Breathe Chapter 55: Double Date

Sitting across from Pyrrha and Winter at one of the nicer restaurants in Vale, I stared down at my menu, not looking at anything in particular... And I meant that quite literally. I’d been using the increased perception of the Transparent World to slow everything down and give myself to catch up.

Seconds lingered on for far longer than they should as everything moved in slow motion. It was by far one of my most useful abilities.

Somehow... Partially thanks to Maria... I’d asked Pyrrha and Winter out on a date and they’d both said yes. It was both exciting and a little terrifying at the same time. One wrong move here and I could end up hurting two people I really cared about.

Seeing an extremely slow movement out of the corner of my eye, I looked up and blinked, allowing the world to shift back into its normal state and time to continue to tick on by.

“Are you alright?” Pyrrha asked. Reaching out, she grabbed my hand. “You’ve been staring at your menu for a while now... Twitching a little. The only time I’ve ever seen you like this is when you’re fighting.”

Sighing, I smiled and held Pyrrha’s hand. “I’m fine... Just a little nervous I guess. This is a little new to me.”

“New to you?” Winter asked curiously. “I was under the impression that you and Pyrrha had been dating for a while now.”

“Actually, we only officially started going out after killing the Leviathan Grimm back in Argus,” Pyrrha smiled prettily. Giving my hand a squeeze, she released it and leaned back in her chair. “This is technically our second date... Excluding all the time we’ve spent together going on missions and training.”

“Then I suppose that means that none of us have much experience with this,” Winter noted. Seeing my questioning look, she continued. “Training to be a Specialist in Atlas didn’t exactly leave me much free time, let alone enough to start a relationship. I never really considered one until... Well... Until I started spending time around Coal.”

“But... If you felt that way then why didn’t you say anything?” Pyrrha asked.

“Because I didn’t want to get in the way of your relationship,” Winter explained. “Although I haven’t said it aloud, I do consider us friends and I didn’t want to make things awkward between us if either one of you had a problem with this.”

Nodding along, I got where Winter was coming from. It was the same reason I’d never brought it up... Until Maria pretty much forced my hand that is. I was still surprised that Pyrrha seemed so open to all of this.

Pyrrha beamed at being called a friend. “Well I’m glad things are working out now.”

Smiling, Winter turned towards me. “And you, Coal? How do you feel about all of this?”

“Still a little shocked that you said yes,” I admitted. “But overall, I'm really happy that you did.”

“I see,” Winter hummed, hiding a small smile. “I’m happy that you asked... Although, I do have to ask what comes after this? The restaurant I mean,” She clarified.

Ah, well I did have a few ideas on that, but I’d leave it up for the both of them to decide on which was best. “If you’re both up for it, there is an amusement park on one of the piers or we could go to the cinema if you two want. I still need to replace the Dust I borrowed from Pyrrha... What do you two think?”

“That sounds like fun,” Pyrrha hummed. “But perhaps we could save the Dust store for last,” She suggested. “What do you think, Winter?”

Seeing both Pyrrha and my gaze settle on her, Winter stiffened slightly. “I’ve never been to an amusement park before.”

“Never?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Father,” She said with a hint of venom while glaring at the table. “He never allowed us to go. In his eyes, they were a waste of time. One of the many things he wouldn’t permit us to enjoy.”

That did sound a lot like Jacques. Although he was a great businessman, he was a crap person.

I shared a look with Pyrrha before nodding. “I guess we’re going to the amusement park first.”

“Hm,” Winter hummed as she looked up. “Sorry, we don’t have to go. I simply got caught up reminiscing about my childhood.”

“I think it would be fun,” Pyrrha chimed in. “It’s been a few years since I last went to an amusement park.” Her smile tightened a little. “It was a little difficult when some of my more... Enthusiastic fans made going a little difficult.”

Speaking of overly enthusiastic fans, it was surprisingly quiet here. While there were a few people in the restaurant, none of them had paid us much attention, which, since this was a date, I was more than grateful for. It was just a little odd.

“So–“ I began.

“Hey kid,” A man said, tapping me on the shoulder with something. “Mind moving to another table, this is my spot.”

I spoke too soon.

“There’s plenty of other tables here,” I said, turning around. “Why don’t you...” I paused.

Of all the times I could have run into Roman freaking Torchwick, it had to be when I was on a date with Pyrrha and Winter.

“Great, another one,” Roman muttered under his breath. “At least you’ve got that gaudy tattoo on the right side. Let me guess, you three decided to play dress up thinking you’d get attention?” He asked, his eyes panning over to Winter and Pyrrha. “I’ll admit, that’s a pretty realistic Specialist uniform, but that Pyrrha Nikos outfit is just tacky.”

“What?” Pyrrha asked, looking down at her maroon jersey.

“Roman Torchwick,” Winter realized. Standing, she grabbed her sword’s handle. “Come quietly and no one will get hurt.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, girly, but that’s not going to work on me. This is the real world,” Roman said, leaning on his cane. “People actually get hurt here. So why don’t you three just leave and we’ll call it even.”

As entertaining as it was having Roman think we were cosplayers, it was about time I put this to an end.

Moving faster than he was able to react, I gripped his arm tightly and pulled him down while hitting him behind his knees, dropping him to the floor in a kneeling position.

Grunting in surprise, he attempted to roll to the side, only to find himself stuck in place by a glowing Glyph below him. Eyes widening when he saw what it was, his head jerked back as he looked between us once more.

“Oh come on! I can’t be that unlucky!” He complained. “You’re the real Coal Calavera, Winter Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos?!”

“I’m afraid so,” I hummed.

“I guess you got me then,” Roman sighed deeply. “Go ahead and call the cops. I know when I’m beat.”

Yeah, I wasn’t buying that for a second. Looking around the restaurant, I made sure to note exactly where everyone was before looking over them again while using the Transparent World... And just as I thought, there was an extra person standing in the room only a few feet behind Roman holding what appeared to be an umbrella.

Neopolitan.

Roman was just waiting for the moment that we let him out of our sights before having Neo help him escape. Since she was able to make physical illusions, no one would even realize that she was there.

“Actually, Winter, would you mind not calling the cops yet,” I requested. “There’s something that I want to talk to Roman about. I won’t be long.”

“Very well.” Placing her Scroll on the table, Winter sat back down.

“Thank you,” I replied before directing my attention towards the downed thief. “Now, Roman... You seem like a person with a lot of connections. I’ve been wondering, have you met anyone interesting lately?”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to narrow it down a little, kid,” Roman muttered. “I’m going to need details.”

“Hazel Rainart,” I answered. “Or anyone you think could be working with him?”

“I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, kid, but I’m a thief... A high class one at that, but still just a thief,” He replied. “Teaming up with that lunatic just isn’t my style. If Vale was destroyed, who would I steal from?”

Giving him a hard look, I sighed. It seemed that he hadn’t come into contact with Cinder yet. While not exactly bad news, it wasn’t good either.

“Excuse me,” One of the Waiters called out, approaching our table. “Is there a problem here?”

“This is a Huntsman issue,” Winter answered, displaying her Specialists license on her Scroll. “If at all possible, please keep everyone away from our table until it’s resolved.”

Eyeing the license, the Waiter nodded. “I’ll inform the rest of the staff.”

“One second,” I requested, stopping the waiter. “Could I get a piece of paper and a pen? There’s something that I need to write down.”

“Would these be enough?” The Waiter asked, holding out his notepad and pencil.

“That would be perfect, thank you,” I said. Waiting for the waiter to leave, I scribbled down a few things on the paper before folding it in half. “If you ever come into contact with someone that you think is working with Hazel or if you ever hear the name Salem... Give me a call.”

“While I appreciate the sentiment, I doubt the cops are going to let me keep anything,” Roman muttered. “Unless you’re planning on letting me go.”

While the thought did cross my mind, freeing him wouldn’t be necessary.

“I wasn’t actually talking to you,” I hummed. Getting up, I stepped past Roman and held the note out towards Neo, reaching through her illusion. “Here you go.”

Eyes widening with worry, Neo gripped her umbrella tightly while staring at the folded piece of paper. Looking up, our eyes met and she snatched the paper before taking off in a sprint, leaving several illusions behind in an attempt to stall for time

“Wha?! Don’t just leave me here, Neo!” Roman yelled as he watched his partner in crime take off. “Damn, you think she could have taken me with her, but no... Apparently not.”

“You can go ahead and call the police now, Winter,” I said, sitting back down at the table. “Oh, and Roman. If you decide to go ahead and join Hazel’s group, you should know that you’ll make yourself an enemy of the entirety of Remnant and be hunted down... If you haven’t already been killed by his group once they get what they want.”

“I, uh... I think I got it,” Roman gulped softly, looking far more subdued now.

It didn’t take too long for the police to arrive once Winter made her call. Slapping a pair of cuffs that were pretty much useless to anyone that had their Aura unlocked on Roman, they escorted him into some kind of mobile containment cell that was sealed shut behind him.

The entire process barely took twenty minutes, but it felt like quite a bit longer. Sighing, I leaned back in my chair.

“Are you alright?” Winter asked, appearing a little concerned. “You look a little...” She trailed off.

“I’m fine,” I answered. “I just wanted this date to go a little more smoothly. For you two to enjoy yourselves.”

“You really put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?” Pyrrha asked, smiling softly. “What you’re not realizing is that it’s not the date we care about, Coal. It’s you.”

Perking up a little, I turned to Winter who nodded.

“I grew interested in you because of the person I’ve come to know on and off the battlefield, not during a date,” Winter said. “Besides... If you’re truly bothered by it, we could always try again until we get it right.”

“I think I’ll have to take you up on that offer,” I hummed, feeling myself begin to relax.

...Breathe...

After an eventful lunch, we soon found ourselves heading to the amusement park and I had to say, I’d underestimated how large it would be. The pier, if one could even call it that, appeared more like an expanse of land that stretched out onto the ocean.

The only part of it that actually appeared like a regular pier was the end that had what looked like a partially built Ferris wheel that sat on the edge, right by the water.

I was more than a little grateful to be handed a map of the park upon entry.

“So, this is an amusement park,” Winter commented, taking a step back to avoid colliding with a kid that rushed past while his apologetic mother followed closely behind. “It's certainly a lot more active than I thought it would be.”

“It is the weekend,” Pyrrha replied. “So that’s kind of to be expected. Unfortunately, places like these are only really open on weekends and holidays so it’s pretty much unavoidable.”

“I see,” Winter hummed softly. “So what exactly do we do here?”

“Well, there’s some booths where we could try and win a prize and there are a few rides as well,” Pyrrha answered. “What do you think, Coal?”

“I’m up for anything,” I said. Looking up from the map, I glanced through the crowd. “But there are quite a few kids here, so we might want to try out some of the age restricted rides first. There’s a few here on the map.”

From what I’d read on the map, most of the rides were restricted in one way or another. Some were deemed not suitable for children under 13 while others like the haunted house, wouldn’t allow Huntsmen and Huntresses in due to them potentially injuring their workers when startled.

Hell, there was even a holographic laser tag game where average citizens could see what it was like to be a Huntsman and fight off simulated hordes of Grimm. I’d be more than a little interested in checking that one out myself if I wasn’t a Huntsman already.

“Then what about this one?” Winter asked, pointing towards a marker on the map. “The Grimm Descent. The name sounds interesting enough. Is there any more information on it?”

“It just says... Face the darkness of Remnant in a thrilling, once in a lifetime, experience,” I answered.

“That does sound rather intriguing,” Pyrrha hummed. “Where does it say it is?”

Reading the map, I raised an eyebrow. “We actually passed it already,” I answered, glancing back. “It should be right over there.”

“Then let’s go.” Smiling, Pyrrha grabbed my hand, tugging me forward.

Watching all of this with a keen eye, Winter moved to my other side and stared down at my hand as if it was something entirely alien to her. “Could we also...” She trailed off.

“You really don’t have to ask,” I said, taking her hand in mine.

Stiffening briefly, Winter relaxed after a few short moments. “Sorry. This is all fairly new to me.”

“That’s alright too,” I hummed, giving her hand a short squeeze. Feeling her squeeze back, I smiled.

Making our way through the amusement park, we soon found ourselves standing at the entrance to the Grimm Descent. Compared to all the other rides, this one had far fewer people interested in seeing it.

There only appeared to be two other groups that were interested in the ride. A group of civilian teenagers and a small family. Seeing a familiar looking mark on one of the teenagers face, I blinked.

Did I really start a whole new trend of tattoos?

“Another three, huh?” A woman... The Ride Operator droned. “Here for the ride or are you just lost?”

“Here for the ride,” I answered.

Nodding, she glanced at our joined hands before panning over to the sword strapped to Winter’s side. My own and Pyrrha’s being safely tucked away in my inventory.

“I should warn you that you’ll be held liable for any use of weaponry during the ride,” The Ride Operator muttered. “And, if this is some attempt at getting some ‘alone time,’ there are far better places to choose from that won’t make the cleanup my problem.”

“Cleanup?” Pyrrha asked curiously, not really getting what the Ride Operator was hinting at.

Judging by the way Winter’s grip tightened and the light blush on her face, she understood the Ride Operator perfectly.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” I answered. “We’re just here for the ride.”

Eyeing me, she sighed. “Whatever. I don’t get paid enough to care. The pods are already here so just... Don’t make this a problem for me, okay?”

“…Sure,” I replied.

Nodding, the Ride Operator called for our attention and directed us into the backroom, revealing the ride. It was a simple set of pods with thick glass windows sitting on a track. The interesting part was how the track dipped through the floor and appeared to go straight into the ocean below.

After explaining a few basic guidelines, we were directed to enter the pods. Most chose their own, however, two of the civilian teenagers started to make their way towards ours, only for one to fall backwards, as if pushed by his belt buckle while the other one fell forwards thanks to a small, almost unnoticeable Glyph that stuck his shoe to the platform.

Eyeing Pyrrha and Winter, I struggled to hold my laughter in when Pyrrha gave a look that screamed guilty.

“What?” Pyrrha asked softly.

“Nothing,” I chuckled.

Climbing into the pod alongside Pyrrha and Winter, there was still enough room for another three... Maybe four people. Luckily, the lid lowered, sealing us in before anyone else could attempt to join.

“This isn’t exactly what I expected,” Winter hummed, shifting in her seat next to mine.

“Well, the ride hasn’t started–“ I began, only for the pod to jerk forward. “Never mind.”

Sinking into the water, it didn’t take long before the pod was fully submerged and we were greeted to a surprisingly well lit seabed. There were a few fish and even less crab sized Grimm, but other than that, it was surprisingly empty.

Looking out of the window on her side, Winter eyed the sea creatures with a hint of interest. “I’ve never really given it any thought, but there’s a whole separate ecosystem living under the ocean... Unaware of what’s happening on the land.”

“Is that something that interests you?” Pyrrha asked, leaning a little past me.

“I suppose so,” Winter replied, turning away from her window. “It’s peaceful here. Even the Grimm seem different... Almost uninterested.”

“They don’t really seem big enough to cause any issues,” I noted.

“There is that too,” Winter nodded, leaning into my side.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder and one around Pyrrha’s waist, I leaned back into my chair, relaxing as the ride continued onward. However, it didn’t last forever. The pod slowed down as it passed by an underwater cliff.

Catching a hint of movement, I blinked when I saw a large, worm like Grimm peek out of the hole, seemingly rushing towards us.

Jumping up, Winter grabbed her sword, her eyes darting around as she thought on what to do. Reaching out in an attempt to summon a Grimm outside of the pod, I grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.

“Coal, what?”

“It’s not real, it’s just a puppet,” I said, pointing towards some of the more engineered parts of the Grimm.

I guess this is where the ‘Thrilling, once in a lifetime experience,’ comes in. It’d be pretty boring if nothing happened during the ride. Come to think of it, this ride probably should have been listed as a no go for Huntsmen.

Narrowing her eyes, Winter sighed and sat back down.

“Are you alright?” Pyrrha asked, sounding concerned.

“I’m fine,” Winter muttered. “I was just a little surprised,” She answered, her gaze panning over to me. “There is something that I’ve been wandering about for a while now.”

Taking a brief moment to make sure that there wasn’t anything in here listening in or recording us, I nodded. “Go ahead.”

“You were able to tell that the Grimm wasn’t real,” Winter began. “And back at the restaurant, you could see that woman that was hiding behind an illusion. Are your senses really that sharp or is there something else to it?”

Well... It was bound to come out eventually.

“There is something more to it... It’s actually related to this mark on my face,” I answered.

“You never really talked about it that much,” Pyrrha muttered softly.

“I had a good reason for that. I awakened this mark when I fought that Ancient Grimm and it almost killed me. Even when not actively using it, it still puts a massive strain on my body,” I explained. “I never told you two about it because of how dangerous it is.”

I still had no idea if the Demon Slayer Mark was negatively affecting my body. If it was then my Aura was likely negating the worst effects.

“It does however come with a few handy side effects,” I hummed. “One of which is being able to see into the Transparent World.”

“Transparent World?” Winter repeated. “I’m not quite sure I understand what that means.”

“It’s a bit difficult to explain,” I replied. “Reality kind of peels away and I’m left with the ability to see through things.” There was a lot more to it than that, but that was the easiest way of explaining it.

“Wait.” Staring at her knees, Pyrrha’s face slowly began to turn red. “If you were able to see through things, does that mean you saw us naked?”

Out of all the things... I shook my head, chuckling.

“It’s a little more involved than that. I normally see a person’s cardiovascular system when I use it. That’s actually how I was able to tell that Neo was there,” I explained, nodding towards Winter. “There was an extra body present that wasn’t visible to everyone else.”

“Fascinating,” Winter said. Humming with interest, she leaned in closer. “Is that how you were able to tell why I struggled to learn Total Concentration Breathing at first? You were able to directly see the problem I was having.”

I had to admit, I didn’t see things going this smoothly. I thought at least one of them would ask how they’d go about awakening their own mark, but they both seemed more curious than anything.

“Yeah,” I replied. “It’s also the thing I used to help figure out your Breathing Styles.”

“So then you could technically be able to tell what Breathing Style a person has just by looking at them,” Winter said.

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “My Semblance does help me understand what I’m looking at, but it’s only really when someone uses their Breathing Style for the first time.”

“Then perhaps once you’ve been exposed to more, you’ll be able to tell at a single glance,” Winter noted. “You first need to build a database.”

She made an excellent point, but at the same time, she’d gotten really close during our conversation. We were pretty much nose to nose at this point.

Staring into Winter’s eyes, I was pushed forward. Our lips met and her eyes widened in shock, before she relaxed into the kiss.

Ghosting my hand up her back, she grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer against her, before we finally separated.

Slightly flushed, Winter smiled prettily. Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, I shot a glance back at Pyrrha who looked pleased with herself.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t bump you while stretching, did I?” Pyrrha asked innocently. “These pods are pretty cramped. There isn’t much room to move around in them.”

“They are,” Winter agreed. “Although it is a pity that they keep trying to scare us. I much would have preferred a peaceful trip under the sea.”

Looking out the window, I locked eyes with a squid like Grimm that, upon being noticed, blinked.

“Actually, that one’s real,” I replied, watching as it slowly made its way towards our pod. “Well, here we go again,” I said, pulling my sword from my inventory. Out of all the Grimm I’d fought, aquatic ones were by far the most annoying to deal with.

Narrowing her eyes as the Grimm approached, Winter’s gaze snapped towards Pyrrha. “Do you think you could reverse the track?”

“Maybe,” Pyrrha hummed. “I could give it a try.”

Reaching down, Pyrrha closed her eyes and the pod suddenly jerked to a stop. Not just ours either. Every other pod that was on the track stopped and began moving backwards, slowly picking up speed.

Seeing the Grimm lash out with a serrated tentacle, I pressed my hand against the window and reinforced it with my Aura.

-300AP

“So, you seem like you’ve got a plan,” I said, looking at Winter.

“It’s more of an idea really,” Winter replied.

Well, that was good enough for me.

Placing her hand next to mine, a small, white spider formed on the other side. Skittering around the pod, it wrapped it in its silk before once more coming to a stop in front of Winter’s hand.

Taking a moment to ensure she’d done everything right, Winter had the spider jump off towards the squid Grimm. Upon making contact with the Grimm, the spider grew to its full size and wrapped its legs around it, dragging it behind the pod.

Outside of the fact that she’d used that creepy spider again, I was impressed.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the surface. Bursting through the water, the pods jerked to a halt, scaring the crap out of the Ride Operator.

“What the hell?!” The woman squawked as a giant squid burst out of the water, accompanied by a spider of equal size that was tearing into its side.

Forcing the pod's lid open, Winter made a show of walking towards the Grimm. Summoning half a dozen Beowolves, she pointed a single finger towards the Grimm.

Bursting into action, her constructs tore into the Squid’s side, making a mess of its body, throwing slowly dissolving chunks across the room, likely traumatizing more than a few people.

Helping Pyrrha out of the pod, I wrapped an arm around her waist and turned to admire Winter’s handiwork while the rest of the occupants fled. She did seem a little more vicious than usual.