You were walking through the busy streets of Vale, making sure not to bump into anyone as you looked down at your newly acquired scroll.
Your only contacts being Ozpin and Glynda.
Ozpin had sent you an image of someone and said to you, "You'll recognize him at first glance. And you could probably even smell the alcohol coming from him."
"Qrow Branwen..."
Glynda advised searching the nearest bar's and you might find him there.
And that's what you were doing.
You had your straw hat tucked away into your bag along with your swords.
Reaching the nearest bar, you'd step inside of the bar scanning the room quickly. You'd find he wasn't there.
Well, next bar.
Next bar, he wasn't there.
The bar after that, also not there.
And the bar after that one he wasn't there.
Arriving at the next bar, daylight beginning to fade.
'I swear if he isn't here, I'm going to murder someone.'
"Someone" felt a chill go down their spine.
Scanning the bar, you noticed the 2nd floor to the bar.
With a silent leap, you'd land on the railing and see Qrow talking to someone.
You'd step on the wooden floor and go over to Qrow and grab him by the collar of his shirt.
"Oi. I just spent 3 fucking hours looking for you. Did Ozpin not tell you I was searching for you?"
"Um... No."
You sighed, letting go of his collar.
"Fuck's sake. Now I need a drink." You dropped in the seat next to Qrow, looking at his masked company.
"Hm? Who are you?"
The masked person just seemed to stare at you, studying you.
You'd let out an exhale through your nose.
"I didn't know this was a masquerade. I would've worn my mask."
Qrow seemed to get a good laugh out of that.
"You're funny, kid."
"Kid? I'm 25."
"Really...?"
"Yes, really."
"Wow."
"Anyway, who's your company?"
"I think she'll introduce herself."
She'd take a seat in front of you two, her hands would go to her mask, and she'd remove it and place it on the table.
"It has a face."
'A very good-looking face...'
"You're an interesting character. Who are you?"
"Woah... Raven showing interest first. Is it a blood moon?"
"Shut up Qrow."
Qrow laughed again.
Qrow noticed the server and waved them over and would order another drink.
"What about you, mystery man?"
"Dealers choice."
"Hah! Aren't you a daredevil?"
You shrugged.
The drinks arrived, and you'd take a sip before placing the glass back down.
"What'd you ask again?"
"I asked who you were."
"Oh. I'm no one, really."
"Then what is your name? Is it no one?"
"Ha. Funny." You take another sip of your drink. "My name is (Y/N). And you?"
"Hm... Raven Branwen."
"Branwen..." You mumbled to yourself.
Looking at Qrow and Raven, then it'd click.
"Your siblings...?"
"Yeah, but disclaimer, siblings are overrated." Qrow spoke, making you scoff.
"Tell me about it." You said before taking another sip.
"You have siblings?" Qrow asked, evidently intrigued.
"Kind of..."
"What does "Kind of" mean?" Raven asked.
You'd look at your drink and twirl it a little, hearing the ice swirl around. You'd down the entire drink in one gulp.
"Keep these coming and I might keep talking."
"That's the spirit! I like you even more now (Y/N)!" Qrow said, patting you on the back.
With a few more drinks, you loosened up.
"I hate my family so much..." You said, your head flush on the table.
"Why?" Qrow asked, completely sober even though he had more drinks than you.
"Because...... They're such assholes... All of them." You drunkenly said.
"What do you mean...?"
"They are rich... Snobby... Assholes..."
"Um... What is your last name?" Raven asked.
"(L-"
The doors would burst open, your attention being drawn to the sound.
Qrow and Raven looked over the railings and saw someone.
That someone being a random person who was white, bald, fairly tall and had a weird tattoo on their head.
"Who's that idiot?" Raven asked.
"That dumbass just comes in the bar talking about being the strongest hunter in Vale or something."
"I'm the strongest in Vale!" He spoke on queue.
"Should we go down there and stop him?" Raven asked.
"Pr—"
"Oi!"
"Wuh?" He turned to look at saw you standing there.
"Oh my God..." Raven sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Hahahaha! Kids got balls! I'll give 'em that!"
"He's probably going to get himself hurt."
Qrow gasped loudly.
"Raven worrying about someone? Again, I say, is it a blood moon?"
"Shut up Qrow."
"Yeah, yeah... I'll make sure he doesn't get hurt."
"A true man of strength doesn't boast..."
"What the hell are you talking about, drunk bastard?"
"What...? I thought I spoke pretty clearly... I'm pretty drunk. Maybe I didn't."
"Well, allow me to inform you. The strong must act strong. If you don't, you'll have to give beatings to dozens of people."
You'd drunkenly giggle.
"That... Is also true. But... Why are you boasting...?"
"What?"
"What... I mean is... You're... Not... Shit."
In a fit of anger, he'd go to punch you. Qrow would leap forward, but you'd drunkenly dodge to the right, avoiding his punch.
You'd wobble a little, steadying yourself.
Thinking it was a fluke, he'd try to attack you again.
Stepping inside you'd avoid his punch and then drive the heel of your palm into his jaw, and he'd fall forward unconscious.
Pure silence.
"Ah, thank you. Thank you." You said bowing.
"Why are you bowing?" Qrow asked, coming up from behind you.
"They're silent... Which means I did so well I left them speechless..." You drunkenly explained.
Qrow laughed.
"That usually not how that works, but I'll let you get away with it for now."
"Yaaaaaaay..."
"Maybe we should get you home. You've had a lot to drink."
"Okayyyy..."
He'd get his arm around your shoulder.
"Wait..."
"What?"
"Can you tell the beautiful woman up there I said bye?"
"Hahaha! Sure thing."
"Oh, wait..."
"What?"
"My bag..."
"I'll grab it and take it to you when I get you in bed."
"Get me in bed...? Dude... I don't swing that way."
"Not like that, ya drunk idiot."
"Oh... Okay..." You'd chuckle.
***
You'd wake up on someone's couch that someone being Qrow and your head in pain and thirsty as well.
Rubbing your forehead, you'd gather your thoughts not being able to remember much of the last night.
Walking through the house, you'd reach the kitchen, and the light would irritate you, making you squint your eyes a little.
"Good morning."
"Ah. Good morning." You said, rubbing your eyes.
"Your bag is over there, by the way." He pointed to your bag that was placed beside the fridge.
"Ah, thanks."
You'd go over to your bag and unzip it and check the contents.
Grabbing your swords, you'd unsheathe them and give them a few test swings.
"Jeez. Don't cut anything in my house."
"Sorry 'bout that."
You'd put your swords back in the sheathes.
"It's fine."
You'd go through your bag making sure all your belongings were there, including your straw hat.
"Qrow, what happened last night? I can barely remember it. It's all a bit hazy."
"Really? None of it?"
"I mean, after the 5th drink, it all got a bit hazy."
"Well, honestly, you're one of those giggly drunks who just keeps laughing sometimes. And like everyone, you're a brutally honest drunk."
"Oh, God. What'd I do?"
"Well... There was this guy that came in talking a lotta of strong man stuff."
"Oh, God..."
"So, you decided to go over to him and drunkenly said, "A man of true strength shouldn't boast." And he'd respond with this stuff about the strong having to act strong and what not, but you called his bluff in your words he wasn't shit."
"And I assume he didn't take it well?"
"Not at all. He tried to punch you, but you dodged wobbling a little, but ultimately dodged his punch. He'd do it again, and you got really close to him in like a blink and I think you drove the heel of your palm into his jaw, and he went unconscious."
"That's it? Well, that isn't that bad."
"That's not all buddy. When I was about to take you out of the bar in your words, "Tell the beautiful woman up there I said bye."."
You'd facepalm blushing a little.
"I'm such a horrible drunk..."
"Trust me. I've seen worse."
You sighed.
'What was her name again...? How could I forget? It was... Raven. That's what it was.'
"Do you mind if I use your shower?"
"Knock yourself out."
"Thanks."
You'd get some clothes from your bag and head to the bathroom.
After around 20-ish minutes of showering, you'd step out of the shower and look at yourself in the mirror.
There were a lot of small scars spread across your body. You had a lot of scars on your biceps and abdominal area.
You'd run your hand across your stomach, feeling your rough skin and remembering the training, and you'd exhale through your nose softly.
Sweeping your hair away from your left eye and look into the mirror for a moment before allowing your hair to fall back down to its original place covering your left eye.
You'd grab your Yukata and put it on as well as your shoes before stepping out of the bathroom.
Remembering why you had to find Qrow in the first place, you'd search the house and look out the window and see him outside drinking from his never-ending flask.
You'd leap out of the window, gently landing on your feet.
"Did you just jump from the 2nd story window?"
"Yes."
"Why not use the door like a normal person?"
"... Because time's a wastin'! I was supposed to find you and bring you back to Beacon with me."
"Oh."
"But it took so long to find you. Then I got drunk... Did some things drunk... So, now we're going to Beacon."
"Okay."
You and Qrow would start towards Beacon walking the busy streets.
Observing your surroundings, you noticed this guy constantly bumping into people, not causing fights but brushing up against people.
Watching closely, you could see he was pick-pocketing from everyone he bumped into. He was quite quick, and he hid it well, but you spotted it.
Sneaking up behind him, you place your hand on his shoulder, and instantly he'd elbow you.
You recovered quickly and went to grab him, but he'd disappear before your eyes and appear a short distance in front of you.
You'd move quickly whilst maneuvering through the crowd towards him.
He kept disappearing and re-appearing in different places.
'He's moving faster than me? Is it because he's used to these large crowds and I'm not?'
Catching up to the last place where you saw him, he wasn't even there.
"Damn it."
"Why did you take off running like that?" Qrow said, catching up.
"There was this guy... He was pick-pocketing people. He grabbed a few wallets for sure. I lost him."
'He looked pretty fast last night even though he was drunk... Is he beating himself up over this?'
"Well, you could get him next time." Qrow said, patting you on the back.
"And if there isn't a next time?"
"Trust me. There'll be a next time. People like him won't stop. Even when they nearly get caught. He'll be back."
"Yeah... All right."
"Now, let's continue to Beacon. And if you want, you could tell the police about the guy."
"Tell them what? That he had black hair? I didn't even get to see the guy's face."
"Hm. Well next time kid." Qrow said, walking ahead.
"I'm not a kid, Qrow." You said, following behind him.
"Yeah, you're 25 or whatever."
You sighed.
***
You'd reach Beacon and go up to Ozpin's office.
Upon entering the room, Ozpin seemed a bit surprised.
"So, you found him."
"Yep."
"Oz."
"I guess you're wondering why I sent you after the dusty old crow."
"I'm also wondering about that." Qrow chimed in.
"Well, you're going to be taking (Y/N) here on a mission."
"Okay..."
"And there is a little surprise thrown in there."
"For me?"
"Why don't you go ahead and tell him (Y/N)."
"Oh. I've never seen a Grimm before."
"... Never?"
"Never."
"Like not even a photograph?"
"Nope."
"Then how do you know about them?"
"From the Old Man who taught me everything I know. He went on rambling about some creatures called Grimm and how annoying they were and what not."
Qrow sighed.
"We'll just deal with that during the mission."
***
With Raven and her camp.
Vernal came into the room.
Well, something to explain Raven isn't exactly the leader of a bandit camp. They're not really bandits in the first place. They don't live in the middle of the forest. Their residence is some lowkey building.
"Vernal."
"Raven. We have this request." Vernal came over and handed Raven a file.
Upon opening the file, the contents were revealed with a single photo of someone with purple hair and casual clothes that were worn in a way, making them seem like a delinquent whilst everyone else went dressed formally.
Looking at the written portion of the file, it read.
This boy is (Y/N) (L/N) the son of the royal (L/N) family that resides in Atlas. We understand you're in Vale and we're in Atlas, but we'd like if you were to help us look for and find our son.
~Sincerely Blake (L/N).
"(Y/N)? Not a name you stumble upon every day."
"I thought so too, so I did a little digging and maybe a little hacking and found out. (Y/N) (L/N) has been missing for 9 years."
"9 years and we're just now getting this?"
"Maybe they didn't care at first?"
"Why? What did the kid do wrong?"
"Well, here's the thing. (Y/N) (L/N) was born into a family of hunters where a semblance was passed down from generation to generation. Much like the Schnee Family. (Y/N) (L/N) has shown no traces of ever developing aura or semblance."
"So, he was ostracized?"
"That's what I've theorized, at least."
"So, why bother looking for him now?"
"Because..."
***
"How much longer 'till we reach the place?!" (Yelling because the engine of the airship is loud, and you wouldn't be able to speak at the regular level and be heard by Qrow.) You asked Qrow while being on the airship.
"Probably not much longer! Just be patient, kid!"
"I'm not a kid! What'll it take for you to get that in your head?! I'm 25!"
"Well, I'm still older than you!"
You sighed.
"We're here." A voice rung out.
The airship would slowly land the engine and the sound of the engine cutting off as the loud noise eventually ceased.
Qrow would step out, and you'd follow behind him.
"This is as far as we can go." The middle-aged pilot said.
"Yeah, no worries, it's fine." Qrow said.
"Yeah... And uh... Thanks, you two. For having the will to put your life on the line against these things."
"Someone has to do it, right?"
"Guess so. But you stepped up to the plate. So, I thank you. All huntsmen and huntresses."
"You're helping too, ya know? Just by having the skill to pilot this airship and take us here saves us so much time. So, allow me to thank you as well."
The man would nod before getting back in the pilot's seat and then leaving the wind blowing through your Yukata.
"Well... Let's get going."
You'd follow Qrow, and he'd led you to this place.
It was beautiful looking. A few tall buildings. It just looked like a regular neighborhood.
You'd arrive at the front, there being a gate in your way.
Looking to your left, you noticed a black ball.
"Is that a Grimm?" You asked, pointing at it.
"No. I dunno what the hell that is."
The black ball started moving around.
"Um... It's moving."
You'd start going over to it and then poking it. The black ball would seemingly leap in the air before landing down in front of you completely normal.
"Its... A dog...?"
"Oh. Well, good on you, you found a dog. Congratulations."
With a shrug, you'd give the dog scratches under the chin before going back over to Qrow.
"Now let's go inside. Hopefully, no more distractions."
~Word Count: 2576
So, what are y'all thinking about the book so far. Even though it's literally on two chapters in.