Chapter 11

[Nora Valkyrie]

The ring of her alarm clock only managed to ring once before her eyes opened widely and her megawatt smile grew.

"Today is the day!" she exclaimed excitedly as she jumped from the bed. Her alarm clock was promptly and thoroughly crushed in her grip a second later. It didn't matter because that day was the day is the day! "Today is the day!" she repeated for the world to hear.

Nora rushed towards the toilet of her fancy hotel room, grabbed her toothbrush, and started preparing herself. She couldn't wait anymore, but Renny told her that she should always take care of the morning routine first. Whatever that meant, she only knew that he wanted her to clean her teeth and wash her face, so she did that because Nora was a magnanimous queen. Especially that day, since that day was the day!

With the boring stuff taken care of at record speed, she proceeded to change her clothes. Something that she had been reprimanded about multiple times. Apparently, going around in pajamas was not acceptable. People said that it was indecent or whatever.

She couldn't wait for Mr. Grumpy to finish their rooms on the second floor of the shop, honestly. While the hotel was nice and all, it was a bit too stuffy for her liking. She would much rather be allowed to use her comfy pajamas than be forced to change every time she had to leave the room. Mr. Grumpy and Renny did say that she would still have to change anyway, because of the clients. But Vinny said it was okay… So, it was okay!

It took her less than three minutes to finish it all and dash out of her room. Then she reached the door at the other end of the hallway where Renny was staying. She knocked exactly once, before deciding that Renny was not going to respond, so drastic measures were needed.

Nora pulled Magnhild from her back and changed it to hammer form while she took a full swing position. Mentally the ginger girl debated if she should throw all her grenades at once against the door to make extra sure that she could get in. Hitting it and failing to break it would be just silly, so better to be on the side of caution. She didn't want to fail now. Not that day of all days.

"Today is the day!" she screamed as she put her whole body into the swing. Only to completely miss the door as it was opened from inside. The hammer hit nothing but air as Renny dodged with casual ease and let her momentum drag her into the room.

"Nora, I've told you multiple times that you need to stop breaking the doors," Ren said with a sigh as he closed the door behind him. "The manager already said that he would let it go last time, but if you break it a seventh tim-"

Whatever nonsense he was saying was cut off with a grunt as Nora grabbed both of his cheeks, and all but headbutted her companion with all her strength.

"TODAY IS THE DAY!" she squealed excitedly. Ren took a step back and rubbed his nose. His face was a bit red too. She wondered why.

"What is happening in there?" they both heard a voice call from the other side of the now closed door. "I can hear from the other side of the floor, keep it down, kids."

"You go, Nora! Was about time!" a second voice called before laughter reached their ears.

"You better be using protection!" Mr. Grumpy said in a voice loud enough she was sure everyone at the hotel, if not the entirety of Vale heard. "I know it might be an enjoyable time but you kids need to think about the conseque-!"

Mr. Grumpy didn't get to finish his lesson before a thoroughly embarrassed Ren dragged the silver-haired man and a cackling Vincent into the room and closed the door with enough force to almost break it.

"Oh, so nothing happened? What's wrong with you, kids?" Vincent asked, blinking at them as if he were genuinely confused. Nora just pouted at him, her cheeks redder than her hair.

"Vinny is an idiot."

"Apparently, I am. Honestly," he replied with a grin and a shake of his head. "So, if you two weren't having fun of the fun kind, what was up with all the racket?"

"Ugh…" Ren said as he tried to fight off the coloring of his cheeks. It seemed to be a losing battle. "Well, Nora here is a bit more… excited than usual given that today is-"

"TODAY IS THE DAY!" she squealed again. After all, her embarrassment was completely forgotten already.

"Nora, stop screaming already. It is very early and people are trying to sleep," Mr. Grumpy said with a sigh as if he had repeated that same line a million times. But that was just silly, because she was fairly sure it hadn't even reached a hundred yet.

"Oh, today is 24th, right?" asked Vinny, whose mind seemed to be struggling a little through the early morning fogginess.

"Yes, Mr. Blackwood. I'm sorry about the disturbance." Renny bowed to them. "It's just that Nora gets like this every year. Please, in the spirit of the season, don't hold it against her," he said, apologizing even more.

Nora couldn't hold it anymore. She was just so excited. After her birthday where she got to eat pancakes non-stop and Renny's birthday… where she also got to eat pancakes non-stop. This was his favoritest day of them all. Mostly because she also got to eat pancakes and sometimes even got gifts.

"TODAY IS CHRISTMAS EVE!" she squealed again in excitement.

Both Silver and Vincent blinked at her.

[}-o-{]

[Lie Ren]

It soon became evident that Vincent and Silver didn't much care for Christmas. They knew about it, but they didn't seem all that affected by the knowledge that it was happening. For them, Nora might as well have said it was Tuesday.

It was… curious, Ren supposed.

They had never met someone that was completely indifferent to Christmas. Some wouldn't celebrate, the day too painful to do so, either due to loss or something else. Some couldn't celebrate it, even though they wanted to, maybe due to a bad situation of some kind. Those were rare cases, however, because everyone wanted an excuse to just… be happy and relax.

The thing was, when the enemy of the world seemed entirely motivated by negativity, people tried to put their best foot forward when it came to having a good time. During holidays, everything was cheaper, whether by much or by however little a store could afford. Everyone would try to have events, shows, games, fairs, whatever they could make work.

And it worked, which was why that tradition had stayed a thing, despite some greedy people trying to ruin it at times. Grimm attacks would be fewer around festivities. The numbers of the ever-present hordes would decrease around populated areas instead of increasing. All would be well in the world, for a time, at least.

It was an admittedly short time, but something was better than nothing and it wasn't like people could keep that going for a long time, unfortunately.

Ultimately, it led to the rarity of the situation Ren found himself witnessing. For someone to all but forget Christmas was happening? That was a first, Ren would admit. Maybe the two huntsmen had bad memories about the day and were better at hiding it? He wouldn't be too surprised, but it didn't seem to be the case.

They were genuinely indifferent towards the festivity, for whatever reason.

Still, they seemed to indulge Nora's enthusiasm as they moved around Vale, paying for any and all things that she wanted to participate in, like games or even going up to a fake Santa and asking for things. Anything that caught his friend's eye, they went for, no matter how small, big, or ridiculous it was. Silver, who was usually the voice of reason and the one that had to drag Nora and Vincent out of doing something silly or stupid or both, simply smiled and nodded along to any of the suggestions – demands, more like – the girl made.

As they moved, however, it didn't take Ren too long to notice something. Vincent would, at times, do something slightly out of character for him. He'd point at some decoration or comment on something that they came across. It was inane, unimportant, and might even have seemed like just small talk, but Ren knew better.

He'd been taught better, by the very same man.

Vincent wouldn't have cared about any of those things, not enough to talk about them.

So, paying attention, he noticed that the man would often disappear for a minute or so. He also noticed that Silver tried to get Nora's and Ren's attention centered on something when it happened. He thought he had a pretty good idea what was going on, which made him smile.

"You are getting better at observing," Vincent pointed out at some point, giving him a knowing wink.

"You let me notice on purpose?" he asked, not entirely surprised but curious.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about," the man told him with a grin as he moved his arm behind Ren to grab his shoulder. He felt himself get pulled into a one-armed hug as Vincent shook him a little. "Just enjoy yourself, yeah?" the man added, his voice oddly soft.

"Will do," Ren agreed with a nod before the man let him go. Even more strangely, he felt like he missed that almost as soon as it happened. Still, he had a feeling that this might just turn out to be one of their best Christmases so far, which wasn't a terribly high bar to set, much to his shame. Still, they had had some good times, despite their situation.

However, it would be the first time in a long time that they weren't on their own. Now, they had Vincent and Silver. They weren't alone together anymore.

It was a nice feeling.

[}-o-{]

"Well, that was fun," Vincent said as they approached the shop late in the day. They'd agreed that it was better to have a meal at their own place instead of at a hotel. So, that's what they'd do. Nora had even suggested they sleep there for once, prompting the purchase of a few bedrolls. Vincent hadn't been a fan of those, but Nora had wanted them instead of proper beds, said it'd be more fun…

And Blackwood was thus convinced.

Ren appreciated that they were giving Nora anything and everything that she wanted on that day. They'd had some good Christmas days on their own, but they had never had much money to indulge in things, so they had mostly had to make do. That day, however, they were given everything they could want.

Even Ren himself got spoiled, if not nearly as much as Nora. They had spent a calm hour in a tea shop during the afternoon that he'd found quite enjoyable. They had explored one of Vale's many open gardens. They had visited a museum he'd wanted to visit for a while.

It was a great day, all in all.

"So, I guess this is it," Silver said as they approached the door. Even with the confirmation that probably their greatest day in a while was coming to an end, Nora was still grinning from ear to ear and Ren himself couldn't quite get rid of his own smile. However, it turned out that, as he'd suspected, it was not quite over and Silver was a liar.

"Woah," Nora exclaimed quietly for once, eyes wide and mouth open. Ren could understand the surprise, he'd admit. After all, he'd known that Vincet was working on something behind their back. However, he hadn't expected to walk into the shop and see it like… that.

There were decorations everywhere, to the point that he had to struggle to distinguish what was wall and ceiling and what was just decorations put over it. There were lights and garlands hanging from every frame, every wall, and on the ceiling. Wreaths were set in every conceivable space on the walls. The hearth was lit and there were stockings set on its front. A giant tree almost touched the ceiling all the way up on the second floor's ceiling that could only have been brought in through Vincent's Semblance.

It was all… so much, and yet it managed to look good because of course it did.

Vincent would settle for nothing other than spectacular chaos.

"PRESENTS!" Nora shouted, making his ear ring. Sure enough, there were many boxes under the tree and Ren almost felt bad for that. After all, surely they were mostly for him and Nora. He rather doubted Vincent and Silver had bought much for themselves. They didn't seem the type.

"Well, aren't you gonna join her?" Silver asked kindly, pushing him a little after Nora rushed towards the gifts. So, that's what he did, walking more calmly but still very curious and Nora's excitement had always had a way to get to him at times, especially at such times.

So, Ren moved to sit next to her.

"This one's yours, Renny!" Nora told him, thrusting a box in his arms that had a tag with his name. He noted that his friend then proceeded to stare at him, practically vibrating in place. Then he smiled softly, noticing that Nora hadn't actually taken or opened any gift just yet. Not until he opened his, he suspected.

Thus, he did just that so that his friend would be "free" to enjoy herself too.

He stared at the first gift when he finished taking off the wrapping. They were simple cooking supplies, if of good quality. Looking to the side, he saw Nora finish opening the third of hers already, all of which had been clothes. He continued opening the rest and he came across several packages like Nora's with clothes of several kinds, all of them to his liking if more or less. Another special gift he got was a series of books with health related food information, diets and recipes, he appreciated them.

"I love it!" Nora exclaimed then, pulling up… Was that a sock cover? For Manghild? It was bright pink with sparkles here and there. Ren would say it was very Nora. And the wide smile on her face made Ren notice that he was wearing a similar one of his own. That is, before Nora put her weapon inside the cover and opened a much smaller gift. "This is for both of us, Renny! What do you think it'll…" she started, vibrating in place as she tore the cover of the green and pink package off and then paused, staring at the small object. "... be?" she whispered, suddenly subdued, running her thumb over the edge of the item.

Moving to sit before her, Ren suddenly understood.

It was four picture frames the size of their hands with photos that must have been taken that very day at some point without either of them noticing. Two for each of them, one with Ren and Nora together. The other held a picture of the two of them with Silver and Vincent.

"Thank you, Vincent, Silver," Nora said, uncharacteristically quiet and calm instead of loud and excited.

"Thank you," Ren echoed, sitting beside her.

The two men just smiled at them and offered a toast of their drinks, who they must have taken while they were preoccupied.

[}-o-{]

[Hei Xiong]

Christmas was a great time to own a club. Even people that didn't usually visit such settings felt like doing so, or were more easily convinced by their friends that did. Everyone wanted to get drunk, dance and generally have a good time, which meant that even with the reduced prices he'd be making a great profit around the holidays anyway. Things were good…

Or they should have been, if not for the general shittiness of things around that time, that is. Because no matter how good a time he had – and he'd have a great time, really, even if things had been fairly tame compared to what other people did –, there would always be the same things hanging over his head. The other gangs continued pressuring, and even with the training the twins and him got now from Blackwood, Astra and their gremlins, they were still far from turning things around.

Mainly because fighting couldn't solve all his problems… or at least, it couldn't unless he was ridiculously strong, which he wasn't. He cursed Blackwood once more, bringing his glass to his lips and taking a gulp. He felt the alcohol burn his throat for a moment before he let out a breath and looked at the party going on around. At least Christmas meant that things would stay calm for the duration of the day, thank the gods.

Hei could sort of take a break from worrying for a bit, which was welcome.

That is, before someone took the seat beside him. He didn't turn. Hei kept his eyes forward, but he could see them through the corner of his eyes. He saw the black shape, the edges of the leather coat and the glint of hidden knives when he moved.

'Of course,' he lamented to himself. 'It was too good to be true,' he added, turning to give Vincent Blackwood a look. At any other time, it might have been annoyed, or angry, or impassive as he tried to hide the previous options. This time, however, Hei just felt tired.

"Don't look like that, Hei," Blackwood told him, grinning the same grin he always did. "It's Christmas!"

"You couldn't leave me alone even for Christmas?" Hei asked without thinking. He was just so done with everything at that very moment. Maybe it was the disappointment that what was a fairly good day seemed about to be ruined. Maybe it was the drinks he'd had so far. Maybe… a number of things happened to cause him to act like that, but the fact is that he did.

"Of course not," Blackwood told him, looking every bit as happy as Hei wished he could be. Then he reached into his coat. "I had to bring you all your presents… Well, mostly for you and the twins. You've been doing better in training, by the way, even if you still suck."

Hei didn't comment on the "praise" if it could be called that. Neither he nor the twins felt like they'd improved much but they could certainly hope. Once they had to fight, maybe the torture Blackwood and Astra called training would be worth it. If it wasn't, he didn't know what that would do to his already thinning patience.

Any other thoughts on the matter were pushed aside as Blackwood pulled something from the inside of his coat. It wasn't much, not even a wrapped gift, even if Hei would have expected that to be some kind of joke. No, instead, it was some loose pieces of cloth.

"Thank you, Blackwood," he said, forcing a reverent tone in his voice but doing a terrible job at it. He didn't feel like doing that at the time, he just wanted to be far, far away from the troublesome man. Alas, that wasn't one of his options.

"Don't sound so enthusiastic, man," Blackwood told him, chuckling and shaking his head as he made his order, something about as strong as the first drink he'd had. It reminded Hei of better times, when he didn't have to deal with his bullshit just yet. The moment before the disaster, as it were.

With a sigh, he looked at the pieces of cloth. All three of them were of different colors, but they didn't look new or anything. In fact, they looked like someone had torn them from somewhere. 'What kind of "joke" do you have ready for me this time, Blackwood?' Hei wondered wearily as he examined the things. He half expected something to jump out of them or for them to just be trash. It was difficult to tell sometimes, with the other man.

However, when he extended one of them, he froze.

There, he saw the symbol of one of the gangs that had been pressing more than the rest on his. Slowly, Hei moved to check the other two. Sure enough, they were both flags of gangs in much the same situation. 'Can't be, right?' he wondered to himself, glancing to the side. Blackwood gave nothing away, simply facing towards the dance floor and holding his drink in one hand as he leaned back on the counter. The self-satisfied smile on his face spoke volumes.

"Did you like your present, Hei?" the man asked, not even bothering to turn towards him as he spoke. "A thank you will do," he added, in that tone that Hei never knew if it was joking or not.

"I don't understand you at all," Hei said, once more being incredibly reckless. Somehow, that didn't end up with him annoying Blackwood or getting threatened or worse. Instead, the man beside him chuckled.

"That's the point, Hei," Blackwood told him, this time tilting his head to face him. He suddenly preferred when he didn't seem to care that he was there at all. "Gotta keep you on your toes, right?" he commented.

"Why?"

"Because I like you, sort of," Blackwood answered with a shrug and Hei had to wonder what he'd do to someone that he didn't like. "Believe it or not, I don't think I'll let you drown. Doesn't mean I'll get you out of the deep end though. Call it tough love, if you will."

"You are an incredibly irritating person, has anyone ever told you that?" Hei pointed out, getting a laugh out of the man. He was really starting to wonder if all his panic was-

"Pushing your luck a lot, huh?" Blackwood said, his voice shifting a little even though the tone was the same. There was definitely a edge somewhere there, even if Hei couldn't quite point out where it was. He got the gist of it though, feeling himself sobering up.

He'd definitely drank too much.

"You are interesting, Hei, and you are not that bad for a criminal, I guess," Blackwood said, turning away from him. He let out a sigh then, relaxing muscles that he didn't even know had tensed up. "I don't care for the law, not really. You probably gathered as much yourself. I do care for dealing with shitty people though. So… be very careful when toeing the line, Hei. Because I like you, but that can change quickly and easily."

"... Noted," he said, not sure what else he could answer with to such a statement. He felt like he was walking on the edge of a blade. One side sucked, the other did too, and the balancing act wasn't any better. Damned if he did anything and damned if he didn't. 'Just wonderful,' he thought bitterly, taking a gulp from his almost forgotten drink.

"You are too nervous, Hei. You've survived this long. I'm sure you'll be fine," Blackwood told him and somehow, that did the exact opposite of reassuring him. The man just had a way of setting him on edge even when he was sure there was nothing wrong. He had this air that shit could hit the fan any second and it never went away. It was like standing with a crocodile at arm's distance, unsure if a move would have him bitten and dragged to his death or get him away from danger entirely.

"Well, on that delightful note, I think I better go already," Blackwood told him, patting his back as if they were friends and then walking away. "Merry Christmas!" the man called over his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas," Hei mumbled, and Blackwood somehow heard that, if the glance over his shoulder and the grin on his face were any indication. "Crazy bastard," he added, and he saw the aforementioned madman laughing as he stepped outside the club. 'Crazy bastard indeed.'

[} Chapter End {]

Arc: 3 guesses when we wrote this chapter… the first 2 do not count.

Adrian: Our story timeline fit back then, not so much now. But oh well, at least everyone had a good time, eh? If some more than others.

Random Arc Question: Now that RWBY has reached its abrupt end. What do you think will happen? If someone happens to buy it from Warner. Do you think they'll continue from where RoosterTeeth left off, or just start the whole series again?

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ