Here we are at Chapter 69 and the start of Volume 5 for the story. Time to see how Velvet and Ruby handle their first visit to Mistral and Haven Academy. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 69. Enjoy.


Chapter 69: Mistral

It is morning in the kingdom of Mistral, and everyone is slowly getting out into the streets, going about their business (both legal and otherwise) like every other normal day of their lives. In one house, two individuals are asleep in a single bed, arms wrapped around each other. Ruby snuggles closer to Velvet, happy to enjoy a warm bed after so many months of sleeping outside, but even happier to share it with her girlfriend. However, as much as the two of them would want to keep this moment going a while longer, the sunlight sneaking its way through the curtains in their room land on their faces. Slowly, they open their eyes, happy that the faces of one another are the first things they see.

"Good morning, Velvet," Ruby says.

Velvet smiles, "Good morning, Ruby," she replies.

Ruby leans forward to give Velvet a good morning kiss, "I've missed this...for so long. Even as I was making my way to Haven with Jaune, Ren, and Nora, I always wondered what happened to you, or if I would ever see you again. I missed you so much, Velvet," she says.

Velvet reaches up and strokes a few hairs on Ruby's head, "I know, and again, I'm sorry about being away for so long. When I used my power to absorb the power of the Fall Maiden from Cinder, I had never absorbed a power like that before, and then you activated yours at the same time. It was all too much, I guess. I still don't understand how it happened, but eventually I was able to come back, and then I found you, again," she says, her hand falling to softly hold Ruby's right cheek.

"I'm just glad your back. I wish we could stay like this forever," Ruby says.

The two go to sit up, and Velvet pulls Ruby back into her arms, stroking her ahead again.

"I do too. But once we take down Salem, once we fix everything, then we can just be like this. Finish up our training at Beacon, and then just sleep like this every day when we're not fighting monsters," Velvet soothes her.

"Well, speaking of which, I think it's time we should get going. We still have to go to Haven and speak with Professor Lionheart. Hopefully, he'll be able to help us," Ruby says.

"Yeah, in my experience, those in positions of power rarely use it for the greater good. Either that, or they have no true power to use in the first place...But if you think it's a good idea, then I'm all for it," Velvet says.

"Then let's get going," Ruby replies.

After getting everyone else up and getting some breakfast, the group make their way into the streets of Mistral, checking out the sights while on their way to Haven Academy.

"Wow, this place is awesome!" Ruby cheers as she spins all around to see everything around her.

"While it's not much like some of the places we got back home, this place certainly has its own charms. I could get used to living in a place like this," Magilou adds.

"Mistral is known for having a more cultural appeal to its infrastructure," Ren notes.

It is then that Ruby sees one stand that is just for her, "Oh, look at all the weapons!" she cheers and races to the stand with all the different weapons up for sale.

Velvet then picks Ruby up by her hood and pulls her away, "Ruby, remember why we are here," she says.

"Oh, uh, right, sorry," Ruby replies, a little embarrassed.

Qrow then steps up as Velvet puts Ruby down, "Yeah, you can find just about anything up for grabs here in Mistral...whether people are supposed to sell them or not. Just be careful, there are always a few unsavory types," he says, noticing one guy in a black cloak give something to someone before running back down an alley. "I just thought that since this is the first time that some of you have been to Mistral, that I would take you down a more scenic route. Just remember to stay away from the lower levels. However, the higher you get up, the nicer it gets," he explains.

"And speaking of up, our next stop is Haven Academy," Jaune says, pointing up.

Meanwhile, Yang and Weiss' group is currently in Anima, riding through the forests of the continent as they continue their search for Yang's mother, Raven, and ultimately Ruby.

"See anything?" Yang calls out to Weiss sitting behind her.

"Just more and more trees and forests. Nothing new here," Weiss replies, holding herself close to Yang.

"Yeah, pretty much been like that since we showed up here. From what I gather, Anima is the largest continent on Remnant, so of course we wouldn't see too many signs of civilization. At least, signs of living civilization," Eizen replies from his ride.

"Agreed. In wide areas such as this, it makes it that much harder to protect people living outside the kingdom, and it also makes them easier targets for bandits or worse. It's not a pleasant thought at all for me," Eleanor adds.

"Come on, the next living piece of civilization we see, we'll stop there for a drink, get some info, and then keep going," Yang says, making her motorcycle go faster while Eizen follows close behind her. Eventually, they come across a gas station and decide to stop there. Once there, everyone gets off the bikes. "Why don't you guys get us some water inside. We'll fuel up the bikes out here and be in in a minute," Yang says, gesturing to herself and Eizen.

"Okay, we won't be long," Weiss says as she and Eleanor walk inside.

As they walk inside, they notice one guy, slumped on the bar top, obviously having had a little too much to drink, and then notice a middle-aged male with glasses standing behind the bar, cleaning a few glasses.

"Good afternoon, what can I do for ya, young ladies?" he politely asks.

"We'd like a few drinks to go, please," Weiss asks.

The man raises an eyebrow, "Um, aren't you a little young to be drinking?" he asks.

"Oh no, we'd like five waters, please. We have a few more friends outside...and it's a little hot out. Not too used to it, unfortunately," Weiss says.

"Oh...sure. No problem, just give me a minute," the man says before disappearing behind the bar top.

It is then that the two young women hear some laughter to the side and glance to see the drunk man waking up and staring at them.

"You two, too young to drink? You girls look like a couple of bonafide huntresses, and some real beauties also," he says, standing up from his seat.

Weiss gags a bit, "Sorry, but we're not interested. We're here on business, not you," she retorts.

"Yes, you would be wise to leave us alone, especially when you've obviously had a few too many alcoholic beverages to think straight," Eleanor adds, standing defensively next to Weiss.

"Oh, come on now. I was giving you two a compliment. You're not too bulky, not too lean, have beautiful hair," the shady man begins as he steps closer. "And not to mention, snow white, you have some fine-looking legs there..." the man says as he reaches low towards Weiss.

Weiss about to try something, but suddenly, they all feel a quick gust of wind, only for a gloved hand to appear and grab the shady man's arm. He looks over to see Zaveid, glaring right back at him.

"I may be a bit of a ladiesman, but even I know when to back off, and how to hit on a woman, unlike you. Now scram," Zaveid says before he uses his winds to send the man flying through the front door.

Outside, Yang and Eizen notice the man flying out the front door towards them, and Eizen reacts quickly enough to throw a hard left punch that nails the man in the stomach and sends him crashing into a wall.

"Let me guess: Zaveid?" Yang deadpans.

"Most likely," Eizen replies, wiping his hands a bit.

Back inside, the bar owner comes back up from behind the bar with a tray of glass water bottles in his hands.

"These are on the house. He's been driving me crazy," the bar owner says.

"Thank you," Weiss replies, taking one bottle and having a sip along with Eleanor, while Zaveid just guzzles his down.

"So, what brings you people around these parts? No offense, but you all don't look like you're from around here," the bar owner asks.

"Guess it's a little obvious. Well, we're actually looking for someone...Raven Branwen," Eleanor states.

At hearing that name, the man quickly gets worried, "H-hold on, you ladies don't want to go messing with bandits. They're a world of trouble, and Raven Branwen is the worst of them!" the man warns them.

"I'm sure she is. Doesn't make much of a difference," Zaveid replies.

"Thanks again for the drinks," Weiss thanks him, grabbing the remaining bottles and heading outside to Yang and Eizen. "Your water. Apparently, Raven Branwen is quite infamous around here," she notes as she hands Yang her water bottle.

Yang guzzles hers down, along with Eizen, before replying, "Yeah, I figured as much. Well, come on. The bikes' are all fueled up and we have a lot of ground to cover," she says.

As they get on, the shady man slowly gets back up, "Hey, you people," he calls them.

"Are you serious? You want to get hurt even more?" Eizen asks.

The man stands back up now, "I hear you're...looking for someone," he says, smirking.

Back in Mistral, Velvet, Ruby, and their group finally make it into Haven Academy. Walking through the main courtyard while checking out the various school buildings and architecture, the team feels relief at having finally made it after taking so much time to get here.

"We finally made it," Ruby mutters, smiling a bit.

Velvet walks up and wraps an arm around her shoulders, "Of course we did. Together," she says, smiling back.

However, they also begin to notice something else. The school is practically empty.

"So, if this is a school then where are all of the students and teachers?" Magilou asks.

Just then, Bienfu comes out, "Yeah, it's like a ghost town around here. It's kind of creepy, if you ask me," he notes.

"I guess the fall semester must not be in session yet. That would explain why there don't seem to be any students here. But, we haven't seen any of the teachers either," Jaune adds.

Qrow walks ahead of them, looking worried, "No, something isn't right. Come on," he says and walks ahead.

The group walk inside one of the main buildings, once again finding no one around, which only makes Qrow worry even more.

"This isn't good. Follow me," Qrow says and races ahead, causing the others to chase after him. Once they reach a set of double doors, Qrow pulls out his weapon, causing the others to do the same while Bienfu goes back inside Magilou, who conjures an orb white energy in her hands.

"Get ready," Qrow says and then kicks the door open, only to reveal professor Lionheart on the other side.

"AH!" Lionheart screams before passing out and falling onto the floor.

Qrow loses his balance and follows suit, while everyone else just stands there, confused.

"Um, what just happened?" Magilou asks.

"Professor... Lionheart?" Ren slowly asks.

The two older men slowly rise to sitting positions.

"Qrow, you nearly scared me to death! What were you thinking?!" Lionheart asks.

Qrow stands up, "Me?! Lionheart, you said you were going to meet us at the entrance to the school," he points out.

Lionheart raise an eyebrow before pulling out a pocket watch and checking the time, "Oh, my mistake. I guess time ran away from me. I forgot," he says as he gets up.

"A headmaster of the school forgets about an important meeting? That doesn't sound right," Velvet notes, hand on her hip.

Lionheart then turns to the students, "Aw, you must be the students Qrow mentioned," he says.

"Yes sir. My name's Ruby Rose. This are my friends, Jaunce Arc, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. Magilou actually isn't a student, but she's helping out. And this is my girlfriend Velvet Crowe," Ruby introduces everyone.

"Ah, I see. Leonardo Lionheart, at your service. I'm afraid most of my staff is away until classes resume-," Lionheart begins.

Qrow gets in his face, "What?! Lionheart, what do you mean they're away? Who's guarding the relic?" he asks.

Lionheart gets concerned, "Qrow, what about the children-," he's about to ask.

"I've already filled them in. Now why don't you tell me what's going on," Qrow asks.

Lionheart just thinks about his words, "You... filled them in?" he mutters.

Meanwhile, in Menagerie, sounds of combat are heard behind the Belladonna household. Blake Belladonna backflips into the air as she dodges a strike from one of Rokurou's swords. As soon as she lands on the ground, she jumps forth towards her opponent. Rokurou smirks and swings around to strike her down with his right sword, but Blake uses her semblance to dodge the strike and roll underneath his attack, getting behind him. She jumps up to swing her katana at his back, but he blocks with his left sword moved behind him. Blake grits her teeth before jumping back. Switching her weapon into his pistol form, she takes a few shots, but Rokurou uses one technique to slide past each round, getting back into Blake's face. Swinging his blades in a cross slash, Blake has barely enough time to jump and twirl in the air just above the attack in slow motion. However, she can't react fast enough to avoid a kick to the skull by Rokurou, sending her crashing into the side of a nearby tree. Getting back up, Blake sees Rokurou sheathing his brother' sword, now wielding his Kurogane Stormquell with both hands. He runs at her, and she gets ready to counter him. However, he pulls off another surprise when he suddenly pulls out and throws a pair of daggers at her. Blake ducks low and they stab the tree just above her head, but that distraction is enough to give Rokurou the chance to swing his sword up close, stopping it just before it touches Blake's throat. The two warriors stare sat each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Blake very slowly moves her pistol to aim at one of Rokurou's legs, but he grabs her wrist with his right hand.

"Ah, ah, ah, I don't think so," Rokurou says, still smirking. Blake eventually sighs and drops her weapon before raising up her arms in surrender. "Alright then, I'd say that's enough for now," he says as he pulls back and sheathes his sword and then goes for his daggers. "You've gotten better. Of course, I've been doing this for a lot longer than you, so you still have a long way to go before you can have a chance at beating me," he notes.

"Um thanks... I think," Blake mutters the last part. "Anyway, where did those daggers come from?" she asks.

"Oh, these," Rokurou says, holding up a pair of single-edged daggers with reddish, purplish blades that give off a slight demonic feel to them. "Before I got the bad boys on my back here, I used these daggers to fight with. I worked on mastering the art of dual-wielding in order to beat my brother. But I also created a technique that uses three swords together in order to finally take him down. I still hold on to these for memories sake, and in case I need them, or want to have a little fun and surprise my opponents, kind of like I just did now," he explains.

"I see... Well, I'd better get back inside. I need to help me dad with preparing his speech for the Faunus of Menagerie," she says as she prepares to walk back inside.

"Hey," Rokurou calls out, stopping her. "You know, the White Fang is not going to like this, including that old friend of yours, Ilia. We'll have to deal with her sooner or later," he notes.

Blake glances away, looking solemnly at the ground, "...I know," she says before leaving.

Back in Mistral, Ruby is in her room, reading some comics on her bed, with Velvet sitting next to her, polishing her foot blades.

"So, how do you think our conversation with Professor Lionheart went?" Ruby asks.

"He pretty much said that he can't help and that we're on our own, even after Qrow told him that Raven Branwen has the Spring Maiden and that we know where she is. I'm guessing it really didn't go well at all," Velvet replies.

Ruby laughs a little nervously, "Heh-heh-heh, um right, that. You think it was okay that we didn't tell him about you having a part of the Fall Maiden's power?" she asks again.

"I think it would be best to keep that in the group, at least for now. I just met the guy, and I already don't trust him as far as I can throw him. Better to be safe than sorry for now," Velvet replies as she puts her metal shoes back on.

"I guess you have a point. I just hope Uncle Qrow gets back soon so we can figure out our next move," Ruby says.

Velvet pets her head a bit, "I'm sure we'll figure something out. We always do," she says.

This makes Ruby smile, "You're right. Thanks Velvet," she says. However, they hear a little commotion outside and a moment later, Magilou pops in through the door. "Magilou? What's going on?" she asks.

Magilou scratches her cheek a bit, "Um, you two may want to come out here and see for yourself," she says before leaving, making the couple stare at each other in confusion.

They come into the living room, only to find everyone else staring at a VERY drunk Qrow laying on the couch.

"I found him, ha-ha-ha," Qrow drunkly notes.

Ruby sighs and hands her face in her left hand, "Uncle Qrow, did you get drunk again?" she asks, already knowing the answer.

"Maybe a little," Qrow replies, still wasted.

Velvet deadpans, "I still find it hard to believe that this idiot is Ruby's Uncle," she mentally notes.

"Oh," they hear and look over to the front door to see a young boy wearing some farmer's clothing and has green eyes. "You... have silver eyes," he notes about Ruby.

This quickly makes Velvet get defensive and she stands in front of Ruby, "Yeah, what of it? And just who are you anyway?" she asks as everyone else stares at the boy, forgetting about the drunk Qrow on the couch.

The boy clasps his hands behind his back, "Well, my name is Oscar Pine...," he begins.

"Wait for it...," Qrow mutters.

"...But you may know me as Professor Ozpin," Oscar confesses.

This stuns everyone in the room, though Magilou doesn't appear too surprised, and Qrow is too drunk to care.

Qrow chuckles, "Heh-heh... I did it!" he cheers... before falling onto the floor and passing out.

"This just got a whole lot weirder for me," Velvet thinks.


And that's the chapter. I know I skipped the talk with Lionheart, but I couldn't really do much for Velvet and Magilou in that segment, so whatever. Everyone is moving onto the next objective in their paths, but who knows what awaits them? How will Velvet deal with Oscar and Ozpin? Until then, please Read and Review.