"Kagami! Kagami!"
Flinching awake from the sound of her name being called, the jadette jerked upward with a heavy gasp. Quickly tightening her grasp on her weapon, she glanced around with wide eyes while panting. The sky above slowly dimmed into the early night. Shades of blue and pink swirling together with white clouds mixed in.
Kneeling beside her, Cheyenne held out a hand while breathing softly. "Are you... are you okay?" She very quietly asked.
Taking a moment to steady her breathing, she slowly nodded back. "Yeah, yeah." She inhaled slowly while resting her arms in her lap. "I'm fine, I'm fine." She blinked once before jumping up. "Elise... Kris..." She rushed over. The Faunus following after.
Sliding her sword away, Kagami skidded to a stop beside the short redhead. She hesitated for a moment before gently grabbing her shoulder. "Kris? Christmas?" She let out with a heavy breath.
Laying on her stomach with her face buried into the ground, she let out a very faint and muffled groan. Shifting her hand, and only her hand, she held up a thumbs up to her leader. "I'm alive..." She quietly mumbled.
She exhaled in relief while slowly sitting back. Her right arm resting over her legs as she propped herself up with her left. Glancing over her shoulder, she eyed Cheyenne who was helping wake up Elise.
"Take it easy." The Faunus spoke softly while holding a hand on her friend's back as she quickly sat up. "I said easy..." She repeated.
"Where is that bastard!?" Elise panted as she rapidly looked around. "Is he dead? Are we dead?!" She took several rapid breaths, her chest heavily rising and falling with each one. "Where's Kagami!?" Panic filled her voice as it cracked.
"I'm okay, I'm right here." The jadette held out a hand. Her eyes meeting her's. "Just take a deep breath." She gestured for her to calm down. "We're all okay..." She trailed off slightly. Glancing away, she lowered her head. "No thanks to me..."
"Hey..." Inhaling slowly, Kris pushed herself and sat back with a sharp exhale. "This was fun." She flashed a smile with a weak chuckle. "I'm always game to kick some asshole's ass." She chuckled a little more before falling onto her back with a thud. "Just... maybe not right now. Or tomorrow. Or for the next week..."
Staring at her, Cheyenne let out a very quiet laugh while moving her hand over her mouth. She went to say something only to stop as she heard grumbling behind her.
"You girls... can joke and laugh all you want... but we're not done here yet..." Cin mumbled under his breath while swaying as he pushed himself up to his hands and knees. He groaned heavily as he reached up. Grabbing his nose, he hissed in pain as blood immediately went to covering his hand. Pulling his hand away, he snarled as he glared up. "You fu-"
"Don't move." Kagami narrowed her eyes while holding her sword in a reverse grip. Beside her, each of her friends had their own weapons drawn and at the ready.
Blinking, he stared up at them for a moment before scoffing as he sat back. "So what then, kid?" He flashed his teeth that were stained with red. "You going to kill me? Is that what you want?" He leaned his head forward while locking eyes with her. "Huh? Will that make you feel better?"
Taking a deep breath, she crouched down in front of him while sliding her weapon away. "No." She said bluntly while resting her arms over her legs. "I'm not. I used to lay awake at night thinking about what I could do if I ever met you again." She stood back up and glared down at him. "But you're not worth it. You're nothing but a pathetic excuse for a Huntsman and a human being. You are not worth anything in my opinion." Without another word, she turned around and began to walk away from him.
His head slowly tilted to the side before he let out a heavy laugh. "Really? Really!? And you have the nerve to call me pathetic!" He shifted himself up onto one knee as he bared his teeth. "Where's your revenge, you coward!"
Glancing over her shoulder, she very faintly smiled. "Revenge might not be my style, but it is Kris' thing." Her smile grew as she looked away.
Before Cin could say anything else, he grunted as he was kicked in the shoulder and forced onto his back. Standing above him with narrowed eyes, the short redhead pointed her weapon at him. "I've heard you're a nuisance to the women in Mantle." She lowered her weapon down between his legs which made his eyes go wide. "I could fix that for them. Especially since I don't like you." Her finger tapped against her trigger.
"Wait, wait..." The blonde man pleaded quietly with uneasy breathing. "We don't... we don't need to do anything rash here..." He held up his hands in defence.
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "You want to talk about not doing anything rash when you run around half drunk all the time hurting people as you please because you like to?" She jerked towards him while clenching her jaw and flashing her teeth. "Not to mention attacking my friend because you got what was coming to you!?" She took a closer aim.
"W-Wait... wait... wait..." He stuttered while swallowing.
"Don't worry." She shifted her weight to one leg while sticking her hip out. "I'll make sure I call the paramedics after you pass out from shock. You won't die." Her gaze turned into a cold and hateful glare.
"Should we be worried about her violent tendencies?" Elise asked as she followed Cheyenne and Kagami down the alley. "I feel like they've been getting worse since she fought with Eri during the Fall of Beacon. I don't want her to end up like her..." She trailed off then flinched at the sound of a single gunshot.
"She has her anger under control, don't worry." Kagami didn't even look back as she spoke. "If she starts losing herself, we will be able to help her get back on track. That's what family is for." She paused for a moment. "That's what we're here for."
Smiling to herself, Cheyenne rubbed her arm while mumbling under her breath. "Family..." Her hand trailed to her friendship bracelet that she softly began to rub. With everything the four of them had been through, they might as well be family now.
"Well I'm still worried. Even if she has those tendencies under control, what happens if she ever snaps and we're not around? What if-" The dark brunet grunted as her leader placed an arm across her chest and pushed her back against the wall.
Stepping back as well, the two other girls narrowed their eyes down the alley where the sidewalk and main road was. Walking down it, two men chuckled to themselves while intoxicated.
"Heh..." The first one let out a large belch. "That guy is really making you travel all the way to the northern wall to get paid...? This exactly why I don't work for that gay bafoon..."
"Well when he pays more than any Huntsman job around here, I can't just refuse... I got debts I gotta pay..." The second spoke up.
"I'd rather take half a dozen bounty missions than work for him..." He scoffed back. "He's going to make Atlas hate us more than they already do..."
"As if that was even possible..."
While the two men kept on their way, Kris walked up to her friends with raised eyebrows. "What's with the looks?" She slid her weapons away. "They look like... oh no." She slouched. "I know that look. We're not going to head back and go to sleep until noon, are we...?" She sighed. "I knew it. I knew it..." She brought her hands up and buried her face in them. "Goodbye sleep."
Waiting calmly on the floor, Baren sat with her legs crossed and eyes closed. She had been patiently waiting for the four girls to return the entire evening. Hearing the door handle creek, she glanced up with a poorly hidden smile as the door opened. "You're all late. Did something go wrong?" She raised her eyebrow.
"A lot of dumb complicated things." Kris let out a heavy groan as she trudged in. "But it's fine." She lightly waved her hand. "Just... tired. And really hungry." She exhaled with a slouch.
"There's ramen in the other room for all of you." The old warrior leaned back.
"Fooooooooood!" Elise let out as her stomach let out a low and animalistic like grumble. "I am literally starving!" She rushed off, the short redhead not far behind.
"Hey! Leave some for Kagami and I!" Cheyenne called out before running after her friends.
Watching her friends leave, the jadette eyed her mentor while crossing her arms. "You already know why we were late."
"True." Baren chuckled with a smile as she pushed herself up with her left hand. Stepping over, she held out her hand towards her. "How do you feel?"
"If I'm being honest...?" She sighed while lowering her head between her shoulders. "Empty. There's just this empty feeling inside me. I thought I'd feel better and all the anger would go away after I got revenge but... I just feel nothing. Like a soulless empty void."
"Sometimes it's like that." Taking a deep breath, she moved her only arm around her and pulled her close. "Sometimes revenge doesn't always work the way you want it to. I don't think it ever does really." She gently rubbed the girl's arm. "I'm proud of you though. For not killing him, I mean. It takes a strong person to face their demons, and an even stronger person to let them be."
Slightly smiling, Kagami leaned her head onto her shoulder. She then softly exhaled while closing her eyes. "Thanks for not interfering when things went south. I know how much you care."
"I would have slit his throat if you gave me the chance." She flashed a toothy grin. "I'm not as forgiving as you are. That man is a menace that doesn't deserve to live."
Rolling her eyes, the jadette pulled away. "Sometimes living is a worse punishment." She began to head where her friends went. "You're the one that taught me dying is easy and living is harder anyway."
"That I did." The old warrior nodded as she watched her with admiration in her eyes. Kagami had grown more than even she could have imagined in the past six years. She might not have been able to have her own child with Wuile, but this girl was close enough. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she began to follow. "There's still more on your mind though. What is it?"
Exhaling heavily, she waved her hand at her. "I'll tell you over dinner. I'm starving." She chuckled a bit while looking back. "Let's just say our night has just begun. And we're going to need to make a few calls. Rey is going to be done playing king soon enough."
Chomping down on a large piece of chashu pork on a fork, Elise let out a heavy exhale of relief. "Oum I'm so hungry..." She shoved the rest into her mouth before quickly shoving noodles and vegetables along with it.
"You're always hungry." Kris pointed out as she chewed on a piece of fried tofu. "I am also pretty hungry though..." She stared at her bowl of ramen before stabbing one of the halves of her boiled egg and plopping it into her mouth.
Glancing at her leader, Cheyenne put a few noodles in her mouth and slurped them down. "Can you cook like this?" Her head tilted a bit as she ate a few of the bean sprouts in her bowl.
"Sort of." Kagami shrugged. "I'm nowhere near as good as Baren." Using a pair of chopsticks, she took a small bite of meat followed by some vegetables. "Back when we were training she made me cook every other day. It was either I would learn to cook decently or I would starve."
"I would have starved." Kris spoke up while slurping a few noodles.
The comment made Baren quietly chuckle as she ate her own bowl of ramen calmly with chopsticks. The bowl itself rests in her lap. "I'm sure you would have learned as well."
"Doubtful..." The redhead mumbled back with a mouthful.
She softly exhaled with a shake of her head. Eating a bit more, she then looked over at the jadette. "So what exactly is this plan you have for Rey?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm always intrigued by the ideas you manage to come up with. They're very out of the box."
"Well..." The leader of team MACE picked up her bowl and drank a bit of the broth before lowering it. "Even if we attack him first, he's going to snap no matter what. And then we'll be stuck singing just like last time we tried to attack his hideout. So we need a way to outsmart him at his own game."
"And your brilliant plan is...? Because he can clearly sing better than all of us." Elise glanced over while setting her now empty bowl down.
Smiling a little, she looked over at Kris. "So we shake him up a bit and throw him off his game. If his Performance works the way I'm guessing, all we need is a song that will frustrate him and not let him do his thing as best as he can. Which means I need a song that'll fit the occasion..." She grinned at her friend.
Blinking a few times, the redhead began to grin back. "Oh I'm on it." She set her bowl down then slid her headphone earmuffs on. With her right hand, she pulled out her scroll and began to swipe through what seemed to be an endless list of songs. And with her left hand, she grabbed her fork and continued to eat her dinner.
Blinking at her, Cheyenne stared for a moment before softly shaking her head and looking at her leader. "So you plan to out sass him? What if that doesn't work?"
Sighing, Kagami lightly shrugged while biting off a piece of pork. "Then we'll just have to fight with him beyond max aura." She let out a quiet laugh before rubbing the back of her head. "But it should work. Just as long as Kris can find the right song. And I have full faith she'll be able to do that. I mean, she is Kris."
"That is fair." Elise added with a small nod. "It might work out fine. But that'll still leave everyone without an aura except one of us."
"I know..." The jadette took a deep breath before gesturing beside her. "I was thinking we'd have Cheyenne be the one. I can still use my Monomane gift without my aura and Kris and your's semblances will be helpful, but once we have Rey frazzled, we need to shake him up more. Chey's semblance will be perfect for that. Especially if we get inside the building and can erode part of its structure."
Going quiet for a moment, the deer Faunus stared into her bowl before narrowing her eyes and looking up. "Or do you think I just can't handle myself without an aura?"
"What?" She blinked once. "Wha- No! Chey, that's not what I meant at all." She quickly defended herself. "I just... I thought... I know you can handle yourself."
"So let me prove it." She leaned forward. "You sing and win everyone's aura."
Staring at her, Kagami softly exhaled before nodding in defeat. "Okay. Okay. I will. I'll still be able to mimic you anyway so it should be fine."
"Good." Cheyenne nodded with a smile before picking her bowl back up only to notice it was empty. Blinking, she looked over at Elise who was quickly eating from her bowl.
"What?" She mumbled with a mouthful. "You were distracted. And I'm hungry." She smiled.