Chapter 27: You're gonna need a shrink.
Character Change: Winter Schnee- Kairi-Tsugumi Basil
Location: Atlas Academy: Student Counseling center.
The Student Counseling Center for Atlas Academy is exactly what you would expect… It's a small office with some simple faded green walls and three weathered chairs… It's definitely the most underfunded portion of the school. Currently, Basil was sitting reading from a simple yellow book.
"I'm in way over my head." Basil says sighing into a book titled Counseling for Dummies… why did such a helpful guide have to be so demeaning? She was barely able to complete team VIEW's last counseling session simply because she had no idea what she was actually doing.
It's not like she had much experience anyways, she was a professor in Dust Mechanics and her normal job in the Geists was to sort files and find information, not social engineering!
She shakes her head and glances at the clock.
5:10 PM
Sighing, Basil returns to reading the book realizing that she has to scrape together SOMETHING resembling being an actual counselor or else it's going to be extremely awkward when she asks for them to just talk about their liv-
The door opens suddenly, "Hello Professor Basil, I'm here for my session." Eckhart drones out.
Basil jumps and throws the book to the side rapidly hoping that Eckhart doesn't see it. "Y-yes c-c-come in, pl-please be se-seated." She responds hoping to hide her surprise.
Eckhart glances at the mouse professor before walking in and sitting in the chair across from her. "So, Professor, what do you want to hear about today?" he responds tiredly.
"I-I w-w-was think-thinking that we c-could t-t-talk a-abo-about yo-your l-life a-after T-T-Thordan left…" Basil responds while grabbing a pen and pad of paper.
Eckhart rolls his eyes, "Alright fine." he then shifts in his chair straightening out before sighing, "Fine I guess…Truth is that I don't think…. I don't think we realize that it even happened, think it's just one day you have a seemingly happy family and the next you find out your father is secretly funding a terrorist organization. Mom… She shut down. She lost herself… I really don't know how else to describe it." He says, tired.
"I s-see." Basil says writing it down, "N-now d-di-did anyth-anything change a-after th-this?"
Eckhart raises an eyebrow, "Of course things changed, my father was chased off. What kind of a question is that?"
"R-r-right…I'm s-sorry… c-c-c-can yo-you explain w-what changed?" Basil responds timidly.
"Well, that's when I basically threw myself into my huntsmen training…it's when I asked My uncle for his weapon design." Eckhart sighs.
"I-I se-see… wh-why did y-you a-a-ask I-Iron-Ironwood f-for hi-his design a-and n-not y-your m-mo-mother." Basil says, raising an eyebrow.
Eckhart thinks for a few moments… "I… I don't know… it just seemed like the right thing."
"D-did y-your f-fa-father h-have a w-we-weapon?" Basil says penciling Eckhart's words down.
Eckhart sits and thinks a few moments before sighing, "A revolver… he had a revolver."
Basil doesn't say anything; she just writes down Eckhart's response.
Eckhart closes his eyes and just sighs. After a few moments Basil sighs, "W-why d-don't w-we focus on-"
"No… You're thinking I threw myself into being a huntsman because of my father." Eckhart interrupts before coughing, "No, I had always wanted to be a huntsman…truth is I've always looked up to my uncle… Mom is a great role model and supports me but I can't sing worth jack… Thordan… he mostly was a stock broker… I think. I still don't really understand what his job was." Eckhart spills.
Basil quickly wrote this down before saying, "I believe the report said he was an-" She cuts herself off.
"What? How could you have read that report? It was 6 years ago…" Eckhart asks.
"I-I a-asked Ir-iron-Ironwood ab-about your f-f-father after th-the last m-mee-meeting." Basil quickly lies.
"Yeah right." Eckhart shakes his head.
"I-is there a-any-anything else y-y-you w-want to s-sh-share?" Basil asks.
"Yes. I don't trust you." he responds coldly.
Basil shakes her head and writes it down. "Anything else?"
"No, can I go now?"
"No… y-you sti-still have 10 m-mi-minutes." Basil responds sighing before breathing heavily trying to center herself. "Eckhart… I-I know I'm not a great counselor… I-I-I also k-know that I h-haven't been th-the most trustworthy to you… but I do care about my students…so please… give this a chance." while speaking, she uses her semblance to float the Counseling for Dummies back to her… All in the eye view of Eckhart.
Eckhart looks at the book and then to Basil. Sighing, he says, "Fine… What's the next thing you want to ask."
"Th-thank you… I want to ask… why do y-you wan-want to be the G-general of Atlas?" Basil asks.
"I used to look up to the General, but the truth is he's just not the man I thought he was… I think I could do better." Eckhart responds.
"W-what d-do y-yo-you mean?"
"He refuses to acknowledge Meteion as a threat and he's-"
"Do you really think that… Did you just look up to an idealized version of him?" Basil interrupts.
Eckhart is about to respond before a timer goes off. Basil frowns… "I g-guess we'll have to finish this n-next t-t-time."
"Fine… I'll send Ifiral in." Eckhart says getting up from the chair. After a few moments Basil sits alone in her room.
"I'm a shit therapist." she says before putting her face in her palms.
This is a lot harder than I thought…
Basil didn't know how much time had passed before Ifiral opened the door. His auburn hair is messy, and his tie is already undone. "Greetings teach." Ifiral says sitting down.
"Ifiral… we-welcome." Basil throws the books behind her.
"So what's on the docket today?" Ifiral says putting his hands behind his head.
"Last time… y-you mentioned y-yo-your parents… what w-were your thoughts … What were your thoughts on the industry." Basil asks.
"I saw this coming. look I never planned to actually become a part of the family business. Truth is I always planned to become a huntsman. Mom and dad Only supported my plans because they thought it would help the company little did they know that I was just planning on heading to Mistral after I graduated." Ifiral responds.
"S-so … a-a-ave-avenging them… it do-doesn't so-sound like you are th-that bro-broken up a-about it." Basil asks.
"*sigh* Look, I still did love my parents, but we just disagreed on what they wanted my future to be. I want to avenge them because honestly, I'm frustrated with myself. Pissed off due to the fact that someone killed my parents…" Ifiral responds.
"I s-see." Basil responds, quickly penciling it down. "N-now w-w-why did you c-ch-choose to g-go on th-these e–ex-excursions?"
Ifiral laughs, "To get revenge I thought you were keeping up."
"N-no… I mean… m-m-more why th-that method… wh-why not use y-y-your wealth t-to find them? No-not have to p-put yo-yourself at r-r-risk?" Basil asks, confused.
Ifiral thinks for a moment before responding, "Pride… mostly cause I vowed that I would do it… if someone else found them then I would have failed them."
Basil nods before prompting him to continue.
"Look… I know you are probably pissed at me for dragging my team out with me but they volunteered." Ifiral jokes.
Basil shakes her head, "I-I ge-get that, but y-you sh-should be m-more careful." she then sighs "I'm no-not mad at y-you f-for your t-team going with y-you… I p-pun-punished you f-for breaking cur-curfew and p-putting you-yourselves in d-danger."
"You seemed pretty mad." Ifiral responds.
"I-I'm not g-going t-t-to d-do th-this again… Now Ifiral, pl-please tell me ab-about your family." Basil sighs out.
Ifiral groans before straightening out in the chair. Crossing his arms he begins, "My brother Regis is the only one still alive… He's supportive but really believes I should give up on getting revenge for my parents."
"D-does he k-know the w-wh-whole sto-story?" Basil asks.
"Yeah, he was there… "
"D-do y-you kno-know why he w-wants y-you to stop?" Basil asks while writing something in her notebook.
Ifiral thinks for a few minutes before sighing. "He thinks this is an elaborate suicide. He doesn't want me to get myself killed for something he sees as petty." His tone is annoyed.
"W-what do y-you think ab-about it?"
"I think he's both right and wrong."
"E-e-explain?" Basil questions
"He's right about me not getting killed but wrong that it's a form of suicide. I am not trying to die… I'm just trying to get retribution."
Basil nervously scribbles down "zealot" on her page.
"Ok, probably the wrong way to say that… I want to avenge my parents but it's not the only driving force in my life… I'm doing it as a kind of side objective while getting my license." he responds awkwardly.
"Uh-huh" Basil responds while penciling in "confused" next to "zealot." "T-tell me a-about your t-time here…"
"It's been great honestly. I know I'm not a people's person… Far fucking from it. But my teammates are great… honestly the best I could have gotten. I've made a few friends… made plenty of people hate me too." Ifiral smirks.
"Who p-particularly?" Basil asks.
"Well friends it's obviously my team and Team CARD… Ariel is a bit of a bitch at times and Russet can shut the fuck up about some video games, Celica needs to tone it down too." Ifiral laughs, "Honestly if it wasn't for Winter and Viralious I probably wouldn't be friends with them…. I guess Team RMJT also applies here but I can't tell if they are my friends or hate my guts."
"H-how is t-th-that possible?" Basil says completely confused.
"Well half of my conversations with May I swear Johanna is going to snap my neck… Robyn doesn't like me due to me saying her weapon makes no sense."
"What?"
"I mean it's a shield and a crossbow! Trying to block and you snap the string! Try to shoot someone you can't block incoming attacks! Also, she has to custom make her ammo! Why not just put a gun instead, it's a more uniform ammo structure and you could make it seem cooler by having it shoot from the 'beak' of the bird it's designed to look like!" Ifiral rambles on.
"Ifiral… Wh-what are you t-t-talking ab-about?" Basil is completely lost by this point.
"Just my thoughts on why Robyn's weapon is shit." Ifiral smirks.
"Ifiral… I-... I d-don't even k-kn-know how to r-respond to th-this." Basil says, shaking her head.
"Well, you asked about who my friends were, so I told you." Ifiral responds cheekily.
"You're fucking with me, aren't you?" Basil deadpans
"Yes and no." Ifiral smirks.
"And to think I was thinking of letting you go off campus again." Basil responds with a sly smirk.
Ifiral's confidence drops instantly. "Crap baskets."
"Oh, it's good to see Winter being a positive influence on you." Basil jokes.
The bell then rings, signaling it's time for Ifiral to leave.
He stands up and starts walking away but at the door he turns to Basil. "So, what are the odds of me being able to go shopping tomorrow?"
Basil laughs, "The same chances as magic existing." she jokes.
"Non-existent, got it." Ifiral laughs before walking out.
Basil signs and leans back in her chair…
Why did I come up with this idea?
After a few minutes… there's a knock on the door. Basil smirks.
Still the paragon of manners. "C-come i-in." Basil calls out. In response, Winter opens the door and enters the office. "Hello Professor." Winter says before closing the door behind her.
"H-hello W-Winter, p-please si-sit down." Basil sighs, waving her hand to signal for her to sit down.
Winter nods and sits in the small chair across from Basil, "I hope that the rest of the sessions have been well."
Basil just whimpers before holding up the book she's been reading, "He-here's the an-answer."
Winter reads the small font on the yellow book and just says, "Oh…"
Basil sighs, "Wh-why don't we talk ab-about your time here."
"Oh… Alright…" Winter responds before sighing, "I'm glad I came to Atlas Academy."
Basil nods, "C-care to ex-explain why?"
"Well, I'm not having every action scrutinized by my father… but most importantly… I have people who don't see me just as a Schnee…"
Basil pencils it down before speaking, "How do y-you thi-think yo-your father would re-react to this?"
Winter grimaces, "Not well…"
"D-don't worry th-these mee-meetings are confi-confidential."
"Good."
Basil puts the notepad down before looking at Winter, "C-care to t-tell me ab-about your friends… T-tell me ho-how they hel-helped you."
Winter sighs, "Well, let's start with Eckhart, I guess… He's helped me stay sane with some of the craziness of this year… He's also very grounding when it comes to Ifiral's… uniqueness."
Basil laughs slightly at this comment thinking back to her previous meeting.
"Ifiral's a strong fighter and has definitely made me think outside of the box when training… He also knows a bit of the expectations of my father and gave a few tips in 'rebelling.'" She gives air quotes at the end.
"D-do yo-you think it's g-good ad-advice?" Basil asks, intrigued.
"No… He told me to freeze my Father or purposely make him mad." Winter deadpans.
"I see…" Basil responds "an-anyone el-else?"
"Oh… Well, Celica's constant flirting and promiscuous comments helped me come to terms with my… sexuality." She gets a little red at the end.
"What?" Basil nearly does a double take.
"With… her and Delphi's help I realized that I'm bi… Oh Brothers I…" Winter speaks without thinking and starts shutting down quickly.
Basil sighs, "Winter… there is nothing wrong with being bi… If it helps you… my parents didn't agree with my sexual preference as well."
Winter looks up and smiles, "Thank you… "
"So, anyone else?" Basil asks, grabbing the notepad.
"Well Russet and Ariel are showing me how not to flirt with someone… Delphi… she really is a good friend…"
"I… I noti-noticed you hav-haven't mentioned your part-partner." Basil says.
Winter stiffens, "Oh… Professor Basil… I've had this weird feeling about Viralious…"
Basil makes sure that Winter cannot see her eyes before rolling them, "How so."
"I… I don't really know how to describe it… it's just been a weird feeling in my stomach."
Basil notes it down, "W-wh-when did th-this f-feeling s-start?"
"I… I don't know when exactly… I but i… I don't know what to do." Winter responds shyly.
"Winter… Th-this is some-something I r-really can't hel-help you with." Basil responds timidly.
"Do… do you know who can?" Winter questions.
"Your mother or a classmate." Basil deadpans.
"Oh…Is there anything you want to ask about?" Winter responds.
Basil sighs "H-how do yo–you feel about yo-your father?"
"Oh… He's… I don't know… he wants me to be a perfect heiress… He never seemed to care about how I felt." Winter responds.
"D-do you th-think af-affected your decision to c-c-come to here?" Basil ponders.
"Honestly… yes it was. I want to live up to my grandfather's reputation but… my father's constant… I don't want to talk about this."
"I see… A-are things going b-better with yo-your team?"
Winter smiles, "Honestly, I was worried at first Eckhart seemed like he wouldn't ever take Viralious seriously… I was also a little worried about Ifiral at the start, but the truth is he's a mostly good guy… I would say things are going better."
"And Viralious?"
"Viralious… He's been a good partner… Supportive… understanding, but he's been a bit of a paradox… it's frustrating…"
"What d-do you mean?" Basil asks.
"He's been both secretive of his past but has always told me his past… I mean I learned his last name the second day I met him! Eckhart and Ifiral didn't know until… well after Viralious…" Winter speaks trailing off.
"Told you a-all about hi-his fight wi-with his uncle?" Basil replies
"H-how did you know?" Winter responds taken aback.
"I am Viralious's professor as well." Basil responds.
"Oh… Right… Look I'm going to be honest the feeling felt different after he told me… I… I don't know." Winter responds.
Basil sighs, "Winter, Viralious is telling you these things because he trusts you. He sees you as a good partner and feels like he can be off guard."
"Oh… I see…" Winter says slinking down.
"That's not a bad thing Winter." Basil responds.
"I know it's just weird."
"D-do you th-think that th-that's part of the r-reason wh-why you have the weird feeling?" Basil asks.
"I don't know… Professor, could we please discuss something else?" Winter responds.
"Okay…A-are you nervous for y-your first mis-mission?"
"No, not really. Viralious and Eckhart will come up with the perfect plan. Besides, we're first years so it can't be that dangerous."
Just then the alarm rings Signaling that Winter's session is over. Basil sighs "W-well that's all the time that we have… Winter I have a feeling that this feeling is normal so don't feel too bad. I wish you luck and have a good weekend." She smiles at the end.
"Thank you, Professor,… I hope that you can be the huntsman we shadow." Winter response getting up and leaving the room.
Once she's out of earshot Basil sighs, "Ironwood's not going to let that happen. Ever."
After a few minutes Viralious enters the door, "Hello Professor, what's on the docket today?"
Basil laughs, "Well I was thinking we could continue where we left off. So how are things going as leader of Team VIEW?"
Viralious sits down, "Well honestly it's a bit more stressful than I expected, but it's going well."
"That's nice to hear. So, I n-noticed you were dis-distracted today. Wh-what's the r-reason?" Basil says.
"Damn, you noticed…" Viralious says, "Well yeah, it's two things. First is the mission. I'm a little nervous."
"A-and th-the other?"
"Ruby's birthday is coming up… I've been thinking of something to get her but… It's made me think back to my fight with Qrow…" Viralious responds.
Basil sighs, "Can you tell me what happened that night?"
"I guess…" Viralious puts his hands together and hands his head down, "It was about a day before I arrived at Atlas… I had pieced together that Qrow killed my mother by shooting her in the heart."
"What was your proof?" Basil interjects.
"We were the only ones who would have been in the forest, and I didn't shoot her. Besides, why would he knock me out beforehand anyhow?"
To get you to safety… or something like that Basil thinks, "Alright continue on."
"After that, I confronted him after having Tai and Yang leave the house. We fought for a bit before I knocked him out of the house with the help of my mother's lemure…. After that we fought for a bit, and I won… Instead of killing him I rushed back into the house to save my sister Ruby from the fire that must have started from the fight. After that I gave Ruby to Tai and made my way to Vale… After that I came here. The rest you know." Viralious responds.
"I see…So can you summon your mother's lemure?"
Viralious frowns, "No… for some reason I can't use it at will like Winter's or the rest of my team's semblances."
"So, when does it appear?" Basil asks.
"Only when I'm in danger it seems." Viralious responds.
"I see…How about we talk about your nerves. Why are you nervous about the mission?" Basil asks, penciling down what Viralious had said.
"I've had this feeling that I'm leading my team to their deaths." Viralious responds.
Basil instantly does a spit take, that sounds scarily familiar. "W-what d-do yo-you me-mean?"
"Do you remember the night in Mantle?" Viralious responds.
Basil rolls her eyes, "H-how could I f-fo-forget?"
"Well, throughout the whole thing I felt like a burden and was going to get them killed… it was pure luck that we survived in all honesty." Viralious says with a sigh.
"We-well you're ha-half right." Basil responds "survi-survial was luck… but fr-from what I saw y-you were n-n-not a burden…"
"You only saw the end." Viralious spits back.
"S-so?" Basil shot back "y-you bought t-time for your t-team! A bu-burden would ha-have fled to the bu-bullhead."
"He was blocking the way." Viralious says agitated.
"Does it f-fucking matter?" Basil yells.
Viralious stares at the mouse professor for a minute before sighing, "No."
"Vi-Viralious you're not a burden." Basil sighs before taking on a militant tone, "You've gone through a lot of things someone your age shouldn't have too. I know how it can feel like you're leading a team to their death… you're not. You were doing what you could to prevent it."
Viralious rolls his eyes, "Yeah sure." Suddenly, a yellow and black book slams into him.
"Don't roll your eyes at me." Basil says.
"You sound like my mother." Viralious shot back.
"That just tells you I'm right." Basil jokes.
Basil eventually sighs before straightening in her chair, "H-how abo-about you t-tell me about yo-your team?"
"What do you want to know?" Viralious asks.
"Wh-what d-do you think about them?" Basil responds.
"Well, Ifiral's quiet but snarky. He's got a good head on his shoulders but needs to work a bit on his temper other than that he's a great guy. Eckhart he's a little cold and strict but once you get past that he's dependable and really good at coming up with plans… or fixing my half-baked ones I guess." Viralious says with a smile on his face, Basil couldn't tell if it was intentional but as he talked about them his highlights and eye color changed to match who he was talking about.
"I noticed you didn't mention Winter." Basil responds, praying to herself it's not the same thing as before.
"Oh… Well, Winter is probably the most dependable partner I could have asked for… she's honestly great but… I feel bad for her. Her family somehow seems more dysfunctional than mine was…" Viralious sighs out.
"Why? It's not your life." Basil responds, digging herself a deeper hole.
"I don't know how to describe it… but I find myself caring for some reason… it's not pity… I don't know how to describe it."
For the love of fuck… I am not dealing with this, especially from Viralious.
"I can't help you with that… Your sister or Celica might be able to." Basil deadpans.
"I… I should be worried, shouldn't I? I mean if Celica is a good reference." Viralious responds.
"That's your call, not mine." Basil says, slightly annoyed, "You mentioned you were testing a new combat style last time… How's that going?"
"Oh well it's a bit different from my mothers. I've been following along with the book Beryl gave me and the techniques are brutal. Here, one second." Viralious pulls out his scroll and opens the photos app. After a few moments he pulls up what looks like a photo from the book.
Hunting Grimm is dangerous and closest to a you will ever get to ritualistic suicide if you are not prepared. My late father always said that the best way to fight a Grimm was to replicate it. This doesn't mean taking needless hits but you must gamble on risks to kill as fast as possible. The following techniques follow this methodology completely.
My father would jokingly refer to this as the Grimm Stance:
First: reverse the grip on your weapon to hold the blade pointing towards your back. Next your slashes should change to more wild sweeps, these might leave you open but cover a large area of attack. It's a good idea to use this technique with an aerial style. Using aura or Silkstrums you should be able to boost yourself to vault up the Grimm while fighting to attack the back. This doesn't help against all types of Grimm but should allow for you to keep the attack while being slippery. He recommended using a quick sidestep to dodge attacks while slashing in that direction.
Payback: This is a technique that I modified from watching my father's friend fighting. You will first complete a downward slash with both blades. Next you will want to do a wide slash in an X pattern going back up the Grimm. After completing the X, you will incorporate wide slashes from each blade ACTING SEPARATELY FROM ONE ANOTHER! This technique is dangerous as for proper results you will lock yourself in place. I recommend using shock or gravity dust traps to keep the Grimm pinned before committing to this.
Aura Exhume: A technique that my late father never used but is a favorite of mine. This is dangerous and if used improperly will lead to you breaking your aura before the fight is over effectively killing yourself. This technique requires practice and will NOT work for everyone… To perform this technique, you will place both of your blades between your chest and your armpits. Next, you will drag the blades quickly making sure to extend your aura outward while doing it. This will cut you as you do it, and if you do it wrong it will dangerously injure you. After you have your blades coated in your aura can do more damage to Grimm as you are attacking with your own life force.
Viralious reads out the passage word for word. During this Basil questions Beryl's sanity of giving the book to Viralious.
"I see…." Just then the alarm goes off signaling that Viralious' session is over, "I wish we could have more time, but I don't want to take your whole day… Good luck on your mission." Basil says before standing up.
"One moment before I leave… You mentioned your favorite and least favorite Grimm was the geist… Why?" Viralious questions.
Basil smirks and looks Viralious before shaking her head, "You're going to have to figure that out yourself."
Viralious rolls his eyes before exiting the room wishing Basil a good weekend in the process.
Basil stands in the counseling center and allows for her smirk to fall.
I am a shit counselor but hopefully I could help them a bit.
She then exits the counseling center and makes her way back to her office.
A/N
I hated writing this chapter… I don't even know why. This chapter took a long time to write as for some reason I dreaded writing it. No idea why it's simply meant to set things up and give a bit into each character's mental state. Now honestly this chapter is a bit of filler so not much to talk about. Winter and Viralious' section give a small foreshadowing but honestly not that much.
Basil being a counselor is a fun exercise of me placing her not in her element. I don't know how well it worked out, but I did have some fun writing the jokes and interactions between the characters. The sections from the book are a nice callback to previously established points.
The techniques that are discussed are attacks from both Monster Hunter and Bloodborne. They were slightly modified to work in writing, but they are recreations of attacks used by the player (or a boss) in those games… described by watching the said attacks at 0.25x speed… something I will need to do a lot for Grimm Hunters: Oztel.
I don't have that much to really say. Other than that, don't expect a chapter like this again anytime soon as I don't know why I didn't like writing it… Truth is it feels like a mediocre chapter anyhow.
ANYWAY here is where I would like to thank my editor Amoebahewdraw who needs to accept that Nophica and Halone are fucking… No, I will not elaborate.
Until Next Time Xcom Out.
