Here we go fellas, back with another chapter of BH, Merry past Christmas for all of those who celebrated the holiday, and now my break is over. Here we go again with an insane amount of chapters a week.
The voting for the Poll is going to end after this Tournament arc is over, so you guys got a bit more time before it ends.
As for the reviews, same thing goes as last time. So many people reviewed, and I thank you for that, but most of them are just votes, and for every single one of you who voted that way, I thank you for voting and I will add your vote to the Poll lower on the screen.
As for the reviewers, here we go.
Ruo Kha: Thank you for thinking that! The family hasn't been together for so long, it was about time they reunite.
Yaboku 2018: Coco is sadly not one of the options to vote for. But thank you for the compliment!
Red: Thank you!
Bolt Azure: Happy holidays my friend, and thank you for everything you just said. Coco is not one of the options, but the other two I will add to the Poll.
Blueanimelover123: I'm glad you decided to give this one a go! There is quite the journey to still get through, hope you enjoy it!
Arctech: Thank you! I hope you slept well.
Yeetus: Well you seem to be getting your wish pal, Yang has skyrocketed.
Thank you all for reviewing! I appreciate all of your kind words!
Poll Results:
Yang Xiao Long- 52
Ruby Rose- 50
Orchid Rosa- 21
Weiss Schnee- 20
Blake Belladonna- 20
Neo- 16
Pyrrha Nikos- 15
It's really close! I am just as hyped as you all, meanwhile Orchid has just shot up to third place by a flood of votes, the underdog is coming in! Watch out everyone else!
Now lets get on to the next chapter of the story!
RWBY: The Blind Huntsman
Chapter 22- Volume 0, Episode 20
Family Discussion
Malikai nearly broke into tears when he saw his family for the first time in many months. The last time he saw either of them was his wife and the mother of his child, and that was when he was in a life or death battle with the two men who were responsible for the murder of one of his dearest friends. He ended up winning that fight out of some miracle, forced to break a promise made to one of his deceased teammates in order to keep himself alive, but was then later ambushed by the new impure Fall Maiden.
The rest of that story was something he didn't know how to explain, especially to his wife, Raven and Marron aren't exactly the best of friends. The former being an ex of his back in his days as a student at Beacon Academy, and the latter being his present wife, and both were less than subtle with their approaches on him.
Yeah, he would keep Raven out of it for now, even if he did technically bring her most trusted bandit along with him on a trip to train his son, and watch him compete in a tournament.
"Kai… back up a second. Orchid told you what around the first few hours she met you?" He asked, he was sat down between his son and his wife, and had no angle to escape. He wasn't really much for small talk, and only really did it with people important to him, and he still wasn't very good at it, but since it is his son, he would do his best.
"She said she wanted to lead me because I was blind, which she found out right away by the way." Kai continued in a more calm voice, but still excited.
"...Why though?" Malikai asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That's what I said!" Kai exclaimed. "Honestly, that girl is just too much sometimes, but I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world."
"He also seems to be having trouble with girls." Marron pointed out, nudging her son with her tail and at the same time nudging her husband with her elbow. "He just doesn't know how to react to such attention."
"M-mom why are you saying that?" Kai asked, embarrassed.
"I… am not really the best guy to ask about girls Marron, you know that." Malikai said nervously, going a little tense by the prospect of having to offer lady advice. "The women I was with weren't exactly… subtle with the way they felt about me."
Raven certainly wasn't, and Marron also wasn't any nicer when it came to confessing her feelings. Seriously, what was the problem with the women in his life? Oh right, his son, girl troubles.
"Oh hun, it's not that he needs help getting attention, it's how to deal with said attention~" Marron said with a wide smirk.
"Uh… I don't know if I want to hear about this or not." Malikai hesitantly said as he played around a bit with his cloak.
"Kai, why don't you explain some of your troubles hm?" Marron said that in such a way that didn't exactly paint it as a question, but more like a demand in disguise as a question. It was something he unfortunately had to get used to throughout his life.
"Oh, I am enjoying this way too much." Vernal snickered, leaning on the bench behind them with her arms spread out.
Qrow took off before anything could get too embarrassing, the lucky bastard. Though it looked like a lucky break for Malikai to give him the opportunity to actually talk about what happened if they asked for it, and since it was part of his master plan to train Kai how to detect lies, he wouldn't exactly be able to lie about it.
"I don't really know what you mean by troubles." Kai said in a surprisingly calm voice, leaning back in his seat as he thought about his many moments he had with all of his female friends. "Well, there was that one time Ruby shared a bed with me, we cuddled a bit and it was pretty cute. Yang keeps taking me out to get something to eat almost every chance she gets. Orchid, my partner, uses many of her personalities to playfully flirt with me in a variety of ways, she's also really cuddle a lot when we're alone. Shae, my tiger faunus friend, keeps grabbing my tail and keeps challenging me to a fight and… I think I was offered sex a few times too, but I don't think they were serious about it at all."
Oh, he had no idea.
Malikai and Marron both stared on with wide eyes, not knowing how to respond to these very sudden revelations.
Meanwhile, Vernal has begun laughing so hard she fell to the ground, and then laughed even harder when she tried to recover.
"But I keep politely declining her, we are minors after all and I have too much on my plate right now to be worried about any girlfriends." Kai finished with an innocent smile, like there was absolutely nothing wrong with anything he had just said.
"...I don't think he needs any help Marron." Malikai said with a barely concealed snigger.
"I am going to have to watch you a little more." Marron said in a disturbingly neutral voice that made both Matsuoka's shiver with fear.
"We're sharing a room though…" Kai weakly protested.
"And you better be in that room on the terms we agreed upon yesterday." Marron added in a voice that was not concealed at all, and her protectiveness showed more than it ever did before. Even when a person with seasonal magical power threatened to kill her son in what could barely be considered as a sparring match.
"Okay… moving on." Malikai coughed, not looking his wife in the eye. "I am sure you both have plenty of questions for me, now would be the best time to ask them since the last round of the fights have already started."
"Wait really!?" Kai asked in a panic. "How long did Vernal and I spar?"
"Eh, it lasted about a few minutes, but don't worry, anything can be exciting with just a few minutes… and I gotta say, little Kai has got some moves~" Vernal teased with a flutter of her eyelids.
"Did… did you just proposition my son?" Malikai asked before Marron could.
"Sure, why not?" Vernal shrugged, not seeing any problems with it.
"You're ten years older than him." Malikai pointed out, and poor little Kai figured it out finally and hid his embarrassed blush with his hands. "I don't care what goes on in that tribe of yours, but I would like if you didn't use my son for what you call fun, he is only fifteen right now."
"So? In three years he'll be legal, and at that point he's fair game." Vernal laughed when she saw Kai shrink even further down on himself, she was going to have a lot of fun teasing this kid, she already knew it. But still, jokes aside, little Kai is a hottie for his young age, if only he were already legal then she may be a little more… aggressive with her teases.
...
What? She liked younger men, everyone has their own preferences. Even the badass that is Vernal. Especially the ones that could put up a bit of a fight.
"Well if Kai wanted to I don't see a problem with it, as long as he's legal." Malikai said with a shrug.
"Don't I get a say in this at all!?" Kai asked, a deep red blush on his face as his virginity is unfortunately the current topic of conversation.
"Is there something wrong with me kid?" Vernal asked, offended.
"What? No I-"
"I will do my best to ignore all of this so we can get back on topic." Marron pinched the bridge of her nose, then stood up and stared down at her husband, who seemed to shrink down because of her glare.
"You're just saying that 'cause you know you can't beat me in a fight." Vernal quipped.
Marron growled at her, but couldn't deny her words. Instead, she ignored them in favor of a little bit more death glaring at her long missing husband.
"So, where have you been?" She finally asked.
Malikai's face straightened out into something much more serious upon hearing those words. He knew they were coming, but actually hearing them was a lot more imposing then he originally thought they would be.
"We already know what happened, I already told Kai about it." Marron continued when Malikai stayed silent. "Then we found that oh so lovely message you left for our son, and there was quite a few interesting things you left us to think about on our own."
Malikai finally broke his silence. "You know?" He asked, more scared than anything. Knowledge was good for a lot of things, but some things would be deadly for some people to know.
"If you mean if I listened to the whole thing? No, fortunately for you our son has a good heart, and obeys the wishes of his parents, no matter how irrational one of them might be." Marron said, and despite her harsh tone, Malikai couldn't help but sigh out of relief upon hearing those words.
"Where were you?" It was Kai's turn to ask this time, and Malikai found himself in a tight spot.
Vernal was of no help of course, she simply sat back and enjoyed the way her mentor squirmed under the might of the love of one's family. Though in a way, she could understand their harshness, they were worried about him for a long time, and now that they have a chance to get some answers, they were going to get them. She respected that, if she had someone as important to her as Malikai was to Kai and Marron, then she would do the same, except with a little punching and kicking here and there, preferably on the crotch of any poor sap who managed to get close enough to her to make her worry about them.
"I… I was saved by someone before I could be killed." Malikai began, the truth it would be then, even if his wife wasn't going to be happy about it. "You know her all too well Marron, it was Raven."
Marron was not happy about it.
"Raven!? After all these years she returns, and to come to your aid of course." Marron seethed, her jealousy a little too obvious, even Kai could tell that she wasn't exactly happy about the woman being anywhere near her husband.
"I know you don't like her, and you have plenty of reasons to. Trust me, I would never make the same mistake twice." Malikai proclaimed, calming Marron down a bit.
"Um… am I missing something?" Kai asked, not catching the meaning of what his father and mother are getting at.
"Yup." Vernal answered for him, popping up behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders. "There was someone that got to Malikai before your mom here little Kai. Your daddy was quite the player when he was in his prime I heard." Vernal grinned.
It took Kai a minute to understand where she was getting at.
"Oh." Kai said with a cough. "Huh, alright."
"Kai I'll…" Malikai sighed, yet another thing he would have preferred to keep to himself, but alas the game of fate would have it's way with him. "I'll tell you about that mess later, either way, she saved my life, and I was able to regain my strength in her camp."
"I'm sensing a but here." Marron said with a roll of her eyes, glancing toward Vernal for a second who still has her hands on her son. She was tempted to push her off of him, but Kai doesn't seem uncomfortable, he never was one to shy away from physical contact, if anything he preferred it, for obvious reasons.
"Yeah, there is a but." Malikai confirmed. "After I woke up, I owed her a favour, a rather long favour because of this little twerp over here." He pointed to Vernal, who happily flipped him off in response. "I had to train the Spring Maiden, and in return she would let me return to you all after a year. It's been a few months since then, and when I heard this tournament coming up and that Kai was participating in it. I wanted to come watch him fight."
He placed a hand on his son's head, and smiled when he pushed himself up into his hand with a smile of his own.
"And I could not be any prouder of our little record holder here." Malikai said as he scratched his son's head. "So, I managed to convince Raven to let me come here, as long as I took Vernal with me, let her spar with Kai, and that I wouldn't come into contact with either of you."
"But you're here." Marron's eyes softened, and she smiled. "You broke a deal from her just for us?" She asked, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.
"That was the intention, yeah." Malikai immediately regretted those words.
"What do you mean "that was the intention"?" Marron asked as she stomped her foot, and resumed her death glare toward the father of her son.
"I-I mean that I was going to see you guys anyway!" Malikai tried to pick up the pieces he so unceremoniously threw all over the floor. "Kai, I'm telling the truth right?" He asked his son in the hopes that he would have his support.
Kai was currently laughing along side Vernal, she was already corrupting him… if it wasn't Vernal he have done something about them getting friendly with each other a little too quickly.
"Y-Yeah." Kai held a thumbs up, he wasn't really paying attention to detecting lies, but he trusted his father to tell the truth and not to betray their trust.
"Hmm." Marron narrowed her eyes down at him. "Very well, if Kai believes you, then I will too."
Another sigh of relief, another dodge at the hand of death reaching toward him.
"Anyways, we were going to arrive today, but after Raven's match, she just used her semblance to find us, gave us a portal to Qrow, and the only reason she gave me was because she was in a 'Good mood', and that I shouldn't ruin it." Malikai explained.
Kai started paying extra attention at this point forward, Falcon, or at least that is the name the woman chose for herself to hide her true identity, has been training him in secret. He owed a lot of his newfound skill to her, and has been wondering who she really was. After listening to his father, it seemed like the Branwen tribe, save for Qrow and now Vernal, weren't exactly good people. Falcon was in that gray area, since she was tasked with training him, and hid the fact that she did indeed care about him at least a little bit. But something about hearing Raven's name, and her semblance being portals…
Falcon used portals to travel, that was an undeniable fact. She even used it to kick his ass both literally and figuratively. It was how she could suddenly pop up in his bedroom back at Patch, or any time he was walking home from school, on the ship on the way here, and in the stadium itself like earlier.
And now that his father was explaining that the leader of the Branwen tribe, Raven Branwen, who also uses portals, uses them regularly to talk to him or find him and probably anyone else from the tribe including those she is close for-
Holy shit. Kai thought, a rare curse coming from him in the privacy of his own mind.
Falcon… Raven… Branwen… portals… He was thinking really hard about it, connecting the dots in a brain blast he was currently having to solve the mystery that was Falcon's true identity.
He just needed to confirm something before he could draw his final conclusion.
"Dad?" He called for his attention.
"Hm, what is it?" Malikai asked as he turned to face him.
"Do you know anyone from the tribe that went by the name of Falcon?" Kai asked.
"Who the fuck is Falcon?" Vernal answered his own question with a question of her own, and she's lived in the tribe for pretty much all her life.
"I think I know that answer to that question now." Kai said with a laugh. "Raven has a secret twin sister!" It all made sense now!
"Uh… no, Kai, she has a not so secret twin brother named Qrow. You okay son?"
It made a little less sense now, Qrow would have told him about any secret siblings… maybe.
Oops, that makes more sense. The only other excuse was that they were the same person- Kai stopped and widened his eyes underneath his headband. Then mentally slapped himself for thinking of something so asinine.
It all made sense now, it all coincided with his father's story, and everything Kai has been through in the past couple of months, all the ruthless training regimes with his already excruciating training regimen he put his body through in an attempt to get stronger faster. This whole time, Raven Branwen herself was training him, why? That was an entire mystery in it's own right. If she was using Kai as a means to keep Malikai in line, then why bother making him stronger?
He was going to have an interesting conversation with the woman the next time she came to him. Whenever that may be.
"Erh, Kai? You alright there buddy?" Malikai asked, a little worried about the wide smile he had plastered on his face as soon as Vernal answered his question for him.
Kai considered telling him about what he had just found out, but then those three little words echoed within his mind yet again.
Just. Our. Secret…
His father could handle himself, he was one of the best huntsman alive today, but his friends and mother? Not to mention himself? They wouldn't stand a chance against her.
"Nothing, I just figured something out that made me a little happy, it's about a friend of mine." Kai said with a smirk, before realizing that he had cornered himself when he sensed Malikai's gaze settle on his form a bit more intensely.
Without really thinking about it, Kai lifted his feet off of the ground but a few millimeters, just enough so that his father wouldn't be able to see him without using his eyes. His father doesn't use seismic sensing all the time like he did, but he does use a diluted version of it, he would need to focus on it a lot more than he did in order to detect something like a lie or anything that involved using seismic sensing.
"Isn't Raven Yang's mom?" Kai asked in the innocent voice he used whenever he wanted something from either of his parents.
Luckily for him, his little subtle trick worked, and he felt Malikai's tensity soften down a grateful bit.
"Yeah, she is." Malikai said with a soft nod.
"I heard about what happened from Qrow and Taiyang… why did she leave?" Kai asked next, actually a lot more interested in this topic now that he brought it up. He wouldn't get anything out of Falcon- Er, Raven, and Qrow was being very tight lipped about it. So he went to the next best thing that was available to him.
"Kai…" Malikai sighed. "It was because of the thing I told you about in the message I left you, I can't say it out loud for obvious reasons. Something you need to know that while knowledge can be helpful, it can also be deadly."
"Wow, that is the most true thing that has come out of your mouth since you started training me." Vernal said with an impressed nod of her head.
"Vernal, shut it." Malikai groaned. "Do you understand Kai?"
Kai's mind flickered back to when he was listening to the message, specifically the part about Salem, how dangerous she was and her goals. It had something to do with the Maidens, which meant it had something to do with Vernal, the Spring Maiden. Kai can understand why Raven wanted to have at least one of the maidens close to her, it was her own way of stopping something really bad from happening to the world. Whatever these relics did, it would be wise for him to keep an eye- well, not an eye, but his feet out for them.
"Yes, I understand." Kai said. "About that… about my eyes."
"Have you been keeping up with your training?" Malikai asked.
"Oh, he did exactly what you told him to do." Marron seethed, she chuckled when she saw Malikai freeze up after hearing her voice. "Trained every single day, collapsed more than a few times in my arms when he got back from training. His body got a lot strong from it sure, but even aura has its limits you know. I put my foot down when he started healing slower and slower and I heard an explosion from the area he was training in."
"Oh, I like her." Vernal said with a smile, and for the first time, and she Marron were on the same page about something.
"Yeah, i've been taking a break from trying to unlock them recently, I ended up doing more harm to my body then good." Kai said almost shamefully.
"Damn, no wonder you put up such a challenge for me." Vernal said with a chuckle as she patted his muscles. "For a kid you've got some muscles on ya, no wonder the girls are goin' crazy for ya." She teased, and got the exact reaction she was hoping to receive.
"A-anyway," Kai forced a cough out. "I haven't unlocked my power yet… I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about son." Malikai said right away, placing a hand on his son's head and patting him. "There's just one thing, were there any Grimm around when you were training?"
"Uh… no, was there supposed to?" Kai asked, confused.
Vernal's hands tightened around Kai's shoulders as she barely concealed her own snickering. Even she knows a good amount about the silver eyed warriors to know that one missing key to the success of Kai's training was something that none of them would have expected, besides Malikai himself.
Said father of the blind huntsman in training widened his eyes, and let out a quiet, "Oooh, I forgot to mention that part didn't I?" He hoped that nobody heard him, but Kai has enhanced hearing, and his wife is a faunus, and faunus also have a degree of enhanced hearing.
"You're telling me that I did all of that training, sacrificed valuable time with my friends to train, missed out on schoolwork to do the insane training regime that you gave to me, something I did for months by the way, all for naught? Because apparently my father forgot to mention that my eyes will only work in the presence of Grimm!" Kai said in between a mixture of maniacal laughter and bit of depressed crying.
"Wow, I am so glad I decided to betray Raven's trust for this, my only regret is that I have no popcorn." Vernal quipped as she full on began to lean on Kai's shoulders, the kid didn't even seem phased by the extra weight, and just kept on laughing in a way that was just plain unsettling.
"Honey," Marron hugged her husband from behind, and comfortably placed her arms tucked in under his chin. "Is what he said true?"
"Uh…" Malikai gulped, his most vital area was vulnerable, and there was zero way of getting out of this. Vernal was going to enjoy herself even more than she already was. "I'm sorry?"
He ended up being sorry for more than just that.
After that whole fiasco, and another match ending, the last one of the first triple threat rounds, Malikai ended up nursing his sore cheek from the amount of times he was slapped by his wife in that area. He did end up earning their forgiveness, with a promise that is going to be hard to keep, that being he had to stay with them and never go away like that again unless he is going on a mission, and he also had to take Kai on his first chaperoned mission. He liked to keep his promises, but he has made so many that he hadn't stopped to think about how many he actually had to keep.
Right now, he was alone with his son, save for Vernal sat in the corner sharpening her blades by using her powers, a useful trick he had her use for his own weapons. Marron had to go sadly, she had to go fulfil her end of an agreement with Taiyang to watch Ruby for him as he personally trained Yang for her next matches. She was convinced not to tell him that he was there, because of reasons that involved the headmaster of Beacon Academy, pretty easily to, since she apparently listened to a lot more of the message then he originally thought.
It was yet another tearful goodbye, and he still longed for the taste of her lips on his own. But he had more important business, their son.
He asked to see Silver Ebony, the family sword meant solely for Silver eyed warriors, and he was amazed to see the weapon not only in even better shape then what he left it in, but even deadlier than before. That was great, nay, that was amazing. The sword and his son went hand in hand together, and worked perfectly, better than even he or his own father could have ever wielded the ancient blade.
"So… there is probably a lot more that you want to ask me, is there?" Malikai asked, and by the look that Kai had on his face, he already knew the answer. "Your mother isn't here, and Vernal already knows most of the secrets of the world, so we can safely talk about it."
"Is it all true?" Was the first thing to come out of Kai's mouth. "Everything about the color of my eyes, the whole I am the last hope of the world madness... That creature, the Queen of the Grimm, Salem. Is she real too? I thought about it a lot, it sounded crazy in the message, and it sounded even crazier in my mind. I just need the confirmation." Kai slipped the blindfold off of his eyes, and perfectly was able to align them with his fathers, his cloudy white pupils staring into his. "Was it all true? Even the stuff about Headmaster Ozpin?"
Malikai shut his eyes, he couldn't look into his son's eyes at the moment he breaks.
"...Yes Kai, it is all true." Malikai said, and he could see the very moment where Kai broke inside, truly feeling the pressure that is on his shoulders. It was the same thing he went through when his own father broke the news to him that he was probably the last hope in the world unless he got a child of his own with silver eyes.
"What about you?" Kai asked suddenly, and Malikai was surprised to see that his son actually wasn't crying, but just accepted the news, it must have taken a tremendous amount of self control. Vernal even perked up at this, paying more attention then she did before by focusing on her own hearing from the far side of the room. "You have silver eyes too, how come I have to be the one to stop Salem, and save the whole world?"
Malikai was caught off guard, of all the things he was prepared to answer once he returned to his family, this was not one of them. "I…" He couldn't finish his sentence.
"You know what? Don't answer that, I don't want to hear it." Kai said next, adding even more shock to Malikai as he heard those harsh words coming from his usual very kind son. "I don't know what happened that made you so afraid of her to the point where you gave up fighting her, but if I have to be the one to stand against her, then so be it." Kai tied his blindfold back on, and tightened it with a loud snapping sound.
"You don't understand Kai." Malikai stated, losing his temper slightly because of the disrespect shown to him just now.
"I don't need to dad." Kai snapped back.
Vernal's mouth even dropped at that, and she clapped her hands silently.
"Because now I'm the one with the weight of the world on his shoulders… just like you wanted." Kai choked out, his sorrow barely able to be hidden behind a mask of bravery.
Malikai's heart dropped, it was the truth. Plain and simple, he did give up a long time ago, even before Summer died he gave up on the war. He just didn't see the world as something worth saving, and the only things important to him was his family. But not, his family is going to be put in danger, whether he gets involved or not. Hell, he tried to stay in hiding and stay out of the way anyway, and Salem kept coming after him. They drew first blood years ago, and reignited the embers underneath him with the recent attempt on his life.
"No!" Malikai grabbed Kai's shoulder before he could get too far from him. "No, I won't put this on you." He said, his own tears beginning to spill from his eyes. "You're right, I was afraid of her, of what she would do to me if she caught me. I've lost so many friends to her, and now my family is being targeted. I… I never wanted you to be involved in this, I trained you so you could defend yourself in the worst case scenario, which was my death. But guess what?" He put Kai's head over his heart.
He could hear it beating hard and fast.
"I'm still here… I'm still alive and kicking, I may be old. But I am still the best huntsman alive today, and I'll be damned if I am going to let my son do the fighting for me." Malikai declared, hugging his son tightly to his body.
Kai hugged him back, letting out his pent up sorrow. He pulled himself closer using his tail even, embracing the body heat being shared and the comfort his father is providing him.
Vernal stepped up to them, getting both of their attention when she got close enough to be sensed. She stood there with a conflicted expression on her face, and a hand over her chest with the other to her side. Her eyes shaking as she thought about the consequences of his choice.
"Raven is not going to be happy about this Malikai… You know she is going to find out, right?" Vernal pointed out. "You're going to back out on the deal you made with her?"
Malikai thought long and hard about this choice of his, but one look at his silver eyed son hugging him was enough for him to make his mind.
"Raven can go fuck herself, my family comes first." He said with a nod and a deep breath, he was risking a lot, but some bonds needed to be broken in order for the right thing to be done.
Vernal simply laughed, a loud, long, boisterous laugh. She kept laughing for about two minutes straight, before finally stopping and looking straight into the eyes of her mentor. "I knew this was going to happen you know, you're lucky I like your kid here."
"You're… not going to try anything?" Malikai asked as he and Kai broke away from their hug.
"Why would I? I know you can beat me, even if I used my powers. Why do you always assume that I am going to get violent old man?" She leaned on one hip, and smirked at him. "You should know that I am full of surprises."
Malikai chuckled at that. "Against my better judgement, I have indeed learned that about you."
"Good, now I think Kai here has some friends that are wondering about where he has been, it would be a shame if they were left wondering where he was, now would it?" She ever so subtly hinted at something else. "There's a few more people that you ought to talk to, don't you think?"
"Hm… yes, I think there is." Malikai agreed. "Go on with her son, you can tell me all about your friends later."
"Oh, uh, okay. You know where to find me." Kai said with a nod, but he was smiling again.
That was all the Malikai needed. He looked to Vernal, and gave her a nod as well, she nodded back. They shared a silent message with each other as she placed her hands on his son's shoulders and pushed him out of the room with her in tow.
There was only one other person that could come to his mind once they left him alone in the very roughed up training room he didn't even attempt to fix up after Kai's fight with Vernal.
"Ozpin, there's no way he didn't try anything while I was with Raven." Malikai said to himself as he slowly walked toward the exit.
You wanted a warrior Ozpin, now you're getting one. Let's hope I don't end up like Summer.
"KAAAIZYYYY!" Orchid screamed as she yanked the poor kid out of Vernals grip, she would have tried to stop her if it didn't happen so abruptly, she could only blink her eyes as she watched Kai go from being in her hands, to being ten feet away from her in the lap of another young girl in a magenta, pink, and black dress. She also looked a bit beat up, and why was she resting her head on his chest like he had boobs there? "Where were you!? You missed my and Two's matches!" The mystery girl pointed out.
"Mmmm." Another dark green haired girl growled, equally as angry as the other weird girl.
"I-I'm sorry! My dad came by and I had to see him." Kai blurted out the truth on accident, and it was way too late to take it back.
The girl he was currently being held in the lap of gasped loudly, and then pushed him into the empty seat beside her faster then they human eye could actually see.
"Why didn't you tell me!? I would have loved to meet big daddy Kai."
"Please never call him that again, and Orchid, please stop stroking my tail you know it's really sensitive." Kai pleaded as he squirmed from her touch.
So, her name was Orchid. Vernal nodded her head in acceptance as she took a seat a few seats to the right of them, she looked up to the sky and noticed that it was dark, so the kiddies will probably have to be taken back to their places where they sleep soon enough. Which means she would also have to leave soon, with Kai of course, she was tasked with hanging around the kid by both Raven and Malikai, and she wouldn't dare even consider about opening that can of worms. Anyways, back to listening in on their conversation out of nothing but boredom.
"You should have seen me though..." Shy Orchid said quietly as she played with her hair. "I used me semblance and everything… I-I was hoping you were watching."
"Oh really? That's great! I'm also still blind by the way." Kai pointed out.
"Mmm." Two kicked the back of his head.
"Ow! Two? I'm sorry I missed your match too, but you won didn't you?" He asked needlessly, for all Two did was kick him in the head again, but this time slightly lighter than before. That was her own way of saying yes in her current mood.
"Who's the tattooed lady?" Orchid gasped as soon as she asked that, and entered her flirty teasy personality. "Is she your secret girlfriend?"
"What? No! She's just a new friend of mine is all!" Kai denied, going red in the face as Orchid nudged him with her elbow.
"Then why do you seem so roughed up?" Teasy Orchid asked. "You're a little bruised up here and there, and you're still a little sweaty… what was that about being a minor the other day?" Slightly psychotic Orchid asked with a hint of insanity.
Vernal heard this and simply laughed, getting up and sitting down right beside Kai to join in on the teasing.
"Yeah, we did all sorts of things. You'll never believe how surprising he can get when he's in the mood." She meant in the spar of course, but her little play on words was taken a little more out of context, and that was exactly what she intended.
"No, no, no, no that's not what she meant!" Kai exclaimed and waved his hands around when he heard Orchid gasp yet again, and even heard her jaw drop to the floor, or was that her weapon? Wait, why did she have her greatsword out!? "We had a sparring match! We didn't do… whatever you're thinking about."
Orchid believed him easily enough. "Oh, okay Kaizy, I believe you." She said with a cheery smile, which quickly turned deadly along with a pinch on the exposed skin on his arm. "But you better catch my next match! I swear if you miss another one I am going to tie you down and fu- oh hi Ruby!" Her tone took a drastic one-eighty on the appearance of young Ruby Rose who suddenly sped up to hug Kai.
"Hey Matsu! I saw your match! You were awesome!" She exclaimed.
Vernal thought it was very cu- cool, it was very cool to see such close friendship, yeah, that was what she meant when she saw the adorable little girl hug her new sparring partner in a flurry of red rose petals… Damn it she confessed it within her own mind.
"Ruby! Dammit I am way too slow for this." Marron heaved as she finally caught up with the speedy girl, and immediately rested herself on the railing to her side. "Why did you run away from me? We were on our way here anyway."
"Sorry Mrs. Matsuoka, I was just really excited to see Matsu!" She exclaimed with the purest of innocence.
"Oh you are just so adorable." Marron gushed and took a picture for blackmail reasons. "But please don't run away from me like that again, I am not as young as I look you know."
"Why did I hear a snap?" Kai asked, and went ignored.
"Okay, sorry again." Ruby said with a small pout as she sat on the armrest of Kai's seat.
"What did I get myself into." Vernal muttered to herself with a shake of her head.
"This is what happens when you become a friend of my son's, he tends to bring out the best in people." Marron said with a wink toward her. "Now kids, I was once again tasked with watching over you all."
"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Orchid's mom exclaimed.
"I need to get you all to the hotel we are staying in for the duration of the tournament, we'll eat dinner there of course." Marron continued.
"Food!" Shae exclaimed, already on board with the idea.
"The Flamingo must feed!"
"Mmm!"
"Alrighty, Kai you don't have a choice, and neither do you Vernal." Marron said as she took Kai by the hand.
"I'll pretend that I didn't hear that." Vernal said irritably.
"Yeah, go do that, sounds like a good idea."
They glared at each other so intensely that sparks began to fly in between them. It took Kai pulling at his mother's hand to get her attention back and for her to enter mother mode again. Vernal rolled her eyes and followed them when Kai asked for her.
She was really beginning to regret her choices from the past few days, despite the bonus that was being able to mess with Kai a lot.
Professor Ozpin watched from his private perch as the audience thinned out until there was more chairs visible then people, all the way until it was completely empty save for a few stragglers. It was a very productive. The triple threat matches went remarkably well, and he got to assess the skills of many upcoming huntsman and huntresses in training. Specifically, the one known as Kai Matsuoka.
For a blind boy to win a match in less than ten seconds and set a new world record was unheard of, he was a prodigy. Never in his long life has he seen one so young with so much potential, well, none from this era anyways.
"Ozpin." A voice he hasn't heard in a very long time called out to him. It startled him truth be told, but once he turned around, he was more surprised than anything to stare into the familiar set of silver eyes belonging to one such as Malikai Matsuoka.
"Malikai? My word, I haven't seen you in quite some time." Ozpin said with a smile. He noted that he was able to sneak past all of his hard earned senses and reflexes. The man was undetectable until he wanted to be seen, that was dangerous, what would have happened if he wasn't so inclined to speak with him he wonders.
"For good reason, I am sure you know why." Malikai barked, his sword already drawn.
Ozpin's eyes narrowed, and he himself held out his cane like a sword in the case he was forced to defend himself. "This is not smart Malikai, are you really here to end my current life?"
"Against my better judgement, no." Malikai denied, his gaze cold, and his hand still tight around the hilt of his sword. It did little to calm Ozpin's nerves.
"Then why are you here?" Ozpin asked next. "If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so already. You had the chance to, why didn't you?"
"We both know that if I really wanted to kill you I would have rather done it face to face… whether I would win or not is up for debate, but I have an inkling of an idea on how I would come up on top."
"I am sure you do Malikai… you always were one of my most dangerous students, always quick on the draw, always without remorse. It was why I sought after you as much as I did in the past." Ozpin said with a sigh blown out of his nose.
"My son, Kai, I am sure you know about him." Malikai spoke up again after a few moments of silence, completely ignoring the memories of what he did in the past being brought up.
"I've heard of him, yes, it would be remiss of me not to. He has an incredible amount of potential, perhaps even more than you did before you squandered it." Ozpin said.
"I didn't come here to be reminded of my mistakes."
"Oh? Then why did you come here?"
"Because I know you have been trying to get Kai to become another one of your disposable pawns in a war impossible to win, and I am here to make sure that doesn't happen. I am only going to say this once Ozpin. Stay. Away. From. My son." He said as he pointed his sword at Ozpin, his intentions on what he would do if he was refused more then clear.
Ozpin kept pushing on. "You do realize that since the last silver eyed warrior, which is you by the by, gave up on his duty, leaving both young Mister Matsuoka and Miss Rose as the only two who may be able to win us this war. We both know how young Miss Rose is-"
"Stop." Malikai demanded. "Shut up, I am not going to fall for any of your manipulative tricks ever again, I'm not like Summer... So save your breath before I take that ability away from you."
Ozpin shook his head and sighed. "You don't understand Malikai, just as you didn't before, in order for this war to even possibly be won, I need a silver eyed warrior. The strongest one available isn't willing to help, so I must settle for the second best."
It was Malikai's turn to shake his head and sigh, and lower his weapon that was pointed at Ozpin. In turn, Ozpin lowered his cane, and returned it to its position of acting like a cane should. "That's part of why I am here… I want to make a deal with you." He sounded ashamed to admit it.
"Oh? Well call me intrigued Malikai, I am willing to hear you out." Ozpin said with a much to wide smile on his face.
"Leave my son out of your war, and I'll help you against her. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it, as long as Kai stays out of it and gets to live a life that he wants to live. Am I underst-"
"Deal." Ozpin said with a smirk as he held out his hand. "I will halt all pursuit on Kai Matsuoka, in exchange for your well awaited cooperation. I understand you loud and clear, shall we shake on it?"
"Ugh, shaking hands with you is like shaking hands with the devil." Malikai declined with a shake of his head. "I'm fine, your word is all I need. Gods, I can't believe I'm actually doing this."
"You are doing a great thing Malikai, I only wish you would have came around sooner." Ozpin chuckled softly. "It is good to have you back."
"Don't get this mistaken for a sudden change of heart Ozpin, I am doing this for my family, not for you."
"I would trust you even less if you told me that wasn't the case."
"I know." Malikai sheathed his sword, and stepped closer to Ozpin. He stood his ground as Malikai stood not even half a foot away from him, glaring into his eyes. "Let me make one more thing perfectly clear, if anything happens to my family anything, whether through action or inaction, I will personally hunt you down for as many lives as I have years left to live on this planet. You'll die over, and over again, until I am not able to move anymore, and you know that unlike Hazel, I can actually kill you. Remember that." He turned around, and without even looking back. "You know where to find me." Slammed the door shut and stormed off to see his family.
Ozpin's heart was beating fast, Malikai was a dangerous man, a man that could be considered hyper lethal with the abilities he has on hand. He was even a threat to himself, even with his centuries of combat experience, he is not completely confident in himself that he would be able to defeat Malikai in single combat.
"I asked for a warrior, and I got one." He said to himself as he turned back around to the now empty stadium.
"I only hope I won't regret my decision."
WHOO, Malikai putting his foot down! Poor Ozpin, he only wants to save the world. The action returns next chapter, I can tell you all that, Kai gotta have a talk with a few buddies of his, Vernal is still becoming an actual character, Raven has a secret twin sister that is training Kai. A lot of things are happening. So many things. This was mostly another dialogue and plot centered chapter, with of course some of my special charm that is comedy writing. Hopefully I did good, it was needed after the long fight that was Kai vs Vernal last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, and now it is time for me to edit the chapter! Woohoo!
By the way, no, Vernal is not actually into Kai, if he was legal, she might have been. But not as he is now, her whole little flirty thing was a just for funzies, don't assume anything crazy please.
Also, the whole thing about Raven having a twin sister was also a joke, pure comedy purposes, don't read too much into it.
Please review and let me know what you think of the story!
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