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Chapter 51: Feelings

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As Robin walked into the hotel, he was greeted by Conner who had arrived before him.

“Hey Robin! Over here!”

“Coming. Coming.”

“This hotel has a hot spring! Come on, the rest of us are already in it!”

“..Wait what! Is it mixed baths?!” Robin exclaimed.

“No. no. I meant Adam and Osagi..What did you think I meant?”

Robin blushed. He mentally reprimanded himself for thinking of something foolish. Conner smiled, obviously reading his expression. The two of them signed in with the front desk and headed to the bathing area. After entering the locker room, they stripped themselves of their clothes and grabbed a towel. Upon stepping out of the locker room, Robin sucked in his breath.

The hot springs was indoors for the sake of privacy. The walls was decorated with fancy decorations, and there was artificial rocks bordering the water. The bath itself was huge. Robin stepped inside and sank into the bath, allowing the water level to reach his shoulders. The steam stuck to his face as the hot water cleanse his body.

= Ahh this is great. I've always read about hot springs in manga, but this is the first time I actually took a bath in one. Wow, I could stay here forever. =

“This feels amazing.” Conner sighed, obviously enjoying the water as well.

“Oh look who finally showed up. What took you so long?”

Two individuals waddled over to the two of them. The one who spoke was Adam.

“We're not that late.” Conner replied. “Plus it's not we missed anything either right?”

“As for why I was late, my parents were talking to me about the White Fang.”

“You too?” Robin asked.

“Pretty sure this was the same for all of us.” Adam said. “I don't get what they're so worried about.”

“They just care about us is all.” Conner muttered.

“..Despite how he acts, the big man actually cares about me."

Adam and Robin gave Conner a look. The three of them grew up together, so it was obvious they would pick up a change in mood.

“What's the matter Conner?” Robin asked.

“Oh it's nothing. I just thought I might have been too harsh against Dad. Probably should apologize.”

Adam looked up at the ceiling in disbelief. He was hearing something ridiculous today.

“Conner regretting about being a jerk? What is the world coming to?”

“Screw you, JES. The world will end when your ego does.”

“Oh, then we're safe.” Osagi commented.

The three boys laughed at Adam's expense. Robin noticed Osagi felt a bit excluded when they talked about the White Fang. After all, he was the only one in the group that wasn't a faunus. Thankfully, they directed the conversation into a less awkward topic...Although, awkward depends on the perspective.

“Speaking of things that won't end, how long are you planning on ignoring Blake?”

Without any warning, Conner dropped a bomb right on Robin. The person in question froze before gathering his wits.

“I don't know what you're talking about. What happened with Blake?”

“Oh no you don't. Robin, I can read expressions like the way you read a book, and I'm willing to bet that is the face of a man who's lying.”

Robin suddenly became fascinated with a rock. Osagi and Adam leaned forward with interest.

“What's this? You actually knew about Blake's feelings?” Osagi inquired.

“Oh course he knows.” Conner said. “He's one of the smartest kids here. How is it possible this guy would be ignorant enough to not even take a hint?”

Conner spoke the truth. Robin used to be someone who had to watch his every move. He had to be careful not to expose himself in a way to be bullied, but they didn't know that. In addition, Robin began observing people's facial expressions. How could he not notice Blake's feelings? Not only that, he himself had begun looking at Blake more often recently as well.

“...”

“Wait. What? Does this mean you've been acting like a fool this entire time?” Adam asked.

Conner answered in Robin's steed.

“Oh yeah. This guy has been blowing off Blake's attitude and convincing himself “Oh she doesn't like me. There's no way.” this entire time.”

Conner smiled wryly. Robin stared at him in disbelief.

= How the fuck does he even know that? =

“Well? Answer the question.”

“...Ha.. Yes. I know about her feelings.”

“““Aaaaaaaay!””” The boys raised their hands in the air.

= Are you people five? =

“As for whether I'll continue to ignore them. I don't know..”

“What? Why?! Could it be you like another girl?”

“No no. He definitely likes Blake back. I just don't know why.” Conner rejected Adam's question.

= Again. How!? =

Osagi looked directly in Robin's eyes.

“Or maybe...you're...GAY?”

They all simultaneously backed away.

“I am straight damnit!”

They sighed in relief. Their one thing that they didn't want pierced was safe.

“Sigh..Look. I know about her feelings ok? And I kinda like her back..”

“So what's the problem?” Conner asked.

Robin indicated with his finger that he was getting there.

“...I just.. I'm not sure if I wanna be in a relationship.”

“..What.”

“I mean. What if it doesn't work out?”

Robin's fear of confessing was imprinted on his mind. Thus, he avoided the topic of girlfriends like the plague. Just getting himself to open up to these guys was a miracle only thanks to the friendly environment in the village. Otherwise, who knows. Maybe Robin would have been a loner like Raven.

“Of course it's gonna work out.” Adam admonished.

“You like her. She likes you. What is there to not work out?”

“Wait. I think he's talking about after the relationship.” Conner said.

Robin nodded.

“What if we break up? Are we gonna stop being friends? Drift apart awkwardly? I want us to be friends forever. That's why I try so hard to keep you guys in the White Fang in the first place. What's the point if all of us aren't together?”

“Wow thanks.” Osagi sarcastically said.

Despite the side comment, the boys did understand Robin's feeling were genuine. Robin cherished his current relationships. They were precious to him only because he understood the loneliness without them.

“Look.” Osagi said in a serious tone. “You don't know if things are gonna stay the same forever, even if you want them to. Maybe in the future, you'll still be friends. Maybe you will be husband and wife. Or who knows, you might despise each other to the very core. Point is, you never know, but if you don't take that chance while you still got it, you're just gonna regret it.”

“Well look at Mr. Philosopher over here. Write a book about it why don't you.” Conner joked.

“Actually, I think there is one.” Robin said.

"""...”””.

“Robin..”

“Ok ok. You make a decent point. But I still don't know if I should be the one to bring this up you know? Her feelings for me are stronger right? Why do I have to approach her?”

“Are you kidding me?!” Adam exclaimed.

“I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. Ok, listen. Girls work like this. They'll be the first to fall for you. They'll like you longer than you like them, and they'll hate you longer than you hate them. But no matter what happens, girls NEVER approach you first.”

“Really?” Robin asked.

= That's certainly different from manga. Girls always confess to the popular guy. =

“You never struck me as the guy who understood girls.” Osagi said, impressed by his explanation.

“I dated a couple of girls in our village.”

“Ha.. I still don't get what they saw in you.” Conner shook his head.

In reality, Adam was tall and has a broad build no thanks to his bull heritage. His pride and ego for some reason struck the ladies as boyfriend material. As for Robin, he certainly didn't lose to Adam in terms of looks.

Even after having a second child, Robin's mother looked beautiful with skin that was smooth even now. Her hair showed no signs of gray and was a brilliant silver. Joseph, on the other hand, had hints of gray on the edges. Thankfully for Robin, there was no signs of balding, and he still looked as tough and handsome as ever with gray and silver blending together.

For Robin who was now 15, his shoulders were broad and muscles were firm from exercise. His skin was smooth just like his mother's and his expression was just like his father's. Since Robin inherited his dad's eyes, he gave off a wild impression when combined with his looks and aura, but for those who knew him, they felt protected in his presence. This was another reason as to why he became the leader of the group.

Despite his good looks, Robin was without a doubt, a nerd. He spent time reading comics, education books, and -in his other free time- sparring to become stronger.

Conner was also a decent looker. Despite being one of the shorter members, he displayed a playful nature and deep understanding of others. It was only due to his rather annoying shenanigans that turned the ladies away. Osagi stood in the middle ground. He was taller than Conner, but shorter than Robin. His muscles were the most developed out of all four of them. Most likely, it was due to carrying his gigantic shield around.

Robin looked at each of them. Then crossed his arms before speaking.

“You know, you guys keep talking about who I like, but what about you guys? I don't see any of you with girlfriends.”

“Oooh. You guys seem like you're talking about something interesting. Mind if we join in?”

The four of them turned around to find two more individuals walking into the hot spring. One of them was a blonde hair monkey faunus, evident by his tail. The other was similar in height but with blue hair. Both said people had dark tanned skin. The other three didn't have a clue who they were, but Robin recognized one of them immediately.

“Sun! Come in! The water's fine. Guys I'd like for you to meet Sun Wukong. He was one of my teammates for today's preliminary round. Sun, this is Osagi, Adam, and Conner. I'm afraid I don't know the other guy though.”

“Hey! I'm Sun. Nice to meet you guys. This is my original teammate, Neptune.”

“Sup.”

“Hey there! Nice hair man. Rocking the blue.”

“Thanks, Conner, right?”

“Yep.”

“Cool. Nice tail you got there. You got a nice shade of orange as well. Thanks.”

The guys exchanged pleasantries as the newcomers adjusted themselves in the water.

“So what were you guys doing?”

“Well, we were talking about girls.” Conner explained.

= More like one-sided bullying me about mine. =

“Ooh speaking of girls. I found one I really like recently.” Sun said. “Actually, didn't you also meet a nice girl Neptune?”

“Please don't talk about it.”

“Hmm what happened?”

============================

During the preliminary round, Raven found herself group with a bunch of guys. One of which constantly tried to flirt with her. It annoyed her to no end, because she could see right through his act of trying to play the role of a cool guy. Although his looks was decent, Raven was never looking for a man, and especially not one like him. He was so distasteful, Raven had already forgotten his name.

Currently, Raven was taking a bath in the hot spring of the hotel. There was actually not that many girls in there. It was just her and her roommates from Myriad. She nonchalantly washed herself as she recalled her meeting with uncle Qrow.

==================

“I'm glad you've been attending school just like I've asked..but would it hurt you to try during the competition? Aren't you the slightly bit interested in comparing your strength with others your age?”

“Nope...Besides, you know I can't show my full strength uncle. What if someone recognizes my skills when I use the EoD? I can't let myself be discovered. It wouldn't do for the search at all.”

Although the real reason for Raven trying to disqualify herself early in the match was to preserve her secrets, because she had raised her hand to announce it after being berated by Neptune, it looked like she had given up because she simply refused to deal with him.

“Speaking of secret identities, how dare you try to go undercover by yourself again. How many times do I have to say it, don't take missions by yourself. You saw what happened to Summer.”

Qrow has been well aware of Raven's secret alias as the Grim Reaper. Actually, he visited earlier in the year and confronted Raven about this. She understood Qrow's worry for her safety, but frankly she didn't care.

“But I can't just sit and do nothing Uncle Qrow. It's been over ten years! He's still out there doing who knows what! How come I have to play 'student' when he's out there murdering how many more?!”

“Sigh... do you know what I've been doing since you entered school?”

Raven shook her head.

“I became a teacher at Beacon Academy.”

“..What.. You kicked me out of the house, so you could become a teacher!”

“I always was a teacher. I only took extended breaks whenever there was a mission assigned to me by Ozpin. Unlike what you believe, Raven, I am not a Dark Hunter 24/7, and neither should you. Preserving your normal life is equally important. Otherwise, you'll wind up alone in the future.”

“That's fine with me.”

Qrow was shocked speechless. As far as Raven was concerned, this life was a punishment from beginning to end. There was no room for fun and games. Just kill one person, and move on to the next. Qrow realized if Raven continued on this path, she would have nothing left after killing Summer's murderer. What then? The Organization? She was already obsessed with Jack Ripper as it was.

“Look Raven. I know how important this is to you, but you have to understand. Not everything will fall out in front of you when you want it to. Ozpin has other units just for information gathering. When we've gathered enough information, he dispatches us. Do you understand?”

“Yes, but--”

“Good. Then I don't want to hear about anymore of this Grim Reaper figure and her exploits. It's too dangerous for you to work alone. If you want to do any more missions as a Dark Hunter, you do it together with me. Got it?”

“Yes, uncle.”

“No need to be so overbearing, Qrow. She's still a child.”

“Instructor Ozpin! Why are you here at the hotel?”

“Call me Professor. I am no longer your teacher, Qrow. I am just your superior. I was hoping we would have a chance to talk, so I came. In fact, I just finished talking to an interesting youth outside.”

“Of course, we'll speak in my room.”

“Go on ahead without me. I wish to say a couple words to our young member here.”

Qrow walked away, still worried about Raven's attitude. Raven stood tall, showing absolute respect for Ozpin.

“No need to be so tense. I just wanted to speak with you normally.. What do you think about your uncle?”

“..I … I think he's being overprotective.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Ever since Summer died, he's been nitpicking about every little thing that I do. He even sent me off to this academy regardless of the fact I've taken his training seriously from the beginning. Now he refuses to let me work alone. I'm not a child. I can handle things myself!”

“...Well have you tried looking from his perspective? Take for example, his love life.”

Raven showed confusion on her face. Qrow seldom talked about his love life. As far as she knew, he was a lonely man that took to raising her alone for some reason.

“I can see he never told you.Well I won't go too deep into it, but did you know your aunt was actually supposed to marry him and not your father?”

Raven shook her head. This was the first time she heard this.

“Yes Summer was actually supposed to be with Qrow. Summer always cared about others far more than about herself. She was like that even when she was a child. When your father lost Udane, they made a decision that Summer would marry Taiyang instead to ease his pain. Of course, this wasn't sudden, but over the course of time, she came to realize her feelings for Taiyang.

Conflicted over your father or your uncle, it was your uncle that pushed her away. They both knew how fragile Taiyang was, and thus your uncle gave up on his love for the sake of his brother. Really, I can't help but feel sorry. It's as if tragedy runs in the relationships. From me, to them, and now to you.

Your uncle was crushed when Summer died, and probably sees you as the daughter he never had. Try taking his words with a new outlook and maybe tolerate some of his decisions. You never know. It might work out better than you expect.”

“...Can we make a deal?”

“Hm?”

“If I do this, can you promise me that when you send out the mission, we get to be the first to receive it.”

“...You're still young and inexperienced. Even if you've killed people before, infiltration is far more difficult than you can imagine. Qrow is the only exception from the assassin group who I would dare to allow to take these missions.”

Raven opened a small black and red portal the size of the palm of her hand and had it float in midair.

“I'd say I can also count as an exception.”

“We'll see.”

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“Eek! You hear that Blake? Your feelings reached him!”

The sound of girls squealing pulled Raven back to the present. She did not intend to enjoy the water and got up to leave.

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Meanwhile on the boy's side...

“...”

“...”

“... Dude, that sucks.”

Robin and Sun patted Neptune on the back while Conner and Osagi gave him looks of pity.

“You haaaad to flirt with Raven of all people. Bad luck.”

“You can blame me, man.” Neptune complained. “It's the first time I've seen any girls from the different kingdom and She. Was. Hot.”

“But don't you see girls in their bikinis at Mistral? You have beaches there right?”

“Even you would get tired of looking at the same thing over and over.” Sun answered. “Although, it's nice to look at, new stuff is always refreshing.”

The boys nodded in understanding, especially Osagi who completely understood Neptune's strife at failing to woo Raven.

“Wait. You said you also had a girl you like right, Sun? Who is it?”

Sun beamed as he recalled that elegant figure.

“Yeah, she was fine. Slender figure, amber-colored eyes, long black hair. God. I never got to talk to her though. But man. She was cute.”

=... That sounds way too familiar. =

“Wait a moment. Was she..yay tall?”

Robin made a motion with his hand.

“Yeah.”

“Wears purple eye shadow?”

“Yeah!” Sun said excitedly.

“Her's name's Blake. Do you know her?”

“””....”””

Adam, Robin, Conner, and Osagi didn't say a word. Sun and Neptune looked confused at their silence. Ophelia's voice was heard over on the girl's side.

“Pandemoniuuuuuum!”