It took three days to properly set up the Branwen mercenary branch. It took more work than Yin thought. Merely due to the sheer quantity of things that had to be set up. Furniture, Bedding, Computers, Barracks, Secret bunker and as a personal touch, a bathhouse.
Then there were the forms, which she helped her Mother with. Simply due to the fact that she felt bad enough Raven was dealing with all the bureaucracy of Vale. That mainly involved signing and not signing a few forms, getting a Huntsman's license for a few benefits and of course, apoeasing the Vale council they weren't there to do a coup d'etat and rule Vale themselves.
It was after they finally completed their set up did everyone relax at their new office setup in Uptown Vale.
"Ouuf.. Ish sho good.. Not pancake good.. but good!" Nora moaned as she scarfed some pizza into her mouth.
"Ah.. Miss Nora? Please don't chew with your mouth open! I just cleaned the floor!" April pleaded, trying to send Ren a few glances.
But he was a little too busy watching Yin to act as Nora's wrangler. He kept glancing at her as she sat on the Branch leader's comfortable chair, surrounded by Yang, Shia, Ruby and Emerald. He wanted to approach and say something but he found his head blank of ideas. He had no idea what to even say or what he wanted. So he resorted to a few somewhat discreet glances at Yin.
"Wow.. another guy! Nice to finally make your acquaintance! I'm Jaune Arc. Rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." Ren felt a lanky hand pat his shoulder. Jaune had easily approached him, despite not knowing him at all. Even going as far as initiating physical contact naturally.
"Lie Ren. Yeah it seems to only be us and.. um..?" Ren looked over at Qrow, who was talking to a suspiciously revitalized (to him) Raven.
Ren had noticed Raven's change during the second day they were in Vale. But pointing out the leader's lack of wrinkles didn't seem very smart to him, so he kept quiet.
"Are you really not gonna tell me what you and your daughter did that night? Seems like something you'd share with your now not-so estranged family." Qrow grumbled. Raven just chuckled and shook her head.
"First of all, don't say it like that. You're making it sound as if I bedded my daughter." Qrow just cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Yeah... nobody wants to picture that. Buuut..."
"Qrow, no.."
"Well...."
"I swear on our Father's rotting corpse.."
"You did fuck around with women in Beacon.. Not more than me but still. Kali.. Willow.. Scarlett.." Qrow listed before he took an elbow to the ribs, courtesy of his twin.
"Shut the hell up.. You'll ruin my image in front of my daughters." Raven whispered.
Of course, they both heard them loud and clear. But contrary to what Raven thought, Yin just nodded as if it were natural. She already knew about Kali. She actually expected Summer too, but Summer seemed pretty straight. Also, needless to say, Raven was right about not bedding her daughter. She was fed her blood, mixed into a shot of rum. Yin was with her the whole night, making sure she was fine through the transitioning.
"Fearless Leader! Is Sunny sister coming to join us here in Vale?" Nora, seeing Ren continuously glance at Yin longingly decided to drag him and Jaune along and start up a conversation.
"Ahh.. Well, I'd certainly not mind if Yang joined us, but she's a bit too young. Her parents want her to attend Signal still." Yin explained, getting the side eye from Yang.
"That's Summer and Dad.. I think I could just skip to Beacon or join you here with my skills but.." Yang glanced at Ruby and shook her head.
Knowing she'd leave Ruby made her hesitate. Then there was the fact that Yin encouraged her to continue with her current plan to finish at Signal, then attend Beacon in a few years. Still, she wanted to be around Yin. Even despite spending about a year together, the desire to be around her sister was strong.
Yang knew Yin had a plan. What that plan was, was unlcear. But she did trust her. It's that trust that gave her all the gifts and abilities she had now and she wasn't going to stop simply because she wasn't privy to every detail in Yin's plan. "I decided I'll finish at Signal before going to Beacon in a few years. Just sucks we only have two days left before we go back.."
Yin wrapped her arms around Yang's waist and sat her on her lap. She knew Yang wanted to stubbornly stick to her. But she hated the idea of getting her involved in what was to come next. Yang was heroic, optimistic and pure. Yin didn't want to ruin that. That, and Yang should have her own path.
Getting humbled back in DxD truly woke Yin up. In that approaching every fight the same way, with the same goals will get her killed. But that wasn't all. The arrogance of assuming she could and would be the strongest person where she went, of throwing caution to the wind and underestimating those she saw as weaker. This stage of her plan ensured this would change.
As for Yang, she knew Yang had to face some trials alone, as she had.
"Good. I know you'll do just fine there." Yin nodded.
Nora made a loud humming sound before clicking her tongue and saying, "Well you could always come visit us! Patch isn't far, right?"
Ruby laughed first, then she saw Nora's confused expression. Ren chimed in with a thoughtful expression, "Nora, you know how large the city is, right? We teleported in from Anima, so I guess the size didn't really sink in. It's about five hundred kilometers squared. Actually, it's one of the largest and oldest megacities on Remnant. Built in a time where Kings ruled. They built Vale within a massive wall, said to be raised by magic."
Yang, Yin and Raven looked at each other with the same name in mind.
'Ozpin'
"Wow..! So how far is Patch from here?" Nora asked.
Ruby scratched her head and started to internally calculate the distance.
"Well.. the walls don't cover the port area of Vale. Past the port is a few small islands, then Patch so..... uuuh... around one.. two hundred kilometers from port?" Ruby guessed, looking around for confirmation. Qrow nodded and gestured with his hand that said, 'Around that much'.
"Yeah. Needless to say, they need a boat or Bullhead to come down. So it's not like they'll stop by every day. But they do know where I'll be and they have my number. So we won't be out of contact like before." Yin explained.
Ruby and Yang nodded, thankful for that. Spring break with Yin was fun for them but going years without seeing her again wasn't something they wanted.
"Well, let's enjoy ourselves tonight. Tomorrow we can go shopping, see a movie and eat fine Valean cuisine. Just keep Nora and Ruby away from too much sugar." Yin stated, smirking as the two started to deflate in disappointment.
Spring break for Jaune, Ruby and Yang officially ended two days later. Jaune returned to Domremy with his family while Ruby and Yang returned to Patch with their parents. Summer, Tai and even Qrow expressed their willingness to have Yin come along and live with them, but she had already made up her mind. With a promise to keep in touch, they reluctantly parted.
As Yin had been left with April, Ren, Nora, Shia and Emerald, she began to execute the first stage of her plan in earnest. She had questioned Emerald a few days prior but hadn't really delved into the sort of life experience Emerald had in detail. She wanted Emerald to settle in first.
To her surprise, Emerald adapted quickly. She knew Emerald wanted to be of use to her, but having some attachments certainly helped cement the foundation of her loyalty. After all, she could be misled and tempted with other offers of a good life and happiness. But bonds were not something you could replicate.
Yin sat in her desk, having called Ren, Nora, Shia and Emerald to her office after breakfast. April would be pretty much useless in matters concerning the Underworld, so Yin kept her in the dark. She was more efficient doing paperwork and managing staff than combat and building a faction.
"Fearless Leader! I'm here and I'm ready to do crimes.. Like breaking legs, balls and hearts!" Nora pumped her fist in excitement while Ren smirked and shook his head.
"The last thing isn't illegal but keep up the attitude. And keep in mind we'll be going about this differently than how we tamed Anima. Violence will be a part of it, but not always." Yin stated.
"It'd help if we knew about what sort of forces are at work here. And I guess we'll get that information from.." Shia added, looking over slowly at Emerald.
Emerald blinked owlishly before pointing at herself with an unsure expression.
"Yes, you Emerald. I'd like to hear about your story and what you experienced living in Vale." Yin nodded, further explaining her intentions to the teen.
"Right... Well I'll try to summarize it as best I can. Just to be clear, you want my.. backstory?" Emerald asked, Yin nodded affirmatively.
Emerald sighed before collecting her thoughts. Determined not to ramble on, she began at the beginning.
"As far back as I can remember, it was me and my Dad. We were living in Downtown Vale, a place where the big gangs had divided up their turf because cops were so busy dealing with petty thievery, murder, drugs and prostitution to bother with them. My Mom left after I was born and my Dad supported and took care of me in the only area he could afford a house in Vale. He was a dropout student in Beacon, so his job opportunities were.. not good." Emerald explained, setting a sombre mood.
"He found work wherever he could and paid some of his old teammates to care for me while he was working manual labor jobs. Eventually, those jobs became scarce and we were really struggling for a while. It was when I turned five that he got a job working for the Atlesian mafia. They handed him a gun and had him deliver a truck full of who knows what to certain warehouses and abandoned lots. Then they kept having him do more and more questionable things.. And one day, he disappeared. I was eight and started to look for him. One of his teammates told me he was likely silenced by the Atlesians. Or killed off by the other crime groups around Vale." Emerald sighed bitterly.
"He left me a note. Explaining some of the things he did, stuff about the other criminal groups. Said.. emotional... stuff.... and told me to survive." Emerald finished, finding it hard to finish her words, given some tears had started to well up in her eyes. She blinked them away and took a shaky breath as Yin pat her head once again.
"You're a strong girl, Emerald. If you need to cry.. you can. We all understand." Yin stated and Emerald saw Ren, Nora and Shia nod and smile at her in understanding.
Emerald shook her head and wiped her eyes. "No. Crying never helped with anything. But thank you. From there, I was tossed out of the apartment by the landlord and had to resort to pickpocketing, like a few other kids. There was a circle of us who lived that way, because it was way better than foster care.." Emerald shook her head and shivered before continuing.
"So yeah, we had a circle of pickpocketers. Some of the small gangs liked to hire us but that always usually ended up with one of us framed or killed so we avoided them after a while. The big gangs, like the Mistralian alliance, the Atlesian Mafia and the Valean groups occasionally had us taken in. Atlesians are ruthless, as we'd find out when we found some of the younger kids' bodies dumped in the sewers after they were promised Atlas tech and better living conditions. Vale group is okay, as they won't really shun or lie to the kids who live here. Mistral alliance is.. mixed. It depends which gang in the alliance you deal with."
"I only really know what the others at the bottom know though. The big gangs are tight lipped." Emerald finished with a little disclaimer.
"That was more insightful than you think, Em. I think I'm ready to start. Get dressed, Shia, Em. We're going to a nightclub. I'll need some light makeup and that red hairdye too." Hearing Yin's last words, everyone's brains, sans Emerald, practically crashed.
"Yin.. with makeup?"
[AN: Stones? Also I have to throw these ideas out. In case anyone of you wants to write em or carry em off to Authors who would write em.
Reborn as Jibril (No Game No Life) in Overlord as an NPC. Married off to Albedo by their creator. Gets a World Item and is Nazarick's grand protector. Then gets freedom upon arrival at the new world.
The Nowhere King (Centaurworld) in Adventure time. Basically a guy grows up with Marceline during the mushroom war and awakens as the Nowhere King.
Phew~ Yeah these were in my head for a while]