A/N: That was quite the heavy mission for Team PASM, even with someone like Winter to guide them. Nonetheless, the mission is complete and our most beloved robot character Penny is safe. And nothing can ever change that...except for any unpredictable circumstance events that may or may not have happened in the least volume of RWBY...not that I'm saying that they happened.
Chapter 22: The Debt
It's only a week until Christmas. Beacon is already well decorated for the holidays.
Everyone can't wait for it to come...Well, almost everyone.
It's in the early morning, even more early than for Selena and Patrick. Patrick is standing in front of the doorways to the men's and women's bathhouses with a bucket of cleaning supplies. He just stands there looking at them annoyed. Thinking back about the conversation he had with Mashika.
"The Janitor is leaving early for Christmas Vacation and my niece and the council are jammed with other tasks. Would you be a dear and clean up the bathhouses?"
Patrick groans. "Why did I agree to this?"
Patrick puts up the 'Cleaning in Progress' sign and goes into the men's room.
Patrick takes his time cleaning up the bathhouse, even though he wants to get this over with. He mutters to himself about why he is even here, doing chores like some butler. Whereas he should be tracking down the assailant. What's even more, he was planning to see Amber this morning. But that plan is canceled since he has to do a task that should have been done by the janitor.
"Oh but no, it's gotta be me instead." He complains.
Once Patrick is done with the Men's Room, he starts heading to the Women's. "There, now for the women's room." He puts on the sign and goes inside. Once he is in, something happens outside. Someone approaches the entrance to the Women's Room, takes off the sign, and walks away.
What ill probability awaits for the young Shadow Hunter?
As Patrick is cleaning up, he starts to feel hot. He decides to remove his coat and place it on the bucket of cleaning supplies. While he is working, he continues talking to himself. He feels annoyed at how much Mashika cares for him as a son, doesn't even seem to learn or even care about his disapproval.
"Sometimes, I wonder what goes on in that woman's head. I blame all those drinks. If she can't get drunk, it must null her common sense instead." Patrick says.
Patrick finishes cleaning. Once he's done, he lets out a relief sign. "Finally done." He checks his scroll for the time. "There's still time for me to visit her. I'll just..." Patrick falls silent when he starts hearing some noises. Much to his confusion, he goes to check it out. "What is all of that noise?"
Patrick slides open the door to the locker room and is shocked at the sight. There are girls in there, some of them already stripping. He carefully, quietly slides the door closed. And now he starts to panic. "What the hell!? What are THEY doing here!? I put up the sign! Didn't they notice it!?" Patrick starts pacing around. "Oh man, oh man. Not this. Not again! This is just like...No, no. I can't think about them! I just need to lay low until they're gone." Patrick looks around. He's in the center of an open-air bath "Not exactly a lot of opinions for me!"
With little option, Patrick makes a break for the sauna room.
He patiently waits in this room, hearing all the girls chattering from behind this door. "Okay, it'll be fine as long as nobody comes into this room." He quietly says to himself. Must to his luck, there are voices that are loud enough to tell they're just behind this door, and the handle is turning. Patrick becomes frustrated he lets out a loud whisper. "Me and my big mouth!"
He looks around quickly. With no other choice, he squeezes himself under the bench next to the door. The door opens and Marlene, Akira and Rayla come in. At least they're in bath towels.
"Oh boy, a nice sauna. I really needed this." Marlene says.
"Indeed, it'll do wonders for your back." Rayla says. They all sit on the bench Patrick is hiding under. "You said this happened on a mission, Mistress Marlene?"
"Yeah. We were infiltrating a mansion, and I can only get in by hiding inside our Professional Huntress's dress." Marlene says.
"That sounds uncomfortable...not to mention pretty revealing," Rayla says.
"I must admit, I'm surprised Miss Winter kept her cool," Akira says.
Patrick silently moans, wishing that they would finish up their business here. He's already hot enough from working, the heat from the sauna is making it worse. He'll probably die of heat exhaustion in mere minutes.
"By the way, has anyone seen Patrick?" Hearing that startles Patrick. He does his best to not move and remain quiet. "He said he was asked to clean the bathhouses. It seems odd he finished it this fast." Marlene says.
"I don't think it's odd. We already know what he's capable of." Akira says.
"True, but cleaning big places like this just doesn't suit him well. I imagined he would be about halfway done by now." Marlene says. If only she knew that Patrick was listening. Rayla just laughs, confusing the two of them. "What's so funny?"
"I apologize. Hearing this reminds me of what Mistress Clawdia told me." Rayla says. "Back when she and Master Peter were in Signal, Master Peter did a trick where they were cleaning bath houses as punishment. She didn't say what they did, but she mentioned that Master Peter purposefully didn't add the 'Cleaning in Progress' sign so he can 'accidentally' get a 'pleasure view' during work."
"That just sounds dark, even for a simple pervert like him." Marlene says.
"I agree. What a dishonor." Akira says. Marlene starts breathing heavily, wiping some sweat off her forehead. "You okay, Marlene?"
"Yeah. It suddenly got even hotter in here. Did someone turn up the heat?" Marlene and Akira only shook their heads in response.
Unbeknown to them, Patrick is burning up in raging anger. Apparently enough to increase the heat in the room. 'THAT JERK!' He shouts in his thoughts. 'I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN HE'S BEHIND THIS! I SWEAR PETER KAZUTO! IF I EVER GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE I AM GOING TO KILL YOU THE MOST INHUMAN WAY POSSIBLE AND SELL YOUR BODY TO CANNIBALS!'
"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Hearing that snaps Patrick back to reality. He didn't talk at all, but he does notice his fingers are drilled into the floor, followed by a scratch on the floor with his fingers at the end of the trail.
"Yea. It sounds like it's under the bench." Akira says.
"You don't think...someone's down there, do you?" Marlene asks.
Much to Patrick's worst fears, Akira stands up and starts to look underneath the bench. Patrick closes his eyes and prepares for the worst. 'I'm doomed.'
Suddenly...
"You guys!" The door bursts open, startling the girls, and Patrick as well. It's Rin breaking in. "Listen to this. Apparently, there's a meteor shower happening and you can see it in the open-air bath."
Hearing that really puts stars in Marlene's eyes full of excitement. "A METEOR SHOWER!" Marlene grabs Akira by the arm. "Come on! We've got to see this!"
"He-hey. Wait! Don't pull me." Akira says.
"You two, wait for me." Rayla follows them from behind. And the door closes behind them.
Patrick lets out a relief sign. "Thank the Gods, that was too close." He whispers. But he's not out of this yet. He hears footsteps until he gets a view of Rin's feet. 'Huh. What's going on?'
"You're down there, aren't you Mr. Aki?" Rin asks. Hearing that causes Patrick to jump and bang his head on the bench. "So you are."
Patrick crawls out from under the bench. "Rin, this is not what you think. There's a perfectly reasonable-"
"Save it. I already figured it out." Rin says. Patrick only feels silent, just stares at her with a speechless expression. Rin starts to get embarrassed. "D-don't look at me like that."
"Uh, right. Sorry." Patrick turns away. "So. What do you mean by-"
"We'll talk about this later. Right now, I think it's best you get out of here. Before the other girls realize there's no meteor shower." Rin says.
Patrick realizes what it is she has done. "Oh! You're right." He spares no second making his escape. Once he sees all the girls are looking away, he makes a quick yet quiet getaway. Once he makes it to the locker room, he collapses and lets out a relieved sigh.
"I can't believe I made it." He says.
In the Training Room.
"Come on, Peter. Mew need to focus!" Clawdia says.
"I'm trying, Claws." Peter says.
"Mew're not trying hard enough!" Clawdia says. She positions herself to fight. "Come at me-ow."
"Again!?" Selena asks. Selena is standing out as Selena Akimura. "Can't we just call it? I'm nervous somebody is gonna come in and see me."
"On come on, mew worry too much. Nobody is gonna come in." Clawdia says.
"Clawdia!" Selena protests.
Clawdia groans in disappointment. "Okay, fine. One more battle."
Peter readies himself to fight. He wields his battle-ax. Clawdia makes the first move, and when she does, Selena tries to get Peter's attention by looking very attractive. Peter glances at her at first, then shakes it off and focuses on Clawdia. Peter blocks her incoming attacks, after repelling her he then sends a heavy blow to her. After Clawdia dodges, she uses her semblance to create copies of herself. And they all attacked at once.
Peter braces himself. Selena distracts Peter once more, only this time he cannot break out of it, and Clawdia overpowers Peter. The match is over, and Selena goes dashing off into the changing room.
Clawdia gets off of Peter, looking down at him in disappointment, and Earnest joins her. "What is the matter with mew?! Mew are never going to win the Vytal Festival Tournament. Mew'll be Hiss-tory before the match starts!"
"Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Peter asks.
"Do I have to remind mew what happened against Sharlet Brown back in Signal?" Clawdia asks. Earnest crosses his arms and shook his head in agreement with Clawdia's argument.
"I can't help it, she was exposing that much of her body, and I think she did it on purpose." Peter says.
"There should be no excuses! Mew need to get over this phase!" Clawdia says.
"It is not a phase! And I am trying." Peter stands back on his feet. "What else do you want me to do?" Clawdia doesn't say anything. Instead, she is staring with a horrified expression. Earnest is the same. "What? Don't have anything to say?"
"Uh...Peter. Behind mew." Clawdia says.
Peter turns out, and he finds a very angry Patrick standing behind him. So angry there's actually a flaming aura all around him. Clawdia and Earnest are scared as if they have encountered the Grim Reaper. Peter, on the other hand, is overjoyed. "Hey, how's it going my peeping buddy?"
Patrick doesn't say anything, only cracks his neck. And Earnest gestures his hands to say 'Oh dear.'
Selena returns to the training room as Sherry Farron. Once she gets there, she is surprised by the event that's happening. Peter is pinned to the ground with Patrick on top, attempting to strangle him, while Clawdia and Earnest are trying to hold Patrick back.
"YOU'RE DEAD KAZUTO! DEAD!" Patrick shouts aggressively. "WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU YOU'LL BE LUCKY YOUR SOUL SURVIVES!"
"Hey man, what did I do wrong?" Peter says struggling to get his words out.
"Pet-rick! Please calm down! Let's talk about this! Mew need to calm down!" Clawdia says.
Selena rushes in and helps Clawdia and Earnest pull Patrick off of Peter. After hours of argument and fighting, Patrick finally calms down enough to explain what has happened. And everyone except for Peter is shocked to hear this.
"WHA!? THAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?" Selena asks.
"Yes. I was almost exposed too if Rin hadn't come in and saved me." Patrick says.
'BUT WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING PETER?' Earnest asks.
"Because I heard Rayla told Marlene and Akira a story about Peter purposefully letting the girls think the showers were open while he was cleaning them, it was the only explanation for the situation I was in." Patrick says.
Clawdia glares at Peter. "I told mew that tail was gonna haunt mew!"
Peter shrugged his shoulders. "I said it was an accident."
"Mew're not fooling me-ow! Mew and I both know mew did it on purr-pose!" Clawdia says.
"So you admit. It was you who did this to me!" Patrick shouts.
He stomps forward while everyone tries to hold him back from Peter. "Whoa, whoa, calm down, buddy. I didn't do it!"
"It's true! He's been here training all day." Clawdia says.
"He was, I can vouch for it." Selena says, and Earnest agrees as well.
Patrick growls in major disappointment. "Fine. I'll believe your story...For now." Patrick gets into Peter's face. "But the second I find proof it was your doing, you're dead meat, Kazuto!"
After that, Patrick storms out of the training, leaving everyone else behind to sign in relief. Then talk about how scary Patrick is.
Later in the afternoon, Patrick meets up with Mashika and Rin. This time Patrick is feeling very uneased. He and Rin explain to Mashika what happened in the women's bath house. Mashika feels bad about all of this.
"Oh I am so sorry that happened to you, Love. Hard to believe such an ill fortune could have happened." Mashika says.
"Don't remind me." Patrick says. "Being there brought back some...unpleasant memories." Mashika nervously laughs, even though she knows it's no laughing matter.
"Given the situation that was about to unfold, I'd say you were very lucky I showed up on time," Rin says.
"No arguments there." Patrick says. "By the way. What did you mean you figured it out?"
Rin explains to Patrick what she knew. Firstly, Mashika told her about how she asked Patrick to take care of cleaning the showers, no surprise to Patrick truthfully. Rin then explains how she was surprised to learn they're clean so soon, even commenting how she thought Patrick should have been halfway done. That only annoyed Patrick and caused him to say: "Why does everyone keep saying that?!"
Rin continues the story, she was just about to head to the showers. When she was outside, she found the 'Cleaning in progress' sign in the trash can. Knowing he's not that careless, Rin decided to take a look around.
"And while I was searching..." Rin reaches under the table and takes out a black trench coat. "I found your coat along with the cleaning supplies."
Patrick is surprised to see his coat. He had completely gotten that he had taken that off in the showers. Patrick takes his coat from Rin. "I can't believe I had forgotten about this. I actually left behind evidence of my presence."
"Oh come now, you're talking like you committed a crime." Rin says. Patrick glares at her, making her nervous. "Okay, forget I said that. Still, how could this have happened? It couldn't have been an accident."
"Certainly can't be a coinidence. I think somebody must have set Patrick up." Mashika says. "But who?"
"I read in Mr. Kazuto's records about him being involved in a similar event." Rin says.
"As much as it pains me to say this, but I don't think Peter had anything to do with this." Mashika and Rin are astonished to hear this. "I encountered him earlier today and he claims he didn't do it. Sherry, Earnest, and Clawdia vouched for him."
The three of them remain silent for a moment. "Well, we'll worry about this later. I hope you appreciate what my niece did for you, Love."
"Trust me, I do," Patrick says. "I am in your debt, Rin."
"No, no. There's no need." Rin says. "You were always helping out with the Student Council work. Let's just call it even."
"I can't accept that. You got me out of a situation that...well, I can't really explain how serious it is." Patrick says. "Besides, your aunt won't let me hear the end of it not appreciating a life-saving event."
"He's right." Mashika says.
"Well...If you put it that way..." Rin takes a moment to think.
The next day, Patrick waits outside of Beacon. He's tapping his foot as he waits. Rin says there's something she wanted to do tomorrow and she could use his help to get it done faster. Patrick will take anything he can, now he is waiting for Rin to show up.
She finally does. "Sorry I am late." Patrick gets a look at Rin. She is dressed beautifully in a white skirt and a pink top while wearing a brown coat and a scarf. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."
"Believe me, I have the whole day free," Patrick says. "All right, now what's this thing you want my help with?"
Rin takes Patrick to the beach, where they are on their knees picking seashells. Patrick almost thought he would end up going on a date with her, or maybe pretend to be his date for either make a guy jealous or get some guy she's not interested in to leave her alone.
"Ah-Choo!" Patrick sneezes.
"Bless you. You've already sneezed four times since we headed out. You feeling okay, Mr. Aki?" Rin asks.
Patrick sniffles before answering. "I'm fine, it's the Winter Season. I just can't stand the cold. Doing jobs in Solitas is hell for me, except in Atlas." Being on the beach on a winter day is no easy feat for Patrick. "So why do you need me to help you collect seashells?"
Rin comes to Patrick with a bucket, of which he drops what he found into it. "My parent's wedding anniversary is coming up, and I wanted to get them a gift."
"But why seashells?" Patrick asks.
Rin explains to Patrick how her parents met. Patrick immediately regrets his decision. Her parents were on vacation at the beach and then they met. Every year when they get a vacation from their jobs, they come to visit the same beach. Eventually, her father finally proposed to her.
"So instead of an engagement ring, my father thought it would be more romantic if he used a pearl he found on this very same beach," Rin says.
"Not that I really care for this romantic nonsense but that just sounds cheap and lame. I'm surprised she even accepted." Patrick says.
"She thought it was really sweet. Besides, he did purchase a real engagement ring to seal the deal." Rin says. "So I thought this year I could make some seashell accessories for them."
When they were done with this area, they decided to move on to the next. They walk down the shores of the beach. The whole time, Patrick is suffering from the freezing temperatures. Not even wearing black and a trench coat can protect him. Rin almost feels sorry, she promises this will be the last trip and they'll make it quick.
"Can I ask you something?" Patrick nods. "What happened to you in the past few years?"
Patrick jumped hearing that, startled. "W-what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Sorry for being so bold asking you that." Rin says. "Auntie Mashika often talks about you, she use to say you were a sweet little boy when she use to babysit you."
"Babysit?" Patrick says so quietly he hopes she didn't hear it. Then thinks to himself: 'I guess she kept my past hidden from Rin as well.'
"Ever since I met you here in Beacon, you seemed pretty grumpy and cold, very distant too. You know, whenever she talks about you, I sometimes feel like she worries about you. Kind of like a mother worrying about her child." Rin says.
"I'd rather you didn't use that phrase. It's bad enough she actually does treat me like a son to her." Patrick says. "That being said, I feel like she's really overestimated how I was back when she was my...babysitter."
"Maybe, but I guess she feels that way." Rin says. "I've always known my aunt as a person who wants to follow her dream: To become a Huntress. She trained hard and became famous in her team DIMD days...I'm not sure if I should be telling you this, but years ago, she was abducted by a group of criminals and was turned into a sex slave for them."
Patrick clenches his hand into a fist. 'She really shouldn't be talking about them.'
"She never talked about what happened during those times. All I know is that after breaking out, she kept following her dreams, and even decided to become a teacher in the process. I wondered why she wanted to become a teacher, it doesn't seem to fit her interests. But she always told me, 'It was dark times but it's nothing worth looking back to. All there is to do is move forward with the life I was renewed with.' She says that as if whatever happened had no effect on her, and I heard anyone involved in that organization were broken in ways nobody can even imagine."
'You don't even know the half of it.' Patrick sneezes. "Well, who knows what goes on in that head of hers. You should see how dense she is when her male students can do nothing but fall for her drop-dead-good looks."
Rin laughs nervously. "Yeah. She can't help it when she's that gorgeous."
"I think she's really using her Semblance. Honestly, sometimes it frightens me just thinking about that charm ability of hers." Patrick says.
Rin realized she has gotten off-topic with her question on Patrick. Just before she could further ask about him, Patrick and Rin hears a commotion going on. They find a group of people gathering around in one spot, sounds of disconcerting and worry coming from them.
"What's going on over there?" Rin asks.
Patrick is curious as well, he decides for them to take a look. They make their way through the crowd of people until they come to the front of them. Rin gasps horrifically, and Patrick is surprised, at the sight.
A dead man. He appears to be somewhere in the late '50s, maybe early 60s. Given how his body still appears fresh, it must be a recent death.
"What happened?" Rin asks.
"Who is this guy anyways?" Patrick asks.
"You don't know who that is?" One of the citizens asks him. "That's Zovaal the Dragon Beast."
"Who?" Patrick asks.
"I've heard of him." Rin says. "He's a Legend Huntsman. My aunt idolized him. He's a powerful Huntsman that some say he took on hundreds of Grimm in a single match armed with nothing more than...a pair of chopsticks."
"I heard that he once fought alongside with The Grimm Reaper." The citizen says.
"He was amazing. Until he received a permanent injury on a suicide-level mission and had to retire years ago." Rin says. "What could have happened?"
Patrick doesn't say anything. He takes a look around the surrounding spot. He believes if the man could have died here, he must have left a message. Patrick searches the body, which surprises Rin and the citizens. He found the scroll and turns on it. No surprise, the Scroll is dead. He then takes a look around. One thing Patrick takes notice is that Zovaal's index finger is covered in fainted blood.
"What are you doing, Mr. Aki?" Rin asks.
"If his death happened here, it's possible he could have left a message or a clue," Patrick says. He looks at the surrounding area for anything. He finds a big rock, and notice there are bloodstains on it. The stains are in a form that shows it was written on, but it's too faded to make out. Patrick does his heat vision. It's not very clear, but it's enough for him to see.
"There's only one word," Patrick says. And he faces Rin as he says it.
"'Marina'."