The Bird and the Garden 2: Restart!

Chapter 9: The Murder

Y/N and Vao looked back at the school, their faces as pale as the snow. Y/N shivered where he stood, his fingers trembling. Suddenly Beacon Academy appeared much more haunting. He immediately took off running towards the school, his feet slamming against the pavement.

But Vao remained, frozen in place. His scarlet gaze traveled down to the bloody uniform he held, his lip quivering. Was he holding evidence to a murder? Evidence that had his fingerprints all over it?

Vao dropped the uniform, fishing into his dress and pulling out his flask. He took a shaky sip before swallowing, looking back down.

"A-ah... I-I'm gonna be a-arrested..." He stammered quietly. He looked back at the clothes that rested at his feet. His arm extended, trembling in the cold breeze of the afternoon sun. And slowly, he began to pour his alcohol onto it. He knelt down, trying not to get his dress dirty.

Skritch.

The match burned brightly in his hand. Vao contemplated if he should go through with this. He didn't want to destroy evidence, but at the same time he had been touching it. His fingerprints were without a doubt all over the Beacon badge, the buttons, and the fabric itself. He dropped the match, the uniform bursting into flame. Standing back up, Vao quickly ran from the scene, his heels clicking against the concrete as he followed his brother.

It wasn't long before he caught up with Y/N.

Together they ran down the halls, pushing past other students that were heading in the same direction. They turned the corner and into the dorm halls. They couldn't even get close to the source of the scream - students flooded the halls, forming a thick wall that looked impassable.

"V-Vao, what do we do?" Y/N whispered frantically. His brother growled, taking his hand in his own and marching forward.

"Move, twat!" Vao screeched. He shouldered someone out of the way, his grip tightening around Y/N's sweaty palms as he forced a path for them.

"Ow!"

"Watch it, Branwen!"

"Shut up, get out of my way!" Vao snapped. Y/N would normally scold Vao for picking fights, but now wasn't the time. For once, he was grateful that Vao didn't care.

In a matter of minutes they were at the front of the crowd. Y/N looked on with a pale face, shivering next to a quiet Vao.

Team JNPR's room stood before them, blocked off by professors. Just outside, Pyrrha was sat against the wall with her face buried in her arms and knees, bawling her eyes out as Professor Peach tried to comfort the poor girl.

"Let us through!"

The brothers turned at the sound of the voice. Tyrian, Ozpin, and Glynda were pushing through the crowd, entering the room. It was only a few seconds before the blonde haired woman came stumbling out, vomit trickling between the fingers she had clasped over her mouth. Tyrian came out soon after.

His eyes were the first thing Y/N noticed. The eyes of someone who saw something and wished they hadn't. He started pointing at the crowd, his face pale and yet pink with fury. "Leave! This isn't a damned show!"

Y/N hadn't seen Tyrian genuinely angry before. It was a scary sight, to see the normally calm and hilarious teacher freaking out. Whatever it was, it wasn't something good. He nudged Vao softly.

"H-hey... That uniform... D-do you think... It's related to this?"

"No fucking shit, Sherlock." For the first time, Vao seemed genuinely nervous. He was biting at his fingernails, the clicking of his teeth reaching Y/N's ears.