Wew, writing with a serious deadline is a whole different beast. Sorry for not making it on time. I miscalculated how long it would take to edit the draft and procrastinating again definitely didn't help…
Anyway, this chapter contains something that might be kind of controversial. So, I'll need to explain myself even if it will go against my whole "Show, Don't Tell" thing but a little explanation just this once would be fine, I think.
Chapter 6: Consequences of Confidence
The City of Vale.
In this large urban jungle filled with people from different walks of life, two young boys sat on a bench near a park.
Both of them had a depressing vibe about them because they, quite frankly, looked like shit.
"That was the worst ride of my life," said a tired Gin who slumped back against the bench. He faced the sky while his weapon leaned against his shoulder.
Jaune just groaned in reply. He was hunched over, looking ill while resting his head on his hands that were on his weapon's pommel as it was used like a cane.
"I can't believe you puked in the bullhead. And I stepped on it too," complained Gin.
"I'm… sorry," slurred Jaune.
"How the hell are you worse with air travel than a blind guy?"
"Fuck… you," slurred Jaune again. "That doesn't even make… sense. A lot of blind people are fine… with flying."
Gin ignored that. "Why didn't you mention that you had air sickness?"
"I don't. At least I don't think I did… Rode on a bullhead before… without problems."
"Huh, then maybe it was nerves or something. Well, whatever," Gin rubbed his face. "So, what now?"
Jaune groaned.
"Okay, we wait for you to feel better, then. Do you want a carbonated drink?"
Jaune groaned.
"Alright," Gin used his Aura Realm and expanded it bigger than usual. "Oh good, there's a vending machine nearby. Give me some money."
Jaune groaned harshly.
"Ugh, fine." Gin got up, carried his sword and walked towards the vending machine. Focusing Aura on his eyes to clear his central vision, he searched for carbonated drinks for both of them. After completing the process using his own money, he got the drinks and went back to Jaune. "Here," He handed one to Jaune, who gave his thanks. He slumped back onto the bench again with his sword leaning against his shoulder.
Just as Gin opened his drink, the AI in his Scroll voiced, [Gin, you have an incoming call from an unknown number.]
"The fuck? This is a new number," muttered Gin as he took out his Scroll with Jaune even turning to him in surprise as well.
"Answer," commanded Gin.
"Wait, what if it's our famil—"
"Heya, Gin," said a female voice.
"… Hello, Who is this?"
"It's ya big sis, Lizzy!"
Two pairs of eyes widened. They looked at each other, wordlessly asking each what the fuck they should do, but neither could provide an answer.
"Got nothing to say, eh? Even though ya came to the city without even telling me you were gonna, eh?"
"How did— Did you put a tracker on my Scroll or something?" Gin hesitantly asked.
"Not really, but let's not change the subject, lil bro. Let's meet up at a nearby cafe, your treat since ya made me upset. I'll send you the location and be there by eight AM or I will peg your lil femboy butt." With that threat in the air, the call ended.
. . .
"Well, shit," said Gin. "She wasn't supposed to know we were here before we got into Beacon."
"What do you mean 'we'?" Jaune's slur was a little better. "She only mentioned you."
"Fuck you, you're coming with me."
/-/
"Ginny!" Lizzy proceeded to crush Gin - who put his bag down - into a hug. "Oh, I missed you so much, ya cutie pie!"
They had arrived at the same time, right outside the cafe. Lizzy had long black hair with pink inner hair. She wore an oversized pink crop top that revealed the black vest underneath from her shoulders, but it didn't cover her midriff. Along with back jeans and white sneakers, she also had pink sunglasses that covered her dark eyes.
Gin laughed awkwardly as he hugged the slightly taller girl back with both arms since his sword was tucked in his sash, "Yes, I've missed you too Lizzy."
She coughed.
"… Big sis Lizzy."
"Great," She grinned. Then she measured his height with a hand on his head and one on hers. "Hmm, I don't think you've grown any." Then she felt his lats and serratus anterior, "Oooh, I think you got stronger, your muscles got bigger."
"Thank you, but it hasn't even been a year since we last saw each other. I doubt I'd change that much," Gin pointed out.
Lizzy wasn't listening. "Ahhh, abssss," She moaned while feeling his front.
She then noticed the person who was standing behind them. "That you, Jaune?" Lizzy had Low Vision from Diabetic Retinopathy. A condition of Diabetes where there are dark spots in her vision that prevented her from seeing perfectly.
Jaune had taken off his armour and sword and put them inside a cheap travel bag that he just bought. "Yeah, hey," Jaune waved a slightly awkward smile.
"Hah, I knew you two would be together. C'mere, big boi, lemme feel em abs," Lizzy still held onto Gin but her free arm beckoned Jaune who put his bags down and awkwardly got into the group hug where he got hugged and his muscles were groped, "Ahh, a girl could get used to this…"
Lizzy let go of the group hug after a few seconds. But she interlocked arms with Gin, "Well anyways, let's head inside. Gin, guide me like a gentleman."
When the three of them got to an open round table, the boys put their bags under the chairs they pulled out.
"Huh, thought you'd make another 'blind leading the blind' joke, Gin," said Lizzy who sat down on the chair Gin pulled out for her.
"A joke becomes shit if said too many times to the same audience, even if they're different variations," said Gin.
"When are your jokes ever not shit?" asked Jaune.
Gin laughed dryly, "Die."
Lizzy giggled, "Gods, I missed you, boys. Oh yeah, stand next to me for a min you two. I wanna take a selfie and post it." She took out her Scroll and a round remote-like handle with a wrist cord and had a little ball on the tip. After a button was pressed, the tip extended with a pink tangible hologram. This was an advanced cane for blind people with various functions, one of which was a selfie stick. Lizzy placed her Scroll on the hologram part and the Scroll stuck to it.
The boys glanced at each other as they knew that they couldn't let Lizzy post pictures of them online since people in Ansel might see it.
"Actually, Lizzy," Gin spoke up a little nervously. "We're fine with taking a picture with you but can you not post it? You know how shy Jaune can be."
"Y-Yeah, what he said,'' said Jaune.
"Hmm. Kay, I'll just show the pictures to my friends."
"Yeah! I'm fine with that," said Jaune and the two accomplices let out a relieved sigh.
"Then Jaune, would it be weird if I asked you to show your abs for the picture?" She asked.
"Uhh," He blushed. "Please no…"
"Okay, fine. Then raise an arm in a hand wave and make sure the sleeve is down so your biceps show. And don't forget to do your regular shy smile."
"Hey, I'm wearing a tank top so my muscles will show more if I take off my haori," said Gin.
"Nah," said Lizzy. "While Jaune goes for the himbo look, I want you to be the pretty boy. So cover your front too."
Gin clicked his tongue.
"Oh, and don't show your teeth, they ruin your face. You're prettiest with a blank face, I think."
The boys complied and stood next to a sitting Lizzy at her sides. "Lean towards me too." They did so. Jaune did the pose he was told to while Lizzy made a peace sign and stuck out her tongue. She was satisfied after taking five or so pictures. "My friends are going to be so jealous I got two hotties with me," She giggled.
The two got back to their seats. A waiter came to get their orders and left after getting them.
Then Lizzy leaned on her interlocked fingers, and her jovial expression suddenly shifted.
"So, why did you two run away from home?"
Both boys stiffened.
"H-How did you know?" Jaune blurted.
"Seriously? You two actually ran away from home?" She asked, surprised.
"… Damn it," Jaune facepalmed.
"How did you even come to that conclusion?" Gin asked. "Also again, did you put a tracker on my Scroll?"
"No, silly." She sighed, "I'll try not to make it sound complicated, so basically I gave my Scroll a function that tells me when specific Scrolls are nearby and it picked up your Scroll's signal when you came into the city, Gin. I tried calling you but nothing, so I called Coral and she filled me in on everything. Then, I found your number through the signal on your Scroll."
"Damn it, I knew I should have gotten a new Scroll," Gin grumbled.
"Your Scroll is too expensive to do that. And I would be REALLY upset if you did that after all the things I did on it for you."
Gin winced in guilt, "Yeah, you're right..."
"Please tell us you didn't tell our family we're here," said Jaune.
"I haven't, but that depends on what I hear next." Her next words were spoken with a commanding tone, "Now, spill,"
Gin and Jaune both gulped as they considered their next words.
"… We want to enter Beacon academy," said Gin tentatively.
"Through recommendations?" She asked. "No wait, the academy would need your parent's approval even if you did pass the entrance exam. Unless you boys were planning on hiring actors to be your parents, but that would need too many stuff. The easiest way to get into Beacon, or at least its entrance exam that I can think of would be… forged transcripts?" She said the words like it was a question.
Jaune and Gin grimaced and didn't reply.
"Oh gods," Lizzy rubbed her temples. "Are you two stupid? Trying that shit on a place like Beacon Academy? You could get thrown in prison!"
. . .
"We know," Jaune began, "but… but we want to become Huntsmen. I need to prove to my dad, to my family that I… that I'm worth something…" Jaune looked down.
Lizzy's expression shifted again, and she turned silent for a few seconds.
"And you, Gin?" She finally spoke with that question.
"… Something similar," said Gin. "All the privileges of Huntsmen are a part of it. But... I've told you before about my clan and how they hate Huntsmen. I want to spite them by becoming a renowned Huntsman. But as a Swordsman too, because that will also prove that I'm better than them."
Lizzy became contemplative again for a few seconds.
Then she leaned back into her chair and snorted, "Spite and worth, huh?" She pulled off her pink sunglasses and looked at them.
"You understand, don't you?" asked Gin.
"That I do," She sighed. "I don't really want to agree with those reasons, but then I'm being hypocritical." She rubbed her face and put her sunglasses back on.
"Where are you guys planning to get the transcripts?" She suddenly asked.
The two boys looked at each other, relieved.
"Uh, we're not sure, but we thought of finding a shady guy at night and asking him," said Jaune.
. . .
"Seriously?" Lizzy asked with a flat, unimpressed look
Jaune suddenly felt really stupid and small before that look.
"Yeah, seriously Jaune?" Gin turned on him.
"Oh, go fuck yourself. You thought that was a good idea too!"
"Lies."
Lizzy sighed with a smile, "Okay you two, that's enough. Look, if you boys are serious about this, then…" She pursed her lips. "Fuuucckk, I shouldn't be encouraging this," She groaned into her hands.
Then, with seemingly great effort, she continued, "Okay look, there's this nightclub in the industrial district. It's a legitimate business on the surface, but it's run by a gang called the Xiong Family, so the club is most likely for laundering or something, I'm not sure. Anyway, they sell information for the right price, the illegal kind of information that you boys might be able to use."
"Then we'll start there," Jaune said with an excited smile.
Lizzy's lips thinned. "… Do you two have enough money? If you don't, I can—"
"No, it's fine Lizz— Uh, Big Sis Lizzy. You've done more than enough for us," Gin reassured.
She sighed with her hands cupping her mouth, "Gods, I really shouldn't be trying to help. Now, if you two go to prison, it'll be because of me."
Gin chuckled, "Don't be silly. Even if we get arrested, the fault is on us and the choices we made. Hell, we would have found out about this club by ourselves, or find a forger one way or another."
"Yeah, exactly," Jaune nodded.
Lizzy didn't look quite convinced.
"By the way, I have a weapon now," Gin changed the subject. "Do you want to check it out?"
"Er, okay."
Gin took out Steel Seer and handed it to her. The waiter also came back with their drinks and they thanked him when he left.
"There's a button on the thinner side near the hilt," said Gin when Lizzy struggled to open it. "Press it to draw the sword."
Lizzy did so and inspected the sharp blade with her remaining vision. "Heh, I guess ya carry this around all the time instead of that toy sword now."
"Yeah." Gin rolled his eyes, "Also, it was not a toy sword, it was a wooden sword."
"Oh hey!" Lizzy suddenly realised something. "Jaune, did ya actually steal your dad's sword?"
"Uhhh," Jaune looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Technically, Gin was the one who stole it."
"You rat bastard…"
/-/
After checking in with her roommate and getting her okay, Lizzy let Gin and Jaune stay at her place so they could wait for the night to arrive. The boys gave their thanks to Lizzy for helping them again. They also thanked Lizzy's roommate, who had wanted the four of them to go on a double date. Lizzy had laughed and would have agreed to it, but she knew that the boys were tired from their early morning journey, so she made them sleep for the day.
Thus, night arrived, and the boys made their way to the nightclub in outfits that Lizzy and her roommate lent them. Though obviously, the roommate didn't know what they needed it for.
"Do we really have to wear these?" complained Gin, who wore a dark-blue rain cloak that almost touched the floor because of his height. The hood almost entirely covered his face, leaving only his mouth, chin and neck bare.
"Yeah dude. Like I said, we're going to an illegal place, so we need to disguise ourselves." Jaune wore his own outfit, which consisted of a brown trench coat, fedora and sunglasses.
"We even left our weapons behind," Gin said grumpily, already missing his partner. "And again, that barely makes sense. Isn't the place legal on the surface? A lot of regular people go there without a disguise."
"Quit bitching. We're closing in on the guards. Be ready to use your Semblance, just in case."
As it turns out, Gin's semblance wasn't needed because they were easily let in. There wasn't even a line to wait for, nor did the bouncers check for their IDs or anything. The boys thought it weird, but they decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The entrance to the club was via a pair of large sliding doors that opened automatically, and in front of it was a staircase that led to the dance floor. Everything was mostly in black and white with some red here and there. Six large crystalline pillars surrounded the floor, with the DJ's booth located on the opposite side of the entry stairs. A long bar was along the left side of the dance floor that was mostly empty of people who were instead on the dance floor. There were several balconies along the walls overlooking the floor, connected by stairs. The ceiling was a rotating ring-shaped rig of light, laser and holographic projectors. Additional projectors were mounted on fixed rigs between the columns.
"Holy shit," said Jaune. "This place looks amazing." He stared at the numerous people partying, drinking, flirting, and overall just enjoying themselves. Bouncers in standard suits with hats and red sunglasses were spread out around the club, keeping the peace in this chaotic temple of pleasure.
Gin lifted his hood and looked around while using Aura to clear up his central vision. "Hmm, I guess it kind of does." He obviously wasn't as impressed as Jaune. Not to mention that it was a pain on his senses but he could easily adapt so didn't mind.
Jaune shook his head. "Shit, we can't get distracted. This is an illegal place. We need to hurry up and get the info we're looking for so we can get out as soon as possible."
"Hey, there's someone to our left that seems strong," Gin remarked. "Some here have their Aura unlocked but his feels stronger than everyone else."
Jaune turned to look at the bar on the left. "They guy in the vest?"
Gin lifted his hood again. "I can't really tell what they're wearing. Too far even when I use Aura. But it's the guy who's further away from the two girls."
Jaune peered over his sunglasses at the bar with his palms blocking his side vision. "Okay, I think I see him. How strong is he?"
"Aura Sensing isn't enough to give a perfect estimate, but maybe he can keep up with our dads."
"But our dads are stronger, right?"
Gin snorted, "Of fucking course."
Jaune nodded. "Do you think he's a Huntsman?"
Gin shrugged his shoulders.
Jaune paused for a few seconds. "I think we should approach their group. The other guy in the vest looks like the owner, I think."
"Alright."
So, the two boys set off towards the long bar.
/-/
"Come on, Junior," said Roman Torchwick while leaning on an ornate cane. "Just lend me some men. You know I'm good for it. All I really need are some decent muscle." He was an orange-haired man with dark green eyes, one of which was covered by his bangs, while the other was visible and had black eyeliner on it. His outfit consisted of a white coat that slightly passed his hips, a black bowler hat with a red ribbon around it, rather simple black gloves and pants and brown shoes.
"Yeah right," growled the extremely tall Hei Xiong, A.K.A Junior. "You abused my men the last time I did that." He had dark eyes, really short black hair, along with a matching beard and moustache. He donned simple attire of a black vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie and black gloves. His lower half wore black dress pants and shoes. The Malachite Sisters stood behind him as his backup.
Roman smirked, "Well, aren't you such a caring boss. Some might even say you're the ideal standard."
Junior glared at him.
"Okay, calm down," Roman raised his hands in a placating motion with the cane hanging off an arm, but the smirk never left his face. "Just lightening the mood, is all. Anyway, like I said, I'm just robbing some dust stores. It'll be a quick and easy gig. What's the worst that could happen?"
"A lot of bad shit could happen," Junior said dryly. "Some random Huntsmen in the right place at the right time could ruin your plans. Hell, they could even be on in training."
Roman touched his chin and pretended to think about it, "Yeah, maybe. But let's not dwell on the maybes and start talking about the generous amount of money I'm willing to—" He noticed Junior suddenly looking at something behind him, so Roman turned to look.
He raised his visible brow at what appears to be a walking stereotype for a suspicious person and his equally suspicious-looking son who could be the villain in a low-budget shitty horror movie. The odd duo seems to be approaching them—
Roman suddenly shivered. He quickly gripped his cane like a sword and faced them in a tense stance.
The taller one paused. Then he smacked the shorter one's head. "Make your Aura Realm smaller, dumbass," He hissed.
The shorter one slightly curled his lips and the weird sensation disappeared.
The taller one faced Roman and his group with a friendly yet nervous smile. "Uh hi," He waved.
Roman raised a brow again, but Junior spoke up before him and asked, "You looking for something?"
"Uh, yeah. We're looking for the owner of this club, which is you, right? Uh, sir?"
"I am," Junior nodded. "What do you want?"
"Uh, we're looking to buy information."
"The illegal kind," The short one finally spoke. "Such as where to find a forger."
That seemed to snap Roman out of the daze he was in because he snorted and laughed.
Twirling his cane once, he leaned on it again with one hand. "Well, isn't this just adorable. Now, why are such fine young men like yourselves looking for a forger? Or even getting into illegal activities, for that matter?"
"Well, uh…" The tall one hesitated.
"We have our circumstances," The short one stepped in.
Roman chuckled, "Looks like you do. Well then," He checked his fingernails even though he was wearing gloves, "maybe I can help."
Junior sighed. Then, he walked away and the Malachite Twins followed him. But the one in the white dress gave the oddly dressed duo a pitying look before she left.
"Huh, really?" The tall one asked.
"Of course!" Roman spread his arms, "Why on Remnant would I lie to you?"
"Because… you're a criminal, I think?"
Roman laughed, "Perceptive, aren't you? Well, seeing as you don't recognise me. Let me introduce myself. " He tossed his cane up, caught it by the shaft and waved it to the side while placing a hand on his chest, "Roman Torchwick, at your service."
"Oh, well… I'm Hatter," The tall one gestured towards himself. "And this is Hoody," He gestured towards his companion.
'Hoody' stared at 'Hatter'.
Then Hoodie shrugged and turned back to Roman. "Sup," He said with a slight bow.
Roman laughed again. "Your parents must have hated you two," He joked.
The fact that they don't recognise his name didn't slip from his notice.
"Now before we continue," Roman began, "let's go somewhere with a little more privacy." He started walking away while twirling his cane.
The duo looked at each other and hesitated for a second. But they decided to follow him in the end.
Roman led the two to the balcony that seems to be reserved for VIPs, but he was easily allowed in by the guards who regarded him with annoyance and fear. Taking a seat on a couch, he gestured for them to do the same and they complied while he lit a cigar and smoked it. "So, what kind of forgeries do you want?"
Hoody sneered when the smoke neared him.
Hatter coughed from his seat before he spoke slowly, "We would like forged transcripts," He hesitated even more on his next words, "… to get into Beacon Academy."
"Beacon Academy?" Roman looked surprised. "So, you two are Huntsmen-in-training?"
"No, we're not," Hoody had more confidence in his voice. "We're combat trained, but not as Huntsmen. So we want to go to Beacon to learn and become proper Huntsmen."
"I see," said Roman. "Then why not just become apprentices under a Huntsman? Or get into Beacon through the entrance exam?" He snorted, "Don't tell me you two aren't confident in your combat skills. If so, then how do you even plan on passing the initiation trial?"
"Uh, well we—"
"We have our circumstances," Hoody interrupted his friend again. "Enough about us and let's start talking about the price.
Roman chuckled, "Fine, I won't pry any more. So, how about—"
The loud sound of shattering glass interrupted them.
"What was that?" Hatter asked with his head turned in the direction of that noise.
Roman took another puff of his cigar. "Sounds like trouble in paradise." He stood up without any hurry and leisurely moved towards the railings to get a look at the dance floor.
Hatter got up and was about to move towards the balcony too when he noticed that his companion wasn't getting up. "You're not coming?"
"I can tell what's happening easier with Aura Sensing," Hoody grinned. "And it tells me that something fun is about to happen."
Hatter was confused at the cryptic words but he decided to just see for himself and joined Roman on the railings.
Then he bore witness to a dance of violence.
A mix of music and mania, where the normal people screamed and ran away from a battle between Aura users.
A girl with fiery golden hair wreaked in this temple of pleasure. Her fists threw devastating punches and her golden gauntlets unleashed buckshots of Dust bullets. None of the peacekeepers could even stop her as they fell in the dozens against the dragon in human form.
"Holy shit," Hatter exhaled the words. "That girl is incredible..."
"A bloody Huntress-in-training," Roman said with a sneer.
"… Is she like, the standard for them?" Jaune asked tentatively.
Roman snorted, "I would hope the hell not. That down there, kid, is the cream of the crop. Well, I better help Junior with this little pest problem. Getting him to owe me is always such a delight, after all. So, how about we continue our negotiations later?" Without even waiting for the answer, Roman moved for the stairs—
"Wait."
Hoody, who had still been leisurely sitting on the couch, called out.
"I believe we can still negotiate now," Hoody proclaimed as he got up and joined his partner on the railings. "How about I handle her for you, and in exchange, you make our transcripts for free?" He grinned at Roman.
Hatter looked surprised, "... You cheap bastard." Then he snickered, "But hey, that's not a bad idea."
Roman laughed and leaned on his cane. "Well, I suppose if I'm going to help you kids become Huntsman, I should give a sort of exam myself." He put a hand on his chest, "As a concerned citizen, it's my duty to make sure that the future protectors of humanity are up to par after all. Or something like that," He chuckled.
Hoody sniggered. "We have a deal, then?" He asked.
Roman walked up to him and offered a hand with a devilish smile.
And Hoody shook it.
"And hey," Hatter grabbed his shoulder. "Don't go too far on her, okay?"
"Sure, whatever," Hoody waved a hand.
Then he lazily jumped onto the railings before letting himself fall and landing just as easily.
"Say," Roman began with his eyes remaining on the dancefloor. "Despite seeing what that girl is capable of, you seem to have a lot of trust in your partner. To the point, you even think he might go too far."
"Yeah, she's really strong. Me and him definitely can't beat her in a fair fight," Hatter confirmed with ease.
"But?" Roman probed further as he finally looked at the kid.
Hatter sighed, "Let's just say, that cheap bastard has a cheaper trick up his sleeve."
/-/
Meanwhile, the Malachite Twins were engaging the intruder.
Despite their young age, the Mistrali sisters were the top enforcers of the Xiong Family. Militia, the one in the red dress, fought fiercely with claw weapons. Melanie, the one in the white dress, attacked elegantly with the blades on her high heels.
But unfortunately, even the deadly sisters could not slay the beautiful brawler.
Her name was Yang Xiao-Long, and she came to the club in search of information about her mother, who had abandoned Yang and her family. When none was provided, well, Yang might as well trash the place used by gangsters as an HQ.
She wore a buttoned tan jacket that bares her midriff with puffy short sleeves. Underneath was a low-cut yellow crop top with a black emblem of a flaming heart on her left breast. She also wears black spandex shorts that has its behind covered by a white and brown material hanging from her brown belt like a half-skirt. A pair of brown boots with orange socks adorned her legs and feet, while her hands had fingerless gloves. Lastly, an orange scarf is wrapped around her neck and a dark purple bandana is tied around her left knee.
And currently, Yang was finishing off the last of the twins. After that, she released a calm breath and relaxed a little. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, in search of any more thug—
Yang suddenly shivered, and she put her guard up.
She found an approaching figure who wore a rain cloak that looked a bit too big for him or her. The person was walking casually with a calm smile on their face.
"Hey, Junior!" A voice shouted from atop a balcony. "Let that kid go a round!"
Yang looked at the source of that voice, and her eyes widened in recognition. "Roman Torchwick?" She said with confusion.
"Evening."
Yang's attention was drawn back to the hooded figure who greeted her when he, probably a guy from his voice, got close enough to Yang. The figure then casually picked up a red sword that one of the bouncers dropped.
"... You another one of Junior's goons?" She asked with a challenging smile.
"Hmm, not exactly," He said while examining the red blade that looked like a long cleaver. He shrugged, "It'll do." His left hand spun the blade and tossed it into his right hand. "Consider me hired help, commissioned to deal with you." He pointed the sword at her with a smile, "You can call me Hoody."
"Hoody?" She raised a brow. "What, was Hatter taken or something?"
"Yeah, it was."
Yang barked a laugh, "Anyway, I don't think you can see anything under that hood, so why don't you take it off and take a look around you? Or are you too ugly to show your face?"
"Yeah, I am absolutely hideous," He chuckled while cracking his neck with his free hand. "But don't worry, I can still see, heh, even with it on."
"Then I guess you know you're in for the biggest beat down of your life," Yang got ready to attack.
"Hmph, I admit that you're really strong," Hoody switched into a reverse grip and lazily brought it up as if he was going to stab the ground. "But unfortunately for you, my soul is stronger."
As soon as the sword touched the ground, Yang saw a black dome expanding quickly, like a flash with the hooded figure at the centre.
Blackout
"Argh!" She felt a sharp pain on the side of her head.
Hoody was now behind Yang, his back to hers, and he looked like he just completed a slash.
After quickly steadying herself, Yang turned to throw a backhand—
Blackout
Yang's head was thrown back from an upward slash to the face.
Aura Ripple
A spinning back-kick to her gut launched Yang back.
She skidded for a second before she was able to roll back into a crouch.
Yang coughed before gritting her teeth shut. "What the fuck...?"
"Are you confused?" Hoody asked loudly, with a smug smile. "Then let me explain for you. My Semblance, Blackout, freezes people's minds. Making it seem as if time has stopped for them."
. . .
/-/
Back on the balcony, Hatter face-palmed, "That dumbass..."
Roman chuckled as he looked at him, "Well, you weren't kidding about the cheap trick, kid."
When Roman's eyes return to the hooded kid, they glinted with great interest. They were like the eyes of a predator that found a rare kind of prey.
/-/
On the dance floor, Yang got back up and into a stance. "You must be a special kind of stupid to just reveal your semblance like that!" She cocked the guns on her gauntlets, preparing to fight from a distance.
Blackout
"So what if I reveal it?" Hoody suddenly appeared right in front of Yang. "You still can't do anything against it, anyway."
Yang quickly moved to elbow hi—
Blackout
A diagonal upward slice at her front and Yang staggered back, but she managed to stay standing.
Blackout
A slash at her left side.
Blackout
A slash at her right side.
Yang lowered her head while bringing her arms up in guard, but she also made sure to protect her sides, as much as she could, anyway.
Blackout Her right shoulder Blackout Her right bicep Blackout Her left thigh Blackout Her right knee Blackout Her fucking head Blackout Her chest from a normal gripped stab Blackout Her gut Blackout Her right bicep Blackout Her left elbow Blackout Her right bicep
While Yang was weathering the storm of slashes with gritted teeth, she had a barely coherent thought.
Split. Second. Delay. Gotta. Use. That. Moment.
Before, Hoody kept changing his position from the front to the left and ride side. But now, it seems that he got too comfortable because he stayed in the front and continued his onslaught from there with his sword in a regular grip.
It was something that Yang took note of as she changed her guard. Lowing her right arm to make it look like she was focusing on protecting her liver while also raising her left to make it look like she was focusing on protecting her head and exposing her left rib.
Blackout Her right fist Blackout Her right shoulder Blackout Her left forearm Blackout Her left side—
Now! Yang's right gauntlet fired a dust round from its almost perfect position at close quarters.
"Ugh!?" It hit Hoody right on his face and exploded, stunning him for a second or two.
Yang's lilac eyes turned red and her fiery hair now erupted into literal flames. The effects of her semblance, Burn. Which also lets her absorb kinetic energy from the blows she takes to make herself stronger and send the energy back with double the intensity in her attacks.
And since Hoody didn't let her finish a single attack,
Yang now had loads stored up, ready to blow in the form of a haymaker with her full might.
The sound of an explosion reverberated through the air as Hoody literally flew in the air from the punch to his ribs.
Then he started skipping on the floor like a rock thrown on a lake before finally crashing into a wall as smoke and glass scattered in a cloud.
/-/
"GIN!" Jaune shouted in a panic from the balcony.
Roman burst into laughter, "Holy cow!" He clapped and applauded, "There's nothing quite like seeing a brat get humbled, and so explosively too, hah!" Then he turned to Jaune, "Also, Hatter my guy, what's the point of code names if you're just gonna blurt out your real ones?"
Jaune scowled at the criminal.
But Jaune turned back to the floor when he heard gunshots. Jaune saw the blonde girl shooting her buckshots at Gin from a distance, which created even more scattering smoke. Quickly vaulting over the railings and landing, Jaune sprinted to save his friend.
When Yang ran out of rounds, she promptly moved to reload—
Blackout
Everyone in the club froze again. But since Jaune was in the middle of running, he fell and hit his head, allowing him to regain consciousness. Getting back up on a knee, he rubbed his face while adjusting his hat and sunglasses. "Damn it..."
Meanwhile, Gin emerged from the smoke while clutching his left chest. His mouth was set into a grin that held no joy. In fact, the teeth were visibly grinding.
"Dude!" Jaune called out. "Are you okay—"
Blackout
After refreshing his Semblance on Jaune, Gin let out a low laugh as he walked towards Yang.
"To think I'd be doing this again." When he arrived some distance away from Yang on her right side, Gin reverse-gripped his sword and released his semblance.
Then he charged at a conscious Yang with a loud yell. "HAAA!"
With widened eyes, Yang reflexively got into a guard stance and focused her Aura on her right side.
Blackout
Gin suddenly stopped his charge as Yang froze again. Then he circled her until he arrived at her unguarded left side, where he sensed her Aura being thinner.
Taking a deep breath, Gin two-handed his sword and raised it high up as he charged the Aura on it for several seconds.
And the sword fell.
Yang Xiao-Long screamed.
The surge of Aura from the slash parted the thin Aura shield just enough for the blade to meet flesh.
Thus, the Huntress-in-training staggered back as her blood was drawn. Stumbling and falling into a heap, Yang clutched her side with gritted teeth.
Her eyes widened even further, "M-my hair." When Yang got into her stance, she turned her head to face the attack. This meant that her hair got into the path of the blade.
"The fuck? That's what has your attention?" asked Gin in a sardonic tone.
"You, piece of shit!" Snarling, her eyes turned red and her hair burned again. Yang tried to get back up even though she was injured.
Gin laughed while approaching the injured dragon. "You still have some fight left in you, huh?" He stomped on her back and made her fall again.
"Well, at least you're more respectable than that shitheel," Reverse-gripping his sword, Gin raised it with its tip pointed at Yang.
"Hey! What the fuck, man!" Jaune yelled at the grinning Gin. "Stop!" He ran, but it didn't seem like he would make it in time.
The red sword fell once agai—
A black and red portal abruptly manifested in front of Gin, causing him to visibly stiffened.
A masked woman dashed out from the portal and slashed with a quick draw of her red odachi.
It was an incredibly fast attack, and Gin wouldn't have managed to bring his sword up in time to block if it hadn't been in the perfect position.
Blackou—
The red cleaver shattered against the woman's red odachi and Gin was struck right on his liver, causing him to gasp while being blown away to the far side.
Quickly sheathing her sword, the masked woman turned her sights to Jaune who came running but skidded to a stop at the sight of her.
The woman dashed again at Jaune with an Iai Slash.
The blond boy managed to avoid it by ducking backwards, but his sunglasses flew off his face because of the red blade.
Then the woman spun into a downward slash that would have slammed Jaune into the ground if he hadn't managed to jump backward while instinctively holding his hat from falling off. He rolled onto the ground and righted himself with his hand still on the hat.
Yet Jaune quickly moved back even further away while sweating and wheezing. "Holy fuck," He rasped as his wide eyes stared at the masked woman in sheer fear.
She had black hair and had on a full-face mask that resembled a Grimm. She wore a black and red kimono shirt, a short pleated skirt with black shorts underneath and thigh-high boots. A red obi sash wrapped around her waist alongside a red tasset that carried her weapon's mechanical scabbard, which had a rotatory chamber of different coloured Dust blades. Her hands wore fingerless gloves while her forearms were guarded by red gauntlets with protruding plates.
Utter terror and danger radiated from the masked woman who casually held her sword without even a proper stance.
"M-Mom?" A shocked Yang rasped from the floor.
Underneath the Grimm-like mask, red eyes looked around at the numerous people inside the club.
"Tch." She turned around and walked back towards Yang, not even caring that she was baring her back.
When she got to Yang's side, the woman slashed at the air and created another portal since the first had disappeared. Then she grabbed Yang and tossed her into it, not even caring about Yang's startled and pained yell. The masked woman followed into the portal while nonchalantly sheathing her sword.
When the portal disappeared, everyone who watched let out a collective sigh, not even knowing that they were holding their breath in her presence.
Gin, who had been writhing on the ground, groaned as he struggled into a cross-legged seat. His hood had fallen, and he clutched his chest again, this time on the other side. "M-My liver," He rasped. "F-Fucking small fry sword," He glared at the shattered sword before weakly throwing it away.
"Gin!" Jaune ran to his side and kneeled next to him, "You alright, man?"
"N-No."
"What the fuck, man!" Jaune yelled as he grabbed his head. "Were you trying to kill that girl?"
"Of course not," Gin grunted out. "I was just going to break her Aura."
"Oh." That seemed to calm Jaune down, but he still looked a little shaky.
"Hey, that woman in the mask," said Gin as he got his breath under control. "Did she have purplish hair and red eyes?"
"Huh. No, it was black. But I think her eyes were red." Jaune's eyes widened. "Is she one of your relatives?"
"… No. I already didn't sense her being a Sasaki. I'm not sure why I asked about her hair. I guess that odachi shook me up."
"Yeah. Literally," Jaune commented.
"Well, well, well, tonight has just been full of surprises, hasn't it?" Roman strolled towards them while twirling his cane. "Now, let me be the first to say that it was quite the show, kids. I was thoroughly entertained."
Jaune glared at the criminal again.
"I won our bet and beat that girl. No one can deny that," Gin growled with manic eyes. "If they do, then death."
Roman chuckled, "I wouldn't exactly call it a bet. But yeah, you did, kid." He raised his hands in a placating motion, "Don't worry, I won't go back on our deal."
"Yeah, he won't." Junior came over with the twins limping a little behind him. "I'll make sure of it. Whatever that deal was," He looked at Roman in the eyes, which made Roman roll them but he nodded.
Junior turned back to Gin, "You have our thanks, kid, for teaching that bitch a lesson and preventing further damages. The next time you and your friend come to the club, you can have the drinks for free."
"Oh, uh. Well," Gin bowed with a wince. "You're welcome and thank you."
An odd look crossed Junior's for a moment. Then he grunted with a nod and walked off. The Malachite twins winked at Gin and blew him a kiss while smiling seductively before they followed Junior.
Gin grunted in pain and he glared at Jaune who had just smacked him on the arm.
"Yooo, dude. Those girls just sent you signals," Jaune wasn't even looking at Gin as he said that because they were staring at the twins.
Gin's glare disappeared. "Huh? Really?"
"Yeah, a wink and blown kisses with smiles."
"Are they pretty?"
"Hell yeah."
"Assets?"
"Eh? Pretty average I guess. But I can't fully tell with their asses cause of the skirts."
Roman chuckled, "Boys. And what's the matter with you, Hoody? Are you visually impaired or something?"
"Yes, I'm legally blind," Gin replied casually. Technically, he had Low Vision, but that was only with Aura and it didn't really matter, so Gin usually just said he was legally blind.
The criminal's eyes widened. "What? But you don't look blind."
Gin gave an annoyed sigh. "A lot of blind people have eyes that can move and look like normal eyes. Maybe you think that we all have white eyes or something because of fictional blind characters. But that's just a lazy shortcut and people with white or milky eyes are in the minority. In fact, people with complete blindness are in the minority too— Oh shit." He suddenly keeled over. "Adrenaline is fading and pain is kicking in," Gin rasped.
Jaune looked at him and smiled. "Hey, I'm gonna go see if those girls want healing." He stood up.
"Wait, heal me first, you fuck," said Gin with gritted teeth. "Some ribs are broken. I wasn't sure before, but now I am."
"Can't you just walk it off?" asked Jaune.
"Fuck you."
Jaune snickered. "I'm just messing with you." He placed a hand on Gin's shoulder.
Aura Amp
Roman's eyes widened once again.
And a smile blossomed on the criminal's visage, "A night full of surprises, indeed…"
/-/
In some hideout of his, Roman Torchwick sat on a couch watching a video on his Scroll. It was the security video of Junior's club.
In that battle between the blonde and blind brats, Roman saw a somewhat one-sided slaughter from a boy who was teleporting around while attacking.
But in the video, the boy was simply moving while the girl just stood frozen until he hit her.
So, that would mean that the effects wear off after getting hit. But does that include everyone else who didn't get hit or did the kid just turn off his Semblance after hitting the girl just so it would look like he was teleporting to everybody else too?
"If that's the case, then I have to give the kid some credit for his sense of style," Roman chuckled. "Seriously though, what an impressive Semblance. Its range was big enough to cover the entire club too. Still, it's not without some weaknesses at least." He wondered if the Semblance had a cooldown for its activation, but then the kid could have just waited a second before hitting the girl again. Was it arrogance? Likely, from what he saw of the boy's attitude, but it could also be something else.
The sound of high heels clicking reached Roman's ears.
The flamboyant man leisurely stood up from the couch and grabbed his cane. "Why Cinder, what a delight it is to see you on this lovely night," With a hand on his chest, Roman bowed dramatically.
A woman chuckled as she stepped into the room. "You flatter me, Roman. But I hope for your sake that it's not some feeble attempt to prepare me for news of failure."
"Of course not!" Roman made a mock expression of offense. "In fact, I have great news. Not only did I get the men for the Dust robberies, but I also got some more… extremely useful assets."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, at first I was just gonna swindle some kids because they looked so innocent and naïve that I felt responsible as an adult to teach them about the real world. But, I realise soon enough that they were worth far more than a quick buck." Roman chuckled when he remembered how Junior tried to subtly gain the kids' favour.
Cinder Fall hummed, "Tell me more about them."
End of Chapter
I was really conflicted about the fight with Yang. I'm not trying to do the kinda cringy cliché of using a strong canon character as a jobber for my OC to look better. But I needed to show how formidable Blackout is. Allowing someone like Gin who can barely fight against Grimm, to take on a fighter of Yang's calibre. But obviously, it's not without its weakness that Yang was able to exploit like the badass that she is.
So, yeah. I really needed to establish that now and not later because of the coming plot points. There's more to the scenes than just that but I'll stop with the "tell" from here. I just hope I did Yang justice with my descriptions of her, even though I did kinda ruin her trailer. But like, I really needed the entire nightclub scene for future plot points.
On a side note, I wonder if this wasn't fanfic, I introduced too many new characters in one chapter. I've heard that doing that too soon in a story is shooting yourself in the foot. Only 3 or 4 of them are going to be major characters so I guess that might not be too bad but I'm not sure.
Anyway, I'll do my very best to make it on time for the next deadline which will be Sunday. So until then, V Sign.