The following day, team MACE and Baren were eating their lunch in their inn room. Kagami and Cheyenne sitting on one bed as Kris and Elise sat across on the other. On the couch, Baren sat with her legs crossed. In her lap, a bowl of rice topped with an omelette and a fried pork chop along with a small handful of cut up green onions. Pinching off a piece of the omelette with the chopsticks in her left hand, she picked it up calmly and placed it in her mouth. Chewing a little, she swallowed and then pointed at the four girls with her chopsticks. "Instead of trying to track this guy down, why don't you lure him out? I'm sure finding his lackeys and taking them down would be easier and way less time consuming."
"That's... actually not a terrible idea." Kris blinked a few times with a bowl of rice with an omelette on top. "A criminal like Dion is bound to have a bunch of lowlifes working for him."
"Do you think that would work?" Elise eyed their leader after swallowing a large bite.
Thinking to herself, Kagami slowly nodded while taking a bite of rice. "I think it could..." She eyed her mentor.
Nodding back, the old warrior finished her bowl before calmly standing up. "I'll leave this up to you four. All I ask is you stay safe." Her eyes narrowed towards the jadette.
Grinning back, she chuckled softly while taking another bite. "When have I ever been unsafe?"
"I don't think any of us should answer that." Cheyenne mumbled softly with a small laugh. "How many times have you almost died?"
"Not to mention how you jumped off a cliff for me." The brunet chuckled a little.
"And that's only counting the things we know of." Kris added while raising her hand.
"Okay, okay. I get it." Kagami waved them off while flashing her teeth. "We don't need to keep going."
Smirking, Baren shook her head. "Well, if you're going to be safe, I have some business in Atlas to attend to."
"Wait what?" She looked over towards her. "What do you mean? Have you ever even been to Atlas before?"
"A few times..." She trailed off a little before nodding towards the group. "Just be safe while I'm gone, alright? Watch each other's backs."
"Of course." The redhead smiled back.
Nodding in agreement, Elise set down her empty bowl. "We'll be fine. We've fought worse things before."
"We'll be safe. I promise." Kagami looked up with a nod.
"Good." Baren exhaled softly. "I'll be back soon. A week at most." Her eyes locked with Kagami's for a moment. "Be safe." She repeated.
The next two days following, team MACE tracked down dozens of criminals hiding in the shadows of Mantle while staying hidden themselves from watchful eyes. Compared to everything else they had dealt with, this was child's play. And they knew they were getting someone's attention as the crime rate of thieves with tye dyed rainbow bandanas began to decrease.
Stepping towards an overturned truck with its front wheels melted and back wheels frozen, Elise stretched out her neck while holding her rifle. Unloading her weapon, it gave off a sharp ping as an empty clip popped out. Catching it, she slid it into one of her pouches before pulling out a clip with five Dust darts on it and sliding it inside her weapon. "This is too easy." She chuckled with a smile as she slid her weapon onto her back and pulled out her baton.
Groaning, two men stumbled out of the truck. One with a rainbow bandana on his bicep as the other had one tied around his forehead. They both went to stand only to be struck in the head and quickly collapse onto the ground with soft thuds.
"Way too easy." She spun her baton between her fingers. Hearing sirens in the distance, she blinked and glanced back. Sliding her side weapon around, she crouched down and sat the two men back to back against each other. "Hope you two rest well." She winked before standing up and sprinting into the shadows of a dark alley.
"Guess you're having just as much fun as I am for once, huh?" Kris chuckled through her earcom as she glanced around the corner of the building she was in. Narrowing her eyes, she reached inside her jacket and pulled out a small green toy car. Silently setting it on the ground, she stood back up as the object gained a small red glow.
Sitting on the counter of a weapons shop, a female with a bandana over her face spun a knife between her fingers. "Come on, just say yes and help us." She purred while harassing the shop owner. "You know what happens if you... don't..." She trailed off, watching as a toy car rolled up to her feet. "What?" She jumped down before bending down to pick it up.
Quickly bolting from her hiding spot, the redhead held one of her weapons in her right hand. Her feet softly tapping against the floor as she bashed her candy cane weapon into the woman's face. Stepping around with a faint spin, she brought herself around her before driving her weapon into the criminal's back. As she collapsed, she nodded towards the frightened shop owner. "I'd advise calling the authorities before she wakes up. Just a friendly thought." She slid her weapon away before rushing out the front door and disappearing.
"How about you two try to remember this isn't a game and that we are technically working." Cheyenne quietly pointed out before grunting as she blocked a machete with her club. Swinging to force her opponent back, she quickly stepped back as well. Her eyes narrowing towards the brute with a bandana tied around his ankle.
"Damn Faunus..." He sharply hissed while sliding a foot back. On his back, a backpack filled with Dust crystals and powder. Some of the zippers were not fully closed and exposed the unstable elements inside. Flashing his teeth, he let out a low growl before charging down the alley towards the brunette.
Watching him, her eyes narrowed. Pulling back, she slid her weapon away before jumping on top of a dumpster. Using her momentum, she launched herself towards a balcony. Her hands just barely caught the bars before she hauled herself up and over them. Swinging her rifle around, she took aim and fired. The red blast hitting the thief's backpack just as it burst into an explosion. Watching the smoke clear and the man collapse, she smiled to herself. "Even if it is satisfying."
Grunting as she was shoved back against the outside of a building, Kagami flashed her teeth as she held her sword in a reverse grip. "I hope you know I hate all of you with your fancy weapons and semblances that make everything easy and fun." She exhaled before deflecting several regular bullets being shot towards her. Her sword humming against them.
Taking aim and firing his pistol, a thief with his rainbow bandana tied around his wrist narrowed his eyes. In his other hand, he held onto a bag of lien cards. "How do you expect to win a gunfight with a knife?" He smirked as he stepped forward while continuing to fire round after round.
Struggling to keep up against him, she clenched her jaw as the stream of bullets calmed down for a moment. Sprinting ahead as he took a second to reload, she brought her blade down before swinging it upward. The hilt of it striking his chin and sending his body back with wide eyes. Hitting the ground, he let out a small groan before his shoulders fell limp.
"Like that." She exhaled while sheathing her sword. Looking up as she heard tires squealing, she blinked at the sight of an Atlas vehicle. Her eyes widened a bit as she turned around to run only to see another one coming in the other direction. Glancing back and forth, her eyes narrowed a bit before she let out a breath of air as a small smoke rose up from her feet.
"You're welcome." Elise chuckled as she appeared from the smoke. Grabbing her friend's shoulder, the two of them both disappeared in another cloud of smoke. The two soon reappeared several blocks away on the sidewalk next to the two other members of team MACE.
"You know, you could get a weapon upgrade too." Kris pointed out while holding out a hand. "Chey and Elise both did. Now they're both pretty much prepared for any type of fight. I mean, I was already prepared for any situation since I made my weapons but you..." She trailed off, eyeing her leader's sword.
Staring back at her, the jadette blinked and crossed her arms. "I can still kick you off this team for giving terrible ideas." She flashed a smile.
"She's not wrong though..." The Faunus spoke up. "Your fighting style is limited with what you have. Even if it is an ancient magical sword."
"Elise told me about a story of a guy who fought in the Great War using only a shield." She eyed her. "I think I'll be fine." She let out a quiet chuckle.
"Okay but that wasn't the point of the story..." Elise trailed off a little. "This guy also had his aura and muscles super boosted through-" She was cut off at the sound of footsteps on the rooftops and then soft thuds on either side of them. She blinked once, her eyes locking with her leader's. Before they could do anything, two familiar voices stopped them.
"Kris?"
"Kagami?"
"Huh?" Glancing back, the redhead blinked a few times before her shoulders dropped and expression softened. "Jess...?" She began to smile slightly at the sight of her older sister.
"Captain Caesar?" The jadette blinked once towards the military woman before flashing a smile as her shoulders rolled back.
Shaking her head, the orange haired military captain scoffed a bit before sliding her sword away on her hip. "Pompey. Crassus. Stand down." She waved her hand towards two men. The first with short cream colored hair and the second with long silver hair tied into a ponytail. They both glanced at each other for a moment and raised an eyebrow before nodding. Both of their swords sliding away.
"Well what do we have here?" Jess raised an eyebrow towards her younger sister. The four soldiers dressed in uniform with armor attachments. "When we were sent to investigate some unlicensed vigilantes running around Mantle, I definitely wasn't expecting to see the lot of you." She smiled a little more, putting her weapon away before holding out her arms with a more sincere smile. "Come here."
Without hesitation, Kris quickly rushed over with a wide smile. Her arms quickly wrapped around her big sister as she held her close. "You will not believe-" She let out a small yelp.
After having hugged her back, the older redhead snatched her by the ear and leaned down with narrowed eyes. "Now what the hell are you doing?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
"Well..." Elise glanced at her leader before rubbing the back of her head.
"We were originally heading to Vytal. Back home." Kagami spoke up, softly waving her hand towards the captain. "But we learned a criminal named Dion was running around causing trouble in the city with a man named Rey. Back in Vale we had a few run-ins with him. Since he was causing so much trouble for everyone, we thought we'd help put him in prison for good."
"Four little girls wanting to stop a criminal?" Litios Crassus asked while tightening his ponytail. "You're kidding me, right? Shouldn't you be in school still?"
"Don't underestimate them, Crassus." Julia glanced towards him while crossing her arms. "They have a few tricks up their sleeves." She let out a small chuckle, shaking her head. She then let out a heavy exhale while looking back at the four girls. "But, what you are doing is illegal without a Huntress license." Her arms fell to her sides as she stepped towards Kagami. "You know how some Atlas soldiers can be. Be lucky my squad and I were the ones to come and investigate."
"In other words, fuck off." Magno Pompey mumbled with crossed arms. His expression neutral.
"Ignore him. He's a serious kind of guy." Jess let go of her sister before ruffling her hair. "He's not wrong though. You can't just be running around in Mantle like you do in Vale."
"And Mistral." Cheyenne mumbled quietly with a small chuckle.
Raising an eyebrow, Julia stared for a moment before exhaling and shaking her head again. "Alright, you four, look." She held out her arms. "It doesn't matter if you've had any relationship with whoever, you can't be running around. Okay? Just continue on your journey to Vytal. We will handle everything here. Don't worry."
"Because everything here seems just peachy..." Elise quietly trailed off with a small sigh.
"What was that?" Magno stepped forward.
Sighing, the captain held out her arm for him to stand down. "The General is doing his best. We're all trying to do our best..." She reached up to rub her face with an exhale.
Blinking a few times, Kagami let out a small sigh. "How are your injuries from the Fall of Beacon anway, Captain Caesar?"
"Never better and fully healed now, kid." She flashed a smile. "It may be lame, but accelerated healing is my speciality." Her smile faded a little. "I'm serious though. I can't allow you to run around Mantle like this."
"Understood." She nodded back. "We'll stop."
"What-" Kris started before being cut off by Elise as she pulled her back.
"And maybe instead you guys could go to school? Yes? No? Maybe?" Litios raised an eyebrow.
"At this point, doubtful." Jess rolled her eyes before pointing at her sister. "You stay out of trouble, you hear?" She lowered her arm as she began to back away.
"Yeah, yeah." The young redhead rolled her eyes.
"If you ever do get your Huntress license," Julia held out a hand towards Kagami. "I'd still like to have someone of your skill join my ranks."
"You know that's not my style, Captain Caesar." She nodded back towards her with a small chuckle before saluting her with two fingers. "Maybe I'll think about it though."
"You better." She pointed at her with a smile before lowering her arm. "Stay out of trouble. I can't let you off again." She nodded before stepping away with her small squad.
Watching them leave, Cheyenne blinked a few times before glancing towards her leader. "We're not actually going to stop hunting Dion, are we?" She softly asked.
"No." The jadette quietly responded before sighing with a nod. "Come on, I think we've done enough for the day. Let's head back to our room."
"Right..." Elise slowly nodded back as they began to walk away. "We'll just need to be a little more careful with what we do."
"Or a lot..." Kris trailed off.
On one side of the road, a man in ragged clothes eyed Kagami closely. Watching her leave, he reached up to run a hand through his medium length blonde hair before scratchy at the scruff on his face. He let out a low sound, his hand falling as his other came up with a flask in his grasp. Taking a quick swig from it, he lowered his arm and closed it. He pushed himself off the wall, mumbling something inaudible before grumbling as he stepped away with narrowed eyes.
In the shadows on the other side of the street, a woman pulled her blue deerstalker cap down and over one of her blue eyes. Her short hair wrapping around her face. Pulling out a pen and notebook, she began to scribble a few things down before pulling back and disappearing fully into the darkness of the city.
Well I thought I could handle weekly updates again but apparently not. Whoops. I had a really rough past two weeks. Thankfully Labor Day happened so I had a moment to chill and write. Here's to hoping I have the time to write more this week. I miss it.
Side note, I've had this arc planned since before Volume 6 ended. Sooo, if things seem to be similar to Volume 7, it's actually pure fucking coincidence. It's still going to be different, it's just a few things... are similar... and I'm raging inside because of it.
That is all. Remember to be nice to everyone. Even people who don't deserve it.