Chapter 414: Chapter 375
'Can you hear me....?'
'My name is – %$&* %*#&@'
My eyes snapped open and I immediately sat up, twisting my head every direction, looking around the dark room.
The only sound was my Scroll buzzing on the nightstand next to me.
Well, that and the shuffling of sheets to my left.
"Time?" Scáthach shifted on her side of the bed.
I grabbed my scroll reading the message I had been sent. Apparently Pyrrha and her team were going to be coming to Vale from Beacon around noon along with another team they're friendly with. I sleepily responded to her that I'll text her a place to meet up for lunch and then tossed my scroll back onto the table, only for it to miss and fall to the floor.
"Little after Seven." I fell back down into my pillow.
"I have become lazy." She muttered, scooting closer, her head resting on my chest. "I am normally awake hours earlier. You are to blame, my student."
"Yes, it's all my fault." I ran my fingers through her long hair. Scáthach being 'lazy' was always cute, the few rare times it happened. "It's alright to take it easy every once in a while."
"Why did you become startled in your sleep? That device should not have caused such a reaction. If the Bounded Fields were not still up, I would assume we were under attack."
Yeah, the Bounded Field was still up, I don't know why I was jittery. It was pretty standard to put up Bounded Fields in any room we stayed in, like this hotel room we rented for the night. "Honestly, I don't know. I felt like I heard a voice I didn't recognize and...I just reacted."
I lifted up the blanket a little to peek underneath. Scáthach's naked body was pressed against mine.
She playfully pinched my hand. "Do not get any ideas. I am still sore and you spent more than enough time this previous night enjoying yourself."
"I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one though."
"It was adequate." She replied, a little grin made it easy to know she was intentionally being vindictive in her words.
"I'm going to meet up with Pyrrha, the red-headed girl you met before. She enrolled in Beacon and is bringing her team and some friends outside for the day. Do you want to stick around, or do you want to do your own thing?"
"I would like to see if that child has furthered her training, however, it is best that I stay away from....Beacon and its students for now."
"...do I want to know?"
Her only response was muffled giggled into my chest.
"Alright then."
"I wish to see this Vacuo."
"I heard it's pretty much just desert. The Kingdom is barely more than the Huntsman School and the surrounding...city, if that can even be used to describe it."
"Yes, Salem spoke about it. I am intrigued and wish to explore; the weather holds no bearing over me."
"You can obviously take care of yourself, so I won't say anything to dissuade you. Do you need a hand or can you find your way there?"
"I can manage." She tilted her head up, smiling at me. "However, your concern is appreciated."
"....sleep for a little while longer or do something else?"
Her red eyes stared into mine for a moment before rolling over on top of me.
Guess that answered my question.
[***]
"I went ahead and ordered some Coffee for you two." I said as Artoria and Rin sat down at the table to join me.
"This is perfect, thanks Schweinorg." Rin practically collapsed into her seat while Artoria gracefully slid into the one next to me.
"Late night?' I asked.
"Vale has an interesting night life." Artoria calmly sipped her beverage while Rin nearly inhaled hers.
"The Twins didn't give you too much trouble?"
"Ugh, they're such bitches." Rin groaned. "Not in a bad way though."
"There's....a bad way to interpret that?"
"You're such a boy." Rin rolled her eyes. "They aren't like that Edelfelt Bitch."
"Right, that explains it perfectly and I'm left without questions." I didn't even bother asking for a better explanation. "Did you have fun though?"
Rin held a thumbs up as she downed her coffee. "The clothes here are actually really nice and they aren't that expensive. Those two took us practically all over Vale to shop and see everything. We didn't even hit a Hotel until late into the morning."
"It was a pleasant experience, despite my reservations. I enjoyed meeting your friends." Artoria added on.
"You should thank me, Schweinorg."
"Why's that?"
"Dragged her into a lingerie shop and helped her pick out a few things."
"R-Rin." Artoria puffed up, looking a little red.
Well, I'd certainly enjoy that later. "How about I buy you another coffee as thanks?"
"Deal."
My Scroll buzzed.
'Pyrrha: Just got off the Bullhead, heading there now!'
"They're on their way." I informed the two, putting my Scroll to the side.
"Speaking of, anything we should know about your friends?"
"Singular in this case. I only know Pyrrha, and she's bringing her team and friends or something. But everything but Magic and all that good stuff is still a secret. I've basically just been playing it off as having a Space based Semblance."
"Really? And people actually believe that bullcrap?" Rin looked at me skeptically.
"How many people do you think actually know the full depth of something as vague as 'space manipulation'? I can bullshit pretty dam hard with that kind of thing."
"You're right. And I've seen you do more with less."
"Well, it shouldn't really matter. Pyrrha's a sweet girl, and it's not like we're going to be interrogated....much."
"I'd ask if you're trying to screw her too, but I think she's too young for you." Rin snorted.
"Are you calling Artoria old?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh don't even try that." Rin huffed. "She's eternally going to be young. Actually, did you know she grew an inch since I summoned her? I thought Servants couldn't change? Beyond...your weirdness and stuff."
"Well...." I rubbed my chin. "Artoria isn't even a real Servant from what I understand. And technically, she shouldn't even be a Servant as Avalon has a claim on her. Avalon is one of the few places that can stop the Throne from claiming a soul after death."
"Yes, my true body still waits at Camlann. My contract was originally to fight in the Grail War, but things became messy, and my contract seems to have become void. I assume if I ever die in my Servant existence that I would return to such and then be sent to Avalon as you said." Artoria nodded.
"Yeah, that's about what I thought. However, I think it should be noted, if you ever die, we're invading Avalon."
"Does that even need to be said?" Rin huffed. "Don't talk about your death so emotionlessly, Saber." She nudged Artoria with her shoulder.
"I apologize." She responded with a small, but happy smile.
"Going back on topic. I think she should be slightly changing? Since she's not exactly a 'real' Servant, thus her Servant body is more of a reflection of her actual body? I doubt that when you made the deal with Alaya, that the entity even bothered to consider the happenstance that you survived years afterwards, thus didn't waste the energy on facilitating the same conditions of a 'normal' servant."
"Do you believe I will age to some extent?" Artoria asked.
"I can't claim to know for sure, but I think there will be some slight changes? Being away from that world-line is probably helping in that regard. Since there is no force that wants to squash a spiritual existence like a Servant on sight, your existence is....solidifying, for lack of a better word. And it's already something not normal for any other Servant, so there's the possibility of side effects like this."
I did wonder how Artoria would look if she reflected her age a little more....
Maybe I'll get to see that in the future.
"I'll be sure to thoroughly check you for any changes in the future~"
"Wil..." Artoria dipped her head cutely.
"That them?" Rin interrupted, jerking her thumb at a bunch of people walking right outside, past the front windows before opening the doors.
"Looks like it." I stood up, walking towards the entrance.
"Wil!" Pyrrha happily called out.
"Hey there, Red" I offered her my arms and she gladly accepted the hug. "And teammates?" I looked at the group following behind her. "Ruby?" I tilted my head, remembering what Roman told me.
She beamed. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you know Pyrrha and I know Pyrrha too! I saw the competition, and then you became a criminal and I finally got that metal you gave me to melt and then –"
"Ruby, pace yourself." A blond girl walked up, grabbing her head.
"Right, I got a table. I'd love to get a proper introduction." I offered.
"Oh great, I'm starving. You think they serve pancakes here, Renny?" A orange haired girl happily walked over, pulling a guy with black and pink hair along with her.
"We'll find out, Nora."
Though, not everyone was as...excited? A white-haired girl gave me a death stare the moment she walked in.
And another black haired girl with a bow that looked at me strangely but didn't speak a word.
Last of them was someone else I recognized.
"Well, if it isn't Rufus." I hadn't seen him since the tournament. I remember we had a chat in between fights. He was pretty skilled too from what I recall.
He perked up at me calling out his name and gave a smile.
I went back to my seat as they all sat down too. Though it was a little awkward at first.
"It's nice to meet Pyrrha's friends and teammates." I decided to break the ice. "I heard that you get partners and teams and such."
Pyrrha nervously smiled. "The first person we ran into during the test became our partner. Then once we finished the test, we were assigned another pair for a team."
"Yup! I'm the leader of team Raspberry!" Ruby stood up, proudly proclaiming.
"Context?"
Pyrrha chuckled a little. "They give us color-based names depending on our initials. We're team RSPR, which is Raspberry."
"Team Raspberry, role call!" Ruby called out. "I'm the leader, Ruby Rose!"
'Uh, Rufus Hedge..." Rufus introduced himself with a lot less enthusiasm. "I'm Ruby's partner."
"Hello, I'm Pyrrha Nikos." She smiled towards Artoria and Rin, both of whom nodded towards.
"Weiss Schnee." The white-haired girl turned her nose up. "Partner to Pyrrha Nikos, which is the only reason I'm here, in the presence of criminals."
"...Weiss." Pyrrha sighed.
"Ignore Ice queen there." The blonde spoke up, making Weiss scoff. "I'm Yang Xiao long, Ruby's older sister."
"Blake Belladonna." A girl with the bow was curt with her own name.
"Oh my turn! I'm Nora Valkyrie!" The bombastic orange haired girl introduced herself next.
"Ren." The quieter boy next to her politely introduced himself as well. "I'm the leader for team...Rainbow."
"Team RYNB, woo!" Nora threw her hands up.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Artoria Pendragon, Wilhelm's Girlfriend." Artoria took the reins next. "This is Rin Tohsaka." She gestured next to her.
"Hey." Rin casually waved.
"And I believe you know Wilhelm."
"I doubt there's anyone on Remnant that doesn't know him." Weiss scoffed again. "One of the most wanted people in the world."
"Not according to Vale." I pointed out.
"As if anyone is stupid enough to believe that ridiculous nonsense they said when they withdrew your wanted posters." Her face turned sour. "Probably bribed and extorted your way out of trouble."
"Come on Weiss, you don't know that." Ruby tried to calm her down.
"Actually, that's fairly accurate." I hummed.
"Wil." Pyrrha face palmed.
"I knew it!" Weiss raised her hand, pointing at me in accusation. "And you even admitted it, just wait until I report you to the proper authorities."
"....you mean the ones he allegedly bribed?" Rin raised an eyebrow.
"Pfft." Yang snorted under her breath. "She's got you there, Ice Queen."
"H-how can you take their side, Xiao Long!? He's a criminal who just admitted to....to illegal activity!"
"I'm not really crying over some thief. Point me at some Grimm instead, you know, the things actually killing people?" Yang shrugged.
"B-but he's a criminal!"
"Wasn't it revealed that your family was using literal slaves not that long ago?" Blake spoke up, the quiet girl taking a jab.
"T-that was not us. They had nothing to do with us and they were rightfully punished!" Weiss defended herself. "And he's wanted by Atlas for several murders because of that!"
They all looked at me. "I'm not going to explain myself for killing people using children as slaves. And I don't mean the labor kind."
But I didn't know I had new warrants out for my head.
Neat.
"Huh, what do you mean?" Ruby looked confused.
"I'll tell you when you're older." Yang put her hand on Ruby's head.
"I heard that you rescued a bunch of Faunus. People have been saying that you're secretly a Faunus too." Blake looked at me questioningly.
"Nope, no Faunus blood."
"Oh, I heard about that too!" Nora rumbled, shifting the morbid atmosphere from my earlier remark. "Wasn't there a thing about the head of Menagerie wanting to give him a medal or something?"
"It was a ribbon." Blake clarified. "And it's a symbolic gesture to show that you're a friend to Menagerie."
"Huh, I didn't know that." I replied. "Maybe I'll pop over there later. I hope that Dust was useful for them at least."
"That Dust was property of Schnee Dust Company!" Weiss practically screeched.
"The Dust that came from slave labor?" Rin raised an eyebrow. "Seems like a weird hill to die on if you're trying to protect your image."
"As if a criminal would understand anything about image." Weiss scowled.
"Excuse me?" Rin's tone shifted. "Since when am I a criminal?"
"You are consorting with him." Weiss gestured to me. "What else would you be?"
"By that logic, wouldn't your Partner be a criminal too?" Rin retorted.
"O-of course that's different!"
"Right." Rin rolled her eyes. "You have my sympathy, Pyrrha."
"What's that supposed to mean!" Weiss demanded.
"It means, I sympathize with her for having to put up with you for however long your partnership lasts. Barely ten minutes and I'm at my limit."
This was not how I expected things to go, but I didn't want to interrupt.
"Pyrrha doesn't need the sympathy of some criminal associate! And I certainly don't have to explain our relationship to some common vagrant."
"Ugh, a brat trying to play at being an Aristocrat."
"How dare you! I am Weiss Schnee. I am the heir to the Schnee Dust Company. Who are you, some no-name ruffian?!"
"Weiss, Calm down." Pyrrha finally interjected. I think she was just taken off guard by the argument that popped up and didn't know how to react.
"You're right, I am better than rising to the provocations of a criminal." Weiss turned her nose up again.
"Cleary not." Rin said dryly. "But if you got the mental gymnastics to not feel bad about the slave labor your family was using, I doubt you'll care about this."
"My family does not use slave labor!"
"I think there's evidence that contradicts that..."
"That was not under our authority!"
"That makes it alright then."
"That's not what I meant!"
We were all sort of whipping our heads back and forth as they argued across the table.
Frankly, this wasn't Rin being outraged at the whole 'save labor' thing, not to say she condoned it. But this was her being annoyed at Weiss' attitude from the start and decided to snip back at her. Rin wasn't one to take being talked down to like this.
It reminded me of when I saw her with Luvia.
Though for some reason, Blake had the biggest grin on her face. Actually, the other team seemed to be amused by the whole thing as they silently watched.
"Oh brothers, just fight or fuck already!" Though Yang finally let out a frustrated grunt.
"Yang! Language!" Ruby huffed.
"Please, I have standards." Rin scoffed.
"What's that supposed to mean!" Weiss screeched in outrage.
"Exactly what I said."
"Y-you!" Weiss stood up, sneering like she was about to explode. "For once, I agree with Xiao Long!"
"Oh, you wanna fight?" Rin chuckled.
"Weiss, you're a Huntress in Training...." Pyrrha interjected.
"I got my Aura Unlocked, let's go brat." Rin made a 'bring it on' gesture.
"Miss Goodwitch said we'll get in trouble if we fight outside of school." Ruby said quietly, pulling her hood a little down her face.
"So do it at Beacon." Yang offered as everyone stared at her. "What? You're allowed to bring people over if you get permission. Go ask her and get one of the sparring rooms reserved. There's no rules against it."
"I'm surprised you know anything about rules, Xiao Long." Weiss looked at her skeptically.
"I like to know what I can get away with." She shrugged.
"Fine." Weiss slapped the table. "I'm going to call Miss Goodwitch, and I'll arrange everything." Her eyes landed on Rin. "And then I'll make you eat your words." She turned her nose up, walking out the door with scroll in hand.
"Well, that escalated rather quickly." I noted.
Well, I did want to check out Beacon? What's the worst that could happen?
[***}
A/N
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