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Chapter 44: Distance
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As the sun hid itself in the horizon, the sky changed from pale blue to orange. The streetlights flickered to life as the darkness of the night enveloped the kingdom. In the shadows, figures began moving in the alleys. Dashing past streets and homes, they entered the shopping district. As the figures gathered in front of the mall, they met up with more members wearing the same uniforms.
Their clothing was black and white. On the back of their black hoodie was the symbol of a wolf head with a claw mark cutting its face. With the transfer of leadership, Jason deemed it necessary to create a new symbol for the White Fang. Thus, they went with what resulted from Robin cutting the flag in their base. The current uniform was also Robin's idea. Each member wore a Grimm mask that covered their eyes and nose. There were four slits, two on each side, allowing the wearer to see outside the mask.
With the hood and mask, there were no obvious signs of who each person were except for the antlers and other unique parts of each faunus sticking out of their uniforms. Thanks to this, not a single one of them would be able to be identified by strangers, let alone through security cameras. In addition, the faunus characteristics and black hoodies helped to make them look like Grimm.
Today was the day they would commit their first act of retaliation. With their uniforms finally ready, Robin and the others gathered around Jason, who was the only one who had a mask that fully covered his face.
“This is the first step. Everyone knows what to do right?”
The faunuses nodded. Jason then motioned towards the door.
“Our goal is to destroy all the shops that refused to serve us. We're sending a message. Lets go. Robin, open it.”
Robin walked over to the door. He pulled from his inventory his set of lock-picking tools.
Lockpick
Hack
The pins in the doorknob was pushed up and the electronic lock clicked. He opened the door and the faunuses rushed inside. Robin stepped inside as he remembered the events that transpired a couple of days ago.
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“I can't agree to this. I can't accept this at all.” Alex said.
“Alex, we're still fighting for the same thing.” Jason reasoned. “Don't be like this. You can still be a part of this.”
“I will not condone violence.”
Jason sighed and looked at Alex with a firm expression.
“Then I'm afraid there is no place for you here. Leave.”
Alex looked at him with disbelief. The group he lead and sponsored for so long was now kicking him out. Finally understanding no matter what he said, they wouldn't change their minds, Alex stepped towards the door. Amy followed suit.
“Where are you going?” Adam asked.
“I told you guys already.” she said. “If this grouped changed, I was out. It changed. Bye.”
Ophelia stepped up as well.
“Ophelia?” Conner spoke up. “Are you leaving?”
“I'm sorry,” she spoke in a soft voice. “I..I can't kill someone. I don't want to see anyone else die because of me.”
“Ophelia..” Blake's voice trailed off.
“Ophelia, we won't kill anyone.” Robin assured her. “We're just using a bit of violence to get our point across.”
“And how long will that last?” she asked. “How long before you actually kill?”
“...”
She walked away, as Adam yelled after her.
“Traitor! Weren't you the one that said we were a team?! Are you going back on your own words?!”
She didn't reply, but she did falter for a moment. However, she stepped towards the door. More faunus followed after them. After all, not everyone were ok with the idea of the change. Some were against it, but still stayed anyway. Blake was one of those. She stared at her friends with mixed feelings.
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“..bin.”
A voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Robin!”
He held his hand over Blake's mouth. She blushed slightly at the sudden contact as he spoke.
“Don't say our names. Even though they won't know who we are, who knows what the cameras will pick up.”
She nodded. Robin removed his hand.
“So what did you need?”
“Ja--..Lieutenant will be angry if we don't join in soon.”
Robin nodded his head, and the two of them walked towards Conner who was standing in front of a restaurant. This was one of the places that openly refused to served faunuses. There wasn't a law that promoted discrimination, but there wasn't one that prevented it either. Thus this location made it on their list to attack tonight.
Robin lit up his molotov cocktail. With nervous hands completely unlike himself, Robin threw the bottle at the windows. The loud crash signaled the bottle broke through successfully. The shops burst into flames as more bottles were thrown in by other faunuses. The kids watched with a strange sense of awe as the flames rose and the fire alarms blared.
= I've done it. = Robin thought.
= I'm now a criminal. =
They joined the other faunus that broke chairs, sprayed graffiti over the walls, and smashed merchandise. For the usually peaceful protest group, these acts of violence was like pulling a plug on their stress. Something inside them snapped. All their rage, complaints, and hatred took a physical form that was reflected in their actions.
Even Robin was affected by it. His breathes became a bit ragged not because of the smoke nor running back and forth between shops, but due to the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Robin felt his body tense up with a rush as he broke the law for the first time. Blake and Conner was similarly affected.
The White Fang pulled out and escaped before the police came in time. They dispersed and went their separate ways. Robin and the gang quickly changed in the alleyway before walking back on the streets.
“Where's Adam?” he asked.
“He left with Jason. Probably wants to talk to him about future actions.”
“...”
“Something the matter Robin?” Conner asked.
“It's just..I understand why I'm doing this, but I'm not sure about you guys.” he said.
“I don't want you guys to do it if you hate it, but you seem to do it anyway.”
“Pfft.” Conner scoffed.
“How long have we known each other? We're all the same. We have our pride as faunus, even Amy and Ophelia. We just have different ways of thinking about it.”
“And what do you think about it?” Blake asked.
Conner shrugged.
“I think if you're willing to do it, Robin, I'll follow you.”
Blake nodded.
“Then me too. I'll follow your decision, Robin-- as our leader.”
“Guys...”
Robin's heart was filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Even if the world turned against him, these guys were people he could truly trust. Robin frowned.
“What about Ophelia? She didn't join us today.”
“Oh I think she'll come around.” Conner said confidently. “She's probably just still shaken by seeing people die in front of her.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Who knows.”
The next day, they found that their actions made the news. They had specifically left a disc at the mall. On the disc was a recording mentioning the birth of the new White Fang.
“Our demands are simple.” Jason said on the recording.
“We demand equal treatment just like the others. Since your kind has failed to do this, we have been forced to take more drastic measures. From now on, any place that refuses to serve us is our target. Any group that belittles us is our enemy. You have brought this upon yourselves. Prepare for retribution.”
The effects did not show up at first, but became more obvious over time. During the second attack, they broke into a warehouse that contained Dust. They stole the Schnee containers and hid them throughout the various hiding spots they had set up in the kingdom. Anyone would be surprised at how many hiding spots one could have when one makes an entire community their ally.
Ophelia joined up at the third operation just like Conner said she would. She and Blake whispered a bit before joining the rest of them. She looked at the group before putting on her mask.
“We're a team. Teams stick together.”
As a whole, Team COBRA was one of the more stronger members. Especially since they have trained as Hunters and Huntresses, they were put to missions requiring a more tactical touch. This time, Team COBRA was sent to hijack weapons and ammunition stores in order to arm the other members.
Robin and Blake had an argument with Jason and Adam. They argued that they should only attack the ones that didn't help them, and that it must be when nobody is involved. They refused to budge on that point, and won the argument easily.
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“Fine,” Jason said. “There's plenty of places to hit anyway.”
As their exploits garnered more attention, the people of the kingdom began to change. The shops began to open their doors to the faunus, and they got to eat. Some owners even specifically hung a sign that stated “Humans and Faunus Welcome” outside their doors. Their actions were working, just not in the way they expected it to.
“...”
*Clink
The sounds of tableware and chewing could be heard inside the restaurant. Robin's knife made a noise as he set it down on the table. His mouth was chewing on his steak.
“““....”””
Robin and company was eating outside for dinner that day. The silence in the restaurant itself could make one mistaken that it was completely empty except looking around indicated otherwise. The atmosphere could not be said to be any less awkward at their own table.
Robin and Blake chewed silently on their meat and fish respectively. Adam voraciously chewed his own food without a word. Amy was staring outside the window, and Osagi was staring at his magazine. Ophelia was having small talk with Conner in order to lighten the mood.
“So, the Inter-school Tournament is next week right? So they're having it during the same time as the Festival?” Conner asked.
“That's right. Thomas and the others from the Hunter's Guild will be using our school for the Junior Tournament, so we'll be heading over to Sanctum to fight there.”
“Cool! We never saw any other schools yet. This should be fun!”
“I know right? I wonder what kind of people they are. What do you think, Amy?”
Amy stood up and looked at Ophelia in the eye.
“I think I need some fresh air. I'll see you guys back at the dorm.”
“Hey! Oi, wait!”
She stepped towards the counter ignoring Ophelia's calls. She paid for her meal before walking out. Osagi and Adam stood up next. Adam apparently finished his food.
“I think I'm done for today as well.” Osagi said.
"As am I." Adam followed up.
Robin, Blake, Conner, and Ophelia exchanged looks. Robin sighed and stood up to pay for his meal. The receptionist looked at him with nervous eyes as she took his money. All the while she was being careful not to touch his fingers.
Their actions got them to be treated equally all right. However, it wasn't out of respect, but out of fear. With the distance that formed between each of them, his appetite had vanished, and the other humans' behavior did not help. They walked back to the school in silence.
= Osagi is righteous, so he doesn't like violence just like Amy. Adam seems too into it, and has been talking with Jason a lot about what to do next. Ophelia doesn't want to see anyone die, yet she attends out of duty for us. Blake seems confused about the whole thing, and Conner is a complete mystery. Despite this, everyone still hang out together. It's as if everything is held together by a single thread, and I'm in the middle of it...Sigh. =
“..Hey Robin.”
“Hm? What's up Blake?”
“Will things really get better this way?” she asked.
She didn't say so, but the conflict in her heart was clear. Was violence going to change things to the way they wanted it to be?
“...I don't know.” Robin said truthfully.
“All I know is that doing what we did before isn't going to change anything. Maybe this isn't the right thing to do. I don't have a clue, but we need to find out.”
“...”
They walked together in silence, and then they had to split up at when they reached the dormitories. Blake motioned to Ophelia she would catch up and looked at Robin one more time. Conner briskly walked away, feigning ignorance about her actions. Unlike their expectations, it wasn't anything like that.
“Robin..I will follow you, because you have never been wrong. You always knew what was best. For us-- for me-- you were always our leader. No matter what you chose, I think we'll be ok.. But I wanted you to know.”
She looked into his eyes. They displayed loyalty and reverence, but at the same time was clouded by thoughts Robin couldn't discern.
“A monster. That is what I don't want to become.”
She walked away after speaking her mind. Robin stared after her figure before sighing for the millionth time. The recent events have left them in a delicate point in their relationship. Robin smacked his head in punishment.
= Stupid hormones. Get with the program. Why are you staring at her ass as she walks? ...Sigh. I hate being 15 again. =
He entered his room and took a quick shower before plopping into his bed. His eyes got used to the darkness as the Vytal Festival creeped nearer. Unlike the excitement they usually felt, there was tension in the air. They could only hope to find relief in the events to come.
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The man opened the door and walked into the room to find the lady messing around with floating holographic images. She looked up at him.
“Is there something you need, Jack?”
“Ugg. Nothing. Just coming to relieve some stress. Kids are so tiring. I fucking hate puberty.”
“That's not something you hear from a teacher, so watch your mouth.”
“Bah. Shut it. We're alone aren't we? No need to pretend. So what are you doing, H?”
“Eliminating any traces left behind by the White Fang. We need them to be as chaotic as possible. However, they're amateurs, so too much evidence is being left behind. I'm altering police records.”
“So boring. When can I move again. Have you guys not found that guy yet? You know, the one snooping around?”
“He's been evading us pretty well.” H said.
“I consider it lucky we discovered he even was searching through our bases.”
“What about that Grimm Reaper person? She seems to hold some abilities similar of our Half-Grimms.”
“That's not confirmed. We just know she uses portals. Black auras aren't rare, and the materialization might be a function of her semblance. I'm more worried about...hm?”
“What?”
“I thought I heard something.”
Zoom (Video)
Enhance (Video)
The video tape on the screen zoomed in on two individuals inside of a mall. They were White Fang members committing the acts of vandalism.
“Robin.”
The voice said.
“Robin!”
“Something the matter?” Jack asked.
The female smiled.
“The one who stopped Thomas a while back. I think his name was Robin, correct?”
“What, you think this is the same Robin? So what? We already know he's no threat. For fuck's sake, I'm his teacher.”
“No. I think we should give him as a gift to the Doctor. I recently checked up on him, and I caught him almost murdering our hostage if I hadn't decided to visit. The Madam wants Roman to join our forces, so I had no choice but to intervene.”
“Ok...this matters because?”
“He's been a bit cranky. I figured to make him work a bit harder, he needs a new toy – something that doesn't break so easily.”
Jack the Ripper sat back into his chair uninterested.
“Bah, whatever. Doesn't concern me.”
“Don't be like that. I think we can get you to have some fun as well.”
“Oh? I'm listening.”
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Sorry for the late release. I'm feeling lethargic lately. Won't lie to you guys. I'll try to consistently give material on weekends though. Next chapter should be tomorrow...I think. I hope you guys don't get bored :) Rate, comment, enjoy! Thanks for reading!
White Fang Uniform for those who don't know.
Sharing with you guys some of the things I watched for inspiration. (This is definitely not advertising)
Edit: To clear up some confusion, you guys can reread some old chapters, but I'll also say it. There are two Thomas. One works at the Hunter's Guild. The other is the one Robin was a bodyguard. Sorry about that. Also this is a highly advanced world but secluded in 4 kingdoms due to Grimm.
This is not medieval times. Robin can't give anything to innovate this world using his previous knowledge because it already has it. Anime? Got it. Arcades? Got it. Hope that helps clears some misconceptions. Just because something is called a Kingdom doesn't mean it's older times.
Edit 2: Change of plans. No update this weekend. RL business has me busy sunday no no update sorry guys