A/N: YouknowhowlongIbeenwaitingforthis? WooI'mabouttomakea-
(STFU! No one understands your references!)
Chapter 55: The Next Step
As we made it back to our room, I was the first to enter it and flop myself towards my bed. I was too tired for any more BS today and just wanted to sleep the rest of the night.
But I know for a fact, that was not going to happen any time soon.
"Seth!" The door opened and I heard the rest of my team walk in with Pyrrha, taking the lead in entering. She soon stops right next to my bed and I turn to face her, only to see her with an upset look on her face.
"Yeah?" I asked knowing all too well where this conversation was going to go.
"So are you going to explain yourself for your actions today?" She said with her arms crossed and an upset expression. For some reason, I felt my face feel hot from her looking at me like that.
"If I'm being honest here... Nora encourage me."
"Hey! I did no such thing!" We heard Nora yell at us, but we also heard Ren say something as well.
"Nora, you cheered every time he and Mercury fought."
"Well..." Nora just rubbed her arm in embarrassment.
"I can't believe you guys fought three times today. I don't think I ever seen you fight that much." Jaune added on and I just placed my face on my pillow ready to just sleep.
"Actually, it was four." I murmur.
Today was an eventful day. In all honestly out of all of the days here at Beacon, today was a pain in the ass for me. It all started the moment we arrived at the clearing that Sun found. The guy made us split into teams so we could play an old Vacuo sport. The rules were simple, kick the ball and score on the opponent's side goal.
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This felt so familiar to me, that I just went along with it.
After teams were formed and roles were assigned to us. The game started... And shit hit the fan fast.
Flashback to the morning 12:00
From one side of the field, Sun huddles his team giving them a nice speech before the game starts.
"Seth come here." I turned to face Jaune and saw that he motioned me to get involved in his own team huddle.
Getting close to him I join the huddle and hear him begin to give us motivation.
"Alright, guys we can win this! We can do this!" Jaune began to pump himself up as the rest of the team also began to get hyped. "Now, does anyone know how to play this game?"
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"Were doomed." We all turn to Emerald who was with our group.
"Remind me again why she's here?" I asked and felt a bump on my side.
"Well, this game has rules...Rules that I feel Nora will break or Ignore. So we decided to make her the ref." Ren explained to us as we all turned towards Nora who was bouncing the ball around at extreme speeds, that we all knew could hurt us more than ever.
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"Good call Ren." Pyrrha said supporting his decision.
"Guys focus."
"Jaune, just say something that could inspire us. Anything at all." I said to him as we all turned to him and saw him think of what to say. After a few seconds, Jaune comes up with something.
"If we win this one, we go to the finals!" Jaune encourages us and I agree with whatever he said, trying to hype the rest.
"To the finals!"
"Wait what are you two talking about?" We heard Emerald say but Jaune once again spoke.
"Don't underestimate the enemy!"
"Underestimate!"
"Wait?!" A whistle was blown, and the game was about to begin. We broke from the huddle, and I made my way towards my position.
"Seriously." Emerald turns to Pyrrha and Ren with a bewildered expression. "How do those two function?" Ren just rubbed his face in annoyance and made his way to the back of the field. While Pyrrha just rubs her arm with a hint of embarrassment.
Looking at our opponents, I see Sun, Neptune, Sage, Mint, and Mercury all across from us. Scarlet didn't want to play and said something about 'he knows when he sees a bad time'. So, we didn't pressure him to join.
"Alright dudes! You guys Ready?" Sun said as he stood in front of Jaune.
"Yep! Ready as can be."
Next to them, Mint stands in front of Pyrrha as she takes her scroll out and shows Pyrrha what she wrote, 'You'll be sorry!' As Pyrrha reads it, she looks confused at Mint's words that she eventually says. "I'm sorry?"
Next to them Neptune stands in front of Emerald and begins to play it cool as he always does. "Hey~..." While Emerald looks at him, she just rolls her eyes and begins to focus on the game at hand.
Hearing someone stop in front of me I turn and see Mercury just standing in front of me with his eyes narrowed at me. By the looks of it, he was still upset with what happened earlier. "Let's do this."
Rolling my eyes I just ignore him as I see Nora begin to walk towards us.
"Alright! I want a nice, clean game!" Nora said as she raised the ball up in the air. "Or, you know, just a game, I guess..."
"You got it." Mercury said to her, when all of a sudden, we all heard something heavy, fall out of him. As we turned to the noise, we saw that a wrench was under Mercury. From my guess, it came out of his pants.
"Oops sorry." We see him pick up his tool and place it back inside his pants pocket. "I was working on my weapon earlier, must have forgotten that I had this on me."
"Oh, that sounds reasonable." Nora nods at his response. "Well then let's-." Before Nora could continue something else fell down and everyone soon turned to me.
Looking down I saw that one of my grenades had fallen out, As I began to think of something to say. "Oh, must have forgotten I had this with me. Ehe!" I go and pick it up and place it inside my pocket as well.
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From beside them, their teammates took a few steps back from the two. "Alright then! Let's start this game!" Nora soon pulled out a whistle to blow on it and threw the ball in the air.
The game started and Mercury quickly jumped on top of Seth's head making him go for the ball.
However, Seth took offense to that and with his Semblance launched himself in the air as well and delivered a kick toward Mercury's stomach, sending him down to the ground. The game ended as faster than it started, cause the next thing everyone knew the two got into a heated fight.
Flashback ends
"Okay, but the fight didn't last long." I argued but Pyrrha interrupted me.
"It didn't last long, cause you two blew up. I knew I should have taken that grenade from you."
"I mean Seth didn't start that fight." "Thank you Ren!" "But he did escalate it." "The fuck Ren!?"
"I mean he did start the other one's" Nora said as she remembered the other times.
Flashback to the afternoon 14:00
After the two nearly blew each other apart and almost caused a forest fire. (Thanks to Seth) The friend group all decided to go and walk around the school for a bit, and see what other things they could do.
The group soon decided to take a break from walking and made their way towards the center statue where they began brainstorming ideas for the day ahead. While this was going on, Seth decided to sit down and pull out his scroll letting the others decide on what to do.
While the others continued to talk, his focus was on his scroll about yesterday's attacks. Not noticing someone getting close to him.
'Construction going underway with the help of Atlas. White Fang members are under arrest, with the exception of that red fuck. Roman Torchwick under general custody, well that's one problem dealt with, but I that still leaves-' I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder and I flinched. Turning to face the person, I was met with Mint just smiling back at me.
"Son of a... Mint don't startle me like that." I put my scroll away and turn to face her, I see her cover her mouth like she was laughing at my reaction.
'I didn't even hear her get close to me... That's strange.' I see Mint show me her scroll and I begin to read her message.
'You seem lonely? Are you still upset that you got your butt kicked?'
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I raise my head to look at her and see her all smug looking down at me.
This girl!
Rolling my eyes I wave her off ignoring her comment. "No, just relaxing my back. Doesn't help that asshole kicked it while we were fighting." I said to her as I just rubbed it. The next thing I knew, I felt Mint hand patting my head a few times. The next thing I knew she had her scroll close to my face again.
'There, there don't let that asshole get to you.'
"I'm amazed that you hate him too. How do you deal with him?" She shrugs and quickly types her response and shows it to me.
'Meh, I just ignore him most of the time. I don't really interact with him at all. I just learned to have him around.' I looked back at her and then I raised my hand and did the same thing to her. She looks so surprised by my action that she tilts her head as well.
"You poor thing. I wouldn't last an hour if I were on your team." As I patted her head, I noticed that she was getting annoyed by my actions. Laughing a bit I stop and smile back at her. "Only teasing." I get up and stand next to her. I started to notice Mint's height and wow, she is really short... Like short... The fact that she has boots.
My train of thought was cut off by the sound of something making a splash behind me, and soon my backside was soaked.
"Whoops! My bad."
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I looked down at Mint and saw her also suffering the same fate as me; we both looked at each other and I saw her begin to sign at me, which this time I understood.
"Okay, I'll get his arms." She nods at that while sighing at me.
'I'll get his legs.'
With a nod, we both turn to Mercury who was staring at us in confusion.
"What are you two talking abou-." He gets cut off by the sight of both of us running at him.
"Come here you Son of a!"
"Seth! No!" "Seth, Yes!" "Here we go again." "Mint! Go for his throat!" "Sigh... Maybe lunch is in order?"
As soon as the group began to split the three apart, Emerald soon received a text.
Flashback ends
"What? He threw a rock near us and got us wet. How was I supposed to react to it?" I asked but only got an upset look from Pyrrha.
"By not trying to drown him."
"Okay, that was mostly Mint doing that."
"After you pushed him down."
"Ah details details." I waved a Ren at this.
"Well, it beats the fight they had when we went to get lunch."
Flashback to the afternoon 16:00
After Seth, Mint, and Mercury were able to dry themself off. The group all decided to get lunch. It was getting late and most of the day was already gone. So with one last ditch effort, they all decided to get something to eat and see what else they could do today...
Sadly, lunch didn't go as planned.
With everyone eating, Seth mostly poked at his food while listening to everyone talk.
But there was one voice that really got on his nerves for some reason.
"Please pass the egg salad." The voice of Scarlet was heard and Seth lost it.
"That's it!" He jumped towards Mercury earning a shocked expression from him.
"Agh! Somebody help me!?"
"Sigh... Here we go again." "Yeah, Seth! Go for his legs!" "Nora!" "Why is he mad? It wasn't even him that asked." "Whatever it is, did they really have to fight, right in front of my salad?"
As the groups once again pulled the two off of each other, this began to earn the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. Soon everyone started to see the two students fighting each other, the cafeteria door flew open, and in walks Miss Goodwitch, raising her crop and lifting both students up in the air.
"Both of you cease this at once!" She yelled at the two who were struggling to reach each other. "The two of you in my office, Now!"
"What? In trouble for what? I thought this was Vale!? I'm sorry I thought this was Vale!?" Seth said as he tried to reach for Mercury's neck.
"Let me just end this kid here and now!" Mercury said as he was trying to send a kick towards Seth.
She then proceeded to take both students with her, determined to have a serious talk with them.
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As the group looked on, they all wondered what Miss Goodwitch plan was—having everything calm down. They all continue to enjoy their food.
Flashback ends
"So... What was it that Miss Goodwitch said to you and Mercury?" Jaune question me, while I just lay back down on my bed.
"Nothing just got detention till the end of the week. But lucky for me, I need to stay in my room." I tell them as I begin to cover myself with some blankets. I was too tired now and I just wanted to sleep now. Tomorrow I can answer more of their question but for now sleep.
"Seth? Seth?" Pyrrha tried to get his attention and was about to grab him, but Jaune just put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
"Just let him be. We can talk more tomorrow, it's getting late." With Jaune informing the team, they all began to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is a new day.
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"Wait! When was the fourth time?"
"Good Night Nora!" We all said as we began to fall asleep.
This whole week was a pain in the ass. With the number of questions my team has been asking and the fact that I have been in the dorm room for nearly five days now. I'm getting sick and tired of being here. Usually, when I wake up, I am greeted by my team also getting up and we all say our 'Good morning'. But today was different, cause when I woke up, I was all alone.
And for a good reason. With the crazy week that I had, I feel like I really needed this day to myself. Don't get me wrong I still wish my team was here with me, but they made plans with the others. So, I didn't want to be that one guy and ruin it for them. I heard they were also getting team RWBY involved, so that's good at least.
From what I heard, team RWBY has been spending more time with one another, mostly relaxing in their dorms. But yesterday they finally came out and were invited by my team and the others. So that's the story I heard, but whatever.
On the good side of all of this, my back is better now. No more pain! I think just resting was a good choice for me and by not moving too much I was able to heal it to 98% so now I can do so much more than before... Even though I still had a scar on my backside. But that can easily get covered up.
So, after getting healed up there was one important thing that I had to do.
What may you ask? Well...
"Over, under, over, under." Video tutorials on sewing! Thank God for the internet. I have been doing this for the past hour and made good progress on my jacket, but I still have a long way to go. You may also wonder how I got this stuff.
Well... Ren is really handy when it comes to stuff that we might need. So, lots of thanks to him.
Well, I will have a nice and relaxing day today, and nothing is going to ruin it.
Knock Knock!
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Sigh... Every fucking time.
Getting up from my bed and slowly began to walk towards the door.
'Who can it be? I doubt it's my team since they can just open it. I doubt it's one of the professors, they might be busy with other things right now. So, I wonder who is at the door?' As I opened the door, I was greeted by Blake.
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Seeing that she had that 'Blake look.' as I dubbed it. I slowly began to close the door, only for her to narrow her eyes at me. Knowing that I didn't have much of a choice now and I really don't want to go back to how she was back then. I open the door for her.
"Sigh... Fine, would you like to come in?" I stepped to the side to allow her to enter the room, which she did. Closing the door, I turned to see Blake standing in the middle of the room, her back was towards me, and I had no idea what she wanted.
"Would you like something to drink? We got water bottles, which are at room temperature... That's about it. Nora wanted a mini fridge for other things and I back her up on that but-" I was cut off by Blake who spun around and looked at me.
"Your attacker, who was it?" She asked in a serious tone like she wasn't playing around with this. Seeing her reaction, I knew I couldn't act the fool here. So, I told her.
"Same guy who was in Mantle. Red hair, weird horns, wearing all black, and a red katana." By the look of Blake, I could tell she knew who it was. And I got my answer.
"Adam..." She said in a low tone, but I was able to catch it.
"Adam? So that's his name, well no matter at least now I got a name for the bastard that cut me. Next time I'll be sure to-" My train of thought gets cut off by Blake as she pushes me towards the door, making my back slam towards it. "Fuck! Blake, my back!"
"Shut up!" Opening my eyes towards her, I could see her angry and panicked expression. "You have no idea what he is capable of and what he is willing to do to accomplish his goals." Blake sounded panicked with every word she said. "The fact that he's here in Vale means that he has new goals and the fact that he is also getting involved with Roman means that-." I quickly cut her off.
"They failed in whatever they were working on." She looks at me with surprise, but I continue. "Look, whatever they had planned, didn't work. Thanks to all of us. You really think that guy will stay here anymore now?"
"Yes." She said with seriousness in her voice. Damn, whoever this guy is, Blake really doesn't like him... Well better him than me.
"Well, Vale is a big place, and seeing that he is part of the White Fang, I bet he is going to be in hiding for now... Or leave Vale. I'm hoping for the last one."
Blake shakes her head at this. "Knowing him, he won't..." The sound of dread, that she had even made me question what this guy could do. Note to self... Avoid him.
"Well if anything we know what he looks like. We can tell the headmaster about him." Seeing Blake not let up with what I just informed her. She continues to shake her head.
"That won't do. Adam will find a way to escape. Like he always does."
"The guy has red hair with horns. Name me someone else with red hair?"
"Ruby. Pyrrha, Scarlet. Some other students as well."
"..." She did have a point. "Well, I count Ruby as black hair with red tips. I'm getting off-topic here! At least five of us know what he looks like. The chances of him getting anywhere close to us will be hard." I tried to assure Blake but seeing her reaction to what I was telling her, it didn't work. "Sigh... Look, just don't do anything stupid this time. God knows your team will for sure be worried this time around." I push myself off the door and move back towards my bed. "Just words of advice Blake. Know when to fight and know when to back out." I took a seat and continued on what I was working on. "You only get one chance in life." I hear the door to my room open with Blake saying one last thing.
"I'll inform the headmaster... Thank you." With that the door closes, leaving me once more alone.
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Man, I don't know how I do it. But I can't keep getting away with this. If I can talk my way out of problems, maybe being a counselor can be a side gig... Or I can start a podcast.
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Nah. Continuing my work at hand, I look at the clock and see that it is just turning twelve. Huh, I wonder what the others are doing right now?
"Why did I agree to this?" Ren asked as he stood next to a well-dressed Neptune and Sun.
"Because you love the sacred art, known as dance... Also, with Seth not here we need someone to fill him in once he gets out of detention." Neptune informs him with a hand placed around Ren's shoulder.
This got Ren motivated and nodded to Neptune "With all my heart. Don't worry I will inform him."
However, it was short-lived when Jaune walked up to them with a questionable appearance from him.
Meh, I'm sure I'm not missing much.
I heard another knock at the door, which got me to be a little bit frustrated.
"Hijo de tu-" I was going to curse out loud, but the door began to open. Indicating that it was one of my teammates and to my surprise, Pyrrha was the one who stepped inside.
With a smile I greeted her. "Hey! Good to see you, how are you?"
I see her smile back at me and begin to head my way. "Hello Seth, I brought you some food." She said as she pulled something from her back and showed me a small bag. I smiled at this and tried to reach for it, thanking her for her kind gesture but she pulled back.
Confused by this, I look back at her. "Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing." Something was telling me that I couldn't trust that. "I just bumped into Blake just now. It looks like she forgot the book she said she was coming to get." She said in a sweet tone, but knowing her... I knew something was way off.
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"Sigh... Okay, so let me explain." I said to her, and she took a seat next to me.
"Oh, please go on." And go on I did. Why do I always have to explain myself? I had no idea, but I still had to. On the bright side of this, I only had to explain why Blake was here. She took it upon herself to know why I had that reaction towards Mercury earlier in the week and each time I tried to change the subject, she pushed me to my limits.
It's scary how she can be sometimes.
So, in the end, I just told her I was under stress. I think it was a good excuse, and to my surprise she bought it. But I had my doubts about her believing me, cause she did look like she wanted to ask more but didn't. So for now, it was past us.
"So this guy is someone from Blake's pass?" Pyrrha asked and I just nodded my head.
"Yeah, from what it sounds like. This person is someone not to be messed with. Still though, Blake is not happy about him being here in Vale."
"Hm." I looked at Pyrrha who began to think of something. She had a serious look on her face and that looked scary.
"But on the good side of this, she will inform the headmaster about him so that people can look out for him... So that's not our problem." Hopefully, Blake will inform him, that way the more people looking for him the better they can catch him. Pyrrha on the other hand still looked lost in her thoughts, so I poked her cheek so she could stop thinking too hard.
With a gentle poke, she blinked a few times and then looked back towards me. Her face starts to become a shade of red, must have been embarrassment from just now. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. So anything new happened today?" With that question in mind, she began to explain that students were beginning to return back to Beacon, by tomorrow everyone should be back from their missions. Also tomorrow we will be having all the students go to the auditorium for an announcement from the headmaster.
Many questions have been running around at the moment, but hopefully, by tomorrow, the headmaster will explain everything to the students who have just arrived back.
"Arslan, Bolin, and Resses should be arriving by tomorrow as well. I get the feeling that they're going to ask a lot of questions. The news has really gotten out quickly from the attack."
"Well, that's social media for you. They want a quick buck for everyone's trouble." A little chuckle on her part made me a bit more relaxed. Looking at Pyrrha as she continued to laugh, I noticed that she was a bit close to me, there was nothing wrong with that, but she was getting closer and closer. "So how are the others? What have you guys been up to?"
We continued to talk about her day and what the others were up to, just the two of us. Moments like these are something that I really enjoy.
"So, any updates on your interrogation on Torchwick, James?" Ozpin said as he looked at a video screen in front of him. This was the first interaction the two had since the attack on Vale. Seeing as James had been busy for the past few days, Ozpin at least wanted an update on his old friend.
"Sigh... For the most part, he is insistent on being the one responsible for everything that has happened, the dust robberies, the amount of Atlas tech being stolen, and the increase in White Fang activity."
"And yet you have your doubts." Ozpin said.
"Of course, before any of this, he was a simple criminal only stealing and selling to the highest buyer and now he's become a full-on terrorist. That is a huge leap in my book, and yet some things don't add up." James said as he rubbed his face in annoyance. For the past week of interrogation, he has yet to find any clue on why Roman has gone on this route.
"Hmm, that is indeed strange on his part and yet, we still don't know the full motive."
"That is an understatement. However, I will just continue with the interrogation. I'm sure I'll be able to find out more about this." James confidently confirmed to Ozpin, determined to know more about the attack and his plans.
"I believe in you." A buzzer is heard on his desk and Ozpin looks at his doors open. In steps in Blake. "Well James, it was nice catching up now. But I have something to attend."
"Very well, I will continue my work in the meantime." With that, the call ends and Ozpin looks towards Blake. "Good afternoon, Miss Belladonna. Do what do I have the honors?" He said to the girl who had a serious look on her face.
The following day
"Ah! After ten thousand years, I'm free!" I said as I stepped outside my room.
"You were serving detention for a week, It wasn't that long?" Ren said to me with a confused look.
"Well for me it was long. Anyway, where was I?"
"It's time to conquer Remnant!" Nora stepped next to me adding her own little monolog.
After serving my detention, I was finally able to leave my room and enjoy the outside world. Time has really changed the school, man I feel like it's been forever since I last saw sunlight. "So what should we do now?"
"The headmaster said that he needed everyone to attend the auditorium, he said he needed to make a special announcement. So that's where we should go now." Jaune informed us and we all began to follow him towards our destination.
Making our way there, we began to notice that they were beginning to appear more and more students now. Seeing as they had finally begun to return from their missions, this school was getting once again crowded.
"So anyone got any plans for the upcoming break?" Ren asked as we began to make our way inside.
"I was planning on going back home for a few days, but..." Pyrrha stated but began to talk slowly about what she wanted to say.
"Your dad?" I said earning a nod from her. "Yeah, that could be a problem. But you shouldn't let one person bring you down."
"Seth is right! Don't let some grumpy old man make you have a bad time back home. You should go and spend it with your mom like last time." Nora chimes in with enthusiasm. "Besides we can always come with you again."
Hearing this, made me smack the back of my head. 'Shit! I forgot to tell them again.' "Ugh... Yeah, not gonna lie guys. I might not be going back to Argus... Again. Ehe." I said to them as I rubbed the back of my head.
Soon everyone turned to me and with narrow eyes Pyrrha questioned me. "Why?"
"Well... Mom isn't back home yet. She is still back in Mantle, and she told me that it will be another month before she is able to go back home." Pietro is really getting an earful with her. Sadly she was still happy to help him, but she is now getting a bit impatient with the people there. "So for now I'd rather wait for her to return home so we can meet up again. And going back now might be a little down for my taste."
Hearing my explanation, I saw that three of my teammates smiled at this and nodded their heads. In contrast, one had a mixed reaction of understanding and sadness.
"Well, that's understandable, if Pyrrha will allow us to go with her like last time. four of us will be able to go." Ren said trying to get an answer from Pyrrha. But before she could answer Jaune spoke up.
"Actually guys... I might have to sit this one out." Now it was our turn to face him, seeing Jaune with a questionable look.
"Why?" We all asked and saw him rubbing his arm in embarrassment.
"I rather not talk about it."
The group just looked at Jaune in wonder, why he would not like to go to Argus? I think meeting his sister and nephew for a few days would be nice for him, but it doesn't look like he wanted to do that. The group wanted to continue to ask why but was cut off by a new group entering their little discussion.
"So you're all taking a trip this coming break?" We all turned and saw Ruby ask this with the rest of her team as well standing next to her.
"Well, some of us are, while two of us might just stay here." I said.
"Why not? Aren't you homesick?" She asked.
"Not homesick, just not motivated to go home right now."
"Oof, bad choice of words Shades." I heard Yang say and looked at her confused.
"Huh? Why?" I asked and saw that she was motioning towards my teammates, turning to face them I saw that one was sending daggers my way. 'Aw shit.'
"Well if anything that will make two of us as well." Weiss interferes as well. "Blake and myself will also be staying here for the upcoming break."
"Why is that?" Nora asked.
"I don't wish to talk about it."
"It's kind of sad though." Yang interfered. "We even invited them to come with us to Patch, but..."
"And once again, I thank you. But I rather stay in Vale for the time being."
"Well that answers her motive, but what about you Blake? Why not go with them as well?" Blake looks at us with her usual tone that she always gives.
"I have my reasons." I might have a clue to her reasons, so I won't even ask.
Looking around us, I noticed that the place was beginning to fill up with more and more students. Seeing familiar faces was nice, but one group I couldn't see.
And that got me to worry a bit.
'Were are they? They should have been here by now. Are they alright? Did something bad happen to them? Should I try to call them and see where they are? Why am I getting worried? I'm sure they're all right... Why am I panicking!? Maybe I should... Oh, wait never mind I see them.' Looking at the entrance I see Arslan and the others beginning to enter the auditorium. Waving towards them, Reese is the first to notice me and informs her team.
As they began to walk our way, I was the first to greet them.
"It's good to see you guys safe and back." I told them as I saw Arslan step forward.
"Of course we would, why wouldn't we?" Arslan said as she stood in front of me.
"We heard what happened to Vale." Nadir asked, "Apparently the city was destroyed pretty badly."
"Also, Grimm in the city, with some White Fang involved. It's crazy to think that happened last week. But I guess it's thanks to some students, it was saved." Bolin added with a bit of a smirk on his end. The type to say 'We know what you guys did.' And I was a bit scared of it.
"Ehe... You don't know the half of it." I said earning a glance from the team, but before they could ask. Miss Goodwitch got the attention of everyone in the room.
"Now Students, quiet down. The headmaster has an important announcement." Soon she stepped away and in walked the headmaster with his usual cup in hand and cane.
"Welcome back to all who had been on their mission." The headmaster began as he commended all of the students who went away on their missions. He congratulated them on a job well done and has received reports from all of their adult supervisors. "And once again, congratulations to all of you."
The room filled with applause and some cheering. But people around could tell that there was a bad Aura in the air.
"Now... I know all of you have heard of the news about last week's attack. And I wish to enlighten you all here." The headmaster looked around him, at all of the students that were in this room. "Even though you are all still students, you have all shown that even in the toughest of times, you all are capable of protecting what's important and why we do what we do. No matter how hard the challenge appears, you all are ready to protect those who are needed and defend your kingdom from the creatures of Grimm. I as a headmaster am proud to see the future looking bright for the next generation and will be happy to be a part of it." There were a few more claps and cheers from the students as it simmered down, and he continued. "Now, usually after missions we continue till the end of the month and you all will go on break. However, seeing as with the events that transpired last week and the reconstruction of Vale. The council has decided to end this semester early. You can all leave for your homes or stay here, the decision is yours as you see fit. Let you all rest up and prepare for next month's Vytal Festival." A few whispers in the crowd, wondering about this new development.
"Huh, almost two good months for relaxation. I can dig it." I heard Yang say just a few people away from me.
"Or practice, remember we need to train for this year's Vytal Festival." Weiss chimes in. And to be honest, here, she did have a point. We had almost a month of practice and relaxation. So, it will be interesting to see what people do with this time. Well, I know what I want to do but what about the others?
Turning to my team I saw that Nora was excited, Ren was a bit happy with the news, Jaune looked delighted, and Pyrrha still had a neutral expression on her face.
Well, I'm sure taking an even longer break will be good for all of us.
"Great, a whole two months of nothing good to do. How fun." Mercury said as he scuffed at what the headmaster said.
"Well maybe if you got into less trouble than you did, you might have found something better to do." Emerald fires back at him earning a glare from Mercury. But before they could argue.
"Two months will be enough time." The third voice behind them caught their attention, turning to Cinder who was on her scroll. "With this, our associate can gather enough support." She puts her scroll away and looks at the two. "So, for now, just enjoy your time here. And try to stay out of trouble."
"Yeah, Mercury. Stay out of trouble." Emerald said to him earning an eye roll from him.
"If I just stay away from them, I will."
Cinder just looked at the two continuing to argue and turning her attention around the room. In just two months, this whole place will be gone.
"Okay you three, you have everything you need for your week-long break?" I said to three members of my team who had their bags ready. We were outside in the landing docks where everyone was setting up to go back home. This break was one that everyone was excited about. With no school for a good while, people decided to visit home to be with their families, for others this was a time to relax and not worry about anything.
"YEP! All ready to go!" Nora excitedly said as she raised her bags... Wait? Bags?
"Nora, why do you need two bags?" Jaune asked and on cue, we got our answer. One of Nora's bags opens up and soon a bunch of snacks fall out of them.
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"Wait... Are those my chips?" Jaune asked and soon Ren got involved.
"NORA!"
Yep, it might be a smart move to stay out of this one. Letting those three handle this... Nora problem, I turn my attention to our last member who was just standing close to an airship. By the looks of it, she looked a bit distressed about something.
Walking up to her, I tried to get her attention as best as I knew how. "You know, usually people look out into the sunset to signify a new beginning. What you are doing now is just making sure the engine is working." Seeing no reaction, I took another jab. "Sooo, are you excited to return home and see your mom? I'm sure she really misses you since the last-" Pyrrha turned to me and for the first time in a while, I felt shivers going down my spine.
"Why didn't you tell me you weren't coming to Argus this break?" Pyrrha asked, and now her full attention was on me. Her vivid green eyes were so focused on me, that I just didn't know how to respond.
"Ehe... I kinda just forgot to mention it." I said while rubbing the back of my head. "Honestly I just kind of forgot about it... My bad."
Her stare intensified, to the point where I felt I was going to get punched. Getting ready for anything, Pyrrha just sighed and relaxed.
"Are you mad?" I asked, knowing the answer right away.
"No, Seth, I'm not mad." Oh! Maybe I didn't know the answer. "Just a little bit disappointed." Ouch, you know I think this is the most hurt I have felt in a while, and I've been cut before. "With the amount of time we have been talking for the past week, you would have thought of telling me about you not coming to Argus." Pyrrha's arms crossed as she looked at me.
"I know... To be fair, the thought didn't really come up. I mean with the amount of things that happened last week and me not being in the right head space. I really didn't want to think about going back home. But you really helped out, when I really wanted to talk to someone, even though the first few days I felt like you just wanted answers."
"Seth..."
"I know... Honestly with Mom not being there... I don't think I would have enjoyed my time back home. Also, I don't want her to find out what happened to me. God knows what might happened." I had a feeling, but knowing Mom, she might overcomplicate things. "I also want her to meet the team, but that has been on the back burner for a while now."
Seeing her reaction I saw that she at least looked more calmer than she was, like she understood where I was coming from.
"I understand Seth. However maybe a little warning next time." She asked.
"Yeah... But you already know me, I tend to forget a lot." Pyrrha begins to walk towards me.
"Oh, trust me, Seth I know." With a smile, I saw that she was forcing it.
"I feel like, you don't want to go home. Is something wrong?" I asked and soon Pyrrha smiled drop. From what I could tell she looked distressed. Like she wanted to say it, but couldn't.
"I... I was kind of hoping that you would come back to Argus this time." Oh!? "From what my mother has told me, my father is there and he is waiting for me to return so we can talk." Oh... " So I just felt like I needed... You know, moral support." I heard her say the last part in a low tone, but just enough for me to hear.
"Oh... So you want someone to curse him out?" I felt a punch on my side, as I grab hold of it. "Kidding! I was kidding."
"I know you were." She smiled again. "I just wanted to introduce you to him."
That sounds weird... But then again, this would be the first time I met the person. But then again I don't feel comfortable meeting someone new when said person is someone who... Wait? I feel like I read something like this before. Nah, maybe I'm overthinking this.
"Why do you want me to meet him?" With that, I saw her face turn red.
She looked away from me like she was embarrassed. "No reason, I just wanted you to meet him."
With both of us in silence, I turned to my team and saw them taking Nora's bag and beginning to empty it from its contents. Seeing bags and bags of sweets that Nora somehow had.
Turning to Pyrrha again I see her looking away from me and with a decision that I made. I go and grab her hand.
Surprised by my action she turned to me and she saw what I was doing. Bringing her hand towards my face, a gentle peck was laid on her hand.
Looking at her reaction, her eyes widened by my action and I just smiled. "I promise you next time, I will be there for you."
"Seth... You..." Lost in her own words I shrug at her. "What? We can call this even."
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Almost like she realized what I meant, her face was now fully red with embarrassment. "You were awake!?" Pyrrha said.
"Pyrrha, I literally closed my eyes and the next thing I knew... Well, you know." now I felt my own face feel warm. Knowing well that I was having the same reaction as her.
We both just didn't say anything, both out of embarrassment and not knowing what to say to the other. But it was Pyrrha who spoke up first. "I'm sorry."
"No! Don't be, I was the one who... Who, shit." I didn't even know what to say in this situation. But with luck, we heard our team call out to us.
"Pyrrha! Seth! It's almost time for us to go!" The voice of Nora was heard and we both turned to her.
Pyrrha and I both looked at each other and with a nod we began to walk towards them.
"There you guys are, I was hoping Seth would back me up with my snacks." Nora said as she had one empty bag now.
"You mean 'My' snacks." Jaune added, but Nora just waved him off. But her attention was now focused on Seth and Pyrrha, mostly Seth who was holding Pyrrha's hand. With a smirk, she throws them a thumbs up.
'Why is Nora throwing me a thumbs up? I thought she was upset with me for not helping her pack Jaune snacks?' Hearing a cough next to her, I saw Ren, motioning something at me. 'What is Ren trying to say?' I soon realized what he was referring to, when I felt a hand squeeze mine.
'Ohhhhh, fuck I'm stupid!' I just squeezed back and looked away from the team.
To make matters worse... A new person decided to come along.
"Sup guys!" Feeling someone put an arm around my neck and bring it close to the new person, I felt a strong grip pulling me down. And knowing who it was, I was praying that this chat would end soon. "So you guys are also ready to set off right? It's going to be the same for Me and Ruby." Yang said as I felt her grip get a little bit tight around me.
"Yeah, Yang. The others are about to leave as well. Right, Pyrrha?" I said beginning to tap on her arm.
"Right... Yang, can you let us go?" Pyrrha also asked seeing as both of us were on the receiving end of her... Hug? Death grip? Whatever it was, I was beginning to lose air.
"Yang! Let go of them, we are going to miss the airship!" By the sound of it Ruby was right behind us. Feeling her grip loosen, I managed to find a way to escape it and soon I pulled out of her and turned to see Yang and Ruby, both with bags as well. By the looks of it, they were both ready to return back home.
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Why is Ruby's bag moving?
"So are you all going to Argus?" We heard Ruby ask and Pyrrha was the one who answered.
"No, just three of us. Seth and Jaune both decided to stay here for the break."
"Really?" Yang looked towards Seth, a smirk on her face. "You know we might have an extra room back at our house if you want to visit Patch. Also with our Dad gone for a mission, we are going to have parties all week." As Yang said this, Seth's attention was still on Ruby.
"Ruby, why is your bag moving?" I said trying to ignore what Yang said. My answer was met by a bark from the bag. "Was that a-?"
"Got to go! See you guys in a week!" With that Ruby quickly went away leaving a bunch of rose petals behind.
"That girl just has no time management." The voice of Weiss now got our attention as we saw her and Blake finally catching up with her team.
"You two also going along with them?" I asked but both shook their heads 'no'.
"No, I will also be staying here. I rather not go back home for the time being." Weiss said, I turned to Blake who also shook her head.
"Yang invited us. But I rather be here for now. Maybe some other time."
"Invite is always open." Yang said to her but Blake respectfully declined.
"Cool, so we will have a few friends here." Jaune stepped next to us. "Seth and I are staying as well. Maybe we can hang out."
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"Maybe." Weiss said not giving a straight answer to him. "Wait, you two are staying as well?"
"Yeah, don't want to go to Argus this time around." Jaune added. Weiss then turned to Seth and waited for his response.
"My Mom is not there... So I rather wait for her to be back home, before I go back as well." Weiss nods, satisfied with his answer. She then turns to the rest of the group and begins to say her goodbyes to the others.
Well, at least I know Jaune and I won't be alone this whole week. Maybe we can hang around as a group and see what fun activities we can do. Turning to our friends I saw Nora hugging Weiss, as Weiss was trying her best to remove her. Blake and Ren were talking with each other and saw that Blake handed a book to Ren. Yang and Pyrrha were talking among each other and for some reason, Pyrrha was red-faced the whole time.
It's just a week... After that, we can continue on with other important things.
"I think it's time for us to head out." Ren informed the two teammates as he went to grab his bags.
"Yep! Time to head out!" Nora grabbed her bag and turned to Jaune and me. "You two better behave while we're gone alright? No funny business." Nora said as she narrowed her eyes on us.
"Sigh... Okay, Mom!" I waved at her, knowing she was joking.
"We will be back by next week Friday. Hopefully, everything goes alright." Pyrrha also added, she then looked towards me and sent a smile my way. "We can talk more later."
"You got my number, so call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me." I said sending my own smile at her.
"If you two are done flirting with each other." Yang joins in, making us both turn red in the face. "I guess it's time for me to go as well. Ruby might be getting impatient. We also don't want Zwei to get cranky."
"Who's Zwei?" Jaune asked but was ignored.
"See you girls later, hopefully by next week we also come back. See you guys." Yang soon left leaving Weiss and Blake behind with us. Seeing the opportunity my team as well began to follow as well. Saying goodbye to us once more and began to head to an airship.
"Welp, there they go. For the next week, we will be on our own. Let's see how we mess this up." I said.
"I'm at least happy that I finally get to sleep soundly for a whole week." Weiss added as she turned around.
"Why?"
"Two words. Snoring sisters." Blake said as she turned around and began to leave as well.
"Snoring what?"
I rather not ask. Well that its a week with only me and Jaune by ourselves. I wonder what we might do. Hmm, maybe we can train a bit. But I know one thing for sure. I really didn't want to be inside again.
"So Jaune what do you want to do?" I asked wondering what he had planned. Jaune turned to me and smiled.
"I got something."
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I saw Jaune in his Bunny pajamas lying on his bed reading some comics. He said he wanted to sleep in and rest for a few days. I don't know what a few days mean, but I guess he can rest up for now. If he takes more than three days... I'm dragging him out next time.
"So that's the information that Miss Belladonna has informed me." Ozpin said to the two people in front of him. Both looked at each other with both worried and concerned with the information that they had received.
"If what she said is true, then we need to find this man at once. Seeing as he is somewhat involved in this. He might be another partner of Towrchwick." Glynda said as she looked towards Ozpin.
"I'll get some of my men and inform them about a new threat. If anything, he will be in hiding for now. So, searching for him might be a challenge." James said. "From the description that you said Oz, we might have a better image of him, if what Miss Belladonna said is true."
"That her teammate and friends fought against him? If there were cameras around that area, we might have a picture of the man in question."
"Way ahead of you James." Ozpin soon reached for his table and sent a message to James. The general soon pulled out his scroll and saw a video of the man in question and the fight with the students.
"This... Man." James said under his breath.
"Do you know him?" Glynda being close to him heard what he said and waited for an answer.
"This is the same one who attacked a facility back in Mantle a few years back. We've been trying to look for him for a while, and now he's back." As James continued to look at the video, he saw how some of the students were holding him off and others dealing with the tall man that they captured as well.
"So what do you think James?" Ozpin asked getting the attention of the general.
Putting his scroll away the general nods his head and begins to leave. "I'll deal with this situation. If anything, I know someone who I trust to come and help with this one. So leave it at my hands." James stepped inside the elevator and said goodbye to the two.
As the doors close Glynda turns towards Ozpin. "I don't like this. He's trying to do everything by himself again."
"I am well aware of this Glynda, but I'm sure with this information he would at least be able to find something out about this mister Taurus. Once he finds something, we will be sure to help as best as we can. For now, it's best to leave him to his work."
Glynda just shook her head, disagreeing with the headmaster but what else could they do? This man from what he said is dangerous, he's at least someone they know not to take lightly. And yet this person was someone who hurt her students. No matter what, this one was someone that needed to be dealt with at once.
"I hope you are right Ozpin."
A/N: It's over! F this chapter nearly four months on this and it's finally over. Not gonna lie, I hate this chapter. For future reference don't make a lot of filler.
Anyway, on the bright side of all of this, I'm halfway done with the next chapter and there we are starting up G.E!
Do you have any idea what I had to do to get info on this damn game? I had to play it four times! Just to hear dialog from some of the characters!? (Why didn't you look it up on YouTube?) please support the official release
Anyway, now that that's done on to the next part of this story... F this chapter!
One more thing! Okay, I don't know how to say this without sounding like a total... Ass, umm... Yeah sorry guys, not really into the whole comic thing.
I know I'm sorry but yeah, not really into it. I just didn't know how to respond to all of the comments about it, so once again Sorry. You guys can do whatever you want with the story and all but yeah don't ask me for that. And I'll be honest I somehow was able to make Seth's V4 and V6 design so that will be way later... Anyway, once again I'm sorry for you all.
See you all next time. hopefully by... Halloween? Maybe?
