A Chipped Heart (RWBY X Nioh 2)

Chapter 3: The Dusty Crow

Down in Mistral off the side of a desolate road laid a run down tavern named "The Dusty Crow", its shingles were peeling off its roof and the wooden walls of the tavern showed signs of abuse. But still the building held firm and the inside of the tavern was lively in spite of the run down conditions. Men and women alike drank to their hearts content while some of the more promiscuous of the bunch flirted with the waitresses. Yet even in all this fun and excitement in the corner of the bar a lone man sat at a table, glass in hand as he watched the other bar goers talk and yell. Qrow Branwen was never one for parties so it was no wonder he chose to stay by his lonesome his only company being jack and daniel. Running a hair through his black hair Qrow took a quick swig from his glass and placed it down the glass now empty which made him frown. Being the drunk he was, Qrow was going to signal for a refill, that was until the door to the tavern opened revealing a very peculiar individual. Dressed in eastern armor and towering over just about everyone in the room a man stepped into the bar a rather long katana in hand. 

Everyone in the bar stared at the man for quite some time until they ultimately decided to go back to their own business. The man surveyed his surroundings and signalled out Qrow's table. Raising an eyebrow at the mysterious man approaching his table Qrow let out a sigh, he really wasn't in the mood to deal with some bandit looking to cause trouble. He really just wanted to sit by himself and drink. However all suspicions were dropped as instead of starting any altercation the man simply took a seat across from Qrow and rested his weapon to his side. Not making eye contact with the man Qrow looked down and traced a finger on the rim of his glass.

"Look pal, of all the tables available why choose mine?" Qrow asked annoyed.

Looking to his side Qrow immediately retracted his statement as he saw the numerous filled tables.

"Oh." Qrow muttered while scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry for coming off as a bit rude." Qrow apologized his eyes now focused on the person across him.

Nodding his head at Qrow the man suddenly let his body relax as he grabbed at his helmet containing multiple eye silts and placed it on the table. The man behind the helmet was none other than Ichiro though his body had matured much. Qrow rubbed his chin at the boy noting that he was exceeding young. Now that he though of it his look, armor and weapon looked awfully familiar but his mind was failing him as of now so he couldn't quite pinpoint where he saw it from. Chalking it up to coincidence Qrow signalled for a waitress to come over as he asked Ichiro a question.

"What brings you round these parts kid, this ain't really a place for someone so young but who am I to judge." Qrow drunkenly stated.

Instead of receiving a answer however Ichiro pointed at his throat, his dull eyes locked onto Qrow.

"Ah, can't talk gotcha." Qrow blurted as his glass was refilled.

"Anything for the young gentleman?" The waitress cooed.

Waving his hand this let the waitress know Ichiro wanted nothing. After giving Qrow his drink the waitress departed leaving the two alone once more. Qrow not liking the silence growing between the two one bit decided getting to know Ichiro wouldn't be so bad. But he knew he couldn't talk so he had to work around that.

"You a huntsmen?" Qrow posed.

Ichiro shook his head no.

"Do you uh. Go to any academy." Qrow asked taking a drink from his now full glass.

Once again Ichiro nodded his head no.

"So you're running around doing your own thing?" Qrow wondered.

It took a while for Ichiro to respond but his answer wasn't very conclusive as he merely gave Qrow a shrug.

"Don't even know yourself huh. Been there kid." Qrow admitted taking a extra long swig from his glass.