If Kay was upset about the phone call he had yesterday, he didn't make it very obvious. However, he did spend most of the day in his office, muttering his thanks to Ren for breakfast as he took his plate to his desk. Blake simply watched this from one of his office chairs, pretending to read another book.
Did Roman really have something to do with Kay's current issue? What was Kay's current issue? All she knew was that a chairperson at Kay's college had contacted him about his current situation. The only other person who knew about his situation was Roman, but he seemed earnest enough when they interacted.
"Everything alright?" Blake asked, trying her best to sound innocent. Kay glanced up from his frantic typing and met her gaze. His eyes had a distant look in them, as though he wasn't really there at the moment, before he seemed to refocus on her.
"Yeah," he answered simply as he resumed typing. "Just doing my best to getting as much writing done as possible."
"You're working on a poetry book, right?" Blake asked, lowering her book completely. "How is that going?"
"It's a bit pressing," Kay admitted. He sighed as he leaned away from his computer. "A minor complication popped up, so I gotta rush a bit more."
"Wouldn't that make your poems a little worse along the way?" Blake rose from her seat and walked over to him. Peering over his shoulder, she saw several documents were open in smaller windows on one side while there was a much larger window taking up the entire other side of the screen.
"I'm not just pumping out poems right now," Kay chuckled. "I still write poems in my free time, when the need to write comes to me. And since I haven't published any poems for several years now, I have quite the backlog of poems to sort through and organize before sliding it off to be edited."
"By Roman?"
"By Roman." Kay nodded. If the name of the man he accused yesterday caused him to be angry, Blake noticed no such sign. Suddenly, the bell rang. "That's him right now, actually."
"Uh, Kay?" Ruby's voice echoed from the other side of the office door as she knocked on it. "Roman's here to see you!"
"Let him in here, Rubes," Kay called back. "Do you mind giving us some privacy, Blake? You can bring that book with you, of course."
Blake nodded as she made to leave the office, only to meet Roman at the open door and greet him with a neutral nod. She gave him no time to respond as she walked over to her friends in the living room. That is, until she stopped and decided to simply lean against the nearby wall so she could just make out what the two men's conversation would be. What she didn't notice was Oscar and Winter glancing over at her knowingly, but saying nothing.
"Ren!" Nora lovingly tackle-hugged her partner as he was finishing up washing the dishes. "Come play with us!"
"Nora, I-ah!" Ren suddenly yelped and clutched his hand away from the sink. "That… hurt?"
The surprise in Ren's voice caught Winter's attention as she walked over to the pair in the kitchen Ren was cradling his left hand and was looking at his wound with astoundment. Apparently, he was washing a knife when Nora had surprised him, causing him to cut himself. A small, bleeding cut on his palm seemed to slow time down. Winter saw the boy's eyes narrow in an attempt to focus; he was attempting to channel his Aura. A faint light shone around the wound, but it didn't instantaneously heal the cut like it normally would
"W-what?" Ren was dumbfounded as his cut refused to heal.
"What's going on?" Nora's tone was serious, worried. "Why isn't your Aura working?"
The question was asked loud enough for the commotion in the living to cease completely. Weiss, Jaune, Ruby, and Yang quickly returned to the kitchen and crowded around Ren to see his wound.
"What happened!"
"Are you alright?"
"Why can't you use your Aura?"
"Nora, you have to be more careful!"
"I didn't know!"
"Children." The lone word was said with tense authority as Ozpin approached the crowd. Winter stepped back to his side. "I was afraid that our original suspicions are founded in practice."
"Original suspicions?" Weiss repeated. "You mean you knew something like this might happen?"
"About a week ago, the same day that we intervened at that restaurant," Winter interjected, bringing everyone's gazes to her. "I suffered a similar mistake and cut myself on one of the kitchen knives. However, my Aura did eventually heal the wound, it was only a little slower than it normally was. I credited the slow speed to our distance from our home."
"But, our Aura is based on our souls, right?" Jaune asked. "And we're all in one piece."
"But Kay's world doesn't function like our world," Weiss countered, slowly coming to a realization. "Our Auras are becoming familiar with this world's rules and slowly fading."
"At the time, we had no solid evidence to support this," Ozpin spoke up. "The very reason why humans evolved with Aura was to enforce balance between mankind and the Grimm. That balance, however, only exists on Remnant. In a world that doesn't rely upon Huntsmen and Huntresses to fight against such forces, our Auras must have been deemed... Useless and began to fade."
"But I don't want it to fade!" Nora cried. "Our Auras are our soul! Does that mean our souls will fade away?"
"No," Ozpin placated. "But it means that the longer we spend on this world, our Aura's may eventually fade away completely. However, we can only hope that Atlas's research is making more progress in getting us home. So, for now, I must urge you all…"
He looked to everyone in the room, including Blake who was still stood by Kay's office.
"Stay out of trouble," Ozpin declared. "Avoid getting into any other altercations and avoid leaving this house if you can. Only myself, Winter, Miss Xiao-Long, and Mister Arc will be allowed to go out to assist Kay in getting supplies. Other than that, this house is the safest place we can be. I will be asking Kay in helping to keep an eye out for further developments on Atlas's attempts to connect with us. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," was the answer given in unison. Ruby and Weiss quickly walked over to their bedroom and shortly returned with Kay's first aid kit from their bathroom. Winter watched as Ren took the kit and began to treat his own wound.
"We must really be careful, Ozpin." Winter sighed. "If Kay decides to bring us out on the town, our paranoia might make things worse."
"You may be right," Ozpin nodded. "Though, from what I hear, Kay has his own worries. Isn't that right, Miss Belladonna?"
"Ah," Blake flinched at getting caught. There was no real use for her to lie to the two adults, so she sighed and decided to spill what she had heard the day before. When she had finished, she looked behind her to ensure their conversation wouldn't be stumbled upon by either Kay or Roman. "And from what I heard just now, Roman is innocent. He never contacted anyone other than his superiors in the city."
"So someone has found out about Kay's situation," Ozpin repeated. "But since Roman wouldn't dare reveal such a thing, it means someone else may have gotten in touch with the college. Someone who may know a part of the situation, but not the whole thing. That is rather troubling."
"Out of context, his position in all this does seem rather suspect," Winter agreed. "But who would know just enough to… be… suspicious."
"Winter?" Kay's voice caused Blake to jump; when did he open the door? She didn't even hear footsteps! Their host simply looked from the Specialist to the Faunus in confusion. "You guys okay? I heard Ren yell earlier."
"Oh, yes." Ozpin answered. "Nora had caused Ren to have a minor accident while he was washing up. You know how she gets, excitable as she is."
"Right, right." Kay nodded, accepting it. The office door opened wider to reveal Roman organizing papers into a manila folder. The editor met eyes with everyone involved and smiled meekly.
"Howdy," his normally cheery demeanor was noticeably absent, Winter noticed. The worried look in his eyes betrayed the energy of his greeting. "Just stopping by to get Kay's affairs in order."
"Affairs?" Ozpin repeated.
"His new poetry book," Roman clarified. "He's still rather well known in the poetry circuit, so it should sell relatively well."
"Why would you be so worried about it selling well?" Winter asked. "Isn't the college paying you during the holiday?"
"I'm an adjunct instructor," Kay shrugged. "I'm under a specific contract that doesn't pay as much during the periods where I don't teach. I can be called in to do a winter semester class if needed, but I wasn't called to do so this time."
"Oh, do you normally teach extra semesters?" Ozpin asked. Kay nodded. "That's commendable of you, Kay."
"It helps pay the bills," the writer shrugged.
"Welp, I'll be on my way then," Roman said as he squeezed on by and made his way out. Before he left, he turned and shouted back, "I'll keep you updated, man!"
"Appreciate it!" Kay answered with a wave and smile. He turned to the trio with a raised eyebrow. "Something up, guys?"
"Nothing, Kay," Ozpin answered for them. Winter looked like she wanted to say something, but ended up following the Headmaster's decision. "With this current project finished, what are your plans for now?"
"Keep writing," Kay answered with an earnest smile. "It's all I can do right now, other than wait for Roman's feedback and confirmation for publishing.
The rest of the day went by in a blur, though Blake kept her focus on Kay as subtly as she could. There was definitely something on his mind, and he was very good at hiding it. His laughter and smiles never reached his eyes. His glance was constantly looking between each of them and the windows, as though he was waiting for something. He seemed very at home playing video games with Yang and Jaune though, picking up their preferred shooting game and viciously beating both of them.
"No fair!" Yang whined as her part of the screen went black for the eighth time that session. "I was watching where you were going!"
"Did you just admit to screen-looking?" Kay asked, deadpan. Yang simply stuck her tongue out and picked up her controller again.
"At least your deaths are still in the single digits," Jaune sighed."
"Where the hell are you?" Yang yelled as her screen went black again.
"You're good at sniping, Kay," Winter yawned as she observed the game.
"Nothing like the real thing, but I appreciate the compliment," Kay chuckled. He sighed through his nose before passing his controller over to Ruby. "Here, Rubes. Make it even for me."
"Now that's just mean," Jaune moped.
"If you manage to still be in first place by the time I get back, I'll make you cookies tomorrow." Kay promised as he got up and walked over to the coat rack by the door.
"Sweet!" Ruby zoomed over to where Kay had previously sat and was already moving his character to a different part of the map.
"Where are you going, Kay?" Oscar asked. In his hands was another one of Kay's published books.
"Just gonna take a quick walk outside," Kay answered. "Won't be gone long."
The door closed as Yang started yelling at her sister for adding another death to her tally, though Jaune cheered halfheartedly for the other blonde joining him in his misery. Blake watched as Winter glanced her way, as though sending her a message. Was the Faunus supposed to do something? Should she have followed him? She answered the Atlesian's gaze with a small shrug. Winter looked to Oscar, expecting Ozpin, but the boy was given control as Kay demanded the teen at least share the moment with his friends.
"Winter, where are you going?" Weiss, who was already barely paying attention to the game and chose to have a light conversation with Ren over cards, watched as her sister rose and made her own way towards the door.
"Just to make sure Kay is alright," Winter answered, pulling on her jacket. "He seemed stressed today, so it might be nice to at least have a friend to talk to."
"I see," Weiss nodded. If she could read the subtext behind those words, she didn't show it. "Be safe, sister."
"Of course," Winter departed, though not without sparing a glance back at Blake and Oscar before closing the door behind her. Oscar, ever so diligently, locked the door behind her and returned to his spot next to Weiss and Ren. Blake's attention returned to the group as Yang started teasing Weiss.
"They have been spending a lot of time together," the brawler pointed out playfully. "Maybe it's time for more late-night canoodling."
"They do talk a lot at night," Blake found herself agreeing. Her partner shot her a glare.
"Winter is the only other person other than Roman close to his age," Weiss countered. "And no offense to Ozpin, but it would get rather boring talking to an older person as a regular conversation partner."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Oscar joked, causing the entire group to laugh.
"Yeah, but they talk for a while at night," Ruby pointed out.
"And sleep next to each other," Yang pushed.
"Winter sleeps on the couch," Weiss countered. "Kay, like a proper gentleman, sleeps on the floor."
"Yes, a proper gentleman." Nora repeated. "Would he do the same for any of us?"
"He literally gave us his actual bedrooms in his house," Ren answered, patting his partner on her head.
"Good point."
"You're all blowing this way out of proportion!" Weiss declared passionately, waving her arms in emphasis. "It's a simple, respectful friendship between two consenting, intellectual adults!"
"Wow, way to suck all the romance out of it," Jaune commented.
"Relax, Ice Queen," Yang laughed. "You're too easy, sometimes."
"You're all the worst," Weiss plopped back down with a pout and her arms crossed.
"No but really, though?" Nora popped in. All eyes slid to her for the moment. "I ship it."
"What are you looking at?" Kay turned to see Winter approaching him; he hadn't walked far, he just walked out into the empty plains that trailed beyond his backyard. She had found him staring out into the night sky.
"Nothing, just lost in my thoughts." Kay sighed. "It's definitely been a wild month or so."
"At least four months in Remnant time," Winter pointed out.
"I wish we had the resources to help from this end," Kay sighed.
"You've done so much to help us already," Winter countered sternly. "The bare minimum would have been to simply give everyone a blanket and buy takeout every night. Instead, you gave each team their own room, even allowed me to sleep on your couch, and actually cook us homemade meals regularly. You actively keep us entertained and even toured us around your town! You even took us on a small holiday to the city. That's more than anyone here could have asked, Kay."
"I just… wish I could do more." Kay slumped a bit.
"We all do," Winter stepped up to his side. "Though all we can do now is wait and hope. It's something we always did back on Remnant. I'm sure you're no stranger to it either."
"Definitely not," Kay scoffed. "I just… things are complicated now. Like, even more than they were before."
"Really?" Winter asked. "Is something wrong? Did… we do something wrong?"
"No!" Kay waved her down immediately. "It's… something came up. I'm under review at work."
"May I ask why?" Winter tilted her head. Kay held her gaze as he contemplated what to say.
"Do you trust me?" Kay asked. "I've been holding in this secret for a whole day, but I think I've finally found a way to bring it up to you all."
"Of course," Winter said immediately, forgetting the other important secret that previously occupied her thoughts. "It involves all of us?"
"It might as well," Kay's answer immediately sounded off alarms in the Specialist's head. "I received a call from a chairman at the college saying that I would be under investigation for being involved with military activity."
"Military activi- oh," Winter halted in her mental tracks. How many times had she flashed her ID card? To the college receptionist. To the police after the failed robbery. To Kay's own sister. "I see."
"They want me to come in for an interview," Kay continued. "And to bring you along with me for some questions."
"I-I see," Winter stammered. "I do apologize for anything that may have led to this, I can see how this may have been caused by my actions."
"Why did you use your real ID anyway?" Kay asked.
"I thought if I were to pretend to act as an agent from some sort of organization, it would provide a ring of protection for all of us," Winter answered honestly. "And it would make sense, seeing as you have almost nine armed, fully trained heroes from another world that are absolutely willing to fight and protect you."
"Protect me?" Kay repeated, confused.
"You kept us housed, fed, and safe," Winter answered. "It's the least we could do."
"Okay," Kay sighed. "Would you be okay with coming to the college with me tomorrow, then?"
"Tomorrow?" Winter asked. Kay nodded, his gaze maintained its composed nature. "Yes, I'll go with you. Perhaps Ozpin should join us?"
"That wouldn't help at all," Kay shook his head. "Imagine bringing a kid into an interrogation only for him to switch his voice and demeanor completely. That's definitely a trip to some sort of government facility for all of us. It needs to just be both of us."
"Understood," Winter replied. After a moment's contemplation, she turned to him to ask another question. Before she spoke though, she observed how peaceful he looked as he gazed out at the night sky beyond them. She allowed for another peaceful moment to pass before she spoke her mind. "Do you wish to build an alibi first?"
"That's… a good idea," her suggestion caught him off guard. "Do you have any in mind?"
"What did the chairman say they knew about you?" Winter asked, her stern demeanor returning.
"They mentioned how they saw that I was assigned to an unknown federal or military official," he recalled. "And that I was given a sort of mission that involved working with similar agents in my free time."
"We'd have to notify everyone else here, then." Winter said. "If they take the time we're out of the house to investigate everyone here, it'd be best to make sure everyone is on the same page."
"That definitely sounds good," Kay nodded along, a small smile appeared on his face. "Shall we head inside and get to work then?"
"Indeed," Winter followed him as they walked back to the house. "I think undermining the efforts of nosy and overbearing authorities would be considered a pastime for RWBY the clothes by now."
"Pfft, haha!" Kay burst out in laughter. "I think you'd be right."
. . . . .
"State your names and occupations, please." The man across from them asked. He wore a simple black suit and sunglasses, which Kay would have pointed out as a stupid choice seeing as they were indoors for the interview.
"Karis Grey," Kay answered first. He wore a simple light blue button-down shirt and black pants. "I'm an adjunct English teacher at Glen Plains College, as well as a working published author-slash-poet."
"Winter Schnee," Winter sat in the chair beside him, wearing a simple white blouse and blue pants. "Agent for the organization known as the Atlas Specialists."
They sat in a room that Kay assumed was a repurposed meeting room in the administrative part of the college campus. The two of them sat in the middle of the room, where the table would have been, while facing four individuals, the fourth being the chairman with whom Kay had spoken. After suits-and-sunglasses-guy there was another man and a middle-aged woman also wearing suits.
"Welcome, Mister Grey and Miss Schnee," Sunglasses said. "I am Agent Barrett of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and with me are Mister Armello and Miss Gee, investigators assigned to this case. Chairman Burns is also present. This interview will be recorded and thoroughly researched as part of the investigation surrounding Mister Grey's current situation. We ask that you answer each question truthfully. Do you acknowledge and accept these terms?"
"Yes." The two interviewees answered in unison.
"We will begin," Barrett stated. "Mr. Grey, do you understand that you are being investigated for involvement with an unknown military party that the United States does not recognize?"
"I do."
"Do you wish to make a statement about your situation?"
"Only that the matters of my situation are not of any concern to the United States's physical, financial, or social safety." Kay answered, keeping an even gaze.
"Miss Schnee, would you be the individual we should talk with in order to learn more about Mister Grey's situation?" Barrett turned to the Atlesian. "If so, please elaborate."
"Yes," Winter nodded. Her years of acting as a stoic soldier back home trained her for moments like these. "Atlas exists as an organization for certain special individuals. As of recently, some of our younger members were assigned to Glen Plains for R&R among civilians. I act as their guardian and liaison for the time we are here."
"Why was Mister Grey assigned to be your company's R&R host?" The man known as Armello asked this time. "Was there no other place they could stay?"
"Glen Plains was scouted as a low risk area," Winter answered easily. "And Karis was chosen out of his records with the US Army. He understands the needs of fellow soldiers and has been a wonderful handler so far."
"Soldiers?" Barrett's eyebrows raised immediately. "Is the Atlas company a mercenary dealer?"
"No," Winter answered calmly. "We are a completely independent company that specializes in security and peacekeeping in conflict zones. Think of us as an international militia."
"A militia that not a single country has recognized in their systems?" Barrett asked.
"That's exactly as we operate." Winter nodded. "We're still a rather small faction, teaming up with another small group known as Beacon. We work to protect civilians during times of conflict. There should be no trace of us whatsoever; we do not serve any nation's military, we serve the defenseless people of the world."
"Interesting," Barrett nodding in understanding. "And if I were to request for you to join an operation with the United States Marine Corps?"
"All of our movements go through our CO, and only our CO." Winter shook her head. "You have no authority to order our teams to do anything."
"That's unfortunate, your efforts would be useful if your teams were more well known." The female agent, Gee, spoke.
"I know how politicians work, Madam Investigator," Winter countered. "The moment we become known is when the media and leaders around the world begin to paint us as enemies that don't fit their agendas. We are a purely neutral party in all conflicts, and we would like to stay that way."
"Well said," Barret agreed. "Very well, so it seems we have no way to sway you to perform for the United States, and your company's policies for civilian protection and neutrality will be recorded as confirming that you act as no active threat to the safety of our nation."
"Mister Grey," Miss Gee spoke up, catching the writer's attention. "If you are doing any of this against your will, you may speak now. Miss Schnee and the others taking part in this assignment will be apprehended and we can offer you the services of Witness Protection."
"That won't be necessary," Kay shook his head. "I am willingly hosting the individuals that have been assigned to me."
A few silent moments followed as the three investigators began to write notes on the pads in front of them. Chairman Burns simply watched on and smiled apologetically at Kay, who nodded in understanding. Kay took a deep breath and glanced over to Winter, meeting his ice-blue gaze. They could only hope the kids were doing alright.
Heyo, Kariotic here with another update! Thanks for reading as always. Leave a comment if you feel so inclined.
See y'all next chapter!