Breathe Chapter 74: Breaking News

Standing just out of sight in Beacon’s training hall, Ozpin watched as a sea of reporters flooded in. Under most circumstances, he would have preferred if this was done somewhere else, but, given everything that’d happened in the past few days, he didn’t want to venture too far from his Academy.

It was nonsensical, he knew, especially since it was unlikely that Salem would make another move, but he still felt it necessary. If that meant he’d need to play host to the press for a short while, so be it.

It’s not like they’d have uncovered any of his secrets... Not when they were so focused on other, immediate issues, the actions of his former council member and the status of the Ancient Grimm he’d awakened being the key point here.

Seeing things settle down, Ozpin stepped out of the shadows and onto the stage, drawing the attention of every reporter in the room. “Welcome to Beacon, I thank you all for coming on such short notice.”

“Headmaster... Headmaster...”

“Is it true that...”

“Coal Calavera...”

Breathing in slowly, he tapped his cane to the floor, silencing the gathered group. “I understand that you are all curious concerning the events of the past few days, but yelling over one another isn’t going to get you answers.”

If anything, it would only drag this whole thing out.

“Now, I am pleased to report the worst is now behind us. With Atlas’, we have managed to not only weather the hordes of Grimm pounding at our doors, but have also taken the fight back to them,” Ozpin continued. “As we speak, Atlesian soldiers are in the process of setting up perimeters on land that was once thought lost.”

The hall once more lit up with idle chatter as a few reporters murmured among each other.

It wouldn’t be usable quite yet, but it would serve as a buffer between Vale and the Grimm that inhabited the wilderness... Given time the city would have the chance to expand further outward.

“And what about the Ancient Grimm to the south? Was it actually killed? Did Hazel Rainart have any involvement in this? Should we be worried that a member of the council may be working with a terrorist?”

The hall immediately quieted down. Staring down at the reporter who’d voiced her questions, one Lisa Lavender, Ozpin hummed thoughtfully. He didn’t have a shred of doubt that Salem was somehow involved in this, but Hazel had been here... Not that anyone else save for a select few knew that.

“If I may answer your questions out of order... No, I am quite certain that Hazel Rainart didn’t have anything to do with this, the former councillor responsible for this mess acted alone in his own self interest.” Pushing his glasses back up, Ozpin smiled. “As for the Grimm, yes, it’s been destroyed, another of the Ancients has been slain. Mr. Calavera and his teammates have confirmed it as such.”

The room once more lit up in a cacophony of questions as each reporter shouted over one another in an attempt to have their question first.

Having spent several lifetimes teaching classes just like this, Ozpin could see that there was no stopping them now. Since this wasn’t a class, the usual methods of quieting them down wouldn’t work.

They’d just keep going until one of them was heard. Unfortunately, anything else he had to say on the matter would likely only draw more questions.

Ozpin could only sigh as they got louder.

...Breathe...

Waiting just outside of the hall for the moment Ozpin called us in, I shot a quick glance towards Winter who stood silently with her arms behind her back while Pyrrha, well...

“I swear I’m fine... No, you don’t need to come down here yourself... Mother, I...” Rubbing her temples with one hand, Pyrrha’s grip audibly tightened on her Scroll. “Yes... They’re all still there... Ten fingers and ten toes... Yes, I’m still keeping up with my studies. Look, I’m going to need to hang up soon, okay?”

Yeah... Her mom might just be the slightest bit concerned about what she’d been up to lately. Luckily, she hadn’t asked to talk to me just yet.

On the other hand, I did have to deal with the news once more. Personally, I wasn’t a fan, but I could see why it was necessary. People were scared and they had every right to be. They wanted to know what was going on... They wanted to know if they were safe... More than that, they wanted to feel safe.

Hearing things quiet down in the hall, I found Ozpin motioning for us to enter.

Tapping the sword at my side, I glanced between Pyrrha and Winter before stepping into the hall with them at my side, drawing the crowd’s attention. It didn’t take long for them to start calling out their questions, only, this time, they were divided between the three of us.

So we were back to this...

Raising her hand above her head, a large white Glyph formed above the stage before releasing a flash of light that was accompanied by a loud bang that made the gathered reporters wince.

Clearing her throat, Winter folded her arms behind her back. “Now that we’ve taken care of that, I believe you all have some questions,” She noted calmly. “We will be taking one at a time. Please refrain from talking over one another. I don’t want to have to gain your attention again... But I will if I have to.”

I was going to have to do something special for her after this... Pyrrha too since I was partially responsible for her getting that call from her mom.

“Lisa Lavender, I’m here with the VNN,” Said woman introduced herself. “I think I can speak for the rest of us when I say we’re curious how such a... Team was formed,” She said, looking for the right words. “It’s not every day that the Indomitable Huntsman, the Invincible Girl and the Schnee Specialist team up.”

The Indomitable Huntsman, huh? That’s a new one.

“Officially, we started working together as a team when we arrived at Beacon at the start of the year,” Winter answered. “Before that, we were still getting acquainted with one another. I was brought on board when I met Coal back in Atlas and was given the opportunity to work with him.”

Seeing the reporter's gaze pan to her, Pyrrha stood a little straighter, realizing they were expecting her to answer next. “Oh, I met Coal back before the Mistral Regional Tournament... We became friends and, well... Here we are.”

“Right... Anything you wish to add, Mr. Calavera?” Lisa Lavender asked, turning to me next.

“Not really, they pretty much said everything,” I shrugged. “I am glad we became a team,” I hummed softly. “I can’t imagine what it would be like if I’d never met them.”

I’d probably still be alive, but I can’t imagine that I’d be anywhere near as happy.

Blinking, she glanced between the three of us curiously. “That’s pretty interesting. If I could ask, what sort of relationsh–“

“Jimmy Firecracker here reporting live from Beacon,” An enthusiastic man said, moving in front of Lisa. “You said that you’ve officially been a team since the start of the year, but this is the first anyone’s hearing about it. Tell us, what have you three been up to in all that time?”

“Much of that is classified, but for the most part, we’ve been completing missions that have been deemed too dangerous for the average Huntsmen to accomplish,” Winter replied. “One mission we participated in was getting rid of the Shrapnel Weaver that was stalking the train tracks through the eastern mountain range.”

Shrapnel Weaver? The Grimm we faced back then was that big bloody spider from hell... Wait a minute... She gave it a name?!

I don’t know if I should be horrified or find it endearing that she thought to name her new summon.

“Throughout our time here in Vale, we’ve been logging and destroying new kinds of Grimm,” Winter continued. “That’s all I have to say on the matter.”

That was probably for the best, especially when the other Grimm we faced were objectively worse... I doubt the public hearing about a town of permanently possessed corpses would put them at ease. If anything, it’d make them wonder if the same could happen to them... It technically could.

“I have a question for Mr. Calavera,” A woman with a pair of fox ears on her head called out. “Last time you killed a Grimm of this nature, you seemed against actively hunting them... Has your opinion changed.”

I had to admit, the idea did appeal to me, but... It was risky.

“Given that two of them were woken when I was relatively nearby, maybe I should just let them hunt me instead,” I joked, drawing a few awkward laughs from the group.

“Is that a no?” The reporter asked curiously.

“If it was a regular Grimm, I’d say yes, but it’s not. Waking one of these things means putting entire cities at risk,” I explained. “It shouldn’t be done lightly… That’s all that I have to say.”

That was the best answer I could give them right now. There was still the Wyvern to consider. Killing that one before the end of the Vytal Tournament would go a long way to protecting Vale. It’d, at the very least remove a pawn that Salem could use to her advantage.

“I would like to remind everyone that it is still a crime to wake one of the Ancients,” Ozpin hummed. “Now, are there any further questions?”

A whole row of hands raised as each reporter fought to be next.

I let out a short sigh. This was going to take a while.

...Breathe...

In the days that followed the interview, things had quieted down significantly and its people were enjoying some much needed breathing room... Well, as much as a city crowded with visitors from other Kingdoms could get.

That wasn’t to say that everyone was able to relax. Those in charge were left picking up the pieces from the aftermath. Both Ozpin and Ironwood in particular were both bearing the brunt of it all... Not all of it was Grimm related either.

I hadn’t even gotten the chance to talk to James yet.

Given that there was nothing that I could do about that, I took Maria’s advice and decided to relax a little by taking Pyrrha and Winter out on a date while the rest of the team did their dress shopping for the upcoming dance. Speaking of which, I should probably get myself a new suit.

“That was filling,” Pyrrha hummed, sitting back in her chair as a pile of dishes sat in front of her, stacked precariously upon one another. “We should do this more often.”

“It was quite enjoyable,” Winter agreed softly. “Moments like these were few and far between back in the Atlas, but they’re becoming quite a regular thing here.”

Given that we’d only come here a handful of times since we’d come to Vale, it went to show just how little free time Winter had as a specialist.

“We could do this more often if you like,” I suggested. “With the festival right around the corner, it might be nice to take our time and experience it.”

“And keep an eye out for anything strange,” Winter nodded. “Given how many people are going to be here, there’s bound to be a few criminals trying their luck.”

I was more thinking that we’d be able to relax and have fun, but I suppose we could do that too... It couldn’t hurt to be a little alert, especially since Cinder was still out there.

“So, since we’re done here... Where to next?” Pyrrha asked. “We are done here, right? If we’re not, I suppose I could go for a desert.”

After all that, she still had room for more?

“If I may suggest, perhaps we could try a cinema,” Winter suggested. “I have done a little research on what most couples do when they go out on a date and I think it could be an interesting experience.”

Glancing at Pyrrha, I shrugged. “Sure, we could go there next if that’s what you want to do.”

We’d already tried an amusement park before and ended up having to deal with a Grimm, we may as well try a movie next. At the very least, there shouldn’t be any aquatic Grimm.

If not, well... We’d deal with whatever came our way next.

...Breathe...

Sitting on a bench just outside of the changing rooms, Ruby was bored out of her mind. Dress shopping really wasn’t her thing... She just didn’t see why it was necessary. I mean, she already had her combat clothes and her school uniform, what else could she possibly need.

If you asked her, she’d rather spend her time in a Dust store, reading some weapon magazine... Or maybe even browsing a weapons store. That was always fun. Or... Or... She might even hit up an arcade, that sounded way better than this.

It didn’t help that she’d already found her dress within the first five minutes... Unlike her teammates who felt it necessary to check multiple stores before making a decision. Seriously, it wasn’t that hard. All you needed to do was find something you like that’s in your size and grab it... Easy.

Instead, she was forced to watch as her teammates failed to come to a decision on what to wear... Well, Yang and Weiss specifically. Blake on the other hand had already settled on a dress and was now waiting with her, reading a book she’d brought with.

Why didn’t she think of that?! Of course her sister and Weiss would take ages to come to a decision.

“It’s been over an hour now, can’t you two pick something already?” Ruby asked tiredly, feeling as if she’d fall asleep if she had to wait any longer.

“If only it was that simple,” Weiss replied, holding a pair of dresses in front of her that seemed almost completely identical to Ruby. “It’s not as simple as just picking out the first thing that you like. There’s a subtlety to finding the right fabric... The right pattern and the right colour.”

There was? But why would any of that matter? It’s not like Weiss was going to be staring at the dress all night, she’d be wearing it.

“I don’t really get it,” Ruby murmured,

Checking to see if Blake understood what Weiss said, she proceeded to bury her head deeper in her book. The only sign that she was listening was the occasional twitch of the fluffy ears sitting on top of her head.

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, you look cute in your dress. No need to worry about patterns and fabric,” Yang said, placing a plain white dress on a nearby rack. “To tell the truth, I don’t think any of those things are important.”

“You’re one to talk,” Weiss hummed. “You’ve spent just as long as me inspecting your dresses.” Standing on the bench, right next to Ruby, she pointed at Yang dramatically. “You, Yang Xiao Long, have no leg to stand on.”

Yang did her best to hold her laughter in... It wasn’t very effective.

“What’s so funny?”

Smirking, Yang shook her head. “Yeah... I was just making sure that the dress was large enough that these puppies...” She gestured towards her chest. “Won’t pop out until the right moment.”

Glaring at Yang’s chest, Weiss looked down towards her own, significantly smaller one. “Oh,” She murmured softly. “Wait, what do you mean, the right moment?!”

“Caught on to that, did you?” Yang grinned.

“Yes!”

They were distracted, now was her chance. She could escape this stupid place and do something actually fun. Not wanting to leave a teammate behind, Ruby grabbed Blake, only for her hand to pass through the girl as Blake’s body blipped out of existence.

She’d been left behind?

Betrayal.

“Huh, what. Where’d Blake go?” Yang asked, noticing her teammates' sudden absence.

“I’ll go find her, kay thanks, bye.”

Launching herself towards the store's exit, Ruby’s great escape was suddenly brought to a stop when Yang grabbed her by the shoulders.

“What?”

“Nice try, sis, but you’re not the only one that’s that fast,” Yang grinned. “C’mon, help your big sis pick out a dress.”

“Noooo,” Ruby whined as she was dragged back towards the fitting room.

Stupid Coal teaching stupid Yang how to move so fast. He better teach her something like that too so she could move even faster than Yang.

...Breathe...

Out of all the movies we could have agreed on, I wouldn’t have guessed that we’d end up watching a horror movie for our date. That being said, it’d turned out to be the right choice.

Pyrrha was on the edge of her seat as the movie progressed. Every time we were hit with a jump scare, she ended up subconsciously using her Semblance which in turn rattled the seats, causing more than a few people to let out horrified screams, thinking that this was just part of the movie while a few others left as it was too scary.

Winter on the other hand had taken to the movie differently. Barely offering a twitch when something scary happened, she, instead, pressed herself into my side with my arm around her shoulders.

She wasn’t scared... No... Instead, she was simply using this as an excuse to get closer to me... Not that I was complaining.

Leaning back in my seat as the last person from our row left, saying that the movie was ‘too scary,’ I grabbed the popcorn bucket that’d been on my lap, only for Winter to do the same.

“Sorry, did you want some?”

With her eyes growing marginally wider, a light blush lit up Winter’s face. “If... If that is alright.”

Reaching into the bucket, she shifted around before looking up at me curiously. Reaching the bottom, curiosity quickly became confusion as her blush faded. Tapping it curiously, she lifted the container. Using the dim light from the screen, she briefly examined the bottom.

“Um... Winter,” I hummed softly, glad that there weren’t any people nearby. “What exactly are you doing?” I was starting to get an idea of what sites she’d browsed through for dating advice.

Jumping at the question, her blush returned. “I was... Examining the quality of the container,” She explained, tapping the bucket. “It seems to be adequate. If it hadn’t–“

The sound of metal tapping plastic drifted over us as one of the staff stood nearby with an unlit flashlight in hand. Staring at us with a bored look on his face, he raised a brow.

We hadn’t been doing anything wrong. Well, Pyrrha technically was, but they had no way of knowing that. If anything, they probably heard about the rattling seats and saw that we were talking. Nothing major.

“Sorry, is there anything that we can help you with?” I asked softly.

The man walked up the empty isle in front of us and stopped directly in front of me, staring at me expectantly. Not saying a word.

Noticing a familiar scent, I watched as the man blinked and his eyes changed colour.

“Neo?”

Smirking, the man’s form dissolved in a pink shimmer, revealing Neo’s much smaller form. Leaning against the chair, she held her umbrella out, causing Winter to tense while Pyrrha watched cautiously, and patted my head with it.

“Neo.” Pyrrha’s eyes lit up in recognition. “You’re the one that’s working with Roman.”

Blinking, Neo nodded cheerfully, happy to be recognized.

“That doesn’t explain why she’s here,” Winter said, a bit more guarded.

Looking towards Winter, Neo tilted her head to the side before pointing towards me. Leaning over the chair, she made a point of reaching down her shirt and removed a folded piece of paper which she promptly handed to me.

Using my Scroll to light up the page, I quickly read through it before sighing. “I’m going to need to talk to Ozpin... And Ironwood.”

“We can leave immediately,” Winter said, standing up.

I shook my head. “There’s no point. They’re still busy with the council.” And they would be for another few hours. “This... It’s important, but not immediately urgent. It can wait until they’re done.”

Nodding, Neo hooked her umbrella around the popcorn bucket, snatching it from Winter’s grasp, she proceeded to munch on it as loudly as possible.

Growling, a Glyph lit up on Winter’s hand, before quickly dimming. Sighing, she sat down and stared at the note. “What does it say?”

Seeing the end credits begin to roll, the few people that remained in the cinema began leaving.

Well... At least we got through most of the movie before moving onto more serious things.

“It seems Cinder’s been busy,” I hummed, looking over the note once more as the lights came on.

...Breathe...

Standing in a warehouse that was packed with dozens of masked Faunus that were in the process of moving several crates around, Roman impatiently strummed his fingers across his table while holding a crushed cigar in his other hand.

Things weren’t great. Scratch that, they were the exact opposite of great. Cinder was back and more demanding than ever, the White Fang were in one the warehouses he used to store his more... Volatile possessions and preparing for an attack, oh, and his partner was missing.

So, yeah, he was having a pretty bad day. It didn’t help that one of those White Fang bastards had purposely dropped the last bottle of his favourite brand of whiskey. Petty assholes... What he wouldn’t give for a dri– Son of a bitch.

“Neo,” He muttered as his partner lazily made her way towards him, appearing far too pleased with herself. “And just where have you been? You were due back an hour ago... Is that a bucket of popcorn? Where did you even... Did you go to the cinema?!”

Nodding happily, she turned a curious gaze towards the Faunus that currently occupied the warehouse.

“Don’t ask,” Roman sighed, nursing his head. “Cinder brought them in... Told me how I need to help them get ready for when she makes her move. Not sure how they’ll help. The average Faunus here has an IQ just below room temperature... And that’s being generous.”

Watching as one such member smashed a crowbar against a crate in order to get to the highly volatile dust inside, Neo was inclined to agree.

Shrugging, she let out a silent yawn and stretched her arms over her head.

“Hah, no. If I have to be here, so do you.” Popping a fresh cigar into his mouth, he lit it up and took a slow breath. “I’m not going to be the only one stuck looking after these idiots.”

That was fair. She’d just have to sneak out later. As for right now, however, something interesting seemed to be heading her way in the form of a redheaded bull Faunus who she recognized as one of the most notorious members of the White Fang.

Adam Taurus.

“Who is she?” He all but snarled, glaring down at Neo. “Why wasn’t I informed that there was another human here?”

“Don’t even get me started, bucko,” Roman replied, blowing a puff of smoke into the air. “We’re not one of your groupies that’ll jump when you snap your fingers. We’re associates at best... Nothing more. Now I’m going to say this once. This is Neo. Not your minion, not someone that’s expendable... My partner. Understand?”

“I can’t accept that. There’s too much at stake for us and not enough for the two of you... So I guess I’ll have to change it.” Gripping his sword, he stared down at Neo. “Should you fail to comply or put my plans into jeopardy, I’ll personally relieve your head from the rest of your body.”

Letting out a tired groan, Roman palmed his face. While a threat like that might work on others, Neo would only view it as a challenge.

Raising a single eyebrow, Neo took a deep breath and let out a loud, popcorn fuelled burp before blowing it Adam’s way.

Gripping his blade, Adam unsheathed it with blinding speed, slicing through Neo’s body only for the air to suddenly shatter around her.

Looking around, he found her standing on top of a crate that was currently being carried by a pair of unsuspecting Faunus and took off towards her in a furious rage.