Breathe Chapter 60: Grimm Vacation

Sitting in his office, Ozpin read over a letter that was sent to him by the newest Headmistress of Haven Academy... Delivered by one Sun Wukong who’d arrived ahead of schedule.

It was certainly one of the more unique ways he’d been sent a message. The last time he’d been handed a handwritten letter was a full lifetime ago, back when the Cross Continental Transmission System was still being built.

The message itself wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary. Quite the opposite in fact. Ozpin had been expecting it, only... Not in this form. Ordinarily, a simple call would be enough, but seeing as the CCT in Mistral had been recently hacked, the new Headmistress chose another method of communication... She’d stated as much in her letter.

No, it seemed that Jasmine was intending on having this conversation face to face and was going to be visiting Beacon in the coming weeks, bringing a few of the teams that would be participating in the Vytal Tournament with her. Meaning that he’d need to make sure everything was prepared for their arrival, piling on to his already busy schedule.

Exhaling in a controlled manner, Ozpin placed the letter on his cluttered desk, filled with several different schematics, each detailing a different redesign for his cane.

This was simply a by-product of Lionheart’s betrayal.

Normally, when a new Headmaster or Headmistress is chosen, the old one will stay on for an extra year to help them get acclimated to their new position. Unfortunately, that was not an option with Jasmine, so the responsibility fell to him.

He didn’t have a problem with it. This was just one of those situations that were beyond his control. The newest Headmistress was owed an explanation and he was simply the best person to give it. The only thing that truly bothered him was that it had to happen when he found himself with so little time.

Pushing that aside for now, Ozpin instead chose to focus his attention elsewhere. He had several missives from Vale’s council stating that they were pleased with the reopened railroad that cut through the mountains. Some few cautious messages concerning the abandoned Chill town and, oh... A message from Coal.

Reading through the message, Ozpin blinked and reread it. “Still taking risks I see,” He hummed to himself softly before glancing over the missives he’d gotten from the council. “Although, the results do speak for themselves.”

It was fairly dangerous, but Coal had proven time and again that he was more than capable of handling himself out in the field. Perhaps this would prove that sentiment of adapting under... Stressful situations.

Sending his response, Ozpin took a moment to relax, before turning his gaze towards the pile of work on his desk. “One down, sixty three left to go.” Hearing his Scroll ping, he sighed. “Never mind. We’re back to an even sixty four.”

Such were the woes of being Beacon’s Headmaster. Perhaps in his next life, he wouldn’t be so eager to take up that title again.

...Breathe...

Keeping my eyes shut, I took a slow breath before exhaling slowly, doing my best to keep my body relaxed. Hearing the sound of a blade whistling through the air and feeling the air shift against my skin, I went with it, allowing my body to fold as if it were paper in the wind.

Ping!

Ignoring the message, I continued to focus on my environment and my body’s place in it. Several more blows came and, through staying relaxed, I was able to dodge each of them.

From what I was able to figure out, the Paper Arts were primarily a defensive fighting style that focused on avoiding being hit by allowing oneself to be pushed out of the way by the air pressure behind the attack.

It sounded simple enough. All you really needed to do was relax and be aware of your body, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It required a massive amount of concentration and awareness of your body. The ability to relax every and all muscles at a moment’s notice and an acute sense of touch.

That being said, despite the difficulty, it was still something that could be trained. Anyone would be able to learn this, so long as they dedicated themselves to it and were willing to make more than a few mistakes.

Feeling a jab coming my way, my body contorted around the gust of pressure that followed. Spinning on the spot as a body rushed past me, I fell forward, landing lightly on her back, my head leaning over her shoulder.

“Having fun?” I hummed lazily before pressing a quick peck to Pyrrha’s cheek.

“Lots,” Pyrrha breathed excitedly. Shifting her spear into its sword form, she slipped it into a reverse hold and attempted to stab me, only to find her blade missing entirely. “Before this is over, I’m going to land a blow.”

“Hit me with your best shot,” I grinned, excited at the challenge.

Feeling a shift in the air, Pyrrha’s speed and the force behind her blows picked up.

"Flame Breathing: Blazing Universe"

Feeling a massive burst of pressure pressed against me, I stepped into it, allowing my body to bend to the unrelenting force, only for Pyrrha to try one attack after another.

"Flame Breathing: Blooming Flame Undulation"

"Flame Breathing: Unknowing fire"

“Flame Breathing: Rising Scorching Sun”

Crap. Following the various bursts of pressure, I found myself struggling to keep up as Pyrrha continued to try and slash me with her sword... At least not with the Paper Arts alone.

I could always switch to Sun Breathing, but the entire purpose of this spar was to practice our techniques. Using something else right now would be as good as admitting that I’d lost.

It was becoming increasingly clear that Pyrrha was going to win this spar if I didn’t do anything new... Assuming she didn’t exhaust herself first that is.

Deciding to try something new, I stepped through Pyrrha’s latest slash, allowing my body to contort as I avoided it, before colliding with her frame.

Wrapping my arms around her, I snaked one of my legs around hers and threw her off balance, bringing her to the ground with me. Feeling her attempt to break free from the hold, I opened my eyes, only to see a flash of her green eyes as her forehead met mine in a loud crack.

“Di... Did you just headbutt me?” I asked, not really believing it myself.

“Well... It was the only way that I would be able to land a blow,” Pyrrha said, smiling brightly.

Chuckling to myself, I shook my head. Even when the only thing she had left was her head, Pyrrha still continued to fight. “Damn, I love you.”

“Wha?!” Yelping, Pyrrha’s face quickly began to turn red. Staring into my eyes, she leaned forwards and...

“Ahem,” Winter coughed, stopping her. “We have company,” She said, gesturing towards Team RWBY who sat in the stands, watching our exchange.

Huh? I must have been so focused that I didn’t realize they’d arrived... I was going to need to correct that in the future.

Disentangling myself from Pyrrha, said Spartan covered her face, embarrassed at what she’d almost done in front of a team at Beacon.

“Yes, well,” I hummed, helping Pyrrha to her feet as I stood up. “Thanks for the heads up, Winter... Love you too.”

Jolting at that, Winter gave a nod as she smiled softly.

“By the way,” I continued. “Do you think you’d be able to help me out with something before the weekend? I could really use your expertise.”

“Of course,” Winter answered.

Great, now all I needed to do was talk to Ruby. Speaking of...

“What the heck was that?” Ruby asked, having come down from the bleachers. “Pyrrha was all like, whoosh and bam,” She said, mimicking Pyrrha’s movements poorly. “And you were just super bendy.. Is that a Breathing Style? How does it work? Can you teach it to me?”

Grabbing my arm, she proceeded to move it back and forth in an attempt to mimic the Paper Arts.

“Um,” I hummed, glancing at Yang.

“I think I’m good right here,” Yang smirked. “I learnt the hard way that it’s best not to mess with Ruby when she’s on a sugar rush. Give her another five minutes and it’ll have run its course.”

“Sugar rush?” I asked.

Did I even want to know?

“Yep. We’ve been working extra hard on our weapons and Ruby might have had a few more cups of coffee than usual,” Yang explained. “And seeing as Ruby’s coffee is mostly cream and sugar... You get where I’m going with this, right?”

Yeah... I think I got it.

“So, about your weapons,” I said, changing the subject. “How far along are all of you?”

“Mostly done,” Ruby replied immediately. “We still need to do a little fine tuning, but that shouldn’t take too long... Oh, I also had to stop Yang from painting hers.”

“Without telling me why,” Yang added. “You’re not gonna tell us that we can’t paint them at all, right?”

“...Well,” I hummed.

“Oh, come on,” Yang moaned.

“Don’t worry, Yang. It’ll all be worth it,” Ruby cheered. “And we might be able to paint some parts of your Gauntlets. Just not the entire thing and not before we learn our Breathing Styles.”

“I was actually going to ask you to hold off until after you all learn your Breathing Styles. Thanks for explaining, Ruby.” I said, patting the small reaper's head, much to her enjoyment. I was getting off track here. “By the way, what are your plans for next week?”

With the first semester of Beacon coming to an end, the students were given a full week off from class. A few students tended to go home during the break, but most stayed at Beacon during the break.

Once the break was over, the Academy was going to see an influx of exchange students that were here for the Vytal Tournament... At least, that’s what I’d heard from Ozpin.

“We already spoke about it and we’ve all agreed to stay,” Weiss explained, speaking up for the first time. “Our time would be better put to use here, training. You are going to be here training us, aren’t you?” She asked softly.

“Actually, I was thinking about taking a week-long mission in the northern portion of the Emerald Forest,” I replied.

“Oh,” Weiss muttered, appearing disappointed. “I suppose we could train on our own th–“

“And I... We were wondering if the four of you would like to come along,” I continued. “It’ll be a bit dangerous, but–“

“You had me at danger,” Yang interrupted.

“And me at along,” Ruby added, still more than a little jittery. “What’re we hunting? Goliath? Leviathan? Something unknown?”

“The last one, actually,” I replied. “It’s a mission that’s been marked as permanently incomplete and was taken off the mission board. The only reason why we’re able to do it is because of Ozpin.”

“And we’re just allowed to tag along?” Blake asked cautiously.

Stepping forward, Winter nodded. “Yes... Assuming that you follow our directions,” She shot a glance towards Weiss who stood a little straighter. “This isn’t going to be like an ordinary mission. These missions have been taken down for a reason... That reason being that most who have tried are now dead. I will be expecting the four of you to act like the Huntresses you aspire to be when you’re with us.”

Shrinking under Winter’s intimidating gaze, Ruby hid behind me before apparently deciding that wasn’t enough. Grabbing my cloak, she burrowed underneath it not unlike a tick, before finally peeking her head out of the neck hole.

Seeing all of this, Yang began to laugh and grabbed her Scroll to take pictures for later. Blake sighed, looking the tiniest bit amused and Weiss slapped her head, not knowing what to make of her team leader's actions.

Pyrrha and Winter on the other hand... Well, judging by the look on her face, Pyrrha appeared to find the whole situation really cute while Winter seemed amusedly exasperated.

This was just my life now, wasn’t it?

I gave Ruby a small smile. “Comfy?”

“Yep,” Ruby yawned. “You’re really warm. I could almost fall asleep.”

...Breathe...

Standing by Beacon's loading dock, I stared up at a hulking mass of metal, guns and engines that technically counted as an Airship. Instead of having the sleek design most modern Airships had, this one was more akin to a miniature mobile fortress.

It was pretty much a military grade RV that could fly and had enough weapons attached to it to take out a small herd of Goliaths and, best of all, it was mine... And Winters too since she had the pilot’s license that made purchasing it possible, but that's beside the point.

Whistling, Maria slowly made her way over. “That’s a fairly big Airship... You’re not overcompensating for something, are you?” Stopping by my side, she shot me a teasing grin. “Then again, you would need a big one if you want to handle that team of yours on top of Red and White.”

...Right, I wasn’t even going to address that.

“You’re sure that you don’t want to tag along?”

Humming softly, Maria nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. Even if I did decide to tag along, there wouldn’t be anything for me to do.”

“You could always help Ruby with her eyes,” I suggested.

“Maybe when she gets back. Little Red’s already got the basics down,” Maria said, waving me off.  “Plus it’d probably be for the best if she focuses on one thing at a time, especially since she’s going to be learning something new.”

I suppose she was right. Breathing Styles could be pretty demanding, even with Total Concentration Breathing to help take the brunt... And then there was her Silver Eyes.

Once she mastered Total Concentration Constant, she could probably use both, but until then, she’d need to focus on one or the other... At least when it comes to training.

“Besides,” Maria continued. “There’s more than enough things here to keep me preoccupied... Like a certain student here that’s fun to pester... Don’t worry about me too much. You have fun out there on your next mission.”

“...If you’re sure,” I replied.

“Yeah, yeah,” Maria said. “Anyway, I just popped by to get a look at your new airship and see you off.” She hummed softly as she examined it. “Not a bad piece of technology, it must have been pretty pricy. Quick question, if I had to order something for myself, say, a Dust powered massage chair, you wouldn’t notice, right?”

Raising an eyebrow, I stared down at Maria before shaking my head. “Nope. It’d probably be buried under the price of the Airship, why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason,” Maria grinned. Glancing to the side as Weiss approached. “It looks like you’re busy, so I’ll just leave you to it. Good luck with your next mission, oh, and remember to wear protection... I hear that it can get pretty cold out in the forest.”

“See you,” I said, rolling my eyes at Maria’s innuendo. “So, are we all ready to go?” I asked, turning towards Weiss.

“Uh... Not yet,” Weiss replied. “Yang is still loading a few of her suitcases and Ruby’s, well...” Shaking her head, she took a short breath. “I was actually hoping to ask you something that might seem a little personal.”

“O...Kay,” I hummed, not really expecting that. “What’s on your mind?”

“The other day when we were sparring with Pyrrha, I saw you with your... Head on my sister's lap,” Weiss explained. “And then when you were sparring with Pyrrha, the two of you seemed awfully close... Ruby and Yang’s dad...”

I wasn’t really following at first, but I could see what she was getting at. She was just worried about her sister. “We’re dating.”

“Yes, I figured that was the case, but which one are you dating?” Weiss asked. “Yang has this crazy notion in her head that you’re dating both, but that can’t be the case.”

“Well,” I chuckled awkwardly. “Yang’s kind of right. At first it was only Pyrrha, but then the three of us went on a date together... Back when we all went to Vale that one time. One thing led to another and we were dating.”

“Huh?” Blinking, Weiss tilted her head to the side. “What... Wait, the three of you? I must have... I could... How many... When...” Weiss’ face slowly turned red, before she turned and fled towards the back of the airship. “Sorry, I need to go!”

“Hey, Weiss, where’s the fire?” Yang asked

“Out of my way, I’ve got things to do,” Weiss said, rushing past her blonde teammate.

That... Could have gone better, but it was far from the worst reaction.

“So...” Yang began. “Any idea what that’s about?”

“I told her I was dating both Pyrrha and Winter,” I explained.

“Oh, I was right... Sweet.”

If only everyone could react like Yang.  This world would be a far better place...Then again, Yang could have a bit of a short fuse and solved most of her problems with her fists. On second thought, maybe the world wasn’t as bad as it was.

...Breathe...

The view of where the Emerald Forever Fall forest met was quite something. It’d be difficult to spot on foot, but it was quite clear while up in the air. There was a clear divide between red and green, almost as if some unknown force was keeping them from mixing.

There were a few theories on why the two forests didn’t mix with one another ranging from the trees simply being incompatible with one another due to different mineral deposits all the way to Grimm influencing the trees and even the Forever Fall being the final resting place of the God of Animals with the forest crying tears of blood for the fallen god.

None of that was why we were here.

Watching the scenery pass by, the large Airship slowly began to descend, moving towards a small clearing in front of a lake. A steep cliff sat above it with a small waterfall crashing into the rocks on the lakes shore. On the opposite end of the lake sat several abandoned vehicles, rust and corrosion only just beginning to set in.

“Woah, this place looks awesome,” Yang said, pushing in next to me in order to get a better view. “Why did you say this place was abandoned again?”

“I didn’t,” I replied. “Aren’t you supposed to be with the rest of your team?“

I mean, there wasn’t exactly a rule about not walking around, but things could get a little bumpy and sometimes it was a smart idea to strap in. Weiss being the prime example of what could happen if you didn’t.

“I thought I’d do a little exploring,” Yang hummed. “So is this where we’re gonna be staying for the next week, because I have to say, I approve. You think we could swim in the lake during downtime?”

“If you’re comfortable with being attacked by who knows what lives in there,” I shrugged. “And I’m not just talking about the Grimm either.”

“Heh, on second thought, I might hold off on swimming,” Yang chuckled weakly. “You know, this place actually reminds me of this horror movie Ruby and I once watched when we were kids... It had this camp and there was a guy that was killing everyone with a machete. You don’t think we’ll be dealing with anything like that, right?”

Was it just me or did Yang just describe Friday the freaking 13th? I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised. Vale did have an actor named Spruce Willis after all.

“You know, I’m not quite sure that I’ve seen that movie before,” Pyrrha hummed. “What did you say it was called?”

“Monday the 12th,” Yang answered.

Of course it was.

“I actually keep it on my Scroll to scare Ruby. Maybe we could watch it later... When we have time,” Yang suggested.

“I don’t see why we couldn’t,” Pyrrha replied. “What do you think, Coal?”

“I wouldn’t mind watching a horror movie.” Who knows, it could be fun watching Remnant's version of Jason.

Feeling the Airship shudder, there was a soft metallic thud as it landed. Winter, having diverted her full attention to flying the Airship, flipped a few more switches and let out a relieved sigh.

“We’ll need to examine the exterior to see if this is a suitable spot, but everything seems good on this end,” Winter noted. Turning around, she shot Yang an odd look. “When did you get here?”

“Um... Five minutes ago?” Yang replied, sounding a little unsure.

“I see, please inform your team that they will need to exit the Airship before I can extend it,” Winter said.

“Yeah, sure thing,” Yang hummed. “I’ll just... Go do that now.”

Watching Yang leave, I got up from my seat and headed over towards Winter. “Are you doing alright over here?” I asked, leaning over her seat.

“Yes, I’m just a little tired,” Winter admitted, rubbing her eyes. “This is the first time I’ve ever flown an Airship like this.”

Ah. That was understandable. “There’s still a few hours of light, but... Maybe we should get an early night tonight... After setting up camp.”

“We can start again in the morning,” Pyrrha added. “We have a week after all. There’s no need to rush.”

Humming, Winter nodded. “Yes, I think that...” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “That might be ideal.”

...Breathe...

Helping set up a perimeter of lights and sensors around the camp site alongside everyone else, I paused to take in the scenery.

It felt peaceful here. The sound of the waterfall... The gentle sway of the trees and even the birds that occupied the trees, everything seemed to be in harmony here. There was just something about it... Like a warm fire on a cold night. Even the air smelt fresher than usual. At least until I saw it.

Appearing as it always did was the Shadow, standing just in front of the treeline across the lake. Waiting.

“Is that a Grimm?” Ruby asked, appearing next to me.

“What?!” I jumped, glancing towards her. “You can see it too?” Looking back, I found that the Shadow was gone and standing behind it was what appeared to be a Beowolf.

“Well, yeah. My vision isn’t that bad. Wait, that’s not some kind of special Grimm, is it?”

I sighed. Of course, she only saw the Grimm, nothing else. “No, I don’t think it’s special,” I hummed. “But it is pretty close to the camp. You wanna check it out?”

“Totally,” She nodded enthusiastically.

“Then try and keep up.”

Taking a breath, I tensed my legs and took off, darting around the lake with Ruby following after me.

“Sun Breathing: Flash, Ten Steps”
 -500AP

Coming to a stop on the other side of the lake, a gust of wind and rose petals blew past me as Ruby slid to a stop.

“Woah, too fast,” Ruby muttered, stepping around me. Taking a moment to get her bearings, she unclipped her sniper rifle from her back. “Okay, so where’s the Grimm?”

“Over there,” I said, pointing towards it. It was odd though, we were clearly within its line of sight, but the Beowolf remained motionless. Hearing Ruby load her gun, I held a hand out, stopping her. “For now, let’s just examine it.”

“Okay,” Ruby chirped.

Moving towards the Grimm, I stopped directly in front of it and still nothing. Snapping my fingers, in front of its face, I reached up and flicked its snout only to be ignored.

“Hey, there’s more over there,” Ruby said, pointing towards a spot deeper in the woods.

Seeing several more Beowolves, I found something odd. They all appeared to be standing an equal distance from one another in a circle. Sitting in the center, attached to a tree was a humanoid skull with a black marking smeared on its forehead.

Walking closer, I reached forward, before pulling my hand back. No, something felt really wrong here. Unsheathing my sword, I tapped the skull with the edge.

All at once, the Beowolves reacted, except, instead of attacking, like I assumed, they whimpered and fled, displaying a trait that Grimm weren’t supposed to have.

Fear.

The Beowolves weren’t moving because they were too afraid to move.

“Let’s get back to the camp,” I suggested, turning towards Ruby who seemed a little disturbed at what had just happened.

“Yeah,” Ruby said, shivering. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something really wrong with this place.”

Looking off into the forest, I nodded. This felt different.