"To become a dragon and soar the skies… a stupid child's dream!… Yet this is my dream…. The st thing I still have left!"

  A disjointed voice roared in sorrow before everything was engulfed in eternal darkness, and the impending sense of damnation crept in.

  It was the signal for my eyes to snap open, jolting me out of the abyss and back to reality, leaving me staring at the familiar sight of my bedroom ceiling. I blinked away my confusion and attempted to recall more of those fragmented… memories. They slowly reassembled themselves, unveiling a tangled web of dreams and nightmares that left me feeling uneasy.

  Like before, I prefer to ignore them and focus on the present, kicking off my bed sheets and sitting up before summoning my scroll into my hand. My inventory has made things a lot easier to manage my stuff.

  Yesterday was a long day, and the cops didn't make it any easier with their endless paperwork. Who could've predicted that an unlocked aura would create such a problem and bring forth such nightmarish paperwork? That alone took hours.

  On the bright side, finding a motel room was a breeze, thanks to the station's advertisement boards, which had coincidentally featured motel ads. Some even boasted about being 'faunus friendly' as their major attraction. That st part doesn't set a positive precedent for Vale honestly speaking.

  I let out a low groan after checking the time on my scroll and dragged a hand across my face, trying to shake off the grogginess. The dawn of a new day to begin my search for a job.

  It would be idiotic not to secure a stable source of income. My fifty grand is good money, more than I've had, but I know that those funds won't st for my new city life after watching the colorful teen duo casually spend hundreds of lien. It was a stark reminder that Vale isn't Kuo Kuana.

  So yeah, unless I win a mystery lottery or find millions of lien lying around, I need more money.

  Unsurprisingly, the job market for a faunus like myself has a heavy bias to promote mining jobs. Thank goodness people back at Menagerie warned me about that horrible trap. They can legally ensve you and have you work till the end of your days, a terrible fate which has befallen many na?ve faunus and humans alike.

  So I scroll down, ignoring those malicious offers and focus on better options.

  A post for a forge assistant catches my eye, and I consider it. I have no experience in smithing, but it could be the perfect opportunity to unlock a new skill. However, I ultimately decide against it. With my retively high-level jobs, it would be a waste not to take advantage of them in the job market.

  More scrolling and I found a vacancy for a cook in the Industrial District. It has all the details on where to go and who to ask. I have been ignoring the cooking job for a while so this is my chance to give it some attention and increase my level, besides the advertisement wasn't asking for gourmet chefs or had any… discimer.

  After taking a quick shower to freshen up, I set out for my potential new job. And I've to give credit where credit's due. Vale's public transportation system is surprisingly accessible. The ticket price was reasonable, and they even offered package deals to save money. So that one giant truck back at the slums was more than likely an invisible barrier.

  As I sat on the bus, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the vastness of Vale. The city was immense, with towering skyscrapers, a sea of cars on the highways, and bullheads and airships soaring above. The rail system was impossible to miss, looming over the city like a giant spiderweb. I couldn't resist the temptation to take a ride on the bullet train system just to experience it for myself.

  When the bus dropped me off at a bus stop in the Industrial District, I quickly pulled out my scroll to check the address of my potential new job. Gncing at the giant reference map at the bus stop, I confirmed that the pce wasn't far and set off on foot. However, the noise and heavy machinery in the district quickly began to wear me down.

  I finally arrive at a two story building, which doesn't appear like a restaurant or a kitchen.

  "Excuse me?" I raise my voice, getting the attention of a tall older woman wearing a gray apron sweeping the floor entrance. "I'm here for the job."

  She takes a long, scrutinizing look at me, her bck eyes narrowing. "You're a kid..." she mutters under her breath.

  "With plenty of experience."

  "Do you now?" She examines closer before walking inside the building and beckons me to follow. "Then show me this experience."

  I soon came to understand that appearances deceive. The pce doesn't look like a restaurant, but the interiors certainly make up for it. Long rows of tables and chairs are upside down with workers already setting them in pce and cleaning while one worker is writing on a chalkboard the menu for today. I pay little attention to decoration as barely anything exists, besides a couple of colorful pnts. The woman quickly takes me to a busy kitchen, with chefs running from one pce to the other carrying bags or pots.

  Once inside, she stops and tries to scare me with a stern gaze. "We serve hundreds if not thousands of factory workers every day, so go ahead and make me a hearty meal fit for a hungry worker." She points to the only empty spot in the kitchen.

  With the Journeyman tier under my belt, this cooking challenge is a cakewalk, and she has provided me with plenty of ingredients to work with.

  But I can't afford to forget about hygiene. I thoroughly wash my hands and grab an apron and bandana cap to ensure there are no unpleasant surprises.

  The selection of ingredients avaible to me is vast, and picking the perfect dish to impress her is the hardest part. However, one particur recipe immediately comes to mind.

  Putting my improved level at work, finishing my food test took me a little more than half an hour.

  "Here, chicken stew with a side of beans." I pce my st creation in front of her with a knowing smile and hand her a fork.

  Her expression is one of mild surprise when she first id eyes on my finished dish. However, as soon as she takes a bite, her eyes go wide in delight. "This is... unexpected," she says, taking another gnce at me and my stew before digging in with gusto.

  I have a hard time suppressing my ughter, but manage to do so with a smug grin on my face. Seeing her eat her own words is incredibly satisfying, both figuratively and literally. "I told you I had experience."

  The old bear gave me a solid foundation to build on, and the gamer system only made it easier.

  "You may have experience for sole customers, but do you feel capable of serving hundreds?" She asks as she cleans her mouth with a napkin.

  "Just increase the ingredients?" I don't think there is more than that. If the recipe was made for four servings, then multiply the list numbers for one hundred and you are good to go.

  Right?

  She frowns but says nothing else before pointing at the clock hanging on the wall. "Rush hour is about to start in 2 hours. Let's see how you handle yourself in the real field. You cook that chicken stew."

  And my new boss dy didn't lie. Rush hour is rush hour.

  -Hours ter-

  [Journeyman cook level increased by 1, 9/50]

  I dismiss the text-prompt with a smirk as I watch the waiter take the st enormous cooking pot. They are almost half my size and that waiter must be packing muscles under his clothes to be the only one carrying them to the battlefield. Hungry workers are a remarkably loud bunch. It is a good thing they don't serve alcohol or it would be even louder and messier.

  Still, cooking rge quantities made my growth faster and I predict a breakthrough in two weeks if I keep the same rate. What would be the next tier? And how would it affect me and my dishes?

  "I'm honestly impressed. You did manage to serve hundreds of dishes, and many of them asked for seconds." The head chef comes back, breaking me away from my thoughts.

  "Just increase the ingredients, easy as pie."

  "What is your name?"

  "Ma'iq Rakhan."

  "Well Ma'iq, welcome to the crew. Come to my office to fill the paperwork." I follow her to the office, not before taking off the apron and the cap and leaving them hanging in their original pce.

  Some pleasantries ter I leave my new workpce, checking the bance numbers in my scroll, which increased by a nice seven hundred lien. That isn't even my pay, as it only arrives on weekends. Those seven hundreds are a small bonus from the second servings.

  Those customers really liked my cooking. Just like everyone back in Menagerie.

  I stop mid step and take a quick gnce at my clothes. An idea pops up and I walk to a different bus stop and take the bus headed to the Commercial District.

  One trip ter through the long highways and many things are noticeable at first gnce once there.

  The first thing I notice is the hustle and bustle of people rushing back and forth, their eyes fixed on their scrolls or the many stores' big dispys of clothes or electronics. A completely different sight compared to Kuo Kuana's more humble circumstances.

  It is to be expected; the cities are worlds apart, figuratively and literally.

  I shake my head and make way deeper into the district, checking the surrounding stores until I spot a promising-looking clothing store and make my way inside and, much to my delight, it has a section for faunus. But that excitement died down the second I noticed a trend in their design.

  All of them hide our traits from the public eye.

  Something ticks me in the wrong way, but I just leave that section entirely and quickly buy a couple of shirts and shorts before leaving the store behind. At least the staff was nice.

  Soon after, I find myself sitting on a public bench watching people pass by.

  I guess experiencing everything first hand is totally different compared to hearing it. To clear my mind, I bring out my scroll to check another thing that has slipped my mind: a room.

  Vale might be my home for the foreseeable future, and I understand that staying in a motel is not an option. I need to find an apartment or a room that's affordable with my current pay.

  And that soon becomes another set of problems.

  Levi was one hundred percent in calling them assholes.

  Some of those rooms were even smaller than my own!

  It's weird that I recognize a problem with me because I have a tendency to fall into a routine pretty quick and that might be a recurring fw in me. Wake up, shower, breakfast, work and enjoy some free time in my new two-room apartment.

  My job opened the gates for new opportunities and options since ndlords want proof I'm a legit, well-behaved citizen.

  And that any legal problems with the VPD will void the contract, assholes.

  But ignoring a fucked up contract, I like the pce. And it is much better than my humble room back at Kuo Kuana.

  It even has a TV!

  How could I not celebrate with a movie that caught my eyes and some snacks?

  Juno, the st Angel of Remnant

  It had a fshy cover and intriguing title, but I won't bme anyone for confusing the genre since it has the cover of a sexy huntress surrounded by strange looking Grimm. That alone gives mixed messages about the plot.

  And is misleading since the cover girl wasn't even the main protagonist, that role fell to a down his luck guy who was recently expelled from the hunter academy. Juno is the main heroine who happens to be an agent from a mysterious organization tasked with fighting with strange Grimm hybrids that had been terrorizing the city.

  But the tone quickly changed from action packed adventure to cheesy romantic adventure with the duo. It bore me at that point, ready to turn off the screen. But I stopped myself from doing so and decide to watch the rest since I was in no rush, despite how boring it was.

  Thankfully, the movie knew my mood and changed the act as our protagonists discovered the source of the Grimm and went together to end the threat once and for all.As expected, the protagonists had a free for all ultimate battle against the antagonist, who created those hybrids, and were only able to win because the lucky guy awoke his conveniently powerful sembnce at the st minute and killed the vilin. And they escaped the cliche base that self-destructs after the main boss dies.

  I was expecting the movie to end with a heartfelt confession and kiss so I could turn it off and do something else. Instead, there was a time-skip. The huntress retired and was happily waiting for the protagonist at the academy gate, which re-accepted the guy.

  Only for the antagonist appears out of nowhere and stabs her from behind. The girl in her st breaths pleads to the gods that the protagonist remembers her name.

  Roll credits.

  What. The. Fuck.

  Who ends a story like that?!

  It takes all my self-control to not throw my empty bowl on the screen. Instead, I bring out my scroll to check more about this dreaded movie hoping to find a sequel in the works, only to find old news articles about the director's scandal, and shing out against the public for not liking his ending which was supposed to be a metaphor to the unfairness in life, and the people mass review bombing his works as backsh.

  Also, his actions created a powerful wave of negativity, which in consequence caused an increase in Grimm activity.

  He is currently in jail.

  Motherfucker…

  I had my day, my free time, ruined that was expected to be a happy evening by one asshole. And the following days will be as well because one asshole made a terrible ending.

  I take deep breaths to maintain my self-control and not break the bowl in my hands. I won't let that crappy ending get to me. Maybe doing the dishes will help me forget that garbage.

  But that pn becomes a secondary thought the moment I close the door of my room. My ears twitch as they pick up a strange sound coming from the kitchen. I take cautious steps towards the source, stretching my neck to get a better look.

  Nobody could've prepared me for the revetion, and the broken bowl on the floor could attest to my shock.

  It was me, ears, tails, eyes and clothes. Everything.

  And the other me is happily eating a bowl of ice-cream on the table, literally sitting on top of the table in complete contentment.

  "What the hell?"

  The double zily directs his gaze at me, smirking before tossing the empty ice-cream bowl over his left shoulder.

  The bowl doesn't break as it bounces on the floor a couple of times. But that is irrelevant when I am presented with something totally unknown which I cannot understand.

  Except that he is an invader who broke in. It doesn't take seconds before I summon my brass knuckles and prepare myself with the bastard who stole my face.

  But to my surprise, he doesn't change his posture, instead he gracefully pces one leg over the other and fshes an innocent smile.

  His carefree attitude puts me on edge. I can't help but worry something is brewing underneath me.

  I keep my guard up and take slow steps towards the mysterious faunus, my eyes frantically checking my surroundings for anything out of the ordinary in the kitchen, yet only the fridge was open since he stole the ice-cream from there.

  "Who are you?" I ask, steeling my nerves.

  The fake me only widens his smile and blinks once, revealing a pair of mismatched eyes before shattering into millions of pieces that fall onto the floor.

  What?

  I carefully approach the table looking for clues, my mind still processing a clone suddenly appearing in my home and eating my ice-cream, as bizarre as that sounds. However, the table has nothing to tell me, so my attention shifts to the open fridge.

  Only find nothing unusual with it before I close it.

  I scratch my head in confusion. The situation is too bizarre and I don't have any expnation. At least things didn't turn violent, but I will have to lock all windows just to be sure nobody enters again.

  The idea of my mind with those disjointed memories is only pying tricks with me might be an expnation, but I highly doubt it. I merely leave the fridge and grab the broom to clean the mess left behind.

  I will have to repce the broken bowl with something simir looking or the ndlord might throw a fuss and overcharge me.

  Except the broom falls from my hands when I turn around and find a plushie sitting on the table staring right at me with an angry look, an angry yellow bird plushie.

  I quickly raised my fist and frantically checked my surroundings. That plush is proof that I am not alone and this mysterious invader has been following me from Menagerie. My ears are fully alert, trying to pick up any sound, no matter how small or low.

  A tap on my shoulder was all that was needed to make me sh out.

  Spinning on my heels and hitting whatever touched me.

  But my fist never connects.

  Instead, I find myself staring at the kitchen's light ceiling. When did I fall down? And where are my brass knuckles? I was literally wearing them seconds ago!

  As I try to rise from my precarious spot, a piercing pink umbrel sinks into my chest and pushes me down. My eyes instinctively follow the trail and discover the same mismatched eyes staring down at me.

  I am pinned down by my evil twin. I don't know how to feel.

  Worrying about my life is a no brainer though.

  And the asshole notices this internal struggle as he offers me another smug smirk and I can't retort. He has shown his superiority over me, beaten and disarmed in seconds without breaking a sweat. I couldn't even see him coming.

  Whenever I tried to move one arm or leg, he happily pricked my face with his umbrel. And each prick hurt despite my aura stops the weaponized umbrel from touching my skin.

  I take one deep breath and let it out, rexing all muscles in my body before shooting him with a gre. That's all the resistance I can offer in my position.

  I might have accepted my loss, but that doesn't mean I like the idea of losing. Yet my attitude only caused him to pout for mere seconds before covering his giggling with his free hand, a silent giggle.

  To my surprise, he removes his weapon away from me. I should jump back into action or use the chance to sweep his legs, but I do not act. I calmly watch him walk towards the table and grab the plushie which he pces on my chest. The forever angry bird guarding my movements as the condescending asshole raids my fridge again.

  I watch helplessly as he eats the small cake and pastries I bought for the week.

  I didn't care anymore. There had to be a line.

  "Just tell me what do you want for fuck's sake! You break into home, beat me down and eat my food. Who are you and why do you look like me?!" I sm both hands on the floor and back jump on my feet.

  But before I could do or say anything, pink shards engulf my evil twin's body.

  When the glow dies off, a much smaller girl is in his pce wearing the same smug attitude. Her long pink and brown hair matches perfectly with her clothes, a white jacket with pink interiors over a brown corset and a pair of brown pants with white tight boots.

  My eyes wander off after picking up the important details, noticing her exposed hips or how much cleavage she is showing off with her broad jacket.

  Action that didn't go unnoticed as she mockingly strikes a more alluring pose and blows me a kiss.

  Literally.

  A small cartoonish heart flies towards me to my utter shock and disbelief, but I swat it like a fly, causing the tri-colored girl to pout.

  "Enough games. What do you want? Who are you?" I demand, despite knowing she holds all the cards in her favor. Girl or not, she still broke into my home and wronged me. I don't want to be kept in the dark.

  Instead of answering, she calmly picks up the bird plushie from the floor and approaches me, making me tense up as I prepare for another attack. Attack that never came to be as she merely hands me the plushie to my hands.

  Before I can voice my confusion, she surprises me again by pulling out a paper bag out of nowhere and pcing it on the table. A bag filled with yarn of all colors.

  I look at her, confused.

  She only points at the plushie in my hand and then points at herself.

  "You want me to knit a doll of you?"

  The crazy girl nods.

  I stare at her a bit longer and then at the bird toy. All of this, just for a doll?

  I wanted to shout and scream, to tell her to get out and fuck off, but I stomp down those thoughts. Yes, I am in every right to be angry and sh out, but from the very beginning, brute force will not work with her. Accepting her strange request is the better option.

  "Fine."

  [Affection with (Neo Politan) increased by 1, 01/100]

  Excuse me?

  And her name is Neo Politan? Why is it between parentheses?

  I've never met this girl in my life. Yet, she clearly knows about me, if she could track all the way from Menagerie. How did I even get myself a crazy stalker in the first pce?

  I shake off my thoughts as they aren't that relevant for now and pull a chair to sit so I could start my work and get rid of her as soon as possible. I haven't made dolls of people before but it won't be very difficult to achieve as my mind is already visualizing the finished product.

  So I grab all the necessary colors along the big needles and get to work.

  My unwanted roommate has a rather forward interest in my work. Sitting very close to me, I've worked with a public before… but Levi at least kept her distance and Bke is polite enough to ask, Neo is practically breathing down my neck as I work on her toy.

  A mild annoyance at best. It won't stop me and on the bright side, that awkward situation gives me a splendid view of her features. If I was an artist, I would sketch her and put a strong emphasis on her curves.

  As a novice weaver, it takes me what I assume half an hour to finish the main frame. Her dual hair color proved not very difficult, just time-consuming, as I needed to add every strand individually.

  "Here, it is. You could have just asked instead of breaking into my home, you know?" I comment, hinting my annoyance.

  Neo openly ignores my sentiment and takes her new toy for a tight hug as she spins on her heels. Her pyful grin widens as she continues to twirl around, showing off her prized possession. I can't help but feel a twinge of annoyance at her nonchant attitude.

  [Affection with (Neo Politan) increased by 3, 04/100]

  Okay?

  At least she is happy, so fewer chances of her doing something bad.

  Nonetheless, I can't predict this girl because moments ter she shoves her scroll in my face, revealing a picture of a fmboyant man with short orange hair sharing her tastes in fashion. I can't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise at her sudden change in topic.

  I gently push the scroll away from my face and grab more yarn, handpicking the right colors. I don't think she wanted anything else but to knit another doll for her, but this time based on the guy in the picture.

  The steps are essentially the same, with the exception he has defined single colors making the process faster. I separated the work into three parts, the st one being the bow cap, which I attach to the oversized doll head after I finish with the st details on his orange hair.

  [Novice weaver level increased by 1, 14/50]

  Considering my situation, I will take this bit of good news.

  And another mini human doll is done.

  But I am not given much time to appreciate my work, as the short girl immediately snatches the doll from my hands. Before I can even protest, she's holding it up and striking a pose, her scroll already in hand. She takes a quick selfie with the doll, the grin on her face growing wider with every click. Then she pces her mini me next to the other toys on the table, where she snaps another couple of pictures.

  This Neo is an odd one, can't decide if it is a good or bad thing.

  I sigh in relief, thinking that Neo has finally satisfied her curiosity and will leave me alone. But the sound of snapping fingers shatters my hope.

  I turn to face her, only to see her pulling out a different scroll from her pockets with a mischievous glint in her colored eyes.

  My scroll, to be exact.

  "What?! How?!" I excim, my hand frantically searching my pockets where my scroll should have been, but only finding empty pockets. I turn to Neo with a bewildered expression, but she just looks back at me with a smug smile and holds up her my scroll with a locked screen and a timer of five minutes.

  That expins why she was so close. She pickpocketed me!

  But before I do something that might bite me back in the ass, I take deep breaths to calm myself and think. This girl is not a one-trick pony. Her sembnce may allow her to distort reality, which is why I couldn't hear or see her anywhere. That gives her a powerful advantage in many departments, and one of them is stealing.

  As I watch her holding my scroll in her hands, I notice the brand logo and remember a crucial detail: my scroll is supposed to be soul-bound. It might be a long shot, but I have little to lose by trying.

  With that in mind, I focus on my scroll and concentrate on taking it back to my inventory.

  [Scroll (Soul Bound) has been added to your inventory.]?It works!

  Neo's eyes widen in shock as my device disappears right in front of her, and her face twists into a gre. But I don't care what she thinks or does anymore; this is my victory, and mine alone. I have all the reasons to celebrate and relish in the feeling of misguided pride that fills me up.

  Drunk on that feeling, I summon back my scroll and wave it in front of her, taunting her. She might have won at everything else, but this victory is mine, and I won't let her forget it.

  Neo doesn't take the bait, instead a haughty smirk comes across her face as she, once again, pulls out an object out of nowhere.

  My smile sharply fell off my face and stood up from my chair when I saw a bck colr with a bell attached.

  The sight of a colr has an unexpected strong negative effect on me. My breath hitches and my blood runs cold, freezing me on the spot.

  Neo slowly dangles the colr in front of me, relishing in my discomfort, and takes one step forward while I take one back. The bell on the colr jingles slightly, adding to my unease.

  I don't know how I st so many seconds before I cave in and throw the bag of yarn in her direction, hoping to distract her and get precious seconds to escape.

  A girl practically half my size is making me flee. Pathetic.

  Hurt pride aside, I aim for the main entrance to escape my ft. It's the best split-second decision to take because the people would surely notice the scandal happening right outside their homes and may even help.

  But my heart drops when I hear the clicking sound around my neck, even though I was about to open the door.

  Both my hands immediately went to the colr to break it off, but a pair of delicate hands grabbed my wrists and kept them in pce, surprising me with her innate strength despite the gring size difference and forcing them down to my sides before turning me around.

  The smiling girl doesn't waste time and forces me down for a hug, my head resting on her right shoulder before pulling out her scroll to take a picture together as if we were friends.

  [Affection with (Neo Politan) increased by 1, 05/100]

  Seriously, what the fuck?!

  -Neo Politan-She was having a lot of fun with her little faunus, and the colr fit him perfectly. It's a shame she didn't bring a leash.

  Using her sembnce to mess with him was the best choice. The poor kitten didn't know she had a backpack on her, hidden with her sembnce. It was very useful to carry a bag everywhere, especially for her… active lifestyle.

  Either way, she got the chance to see his sembnce at work. She couldn't find the right word to describe how incredible it was to watch objects disappear and materialize out of thin air.

  Although she could use her sembnce to achieve a simir effect, the objects would be too fragile to be of any use. Storage sembnces were unique and mysterious in their inner workings, and watching her kitten recover his scroll from her hands without moving a single muscle made him even more interesting to her.

  And she really loved his plushies. She couldn't wait to give her Dum Dum his new mini-me. And as much as she would love to spend the rest of the night pying with him and observing him do his magic, she already made a promise to Roman to bring him to the hideout.

  This left her with a bit of a struggle. How was she going to take him to the hideout? The car was waiting on the street, so all she had to do was take him there and let Junior's driver do his job.

  Why not be direct?

  And since she already had her scroll out, she only needed to write her message and show him.

  "Do I even have a choice?" He sighed in defeat.

  Not really, but it helped to be polite.

  With the slight issue out of their way, she took his hand and led him out of the apartment complex where their driver was smoking, patiently waiting for them. Showing his professionalism, he opened the door for them.

  Junior's men couldn't be trusted with fighting others sadly, but they were useful in other jobs. It must have been a good deal for Junior to so openly give them his support and lend some muscle, not like she cared for the details.

  They even had drinks in their cars!

  What better way to wait than a drink in one hand and the other petting a pair of fluffy ears?

  -Ma'iq Rakhan-It is concerning how nice it felt to have my ears petted and pyed with.

  Should I consider it as a form of sexual harassment?

  But I can't deny it was incredibly rexing, indulging in the feeling like an actual cat would.

  So much that I almost forgot the past development of events and the degrading colr around my neck. That small bliss sted until we arrived at the girl's hideout.

  A desoted warehouse in the Industrial District, quite far from the more busy areas.

  Neo doesn't waste time and pushes me inside.

  The warehouse is far from empty; in fact, it was filled to the brim with crates upon crates stacked on top of each other, forming towering structures that dominated the space. Humans bustled around, moving the crates with a sense of urgency. Until I notice a man dressed in a white formal jacket approaching us, twirling his cane around his finger. In an instant, I recognize him as the same guy from the picture I had used as a reference to knit the doll. "Well well well, so this is your pet project. I am surprised you managed to bring him without a leash. I was… more like expecting you to drag a body bag."

  Wait… body bag?

  "He is joking, right?" I turn to the girl in question, who tilts her head and smiles. "And who are you supposed to be? She brought me here for a reason, and I doubt it is to insult me."

  "Ah, you don't know me?"

  "I'm not from Vale." I answer truthfully.

  "Mmmm, it seems like you can't expect much from a faunus. But, I suppose it doesn't really matter," he says, tipping his hat. "Roman Torchwick, the gentle thief of Vale. Normally, I would extend a hand to introduce myself, but I think I'm fine for now."

  His st comment was completely unnecessary, but he clearly wants to get a rise out of me, so I keep my mouth shut.

  The tri-colored girl leaves my side to stand next to the criminal, who ruffles her hair with care. "And this adorable girl is Neo Politan, and she has her own reasons to bring you here. As for me, I am more interested in a single one."

  "And that is?"

  He uses his cane to push a pstic bottle towards me, letting it roll to my feet. "Do your thing, store it."

  "Store it?" I ask, knitting my brows in confusion.

  Roman huffs in annoyance. "Sembnce kitty cat, use it. Or do I need to spell it for you? Or give you a basic lesson of what a sembnce is?"

  Store it with my sembnce? But I don't even know what my sembnce is.

  Unless, the two of them must have confused my inventory with a sembnce, and it is not like I should correct them since it is far easier to expin this particur ability as sembnce rather than whatever this gamer system should be.

  I can't lie to them since I've used my inventory in front of Neo moments ago, so there's no point in stalling. I pick up the bottle and send it to my inventory, watching it disappear from my hands.

  [Pstic bottle (Empty) added to your inventory.]?"I gnce briefly at the duo, who are attentively watching me, and continue. I call back the bottle and drop it on the cold floor.

  "Fascinating," Roman remarks. "Now try with this crate." He uses his cane to point at a rge wooden box not very far from my position.

  "I haven't tried with bigger objects, so I don't know if my inventory will work, but I hope it does. Otherwise, there might be consequences I don't wish to discover. Following his orders, I walk up to the object and pce my right hand on the rough surface.

  [Wooden crate (Empty) added to your inventory]?It takes me a couple of seconds to gather my thoughts after the initial surprise before returning the crate back to its original spot.

  "… this changes things."

  "Changes what?"

  "So many things, my little kitten, so many things. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? For now, you will deliver some cargo to my less than favorable clients. But since it is quite te, you will start…"

  "Whoa whoa whoa, hold up!" I interrupt him, a gesture he doesn't take kindly. "I will deliver? Since when am I working for you?"

  "Oh? You think you have a choice? That's cute."

  I look around again and the towers of crates could give me an edge for a daring escape, because fighting is a fool's errand. If Neo is more than capable of putting me down, then this guy shouldn't be any different. "Yes?"

  The thief turns his gaze to his companion with a knowing smile. "Mmmm, you mentioned some time ago that you would decw him if he was naughty, didn't you?"

  The crazy girl happily nods, and a pair of giant fucking scissors materialize in her hands.

  I wince. Their message is more than clear to me. "I get it, no need to get violent… fuck me… what have I done to deserve this?"

  Roman throws his head back with a short ugh and a single cp. "HA! Didn't you wreak havoc in a warehouse from the slums?"

  "How do you know that?" I frown, trying to hide my shock.

  "Because I know what happens in my properties, kitten. What kind of boss would I be if I don't put in some security systems, like cameras?" He gives a quick nod to Neo, who shows her scroll with a video pying. My eyes to go wide and my ears fold as I recognize my fight against the muscle-head of Andros. "And I don't take kindly to those who steal from me."

  "But I didn't steal anything." I try to defend myself. This guy has me between the sword and the wall. He can easily hand that video to the authorities and fuck me over. Even if I cim the fight was in self defense, I have no excuse for what happened next. I beat that bastard to a bloody pulp for sheer anger and he was defenseless. "And they are criminals. Nobody will care."

  Roman shrugs off my words. "You helped those animals to steal from me, same thing. So you owe me, quite big I may add, because I doubt the VPD will tolerate a violent animal roaming their precious city. Besides, tracking you down wasn't so difficult, there aren't many faunus in Vale. Much less a faunus like you."

  I grit my teeth, feeling the tension in my jaw. "Anything… else?"

  Yet my boiling anger only brings him more amusement, expressing his sheer arrogance with a smirk. "Don't be so down, kitten! You will get paid for every job done and you will have the company of our adorable Neo. What else would you possibly want?"

  'My freedom, for example.' That's what I wish to answer, but it stays in my mind. The girl in question pyfully spins on her toes before executing a perfect backflip and finishing with an exaggerated bow for her imaginary audience.

  My attention turns to Roman, who is amused by her short performance. "Should I call you boss from now on?"

  "No, it sounds cheap. Leave that to the rabble and those cheap crooks. Even as a faunus, you are far more valuable than any of them."

  His comments tick me off, and he knows they affect me. "Okay… so Roman?"

  He nods in approval. "Business demands professionalism, so I can make an exception for you. You can start with your name."

  "Ma'iq… Rakhan." I hesitated to reveal my name at first, but if he got so much dirt on me, lying to him won't make things any better.

  "Ma'iq, huh? Definitely not a local… You come from Vacuo, don't you?"

  Is my name that foreign?

  "… Yes." I confirm his doubts after a moment.

  He strokes his chin in thought. "Well, at least that tells me you don't have clean hands, so it will make things smoother. Now shoo, I have work to do." He dismisses me before turning around and disappearing into his warehouse.

  Neo lingers for a moment before walking over to me and handing me a slip of paper, making the 'call me' gesture. I gnce at the paper and see a scroll number scrawled on it.

  She doesn't even give time to reply as she disappears from my sight in a burst of pink petals.

  I check my left and then my right, but all I see are the same workers, busy with their tasks, willfully ignoring the recent events that unfolded before them. My mind is still trying to process the past hour, the unexpected encounter with the supposedly famous Roman Torchwick, and my forceful recruitment for a secondary job. I walk towards the exit in deep silence, lost in my thoughts, trying to figure out what I should do next.

  As soon as I step out of the building, I take a deep breath and, without wasting any more time, I quickly reach for the colr around my neck and forcefully rip it off, feeling the satisfying snap of the pstic as it breaks. With a feeling of defiance, I hurl it away from me as hard as I can, watching it fly through the air and nd in a distant pile of trash.