Ch. 13 Talk With a Teacher

"…But I'm glad you decided to finally show up, Glynda" Junior confidently sits up on the throne and talk with Glynda from across the room.

She's slightly taken aback, she had only read Hei Xiongs file before, yet he knew her first name. Her riding crop whip, The Disciplinarian, is in her hand and ready to be used in conjunction with her semblance. "Explain what happened here Mr. Xiong"

Junior rests his chin on the back of his right hand. "Call me Junior. I'm not one of your students nor am I older than you" His tone growing more and more sour.

"Junior" Glynda sarcastically says. "Explain why there is the scent of burnt flesh and why your right hand man is dead. While you are at it you can also explain what this room is and why it's nearly destroyed"

Junior gives a fake smile. "I'd be happy to"

"Somehow I find that hard to believe" Glynda rests her arms at her sides but is still ready to fight at a moments notice.

"Smart" Junior's smile turns into a frown as he stands up. "Because I am anything but happy right now"

Glynda's eyes narrow as her brow furrows.

Junior takes his broken sunglasses off his face and puts them in his pocket. He grabs Bazooka in its club form and walks down the steps of the throne. "Me and Derek, my right hand man as you put it, came here after finding out who did the bombings. We came down here together and fought that person. Well, it was actually 5 people. Derek unfortunately met his end but he managed to cause the 5 men to explode. You see they had extra explosives down here. Derek was stabbed with a sword and as he died he pulled a pin on a grenade. That grenade caused a chain reaction. That's why the walls and floors have the holes and damages and why some of the machines are also pieces of scrap now"

Glynda listens to the story Junior is telling as he walks over to the dead body of Derek. She isn't sure if this is the truth or not, but the damage around the room was certainly caused by explosions. But a few don't make sense. Such as the barely noticeable footprints on the ceiling.

Junior stands with a frown on his face, Derek's blood puddle right in front of his feet. "As for this room… I have no idea. The man in charge didn't say much. He was just a big bald idiot that basically blew himself and his 4 other men up. If Derek didn't do it I'm sure that guy would have found a way. This room is just a creepy dungeon room that may or may not collapse soon. But it's held up so far. How about we talk after leaving here? I would like to get away from this stench and get Derek's body out of here"

Glynda can see that Junior wants out of this room. Her job was just to come down here and end whatever fight was going on. As there isn't a fight anymore she has no reason to stay here, she just has to file the paperwork. And for that she needs Junior's recount of the events since he is the only one alive that can give a statement. "I also do not want to stay down here longer than necessary. But what is the machinery for?"

Junior half shrugs. "Not too sure. They're old and they are covered in spider webs. Not sure about you but I fucking hate spiders. I didn't exactly search them"

"So you don't know" Glynda simplifies. "Let us get going. I'll have some people come down here to collect 'Derek's' body" She can clearly see that Derek's body is badly beaten but not damaged by an explosion. But she can't exactly do much about that right now.

"I'll carry him. I don't wanna leave him down here longer than necessary. He deserves better than this place" Junior flatly says and tosses Bazooka through the air at Glynda.

The huntress quickly summons a purple glyph in the air and stops Bazooka from crashing into her. She angrily glares at Junior for throwing this thing at her. But then she sees him pick up the bloody body of Derek and lets this slide for now. Junior may be a criminal with aura, but that doesn't mean she can just retaliate. And it's not as if Junior is hostile.

Junior holds Derek's body with an arm around his shoulders and an arm underneath his knees. The blood of the body dripping and covering Junior's clothes. Derek's body is relatively light, but carrying it mentally weighs a lot on Junior's mind.

Glynda grabs the handle for Bazooka and turns towards the exit. "Let's get going"

Junior begins going towards the exit. He sees Glynda stop at the door. "I'm dripping blood here. Why don't you go ahead? I don't want to pay for your dry cleaning"

Glynda's eye twitches slightly. "Thanks for being so considerate" She doesn't bother fighting him on this. As long as they both leave it doesn't matter. And the stench down here is beginning to get a little unbearable, it was also bringing back some rather unpleasant memories for the huntress.

Junior follows Glynda up the long staircase. He stays silent the entire time. The only sounds echoing are their footsteps and their breath. The occasional sound of blood drops hitting the stone steps can be heard.

Once at the top Glynda commands some people to go down there since the are is secured from anyone hostile. People go down to do their various jobs, the major one being the forensics team.

As Glynda was talking with the various people Junior doesn't say anything and walks past her. It's still dark out and the bodies littering the street are still being cleaned up.

Junior goes over to a person leading the cleanup and lays Derek on an empty body bag. This person is on his payroll. "This is Derek Blaize"

The man looks shocked at seeing the body and when he sees the stone cold expression of Junior he quickly nods. "Understood, he will be taken care of"

Junior watches as the man tells some other guys to move the body of Derek somewhere special. As Derek gets carried away Junior feels like….. he doesn't even know at this point what he's feeling.

After a minute of standing in the street Junior goes back towards the abandoned building and leans his back against the bricks. He wipes his bloodied hands on his pants where they aren't bloody. He also takes off the glove on his left hand.

When his hands are relatively clean he takes out Derek's scroll. Junior wouldn't forget to take this. He turns it on to make sure it works and then after making sure it's alright he puts it away. Then he takes out a cigarette and the lighter. His hands are slightly shaking. It might be because he's angry or because he's sad. He's dealt with death before, but this is the first one that really affects him.

As he lights the cigarette he lets himself drop to the ground. He runs his hands through his hair and pushes it back. Junior leaves his hands on his head and looks down at the ground.

Glynda walks out of the building a minute later. She was rushing into the building too fast to see all the bodies littering the streets. She only saw them, she didn't get to count them and take in how many there really were. "Is this all your handiwork?"

Junior rests his arms on his knees and lifts his head. "I can only take half credit"

Glynda sets Bazooka against the wall between her and Junior. She folds her arms under her chest. "Derek takes the other half?"

"Yeah…" Junior looks out across the street.

"So what made you think it was a good idea to charge in with only 2 people?" Glynda asks, trying to understand this situation better.

"You know… I am asking myself that same question" Junior blows some smoke up into the night air.

Glynda looks down at the young man. "You do know that this doesn't look good for you"

Junior takes the cigarette from his lips and drops it to the ground and moves his foot onto it and crushes it. "I don't normally smoke very often, it's just something Derek used to do"

"I was talking about how you are the only one that survived and so many people are dead" Glynda shakes her head.

"Oh, right" Junior looks at the many dead bodies getting cleaned up. He turns towards Glynda and gives a small smile. "Would you believe me if I said they attacked first?"

Glynda gives an unamused expression in return to Junior's smile. "When this many people fight 2 people it's hard to say who is at fault when the 2 win. I'd leave it up to a mob mentality. But did you and Derek come here looking for a fight and instigate it?"

Junior tilts his head to the right. "My 'house' is not that far away. It's just at the other side of the industrial district… not this shady and crappy part"

"The entire industrial district is shady Junior" Glynda says like it's obvious.

"But my part isn't AS shady Glynda…" Junior finds it hard to even get back to try and make a decent conversation with one of the characters he enjoyed in the show. "These people tried to kill us. There was also a sniper up on that building as well"

Glynda follows Junior's gaze and sees a building down the street. "Good to know. And that makes this much more serious. If they had a sniper it means they were expecting something. I'd say your situation is looking better"

Junior takes out Derek's lighter. It's a black steel color with gold flames designed on it. He flicks it opened and closed. "How many innocents are counted dead from the bombings? Last I heard it was around 100"

Glynda studies Juniors face as he turns the lighter on and then flicks it closed over and over. "Last I heard there are 167 dead. Many more injured"

Junior flicks the lighter closed. "Gods…"

"But you've taken care of the ones responsible right? Even if it was stupid not to contact the police or a huntsman" Glynda is stuck with the story Junior spun and she can't check if it's true or false at the moment. It'll take a while to see if it's the truth or not.

"I have" Junior clenches his left hand. He doesn't want to crush the lighter in his right. He's done playing the passive game when it comes to Spider. They're all getting kicked out of his city by the end of the week. And there is no way Rue is getting off.

"Do you know the name of the 5 men that orchestrated this whole thing?" Of Glynda can get some names she can do her job much faster, might even get some time to relax herself.

"I might. I don't have their last names, but they called each other by their first names or something" Junior rests his head back against the brick wall. He can see Glynda standing next to him looking at him. But he just looks up at the shattered moon. "Big idiot is Denton. Then there was Alvaro, Raff with 2 fs, Chris, and Sal. Don't know their last names but they were all bald"

Glynda raises an eyebrow. "That should make tracking them down easier"

"Hopefully" Junior closes his eyes. "What do I do now?" He asks himself out loud.

He has lots of things he can do. But first he has to inform his men that Derek is dead and find out how many of the 167 dead are his men. He has to contact his people that are currently outside of Vale on missions…. and have a talk with Lavi that he really doesn't want to have. Then he has Rue to deal with. He wants to kill her, or at least rip her vocal cords out. She can still write her answers right?

"You should get yourself cleaned up and get some rest" Glynda comments.

Junior opens his eyes and looks down at his suit that is ruined. "You're right. I also have to organize the funerals. Set aside the money for the funerals and reconstruction of the destroyed buildings…"

"Funerals? As in plural? How many people did you know that died?" Glynda is confused about why Hei Xiong would organize multiple funerals. "And why would you decide to rebuild the destroyed buildings?"

Junior stares at Glynda's face, she really does look very youthful. Although, he doesn't exactly know her age. "I plan to cover the costs for a majority of this incident. I think that might help the people of Vale. I'll cover the funerals and hospital bills of those injured or killed in this unfortunate series of events. It might also decrease the number of Grimm attracted here. And just because I can" There is also the reason that it'll boost his image in Vale. And there are a few less popular reasons as well. Like how a few people would owe him favors. It also will make his club that much more popular.

"Why would you… What do you gain?" Glynda knows Hei Xiong is not the giving type. His father would have fathered make more money off of something like this, but Junior wants to spend money. And this won't be cheap.

Junior shakes his head. "I'm not running for a political office if you are thinking that. I just want to help those in need. Just because I'm not good doesn't mean I'm bad. Unlike you and Oz I don't mind getting my hands dirty… and let the public know about it"

Glynda stares daggers at his face for a few seconds before she pinches the bridge of her nose. "Why do I even bother?"

"Because you're a good person Glynda. You care about the people of Vale and I'm not exactly a good guy. You are just being cautious which is a good thing. But I truly don't have any ulterior motives. Unless you count my club being less busy and me wanting it to get it back to normal as soon as possible" Junior tries to play the bad guy role but he just can't seem to get his mind back into it.

Glynda can see that Junior is extremely tired. She guesses that Junior doesn't know how tired he truly is either considering his actions and words. "Wanting your business to do well is not the issue, at least not the issue that I'm talking about"

Junior grabs Bazooka and uses it to help himself stand up. "Is there anything else you want to know? I should really get back to my house. Lots of things to do and not enough time to do them"

Glynda looks up at the moon. "There are many things. But I've gotten all I need for now"

"For now?" Junior looks down at his vest and dress shirt and they're covered in blood that is getting cold. "Does that mean I'll be seeing you soon?"

"Likely not. Expect some paperwork from the police soon" Glynda points The Disciplinarian at the destroyed street and building across the street. A purple glyph forms and the street and building repair themselves thanks to Glynda's semblance.

Junior unbuttons his vest and dress shirt. "That's nifty" He takes the best and short off and begins walking away and waves over his shoulder. "I'll see you around Glynda"

"I certainly hope not" Glynda says as she turns towards Junior who is now shirtless and walking away. She lets him go, no point in keeping the young man here. He's as old as the graduates from Beacon but he has a lot more maturity than most of them. Junior also looks older than he actually is, his beard and the build of his body makes him look older but still relatively young. She is sure that Ozpin will be keeping a closer eye on Junior after this.

As Junior walks away he holds Bazooka and his blood clothes in his right hand. He leaves his left hand free. He plans on going back to the club, taking a shower, drinking himself to sleep, then talking with Lavi after sending out the message for the others to return to Vale, finding out how many people are actually dead, getting the whole money and resources sorted out, then telling his men about the dead and how they will move forward.

As Junior walks down the street he wonders why Glynda specifically was sent. Perhaps Ozpin was moving around after what happened in Vale? Junior remembers that these next 4 years until cannon starts are about to get very busy.

——————

Junior makes it back to the club and walks past the men standing outside it. He doesn't say anything to anyone as he walks in. He gets to the automatic doors leading to the actual club and walks in. Not much is going on. The lights are all on and Deadb3ar is just lazily standing behind the turntables as he waits for news. A bunch of Xiong men are standing around in their black suits talking amongst eachother. The club is closed due to the bombings recently so it's not like his men are very busy.

Everyone stops when Junior walks in. They see that he is carrying Bazooka and some bloody clothes in his right hand. And they see that Junior is also covered in blood as well.

"There are a total of 167 deaths from the bombings as of right now! Me and Derek took care of the ones responsible! I'm gonna clean up and get some sleep, I recommend you all do the same. Go and be with your families, or stay here among our family I don't care" Junior then goes through the back doors and begins walking towards his room.

Along the way he spots Lavi sitting on the ground as her head bobs up and down as she falls asleep but tries to stay awake. Lavi is sitting against a door that Rue is probably inside of.

Junior walks up to her he gently kicks her foot.

"Wha-! I wasn't sleeping!" Lavi shouts as she wakes up and looks at Junior's shoes that have blood on them and are really scuffed up. She then looks up at Junior and sees his body covered in blood.

She uses her semblance and teleports in front of Junior on her feet. She doesn't touch him but waves her arms over his body. "Oh my Gods! What happened!? When I saw you last you covered in blood! What took so long?! Are you ok?! What happened?! Who is the girl?! Did you die?! Are you a ghost?!-"

Junior flicks Lavi on her forehead to get her to stop. "Calm down Lavi. I'll explain things to you in a bit. I am fine. Me and Derek took care of things. That girl is dangerous, make sure that she stays in there. This blood isn't mine. I'm going to take a shower no, after I plan to get some sleep. After that I'll explain what happened for you ok? Now make sure the girl stays in there. And under no circumstances are you to let her out or listen to her"

Lavi watches as Junior walks past her after he finished talking. She rubs the spot where she was flicked. She didn't question why he wasn't wearing his shirt or vest, he reeked of a strong iron smell and of cigarettes. But she does wonder why this girl is so dangerous and why he didn't actually flick her forehead hard like he usually does.

——————

Junior gets to his room and strips the bloody pants off. He tosses the ruined suit into a random corner of the room and goes into the bathroom after grabbing a bottle alcohol. He turns the shower on and uncaps the bottle as he begins drinking.

After a few gulps of the stinging liquid he sets the bottle down. He lets his mind go, he feels the weight of the future crash down on his shoulders. The fact that anyone can die and that they will likely die. He has been lucky so far and hasn't had any close deaths. His real father had not done much to shake him, but Derek's death is like a magnitude 8 or higher earthquake.

Derek was his second in command. His father figure growing up. And when he took over the body Derek was his teacher and assistant. Derek also began to loosen up around Junior and they became friends that could joke with eachother.

Maybe that was his mistake.

Junior got too attached. He has to save the world from an immortal witch that has a broken heart. He needs to save Remnant. He can do this in many ways. But all of them require different sacrifices.

Hearing Derek ask if Junior planned the old man's death really shook him. Junior did plan out various ways he would risk Derek's life. But it wasn't just Derek. It was Lavi's life, the upper family's lives, and even his own. He didn't like doing it, but he had to do something. It's also what made him go kinda crazy, he felt like General Ironwood when he got super paranoid later in the series. But now he plans on taking a step back. Don't try to tackle the biggest issue, break it down and slowly work towards that end goal.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Or in this case saves the world from angry twin God brothers.