Chapter 10: Dollars, Cents, and a Shocking Lack of Common Sense
"It's a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Glynda sighed as she watched Mr. Dubois leave the headmaster's office, his arm freshly bandaged. At least he had actually told him where the injuries had come from this time, along with the knowledge of the White Fang encampment.
"I knew we would have problem students this year, but I didn't expect him to be one of them." She said, looking over at Ozpin, who sat in his chair, his desk covered in various documents. "Well, not in this way, at least."
"It is always the ones we underestimate that surprise us the most." Ozpin had the nerve to give a soft laugh.
"Yes, surprise. That's a pleasant term to describe a student getting injured twice in just over a week." She glared slightly at Ozpin.
"One can hardly fault the boy for his; what was he said? Very enthusiastic walks." Ozpin leaned back in his chair.
"At least this time, he wasn't fighting other students." She said. "I question your opinion to 'let things sort themselves out.'"
"If Mr. Dubois wished to come forward, he would have done so already. We should respect his decision on the matter." Ozpin spoke, a small smile threatening to peak past his lips for a moment. "After all, if more people decided to be the bigger person, then the world would have much less trouble in it."
-2-
"One hour," Cardin said. His tone caused Robin to wince slightly. The team was situated back in their dorm; their tables once more joined together in the middle of the room for an 'emergency meeting,' as Sky called it.
"We let you go for one hour, and you end up fighting a camp of terrorists and an ursa unsupported." Cardin continued.
"Listen, in my defense, I didn't exactly plan on doing that. It just sort of happened." Robin raised his arms in surrender.
"It just-" Cardin blinked in amazement. "How does fighting fucking terrorists just sort of happen?"
"I took a walk?" Robin responded.
Cardin groaned and let his face fall into his hands. Robin didn't really know how to respond; it was an honest mistake, after all, and it turned out fine. Well, mostly fine. However, it was a stark reminder of the state of things.
He had been happy just to sit at Beacon and train, but the world still moved without him, and it was only after the reminder that he started to realize how much he might have fucked things, albeit unintentionally.
Blake had been revealed early, meaning she didn't run off into the city, and her team didn't chase after her. The White Fang operation on the docks was entirely untouched. He had shouted Jaune off the roof, which meant no confession of his fake transcripts, which meant no blackmail, which meant no Jaune growing a spine. Both of which could have ramifications he didn't like to think of. He needed to survive the year to get home. Which meant he had to fix things, or at least try.
"I don't like that look on your face," Dove spoke.
"What look?" Robin asked.
"It's the 'I'm planning something stupid look.'" Dove said.
"Well…" He made a show of pausing for a moment. "I overheard them talking about having some operation down at the Docks. I reckon we could do something about it."
Cardin lifted his head. "Us? Why us? Shouldn't we just report it to the teachers?"
Robin nodded. He had considered doing that, but given the absolute state of Vale already, he wasn't sure anything would be done even if he did report it to the proper authorities. Getting that dust away from the Fang could have been vital for delaying the attack on Vale and Beacon. He wasn't in the mood to take any chances with leaving it to others.
"I'd thought about that, but you know the saying. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." They all seemed unconvinced, so he hurried to continue. If nothing else, one trait almost the entire team shared was pride. "Just think about it: not only would we be helping the city, but this could be our big moment. This is our chance to be kick-ass huntsmen, our chance to do the right thing."
Cardin and Sky looked unimpressed with his words, but Dove? Something on his face twitched at the words. A silent conversation was seemingly had as eyes flitted around the room.
Dove spoke, slightly angling himself towards Cardin and Sky. "Robin's right. I'm not going to sit idly by while my city is in danger. Maybe it's hubris. I like to think of it as pragmatism. We can get the job done. I know we can. The White Fang doesn't exist by attacking places outright where they expect resistance. They target their enemies where they are weak. That gives us an advantage. We know where they are. And they are not expecting huntsmen in the slightest."
Cardin sighed, looking between Robin and Dove. "This is a damn's fool crusade. We shouldn't be sticking our necks into it."
Robin went to talk, but Dove cut him off with a curse. "Damnit, Cardin!" It was the first time anyone had so much as heard Dove raise his voice.
"Take a look at the news; look out on the streets. The city is going to the dogs. The police and whatever local huntsmen are here are all stretched thin. Fighting petty crime, chasing Roman and his merry band, and now the White Fang. This is my–our chance to make a difference, to stick up for the little guy." Dove ranted, his usual calm demeanor now tensed.
Cardin's expression twitched, for a moment, it looked like he was about to start shouting, but he bit his words back. After a moment, he held up his hands. "Fine, fine. If you both are dead set on this. But we are not going in off some vague as fuck 'I heard it from a guy I was kicking the shit out of.' We need real actionable intel and a plan."
Robin spoke. "I know a guy."
-3-
When the weekend came, Robin found himself face down at a table in the Xiong Club. It was remarkable how much miscellaneous information passed through the club. In his short time, he had overheard how the Xiong family had beef with two other gangs that were attempting to push in on their territory. He had heard how the Monier family was on the backfoot against a new rising family—the Carbones.
He had also heard how almost the entire underworld was in an uproar over Roman's spree of crimes and the White Fang setting up shop in town. This meant very often, someone would pass through, demanding information about the Fang, information which Robin was conveniently right there to overhear.
His strategy was a simple one. He came in early, a bit before the club usually hits its more active hours, and kept pounding back drinks, lighter stuff usually, but enough to where it seemed like he was a young man who just didn't know his limit. Then he feigned passing out drunk at his table, close to the bar. It wasn't an uncommon thing, it seemed. There was another man actually in the state Robin was pretending to be.
By doing that, he was able to simply lay there and listen in. They didn't seem to care about sharing information next to him. They didn't respect him. And when they don't respect you, you might as well not even be there.
He had figured he heard enough for it to be considered actionable intel. He knew they were running an operation at the docks, knew that there were a lot of them, and knew that if he and his team didn't act, the crime families would, and no one wanted that much dust being spread out into the criminal underworld.
He lifted his head off the table and began to stagger to his feet, only for his eyes to widen as he saw someone else entering the club. Blonde hair, violet eyes. God fucking damnit, why did this shit follow him around. His despair only grew as she seemed to notice him and began walking over, making her way through the crowd of people with ease.
Silently, he motioned for another drink. He would need one if he was gonna make it through this conversation.
"I guess they just let anyone in here." She said as she finally reached his table.
"That was fucking terrible." Robin groaned.
She made a show of doubling over in pain. "Your words wound me. I don't think I'll ever recover."
"I think I preferred it when you were trying to kill me," Robin said.
"Someone has no appreciation for good humor." She shook her head and took a seat, at his table. Joy of fucking joys. "So what are you doing here?"
"Drinking, what does it look like?" He slid back into his own seat.
"Drinking alone, in a club." She said slowly, "You sure you ain't just an alcoholic?"
"Wow, judgemental much? Not everyone who drinks alone on a Saturday night is an alcoholic." Robin finished his statement by taking a drink from the Whiskey sour that had been placed on the table.
"Well, the alternative is that you just don't have any friends." She said.
"In that case, yes, I am an alcoholic. But you know what they say, it's not alcoholism if you can walk home afterwards." He spoke.
"Yes, they do, Robin. It's called functional alcoholism." She explained.
"Listen, is it really that much of a problem if you can still function?" Robin asked.
She shrugged. "Suppose not, but why do you do it?"
"It's a coping mechanism," He said defensively. "It makes me super quirky and relatable. I'm a total mood, fam." He nodded as if he just dispensed some sage wisdom.
"I think the only people relating to you are middle-aged alcoholics." She said, and then her head perked up as a drink was placed in front of her. "Remind me to introduce you to my uncle Qrow sometime."
"Crow?" He asked.
"No, no. Qrow, with a q." She corrected.
"How the fuck were you able to tell I wasn't saying it with a Q," Robin questioned.
"Because no one gets it right on the first try. It's an eternal curse." Yang replied.
"That's stupid," Robin said. Another drink arrived for him. Which he eagerly began to drink.
"Yeah, it kind of is. I think his parents hated him." Yang said. "Anyway, what are you coping with in the first place?"
"You've heard my speech before; I ain't repeating it. I'm an ugly man." He paused. "In a metaphorical sense, of course. I'm actually very pretty. My problems are all internal."
She squinted and leaned forward. "You sure about that?"
"Entirely." He said simply.
She laughed and leaned back in her seat.
-4-
The two were still at the table an hour later, the drinks piling on. Robin was, as the kids might say, fucked up. His head swayed, and his vision blurred.
"Why… why ya here?" He slurred, trying to keep his head upright.
She shrugged. "Curiosity, mostly. I fucked up, and you didn't hold it against me. I wanted to know the type of person you are." To his mind, it didn't seem like she was at all in the same sort of state he was. He must have been more of a lightweight than he thought.
He groaned. "I told ya before, I'm-"
She cut him off. "Yeah, yeah, you said that already. But still… it made me wonder. Because you didn't give off any of those vibes at all. Hidden just below the surface, I suppose. I was curious." She shrugged again. "Plus, I came to have some fun and get my mind off school, and what do you know it, I run into you! Two birds with one stone."
He shook his head, less trying to get his thoughts in order and more a futile attempt to physically keep himself up. "Well… what's your verdict so far."
"I don't know yet." She answered truthfully. "Part of me still thinks you're an asshole, but at least one, I'm starting to understand a bit better. In some small way, at the least."
"What a ringing endorsement." He said, his words still slurred.
"Well, it might change when I get to know you better. So come on, cough it up. You gotta be more than a miserable pile of secrets and bad attitude." She spoke with a smile.
Robin signed. He was going to regret this probably, but… "What do you want to know?"
"I don't know. Let's stick with the basics. Tell me about your family?" She suggested.
Robin went silent. "Family is…"
He paused, and stared down into his empty glass.
Searching for words that weren't there. That couldn't be there.
Eventually, he looked back up, and it was evident by her expression she had taken his silence as an answer. She winced and then wordlessly dipped a finger into her drink and flicked the air. He didn't recognize the gesture itself, but he recognized the intent behind it. Some local way to respect the dead. He didn't bother correcting her assumption.
-5-
Somewhere along the way, they had left the club. Yang had guided him to the nearest bullhead station back to Beacon. The air was cold, but Robin still felt warm. Maybe it was his coat, maybe it was the drink. It was hard for him to decipher in his state.
He leaned against a light pole, his cheek pressed against the cool metal and rust. The conversation had died down after she had asked about his family.
He blinked, and suddenly, she was right in front of him. "You doing alright there? Not gonna fall over, are ya?"
"I'll manage." He slurred out.
"If you say so." She trailed off. "Y'know, I didn't exactly get to ask what I wanted to back there."
He squinted his eyes, trying to determine the time for the next bullhead to arrive. "We got time, shoot."
"I wanted to know why you didn't tell Goodwitch." She said
"I already told you why. I did it for me." He spoke slowly.
"I know that, but.." She bit the inside of her cheek for a moment. "You were holding something back, I could tell."
Robin went silent for a moment. "It was for me, but. On some level, it was 'cause you're special."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you tell all the girls that."
He waved his hands wildly, trying to physically dispel the notion. "No, no, not like mommy loves you special-' hic "-but like, the world revolves around you. You be important."
Her eyebrow went even higher. "The world doesn't revolve around me."
He held out a hand, shaking it vaguely. "Ehhh. Not just you. Your whole team. Everyone knows it. We just the side characters, the appetizers. Y'all the main course."
The conversation went silent; even in his deteriorated state, the shock was apparent on her face. He looked her in the eyes.
He was a name of seventeen, more of a boy than a man. But for just a moment, she couldn't tell by his eyes. Harrowed, weathered, and harsh–it was all age. Kept in place by strength and muscle. It looked like he wasn't even fully awake.
However, the visage was promptly shattered as he leaned over to the side and threw up in a trash can.
Note: Hi y'all, got this one out earlier than I thought I would. Been feeling off the past day or so, so if that reflects in the quality of the chapter sorry. You know the usual by now, call out any mistakes or weird shit. Hope y'all enjoy and have a wonderful day!