Chapter Twelve
Atop a tower in a room full of shifting gears, two men converse. One man, bespectacled, sits behind a desk, posture straight and hands clasped together; the other stands in front with crossed arms and an air of nonchalance. It has been long since such a meeting has occurred. But whenever they do, it has always been a matter of import.
Although, there are usually more people involved.
"…I see, so that is her current condition," the seated man says as soon as his acquaintance completes his report. If one were to gaze at his face, they could almost see the gears shifting in his mind—very much like the way the real ones do at this moment, in fact. There has not been anything of note that has happened all this time. But, he knows that the longer that is the case, the more is at risk.
The other man nods. He lifts a hand and rubs his chin. "Obviously, most of what I've learned is word of mouth. But a quick checkup proved that seems to be the case."
"Then, difficult as she had been acting, she's heeded my warning."
He shrugs, as if the atmosphere isn't as serious as it currently is. He knows the gravity of the situation, but he maintains the facade anyway. "More or less. Hasn't been doing much about it, honestly."
The bespectacled man closes his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "I'm not very much surprised. But I have confidence that she will do what she must, in time." What she should have been doing a long time ago, he adds in his mind. "After all, it has been quite a while now since her… inactivity."
"Oh, I'm pretty damn sure she acknowledges that particular fact. Grudgingly."
A soft chuckle. "But of course. She's also smart to have chosen her current location, if all these years of, shall we say, peace and quiet is of any indication. Unfortunately, these kinds of things never last forever. Those who seek what she has will eventually get it. If she does not move away as they step closer, little by little, then—"
"I know. No need to remind me," he interrupted with a raised hand. "She's not going to be the only person in danger anymore. And you gotta admit, we'd be shit at doing our jobs when that happens."
"Indeed."
"So what's our game plan, then? Keep convincing her before anything starts hitting the fan? Last I've checked, things these days haven't exactly been improving."
It is true. Grimm sightings all over the four kingdoms had increased as of late. Disagreements are arising, power struggles are happening, and it's appearing that day, after day, Remnant is slowly spiraling downward. He knows that queen on the opposite side of the chessboard is the one responsible. He's trying his best to be one step ahead of her, but there is only so much he can do.
Still, he shakes his head at the suggestion. "The more you push, the more she resists. We'll do what we can to maintain what we have for now. Keep watch, report your observations, and if worse comes to worst, interfere." His lips curl into a wry smile. "My current status does not permit me to be as mobile as you, after all."
"In other words, I go continue playing the role of an errand boy."
"In a sense." And then, his cool and calm expression shifts into a grave one. "All we can do is hope she finally comes around. And when the time comes that she does, it will not be too late."
At first all she felt was a nudge somewhere on her shoulder, making her strange dream about Ursai-riding zombies flicker like a television with a badly set up antenna. She sighed and moved slightly away from the invasive touch, and just like that she didn't bother acknowledging the disturbance any longer.
But then said nudge turned into a persistent one. She grunted. She definitely felt a faint pang of annoyance. Still, she didn't open her eyes and insisted on continuing her dream. Where were those zombies going…?
"Lune."
Now there were voices, too, and man, they were echoing really badly inside her head. It reminded her of people shouting at the mouth of a cave. She'd like to be the bear living inside said cave that would come out roaring to quiet down all those annoyances, but then she couldn't. She was a rabbit, not a bear.
"Um. Lune. S-seriously. Get up, please."
In the end, the person destroying her sleep won out. She was finally wrested away from her dreams. Lune let out a soft grunt and blinked her eyes open, straightening her back from the slouch she'd adopted as she fell asleep on her desk.
That is, her classroom's desk.
She covered her mouth with a hand as she opened it to let out a yawn, and after lowering her arm onto her desk so it could join the other, she turned her head to her left and cast a questioning glance at Vanilla Blackthorn. The fourteen-year-old, in turn, had her brows knit together in worry as her violet eyes took in the sight of her faunus friend.
Yang probably would have loudly wondered what's up if the blonde wasn't stuck at the back of the class for arriving late and running out of available seats.
"What?" Lune asked with a hint of a slur.
A quick flicker of the eyes to the front of the classroom was all she got from Vanilla next.
Oh.
...Oh.
Well, then, time to face the music. After another yawn, Lune turned her head to regard a half-amused Professor Beryl. Today he had his red bandana on, this time his fox ears visible through the holes on the cloth; her dad was horribly inconsistent with his attire and tended to wear whatever he felt like wearing. She immediately detected the worry in his green eyes despite the small smile on his face and the crossed arms.
"Had a nice nap?" The fox faunus asked. Before Lune could open her mouth to give a quickly thought of answer, he added, "I know you have a tendency to sleep in class, but you never did it in mine. Or Qrow's, now that I think about it. Everything okay, kid?"
Then it all came back to her.
No. Actually, she hadn't. Not after last night's nightmare that had her scrambling for her battered notebook inside her backpack (mind games; suspicion never arose so long as she didn't treat anything any differently) and checking the "RWBY canon" timeline she'd sketched several years ago. Only after inspecting her calendar next that she confirmed—with relief—that she was at least five years away from certain doom. Not about to be shot to death by Cinder Fall's arrows, right after she killed Pyrrha Nikos with one.
Actually… that was a pretty stupid dream, wasn't it? That wasn't even any kind of scene she'd find herself in.
Still, she'd spent the rest of night sleepless and continually convincing herself that she wouldn't end up in such a predicament anyway. Because, really, there was no damn way she'd be in Cinder's radar. Lune was too inconsequential, too average, and had little to no major involvement in regards to what would have been the main storyline in another world.
And she'll try her best to keep it that way.
But her mom—no, best not think about that now. If she was really a Maiden like her references had described, then she would be fine. Nothing bad has happened for the past several years, so why would anything happen now? Or anytime soon, for that matter?
Lune still had five more years before everything was finally set in motion. Five more years of doing her level best to become the best fighter that she could ever be. Just five more nerve-wracking years. She wasn't entirely sure what else she should be preparing for when she had no intentions of meddling with anything that would just end up worse than better.
All she knew was this: she wanted to survive and live to see a day past Vale's equivalent of an apocalypse. Preferably with all her friends and family intact.
…You know what? It really sucked how she was having problems no twelve-year-old should be having. Why couldn't she just be like any other person and worry about homework or crushes or uniform wrinkles? She really could do without a past life. What was she still doing here?
Lune glanced aside at Vanilla. She knew her friend still looked worried. Vanilla had been witness to how bad it had been when the faunus jolted up on her bed in cold sweat with a loud "No!" having escaped her lips. Her poor roomie had ended up wrested away from her own dreams. So now, Lune hoped she managed to portray 'I'm fine' just right with only her eyes to do the talking.
"Are you, really?" Vanilla asked softly, understanding Lune perfectly.
"I'm fine," Lune said, both to answer Vanilla and her dad. Believe it or not, she was. She was scared shitless last night, but she'd managed to recover now… Mostly. "Sorry about disrupting the class. There won't be an encore."
"I hope that it doesn't, because you're missing some of the really interesting stuff," Professor Beryl said with a smile and an easygoing tone. But Lune knew the worry never left him. He gestured with an arm as to what was written on the white board: gravity Dust and the neat things a person could do with it. His illustrations were actually pretty decent for a teacher.
Lune also noticed that there were some exercise questions written there in black marker and, after a quick sweep of her eyes around the classroom, she also realized that all her other classmates were all hunched down, scribbling their answers on their notebooks. There was one or two that were looking at her curiously, but a quick, dull-bordering-on-annoyed stare got them focusing on their papers once more.
No wonder why it was oddly quiet right now. No wonder why nobody decided to throw a ball of paper at her this time. She was usually a favorite target because she never fought back.
She returned her gaze to her teacher and bobbed her head up and down. She slouched back on her chair, flipping her notebook open with a right hand and grabbing her pen with her left. She could feel her dad's stare as she wrote down the questions on the board and proceeded to browse her textbook for an answer.
There was always something about parental intuition that made moms and dads seem like oracles. Even if the children never gave so much as a peep, the parent always managed to know what was up before they could even have a heart-to-heart with them. Such was the case right now. Lune's father knew that despite his daughter's nonchalance, she wasn't really somewhere high up in the emotional roller coaster ride.
"We'll talk after class," he added quietly. Lune nodded again without looking up.
Okay, then. A talk. The talk. It wasn't something she was looking forward to, but if it had to be done, then it had to be done. Nothing to worry about, and she and her dad never really got to talk much outside school. Busy, busy bees, the both of them. Her with Signal, him with teaching and his constant trips around the kingdom as a Huntsman. She'll deal with this, go on with her business, and pray to whatever god existed out there that she didn't have any RWBY-related dreams tonight. One or two were enough… God, was she internally rambling? Oh. Oh yes, she was rambling.
Lune then made a face as she read the questions she'd written down, forcing herself to focus on that instead of anything else. Just how exactly was she going to answer a question revolving around physics that she couldn't apply Amelie's knowledge on? Last she'd checked, some aspects of it would make the likes of Newton roll in his grave.
"Just use your imagination," Vanilla stage-whispered from beside her. Apparently, she noticed Lune having trouble with question number one. "It's like you've said before: rule of cool."
"…Right."
Man, she idly thought. If only imagination was all it takes to save a Huntsman Academy from a Grimm invasion and an innocent girl from a crazy bitch.
By the time that the electronic bells in the hallway finally sounded its catchy tune, Lune was more than relieved to see her awkward time in class come to an end. The students usually translated the music into "classes are over, suffer no longer" as they all packed up their stuff so after today, god, that had never sounded so apt. Ever.
Vanilla—and Yang—had gone off ahead knowing what was up after class. Thus, Lune took her time stuffing all her things back into her cluttered mess of a backpack. She normally preferred everything to have a semblance of organization, but knowing that clutter (the more paper, crumpled or otherwise, the better) was what made people so put off about rifling through someone's bag, the faunus thought she'd take advantage of that so she could hide her super secret notebook in plain sight. Nothing said "come find me!" more than an object hidden somewhere much more complicated. The trade-off was that people thought her to be so untidy. But in her opinion? It was so worth it. It also gave her an opportunity to call her "junk" as "systematized clutter."
A paper was suddenly plopped down on her desk. It effectively caught Lune's attention, making her freeze while her arm was midway inside her bag. She blinked at the paper, looked up, and raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"Thought you might be interested," said her faunus classmate, a dark-haired girl with a pair of what Lune thought were raccoon ears. She never really asked what kind they were because the person owning those appendages was in a completely different social circle than her.
Actually, that was pretty much why Lune was so surprised to be suddenly noticed like that. She'd interacted with her other faunus classmates from time to time, but the rabbit girl never really stuck around because she didn't feel like she fit in with their group. There was the occasional outing to Vale that she used to be invited to, but whenever she came she only did because she missed some aspects of city life. Some things that she missed from her old life. Not that twelve-year-olds had a lot of places to go to beyond malls, arcades, or fast food joints.
"Okay, then," Lune took hold of the paper, heard it crinkle upon her touch, and scanned the contents. There was a familiar-looking symbol at the top, a title in bold letters, and a body consisting of some kind of schedule and a description. Several seconds later, she found that she couldn't believe what she'd just read. She inclined her head up at her classmate. "Exactly why should I be aware about a White Fang rally?"
In this part of the timeline, Lune knew that White Fang was still a relatively peaceful organization. The worst some of its members did was boycott something, but nothing had ever reached the level of violence. They had a goal of attaining equality through peaceful means for a reason. Thus, rallies were the most often they did, never in one place and often from kingdom to kingdom. And apparently, the city of Vale was their chosen destination for this month's rally.
"Well, duh, you're a faunus," the raccon-eared girl said as if the answer was that obvious. Lune rummaged her mind for the girl's name. Peri. Perry… oh. Right. Periwinkle. Lune wasn't too ashamed to inwardly admit that she never really remembered not-so-important people by name but instead by appearance. "And you shouldn't miss an opportunity like this for the world."
"Because…?"
"Because it won't be a loooong time before they come back here—they're practically heroes to many faunus everywhere," her classmate said. Lune could practically see the stars shining in her eyes. Combined with the awed tone, her classmate definitely had a nasty case of hero worship.
Lune, on the other hand…
"Doing… what, collectively standing somewhere, blocking traffic—foot and vehicular—and shouting how our rights are being suppressed? While waving big signs at the same time?" Lune deadpanned as she pulled her arm out of her bag and zipped the thing shut. It was true, wasn't it?
Just like that, the stars in her classmate's eyes faded and now all she had was an incredulous stare at a particularly unconvinced rabbit girl. "Yes! You make it sound so ridiculous."
"Because it is." Lune didn't mince words.
"Hadn't you been bullied during your childhood just because you were born different? Treated like you're lower than dirt? I'd want to tell the world that I won't stand for any of that any longer. You should, too."
"I guess so. But on the other hand, joining the efforts of the White Fang isn't my way to go about it either." She shrugged. "Maybe they'd been making a difference. Maybe not. But either way I haven't really noticed any improvements thus far. Some people still treat us like crap, some people regard us with kindness." Before the now-annoying girl could say anything, she sighed, reopened her bag, and stuffed the flier inside her backpack. She then dragged her chair back with her legs and stood up, slipping an arm through her backpack's strap. "I'll go get permission from my parents first, alright? Just tell me what time we'll meet up. Obviously, the docks are the only viable place here."
The girl regarded Lune suspiciously for a moment, wondering if Lune was saying 'okay' when she actually meant 'no.' Lune thought the assumption stupid, but if it floated the girl's boat, then fine. Periwinkle finally confirmed Lune's genuineness with a nod. "I'll send you a message via scroll."
"Alright."
The girl flashed what seemed to be a triumphant smile, turned on her heel, and walked out of the classroom with her head held high. Lune shook her head and slipped her other arm through the backpack's other strap. Weird as that encounter was, she wasn't going to give the whole White Fang much mind until the day of the rally actually came. She kind of wondered if the Vale police knew about this and made the appropriate preparations for a bunch of faunus fighting for their rights, though.
Well, either way, rallies started and ended the same way: boringly. She'll just ride this out and go home for some much-needed sleep. Preferably nightmare-less ones.
Lune's thoughts were then interrupted as she felt a tap on her shoulder. Knowing who it was, she mentally braced herself and turned around to face her father. She gave him an empty smile. He gave her his customary head pat. And fortunately for Lune, no one else was there to see that.
"Dorm room?" Lune asked, knowing that this classroom was due for usage by the upperclassmen soon after her class ended. She could already hear the loud chatter of teenage students growing louder and louder from the outside.
"Dorm room." Her dad agreed.
Lune and Vanilla's dorm room had pretty much seen better years from the length of time the two girls had spent living there. While the room in general still looked homey and familiar and saw to yearly maintenances like all the other rooms, there was no denying that there was a certain worn feeling to it.
The curtains covering the large, glass windows directly to the north of the door had the color of pale green when it had used to look a shade darker two years ago. The red, oval carpet on the tan floor which separated Lune's bed from Vanilla's already had a few loose threads at the edges. And the beds? They were made, but hastily so with the uneven length of the bed cover on each side. There were also Vanilla's posters on her side of the room that looked faded on the brown wall, making the fictional characters in them look less than cheerful, and the glow-in-the-dark stickers in Lune's side were missing a few stars—though her crescent moon still remained intact. Finally, what was initially a clean and pristine room were cluttered with objects ranging from stacks of books to the occasional sock peeping out of a half-open drawer.
Hey, at least their room looked a lot better compared to those of the boys on the upper floor of the dorm building. If it weren't for Vanilla constantly getting Lune to clean up the room with her when it got untidy, much to Yang's amusement when she'd once walked in on them on their monthly cleaning, the room would have been the answer to the question, "What happens when a tornado hits a room?"
In the eyes of Vert Beryl, however, the room looked more messy than clean.
"If I said 'it's not what it looks like,' would you believe me?" Lune said as she caught the not-so-impressed look on her dad's face after he pushed the door open and saw… everything.
Before her momentarily stunned father could answer, Lune slipped past him and stepped towards her bed; she had the sudden urge to fluff the pillow and straighten its once slanted position. She did exactly that. Forget everything she'd said about her being generally organized. Apparently, some people didn't share the same definition of the adjective.
Vert Beryl finally recovered from his initial surprise—what had he been expecting?—and stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind him with a gentle push. Vanilla had made herself scarce the moment Lune told her that she was having a little talk with her dad somewhere they wouldn't be bothered. And when Yang got wind of that, she was all too happy to drag the shy girl with her to do a particularly fun activity with her and Ruby. Lune suspected video games. Fighting games. And Ruby or Yang winning the matches like the bosses they were.
The room, basically, was quiet as a mouse right now. Nobody would be bothering them in a long while.
Her dad ruffled Lune's hair in response. Lune silently mourned her further-ruined hair. "If we're talking about murder, you're on your own, kiddo. But since we're talking about the, uh, state of your room… yeaaaah, let's just go with, 'I'll believe you for the sake of believing you.'"
"Your faith in me has been noted," Lune said in a deadpanned tone. She plopped down on her bed, felt herself sink into the soft mattress, and forced all her thoughts away from some good ol' sleep as she patted to the space beside her invitingly. Mildly amused because he technically didn't need permission as an adult, her dad was all too willing to comply all the same and sat down beside his daughter.
Silence.
"So…" he began a beat later.
"So…?" Lune echoed.
Weird. She suddenly didn't know what to say. But then it hit her.
It was just then that she realized that she felt… awkward, with just her and her dad here, practically isolated from the rest of the world. She'd hardly given any one-on-one moments like this any second thought before, but now… god, had she really rarely, personally interacted with her own father these days that the concept of just being together in one location felt so alien? How did this drifting apart came to be?
Okay, so she understood perfectly that she had her own responsibilities and he had his. Vert Beryl left often these days on Huntsman missions, and with his absence before the Grimm incident being the exception, he was usually back quickly enough not to make anyone think that he'd gone missing. Except that when he was around, he was more of a teacher than a parent. Weekends tended to come and go with him out and roaming the kingdom.
…Huh. Maybe that was why. He was just that distant these days. Too busy. And she… oh. Yeah. She was just as busy and as distant as he was. When one had the free time, the other was unavailable. The situation was oddly similar to those of parallel lines. But she certainly wished that wasn't the case; parallel lines went on infinitely without intersecting.
"So how are you really doing these days, Lune?" her dad asked. He gently nudged her with an elbow, his mischievous smile in place. "Any interested boys I should start thinking of chasing off?"
If her eyebrows have never risen so quickly before, they definitely did now. A look on incredulity settled on Lune's face as she whirled towards her dad.
"Dad. Really?" Lune asked. "They're hardly even on my radar. And I'm only twelve."
Not that being twelve stopped some preteen her age from crushing on someone. Nobody just caught her attention, that's all. Boys at this age were still… well, boys. Late maturity, and all that. Oh, god, what did that mean for her since she was technically older than them? Lune perished the thought immediately.
"Joking, joking. Nice to know, though. Means my little bunny gets to stay as one for a while longer," the other faunus said in a good-natured manner, patting Lune's shoulder. "Though, I really would want to know what's been going on lately. I know I haven't been there for you that often—especially after that day."
No kidding. Lune's green eyes rolled down to settle on the sight of bite marks on her forearm, noting the scars that were there to stay and to remind her how some things have changed since then. She was reminded of all those nights when she replayed that attack over and over as a nightmare, gasping awake and clutching her heart like it was going to burst out of her chest and fly out of the window. She was usually alright by the time morning came, but wow, those dreams of her were, as some others would say, hella annoying.
Was she looking forward to another tango with a Grimm? No, sir, she definitely was not. But she couldn't call herself an aspiring Huntress if she feared those assholes.
"I'm coping. Apparently, near-death scenarios make for pretty good motivators in regards to combat improvement," Lune said in a forced, casual tone. It was her best way of describing it all without making anyone want to have her pulled out of Signal to remain a civilian for good. "And I know you're busy for good reasons."
"…Good reasons. Yeah," her dad said with a somewhat shaky grin. There was something so off about that tone of voice that Lune was suddenly wondering if there was anything else other than the not-so-subtle secret her dad and mom were hiding. "Those Grimm aren't going to hunt themselves," he added lightly.
"Yup. Though if that's the case, Remnant wouldn't have any need for Huntsmen," Lune said. She decided to ignore whatever suspicion she had. She had enough as it is. "But seriously, Dad. I mean it. It's okay if you're not there as often as you used to be. I can take care of myself just fine."
"Being caught sleeping earlier says otherwise, kid. I'd understand if you were up late finalizing your weapon design for your other class, but your friend Vanilla told me that wasn't the case." His expression shifted into that of concern. "You know you can come to me when you're in trouble, right?"
Lune stared up at her father. The words that had formed in her mouth had shriveled up and died.
On second thought, maybe that was the problem with her, too. Growing up with her past life's mindset meant having less dependency on her parents than any normal child would have. Having less dependency on them meant less opportunities for bonding sessions that would have kept their relationship pretty darn closer than it presently was. And that in turn meant that Lune didn't have that strong a relationship with her parents. Just strong enough that nothing was glaringly wrong.
Everyone in the family got along well, at least. But family interaction had definitely lessened over the past couple of years. Each person was absorbed in their own problems and businesses.
Maybe… maybe it was time to change that before it was too late. Right?
The rabbit faunus finally smiled a warm one and nodded. "I know, dad."
He smiled brightly at her.
At that moment, she also almost, almost decided on telling him the actual truth of her identity. But as she was about to open her mouth to speak, a sudden pang of fear for the unknown had her backtracking from the idea.
What if that confession alienated her dad from her? What if this changed everything from this day forward? She liked to hope for the best since her parents had always been nice and loving to her since day one, but… gah. Could she risk it? Make a gamble and watch where the cards fall? Even Vanilla had far more courage than she did.
…No. She definitely wasn't ready for that. Her parents had enough problems as it was with secrets and who knows what else. Maybe after those were out of the way? Definitely.
So instead, Lune settled with acknowledging another matter she had. Something that she tended to put aside for the sake of more important things. She lowered her head, suddenly interested in the black, knee-high socks she'd worn with her light-colored uniform. She swung her legs back and forth, still short enough that her feet didn't meet the floor. "So, anyway, does it get better? Killing Grimm? Since you're a Huntsman and all, you'd definitely know best."
"You want a sugar-coated answer or the actual one?"
"Dad, I'm training to become a professional in the art of cutting up big, bad monsters into ribbons," Lune answered. "I'm pretty sure I can handle the truth."
"Okay, then…" the older faunus considered his answer, then he shook his head ruefully. "No. It's always going to be a challenge. In my time out in the field, I don't think I've even seen every specie of Grimm there is. I don't know how they all attack, how strong they are, or whether I'm going to get my ass kicked if I decide to engage something. Unfortunately for me, I'm not really as clever as my animal half." His smile was a humorless one. "Oh, don't get me wrong, the Huntsman academy I finished at had made sure I learned everything I possibly can about all kinds of Grimm. But you'll find that theory is very, very different from the real thing."
"Like how it's different to learn about ice skating from a book and learning how to really slide across all that ice without falling down." Lune certainly wasn't going to forget her first time skating around a frozen lake. It helped her balance better at the cost of bruised hands.
"Yup. There's also too many factors to consider once you're out hunting Grimm for real. Your life will always be on the line. You're lucky—and I'm relieved beyond words—that you got out of a Beowolf attack alive two years ago, but that won't be the last time you'll have such a situation."
Lune sighed and her shoulders drooped. "Figures." And really, what had she been expecting? Even the best fighters would die the moment they made a mistake. The stakes were high, and one false move… you're dead.
"Maybe I should've gone for a better answer. I'm not looking to discourage you from all this," her dad then said as he caught the look on her face. "In fact, if I did just that you wouldn't look so… grim."
It was a bad attempt at lightening the mood, but it worked. Somewhat.
"Dad, you're being no better than Yang in the punning department." Lune pointed out.
Her father responded to that with a one-armed hug, pulling the girl close to him. Lune could feel his warmth from the close proximity between them. "Nah, I'm quite certain Taiyang's kid outpuns everyone. Seriously, though, I will help you out when you're in trouble."
"Oh yeah?" Lune slowly asked.
"Yeah."
"Because…" She hesitated. Her father nodded at her encouragingly. She could feel a lump form on her throat as, without eye contact, she admitted, "because, okay, you got me. I'm… I'm having trouble getting over that Grimm attack."
He squeezed her comfortingly. "It's okay, kid. You're here alive, and you'll be able to get even with them eventually. For the meantime, I'm here. And the next time something keeps you up at night, you give me a call, alright? We'll talk, I'll act stupid until you feel better, and when it ends you'll have a dopey look on your face and you'll fall asleep in a heartbeat." He grinned. "Or you can just go sleep while I talk. I know I did the same to your mother when we were younger—she told me my voice makes her sleepy."
That warm, fuzzy feeling of reassurance was something Lune didn't expect to affect her so much. It was nice. So very nice to be reminded that, even if she was far away from everything she used to know, she wasn't alone. Never alone.
She almost wanted to cry. In fact, she could feel her eyes start to feel hot with the onset of tears. She knew that wouldn't do, so she fought them back, hard, and went with leaning into her father's embrace instead.
"Thanks, dad."
"No problem. We Beryls stick together, you hear?"
She swore she could add something along the lines of 'until the end of time' or something equally cheesy for that one. Lune grinned up at him with shining eyes. "Loud and clear, sir."
Vert Beryl grinned back. The two stayed that way until suddenly she remembered another thing she'd meant to ask her dad. Since, well, he was already here and all.
"Oh, yeah, dad?"
"Hm?"
"You don't mind if I go with some classmates of mine to Vale, do you? They wanted to go see that White Fang rally and asked me to come with."
"So long as you promise to be extra careful," her father warned her. "The White Fang never really does anything worse than your occasional boycott and their constant public protests, but you can never be too sure. I really don't mind you going—might as well do it for educational purposes, yeah?" Then, he smiled that mischievous smile of his. That usually meant something Lune wasn't going to like too much. "In exchange, I want you to focus entirely on your concept weapon when you come back. I've been talking with your teacher; you've been making the least progress."
Fair enough. Plus side: she'd recently gone past tearing her hair off thinking of a weapon and towards wondering what she could do with her base design. She just needed to sketch it, present it to her teacher, and move on from there. Lune made a face at all that future work but nodded all the same. "Fine, that's a fair trade. Tell Mom for me?"
"Sure. And to seal the deal, we shake on it."
"Pfft, sure."
They did exactly that.
For the first time in a long while, Lune had slept surprisingly well that night.
Late afternoon, around four pm on a Saturday. If Lune had the information correct, then she would be right on time as she stepped towards a group of twelve-going-thirteen-year-old faunus in her hoodie-shorts-boots ensemble.
She could hear the sounds of waves crashing against the shore the closer she got. And when she was finally close enough to be noticed, a glance past the group showed a simple, but sleek brown building with a pier stretching towards a large, white boat peacefully swaying on the water.
It was made apparent, however, that Lune's presence hasn't exactly been entirely expected. Or appreciated.
"She's the one we're waiting for?" asked a particularly incredulous faunus as he glanced Lune's way. He was another classmate of hers, a guy with a head of messy black hair, equally dark eyes, and a wolf's tail. He and the rest of the group were in casual wear, as well.
"Thanks for spoiling my grand entrance. I really appreciate it," Lune said, unaffected by his tone of voice. She merely stuffed her hands into her gray hoodie's pockets. "Too late to do anything about that though. I'm here to stay."
"She doesn't run with our group, but she's still a faunus like us," the raccoon-eared faunus added, stepping forward and staring down the wolf faunus. She struck Lune as the kind of person with a certain sureness in her movements. And confidence; she had that in spades. She was kind of snobby, though. "Not like we're going to force her to stick with us when we get there anyway. I just thought of inviting her with us so she doesn't end up ignorant like some of our other classmates."
Wow. Okay. Lune rolled her eyes but said nothing to counter that. Not worth it. "Right, sure. Let's go with that."
"Ugh, whatever," the wolf faunus said grudgingly. He clearly didn't like her, so what's his beef? Lune immediately got her answer as he then said, "But if she doesn't realize that she should really stand up for herself instead of acting all wimpy like she normally does in Signal, then she's not coming with the next time something like this happens."
So. That's why.
He didn't like how she just let every insult slide. That she acted like it was okay for some humans to constantly belittle her for being a faunus. Lune didn't really know what to make of that. Because, well, he was half-right and she just thought that fighting back wasn't worth the hassle. She just shot the guy an unamused stare before turning back to the group's obvious leader.
"I'm fairly certain that won't happen," The girl said confidently. She then proceeded to ask if everyone was accounted for. Nobody said anything about anyone missing. Thus concluding that no one was about to be left behind, the raccoon-eared girl took the lead and headed towards the ticket booth.
Fifteen minutes later, the group of faunus were aboard the small ship, watching the island of Patch grow steadily smaller while the large buildings consisting of one portion of the city of Vale grew larger. Lune ignored the left-out feeling she'd felt all the while as her fellow faunus chatted with each other without acknowledging Lune too much.
Eventually, they reached Vale's docks. The group disembarked, and the sight of several brick structures greeted them, all placed in a row across narrow roads. They surrounded the area and towered over all those who walked around them.
As she stared at all the houses, Lune vaguely recalled an architectural style called Victorian that they were reminiscent of. They all looked appealing to the eye and it just... fit. She also wondered if the interior smelled like fish if the windows were left open for long. The buildings were located by the docks, after all.
"We've got half an hour before the rally starts in the commercial district," Periwinkle informed them all. "Which means thirty minutes of doing whatever we want before we go to the meeting place in front of the mall at the commercial district. It's the largest building in that area, not that far from here; you can't miss it." She smiled proudly at the information she had on her. "With that out of the way, time for some sightseeing!"
Her classmates started heading towards a certain direction that, after an inspection the directional sign nearby, told Lune that they were heading deeper into the commercial district. They probably wouldn't be able to cover half the entire area. Maybe even one-third of it. As her father had told her sometime in the past, even if this area was smaller in comparison to the industrial district, agricultural district, or the residential district on the southern half of the city, the commercial district was large enough that going from one end of the area to the other would take hours, give or take.
Vale was just that large of a city. Heck, if all the other districts were to be combined, Lune wasn't above assuming that the city was practically as large as a small Earth country. Maybe Egypt?
And because a large city meant lots of twists and turns and unfamiliar areas, Lune wasn't about to get left behind from the group. She'd been to Vale with her parents before, sure, but that didn't mean she'd made an effort memorizing each and every part of the city they'd walked through. So before the group of faunus were completely out of sight, Lune turned on her heel, and—
"That's just great," she muttered.
Never mind. They were gone. Lune kicked herself for not paying close attention, but all the same she started walking in the same direction the others had taken. Might as well do her own sightseeing-slash-finding her way around without anyone accompanying her. This wouldn't be the first time, if past lives were going to be accounted for. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and began the long, scenic walk towards the meeting place.
She had to admit, now that she could observe the city of Vale without being distracted by a companion or family member, she'd found Vale to be quite the busy city. Nothing compared to the business of a regular day in New York City if memory served her well, but somewhere kind of close. There were plenty of people walking on the very sidewalk she was stepping on, but not plenty enough that she could weave through the particularly slow-moving ones in front of her.
It was during the time when Lune walked past a slow man too focused on his scroll that she accidentally bumped into someone. Actually, no. It was more like someone accidentally bumped into her because they suddenly stopped right in front of her instead of going with the flow.
As it turned out, combat experience served a person well even outside of a fight. Instead of Lune bouncing back and falling embarrassingly down on her butt, dirtying her clothes in the process, she managed to make several quick steps backward with her arms slightly spread to further improve her equilibrium. She regained her balance soon after and, as the offender whirled to face her, she prepared an apology because she knew this was somehow going to become her fault.
Of course she knew how the game was played. She's been playing that game all her life.
"Watch it," the person she bumped into warned. He—she? They, for now—was near unidentifiable with their sweater's hood covering their head, the sunglasses their eyes, and their body figure that looked neither feminine nor masculine. They gestured to the scroll in their hand. "I was having an important call there, kid."
The voice sounded masculine, but not low enough that it could sound remotely feminine, too.
"Should've done it somewhere that doesn't have people in them. Less risk of this happening," Lune couldn't help but say. "I already know how this is going to go, so okay, I'm sorry. I'll be careful next time."
She didn't know if she was being glared at or not. But that was a really long stare there.
"Don't do it again."
The person then nodded at her before turning away and resuming their walking. Lune decided to count to ten before she started moving on lest she bumped into them again. But as she started walking, making sure she was several persons behind the jerk, she couldn't help but overhear the apparent scroll conversation. Ladies and gents, faunus hearing.
It was rude to eavesdrop, of course. But it wasn't her fault when she could naturally hear better than humans. Currently the voice sounded like it was being heard from directly beside her.
"…As I was saying, there aren't a lot of people who fit the description. Even if the one the boss lady gave me was a vague one."
There was a pause, indicating a response from the other line.
"I'll keep searching before I move on, okay? I hear there's an island near here, too. I'll check that out."
Another pause.
"Yes, yes, I'm careful. I've cleaned after the messes I've made—it's nothing eye-catching now. They've been dealt with. And yes, damn it, I know that our 'missing friend' is a flighty thing. Just let me do my work here, alright?"
The call then ended with a swipe on the scroll's electronic screen.
Lune couldn't help but feel intrigued; the conversation just reeked of something really... bizarre. And dark. It was making her think of all sorts of things.
But then she reminded herself not to jump to conclusions. Doing so was where massive misunderstandings began. That was where regrets started piling up so high it would take forever to be rid of them. And more importantly, it was no business of hers. She should abandon that thought and focus on the now.
Lune continued her search for that stupid rendezvous point.
As it turned out, that long scenic walk ended up being more of the rabbit wondering which of these tall buildings here was the largest one. Because there were a lot of them, never skyscraper-high but mansion-tall, it was hard to tell which was the mall the rendezvous was supposed to happen. Vale wasn't going to be worried about a shortage of stores anytime in the near future, that's for sure.
After her fifth wrong building, Lune decided to take five so she could rest her feet at one of the benches nearby. She chose one that wasn't littered with leaves from the trees nearby, and she practically melted into her seat as her feet instantly felt relief at the lessened pressure. And then she slumped back into the backrest with her arms draped over them.
"World," she told the air, eyes skyward. "All I wanted is for things to go my way for once. Just once, dammit. Get off my back."
"Lost?"
"You think? Wait. No, no exactly. It's just that I realized a lot of buildings looked alike and I can't find this particular one she's talking about. I don't have enough time to do a clean sweep and you're not helping at all—" She paused. That voice was definitely not her imagination nor her mental self. Slowly, she pushed herself away from the backrest and straightened her back. She turned her head from side to side and her eyes rested on the only person standing nearby. Then… she lifted a hand and waved lamely. "Yo."
"Hi," she responded, amused.
Lune slapped her forehead before lowering her hand. "Okay… this is awkward. Before you say anything else, yes, I know. I'm stupid. I totally thought you were just a voice in my head."
The black-haired girl, seemingly similar to Lune's age, gave a small smile at that. Lune's first immediate thought of her was that she was cute, a preteen with equally black cat ears and a pair of slanted, yellow eyes. And those eyes, they caught Lune's attention the most. It was the only thing of color on her when her attire—consisting of a scarf, a sleeveless shirt, pants, and shoes—revolved around the colors black and gray. In fact, those round orbs also looked so feline it reminded her of a certain… person…
"You look like you've seen a ghost," the girl, Blake Belladonna, pointed out.
"Eh?" Lune realized that she might as well had, though technically Blake was never a ghost. She laughed off her surprise at the sheer coincidence of it all. She hoped she managed to mask her disbelief just fine because—gosh, how could she forget? "Whoops. Sorry. I swear, you just reminded me of someone I knew. Funny how that happens a lot."
"You must really know a lot of people, then," she said in a flat tone.
"Just a select few who are really, really memorable," Lune said, shrugging. Yeah, and I'm laying it a bit thick there. "So anyway… enough about me. What about you? You don't look like you're from around here, but you definitely don't look miserable like me."
"I had time to get familiar with the place," Blake returned easily. She gestured to the road ahead with a slight movement of her head. "I was going to rejoin the group I'm with when I found you."
"Let me guess… White Fang?" Lune said, pushing herself off the bench and standing up. She patted the back of her clothes in case they had dirt on them.
Blake didn't seem too alarmed at the fact that Lune 'guessed' right at the get-go; that is to say, she wasn't at all. Then Lune remembered why.
The White Fang still meant something good to Blake. Because the organization still wasn't criminal in any way, she didn't regret being where she was right now, fighting for the equal treatment of her fellow faunus everywhere. Not wondering if she was doing the right thing while stealing cargoes full of Dust.
And, maybe she was jumping ahead there, but Lune thought Blake had no reasons to be suspicious of her. The cat faunus was more likely to think that Lune was just as sympathetic as she was to the White Fang's cause. It would be a thousand levels of bizarre if Lune wasn't.
Yeah… except that in reality, she never really knew where to place herself in this particular spectrum. Being a human before and a faunus now made for some pretty complicated self-orientation.
"You guessed right," Blake confirmed. "You know about the rally, then?"
"As a matter of fact, that's exactly where I'm going to," Lune said. "I'm Lune. You don't mind if I tag along, do you? I'm pretty sure by the time I find my way around this city, the rally's over."
"It is a large city," Blake said, nodding. She didn't seem too bothered by Lune's presence. She simply glanced aside at the rabbit faunus after she turned and started walking forward. "…And I'm Blake. Come on."
And that was how Blake Belladonna ended up with a rabbit faunus in tow. As the two girls navigated around Vale's commercial district, Lune found Blake to be just as reserved and mellow as her older counterpart. The dark-haired girl was a quiet one, comfortable with the silence and simply taking in the sight of all the surrounding buildings towering above the two of them. It helped that the weather was decent and shed everything in a vivid light, and with the afternoon sun steadily sinking over the horizon, the temperature had settled into somewhere between warm and cold. The current atmosphere was juuuust right.
"I guess you don't really stay in towns or cities much, do you?" Lune inquired a moment later, bending her upper body slightly forward so she could peer at Blake beside her. She had her hands clasped behind her back as she kept pace.
"We're constantly on the move," Blake answered. "We can't stay in one place for too long, so most of the time we spend our days outside the kingdoms."
Lune spotted a couple of children playing tag and running her and Blake's way. She quickly stepped aside to give way. She had a smile on her face as they ran past her, laughing and without a care in the world. Deep inside, she wished she had a childhood like that. "That sounds like a pretty dangerous way of living."
"It is," Blake said. She didn't sound offended at all. "But we survive all the same. You'll die if you don't learn how to."
"That's one lesson I definitely learned the hard way," Lune said sheepishly, rubbing her scars hidden by her sleeves. "So you're... okay with that, not knowing whether each day might be your last?"
"Nobody knows when they're going to die," Blake replied, looking aside at Lune. "And I think it's worth all the risk if we, the White Fang, achieved what we've set out to do." She shrugged. "And it's not like I can go suddenly start living in one of the kingdoms, if that ever crossed my mind. There's probably a lot of bureaucracy involved... and a lot of questions."
"Right. So, back to the White Fang... peace and equality for all, right?" Lune said.
"Yes. That's what I hope to accomplish with them someday," Blake said. She was smiling at the thought of such a wonderful kind of future. "Every faunus deserves to be treated no differently than the humans. In fact, there shouldn't be any hate or cruelty in the first place."
"Amen to that. I got bullied enough because of my ears back when I was younger." It was sad how something that started so nobly grew into something disastrous. She had that thought in mind when her next question came out without much thought: "But are you guys coming anywhere close to that goal?"
Blake didn't have an immediate answer for that one. Whatever light she had in her eyes dimmed.
In retrospect, maybe Lune shouldn't have gone straight to those kind of questions. It was probably too personal because the White Fang was practically the only family Blake knew, and right now she and the cat faunus were nothing more than strangers with a common destination. Though, obviously, with a common race.
She had to remind herself that Blake was her own person with her own boundaries, no longer just a fictional character. Just like all the other people she'd met before. Even if she was correct in assuming that the black-haired girl was starting to have her doubts about her being a White Fang member, Lune didn't necessarily have to poke at things like that.
And for that, she was sorry she went with a question that may or may not be an armor-piercing one.
"…We're getting close. The event should be starting soon."
Lune wasn't surprised to have that as an answer.
The rest of the walk became awkward after that. Blake had reverted to her distant self, and Lune gave up on her attempts at chatting the girl up.
Eventually, the duo finally reached the rendezvous point, a large, empty lot in front of a particularly large mall built of glass and steel. Lune might just be all too happy to be rid of the not very awesome atmosphere between her and Blake. The cat faunus was content to just leave her there with an "It was nice meeting you, Lune" near the group of people, and with one casual wave Lune was content to just stay there at a safe distance, right across the two-way street.
As she sat herself on the steps of a staircase beside the nearby apartment, she could spot her group of classmates from her vantage point. Once this was over, she'll just tail them home.
Lune had never seen so many faunus together in one place. Some had horns instead of animal ears; some had tails, and even sharp canines. Strangely enough, she hadn't spotted anyone remotely reptilian. All the same they were all collectively standing there, waiting for their leader to kick-start this demonstration. Some were already eagerly waving their signs around. And the noise… yes, it was definitely noisy. So many were talking at once that Lune could feel a headache coming if she tried focusing on hearing even one conversation.
So before that happened, the rabbit faunus found another thing to set her sights on. She noticed some fellow bystanders warily eyeing the crowd, all human and obviously regretting being there. She saw some people hurry past that part of the area after they realized what they'd nearly walked into. And some… let's just say she didn't like the look on their faces.
She felt something solid press on her skin as she slouched lower, arms folded over bent knees. She nearly forgot she had her leather flask strapped there on her waist, hidden underneath her hoodie and filled with water she could drink. Or, even better, use her semblance with. Vanilla had gifted the thing to her after one too many incidences of Lune realizing she had no water source to enhance her combat prowess with.
It probably wasn't going to see any use now, but at least she had something to distract herself with.
But before she could pull out the flask and pop open the cap, the crowd across the street silenced. Someone stepped away from the group, stood at the center, and in a loud, booming voice, began a passionate speech about the latest issue that had reached the White Fang's ears: another establishment that refused entry, and service, to all the faunus residing in the area. Lune left the flask alone.
So that was why the demonstration was happening here. The large mall they stood before had started growing a reputation of being horribly racist against the faunus. There had been growing incidents of violent treatment against the faunus who were not aware that their kind was banned from the premises. Instead of being politely escorted out of the building, they were dragged out and thrown down the stairs. The victims couldn't file charges out of fear. And worse, there had also been rumors about them forcing some faunus to work for them without any pay. They've all thus turned to the White Fang to be their voice.
As she listened to the protests, Lune couldn't help but bring back up a strange thought she'd been having earlier.
Where should she stand here? Who she should support? Physically, she was a faunus in every single way. Mentally… which was she, really? She had Amelie's—a human—thoughts, memories, and experiences. She had human parents and human friends. But now she had her current life and every single thing that package provided her. And even if her fellow humans looked down on her like she was filth, she'd always viewed them not as someone superior, but her equal. But jerks. Definitely jerks.
She usually dismissed them as bullies because she knew there was always someone who knew better. She never gave her race much thought beyond the usual, 'Hey, someday I'll become a Huntress, and you'll be thankful this faunus saved your sorry asses.' Race never mattered to her, period. People just continually shoved her being a faunus down her throat.
But when it came down to it… which side was she on?
Lune blinked and pinched her arm reproachfully.
Wait. What was she thinking? There shouldn't be any sides at all in the first place!
She shook her head at herself, surprised that she made a problem out of something silly. The most important thing was that she was who she was. She was a person like anyone else, and maybe if every single person on this planet stopped seeing the whole thing as us and them, then maybe they can all get started on treating each other equally. Whatever else Lune thought on this topic, change was definitely not going to happen overnight.
Anyway. She should just focus on the rally and watch it come and go.
That was exactly what she did… until confusion suddenly slapped her in the face because a new group had started approaching the White Fang members and supporters. What was happening? Lune found herself staring intently at the rally across the street.
At first there only seemed to be a heated conversation happening between them. Clenched fists, frowns, glares, eyebrows slanted down. The group that had approached were full of humans. Against Team Faunus, maybe? But then after someone finally lost his temper and started pulling at the hair, animal ears, or horns of the nearest person, that was when things started to go very, very wrong.
Lune shot up from her seat. The White Fang disliked violence, but that didn't mean they wouldn't go up in arms as self-defense. She thought the conflict would be diffused by the leader, but after he was shoved away... there was no longer any chance of that.
Her heart started speeding up as the violence occurring before her started spreading to the entire group. Fists started flying. Weapons—oh god—were drawn. And the Vale police patrolling nearby found themselves too few in numbers to reestablish order. She was certain that they were calling for reinforcements. They already had their scrolls out as some attempted to return the peace.
Her classmates were also caught in the crossfire. She could see them kicking and punching anyone who tried hitting them. Some managed to slip away, but some were still stuck trying to defend themselves.
Should she help? Should she… should she just run? Some others had already fled for safety; she noticed a black blur speed past one human who thought he could jump her. All he'd struck was an afterimage, the real person far behind by the time he realized he was fooled by an illusion. The ones that stayed were doing so just so the others could do the same thing Blake did: run before they were engaged.
(An image flashed in her mind: of a person going over the railings, falling, falling, falling to her death.)
Lune gritted her teeth. She was just one person. What could she do? She couldn't stop this storm. She wasn't strong enough. And she was definitely not going to delude herself into thinking that all it took to stop this pointless violence was to shout at them, make them see sense, and have them realizing that they were all idiots for doing… this. She was more likely to die than live.
So Lune descended the steps, silently apologizing to her classmates about being a coward, and turned to flee the scene before anyone noticed her.
Except she was noticed. She merely ended up bouncing back from someone who stepped in her way. It was a man; he would have appeared nondescript if not for the sneer in his face.
"If you stay out of my way, I'll give you all my candies," Lune said as she pulled herself up from the ground, masking her fear with a facade of nonchalance. It took everything she had not to make her voice tremble as she said, "In fact, let's forget we saw each other. Save us both an ass-kicking session, yeah?"
She instead found herself grabbed by the shoulder and effortlessly lifted up to his eye level. Stars flashed on her vision when she was slammed against the wall. Hard. She couldn't stop the surprised squeak of pain that escaped her lips.
"How about no, girlie? From the looks of it, you're with them," the man said in a low voice. Lune's nose twitched at his nasty-smelling breath. "You White Fang types should have just stayed out of the damned city. And as you can see, we're trying to change what we have now."
You know what? Forget being scared. I'm a Huntress-in-training, dammit. Punishing assholes for being assholes isn't a part of the job description, but I'm sure whatever god out there is willing to forgive me.
"I see." Lune said softly. She brought her green eyes up to meet his. "Don't worry, I didn't take any offense. So if that's the case…"
She mentally braced herself and threw her head forward with as much force as she could muster. She hit him square in the forehead, catching him in enough surprise that he immediately let go. It wasn't the strongest headbutt she'd ever made because she couldn't gather momentum, but it was enough. She managed to land on her feet, moving to kick the asshole in his manhood to incapacitate him further, but he recovered fast enough to grab her foot. He held firmly as she tried tugging her leg back. He smirked as she glared.
"Yeah, nuh-uh," Lune muttered.
Plus side, he was being smug about his victory. As she was ever the opportunist, Lune quickly pulled up her hoodie, pulled out the cap from her leather flask, and with a wave of her hand splashed water in his face. Forget about modesty; survival before everything. And when he let go once more, Lune forgot about overextending and ran like hell.
"Are you kidding me?"
She later met a dead end, a brick wall standing imposingly before her. It was tall enough that she couldn't jump across it—and even then, she didn't have any gravity Dust to help her with. And on the one thing my most recent lesson could have helped me with. My good luck continues.
She could run up the wall. All that needed was a strong set of legs to keep her momentum going. And while it was previously impossible on Earth, it should no doubt be possible on Remnant. This world practically operated on the concept of rule of cool. She'd seen her friend go invisible, for god's sake. She should be able to do it. She was definitely going to do it.
Lune took several steps back. She estimated her distance. Yes, this was far enough. After a deep breath and a roll of her shoulders, she started breaking into a run—
She was knocked into the ground instead.
Combat senses kicking in, she flipped herself over. And then she groaned inwardly. Him again. He had just committed the major offense of ruining her clothes. The asshole.
"You're really starting to become a bother here. I hope you know that," Lune said with an unamused glare. She lifted her legs up, swung them backward as hard as she could, and performed a reverse roll. This maneuver was always disorienting because she wasn't doing it forward, but at this moment in time she was used to the sensation enough that she managed to only sway slightly as her feet found the ground again. She stood up and settled into a fighting stance. "Fine, a dance number it is."
But then she didn't have to fight at all. Because just as the guy was about to charge at her like a bull, a look of surprise flashed across his face before he crumpled down. Lune blinked at his fallen form. She relaxed her stance and stared at her savior.
"...Dad?"
Vert Beryl, in all his Huntsman glory, stood behind the jerk with a wide, boyish grin in his face. One of his chakrams was in his hand. It did not take a math genius to answer this equation.
"You're a fast runner, but not the best navigator," her dad said. "Good thing I was around. Come on. Now that I've caught up with you, let's get out of here. Don't worry about him. One of the police is already heading this way."
Suddenly feeling dizzy with relief, Lune gave a tired smile and stepped forward to walk with him. "Gladly."
"…In other news, a White Fang protest has taken violent turn after an anti-faunus group disrupted the event. While the conflict has eventually been handled after the interference of the Vale Police Department as well as the Huntsmen within the area, several casualties has also been discovered in the aftermath. The police are currently investigating the matter."
"Hold that thought. I've just received an update, Lisa. It appears that the leader of the White Fang has stepped down from his position. The specific details are unknown, but faunus everywhere are claiming that as of today, there has been a change of leadership. We have yet to identify whom his replacement might be. But rest assured, citizens of Vale, we will update you all accordingly once more information comes in."
"Aptly put, Cyril. This has been the Vale News Network, signing off—"
Lune switched off the television and rubbed her temple, knowing that she was definitely going to have a headache today.
A full week had passed since that day, and man, she did not want to repeat that week, ever.
(She should have stayed and helped.)
She never really knew Periwinkle and that friend of hers, but she certainly wasn't hoping they'd end up kicking the bucket with those other White Fang members and those other humans. Spending her days in Signal had thus become a very glum affair that by Thursday she'd started spending her nights in the Beryl household and enduring the long walks home—this time with her father accompanying her.
(No. Really. Maybe if she'd at least helped them get out alive, then this would never have happened. Her life was important and her past death screwed her up badly, but her safety shouldn't come at the cost of others. Even if she knew them as much as she would know a stranger.)
Shut up, brain. Not helping, she thought. Nobody from the rest of her faunus classmates blamed her. She just did what was best for her at the moment. So did they, considering they survived. Fine, she did feel bad because she could have tried to do something instead of letting things slide, as per usual...
She shook her head. She should stop beating herself up over that. It's been a week already, and it was pointless to keep thinking about that. Learning what happened to them due to what she didn't do gut-punched her, but what else could she do? They were gone. Two unknowns, and here she was letting them affect her that much? No, that wouldn't do. Survivor's guilt can go tango right out of the room.
She'll work this through, little by little. She could promise herself that, at least.
(Cowardcowardcoward SHUT UP.)
At the end, the mind won over her heart. It was just pointless to keep wondering about what-ifs. Just like anything she'd encountered before, she'll get through this. She needed to focus on her Signal lessons so she could complete them. She needed to get her life back on track. Remind herself that if Death ever started knocking on her door, she'll open it and say, "Not today." And then she'll slam the thing and carry on with her business.
She wasn't a coward, and she'll prove that she wasn't. She can stand up for herself. She had her parents' support. Her friends'. The next time something like this happened, she'll act. And now she should really stop this line of thinking and focus on the present. Five more years, she reminded herself.
It was high time she upped her game.
Maybe she didn't know what she wanted out of this second life just yet. What she really wanted beyond just surviving. Goals. Ambitions. Maybe it was because of that that she couldn't improve as much as she wanted. But somehow, and someday, she hoped to discover that down the road. But for the meantime, she was going to make sure that things started changing. How, she didn't know. But she'll start small and move on from there.
Yes, that wasn't a bad plan at all.
Lune gave her head a knock for good measure. She stood up from the living room sofa and made her way upstairs. She opened the door, entered her room, and swung it shut with a gently nudge of her foot before seating herself in front of her desk. The furniture was currently full of weapon schematics and crumpled paper.
She cracked her knuckles, grabbed her pencil, and hunched down.
There was work to do.
A/N: This chapter might just be the longest one I've ever made. So much stuff I wanted to cram in, just as I've planned it... I'm just glad this is done and over with. That's mostly why it took so long. But if you guys managed to make it down here, yay! Not much to say this time, just that I hope it's up to everyone's standards. God knows I worked hard in finishing this. I know I'm pretty hard on myself when it comes to my writing, but honestly, it's my own way of getting myself to improve as I churn out more chapters. XD
So. Other than me hoping that last portion of the chapter wasn't too... off, I hope that is enough of an indication as to what should be happening next. I can't promise that it'll be mind-blowing (...mostly because I lack the creativity to do just that) but I do hope I get to do it right. As usual, thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited this story of mine! It's a fun diversion but hearing from you guys just make it a lot more fun.