked in front of his teammates, unpleased. "You're telling me there isn't a single ramen place in all of Vale?"
Azure explained, although he was sure Micah already knew the answer. "It's a cultural thing. Foods like ramen and meat buns are common in Atlas because it's native to the culture."
"I mean, I get that, but seriously? The entire city, and they don't even have one of those 'Atlas Noodles' places or something generic like that."
"Well, Vale isn't exactly known as the most diverse kingdom." Byakuya interjected.
Azure nodded. "He's got a point. When you look at cultural diversity between kingdoms, Vale is second only to Atlas on exclusivity.
Micah sighed in content. "Okay, so, where are we getting lunch?"
"We could go back to school and have Azure cook!" Rachel said excitedly.
"I still don't have any-" the blond Schnee was interrupted by his scroll going off. Finding amusement in such convenient timing, Azure opened his scroll to see what he already knew was there.
Message from: Restricted Number: "Hey Azure! Go to the market square, east-central division. Best in the city!
-Kanra"
Azure grinned as he read the message. Kanra had pulled through for him, after all. Now he had to hold up to his end of the deal.
New message: All right, the place I'll be serving is…
Having obtained all the needed ingredients for ramen at the aptly titled "Cook's Kiosk" that Kanra had given the directions to, AMBR returned to Beacon and headed to the kitchen in their dorm building, deciding to invite teams RWBY and JNPR to have lunch with them.
"You know, I never would've pinned Azure as the kind of guy who could cook." Jaune thought out loud.
"Me neither! I guess he's pretty good though, since Rachel and Micah are so excited." Ruby replied.
Immediately after hearing this, Micah did his best to wipe away the grin creeping across his face while Rachel felt the heat rising in her cheeks, wiping some drool away from her mouth.
The entire conversation had Yang a bit intrigued. "So, what's the story? I know you two grew up with Azure for a while, so where does this cooking skill come from?"
Rachel thought for a moment and then replied. "I actually don't know how he became so good. It's weird, I just always remember him being really talented at cooking."
Micah shrugged, signaling he was the same.
"Chow time!"
Azure emerged from the kitchen in his usual attire, aside from the jacket being replaced by a plain, dark blue apron. He carried a tray of bowls and utensils to the table the three teams were seated at and set it down, revealing the twelve bowls of homemade ramen.
As soon as the bowls entered their sight, Rachel and Micah eagerly picked theirs up and got their choice utensils, chopsticks, ready. Weiss did the same, with much less eagerness but equal gleam in her eyes. The other nine (minus Azure, whom was getting his bowl and chopsticks at a steady pace.) just sat in examination of the odd behavior Azure's cooking induced before picking up their own bowls, choosing forks over the Atlesian method of eating ramen.
All confusion left their minds as the rest began to dig into their meals.
"Hey, this is good!" Ruby said in surprise.
"No kidding! I mean, I've never had ramen before, but…" Jaune added meekly.
The only one who didn't react immediately upon the first taste was JNPR's silent orient, Ren, who only sat in deep thought as he thoroughly chewed and tasted the ramen. After a moment, everyone noticed the intense examination Ren was conducting and turned to face him. Azure unknowingly held his breath, a little on-edge thinking about what another native Atlesian thought of his take on the dish.
To everyone's surprise, Ren concluded his inspection by swallowing the first bite and uncharacteristically scarfing down every last noodle.
Now, Yang had to know. "Okay, spill it, blondie. Where'd your skill come from?"
"Blondie? You're one to talk, you know…" Azure replied.
Yang spoke through a pointed and predatory glare. 'Don't test me, smartass.'
The blond Schnee sighed, deciding that he owed his friends an explanation, if nothing else.
"Well, when I was really little, I spent a lot of time with my mother. I was practically her shadow; my dad was always at work, so she was really the only one around. I picked up a lot of housekeeping stuff from her, but more than anything, I got the cooking skill." Azure seemed to stare off into nothing, reminiscent. "I always helped her out with dinner and stuff, so it became natural, almost like breathing. Even when she passed away, cooking was always something that kept her close to me, you know? Like she passed a little of herself to me when I learned how to cook."
The room was silent for a moment before Azure stood up.
"Everyone finished? Cool, I'll take your bowls."
As the blond stood up and gathered the dishes, everyone gave quiet thanks and praise. When Azure was out of earshot, conversation started again.
"Huh. I never would've guessed your mom was so handy with housework, Weiss." Yang said. The Schnee heiress and the Brezhnevs winced a little, leaving the others confused. "It...wasn't my mother that taught him that. It was his."
Confused, Ruby cut in. "Weiss, she was your mom too, right?" The young team leader's voice cracked a little, fearing that her teammate had some disdain for her deceased mother.
"Unlike most of the other kids at our orphanage, Azure knew his parents."
…
Byakuya, JNPR and three-fourths of RWBY looked towards the fox faunus in surprise.
"You mean…" Jaune started.
Rachel nodded. "When Azure first came to the orphanage, he was very reserved and even hostile. It took some time for him to warm up to us, since he would go out of his way to not talk to anyone. The few kids who did only made fun of him, so he got into a lot of fights at home and at school." She looked down and gripped handfuls of her dress. "It was really hard to see him like that."
The orange-haired girl took a moment to collect herself before continuing. "It made me really happy when Micah and I finally got through to him. Even if he still tried to act like he didn't want to be around anyone, we could tell he really enjoyed being with us after a while. I can't imagine what it was like for him when he got separated from us in-"
"Why would he have cared? It's like we drew straws, and he got to live the good life and ditch us."
For a moment, everyone looked in shock at the magenta-haired boy who had been silent throughout the conversation. Only then did they recognize the coldness that glazed his onyx eyes.
Micah put a wide grin on his face and turned to the teen they hadn't realized was standing in, listening for who knew how long.
"I'm right, right? In one day, you got power and a rich family. Seems like a pretty damn good trade, even if you left all of us in the dirt."
Azure was...he wasn't sure what he was. Angry? Upset? Hurt? Dammit, he couldn't even make his own feelings out. What the hell was Micah going on about? He didn't actually think that about him, right? There's no way that his brother-
Azure's thoughts came to a screeching halt.
"You...we...aren't really brothers anymore."
…
Clapping. "Hey, you figured it out!"
The blond couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"W...why…"
"Because, you're a Schnee. That makes you not a Brezhnev, right? You found a new family, so you aren't part of ours anymore."
'This isn't right. This isn't right this isn't right this isn't...'
'Ouch. Looks like this kid struck a pretty hard chord, huh?'
In that moment, he wanted to fight back. He wanted to punch this shit in the face and maybe knock some sense into him. If it didn't happen the first time, he would hit him again, and again, and again.
All Azure could manage to do was walk out of the dining room.
Once in the hallway, his pace picked up. After a while, he broke into a jog, then a full- on sprint up the staircase and out onto the roof.
He burst through the door and fell to his knees. He didn't dare cry, he just stared at the ground with pain glazing his green-and-amber eyes.
"Dammit…"
A resounding slap was the only sound that filled the room after Azure came out.
Micah, who was initially the slightest bit satisfied with himself, was now just confused as he saw who he had received the slap from.
"You idiot...there's no way you meant what you said, so why'd you say it?!" The fox faunus yelled at him.
Micah immediately took an indifferent posture. "You know what I said is true. He ditched all of us, his family, for other people. Abandoned us and took on a new name. Of course he's no longer our brother. It's the truth."
"You...you don't just sever bonds like that! We got separated, we didn't know he was alive-he didn't know we were alive!"
Before any retort could be made, Rachel was out and after her brother.
Micah stood for a moment, trying figure out if Rachel had forgotten what their mission was, what Azure had become. The reason he gave was false, yes, but she knew as well as he did what the boy they once called their brother had done.
"Micah, there's some things you should know about Azure's time living in the Schnee manor."
Onyx eyes turned to Weiss. She was noticeably angry, but she was restraining herself considerably. Micah wondered what she could possibly say that she thought would sway him.
"For the first month, he didn't speak a word to any of us…"
"...so, what's up with Ken and the others?"
The faunus was caught a little off guard with the sudden question. Since she'd come to the roof to be with Azure, he hadn't so much as said a word, silently accepting her company.
"They're just fine, actually. They're staying with the organization that Micah and I work for."
"The one that judged me "dangerous"?"
Rachel inwardly flinched at the hostility in her friend's voice. "They...yeah."
Azure stayed silent for a moment. "They're okay? The kids, I mean."
"Yeah!" Rachel brightened up at the question. "Ken's getting really big, and he's become sort of a role model for the others instead of just their leader. Mika's also grown up a lot, she's so cute, and a super talented dancer! Yo's been working hard at becoming a good cook like you, too! You really inspired him!"
She then took a moment of silence. "Even when Micah tried to convince them that you were gone for good, they all stood confident that you hadn't forgotten us, and that you were gonna come back. They all believed that we would be a family again…"
Silence overtook the two. Azure let out a soft sigh.
"You know, my first month at the Schnee manor, I didn't talk to anyone."
"You didn't get into any fights, did you?"
Laughter. "No, no, I didn't fight anyone. I just didn't talk."
Rachel looked at her blond friend in wonder. "Why?"
"I didn't want to talk to anyone. At first, I didn't even want to have a new family."
Rache only stayed silent, waiting for Azure to continue.
"It was hard...thinking that everyone was gone. I was hopeful that maybe you all were still alive at first, but then I realized that I probably wouldn't ever see you guys again if you were. I just...wanted my brothers and sisters back. I wanted my family."
The fox faunus put all her will into not letting a single tear fall.
"Almost every night, I had nightmares about that day, the collapse. Even though it was the same one every time, I still would wake up crying like a baby. Then, one night, when Weiss and I were sharing a room, she crawled into my bed and held me, shushing me and telling me it was alright…" Azure's eyes grew cloudy for a moment. "For the first time in a whole month, I felt like I was gonna be okay."
"Azure…"
"After that, it became like a routine. Every time I had a nightmare, she'd be there. We grew really close, and we still are, even if it doesn't look it. I grew to love the Schnees over time, realizing that they didn't take me in for some publicity thing or whatever. They truly wanted me, and they did everything to try and fix me after the collapse. Knowing that…"
…
"It helped me start to move on from everything that happened. I never forgot you guys, but I knew I couldn't let it control me forever."
…
Azure stood up from his spot and turned to the door.
"Now, I know you don't take words very well, so why don't we skip the verbal war and get to the real fun? Whattya say, Micah?"
In the doorway to the stairwell stood Micah, Weiss behind him.
"I was wrong. You haven't changed a bit, tsundere."
"Hey, what the hell? Don't start calling me that again!"
"Why? You are a tsundere!"
"You never even told me what that means-ow, dammit!"
"Don't let your guard down!"
"That's it, you're going down you black-eyed bastard!"
"D-don't make fun of my eyes!"
While the two boys continued throwing insults and fists at each other, the two girls stood to the side, giggling at them.
"So, Weiss…" Rachel began.
"I told Micah about when Azure first started living with us. I know he was just hostile because he knew about what happened at the collapse, and my explaining seemed to at least half-convince him that he wasn't being reasonable."
The fox faunus giggled. "Micah's always been a little hard-headed, and it's only gotten worse over the years. No matter what, I think this would've happened eventually."
The two stayed silent for a bit longer, watching the boys quarrel.
"Azure told me, too. About living with your family." Rachel said. Weiss hummed in response.
…
"You think of Azure as more than a brother, don't you?"
…
"Yeah. Maybe I do."
The clock struck midnight, and two teenagers lied on the roof of a dorm building. They'd been fighting for hours, and had finally reached their limit about fifteen minutes ago. Now, they just lay next to each other, looking up at Remnant's fractured moon.
"Hey, Azure."
"Yeah?"
"I never asked...how was the director in his last moments?"
A moment of silence.
"He...wasn't in the best shape. But, even broken, he was still as cool as ever."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Nothing could ever convince me that he wasn't the strongest guy that ever lived."
"I have to agree with you there. It takes guts to be a father for a bunch of kids like us."
A moment of laughter.
"And not out of obligation, because he really wanted us to be happy."
"Yeah. He especially wouldn't let you be all grumpy, Azure."
"Yeah. You remember how he finally got me to open up?"
"You started cooking for us."
"Well, that's when it happened, I started cooking for a different reason…"
"You thought his food was crap."
"It was! If it wasn't for me, we'd have been eating cardboard for all those years!"
"I know, I know. Thanks for that."
"My pleasure."
A moment of happiness.
"Azure...I'm sorry."
"Hey, you've always been a little stupid, don't get all hung up on it."
"H-hey...I'm at least trying to be less hard-headed."
A white ball jumped on Micah's face, and promptly hopped off and curled up on Azure's chest.
"Well, Neko thinks you should try harder."
"Shut up."
The two friends had repaired their shaky reunion. Micah truly believed that they could be brothers again, if they'd ever really stopped, that is.
The two let out a chuckle in light of their conversation, soon developing into giggles, and then into full-blown laughter.
A peculiar figure stalked around Beacon campus at midnight. While the school was quite well-guarded at dark, he wasn't the best free-runner in Vale for nothing.
He finally stopped at a bowl of ramen. Would've had to be reheated, but it was definitely homemade.
The figure looked at the bowl in confusion, then let out an annoyed sigh.
"Azure, you're a pain."
A/N: This one took a while. I basically went in thinking, "Oh shit, I forgot to put the cat in. I want the cat there. Damn, better put the cat in." I found a way to tie it into the whole cooking thing, which was what I kinda wanted to be the focus for the chapter. While writing, it just felt natural that Azure and Micah do the whole "kiss and make up" thing, so I hope it doesn't feel forced when you guys read it.
Posidon29: I Appreciate the kind words! I hope you continue to enjoy, even if the time between chapters starts to grow.
Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who's followed and favorited!
Not gonna give a big spiel like I did in my last a/n, but I will reiterate, reviews are appreciated!
Follow/favorite/review!
Later~!