Uchiha of Remnant

by Baconaddict

Sasuke was used to having obstacles in his path, but trying to find a way home after becoming stranded in the middle of another world was a bit much even by his standards. Similar to everything in his life, his situation is not as simple as it first appears.

9. Birds of a Feather

AN: Okay, so this one was almost twice as long as I thought it would be. Sorry for the delay, but I went in thinking this would be roughly 10,000 words or so and it came out at over 16,000. Sue me.

Important note: I have a beta reader now. But instead of getting a copy of the chapter before I post it, they want to read it on the site first and just sit back and enjoy it before combing through it with a magnifying glass looking for my mistakes. So, I'm going to be updating the story sometime after I post every chapter with the corrected version. If you see this 'updated' three days later and it looks like nothing was added, it's probably just a few bits of grammar or spelling mistakes that were corrected.

Also, Sasuke's fuck-up-electronics ability has been named Mizuchi, after a Japanese water-god serpent. The decision has been made.

diabloseriosa- Yeah, that's definitely something to consider. The Uchiha don't have a Caged Bird seal or anything like the Hyuuga if they get captured, so they probably did have some kind of family protocol for preventing Sharingan theft or unwanted pregnancies that would spread their blood to hostile villages.

LucianeGrimoire- Again, thanks for the vote of support! The club scene was one of your favorite scenes ever!? Jesus, thanks for the praise but I don't think I'm that good!

gotSaws- I have wanted to write that scene for a while, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I did enjoy a thought experiment where I had Sasuke accept the porn job, but didn't know what it was, and struggled to not commit mass murder when they asked him to take his clothes off in front of a camera. A hilarious scenario, but impractical. No way Sasuke would accept a job without knowing what he was even going to be doing. If you're looking for a funny story, then I recommend the Bleach fic, 'Uninvited Guests'. It's listed under my favorites, and I actually had to pause reading it in several places for a few minutes because I was laughing too hard to focus.

Fortitude 501- Yes. Yes I did have to mention that. I was tricked into seeing it, and the best way to deal with the trauma is to share the pain with others.

KnightofZaku- Aaand it's here! Did I say it would be less than a week or did I say it would be less than a week? Always good to hear from you!

Machcia- Yeah, Kishimoto could have handled that better. I don't have a problem with the final pairing per se, I do have a problem with Sakura reverting back to her pre-time skip self and being unable to make her own decisions or really help at all whenever Sasuke is involved. Don't blame her for it- blame the writer that screwed her character over.

NightmareKnight1- Finally, someone who points out that he could meet up with Ruby if he helps Roman! I'm not going to confirm or deny any speculation, but it's nice someone is thinking outside the box.

RunDownLord- Thanks for the praise! I should warn you though, the long explanations, even the boring ones, are there for a reason. Seeds don't look impressive when you first plant them, but give them some time and they turn into something bigger.

Reasonable man- Okay, I feel I should give you a fair warning that a lot of the redundant stuff you're referring to isn't there just to take up space. It isn't necessary now, but take my word for it that a lot of the boring stuff here is more important than it looks. I'll be the first to admit I'm not very skilled at putting a bunch of material in a small number of words, but I'd still rather put too much exposition in my story than too little. I apologize if I'm going too deep into detail for you, but I hope you enjoy my work regardless.

ubivashka-kun- You'll have to wait and see! I suppose there could be sushi, but it's my story and I decided to make the change.

Atttth- Yeah, I did put a lot of explanations in there. Arguably too much, but like I mentioned above a lot of the information is not useless. Take my word for it, everything is in there for a reason. As for the fight scene; you'll be happy to know that since Sasuke has now seen aura in action, I won't need to re-do that particular mental monologue nor re-introduce chakra adhesion.

alaude hibari- You're welcome.

The4SsAsSiN- Appreciate the positive reinforcement. Don't want to spoil anything but you would do well to remember Sasuke's first.

redstonepowder- Aura's ability to tank hits against the more varied but more fragile shinobi was something I was certainly looking forward to writing here. If you liked the contrast, you should enjoy the idea I have for accounting for the respective inconsistencies regarding durability with RWBY's aura users and chakra wielders from Naruto. Not gonna say when, but it's in the works.

crimson11116- Basically Roman is wanting to hire him for the same reason Junior did. He doesn't answer doors or do grunt work- he's the guy who gets called in to take care of the cops or other big threats if they show up. I'm afraid I can't answer any of your other questions without giving spoilers, so you'll have to just wait it out and see.

The Baz- It's my story, and I say it can! Did you at least enjoy it? I hope so, you're part of the reason that scene was in there.

Yexius- A terrifying thought, sure, but Sasuke has also been stalked by Orochimaru. Neo's not quite on the same level.

Gruntled Baki- Appreciate the honesty. Like I mentioned above, I've got a problem with over-doing the word count sometimes. I can't be perfect, what can I say? I do need to make the same point to you as Reasonable Man and Atttth- even the boring stuff is there for a purpose, even if it isn't obvious in this chapter.

Fanfictions4ever- You'll have to wait for the pairings, but I think you'll appreciate one of the scenes in this chapter.

shadowphoenix- I like your support and I want your pointers- it helps keep me on my toes. First of all, like I said above, things are as they are in this story for a purpose. I can only ask you to be a little patient, that losing-his-V-card part is going to matter later on. I'm glad you warmed up to Shyla a bit. I know it's kind of weird that he would tolerate her, but I think it would be even stranger if I made an OC that magically just 'got along' with Sasuke as he is now with no difficulty at all. THAT, I would argue, is even more unlikely. And you're gonna be seeing more electromagnetism stuff too. If you've seen the cartoon series Static Shock, you'll know there's a lot to work with. I miss that show…

NotXeno- Yeah, he isn't updating as often as he used to. A real shame, he's written some good stuff. Happy you like mine too!

Nox Ambulare- I know I already sent you that PM, but I'll say again that I'm flattered you thought my story was good enough to review. Hope you enjoy this chapter

Tobi14- Thanks for the support! Sasuke's psychology is certainly a Gordian knot, it's definitely going to take up a lot of scenes later on. That contrast between his rogue actions and growing up wanting to be a police officer is one that isn't usually fully explored. Kind of sad it wasn't even touched on in canon.

'thoughts'

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Uchiha of Remnant

Chapter 9: Birds of a Feather

The ringing of the bell by the door alerted Martin that he had one more customer to serve before he packed up for the night. Hopefully it would be quick and he would get a good night's rest.

"Welcome to Sixth Street Dust, how ca-"

The sentence died before he could utter another word as the one and only Roman Torchwick walked in. He was flanked by three men in suits with red ties, and the store owner instantly knew he was in big trouble.

"You actually can help me, my good fellow. I find myself in need of large quantities of Dust, and it seems that you have plenty to spare!"

Martin rested his hand on the counter, very slowly inching his finger toward the alarm underneath the counter to alert the Police.

"Unfortunately I forgot to bring my wallet with me. I don't suppose you have a discount of some kind?"

His fingers were mere millimeters from the button when a black blur suddenly came in to his vision. Martin did not feel anything nor did he see anything else as he slumped to the floor from a punch to his head far too fast for his eyes to follow.

"Well that was anti-climactic. Would it have killed you to at least give him a sporting chance?"

"He was reaching for the silent alarm with his hand. Your taste for theatrics is going to get us in trouble."

"Sasuke, has anyone ever told you you're too efficient for your own good? You need to learn to relax a bit and enjoy your work."

"And you need to remember I told you not to say my name when I'm working."

Most Dust stores had security cameras, which was the reason why Sasuke was donning a rather stereotypical black ski mask. He had gone out of his way to let Roman know that he needed to stay as inconspicuous as possible. And that meant not being an idiot and saying his name out loud.

"Chill out 'Hebi'. This shop doesn't quite make the revenue to afford the security cameras with audio anyway. But if it will make you feel better…"

"Hn."

With that out of the way the men behind Roman stepped out and began working on taking all the Dust in the shop they could find.

For his part, Sasuke took a position by the window to look out for cops and began thinking back to how he got into this mess.

This was exactly the sort of thing he had been trying to avoid. Putting himself in the crosshairs of local authorities was the last thing he wanted during his stay here. Unfortunately Roman's offer left him with two choices, both of them significant gambles.

The first option was to say no. It would keep him under the radar as he had intended from the start, but Sasuke was far from naïve enough to believe that if he beat up a crime lord's help and then rejected an offer from them not five minutes afterward that he would be let off scot-free. Roman carried himself in an upbeat, almost jovial manner that did a poor job of hiding what he really was- ruthless. If he had rejected the deal there was no doubt in the Uchiha's mind that Roman would either order an assassination attempt or find what records he could to get some kind of leverage on him. And with his body's ability to handle gunfire still unknown, he was in no hurry to encourage that possibility.

It also went without saying that Roman would have some significant ammunition if he started looking into his personal history for anything that could be used against him. There was too much at stake to simply keep his fingers crossed that the thief wouldn't be able to find what he needed.

And Sasuke couldn't risk killing him yet either. There was no doubt he could if it came down to it, but that came with its own set of risks. Even ignoring a Police investigation someone like Roman would have plenty of friends or business partners that would have something to lose if he was gone. There was a possibility they wouldn't care or wouldn't be able to track it down to him, but there were too many unknowns to chance it right now.

And so he was left with option two: agree to the deal. His situation would be far from ideal, but he would have a bit more control than if he had turned Roman down. As long as he was useful to Roman and didn't pose an obvious threat to him, he would in theory be safe from the gangster's bad side.

All he had to do now was to avoid getting caught. His new ability to disable electronics, which he had decided to name 'Mizuchi', would certainly help if he was somehow captured, but he would prefer to not have to use it.

And it wasn't like the Uchiha had accepted the deal without making his own demands.

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FLASHBACK

"Lightning Dust? What the hell do you need that for, kid?" asked the thief, confused at the unusual method of payment just proposed.

"What I do with it is none of your concern. I have use for it, and I don't need money. If we're going to be stealing Dust in bulk as you suggest, half of the gross quantity of Lightning Dust gathered will be my payment. Understood?"

"Pff, sure kid. Why not? Anything else?"

"Just one condition. And before you think otherwise, it's not negotiable."

The crime lord toned down his usual nonchalant appearance to a more serious one as the Uchiha locked his unapologetic gaze on him.

"No killing."

"Are you fucking serious kid?" Roman retorted, recoiling his entire head in surprise at the demand. "You almost choked Neo to death, why are you getting cold feet now?"

The remaining occupants of the room were clearly thinking the same thing. Junior and the twins were looking at him in confusion and disbelief, and Neo was nothing short of flabbergasted.

"I have my reasons. If you want my help stealing Dust, that's fine. But no murder, no human trafficking. I am not crossing that line."

The Uchiha's tone brokered no room for argument.

"Tch, fine then kid. I can't force you to get your feet wet if you don't want to. But I do expect you to use a proper… measure of force if needed. I assume you won't mind repeating your performance with Neo if the situation calls for it?"

"That much is fine."

"Wonderful!" the thief exclaimed, waving his cane in excitement. "Although I don't think Neo agrees with your decision."

Sasuke turned his head toward the short woman to lay his eyes on the rather amusing sight of her pouting, of all things. She clearly did not share the Uchiha's desire to limit bloodshed.

"It doesn't matter if you like it or not," the Uchiha declared to the disenchanted woman. "it is my decision to make. If you want to see me fight again that badly, I'll be happy to accept a rematch."

Neo's face instantly lit up like a five-year-old being told they had a lifetime supply of candy. An eager grin made its way to her face as she tightened her grip on her umbrella in excitement.

'Perhaps that was a poor choice of words'

Oh, well. At least she would be a decent sparring partner.

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PRESENT

So far his association with Roman was going rather well. It was his tenth job with the thief, and all of the robberies had been pulled off flawlessly with no fatalities or interference from the police. The Uchiha was unsure why the thief was only targeting Dust shops when there were plenty of jewelry stores and banks around, and had entertained the possibility that he was either working for someone else or being strong-armed by another party.

If that was the case he needed to get out of his relationship with Roman as soon as he could before he was dragged in too deep.

"Alrighty, that should about do it. Hebi, let's go."

Slightly annoyed he was stuck following Roman's orders for now, the Uchiha filed out the door to the truck waiting for them. It had been a more productive haul than the shop's modest appearance would have suggested, and the back of the vehicle was slightly tilted from the excess weight.

The Uchiha was about to step into the truck and escort the cargo to one of Roman's safehouses when the thief's hand grabbed his shoulder. He spun around slightly confused, he had stayed with the cargo in every job and was unsure why the crime lord had changed his mind with this one.

"Not so fast, kid. I have another ride for us coming. The boys here will do the heavy lifting."

Almost right on cue, a jet-black car came into view around the street corner behind them. Sasuke could tell just from looking at it that it was an expensive model. Not quite a limo, which would have been too conspicuous to be practical, but a ride meant for luxury nonetheless.

"And what exactly do you have in mind?" the Uchiha inquired, not trusting the fact that Roman had for some reason not told him about this obvious change in plans.

"Oh, just taking you to a little surprise. This is the fourth time you've pulled that little stunt with knocking out the cashier before they can call for the boys in blue, and it's made our little project go a lot faster."

Sasuke's guard was immediately raised as Roman threw his arm over his shoulder in a fake show of affection.

"So I thought I'd take you out on a night on the town to show my appreciation!"

The Uchiha's first thought was that if Roman had gotten what he wanted out of him and was going to kill him to tie up loose ends, this was probably how he would do it. The second thought was that he didn't want to go even if Roman was being genuine. The third thought was that he still needed to stay on Roman's good side until he figured out a way to get rid of the thief and stay clean from any fallout.

Sasuke had to repress a sigh when he realized he would once again have to play Roman's game.

"Fine."

"Jeez, kid, have you ever been happy or excited in your life?" the thief inquired as the driver of the car opened the door for his two passengers. "You could at least pretend to be looking forward to some R&R, I don't do this for just anyone you know!"

Roman did not get a reply as they got into the car, with Sasuke choosing to sit close to the window in case he needed a way out.

"Seriously, kids these days. No appreciation at all, am I right?" he inquired to the driver, who merely grunted what may have been an affirmative answer.

The Uchiha merely tuned him out and focused on trying to find the patch of air closest to his mouth that had the thinnest wisps of smoke from Roman's cigar to breathe. Just because he was immune to toxins didn't mean the smell was any more bearable.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm glad you asked, kid. Just a particularly favorite place of mine when I want to unwind. I won't spoil you with any details, but I think you'll learn to enjoy it. If we're lucky you'll start to actually get that telephone pole out of your anti-social ass."

The Uchiha used his years of experience sitting through Naruto's taunts to effortlessly ignore Roman's obvious provocation. He had no interest in taking Roman's bait into whatever ridiculous conversation the thief had in mind. He instead mulled over the several possibilities about the nature of the place he was supposedly being led to based on the description, and none of them were things he would like.

Their ride came to an end in only a few minutes in what appeared to be a rather run-down alley that was completely deserted except for a certain pink-and-brown haired woman. Judging from her crossed arms and what he had learned was her trademark pout, she had been kept waiting for too long.

"Don't look at me like that, Neo" Roman placated. "We're on time. It's not my fault you got here early."

Neo simply rolled her eyes before diverting her gaze to Sasuke and giving an enthusiastic grin.

"Oh, and Neo, you missed some rubble. Just right… there."

The woman quickly lifted a hand to her shoulder where Roman had pointed before brushing the broken bits of concrete off. She never averted her gaze at the Uchiha, giving him a pointed look as she tidied her appearance.

If she wanted the Uchiha to feel sorry for her she had another thing coming. Neo had taken it upon herself to indulge him on his word and spar with him almost every chance they met. Their last bout had ended only a couple hours ago before the Uchiha had to cut it short to leave for the scheduled robbery, and she had made it clear that they would be picking up where they left off the first chance they had.

"If the two of you are presentable, let's get a move on."

Roman then walked up to a rather shabby door before knocking four times in quickening succession. A few seconds later a small viewing port opened as the doorman assessed who was trying to gain entry before hastily opening the door for the crime lord.

"Thank you, good sir. Okay, just follow me kid. It can be kind of a maze in here."

Sasuke was instantly reminded of his first visit to Junior's club when the well-maintained and expensive decorations starkly contrasted with the near-slums outside. There was a pulsing music in the background, though it was a far slower beat than what the club usually played.

Dim pink and red lights lit the hallways, and when the Uchiha picked up almost nauseatingly strong scents of what could only be perfume or incense there was little doubt as to where Roman had decided to take him for some 'unwinding'.

They walked through a set of what had to be extremely expensive double-doors to what was clearly a VIP lounge. Red and pink lights were clearly all the place had, and there was a rather impressively stocked private bar at one end of the room. And at the center was a three-sided leather couch with several sets of drink holders and collapsible trays spaced between the seats. All centered around a stripper pole.

He had been brought into the lion's den.

Before the Uchiha could contemplate if perhaps it would have been better if Roman had tried to assassinate him instead, a middle-aged woman with bright pink-purple hair entered the room.

"Ah, Miss Magenta! A pleasure to see you again! Your establishment is looking as lovely as always."

"Always the flatterer, Mr. Torchwick. Welcome back! I assume you and Neo will prefer the usual?"

"You know me so well, madame. But I do need to add on a few services for my new help here." the thief proclaimed, jerking his thumb towards the Uchiha. "This is Sasuke Uchiha. It's his first time here, and take my word for it when I say he is in desperate need of a good time. You will do what you can for him, won't you?"

"Oh, Mr. Torchwick," Sasuke had to suppress a cringe when the woman began to undress him with her eyes. "you know how well I treat your guests. And for him, I daresay the girls might be willing to give a discount for their services."

"And here I was thinking the evening couldn't get any better! Man, I should have brought you here sooner, kid."

"Now then Mr. Uchiha," he had to suppress a shudder at the sultry look she was attempting to entice him with. She was far too old to be coming onto him, her profession be damned. "welcome to the Red Mare. I'm the owner, Miss Magenta. I'm sure you've already guessed the nature of my establishment, and rest assured I will personally ensure that your evening with us is as relaxing and enjoyable as possible."

'She is far too old to be batting her eyelashes'

"Your new colleagues are both regulars, so they have their favorite attendants reserved already. But seeing as you're new, if you'll just tell me the type of girl, or girls, you would be interested in, I'll be happy to find a match for you."

Sasuke's gut instinct was to tell her to get lost and leave him alone, and that's exactly what he would have done two or three years ago. But he was different now. More patient and a bit less impulsive. He wouldn't be the first shinobi put in a distasteful situation by a long shot, but like any shinobi Sasuke had learned to exploit even the worst circumstances for all they were worth.

And as fate would have it he did have something valuable to potentially gain while he was here. Magenta had said that both Roman and Neo were regular clients here, which meant that many of the employees here could have potentially useful information on them. Information that could be invaluable to him if he wanted a leg up on Roman in case the thief tried to turn him into a dead man who would tell no tales. He couldn't ask such questions himself for fear of arousing suspicion, but if one of the employees here just 'happened' to have loose lips? It was an opportunity he would be a fool to waste. Even if it did come at a price.

With his goal in mind, the Uchiha took all of two seconds to give the woman his answer.

"Two girls will do. I don't care too much on appearance, just make sure they can drink and have a conversation."

"Absolutely, sir. If you'll wait here a moment, I'll bring them right in."

His plan to get useful material on Roman wasn't particularly clever or original. In fact it was the oldest trick in the book- get them drunk, and get them talking. It was a bit risky with Roman and Neo in the same room, but with luck the background music combined with whatever 'activities' they partook in would eliminate the risk of being overheard.

He would have to wait for his attendants, but Roman and Neo did not. The Uchiha watched as two scantily-clad women came through the door, carrying a covered tray and a basket respectively, before making a beeline for their separate clients. Roman was courteous enough to briefly introduce him before his own girl took out a bottle of what looked like expensive wine from her basket and began pouring for the two of them.

Good. If Roman started getting drunk it would make his pseudo-interrogation less likely to be discovered.

A small part of him was curious as to what service was provided to Neo that was making her bounce up and down on her seat in excitement. He wasn't sure if she played for the other team or not, but even if she did she seemed a bit more like a kid at a candy store than someone about to get a lap dance.

He realized his comparison wasn't too far off when Neo's stripper took the cover off the tray to reveal what he could only describe as a flight of ice cream and toppings instead of alcohol.

Sasuke could have sworn in that moment the heterochromatic woman's eyes actually sparkled with joy.

"Please tell me that isn't your dinner." It wasn't in the Uchiha's nature to stick his nose in someone else's business, but there was a limit.

He had been raised in a household where his mother would refuse to make him meals if he hadn't finished his vegetables from the previous one. If he had tried what Neo was doing then his mother would have spanked him without hesitation, and his father would have helped her.

Neo clearly had not been raised in a similar manner because she vigorously nodded affirmatively at his question.

'Has it ever occurred to her that her lack of proper nutrition may be the reason she almost qualifies as a midget?'

She enjoyed both her meal and her attention, if the satisfied look on her face as she actually reclined on the couch and had her stripper drop small bits of the dessert in her mouth as if she were an empress eating grapes was anything to go on. The only thing she was missing was a servant fanning her with a giant palm leaf.

It was extravagant, but Roman's stripper had begun to give him a lap dance and he was looking for any excuse to not see it.

"Good evening sir."

He turned his head toward the pair of voices that had synchronized their greeting to see two more strippers, both carrying trays with a rather impressive assortment of high-end alcohol and glasses. He had mentioned to Magenta that he didn't care about appearance, and so she had decided to send him a pair of girls that had almost nothing in common in regards to their looks to make sure he enjoyed the company of at least one of them. One was almost as short as Neo and rather slender with hair that could have been mistaken for an apricot while the other was a tall and voluptuous brunette that would not have been out of place as a supermodel.

"My name is Fantasia," stated the taller one, "and this is Candi."

"We hope you enjoy your evening with us," the now-named Candi continued with a warm smile that would have melted the hearts of men with less resolve. "and I hope you enjoy cocktails?"

His eyes darted down toward the sizeable tray they brought as he took in the artfully arranged drinks. He was admittedly impressed at the variety they brought- several varieties of vodka, rum, bourbon, and white and red wine. Not to mention the no less impressive diversity of mixers.

He returned his thus-far wordless gaze toward his two attendants, both of whom had already slightly widened their eyes at his looks.

Perfect.

The Uchiha kept his emotionless frown, but gracefully draped a single arm over the back of the couch in a relaxed, inviting manner. Despite his distaste for it, he wasn't above using his looks to get what he wanted from women. It had worked well enough with Karin.

"I enjoy lovely company even more." he replied, lying through his teeth while gesturing to the open seats to either side of him.

Fantasia eagerly slipped next to him, though he could tell she had wanted to go straight for his lap. It unfortunately had not stopped her from placing her hand on his thigh in a doomed attempt to please him.

Not for the first time Sasuke had to remind himself he was dealing with civilians and not shinobi. He had to ignore his instinct to shove a kunai into her throat despite how much he wanted her to be unable to touch him with anything less than a forty-foot pole.

"What drink would you prefer, sir?" Candi abruptly interjected a bit louder than necessary to redirect his attention toward her. She was still smiling, but it was clear that she did not like her counterpart's bold intrusion in his personal space.

"Bourbon with Ginger Ale." he replied. Just because he couldn't get drunk didn't mean he couldn't find a drink that appealed to his taste. And he had found that bourbon had a bit of a burn when he swallowed it that he liked.

"Right away, sir."

"So Sasuke," Fantasia purred, pouring herself a glass of wine after the Uchiha received his own drink, "I understand from Miss Magenta that you want good conversation with your drink."

'She obviously wants to do more than talk'

It had not escaped his notice that her hand was starting to gently rub his thigh in far too intimate a manner for his taste. The hairs on his neck snapped up in silent alarm as Candi took her seat on his other side, once again far too close for his liking. Sasuke had to once again remind himself that he was here for a purpose, and snapping the neck of the hostesses would not get him what he wanted.

Still, he couldn't start asking them serious questions just yet. Roman was distracted by his lap dance, but Sasuke could tell he was still directing at least some of his attention on the Uchiha. Whether Roman suspected he would start asking questions or if he was genuinely interested if Sasuke was enjoying himself the Uchiha had no idea. Neo was still sober and was also choosing to lend her ear to his activities for some reason. She was lending her eyes too, giving him an intense but curious look as she slowly savored and consumed her 'dinner'.

Roman and Neo would no doubt be getting more alcohol of their own in due time, at which point he would start digging. Until then he would just have to bullshit.

Unfortunately for the Uchiha, 'until then' turned out to be more than an hour. And as expected, it was hell on earth. Pointless small talk, endless questions about the most useless topics, and mindless banter regarding subjects he could not have cared less for if he tried.

"So Sasuke, couldn't hep but notish the drinks aren' hitting you much…" the drinks were hitting her plenty, though. Even without Fantasia's slurred words the smell of wine and vodka on her and Candi's breath permeated the air like a miasma. "There a reassen fur zhat?"

"There is. But you're not going to remember anything I tell you at this point anyway."

"But you can tell meee," the voice from his other 'companion' slurred as Candi grasped his arm clumsily and rubbed her fingers into the muscle beneath in a decidedly uncoordinated manner. "Cmon sir, can't you let a grl in on a little shecret?"

"No." the Uchiha bluntly replied. "And it's time the two of you left, you've had more than enough of both drinks and my time."

He was near the end of his tether with these two. It had been a pain to listen to two mouths blabber instead of one, but Sasuke had made the decision for two girls for a reason.

The mundane talk he knew he would be participating in was likely going to drive him to consider suicide before long, at least if it was just him and one other person talking one-on-one. But with two girls who were acquaintances instead it was easy for him to simply direct the conversation the way he wanted with his preferred three-words-or-less phrases without being forced to articulate superfluous small talk, the latter of which he would simply sit back and let the girls talk amongst themselves a bit before re-entering as the less-chatty third wheel.

Having two girls who were both trying to get in his good graces also meant that they would consistently try to one-up each other much as the waitresses in the restaurant he and Suigetsu had stopped at in the Land of Waves had done. Once he brought up the subject of Roman and hinted at his interest, both of them were more than eager to share what they knew.

Despite the psychological torture he was subjected to the Uchiha had to admit he did have something to show for his troubles. Most of the words that came out of Fantasia and Candi's mouths were utterly worthless to him, but a handful of gems were embedded in-between the mass of useless information presented.

Roman had been coming here for some time, but Neo had only been accompanying him on and off for a little over a year. A few minutes later Candi revealed that Neo was actually an assassin for hire. And though she was one of Roman's favorite and more consistent helpers she did not work for him full-time.

And that meant that there was a good chance she was not completely loyal to the crime lord. Mercenaries, after all, did not fight to the death if they could help it. If they had a choice in the matter, they sold their services to the party that would pay them the most and worked jobs they thought they could survive. Reward money was worthless if the recipient was dead, after all.

And the two whores on either side of him were just as worthless now that they were incapable of speaking a coherent sentence. Something they didn't seem to understand seeing as how they were still trying to worm their hands through his clothing to the skin beneath.

"I won't repeat myself. Leave."

Thankfully the two girls still had enough lights on upstairs to understand he was serious, and slowly staggered to their feet with pouts on their faces. It looked like they wanted to say some kind of snappy retort as well, but standing and walking on two legs took all of the concentration they currently had.

Roman had left the room in an intoxicated state ten minutes prior with his escort after going through a bottle of wine and snorting what had to be cocaine, probably for some 'fun' in a more private area if he were to guess.

And that left Neo, her stripper, and the stripper currently dancing on the pole as the only ones left for company. Not that Sasuke wanted it, he had socialized more than enough for the evening.

Neo on the other hand was having the time of her life. Her attendant had been massaging her hands and feet for almost half an hour now, all while the heterochrome woman devoted her attention to the stripper dancing on the pole. It was almost like watching an excited child see the circus for the first time, her eyes following the movements of the performance with similar attention and wonder. Except she was drinking Moscato instead of fruit punch.

The pulsing beat in the background took on a sudden change of tune as a new stripper walked in to replace the one that had been entertaining them on the pole for the past twenty minutes. Unlike the previous ones however, she managed to catch Sasuke's attention. It wasn't the woman's skimpy outfit, her bright blue hair, nor her curvy figure that caught his eye. It was the seven-foot snake that was draped over her shoulders. As a student of Orochimaru and a summoner of snakes, he immediately identified it as a Boa Constrictor.

He was lucky that much of the wildlife of his home world and this one were by some ridiculous coincidence almost exactly the same with the exception of summons.

Neo had her eyes wide open and her hands clasped together in excitement at the sight. Not too unusual for her from what he had seen, but Sasuke had to admit a part of him wanted to see the woman's performance. It couldn't be easy to perform a pole dancing routine with an animal weighing over forty pounds along for the ride. Dealing with the massive shift in her center of gravity alone would be a challenge in and of itself.

Or maybe she wouldn't have any trouble at all. A quick glance at the woman revealed that she did not have legs- she had a ten-foot, bright red serpent tail from the waist down.

'A snake Faunus? Wait, does that mean she has a rudimentary form of communication or control with her constrictor because of their shared traits, or is her snake just for show?'

It was easy for Sasuke to find things he did not care about, but his curiosity was starting to get the better of him on this one. He was dividing his thought and attention between pondering if Faunus could bond or communicate with their respective animals in a similar manner to Jugo and being somewhat impressed at the stripper's dance as she did her routine. Low red light shimmered off her meticulously well-groomed scales as the smooth and almost sensual movements flowed together in the exotic locomotion of the serpentine. She flowed back and forth, sidewinding her way up and around the pole, doubling back on her own body with practiced ease. Her entire lower body rippled, shifted, contracted, and twisted around the pole in a display that he had to admit was both incredible and graceful.

Right when she was pulling off a rather original maneuver of turning her human half upside-down and slowly lowering it through a loose coil of her snake half a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"A bottle and a half of vodka, four bottles of wine, and a bottle of rum." the Uchiha swept his gaze to the speaker, another stripper with a brunette pixie cut who had walked up to his seat. No doubt to replace the two who were far too drunk to continue their shift. "I'm assuming the contents were divided evenly?"

"They were."

"Well then that explains why Fantasia and Candi were barely capable of walking out the door. But I can't hear any slurred words from you. Your tolerance must make you popular at parties."

"Why are you here? I don't think you came here to confirm how well my liver functions."

"I'm an escort and a dancer at a strip club" she replied in a tone that was a hairs-breadth away from sarcasm as she took a seat next to him. "I wouldn't be doing my job very well if I wasn't friendly and gave clients compliments when they were due."

Sasuke was uninterested in her company, and opened his mouth to say as much.

He would have told her to get lost, if it weren't for the sudden weight he felt on his neck and opposite shoulder. His first thought was that it was another stripper, but halfway through pivoting his head toward the offender he realized it was something else. The flesh was too hard, not quite the right shape, and too cool to be a human limb.

When he finished turning, he was face-to-face with the snake Faunus' Boa Constrictor, the animal's head so close that its forked tongue brushed his nose. The creature had apparently found him to be more appealing company and decided to abandon the woman in the middle of her dance.

Everyone in the room watched spellbound as the snake, for lack of a better phrase, began to make itself comfortable. It coiled its main body on the Uchiha's lap while draping the upper portion around his shoulders before gently nestling its head right in the crook of the neck of its host.

Reactions around the room were varied. The stripper talking to Sasuke shot up and took several hasty steps back, not wanting to be any closer to the serpent than necessary. The lamia-esque stripper was gawking at him, pausing her routine in shock. She was obviously unused to having her assistant jump ship on her. Neo had a look that was equal parts surprised and amused, and he noticed she actually began leaning forward in her seat as though she were watching a particularly intense drama or play.

She locked eyes with him as an amused grin made its way to her face, hungrily anticipating whatever would happen next.

"How the hell did you do that?" exclaimed the Faunus stripper in shock.

"…I have a thing for snakes" the Uchiha hinted, not willing to elaborate further.

In truth he had no idea why the damn thing was attracted to him. It was common with snake summons and even wild snakes to a lesser degree to be attracted to and be somewhat friendly with any shinobi contracted with their kind in his home world, but he hadn't expected similar behavior from their counterparts here.

Whatever the reason, it went without saying he couldn't tell anyone here his history with the animals. Even the most bastardized version of it was less believable than pigs flying.

"Really? That's… umm…"

"You don't have to stay Devon," the snake woman interrupted, cutting off the stuttering of her colleague who was caught between wanting to stay next to Sasuke and putting several rooms between herself and the constrictor draped over him. "I can keep him company."

"Thank you," Devon replied in relief, "I'll have someone bring in more drinks for you."

As she scampered away, the Faunus did not slither so much as flow down the step separating the stripper platform from the floor. She had the sultry and flirty look that her job no doubt demanded she wear, but mixed in was annoyance that he had stolen her associate and a puzzlement as to how he had done so.

"Hello, sir. You can call me Boa, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Sasuke, right?" She clasped her hands flat and gave a small bow as she introduced herself. "I must confess I'm a bit jealous my partner seems to like you more."

"What is his name?"

She was used to people thinking her snake was male before she told them his name; her snake was so muscular that most everyone just stuck that label on him without a second thought. But not this one. The tone of his voice indicated a man stating a fact, not one making an assumption. Still...

"His name is Reggie. How did you know he was a male?"

"The pelvic spurs." he answered. "Both sexes have them, but the males usually have slightly longer and more pointed ones than the females. I saw them during your performance."

She couldn't help herself from raising a brow at that revelation. The odds he knew that fact were slim enough, but she had no idea how he had been able to see such a small anatomical detail from the distance he was at in such poor lighting. She doubted she could match the feat even with her enhanced Faunus vision.

"I'm impressed," she praised, giving him a small golf clap as she took a seat by his side while coiling the rest of her body on the floor below her. "what other small little facts do you know?"

She began leaning forward almost teasingly slow, making sure to give him a mouthwatering view of her cleavage that had gotten her more tips than she could count with other men.

Her bait was ignored. His onyx pupils did not falter for a second and continued to gaze directly into her own eyes.

It was a first for her; humans and even most Faunus would have at least been gawking at her snake half whether they knew she saw them looking or not by now. It had been a curse that had plagued her for all of her living memory, and just because it had gotten her a well-paying job here as a more 'exotic' item didn't mean she didn't loathe the fact she was essentially treated as a sexual object and a circus attraction rolled into one.

As he paid no attention to the display of the deliciously-curved valley between her breasts she came to a simple conclusion: he didn't care about what she looked like.

He didn't care about her Faunus traits, and he didn't care about her sexual appeal.

He was looking into her eyes. The windows to the soul...

It was enough to make her pause. No one had ever met her without being distracted by one part of her body or another. Ever.

She barely noticed her muscles beginning to relax.

"I know they're poikilothermic." he replied, jerking her out of her thoughts. "But I don't think you share that trait."

"Two for two." Entranced as she was, Boa didn't notice her tail begin to inch its way toward the Uchiha's feet without her permission. "And how did you figure that one out? I don't think your 'thing for snakes' helped you there."

He looked at her- with his gorgeous eyes- as though she were the stupidest sentient being on the face of the earth.

"You are not a snake."

His words were nothing short of an emotional slap to her face. This encounter was proving to be full of firsts for her; 'not a snake' was the last choice of words anyone else would have used to describe her.

Confused, curious, flustered, and slightly anxious were all words that accurately summarized Boa's state of mind when Sasuke gave his unconventional response. She began trying to re-focus her stuttering mind to think up some kind of coherent sentence to reply with when from out of nowhere, her emotional state shifted.

From the tip of her tail, a rapid but gentle wave of what she could only identify as warmth pulsed up through her entire body. Her muscles, tense from anxiety and her now muddled mind, let go of their tension and relaxed of their own accord as the pleasant sensation swept through every fiber of her being like a wave of warm honey.

As the relaxing tide reached her head, a different set of emotions instantly replaced what had been there only moments before. Stability, trust, intimacy, connection.

It was almost… familiar, somehow.

For several seconds she simply stared into his beautiful obsidian orbs, too stupefied to say a word. Her mind was racing; divided between simply enjoying her newfound state of content, trying to understand why she was in such a state to begin with, and attempting to remember where she had felt this before.

She slowly turned her eyes away from her mysterious client to the epicenter of the earthquake that had just rolled through her- a fraction of a square inch of her tail that was brushing the bare skin of his ankle.

For another moment she gave a mesmerizing gaze to the trigger of the sensations she was still savoring. How could a single touch trigger what she had just gone through? Who the hell was this guy?

"Boa."

Her head shot up as Sasuke's voice abruptly broke her out of her trance. A quick glance at him showed that whatever had just affected her had not touched him at all.

"I- I'm sorry, sir." she hastily apologized, cheeks flushing pink with embarrassment. "I just… I don't know what came over me."

Her client chose to reply non-verbally this time, somehow pulling off a 'you're not making any sense so get your shit together' look on top of his blank poker face.

That look at least, was familiar to her. Her brother had always loved to show it to her whenever she started rambli-

With a start, Boa realized where she had felt this way before. It had been years ago, back when she had been a small child. It had been a normal occurrence for her to come home either in tears or close to it from the open staring, merciless harassment, and behind-her-back teasing of her classmates. She had been an outcast no one had been willing to befriend or even speak to.

Some of the boys of course started to change their opinions of her when puberty hit, but before that her older brother was the only real friend she could claim she had. She would come home in shambles, and he would sit with her. Patiently listening to her either spill out her agony or just embrace her without uttering a word as she clung to the only rock of compassion amongst the sea of scorn and ridicule.

It was impossible to forget the sense of relief and sanctuary whenever he had been there to pick her up when she was falling.

It was that exact sensation she was experiencing now from Sasuke. All from nothing more than a token piece of her skin contacting his.

He was family. There was no logical explanation for why that should be, but there was no denying that's what every instinct she had was telling her.

Boa now understood exactly why Reggie had decided to curl up in his lap.

"Umm, sir, you told Miss Magenta you wanted company that just wanted to talk, right?" she asked shyly, raising herself straight in her seat more casually than the seductive body language she had shown earlier.

Despite the change to a more professional mannerism, no one in the room missed the fact that Boa did not pull her tail away from the Uchiha's foot. Rather, she carefully moved the tip of her tail up to gently hook around his ankle.

It was almost like watching a child grasp their parents' hand when they wanted to take comfort from the connection.

"I did." the Uchiha replied brusquely.

"I… I think I would like that too." she confessed, a small but genuine smile appearing on her face.

While Boa was busy enjoying what was essentially the emotional equivalent of a gallon of hot chocolate warming her body from within her stomach, Sasuke was in a very different boat.

Not for the first time since arriving here, he was at a loss as to what he should do.

It would be wise to keep her around and try to find out if there was some reason her snake was so attached to him and attempt to figure out some way to prevent such an encounter again. He had no desire to be swarmed by a mass of snakes in full public view that would beg several questions he was in no position to answer. If he wanted an answer, he probably wouldn't get a better chance than the one he had now.

And then… Boa had had her moment. The Uchiha had no idea exactly what the hell she had gone through, but it had been weird. She had gone from seductive, to shocked, to mellow, to friendly in the span of a few seconds. He knew that touching his leg had been part of the catalyst for her little episode, but he didn't have the slightest clue as to what exactly it had done to her or why it had happened to begin with.

Part of his rational mind was calling for either a general retreat or to send her away, whichever one was easier. He was uncomfortable enough around a strip joint, and the tail that was still curled around his leg didn't ease his apprehension. He had gotten intel on Roman, so perhaps it was best to leave before his new 'friend' had another crazy moment.

Then again, she did seem a bit less crazy now. He could still do without the tail contact, but the girl had backed off her advances and was actually behaving somewhat normally even if she was still a bit friendlier with him than she had a right to be.

If she wasn't going to hit on him then getting the information he wanted probably wouldn't be that bad.

It was at that moment, of course, when things got worse.

Devon had said she would send someone else in to top off his drinks, and another stripper came in out of the corner of his vision with a re-filled tray to do just that. Unfortunately it was someone the Uchiha knew and had hoped to not see again.

"Oh, thank you, Lav." Boa said as she wasted no time reaching for a pre-mixed cocktail that was so concentrated with lemon Sasuke wasn't sure if there was any alcohol in it at all. "You came at the perfect time!"

Sasuke strongly disagreed. He didn't know the girl's name, but the face and the purple hair that belonged to the woman he had strong-armed into helping him after beating up her friends was unmistakable.

She saw him as she turned to offer him a drink, and the Uchiha watched in real-time as her eyes popped open and her pupils dilated to the size of small coins as she realized just who her next client was.

'She hasn't forgotten me. Dammit, of all the places in Vale, why did she have to be here?'

He hadn't told her his name when they had first met specifically so she wouldn't be able to give it to the police if she went to them, but her colleagues would be able to give it to her now. And unlike Roman or Slate who both had something to lose if he was arrested, she had no such misgivings.

He had thought the girl would just forget about trying to come forward to the cops given that she and her friends were not exactly on the right side of the law when he had encountered them, and that his show of force would be intimidation enough to make her think twice about trying to call him out. It had worked so far, but that was only because she thought he was out of her life for good after he had let her go.

That calculus had shifted. She knew he was working for Roman, a regular client. And that meant she would assume he would be visiting often. If she was desperate to avoid him but wasn't able to, then her only option would be to go to someone for help.

And with her knowledge of his name and his fake identity, that was unacceptable. He was going to have to nip her potential whistle-blowing in the bud and make her have a more concrete reason to keep her mouth shut.

As he took a drink from the offered tray a vague plan began to form in his mind even as he saw that Neo had sent her own stripper away and had not taken her eyes off him since his snake magnet episode, enraptured by the drama that seemed to follow him. The purple-haired woman's instant fear of him was not lost on the ever more intrigued sociopath. Mismatched eyes were glued to him with an almost inhuman intensity as she began digging her fingers into her thighs from the rising tension and excitement.

'Fine with me. If Neo wants a show, I'll give her a show.'

Violet was struggling not to panic. It was just supposed to be a standard weeknight for her- not too busy, get some extra tips, and leave for the night when they closed. She had done it hundreds of times before with the worst sorts of company.

But right now even the clients who had put her through the most disgusting humiliations and degradations were looking like very acceptable alternatives to the monster in front of her. She had not wanted to see him again, and she had believed he thought the same given the fact he had told her to leave when she had 'assisted' him. But he was here, and she was expected to play the part of a lamb serving drinks to a hungry lion.

The sight of Reggie wrapped around him like a faithful pet of some kind only made the alarms in her head blare louder. It was… unnatural. Just like everything else about him.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you! Mr. Uchiha, this is Lavender. Lavender, this is Sasuke Uchiha, Torchwick's newest hire."

Her own personal living nightmare locked eyes with her in a knowing look. "A pleasure."

The fact that Boa had told him her stage name instead of her real one provided no comfort to Violet. His voice was just as smooth and baritone as she remembered, and was just as terrifying.

"L-l-likewise." she barely managed to squeak.

Violet felt cold. Not the outside-in-freezing weather kind of cold, but something else. The warmth wasn't stolen from her skin by some winter chill- it was retreating inside her body. When she felt a droplet of clammy sweat beginning to form on her elbow, she realized she was starting to go into full on fight-or-flight mode.

The tray she was carrying began to jitter and vibrate from her trembling as she began losing control of her motor functions.

'Stop shaking. Stop shaking. STOP SHAKING!'

"Why don't you take a seat, Lavender?"

"I-I…" she couldn't stop trembling- instincts embedded into her very genome to save their host from danger easily began overruling her conscious will to freeze her muscles. "I re-really need to get ba-"

"Sit."

She should have just declined anyway and left. She should have just walked away and dealt with Miss Magenta yelling at her about how a proper hostess should never deny a client their company. But she didn't.

She couldn't. All thoughts of independence and resistance fled from her mind as quickly as the blood fled from her ever-paler skin whenever Sasuke was around. She had as much right to disobey him as a seal had the right to not be eaten by a shark.

She slowly positioned herself as closely as she dared to him before miraculously sitting down without spilling any of the drinks in her tray. Boa had already started talking to Sasuke again about some topic or another, but it was difficult to hear through her numbed senses.

Violet could tell that Boa seemed… calmer and more relaxed than usual. A friendly and amiable persona was expected by all of the employees when they interacted with clients, but for the most part it was an act that was dropped as soon as they were behind closed doors. But Violet could tell that Boa wasn't acting or putting on a genial or attentive act now- it was somehow genuine.

She began to look up to try and find some kind of excuse to leave, only to meet the mismatched eyes of the short woman who had been the other member of Roman's party.

The fact that Neo was not physically imposing did nothing to make her less threatening- a grin that stretched almost from ear to ear and just barely revealed her pearly teeth, and mismatched eyes were staring straight at her with fanatical intensity.

She was a psychopath, watching her squirm and writhe in fear and relishing every moment of it.

If Violet was scared before, she was terrified now.

As quickly as she dared, Violet turned her gaze toward the only possible ally she had in the room. Boa was a Faunus, so even with the dim lighting she would surely see her panic and fear?

Regrettably Boa's low-light vision wouldn't do Violet any good unless the Faunus actually looked at her and noticed her distress. And the snake woman had her eyes locked on Sasuke. The way that Boa was so intensely focused on him and utterly ignoring her distressed friend silently signaling for help only inches away was enough to make Violet believe that her colleague was in a trance of some kind.

"So Sasuke, what exactly is your job with Roman? I doubt he would invite a newbie here unless you made an impression." The snake-woman questioned, oblivious to her colleague's plight from the warm haze of the Uchiha's presence.

"Nothing too special. I'm a hired thug by every definition. Not quite an assassin like Neo over there, but good at getting people out of my way."

Violet looked back at Neo; whose grin was even wider than before. Both women began hyperventilating right in front of the other, though for drastically opposite reasons.

Violet realized right there that she was on her own. There were two people in that room who could kill her without effort and would not hesitate to do it. And her only ally was somehow so spellbound by one of them that she couldn't even notice Violet's signals for help. Cold sweat began to cover her skin in a smooth sheen as panic-triggered adrenaline forced her lungs to work overtime to provide extra oxygen to her muscles in what her conscious mind knew would be a futile attempt to flee or defend herself.

Neo had realized the same thing. And she loved watching every second of it. The way the purple-haired woman's face filled to the brim with fear and desperation, her futile attempts to call for aid, and her realization that she was trapped with no way out- it was ecstasy to her. Fish in a barrel, mouse in a trap; there were plenty of metaphors, but they all summed up the situation perfectly. Neo could feel her body respond to the rush of endorphins she released; her skin flushed, her temperature rose, and her nostrils flared as she could almost literally smell the fear from the terrified girl. Her lungs picked up their pace and deepened their contractions, giving more power to her legs to chase down her prey if it was foolish enough to run.

"Well, that's comforting." Boa continued. "I know the profession you've chosen is hardly one for the faint of heart, it's nice that you aren't the one that takes part in the more unpleasant duties of working with Roman."

"You shouldn't make such assumptions. I certainly prefer not to resort to violence if it can be avoided."

The nerves on the back of Violet's head alerted her to several objects disturbing her hair before five points of small pressure were felt on her skull. With renewed horror, she realized that Sasuke had placed his right hand behind her head and was gently gripping it in his fingers out of Boa's line of sight. Her eyes widened to impossible proportions in unquantifiable dread- the monster literally had her in the palm of his hand.

"Nevertheless, a certain level of intimidation is needed for some to take myself or Roman seriously."

The double-meaning of his words was not lost on Violet as she struggled to attempt to get her breathing under control. Her heart was pounding in her ears so loudly her panic-compromised mind actually thought there was a chance Boa would hear it.

"Not everyone can be bought with bribes or deals. For those who have something to gain by acting against us, a threat is the only way."

His fingertips adjusted their grip slightly, but to her surprise did not squeeze. If the context was ignored then it was an almost gentle grip- more fitting for an affectionate sibling or lover than the death threat she knew it was.

"If a gruesome outcome is not desired, that threat cannot be a bluff."

Even her eyes were trembling now, blurring her vision as her pupils shot back and forth from their overdose of adrenaline along with the rest of her muscles. But through the quaking picture her eyes were showing her, the heterochromatic woman was still watching her.

Every time Violet thought she couldn't be more terrified from the suspense or the promises of death she was proven wrong. The woman's face showed nothing short of bloodthirsty madness now- her eyes were wide as could be and she had on a full teeth-bearing smile that could only belong to a murderer or rapist that lived off the fear and suffering of their victims. The predator began rubbing her thighs together and slowly extended her tongue, licking her lips right in front of her prey at the thought of ending her mortal existence to satiate her lust for the kill.

A slight tickling sensation on her cheek reminded Violet that Neo was not the only predator in the room. As if sensing her fear Reggie pulled his face right alongside hers and began to taste her skin and sweat with his forked tongue, as if trying to decide if the fleshy being before it was a suitable flavor to devour.

"And the target has to know it."

And then- it happened.

A cold mass, heavier than an ocean, slammed into every square inch of Violet's body. Her muscles were forced to stop their frantic and desperate twitching and air was blasted from her lungs. A thousand needles freezing beyond any measure violated every pore of her body and stole every bit of warmth they touched.

Sasuke crushed her head in his hand like an egg- bits of skull and brain matter flew across the room in a shower of gore as everything in sight was splattered with her remains.

He gripped her throat and crushed her windpipe. Squeezing hard enough that the veins and arteries were pulled with enough torque to rip open and spill her life fluid across her collar and bosom.

A sword was thrust into her heart even as she begged for mercy that would never come. Her face paling as the blood that gave it its pink hue was ejected in a geyser of red that flooded her surroundings in an ever-growing crimson blossom.

She died a dozen more times in as many different ways and experienced every one of them.

Violet couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She wasn't even sure if her heart was still beating.

Saline tears and sweat collected on her chin and nose, falling to the floor in enough quantity to form a small puddle at her feet in less time than it took to tie a shoelace. Uncountable droplets of perspiration poured from her skin in a deluge that soaked every strand of what little clothing she had and turned her primp hair into a matted and grimy mess in seconds. Liquid with an almost unmistakable odor slowly matted the leather cushion she was trembling under. From a distance she could be mistaken for a swimmer that had just exited a swimming pool.

Her lungs were crying out for her to take a breath. To live. But she couldn't. She would die if she moved. She would die if she breathed.

She had no right to live if he did not permit it.

"You don't look so good Lavender," he observed as he spoke in a smooth drawl that interrupted her thoughts, "Is everything all right?"

Violet felt the hand gripping the back of her skull turn her head toward the monster sitting next to her as he voiced his faux concern.

An unnatural chill danced on her skin as she stared into his obsidian pools- it was like staring into a lifeless machine. No emotion, no compassion, no anger, just a sheet of cold metal with the visage of a human face. The sight of his chest slowly rising and falling in the corner of her vision was the only proof that Sasuke Uchiha was a living person of flesh and bone.

"Holy shit, girl, you're whiter than a ghost! Are you feeling okay?"

Boa was momentarily broken out of her hypnotic trance upon seeing her friend looking as though she was getting ready to vomit, though it was no comfort to the blackmailed girl. Even as the Faunus leaned forward to grasp her hand in concern Violet could see that her movements were slow and her mind was sluggish from whatever state of excess contentment and relaxation he had somehow put her in. She was not going to be able to help.

"I… I… I do… I don-" Words and letters jumbled around in Violet's head as she desperately tried to string some kind of sentence together. She had a golf-ball sized lump in her throat that refused to budge or pay heed to her need to articulate some kind of excuse to get the hell out of there.

"You clearly aren't well, Lavender" interrupted the monster responsible for her condition, "perhaps you should take your leave and go home for the evening."

It was the exit she had been waiting for. But her body was still paralyzed from the earlier psychological trauma; thighs refused to budge despite the frantic signals from her brain to stand up and move.

The hand on the back of her head relaxed its grip and lowered itself down to her upper back before giving her a gentle push to get her on her feet. "I insist."

There was a pregnant pause as she stood motionless as a stature for a few moments, frozen from fear and shock. Slowly, she turned around just enough to see him in the edge of her vision.

"Th-thank y-ou s-s-sir."

Forgoing the usual apology for not meeting the client's expectations her position normally demanded, Violet concentrated on putting one numb leg in front of the other toward the exit door.

"Oh, and Lavender?"

She froze. His voice cut through her panicked mind like a knife and poised itself to cut the only thread of hope she had left. She was so close. So close! Her fingertips were brushing the doorknob!

Why wouldn't he just let her leave!

"I'm not sure what caused your little 'episode' just now; whether it was an expired snack you had earlier or just a sudden chill, I have no idea." He paused for a moment, letting the butterflies in her stomach turn into writhing tarantulas from the thickening tension. "It's not your fault that you weren't at your best tonight, and I don't blame you for it. But I must emphasize that taking care of your own well-being is your responsibility. For your own sake, please take care of yourself to ensure your health doesn't take another nasty turn like this."

Violet's sweat glands renewed their efforts to rid her body of every ounce of water it contained as the saline fluid coated her skin in a glossy sheen. Her jaw was locked in place, clamping down so hard from her adrenaline rush it was a miracle her teeth weren't cracking from the strain.

"You have many friends and colleagues here. They would be devastated if something were to happen to you."

The door threatened to shake off its hinges from the renewed quaking of her hands. Still, she knew better than to leave yet. She couldn't leave without his permission.

"Something to keep in mind."

Finally released from her bondage, Violet turned the knob and opened the door. She didn't walk or sprint through it as her mind was demanding- she half-convulsed, half-fell though; the exhaustion of her mental torture and following fight-or-flight response catching up with her.

"My, I've never seen anyone fall apart like that" Boa muttered in concern before turning toward the man who was the source of her emotional high, "What do you suppose caused it?"

"No idea. I told her as much just now, remember?"

"Really? I do apologize sir, I didn't hear that. I'm kind of… spacing out. I just feel so… relaxed."

'Well, that went well' the Uchiha thought to himself. Lavender, or whatever her real name was, had gotten the message loud and clear- it was up to her to keep her mouth shut now. Hopefully she would take his advice and not test him. He did feel a bit guilty for threatening an innocent civilian like that, the girl had simply had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Using his killing intent was perhaps a bit of an overkill even if he had only used less than a sixth of what he was capable of, but Sasuke couldn't take any chances.

She certainly didn't deserve to die, but he would follow up his threat and kill her himself if she snitched. He had briefly entertained the idea of simply capturing her instead and keeping her trapped in one of the two safehouses he had on the outskirts of Vale he had made for emergencies, but thought better of it. He could tie her down securely and return to feed her easily enough, but the Grimm would be attracted to her before long.

Killing innocents was a crime Itachi was guilty of, and something he wanted to avoid if at all possible. Unfortunately for Lavender, there was no possible compromise here. He needed to get home, and he was not going to stand for her or anyone else fucking it up.

As Boa seemed to melt further into her seat from whatever mental thing she was going through, a small bit of movement across from him caught his eye.

'Well, Neo enjoyed what she saw.'

She had a similar look of primal satisfaction as someone who had just stuffed themselves full of food on a holiday had. Her breathing was slowing down as she calmed herself, and her fingers twitched on the handle of her umbrella.

That, however, was where the similarities ended. The woman began rubbing her thighs together in a shameless display of a different kind of excitement. The Uchiha's eyes widened in surprise as she brought her free hand up to her mouth, wiping it with her finger to clean what he could vaguely see as excess saliva she had apparently drooled while watching his blackmail performance.

Then, she slowly rose from her seat, licking her lips as she sauntered over to him with a hungry smirk.

'Holy shit! Is that- did she- did she seriously get off from that?'

Liquid that was neither saliva nor sweat coated the fabric of her inner thighs in a conspicuous dark patch that was so soaked that small droplets were beginning to fall to the floor. The scent wafting from her direction and filling his nostrils gave him no illusions as to what bodily fluid it was.

She was thankfully not heading toward his lap- she was not so rude as to cut in line and Reggie had technically claimed the spot first. Instead she plopped herself down on the now vacant seat to his right, pausing briefly to scratch Reggie underneath the chin in a gesture of goodwill before wrapping her arms around his own. Seemingly too content to care about the previous occupant's own various juices coating her area, mismatched eyes stared into his own in a confident and satisfied grin.

"Whew, that was just what I needed!" thoughts on how exactly to handle his current situation were interrupted as Roman all but waltzed back into the room with his stripper in tow. "You two been enjoying yourselves?"

Not as much as Roman apparently had. If his not-completely closed zipper and the not-quite saliva fluid still on his pants and his stripper's mouth was anything to go on. He was a fan of blowjobs, it seemed.

"What the hell is up with Miss Snake there?" he questioned as he noted her inebriated high. "And since when did you decide to become his shadow, Neo?"

Boa continued to stare at the Uchiha in her zoned-out trance, completely unaware of Roman's presence at all as she continued to bask in mental ambrosia. Neo just blinked cutely at the crime lord, only removing one arm from her grip to shrug a single shoulder before returning it to its desired place. The thief looked on in confusion.

"Did something happen?"

"…Nothing." denied the Uchiha. "Nothing at all."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Please come again, sir!"

'Not if I can help it'

Finally, after over five grueling hours, it was over. And by some divine blessing he had escaped unmolested despite Miss Magenta's last-minute attempts.

Surprisingly the last half-hour of the stay had been rather amusing. Roman had been stupid enough to challenge him to a drinking contest, and the fool had lost hard. Luckily, he and Neo had managed to get their ever-loyal driver to pick up the nauseous thief. Neither he nor Neo were brave enough to get a ride back home in the same car as Roman right now; a five-minute drive home was not worth the risk of being vomited on.

And so, he was now making his way back to his apartment with his heterochromic sidekick in tow. Neo was giddy, practically skipping behind him as she no doubt reminisced over the good memories she had of their visit. Sasuke, however, was in deeper thought as he went through all of the information he had learned during his subtle interrogations.

He had continued to try and continue his questioning of Boa after Roman had returned, with mixed results. He had learned that his presence, somehow, made her feel incredibly soothed and relaxed by physical contact alone. Much like his effect on Grimm, the Uchiha had no idea what the cause of the phenomenon could be. Luckily it seemed that only snakes or snake-based Faunus were affected by his presence. Boa was not the only Faunus he had touched- he had fought a few at Slate's who had challenged him for the title, none of whom had been affected at all.

So, all he had to do was stay in the city away from the Grimm and away from snakes in the rural areas of Vale, and avoid any other snake Faunus he happened to meet.

Keep doing what he was doing, essentially.

He had acquired one more piece of noteworthy information- Roman had never taken part in large-scale Dust theft before. He was guilty to high heaven with the more common crimes: smuggling, racketing, extortion, blackmail, robbery, and the like. But stealing Dust en mass like this was something unheard of not only for him, but any powerful crime boss.

The fact was stealing Dust was a risky business. Humanity's survival and safety depended in large part on Hunters and military forces having dependable access to large quantities of the substance. Which meant that anyone disrupting or reducing the supply of the invaluably strategic substance would be on the receiving end of an entire kingdom's law enforcement in short order, followed by the armed forces if the situation was serious enough.

By all accounts it wasn't worth the risk. The Uchiha had considered that with so much of Vale's military in Patch dealing with the increase in Grimm activity there the thief had simply decided to take advantage of their absence so long as it lasted, but Fantasia had mentioned that the dust robberies had begun almost a month before the Patch Anomaly disappeared.

The only real alternative was his previous theory- a third party that was paying and/or Dust-arming Roman to steal the Dust for them. And that was a big problem for him. He had to find some way out before he was in too deep.

Brainstorming such an idea would have to wait as the Uchiha felt the telltale sensation of air rushing around a sharp weapon that was being sharply thrusted at him. He side-stepped the offending object with practiced ease, turning around to see Neo still holding her blade-tipped umbrella at him with an eager smile as though it was normal to perform sneak attacks on her partner.

The Uchiha pulled out his sword just in time to block her attempt to slash his knee before countering with a low kick to force her to give up her footing. She did just that, pulling off a graceful jump directly over his head before flipping and landing in a flawless courtesy.

"When I said we would be picking up our spar the next chance we had," the Uchiha interjected before Neo could attack again, "four o'clock in the morning was not the time I had in mind."

Neo only responded with a playful shrug of her shoulders before giving him an eager grin that conveyed her excitement at the pain and bloodshed at least one of them would endure before they parted ways. And Sasuke knew Neo's 'sparring' habits well enough by now that he knew she wouldn't be quitting until the sun rose in an hour or so unless he decided to end it quicker.

"Tsh, have it your way." declared the Uchiha as he readied himself. "But don't complain when I throw you and your little dress though another wall."

They both gave each other a small smirk, a tiny sign that they both respected each other's skills enough to truly enjoy the fights they had.

With a rush of displaced air and the sparks of clashing blades, their ritual began anew.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was midday, and the sun was blazing at the height of its arc through the sky. The intense rays were uncomfortable for any living creature to endure, but underneath the canopy of the forests in southern Anima conditions were more bearable. Few humans traveled this way- wandering Grimm were common this far away from Mistral, and few were willing to take the simple dirt roads to get to and from the paltry villages in the surrounding area that had not yet been annihilated by the dark creatures.

For Qrow Branwen, that meant that any tracks or trails left by his target would be easy to spot. It was so much easier in the bird form he was currently in- avians in general had exceptional vision. A trait required for accurately perceiving objects and creatures on the ground that were sometimes miles away.

The distant cry of a bird of prey of some kind persuaded Qrow to take a short break on a nearby branch. He had heard a few large Nevermores earlier, but he could not have cared less about them. One of the perks of being in Crow form was that Grimm could not detect his emotions. He could, and often did, fly inches away from the most savage of Grimm with no danger to himself whatsoever. As long as he was a crow, he may as well have been invisible to them.

A wild raptor, on the other, hand, was a threat he had to take seriously. Falcons in particular hunted and ate other birds- and crows were no exception. It was easy enough to simply shift back to his human form and make the bird loose interest, but he could only do that if he saw the attack coming.

He had learned that lesson the hard way a week after Ozpin had given him his shapeshifting ability. A falcon had come in from six-o'clock high in his blind spot as he was flying around the outskirts of Vacuo, and a ridiculously lucky thermal rising up to change his course at the last second was the only reason Qrow had not been turned into falcon shit.

The piercing cry he had just heard didn't sound like a Falcon, or any other wild raptor that ranged in this area of Mistral. He would know- he had made sure to memorize all of them he heard so he wasn't caught off-guard.

Still, despite the tree cover, it was better safe than sorry. Qrow had birds-eye vision too- he knew all too well how easy it was to track something from the sky even under the broken cover of foliage.

It was a good decision on his part. Moments later, the bird screeched again, much louder and closer this time. The cry was an unusually powerful one, much louder than any he had heard before. And Qrow was fluent enough with basic avian dialogue to know that the bird making it was pissed.

Deciding his mission was more important than sticking around to watch a bird fight over territory or a girlfriend, Qrow leapt off his branch and once again began gliding down the path to continue his hunt.

He didn't get more than ten feet away before he heard the distinct caws of multiple Nevermores, followed moments later by a crushing blast of air pressure that blasted loose leaves and twigs from their branches and almost pushed him to the ground.

'What the fuck!? Is there a Hunter around taking the Nevermores out I didn't see earlier?'

There shouldn't have been- this area was so remote Hunters rarely had reason to venture out to it. And he would have seen them coming long before they had gotten here whether they had walked the road or taken an airship.

Dodging falling debris, not to mention several very surprised and disoriented squirrels, Qrow flew on in a now desperate attempt to get as far away from whatever conflict was happening above as possible.

He had barely made it back to level flight when yet another explosion of wind smashed through the treetops, accompanied by the screeches and caws of the combatants above. Distinct thuds of beating wings and cracks of physical hits now permeated the area as the fight above descended low enough for the creatures below to hear the sounds of their blows.

And then, from the left side of his vision, Qrow saw what could only be described as a thin wave of compressed air make its way through the forest canopy.

'An air blade?'

It was all too familiar to him- he used a similar technique wielding his weapon that allowed him to launch a long-range projectile of air that could cut through even relatively sturdy targets such as the limbs of large Grimm.

They would cut through wood too, and Qrow dipped just enough to avoid being cut in half by mere inches. The surrounding forest didn't have the luxury of moving out of the way, and the attack cut clean through hundreds of branches and fully-grown tree trunks like a hot knife through butter.

Qrow widened his bird eyes in shock: an area several acres had been deforested in the blink of an eye with one attack. He wasn't the only Hunter who could use the Wind Blade technique- simply focusing one's aura around the bladed portion of their weapon and transferring the energy to the air around it meant that any Hunter with good aura control could perform it. But he had never heard of one as remotely powerful as this one. Even for an expert of the technique like him or Raven, they would need to use almost their own weight in wind dust to amplify the attack before it was even remotely comparable to what he had just seen.

'Is that a Maiden fighting up there?' It was the only logical explanation Qrow had. Nothing else that had a reason to fight Grimm was that powerful. But it still didn't make sense- there shouldn't have been any Maidens around here. The Spring Maiden was still missing, but all of the intelligence he had gathered strongly suggested she was in North or West of Mistral.

Two black blurs fell to the ground in front of him as he found a concealed perch on a stump at the boundary of the freshly-deforested area and kicked up loose leaves from the thud of their impact. As the debris fell back Qrow saw that the black blurs were in fact two halves of a large Nevermore that had been cut cleanly in half from head to tail. Even as the defeated Grimm evaporated, he snapped his head toward another object impacting the ground much closer to him.

This impact was much faster and was only a blur even to his avian sight. And the force was orders of magnitude greater too- the ground shook beneath him in a manner more fitting for a small earthquake than a falling object. Qrow raised his head when the impact shockwave passed, and almost fainted from shock and disbelief.

Another large Nevermore was struggling on the ground, flapping its wings in a desperate attempt to get airborne. It was a futile struggle; the creature's left wing had been ripped off at the wrist.

And triumphantly standing on the Nevermore with its talons hooked around the Grimm's throat, was a Hawk. A fucking huge hawk.

It was twice the height of a grown man, with a wingspan that would no doubt be comparable to a small airship. Feet that were large enough to grasp around a horse or cow were armed with claws as large as a man's forearm. Light brown feathers covered the creature, with areas of darker mocha brown forming patches and stripes around its back, wings, and tail. A semi-circle pattern of nearly black feathers surrounded the animal's eyes in a pattern reminiscent of a raccoon's 'mask', and the top beak was decorated by a horizontal stripe of dark red. Piercing yellow eyes gazed around with such intensity and focus it was impossible to imagine anything could escape sight.

With a wet squelch and crack of snapping vertebrae, the hawk crushed the throat and broke the spine of the broken Nevermore in a single clench of its talons in a hair-raising display of power.

Despite the Hawk's outrageous proportions, it was still barely half the size of the Nevermores it had fought. The fact that the hawk had been the winner in a two-on-one matchup with them and had not even gotten a visible injury was proof enough that the animal was far more powerful than even it's ludicrous size would suggest.

Qrow quickly jumped up to ready himself to take flight- it was time to leave. He had no idea if this creature had been born from some random mutation or was an escaped biological experiment from Gods-know-where, but he didn't care. He would simply have to mention to Ozpin that an enormous hawk the size of a small room that could launch air blades stronger than any Hunter was flying around Anima and figure out what the hell to do from there.

'I had heard rumors of a large bird being spotted in the middle of Higanbana's market, but I thought they were just crazy or exaggerated! Though I suppose it's no crazier than a rumor about a guy who can turn into a crow either.'

Unfortunately for the disguised Hunter, the phrase 'eyes like a hawk' was an appropriate metaphor regarding the animal's ridiculously superior vision. He had barely managed to perch before the hawk's head swiveled in his direction and it zeroed in on him.

'Shit, shit, SHIT!'

Qrow was frozen- unsure of what to do now. He wasn't stupid enough to believe the animal's vision was based on movement or some other ridiculous notion; it had seen him. He couldn't fight it, even if he switched to human form Qrow highly doubted he could take this thing on in a fight. It was faster than either of his forms, and more powerful. If it decided to kill him for a quick meal there wasn't much he could do.

"It's rude to stare, you know."

Qrow almost fell off his perch- the thing had spoken to him!

Granted it wasn't the first time he had heard birds talk. As a crow he could make out the normal chirps and cries of various birds and understand them. It was a real eye-opener when he first listened in and realized that birds of all kinds did indeed have a rudimentary language they all shared. Even if there were massive variations across different species and regions.

Still, birds were not fully sentient beings as humans or Faunus were. So their vocabulary was mostly limited to simple 'words' such as "danger", "food", "leave", "angry", "you're hot", and other one and two-letter phrases. This was the first bird he had met that had formed a full and complete sentence.

"S-sorry," apologized Qrow, not wishing to antagonize the bird that he now recognized from the voice was a male. "I've just never seen a hawk your size before. I meant no offense."

"None taken. I would be amazed if you had."

"You're quite the unique individual yourself, sir." the hawk continued. "I haven't met another animal here capable of higher speech yet. Are there more like you?"

Qrow didn't like lying to others, especially ones he had just met. But that didn't change the fact he couldn't tell this thing about Raven. This thing was certainly not loyal to Salem, but that was no excuse for spilling Raven's secret for her.

"I'm afraid not. Unfortunately, fluent speech is a rare thing in the animal kingdom."

"Oh, and I was hopeful for a minute there." sulked the bird, lowering his head in disappointment.

'Is he actually sad he can't make friends or something? I guess it makes sense he's lonely, not like he can find a compatible-sized girlfriend.'

"Oh my, how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself!" exclaimed the hawk as he ruffled his feathers in embarrassment before opening his wings and lowering himself in an unmistakable bow. "My name is Garuda. It's a pleasure."

"Qrow Branwen," replied the Hunter. "Not to be rude, but you're not going to eat me, are you?"

"Oh, heavens no! I don't eat birds. Besides, I had a dolphin for lunch an hour ago."

"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure." Qrow replied as he hopped forward onto a stump closer to his new acquaintance. He felt a bit sorry for the poor dolphin who clearly stood no chance against the predator, but that was just the circle of life. "How did you get into a fight with the Nevermores just now? They usually ignore wildlife, did you get in their territory or something?"

"So that's what they're called. I was only passing overhead and checking the area out, I didn't steal any of their food and I didn't threaten any of them. It might have been territory, but if you ask me attacking a passerby unprovoked is quite uncalled for! If it had been me, I would have at least given them a fair warning. Uncivilized brutes!"

Qrow couldn't hold back a small caw of amusement. He had heard many descriptions for the creatures of Grimm, but 'uncivilized brutes' was a new one.

"Wait a moment, you said you didn't try to steal their food?"

"Absolutely not. I am more than capable of securing my own sustenance without resorting to thievery."

"Well, the Nevermores are Grimm, and they don't eat anything."

"What?" Garuda inquired, tilting his head in confusion. "How can they not eat anything? Everything needs food to survive!"

"Don't ask me how, they just don't. Grimm are creatures of pure destructive will that are driven to attack and destroy Humans, Faunus, and their creations. They are drawn and attracted to negative emotions but usually ignore animals unless they compete for territory like they thought you did."

"It still doesn't make sense," Garuda countered. "Everything needs energy of some kind to survive. If they don't get from eating food then.. how… do…" he trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

"Well if they have a similar composition to Tailed Beasts" he murmured almost inaudibly to himself, "I guess it could be possible. These Grimm are composed of pure chakra like they are, so guess it does make some sense."

"Tailed what?"

"Tailed Beasts." Garuda clarified. "I can't go into too much detail, but I am familiar with a class of beings that are composed not of flesh and blood, but pure life energy. They are collectively referred to as Tailed Beasts, and because of their unique composition, they can survive without food or water. Instead, they passively absorb energy from the surrounding environment to sustain themselves. They can in theory do this indefinitely. The Grimm I've seen are different in that they are made of pure negative energy instead of both positive and negative. But if they are attracted toward negative emotions as you say, then perhaps it is these emotions that they feed off and derive sustenance from."

Qrow had heard a lot of crazy shit over the years. Remnant-shattering bombshells that would shake loose the foundations of what humanity thought it knew if they were made public. From Ozpin's reincarnations, to the Grimm having a boss, to Maiden powers that chose their own host every time their holder died, the list was a long one.

And Garuda's short explanation was now being added to that list. Qrow had never heard of Tailed Beasts before, and could only imagine where they or the hawk that spoke of them would have come from, but the logic answered several fundamental questions about Grimm that scientists had not yet answered.

It would explain perfectly why Grimm did not need to eat, and how they became stronger as they aged. It also meant that the four kingdoms looked a lot less like bastions of safety and more like livestock pens to fatten up and cultivate the Grimm's food.

"Well, you've given me unpleasant food for thought." Qrow stated quietly, still in thought as to the implications of Garuda's theory.

"Why does it matter to you? Didn't you say Grimm didn't attack animals?"

"They don't. But…" he struggled for an explanation. Even if Garuda was an animal, he didn't want to reveal ability to change forms to just anyone.

"You're a human in disguise, aren't you?"

Qrow's eyes shot open in surprise. How the hell had he figured it out!?

"Ho- how did you know?"

"I have the ability to sense life energy. I'm not the best I know at it by a long shot, but this close it's clear you've got some human in you. To be fair, your signature is mostly camouflaged as a crow. If it weren't for your ability to speak and your knowledge I might have been fooled."

"Jeez, that's the fastest my little parlor trick has been called out" Qrow lamented before quickly shifting to his human form for a brief moment to prove Garuda's statement before he shifted back to a verbally compatible crow. "I know you said you wouldn't eat me earlier, but should I be aware of any resentment against my species you might have?" he questioned, hoping Garuda hadn't had a baby chick that had been shot by a game hunter or something.

"Oh, no! Some Humans can be foolish and destructive, but I hold no personal grudge. I actually have a summoning contract with a human master."

"Wait, wait, wait, you have a master?" How the hell could this thing have a master? Just who was capable of taming him?

"I do. I'm not at liberty to tell you his name, but he made the contract with me a little over a year ago. His mind is a bit too one-tracked for his own good in my opinion, but he is very fair to his subordinates and has more than earned my loyalty."

"From the way you're talking about him, it sounds like he's more powerful than you."

"He is. He could defeat me quite easily if we happened to be enemies."

Now that was a terrifying thought. Was there really someone running around Remnant with that kind of power? Where could he have come from with no-one else hearing about him?

And it was a he. As in male. That should not have been possible. The only beings in Remnant with that kind of raw power were the four female Maidens, Salem (if she could even be counted as a human), and Ozpin. That was it.

Any further questions he had were likely to be unanswered. Garuda had said that he wouldn't be telling him anything else, which Qrow could sympathize with. He wasn't exactly going to go around and blab any of Raven's or Ozpin's secrets to anyone he had met ten minutes ago either.

"Well," the Hunter concluded, "I hope that whoever your master is, he doesn't turn into an enemy of ours. I don't particularly like my chances based on what you can do."

"You can rest assured. My master bears no grudge with anyone on Remnant as of yet, and wishes simply to be left alone and undiscovered. I know this is not all you wanted to learn, but I'm sure you understand I cannot yield such information to you."

"No hard feelings, I've been in your shoes before. Trust me, I get it."

"This might be a bit sudden of me, but would you do me a favor and inform your superiors that myself and my master have no wish for conflict with any of your kingdoms? We do not wish to fight anybody."

"I will. I need to get back to tracking my target; where are you headed?"

"Oh, I'm just scouting the continent for right now. I should set up a nest at some point and have something more comfortable to sleep in than the side of a cliff, but I need to find someplace with plenty of food away from people."

"I suggest you try the eastern edge of this continent. It should be far enough from settlements, though I can't be sure it will have game large enough for your appetite."

"Thank you for the suggestion. And feel free to visit if you're around; flying solo can be dreadfully boring. Best of luck with your mission!" said the giant raptor as he kicked off the ground to return to the open sky.

Qrow just continued to stare at the rapidly shrinking form of the Hawk for a few moments. Damn, he was majestic! The kind of bird that just made flying look cool.

Taking flight himself, he was still coming to terms with everything he had just learned. Even discounting the implications of Grimm metabolism and the presence of a human that was likely capable of going toe-to-toe with a Maiden, the fact that he had just held a conversation with a sentient bird the size of a small elephant after it killed two house-sized Nevermores was a tale to remember.

'Dammit, I should have snapped a selfie with him something! This is the best pick-up-a-chick story I could ask for that wouldn't blow Ozpin's brotherhood secret, and I don't have any evidence! Fuck!'

Oh, well. At least he could snap a picture of Oz or Glynda's face when he told them. Even if that wouldn't help him get laid, it would still be good for a laugh.

AN: Alright, so some canon characters and some OC's in this one. Not as much action, but not every chapter can have a climactic battle or big plot twist.

Bonus: Who can guess the characters that Boa and Reggie are based off of? If you want a hint: they aren't from the same franchise. If you can guess them then… well I'm not going to give you anything but I will tell you you're smart because you watch the same stuff as I do.

Please read and review! You have no idea just how much it motivates myself and pretty much every other writer on this site.