Hey, I actually managed to update on time again. Too bad that's probably not going to happen again. Actually, I think updates are gonna be really random now cuz I start college tomorrow. Hopefully, I can still find time to write everyday.
Chapter 14: Semblances and Secrets
Neo reciprocated Gin's greeting with a curtsy adorned by a playful smile.
Afterwards, she put her hands behind her back and held the parasol with both hands. Then she took wide and slow strides as she started circling Gin. Her smile now had a certain edge to it.
Gin couldn't help but tense a little even though he tried to hide it.
The hooded boy was the one with plans to kill her, yet it was the tiny woman who seemed like a predator prowling around her prey.
An unconventional game of cat and mouse, where it was unclear who was who.
"Now that the introductions are out of the way, come with me, kid. There's something I need to discuss with you in private," said Roman who turned around and walked off, expecting Gin to follow, and he did. Neo trailed beside him.
While they walked, Gin briefly entertained the thought of enacting his plans now but decided against it. After all, he didn't know if Roman had any other partners. He wondered if that was why Neo was following them instead of keeping watch from a distance again.
I can't sense anyone else, but I don't doubt that Roman has something up his sleeves. Maybe someone in the White Fang? But they were all in my range and they all feel like small fry. Nothing like this woman or Roman.
Or was it a sign of their trust in me even though their Aura is up? I'm not sure.
He was then led inside a simple room with a desk and two chairs. It looked like one of those places where a manager would speak to their employee in private.
"Sit," Roman ordered after having taken the seat behind the desk and gestured at the chair in front of it.
"Do you mind if I ask why you're working with the White Fang?" Gin asked after complying and sitting down. "I thought there was a difference between criminals and terrorists."
"There is. But as for why I'm with working with them… Well, let's just say that we have our circumstances," Roman cheekily replied with a chuckle, causing Gin to pull his lips to a single side, annoyed.
Then his hood was pulled back and his face was revealed. He directed an annoyed look at the culprit who just giggled, utterly unapologetic of what she did.
Neo pointed at his face and at hers. She pinched her index and thumb without fully closing them. Then she layered her index and middle finger to form horizontal parallel lines while fluttering her eyes.
"... I don't know sign language, sorry," said Gin. "I'm sure you already know this but I can feel your movements, but not any facial expressions you make." Gin didn't feel like mentioning that he could if he tried because it was a bother.
"That wasn't sign language," Roman explained with amusement. "Neo is saying you're almost as pretty as her."
"Oh. Uh thanks, I got my good looks from my mother."
Neo raised the fingers into vertical lines this time in the form of a peace sign. Then she moved towards the table and sat on it with a jump.
"Anyway, I'll get to the point," Roman continued after interlocking his fingers on the table. "I want you to hide your Semblance from any of their members. Along with anyone else in the future."
"What?" asked Gin in surprise. "I mean, I don't mind but why?"
Roman reached for his breast pocket and pulled out a playing card. "Because, you never reveal your cards. Always have them covered and keep your enemies guessing."
"That's the smart thing to do, kid. So no more bragging about to your enemies or strangers." Roman snorted and smirked, "Especially not in the middle of an actual Gods forsaken fight."
"Fuck you," said Gin.
Neo gave a soundless laugh amidst it all.
0-0-0
A rabbit gazed at the shattered moon.
As if she wanted to be closer to the celestial body, her nest was somewhere high.
One of the outer double rings of colonnades that surrounded the large amphitheatre on the main avenue of Beacon Academy. The faunus sat there near the edge with her legs dangling in the air.
Tearing her eyes away from the moon, she noticed the coming bullhead that landed on the docking way. She then pull her legs up and moved away from the edge so no one would notice her, although she still peeked with idle curiosity.
With Aura-enhanced eyes, she saw the bullhead open to allow its passengers out. Most, if not all of them were Beacon students who had gone to the city for a trip to the stores or for something else.
"Gin?" Velvet whispered to herself. Having spotted the boy with his hood down, walking among the rest of the students with his left hand carrying his weapon. "Oh yeah, he said that he worked part-time out at night. Always complained about hard it was to get a ride back to Beacon on time. I wonder if he got off early tonight—" Her eyes suddenly widened.
Gin had stopped and was now looking in her direction even though she was so high up.
"Oh crap. I forgot he can sense Aura and when he's being watched," Velvet mumbled with a slight grimace.
She then saw him wave at her with a smirk and she hesitantly waved back. Gin then continued his path without going towards her direction and it made her breathe a sigh of relief.
"Wait. Maybe I should talk to him. I feel bad for what happened today," Velvet suggested to herself with a hesitant expression. "Or maybe we can just talk through texts. Or in the morning again tomorrow…" She pressed a palm against her lips in contemplation and she was like that for a minute or two.
Then her rabbit ears twitched as she heard something.
So she turned her head around, and it was just in time to see a certain someone leap up from the other side of the colonnade and land on its surface.
"Gin!?" Velvet yelled with a shocked expression on both her face and body.
"Boo," He said with a cheeky grin. "Scared you, didn't I?"
"W-What are you… How did you even get up here?"
"Same way as you probably. Skipping up the column by creating friction with Aura."
"But that's a technique only taught in your second— Ah. Nevermind, I forgot that you're really good with Aura."
"Thank you," said Gin who moved towards the edge near Velvet and sat down with his legs crossed, unafraid of the lack of surface right before him as he placed his weapon on his lap. "So, what's up? Other than us, of course," He asked casually without looking at her.
"Uh, nothing much," said Velvet while scratching her cheek. "I just wanted to get up here and look at the night sky. It's pretty fun and I like being in high places. Yeah, I know. Weird for a faunus like me."
"Why would that be weird?" Gin turned to her with his head tilted.
"Eh?" Velvet sounded surprised. "Well, I'm a rabbit faunus so people assume I don't like high and dangerous places like this."
Gin snorted, "Relatable. People tend to assume I dislike reading when they couldn't be more wrong."
A sincere smile found its way onto Velvet's face. "I know right? It can get so annoying sometimes."
"Yeah." Gin leaned forward and peered down. "I can see why you like high places like this. It's pretty exhilarating."
"Exactly!" said Velvet with excitement. She scooted over so that her legs were now dangling over the edge again. "And when you look at the sky at this height, it feels so… ethereal I guess. Seeing the stars and moon feels so nice too."
Gin snickered, "I'll take your word for it."
Velvet turned to him with wide embarrassed eyes. Then she narrowed them at him with puffed-up cheeks. "Not funny," she said dryly.
Gin laughed, "Sorry sorry."
Velvet let out an exasperated huff but she couldn't help the smile that crept up on her.
"So hey. About what happened this afternoon," Gin brought up the topic without looking directly at her, causing Velvet's expression to turn awkward. "I want you to know that I've been trying to get Cardin to stop being racist."
Velvet turned to him with some surprise.
"I've read somewhere that said being a bystander is equal to being the perpetrator," said Gin. "I've actually known it for a while now but I never truly cared. Until now, that is," He turned to face her. "Even if I can't change minds, I promise to not be a bystander anymore."
Velvet didn't respond or react for a good few seconds as she stared at him.
But then she smiled softly, "Thanks, Gin. I appreciate it."
Gin responded with his own smile, "No problem."
"But again, I don't want you to fight with your teammates. I know how precious teams can be after all, " said Velvet. "And we're all going to be together with our teams for four years so it's best to get along."
"Hmm, alright," Gin agreed with a nod. "I was actually going to add, 'through force if necessary' back there but I had a feeling that would just upset you."
"Yeah," said Velvet with a giggle.
Looking away, she paused as a pensive expression adorned her.
"… And hey," She began while scratching her slightly red cheek and without looking directly at him. "I think I'll be available this weekend. Uh, me and Coco I mean."
Gin looked surprised.
Then he practically glowed as bright as the shattered moon.
"I can't wait," He said sincerely with a soft grin.
"… Me too," Velvet mumbled almost inaudibly.
Under the starlit sky, these two sat on their high perch with only each other as company. One greatly enjoying it while the other was more moderate in her delight.
0-0-0
Forever Fall. A large forest located in a mountainous area with numerous cliffs. It was an unusual land filled with deep red leaves on the trees and red grass on the grounds. It spanned as far as the eye could see, earning its moniker of eternal autumn as it painted the realm red.
And the students of Beacon have ventured into this land through bullhead travel for a class assignment. These trees contained a special red sap that is of interest to various researchers so these students were here to collect it for Professor Peach. Although she herself could not make it so on her behalf, Professor Goodwitch took the place of instructor and directed the students on what to do and how to do it. There were also Grimm that stained this land with their darkness, so Glynda warned the students and told them that they needn't paint the place further with their own blood.
Each member of every team was given four jars to fill with the special sap from the trees. A relatively simple assignment for all of them and it could be done quickly if the teams worked together.
"Go fuck yourself," said Gin, his expression giving nothing away.
Cardin curled his lips, "Did you forget that I'm the leader here? You're supposed to follow my orders, dumbass."
"I don't follow the orders of a racist."
"You only give a shit about because of Scarlatina!" Cardin accused while pointing a finger at him.
"So what?" Gin said with a nonchalant shrug. "If you want me to follow you, then just don't be racist. It's as simple as that."
"Fuck you. I was chosen to be the leader of this team so you'll do what I fucking tell you to do."
"Or else what?" Gin asked with an unimpressed look. "Will you tell on me to the teachers? There should be a limit to how much of a little bitch you can be."
"Oh yeah? Then how about I fucking make—"
"Oi! Are you buggers for real right now?" Russel interrupted while getting between the two and spreading his arms to keep them apart. "For fuck's sakes, all we have to do is collect some stupid sap and we can go home."
"Yeah. So let's split into teams of two," Sky suggested. "We have two drills so it'll be enough for both our teams. I'll go with Gin and Russel with Cardin, okay? We can cover more ground that way."
"Hmm. Sure," Gin agreed easily enough. "You're not racist so I don't mind following your lead," He said while looking Cardin in the eyes, making him scowl at the obvious taunt.
Sky let out a sigh before leading Gin away from their partners. Although Sky did feel the need to point out that he was an ironic racist for some reason.
"Hey, do you really think you can change Cardin's mind by being like this?" Sky asked while they walked and he searched for a good tree to extract the sap from.
"Of course not," Gin replied while he followed. He was idly looking around with Aura-enhanced eyes, but not for the same reasons as Sky. Gin was colour-blind with tritanopia and red was one of the colours that he could see correctly, it was why he wore a red sash and used some red for his emblem. So, Gin found it a little novel to see a forest in its right colour.
"Then why?" Sky asked.
"Because it's fun to spite him," He explained as if it was obvious.
"... On one hand, I respect the trolling. On the other, it's fucking annoying and not funny when me and Russel are caught between you two," Sky said dryly.
"Shame," said Gin.
Sky sent him a flat stare.
0-0-0
"Come on, Cardin. At least, just don't be racist in front of Gin," Russel pleaded while he used the manual drill to make a hole into the bark of the tree.
"Why the hell do I have to do that just for that animal fucker?" Cardin said with a growl as he used more force than necessary to plug the pipe into the tree and let the sap flow into his jar.
"Because he's our mate, and a good one too. I don't really like the faunus meself but we can play nice for him."
Cardin said nothing as his frown deepened, he pounded on the tree in an attempt to make it flow faster.
Russel let out a suffering sigh. Shit, I need to calm down or my frustration might make my Semblance go off, He reminded himself in his mind while also pressing his temples. Cardin and Gin had been at it since last night. Either giving one another the silent treatment or provoking each other and starting petty arguments. Russel had to work overtime to keep the peace while Sky - the bastard - barely did shit. At least he managed to get Sky to agree with working together and getting these two to reconcile.
"Ight look, how about I talk to Gin to play nice too?" Russel offered. He seriously hoped that Sky was getting better results.
"How about you just shut up and focus on your work so we can hurry up and get out of this ugly forest," Cardin said. When his jar was filled, he pulled the pipe out but he used too much strength so it crashed into the jar he held by the bottom. It fell off and Cardin tried to catch up but he just smacked it and caused it to spill its contents on Cardin's body before landing on the ground.
Cardin physically quaked in anger. It was going to be a pain to clean off the sticky sap and its bad smell obviously didn't help him feel better.
"FUCK!" He roared with all his pent-up frustration in that word.
Russel sighed at the sight. "Oi, you're gonna need—"
Something answered that challenge with its own roar.
Cardin and Russel flinched but they quickly grabbed their weapons. Then they turned in the direction of that loud roar and saw…
An Ursa Major.
A larger variant of the standard Ursai with more plates on its body and massive spikes on the back.
Both of their eyes widened and they tensed up further with some fear.
At least, it was only supposed to be some.
Resonance
0-0-0
The other members of Team Cigar perked up as they heard that roar as well.
"Grimm?" Sky asked.
"I don't know. I can't sense Grimm." Gin paused. "But Sky and Cardin have activated their Aura."
The two faced each other. Understanding came to them both as they nodded and ran towards their teammates, Gin in the lead this time.
Less than a minute later, they came across the sight - with Gin Aura-enhancing his central vision - of their teammates battling a black beast.
Or rather, they were trying to, and failing. The Ursa Major batted Cardin away a few feet and he barely managed to stay standing. The Grimm then aimed its claws for Russel but the agile fighter would be able to evade the slow—
Russel screamed as he flew in the air. He was much lighter than Cardin so the attack was more effective on him which led to him crashing his back into a nearby tree with a pained grunt.
Closing his eyes, Gin immediately drew his sword and ran towards them without even removing his haori this time. Sky quickly followed while taking his halberd out of his back. As they picked up speed, Gin would strike with—
Both of them suddenly skidded to a stop as their eyes widened.
From Sky's point of view, it seemed like the large Grimm grew even bigger and its head contorted into an unnatural shape that didn't even resemble Grimm. Human skulls were mounted on the spikes on its back. Wisps of smoke rose from its body and the black skin took on a red hue while blood spilt from its jaws. A horrifying visage that wasn't real.
Gin gripped his shaking thigh with utter disbelief on his face. A smudge of fear was unavoidable for most warriors and it wasn't anything to be ashamed of.
But afraid to the point of trembling?
A Swordsman like him?!
He forcibly closed his eyes shut again while grinding his teeth. Anger began bubbling over the fear as he took a step forward.
"R-Russel's Semblance!" Sky realised and blurted out. "It's affecting us and getting stronger with more of us!"
Understanding quickly dawned on Gin's face.
The Ursa pounced on a frozen Cardin and brought him down. It bit his armoured forearm and started thrashing about with the limb while Cardin made grunting noises in terror.
"Go and help Russel calm his Semblance down!" Gin yelled while pushing Sky. "I'll get the Grimm's attention!"
Sky hesitantly nodded before he moved towards Russel while keeping a wide distance away from the Ursa.
Taking a deep breath, Gin took a steady stance. Unbelievable. My own fucking legs don't want to take another step towards the Ursa. Fine then, I'll bring it to me! He resolved in his mind.
Then he expanded his Aura Realm and turned it into the shape of a massive blazing flame.
There was also the fact that the Realm was being tainted by Gin's fear. Thus, further increasing its allure to the Grimm who had already stopped bitting Cardin. Instead, it was now stepping on his head and now it faced Gin's direction. Glowing red eyes locked on the eye of the storm that was Gin.
The monster roared.
Gin visibly flinched and took a step back. His eyes opened wide again.
"Fuck!" He yelled at his own weakness. He switched into a regular two-handed grip and pointed the shaking blade at the Grimm.
The Ursa charged for him.
Gin closed his eyes and deactivated his Aura Realm, blinding himself to its movements but giving him better protection.
When he heard its heavy step nearing, Gin howled and swung with a powerful overhead strike.
But the attack missed by an embarrassingly wide margin.
A giant claw came for his side.
A visceral croak escaped his mouth as he was launched into the air.
Then he crashed into the grass but he managed to roll onto his knees instead of lying hapless on his back. Hearing the approaching heavy steps of the Grimm again, Gin panicked and wildly swung his blade. He managed to score one or two light hits but the Grimm chomped on his sword arm and forced his attacks to a stop.
Gin let out a gurgled grunt of pain when it tightened its jaws. Then it started shaking its head as Gin struggled to break free, even punching with his left hand to little effect. Realising that even in his agitated state, Gin surged Aura onto his incapacitated arm.
The large monster rose to its hind legs, dragging Gin into the air while his legs struggled to find purchase on something. It brought both its limbs apart, ready to slam the claws into the human at the—
Aura Ripple
It was a wild Ripple that was given no proper direction so it exploded from Gin's forearm and tore the mouth open enough for Gin to escape and avoid the double claws of the Grimm in an attack that resembled a clap.
Managing to twist his body in the air, Gin landed on all fours. Then he immediately dash off to evade the Ursa who did the same when it dropped to its front legs again.
Gaining only a few feet away from the Grimm, Gin turned around and faced it once more, still on his knees. His eyes were wide open and twitching in a manic expression, even his bared teeth were visibly and audibly grinding.
Anger was not foreign to Gin, but he could control it so it would be a cold fury.
Yet now, it blazed.
The Ursa charged again with a roar.
Fear forgotten as his blood boiled, the proud Swordsman who had been forced to crawl like an animal now gave a guttural roar like one and charged.
0-0-0
Several moments earlier, Sky reached Russel who had huddled into himself while trembling.
Then Sky slapped his partner in the face.
"Fuck?!" Russel yelled in confusion.
"Go and find help!" said Sky while shaking him on the shoulder. "We need to get you and your Semblance out here."
Russel paused for a second before he nodded. Then he stumbled onto his feet and ran away while Sky ran towards Cardin who was on his knees and hands while he panted heavily with a dazed look.
Then Sky punched his leader in the face.
Cardin turned to him, shocked for a moment before he snarled and shoved Sky. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"
"Gin just saved your ass so get the fuck up and repay the favour!" Sky yelled back.
Shock returned with a vengeance. Cardin then quickly regained his bearings and stood up to look in Gin's direction as Sky did the same.
What greeted them was a savage sight.
Gin had managed to grab the Ursa's wide neck under his arms in a headlock, preventing it from biting him even as it viciously tried to. Steel Seer was constantly rammed into the Grimm's hide - though it deflected off the white spikes sometimes - and it was pulled out crookedly to mutilate on its way out.
The Grimm tried to get him off by moving its head but Gin held on tightly even as his feet were dragged across the dirt. It even tried to claw his unguarded back but Gin crushed his teeth through the pain and continued attacking with reckless abandon. Not a single speck of the usual dignified Swordsman was present.
Roaring, the Ursa rose to its hind legs and dragged Gin into the air again. That way it could use both paws to—
An explosion resounded as something viciously impacted the Grimm's back, forcing it on all fours again.
Something else gouged into its front leg. A halberd.
"Gin!" Sky shouted. "Get away from the Grimm, we'll keep it off your back!"
Unhearing or uncaring for what Sky said, Gin raised his sword and slammed the blade into the lower neck with a loud growl. It wasn't enough to fully cut the thick hide so Gin moved his blade back and forth to slice deeper into the black flesh.
Like a fucking saw.
To even classify it as swordsmanship would be an insult of the highest calibre to the art.
Sky swore and the Grimm howled as another attack from Cardin landed on its back. Feather's Edge was still buried in the Grimm's limb so Sky quickly fired a bullet from the halberd's tip, the recoil added force to his attempt of pulling the halberd out while hacking it. Sky gouged into it again and repeated the process two more times and the Grimm finally stumbled for the leg was no longer able to support it.
Another attack from Cardin's mace fully forced it flat on the grass, it also forced Gin to his knees because his left arm held tight to the neck but he didn't care and kept sawing. Sky moved around the Ursa towards its other limb and he raised his halberd to hack its other leg off again while Cardin raised his mace for another slam.
A few seconds later, Gin finally decapitated the head with a victorious yell. The poor Grimm also had its back and sides thoroughly abused the other members of Team Cigar.
A finally subdued Gin was pulled away from the dissipating Grimm by his teammates. When they released him, Gin fell flat on his back to the ground. This sweating mess breathed heavily as he looked exhausted, more so than his teammates who were just tired.
Soon enough, Team Juniper came rushing towards their team. Jaune - who was in the lead - saw his friend and quickened his pace before skidding to stop before the supine Gin.
"Dude, are you okay!?" He asked in a rush.
Gin mumbled something unintelligible for his answer.
Aura Amp
Placing his palms on him, Jaune began healing Gin. In the background, Sky asked Team Juniper if Russel was the one who called them here and they responded affirmatively, though they mentioned that Russel was elsewhere so he could get his Semblance back under control.
So fucking pathetic, Gin thought derisively while glowing from Jaune's Semblance. I thought I had gotten better against Grimm, but… fuck. This was a humiliation even worse than the loss against Xiao-Long…
Fuck, if only my Semblance worked on the Grimm. Then I could be the strongest.
.
.
.
Am I… really fine with that?
0-0-0
The trip for the class assignment allowed the participating teams to have fewer classes for the day so now Team Cigar were back in their dorm room. Despite the harrowing experience, they were relatively uninjured. Although there was a sombre mood in the air as each of them rested with tired bodies.
Cardin lay on his bed with his arms spread outwards while he faced the ceiling, Sky sat at his desk with a fist supporting his cheek, Gin sat at his desk with his head on the desk and finally, Russel was prone on his bed with his face buried in the pillow.
Awkwardly scratching his head, Sky got up from his desk and walked towards Russel and took a seat next to him. "Yo, man. Don't be so down. Your Semblance might activate again," He laughed while lightly slapping Russel's back.
"… Aye, you're right," said Russel. He rose up from his and twisted to stand up, "I'll just leave and go somewhere else."
"""No!""" voiced all the members of Team Cigar.
"Dude. That's not what I mean. I was just joking and wanted to cheer you up," Sky quickly explained. "It was my bad though, for putting it like that."
"We already told you that it wasn't your fault, idiot," said an annoyed Cardin who slightly got up from his bed.
"But… it was my Semblance—"
"No one gives a shit," Gin harshly interrupted with his head now raised in Russel's direction. "If anyone's to be blamed, then it should be me and Cardin. You said that we were the ones who caused you stress and frustration, right?"
"Well, yeah but—"
"Gin's right," It was Cardin who interrupted Russel this time. Their leader stood up and moved towards his partner.
"I'm… sorry," He said with a grimace as if the words took great effort to pull from his mouth. "I won't talk shit about Scarlatina or the faunus anymore."
Gin stared at him. Highly doubting that he would actually stop being racist. But Gin suspected that Cardin just wanted them to stop fighting for Russel's sake.
"Alright. Thanks," said Gin with a sigh. "I'll stop antagonising you too and follow your orders again," He said while holding out a fist.
Cardin's own fist connected with it. Then the two partners turned towards a baffled Russel with an expectant expression on both their faces.
"Damn… Talk about a speed run," Sky mumbled.
"That's your cue to sit back down," said Gin. Which made Russel hesitantly comply while Cardin got back to his own bed.
After a few seconds of silence where no one was sure of what to say, Russel ruffled his hair. "Again… I'm really sorry, fam." He sighed, "My Semblance is pretty cool but times like this makes me wish I never had it…"
Sky's face took on a complicated expression.
He rubbed his mouth before finally opening it to say, "Hey guys, I have something to confess."
The three members of Team Cigar turned to him with curiosity.
"I lied about not having my Semblance."
Russel looked shocked while the others seem faintly surprised.
"It's called, 'Eyes for Lies'. Basically, a lie detector that's a passive ability. Uh, that means it automatically activates when anyone lies and I can't stop it."
Gin stiffened.
"Why the fuck would you hide a Semblance like that?" Cardin asked.
Sky scratched his forehead, "So, my Semblance is really good at its job. Too good actually. It can detect half-truths and shit like that no matter what. And… everyone lies about something. To be nice, to keep a secret or for other reasons. So, when people find out about my Semblance, they get uncomfortable. They can't really hide anything from me, after all. So they tend to avoid me. It's not like they were being cruel or anything, but well… you know." He just shrugged his hands.
"I figured I might as well just keep my Semblance a secret to avoid drama. What you won't know won't hurt you. So yeah," Sky looked at Russel with a smirk, "your Semblance has worse problems than mine but… I can relate with you man."
Russel wasn't sure what to say, he just looked back at Sky as his mouth struggled to find what to say.
Cardin eyed the two with an odd expression.
"… Hey, actually I lied about not having a Semblance too," He revealed. Shocking Russel again but not Sky or Gin.
Letting out an annoyed huff, Cardin continued, "Life Eater. It can drain and absorb other people's Aura to make myself stronger, recover my own Aura and energise myself."
"That sounds pretty strong," Gin commented. "Why did you keep it a secret?"
"Because it's a parasitic and pathetic power better suited for cowards. My dad loves to remind me of that," Cardin said with a frown. "Whatever. It's not like I can use it much in a fight anyway. To activate my Semblance, I need to make contact with my mouth and maintain it. Obviously, that ain't easy in a Huntsman fight, so yeah."
"Nah, mate. That's still a really cool Semblance," said Russel.
"Yeah. That's basically a lifesteal ability and those are always the fucking best," Sky agreed with a grin.
Gin grunted with a nod before adding, "It even has a cool and symbolic name too."
Cardin snorted, "Yeah, thanks guys."
Then he turned toward Gin with a smirk, "Let me guess, you lied too?"
Gin's lips disappeared into a thin line as all the eyes in the room fell on him.
Finally, he sighed before saying, "Yeah. I did."
The rest of them couldn't help but laugh.
"Fuckin' hell. My team's full of sneaky cunts," Russel commented which made them laugh again and Gin joined in with a chuckle.
Then he told them about his Semblance which caused them to widen their eyes in amazement. Gin would shamelessly admit that he enjoyed their reactions.
"So, what's the drawback that made you hide it?" Cardin questioned.
"No, my Semblance doesn't have anything like that." Gin glanced at Sky before he rubbed his head while his lips twisted, "Look, I know that we're having a moment here but, can we just leave it? I have my reasons and I'd prefer to keep them to myself. I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's fine. We won't pry," said Cardin which got the other members to agree as well.
"Thanks," said Gin with sincerity. "Also, let's all agree that our secret Semblances don't leave this room alright?"
They all concurred with that sentiment. Then they started talking about more casual and light-hearted topics, the previous dreary mood having all been forgotten.
0-0-0
Some time later, the team were ready to head to the gym as they usually did. Though this time, Sky decided to pass because he wanted to play an online game. Russel playfully called him a nerd but they didn't really give him shit for it as they left and Sky was left to his devices.
But then the door opened.
Sky heard it and looked around to see Gin standing there.
They both stared at each other in silence for several seconds.
"Are you here to kill me?" Sky asked.
"… Yes," Gin replied with a straight face.
Sky snickered and laughed.
Gin did not.
Sky noticed that and his laughter trailed off.
"Why do you have your Aura up?" Gin asked with a neutral expression.
"No reason in particular," Sky replied with the same expression.
"Then why don't you put it down?"
"Nah, I'm good."
. . .
Blackout
Sky suddenly tensed up when he felt hands on his shoulders.
"Relax," said Gin. "I'm just messing with you. I won't hurt you. And you can tell that I'm not lying."
Sky released a breath and eased himself.
The hands on his shoulders started massaging him. "Did you tell the other guys about my late-night lies?" Gin asked.
"Of course not. If I did, then I would have to explain how I know and that would be a pain. And you saw that they were surprised to find out about my Semblance."
"Hmm. I didn't actually see anything but, alright. I'll believe you, so thank you."
"No problem…" He mumbled with fain displeasure.
"I hope we can keep it that way," Gin said in a low tone.
"My lips are sealed," Sky mimed the gesture of zipping his lips.
"Thanks again," said Gin while closing his eyes.
"But lemme unseal them for a second to just say, you're a cunt."
"I guess we really are birds of a feather."
End of Chapter
Bit of a short chapter. I was gonna add the outing with Velvet and Coco in this chapter but decided against it because I felt this was a better ending for a chapter.
So, I'm not sure if tritanopia is a cliche or not for colour blindness in fiction but I have a feeling that it might be because of how cool it is. I couldn't resist using it either xD