(A/N: Don't feel like making an auxiliary chapter for this so picks for the MC and his weapon are going here. If any early arrivers don't see the pics immediately, should be up in a second)
XOXO
It'd been 10:00 p.m. when they split up.
Their curfew was 11:00 p.m. sharp.
From Dust Till Dawn, the convenience store they usually got the latest weapon catalogues was open 24/7 but The Sweet Drop, the place they got a lot their snacks from, closed at 10:30 p.m.
Ruby would grab the magazines, he'd grab the snacks, they'd meet back up, head home, and probably stay up longer than they should eating way more sugar than they should. The perfect way to end a day especially with their next year at Signal only two weeks away.
Simple enough right?
KKKSSSHHHHK!
Corvo winced, glass shattering against his back, one shard nicking his cheek before he threw up his aura. Twisting, he landed on the thankfully empty streets, skidding across the asphalt and making sure nothing spilled out of the snack filled bag in his hand. His attacker followed, jumping through the window she'd sent him flying through and landing on the sidewalk, the few people out and about turning tail to run.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?" He exclaimed. "You can't just go around attacking people."
His words went completely ignored, the girl spinning the umbrella she held across her shoulder as she stalked forward, her heels clicking.
"Stop right there!" Ignored again. "I'm serious. I'm training to be a huntsman. You don't want any of this!" She stopped.
It actually worked?
The girl tilted her head, her dual colored hair, one half a dark brown and the other pink, following the movement. Then a smile spread across her face.
And there was something about it that told him-
Suddenly launching herself at him, she started cartwheeling once she got close, Corvo stumbling back and barely avoiding her kicks. He backpedaled, all the kicks that came after quick and hard enough to send his short hair flapping about, barely missing.
He tried being the good huntsman and talking out whatever this misunderstanding was, but like Yang always said, it was important to know when it was time to kick butt.
Bag placed in his mouth, he reached beneath his coat, grabbing the handle of his axe, unhooking and swinging it. Throwing herself into a higher flip, the girl jumped right over his weapon, suddenly swinging that umbrella at his face as she passed over. The swipe ducked, a click came from his weapon as he twisted it about, the silvery blade retracting itself and leaving a stock that he steadied against his shoulder as he took aim.
No one behind her.
Bang!
He fired, her feet hitting the ground in the same moment. His eyes widened slightly when instead of being hit or throwing herself out of the way, she dropped into a full split, the spreading pellets soaring harmlessly over her into a signpost, sending it spinning. She shot right back up, running at an angle. Surprise squashed, he pulled back the slide, another round chambered into his shotgun.
Blinding headlights forced him to squint and throw himself aside, barely avoiding the car that sped past.
Corvo took a breath, retaking aim in the direction the car had come from. Laid out across the ground was none other than his attacker, her dual colored hair splayed across the ground and eyes closed.
Oh crap. Corvo thought, heart thumping against his chest as he rushed over. He didn't start a fight, but did he just indirectly get someone killed? Mind still running through the death he may or may not have played a roll in causing, he stopped beside her, dropping the bag from his mouth and into a hand as he looked her over.
She wasn't moving.
"Oh, crap baskets. I'm going to jail. I'm never going to be a huntsman, I'm-ugh!"
Pain exploded across his face and he stumbled back, forcing his watery eyes to stay open despite the hard blow to his burning nose. Smiling, the girl stood directly beside her fallen body. Said body broke apart into a million pieces, the shattering of glass ringing through the air.
Was that her semblance?
Smile growing wider, she dropped into a low stance, rushing him again.
Well, if she was bringing her semblance into this then he was going to do the same.
Corvo raised his gloved hand, thumb pressed to his middle finger as his weapon clicked once more and he tossed it into the air. She only spared it a quick glance, her eyes matching the dual colors of her hair, the right one pink and the left brown, focused entirely on reaching him, a swipe of her umbrella closing in.
He snapped his fingers.
His flipping weapon froze on the spot. The air around, passing insects stuck in place, stilled. And his attacker's speedy swipe slowed to a snail's crawl.
As he stepped forward, fist cocked back, her eyes slowly, bit by bit, began to widen. Shifting his weight and twisting with it just like Yang and Mom taught him, he socked her right in the face just as the small dome of energy his snap sent out came speeding back into him.
Everything resumed.
Catching his falling weapon, now back in its axe form, Corvo wiped away some of the sweat on his brow.
The girl sent flying back, twisted in midair and landing on her feet across the street. She blinked reaching up to her face.
"Hey, that wasn't fair." He complained, picking up on distant sirens. Good, all he needed to do was stall now. "I seriously thought you were hurt." Finally getting over her shock, her cheek puffed out and she blinked, her eyes now a dark red. As if she had any right to get annoyed at him. "Hey, you attacked and used your semblance first. That was fair play." Tilting her head and crossing her arms as if in thought, she eventually nodded. Seemingly agreeing with him.
This was odd. At first, though he still had no idea what caused this fight, he'd thought he was in danger, but she seemed playful? Maybe-
Suddenly bursting forward, several versions of her formed from weird pinking energy, leaving him no choice but to throw up his axe defensively as the first swung their umbrella. They shattered the moment the blow would've hit him, a kick buried in his gut. Stumbling he tried to swing at one of the versions of her still approaching and that one shattered too, the one that'd initially landed that kick hitting his back with a swipe.
Illusions or constructs of aura. He figured out, ignoring them and focusing all his attention on her. They looked and sounded real, but it didn't seem like they weren't sturdy enough to actually hit him.
That should've made it easier to fend her off.
It did not.
A kick to his gut, swipes to different parts of his body, the swings of his axes going completely wide. She was flexible and fast. Faster than she'd been before he used his semblance.
He couldn't keep up and the way this was going, he'd run out of aura before the police arrived.
Stumbling back from a knee to his face, Corvo raised his hand.
Umbrella flipped around, she hooked its curved handle around his wrist and pulled as she twisted around, forcing him into a spinning kick straight to the face. Grunting, Corvo hit the ground back first, his vision blurred and aura crackling, barely holding together.
Stepping over him, heels on either side of his head, she pulled on the handle of her umbrella.
Corvo's tensed, his breath catching as a thin blade was revealed, light glinting off its pristine metal. Still wearing that playful smile, nothing about it matching up with what she was doing, the blade was brought down to his forehead. With only a bit of pressure, his weakened shield was shattered.
The blade, barely touching his forehead, was sharp enough to piece skin with little to no force, his forehead pricked and blood beginning to trail down the center of his face.
He still had strength. The police weren't here yet.
He couldn't let a fight like this come to an end so quickly.
The blade was pulled back.
His heart, already thumping loudly, sped up as she kneeled down, staring down into his eyes. Despite the situation, attacked and wounded by a stranger, heat rushed up to his face as she brought a gloved hand to his face, gently caressing his cheek.
What on Remnant was going on?
Screeching filled the air, several police cars, their sirens blaring, swearing to a stop all around them.
The girl winked.
Then, as police closed in, their shouts joining the sirens, she shattered into a million pieces, leaving him staring up at the shattered moon in the clear dark skies.
His heart never stopped hammering against his chest, the heat burning at his face persisting for far longer than it should've.
What just happened to him?
XOXO
Neopolitan.
The dual colors. The short stature. Maybe the playful attitude. He wasn't sure why but something about the name, even if the police weren't sure it was her actual name, that just fit her. Either way, he wouldn't be forgetting about her anytime soon.
"Corvo." He snapped his head up, staring up at Glynda. Standing on the other side of the metal table, the small interrogation room he'd been stuffed into empty of anything else beside a pair of chairs, she aimed a stern stare down at him. "You do realize how serious your situation was? You could've been killed."
"Yeah, that was crazy." He muttered. Her glare intensified. Corvo straightened up instantly, preferring to avoid annoying her. "I mean that's just part of being a huntsman, right? I can just think of it as a learning moment, so I don't freeze up next time."
A rushed of revived excitement filled him as he recalled that long conversation with Ozpin. The Ozpin, freaking headmaster of the one and only Beacon Academy. "And now that I'm going to be going to Beacon that means you can teach me again, miss Glynda. I really need to get better at using my aura. My semblance uses too much of it. And-"
"Well, I am glad to see you can remain so resilient in the face of something like that. I'm sure it's a sign you'll make a good huntsman." She said through a heavy sigh. "I suggest you focus on dealing with your mother, however. I'm sure she'll have plenty to say once she gets here."
A groan left Corvo as he hung his head over the cold edge of his chair, Glynda's faint chuckle reaching him. Mom was definitely going to be all over them once they got home, Ruby apparently having gone through something similar over at Dust till Dawn with a criminal known as Roman Torchwick, thankfully with no blood spilled.
And apparently this Roman Torchwick was known to work with Neopolitan. What were the chances of that?
"Seeing as the officers have already gotten their chance for an interview, I'll take you over to the room Ruby is in." Glynda said, stepping back from the table. "Are you sure there wasn't anything you forgot the mention to them before we go?"
The random nature of the attack. The fight itself, most of which had been caught on camera. Besides those two things he didn't have anything to tell them.
"I don't think so?" Corvo forced out, trying to slow his thumping heart as he stood up, hands slipped into his pockets. Glynda gave him a less than impressed look, glasses tilted down a bit to show off her dark green eyes before she turned, leading them out of the room.
Between his fingers, he toyed around with a scrap of paper with what he was pretty sure was a scroll number written on it.