Hello all! Welcome to another chapter! Things are going to speed up a bit, so just a heads up.
Now for my reviewers of last chapter!
Csshadow: Thank you for the kind words!
Arctech: I might be able to get there maybe before 2019, it depends on how much time I get to write and think of the chapters, though I put one of my other stories on hold for now, so I will have more chapters for this story updated at a quicker time, I can't give an exact date, but it will be soon, might even be before chapter 25, who knows. Ah, yeah, it takes a lot of planning and thinking but I manage to get everything to piece together. It is kinda a filler chapter, and also kinda not, since there are some things that aren't really important to the progress of the story, and other things that are pretty major for the story, I like to have a balance of the two when nothing is really going on.
SuperKaiokenGoku: Ever since I found out that he was basically immortal, I lost trust in him. I don't intend to bash him, some of the characters however who know about Ozpin and his past lose trust in him, especially when they figure out all of his secrets. He will not always receive this treatment of course, since Albedo has that past reading semblance and Malikai and Raven having their own ways of knowing what is really going on in the world, it is pretty justified for them to not trust him as much as Ozpin would have hoped.
Thank all of you for the reviews!
Current Poll results:
Ruby Rose- 28
Yang Xiao Long- 20
Weiss Schnee- 16
Orchid Rosa- 12
Blake Belladonna- 8
Pyrrha Nikos- 8
Neo- 5
RWBY: The Blind Huntsman
Chapter 16- Volume 0, Episode 14
Preparations
Pyrrha Nikos is training hard for this upcoming tournament, 'the undefeated champion', 'The Invincible Girl', 'Best upcoming huntress'. She has many titles, and does not care for a single one. As always she trains intensely with the best teachers that her father can afford, the main reason how she was able to get as good as she was now was because of that reason, and her very blessed semblance that she counts herself lucky to be born with. But she can't help but feel that her popularity worldwide would be much different if they knew what her semblance was, which is why it has been kept under wraps, and of course she has her father the thank for that one.
"Great job as always Miss Nikos." Her current trainer complimented. "The tournament is in just a few days now, and I am certain that you will come out on top once again."
"It is thanks to your training and mentorship." Pyrrha said, keeping a modest and polite attitude. All of her trainers spat out the same line at her, she has never really been able to form an actual friendly relationship with someone who wasn't being paid to train or be around her. She did have such a relationship with her first trainer, but once he taught her everything he knew, he was cast aside for a new one. She hasn't seen him since.
"While I thank you for the compliment, I am afraid that you are just a prodigy. I simply taught you what I knew."
Yeah because you were paid to do it. Pyrrha wanted to say, but her very kind personality, a too kind of a personality as her father says, stops her from doing so. She simply nodded and smiled like she always does, and once again it was forced. Then she muttered a quick thank you as she took a sip of her drink.
"I have been doing some research on that blind kid that some people are foolishly claiming will be the one to finally defeat you." Her trainer said next, and for once actually caught her genuine interest.
"Really? Who would this person be?" This was the first time she heard of such a claim being made, and in all honesty it excites her to know that there is someone out there, someone who is going to be attending the tournament no less that might be able to dethrone her.
"I don't know why anyone would think a blind kid would even have a chance at becoming a huntsman." He ignored her question at first, causing her forced smile to twitch and almost turn into a scowl. "But yeah, to answer your question, this kids name is Kai, he is from Signal Academy in Vale. It says here that he is the best student there, which means you won't have much competition this time around since a majority of your competitors will be coming from that school."
"I am afraid I have to disagree with you, I believe any person can become a huntsman if they have the heart for it. This Kai person must have worked very hard to get to where he is now, and I respect him for it already." Pyrrha declared as she leaned on one hip.
Her trainer was taken aback by her words, this was the first time for him that she really talked back to him and say that he is wrong. He shook his head and sighed, trying to find the correct words to say in order to calm her down. "Well you may be right, If you would like I can show you a video of one of his first sparring matches." He offered.
Pyrrha knew the double meaning behind this offer, say yes to the offer, and see the blind boy that has more heart than basically anyone she knew. While she would probably be impressed and even maybe want to meet him, it would also expose his fighting style to her, as well has maybe his semblance. This tactic has been used on her more then once, and this time she doesn't plan on getting fooled once again.
"That is quite alright, I would rather meet him in person first before looking at him online." She politely declined the offer.
"B-but Miss Nikos, he could be doing research on you…"
"How could a blind person possibly do research on me?" Pyrrha questioned with a laugh.
Her trainer felt extremely embarrassed after having that fact being thrown in his face, and the flush on his face showed it. "Of course… how silly of me."
"It is quite alright, I would like to meet him though. He sounds like quite a character." Pyrrha said with a small smile. "Now shall we resume our training? Or are we going to be finished for today?"
"We will continue, we will focus the rest of the time we have on your skill with the sword part of your weapon."
"Milo." Pyrrha corrected.
"Of course, Milo, and then we will be done for today. Tomorrow we will depart to the hotel we will be staying at for the duration of the tournament, your father will be the one to take you there himself."
"And you?" Pyrrha asked, although she already knew the answer to that question.
"I shall be present for the tournament, but I am afraid that your father has deemed that you have learned everything you can from me, it has been a few months and I understand that he wishes you have the best training from every trainer he can find." He explained without a hint of sadness, he must have had a substantial paycheck.
"Mmm…" Pyrrha expected this from him, but can't help but feel saddened anyway. This is the third trainer that she has had just this year. "Thank you for everything you have taught me." She forced yet another smile and had the decency to at least look like she was sad to see him go.
She didn't feel anything really.
"Nonsense, you would have surely done perfectly well without me." He said with a chuckle. "You are a prodigy Pyrrha, I have high hopes that you will succeed as a huntress and a champion."
Pyrrha simply smiled and nodded, then resumed her training. She would forget everything he said to her with time.
Silver Ebony cuts through another training bot like butter, the sparks and electronics scattering over the floor and onto his skin. He slides back and flattens his sword above his head, blocking an attack from behind, then pushes up and stabs from under his left arm, The newly upgraded device that Ruby made for him flares up with flames, and it gets easily absorbed into his body, the black flames being focused into his left arm, but this time with a small white shimmer.
"HA!" Kai grunts as he fires off a beam of fire that burns through a charging training bot, stopping it in its tracks with a smoking hole through its chest. As soon as it falls down, his legs get kicked out from under him. But he quickly recovers by flipping off of his flaming hand, grabbing at the concrete floor and causing a small quake that knocks the attacking machine down, then with a mixture of flames and air, blasts a cone of fire that burn so hot that it melts the insides of the machine, and turns the metal on the outside a bright white orange. He stands still, with just a few flickers of flames left, before cutting the arm off of another machine just before it made contact with the back of his head, then cuts it into three more pieces in a matter of seconds, and thus destroying the last training bot and ending this training session.
At least that would be what a normal person would do. No, instead he sheathed his sword, rolls his shoulders, and while exhausted gets into a one armed push up position, and starts a set of one hundred. The sweat drips from his forehead and slides down his whole body, his breathing is controlled, but comes out as rasps every few seconds. He has been training with the bots for two hours. It turned out that the Atlesian ship's training rooms are very high tech, it took a while for Kai to get used to it, but he adapted.
"Are you planning on killing yourself with this training?" The voice of his friend Shae surprised him, he wasn't paying enough attention to his surroundings and didn't sense her enter the room. "I've been wondering what you've been doing Monkey."
"Shae?" Kai asked uselessy as he pushed himself back onto his feet with an exhausted huff. The sweat that got absorbed into his headband stinging his eyes. "I uh… what're you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? Well if you must know, I was just walking around with Two, and then I hear some cheering nearby, I go see what all the commotion is all about and what do I find?" Shae jumped down into the training area, and Kai could sense her passive anger welling up from inside.
"W-wait, crowd?" Kai asked stupidly, actually focusing on his surroundings and noticing that there is in fact a bunch of people watching him from the observation areas.
"Yes crowd you idiot." Shae said as she punched him lightly in the shoulder. "The hell are you doing this for? I knew you were training but what I just watched for the last hour was a bit more than what I expected."
"I just have to get stronger…" Is all Kai feels like he can afford explaining.
"Kai you're already strong." Shae softened for just a second. "A lot stronger than I originally thought!" She then pulled her bladed spear from behind her back, and slashed at him, something he was barely able to dodge in time with his exhausted body.
"Whoa! Shae what are you doing?" Kai asked as he unconsciously placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I want to see just how strong you really are Kai, you held back a lot more than I originally thought!" Shae yelled as she zig zagged a great speeds toward him. "Fight me!"
Silver Ebony sang as it was yanked out of it's black holster, and the metal clanged against each other and echoed throughout the room. Shae smiled, this was what she wanted, Kai pushed up with both arms, and threw her back. But she easily recovers mid air and lands gracefully on the ground with a smile on her face. She flicks her head to the side to get her braid over her shoulder.
"I don't know what made you want to do this, but even on low aura and pretty exhausted, I don't mind some extra training." Kai said in a deeper voice as he gets ready for a fight.
"Heh, you'll see that you aren't the only one that has gotten stronger." Shae said as she got lower to the ground and placed one hand out in front of her, a feline position that exploits her explosive strength.
"That remains to be seen." Kai taunted.
"Oh I like it when you get feisty!" Shae exclaimed as she exploded off her legs and spun through the air, redirecting her path and ending up behind Kai.
Without turning his head, Kai blocks her blade and parrys, and then still with his back toward her, kicks out behind him and nearly catches her. She stabs her spear into the ground and uses it as a pole to throw herself at him with her feet facing him. Kai brought his bracer up to block the attack, but skids back a few feet. Shae yanked the spear out of the ground and took up another fighting stance.
"C'mon, use your semblance this time! Don't hold back for my sake because I won't be holding back on you!" She yelled as she activated her own semblance, her faunus features grow more feral, her eyes sharpen into catlike pupils, and her stripes turn a darker color. Her flexibility is greatly enhanced, and her speed is even greater then before.
Kai was put on the defense hard, he blocks and parrys to the best of his ability, and he might have been able to do better if he wasn't as tired as he was. Shaes spear stabs into his shoulder, almost drawing blood if it wasn't for what little aura Kai had left, and then cuts an X on his chest and kicks him down. He bounces off the ground once and almost lets go of his sword. He coughs and grabs at his chest because of the pain, which worries Shae to a degree, but when he tumbles backward and assumes his usual fighting stance, all worry she had goes away.
Kai gritted his teeth as he thought about using his semblance, in this fight he is learning that his semblance was some sort of a crutch that he ended up using too much. While it was powerful and reliable, when he is low on aura like this he can't afford to use it lest he just drain the rest of it. In a tournament like setting he would just eliminate himself.
"Tsk, fine then." Shae scoffed as she got ready to lunge at him. "I'll just work out some stress."
Kai remained silent, and focuses so hard that he didn't realize his own sword absorbing some of his aura, and sharpened itself into a much deadlier weapon. Shae lunged at him, and everything in Kai's mind told him to disengage and try to counter attack, but something else told him to swing his sword. He listened to the latter's advice, and with a grunt he swung his sword, and to Shae it looked like he would come short, but widened her eyes when the sword suddenly grew an extra few inches and cut right through her spear, in half no less.
He then slashed at her three times, one at her shoulder, then at her chest, and then one last one at her legs. She flew passed him and slid on the ground, her aura literally cut to almost nothing, and her left arm stung because of the violent vibrations that ran up it when her weapon was cut in half.
Kai, astonished with what had just happened. He felt his sword do something, and then suddenly he won the fight. He exits focus mode and turns to Shae who has propped herself up on her forearms. A little dazed, but otherwise perfectly okay. Her heart is beating a million miles a second however, and Kai could sense her surprise and shock.
"How… did you do that?" She asked as she stood up, and held her broken spear in her hands, one half in each hand.
"Are you okay!?" Kai asked as he ran up to her, the visible features of his face showing worry. "Are you hurt?"
"Kai I'm fine- HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" She asked a second time, this time raising her voice so that Kai understood exactly what she was saying.
He flinched at her tone, but it told him that his friend was just dandy. "I-I don't really know, I just kind of did it, what happened though?" He asked, curse his blindness to not have been able to see what his sword just did for him.
"What do you mean what happened- oh right you're blind. Your sword suddenly grew a few inches and cut right through my spear, literally down the middle, my weapon was made out of one of the strongest metals and your weapon just cut right through it!" Shae explained with a hint of excitement, this will serve as a lesson to not have parts of your weapon be made out of wood, because stuff like this will happen if you are not careful.
"Really?" Kai asked, a little more excited then he really intended. He has finally made progress, all this training wasn't for nothing! He barely managed to resist the urge to jump in joy.
"Yes really, tch, yet another thing you've been hiding from me huh?" Shae accused as she narrowed her eyes at her blind friend. Her semblance turned itself off as she lost the fighting mood she was once in just a moment ago.
"I didn't mean to!" Kai denied with a wave of his hands. "I just found out I could do that I swear!"
"If you weren't you I might have called you a liar." Shae sighed and flicked her hair to the side. "Whatever, you caught me off guard this time, just wait until we face up against each other in the tournament. The one who will eliminate you will be me!" She declared with a sharp toothy smirk as she pushed her shoulder into his.
Kai blushed at the contact, and how close they were to each other, but laughed it off. Hoping that it wasn't visible because of the blindfold. "Yeah, we'll just have to wait and see." He said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.
Shae smirked and stepped away from him. "I think the headmaster wanted to speak with you, and he sent me to go get you."
"Wait, I thought you were just walking around and found me?" Kai asked.
"Wow you must really be out of it if you didn't catch that blatant lie." Shae chuckled when she saw him flush yet again, easily visible despite what he must think, but this time out of embarrassment. "Nah, Albedo sent me to go find you, he would have sent Orchid but he couldn't find her… you should probably go look for her after you're done with him."
"Yeah, I probably should." Kai shook his head, thinking about what Orchid could possibly be getting up to right now.
"Open fire on the enemy fort!" Pirate Orchid shouted as she aimed a massively oversized stick of bread.
"Captain Flamingo! First mate Rick is down!" Brick cried, fake tears made out of grape juice running down his face, his acting skills were impeccable.
"Bleh." Rick grunted his death, a tomato crushed against his heart.
Captain Flamingo gasped loudly, and clenched her fists so hard that she broke her bread stick completely in half. "Those monsters! Janitor Cyan! Fire the cannons!"
'Janitor Cyan' sighed before he threw a watermelon at the enemy fort, where Yang is busy trying to keep her crew alive.
"Silent gunslinger Two! Open fire!" Yang ordered as she threw a whole bowl a soup at them.
"Mhm!" Two took a bottle of ketchup in one hand, and a bottle of mustard in the other, and 'opened fire' as she was told, the condiments getting all over of the defenses have Captain Flamingo.
"What the hell are you kids doing!" Tai yelled as he ran into the cafeteria.
Both Captain Flamingo and Yang hid behind their forts at the sight of their blonde teacher.
"Stop this immediately, and clean up!" He ordered.
"Captain Flameheart! I propose a truce and offer an alliance to take down the stronger enemy."
"What!?"
Captain Flamingo! We accept you peace treaty, together we fight a more powerful enemy!"
"No, no, no stop!" Tai exclaimed as he backed away, holding his hands out even as a barrage of food gets thrown his way.
"I'm sure she'll be fine without me for another hour." Kai decided as he and Shae walked out of the training area. "Sorry about your weapon by the way, I didn't think Silver Ebony would have gotten that sharp."
"Bah, don't worry about it." Shae dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I could fix it easily, I had to make a new one anyway, I guess you showed me that I should have done it earlier. Note to self, wood is not a good idea for the staff if you are up against another person or Grimm."
"It was made out of wood?" Kai asked. "You had some really strong wood then since it was able to last as long as it did, if you want once we get back I can have Ruby help you make another one."
"No thank you, I've seen how she is with weapons." Shae said with a shudder. "They have a crafting station on board, I'll figure something out."
"Don't we land in Mistral tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but the tournament doesn't start until the day after tomorrow." Shae shrugged. "Trust me, making my type of weapon isn't hard, I just need a good staff part and then I can fix and reuse the blade that you cut in half, as well as make it even stronger. I might even get my hands on some Etricium."
"Oh, well that's good." Kai smiled. "My weapons were hand-me-downs from my dad, and they're made out of Sil- Ebony, I don't really know what it is really, but as you just saw it's pretty tough."
"Yeah, I think I figured that part out already." Shae scoffed as they reached Albedos office finally. "Here we are Monkey, I'll catch ya later 'Kay?"
"Sure Tiger, see ya later." Kai waved farewell to her. Once he sensed that she was gone, he knocked on the headmaster's door, or at least he tried to.
The second he raised his fist, the door swung open and his fist was caught into a handshake. It startled him at first, it was only the natural response.
"Ah, Kai Matsuoka, I am glad you could make it." Albedo said as he let Kai into his temporary office.
"Shae told me you wanted to see me?" Kai asked as he entered the room.
"Yes, I did send her." The headmaster of Signal confirmed. "Please, take a seat young man." Albedo said as he took a seat on the other side of his desk.
"Okay." Kai did as he was told, and sat down. "What am I here for? Am I in trouble?"
"No of course not, although your partner Orchid seemed to have gained a new persona."
"Oh god…"
"Are you familiar with Captain Flamingo?"
"I am so sorry sir." Kai rubs his face with both hands and groans into them.
Albedo laughed wholeheartedly. "Nonsense! It was quite amusing to find Professor Xiao Long covered head to toe in food of all kinds, I was able to put a stop to it the second I walked in so no harm was really done." He laughed again at the pleasant memory. "Though they might have annoyed the Atlesian soldiers that had to clean it up…"
"Y-yeah…"
"Want some gum?" Albedo asked as he threw a piece of gum into his lap, and blew a gum bubble out of his lips, it popped soon later.
"Uh, sure I guess." Kai said as he unwrapped the gum and threw it into his mouth.
"Now, let us get straight to business." Albedo cleared his throat. "You have no need to wear the blindfold around me son."
Kai felt his heart skip a beat, his father's message replaying in his mind to not let anyone know of the color of his eyes, and to hide them from the world.
"I'm not really comfortable with it off, im sorry." Kai politely declined.
"Kai, I was good friends with Malikai, we haven't spoken much in the recent years but I still was happy to have his son go to my training school." Albedo began as he leaned back in his seat, Kai didn't know where this way going, but had a good idea of where it might lead. He started to get nervous. "Did you know that I used to go to Beacon along with him? My Teams name was AZTC, or Aztec if you prefer. In school we did not speak much, you could hardly consider us friends, but after that? Ha! We might as well have been brothers."
"Really? You and him?" Kai asked, he was very surprised to hear that.
"Yes, sadly though, once I became headmaster of Signal, we drifted apart. But we keep in touch from time to time." Albedo reminisced in the past with a sigh.
"Sir, i'm sorry but… is this leading to something?" Kai asked a rude question as politely as he could.
"Ah, you are like your father in that regard, not a lot of room for small talk when it comes to business I see." Albedo sighed, then leaned forward on his desk with forearms. "Very well, I'll get to the major point of this conversation. I know of your silver eyes Kai, it was one of the reasons I accepted you into my school."
"W-what?" Kai made to stand up, but stopped himself. He didn't sense any lie from the headmaster, and if he left now, then he would just be putting off this talk until eventually he would run out of options, and might even be forced into a talk like this. "I…"
"Don't worry my boy, I am not here to do you any wrong. If anything I am here with a warning to you." Again, Kai felt no lie coming from the headmaster, he was being genuine. Which brought some comfort to the nervous blind huntsman in training.
Kai sighed, and brought his hands up to undo his blindfold, the cloth fell onto his lap within seconds. If he is going to be forced into this talk early, he might as well get it over with as soon as he can. His white pupiled eyes open, and he does his best to aim them into the older man's eyes, and utterly failing, the closest he got was just looking straight ahead and into his chest.
It was at this point that Albedo did not hesitate to use his semblance on his student, his eyes glow a golden color. Looking into his memories, and of course he cannot actually see anything, to him it is just all a very intense blur or just a black void, but a few things interest him. This Falcon character that Kai has been spending some time with, Malikais message to his son which encloses almost all of the secrets that Ozpin has been holding dear for so long, and lastly the training that he has been doing. He learns all of this in a matter of milliseconds, and commits as much of it as he can to memory.
"I see that Malikai has told you about what is truly happening in this world." Albedo said as he deactivated his semblance. "I expected such from him."
"I… yes, he has." Kai relented.
"You have nothing to be ashamed of Kai." Albedo said, sensing the shame radiating off of the young man. "I've known for a very long time now, ever since you were born in fact."
"Is… that why you accepted me into the school in the first place?" Kai asked hesitantly.
"Yes." Albedo answered honestly. "If you weren't Malikai's son - and even then if you didn't have silver eyes that you have I wouldn't have considered you as much as I did."
"Oh…" Kai looked down, and felt something that he couldn't describe. Sorrow, self-loathing, all sorts of negative emotions that he does not have too much experience with.
"I apologize, but that is simply the truth. However, it does not change the fact that you are the best student that I have ever had the pleasure of working with, your skills is better than almost all other kids your age, and your semblance is one of a kind. Inheriting both of your parents semblances is highly unlikely these days you know, usually if you did inherit both, one would be much weaker than the other." Albedo explained as he scratched at his beard.
"Now to the more serious things." The headmaster leaned in. "I am sure your father has already told you, but being born with those eyes is both a curse and a blessing. You have the power to do much good, but also much evil if you choose to do so."
"I won't!" Kai exclaimed. "I am going to be a huntsman, and I will only do good whenever I can."
Albedo laughed, remembering a certain silver eyed woman who said that very line so long ago. "Ah, you remind me of someone I once held dear. I do not think you would do such a thing, no far from it. I know you are a kind hearted soul, and will do everything within your power to do good in this world."
"But I want you to understand one thing, you can't possibly save everyone, and not every fight can be won. I have no doubt in my mind that you will succeed amazingly in the near future, but there will always be someone out there who would be better than you. This is a lesson that I am sorry to say that many of my friends learned the hard way, and was never able to learn from their mistakes…" Albedo lowered his head and gave a moment of silence for his many fallen comrades.
"I… understand, and I am sorry for making you think about those hard times, I don't think I am the best, but I want to try to be. Which is why I have been training intensely in order to achieve that goal." Kai said. "I have to unlock this latent power within my eyes as soon as I can, and unless I lose someone important to me, I have to train harder than anyone in order to achieve that goal."
"In that case, you would be very correct. And I hope that your training comes through soon, you are going to need them eventually."
"I know… my father told me about Salem, the queen of the Grimm… and how I might as well be the last hope for the world if he fails. Just another reason for me to unlock my abilities, as well as improve my other ones. I want to help him if I can."
"Malikai is far beyond you son." Albedo chuckled. "I dare to say he may even be more skilled than the headmaster of Beacon."
"Really? That good?"
"Of course! Malikai is very strong indeed… and very wise, he warned you about who and who not to trust correct?"
"Yeah…"
"And the headmaster of Beacon was one of those people, correct?"
"Yeah…"
"He was wise to do so, and I am here to deliver the same message, only in my own way." Albedo said with a roll of his shoulders. "My fellow headmaster has good intentions, no one can deny that fact, but the means of getting what he wants is not very good for the people that he works with. I doubt he even has a plan at all really, no… I know it."
"Why are you telling me this? Aren't you working with him?" Kai asked, a bit perplexed by his headmasters words, but he is getting into this conversation. The discomfort of being without his blindfold all but forgotten. This is important for him, if it turns out that Albedo could be a trusted ally, then he needs to go for it.
"Yes, I am working with him I'm afraid. But only for the good of the world, listen to me Kai." Albedo stood up and walked to one of the glass planes that lead to the clear blue skies, they will be arriving in Mistral very soon by the look of the ocean and the hint of land he can see over the horizon. "Ozpin is not your enemy, but by no means is he your friend, ally at most. You have a good relationship with myself, Qrow, and Taiyang, not to mention your own father and Raven Branwen."
"Who?"
"Ah, yes, It causes me no surprise to hear that Malikai would not have told you about her. They used to be together you know." Albedo revealed.
"What!?"
"Raven Branwen is the leader of the branwen tribe, fraternal twin to Qrow Branwen. She is a complicated woman, even I cannot tell where her allegiance lies, but if I had to guess… she would be a friend to you, or at the very least an ally. Enemy is unlikely unless you piss her off somehow." Albedo explained, before looking at a bemused Kai out from the corner of his eye. "Ask Falcon the next time you see her will you?"
"O-okay… this is all so weird… are you my ally? Friend?"
"Ally and friend would be the appropriate titles for you and I, although I must ask you not to brag about it." The headmaster chuckled. "But back on topic, you are close with many of his closest allies, well I can't really consider Tai to be a close ally, but he is still up there. So if worst comes to worst… charm them."
"This is so confusing…" Kai rubbed the top of his head.
"I don't blame you, topics such as this are meant for young adults at the youngest. But I am afraid that you are being pulled into this earlier then I would have liked. I take it you noticed Ozpin's obvious attempt at encouraging you to get into his school?"
"Yeah, the whole free tuition and guaranteed spot into Beacon to the one who wins the tournament coming up… Both me and my mom figured that out right away." Kai said with a small shake of his head.
"Win the tournament."
"Huh?" Kai said, surprised.
"Win the tournament." The headmaster repeated. "You are going to be going to Beacon anyway, and honestly that may be the safest path for you to take."
"I… don't understand."
"Then don't try to understand it, just make up your own conclusions, make a decision, and don't look back after making it. I know you can win the tournament, and I think you do to. It would make things much easier on your mother, and it would get you on Oz's good side to, and that will be important in the coming years. I can't tell you everything, simply because it is just not the time for you to know everything."
"So, for now I will just continue my training, win the tournament, do the rest of my years at Signal, and then go to Beacon?" Kai made up a plan off the top of his head.
"That is already a solid plan, and do please try to unlock those eyes of yours as soon as possible. Your silver eyes are the key to winning this war."
"How do you know that?" Kai questioned as he tied the blindfold back around his eyes.
"... I don't." Albedo said with a shrug and a chuckle. "It is simply a hunch. You may leave if you wish Mister Matsuoka, remember what I've told you today."
Kai stood up, but he stood in place and faced the headmaster he has just made an ally of. He feels an undying gratitude towards the man, he can tell that he is going behind Ozpin's back for his sake. "Thank you for this, I have a lot to think about, and honestly I still don't understand a lot of what you told me, but I'll definitely be remembering it." Kai smiled and backed away from the desk, waiting for the headmaster to respond with something.
"Kai." Albedo finally called to him, stopping him just as he reached for the door handle. "I am sorry that you have been dragged into this, it was not my wish you ruin what childhood you have left. But I thought it better that it be brought to your attention sooner rather than later."
Kai stood still, his hand still on the doorknob. He quickly thought back on his childhood… it was definitely not the normal way for a child to grow up, training constantly, having little play time, hardly any social life. He has always been focused on becoming a huntsman, and in just a few weeks, now he is training to save the world. Childhood is the least of his worries at this point however. He knows his role in the world, and he does not blame his parents for the spot that they were practically forced into. He tightens his left fist, and looks back at the headmaster with a look of determination so intense that it is highly visible even through the blindfold.
"I can't forgive you, because there is nothing to forgive." Kai said with a nod and a smile.
He then walked out the door, shutting it gently behind him, and started walking back toward the training area. He feels that his aura has regenerated a decent amount, so it is time that he gets back to it.
Albedo is left in his own office, scratching at his beard with a grin on his face.
"You are just like him when he was younger. I just hope you don't grow into what he is now."
Kai walks through the empty halls of the ship to clear his mind, this is the long way to get to the training rooms, but it is also the quietest, and right now he needs some silence in order to think on what he has been told.
But of course, the subject of his thoughts makes herself know. He hears and senses a swirl of air just a few feet in front of him. He isn't really in the best shape to get his ass kicked again by this woman, but he knows that he won't have much of a choice in the matter.
"You're coming by earlier than usual." Kai greeted with a small smile.
'Falcon' walks through the portal, the sounds of her thin heels sounding like an echo to Kai's sensitive ears.
"I was bored, thought you could use the company." Falcon said with a shrug as she crosses her arms.
"Wouldn't you be the one searching for company? I was actually enjoying my lonely walk through the ship." Kai joked as he slowly stepped up to her, his arms to his side and avoiding the hilt of his sword.
"Don't be a smartass, it doesn't fit you."
Funny… Falcon isn't opening up by attacking me right away like she usually does. Kai thought to himself as he arched his eyebrow. "Well, if you are here to give me your weird definition of training, I happen to be pretty spent right now."
"I know, I noticed that you finally managed to make some progress with that sword of yours, I can already tell, don't ask how because if you do I am going to have to kick you." Falcon quickly added when she saw Kai open his mouth before quickly shutting it.
"W-well are we going to be training again or…?" Kai hesitantly asked.
"Nope, unless you want to train today then by all means, attack me." She offered, leaning against the wall. Kai was smart enough not to fall for that trap, because he likes his hands where the are.
She feels different this time, Kai can't quite tell what exactly it is yet. But she seems… less aggressive, besides the obvious signs, she has to be here for something. And perhaps he can get something out of this as well.
"Actually… is it okay if we talk for a bit? I have some things on my mind I would like to discuss… if that is okay."
Falcon considered this for a few moments, but eventually decided that she had nothing else to do. Today the tribe was being very boring, and there wasn't much to do in terms of heists. "Very well, I suppose I can offer some advice if it is something that you require from me." She said as she beckoned him to come closer, and then realized that he couldn't see it because of his pretty obvious visual impairment. "Come closer, we should have a few minutes before I have to depart."
Kai stepped closer to Falcon, and leaned against the wall beside her, one of the first times he has been able to get close like this to her besides in a spar. After a few moments of selecting one of his many topics to talk about, Falcon took the initiative and started the conversation. "Speak up boy, my advice does not come free often."
"Y-yeah, well… I don't know if you know this person, but on the other hand you seem to know a lot more than I do. So… do you know about this person named… Salem?"
As soon as the name escaped his mouth, he sensed Falcon grow extremely tense and nervous, and he felt the wind from her hand grasping onto the hilt of her sword. He almost jumped back if it wasn't for the hand the clamped onto his shoulder and pushing him up against the metal wall.
"How did you learn of that thing!?" Falcon hissed.
"My dad sent me a message… he told me everything… about Salem, the maidens, the headmaster of Beacon… and most of all the power of my eyes." Kai's tone of voice betrayed the current mood his body is in. "I'm guessing that you know to?"
"Damn him." Falcon said as she squeezed his shoulder, but didn't unsheathe her weapon, which despite the situation of being pinned up against the wall, brought some comfort to him. "What else did he tell you?" She asked as she pushed him up against the wall, harder this time.
"A lot of stuff that would take more than a few minutes to explain to you." Kai pushed back, and forced her hand off of his shoulder. Jumping back and away from the Branwen woman and placing a hand on the hilt of Silver Ebony.
"Tch, don't get too brave little Kai." Falcon said as she relaxed just a bit, realizing that she may have gone a bit too far with her own reaction. "Fine, I'm relaxed now. So you know some of the worlds secrets now? A bit early if you ask me… what is it that you really wanted to talk about then? Be careful what you ask though, you may not get a good reaction out of me if you ask the wrong question..."
Ask 'Falcon' the next time you see her will you? Something told Kai that asking her about this Raven was not a good idea, given the not-so-subtle warning she just gave him. But he does have a suspicion.
Kai does relax, and remove his hand from the hilt of his sword. "Long story short… Ozpin is trying to get me into his school, and the headmaster of Signal, Albedo, tells me that I should go to Beacon, and be an ally to Ozpin, but never to trust him. Also that it would be the safest path for me to take, I was going to go to Beacon anyways so that part doesn't matter much, but there's just something on my mind…" He took a deep breath.
"Don't trust Ozpin, don't be his friend, and don't be his ally." Falcon cut him off before he can continue. "He is not the man that the world sees him as. I will not stop you from going to Beacon, because it will help you get stronger much faster then training on your own. But the worst mistake you can make, is even thinking that he can be trusted. Do you understand?"
"I-"
"Do you. Under. Stand?"
"Y-yes, I understand." Kai stammered. "Why are you so worried about me though? Is it really that bad?"
"Don't flatter yourself, it would be a great inconvenience for you to fall under Ozpin's manipulation." Falcon denied with a huff.
Kai detected the lie, but remained silent about it. But he will remember her little slip up she has just made. "You sound like you come from experience…" Kai noticed, and Falcon looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Do you?"
Falcon sighed and shook her head, remembering her past deeds. "Unfortunately, yes. But that is all I will share on the matter."
"Okay." Kai takes another deep breath, he was told one thing by one person that he looks up to, and now he is being told another thing by another person he (sort of) looks up to. Things just had to get even more complicated for him to understand.
"Is there anything else? We may some time left before I have to go back to camp." Falcon pointed out.
He contemplates asking Falcon something about Raven, but he feels as if he has enough on his plate at the moment, since he is close with Qrow, and Falcon isn't trying to kill him, he marks her off as an ally at least. If anything she is not an enemy.
"Nothing else really… just thinking about how I am going to win the tournament." Kai half-lied.
"You will win Kai, I will accept nor expect nothing less from you." Falcon said in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Of course, that is my goal." Kai nodded. "I should get back to my partner, I heard that she started a food fight earlier." He smiled at the woman, and pushed off the wall. "It was… nice talking to you, it was a pleasant change from you beating me up and telling me what to improve on in your own little unique way all the time."
"Oh don't worry little Kai, the next time I see you will be your last training session before the tournament." Falcon said as she cut a portal through the air.
"Oh, that sounds like fun." Kai sweatdropped as the woman got ready to walk through the portal.
"See you soon Little Kai." With that, Falcon took off, and the swirl of air Kai sensed disappeared in just a split second. When she left Kai sighed, and walked off silently to go find his troublemaking partner. His bare feet making a slapping sound on the floor with each step. But he did understand one thing.
This was turning out to be a very interesting week.
Not gonna lie, this chapter was hard for me to write out. I didn't have too much in terms of content for this chapter, and as you can see it was heavy with dialogue. The tournament will either start next chapter, or the one after. It depends on what I can get done next chapter.
To sway any confusion aside, Falcon is Raven in disguise, it really isn't supposed to be a secret so I am telling you all that now. Also, there was another small time skip of a few days since I understand that all you guys really want to see the tournament arc, which may or may not be the finale of the entire Signal Saga that I have been writing down, even if Kai isn't really in Signal as of now. Beacon is just around the corner, and I might be getting to it very soon.
I will try to get to the Beacon part of this story, which I am sure most if not all of you are waiting for, by the end of this year. Key word is TRY, I know I said that I would get to it before 2019, but at this point it may be afterwards, I can't really say right now. But boy you guys are going to love 17 year old Kai when he gets to that age, and everything else I have planned of course, I already have plans up to the end volume 3, and plans for after that hasn't really started yet.
If you are wondering what is going on with Emerald and Mercury, they are still around, and they will come back very soon. I have not forgotten about them,
Thank you for reading this story if you have made it here so far!
Please review and tell me what you think! I look forward to hearing your thoughts. If you are at all confused with anything from this chapter, let me know and I will try to explain it to you the best that I can.
See ya next time!