It was admittedly pretty hard for Yin to keep a straight face when she saw Roman and Neo staring at the walking, talking black cat who was standing atop the table where they usually had their meetings. The table which had hosted a few gang bosses not too long ago (on Remnant anyway).
"...So do you wanna explain.. the fuck?" Roman asked, pointing at Shade.
"That's Shade. Say hi, Shade."
"Hi." Shade greeted after Yin prompted him, then remained silent.
'A talking cat... (゜ロ゜)' Neo stared up at the Exceed in sheer awe.
'I love him! Does he do crimes!? Does he like ice cream? Guns!? (´▽｀)'
Yin snorted as Neo excitedly conveyed her feelings and tried to grab the Exceed. He simply avoided her hug and stood on her head, arms still folded.
"He's magic. He does like dairy, I haven't introduced him to firearms yet and.. yeah I think he'll enjoy doing crimes. As long as he doesn't lose aura doing so." Yin shrugged while Shade nodded slightly.
"Well he'd only lose aura if he took a few hits. What? Is he afraid of getting hurt? That's strangely adorable." Roman smirked, leaning on Melodic Cudgel.
"I'm not afraid of pain. I long for the day I can walk through a Ruin Dragon's breath attack unphased and say 'That tickled'. That.. is the pinnacle I seek." Shade stated, scoffing at Roman's attempt to get under his skin.
'Wh-Why would Yin fry you like that!?(; ﾟ ﾛﾟ)'
"No.. I wouldn't do that. He's basically saying he wants to look cool and badass. He doesn't literally mean aura.." Yin shook her head with a small sigh.
"Yes I do.. Master has an ocean's worth of aura I easily lose myself within.." Shade affirmed.
Yin shook her head mirthfully and moved her ergonomic chair back. Folding her hands over her knee, Roman and Neo both sat down and prepared to talk business.
"How are the gangs acting after our big skirmish with the Atlesians?" She asked, letting her requip magic change her appearance into the redheaded gang boss persona; Ryuko.
"Quiet. Aside from the Spiders and Hatter. Lil Miss Malachite is pulling her few Mistralian forces back to Mistral. Needs the muscle back in her turf and also serves to tell you she has no intention of fighting you next. So.. she already knows you'll fill the power vacuum in Vale. Hatter? He's called. Wants to know when you're available to meet with him." Roman explained, twirling his cane against the floor.
"Ooh?~ I'll stop by his place tomorrow. Though to be honest.. I expected that big baaad Bull, Adam Taurus to try making a play after the Atlesians were dealt with~." Yin, fully getting into character as Ryuko, hummed thoughtfully.
"That brute lost a good amount of his White Fang grunts when he ordered them to charge in against mechs. Not a very good strategist, that one. And his gang mostly consists of the average bitter Faunus who don't like humans very much. Unskilled, undisciplined and hotheaded make for a real menagerie of a gang.." Roman smirked at his own joke, ignoring the dramatic self-inflicted gunshot gesture Neo was doing to her head in protest to his joke.
"Hmhmhm~ So the real threat is simply Adam himself. And.. oh what were they called? That other rag-tag gang.. The Dragonslayers? Funny..." Ryuko softly chuckled to herself.
"Hnh..? Do they know magic, my Redheaded Master?" Shade asked, his little arms folded still.
Ryuko shook her head, tapping her nails against the table. Magic was very limited on Remnant. But with a name like theirs? There had to be a story there. Given that Hatter had some contact with a 'door' that led to another world like Deadman Wonderland, she wondered if the gang had some kind of multiversal contact of some kind.
"They're a group of intrerest. But right now, I need to corral the others under my banner. As a future Queen of the Underworld, I don't tolerate rivals within my domain~."
Shade wiped a tear from his eye and nodded proudly. Neo licked her lips, acting much like a woman in the desert who had seen an oasis.
"The tagalong Mistralians too. The ones that cowered behind Lil Miss' skirt during the meeting. She pulled out and they're scrambling to make a decision. Either roll over for you and get their slices of pie or act on their greed and die fighting for a bigger piece. I'm banking on them rolling over.." Roman kicked his feet up and gave an educated guess.
"I can solve the gang issue with a friendly little meet up.. We'll paint our nails, talk about our crushes... see who supports me and who.... doesn't. And we'll sort everything out by the end of the week~!" Ryuko smiled sweetly, ignoring the small shiver from Roman and the blatant bedroom eyes Neo was sending her way.
'I love it when you talk dirty like that.. (●´⌓`●) ' Neo rubbed her hands together, expressing her enthusiastic approval.
"Welp, implied murder aside.. The most important thing we wanna do now is.."
Ryuko nodded and finished his sentence, "Deal with the Councilors. You have the dirt on them?"
Roman nodded, sliding his scoll over to her. Ryuko hummed as she scrolled through the files on Roman's scroll.
"Treinan, frequents the Xiong Nightclub quite a bit behind his wife's back. Always pays top dollar for a.. 'Candi'. I can see why.." She smirked, seeing the high class escort on the screen.
"Drugging, whoring and illegal gambling. He's actually a saint compared to the rest of 'em." Roman added, lighting a cigar for himself.
Ryuko went through the list of names with a calm expression that slowly gave way to disgust as she scrolled.
"Bernard. Human and Faunus trafficking, multiple labor law violations, bibery, slavery, child exploitation. Kilroy. Sex trafficking, drugging, illegal gambling, whoring, extortion, murder, rape. Winchester. Sexual harrassment of staff at the Xiong Nightclub, extortion, murder, racketeering through multiple soon to be inherited businesses, laundering, bribery." Ryuko read the listed crimes aloud and scrolled through images.
Some were far more distasteful than others.
"Kilroy is a sex fiend, Bernard is a business-oriented criminal in a high place, Treinan cheats on his wife, snorts coke and gambles in small stakes and Winchester... Winchester fancies himself a future King of the Underworld." Ryuko noted.
"Neo, get ready. We're going to be visiting a few people tonight~." Ryuko ordered the little assassin, who saluted her and hopped off her seat with a quick flourish and grabbed her umbrella/weapon, Hush.
"Boss lady, I hate to dash any murder-boner you may or may not have but Kilroy is more useful to us alive than dead." Roman warned, earning himself a headpat from Ryuko as she walked past him.
"I'm well aware, my little Pogchamp~. I'm simply going to be a little more aggressive in the.. negotiations with him than the rest." Ryuko assured him with a charming smile.
Roman sighed and shook his head. He knew better than to argue for the sake of a rapist and sex trafficker. Shade leapt off the table and flew beside Ryuko as she headed to the exit with Neo.
"I'll be back. Don't burn down the house~"
-Unknown chamber, that night-
Twelve figures sat at a large, round stone table within a dim chamber. If one had looked in from outside, it may have resembled some ancient cultist room. The walls and floor were made of cracked stone and obsidian, giving the impression the chamber had been built with ill intent. As it fit the aesthetics of Grimm so well.
Yet, if the chamber itself looked evil, ancient and gloomy, the residents seated around the round slab of stone that was a table, definitely looked out of place. Men and women of different age, skin color, hair color and race sat, dressed in a wide range of different clothing. From shabby, basic clothing to luxurious, colorful robes and tailored suits.
To an outsider, it might have looked like a gathering of Huntsmen.
"So.. we're all here. You just HAD to call us huh?" A particularly annoyed sounding young man with shoulder length blond hair and red eyes spoke first, folding one leg over the other and looking at the other eleven participants.
"Third, you're too impertinent.." A woman with long, flowing black hair that covered her face spoke up. Her red ram horns indicated her Faunus heritage and her sheer size, sitting at over two meters tall, gave her an imposing presence.
"Pardon my irritation, Sixth. I was in the middle of something when this stupid meeting was called. Get a fucking scroll so we don't have to travel across Remnant for this shit." The blond retorted, his irritation evident.
"Apologies. But the ceremony of it is important. I ask that you respect it. These meetings do not get called often, Third." So said the man in a black suit, his white hair pulled back, showing his aged but sharp features.
Lucius Chrollo looked to the gathered twelve. The strongest of his kind, the Mythic Grimm, the Demigods. Following his words, most of the twelve looked pacified. Though the blond, Third and a figure wrapped head to toe in thick red robes, still seemed agitated. He ignored it.
"This concerns a particularly interesting individual who recently popped up. The slayer of Ifrit, my daughter and Garmr. The girl." Lucius stated plainly, not even an iota of emotion in his voice.
"Ifrit was the weakest and your daughter was still young and thought herself our equal. Garmr though? Thirteenth? He wasn't too far from us in strength." The Ram Faunus stated with mild interest, fingers tapping the table.
"He was not. But several things have been made clear in the recent battle she fought against the two." Lucius paused, looking over them all. "One, she was not alone. There was somebody else with her that nearly rivaled her in strength. Carrying with them the power of the Brother of Light."
Several of them sneered in disgust and hatred.
"A Silver Eyes? I was under the impression only one remained. And we have a plan for her." The blond, Third asked.
Lucius shook his head, "No. Their power was pure. Perhaps the antithesis of us. What matters is the girl. She intends to challenge us. To slay us. Her name is Yin Xiaolong."
One of them leaned forward upon hearing the name. A man covered in red tattoos, holding a gnarled wooden walking stick and covered in luxurious robes, scoffed. His long white hair draped down his back like a cape but his face was aged, missing an eye. His expression one of silent rage.
"The Beormir's hated enemy. The daughter of Raven." He spat, spitefully.
Lucius nodded impassively, "Yes, Odin. Her. I advise you all to take her seriously. She has risen from somebody beneath notice, to a true and tangible threat to us. She is akin to us."
"So.. do you think he turned her?" The blond asked and the chamber immediately became suffocatingly quiet when he did.
Lucius' expression shifted. Anger, sadness, hope and resignation flashed by in an instant. He shook his head.
"No.. he has not been on Remnant in Centuries, I believe. Even tormenting Salem hasn't interested him enough to bring him back.. No. He waits and sleeps at the last place his Father touched. The shattered moon."
Several of them seemed relieved by the news. Lucius didn't blame them. They could only call themselves Demigods as long as he wasn't around. Because he was truly the God of Darkness' child. While the rest of them were once mortals, turned by him. The original terror, the scourge of mankind. The King of Grimm.
"She is likely from beyond the doors he entrusted us to guard. We must coordinate. We cannot get cocky, she's already killed three of us already. For our own sake and for what we guard over, we must group up."
"Just because she killed Garmr? Please.. I'll eradicate her. Point me to her." Third sneered.
"As much as I hate to agree with him.. We're far stronger than Garmr, First." Sixth chimed in, followed by a few nods and vocal agreements.
"It seems.. in your long lives, you have become arrogant. This, however.. is not a democracy. This was not a suggestion to you all." Lucius' eyes darkened as he leaned back, a subtle yet violent feeling permeating the chamber.
A few of the figures had backed off, but five still openly defied him, their eyes gleaming a bloody red as they rose from their seats.
"Do you wish to be reminded why this is not a Democracy? Why I am the First? Good. I'll have the reminder carved into your hides."
The chamber exploded with violence, howls and beastial roars. Though, apparently that wasn't too odd for a meeting held by monsters..
-Winchester mansion-
At that same time, Eagel Winchester was just arriving back at his manor. An opulent house that was passed down for generations. Having come back from a long day of his 'official' Councilman duties, he couldn't wait until the Underworld's business wrapped up.
All he needed to do was talk to whomever the new owners of his favorite establishments were and cut the same deal he did last time. And maybe he could take some territory for himself. There must have been enough casualties to muscle in. Finally, he could start making moves in the dark. And then, he'll have his fellow Councilmen by the balls and leverage his way up high enough so even Ozpin wouldn't be able to touch him.
He smirked as he thought about it, walking his halls on his way to his study, in the East wing. He hadn't even noticed the lack of security personnel or how utterly silent his manor was.
Not until he turned on the lights to his study and saw a certain curvaceous redhead that had been trending on Scrolltube, currently sitting in his seat while a multicolored girl held his son, Cardin at bladepoint.
"Welcome home, Councilman. Shall we have a chat?"