To be or not to be is not the question… but The Answer

~ 0 ~

I do not own Persona 3 or RWBY. I wish I did…

~ 0 ~

"Thought/Memories."

"Speech"

words with implied meaning

Regular text

"Persona speech/Nonhuman/Scroll."

"Persona/thoughts/social link"

~ Ch 18 ~

~ Winding down or winding up? ~

Minato Winter and Penny silently walked through the main entrance of Chateau De La Cour on their way to the entrance when a cold chill ran through Minato.

"Why! Why are we playing to their whims! You should have killed the man made of metal. All that needed be done was to strike him once with a fraction of your strength. Why did you stop? I know you wanted to."

"Shut up."

"Are you growing soft, Minato? May I remind you of Ikutsuki. That filthy human; how he used you. That man wishes the same. We both saw it in his soul. Was it the machine? Is that why you stopped?

Minato's gaze shot over to Penny before he averted it just as quickly.

"I see. She shares a resemblance to the one who sealed me inside you. The one I came to call a friend alongside you. Aigis. But she is not our friend. None of them are. Despite their actions, in the end, they turned their backs on us. On you. All living things shy away from us in the end. Should I remove her?

"Leave her out of this." Minato growled in his mind.

"Oh? Do you have feelings for the machine, my friend? It would do you good to not rely on inhuman puppets for comfort. You claim to have no desire to accept what you are, yet you gravitate to that which is decidedly not human. A human, a soul, does not make. All things can have souls."

"I said shut up. Leave me alone for a little while. I'm tired. I don't want any trouble in this world. I have no idea exactly what I'm doing, where we're going, or how we're supposed to get there. We have no allies here, no one to turn to."

Thanatos laughs at him. "For a moment I thought you had seen reason. Do you truly believe your own excuse? Neither of us need allies. We need no help to do what we must."

Minato grew quiet in his mind, an uncomfortable silence coming to rest between the two. "I need you. I've always needed you. You've been with me from the beginning. We're friends, aren't we? I wouldn't trade that for anything. So please, as my friend. Leave me alone for a little while."

Thanatos receded from his mind quietly, and Minato felt his influence lessen to the point of barely being able to hear his friend whisper in his head. "I apologize, Minato. I am just frustrated with your stubborn nature and refusal to admit what you are despite knowing and being reminded. I just want my old friend back. The friend I had before everything became so complicated."

Minato paused behind Winter and Penny as the concierge bid them a good evening and the doors to the front steps were opened by the doormen. "What are you talking about?"

"You will remember in time if you accept what you are and embrace it." With that said, Thanatos sighed in his mind and then slipped away to leave Minato, with one last word. "Sometimes, I think things are perhaps, better this way. After all. If you are dreaming, I never want to wake you up."

~ 0 ~

Minato and Winter stepped out of the building into the cool night air closely tailed by Penny. As the three made their way down the steps, a fancy looking black car came to a stop in front of the drive and out stepped a man about Minato's height.

He was wearing a thin, dark black suit with a matching pair of dress shoes. Neither were too descript, outside of the apparent high quality. The man wore a colored purple silk scarf around his neck that was held down by a silver pin in the shape of a downward sword with two small daggers angling downward on either side of it. His skin was pale, and his face was framed by his perfectly styled, spiky, raven black hair, with a clean-shaven face. His eyes were a bloody crimson and.

Minato clutched his head, breaking eye contact with the man, wincing in pain as something flashed through his mind. It had been an image of a girl with dark brown rust-colored hair and crimson eyes. She was young, maybe 13 or 14. The feeling associated with the picture he'd seen, loss, and a consuming drive to find her.

Minato felt a rush of power and the familiar, cooling sensation of Thanatos' power flooded his mind, washing away the image and the feelings. "Do not look into that man's eyes!" Thanatos shouted in Minato's psyche.

Minato, feeling dizzy, rubbed his forehead while looking at the man, but avoided eye contact. "Thanatos, what's going on?"

His friend responded in a cautious tone. "That man. He is not human. He is… connected, to something far more powerful, and older than he is. If you look into his soul, it would be similar to when you saw into a portion of mine, but far more painful and it would last longer." Minato frowned at the memory. That had not been pleasant.

"I can feel something familiar from that man. It reminds me of the past, it draws a longing from me that I know not where it comes from. It makes me feel as though I have forgotten something important. Like I have left part of myself behind. It's almost, akin to seeing another in possession of that which was once yours.

Minato closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to shake the odd feeling. "What does that even mean?"

"I… do not know how to explain it any better to you. My apologies. But I feel lighter. Less weighed down by the thoughts I find myself contemplating. Many things I questioned before are clear to me now. I feel relieved."

~ 0 ~

The man who stepped out of the car winced and reached up to rub the bridge of his nose, letting out a quiet sigh of pain. Winter paused and looked at the man warily before a look of realization spread across her features. She stepped up to the man bowing her head slightly.

"Mr. Caelum?" She asked in a questioning tone. He let his hand drop to his side and looked up at Winter in confusion. She could see the recognition in his eyes as he took in her appearance. He smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

Winter returned the smile and placed a hand on her breast. "Thank you, Mr. Caelum. For letting me use your cape last night. It was very much appreciated, especially with some of the company that I had." She looked him over and nodded in approval of his appearance, not that he'd given her any reason to question his attire with the excellent choice he'd made last night. "You clean up very nicely sir, with your hair styled and that stubble shaved down."

Mr. Caelum lifted an eyebrow in question and tilted his head as he put a hand on his waist. "I clean up nice, huh?"

Her eyes widened for a second, and she looked to the side coughing into her hand. "My apologies, I did not mean to insinuate that you looked unsightly last night."

Behind her, Minato made a comment about assuming things which made her frown and glance back at him with narrowed eyes. The blue haired man glanced away and shrugged. "Shut up, Mr. Arisato!"

The man took a deep breath and gave her a small friendly smile. "Well, thank you for the compliment, Winter." She looked back at him and nodded again but took half a step back at the imperious look that followed. "I thought I told you to call me Noctis though. I don't like practicing formality. Had enough of it to last a lifetime, and then some."

Winter opened her mouth to respond but closed it and stood up straight. "My apologies, sir, er, Noctis." She gave a slight frown, the name feeling wrong on her lips. Almost like she shouldn't say it. It had nothing to do with her formality. Something just told her on an instinctual level that this man wasn't to be referred to by name. Not by her anyways.

Noctis looked at her curiously and glanced behind her at her companions. A short girl with ordinary clothes and a pale complexion complemented by her green eyes and orange hair. The man, about his height with a suit and again a similar pale skin but with bright silvery eyes and blue hair. Noctis blinked and tried to get a good look at the man's eyes, but he glanced away, turning his head slightly. "Hmm."

"Mr. Um. Noctis." Winter flushes in embarrassment. "My apologies. I will work on using your given name." She coughed into her hand. "Would you like to accompany me and get a drink some time. I would very much like to speak with you at length. You were a refreshing breath of fresh air in comparison to my usual associates." She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Penny wave with a smile. "Current company…" She trailed off and looked at Minato. "…Notwithstanding."

Noctis looked over her shoulder again and nodded at her companions, his eyes meeting with Minato's who quickly glanced away before they could make solid eye contact. He quirked a brow and shrugged it off. Turning to Winter again, he nodded. "That would be a nice way to spend an evening." He massaged the back of his neck, popping the bone unintentionally. "I've been working too hard lately, an evening off would do me some good."

Winter reached into her back pocket for her scroll when Noctis held his hand out, stopping her. "I don't have my scroll on me, and it's new, so I don't know the number. Since we're staying in the same place, you can leave a message with the concierge specifying a time and place. I'll show up."

Winter blinked at him in surprise at his easy acceptance to her invitation. The part about leaving a message with the concierge put her off though. "That seems rather inefficient, does it not? Something may come up for either of us leaving the other without their company."

Noctis shrugged. "Well, I already agreed to go and let you can pick the time and place. I can take time off whenever I just needed a reason to do so. If you get pulled away then I'll say I'd have liked our conversation, I'm sure, but it wasn't meant to be," He said giving her a nonchalant shrug. "Either way, I'll spend an evening drinking and relaxing from my usual work."

Winter blinked at him, offering a confused look before placing a hand on her left temple, shaking her head. "Why do the men I run into all have to be so strange?" She said quietly, thinking nobody heard her.

Noctis looked over Winter's shoulder at Minato, giving him a look. Minato shrugged in return. "From what I've seen, Winter is a very punctual and organized person. She doesn't think things through too well despite planning ahead."

Winter turned around, giving Minato an affronted look. Behind her, Noctis hummed. "I can see that now." He closed his eyes and shrugged while shaking his head. "I thought it was the lack of sleep on her part."

She turned back around to face Noctis and gave him a disapproving look that fell when she saw his friendly smile. He walked past her with a lazy wave. "I'll see you later, Winter. Remember to leave a message with the concierge. As for me. It's bedtime."

Winter watched him go with a gobsmacked expression and then let out an exasperated breath her head dropping into one of her hands. "Men. Like grown children. All of them."

Minato spoke from behind her. "You know you're the one who looks like a kid when you try to act serious all the time. There are times and places for maturity. You'd do good not to wear it out, or people will never be able to relax around her."

Winter gave Minato a firm look while he just gazed back at her calmly. She eventually let her breath go, her shoulders sagging a bit. "I'm still too tired to deal with this. Perhaps next time."

Minato stepped up to her, looking over with an aloof gaze. "What do you mean by, next time?"

Winter facepalmed and looked at him with narrowed eyes through a couple of fingers. "Be quiet. I am functioning off of too little sleep, and I don't wanna deal with this right now. You should be thankful I'm the one taking you to the Lilith because Squad 8 would have been far less pleasant."

He shrugged. "Well, that sounded a lot more mature, and thank you."

She paused, giving him a curious look. "Why did you just thank me?"

"Well, you said I should be thankful. I might not show it, but I am glad you came along and decided to fill the role of my escort. I would much rather it be you than someone… well. If I need to tell you when I'm grateful, then I have no problem with that. I like to know where I stand with others and for them to know where they stand with me. It makes things… simpler."

Winter let her hand drop, revealing the stunned look on her face. She nodded slowly, accepting his thanks. She looked to the side and let out a tired breath while avoiding his gaze as she spoke. "The only reason I helped you is that you agreed to assist Weiss, and you cannot do that from the hold of the Lilith. Make no mistake. My goal is to get you to come with me to Atlas as I was instructed. I simply…" She trailed off. "Nevermind."

Minato smiled at her. He appreciated the clarity. It seemed that despite her being loyal to her country, and military commander, she was a person of principal. He let out a satisfied breath and nodded at her. "Well, thank you again." She weakly smiled at him and nodded. He closed his eyes and let silence fall over them as Winter reorganized her thoughts. He grinned and glanced sideways at her. "So, we aren't going to the Lilith?"

Winter frowned at the interruption to the pleasant silence that had spread between them and pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, letting out a tired sigh. "No, we are not. Despite what General Ironwood said, we have no jurisdiction here in Vale. We cannot legally do as he instructed, but I can't exactly refuse to follow orders." She shrugged. "On that point, neither can I refuse if say, Ozpin, stops us en route." She held something out to him. He looked down at her outstretched hand, seeing his scroll. "And Ironwood never said you couldn't have your scroll. So take it, and let's go."

He nodded and went through his contacts to find Ozpin, as Winter turned around to see Penny standing there watching her curiously. She froze. Penny tilted her head, watching Winter intently. "Specialist Schnee, why did you do that?"

Winter took a deep breath. "I did it as a… I'm returning a favor."

Penny blinked. "What is a favor?"

Winter stiffened. Penny was smart and could learn things very quickly. Misinformation was also a thing she had problems with. Winter, shivered, remembering the fiasco back in Atlas with the animals all over the base. She blanched, remembering the raccoons. Teaching her something incorrect could lead to a mountain of problems. "Well, Mr. Arisato is a friend. And he did something for me I cannot do so we call that a favor. I am returning the goodwill of that gesture by doing him a favor."

Penny smiled at Winter and moved in close, almost nose to nose. "Minato and I are friends as well. This makes us friends as well." Winter's eyes widened in horror as Penny clapped her hands happily.

"What? No! That's not how friends work," she tried to correct her on that, but Penny ignored her while saying, sensational! Winter facepalmed and groaned when Minato spoke up getting her attention.

"We should get going. We have an inconvenient interception to perform." Winter gave him a suspicious look but nodded, and they headed off.

~ 0 ~

The curious group of a messiah, a machine with a soul, and a human eventually arrived at Beacon and made their way across the campus silently. None of them spoke as they walked under the light's spaced along the campus walkways. When they got within sight of the Lilith, the sound of a door opening met their ears. The three turned to see Ozpin walk out from a nearby building and walked short ways across the back of the courtyard. He took a sip from his mug and turned around as if surveying the area when his gaze fell on their group. He paused and then slowly walked over to the fountain, stopping by the walkway leading to the Lilith, waiting for them.

Minato looked at Winter who had her shoulders back, and her head held high. She seemed too stiff for what was supposedly her turning him back over to Ozpin. He grimaced at the idea that he'd had to call the man for help, even if it was something as small as this. He really didn't wanna owe the man any favors. As they drew closer, Ozpin didn't make any move to step in their way, what he did do was greet them. "Well, good evening, Mr. Arisato, Ms. Schnee." He looked at Penny and nodded before turning his attention to Winter.

The next thing he said was spoken in a louder voice than necessary, but Minato glanced towards the Lilith noticing a few blinking lights along the side of the ship with two more or less pointed in their direction. "Ms. Schnee, It is rather late, so I am inclined to ask on behalf of my students, where are you taking Mr. Arisato?"

Winter blinked at his raised voice and glanced at Minato. She looked at his eyes, and she followed his line of sight to the Lilith, seeing several of the external security cameras watching them. "So this is what Mr. Arisato meant by inconvenient interception." Winter cleared her throat and took a deep breath. She had to fight down the small smile creeping to her lips. She'd have to show some resistance, but she couldn't be held insubordinate if Ozpin did indeed stop her from taking Minato to the Lilith. "Well, Professor Ozpin, I am escorting him to the Lilith to take his statement on something regarding Atlas military secrets that he was witness to."

Ozpin was about to speak when Penny interjected. "Specialist Schnee, why are you lying to our host about why we are taking Minato. He is to be brought to the Lilith as per General Ironwoods orders, to be held, and interrogated on the Lilith."

Winter blinked at Penny. In any other situation, she would be cursing Dr. Polandina and Penny to high hell, but interestingly enough this worked in her favor. Winter could claim in her report how Ozpin had intercepted them and while explaining the situation Penny had stuck to close to protocol and caused them to be stopped by Ozpin. She shot a fake but realistic glare at Penny who took a step back looking between Minato, Ozpin, and Winter in confusion.

"Ozpin raised his mug and smiled into it before bringing himself back under control and turned to Minato. "Is what." He gestured to Penny. "Is what she said true, Mr. Arisato?"

Minato inwardly smiled while making a mental note to do something for Penny later. He nodded while turning to face Ozpin. "Yes. I don't know what I did, but general Ironwood had me arrested for compromising military hardware."

Ozpin almost dropped his mug and blinked at the three with genuine surprise. He sighed and lifted the hand with his cane to rub his eyes. "Ms. Schnee, would you be kind enough to let my teacher go. Ironwood has no jurisdiction here in Vale, except for on his ship. You may tell him I said as much and if he wishes to speak with me about it I can be found in my office Monday through Saturday from 8:00 - 6:00, and on Sunday from 10:00 - 5:00.

Winter Opened her mouth to say something but Ozpin held up his hand holding the cane with a single finger raised, interrupting her. "Ms. Schnee, it is to my understanding that for the time being neither are you nor are your fellow soldiers on duty and are currently guests in Vale. If he wishes to arrest my teacher for whatever it is you believe he has done, then I must insist you go through the proper channels and file a complaint with the city council."

Winter paused, smiling internally at not having to come up with a counter-argument. With what he'd just said he'd cut down any chance at an argument while simultaneously preemptively stopping Ironwood from following through with this situation. Atlas wanted Mr. Arisato, and so did Vale. Neither of which knew he was here outside of information based off of the leaked initiation. Ironwood would not bring it to their attention, and neither would Ozpin it seemed. That put several worries at ease. It meant Mr. Arisato would stay here to avoid Ironwood and the council of Vale. That said he would be around to assist Weiss. Which in turn bought her time to convince him to come to Atlas of his own volition. Sometimes, bureaucracy and conflict were convenient. With her usual stern expression, she turned to Minato bowing her head slightly and bid him goodnight before walking off while motioning for Penny to follow.

"Ms. Schnee." Winter paused and turned to look at Minato. He was watching her with that ever-present calm expression and bowed slightly to her. "Thank you again. I will make it a point to repay you."

"I am thou… and thou art I… From the sea of they soul, I come… Thou shall have the blessing of the Sun Arcana."

Winter sighed and smiled weakly, feeling her expression soften. "That you will." And with that, she left, closely followed by Penny. The quiet muttering of something about paperwork reaching them.

Penny turned to look back and smiled at him while waving. "Good night, friend Minato."

He raised his hand, offering a wave of his own feeling like things went rather well. He saw Ozpin motion to him out of the corner of his eye and followed him as he made his way inside the dorm rooms building opposite the one he exited. Once the two were inside, and the doors were shut, Ozpin fixed him with a stern expression. "Minato." He glared slightly at Ozpin. "Mr. Arisato. Where were you, and what exactly were you doing that you found yourself in the predicament of being arrested by James?"

Minato closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before he took a deep breath and went into how he'd heading into Vale to speak with an acquaintance of his only to be unable to find him. How he'd ended up visiting his friends' usual spots only to wind up spending his time spending his evening drinking tea with another acquaintance before he made his way to pick up his suit from the hotel he stayed at last night. It just so happened that the General and the Atlas military were using it as well.

Ozpin chuckled and shook his head before he let out a tired breath and rubbed his forehead with his mug muttering about abusing nonexistent power before looking back to Minato. "I apologize for that. In any event, the situation worked out, and now you are back. Goodnight, Mr. Arisato. Classes start early tomorrow, you should get your rest."

Minato just watched Ozpin for a second and then bowed, offering a thank you before he turned and opened the door to the dorm rooms and turned to head off towards his lecture hall. "Mr. Arisato. Where are you going?"

Minato stopped halfway down the small flight of steps and looked back at Ozpin over his shoulder. "To my lecture hall."

Ozpin frowned at that. "Is there something you forgot there?"

Minato shook his head and shrugged. "I don't have anywhere to sleep, so I figured the chair in there would suffice until I can rent somewhere in Vale.

Ozpin quirked a brow. "Don't have a room? I was sure I had assigned one for you. All of the professors prefer to live on campus. It's free, and there is no commute." The two shared confused looks, and Ozpin pulled out his scroll, tapping it a few times before looking back up at Minato. "Yes, I did. A student, a second year who was in your first class today was to give you a sheet of paper with your room information, and a detailed schedule of the classes you will be having; to make lesson planning easier. I meant to forward it to your scroll, but I cannot send information like that to a number or e-mail unregistered with the school."

Minato's brow twitched remembering Coco and the slip of paper she had when she came into his class. He ran a hand through his head and growled quietly. "The student wouldn't be a one, Coco Adel, would it?"

Ozpin looked down at his scroll and then back up. "Yes, why?"

He rubbed his eyes and exhaled. "I never got the slip, but I did see the student."

Ozpin hummed. "Well, then. I will have Glynda give you one tomorrow, but in the meantime, your room is on the second floor of the dormitory building near the student commons, room number 213. The stairs are in the commons halfway through the dorm."

Minato walked back up the steps as he placed his hands in his pockets and thanked him as he headed for his room.

~ 0 ~

Upon arriving at his room, he pulled out his scroll and unlocked the door, pushing it open silently. He took a deep breath and let his shoulders sag. Today had been a long day. He walked in, leaving the door open and examined the room. It was pretty big. A good 15 by 20 feet. On one side sat a large oak desk with a chair behind and as well as in front of it. In the middle of the room lay a walk-in kitchen with the amenities such as oven, stove, dishwasher, and sink but sadly no microwave. There was, however, a breakfast bar and an island counter.

It was then he noticed the low um in the air and turned to really take in the rest of the room. On the other side lay a large plush looking sofa with an armchair opposite it. Between them sat a glass coffee table. Behind that was an open closet, showing a washer and dryer running. He blinked in confusion, wondering why it was on. There were also a few delicates hanging on velvet hangers, drying. He rose an eyebrow and stepped backward out of the room and looked at the room plate. It read 213. He stepped back into the room and looked towards the door by the washer and dryer where the voices were coming from, seeing the light on behind the open door.

He walked over and pushed it the rest of the way open, the hinges not making a sound as it opened to a hall dimly lit hall. From where he stood, he could see the majority of a very nicely decorated room with trim molding, crown molding, and a big window that had a view of the forest with heavy, expensive looking curtains. He turned his gaze to the door, standing open a little further down the hall. The edge of a steamy bathroom mirror was just visible.

The voice he heard earlier was clear now, and he felt his eyelids droop in annoyance. He made his way down the hall and turned the corner seeing a queen sized bed with… His eye switched. Coco Adel was lying in his bed wearing fancy silk pajamas. She was lying on his bed, his pillow tucked under her chest as she kicked her feet back and forth through the air. She was talking to someone or a few someone on her scroll. They were being pretty loud too. He walked up to the bed, choosing to stand there listening and waiting for her to notice him.

~ 0 ~

"Hey, I won't argue that. His class was actually pretty interesting. Leagues better than Port's or Oobleck's, but I'm not gonna say it's better than combat practice."

"Hey Coco you said you walked in on him before class what happened?"

"Oh, yeah. Spill it, girl."

"Was it something dirty?"

Coco grinned and shrugged while glancing off to the side aloofly. "Well, what's in it for me?" She set her chin on her open palm and crossed her legs as she lounged on the bed. "I mean, I could tell you, but that seems like too much effort for no compensation." The three voices on the other end groaned or huffed.

"Come on, Coco."

"Yeah, you still owe me for last time."

"Besides, it can't be that juicy."

Coco frowned, and then smirked as she sat up on the bed, pulled the pillow on her lap and then picked up her scroll. "I leave it at this. The teach is interested in someone." She grinned internally. It wasn't exactly a lie. He'd been talking about love and something else. It had honestly been… she didn't know how to describe it. It made her smile. But these three didn't need to know that.

"What!?"

Came the collective cries of the other three girls.

"Now you have to spill."

"There's no way he was just talking about that stuff out loud. I bet you're lying."

"Oh, my Oum. He likes someone. Is it one of us! Wait… it couldn't be. None of us have met him before today… Boo."

Coco shrugged. "Well, since it doesn't seem like all of you have faith in me and my ability to get a scoop I guess you don't need to hear details. You'll have to wait till it goes public."

"What! That's not fair. Damn it, Sam. You and your big mouth. I swear you might have good grades but girl, you cannot keep your mouth shut when it comes to getting gossip. This is why you always find out just before things go public."

"Wha- what? Take that back, Clover! Or I'll tell everyone what you did with Jerry."

"Ohhhh, catfight."

"Can it, Alex!"

"Shut up Alex!"

Coco couldn't help but laugh at her friends' antics. She stretched and leaned back on the bed, putting an arm behind herself to prop herself up. "Calm down, you guys. I'll tell you tomorrow morning."

"Oh, for reals? Yes!"

"Thank you, Coco, Oum knows we could use some gossip. It's day two, and the best we have is that the runt of the first years drew first blood in combat training with Goodwitch."

"Yeah, that's true. But hey, Wasn't our new professor part of that too? Like didn't he give that blond guy some advice or something?"

Coco shrugged a shoulder. "Dunno. From what I heard, they kept it all hush hush, literally whispered to each other. But anyways I'm feeling kind of bored. Probably gonna work on something I've been meaning to since last night. Anything else you all wanna ask real quick?"

"Ooh, me. Me, me. Pick me, your um, second best friend, Alex."

Coco rolled her eyes and laughed. "Okay, Alex."

"I wanna know what you think of him. Like, personally."

Coco sat up straight, crossing her legs again while reaching up to mess with her long dyed lock of hair. "Hmm. What do I think of him? Well, he's a character, to say the least. He just seems to say whatever he wants. He goes with the flow really easily and changes topics faster than I can tell what we're talking about a good portion of the time when he really gets going. He can be pretty dense or seems to be. I swear. He's the kind of guy who just exists to mess with you. He makes my head hurt."

She frowned and let go of her hair with a huff. "Honestly, I think Minato just pisses me off more than anything. It feels like he's hiding something, and it's bugging me that he won't spill."

"Damn girl, first name basis with the new prof. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a thing for him."

"Yeah. That or you're obsessed."

"Maybe it's love, and you just don't know it yet. Or, maybe he's got some kind of

weird semblance that makes people think about him non stop, or…"

Coco cut her off. "Or maybe he's just annoying." Alex deflated, looking like a kicked puppy. Coco glanced away. She was always a sucker for the puppy dog pout. She put on a grin. "Well, I'll tell you something else that should make your morning a little more interesting. You see, I was supposed to give him a slip of paper with his room assignment and class schedule on it. It's how I found his class so early and managed to record what he was saying."

"What?!"

"You recorded it?"

"Oh, wow! Really?"

"Yup. I just kinda sorta forgot to give it to him after what he said about me being sexually frustrated. Like seriously, me? Sexually frustrated?" She lifted her scroll up, glaring at the screen. The three girls on the other end of the call grew very quiet. Coco growled, her glare now directed at them personally. "Oh. You guys. Real funny. Should I cut you guys out of my shopping spree this weekend?"

"Um. Coco."

"Nope. Too late."

"No, Coco, listen."

"No, I don't think I will." She turned around and crossed her legs while sitting back against the headboard. "I think… I'm…" Coco trailed off, seeing Minato standing there watching her with an unamused expression on his face.

"Good luck. See you in the morning, Coco. Later!"

"Yeah, have a good night."

"Good luck!"

She made a strangled noise as Minato let out a tired sigh and narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah, thanks… I uh, I'll call you guys later." She hung up the scroll smiling at Minato uneasily, giving a nervous laugh. "Welcome back." She said, spreading her arms while offering him a weak smile.

~ 0 ~

Minato shifted in his bed when he felt the covers get pulled to the foot of the mattress. His eyes opened, and he was met with the empty dark of his room. He shut his eyes and sighed as he sat. He let out a yawn and rubbed his head before acknowledging his guest. Thanatos sat there at the edge of his bed sitting on a chair at the foot of his bed reading the same poetry book as before, but instead of his usual attire this time he wore a simple black long sleeve and white pants. It was reminiscent of the times where he had known his friend as Pharos. He shifted in on his bed and took a deep breath eyeing his friend. "what is it?"

Thanatos closed the book and looked up at him. "I am concerned about what the shadow said, as well as the man we happened upon this yesterday evening."

Minato looked to the side, trying to remember what the shadow had said. All he could recall clearly was his name, Lucis. "I'm not in a state to remember clearly, mind giving me a refresher?"

Thanatos made a rumbling sound and folded his arms while crossing his legs. "What he said can wait a moment. Minato, do you know what the Ether is?" Minato He had an idea, but he wasn't about to say what little he knew was even close to what the truth of it was. After all, Thomas Edison had said we don't understand one-millionth of one percent about anything. With a shrug, he shook his head. Thanatos nodded. The Ether is an endless expanse that connects everything. It is a place not defined by time or space, but idea and thought. Everything began with a dream. What dreamt this dream not even I know.

"And what does this have to do with what Lucis said?" Minato asked while trying to form an idea with what little he remembered.

"Lucis, he mentioned a goddess I have never heard of before. A goddess of death similar to myself. I am representative of death across all spaces, and yet, He used this goddess's power to bar entry to the area you occupied. I believe we have stumbled upon a world that is being contested.

Minato quirked a brow. "Contested? What does that mean to you? To us," he said, gesturing between the two of them.

Thanatos sighed and rubbed his temples. It means this world exists due to a paradox created from two intersecting realities. The timeline we are currently occupying in this world is only possible because a remnant has caused it. Do you remember the bet you made?" Thanatos asked quietly, head bowed in thought.

Now that he did remember. "Yeah, I do. It was to save this world. To pull off a deus ex machina in the end. although my power doesn't allow me just to snap my fingers and do so."

"That God, is cunning. He is the creator of this world. Far more powerful than you or I, he is the Author of this reality, and he has found those who caused the paradox. All six of us. He expects us to resolve his problem for him. If we do not, under the paradox, we will cease to exist as we are now."

Minato Narrowed his eyes, his hands tightening into fists. Again. He was being used still. "The paradox is directly tied to us as well. I've felt it since we arrived. When we came across the pretender, Minako, the remnant. The paradox is directly connected to the remnant and through her, us.

This whole thing started out as a way for him to forget what happened in the last world they'd been in. This was not what he'd hoped for when he accepted that bet. "what exactly does that mean for us?"

Thanatos rose from Minato's bed and walked over to the window, his crimson eyes glowing in the dark. Minato could see the reflection of them in the glass, watching him. "this means we are going to have an increasingly difficult time resolving this problem. Remember what Igor said about gods created by paradoxes not taking kindly to being erased. A god was born of this paradox, and they will not make our task easy. Despite being death incarnate, I am still beholden to the power of those greater than I. Such as you, for example."

Minato raised a brow at that. Well, he had beaten him atop Tartarus and stopped the unstoppable. He had overwhelming power that he knew. The problem was that even with his ability to summon beings into existence and wiled their power, his own unique power was very situational. "This is gonna give me a headache."

Thanatos chuckled and turned to face Minato. "Yes, I do not envy ourselves at the moment."

Minato let out a hollow laugh and looked out the window at the shattered moon in the sky. "Who would ever envy us?"

Thanatos gave his friend a grim smile. "A fool."

The irony was not lost to Minato. He laughed a bit and shook his head. "Very funny."

A deep rumbling chuckle filled the room. "Only you Minato." The god let out a tired drawn out sigh. "This will be uniquely difficult for the simple fact that there are so many actors involved. Several of the others connected to our predicament posses a power that rivals and can defy the abilities unique to the universe arcana. A veritable Diablo Ex Machina and an Architect.

Minato understood what a diablos ex machina at least in terms of literature. He supposed if it countered his power than it must be similar in use. An architect, on the other hand, was definitely not what he knew it to be. "So, what is an architect?"

"A human who has the power to construct or deconstruct reality. Their power is, however, very technical. It isn't magic, or willpower like yours, but science. By that I mean the basic definition of the study of life, only in this case it's the study of the reality. Through math and calculation, they can rewrite the function and properties of anything around them according to the rules of the world they find themselves in. When inexperienced their ability typically manifests in an unlimited amount of power, typically as concentrated energy. Fire or wind, perhaps plasma."

Thanatos moved back to the bed, sitting down. "This, in turn, can be very destructive when applied inappropriately. I have seen architects destroy worlds, both planets and realities alike for lack of care when meddling with what they ought not."

Minato took a deep breath falling back onto his pillow. "Is this going to be something to worry about? Or does it just mean that we need to be careful?"

"The odds of them standing opposed to us is negligible, but if either the diablos ex machina or the architect were to stand against us then they will prove to be a formidable threat. It is like a diablos ex machina to fight to the last to stay alive, thus creating a similar outcome to… Our previous excursion to a different world. An architect, meanwhile, would destroy or erase everything unintentionally."

Minato looked up at the random shapes made out of the dips in the material that lay across the ceiling. "So we're stuck now. I never had a choice in accepting that bet or not, did I. The moment we came across Makoto that was our folly. Thanatos grunted in agreement. Minato covered his eyes with his arm and let out an annoyed sigh. "This is a lot to process."

"Better you do it now than tomorrow when you have to deal with the humans." He chuckled darkly, a noise like metal twisting and groaning as he lets his power out in genuine amusement while Minato moved his arm, shooting his friend a glare.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. There's nothing we can do about it, so why worry? The here and now, in this world, is what matters to me. If we meet an architect or a diablos ex machina, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it and no sooner." He smirked. "Besides, we have to find Salem first."

Thanatos made an animalistic growling noise deep in his throat, cool air emanating from where he sat on the bed. "Yes. We do."

~ 0 ~

The next day, to Minato's relief, had been uneventful for the most part. No crazy shenanigans with the students outside of the girl Nora dragging him to sit with them for breakfast. Roman hadn't called, and the man Ironwood didn't make an appearance for that matter either. He found himself enjoying the end of a peaceful day as the light from the setting sun fell in from the windows in his hall. He was grading the notes his last class had taken.

He taps his navy blue fountain pen against his temple while staring down at a blank sheet the had the name Cardin Winchester at the top. In the center of the page was a single sentence. "Give me a hundred, or else." He rolled his eyes. "Or else what?" He shrugged as he wrote a zero at the top accompanied by his own message. "Mr. Winchester. Neither am I easily intimidated, nor do I take idle threats. This is the only warning you will ever get from me."

With that, he put it in the graded pile and pulled up the next one. The front of the journal had a few doodles on it, and it was a bright yellow; at the top. "Yang Xiao Long."

"Present," A voice called out. Minato looked up to see the blond girl standing at the top of his class. She's wearing the school uniform, but the grin he associated with the girl was replaced with a stern expression. She made her way down to him, coming to a stop in front of his desk. "Hey. I don't appreciate the way you spoke to Ruby yesterday."

Minato held back a sigh and closed his eyes to resist rolling them as he set her journal down. "Alright, Ms. Xiao Long. Now, please explain why that matters to me."

Yang scowled at him. "If you want me to keep babysitting Jaune, then you'd better ease up off of my baby sis."

He steepled his hands together, watching her for a second as she scowled down at him. "Okay." Then he picked her journal back up and flipped it to today's notes and started to mark them.

She stood there for a second, staying quiet. Minato just continued grading as if she weren't there. After a minute, she deflated, feeling awkward. "Um. Is that it?"

Without looking up from her journal, he nodded again. "I would think so."

She blinked in confusion. "No, like, seriously. Just okay? Why?"

Minato did let his sigh out this time and set his fountain pen down, looking up at her. "What is it, Ms. Xiao Long? Do you want me to stop or not?"

Yang took a step back stuttering for a second. "Wh- well uh um, I." She looked down at her feet, shifting awkwardly.

He steepled his fingers again and rested his head on them. "Ms. Xiao Long if you get what you want so easily, then you should accept it without questioning it and move on."

She looked up at him and frowned. "Well yeah, but it's not smart to think it's that easy to win anything. I was expecting an argument of some sort at least or a flat out no."

He nodded. "You aren't wrong, but now I know you obviously didn't think this through. You did start off right by holding yourself over my head. Without you, I would need to find someone else to do what I asked you to. However, I don't have the time or the desire to do that. If you're willing, then I see letting Ms. Rose go through her schooldays without questioning her, a fair trade. If she misses out on a valuable lesson or instruction, then so be it. Who am I to deny your request for my own selfish reason.

Yang's jaw dropped at his reasoning. She couldn't believe this guy. He'd just turned this on her making her look like the bad guy, and himself just a strict teacher. She grimaced. "You didn't have to put it like that. didn't have to put it like that."

He shrugged. "Being blunt hurts but it saves time. I could make it extremely complicated and convoluted to mess with your head, but I have notes to grade. Good job by the way."

He handed her her journal with a 97 circled at the top. Yang took her journal, looking down at her grade. She lifted a well-manicured brow and glanced up at Minato, giving him a weird look. "I can't tell if you're being serious or not."

"I assure you I'm as serious as a heart attack. Now I need to finish grading these, so if you're done." He watched her quietly, letting her finish the thought and excuse herself.

She nodded and turned to leave but paused. "You know, just one more thing. Why me?"

He looked at her calmly. "You're special. You have something that compliments what lies inside him."

She cringed. "Are you trying to set us up, because I've already got someone I'm interested in. Sorry, not sorry."

He looked at her with a confused expression and held his head as he started chuckling. "Wow. Just amazing. I've been called and accused of being many things, but a matchmaker. That's new." He took a deep breath and shook his head before returning to a more sedate state of mind and smiled at her. "The relationship I see the two of you sharing to be more akin to a…" He paused, frowned, and then tilted his head. "Goddess and champion."

Yang blinked, giving him an owlish look as a cheese-eating grin spread across her face just before she doubled over laughing. She used his desk for support and pushed herself up, holding her stomach while trying to breathe. "Haha, good one. I'm hot, but not that hot, and Jaune isn't the type to follow a girl around like that. At least not from what I can tell." She stood up straight and smiled at him but that smile upon seeing his serious expression.

"Ms. Xiao Long, you can think what you want, but I meant that in as literal a sense. You." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, trying to think of a way to explain it. "Are part of something more serious than you know."

Yang took her hand off his desk and stepped back, chuckling nervously. "Um, alright. Whatever teach." And with that, she hurried off. She was about to open the door to his class and leave when he spoke.

"It's the reason why Raven left."

Yang paused, her hand tightening around the door handle so tightly it warped under pressure. She turned around, her eyes crimson, voice tense. "What did you say?"

He resituated himself at the desk while looking dead into her eyes. "In the order that you thought them. I ran into her yesterday, In Vale. No, I didn't speak with her at length. No, I don't know where she is." She blinked at him in shock and opened her mouth to ask him if he could get in touch with her, but he stood up while holding a hand up. "No, I can't find her, and I don't have a way of getting in touch with her. You shouldn't worry about it either. Your mother is doing what she can to protect her." Yang felt a strange wave of conflicting emotions and grimaced before giving him a nod and left his class in silence.

He looked down at what remained of the journals he had to grade. There were only about ten left out of all of his classes, but he had to admit this was worse than actually going to class himself. At least he spared himself the stupidity of what others wrote. He felt sorry for all of the teachers he ever had.

Rubbing his eyes told himself that he'd made his bed now he had to sleep in it. Just before he sat back down, his scroll vibrated in his pocket. Upon pulling it out and unlocking it, he was greeted by a message from Weiss Schnee. He frowned, wondering how she'd got his number before thinking of Winter and figuring she gave it to Weiss. He opened the text, hoping it wasn't going to be anything annoying. Today had been so good to him so far. "We need to talk. Beacon fountain south plaza, 9:00 p.m."

He took a deep breath and looked at the clock at the top of his scroll. 8:45 pm. He groaned and rubbed his eyes while pocketing his scroll. "Weiss talks about manners and punctuality, and yet she just set up a meeting taking place in fifteen minutes. She doesn't know where I am or if I even can make it."

He looked down at his desk at the ungraded journals and sighed. "You lucked out, Ms. Schnee."

~ 0 ~

Despite his earlier complaining Minato arrived at the plaza a few minutes early and sat on the edge of the fountain wondering what Weiss would want to talk about. She'd asked him quite a few questions in class earlier today, she was very studious. He doubted it was school related because she would have stayed after class to speak with him. Or even shown up later as Xiao Long had. He folded his arms, sighing, figures it had to do with their tutor and student relationship set up by Winter. It could also be about the suitor thing. She had said she needed time to think about the whole thing.

He pulled up his sleeve to look at his watch. "9:00 pm. Exactly." Just as he said that the door to the dorm rooms opened up and Weiss Schnee walked out onto the plaza. She had her arms folded, and her head was down. He couldn't hear what Weiss was saying, but her mouth was moving, and he did hear something. She was either deep in thought or trying to figure something out.

She eventually came to a stop right on the opposite side of the fountain from him. The expression she had was contemplative, and she was talking even faster under her breath. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was arguing with herself… and losing. He looked down at his watch again, and it read twenty seconds until 9:01 pm. Just then Weiss started tapping her foot and looked around. "He's late."

Minato's eye twitched, and he forced a smile angrily. "I swear." He made his way around the fountain loud enough for her to hear, so she didn't get taken by surprise. "Well, I would say you were the one who was late, but you arrived on time. You should be more aware of your surroundings, Ms. Schnee."

Weiss flinched and spun around seeing Minato. "Uh, I." She composed herself and stood up straight, lifting a hand to cover her mouth as she cleared her throat. "Good evening, Mr. Arisato."

He bowed his head, returning the pleasantry. "Good evening, Ms. Schnee. You did well in class today, your notes were exemplary. I was impressed."

Weiss lifted her chin and smiled smugly. "Yes, well, a Schnee is always expected to deliver nothing but the best quality."

Minato shook his head and sighed. "I could care less about your family name… Weiss. I was impressed with your work." He put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the fountain.

Weiss looked away with a flush in her cheeks. "I. Thank you."

He shrugged. "Credit where credit is due. You did well. If I don't acknowledge you when you do good, how can I expect you to keep it up?" He looked over at her as the sunset basked them in a warm glow. She took a breath and smiled bitterly. "My father would disagree."

Minato gave her a glance and nodded. "I had a friend, they had a similar home life. My advice, let it go. It's not worth wasting away, wonder why not, and if only. Focus on the people who acknowledge who you are, not just you." He closed his eyes and smiled. It makes it easier to see who your real friends are."

Weiss grew quiet and sat down next to him. "But I can't. I'm a Schnee. There are expectations for me. I can't just focus on…" The smiling faces of her teammates went through her mind, and she looked down at the stone pathway under her feet. "My friends." She smiled and looked up at the setting sun. "It's strange. I met them all two days ago, and yet, I fell closer to them than my own family. Well, except for Winter. I know I didn't get along well with Ruby on our first couple of days but we actually really are friends now. Me, Ruby, her sister Yang, and… Blake." She said the last name with a bit of a frown before it slipped away. "I have you to thank partially for that."

"Me?" He said with genuine confusion in his tone. "What did I do?"

Weiss looked up at the airship docs and smiled. "Hmm. You'll have to be content knowing I'm thanking you, Mr. Arisato."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Then, you're welcome."

Weiss continued to look out at the setting sun and leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. "Mr. Arisato, What do you think of what my sister said?"

Minato stretched out his legs and looked up at the dark purple clouds dotting the sky and hummed. "It's going to eat into my personal time, but it doesn't really bother me. I agreed to do it anyways. You don't have to worry about me neglecting you."

Weiss blushed and pursed her lips, trying to avoid looking at him. "How can you be so nonchalant about this? It's serious, and I don't know how to process it." She looked at him, upset, and gripped her skirt. "Yet here you are acting like it's nothing.

He lifted an eyebrow questioningly and sat up straight, giving her his full attention.

"Well, I don't think me being a tutor is exactly out of my range of abilities or duties, being a teacher and all. Then again, you don't really need one, so I guess it might be upsetting, or make you feel inadequate."

Weiss' expression fell, and her mouth hung open slightly. Her expression quickly changed to one of annoyance, and she stood up, arms folded while glaring at him. "I am a Schnee and would never turn down an opportunity to gain more instruction to better myself. That wasn't what I was speaking of anyways you dolt. I was referring to you and me being…" She got quiet, realizing she'd just called him a dolt while at the same time an embarrassed flush made its way to her cheeks. "…You, being my suitor."

Minato looked at her, giving an exasperated look. "I thought we already said we would pretend to dissuade anyone else from coming onto you until you find someone you like."

Weiss blinked at him a couple of times, her eyes slightly wider than they should be. "That's… true. But what do we do? And why don't you feel discombobulated by this?"

"Weiss, you don't need to worry about anything. Think of it as one more thing you need to add to your daily routine. We just have to spend time together, or more so around each other. It can be as simple as you bringer your homework or projects to my class and working on them. That way, it gives the appearance we are closer than we are. It also doubles as my duties as a tutor."

Weiss held her elbow in one hand while tapping her chin with the other. "That does seem rather harmless, and it gives me the advantage of having you to help with my studies."

He nodded. "With Winter here going into town and maybe buying things would go a long way to help the facade. I could get some books, and you could restock on anything needed while we accompany each other to our respective stores. Getting food on the way back would help sell it to anyone watching. To be honest, we wouldn't need to speak to each other at all save for specific instances, and when you genuinely need help on assignments." He stood up and slouched as he turned to leave. "Clean, simple, easy."

Weiss watched him get up feeling off while going over what he'd said. "Why aren't you more worried about this? And how can you think so clearly about it? I've been struggling to focus since yesterday."

He looked up into the dark sky once more before looking over his shoulder at her. He tilted his head and smiled at her. "Relationships are never something that's on my mind. I understand how they work and why they're important, but personally, I never really found interest in anything more than a friend." He turned to face the lectures hall building again. "It's funny, but even that's a recent development over the last four years of my life. I made my first real friends when I was the same age as you are, about 17, almost 18."

Weiss looks at him stunned and then looks down at her feet. "I guess we are the same in that aspect."

"No." The response was quick and stern, making her jump slightly. She looked up to see him turned halfway to face her. "We aren't the same." He tapped his head. "I have a mental block against things related to emotions due to poor early development and being traumatized by seeing my parents die when I was 7." Weiss looked at him, horrified by the revelation. "Not because I was isolated like you were. For you making friends is as simple as opening up. For me, It's much more complicated."

He turned and began to walk away. "But Weiss. Know this. You have far more potential to make friends than you think. If I could make bonds with others, then so can you. Don't squander that kind of gift, or let small things get between you and whoever is important to you. We choose our friends, but sometimes they chose us as well. I didn't understand that at first, but I do now, and I've been working on trying to be a better friend myself. Goodnight, Ms. Schnee."

"I am thou… and thou art I… From the sea of they soul, I come… Thou shall have the blessing of The Empress Arcana."

And with that, he left Weiss there to contemplate their conversation. She sighed as she sat back down on the fountain, watching Minato walk away. "Just who are you, Mr. Arisato?"

~ Authors notes ~

~ 0 ~

Wow, it's been a while since I worked on this story, but here it is at last ch 18. To those who asked about it coming out and receiving the response, I apologize. My friend was busy all day, and I didn't wanna post a messy chapter since she's been helping me clean up the ones out already. I just got the chapter back and writing this then I'm posting.

Some more good news, I found a beta/ editor; a friend of mine. The girl I mentioned just now. The files that had all of the outlines for my stories were also found on a flash-drive I thought had nothing on it so I should be getting back into quicker updates since I won't be struggling to remember what my brother and I wrote.

And some other news, not really good or bad. The flash-drive had an outline for a Cinder centric story. It's apparently an origin story with a complete outline my brother wrote that actually seems really good in my opinion. My friend looked at it, and she said she'd like to see it too, but I wanna see if anyone else would be interested in it before I spend time writing the outline into a real chapter.

~ 0 ~

About the actual story now. This chapter and ch 19 will be the last chapters that go so slow. Everything from ch 1 to ch 19 has pretty much been set up for everything that will happen in the story. All the plot points and story arcs have just about been introduced and will pick up in ch 20 where the first time-skip will occur.

As for the quality of the previous chapters, I'm going to be giving them to my friend to clean up and edit one at a time, so expect the spelling/ grammar mistakes to go down a lot. and the quality to go up.

Funny thing, I found out the library on my pc is broken and the spell check is completely busted which is why it wasn't recognizing spelling errors and it also changed words or added letters where there shouldn't be any. and it can't recognize punctuation at all except for a period.

But I digress. I Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the next. I will be working a schedule with my friend to get them out faster so I may actually have a regular release schedule soon.

~ 0 ~

Well as promised the poll has come to an end. These are the winners.

17) Weiss Schnee - 119 - (1st)

17) Blake Belladonna - 94 (2nd)

18) Coco Adel - 93 (3rd)

17) Pyrrha Nikos - 91 (4th)

38) Raven Branwen - 91 (5th)

25) Cinder Fall - 81 - (6th)

~ Runner ups ~

21) Neopolitan A La Mode - 77

17) Minako Arisato - 67

25) Winter Schnee - 66

~ Everyone else ~

17) Yang Xiao Long - 43

17) Penny Polandina - 31

18) Velvet Scarlatina - 22

19) Emerald Sustrai - 18

~ 0 ~

Personally, I kinda hoped Neo would win or get in the top six at least, but I guess the support just died for her. She was in a comfortable lead for so long too.

Well, I guess the readers have spoken so anyways… It looks like Raven made it too. Who'd have thought? She's strangely popular.

Anyways. As for how the harem will work, as I've said before, I want this to be realistic, so throw out ideas of them all living together happily or this being a polyamorous relationship. There will be jealousy and fighting. Got a tiny bit of that shown between Neo and Cinder in an earlier chapter.

~ 0 ~

Minako's social links

Cinder Fall/ Cindy Tremaine - 10

Emerald Sustrai - 10

Mercury Black - 10

Boy in the blazer - 10

Minato Arisato - 1

Yang Xiao Long - 4

Ruby Rose - 3

Jaune Arc - 3

Lei Ren - 2

Nora Valkyrie - 2

Weiss Schnee - 1

Blake Belladonna - 1

~ 0 ~

Minato's social links

Thanatos - 10

Weiss Schnee - 2

Blake Belladonna - 4

Pyrrha Nikos - 2

Jaune Arc - 2

Yang Xiao Long - 1

Ruby Rose - 1

Neopolitan A La Mode- 3 (Reversed)

Velvet Scarlatina - 1

Coco Adel - 2

Roman Torchwick - 1

Cinder Fall/ Cindy Tremaine - 2

Winter Schnee - 2

Raven Branwen - 1

~ 0 ~

Arcana Table

0] The fool - Kid in the Blazer - Orpheus Telos

1] The Magician - Velvet Scarlatina - Surt

2] The High Priestess - Blake Belladonna - Scathach

3] The Empress - Weiss Schnee - Alilat

4] The Emperor - Unknown - Odin

5] The Hierophant - Coco Adel - Kohryu

6] The Lovers - Neopolitan A La Mode - Cybele

7] The Chariot - Nora Valkyrie - Thor

8] Strength - Yang Xiao Long - Siegfried

9] The Hermit - Lei Ren - Arahabaki

10] Wheel of Fortune - Unknown - Norn

11] Justice - Cinder Fall/ Cindy Tremaine - Melchizedek

12] The Hanged Man - Roman Torchwick -Attis

13] Death - Minato Arisato - Thanatos

14] Temperance - Pyrrha Nikos - Yurlungur

15] The Devil - Unknown - Beelzebub

16] The Tower - Mercury Black - Chi You

17] The Star - Raven Branwen - Helel

18] The Moon - Emerald Sustrai - Sandalphon

19] The Sun - Winter Schnee - Asura

20] Judgment - Jaune Arc - Messiah

21] The World / Aeon - Ruby Rose - Metatron

Until next time.

P.S. …smile