On my way into the city with Team CFVY, I couldn't help but replay the events from that day in my head. The desperate faces of the enslaved children. The gunshot ringing in my ears. Duncan throwing blow after blow while accelerating his blood loss. The smile he bore even in his final moments. Every emotion that resonated within me. Fear. Sorrow. Rage.
Shortly after the incident, that particular dust factory shutdown. While most of Atlas isn't exactly pro-faunus, accusations of kidnapping and slave labor won't be ignored. Regardless of the species. A series of investigations ensued. Not only to the CFO, but the factory and all of its staff. Of course, his wasn't the first time Schnee Dust Inc was accused of illegal faunus labor. Conspiracy theorists made claims to workplace injustice and the possibility of child labor. But this was the first instance in which evidence was present. A student was dead, dozens of missing children showing up after months of absence, several other eye witnesses. It even went as far to include the big man, Jacques Schnee, into the investigation.
Schnee was cleared of any involvement, claiming he'd been unaware of any illegal activity within the factory. In his own words, "While it is an atrocity, I can't be expected to oversee every branch of my corporation. Not with all the duties of being the CEO." Cunningham, however, also escaped the blame. He ran the building inside and out. Yet, because he didn't engage in the direct activity, there was no evidence pinning him to it. The handful of traumatized kids wouldn't testify against him, either because of the reunited parents not wanting to further degrade their child's mental state, or just because they were terrified of having to relive their experiences in a courtroom. The only witnesses were the heiress whose family name made her a conflict of interest, a deceased faunus student, and the emotionally distraught friend of the victim. In the end, several employees of the factory took the fall. And while they were actually partially responsible, it wasn't the justice that Duncan or those kids deserved. So when I joined the White Fang, it was people like Adam who gave me the chance to avenge him. We never went after the Schnee family directly for one reason. The great general was a longtime friend of Jacques. Any attempt on his life or his family's would surely incite an all out war against the White Fang. And that was something we wouldn't emerge victorious from.
At this point, I must have either been visibly disturbed or just silent long enough to raise concern, because my thoughts were interrupted by Coco yelling to get my attention.
Coco: Y/n! Y/n! You still conscious?
Y/n: What? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I must've spaced out.
Coco: No. That's not it. I space out, too. But when I do, I don't look like a potential homicide suspect.
Velvet: You did look pretty angry. Is it about the whole Weiss situation?
Y/n: Not entirely. It just caused some past memories to resurface with a rather unsavory opinion of the Schnee family.
Coco: I guess that's putting it gently. What happened between you two? If you don't mind me asking.
Y/n: It's something I wanna get into at moment. It has a tendency to ruin the mood.
Fox: Of course. If it's a touchy subject, we understand.
Velvet: Yeah. We're not gonna pry out of you if you don't wanna talk about it.
Coco: Sorry. Probably should've figured that.
Y/n: It's alright. I won't get into the details; maybe another time. But long-story-short, I lost someone. A friend, no...a brother. And while Weiss wasn't responsible an any way, she didn't exactly help the situation. I don't blame her for it, if that's what you're thinking. Weiss was always narcissistic, arrogant, and the only thing bigger than her wallet was her superiority complex. But that was to be expected. After the incident, I started to hate everyone. Weiss and her family just so happened to get the worst of it.
There was an awkward silence apart from our footsteps as we entered the heart of the city.
Coco: That's....rough. I'm sorry to hear it. If you ever need to talk to us about it, we're always here. We're a team now.
Velvet: She's right.
Yatsuhashi, who'd been silent throughout the conversation, nodded in agreement.
Y/n: Thanks. I appreciate that. But for now, let's just enjoy the city. It's why we're here, right?
Fox: Right you are. And since you're new to Vale, we have to give you an official tour. And by we, I mean these three, because I have no idea what any of these buildings are.
Y/n: I forgot that you're blind.
Coco: It's pretty easy to forget.
Fox: How do you forget that I'm blind?
He proceeded to sidestep a pedestrian that almost bumped into him, then caught an apple falling from a nearby fruit cart. Then I realized that he was walking in front of the group instead of relying on us to guide him.
Y/n: Hmmm...maybe it's because you react to things that everyone else can't see?
Fox: Okay touché.
Coco: Vale's a pretty big place, much like Mistral, but much more industrial. Tall buildings and dense cities as opposed to rural villages and trading towns. Unofficially known as the Kingdom of Communication. Vale is where a lot of manufacturing takes place, making it a prime spot for other nations to gather and trade amongst others. It's also responsible for almost all wireless communication due to Beacon Tower.
Velvet: It's basically a cellphone antenna responsible for radio and our scrolls.
Fox: Don't forget Wi-Fi.
I turned around to glance at Beacon in the distance. Even a few miles away, it sits atop the skyline, visible from anywhere in the kingdom.
Y/n: A bit redundant don't you think?
Coco: What do you mean?
Y/n: A massive tower that almost literally brings the kingdoms together. An actual beacon.
Fox: Wait until you find out about Signal.
Y/n: You're joking.
Velvet: He's not. But Vale does have some hidden gems beneath it's ordinary appearance.
For the next few hours, the team dragged me around Vale to experience everything it had to offer. Coco showed my just about every clothing store in the kingdom and insisted that I update my wardrobe. Fox introduced me to a street performer whose semblance allowed him to play any musical instrument flawlessly and without prior training. Velvet took us to a bunch of famous landmarks around the city. She's apparently really into photography and brought us to some of her favorites spots to shoot; both within the city, and further out into the forest. It was outside of the city where I learned about Yatsu's interest in nature and untainted scenery. We even were able to witness the sunset at the docks before we began to head back to the academy. I will admit, Vale is much more unique than I gave it credit for. It didn't exactly leave a good first impression on me my first day here. But surprisingly, Team CFVY managed to improve it in our short afternoon. While my goal remains the same in the end, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take things easy for once.
Once we returned to Beacon, we were met with a guy in a blue polo and matching hat. He was holding what looked like several pizza boxes.
Coco: Right on time.
Apparently, Coco had ordered food in advance since most places would be almost closing by the time we got back. Yatsuhashi grabbed the boxes and Coco opened her purse, handing the delivery driver way more lien than was necessary.
Coco: Thanks. Keep the change.
Driver: I'm not even sure I know what the change is. Thanks a lot!
Velvet: Enjoy your night.
We made our way into the building and up to our dorm room. Yatsu set the pizzas in the kitchen, causing Fox and Velvet to gather around the countertop like children on Christmas.
Fox: I've been waiting for this all day.
Yatsu: I assume this one is yours then.
He handed Fox one of the pizzas that radiating an intense smell of spices. Fox opened it and released the fumes into the air, almost burning my nostrils in the process. Sometimes I regret having this sense of smell. The pizza in question was littered in pepperoni, peppers, and onions. There was also pepper jack cheese and the regular sauce was replaced with hot sauce.
Yatsu: Coco, this one's yours.
Y/n: Didn't take you for the pizza-eating type.
Coco: If you must know, it's vegetarian. Still got to fit my clothes.
Yatsu: And for you, Velvet.
Velvet's eyes lit up upon opening the box. A regular pepperoni pizza but with extra cheese. I mean a lot of cheese. Stuffed crust, extra cheese on the pizza itself, and shredded parmesan over the top. Yatsu then handed me one of the boxes.
Yatsu: I believe this one is for you.
Y/n: Thanks.
Coco: I wasn't sure what to order for yours. So I just got a meat-deluxe. You know...you being part wolf and all.
Opening the box almost made me shed a tear.
Coco: I hope it's alright.
Y/n: It's beautiful....
10. No, 20 different types of meat covered the pizza. I wasn't even able to see the cheese beneath it. I picked up on of the slices and froze.
Y/n: Is...is that ham....stuffed into the crust?
Coco: And bacon.
Y/n: This is the single greatest thing I've ever been able to witness. And I think I might pass out.
Coco: I'm glad you like it.
I managed to gain control of my legs and join the others in the living room. Velvet and Coco were trying to find something for us to watch. Fox on the other hand, he was currently showing symptoms of an impending heart attack. I don't wanna know what type of peppers he's eating to make him sweat torpedoes.
Y/n: Is there a reason every meal you consume has to be prepared in Hell?
Fox: Because, *heavy breathing*, there's nothing better than a good spice.
Y/n: I'm starting to think you enjoy pain.
Coco: Well...
Fox: Shut up.
Coco: Oh look he's turning red.
Fox: Shut up, it's the peppers.
Yatsu: Of course it is.
Fox sighed in defeat and went back to his nutritional suffering. Velvet had finally found a movie and we spent the rest of the night pointing out all of the inconsistencies and making fun of the cheesy one-liners. All in all, a day well spent. After the movie had ended, we unanimously agreed that sleep was in order; given that it was now 1 am. I tossed my empty pizza box into the recycling bin by the trash. Fox, who wasn't able to finish his without getting a heat stroke, put his in the fridge for another day.
I grabbed my bag of clothes and went into the bathroom to change into my pajamas, which was just a t-shirt and shorts. When I returned to the bedroom, I saw an object flying toward me from the corner of my eye. I panicked and my semblance triggered automatically, slowing the object enough to catch it. It was a rolled quilt.
Velvet: Nice catch.
Coco: Sorry about that. I know those infirmary blankets aren't the best, and it's supposed to be cold tonight. Not much we can do about the cot though.
Y/n: Thanks. It's alright, I've had worse "beds".
Coco: Well, try to get some sleep. We're getting up at 7 am.
Fox: Wait what? That's less than six hours.
Coco: Then you'd better go to sleep. Look at Yatsu.
I turned my attention over to Yatsuhashi, already in what appeared to be deep sleep.
Y/n: I thought classes were postponed due to the tournament.
Coco: They are. But we didn't become Beacon's Elites by slacking. You still have a long way to go before you're at our level.
Y/n: What do you call that initiation last week?
Fox: I'll admit, you're good. But I was also being lazy. Coco was holding back.
Coco: And trust me, Yatsu let win.
Fox: The guy has a serious demeanor, but he rarely tries. Even on missions.
Velvet: Except when he's angry.
Y/n: Remind me to never piss him off.
Coco: And besides, Velvet's been healing faster than expected. If not tomorrow, than she'll definitely be combat ready within a few days. She still has to test your combat ability.
Velvet: You'll do fine.
Y/n: I mean, if you're feeling up for it...
Yatsu: Don't go easy on her. It won't end well.
The giant hadn't moved nor opened his eyes.
Y/n: Every time he does that it terrifies me.
Coco: Alright. Everyone go to sleep. I don't wanna hear any complaining in the morning.
Fox: I'm still gonna complain. Goodnight.
Coco: Goodnight.
Velvet: Goodnight. See you in the morning.
Y/n: Goodnight.
A/n: Okay so apart from forcing myself to write so that I won't procrastinate, I also started planning out plot points for the story ahead of time. Normally, I just write these as I go, but this way, it'll help with this damn writer's block. And another thing: this story is most likely going to be much shorter than the Neo story. I'm emotionally invested in that one at this point. But I'm still not even half way done with this one so don't worry. I wanted to make several of these with different characters, but trying to update 4 or 5 different stories at the same time is going to end terribly. So I can start the new one once I finish this one, and continue alternating updates between the Neo x Reader and whatever other story I'm working on. Love you guys, I'm going to sleep. <3