Thinking
flashback
someone talking in another language.
8:00 P.M
Everyone was getting ready to sleep after the speech, some were discussing how the headmaster looked like he was thinking about something else during it.
Others like the teenage boys, flexed their muscles trying to impress some of the girls each other or simply to show off to each other.
Sometimes even girls joined to do that for the same reasons as the men, or just to have fun.
Jaune tried this the operative word being; try, since he was wearing a onesie.
Corsea was in her yellow one-piece pajamas seeing him with an expression of a sister dying on the inside, because of her little brother's antics.
Noel didn't care or didn't pay attention, he was reading a comic in his scroll, and the world around him disappeared.
He was reading this world equivalent of Jojos' Bizarre Adventures it was going to have a TV adaptation, and he wondered how it was going to differ from the comic books, he thought he was reading the most popular mental hallucination a person could hast out from their brain.
just like with Jojo, it was an old franchise in Mistral.
"Could I eat a mountain of pancakes in half an hour?" Nora asked casually making one of her many intrusive thoughts win.
"A bet you eat it in one second, given how I saw you eat then like a vacuum cleaner" Noel absentmindedly replied Nora chuckled at that and then threw a pillow at him.
Noel responded in kind with a frown on his face.
Ren on the other hand was meditating. About what? was anybody's guest.
Blake talks to Ruby after she is motivated by her sister (A.K.A: bothering her a bit to try and get Ruby out of her shell) they were talking about fairy tales and books, Although Blake is taken a bit by surprise when Ruby tells her she also read the darker stories.
Then it was interrupted by a shrill voice, a familiar one that made Noel wish he wasn't there at the moment.
"Ugg it's too much to ask for someone to find respite from this ra…Oh, it's you and the Funus sympathizer." Weiss said.
"Oh joy is the Ice queen again," Yang said with sarcasm leaking in her voice "Can you please stop accosting my sister?"
"If you didn't cause so much noise that I needed to wake up to complain, I wouldn't have the necessity to interact with a bimbo like you and the inept idiot" spat Weiss with venom.
"Oh sorry I have a bit of garbage in my ear I didn't hear well; what the hell did you just call me and my sister? "Yang's eyes turned red not a good sight.
"Oh no," Ruby murmured "Hey guys can we please tone it down we don't want to make more trouble here."
"Hmmp as if I am going to listen to someone like you," Weis said as Ruby flinched at that, Blake frowned and got up to get out of her Ruby just felt frustrated when Blake did that.
"I suggest to you Schnee you listen to her," Balke said although she spat Weiss's last name like it was venom "This is supposed to be a place to relax, yes people can get rowdy but it isn't a reason to complain so loudly"
One part of Weiss told her to listen, that this wasn't a big deal, and to be honest, she did mistrust people like her, she shouldn't said more hashers things, her pride already messed up certain things, however, her stubborn pride yelled that she couldn't back down.
"Tch!" Weiss scowled "Well if they didnt speak so loudly that my sleep would get out of wack! then I might be more lenient to this crude duo of banshees"
"Hey, what the hell is your problem!? She was nothing but Nice to you!" Yang yelled at Weiss and Ruby just let out a sigh in frustration "The only banshee I see is you!"
It made Weiss incense restarting the verbal flinging again.
Noel for his part was wondering about what decision to make, intervening or letting it fall out normally.
In all sincerity he dint want to deal with that shit show, on the other hand, he wanted to help. although he feels like he was being creepy because of that and what he knew about them as people.
Then again Ruby surprised him because she read those stories so he probably knew a lot but not much that said it was better than just staying still and observing.
Ultimately he decided regardless of his reservation to get up and walk toward the epicenter of the mess he didnt want to be a bystander any longer.
"Dam my bleeding heart," he mentally berated himself
"Hello girls how are you doing?" Noel said with a salute" And hello Weiss didn't you say you would never talk to us? you have the awful tendency to meet us"
"Is a coincidence you tool-influenced idiot" Weiss responded making him click his tongue in annoyance "And for your information, this is none of your business."
He hated to agree with her in certain opinions, she had a point why was he bothering to get into this situation anyway? it wasn't his business and Noel could made the situation worse.
But it felt wrong to him not to try and at least defend someone else, not to mention she kept insulting him and his friend's annoyance was a rather charitable way to refer to the rage he was feeling right now.
"Oh for the love of… Teresa is not an object you bitch!" Nora yelled in Noel and Teresa's defense "She never has done anything wrong if anybody has is an idiot is you, ice queen!"
Ren didnt admonish her, perhaps it had something to do with the Mistralian's frustrated expression at the heiress although it was dissimulated in a way it wasn't noticed.
Weis sent a venomous glare to the redhead who responded with a glare of her own, if looks could kill it would be a mutually assured destruction.
"well thanks to you I found a new thing I dislike, being questioned by ignorant people just angers me" Weis spat "You all really think you know more than me don't you?"
"At least more experience talking to the people you vocally discriminate against" Ren stated calmly but "with that predisposition and nasty temper, I wonder if you had friends at some point"
She then threw her glare at Ren and growled she looked more frustrated at herself than anybody else "Why did I even bother to come here and complain?"
"Look we would rather not talk with you in any capacity right now," Noel said being Honest "In fact, I and the rest of us don't have patience for your bullshit, because It is unpleasant as hell for me, and anybody else you don't respect."
This offended Weiss was offended by that statement, she was already incensed by this conversation and she wanted to say something to Noel who interrupted her.
"Before you go fly off the handle consider that you are making a scene," Noel said making Weis more indignant.
"They started it by being loud and incapable of maintaining their voice low!" Weis complained crossing her arms as if showing her displeasure. "and then you came here"
Ruby responded by scratching the back of her head, Blake was calm but with a challenging glare and Yang had her arms crossed eyes still scarlet for the past insult, Noel had the decency to feel guilty about it, Nora huffed but was still defiant and Ren just nodded still with a deadpan expression.
"As I said to the dumbass as if I am going to listen to the likes of you much less lectured," Weis declared refusing to back down.
"Tch, you are a stubborn one, aren't you? " Noel said irritated with her he disliked the situation, not that he wasn't stubborn himself.
"Call it what you want you meddling pest" Weiss insulted him her frown deepening.
"Vete a la mierda," Noel said angrily "That classification fits your abusive excuse of a father better."
At that moment Weiss froze then her mouth changed to a thin line, her face monotonous almost serene hiding an underline of wrath, it only took a moment for Noel to realize how messed up by punching that nerve.
"Oh shit," Noel said while he was bracing for the worse" Ok sorry If I-
Weiss just raised her hand at him essentially telling him to shut up, and walked near him her face unnerving unchanged, but the irises of her eyes were pinpricks now, focused set on her target.
The strike came quickly he was slapped in the right checks of his face, and his aura protected him from the worst but there was still pain. he also could feel that she barely held back that hit, after all, she wasn't trying to send him flying to the wall.
That would have been too rude even for her.
"Don't you dare talk like that went you don't know shit about me at all you fucking bastard!" Weiss yelled in anger
Ren didnt move but he was trembling, Noel did deserve that, but it took a good deal of his will to remain calm.
Ren's eyes quickly went to Nora who was running to the heiress with a nasty expression, Ren quickly reacted going towards her but he couldn't catch her in time.
"Nora no!" Noel yelled quickly while nursing his cheek, he teared up a little, shit he touched a nerve "Don't provoke more trouble, and… I shouldn't have touched that subject"
Nora turned to him with a conflicted look, "But, She…"
then she felt a hand on her shoulders and turned to Ren, who had a serious expression on his face although she felt his arms shaking.
"I know! Just don't" Noel begged her.
Nora relented but her venomous eyes were still on a rageful Weiss as Ren signed in relief although not calm.
The heiress snapped out of her trance realizing the vulgar words that came from her mouth, and what she did… a myriad of expressions came and went until they settled from frustrated regret "Tch Look at what you make me say you piece of scum."
Although the words were aimed at Noel, they felt muted, with no hatred or apathy they carried emotions Noel couldn't find down, almost as if he cashed a fast glimpse of someone broken.
Weis walked away from them angry but with a slight slump.
Everything was submerged in a tense silence afterward everyone except for the ones involved in this, stopped and then got the rolling bets out, to pretend they didnt attention to that mess.
"Soooo That happened," Yang said attempting to break the ice "So?… I know this is too late but do any of want to play the color card game?"
Ren, Nora, Ruby, Jaune, and Noel nodded the only one that was left was Blake.
" I would prefer to return to my book and sleep," Blake said "Not that I am against party games, I just am not feeling like playing right now"
"Oh well more fun for me then," replied Yang with a smile
"Uhh yeah, why not?" Jaune said trying to be disarming "I warn ya I am very good at games like these."
"Let me guess the onesie is a good luck charm?" Yang said jocosely making Corsea react with a chuckle.
"Yeah I guess you could say that," Jaune said honestly " I won it from a cereal competition."
"Good lord! your pancreas should have been screaming the whole time telling you to stop," Noel said ignoring the pain on the right of his face" although I have no legs to stand up due to my sweet tooth"
"It's not exactly my best moment, but aura makes you more thoughts including your organs….I think?"Jaune giggled awkwardly and with a bit of shame in his eyes, as he went near Noel which weirded the reincarnated Panamanian a bit "Come here I will fix you right up"
Noel squinted his eyes in suspicion but complied not that Jaune was a bad person anyway.
Jaune put his hands on his shoulder, Noel felt his aura being charged as the stinging pain on his right cheek faded.
"There," Jaune said good naturally "not the most flashy or combat-oriented but it helps I think?"
"You know how important medics are on a battlefield do you?" Noel said, "Especially hunters with a healing semblance and mages on medical fields?"
"Oh no, is not Healing I supercharged your aura, I have a ton of reserves for some reason which helps " Jaune admitted "Although I wonder if a girl would like me more I was a medic hehe?"
"You are aware that's only fantasies right?" Noel replied with a deadpan tone in his voice bursting his bubble.
"Also your track record with girls is not the best, given the decision you make, like the onesie you are wearing" Corsea interjected as she struck her brother's throat without hesitation "In fact, you give the impression of a clown"
"Hey! I needed to try it at least?" Jaune weakly protested "Who knows maybe someone appreciates it?"
Yang just looked at him from top to bottom while getting the cards out for the game.
"I don't know Vomit boy, it's memorable," Yang said, " but not exactly what I want to find in a man or a woman, if anything some just will laugh at your face."
"Oh common," Jaune complained but no one defended his choice of pajamas.
The game they played was the remnant version of uno, it was a fun game although they tried to maintain as much silence as possible with everyone about to sleep, the only one that got victorious at the end of it being Ren.
It was short and with many moments of everyone messing with each other.
Noel chuckled at the look of Betrayal Yang had when Ruby drowned her in cards although it was short-lived went Jaune outright used a card to pass her turn.
who knew the little reaper could throw one hell of a meant glare?
Yang Yawned " I think is time for us to sleep don't you think?"
Just like that everyone got into their rolled-up bets, letting the fog of dreams cloud their minds as they entered the sleeping world.
The exception was Noel he was beckoned somewhere as he fell softly no different from a leaf being dragged by the win, suddenly his back was touching solid ground, he woke up and then he saw the place where he and Teresa first met.
A shared dream of some sort or accurately shared mind place.
For Noel, This always felt like lucid dreaming this was a sign of the connection Teresa and he shared.
A garden at the center of which, there was a gnarled three that as was beautiful as it was grotesque the branches were fingers divided in splinters connected to a hand and so were its roots clinging on the ground the two limbs conjoined together at the center, in a bizarre combination of wood and human-like body parts some of their leaves being heads or limbs, the flowers bloomed with fingers, and last but not least the blue sky has body parts floating like clouds.
There were also eyes, on the center of the occasional flower or in the three itself, notorious for having a color, and they did move, but erratically so, sometimes looking at him or Teresa.
Now it was just a thing that happened, over the years they were unnerving but inoffensive.
All of the scattered humanoid pieces shared a trait: they were fake, save from the eyes but some of them were not real, the humanoid limbs, heads, and torsos had a grey coloration, and they looked like clay, or drawings or words put into physical form, rather than a real thing.
A fiction ready to use physical materials as a vessel except for the eyes.
Those were always the words Noel thought as he looked at the random humanoid (mannequins ? statues? construct?) Golems and the eyes, he didnt know why.
At least it was somewhat more pleasant than his first visit here, he had a mangled arm and he was looking at the place with equal awe and horror.
Now?
Now he recognized this place for what it was after he read about the phenomenon in a library at his combat school before Beacon.
This was a side effect of Tsukumogami and their partner fusing their shared mental landscape in dreams, in which their minds were melded, although it was more of a subjective reality inside their souls.
Two worlds painted over each other in bizarre sketch of the representation of well, their mindsets, experience, and generally their minds.
This mindscape usually was visited when a Tsukumogami or the partner called one or the other be it for private matters, conversations, or de-stress
Mutual consent was accounted for also one couldn't force the other to come here one could just not listen and not come.
Although the dream description didnt mention the locations being odd gardens that wouldn't be out of place
"...That was fuck up," Noel said as he signed " I shouldn't have let my temper get the better of me."
"Nobody told you to bring her abusive dad into the conversation, " Teresas admonished mad at his partner "Things got heated there."
Noel grunted at her "You don't need to tell me,"
"I meant it's my job after all," said the Tsukumogami "Otherwise I will not be here helping you at all."
Noel let out a sigh "It was a good thing she decided she was done with all of that, and ended the hostilities right there, but I feel I made it harder for everyone in that future team to work together"
"If they stay together for that long you know that little interaction made it so that they would separate early, You know this world is different, It may still have some familiar elements but everything you do will affect you anyway," Teresa said, " that said optimistically I believe they will have at worse be very hostile to each other then patch it up or at best they still had grievances with each other but there is no real heat behind that "
"Well that's fan-fucking-tastic," Noel said annoyed "I know I cannot control everything that happens but sometimes I wish I was one of those tactical geniuses that could put dominoes into motion…. thinking about it No, It would be fucked up if it was the case I am playing with their lives"
"Hey you recognized it as morally wrong," Teresa said " and I wouldn't have chosen you if you did have that big heart of yours"
"Yeah, a big heart one that prone to mess up," Noel trew that complained to himself "You know sometimes I wish I wasn't here in the first place?"
Noel then looked at the three and the rest of the Bizarre landscape it would have been right out of a horror movie if it wasn't for the fact; that nothing happened there was no danger, just the occasional unnerving eyeball growing from either the conjoined hand three or a flower.
Noel commonly wasn't the one to call her here, it was mostly Teresa who wanted to talk, and admonished him, went they wanted to rest from a rough day or whenever they felt bored.
However, a thought entered Noels' mind as he took in the sight of the garden " I still wish I didn't know too much about the lives of everyone here, and ultimately what happens in the future"
Noel thought of all the things that happened on the show, the death the destruction, everything set on fire, and he couldn't have gotten involved in this right now he could have lived his life in hell even persuading Ren and Nora away from every future violence.
Not in mistral, obviously the place while peaceful on the surface still has the whole shadow war between the white fang, the resident hunters, and the criminal syndicates selling slaves, political assassinations, and drug trafficking.
Nor Atlas being a cyberpunk hell, with racist and class divide Or Vacuo being the desert shithole that it was, Or Menagire which was a freaking Fabela.
Probably living in Vale without getting involved with Beacon at all, would have been a better idea, After all, if everything was different from the story he once watched, why to bother to try and help?, there was Magic, Living weapon people, apart from the Faunus and Humans, something he distinctly remembers werent a thing.
Shure the racism in this world was still repugnant to him to his very core, but being one man he couldn't magically wave his hand and fix that by himself, if anything it would be arrogant for him to assume such a role.
The one thing he could do was simply treat everyone kindly no matter their origin as much as possible even if it was a small thing to do.
On top of that, the Grimm are, still a problem not to mention the megafauna migrations with animals that use Aura, which didnt exclude plant life, most of the time just ran away or had semblances that impeded their death however on the other they developed violent measures.
Not that Remnant was fond of the animals either, given the documented mass extinction events he read in science magazines, some of which involved Grim although by just bad luck, not that he was surprised given their origins.
Knowing all of that Noel often felt like the planet wanted everyone's death, but he could just ignore that and live in the cities.
He could have done anything besides joining the combat school of mercenary superheroes with soul powers that fight the hordes of demons outside the walls.
"It is still morally screwed" Noel mentally stated.
The very concept of combat schools, Noel was bothered by then, I knew they werent bad institutions and after all the students graduated at eighteen, that said he felt that even with supervision by teachers getting sent to the mission at age seventeen for him was far too much.
Noel also felt it was wrong that children at an age as early as eleven or twelve were trained in schools once they were taught they were sent to the academies to be sent on a mission that would kill them at any moment.
It was saddening.
But Noel guessed that in a world screwed as it was, the bloody interminable shadow demons that relentlessly attacked mankind at its early stages made people realize that they couldn't afford to be defenseless nor their children on top of that your children could be born with a semblance at the moment of birth.
Grim plush mankind in danger of getting munched to death plush magic and hunter arts needing time for develop, plush a planet that wanted you death plus children with superpowers that didnt know how to used plush said children getting killed equals: Teach everyone how to fight, how to control their powers, and kill Grimm.
If anything it required an institute of some shorts to make sure the kid didn't destroy or break something via collateral.
Eventually, that tragic necessity was ingrained into the culture this kid will grow into a teenager who will eventually be thrown at the creations of a god of darkness, and destruction it was messed up.
The death toll wasn't as big now as in the past because people bothered to make sure their future superheroes/ soldiers were treated well…more or less, it still depended on the country, so while you have a good citizen you still had mixed results.
Fucking remnant.
"But you are already here after all we have done? wasn't this the point of this Journey you did after all? to make sure the place doesn't become worse? what a joke " Noel said out loud as if trying to question someone, mostly himself he was already in too deep to get out of this "This sometimes sucks"
"Don't give me the self-deprecating shit now," Teresa said bluntly annoyed at his partner's fell mood "went you are going to stop doing that to yourself? why do you spect everything you do to be bad?"
"That's because I am afraid," Noel responded frankly " I am afraid of everything going wrong, I am afraid of not making the right decision, I am afraid that all of them would hate me because of what I know, and afraid for the things to come, I am just afraid. because if I don't things the worse then how I will prepared to face it?"
Teresa just let out a sigh it was always fear and trauma that drove him to do his actions, which demonstrated that he didn't have warrior blood at all, and yet he still had a noble heart.
Even if he lost everything a second time, he still kept going.
"Noel you managed to get into Beacon even when you were feeling fear, a prestigious place that is difficult to reach, shure you messed up here that doesn't mean you don't learn and correct it" Teresa expressed annoyed then her frown changed to a more pleasant face " Noel, you still much more rights than wrongs, and consistently did more good than harm, while is the truth that you aren't perfect it doesn't mean that we don't have faith in you"
"I still don't know how or why You, Ren, and Nora have so much faith in me?" Noel's mind wondered. "after what happened in Kuroyuri, even if it is not my fault it still stings my heart"
Why did they have faith in him? Even his past life father and the short life of his present father may he rest in peace trust him this much, the very thought made him feel uncomfortable.
Why trust in such an unreliable person who wasn't even good at organizations, or planning, was forgetful, or had iota patience?
Even went he was journeying with Ren across mistral he didn't even like Noel at first and yet Ren still had some kernel of trust in him how did that happen?
Just because he talked to him? he didnt even have the charisma for that anyway.
"Because you are a good person" The voice of a child Nora echoed into his head after he asked the same question when they were fishing.
Noel thought the contrary.
Noel sighed " I need to ask. why did you call me here Teresa?"
"It was to make you unwind," Teresa responded, " I notice you are very stressed after talking to Weiss and you know what happens when you are upset to that level"
"I meant she kept insulting you and me and you know how bad my temper is special if they believe in something repugnant" Noel admitted " I know she gets to be better, I know behind that layer of crap she had on her fucking heart there is some good, I know she is a damaged person, but Jesus Christ isn't she a fucking irritation, and it's challenging to try and find something positive inside that shell. Probably I made it even worse by Just talking with her but for fuck sake the garbage she blads out from her ugly maw just…"
He growled like an animal at the last sentence he made then he stopped before his temper flared out of control.
"Sorry for that, Teresa this is just," Noels' hand moved on the top head very obvious signs of stress "This is just… the anxiety for all the shit, tomorrow will be the team test, and given how random the process is"
"Just stay calm, I got you inside of your to decompress while your body rests," Teresa said "On the subject of her, with the school full of Faunus and Tsukumogami alike, I suspect she either doubles down learning the horrid way or learns to respect them whether she likes it or not"
"Talking from experience?" Noel pointed out.
"Oh you have no idea, how many battle scars I have after the monumental screw-ups I did with my partner," Teresa said remembering her stupid past actions" It was a neat little mountain Grim corpses, though, I would rather have that, than fighting another battalion of Mantelites and Mistralians…. the memories of that aren't pleasant."
" I guess living through that was hell," Noel said a bit taken aback by what he said, she rarely talked about her past if any, for the little information she shared she was part of a tribe from Mistral that disagreed with what Mistral was doing during the great war "I-Imagine even Jaune great gran pa considered that a horrid experience"
"It was for both of us, we were doing a lot of guerilla warfare at that point," Teresa admitted as her face turned melancholic " We lost so many friends, and I am not proud of the things I did, it was ugly even if it was because of noble reasons."
"Hey my condolences and Sorry for bringing those memories up." Noel apologized he shouldn't have asked that question.
"Don't worry about is not like you pressured me about my personal life," Teresa responded "And isn't like I am guarding them as secrets anyway, but is not something I talk I… want to talk about, the time I mourn then already passed a long time ago."
Teresa then looked at the deformed three in contemplation, Ideas passing through her head most of them of happy days, long gone before the conflict she was a participant in.
A pleasant but sad atmosphere took over the place it was quiet almost like a tomb, even if the eyes looked at the with curiosity.
"Look at the positives at least you are alive to tell me all of this," Noel said cutting through the silence " I think that matters."
Teresa turned his head towards him a smile visible on her face and she chuckled "Now of all time you are being positive? I sometimes question if you are bipolar."
"Uh, I am not? last time I checked, I just trying to cheer you up." Noel said taking the joke seriously "I just wanted to help."
Teresa laughed at that "Hey it was just a joke don't take it too literally."
"Grr, you know? sometimes I question why I take everything seriously like this," Noel groaned self-critically "Why I cannot see the difference with that?"
Teresa shrugged now with a good-natured smile on her face "I don't know?,"
Noel let out a sigh and looked at the abnormal sky inside their mutually shared minds.
He needed to stop overanalyzing things it didn't help his stressed-out mind.
It was a good idea that Teresa brought him here, maybe it was odd for him but this place was comforting.
Letting all of his worries wash away like filth being cleaned out of his skin.
Noel was still anxious for tomorrow but for now.
He could take it easy, in the pleasant silence of this eearily angelic garden of limbs.
Credits to Scranity that was my beta at the time for the help with this.
