I stood at the convenience store magazine rack, my hands gripping the edges of the daily papers. I flipped the page, skimming past the usual recycled garbage of foreign politics and economic downturns.
Today, the world is at peace as well... Or something like that, I thought to myself.
Folding the paper, I slid it back onto the metal rack. I turned on my heel and joined the stream of students walking down the busy sidewalk toward Beacon's main academic buildings.
Suddenly, a weight slammed into my back. Arms locked tightly around my waist.
"Good morning, Jonah!" Nora yelled directly into my ear.
I didn't even break my stride. I just kept walking, letting her hang off my back like a brightly colored backpack for a few steps before she hopped down to trot beside me.
"Yo," I muttered.
Matching my pace, Nora kicked a loose pebble across the concrete, a bright, energetic smile plastered across her face. "Did you do today's homework?"
"Not at all," I answered, my gaze fixed straight ahead.
"Really? Me neither!" Nora laughed.
As we continued down the sidewalk, the flow of foot traffic bottlenecked. A small crowd had gathered outside an electronics store, their eyes glued to a massive flat-screen television in the display window. A dead-serious news anchor dominated the broadcast before the footage cut to a dark alleyway cordoned off by yellow police tape. Medical personnel were systematically zipping up a body bag.
The chyron at the bottom of the screen flashed in bold: SIXTH VICTIM FOUND. THE VALE SERIAL PHANTOM KILLER STRIKES AGAIN.
Nora paused and pointed at the screen. "Ah. Jonah, look. Those people are almost everywhere nowadays."
"Yeah, and it's all your fault," I said flatly.
Leaning closer to the glass, she studied the camera crews buzzing around the perimeter on the broadcast. She shot me a curious glance. "Are they from the city? The camera crews, I mean. I feel sorry for them, having to go everywhere for work..."
"Although it's all your fault," I repeated, my tone entirely unchanged.
Nora looked down, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Slowly, her bright expression morphed into something sly and incredibly eager. She practically vibrated in her boots. "...Hey, what if... If I get interviewed, and they show me on TV~ Then maybe I'll get scouted by an idol agency or something~!"
Raising my right hand, I brought the edge of it down squarely on the top of her head.
"It's not that kind of TV program!" I scolded. "You're dreaming way too much."
"Ow!" Nora grabbed the top of her head with both hands. She rubbed the sore spot, but there was no anger in her eyes. Instead, a deeply mischievous grin spread across her lips as she looked right at me and giggled.
I looked away, my eyes drifting back to the brutal aftermath on the screen. A moment later, Nora looped her arms around my right arm, pulling me into a tight hug against her side as she started dragging me down the sidewalk once more.
Geez, I sighed internally as she pulled me along. People from the media are desperately searching for answers. The police are running around like headless chickens. And she's right here. The culprit is right here, happily clinging to my arm and hoping for a television interview.
Suddenly, we both stopped walking.
Moving against the flow of foot traffic was a girl with long white hair, a black parasol casting a dark shadow over her head. Her hair was tied in elegant twintails that brushed her waist. Every pedestrian on the sidewalk turned to stare as she moved with arrogant, deliberate grace, the parasol spinning idly in her grip. The wind caught her twintails just as she halted.
Looking over her shoulder, her ice-blue eyes locked directly onto me.
Nora and I stared blankly back.
Weiss was being dramatic again, I noted dryly.
She turned fully to face us, resting the handle of the black parasol against her shoulder. A sharp, manic grin stretched uncomfortably wide across her pale face.
"Morning! Jonah!" Weiss called out, her voice dripping with a saccharine, intense energy.
I stood frozen on the sidewalk. My expression was completely deadpan, offering no greeting in return. Beside me, Nora still held my arm, looking mildly flustered by the strange girl's sudden outburst.
Now then, my inner monologue droned on, completely apathetic. There are still plenty more good-for-nothing women around me. Let me introduce them.
Ignoring Weiss entirely, I extracted my arm from Nora's grip and walked away, leaving the girl with the parasol standing alone on the pavement.
Minutes later, I stepped onto the sprawling campus of Beacon Academy. Hundreds of students milled about the main courtyard, rushing to their morning classes. Ignoring the crowds, I made a beeline for the main academic building.
Sliding my classroom door open, I walked straight to the back row.
A blue-haired student, Neptune, sat at a desk with his cheek propped on his hand, staring out the window at the courtyard in total boredom. I stepped up and stood directly behind his chair.
"Neptune," I said.
Neptune blinked, turning his head. "Hm?"
Without waiting, I turned and started walking back toward the door, long before the bell could even ring.
"Eh, what?" Neptune asked, watching me leave. "Where are you going? You're gonna skip class? The teacher's gonna be here in two minutes."
"Could you tell the teacher that I went to the infirmary?" I asked without breaking my stride.
"Heh~? 'Dat so?" Neptune smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Yes, yes. I can cover for you. So, where are you actually going?"
Pausing at the sliding door, I glanced back over my shoulder. "I just told you. The infirmary."
I stepped out into the hallway. Neptune immediately shot up from his desk, leaning his upper body out the open door. "Hey~ where are you going~!?"
I didn't look back. I just raised my voice enough so the idiot could hear me clearly down the hall.
"IN! FIR! MA! RY!"
I kept walking. As I moved down the corridor, I bypassed a group of second-year students centered around Coco Adel, who was wearing her signature sunglasses and looking incredibly cool. I walked right past her. Coco didn't look at me. I didn't glance at her. We performed a perfect pantomime of two strangers who had absolutely never met.
Turning a corner, the hallway grew quiet. I stopped in front of a white door marked simply: INFIRMARY. I grabbed the metal handle, pulled it sideways with a soft click, and stuck my head through the small crack.
In this Beacon, a 'Sleeping Princess' and a 'Ravenous Demon' reside, I mused.
I pushed the door fully open and stepped inside. The room was silent, devoid of any medical staff. Sunlight streamed through the large glass windows, illuminating rows of beds separated by pale blue privacy curtains. Passing the first three, I stopped at the fourth bed in the back corner.
There, a girl with long black hair was fast asleep. Her chest rose and fell in a slow, incredibly deep rhythm, a textbook resting on the pillow beside her head.
She is one of those two, I thought, looking down at her unconscious form. 'Sleeping Beauty,' Lie Ren.
I stood silently by the bed for a long moment before reaching out, gently taking hold of her slender wrist where it rested on the blanket.
"Ren," I said quietly.
Ren shifted under the covers, her dark eyelashes fluttering. Her eyes cracked open, dazed and groggy. "...Ah," she mumbled, blinking away the blurriness to look up at me. "Good morning... Jonah."
Pushing the blanket off her chest, she sat up slowly and stretched both arms high above her head with a long, contented sigh. I kept my hands stuffed in my pockets, watching her with my usual flat expression.
"Hn~~~ I slept well..." Ren murmured, rubbing the sleep out of her eye.
"Well, duh. That's why I'm taking care of you," I replied.
Ren paused her stretching. "Eh?"
Pulling a hand out of my jacket, I produced the thick stack of folded newspapers I'd bought from the convenience store and held them out to her. "Anyway, here."
Her eyes lit up instantly. She took them as eagerly as if I had just handed her a pile of gold. "Wow! Thank you very much!" she beamed, clutching the papers to her chest. Then, her smile softened into something slightly apologetic. "Sorry for always bothering you to bring these."
"If you feel that way, then get yourself a Scroll already," I told her. "Everyone reads the news on their phones now. You wouldn't need me to buy these for you."
Ren shook her head, immediately flattening the top newspaper over her knees. "I'm not fond of machines. I prefer paper. I'm sorry."
"...Ren," I sighed. Her eyes were already scanning the text rapidly.
Ren spends most days completely asleep, I thought, watching her read. Unable to stay awake no matter how hard she tries. It's a 'condition' she gained from an accident back when we were kids.
I remembered all the times I'd had to drag her back to bed when we were younger. Normally, she was fine and could attend classes like anyone else, but once or twice a week, her energy would completely crash. She would sleep straight through the day. In the worst cases, she could spend three full days unconscious.
I glanced at the digital wall clock. It read 13:12.
While she tries her best to go to class even on bad days, it usually ends up like this. She barely leaves the infirmary once she crashes. Hence her nickname around campus: 'Sleeping Beauty'.
Leaning closer to the page, Ren muttered to herself. "Hmm... Huh? We just had a new councilman appointed again?"
"Yeah. They sure are busy down in the city," I replied casually.
Ren's brow furrowed in concentration as she absorbed the next paragraph.
There are very few things Ren 'can do' when these episodes strike, my internal monologue continued. She literally doesn't have the waking hours for normal hobbies. That's why she needs my help. She needs me to supply her with her one and only pastime: earnestly keeping up with the outside world.
Ren flipped to the front page.
The specific topic she's taken a massive liking to lately, I noted, is...
"Vale's Phantom Killer."
Ren looked up, her face a mask of deep exasperation. "What a complete disgrace—really, what is the exact meaning of this idiotic name the media has given him? A 'Phantom'? As a citizen of Vale... it's absolutely disgusting. Don't you think?"
"Yeah, you're right. It's a stupid name," I agreed.
Tapping her chin, she went deep into thought, her eyes glued to the brutal crime scene photos of the sixth victim. "Hmmm... The culprit has successfully murdered six people right in the middle of the city, yet remains uncaught and unidentified... This is incredibly strange!! Perhaps the police lack Criminal Intelligence gathering? But the exact signature of the crime is extreme disorder. A chaotic frenzy leaves massive amounts of physical evidence behind: DNA, footprints, fiber transfers. How can a 'frenzy' killer vanish like a phantom?"
Suddenly, she pushed herself off the mattress, leaning her upper body completely forward until her face was aggressively close to mine. I instinctively leaned back to maintain some distance.
"What do you think!?" Ren demanded, eyes wide with a manic need for discussion.
"...No, uh... who knows?" I mumbled awkwardly.
The culprit is your best friend who shares a dorm room with you, I thought, keeping my face entirely blank. I couldn't let her see anything in my eyes. I couldn't let this brilliant, hyper-fixated girl figure out the truth sitting right under her nose. It would completely shatter her.
Pulling my sleeve back, I checked my watch. "Hm. Oh. Sorry, I gotta go back now. My break is almost over. The teacher will notice if I stay gone the whole period."
Ren stopped leaning, sinking back onto the mattress. "Ah..."
She looked up at me with a desperately pleading expression—like a puppy whose owner was leaving for a week. I held up a hand to preemptively stop her from begging me to stay.
"Can't you stay just a little longer?" she asked softly.
"Sorry. I really can't."
Ren closed her eyes in complete resignation. She knew I was right. "You're... right. I'm sorry to keep you. I'll hopefully see you tonight at the dorm." She shifted slightly on the bed. "Then, before you go... would you please... do the usual..."
Stepping closer to the bed, I reached out and rested my palm on her soft black hair. I patted her head twice in a gentle, familiar rhythm. Ren immediately smiled, her entire body relaxing into the mattress.
"Good night, Ren," I murmured.
"Yes... Good... night..." she whispered. Her eyes drifted shut, and her breathing evened out instantly as she fell back into her deep, inescapable sleep right over the newspapers.
I withdrew my hand, turning my back on her to walk out of the infirmary. I slid the door shut behind me with a soft click.
Alone in the empty Beacon hallway, the silence was suddenly shattered by a rush of movement. A figure lunged from the shadows of a nearby alcove.
Before I could react, unseen hands gripped my collar with brutal force, violently yanking me backward. I lost my footing, dragged stumbling into a vacant restroom before the door slammed shut behind us.
"Fufu," a voice giggled in the darkness. "Fufu fufufu..."
The girl with the white twintails—Weiss—had me pinned from behind. Her arms were wrapped tightly around my chest like a vise, her back pressed against the door to keep it locked. I struggled slightly, but her grip was like iron.
A crazed, unhinged grin stretched across her face. "Fufufu fufu! I've been waiting for you, Jonah!!"
Shoving her face right next to my cheek, she opened her mouth to proudly reveal sharp, elongated fangs. "Now, give me your blood! Let me drink your sweet blood! ❤"
I stopped fighting. I mentally sighed at her theatrics. I wasn't surprised. I wasn't scared. I was just utterly, bone-deep exhausted.
Weiss is a 'Vampire', I noted matter-of-factly.
Shifting her grip, Weiss clamped her freezing pale hands onto the sides of my head, holding my neck perfectly still to expose the skin.
"Ngh...!" I winced as her nails dug into my scalp.
...I'm not kidding, I thought. That's the absolutely only way to describe it. Her skin is as freezing cold as a corpse. She's severely weak to sunlight, forced to hide under her parasol and insanely thick layers of sunscreen. Her blue eyes turn red, pupils slitted, when she gets into this manic mood. But worst of all... she actually drinks human blood.
I remembered the rumors from her time in Atlas—the massive societal problems she caused by biting her schoolmates, and how her family paid an absolute fortune to transfer her to Beacon just to escape the scandal.
Will she really die if she doesn't drink blood? Or is this just some deeply psychotic roleplay? No matter the reason, there's absolutely no rational excuse to aggressively suck someone's blood.
Weiss shook me aggressively by the collar, stomping her boot on the tile. "Hurry! Hurry, hurry, hurry!" she whined.
"I get it! I get it already! Stop clinging to me!!" I yelled, tired of being treated like a ragdoll.
Weiss stopped, salivating visibly. A line of drool gathered at her lip as she shot me a desperately hungry look. "It's been quite some time since we had any private time together. I simply can't endure this agonizing thirst any longer!"
I shoved her face away, pressing my palm firmly against her forehead. "Geez, I get it! Give me space so I can reach my pockets!"
Stumbling back a half-step, Weiss wiped her mouth but continued staring intensely.
I pulled a small metallic utility knife from my jacket. Flicking the slider, I popped the steel blade out with a sharp click.
Weiss tilted her head, looking genuinely confused. "...Why are you walking around school with something like that? Are you gonna murder somebody?"
"Why is it you immediately assume a utility knife makes me a murderer? What a poor, simple notion," I replied dryly.
Rolling up my left sleeve to expose my bare forearm, I pressed the blade to my skin. By the way, I thought as I sliced a deep, clean cut across my flesh. Hot red blood immediately welled up, dripping down my arm to the floor. For Weiss, blood tastes either 'good' or 'bad' depending on the victim.
I didn't flinch, watching my own arm bleed with the apathy of someone enduring a papercut. And apparently, mine tastes 'good'. Really fucking good, even.
The second the metallic scent hit the air, Weiss's face contorted in pure ecstasy. Abandoning all elegance, she lunged forward, grabbing my bleeding arm with freezing hands. She yanked it to her mouth and passionately began lapping at the open wound.
"Haa... Haa..." she panted between slurps, her eyes rolling back in absolute bliss.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from above. A shadowed figure dropped violently from the ceiling air vent just outside the bathroom. The door was kicked wide open, and the figure tackled Weiss away from my arm. A short, deadly katana sparked against the wall tiles inches from the vampire's face.
I watched in shock as Weiss was sent sprawling. "Blake...!?"
Weiss recovered her footing instantly, aggressively baring her fangs. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!!?" she screamed, wiping my blood from her chin.
Blake Belladonna stood between us, glaring righteously at the white-haired girl with her katana at the ready.
"You... you who claims to be a foul phantom of the night..." Blake declared dramatically, her voice trembling with theatrical fury. "Having caused Jonah-sama to shed his noble blood... YOU DESERVE TO DIE, YOU DISGUSTING PLEBEIAN!"
A thick vein throbbed on Weiss's forehead. "...WHAT DIDJA JUST SAY TO ME, YOU FUCKING DELUSIONAL CAT!?"
I, still holding my bleeding arm, looked between the two screaming girls. "Wait a second, Blake," I cut in loudly. "Why the hell are you even here? How did you find me in a random bathroom?"
Meticulously maintaining her heroic glare at Weiss, Blake turned her head slightly to answer me. "But of course. As a true knight, I am always ready to serve and protect my lord, Jonah-sama. Having heard the desperate voice of your heart calling out across the void, I have come swiftly."
I pointed my uninjured hand at her face, my expression severely deadpan. "Liar. Pyrrha probably called you on your scroll again, didn't she? She was stalking me, saw Weiss grab me, and sent you to fight her so she wouldn't have to get her hands dirty."
Blake flinched. Her silence confirmed everything.
Weiss pointed furiously past me to Blake. "Hey, Jonah! Seriously, what the fuck is up with this crazy bitch?! She already ruined our private moments three separate times this month! Tell her to get the fuck out!"
Blake aimed her blade at Weiss's throat. "Halt! Stay away from him, you vile specter. Else your wretched impurity shall stain my lord's pristine soul!"
"HUH!?" Weiss snapped, her hands curling into fists. "You crazy cat bitch! Just wait till we get back to our dorm! I'm going to rip those stupid ears right off your head!"
Weiss lunged right over me to attack. Blake lowered her stance, ready to strike back.
Throwing myself between them, I used both my good arm and my bleeding one to shove Weiss back by the shoulders.
"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU FLEA-BITTEN STREET CAT!!" Weiss screeched, clawing the air.
"That is exactly my line," Blake said coldly. "I will gladly send you straight back to the darkest depths of the underworld, you foul demon!"
"STOP! IT!" I yelled, my teeth gritted as I held them apart.
The girls thrashed wildly, ignoring my desperate attempts to intervene.
"WANT ME TO BITE YOU TO DEATH, YOU FUCKING FILTH!?" Weiss snapped her jaws.
"YOU KEEP CONSTANTLY SAYING 'KILL, KILL,' BUT HOW ABOUT YOU ACTUALLY START DOING SOMETHING INSTEAD OF BARKING, YOU PATHETIC CREATURE!?" Blake swung the flat of her blade to bat Weiss away.
I let go, stepping back and rubbing my eyes heavily. My arm hurt. My head hurt. I was entirely done.
Raising my right hand to demand silence, I spoke with an impossibly calm, deeply tired voice. "Weiss. Listen to me. I'll give you more of my blood after school is over. Just meet me out back."
Weiss froze, a massive smile spreading across her face before her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "You promise? Don't you dare go back on your word, Jonah."
"I promise. Now, don't bother us then, Blake," I said, turning to the Faunus.
Blake dropped her sword slightly, looking utterly betrayed. "My Liege... why?"
"Because you're annoying me right now," I stated bluntly. "Why are you still standing here? You're officially dismissed! Leave!"
Both girls glared at each other one last time before turning away.
"Don't ever talk to me again, lowlife," Weiss sneered.
"I'LL DEFINITELY KILL YOU LATER WHILE YOU SLEEP IN YOUR BED, DEMON," Blake threatened.
"I SAID STOP IT AND LEAVE!" I yelled.
Weiss huffed, snatched her parasol, and stormed out. Blake sheathed her katana, bowed deeply to me, and vaulted straight back up into the ceiling vent.
They finally left. Thank god, I thought, completely drained.
I walked out of the bathroom and headed down the empty corridor alone, tightly gripping my freshly wounded arm as blood sluggishly stained my fingers.
"SIGH..." I exhaled a long, massive breath of pure exhaustion.
I stopped in front of a closed wooden door down a different hallway. Raising a hand, I knocked loudly on the wood. Knock. Knock.
A highly familiar, sickly sweet voice immediately sang out from the other side. "It's currently occupied~❤" Pyrrha Nikos answered.
I stood perfectly motionless. I stared at the wood in absolute silence.
"If you're so incredibly busy stalking me all day that you have to send your attack dogs after me..." I said in a low, flat voice to the door. "What about your actual class, Pyrrha? Aren't you supposed to be in Professor Goodwitch's combat class right now?"
Silence hung in the air for a few agonizing seconds before Pyrrha replied softly.
"...Hm~ Jonah, you know I love you so much," her muffled voice hummed. "But... you really should pay better attention. This is the girls' toilet, you know~❤"
I froze for one incredibly long second.
I slowly looked up at the plastic sign screwed to the wall next to the door. It clearly displayed a stick figure wearing a dress.
I immediately bowed forward at a sharp ninety-degree angle to the closed door. "...I truly did not realize that," I said evenly. "I'm very sorry for the intrusion. I'll leave the premises immediately."
Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked briskly away.
From behind the door, Pyrrha's cheerful, entirely unbothered voice followed me. "It's perfectly okay! I don't blame you at all! See you later, Jonah! ❤"