Capítulo 800: 143
Chapter 143:
Present:
Sasame's tale was a fairly brief one, a basic summary, for the most part. But it contained enough detail to indicate at least some of the nuance behind what had happened all those years ago.
"So this Mao-person, she's...?" prodded Pyrrha.
"She was one of the Taishiro," said Sasame, frowning. "She retired over a decade before Ruby-chan came to live with us. In fact, it was the vacancy left by her retirement that Sora-sama filled with her induction into the Taishiro. After her retirement, she went into seclusion, and has not engaged with anyone since."
"She got away with all that?" asked Ciel, aghast at the idea that a person who was willing to do something so heinous could go unpunished.
Sasame sighed. "That is a...fault...in our government," she admitted. "The Taishiro are afforded wide discretionary use of their powers, both political and martial. In the end, the greatest check on their authority is one another, and the Crimson King. Aside from that, well...much is entrusted to their responsibility, which is why their selection is carried out with such care."
"That seems, I dunno...kinda dangerous," commented Coco.
"Perhaps," admitted Sasame. "Granted, it has served us well throughout our history. There are a few examples of Elders who abused their power, and were subsequently put down by the others. However, that event aside, Mao-sama's diligence to her duties was exceptional, and she had multiple centuries of service on her record by that point. At the time, she was the most senior member, with even more experience than Makoto-sama.
"However, she was also a hardliner proponent of isolationism, and keeping our borders closed. She also had a vicious disposition, and a rather sadistic tendency at times."
"Geez, and they let this lady run things?" wondered Yang.
Sasame nodded. "Like I said, she was an exemplary leader and administrator. Her efforts contributed to the smooth running of the clan for centuries."
"So then, what was the point of all that?" asked Oscar. "Did this lady just hate outsiders that much?"
"Well...with Mao-sama...that is not unlikely," admitted Sasame. "However, part of it may be...hmm..."
"What is it?" asked Ruby, leaning forward.
"It's hard for me to believe this of Mao-sama," said Sasame. "However, I expect that she may, in fact, have been aiming to, in her own way, to pave a path towards the opening of our borders within the Mibu."
"Uh...How does that work at all?" asked Scarlet.
"The warriors who accompanied Mao-sama to that failed meeting were appalled by her willingness to provoke the expedition members, as though she was aiming for a one-sided massacre from the start. Apparently, there was one member of the expedition who was considerably stronger than the others, who was able to hold off Mao-sama in time for the survivors to escape. Before that, Mao-sama's intention was probably not to allow a single survivor. On top of that, the warriors themselves took casualties that they saw as a direct result of what they considered needless provocation on her part.
"Because they were acting on Mao-sama's orders, the warriors had no choice but to kill. However, they were disgusted by her behavior, and protested to the other members of the Taishiro at the first opportunity. Mao-sama was reprimanded by Makoto-sama and the Crimson King at the time. However..."
Sasame closed her eyes as she recalled the response Mao had given Makoto and the King, one that he had relayed to her by Makoto. "If you do not endorse my ideals, then you must replace me. I suggest you find one who is as different from me as night from day to fill the void I leave when I retire. Until that point, I will continue to do as I see fit."
"What the heck does that mean?" asked Natsuki.
"It almost sounds like she wanted to be replaced by someone who would support opening our borders," added Setsuna.
"She may have," said Sasame. "In the end, Mao-sama couldn't let go of her desire to keep the Mibu away from the rest of the world. However, I suspect that she too foresaw a future where the Mibu growing to become a part of the wider world was inevitable.
"To that end, I suppose you could say that she decided to make herself into a 'demon of the old guard', someone whose devotion to those old beliefs of isolationism would lead them to committing reprehensible acts that would draw condemnation. Mao-sama chose to act in such a way in order to paint an ugly picture of how the Mibu were, to help the one who came after her to open the way. By deliberately being unsightly, Mao-sama held herself up an example of what the Mibu should not aspire to be."
"Um...not to contest that, but it didn't seem to work too well," Miyu pointed out. "I mean, Ruby-chan still had a pretty hard time, when she first got there. Even up to before she left, this last time, there were still assassins going after her."
"Well...such changes do not happen overnight," said Sasame. "While those who accompanied her, as well as the other Taishiro and the King himself, condemned her actions, there were those amongst the rest of the clan who lauded her actions. Many of those voices still speak loudly today. However, as loud as they are now, they are not as loud as they used to be. Truth be told, had Ruby-chan not been adopted as my ward, and later revealed to be adopted as the unofficial daughter of Sora-sama herself, she might not have faced such serious attempts on her life.
"Hence why Sora-sama and I now feel that we can push through with the opening. It is actually sooner than we were originally planning. However, even though we are faced with a steep uphill battle, between the groundwork we've laid, and the example Ruby-chan has set, we can truly reach out to the outside world."
"Either way...damn," said Piper, folding her arms thoughtfully. "Atlas' contribution to that expedition was mainly in the form of materiel. Still, losing so totally was a pretty big black mark. I can see why everyone would want to cover it up."
Ciel nodded. "So then...is that why you've had a team, mostly made up of people from the Mibu, participate in the tournament?"
"More or less," confirmed Sasame. "At this point, there is little we can do personally to convince those who cling to old grievances to give them up. That being the case, we chose to confront the other reason certain people in the Kingdoms choose to disparage our clan. "
"By showing the efficacy of your techniques," commented Rain. "The members of Team Meconopsis were all younger than anyone else participating in the tournament, save for Ms. Ruby. Yet they managed to make it all the way to the semifinals."
"And the one that knocked their representative out was another Mibu," added Fox pensively.
"Well...I'm not sure I would've gotten much farther," admitted Natsuki. "If I hadn't gone up against Ruby-chan, but Penny-chan, I might still have lost."
"Still a pretty good record for a fifteen-year-old," Yang pointed out, rubbing the top of Natsuki's head affectionately.
"We did have the advantage of surprise," said Miyu. "The Manifestation techniques we use may superficially appear similar to the products of Dust. However, because there are distinct fundamental differences, it led to gaps in understanding, which created openings we were able to exploit."
"Yeah...we noticed," grumbled Nebula, pouting a little.
"I'll say," said Coco, taking her turn to rub the top of Natsuki's head, and doing a more vigorous job of it than Yang had, making the younger girl squirm underneath her hand. "You think you've got a girl on the ropes, and then she puts on some war-paint, and BOOM!, suddenly she's smacking you around like it's nothing."
Yatsuhashi nodded his agreement, though he felt no need to say anything more.
"So then...we'll be able to learn this stuff, right?" asked Cardin. "I mean...you guys on Raspberry and Rainbow have obviously been getting lessons in this stuff. Are we gonna get to learn it too?"
"In the long term, that is the plan," confirmed Sasame. "However, in order to enable that, we must first establish proper relations and channels of communication. Only then can we arrange for a proper exchange."
"What will we be exchanging though?" wondered Reese. "From the sound of things, you guys have it all."
"In a sense we do, yet we don't," said Sasame. "We Mibu have confidence in our battle capability to hold our own against any of the Kingdoms. However, there are many things besides combat ability to consider. I, for one, would not object to importing Kingdom appliances, even if that means ultimately developing a reliance on Dust ourselves."
"Seriously...? Appliances?" Arslan canted her head. "That's it?"
"Well, there's more to it than that," said Sasame.
"Seriously, don't laugh until you've tried to use a Mibu stove," added Ruby, a note of irritation in her voice. "They get weirdly proud about being able to use Aura for everything, but that sometimes just makes things harder for them."
"It may seem like mundane things to you," said Sasame. "But those mundanities are, in their own way, life-changing for those who have never had them before. For example, Sora-sama quite dearly covets the Kingdoms' communications technology. Having seen what it's like in the Kingdoms, I can understand that."
"So, what's the plan from here?" asked Jaune.
"Well, for tonight, we should celebrate the end of the semifinals," declared Yang proudly, resting her hands on her hips. "After a show like that, a big party is just what the doctor ordered."
"I agree!" shouted Penny excitedly, drawing amused looks from her friends and teammates.
"Tomorrow, Team Meconopsis has been invited to an interview with Lavender-san of the Vale News Network," said Sasame. "Ruby-chan and Penny-chan, the finalists, will be there as well. During that interview, they will be explaining the truth about where they came from."
"Wow...that's gonna be huge," said Coco breathlessly. "We've gotta watch that."
"Please be sure to," said Sasame.
"After that, I'll go against Penny in the finals," declared Ruby.
"I look forward to my match with you, Ruby," said Penny cheerfully.
"This festival is gonna end with a bang," observed Yang wryly, already thinking about what kind of result a match between Ruby and Penny would produce.
"It's time."
Adam grunted, looking sidelong at Jester. "For real this time...No more jokes...no more false assurances...?"
Jester waved a hand dismissively. "When have my assurances ever been false, Adam? I did as I promised. You now have more than enough power to match the little rose. Killing her is well within your reach. If I hadn't stepped in, you would have only fallen further and further behind her. Besides...didn't I give you a nice gift."
Adam grunted, resting a hand on the pommel of his large sword. When he'd first been given it, he'd barely been able to hold Hakuya's weight. But now, the broad, massive sword felt as light as a feather in his hand, when he drew it. The song it played when he wielded it was unparalleled. Compared to this sword, wielding Wilt and Blush felt as though he'd been playing with sticks.
And yet...
"There is just one more thing..." said Adam, his tone hardening.
"Oh...?" mused Jester.
Abruptly, there was a flash of brilliant red, a swift strobe of light that barely met the eyes. A second later, Adam sheathed his sword...and Jester's body collapsed into pieces.
"Now that I've taken all that I've needed from you, you can rot," snarled Adam, before spitting callously on the corpse. "I'm finished with you and your posturing...it seems that I've finally reached the point where I can kill even a jester."
With that, he turned and made his way towards the wall of the Kingdom in the near distance, paying no more mind to what remained of his former-instructor. Already, his mind was racing, planning to pick up where he'd left off. This time, he would do things right.
Because he didn't bother to look behind him, he didn't notice that the lips of Jester's severed head were pulled back in the widest of grins.
"Even after all that...still so rough around the edges. Well...he'll do for this. Time to see if the rose will live up to her potential."
Sun's eyes slowly blinked open. He realized that he was in a hospital room of some kind, resting on a bed. "Where...where am I?" he asked.
A hand came to rest on his forehead, and Sun slowly moved his gaze over, finding his heartbeat quickening at the sight of Blake, who smiled warmly down at him. "We're in the infirmary at Beacon," she said. "You were brought here right after the match."
"Oh..." Sun sighed tiredly. "Guess I lost then."
"You did," admitted Blake. "But that doesn't mean you should be ashamed. You were amazing out there."
"But not amazing enough," said Sun, a little bitterness in his voice. Being a good sport was hard, especially when he'd put so much into that match.
"Amazing enough for me," said Blake, leaning forward to lower her face to his, her black hair falling around him like an ebony curtain, cutting off his view of anything else...anything but her.
Their lips came together. One of Blake's hands found Sun's, lacing their fingers together, while the other grasped his shoulder. Sun's free arm reflexively reached out, looping around her waist, tugging her over so that she was half-lying on top of him.
After several minutes of kissing, Blake pulled back, still smiling down at him. "Whatever else, even if you lost, you're still my hero," she said.
"Thanks," said Sun, reaching up to stroke her cheek.
After another moment staring at each other, they pulled apart, Blake settling back into her seat at his bedside. "So...I guess I missed Ruby and Natsuki's match," commented Sun.
"You did," agreed Blake. "But we can watch the recording together. It's something to see. That much is for sure."
"I'll bet," said Sun, grinning.
At Yang's behest, the party they held to celebrate the end of the semifinals was a raucous one. There were times Ruby had been afraid that Glynda would show up, in order to bring the festivities to an end, on account of all the noise they were making. However, it seemed that either she was too busy to bother with discipline, or had decided that their excitement was well-earned. In either case, the partying went on late into the night. Ruby found herself staying up longer than she'd expected, given how tired she was from the match. Natsuki was in much the same state.
However, she still went to bed a lot earlier than most of her friends, with only Jaune accompanying her, holding her tightly as she curled up against him.
The next day saw Ruby and Penny, along with Team MNPS, arriving at the VNN's station. There had been some expectation that the interview for the two finalists would be held separately from the one for the mysterious unaffiliated team that had come from out of nowhere to perform so incredibly well in the tournament. However, it seemed that, in the interest of time, the two interviews would be folded into a single one. Ruby was grateful for that. After her first interview, alongside Pyrrha, all those months ago, she wasn't so keen to be put on the spot again. The more time the interview spread across multiple participants was less time Ruby had to worry about being peppered with questions.
Of course, there was also the respite that there was less pressure to deal with. The last time Ruby had been interviewed by Lisa, she'd been worried about her connections to the Mibu coming to light, Ozpin warning her that they might incite hostility from certain people. Of course, despite her efforts, that had happened anyway, and one of those "certain people" had indeed taken exception to her, and tried to have her killed.
There was probably still some degree of danger. However, with Mason Ayers in prison, the most dangerous opposition to the revelation of the Mibu was out of the way, with Ruby able to reveal the source of her training relatively free from worry. There was always the chance of reprisal, but she felt more than prepared for it now.
Besides, Natsuki, Setsuna, and Miyu would be revealing that they were from the Mibu as well. It only made sense that Ruby would stand with her friends from her homeland. This was their chance to reveal the Mibu to the rest of the world in a way that might, someday, help the forgotten and isolated culture to open up.
Ruby found herself and her friends seated in the same room as before, where her interview alongside Pyrrha had taken place. Lisa sat across from the six of them, smiling indulgently. "Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed all at once."
"I think it's better this way," Ruby admitted.
"I figured you might say that," said Lisa, beaming at her. "You don't seem like one for the spotlight."
"I-I guess not," admitted Ruby, looking down at her knees.
"We'll begin in just a minute," said Lisa. "The format will be about the same as last time."
"Okay," said Ruby, her word echoed by her friends.
Almost exactly a minute later, Lisa started the interview, introducing the participants, before explaining the situation.
"...After a startling performance in the first round of the tournament, Team Meconopsis, despite not being affiliated with any known Academy or school, produced the tremendous result of making it all the way to the semifinals, despite none of them being more than fifteen, with Oscar Pine being the youngest participant in the Vytal Festival Tournament's history at thirteen.
"This remarkable record has left many people wondering just where this mysterious team has come from, and where its members got the training that enabled them to progress so far so quickly."
Lisa fixed her gaze on the four members of the visiting team. "So then...just where do you come from?"
"W-well...I come from Mistral, actually," said Oscar, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I live with my aunt, on a farm in Tsubaki. I'm apprenticed under a retired Huntress. Really...I was mostly picked to fill out the numbers so that our team would have a full four people to compete with."
"I see..." said Lisa, already sensing that there was more to this story. However, circumstances demanded that she move on to the other members. "And you, Ms. Shinomori?"
"Well, the rest of us," said Natsuki, gesturing to Setsuna and Miyu, "all come from the same place. We're from Leng."
The interview came to a grinding halt, Lisa's next question stopping before it could leave her mouth, which hung open, her shock reflected by the rest of the crew operating around them. The silence stretched on for several seconds, Lisa blinking, working her mouth silently, before she finally found the wherewithal to speak again.
"I'm sorry, but could you repeat that?"
"The three of us are from Leng," said Setsuna simply.
"But isn't…how...?" Lisa blinked furiously.
"Um...Maybe we should take the initiative on this," said Miyu. "We are aware that the common belief that the continent of Leng is uninhabited, but that is not true. Our people, the Mibu Clan, have been living there for as long as our history goes back. Because we are not as technologically advanced, we do not have the means to contact the other Kingdoms very easily, and our culture has been extremely isolationist for much of our history, so knowledge of our existence is...limited."
Lisa stared, speechless. Finally, she seemed to find her voice again. "I mean...I've heard rumors. But it's true? The Silent Kingdom really does exist?"
"I suppose so," said Setsuna, "though that title sounds kinda silly to me."
"Well, it's 'cause we don't talk to people outside, right?" asked Natsuki.
"Still sounds silly," grumbled Setsuna, folding his arms across his chest, prompting a giggle from the girls around him, even Oscar stifling a chuckle.
"Um...Well...this is..." Lisa had no idea where to take the interview from here. This was a bombshell far beyond what she'd been expecting. And now there were so many questions that demanded to be answered, yet it was difficult to figure out where to even start. In just a few seconds, the script for the interview had been thrown out the window.
"Why don't we begin with why three members of a reputedly isolationist clan are in Vale, and participating in the most public tournament in all of Remnant," she said finally.
"Um...well...that's because of me," said Ruby, blushing as she raised her hand nervously.
"How?" asked Lisa. "Wait! You're from the Mibu too? But I thought you were from Patch!"
"I was," said Ruby. "I told you before about how I ran away from home, and how I was found by my teachers. Well, my teachers were from the Mibu Clan, and they brought me back to live with them, when they weren't taking me out on training excursions."
"So then, these three..." Lisa glanced at the three Mibu on Team MNPS.
"They're my friends from back home," said Ruby. "They came to visit me for the festival. Um...Them actually entering the tournament wasn't something that any of us planned."
"And how just did that come about?" Lisa wanted to know.
"Well...one of my teachers, my adopted older sister actually, wanted to set up an exchange with Beacon," said Ruby. "It's supposed to be a way to help the Mibu open up more to the idea of ending their isolationism. But we had to make sure Vale's Council would okay it first.
"To do that, Professor Ozpin suggested my friends enter the tournament. There was an open slot, due to a team that...withdrew, so he suggested that they take that slot, and use the tournament to show what the Mibu can do."
"Interesting..." said Lisa. "And what is it that the Mibu can do that is worth showing in the tournament? There's no question that your fighting skills are spectacular, especially for your age. However, I'm not certain what it is that you demonstrated beyond that."
"Well...everything that we; that is Natsu-chan, Setsuna-kun, Miyu-chan, and I; everything that we've done in the tournament so far, we've done without using Dust."
With that, the interview came to a screeching halt…again…as Lisa, along with the vast majority of the audience, wrestled with that declaration.
From there came the explanation of the nature of the Mibu's Manifestation abilities, and how it had shaped their culture into one that didn't rely on Dust, even if that made them more...primitive, in comparison to the Kingdoms. The conversation consumed nearly the entirety of the interview, as Lisa's line of inquiry switched from matters related to the tournament to learning more about this alien culture that virtually no one in the Kingdoms had realized existed. The expedition that was the source of much of the discord between the Mibu and the Kingdoms was tiptoed around for the time being.
Before they knew it, most of their allotted hour had gone by in a flash, the topic of the tournament all but forgotten, save as a tangent, when the four Mibu explained the basis for the techniques they'd been using in the ring.
As the interview neared its end, Lisa found herself abruptly reminded by someone off-camera that there were two people that she had been neglecting for nearly the entire course of the program. She gasped, then immediately regarded Oscar and Penny.
"Ms. Polendina, Mr. Pine, I'm so sorry for forgetting about you! I'm afraid we just got so caught up..."
"It's okay," said Penny, grinning cheerfully.
"We kinda figured this would happen," added Oscar.
"You did...?" Lisa looked back and forth between them for a moment. "Were you aware of the true affiliation of Ms. Rose and her friends?"
"Yeah," said Oscar. "Since I was on a team with three of them, I couldn't really not know about it."
"Ruby is my best friend," added Penny cheerfully. "I learned about the Mibu from her a while ago."
"You're all friends then?" asked Lisa, looking between them all.
"Well yeah," said Ruby nervously. "I mean, that's mostly since we've all been hanging out together before the festival. When my friends came over from Leng, they just kinda joined in."
"A friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine," agreed Penny decisively.
"I see," said Lisa, her expression softening into a more relaxed smile. "Ms. Polendina, your performance has earned high marks over the course of this tournament. What can you tell us of your background?"
"Ah, well, my father is a friend of General Ironwood, so I've been prepared for this for a long time," said Penny. "I'm glad that I'm able to represent my Academy and Kingdom, and managed to get so far in the tournament."
Ruby knew that nothing Penny had said was untrue, as evinced by the lack of hiccups. Of course, informing everyone that Penny was an artificial person, an android capable of producing her own Aura, was out of the question, with things as they were. It was all too easy to realize that a great many people wouldn't accept her as easily as Ruby and her closer friends had. On top of that, given the many advantages her nature as an android had given her, Penny's performance in the tournament could also easily be considered the result of cheating...and, given the nature of the tournament, that might not be wholly off-base. In many ways, she was an exception to the rules well beyond anything Ruby and her friends from the Mibu were capable of.
Thankfully, because all of the queries about the Mibu Clan had eaten up so much of the interview's time, Lisa didn't have enough time remaining to pry much further. Instead, she quickly shifted her attention to Oscar. "And you, Mr. Pine...?"
"Um...what about me?" asked Oscar.
"We got a brief overview of your background at the beginning," said Lisa. "However, people are curious about the nature of your training. As remarkable as the performance of Ms. Rose's friends, your teammates, was, your performance was even more spectacular in its own way, even if it was for a single match. After all, you're only thirteen, aren't you?"
"Th-thats right," said Oscar nervously, blushing and lowering his eyes.
"Tell me, are you trained in these Manifestation techniques Ms. Rose and the others were talking about?"
"N-no!" said Oscar quickly, holding up his hands. "My weapons use gravity-Dust. It's kinda weird, since they're so similar to Setsuna's techniques and weapons, but they're a lot more typical of what regular Huntsmen would use."
"And how long have you been in training?"
"A little over a year now," said Oscar.
"And with just that, you were able to hold your own in the first round," noted Lisa. "Your teacher must be extremely proud of your progress."
"I...I hope so," said Oscar.
"And just who is the teacher who's managed to raise such a remarkable student?"
Oscar swallowed, glad he'd talked to his chaperone before coming, and determining whether or not he was permitted to answer this question openly. "She's Maria Calavera."
Lisa's jaw dropped. "Wait! You mean the Grimm Reaper herself is your teacher? That's incredible! Everything I found on her suggested she died years ago."
"W-well, it's a bit complicated," said Oscar. "She was badly injured and had to retire. She still traveled, and passed through Tsubaki a while back. While she was staying with us, she learned that I was aiming to become a Huntsman, and offered to train me."
"That's quite the impressive revelation," said Lisa.
Oscar blushed more furiously. In all honesty, he was amazed that he'd been allowed to say this much about his teacher, figuring that Maria would rather remain anonymous. However, when he had told her about the interview, her response had surprised him.
"Sure, go ahead and let 'em know who taught you," she said with a blithe ease that shocked Oscar.
"Y-you're sure? But I thought you didn't want anyone to know you were still around." That was one of the main conditions behind her agreeing to take him on as a student in the first place.
"True, I thought that was best," said Maria. "Even though it's hard to believe that anyone would still bother over a blind old bat like me, I was still afraid that someone would come along and finish the job that woman started."
Oscar swallowed. Maria hadn't told him much about what had happened, no details about her assailants, or really anything about the fight that had left her blinded. So for her to say even this much was a shock.
Maria's expression softened, and Oscar saw a grandmotherly smile on her face. "But after seeing you, and all those other kids, working so hard, it made me want to move forward too. I've spent so long living in fear that I just got stuck in place. Before I knew it, I was too old to do anything more than entrust what I knew to those who would come after me. But, well...we'll just have to see how much further these old legs of mine can carry me."
The shutters of her prosthetic eyes fluttered slightly, while Maria turned her gaze to Oscar. "So go ahead and let them know the truth. I don't think we want to go into detail about why I retired. But pretty much everything else is fair game. You're the best student I could ask for, and you've already made me proud, Oscar. You're the apprentice of the Grimm Reaper. Hold your head high and stand tall."
"I will," said Oscar.
"Well, with the skill you've already demonstrated, you're pretty much a shoo-in for your choice of school," commented Lisa.
"I guess," said Oscar, scratching his cheek nervously.
"Maybe you'll break Ms. Rose's record as the youngest student admitted to a Huntsman Academy," suggested Lisa playfully.
"W-well, about that..." Oscar grinned nervously. "Professor Ozpin already said I have an invitation to Beacon. But he wants me to wait until I'm at least Ruby's age before applying. He says that he isn't allowed to go any younger."
"Well...I can understand that," said Lisa, laughing softly.
Admitting a girl only fifteen-years-old was already a considerable exception to the general rules. Inviting someone who was thirteen was an extreme that quite a few people wouldn't approve of, however impressive his demonstrated skills might have been.
Lisa noted a signal from off-camera, before sighing. "Well, there is a lot more that I want to ask. But we're out of time. So, for now, I'm afraid that we'll have to leave things where they are. Thank you all for coming. It's my hope that we'll be able to do this again soon."
"We'll try," said Ruby, silently wishing she didn't have to do this again. But she supposed that further inquiries were inevitable.
Lisa turned to look directly into the camera, giving her outro. A moment later, the recording ended, and Ruby and her friends were all able to relax a little more.
Lisa gave them all a wry smile. "Good job completely derailing things," she said. "I really wish we'd learned about this earlier. I could've done better setting up the interview."
"Well...it was supposed to be a surprise," said Ruby nervously.
"So I noticed," said Lisa, planting her hands on her hips. "You've got a lot of nerve pulling the wool over my eyes, young lady. Don't think for a minute that this is over. I'm going to have you on here again plenty soon."
"I was afraid you'd say that," said Ruby.
"It's your own fault."
"Yeah...I guess it is."
As soon as the credits began to roll, Blake turned off the projector, smirking. Then she glanced beside her at Sun, whose entire body was quaking. "I suppose that was fairly amusing," she conceded.
"It was great!" declared Sun. "Did you see the way that lady reacted. She looked like she'd hit a brick wall."
"Well, when you drop bombshells like that, one after another, and completely throw the script out the window, it's only natural she'd be stunned," said Blake. "That interview went in a direction nobody but us could have predicted." Then she frowned. "Of course, the real trouble starts now."
"Yeah, this whole thing about the Mibu is gonna make waves for sure," mused Sun, scratching his chin.
"We'll just have to see how the Council reacts," said Blake. "How they respond to this is going to determine just how this whole exchange program Sasame is proposing is going to move forward. Ayers was supposed to be the hardliner, when it came to the Mibu. But the others are still going to take some persuading." Her frown deepened. "And then there are other concerns. I'm worried about Weiss."
Sun's eyes rolled up, then widened. "Yeah...her dad's probably already up in arms about her being with a faunus. Now he's learned that she has a Mibu on her team, he's gonna be out for blood for sure."
"No doubt," agreed Blake. "I'd be surprised if her scroll stops ringing until she finally answers him."
The next second, it was Blake's scroll that started ringing. It made her jump, as none of the people she was connected to had the kind of stake in this that Weiss' father did. Then again, it was probably something unrelated. However, the sheer timing surprised her. Pulling her scroll out, Blake blinked, seeing Ilia's contact on the screen.
"Ilia, what is it?" asked Blake.
"Blake! Thank God!" Ilia's voice blazed with desperation. "I need your help! I need it now! Please!"
"Wait! Slow down!" said Blake, shooting to her feet. "What's wrong?"
"I don't have much time," said Ilia. "You have that healer-friend, right? Neo's hurt...bad. She needs help!"
"All right, calm down," said Blake. "Where are you now? We'll need to meet up."
Ilia quickly gave Blake a location in Vale they could meet. For whatever reason, it seemed that getting passage to Beacon would be impossible for them, with things as they were. In all likelihood, if Neo was hurt as badly as Ilia seemed to fear, then Ilia probably couldn't afford to move them enough to actually get them to Beacon. Given Ilia's status as a member of the White Fang, contacting the paramedics was risky. So it was understandable that she was reaching out to someone she thought could help her without tipping off the authorities.
Hanging up on Ilia, Blake immediately opened up her contact-list.
"Do you know where Sasame is?" asked Sun.
"I don't," admitted Blake, before smiling. "But I have the the scroll number of her apprentice."
Weiss grimaced, staring at the screen of her scroll. Even though it hadn't actually changed, the buzz her silenced device emitted still managed to sound angry, seeming to convey the emotions of the one calling her, even though she had yet to exchange a single word with him. The word, "Father", hovering over the snowflake logo of the SDC somehow managed to color even that relatively neutral sound, turning it into something hostile.
It didn't help that the moment the buzzing stopped, indicating the call had gone to voicemail, it would start up again barely a second later. It had happened four times so far. The buzzing stopped again, before resuming for the fifth time. He's not going to give up, is he? she thought dourly.
That was to be expected, of course. It was bad enough that she'd openly revealed she was in a relationship with a faunus. But she'd followed that up by immediately granting her title as heir to the SDC to Whitley. That was what Jacques would have wanted from the beginning, of course. But, by preempting him like that, she had deprived him the satisfaction of stripping her of her status as a means of retaliation. Her father was petty like that.
And now, it had just been revealed that her team leader was affiliated with the inhabitants of Leng, and had revealed that her techniques did not rely on Dust. Remembering how she'd originally reacted to that revelation, Weiss knew that her father's response would be even more extreme. With his connections, he'd learned of the Mibu's existence, and their claim to Leng. He'd always dismissed them as primitives and happily championed another expedition to subjugate them, and lay claim to the resources of Leng for Atlas...or rather, himself. But now, these "primitives" had made a huge public impact, revealing themselves publicly, and openly declaring that they had no reliance on Dust. Had he that kind of authority, there was no doubt that Jacques Schnee would have declared war on them on the spot...and he still might, in whatever metaphorical way he was capable of.
"He's not going to give up, is he?" asked Ashley, looking down, watching as the buzzing paused, then resumed for the sixth time.
"He is not," agreed Weiss, her expression sour.
"Are you going to answer him?" asked Elowen, looking on nervously.
Perhaps it had been a mistake, agreeing to watch the interview from the living room of the Forrest Family's apartment. Weiss figured she would have realized that the revelations of her friends were bound to incense him, and he was now trying to lash out at the most convenient target of his ire.
"I suppose I have no choice," said Weiss, giving Ashley's parents an apologetic look. "I've put this off for long enough. I'll step out for this, if you'd rather not overhear-"
"It's fine," said Elowen quickly. "We're with you."
"Are you sure?" asked Weiss.
"You sacrificed so much for our daughter," said Elowen confidently. "It's our greatest pride to stand beside you as family." Beside her, Oliver nodded in agreement.
"Thank you," said Weiss, smiling warmly.
Hesitating just a few seconds longer, she finally answered the call. "Hello, Father."
There was a brief pause. Apparently, Jacques was actually momentarily confused by the fact that she'd actually answered him. A few seconds of harsh breathing could be heard over the connection, before she finally heard his voice.
"So...you've finally decided to stop hiding from me, you insolent brat."
"Actually, I was merely ignoring you," said Weiss, her words earning an enraged grunt from the other end of the line. "I figured I could already guess what you were going to say, and decided to spare myself the annoyance of being verbally assaulted."
A snarl came from her scroll's speakers. "You have a lot of gall to speak to me like that, after the humiliation you heaped on our family. No daughter of mine will be permitted to consort with a faunus mutt!"
Weiss smiled sourly. "If that is the case, then I am indeed no daughter of yours. If you intend to disown me, then go right ahead."
The strangled grunt she heard next made her smile bitterly. She pressed on. "Truth be told, the thought of being able to dispense with the smear of being related to a conniving, greed-driven piece of scum like yourself would be a relief. I can do much better than be judged for my accidental relation to a worm who lives solely to pad his own bank account."
"Y-you...you ungrateful little bitch!" snapped Jacques, the scroll buzzing with the fury of his voice. "You think that, after all the mud you've smeared on our reputation, that you can just walk away from me? Think again! Not only are you consorting with that mongrel, but you've deliberately concealed the fact that your own team leader is one of them! I will make you regret ever even being born!"
"Oh, you will, will you?" asked Weiss.
"There is no more need to be polite," growled Jacques.
"On that, we can agree," said Weiss, her tone hardening.
"I'll see that filth you're consorting with strung up in the streets! Your friends will go to their deaths screaming curses at you. You have my word."
Weiss' eyes narrowed. "Is that so, Father?"
"It is. I will show you what it means to make an enemy of me."
"Well then, allow me to answer your promise with one of my own," said Weiss firmly.
"And what is that...some grand declaration of protection...that you'll keep your friends safe from my wrath?" He barked out a harsh laugh. "As though you have the power to see that through? Will you ask the insipid headmaster of that Academy to support you? He's nothing more than an insect that I can crush beneath my heel."
"No...nothing so grandiose," declared Weiss. "I will make exactly the kind of threat you'd expect from a barbarian like me, Father. Allow me to say it to you plainly...
"If you touch Ashley, if you touch her family, if you touch my friends, or my school, or anyone else I associate with, then I will..."
"You'll what?" scoffed Jacques at her pause.
Weiss' eyes narrowed, and she filled her voice with every ounce of conviction she possessed. "Then I will kill you," she said simply.
She heard Ashley and her family gasp softly at her declaration.
Whatever scoff her father was going to make died in an instant. Clearly, he'd never expected such a simple, yet profound, threat. "Wha-what did you say?"
"Oh...didn't I make myself clear?" asked Weiss, her tone playful, before she hardened her voice once again. "I'll kill you. That's all there is to it. If Ashley ends up with so much as a scratch, and if I have the most minuscule inkling of a suspicion that you had a hand in it, there will be no lawyers, no judges, no courts, no appeals, nothing...I will come to Atlas. I will go through whoever and whatever you put in my way, and I will run my sword straight through that shriveled raisin you call a heart. I will be judge, jury, and executioner. That is my promise to you, Father."
"D-d-don't be ridiculous!" Jacques sputtered. "You would never get away with it! You'd be guilty of murder!"
"Well, I suppose you'll be able to take that to your grave with you," said Weiss, smiling bitterly. "Though, I imagine that it will be cold comfort to a corpse. Maybe I will end up in prison for the rest of my life, if I'm not executed myself. But...the one thing none of that will change is that you will be too busy being dead to take any satisfaction from that. However, if you're that committed, then go right ahead."
"You vapid little bitch...!" shouted Jacques. "You think that one idiot like yourself could possibly kill me? Our security is the very best in all of Atlas."
"Well, we'll just have to put that to the test," said Weiss tauntingly.
"'We'...?"
"Yes, 'we'," said Weiss, smirking. "Lest you forget, I have some very powerful friends, more than you even realize. And, if there is one thing that can be said about them, it is that the majority of them are people who excel in the violence you so disdain. They've already pledged to support me, should things come to this. So we will just have to see how well your security measures up, won't we...if you're really that committed.
"And so, there you have it, Father. There's really no need to take this any further. If you wish to disown me, go right ahead. Winter has already informed me that I have her support, so you may disown her as well. But I recommend that's as far as you go. I believe I have made my case in a manner that someone with your 'vastly superior intellect' can easily understand. If you truly are as brilliant as you claim to be, then you'll go ahead and accept things as they are, and go back to running your company. However, if you're actually so stupid as to think that you can threaten the people I care about, then I will gladly show you the consequences.
"That's all I have to say. Goodbye, Father."
With that, Weiss hung up, not giving Jacques a chance to get the last word in.
"Do you think he'll give up so easily?" asked Elowen, hugging Ashley to her front.
"We'll just have to see," said Weiss, sighing. "Still, if nothing else, there is no way Father was prepared for me to threaten him like that. We'll just to see how seriously he takes me. Still, as angry as he can get, he's nothing more than a conniving, self-serving snake. In the end, if he takes my threat seriously enough, then he'll know better than to test me."
"Let's hope so," said Elowen.
Weiss gave Ashley and her family her warmest, most caring smile. "I promise, whatever else might happen, I'll protect you with everything I have. My friends will too, especially Ruby."
"Considering what you've already done for us, that's a great comfort," said Oliver.
"I'm glad to hear that," said Weiss, doing her utmost to try and hide the tremors of her hand. Despite the confidence she'd used, when speaking with her father, there was still a very real fear that he would follow through on his threats. Whatever else happened, she silently prayed that he did not give her cause to follow through on hers.
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