Welcome back to another edition. A quick thing to note:
I'm going on another trip, then I'll be moving back to the US for work, so my upload schedule might get a bit finicky.
I'll likely write a chapter or so while I'm on vacation. I hardly consider this fanfic to be work. I enjoy making it for you guys, but I might not be as consistent until I adjust and settle.
Let's get into this:
Beta Readers: Chris72637, Luxutor, MegaDumbo, Rockmean, and Tupjunk
...
*Slish-Slosh-Slish-Slosh
A waterway of ooze trickled down a barren tunnel beneath the streets of Vale, accompanied by the occasional scurrying rodent chasing down its prey-
*CRUNCH
Winter shuddered as her flashlight caught one of the giant things turning toward her, a living cockroach caught between its teeth before the disgusting creature clambered off into a nearby pipeway.
A figure shoulder bumped her, followed by a scruff-filled smirk as Qrow eyed the sight without a care in the world, "What? I thought you Atlas types were all about the strong crushing the weak?"
The specialist's blue eyes statically remained forward, "As per usual, you're not only wrong but misinformed. Atlas prides itself on a united message of-"
He barked a hand, "Yeah-yeah, apes together strong...except if you're a Faunus...or poor...or both, especially both these days."
"They're allowed to participate just as anyone else."
Not counting if you wanted to have any sort of individualism-
The Veteran Huntsman could hear those annoying radio chants now, 'Be you human, be you Faunus, all serve with Atlas arms.'
He blandly hummed, lazily raising his scroll to view a holographic map of the sewerways beneath Vale as he didn't spare her a glance, "Whatever you say, Ice Queen."
The white-haired beauty huffed, thoroughly scanning their surroundings for any sign of activity, "...Could you elaborate on something for me?"
"Depends how much you're willing to pay."
"Begging for pocket change again? Have you really fallen that low, Branwen?"
He snorted, "It's called a joke. You might wanna look one up when you get that stick out of your pale white ass."
Winter's fingers twitched, despising every minute spent with this vagabond, but soon regained her eternal professionalism, "...Tell me, why did your authorizer wait so long to approve our investigation?"
"Authorizer? That's what you call Ozpin?"
The Schnee waved a hand, "Semantics, but you must admit, his role in things is a bit dubious at times."
"Yeah, Oz does that...and a little bit of everything, I guess."
The Huntsman shoved his scroll into a random pocket along his jacket before walking off, "...You don't work in Vale much, do you?"
The specialist shook her head as she followed suit, "You should know, until recently, Atlas has hardly had to involve itself in local affairs. Vale's position on the Risk of Terror Chart has always been the lowest among the Kingdoms."
Qrow turned a corner and immediately held out a hand to block her from moving ahead to the operative's confusion, "What is it?"
...
...
The Schnee huffed, "If you offer me another drink, I swear I will report y-"
The veteran blankly stared ahead, "Do you see it?"
Winter squinted, shining her light down the pathway, yet nothing seemed particularly wrong, aside from the disgusting amount of muck, but eventually glanced over her shoulder, back the way they came-
Realization hit her, "The overhead lights, they're...a bit dimmer?"
Qrow snapped a finger in approval, "Not enough for some worker to pay it any mind. These tunnels get just enough maintenance to keep the shit water flowing, so what's a few flickering lights?"
He crouched and soon raised his trusted tool of war, Harbinger, in its sword form, pointing it toward the ground a few feet ahead, "They don't just make it hard to see, but that brief moment you look up, wondering if you're right or wrong-"
It caught something thin, and with a push-
*BANG
There was a flash from a hole in the nearby wall as a shotgun blast of fire dust billowed out at ankle level, briefly illuminating the tunnel before going silent.
Winter's eyes noticeably widened as the Huntsman let off a growl, reaching into the hole, yanking out a rusted firearm before tossing it into the waste waters, letting it disappear beneath the mire.
Qrow stared at the weapon as it sank, "They're never meant to kill, just maim...fucking White Fang."
Winter raised a brow, "That doesn't fit their typical Modus operandi. The White Fang focus on large-scale acts of terror with the potential for significant media coverage; why would they move to an individual level?"
He glanced over his shoulder at the Schnee, "It's like you said. Vale is a low-risk area."
"Pardon?"
"Think about it. Besides people in Vacuo not caring enough, Vale is basically the only Kingdom where Faunus have actual civil rights, and most White Fang only join up because they're tired of getting treated like dirt...I'm not saying it doesn't happen here, but you can go on trial for anything more than a few harsh words, so who does that leave for prospective terrorists in the region?"
The operative looked down for a moment, "I would assume the most radical forces among their demographic...Ah, I believe I understand."
Winter nodded to herself, "With recruitment options limited, the White Fang can't function in the same way as they do in Atlas...as they'd likely have drastically different results."
Qrow clicked his tongue as he stood up, "Bingo. Every big attack they do here just makes the Faunus hate them because it makes all of them look bad. So they settle for this... small-scale shit and a few assassinations...probably led those lunatics right to the party while they were at it...there's no way we'll be seeing them for a while. Probably all laying low."
"And that's why the Headmaster refused to send us immediately? Because of the risk of an encounter? Wouldn't that risk possible evidence being destroyed?"
He shook his head, sending his black hair to the side, "Nah, not really...you're gonna call me a racist for...ah, screw it, you're a Schnee, you'll get what I mean-"
Qrow walked off, beckoning her to follow, "White Fang are like raccoons. They don't eat where they shit, but that only applies in their house and for their group, and there's a whole lotta groups in that movement. Most of 'em hate each other's guts, but none more than the Cultists. Even the genocidal ones among the radicals can't stand them and their cannibalistic nutshow."
He looked around, soon glancing at a nearby wall, spotting a symbol buried just beneath a thin layer of dark algae, and continued on with the specialist behind, "They're all territorial and don't let any other faction work in their areas without their approval. There's no way the local chapters weren't paid off to let this happen, but that doesn't mean they'd clean up their messes-"
Qrow pushed onward into a dark section of tunnel without a light source, going off instinct alone as his sword tapped along the floor, igniting various blasts, dodging his head out of the way as an axe came down from above, settling on a calm trajectory as the action died down, leaving Winter in a daze.
How often had he done this?
Qrow slowed, holding his hand along the cold wall until he hit metal, putting his ear up against the door as he pushed along seemingly random sections. The veteran spoke, "Shine your light for me, would ya?"
The Schnee wordlessly complied, showing a seemingly ancient and unused maintenance shaft entrance as the former bandit tapped along the keypad, "They never change the codes on these things. Just a digit or two makes the diff-"
*Click
Qrow stepped back, his red eye staring Winter down for the briefest of moments, "Have you ever seen a fresh site?"
"Pardon?"
He looked forward, raising a boot, "Hold your breath."
*BOOOM
The entrance blasted open with a clang and screech of metal along a concrete floor, and the first thing the specialist felt-
It was the heat, and the moment she took a controlled breath, Winter could taste the copper in the air.
Qrow stopped, staring off into the darkness, "...You don't have to see it if you don't want to-"
The Schnee's eyes briefly widened before settling into a confused glare, "What exactly are you getting at, Branwen? Do you think I'm incapable of handling-"
His fist noticeably tightened, "It's not about that, I-"
He huffed, turning to face her, "I know I bust your balls about things, but...you're young, and this... it will stick in your head for the rest of your life, and trust me, Winter-"
Qrow had never called the operative by her first name before-
"You won't look at things the same."
The Schnee's expression lightened, "You-"
She looked to the side, "You don't need to show concern for me. I've dealt with my share of disturbing cases-"
"But have you dealt with them before? The Cult?"
"Atlas has a special division to handle their activities, of which...I am not part of."
"So you haven't."
Her blue eyes steeled themselves, "I will today, and you will not stop me."
...
...
Qrow shook his head, "You're gonna regret that...I won't stop you, but look, between us and no one else, if it's too much, just close your eyes and say something, and I'll lead you back out, alright?"
She eventually gave a reluctant nod.
The Branwen slowly marched along an unlit section of thin corridors, with Winter's light guiding the way, and eventually, as the stench grew worse with every step, they found themselves in-
The Schnee squinted, staring around the barren blocks of concrete and...wooden cupboards?
Winter shined her light about, "This is-"
Qrow hummed, looking over a decrepit couch and a smashed-in TV across the room, with random bits of destroyed furniture lying about, "An old break room. Back when they dug these tunnels out a few hundred years ago, the workers lived in these things, and with the rock walls and reinforced doors? They make perfect hideouts."
She pulled a cloth from her suit and held it to her nose, the smell being unbearable despite no apparent source, "I would assume you've dealt with them before?"
"I used to live in one of these, actually, back during my 'not so proud of' days...I'll tell you about it sometime if you ever take me up on one of my little offers."
"I hardly have the off hours to go on one of your benders."
"That's 'cause you're a workaholic, Ice Queen. There's a whole lot more to life than a job."
"Like waking up in a gutter?"
He shrugged, "Hey, every day's a mystery, right?"
Winter sighed as Qrow began looking around for something, muttering to himself about a wire connector of sorts, and as the Schnee took a moment to examine the room, her blue eyes kept drifting to the wall, idly studying an old painting of a shipyard, filled with-
Wooden Boats?...How quaint.
Though, the way it tilted made her-
"Don't touch that."
"Hm?"
Qrow looked up from the ground, "Do not touch that painting. It's rigged."
...
...
"You cannot be serious. Who would possibly attach explosives to a painting?"
"People who wanna kill your type, duh."
"Excuse me?"
"Holy hell, they seriously don't teach your lot any anti-guerilla tactics, do they?... Right, think of it this way. Your average cop or Huntsman only comes through these places for one reason, clear out an enemy and leave, but this?"
He tapped his knuckles along the concrete floor. " This is an FOB, so if we sent the thinking type like you or some investigator or anyone important who's going to spend more than five minutes here, who do you think is going to get annoyed by an off-balance painting on a wall?"
Winter thought about it for a moment, "...Directional explosives, I would guess?"
The Branwen twitched his hands as he moved a set of wires hidden beneath a wooden board together, "If the blast didn't kill you, then you'd leave here deaf at the least."
*Click-Click
A nearby rockwall shifted, soon sliding away with a previously unseen mechanism dragging it into the surrounding stone. With it came the horrid stench in droves.
Winter forced herself not to gag, but the former bandit hardly seemed phased, hopping to his feet as he marched ahead, "Workers used to dig these little pathways as smuggling tunnels, moving all sorts of people and things for a few extra bucks. This is probably how the Cultists and maybe even Khan got into the Kingdom. These pathways are unmapped and unexplored, and as far as we know, more than a few dozen stretch outside the walls."
Qrow paused at the entrance, "Last chance to back down."
Winter growled, pushing forward, "I don't need your pity."
He watched her go, "...It's not pity."
She ignored him.
Moments would tick by, but even as the Schnee tried to keep her eyes forward, it was as if her flashlight dimmed just by being here in these dark passageways, her line of sight hardly more than a few feet ahead-
Her boots clicked along the cobblestones-
*Tap-Tap-Tap-CRUNCH
The Atlesian drew her sword in an instant, holding it forward for an enemy that never materialized, and soon glanced down and recoiled-
Near her foot lay the crushed remains of a humanoid skull, their jagged, fang-like teeth extending beyond the rotting meat festering with maggots.
Winter stepped back, "That's-"
She forced herself to swallow, her pale skin growing more dim by the moment, "Is it-"
Qrow came to a stop behind her, hardly paying it any mind, "Unless you wanna dig around and find out what kind of Faunus it is, I'd suggest you keep moving...and don't stare for long-"
"Faunus?...but why would they-"
He kept staring ahead, "Why do you think the other factions hate them? They're picky eaters, and humans don't fit the bill."
Qrow's red eyes narrowed, "From what I know, they go for the exotic and have some weird criteria for what makes a good meal. The more rare a Faunus subtype is, the better, and they never go for humans...something about us being unmotivated...not enough struggle in our lives to make the taste worth it-"
Well, who knows what they would've done if they had gotten their hands on the Schnee siblings, but the former bandit left that part unsaid.
Winter shook her head, pushing ahead as he followed suit, "Unmotivated?"
"Don't bother trying to understand them. It won't do you any good."
"It's a confusing thing if you think about it. The Kingdoms have dealt with them on their own as individuals for decades, but suddenly, they're organizing and posing this much of a problem?"
The specialist sighed, "Either outside forces are involved...or it has something to do with that boy-"
The Branwen scoffed, "They probably think he's the Second Coming. It's the worst mix possible, religious fanatics and a kid who matches their God's description to a T."
"That doesn't explain why they attacked him, or the venue for that matter. If they truly believed he was some kind of reincarnation, wouldn't they grovel on their hands and knees?"
"That's not how they work."
Qrow shook his head, "I've been dealing with the Cult on and off for most of my career. They have this weird belief that the best way to serve him, that...Ryomen, Oz keeps talking about-"
"Is to die for his amusement."
The Branwen hissed, "That attack was probably some kind of test, some weird way of seeing if the rumors were true."
Winter glanced at the red-speckled ground before looking away, "And now that they have it. I can only assume they'll keep prodding him in some attempt to wake him up to what he really is."
"It's another bad combo, 'cause you and me? We both see it. That kid is not right in the head. He's one bad day away from doing something awful without meaning to-"
She hummed, "There's always the potential. If he had a violent episode...combined with his powers, Itadori could-"
...
...
Winter's eyes dulled, "I've been considering telling Weiss to stay away from him. However, after we spoke the other day...I don't know if that's the right course of action."
Qrow shrugged, "He's a good kid, but this world did some awful things to him. I can't imagine what that's like, waking up from the dead, not knowing anyone or anything...I don't think I'd hold it together like he does after all that, but people have limits. Who knows what'll happen if he snaps?"
A moment passed before the Branwen spoke again, "I finally convinced Oz to start talking to him about it. You shoulda seen the look on his face after...I swear, whatever he told him musta been something else if it made Ozpin of all people sick."
Winter let off a huff, hating every hot breath she took in this rancid place, "Victim or not, it doesn't mean we can't take every precaution necessary. Thankfully, Miss Polendina's attachment to him has given us a means to monitor the situation."
"You're having her spy on him?"
"She isn't aware of it. We simply look over her recorded data for the day and make judgments based off of our observations."
"You think you have a way to take him down? The kid who tanked your best equipment like they were peashooters?"
"We wouldn't use lethal force if it came to it. The General is very insistent on that-"
"You don't gotta justify it to me, Ice Queen. It's better to have something just in case than get caught with our pants down-"
It went unsaid, but there were almost no viable options to harm, let alone neutralize the vessel.
He was seemingly resistant to all small arms fire and explosive ordinance, had some kind of regenerative factor allowing him to recover from any and all damage, and that didn't begin to delve into his immunity to all chemicals and poisons-
His blood matched the toxicity of a box jellyfish sting, making any contact with his fluid projectile innards a near-death sentence.
He had shown the ability to punch through solid steel.
He could cut seemingly anything with those unseen, nightmarish slashes of his-
The only thing that had proven the capacity to cause him harm were the Maidens, but even that was up in the air.
If it weren't for the boy's demeanor, frankly, Winter would have considered him a threat the moment she realized what a monster he truly was-
It was almost dumb luck that he was as kind as he was.
...and this was the person who became Weiss' true first friend.
Lovely...no truly, it was lovely and Winter absolutely didn't have a mountain of complaints to speak of it...none at all.
...
At the same time
The cafeteria at Beacon was as sparse as you could get so early in the morning, filled with the sounds of groggy students getting up for classes they had no choice but to take.
With one exception, staring down at her scroll puffed up in pride-
"And THAT, Whitely, is how you defeat a Beowolf with minimal injury!"
Weiss' blue eyes cracked open as she heard an interested hum on the other end as her brother scooted into his desk in the ornately decorated Schnee study, "You've faced Grimm so early in your career? Amazing as always, dear sister."
The heiress fondly smiled, "Whitely, we've been over this. You can call me Weiss when father isn't around."
"I know. It's...what is it the help say again?"
"A force of habit?"
"Yes, that."
The sword user gracefully raised a cup of tea, taking a gentle sip, "So, have you decided to attend yourself? I'd love to see your semblance for myself."
The pale boy scratched his cheek, looking off to the side, "...We both know it would just be the same as yours."
"That doesn't make it any less special."
He was quiet for a moment, muttering out, "I suppose...Nevertheless, I'm afraid to pitch the idea to our father. He was hardly receptive when Winter left and even more so when you decided to become a Huntress."
"You still look up to him, don't you?"
He tilted his head, "How could I not? His hard work keeps this roof over our heads. Why, it even keeps Atlas itself running like a well-oiled machine."
Her smile faded, "Whitely-"
"I'm aware you two are at odds, but...please don't involve me in it. Things...haven't been easy here since you left for Vale-"
"Then why do you stay? You're old enough and more than talented enough to apply for any Huntsmen boarding school of your choosing. You wouldn't have to see him again if you didn't want to-"
"But I...I don't want to leave him...not with Mother the way she is. It wouldn't-"
"It wouldn't-"
The boy squinted, "Who is that?"
Weiss raised a brow, "Who is-"
"Hmmmmmm-"
There was a flash of motion, and before she could even blink, a familiar tan face materialized next to her, "Wow, that guy looks just like you, Weiss...wait, is that your brother?"
"WAH!"
The Schnee jumped out of her skin, sending her scroll flying as Yuji caught it with a single hand.
The vessel looked back and forth between the two siblings, noticing how they and Winter all had the same pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes.
Itadori chuckled, "Your parents really just hit copy and paste with you guys, huh?"
From her seat, the heiress shook as she stared up at the sorcerer, "You...you-"
For the briefest of moments, it looked like Weiss had winced and was about to say something else, but with a single breath, had regained her composure-
*BOOM
Weiss shot up, shoving a finger into his cheek, flash freezing the side of his face, "Why can't you just give me a minute with my brother, you...you!?"
Whitely tilted his head at the moniker, but Yuji spoke first with a frozen tongue, "Huuuuuuuh? Yoou tha onnnne whoooo texxxted me fo be-"
There was an audible crunch as the frost exploded off of him in a burst of steam "for a breakfast hangout."
Weiss crossed her arms, "I said at seven!"
"It is seven."
"No, it-"
She glanced at her scroll, realizing it was, in fact, seven, but looked away in a huff, "Hmph, well, you should have known I would've needed more time."
"What? Aw, come on, Weiss. I don't get to talk to ya all week, and you're giving me the cold shoulder?"
Her glare made him shiver in fear, "I swear to God I wasn't making a pun. I was just excited to see ya! It's been so long!"
"Half a week is not a long time."
"It felt like it!"
She sighed, but her brother noticed the tiniest of smiles crawl onto her face, "You are just...hopeless, aren't you?"
"Maybe-"
"It's not a maybe, it's a definitely."
The vessel laughed, rubbing the back of his head, seemingly putting the Schnee at ease-
"Soooo...can I say hi to him?"
"Why do you want to meet my brother so badly? He's only fourteen, it's not like he could be one of your pals-"
That was like a one-year age gap for Yuji.
He shrugged, "I met your sister, so I might as well finish the Schnee triangle."
The white haired girl shook her head, raising a finger, "Fine. You can say hello and nothing else. I still need to say my goodbyes, and then you and I are going to have a chat about what you told my sis-"
"What? How am I supposed to get to know him if you don't lemme talk to him for a few?"
"Do you want a repeat of the last time you used my scroll?"
He still had flashbacks to the last time Weiss kicked him in the shins with those ungodly heels she wore.
Yuji closed his eyes, nodding to himself in silent thought as he weighed his options,
To be or not to be kicked.
That is the question one must ask.
...
...
"I pick the third option."
The heiress squinted, "...Third option?"
"Ima kidnap him-"
"You wh-"
*NYOOOOOOOOOOOM
The cafeteria doors exploded open as Yuji ran off with Weiss' scroll in his hand, barelling down the halls of Beacon, leaving her in the dust.
Weiss stood there for a moment in shock, but that shock soon turned to anger, and anger turned to rage-
"You...Yuji you-"
She could see it now, that goofy tan face that always found some way to confuse her and make her feel all kinds of annoyed and happy, and this time-
Very angry.
"YOU STUPID POTATO!"
...
...
Time froze as the doors burst open once more, flash freezing off their hinges before shattering into dust on impact with the floor, with Weiss glaring ahead at the fleeing sorcerer as he looked over his shoulder in terror-
He was a tiger, but for once, he felt like prey-
A roadrunner, if you will.
Weiss was the predator (If you considered the age gap she wasn't aware of)
A Coyote, if you please.
Yuji Itadori- Panthera tigris
Weiss Schnee- bellus-iram nix puella
Meep-meep
*FYOOOOOM
Itadori let off a totally manly scream, bolting off down the halls as she took off after him, with people, classes, objects, and probably Ozpin passing by in a blur as the sorcerer kept one hand high, with the girl's younger brother watching all of this in utter confusion-
He watched as Yuji's eyes widened, the camera flipping around to reveal a ...portly man with a giant mustache strolling down the hall, taking up the entire space with ease as he carried a stack of weapons toward his next class-
The sorcerer didn't miss a beat, letting his feet give out from under him. His body straightened out as he slammed backfirst against the smooth floor, sliding clean through the thin gap between the giant man's legs before hopping up and running off once more-
"Do you like food?"
Whitely squinted, "I...I'm sorry?"
The pink haired teen nodded, "Food, ya know? That stuff you eat, got a favorite? Mine's rice with more food on it!"
"...well, I...I suppose I'm satisfied with whatever the chefs bring me-"
"Ohhhh, so you're like me, then. Cool!"
There was a distant voice, "Hohoho, is that Miss Schnee I see? Goodness, how have you be- OH GOOD HEAVENS!"
*BOOM
There was an audible crash as Weiss dove through the thin gap between the man's giant head and the ceiling above, her heels slamming along a rotating glyph before blasting off down the hall, making Yuji tremble in fear as he saw the white-haired bullet coming after him through the camera-
"Oh crap-oh crap-crap-crap-crap-CRAP!"
The floor ruptured as Itadori jumped at the last moment, flipping backward as Weiss flew beneath him, their eyes locking for the briefest of moments, and she was-
pissed
*Clink-Clink-Clink
A rotating glyph appeared ahead of the heiress as her heels crashed against its surface, and the moment Yuji landed in a crouch, his palm against the floor, the hall was illuminated by an endless array of spiraling snowflakes-
The floor started to freeze as friction became nonexistent.
Yuji needed to think hard and fast because, in a moment, this pretty girl was going to punch him before he could even talk to her brother!
His head hung low, and Itadori took a breath, silently acknowledging-
That she was going to punch him a lot for doing this.
You know-
In times like these-
You make sacrifices in the long term to gain something in the moment-
He cupped his hands around his mouth, and as Weiss shot around him like a snow-colored artillery shell, he yelled-
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, WEISS!? PORT'S YOUR HERO, AND YOU WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM!?"
Time seemed to freeze, and in that second, a look of hurt crossed her pale features, "You...you didn't-"
Yuji could only stare at the girl as she passed by him overhead, wishing he could reach out and say he was sorry for what he had done, but the floor started thudding before that could happen.
The moment the poor girl landed, staring at him with shaking eyes, a hand dropped onto her shoulder from behind as the most talkative man to ever condemn Beacon's halls appeared out of nowhere, his face shadowed in a menacing look of meaningless sayings and knowledge-
For such a big dude, Port could really move when he felt like it.
"Hohoho! Young lady, you only need ask! You see, it all started when I was a young lad, a Portling, if you will! And one day, a day like any other, my father, a Portly man among men, said to me...if you are to be the Port you are meant to be, you must learn what it is the Portly boy does-"
Yuji stood there, staring at Weiss as if she were already dead.
She mouthed the words, 'Please help me.'
But there was no saving her.
Those rants could go on for hours.
He slinked away, silently walking through an occupied classroom in shame, ignoring Oobleck's pestering about why he was here during a suspension.
He bulldozed through Coco as she tried to trip him, knocking the fashionista out of her seat.
Without a word, Yuji crawled up the wall like a monkey and flopped outside, falling more than a few stories and onto the grass below.
He lay there on the grass, staring up at the sky. All the while, Whitely had no clue what was happening, "You...you're that boy from the news, correct? The one my father keeps mentioning?"
The vessel glanced toward him, "Hm? Yeah, that's probably me...wait...why's your dad talking about me?"
The boy tensed up as if he were afraid, "He...has his reasons...but, aside from that, are you alright? You look as though you've seen a ghost."
"I might as well have made one."
"Pray tell why?"
"I just condemened Weiss to the worst fate imaginable. Talking to Port for more than five minutes."
"Couldn't she just walk away?"
"We've all tried that. He follows you and talks about old people stuff..."
"Old people stuff?"
Itadori looked traumatized. "Stories that you've heard a thousand times, usually ones that don't have an ending, 'cause he changes to a different one halfway through. It's horrible...and so boring."
"...I see...that does sound dreadful. Though, I have faith that my sister will find a way out."
The sorcerer nodded, "I hope so, man, but she's gonna punch me for that one either way, so I gotta enjoy my life while I still can...just so you know, my name's Yuji. Make sure they put it in my obituary."
The boy tilted his head, "Whitely...Whitely Schnee. Though, can I ask, are you actually scared of my sister?"
"A girl like her? A hundred percent. She has this way of lookin' at you that makes you feel bad about yourself, and then she hits you!"
"I sincerely doubt that Weiss is capable of doing something like that. Our father would've corrected that behavior a long time ago."
"Your dad? I heard that guy sucks."
"T-that is simply- Who told you that!?"
"Weiss."
The boy sighed, "I'd expect those words from one of your kind, but from my own sister? Why can't she see what he does for us?"
"One-a my kind?"
"You know...you're a...Fau-...You know!"
Right, this was something Yuji didn't really understand, but Gramps didn't want to rock the boat with him actually being human and not a Faunus, so-
Itadori's friends 'kind of' knew what he was, but the public still thought he was a tiger, and it would stay that way to avoid causing headaches, race riots, or other bad stuff.
He just blandly nodded, "Ohhh, right-"
Whitely blankly stared at him, "You truly needed to think about that?... I thought Weiss was exaggerating-"
"Wait, she talks about me, too? What is it with your family and yapping about m-"
*Ding-Ding
A doorbell rang as Weiss burst outside, sliding along the ground as she formed ice across the concrete pathways, her pale skin twinged a bit pinker than normal "Whitely! Don't you dare answer that!"
Yuji stared at her in disbelief, "You're alive?!"
She rebounded immediately, her chest rising and falling as she panted, "Do you have any idea what I had to say to make him leave me alone? What I had to do to survive that insufferable man!?"
"I-I don't know! I'm sorry!"
"I have to live with the shame that Port thinks I had a 'bathroom emergency,' and you're going to pay for it."
"That's not even that bad! I say that to ditch class all the time! C-come on, Weiss. We're...we're buddies, right?"
...
...
"Right?"
The heiress stared at the ground for a moment, her eyes closed in thought, "I'm doing this for your own good."
Whitely hummed, "You sound just like father-"
Weiss paused, a slight wince coming across her face, "D-don't bring him into this! It has nothing to do with ERGH! Forget it!"
She held out a hand, "Just give me the scroll, and I won't leave a mar-"
...
...
Her eyes paled for a second as she muttered the word "Mark."
Yuji stared at her and soon raised the scroll, "Hey, uh...Whitely. I...I'll have her call you back later, alright?"
He wordlessly hung up the call, and with a sigh, he walked toward her, fully expecting a punch or a kick or...something, but the Schnee didn't do anything, so he mumbled, "Weiss?"
She didn't answer-
Itadori raised a hand and gently tapped her on the arm, sending a shudder through the heiress as she continued to look away, "Are you alright?"
...
...
"Is that all I am to you?"
Weiss awkwardly brought her hands together, "Just another Schnee?"
Yuji tilted his head, "I-I don't understand."
"It's what you said. We're...copy and paste, right? My perfect dad met my perfect mom and made a few perfect kids to keep his perfect little empire running, but it's not like that! It's-"
She looked up at him, her ice blue eyes shimmering, "It's not like that. My mother can't keep a bottle out of her hands, and my father...every time we did something...anything wrong, he would-"
She clenched her pale fists tight-
"He would-"
"And you think I'm like that?"
Yuji rapidly shook his head, "No...nononono, I-shit, I didn't mean it that way! I just-I said something dumb 'cause you guys all got the hair and the eyes and the-the-"
He dropped his head, "I'm sorry. I just...I was really excited to get to talk to you again, and I just blurted it out."
Weiss scrunched her face, "Why are you even happy to see me? I'm-"
She let out a huff, "I'm awful to you. I've always been awful to you! Every time you try and get me to come out of my shell, my first thought is to-"
"Is to-"
*pop
She shakily bumped her fist against his chest, "I like talking to you...I like being with you, but every time you annoyed me, that's what I would do, and I didn't know why-"
Yuji tried to shake his head, "Weiss, we've talked about this, it's not-"
"It is a big deal! I don't care if it doesn't hurt you! And after Winter told me I was becoming like our father-"
"She what?"
The heiress nodded, "The other day...she...somehow found out about it and told me that it was wrong and that it was... God, I didn't even think about it until she said it! And now you say I'm like that?"
Wait-
The conversation he had with Winter-
Oh fuck-
Itadori reached up and gently gripped her shoulders, "Weiss, I swear, it's not like that."
Her eyes watered up, "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you even talk to me, Yuji?"
"Because you matter to me! God, Weiss, I-I don't need deep reasons for doing what I do. You just matter to me...because you do, alright?"
"But I don't think that way! Every single thing I do, it's because I need to get somewhere! I need to work hard so I can do what my family expects of me. I am NOT a good person! You shouldn't put any value on me!"
"That's not true, and you know it. Why else would you say you were with me that night? Weiss I-"
He forced out a chuckle, "I'm about as toxic as you can get. I bring nothing but problems. If you were anything like your dad, you woulda thrown my sorry ass under the bus before I could even say 'hi.'"
Yuji shook her arms, "You are not defined by your family, and I don't care that you're a Schnee or whatever else. You matter to me because you exist, and that's all I need to know to say your life has value."
Weiss' face was burning up, whether from her tears or something else, no one could say, "That-that doesn't excuse the way I treat you-"
"I don't mind. Just-"
Itadori smiled down at her, "Make sure you hold your fists right, okay? If you bend your fingers too much, you'll end up breaking 'em."
...
...
*Drip-Drop-Drip-Drop
Yuji's eyes widened as the tears started flowing freely, "Oh, shoot. I didn't mean to make you...Argh! I'm so bad at this! I-"
*pompf
He felt a sudden impact against his chest as Weiss pulled in to hug him, her face staining his shirt, "I don't want to hurt you. I just...want to understand why...why you care about me."
A moment passed before the vessel hugged her back, "Yeah, for sure...but uh, maybe we could move this somewhere else?"
Weiss tilted her head as she looked up at him, "Why?"
"Don't get mad, but...people are kinda staring at us."
Weiss looked around them and saw quite a few students, and more than a few had their scrolls out-
She couldn't get any redder if she tried.
...
Meanwhile, in Beacon Tower
Ozpin's tired eyes glanced across a spreadsheet, filling in random bits of data for this year's students.
Sitting across from him, notebook open and at the ready, Goodwitch clicked her pen with the might of a thousand professors, "As you can see, the freshman class has made significant strides toward honing their abilities, but there's certainly room for improvement-"
The Headmaster lazily sipped his beloved hot chocolate, "Glynda, with all respect, we've been doing this for years. You do not need to pitch the idea of an internship program to me."
"Protocols exist for a reason-"
"You are aware I created most of them, correct?"
"Then you have even less of an excuse to not want to do it."
The immortal set his mug down, "It isn't a lack of interest. Our student cirriculum is important. However, at the moment, I'm quite tied down with a-"
*DING
His messenger alerted, making the Professor roll his unseen eyes, "A situation."
Goodwitch idly watched him begin to type, "Is it one that demands your full attention?"
"This is less about attention and more about someone being an utter nuisance."
His specks dropped along his face, revealing his brown eyes as he stared off at her, "He's a significant contributor to our institution's coffers, so I can't very well ignore him."
The long-lived man began to type-
JS: I've reconsidered my offer
Oz: Have you?
JS: Fifty million lien upfront, allocated to whatever programs you want for your institution, and another hundred million once the deal is finalized.
Oz: As...enticing as it seems. It is not my place to make decisions on his behalf. You must accept my apologies.
JS: You're his legal guardian. These decisions are entirely within your right to make.
Oz: And what makes you believe I can force him to do such a thing?
JS: It's hardly a matter of force; it's more about pushing things in a certain direction.
Oz: In a direction most beneficial to you, I would assume.
JS: Hardly. All of Remnant could stand to gain from his abilities. Lest you waste them away until they're no longer viable.
Oz: You are aware that he is a Faunus, correct? I can't imagine your executives would approve of such a thing, not to mention your investors.
JS: Irrelevant. We can always trim the fat if needed.
Oz: I apologize, but I must get back to my work. A teacher's duty never ends and the such.
JS: Very well. I am a patient man, but do not test me with your delays.
Ozpin closed the chatlog with a scoff, shaking his head, "What a disgusting little man."
Goodwitch sat there in silence, knowing when the Director considered something a personal matter and decided not to press for details-
Though something had him quite agitated as of late, the instructor had little to no idea what it could be.
A moment passed, and Ozpin regained his sanity by downing the rest of his lukewarm beverage, "Ah, with that out of the way. I believe it's time we designate the instructors for our...problematic students."
The blonde-haired woman nodded, "I'm guessing you decided on their actual punishment aside from that half-baked suspension of yours?"
"It's less a matter of punishment and more what would benefit their teams as a whole. If allowed to choose their own internships, they very well might go with the path of least resistance. The suspension is merely an excuse for us to...shift the odds in our favor, so to speak."
"I could offer you a list of suggestions. There are more than a few veteran Huntsmen and Huntresses in Vale that could handle problematic teams like theirs."
The Director waved a hand, "There's no need for that. I already have the perfect three in mind-"
"Three? But the norm is one instructor per unit?"
"Typically, but he was...quite insistent on getting involved. Hopefully, retirement hasn't rusted those joints, so to speak."
"And the other two?"
Ozpin just smiled, not knowing who was going to be a bigger headache to who-
The students or their unwitting instructors.
...
Beneath the streets of Vale
*Ach-Ach-Ach-ACH...bleh!
Qrow clicked his tongue, lazily patting Winter's back as she continued to cough and empty what little was in her stomach, "I warned ya not to look up, kid."
The pair had found themselves in a series of cavernous passages, seemingly found by accident long ago by the workers who dug out the tunnels-
This was it
What Qrow coined as one of their 'nests'
The Schnee shook her head, reaching into her jacket to tear open a water ration, downing the entire thing in a second but struggling to keep it down, "S-Ack...stop talking."
"Keep your mind off it. You'll be alright."
The rock-laden ground was coated in a mixture of bile and pools of red liquid trickling down from above, and the longer the specialist stared at it, the more frustrated she became-
"I understand that they're...fanatical, but-"
She ignored his orders and shined her light on the ceiling once more, seeing more of the same rock and-
*Drip-Drop-Drip-Drop
Stalagmites, with sheets of metal, bolted into their surface, with more unmoving corpses than the operative wished to count, dangling from the makeshift platforms, chained by their hands as their lifeless husks shifted about in the dark-
Winter squinted, seeing the raw flesh along their wrists, torn apart from the friction of skin dragging against metal, "These Faunus...these people...they were still alive when they-"
The former bandit's expression was totally neutral, "They're sadistic, Winter. Whaddya want me to say? Everything these people do is driven by some batshit insane superstititon-"
"This is more than superstition it's-"
"Count them-"
"What?"
"If you want to know, then count how many there are up there."
...
...
"Sixteen."
Qrow slowly nodded, "They do everything in fours, and if they don't have enough to meet the quota? Well, they just go out and get more until they do...or turn on their own and string 'em up like the rest."
"It...it simply doesn't make sense...why would they-"
"There is a logic to it, but...you don't wanna know it."
The Schnee shook her head, looking back down to face her associate, "No...no, you need to explain it. If I'm to perform what's expected of me, then I need to have all relevant information at hand."
...
...
Qrow let his arm drop, hitting it against his thigh, "Fine, don't say I didn't warn you."
He spun around, looking across the darkened chamber, a frustrated look crossing his face, "Wanna guess what room we're in? Hint-Hint, you ever make jerky?"
As the Schnee forced down another vile gulp, Qrow began to circle the room, his mind going through a reptition of steps over and over-
He raised his fingers one by one, looking off toward one of the victims, their body laden in slash marks going down to the bone-
First, you cut the meat into nice little strips, then you pour the spices and seasonings in, and you better believe they're still alive when this happening...kicking, screaming, begging for them to stop, but that's just what they want-
They want them tired, worn out, and fighting for their lives because, apparently, that makes it taste better once they're nice and dry.
"Do you know what they call themselves?"
The specialist took a breath before looking back, "The followers of Ryomen."
"No, that's what WE call them. They have a different name for themselves."
"They-"
"They-"
His fist tightened, and in the blink of an eye, Harbinger slashed through the binds in its scythe form, sending the bodies tumbling to the ground in a chorus of cracks and snaps-
The Branwen huffed, staring down at one that was far too small to be in a place like this, "They call themselves his personal chefs. This... ALL of this is just practice for them...waiting for the day some dead, cannibalistic motherfucker comes back to try their SLOP!"
Winter watched the man pant, "Branwen-"
...
...
"Branwen...look at me when I'm speaking to you."
She sighed, awkwardly reaching out a hand to pat him on the shoulder, jolting the man out of his stupor, "It's as you said. It might be best if we ignore the finer details for the time being."
Qrow lightly chuckled, "Is this you trying to be nice?"
"...Is this not how it works?"
Winter was not the most understanding when it came to these things.
He rolled his eyes, "Never change, Ice Queen."
"I'm beginning to regret attempting a pleasantry with you."
"You do that. Makes it more fun."
She disregarded the jab, her blue eyes trailing around the room, pausing as her light shined on a crevice against a wall, "Enough chat, Branwen. On me."
He hummed, leaning over to get a better look, "Good find."
"There's nothing positive regarding this situation."
"You don't have to tell me that."
As the pair approached, a question came to the Schnee's mind, "...How do you know so much about the Cult?"
The Huntsman shrugged, "Where did they come from?"
"I was told Vacuo-"
"And where am I from?"
"I wouldn't know. I don't care enough to read your file-"
"Oh, bullshit. You read everything before a mission, even the fine print for the trademarks-"
She puffed her chest out oh so slightly, "Someone has to ensure that procedure is followed."
He cringed, "You are just...the worst buzzkill, you know that?"
"Keep on topic. There's no room for idle chit-chat during a mission."
"Oh, but you wanna know about little old me?"
"If you're going to be difficult about it, keep it to yourself."
Was this her weird way of extending an olive branch?
Why were Schnees the weirdest and most difficult people on the planet?
He almost pitied his nieces for having to put up with one...almost.
Qrow just smirked, "I'm from Vacuo. Ya know, the lawless hellhole your Kingdom exploits for profit?"
Winter scoffed, "Why do you always insist on insulting Atlas to my face?"
"Because you get mad."
He saw a vein tick on her forehead, making him that much more smug, "Anyways, the whole lawless thing made it real easy for those creepy loner types to set up shop. Back then, it wasn't like it is now. Those cultists were few and far between, and people noticed when their friends and family started going missing after a new face showed up in town."
Qrow's smile dropped, "The one good thing my dad ever did, was kill every single one of those fuckers whenever our tribe came across them on our raids. There were never any words spoken about why he did it, but...I remember he'd take one look at those scars, and it didn't matter if they claimed they had left the group or if they were gnashing their teeth, tryna get a bite outa him. He'd pull out his shotgun and leave a nice smear on the ground where their head used to be."
Winter shook her head, "Mob justice doesn't solve anything."
"It stops people from getting eaten, doesn't it?"
"It doesn't address the circumstances that pushed those people down that path."
Qrow chuckled, "That's rich coming from you-"
"What are you implying?"
He stopped at the crevice, looking in and seeing an odd source of light within. "I wonder...how about you take a second and-...Oh fuck."
The Branwen raised a hand, beckoning her over, "You're gonna ...just come here-"
Winter pushed herself forward and, with a gulp of air, leaned in, her expressioning dropping soon after-
Inside was a hollow chamber-
Dimly lit by an array of nearly melted candles-
One by one, they paved the way to what looked like a shrine, and sitting beside it-
Was a rotting corpse, covered in the Cult's marks, a member, but the man-
His nails were caked in flesh and gore, and his throat was torn wide open. The man had done this to himself, but why?
They looked ahead, and there stood a rusted, metallic spear embedded into a platform covered in silken cloth, and gently pierced through its sharpened edge was a photograph-
Of a pink-haired boy with slits along the sides of his face-
And splattered along the walls, a crudely written word rested, made of dried blood-
It simply said-
GOD
...
A bit later, in PYRN's Dorm
Yuji gracefully strolled into his team's kitchen, tray in hand, silently thankful they weren't here...it just felt like something he and Weiss needed to talk about alone.
A mug clicked along the wooden table as he set the Schnee her tea, "Here's yours, annnnd there's mine."
Weiss slowly brushed her braided hair aside, uncovering the scar that crossed her left eye, "...Thank you."
As the vessel dropped into his chair, the pair sat in silence for a few moments until the heiress let off a small laugh, "We just can't have a normal day, can we? I haven't seen you for a few days, and the first thing we do is...this."
She sighed, "Yuji, I'm sorry-"
The sorcerer shook his head, "No, this is all on me. I-I swore I'd be better about this stuff after what happened with Blake, but-"
He forced a smile, "I suck."
Weiss' blue orbs narrowed at him, "Don't pretend you're the only one at fault here. I never even bothered to tell you why I needed space...-"
The Schnee rubbed her arm with a pout, "These things aren't as easy for me like they are for you-"
The vessel tilted his head, "Whaddya mean?"
"You're...you...you just say whatever comes to mind and...I can't-"
"No, I don't."
"Hm?"
Yuji clasped his hands together over the table, "Weiss, we both know I don't talk about myself. I give you guys half answers and...just...don't pretend I don't do it too-"
She lightly laughed, making him raise a brow, "What?"
The Schnee giggled, "Nothing, I suppose it's just...well, this is what we do, isn't it? We complain about ourselves and try to cheer each other up. I still remember how hard I glared at you on our first day here-"
"Eh, I did kinda jump off the roof before then-"
He saw her eyes widen, so he sputtered, "Nah-nah-nah, not like that. I just got off the bullhead and saw people down there, so I jumped it."
Her face dropped, "You couldn't just take the stairs?"
He smiled, "Nah, I'm not real patient, and besides, we might not've gotten a chance to meet if I did that, and I mean, sure, we might complain a lot, but-"
Itadori's gentle smile made her chest stir, "I really like talking to ya, Weiss. You're one of my favorite people here."
Her hand lightly shook, so she pulled it closer, looking away abashed, a slight tinge of heat on her skin, "...Out of the Schnees you've met?"
"Everyone."
...
...
Her lip quivered for a moment, a smile briefly forming until she forced it away, "Y-you should...after all, not many people are willing to put up with you like I do."
He scratched the back of his head, "Ahahahah, probably."
...
...
She took a slow sip of her hot drink, taking a second to collect herself, "I wasn't trying to ignore you. I hope you know that. I...just wanted time to think-"
Yuji's ever-present smile remained firm, "Think about what?"
"Lots of...things...myself...what happened at the celebration-"
Her eyes looked down, "...and You...I wanted to get a handle on everything before anything else could happen. I hope you're not upset-"
The vessel shook his head, "Nah, I get it. I don't want ya to think I'm overbearing or somethin', just...if you ever need anything, you know I'm here, right?"
"...Do you know I'm here too?"
"Sorry?"
Her cold hands wrapped around her mug as she stared down into it, "...Can I ask you something?"
"Uh, sure, but...where's this coming from?"
"It just struck me the other day, even after all this. We don't really know much about each other, do we?"
The sorcerer hummed, "I thought we had a pretty good bead on each other."
Weiss stiffened up, "Well, yes, we...do...I hope, but-"
Her face scrunched up in embarrassment, "I...want to know more-"
She eventually looked up to meet his stare, "About you."
Wow-
Weiss was-
Really pretty from this angle.
With her pale skin gently reflecting the glow of the overhead lights and the way she looked at him. It was-
Itadori shook the thought away with a smile, "Whatever you want, ask away."
"Okay...Um-"
She let out a breath, "Does...my family name really not bother you or... do anything for you?"
Yuji made a face, "Do anything?"
"You know...people hear the word Schnee and get ideas and-"
"I should have ideas?"
"Yuji-"
He shrugged, "What? Whaddya want me to say, Weiss. You're just...you! It's like-"
The sorcerer let off a confused groan, "I just don't think stuff like that matters, and if anyone makes you being a rich girl a big deal, then they just aren't a good person. That's not what gives you value-"
She nudged him with a foot beneath the table, "I was led to believe money was value, Mr. Itadori-"
"Yeah, if you're an economist or somethin', I dunno, lemme finish, 'cause-"
The vessel sighed, "I used to think that most people had some purpose in life or some role they had to fill, some...big goal they had to shoot for no matter the cost, and that was just...what was meant for them, and getting that would make your life worth something...even if you didn't have a reason for doing what you did, someday, someone would come along and find that reason, even if you were already long gone-"
Yuji's smile faded a bit, "I lived every day of my life not knowing what my purpose was. I was just some stupid kid drifting through school life, and I'm still that stupid kid. I don't have answers, and I don't know why I do the things I do, but there's one thing I've come to realize over this past year."
"People die and don't achieve what they want in life all the time, but that doesn't mean they have no value. What gives someone meaning is just...living, doing the things you do every day, leaving those tiny marks on the world and in other people's lives so that even when you're gone...those pieces you left behind, those are what give you value, and it's why I don't care about that other crap you keep talking about...the money, the whatever, it's not you."
He was suddenly finding it really awkward to speak to her about this, but pushed through it, "I think what I'm tryna say is...you matter to me because you exist, and every time we hang out, talk or do things like this together. I leave valuing you even more than before."
...
...
Weiss felt a trickle go down her face, "H-Huh?"
She raised a finger, swiping it across her face, realizing it was another tear, "Why am I...but...I'm not-"
The heiress took a shaky breath, her eyes watering, "I'm not-"
Yuji's expression dropped, "Oh no, God damnit! I did it again!"
His chair dragged along the floor as he tried to hop off, putting his hand on the table for leverage, "Weiss, I'm sorry, I keep screwing this up and-"
"Mmm-mmm-"
He stopped in his tracks as she dropped her hand on top of his, "I'm not sad, I just-"
She let off a tiny gasp, a gentle smile crossing her pale features as tears kept flowing, "I'm...just...I'm just so happy you said that. It's making me-"
She sniffled, reaching into a pocket to pull out an ornate handkerchief to wipe her face, "I'm sorry, I must look like a mess right now, hm?"
Itadori shook his head, turning his hand over as his fingers gently wrapped around hers, "You never do, Weiss. You work way too hard on everything to let that happen...and even if you did the impossible and made that happen, I still wouldn't say a word."
She giggled, "I thought you said whatever's on your mind?"
"Weiss, you have to stop doing this to yourself."
"Doing what?"
"This...you always put yourself down, even when you're just so-"
He awkwardly smiled, "Perfect."
The Schnee's face burned a little brighter, and although her smile did the same, she still seemed so sad, "Perfect isn't good enough in my family. There's never a nice thing said without some ulterior motive...some passive-aggressive little jab to make you feel worthless."
"You're not worthless."
"It's hard to know that when you're surrounded by people who don't understand...my siblings and I...we try to be there for each other, but all we have to go off are how our mother and father act, and I hate it."
Her eyes clenched shut, "I hate our quiet home. I hate the way Father diminishes everyone around him. I hate the way my mother retreats into a...into a godforsaken bottle every time something bad comes her way...and I try not to, but on some awful level...I hate Winter for leaving, and I hate myself for doing that to Whitely."
The Schnee let off a sigh, "Our family functions on every man for themselves...we all feel awful, so why should we care if we make someone else feel the same? I was like that for so long, just doing whatever it took to benefit myself the most, but-"
Weiss' blue orbs slowly opened, staring into his, "But then, I met you."
Yuji's brown eyes widened, "Me? Weiss, I didn't-"
"I know you don't like to talk about it...and I know what must have happened to you must be terrible, but...I can just tell...that you know what it's like to try so hard to make things work, and they just fail over and over and over again...but you're different. You don't take it out on anyone. You don't let it hold you back. You were so kind to me, even when I said and did those things to you."
She put her other hand around his, "What you said to me...was the nicest thing anyone has ever told me. I just wish that I could do that for you, that I could value you like you do for me."
...
...
Yuji stared back, his face paling a bit, "...But you don't know enough about me, do you?"
She nodded, and a tear slowly crept down her face, making him frown, "God, I hate seeing you cry."
Weiss jumped a bit as he reached out, swiping the droplet away with a thumb from his callused hand, feeling like sandpaper against her skin, but she didn't mind.
His hold against her hand shifted just a bit, "It's not that I don't want to tell you things. I do, honest...but I don't think I'm worth remembering...or even mattering to anyone."
Itadori visibly winced, "Not after what happened in Shibuya."
She tilted her head against his palm, "I...I don't know that word."
"It's a city in Japan, and it's where everything went wrong...I can't-"
The vessel tensed, "I can't explain it all to you...there was so much...the sorcerers and the curses...so many innocent people got caught in the crossfire, and it was all my fault because I couldn't stop it...I couldn't stop him from doing it-"
Weiss leaned closer, "If it's that large of a scale, you're just one person, you can't-"
"I watched my friends die that day...and so many others. It was in the thousands, and to this day, every time I think of that city, all I see is the crater left in the center of it...the one that he made me-"
Yuji shook his head, "I kept reading the newspapers after it happened, and I burned all of their names...every last victim into the back of my head, and every day, I force myself to go through them one at a time, so that I never forget what I couldn't stop...don't you see-"
His eyes shimmered, "I'm not worth remembering-"
...
...
Weiss' hands gently rubbed his, "It's your turn to stop, okay?"
"What?"
"You do the same thing I do, Yuji. You always look at the worst parts about yourself and nothing else...I-I don't have the full story, but I know you, and I know you tried your best, but...things never go right for anyone-"
"But the scale of it-"
"I know...but you've done so much good-"
"No, I haven't-"
"You saved my life."
"I brought you there-"
"The White Fang have been hunting my family and friends down for as long as I've been alive...I've seen good people disappear from my life, people who had no association with my father's empire, get killed because of his actions...you stopped it from happening again."
Weiss leaned closer, "It's because of you that I still have a sister. It's because of you that I can keep living, keep making mistakes, and keep talking to everyone else that I've learned to care about here, and that includes you."
Her tears built up again, "We can work on it one step at a time, but if you can't stop hating yourself, then...believe in me because I'll always believe in you, that stupid guy who won't leave me alone."
...
...
The sorcerer painfully smiled, looking down, "Big words coming from the girl I made cry. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that one."
Weiss giggled, her face burning red, "W...Well, I...have a way you can make it up to me...if you want."
His face lit up as he raised their hands together, "Anything."
"Y-you are...the one organizing the trip, right? The one to the coast?"
He tilted his head, "Yeah...I uh...I booked the place we're staying and everything...it's a nice place, I can show ya the website and-"
"How long are we staying?"
"Uh, three days, why?"
Weiss grumbled, turning so red she was starting to shake, "Do you...do you think we could spend...o-one of those days together?"
Yuji dumbly smiled, "Whaddya mean? We're spending every day together, Weiss?"
...
...
She made more Weiss noises.
Eventually, the Schnee built up her courage, ignoring her upcoming heart attack, and made eye contact, "...Just us."
...
...
Yuji was almost catatonic seeing that adorable expression on her face.
Holy shit.
She-
"Weiss...do you...ya know-"
The heiress gave the tiniest nod with an embarrassed groan.
This was the worst idea imaginable-
Yuji could handle his and Yang's nonexistent relationship because it wasn't a relationship. There was nothing really there, just a 'maybe' you could kick down the road like a can, but...did he want something real?
He had no idea-
Itadori had never dated-
He didn't expect to live this long-
He didn't expect to live much longer either-
He was the vessel of Ryomen Sukuna, a cog in a machine, a being born to serve his purpose and die-
This was-
Weiss was-
She and anyone else who liked him deserved so much better.
Fuck-
Why did she like him?
He had to tell her-
There were so many reasons this idea would never work out-
He had to-
Had to-
...
...
His hand against her face slowly lowered, latching onto the jumble of hands below-
Weiss was maintaining her composure through sheer force of will, watching him for a response-
He rubbed her knuckle and gave her that same kind-hearted, dopey smile as always-
"...I'd like that."
...
With everything said and done, I'll see you guys next time; cheers.
Discord:
/4edf44FSSn