Promised (Reluctant) Victory In Remnant

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction based on multiple existing anime/manga series. The characters and settings used in this story belong to their respective owners and creators, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and is not intended to infringe upon any existing intellectual property. I do not own any of the original works that inspired this fanfiction, and I fully support the original creators and their works.

I'm also occasionally chilling in JaxWolf4's (Author of Nah, I'd Adapt and Zenin Days) Discord Server. It's a chaotic lobotomy mess. Not for the faint of heart.

Here's the link:

Disc: HrPrTeam

-Story Start-

-Third Person POV-

Although still distraught and mostly relieved at seeing Alex more or less fine, Yang exclaimed in realization, "The truck driver!" Her muscles tensed as she was about to run to save the unmoving man.

"Don't bother." Alex's calm tone and the wind blowing in her face ceased her movement.

In a flash and with a tiny crack on the ground ensuing from his powerful movement, Alex appeared in front of the burning truck's door with his 'Stick' drawn.

Once again, the horrified, curious, and worried passersby who stopped to witness the rather unpleasant accident had their eyes drawn to the sword and more importantly, the boy who seemingly disappeared from one spot and appeared in another.

Grabbing the door's handle, Alex attempted to open it gently, noticing it was jammed.

"Meh, it's gonna get scrapped anyway." He mumbled with a shrug as he with an exertion of strength simply... pried out the entire door of the truck without a hint of struggle, throwing it to the empty and burning road with a metallic clang reverberating.

The bearded drunk driver looked completely out of it, as he slowly turned to look at Alex with an expression of regret, his face pale and his breath hitched.

'He doesn't look like he can move in his state.' Alex noted internally.

Nodding, he entered the vehicle and lifted the man rather roughly with his left hand, as his right hand held Excalibur.

As he lifted him and pulled him out of the burning truck about to fully combust, Alex encouraged the man, "I got you." Albeit with the most dry tone possible that wasn't all that reassuring.

Without much issue, Alex gently lowered the man a decent distance away from the burning truck and on the road beside a relieved yet conflicted Yang.

The bearded man cried with realization, as he questioned Alex, "Hunter, is- is the kid who I-"

Alex pointed at himself as he dismissed Excalibur, the blade crumbling into motes of light, "Oh, that was me. I'm fine." He deadpanned.

His eyes widened with both relief and sudden realization as he suddenly assaulted Alex with a hug.

...Much to Alex's dismay.

He hicked, "O-Oh thank goodness! If, if I had killed someone on the same day my wife divor-"

Pushing off the man Yang snickered at Alex's visible discomfort, "Yeah, okay. Just don't drink and drive. And if you do, don't do it in front of me."

[Never give advice.]

Yang came forward with a righteous frown, though subdued given no one truly got hurt, "Yeah! You're lucky this guy's too sturdy. Anyone else would've gotten seriously hur-"

The cheers of the built-up crowd and the other drivers stuck in the consequential traffic quickly muffled Yang's chastising of the man, as she turned around to curiously see everyone clapping at Alex for saving the day:

"Wasn't he the same guy who got hit? Talk about a quick recovery."

"Hunters are something else, man."

"He looks like a kid though, maybe he's from Beacon?"

"Shook it off like a champ as well, look! He's unfazed!" He pointed at Alex's resting dead-rat face.

...

[This is nice, isn't it~?]

'Yes.'

[?!]

'Not really... I guess it's not bad. The saving someone part.' He fiddled with the feeling.

Yang's voice caught his attention as she approached him, "Fix that expression of yours, and you'll surely get a lot of fans!" She teased, touching his lips with her finger.

[PING!]

[Sub Quest - "Save The Drunk Driver" Complete!]

[Issuing Rewards...]

[1,000 Untraceable Lien sent to Alex Andrite's Bank.]

Ignoring the positive notification of his bank balance growing, and having gotten used to Yang's touchy nature, he ignored the clear invasion of his personal space in favor of retorting calmly, "As long as they're not a hassle and they buy me stuff, I wouldn't mind." He declared with a nod.

Yang shook her head, "The more I get to know you, the more I learn how irredeemable you are... but that split-second rescue did earn some Yangs!" Yang grinned with a thumbs-up.

Nodding positively, "Mhm, Rubes was right about you, you're not a half-bad guy, huh! That coupled with whatever mojo you got going to be that strong, make sure to protect my little sister alright?"

'Might be the tenth time she's asked me this since I beat Pyrrha.' Alex had already lost count.

...A sister's love knows no bounds, or something went in Alex's head.

He pointed out, "Demanding things from someone you nearly got killed by driving above the speed limit... I'm impressed with your shamelessness." He nodded with a note of intrigue.

As Yang began to sweat buckets and utter an awkward apology, a loud explosion reverberated, as the truck and bike exploded in a vibrant display of smoke and flame.

Vale's Police and Fire Department were seconds away from the scene, as their sirens blared loudly across the clogged traffic.

Yang's shoulders slumped as she looked at the burnt scraps of her bike with a look of despair, "Dad's going to kill me..."

"That isn't my problem."

"A little empathy wouldn't hurt here, Captain Stoic."

"I'm the one who broke his neck."

"YOU LOOK FINE!"

"Thank you."

A policeman arrived in a rush, "Are you the Beacon students involved in the accident?"

Yang smiled awkwardly, "I have the right to remain silen-"

"Yes." Alex nodded obediently.

Yang's eye twitched for only a second as the policeman gave them a lookover, "None of you appear to be injured, correct?"

He gestured at the drunk driver being taken on the stretcher, a mixture of relief and dread on his face.

Yang wanted to reply immediately but hesitantly looked at Alex.

Maybe he was hiding his pain or something and that healing wasn't so complete.

"My psyche is at risk of irrecoverable harm."

"Not my jurisdiction, kid. Vale's got no shortage of mental health help firms, it's one of the ways this city combats Grimm in addition to you Rookie Hunters." The policeman quickly wrote something in his notes and nodded.

"Alright, you two will be coming with me. I promise it won't take long."

Yang inquired, "Can I get a lawy-"

Only for Alex to intervene innocently.

"Sure, officer." Alex nodded.

-----------------------------

A certain vibration sourced from Alex's pocket was felt as he sat on the oddly comfortable chair he was sat at.

Shoving his hand into the compartment, he pulled out his scroll his eyes lazily settled on the Caller ID.

(Weiss Schnee is requesting a video call).

His eyes looked a little above to see...

Yang huddled over and whistled with a cringe, "Yeesh, twelve missed calls."

"I ignored the first eleven in hopes she'd give up."

"You must have a death wish."

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Do you secretly like being abused?"

"No, I just underestimated her persistence. And now I have to pay the price."

Alex Behavior Rule Code #1 - 'Give Up.'

Without continuing their banter, he nonchalantly answered the call, revealing a frustrated Weiss barking out something at Pyrrha near some electronic store, "I swear when I get my hands o-" She noticed that Alex had answered the call.

"Salutations." Alex waved.

Her pompous and stern expression twisted in rage as she growled out, "Why didn't you answer my calls? We're all worried you dol-" Her words were cut short by someone seizing her scroll.

The view from Weiss's face and the shop in the background was exchanged for a... entire screen of Ruby's face.

"Alex! The bus was late because of traffic, some kind of accident or something so we thought you'd be here by now! Where's Ya-"

Yang jumped into the frame, "Rubes! You're a bit close to the camera mind changing the angle or something?" She gently suggested with a pinch of her fingers.

"IS THIS BETTER?!" She twisted the scroll in such a way that the camera displayed her entire forehead in a rather unflattering way whilst her mouth was so close to the audio that her normal voice was incredibly loud.

"Hand it to Pyrrha." Alex suggested with a deadpan.

"YES, SIR!" She saluted in that unflattering angle and gave the scroll to Pyrrha.

Smiling in a friendly manner characteristic of her, Pyrrha called out with a hint of trepidation, "Where are you guys?"

...

Yang's soul left her body at that reminder.

Alex replied in her stead, "We're at the Police Station." He showed them around the little room the nice policeman situated them in.

A little cold, a little solitary with a warm cup of coffee on the totally not an interrogation table.

'I could chill here.' Alex concluded simply.

Entering the frame, Ruby and Weiss exchanged bewildered looks and exclaimed simultaneously:

""WHAT?!""

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed and her features hardened, "Explain to us there, we're on our wa-"

Alex shook his head, "Don't bother. Get my TV, and we'll explain back at Beacon. The shop will close by the time we're done here." Without allowing any further protest, he lifted his head to look at the pretty ceiling.

Pyrrha was about to protest but Ruby immediately cried out, "Yaaaaaaaang! What did you do this time?!"

Yang's soul had returned at that accusation, "Why's it immediately my fault?" She huffed.

Weiss pinched her brows, "Not to flatter the dead fish, but the only way he gets into trouble is accidentally." She pointed at Alex who was currently staring at the ceiling trying to count how many little squares it was made out of.

'52. 53. 54. 55. Now a sip... I've grown too used to high-quality beans... 56. 57. 58.' He sipped his coffee in between counting.

Ruby frowned most profoundly but sighed, her tone grew more assertive, "Alright, we'll get the TV. If you need anything don't hesitate to call us."

Pyrrha nodded approvingly at Ruby, whilst Weiss had a tiny smile.

Only for Ruby's cheery tone to return, "I expect an update every hour!"

Alex lowered his head to look at the demanding little cookie devourer, his lips parting to utter a sentence only to be cut off by her asserting once more:

"Every hour!"

"Bye-bye!"

And with a quick and rather hyper goodbye, she ended the call.

"Are you really sisters?" Alex blurted out his surface curiosity.

Yang tilted her head, waving her hand, "We're half-sisters... I thought you knew that?"

"I forgot." He said with another sip of the rather mundane and cheap blend.

But beggars can't be choosers, or so Alex believes to placate the mediocre taste.

"Hey," Yang called out to him, to which he reluctantly turned to see a rather tender expression on the usually 'larger than life' Yang Xiao Long.

Her violet eyes shuddered as she started, "I saw how you got healed... that must've hurt pretty badly huh?" She chuckled a rather sad chuckle.

He didn't lie, "Didn't last long."

Nodding, she genuinely apologized, "I should've been more careful in my driving... I sort of forgot you weren't with Aura and you're hella strong so..." She scratched her hair, "Shit, look what I'm trying to say is this isn't the first time my carelessness hurt someone-" She went into a self-blaming tangent.

He lifted a palm to stop her, "Listen, I get it."

He stated with a note of patience and empathy, "No one got severely hurt, and I'm fine with it so don't bother apologizing. Even if we stretch it, the truck driver was mostly responsible. We're cool." He gestured at the two of them with his fingers and a tired sigh.

Her face flashed a myriad of varying expressions, but eventually settled for a relieved and thankful smile as she nodded, "Yeah... we're cool."

In a way, Yang couldn't help but think that Alex's mellow personality had its perks.

Anyone else might have torn her apart for her blunder.

Yet, she knew the harshest judgment would always come from herself.

...

A warm and rather comfortable atmosphere enveloped the unlikely duo whilst they waited for... questioning?

It makes one question, how did the duo even form in the first place...

That's right!

Suddenly, Yang rose from her seat beside Alex, "Blake!"

Alex's eyes slowly scrutinized his surroundings, "Did she go to that shady girl academy or something? Cause she's either not here or she's a master of stealth."

"Lady Browning's Preparatory Academy For Girls. I'm surprised you know anything going on in the outside world." Yang corrected with a note of incredulity directed at Alex.

He shrugged, "I used to watch a lot of TV before Beacon."

Shaking her head, Yang focused on the task at hand, a hand on her chin as she contemplated loudly, "I don't actually know a lot about Blake's personal life, hell she even disappeared on us to go to some 'Personal Business'... I do know she has an appreciation for steamy literature." She grinned maniacally. 

Noticing Alex's judgemental look, Yang defended herself, "What? I've been doing my best to be a good partner you know? She's just... very guarded."

"Tell me about it."

A fiery glint appeared in Yang's eye at Alex's comment as she pointed her finger at him, "That right there! Anyone with a pair of eyes can tell something went down between the two of you with how she's been glaring and avoiding you!"

"Not exactly hard to avoid me, but you're right." Alex nodded.

"I tried to confront her on her suspicious behavior that was hurting you guys."

With a smile that indicated her opinion of Alex was on the rise, Yang tilted her head, "Did you at least get something out of it other than a stink eye?"

"She doesn't like me and she's been through a lot of shit."

"Well, no shit. Anything else?"

...

"That's it?" She asked with a hint of dread.

"Yeah."

Leaning into her seat, she sighed in pure agony, "Maaaannnnnnnnn."

As her overtly loud groan reverberated, the door suddenly opened to reveal the prior policeman arriving with a very familiar figure.

Yang straightened up instantly, "Headmaster Ozpin?!"

He smiled in a placating gesture, "First Miss Rose and now you Miss Xiao Long. Taiyang must have his hands full indeed." He stated in good humor.

Yang's lips twisted into a cheeky smile, "I take it we're not in trouble?"

Winking at both Alex and Yang, Ozpin mentioned without a hint of shame, "My students have certain... privileges."

The policeman could only sigh audibly as Ozpin casually mentioned his abuse of power.

Humming with a leisure tap on his chin, "And well, you are in no trouble given that the truck driver was mostly to blame and he was in a light condition in terms of injury."

Turning to Yang, he added with a lecturing yet kind tone, "From reading the report thoroughly, I believe that you have no need for any actual punishment. The guilt and the destroyed bike would suffice. Be careful on the road will you, Miss Xiao Long?"

He was merciless, but he was right, and Yang nodded gravely in understanding as her smirk lowered into a thin line.

Nodding as well, Ozpin gestured at the door, "You are dismissed, I'd like a moment with Mister Andrite."

Yang nodded with only a small look of suspicion, "I'll wait for you outside."

She credited the little personal talk to that little 'Favorites' game Ozpin was playing with him - it was pretty common knowledge.

Rising up, she passed by the policeman who also suspiciously left the room to close the door and leave the two men alone in the room.

"Mister Andrite, from multiple eyewitness accounts - you were viewed regenerating at an uncanny speed without your Semblance unleashed."

"That happened." He nodded.

"From my understanding, without it drawn, you hold no Aura."

"Correct."

Ozpin's eyes narrowed with clear skepticism as he couldn't quite figure out how that was possible.

"Would you mind enlightening me on how that occurred? Do not get me wrong, I am glad you are not in a precarious situation."

Alex nodded, divulging the information without a care in the world, "The healing is from my Semblance as well."

"Is it not the sword?"

"The sword has a sheath."

...

Ozpin's jaw unhinged as he blinked twice to process that odd statement, "I- I fail to see how a sheath is capable of such rapid rejuvenation?"

"It just does." Alex shrugged in response.

Ozpin pressed on, "Furthermore, there was no account of any sort of sheath in the repo-"

"It's inside me."

"Pardon?"

"My soul or something, I don't really know."

...

Ozpin was a man with lifetimes of experience with reading men, and he'd like to admit he knew Alex pretty well, so he came to the bewildering conclusion that Alex was telling...

The wholehearted truth.

Trying to follow Alex's rhythm, Ozpin suggested, "Can you take it out?"

At that, Alex gained a troubled look, "To be honest I don't know how to do that, it's just there from the moment I unlocked my Semblance."

Ozpin could only shake his head with mixed emotions.

Pleased and dismayed, he wasn't all too clear how to feel when it came to Alex.

"You never cease to amaze me, Mister Andrite. Full of surprises." He admitted good-naturedly.

"I see."

Nodding, Ozpin gave a word of advice, "I suggest you keep that sheath as a trump card. Let me worry about the eyewitnesses."

"Mhm."

He turned around and stepped toward the door, stopping as his hand grabbed the handle to look at Alex over the shoulder, "Also, the Vale News Network reporters are waiting outside of the station, a policeman will guide you and Miss Xiao Long through the backdoor. Remember, you don't have to answer any questions even if they do manage to approach you."

"Okay." Alex nodded in understanding.

[Tick tock. The clock is ticking.]

He was getting irritated, 'Shut up, I'll be out of here in a second.'

[You don't have a plan. And your time is dwindling, Alexander.]

'Quit nagging. I'll make the plan with Yang, it shouldn't be difficult to figure out what's troubling the broody girl with her support.' Alex's eye twitched.

[You forgot that you have to encourage her as well.]

'That's what her dear partner is for, right?'

[And if that doesn't work?]

'If Yang doesn't manage to 'encourage' her, then I'll do it my way. If that doesn't work, then it is what it is.' He shrugged and left no room for argument.

[Suit yourself, I will cease my warnings.]

To Be Continued!

-Author Note Start-

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

I CAN'T FUCKING STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

MASTER OF PACING HERE! NEXT CHAPTER WE GET BLAKEY BLAKE RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

WILL ALEX'S SUDDEN VERY INTENTIONAL (HE DIDN'T PLAN THIS AT ALL) TEAM UP WITH YANG WORK OUT?!

POWER OF FRIENDSHIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

OR NOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN KOKUSEN

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