The Bird and the Garden 2: Restart!

Chapter 23: Vytal Festival

"I see... That is concerning. I myself have never seen Ms. Forest nor Mr. Branwen far apart," Ozpin muttered. Winter nodded.

"Yes, he is all she talks about, too. Though from the stories I hear from Weiss, he thinks I'm 'worse than Weiss is', whatever that means."

"He's a cripple, his opinion don't mean shit," Qrow growled. "That little bastard said I smelled bad."

"Qrow, that was a week ago," Glynda pointed out. The drunkard slammed his fist against the arm of his chair. "It still hurt, Glynda! And after all the times I lovingly shot him in the teeth with an airsoft gun at three in the morning!"

"... I suddenly understand why Vao acts the way he does..." Glynda's words started an argument between the two, leaving the other three to continue their conversation.

"I am sure Ms. Forest is fine," Ozpin stated calmly. Ironwood hummed solemnly. "Perhaps... According to Sasha Steel, she's just sick... Still, I have a bad feeling, Ozpin. After Rojo, I have a terrible feeling that Salem is somehow involved in this. And that terrifies me. If something happens to Verde, I..." Ironwood finally cracked, his stoic face falling. "I don't know what I'll do... I swore to give her a better life, but if Salem is doing something... Then I failed..."

"... Ms. Forest will be fine. We have no evidence that Salem is targeting her. Only Y/N and Vao," he pointed out. "And besides, she and Vao might have had a fight. It is normal between couples, after all."

But Ironwood shook his head. "No, you don't get it. Those two are meant for each other. Vao even quit drinking for her. They wouldn't just stop talking over an incident, they'd talk it out."

"Hold on... She took away my drinking buddy?" Qrow asked angrily. Glynda scowled.

"You are a terrible uncle."

"It's just..." Ironwood slouched down further in his chair, his age beginning to show. "... It's just... It's the fact that it was Rojo of all people, that it set free. Verde's real father... There are plenty of more dangerous convicts in the prison, so why him specifically?"

Ozpin hummed quietly to himself. Ironwood's fears were not misplaced. With the reveal that Salem was after Y/N and Vao, it was not impossible for it to target their teammates. As the last of the staff left the arena, Ozpin pressed a silver button on the console in front of him.

The arena was ready, and the Vytal Festival had begun.

...

Something was wrong about Verde. Her small body was tense and rigid, her lips pulled into a tight, toothy grin. Her once clean hair was now clumpy and unwashed, shining with grease, and her eyes were sunken with dark purple rings circling them. But her eyes.

Those haunting, eerie eyes.

They scared Y/N. They bored deep into his being, as if reading his thoughts. They were unstable, dangerous. The katana-wielder looked away. He couldn't keep staring. Not even if he tried. Sasha shifted nervously, returning Verde's smile weakly.

"Hey... You look... Happy?" If Sasha was being honest, she couldn't tell what Verde was feeling. That smile she wore now was not the same one from Rojo's first defeat. It lacked the purity, the joy. It made her feel like she was in danger. And it didn't help when Verde suddenly giggled like a child.

"Why thank you, Sasha! You're so very kind!"

Vao was always the type to speak his mind. And that was exactly what he did. "Verde, did you eat Melanie's special cookies? She puts meth into those for clients," he asked. But to his surprise, Verde shook her head and skipped up to him.