Chapter 9

After a rather long and awkward silence, Xavier and Yang would split the bill between the both of them before making their way back out to the city. As the sun was now starting to set, it wouldn't be long before the last airship would be leaving to take any students back to Beacon. Xavier produced a cigarette and lit up, he would break the silence that hung over them with a thought that couldn't exactly be contained just within his mind. "do you think they're actually-"

Yang would cut him off by placing a hand over his mouth, he had fortunately lowered the smoke at that point. "Shshshsh, don't. ...Just, don't." She seemed as dejected as he did about the entire thing, but found a bench to sit that didn't have a no smoking sign. She waited for him to finish before speaking. Though he beat her to it.

"...sorry about ruining our day out, ...i mean i guess it wasn't just me, i really don't like that guy," Yang gave a small, dry laugh.

"That's because you think he's banging your girl." She answered simply, causing Xavier to give a look that was a mixture of disbelief and amusement at the notion. Though her own expression fell. "Look... If anything this is probably my fault."

He practically choked on one of his last drags. "wha- ...how could this possibly be your fault?" He asked with obvious disbelief.

Yang would fidget with her long hair, wrapping some around her fingers as she nervously spoke. "I mean... It wasn't like a date, not really, but how it looked..." Xavier wanted to say something to comfort her, but Yang looked directly into his eyes and threw a curveball. "I... Kinda wanted people to think that... Yanno." Her cheeks flushed, and once more Xavier was caught completely off guard by these girls. "I thought... M-maybe if it felt good..."

Xavier would cut her off after crushing out his smoke. "yang... i... dunno what either of you really see in me, but i'm... not exactly the best guy to get involved with," He said with no small amount of... Well he wasn't entirely sure, but there was a pit in his stomach that didn't have anything to do with food.

Yang sighed. "No, it's got nothing to do with what's better." She would take his hand, both avoided eye contact for a moment, but ended up looking right at each other as she continued. "I don't care about that... I don't really like getting all tied up with what it is and what it isn't. You're a fun guy to hang out with. And... I want to spend more time with you. Maybe it leads to something! Who knows!" By now she seemed a little exasperated having to spell it out like this but... She eventually sighed and let go of his hand, leaning back a bit as she looked towards the slowly rising moon. "I guess it's my fault for thinking that was okay..."

Xavier awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he also looked to the sky. "i... don't know, maybe i just need more time to... to sort out these feelings," Feelings of affection, maybe something else, regardless they were new and strange and confusing to him. "...maybe if we met first? i... i like hanging out with you too it's just-"

She would stand up and lean over him now, he wanted to shrink away as his face was close to hers... And her chest. She gave a soft smile. "All I need to know is... If we didn't run into them, and... maybe got a hotel? Do you think we...?" She wasn't really nervous so much as coaxing an answer out of a mortified Xavier. Eventually, he did manage to get one out.

"i mean... having all night? ...y-yeah" He more admitted to himself than anything. Yang stood back to her full height with a cheerful smile. Xavier would stand as well, the two still being rather close... There was a brief moment where she closed her eyes, and tilted her chin up. Though he would place the kiss on her cheek. "...maybe it's best we stay friends, until ...i can get my shit together at least,"

Yang blushed, some surprise on her face that he actually went for it, but she nodded. "No problem, I know how tonight would've gone, so we'll say that's what happened~" She would proceed to give him a punch on the shoulder, not a particularly light one either. "Don't you go making my friend cry, got it? I'll talk to you later." And just like that... She was gone, having disappeared into the crowd headed back towards the landing pad. Xavier figured that a trip back under his own power would be simple enough instead of taking one of those soaring metal death traps, and so he would stay to smoke in peace and watch the moon rise. To... Try and figure something out.

Well over an hour had passed and the night had settled in, light pollution was most certainly a thing on Remnant as the night sky from the city had far less stars than the elevated mountain site of Beacon. However, his relative peace would be interrupted as he felt he was being watched. Xavier would soon crush out the last of his... However many he had smoked, before beginning to walk. The sensation didn't go away as he moved through the streets in a series of random turns, and so, he reached for his knife. Once he had crossed a street, he turned around- ...Seeing a pair of green eyes staring at him from across a nearby alleyway. As he gave a curious glance, a voice called out to him in the dark. "Excuse me, do you require assistance? You seem somewhat lost..."

Xavier blinked in surprise as the voice of a... disturbingly polite young lady spoke to him, before long, despite the alarm bells sounding in his mind, he would approach the girl. "i probably do, but there's not a shrink qualified enough to deal with me," The joke was delivered flatly as he attempted to sense if anyone else was nearby, if this was some sort of trap... But he could only feel one aura before him, it was strong but... It seemed almost... Fragmented.

The girl would curiously tilt her head as she came out from some of the concealing shadows and stepped into the moonlight of the alleyway. "I am... Not sure I understand." She was a ginger with bright green eyes, her clothing was almost... Doll like in a way, with a simple yet elegant white dress, black, heeled thigh-high boots, and a green ribbon atop her perfectly combed hair. Her skin was pale, but not too noticeably so, and surprisingly she had no freckles. Something that many would have overlooked was the filigree collar around her neck, a curious choice of accessory.

Xavier seemed to analyze her just as much as she did him, the two staring at one another in silence for a moment... Something this girl didn't seem to find odd in the slightest. "that's... probably a good thing kid, so what's got you out by yourself so late?" Xavier estimated she was at least 16, maybe a bit older but she certainly seemed too innocent to be wandering the alleyways of a big city on her own.

The girl gave a warm smile as she spoke. "I am placed on a lighter schedule with fewer guards at night, so I can sneak out and play!" Xavier couldn't help but be amused at her honesty.

"and do you always come up to strangers when you're out and about playing?" He had half a mind to lecture the poor girl, but she would probably get one from home anyway if she was telling the truth.

"My very first friend told me that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." She smiled adorably. "Do you want to play?"

Okay she absolutely needed a lecture it seemed, but... If she was this naïve, the least he could do was keep her safe. "s- ...sure?" He felt... Very awkward about this. But the girl was incredibly excited. All of this seemed... Hauntingly familiar. "um... what did you have in mind?"

She smiled brightly. "There is a place nearby that I found! It is perfect for playing all night long!" She took his hand, running through the alleyways like she knew them better than the back of her hand. Okay, this girl was crazy strong too, he was pulled along practically, but didn't mind it so much. Even if he was being led somewhere dangerous, this kid seemed alright. She led him to... A playground. A bit run down from lack of use, but it was a small bit of woodchips surrounded by a curb, with all your usual suspects. A swing set, a slide, monkey bars, a jungle gym, the works. "Is this not sen-sational!"

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Xavier was honestly floored by the type of experiences he had found himself in over the course of this very strange day, hell if there was someone recording they may have been able to make a shitty comedy about his life over the last two weeks, but this absolutely broke him and he started laughing to himself, placing a palm over his face. "yeah... it's something alright," The two would take to the nearby swing set first, and her weight seemed to strain it a bit... He began to connect the dots here. "so... i'm xavier, what's your name kid?"

She would give a salute with her right hand while still swinging along happily. "My name is Penny Polendina, sal-u-tations!"

He nodded. "i see... penny, i have a bit of a strange question for you, if you don't mind me asking," He hoped he was right, because if not this was going to get very awkward very quickly.

Penny tilted her head cutely. "hm?" Actually, she leaned her body into it. "What is up?" If that was an attempt at slang, it was honestly too cute to just go by unnoticed, either this girl was incredibly sheltered or...

"...are you an android?" She blinked twice, her expression unchanging as she didn't seem to understand the question, so Xavier redirected. "an artificial or robotic humanoid, i should say,"

Penny's heels dug into the ground as she brought herself to a stop, standing straight up and staring at Xavier with complete disbelief. "How... How did you figure that out??" Her voice was somewhat panicked as she dramatically brought her hands to her cheeks. Unbeknownst to Xavier, it was a practiced reaction to hide the fact that she couldn't blush.

Xavier would likewise stop himself, albeit killing his momentum with a little gravity control instead. "well... you remind me of someone, someone very sweet, kind and caring, like the little sister i never had..." His tone was somewhat melancholic as his mind traveled back to those days for even just a brief moment. "oh uh, but don't worry, i won't tell any-"

"Tell me about her!" Penny practically shouted out, not in a commanding way, but from sheer excitement at the prospect. Her eyes seemed to be glowing...

Xavier chuckled a bit at her childlike sense of wonder, but gestured for her to return to the swing to sit. "...her name was koko, at her core, she was a gardener," Xavier would spend some time telling the story of a robotic girl who cared for natural life more than anyone he had ever met, about her generosity, kindness and selfless nature. Penny was enthralled at the explanation, absorbing every single detail she could and formulating a barrage of questions to ask. "she... wasn't the only one, but most of her family weren't exactly kind like you and her,"

Penny would finally speak after a moment of silence ensured he was finished. "So I'm not alone?" She asked seemingly with baited breath. The color would drain from Xavier's face at the notion of that question, having figured that referring to Koko exclusively in the past tense as he had may have given Penny a hint but... "Where is she now? What happened to her?"

Xavier hesitated, attempting to gain some of his composure back before speaking again. "i... don't really know what happened to her," There was certainly some remorse in his voice as a bad memory flooded back, but she didn't seem to pick up on nuance at all. Perhaps he should do something he only rarely did... lie. "...her family always liked to move around, she could be anywhere by now," That wasn't entirely false, but sounded more like a lame excuse than anything. Fortunately Penny didn't seem to catch on.

"Oh... I see..." She nodded a bit. Looking down at her feet before looking back up at him with a bit smile. "That's too bad! I would have loved to meet her someday!" It seemed she wasn't too great with expressing many emotions outside of optimism.

Xavier gave a small, dry chuckle. "yeah... i would have loved to see her again, ...sorry kid- er, penny, not many of my stories have a happy ending,"

"That is O-K." She smiled and stood up. "Not every story needs a happy ending. As long as it eventually comes to an end. That's what my father told me! A drawn out, overly complicated story can be worse than one that ends quickly, but sadly."

"huh, guess you're not wrong... neither is he for that matter," He stands back up and almost without thinking, gives her an affectionate little pat on the head.

"Oh!" There's that adorable little surprised face again, then another smile. "Thank you, sir!"

Xavier shook his head a bit, still keeping his smile. "you don't have to call me sir, you're not one of my students," He always felt awkward being addressed by any honorifics.

She tilted her head again. "I am to address everyone, bar my father, as Sir or Ma'am. It's only proper."

Xavier gave a shrug. "if you say so... you're very polite penny, your father raised you well"

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and after they had spent a few hours together telling stories, a couple of heavily armed soldiers arrived for Penny, pointing guns directly at Xavier for just a moment before she gave herself up. "Aww..." She waved to him a bit sadly, and he was given an idea of how long he'd been out with one of the soldiers muttering into their mask "1:33am, target has been secured." Xavier gave her a small wave in return, suitably unimpressed by the soldiers and hoping that this would just pass without turning it into an incident... Unfortunately he didn't get to say a proper goodbye, but hopefully they would meet again. The night drew long and cold, leaving Xavier in an alleyway in a city he didn't know, down a street whose name he didn't recognize, and with his funds somewhat depleted already from the meal earlier, and the overpriced drink at the movies, his main option would be a cheap motel.

Come the morning of a relatively restless night, though fortunately one without any particular dreams, Xavier would catch the first airship back to Beacon. Upon his arrival, he would immediately make a pass through the cafeteria to grab something for sustenance before swiftly heading towards the classroom he had been assigned... And finding Ozpin inside waiting for him. This was perhaps the last person he wished to see right now... Well, second to last, there was always Glynda. "Ah, there you are." Ozpin took a sip of his drink before Xavier would walk inside and shut the door.

"here i am?" Xavier questioned more than anything, wondering in part why Oz needed him and how long he had been waiting, it was still fairly early in the morning. Ozpin, however, would gesture for Xavier to take a seat in one of the available benches.

"I hope you haven't made any plans for next weekend as I will need you to stay on campus."

Xavier nodded. "okay, what's up?" This sounded a little more serious than a simple discussion of the classroom.

Ozpin would lean on his cane as he spoke. "A friend of mine will be arriving on Friday, ostensibly for the festival proceedings." Xavier briefly wondered if this was the same festival that Sun guy mentioned earlier. However, Ozpin continued before he could really finish that line of thought. "For better or for worse... You are a secret I can't afford to keep from... certain people." He sighed, sipping his drink once more. "When classes are dismissed, come immediately to my office and... Prepare to more than likely have insults hurled at you from all angles, preferably without escalating the situation yourself, it would help."

Xavier raised a brow curiously, but decided to avoid probing for too much detail that he most likely wouldn't get anyway. "i'll keep professional and curt," He gave a slight chuckle at Ozpin's expression regarding that statement. "even though you have every bit of evidence to the contrary, i do possess self control" He smiled and gave a thumbs-up. It probably wasn't convincing, but the least he could do was make an honest attempt.

Oz nodded before adjusting his glasses. "I appreciate it." He lifted his cane into his hand, walking out while carrying it. "And I recommend using an upscale hotel next time. Your purchases are recorded for payroll." He... definitely assumed.

Xavier would stand in shock for a moment before bringing his palm to his face, only once Ozpin had left did he manage to find his voice again. "...noted"