It was safe to say, Seth the Assassin was not the most social individuals. He was constantly found lurking and stalking the others, and would nine times out of ten just up and run if he were to be spotted. Naturally, this only got the more social members of the social circle all the more determined to have him open up.
From what they knew, Seth wasn't a bad person. He merely burdens himself with his mission to the point he either destroyed or avoided anything that would come to distract him from his goal. He wasn't a bad person. If anything, he may have just been lonely. This naturally caught the attention of a certain, extroverted, monkey tailed faunus.
At first, Seth had been travelling around the 5th Hierchical City of Kagutsuchi for some makeshift training by hunting the different ghouls that thrived in the seithr filled ground levels, but had made the unfortunate decision of going into the city for some rest and recovery, and made the mistake of merely walking within the general vicinity of one Sun Wukong, which only resulted in the inevitable. "Hi~ Seth~" Sun said, appearing right behind the assassin. Seth promptly went into fight or flight mode, Eliminators in hand at the ready, before he realized it was only Sun.
"How is it," Seth said, slipping his daggers away, "that no matter the dimension, you are the biggest annoyance I have ever found, while also going totally unrivaled."
"Funny," Sun replied. "Blake's asked me that same question. And as I told her, I'm special that way."
"Uh-huh," Seth said. "And where is said feline?"
"Okay, first, rude," Sun said. "And second, Blake's chilling with the others." He gestured over his shoulder where Seth saw in the window of the cafe, Blake sitting with a book in her hand, doing her part to ignore the rowdy conversations of the others.
It turns out, practically every makeshift couple between worlds, official or otherwise, were there hanging out with one another. Along with Blake, there was the rest of Team RWBY, along with Hyde and Yu hanging close to Ruby and Weiss, appropriately enough. In addition, Yosuke and Makoto were sitting with the group, Makoto shamelessly sitting on Yosuke's lap. The only ones present without an obvious partner were Yang Xiao Long and Heart Aino.
Upon seeing the massive ensemble, Seth couldn't help but release an exasperated sigh. The behavior of these individuals continued to screw with the assassin from just how illogical they were. "You earn yourself one compliment," Seth said, "in the fact that you're only one with any actual sense when it comes to relationships."
"Uh... thanks," Sun replied, rather flummoxed by the compliment, prompting him to go, "wait, how?"
"You see it yourself," Seth replied, gesturing at the cafe where the others were. "The plain as day attraction many of your friends have for each other, whether they admit it or not. Just as obvious as the attraction you have for Belladonna."
"But it's all worthless." Sun was taken aback. While Seth always acted cold and had problems when it came to seeing the worth in socializing, he'd never once stooped to referring to any relationships as 'worthless'.
"Why do you say that?" Sun asked.
"It's obvious," Seth replied. "These couples can't last. Tell me, for Hanamura, has he told his parents about the fact he's dating a beast from another world?"
Sun chose to ignore Seth's manner in referring to the demi-human, and pitying Seth in the event he ever called her that to her face. "Well," Sun said, responding to his question, "not that I know of."
"Exactly," Seth said. "And what about when these other couples we know of finally get together? What will their parents think when their kids are dating somebody from another dimension? What will happen then?"
"And what about marriage? You can't tell me that they could get married legally with a person from another world. And say they could, what about those families I mentioned? Are they gonna be left literal worlds away?"
"So you see," Seth said, "these couples can't last. There's no logical outcome."
Sun took a breath. He'd be lying if he said this style of thinking was out of character for the way Seth operated. What he was saying made sense, in its implications, meaning they would only get hurt in the end.
"I get what you're saying," Sun said. "But... I mean, while you're not wrong, you're not necessarily right either."
Seth raised a brow as he watched Sun struggle to come up with an argument, raising a brow with a face that clearly read he didn't really know exactly what Sun was trying to say. And as it happens, Sun didn't exactly know what to say to dissuade Seth's beliefs.
"What he means," Blake said, casually approaching, "is that relationships are more powerful than you think." She walked over to Seth, getting between him and Sun.
"Thank you for your time Sun," she said, "I'll take it from here." Sun gratefully took the opportunity to bolt, as the shadowy figures were left alone.
"You say something about 'relationships having power'?" Seth asked.
"Yes," Blake replied. "You said that the 'relationships' that are being formed like Yosuke and Makoto's don't make a lot of sense from a logical point of view, but that shows how little you actually know about people."
"Whose to say the parents of my friends would oppose the idea of their relationships? As far as I'm concerned at least, they shouldn't care where they come from. So long as their kid's partner is a good person at heart that genuinely cares about their kid and makes them happy, it shouldn't matter if they're from another city, continent, or even another world."
"Sure the whole 'marriage' thing still needs some work-around, but it's not impossible to get there one day. And even if it's not official, whose to say one can't be married in spirit? And with the ever growing transportations between place to place, the idea of living 'far away' has also been losing more of its edge, and becoming no more difficult than having somebody close to you living in Vale when you live in Menagerie."
Seth couldn't help but look away, absentmindedly picking at the collar of his jacket. "You romanticize it far too much," he said. "I think you've been reading too many romance novels," he added, his mind recalling that disastrous trip to Beacon he had to spy on them. "Aren't you supposed to be the dark one amongst your team?"
"Let's just say," Blake laughed, "my teammate's optimism has grown on me." She paused a moment as she looked at Seth. "You know," she added, holding a hand out to him. "it's contagious. If you want to actually try spending more time with all of us, it might rub off on you."
Seth looked at her with a raised brow, his gaze flicking over to the others in the cafe for a hot second, all of them still having their animated shenanigans. He knew he shouldn't bother with this, it would be a waste of time plain and simple and do nothing more than to distract him from his mission. Blake seemed to pick up on this.
"I know how you feel," she said.
"You don't know anything about me," Seth replied.
"Maybe I don't," Blake replied. "But I know how it feels to think sharing yourself with others is a waste of time. That it's unnecessary to have bonds with anybody. To think that 'this isn't what I should be doing' when you have a strong mission on your mind that you can't let anything as 'inconsequential' as bonds distract you. But I promise if you just let go, you'll find just how blessed it is to have people care about you and willing to be there to help you."
Seth looked at Blake with a surprised look. On the surface he brushed her off as just another 'beast' that wasn't worthy of his time. He barely spoke to her, as he did anybody else, mainly due to the fact that she didn't stand to insert herself into his life like Sun did.
He got the impression that there was a lot going on with her that did leave him baffled as to why she bothered spending so much time with the likes of her teammates and other companions, namely thanks to Sun never shutting up about her. How was it that somebody so seemingly cut off as her could actually open up so much and be so willing to enjoy time with other people?
Deciding to at least take the path of least resistance, Seth took Blake's hand. "Fine," he said. "I'll take part in your socialising."
"Thanks," Blake replied.
She led him by the hand to the cafe, where Seth proceeded to merely sit and listen to what the others were discussing. He was silent mainly not just because he felt it wasn't worth it, but because he honestly didn't know what they were talking about, as it was mainly just a bunch of pop-culture fluff that he never bothered following. At many instances he looked to Blake, who was quietly reading her book, who would respond with a gentle smile every now and again, putting the assassin at ease a few times.
The others were pretty happy to see Seth arrive, and while they knew he couldn't respond to their discussions, did at least make it clear they were happy to have him. And as he continued to watch, he couldn't help but feel the warmth and care that they had to one another. It was an odd thing to see, at least as compared to the contrast it presents when given his standard lifestyle.
Before he knew it, a few hours had gone by and the others had to leave. They said goodbye to one another, with Blake hanging back to bid Seth a goodnight personally. "Well," Blake said, "can I hope to see you again at another meet-up?"
Seth turned his head away, not meeting her gaze again. "Maybe," he said. And that was that, as Seth left, determined to return to his training, as Blake left with the rest of Team RWBY back for Beacon Academy.
As the team settled down for the night, naturally their conversations were consumed by the potential of Seth becoming an official member of their social clique and not somebody that had to be dragged over every time.
"As much as I don't want to say it," Yang said, hopping onto her bed now in her pajamas, "I don't think there's any way that Seth is gonna join up with us."
"I'm inclined to agree," Weiss said. "I mean there are some people that are loss causes, and Seth definitely qualified."
"I wouldn't go that far," Blake said. "I mean, remember when I was obsessed with stopping Torchwick and the White Fang, and you guys didn't give up on me?"
"That may be so," Yang said, hanging upside down on her bed to look at her partner. "But you were only determined for a few weeks, while Seth has supposedly been doing this for his whole life."
Blake looked down at the ground, knowing that Yang had a point. "That may be so," she said, "but I know for a fact that Seth isn't beyond help. If anything, he reminds me of myself in being lonely and suffering from a lack of companionship."
"I agree," Ruby said. "There are just people out there that need friends and a chance to socialize! I mean a lot of people are like that, including me! And I'm the friendly one!"
The others couldn't help but laugh, dropping the conversation for the night, with the agreement that they would at least try with Seth.
As it happens, the assassin gave up on training sooner than he had thought, as his mind was plagued by the thoughts of his escapade earlier with the others. For some reason, he kept thinking of those feelings he had, remembering what happened and how he felt just experiencing the interactions. It felt good, but he simultaneously felt something bad when he thought back on it. But what?
Longing? Loss? He couldn't place it.
Now he was just left laying on a roof, staring up at the night's sky before he went to sleep that night as he tried to figure out the things that Blake had tried to convince him about not only friendship, but love too.
Was it really possible for love to truly perpetuate across worlds? And was it really not a terrible thing for him to have love in his life? Perhaps, just perhaps, there was something about the strength in bonds that those like Kido, Narukami, and even Belladonna preached. He mulled and thought so much to the point that he was met with a new feeling that he was properly able to describe.
He felt cold.
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A/N: Hey there! This idea, suggested to me by Mystech Master, really jumped out at me as I first read it, and this story practically wrote itself. Could it be longer, maybe, but I feel I got the point across.
I've made Seth's dynamic with the cast pretty clear by this point I feel, with the others desperately trying to have him get out of his shell and be more sociable. But this chapter truly goes out of its way to go more in-depth about Seth's personal feelings regarding not just socializing in general, but particularly romance and just how pointless he sees it. The recommendation in general brought up thoughts that I hadn't considered with these pairings in regards to their families back home and particularly marriage, and required my best efforts to counteract these points.
Overall, I'm happy with how this one turned out, and hope that it was enjoyable.
Review Time!
To Naoto Redgrave: I can't deny, a clash between Naoto K. and Akatsuki would serve as a good way to bring both of them back and go more into detail about their backstory. Also, I was quite proud of Yu's transition during the last chapter, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.
To William DeGrave: I really like those suggestions! For some reason, Suzune interacting with the likes of Ragna or Qrow have been pretty common, so I'll try my best with that, and Hazama's problems with cats has also been a common suggestion, so I feel I should get to it soon!
To zucoandgutyboy14: Another good idea, and I feel Qrow would have choice words about Ragna and Rachel's relationship, especially since Ragna is practically an alternate Qrow but with even worse luck.
To ptl: I can't deny, a cross between these two would be fun, with the bizarre character relationships formed in BBTAG and the cartoonishly varried characters that Smash involves.
To fernandamichelleraya: Very apt descriptors of the characters, and now the idea of Kagura complimenting Yosuke, with the Prince of Junes getting really protective of Makoto is in my head and will not go away. Also, you suggestion of HazmaxRuby is hiserical, so I'll try to get to it soon!
To Mystech Master: Like I mentioned, this suggestion was from you, so thanks a lot! And your others are always great!
To FightingFlash64: While that idea has merit and I imagine could be funny, I also find it might be hard to write since, well, you can't hear anyone singing. If I figure out how to do that, I'll definitely get to it!
And to 5had0wHand: I have been listening to the Vol. 7 OST of RWBY on loop since it came out, my personal favorites being War, Hero, and Until the End. I like the band idea you suggested, and I couldn't be happier that CTCC is your canonical aftermath of BBTAG. Seriously, I'm so proud about that. In terms of your bullet points of questions:
- I hadn't heard of Bungou Stray Dogs before, but from what I looked up it looks interesting, and definitely has some Persona vibes about it.
- I don't plan on including any fates/series myself as I've been trying to keep purely to the game with the obvious exception of including characters from the different Fates that weren't in the game like Team JNPR from RWBY, or anyone else from Senran Kagura or Arcana Heart. The only times I've toyed with other franchises was Ch. 2, which was a shoutout to the other franchises that were considered for BBTAG like NieR and Skullgirls, and Ch. 11, which was mostly a shoutout for Heart's previous crossover game appearance, Nitroplus Blasterz. But if there's more suggestions for it, I may do a spinoff that acts as a crossover with whatever series is most desired to see.
- I actually featured Team RWBY's Vol. 7 outfits in Ch. 22, "New Arrivals 2: Nine Minus Four", but if you mean more of aspects of RWBY's canon during Vol. 7 that would require a lot~ more toying around with sliding timescales and unanswered questions of what other characters were doing between events.
- I hadn't really thought of the IT and Hyde being in that class during that time because A.) It was a one-off chapter gag, and B.) They still attend normal schools and not the likes of the Huntsmen and shinobi academies. The Licht Kries would fit more in line with that, as you mentioned.
- Yes, Insulator is about due for a focused chapter with how powerful it is for the likes of the Blazblue world and Ozpin being curious about it.
And your suggestions are really good and thoughtful, so thanks for those!
Until next time, I hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading, stay safe, wash your hands, don't hog the toilet paper, and I'll see you around!
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Winter Meets Gordeau:
"Oh merciful Schnee, there's two of them."
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