Remnant's Cursebreaker

by TheCongo

"Aura? The moon is shattered? What's your semblance? Catch these hands!" From a time of Sorcerers to one of Hunters and Grimm, Yuji Itadori still doesn't have a clue what's going on. Whether he'll be Remnant's upstart savior or its ruinous demise remains to be seen, but the idea stays the same, fight for what's right and destroy that curse once and for all! JJK spoilers ahead.

24. Shells and Spells Vol 1

Welcome back. I wrote this chapter on hopes and dreams and an iPad, so forgive my potential drop in quality. I'm in Italy with no access to a computer.

IMPORTANT:

We now have a hilarious cover art from Chepatard.

He's a member of the discord, and not only do I want to wish him a happy birthday and thank him for all the Yuji and Weiss fanart he's made these past few weeks, but I also want to say that he helped inspire the outcome of this chapter.

Here's to you, buddy.

We have three new betas: ReallyRey, BFTyrant, and Daki, so welcome to the team.

Also

Time for me to complain.

It's cool if you like JJK 267 and beyond, but I don't, and I'm petty, so I'm not considering any of that canon.

Cursebreaker has always been an AU where different things happened, but that chapter was so bad it legitimately made me consider quitting the franchise and the fic, but I'm good now. I just thought I'd let it be known.

Any potential similarities between how canon JJK ends and what I do are just coincidental happenstance, so don't hold it against me if I align or don't align.

Again, I don't mind if people like how JJK is ending, but I ask that you respect the fact I don't like Gege's writing decisions.

Anywho, let's get into a chapter that'll either make you love me or put me on a cross-

I just wanted my CHEEEEEEESE!

BetaReaders: BFTyrant, Chris, Daki, Rockmean, Luxutor, Tupjunk, and Megadumbo.

...

In CFVY's Dorm

Coco sat on the edge of her bed, hands crossed beneath her chin in silent thought as she stared at the pink-haired teen across from her, "Alright, short stack-"

Yuji raised a finger, sitting in a nearby desk chair, "Oy, I ain't short. I'm just-"

She rolled her covered eyes, waving a hand, "Yeah-yeah, still growing-"

"I am!"

"Tell me again when you're taller than me. 'Till then, you're short stack."

Yuji's face scrunched into what could only be called his potato form, "Ima start callin' you names. See how you like it."

The fashionista leaned back in her chair, raising a brow, "...I'll give you one try-"

The vessel blankly stared at her for a few seconds, his mind elsewhere, "Huh? Oh, uh...Loco-Coco, I guess?"

She scoffed, "That's the best you got? Eugh, I really gotta teach you younglings how to talk shit-"

"Hey, I don't perform well under pressure!"

She feigned empathy, "Yeah, gravity's gotta be real hard on shorties like you...that's rough, man."

"I got other stuff on my mind, alright?...Sheesh, you're always at a ten."

The fashionista nudged his foot with hers, "Ah, come on. I'm just teasing."

The Huntress watched him for a second, soon letting off a sigh, "Alright, let's hear it."

"Hear what?"

"What's bugging you?"

"...Nothing."

"Yeah, and I'm totally not bothered by my teammate being in a coma-"

Yuji's eyes widened, soon looking away in shame, "Look, that's what I'm here to talk about, so let's not go to stuff that doesn't matter."

Velvet's ears twitched and drooped from her shockingly pink bedding. "If he doesn't want to talk about it, can this wait until later? We need to talk about-"

Coco shrugged, "It's not like Fox is gonna go anywhere, Vel...and I dunno about you, but I don't want our one shot of getting him back choking up because of something stupid."

She raised a leg, crossing it over her other one, 'Lay it straight, little man, what's got you down in the dumps?"

Itadori squinted, "I ain't sad, I'm-"

He awkwardly rubbed his arm, feeling his face heating up, "I'm nervous, alright?"

"...girl trouble?"

"Huh? How'd you-"

She raised a hand, "Do you have any idea how many dudes pull that crap with me on the daily? 'Y-y-you look nice today,' like bitch, I always look good. Second of all, if you can't match the style and the vibe, don't waste my time."

It was only then that Coco realized that everyone was staring at her.

The berret-wearer awkwardly cleared her throat, "My bad, I uh...got a little sidetracked..."

Yuji blankly stared back, "...Can I hook you up with Todo?"

"Who?"

"My brother."

"...Is he hot?"

Velvet kicked her bed frame so hard it almost cracked, "Coco!"

The minigun user waved her hands. "What? It's a real question!"

"Eugh! You're always such a nit about these things!"

"A what?"

Yuji tilted his head, "Why does she get more British the angrier she gets?"

Velvet pulled her ears back, her brown eyes staring up at the ceiling as she roared, "I don' know wha a Bri'ish is!"

...

...

Coco went back to Yuji, "So...scale of one to ten?"

"Do you like scars?"

She leaned forward inquisitively, "...Where is said scar?"

Why did her IQ increase fifty-fold for things like this?

"Big one on his face, makes him look badass."

"Danger-danger...I like-"

Yuji needed to seal the deal for his besto-friendo. Otherwise, he'd be stuck following idol girls into his forties!

"He's...Uh...got a cool look?"

"Look, you say? Gimme the colors-"

"Uhhhhh...black...white...and purple, I guess? But he's always ripping his shirt off and asking people what their type is. That's how we got to be brothers, actually, 'cause we got the same tastes and stuff-"

"What is-"

"Tall girls-"

"Oh, that's not so-"

"With big asses."

...

...

It was Yuji's turn to realize everyone was staring at him, but the vessel had no concept of shame.

"I'm not apologizing."

Yutsuhashi mumbled something about TMI, but Coco only laughed, "Is he gonna say that to my face, too?"

"Absolutely-"

"Oh, so-"

"One hundred percent."

"But what if-"

"There's no ifs. Todo is gonna do it."

...

...

Yuji leaned back, ready to seal the deal, but-

He was Yuji-

"Ya know what's funny? He's kinda crazy, like...I met the guy this year, and he imagined an entire childhood with me...I wonder if he's got issues-"

Velvet visibly cringed

But Coco

Coco seemed interested, if anything, and gave a tiny smirk, "Give him my number."

Apparently fashionistas like crazy, who'd of thought that?...Almost as if you'd have to be insane to spend three grand on a pair of Gucci flip-flops-

With that out of the way, CFVY's leader stretched her arms to the ceiling, dragging her ever-present handbag with her, "Kay, so who's your girl? Is it that partner of yours?"

"Huh? Pyrrha?"

"Well, duh. You just said your type out loud, and she, like...fits the bill."

"Oh...I dunno if she likes me that way. Pyr never said anything about it-"

"Okay...so, who?"

"Weiss."

*PTOOOOOO

The bunny-girl spit out her miraculously appearing tea, falling into a coughing fit, "Y-ACH-ACh-Yo-BLE-"

*CRACK

Yatsuhashi tried to gently pat her on the back, but almost knocked the wind out of her with a touch, leaving the poor girl's eyes bulging out of her head, "A...A...A Schnee?"

She took a deep breath, "You're going on a date...with a bloody Schnee? YOU!?"

Yuji tilted his head, "Yeah? What about it?"

"Wha-...look at yourself! You're a Faunus, too! Don't you know what her family does to us!?...and she...and she agreed!?"

Itadori scratched his cheek, "Well, it was kind of her idea-"

Coco nudged him, "You actually pulled a Schnee? How the fu-...are you being for real, or are you messing with me?"

"For real-real."

"For real-real?"

"For real-real-real."

"Dang...that's just...you've got game, little man."

"Why're you guys actin' so weird about it? Weiss is really sweet, I just...don't know how to make a girl like that happy, ya get what I mean?"

Velvet crossed her arms, "Owning slaves would make you a miserable twat, wouldn't it?"

Yuji shook his head, "She's not like that. Weiss is"

"Oh, I'm sure she's sunshine and rainbows after you saved her skin."

The vessel paused, "What is that supposed to mean?"

The rabbit girl crossed her arms over her chest, "This shite is exactly what her kind do. They think we're all useless vermin until one of us jumps through a hoop, and suddenly you're their favorite li'le talking point."

She looked off to the side, closing her eyes, "Check the news lately? Atlas can't get enough of you."

Yuji made a face, "I don't really look at that stuff-"

He hummed, digging through his pocket for his scroll, "Maybe I should-"

Coco huffed, sticking out a hand, "Don't-"

"Huh?"

The leader tapped a heel on the floor, "You're just gonna piss yourself off if you see the bile they're slingin'...and Vel? Cut the crap. I get you have your issues with the Schnees, but it's not like that girl's running things."

The Faunus huffed, "Yeah, let's see how your human friends would take it if you snogged it on with a White Fang-"

Coco's shades fell, "...Snogged?"

"You know!"

"Vel, I've...literally never heard that word in my life."

The brown-haired girl puffed her cheeks, "SNOG! Ya know! Kissin' 'em all up and down like a right little slag! Bet your parents wouldn't approve a' that one, would they?"

The minigun user scoffed, leaning back against the wall, "Don't know, don't care...and I'll get my snog on with whoever I please. Got a problem with humans and Faunus or something?"

"No! Not if it's for the right reasons, it's just-"

Velvet's ears drooped, "Most humans that...like...Faunus don't actually like us. We're just...what gets them going."

...

...

A few seconds passed before the rabbit girl dragged a hand on her face, looking across the room at the sorcerer, "I'm sorry, Yuj. I don't wanna pry. I just don't want that girl hurting you is all...it's-"

She rubbed a hand on her arm, "It's easy to think a human really cares, and then they choose their own over you...every time."

Yatsuhashi dropped a hand on her head, looking down at her from above without saying a word, but Velvet seemed to get the gist of it, "I wasn't talking about you lot...you...you're my family-"

Coco clicked her tongue, giving a teasing smile, "So does that make me sister number forty-two or three? You know how you rabbits are~"

The Faunus hurled a pillow at their leader, who blocked it with a lazy kick, "Oh! You git! I'll have you know I've got...is twelve siblings a lot to you?"

Coco shrugged, "I got none."

Yatsuhashi raised four fingers, clenching a fist in pride against his heart.

Coco pointed a finger, "See? Like Faunus like...rabbit?...man, that sounded way more funny in my head-"

Velvet shook her head, sending her giant ears flopping around, "That don't nothing about no one! My family's jus' big is all! Yuji, how many you got in your lot?"

Itadori tapped his chin, "I got nine half brothers and more adopted ones. Why?"

The rabbit girl's eyes widened in horror, seeing Coco's smug look get worse, "See? Faunus Fuc-"

*CRASH

Velvet interrupted her in the most subtle way possible by tackling her leader at full force, "DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT!"

...

...

It took more than a few minutes to stop Velvet from thrashing around-

Rabbits are seriously hard to catch when they get spooked by something...or if you're Coco, you somehow break the laws of nature to turn a prey animal into a predator-

But that's neither here nor there.

After things had settled down, Coco patted the dust off her outfit for more than a few moments but eventually settled down, "Okay, I'm all done with teasing Vel... for now-"

The rabbit only muttered some incomprehensible gibberish but kept it to herself, either intentionally or through the sheer power of her accent.

The beret-wearer plucked her shades off, putting them on the bedframe beside her, staring the vessel right in the eyes, "So...you can help him, right?"

Yuji closed his eyes for a second, leaning into his hands, "I can-"

"There's a 'but' here, isn't there?"

"...Yeah, there is."

The sorcerer slowly stood, tapping along his scroll as he pulled up an x-ray image of a brain he found online, turning it to show the group, "See, I've been workin' with Fox these past few weeks, but I could tell what was wrong the first day...I just didn't know how or...if I could work on it-"

Velvet took a breath, "This is about the hard choice you mentioned, isn't it?"

"It is...look, you guys know I'm not one of you. I don't got an aura or any of that stuff..but I do know how souls work, and Fox's got cut in a real specific spot."

Itadori focused on the screen, "I've been talkin' to Gramps about semblances and where they're stored in the brain, and here's the issue...Fox's got cut right in his pre-frontal cortex...not just his body, it's his soul that got cut, so while they got the bleedin' blocked up...it can't just be fixed, even if you did surgery on it."

He raised a finger, "Normally, I could just fix it with Reversed Curse Technique...think of your soul like a big clay mold, and I'd just be addin' in more filling...but Fox's mold got broken, and I don't know what it looked like before...and undoing that just isn't possible, so here's my idea."

Itadori tossed his scroll aside, letting it land on a sofa with a thud, "I'm gonna make what's called a binding vow, where I give something up in exchange for what we want...but it won't be cheap."

Coco sighed, "Alright? What? Money? Blood? What kinda price are we talking about?"

"It's gotta be a lot more expensive-"

"Then just say it."

"...His semblance and his aura. I'll be taking those away permanently."

...

...

Velvet leaned forward, "You what?...No, y-you can't just...it's not even...He'd never be a Huntsman again!"

Yuji nodded, a grimace on his face, "I know, and I'm sorry, but...this is the best I can do. I...there's no other way I can do this. I'm not good enough to just fix something like this without paying a price for it."

Coco lightly bonked her head against the wall, "...Fuck, alright...so, let's say you do it. What's next? Is Fox just...back to normal?"

"I don't know."

"...The hell you mean you don't know?"

"I gotta remake part of his brain, dude...IF I can even pull it off, there's no guarantee he'll act the same way he did before."

"So you're telling me...No...This is just-"

The fashionista dragged a hand over her face, "This is the worst. Even if we get Fox back...we might not get OUR Fox back, this...ARGH!"

The wall thudded as she slammed a fist against it, taking slow breaths as her head hung low.

Itadori could only watch, "Look, if you guys need time to think it over, I can-"

"...Do it."

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

Coco looked up, her brown eyes narrowed in on the sorcerer, "We've been talking this over for weeks. I'm not gonna get cold feet over a maybe-"

Yuji swallowed a breath, "I get you want him back, trust me, I do, but if I do this...you guys gotta know the risks, okay?"

The sorcerer had been studying auras ever since the accident, looking over Fox's almost every night, keeping the wound on his soul from scabbing over.

Time was not your friend with injuries like this, and slim odds could soon become impossible if you didn't handle them properly, but aura was a...well-

They were strange things...I mean, using the most vulnerable part of you as armor wasn't just dumb to Itadori. It was suicidal, but there was a logic to them-

It wasn't their complete soul. It was more like flexing a muscle to make it stretch out, hardening the outside, and if it got hurt, you let it rest and heal-

Itadori could only imagine the kind of carnage Mahito could've brought onto these people if he were still alive.

He slowly raised his fingers one by one, "To do this, I basically gotta shove his soul back into him, all of it...and if any of you, or anyone else, tries to reactivate it, he'll lose what he gained-"

Velvet squinted, "So...he'll just drop again. Is that what you're saying?"

"In a nutshell, yeah. A binding vow is sorta like a contract, meanin' we gotta keep our end of the deal...but the semblance thing? That's just what's gonna happen regardless."

It was a weird coincidence, but semblances were stored in the pre-frontal cortex, just like a technique was for sorcerers.

The vessel looked down toward the floor, "I'm basically remaking that chunk of his brain from scratch, so whatever gene gave him that power won't be there anymore. If he wakes up, Fox'll be-"

Coco blew air from her lips, "A civilian...right?"

He bowed his head in shame, "I'm-"

"Eugh, enough with the sorries already. You're such a self-hating little twerp, you know that?"

"Eh?"

The leader crossed her arms, "You think our team's gonna come crashing down over a hiccup like this? I could care less if Fox has to play radio operator instead of talking in my head the rest of our lives. I just want his dumbass back...so-"

Her lip quivered just a bit, but the movement soon stopped, "Go wake him up already."

Yuji didn't respond, looking around the room, only getting a few nods from Velvet and Yatsuhashi, and with their approval, the sorcerer stood-

*SMACK

And clapped his hands together, "Let's do it."

...

The next few hours were a maelstrom of anxiety, with the remnants of CFVY doing the best they could to make the time go by to no avail.

Yatsuhashi meditated in the corner-

Coco stoically stood watch, her shades blocking her eyes from sight as her face remained static like a hawk...watching over a Fox-

Ozpin had arrived...for some reason...to oversee the operation-

Velvet paced back and forth, continuously asking Doctor Oz if there was anything they could do, and the man would put a hand on her shoulder and say-

'Fox is in very capable hands, I assure you.'

As if he didn't see Yuji eating a hotdog roughly twenty minutes ago...but you see, this was part of his process, for he was the Good Doctor, and this hospital...this-

Well, technically, it was a school infirmary, and Alistair would have likely been better off in an actual hospital, but that was neither here nor there...paperwork and such-

But this was Yuji's domain...his...House (trademark), if you will, the location where he studied the Grey's Anatomy, where he was The Resident and wearing Scrubs.

...

...

The doors clicked open as the sorcerer marched in, stopping before the disheveled group, his brown eyes watching the moonlight dramatically trickle in through the open window, the night air fluttering the curtains over the still catatonic teen.

Ozpin's features hardened, pen and notebook in hand as he prepared to record this dangerous operation for his logs, "Are you ready, Yuji?"

Itadori's tan face became chiseled as well, putting a hand over his heart, "This isn't about being ready, Gramps...it's about-"

A tear trickled down his face, "Saving lives."

The vessel looked over the assembled team, and one by one, they nodded his way, allowing the unlicensed Doctor to approach, wearing a surgical outfit way too large for him.

The medical unprofessional stared down at Fox and slowly removed his latex glove with a snap, placing it over the older boy's face, and with a silent huff, began to work.

The observers watched in stunned silence for moments...and moments turned to more moments, and those turned into seconds-

Thirty seconds had passed.

Coco could only watch, feeling so helpless, her impatience getting the worst of her, "How long will it take?"

The Headmaster sighed, dropping a hand over her shoulder, "As long as it needs to take, young lad-"

"I'm done."

...

...

The immortal tilted his head, "...What?"

Everyone stood there in disbelief...not at the sorcerer's skills but how...anticlimactic that felt.

Was this bad writing, or was this the effect of a new binding vow merchant being born?

It was probably both.

Itadori was already putting his glove back on, "I made the vow. We just gotta see if it-"

"mmmmmmmmm-"

The unmoving teen suddenly moved, groaning and shifting around in bed beneath the covers.

...

...

He just kept making that noise.

Yuji looked side to side, embarrassed, "Yeah...he's not supposed to...eh, you know what? Hang on a sec-"

With that, the vessel ungracefully slapped a hand on the older boy's forehead, and he went quiet, "There we go."

...

...

With a groan, the blankets fell one by one, and the blind teen rose, tilting his head to the side-

It was a moment of utter silence

One they had waited for what like ages to see happen-

Here it was-

Fox was back-

And no one knew what to say.

Yuji didn't want to take this moment from the team, but Velvet was too busy tearing up, and Yatsuhashi was too busy trying to look like he wasn't crying...but Coco...Coco was-

*Click

The fashionista tapped a button on her scroll, and the sounds of an audience clapping on some cheesy sitcom reverberated out as she shouted, "WELCOME BACK, LAZYASS!"

Fox gasped, his blind eyes shooting open, but soon squinted beneath the harsh fluorescent lights, looking in their direction...not saying a word.

The Huntress awkwardly laughed, "What? Got nothing to say? It's been-"

Her entire figure trembled, "Twenty-three days...and you got nothin' to say?...Not-Not even a 'sorry for making you cry?'..."

...

...

Coco flushed, looking to the side, "'Cause I totally didn't...you know what? I'm kicking your ass later for lying about me doing that...when you're better...alright?"

...

...

"Fox?"

...

...

The dark-skinned teen opened his mouth and shut it soon after, his eyes blankly staring at the leader before-

"...Man-"

He leaned forward, "You are way uglier than I thought."

Coco's flush faded and was replaced by her purse being hurled at Mach 2-

*CRASH

The hospital wall exploded into bits, but what shocked everyone, even Fox himself-

It wasn't the fact that he had dodged it, having rolled onto the floor a mere second ago-

...

...

His eyes were following it.

Yatsuhashi broke his silence, "...are you...seeing?"

The copper-themed teen raised a hand, looking it over, "Is that what this is? Is that-"

He turned, looking over the room, "Man, that shit's bright! Is...is that what you guys look like?...Is this what looking is like!?"

Velvet took a hesitant step forward, "I...I don't...Yuji, what the hell is happening!?"

Itadori hummed, walking toward the Alistair without any sense of caution, ignoring the teen as he leaned back, giving off an emotion that wasn't discomfort but something worse-

He held his hands between them, "Woah, little dude. Little close for-"

Yuji raised his fingers-

*Snap

Fox blinked.

The vessel hummed, "Huh...I think I fudged it."

Ozpin approached, "By fudge, do you mean...performing a miracle?"

"Kind of."

Coco watched her purse fall from the wall and smash the bed into pieces, "I'm all for Fox cutting the blind jokes. But how does fudging something cure the freaking blind?"

Yuji scratched his head, "Ehhhh...that one's on me. I mighta been a little vague on the...wait...Fox, how'd you go blind?"

The teen took a break from staring at his skin, "Born with it. Something about my nerves not being connected, I dunno, why's it matter?"

"Ohhhh, that would do it."

Ozpin sighed, silently wishing someone a bit more refined could explain this, "And this matters because?"

Itadori shrugged, nearly knocking his giant outfit off, "Well, I kinda made a deal to fix his brain, and I guess his sight counts as brain-"

The vessel tilted his head, "Neat."

The Director took a moment to process...whatever it was Yuji had just said and decided to raise a finger to elaborate, "I believe what my grandson is trying to say is that due to the vagueness of his pact, not only did he manage to fix Mr. Alistair's damaged section of brain matter-"

Fox gawked, "Wait, I got brainblasted?"

Coco stared at him, "How much do you remember?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but a single glance at Itadori made him shudder, "...I'll-"

He crossed his arms, "I'll tell you later...but first can we-"

There was a pitter-patter of feet before Velvet tackled and hugged him onto the broken bed, babbling nonsense.

Ozpin cleared his throat, regaining most of the group's attention, "As I was saying, I believe Yuji's vagueness extended to the entire brain, thus fixing all damage across the organ...in a way, restoring your teammate's sight...though, at quite the price, I'm sure."

Fox pushed the rabbit girl away for a second, "Pri-AHHHHH!-"

*BOOM

The bedframe exploded at Yatsuhashi dove onto the pile, muttering something about telling him later.

Yuji watched the sight, a small but pained smile crossing his features, knowing that CFVY's days as a proper team were probably over, but-

He couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, and it pulled on his heartstrings-

Knowing that they were experiencing something he could never have-

...

...

That gentle smile on her face-

Even as the veins began to pulsate on her mutating skin-

Kugisaki Nobara, the girl who had been like a sister to the sorcerer, who looked at him with so much fondness it felt like a lifetime of feelings expressed in a single moment as she said-

'It wasn't so bad.'

...

...

God damnit

The vessel felt his eyes burn and quickly turned to leave, ignoring Coco as she tried to stop him, making his way out of the building and into the night.

...

In RWBY's Dorm

A pale hand raised a steaming mug of imported tea, and with a graceful sip, a content sigh echoed throughout the empty room.

A certain Schnee was all alone. Her teammates had gone out for a 'girls' night,' and whatever that entailed, Weiss had little interest, choosing to study her suspension away to not lose track of their coursework, but the heiress was making very little progress.

Weiss half-heartedly stared at a textbook, stuck in that ethereal mental state where you're looking at something, but your brain might as well be mashed potatoes-

Speaking of potatoes-

Weiss made Weiss noises.

This was his fault somehow. She just knew it.

Before coming to Beacon, the sword-user prided herself on her work, always staying on task regardless of circumstance.

She had a repetition, a nice little system to hone her skills and her mind...but ever since she met that dolt...her dolt, apparentl-

The Schnee flustered, shaking the thought aside, reminding herself that it was just a date-

...just a date, with him...and her...perhaps they'd hold hands?

She smiled at how scandalous it sounded but quickly fell face-first into her book, groaning her complicated emotions out at the pages-

'Stupid potato...stupid not-so Faunus...stupid Yuji. Why did she even like him?

Itadori had few prospects to speak of-

His grades were abysmal-

He never tried at anything-

He always found some new way of infuriating her with his nonsense, lowering her brain cell count by proximity-

But-

...He was really sweet-

And always there for her, not even for her money-

Weiss wasn't sure if Yuji really understood how wealthy her family was, but he was so genuine about everything that she could just tell those things didn't matter to him-

...and she may-

She may-

Weiss could not stress the word 'may' enough, but-

She may think he's cute-

In a golden retriever kind of way.

Though she'd never say it out loud-

The Schnee was a tiny bit excited about their date, and it was keeping her from focusing.

Even when he's not here, Itadori found a way to annoy her-

Weiss bit her cheek, wondering if she could justify brewing another pot of that sweet tea of her-

*Tap-tap-tap-tap

Her blue eyes narrowed, glancing toward the door as someone thudded against it-

Knocking wouldn't fit how sloppy it sounded, but who could it-

"Hey! Mini Ice Queen! Open the door! I got a surprise for you!"

Was that Ruby's God-forsaken uncle? What could he-

Another voice followed suit, "Noooo-noooo, don' call 'er dat...is my nickname-"

Was that...Winter?

With-

With-

Weiss' head started spinning-

Qrow chuckled, "And here I was thinkin' you hated that little name-"

"I dooooooo, but i's my name...people gonna get confused if we get called da same thing-"

The former bandit hummed, "Who cares? You all look alike anyway-"

"Say dat to mah face! I don' look anything like my dad...dy."

"Daddy issues?...Yeah, not touching that one with a twenty-foot pole-"

Qrow pounded on the door, "Hurry and let your sister in before she starts spilling company secrets!"

Weiss huffed, hopping to the floor as she reached higher than she liked to admit, unlatching the lock and swinging the door op-

"Sister!"

"WAH!"

The Schnee went tumbling to the floor as another Schnee came crashing down on top of her, and to her shock, Winter was-

"I loooove you so-so much...you know that?"

Giving her what could only be called a death-hug, making her blue eyes widen, "What!? Well...well I-"

The heiress clammed up, staring up at Qrow, who just laughed from the doorway, "What did you do to my sister, you hooligan!?"

The veteran pointed a hand to himself in surprise, "Me? It was her idea to be drinkin' buddies! It's her fault for tryna keep up!"

Weiss pulled back, staring at her sister's flushed face as she nestled into her shoulder, "Winter drinks? Oh, for the love of-"

She glared at the Huntsman, "How much has she had-"

Qrow shrugged, "Beer."

"I didn't ask what. I want to know how much she-"

"Yeah, and I said beer, as in your sister had one beer and got shitfaced-"

Winter started huffing, mumbling how much she loved her baby sister while crying into her shoulder-

"...You can't be serious-"

Qrow scoffed, "You're telling me. I dunno if it's my luck or what, but they were serving me water shots the whole time. Meanwhile, Ice Queen gets a free blackout without paying a fuckin' dime!"

The Branwen shrugged, turning to walk off, "She's your problem now. I gotta go find a hole for the night-"

Weiss decided not to ask what he meant by 'hole' and was likely better off because of it.

"Bra...Branwennnnn-"

Qrow stopped in his tracks as Winter poked her head out into the hallway, "Whaddya want, drunky?"

"When I wassss growin' up-"

She pointed a finger at him, "You were mah hero...you know..."

*Hick

"That?"

...

...

"Heh."

The veteran casually smiled, knowing he could hold it over her head forever, but still felt-

Weirdly happy about that, and so, he waved her off, "Well, I do now. Take it easy, Winter."

Weiss watched the man's shadow disappear and now left with her completely annihilated older sister. The heiress couldn't help but sigh, "You should know better than this. Mother already drinks enough for the-"

Winter huffed, crawling over the floor before slumping onto her sibling's lap, "For the three of us...I know-I know...I just-"

The older sister flipped over, staring up at the ceiling, "...I had a bad day at work today."

...

...

Weiss' expression dropped, "Do you...want to talk about it?"

"...No."

...

...

Winter groggily raised a hand, poking her in the face, "I just wanted to tell you how much I lovvvve you...little sister."

The younger girl rolled her eyes, running a hand through Winter's white hair, "I love you too, sister."

"I love you, AAANNND I love Whitely...we don't talk enough about him...why don' we talk 'bout him?"

"Do you want to talk about him?"

"...Everytime we do, I thin' he's turnin' into daddy, and I get mad-"

...

...

"We don't have to-"

"...I'm a bad sister...aren't I?"

Weiss' eyes widened, "You..no! Why would you even say that?"

Winter was quiet for a few seconds, "I used to try so hard to be there for you two, but...ever since I left, I hardly call-"

"Don't say things like that. We both know you're busy...especially as Ironwood's right, of course you wouldn't-"

"...No."

"Hm?"

Winter rolled onto her side, "I could've called more...but I didn't b-because I didn't wan' to hear how bad things were at home without me."

The specialist shuddered, pulling her arms toward her chest, "I'm meant to be your role model, but...I can' do anything right-"

Weiss shook her head, "You're wrong! You're so much stronger than me, that I-"

"It isn't about strength, Weiss...it just isn't-"

Winter's face smooshed against her sister's lap, "I keep reading books on how to be a good sister, but no matta how much I study, I can't give advice on things I don't understand...I can't even land a boyfriend...how am I suppos'd ta give you tips when I dunno either-"

The older Schnee sighed, "I try...I really try...I never shoulda had that kid...-"

Weiss nearly choked on her tongue, "YOU HAD A WHAT!?"

"I know...she's such a deal breaker, but...Penny is sooo cuuuuute...one day, da General came to me and said...'Winterrr, we need a front for our advanced robotics prototyyyype...so she lives wit me and I say I adopted her...but-"

Winter turned, looking her sister in the eyes with a sad expression, "Guys don' like girls with kids...I'm twenty-six and can't land one...ONE!...Thank God you're worse than me with this stuff...I'd really cry if you-"

Weiss made a face, but thankfully, Winter was too plastered to notice it, and instead, started rambling, "Maybe I'm goin' about this the wrong way...maybe...if I want a good one, I gots ta make a good one."

She lazily raised a hand, grasping at something that wasn't there, "Maybe He'd be good..."

Weiss just patted the older girl's head, "Is there someone I should know about?"

"Noooo...I just like black hair...and grimy guys aren't so bad if you put 'em in a nice suit...yeah, I could make that work-"

The younger sibling paled, "You...you aren't talking about Branwen, are you?"

"..."

"Winter?"

"BLEH!"

"OH, FOR GOD'S SAKE! MY DRESS!"

...

The next day on campus

A certain vessel lazily scribbled in a notebook, tapping his pencil along the pages from his perch along the outside of a cafe as people passed by on all sides, going about their day-

He bit the eraser, holding it between his teeth, "Okay, let's go over this one more time-"

"Rodger-"

"My name's Yuji, not Rodger-"

Ruby leaned back in her chair, "Do you not watch like...ANY war movies?"

"Probably, but after you marathon fifteen in a row, they all sorta blend together."

"You know, there's a thing called sleep-"

"Oh, please! I've seen you sneak out of your room at three in the morning every night for weeks-"

The scythe-user puffed her cheeks, "It's the only time I can use the workshop without Port yelling at me!"

"Whose fault is it that you got banned from being there without him?"

"We all make mistakes in the heat of passion."

Ruby's mistake involved trying to make a bazooka pistol, using Yuji's idea of 'rocket jumping' by combining a rocket launcher and a magnum-

The barrel was way too small, and Port got bodyslammed into the wall from the recoil as it exploded in his hands, typical Ruby things.

The Huntress hummed, kicking her feet under the table, "Are you like...writing what we need down?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Nunya-"

She hmphed, crossing her arms and looking away, "Not falling for it."

"Congrats. You aren't a total dummy."

"Don't make me steal it-"

Her hand fluttered toward Crescent Rose, "I'll cut you!"

"Yeah-yeah...just gimme a sec to finish this line."

The hooded girl looked down as the sorcerer turned the notebook around, her silver eyes taking in more than a few details at a glance, "These-"

They were a few short pages of scribbles; well, it was more accurate to say they were incredibly detailed drawings of people's faces, with names beneath to match each one.

The top one was a pale teen with spiked black hair, his cold-narrow eyes seemingly staring out of the pages and right at her-

'Megumi Fushiguro.'

Her hands shot out like lightning, plucking the sheets of paper up to hold them overhead, "What the heck!? These are so good! I didn't even know you could draw!"

Itadori awkwardly chuckled, "It's nothin' fancy. I mean, with my blood powers, it's kinda easy to control muscle movements and stuff, ya know?"

"Why'd you start?"

"...it's kinda embarrassing."

"No way! These are sweet!"

"It's-"

Yuji looked down at his hands, "Gramps told me drawing might...help me with my issues. So, I'm just drawin' whoever comes to mind."

Her eyes widened a bit, "Oh...is it...helping and stuff?"

He shrugged, "I dunno...maybe. I just think it's better than sitting alone with my thoughts."

Ruby watched his expression drop and, in the blink of an eye, shoved the subject in another direction, "Can you draw me?"

"I see you every day."

"So? I wanna get drawn, too! You can do my team portrait!"

"That isn't a thing, goober."

"Well, I'm making it a thing."

The vessel rolled his eyes, "Mhm."

"I will!...if you draw it."

He shrugged, "I'll think about it...I don't think it'd be what you're lookin' for. I just try and draw people like they are, so I don't add nothin' fancy."

Ruby flipped through the pages, coming to an abrupt stop, staring down at one in particular, one of a man with spiked white hair and a strange headband over his face, lifting the shroud up on one side with a finger, revealing a-

"Ouch!"

Yuji tilted his head, "You good?"

Ruby sighed, pinching between her brows, "Y-yeahhh...stupid headaches-"

"Want me to try and fix it?"

"No...it's fine. I'm not gonna get tough if I keep letting you carry me like a Smurf."

Yuji stared at her, "There's nothin' wrong with getting help-"

"I know, but...I wanna be a hero, too! I can't do that if you've got me on your back forever."

He bit his cheek at the label but forced a smile. "Ohhh, but you want my drawings? Is that it?"

The scythe-user leaned back again, "Mhm, I'm a user, and don't you forget it...yep, good ol' Ruby, she sneaks in your kitchen and eats all the chocolates before anyone knows what hit 'e-"

*thud

A figure walked by, bumping the Huntress with her hip as she strolled by, nearly knocking Ruby out of her chair, "Hey! Watch it!"

The person turned, glancing over her shoulder at the pair, their lime green eyes scanning them, a tiny smile on her pale face as the breeze swept through her long black hair, and with a few hand signs, mouthed a 'sorry,' and was on her way until-

Yuji lazily yawned, crossing his arms over his chest, "Hey, Neo."

Ruby's eyes widened, "Wait...that ice cream girl? Wasn't she like...Neapolitan colored?"

The thief rolled her eyes, snapping a finger as a sign appeared over Ruby's head, saying, 'genius' in bright lights.

Itadori seemed totally indifferent to it, giving a nod, "She's wearin' a disguise-"

He glanced toward the girl, "You wanted to go to school or somethin'?"

Neo shook her head, mouthing the word 'boring' before mimicking a noose with her hands, sticking her tongue out like she was dead.

The vessel scoffed, "Yeah, I feel that one. So, you wanna sit or-"

The ice-cream-themed teen raised her hands in indifference, pulling up a chair to join the pair, making a few hand signs-

Itadori raised a brow, "How'd I know it was you?"

She nodded.

Yuji yawned, "Soul stuff."

The thief tapped her chin in thought, making more signs-

"I'll tell ya if you tell me why you're here."

She snapped a finger, making a sign in front of him, 'Why no trust? :("

"'Cause you're a nutcase, that's why."

She only smiled at that, snapping a finger, 'Proof?'

"Would you stab me if you had a chance?"

She waved a hand, '50/50'

"See?... But can you be real with me for a sec? Is this about that old dude's beef with Ruby?"

The Huntress sighed, "It's not beef! I have no enemies!"

Neo moved her hands around, confusing the girl-

Yuji cleared his throat, "She said he really hates you."

"What!? Why!? I only stopped him once, and that was 'cause he tried to rob me!"

Neo pointed at a glowing sign with a chibi drawing of Torchwick beneath it, 'Petty...has nothing better to do.'

Yuji sighed, "That's still sad to me."

Neo waved her hands-

Itadori scratched his cheek, "He's not so bad? I dunno about that one. Didn't he send ya here to spy or something?"

Neo shook her head, mouthing the words, 'They're making us.'

"Who?"

The disguised girl shook her head, making a zipping motion over her mouth-

"You can't say?...Why not?"

She made a few curt gestures, ending with a finger gun pointed at her head, followed by a silent, 'bang.'

"They'll kill ya if you do?"

Ruby's face dropped, "Wait, what!?"

The disguised girl gave a short nod, briefly studying the sorcerer, looking him up and down before making a series of gestures-

'Don't say this out loud. I'll only tell you if you agree to kill them first.'

"That's a tall order when I don't know who I'm dealin' with...are they threatening you guys into this or-?"

Neo looked around as if keeping her eyes peeled for someone in the crowd before looking back-

'She'll kill us if she finds out I told you anything.'

Itadori hummed, "You never struck me as the type that's afraid of that sorta thing."

'I'm not. I just don't want anything bad to happen to him. Roman is all I have and he is in way over his head.'

She bit her cheek, mouthing the words-

'We can't just walk out of this...I'll tell you more if you agree to deal with her.'

He stared at her, "You gotta give me more to work on than that...can I at least get a name?"

Neo sighed, not making a sound, leaning across the table as the green pigment around her eyes briefly shifted back to their normal brown and green, her mouth opening oh-so-slightly-

'Cinder.'

The disguised teen waved her hands, 'She is fucking nuts..strolled into our hideout a few months back and...and-"

Neo moved her hands to mimic an explosion, her breath acting like a raging fire-

'She incinerated our entire crew and told us we'd be next if we didn't do what she said...Roman doesn't think she's serious, but I just know the second we aren't useful to her-

...

...

Yuji blankly stared at her, "You're next."

Neo nodded.

Yuji leaned back in his chair, "Do you know where she is?"

The ice-cream-themed girl shook her head, mouthing that She comes and goes at random-

"...Why should I help you?"

The disguised teen made a few signs-

'You'll be ridding yourself of a problem if you do. Cinder's really interested in you.'

"Interested? In me?"

'Why do you think I'm here? 'Cause you didn't text me? BTW, you should text me. I have funny memes I wanna show you.'

The vessel stared down at the table for a second, "...Alright...fine-"

'You'll text me?"

"I dunno, maybe...but what exactly do I gotta do to help you guys?"

'If we can't just kill her, you gotta help us cover our tracks so we can lay low until this all blows over...I'll text you the details-..."

"So you should text me."

Yuji raised his hands in surrender, "I got it, I got it...Alright, we'll talk about this later. I have a trip I gotta go on-"

'You're going on vacation instead of helping me not die?'

"I mean, is she tryna kill you right now? 'Cause I spent a lotta time plannin' this, and I don't wanna sound selfish, but...I wanna go."

The disguised girl tilted her head, but her confusion soon turned into excitement as she bounced on her heels, giving a tiny clap of approval-

'That's awesome.'

With that, Neo snapped a finger, and a tiny sign reading 'bye-bye,' blipped into existence between the group, and with that, the mute girl got up and wandered off into campus.

Ruby watched her go, raising a brow, "What the heck were you guys talking about?"

Yuji shrugged, "I'll tell you when you're older."

"Oh, my f...fudge. I hate you so much."

"Mhmmmm."

...

The next day, over the skies of Vale.

The bullhead engines silently purred as the aircraft shot across the horizon, bringing its occupants to destinations unknown but also entirely known because they booked the flight-

Some of them just thought it sounded cooler this way.

Yang stretched her arms to the ceiling, raising her boots, letting them slam against the metal seat in front of her, letting out a content sigh, "Ahhh~ Now, THIS is living. Right, kitty-cat?"

She reached out a hand to ruffle Blake's hair, only for her to slap it away with feline precision, digging her face into a can of something fishy, "Not now...eating."

The more the quiet girl opened up, the more everyone came to the same realization-

Blake was weird.

One second, she's shoveling fish down her gullet, and the next, she's licking her hands clean-

More than a few people had texted Velvet to ask if that was normal, only to get many question marks and 'wots,' in response.

The bombshell closed her eyes in thought, trying to drift off into dreamland, but a nagging thought kept her awake, "How come we aren't on the no-fly list?"

Pyrrha glanced up from her book on magnets, "Well...they can't just ban us from using bullheads...how else would we deploy on missions?"

"...Good point-good point...but like, isn't there a civilian fly list or something?"

Weiss spared her a glance, "I told you before, I...and for legal reasons, I will say, 'may' have paid to have those...unfortunate accidents scrubbed from our records."

Ren dodged Nora's tackle hug as she collided with the hull, giving off an audible thud, "Isn't it pretty bad that you can just do that?"

The heiress pointed her nose to the ceiling, "Don't blame me. A proper Schnee always knows a bargain when she sees one. I simply took advantage of a disadvantageous labor market."

"...What?"

Nora pulled her face from the wall, "That's rich girl talk for bribing guys who don't get paid enough."

The Schnee scoffed, but before she could rebuttals, a text bubble flickered overhead-

'It iz so tempting 2 rob u blind...u have no idea.'

Weiss just stared at the ice-cream-themed girl hanging from the ceiling by her legs, "Who invited you?"

Neo just smiled, pointing a few fingers at herself, but quickly made finger guns toward the only sorcerer in the room-

Yuji looked up from his man-iron comic, "Don't blame me. She snuck on."

The thief snapped a finger, letting off a spray of sparkles and confetti, with the word 'magic' appearing in the aircraft.

Ruby kept her eyes on Crescent Rose as she tinkered around its frame with a screwdriver, "You're the one who can see through her illusions, goober."

The vessel clammed up, not wanting to admit his trust in Neo was a solid 0 out of 100, so having her where he could see her was his best option.

"...No, I can't."

"Why do you lie?"

"... I don't lie."

"You lie all the time!"

"...No."

"Oh, right, and the store magically running out of cookies wasn't a myth big bakery paid you to spread like the propagandist you are."

Itadori blankly stared back, "I just don't want you getting diabetes before you're twenty, is all-"

"That is my decision to make! And If I have to lose a foot or two or three to keep living my life, then that's what I'll do!"

Ruby's math was not adding up.

The vessel raised his hands in defeat, "I give-I give! Look...I didn't say she couldn't come...translation issues, uhhhh...second language?"

"...none of you are buying this, are you?"

Their annoyed stares spoke volumes, so Yuji did what he did best and hung his head low.

...

...

That lasted all of about five minutes, and by that time, everyone had gone back to doing their own thing, lacking the attention span to watch the vessel do nothing all day.

Weiss' precious scroll time was interrupted by a shadow looming overhead as he happily waved a hand a few inches from her face, his goofy smile ever-present, "Yo!"

The Schnee tried not to smile back and mostly succeeded, "...Hi."

The vessel dropped into the seat beside her, cupping his hands together, "So...I was thinkin'-"

The heiress hummed as she stared at a dress on some lavish website, "Whatever could you be thinking about?"

"Ya know-"

"I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about-"

"Us-"

Her face shot into alarm like a deer in headlights, and like most things, Yuji didn't take the cue, "I wanted to get your take on what we're gonna do together...-"

He tilted his head, watching as she buried her face in her jacket, "Weiss?...You good?"

She mumbled something-

"I didn't catch that."

"...be more-..."

He leaned closer, "Hmmm?"

The Schnee grumbled, gently pushing his face back with a palm, lifting her head to reveal a bright flush on her pale features as her blue eyes stared up at him, "...Not so loud...please?"

His expression dropped, "Oh...oh crap, did I say somethin' wrong?...Sorry, I just-"

Itadori happily scratched his cheek with a finger, "I'm real excited, so I wanna do this right, ya know?

Weiss grumbled more, covering her face with her tiny hands, "It's not your fault...you're just...better than I am about these things."

She shakily raised a hand toward his but stopped halfway, "I'm excited too, but...It's hard for me."

It didn't take a genius to realize that Weiss was really shy-

It was pretty cute seeing that side of her since she stopped hitting him-

Itadori thought for a moment, then gave a firm nod of his head, "Got it. Well, maybe we can find a workaround if you don't wanna say it...like-"

He raised his hand toward hers, "Can I?"

She nodded, and his hand wrapped around hers, but the vessel soon sighed, earning a suspicious glance from the heiress, "...Is something wrong?"

He quietly chuckled. "No, this is... hehe...kinda nice. Your hands tickle 'cause they're cold."

The Schnee's face burned, trying to sink into her neck like a turtle retreating into its shell, "Then...what's wrong?"

"Well...it doesn't solve our issue. Maybe-"

He gently snapped a finger, "Oh, maybe you can text me what you wanna do instead? That way, I know what'll make you happy, and you don't gotta do somethin' you aren't comfortable with."

The sorcerer tried to pull his hand back, but Weiss had an iron grip, so he had to sit there while she tried to fish her scroll out of her right pocket with her left hand, and after a few awkward moments, his device dinged, so he had to do the exact same thing-

Weiss: I would like to have a normal day

Yuji: :D

Weiss: What is that?

Yuji: A smiley face :D

Weiss: Why don't you just smile in person? I'm right in front of you.

Yuji: More fun this way :D

Yuji: Plus, if I do both, you get double smiles-

Weiss: ...Dork

...

It didn't take long for the flight to land, and soon enough, the group had departed, meandering along the wooden walkways of a tiny little beach town.

The buildings were like tiny little tiki-huts with gimmicky decorations along the pathways winding through town, and seeing something like this was definitely an odd moment for the vessel-

Yuji was a city boy, so seeing other tourists walking around in bathing suits with colorful drinks was a weird experience-

Was this what Malaysia was like? No wonder Nanami wanted to go so bad, but maybe this was just what being a traveler was like-

You go somewhere weird and do stupid crap you couldn't do at home because of shame or society or something...like walking on the beach butt naked-

Yeah, good luck getting a job in Japan with that on your Twitter feed.

That's not what Yuta did in Africa, was it?... Nah, he's too nice to do something like that.

It took a special kind of person to wonder if Yuta drew the line at nudity when he literally got stabbed by the guy right through his chest.

What was he talking about again?

...

Sometime later

Itadori had ditched his bags in his room, figuring he'd check the place out later, but right now-

Was thinking time.

The sorcerer had a few precious minutes to circle the front of the building, running over his battle strategies in his head-

The sorcerer glanced down at his scroll as it bulged out of his pocket, having texted Coco for that advice she promised, and all he got out of it was a-

'She's rich, little dude. Lock that shit down. I don't fuckin' know, get pregnant if you have to."

Yes, she told HIM to get pregnant.

He informed her of this issue, and the fashionista just said it wasn't her problem, followed by a-

'It ain't magic. Clearly, your dumbass is doing something she likes, so just do more of that. And remember: No one likes a fake, and no one likes a kiss ass...well, she's a Schnee, so that last one's a maybe. Lemme know how it goes.

'PS: Buy me a car with her money. You owe me.'

What did he even owe her at this point?

Yuji sighed, shoving his scroll away, swearing that he really needed to find better people to ask for dating tips.

He crossed his arms, closing his eyes in thought, ready to meditate on this issue for hours on end and figure this out himse-

*Click

The door slid open, and out came a familiar icy voice, "Ready."

CRAP!

...

...

Fuck it, we ball.

The vessel turned around with a smile, "Hey, Wei-woah, you look different."

The Schnee definitely did, substituting her usual dress for a thin blue jacket laid over a white t-shirt covered in some Atlesian slogans, ending off with a pair of short black shorts, exposing her pale legs, ending off with a set of long-dark stockings and similarly colored heels-

She even had a black scarf around her neck.

The heiress brushed her hair aside, "Well, obviously, I won't be wearing my Huntress uniform when we're off duty."

He tilted his head to the side, giving her his usual closed eyed grin, "You look nice."

Weiss stiffened up, "Y...y-yes, well. I -w-wanted to make a good impression on this town is all. Yes, that's it! I am nothing more than a humble civilian today, so I must act the part, don't you see?"

She really had a hard time being honest with herself.

Yuji nodded, none the wiser, "Okie-doke, well, you aren't too warm, are ya?-"

He glanced up to the blazing sun poking from between the palm trees overhead, "I heard it's gonna be a blazer today."

Weiss shook her head, a light smile on her face as she poked his chest with a thin finger, "Big words coming from the one with two jackets."

Yuji looked down, remembering he was wearing one of the 'fits' Coco recommended to him...probably the one good piece of advice she had given him.

It wasn't anything fancy, just a black open-front jacket over a white hoodie, with some equally dark pants and his usual red sneakers-

Good old red, what would he do without it?

Probably have a matching outfit, but that was neither here or there.

Yuji gawked at his clothes, "Oh yeah, I am. I kinda spaced on that-"

Weiss shook her head, "I can't even be shocked at this point. You're the one who plays with fire."

Yuji held his head low, "Well, if that's the case...tell me something..."

Weiss quirked a brow, "Hm?"

He looked her right in the eyes, "Did I-"

Realization dawned on her, "Oh, don't you dare-"

"Melt your icy heart?"

He raised his hands for added effect, "Eh?...Eh?"

Weiss just rolled her eyes and flicked his forehead with a finger, "Terrible and unoriginal."

The vessel held a hand over his heart, "Hey, you wanted normal, so Ima give you the most normal date ever! No powers and no interruptions-"

Weiss scoffed, "Please, the second any of them find out we're gone, they'll ask questions and try to jump in."

He waved a finger, "Ah-ah, I thought-a that one."

Yuji puffed himself up in pride, "I...lied to them!"

The Schnee put a hand on her hip, her gaze narrowing, "Do I even want to know?"

"Uhhh...you might think your teammates are dumb...and probably mine-"

She awkwardly looked to the side, not wanting to admit she already thought that, "...I'm sure I'll manage."

"Oh, okay. I just told 'em I lost the key to the snack minibar, and Nora dragged 'em all off to go find it-"

The vessel cringed, "I hope she doesn't chuck Ruby in the water to go look for it...she kinda can't swim."

Weiss raised a brow, "What about that is dumb?"

"Oh, I left the key on the fridge."

"Pffft...alright, I see what you mean."

A moment passed, and soon, the sorcerer cleared his throat, "Right, then...well, if we're gonna get the most normal date in the world on the road, we better start movin'-

Ahem

He elegantly raised a hand to her, "Shall we?"

Weiss let off a tiny laugh, wrapping her fingers with his, "As long as you promise to never speak...how do you say it, 'fancy?' again."

"No promises."

And with that, they were off, and it didn't take long to find something to do, seeing how many flyers were around town for some local fair.

Weiss glanced down at the sheet of paper in her hand, "What exactly is...a fair?"

Yuji hummed back, "Mmmm, they're nothin' too crazy. It's usually about some holiday, so they celebrate with carnival games and stuff."

"Carnivals? Aren't those-"

Weiss looked left and right, leaning closer to whisper, "Full of...less than savory individuals?"

"Huh? What the heck kinda carnivals are you going to?"

"I'm just using the information available to me."

"Where'd ya hear it?"

She went quiet, and a cheeky grin grew on his face, "Weiiiiss-"

"...Quiet."

"Did you think TV was real?"

She totally did.

He could only wonder if it was some horror show or...no, that wasn't it-

Weiss was 100% the type to watch true crime; he could tell.

She dug her face into her scarf, "Not another word."

Yuji just laughed, "Yes, ma'am.. but don't worry, fairs are just for fun. They've got games, they've got food, and they even got animals if you're into that sorta thing."

"I wouldn't know. I've-"

The Schnee looked down, "Never been."

Itadori just smiled, rubbing her knuckle with his thumb, "Then we're gonna fix that right now!"

She playfully rolled her eyes, "Eugh, you're always so energetic...fine, but I expect you'll show me the finer parts of it...we can skip the riff-raff."

"Oh, I'll show you all the good games, not just the rigged ones they don't wantcha to win!"

Soon, Itadori sighed, "But I am kinda worried we won't get a normal day outa this. I mean, these things are pretty public, and you're you, and I'm me."

The Schnee slowly looked up to the blue sky, "You'd be surprised how little attention people pay when they don't have to."

"You're telling me."

She stared at him, remembering who she was talking to, "...Fair point."

Weiss cleared her throat to defuse the "I used to sneak out of the manor a few times a week as a girl, and none of the other children knew the difference when I came out to play."

Yuji's eyes widened, "Dead serious? You snuck out?"

"Of course I did. My father was so stifling I had no other choice. It was always something about my handwriting, my posture, my-"

"I thought you liked that stuff?"

"Well...Okay, maybe I do, but that's my decision to make, not his...but my point is...when you act a certain way, people treat you a certain way, so if we act like everybody else, no one will know the difference, and right now-"

She gently squeezed his hand, "We're-we're just two p...people. A boy and a girl on-on-on a-"

...

...

Her face burned, and she soon looked away, "You know."

The sorcerer bobbed his head back and forth, "And I'm real glad you asked me to do this."

...

...

"I-"

Weiss took a deep breath, "It's just good business sense, okay?"

"Business sense?"

She stopped in her tracks, grabbing his other hand as she stared down at her shoes, the gentle sunlight cresting over her face as it poked in through the tree leaves above, "I knew what I wanted, so I took the first chance to get it."

...

...

Wait a sec-

Was she-

Talking about-

Yuji felt his face heat up but soon laughed it off as he squeezed back, keeping his eyes on her, "I guess I gotta keep my part of the deal then, huh?"

The Schnee slowly looked up at him-

He happily looked back, "I swear, I can never predict what you're gonna say next, Weiss."

He snickered, "You're interesting like that."

Weiss didn't know how to respond to that, so she dragged him off toward the fair, but one thing was certain-

She was very happy.

...

...

Later

They were surrounded by stands and stalls of all makes shapes and colors, and despite the sounds of excitement and glee permeating the atmosphere-

Weiss was not happy-

These 'games,' they were...-

A carnie would shout, "Step right up! First person to shoot ten bottles off their stands in ten seconds gets any prize they want! Only five lien a try!"

Horribly rigged.

The Schnee watched a young girl pick up a colorful novelty gun, and while the first few landed without issue-

The fifth bottle didn't budge an inch-

So the girl shot it again and again, only knocking it down until the buzzer went off, and she left empty-handed.

"This is unacceptable."

Yuji looked up from his giant bucket of popcorn as he sat beside her on a bench, "Huh?... Wait a sec, where'd you get those sunglasses?"

The heiress flipped her magical Karen shades, the sunlight reflecting her innate desire to launch a formal complaint to the nearest manager, "It's so distasteful-"

He shrugged, tossing a handful of kernels in his mouth, "I warned ya. Carnies love cheatin'. It's how they make their money."

"The cheating isn't the issue."

She clicked her tongue, "It's so blatant, they'll get caught in an instant. Why, if you think about it, these games of chance are essentially gambling, which is illegal for minors under the age of eighteen. I could have them shutdown if I wanted-"

"I'm sensin' a 'but' here."

She crossed one leg over the other, steeling her resolve, "I am going to beat them at their own game. If they're going to abuse the system, then that means we're entitled to equitable compensation, correct? An omelet cannot be made without breaking a few eggs."

...

...

She flushed, glancing toward him, "Omelets are made with eggs, right?"

His cheeks were puffed like a chipmunk, so he gave her a chipper thumbs-up.

Weiss nodded, and as she stood, her scarf billowed like a cape, and with a single glance, she mumbled, "I'm sorry...but I'll have to break our rule...just this once."

Yuji tried to reach out to tell her to be careful...but his mouth was full of popcorn, so...that wasn't happening.

The vessel watched as she approached the stand, slamming a card onto the counter, and the employee hardly batted an eye, hitting the start button before going back to their scroll.

But the second Weiss took the bright pink rifle in her hands-

*Tick-Tock

Where was that sound coming from?

A burst of motion caught the vessel's attention as a small glyph appeared beneath the Schnee's heels, like a miniature clock-

The sorcerer felt his neurons activating, and with a lean forward, he locked in, watching as Weiss...no-

Time itself was moving faster around her, at speeds only he seemed to comprehend as no one else seemed to acknowledge it-

She'd flash to the side, spin the weapon like a revolver, line up the shot with her scarred eye, and with a click-

*Click-

*Dink

A pellet would hit its mark

Again and again and again-

It was nuts. This girl never missed a single shot-

And when a bottle didn't budge-

She sped up the freaking shot and made it move.

The next thing he knew, Weiss had slammed the gun on the counter, shouting that she was done with six seconds to spare, and to the dumbfounded employee's shock, she was right-

The heiress took the victory prize of the rifle itself, ignoring them, saying they needed that and that it was something else, zipping off into the crowd to drop the toy into the little girl's hands before marching back, dropping into her seat with a huff-

The Schnee sighed, readjusting her hair, "I'm...sorry you had to see me get so inflamed about something so minor. I just-

She tilted her head, "What are you gawking at?"

Yuji dropped his popcorn but hardly noticed, too busy seeing that image in his head over and over-

The way she moved, the cold-hard focused look on her face when she went for something she wanted-

Weiss was-

She looked-

"You are so freaking cool."

The Schnee sputtered for a second but eventually gave a prideful sneer to the skies above, "As if there were any doubt."

"Nah, I didn't doubt ya. I'm just sayin' it was real sweet of you to give that kid the prize...hmm, but now you don't got one..."

She watched him thinking but tried to wave it off, "I don't need a reward for-"

He raised a hand, "Weiss!?"

"Y-yes?"

"I'm gonna call in my one-time cheat card, be right back!"

"That...that's not a th-"

*FYOOM

He disappeared in a cloud of dust, making her rapidly start scanning the crowd, wondering what that walking bomb could get up to if left to his own device-

"So, you wanna test your strength, do ya, little man?"

"You bet I do!"

Weiss looked over in horror, seeing one of those contraptions where you hit a metal plate with a hammer to shoot a large pin toward a bell at the top of a tower-

And a very enthusiastic Yuji at the bottom.

She wanted to stop this, she really did-

But for some reason-

Weiss really liked the idea of sticking it to shotty business practices-

A real corporation knew how to steal from people without getting noticed...this could be a learning experience for them.

Why was the thought of them wrecking things for this place exciting for her?

The carnie shrugged, pointing to the hammer, "Grab your tool then, and show me what you got!"

Yuji looked at the hammer and walked past it, raising a foot to the platform, "Don't need it."

"...I'm sorry?"

*BOOOOOOM

The machine exploded with the fury of a thousand suns, and the bell was last seen shooting off toward the horizon, vanishing with a twinkle.

Was that one even rigged, or was this just a straight-up crime?

Itadori didn't even wait for the sudden shock to finish washing over the crowd and reached into the prize booth, pulling down the largest teddy bear Weiss had ever seen.

He was in front of her a second later, holding it out with a grin on his face, "There. Now we're even AND you get your prize!"

They were both ignoring the fact that everyone at this small local fair were staring at them as if they were aliens.

The Schnee twiddled her thumbs, embarrassed to take it, "I...don't know if I can accept such... ill-gotten gains."

"Ill-gotten is such a bad way of phrasing it...I'd prefer-"

"Don't you dare use my words against me!"

"Disputed ownership?"

...

...

"Pfft."

They both laughed at that one and eventually, she took the giant animal that was almost taller than her and set it on the bench

Yuji stared at it for a second, narrowing his gaze, "Now, she just needs a name."

The Schnee giggled, "Aren't we a little old to be naming toys?"

"Eh, who cares about stuff like that? If you wanna name it, that's fine, and if not, then that's cool too...but don't let people hold you down over their own issues. That's what I always say."

Weiss found herself smiling as she plucked off her scarf, wrapping it around the bear's neck, "Then, I'll name her Miss Cheatsalot-"

...

...

"pfft-"

They both started laughing again.

...

Time just flew by from there.

Yuji taught Weiss about cheating at card games, a trick he had learned from his favorite gambler-

The Schnee couldn't help but gawk at how good he was at math...when he was counting cards.

Weiss tried to teach him how to ride a pony at the petting zoo-

She tried not to laugh as it bucked him off before slamming its back hooves into his stomach, sending the sorcerer flying through a barn wall.

The horse was fine, by the way.

Eventually, the dreaded question arose-

One that would test their burgeoning excursion.

What to get to eat.

...

...

Yuji wasn't the problem. The guy was a living dumpster. The hard part was convincing Weiss to eat what she called 'The ick' aka-

Normal people food.

It wasn't all bad, though; she looked really cute shaking her head like an upset puppy hearing the word 'mac 'n cheese.'

She considered that exotic. What's next? Lasagna?

Itadori eventually convinced her to try something-

After he stopped laughing-

Weiss kept asking for a 'burger of ham', and it took them more time than the heiress would ever admit to figure out what she was talking about.

...

...

Weiss stared at the aluminum wrapping with suspicion, holding it by the very edge with her fingers, "Are they always this-"

She cringed, seeing her reflection along the liquid on her hands, "Greasy?"

Yuji nodded, "That's how you know they're good! If the seats and tables ain't dirty and torn up, then the food's just no good!"

She side-eyed him, "Next time-"

Her lip twitched a bit, "I'll have you try a proper brunch. Then we'll see if your tastes recover."

The vessel happily tilted his head, "So, there's a next time?"

"I-yo-"

Weiss realized what she just said and immediately sputtered.

The Schnee cleared her throat, ignoring her shaking arms as she took a breath, "...If you'll have me."

Itadori slumped back, "Oh, thank God. I was worried you weren't into all this."

Weiss looked confused, "It was my idea, you realize?"

"Yeah...well, I thought you could combine breakfast and hygiene, but everyone hated toast with toothpaste."

"Pardon?"

He waved her off, dropping his hand on her shoulder, "Nothin', I'm just glad is all. I couldn't tell you how nervous I was about this-"

The heiress watched the crowds go by, scooting a little closer, her smile growing just a bit as he took the hint, reaching to her further shoulder instead, "And here I was thinking these sorts of things didn't bother you."

"pfft, are you kidding?"

Yuji laughed, "I was up all night thinkin' of ways not to screw this up with you. I'm just good at puttin' on a brave face is all, but inside? I was screamin' when you came walking outside."

The Schnee smirked, "Now you know how I feel around you when you're up to your antics."

"I am a delight-"

"You are a hazard."

"Hazards are fun-"

"Jail is not."

"You're the one who listed my crimes."

"After you broke into my room."

"I was tryna help you feel better-"

She leaned closer, "I seem to recall you getting me sick in the first place."

"Hey-"

He looked down at her, "If it led to this-"

Yuji smiled, "I'm not sayin' sorry."

A creeping red swept along her face before her palm gently pushed his chin away, "S-stop that! I can't do that like you can-"

Her fingers twitched, "It's...not fair."

The vessel hardly budged, "You'll get me back next time I do something dumb, and we both know that's not a maybe."

"Hmph."

...

...

Weiss lightly smiled, "Well, someone has to keep you in line-"

Itadori leaned back, barking out a laugh, "Hahaha! You're probably right about that one...not like I'm complainin', I have a hard time saying 'no' to you, ya know?"

"I think I'll put that to the test."

"Whaddya mean?"

Weiss rolled the aluminum ball in her hand, "How do I eat this burger of ham-"

"Hamburger-"

"Yes! Hamburger! How do I eat the ham...burger without the proper utensils? Should I complain to the staff?"

"No-no-no, hang on. You don't need 'em...here, lemme teach you a neat little life hack of mine."

Yuji slowly reached a finger toward the wrapping but paused for just a second-

Using this power-

After all the harm it caused at the party-

Would Weiss even want to see it?

...

...

Did he want to see it?

It would be so easy to do what he always did-

Look away and hope someone would pull him out of his rut-

...

...

No-

You can't do that anymore.

Not when you have a girl like this rooting for you, and especially not when-

You aren't just living for yourself.

Itadori knew that his brothers were a part of him.

Most of them were never able to incarnate. It wasn't something Yuji could allow, not with the costs involved, so they joined in with his soul instead...and eventually, Eso and Kechizu joined them too, bringing their cursed family closer together, and so-

His breaths were theirs-

His heartbeat was theirs-

His thoughts, experiences, and emotions, all of them combined, gave them a life, one connected with his for as long as he kept trudging along.

He needed to live without hesitating, no matter how short it was. The sorcerer couldn't deny them every bit of life they deserved, and that meant going through with what his feelings told him.

...

...

Look at him, making a big deal out of cutting a fucking wrapper.

*Fwing

The top half of Weiss' wrapper exploded into shreds until even those were gone, and with that, Yuji tapped the still-covered bottom with a finger, "See? Even if you bite into it, this way, none of the stuff'll fall onto your clothes. Neat, huh?"

Weiss struggled to even lift the burger, with the thing nearly dwarfing her head, "A-and I just-"

She faked an air bite. It was adorable.

He gave a thumbs up, "Go for it."

*Nom

She took a bite and pulled back, reeling at both the amazing flavor and the sudden presence of ketchup on her face, somehow turning even redder than the sauce as Yuji stared down at her-

At her greasy-ketchup-covered face-

She scrambled for a napkin but started coughing in a panic, so she grabbed his soda and inhaled the thing.

With her chipmunk cheeks full, the Schnee tried to swallow, but his stare caught her mid-motion, and she paused-

"Weiss?"

The wind swept through the sorcerer's spiked pink hair as his calm brown eyes stared down at her-

"You are so pretty."

...

...

*PTOOOOOOO

Time seemed to freeze as Weiss reeled back in horror, realizing she just-

Oh my God, no-

She ruined it-

The Schnee winced, thinking this was it-

He'd never speak to her again-

And with her family history, she did what she knew best-

She waited for whatever blow to happen, verbal or physical-

...

...

"PFTThahaha! That was gross!"

Yuji pulled his arm back, hopping to his feet, shaking his head like a dog, sending debris flying in every direction, "Well, this sweater's a goner-"

The vessel casually pulled his upper white hoodie off and tossed it to the side, looking back to her with his usual energy, "Want me to get you another?"

It was then he noticed how...dull, she looked, "Hey...you alright?"

Weiss looked so puzzled it might make her head fall off, "You're...not mad?"

"Hm? Why would I be?"

"I-I-I ruined it!"

"Ruined what?"

She held her hands out, soon bringing them to the sides of her head, "This! We were so close and I...and your clothes, argh! I am such a dolt! I can't do anything right!"

The sorcerer zoomed forward, catching her wrists mid-flight, "Woah-woah, chill! It's just an accident. Stuff happens. Sheesh, Weiss, it's just a burger-"

The perfectionist pouted, looking at his stained hoodie lying on the grass, "But your sweater-"

"I'll get a new one. Not that big of a deal."

...

...

"Are you sure you aren't mad?"

Yuji squinted, "Have I ever been mad at you before?"

"...No."

"Then don't sweat it. You spittin' on me isn't a deal breaker...unless you're into that, then that's a maybe-"

Her face scrunched up as she angrily looked him in the eyes, "What are you accusing me of!?"

He smiled, "There she is."

"What!?"

The sorcerer's hands jumped to her shoulders, "Hey-"

The Schnee gradually looked up, hating that she liked seeing that look on his face-

"Nothing's changed. I'm not mad, so you don't gotta bare those fangs of yours...trust me, I'm already scared enough."

...

...

Weiss grumbled, "...Are you sure?"

"Wanna hug it ou-"

He saw her fluster and remembered what she said-

Itadori cleared his throat, "Sorry, lemme try again...Hey, Weiss. Can I have a hug?"

...

...

She gave a shaky nod, "Y-You may...after we clean up your face. It's...a bit of a mess."

Right, he was still covered in soda. Forgot that part.

She scrubbed his face with one of her infinite handkerchiefs, and then they hugged-

It was a nice hug.

...

Time flew by, and before they knew it, the fair was over, and the sun had set, leaving them in the dark, and so, not wanting to head back quite yet-

They followed the stars and the sounds of crashing waves, ending up at the beach, completely empty, though they hardly noticed.

Weiss slowly reached down a hand, her other occupied holding his, pinching the white grains between her pale fingers, "I can't say I'm a fan of these places."

Yuji chuckled, "Why? 'Cause sand's rough and coarse, and it gets everywhere?"

"How-"

She stared at him dumbfounded, "How did you know that?"

He smiled, "Just a guess...but come on, it's not all bad. I mean, yeah, I hate when it gets in my snacks, but if it means being here with you...that's a pretty good trade in my book."

Weiss shook in place, "Stop doing thaaaat!"

Her face burned, so she gently shoved him back, and Itadori pretended it hurt, tumbling across the sandy shores-

After taking a second, the sorcerer gave a content sigh, sliding back until he was reclined, "Ahhh, this is the life-"

The Schnee smiled, rolling her eyes, "A life of sand in your pants?"

"It's not so bad once you're used to it."

"I'll take your word for it."

He poked an eye open toward her, "Wanna sit with me? I got a hoodie to spare."

She didn't have time to question him before Yuji took his remaining jacket off, laying it on the beach like a cushion for her, dwindling down to his red undershirt.

Weiss tried to protest and find a way to bide some time to build up the courage to go through with it, "W-well...if you insist, but...how does one...relax in a place like this?"

He shrugged, not even batting an eye at the odd question, waving his arms with the ocean breeze, "Picture all the stuff that's got you tensed up and just-"

"Let-"

"It-"

"Loose."

Weiss looked at him and then at the ocean waves as the light of the broken moon reflected off each moving piece as they flushed over the shore, "...Loose?"

...

...

She reached up a hand toward her black hair piece-

And pulled it off.

...

...

"Wow."

Yuji watched from below as she turned to look at him, her long white hair flowing freely, with each strand illuminated by the gentle twinkle of the stars above.

Her pale skin was such a contrast with the darkness of the night that it made his heart jump as those ice-blue eyes locked with his own.

He spoke without thinking.

"You are so pretty."

Her eyes went white, "S-stop doing that! It's not fair!"

Yuji laughed, "I can't help it!"

"Yes, you can!"

"Not with you around! You're so cute!"

"Stooooop!"

"Try it yourself, it's pretty fun-"

"I don't know how!"

"Just say what you think!"

That broke her.

Weiss started moving her hands like mouths, "Oh, look at me. I'm Yuji. I get to tell Weiss all these nice things and laugh because she doesn't have it in her to admit she likes him, ooo-"

She froze in place, realizing in horror what she did-

And then it came-

To her utter disbelief, Yuji, the unbreakable wall of willpower-

His face had a light dust of pink, "You really like me?"

Why did that make her blush more!? It was such a dumb question!

"..."

"..."

Weiss covered her face with her hands, unable to take it anymore, "...'ike ou-"

Yuji stopped, "Sorry, I-uh-"

He hopped to his feet, inching toward her, "Lemme get a littl-"

She scooted back, her face getting redder-

He scooted forward-

She scooted backward-

Eventually, she stopped, and he stood in front of her, "Weiss, look if it's too much, you don't gotta-"

The Schnee pushed her hands an inch off her face, and that was enough, "I like you."

...

...

She tapped a foot, "W-well? What do you-eep!"

Yuji had grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning the two in a gentle circle, and only after her twitching arms wrapped around his back did he fall back to reality.

He kept hugging her, "Sorry-sorry! I'm just-"

The Schnee's fists clenched on his shirt, making him confused, "Uh, Weiss, are you go-"

"Stop saying you're sorry!"

She tackled him off his feet, sending the pair tumbling across the sand, ending with him on his back and her up above, "You keep saying sorry like I'm mad at you, but I'm not!"

Her blue eyes shimmered, "I-I really like you, and I want you to be happy too...I want us to be happy-"

...

...

"Together."

Yuji knew how hard this was on her-

The poor girl looked like she was about to pass out.

His eyes widened, "Weiss? Y-you really mean?"

"Don't you like me too?"

"I-"

...

...

This was the worst idea imaginable-

Weiss deserved better-

She didn't need a trainwreck like him ruining her life.

Yuji knew the risks-

He knew what Sukuna would do-

For God's sake, she wasn't even his type, but-

Why did he-

...

...

"Weiss?"

She didn't respond, but her intense stare spoke volumes.

He let out a breath, "There are so many things I could say on how I feel about you... and I don't think they'd ever do you justice. But-"

...

...

"I wanna try anyway."

They slowly rose, sitting in front of one another, both covered to the brim with tiny grains of sand, but neither seemed to care.

Yuji reached his right hand out, gently running it along the scar along her face, "Weiss Schnee-"

This was the girl who hated his guts, but for some reason, he just kept trying-

The person who wormed her way right back into his life and said she would believe in him, regardless of the kind of person he was.

She was funny-

She was brilliant-

Every step she took was so graceful it made him feel like a fool.

And every time they spoke, he left wanting more.

He slowly leaned in, "You are everything I want."

A gasp left her mouth as tears bubbled along her melting blue eyes-

He paused at the last moment, looking at her with an affection the girl had hardly known her whole life, "Can I-"

Weiss nodded.

He moved in-

...

...

They kissed beneath the light of a broken moon, and the icy sensation trickled through his spine like a cool breeze.

Moments ticked by, and reluctantly, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers-

He awkwardly smiled, "Was that-"

Weiss moved in, giving him what he gave her, but the moment was even shorter, and as she pulled back-

His face was beat red, and his head was spinning, "W-wha-?"

Her eyes were spiraling and dull, "Haha...I finally got... youuuu-"

*Dunk

Her face fell into his chest, making him panic-

"Oh crap, Weiss, are you-"

She passed out.

But she held out until the end-

What a trooper.

Itadori sighed, pulling her in for a gentle hug, and as he rested his head on her shoulder, he couldn't help but thank God for the fact he didn't kill his girlfriend on the first date.

He could live with toxic blood, but lips? Come on, man...

But-

Weiss was his girlfriend?

That-

Made his heart jump again.

...

In Ozpins Office

General Ironwood crossed his hands behind his back as a figure entered the room, "Already up and about, young man? You have my respect. You've been through quite the ordeal."

Fox Allistair looked across the room with unfamiliar eyes, "...So this is what this place looks like, huh?"

Ozpin gave a distant smile from his desk chair, "I apologize for the...less than ideal organizational methods, but I assure you there's a method to the madness. Now-"

He shut his monitor off, scooting in, "What was it you wanted to tell us?"

Fox grimaced, "It's about the mission-"

Ironwood nodded, "Were you able to remember any of it."

"...I never forgot, I just-"

The teen violently shivered, "I didn't want to say it with...him around."

"Mr. Itadori is the one who brought you back, you realize, correct?"

"He's the one who put me down in the first place."

Ozpin grabbed his mug, "That's a bold claim to make. What motivation could Yuji possibly have for harming a senior he had just met-"

Fox sighed, "I know, just...please hear me out. I don't think it was him-him...argh, this sounds so weird saying it out loud."

The General waved a hand, "Take all the time you need."

The copper-colored teen paced around the office, "Back on the mountain, I used my semblance to connect to his head, and before-"

He winced, "Before everything went dark. I heard someone else...someone inside that kid's head-"

Fox grabbed his arms, shaking as if he were about to have a breakdown, and as he looked down at the floor-

Tears trickled, staining the carpet-

"He told me to 'Get Out.'"

...

Okay, I'm leaving things here. Hopefully, I can be a bit more consistent once my job and new apartment situation are settled. Until then, take it easy; cheers.

Discord:

/xmV8cVZBhb