The next week went by mostly without incident - it seems Yang was all bark and no bite after all. Acier had finally graduated from Spectral, and had been working more and more bar shifts to save up for Beacon. Miltia…
He knew she was only trying to help. He really did. And he hated those furtive glances she would send his way. Still…
Acier closed his eyes, his long eyelashes tickling his pale freckled skin as he bowed his head in contemplation on the park bench. The cool afternoon breeze washed over him, causing him to shudder involuntarily.
A voice interrupted his meditations.
"Acier! It's been a while." The voice of Dove Bronzewing echoed through the park, causing his eyes to snap open.
"It's been three days." Acier deadpanned. Dove looked sheepish at the response, stretching his arm behind his head.
"You didn't come to the graduation party…" Dove ventured carefully..
"Spectral's behind me now. Why reminisce over the past?" Acier spoke, not making eye contact, running a hand through his hair.
"I just wanted to talk to you. Sky too. We're all going to Beacon, aren't we?"
"You've got my scroll number don't you?" Acier asked, looking at him.
"Yeah, well… it's not the same as in person. Plus you would take days to answer." It was Acier's turn to look sheepish now. Dove sighed, before continuing with a smile, "So… Beacon huh? You excited?"
"It's just going to be more of the same, no?" Acier quirked a brow
"Dude! It's Beacon. The holy grail of huntsmen, and you're acting like it's nothing?" Dove sputtered in incredulity.
"Kill Grimm. Fight people. Do exams…" Acier listed.
"At the most famous huntsman academy on Remnant? With the best huntsmen prospects in the world?" Dove interjected.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I made it there. I just don't see the point in getting so excited about it." Acier said, sighing.
"... I don't get you, man…" Dove finally relented. Acier went silent at that. "You really gonna spend the rest of your life with that attitude?"
"What attitude?" Acier responded defensively.
"... Forget it." Dove looked conflicted. "I'm sorry I bothered you." He looked at the floor with a frown for a few seconds, before turning around and walking away.
Acier felt a sudden urge to reach out. To say something, anything to his classmate of five years.
He said nothing.
It was dark by the time Acier got home. He opened the front door of the club, taking off his grey woolen jacket to reveal a black sweater. He spotted Melanie on her scroll, sitting on one of the bar stools as Junior's men were cleaning up the place.
He couldn't help but notice they were a little understaffed today.
"Seems quiet…" Acier remarked, addressing Melanie.
"Some of the boys decided to have a night out." She didn't look up from her scroll as she spoke.
"..." Acier went silent at that. Melanie glanced up from her scroll.
"Jeez, you look like a kicked puppy. Come on, let's do something useful." She sighed, putting her scroll away before getting up and striding over to Acier.
"I'm not helping you clean." He narrowed his eyes at her as he spoke.
"Spar me." She ordered with a firm voice.
"What?" His eyes widened slightly.
"I said spar me. What, afraid I'm gonna beat you?" Her voice had a teasing lilt to it now.
"We don't have a training ground." Acier's brows furrowed as he tried to parse Melanie's sudden request.
"The dance floor. It's big and getting cleaned afterwards anyway. If we keep it to a melee it will be fine."
"This is an awful idea. Junior would throw a fit." He said, walking slowly to the centre of the dance floor.
"Junior isn't here." She sang back in reply, matching Acier stride for stride.
He hummed in response, stopping as he reached the centre of the battleground. He withdrew his weapon from his hip and shifted it to its active mode - a bulky curved sword with a wicked blade that protruded much further than the chassis. The blade and body of the weapon were separated by a metal rail, joined to the blade at the bottom and attached with struts through the rest of the length. A gear mechanism protruded from the bottom of the main body, which sat next to the generously sized handle.
Melanie merely clicked her heels together.
"Come at me th-" His words were interrupted by a sudden charge from his opponent. She opened by feinting a front kick to his midsection, before opening her hips and bringing her leg around to deliver a heel kick to his face.
Already on the inside?
Caught off guard, Acier batted the kick away with the bottom edge of his sword. Melanie used this momentum to plant her leg on the floor and launch into a heel kick using her other leg.
Not letting her operate at her ideal range, Acier stepped in with his lead leg and delivered a stiff jab to her head with his off-hand, which caught her clean on the side of the face. Melanie was sent sprawling backwards, landing on her back before she rolled backwards and up to her feet.
Acier had no intention of giving her time to recover, closing the distance with a horizontal slash that disrupted Melanie's poise as she leaned back hastily to avoid the strike. By the time she planted a foot behind her to regain balance, Acier was already following up with a thrust to her body.
Expecting the follow up attack, Melanie jumped high, clearing the blade before planting one foot on the blade and using the other to chamber and fire off a sidekick midair. It struck Acier clean in the chin, causing his head to jerk back violently, as the reaction force sent her backwards.
"Not bad… but speed alone won't win this for you." Acier replied as he rubbed his jaw.
"Shut up and fight you prick!" Melanie roared as she charged in with a front kick.
The attack was blindingly quick, but well telegraphed. Acier slipped the strike while simultaneously delivering a low kick to her supporting ankle. Melanie lost her footing immediately, struggling to catch herself with her kicking leg as she stumbled to the side.
Acier planted his sweeping foot on the ground after the kick, pushing off of it to turn his body round to face his opponent as he swung his weapon around in a terrible arc. Off balanced as she was, and facing the wrong direction, Melanie could not hope to defend the powerful strike and it connected with her upper spine.
She let out a cry of pain as the blow forced her to her knees, the fight knocked out of her with it.
"You done?" Acier asked with a blank expression.
Melanie was silent for a few seconds as she panted heavily into the floor, before responding as she clambered to her feet.
"Yeah…" She groaned out.
"You lost your composure. There's no point in focusing on feints and fancy footwork if you lose it after getting tired or mad." Acier explained calmly.
"Easy for you to say…" Melanie lamented, still recovering from the bout.
"Also, for the love of Oum, learn how to throw a punch?" He deadpanned.
"Prick." She interjected, but there was no malice on her face.
Acier smiled a bit at that.
"Thanks for the spar." He thanked her genuinely. "I think I'm going to go relax for a bit." He announced as he walked past her, making his way to the stairs.
Melanie watched Acier go up the stairs in silence.
"Have fun cleaning." He turned around to add before he left her view.
Melanie rolled her eyes at that. There was no smile on her face. Honest.
Melanie watched as Hei Xiong opened the doors to the club with a loud grunt. The club itself was empty, save for a few early arrivals.
His hair and jacket were soaked through by the chilling downpour, and his face was set in a stern glare. He immediately went to hang his jacket up, before loosening his tie and undoing the top button of his shirt. He went behind the bar to grab a bottle of expensive whiskey and pour himself a glass.
Most worryingly however, he entered alone.
"Where are the others?" Melanie asked hurriedly.
"They all got snatched. Dust robbery gone wrong. Some huntress in training, if my sources are to be believed…" Junior informed solemnly, eyes fixed on the bar.
"... Fuck…" Melanie averted her gaze too.
"Fuck indeed. They're looking at some serious charges. And there's always a possibility someone might spill…" Junior sighed, taking a gulp of hard liquor before continuing. "I shouldn't have given them to Roman."
"Like you would have had a choice. If someone could put him on a leash, they could get to you, too." Melanie reassured defensively, eyes locked with Hei's.
"... I hate this." Hei looked down as he swirled the drink in his glass.
Melanie sighed in response, her small frame deflating with the action. She cradled her head in her hands, resting her elbows on the bar.
"What am I gonna tell Aci?" She questioned, dreading the interaction.
"You tell him they're moving on to new opportunities." Xiong stated firmly.
"He's not dumb. He'll see through that bullshit." Melanie argued, a frown on her face.
"He's a smart kid. My guess? He probably knows what's what." Hei responded, causing Melanie's eyes to widen slightly. "But we owe it to him to give him some deniability here." He finished.
She looked conflicted at that, though she said nothing, simply electing to stare at the table..
"Where's Miltia?" Junior broke the silence after a few seconds.
"Patrol. Recent events have people shook, we need to remind them we're still here." Melanie explained.
"Good call." Junior stated, finishing his first glass of whiskey before pouring himself a second.
"...When did everything go to shit?" Melanie lamented.
"I don't know, kid. I don't know." Hei didn't meet her eyes.
Acier did not, in fact, go to relax.
First, Melanie lied to him about Junior's men. They've never been the type to just suddenly take a day off without warning. This had him curious, but he didn't think too much of it at first.
Second, he found a news report on his scroll - another dust shop was targeted but the robbery was foiled. The captured culprits? Junior's guys. Strangely, the report made no note of how the robbery was foiled.
He knew the club was a front for some less than legal operations… but robbing a local dust store really didn't fit his perception of Junior's gang.
Third? Miltia was still out. She wasn't listed as one of the detained suspects, but he had a feeling they left some information out. He could call her, but in the case she was already detained, it would definitely raise suspicions.
A pit of dread formed in his stomach at the thought.
He changed out of his distinctive outfit into a white t-shirt and worn blue jeans. Slipping on an oversized hooded black bomber jacket, he buckled an old leather belt around his waist before hooking his inactive weapon on it, letting his coat conceal it.
Turning the handle on his window, he popped it open quietly before peeking his head out and verifying that the alley outside was deserted. Satisfied, he deftly climbed through - landing in a low crouch.
He stood up to his full height, before jogging his way further into the alley until he came across an old vertical drainpipe. He scaled it well, only fumbling a hold once or twice. The rooftops offered an easier view of the streets and made evading any pursuers a trivial task.
Acier began bounding from rooftop to rooftop, scouring the foot traffic of the nearby area for any familiar faces. He saw none, at least until he came into view of the police station.
Out came a familiarly built blonde, with the same fashion sense as… that girl, Yang was it? She looked rather cheerful.
A smaller girl with black hair and red highlights accompanied her, as well as a tall blonde male, who looked to be quite a bit older.
He discreetly snapped a photo of the trio with his scroll, before hitting the deck as the older man turned to look in his direction.
Fuck, that was too close.
He contemplated the new information as he lay there on the floor. Had Yang made good on her promise? She certainly looked happy.
Even so, it didn't explain why they were there in the first place. Or the secrecy behind the news report.
He sighed, before getting up and continuing his search. The dim street lighting made it difficult, but he had a lot of time on his hands - Melanie was busy working the bar, after all.
Eventually, he came across Miltia and some suits walking down a secluded alley.
They didn't know it, but they had a guardian angel that night.
I hope some of you found this engaging, and that the sequence of events wasn't too far fetched (it's been a while since I watched RWBY). First action scene here too. If you made it this far, please let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome.
I thought I would spend a little more time exploring the existing characters before the whole Beacon arc starts. This also will give some fun interactions with Yang and Blake.