The Gala Part 2

Magna slowly followed behind an angry Weiss, a cold Winter and a serious Willow, as they entered a huge hall. His ears were still ringing from Weiss's scream, causing him to stagger as he walked.

As he bumped into a wall, Willow finally couldn't bare it as she softly picked him up and said, "Magna, your disoriented from before. I'll carry you to our table."

Magna was about to refuse when Willow's eyes glared down at him. His mouth refused to open as he could only silently accept.

Luckily, the table wasn't that far away. Once he was seated, Willow walked over to a huge table covered in a smorgasbord of expensive foods. She neatly piled food onto two plates before walking over.

"Here you go Magna." Said Willow with a smile as she laid one of the plates infront of him. Luckily, Willow gave him a crash course on table etiquette as he managed to eat without people staring at him in disgust.

A sigh escaped his mouth as Magna focused more on retaining his etiquette instead of the food, causing the meal to taste rather dull. After finishing the plate, Willow was about to ask if he wanted more when she saw the look on his face.

Her eyes showed sadness as she softly caressed his cheek, "I know how it feels. You have to use so much effort just to act like everyone else, just so they don't gossip about you. It makes even the funnest of things become empty."

Magna gave her a small smile as he thanked her for the food before letting his eyes wander around the gala. People slowly filled the room as the smell of alcohol and expensive perfumes filled the room. The smell was actually so strong that Magna could feel himself getting sick.

Suddenly, he felt a soft tug from behind and turned around.

"Here. This'll stop you from feeling sick. Weiss, mother and I have already taken one."

Seeing the small white pill, Magna quickly swallowed it as the effects started showing straight away.

Magna gave Winter a thankful hug as she blushed and returned the embrace. Once the pair released each other, Magna noticed a boy around the same age as Winter angrily storm towards him.

"What do you think your doing with my fiance, knave!?!"

Confused, Magna was just about to speak when the boy raised his hand and swung towards him. Magna grabbed Winter's hand as he mentally switched to Danny's powers and became intangible.

The boys palm went through both Magna and Winter causing him to fall to the ground. This seemed to enrage the boy even more as he hastily stood up and yelled, "HOW DARE YOU DODGE ME!?! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?! MY FATHER WILL END YOU!!!"

Suddenly, Magna's face twitched as he rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, I definitely know who you are. Your the kid causing trouble at a CHARITY GALA that's filled with reporters, just waiting for a juice story to come by. Hey, how does the headline 'Young master of a rich family causes trouble at the charity gala' sound? I just can't wait to see your father reaction when he sees your face on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper."

Seeing the flash of a camera pointed in their direction, the boys face paled as he slowly backed up. "W-wha? I… I didn't…"

Magna's eyes glowed a dim green as he stepped towards the retreating boy and said, "You didn't what? You didn't MEAN to cause a problem? You didn't MEAN to tarnish your father's reputation? Or, I know, you didn't MEAN to try and hit me and Winter?"

The boy tripped and fell to the floor, still backing away from Magna as he pleaded, "W-wait! We can talk this out, right? I'll… I'll a-apologises for my actions so, can you explain that everything was just a misunderstanding?"

Magna crouched down until he was staring into the boys eyes as he sarcastically said, "Sure thing buddy! You know what? I'll even tell them how much of a gentleman you are. I'll talk to them about how awesome of a person you are and that your father taught you everything you know?"

Completely oblivious to Magna's sarcasm due to fear, the boys eyes lit up in a hopefully light as he happily asked, "Really?"

Smiling, Magna gave the boy a quick nod and said, "Really."

A genuine smile appeared on the boys face as he said, "Thank you. Thank you so very much. I'm very sorry for my previous actions and hope that you and… W-Winter have a nice night."

The boy scrambled to his feet before taking off towards Oum knows where. Magna shrugged before making his way towards the table and returning to his seat, ignoring the dumbfounded gazes of the three Schnees before him.

Whitley just smiled as he secretly gave Magna a thumbs up. Magna secretly returned the gesture before turning towards Winter with a smile, "You okay?"

He knew she wasn't physically hurt but Magna could tell by the way she looked at the boy that she was… scared of him. Magna honestly had no clue on what could scare Winter but he knew he didn't like the look on her face when she showed fear. It just didn't match her usually stoic face.

A slightly blushed appeared on her cheeks as she softly said, "I'm fine. Thank you, Magna."

He stayed quiet for a couple seconds before saying, "…So, who was that twerp?"

Winter's hands quickly shut his mouth as she angrily whispered, "Are you insane!?! You can't just call the son of a councilman a twerp!!!"

Magna fell in thought for a couple seconds and replied, "So, who was that twerp?"

"Magna… please… I mean it. You really can't call him that." Pleaded Winter as tears gathered in her eyes.

Stunned, Magna's brain blanked for a second before his face twisted in fury. He took a couple deep breaths before gently holding Winter's hands as he hoarsely said, "Winter… what did he do to you?"

More tears streamed down her face as she rapidly shook her head and tried to break free. However, Magna wasn't having it. He continued to her hands in a gentle yet firm manner as he asked once more, "Winter… please, tell me what he did to you. I'm here for you, just let me in."

Finally, Winter couldn't hold it back anymore as she curled into his shoulder and cried. She continued for a couple minutes, completely oblivious to the fact that Magna had already taken her outside as he silently flew through the air while invisible. He honestly didn't want to give anyone else the opportunity to use Winter's sadness to grow closer to her family.

It wasn't long before Magna found the perfect place to land. It was a small flower garden filled with all sorts of white flowers. With a light blanket of snow covering the ground and the flowers, the moonlight reflected off the surface, giving the garden a sort of natural glow.

Slowly landing on a bench, Magna turned visible again as he gently tapped Winter's shoulder and said, "Winter… you feeling better now that we're out of that stuffy hall?"

Winter didn't speak as she held his shoulder and trembled. Thinking she was cold, Magna pulled her into a tight hug as he softly cuddled her. At first, Winter exploded into a deep blush as she tried to pry herself away. After struggling for a minute, Winter gave up as she sighed and quietly rested in his embrace.

The pair sat on the bench for a couple seconds before Winter slowly opened her mouth.

"His name is Sirus. His father is one of the councilmen in charge of the Atlas council. About a year ago, we were paired up for a mission. The mission was a simple one, search the outer territory of Atlas and destroy all grimm and bandits in sight."

"It wasn't a long term mission, only spanning to about 2 months. Once we were finished, I thought that we would go our separate ways. But I was wrong. After that, we were assigned to the same mission over and over again."

Winter snuggled closer to Magna before she continued, "I admit, over the repeated assignments together, we did grow close. However, I only saw him as a friend, a brother. Yet he saw me as something more."

"One night, after a mission, we went to a restaurant to celebrate. We laughed, we talked and we drank. By the end of the night, I was feeling a little tispy while he seemed perfectly fine. Then…"

Slowly, Winter started trembling harder than before as fear and anger appeared on her face, "H-He tried to have his way with me." Magna's heart dropped as his blood started to boil.

'Another little girl who almost lost her purity… what is wrong with this world!?!'

Winter clutched onto Magna as she said, "Luckily, I was much stronger than he was at the time and knocked him out before running away. However, that's not even the worst part."

Magna's eyes widened as he mentally roared, 'There's more!?! Fuck! I'm about to flip out!'

"The next day, I ran to my father to get his help but guess what he did? He smacked me across the face as he angrily said, 'Winter! What have you done!?! That was your chance to get closer to the son of a councilman! How could you knock him unconscious! Think of what that could have done for the Schnee family!?!'…"

Magna froze in place. Unconsciously, he switched to Naruto's abilities as his aura became dark and chaotic. His nails slowly sharpened as his eyes became red and animal-like. He tried his hardest to not roar as he made sure that his claws were far away from Winter's skin.

She didn't seem to notice his change as she softly said in a tired voice, "Since that day… I've always hated my father. And Sirus… I started to fear him. I knew I was stronger but I didn't fear his strength, I fear his political power. With a single word from his father, he could have me disappear and no one would remember my name."

Magna took a deep breath as he hoarsely asked, "He can't do that, can he?"

Winter sighed as she said, "Sirius's father is connected to some rather... deadly people. Every noble fears the power of these people."

"Who?" Asked Magna

"The Branwen tribe."

Magna's eyes widened. The hell? Since when did the nobles fear the Branwen tribe? With their military might, why would they fear a tribe of bandits?

Winter could easily see what Magna was thinking as she chuckled and said, "They aren't protected by the military. Atlas protects the common community while the nobles hire their own guards."

She explained to him that those who work for Atlas absolutely detest the nobles, so they refused to work for them, hence the nobles being forced to hire help.

Magna couldn't help but smirk as he learned of the divide between the commoners and the nobles. The common people hate the nobles because of their greed, refusing to aid them while the nobles show no care as they rule the city.

He didn't mean to diss Weiss or her family minus her father but he hated the nobles with a passion. Over this night alone, Magna has seen nobles attack the butlers and caterers for just looking at them wrong. All their ugly emotions could be felt through his emotion sensing. They were so dense that it started exciting Kurama's influence.

"The Branwen tribe target their businesses, costing them money. Each and every time they try and fight, the mercenaries they hired usually end up being sent back in a body bag, costing them even more money."

The pair fell silent as they both just enjoyed the others warmth. After almost a minute, Magna softly said, "What about your family?"

Winter's face slowly became furious as she said through grinding teeth, "My FATHER raised me to lead people. Most of Atlas respect me for my skills so much that they overlook the fact that my family is noble. Thanks to that, my quote on quote, 'father', hired every single student of this year as his personal army!"

Tears fell down her angry face as her voice choked, "I've had to watch my old friends and classmates die protecting me. My best friends… my rival… they all died saying the same thing… "Protect the young mistress!"..."

Hugging her close, Magna wore a smile on his face as he said, "Winter, I'm not gonna lie and tell you that I understand what your going through, because I don't. And I might never know. However, that doesn't stop me from being there for you."

It took a couple minutes but Winter finally managed to calm down and return to the stoic looking Winter that Magna has come to know and respect. She chuckled as the sound of applause echoed from the gala hall.

Hopping out of his embrace, Winter smiled and said, "Come on, Magna. The gala will be starting any minute now."

Shaking his head as he lightly sighed, Magna quickly wrapped Winter up in his arms as he flew towards the gala hall.

As they silently flew through the sky, Winter couldn't help but feel curious about something. She leaned in close and whispered, "Hey Magna, did a reporter really take a photo of you and Sirus? I'm pretty sure the reporters know not to take any photos that may harm one of the nobles reputation."

A soft sigh escaped Magna's lips as he said, "I know. It doesn't take a neuroscientist to figure out that the reporters have been bribed. I may have… lied about the reporter. Some rich lady was taking a picture of her kid so I used her to sell my story to him. Pretty smart, right?"

Winter gave him a light chuckle as she nodded, "Yes, it was very smart of you~."

Seeing the smile on Winter's face, Magna felt something inside him as his cheeks turned red. Shaking away his blush, Magna continued flying to the gala.

---

It wasn't very hard for Magna to sneak back in, considering he can turn invisible. When he and Winter appeared at their table, none of the nobles noticed them while Magna received a small glare from Weiss.

Just before he could speak, a figure slowly appeared on center stage. The man wore a blue and white suit and his appearance was the exact same as the man Magna saw in Weiss's family photos.

Magna's suspicions were soon confirmed as Winter angrily muttered through gritted teeth, "Father…"

Jacques caressed his mustache as he spoke onto the mic, "Good evening, ladies and gentleman. I take it that everyone is having a good night?"

The sound of thundering applause rang out as the nobles all clapped, showing their appreciation.

"Good! I would now like to formally welcome you all to the 48th annual charity gala, hosted by the Schnee dust company."

"It's been a rough year, hasn't it? That's why I hope that just for tonight, we can all just sit back and relax while trying to make the world a better place."

Hearing Jacques speak, Magna came to a decision. He didn't like him, not one bit. I mean, he never really liked him to begin with, especially after learning what he did to Weiss and Winter. However, now that he's heard him speak, Magna couldn't help but feel like punching him in the face. He could already feel the urge growing but held back as they were currently attending a charity gala.

Magna was brought back to reality by the sound of the Schneesters chuckling. He turned towards Winter, giving her a questioning look as he asked, "What happened?"

Winter stopped laughing as she leaned towards Magna and softly replied, "Father was trying to play the pity card, saying that he wished mother could attend the gala. He announced that mother was sick and bedridden, just like every other year. Yet, when he finished, Mother just stood up and loudly coughed, earning a rather large response from father."

She softly started laughing as she smiled, "Y-you should have seen his face… oh my Oum! That was the best expression I've even seen! He looked like he had just eaten dog food as he hastily continued on with the gala."

Suddenly, while Winter and Magna were talking, a few people wearing white uniforms came to the table as the one walking in front said, "Miss Schnee, the master wants to see you."

Winter and Magna fell silent as the four children watched the newcomers. Whitley frowned a bit before scoffing and turning back to his plate while the Schneesters looked ready to give them hell.

Magna, however, silently moved next to Willow. She gave the men a light smile as she politely said, "I'd rather not. I have children to take care of. If he wants to speak with me, tell him to come do it in person."

The man who spoke before frowned as he angrily said, "He wasn't asking. Come with me, Miss Schnee, the master wants to speak with you."

The man's hand quickly shot towards Willow's wrist as he tried to force her to come with him. However, no one could have anticipated that Magna's hand would shoot over and grab his wrist right before he could touch Willow.

Anger painted the man's face as he growled, "Let me go, brat. This is none of your concern."

Magna stayed silent as he faced towards the floor with his hair just barely covering his eyes. The man tried to yank his arm away, only to be left stunned as Magna's grip felt like a vice. The man couldn't move his arm a single inch, it was like it was frozen in place.

Finally, he showed a bit of panic as he hastily said, "L-let go of me you brat! Don't you know who I am!?!"

Suddenly, Magna's head tilted upwards, revealing his bright orange fox-like eyes as they glared into the man. He slowly increased the strength of his grip as he spoke in a grouchy and old voice, "What was that, you damn mongrel!?!"

Hearing his voice, everyone, even the Schnees, we're surprised. Magna no longer sounded like Magna. His voice had completely changed.

Due to the heightened negative emotions and his own anger that had been building over the night, Magna had somehow transferred control of his body over to Kurama.

Now, that's not to say that Magna's not in control. It's more like their souls had become one, allowing both of them to control Magna's body. Kurama was equally as stunned as the rest. He never knew he could possess a body like this. Most of the time, it was Kurama's influence that hid in his charkra that controlled his host, not he himself.

Back to the present, Magna slowly continued to crush the man's hand when Willow's hand softly landed on his head. Kurama's eyes twitched as he said in an annoyed tone, "What are you doing, woman?"

This surprised everyone again but Willow easily recovered. She softly patted his head, earning a rather interesting response as Kurama's face slowly melted in pleasure.

"W-what are you doing to me, woman!?!"

Willow couldn't help but find his actions cute as she continued to make the demon fox melt. The men from before were long gone as the could see that Magna, while still a little kid, could probably easily destroy them.

After a couple minutes, Magna's eyes slowly changed back as he laid across Willow's lap, frowning as he tried to sit up but to no avail.

Suddenly, Whitley looked at Magna and asked, "What happened to you, big brother? It's like you became someone else."