Right-Hand Haremette
She knew that this was a bad idea. She already has a good job with a very respectful boss, a steady income that she can support herself with - weekly 150,000 Lien being extremely generous excluding the occasional bonuses - alongside Beacon's allowance.
If anything, Velvet might as well be relatively well-off if not for her family debt. She can do a lot with the money Reid gives her, might even do something for herself for once. Go out with Coco for some new clothes or upgrade her weapon.
But of course, she couldn't do that. It never felt right to use the money she earns for herself, and while she realizes how backward that way of thinking is, she has to help her family. They don't have much time to pay back the whole thing.
She remembers the time she told her boss about the debt, grimacing every time. Why did she have to open her big mouth? Now Reid felt obligated to pay her more than usual, and she noticed it. The bonuses only started after she told him, all under the excuse of 'dealing with hordes'.
Velvet appreciated it, but at the same time, it made her feel bad. It almost feels like she's taking advantage of his kindness, because while she didn't feel comfortable around him at first, she quickly realized how sympathetic and nice he is, even under that scary yet handsome face.
In all honesty, she wanted to get closer to her boss. It's embarrassing how hard Velvet fell for him, but she couldn't help it. Aside from his general kindness, she really admired his outlook on life, his confidence, his hardworking nature, and how humble he was no matter what title he's been slapped with.
And he's a little over a year younger than her, apparently only turning seventeen a few weeks ago. She admittedly likes older guys, but he looks like he's in his early twenties, so it didn't really matter. At first, Velvet was happy that she practically sees him every day, even if he spends most of his time in that basement of his, but over time, she wanted more.
It wasn't right to think that way. She knew he was in a relationship with Ruby Rose, a wonderful and bright girl, but what was she supposed to do? She never had feelings for someone before. Not to mention her junior, Yang, joined them recently.
Maybe she should just… keep her distance? It's the right thing to do. Velvet would be a horrible person if she tried to cut in for her own selfish desires. It's fine, there's a lot of good guys out there anyway.
…Right?
She shook her head. She can think about this later - right now, she's doing something she hasn't done in years, and she still doesn't know if it's wise or not.
Velvet glanced at the vial in her hand, filled with a glowing, light-yellow liquid. She still remembered the time where her boss came out of nowhere and knocked out two famed robbers in a matter of seconds. At the time, she almost couldn't believe it, but after the announcement of him supposedly defeating a Titan…
Two robbers are small fry compared to that, even if they escaped prison soon after.
He then handed her this potion, one that she doesn't recognize, and Velvet would like to think that she's somewhat of an expert when it comes to differentiating between potions. She even tried some in secret to see what they felt like.
Of course, Reid saw her drinking one at some point, and just laughed heartily as she apologized profusely. It was an embarrassing moment she didn't want to think about.
She remembered his words about this one, too. He told her to drink it whenever she feels 'unlucky' and that it gives her good luck. What does that mean exactly? Is luck an actual thing? And drinking this makes her lucky somehow?
It was quite hard to believe of course. How does that even work?
While she still didn't figure it out, she realized how absurdly powerful this potion is. It's arguably even stronger than the rest of his potions when given to the wrong person. Economies could be ruined with this thing. She wished it existed earlier in her life.
At some point in her life, Velvet had a minor gambling addiction, where she sacrificed a lot of money in hopes of gaining more. She learned all kinds of games, and she was very good at all of them due to her Semblance.
She thrived there, winning millions of Lien in a little under a month. At the time, Velvet thought she had found her calling. Gambling is what she's good at, what will save her and her family from debt. She doesn't need to risk her life killing monsters for a living if this pays a lot better, right?
Of course, she got arrogant and didn't cut her losses while she could've. In one night, she lost all the money she earned to a stranger who had a similar Semblance.
This devastated her, but it woke her up. A good enough shock that made her swear off gambling as a way to earn money.
Until now that is.
She could afford to go back now, by playing it safe and smart, profiting by using her past experience and this luck potion. She didn't really care if it's cheating or not, because it's only cheating if you're caught.
Besides, this particular underground casino is filled with criminals anyway. She never felt bad about it.
Of course, she risks pissing off the person owning this place, but she knows Roman isn't impulsive. He always sits back and sees until he's absolutely sure of his decision. Not that she was this careless to go into a gambling hall without hiding her identity. A cloak, mask, and top hat is a good enough disguise.
So when Velvet entered this place with a mere 50,000 Liens, she didn't expect to leave with fifty times that amount. A whopping 2,500,000 is no joke, especially in one night and in minutes due to the potions time limit, but she managed to play one round of every game, mostly to avoid suspicions. It'd be odd if someone won over and over in one specific game.
Maybe the top hat isn't a good idea. She thought.
Even if the worst came to worst, Velvet had a few combat potions she got as gifts from her boss. It's not exactly wise to enter an illegal casino where the law can't help you without any backup plans. Who knows what they might do if they suspected her of cheating.
Not once did she lose, not even a single Lien. She kept raking in the money, always betting everything she had which prompted her opponents to do the same. After all, she didn't really have much to lose. 50k is only a third of her weekly pay, bonuses notwithstanding. Of course, she didn't stay for too long, otherwise, people would get suspicious. Thankfully the potion doesn't last that long, but she might need to pull back earlier the next time she goes back to this place, maybe lose a few times on purpose.
So here she was, walking down the streets while in awe at the power of the little drink she had earlier, but elated that she managed to turn a measly fifty thousand into over two million. If she borrows or even buys more of these luck potions, she might be able to go back to gambling.
Because while it's a risky, but effective way of getting money, Velvet might be enjoying it a little too much.
Professional gambling sounds nice.
(Reid)
A part of me regrets not visiting this place earlier, because it would've saved me a lot of trouble with space for my potions. The mansion itself might not be gigantic, but the land itself feels almost endless. Huge gardens I can use for my ingredients, a forest extending around the mansion which is part of the land itself - clear of any Grimm, side building for workers that's almost as big as the mansion itself, a pool behind the main building, and a beach a little bit further.
I can fit so many things in this place, so many carefree experiments due to it being pretty far from the main city. It's like one of those vacation homes rich pricks have, only it's my actual home. And I'm also rich.
The main building has so many rooms in it I might actually get lost, and each room is almost bigger than the entire first floor of my other base in the city. Not to mention, everything is furnished already, so I don't have to agonize about that at all.
Maybe I shouldn't put off stuff like this anymore, because now I don't have to worry about dangerous magical experiments as much while I'm here. It's pretty far from the city, so if I somehow summon a cataclysmic event, I can deal with it before it gets too far. Probably.
I'm definitely doing a lot of dangerous experiments, but let's hope it doesn't get to that point. Having to deal with slavers, monsters of darkness and some genocidal woman hellbent on spiting her ex-husband for all of eternity is enough for me. I don't need to add demons or something to that list.
…Maybe once I get strong enough, I'll invade hell instead. We'll see how the demons like it, the bastards.
Regardless, this place is perfect for me. A lot of space, big gardens, and a beach are exactly what I needed. Ruby and Yang are gonna have a blast here once I invite them. It's legit a vacation home for them.
"This place is huge," Titania mutters, looking over the balcony. "You sure we won't get lost around here?"
"It's big, not a maze," I reply. "Come on, it's not that hard to navigate through."
"I'm talking about the inside." She points at the building.
"Oh." I blink. "Eh, we'll get used to it."
"Do you need a place that big?" Kiryu asks. He wouldn't exactly be a bodyguard if he didn't follow me outside the main city.
"Yes, actually. Besides, who wouldn't want a mansion?" I shrug. "I earned this fair and square. Come on, let's explore this place a little more."
The three of us continue walking, with Titania keeping a distance likely due to her nervousness. I can tell she slightly warmed up to me on the way here, but it's just enough to break the tension and awkwardness. She knows that she's technically a prisoner here.
Under the custody of the most powerful huntsman in Vale, if not the entire world. Yeah, that's bound to make anyone nervous. I'll get through her though, she doesn't seem that bad to be honest.
As I open the door to what I assume is the kitchen, I smile. Nice, everything looks clean, and it's big enough to cook whatever I want. I always wanted a bigger kitchen but I always put it off for more important stuff.
But who keeps everything here in pristine condition? This realization makes me frown. Now that I think about it, I've yet to see anybody here aside from us. I expected maids and butlers or some crap, but it's so empty in here.
Do I have to hire staff on my own?
Eh, it shouldn't be hard. I mean, who would reject a job offer from me? Who wouldn't want to live in the same place as the Titan Slayer?
In fact…
I glance at Titania, who frowns at my gaze nervously. "W-what?"
"Nothing." I smile knowingly. "Nothing at all."
I just had a great idea.
A genius idea in fact.
"I think this is enough for a tour. Pretty sure we visited everything we needed to visit, aside from the multiple bedrooms of course." I say. "Titania, find a room and stay in it for the time being. I'll come over to discuss things with you later."
"Well, alright." She responds and does as she's told.
"Follow me, Kiryu. There's something I need to show you."
He nods silently before the two of us make our way to the beach. A bigger place would be appreciated to be honest, just in case anything destructive happens, but this is good enough. I don't think the first time teaching Haki is gonna get that violent.
I needed to do this soon, especially with Titania's defection and Cinder's apparent disappearance. These things might not be that much of a blow to Salem's plans, but they still likely affected them in some way.
This means she might be getting aggressive soon, and that's not good, because if she really wanted to, she could command her entire army to absolutely decimate the kingdoms, and the sheer amount of negativity from that will attract Titans assuming she can't control them, which will just finish the job.
My plan so far is to play on her arrogance until the kingdoms are strong enough to handle what she can throw, but if she gets serious early, we're fucked.
As we arrive, I see Qrow waiting for us, or me specifically. He has yet to meet Kiryu in the end.
"Had a few words with Oz, said he needed me for a mission soon." He started. "So I'd appreciate it if you keep it quick."
"Yeah, no. You're not going anywhere for the next few weeks at least." I say, surprising him.
He raises a brow, waiting for me to explain.
"First, let me introduce you to Kazuma Kiryu, a friend of mine." I point at the Dragon of Dojima. "Kiryu, this is Qrow Branwen. Also a friend of mine."
Kiryu nods in greeting, prompting Qrow to do the same.
"Anyway, what I wanted you here for might need you to take a vacation." I continue. "See, there's something I wanted to teach you, something that could help you a lot in your missions."
"And what brought this on?" Qrow questions. "Pretty sudden, don't you think."
"With the recent events, not as much as you'd think." I shake my head. "Salem suffered real, albeit small losses, which means she might stop fucking around soon."
Qrow stills and frowns, eyes darting between me and Kiryu.
"He already knows and he can be trusted." I sigh. "I wouldn't have brought him here otherwise, Qrow."
He relaxes a bit and crosses his arms, prompting me to continue.
"As I was saying, Salem getting serious is probably a worst-case scenario. Right now, we don't stand a chance if she decides to throw her armies of possibly millions of Grimm at us." I explain. "Even if she doesn't outright try to invade, she'll make sure to hit us where it hurts, meaning targeting Ozpin's closest agents."
Qrow frowns, but nods in understanding. "Makes sense. Even losing one of the circle's members is a bitch to deal with. It might set us back a few years."
"A few years we can't really afford." I nod. "And seeing how often you go on missions, you're a prime target. She'll throw everything just to capture or at least kill you."
"So what do you propose then?" Qrow asks. "I can't exactly grow like before, already reached my prime, and my magic isn't what I'd call good for self-defense."
"Oh don't worry," I smirk. "I know exactly what you need."
I extend my arm, clench my fist, and activate Armament, the whole limb turning a black metallic color with faint silver swirl markings. Huh, that wasn't here before. Is it because I maxed it out?
"Oh, yeah, I remember this." Qrow frowns, rubbing his chin. "You used it against Fenrir and that Forest Grimm."
Kiryu frowns, observing silently. I debated whether I should teach him Haki now or after magic, but I think growing physically is more his style. The man has insane physical stats after his Aura got unlocked, rivaling mine even, so adding Haki on top of that should be better than trying to up his versatility. For now at least.
And I don't think he's gonna have a lot of trouble learning it. This guy literally learned an entire fighting style after witnessing it once. On two separate occasions.
"Yep, this is what I call Haki." I nod. "It's willpower turned into a weapon. There are three types of Haki, and what you're seeing right now is called Armament Haki."
"Willpower?" Qrow blinks. "So this isn't magic?"
"No, it isn't. This isn't magic or Aura, it's an entirely different thing." I shake my head. "And anybody can learn two types of it, with the third having only a select few being capable of using it."
"Right. So what can each do?"
"Armament increases your power and defense considerably, and the better you are at it, the stronger it becomes," I explain. "And you can hit anyone with intangibility.
"Then we have Observation, which is probably the most useful out of the three." I continue. "It gives you a sixth sense of sorts, you'll be able to feel close danger and your body will move on its own to dodge it."
Kiryu blinks. "Is that why your reflexes are top-notch?"
"Yup, I wouldn't have been able to dodge half the things you threw at me without it." I nod. "And if you're as skilled as I am, you'll be able to see the future. A few seconds, but that's more than enough to come up with a plan and turn the tides."
"Those are like extra Semblances, powerful ones at that," Qrow says in surprise. "And anyone can learn it?"
"Yeah, those two can be taught to everyone." I smile. "The third one, though, is different. It's called Conqueror's. Its power is enforcing your will upon others, effectively knocking them out, and sometimes if you're strong enough, completely shattering their minds."
Both look a little confused at that. I don't blame them, it's not exactly easy to explain what 'enforcing your will upon others' feels like.
"How about a demonstration?" I offer.
Qrow pauses for a moment, glances at Kiryu who is equally puzzled, and nods.
With that, I unleash a burst of Conquerors Haki strong enough that the sand around me begins to float. Both Kiryu and Qrow flinch violently, feeling the intense power of my Haki. I don't go full power of course, though even if I did, I'm not very sure I'll be able to knock them out with it.
They're too experienced and have the willpower to resist.
I stop using it, the tornado of sand around me dying down as the atmosphere relaxes. Of course, both are very intimidated, which might be inflating my ego a little, but I keep it to myself. Haki in a world like RWBY is unbelievably overpowered in the right hands.
"W-what the hell was that?" Qrow questions.
"Arguably one of my most powerful abilities," I say. "I don't use it on Grimm since it's next to useless, but everything else?"
"It felt like an otherworldly power was trying to force me to my knees." Kiryu describes, a bit more composed. "I can see why someone would want to learn this."
"That's one way to put it." Qrow sighs. "Can you stop coming up with a new superpower every five minutes?"
"Like I said, it's rare. Not everyone can use it." I remind them. "Still, regardless if you have it or not, the first thing you need to learn is Armament obviously. It should be the easiest."
"The black thing with your arm," Kiryu says. "How do we do it?"
"Will it into existence," I say simply.
"That's it?" Qrow blinks, raising a brow.
"Yep. Again, Haki is fueled by Willpower. It's not soul-based or mind-based like Aura and Magic." I explain. "It is similar to Aura though since willpower is like spiritual energy. So try to do it like how you'd bring up your Aura for defense."
"Hm…"
Both focus on doing that as my scroll suddenly vibrates. I take it out and see a few messages from Ruby, and raise a brow.
Ruby Rose: Are u free
Ruby Rose: I'm in the hospital rn
Ruby Rose: My dad said he wanted to meet you
Her timing is terrible.
"I don't think this is working," Qrow says.
"Don't just imagine it working, will it to work." I try to elaborate.
He frowns and gets back to it, whispering under his breath. "How the hell do I do that…?"
I quickly reply to Ruby, smiling at her response before stuffing my scroll back into my pocket.
You: Not for a while. Give me an hour or two and I'll be there.
Ruby Rose: Its fine. take ur time
You: Also, it's 'at' the hospital, not 'in the hospital'. You're not injured, just visiting someone.
Ruby Rose: Same thing
Ruby Rose: I hate this dumb language
Same.
I haven't seen her the entire day. Way too long if you ask me.
I miss this girl already.
(Yang)
She didn't know how much of a fuck up this was, but she hoped it wouldn't be that bad. She just couldn't handle the pressure and guilt of hiding this anymore, she's not used to lying so much.
She prayed that Reid wouldn't be angry at her, but last she checked, he never mentioned anything about hiding their relationship, or at least that they knew each other, did he? He only told her to keep her mouth shut about magic, and it's not like Weiss or the rest of her team need to know about it.
After all, they're just wondering where she's been and what she's doing. Magic kinda has nothing to do with that.
She's been with Reid Astera, training under him. That's it. Nothing special.
Of course, her team didn't share her feelings about that. Yang would sometimes forget that Reid is a worldwide hero who single-handedly defeated Fenrir, and recently killed another one which the public still doesn't know about.
She can't help it, though. After getting to know him a little better, Yang realized that he's a normal guy. Handsome and absurdly powerful for sure, but he's not as perfect as the media portrays him to be.
He had strange and unusual interests like his magic thingies, but also regular ones like reading comics and stuff. It's hard to make a connection between the public Reid and the actual one. She sees how he acts around his fans, after all. He likes his spotlight.
Regardless, Weiss wasn't happy about it, which is understandable, but surprisingly not that angry about it either. Just shocked. Blake and Levi shared the same feeling, looks of surprise before the former looked at her knowingly.
Yang didn't like that weird, kind of smug gaze as her partner hid behind her book. Blake felt like she was seeing right through the blond.
"L-look, Weiss, I'm just saying that my sis knew him before he got famous and-"
"And you kept quiet about it?" Weiss cut her off. "So you've been disappearing because Mr. Astera offered you to train under him, and you never told us?!"
Yang quickly thought of a decent excuse. "If I told you, then rumors might spread around and everyone would want a piece of him. right?"
"Yes, that's true-"
"Then they're gonna pester him about it and interrupt his work," Yang said, regaining her confidence. "I'm just protecting his privacy, Weiss. I know what I did, and I'm sorry about it, but look at it from my point of view."
"I…I-I suppose you're right." Weiss sat back down, crossing her arms with an annoyed look. "You should've at least told us in secret."
"I know, I know. But now that I told you, you can rest easy." Yang said, thankfully defusing the situation. "I'm not doing anything bad behind your back. I've just gotten Astera's offer because my sister knew him before he got famous. Nothing more."
"Could this be your sister by any chance?" Blake suddenly said, showing her a picture of Ruby hanging out with Reid on her scroll. "Someone caught a picture of Astera with a girl at the Firesteel Festival. Is this her?"
"Erm, y-yeah…" Yang said, suddenly feeling nervous again,
"Hm, I see. They seem pretty close." Her partner hummed.
"Uh yeah, they were good friends before Reid killed the Titan," Yang explained. "Is there a problem…?"
"What are you getting at, Blake?" Weiss frowned.
"Nothing." Blake smiled, her eyes gaining a mischievous glint. "Oh yeah, now that I think about it, I remember you saying something about your sister getting a boyfriend recently."
Yang's blood froze. Oh no.
Levi looked between the three nervously, the tension seemingly getting a little hard to bear for her. It didn't help that Weiss realized what Blake meant, slowly craning her head towards the blond with a wide-eyed look.
"Is it safe to say that this mysterious boyfriend is Astera himself?" Blake said with a shit-eating grin.
Blake, you stupid, sexy bitch. Yang grimaced. Why the hell did you do that for?
"Well, Yang?" Weiss scowled deeply. "Is it?"
"I-I can explain-"
"So IT IS!" Weiss cut her off with a yell, slamming her hand on the table.
Ah shit, here we go again. Yang groaned as Weiss started berating her, giving her smug partner a poorly hidden glare. I'll get you back for this.
"I should've known you'd try to hide something like that from me!" The heiress said. "You've already kept so many things away from me. What next, you're also dating him?!"
"W-Weiss, calm down." Yang winced at that and tried to soothe her. "I know how hard it must be to hear this-"
"I-I thought he was single…" She mumbled, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "B-but I suppose someone like him obviously has a lover or two. A-after all, he's the Titan Slayer. He could easily get more than one girlfriend."
She said that twice. Yang grimaced. Is she trying to convince me, or herself?
Quickly thinking to herself, Yang tried to come up with another solution that could defuse this situation. Thankfully, she was an expert at these sorts of things, and an idea quickly formed in her head.
Reid said he wanted a harem, didn't he? Well…
Her eyes flickered to her other teammates then went back to Weiss. Her team consists of four beautiful girls, and Yang is sure they wouldn't mind getting a piece of him. It'd be hard to convince them, but all that needs to happen is Reid doing some work and seducing them himself.
And who's a better link than Yang herself? She knew he'll treat them right.
"Aww Weiss, don't be sad." Yang cooed, patting her friend's head.
"I'm not sad!" She whined, flustered
"Shh, it's alright.." The blond hushed. "I know how your first heartbreak feels, I went through it myself y'know."
Weiss looked away, trying to hold her tears so hard.
"Y-you do?" She whispered.
She's not even denying it. Yang almost smirked, giving Blake a quick smug look.
"Yes, I do. But you don't have to feel so down about it." Yang patted her back. "I mean, look at the bright side! Reid and I are so close that I started to address him by his first name."
Weiss growled in annoyance, misunderstanding what she meant.
"You know what that means?" The blond grinned, elaborating. "I can convince him to take you three in as students too!"
All three looked at Yang in shock.
"You can do that?!" Blake questioned with wide eyes.
"Probably." She shrugged. "He's a softie once you get to know him. He wouldn't say no."
And I need backup with that monster. Yang thought, cheeks reddening a little. He made it obvious that I can't do it alone.
She's not gonna lie, this harem idea seems more appealing every time she thinks about it.
"You're not just saying that to make me feel better, right?" Weiss said, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Can you actually convince him?"
"I can." Yang nodded confidently.
"Then do that!" The heiress said excitedly, face brightening up before she caught herself, regaining her composure. "I-I mean, it wouldn't be very fair if you trained alone. After all, we're a team and we should grow together. Our teamwork would lose its chemistry otherwise. Wouldn't you think so too, Levianna, Blake?"
"I-I suppose." Levi agreed. "I never thought I'd ever even meet him in person… this all seems so surreal."
"A-are you sure this is a good idea, Yang?" Blake said, looking worried. "I mean, isn't he busy?"
"He's already teaching me and my sis two or three hours a day." Yang shrugged. "I don't think it would matter if there are three more people."
"Then it's settled," Weiss said, looking far happier than before. "Yang, you can leave Beacon whenever you like, but remember that you must convince him. For the sake of your team of course."
"Promise." She gave a thumbs-up. "Just be prepared. He's pretty harsh."
"We can handle it." The heiress said in confidence.
Oh, it'll be great to see you eat those words. Yang's grin turned knowing.
"Well, we got the heavy stuff out of the way. How about we go shopping?" The blond said, and Weiss nodded.
"Hm, yes, that sounds nice." She stood up from her chair, then turned to her teammate with a nervous look. "Y-you better tell me what he prefers girls wear. I'd like to make a good impression."
It's funny how Weiss instantly forgot that he was taken, or she didn't care and thinks she has a chance anyway. She's so cute, almost the same way as her sister, but with added haughtiness.
They should meet. They'll probably get along.
"Weiss, you're going to train, not a date."
"You don't know what might happen!"
It's almost a miracle how Yang turned this entire situation around for her own and Reid's benefits. She doesn't get Weiss yelling at her the whole day and he gets the girls. This either is gonna piss him off because she told others about their 'secret' regime, or make him happy because she got him to meet hot girls.
Hopefully the latter, but probably both.
She glanced at the nervous Blake and smirked. That's what you get for trying to fuck me over.
Bitch.
(Reid)
It wasn't surprising that there wouldn't be much progress, it's only the first day after all. If a prodigy like Luffy took two years to be proficient at it, then I doubt they'd have an easy time, even with my teaching skill.
For sure, said skill will likely cut down the time needed considerably, but it could take weeks or months, and Qrow, while younger than Kiryu, doesn't have the same potential, so it'll take him even more time to access Haki.
Which is fine, to be honest. Salem might be getting more active soon, but I very much doubt she'll go full-throttle so early. Getting hit with a setback or not, she still has an eternity to crush humanity as far as she knows. It really isn't much.
Who knows, she might even be enjoying the new challenge. There are already too many differences in this version of RWBY, so who knows if the big bad is different or not. Probably yes.
Regardless, once Qrow is able to proficiently use Haki, I really doubt Salem will be able to put him down easily unless she comes down on him herself. I estimate about a double increase in his stats after we're done, without the use of Haki. Adding his weird Semblance, metal casings, future sight, and potions in hand, and he'd probably be powerful enough to handle some Titans like Fenrir on his own without many difficulties.
As for Kiryu…
Well, he's the kind of person I'm 100% sure has Conquerors. If everything this man went through isn't an indication, I don't know what is.
I'll just have the two practice until they get something working as I work on my artificer skill. There's still that high abundance of mana I spotted with the lens in the distance. I need to check it out soon. Something is off about it, there shouldn't be so much magic in one place.
As I walk into the hospital, the people who spot me in the lobby widen their eyes in surprise, some whispering to one another. I ignore it, of course, I've gotten used to this and I don't particularly mind it.
I would've asked the receptionist where Tai is, but then again I can sense stuff. I know how he feels from that time in the forest, and even if not, Ruby should be close to him anyway. Just search for the strong magical presence and I should find them.
People would bow to me in respect whenever I passed by them, others would smile and wave, prompting me to do the same for courtesy's sake. I don't want to be seen as an asshole after all, even if this isn't really a public visit or anything.
I sense Ruby's presence nearby and knock on the door gently. It slowly opens and Ruby's head peeks from the little gap, her face brightening as she sees me. She swings the door open and hugs me tightly.
"You're finally here!" She cheers. "Come on, I really want you to meet my dad."
"Easy there, I'm not going anywhere,"
She pulls me inside, closing the door behind me as I spot Tai on the bed, smiling and giving me a nod. I can tell he doesn't suffer from any physical abnormalities - by all means, he's perfectly healthy right now. Strange how he wasn't discharged yet.
"Reid, this is my dad." She introduces him. "Dad, this is my boyfriend."
I blink in surprise. "Ruby, maybe you should try to keep it down next time."
"Haha, don't worry, she already told me everything." Tai grins playfully. "Including the threeway relationship with my other daughter."
I chuckle awkwardly and take a seat on a nearby chair. "Yeah, sorry."
"Heh, don't worry, it would be hypocritical of me if I acted all indignant about it." He waves it off. "As long as my girls are happy, I'm happy, and all I heard about you from Ruby was how lovely you are to her."
"Dad, you promised you wouldn't tell him that!" Ruby blushed as he laughed. "F-forget what he's saying."
"Oh no, please keep going." I play off his teasing. "I want to hear all of it."
"Ugh, stooop!"
"Alright, alright, stopping." He says. "But it's nice to finally meet you for real, sir."
"Call me by name. Doesn't feel right to hear sir from my girlfriends' dad." I respond. "Should've visited you a lot sooner, to be honest, but I got busy and I couldn't."
"Don't mention it. In fact, I appreciate that you didn't visit until now." He sighs. "I'd be embarrassed to be seen in that shape in front of someone like you."
"There's nothing to be ashamed of." I insist. "What matters is that you survived. You fought tooth and nail even when you didn't know if help was coming or not. That's admirable."
"Yeah, he's right, dad!" Ruby agrees. "You're like a real hero, never giving up and fighting even if it's looking bleak. I'm really happy to see you alive. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you too…"
15 Reputation with Taiyang Xiao-Long [30/100]
"I suppose that's one way to look at it." His smile returns and bows respectfully. "Thank you for saving my life."
"No need to thank me for doing my job." I shrug. "Wish I could've been more tactful about it, though. Too many unnecessary risks."
Tai's expression twitches as Ruby frowns sadly. The moment I walked in, I felt his animosity towards me. It wasn't huge, he doesn't necessarily hate me because if you haven't noticed, I have positive REP with him.
But he clearly knows of my stupid mistake.
"Ruby, can you leave us for a bit?" He says. "I want to have a word with him privately."
"U-um." Ruby tenses, but complies. "Okay…"
Ruby stands up from her chair and leaves the room, giving us a small glance before closing the door. Tai takes a deep breath and leans back on his bed, and the fun and easy atmosphere from before completely evaporates.
Am I nervous? Maybe a little. I made a severe mistake, I knew something like this would happen eventually. It's only fair if I suffer the consequences.
"Do you realize what you've done?" He asks calmly. "By bringing my daughters to that hellhole?"
"I do." I nod.
"Then you know how stupidly irresponsible it was," He says. "You could've gotten them killed."
"I know that."
"Oh no, I don't think you do," He frowns. "If something happened to them in that forest, it would be because of your stupid, idiotic fuckup. Their blood would be on your hands.
"And if that happened," He glares at me, leaning forward. "I would've done everything in my power to kill you myself."
My fists clench uncontrollably, the prideful of me flaring in anger at his arrogance, but I let it slide. I deserve this- no, I deserve more. This is him being nice right now. I don't know how I'd react if someone endangered my kids like this.
A moment of silence passes as I calm down to stop myself from doing something stupid. Tai rests his back on the bed again, rubbing his temples.
"But this is behind us now." He sighs. "Got this off my chest, but I still need to know. Why did you do it? What were you thinking at the time?"
"I… I don't know." I reply. "I guess I thought that they were owed that. You're their dad, it would only be fair if they came along to see you for themselves."
He remains silent, prompting me to continue.
"I should've been more stern, but I just couldn't deny them. It didn't feel right." I confess. "It's stupid, I realize that. Even when I didn't know there was a Titan-class Grimm there, it was still irresponsible of me to bring them on that mission."
Tai's features soften. "I suppose I can see your point. You followed your heart, what you thought was the right decision, right?"
I nod slowly.
"Then let me tell you something, Reid." He continues. "It's alright to follow what you feel is right, I'd say it's the right decision more often than not. But you shouldn't let it control your judgment.
"Following your heart is good, but remember that it's not the only option you should take." He explains. "There are times where you have to make the logical decisions, the ones your brain comes up with. They may feel wrong, heartless even, but sometimes you need to do what's necessary. Do you understand?"
"...I do."
45 Reputation with Taiyang Xiao-Long [75/100]
"Great, glad we can come to an understanding." He smiles. "I can tell what kind of person you are, Reid. I know what Ruby says about you is no exaggeration, I would've stopped her and Yang from dating you otherwise."
"...Was this a shovel talk all along and I didn't realize it?" I mutter, almost impressed. "You're good."
"Hahaha!" He laughs. "What can I say, you pick up a lot of stuff as a single dad."
"I guess."
"If you ever decide to get busy soon," He winks suggestively. "You know who to ask for dad advice."
"Christ, dude, we're not even twenty yet," I say in amusement.
"Oho you have no idea how much she loves you, do you?" He snickers. "This is gonna be great~"
Heh, I like him.
Someone, who I assume is Ruby, knocks on the door. "Are you done? Can I get in now?"
"Yes, sweetie. We're done with the dad threats." He says without shame.
"Dad, don't threaten my boyfriend." She says with a pout, entering the room. "I told you he's a nice person."
"Yes, and you'd love to marry him when you get older." He teases, making me freeze.
Oh wow.
"DAD!" Her face turns crimson. "He doesn't need to know that!"
"I mean, I'm sure a ring shouldn't be that hard to come by." I shrug. "Do you prefer a diamond or something else? A ruby?"
Tai laughs heartily at tiny the pun as Ruby groans in embarrassment, burying her face in my chest. She begs me to stop teasing her, prompting me to pat her head gently with a chuckle.
It's funny how they think I'm joking.