A/N: What is up everyone! I am here with the thirteenth chapter of OOO! And in this chapter, it takes place before the Volume 2 arc and this is a Christmas special as well. 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 want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope you all have a happy new year since I will be gone for a bit to celebrate (December 24-25, 31 and January 1st) but you can still send me PM. Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?
Henshin!
Third Person View
'Thought'
Greeed/Yummies
As the night progressed for Ankh and Enrique, the Bird Greeed was moving a bit to scratch his back as he slept but also experiencing for the first time he never thought to expect, a dream.
Ankh was seeing around him, within his dreams, the village within the Lost Kingdom 800 years ago. He was watching his full former human form walk amongst the people before noticing the little blind girl who was being helped by her mother.
He watched the two continue on with their lives until they were cornered by criminals much to his disgust. "Oi!" he shouted to them as he went into his human form.
Now the criminals attention were focused on Ankh. "Stay out of this punk if you know what's good for you!"
Ankh merely frowned before he delivered a fatal strike onto the first criminal. He looked at the other criminal before he dodged a strike from the latter. He grabbed the man's arm before twisting it, making the man cry in pain. Kicking him down, he saw the guards take the two. "Take them away." he said to the guards.
They nodded before they left with the criminals who were in handcuffs.
"Thank you, mister." the blind girl thanked.
"Thank you."
Ankh looked at them before he looked at the girl before saying, "It is what I do…"
Ankh continues to see his days of his life back in the past, not to mention his times visiting the blind girl and teach her on what is around her. Seeing her happy gave him the lost feeling he hadn't had in a long time. However as his dreams continue, he soon saw that he was in the battlefield alongside his fellow Greeed.
The Yummies they created were killing many, innocent lives much to his dismay. As he walked amongst the ground, if he can move his eyes, they were filled with shock and horror. One of the casualties was the little blind girl he befriended. "N-No…" he muttered in shock. He quickly ran to her but felt everything went black.
He looked around the dark space as he heard voices.
"Why didn't you save me, Ankh?! Why?"
"I thought you were my friend?"
"You promised that nothing bad will happen to me!"
Ankh placed his claws on his head, trying to ignore the voices of the little girl. He just can't forget this, why can't he forget!?
"Why didn't you protect my mommy when I was left all alone?!"
"Why, Ankh!? Why!?"
He saw in his hands was blood of a human and looked below and saw the dead girl as if he was the one who killed her. "N-N-NOOOO!" He yelled.
Ankh quickly opened his eyes as he sat up from his nest. He was breathing heavily as he noticed his Greeed arm present. "What is this…!?" he muttered quietly. What was this? Was this the way a human experiences in their sleep? The so called dreams that humans experience as they sleep?
He looked at his other hand. "Is it because I am in this puppet that I am experiencing this?" he questioned himself. Above all else, why go through that moment when he met the little girl and saw her death in the battlefield. Was this a way telling him that he is starting to experience what the humans go through?
He shook his head, disbelieving that he is experiencing human traits since it is all in that puppet he is possessing. He lowered his head to check on his so called student and saw he was still sleeping but he also took notice of small glimpse of tears. He huffed knowing that he sees this all the time whenever he notices the young man sleep.
But still, to Ankh it somewhat felt like what he heard Enrique said about Blake and Weiss; two sides of the same coin. He went back to sleep, ignoring whatever dreams that this puppet he is in, is making him go through. "Stupid flesh puppet…" he muttered quietly before he went back to sleep.
Remnants of Desires
Chapter 13: Toride Vendor, Christmas, Ankh's Past
A new morning, with only 3 days before the new semester starts as I was stretching my arms. Getting out of my bed, I walked to the closet to choose which clothes I should wear. When I grabbed my black, collared jacket, I looked at it with a smile since I never gone out without it. Once I put on my jacket, I looked at the top bunk and saw that Ankh was still asleep. "Hey Ankh, wake up." I informed.
He simply waved off as he got up and jumped off his bunk. I took notice of his eyes that showed he didn't get much sleep. He looks a little tired now that I noticed.
"Didn't get much sleep?" I asked.
"None of your business." He answered with a hint of annoyance.
Geez, what is wrong with him today?
I went then grabbed two of my Candroids which was the Tora and Taka Candroids and put them in the pockets of my jacket before walking out of the dorm room.
As I walked around, I noticed some decorations here and there and they were all too familiar. "Christmas lights…?" I muttered in surprise. This world actually celebrates Christmas.
"Hey Enrique! Ankh!"
I turned my head and saw Ruby walking up to me. "Hey Ruby." I smiled. "What's with the Christmas lights?"
"You know the holiday?" She asked, surprised.
I nodded before I looked around and saw no one thankfully. "Yeah. Back in my world it is an international holiday that is celebrated." I answered.
"Cool! So, Merry Christmas!" She cheered.
"What makes this holiday so joyful?" Ankh questioned.
"To be with everyone you care about and you often get gifts from under the Christmas tree." Ruby squealed in joy. I smiled upon Ruby's reaction. She really enjoys Christmas.
"Getting gifts?" Ankh repeated with interest in his eyes.
"Yeah! On Christmas Eve, people often receive presents and on Christmas Day they get to open them." Ruby responded. "So Yang and I are heading back to Patch to celebrate with my dad."
I winced a bit before I did my best to let out a smile. "That sounds nice, Ruby." I commented before looking at Ankh. "You can go on ahead, Ankh…"
As I was about to walk away, it was then that Ruby's smile faltered. "Enrique I'm sorry."
I ignored it as I walked away with a sad look.
"Hmph, he still misses them?" Ankh huffed.
Hearing Ankh's words made Ruby upset and glare at him. "That's not nice Ankh." She said. "You don't know anything about what it is like."
"Yeah? Then how come you und-" then it clicked before he looked at her. "So you knew how it is like…"
She didn't say anything for a moment before saying, "But it is not important for you since you said you don't care about anything. I can see why you don't get presents."
This made Ankh's eye twitch.
"You don't know anything about me," he scoffed.
"Because you never let us try to know you." She countered. "You are always mean to us. Even though Enrique often relies on you he still has his troubles."
"Well, that's what you humans are. You just cause trouble. Even the Greeed were the result of a greedy human causing trouble." He turned around. "I had enough with this.." He soon left and went to the bullhead to explore Vale to learn of any whereabouts of the three unknown Core Medals from the journal that Enrique discovered.
Getting the book out of his Greeed Arm, he flipped through the pages to learn more but his thoughts were soon interrupted with a sound of metal hitting something. He turned his head to the direction and his eyes slowly widen.
It was a girl with shoulder-length pink hair, a light blue blouse, and a shin-length skirt with a cane in her right hand, but from what he could see, the girl was wearing sunglasses and was using the cane to navigate. She was blind.
Ankh froze as he saw the blind girl trip and fall. She was trying to find her cane. He then walked over and picked up her cane before he handed it to her.
"Ah, my cane," the girl smiled as she grasped it and helped herself up. "Thank you." Her sunglasses had slipped down a bit and he could see the dull grey eyes staring blankly at nothing. He also took notice of slight signs of scarring over them as if something attacked her that resulted with her blindness.
This made Ankh mentally lose his focus. Seeing her dull grey eyes and innocent face was seemingly too much for his own mind. It was the same look he was given when he met that little girl 800 years ago.
'Damn it… Why am I remembering this..?!' He growled in thought. Why now? Why remember them as he looks at the eyes of this blind human? "It is what I do… Can't see someone like you keep searching for your… cane."
"Well, thank you again. My name is Sara."
He was quiet for a moment before he said his name. "Ankh…" He responded with his head turned away. "What brings someone like you here?"
"I was visiting my friends." She answered with a smile. "What about you? What brings you here?"
"Research." He simply answered.
"But shouldn't you relax due to today being Christmas Eve?" She questioned.
He wanted to ignore her but he just listened. Why is he listening to a mere human girl? "I have my reasons…"
"Just don't work yourself too much, Ankh. You wouldn't want to be tired." she giggled.
Those words… it was the same words that the little girl told him when he was doing his daily scouting to make sure no one causes trouble in the Lost Kingdom. "I assure you I won't." he assured but in his mind, 'What the hell is wrong with me?!'
"Alright, it was nice meeting you Ankh." Sara smiled before she walked away with the help of her cane. Ankh watched her walk away before he slammed his Greeed arm to the wall, creating a small crack. "Why am I remembering this!? Stupid flesh puppet!"
I was sitting by the tree as I watch most of the student heading to the bullhead. Since it is Christmas Eve, they were all heading back to visit their families and spend time with them.
Me? I decided to stay since I don't have a family to go back to. The 5th Christmas to celebrate with no family. To me, it feels both painful and sad inside.
"Enrique…?" A familiar voice called out.
I turned my head and saw Blake. "Oh… Hey Blake…" I muttered before looking away.
"What's wrong?"
"... It is the fifth Christmas that I will celebrate without my family." I answered.
"What about the person who took care of you, Mr. Stuart?"
I sighed before looking down. "He often works during those days…" I answered. "... So I'm usually alone during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I never had much of a Christmas…"
"Oh…" She muttered.
"Shouldn't you be celebrating?" I asked. "You did say your parents are and I quote, 'somewhere in Vytal.'"
This made Blake quiet for a moment as she muttered something that I couldn't hear. "Huh?" I tilted my head.
She looked away with a sad look. "I don't even know if they are still alive..."
This made my eyes soften. She did say that she used to be with the White Fang almost her whole life back at the docks. "Blake…" I muttered with sympathy. I got up and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Don't think too much about it." I comforted. "I know how it feels, but you can't let that thought cloud your mind."
She looked at me as I give out a small smile. "Just remember that your parents will always be with you even if they are far away."
"Thank you, Enrique." she smiled.
"We are friends after all, Blake. We look out for each other." I smiled. "If you need to talk about anything, you are welcome to talk to me."
She nodded before she walked away. Just as she left, my Scroll received a notification, making me get it out of my pocket. I looked and saw that it was a message from Ozpin saying that he wants me to see him. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity so I decided to head back inside Beacon to see Headmaster Ozpin. Once there, I saw Ankh walking up to the door as well. "You too, Ankh?"
"Seems like it. Don't know why the old man wants to see us." he answered.
I knocked on the door before I heard, "Enter", prompting us to enter his office. "Hey Professor, you wanted to see us?" I asked.
He was looking at a screen on his desk as he had a smile. "What are you smiling about, old man?" Ankh asked.
He rotated the screen, making it face us as it showed Ankh and a girl who was shockingly blind. "I saw what you did. So you do have a kind side." Ozpin said as he showed the footage of Ankh helping the blind girl.
"Ankh…?" I looked at him surprised. This was something that I never thought he would have done for the Bird he is.
"It is none of your business." Ankh growled before looking at Ozpin. "What gives you a right to know about me despite already knowing that I am an incomplete Greeed?"
"It is because most reasons the people act is due to events that happened to them in the past." Ozpin explained. "And you, Ankh, are a being who went through more than training as a veteran Hunter…" He looked at him, right at the very Greeed's eyes. "You experienced something you never thought would happen that changed you."
This made me think back to the way he watched the video and the look in his eyes. It is almost as if…
"Ankh… You lost someone didn't you…?" I asked without hesitation. I knew that look all too well.
This made Ankh quiet before he turned around and walked to the door. "Wait Ankh, I-" I started before he pushed me to the ground.
"Don't…" He glared. "I don't need your apologies or your damn sympathy. All those things don't matter to me anymore."
He left the room with the door slammed closed. So that was why he was a jerk to everyone. "So that was why you stare at the horizon…" I muttered. His eyes showed loss when he saw that video.
He pushed people away because he didn't want to get hurt again. And the reason why he kept on telling me to train harder was to prevent the same mistake that changed him. Deep down, I know he still cares about people but seeing from this… this is why I chose to help people.
For them to be with the people they care about.
I turned around after I stood up to look at Ozpin. "Was that why you wanted to see me, Professor?" I asked.
"Not only that Enrique." He took a sip of his coffee before he pressed a button as a video screen came down and played videos of the three Full Combos that I have and used. "You have been improving since the day you arrived here and seeing this shows you do have potential." He continued. "You might even reach the same level as Team RWBY and Team JNPR within the school year, or…"
"Or what?"
"An even greater level that any Huntsman never could achieve since Ankh is training you. It's not everyday a student like yourself gets to be taught by the first Hunter." He smiled. "Ankh was only training the students with little effort while he teaches you with more training than I have seen."
He gestured to the video of Ankh helping the blind girl. "This must be why he has trained you further than any student in the academy; to prevent the same mistake he must have done all those years ago." He continued. "The power of OOO that you wield is also something that might catch others interest is what also concerns me."
I could understand what he meant since the Multi-King nearly changed the fate of Remnant 800 years ago. "I assure you Professor, I won't go down that path the king followed or let anyone use it for their gain." I assured with determination. "I promised myself that I will help people and save lives and that is what I will keep on doing not as a normal person but…" I looked at him in the eyes. "As a huntsman-in-training and as a Kamen Rider."
This made Ozpin smile before he took a sip from his mug. "You may go now."
"Thanks Professor." I nodded before I walked to the door.
"And Enrique."
I turned my head as he spoke up. "I'm sure your family are proud for what you are doing."
I couldn't help but show a small smile. Ozpin saw right through me and I guess he could tell what I have been through just by looking at me. I opened the door and left the room.
"I should find Ankh and see if he is alright." I muttered. Walking to the bullhead and landing in Vale, I looked around to find a RideVendor so I can make my search for him quicker.
Upon seeing one by a building, I grabbed a Cell Medal and slot it into it before making it convert into bike form. Just as I was gonna get on, I felt something shaking my jacket. "Huh?"
I dug through my pockets, only to find the Tora Candroid popping out. "Hey!" I exclaimed before I grabbed it but it jumped onto the top of the RideVendor and roared with a glow.
Oh no this is not good.
The RideVendor began to split apart a bit with the front wheel splitting in half before going to the back wheel. The Candroid grew into the size of a wheel before it rolled itself back and attached to the RideVendor with two metal parts coming out as the center part detached before tilting and attached to the front part of the RideVendor that was in the shape of a lion's mouth. Once complete, the red lights glowed like eyes before it roared.
This was the TorideVendor!
It roared again before it drove away, pouncing a couple of times. "This is just great…" I groaned. Now I have to chase after the TorideVendor that is on the run and going berserk. I just hope Ankh doesn't get mad at me.
Ankh decided that he needed to be alone. He didn't want to see anyone or talk to anyone. He just needed to be alone without anyone pestering him.
A long time ago, he wasn't the cold and selfish Greeed he was today. In fact, he used to have kindness. However, that kindness only led to pain and since then he had buried his kindness within him. He was a Greeed and all he should care about was becoming whole. He shouldn't care about humans. He didn't care about humans. Not since...her.
Her dull grey eyes, the way that the Sara girl looked at him. It was as if she was the little girl he met all those centuries ago but older.
He quickly shook his head, trying to not remember it. He took notice of people putting up decorations, even seeing some couples walking around. "Tch…" He scoffed, not caring about what is going on but he does have his interest of this holiday. Receiving gifts from people, now that is something that must happen for the Greeed.
He took notice of a dust cloud heading towards his direction, causing him to squint his eyes. "What in the-" he soon saw that it was a RideVendor but no one was driving it and it was growling like a lion. His eye twitched knowing full well what happened. "Enrique, you are an idiot!" he shouted as the TorideVendor went past him.
He looked back and saw Enrique as he ran past him before saying, "Hey Ankh! Sorry, can't talk right now!"
Ankh was gonna go after him until he heard familiar tapping in which he turned around and saw Sara. "Sara…?" he said out loud.
This made her stop walking as she turned to the direction of his voice. "Ankh? Is that you?"
He grumbled before he spoke up. "Yes…"
This made Sara smile.
Great now Ankh saw the TorideVendor and I am sure he was gonna scold me. At least I am trying to catch up with the living bike. It pounced once again as it jumped over a crate while it was driving itself around like crazy.
Maybe I should call the others but they are probably with their families since today is Christmas Eve. Damn it, how am I gonna go after the TorideVendor when it is too quick! With sudden realization, I had to the urge to facepalm knowing that I didn't think of that before I got out the O-Driver and put in Taka, Tora, and Cheetah. After tilting the buckle, I used the O-Scanner to scan them before saying, "Henshin!"
TAKA!
TORA!
CHEETAH!
Now in my OOO armor, I used Cheetah Legs to chase after the berserk TorideVendor. Once I had it in my sights, I leaped over a crate before I landed on the TorideVendor but it stopped before turning its 'head' to me, growling.
"Y-You need to stop!" I ordered.
It roared before it began to make attempts to get me off it. "Hey, hey, hey!" I panicked as I try to hold onto the handles of the bike. It began to spin around, pounce, and act like a bucking bronco as methods to get me off. Now I know how Eiji feels when he had to go after this bike.
Kazari whistled as he walked around town in his human form. While this holiday was meant to remind people to be selfless and giving, it didn't mean everybody truly embodied this spirit. Looking around, he could see people with tons of desire surrounding him.
He spotted a child crying, throwing a tantrum since his parents refused to buy him the toy he wanted.
He saw someone asking for donations while in truth he simply wanted to keep the money for himself.
He saw the people in the shops enjoying themselves with the amount of lien they were getting from all the people spending on Christmas presents.
Desire, desire, desire...it was all around him.
Uva didn't want to be out in the cold so he stayed at their new lair which was the White Fang Base they took over 2 days ago. As for Mezool and Gamel, the two of them were off doing some sort of inane activity. Mezool doted on Gamel too much, treating him like her own child, while Gameru ate up all the attention. He wouldn't be surprised to see them someplace where Gamel was busy stuffing his face as Mezool praised him for doing nothing.
Kazari frowned. Now where was he supposed to find a decent source of desire.
Suddenly, he heard cries of surprise and saw OOO riding by on a hybrid motorcycle. The motorcycle roared as it sped down the street. Pedestrians moved out of the way of the berserk vehicle. Kazari grinned as he saw OOO.
"And a Merry Christmas to me." Kazari's eyes flashed as he went to follow by going to the rooftops and went into his Greeed form.
I was holding on for dear life as I tried to get the TorideVendor to calm down. Really, this just wasn't my day. I kept yelling, begging for it to stop, but it ignored me.
And I think I was starting to hear police sirens. Crap, the cops probably heard what was going on and was moving to stop it.
So much for keeping out of trouble today.
Suddenly, a humanoid shape dropped down from the rooftops. I didn't have time to notice it before it slammed into me and struck me in the chest. I let out a cry as I was thrown off the TorideVendor. Once it knew I was no longer on its back, the berserk bike sped away, leaving me behind.
"Oi! Wait for me!" I shouted.
"I think you have other things to worry about, OOO," said a familiar voice as he leaned against a lamppost.
"Kazari!" I gasped.
"So, lost control of your bike. Such a pity," Kazari chuckled.
"I don't have time to play with you, Kazari," I told him.
"Sorry, but you need to make time!" Kazari lunged at me and slashed me across the chest, sending me reeling. "I want my Core Medals back, so hand them over!"
I slowly got up. "Over my dead body…" I growled as I got into a fighting stance. I know that Kazari got back one of his Cores but I didn't want to let history repeat itself nor let Kazari hurt people.
He tried to attack both crests of Tora and Cheetah but I used its advantage to dodge it with Cheetah legs. "You aren't the only one you can go fast, Kazari." I had a smirk behind my helmet as I managed to deliver a slash with Tora Claws across his chest, spilling some Cell Medals.
"Hmph, you really are a troublesome kid." he drawled. "But I know this is the only the beginning."
"The beginning of what?" I questioned.
"Oh, you'll see OOO." he 'smirked'. He charged forward as he delivered multiple attacks but with the help of Taka, I barely have time to dodge most of his attacks knowing full well he wants his Core Medals back.
He punched me one last time as it sent me skidding across the ground. "Grh…" I cringed as I saw the crests flashing a bit. "Guess I have to do this…" I muttered as I got out the Lion Medal.
"Don't even think-"
I quickly changed Medals before I scanned the three yellow Medals.
LION!
TORA!
CHEETAH!
RATA RATA...RATORA~TAH!
Now I was donned in the Scorching Combo, RaToraTah. I know my body is getting used to the Full Combos but I need to drive Kazari away to prevent harm to anyone, knowing that a holiday like this is something Kazari would go for.
(Cue RaToraTah Combo - Ride On Right Time)
"You are gonna get it now, OOO." he said, calmly but trying to hide the anger knowing that I am using his full power. He used his speed but I too managed to see it as we began to clash claws onto each other as I tried to hold my ground.
Our claws clashed once again as I mustered my strength to prevent him from attacking me. Time to test the one method. The Liondas Helm began to glow as this startled Kazari before I increased the light more, causing him to let go. I guess he gets affected when it is used against him.
Kazari staggered back as he rubbed his 'eyes'. "This ain't over, OOO. Let this be a statement. This is just the beginning of something you won't expect." he stated. "Let this be a… gift that you get to keep them… for now." He then escaped by going to the rooftops, away from my view.
I heaved a sigh knowing that I have to chase after TorideVendor again. But how can I control it went it has an instincts of a lion. It's not like I can… tame it… Oh god, this was probably one of the most dumbest moments that I had just experienced. How stupid was I to not remember that Eiji used RaToraTah to control the TorideVendor.
Now I feel like an idiot and Ankh would have agreed to that.
I used Cheetah Legs to go after the TorideVendor one last time until it was in my sights. "Hope to God this works…" I muttered, no prayed that this method works since this TorideVendor might be different. I jumped until I landed on the seat as it began its attempts to toss me off again.
"Alright, you need to calm down and shut your damn engine!" I ordered as I revved the handle as I can feel some of the energy that the armor was giving me was being lifted off my shoulders a bit. "Now stop!"
In my head, 'I hope it stops…'
The sentient vehicle began to glow yellow along with my armor and before I knew it, the TorideVendor actually stopped moving as it calmed itself down. "Thank god…" I slumped back as I gently patted the bike knowing that it is alive.
(End Song)
"Alright, now that you are calm and nearly made me run across the entire city to go after you, let's head back to Beacon." I said to it. It growled in confirmation before I made it drive me back to the landing zone to take me back to Beacon.
Back at Beacon, Ruby gathered her team and Team JNPR for her 'master plan'.
What was it? Well, it was a Christmas Party of course.
The party was also for Enrique and Ankh.
Her excuse was that Enrique would never be able to spend Christmas with his family. As for Ankh, well, this would be his first Christmas. Even if he was a jerk, that didn't mean he shouldn't have a Merry Christmas. After all, Ruby was one of the few people who believed that Christmas was a time for people to set aside their differences and have fun.
Team CFVY also volunteered to help with the preparations.
Thanks to Team RWBY and JNPR, they sneaked into the dorm that Enrique and Ankh slept in and this was the first time that CFVY gets to see what the duo's room looks like. To them, it was a large dorm, larger than the average dorms they sleep in since it was only two people sleeping in this room. There was also a makeshift bunk, no doubt that Ankh sleeps on the top bunk because of the large red sheet on it. Ankh did have a thing for the color red.
For Weiss, this would be a new experience. She never had a Christmas with friends before. The only kind of Christmas she had experience with what at her family's manor where her father would invite partners and associates. She never liked them but she forced herself to display the proper behavior befitting a Schnee. At least she had Winter to talk to, but since her sister started working with Atlas' military force, she was rarely home. Their father never approved of the path Winter took but she stayed in touch with Weiss.
"You sure this will work, Ruby?" Yang asked was she set up some lights by the window.
"I'm sure of it." she nodded. "After all I think we should celebrate Christmas with him so he won't be left out."
"Knowing that he has done so much for us, I agree with you, Ruby." Velvet said as she and Coco were putting up a small Christmas tree.
"Let's send a message to Ankh and then surprise Enrique."
Pyrrha nodded as she got her scroll out to send a message to Ankh to ask him to meet them in the dorm room.
With Ankh, he looked down at his Scroll and frowned. "Che," he clicked his tongue.
"Something wrong, Ankh?" Sara asked.
"I just got an invite to some stupid Christmas party," he answered.
"Shouldn't you be happy?" she asked.
"Happy?" he repeated. "I never had happiness because…"
"Because what?"
"It's not something you should hear." he said, trying to not remember for the flesh puppet is 'making' him remember those memories of the past.
"You should go Ankh." Sara insisted. "I'm sure you can be happy to be with people that trust you. After all, you sound like a nice person."
This made Ankh turn his head to her. "What?"
"I said you sound like a nice person." she smiled.
This was something he thought would never hear for 800 years. This girl, this blind human girl called him a nice person when he is a jerk to Team RWBY, JNPR, and to Enrique. He wasn't a nice person. He was simply training them so they could be useful tools for him. If you didn't take care of your tools, they would fail and break. Yet hearing this from Sara made him quiet. "Fine… I'll go to this party that I was invited to…" he huffed.
He then asked, "What about you? How are you spending the holidays?"
"I often go to the orphanage to visit." she answered.
"I see…" he muttered. He looked at her for a moment. "Take care…" he turned around to walk away but in his mind, 'Why in the hell am I saying this to a human?!'
After a rough morning and afternoon of chasing a living bike and fighting Kazari, I made it back to Beacon with my energy not exhausted from the Full Combo. Gotta thank the TorideVendor for absorbing the energy. Last I heard from Ankh, he was already at the dorm.
I dug through my pocket to make sure I still have the five Core Medals and I still have them. When I entered the hall, it was fairly quiet since everyone was with their families. I sighed as I muttered, "I guess this will be the fifth Christmas alone…"
I made it to the dorm and I got out my Scroll to swipe over the lock, unlocking it. I opened the door and saw it was dark. "The heck?" I wondered before I reached for the light switch and turned on the lights.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
I was startled to the sudden surprise. It was none other than Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and surprisingly Team CFVY. Ankh was on the top bunk with a twitching eyebrow and a Christmas hat on top if his head. No doubt that they made him wear it. The room was decorated with Christmas decorations even a small Christmas tree by the corner.
"What are you guys doing here? I thought you were with your families?" I asked, surprised that they are here.
"We called them to let them know that we were staying here." Yang explained.
"Besides Enrique, we thought it would be nice to celebrate Christmas with our friend." Ruby smiled. "We didn't want you to be left out on a holiday like this."
"You did a lot to help us out. We thought we return the favor." Coco said.
I was left speechless to hear this. My friends wanted to celebrate Christmas with me… I couldn't help but shed a few tears. I wiped away the tears with my sleeve before saying, "thanks you guys. This means a lot to me."
"Ugh, don't make it all mushy," Ankh complained.
Ruby pleaded, "Come on, Ankh. You promised to get into the Christmas Spirit!"
"I made no such promise!"
"At least enjoy the holiday, Ankh." Pyrrha said. "We are doing this for you too."
"Tch…" He huffed.
"What are we waiting for? Let's celebrate!" Ruby said.
"Yeah!" We all agreed in unison.
We then began to celebrate as we began to talk to one another, played some games, and ate some snacks. For me, I never had this much fun before on Christmas Eve at all. It felt like the void in my heart and mind slowly began to heal. It felt… Nice that I have friends that are there for me and I'm often there to help them out.
Ankh on the other hand didn't look like he was having much fun as he ate a snowman-shaped popsicle.
As midnight was coming to a close, we all watched the clock as the long hand was getting close to the 12. Once it did, it officially showed that it was December 25th, Christmas Day.
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Ruby cheered as she sped out of the room before coming back with a present. "Here." she handed it to me. "All 12 of us got it for you."
"You guys got this for me…?" I asked, surprised. They nodded.
I slowly looked at the present before I opened it. I unwrapped it and saw it was a belt buckle with an engraving of the TaToBa symbol. "Knowing that you use TaToba, we thought we would use the symbol for the buckle engraving." Weiss explained.
I stared at it in awe knowing that the symbol was engraved in the buckle. Like Ruby with her buckle, a symbol that represents us is put onto a certain piece of our clothing.
Placing it down, I reached in the box and pulled it out and saw it was also a black jacket, similar to the one I have but there was a shoulder plate on the left shoulder and a metal brace on the sleeves.
"Plus we figured knowing you have a thing for black, collared jackets. Coco found the perfect jacket and we thought we made it to a part of a battle outfit." Yang added.
Removing my current jacket, I put on the new jacket. "It fits. It looks good, too" I smiled as I looked at it.
Ankh huffed but Ruby spoke up once more, "We also got something for you Ankh."
What felt like a full minute, Ankh stopped the moment he bit into his popsicle and quickly turned his head to the present. "Eh…?" he said with the popsicle in his mouth.
"You thought Enrique would be the only one to get a present?" Pyrrha grinned. "Despite being a jerk to us, we thought it would be nice for you to have one."
He reached for the present before he sat up from his bunk. Looking at it, he quickly unwrapped it as some of the wrappings fell on me. He opened it and pulled out, revealing it to be a shirt with the symbol of Taka embezzled in black. With that was a card. "What's this card?"
"It's a card for the local ice cream parlor knowing your love for ice cream and popsicles." Ruby explained.
He was quiet as he looked at the two items before he placed them back in the box.
"Now that's done, let's take a group picture." Ruby clapped her hands together.
The Scroll was set on a tripod. Jaune quickly set the timer and we all gathered together for a picture. I looked at Ankh. "You should join in the picture Ankh." I insisted.
"I rather not." he denied.
"Hurry, the timer is gonna be up!" Ruby pleaded.
Ankh growled for a moment before he jumped down from his bunk and joined in. "Say Remnant!" Ruby said.
"Remnant!" We said (except Ankh) in unison with the Scroll taking the picture. Jaune went to grab the Scroll to see the picture and his eyes widen. "Uhh…" he stuttered.
"Did we do something wrong?" Yang asked as Ankh went back to his bunk.
"Not that." he said before he showed us the photo. Everything was normal except one thing that made us jaw drop; Ankh had a small smile in the photo. We slowly looked at Ankh who was now fast asleep. "He actually…" Pyrrha started.
"Smiled…" I finished in complete surprise and shock. Did giving him a present made him smile for once? One thing is for sure, this was a Christmas for me to remember.
CURRENT MEDALS:
Taka (x1)
Lion (x1)
Tora (x2)
Cheetah (x1)
Kuwagata (x1)
Kamakiri (x1)
Batta (x1)
Tako (x2)
Sai (x1)
Gorilla (x1)
Zou (x1)
(NEXT TIME)
"Ugh... you're no fun today." Mercury complained.
"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" She answered, pointing at her.
I couldn't help but have a grin on my face before I said those two words that I wanted to say in this moment, "FOOD FIGHT!"
A/N: That is it for this chapter/Holiday special. Look forward to the beginning of the Vol. 2 arc in the next chapter. Also, I hope you guys have a merry Christmas and happy holidays. See you all later! Stay in the shadows everyone!