Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth and Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. I own nothing of wither of them and am only playing in the worlds they gave us.
Not much to say this time so here's the latest chapter for your reading pleasure.
A Chance Encounter
Chapter 6:
Beacon Combat Class Arena
The carnage, at least to the victors, was amusing. Normally the words carnage and amusing didn't go together unless you were a sicko who got off that way, but there were always exceptions. There was no blood spilled and no bones broken, although there were certainly numerous bruises and wounded egos. Oh and a certain blonde was missing a few strands of hair which she was still pissed off about but was too spent to even move. They were all rather dishevelled and a certain were-cat made sure she got pictures. Some of the positions they had landed in were rather humorous or mildly undignified.
"I think that went rather well, don't you?" the Flash Goddess asked her Strawberry as she stood, hands on hips, observing their downed students.
"Yeah, it did," he answered. "They followed our instructions perfectly and did exactly what we asked of them. Good job everybody." He was answered by a chorus of groans.
When they arrived both Team RWBY and Team JNPR affirmed that they wanted to take the class so all that was left was the test to see if they could. That test? Fight your instructors with everything you had until you literally had nothing left and couldn't fight anymore. They were given a few minutes to decide among themselves which team was going to take on which instructor.
However, when a tone sounded sometime during the fight they were then free to attack whichever instructor they could get to. The idea was to see how each team worked on their own before the situation demanded a cooperative effort, then it was a free for all. Initially, RWBY attacked Yoruichi, while JNPR attacked Ichigo.
They told their students that for the most part they would be fighting defensively but that they could and would at any point strike back with attacks of their own and that they wouldn't be fighting with all of their strength and skill...wouldn't be much point to the exercise if they took them all out in the first thirty seconds. Or less. Certain members of the group took that as an insult to their abilities that could not go unchallenged. Which was good because that was why they said it.
"Sadists, both of you," Weiss uttered weakly.
Yoruichi chuckled. "Then you must be a masochist my dear little Snowflake because you kept coming back and attacking until you couldn't."
"...I have no argument for that," the Heiress conceded.
Ichigo went off to the side to retrieve a cooler filled with bottles of water. "Seriously, we are proud of all of you," she continued. "We asked you to give it everything you had and you did. We needed to see that from you as part of this test. It's not just about your raw physical ability and your skills with your weapons, it's also your tenacity. We wanted you to treat this exercise as a situation that required you to fight to the last. While it truly wasn't a life and death situation, you also could have just as easily bowed out when your Aura broke. While it is recommended for anyone that they leave a battle if possible when they reach that level, there may be situations were you simply can't, either because the enemy won't let you or there are still lives to be saved and continuing to fight means the difference between their life and death."
"In that regard you all passed with flying colours," Ichigo chimed in as he began handing out water. "And we will give you our assessment of what we observed. Remember, anything we say is not to humiliate or belittle you. We will give you an honest, if blunt assessment. Better that than to sugarcoat it and not give you a true accounting."
"So, with that in mind let me give you something to take heart in as you hear your assessments so that you don't get the wrong idea," Yoruichi said. "You have all passed our test and you are now members of the Advanced Combat and Techniques class." There was an audible sigh of relief from all. Some louder than others because a bad enough failure by one person would disqualify the whole team and there wasn't one of them that wanted to hold the others back.
"The first thing from an overall standpoint is your strength and endurance," Ichigo began. "You are all first year students and you've all only just gotten started here so it's a given that you all have a long way to go in this regard. However, there are a few of you who are a little behind where the others currently sit and those would be Jaune, Ren, and Weiss. As you all should remember from the information packets you received after your acceptance to Beacon that the school has extensive physical training facilities and a well trained staff that can help you put together a fitness program tailored to your needs and that would be best suited to your fighting style."
Ruby giggled from where she had landed, her head using Yang's chest as a pillow. "Weiss has to start pumping iron."
Ichigo smiled. "Not necessarily. Increasing your physical strength doesn't mean bulking up to look like a bodybuilder. There are other ways of increasing your strength other than just muscle mass. Too much muscle can compromise your agility and your quickness. I would suggest that you all go and see the PT staff and build a training program."
"Your fitness training can also help reduce your stress levels," Yoruichi added. "For example, if any of you are interested we would be willing to teach you a discipline called Tai Chi. It is based on a style of fighting but is usually done through slow and precise movements. It's a good form of exercise that will help your balance, keep you loose and stretched out, and the mental component can be considered a form of meditation as you clear your mind and concentrate on your movements and breathing. It's good exercise and can be very relaxing."
"I believe I have heard of something like this, only not by that name," Ren spoke up, only managing to lift his head up since Nora was draped over him in a boneless sprawl.
Yoruichi nodded. "There are many different styles but this happens to be one we are the most familiar with."
She and Ichigo had been doing it for a very long time, though not as much just recently. It had been an integral part of helping them establish a routine for themselves and begin pulling themselves back together mentally and physically so long ago. It wasn't really true Tai Chi but it was close. It was based off of a discipline that had been practised by her clan and was very similar.
"The next thing is your performances today as teams," Ichigo said.
"The members of both teams worked well together," Yoruichi began. "Team RWBY has the edge with their combination attacks and the ease with which they transition from one to another. They have obviously spent a great deal of time training together and seem to read each other well in combat. It also doesn't hurt that some of those moves have been tested in actual combat as well."
"As for Team JNPR, your team work wasn't quite as good but that is to be expected since according to the training logs you haven't spent as much time training together as Team RWBY has. I can see the potential there, you just need to spend more time working on it."
"I'm holding the team back, aren't I?" Jaune asked, his voice heavy with resignation as he struggled to a sitting position.
"Honestly?" Ichigo began. "Yes, you are. Your skills are way behind the rest of your team and you're going to have to work hard to catch up both with your weapon skills and your fitness level. Don't forget however that you are on a team with two people who have worked side by side for years as they have learned and one of the most talented students to come along in years. Even if you had come to Beacon with the same level of training as most other students it would take time for the four of you to mesh."
"Pyrrha, you've been teaching him to use his sword and shield, correct?" Yoruichi asked.
"Yes, I have," the redhead answered as she finally managed to sit up.
Yoruichi nodded. "Continue to do so. Push the fundamentals and then raise the intensity until he can use them like they're second nature. Don't be afraid to train him aggressively. Instead of the limited space on the roof you can use our classroom. We have been given the old training arena in the north wing for our exclusive use and this class will move there on Monday. All of your scrolls will unlock the doors and you can use it at any time you want."
"Jaune," Ichigo called, getting the boy's attention. "Sometime soon I'd like to have a private conversation with you." He looked frightened at the prospect. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tear a strip off you or anything, I just want to talk."
"Alright," the boy said, only slightly relieved. "Whenever you want to I'll be there."
"Now, on to individual observations," Yoruichi said. That made everyone else finally sit up. "With the exception of Yang, who uses hand to hand combat as her fighting style, all of you need a lot of work in this area. You have all probably heard it before, if you lose your weapon you need to be able to at least defend yourself. You will all learn how." She could see Ruby about to protest. "This is non-negotiable. You will do it. You might lose your weapon. It might break. You might find yourself in an environment where using your particular weapon isn't practical or possible. Then what? How do you defend yourself or someone else in these situations?"
"See Rubes, that's what I've been telling you all along," Yang said.
"As good as your skills currently are I'm sure you know you can do even better," Yoruichi started. "But there is one very large flaw in your fighting style."
"And what's that?" Yang asked, sounding a bit defensive.
"Your temper," the assassin said levelly, looking right into the blonde's eyes. "It causes you to lose your focus and you attack mindlessly. The only thing saving you is your Semblance, but just because it allows you to tank blows doesn't mean you should rely on it exclusively."
"It's worked for me this far," Yang challenged.
"And what about when it doesn't?" Ichigo cut in. "You willing to bet your life, or the lives of your sister or your friends on that?"
"I took six blows from Yoruichi before it broke," she shot back.
"Six blows that you couldn't block and they were delivered with far less strength than she's capable of," Ichigo reminded her. "If this had been a real fight to the death, she would have shattered your Aura and killed you with one." That reminded everyone of strength and power they saw on the video. It was a very sobering reminder.
Before Yang could protest or anyone else could say anything, Yoruichi crossed the arena and was standing directly in front of Yang. They hadn't even seen her move. One moment she was in one spot and in an eye blink she was in another.
She bent over, looked Yang in the eyes and poked her in the forehead. "Inside that blonde head you have a brain and it's there for a reason. There are other ways to fight an opponent other than trying to go straight through them. Keep doing that and you become predictable and easy to defeat. Easy to kill." The emphasis and another poke actually made Yang jerk back. "Take some time to stop and think about how you would fight if your Semblance was something totally different," the were-cat continued in a softer tone of voice. "That it was something that didn't allow you to tank the blows and turn the energy back against your opponent."
"Your physical skills, your intellect, and your instincts are the three things that you need to have working together," Ichigo said. "I've tried fighting with all three of those on an separate basis and I took a lot of unnecessary damage because of it. Learning how to use all three of them together will win you a lot more battles and save you a hell of a lot of scar tissue."
"Hehe...didn't Dad try to tell you about fighting angry and relying on your Semblance too much?" Ruby cut in, taking a little shot back at her sister for earlier. "Eeeep!"
She suddenly found a grinning Yoruichi looking her in the eye. "As for you Little Reaper, you're a bit on the reckless side. You have a tendency to charge headlong into the fight and if things start to go sideways you take it upon yourself to change the outcome by yourself." She took a moment to glare at her husband. "Going it alone cuts you off from the support of your team and that's pretty dangerous, especially when you lack experience as all of you do. That support is one of the reasons you are organized into teams and why you have partners."
"Weiss," Ichigo said, moving things along and letting Yoruichi's glare bounce harmlessly off. "Your ability to use your rapier and your glyphs is pretty good and you'll continue to get better. Along with strength and stamina one of the biggest things you need to work on is your situational awareness. Now and then you over focus and you leave your blind side open as well as leaving yourself open for immediate counters. That's how you took most of your damage during the test."
She nodded. "Thank you for your assessment. I'll work on fixing that." She should have learned this already since it was an immediate counter from the Arma Gigas that gave her the scar over her left eye.
"You have another ability that you've been working on too right?" he asked. "Any luck with that?"
She was surprised that he knew about her family's hereditary Semblance, it couldn't be anything else, but she supposed she really shouldn't be. He was an instructor and had access to the student files. "Unfortunately not," she answered rather dejectedly.
"Don't worry too much about it," he returned with an easy smile. "I have no doubt that you'll get the hang of it. Nothing ever comes instantly, it all takes time and effort. Keep working and you'll get it."
She just wished she had the same confidence. She saw the quizzical looks of her friends and sighed. "The Schnee family has a hereditary Semblance that allows us to summon a representation of anything that we have defeated in battle. For example, if I could get it to work I could summon a hard light copy of the Boarbatusk I defeated in Professor Port's class."
"That sounds so cool!" Ruby gushed.
Weiss almost smiled. Of course her dork of a partner would be excited by something like that. She had felt the same way the first time she saw Winter perform a summoning. "It would be if I could make it work."
"Maybe she could summon a sloth!" Nora blurted out. "That would be awesome!"
"To do that it would mean that she had killed a sloth at some point," Ren reminded her.
She gasped in horror and pointed an accusing finger at the white haired girl. "Noooo! Bad Weiss! No sloth killing!"
Everyone had a moment where all they could do was blink at the orange haired girl. What other response was there really?
"Ooookay, moving on," Yoruichi said. "Blake, your weapons skills are very good and you make great use of your Semblance as well as your agility and quickness. In this venue you didn't get to use your stealth ability much but we can arrange to test that out a bit later. One of the things I think you should work on a little more is your up close defence and counter attacking, especially when you're in a situation where space is limited and you can't create room for yourself with your Semblance."
'Stand and fight without being able to run,' was the initial self reproaching thought that went through her head. "Unfortunately that has always been a bit of a weak point for me," she admitted glumly. For some reason she found it hard to maintain an up close defence, though she had thoughts on why that was.
"You'll get the hang of it," Ichigo offered with the same easy smile he gave Weiss.
"After all," Yoruichi said, sporting an evil grin. "If he can learn defence it should be a snap for the rest of you."
He rolled his eyes at her then looked to their students with a sigh. "The sad part is I can't even deny it. My idea of defence used be to attack harder. Didn't always work out so well. Learning what you lack by nearly getting killed may be the ultimate object lesson, but I sure as hell wouldn't recommend it. Pain's not that much fun."
It was another sobering moment to remind them of the gravity of the life they were choosing by being here. Some of them were already aware in their own way and by their own experiences but it never hurt to make sure they never forgot that in this way of life danger was a constant.
"Pyrrha," Yoruichi began, breaking the momentary silence. "Your skills are impeccable and the biggest problem may be that you don't have anyone to truly test yourself against right now to see where you may be lacking. I think you can meet that need by fighting multiple opponents now and then, your team and Team RWBY should give you more of a test than Team CRDL did." That earned a round of snickers and an embarrassed blush from the Mistralian. "And you can train against myself and Ichigo."
She noticed the sudden scowl on his face and she wasn't the only one. Pyrrha saw it too. She knew what it meant, it had everything to do with the souls that had been reincarnated into her. Unfortunately the redhead didn't and probably thought Ichigo disliked her for some reason. He had tried to avoid clashing with her during the test and she probably picked up on that as well.
"We'll work something out as we go," she said, drawing the girl's attention back to her.
"Ren," she called. "Improving your endurance and strength will be the key to improving your fighting ability. You already seem to have a good grasp on what you can and cannot do with your weapons and you don't attack recklessly. Improved hand to hand fighting skills will be particularly useful to you considering your choice of weapons."
"I was already thinking of seeking out extra training in that regard," he told her.
She nodded. "That's good. Since that is my area of expertise I can definitely help you out there." She turned to his partner. "Nora."
"Yes!" the girl chirped, sitting up straight and smiling. And saluting.
"Your attacks are a bit reckless and on a couple of occasions your friends had to duck your back swing," Yoruichi explained. That seemed to take the happy mood right out of the girl. It wasn't her intent but better that than having her feel even worse because she accidentally hurt a friend. "You also tend to forget to watch your back while looking for things to smash. Situational awareness, you need to be more aware of where both friend and foe are during a battle. Also, with the length of your weapon it qualifies as a pole arm and it would be useful for you to learn how to staff fight. More than just the head of your hammer can be used for offence and defence."
"Okay," she answered sounding rather subdued.
"Don't feel down about it," Ichigo said. "That's why you're all here at Beacon after all, to learn the skills you need and most of you are already ahead of the curve." He looked to the leader of Team JNPR, who had a very down look on his. "Jaune, you may be well behind the rest but you're learning. According to Professor Goodwitch's records and the footage we've seen you've already come a long way since you got here, largely thanks to the efforts of your partner. You've been working hard but I think you know that you can work even harder. Keep working, keep moving and you will eventually be able to fight on equal ground with your team and your friends. It's not possible to make up so much ground all at once."
"All of you," Yoruichi spoke, a deadly serious tone in her voice. "Never be satisfied. There are always things you can improve, skills you can hone to a razor's edge, new things to learn both about your skills, yourself, your enemies, and the entire world around you. Strive to become the best...and then surpass it."
The bell rang, signalling the end of class. "Alright," Ichigo said as they began to get up and grab their weapons. "Your revised schedules should hit your scrolls sometime this weekend. Look over the options for the physical training plans, maybe even discuss it as a team and figure out what will work for you before you go and see the training staff sometime next week."
"Also, take some time to practise calling up your Aura," Yoruichi added. "We will be testing you out on that on Monday so we can get a baseline idea of where you stand before we start any Aura training. And don't forget that starting Monday this class will be held in the old arena in the north wing. Class dismissed."
It was a stiff and sore bunch that bade them farewell for the day. Most of them looked like they were contemplating the the critiques they had received.
"They did better than I thought they would," she said once they were alone. "They've got a long way to go but they are off to a good start." She looked at him and smiled softly. "Good job by the way Strawberry. Giving them some positive reinforcement to smooth the critique."
"They all have some issues of their own and a lot of it feeds why they want to be a Huntsman or a Huntress," he said. "For most of them it doesn't seem to take much to make them start doubting themselves. That's pretty familiar to me." He smirked. "I figured a few words would be better for them than a kick in the head."
"It worked for you," she laughed.
He smiled. "Yeah, but I was pretty dense back then." He rapped his knuckles on the side of his head. "And that was the only way to get through the cement."
"You were young and hard headed." She sighed. "And no thanks to the supposedly responsible adults, in over your head and you bear too many scars because of us."
He took her hand in his. "I'm not blameless, I chose not to think before I acted and that's on me. There's enough blame to go around on both sides and that's one of the reasons why we're doing this. So that they don't have to go into things unprepared and suffer for it."
"Speaking of suffering," she said. "Now we need to go to the faculty offices and add our observations and recommendations to their records."
"I knew there had to be something about this job I didn't like," he groused jokingly. He knew it wasn't going to be that bad.
"The sooner we get done the sooner we can go see if there are any White Fang out and about," she said. "They've suddenly become very quiet. If nothing turns up we could always check up on our friends from Haven."
"I wonder how they're liking the homework assignments Ozpin gave them," Ichigo wondered with a grin.
Somewhere on the Seedy Side of Vale
The five floor apartment block wasn't lavish by any stretch of the imagination and it never had been, but it also wasn't a dump. The apartments weren't large but they were in good shape and the building was pest and rodent free, which was a definite step up from some of the places they'd had to keep available for their use. Like a lot of things in this part of town it was a little worn and a little tired, a reflection of the people that resided there. The building and the neighbourhood was a good place to have a hide out located in since no one stuck their nose in anyone else's business and no one really cared who you were or what you were doing unless you caused problems for them.
Thus, no one bothered Neo as she made her way to the apartment she and Roman maintained on the fifth floor. They were careful about making sure nobody, or at least as few people as possible, ever saw them coming or going and the cops never showed any interest in the area unless they got a call. Even so, they normally made their way in through the locked service doors at the back of the building and up the stairs, avoiding the lobby and the elevator. She had stolen the keys from the Superintendent, made a copy, and returned them before they were missed. The stairway door was right across the hall from the apartment so it was easy to come and go unnoticed.
She silently slipped in the door, closing and locking it behind her before leaning back against it and letting out a long, slow breath. With every day that passed she disliked this arrangement that Roman had gotten them into more and more and it certainly didn't help that he was in the brig aboard General Ironwood's flagship as part of that plan. She really hated having to deal with the other participants, that was his thing not hers. She preferred to remain largely unseen and working in the shadows, doing what she did best, which was watching Roman's back and taking out anyone who caused them problems.
Pushing away from the door she went down a short hallway to her room. Quickly disrobing she let her clothes lay where the fell, gathered her bathing supplies and headed for the bathroom. Laying her scroll down on a shelf next to the tub she turned on the shower and set it as warm as she could stand before stepping in and just standing there for a while, letting the steamy spray loosen up her neck and shoulders. Several minutes later she shook herself out of the relaxed haze and washed up before shutting off the shower and filling the tub for a good, long soak.
Her scroll went off and when she saw the message was from Cinder she just ignored it and shut the scroll off completely. When she saw the message coming through the previous night she initially ignored it too for several hours since it was from Emerald. If they wanted to contact her then Cinder could do it herself, she wasn't going to answer to one of her subordinates. Besides, there wasn't any reason why they should have been trying to get in touch with her in the first place. According to the plan she didn't need to be at the school until the Vytal tournament started.
This time however it was simply because she didn't want to deal with the arrogant woman. She was probably just bugging her for an update anyway. Truthfully, she couldn't care less if they had gotten themselves into a bit of a sticky situation at Beacon. She was doing what she was being paid to do and it wasn't up to her to help them bail themselves out. It also wasn't in her job description to go and dig up information on a couple of new teachers that they had already run afoul of.
True, it did seem strange that two new teachers would show up to teach a new class after the second semester had started, but she wasn't an investigator or an information broker. If they wanted her to do that then they could pay her extra for it and she had told them as much when she finally read the message last night and responded to it. She got another message shortly after from Cinder and while she obviously wasn't very happy about it she did agree to pay her for her trouble.
Part of her stress tonight was from doing a little digging. A quick check of the public net sites, which Cinder could have done herself, told her that the two teachers were indeed a licensed Huntsman and Huntress. The site contained their names, which she already knew, their status as active, licensed operators in good standing, and that they were rated as extreme threat capable. That actually made her raise an eyebrow, but that was the extent of the info available to the general public.
To make it look like she was at least trying she had asked Adam Taurus if he had ever crossed paths with them but he was too busy ranting about how a number of his personnel couldn't follow their instructions to lay low and had been picked of by some person or group that had been harassing the White Fang's Vale operations for weeks. He was practically frothing at the mouth over it. She had seen the recent video that had appeared on the net and had thought it was actually pretty funny. She didn't waste much time with him since just being within ten feet of him made her head start to hurt so she left the particulars of what she was looking for with one of his Lieutenants.
Next she had gone to see Junior Xiong and initially he had been uncooperative. The last time he had dealt with Roman he had ended up losing a few men and still didn't know what had happened to them and he didn't feel inclined to want to do anything for her. The Malachite sisters decided they were feeling brave and after she quickly and easily kicked their pretty little asses, she typed a message onto her scroll for Junior and had him read it as she held the point of her blade to his throat.
'I think you need a shave.'
He changed his mind and agreed to see what he could find out...and for a reduced fee at that...which soon became no fee at all since he decided that he liked his head where it was thank you very much. He told her to check in a couple of days to see if he had anything. The latest message was probably Cinder expecting results already. Bitch.
She didn't like Cinder or her underlings, hadn't right from the start. There was something about them that had her instincts screaming that dealing with them was a very bad idea and thus far that hadn't changed. If anything the feeling had gotten stronger and she'd be very happy if she never had to have anything to do with them again. She'd play her role because she was being paid but that didn't mean she had to like it.
She couldn't help but think that Roman had been hypnotized by the amount of Lien they were offered for this job and hadn't let his instincts speak to him, otherwise he may have turned it down. It was a lot of money but even then it seemed like the risk was still beyond the reward. The ridiculous amount of Dust they had stolen. Stealing a bunch of brand new Paladin battle mechs from the Atlesian military, mechs that hadn't even officially entered service yet. Working with the White Fang and the Mountain Glenn operation.
All the while Cinder kept pushing and that along with the risk level was what had prompted her to press her luck with her. It wasn't necessarily her smartest idea but she knew the woman still needed her as part of her plan and she had felt the need to push back a little. She and Roman were taking all of the actual risks while all she did was give orders like she owned them. Well, given the money she was paying and the threat she posed to them she pretty much did and had made it clear that she could put an end to them at any time and wouldn't hesitate to do so if they failed or stepped too far over the line.
No matter how she looked at it they had gotten themselves into a bad situation. Before Mountain Glenn she had suggested bailing out and disappearing into the night never to be seen again. Roman had said it was too late for that and while he didn't know who it was that Cinder was working for he was certain that no matter where they tried to go they would be found in short order and dealt with permanently. There was no way out and as bad as the situation was their chances for survival would probably be better it they stuck it out.
Now there was the latest development which could actually be something or nothing at all but it probably wasn't a good idea to just write it off as being a coincidence. She knew enough about the Huntsman academies to know that they didn't just arbitrarily introduce a new class after the academic year had already started, let alone after a semester had already passed and they were into the next one.
Beacon was acknowledged by many to be the best of the academies and they had one of the best combat instructors in Glynda Goodwitch, yet Beacon was the school to offer this new class, Advanced Combat and Techniques and it was being taught by two newcomers to the school. It was these same new teachers that had seemingly busted Cinder and her team for their lack of attendance in classes when they had been assured it wouldn't be an issue, and disqualified Emerald and Mercury from attending their class, again because of a lack of attendance, this time by the rest of the team.
Being confined to the dorm, kept busy with mandatory homework, and being threatened with being sent back to Haven which would throw a rather large monkey wrench into their plans, and it had been Headmaster Ozpin himself who come to see them and lay down the law. As much as she didn't want to side with Cinder's paranoia there had to be something to this. It didn't smell right and such a collection of seeming coincidences had to be deliberate, didn't it?
Was somebody onto them? If anybody really knew what they were up to they would have already come after them hard, especially with Ironwood here and now in charge of security in the city leading up to the Vytal Festival. He wasn't the type to play games, if he saw a threat he would pursue it with extreme prejudice. So maybe no one knew just exactly what they were up to, but someone must have thought they knew something or that there was something about Cinder and her flunkies that were making them suspicious. Whatever it was, her gut was starting to tell her that something was going on.
She let out a long breath and sank into the water until it was just below her nose. Damn Roman for getting them into this mess and damn her for letting him talk her into it. This really sucked.
Junior's Club
The club had been closed for a couple of hours but it wasn't entirely vacant. The crew had finished cleaning half an hour ago and left for the night while the twins had long since crawled away to lick their wounds, yet Junior remained. He was sitting on a stool behind the bar, a half glass of whisky sitting before him loosely corralled by his right hand. His left elbow was planted on the bar and he was idly massaging his head, trying to forestall the worsening of a headache.
He should have gone upstairs to his apartment long ago. It wasn't like his guys needed him around while they cleaned, they may be incompetent but they could at least manage that much without supervision. But, he knew sleep would likely elude him for a while yet thanks to his earlier visitor. Of all the people he didn't need in his joint, Torchwick's little helper was one of them and of all the people he didn't need her or anyone else asking about it was those two. They scared the shit out of him.
When he first got started in this business he was a cocky little shit, full of himself and his grand dreams of what a big fish he was going to be. Being an information broker, buying and selling secrets, dabbling in the black market, all behind the facade of what was quickly becoming a successful night club. In those days he didn't care what kind of information he was dealing or who he was selling it to. He had everything for clients from the societal elite to the scum of the earth. Nobles, businessmen, politicians. Thugs, thieves, and criminal gangs, all of them from top to bottom looking for an edge on their competition or to stay a step or two ahead of the law.
Being high on his success in society's seedy underbelly he got careless and didn't always check to verify the veracity of the information he was selling or checking out who he was buying from and selling to. He may have been a crook but he did still have some morals and if he had known that information he had brokered was being used to buy and sell women and children, both Human and Faunus, who had found themselves homeless and helpless after their villages had been attacked by bandits or Grimm, he would have turned the bastards in himself.
Any information broker worth their salt made sure they knew who they were dealing with before they bought or sold anything and he had drifted away from doing that. If nothing else it was for your own protection but he had been blinded by success and ego. He was horrified when he found out who he had been selling to and what that information had allowed them to get away with. He had been responsible for the derailing of a number of investigations that could have put a stop to the traffickers and stopped a lot of death and suffering. Officers had died or been wounded on raids compromised by his information.
He had no great love for the police or law enforcement in general but he wasn't stupid. The rule of law was necessary and he'd rather have to manoeuvre around them than live in chaos without them and he certainly didn't need for them to have reason to hunt him. If they knew he had a hand in the deaths or wounding of their colleagues there were those on the force who would put a bullet through his head before even trying to arrest him. A Huntsman and Huntress had also been ambushed because of him as well and while he may not like them any more than he liked the cops, he also knew that Remnant needed all of them it could get to keep the Grimm at bay.
The day he discovered what he had helped to enable he locked himself in the office of the home he was living in at the time and got very drunk. After hours of wrestling with his conscience he picked up his scroll and called the detective in charge for the trafficking task force. He got the man's attention by giving details that had never been made public and that only the cops should know. He then sent him all of the information he had on who he knew was involved and the locations that he knew they used. The scroll had been modified so that it couldn't be traced through the CCT so he wasn't worried about them tracking him.
Giving up that information didn't lessen the weight of what he'd done all that much. Maybe it was just the depressant effect of the alcohol but he thought he should have felt better. For the first time since he started this venture he realized that he wasn't really everything that he thought he was. He had money but he wasn't some sophisticated smooth talking mover and shaker. He was more of a rough, crass leg breaker. He was really just a thug and would never be anything more than that because that was all he knew how to be. Being a thug was what kept him alive and fed when he was just a snot nosed punk running around on the streets.
He had been over his head for a while now and hadn't realized it. He had gotten lucky in the underworld and had been punching above his weight. He had known for a while but hadn't wanted to admit it that he was out of his element while trying to be a big fish. The other big fish had tolerated his bravado because he had something they wanted. But as he got more and more full of himself he had less and less of what they wanted and his client list had been steadily declining. To make matters worse his spending was starting to outstrip his earnings.
As he was in the midst of that drunken self reflection, it felt like the weight of the world had suddenly fallen on him. Literally. He was pinned back into his chair and he couldn't move, could barely breathe and the sweat was running down his face. A man appeared out of the gloom of the sparsely lit room, dressed mostly in black with a large sword strapped to his back, a smaller one at his waist, and sporting a head of fiery orange hair. He nearly pissed himself when the man's eyes changed from brown to yellow with black sclera.
'Congratulations,' the terrifying stranger said, his voice sounding like two layered into one and spoken under water at that. 'You may have just done the one thing that might save your miserable life.'
A small woman with dark skin, long purple hair, yellow eyes, and dressed mostly in black and orange stepped into his view from behind him and sat on the edge of his desk, looking down at him. Such a pretty face but such a terrifyingly deadly look in her eyes. He knew who these two were, he had heard bits and pieces about their skill and reputation, and unfortunately for him they were the Huntsman and Huntress that had been ambushed due to his information. He hadn't known that at the time, but if he had he wouldn't have done it. Now, he was a dead man.
Or so he thought.
He lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip. That night was the most frightened he had ever been in his life. She had interrogated him for the next three hours while the man said little but kept him pinned in place with those eyes. The whole time he expected to be killed at any minute and without warning and the longer it went on the more scared he got. By the time it was over he had told them everything they wanted to know and he was crying like a baby and begging for his life. Big, tough, Junior Xiong had been reduced to a crying, blubbering wreck.
The biggest surprise was that they had let him live. The call that he had made and the results of their interrogation had shown them that he did have at least some sense of morality to him and the best punishment they could come up with for him was to spend the rest of his life living with the knowledge of what he had helped facilitate. They made sure that he knew exactly what kind of an ordeal the people trafficked by his shadowy clients had undergone from beginning to end and the uses that they were put to. It had made him sick.
Live with it he did and not easily, which had been the point. He managed to do so without drinking himself stupid to try and forget it. He had no desire to become a slave to the bottle and he didn't want to forget it. He didn't deserve to. He didn't share it either, he didn't deserve the small relief of conscience that confessing it might give and, again, he didn't deserve it. It was also a self preservation measure because he didn't need the fallout it would bring.
He had been lucky that way, no cops ever came to him, nor did anyone associated with the traffickers. As it turns out the head of the ring was the son of a very rich Vale nobleman, part of a family that had ties that went all the way back to the court of Vale's last King and beyond. When the shit hit the fan the scumbag ran for the hills and no one saw a sign of him for months. Not until the day that he was found pinned three feet off the ground to the front doors of the swanky bar he used to run and hold court in, his guts spilled all over the ground and a letter pinned to his chest with a knife that detailed his crimes and issued a warning to others who would partake of the same crimes.
There were only three people that knew what happened to him. They had called him and told him to keep his eyes on the news. This wasn't the way they normally went about their business they had told him, but special circumstances warranted a special and vivid message. He got very drunk that night and thanked whatever deities that may exist that he'd had sense enough to finally do the right thing because if he hadn't he may have been found pinned to the door of his own establishment too.
Some might think that a second chance like he got might prompt him to turn over a new leaf but this was all he knew how to do and all he was good at. So long as he thoroughly scoped out his clients and made sure he knew who he was dealing with and that his information wasn't going to impact innocent people, he could keep doing what he did. He stuck to those stipulations as well as their only other one, which was to let them know if anyone came asking about them.
After Neo's visit, and the sense of dread and the flashback that came with understanding who she was seeking information on, he sent a quick text to the scroll number he had been given. The last contact he'd had with them had been a few months ago when they asked for some general information, and they paid for it just like any other client, on the activity level of the White Fang in Vale. And just for shits and giggles they let him know that they now resided in the city. He really didn't need or want to know that.
The light clomping of boots made his head shoot up and he saw Ichigo emerging from the gloom that shrouded most of the club dance floor. He wasn't doing that thing with his eyes, whatever in the hell that was, but he still looked like the spectre of Death as he walked up to the bar and sat one stool to his right.
"You're looking a little worn Junior," he said.
"How else would I look when someone comes in looking for information on you two?" he groused.
"Don't be like that big guy," Yoruichi said, scaring the crap out of him as she stepped out from behind him and settled up against the bar to his left. "We're not that scary are we?"
"This place could fill up with Grimm and I'd still be more scared of you than I would be of them," he answered.
"Ooo flattery," she cooed. "You know you really shouldn't flirt with a girl right in front of her husband."
All Junior could do was groan and run his hand down his face. "I swear you're all crazy. Especially the Huntresses."
"So, who came looking?" Ichigo asked, suppressing a chuckle.
Junior thumbed his scroll to life and brought up a picture from one of his surveillance cameras behind the bar. It showed a short young woman with pink, brown, and white hair, and while the eye colour wasn't entirely clear because of the angle of the shot, it was still obvious that both eyes were a different colour.
"Her name's Neopolitan, she works for Roman Torchwick," he explained. "That's just about all the info there is about her and most people don't even know that much. She's not someone most people would want to fuck with. She beat the twins up tonight when they got a little too full of themselves and she made it look easy."
Ichigo and Yoruichi looked at each other and began to laugh. The hair colour was different but the face was the same and there was no mistaking the hard look in those mismatched eyes. It was the same person they saw in their student files.
"All they did was split the name to make a first and last for the student ID," Ichigo said, shaking his head. "That is so stupid."
Junior looked back and forth between them, baffled. "Wait, you said student ID." He pointed at the image on the scroll. "Her?"
Yoruichi and Ichigo shared a look for a moment before she shrugged and turned to Junior. "She's part of a group posing as students at Beacon. As to why...not sure yet. The stupid and funny part is that whoever made up her identity for this just split her name into two parts, Neo Politan, rather than using something different."
Junior was well acquainted with false identities and in a lot of cases using a name that was not totally foreign to the user could be an advantage. It meant that they would react more naturally to hearing that name and not arouse suspicion, but usually it was only done with a first name or variation of that name. You didn't do it with rare or rather unique names and you certainly didn't do what had been done in this case.
He shook his head. "You're right, that is stupid."
"And possibly done by someone not used to making false identities," she added. "Or someone who is so arrogant that they didn't think anyone would catch it."
"I know it's unlikely but did she say why she wanted the info or if someone else sent her?" Ichigo asked.
"No," Junior said. "And actually, she didn't say a word. Did all of her communicating by typing on her scroll. I don't know if she's mute or just doesn't talk."
"What did you tell her?" Yoruichi asked.
"Told her that after my last dealings with Roman that I didn't want to deal with her," he explained. "The twins tried to intervene and she kicked the shit out of them for their trouble. She put a blade to my neck. Told her I'd look into it because I didn't have any more information other than what she already got off the public registry." He took a sip of his whisky. "I'd rather have Blondie pay me another visit than have Torchwick's little helper in here again."
Ichigo grinned. "That's right, Yang helped you renovate."
Junior gave him a sour look. "That renovation took a week and a half and it took another week for the place to start filling up again. You know that lunatic?"
"She's one of our students now," Yoruichi said proudly. "We teach Advanced Combat and Techniques."
The colour drained from his face. "Of course she is," he muttered. "And of course you do. Do I dare ask how many students you're about to turn into complete monsters?"
"Eight," she answered smugly. "Some of the best students to enter Beacon in years."
"Just do me a favour," he half pleaded. "Tell them to stay out of my club. I don't need any more surprise renovations."
"Can't promise anything," Ichigo said. "What they do away from school is their business."
He rolled his eyes. "Wonderful. So what do you want me to tell Neo? She'll be back in a couple of days."
Yoruichi pulled out her scroll and brought up a file that she then transferred to Junior's. "Give her that. It's our official mission's taken and completed files from the government registry for the last ten years. Maybe tell her to give you another day or two because you've got something working then give her that. It won't tell her much about us but it will show her the level at which we work and that might put a bit of a shock into her and the others and put them on edge. Give them something else to worry about."
He opened the file and began looking at it. His eyes went wide and he began flipping through them faster. "These missions are from all over Remnant and are ones that no one else would take because they were so dangerous...a lot of them sat open for months before you took them." He thumbed through to a statistics page and saw that every single mission they had taken was completed successfully. No incomplete or failed missions and since they were all requested and sanctioned hunts, the completion information was verified and therefore accurate.
"Those are just the official missions," Ichigo said. "We go on a lot of hunts on our own that aren't posted on any missions boards."
"Just how freaking strong are the two of you?" he asked shakily.
"We've been known to get bored and go spend a week out in the Badlands hunting the biggest and oldest Grimm we can find," Yoruichi told him. Her nonchalant tone made it sound like she was discussing a leisurely walk in the park. "There are a lot of them out there too."
Junior was pale and shaking and nearly fell off his bar stool. She picked up a bottle of whisky off the shelf behind him and refilled his glass then poured out one for herself and one for and Ichigo. It took the club owner half the glass to regain his composure.
"You're not shitting me, are you?" he asked.
"Not in the least," Ichigo answered, looking him in the eye. "The old ones are the smart ones and they're far more dangerous than the rest. We have the ability and the skills to kill them so we do. We want to protect this world so we do what we can."
"That's one of the reasons we decided to start teaching at Beacon," Yoruichi added. "That and to find out what this little group of infiltrators is up to. If we can take some students who are already strong in their own right and have a ton of potential and make them even better, why not do it?"
"I thought the two of you were scary before, now you're just downright terrifying," Junior said. "Neo and those others have no idea what they're up against."
"In time, they'll find out," Ichigo said darkly.
They finished their drinks and Yoruichi plucked a bottle of the really good stuff off the shelf and dropped some Lien on the bar, easily three times what the expensive bottle was worth.
"Relax Junior, the stress will make you old," she said as they began to disappear into the shadows as they moved in the direction of the front door. "Send us a message when she shows up again okay?"
He didn't hear them go out but he knew they were gone. "The stress will make me old huh?" he said to himself. "It's been twenty years since I met you two and I feel like I've aged a hundred. They don't look like they've aged a day." He downed the last of his drink. "I feel like I added another fifty years tonight alone."
He put the glasses in the bar sink, he'd clean them in the morning, and made his round to make sure the club was locked up for the night before heading upstairs. Hopefully he'd be able to sleep.
"Did you feel that trace of spirit energy still lingering in there?" Yoruichi asked him as they walked down the street, headed for home.
"Yeah, I did," he answered. "You think it was hers?"
"There's a good chance but we'd have to run into her to find out for sure." They were both silent in thought for a moment. "It felt a bit like his, I'm thinking it might be his Zanpakuto spirit reincarnated in her."
"I think you're right," he agreed. "Think this Neo has any measure of her ability?"
"It would be a good idea for us to keep that in mind if or when we run into her," she cautioned. "Though from what we've experienced so far with reincarnated souls here the threat wouldn't be anywhere near as severe. Not to us anyway."
"It would figure that his power would have to show up again," he groused. "Even if it's diluted."
She jumped up onto his back for a piggy back ride. "Don't be so glum Ichi, even if it was him he'd be no match for you now. No matter who's reincarnated soul we run into we can handle whatever they have to dish out."
"Oh I know that," he said. "I'm just not feeling too nostalgic about sensing or fighting that particular soul again. Already been there and done that."
"I get it," she said. "It certainly wasn't much fun the first time. I did get my ass kicked after all. Of course so did Kisuke and your old man."
"At least I got revenge for your ass," he said cheekily. "He deserved his sentence to Muken just for that alone."
"I and my ass thank you and appreciate the sacrifice you made on our behalf," she said, laughing. "Especially since I know how much you like my ass."
"That's not the only part I like," he smirked. "There are others."
"Well when we get home you can remind me," she purred.
With a burst of Shunpo they were gone.
AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you will leave a review. And while you're hanging around why not check out my other stories.