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(Neo POV)
Jaune Arc was a bit like Roman. Not much but it was there. They both had a similarly loose moral code. One I found I'd be able to live inside of.
They were both smooth with their heists. Jaune Arc had proven that, in and out, nice and easy. He got what he needed. He got what information he needed. He got the job done.
Jaune Arc, or Cloud Strife if he preferred, it didn't matter to me, had shown that he knew the stakes when he tortured and killed people to get what he wanted. That proved he was trustworthy. He knew what the world was like.
It compelled me to follow him, more than the money had and as much as the promise of revenge against Cinder Fall, the woman who had set up my Roman Torchwick. Who got him arrested. Who undermined his authority. The list went on.
She'd set up Roman to die and for that I needed my vengeance. Cloud Strife got that. He understood. So even with this little detour if he still got me in a position to watch her die, then I could live with it. Hell, I'd even help with it. He made it sound important, even necessary. What with tales of how he was being mind controlled by Cinder's own boss.
There was always a bigger fish. Everyone always had a boss.
I watched him smoke. Roman Torchwick had been a heavy smoker, too. Nicotine, instead of Marijuana. Same-same but different.
What was with me and metrosexual men? Cloud Strife's piercings were as bad as Torchwick's mascara. It was a good look though. There was no denying that.
They both tried to control me. Which was fine, I guess. Cloud Strife played things fast and loose unlike Torchwick. Cloud was also a tad mad. He spouted about his mother controlling his thoughts. His mother being Cinder's boss. He was a touch insane, he rode sanity like a knife's edge and I wasn't sure whether he was going to end up cutting himself on it. He was on board with my more sadistic pleasures. He even, dare I say it, appreciated them. Roman never did that. Roman preferred to leave all the torture to me. Cloud got his hands dirty with it. It was like a change in scenery. In the end it was not so different.
I held close to him as he rode. The trees slowly went by to the steady beat of the horse's hooves.
Unlike Roman, Cloud Strife was a competent warrior. In fact, he was mostly a fighter first and a criminal second. It had been the reverse under Roman.
Cloud clicked his tongue and the horse came to a slow stop.
"And who are you little lady?"
I thought he was talking to me for a second. I peeked out around him. There was a little girl in the middle of the road. She might have been thirteen, maybe fifteen. What? I didn't know kids' ages. She was armed though. A massive shuriken in one hand and a sort of shield-gauntlet down the other arm. Her posture was one that indicated imminent violence.
"I'm a dust thief."
"I'm sorry," Cloud sounded bemused. "We don't use dust." I knew he had some pure crystals on him and that he knew how to use them. He was lying. He did so easily enough.
"Yeah right. A couple hunters like you. I bet you're loaded with it."
"You're mistaken, little lady."
"I'm not a lady."
Cloud tapped his pipe out and dismounted. He pocketed the pipe at his belt near the blue and gold lamp he carried. I watched from my seat, even this was giving me flashbacks to another little girl and another criminal mastermind. He took calm steps towards her with heavy boot falls. "You're a bandit, then?"
"Yeah. So what?"
"Couple a huntsman types like me are supposed to get rid of bandits types like you. You got support in these trees?"
"No it's just me. I'm going to take your dust."
"Just you," I heard the frown in Cloud's voice. "I don't buy it."
"It doesn't matter. I'm robbing you!"
"Seriously, where's your back up? I'm not playing around, kid."
"Neither am I. I'm a huntress, I don't need back up."
Cloud rocked on his heels. "I'm being pranked."
She let out a battle cry and rushed him and he swiped her shuriken to the side and knocked her into the dirt. He didn't even draw his weapon.
Tan aura flared over the little girl when he swept her leg with one of his. I just watched from where I sat sidesaddle on the horse.
"Look kid, I'm looking for a place called Wutai, you heard of it?"
She rose back to her feet with a fire. "Shut up. I'm not a kid. And of course I've heard of it."
"Good, you can lead us there."
"I'm not doing that. We-we're fighting!"
"At best I'm fighting you. And I feel bad the entire time I'm doing it."
"I bet you're scared of me!"
"I'm petrified."
"What?! I'll show you!"
She flung the shuriken at Cloud but he just spun so it bounced off his shield on his back. The little girl caught it again when it rebounded.
"Come on kid, I'm trying to take it easy on you. Don't make me get violent, now. What's a helpless kid like you doing this far from civilization? There could be bandits out here."
"I'm a bandit out here."
"You're really not," Cloud said, pityingly.
She tried to swing her shuriken at him but he stepped in and caught her by the arm. He kicked her legs out from underneath her again.
He ripped the shuriken out of her hands once she was on the ground.
"Hey! You spikey haired jerk!"
"Let me guess. You got aura so now you think you're invincible. You think you're hot shit." Cloud was teaching her a lesson it seemed. Well, he seemed sane enough for the moment. Cloud had moments where the crazy in him shone through. Moments where I wasn't sure he'd kill me just for the sheer pleasure of it.
"I have a semblance!"
"Everyone does."
She tried to rise and he put a heavy boot in the middle of her back.
"Hey-yuh!"
"Give it up, kid," Cloud said calmly. He watched her struggle for a few moments.
It was like watching a pinned ant. And I thought I was cruel.
I'd never tortured a little kid before. Some young people sure but never anyone as young as this girl seemed to be. I'd killed some pretty young people too but again not as young as her.
Not that what Cloud was doing was violent or even torture. He was just holding her down until she gave up. He was sparring her life because he was strong and she was weak.
"Neo," he called out. "Catch." He tossed me the shuriken. I caught it easily enough.
"Ugh! Fine!"
"What was that?"
"I said fine! You win or whatever!"
Cloud took his boot off her back. "You'll take us to Wutai, then."
"Um-" she glanced over at me where I held the weapon. My parasol was propped against my shoulder to ward off the sun. "Can I have my weapon back?"
"Ask me nicely and I'll consider it."
"Ugh! Can I have it back, please?"
"After you take us to Wutai, sure. You can even think of it as payment."
Cloud walked over and grabbed the horse's reins. The whole confrontation had been so nonviolent the horse hadn't been disturbed.
He began to lead the horse beside the kid. "Well, go on. Lead the way."
"It's not like it's far or anything. I'll show you."
The girl began to stride alongside Cloud.
"Have you been a hunter long?"
"Just a couple of years," Cloud answered her. I filed that information away. Cloud really hadn't been at this all too long. Some people's semblances and powers developed even more. Cloud's was definitely the type that was nebulous enough to do so.
I took the girl in now that she was closer.
She wore a white headband with a green sleeveless turtleneck which showed her stomach not unlike my new clothes. She wore orange fingerless gloves and bright orange shoes.
She watched me lash the shuriken to the horse's side. I wasn't going to carry it the whole time and Cloud didn't seem to mind in the slightest. He was pragmatic, like Roman.
"You're really strong. Like my father."
"Your father eh?"
"He's the leader of Wutai."
"It's a good thing I didn't rough you up too much, then. You got a name kid?"
"It's Yuma. Yuma Kisaragi. Not 'kid.'"
"Sorry Yuma. Well, you steal from hunters often?"
"Not really. I try and it never seems to work."
"Probably for the best."
"That's what my dad always says."
Unlike Roman, Cloud had a way with kids, it seemed. Some women liked that but I couldn't really get it.
"So what's your name?"
"I'm Cloud."
"And who's the lady with you?"
"This? Oh this is Neo. She doesn't talk much."
Ever. She doesn't talk ever.
"What kind of weapon do you use?"
"Just a sword and shield."
"That's pretty plain."
"I'm a pretty plain guy."
"I use that shuriken."
"I saw. You're not so bad with it."
"You really think so?"
Cloud nodded. "A few more years and you'll be in a pretty good place."
"That seems like forever."
"You'd be surprised how fast time goes. Keep at it."
"Ugh, you sound even more like my dad. Do you have a semblance.
Cloud gave her a slow nod. He seemed wary of talking about his semblance. That was wise of him. To prevent anyone from figuring out his weaknesses.
"Can you show me?"
"I wouldn't. It's pretty lackluster."
I snorted. Cloud had won the superpower lottery. Limit Breaker made him damn near unstoppable. I had yet to see him really use it in force. He beat me by standing still and his weapon had another form. I was sure of it though he had yet to use it against me.
"She doesn't seem to think so. I bet your semblance is pretty great."
"Well thank you kindly." Cloud did a southern Vale accent. "But you know a semblance is only as good as its wielder."
"Then I'm going to have the best semblance."
"I thought you said you had it already."
"I well-" the kid stammered. "I haven't quite unlocked it yet."
She didn't have it, then. Didn't have a clue. Damn, kids were a bother.
"Bluffing, were ya?"
"Maybe a little.
The kid was annoying. I wish he'd dump her already. But I guess he must have some kind of plan in mind for her. Maybe for getting in the leader of Wutai's good graces.
"You ought to be more careful. If I was somebody else I might have hurt you."
"Yeah, yeah. I'd have managed some way or another. I'm a huntress," She repeated.
"Even hunters die."
"Hunters like my dad always seem so strong, though."
"Until they fight another hunter. The matchup could be bad for them and when they lose it's for keeps."
"Really?" She sounded like she couldn't believe it.
"Only all the time."
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"Dad, dad!" Yuma went running out into the village.
"Oi! I thought you wanted your weapon back!?" Cloud called out to her.
"Oh that's right."
Reminded, she came running back in those bright orange shoes for her shuriken. An elderly fellow came out from the largest house to see us. Middle-aged and with the gentle thrum of aura and nothing to prove.
Cloud handed her her weapon back, unstrapping it from beside the horse.
"Payment done. A pleasure doing business with you."
She beamed up at Cloud.
"Hail stranger. What are you doing with my daughter?"
"She tried to ambush us on the side of the road. Something about taking our dust. I'm not really sure." Cloud smiled easily.
"Yuma…" The man growled. He bought our story easily enough to make me wonder about the young girl's habits.
"Dad, this is Cloud. He's a hunter. He's really strong!"
The kid didn't know the half of it. Cloud was cunning and he was brutal. I remembered him snapping that guy's fingers like pretzels. Plus he shattered aura and killed without hesitation. Roman wasn't like that.
"Hush now Yuma. I apologize for the trouble my daughter caused you."
She loudly humphed but did as her father bade.
"No harm, no foul," Cloud replied easily.
"I appreciate you taking it easy on her. I am Godo Kisaragi."
"I'm just glad I found her before some bandits did," Cloud said, an easy smile on his lips. "I'm Cloud Strife. This is Neapolitan, just Neapolitan," he introduced us to the Dono of the town.
"I must ask since we don't often get strangers this way, what brings two young hunters out here?"
"I'm looking for Merlot's laboratory. Do you know of it? Do you know where it is?"
"I do. It's a place of true abominations. I must ask what ever for? No one has been out to see the laboratory in years. What business is it of yours?"
"He and I have unfinished business. I'm looking for him and I have to start somewhere. I got wind of this lab and made it a part of my agenda."
"What of the little miss on the horseback, Neapolitan was it?"
"Oh, she doesn't talk." Cloud went on with that same relaxed smile. I suppose he and Roman both had a way with people. "I've been her mouth piece, I suppose."
It was a good skill to have in our business.
"Indeed, you treated my daughter well. That's reason enough for me to like you. Why don't you come in for tea and we can discuss Merlot and his laboratory. Yuma, go get tea started for our young guests."
Cloud tied the horse off and helped me down off the horse's back like a gentleman. He left his weapon at the door. Meanwhile, I folded my parasol neatly and attached it to my waist such that the blade of the sword-stick was in easy drawing distance. Cloud gave me a warning look but said nothing about it. No doubt he was slightly happier with one of us armed but he wanted me to start no trouble.
Fine by me.
Godo led the way inside and Yuma disappeared into a kitchen to put water on to boil.
"What do you intend to do with his laboratory?"
"Destroy it, probably. Along with the Grimm he left behind."
"No mean feat. There's a reason the laboratory is mostly abandoned and left alone by us. We tend to skirt the edges of it when we need to go near it at all."
"I take it he's no longer here, then."
"No one has seen him in months. It's likely he left some time ago, leaving only augmented monstrosities behind and a building."
"He augmented the Grimm?"
"Some. Others are vaguely human, creations of his laboratory that were deemed failures in his eyes. He set them loose on the landscape. We've been dealing with them for years now."
Cloud's eyes narrowed. Yuma came in with hot water and poured some tea.
"Sorry," she murmured after she spilled some. She wiped it down with a spare cloth she was using to hold the kettle.
"You're doing fine," Cloud returned.
I drank some of the sweet tea. It tasted fine, even if tea wasn't quite my, well- my cup of tea.
"I need to get in there and find out where he headed next," Cloud said. "Know thy enemy and all that jazz."
"Why? If you don't mind me asking."
"I- he hurt me. His work did me harm. It's a touch personal. He got some of my friends killed, it was in a roundabout way but he's still at fault."
"Ah- forgive me then."
"There's nothing to forgive." Cloud took a sip of his own tea. "It's good. You did well, Yuma."
She blushed like a school girl under his praise. Cloud was good looking I suppose. And he didn't even need Roman's makeup to pull off his looks. The earrings made him look a little effeminate but it was countered by his wide shoulders and arms. His frame simply wasn't that of a woman's. With wide shoulders and narrow hips.
He cut a dangerous figure.
"Well, I never thought hunters would come out to help us with our little problem."
"Don't get my motivation twisted."
"I shan't," Godo said. "You are out for vengeance. At least your motivation is understandable. And who better to be the target of your rage than Merlot? At least in my eyes. All the same, if you can remove this looming threat, I shall sleep better at night."
"I suppose. Tell me about the laboratory."
"It's built to withstand punishment. It's crawling with green Grimm. Modified by Dr. Merlot. The humanoid Grimm lurk deeper into their territory. They are fast with wicked claws and a sort of malicious intelligence."
"Are they self aware? Do they plan and communicate?"
"No. And not to my knowledge. Anything is possible with old Grimm but I do not see them as capable of such."
"Always good news. I'd hate to fight them if they were truly person-like."
"They are not. They are wretched, desperate things. Could you imagine a human Grimm?" Cloud took a long drink of tea. He'd mentioned the possibility that he had Grimm to his nature himself. Talk of this lab only seemed to back that up. Well, it certainly explained his psychosis. "Capable of walking amongst us? Of talking?"
"Terrifying," Cloud agreed. "It's what I had been afraid of when you mentioned human Grimm."
"They are nothing like that. Though they are dangerous. They are more like Grimm in the shape of a person rather than person-Grimm." Some Grimm took on attributes of the creatures they looked like. Cloud seemed content that this wasn't the case with these artificial Grimm.
"It sounds like they're monsters all the same. I can destroy them if that's all they are."
"I would warn you not to be arrogant but I can tell you are confident in your abilities. Many people have underestimated their speed and suffered for it. They occasionally make their way North here to the village."
"Just wandering? Or in real groups?"
"Sometimes one and the other."
"I can't promise to kill them all, just to cut a path through them to the lab."
"That's more than I could have asked a sane person for. I'm not as fit as I once was. I was slowly dwindling their number as they splayed out and little more. Your presence and assault will be a great boon to us. Wutai will be in your debt."
"I wouldn't sweat it. You don't have anything I want. Except those directions to the lab."
"Of course."
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-WG