Scarlet didn't have a problem being watched, it had bothered her a bit in her early teens when she'd first started to fill out, how the other kids in her class would shamelessly pay more attention to how she moved her body instead of how she moved her weapon, but it was something she got over quickly with the help of her mom. As usual, she didn't sugarcoat anything, telling her straight up that it was only going to get worse as she developed, and that she could either let it get to her, or she could demand their respect by kicking their asses. Well, that wasn't exactly what she said, but it had been an important lesson nonetheless, and she'd never be able to compete in the tournament without it. She'd severely underestimated the size of the stadium, with there being easily tens of thousands of people looking down at her, but even if she hadn't taken it seriously, they'd been warned about the fact that they'd be being watched not just in person, but all around the globe. Something no-one warned her about, however, was how hard it was going to be to focus with all the cheering going on, the cheers and taunts they heard while sparring in class didn't even come close to the deafening roar of the audience members in the stadium. The sheer volume alone was almost overwhelming, making it difficult to focus on the fight she was currently locked in with a strangely familiar opponent. She was pretty sure his name was Sin, part of team HYMN, and he looked like he was part of the same part of Vacuo near the border of Vale where Alaska came from, wearing a long duster coat over a vest and white shirt, the cowboy attire being completed by the hat atop his head of short and messy brown hair. Like her dad, he fought using iaido, and also like her dad, he was good. His hand went to the grip of his sword, unsheathing it, taking a swing at her, then placing the katana back into its scabbard in the blink of an eye. If it wasn't for the fact that Scarlet used two swords, she wouldn't be able to keep up at all, barely raising up Bleed in time to block the blow. She retaliated by swinging low with Wilt to try and knock him off balance, only for the strike to immediately get deflected with another blindingly fast response from the cowboy that left her wide open. With one particularly hard swing, he pushed her back hard enough to lose her footing and be sent stumbling down the stairs of the walkway they'd been fighting on, rolling to a stop in front of an inactive fountain.
The arena was unusual to say the least, half of it was made up of a dense set of woods that reminded her of home, and Jin and Jet had ran in after two of HYMN, wielding a bow and sniper rifle respectively, had gone in to use the foliage as cover. The loud shots and Jin's higher than usual pitched yelling painted a picture of combat she currently couldn't see, but she trusted Jin and Jet enough not to worry about it. The half of the arena she was currently fighting in was made up to look like a set of ruins, complete with a fully built office building and street area with an overhead walkway to pass over the street. She didn't know how it worked, but she was sure Jet would have wet dreams about the engineering that had to have gone into an arena that could change its layout so easily.
"Ewewewewew!" Looking behind her, Scarlet groaned at the sight of her partner, the self-proclaimed "true scion to her name" shrieking like a little girl and crawling away in terror as a small swarm of pale yellow translucent rats climbed over her. Desperately, she swatted away at the vermin only to yell louder as one harmlessly climbed onto her hand. Even her opponent looked shocked, the rat Faunus taking off the hood of her black cloak to do a double take and make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. Malattia had just intended to slow Lumi down with the swarm, so she actually felt kinda bad seeing the girl freak out the way she did.
"Lumi, calm your tits, they aren't even real rats!" Scarlet called out, running over and pulling the petite woman to her feet, brushing off the fake rodents. It was almost comical, the same girl who bragged about slaying a Saybr at fourteen left shivering with terror over some tiny little Aura constructs.
"They feel real!" Lumi protested. She didn't know! She hadn't felt them crawling over her with their tiny claws or their long, hairless, creepy little tails! She grew even more indignant as her partner started to laugh at her. As she was distracted though, the rope dart swung by Malattia hit its mark, cutting the horned girl across the back, her amusement quickly giving way to rage.
"Ah- FUCK, stop worrying about the fake rats and deal with the bitch taking pot shots at us!" Getting ready to re-engage in combat, Scarlet quickly found how obstructive the Aura constructs were, the little pests kept scurrying up her leg, causing her to jerk away from the tiny yet uncomfortable scratching, and jumping onto her wrist in an attempt to weigh her arm down. Okay, so maybe they were more of a nuisance than she was willing to admit. Deciding to deal with them, she channeled her blood into Wilt, collecting a substantial amount from her Aura before swinging the sword and crying out. "Veil of Blood!"
Swinging the red sword, a wave of blood infused with a beam of Aura shot out, slashing apart the miniature horde at their feet. Malattia winced as the swarms' destruction resulted in her Aura dropping significantly. Seeing her opportunity, she sent a second Aura slash her way, only for Sin to move in the way, cutting the beam in half right before it reached them. One half of the crimson slash was sent carving into the concrete behind them, while the other was sent flying upward, cutting off one of the corners of the building and sending it crashing to the ground, throwing a cloud of debris into the air.
"Did you… name your attack?" Lumi cringed, ignoring the destruction her partner caused in favor of chastising her for her horrid choice of name, stunning her partner, who scoffed indignantly.
"Wha- oh come on, you named your Summons!" she retorted. Besides, her names were actually cool!
"That's completely different, and nowhere near as lame." Scarlet gasped at the audacity at her partner to call her names lame when this was the same girl who named a Saybr 'Sebastian'! She didn't get the chance to point out her partner's blatant hypocrisy as she was forced to raise her sword to block Sin, who had rushed in for another attack. Thoroughly reminded they were in a fight, Lumi thrust her own blade forward, only for the rope of Malattia's weapon to wrap around her wrist and pull her off guard enough to stumble forward right into the cloaked Faunus's kick.
Hopefully the boys were doing better…
Keeping his back firmly against the tree he had taken cover behind, Jet slid the bullets down into Hephestus before removing the clip. He just slid it back into his pocket when the bark next to his head was suddenly blown away by Yara, the winged sniper keeping him pinned. Knowing the bolt action rifle she used would give him a brief moment of opportunity between shots, he rushed out, firing at his winged opponent. None of the shots landed, but they didn't need to, his counterattack made her move, the woman launching upward upon her eagle wings to avoid the shots. Moving on instinct, she fired another shot his way, one that was far less steady, missing and giving him time to run in closer. He couldn't let her stay too far away from him, otherwise she'd be able to pin him down long enough for her partner to circle around and flank him. At the same time, he also couldn't get too close, otherwise he'd have to engage in hand to hand combat with someone who could fly, something he very much wanted to avoid if possible. Thankfully, getting in close was exactly what Jin was for, and, using his Semblance, he summoned a crystal of Wind Dust, throwing it up at the flying Faunus. Her eyes locked on to the object that was suddenly hurtling through the air, something she realized was a mistake as soon as it reached the apex of its trajectory only a few feet away from her. Already taking aim at the crystal, he shot a single round into it, causing the Dust to set off and creating a powerful blast of gale force winds that knocked her out of the air, careening right over in Jin's direction, just as he had planned.
Hearing his partner's whistle, Jin jumped into action, leaping up to meet the falling girl with the aid of his Semblance, and delivering a spinning kick that sent her crashing into the dirt below. Letting himself fall back down to earth, he landed over her, raising his fist to deliver a powerful strike that would bring her under the elimination threshold.
"WAAA-AHHHH!" His kiai instantly transitioned into a high-pitched yelp as Harbun's Ice Dust tipped arrow struck his forearm, freezing it in place. He tried to break free from the sudden biting cold encasing his arm, only for Yara to slam the butt of her rifle into his nose, causing him to stumble back far enough for the leader of HYMN to let loose another arrow, this one right between his feet, effectively immobilizing him as the ice grew over the ground and engulfed his lower legs. Jet swore as Yara got back to her feet and started flapping her wings to once again take flight, knowing he couldn't just let her get air superiority once again. Without Jin to knock her out of the sky, he'd be overwhelmed in minutes. So, throwing caution to the wind, he ran forth and leaped onto the woman's back as she lifted off, now struggling to maintain elevation with the extra weight throwing her off balance and limited mobility of her wings.
"Get off of me! Are you trying to fall!?" Yara shouted, doing her best to throw the boy off to no avail. Unconcerned with the boy frozen to the ground next to her, Harbun readied an arrow to shoot off her teammate's attacker, but there was too much movement, too much of a chance she'd miss or accidentally hit her, so instead, she tried a different approach.
"Yara,I got an idea! Use your Semblance!" Responding to her leader's orders, she outstretched her hand towards her partner, her Aura condensing in her palm before levitating forward, taking the form of an impossibly small star. Harbun, having already notched her arrow, let it loose into the sphere. The plan had been for the Fire Dust of the arrowhead to strengthen the miniature star enough to burn the boy off of her winged teammate, and, in fairness, the plan technically worked, as the ball of burning plasma suddenly burned far hotter and far brighter, making Jet lose his grip and start falling. However, it also began to burn faster than it could produce energy, and for a brief moment, the fireball turned a blinding white and shrunk inwards before exploding with a deafening roar, throwing both teens down to the forest floor with a miniature supernova. The force of the blast wasn't the worst of it, which was saying a lot considering Yara's Aura immediately shattered once her little star detonated, as the sudden wave of escaping heat caused the surrounding foliage to burst into flames.
"Shit! What the hell Harbun!?" The blonde didn't get a chance to respond, not only because the explosion had temporarily deafened them all to the point that they couldn't even hear the buzzer signaling Yara's elimination, but also because the fire spread faster than any of them could have predicted. The idea of continuing to fight was quickly forgotten as they all started to run for the edge, none of them stupid enough to try and fight in a burning forest. Jet was the first to make it out, hauling ass until he came out of the treeline, his clothes and hair singed. Yara was next out, coughing as she nearly collapsed once out of the inferno, a large burn having already formed on her arm with a pinkish red mark that contrasted with her darker skin. As she patted down her crop top, which had started to smolder, she also threw her jewelry to the ground, wincing at the searing marks left by her golden armbands and the jewel-encrusted neck brace.
Harbun wasn't as lucky however, as with her ears still ringing from the explosion, she didn't hear the tree she was coming up on cracking under its own weight until it slammed down on her back, and had she not still had her Aura, the blow no doubt would have paralyzed her. As it stood, she was completely stuck, unable to pull herself free as the flames started to nip at her feet. She started to panic, clawing at the dirt desperately, trying to get enough of a grip to pull herself free, but finding no leverage. Just as the idea of dying live on international television started to set in, Jin's large hands grabbed the woman by her wrists, and with a powerful pull, heaved her out from under the burning tree. Without thinking, he placed her over his shoulder and sprinted for the treeline, as by now, the fire had caught up to them, nipping at his heels as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. By the time he reached it, he'd lost a good chunk of his Aura from a mixture of fighting off the flames and pushing his body to its limits trying to get out even faster. Once at a safe distance, he set her down, both of them panting with relief.
"That was close, thank you." she gasped out, able to give him a small smile signaling that, despite how winded she was, she was more than grateful that he'd helped her. Jin smiled back at the woman, just opening his mouth to say it was no big deal when a pair of shots punched into her shoulder, causing her Aura to flicker as a loud buzzer signaled the elimination of HYMN's leader. Turning around in shock, both he and Harbun, who was similarly aghast that she'd be shot in such an unsportsmanlike way, sputtered at the sight of Jet calmly pulling back on the slide of his handgun as if he didn't just shoot someone injured on the ground.
"Jet!" The boy in question rolled his eyes at his whining, taking out another clip of ammunition and starting the process of reloading Hephestus.
"She wasn't over the threshold, now she is." he explained calmly before turning to the other half of the arena.
Back with the girls, Scarlet clashed blades once more with Sin, delivering strike after strike in a constant flurry of swings meant to overwhelm him, yet nothing she threw at him was enough. He was just too fast, able to either block or parry just about everything she threw his way, and whenever she did land a hit, he was able to return it in stride. Growing frustrated, she channeled her blood along her blade and swung as hard as she could. Predictably, he went to block the blow once more, but this time he was taken off guard by the sheer power of the blow, his guard faltering. As a result, Scarlet managed to follow through with her swing, not landing true thanks to his defense, but still managing to send him flying back several feet. Well what do ya know, just hitting harder did work out in her favor, suck it Lumi!
Said girl was currently tied up in combat with Malattia… literally. The rat Faunus knew she couldn't match Lumi in direct combat, so instead she decided to keep her from attacking altogether, starting by wrapping her rope dart around her opponent's wrist as she evaded a thrust from the fencer, then sliding under her, wrapping the rope around her ankle as she tried to jump over what she had thought was an attempt to trip her, only for the blonde to faceplant as she pulled on the rope. Growling, the petite girl raised her newly modified dagger and fired a set of rounds at the similarly small Faunus, only to have her bullets deflected by the girl as she poured her Aura into her rope and swung it in a circle to intercept the shots. Pulling hard on her rope, she brought the blonde to her knees, only to look past her and see Scarlet closing in. What she didn't see, however, was the mountain of a man coming up behind her until she heard a set of heavy footsteps far too close for comfort. Looking over her shoulder, her heart jumped out of her chest as she saw Jin sprinting her way, and out of desperation, she raised her arm, creating a swarm of rat constructs that all jumped up to try and slow him down. Unfortunately for her, the large Faunus boy was unbothered by the swarm, jumping up out of the horde and extending his foot out in a flying kick that landed directly on her face, knocking her flat on her back. The girl was able to do little more than groan as the buzzer rang out, letting her know that she'd just been eliminated.
Sin walked out from the rubble he'd been sent flying into, eyeing the team as he gripped his blade. Despite the odds currently being stacked against him, he remained calm, ready to act at a moment's notice. Stealing a quick glance at the screen above them, he noted that, aside from Lumi, they were all low on Aura, so if he played this smart, he could handle them. He readied himself as Jin moved forward, only to stop as Scarlet grabbed his arm.
"I got this." she said with a confidence that Sin felt was sorely unearned, considering he'd maintained a slight upper hand throughout their fight. Jin was similarly unsure, looking between her and their single remaining opponent.
"You sure?"
"Oh yeah, I've been dying to test the new toy." she assured him, sheathing both Wilt and Bleed into their new singular holster at her side. Taking a firm grip, she started to channel the blood from her Semblance into the repository while slowly approaching Sin at the same time, ready to end their duel. The cowboy similarly made his way closer, keeping his gaze solely on her as they started to circle one another, each waiting for the other to make the first move. What followed was a lingering moment of the pair just staring each other down, the cheers of the surrounding audience having died to a murmur. The horned woman smirked as she felt the slight vibration from the sheath, signaling it was ready to deploy one of the blades. Keeping her finger on Wilt's trigger, she stopped in her tracks, her opponent doing the same, but taking a moment to tip his hat her way before gripping his sword once more. Then, once again moving nearly completely in sync, they charged one another, closing the distance in only a second. As they got into range, he once again freed his sword, swinging at her while she pulled the trigger, the concentrated blood shooting the blade out just as fast as her opponent could move with his Semblance, with the added boost of her own Semblance not going unnoticed as Wilt's crimson blade arced with a trail of blood. The whole crowd went silent as they passed one another, each landing the intended blow, yet stubbornly, they both refused to fall, both powering through the pain. However, their stubbornness didn't change a thing as the buzzer rang overhead, though this one was longer and came with applause as Sin's Aura was pushed under the elimination threshold, thereby signaling SJJL's victory. Still panting, Scarlet looked up in awe at the crowd cheering her on, and then at the rest of her team, who had already started celebrating, or more accurately, Jin had, easily lifting the other two up in a big celebratory hug. Not that she could really contain her excitement either, throwing her arms up in joy as she shouted.
"FUCK YEAH!"
"Order up guys, you earned it after that match!" Blitz cheered as she sat with Scarlet in the booth, throwing and arm around the redhead in a one armed hug. BRST were treating SJJL and BGEL as congratulations on the former team's victory. Her chest swelled with pride for the team of troublemakers that she and her team had been assigned to watch over. Not that she was expecting the younger team to fail out the gate, but the odds were firmly against them considering that not only were they facing a second year team, but HYMN had always been good, especially back when they went by AAMN before Asher had been taken off the roster and replaced by Yara. With how close the fight had been, she didn't doubt that, had Asher still been a member or if they'd just had more time for the winged girl to fully synergize with the team, they probably wouldn't have walked away the winners.
"Thanks, seriously, you guys are some of the coolest people I know." Scarlet said, raising her shot glass in a small toast to her upperclassmen, a sentiment followed by the rest of SJJL along with Belka and Goose, though unlike SJJL, the pair each held up a soda can. While they wanted to celebrate with their friends, the fact that they still had to compete in their round today meant that cutting loose wasn't really possible for them yet.
"Hope the drinks are good, because we expect the same treatment after we win this thing." Despite knowing that Blitz was only teasing, Scarlet couldn't help but feel a bit competitive over it. They'd already proven they could handle upperclassmen, hell, she'd beaten one on her own! Not that it would be easy, she'd seen them fight, taking down less experienced underclassmen and her upperclassmen alike, but she was no less confident.
"Pfft- yeah right, we're gonna kick your asses!" The way it was said felt less like a rebuttal and more like a promise, a student swearing to surpass their master. It was an attitude that amused the blonde woman more than anything, especially considering that their relationship was more so one of just general guidance rather than having any direct influence.
"Oh? You must be feeling real confident knowing you won't have to fight all of us."
"Nah, we'd win, tell them Jet." As both sets of eyes fell on him, it was clear he didn't share Scarlet's confidence. Then again, she shouldn't have been surprised, he was always looking at how things could go wrong.
"I won't lie, I'm pretty nervous considering that first match was as close as it was."
"I wouldn't say it was that close, none of us were eliminated after all." Lumi pointed out from her seat in the booth she and Lao were sitting in, a bit too confidently in Jet's opinion considering she'd been reduced to a crying mess by fake rats and then tied up.
"But our Auras were all pushed near the low end, and it was only round one."
"Jet, there was no way in hell we were losing to a team called 'hymen'."
"It's pronounced team 'hymn' actually." Sarasvati gently corrected, cringing at the crude misunderstanding.
"Seriously? Yeah, I guess that makes more sense." In truth, she hadn't really thought about it, she just saw the letters and her mind did what it did. Still, in her defense, HYMN wasn't really a color.
"Hey Scar, your Bloody Mary is ready." Blitz interrupted her train of thought, motioning over at the bar where her drink had been served. In her excitement to finally try the drink, she missed how the cocktail looked a lot thicker than she'd expected.
"Ooh, be right back." she said, gently patting Jet's back, keeping it there as long as she could while she pulled away. Being touched by his friend wasn't a new experience by any means, she'd always been touchy and it wasn't just with him, yet the way she softly rubbed at his body was different, it felt more meaningful and lingering than what he was used to. But despite that, it didn't quite feel intimate. He knew he was probably just overthinking it, but at the same time, he couldn't help but crave that little extra something that felt out of reach between.
"So, what's the deal with you and Scarlet? You guys a thing now?" Blitz asked, also having noticed the touch as well as the way he longingly watched her leave. Ever since seeing them dance together, she'd assumed one of them had finally nutted up and made a move.
"I, uh- well what makes you think that?" It didn't bode well that she chuckled at his response, his attempt to play it cool falling completely flat.
"Well, she was real touchy with you for starters. Trust me, that's a good sign." She didn't elaborate too much, of course. It was obvious to everyone but them, but she wasn't going to take the fun out of teasing them by actually saying it. After all, he'd dig his own hole if she let him.
"And you've been spending more time together since the dance."
"Wha- have you guys been watching us?" Rather than respond, the woman just smirked. It was a teasing, shit eating grin that reminded him of how Lupin would tease him after putting a spider on his back and watching him flip out. In short, it was a smile of malicious smugness that didn't bode well for him.
"It's kinda our job y'know." Ruta added from her spot in the booth behind him, having been eavesdropping on the conversation but was now more than happy to gang up on the poor boy. "Also, I ain't hearing a no."
Jet groaned, there was no hiding it, the girls had him backed into a corner. Then again, it wasn't like he had anything to lose, they couldn't make him more confused, could they?
"I… I don't know. It's like I know things are different, but we don't really have a label on what we are right now." The girls both shared an amused look, that was such a guy thing to think, that there needed to be some official label for what he was feeling.
"Okay, let me put it this way, do you think she'd be cool if you kissed a gal?" Ruta asked, dumbing it down as much as she could for him in the moment.
"Probably not." Really, he could think of less painful ways to kill himself. First she'd kick his ass, then Lupin would kick his ass, then his parents would kick his ass, and if he was still alive at that point, Adam and Cinder would kick his ass.
"Then you ain't single no more." Ruta said, making it as simple as possible. "Relax, there's a lot going on, and you two are still figurin' it all out."
"How is it all this… stuff just makes me feel like an idiot?" Jet groaned. Objectively, he knew she was right on some level, but there was a part he just didn't get, something that felt as though it should have been simple, but remained annoyingly just out of his grasp.
"Because you are an idiot in this case buddy. Don't worry too much about it though, I believe in you." Blitz said, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. Maybe she was right, after all, everyone else somehow had a better grasp on this whole thing than he did. Maybe he should just take a page from Scarlet's book and try to look at it as something more simple.
"Bleh- what the hell is that!?" Scarlet gagged, spitting the bitter thick red drink back into the glass it had been served to her in.
"A Bloody Mary." the bartender answered bluntly, unimpressed with the dramatic reaction.
"It's awful!"
"It's what you ordered."
Okay, maybe not that simple…
Back in her booth, Lumi pensively looked up at the holo screen that adorned the far wall, playing back the highlights of their match. She remembered Jet mentioning how he wasn't looking forward to being watched by the whole world while he fought. She found it as a silly hangup to have, they were already scrutinized daily in their sparring sessions by the professors, and ultimately, beyond the heightened scale, this was really no different. Besides, he had nothing to fear from life in the public eye, growing up with near-constant media attention on her family taught her that, so long as she behaved, they'd have nothing but good things to say about her. Scarlet, for example, wouldn't last a week like this if her unfiltered language was anything to go by, the screen playing a censored version of her celebratory cheer that had thankfully been caught before it had gone live. The last thing she wanted was to be reprimanded over an expletive that didn't even come from her. Her mood soured when one of these particular 'highlights' was the moment Malattia stopped trying to engage in an actual duel and started her underhanded trickery with the swarm of vermin. The footage didn't shy away in the slightest, fully showing the attack and her… less than brave response. She could see in perfect detail how her face contorted in terror as the transparent rats climbed up her legs making her shriek, and so could countless other people around the globe…
"That was quite the performance out there." Elizabeth said as she sat down in the seat next to her cousin, her teasing ripping Lumi's focus away from the screen displaying her 'fight' with the Faunus girl.
"Hush you, I performed perfectly adequately." she said matter of factly as she raised the wine glass to her lips. However, she couldn't help herself from meeting the smug grin with a piercing scowl that just amused her cousin further.
"Sure, sure, being saved by your partner was quite the display, you make an excellent damsel in distress." The only response Lumi gave to the wholly unjustified taunt was to turn her back to her, crossing her arms with an overly dramatic 'hmmph!', refusing to turn her attention back onto her until she was given a proper apology. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of turning her back to a very unapologetic Liz, who, rather than give in to the pouting girl's desires, ever so gently trailed her fingers up the back of her shirt in a scurrying motion, resulting in yet another shriek from the girl as she literally jumped out of her seat and over the table to get away from the sensation.
"LIZ! That is not funny!" Realizing she was just being messed with only infuriated her further, stomping her foot and further making a scene that only added to her embarrassment. Liz couldn't care less about the attention they were attracting, openly laughing.
"Oh, it so is." In her mind, this was all just some good natured ribbing between family, something that at most would result in her getting the silent treatment for an hour before they'd forget about it, but Lumi thought differently, her pride just wouldn't allow for such flagrant disrespect.
"So smug, my performance was far better than what yours would have been."
"Oh really now?" The amusement quickly left the small woman's voice as it was replaced with a competitive edge.
"With your abysmal performance so far? I'm certain." Now it was Elizabeth's turn to leave her seat, getting right up in the blond's face, or at least, as much as she could with how small she was, clearly now Lumi's turn to be smug as she looked down at her furious cousin. Back in the booth, the rest of BGEL stared at the cousins, Goose letting out a tired sigh as she deflated at yet another pointless argument starting up.
"Are they… fighting?" Belka asked her partner. Normally she'd have ignored such a petty argument unless it was getting in her way, but the fact that it was her nieces made her curious.
"Yup, they'll probably be at it for a while." Goose sighed. Unlike her teammates, she'd seen this play out more than once, and she knew she would again. Unfortunately, there was really no stopping it.
"I haven't seen them so much as disagree since I met Elizabeth." Lao said in his own uninterested sounding way, though Goose caught how he went to stand up and get between them, only to stop himself as he remembered how it typically went when he tried to de-escalate situations with his partner, deciding to just sit down and let them have their spat.
"That's because their attention has been somewhere else most of the year." The girls' aunt explained tiredly. "They get into it way more than you'd think."
"About what? Just… anything?" Belka couldn't have hidden the glee in her voice if she'd tried. It was just refreshing to see a spat from her team that she wasn't a part of, and additionally, it was cathartic to see the two girls who were usually a unified front against her at odds. So much for that oh so perfect family facade they put on.
"No, it's always the same thing, one of them will say something about a fight or sparring match, and then it devolves into them arguing over who's better. Watch, Lumi's about to brag about her Aura." Belka and Lao both turned back to the girls having their spat, which had started to escalate.
"You know what I think? You're just jealous."
"Of what? I'm a better fighter than you, and we have the same Semblance." Despite attempting to sound smug, Elizabeth was red in the face, unable to mask how worked up she was getting even over something so minor.
"Sure we have the same Semblance, but unlike you, I actually have enough Aura to use it to the fullest."
"Oh right, your huge Aura, must be nice having a crutch like that. If our Aura was the same, I'd kick your ass every time and you know it!" Goose recognized where this was going, really, it was the natural conclusion these little fights always led to, and the only difference was how fast this had escalated compared to previous incidents. Climbing out of her seat, she put herself between the smaller girls, laughing nervously
"Hey guys, c'mon now, Liz can't fight, we still have to have our match today, remember?" While one aunt sought to defuse the situation, the other was downright delighted at the display of childishness, she couldn't let it end so soon, not when things were just getting good. Besides, even if they weren't exactly close by now she knew them well enough to know they were just blowing smoke.
"Such a shame, maybe if Liz had Lumi's Aura levels, they could spar and we'd still be able to compete." Hiding her smirk was hard but worth it to see the midget's face turn red at the insinuation that she couldn't compete with Lumi. However, she cracked as the small girl started to tremble in barely contained rage, hiding her giggle by raising her empty can to her lips.
"That's it! Where's Uncle Jaune!? I'm kicking your bony white ass and then he's refilling my Aura!"
"B-bony!? My backside is nothing of the sort!" Choosing to let Goose handle the two girls, Lao turned his attention toward his leader.
"Was that necessary?" Belka just smirked in response, leaning over and grabbing Lumi's wine glass, after all a sip or two couldn't possibly hurt.
"Perhaps not, but it's very amusing."
Durga had never really understood bars as an idea. She had nothing against drinking, though she rarely partook herself, but the whole concept just seemed pointless. If she wanted to drink with others, it was far cheaper and safer to do so at home with friends and/or family rather than surrounded by other drunken strangers. She'd long been told that it was 'just a different atmosphere' and that 'you'd never know who you'd meet' but that wasn't a satisfactory answer either, typically she just got leered at by people she didn't want to share a ride with, let alone the night. Still, despite her own opinions, she wasn't going to tell others how to spend their time and money, especially given that she wasn't going to stay long regardless. Really, she was just here to break the unfortunate news to her daughter that she wouldn't be around to watch her compete. They'd found her. Somehow, the bastards had found her, despite the fact that she'd only left the hotel room enough times to count on one hand, and only to be with Sarasvati. Theodore had been patient enough to give her a few days, but with what was at stake, she had no choice but to leave until they could be sure it was taken care of. Scanning the bar, it didn't take long for her to find her child, Sarasvati had come up to the bar to refill her glass. Stepping forward, she was quickly noticed, her girl doing a double take upon seeing her mother in a bar.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" Quickly getting over her shock, she moved in and hugged her, pulling away and raising her glass up to take a drink, only to stop herself. "Oh, uh, don't worry, this is just juice."
"Darling, you're a woman now, if you want to have a drink or two then I'm not going to scold you." She couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter's need to reassure her that she wasn't drinking, though, having made it a point to make sure she never drink around her, it was no surprise she'd think she wouldn't approve of her indulging. It was cute, knowing that despite all these years apart from one-another, she still cared what she thought of her. She was lucky, most stories she'd heard about teenage girls painted a very different picture.
"Oh, okay… It really is juice for the record though." Taking a closer look at the golden drink, she noted a distinct lack of bubbles. Maybe it was the truth. As she examined the glass, she must not have hidden her feelings well though, as her daughter's own face dropped a bit, growing worried. "Is everything okay?"
"No, I'm afraid not. I have to go out on a mission." she sighed. The disappointment on Sarasvati's face was painful, but she should have known better than to make a promise she couldn't guarantee. After all, this was her curse, her status as the Summer Maiden brought her power she scarcely began to fully comprehend, but at the cost of having to distance herself from those she loved.
"Now? Of all times? But it's the Vytal Festival." Sarasvati pleaded. She knew how much this meant to her, and she kicked herself for not being able to stay, or at the very least, tell her the truth, but neither were possible.
"I promise, they wouldn't be asking me to go if it wasn't completely necessary." Reluctantly, she seemed to accept this, having grown used to it in the years since Durga had left her in Theo's care while she went off to help. Even knowing this, she felt horrible seeing her own daughter sulking in disappointment once again.
"Do you know when you'll be back?" She didn't, she never did, it could just be for the Festival itself, or it could take months. It was frustrating, she was the most powerful woman in the kingdom, yet here she was completely helpless. She did know one thing however, that she would return as soon as she was able, and she'd find a way to make it up to her.
"Soon, I swear it to you."
Life in Vacuo had been an… adjustment to say the least. It was as though the very idea of luxury, as well as finer things in life in general, just ceased to exist the moment he arrived in Vacuo, hell, the place barely even had proper AC, but most of all, it was just so damn boring! Despite being in a Kingdom highly criticized for parts of it functionally being in a state of anarchy, he was expected to follow all these silly rules like 'stay out of sight', 'listen to the weird bald guy talk about his goddess', 'don't cane the masked lunatics when they got uppity', and so forth. Seeing as he was technically staying as a guest though, Romeo was expected to just go along with it.
"You shouldn't be smoking that." Case in point, even sneaking away to have a smoke in the hall was impossibly hard with all the robed mooks he was forced to be around. This one wore an unmarked tan set of cloth to avoid drawing attention in the city, the color apparently indicating that he was somehow more important in a way he didn't care to remember. Apparently, it was some rule they were expected to follow about 'not allowing impurities into their bodies', a rule they foolishly expected him to follow as well. He couldn't actually see the moron's face thanks to the cloak obscuring most of it, so he had to just imagine the stupid look of indignance he wore.
"Oh, really? I must have missed the sign." he said, showing how much he cared by flicking ashes off the cigar down onto the carpet.
"Well?"
"What am I supposed to do? Just stamp it out on your nice, dusty floor? These are an expensive brand, y'know." The man growled, taking a step forward as if to take the cigar by force. Tightening his grip on Melodic Cudgel, Romeo tensed in preparation to take a swing at the self righteous bastard. Too many of them were comfortable sneering at him anyway, beating one of them black and blue would serve as a good reminder of their place.
"I'll handle him." Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who was asked, the robed man was quickly blocked from advancing any farther by Henna as she stepped in between the men, placing a hand on his chest, gently but firmly keeping them apart. With one last grumble and a final dirty look for good measure, he turned and stormed off. Now with just the two of them in the hall, she turned around, a hand on her hip as she similarly looked at the cigar disapprovingly. "You enjoy making people mad, don't you?"
"What can I say? It's a gift." Henna chuckled at his dry response, and if there was one thing he could say about the woman, it was that she wasn't so sensitive and uptight like the other loons in this farce of a congregation. He certainly wouldn't say that he liked her, but so far, she was the only one besides Lavender he could at least stand to have a conversation with, when she wasn't trying to convert him to her little cult with the subtlety of an Atlesian battleship of course. Wordlessly, she plucked the cigar from his mouth and dropped it to the ground before grinding it out under her shoe.
"Walk with me." Without even waiting for a response, she started to walk off into the building, and left with nothing better to do, he caved, following the snake woman's lead.
It had been an… interesting few months…
Three Months Earlier
"Anything I should know walking into this?" Romeo asked his sister as they were escorted through the compound just south of the main city, being led by a pair of mute weirdos wearing beige robes along with masks that resembled those horned rabbit-like Grimm that were native to Vacuo. Considering this was some sort of religious thing, it was shockingly barren aside from the necessities, he'd expected an ornate cathedral filled with spiky altars to death itself, not a glorified bunker in the ground. Even out of the sun, he was practically dying in his suit, he didn't know how Lavender kept her coat on without keeling over from heatstroke.
"Be respectful, and I mean actually respectful. From what Henna's told me, getting you in took some convincing." Oh come on now, she knew him better than that to ask him to make a promise he couldn't keep, even if they were apart for three years.
"So… what's with the masks?" he asked, just loud enough to make sure they heard him, though disappointingly, they didn't react. Instead, the only response he got was from Lavender, who promptly elbowed him in the ribs. After stewing for a moment, she leaned in, walking on her tiptoes in order to whisper in his ear.
"I dunno, it's some sort of ritual. I think it's symbolic, like leaving your past life behind to join something greater." It astounded him how she could say that and not realize what she just described was a textbook case of conditioning. Really, the only comforting part of this information was the fact that she was unfamiliar with it, meaning she hadn't been made to do it herself, though it concerned him that this was potentially something she may do in the future, if she didn't see through this cult's bullshit by then of course. However, regardless of his thoughts on the matter, that in itself just raised more questions.
"You don't know? I thought you were part of this cu-church." Thankfully, she didn't catch his brief slip-up, too busy being embarrassed about her lack of insight on her own religion to give him another elbow to the ribs.
"What I do is different. I traveled with Henna while she made the Goddess's will known to the congregation… think of it as sort of like a missionary." He wondered how being a missionary to a death cult even worked, the obvious answer would be something like wiping villages off the map, but that seemed too in your face, even for this group of easily manipulatable idiots. Eventually, they were led to a room that was closer to his previous expectations, the walls were lined with murals of a tall pale woman in black surrounded by Grimm that brought out a sense of familiarity that made his skin crawl. In the center of the room was a simple altar that seemed just big enough for someone to be laid upon, a fact that, given what he'd been told about the nature of this group, probably wasn't a coincidence. The material it was made of was too dark to see any obvious bloodstains, but he was sure that if he got a closer look, he'd find them regardless. The room wasn't empty either, waiting for them was a tall woman in a white cloak, and while he didn't recognize her, Lavender definitely did, her face lighting up like an excited kid the second she laid eyes on her.
"Henna!" Suddenly breaking from the proper act she put up, Lavender ran over and threw her arms around the woman, who immediately hugged her back, lifting the smaller girl off of her feet.
"I've missed you dearly, sister." she said in a sickeningly sweet display of affection that felt strange from the woman in front of him. Then again, people who only knew him as a criminal would probably think the same way if they'd seen how he treated his sister.
"Oh, I see how it is. She gets a hug and I get kicked through a wall." Making his way over, he hid his nerves with a joke, though he wasn't completely joking as he was more than a little irritated by the difference in treatment, finally getting to meet this Henna he'd heard so much about. She certainly matched the description his sister gave him, but there was something more, an air of danger around the woman that he'd normally find enticing, but considering the circumstances, it instead had him on edge. Maintaining his poker face, he held out his hand to shake. "Romeo Torchwick, I-"
Romeo didn't really know what to expect meeting this woman, all he had to go on was his sister's tales, and her judge of character had proven to be questionable at best. He'd planned for several possibilities, namely total indifference and outright hostility, but something he wasn't prepared for was for her to move right past his hand and wrap her arms around him in a tight, affectionate embrace. The hug, despite coming from a complete stranger, carried the same warmth that would come from a lifelong friend. Stunned into silence and not knowing what else to do, he awkwardly returned the embrace as well as he could until she pulled away, caressing his face with a soft, caring hand.
"I know exactly who you are, my dear brother." His overly warm suit finally paid off, at least this way she couldn't see the goose bumps her touch elicited from him.
"Brother, huh?"
"That's right, we're all children of Tyrian here. You and I may not be siblings by blood, but we were raised by the same man, and that makes you my brother as far as I'm concerned." Right, as much as it bothered him, he had picked up on how Lavender called her 'sister' as a familial term rather than a religious one, he'd just never expected that treatment would extend to him. But, as far as he could tell, from the way she smiled and looked at him like a long-lost member of the family, she really meant it, which in its own way was equally as disturbing.
"You sure know how to pick them, huh sister?" As if to add to the already confusing pseudo-family dynamic he was piecing together, a new face entered the room as Azrael stepped in, not bothering to hide his disdain at the newcomer in his compound. "At least this one is more open about his degeneracy, the hair couldn't scream fruit any louder if you tried."
"Oh you poor thing, you have no clue how many closeted priest jokes you just opened yourself up to, do you?" Seeing as he couldn't be as flippant with how he felt about the other creeps he'd passed on his way to the room, the big brute openly being hostile was a nice change of pace, especially when the big brute's face turned from insufferably smug to irritated at the slightest bit of pushback.
"Careful runt, my sword would smash that cane to bits if I ever took a swing at you." He had no doubts about that, seeing the massive blade he carried over his shoulder, though he wasn't intimidated by him, big guys were usually all bark and no bite.
"And just what is that compensating for I wonder? At least that answers the whole top or bottom thing." Azrael looked past Romeo to Henna, the woman giving him a look warning that the man that as difficult as he may be for the moment, he was similarly under her protection for the time being. With a sneer, he looked back at Romeo.
"Watch yourself. Unlike the junkie, you're an outsider." Unlike the prior threats, the jab at his sister got a proper reaction from the smaller man. Satisfied at wiping the smile off of his face, the armored man turned back to Henna before he could run his mouth further. "Do what you want with him Henna, but if he causes trouble, I'm not giving some heretic the same leeway as your pet."
The three watched as he walked off, calling the pair escorting the siblings with him, leaving them alone in the chamber.
"And that was?"
"Azrael, don't listen to him, he's just an asshole." Lavender muttered, unable to look at Romeo. She'd done her best to keep her… problem from her brother the whole time she'd stayed with him, and if he found out because that bastard wanted to cause problems, she'd rip his tongue out.
"For the record, he's not completely wrong. You should do something about that hair, it's best that we avoid standing out." Henna said, cutting through the tension and running her hand through the line where the pink in his hair met the orange.
Present
Though it pained him greatly, he had gone and dyed his hair once more, picking a dark shade of brown to match with Lavender. Really, his whole attire was far more dressed down than he'd have preferred, wearing little more than a white breathable turtleneck with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a set of brown pants. He was wearing all the cheap stuff of course, he couldn't ruin his designer suits by getting filth, sand, and blood all over them. It all felt fundamentally wrong to him, he'd spent years actively dressing in the most flashy way possible specifically to stand out more when he committed crimes, the whole 'blend in and be unnoticed' bit was for cowards and people who couldn't fight their way out of a bunch of pigs surrounding them. Though on the bright side, it worked, at a glance, no one would ever recognise him in something so bland.
Stepping out onto the balcony of Henna's hotel room, Romeo stared over the city in full swing. He'd seen the festival in action at home once or twice, and it was no different here, aside from the architecture being more bland than usual. That, and he wasn't allowed to go around taking advantage of all the fresh faces. Yet, despite the amount of eyes everywhere, there was no need for the cover of some old unused wearhouse or a shop to serve as a front for their presence. After all, this was the biggest tourist attraction in the world, a bunch of new faces showing up out of the blue was to be expected and served as perfect cover for whatever plans his 'big sister' and her friends had cooked up that he was being kept in the dark about, something that both bothered and concerned him greatly.
"You know, you may have a more comfortable time here if you give our ways a real chance." Though phrased as a suggestion, Romeo could clearly hear the frustration in her tone. Admittedly, he hadn't been the best house guest, but if they really expected a kingpin to suddenly bend the knee and turn into a pious little cultist, that was more on their unrealistic expectations than it was on how he acted. Then again, he supposed delusion and cultism went hand and hand.
"Not to state the obvious, but I'm a criminal by trade, following the arbitrary rules of people who want me to be all good and righteous has never really jived with my style." She looked at him, not angrily, but with a sense of disappointment and pity.
"I see you're still skeptical of our Goddess. You're a very close minded man, aren't you Romeo?" It took a real effort not to scoff or roll his eyes at her. He didn't know if he really believed in gods or not, it wasn't important to him. If they were real, he'd deal with it after he died, and if not, then it wasn't his problem, but he knew bullshit when he saw it.
"No offense, but I'm not exactly the religious type, I've planned too many cons not to end up putting together that most of it's just smoke and mirrors set up to con idiots into giving up their time and money." He paused, noting her unamused assessment of his point of view. "Oh, but not yours of course, I'm sure your faith is well placed."
"Faith?" she chuckled. "You think I worship the Goddess based on nothing but blind faith?"
"That's typically how this whole scam works, isn't it?"
"I suppose someone who hasn't seen what I have would think so. Make no mistake my dear brother, I don't use faith to know we're doing her work. It's because she's told me herself." Ever since they'd met, this woman had the ability to make him uncomfortable, and most of the time, she wasn't even trying. She usually spoke to him with a motherly tone that made her nonsense almost sound plausible, it was no wonder she had brainwashed Lavender into believing in this crap, but her words weren't the part that left him unsettled. No, it was the fact that, as far as he could tell, she was being completely genuine.
