Hello people, and welcome back to another chapter! This one won't have as much dialogue as the one before, or at least that is what I am hoping, things may change who knows. I might be able to get the beginning of the tournament arc in this chapter, no promises. Wish me luck from the future! Key word is MIGHT by the way.
Also, I made a mistake last chapter, Taiyang isn't supposed to be on the ship with Kai and all the others, he is supposed to be personally taking Ruby to Mistral because he trusts no babysitter to be able to handle her. It is my fault, and I should have been able to see it from a mile away. So I do not like doing this, but I suppose I don't really have a choice but to retcon that mistake. So the food fight scene did happen, but replace Tai with Qrow, and there, it makes everything better. I am sorry for that mistake, like I said it was hard to write that chapter and I probably should have thought more about it before posting the chapter. Please forgive me.
Masso 2010: Regarding the silver eyes, I am going to hold off just a bit on them, I don't want to do anything crazy. I don't want to makeup silver eye abilities any more than I already did until RT finally shows us what they actually do, so for now I am going to stick with what I already jotted down for Malikai and Kai. While I do love Avatar: The Last Airbender, I will not copy any more of the concepts, I already pretty much took the idea of a blind person and the seismic sensing from Toph, and then the elemental control from basically everyone from that show. I like to be original, so Kai's silver eyed state is something I will come up with on my own, while still sticking as closely as it can to the canon. Your votes have also been submitted, thank you for the review!
Arctech: Now I can never think of Shae without thinking about that song, thanks for that. Albedo is a interesting character to write, his personality is up and around and he has become more of an important character then I really intended, but hey, that just opens up even more windows of opportunity.
Thank you both for the reviews!
Now lets see how the Poll is going right now:
Ruby Rose- 35
Yang Xiao Long- 23
Weiss Schnee- 18
Orchid Rosa- 14
Blake Belladonna- 10
Pyrrha Nikos- 9
Neo- 7
Fun fact for those who don't know yet, I have a twitter account, I haven't been on it much, but I will try to be more often from now on. There I will be updating progress on stories and talk to any of you whenever you want, and I will respond whenever I can. If you are interested in following me there go right ahead, just look at my profile or just look me up. It'll be the one writing fanfiction :).
twi tter genatools
I've also TRIED to draw Kai Matsuoka myself, I am not a drawer by any means, but I tried, I will be posting it on there if you want to get an idea on what Kai looks like. But I warn you once again, by no means am I a good drawer.
Thank you all for reading!
RWBY: The Blind Huntsman
Chapter 17- Volume 0, Episode 15
Ideas
Kai is exhausted, he can barely hold the weight of his own weapon as it falls with his hands still around the hilt to his right. Sweat drips off of his nose, and the drops that were absorbed into the cloth around his head, stings his eyes so much that he shuts them even tighter in the hopes of lessening the stinging pain. His silver colored shirt is so drenched in sweat that it looks a dark gray, and his shorts stick to him with each movement.
Maybe it's time to get a new look… He thinks to himself as he barely manages to lift his sword high enough to shove into its sheath. He was training yet again for another few hours, and he guesses that it is around one in the morning, he started at eight, or at least that was the time that his mother gave him. He is close to collapse, and he favours his very sore sword arm as he tries to make it through the field of destroyed machinery he created with the training bots. His cloth is somehow still managing to stay tied around his head, and he can only thank his mother, and her very skilled way of tying knots so tight and taught that it feels like a small pebble is attached to the back of his head.
Kai actually wonders why the headmaster of Beacon hasn't come to speak with him one on one yet, he has heeded his fathers and Falcons words and not gone to speak with him himself, but if he was so untrustworthy and dangerous like they made him out to be. Why hasn't he tried to recruit him yet?
A thought for another time. He decides, right now he needs to worry about getting some sleep, they will be arriving in Mistral in just a few hours, and the qualifiers will be happening around midday. His mother has made it clear that she will make sure he is there, and that both scares him and makes him happy.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" A familiar voice called out to him from the entrance to the training room. The voice didn't surprise him, since he sensed two pairs of feet walk up to the doorway long before he started walking towards it, but it was rather whom the voice belonged to that surprised him.
"Mercury?" Kai asked as he tilted his head with surprise. "I didn't know we were on the same ship, where have you two been?" He assumes the other person next to him was Emerald, since the two of them always seem to be around the other. They are inseparable like that, and it is pretty cute if Kai is being honest.
"We've been around." Mercury half lied, Kai wasn't able to tell. "We were just having a midnight stroll when we saw the best student at Signal training himself to near death." He said as he and Emerald walked into the room, and Kai felt a strange tense pressure well up from around them.
"What about it? I train hard, I have to if I want to become a hunter." Kai said as he stood up straight in order to look more imposing, he knows that the way he was walking, with his bracered arm favouring his sword arm that he probably looks weak, it was more instinct than anything really. Even though the bluff is completely looked over when Emerald and mercury see on the big glowing screen in the middle of the room showing that his aura is in the orange already.
"Hey man, I didn't mean to offend you at all." Now that was a blatant lie, Kai narrowed his eyes from underneath his blindfold.
"What my partner means Kai," Emerald spoke up, a friendlier person then Mercury ever really was. Kai always felt something was off about the older teen. "Is that he is impressed by your tenacity, but it seems like you may be overdoing it."
You don't know the half of it. Kai wanted to say. Again, he couldn't really tell if she was lying or not, it was like they knew how to bypass his sensing with something, or they were just really good at lying, but he could still sense something that gave them away, he just couldn't wrap his head around what it could possibly be.
"Thanks, I would love to stay and talk to you guys, but I have to get some rest." Kai said as he started walking toward the door, he has to make it past them first if he wants to however.
It felt like Mercury placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks with more force then was really necessary. Kai turned his head to make it look like he was looking him in the eyes, if this was supposed to be some sort of challenge, they can handle it another time.
"Say, why do you always wear that blindfold? You trying to hide some scars or something?" Mercury asked with an almost hidden venom in his voice.
"What does it matter to you?" Kai bit back as he pulled his shoulder away, and steps back while facing them.
"Just a bit of curiosity my friend." Mercury said as he placed his hands behind his head, and held a cocky grin on his face. "I've always wondered what blind eyes look like, I never really met any." He smirked. "Mind giving us a peek?"
"Mercury!" Emerald hissed, elbowing him in the side. "I am sorry about him, he was always a dumbass but he is just being an extra pain today." She said in an effort to calm Kai down, who unconsciously placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"It's… It's fine." Kai said with a sigh, but kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. He sensed something he has never felt from anyone before, a certain venom that was unfamiliar to him. It was like Mercury was ready to attack him if he said no, which he was, that was why he placed a hand on Silver Ebony just in case he went through with the attack. "My eyes are something I am sensitive about, I would prefer it if you didn't ask me about it again."
He sensed some hostility from Mercury, but it was quickly snuffed out as he stepped back and chuckled. Seemingly letting Emerald take control of the rest of the conversation.
"Again, I am sorry about him, he saw something last night and it seems like he is being a little bitch about it."
"Hey!"
"So yeah, ignore him, it would be better if you never became friends with him."
Wow… that was harsh. Kai nervously laughed, but subconsciously took notice that both Emerald and Mercury were between him and the exit once again. "I think he can have a second chance if he wants it." He said with a warm smile. "I am sure we can become good friends, I know we haven't talked much in school, but I do consider you two my friends."
Emerald and Mercury were both taken aback by the pure show of kindness he is showing them despite what Mercury had just tried to do. Mercury didn't really know how to respond to that, leaving Emerald to work her acting magic even more then she has already been doing.
"Kai!"
'Shit.' Both Emerald and Mercury thought as they simultaneously stepped out of Kai's way, passing it on as them being surprised by the sudden sound of a new voice.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" Kai asked with fear in his voice.
"What am I doing here? What am I doing here!?" Marron repeated his own words. "I was waiting for my son to return to our room for the passed hour." Kai flinched from her motherly scolding tone.
The next thing he knew she wrapped her tail around his own tail, and began to pull him from it like he was some sort of dog. He spun around instantly and yelped in shock and paralysis as his mother yanked him along by his extra appendage. "M-mom!"
"Don't mom me young man, do you have any idea how worried I was about you?" Her voice trailed off as the both of them left the room, leaving the shell shocked Emerald and Mercury who were also quite scared of the faunus woman.
"That woman is even scarier than Cinder…" Mercury said with a shiver.
"And you wanted to attack her son while he was weakened just so you can see his eyes." Emerald rubbed salt into his already salted wound.
"Hey, it was now or never Em! You know what is coming up, we have a deadline. And since a certain bird has been training him in secret, it might not be long until the both of us are not going to be able to beat him on our own." Mercury explained in a voice only loud enough that only the two of them can hear.
"Don't you think I know that!?" Emerald snapped. "Let's say we went with your original plan and attacked him right away, and let's also be generous and say that we beat him before help arrive. What would we have done then? If he had silver eyes, then we would have had to find out some way to get him off this ship without anyone noticing, and if he didn't, well we would have just attacked some poor blind kid when he was weakened. It was a lose-lose situation, and you were too dumb to see that." She explained as she slammed her shoulder into him as she pushed past him, almost making him fall over with the amount of force she put into it.
Mercury had no quips for her this time, because she was right about everything she just said. He follows her with a huff and starts thinking on some way to cheer her up.
Mint Chocolate, he decided. Mint Chocolate is her favorite.
"So? What do you have to say for yourself?" Marron asked her blind son as he sat on his own bed.
"Im sorry…" Kai said, his voice laced with shame and sorrow. His blindfold discarded on the desk beside his bed. His blind eyes staring down into the floor.
"I was worried about you, this… insane training your father put you up to makes me wonder if you are going to train yourself into the hospital, I mean, just look at you!" Marron rose her voice as she slapped Kai lightly on his sword arm, something that wouldn't have really hurt him if he was at one hundred percent. Only that he has not been at one hundred percent for a long time now.
"I don't care what your father told you, I am telling- no, ordering you to cut down on the training, at least until the tournament is over." She sighed. "What a warrior race, forcing children to nearly kill themselves with training. Ugh." Marron pinched the bridge of her nose. "No wonder the silver eyed warriors are nearly extinct save for like three people."
"Mom, I have to do this." Kai weakly argued.
"For what? You are already one of the best huntsmen in training in and around your age, I dare say you are already better than some kids that go to Beacon. Do you even know if you can use them?"
"No…"
"Have you even made any progress in using them."
"... Very little."
"Exactly." Marron stopped herself, and took a deep breath. Calming herself down after chewing out her son for his reckless actions. Her eyes bore a softer look as she sat down beside her son and took his hand in her own. "I'm sorry for raising my voice at you… but I am worried, we just found out that you are part of some ancient warrior race, and your father has given you some crazy mission that I am apparently not allowed to know about. You can see why I am worried about you right?"
"Yes, of course." Kai said right away, turning his head toward his mother. "I wasn't thinking about how you might feel about it, I just assumed you were okay with it, I won't do that again, and I am sorry but I just can't tell you what he told me."
Marron scoffed, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in so that he is resting his head on her. "I know that Kai, I know." She hugged him.
"... You know I can't stop training right?" Kai asked hesitantly, tensing up slightly as Marron roughly patted his head and messing up his already messy hair.
"I know that silly, just don't nearly kill yourself and take a break from time to time, can you do that for me?"
"Y-Yes, of course!"
"Then we should be fine, you can still train, just take it easy for at least the duration of the tournament. Then you can go nuts for the last two years that you got at Signal, as long as you don't do this to yourself." She pinched his shoulder, making him yelp in surprised pain as he moved a hand up to rub the spot she pinched.
"Yeah, I got it." Kai chuckled, then letting out a long yawn that showed off just how sleepy he really was.
"I think it is time for you to get some sleep now son." Marron said as she stood up from the bed.
"Thought you would never say that." Kai said as he instantly lied down in the bed, and shut his eyes. Before snapping them open. "Uh… mom?"
"Hm? I literally just laid in bed, don't tell me you peed yourself." Marron said with a chuckle.
"N-no, not that, I just figured you would like to help me out with something." Kai said with a laugh, he was actually going to ask someone this, might as well be his mom.
"And what would that be?" Marron asked, now lying on one side, facing her son with glimmering brown eyes.
"I want to get new clothes." Kai began. "I have been wearing the same stuff for a long time now, and not only are they getting tight, but they are getting uncomfortable now… and I don't know what to even start looking for."
"Oh… my… god… You have no idea how long I have been waiting for you to ask me that!" Marron squealled giddily, her angry mood all but forgotten.
"Uh…" Kai didn't know what he just got himself into, but he was already scared.
"First thing in the morning, once we land, momma's gonna get you a new look!" Marron exclaimed with a giggle. "Get a good night's rest Kai, love you~"
"L-love you too, mom... Goodnight" Kai said as he rolled over on his side, facing the wall.
He is too deep in this to turn back now.
"Vernal what the hell are you doing?" Malikai asked as he saw Vernal pack up more than what they would really need for a short trip to Mistral.
"Packing food." Vernal answered offhandedly as she took one look at another can of food, and then threw it outside the flap of the tent with a grunt. She hates beets.
"Yeah I can see that, but you that's too much food. I can't believe I am saying this to a scrawny brat like you but you should bring less food." Malikai said as he zipped up his own pack, and threw it on his back.
"Screw you old man. Remember that I am the one going to see your son here, you might want to treat me with more respect until then." Vernal said as she zipped up her own bag, the weight of it making her huff as she lifted it off the ground and slipped her arms through the straps.
"Hurt my son and I will make your life a living hell for the next few months that I have with you." Malikai said with anger in his voice.
"Haha, chill out old man." Vernal stepped past him and brushed her shoulder against his on purpose. "I am not going to be that mean to a kid."
"Hmph, underestimate him and you might be the one licking your wounds afterwards. He was strong when I left him, and he is certainly much stronger now. Probably stronger then I was at his age with the training I know he gets himself into." Malikai said as he followed her out of the tent, giving the guards a nod as he stepped out. He has become tolerant of the other bandits, even though it is technically his job as a huntsman to bring them all in. Eh, if no one finds out no one will care.
"Oh really? And what kind of training is he going through?" Vernal asked as they walked together to Raven's tent to let them know that they were leaving now.
"Well, it's like the training I do with you, only that he was actually able to keep up more than you ever did in the beginning, and then after I came here I left him a training regiment that would have at least made him five times as strong as he was before if he followed it correctly." Malikai explained with a certain pride in his voice.
"And you know he is going through with that how?" Vernal questioned.
"I have a connection with him, all silver eyed warriors do with their children. I know when he is tired, sleeping, fighting, whatever. I just have to do a little focusing and there we go." Malikai shrugged. "You wouldn't really understand if I tried to explain it, so I'll just leave it at that."
"Feeling like you're playing favorites now." Vernal sighed sarcastically, faking hurt.
"Feeling like I don't give a shit what you think, we're here now." Malikai laughed when she punches him in the arm after that comment.
"I hate you." Vernal said as she opened Raven's tent flap. "We're here."
"Get in here then." Raven ordered as she waved her hand toward herself.
They both entered right away, looking at Raven with a neutral expression as she stands up. "You two are packed up, you're leaving today then?" She asked with one raised eyebrow.
"Yup, it's not too far away, and if you want to get into contact with us you can always just give us a call. Or do that portal thing you do." Malikai said as he patted Vernal on the back, earning a slap on the hand for doing so. "And of course I'll be taking care of your little Maiden here."
"Hmm, very well. You know what to do Malikai, and remember what you are allowed and not allowed to do." Raven said as she sat on the table, and smiled at her old friend… with benefits. "If you do as you are told I may even reward you, wouldn't that be fun?" She teased, not really expecting him to say yes to her less than subtle offer.
"I am married, so no. I will have to respectfully decline, never making that mistake again." He commented as he leaned toward the exit to the tent.
Raven shrugged, not caring for his insult or his obvious eagerness to leave the camp. Despite his rebelances, he knows that he is tied around her finger until this deal is paid off on both sides of the agreement. He knows it, and she knows it. Little does he know that she is getting to her reward of the deal a little earlier then agreed upon, the name Falcon was something that she was quite fond of.
"You may leave, but remember Malikai." Any teasing in her voice disappeared completely, and she stepped off of the table and got closer to Malikai, her hand on the hilt of her red sword. "Don't do anything you will regret, or little Kai is going to get a visitor." She let the words hand, amused by the hardened expression on his face. But what he said next made her stop in her tracks.
"Liar." He said simply, with a small victorious smirk as he left the tent, pulling Vernal by the wrist roughly.
Raven gritted her teeth, and cut through a wooden post in a flash of red. He caught her in a lie, the first lie that he has been able to detect from her. She doesn't care about Kai, she could care less what happens to him, the kid was just going to end up working for Ozpin anyway right?
Right?
"Damn you." Raven said as she reached for her favorite alcoholic drink. The bitter taste more than welcome as it travels down her throat.
"Damn you both."
"Psst."
Kai groaned in his sleep, and pulled his blanket further over his head.
"Kaizy." This time he was nudged gently, earning the same reaction out of him. Instead this time he rolled over in his bed and wrapped his blanket around him like a burrito.
"Heh, alright, you asked for it." A few moments past, and Orchid shifted into a more… aggressive personality.
"WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Psycho murderer Orchid reappeared for the first time since Signal's training exam and proceeded to scream into his ear.
This time Kai nearly jumped out of his bed, falling off the edge and scrambling to find a way to get some fresh air. After about ten seconds he finally opens the blanket enough and takes a breath of fresh air, his eyes wide with shock and a hint of fear, only because it was his partner in her 'aggressive' personality rather than the ones he was used to.
"Orchid…" He said with a yawn, calming down instantly when he heard her snicker that even attempted to be hidden. "Why are you waking me up so early?" Kai wasn't so worried that she was probably staring right into his eyes, he was at least comfortable to show them to her, it would have been weird to still hide it from her after the moment they had the day his mother returned to him. He trusts her, it's not like she was going to go run around telling people what color his eyes were.
"Mama Kai told me to." Sweet and innocent Orchid said as she clasped her hands together and assumed an adorable pose Kai is too unfortunate to not be able to see.
"Mama Kai…?"
"Yep, and I allow it." Marron said from the other side of the room, already fully dressed. "Now go wake yourself up with a shower, we landed in Mistral a few minutes ago and I want my son to be looking badass when he is on live television that is being broadcasted to the whole world."
"We landed already? How? I mean when? How long did I sleep!?" Kai questioned as he tried to find the shower, bumping into a wall on accident because of the rush he was in, and then finding the exit to the room rather than the bathroom and almost walked out with his eyes on full display for everyone to see. Luckily his mothers surprisingly long tail caught him by the waste and directed him to the bathroom. He needs to learn how to do that.
After Marron finished laughing, and Orchid finished giggling into her hands. She shoved Kai into the bathroom with the end of her tail without answering any of his questions. "Get yourself cleaned up and fix that bed head! We'll eat breakfast on the way, eeeee." She squealed like she was twenty years younger. "I get to take my son clothes shopping! I haven't done this in… in…" She thinks on the topic for a few moments. "I don't think I ever really took Kai with me clothes shopping, does that make me a bad parent?" She asked Orchid, who sits on her knees with an excited expression on her face, her magenta colored bang actually not covering her left eye for once.
"Nope!" She automatically answered and pointed her thumb up to the ceiling. "Thanks for calling for me though! I would love to help pick out Kai's clothes." Orchid entered mischievous yet flirty and witty prankster mode, and rubbed her hands together as she thought of the best outfit for Kai to wear on worldwide television.
"I knew you would, which is why I chose you instead of Yang. I like the girl but she strikes me as the kind of girl who would order every single outfit just to see if it would look good on her, and then return it when she inevitably decides not to go for it. Tai's told me about her spending habits, usually with his stolen credit card." Marron described with a soft sigh, ignoring the sound of Kai slipping in the bathroom after finishing his shower.
"That was awfully descriptive, how were you able to tell?" Nerdy and investigative Orchid asked as her suddenly appearing glasses glimmered, and she had a notepad in one hand with a pen in the other already scribbling down notes. The notepad was also appropriately named 'Flamingo notes', with a transparent flamingo design going down each page.
"'Cause I was like that when I was younger." Marron shrugged. "Ooo, do you wanna know how I first seduced Malikai?"
Orchid for some reason found that suggestion exciting. "Do I!" She said as she got ready to scribble down notes for… research purposes.
"No! Don't do that please!" Kai yelled from inside the bathroom with a mouthful of toothpaste, the door cracked open just enough to show his brown and black tail wrapped around the handle of the door. How he managed to get that done on the first try without being able to see the handle is beyond either of them. Taking advantage of their thinking processes, Kai spat out the mixture of water and toothpaste, and exited the bathroom in just his underwear, not noticing Orchids deep red blush at the sight of his very well built body. She tried to be respectful and not look below the waist.
Keyword; Try.
She managed to control herself once he pulled up his shorts, and slipped on his rather tight workout shirt that she has never really seen him out of besides just a few minutes before, but now that she was thinking about it she could tell that it left very little to the imagination above the waist. In a way she understood why he had it that way, since he is blind it would be important for him to have as much revealed skin as possible in order to sense anything that gets into his personal space. Such has microhairs, regular hairs, and that other thing that he uses.
"Nice, Flamingo approves of this." Flirty Orchid said as she eyed him up and down one more time.
"Still a minor Orchid." Kai reminded her as he grabbed his sword holster and strapped it around his waist.
"I really need to listen to more of these conversations." Marron cooed. "My little Kai, talking to all the girls and making so much friends." She sniffled and wiped away an imaginary tear. "It brings a tear to my eye."
"Mom." Kai whined as he tightened Silver Ebony's holster.
"Haha, don't worry Kai, I'm not going to embarrass you too much. I mean, it's not like I missed a couple of months to be with you or anything." Her voice was laced with sarcasm so thick it was a mystery as to how she was able to say it so genuinely.
"Heh… yeah." Kai said as he nervously smiled and let Orchid tie his blindfold over his face. "What time are the qualifiers again?" He asked next, half with the desire of reminding himself, and half with the intent to change to topic from teasing him to literally anything else.
"In a few hours, we'll have plenty of time to experiment what clothes would look good on you." Orchid said with a toothy grin.
"Thanks, It would suck if I was late or god forbid missed the qualifiers for the tournament." Kai said as he adjusted his blindfold and stretched his arms out above his head.
"Psh, there's not much you would miss anyway, Albedo told us that all we have to do is show up pretty much." Orchid pointed out.
"You do remember that right?" His mother asked.
"Vaguely." Kai admitted. "I wasn't really focusing too much on it while I was there."
"Yeah, you seemed half asleep at the time, and usually I am the one trying to stay awake during lectures." Orchid laughed. "Anyways, what clothes do you prefer? That would help us out a bit."
"I… don't really have a preference really." Kai said as he turned his head up to the ceiling to think, as if it would actually help his brain think things through. "I have always worn shorts, no shoes or anything, a blindfold, and a sleeveless combat shirt."
"T-shirt." His mom gladly corrected.
"Same thing, but I never really thought about it. I might want to actually be able to wear something on my feet, but then it would hinder my ability to sense stuff around me." Kai explained with a shrug.
"Oh trust me, we've taken every variable under strict consideration." Marron said as she low-fived Orchid.
"Okay, I will ignore the many hidden meanings about that and just be grateful for your kind thoughts." Kai said with a shake of his head as the two of them giggled quietly to themselves. That was his partner and his mother, they were alike in some ways, at least when Orchid was in normal mode. The thought of that reminded him of someone back on Patch."Oh, that for some reason reminds me of something, Orchid. Isn't your mom supposed to meet us here?"
"Hm? She is here already." Orchid said with a confused tilt of her head.
"What? Where is-"
"Hey Kaizy!" Excited Orchid's mom exclaimed as she hugged Kai tightly into her chest. "I've missed you so much future son-in-law!"
"M-Mom!" Embarrassed and shy Orchid shouted indignantly.
"Ah, how could I forget my beautiful little Flamingo?" Orchids mom asker herself as she pulled Orchid into the hug with her long arm. "Hello to you as well Marry!"
"Hey to you too Miss Rosa." Marron said with a wave. "Oh yeah, Kai, we may have conveniently left out Orchids mother, we hope it isn't too much of a problem for you."
"Mmph!"
"I agree, she is more than welcome." Marron laughed. "Alright, we've put this off long enough, let's get into town. You're from around here right Rosa?"
"Yuh huh! I spent a rather impressive amount of time with a kind lady with a spider tattoo called Little Miss Malachite, she kindly allowed me to stay over until you all arrived. Something about me being too amusing to let wandering around Mistral with nowhere to stay." Orchids mom said with a laugh as she exited the room in a magenta flash.
"Huh, she seems happier than usual." Marron said. "Alright, let's catch up with her before we can't find her for another few days."
"Maybe we'll find her with Tai." Kai jokes.
"I wouldn't be surprised." Orchid said with a playful roll of her eyes. "Momma has been looking for a man for a while after the guy who knocked her up was never found again."
"Oh, i'm sorry about that." Kai said with a sorrowful pat on her back, before realizing what she said at the end of that sentence. "Wait, what was that last part?"
"Oh nothing." Happy and innocent Orchid whistled a tune as she left the room, her skips vibrating throughout the room and acting as a beacon for Kai to follow.
He decides that it would be most wise to not bring up Orchids apparent missing father. Some things are better left unknown, which is something he has actually been considering for the past few months.
Kai sighed and shook the memory out of his head, quickly making to follow the trio of women who are going to be helping him find a new look.
Which made him wonder, how was Yang doing right now?
"Yang… please let me have a turn."
"Almost done Cyan! Just got myself into a bit of a hairy situation."
Cyan banged his head as gently as he could in his current mood against the frame of his bed, he has been waiting to use the bathroom for his morning routine ever since about an hour ago. His wonderful partner has been hogging the shower up ever since she woke up just seconds before him. He quickly found out that sharing a room with a beauty like Yang had one major downside.
If you were looking to take a morning shower, make sure you wake up at least thirty minutes before Yang.
"Yang I really have to use the bathroom!" Cyan banged on the door three more times. "What are you even doing in there? Don't tell me you're braiding your hair, you would look stupid like that."
"Done!" Yang slammed the door open and inadvertently banged to door into his nose. Luckily his semblance flared up just in time to nullify the damage.
Once the cyan colored aura faded away from his face and nose, he sighed and without another word entered the bathroom. The next thing Yang knew the shower was turned on again, and yet another scream vibrated through the door.
"You used up all the hot water to!? Ugh!" Cyan complained as he was forced to endure it, he did have his own unnaturally colored head of hair to worry about, though all he really had to do was was it was shampoo that was mixed with his choice of hair dye.
...
Well that is a great idea for revenge now that he thought about it. He imagines a tired Yang stumbling into the shower, tiredly washing herself and then reaching over for her usual shampoo bottle, not noticing the blue tint to the shampoo as she rubbed it all throughout her hair… only to finish and quickly realize that her beautiful golden locks were replaced by a deep emerald or grassy color…
Cyan might not even care if he got his nuts punched so hard that it popped out of his eyes.
Wisely, he decided against it, at least not to Yang anyway.
As he made his mental decision, the water began to heat up again. Good karma is what he instantly decided it was as he happily awarded himself with the warmer liquid.
"Hey Yang, is Cyan awake yet?" He heard Brick ask Yang through the door.
Never mind, Karma was a bitch and always will be a bitch. No exceptions.
Shae sat own her bed, already done with her morning routines. She listens to her favourite music as she reads and listens to articles about this upcoming tournament that she is taking part in. Apparently, this event is rivaling the Vytal festivals in terms of tickets sold. Which was a huge win for Mistral itself, and apparently most of the thanks goes to three other participants.
Weiss Schnee, understandable, Schnee's were always a subject for conversation, for both good and bad of course. Pyrrha Nikos, this time even more understandable, the girl was an undefeated champion and has been for years already. Then there was Kai Matsuoka-
Shae leaned into her scroll, and even muted her music as she blinked her orange eyes a few times to make sure what she was seeing was actually what her eyes were telling her she was seeing.
Kai Matsuoka, it still read, the name taunting her.
"Oh that little- Two!"
"Hm?" Two hummed as she peeked her head out of the bathroom door, toothbrush still in her mouth and hair still frizzy from being in bed.
"Read this." Shae demanded as she tossed the scroll toward her new partner, it easily being caught by Two in one hand.
"Mmm." She focused her tired eyes for just a few seconds, scanning the screen for whatever that would have made her partner call for her so suddenly. After reading past the sections of Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos, she also has to do a double take on the third name at the bottom of the screen. Her blind friends name was at the bottom, as well as the picture that must have been taken of him after he completed the entrance practical exam. "MMM!?" She woke up immediately and turned to Shae, pointing a finger to Kai's name and picture with a pretty shocked expression on her face.
"Yeah, I thought the same thing. Monkey boy is apparently a little famous." Shae said with a huff as she caught her scroll that was tossed back at her.
"Mm?"
"Yes, I know that he has been famous already, but this famous was not what I was expected." She honestly completely guesses what Two hums to her, translating it to what she may be telling her, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't but Two doesn't seem to mind. She tried asking her why she doesn't speak, to which Two simply shrugged her shoulders and hummed again, so she passed it off as something that Two just preferred to do, to each their own she supposed.
"Mhm."
"I don't know what you mean by that one, but do you want to go grab something to eat after you're done? Qualifiers are in a few hours so we should have more than enough time.
Two sighed. "Mhm."
"Great, maybe I'll interrogate Kai some more about this later on." Shae said with grin on her face.
"Mhm." Two waggled her eyebrows and grinned.
"Oh shut up."
Albedo yawned and stretched his arms up above his head, already chewing a piece of gum, this time one of those super strong minty ones, which to him is basically brushing his teeth. Not like he would have the time to actually do that anyways.
Arriving to a meeting in his white and blue striped pajamas was not expected however.
"Enjoy your sleep Alby?" Qrow asked with a chuckled as he leaned back in his own seat.
"More or less, yes." Albedo said as he scratched at his graying beard. His light blue eyes barely open enough to see the other two men at the table, but everything else was just a blur. "So why am I awake this early again?"
"We are here to discuss the tournament, and what we are to do with the qualifiers." Ozpin reminded him.
"Again, I am deeply apologetic about asking this once more Ozula, but why exactly hasn't dear ol' Leo already had them set in stone? He had more than enough time to do so." Albedo asked as he blinked a few times in an attempt to wake up just a little faster.
"Leonardo has been having trouble with his huntsman, a handful of them seem to have disappeared all at once. So he has been unable to properly set up the event, we are considering cancelling the event all together and starting the first round of the tournament early." Ozpin explained as he sipped from his mug.
"Oh goodie." Albedo rolled his eyes. "Seems like I am still not going to be able to look the man in the eyes in the flesh."
"I think he has good reason to avoid you, considering the fact that the last time you two were in a room together he found out later that his tail was completely shaven."
Qrow and Albedo snickered, and than bursted out into full blown laughter.
Ozpin could only sigh and mutter something about having to work with children. He understands Glynda all too well now. "Your immature snickering aside, what do you two prefer?"
"Well, in the case that you actually consider our ideas for a change, I think we should just make everything easier, and just start the first round of the tournament." Albedo suggested as he leaned back in his chair.
"Hm, noted… and you Qrow?"
"Huh? Me?" Qrow pointed to himself just to make sure that he was the one Ozpin was referring to. "You never let me have a say in anything why now?"
"Because in situations that involved either or both of your nieces, you seem to take things much more seriously." Ozpin said with a small shrug.
Qrow's face suddenly grew darker, and he knew he had a very important decision to make. He turned to Albedo, silently asking him what he thinks they should do, and all he got as a response was a thumbs up and a wink. He scoffed and turned back to the headmaster, a fresh idea in his head.
"How about we go with Alby's ideas, but instead we go for a little twist." He rested his hands on the table, and leaned in like he was about to blow away everyone around him.
"Triple threat matches, for every single first round." He suggested.
Albedo made his agreement obvious when he threw fist in the air and shouted yes. Ozpin widened his eyes slightly, actually considering the idea. It would be the first time in history that a major tournament such as this would have triple threat matches in just the first round. Not only that, but it would certainly challenge a certain someone...
Ozpin smiled, within seconds his decision was made.
"I believe we have all come to an agreement, I'll make contact with the Mistralian council, luckily they are much more lenient, easy-going and accepting than the Vale council."
Qrow threw his fist in the air. "WOOHOO!" He was very proud of himself for the idea.
It turned out that Orchid's mom had no idea where she was going, and since no one else did either, and the strangers seemed to sketchy to ask directions from. Kai tried one person but Marron quickly dragged him along by his tail. He hasn't made another attempt to speak to any strangers since then, and Orchid had been skipping and playing I spy games with Kai again.
"Okay Orchid, I give up. What was it that you were spying with your little eye?" Kai finally surrendered with a sigh.
"Photosynthesis!"
"Photo-" Kai couldn't help but burst out laughing, he knew Orchid knew that he couldn't see a lot of things, but photosynthesis seems pretty high on that list. At least to him it was.
"We can ask my friend here for directions, she's nice so you lot should have nothing to worry about!" Orchid's mom exclaimed as she pushes some doors open.
"Awe, but I wanted Kaizy to play again!" Orchid whined as she quickly followed her mother in.
"Kai chose the dirt beneath his feet three times in a row." Marron pointed out as she entered next.
"I want to find a new game for us to play when we're walking." Kai said as he was the last to enter, happily welcoming the warm air around his body and into his lungs.
"Oh~ Well if it isn't Miss Rosa." A dark blonde haired woman with lavender colored eyes said as she flicked away a piece of ash hanging off her cigarette. "How may I help you today?" She asked as she leaned in, waving away her guards in favor of looking less threatening to the party of four.
Marron looked around the place, all of the staff seemed to be wearing purple and white, and the all had a spider web tattoo somewhere on their bodies, and this lady was in the middle of all of it with armed guards standing beside her… She quickly realized that Little Miss Malachite probably wasn't her real name.
She pulled Orchid's mom in to whisper in her ears. "What did we just walk into?"
"Oh Marron, you have nothing to worry about! Mally here is simply an information broker, nothing too serious I assure you." Orchid's mom said as she pulled up four chairs with one hand and placed them all in front of Little Miss Malachites table.
"Please understand Mrs. Matsuoka." The fact that the woman called her by that made her narrow her eyes just a bit. "I have no intention of harming any of you, unless you attack me of course." She chuckled lightly, and then blew a puff of smoke outside the corner of her lips.
"Oh! An information broker?" Kai finally joined the conversation, seemingly unaffected by the woman's subtle threat. Marron wanted to stop her son from blindly taking a step forward, almost bumping into the chair, and then taking a seat in it while being careful of his tail. But thought against, she wouldn't want to irritate the woman who had about two dozen armed guards basically surrounding them all.
"Can you tell us where the clothing store is than? We have been a bit lost for a bit and I want to get new clothes to fight in for the tournament." Kai said as he smiled kindly and offered a hand out to shake hers, he was off center, but it was close enough.
The woman smiled and graciously shook his hand. "You must be this Kai kid I have been hearing about from the public, I must say you are a cutie." She complimented with a smirk.
"O-Oh, uh, thanks." Kai blushed and rubbed the back the back of his head, his red skin visible from just beneath his blindfold.
"Awe~ Kaizy made friends with her even faster than I did!" Jealous Orchids mom complained as she crossed her arms and half smiled. Not taking any of the seats she had just provided the group.
"Don't worry Miss Rosa, you're still my favorite flower." Little Miss Malachite said as she spared a look to her primary source of information for the past few days. "Anyways, Kai was it? Yes it must have been, I am afraid that my information does not come free, but since you're a celebrity and all, and you have been very kind so far, I suppose I can make an exception for you." She said as she leaned forward on her table.
"Oh, thanks! I'm still getting used to that whole thing, I didn't even know I was that famous until just a few weeks ago." Kai said with a chuckle.
Marron couldn't believe her eyes… her son has just made friends with a potential mob boss, and by the shocked look on Orchids face, she must be thinking the same thing.
"You're a funny one to, I like the funny ones." Malachite chuckled. "Anyways, I will give you this information free of charge, since it is a rather simple request and I am sure you would have just found it anyway, but I just want to ask you one thing if that is alright with you?"
"Oh, yeah of course. Ask away." Kai said as he leaned back in his chair, already more comfortable than anyone else in the room.
"Are you really blind Kai? Forgive me, but it is a little hard to believe that you are blind when the videos I've seen of you show you being more than adept at fighting. Care to explain?"
"I could just show you if you want." Kai said with a shrug.
Marron, Orchid, and even Orchids mom jaw dropped. Here he was, Kai, the boy who was once terrified at the thought of showing his eyes to anyone now offering to show someone who is a complete stranger! Marron tried to catch his attention again, wanting to remind him that he probably shouldn't do this because of Malikai's warning, but the surprised and intrigued look on this Malachite woman's face warded off any such warnings.
Kai knew what he was doing, he intended to make an ally of Little Miss Malachite here, and he is doing that by yet again breaking a rule he and his father set up for himself. He is going to need allies, and why not make a powerful one while he's at it? "I'll give you my scroll information to if you want, that way if I need anything else from you I can just give you a call."
"Oh ho, ho! Kai, you have yourself a deal." Malachite said as she leaned forward. "Now go ahead and show me."
Kai first slid his special scroll across the table, leaving Malachite to figure out how to put her number in it on her own, but quickly figured it out since this certainly wasn't the first time she has seen a device like this.
Before he could convince himself not to do it, he quickly slipped up his blindfold just enough to reveal his blind eyes which wander around the room. Their bright white pupils too obvious to ignore. Little Miss Malachite was actually extremely surprised that Kai was actually blind, she leaned across the table to get a better look, and confirmed that he was in fact blind. While also making sure to note of his unusual eye color. A few of her guards also leaned in to see, and were speechless themselves about the confirmation.
"Well, well, well, looks like the stories are true." Kai slipped his Blindfold back over his eyes, and he took a deep breath to calm his speeding heart. He reached around for his scroll, and it was handed back to him quicker than he expected it to be. "Just hit the star symbol, I put myself on speed dial just for you. As for your information, there's a good clothing store around the corner on the right, and as a bonus for making me laugh, simply tell them 'The spiders lurk' and they'll give you a… moderate discount."
"Gee thanks! I really appreciate this Miss Malachite." Kai said as he stood up and bowed his head to the woman.
"Anytime Kai, now I think you have a tournament to get ready for yes?"
"Of course! I'll make sure to visit you again soon if I can."
"Oh you are too cute, toodle loo!"
Kai turned around, and was quickly dragged out of the building faster than he could yelp.
"You stupid kind child! How did you do that?" Marron asked her son with an angry yet impressed voice.
"I was just being nice?" Kai weakly defended himself.
"I for one am very impressed with how he handled the situation." Orchids mom said in an approving voice.
"Mhm, mhm!" Orchid echoed.
"Agh, we're going to talk about this later Kai, okay?" Marron asked her son as she jabbed him with her tail.
"Y-Yes mam… how much time until the tournament qualifiers?" Kai asked in hopes of changing the topic of discussion.
"Qualifiers? Oh heavens no, the first round is going to be today." Orchids' mom informed them. "They just canceled the qualifiers."
"What?!" Kai and Orchid exclaimed, Orchid looked around to find a holographic television that said 'Qualifiers cancelled, tournament to start much earlier than expected with triple threat rounds, begins at 3pm.' and it was twelve now, so that added a little pressure.
"Quick! We have to go to the clothing store now!" Orchid exclaimed as she pulled Kai by the hand and lead him into a sprint around the corner, ignoring his complaining.
"Should we tell them that they are not fighting in the first round?" Orchids mom asked Marron.
"I didn't even know it was cancelled, let me think for a bit." Marron pretends to think, but looks at Orchids mom with a knowing smirk on her face.
"Nah." They said in unison as they made to follow their children.
Okay, Tournament starts next chapter for sure! I promise you that! I couldn't get to it this chapter because I didn't want to rush things even more than I already did. What do you guys think of Little Miss Malachite being brought into the story? I liked her character in the new volume, and to my knowledge she should be in one of the free episodes that came out. She is fun to write, I hope I got her personality right though.
Next chapter is going to start off with Kai getting his new outfit, a thing in between, and than the first fight to finish things off. You guys will love it, I promise! I owe it to the ones who have really been waiting for the tournament arc to begin, If all goes well it will begin next week.
Please review and let me know what you think of the chapter!
Re-read the first AN that I left up top for my twitter link and stuff like that, if fanfiction deletes it, the link is the usual, but with Genatools at the end. You'll know it's me when you see it.