Chapter 7: Square Table Meeting
It was a battle of wills. Scarlett probably wanted to embarrass me for that comment earlier, or she just wanted me to hide out in the room. I didn't know exactly what she wanted, but I wouldn't let her win like that.
"Hello, everyone!" I called out with a deliberately high voice as I descended the stairs. I quickly fixed the straps of the white camisole I had been given and tugged the black knee-length skirt a bit further down. She was mistaken if she thought this would be enough to embarrass me. I actually thought I looked kind of nice.
"I knew it!" The blue-haired girl from earlier got up from the table and called out as soon as she saw me. I sent a smirk Scarlett's way as the girl ran up to me. "Big sis Scarlett said you were a boy, but I knew she was lying!" She babbled out excitedly.
I leaned down, and faux whispered to the overly excited girl, "I think your sister just acts like a boy all the time, so she can't tell the difference." The girl nodded in agreement.
"Aster, stop messing around," Scarlett called out from her place at the head of the table. The irritation was plain to hear in her voice. "I have to introduce you to everyone."
"You're just mad your little plan failed, and I look better in your clothes than you do." I was pretty much the same size as her, and what she had changed into was obviously more neutral than a skirt and camisole. So she probably dug through her closet for something girly to put me in as revenge for the big sister comment earlier.
"I think that says more about you than it does about me." She bit back. The kids sitting around the table were watching us in wonder.
"Hey, I'm perfectly secure," I replied as I made my way to the long table filled with all of the children. There were three spots by the head of the table where the red-headed girl sat, so I sat down casually in one of them.
"I'm back." Alex walked in from what I assumed was the kitchen with someone else who I had yet to meet. She was a few inches taller than me and darker than most people I had met from Remnant. She also had stark white cat ears on her head, and some stripes were showing from under her relatively skimpy outfit.
[Observation: Tuya Khan Lv.??? - HP: 100% - ??? - ???]
Oh, great more of noth-
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Observation Lv.3 → 4
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Huh, let's try that again.
[Observation: Tuya Khan Lv.31 - HP: 100% - ??? - A thief who works with Scarlett Blaize to help fund the orphanage. She is the daughter of Sienna Khan and a tiger faunus.]
That's better, so the quality of the information and the number of levels I can see above my own increases when I level the skill up. But wow, the daughter of Sienna? I'm guessing they don't get along if she's here and not with the White Fang.
"Aster here is going to be working with us for a while. He'll be helping us more with outside work, so he won't always be around all the time." I tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Scarlett introducing me. I really needed to work on not getting so distracted by system functions.
"You're the Person Alex was talking about?" Tuya questioned, giving me a once over.
"He had nothing to wear, so I gave him some of my old clothes," Scarlett replied. "He'll be getting some of his own tomorrow." Tuya looked at me, and I shrugged in confirmation.
"What!" I turned around to see the kid I was teasing earlier looking at me in shock, which then almost immediately transformed into sadness. "So you're not going to be our new big sister?" She looked like she was about to start crying.
Ah, damn, I was just trying to mess with them a bit, not make any of them cry. I didn't know exactly why the kid was so insistent on having another sister when it seemed she already had plenty. Still, I did know Scarlett was glaring at me like it was my fault. But, hey! It's at least 50% yours for giving me these clothes.
[Observation: Lapis Verity Lv.2 - HP: 100% - An orphan in Scarlett's Orphanage. She is nine years old, and her family died during the recent Grimm attacks on outlying settlements.]
…
I didn't exactly need her tragic backstory… But, Geez, now I feel bad. With our hair being similar colors, I'm guessing I may look like one of her dead family members. I usually wouldn't do this, but I guess crying kids are a weakness of mine.
I kneeled beside her and patted her lightly on the head, "Hey, it's ok. I can be your big sister if you want me to." I smiled, trying to console her.
She rushed in and hugged me, and I was left trying to comfort her while everyone else stared. HELP I mouthed to Scarlett, but she just smirked and shook her head. I may be here for a while.
&&&&&&&&&&
Scarlett eventually got Lapis off me with the promise of food, and I ended up eating with the group. It was an interesting experience, but eventually, I got introduced to one of the workers who helped look after the kids. She came out of the kitchen, introduced herself as Elaine, and took the kids to bed.
Which just left Alex, Scarlett, Tuya, and me at the table.
"I didn't exactly get to introduce myself earlier, but my name is Tuya." We shook hands, and for some reason, she frowned at me. "Really? Nothing on you at all?"
I looked at her questioningly, but Scarlett interrupted before I could ask. "As you probably realized, Aster here is going to be helping us out with some operations." I smiled at her. "He might look weak, but as you've probably heard, he helped out Alex against Spider earlier and has a pretty useful semblance." Thanks, Scar I feel so appreciated.
She turned to Tuya. "You probably couldn't find anything because his semblance is almost the perfect counter to yours." She gestured at me to explain.
I sighed. "I'll show it to her but don't spread it around casually. I'm already getting shit from Spider over it." I pulled out a 5000 Lien card from my inventory, which appeared in my hand with a flash of light. "I can store anything I can carry in a pocket dimension," I explained.
"Huh, I guess it is almost the perfect counter to mine," Tuya said. When I was about to ask her what she meant by that, I felt something weird in my right hand and looked at it only to realize I was now holding a white index card. She reached into her pocket and pulled out my Lien with a smile on her face.
"Almost." She finished and admired the card in her hand.
"Interesting." I guess it's some sort of object-switching semblance. She kept index cards in her pocket, so I'm thinking she did this fairly often. But I could also guess the object had to be around the same size for her to switch. I wonder if the Aura cost increases with size, distance, or maybe both. Would a wallet count as one object, or would the cards be left behind?
"Give it back, Tuya," Scarlett told her. "We don't steal from coworkers."
"Fine." Tuya half-whined and switched the cards back with her semblance. "I wasn't going to keep it anyway if he can't afford his own clothes." I immediately deposited it back into my inventory for safekeeping.
"Geez, I have some money. I just haven't had the chance to hit a shop without getting attacked by Spider since I got here." I complained.
"Yeah, that will happen if you piss them off. Feels like those fuckers control half the city at this point."
"Is that normal?" I asked. While the series portrayed Spider as an influential organization, I couldn't really wrap my head around a government being that laissez-faire in a capital city.
"Depends on who you ask." Scarlett began. "They were always the biggest operation in Lower Mistral, but after that gang war a few years back, they basically owned the place. However, until now, it was mostly soft power."
"Soft power?" I knew the general meaning but not how it related to gang politics.
"They did all the usual shit the other gangs did, just bigger. Protection rackets, smuggling, good old fashioned robbery, stuff like that." She leaned back in her chair and put her feet on the table.
That made sense, so she was implying that it changed recently? "The Fall of Beacon." I realized. "With the Government more focused on disaster relief and many Huntsmen out of the city, there's no one to stop them."
"Bingo," Tuya cut it before frowning down at the table. "Spider is sort of seen as the lesser evil between the Grimm and the White Fang. The Government doesn't work with them, but they're too busy to really crack down on anything."
"Which means they're getting more open with their displays of power." I finished. "I'm guessing they're starting to expand?"
Scarlett looked almost impressed by my deduction. "Yeah, that's actually part of the shit I was doing before Alex wasted my time with the emergency call." Alex looked sheepish at his sister's glare. Said sister, then turned to the rest of the table. "I saw some of their guys scoping out Chamber's this morning. Nothing overt yet, but I'm pretty sure they're trying to move into this area."
"Chamber's is a dust and weapons shop," Tuya whispered to me before I could ask.
Alex didn't look too happy about that. "Did you at least take care of them?"
"Of course not, idiot." Scarlett berated him. "We haven't done shit to interfere with their other protection rackets. So if we interfere with them now, it would be fairly obvious to anyone with a brain that we operate in the area."
That is a bit of a problem. With the orphanage as a fixed base, they must be careful about being found out. It would be complicated to uproot everything and move away, especially with the children.
"But that's a problem we must deal with later." Sighing, Scarlett motioned toward the clock, and we collectively realized it was starting to get late. "We should figure out the rotation for tomorrow before we go to sleep."
"Do you need me to help with the dust?" Alex asked, but his sister shook her head. "Fine, I guess I get house duty then?" She nodded.
So Scarlett was going to deliver the dust to Gunmetal? "I can help you ensure it gets there safely if you want?" I offered. Plus, I wouldn't mind getting paid for a job when Gunmetal gives her the money.
"I'll get the product there plenty safe." Scarlett boasted. "Plus, do you even have the identification to enter Upper Mistral?" She raised her eyebrow, and the answer must have been written all over my face. "Thought so."
"Ok, I'll probably go shopping then." I glanced awkwardly down at my clothes. "Maybe get something a bit better to fight in."
"I'll go too." Tuya stood up from the table. "I've been meaning to go anyway, and I can show you around while I'm at it."
Well, I wouldn't turn down her help. I thanked her, and that seemed to be the cue for everyone to get up and head off to sleep. Tuya and I agreed on a time, and I made my way to the room I was given. Finally, after a long day, I collapsed into my bed to get some much-needed rest.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Tempest2077
Tempest2077 This Chapter is smaller and mostly character/set up focused but I wanted to get something out. Next chapter should be more action and growth focused.
Speaking of that, please leave suggestions down in the comments for magic items he could get from the gatcha. I'll still be rolling for general catagories and rareness so the less powerful the higher chance he could actually get it.
Thanks for reading and have a great day! Adios!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone