A/N: What is up everyone! I am here with the sixth chapter of Remnants of Desire! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). I am glad you enjoyed the previous chapter which introduced the Stronger Combo along with a team up with Velvet, fighting against Uva. Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?
Henshin!
Third Person View
'Thought'
Greeed/Yummies
A few days had already passed since the Piranha Yummy fiasco in Vale, and as such, things around here have really calmed down. Well, as calm as a combat school like Beacon can get that is. Needless to say, I was half expecting that the Greeed would make their move and wreak havoc somewhere within that time, but so far, none such incidents had made themselves known – at least not yet.
Ankh wasn't especially worried, because in the off chance that his old gang would ever cause any trouble (and they would), he'd be the first to know. Unfortunately, his own priorities as of recent have been…hijacked. It didn't exactly involve hunting down Cell Medals; so much as it involved the molding of the minds and bodies of Remnant's future.
After being admitted into the Academy as an official combat instructor by Ozpin and the entirety of the faculty (through hours of what I could only imagine were "negotiations"), the red Greed was given full reign over training the students, provided, that Professor Goodwitch would oversee his teaching performance (and intervene if needed).
As a consequence, the both of us would be holed out in our room, where every night he would go on and on ranting about how absolutely worthless, slow or inadequate most of the students were; with me serving as his one and only ear. Yay!
"They can't be that bad," I reasoned, "I mean, they've been training almost their whole lives since they were kids. For instance, look at me! I've only been going at this for like, a few weeks now, and compared to them I suck." Hey it was true, and after the harsh beatings that I had to endure, I didn't exactly care about a little self-deprecation.
"That's right, you do suck!" Wow, way to build up my self-esteem there Ankh. "But in my day and my own real body, I would have trounced them like nothing at their level of skill." He snorted as he sorted out the Core Medals in the casing I bought yesterday.
"Oh yeah, what about Pyrrha? I hear she's a champion fighter where she's from, what can you say about her?"
"She's good, but her reaction time needs work. I admit she worked me up to a sweat, but only because of this damn body! Ozpin actually provided some time for me to get accustomed to my host before any formalities could be settled."
"How?" I asked as my curiosity grew.
Ankh seemed almost hesitant to answer. "He sparred with me."
"Sparred with you? You actually sparred with Headmaster Ozpin?" I quirked a brow at him. For the few times that I managed to lay my eyes on Professor Ozpin, I never really took him as a sort of "hands-on" kind of guy. Then again, appearances can be deceiving, meeting Ruby taught me that. Still, seeing as how that he was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy; a combat school no less, it'd only be logical to assume that he had years of experience under his belt and shouldn't be a pushover.
"How'd it go?" I continued to probe, leaning against the backrest of my swivel chair.
Again he hesitated. "Just do your homework."
"Oh come on, can't you at least tell me?"
He looked up from the casing to glare at me. "All I can say is this; if he was able, I would have preferred him to be OOO rather than you."
My eyes widened a bit, taken aback by that declaration; and maybe a little…hurt? "Really? He's that good?" he clicked his tongue.
"Just do your homework – now! I am a Professor after all, so if you don't do as I say I'll be forced to punish you." I rolled my eyes, "Oh sure, now you're taking the job seriously." He snickered.
The next day, I was at the newly repaired cafeteria with Team RWBY and JNPR in uniform (except Ren and Nora, who were getting some food). Ankh was with me, despite technically being considered as a member of the faculty now, but the guys didn't seem to mind.
It may or may not have had something to do with Ankh's way of going about his duties of training the students. Just replace "instructor" with "taskmaster" and you might get a good idea. In fact, it was like the Greeed was even embracing his new role. Now I know what you're thinking, that maybe he's warmed up to it, but anyone who had any idea of what he's like could tell a mile away that he was just using it as an outlet to relieve stress.
Me and Jaune in particular were his favorite "projects". In all my life, I never would have imagined myself to ever garner the attention of a teacher, not even at my old school. Now, I'm getting all the lovely benefits like: an extra 20 push-ups to go with the 30, running a 25-mile marathon, 2 hours of weight training, getting pounded by drones, and having the stuffing beaten out of us by Ankh.
Gee, am I living the dream or what?
"You multiplied into an ARMY!?" Jaune cried out as he almost pushed himself out of his seat.
"Yeah, but I wasn't too hot on what happened afterwards," I answered. "It took a lot out of me, so much so I couldn't even move a muscle without straining myself." I winced at the memory, remembering thanking Ruby and her Team for taking us in when we couldn't reach our dorm.
"Tch, what else do you expect from a feeble sack of meat?" Ankh scoffed, licking away at his Popsicle.
I jerked a thumb up to myself. "Oh yeah, well this "sack of meat" just beat up an entire army of Piranha Yummies! Huh? What do you think about that?" I added smugly.
"At the rate you're going, you'll be lucky enough to annoy a Boarbatusk and nothing else. The same goes double for you Arc!" he bit out as he was finishing up his treat.
"Aw, I've been working myself to dust these past few days under you. What more do you want?" Jaune whined as he slammed his head against the table.
"How about actual combat skill for one, or are you really at all as competent as your transcripts say you are?" Ankh was critically boring his gaze into the blonde, who was squirming in his seat.
"Y-You actually saw those?" he quivered.
"That wench Goodwitch practically drummed me on what I was supposed to do. That includes assessing all of your personal profiles." He circled his eyes around, indicating all of us.
"You know, I'm starting to reconsider the idea of having him around as our teacher." I whispered to Jaune. "Yeah," he agreed.
"What was that!?" Ankh snapped.
"Nothing!" we both exclaimed as we shot up straight.
"So, there's a Combo based on each of the Greeed?" Pyrrha asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Yes. Aside from the King and Strongest Combo, there are 4 others that haven't been revealed yet. But one thing's for sure, is that each of them will grant the wearer; meaning me, the powers and abilities of the Greeed that they belong to. Ankh, do you mind giving another lecture to us here?"
Ankh snorted before tossing the stick behind him. "No can do. We've already told them enough, any more would be pushing it and would compromise our position. I'd rather have all of my cards right where I can see them thank you. Besides, you still owe me for losing to Mezool."
I ran both hands over my face in frustration. "You're still sore about that? Ankh, just let it go already, there's always next time."
"Is Mezool really that good?" Yang asked with a little more interest than she would have wanted.
"All of us are well adept at both armed and unarmed combat. It's because we learn so fast that we managed to advance to such a level that we are now." Ankh explained, earning an intrigued smirk from the blonde brawler.
He then regarded me again to scold me more, but was sorely interrupted by an orange haired spitfire.
"I'm back!" Nora called out loud as she hefted a large plate of food on the table. Whoa, I guess her appetite was back on track because her plate was loaded; fried chicken, biscuits and gravy – lots and lots of gravy!
Ankh's eye twitched when he spotted the dish. "Get that plate away from me!"
"What's the matter? It's just – oh…!" Ruby asked before realizing.
"What's the matter birdman, friend of yours?" Yang teased.
"It's more like he doesn't like the idea of eating his own kind," I informed Yang, even though most birds were omnivorous.
"Try being offered a monkey as food and see how you like it!" Ankh glowered at the blonde.
Nora began to eat one before craning her neck to Ankh. "It's food. Why don't you try it?" she offered.
"Never," Ankh muttered.
"Come on, Ankh. You can't eat ice cream forever you know," Pyrrha pointed out.
"I just don't like eating bird meat. In fact, I've never had the need to eat before in my entire life, but ever since saddling myself with this…flesh puppet, I've found the pangs to be an annoying distraction."
"Hey, watch it! Even though Nathan can't speak for himself right now, that doesn't mean we shouldn't treat him or his body any less. He might have family." As I trailed off from my reproach, it was only now that I actually wondered if Nathan even had family or friends. That thought alone made me shiver inside; are they worried about him, could they be looking for him? This was something that I had to look into…Ankh doesn't need to know.
I then looked to Nora who; after swallowing a huge mouthful of chicken, was giving the red Greeed a once over. The grin on her lips made me nervous. "Uh, Ankh?" I patted him on the shoulder for him to look up, only to have a drumstick shoved into his mouth.
His brows knit closely into a deadpan frown at the spitfire before removing the edible appendage. "I dare you to try that again." I palmed my face to his challenge.
I decided to ignore the two of them for the time being to resume the matter at hand. "Okay guys, let me be clear. If the Greeed ever manage to gather all 9 of their Core Medals, they'll be literally unstoppable. Imagine a person that can fight or move indefinitely without ever tiring, and completely invulnerable. Now combine those attributes with the kind of ruthlessness and brutality the Greeed have, and I think you have a pretty good idea how bad the situation is going to be." I pressed my lips tightly as I finished, gauging their reactions.
Pyrrha head was hung and her expression thoughtful, while Jaune was looking close to wetting himself. Ren's was a lot more controlled; his stoicism a bit unnerving as he kept eyeing Ankh suspiciously, who was doing his best deflecting another drumstick from Nora. For the past few days since Kazari, I wasn't under any illusions that he hated the Greeed after what the rogue feline did to Nora, and his relationship with the red avian wasn't exactly improving.
It was most evident when the two of them were sparring the other day at class. Ren wasn't holding anything back, while Ankh easily dodged and parried almost everything the guy could throw at him without even trying. If it wasn't for Professor Goodwitch calling off the match, it would have devolved into a full blown scuffle.
After that, I tried talking to him.
Yesterday…
"Ren, hey Ren wait up!" I called out as I ran up to him as he was nearing the doors. He turned to look at me with a blank look, but I could still feel the tension in the air around him. "What happened with you two back there? It looked to me like you really wanted to hurt him."
For what seemed like forever, Ren muttered something to me that only I could hear.
"I was."
My eyes shot up like rockets. "Wait, you mean…you were seriously trying to hurt him? Why? Look Ren I know you don't like the guy but-"
"He can't be trusted Enrique, and if I were you I'd steer clear of him as soon as I get the chance. You've seen how he treats us; treats you. He doesn't care, and I bet that the moment we're no longer useful to him, he'll turn on us without a second thought." His tone was merciless, and I could see that he wasn't holding anything back on what he thought of Ankh. I took a deep breath and sighed.
"Ren, I know how frustrating it can be. But the thing is – I don't really trust Ankh that much at all." Ren quirked a brow. "Well, I trust him to keep us close to him as possible for protection, but when it comes to actually putting our lives on his hands? That's when I definitely draw the line. It's not that I hate him or anything…it's just…I just think that he's not all that bad once he warms up to us."
Ren sighed as he closed his eyes. "Enrique, you're a nice guy, alright? But I just can't put our lives at risk for what he wants."
"Well, if you can't trust him, then why don't you trust me?"
"What?"
"Look, just trust me that I can keep him under control. And if you and I want to keep him from getting any ideas, we should just train and keep being useful to him. Lord knows I've been doing a lot of that lately." I quirked a pleading brow to him. "So what do you say?"
Ren just stared at me with that same penetrating gaze he gave me when we were finding Nora, but after a moment his lips curled ever so slightly into what I can only assume was a smirk.
"Alright fine, I trust you. You helped me save Nora after all, so…I guess I can settle for that much. But once he steps out of line-"
"Hey, you don't need to tell me twice. Just, give it time and…maybe we'll see." I sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Present…
I heaved a sigh as the memory was still fresh in my mind. I looked towards Ren again and saw that he had already abandoned his surveillance of Ankh and was now eating a biscuit; I smiled at that. Even though I was practically busting my butt off with the training, my chat with Ren opened my eyes a bit. I really didn't want to fight Ankh if the time ever came, because even though he's not exactly that much of a nice guy, I could tell that he had a major chip in his shoulder.
I didn't exactly know what it was, but I would always notice him staring into the distance sometimes. When he wasn't busy complaining, brooding, or working, he'd be in the school courtyard sitting on the trees relaxing; no scroll or medals to fiddle around with.
Whatever happened to Ankh in the past must have made him into what he is today, so if that was the case, I wasn't afraid to give him a little chance. Still, it's just better to be on the safe side.
I was broken out of my musings once again by the sound of an enraged Ankh trying to shove Nora away from him, who was still persistently feeding him some chicken - doesn't this girl ever stop?
As the scene went on, I felt a hand lightly brush against mine; it was Blake. "So Enrique, there's been a matter that I've been wondering about. Since you don't exactly have an aura or semblance to assist you in a fight, why don't you have it unlocked?"
"Unlocked…? You mean my aura?" I quirked a brow at her; auras can be unlocked? That sounds interesting, but what if I don't even have any?
"That's right. With aura, you'll be able to become durable enough to resist damage in a fight. However, I must warn you that there is a limit as to how much can be expended. Yes, aura can help protect your body and even enhance your attacks, but long term battles tend to exhaust your reserves which can be lethal if you're not careful. Your semblance on the other hand, is something that you have to discover and awaken on your own, since it is the very "expression" of your soul."
I nodded in understanding, except about the whole "expression of my soul" part, how exactly did that work? Hm, maybe I should give it a try. It couldn't hurt, if anything, I'll have even more of an advantage when I take on the Greeed or Grimm for that matter. I looked to Ruby, who merely gave me a nod of her own; a smile gracing her lips. Since she was one of the few that knew I was from another world, I could confine my secret to her and trust her for it.
"Okay shoot, how do we do this?" I asked Blake.
"Well-" she was abruptly cut off from her explanation by Ankh being slammed against the table in front of her, with Nora straddling him.
"What the hell!?" I exclaimed, how in the hell did Nora do that?
Unheeding of the attention they were garnering, Nora continued to try and shove a chicken breast down the red Greeed's throat, with Ankh valiantly putting up as much of a fight as he was able. "EAT IT! EAT IT!"
"You insolent wench, get off me this instant!" he gritted out.
"Come on Nora, leave him alone." I heard Jaune bit out amongst the noise the two were making.
"Well, you are eating for two there Ankh, just take it already." I managed to blurt out, if only to stop them from going to blows.
"When I say no…I mean NO!" Ankh cried out in anger before splitting his Greeed arm off from Nathan's then prone body and flicking Nora on the nose, then shoving her off with as much force as he was able. The red haired spitfire landed ungracefully in the arms of Ren, who simply shook his head as if this was normal for Nora.
In that moment, both the Teams of RWBY and JNPR managed to finally catch a glimpse of Nathan without the hairstyle. It was somewhat unsettling to actually have a comatose man lying on the table like he was just a part of the scenery. Ruby turned her head away while Weiss was visibly blanching in either disgust or fright. Blake's reaction was more subdued, but I could still see a hint of sympathy in her eyes, while Yang just seemed indifferent as she held her head against the table by her arm.
"You know, he's kind of cute." This earned her stares from everyone; including Ankh.
"Tch, you humans…"he muttered under his breath before reattaching himself, and sitting up on the table to cross his legs. "For that little scrap, you're all going to get extra hours of weight training tomorrow. NO EXCEPTIONS!
"WHAT!" we all cried out as we almost fell off from our seats.
Remnants of Desires
Chapter 6: One's Soul and Bond
"Ankh?" Blake questioned as she spotted the Greeed sitting up on a tree by the school courtyard. The red avian looked down to study the kunoichi with an almost critical stare; he then scoffed mockingly to look away.
"It's a little surprising." Blake quirked a brow, "Excuse me?"
"That you've managed to fool them this long." If Blake would have reacted, she was very good in controlling it.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He jumped down from his perch and stood up to tower over her, with Blake maintaining her ground. "Humans can be so dumb. All it takes to fool them is a tiny black bow, eh kitty cat?" he slowly reached his hand up to grasp the accessory, only for her to back away.
This time, her shell cracked a bit. "Please…don't."
"What are you so afraid of?" he asked her, but strangely enough, it wasn't laced with his usual vitriol.
"I have my reasons." She tensed, snaking her arms around herself.
"Please, as if I care about such things. I'm just curious as to why you get to hide who and what you are and Velvet doesn't have to." His lips quirked into a smirk, already aware of her answer.
"I just…I just couldn't stand it anymore. If they ever knew…"
"You mean your Team?"
Blake's eyes shifted. "Yes…"
"I see, that is your desire then." He commented thoughtfully as he circled around her.
Blake was eyeing him closely, keeping her guard up. "What?"
"You desire human compassion and acceptance; companionship. You are envious of the camaraderie that comes with belonging somewhere other than the Faunus. Tell me, have you never experienced that with…your own kind?" his tone of voice was almost mirthful, as if saying those very words tickled his tongue.
"I…I have. All my life I've lived with people that I always considered my family; my parents, my friends. I've never wanted for love or affection since we were always so close…even when things started to change." She paused for a moment as her head hung low, her eyes glued to the ground.
"But somehow…it felt like…it wasn't enough."
Unexpectedly, Ankh drew out a Cell Medal out of his hand and raised it pointedly towards her. Blake's eyes widened as she caught sight of the silver coin and backed away, quickly reaching for her Gambol Shroud.
"You know, it was really dangerous for you to tell me those things considering what I am. Although, I still would have found out eventually. We Greeed can read the hearts and minds of anyone so long as their desire is strong, and you my dear…are practically brimming with it." His smirk grew as he shuffled near her.
Gambol Shroud was now fully drawn out as Blake got into a stance, knowing full well what Ankh was going to do to her; that is if he even was going through with it. He flipped the coin into the air before absorbing it back into his arm, eliciting a curious brow and a twinge of relief from the feline kunoichi.
The red Greeed just ignored her reaction. "Lesson of the day, never tell a stranger of anything that might compromise you. Enemies will take full advantage of that for all its worth."
"Were you seriously considering making me into a host?" she still held her guard up, just in case he'd tried anything.
"No, and even if I did I wouldn't. I prefer to conserve as much power as I need. Even I'm not that impatient, still, it's always good to have something to fall back on." That notion didn't settle well with the cat faunus at all, making her even more wary of him.
"Is that what we're all to you Greeed – hosts?"
"Yes." He answered simply. "Human or Faunus, just as long as that person has desire, we wouldn't care less who or what they are." That still didn't reassure her at all, if anything, it only told her that she should watch Ankh more closely.
"Well then, I'll be off." He suddenly sauntered off with a wave of his hand.
"Where are you going?" Blake asked.
"Anywhere that isn't boring." He answered back without looking, causing her to shrug and hang her head in thought. Ankh knew that she was a faunus, which worried her considering everything she's done to hide her true heritage from the school and her friends. However, judging by the talk they just had, Ankh was neither interested nor cared about such a thing, which eased her a bit. She shook those thoughts away for now as she started heading to the library, which was her favorite place to be whenever she needed peace and quiet.
After that whole fiasco in the cafeteria (I swear the weirdest things happen there) I was at the library hitting the books. A reasonable tower was beside me as I was fully drawn into studying everything I could. Much to my amazement, Remnant really wasn't that much different to Earth. Oh sure, there were some things that were still behind compared to things back home, but Remnant was arguably more advanced in terms of technology aside from the Scroll. Also, unlike Earth, they had an actual alternative energy source that might as well have been an all-purpose solution to the environment; Dust.
What worried me was the Creatures of Grimm. There were many conflicting sources regarding their origins. Some believed them to be animals possessed by evil spirits or even the tortured souls of animals themselves. Not to mention that they're drawn to negative emotions. It worried me since I was not exactly a stranger to such feelings - after what happened 5 years ago as well as 8 years ago.
What was universally accepted was that they had been around since at least the dawn of mankind. Also, it was because of the Grimm that walls were built around the Four Kingdoms to prevent them from being overrun as they wouldn't hesitate to kill humans. Grimm didn't kill humans for food. They killed just because it was in their nature.
A pen and paper were laid out in front of me as I took notes; listing down the names, behaviour and habitat of each individual species of Grimm. Even though Professor Port always seemed so enthusiastic, he spent more of his time regaling us with his past heroic exploits than giving us anything remotely useful. I often found myself dozing off near the end of the class, which more than once earned me a slap on the wrist - literally.
"Let's see..." I continued to read when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and caught myself locking with those golden yellow eyes again.
"Would you like some company?" Blake asked asshe took a seat beside me.
"Sure," I answered. I didn't mind. Besides, I needed a break.
"Those are a lot of books," Blake observed.
"I need to catch up. I...didn't exactly do well in my last school." It wasn't technically a lie, since I was always an average student. But regarding which school, that's where I was just keeping it close.
"The History of Vytal, Records of the Great War, and Chronicles of the Faunus War," Blake read through the titles out loud as she saw my reading selection.
"Professor Oobleck isn't the easiest teacher to understand when he zooms across the room," I told her.
"He's a fast talker isn't he?" she asked rhetorically.
"At least Professor Goodwitch's class isn't so boring," I stated. "I just hope Ankh can keep his head on his shoulders when he's teaching us." While Ankh wasn't exactly an inadequate teacher (and by inadequate, I mean normal), he didn't exactly enjoy it either. He begrudgingly accepted the job as a way to let off some steam, but also because it would help him monitor my training more closely. Plus, the monthly salary he was receiving served more than an adequate compensation. At least he was allowed to build his own weapons from scratch; two short swords with red trimmings.
Blake eyed me over after rearranging my books. "You know, for a guy that hasn't awakened aura yet, you do pretty well in a fight."
"Only because of the Core Medals, everything else I had to work for. Without the armor I would have been killed twice over and then some." I was uncomfortably reminded of the pain I've been enduring lately – both at training and fighting. Still, it didn't exactly bother me that much...I stopped caring about myself a long time ago.
"So what brings you here?" I asked her as I shifted in my seat to face her.
"I like to read, plus it's quiet enough for me to think."
"Ah…I see." Team RWBY's room could get pretty noisy at times. Yang liked to play her loud music, Ruby talked way too much (especially on a sugar high), and Weiss would tear her hair out just to get them to quiet down. Me and Ankh could actually hear it from across our dorms, not that I minded, but Ankh would often muffle the sounds with a pillow over his head. It was a no brainer that it'd be more than what an avid reader like Blake could handle.
"I was hoping to find out more about the King from 800 years ago," Blake added.
"No you won't," I answered her.
"Why not?" she arched a brow at me, causing me to sigh.
"Well Blake, there's often a reason why people like The Multi-King would much rather be forgotten. Even though I don't exactly know that much all about him yet, I can still tell that he was someone that did so many awful things that everything having to do with him had to be covered up."
Blake stopped in thought before giving me a faint nod. "I guess we're just gonna have to wait until Ankh can tell us more."
"Yeah, that's at least better than nothing." I conceded.
In the Kougami Foundation…
Kougami was overlooking a line of boxes that contained the parts necessary to modify Team RWBY and JNPR's weapons, which would be sent to their rooms along with a birthday cake and card each. There was a third and last cake that was above all of them, which was meant specifically for OOO as there was an "extra special ingredient" he added to give it more flavour.
In the middle of his examination, the doors opened to reveal the mysterious biker, who for once wasn't wearing his helmet.
"Ah, you're here." he said before passing him the stacks of boxes. "I contacted Ozpin this morning. You shall deliver these to Beacon Academy to their respective addresses. Hop to it!"
The Hunter nodded before exiting the office with his cargo in tow.
After finishing my conversation with Blake, I found Ruby in The Forge. It was a workshop where students were allowed to use to upgrade and modify their weapons. I was pretty stunned when I first found this place a few days ago when Ankh wanted to make his weapons, as this was definitely not someplace that you usually came across in a normal school. Then again, Beacon Academy was anything but normal.
The red hooded scythe wielder was busily attending to her weapon…and by that I mean she was literally hugging the thing tightly against her, with hearts and everything. She sure loves her weapon.
"Hey Ruby," I spoke up as I approached her, eliciting a jump and a startled squeal. She quickly spun on her heel to address me.
"You didn't see that, did you?" she squeaked.
"Saw what?" I feigned ignorance.
"N-Nothing," she bought it, nice.
Ruby seemed to relax as she placed Crescent Rose on the table in front of her. I stared at the weapon for a few seconds before looking up. "Say, uh…I just got a call from the Kougami Foundation that they'll be sending in some parts to help modify your weapons to help fight the Greeed. Are you good for that?"
She squealed again, only this time in sheer delight before drawing me into a hug. "Seriously!? That's so cool! Now I'll be able to have Crescent Rose do what your Medajalibur can!"
I grimaced from the crushing embrace, but held on for dear life. "Well, I don't think it'll go that far. At best, you'd only be able to finally do some damage to the Greeed and make them spill Cell Medals."
She broke away from the hug, still grasping my shoulders. "Aw, so I won't be able to cut through everything?" she pouted.
I scratched the back of my head. "I don't exactly…cut through everything. If that were the case, then the things that I ran Medajalibur through would be bisected along with my target permanently. I shudder to think the collateral damage from that."
Ruby hummed thoughtfully to herself before letting go, her cheeks flushed. "I guess you have a point."
I chuckled lightly before leaning back against the table. "Say Ruby, I gotta ask. Are you okay? I mean, were you really okay after what Kazari…did to you?" I asked her carefully to gauge her reaction.
Again, Ruby hummed thoughtfully as she went near her scythe. "I never thought I'd actually see the day that there'd be someone faster than me. I mean, I've always been able to move fast, too fast for even other people to see. Since Yang and I trained together all the time, she's one of the few people that can anticipate whenever I attack."
"What about the others, who are they?"
Ruby smiled widely. "My dad and uncle."
I winced a bit from that, but kept it in. "They sound nice." It was then that Ruby's smile faltered. "Oh…Oh Enrique I'm so-" I held a hand up to placate her.
"It's fine, let's change the subject. So, your semblance, why do rose petals come out whenever you use it?
"Don't know." She answered simply, causing my shoulder to slump a bit.
"Okay, this one I'm asking you - last one, what will you do the next time you meet Kazari?" Ruby's eyes widened before adopting a confident smirk.
She lurched her hand quickly to grab her scythe and drew it in front of her. "He'll say hello to my Crescent Rose, hiyah!" I ducked as she inadvertently swung it at me, before frantically apologizing.
After doing my best to assure Ruby that I was fine and didn't hold it against her that she almost…cleaved me in two. I wandered to the gym as my ears caught the sound of someone training. When I arrived, I saw that it was Yang, who was busy pulverizing a punching bag. I blushed a bit as I looked her over, with her only articles of clothing being a yellow tank top and short shorts. The blonde was practically a bombshell of a woman that guys back home would die to go out on a date with. And I'm pretty sure she knew it too.
Wait. Why in the hell did I start thinking that? Gotta get my mind out of the gutter – stupid brain.
I shook my head before walking up to her. "Hey Yang, are you training?"
With one last jab, she stopped to take a sip from a nearby water bottle before turning to face me.
"Gotta keep myself in shape. Those Greeed are tough I'll give them that, but just wait 'till they get a load of who they're messing with!" she declared boldly, a smirk not unlike Ruby's gracingher lips. I could easily tell that she was still reeling from seeing her sister getting almost torn to shreds by Kazari.
"Yeah, they're not exactly pushovers. I mean, if it wasn't for the armor I'd be done for. Ren and Velvet get most of the credit though…without them I would've been a goner either way."
"Well, we're your friends. Why wouldn't we help you?" Yang asked.
I smiled. I never had so many friends before aside from Zack. Even before the accident, I wasn't really all that social. It felt…nice that there were people who cared about you, and who you cared about back.
It really did…
"So, you wanna spar with me?" she smirked, probably suspecting that I was ogling her earlier.
"I…I'd rather not right now. Ankh put me and Jaune through the ringer yesterday and it isn't exactly advisable to over-train since I'm just a beginner." I held my hands up respectfully to her.
"Don't worry. I promise not to hurt you too much. I'll hold back," she promised.
"No. Really. It's okay, I'll hold off the sparring for tomorrow thank you." We then heard a faint rumbling through the air – I looked down at my stomach before sighing in embarrassment. She couldn't help herself from giggling at me.
"I guess I'm hungry. Well, I'll see you later Yang." I waved a hand as I bade farewell, leaving her to continue on with her training.
As I was on my way to the cafeteria, I heard a yelp from down the hallway. I swivelled my head around before sauntering to where I suspect was the source. What I found made me more than a little ticked off. It was Team CRDL, the resident bullies. Professor Goodwitch once mentioned to me after I saw them bullying Velvet a few times that since Beacon was training the next generation of Hunters, warriors that should be able to steadfastly defend themselves, it was only natural to try and stand up for yourself.
Unfortunately, what they were doing wasn't just plain bullying, it was outright racism and bigotry. I guess even in different worlds there are things that some people just wouldn't do. Right at that moment, they were bothering Velvet again, cornering her against the wall and pulling at her ears.
Darting my head to my right, I spotted a Kougami Foundation Ridevendor. I silently walked up to it and drew out the only two Cell Medals I had - my "allowance" from Ankh - and punched them in to take out a Tako and Taka Candroid each.
I pulled on the tabs and pointed them in the direction of the disturbance. "Mess those four up, but leave the girl alone." The candroids nodded before hovering swiftly to Team CRDL.
"Hey, what the hell!? Ow! Hey stop that! Ow!" Cardin cried out as he kept trying to deflect the Taka Candroid pecking away at him.
"Ew, what is this!?" Dove spluttered as he wiped a huge splotch of ink off his face that the Tako Candroid spewed on.
As the relentless machines kept on pestering them, Velvet carefully sneaked away before seeing me waving her over. The both of us escaped, leaving the four jerks to their trouble.
We made our way to the courtyard where we sat on a flight of stairs. "You okay?" I asked her in concern.
"I'm fine," she assured as she massaged her right ear. I staved off from speaking to give her time to recover. When she finally calmed down, that's when I asked her my question.
"Why do you let them do that to you?"
Velvet paused as she hung her head, her eyes seemed welded to the ground as if she couldn't look at me. "They'll get tired of me eventually."
"No they won't." I stated. "Bullies often never let go of the people they torment. If anything, they consider the poor soul their "favorite" pass time." My tone was certain, as I was all too familiar with being bullied back home.
"But what can I do? If I do anything, it'll just give them more reason to dislike the Faunus."
"Do you want them to like you?" she looked up to me and saw that I was staring at her with a blank but stern face, boring deep into her to see if she understood what I meant.
"N-No…not really." She stammered.
"Then why should you waste your time on them? Listen, there's always going to be people who are going to look down on the Faunus, and I don't know if that'll ever change or not. But I do know this, letting them run all over you isn't going to make things any better. You either tell them off or shove them off."
"That's what the White Fang does!" she countered. That terrorist group I've been hearing about lately? Oh boy, this is gonna be tough.
"Are you like the White Fang then?" I asked her. She frantically shook her head no. "Then don't be. You're not just a Faunus, you're a young girl with a bright future ahead of her and friends who support you. Never doubt that, because when the chips are down; Coco, Ruby, Blake, Yang, Weiss, Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, Nora and me will always be here. For you. No matter what!"
Velvet's eyes widened after I finished that little speech of mine, which even I was surprised that I even pulled off. Her eyes moistened a bit as she struggled to fight back tears.
"You-You really see me as a friend?" I inwardly face palmed.
I gritted my teeth tightly. "Yes!" I exclaimed like it was so obvious. "What part of what I said just now didn't make sense? Velvet, don't ever doubt or cut yourself short, because there are people here who love you. Never waste that, because being alone is more painful than getting hurt." I was now close to tears myself. I couldn't stand this. I just couldn't. Here was someone that still had so much to live for and already she was doubting them.
Unlike me…
Velvet was now looking at me with tears welling in her eyes, and her lips pressed tightly, but I could tell that it wasn't out of sadness. I didn't mean to make her cry, but it had to be done. If Velvet was ever going to make the bullying stop, then she had to take a stand.
"Hey!" a voice boomed. I instantly recognized it and jerked my head around. It was Cardin and his cronies, standing atop the steps and glaring down on us. I glared at them despite myself, spying a now crushed Taka Candroid clenched tightly in his hand. That only pissed me off even more.
"Is this yours?" he threw it down the steps, bouncing over twice before landing against my arm. I stood up slowly from where I was seated, ready to fight these guys if I had to.
That is until, "Step away from my friends you ass!" Coco called out from down the walkway, with Fox and Yatsuhashi flanking her sides. All of them were giving their own glares at the thugs who actually had the gall to call themselves Hunters.
Cardin just rolled his eyes. "Or what? You're gonna pay us off? Last I heard you're broke Adel, a penniless leader with no money to her name." I could actually hear Fox growling under his breath at that thoughtless crack, while Coco just kept her face into a stern frown.
"So? At least I don't go around being an utter jackass to other people that don't even deserve it."
"Psh, please! She's an animal. Vermin like her don't deserve to be at this school."
"I could say the same for you!" I spat back at him, with Velvet right behind me clutching my sleeve. Cardin glowered down at me menacingly.
"Looks like we got ourselves a regular tough guy here boys, why don't we show him what we do to guys who think they can take us?"
Coco stepped forward defiantly. "Move, and we swear that you won't get out of here in one piece." Her voice was dangerously neutral, but you'd have to be a complete idiot to not take that threat at face value.
The courtyard fell silent as we all stood in place, keeping our guard up in case one group or the other would budge. After what felt like forever, Cardin's shoulders fell. "Let's get out of here fellas. These animal lovers deserve each other." With that, CRDL made their way back into the school; grumbling amongst themselves.
When they were finally out of sight, I released the breath that I was holding in and relaxed. I then felt warm arms curling up around my neck, and realized that it was Velvet. She was hugging me, most likely in gratitude for defending her.
The rest of Team CVFY came down to join us, with Fox patting me on the shoulder and Yatsuhashi nodding in acknowledgement. Coco was still between them with her hands on her hips.
"Enrique, right?" she asked. I nodded, "Uh, yeah?"
She held her hand out in front of her. "Thanks…for…everything. Saving me and Velvet I mean."
Darting my head up and down from her face to her hand, I bewilderingly accepted to shake it. "It was nothing."
"It wasn't just nothing. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be a vegetable right now." She quirked her lips in a grimace, no doubt reminded of the incident involving the Piranha Yummies.
I licked mine after being released from the handshake. "So…how you holding up? I mean, what with you being…"
Coco's smile grew bigger. "Funny thing about that actually. A few days ago after recovering from the infirmary, I received a generous stipend from the Kougami Foundation. It's not exactly much, but more than enough for me to get myself back on my feet. Guess I won't be shopping anytime soon." Yatsuhashi snorted back a laugh while Fox just rolled his…eyes? Okay, that's weird.
Relieved that all was at least well with CVFY, I took my leave and headed to the cafeteria to eat. Hot damn, was I hungry.
As Velvet was waving to her new friend, Coco gently held her shoulder. "We heard the whole thing."
Velvet looked over her shoulder at her leader and team as she slowly turned to face them. "Like Enrique said Velvet, you're not alone. So please…please don't hold it in." Behind her aviators, small tears were trailing down her cheeks as the fashionista pleaded, with the other two looking on sombrely as they inched closer to help comfort them. Velvet wiped her own tears away with her sleeve as she beheld all three of them; her friends, a warm smile slowly grew on her lips as she and Coco embraced.
After helping Velvet against Cardin and his gang, I was back at the cafeteria happily munching away at my lunch of pasta and garlic loaf. As I allowed to my tongue to savor the taste of the sauce, meat and noodles, icy blue eyes were staring daggers into me from across where I was sitting.
Not exactly in the mood to entertain whatever it was the heiress wanted of me, I continued to eat like she wasn't even there.
"What is up with you two anyway?" Weiss wondered aloud to me.
"Huh?" I asked through a mouthful, causing her to flinch in disgust.
"Don't play me for a fool. You know he's using you," she reminded me. "You might as well be his bodyguard for all I care. I don't understand how you can be so subservient to someone without expecting anything in return."
"Yeah, I can imagine you'd think that." I said matter-of-factly.
She snapped an eyebrow up as she glowered. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, seeing as how that you've probably lived almost your entire life without wanting for anything, I guess it'd be hard for you to understand someone who'd be working for nothing."
"Th-That's not true!" she stammered. "I just don't think it's healthy to have that kind of mindset."
"Well, it's not like I'm doing it for absolutely nothing." I pointed out.
"What do you mean?" she inquired more genially this time.
I looked down at my meal. "At least I get to help other people. That's…actually all I ever want."
"But what about yourself?" she insisted. "Don't you care about what you want?"
"Not really, no. If anything, just as long as everybody else is okay, then I'm okay." I explained as I bit into a loaf.
She scrutinized me a for a bit longer, until it seemed to dawn on her that I was serious. "Fine, if that's how it is, then I won't pry anymore. It's not like it even matters all that much to me anyway." She huffed as she turned away and crossed her arms.
Oh great, a Tsundere. Well, a little small talk while eating never really hurt. "So Weiss, your family owns and runs a Dust Company, what is that exactly? I asked. "Does it involve anything else?"
She shifted in her seat as she reverted her gaze to me, a hint of pride in her voice as she motioned to explain. "Well, if you must know, the Schnee Dust Company is the largest import and export of Dust in all the Four Kingdoms." Her eyes shifted to the side a bit, "At least, not for long."
"What do you mean?"
"The Kougami Foundation has been steadily increasing in their transactions of Dust; rivalling even our yearly output rate by at least 10%. In fact, just last year we were ready to make a joint deal with them to make up for the losses." She huffed again, "They denied any and all attempts to go through with it."
"That doesn't exactly surprise me all that much. I mean, you've seen what they can make first-hand, right? The Ridevendors, the Candroids, even the Medajalibur." I counted OOO's arsenal down with my fingers as I pointed them out.
Weiss harrumphed. "At first we didn't exactly know how they managed to exceed us so fast, but as of recent, now I have a pretty good idea." She leaned in closer by the table. "It's those Cell Medals, isn't it? Just how is it done anyway? They just look like coins to me."
I rolled my eyes up in thought. "Well, even though Cell Medals may look like coins, each of them contain a negligible amount of Core Energy. That's how the Greeed are able to make hosts out of people, and how they power up Medajalibur."
Weiss blinked her eyes to slits. "If my family could just get even a whiff of those medals, well, the opportunities for alternative means of power could be endless." Uh oh, I'm starting to get the wrong vibes here.
"Weiss, I think it's not really that good of an idea to meddle with things involving the Greeed. I mean, Cell Medals are powerful once you have enough of them, but the risks are just…I don't know. You've been a host yourself, right?"
"That was just the one time. I definitely won't make the same mistake again." She declared with fervor.
I sighed. "Whatever you say."
XXX
"What I wouldn't give to be a hero like you," Jaune mused as I found him sulking after training in the arena by his lonesome.
"A hero like me? How so?" I asked as I sat with him by the stairs.
"Come on, with that armor of yours you've saved Velvet, Coco, Nora…Weiss. Rescuing damsels in distress is all part and parcel of what being a hero is about, right?" he looked up to me almost pleadingly.
"Uh…is that what you think being a hero is about?" I reeled back awkwardly a bit.
He scoffed. "Of course not, you get to protect innocent people too, fight bad guys and monsters. Not to mention the fringe benefits."
"Like what?"
"Respect, admiration, acknowledgement? What more could you want?" I bit my lip in contemplation.
"Well, I don't exactly want anything really. All that's important is that if I give people the chance to live for a better tomorrow, that's all that matters to me."
"Yeah right." Jaune grumbled as he hung his head in his arm.
I drew my head back as I released a sigh. "I'm beginning to think that your definition of a hero is coming off just a bit selfish, don't you think?"
"It's not like you do it for free." He stated.
"Being a hero is not just about saving people, it's about doing the right thing no matter what. Whether you like it or not; at its core, it's a selfless, thankless job that people take for granted. All they want is the recognition and fame that goes with it. If you focus too much on those things, you start to lose sight of what really matters."
"And that is?"
"Helping others when they really need it."
"That's exactly what I've been talking about!" Jaune insisted as he heaved a sigh.
I had to suppress the urge to smack my own forehead. "Look Jaune, just think about what I said, okay? I gotta go. By the way, are you sure you should be training right now? I mean, Ankh did tell us that we should at least get a day's rest after what he put us through."
"Don't worry, I can handle it. And who knows, maybe I'll even catch up with you and the others." He declared as he picked up his sword, while I just walked off with my head hung low and my hands in my pockets. That guy still has a lot to learn.
As I wandered aimlessly around the school to clear my head, I stumbled upon Blake who was sitting under a tree by the courtyard. As always, she was engrossed heavily in a book. My lips curled into a small smile as I approached her.
"Hey Blake," I called out.
She blinked before looking up, somewhat surprised by my arrival, but welcoming nonetheless. I sat next to her against the large tree, the cool shade and breeze adding to the relaxation. Man, no wonder Blake was reading here.
"So what brings you here?" Blake asked as she resumed.
"Just wanted to clear my head, it's been a long day of me goofing off." Blake chortled in amusement.
"Yes, it must have been quite the excursion."
We spent the next few moments just sitting together in silence, letting ourselves bask in the tranquil patio. I was close to dozing off myself, with Blake allowing me to lean on her shoulder. Slumber would have taken me over completely if it weren't for her slowly nudging me awake.
"It's time to get back inside, are you okay?" she asked.
"Fine, it's just been a really busy week." She grinned.
"Yeah it has. What with the Grimm, Greeed and Yummies running around. Just another day in the life of a Hunter."
"Hrm…" I grumbled as we rose up to our feet.
Blake's grin fell as she averted her eyes and pressed her lips together. "Say Enrique, remember when we talked about your aura this morning?"
"Yeah?" I perked up.
"Well…why don't we awaken it?" I widened my eyes.
"You can do that?"
"Of course, just stand right in front of me." She motioned for me to walk up to her. "You know, I don't think I really have that much aura." I queried.
"Nonsense, anyone with a soul is bound to have an aura - even animals." She laid her hand gently against my chest as she closed her eyes to concentrate. "Close your eyes and relax." I did as she instructed started not long after.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death." I could feel a faint warmth building up inside me as she continued. "I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."
It was then that I opened my eyes, and to my utter amazement the both of us were glowing. A grey glow emanated from her body as I looked to my hands and down to the rest of me. I was glowing too, with the light being a deep purple.
I was abruptly startled out of it as I caught Blake from falling over. "Blake are you okay?" I asked frantically.
"I'm fine…I just. That usually doesn't happen." I panicked a little.
"Doesn't what happen? Did I mess it up?"
"No, no, it's just…it's nothing. Maybe I'm just tired too." I sighed in relief. "Okay, let's get back inside. And…thanks for awakening my aura Blake." She beamed up at me.
"You're welcome."
As the both of them walked back into the school, Blake raised the hand she used in the awakening ritual to scrutinize it. "His aura...it felt like it was…" it was quite an unusual experience since she had done it many times before for other Faunus, but it was only now that she felt such a sensation.
"It was like something was…dragging my soul out."
Ankh perked up when I entered through the door of our dorm, but he still sported his signature glower. "What the hell happened to you?"
I looked up from the desk as I was readying to study. "Um…Blake helped me awaken my aura."
"Tch, what'd she do, kiss you?" I leaned back against the backrest to rub my eyes.
"Seriously, I so am not in the mood for this."
He rolled his eyes as he kept tapping away at his scroll, I guess he's a lot more studious than me when it counts. "Whatever, you and your girlfriend can cuddle for all I care. And your aura? Doesn't even feel like much."
"Will you stop with that "girlfriend" crack already? Besides, what would you know about relationships anyway?"
"More than you care to know." He muttered. I was about to turn away to take out my books from my bag, only to stop to look back up. "What do you mean by my aura being not that much?"
"Aura sense, anyone who trains in it can easily detect the presence and strength of nearby opponents. All of us Greeed can do it, how do you think I'm able to pick up on whenever they show up?"
"Can you teach me? That sounds like it could be really useful."
He scoffed. "Teach yourself. I'm already busy with what time I have tomorrow." My shoulders fell a bit as I resumed taking out a few textbooks.
The next day, I was woken up by a knock at our door. Mother of pearl, is it time for class already? With a yawn and a few grumbles, I shuffled my way to see who it was. When I finally opened it, my groggy eyes were instantly bombarded with the sight of brown cardboard.
"What the?"
"Morning Enrique! They're here, the packages are here!" it was Ruby, and she was bouncing up and down excitedly in her pajamas as she held up a package in both hands. I rubbed my eyes to clear them as I shortly allowed both Team RWBY and JNPR to enter; each and every one of them carrying packages of their own.
"Ruby said that these packages are from the Kougami Foundation, is that true?" Weiss asked as she set hers down next to her on my bed.
"Yep," I confirmed drowsily, "those are the parts you'll be needing for your weapons to be able to fight the Greeed." At this, Weiss looked down to examine hers with an intricate eye.
"This is so awesome! And they all came with cakes too!" Ruby cried out in joy before speeding back and forth from both rooms to get three more boxes. Without a moment to spare, she opened each of them in a jiffy and found herself drooling at the sight of three deliciously baked cakes.
Each of them had icing that marked where they belonged, with one for RWBY and JNPR, and the last one being mine and Ankh's.
As both teams started opening their packages, I was left to check out my cake on my desk. It was covered all over with white icing, with mango slices all lined around the edges in a flower-like pattern. But after studying it more closely, it started to look more and more like the face of a sun.
A sun? No, is that supposed to be a mouth at the bottom angle? After twirling it around a few times, I realized that it looked almost like a lion. Could it be? There's something sticking out in the center. Oh come on, it can't be that easy?
"What's that?" someone grunted up from behind me. I jumped a bit in surprise from the swivel chair before pivoting around to look up at Ankh, who was glaring down more at the cake than me.
"Kougami sent it, probably as a thank you for all the Cell Medals we've been giving him." I wondered aloud after calming my nerves. He really needed to stop doing that.
"No, what's that?" he pointed to the center of the cake with his Greeed arm, before plunging it straight in.
"Hey, what gives!?"
All of the others looked up to see what the growing commotion was about, with Ruby silently whining at my now ruined cake (she and me both).
"Quiet!" he snapped, before slowly drawing his clenched fist out. It was covered with bits and glops of cake and icing respectively, aw man!
"What is it?" I asked despite my annoyance.
His lips slowly curled into a large grin as he unfurled his fingers. "Well, well, well, isn't this a nice wakeup call?"
I almost fell out of my seat as I spotted what could only be the best thing that could ever happen for the red Greeed. – a Core Medal. And it wasn't just any Core, but the Lion. This could only mean one thing.
"Wow Enrique, is that another Core Medal?" Ruby pointed out curiously as she crouched next to Ankh to inspect the yellow trinket, with the others nearing closer to have a look as well. Ankh jerked his arm up to grasp it tightly in again, eliciting an irritated pout from the scythe wielder.
I stood up from my seat to divert her attention as Ankh made his way back to his bunk. "Yeah, it's one of Kazari's. That's the Lion Core Medal."
Blake perked up at that. "The Lion? Wait, didn't you two already have the Tiger and Cheetah Medals with you?"
I nodded. "That's right. As of today, I can now make another Full Combo."
CURRENT MEDALS:
Taka (x1)
Lion (x1)
Tora (x2)
Cheetah (x2)
Kuwagata (x1)
Kamakiri (x1)
Batta (x1)
(NEXT TIME)
"Oh I get it!" The silver haired man said, a Dust laced cookie held up daintily near his mouth.
"Not again..." I muttered morosely. Why did I have to dream about that day? Why now?
"Let's show this lummox what we're made of Blake!" I declared boldly as we readied ourselves.
Next Time: Reminisce and Footwear
A/N: That is it for this chapter folks! I hope you guys enjoyed it as well as the Lion Core Medal being obtained as well as the Aura. Don't forget to check out my other stories and look forward to my Kamen Rider Ghost crossover on October 31st as well as a OOO Halloween special. I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!