Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
While SPBRR is Watching the Ridleys Kill Each Other…
"Hmmhmmhmm…" Whitley hummed as he walked through Toad Town as he had his hands inside his denim pants while walking in some snow. "Ah… I never realized Toad Town could look quite so beautiful covered in snow." He said, watching a few Koopas building a snowman while some Toad kids were running out the door while carrying sleds.
"Definitely a winter wonderland." Whitley chuckled.
"EVERYONE RUN! PANIC! FLEE FOR YOUR LIIIIIIVES!" A Toad yelled as several Toads, Koopas and Shy Guys were running away.
"Huh?" Whitley wondered as he heard a song blaring as a Paratroopa came flying by with a radio in his arms, chasing after them.
BGM: All I Want For Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey) (Start at 1:29)
"Come on, guys! Mariah Toadley's Christmas Carol is a good song! You just don't have the power to believe! All she wants for Christmas is you guys! WHERE IS YOUR HOLIDAY SPIRIT!" He yelled as he plus the song faded away in the distance.
End BGM
Whitley sweatdropped. "Oh dear… I see the Mushroom Kingdom has the same problem as Atlas involving that song." He said. Come to think of it, maybe it's just all of Remnant. He thought as he continued walking.
He would walk into the park, where he would spot a group of Toads and Koopas seeming to be break dancing and singing a hip hop song. "Hmm?" He wondered as he stared at them, watching some of them break dancing while a Koopa and a Toad were singing something about "screw the Grimm".
"Hmm… street performances…" Whitley wondered, rubbing his chin in thought as the gears were turning in his head and closed his eyes.
"Bah. Street performers. The world would be better off without them clogging up the streets and protesting about Faunus rights." Jacques' words echoed in his head. "What gives those street savages the right to talk nicely about Faunus? Blegh… makes me sick."
"Hmm…" Whitley smirked. "What say we form our own band…" He chuckled. "In fact, Ling might like this idea too!" He grinned as he ran off to tell his girlfriend… only he slipped on ice on the sidewalk. "Wah!" He yelped and landed on his back. "Ooof! …I'm okay!"
Meanwhile, with Cardin…
"Jaune, I know I've bullied you at the start of the school semester and yeah, I've been kind of a jerk to everyone, especially when I wanted to get back at Pyrrha with those wasps… but I just want to say, I'm sorry for being an ass to you."
Cardin was apologizing to Jaune… or at least, his picture in front of a mirror. "No no no, that's bad." He said as he rubbed his head, as he's been practicing for days as he was trying to get it just right for Jaune as he remembered how much he picked on him.
He let out a sigh. "Sure, Velvet was kinda easy but Jaune is… gaaah…" He mumbled before taking a deep breath. "Focus!" He said. "Heeeey Jaune my boy, I just want to apologize for what happened earlier this year. You think we can be friends? …No no no, that's way too strong." Cardin mumbled.
Cardin sat down on his bed, his arms folded and deep in thought. "He might not forgive me… but honestly, it's a start!" He said as he stood up. "Maybe I should just do it naturally and see how it goes for there. Yeah, that can work!"
With a deep breath, he started to walk out. "And here's hoping I don't run into Nora…" He shuddered.
Meanwhile…
BGM: Have a Nice Talk (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)
A young girl walked through the sidewalk, the girl in question had medium-length dirty brown hair tied into low twin tails along with a tuft of straightened bangs. She also had fair skin and a pair of gentle hazel brown eyes with long slits. Her attire consists of a small caramel brown cardigan, a white v-neck sleeveless blouse with lace trims, along with a gray pleated tennis skirt. She was also wearing a pair of black no-show socks and a pair of low-cut white sneakers with black stripes. Additionally, she was wearing a black choker with a golden heart-shaped pendant, a mocha brown newsboy cap that seemingly had ocelot ear attachments, and a brown leather satchel that hangs behind her back. She looked to be about thirteen years of age.
"Brrr… a little brisky out today…" She shivered. "Then again… Vacuo doesn't have this kind of thing…" She quietly said as she hurried over to her destination, which was none other than a Karaoke Bar named the Paratroopa Karaoke.
End BGM
BGM: Club 64 (Paper Mario)
"Perfect." She said and then walked in.
"Welcome to Paratroopa Karaoke!" A Paratroopa clerk greeted the young girl. "Room for how many, miss?"
"For one person…" The young girl replied softly.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Um... Room for one person, please." The young girl repeated her answer in a much clearer tone.
"Alright, miss. Please wait for a moment."
"Thanks."
While waiting, the young girl turned her attention towards a group of individuals in a room chatting amongst themselves with the door open. Said group of individuals happened to be team ATMC. They seem like a lively bunch. She thought to herself, staring at the team of hunters.
"Please fill up this form right here." The Paratroopa clerk handed out a registration booklet to the young girl, causing her to snap out of her thoughts.
"Oh, sure thing."
After signing the registration form, the young girl walked toward a vacant karaoke room which she had to walk past ATMC's room.
"So I'm just saying, Pumpkin has a hell of a better range than that snobby Dark Pit guy." Mine said.
"You're getting quite defensive over that." Akame pointed out with a giggle. "It sounds to me that he's flustering you."
"FLUSTERED?! What the hell are you talking about, Akame?!" Mine said. "Pumpkin's way better than that stupid staff that the fallen angel always carries around! Little cocky son of a… if he didn't have those damned wings, I'd be kicking him in the crotch… or better yet, shooting him there!"
"Oh yeah, he got to you good." Chelsea chuckled.
"Rrrrgh! Tatsumi, back me up here!"
"Oooh, I wish I could… but I think you're on your own." Tatsumi chuckled.
"Gaaaaah! Oh whatever…" Mine sighed. "Let's just pick another song so I can drown my sorrows out from that competition." She mumbled. "Damned dark angel thinking he's so smug while destroying that last target…"
Still a lively bunch… The girl thought, walking into the vacant room as she put down her guest pass and satchel on the table before settling down on the couch. "Sorry to keep you in like this." The young girl apologized as she opened her satchel, revealing a small grey tabby cat with golden eyes. After opening the satchel, the gray tabby immediately jumped down out of the bag onto the floor then curled itself between her owner's legs.
"Mrow!" It meowed.
"Yukina, what song do you think I should sing today...?" The young girl giggled softly at her pet cat as she browsed through the song selection menu given on a digital tablet.
With ATMC…
"Pretty good singing voice there, Chelsea!" Tatsumi complimented.
"Aww, thanks…" Chelsea blushed a bit, rubbing the back of her head.
"Dude. I knew I had a good vocal range, but I never thought I'd hear that from you." Mine said with a nod of approval.
"Ah, I tend to practice singing when I'm alone…" Chelsea admitted.
"My turn~!" Akame smiled as she looked through the song list. "Let's see… You've Got a Friendship in Me, Make a Faunus Out of You, Preparation… eh… let's see, anything else…"
Chelsea stood up and stretched. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna get a drink of water." She said.
"Alright, we'll be here." Mine said as Chelsea walked out.
"Aha! A Moment Like Tomorrow! That's a good one." Akame grinned.
End BGM
Chelsea walked by the girl's room, humming to herself as she found the drinking fountain and started to drink some water. After she was finished, she turned around and walked back to her team, casually turning her head to the door window as she turned her head back… before she stopped walking. "Huh?" She wondered, slowly backing up and slowly peeking in the window, seeing the girl inside. She's alone? She thought as she pressed her ear against the door.
"Little by little you feel a bit better~ Blacking me, destiny; you are on my side-"
Is she singing Calling… from that hit TV Show World Ends With You? Chelsea thought, continuing to watch her. I wasn't really into it… my friends back in Vacuo kinda liked it though.
"Just once more unto the breach~ Dear friend, once more~!" She continued to sing, oblivious to Chelsea watching her.
Oh my Oum, she's good!
"Wake up, leave your hesitation~ Wake up, Time for us to realize~ Wake up, Show appreciation~ Wake up, Time for us to realize~!"
Chelsea smiled, completely tuning out her Akame singing from the other room.
"What doesn't kill me makes me a superstar, stand taller than the mooooon~!" Akame sang.
"This was Koopley Clarkson's best song?" Tatsumi whispered to Mine.
"Not when Akame sings it…" Mine winced. Gah, she's all pitchy and off key!
By the time the girl finished singing, she had a massive smile on her face before sighing. "I have no problem with singing at all when it doesn't matter." She said.
At that point, Chelsea couldn't contain her excitement and opened up the door. "Hey, you were amazing!" She exclaimed.
"E-Eh?!" The girl looked at her in surprise from her sudden intrusion.
"…O-Oh! Did I startle you? Sorry… I couldn't help but overhear your singing and you were really good." Chelsea blushed and saw the girl looking at her fearfully. "Um… are you okay? Sorry if I scared you…"
"N-no… it's fine, it's just… just…" She paled up. "I… I'm so sorry!" She cried out as she quickly grabbed her things and ran outside the karaoke bar in panic with Yukina trailing behind her owner.
"H-hey, wait!" Chelsea called out as she accidentally bumped into ATM who walked out of their room.
"Wah!" Mine yelped, nearly stumbling as Tatsumi caught her while Akame looked down.
"Oh, are you okay?" Akame asked as the girl stared at the trio before paling up and running out the door. "I guess not?"
"What was that about?" Mine wondered. "…Uh… Tatsumi? You can let go…"
"Oh! Sorry…" Tatsumi said, letting her go as both were blushing.
"It was… kinda my fault." Chelsea said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head as she explained what had happened after she went to the drinking fountain.
"She was alone? That's odd for a karaoke bar…" Tatsumi said.
"Mmm…" Akame rubbed her chin in thought. "I wonder why?" She wondered before her stomach growled. "Oh… come on, let's go, I'm starving."
"Starving?! We just ate an hour ago!" Mine pointed out but Akame was already out the door. "Akame!"
"I'll go get her." Tatsumi said as he walked after her.
"Might as well take her to the bakery…" Mine mumbled and turned to Chelsea. "You're paying for her karaoke session, okay?" Mine walked up to Chelsea as she shoved the guest pass Kokoro accidentally left behind into the redhead's hands.
"Huh?!" Chelsea shouted out in dismay.
Outside of Paratroopa Karaoke…
The girl had burst through the doors of the karaoke bar as she was still running away in deep fear and panic. For the young girl, she didn't care at all where she was running off to. All that she cared about right now was getting as far away from Team ATMC as much she can.
On the sidewalk, Bucken Berry, (Blue Toad) Ala-Gold, (Yellow Toad) and Toadette were just passing by until they saw the girl running towards their direction.
"Kokoro? What's-" Bucken Berry attempted to ask but the girl ran past them and accidentally pushed him and Ala-Gold away, the latter being pushed into the snowy grass.
"Wah!" Ala-Gold yelped before shaking the snow off of him as she had disappeared into the distance. "Is she okay?"
"Was Ms. Kinokoshi singing alone in the karaoke bar again…?" Toadette couldn't help but ask in concern.
"Excuse me!" A voice called out as the trio turned to see Chelsea running over. "But have you seen a girl run by? She had like… a hat with, I think it was an ocelot head band on top of it?"
"That was Kokoro Kinokoshi." Bucken Berry asked. "You know her?"
"Do you owe her something?" Ala-Gold asked.
"Well…" Chelsea sheepishly rubbed her head and explained what happened.
"Oooooh…" The three of them grimaced.
"I didn't mean to frighten her…" Chelsea said quietly. "I mean, yeah, I did walk in and intrude, but… she was so good at singing and I thought I'd praise her and… I didn't really think about it."
"It's okay, Chelsea. We all have those moments." Bucken Berry said. "Although, to be fair, you don't know what happened to her."
"Oh?"
"Well, you see…" Toadette began. "It all started when-"
Meanwhile, back with Whitley…
"Huh? A hip hop dance group?" Ling asked once she walked out of the hospital after taking care of some patients.
"Maybe a little more than hip hop, but yeah." Whitley said.
"Where did this all come from?"
"Mmm, a little bit of inspiration can come from anywhere." Whitley said. "Not to mention it'll probably make my ex-father have a heart attack."
"…I'm in." Ling said. "You had me at giving your dead beat old man a hard time. He didn't like hip hop?"
"More like he hates street performers. Something about being rebels and wanting to change the world or something. I dunno, there was one group I say in Atlas consisting of humans and faunus and they were mostly singing and dancing about equality."
"Oh, I'm loving this!" Ling grinned. "Babe, I absolutely adore that we're turning you into this rebel that your father would absolutely hate! This would definitely give him an aneurysm! What type of music does he usually listen to?"
"Oh, stuff like classical or something you'd hear at a ball. Anything else he hates."
"Mhm… and I've heard the music at your house and it's anything but that." Ling said. "I can see it now, us and a small group of individuals breakdancing and singing to our hearts content!"
"What would we call ourselves?"
"Um… the Backstreet People?"
"I think that's already taken."
Ling sweatdropped. "Right, the Backstreet Men have that covered." She said. "Um…"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll figure it out. We got all the time in the world." Whitley said and then looked around at the snow. "Perhaps we'd call ourselves… The Frosty Band."
"…Ew."
"Yeah, you're right." Whitley lightly chuckled. "I'm sure we'll figure it out."
"Right. Ooooh, we'll need to advertise ourselves. I'm talking posters and spreading them throughout Toad Town!" Ling said. "We oughta make it pretty!"
"Yeah, but here's the thing… I'm not the best at drawing nor have I mastered the ability to photoshop."
"I do have a steady hand, but I'm not like those artists on the Internet. Seriously, how do you reveal something on the Internet and then about a minute later, we see beautiful and well drawn fan art just like that?"
"Thank you! Weiss and I have been asking the same thing!" Whitley said.
"Hmm, do we know anyone who's good at artistry?" Ling wondered as the both of them folded their arms, deep in thought.
"Wait." Whitley spoke up. "I remember these individuals who came by recently… Weiss was raving about them."
"Oh… those Keyblade Wielder guys?"
"Yeah, them." Whitley nodded. "Don't they have an artist with them?"
Meanwhile, with Jacques…
"Mmmph!" Jacques grunted as he pulled down his newspaper as he was outside, being away from everyone as they were playing basketball. "Why do I feel as if my son is about to do something stupid?"
With Cardin…
Cardin would wander around Toad Town, mumbling to himself about something as he would hear laughter nearby. He would look over and see Jaune covered in snow. "Ah, there he is." He said as he approached, and then saw Pyrrha emerging from behind a snowman while giggling. Ack! He thought, paling up.
He knew what Pyrrha was like. He knew that she has fire manipulation and he knew damn well that he's heard that she straight up killed a man in outer space for harming Jaune.
Of course, the story was being told by Nora in the mess hall, so she could've been overexaggerating…
He hoped.
He took a deep breath, realizing it was just the couple. It could be worse… Nora could be with them. He thought and then walked forward.
"Hmm?" Jaune wondered, turning his head after throwing a snowball at Pyrrha. "Cardin?"
"Heeeey Jauney boy! How's it going?" Cardin asked all friendly-like. Pyrrha instinctively got in front of Jaune and gave him a harsh glare, holding her arm out to protect Jaune.
"What do you want?" She asked in a cold voice, seeing him here gave her flashbacks of how he harshly treated Jaune back in the day. Jaune would immediately see steam coming out of Pyrrha's hand, realizing she was ready to burn Cardin at a moment's notice.
"Hey, at ease, amazon! I come in peace. Besides… I'm still weaponless." Cardin said. "Apparently making a new weapon is harder than it looks."
"Even so, I'm not going to let you get any closer." Pyrrha glared.
"Look, I know we had our differences back then and I was kind of a jerk, but I've changed… really!"
"How do we know this isn't a ploy for me to get my guard down so you can mess with Jaune again?"
"Pyrrha… you sure you don't want to give him a chance?" Jaune asked. "We did hear from Velvet he apologized to her."
"I'm aware… I'm just not sure if it was genuine."
"Well, it was heartfelt…" Cardin pointed out.
"Even so…" Pyrrha glared. "I think it's time for you to leave." She said, as Cardin noticed a small flame in Pyrrha's hand.
"…Message received. I'm just gonna go." Cardin said and then walked off.
"What was that all about?" Jaune wondered as Pyrrha relaxed herself.
"Who does he think he is… I'm not buying it for a second…" Pyrrha mumbled.
Meanwhile… with Namine…
"You want me to do… what?" Namine asked, casually drinking a hot chocolate at the Monty Mole Cafe. They had ran into Riku where he had pointed them to where Namine was at.
"See if you can make the poster all pretty." Ling smiled.
"Hmm…" Namine took a look. "And you guys are forming a hip hop dance group?"
"Pretty much." Whitley nodded.
"Hmm, I'll see what I can do." She said, reaching into her bag and pulling out her colored pencils. "Let's see… what do I wanna do here…" She stood up and walked out the door, throwing away her hot chocolate as she rubbed her chin in thought.
"Hey Namine!" Demyx waved her over. "What ya got there?"
"Oh, the Schnee kid and his girlfriend wanted me to make a poster for them." Namine responded. "Something about them wanting to form a hip hop group."
"Oh wow! What do you got so far?"
"Absolutely nothing." She admitted. "I do have my colored pencils with me, so this could take some time for me to whip up something beautiful."
"Why not just do it in marker?"
"Are you kidding? Markers bleed into the paper and make it all messy." Namine said. "Colored pencils are the way to go."
"Hmm…" Demyx folded his arms. "I actually have an idea. Come on, I wanna show ya something."
"Hmm? What is it?" Namine asked as she curiously followed him, walking around Toad Town. "Where are we going?"
BGM: Laughter and Merriment (Kingdom Hearts II)
"You ever heard of the Artist District? I came across it just the other day."
"The artist… district…?" Namine wondered as they turned the corner, as she let out a gasp and saw Inklings throwing Ink Bombs at walls and shooting up the walls as well, then seeing a few Team Skull members tagging a wall.
"Team Skull was here, Team Yell are losers!"
"Oh my word…" Namine said. "I didn't realize Toad Town had such a vandalism problem…"
"Pffft, nah, this ain't vandalism. It's a district where everyone is allowed to tag and create art to their hearts content! Apparently, it was a thing that Princess Peach came up with a few years ago so everyone can draw, paint, tag, or do whatever to their hearts content."
"And if they run out of room?"
"Machines come out to paint over the art on the walls and it starts anew." Demyx said. "At least, that's what that Guzma guy told me."
"Heeey, Demyx!" A voice called out as they saw Guzma tossing a spray can to him. "You up for finishing that mural of yours?"
"Heck yeah, I am!" Demyx grinned.
"Wait, you know each other?" Namine asked. "…Wait, hold on, mural?!"
"What, you thought I was just a Sitar-playin' doofus before I turned into a Nobody?" Demyx grinned. "Heh, I was a bit of a tagger back in my day! Spray painting flowers, animals, all that stuff… until that day came when the Heartless attacked. Apparently, the Heartless do not take kindly to being tagged."
Namine sweatdropped. "Noted…"
"Hey! You're that Namine chick, right?" Guzma asked. "Demyx was talking about ya earlier. Glad you could make it! …What do you have there?"
"A poster." Namine said and explained what she had to do.
"Pfft, colored pencils? You can do better than that!" Guzma tossed her a bag as Namine opened it up… and saw spray paint.
"Mmph!" Namine stiffened. "Uh… sorry, Mr… Guzma… I don't do vandalism."
"Hahaha! It ain't vandalism in this district, sweetheart." Guzma said.
"I… uh… I never used a spray can before." Namine sheepishly admitted.
"Well, first time for everything!" Guzma said as he took her to a wall that hadn't been tagged yet, as Namine would take notice of a large painting.
"What on earth…? Is that… Cerberus chasing Xemnas in the Underworld?"
"He had it coming." Demyx chuckled. "Just need to do a few more touches on it…"
"Now, the trick to spray painting is that everyone has a style. It takes practice!" Guzma said. "In fact-"
One lesson later…
"Ah, I got ya!" Namine nodded once she saw Guzma tagging part of the wall. "Okay… I think I understand." She said as she pulled out a spray can from her bag. "Alright…" She started shaking the can and then aimed it at the wall. "And here… we… go-AAAAAACK!"
…Or at least, she thought she aimed it at the wall. Instead, she accidentally tagged her face. It was enough to make both Demyx and Guzma laugh hard while Namine blinked while having purple paint on her face, and some purple highlights in her hair too.
Namine took a deep breath and sighed deeply as she knelt down and picked up some snow and rubbed it across her face. While it did wash it off, her bangs were stained in purple. "Mmm… hope this fades out…" She said as she started practicing, humming to herself as she proceeded to mix the paint together.
"Whoa…" Guzma said.
"Daaaang girl!" Demyx said as a few Inklings took notice of this.
"…Whoa." A Purple Inkling Girl said in surprise as they all watched in awe as they witnessed Namine spray painting the Twilight Town clock tower with Roxas, Xion and Lea sitting on the edge eating Sea Salt Ice Cream.
"There we go." Namine said, dusting her hands off before blushing. "Aheheh… sorry, I kinda lost myself." She said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.
"Told you she's a natural." Demyx said.
"Okay, I think I got it!" Namine said as she then taped the poster to the wall as she folded her arms, closing her eyes. "Alright, I think I got it!" She said, shaking up a spray can and started spraying the poster.
End BGM
A few minutes later…
"Guys!" Namine ran over to Whitley and Ling who were busy chatting it up. "It took me a bit but here's your poster!" She said, handing it over.
Singers and Dancers wanted! It was decked out in purple and blue colors while having it pop out with black outlines, not to mention the letters had a fiery look to it. We are looking for anyone who wishes to join us to form a new hip hop group! Everyone is welcome! Meet up at the Schnee home for details.
They would also notice that the rest of the poster was a bright yellow and the rest of the words were either a different color or black.
"What do you think?" Namine asked.
"It's perfect. Makes it stand out!" Whitley said with Ling nodded.
"Awesome!" Namine would turn around and wave at them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go do some more art. I believe I just found my paradise~!" She giggled and then took off running.
"So, how many copies do you think we need?" Whitley asked.
"Based on the size of the town, I'd say… eh… twelve to fourteen dozen?" Ling estimated. "We can use the copier at the library."
"That'll work." Whitley nodded.
With Cardin…
"Pfft, who am I kidding… I'm not gonna get close to Jaune with that fiery amazon near him." Cardin said before realizing something before he facepalmed. "Agh, you dumbass! You didn't even apologize at all!" He groaned. "I didn't realize apologizing was so difficult… then again, Pyrrha was making it difficult for me." He grumbled.
He let out a sigh. "Not that I blame her, but you'd think a kind individual like her would have understood…" He said as he continued to walk, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Where do you think you're going, kid?" A voice asked as Cardin turned his head and saw a young girl, the same one from the Paratroopa Karaoke, as a group of taller teenagers had crowded around her.
"Let me through…" She mumbled.
"Pfft, nope! No can do!" One of them said and then pushed her into one of the teens. "You don't belong here."
"Hey! Don't push me!" She said as one of them picked up the hat she wore and tore it off, revealing that they weren't an accessory on her hat… they were legitimate ocelot ears.
"You freak!" The teen pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the back.
Cardin watched this from afar, picturing himself doing it to the faunus… although he didn't notice the ocelot ears at first. He let out a low growl and clenched his fists. He didn't have a weapon on him… but weapons be damned.
"HEY!" Cardin yelled as he ran toward the teens as one of them turned around… only to get slugged in the face by Cardin.
"Nngh!" He grunted, falling into the snow as Cardin turned around to the other two as they would try to gang up on him, but Cardin would slug the one guy in the gut as the other turned Cardin around and punched him in the face, but Cardin soaked it in pretty well and headbutted him in response, then kicked him in the knee, making him fall to the ground and knee'd him in the face for good measure.
Cardin then turned around and punched the last teen in the throat, knocking him down easily. "Hah… hah…" He panted. "You bastards better run along before I really kick your ass." He said in a low threatening voice.
"Rrrgh… asshole!" One of the teens yelled before they ran/limped away.
"Yeah, you better run…" Cardin mumbled as he walked over to Kokoro, kneeling down and picking up her hat. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah… I'm fine…" She said. "Thank you…"
"No problem." He said as he then spotted the ocelot ears. He let out a soft gasp. "A faunus…?" He whispered aloud as Kokoro's ocelot ears picked up on that as Kokoro looked at him after retrieving the hat.
However, she didn't realize it was a surprised gasp and she had interpreted it as disgust. "Mmph!" She paled before taking off running. "Get away from me!" She yelled and ran away.
"H-hey! Wait!" Cardin said, chasing after her but unfortunately, she was faster than him and disappeared. "Aaaagh… dammit!" He cursed under his breath and walked off, unaware that the whole thing was watched by Jaune who happened to be nearby.
"…Did he just…?" Jaune wondered to himself.
At Sojiro's…
Chelsea let out a soft sigh, sitting in a booth while sipping some coffee and eating some coffee cake. She was wondering how to make it up to the faunus girl for intruding on her, then flashbacked to what Toadette and the two Toads had told her.
BGM: Scent of Silence (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)
"Okay, so Kokoro has a bit of a troubled past." Toadette explained. "She and her mother didn't really see eye to eye. It was a strained relationship until one day, she ran away from home after a massive argument."
"Where is she from, Mushroom City?" Chelsea asked.
"Try… Vacuo." Ala Gold said.
Chelsea's eyes widened. "What?!"
"Yes. She arrived in Toad Town right after the Shroob crisis was over." Bucken Berry said. "Weak, tired, thirsty and hungry… she went into a bakery to sleep. It was then that the owner of the bakery, Ms. Focaccia found her sleeping on a loaf of bread she was using as a pillow."
"Oh my…" Chelsea whispered, her hand over her mouth in shock.
"She let her stay there and Kokoro asked if she could help out, so she did and is her assistant in the bakery. It was when we walked into the bakery around when Ruby was still missing, and that's when we had met Kokoro." Toadette explained. "She was a bit nervous around us but we did frequent the bakery and she had gotten used to us. And that's when Ms. Focaccia told us what had happened."
"Yeah… and because of what happened at her original home, it left her timid and shy." Ala Gold said.
"Oh geez… and I scared the hell out of her…" Chelsea sighed. "Thanks for telling me this… I need to go do something." She said and ran off.
End BGM
Back in the present, Chelsea let out a sigh. "Yeah… right… whatever that something is, I'd rather for inspiration to come to me right now." She mumbled, and then the door swung open as Kokoro closed the door and panted.
"Ah, young Kokoro. Nice to see you." Sojiro greeted warmly. "Are you alright?" He asked in concern.
"Y-yeah… I will be." She said, still panting.
"You want your usual?"
"Yes please…"
"One mocha frappuccino coming right up." He said. "Have a seat, I'll be with you shortly."
"Okay." Kokoro nodded, giving him the cash as she walked up to a booth with her head down and sat on the bench, letting out a soft sigh. She had not realized that she was sitting across from Chelsea, who looked absolutely surprised.
Oh my… Chelsea thought as Kokoro looked up and saw her.
"Mmmph!" Kokoro froze in place, sweating a little as her cat sat between her legs.
"Um… hi…" Chelsea waved awkwardly.
"…I… uh… wrong seat…" Kokoro whispered as she tried to move away.
"No no, wait!" Chelsea exclaimed, reaching and grabbing her arm, causing the faunus to stiffen. "Listen, I… I just want to apologize for barging in like that. I was so entranced by your singing, I lost myself and wanted to praise you for your wonderful singing that I didn't really think about anything else. I'm… I'm sorry I scared the heck out of you."
The faunus stood there, her arm still being held by Chelsea as she slowly turned her head, giving her a nervously shy look. "I-it's… it's okay…" She whispered, but loud enough for Chelsea to hear, causing her to smile.
"Alright, here's your cup of coffee!" Sojiro said as Kokoro shifted back onto the booth as Sojiro handed it to her. "Here you go, kiddo." He said and walked back to the counter.
"So… uh… do you like the coffee here?" Chelsea asked as Kokoro shyly looked down while drinking her coffee. …Awkward… She thought.
With Cardin…
"Man, that girl can run…" Cardin said, rubbing the back of his head. "Where the heck did that little rascal go?" He wondered to himself. "…Wait, is calling a faunus a "rascal" a bad thing?" He grimaced a bit. "That came out wrong…" He mumbled.
He put his hands in his pocket and lightly kicked a rock into the snow. "Meh… I suppose another day will come when I apologize to Jaune…" He said.
"Hey…" A voice said as Cardin perked up at the sound and turned to see Jaune behind him. "You alright?"
"O-oh! Jaune! Where… where did you come from?"
"I just saw that whole thing where you saved that faunus girl from those bullies." Jaune said.
"You did? I didn't think there was an audience… wait, where's that fiery amazon girlfriend of yours?"
"Oh, Pyrrha? She went off to go get some hot chocolate for us. Although it doesn't take that long to get a cup, right…?"
With Pyrrha…
"I'd like to get… um… uuuuuuuuh…" A customer rubbed his chin in thought. "I'll take the number one… wait, actually, no… the number three. …No, I've been having digestive problems lately. I'll take the number two. …No, wait…"
"Mmm…" Pyrrha quietly moaned to herself. This customer in front of her couldn't decide what to order for a solid ten minutes, and it was slowly starting to get to her.
"I can help from over here!" A cashier waved her down.
Pyrrha's eyes sparkled. "Wonderful!" She grinned, but then suddenly, a long line was formed on the other side before Pyrrha took a single step. "…What…? Where did they come from?!" She exclaimed, completely flabbergasted.
"Mmm, I've been known to get gassy when I take the number seven… so maybe I should take the number nine… ooooh, but it keeps me up at night. Maybe I should go to the number one… aaagh… nooo… that won't work…"
Pyrrha stood behind him, slowly slumping with a dead pan expression while her eye slowly twitched. Un. Believable. She thought.
With Cardin and Jaune…
"Maybe she got lost… or perhaps it's a long line." Cardin guessed.
"For hot chocolate? Pffft, yeah, good one." Jaune chuckled as Cardin lightly laughed with him.
"So uh… listen… there's something I need to tell you."
"Hmm?"
"So um… look, I know I've been a jerk to you and… set you off to who knows where in that locker, I forget where I sent you…"
"Forever Forest."
"Oooh…" Cardin grimaced. "And I know I used your secret against you and how I had you try to throw that jar at Pyrrha… I… well… the thing is…"
"You wanted to apologize to me?"
Cardin's eyes widened. "Wait, what?!"
"I knew where this was headed… so I just took a guess. Was I right on the target?"
"Uh… yeah… but way to ruin the moment."
"Well, it's not often the bully gets to apologize." Jaune said.
"Well… it's not easy! Especially when I tried to apologize to Velvet… Coco nearly turned me into swiss cheese." Cardin said. "And I can't remember if she accepted it because we were running away terrified from that giant green space lizard… and apparently, a chick thinks she's a teddy bear!"
"…Yeah, that Zinnia chick's a weirdo." Jaune admitted. "But she did tell me that she was actually considering accepting it… I'm not sure if she has yet, it's been a while."
"Ah, I see."
"And, I think I should apologize too."
"You? For what?"
"For hurting your pride against that Magnamalo." Jaune said. "I think it hurt your pride when I came to save you."
Cardin blushed, remembering how that fight went down. "My pride wasn't hurt, dumbass! I was just admiring the grass while I got ran over by a semi truck!" He said, causing Jaune to snicker. "…It's not that funny…" He mumbled.
"Heh… well, in any case… I accept your apology." Jaune said.
"What?!" Cardin said in surprise.
"Yeah, I'm not one to hold grudges, so I forgive you for making my life hell."
"…Oh… oh wow… uh… I was not expecting that from you… uh… thank you…? Um… I'll just uh… be going now." He said as he walked off, having a "what the hell just happened?" look on his face.
"You're welcome." Jaune smiled, and then turned his head to see Pyrrha approaching him, and she looked rather irritated. "…Pyrrha? Are you okay?"
"Next time, you get the hot chocolate…" Pyrrha mumbled irritably as she handed him her cup.
"…Did something happen?"
With Chelsea and Kokoro…
"I've heard tales of Team ATMC, but I didn't think that was actually you and your team in there!" Kokoro said, having warmed up to Chelsea.
"Yup, that's us." Chelsea smiled.
"That's so cool!" Kokoro beamed. "So what's your semblance?"
"Illusionary Trap. I can make a dust clone of myself and have it explode when it makes contact."
"Oooooh!" Kokoro grinned. "My semblance is Photon Burst."
"Huh?"
"Basically, a light manipulation semblance where I can manipulate light particles and use them to illuminate dark areas. I can also use the light particles as flash grenades in threatening situations, or I can light my way through a dark cave or a dark street if the power goes out and I'm quick enough to get the light particles before they burn out."
"So basically, you turn yourself into a lightning bug or a living flashlight." Chelsea teased.
Kokoro giggled. "I suppose so!" She smiled. "So, I take it you're a good singer then if you frequent the karaoke bar?"
"Yeah, my team goes there and we have a good time. Mine and I are pretty good singers, but Mine admits I'm way better. Tatsumi's a bit off key sometimes but… not as bad as Akame." She giggled. "We all have a fun time though!"
Kokoro giggled again. "That's what's important. Having fun at karaoke! I sing when it's not really that important."
"Really? How come?"
Kokoro frowned. "It's… personal…"
"Oh, sorry…" She said as she heard something being plastered on the window. "Hmm?" She wondered as she and Kokoro took a look, seeing a poster on the window as they walked outside to see what it was.
"Singers and dancers wanted? …Meet at the Schnees?" Chelsea tilted her head.
"It seems like it's a hip hop-like group." Kokoro mused.
"Ooooh, I can provide my voice and dance moves for this kind of street performance!" Chelsea's eyes sparkled. "Imagine doing it in front of a live audience!"
Kokoro's eyes widened, paling at the thought. "In… in front of… a l-live audience?!" She thought, flashing back to Vacuo.
"Why can't you do anything right, you stupid girl?!"
"I… I'm so sorry…"
"Kokoro?" Chelsea shook her shoulder. "Hey… Kokoron!"
"Wha?!" Kokoro shook her head and turned to Chelsea. "Sorry… I had a bad personal experience…" She said as she looked at her with a tilted head. "Wait… did you just call me Kokoron?"
"I did? Oh uh… must've slipped out… although, I could call you that… if you wanted."
Kokoro blushed. "It's-… it's cute…" She said as she nodded as they both stared at the poster. "So uh… you want to go try that out?"
"Yeah, I'm game." Chelsea nodded. "Are you sure you're okay though?"
"Yeah… I'm fine." Kokoro reassured as they started to take off to the Schnee's.
With Cardin…
"I'm not sure what the hell just happened but… you know what? I call that a victory." He said with a fist pump. "Okay… so now… I just gotta hope Pyrrha doesn't kill me when I try to legitimately hang out with Jaune." He said as he turned his head and spotted a poster.
"Hmm?" He wondered as he walked over and read the poster, raising an eyebrow. "A hip hop group? That's the dumbest thing I've heard." He said as he continued walking as he would notice posters galore everywhere. "Gaaaah! What's with all these damned posters all of a sudden?!" He wondered as he tried to get away, but everywhere he turned, there'd be another one.
Finally, after trying to get away from them, he let out a sigh of defeat and pulled a poster off of a telephone pole to read the whole thing. "The Schnees? …What, is Weiss forming a band?" He wondered. "Or is her sister going through a midlife crisis?"
He would look around, seeing the dozens of posters around him and sighing. "I guess the universe is trying to say something… alright, I'll bite." He said, tossing it into a garbage bin and walked off to the Schnee house.
At the Schnee home…
"Okay, so that should do it." Whitley said, putting his Pokemon back in their Pokeballs after he, his Pokemon and Ling spread out to spread the word.
"You think we went overboard?" Ling wondered.
"You're the one who suggested fourteen dozen copies."
Ling sweatdropped. "Good point, but I think we're good."
"Oh, you're kidding me… the wimpiest Schnee is forming a hip hop group?" A voice asked as they turned to see Cardin approaching him.
"Cardin?" Whitley and Ling said at the same time.
"Okay, I have to ask… who unleashed Poster-geddon in Toad Town?" Cardin asked.
"She did." Whitley said, pointing his thumb to Ling.
"H-hey! You agreed to fourteen dozen copies. Don't pin this all on me, buster!"
"Fourteen doz-… you do know about two dozen copies would've sufficed, right?" Cardin sweatdropped.
Both Whitley and Ling sweatdropped. "Uh… noted." They both said.
"So what are you doing this for, anyway?" Cardin asked.
"Basically to rebel even further against my former father."
"Oh, so this is basically telling your old man to suck it?" Cardin asked.
"Pretty much."
"Heh, good enough for me. I'm in!" Cardin grinned.
"Wh-what?!" Ling said in surprise. "I… I'm not sure that's a good ide-"
"Hey, the poster said "everyone is welcome"." Cardin pointed out.
Dammit Namine… Ling thought. "That's… a valid point."
"Besides, my bullying days are over, so I've turned over a new leaf. Apologized to Velvet and Jaune, so I'm good! …If only I had a new weapon though." He mumbled.
"Well, welcome aboard." Whitley said.
"Oh cooooool! The Schnee Brother is doing all this!" Chelsea said as she walked toward her with Kokoro next to her.
"H-H-Hi… I'm K-Kokoro…" Kokoro shyly waved and then noticed Cardin. "Mmmph!" She stiffened. What's he doing here?!
"Oh uh… hi!" Cardin waved.
"Is he bothering you? I can easily arrange an ass kicking." Chelsea said, pulling out her needles.
"He said he's turned over a new leaf." Whitley said. "We're giving him a chance."
Chelsea blinked. "…You're kiddin', right? …Oookay!" She said with a shrug, putting them away as Cardin knelt down in front of Kokoro.
"Hey uh, listen… I didn't mean to scare you back there. I didn't realize I saved a Faunus back there. The ears caught me off guard."
"W-wait, it wasn't… a gasp of disgust?"
"The old me would've been disgusted, but I'm the new and improved Cardin Winchester. Ex-Faunus and Jaune Arc bully, at your service!" He grinned before slumping. "That sounded better in my head…"
Kokoro shyly giggled. "It was worth a try…"
"So uh… is this all that came?" Ling asked.
"I suppose so." Whitley nodded. "So, now that we're all together, we might as well come up with a name for our group… what would we call ourselves?"
"Night Raid!" Chelsea chimed in. "…Aheheh, sorry, first thing that popped into my head."
"Thunderbusters!" Cardin said.
"Atlas Royalty?" Whitley shrugged.
"Um… I got nothing…" Kokoro sheepishly shrugged.
"…I got an idea! Seasons!" Ling said.
"Seasons? That's wimpy." Cardin said.
"Think about it! There's five of us so… Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Midsummer."
"Midsummer? I don't think that's a thing…" Cardin said.
"I love it!" Kokoro said and then gasped. "Wait, idea! There's five of us, and we're making the group Seasons... so why not add a five to replace the second S?"
"Eh? That sounds dumb." Cardin said as Kokoro proceeded to use her semblance, using the light particles to form the name in front of them.
"See? Sea5ons!" Kokoro beamed.
Chelsea's eyes sparkled. "I love it, Kokoron!" She said.
Kokoron? Cardin silently mouthed.
"That works." Whitley said with Ling nodded. "Now we just gotta figure out the codenames..."
"And while we figure that out, Whitley and I went online and found ourselves a song we can cover." Ling said, pulling out pieces of paper and handing it to everyone.
"...What is this, Greek?" Cardin tilted his head. "Pig Latin?"
"I'm not sure. It was from this woman named... Hat-soo-nee Mick-oo." Ling said, rubbing her head.
"Hot-soo-nay Mee-koo." Chelsea corrected. "And it's in Japanese." She said as everyone turned to look at her in confusion.
"Japanese?" Whitley asked.
"Yeah, you know... from Japan? Where the Phantom Thieves are from."
"Ooooh." Most of them nodded while Kokoro tilted her head.
"Who?" She quietly asked.
"Mine and I tend to go shopping in Shibuya and we sometimes run into Ann and Haru, so we have a girl's day out with them. Needless to say, I've picked up on the Japanese language. Hiroi yasukatta." (It was easy to pick up.)
"Whoa." The four of them said in awe.
"Yeah, not sure if Mine was able to pick up on it, but it felt natural to me." Chelsea said and then looked down. "So, I can imagine the Phantom Thieves can help all of us learn Japanese if we were to sing a cover of one of Hatsune Miku's songs."
"Well, looks like we know what to do." Whitley said. "Let's move out."
He would walk off with the others, all of them have determined eyes and smiles that were eager to try something new.
And as for Whitley? He was ready to give his old man a heart attack for this rebellion.
Major shout out to DarkRebellion who approached me and suggested Whitley form a hip hop group as a way to unite Faunus and Humans together, not to mention a way to stick it to Jacques.
I was like "Huh, that's new. Let's do it." and as we brainstormed ideas for this, he suggested Cardin and Chelsea plus an OC that he made, also known as Kokoro.
So this collab for this chapter was pretty fun to write!