Foreword: Sorry for the delay! Also apparently this place is now caught up to current, if I'm not able to write all of Ch12 today. See my other account for a status update on the story.
From the shadows of an alleyway, Perry watched Yusha catch Haru. Haru said something, and Yusha blushed, putting her back on her feet. The two sauntered off, and Perry wondered if their team leader would be ok.
"Agent P," a voice said from behind them.
Perry took a deep breath, lowered the brim of their hat, and turned their back to the two other members of their team. Behind them, was another Faunus, with black and white fur marking their extremeties. A panda, wearing a fedora that matches Perry's, and a mask.
"Agent J," Perry replied to him.
"Don't lose focus now," he said. "We're on a mission."
Perry nodded, put their own mask on, and the two strode off deeper into the underbelly of the city.
"What have you got from your end?" J asked P.
Agent P thought for a bit. "Haven is rough. Anti-Faunus administration hold power and work with racist students, despite the Headmaster being Faunus himself."
Agent J sucked their teeth. "Wasn't that coward of a lion supposed to stop bullshit like that?"
"Missing personnel."
J looked over in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Some administration and faculty have been going missing," P replied. They dodged out of the way of a drunkard stumbling their direction as they turned a corner.
"I hadn't heard of this. Is command not aware?"
"Unknown," P replied. "Updates?"
"I may have found a lead," Agent J replied, but said nothing further.
The two walked through twisting alleys and choking tunnels until they stopped at a seemingly random, unmarked door in the side of a wall. They stared at it for a while.
"There's one that might be an ally," Agent P said randomly. J looked over, but said nothing. "A Human, from Vacuo, professor in training. Name of Sky."
"Humans," Agent J spat out. "I'll pretend you didn't say that." Then, Agent J raised their foot, and smashed the door open.
The two agents sprinted into the room, P's rapier at the ready and J wielding a chunk of iron they called a gun. Despite their natural affinity for seeing in the dark, the room was so devoid of light even they were having trouble seeing. In response, Agent J flicked on a lighter with their other hand.
The room was empty, save for artistry tools left behind like litter; empty paint buckets, paintbrushed snapped in half and laying around, short A-frame ladders. On the far wall was a sloppily written message; "Too late," signed with what looked like a fist clenching a paintbrush.
"This was it?" Agent P asked, mildly disappointed. They strode deeper in, keeping an eye out for traps and other exits. The room was windowless though, and they found nothing.
"We're close," Agent J said. staring at the message on the wall. "They were in a hurry. Still... How did they know we were on to them?"
"A mole?"
"In the White Fang? Bullshit," Agent J replied. "Who would betray the cause?"
"Aren't I a mole in Haven?"
Agent J didn't reply. They milled about, until Agent P had a thought.
"They left in a hurry?"
"Yeah."
"Then they might not have gotten far. Should we look for them?"
Agent J looked at Agent P. Then, his eyes widened. "The fucking drunk we passed!"
P picked up exactly what J was thinking, and admonished themself for not realizing it before. The duo burst out of the room, only to find a small crowd gathered in the alley, all armed with wicked grins and also weapons.
"Well well well," one said. "What are two little lost beasts doing wandering in our turf? Go back to-"
Before another word was spoken, Agent J fired off multiple shots straight into whoever was speaking. There was no flash of aura; apparently, they hadn't unlocked it yet. Instead, blood just poured from their wounds, their face cast in shock as they reeled back. P moved before the others could, dashing forward and swiftly tapping one thrice and another twice before having to duck a punch from someone who recovered. P tapped that one once. They dodged a swing from a club before feeling a blade poke into their aura, hard. They shoulder checked another mobster in front of them to try and gain some space. They pulled the trigger on their blade at the same time, firing a bullet from the blade end at someone behind them; they hoped whoever it was had aura. The blowback pushed the hilt against the one they shoulder checked. Perry lost count of how many taps that specific assailant had taken. They backstepped an overhead swing from... a katana? Suddenly P was surrounded in a small space, no one making a move. Agent J was further away, dealing with their own attackers. Perry took a deep breath, waiting for the attackers to make a move, mentally refreshing who they knew was marked. Then, one stepped forward behind them. Agent P kicked themself into overdrive. They swiftly pivoted, flourished their blade, and watched the attacker get stunned. Agent P immediately pivoted around and did another flourish, forcing another into stun, then again to snag a third. One they tried to flourish on didn't stun, so they simply shot them and turned to the first and drove a fist into their face, hard. Following the momentum, Agent P ducked another attack and swept another stunned attacker off their feet, jabbing their blade quickly. That one's aura flickered away and they struck their head on the pavement, falling still. It took too long; P felt a club strike them on the back and cried out in pain as their aura drained. They dashed forward and kicked off a nearby wall, flipping over another attacker and jabbing them thrice just to be safe. They used the head of another attacker as a step, kicking off them and reaching up to grab a tiny ledge higher up on the wall. It didn't work; they missed, blocked an attack. Both P and the attacker were just as surprised when they were stunned; Perry didn't hesitate long though, firing three shots into the person. Their aura fell on the second, and Perry cursed as the third bullet spilt blood. Guilt flooded them, but it didn't stop them. They took a breath and focused. P used their free arm to grab an attacker and swapped places with them, stealing a page straight out of Sky's book, before crouching and lunging forward, swiping thrice and flourishing immediately after to both disarm and stun their opponent. P followed it up with a swift kick, sending them flying away. They pivoted again, holding their blade at the ready, but found no one else standing, except Agent J.
Perry panted, trying to catch their breath. They checked their scroll, finding their aura dangerously low; Agent J, registered under the name Jake, was also dipping in the red for aura, but doing somewhat better.
"That was rough," Agent J said to clear the air. He held a meaty baton, which he flicked back into gun form and tucked away in their belt. Then, he took off his mask and smirked at P. "Good fighting back there." He looked around at the unconcious bodies on the floor.
Agent P was about to sheathe their blade, when they saw a flash of light and a shutter noise from behind J. The two immediately wheeled on the figure at the end of the alley, a hooded figure holding a scroll out at them. A bright white smile pierced the darkness hidden by the hood.
"Faunus violently attacking innocent Humans in Mistral," they said in a high pitched chuckle. "I'm sure Humans are going to love this," they said in a much deeper tone.
Agent J swiped their gun up and fired until their gun was empty, but the figure just dodged each bullet. Then they turned and ran, throwing a sheet of paper behind them; it shimmered, turned to liquid, and then morphed into a large, raging gorilla. Agent P leapt forward, tapping it three times and blocking a punch, immediately throwing it into stun while Agent J reloaded and dumped another mag into the creature. It stumbled back, then lunged forward again; P blocked another punch and ducked and pivoted away. Agent J ran foward, baton at the ready and crackling with electric dust, swinging hard on its head and immediately coming back up with a backswing. The second blow splattered the head, causing a spray of dark liquid. The gorilla lost its form and spilled into a flood of ink on the floor.
The figure was gone.
"Fuck," Agent J said. "We fucked up."
P checked the social media aggregator on their scroll. The image was already blowing up, but it only captured Agent J's face, Agent P's mask, and both their weapons and hats. Then P noticed the blood on the floor of the photo, and the paintbrush clenched in the fist of one of the bodies, it's head dipped in the blood. They looked around and saw the body in real life, still as death. Perry grimaced, guilt flooding their heart.
"Your cover is blown," P said, trying to distract themself.
"Yeah, this is bad. Fuck! We played into their hands." Agent J paced. "Your cover isn't blown yet, though, and thank the brothers I told you to change out of your hallmark outfit. First thing's first, we need to clear out before the fuzz gets here."
P nodded, silently sending a prayer over the dead they left behind as the two of them ran off into the streets, climbing up the mountain and ducking into the wild. The two slowed to a walk as they coursed through the jungles.
"Did you have to kill them?" P asked.
J scoffed. "Who cares? They were Humans and were after our lives. You should have been more thorough though, maybe you wouldn't have gotten dinked up so bad. You were always the better fighter, no idea why you deny your blade it's purpose."
P fell silent.
"I'm gonna leave Mistral after this," J said, coming to a stop at a small spring somewhere on the mountain. "Probably head to Vale, link up with Taurus's faction."
"The anti-Human? Isn't he working with Humans though?"
"Hah! I doubt it," J said, chortling. "Have you heard the shit he's saying? That guy hates Humans! And I agree. If anything, he's probably using those fucks. Besides, working under him, I'll get a good chance to fuck up some Humans."
"When did you get so hateful?" Perry asked, staring hard at Jake. "You weren't like this when we enlisted."
Jake stared hard back, a frown forming on their face. "I hate them," Jake said. "I've always hated them. When did they do anything for us? When has anything the old White Fang did work out? When have we ever been respected by them? Fuck that! I'm sick and fucking tired of being treated like lesser and not doing anything about it. Fuck Humans, P. They're not worth defending, they've never been worth even trying to work together with, and I'm ashamed you even think that. You were there P! When Humans burned our village, you and I were in the thick of it! When we were the oldest survivors, we had to learn to fight to protect everyone else!
"Paying evil with evil isn't the right thing to do," Perry replied. "There were Humans who hurt us, but there were Humans who helped us too. We can't discount every single Human just because some of them hurt us."
"So you're taking their side? The same people who killed your parents?"
"That's not-"
"Shut the fuck up, P," Jake said, anger twisting their face. "Let's not waste our breath trying to convince each other. This is goodbye. Next time I see you, you better have your shit together." Jake then flashed an evil grin. "Otherwise, we'll find out if you're still the better fighter."
Agent J stepped away, walking through the trees and disappearing into the darkness. Perry took a deep breath, killed the stinging feelings in their heart, and Agent P walked back towards Haven academy, hand brushing the brim of their hat.
