I have a Cat Problem (RWBY Comedy)

[JBukharin]

Chapter 1: Get out of my flat!


My life was a simple one. One where things were dictated by common logic, a sense of peacefulness and… order.


That was before the strangest anomaly decided to come and storm everything with its mere presence. Such an oddity… that even now I couldn't help but snort at the unpredictability of fate itself.


Vale wasn't close to the Kingdom of Atlas in terms of technological benefits, but it still offered the chance of having the most satisfying experience of life. The kind of life that only those who faced the hardships of the Civilian life in a world that favored huntsmen before anyone else.


It wasn't much of an issue considering that Hunters weren't there to just strut around and get easy benefits. They were the protectors of today and tomorrow, the heroes of our time… and beyond.


I never had any issues with the neighbors. I actually enjoyed the little interactions I had with the elder couple that lived by the flat across mine. A little less about the numerous but still young family occupying the apartment in the front and providing with no little noise-related issues.


The little kids, especially the toddlers, tended to turn in minor annoyance past dinnertime.


Still, despite this negligible problem, I was glad about the home I got out from working hard and determinedly.


My job was one of the few ones that just offered a graceful balance of safety and income. The small establishment that was 'alive' by early morning had been searching some waitress back when I moved here in Vale. I remember getting hired mostly thanks to the references provided by my former teachers.


Years spent at school to try and get hold of the basics of what a normal life away from the dangerous workplace that were the Academies resulted in an impressive paper detailing my capacities as a waiter, chef, shop-keeper, and much more. I was an all-around worker. One that many would've paid gold to have around… but I just settled for this very activity.


The pay was decent, if not quite generous for the limited labor behind the daily tasks. Plus it went to modestly cover for the various expenditures of my peaceful life, rent included.


My flat was fairly spacious, but I knew that it was mostly because this was the kind of building that had been built with the purpose of housing large families families rather than single occupants like me. And this opportunity gave me the chance to have enough space to enjoy having my good hobbies there too.


My little garden was filled with various pots. A small line of proper wet dirt was used to keep the flowers and plants that I was trying to grow there there. Some were from my collection that I taken from my home in Mistral, while others had been planted a little after I had the rest of my equipment set for a small, but efficient farming operation.


With the dutiful caring and proper ministrations applied to the plants, I was guaranteed a slow but steady production of delicious fruits that I could either eat or offer around to anyone that wanted. In the end, this hobby also worked to reduce some of the expenses related to fruits that would come from trips at the local stores. It wasn't much, but it was honest work.


I was glad of what I had achieved in so little time spent away from my family's home. I was happy of the seemingly lonely but satisfying life that I got now. No longer was I going to be dreading to be attacked by any bandits or thugs that were known to live on the territories near the old manor.


I wasn't poor, but neither I was rich enough to avoid dealing with the violence from the criminal issue troubling Mistral. Mom and Dad had long decided to settle by the capital once we were out of the old house. Their new place had plenty of security that was provided by the quite-flamboyant council ruling over the country.


I wasn't savvy about politics, but I could recognize full-fledged idiocy when I saw it. Especially when in one instance a good majority of the year's budget was burned in artistic renovations of some cathedrals rather than improve the already lacking military budget for the Militia Departments.


This is why, compared to Mistral, living here in Vale had left me at ease over the simplicity of things and the general lack of murderous gangs. The loneliness that comes with that lifestyle could easily be considered a terrible thing to praise, yet there was a proper reason why I didn't care much about it.


I hated being in large crowds.


Mistral's Transportation Network was (and possibly still is even now) the most obsolete in Remnant. Vacuo didn't count since there wasn't a genuine regulated system, nor a railway to begin with, that helped around the desert-based Kingdom.


With just a handful of rail-networks and with slow and small trains, people were hardly pleased with the means to reach their destinations. Large crowds were forced to get squeezed together and… some were certainly prone to sweat a lot either for agoraphobia or for something a little less complex, like obesity.


The Regency Council of the Kingdom of Mistral, despite having shown impressive liberal ideas in the last few years considering their easing over some rules, was still formed by a group of nobles that would eventually leave their seats as inheritance to their own children. Essential reforms were nowadays ditched for the sake of reviving old arts… or expensive tournaments.


I could still remember watching my first and, hopefully, last competition.


I was partially irritated by how dull some fighters had looked to be. After years spent training with dad… that just didn't sit well for me. Too easy, too flashy. It was all a farce… except for the final match. It couldn't exactly be considered a fair one.


The 'popular choice' was a flashy joke with hardly some serious experience in his bones. It would be a lie to say that I hadn't cheered for his opponent, at the time unknown Pyrrha Nikos, in putting an end to that nonsense.


The serious-paced speed and the timed reactions were just on point, delivering a 'brilliant' victory for the young redhead.


But while the fight had easily won me over the fact that the girl was meant to go far, I didn't bother watching any of the following seasons from that one onward.


After what had happened there and… after hearing brief details about the girl easily getting a second victory out of the next tournament, I felt my interest over that kind of stuff dwindle away for more 'honest' stuff.


Invincible Girl? She was mediocre, something my father had been keen to drill when he took me to see her fight for the first time. Very nervous, her footing missing essential steps and her last victory wasn't even that sensational to the old man.


A retired Huntsman that had seen far too much in his past job to be impressed by a young girl being able to get some 'important' win because of the circumstances rather with her 'invincibility'.


Dad wasn't certainly a pushover, never lost his touch since he retired as proved when he went to teach temporarily at Haven Academy. Several students were forced to work even harder than previously to just pass his class, some giving up mid-way because of the peer pressure the veteran was keen to display when bored or annoyed.


Both my parents had been supportive of my decision to move out, saddened by the fact I was a Kingdom away from them, but glad that I had settled well in the better-defended nation.


But I think I'm digressing a little too much. Let me explain why… I lost my balance and found myself dealing with the greatest issue I had to ever face in my entire life. With a pleasant surprise by the very end of it all.


It all started when I finished my shift at the bar, just an hour or two after lunch. I had managed to eat something during my break and thus I didn't feel the need to wander around before going back home. I was tired, and I didn't have a reason to stay away from a few hours of rest.


Work was simple, but also tiring because of how long the shifts tended to be, especially when those ended up taking longer turns than usual when certain seasons were turning in, like the Vytal Festival. I wasn't by any mean unnerved by this as the extra hours were paid extra, thus giving me the proper incentive to give my best with my assignments.


There were still some men and women walking around the streets, and the sun was still high in the sky. The blue was starting to give away to a lighter-orange, it was getting late. Vendors had their shops still open and continuing to help the various clients browsing their products. The peacefulness of these scenes were more than enough to bring me a sense of easiness that Mistral would have never been able to give to me.


I bit down a yawn, my lips twitching to suppress the tiny noise. I was feeling quite tired from the draining day at the job I had just concluded.


Starting fairly early in the morning, I was expected to wake at some unholy hour… thus I had to go to sleep even earlier than I used to back when I frequented college.


Was I annoyed by this? Just a little bit. I wasn't a morning person, but I knew that it wasn't a labor without rewards as the pay was worth it.


My walk back to the flat was uneventful and lacking any major crowds obstructing the strees. Even the hallway leading to the front door was deserted much to my immense relief.


I was ready to go for a brief nap of an hour (or who knows, maybe two) before focusing on tending the small garden I had set up in there.


Being that it was still before afternoon, I had my own plans about it and I knew how I was going to spend the rest of the day. Or at least until it was dinnertime.


My tomato plants needed some nutrients to recover from some parasites that had almost killed it. The pesky bugs had managed to enter through a small opening by the nearby window, prompting me to invest in something to solve this very issue.


Humming quietly, the key to the entrance door slipped correctly inside the lock's mechanism and then clicked a single time to dignify the opening of the final barrier between me and my house.


I blinked in minor surprise as I was greeted by some darkness. I eased as I remembered that I had forgotten to lift up the windows' curtains earlier this morning.


I went ahead to slowly pace around the place, calmly pulling the fabrics aside and letting the light shine and making all corners and objects in my desolate living room clear and-


Just as I turned around to greet the sofa and the small couches by its side, my eyes found themselves fixing upon something- no, someone sleeping on that very sofa.


I was tense, unwilling to move and cause the figure in there to stir awake from their slumber. My eyes were wide open as I silently studied the display given, and I was able to discern quickly that… it was a young woman.


And someone I knew nothing about.


Quietly snoring with her head resting by one of the small pillows of the comfy furniture, I could see that the girl had quite the fair-skin. It was rather pale, and it presented itself as an interesting contrast to her long, dark hair. Her locks reached right down to where her lower back began.


She was wearing a white, sleeveless shirt and some same-colored shorts. Her legs were warmed by stockings that had a gradation of black to purple.


I noticed that an unfamiliar black vest, presumably hers, was currently folded on one of the couches, and there was a pair of black low-heeled boots that had been set right by the floor beneath the couch.


My attention moved back up to her face and… hair. A twitch above her fringe caught my attention and I locked my eyes onto the pair of relaxed cat ears perfectly visible from there. Twitching once in a while, the feline appendages offered some insight over her current state of self.


The half-attentive tension in those just made it clear that she was still sleeping, but that my previous actions might have stirred her a little bit from her rest.


It was a few moments later that I finally lessened the tension within my body as I knew that she was still unconscious.


My eyes were still wide open as my mind was failing to grasp how this Cat Faunus had managed to sneak inside my apartment when I had my windows and door closed…


And why did she invade my house?


A burglar? Quite a dumb one if she decided to take a nap on the sofa of the poor moron she was trying to steal from. Usually one would take the stuff and leave rather than just settle down by the couch.


A murderer? I couldn't see any weapons and, just like the previous guess, it would've been a dumb murderer if she literally decided to sleep in her victim's couch… before killing said victim.


Do I even know her? I was certain the girl wasn't someone I had met before, nor I think I've ever seen her before today. A complete strange. And she was sleeping by my couch.


What the fuck!?


I slowly tip-toed my stunned self away from the living room, reaching for the kitchen where I knew I had left my house's phone. A simple cordless device that was a decade or two old but still worked efficiently and well for my daily needs while I was at home.


My brain was riddled with prayers and hopes of managing to get a distress call out. Maybe even leave the girl slumbering until the authorities arrived here to deal with this, but I sure failed to realize that I was doing a terrible mistake by stepping so quietly by the floor.


A few days ago I had found a weakened spot between the hallways and the doorstep that led to the kitchen. The cause of the instability supposedly related a tiny infiltration of water that had lessened the cement around the section and made it easy to break if applied some pressure against it. Too much weight and the thing would just collapse under anyone's feet.


I had already planned to call some professional to fix it as I really didn't need to have any guests trip and die because of it. Aura or not, that wasn't something I really wished to keep this issue around forever.


In that very moment where I needed the utmost silence from the world around me, and I had completely forgotten about that very problem, my right foot ended up pressing down right on the middle of the frail bit of floor.


The part gave away, the ground cracking and creating a small hole in which my foot ended up unwittingly pushed into. And I was stuck in there with a horrified look look plastered on my now pale face.


There was a noise at that development, and it was loud enough to make me pause and panic as I heard footsteps coming from the living room.


I stared down in shock and, biting down a not-so-kind word, I ditched my shoe to save my foot. I didn't sneak anymore as I knew my trouble was now awake and in alert. Fear was a good motivation and I was soon bolting across the room and reach for the phone.


I grabbed it, my fingers frantically pressing the numbers that would compose the emergency phone number of the VPD and-


SHLINK!


My jaws dropped when a dark-gray blade proceeded to cut the receiver in half before I had the chance of bringing it close to my ear. I tumbled, a moderate kick pushing me away and causing me to fall on the floor with a pained look.


I snapped my eyes open at the woman, now wielding what looked to be a short sword and… a ribbon folded around its hilt?


"L-Look, I don't wish to hurt you," The Faunus said with a calm but nervous voice, her amber eyes locked onto my frame as I stilled at her words. "I just need a place where to sta-!!"


Before the girl could manage to finish whatever explanation she had planned to dispense about her current illegal stay at my flat, her eyes went wide in sudden shock as she found herself tripping… on the shoe I had abandoned mere moments ago.


It was an opportunity to reverse the hostage situation she had created as she started to slowly fall towards me. I pounced right as I saw her falling toward the floor, both of my hands swiftly going for her weapon and carefully slipping it off from her hold.


She was just too surprised by the fall to notice what I just did, trying to halt her fall only for me to roll away with her blade and… aiming it at her.


Intrigue but also annoyance were now displayed by her feline eyes, but I could care any less about her reaction as I quickly discovered that, much like the majority of the new generations of blades, this one was provided with a gun.


A… machine gun? I wasn't savvy about it so I merely switched to it and prayed it wasn't a single-shot handgun. Now that would be a sad development for me.


"I ask you to return to the living room and not move as I call-"


"You are not going to hurt me," The dark-haired lady stated calmly. "Knowing about your lack of weapons in the house, I know that you are just lucky to know how to hold-"


Bang


She tensed quickly as the warning bullet slammed on the floor just a few centimeters away from her. Eyes now once more wide, the girl stared at my growing smirk.


"Dad was a Huntsman," I explained curtly. "And he taught me a thing or two how those things work." I shook her weapon to dignify my point and… she sighed.


Moments of quiet passed and I was tempted to go for another warning shot, but then the girl slowly stood up and started to walk back to the living room, hands up and visible for me as she went back to sit by the couch.


There was silence and, while I continued to hold the gun aimed at her with one of my hands, the other one slowly trailed back to my pants' left pocket as I went to get my Scroll. T


he reason why I hadn't used it to call the cops rather than mess up my attempt with the now-gone phone in the kitchen was actually a fairly embarrassing one.


During one of my duties as a waiter at the nearby bar, one of the patrons' children had spilled their drink on my pants and… drenched the then recently-acquired device.


The last gift from mom so that I could have called her without having to resort to the CCTV's system and make senseless walks around the large capital.


So while the small thing managed to send and receive calls, its receptors weren't fully-operational and sometimes words ended up failing to register to the device. The issues created by this phenomenon led to no little problems with various contacts saved in there.


Mom was confused when I said some 'foul words' back to her, but she calmed a little bit when I explained that it was just an issue with the damaged phone.


I still tried, the number composed and… I waited patiently for someone to take up the call.


Just four seconds passed before someone actually picked up the distress call.


"VPD Emergency Line, how can we help you?"


"Y-Yes, I call from 745 Torrent Street, Flat 45, Floor 2." I started quickly, a little stutter slipping through much to my chagrin. "There is a burglar that invaded my home. It's a young woman, dark-hair, Faunus and-"


"Sir," The woman on the other side scoffed in annoyance and I frowned. "I can assure you this is a serious Emergency line and I can't keep up with this call."


My frown deepened without hesitation at that sudden comeback.


"Say what?!"


"The Emergency Line is for special cases of distress and need," The operator replied with a somewhat angry tone. "We can live without your depiction of the foreplay you have with your Faunus girlfriend, sir. Good day to you."


The call ended and my jaw dropped at what I ended up hearing.


Some red was spreading on my cheeks and, from what I could see by the couch, the girl was blushing herself, sharing the same mortification I was enduring at that unexpected quip from the operator.


I blinked at the device and… the dark-haired lady spoke once more.


"I understand that I might have caused you incredible distress-"


"And damage." I interjected flatly, her ears twitching still as she flinched.


"And damage," She admitted to that higher fault. "But I can assure you that I didn't mean to cause you any harm and-"


"You cut my phone and then pointed your blade at me," I pointed out with a stern voice. "And I reckon you were possibly going to 'cause me harm' just to keep me quiet."


My accusation was legitimized by the fact she had been advancing on me before tripping on the shoe.


The Faunus didn't dare to contest that very point, preferring to silently look away and play the naive one. But seriously, I wasn't in the mood for that.


"Look, how about you just get out of my house," I pointed at the door behind me. "And you never return?"


There was more silence, this time her bright eyes were on me once again. Surprise and confusion at my sudden 'defeat', yet she didn't budge from her seat.


"What?" Her voice trailed the very confusion I could see in her face.


I sighed, I really didn't need this madness. As much as I wanted to haul her ass off to jail for that stunt she pulled on me, I really didn't need this.


I was too tired to think straight as of now.


"Look, I know you aren't here to steal from me and the cops aren't going to help me with removing you from my home," I said with a tired tone. I just wanted to nap, nothing more. "Just get out and we forget this even happened-"


"I-I can't." She interrupted unexpectedly, causing me to double-back at that.


"What? I'm giving you the chance to-"


"I really need a place where to spend some time away from… some people," The Faunus admitted. "And I had planned to spend this time here so-"


"No," I shot back with an angry tone. "Also, how the heck did you get inside my flat?!"


She flinched again and… her eyes briefly staring up at the ceiling and I followed her stare right onto the newly-created hole in there.


I breathed calmly, but I could feel anger rising from my chest. "You destroyed the ceiling-"


"There was a small opening and… I just increased it?" Her attempt to lessen the fact she had damaged my roof was enough to cause a scowl to appear on my lips.


"Get out of my house-"


"Look, I know that-"


"Out!"


"There is no need to-"


"I will yell as much as I want!" I rebuked furiously. "Get the fuck out of my home!" I screamed back at her.


There was silence from the brunette, amber eyes once wide were now narrowed at me in silent anger.


"It's because I'm a Faunus," She started with a soft tone, making my own fury simmer down just a little to let my surprise known to her. "It's that, isn't it?"


The Cat-girl had to literally go there.


I was a middle-class Mistralian-born young man that studied with, befriended and proudly had some relationships with some Faunus back home. And to hear this incredibly slanderous lie was enough to make my blood boil to the maximum.


"How dare you!" I shrieked back, the girl flinching at the sudden outburst while also looking fairly surprised by it. "Out, now!"


This time I aimed the gun with more decision and she tensed.


While I was sure that she had Aura, a bullet was still a painful thing to be hit with. Thus, silently and defeatedly, the girl stood up from the sofa, slowly walked from the furniture and towards me.


She wanted her weapon back, but like hell I would have given it back before I had her out of the apartment. I turned around, ready to lead her out of the flat when I felt the blade yanked away from my hold as the girl quickly jumped through the hole in the ceiling and… left.


I stood just a handful of moments to stare at the roof, expecting her to resurface just to mock me or something like that but…


Nothing. She was gone.


...Hallelujah!


I sighed in relief, my mind slowly drifting away from that surreal encounter as I started to write down in my mental 'to-do' list that I had to call some carpenter to fix the damage on the roof and… get someone to fix the phone by the kitchen.


I yawned, but I didn't want to nap. Not yet at least.


After what just transpired, I didn't feel safe enough to close my eyes just a moment before having that hole fixed.


I decided to message someone nearby that I knew was a professional in fixing roofs and… he ended up applying something that looked like a large tape, but it was meant to be a preventive measure.


The job itself would take a full afternoon and the man was busy for the day, giving me some availability by tomorrow.


I gladly accepted the offer and felt a little safer with the fact I had that 'tiny cover-up' to deter anyone trying to pull the same stunt as the Cat Faunus.


I didn't need to deal with crazy hobos because of that bizarre encounter, and I really didn't want to make a redo of what happened with my disrupted call at the cops.


Yawning again, I had just enough time to fix myself a quick bath, make a delicious dinner and then I was off for some dreamless sleep.


The day had been indeed the weirdest I had ever since I had arrived in Vale, and part of me labeled it as just a unique deviation from normality.


It wouldn't change anything from now on and I had nothing to truly worry about, I thought soundly as I fell asleep with my head snuggling on my pillow.


Yet that little hope I had until the next morning was dashed when, after waking up from that good sleep and walking in the living room, I found the same Cat Faunus sleeping on the very sofa I saw her occupying the day before.


Without hesitation and with much of my renewed energy, I let out two words that would end up becoming a constant in the relationship I had with the girl, the one I would learn much later was Blake Belladonna.


"GET OUT!"


-------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d-------


AN


From the contorted mine of this very Author, here is a light-hearted but terribly crass fun story about the one and only Blake Belladonna.


It's sudden, me knows, but I've been having this pending idea for a while. An idea I've thought well about, altered, butchered and then reformed in this very plan of mine.


What is this? A comedy with some hints of an altered main plot.


Altered main plot? Cinder has been reworked a little. She is patient and will not go ham at Vale itself for the Maiden. And yes, this means that any horrid derails from Vol3 is now… erased, or Thanos-snapped.


Timeline? It happens the same day as the 'Black and White' episode, but instead of Blake regrouping and apologizing for running away the first time… she decides that running is her thing now and bolt away from the docks before speaking with her team.


Why the MC's house? Something that will be explained next chapter. Leaving you on your tip-toes, you lovely fellows!


Lastly, I know this is sudden but… if there are errors, I will be more than happy to have proof-readers. That is if those that volunteer willingly are actually willing about this and not joking around, 'cause I ain't a super-dummy! (LeHmph!)

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 2: I don't want to!

The battle at the port has been… quite a close call for Blake.

There wasn't another way to properly describe the mix of external dangers and internal struggles that had characterized that specific night.

The black-haired girl couldn't still make her mind over what she had seen there, what she had been forced to do just for the sake of survival. The White Fang, men and women from the Vale Branch that the young Belladonna had once known on a friendly basis, had been ruthless and lacking any of the hesitation freezing her at first when they engaged for the fight.

With the odds of two Hunters-in-training against a large contingent of militia-level armed people, Sun had been quite correct to swear foully at how things had gone to hell so quickly. It had been his words, when he had almost begged her to not jump out of their cover and not to blow up their surprise element.

Yet she had gone up to mess things up by trying to force answers out of Torchwick, the Criminal Boss gleefully asserting his crass command over the grunts dispatched on the first wave. People that were clearly irritated by the attitude taken by their supposed leader, deciding to stray away from the very essence that even Adam had been keen to abide to.

Do not trust criminals, nor try to even be on friendly terms with the scum.

It had been a golden rule during her father's leadership and Sienna had been more than happy to respect it, quite adamant in denying the chances of seeking out alliances with shady groups, fearful that one of those senseless thugs would have easily besmirched their reputation for the sake of avoiding too many years in jail.

The policy was logical and, knowing Adam's declination of the Fang's purity, Blake could hardly make head of what had happened on that very night before this blatant unity between the two distinct parties.

Torchwick in particular wasn't someone that could be trusted, many of their groups having been slaughtered by the man's men and… his assassin. Not many knew the identity of the close guard of the 'classy' scumbag, but the fact none had survived to tell the tale, people that weren't certainly pushovers by all means, was enough to deter the leadership to fish more info about the 'slayer'.

Her mind shifted back to the numerous questions regarding the Fang's current alliance with the criminal boss, baffled by the fact this was actually an official mission from the leaders of the branch. Maybe it had been a rebellious branch, someone that had grown disgruntled of Sienna's rule and went to offer their services to lesser associations in Vale.

It was a possibility, her vivid imagination agreed wholeheartedly, but what if something a little worse had happened after her unexpected departure?

Dark thoughts reigned for most of the fight, even diluting the surprise rising from the sudden appearance of her team and other familiar students.

What if… he had died? Something that made her skip her beat just for a moment, shock grasping in quite the unforgiving manner at her chest, inner whispers calling her a cause of problem, the reason why the White Fang had fallen so low.

The man had shown interest in her, pointing out in a half-subtle manner that she represented the light from not falling in the madness of emotions. Adam wasn't a monster, no matter how much people depicted him as such, but he wasn't never going to be a saint for her.

Blood stained both his hands and his blade, some were from self-defense while others were easily caused by the active role he had in the missions. Death was forgivable only when extreme resistance was met during their tasks, only when they were attacked with lethal force first.

The Bull Faunus' concept of self-defense was a loose thing in his mind already, the fact that Sienna had been so foolish to give him so much political power within the hierarchy had been more than enough to increase the stress perceived by the man.

Adam was strong, always coming on top of any trouble or challenge, but he was also mortal. No matter how much he trained, how much he said that he would have got control over his raging thoughts, Blake knew it would have been a matter of time before he did something too much stupid and… perished in action.

But no, her logical side had corrected with a cold but incredibly relaxing certainty, if Adam had been killed recently, something of a procession would have been planned for the occasion. He was one of the 'valiant heroes' of the Fang and there was no way in Hell that Sienna would have passed the opportunity to milk the moral high ground from the 'martyrdom' itself.

The girl's focus was quickly restored to the battlefield, a little confidence reasserting more energy in her actions and then… she realized that things were far from peachy even with the fight seemingly won.

The Fang was close to retreat from the sound beating they were receiving, Torchwick had ditched the group for a safe evacuation, and her team was slowly starting to have time to reach out for her.

Sun's words drilled deep in her consciousness, drawing guilt and hesitation in avoiding the group she had lied to until now, yet her thoughts about what had just happened to the Fang was more than enough to create a stalemate.

Weiss was looking particularly angry, the heiress not even sparing a glance at her and the Belladonna didn't need anyone to tell her that it was a bad omen. Their discussion still fresh in her mind, the hurtful words repeating in a sickening pattern as the dust started to settle in the now 'conquered' port.

She saw her team approaching, Sun was quite near to where she was and… her mind was instantly planning out her escape.

Nervousness and general unwillingness to resume what had been quite an aching development for her new cover drove her to move away from hoping for some redemption at her lies, to actually buy some time out of the golden opportunity presented by the current lack of enemies.

The Monkey Faunus let out a quick 'eep' as her shadow clone slammed into him and made him trip backwards before disappearing in thin air, disabling temporarily the closest concern. Ruby was the furthest of the bunch and she looked quite winded by the previous fight, the chances of her using the semblance to catch up to her rather slim.

The rest of the people weren't as fast as she was… if she didn't hold anything back for the chase.

The Cat Faunus breathed in and then out. Her eyes settling for a small alley that led right out of the district and back to the main road.

Blake bolted with all the strength left in her body without hesitation, ignoring the girls calling her name, her attention and legs giving more importance to the need of getting out from some unwanted encounter.

The girl managed to get inside the alley without any issue and she also managed to reach the roofs while retreating several buildings away from the docks and back to the industrial district of Vale. She could feel her breathing itching and then… her pacing slowed down to a full stop.

Both pair of ears were twitching attentively as she waited for some telling noise that there was still an ongoing chase, that the pursuit was still persisting or not, and she carefully turned around to find nobody behind her.

Relief washed over the Faunus' mind as her sore body was hit by the cool breeze of the nightly wind. Eyes narrowing tiredly, the girl realized in that exact moment that, despite having indeed dodged the bullet with that run, she also remained homeless and without any shelters to make use of.

She had nowhere to rest and recover from the fight, her Aura running a little low and her body was aching for some rest. It was late, her attention span had quickly reached the lowest degree possible after the eventful day and then... her nose picked a familiar but intriguing smell.

Her body tensed up and her eyes shot wide open as she felt a new purpose renewing her strengths. The scent was strong, terribly strong and also terribly familiar.

Blake could still remember perfectly the first time she actually discovered catnip and… the dangers about it. It had been back at fifth grade, she had been very surprised to learn that the teacher was going to teach a lesson about the 'drug-like' plant for Cat Faunus, but from there she learned about why this was borderline addictive.

The plant itself caused little issue, it was the pheromones released from it that caused some unfunny effects on feline-kind of Faunus. Nothing dangerous to the body, nothing that would actually cause any damage to it, yet it was frowned upon for… the effects caused on the mind of those around it.

A single sniff would deprive the Feline Faunus of any perception of pain, tiredness and put them in a euphoric state that could lead to some accidents or… worse.

The Belladonna didn't have the luxury of having her mind fully there as her senses were invaded by the 'fragrance' and she found herself driven to pursue the origin of this delightful scent. It was… beneath her?

There were balconies and thus the girl slowly studied every single one of them, being careful to not cause any noise and… she found the right flat. A small opening gave the Faunus a chance to enter… yet it was small and her frame unable to pass through during her first attempts.

If she had been conscious of the situation, she would have planned it a little better, but the desire of finding the intriguing smell was stronger than her already-tiny common sense. Gambol Shroud tore a larger gap on the roof and… she passed through.

Glee filled her mind as she entered inside what looked to be a dark living room and, as she recovered from the quick fall to enter the room, she noticed much to her grand dismay the smell was gone. Shock surged, her eyes widening as she was deprived of this primal task and… returned to her tired self.

There was no sound, nor noise that could have hinted to anyone being around and…

Her eyes fixed with little focus at the couch.

Mind screaming to not go through with this stupid idea, Blake succumbed to her body's cravings for the long-deserved rest for the night and, after removing her boots and her vest, she slumped on the attractive sofa.

Her reaction to the soft texture, to the extremely comfy pillow and the overall warmth coming off from it was… to close her eyes in relief at the good luck of having found possibly the best furniture to sleep on.

If only she had known how things would have turned the next morning…

-------------d-d-dd------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------

I was sitting by the couch while I continued to listen the 'explanation' afforded by this girl, Blake Belladonna, with an emotionless look plastered on my face as my attention failed to properly understand some of the context missing.

Why running away from her team? And Weiss Schnee? She was in the same group as the daughter of the richest man in Remnant?

Knowing that she wasn't going anywhere, I was able to quickly go through my bathroom morning routine before truly tackling the issue at hand, part of me begging the Gods to make this something not as infuriating as the one that had happened just the day before.

The Faunus stopped her tale with a nervous look, her eyes hardly able to stay for too long on my face before moving away in embarrassment. She was fidgeting a little, her hands playing with the edges of her vest when I sighed and thought about what I just heard.

There was so much to think about the complicated case, about the fact her narration explained why she entered uninvited in my home and used the couch without permission the first time (because the motivation couldn't certainly extend to why she returned once again), about the fact I was running late for work with this nonsense and… about the wind coming from the newly open roof of my flat.

There was nothing positive with her stubborn presence, the damage caused to my poor apartment still fresh on my mind and visible at the moment. I didn't feel angry at first as I felt… determinedly sure of a simple thing about my state of mind.

I blinked with some perplexity, as I felt so calm in the fact there was no mercy in my mind and body about this situation.

"And you returned here. Why?" I asked with a frown, the girl blinking once before nodding.

"I… I wanted to repay you for the kindness-" She tried to appear apologetic, yet there was no promise of economic repairs for the damage caused by her mere presence.

"Yet you are here." I interrupted without thinking twice about it, causing her to flinch for a moment and sigh.

"I know that it was wrong of me to enter your house, turn your sofa in my bed for a rest and then drink some of milk by the fridge, but it was all in the name of distress and-" She tried to appear appeasing, and maybe she expected to sugarcoat the costs I will have to spend to pay up the reparations, but as she mentioned the milk I had bought the day before, I felt a chill go down my spine.

It was something I had bought for the sake of preparing a cake. The elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Paars, were soon going to celebrate their 35th anniversary of marriage and I had offered to help them by bringing something to eat for the feast.

And now, the opportunity was once again lost because of Blake.

Goddammit.

"Wait, the milk-" I felt anger bubbling again. "You mean to tell me that you also stole food-"

"Beverage-"

"YOU STILL STOLE FROM ME!" I yelled back, causing her interjection to die on the spot at the volume I used against her. Her eyes widened, a little surprised by the outburst and… I wasn't done with her. "You came back, WHY?!" I repeated with a strained voice, I was starting to regret having not called Beacon at this point.

She blinked and… stared at the floor with some embarrassment. "I might have… seen some of my team-members patrolling the district and… I hid in your roof," A blink dignified a momentary pause. "Then I decided to… return inside to not be caught by them." She admitted with a tight tone, expecting the umpteenth outburst out of me.

A legitimate expectation, but one I didn't go through as I merely stared at her in silence. My eyes burning in fury at the fact that not only did she decide to 'hide' in my flat once again, but I was also thinking of the expenses that I would have to pay for her current presence.

I wasn't doubting that the more I was around Blake, the more I would have to pay for the damage she was committing in my own house. I was angry, but I was also smart enough to know how to solve this situation easily and without any issue.

I stood up from my couch with a somewhat calm and 'defeated' expression. "Fine."

…

"W-What?" The Faunus asked with a soft and terribly confused tone, her eyes highlighting how much she had lost me with that sudden change of mood.

I truly didn't want to waste anymore time, thus I went for a quick one.

I smiled. "Do whatever you want," I said lightly. "Do you need to use the bathroom? Use it. Need to rest a little more? You may use the bed. Are you hungry? Mi fridge es tu fridge." I finished with a bright smirk.

The girl blinked, hopes being lifted to an unexpected degree. She looked like a child that just received a gift ten times greater than the one she asked. What kind of monster would ruin her mood?!

"D-Do you mean it? Can I… Can I stay?" Her childish wonder was dripping in each of the words she used and I felt lifted by the lovely moment. Oh my, the hum- I mean, the Faunus-kind!

I sighed and, still smiling, pointed my finger at the door, waiting for her to turn at it with a half-confused frown.

"Get out of my fucking flat!" I replied in a jolly tone while sternly looking at her, making her tense up at the crud demand. I blinked and kept quiet for a while, waiting for a response for her. "So? Are you leaving?" I pressed on her and the girl seemed to be ready to concede but…

"N-No." She shook her head. My irritation increasing at her resilience at my rightful demands. "I know it sounds childish and stupid but-"

"There is no but, Blake, you have been childish and stupid right now," I pointed at the door again, my face hardening again. "Get out, stop harassing me this much and-"

"I-I want to help," She blurted with a convinced tone, cat ears twitching with her voice. "I-I did some damage, I know that you said that you don't want me to- but I can offer you help with your work- maybe do some house-chores or-"

"I don't need that from you," I said calmly but trembling in utter anger, my face was red now. "I thought that you had understood yesterday that I don't want any of that and yet-" I huffed. "Get out of my home or I will call the cops-"

"And commit yourself to the same embarrassing scene of yesterday?" The Faunus shot back with some heat. "I bet you will end up getting yourself ridiculed like back then and obtain nothing from it."

I was fuming, it's been years since I had this much anger for someone,

"Out." That was my limit. I wasn't joking, I wasn't amused by her tenacious attempt to latch like a leech at my sofa and I didn't need her to linger any further.

"I wasn't fi-"

"I said out, Blake!" I repeated angrily, my hand closed in a twichy fist. I wasn't going to hit her, I wouldn't hit a woman before she tried to hit me first, something of a gentleman rule. "You need to fucking leave my house, do you understand?!" I yelled one last time and… it seemed to truly work.

Once again silence but this time the girl nodded at my request much to my surprise. She stood up from the couch and slowly made her way to the door while I followed her behind and prepared myself for any trickery she might have planned for that occasion.

No strange tricks, nothing that could hint to any sudden reappearances any time soon and I hoped for the carpenter to start to work earnestly in the afternoon to see that hole completely fixed.

I closed the door behind, finalizing the end of that maddening situation that spanned from yesterday until now and… I sighed as I felt my fury simmering to a calm, my mind feeling fairly drained as was my body.

It wasn't healthy to have this kind of messes so early in the day and I certainly wasn't going to put more weight on it with the fact I had yet to even go out for work. I nodded to myself, calmly going through some quick check-up of the rest of the rooms, looking for anything that might have been taken, or ruined, yet I found none much to my growing relief.

I spared a few moments to notice the state of the sofa, surprised by the fabric having been moved harshly around in what looked to be a proper battlefield of sheets and covers. It was a sign of some agitated sleep, of someone that had some troublesome nightmares that-

No. I'm not going to show any kindness to Blake.

She could have asked if it had been a true emergency instead of sneaking inside without permission. It was deceitful and dishonest, something born from thought rather than true emotion and that was more than enough for me to silence any positive attempt to pardon what had just happened.

Feeling prepared for another day at the bar, I left my apartment with a guarded but mostly relaxed pace, looking all around in case the girl had decided to tag along… without my consent.

Paranoia, I tried to give it a logical name, yet the sensation of being watched and followed persisted for most of my walk. I stopped numerous times to look around for the Faunus, ready to get her to stop stalking me around and…

There was no sign of her. I blinked, feeling that I was actually giving weight to the matter even though I had planned to not do that. I was just a little tired and… I felt a smile forming on my face as I spotted the bar.

Without hesitation, I stepped inside and found myself greeting the owner of the establishment. Marcus Cobalt was a man in his early forties, already balding with his red-brown hair while proudly sporting a jolly beard and 'stache. His frame showed some beer-belly but he was the healthiest possible.

"Good morning, sir," I said with a relaxed tone, some of my stress dripping off my words and it was quickly caught by the man.

"Good morning, boy," He nodded back with a concerned look. "By the way, something got you tired already? Is the shift too hard on you?" He asked kindly and I shook my head negatively.

"Some unexpected issues and nothing to worry about. All solved," I waved back with a small smile.

"I see," The owner nodded before turning away from me and… smiling. "Good morning, young lady. Are you perhaps friends with Sid or-"

"An acquaintance," Blake muttered quietly, avoiding my face as I turned around to stare at her in shock. She had somehow followed me back to this place, even though I made sure of not being followed and… I grimaced.

When did she get inside? And why didn't I hear her!?

"Yet you seem to be quite interested on him- and he seemed interest too." Mustache winked at the mistaken situation, eyes teasingly darting from her to me before returning back to the girl. "Please, do take a seat as Sid prepares to help around." Marcus gestured me to go and put on my uniform and… I sighed, unwilling to grace any further glances at Blake as I felt one step from truly exploding at the inanity of things.

The Faunus by the time I ventured inside the locker room, good enough for me as I started to prepare for what looked to be a very long day at work. A shift where I was going to hopefully endure the presence and possibly the damage this girl will cause around herself.

May it be some objects being cut or broken, or may it be my reputation being obliterated by innuendos or misunderstandings.

Yep, this was going to be the day…

Seriously, I don't want to sounds racist or anything like that-

But did I just get some bad luck from a dark-haired Cat Faunus or what?!

---------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-dd----------d-d-dd----------d-d-d-d-------d-d-dd--------d-d-dd--

AN

Just to clarify something quick before the mob stab my butt, the MC will have something the usual MCs in my stories don't have.

And that is anger issues. (It's something about the family, btw… and yes, it is an important detail).

While he is good in being polite and neat, precise and calculative, he is bestowed with some easy-to-come fury when the situations… doesn't need it.

The perspective is purposely shown from the point of view of the MC and by any mean Blake is that bad. His point of view is flawed and that… makes the other perspectives more important than in my usual stories. So prepare for some hatred in a nutshell and Blake pulling an interesting action on… Sid.

Why Sid? It's from a fairy tale, one that has been explored in RWBY. The connection will be… shocking!

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 3: Stop following me at work!

If I have to be honest, I hadn't expected things to escalate to that very awkward and terribly itching point.

I had planned to spend some hours at work to avoid having to deal with the newfound bane of my simple life, the Cat Faunus that was Blake Belladonna having proved that she wasn't certainly going to give up with her attempts of leeching off from my current lack of means to contact the authorities.

The black-haired girl had been incredibly sneaky in following silently and undetected me right to the fine establishment I used to spend my time working by, something that gave me even more confirmation that she was indeed a huntress-in-training.

I mean, it wasn't difficult to see her weapon and proclivity to action to understand that she was one, but the actual idea that she gave chase without me knowing was enough to have me accept this fact a little more than before.

I wasn't a huntsman, nor I did consider my senses to be above what many civilians had, but I had been given some 'self-defense' training by both my parents, my Aura was unlocked and I knew about my Semblance. My special ability was, of course, useless about most of my daily life, but it was good to know what it truly was.

The 'Morning Sip' bar was a blossoming activity that had been opened two years ago by the jovial man that was Marcus Cobalt as an attempt to broaden his chances of giving his life a proper improvement.

A family man with two children, both sons, approaching the late stage of teenagehood, he was very attentive to make sure his investment continued to produce enough green to keep up with the growing expenses and the need of preparing some money to leave to his children.

A man that was also playful and understanding with his workers and that was proven right as I started to work for him. The man should have by all means refused the Curriculum I had presented, my grades at Civilian School were mediocre at best and I knew that I was just an inch below the required grade for the job.

It had been desperation, it had been hopefulness, my mind wasn't truly sure of which one had dominated prior to the hiring, but I was certain of one silly thing. I had been overjoyed to learn about the fact I had finally gotten my first job and, much to my glee, the burden it presented were easy to manage in every situation.

I was glad that I had been given the opportunity to have a stable income while living away from Mistral, the final cornerstone that made my independence from home ever so sweet to obtain after years of trying and failing to do so in the Kingdom I came from. Despite being compared to Vale, Mistral was still a struggling nation with what little good jobs were given to the children of those rich and powerful.

And sure, I could have called my parents to obtain some more money to further search for some more job opportunities, but I felt it would have been like borrowing from them without a proper date set and, knowing them, it would have never had one.

It was one of the reasons the man had decided to hire me for his new economic adventure, knowing the perils of leaving the familial home and the struggle of settling down alone and without proper directions.

He had been a farmer, a diligent hard-worker that ended up selling his property to move inside the capital of the Kingdom, away from the dangerous threat the Grimm posed to the people living outside the safe walls of the large settlements.

With a growing family on his back and with me giving a good show of genuine interest at making a good job if taken in, I was accepted in the fold of his establishment and made into something similar to an apprentice to the bearded man.

Time passed, several months going by as I had this job mastered and rendered permanent part of my daily life, and I was turned out to become quite professional at the simple duty of waiter at the bar.

Being the lone worker at the particularly humongous place, my job wasn't actually the easiest out there as speedy reactions were a must for the sake of keeping the service quality the highest possible, but it had possibly the best pay compared to other similar activities.

With Marcus not exploiting his manpower and rewarded hard-work with the right money, making the interest to make some quality work during the various tasks subtly expected and needed, but not truly mandatory to force people to do so.

Truth be told, I appreciated that single line of sternness from him as a proper establishment did require some strong-handed action here and there and I found his capacity with planning the future improvements to be… refreshing and inspiring.

I had yet to meet the man's wife, but if from his lovely comments regarding her, I sure expected to find a lady as kind as the owner was. She had to deal with the house's duties, the woman being strong enough to perfectly balance the daily chores with the responsibility of being a mother of two young teen.

And knowing how hard it had been for mom to deal with me and my two other siblings, it sure was easy to understand and praise the lady for her efforts.

Of course, I wasn't certainly as mature and responsible as back as a few years old. I could still remember the issues I would cause in these specific moments and…

I think I digressed again! Curses!

It's been happening for a while now, my mind wandering far too many times away from the current problem, escaping from what looked to be a perfectly worrying issue to deal about in a normal situation. And this wasn't even a normal situation.

Returning my attention back at my current situation I couldn't help but appear quite distracted as I went through my usual tasks. Passing the plates with slices of the various available cakes, preparing steamy and warm coffee, and making sure that everyone was happy and satisfied with their services.

I was attentive enough to make sure to have all the clients I was helping around and taking orders from were content with my hard-work, but I still decided to keep a mindful watch over a certain trouble-causing girl that was now donning the female version of the uniform as she continued to go through the difficult pace of her temporary work without any breaks.

A long-sleeved white shirt with a little black tie, black pants that reached to a pair of dark brown shoes. There was also a black bow partially covering her cat ears.

Why was she hiding her Faunus' features?

Marcus had been giddy to 'introduce' his new 'part-timer', saying that Blake's interest in 'repaying me for the kindness and the understanding way I had about her' had conquered his attention and urged him to help her.

Of course, I knew it was because of the Cat Ears. Why would anyone hate them?

It had been a shocker when I left the locker room to find out that Blake had indeed decided to 'pay back her debt' by asking for a part-time work at the 'Morning Sip' and I was surprised to realize that she had decided to keep quiet over what had happened back to my house, either out of embarrassment or simply accepting the fact it wouldn't have painted her in a good light to the kind owner of the bar.

Still, I found myself having to deal with the fact I had to keep a mindful eye over what she was doing as a responsibility I had as a senior worker at the establishment. Which was technically extra work for me to go through.

She was completely inexperienced, going quite slow and somewhat shaky with her interactions with the clients, nothing that truly ruined things but it was certainly getting some confused looks from some of the long-standing people that were keen to frequently visit the establishment at that hour.

No mistakes were made for the orders, something that put me at an eased stance regarding my worries of having to deal with an eventual fallout if even the smallest mistake was committed. I went through my own duties without any issue, yet I was given some curious questions from the group I had to serve.

I had imagined some intrigue at the newest 'waitress', yet I was surprised when the inquires were mostly directed at the bow she was wearing. Sure, there were people that were asking about her name and why she was here, the last one being replied with the fact the girl was desperately in need of money (which was true, but didn't bring out any issue related to 'why' she needed it).

Soon my eyes caught something interesting happening to the Faunus as tips started to appear by her hands. Tips weren't a major surprise, but those weren't much common for me to receive… but the girl was easily gaining several hundreds of Liens from her rookie-ish and shy mannerism.

It was enough to put me in some irritated mood, but not enough to warrant a true reaction out of me, knowing full well that there was some kind of 'affection' Vale had for independent female workers.

Nothing specifically explained, but something that certainly had to do with the whole 'young woman trying to make a future from little' picture gaining the interest and the pity of those interested in the stories.

Hours passed and the only pause for the shift began. People weren't around and the building was mostly empty at that point as Marcus had gone to check some documents back in his office and leaving me to face Blake in that thirty-minutes long break.

The Cat Faunus silently took a seat right beside mine as we patiently waited by one of the tables. I blinked, my lips sealed close as I decided that I didn't have anything to say to her and thus I had no reason to begin any conversation.

I wasn't angry, but I was tired and annoyed at her subtle action. I wasn't completely influenced by the recent development of having her work here too, but I was still stomaching the very idea that Marcus had deemed it to be a good idea hiring her too.

Even though it was a student they were talking about. A fugitive one too.

"I'm sorry."

The words happen to sound more like a bell ringing, my eyes glancing momentarily at the Cat Faunus. The young Belladonna had her stare directed at the table itself, unwilling to deign a stare back at me out of nervousness.

"I know that I did force this decision- and that maybe I could have just… waited there rather than do anything about it," She admitted with a gulp, amber eyes glancing up at me for a moment, forced away as the girl found my blank stare a little too much to bear. "But I know for a thing that I can't certainly 'let go' of what had happened."

A sigh, then I stood up and started to walk towards the front door. The girl blinked in surprise at the sudden action and her lips parted.

"W-Where are you going?" She asked with a quiet tone.

I shrugged as I prepared to walk outside. "Going for a walk," I curtly replied, eyes not bothering to glance at her in that moment. "Feel the need to think about stuff."

I didn't deign her further comments as I decided to wander a little in the medium-sized plaza where the bar faced to. People were mostly filling it with their happy appearances, children and young teens enjoying the early hours of the day and chatting all over the place.

It was a mess of noises that surprisingly didn't annoy nor irritate those that were going all over the streets to reach for their workplaces. The square was a good reminder that sometime loud sounds did also help in the search for clarity and inspiration.

I wasn't certainly going to debate to myself whenever or not Blake's decision had been a good one, but I was keen to give some weight over the fact she had indeed accepted to work at the bar for the sake of 'repaying me', which was certainly something I had told her to 'not consider, nor do' back when she had offered.

A silly development, but one that further cemented a very irritation escalation after we were done with this shift. After this first day at work, I was quite sure that the Cat Faunus was planning to go back to my flat and use it as her temporary shelter until the storm she had created with her messy luck.

Which also meant that she was going to leech off from what I had around and force me to once again hide the catnip pot I had to protect the day before. Seriously, what is wrong with that girl?

Faunus followed some of their animalistic traits to a fair degree, but they never 'strayed' too much about those. There was a 'human' limit to their needs as to detach them from their animal counterparts.

Blake was seemingly lacking about most of those, appearing and acting more as a troublesome black cat than a normal young woman. Why, even the fact she literally hand-picked my house and 'deemed' it a good place to return after some yells was enough to point out her cat-like attitude.

I sighed as I took refuge in one of the benches set right by the side of the road, my legs feeling sore and needing some rest after the intense pacing of walking around the bar to provide the orders to the clients and… then I heard them.

"Do you think Blake is fine?" A young voice called out by the nearby alley, causing my eyes to widen up and turn at the origin of the question. I had to tilt a little to stare at the two girls talking to each other.

One had black-hair with red-tips, she was wearing what looked to be a red cape, a black long-sleeved dress that ended in a black skirt with red trim around and in the front. She was also wearing black stockings and black boots.

The other had white-silver hair and light-blue eyes. She was wearing a strapless dress with a gradation from white to pale blue at the hem that ended right by her thighs, layers of tulle under the skirt. A white bell-sleeved bolero was over the dress, a strangely familiar emblem painted on its back.

Were they the 'angry' teammates that Blake had described in her story? From what I could see in the youngest of the two, they hardly seemed to be that much furious about what the Faunus had done.

Maybe, just maybe, if I went to talk to them, I could have the girls 'apologize to each other' and get her out of my life and flat. Yes, that would certainly work and-

"She surely is, Ruby," The pale-skinned girl snorted her eyes filtering some annoyance. "She still has to explain why she is still running if she is truly that much of a good person."

I blinked at the harsh tone the girl had adopted, making me pause in my attempt to approach the two.

"I-It's not that bad. Sun did say that-"

"If she truly means well, then she shouldn't have run away after what happened at the docks," The regal-looking lady scoffed, her stare hardening at the uneasy-looking brunette. "As much as we are aware about, she might as well have lied to Sun for the sake of covering the fact that she was part of the White Fang."

There was a pause and then… red-cape spoke once again.

"There is sure an explanation," Ruby pressed back with some nervousness. "Sun said that she 'was' part of the Fang and… she is no longer with them."

The silver-haired lady huffed and shook her head. "Ruby, I think we can agree that she did run away rather than talk to us," The girl said with an irritated tone. "I know the kind of Faunus she is and I'm sure that she will not be the one to speak to us."

...What did she just say? 'The kind of Faunus she is'?

I felt my stomach churning at what I just heard and I felt like this wasn't certainly something to be 'interested about'. If these girls were truly Blake's teammates… then I think I will make sure of having not heard anything about that.

Actually, I wasn't even aware of their current presence. Nope.

I sighed as I zoned out from the following words, feeling like I had heard more than enough to pass on some judgment on their manners and rejecting the chances of having some peaceful approach to happen anytime soon.

Blinking, I realized that it was about time for the break to come to an end and went back inside the bar without saying anything to what I had just heard.

My stare went for a brief moment at the Cat Faunus, Blake having started to use the broom to clean some dust trails by the corner of the large room and unaware of my return.

Another blink, I felt my lips twitching in a little scowl as I felt uncertain of what to do about what I just heard. I was still angry about what she had done at my poor flat and phone, but I did feel that I was also understanding some more about her reluctance to go back to her 'friends'.

Marcus returned from his office and a few seconds later we were back to deal with the final two hours of the shift, people flocking at the now-reopen 'Morning Sip' and already asking for some snack and beverages.

But what was I supposed to do with the girl?

----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d-------

The noises coming from the clients was enough to bring Blake's mind back to the tasks at hand.

Working as waitress in this warm bar had been an idea blurted without any major thinking put behind and she had almost back-tracked from it as she had seen the man that was Marcus Cobalt, the owner of the 'Morning Sip', humming about this offer.

It had been spontaneous, her mind still reminding her guilty consciousness that she had to do something about the damage inflicted to the apartment she had for 'good reasons' infiltrated in the last two days.

The yells, the panicked actions committed for the sake of 'survival' and the sheer panic at having to avoid certain streets of Vale to not encounter any of her teammates was enough to prompt her mind out from her usual composure. There wasn't much to recover from the two wacky days that saw her entangled to someone that, by all means, was as average as one could be nowadays.

Sid was angry, the black-haired girl didn't require any loud vocal proof of such thing as his face told her more than enough about the young man's current ill mood. She was certain that she was doing a somewhat decent job for her first day at 'work', but the constant staring the girl was subject to prior to the pause had been enough to put her in a somewhat tense guard around the object of her 'damaging'.

The Faunus wasn't technically afraid of him in an abusive or harmful manner, knowing full well that when he had the opportunity to truly hurt her, he had decided to still use words rather than physical pain to direct his point.

Said words growing crasser the more he would get angrier, but that was something that she could see herself do when an object under her possession was damaged or even destroyed by some stranger.

And that was the very thing that plunged her mind in that guilt, the fact that she could identify herself with the reaction she got back from her 'bad actions'. While there was a 'genuinely good' context behind it all, Blake was aware that some of the escalation could have been easily avoided.

Prime example being the roof she had 'opened' twice, knowing from experience that reparation of a roof is more expensive than repairing a simple broken window. Her mind bringing up the very day her father had to pay some really high price to get the roof of their living room fixed after a fallen tree had crashed onto it.

Her lips clicked silently as the second part of the shift began with… some curious difference from the stare she was receiving. No more as intense as before and certainly not as continuous. At first she had been surprised by the interesting change, her mind quickly picking up a trick in the making as it did sound rather similar to the one that had happened back to the flat.

So the tension persisted for a full ten minutes before her confusion started to get a grip over her mind once more. There was no sign of planned trickery, nor any hint of foul play in the making and… that was giving her even more reasons to be paranoid around the young man.

While she knew that Sid wasn't planning anything dangerous, the sudden lack of attention was duly-noted as something of an anomaly in the waiter's attitude. Something to be concerned about until the shift ended.

In fact, time passed and nothing eventful happened at the establishment, the work-day ending with a calm tone that put even more uneasiness in Blake. Was he planning something for after the job? Maybe something about having her refused inside the flat?

The Cat Faunus was nervous, rather ready to make a run back at the comfy couch and warm living room instead of letting this possible trap spring on her face. It was frustrating… but she had to keep her composure right now.

Marcus smiled kindly as he handed her the surprisingly good pay-check for the five hours she spent there. The girl had thought that the wage was good enough to allow Sid to keep up with the flat's rent, but that she would get this much of a good pay too?

She blinked in awe at the amount she received, quickly putting the gained money in her little wallet without thinking too much about it. She would return the proper money once they had reached the apartment.

If they happened to reach the apartment, if she wasn't barred from entering inside and was 'evicted' by the young man. Her mind was a cacophony of nervousness, panic and unrest.

She wanted answers, she craved for them, and yet Blake was aware that she wouldn't get any in that exact moment. There was silence as they both walked outside the 'Morning Sip' and proceeded to make the trip back to the flat.

The quiet calm was unnerving, enough to have her newly-freed cat ears twitch in irritation at that lack of clues for her future stay at the apartment. They continued to walk, the human hardly seeming to mind the fact she was walking beside him and that… lifted her hope just a little.

But Blake was restrained about showing this, her mind reminding her of the chances of this being a trap, an ambush to have her removed from his normal life. He was attached to the idea, rightfully so as he enjoyed the quiet and loved the lack of troubles she was keen to bring around wherever she went.

There was a sigh from him as his stare fell upon the nearby market shop. Was he thinking of buying some groceries? Should she offer now to pay with her newly-gained money?

Maybe not, she confirmed to her anxious brain, reminding that giving out her money so easily could have been seen as a sign of lack of interest and genuine concern regarding the issue she had to repay. So she waited for his next step before planning to do anything.

He didn't say anything as he suddenly directed his steps away from the line of the street and right toward the little shop. There was just a small crowd of people, enough to bring some life to the normal-looking place.

Sid nodded at one of the cashiers, the young man there smiling and nodding back before giving a glance at her. He blushed, possibly because of her interesting appearance.

It was no secret that she had some beauty to herself thanks to training and careful eating. People in the White Fang had been prime people that had seen this and commented about it, mostly Adam and Ilia but their comments would always end one way or another about her…

Butt.

It was a strangely irritating topic as it had been brought up for an unfair amount of time by both close friends. Nothing that truly warranted a strong vocal response, but enough to put her in some instant nervousness around them.

And while she contemplated about this, the young man beside her went to pick a box containing several milk bags and settling it… in a nearby shopping cart. Amber eyes blinked in surprise as she noticed just now that Sid had picked one before entering inside.

It was something that reminded her that he had truly never minded about her appearance. Even the Faunus features had gotten any reaction out of him and that… left her quite pleased about it. It was nice from time to time to not be considered a good-looking thing to everyone sight and it did remind her of the time she wasn't as developed as now.

Happier times, she grimaced inwardly before being yanked away from her thoughts by someone poking at her shoulder. She blinked and glanced at… Sid.

"Do you have to pick anything yourself?" He asked calmly, nothing there that reminded her of the enraged tone she had to deal with back at the flat. There wasn't anything in his behavior that suggested at it.

And that was worrying Blake to no end.

"I-I think I will pass-"

He sighed. "There isn't no need to give me all the money," His admittance got her floored for a moment. "We can do installments. I think that you should keep some of it and… you can use it."

There was a blink or two before the girl truly replied at that surreal instance.

"Is this a trick?" She snapped quietly. "Are you trying to perhaps have me pay with 'your money' so-"

"As if I would lower myself to that degree," He said with a scoff, interrupting her and causing her eyes to widen up at the annoyance displayed by him. "I admit that I might have been a little harsher than the situation required, but I think you have to admit that the damage caused was all on you. I don't need to exploit that, nor I wish to."

Another pause, more surprise drowning her mind and then, she hummed.

"Do you m-mean it?" Blake stuttered much to her dismay. "Can I buy something without-"

"Go ahead." He said with another heavy sigh and with that positive note, the Cat Faunus found her attention directed at the products displayed by the shop.

Some more time passed, her mind finally delving in the chance of getting some good food and proper hygiene products compared to the ones available in Beacon. While Yang's shampoo was good to keep her hair shining, it did little to get them straight and easy-to-manage and Weiss' own products were forbidden to even be glanced at by the girl's high-standard.

Remembering the Schnee's very passionate speech about her pricey products was enough to leave a bitter taste at what was supposed to be a simple shopping trip for her. What a difficult subject to face, she reckoned with a simple and blank sigh.

Finally, they went back to pay the bought products and soon they were back to the trip to the… flat. She was unsure how to define it now as the word 'home' hardly-fitted with how lacking their current situation was, but she was keen to say that whatever was planned for her stay there, it wouldn't make her Sid's roommate.

Yet she shrugged as the building came to sight and Blake followed the young man inside. Once they had entered the place, Sid gave clear indication of her current stay. There was some minor sternness but also tension in his tone, possibly because the young man was still unsure about what he was trying to accomplish by helping her.

His sudden change of heart still suspicious, but his lack of faux helpfulness giving her little to do about the strange behavior. So the Cat Faunus merely accepted it and was led to her newest 'room'.

Formerly 'Guest' room (more of an unused section that was meant to be some children's room), it was given to her to use until their 'situation was cleared', subtly implying that the full repay of the costs of her damage was going to end her temporary stay to this flat.

Something that somehow left her irritated, but also confused about such irritation. She tested the room provided, hand carefully pressing on the mattress of the bed and… Blake was sure of it.

The couch would do fine for her.

-----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d-------d-d-d-d-----

AN

I think I can hear people preparing the forks about 'going too fast'. No, I'm just setting up the base for some more shenanigans. While Sid's sudden change of attitude might seem too 'good' to be true, I plan for his sternness to be more than rather a tone of his voice.

The installations are going to be salty ones and Blake's usage of the flat's services will be monitored (where morality allows it) and she will not be allowed to have a key to the door.

Small precautions, but those will have major reasons to be when things will… scale up a notch.

So, Weiss is still racist? I think we can all agree that if Blake had ran from the docks after the fight her already shaky trust would have collapsed all at once. The Schnee is hurt and she retaliate in such a manner.

Does it sound strange? I'm working with a hypothetical scenario, so some attitudes will have to change.

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 4: I only wish for some order

If there is something I truly despised as my worst flaw, it was how easily I would become a softie when I heard a solid sad story about someone going through hard times. It was a little something that had been there ever since my childhood, an event which I will not digress myself to explain caused this to become something of a terrible weakness of mine.

I had been used back during my school years, I had been used during my brief time as a sport player and then I found myself dabbling at the realization that I hadn't truly taken a 'polite and functional being' within my humble abode.

Imagine waking up to prepare the breakfast, brain still failing to grasp the concept of 'waking up' as of yet and then… entering inside one of the messiest displays in which my poor living room could have been turned in a matter of a few hours spent by my unaware self in blissful and ignorant sleep.

It took me some monumental effort to not outright drop the large plate holding two steamy cups of coffee I had just finished to prepare. There were some cookies too, but I think my mind was experiencing the divine mix of anger and horror as I found the entire place littered with Blake's clothes.

Well, mostly littered. The entirety of her clothes were all left in utter disorganization, scattered across couches and sofa while the 'sleeping beauty' enjoyed the lack of painful sunlight thanks to the curtained windows.

I could see her face, the Cat Faunus sporting a satisfied smile as she snuggled her face onto the pillow I was sure came from 'her' room, the sheets covering her lower body originating from the same room and… I froze for a moment as I realized a very shocking detail about her current state of sleep.

While the girl looked to be in heaven from the relaxed expression on her face, the sofa and the clothes she had decided to use as a sleeping wear proved that she had indeed gone through another terrible night cycle.

What truly got me particularly embarrassed, morality being a cruel mistress, was 'what' kind of night-wear she was still using. At first, I thought of it as a functional and slightly-conservative night-gown, having seen some distractedly while going through numerous shopping sprees in my life because of my mother's and sister's interest in fashion once or twice in a while.

Of course, that had been in the past and… I was proven that my first assumption was possibly the wrongest I could have ever guessed. In fact, I was stunned still as I realized that the 'conservative pajama' was none other than a revealing kimono that was partly unfolded to show… some curves.

The curves were evident, the pale skin-color bringing them up to an interesting but somewhat degree. I turned away from the embarrassing sight with a full-blush, my attention returning to the now shaky plate I was holding and I was quick to urge my unnerved mind to redirect the focus to the nearby small table.

I was slow, my pace a little stiffy as I settled the plate down and freeing myself of a limiting burden, one that had forbidden me until now to pick up a pillow in one of the couches and yeet it at the sleeping Faunus.

It slammed softly but true on her unfortunately unaware face, the sudden 'attack' being more than enough to get her to jump out from her pseudo-comatose state to a fully-awake and hyperventilating one.

Eyes wide open, darting from one side to another to try and see the cause of this unexpected disturbance, and finally she spotted me. Golden eyes bore onto my blue eyes and… she frowned in minor displeasure at the fact I was the sole possible responsible for this rough awakening.

"Wha-" Her words dying before those could even start to make a coherent speech, her reaction ended by the fact I now had my arms crossing close to my chest as my eyes turned to the closest of the two couches and Blake followed my stare to the ridiculous situation that was caused by her disorder.

Annoyance slowly simmered down at that new sight, in its stead a growing sense of cool realization washing over her sleepy body as she started to grasp the true reason behind her abrupt awakening. The Faunus looked nervous, possibly because she actually was a normally-ordered person compared to my first assessment and…

I genuinely hoped that it wasn't nothing else other than that new guess.

She was silent for a while, her glance lingering longer through the 'battlefield' she had created and she sighed.

"I will fix this," Blake replied to the mounting group of inquiries coming from my stern staring, her cat ears flapping down in discomfort. I could almost hear her add 'I promise' to that curt answer, but she caught herself from sounding too apologetic.

At least she had noticed how I dislike when people repeated apologies without meaning them. It was so unbecoming and annoying to have someone say 'I am sorry' and then go to make another mess after the one they made.

Hopefully, today was going to be as tame as it had been yesterday.

Facing another 'Day One' wasn't certainly something I wanted to deal anytime soon, especially with how many expenses I still had to pay. The carpenter had gone to fix back the roof's issue and I spent the time the man used to work on the damage to glare at the barely concealed girl.

Blake had taken 'refuge' in the very sofa she had turned up to sleep onto yesterday, trying to appear as naively innocent as she could. An act that 'sadly' didn't get any more freebies out of me as I did mention that I would still take some money from her wage.

A solid 25% to be exact, the amount of the pay offered at the bar more than enough to have her survive even with that daunting drain for the problems she had caused in the last two days. It was almost impressive how someone could do so much of a grand issue as the one the Faunus had caused in the span of almost 48 hours.

"Why are you not sleeping in your room?" I asked with a somewhat calm tone, some of my irritation still passing through much to my inner chiding and the girl's flinch. The lack of caffeine was a serious debilitation to my capacity to compose my emotions with how I planned to speak and right now, my anger wasn't certainly hiding away.

I was just a little pissed, irked even at the fact I woke up to such a disgusting lack of capacity in keeping some orders. I wasn't even mad that she had gone for the couch, with all due respect finding it unimportant compared to the state I found the living room mere moments ago.

"The mattress is too stiff," She commented slowly, almost like as if she was keeping track of her words before giving them out. She was thinking before blurting and that was good in my book.

"You could have asked if there was another mattress," I pointed out with a sigh, this time my stern posture breaking to allow me the chance of grasping the inviting cup of coffee. The first sip was enough to bring some more energy to my body. "I think I have two new ones lying around somewhere."

She nodded, head slightly tilted towards in shame. "I didn't want to bother," Blake admitted with a frail tone. "I thought that it would have sounded a little… demanding from my part."

I blinked, glancing at her in confusion as she averted her sight away from me. Now, that was actually a first.

"Did you forget what I said yesterday?" I found myself asking numbly. "I admit I went overboard with words and manners, I think you can easily understand why I had to be harsh and-"

I paused, flinching a little as she didn't even bother turning her sight up to match with mine. I wasn't expecting her to show defiance at my words, but I truly wanted to make it clear I didn't truly hate her… completely. I was hating her for her recent actions, which had impacted severely on my daily life and put a temporary drain to my stable income.

This was difficult to watch in silence and inactively, and terribly familiar for how similar it did look to a certain painful instance of my childhood. I hummed, ignoring the little crave for a second sip from my mug as my free hand wandered over the untouched cup as I slowly walked up to Blake with it.

The Faunus didn't react much at the fact I was approaching her, the only tale-telling sign being the way her cat-like ears were twitching. Attentive, cautious and somewhat curious about what I had planned for her to 'endure'.

I sighed again, this time bending a little to offer the cup at the student and… she huffed.

"I don't need it-"

"Please," I pressed on with a tense but soft tone, feeling my little irritation vanish in a moment of… hesitation. "I understand you are tired and need some strength."

She still looked a little reluctant at my offer, but now her attention was directed at the enticing mug waiting for her to be held and drunk from. A blink, then two and… still nothing. She was staring at it, with notable interest, but a general unwillingness to try and grasp it in her hands.

I sighed one last time. "I will help you fix things up," I promised in an attempt to push her in the right direction. "I suppose I can spare some time for-"

"I-I don't need your help," Blake replied with a nervous note. "I… I know I did mistakes and- I'm glad that you are at least giving me a chance of paying back the issues I had caused."

There was an uneasy pause as she let her expression relax just an instant, flashing a tiny grateful smile before returning her focus at the cup. Instead of resuming the stare competition with the object, her hands tentatively went to wrap around the cup, slowly but momentarily touching my fingers as I slipped my hold of the object to her and… she nodded.

"Thank you."

Two simple words that gave me some relief as she then proceeded to bring the cup close to her lips, the girl taking a quick sip before flinching and let out a soft cough. I blinked, a simple snort leaving mouth cut short at the sight.

"I can bring some sugar if you want-"

"I-It's fine," She let out another quick cough. "I like it… bitter." Finally, a small smirk forming on her face. "Still, thank you for the offer."

It was all what I wanted to hear and, after that brief moment of genuine re-approach with each other, a finalization of the details that made our strange situation… strange, we proceeded to give a thorough clean-up of the living room.

Her clothes were folded in a thinly-made stack by the sofa. Stockings, vest, shirt, pants, ribbon, arm-wears and…

Underwear.

I was the one that found out personally that the girl was indeed sleeping without anything beside that revealing kimono. It didn't help that she then caught me freezing me a moment with her panties before me, face flushing a bright red as she mechanically took them away from my hands and turned away from my mortified expression.

Now wasn't that the proper awkward way to start this brand new day in Vale with someone as peculiar as was Blake Belladonna?

------------d-d-dd-----------d-d-dd------------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d--------

If someone had told Blake just a week or two ago that she would have ended up living together with a 'mostly' complete stranger, the Cat Faunus would have easily scoffed at them, turned around, and waltzed away from their sight with her own eyes drowning in her little books.

It was certainly a sudden change that the girl had yet to stomach to the fullest, the fact that she was now forced to stay away from possibly the safest place in Vale. Beacon was homely but the reason that had driven her to seek out asylum there was because of the strong walls and good people 'ruling' over it.

The Headmaster was enigmatic with his mysterious ways, yet Blake knew of his diplomatic and appeasing tones from her father's past talks about him. A curious elder that wouldn't indulge much in breaking his own rules for the sake of something interesting happening around him.

Like a mature child with incredible political power and hold, Ozpin was still a trustworthy figure that certainly knew how to keep his own 'fief' well-protected and secured from any infiltration by external groups.

She could remember the annoyance displayed by Sienna when numerous attempts of that kind had yielded nothing if not backfiring results against the organization, the man being far too cautious to allow large teams with 'peculiar' upbringings and thus foiling any situation of the kind.

Yet Blake's case had been particular and surely intriguing enough to catch the headmaster's interest and subsequent intention of allowing her to enroll to the school. She could remember being captured after advancing the request for a secret meeting, panic surging when the officers sent to her temporary hideout said something about jail-time and a trial.

It had been some of the most difficult moments and she would be lying if she didn't say how it had been a tense night at the police department back then, but then the man had decided to give her some trust and the Faunus was accepted in the Huntsmen Academy with some categorical conditions to keep up with, which she had been more than glad to uphold for the sake of not getting kidnapped back by any of Adam's henchmen and brought before him… to face a trial for her unexpected 'betrayal'.

Loyalists were everywhere nowadays, in the streets, in the docks, in the factories and in the farms, all ready to swear fealty to a 'good cause' like the one pushed by the White Fang. The lack of initiatives from the councils proving to be a good way to quickly recruit dissatisfied members of the numerous Faunus-led communities in their folds, increasing their ranks to a number three-times bigger than the amount present before Sienna had assumed the leadership.

Yet, just like her tenure in the group had soured before the violence and aggressive tones adopted by Sienna's authoritarian rule, the little peace the girl had gained by becoming a member of Team RWBY was shattered in a moment of emotional distress.

As much as she had tried to keep things bottled up regarding her hidden features and her own origins, being around someone as pompous and racist as Weiss Schnee proved to be far more than the Faunus could have endured. It wasn't just possible and her hopes of four to five years of minimal presence over the political landscape unfolding around Remnant were all crushed by the little faith ruined by the very cheeky moron she had allied with two days ago.

Sun was somewhat… easygoing. Kind of like Yang, but terribly easy to push over with how he was crushing on her. It was flattering to a fair degree, the attention he was giving her being rather acceptable compared to the obsessive one promoted by Adam.

Even in a topic of friendship, Sun felt more trustworthy and… less creepy than Ilia. The Chameleon Faunus was sweet and quite accepting of her different views, but she was still quite keen to give her some of the weirdest looks ever.

Something that had been a major thorn to any major 'closeness' they could have developed, but not enough to bring it all to a painful end. Cutting down her connection with Adam had left her hurt, but the path he had taken had been more than enough to get her to accept the need to put at end to that failing diplomatic approach.

But the fact that now Ilia could consider an enemy? The mere thought was enough to wager a large bit of her early-morning musings. Almost enough to even reduce the embarrassment of that rather unwanted discovery proclaimed by her 'creditor'.

She blamed tiredness, yet she wouldn't be lying to herself. Even when Sid had asked about the reason behind the mess she had left on his wake while folding her vest in a calm but steady way, the girl had been hesitant to give out the real motivation.

Nightmares had been a thing for a long time now, but not was much as they had been in the last few days. Her unconscious reaction was far stronger than the meek ones she would have back in her team's room and the reasons behind such change was actually easy to point out from small details.

With Yang's easy-to-hear snores, Ruby dragging her homework up to late, and with Weiss giving some annoying-to-listen lectures to the young team leader, Blake had never experienced a state of complete sleep at Beacon, her senses keeping a state of partial awareness of what was around her.

And that was until she had fallen onto that delightful sofa decorating the young man's living room.

If Sid snored or not, she wouldn't be having trouble to deal with it as his roof was still far from the living room, far enough to allow her moments of silent rest to be wasted in… bad memories that didn't leave her alone for just a moment.

Vivid memories and altered scenes of her pasts that haunted her tired mind, keeping her from fully attaining a proper sleep in that perfect settlement she got in this ideally-good predicament. While she was indeed forced to work for some place in Vale, the lack of violence (human, Faunus and Grimm) was actually proving to be a decent change to her livelihood as her work was… easy.

It wasn't dull enough as the shift was perfectly halved to allow some time to not lose herself in the tasks provided and the pay was nothing to truly scoff at. It was proof that Marcus Cobalt wasn't racist, or that at least he didn't mind having a Faunus worker and giving them same rights as human ones.

It was pleasant to be reminded that there were some good people in Vale, that the case provided by Cardin's mere existence was actually an extremely-small minority compared to the large approval of equal rights with Faunus-kind. People were receptive for change, but there weren't serious rules that established that.

Blake was fine with this, but she couldn't help but be a little miffed by the fact she wasn't guaranteed in a legal way, that her position was offered out of kindness and good-will. Her musings cut brief as the walk through Vale to reach the 'Morning Sip' was as uneventful as the last two times.

The owner greeted them both chirpily, Blake smiling at the older man while Sid merely granted him a quick 'good-morning' before they both went to the locker rooms. In a normal circumstance, the mixed area would have caused major problems because of their different sexes, yet the fact that the changing to the uniform required just a tiny bit skin exposure, made the experience bearable if not forgettable.

The human finished first, the elements of his clothes as a waiter being less than the one the Faunus had to put on. The uniform itself had been a surprise, part of her expecting for her to be subjected to some 'Neko-Maid' situation rather than being given a professional look and… she was happy about what she got.

It wasn't the best work in Remnant, but she was happy to say that it was definitively better than boringly spending her days studying things she knew about in Beacon or being restricted by the limited air allowed by the White Fang.

Here she was Blake Belladonna, simple waitress in a morning-only bar. She was deemed a young woman, not a student, nor a fodder to waste in the 'long and shining path of the revolution.' She wasn't a pawn to some mastermind and she wasn't truly forced to do anything.

The girl chose this road and she was eager to responsibly go through this and… there was just a worry that had superseded anything she had been having nightmares about. A new concern that was as silly as rightfully proposed by her mind.

What happens when she was done with her debt? Would she be allowed to stay?

Naively, she had expected for Sid to bring up the topic either earlier in the morning or even before by yesterday's dinner, but the young man had been mostly focused on the present rather than in the future.

While his intentions were genuinely good (or at least, she hoped so), he didn't have any reason to worry about the time the debt she had for him was exhausted by the installments planned. And even though such situation wouldn't happen anytime soon as of how 'little' he was taking from her wage, she couldn't help but wonder about what would come next.

Would the Cat Faunus have her strained relationship with her team solved by the time? Would she have the means to 'survive' by the time this was all over?

Will this ever be over, the peace and the calm she was so happily enjoying?

She couldn't help but appreciate the rather selfish need of preserving the new status quo, it was far too decent and acceptable, inspiring and endearing for someone as tired as Blake.

The girl sighed as she left the locker room with some heavy thoughts to develop during her mindless working, her hands pressing the door behind her close as she shifted her attention back to the now-open activity, going back to the counter as she prepared with Sid to accommodate the first clients.

She sported a tiny smile, her mind reminding her that she had to give a positive impression to those she was going to take orders from and… then her entire facade dropped in a shocked jaw-drop.

Gone was her composure, gone was her little calm of mind as the very first individual to walk inside the building was someone she was familiar with and very keen to avoid for the time being because of how she had 'took care' of him back at the docks.

Smiling eye-to-eye in a rather cheeky way, blue eyes exploring briefly all over the bar while he stretched his arms to the side and giving a full flex of his muscles, and abs freely exposed by his open shirt, Sun Wukong looked rather unaware of the incredibly (un)lucky predicament he had stumbled upon.

Maybe it was karma, she should have been a little less rude to the energetic Monkey Faunus and then, if things couldn't get any worse in that very horrible development, Sid decided to approach the still-unaware Haven student.

"Good morning, sir," The human said with a polite tone, catching the attention of the blond. "And welcome to 'Morning Sip'."

The smile brightened a little more at the polite greeting. "Thanks man," He replied mirthfully. "I just wanted to try out this place as I've heard good things from some friends of mine and… is it possible for me to browse a little from the menu before-"

The paper containing the entire list of sweet snacks and other delicacies for that early hour was provided by Sid to the slightly-surprised Monkey Faunus. "It is actually how we prefer clients to pick," The young man replied with his professional voice. "It's best to know a little more about ingredients and the way some of the food is made for the sake of avoiding causing trouble to those with intolerance to any of the ingredients."

Blake was quick to exploit the opportunity to get herself away from sight, ducking behind the counter and… getting a curious glance from Marcus, the man noticing her action and casting a confused glance her way.

The Faunus flinched and mouthed a 'I will explain later' at the owner, his eyebrow lifting in a curious fashion before he turned his attention back at the coming clients. Several were frequent ones but, instead of finding relief in the mass of people coming inside, the Belladonna felt herself paling as she spotted a familiar blonde cowlick standing uniquely among the other people and…

Yes, her eyes weren't deceiving her as a slightly-annoyed Yang Xiao-Long made her way towards Sun. The Monkey Faunus pausing the interaction with the waiter to wave at Blake's girlfriend and… getting a snort back from the fellow blonde.

"Morning, Goldi-"

"Can it, Monkey-boy," The Xiao Long shot back with a tired sigh. "It's too early in the morning to be this cheerful and… I'm not in the mood for any fun dates right now."

There was a pause, the grin on the boy's face widening at the comment. "C'mon, it's not just a 'date'-"

"Before you thrown in your crappy ideas," Yang interrupted the fellow student, turning her lilac eyes at Sid. "Could you please get me a cup of coffee? I need something strong enough to kick myself awake."

The young man nodded without much of a reply to the girl's request, turning a moment to Sun. "I will take your order once hers is done." He bowed a little as to apologize and accepting the quick nod from the Faunus before going back to the counter and… noticing what was going on with Blake.

He blinked once, then twice. "What are you doing?" He whispered with some annoyance, her whole face cringing at how close the two familiar people were to her current cover right now. That wasn't the best scenario. Not at all.

"They are 'that' friends I told you about." She replied quickly but still whispering, afraid of getting the two hotheaded teens on her trail if she was too loud. Sid blinked again but this time gave her a slow nod before picking the prepared coffee mug and walking back to the table.

The Cat Faunus had been distracted by the quiet discussion the two were having, Yang appearing rather deflated compared to her usual self, the cheeky tones and the easygoing attitude having disappeared from her current self. Quite surprising and… worth a quick flinch as her mind pointed out it had happened right as she had bolted away at the docks.

Her fault? Possibly.

Was it possible to mend the damage? She was unsure.

The blonde thanked the waiter before taking a long sip from her mug, eyes almost closing in bliss as she took in the bitterness of the normal coffee, a little smile gracing her face as she commented happily about the 'best coffee she had ever drunk' which was… rather difficult to judge about as a compliment.

Yang never took a cup of coffee in the last few weeks and her knowledge over her teammate was… incredibly limited. That's why she just accepted it as a decent comment and ignored the detail altogether.

Then Sid went to take Sun's orders, returning to the counter and, while the order was being prepared, deigned her an inquisitive look. It wasn't difficult to understand that he wanted some more answers about the predicament she was facing, possibly also names and descriptions of people she was currently avoiding.

More work for Blake, but maybe it was about time for the girl some more details about her situation. The man had yet to show hints of serious disdain and his complaints were directed at legitimately damaging actions she had committed against him.

It wouldn't do well for her to continue with her lone wolf attitude, denying herself an ally in those trying times would be akin to shot herself in the foot with Gambol Shroud. Speaking of guns, she had to see if Sid would take her to the nearby Dust shop to buy some ammo.

The girl was technically running on just a handful of magazines and she needed some munitions in case things turned… sour for everyone. Mostly for Sid, especially for Sid. He was an unharmed citizen that had been taken inside a storm in the making, one that she was possibly responsible for.

And thus, blissfully distracted by her own thoughts about the helpful man, Blake was unaware of the fact that Yang had approached the counter to spare some words to the waiter and the owner.

"Sir, I know that it sounds a little demanding, but can I ask you a few questions about a possible client you might have had?" The blonde started with a calm tone, drawing a curious look from Marcus, a kind smile on his face.

"If it isn't anything personal, then sure," The man said with a jovial tone. "And I think that the reason behind this request isn't anything light or to dismiss so soon."

The brawler nodded and took out her Scroll to show a picture of… Blake Belladonna.

"She is my partner at Beacon Academy," The girl explained with a serious edge. "She ran away two days ago during a skirmish that happened by-"

"The docks?" Sid's interruption was the one thing that took Blake out of her thoughts, eyes widening in shock as she noticed how close Yang was to her. This- This wasn't happening!

The owner blinked at the picture and seemed to be putting an effort to not glance down at where the Cat Faunus was hiding. Instead the waiter was flawlessly pulling a poker face at the picture and Yang's reaction to his interjection.

"There was a news report about it yesterday night, that means that you are one of the huntresses that went to deal with the theft led by Torchwick." He twisted the topic, the flattering tone being enough to draw a smile on the blonde's face.

"We are still students… but yes, we were there for… reasons." She admitted with some nervousness, still smiling at the compliments. "Still, I know that the photo offers little-"

"Actually, it offers a lot… Miss?" He paused to ask, lilac eyes easing at the simple request.

"Yang, Yang Xiao Long."

"Well, Ms. Xiao Long, the picture itself 'says' that you are searching a Cat Faunus with black hair, amber eyes and a skin-tone paler than many people here in Vale," Sid pointed out with a polite smile. "I think that offers more than just a 'little'."

The blonde's face… seemed to gain a little more color at that reply. "Really? Then can you-"

"Still, we would have noticed someone with those details and… I can assure you with utmost certainty that she never walked in this establishment," Sid interrupted again, this time his smile being rather sad about it. "But if you want, we will keep an eye around for anyone like her."

The suggested offer was met with a quick nod. "That would be cool," Yang said with some little irritation at not having any hints of her 'close, but also not' partner. "Also, can you tell me your name? Maybe exchange Scroll's number or-"

"Ms. Xiao Long, I didn't… expect to be subjected to this kind of flirting," The young man pointed out, causing the blonde to freeze a moment and snort, amusement playing for a moment as her face flushed a strong pink.

"Funny guy too, ain't ya?"

He shrugged, but still spoke. "Still, I guess you are right." He passed the number of his scroll and then- "By the way, I'm Sid, Sid Tremaine. Nice too meet you, Ms. Xiao Long-"

"Hush with the 'Ms.' thing. Call me Yang and you allow me to the first name basis too? How about that?" She interrupted, bringing surprise to both the waiter and Blake herself.

While the Cat Faunus had pinpointed the 'forward and expressive' attitude of the young man as an act, she had certainly felt unexpected how her partner had reacted. Yang flirted light-heartedly with everyone and, it was strange to see her being 'this much' forward with someone.

Still, the young man nodded and soon the two students from different academies left the 'Morning Sip' without much of a warm greeting, leaving Blake to stand up and face the music she had set up on herself because of fate itself.

"So," Marcus finally spoke as Sid went to deal with the new wave of clients. "You are a student at Beacon Academy, Blake?" He asked slowly, trying to appear mindful of how strong such an inquiry could be.

"I… am," The Faunus admitted with a sigh. "It's just… that things have happened. It's a long story."

The man sighed at the mysterious curtness but smiled at the last bit.

"Well, I think there is already plenty of time to chat, especially since I think Sid will not be minding taking some of your burden as we talk about it." The owner mentioned, causing Blake's eyes to turn at her 'colleague'.

While the young man had appeared collected and calm by the time the 'trouble duo' had been at the bar, after they had left his facade had dropped to show a rather flustered individual trying to focus only on his job. She could see how he wouldn't mind to have some more tasks to not 'think' about what had just happened.

Yang was attractive and quite keen to point this out so flamboyantly, thus it wasn't difficult to see how someone as cool and calculative as Sid would have some trouble dealing with the full brunt of that comeback. A cheeky smile crept on her face at the thought that, deep in that armor of irritation and simplicity, there was someone that was could still get embarrassed and teased on by someone like Yang.

It just made the future chit-chat on the way back to the flat even more… interesting, she supposed.

---------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d----

AN

I don't know if I should really go for a break. This year I will be spending the Eve and Christmas, even New Year's Celebration with my close family and so… I will need to get my mind doing something instead of getting bored and dulled.

Of course, I will use some of my newer free time to correct many of the mistakes I've left in the stories I'm updating right now so… things like Magical Trickster DXD, Living Bot, and Golden Month will receive a major upgrade very soon.

Also I will update Golden Month and this story very frequently as I'm inspired to muster up the 'bestest story ever for both cases'.

Lastly (about this chapter, the surname is an anagram and Kudos for the reader that will pinpoint the obscure Disney detail I just used for that name. It will be fun, but it is also a strong clue about the parents and siblings of Sid.

So stay tuned 'cause we are just starting here!

P.S. I think I should say that this chapter is dedicated to my Sis since today is her B-day. So yay, Happy B-Day, you brat! XD

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 5: And I wish for my individual Peace

It's been two days since Blake had gotten to deal with this new situation. Two days since she had been on the run from her teammates, two days since she had been hired as a waitress in a simple bar in Vale's industrial district.

The close encounter with Yang and Sun turned out to be the worst case of being found by any of the students of Beacon searching for her. After that unexpected situation, Sid had been partly-accepting of her request of him buying for her a hoodie and a face mask to keep most of her recognizable features hidden from sight.

It had been quite the annoying task to have this much on herself, the unpleasantness of having her cat-ears forced flat by the hood turning out to be far different that how it did felt to have a bow. It was all for the sake of not being found, to not be brought back to deal with the daily life of a student.

The girl was far too advanced in both physical and theoretical subjects to be actually capable of fitting with the role, having learned much from practical experience as a grunt-to-officer of the White Fang. This very notion was proven correct when the last she had to take resulted in an impressive A+.

Weiss had been partially irritated by this detail, thinking that Blake should have flunked it because of her lack of interest in studies. A presumptuous exclamation that came out from the fact she had to headbutt a lot with Ruby.

The Team Leader was young, inexperienced and was lacking two years worth of knowledge. This last bit was actually what caused the Schnee to devolve a large part of her free time in helping the caped girl to actually understand the basis of the lectures given at Beacon.

It was almost impressive how Ruby had actually managed to get enrolled at the Academy, her unique fighting style barely compensating for her lacking capacity in keeping up with the school's pacing.

Actually, it was interesting how the Headmaster had broken the rule three times for this year, counting Ruby, herself and Jaune as prime examples of laws being 'forgotten' by Ozpin for some strange reasons.

Blake was more of a political refuge than else, it wouldn't have surprised her if the gray-haired man had taken her in for the fact he had connected dots about her important parentage. After all, Kali Belladonna did come to study at Beacon for a few years before returning back to Menagerie to her father' (Blake's grandfather) orders.

Jaune was mediocre at best in whatever he did, his grades being just average enough and sufficient to continue with the school year without dealing with major issues with the teachers and the school itself. The blond was also weak in terms of fights, having been seen failing to keep up with someone like Cardin Winchester and other members of Team CRDL. but he was incredibly quick in accepting advice when presented and she wouldn't be lying in saying that he had good chances of becoming a prominent huntsman by the end of his years at Beacon.

It was Ruby that the Belladonna found to be the blatant error in keeping things under the rug, the girl being an eyesore by the way she failed to catch up with the missing material required for the rest of the lessons. Even with Weiss' help, the little Rose was still capable of keeping up with a lazy Yang… at the best of her strength.

Speaking of the blonde, the Cat Faunus was actually surprised by the fact the girl did indeed visit two more times the 'Morning Sip' and Blake had been forced to resort to have a hat and a pair of sunglasses while she was around. It did made things difficult as the light in the bar wasn't strong enough to give her a proper sight over the tables and… some mess might have been made for the sake of not getting caught.

Her pay suffered the blunt of these encounters, but that wasn't actually what got the girl interested over the frequency of the brawler by the simple establishment as she tried to find out more about Blake… and also flirt a little with a stone-faced Sid. After the first time he had to deal with both the brawler's flirting and the Belladonna's intense teasing over it, the young man had been smart enough to gear up and endure the advances forwarded by the blonde in question.

There was also the fact that the Cat Faunus couldn't help but remind herself as of why she had never been close to Yang, the cheerful blonde being what Blake wouldn't never want to be in a social context.

She was too much an extrovert compared to the reclusive Faunus, something that had put them at odds during their first days as partners. The following step had been silent neutrality with some minor bantering initiated by Yang herself.

Blake never felt the need to start anything as she felt that their relationship would have been affordable as formal team-members than anything else, a feeling not shared by the giddy blonde that would end up pestering her about the silliest of details.

While the Xiao Long was eager for fights, to speak with people and to venture in danger, the Belladonna preferred the peace and quiet of books rather than dealing with real life's issues, something proven by the way she had decided to not return back to Beacon as it was no longer the fight with Weiss that kept her from going there to seek redemption.

The effort wasn't… actually worth it. It was actually worse, in her quiet opinion, to let go of the little settlement gained by pure and raw dumb luck. Or lack of, considering the damage she had caused to end up in that curious situation.

Sid was still uneasy to have around, the same she knew was for him when she was around, but they both weren't there to attack each other. Rather they were making sure the other didn't pull a foul without any physical damage involved.

One could call it a cat-and-mouse play, where the girl was actually the rodent before someone with much more balance over his own life. He had his own moderation within the sea of extreme ends, something that Blake had failed to obtain after slamming painfully against both directions. The human was also partially-trained as a Huntsman but lacked any of the major skills and weapon that could actually make her consider him a threat to have around.

He was mostly harmless, if not sassy and impudent with his tones when she ended up causing some minor issues. Lucky for her, her attention over her attempt to be conciliating turned out to be a blessing for their curious relationship.

This connection was actually one of the major questions that had gotten the girl thinking about for hours, the extent and limits of their current 'friendship'. It was odd to even call it friendship, the two of them being more or less simple housemates at this point.

Where they even friends? She was at fault for crashing down from his roof and making some escalation of sort out of panic and ill-thinking, but now they were… neutral to each other. There was a humane understanding of each other and they were both respectful to the barest about the other.

It was that simple bond that Blake found… nice to have in these trying times. There wasn't any attempt to garner her utmost trust, nor was she supposed to fear every step for the sake of getting betrayed by the waiter.

A peaceful standoff, one where both contenders knew that there wouldn't be any horrible development coming from it but still didn't budge from their standing positions. Staring at each other, determination pouring from their souls as they keenly avoided to make the first, and possibly wrong, move against the other.

It was stimulating, it was refreshing and…

"I finished my sets," Sid proclaimed with a tired sigh, his sweaty form slowly walking away from the living room. "I will take the bathroom for some minutes."

The comment was enough to bring the Belladonna out of her silence-induced thoughts regarding the last two days of work, her attention once more shifting back to the fact she had yet to finish with her own training.

Two days had passed and the working week was over as Saturday began without a clear plan established by both housemates. Sure, Blake had loved three more hours of sleep by the lovely couch and she had turned up refreshed by the extra time spent resting.

Enough for her to be ready to the schedule she would have to deal while spending her whole day at the flat by exercising and meditating. The idea had came out from Sid, the young man mentioning how it's been a while since he had last gone for some sessions of training and mentioning how the girl should have planned out something similar for the fact that she was a student at Beacon.

Telling him about the full context of everything that had happened by the docks, her former allegiance to the White Fang and the reason why she was still avoiding her team had helped immensely the Faunus' plight as the human had visibly appreciated the honesty provided by the girl and offering some minor support in giving her the means of avoiding getting 'discovered' by anyone she knew about.

Still, some discomfort from the revelation of having been part of the now-violent organization had created some minor friction between the two as the young man was aware of the fact that the aggressive approach taken by the Fang developed far before her 'planned' leave and he had asked for some simple but crude questions.

Did she ever kills someone during service? Only in extreme cases of self-defense. Her first kill was legitimated by the fact she had been merely fourteen and the one she had offed was a rabid officer from Atlas attacking her without hesitation and madly.

Gambol Shroud had tasted blood in that encounter, but the following times the spread of the red color had been limited as she didn't believe in making examples in that way. It was barbaric, it would have made her an 'animal' just like racists have painted her as with the rest of her kind.

With a tired sigh of her own, the girl slumped on the comfy sofa, eyes closing as she quietly basked in the quietness of her free day here at the flat. Sadly, the cat ears that were proud feature and sign of her heritage proved to be strong enough to catch the distant noise of water running from the bathroom.

Her eyes twitched open, a groan turning in an irritated purr as she blinked at the general direction where Sid was possibly taking a quick bath. The human was swift in his activities there but her mind couldn't help but… wander to certain details.

She had noticed that he was well-developed in his chest, legs and arms, there was a clear attention at making sure he kept healthy, something that was surprising coming from a supposedly-normal civilian. Her brain surmised that it had to do with the particular roles of his parents, both military-related jobs that would end up requiring fitness as a core part of their lives.

Something that had been instilled even to their 'average' child, enough to have him become a fairly interesting threat if given a proper gun. Now, Blake wasn't fairly certain of this particular statement, but she would easily admit that he could have been a good material for Huntsman…

Yet he was a little too old for that. It was two years, he was two years older than her and… he had already gotten 'enough' from his time spent completing the regular education and specialization, having his own work and flat… it was kind of a pity.

It would have been an interest addition, but then again he would have gone for Haven rather than Beacon and that would have render it mostly-impossible for her to meet him. It was a series of conflicting thought that followed this extended line that culminated… with someone knocking by the entrance of the living room.

Her attention snapped at the waving hand owned by the one and only Sid Tremaine, the young man having a little towel covering his wet hair as he tip-toed with a simple shirt and short pants, his shoes missing. "Bathroom is clear," He announced calmly.

Blake nodded and, just as he got up from her seat, the man hummed. "By the way, I was planning to do a movie marathon after lunch," The human pointed out, causing her to frown curiously at the proposal. "Something to keep entertained until dinner."

The girl blinked and tilted her head to the side. "Anything specific…?" She asked, knowing that a large majority of movies would have hardly got her attention, thus denying her the 'entertainment' promised by the young man.

"The Madonna Arc's Anthology," He mentioned absently as he checked on the small stack of discs sitting nearby the TV, ignoring the fact that Blake's jaws had dropped the moment the name was mentioned. "So, Ninja of Love, the sequel and the spin-off-"

"W-Wait," The young woman zeroed the distance between herself and thediscs in question and gave them a long look, her golden eyes widening as she had just found out about something… interesting.

She had heard about news of some movies having been adapted from her beloved books, but the availability of the three films had been limited to some areas of Mistral and Atlas. Vale was quick to ban it for the sake of avoiding the 'halved' romantic scenes and Vacuo couldn't just afford to distribute the movie with how expensive the process was for many kingdoms.

But to think that a copy of the trilogy was here in Sid's possession…

She gulped nervously and slowly stared up at the now-confused look settled on the young man's face. "Something's wrong about it?" He asked innocently, seemingly unable to pick up the immense joy vibrating from her features.

"W-Wrong?" Her tone felt trembling too. "N-Nothing wrong. Just… y-you really mean it? Can I… see it too?"

He frowned, his confusion deepening even more but he still nodded at her. "Yeah?"

It was enough for the Belladonna to show her affection at this grandiose offer… by launching herself at the unaware human in a surprise hug. The propulsion wasn't strong enough to send them both flying back to the floor, but the relative closeness was more than enough to get a quick reaction out of Sid.

He started to pat her upper back, her shoulders hurting a little as he seemed to be struggling in what was supposed to be a show of gratefulness and affection.

"B-Blake! Get off of me-" He started to yell in a panicked tone. Could it be that he was flustered by the closeness she had-

"I just did a bath, Blake- You are stinky!"

Nevermind, any warm emotion she held for the young man flatly vanished with those strong words, she let go instantly of the hold she had imposed upon him…

But decided to deign him a quick headbutt on his chest, the action not strong enough to hurt both of them but… at least she was the only one knowing the meaning behind the gesture, in fact she walked up to the entrance, glanced back and saw immense confusion at what had just happened.

The giddy smile at the prospect of spending the rest of the afternoon in watching the terrific trilogy widened as she was finally granted the peace of mind in the form of a warm bath with bubble.

Bubbles made good things better. Always.

---------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d----

The movie marathon turned out to be a major success, an idea that I was partly eager to experiment with someone as introverted as Blake was. The fact that the girl had been quite impatient during lunch after learning of this proposal should have been grand sign that I had somehow hit jackpot with the picking of the movies.

I had seen the little book the Faunus had around, the one she would take during their pauses at work or when it was time to go to sleep. It was Ninja of Love, or rather the Uncensored version of the curious literary work.

The trilogy itself as books had been the cause of a major uproar back when it was first released because of the graphic content of some 'love' sessions between the two protagonists, forcing the principal editor to re-release it in two versions. An 18+ book that contained the fullest 'glory' of the original text and a redacted version with the entirety of the sexual content cut down and removed.

The movies were based from the censored version, the movie-makers had been well-aware of the dangers of stirring another set of conflicts regarding the perception of the perverted book, thus deciding to create, with the author's permission, some different scenes that replaced the very ones that were to be removed.

The first film gained a massive and positive critic and review from the majority of the fans, some still mourning the fact that the 'fun bits' from the series had been denied by some 'overly-conservatives troglodytes'. And yes, they did use the term 'troglodytes' to define people denying the sex scenes.

I suppose I should also explain how exactly I ended up getting the trifecta with how rare it was finding it in Mistral and the answer to that question can be traced back to a mission my father had been part of back when he was still in active duty… three years ago.

He had been called to deal with a sudden increase of Grimm by the lone village of Ansel and there he ended up befriending an old colleague of his and his wife. The woman, which was the writer of the three books, decided to provide, as a sign of gratitude, the copies of the movie to my dad and…

Mom had been fairly angry about that. Considering the content presented by the movies, still a touch above what my siblings and I could have been able to watch 'without inopportune questions being asked'.

Both my brother and my sister had refused the chances of getting these with them when they both left home, leaving me as the sole owner of the 'forbidden' movies as I moved out of my home in Mistral.

I had expected Blake to be a little uneasy at the fact I had provided her with the adaptation of quite the lewd book, the very one she was seen having around more than a few times, and yet she had been… overly-enthusiastic at the prospect of watching the three films in what turned out to be a seven hours long marathon.

I was flinching once or twice of the time as the tones used by some characters before the cut-off scenes were still there to torment with their lustful tones.

Seriously, why weren't the movie shot down too? Why were they accepted so easily with how many crass dialogues it still had?

Good questions in which the three movies failed to give an answer too and… Blake continued to be the giddiest I've ever seen her, with a bright smile, shining golden eyes and cat ears twitching in full-attention as the plots of the stories unfolded from the large screen in front of the sofa.

We had our own mantle of sheets, two bowls of popcorn and chips, and large bottles of soda to keep our hunger and thirst satisfied for the whole duration of the marathon. We were sitting by the two edges of the furniture, our stares fixed at the TV displaying the movies. I had seen this just once before that day and… I didn't find myself liking it just as I had back when I first gave it a quick look.

The dialogue was okay most of the time, some scenes were fantastic in showing the complexity behind some of the protagonists' flaws and weaknesses, but the way the shipping was flaunted was… way too speedy for it to appear realistic. The delivery from some of the actors was disheartening at best as these were too dismissive of major details that could have given major weight to the overall stories of the individual characters. A good set of movies… but not the best to watch after three times.

And, much to my chagrin, I was actually contrasted by the way Blake was keen to describe the marathon. Terribly influenced by the love she held for the series, the girl judged it as a perfect masterwork, 'the culmination of real life and fantasy, the dream and the fiction being painted upon reality itself'.

I was impressed by the use of some precise words to elevate the state of some of the good scenes and I almost fell for that vision of hers. It was pitched in a delightful manner and fairly honest… until a certain degree.

In fact, the only thing I ended up having to endure about this overly-positive judgment was how I had to decide whenever or not it would have been convenient for me to point out how her perception ignored the flaws of the good movies for the sake of lift up the potency of the scenes.

I was half-tempted to call 'BS' on her review of it, but then again I had the common sense to know that she was trained in the use of guns and she had a weapon on herself. And that is why, instead of headbutting against an early death, I merely kept quiet until dinner.

Dinner was fairly normal if not for Blake being in the best of moods with what had happened until mere moments ago. The smile plastered there was somehow intriguing to see as it morphed while she starting to eat her plateful of tuna.

The Cat Faunus loved fish and I was pretty sure that, without the scene unfolding before me, I would have felt it sounding more as a racist slur rather than the commentary of what she was doing right now.

She just loved fish, she literally spent half her pay in sea-food and there was nothing particularly wrong about it…

Except that she would let out a purr or two in a normal situation. But now? Now the girl was vibrating on her seat, the purrs loud enough to not appear as mere innocent noises as she continued to happily eat the cooked fish.

It was an overly-adorable sight, one that I had planned to have to see for that day. I had actually expected the girl to refuse the movies out of embarrassment and yet my little plan had backfired to a point where it actually looked I was 'granted' such a cute display of happiness.

I might have been aware of the fact that Cat Faunus and Dog Faunus were rather affectionate in showing their cheerfulness, the former being more difficult to render so rather than the latter, something I knew from experience, but… I was completely unprepared with how I was supposed to react about it.

After four days of having Blake around, I couldn't help but feel nervous at the sudden shift of personality. I was certain it was a temporary thing, but I couldn't let go of the fact that she was indeed looking terribly adorable-

OMG, her cute kitty-cat ears are flapping so excitedly and-

N-NO! We aren't having any of that. I might love cats to a degree, but I couldn't certainly compare a simple animal as a kitty to the purring, happy-looking Faunus sitting in front of me.

I felt by breath itching as I didn't realize I had walked behind Blake, the girl was unaware of this sudden shift herself and… we both discovered what was going on when I had my hand softly settled on top of her head.

She tensed, and I tensed. I felt nervous, I felt paling and I felt the need to bolt away from the possible bomb I just set off with this careless and greedy action.

I expected her to snap at the sudden gesture, to hit me and maybe beat the crap out of me (kind of an Anime reaction that would be, but I was still fearful of any reaction from that Neko- I mean, Cat Faunus).

Then, much to my immense surprise and confusion, the black-haired girl relaxed and… started to purr even more, seemingly accepting the fact my hand was now on her head. I blinked once, then twice.

Then thrice.

What the heck is going on?!

Finally, I managed to lift my hand off from her soft and silky hair, wide eyes staring accusingly at my traitorous fingers before deigning to answer to the certainly-implicit question generating from the poor girl assaulted in such manner.

The degeneration of mankind in a nutshell!

"S-Sorry," I tried to apologize, my head burning a little in embarrassment and mortification at the fact I did indeed touched a rather sensitive part of her biology. The cat ears were quite sensible, I remember receiving a lecture out from my mother when a child had been caught pulling on some Faunus child's animal ears and- "I-It's just that… it looked-"

"Cute?" She suggested softly, her head lowering a little and yet I could still see the blush spreading to her ears and turning those red. "I-It's alright, I- You apologized." There was embarrassment in the girl's voice, but the purring for some reason didn't cease even in that moment.

The rest of the evening was spent quietly and silently as we decided to not discuss about that weird and senseless scene. It was just too… senseless.

-----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d-----

AN

Little moment of warmth before something a little deeper. Comedy at the purest, when the awkward is made silent for only the presents to know about.

People are asking for the two to be paired? Well sadly, I don't wish for them to do that.

Would it kill the closeness? No, I'm actually bringing up the kind of friendship that will be so weird, so crackish and terribly easy to misunderstand for the people witnessing this happen that it will become much better and wholesome than mere romance.

Expect jealousy from Blake's admirers and the only one hailing from Sid's camp. It will be a fun brawl~!

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 6: And I'm not that bad!

Yang wasn't having the greatest days as of now.

After Blake had just gone and escaped from them following what had happened in the docks, the rest of the team had taken the material victory as a moral defeat at the fact that the Cat Faunus had decided to avoid them once more.

It didn't help that the bitterness of failing to 'calm her down' was burdened by the harsh lecture the team got from Ms. Goodwitch. It was the first time the woman had looked so incredibly livid and ready to make use of her infamous whip, their grace being the ever-so diplomatic mediator that was the headmaster.

The headmaster had stressed well-enough that the situation had been mostly led by a simple 'teen-related' fallout and that the escalation had been out of their hands as a whole He pointed out how they wouldn't have certainly gone to risk their lives for the sake of stopping a grand theft committed by a terrorist cell.

The Combat Training teacher was still furious even when the man shifted his attention at the three girls, her eyes narrowing at them and promising a multiple-months long detention for how much crap they had caused with their intervention.

But Yang hadn't been quick to call for relief as the visibly-angriest woman had settled down, her lilac eyes noticing way too well the familiar expression, similar to the one her father would take when some of his students had gone and done something completely wrong and unforgivable, on the calmly, yet furious headmaster.

Ozpin's lecture didn't spare them, even the smallest of details and errors committed before and during the fight were brought up to be dissected and displayed in their hideous glory.

Ruby was terribly mortified at the pressure exercised on her as she was still the team-leader and she had been expected to be a little more mindful of the emotions and the attrition born out from her partner and Blake, her hood failing to hide the paleness now present on her face as she merely took the verbal punishment withou much but a nod.

The same was for Weiss as the heiress did seem to have reverted back to a little child as she merely nodded absently at Ozpin's rant while also giving some 'yes sir' where it was necessary, gone was her snippy remarks and her classy tones.

Yang didn't feel the need to express major worry about the situation, even though she had been afraid herself of what kind of punishment she would have ended up because of her inaction regarding her partner's fit and… how she hadn't given her some support.

Not just because the Xiao Long could see the logic in Blake's words, but because she did know a little about the situation of Faunus after what Uncle Qrow had described both her and Ruby about what was going on in Atlas.

While the White Fang were terrorists, the violent reaction exerted by the most-advanced Kingdom was still worth of some frowning and displeasure. Miners were killed, a large majority of Mantle was dealing with something close to a famine because of the latest reforms and the protests weren't being denied with the units deployed there.

It was close to war, close to something that Yang didn't want to be part of and… to think that her partner came from that kind of situation? Sure, the blonde wasn't sure that the Belladonna had come from the cold territory up north, but the overall situation for Faunus wasn't different if not in Mistral and partly in Vale.

And seeing the vehemence displayed by the girl, the brawler was also certain that her partner wasn't from neither of the two kingdoms. Either she was from Atlas, Vacuo (which was a hellhole for everyone) or Menagerie.

The day after the fight, Yang had found herself having some trouble finding rest. Maybe it was the guilt of the whole situation, or maybe the hits she had received the day before were still make her body bitch about the soreness.

It wouldn't be the first time that the stinging sensation on her aura from numerous attacks she had suffered from a spar or a full-fledged battle had continued to annoy her brain until she found sleep in utter tiredness.

Yet the Xiao Long hadn't found rest in that singular day, nor the following one and the one after that. Gone was her cheerful morning personality as she felt incredibly sluggish with her usual routine and her attention span suffered immensely because of it.

Not even sparring gave her that same bright fire as the gnawing emotion of having failed someone that she had a responsibility over was still here to spoil her chances of regaining some calm. She was unnerved, terribly so, and the fact that her search through Vale had been inconclusive at best was enough to worsen up her general mood.

It didn't help that Sun had taken interest in making it a double patrol, following her as he mirthfully commented about everything around them and… it had been quite the irritating, if not infuriating, behavior to not react with a punch.

The Monkey Faunus seemed to really mean well, having been the one that had told the team that Blake had indeed mused over the chance of apologizing and that they had planned to 'see' if there would have been a theft to either confute or prove that her thesis was correct or not.

One thing led to another… and the Cat had jumped right on the trouble rather than make some smart decision. Something that led to a brawl in the docks and that ended up with everyone losing everything.

Not the brightest idea, but Yang couldn't certainly fault the fellow blond over it as it had been her partner to cause this incredible mess.

And it was also Weiss' fault for instigating the usually-introverted Faunus to this kind of action. She could have been a little less… abrasive while dispensing her 'righteous' preaching, maybe even get a lesser fallout out of that predicament.

Still, it was useless to cry on the spoiled milk and Yang couldn't exactly linger too much over the past now that she had to find out where her elusive partner had gone. She had to be in the capital, the Scroll she had on herself still functioning from Beacon's database even though her location had been blocked out by the Cat Faunus.

It was a minor relief over the multiple worries besieging the blonde and… she was glad that she found someplace where to rest during the searches. The 'Morning Sip' wasn't a place where she could ever hope to find alcohol to buy, but Yang wouldn't exactly make use of some Strawberry Sunrises to get her early-day going.

Alcohol was nice when it was used to spice her emotions up, just enough to warm her body and keep her heartbeat drumming as she concluded the last tasks of a difficult day. She never got drunk… too much. There had been some instances but- she was digressing.

The place was nice, it had a warmth system that delightfully keeps her from freezing up with the unholy cold coming to Vale during this part of the year, her clothes and aura offering just little protection from the surreal climate, and the coffee she would order would always aid her to recover from the drowsiness of the uneasy morning while also clearing her mind for further thinking.

The bar was nice, not the Junior's kind of 'nice' as the place was clean and a fine establishment. One that she had found because of Sun's insistence to expand their operations' range, something that could easily be described as 'annoying people until someone actually care and give us some clue' kind of plan.

It was good plan, she has to admit, but with how overly-irritating Sun was at that early hour, Yang couldn't help but deem it the worst idea with her 'buddy'. That very buddy that wasn't there at the moment as she happily took a sip from her warm mug.

The very mug offered by the usual waiter, Sid having been rather intrigued by the matter but keeping himself distant from getting too attached to the matter. Something that the Xiao Long appreciated as she knew that too many people to keep an eye on were going to create her more issues than help in the long run.

The young man was barely older than her, maybe a year or two, and his politely-quiet manners and tones were more than enough to bring her to relax in that good place. Patch didn't have much of a daily bar, only a pub that offered ice creams and icicles to those that had enough money to afford it.

It was the first time she had gone to see something like this place and… she was glad that this occasion had come, ignoring the importance regarding what had led her in this part of town.

The very place where she found a perfect target for her teasing. Sid was a gentleman, but Yang was more endeared by how easy it was to get him flustered once or twice in a while. After the first time, the man had been guarded over falling with her 'tricks', but the blonde was hardly a rookie in the unfair game of teasing.

It had been easy to pick up hints from his posture and his clothes about what kind of person he was and the most curious topic about them all was… his colleague. The young woman was a little shorter than Sid, her hair and eyes hidden by a little Christmas-themed hat and a pair of sunglasses.

She was rather curt with her interactions around clients and she had been avoiding quite well ever coming close to the curious brawler. Why would she wear sunglasses with so little illumination and… why the hat?

The questions were there poking at her sanity, but she couldn't exactly man-handle her way into discovering what was going on with the lady. It was the little common sense she had that drove her to not pull a 'Junior' on the bar, feeling like this little haven was far too much of a necessity to ditch without a proper reason.

Curiosity was still there, pressing for at least a hint or two that could satisfy her sudden case of interest and… that was done when the waiter came around to pick her empty mug.

"By the way, Sid," Yang said as soon as the young man had his hand on the cup. "Can you tell me about your lady-friend over there?" She pointed subtly at the unaware waitress and… Sid blinked in minor surprise.

"You mean B-" He immediately stopped, his eyes widening a little more before he corrected himself, faking a cough. "B-Bianca? My colleague?"

Lilac eyes narrowed. "So her name is Bianca?" She pressed on with an intrigued tone, her glance briefly returning to the young woman and… yep, there was something off about that very name.

He nodded and she felt like something was off with that reply. Something about the way he had just stopped and almost panicking about it, as if the Xiao Long had asked him if he still had his V-Card or not.

Very suspicious, she admitted to herself and she decided to continue with her inquiry.

"That's a peculiar name. Isn't it… Mistralian?" The guess was met with a quick nod, this time the strange panic subsiding. Maybe it was time to poke a little harder and see if she can fish out another reaction out of him.

"I bet that she is… newer than you," The brawler commented as her eyes caught just in time another clumsy tripping from the waitress, dignifying her current lack of experience. "I bet she relies a lot on you."

He sighed. "You could say that."

The admission was actually a strong clue about a little suggestion about the case, one that seemed the most appropriate by the way he appeared so flustered when the blonde mentioned about his colleague.

There was no doubt that, while the young man was trying to make it appear that they were in a professional relationship… he might have been thinking of the clumsy girl more than he said.

"Oh really?" Yang felt a smile widening on her face at the unsuspecting frown coming from the waiter, the cheeky girl truly feeling at the peak of that glorious teasing session as her prey was soon going to fall for her little discovery.

How could she not see this as the real truth!?

His shyness when talking of the girl, his adorable panicking when Yang would ask more about his 'interest' and how he was so conscious of the girl's flaws and still loved them.

Her smile twitched and… she went for the bite. A big one for sure!

"Then I can only guess that she is rather handful when you are crushing on her."

Hook, liner and-

Thud

…

Lilac eyes turned to stare at the now-unconscious waiter as he now lied on the floor in a twitchy, the entire bar fell silent as everyone heard the man falling on the ground and were now exchanging glances between him and the nervous blonde.

Yang blinked again, this time it was her turn to panic as the situation had devolved to an uneasy murmuring from the other clients, with the waitress cautiously approaching her colleague and checking on him while the owner proceeded to walk towards Yang.

He looked annoyed, but not angry. Hopefully, she could get just five seconds of her explanation in before being kicked out. Yet, while she had expected to be banned for 'killing' one of the workers there, she felt surprise as the older man's appearance eased with a soft sigh as he momentarily glanced at the unconscious worker.

"To think that Sid would have been taken down by you, missy," The mustached man said, returning his calm stare at her. "I will let it pass the fact you went overboard with your teasing and… please don't do that again, I need this one in particular."

She felt confused, uneasy and terribly embarrassed at what had just happened and, feeling guilty over the matter, the blonde rose from her seat and tried to help the 'camouflaged' lady to pull the sleeping young man away from the room-

Only to be hissed at by the fellow woman. She froze, her eyes widening for a moment as she tried and failed to compute the strange reaction she had just witnessed and before she could even proclaim her dumbfoundness, the two workers left her sight to their locker room.

What the heck was that!?

-----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d------

Blake felt uneasy at the strange demeanor she was being prime witnesses of.

It's been just twenty minutes since their shift had concluded, the close encounter with Yang gone and partly-forgotten as the blonde left the bar after paying for her coffee, giving to the Cat Faunus some relief over the fact that her stupid reaction hadn't gotten the blonde suspicious of her identity.

The current camouflage was indeed useless in keeping the usually-extroverted girl from noticing the awfully weird look the secretive Faunus had to cover her unique features. Something that Sid had been quite prominent to point out once he woke up.

Their interaction in the locker room was brief as they both resumed their shift after sparing a few words following his awakening, his curt sentence still fresh on her mind as it was manifesting in their current shopping spree.

"Hat and glasses need to go."

She understood perfectly what he was referring too and she agreed to this wholeheartedly, but the fact that they were browsing in the wigs section of a costume shop was enough to get the Faunus to some uneasiness regarding what the young man was trying to find.

"We need something… short," He whispered to himself. "Something that could motivate the hat while also dissuade any connection to the long-haired one."

There was a pause as he stopped by a pair of dark-red short version of her style, his eyes narrowing at it before he took them and flashed those at her. "What do you think of those?"

The Cat Faunus had been silent until now, the intrigue born from seeing the human going through what seemed to be a panic-induced Plan B had been both an entertaining and disturbing sight. It was just plain odd to see the usually-collected Sid being this much frantic with his actions, showing that the close call had been far worse than the one she had when Sun was around too.

Yang was good at flirting, but it was her teasing that made her a worrisome individual to face alone and without precaution. Something that the young man had paid dearly as he had been aware of what he had been going against… and earned a quick unconsciousness out of it.

And while the sudden fainting had given Blake the worst scare possible, she was mostly confused as of what could have exactly gotten this strong of a reaction out of the human. There was hardly anything that Yang could have said about him to get him to that state and… it didn't help that the young man was tight-lipped over the matter.

Very suspicious but also concerning, hoping that whatever had gotten him this worked up wouldn't end up becoming her next problem any time soon. Yet, knowing her partner's propensity to tease everyone on her reach, it was a sure thing that was going to happen to the Faunus too, whatever she liked it or not.

Blake hummed and nodded at the curious wig, picking it in her hands as she tested the texture and… it was just as soft at hair. She checked around to see if there was space for her longer black locks and… it seemed there was enough to fit her head well.

Seeing her positive answer, Sid moved out of that section of the shop and, instead of leading her to the counter so they could have gone to pay for this product, he decided to wander right to the part of the building that displayed numerous boxes containing… eye-contacts.

She frowned as the young man started to browse onto that section too, her worry about his sanity growing with her need to ask what had gotten him to that particular frenzy. It was now far too pronounced to be ignored and, if she had to be honest, the girl wasn't a fan of eye-contacts.

The Belladonna had tried them once a few years ago during a Fang operation and the atrocious itchy soreness she had to deal with after she was gone with the blue-colored ones for a full hour of wearing the pair had left her in a particular discomfort when around those.

"Sid," The girl finally spoke, a twitch in the human's posture giving her clue that he was at least listening to what she was saying. "I know that this might be weird coming from me but… isn't this a little overboard?"

The moment the last word from her query left her lips, the young man's search came to a sudden halt. He stiffened his body and then he glanced back with a serious look, almost making her flinch in response.

"Blake," He started with a tense voice. "What I'm going to tell you is going to sound disrespectful to a fair degree and I wish you to understand that there is context behind this nervousness about some details that… aren't good to think about right now."

She blinked at the way he explained it. She had expected him to pull an angry tirade and… yet he was awfully calm and collected in that frenzy of his. Seriously, what did Yang told him?

Sid opened his mouth once again and… he started to tell her what had truly happened in that brief encounter he had with the blonde and why he had gone unconscious the moment her last sentence had reached his ears.

Blake stood still as she listened to it all, not even displaying any telling emotion about the fact that the main reason that had gotten Sid to faint at work was… the possibility that he was crushing on the 'mysterious' waitress.

The temptation to merely bash his skull at the silly and outrageous reason to actually 'faint' was terribly growing within her chest but she held back from putting thoughts into practice. Maybe there was indeed something that she was missing from this view, she thought absently, there has to be a better reason for him to faint other than the idea of her being

Sid had yet to pull a 'Sun' on her and, hopefully, that wasn't going to be the case this time.

"But what is what got you scared?" She pressed on impatiently, huffing as he blinked tiredly. "Seriously, you said that there was a context to-"

"If she truly believes that, what do you think she will do the next time she comes at the bar?"

"Apologize?" The Faunus guessed, getting a sigh from the man.

"She will want to know more about the matter and… try to 'help us out'," He pointed out without hesitation. "You said that she was the one that usually headbutt onto the problem and what better way to solve a problem about 'crushes' than directly investigating the crush itself?"

…Oh Gods.

Her eyes widened and her face paled a little. "Y-You mean that she-"

"Officially speaking, I fainted for a lack of sugar, not because of me pulling an act worth of some Award. Something that I'm solving with more snacks rather than weak medicines," Sid interrupted firmly as he continued to explain his new plan.

"And you decided to hide yourself a little less than usual as you almost tripped on me when I fainted. That is why you decided that for the sake of work, you ditched the glasses and the hat to avoid meddling with any worrisome situations."

She blinked, her golden eyes staring in shock at the newly-fabricated excuses and the absurd save proposed by the young man. He looked determined about it and she would be lying if she said she didn't felt it good enough to be used for their predicament.

It was odd to say, but now the faint felt legitimately the best action to pull in that awkward case. If he had continued to talk or even move away from the situation, the blonde would have taken them as positive things.

While the faint still counted as a possible sign for that, if the legitimate cause was given to a medical issue, the 'clue' itself would fall away from the whole 'crushing debacle' and so would Yang's attempt to investigate on her.

The perfect alibi and… Sid had given this to her for her sake. Blake couldn't certainly deny that something this big would require some effort from the human himself and she felt rather amazed by the show of trust and friendliness coming from that seemingly well-elaborated plan.

The Faunus didn't expect this much from him, feeling that he was going out of his way to cover up for that glaring issue she would have gotten to deal with alone if it wasn't for him.

The girl blinked once again and the quick hug that followed that genuine interaction that dripped of intriguing trust towards her was perceived as unexpected by the young man as it was for her. The first time she had 'consciously' gone for the embrace, beyond the mere moments of giddiness caused by having her favorite series to watch on TV rather than in the caged dimension of books.

It was the first time in a long time since she had hugged someone as a mean to thank them. Blake couldn't even remember who was the last individual she had hugged for that.

Was it her parents? Adam? Or even Illia?

It's been so long and-

"That was quite… interesting," Sid mused quietly, but loud enough to snap the girl's out of her depressing thoughts. "And ignoring what did just happen, do you prefer brown or blue ones?" He asked while bringing two small boxes.

She glanced in surprise as her eyes looked at both with a minor grimace replacing her smile. "Do… Do I have to?"

The human frowned at her comment. "What's wrong with contacts?" He pressed on, seemingly perplexed by her reaction.

A sigh left the girl's lips. "Last time I used them, my eyes almost got an infection and-"

"That can't be true." He huffed with a frown. "Like, I know there are some bad reaction but chances of infection are only when-" The young man stopped as he turned his attention to another set of boxes, leading Blake towards them.

"Where the ones you used contained in boxes like these ones?" Sid questioned with a curious tone, gaining a surprise look from Blake as… those were the ones she had used back then.

"Yes, but why-"

"The 'Human-only' ones?" He interrupted with a strong query, catching her off-guard. "The one that can actually damage a Faunus' eyesight if used by one?"

There was a nervous pause from the Belladonna, her mind trying to squeeze out the details of that specific situation and… then she remembered exactly the possible individual she had to blame for what had been three days of atrocious problems about her eyesight.

The 'humble and kind' girl that had given her support on those trying times, the very shy Faunus that had 'opened up' for the sake of helping.

Ilia had been the one assigned to buy the contacts, Blake remembered perfectly, her eyes throwing a deadly glare at the boxes as she now had the name of the one guilty part that had caused her so much trouble!

Meanwhile, a certain Chameleon Faunus sneezed without an apparent reason as she continued to stand perched by her usual tree in Kuo Kuana, eyes directed at the mansion owned by the Belladonna family and… where Blake could 'hopefully' come back to. The right place to continue with her loving Sta- 'humble guarding'.

--------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d-----

AN

I don't have much to say… except that I just found an adorable Blake fanart that I will possibly use as the FF cover in the 'maybe future'. Why not now and why maybe? Well, it's almost midnight and I need some sleeping going before I ded on this keyboard, plus I don't know- I don't feel it.

I wonder if this will reach 100 follows before 31th…

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 7: But your team certainly is!

~Sid POV~

I was glad that my quick-thinking was rewarded just as I had planned it to be.

While Yang has been a little suspicious about the motivation behind my fainting, the fact that both Bianca and the owner were there to vouch for my situation was more than enough to get her to not ask more than just a question or two.

With Blake now showing her new look with a sprinkle of shyness here and there during her job, the blonde was effectively provided some 'answers' about the waitress, soothing the nagging need to pester me during my service.

It was a quick change that diverted the whole routine back to normality as the Xiao Long decided to be more subdued and less blunt with her inquiries, restricting herself to get too much teasing and cocky around me.

I didn't need to hear it from her because I was totally aware of her little pride about having a 'trustworthy and strong' personality, but I was now sure that the precise moment when I had fallen unconscious that day, I had completely frightened the student at Beacon to be less annoying than usual.

The girl was now less distracting and more pleasant to talk around. Something that I found, just like Blake was, ideal for our current predicament.

I knew that Marcus did give her a talk when she first returned to the 'Morning Sip', getting a little promise to be less-unruly during her time spent there for the sake of not getting banned from the establishment.

After this whole debacle had concluded and two days of relative peace had passed, I began feeling rather confused about the overall 'terrible' situation the Cat Faunus had with the entire team, mostly because I knew little about their leader.

And while I could confirm without hesitation that the brawler could turn quite unbearable most of the times, I also knew that she seemed to know how to back down when someone asked her to.

Since they were partners and Blake hadn't said anything atrocious about the girl's personality that I could see with my own eyes, I could only assume that the reserved girl would have been able to easily ask for a tone down from the blonde but she decided to not be the one to interact first.

The Faunus could be rather difficult to understand since she preferred silence over saying if there is a problem with her, about her or around her, rather she was more inclined to let a fire expand before genuinely thinking of asking for help over the topic.

Still, from what I could see from the Xiao Long, the situation couldn't have gotten so bad for Blake to call them terrible and to not even consider possible sharing a civil talk with her whole team.

I could remember perfectly the racist episode I had seen back in the alley where Weiss Schnee was sprouting some bad stuff about the Belladonna with a younger girl, but maybe it was only one of the members that had been this prickish personality rather than the entire squad being unwilling to consider diplomacy.

And Yang was actively trying to search for her partner, her tone seeming a little angry but also quite guilty herself over what had happened back to the docks.

This little perplexity of mine keep floating within my mind but I found myself unwilling to truly ask more about the past circumstances that had led the Belladonna to crash onto my poor roof, damage it again and steal couch privileges.

Our relationship was still tense at best because of the unknowns we had over each other, the little escalation that could have been with the girl back in the costume shop was proof that she didn't know much about me and I didn't know much about her too.

We were making steps forwards and some common ground was shared mostly thanks to the fact we were taking uneasy steps into compromising the sudden twist to our lives and the fact she had to depend on me for her current dilemma, but we weren't certainly going to be knowing of each other overnight.

Plus the girl still had some erratic scheduling regarding showers and baths that had been a problem to face when I finally decided to confront her over the matter, ending up dealing with quite the shout-contest with the Belladonna.

It had taken some effort but the Faunus had finally conceded the fact that a regular routine of showering would be the best now that she wasn't on the run or sharing a bathroom with three more girls.

Progress was made from that heated discussion, one which saw me as a smug victor and Blake as the blushing moron while she was sent going to the bathroom to wash her untreated hair.

It was after just two days of normality that a new issue arrived to the bar and I was certainly in for some unflattering situations.

It was early in the morning, Marcus had gone out of the bar to check on the current supplies of coffee and had left us to keep watch over the building.

And while Blake was concluding some dust-sweeping with a simple broom, humming and enjoying the quiet moments before the opening hour, I was busying myself by checking on some of the important dates that the 'Morning Sip' would have to deal with.

The Vytal Festival was around the corner and knowing how much important the international event was, we were all planning to prepare for a large assault of new clients from beyond Vale.

The stockpile had to be checked on a daily basis just to see if there would have be enough resources to keep up with the approaching increase over the clients' presence in those intense days.

I wasn't sure that Blake was ready to deal with something that much difficult as she had yet to truly master her new personality while accommodating with the orders she had to take and serve.

All in all, that day had seemed to begin in rather the normal pace just as usual and I was quite relaxed while checking on the agenda for the 'Morning Sip'.

The door opened just a minute before the official start of the shift and I nodded at the entrance at the familiar blonde spearheading the 'true' beginning of the work day.

It had been something that the Xiao Long had taken upon herself, to be there punctually to 'open' the bar for the others to enter and to get some 'fresh' service before things would start to get slow for anyone to get anything.

The brawler was smiling as she continued to chat to the two girls behind her, following her inside as the lilac-eyed girl took them to one of the tables inside, I blinked in surprise as I noticed a familiar silver-haired girl with a combat dress and a young brunette being the members of the little entourage led in by the blonde.

They took a seat and I didn't hesitate to glance at Blake as the Faunus in disguise had noticed their presence too and looked fairly paler than before.

I took the duty to be serving the trio and moved to greet Yang.

"Good morning and," I said before nodding at the blonde. "Hello Yang."

She smiled. "Morning, Sid, and I hope the coffee machine is revved for my usual."

"As always," I chuckled briefly before turning my attention to the other girls. "By the way, welcome to the Morning Sip, how may I help you two?"

Weiss had her eyes fixed on the menu when I asked this and she took just a moment to pick her own order. "I will take an Atlesian Black with two spoonfuls of sugar," The Schnee replied curtly and I frowned briefly at that decision.

The Atlesian Black was considered the worst blend for good reasons. I remember having given it a try when I first heard of its horrible reputation, despite Marcus warning me of the atrocious beverage that it was.

I foolishly ignored the signs that it would have been a terrible idea and… I realized why Hell was now a thing for Coffee-Afterlife.

Without mentioning anything to the seemingly-fine (but surely insane) girl, I turned to the last of the trio. "What about you, miss?"

The brunette blinked in surprise at the query, sporting a little blush at being called 'miss'. I guess she just wasn't called like that by anyone, she looked very young and I would be surprised if someone had considered her a 'child' among the other students at Beacon.

Gulping nervously, the short-haired teen picked the menu and scanned for any interesting snack to pick and… she settled on one in particular, her silver eyes shining brightly just for a moment and I… was that drool?

"I-I will pick a chocolate-milk with vanilla sprinkles." There was no hesitation, rather I felt her voice skipping a beat at the deliciously-named beverage.

I nodded and turned to walk back to the counter as I started to prepare the three orders, starting from the easiest (being Yang's simple coffee) and concluding with the slightly more difficult of those (Atlesian Black, ugh).

With the three steamy mugs set on a small metallic tray, I traveled back to their table and settled down the order for the girls to pick up their respective cups.

The brunette, I recalled her name being… Ruby or something like that, picked hers quickly and started to gulp down the content, only to stop, eyes widening and sporting some sudden tears as the scorching sensation of the still-hot liquid going down her throat.

Stopping, the youngest of the trio started to cough a little while Yang went to pat her back to help her recover from the fit, smiling eye-to-eye at the pained expression of the silly girl.

Weiss sighed tiredly, looking at the scene with a frown, and she went to pick up her cup and steal a quick sip. I had expected her to tank the horrible taste of the beverage without any major problem since she had been ordered it with utter certainty.

A few moments passed and then she started to cough uncontrollably while dropping her mug and the rest of the content upon the table and the tray, eyes watering just like it had been with Ruby but this time it was the bitterness instead of the unholy warmth.

"W-What was that?!" The Schnee exclaimed mid-coughing, eyes turned accusingly at me as if I had been the one to commit the 'heinous act' of giving her the suicidal brew.

"That was Atlas Black," I replied with a small frown. "Just like you have requested, mi-"

"T-That wasn't 'Atlas Black'!" She shot back with a snarl, ignoring the flinches coming from the other girls. It was quite interesting to see Yang being irritated by someone like that but…

I admit that Weiss does have the shrillest of voices.

"It was 'Atlas Black, the renowned bitter flavor originating from Atlas," I repeated back, giving her a serious tone. "Lady, what where you expecting?"

"A decent coffee! But it seems that is too much to ask from someone like you!" Her yell was now starting to get annoying to bear through. Seriously, was this her semblance or what?!

"So you just wanted a normal Remnant coffee and not the Atlas Black you have asked for?" I asked with an irked tone. "I will see to bring you a 'kind replacement' once I'm done dealing with this mess-"

"You bring me the coffee," The girl interjected again. "We will fix your mess by ourselves."

Think of happy things. Think that I will get a warm bath once I get back home and… that I will nap until tomorrow.

I nodded blankly at that little jab, hiding a scowl from them as I walked back to the counter and prepared a cup with the normal brew of coffee, ready to bring this to the table and then get out of their sight for a while.

Just as I turned around with the new mug, I was provided with quite the spectacle right by their table and… I paused just a moment to watch it all unfold.

"That doesn't mean you have the right to call him that," Blake, or Bianca, said with an irritated frown. "Just like he said, the Atlesian Black is infamously known for the bitterness, miss."

The Schnee huffed with a tired look. "And what kind of waiter wouldn't give a proper warning about this? No one should be offered this beverage without proper notice." Weiss shot back, drawing a deeper frown from the Faunus in disguise.

"It's not one of the policies and that was a rude attitude-"

"You are the one speaking?" The silver-haired girl interjected, her eyes narrowed on the waitress. "You are here, molesting and intimidating me with the fact that 'I shouldn't have done that', yet I think it's my right as a client of this establishment to critic some lazy job-"

At that little accusation, Blake looked ready to explode on the Schnee but I was already by her side and poking her arm with my free hand while holding the mug with the other one.

The Cat Faunus turned with a hint of surprise and a little anger at what was going on but I give her a tired smile. "Please help the new clients, Bianca," I gestured her the couple by the entrance. "I will take care of the table."

The girl opened her lips to protest but… she stopped as she noticed the malicious glint in my eyes, merely nodding as she rushed to help the new arrivals while I turned to deal with this annoying predicament.

While I would have been fine to enjoy some pettiness from the heiress directed at me and only me, the fact that she had even indirectly and deliberately mentioned how what Blake was doing was intimidation, which wasn't the case since the Faunus was just pointing her shitty attitude, was more than enough to get me interested on seeing this situation dealt with a brutal response.

Something that would be as effective as 'possible' within my competences as mere waitress of the bar as I had my own limitations as of what I could and couldn't do with bad clients… but I just knew what could have worked with the girl.

"So, you have my coffee?" The 'princess' asked pompously and I blinked with a tiny smirk on my face.

"I sure do… but I was also thinking," I mused loudly. "That maybe you are also a good friends to your teammates and… that is why I think this one will be for Yang."

I pushed the mug right in front of the blonde, the trio's eyes widening all at once at my little move. "I understand that it's stressing to keep up with the studies and the fact she is actively searching for your missing teammate, so I guess it would be right to give her something to help up."

Lilac eyes flashed amusement at the trick I was pulling, knowing myself that it was rather childish from a good perspective but I wasn't allowed to certainly pull any major stunts against her.

"Excuse me?!"

"Miss, I will be honest with you," I addressed the girl. "You have ordered a particular beverage that is known to be barely-acceptable for people and yet you pinned this issue on me, then you tried to badmouth me to a colleague while also threatening her with some hefty accusations, and finally you have the presumption to think that, after what you just did, I would just let you have a free coffee?"

I waited for a moment after proclaiming the fairly long question, my eyes steeling onto her face as the girl looked like a tomato with how much angry she was about the verbal beating she just received.

But her anger was also mixed with some embarrassment and logical thoughts over the topic, knowing that everything I just said was just what has happened in the last twenty minutes of so of interaction.

After two minutes of utter silence, I sighed and aimed my index at the entrance. "I would invite you to leave."

The request was met with silence at first, then Yang tried to salvage the situation by apologizing on her teammate's behalf but… I wasn't having any of it and continued to ask them to leave for the day.

I didn't have the power to ban people out and Marcus had yet to return from the storage warehouse, so he wouldn't be there to help me with the standard procedure.

Weiss tried to comment furiously at his, she looked ready to explode very soon but a very apologetic blonde and the embarrassed girl with them managed to get her out of the building before anything weird could have happened.

Moments of quiet passed at the building, then Marcus returned ten minutes after with a tired look. He had gone for a quick run to reach the establishment and he wasn't certainly built to make that kind of stuff anymore.

Just as things settled down back to some peace, I managed to catch Blake's attention during a moment where there were just a few clients around to thank her for… trying to defend me.

I wasn't going to hug her and call her lovable nicknames for doing that, but I wasn't ungrateful enough to not give merits where it was due.

The genuine tone was met with a tiny smirk and a nod. "You are welcome."

----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d---------

~Blake POV~

Hours have gone by and it was now night at the flat as Blake went to her lovely couch and tried to catch some sleep on it.

At first, her sleep started particularly refreshing as she hoped for it to be a dreamless one which would deprive her of any vivid imagery about what happened until now.

A feeble hope that soon proved to be as unattainable as backfiring, the girl having to deal with another round of nightmares that took her away from the proper and genuine rest she needed to go with the current routine.

It was all a mix of her experience at the White Fang, now mixed with what had happened just before and during the battle at the docks, the words shared by Weiss were there to remind her how another bridge was burned in her attempt to find peace.

But differently from the usual fun ride, her mind was more than glad to provide a new arsenal of horrible visions that were truly bothering her out of her slumber.

In fact, the Belladonna ended up opening her eyes around three in the morning, tired and panicking over what she had just seen, her body shaking and sweating over the sight bestowed by her infuriatingly-creative brain.

Her golden eyes were directed at the ceiling as she tried to recollect herself from what she had just seen and she couldn't feel the need to sleep much to her dismay. Her body was just too tense to merely accept what has just happened.

She could remember Sid standing upon her aching body, blood was on his shirt and there was a furious scowl on his face while he handled what looked to be a crowbar.

Was he intentionally hurting her? Did she do something that-

He would never do something like that. Her logical self tried to defend but her brain was susceptible to the minuscule doubts over that idea as Sid was very brutal when provided with a more than rightful reason to react that badly.

He... still cares for me. Until she managed to mess things up again, maybe by running away as a mean to avoid her problems from the past and that was just- irritating and difficult to deal with.

The Faunus waited silently as her labored breathing was the only noise in the entire apartment, her mind trying to lull her consciousness back to the much-needed rest and… her concentration was broken at the sudden noise of the fridge being closed.

Her sight moved away from the ceiling and she noticed that the kitchen's light was turned on, soon a figure emerged and… she blinked at Sid.

The young man stopped, he was wearing a half-sleeved white shirt and a pair of baggy pants, to look at her with a surprised and interested look. In his hands was a cup of… milk.

"Sorry," He said with a tired and quiet tone. "Did I wake you up?"

There was silence at first, her mind putting an immense effort to make her realize that this was the real one and not a vision.

The Faunus blinked. "N-No, I-" Blake paused mid-explanation, her stare moving away. "I was just… having a bad dream. Nothing to worry about."

Once again there was silence and the human was frowning at her much to her dismay. Instead of getting him to not ask more about this, she ended up getting him interested over the matter.

"A bad dream?" He parroted briefly and then blinked. "Do you… want to talk about it?"

The offer was interesting. While part of her was still unwilling to give too much out to Sid, she felt like… talking with someone as level-headed like him would give her some reassurance.

Ultimately, she nodded and made way in the couch so that the young man could sit near her, waiting for him to be accommodated before starting to explain what had happened.

The Belladonna pointed out numerous times that her tale was a corroboration of what she saw in her dream and that she didn't thought of him as a violent individual, but Sid was quick enough to interrupt her as the whole story was given, his eyes tired but sporting a calm glint as he gave his own thoughts over the topic.

"You are afraid of being put on square one once again," He started with a hum. "Legitimately-speaking, your fear is partly-honest because after running twice from life-related problems you ended up digging a hole, a psychological one that you feel like is close to be closed upon you."

Blake blinked slowly, her eyes wide open as her ears caught everything she just heard. Not only the words felt correct to a fair degree, but it was impressive how close he had been to… understand her little plight.

The reason behind her true stay here, instead of returning back to Beacon Academy.

"W-What?"

"You think that doing this for the third time, to run away or to do something that is worth running away from, will be the last time as you think I could go that berserk on you," Sid pointed out. "You think that you will do something so terrible and horrifying that would end up with me turning murderous on you… which isn't technically possible for good reasons."

She didn't gesture him to continue, but rather he continued himself without prompt.

"The only way you can get me to attack you like that would be if you ever try to hurt or kill someone from my family and… that isn't actually a viable option for you since they are all in Mistral..." He paused a moment to blink and then frown about it. "Actually, my older sister isn't there, kind of going around doing… stuff from her unknown boss. She never told us much about her work anyway and I don't think she will be in Vale anytime soon."

And while the young man thought about this curious detail he had himself forgotten, Blake began evaluating what she has just listened to. The dream was possible… for impossible conditions for her to accomplish even if she tried to do something like that.

There wasn't just a proper chance and it would require efforts that she couldn't muster for proper reasons. So that meant that the nightmare was a stupid one, but a stupidly strong one that had her awake for a while now.

"So… I don't have to worry about-"

"Do you plan to kill anyone from my family?" Sid suddenly asked, the Faunus' eyes widening in shock as she shook her head quickly at it.

"N-No-"

"Then there is nothing you can do to get me to that point," He said and then… offered the untouched glass of milk to her. "By the way, drink this before going to sleep."

…

"I-I don't need to-"

"Look, either you drink it or I will have to go to the kitchen, prepare another glassful of milk and come back," He interrupted dryly. "The second option would make me pissed as I don't want to make that trip again just because you feel shy all so suddenly."

Without protesting the little jab at her personality, Blake took the glass in her hands and took a sip out of it. She blinked as she noticed it was quite warm, the milk having been heated before having been put in the glass.

"Thanks," Her voice was soft and barely reached the young man. Sid nodded and stood up from the couch, ready to walk back to his bedroom and back to his slumber.

But before he could reach the doorstep, Blake decided to inquire about something that had been pressing on her mind for a while. "Sid?"

The human stopped and glanced back while sighing tiredly as he waited for her to speak once more.

"Why were you… awake?" The inquiry reached him and he seemed to tense up a little.

"Just a bad dream," He said quietly. "Nothing worrisome or-"

"You can… stay here with me?" Blake offered, feeling like she should at least give something back after the positive talk he got from him but… he frowned.

"Blake, how old are you?" He shot back with a sigh. "You can sleep alone and-"

"You can stay on one side while I stay in the other?" She continued quickly. "I understand it sounds weird but-"

"It is weird."

His final comment got her to finally pause and sigh. "Can't I just try to help you too?"

"There are other ways," He pointed out tiredly. "Ways that wouldn't end up to create some strange predicament for the morning."

"But I will stay by my side!" She shot back with a huff. "And I don't think you would move too much to cause that."

There was a pause after those words, then a sigh from Sid and… the human fully turned around as he walked back to the couch.

A small smile to complete her little victory, ready to try and make up with how many issues she had caused with her how problems.

Giving him one of the covers and one of the pillows, the two remained by the edges of the sofa as they spent just a little while awake before going back to their respective slumber and, much to the Faunus' surprise, her sleep proceeded to be the smoothest possible since her fallout with the White Fang.

It was odd at first, but then she realized it had to be the fact that she had been aware for the rest of the night and early morning that someone was nearby to ask for… help, thus her mind didn't feel the need to deprive her of her needed rest.

It would prove to be a single occurrence as the human wouldn't end up anymore wandering by the kitchen during her troublesome nights, but that day… Blake felt grateful that someone was still around for her to trust even in those trying times.

The faunus fell asleep with a small smile, waking up only when it was time to prepare for work and… she could have sworn that Sid was sporting a small smirk himself as the two woke up together.

How curious.

----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-

AN

Ain't that sweet, folks!

By the way, I have left in this chapter a massive hint about Sid's big sister and… she will appear next chapter. Prepare for some surprises and some fun directed at a generally-serious character in the show that had been turned in… a funnier version of herself.

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 8: Why does your sister hate me?!

~Blake POV~

The new weekend came quickly much to a certain Cat Faunus' initial relief.

While the days that followed the little situation that saw Weiss forced to leave the Morning Sip proved to be surprisingly normal, or as normal as her life now was, the constant paranoia of ending up encountering the Schnee around during their walk back to the flat was more than enough to give her some negative thoughts to enjoy.

It wasn't like Blake was actually worried of being discovered by the pretentious brat that was the Atlesian girl, but rather she was irritated by the fact that the team-member would go as far as ridicule someone just because of her own mistakes.

While the Belladonna was perfectly aware of the petty behavior Weiss has, her initial perception of such foul mood was connected to the Schnee's biased views on Faunus.

It was blatant how such judgment was actually a complete understatement of the problematic element that was Weiss Schnee.

While the white-haired girl was polite and very punctual with her homework for the sake of showing a proper attitude towards the teachers at Beacon Academy, her overall ego managed to shatter the 'model student' character before the eyes of fellow students.

Even others on the team had been targeted by her mood-induced tirades over homework, room-cleaning and general responsibilities.

With Ruby being considered 'naive and too young to lead' (ignoring that Weiss herself had wanted to just be a 'second-in-command' rather than the 'official leader' during their second day at school) and Yang being 'terribly unruly and crass', the Schnee was so hopeful of gaining a prominent role in the leadership of the team.

She had almost wanted to try to condemn Blake's lifestyle, mostly because the Cat Faunus was seen the least around school books compared to the other members but the positive results from the tests at school proved her rhetoric far too superficial to be introduced.

Until her hidden traits had been revealed, the Faunus didn't have any major quarrel with the heiress, mostly because she wanted to have as little as possible with the bratty girl.

Time passed and… now the situation had changed to a curious degree.

While Blake could have easily let go of the little exchange of words shared by Sid and Weiss, just like she had done back at Beacon, there was something that made the young man worthy of some simple defending.

Maybe it was because for what he had done for her until now. For giving her a home, for giving her a chance to hide away and… for giving her some faith in her good reasons.

It was almost nostalgic, the only time she had gone out of her way to defend someone… had been years ago.

The Belladonna could remember the crying red-haired child, she could remember the chuckling bullies as they ridiculed his scars and she could remember when she went to slap the ringleader of the foul children.

A single intervention and… she ended up meeting with him.

Her chest would tighten at the mere memory, the painful squeeze of a long lost chance of having a peaceful world for herself… deprived by her lack of interest to someone that always needed help along his way.

But despite the emotional burden presented by such sight, the Cat Faunus couldn't help but remind herself of a major detail she was close to forget.

Sid… wasn't Adam.

He wasn't the leader of the Vale-based section of the White Fang, he wasn't a brutal warrior, he didn't believe in violence before dialogue and...

He wasn't the weak child she had met so many years ago. He was strong enough in her eyes to not lay down through the insults and he certainly proved to be better than the violent actor of the tragedies unfolding thorough the kingdom… by just being a sane person.

It wasn't humanity that made him stand up before the long-lost friend, but rather his willingness to grasp his sanity and never let go out of his hold.

Common sense and… an admirable sense of self-control.

Still, these thoughts were hardly important after some days spent studying more while also approaching the mind owned by human known as Sid Tremaine.

Small steps that drew little results, just like it had been before and… just like it is even now.

Finally, they managed to share some minutes of mutual enjoyment by watching some channels on the TV before going to sleep, ending up finding the programs that they both found common grounds with.

It was incredibly little but her nightmares had started to reduce as this new routine began.

Her mind would just remind her that she wasn't alone in that place. No more alone for the shadows to ridicule and poke at her with dramatic versions of her memories.

He was here, just around the corner and right to his bedroom, sleeping but always vigilant for any intruders.

A silly development that actually helped her gain some more energy from her sleep, enough to properly sustain the working schedule while also giving her the chance to plan out any contingencies over possible scenarios.

From her Team finding out about her current whereabouts, to dealing with another attack of the White Fang.

The attack by the docks had proved her that they were still… doing something in Vale.

It didn't just feel right to merely connect the Fang to Torchwick without some further evidence or clue that could consolidate this idea.

The group deployed was far too big to be just a handful of dissenters and since she was sure that Adam was still alive and keeping things from further escalating.

It had to have been the work of someone stronger.

If there was something that Blake was aware of her former leader, it was that strength came before ideals nowadays.

The Bull Faunus was obsessed with strength and pride, his ideals slowly receding to make way to the more animal-like tendencies of his personal brutality and that helped in pointing out that someone had managed to force the man to ally with Torchwick.

Someone that wanted all the Dust available in Vale for some major reasons.

But what kind of reason and why?

A deadend that the Faunus was unable to overcome after two to three days of minimal thinking and… then Saturday arrived to bring some more issues to her plate.

While Sid hadn't given her any reason to worry for a change over their plans of spending the entire time indoor, the little order established by the two would soon meet a difficult obstacle in the form of a visitor.

It had all began when the doorbell rang, alerting all the occupants of the flat about the visit of someone that wasn't planned to arrive.

It was an instinct at first, but then the young man confirmed that no one was meant to be coming for that specific day… or month.

The human went to check who it was, both were wearing casual clothes and so there wasn't a worry for any major misunderstanding, but her sight was honed enough to pick up the sudden shock going through Sid as he went to the door-hole before opening.

He tensed a little, eyes widening in substantial surprise before a little smile broke on his face as he unleashed the sole barrier to this intruder.

It was a young woman with shoulder-length, black hair which covered one of her bright light-orange eyes.

She was wearing a red off-the-shoulders, mini dress with gold-like decorations.

It was incredibly small for someone to wear but the woman seemed comfortable enough to don it without any issues and Blake was no major judge considering her past choices. Battle-kimonos weren't as comfortable as her younger, giddier self had thought them to be.

But despite the elegance offered by the unknown woman's graceful display of expression and posture, she seemed to be quite elated to be pulled in a hug by the surprisingly-happy young man.

The Cat Faunus' mind had to reboot momentarily at seeing Sid being the initiator of the intimate act. It was the easy-to-anger young man, the one that had been so angry to ignore the threat poised by a possible armed robber (which was her only trying to defend herself), the one that would never hug people so easily.

Yet the visitor smiled brightly at the embrace and returned it by wrapping her arms around the dark-haired youth's neck.

"Cindy! I didn't expect you to come here and-" Sid went to finally greet, before stopping suddenly and showing now a pout at this 'Cindy'. "It's been three years! Where have you been?"

Instead of being shocked by the mood-swing, the woman giggled and pulled the young man back in the hug.

"Already trying to pull the 'tough brother' act on me, little Sid?" She asked mirthfully. "And I thought that you would have received me with more… tact."

Her eyes had been scanning around the living room and had stopped by Blake's frame peeking by the couch, her happiness morphing in a scowl.

"Sid," The woman started with a strangely sweet tone, one that the Belladonna had heard only being used by her mother when her father was caught doing something he shouldn't have done. "Do you perhaps… have something to tell me?"

The tension was visible and palpable, the glare the Faunus was receiving from this intruder was filled with an unexpected degree of anger and hate.

Instead of reacting upon the evident aggressiveness displayed by the unknown woman, Sid merely sighed.

"Oh right," The embrace dropped with limp arms as the young man turned to gesture at Blake.

"Cinder, this is Blake Belladonna, my housemate- and no, we aren't a couple," The Belladonna blinked in surprise at that quick quip, but she was glad that no misunderstanding was created upon the sight. In fact, Blake could now say that this 'Cinder' was now at ease about her presence here.

"Blake, this is Cinder Tremaine, she is my big sister and professional troublemaker back in Mistral-"

"I was a troublemaker until I started to work around the kingdoms, little brother," Cinder interjected with an annoyed sigh. "But yes, I suppose I should also mention that I mean no harm towards you Blake by appearing a little… possessive. I'm only trying to keep my brother safe from certain… bad ends."

The jab wasn't missed by the Faunus, but the woman was already moving on to the next topic.

"By the way, Sid, you should do me a favor," The dark-haired lady said as she turned her attention to her sibling. "Mom and dad, they don't know I'm here and-"

"You want them to not know?" He piped in with a frown before appearing a little nervous at the sad look on his sister's face. "I-It's not that I will not do that, rather I would like to understand why and… where have you been in the last three years."

She gave a slow nod and soon they were all sitting by the couch, with Sid taking the middle as to divide the two girls from interacting in any sort of violent way as, despite her words of being just 'protective', the quick glares were still there.

Seriously, what is wrong with this woman?

Soon Cinder started to tell what had happened in the last years, going through some specific details to add more legitimacy to the overall tone as the beginning of such tale just sounded… quite far-fetched.

"A rich businesswoman has got you roped for some long work with numerous tasks and-" Sid summarized with a confused tone. "And now you are the Logistical Manager for Dust coming by her company?"

"It's more of a Logistical Director and… I make sure that nothing like what had happened in the docks happen once again," Cinder nodded with a small smile. "It's a newly-developing company and precautions are needed to preserve its survival."

"And you are a strong lady that knows how to make things and people work properly and efficiently," Sid complimented while nodding, gaining a bigger smile from his sibling. "Still, you should be careful about it. Seems like Torchwick allied to the White Fang and he is doing some funny business with Dust shipments."

"And that is why we have the most efficient guards to make sure that none of those thugs get to us," The lady replied with a nod, stealing another glance at Blake, this time stopping a little more than usual. "Still, one would be wary of the company you have-"

"She is fine," The young man sternly interjected, catching a surprised look from his sister. "We might have some rocky obstacles, but Blake is someone I trust enough to know that she isn't part of them."

Still that surprise here for everyone to see looked more like disappointment to the Cat Faunus.

There was some bitterness at the defense provided by Sid and… why should it be a problem for his sibling.

"If you think she is trustworthy," Cinder commented slowly, her voice dropping soft. "Then I guess I will support your judgment. After all… you are my little brother."

"I thought we were beyond that nickname!" He exclaimed with a groan. "I mean, I was the one that helped you getting Stacy to back away from calling you 'little'."

"That is because he was annoying teasing me with that but… I don't think I'm that-" She paused dramatically, her lip quivering in a faux sad tone. "Annoying."

Blake could see it was an act, Sid surprisingly didn't.

He gulped nervously. "Y-You aren't annoying. It's just that… I'm not little."

In that very moment, the woman pulled the young man in another hug, this time humming happily as she softly ruffled his hair. "Of course you are my little brother and I love you lots," Then her stare lifted up to Blake an ominous glow emitting from her dark-golden orbs. "And I wouldn't certainly have you brought to harm by some silly fools all over this dumb Kingdom."

It might have looked like simple baby-talking the poor owner of the flat, but Blake recognized that this wasn't just a jab thrown at her… but a threat. A deadly one at that.

The conversation continued with a little while, with Cinder learning about her brother's new life here in Vale, a fake story how Blake ended up in his flat and that things were going smoothly for them all.

She bought most of the lies told by her sibling, yet even after the woman had left the house and the premises of the building, the Cat Faunus couldn't help but be wary for the rest of the day.

There was just something that… she couldn't see about the woman. Something that made her somehow way more dangerous than she looked.

It was instinct.

It was fear.

----------------d-d-d-d---------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-

~Cinder POV~

Leaving the building, Cinder found herself followed by her two trusted followers, leading them back to their current headquarters.

Mercury looked bored, the waiting spent without 'an apparent reason' had left him quite irked if not annoyed at the strange situation that had just unfolded.

Maybe he had expected another assassination, or maybe he just wanted some general actions.

He was that much brutish, but also very submissive with her orders and that made him a perfect pawn to use to do some massacring.

Emerald looked less irritated, a good effort to hide her suspicions over the subtle request of visiting someone that they weren't aware of and that seemingly had some good relationship with Cinder.

This very individual causing some confusion and distress to the tanned girl as, seeing the pleased mood which Cinder was displaying right now was more than enough to spring some jealousy out of the former thief.

Something that was as endearing as dangerous to have run rampant without 'proper guidance' as emotions could cause grand disasters if left unchecked, especially those Emerald harbored for her 'savior'.

Still, she could also see some legitimacy within the confusion in her pawn's face and… that was about Sid himself.

He was something that wasn't supposed to be a target but rather someone that the half-Maiden considered important to keep alive even after the fall of Beacon and Vale.

The very idea clashing horribly with the known-plans involving the attack on Vale during the tournament, the chances of retrieving the young man before evacuating safely from the kingdom being close to zero.

Something that Cinder was aware of and acknowledged that the horrible scenario wasn't just viable anymore.

Speaking with Sid had been… enlightening.

Especially since now the young woman was now aware of the little traitor he was harboring in his little home.

A stray cat that is bound to bring more harm to him than good, no matter how genuinely happy he looked around this mostly-silent girl.

Blake Belladonna, a name and a face that Adam had been bemoaning for some time, an individual that had initially been proposed to be kidnapped out of Beacon, an impossible action considering the tight security and the risks, before the leader of the Vale Branch settled for the assassination of Tukson.

Yet now that the little brat was out of Beacon and wandering a little too close to her little brother's life, maybe it was time to consider some punitive expedition to get her removed from that safe environment.

With Adam soon to arrive to the Kingdom's capital, it was going to be about time for the man to notice the very detail over his little 'crush'.

The passionate Faunus would surely wage a crusade over her, maybe putting in danger her little sibling and…

Cinder wouldn't certainly allow that to happen, even if it would end up with her tearing apart the brutish masked moron with her bare hands.

Calming down for a moment as she noticed her powers acting up and her followers tensing at her sudden anger at that impossible scenario, her mind returned back to her original mission.

The Maiden's powers were hers to take, but the current security and the new unknowns were more than enough to make her backtrack about the full completion of things.

Salem hadn't given her a time limit over the completion of her tasks, rather she had offered her 'as much as she needed' for the sake of success itself.

Joining the Queen of Grimm had been a hard choice, the woman being persuasive while also terribly helpful in pinpointing some clues of her past that were more than anything she ever dreamed of.

It was enough for her to go after the Maiden, to take her powers and to return the 'favor' extended by Ozpin several years ago to her previous family.

A family Cinder wasn't truly aware of, rather remembering just a few glimpses of her mother's face… before being given another chance with a new family in Mistral.

Charles Tremaine had been part of the Huntsmen sent to take to safety the survivors of that terrible Grimm attack to the village she was born into.

She could remember the comforting words of the man as she fell unconscious because of the ashes and cinders rising off from the ground because of the terrible fire spreading around the settlement.

She was brought back to the capital, her childhood slowing to a full halt as she failed to initially get to know with her new siblings. Estranged by the kind tones coming from the youngest of the two and distraught at the lack of effort from the more serious of the two, the eldest holding some distrust towards her.

But then… something curious happening.

It was slow, it was visible but also not for her younger self.

It all a peculiar route made by small steps committed by a shy but also brave child, a little boy with bright blue eyes and hair as dark as hers.

Sid was there for her from the beginning. He was the one that had dared her refusals until he had conquered his legitimate space in her heart, worming himself in a lovely spot that not many knew about.

It was a childish and innocent endeavor which turned out to become amusing and inspiring.

His stubborn attitude driving deep in her core, shaking her self-imposed shackles of isolation and… she was brought out to enjoy the fullest of her new life in the Tremaine family.

Charles became her father, Antoinette became her mother and the two children became her brothers.

But the youngest become something even more important than that.

Sid was a paradox within the limitations of siblings bonds she was aware of, someone that she would care as a younger brother but she would also considered much more more.

He was always yearning for her attention and she would happily give him some if not all of her free time for the sake of catching one of his bright and lovely smiles.

It was silly at first, but from that degree of stupid it then turned something a little more serious and worth of greater consideration.

Their growth spur in the decade that followed her introduction to the family was undeniably radical, their appearances and their attitudes developing for the best, but their emotions seemingly remaining unchanged… at least that small detail was correct about the young boy's dense perception of the world around him.

Cinder actually felt something odd blooming about her bond with him, something getting stronger by the passing of days.

She had never made any permanent friends, nor she minded giving more time to her family than to other people.

That was why the girl hadn't been aware of the full taste of what truly friendship was, thus leaving her to believe that it was mere friendly closeness at work.

The young woman could then remember when she first learned about love in a simple day at school, about that dumb emotion that would make girl go after men without an apparent reason and then she compared her strange interest she had over her adoptive sibling and then the realization struck hard.

It was difficult to stomach, but the signs were far too evident for her to blatantly ignore and...

Leaving home was painful but necessary to dodge the unpleasant repercussions she was suffering in that inner struggle.

Her mother was distraught, her father was shocked and Stacy was floored by her decision.

Sid learned of the news after some time had passed since her departure, his reaction reaching her in small fragments with the contacts she kept with her parents before joining Salem.

The 'little boy' had faced a sharp change about his future, deciding against pursuing studies in Haven and preferring to remain a civilian.

A decision that had left her horrified as Cinder had been there to hear her baby brother's desire to become 'their' protector.

Now that dream was shattered and that, she was aware, had been her fault.

At least he wouldn't be getting hurt because of the cowardly Headmaster in Haven.

It was temporary, she remembered thinking at first, it would go away by getting distant and letting time pass through and…

That idea was obliterated in that very day she decided to visit. It had been a surprise to learn about his presence here in Vale and part of her had wanted to make use of the visit to subtly pressure him to leave the capital and return back to Mistral, where he would have been safe from the dangerous plans she was pulling the strings of.

But then things changed when she was hugged.

From what she could discern from this visit, which should have been just one of courtesy, her mind was still intrigued by him to a concerning degree.

He had grown again, this time leaving the boisterous rebelliousness he had displayed in his teenage years and…

Sid had embraced a more mature and adult-focused mindset. He was slightly-taller, more confident and… that lovely smile of his was still there.

The way he was so eager to hug her, to show his love and support…

And his still-present muscles-

No!

She blinked, her eyes widening a fraction as she was brought back to the real word and she noticed that… she had digressed a lot.

She sighed, realizing that time was starting to run short over the decisions she had to take over the complex plan in her mind.

The initial draft wouldn't do, especially because Sid was in Vale and living a normal life here.

Hesitation had been there for a long time since she had started with her tasks, her consciousness over her strength being targeted by the bad developments rising from her aggressive pace as Ozpin had indeed increased his security over the city.

The man was dangerous when given too many hints and clues and she would be lying in saying that she was ready to outmatch someone that was far too old and experienced to beat even in an unfair competition.

A quick operation would surely unbalance him in the long-run, but the destruction perpetrated would actually hinder her future plans.

If there was something she had learned from her past works under Salem, it was that old institutions were easier to manipulate and predict.

Killing Vale would only shatter the board and make people within the other kingdoms more paranoid.

Fear can do so much without having enough Grimm dispatched in the various weak areas present in Remnant and… the risk of losing Sid was a big one.

He cared for Vale, it was like Mistral for him and… that meant having to deal with the repercussions of having him hate her if she ended up getting caught.

It wouldn't be acceptable. It wasn't acceptable.

So the young woman started to formulate something of a devious plan.

Ozpin was restless, his little clique will surely continue to be causing some issues with their meddling, but given some time and preparation, Cinder was more than sure that something better could be born without shedding unnecessary blood.

Roman would surely be elated at the prospect of not being pushed into risky situations for 'some Dust', but the woman remembered that Adam would have wanted to 'taste some blood' after his arrival.

Something that wouldn't just work and… she just had the right idea how to solve it.

Both Emerald and Mercury shuddered as a cool breeze reached down their spines, the two minions completely unaware of the machinations developing in the devious mind of Cinder Fall.

Blake Belladonna shuddered too as she took a bite out of the small basket filled by popcorn and chips, her full attention diverted at the comedy movie Sid had decided to show for the movie marathon of that day.

The Faunus completely unaware that her peace was going to be shattered fairly soon…

-------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d-------

AN

Some have guessed, some did not.

Cindy is here and, differently from the Canon, I actually minded enough to give her a backstory.

And no, it's not as simple as shown in her POV, her full backstory will be offered later when it will make much… sense to explain.

Still, I can finally offer the full info about the Tremaine Family:

Charles Tremaine (Huntsman/Father) – 45
Antoinette Tremaine (Militia/Mother) – 42
Stasius 'Stacy' Tremaine (Unknown/Oldest Son) – 24
Cinder Tremaine, formerly Fall (Agent of Salem/Oldest Daughter) – 22
Sirud 'Sid' Tremaine (Waiter/Youngest Son) – 19

Lore behind the family and their names:
1) Tremaine is the name given to Cinderella's Lady Tremaine (the Wicked Step-mother), she was adopted in their family and… they are good in RWBY;
2) Charles is picked by the best-known version composer of Cinderella's tale, Charles Perrault;
3) Antoinette is actually not from Cinderella. I decided that, since the mother should dignify Cinderella's father, which was a merchant, to give her the female version of the Merchant of Venezia, Antonio/Antoine;
4) 'Stasius' and 'Sirud' are bastardized anagrams of the two daughters of Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drusilla/Drizella.

Yes, I stuck by Cinderella and nobody suspected. Lol! XD

Also yes, I did make Cinder problematic and a worry for the MC. Yay.

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 9: I don't-

~Sid's POV~

Another day at work, another walk back home.

Yawning as Blake and I left the closing 'Morning Sip', we turned the corner to begin our return to the apartment.

I admit I should have expected things to turn a little stale after a while, dealing with the Belladonna had somehow turned manageable after almost two weeks of having the Cat Faunus around.

Maybe it was because I've grown accustomed to the few quirks of hers, the ones that would generally unbalance me at first sight but… now were actually easy to deal with as those had became mundane.

There was also the fact that the girl had kept her word over being careful with her peculiar situation.

Her 'work' attitude had taken a minor change around the members of her team and those she knew about, displaying a more extrovert-like behavior that proved to be deadly useful in keeping the girls (and the blond) from suspecting anything weird about the identity of the curious waitress.

She established herself as another individual from just a handful of details given to her camouflage, someone that barely resembled the real 'Blake Belladonna' and that offered her the means to be hiding in plain sight without having to face the ire or disappointment of her team.

Still, I have to admit that I was also glad that things hadn't truly escalated back when they could have. The little fright given by Yang had left me quite in an agitated state as I felt the gigs come close to end, concluding the intriguing part of my life dealing with the Cat Faunus.

A part of my life I was having just some issues to come to properly understand as…

I don't know what to think of Blake.

I still disliked her to a minor degree, some of her unhealthy habits (like reading some forbidden genre) was enough to put me at odds with her and quarreling with her was still a common situation to face sometime.

But my life had regained its original little glint of normality that I loved to feel as I continued to go through the final problems about coming to Vale.

Blake was a new variable to everything about the flat, work, shopping, and… general life.

It was odd to consider the whole idea that someone like her would have ended up becoming something this much essential in my daily routine and yet it was the case.

Weird, but not awkward for some reason, finding her so-different personality a fresh breath of air compared to my previous lifestyle.

Maybe it was because I trusted her and she trusted me in return.

I knew enough to be sure that she was putting herself on the line to keep things from going down any of the grander extremes available in her situation, the chance of settle herself to do a situation that would have her not deal with her team, to not have to work and… to not be dealing with the rules of my flat.

There were so many opportunities for her to bail from her limited role, to gain a better position compared to the one I had presented her and to ditch it all and just go for a better life.

I was confused about Blake, I was confused by her priorities and… I was confused as to why she seemed so happy right now.

Amber eyes glowed happily as the girl seemed to have found something that had taken her interest, her hand reaching and grasping at my arm and pulling at it.

"Can we go there?"

I blinked in brief surprise, unready for the little initiative that she had decided to take. It was unusual but… then I realized what she was looking at.

It was a neon sign that said 'Melody Aquarium' and a small fish underneath it.

I blinked again, this time to let my poor brain rest away from the growing need to facepalm at that ridiculous request of hers… but then I realized that it was the first time she had asked me something like that.

I reckon that she had been in the flat for some time now and that she hadn't asked if she could leave individually or if I wanted to accompany her somewhere else after work.

The oddity of the predicament was enough to give me some restrain over outright refusing the query, my interest peaked by the personal curiosity of seeing why there was an aquarium here of all places.

This section of Vale wasn't set to offer any entertainment nor rest places to the tourists visiting for the Vytal Festival and I felt like I would have noticed a place like this prior to that afternoon.

I sighed as Blake pulled again, the fish-loving Cat Faunus seemingly growing impatient by my lack of response and daring to poke me for a final decision.

Another sigh, I closed my eyes and then… I replied. "Fine, but only this o-OONCE!!"

She took full control of my arm and started to yank me towards the small entrance that led to an underground level, making me almost trip by the concrete staircase just beyond the door.

I had a little frown plastered on my face as we ventured inside the building, the corridors being quite narrow and giving off the first hint that something was off about this underground 'Aquarium'.

A minute passed and we were still wandering by the corridors, nothing changing other than the presence of dark mold forming by the edges of the long hallways.

My frown deepened, this time annoyance turning in confusion, while Blake's enthusiasm seemed to vanish slowly as greater confusion took hold of her expression.

We paused for a moment after a while, I was the one to stop and the girl the one to accept the legitimate pause because something truly felt off about this place.

"This isn't an Aquarium," I pointed out with a scowl. "It could have been a prank, someone with a used neon sign trying to get some unfortunate morons out like this."

She huffed. "Does that make us morons then?" The question was sarcastic, her snappy tone being mostly directed at the fact we got tricked with that rather than with me admitting that we had been tricked.

I sighed and nodded. "Only because we hadn't checked properly and-"

My lips sealed close, causing the Faunus to frown at my sudden interruption, but then the girl herself tensed up, our stares moving right at the direction we came from.

There was… nobody?

I frowned and Blake's cat ears twitched attentively as she did in fact catch some curious noise coming from behind.

Footsteps.

We merely blinked and then they were before us, approaching slowly but confidently.

The mask, the dark hood and the armored vest. Those two were part of the White Fang.

I gritted my teeth, chiding myself for having forgotten that the organization could have noticed Blake early on, especially since the attack on the docks could have gotten them angry at the one cause of their misfortune.

The Belladonna's eyes widened and she reached out for her bag to take out her weapon out of it.

After some legitimately-good pondering from the Cat Faunus, we agreed that she should always have Gambol Shroud around for the sake of defending ourselves… by those specific situations.

"Seems like we found the stray kitty our boss was trying to find," A masculine voice began, the tallest of the two grunts turning to his partner. "Ain't that right, gal?"

The girl, I could see that she was tanned as her arms were exposed and showing a darker skin than mine, as if… she wasn't from Vale.

Denying a response to the young man, the female sighed and lifted her right hand up, ready to snap her fingers. Fingers snapped and I felt a sudden wave of tiredness almost forcing me to unconsciousness.

I blinked as I felt a soft thud reach my ears and I turned to the origin of the noise to find out that Blake had fallen to the floor. There was no damage, no blood but… she was out of commission as she was right now.

"Yikes, your control truly suck as I thought," The chatty Fang member commented with snark. "Didn't you tell her that you would have been able to deal with two people at once-"

The girl growled as she prepared to snap once again. "Shut. up."

But before she could have concluded this action once again, I had my eyes closing up and kept them as such until I heard the familiar noise unfold.

Nothing happened, I was still tired but I didn't perceive the same wave of tiredness I had felt until now, I opened up to find the silent grunt seemingly surprised while her partner chuckled in amusement.

"Ah! It seems that your plan has failed, little Green."

Another growl, but I wasn't minding any longer at their dynamics. My focus was all shifted to what had just happened and why the now-unconscious Belladonna was now on the ground and barely breathing.

It was a Semblance, there was no denying about that, but recognizing what kind of ability it was took me way too much of my limited time here.

My analytical prowess, the one honed from years of studying under dad's strict but high-rewarding lessons, was now passing to my current thoughts what I was dealing for.

Long-range, non-physical, her power was attached to vision.

Illusions. This wasn't ideal to face right now without the means of creating distance or blocking the girl's vision from causing more issues.

"Still, I hope you understand we don't want to cause any tragic accident by dragging civvies in our problems," The young man resumed with an appeasing tone, still cheeky and somewhat infuriating. "How about you leave now before things turn uneasy-!!"

I rushed forward, a stupid attempt if the situation had seen the two grunts armed, but I was now sure that the two fools weren't part of the Fang.

Cheap imitators at best.

Diplomacy with a human? They were far too calm about interacting with me without spitting more of their patriotic sermons about Faunus-kind.

And… they don't have guns with them.

If they had, then I wouldn't have been able to even consider anything from their proposal, guns being far too convincing to just let freedom of choosing.

My gamble paid off high-time as their reaction was noticeable surprise, my punch almost reaching the chatty impostor but ending up being caught by a quick kick from him.

I flinched momentarily as I felt how sturdy his leg was. Some armor I couldn't see? Underneath his pants maybe?

A little detail, one that I used against them as I saw the tanned woman rush towards me, hand stretched out and ready to provide some more illusions and put me out of commission.

I smiled darkly as I waited just enough to slam the extended leg on the unaware companion, she paused and tried to dodge but I quickly increased its speed by providing a kick of my own.

She received the blow right on her mask, sending her slamming on the wall and wobble a little on the floor. Still awake but not enough to return to the assault.

Good for me.

I quickly stepped back, avoiding a punch and a follow-up kick from my opponent.

"That was nasty," The masked guy mentioned with a sigh. "I mean, I am happy to see her take the hit, but isn't that uncool for a man to kick a woman?"

I hummed. "Is that how you wish to justify the fact you want to capture a defenseless girl?" I mused quietly. "Is this, I don't know, an attempt at forced love?"

He paused a moment, raising his hands up in appeasement. "Hey, generally I would use my undeniable charm to ensnare ladies and I would never resort to that."

"Oh? And how many 'ladies' did you ensnare until now?" I asked half-distractedly, noticing that he was already returning to attack.

He lifted his left leg and slammed the sole on my guard.

"Touché." He declared and soon we started to exchange blow after blow, his pace surprisingly well-kept for an impersonator and I had some trouble getting through that legs-based stance of his.

The fact he was strongly-protected by his lower body made it difficult to disrupt his flow by kicking his legs to soreness but then I realized something peculiar of his protections.

While his legs were armored from the foot up to above the knees, there was a small section of his body that was certainly 'softer' compared to the rest and I had to make a decision.

Either I wasted more time trying to get another flaw out of him or I decided to break several rules of the Bro Code.

Tough decision considering that I had to take into account that he seemed fairly good as a 'criminal', but there was also the more important detail being that Blake's life was in the gamble I had to do.

So, much to my inner chagrin and disappointment, I decided I had to be quick in dismissing this fool before things escalated too much.

I had to be quick, my Semblance being important for the fruition of this operation.

As my opponent went to raise his leg to deliver another kick, I proceeded to swiftly counter it by slamming my leg up below his belt. Some smoke left my leg, the after-effect of the Semblance used to propel my kick faster than usual.

He howled foully as I was quite correct with my assumptions but, before I could get the chance to back away from him, I was hit by a stray leg as the agony urged him to react to my horrible move.

The kick reached my chin sending me backing away to the other wall, my sight a little disoriented while I tried to reach out for Blake.

My footing was slightly unbalanced and my brain was scrambled with multiple thoughts, possibly a concussion making things worse, as I finally crouched down to pick up the unconscious Belladonna and bolt away from this situation before-

"Sid, what happened here?" A hand was squeezing at my shoulder, I slowly turned around as I recognized the familiar voice and… I was bestowed with the worried face owned by Cinder Tremaine.

My eyes widened in shock and I felt a little at ease at the known face. "C-Cinder?"

She nodded, her concerned eyes reassuring me of some safety. "It's me, Sid. You need to rest for a while-"

"S-Sister, we need to- to help Blake and-"

But before I could finish, I heard the sound of fingers snapping and Cinder looked surprised as I started to stumble and fall on the ground, my eyes closing and my mind going unconscious.

Thud.

----------d-d-d------------d-d-dd-----------d-d-d-d----------

~Emerald's POV~

"Sister?"

Her voice fell mostly silent as the only noises reaching from that cold corridor was the groans and whines from Mercury and the single but meaningful fall of the young man now unconscious beneath her.

Red eyes tinged with confusion and incredible mortification at the realization happening so suddenly and so unexpectedly.

She had gone through numerous theories and guesses over the identity of this 'important' individual that Cinder wanted to keep safe.

A former close friend, an important contact for their mission here in Vale… and a lover.

The last supposition had left her angry, annoyed even, at the mere possibility that there was someone that her savior cared and loved so genuinely and so earnestly that wasn't… her.

She was the one daring to help the craziest woman in Vale, the most daring, the most powerful and… the most beautiful.

Her cheeks almost turned red at the thought of the first time she had seen her, when the thief was granted the chance to be something more other than a mere street rat.

The dark-haired beauty having granted her the opportunity of being worthy of something, but not yet worthy of something else.

And that was-

Being considered a close ally or friend.

She shook her head and glanced down at the results of her efforts, both target lying on the floor close to each other.

The green-haired girl sighed in relief at having succeeded with this task while also confirming that her worst fears were just silly thoughts from her mind, turning a moment to grace the silver-haired dumbass trying to recover from that amusing blow at his pride.

It was amusing to see how the 'mighty' had fallen so short and so quickly under a mere kick, especially with Aura still running strong for Mercury.

The son of the professional assassin Marcus Black slowly regained his bearings, glaring daggers at the sleeping dark-haired young man through the mask and that put Sid to a pedestal a little higher than planned.

Still, there was some more work to tend to and that was dealing with Sid himself and how to dispose of him without hurting or killing him too much.

Now that Emerald was aware of the bond that connected Cinder to him, the girl knew that maximum caution was required for the sake of personal attachment and to avoid the wrath of the Half-Maiden herself.

Dropping him by his house would be suspicious, but dropping him here would also render him vulnerable to some criminal or pervert's ministrations.

Not a good way to get in Cinder's graces, nor the proper way to not get killed by the woman for lax interest over someone this important.

But it was only the former thief now that knew about the full attachment between the two, making it quite… a grand secret for her to keep away from others.

She might have not been around to know about the other members of Salem's inner circle, but from her leader's very words the tanned girl was sure that this sensible information would end up paving the end of the woman's ambition.

And that was completely unacceptable!

So, ignoring Mercury's suggestion to leave the unconscious man to the nearest dumpster and his insistence to have him suffer a kick below the belt too before leaving him, Emerald decided that leaving him nearby his workplace would do for the situation.

While the young man had been keen to notice that they weren't true members of the White Fang, rumors were hardly built on truth and so Vale would only know of the events of today as the result of some 'stupid grunts' trying to make some 'rules' in town.

With how boisterous the organization was about this kind of stuff, the green-haired henchwoman wasn't that hesitant to see it as a possible predicament and thus they settled to go right at the now-closed bar near the capital's center square.

Reaching the place was easy, leaving it proved to be much more difficult for a seemingly-insignificant but immensely irritating instance happening before leaving.

It had all started when the still-wobbly Mercury pointed out that the two unconscious individuals were somehow attached to each other.

At first she thought it as a pun of sort, but then she noticed that the two were indeed attached to each other. Sid's right hand was grasping tightly at Cat Faunus' own palm, as if a protective measure born from the sudden catatonic state he was put into.

Impressive, possibly one of the rarest situations ever occurring after disabling some people with her powers, said event proved to be quite an issue when they had to part the two away.

As amusing as it had been during the walk to the 'Morning Sip', the fact was something that got them to waste several minutes tried to unlatch one from the other and… they started to struggle in their sleep.

They agitated and got difficult to manage, but in the end the two minions succeeded in their endeavor and got to leave the now alone young man to deal with the aftermath of that day on his own, their next stop being the warehouse where Cinder had asked them to retreat once the deed was done.

Darkness started to take over the day the more time they spent walking up to the place set for the reunion, but soon they were there to drop their last target.

Cinder was here, the young woman giving a neutral but very-demanding expression. She wanted success on a normal basis, but the former thief could see some more incentive to have them accomplish a perfect job.

Her red-eyed stare turned at the second individual in that large room, Adam Taurus tensing up as he spotted the unconscious body of his traitorous subordinate, his loyal guards sharing some looks before glancing at the sleeping Cat Faunus with a glare.

"I hope the mission was an utter success," The Half-Maiden was quick to point out. "The second target-"

"-was safely placed by his workplace. The area is never visited by criminals or goons so he will wake up without any incidents." Emerald quickly interjected with a determined expression, gaining a surprised look from the woman and a confused frown from Mercury as the two relinquished the hold of the Cat Faunus to a quiet Adam.

The Bull Faunus seemed to tense up at Cinder's words. "Second Target?" There was some anxiety, irritation dripping from his lips.

"Nothing you should worry about, Adam," The woman replied coldly. "He didn't do anything to your subordinate, I can assure you of that."

The leader of the Vale Branch of the White Fang slowly nodded at the stern answer, his sight now fixed on the dark-haired girl as he started to move her towards the guards and order them to help him to carry the fellow Faunus away.

Cinder didn't seem to mind as the White Fang's entourage then began leaving without saying anything, possibly because some deal had been struck prior to their arrival.

There was a pause and soon Mercury decided to retreat to the hideout to recover from the 'terrible ordeal' he had to go through, leaving Emerald alone with their boss.

The dark-haired woman was now looking at her Scroll, uncaring of her minion's presence, but the former thief knew exactly how to catch the older female's attention.

She faked a cough and went along the lines written on her mind. "Ma'am, may I ask you something about the mission?"

Cinder paused mid-writing on her keypad to stare up in confusion at the tan girl. "What about it?"

And now it was time for the curious question. "I couldn't help but notice the maximum care we had to give to our 'secondary target' and I wanted to ask something about it."

Now the Half-Maiden was giving her full attention, but she didn't seem much elated by the topic.

"Speak."

Emerald gulped nervously at that cold order, feeling the shivers at seeing such a piercing stare from her savior.

H-How interesting.

"W-Well, the secondary target seems to be rather attached to the primary target and… are there plans to make sure he will not hinder our true mission by trying to save the girl?"

The big question, the one that had long eluded her mind and now… she will see if it would get a reply or not.

She expected a solid yes, a refusal to give her more about the topic and then an order about returning to the hideout too-

"No, there are no plans about it."

...What?

"B-But Cinder-"

"Sid Tremaine is the last-born of a powerful family of Hunters hailing from Mistral," The Half-Maiden started to explain. "And while he isn't a Huntsman by any means, he has been subjected for years to the intense training regiment allowed by the current head of the family, Charles Tremaine."

There was a pause, the former thief didn't dare interrupt her boss as she sported a little smirk forming on her face.

"He is resourceful, smart and terribly gifted by a dangerous Semblance," She admitted easily, drawing some surprise from her minion.

Sure, it was a family member but… why would Cinder allow this many compliments to this singular individual. He managed to keep up with Mercury and her, but it was all because of tricks and…

He was good. Damn, she should have thought about it earlier.

While he wasn't a huntsman, while he was family to Cinder, the woman didn't want to protect him for that bond. No, there was something that Emerald was missing.

A piece of the puzzle that wasn't the described 'might', nor the bloodline he came from.

But what could it be?

"I promised to Adam that the attack will happen a week earlier than planned," The Half-Maiden said calmly, freezing the green-haired girl with these news. "That he would get as much Dust and manpower as possible."

This… this was bad. This was incredibly bad!

"But-!"

"Yet I think that Adam's impatience will end up being shattered by an attack to their stronghold," She pointed out so suddenly and without hesitation. "It will be a wake-up call, something to get him to finally don the leash we gave him without much of a fuss."

…

"Y-you wish to use Sid to- to attack the White Fang?"

Cinder smiled. "To weaken them," She replied with a sigh. "To break some of their useless pride and make them the proper pawns I need."

There was another pause.

"You doubt it will be possible, Emerald?" The woman asked unexpectedly, causing some panic to rise within the minion. "Please, speak genuinely and logically about this. Every thought is important for this plan, especially since you were on the field to see his current progress."

S-She wanted her opinion? This was completely out of Cinder's usual modus operandi.

Something just wasn't right about it. There was some legitimate hesitance, one that the Half-Maiden was trying to compensate with more information about the matter, to gain a better insight over the situation.

This wasn't the driven woman that wouldn't ask anything to anyone because she knew everything.

No, this one was using so many honeyed-words, so many careful terms to garner her final results.

This time, Cinder wasn't forcing her way through… rather she was manipulating it to her own whims while stepping cautiously around.

All for her glorious plan of reforging the world to become a better place.

And she was putting so much effort in it to make sure it worked, for herself, for her family and… for her.

Her heart fluttered just a moment, then Emerald realized that she had yet to respond to her boss.

"H-He almost took out Mercury with his quick thinking," Part of her wanted to mention the unceremonious kick below the belt, but surely this detail wasn't something that the woman wanted to know. "A-And I got lucky that he was stunned to recognize I was… masquerading as you, Cinder."

There was a brief flinch, the girl braced for a moment for any comment about this last bit but-

"Hmm," The woman looked impressed by the curt report. "So you were forced to make use of that kind of trickery to get behind his guard. Interesting."

No reprimands, no chiding. The former thief was safe from any negative outcome out from her final decision for that fight.

"Then he will succeed, he will bring Adam down to the knees and make him realize that we are the only solution to his salvation," Cinder continued, her eyes glowing like fiery embers. "The moment Sid wakes up and remember what had happened… it will be the moment when we will have our pawns back under control."

It wasn't a promise, it wasn't a prediction.

No, Emerald thought before turning following the woman back to the hideout, this…

This was destiny.

-----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d--------

AN

The bet is raised, the stakes are high and Sid is going to bring Hell to Adam.

Before anyone ask, no, Sid wouldn't win fairly against Mr. Aggressive Ex-Boyfriend, but there is something that will make the difference. Sid's Semblance will… be Adam's literal nightmare.

Like really, it will do much more than grant an advantage or two.

Stay tuned for some more of this epic comedy reaching the first 'phase' of the story, the one that will see the greatest twist of all times!

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 10: -Want to-

~Sid's POV~

Of all things that I could have not either expected nor wanted to experience after coming to live here in vale, blinking awake and staring at the familiar starry sky still above the city was possibly one of the top ten.

Why this predicament wasn't truly a surprise for a Mistralian like me? Well, considering that bandits, thieves and other criminals were easy to encounter in solitary strolls around the minor cities, getting mugged by someone wasn't a novelty.

Not at all.

It wasn't a ceiling I wanted to really be staring at and the cold breeze reaching right at my shivering frame was enough to get me to wake up a little faster than planned.

My throat was aching annoyingly, a knot forming as the wind had certainly not spared my unconscious self from its relentless 'striking' upon the capital.

My Aura had tanked most of the weather, my eyes squinting around as I tried to understand where I currently was.

I could see wooden tables spread across the small area in my general proximity, familiar tables.

I blinked as I slowly started to stand up from the uncomfortable bench I just woke up into, my brain burning for some time as memories and logical reasoning went to give me a clear picture of what had happened earlier that evening.

The fake aquarium, the exchange of blows between the two masked aggressors, Blake falling unconscious and-

…

…

NonononononoNONONONONO!

My sore back groaned a little as I suddenly went tense, anger breaking the last sleepy resistance I had within my brain in that precise moment.

Worry, fury, and a barely-restrained need to exact some revenge against the poor bastards that had decided to come around to attack us and-

Blake.

My sight regained some more focus, cold realization springing me to start moving, to get my muscle acting against the irritating cold persevering in that district of the city.

My brain started to properly recollect everything and I was given notice of two distinct details:

I wasn't dead and the Cat Faunus was nowhere in sight.

As much as I deemed the two morons that had attacked us to be mediocre at best, their team-skills lacking to a deplorable degree, the little lucky kick that had gotten me that debilitating concussion had been the very blow that costed me that unexpected fight.

The two 'White Fang' thugs weren't nowhere in sight at the moment and my mind was rightfully repeating that, if they had been the real deal, they should have killed me when I was forced unconscious.

I had been spared. Me, a human, had been spared by the White Fang.

Why is this important about Blake? The answer is terribly straight-forward I reckoned with a dry thought.

If those two weren't part of the Fang, then they surely didn't take the girl to one of the hidden outposts lying within Vale and so my chances to find her were close to zero.

Anger bubbling, my irritation sparked numerous possible thoughts as I continued to wander around, still unwilling to retreat back home.

While the fight had drained some of my Aura, my body was still in good-shape and my hope of finding Blake were all tied to a limited window of time.

Wherever they got the dark-haired young woman, it had to be someplace that was still inside town and… if I waited just a day, even too many hours, I could expect the kidnappers taking her outside of the city for security's sake.

Suppositions, guesses and finally possible routes I could take to swiftly find out where they had taken here were now drowning my mind, rendering me completely unaware of what was happening around me.

The darkness of the night became a cloak and the few lights still on were just enough to allow me a clear vision over the path ahead of me.

Moments of quiet passed, my boiling fury barely reducing, quite the opposite as my hatred was growing more and more.

If before getting knocked out I felt sorry for kicking that chatty kickster right where-all-begins, now I was sorry that I hadn't delivered a second or even a third kick at his 'weak spot'.

But then, just as I concluded to plan out any torture I could deploy against those two fools, my mind gave me a half-decent idea.

Actually, it was a half-idea but it was still worth of consideration and interest from my part; Blake had mentioned that Torchwick had been cooperating with the White Fang back during the battle at the docks, that the crime boss had been directly leading the groups as their chief.

It was an odd concept, but it gave a purpose and a reasoning behind the unexpected attack and… why the two thugs had been so mercifully towards me.

Their clothes were standard uniforms to the recruits of the Fang, but their allegiance was possibly closer to Torchwick than to the organization.

A false-flag operation… to try and get back at Blake for interrupting the important heists.

It wasn't a complete lie to say that the makeup-wearing boss was vindictive when someone came to slight him to this unnerving degree and…

Maybe it was about the girl's past connections with the Fang?

Did he want to bring her back there? To have the group-

I stopped thinking about it, multiple horrible scenarios keeping me from persisting on that trail of thoughts and focus on the real issue and solution.

If there was someone that would at least know whom would ordain a kidnapping with original WF's clothes, it had to be Roman Torchwick.

And where to find him at this time of the day? The crime boss wouldn't surely be walking around Vale in plain sight, the warrant on his head being high enough to turn numerous people against him all for the sake of justice and money.

He was elusive, but for good reasons.

My only hope being the annoyed comments coming from some tuxedo-wearing men that would be coming at the Morning Sip on a weekly basis to rest away from the previous night hangover; comments about being 'used' by someone they called the 'dandy bastard with cane'.

Torchwick was known to make use of local gangs to stage his heists and he was the only crime boss that used a cane as a weapon to personally deal with his enemies.

It wasn't difficult to connect dots at first and, while I had mentioned this to Marcus, I was told to not denounce any of this behavior for some specific reasons.

The Police in Vale was understaffed because of the numerous cuts applied by the Council in the last decade, the group barely capable of handling someone as influential and entrenched as the dapper criminal.

Plus retaliation at the bar would mean also an attack against Marcus' family and against me, not the best situation considering the barely-uncovered extent of operations ruled by Torchwick.

Still, while I was deterred from calling the police, the owner of the Morning Sip did offer a detail that now served as a proper clue to this difficult case.

It was about the allegiance of this gang that was common to find around the main streets, their unique uniforms having them stand out to other civilians or Huntsmen.

Hei Xiong, better known as 'Junior', was the owner of the pub sited just a few blocks away from the Morning Sip, the place having been around for much longer than the day-shift establishment and being a bigger fish because of the large clientele and the presence of alcohol.

The place had also another function, Junior working as an info-broker for numerous organization, legitimate and not, about the happenings inside Vale; the legitimacy of his sources having proven to be incredibly trustworthy as no one had ever attacked the pub.

Except the curiously-familiar blonde brawler that might or might not have trashed the building for no apparent reasons.

I was already pacing through the mostly-empty streets of the city, my eyes narrowing at the entrance the moment it came onto sight and I was quick to try and appear calm and collected as I approached the guarded doors before the night-bar.

I tensed up as one of the grunts moved to stop me and, before I could do or say anything about it, the man started to check me up.

It was similar to the check-ups one would receive by the airport, he was trying to see if I had any weapons on me and… he backed away, giving a solid nod to his partner as the fellow thug went to open the door just enough for me to pass.

I blinked in confusion, expecting to be asked about some pass or to pay some fees to entry as this was an expensive establishment.

"Should I need more to enter inside?" I asked with a frown, getting a shrug by the door-holder.

"Blonde-bitch drained our cash in reparations, we are trying to-"

"Get some clients to stay rather than be afraid," The other man concluded with a sigh. "Hopefully, this is going to be another easy night."

I nodded at the two and decided to not ask any more questions to them as I ventured inside the club.

Music was there as usual, several people having taken some private sections of the pub while the large majority was enjoying some dancing in the area reserved to that specific activity.

I barely bothered the sight as I made my way towards the counter, at the moment having just the bartender and only a man standing by the stools.

Once I was close at the counter, I knocked at it and waited for the calm-looking tall man to approach. "Yes?"

"I wish to speak with Junior," I said with a cautious tone.

The individual nodded. "You are talking to him."

I blinked in surprise at that, but I didn't let my surprise stop me from proceeding with the questions I had to get answers from.

"I require some information about the White-Fang," I started with a calm tone, slowly bringing up my Scroll and expanding the photo I had taken of Blake when we had to place a picture to the contract she had with Marcus. "Blake Belladonna, she was kidnapped a few hours ago by two thugs from the Fang-"

"I can't help you," The bartender replied with a tired sigh. "The organization is a tough nut to get info about and… if this event is that fresh, I don't have the means to verify if something like that could have happened-"

"What about Torchwick-"

"Even worse, kid," Junior interrupted with a tired tone. "Ever since the failure he got at the docks, he had been keeping himself out of public eye. I have little info about his whereabouts."

I gritted my teeth at that double rejection, shaking my head in disappointment at the bad luck I was experiencing in that very moment.

It was my only lead and… no. There has to be something else that I could do about this.

There has to!

But before I could despair any further with that lack of directions, I heard someone knocking at the counter just beside me.

"Junior, a glass of water for me and the kid," I turned to grace the client that had been quiet until now, his hazel eyes staring right at me. "Name's Tukson."

I blinked in recognition, remembering a book-shop called the very same way and… I frowned at him, unsure of why he would be interested on me.

"Sid."

Tukson nodded and he waited for the glasses to come, taking a single sip from his own and then he started to talk again.

"You are searching for info about the Fang, correct?" The bookstore owner inquired with a curious voice. "I might give you something if you allow me to look at the photo."

I tensed up a little more at this, slightly surprised at the 'lucky' encounter and feeling rather skeptical over this man's friendliness.

But I had little choice, my means to get some clues were nothing and even a hint over the matter would matter a lot in the long-term planning.

I tilted the Scroll and showed him the picture, his eyes slowly widening at it as he stood quiet while looking at it.

His silence was brief as he soon was nodding at me. "I might be able to help you but… I wish to know just something."

I blinked but nodded at him, a little hopeful over the matter but still keeping my guard up at him.

"What's your connection to her?" Tukson asked with intrigue and curiosity dripping from his tone. "Why are you, a human, interested in saving a Faunus? What do you get out of it?"

I was stomped by the three questions, my mind stopping for a moment as to contemplate the essence behind the queries and… I couldn't help but put in a curious situation.

The man was partly-correct in mentioning the fact that I could have asked the help from… Yang, maybe the rest of team RWBY but…

B-But it was the short time I have- yes, I could see that being the reason but…

Why this reason felt so unfaithful to my current state of self?

A brief struggle of thoughts, ideas and perceptions ensued, my mind turning in a battlefield as I tried to give sense to my current erratic behavior, to my desperate need to get the girl back to safety and away from harm.

It was in that moment, the very instant that I saw a familiar glimpse flashing to my brain.

I could see an uneasy-looking Blake, a hesitant Blake, I could see a frail Blake seeking help from me.

And in return I could also see the moments that she had gone to cover for me, the moments that she meaningfully tried to behave properly and without creating chaos. All for the sake of the trust she has in me… and I have in her.

I gulped, but it was nervousness driving me to the action, rather some minor hesitation.

My dry throat prepared and soon I was speaking, replying to the man.

"She is… someone I care for," I genuinely admitted. "She can be annoying, terribly stubborn in her own terrible initiatives… but she is someone that I don't wish to see harmed in any sort of way. She is a good person and… I like her for that."

There was some silence, Tukson's eyes widening at the lengthy reply but…

Then the man started to smile, a snort denied as he shook his head in amusement.

"To think that… the roles would have been reversed to this degree with the new generation," The dark-haired book-shop owner mused quietly, drawing a frown out of me before he actually addressed my words.

"I see that you care a lot for your friend," Tukson nodded with a friendlier tone. "So I think I will help you as I think I know where she is and… I want you to succeed, so I will give you some material to enter the base."

...What?

How could he know about Blake's location if- Who was he? And how did he know so much of the Fang?

"Sir, what are you-"

"Junior," The man interjected, ignoring my confused tone. "Could you please bring out one copy of the things I've left in Deposit 45, 97 and… 164?"

The bartender nodded quietly but stopped just for a moment from going to comply with the request, eyes widening as he heard the last number. "164? Just one bar wouldn't do much so-"

"Bring them all, in a gym bag," The client interrupted again with a determined nod. "I think it's time I make it clear that… I'm no longer affiliated with them."

I was left confused by this strange comment, Junior sighing but nodding in defeat at the clear words, leaving the proximity of the counter and vanishing in the 'backstage' of the night-club, leaving me to give a quizzical look to the man.

"I can see you are curious, but I know that you are angrier at the ones responsible for this attack to your friend," He commented quietly, hazel eyes glancing in my direction. "So, while I will give you the means to infiltrate and get your friends out, I wish that you do another task for me, something that will work for the two of us."

"And that is?" I found myself questioning out-loud, trying to make sense of the bigger picture here exposed by the 'simple' book-shop owner.

Tukson merely smiled and gave a brief chuckle, stopping as Junior emerged from the unknown sections of the building and bringing everything out and-

My eyes widened at the uniform and at the fake ID to the White Fang, causing me to frown at both objects in renewed confusion.

But before I could ask about 'how' the two had managed to get this things if the Fang was so well-secured, I was presented with a glimpse of what was inside the gym bag.

I paled, I was shocked to death at the content but… then color returned back to my skin at the thought of how this was going to be used by me as there was only one thing that could require the presence of the small pale-yellow bars filling the bag.

I smiled widely and nodded.

"So… I guess you hate them too?" I supposed while glancing back at the man.

Tukson sighed, but I could see a familiar smile on his face.

"Oh no, I don't hate them… I hate what they are doing," He corrected with a hum. "Now please go and save your friend."

I nodded, slowly putting everything inside, careful to not use too much pressure on the material inside as I made my way outside of the bar, the small paper containing the precise address confirming my next steps.

And now it's payback time.

-----------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------

I admit that I have never seen this specific part of the city, the district looked to be one of the slums that were so common to find in the various cities in Mistral but…

This one truly looked the worst possible. At least in Mistral there were non-profit organizations that helped around to make sure the situation didn't escalate to this point.

Maybe Vale wasn't the second best to Atlas as many painted it to be.

The desolate streets nearby the 'abandoned' warehouse gave off an ominous feeling as I carefully walked around to try and reach the proper place where to get inside the building.

The uniform that Tukson had given to me and that I was donning looked incredibly well-made, the fabric actually leaving a delightful touch to the skin compared to other military-like uniforms I had the displeasure to try because of mother's passion with that kind of clothes.

It was doing a perfect job in hiding my identity away from anyone guarding the area, the hood and cloak keeping my body well-covered from giving out any details about my real self.

I finally approached the entrance, my posture calm and relaxed as I 'casually' waved at the man keeping the door half-closed, unwilling to give away my cover… until I was well away and safe from any retaliations from the battalion living there.

"Good evening, brother," I said with a moderated tone, neither too flamboyant nor too dull. I was aware of the fanaticism, but I didn't want to sound too much desperate or faux with my voice.

The pitch seemed to work well as I was met with a nod from him.

"Good evening," He greeted back, his tone neutral but seemingly uninterested at me. "Can you please show your ID, brother?"

I was quick to pass to him the fake ID also provided by the book-shop owner, the name written there being 'Doble Simulado', a young recruit that had been suffering from some sickness until now and that his treatment had taken way too long to leave a lasting impression on the garrison here.

'I' was a worker by the supply section of the building, one of the three cadets assigned there, in that massive room where there were numerous explosives, guns and Dust of all kind.

The guard nodded and returned the plastic card back to me. "Welcome back, brother Simulado."

I nodded and quickly walked inside the place the moment he made way for me to enter.

The warehouse was actually pretty small compared to the other major ones in the area, the decision of picking this medium-sized one enabled by the fact that the police was trying to find major groups within large buildings, something that this place didn't actually fit in their investigation's requirements; So this place was effectively void of any major threats from the law enforcement.

I hummed quietly as I paced calmly through the place, glancing around at the numerous thugs present all in that very place.

Some were training with some make-shift targets, other were compiling reports about the ongoing missions and the rest was wasting their time doing nothing particularly important.

I could see four curious individuals seemingly involved with Remnant: the Game, two girls and two men.

The first girl had white antlers that reached out of her hood and she was giggling happily as their opponents, the group of dudes, was having trouble keeping up with the female duo.

Her friend was shaking her head, but she hardly seemed willing to bring the bubbly cheerfulness down as they were crushing the two other thugs.

One of the men was incredibly tall and… he barely seemed focused on the game as he was tending to what looked to be some pots with flowers sitting right by his feet-

Beside his incredibly-horrifying chainsaw-like weapon.

I shook my head, these four genuinely looking to be having a blast with that tabletop game but…

I couldn't just ignore the fact I have a much more important mission to deal with, Blake still being confined Gods' know where and I had yet to locate the supply station.

Asking for directions would cause an unneeded amount of suspicions, so I ended up taking some time searching around for anything that could even resemble my 'workplace' here in the warehouse.

A minute later, I found myself walking inside a large room with numerous shelves housing numerous wood crates with different denominations and content.

Crates with guns, explosive and Dust. It was their arsenal and… it was mostly exposed as I saw the 'guard' to the place currently napping by the chair at the entrance of this room.

My smile lit, my feet almost itching to skip around and just start placing down the little gifts Tukson had wanted for me to leave to his former group, small bars of explosive charges that were all set to trigger at the mere activation from the small device safely put inside the bag.

I greeted the two other rookies wandering around, the two Faunus checking on the content of the boxes and writing some reports about the current state of supply.

The situation was optimal for me to start to do something about my secondary task. I slowly 'lost some time' before joining them by hiding some of the charges in barely-visible corners of some of the boxes with the 'Explosive' tags attached to them, humming quietly and innocently as I took my bag and began helping the two cadets in concluding their shift.

A single hour passed wandering around and signing down the small notepad the various objects inside the warehouse, the two unaware rookies nodding gratefully as I decided to take on the 'burden' as they left for their break.

By the time they were out of my sight and away from hearing me crack the notepad on my hands, I began displacing more and more bombs all around the area.

Tukson never specified how much I was supposed to leave around, and so I decided to play a safe route and deploy everything available and in strategic positions.

Two hundreds bars were set up in well-hidden sections of the room, some even being left in acceptable quantities by some of the columns as to make sure the place collapsed quickly and without any major issues.

When you make a man angry and said main obtain bombs, you better hope that the Gods are by your side.

With that part of my job done and concluded, I took from one of the crates a tool that would prove to be useful with the next step of my plan.

The crowbar was made with Dust-reinforced metal, the resilience and strength tripled compared to the normal alloy; This object was the best way to pull open the small gated part of the wall that led right into the ventilation shaft.

I stepped inside with a careful pace, mindful enough to not create any noises as I quietly started my little search for the Cat Faunus I needed to recover before leaving this warehouse.

I saw numerous patrols walking by the rooms visible from the gated openings all over the small metallic corridor, the shaft big enough to fit me crouching and not lying on my belly much to my glee and surprise.

Too many action movies, seriously.

Moments of uncertainty continued to linger as I ventured deeper and deeper this little compound and… I finally ended up finding something that did look like what I was searching for.

The room was barely illuminated, but I could see someone tied to some table with some chairs.

A golden pair of orbs was burning in the dark, furious and annoyed as a red-haired man approached… Blake!

"You are making things difficult, Blake," The masked figure muttered with a sigh. "I'm giving my best to put a good word to Sienna, about the fact that you didn't betray our cause-"

"The Fang betrayed the cause!" The young woman spat back with an irritated tone, her displeasure of her current conditions perfectly evident. "We wanted to bring peace, not violence-"

"Humans don't understand peace, my dear," The horned jerk said with a condescending tone, his hand forcefully cupping her chin and cheeks. "And you should know too since your cover at Beacon failed."

The Cat Faunus pulled away hastily from his hold, her face burning with anger. "Y-You don't know what I passed in the last days-"

"A group of silly girls decided to turn your back when you showed your true colors," The man mused smoothly, a chill going down my spine as I understood what he was referring to. "Just like everyone else in this disgusting world of war and deception."

"They are… they are not everyone," The girl replied defiantly, her eyes narrowing at him with renewed strengths. "There are good humans, there is Si-"

But the Belladonna stopped, eyes widening and her… stance retreated.

The red-haired man paused just for a moment to think about this, while my own eyes widened at the cut-short outburst.

She… she was referring about me?

"There is someone that gave you hope for that silly dream of yours?" The man asked mockingly. "Someone that betrayed your trust by filling your mind with foolish ideals that would never come to be?"

He approached again, his right hand pulling at the hilt of the sword sheathed by his side, the red blade burning hatefully while he took some locks of Blake's hairs in his hand, yanking them painfully.

"Tell me his name," The man commanded with a stern tone, then dropping to a softer voice. "Please, my love, tell me so… that I can help him out?"

Her eyes stared wide open at him. "W-What?"

"You care for him, don't you?" The masked man continued calmly. "Then give me his name, I will make sure he is protected by our more violent brothers, that he is safe from harm and-"

"S-Stop lying!" Blake shot back, then yelped as the man yanked harder at her hair. "A-Adam, you are hurting me-"

"Because you hurt me first, dear," He inched closer, far too close for my liking. "But I think you said that love can mend everything… so please, do love me too, my darling-"

He leaned in slowly, but the tears flowing from the Belladonna's wide eyes suggested that this wasn't 'love'.

This was violence, this was unwanted.

I growled, my eyes tinging in red as I felt my semblance acting up and…

I tensed my leg, pressure building up as white smoke formed beneath my soles and- I jumped through the gated section of the shaft, breaking it with my own body as I prepared the crowbar to take a swing at the bastard!

I roared furiously, the man stopping moments before forcefully taking that kiss as to lift his sword up to intercept the approaching intruder.

His red blade clashed with the reinforced crowbar, sparks erupting for a brief moment before I pushed everything I had in that rush to slam him as far away as possible.

The redhead was sent flying into the concrete wall behind him, the impact cracking and almost tearing down the barrier in mere moments, giving me a little window of opportunity to act up.

I slammed the crowbar on the chains, breaking them as Blake backed away from me in utter fear and shock.

"W-What?"

My free hand reached for the mask and I pulled it up for a moment to frown at her. "Hello."

Her eyes widened in realization. "S-Sid?"

"In person. We need to go before-"

"You two are going nowhere!" Adam roared through the dust, running towards us as he prepared to take a swing at me, the Muramasa clashing again with the crowbar.

"Who are you?" The man demanded angrily, trying to win the little struggle that was ensuing.

I smiled- no, I grinned madly.

"I'm just a human with a Cat Problem!"

Smoke exploded out of my body, covering the entirety of the room as I was granted full clarity over the area.

Adam snarled at the challenging tone, backing away just a moment before rushing back to the close exchange of blows.

The true battle starts now!

----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d------

AN

Explosions!

Things are heating up here and… the fight will be truly a grand spectacle!

Especially since it will not be a genuine 1v1.

And yes, I did use that quote. Sue me~!

Muhahahahahaha!

BTW, the reason why this rescue is unfolding so quick is… John Wick logic.

You stole the Cat, you get the owner's wrath.

Easy and effective~!

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 11: -Let go! This is why I will save you!

~Blake's POV~

It's been just an hour, maybe two, since she had woken up in that barely-illuminated room, but Blake was glad that the rescue party had come this early on to save her.

Adam snarled as he tried and failed to kill the resourceful human much to his growing anger, Sid managing to defend himself by reflecting the furious blows away with his crowbar or use his semblance to retaliate in quite the incensed return of strikes.

None of the two men was sparing much attention her way, the now-freed Cat Faunus more than happy to use the opportunity granted by her friend to start and search for Gambol Shroud, or even something that could help her the best in aiding the struggling young man.

As trained as the human was, Sid was still far from being able to keep up alone against Adam, the Bull Faunus having experienced enough battles to be considered a fierce veteran of the Fang's ranks.

A true warrior that didn't shy to display his full abilities, never holding back against his 'true enemies'.

The more she thought about the former friend, the more the Belladonna felt saddened and disgusted by what could have happened if Sid had been a little more late.

It wasn't much of a secret that her companion did harbor strong feelings for her, but to show them so intensively and so uncaring of her own decisions was enough to bring bile at the moral decadence he had now embraced after her departure.

It wasn't a full-fledged fall as he had been hesitant to go ahead with such a heinous action, but the mere attempt did leave more than enough disappointment to finally make Blake see the issue the fellow Faunus was suffering from.

He was losing the grasp to reality the more he kept representing the idea and leaving his own personality to rot in that twisted monster he was becoming.

Something so horrible that even Sienna had mentioned during one of the few meetings she had spared alone with the Cat Faunus.

As much the tanned woman had been secretive about much of her plans with the organization, it had been a clear detail that she still minded how some of the grunts and officers behaved during several skirmishes in the past.

Radicalism was reached a new height with the reactionary reforms passed by the SDC in the last few years and Adam was slowly and surely unknowingly turning in something that represent this renewed hatred.

No longer was Adam Taurus a free individual, his ideas turning in a cage without lock, a prison for his own loneliness to consume his sanity.

Still, her horrible musings didn't stop her from going to search for something that she could use against her former friend, her entire body now awake and freed from the chains keeping her stuck at the now-damaged table.

Her eyes scanning swiftly all over the half-room preserved by the ongoing clash, her mind drilling her with the resolve of being quick with her attempts as time was crucial with how unfair the fight was developing to be in that very moment.

Sid ducked away from Wilt, the Chokuto missing barely but enough to allow the young man to return the attempt by slamming the Aura-reinforced crowbar on the Bull Faunus' ribs; said action was then retaliated with a swift kick pressing on the human's chest, forcing him to back away for a moment before resuming the close clashing.

Nervousness was all high in her mind, so many thoughts and so little time to attend each and every one of those as she continued with her pursuit of some object to use as a mean to help.

Her attention then flickered at something shining far deep in the shadows, behind some boxes filling that section, something which had some white-metal shining through some of the spots between the wooden cubes.

Blake vaulted the crates which were hiding said object and she went to reach this possible weapon, crouching down as she lifted the short blade up.

She frowned for a moment, her cat ears twitching in surprise as she recognized this particular kind of knife, having seen some soldiers in Atlas using those during close fights.

It was a standard military knife that was mostly-produced and only used in Atlas and…

Then the girl noticed that the boxes had some words painted on them, different kind of classifications that were mostly known with Atlesian Military-grade equipment.

Her eyes widened, panic surging as she quickly realized that this building contained a vast amount of quality guns and melee weapons that were meant to be only available in Atlas, the Council there having forbidden the distribution of this new technology to other kingdoms.

This… this shouldn't have been possible, how could Adam have gained control of this kind of weaponry with how little control the Fang had over the region?

Even considering Torchwick's alliance with the organization didn't offer any means to truly solve this mystery, the man having a large crime network in Vale but nothing worthwhile in Atlas that could see this much equipment shipped to Vale.

Blake blinked as her ears caught the distinct noise of blades clashing once again, her attention returned to reality as she took out the spare bow she had on her pockets.

A seemingly innocuous object that wasn't removed from her because of its relative harmlessness but, once unfolded and set well around the knife's hilt, turned the simple blade into a make-shift weapon she was more adept to use, similar in nature to her custom Gambol Shroud but without her gun capacity.

Adam was unaware of her silent steps, the Belladonna looming over him from behind as she slammed the flat edge of the knife by the side of his head, causing him to recoil in surprise and back away from the dual front.

"Y-You- Darling?!" Surprise briefly replaced fury, then the hatred sparked fiercely from his scowl as he tightened the hold over his sword before rushing back against his two opponents.

Sid smiled through his mask, nodding her way as the two resumed the engagement against the furious Faunus, the man snarling as he tried the human first so he could deal with Blake a little later, but the young Belladonna wasn't going to allow him that kind of mercy.

The sword was flexible, that was something that Blake couldn't certainly deny, but the fact the Bull Faunus was facing two experienced foes at once in a close encounter made it difficult for him to move around without facing major pressure.

The advantage he had mere moments ago was gone, the leader of the Vale Branch of the White Fang was facing a competent duo that was more than capable of keeping up with his anger-induced attacks.

Suddenly, Adam snarled with renewed energy, slamming the Chokuto on her knife and pushing her a few feet away.

The little development proving to be more than enough for the man to finally return his full attention on Sid, slamming the human with an unexpected fist on his mask and sending him flying onto some of the crates around the battle's area.

The human groaned, slowly getting up from his downed position while the Bull Faunus shifted his focus on Blake.

The Belladonna soon found herself rushed by the brazen and aggressive stance adopted by her former companion, her hold over the hilt of the knife slowly slipping as the soft fabric of the bow rendered the surface difficult to grasp at with so much pressure against her.

She yelped as her blade was finally forced away from her hold, forcing her to try and back away from that confrontation.

Yet the girl would soon discover that it was too late to retreat away, the fellow Faunus roaring as he slammed his knee of her chest before grasping at her neck to push her to the floor.

The young woman flinched with a pained look as she tried to quickly get up from the floor, only for the red sword to stab right on her shoulder.

More pain surged as the blade twisted just momentarily on her wound, a yelp leaving her trembling lips as the sudden attack had left her unable to resist at the torture.

"I always valued you for being a considerate and smart individual, Blake," Adam said, his voice transpiring just bits of his current rage, the rest being genuine hurt. "I valued you as a friend and even more with your consent. I wanted you by my side when humanity got the justice it rightfully deserved and now… I will have to destroy everything you love-"

The redhead slowly took Wilt out of her injury, some of her blood trickling down the edges as it was slowly pointed back at where Sid had landed, forcing her to glance right where Adam was pointing up

The human was now standing up, legs wobbly a little as he was possibly suffering from some concussion. His mask came off with the impact suffered mere seconds earlier and now his shocked face was in full display for the two Faunus to notice, either with glee or with worry.

"Starting with him." The masked Faunus proclaimed smoothly, preparing his stance as the human roared and went to rush towards them. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!"

Her eyes widening in surprise and concern as smoke erupted from his feet once again to propell the young man towards Adam, turning the human in a blur.

The Bull Faunus smirked and… prepared his own semblance, the damage endured by his blade now ready to be released in a single stroke.

Her eyes widened, she struggled up as she knew what was going to happen, many robots and droids having faced gruesome fates against Adam's ability.

"N-No! Y-You- NO!" The girl screamed as she tried to get up but her body was drained, her aura was far too low and…

Blood exploded in a scene of glorious dread and despair.

The swift strike bisected Sid's chest and left arm, cutting through without major resistance as his Aura was far too low to tank an attack of this magnitude.

Yet his face was still not showing any reaction to that sudden damage he had suffered, rather he looked perfectly fine and… it had to be a slow-received reaction.

Her brain was burning in fear, worry and confusion as the human seemed to not care at that horrible attack, mere surprise painted on his face as he continued with his attack.

She had expected pain to surface upon his face moments after, but then the crowbar slammed right into Adam's mask with immense strength and speed, blood quickly rushing out of the quick slam while also forcing the man to be flung right onto some boxes standing behind him.

Silence ensued as Sid looked down at her and… smiled happily.

It was in that instant that Blake's eyes made a morbid but confusing discovery as she was slowly brought up from the floor.

Sid wasn't bleeding.

The attack did land, there was some void between the upper chest and the neck-head area, but it wasn't flesh that greeted her.

It was smoke; Particles of white smoke that were now slowly reforming his body's full composure without showing any pain in the process.

Rather the human looked drained and tired as, by the time the astonishing process was completed, he almost crumbled on her unstable hold, forcing the girl to put more strength in her own legs as to keep both standing up.

He chuckled weakly. "S-Sorry, that was… quite a difficult trick with low aura," Sid commented with a quiet stutter, causing her eyes to soften and a small smile to appear on her face.

"A-A trick?" She asked in a half-whisper. "You can do… that?"

He tried to shrug, almost falling again. "I-It's something I did some years ago, this is… the first time in a long time I've tried this."

...Oh?

"S-Sid, we should be going-" "N-No."

Blake blinked at the interruption, confused by his stubborn tone as the young man lifted his arm right to point at a certain box of many that have been left untouched during the fight.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed what was on top of it, the dark-alloy of the custom-made weapon familiar to her as she quickly approached it with the tired human.

Her free hand grasped Gambol Shroud, slowly bringing it to her shoulders and settling it here as she made her way towards… the vent shaft the human had came through.

Sid was pointing at it with his wobbly arm and Cat Faunus followed his directions as he made sure to led them out of the unknown building and they indeed ended up leaving from the section of the vents that led outside.

They both descended from the shaft slowly and carefully, their bodies still sore and tired enough that a bad fall could seriously create complications, then rushing as quickly as they could away from the warehouse section.

The sun was slowly emerging and bringing another morning to Remnant as they stopped just a moment by the young man's request, standing a long distance away from the building they had ran away from, but the place still visible from where they were.

"B-Blake, I know that this request is big but… do you want to really bring the past to an end without running?"Sid asked quietly.

The Cat Faunus blinked in surprise at that question, her eyes frowning in confusion but then the human brought up a… detonator?

Her eyes widened as she returned to glance at him quizzically, silently asking him how he had recovered that device.

"The man that gave me this suit and… the mask, he also was someone leaving the Fang. He said they are too dangerous to be left around and… he wanted this to happen in return to offering me the chance of saving you."

She blinked, her surprise lessening but her nervousness growing as she stared back at the device.

"You- You want me to-"

"You don't have to," He admitted quietly, his tone showing some genuine concern. "I- I know that this is a big step and that you and that I shouldn't be the one asking you but, I think it's best you know that you have this decision and-"

KABOOM!

The human stopped, eyes going wide open as his attention snapped at the large explosion ripping apart the warehouse, fire and flames consuming the remaining structure of the place.

His wide eyes then slowly shifted back at the device and… at the index finger owned by the Belladonna now pressing it.

"Blake-"

"I appreciate the fact you wanted to make a speech about it, Sid, I really do," The young woman interjected with a snort. "But I will also remind you that I've had plenty of sights to know that this situation is beyond saving, that… there isn't much to do about it except accepting reality. This branch of the Fang had gone through the deep end and… it can't be redeemed."

He opened up his mouth, ready to say something more but…

Blake's unscathed arm wrapped around his neck, bringing him in a hug as she felt her remaining energy leaving her tired body.

A yawn left her lips as she voiced one last thing before going unconscious. "Thank you for… caring for this 'Cat Problem'."

The smile was palpable in the words but the girl couldn't see his reaction as his face was not visible from where it was standing, her only indication being his shoulders tensing up at her whisper.

And then… she fell asleep, her mind giving her guarantee that in the end Sid would have her returned to the apartment.

Back in that lovely and comfy couch were… she could get some sleep from.

Meanwhile, a certain young man was having trouble walking back to his flat with the non-negligible weight that was Blake Belladonna, the girl softly resting in his hold as he carried her in a slow and tiring path back to safety.

Truly, what a Cat Problem he got!

-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-dd-----------d-d-d-----------d-d-d-----------d-d-d--------d-d-d-

~Cinder's POV~

The spectacle was proving to be brilliant to look at from afar, her binoculars allowing her quite the fiery sight over the headquarters of the White Fang, the now ruined building bringing some mirthfulness and pride to her eyes.

The fire was still destroying the remnant of the warehouse, fire-fighters and police officers having reached the area some time ago as the explosion had quickly woken up the entirety of the Kingdom with its unholy noise, bringing the attention of the entire administration to the former hideout of the organization.

Some of the thugs had managed to survive, a few of them having been wounded or just lucky enough to have been close to windows and other entrances to escape the growing blast, but their survival ended up with the final moments of their their freedom as the law enforcers arrived on time to arrest them all, their next destination being jail itself.

She could already imagine the newspapers' lines, the big titles throwing accusations and condemnation to the terrorist nature behind the White Fang and forcing the group to grow more and more desperate to resist the hatred combined against them.

With the explosion surely going to be ruled out as a mistaken care of some 'high-grade weaponry' stolen from Atlas, multiple ramifications were going to happen all at once.

First thing first, the Fang would suffer a major blow to their reputation, the current evidence presented about their sudden aggressive nature having been considered until now by a grand majority of Faunus as an attempt to demonize the organization, now the major event surely going to bring unpleasant attention to Sienna Khan and her Clique.

The presence of illegal Atlesian guns, Dust and other military-grade equipment would then result in a tightening of the regulations coming from the Kingdom in the north, simmering the reputation between Atlas and Vale.

The aftermath of the explosion was already causing some small-scale panic spreading all across the capital and attracting even more Grimm to the walls, something that incredibly helped her to avoid any suspicions about a 'sudden' increase of Grimm presence that her plan required.

Still, with the White Fang surely requiring to retreat their Valean Branch with the sudden lack of recruits, Cinder will have to find some more canon fodders to fill in the role of backbone for their little invasion.

Her mind was already thinking of having Roman work on expanding his turf and draft some of the other disgruntled criminal, maybe create a mercenary group that was easier to manipulate and use even after attacking Vale.

Promises of wealth, power and betterment of life were surely going to conquer a large majority of the scum lurking in the kingdom's darkest corners, enough to be made in a true strike force that could genuinely be used better than the Fang's useless fools.

Yet her job was far from over in that very day as some more tasks were needed before going back to her safe hideout.

The Half-maiden proceeded to bring up her Scroll, accessing to the cameras she had set just outside her brother's flat, from the entrance of the building up to the corridor before the door that led to the apartment, and woman was elated when she found the tired-looking young man bringing the lucky Faunus back to his home.

He looked incredibly drained from the fight he had to go through, making Cinder question her own cautiousness to not urge her younger sibling to go this far with his mindset, maybe next time give it some more attention instead of being this much trustworthy, and…

She was just so happy that he had proved her right, actually doing much more than she had expected him to do with how things have unfolded in just a handful of hours.

Not only his response had been immediate to the threat, but the magnitude and power carried in that reaction of his… was thrilling to witness from a safe distance.

It made sense to her that her lovely brother would be as brutal and fierce in protecting his things from damage, to retaliate vehemently when he was wronged or slighted by someone so foolish and moronic.

Cinder could almost see how angry he had to be while facing Adam, the Bull Faunus currently missing and surely dead, the hatred materialized with the sheer madness of Sid's semblance butchering the feeble fool in smithereens before bringing the silly girl to safety in his lair.

For a moment her mind sported some jealousy at this specific detail, the bridal-carry that the Cat was surely enjoying just like the one the young boy used to give his sister when they were incredibly young.

Time made the requirements to accomplish that delightful feat quite difficult to reach for the young man, but now that he was a full-fledged adult…

She could only imagine the sensation of being hold by his athletic form, her smile growing a little more genuine at the thought of that.

Maybe she should visit him? Maybe in a day or two, just enough to see him recover from his own injuries and be a little more at ease around people.

Yes, some time away from him now mattered so little as he was now in her reach.

The Half-maiden just needed to will it and… he would be hers to capture and keep away from dangers.

But of course that opportunity wasn't viable from the very beginning, her childish trail of thoughts concluding with some reasonable obstacles in the form of emotions.

Cinder wasn't certainly going to ruin her brother with hasty and brash need to have him around her, like a good sister should, but rather she would have to wait the right moment to strike and get him to 'understand' more about their connection.

Yes, she can bear to wait for some more time for said chance to arise.

She had already many things to do before this even happened, so much that needed to be done and completed for her main plans of true justice to this world.

The woman hummed as she made her way back to her own headquarters, ignoring the people all around, looking so afraid and tense to what had happened in the last few hours.

She entered the medium-sized warehouse sited far away from the Fang's headquarters, finding Emerald and Mercury staring in shock at the TV's screen, the news detailing the destruction that had lit the city's collective mind like a true inferno.

Emerald noticing her presence first, her mouth opening as she tried to formulate some questions over the matter, her curiosity clear but her coherence coming to miss as the girl failed to get some query formed.

Yet Cinder knew exactly what the green-haired teen wanted to know. "It was him."

The comment seemed to finally get Mercury's attention, the silver-haired mercenary had his wide eyes at the woman.

"You mean to tell me that the guy we had fought is responsible for this?" He asked in pure surprise and with some skepticism. "Surely he got some ally to infiltrate and-"

"Someone gave him a White Fang uniform, some explosives, and the address to the warehouse, but the rest was all him," Cinder interrupted with a slightly proud tone, having some issues keeping her voice under control. "Roman contacted me recently that one of the White Fang's target had recently left town after a visit at Junior's and the owner confirmed that Sid did in fact ask for some information from him."

"T-This is ridiculous-" The girl paused, tensing up at their boss' frown. "I-I mean, I think that the Fang couldn't have been caught off-guard so easily. As much as a strong guy he could be, it couldn't have been easy to-"

"You mean to tell me you have forgotten the prank we pulled at some lazy grunts?" Mercury interjected with a snort, causing his partner to blink and slowly nod. "C'mon, it was memorable! The poor fools couldn't recognize us while we wore their uniforms and gave them some fiery sermons about the 'cause' and 'freedom'."

Emerald sighed. "I admit that was quite disappointing but… I though it was an isolated case," She said before glancing at Cinder. "Wasn't it that?"

The Half-Maiden merely nodded. "Adam did give the impression they were professional, but sometime people put on some convincing masks to hide their incompetence. Especially if some of the recruits are mere botanists with no experience on fighting."

"Ouch," Mercury commented with a quick flinch. "Still, shouldn't we be worried about what this guy will do now? He did seem to recognize that we weren't part of the Fang and-"

"He will do nothing about it," Cinder stopped him with a sigh. "He will not expose himself or his friend to danger once again without some decent proof that could lead up to you two. He will not risk it."

The silver-haired teen nodded before frowning in confusion. "You know, boss, you have yet to tell us how do you know so much about him," He said with genuine interest. "I mean, you seem to know so much about him that it seems you have been close to him."

"Is there a question or do you want to be punished for being disrespectful, Mercury?" The steel glare reaching from the woman seemed to stun the young man to silence, surprise building up but the son of Marcus Black merely shrugged and decided to not poke any longer at the murderous dragon.

"Just curiosity, I will tune out now," He decided to conclude with, knowing better from testing his boss' undeniable sense of wrath.

"What about the 'friend', the Cat Faunus?" The tanned girl asked with some genuine curiosity. "She is dangerous to have around him and if her teammates find her out-"

"Sid will surely be able to find a way to get the attention away from her," Cinder stated with incredible conviction. "Until now he managed to hide her in plain sight, I know that he will manage even in the worst case scenario."

There was a pause, but Emerald nodded at the woman before turning her attention back to the TV.

Without much else to do, the half-maiden decided to spend the rest of her day planning out the next step in the principal plan, the first obstacle to face in this mission for Salem.

It was something incredibly complicated from a simplistic point of view, the problem ending up being quickly deemed beyond her current capacity much to her growing dissatisfaction.

So, instead of raging and causing a fuss over the matter, Cinder decided to make sure to bring in someone loyal to her that could seriously help her with this task.

Emerald gulped nervously as she walked upstairs and then right where Cinder's command room was.

Once she had reached her boss, the woman currently reading from one of the personal terminals built on her room, the half-maiden quickly took her by her side and showed her the issue they had to deal together for the incoming infiltration at Beacon.

Red eyes widened in surprise and minor embarrassment, the half-maiden unwilling to specify what kind of problem she was having with the clothes she had now on her bed.

Emerald's face reddened as she gave a simple but blunt order coming from her 'guardian', her mind failing to grasp the 'complexity' of such request.

"Help me putting on this uniform," The woman said without a hint of any second reasons, her genuine concern manifesting in the fact a 22-years old woman was supposed to don a first-year student uniform from Haven Academy.

The thing was… incredibly small and unfairly difficult to put on.

And that is why Emerald was needed, the former thief surely the only trustworthy assistant to get her to succeed in that embarrassing issue.

After two hours of trying and fighting against the blasted skirt and shirt, Cinder ended up victorious from that difficult battle before carefully removing the pieces before those ended up tearing at the stress they were suffering in that moment.

Some knitting will become essential to adjust the size to better accommodate her frame without damaging the integrity of the cloth.

Meanwhile, a certain tanned girl was seen smiling for the rest of the day, not even the crass puns coming from Mercury managing to bring her out from that heavenly mood.

Such was the reward of a faithful minion.

----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-dd---------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-------

AN

So yep, the Valean Branch is 'mostly' dead and I can already tell that Adam is not dead.

And no, I will not make him an Angsty ex-boyfriend, rather the awkward guy that misunderstand signals that aren't even there. Yes, he genuinely believes that Blake was into him (which she wasn't).

Lastly yes, the next phase will see a grand change… that will last for a while.

Some will be shocked, some will call for my execution (not that I'm planning something that massive, but people overreact) and I think some will call me a madlad.

But in the end yes, I will make something epic.

Stay tuned and… always believe in Gravity. Wryyy~

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 12: But we will part ways for now.


~Sid's POV~


Work was going smoothly that day at the Morning Sip, nothing much changing from the usual routine I was now accustomed too.


…


Except that someone was now not here working as a waitress, nor I expected to see Yang passing by today with some of her team.


I was fine, but still far from peachy as my mind couldn't help but remember the grand topic that domineered from earlier that morning.


While the rescue attempt had been successful and Blake hadn't suffered any major injuries during this ordeal, I ended up spending the few hours of rest before 'waking up' to think about some of the clues I had ignored until now.


With the pressing concern of a kidnapped Cat Faunus now dealt with, I was forced to face two distinct predicaments that certainly left a bitter and unnerving taste at the mere reminder.


The kidnappers hadn't been from the White Fang, yet they had the uniforms and had contacts with the branch there to release the girl back to the group sited there.


Humans, there was no doubt those two weren't Faunus and yet they had managed to avoid the disdain from the organization while also scoring some unknown favors with Vale Branch.


Knowing how aggressive the Fang had turned in the last few years, it had been a miracle that I had found Tukson so quickly and that the man had been so inclined to offer me some support in exchange of some explosive 'I quit' letter to his former work.


The man was no longer here in Vale, possibly having left the Kingdom altogether as his simple activity nearby the workplace had closed down without notice; the insignia left there detailing the selling of the building and the lack of books in the various shelves being more of a clear sign that he wasn't there no longer.


Still, despite the overall victory gained the day before, I ended up making steps towards a slightly unpleasant but much-needed decision to avoid any further issues with those mysterious stalkers.


Blake had lashed out verbally at the mere request of returning back to Beacon, the Faunus actually snarling and close to hiss at me for even suggesting such a 'horrible' proposition to her.


From a normal standpoint, it was clear that she was taken off-guard by the sudden demand that I had forwarded with little explanation, yet there was some solid reasoning behind this choice.


Whoever had kidnapped here was still on the loose and… the two thugs weren't the mastermind.


They were too uncoordinated with each other to be actually the brain behind such a complicated hit-&-run and I wasn't stupid enough to not consider the presence of a third, or even an entire group behind them.


Someone that knew about me, enough to leave me right by the entrance of my workplace to give some sort of sign or… something like that;


Someone that knew about Blake, enough to know that this guy, Adam, wanted to bring her back to the White Fang;


Someone that… knew about Cinder.


This last detail was worrying me to no end as my sister had been cautious with her actions in the last few years, careful as to not get noticed by our father's contacts spread all across Remnant.


To think that some group was onto us and knew so much about my life was… terrifying.


I knew little of this spies and they knew too much about us, this was dangerous for numerous reasons and I was quick to tell Marcus to keep an eye around for himself and his family.


If they had gone as far as to trace up the Tremaine family just for Blake, then Gods know how far they have gotten with those around us.


So when I considered the overall predicament at hand and pondered over the chances of keeping an eye out for everything… I ended up developing a simple, quite-disgruntling but effective plan.


Ozpin was mysterious, yes, and Blake had been adamant to not wanting to return to her team more as a mean to avoid dealing with Weiss, but if I had to pick between safety and discomfort, I think the choice would be clear as a cloudless sky.


The initial attempts to convince the girl to leave the flat and return to Beacon failed miserably when the Belladonna started to shout and scream, almost showing the cat-like behavior in retaliating at any approach towards her.


She didn't want to go to Beacon, 'not yet' she would repeat so stubbornly and so lying, but in the end the escalation culminated with my own shouts.


I was calm and I was understanding her explosive reaction to all of this, yet I couldn't just stay put and let her walk me over this matter. Especially if the topic was about her well-being of all things.


There was some hesitation from both sides, then some reconciliation of sort as the girl tried to make it clear that she would have been more attentive for any attempt and apologizing by saying it was her fault that what had happened last night… happened.


A quick-paced, soft-spoken approach from the girl that was curbed by a loud sigh coming from me as I provided a swift logical answer to what drove me to go for this incredible request.


There was surprise, there was silence and then there was quiet thinking from the Cat Faunus, the young woman thinking well about the motivations I was giving her.


Some questions popped out here and there about how then the situation would change for us, like 'would she be fired by her current work?' or 'was she allowed to visit once in a while when she could?' to which I replied the best possible with how I knew things were going.


It was best to keep the visits to a bare minimum and her job would have to be switched to a weekend-only days, which would entail a lesser wage but also shorter shifts.


I was a little nervous about this last situation as I knew that Yang was surely going to continue frequenting the Morning Sip.


Her interest to the place not a secret as proclaimed numerous times by the blonde, and that would mean having to find a 'smart reason' to have Blake joining in the job without seeming like she was Bianca.


Speaking of 'Bianca', this topic was going to be another issue to face once people would start to ask about her departure and… Blake taking her role as some-sort of replacement.


But just like it had been difficult before, I knew I could come up with some convincing lies to mask the entire development given the proper time and thought.


I was once again subjected with some more refusals from Blake, the girl mentioning even going as far as to make use of her identity as 'Bianca' everywhere we went as to 'fool' those stalkers from believing she was still there.


I didn't even need to tell her it was dumb, the girl catching herself moments after this proposition had left her lips by saying it was stupid and she even quickly apologized about it.


I didn't blame her, my brain was still trying to make sense of space and time as it was still fairly early in the morning and we both got so little sleep that I was actually surprised that this serious conversation was holding so well in that moment.


A few more pleas to stay, buying the girl some time to plan something that could actually work while also avoiding dealing with her problems and… I had enough.


While I could see some legitimacy in her opposition, I could see some of her worst trait displaying in that very case and I couldn't help but point it out.


It was a problem that she couldn't just run away from.


Not this time, not again and… not without a true reason behind it.


Her back was leaning to the silent but strong wall made by duty and need, one that was all in favor of giving her a mean to protect herself 24/7.


Ozpin would still ask for details, but granting herself the sole responsibility for causing the deafening explosion of the night before would have been more than enough to give herself some alibi for the time being.


Only behaving 'well' and not rebelliously would give her the chance of getting any suspect off her shoulders.


The Cat Faunus was still hesitant in picking everything up and, once she had everything put inside a backpack I decided to 'lend' to her, the girl seemed to freeze by the entrance door, looking back as if waiting for something.


A snort left my lips as I slowly made an attempt to initiate a hug- only to be glomped by an incredibly tense Belladonna, her head softly hitting my chest as she sighed.


"I will visit later," Blake said so resolutely and determinedly. "I want to watch again the trilogy of Ninja of Love."


I frowned at that. "But you buy the popcorn, I will not accept full responsibility in watching that trash."


This time it was her time to snort, leaning away from the embrace to show an annoyed look.


"It's not trash," The girl said so genuinely. "You just need some more re-watching."


That sounded more like a brainwashing attempt than else, but I just nodded and waved at her as she took her leave, her frame disappearing while she walked away and I closed the door of the flat.


In that brief moment of quiet, in that single instance of silence… I felt incredibly tired and…


Cold.


It took me about five minutes to finally shake off this strange sensation, my mind shifting its attention back to the next issue of the day and that was going to work.


I was already late on my morning routine and my already sluggish body was having some trouble going to a pace faster than usual.


After a gesture of inhuman willpower and determination, I managed to reach the bar just in time to begin my shift punctually.


I had to explain some things to Marcus, like the warning over the 'stalkers' predicament and what had happened the night before during the pause, but I was granted some peace by the time the second half of the shift began.


Clients poured in, the same quantity as usual, yet I was quickly noticing the sudden lack of my 'colleague' as my pacing had to return back to its pre-Blake pattern.


Quite difficult considering I was still tired, but the owner was kind enough to help me around as a mean of not seeing me faint for real during the work hours.


Yet, just as I expected to face a perfectly-normal day in that place, I ended up dealing with quite the unusual client, someone that I hadn't seen ever come here before.


Why was I so sure of this? Her appearance was just too unique for me to just forget so easily.


She was a petite young woman, her long hair was divided in pink and light-brown with a white streak over the pink side; her eyes were heterochromatic, with one being a soft-chocolate brown and the other being a pale pink.


The lady was wearing a white tail jacket with its interior and wide broad tail pink, under it a brown corset curved in the middle; she was also donning some black gloves, brown pants that ended in white boots with high heels.


She was waiting patiently, yet the strange attention directed at the menu gaining my interest as I approached her.


The young woman blinked and looked up, eyes showing some minor crave as she started to point at a specific spot in the menu, by the ice cream section.


It was in that moment that I noticed how short she was, even shorter than Blake's team-leader, Ruby, and the girl had to be… 15 or 16.


Still, confused by the lack of vocal input, I merely glanced at the indicated spot and noticed the specific treat the client was alluding to.


"A cup of… Neopolitan ice cream?" I asked quietly, the girl nodding swiftly as I signed down the order as I went to prepare the cup.


While I was doing that, I noticed the young woman's heterochromatic stare directed at me while I went through the usual process.


It wasn't nothing too intense, but I did feel quite unnerved by being looked at by someone I was so sure that wasn't just a civilian.


It was the small parasol folded by her side, something about its form just… feeling completely weird for such a simple and harmless thing.


I decided to ignore it, my mind quick to remind me that there were hunters passing by once every few months and maybe this one was one of those.


Maybe it was this whole idea that people were spying on me that was getting on my nerves, my paranoia needing some proper checking before I started to doubt everyone that just seemed 'strange' with their theme style and possible weaponry.


I returned to the woman in question with her order, serving her little plastic cup and tiny spoon so that she could already begin eating.


Just as I did so, I noticed that there was something already on the table, some coins that were equal to… how much the sweet treat costed.


I blinked while I slowly went to pick the Lien, turning my attention to the girl as she seemed to be enjoying the first bite.


She glanced at me momentarily to flash a happy smile before returning to her food, something that just left me… even more confused.


Was she a mute? I couldn't certainly ask her like that and at a time like this, it would have been far too awkward and rude.


Instead of pressing more to satisfy my curiosity, I merely nodded at her and let a small smile appear on my own face. "You are welcome."


The young woman paused just a moment, surprised by the reply but not giving a full reaction out as I turned around and walked back to the counter.


While I had expected this situation to defuse by the time she was done with her ice cream, so that my worries could be quietened by reality itself, one can imagine my little shock as the pink-brunette decided to spend the entire rest of the shift there.


She slowly went through her treat, careful enough to not make it too slow but also not fast enough to appear like she had no other reasons to stay in there.


In the end, she concluded by the time everyone was done and already gone and the bar was close to end its activity for the day.


But what truly got me perplexed wasn't this strange behavior.


It was how she disappeared mere moments after walking outside the main entrance of the building, leaving no trace as I went to check as to where she was going.


It was like I had offered some ice cream to a ghost.


--------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d-----------


~Blake's POV~


If there was something that was truly surprising her right now, it was the curious disposition of the hospital ward here at Beacon Academy.


This was the first time Blake had come to visit the place, the first time she had been needing to go in there for some check-up.


It was pretty big compared to a single hospital room, the massive place seemed to be ready to house the entirety of the student body with how many beds and medics deployed in this section of the campus.


But if she had to be honest, the most surprising bit was how the conversation with Ozpin had gone and how she had been sent here of all possible outcomes from that weird discussion.


She could remember taking the earliest airship that was meant to go to Beacon, pretty early considering that some third years students had long decided to live together by the capital and out of their assigned dorm-rooms.


It was an optional choice available to all teams that had a full cast of adults, thus their decision was recognized as an absolute action that didn't require any parent's authorization.


Quite efficient considering the cheaper prices and expenses for the single flaw of sharing the house with someone else.


Something that Blake was now well-experienced with after spending two weeks with the young human that had taken her in as a flat-mate.


Trials and tribulations had ensued and now she was back to the school that she had left not so long ago, her mind stormed by doubts and worries over the possible development for her.


To avoid creating any major issues with the headmaster, the Cat Faunus had been quick to call Ozpin in advance as to address the situation.


The man sounded surprised at first, confused even when she started to describe 'what had happened in the last two weeks', which was actually a little credible story born from Sid's quipping over the important subject.


Blake had been kidnapped by the White Fang when she spotted a child Faunus donning the White Fang uniform running away from the docks and she had given it chase.


In the end, it all proved to be an ambush that got her captured and sent to their main headquarters in Vale… and then she proceeded to blow it up before escaping from the area.


It was a plausible supposition for a former saboteur like the Belladonna to know how to mess with explosive bars and thus the man had been quick to incline to believe that the loud explosion had been perpetrated by her.


She felt safer when Ozpin had told her that some more talks would be required before deciding over the matter and he was quick to point out that Ms. Goodwitch would have been waiting by the main heliport by the entrance to escort the girl to his office.


The airship landed after half an hour and, just like promised, she was quick to spot the deputy headmistress waiting by the entrance of the heliport.


The blonde looked partly-concerned, quite irritated and incredibly tired… almost like she was, which was an interesting feat considering that Blake just had two hours of sleep to get ready for this situation.


School wasn't in session just yet, but their pace was swift and silent as they both rushed to reach the main elevator that led to the peak of the tallest tower in the academy, where Ozpin's office was sited.


It was curious to see the usually stern teacher this calm, but maybe it wasn't because of the tiredness. Maybe it was because, despite the massive mess she had 'created', the Belladonna was one of the quietest students in class with an undeniably good grades compared to many other hunters-in-training.


There was no song by the elevator, the quiet ride giving her an ambivalent sense of nervousness and relaxation, to which the final 'ding' that dignified that they had reached the last floor culminated this duality with some slight panic.


Ozpin was sitting by his holographic desk, the old man sparing her a glance as he nodded the two women to approach, gesturing at the Cat Faunus to take a seat by one of the two chairs in front of him.


"Ms. Belladonna," He addressed with a calm and quiet tone. "It's good to see that you have survived your capture with just a noticeable drain to your Aura and no worrying injuries. How do you feel?"


The Belladonna blinked and her stare fell to the steamy cup the headmaster was holding by the handle with his right hand.


"C-Could I have a cup of coffee?" She asked as politely as her tiredness could allow. "I-I… I've caught just an hour or two of sleep yesterday and-"


"Sure, there is no need to explain," Ozpin said with a nod, standing out of his chair and slowly going for the lone coffee machine set on some furniture behind his chair.


The preparation was quick and the steamy little cup of the bitter beverage was in her hold quite suddenly.


It was instinctive as she lifted said cup and took just two sips from it, letting the liquid seep in her mind as she felt more energy coming from her body.


She blinked and slowly nodded. "Thank you."


"You are welcome, Ms. Belladonna," The headmaster replied. "But I think now we can focus a little more about the situation you have presented to me by your last call and..."


Blake took another sip, expecting this to be a breeze compared to her worried scenarios-


"How you have lied to us." Ozpin finally proclaimed with an irritated voice, catching the Cat Faunus off-guard. Almost enough to spill out the coffee in her mouth.


Gulping down the drink was much more difficult, the panic urging her to gulp quickly and uncaring of the heat coming from the still hot stuff.


"W-What?"


It was Ms. Goodwitch to reply to that, a tired look present even now as she addressed the situation.


"While your whereabouts were a mystery to us all, we were able to discern where you were hiding by the second day you have gone missing," The blonde stated calmly, if not irritated herself. "When Professor Port reported finding a young Cat Faunus that matched your description… working at one of the most frequented bars in Vale."


...That was before she had been given her fake identity. It has to be.


But how did she miss seeing someone as portly as the old professor that had found her?


And while this was a good question, the one that best garnered her curiosity was a completely different one.


"B-But if you knew where I was, then why didn't you-"


"Recover you back to safety at school?" Ozpin concluded for her, a hum forming by his throat as he pondered over the proper answer. "I can say it has to do with the peculiarity of the situation we found ourselves to deal with."


"At first we thought that the owner of the bar was somehow blackmailing you to work for him," Ms. Goodwitch pressed on. "So we spent some time trying to check and see if this theory was correct or not. In the end, we understand that there was no manipulation from his part."


The girl's eyes widened at that absurd supposition. Marcus Cobalt wasn't, or at least didn't behave, anything that she could consider untrustworthy and dangerous.


A simple man with a modest activity to keep up with the expenses of the family behind him.


So Blake nodded, quickly enough to confirm her decision. "H-he didn't do such thing."


"Yet you still didn't return back to Beacon, even though you weren't restrained from doing so," The headmaster commented impartially. "You could have given an effort to return here, yet you decided to stay back in Vale."


"For some curious reasons too," The younger teacher commented as she went to open up an image on the holographic desk, the picture of someone familiar popping up to her sight.


The Belladonna paled a little, her panic rising once again.


"Sidur 'Sid' Tremaine," Ozpin described. "Young man hailing from Mistral, his family is filled with unique individuals that warranted no little attention from the Kingdom and beyond. His father is a good friend of mine and… I did spare some words with him before addressing this issue."


W-What? What was he talking about?


"Ms. Belladonna, this question might sound invasive or awkward to find an answer too, but I need a genuine reply to properly ascertain what I should do with this individual," The old man warned carefully. "Did Mr. Tremaine tried to take advantage of you in any shape or form?"


…


…


"What?"


Ms. Goodwitch sighed. "Mr. Tremaine housed you until now, Ms. Belladonna. We have proof of it and the only thing we don't know about is the reason behind such a predicament."


"You mean like… that kind of 'taking advantage'? I-" Blake blinked with her eyes wide open, there was just so much wrong in that statement.


Sid had barely touched her, the closest thing to contact being simple hugs she was guilty of having started herself.


She blinked again and shook her head. "H-He didn't do such thing," The Belladonna finally answered. "A-Actually the situation is mostly my fault. I caused the issue."


"Elaborate please."


A nod left her head, still nervous as she had to explain the 'awkward' beginning of that odd relationship.


"Mr. Tremaine had a… plant of cat nip in his house, the ventilation from within his flat pushing the scent of the plant outside and… I was incredibly drained from the battle by the docks," The young woman stated, pausing momentarily as to fight back the little blush evolving from that memory. "W-When I entered inside, I ended up missing the scent and… I ended up too tired. There was a couch as I had entered the living room and-"


"You invaded someone's house, Ms. Belladonna," Ms. Goodwitch finally showed her known sternness. "Someone that, I guess, was pretty much irritated by such invasion."


The girl gulped nervously. "H-He was. He wanted to call the police and… I might have cut his phone in the process and-"


"Not only you entered inside private property but you also damaged more of said property?" The headmaster blinked, more impressed at the escalation than embarrassed by such behavior. "Please continue."


"I was initially ready to leave the flat but… I decided to return to it later that day, by nighttime-"


"And you spent the night there." The teacher sighed tiredly, her hand on her face as she tried to hold back the headache coming from such a tale.


"He let you stay, didn't he?" Ozpin asked curiously. "And maybe he wanted you to repay the damage you have created during such panicking moments."


The girl nodded, but the deputy headmistress jumped at this.


"But still, to have you work at the same place he was… and just for a phone?" She looked skeptical and it was the old man that decided to press the issue.


"Ms. Belladonna, how did you… enter the flat?"


…


"I might have..." She gulped again, this time her stare was fixed away from both teachers. "Broken through a section of the ventilation by the roof… twice."


…


"Mr. Tremaine has to have been your luckiest bet, Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin admitted suddenly, warranting a quick glare from his deputy. "But I still think what you have done will warrant some punishment. The story you have forwarded will be used to address the public and your team, but I expect you to never miss any appointment of your detention."


The Cat Faunus blinked and she slowly turned at Ms. Goodwitch. "Which is?"


"Therapy sessions, Ms. Belladonna," The headmaster replied instead, drawing the girl's confused look. "I will be taking control of such duty onto myself, I wish to unfold this case myself as this goes beyond mere school teaching."


"W-What?"


"You will find me free by the time normal lessons are over by Monday, Wednesday and Friday," The man continued while he ignored the Faunus' question.


"And Glynda, please escort Ms. Belladonna to the infirmary," He concluded while looking at the blonde. "I think she requires some rest and some check-up over her Aura levels."


There was no space for protests as Blake was escorted out of the office and right to the curiously-immense room that was assigned to take care of people that needed medical help.


Sadly, said realm was overseen by a particularly-creepy individual.


A young woman, a Fox Faunus with a penchant for needles.


She looked like a normal person at first, but Tsune was by no mean normal, especially when she had been so stubborn in trying to administer some needles to the Cat Faunus for the sake of the 'check-up'.


It was a simple look at her Aura levels, not a transfusion, and so her stubborn attack was rejected with equally if not stronger determination.


She wasn't in the mood to deal with needles of all things, especially since her mind was having trouble understanding what she was supposed to do with Ozpin's words.


Therapy? For her of all people?


Sure, the insane development that led to her strange relationship with Sid could be seen as concerning if not worrying to a fair degree, but Blake wasn't in need of some therapist.


Especially if said therapist was some cryptic headmaster that seemed to require some sessions more than she did with the way he seemed so weary and tired all the times, even though he was continuously drinking coffee and walking outside his office, away from the peculiar stack of paperwork piling by the holographic desk.


Now that she was alone to her thoughts, Tsune having retreated to 'play' with some other poor student and with Ms. Goodwitch having to start her lessons, Blake couldn't help but start to realize how difficult it was all going to be.


With Ozpin knowing about what had really happened in the last two weeks, it sure was going to take a while to 'rebuilt' whatever sense of trust the man had over her to not put her under surveillance 24/7.


And yet, despite being spared from continuing to deal with both teachers during this hopefully brief stay at the infirmary, Blake's eyes ended up widening in immediate panic as she noticed three individuals approaching by the entrance.


Ruby was leading the little group, a nervous look on her face as her silver eyes found the Cat Faunus.


Next was Yang, the blonde blinking in surprise but seeming surprisingly relaxed compared to what she had expected her to be… but she still looked quite concerned herself.


Finally, amber eyes locked onto light-blue ones and… Blake frowned.


The Heiress of the SDC, which the Belladonna had thought to find enraged and ready to spark some new escalation with the newly-returned team-member.


Weiss' posture was slightly slouched, quite uneasy-looking as she kept quiet while following behind the brawler.


The Schnee's eyes… those were red and puffy. She had cried, gods know how long ago but it was evident to see some guilt plastered on expression.


What happened to her?


-----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------


AN


Ozpin knows… I mean, he has control over most of the cameras in Vale, I think he would know that Blake is lurking around and… why wouldn't a teacher notice and report?


Yet he didn't take her back with aggressive diplomacy? There is a deep reason, something that will be expanded on those 'therapy sessions'.


Ozpin will not be Dumbledore, I think I've turned him in that far too much in my stories and… here comes a smart and somewhat reliable mentor. Will he screw things up with everyone else? Not that I plan him to, no.


Also before someone screams 'REEEE! You had someone screm at Waiss! You meanie dummy, delete, unwatch, unsub, REE!', I can tell you all that no, no one actually addressed directly Weiss and pushed her to this current state.


It was something… that comes from within.


More will be given out next chapter… when I will pull a mystical and fun move. I think it's about… chess. Nothing more, nothing else… but expect some more 'trouble' for Blake's own life.


Lastly… what if I wrote a Jojo SI that takes over… DIO-sama!?

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 13: To mend our mistakes-


~Weiss' POV~


The last two weeks at Beacon Academy had been… fairly difficult for a certain white-haired young woman.


Weiss was certainly not expecting so many issues to explode out from a simple morning spent 'scouting' for any possible competitors for the approaching tournament here in Vale.


The incredible discovery that one of her teammates was a Faunus and had been part of the White Fang having given the young heiress no little concerns over the overall situation here at the school.


She could remember the particularly-heated discussion, the clashing of two stern minds over something that was sore for both girls and… then she remembered the immense revelation from Blake.


The Faunus wasn't someone she had been much attached to and the Schnee wasn't certainly going to deny such thing before reality.


Both had been at odds since they have met each other, starting from the very first day at the Academy by how the Belladonna's patronizing voice had taken a strong jab at the heiress while Weiss was chiding Ruby's clumsy behavior.


She should have expected, not truly, that the very intervention hadn't been a casual-driven one, nor one out of pity directed the red-caped leader of the team, mostly because how in that very case the target of her careful lecture wasn't the girl herself but the Schnee Family as a whole.


Anger had sparked from the sudden discovery and the soon-to-follow disappearance of the Cat Faunus brought even more irritation to the Atlesian girl's mind over the matter as it made the whole subject more aggravating.


She didn't hate Faunus, nor she supported her father's cruel and cynical vision he had of the little group within humanity but Weiss would never deny the intense hatred she harbored for the White Fang as a whole.


It wouldn't be a lie to say that, despite having lived in a state of luxury and riches, her childhood had suffered immensely from the radicalization of the terrorist organization as Jacques Schnee wasn't certainly someone that knew about 'letting off his frustration' only on poor fools working under him.


Dinners would became literal battlefields with the man going as far as verbally lynching anyone that tried to bring him any more dissatisfaction for those days, his loud and stern tone bringing out quite the horrible individual to have nearby.


Winter managed to dodge the worst of those moments by the second she was accepted in Atlas Academy, her big sister having long assured that her stay in that 'house' wasn't something pleasant as a home should give to any of its inhabitants.


Whitley was surprisingly smarter as he was quick to notice the higher-degree of positive attention and decided to merely become a shadow to Jacques instead of even considering trying to get a chance at life away from the gloomy prospect of a business-dominated life.


Then there was mother… and she was not here.


Memories of her early childhood did show a more-active Willow Schnee during those moments, the woman clashing more than eagerly against her husband for the sake of keeping some sanctity during dinners.


A strong personality that slowly dwindled down to a husk by the time Weiss was ten, the daughter of Nicholas Schnee preferring to drown her own imprisonment experience in wine rather than try to give better chances to her children.


And… there was grandfather.


Nicholas Schnee was possibly the last element of staunch resistance against Jacques' cold demeanor, the founder of the SDC doing his best to try and keep the former Gelé from shattering any resemblance of the growing family but…


Then fate decided to bring another reason to hate the White Fang.


Grandfather was a memorable figure from her first few years, even Winter used to muse back at the 'pretty years' experienced while the kind old man was alive and giving them attention and care.


But despite the ever-cheerful behavior, it wasn't difficult to spot some tired sighs leaving his lips once or twice in a while as he would give them some of his time to spend either playing around or having pleasant discussions.


It all changed one day when they were all enjoying a little walk to the park.


Mother had decided to stay back home to take care of Whitley, her brother still a toddler at the time, and Nicholas had been more than elated to take both her and Winter for a little walk around the natural site nearby the mansion.


It was all going well, she could remember the laughs, the sun bathing her with its light and-


Pain.


It had been so sudden, so unexpected.


A quick and blunt hit to the back of her head to maim her while the real target of the assassination attempt was killed away from her sight, the immediate attack bringing her to faint before she could understand what was going on.


Weiss would then wake up a full day later, some bandages applied over her head as her mother continued to sob by the chair nearby her bed back home.


Those tears would be the last time Willow Schnee would try to stand up against Jacques, her husband having been quite uncaring of the passing of his predecessor.


Nicholas Schnee was killed by a 'rogue' group of the White Fang that had managed to infiltrate the group of guards keeping watch over them at the park, their surprising assault managing to quickly overwhelm the old founder of the SDC and, despite capturing all of them, the 'bringer of the modern era' wouldn't survive to see what happened next.


Atlas' outrage at the 'rebellious cell' would be the final nail to the coffin of the older leadership of the Fang, the first leader having to step down in shame at the horrible crime perpetrated by his own creation.


With the peaceful but mostly isolated man stepping down, Sienna Khan emerged to render the organization 'capable of properly bring change to Remnant'.


Violence increased, but so did Jacques' bouts of anger back home and… with Winter having left to join the military and with Whitley well-aware of not doing anything 'bad' before their father when he was furious, Weiss found herself alone before the irritation of her authoritative parent.


A grade a little less than perfect? A two-weeks detention away from any of her hobbies.


A 'bad tone' used before her father? She would get a slap for being 'cheeky' and 'rebellious.


Things would only escalate from there, but then Weiss was given a way out in the form of enlisting to Beacon Academy.


Time passed since the first day, some bumps along the way forced her to concede and surrender some of the harsher bits of her own cold exterior for the sake of 'giving some efforts for the team'.


Ruby proved to not be as problematic as she had initially thought her to be with the two years she had skipped by joining the Academy this early and her older sister was a teaser at best rather than an outright troublemaker within the school's premises.


It was Blake that turned out to be a… problem.


Not a 'problem' in the sense of a pending issue that would cause her to make mistake or endanger the team… but someone that barely connected with the other three girls.


Even Yang had to admit early on that she barely knew the Belladonna to say if she expected or not such a development, thus bringing endless questions to the already overworking mind of hers.


Why did Blake join Beacon Academy?


Why would Ozpin accept her to the school?


Did the headmaster know about her past affiliations, and if so why did he still let her enlist to Beacon?


The first week after the battles at the docks was one where Weiss' confused anger would cause her to make some terrible bad choices.


First, the Schnee ended missing some of the study sessions she herself had planned to have with Ruby, the Rose asking multiple time if she needed some time to think or even rest by the way the heiress would act out outside.


It was kind of nice considering how latched the younger girl had been to her since the initiation test (if not before if she had to consider the clumsy meeting), but she had then scoffed at her concerns and kept going.


Some tests did suffer with her lack of focus, her mind failing to concentrate and calm down as the frustration continued to pile up within her core.


Finally, her sleeping schedule was ruined by frequently waking up during the night and rending her just a little bit of rest compared to the usual.


She had been tired, unnerved and terribly difficult to get to talk to, especially when that situation at the bar occurred.


It was the culmination of any other interactions with people, the waiter, albeit in the right with his duties for the activity, had been treated awfully out of ill-judgment than with impartial analysis.


This very encounter proved also to be decisive as Yang decided to finally confront her over her attitude, her blunt questions quite difficult to deflect considering whom she was dealing with, but it didn't turn into a nice discussion to have.


Angry words were exchanged, some shallow insults thrown here and there… before the Xiao Long decided to bring out something she had not considered until now.


"What if Blake isn't avoiding us? What she got caught by them?"


What if, she mused at that deafening throwback, what if Yang had been correct with this statement?


In a rare instance of lucidity, Weiss finally decided to pause in her furious state to walk back on her step, right to the origin of this issue.


Back to the questions, those little confusing bits that made the whole situation weird to consider.


Why did Blake attack the Fang if… she was still part of them? Why did she fought with them against the criminals?


From there theories stemmed sporadically and mercilessly within her mind, the heiress found her attention once more consumed by this pressing issue, this time her anger turning in worry about the subject.


It was just a minor pulse at first, then the concern started to grow the wilder her thoughts over the matter would get.


What if Blake had left the Fang because they had turned bad?


What if she tried to save people but she was almost killed by this?


What if Ozpin offered her shelter by letting her join Beacon?


Another week passed, her grades continuing a little decline, this time softened by the much-accepted help offered by the rest of the team with her own homework.


It was odd to see how the tables had turned, from a laborious girl that would drive the entire group to pick up the pace for school's duties to someone unwilling to even turn a page from a thin book.


Odd indeed.


But not as odd as what ended up happening by the turn of the second week after the battle, the message sent by Ms. Goodwitch to their Scrolls notifying them of an important development about their missing teammate.


Blake was back… and her return happened after the destruction of a suspected White Fang's stronghold.


It didn't take much for the heiress to connect dots, her pace a little quicker than usual as she followed both Yang and Ruby to the hospital ward of the school and… there she was.


The Cat Faunus wasn't donning her signature bow, her animal feature in full display… with the various cuts and tears on her clothes. Those hadn't been there back in the aftermath of the last time they had seen her


The Belladonna didn't look to have endured too much, but there were signs of injuries on her exposed arms, enough to dignify one of the worst scenarios possible with her capture.


Torture.


Tsune, the woman that was responsible for the ward, quickly notified the rest of the team of the situation, about how Weiss had been correct in the end.


Blake had been captured while giving pursue to one of the younger members of the organization, two weeks spent in that warehouse, to be 'brought back to reason' with the 'proper means'.


It was 'luck' that had granted her the means to escape, to destroy the place before they could have tried to attempt anything worse than stealing shipments of Dust.


The explosion had echoed across the capital, even those here at Beacon had heard it.


Ruby and Yang were the more talkative, asking the right questions to the safely-returned member of the team, the Faunus slightly embarrassed by the attention but certainly not unhappy for the concern.


Yet, despite the positive words coming from both girls, the Belladonna's attention was taken by Weiss herself. Or rather by the reaction the Schnee was displaying in that very moment.


Utter silence, the Atlesian girl's face was set in a simple blank mask that kept inside whatever emotion was behind her external shell.


She had to also look quite tired because of the visible bags below her eye.


Half an hour passed, Ruby finally noticed that her partner was not taking part in the conversation, her silver eyes frowning in confusion at the lack of intervention from Weiss.


But instead of calling out this strange behavior or even coax her to join in the discussion, the Rose reached for her sister, tugging at the blonde's gauntlet.


Yang turned with a surprised look at her younger sibling, only for Ruby to sigh. "Maybe we should… leave them alone." The girl stated with a soft but determined voice.


"But what if-" Lilac eyes widened when the team leader smiled widely.


"I think they will do anything bad if they chat after… what happened in the last two weeks," Ruby said calmly. "Plus, I think we should prepare something to help Blake with the current school's homework."


The brawler huffed but nodded. "More homework- Fine, but you have to help with the math problems."


Just as the blonde stretched and prepared to go, Weiss noticed Ruby tensing up at this.


"T-There are math problems for today?"


The Schnee would have snort at that. It was just so adorable to see the little Rose panicking over something as simple as mere homework.


The two siblings left the ward moments later, leaving Blake alone with the cause behind her leaving, behind her crescendo of problems and…


This certainly isn't the brightest idea Ruby could have had about this delicate case.


She could have just avoided the talk, waited for better times and… yet the knot in her chest ignored her little need to leave that unpleasant and unbearable circumstance.


The heiress gulped nervously but… she was ready to give her best.


Her lips parted as the words formed on her tongue.


"I'm sorry-" "I'm sorry-"


--------------d-d-dd------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d---------


~Blake's POV~


Of all things that could have happened in that very moment, this development wasn't something she had truly expected.


Blake's eyes widened in noticeable surprise as her apology was met with a genuine one coming from the Schnee, the fellow girl looking shocked herself by their mutual response, somewhat embarrassed by the curious impasse.


Weiss was… a proud individual, someone that wouldn't just consider apologizing with someone even if her fault was evident to the rest of the people… and yet she was apologizing...


To her.


Blake was the one that bolted, that left the group for the sake of avoiding the confrontation, to 'help a child out of the White Fang' and… she was the one in needs of apologies.


Was this a joke? Maybe it was an attempt to-


But to what end?


It was just maddening. The situation was strange, if not awkward considering the strangely frail nature of the Atlesian's girl current stance.


She looked incredibly tense, quite nervous and-


That wasn't making any sense to the Belladonna, nor was how the already-odd reply was followed.


"I-I didn't mean to-" The Schnee resumed briefly, sighing tiredly and nodding. "P-Please talk."


...She was stuttering. Weiss Schnee was stuttering.


Her confusion increased and she blinked twice before addressing the unexpected predicament.


"I'm sorry for… leaving so suddenly after the battle at the-"


"I-It's fine," The heiress interjected quickly, an uneasy smile appearing on her face. "I-It's not your fault if… if all of this happened."


…


Blake's mind was forced to reboot before this insane development, her attention now fully fixed upon the behavior Weiss was displaying in that very moment and the reasons urging her to say things like this.


It just didn't make sense as the last time she had seen the heiress before returning to Beacon, the girl had been completely angry, terribly irritated by everything and everyone.


But now? Now it was like she was looking at a shadow of what once was a bratty rich girl. Gone was the arrogance, the stern looks and the pompous posture of the young woman.


Now the heiress looked incredibly little, as if she had reverted to a younger state of herself.


"Weiss," The Belladonna started slowly, still unsure how to deal with this situation. "Do you… think that my capture is your fault?"


There was a brief moment of silence, the girl blinked surprised and then… blinked again.


"I don't think that, no," Weiss assured with a nod, her smile deflating a little.


Blake felt some relief at that, happy that this wasn't what she had thought it to be-


"I… know that it is my fault."


Nevermind.


Her amber eyes widened. "Weiss, I decided to give chase after the battle. You didn't have anything to do with-"


"If I hadn't been so vehement back during our last discussion," The Schnee interrupted with a stronger tone. "This wouldn't have happened. The battle, the chase and… the capture."


"You- You can't be serious," The Belladonna commented back, her surprise flooding her voice. "We both went too far-"


"But I could have tried to-"


"Listen," The Cat Faunus intervened quickly. "I understand that you are upset over it, but I'm fine. You don't have more fault than I have."


"U-Upset? You think this- this is just me being 'upset', Blake?" Finally, something close to anger seemed to burst within her words. "You said you were lucky- you know that things could have surely gone worse if 'luck' hadn't been there for you."


Things would have gone definitively much worse than… what happened with Sid's intervention.


It had been so close for Adam to go and do something she didn't want, to be forced to… to go that far and-


No, she didn't need to think that now of all times. Not now that she was back at Beacon Academy.


Her mind tried to calm down at that interesting thought, the dreadful content more than enough to dissuade her from persisting along this line.


Sid had rescued her, they were both fine and she shouldn't be lingering too much over that tiring night.


Sadly, Weiss didn't know about what had truly happened with that circumstance.


Just like for Ruby and Yang, the heiress knew only that it's been only the Faunus to accomplish her own escape with nothing else but… 'luck'.


"Weiss-"


"What if you had been hurt beyond mere torture?" The heiress interrupted again, seemingly lost in that cycle of eventualities. "What if you had been killed?"


"It wouldn't have been your fault-"


"I would have been the one to survive from this mistake, as much as you make it appear equal to yours," She continued while ignoring the Cat Faunus. "I would have had guilt, while you wouldn't have had another chance at-"


"Stop."


Blue eyes widened, the Schnee snapping out of her gloomy reverie as she noticed that she was already trembling, shivering as little tears were forming by the edges of her eyes.


"I-I didn't mean to bring-"


"You didn't, I know."


"B-But I-"


"Weiss," Blake finally said with a tired tone, her eyes softening as she sighed. "Can you please… come closer?"


The request sounded odd even as it left her lips, yet the idea was the only thing that worked to avoid the predicament to escalate even more.


The heiress blinked in minor surprise, but she did comply as she took two steps closer, just enough for the Belladonna's arms to reach out and bring the girl close.


Weiss was shocked by the sudden action, her head comfortably settled on the Faunus' shoulder as the girl squeezed her close.


Intimacy wasn't certainly something the dark-haired girl was known for, but it wasn't something that was completely awkward considering the extreme confidence behind the act.


"You are a brat," Blake whispered furiously. "A spoiled brat that can't just understand when it's your fault and when it's not."


In that very moments, glimpses of how the Schnee would back before this very moment flashed all at once in her mind.


The numerous times she would try to intervene in any study session, to arrogantly had her own 'experience and knowledge' to the matter while denying the help of others.


Barking a lot before her peers, trying to appear strong, brave… acceptable.


But that mask did fade just moments before Blake had left the docks, before she had decided to avoid the confrontation.


It had been a little detail, a minuscule speck of time that she couldn't remember at first but… now she could.


Weiss' face moments before giving a furious scowl, before giving a 'proper' reaction to the situation.


There was shock, there was self-disappointment and… there was fear.


Fear of having failed someone.


"I-I- What?"


"You try to appear so mighty and perfect," The Belladonna continued. "But I know that's not true."


"I'm not per-"


"Even trying, even denying your own attempts; You know that your father isn't here, you don't have to-"


"I still have a duty as a-"


"Moron."


Blurting the word sounded so… apt for the predicament but Blake herself was aware that this wasn't something born from her own perception of things.


Instead of tackling the highly-emotional predicament with her miser experience over the topic, she had slowly but unconsciously slipped in the kind of personality she had been subjected to for the last two weeks.


"I-I'm not a moron!" The heiress rebuked scandalized.


"If you truly think you have a duty even though nobody is caring for your title," The Cat Faunus stated with utter certainty. "Then yes, you are a moron."


Weiss huffed, her trembling starting to reduce. "O-Of course I'm not-"


"Guilty of anything."


Blake felt in a roll, a strange emotion considering that she had little experience of winning a conversation of this kind.


And the strange amusement rising from her chest as the Schnee was subjected to a 'Sid treatment'? Was this how the young man felt when he controlled a discussion?


What an addictive sensation.


"Y-You are trying to make me angry-"


"Or maybe I'm telling the truth," The Cat Faunus continued mercilessly. "Let me ask you something, what if you were wrong?"


"I'm not- what are you even talking about?!" Weiss exclaimed in shock, yet she didn't even try to end the ongoing embrace. "Wrong? It's logical for me to be-"


"A silly girl that overthink over simple matters," She said while squeezing her closer. "I'm here, I'm mostly fine and you are trying to hold back the fact you feel dumbly guilty about what had happened to me."


"I-It's not true," The heiress said slowly, her mouth settling on her shoulder while her arms started to wrap below Blake's armpits and around her waist. "Y-You are the moron- and a dolt!"


"I thought that was only… Ruby."


Weiss snorted at that. "Ruby wouldn't do something as foolish as you did and-" The Schnee paused, tensing a little before sighing in defeat. "In retrospect, I could see her 'plan' something far worse than that-"


"Then I'm not a dolt."


"You are still a dolt for- for bolting like a… moron," The Atlesian girl shot back with a final huff.


For some reason this exchange just sounded so… good.


It was a lighter version of that little heated discussion they had before the Belladonna had left Beacon to find more about the White Fang, but instead of mean-spirited words it was all about childish comebacks and responses.


Something that wasn't meant to hurt but to be perceived as a playful tug of war.


"And you are still hugging this moron," Blake snapped back with a mirthful tone, gaining another snort from the Schnee.


"Just because you are… warm and soft," The white-haired girl muttered quietly, trying her best to cover the fact she had been crying until now.


But the Belladonna had noticed by the time her shoulder registered something wet falling continuously right where the heiress' head was settled.


"I guess I am."


"T-This doesn't mean anything else," Weiss stuttered a little, embarrassed by the teasing edge on that comment. "You are just-"


"Someone 'warm and soft'."


"Y-Yes but-"


The Cat Faunus snorted, interrupting the little exchange for a brief moment.


"You should probably get something for your tears," She admitted with a calm sigh. "You wouldn't want to be seen by Ruby and Yang like this."


Surprisingly enough, the heiress merely sighed back.


"And you should do something for your purring," The girl threw back with a small smile forming on her lips while she moved out of the hug, her right sleeve over her eyes to give remove some of the tears on her face. "Wouldn't want for Xiao Long to tease you to death with Cat puns."


That very comment brought the Belladonna out of her 'Sid moment' and back to her introverted self as her jaws dropped in shock at the comeback, her cheeks sporting a bright blush at that very detail.


She was purring but… when did she started to do that?!


Weiss giggled at the shocked expression. "Y-You might have some backbone, Belladonna," She started with a somewhat happier tone. "But you are still a dolt."


Before Blake could reply to that comment, the heiress decided to pick some handkerchief by her sleeves and deal with the tears remaining, walking away from the infirmary with a smug smirk on her face.


Alone in the infirmary, the Cat Faunus was left to finally consider what had just happened until now, her amber eyes widening more and more as the sudden escalation became clearer to her current state of mind.


Her blush grew even more, her confusion intensifying as she thought how her mind had just decided to 'switch' with how Sid would usually deal with her.


It was an odd reaction as she wasn't much elated by how the young man would use logic and reason to beat her in mind-games or simple conversations, but for some reason she found the experience of being the one in control in a situation to be…


Awfully delightful.


It was like she was given freedom over how a situation should develop, if it should be a tame conclusion or a complicated one, positive or negative.


Of course Sid would never know of this. If the human ever so come close to discover that she had made use of his own means of persuasion, she would never hear the end of his gloating.


It was hard enough to endure his smugness when he would outmaneuver her in some conversation, Blake would surely be done for if he got this event as teasing material.


Hopefully, he will never know about this. Just like he will never know that I did stole a milk can before leaving the flat.


Just as a smile finally broke through her confused mask, her happiness deflated instantly as she caught sight of someone approaching her bed with a bright smile and… a dreadful amount of needles in her hands and… tail.


How is she juggling so many of those with just her tail!?


"Ms. Belladonna~!" Tsune declared giddily as she rushed towards her with the pointy ends of the horrible medical instruments of pain. "It's time for your medications~!!"


Blake didn't hesitate with her next action as she jumped off her bed and, without looking back, bolted away from the threatening woman now giving chase to her.


And while the Cat Faunus dealt with quite the predicament in the form of pure sadism incarnate, a certain white-haired girl couldn't help but feel the need to smile.


Ruby would be curious about why Weiss would be this cheerful that day, especially after spending some time talking with Blake, while Yang would tease about 'the Ice Queen was finally melting'.


Yet, despite the light-heart undertone of such comment, the heiress couldn't help but blush at the thought of melting.


She had been so close to Blake, her warm breath and her incredibly soft skin driving her to a state of calm she had experienced just a few times in her childhood.


It was refreshing and… somewhat quite strange to think back about.


As strange as the swift pace her heartbeat was going at those comments coming from the Xiao Long, the undertone missing as only a certain innuendo persisted.


But that couldn't be, couldn't it?


Then why was her heart beating so loudly?


-------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d--------


AN


Either a virus or you have been caught by Blake's undeniable charm.


Let us admit that, given some backbone, the Belladonna can easily get Remnant as a whole as a harem.


Still, pairings are inconsequential to the plot and before anyone throws grenades at me for pulling a Monochrome fluff scene, I do remind you that I will have Ladybug and Bumblebee scenes too.


Why I don't care for pairings? Well, let me ask just this question: why should I?

 

[JBukharin]

(Little AN: This story doesn't have any pairing. Whatever resembles some romantic scenes here is born out of amusing, fluffy and ultimately comedic purposes. There is no Harem, there is no polyamory. If you can't read this from a two lines-long AN at the end of last chapter, then it's your fault, no longer mine. And now we start.)


Chapter 14: -And secure our bases


~Sid's POV~


It would be a terrible understatement to say that I was nervous about what I had planned to accomplish today with the expected visit of a certain sibling.


But my worries started way before the beginning of this day, specifically two days ago when I found myself dealing with my newest problem at the workplace.


The frequent visiting of a certain pink-and-brown-haired 'ghost' that had started to be present around the bar ever since Blake had gone for Beacon had left me particularly guarded and incredibly careful of making my trips back home with haste and attention over any stalkers.


Her mere presence leaving me in a strange state of nervousness around this young woman, the kind of psychological warfare that one either disliked and outright hated to face against on a daily basis and… it wasn't all.


Despite the odd presence of such a colorful individual, I had yet to see her do anything even so remotely dangerous for me or anyone here at the Morning Sip, and I wasn't certainly going to risk sparking some troublesome predicament without proper evidence to back me up with such a complex situation.


It didn't certainly help that she would be keeping silent all the time while observing me while I went through my work, merely replying to queries and comments with gestures or by tapping if it was about treats she wanted to buy for that very day.


I wouldn't go as far as to call her innocuous with her mannerism, but I was still unsure how to tread with such a fascinating client that seemed to have established a fixation over my person; her giddy smile always directed at my tight composure while I addressed her directly, giving me nothing but displeasure over the matter.


To make things a little easier for myself, I merely decided to switch her nickname from 'Ghostie' to 'Neopolitan', the little nickname born from her surprisingly-obsessive attachment to the specific flavor of ice cream.


It was just… unhealthy how she would just consume so many scoops of the sweet treat on a daily basis, making me wonder if she had some kind of diabetic immunity after consuming so much ice cream in just a few days.


After experiencing two full days of having this individual around doing nothing but creepily watching me doing the tasks required by my job, my mind was given some minor relief when I finally received a message from someone I had tried to get hold onto after the warehouse debacle.


Cinder had been keeping quiet at the few messages I had sent her, asking, if not pleading, for her to spare some of her free time for a personal confrontation over what I had learned from this close encounter with the White Fang.


I hadn't forgotten how one of the two faux grunts had used some illusion-based Semblance to make me think that I was talking with my own sister, something that was as worrying as infuriating.


Someone was aware of Cinder and those same people were surely going to try and capture the young woman for whatever purpose they might have about me and Blake.


Thinking back about the Cat Faunus, I was presented once more to the simple fact that I was now left alone to enjoy my flat without any disturbance, but the lack of those disturbances were indeed leaving a certain coldness over my time spent there.


Am I really missing her after just two days? Am I that much- Nah.


Instead of lingering over my own pseudo-nostalgia over the lack of a certain black-haired annoyance, I found myself directing my thoughts back at the serious topic regarding both Blake and I.


We were the prime targets of some dangerous group, but our family members were seemingly fair game for this unnamed organization, my perception of the entire predicament painting these unknown individuals as threatening with their knowledge they had over our lives.


It was irritating to be aware of someone trying to do funny business with us all, enraging even that they might even be daring enough to try anything in broad daylight, but I was quite careful to not lose myself in that anger of mine as I knew that cold rationality was what I needed to survive this tight predicament.


With so little clue of what I was supposed do against these hostile fellows, I wasn't certainly going to leave myself exposed to more issues until I had properly made sure that Cindy had been warned over the matter.


It was another slow day at the Morning Sip and I had been quite busy with a handful of clients when the doorbell rang again.


The noise now long accustomed to my ears and thus I gave it little attention, almost missing the familiar woman with dark-hair, light-amber eyes and a pretty red dress entering the building and taking a seat by one of the unoccupied table.


My eyes fixed on her smile just for a few moments, before I scurried over to Marcus by the counter, the man having just concluded confirming the payout of some clients, and I proceeded to ask him if I could get some moments to spare with my sister.


He was surprised by the request, but ultimately he decided to allow me a few minutes to wrap up any sort of discussion I had planned to have with her.


I was quick to pick the seat in front of Cinder's, her smile widening as I returned it with one of my own.


"Good morning, Cindy," I greeted with a happy voice, getting a little amused twitch from the young woman's lips.


I could remember how the nickname had been one born from teasing in our early years back in Mistral, yet with the passing of time it gained quite the friendly connotation.


Cindy was Cindy.


"Sid, it's good to see you so soon," She replied kindly. "But I reckon that I was fairly surprised when you decided to ask so insistently about having a meeting here at your workplace."


Her eyes spared a quick look around the place, fascination and intrigue rising right in her orbs as she took in all the details of the place.


"A pretty good job, I can assure you that," I pointed out with a quiet hum. "I assume your workplace is as good, if not more than here."


"It could be better, but… I'm happy with what I've got now that I'm here in Vale," Cinder commented with a careful voice. "But I think you didn't certainly call me here to have some pleasant conversation, nor the owner allowed you to slack off without a serious reason."


I felt a little embarrassed at being called out so suddenly, but I gave a slow nod. "It's complicated and… nerve-wracking."


"Then please, don't restrain yourself from telling me about this," Her tone shifted away from her previous kind one, to something sporting some genuine concern over the topic. "As your sister, I wish to know what kind of trouble might have gotten you this worried."


There was a pause, her lips forming a thin line on her face as she pondered over the predicament while I tried to come up with some proper means to explain the matter without making her panic.


A difficult task considering how complicatedly easy to panic Cinder was over important topics as the one I had to bring up.


Just as I prepared to speak once more, her voice ruptured the silence and preceded my intervention.


"Is it perhaps that Cat Faunus, the one that you have had been living in your house?" She inquired with a tightening tone. "Did she do something to you or-"


"Blake did nothing… except be subjected to a quite the crime I've resolved," I interjected swiftly, unwilling to have misunderstandings going with my only sister and… I sighed. "Did you read about the warehouse's explosion?"


"The one that woke all the citizens in the Kingdom?" She asked sarcastically, drawing a huff out of me, then she continued. "I did hear of such a curious development and I guess you are somehow implicated to the conception of the loud explosion."


I flinched a little at the sudden assumption, remembering way too well how perceptive my sister was.


The fact that I had addressed the ordeal that had me 'solving' a crime committed against Blake and the infamous discovery of mere days ago back to back had to have been enough for Cindy to build up some solid understanding of what I was going to tell her.


At least the general outline of it all since there was still so much left to be described.


"Something like that, yes-"


"Was your friend implied to the warehouse? Maybe she was kidnapped?" Cinder pressed on with growing irritation. "You used to be this kind of a troublemaker, but I thought that habit had gone suppressed after you started to study under father's-"


"I-It's not the real subject here-"


"Forgive me, but I found the fact that my little brother has singlehandedly destroyed one of the strongholds the White Fang had in this region of Remnant only to save a friend that I'm not even sure of her trustfulness over your friendship, to be quite important for me to understand a bit more about."


Her calm chiding got me tense a little, my eyes a little wide open at the annoyed expression on her face.


"I-"


"If you thought of trying to keep me from getting worried about the circumstances that you were subjected to, I can assure you that the attempt has failed horribly," She continued with a little scowl. "And Gods know what else you aren't telling me about as this doesn't seem to be worthy enough to be fully brought up to me."


I sighed. "Before the whole situation happened… one of the grunts that tried to kidnap Blake used her semblance on me," I mentioned quietly, gaining an intrigued look from her as she gestured me to continue. "She… she had an illusion semblance and she turned herself into… you."


A few seconds passed, the young woman tensing just for a while at such revelation as her eyes seemed to show quite the surprise at such development.


"Was there any difference over my appearance or was it the one I've right now?" She questioned with some doubts.


"It was how you look like now, she got all details correct too and-"


"This means that whoever these attackers are, they know about who I am to you and thus they used my figure to distract you," Cinder elaborated with a serious voice, her expression hardening. "Did they hurt you or your friend? If you want, I will make a thorough search of whom might have done this, people that I've seen or met in the last few days-"


"I don't think it would be a good idea," I blurted out with a quiet voice. "I don't think that right now it's best to expose ourselves to search for them."


She blinked. "And by 'them', I can feel that you aren't referring to just those aggressors."


"Correct," I answered quickly. "I'm fairly sure that they were too well-organized to be working without some mastermind or organization behind them. I think they are resourceful enough to know how to pair their men against us and… that is why I want you to know this."


She frowned and glanced at me with some irritation. "You think that I can't defend myself, brother? I thought that you were aware that I'm not someone to underestimate when-"


"I want you to not have to deal with any unexpected ambushes," I replied with a stronger voice, catching her off-guard just in that very instance. "I know perfectly that you can kick anyone's ass, but I wish that you were prepared if someone decided to plan an attack on you."


There was some silence, surprise reigning over Cinder's face as she let my words sink in their mind, understanding the reasoning and the mindful approach I had given in that quick speech.


If there was something that I knew so much about my sister was that she tended to be fairly easy to annoy when someone called her 'weak', taking it as a grand insult to be subjected to.


And the consequences behind such a 'crime' were far too graphic to describe without some major explanation over each cases about it all.


Albeit a calm and sweet girl, Cindy did always have her own berserk button.


Peace and quiet concluded as she finally conceded a smile.


"I guess you are only concerned about my well-being," The young woman concluded. "Just like I'm worried about yours, little brother."


I returned the smile with one of mine and I chuckled. "I guess I was a little stern with my warning-"


"But very careful to not make me appear as if I was weak before your eyes, you know that I'm-"


"A strong, resourceful lady that know how to kick ass while chewing gums."


A pout appeared on her face. "You know, maybe I shouldn't have let you watch that movie back when you asked me."


I chuckled again. "Maybe you shouldn't have," I commented giddily and… then I blinked. "Also, this was all I wanted to tell you and… I would like to offer you something."


"I've plenty of money to pay for any of those delicious-looking treats," She hummed back with a certain opposition at my proposal. "But please, can you bring me a cappuccino with some… of the chocolate cookies here?"


I glanced at the menu she was holding on her hands and I nodded. "I will see for your order to be swiftly delivered."


She giggled at that promise and I returned back to the corner to resume my tasks as the waiter of the place, wandering around to confirm other orders before rushing to get those all prepared and given to the various waiting clients.


Cinder nodded and gave a soft thank you as I gave her the cookies and the beverage she had requested, but instead of quietly enjoying the meal, she looked distracted.


The young woman's eyes were carefully glancing away from her cup and her snacks, and right onto the now paler 'Neopolitan'.


It was a blank stare, no emotions leaving from her face as to give any clues as to why my sister had decided to direct her glance at the curious-looking client.


Maybe it had been because she had noticed the attention I was receiving from the pink-and-brown-haired girl, concern erupting from the fixation the girl had over me and… yep, the creepy staring was now gone.


Instead, I had to deal with the fact that my lovely and normally-calm sister seemed ready to jump on the table and maul the ice cream 'addict' I had been having some issues with in the last few days.


I guess insanity never truly went away despite Blake having left his life for just a while.


------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d--------


~Cinder's POV~


"Gah!"


Roman yelped as he was sent flying to the nearest wall, his body graciously impacting upon the concrete texture and producing some cracks as his aura did create some extra sturdiness to his entire self.


It had taken her a while to appear calm when she first reached his hideout, to ignore any need to react accordingly at the stupid comments advanced by Torchwick about the loss they were suffering in the form of lacking manpower.


Recruitment was an issue, but it wasn't as terribly ill-controlled as the crime boss wanted it to appear before his boss' eyes.


Sadly, this little visit hadn't been one of business and her spares about those of courtesy had drained right as she concluded the one she had with her brother.


He got himself a job, he is a functional part of society. He has a stable life.


Groaning in pain while slowly getting up from the floor, the man stopped when he saw that Cinder was already crouching right in front of him.


"I gave you a simple order, Roman," The woman muttered with a disdainful tone. "I asked to have a simple thug from Junior's group to keep an eye on the target, to not have him subjected to any sort of unnerving situation."


He squirmed as her heel drove right onto his gloved right hand, almost piercing the flesh.


"And you decided to send Neo after him, you incompetent worm!"


To think that he would have sent his henchgirl, the young woman that had so eagerly tortured some 'misguided' White Fang grunts back when they had tried to steal some of the loot recovered from the battle at the docks.


"I-I thought I was just doing you a big f-favor by having him guarded properly," He wheezed, some of the smoke from his now-forgotten cigar almost choking him up. "This guy, you told m-me he was someone worth of keeping an eye onto."


Sid was more than worth of Roman's guarding effort and the maniacal short girl that had been sent to keep a watch over him had been both a horrible decision but a good one in terms of quality.


It had been an attempt to muster some compassion out of the dark-haired woman, yet Cinder had already dealt with the kind of person that Roman was.


Manipulative and ratty, his main objective was survival until it was allowed with what he had around himself.


The coward-like nature of his submission being as legitimate as aggravating in multiple occasions.


"I did, but I never mentioned that he had to receive this much of a noticeable minder," She pressed the heel a little more, getting another yelp of pain out of the suffering crime boss.


"I-It wasn't even my fucking idea to send her- She just heard about this mission set at a bar that sells ice cream and she p-pestered me to have it."


There was some silence after this confession, her pressure over his hand lessening as the dark-haired woman turned her attention at the ceiling of the warehouse, the object of her immense irritation quietly sitting by one of the metal beams used to keep the roof stable.


"Is that true, Neo?" Her voice was calm, yet some of her annoyance seemed to influence its sternness.


Despite the clearly unimpressed look on the older woman's face, the girl smiled and gave a solid nod before dropping down back to ground level.


"And pray tell, why did you set yourself in stalking him wherever he goes?"


The mute criminal seemed to think about it and… then proceeded to pick up a purely white sign and… words started to appear on it.


He is nice.


A perplexed look settled on Cinder's face, a result born from the reply itself and the curious usage of the henchgirl's semblance to provide some responses that required much more than mere gestures.


"If you think he is 'nice', then it shouldn't be a difficult idea to realize that leaving him alone would do well for your lifespan," The half-maiden pointed out with a strong voice. "Or maybe you just prefer to be put at gunpoint to get things done with you?"


Neo's smile seemed to widen at the blatant threat, dignifying her lack of concern over any negative repercussions.


The sign reappeared, spinning in the mute's free hand and revealing some more words on it by the opposite side.


I guess I can moderate myself a little around him.


Cinder eased her mind a little at that concession, yet tension resumed when the sign spun again and revealed some more comments.


But I wonder, why is someone nice like him stuck with someone this horrible?


Indeed, how did he get stuck with someone that is hellbent in going against the world as a whole.


The unpleasant thoughts over this sharp jab coming from the midget were quite difficult to ignore, yet the half-maiden managed through it and spoke against her 'verbal' opponent.


"It's not something that you should interest about," The woman answered with a newer scowl. "But perhaps I should ask you why the sudden 'fascination' for a simple waiter."


Neo frowned at the comment, going for a quick walk around the proximity of the two bosses as to ponder over the solution to this dilemma and…


She shrugged at her.


Irritation surged even more within her chest at that blatant display of unwillingness to answer, her anger bubbling so achingly that she was half-tempted to skewer the little fool in that very moment.


"I guess that you are indeed interested by him," The half-maiden probed with dark amusement in her voice. "To be this much defensive over it."


The parasol-wielder merely huffed in silence at that, her eyes narrowing in a show of faux anger at that attempts.


It was so infuriating to deal with such a complicated being, far more mysterious and difficult to crack compared to the girl's boss.


Roman was malleable as the man was perfectly aware of the destiny that awaited him at the first sign of treachery or failure.


The crime boss had experienced for several years the unfairness of the 'big fish, little fish' mentality of the criminal underworld and his ascension to leader did nothing to wash away for those memories.


But this 'weak-looking' girl was far more dangerous than any of the other 'allies' she had here in Vale, even more than Emerald and Mercury combined.


And that was without taking under consideration the usefulness of her perception-altering semblance.


Very flexible as an infiltrator and a close-encounter fighter, her experience and training proving to be far superior to any other criminal here in the kingdom.


A pity that this useful pawn had the worst attitude to face in this kind of circumstances.


"Considering that now you have been visiting the bar for three days now, removing you now will spark some unpleasant suspicions from the target." Cinder had to ultimately admit in front of Neo, the cheeky-looking girl blinked with a smug smirk on her face while basking in the indirect praise. "And that is why you feel so confident that I wouldn't try to do anything to you."


There was a moment or two of silence, the parasol swirling around while the henchgirl gave a quick nod over the supposition.


"But there is a little flaw in this plan of yours," The half-maiden proclaimed softly and with a hint of certainty, enough to draw a frown from the standing-still girl, her heterochromatic eyes widening as fire formed around the older woman's left arm. "Accidents tend to happen and I would never allow one of my minions recover without my caring watch over them.


A shiver went down the mute's spine, but she managed to keep herself from outright show panic at that development, something that pleased Cinder a little.


Both because it proved that the short woman still had some fiery spirit with her own tasks and… because the struggling just make things funnier for her.


"So how about you start telling me why do you watch Sid Tremaine so intensively?" Cinder started to probe again, this time having the advantage to back her efforts up. "Why would his actions garner your-"


Respect.


Cinder's eyes paused right on the sign, the sole word drawing multiple scenarios over what she was referring to.


"Respect?"


The sign spun one last time before disappearing away from her sign… yet she spotted the familiar words and she realized that it was a repetition.


He is nice.


"Are you afraid of being maimed if you give a truthful answer, Neo?" The half-maiden pressed on with some insistence. "Then I guess you are interested to him because of something else, something that-"


Angers you.


The sign made a return, again, and this time Cinder's eyes narrowed at the impertinent girl.


"I think I will soon have to punish you."


The girl disappeared, her figure shattering like glass before reappearing right where she had really been until now.


Right onto that damn steel beam where she had been prior to her 'descent'.


"Do you think this is all a game for you to play and enjoy? To see how far my patience will go before I prove you that your usefulness isn't essential?"


But the mute didn't answer at that challenge, merely looking down at her with a bored expression.


Her heel finally moved away from Roman's hand, the criminal leader rushing his unscathed hand onto the possibly-wounded one, nursing it close as he slowly got up from the floor with a suffering look on his face.


"I-I understand that Neo got you pissed and all," The crime boss started to speak carefully. "But while I can't control her wandering, I can assure you that she will not try anything funny with the brat."


Her eyebrow lifted in curiosity. "And why are you so sure of this, Roman?"


He sighed, calmly making his way back to the table he had been sitting until a few minutes ago, trying to find some more cigars.


"If there is something I know of Neo, it's that she doesn't like to harm 'nice' people," The man admitted with a pained smile. "If she repeats that he is nice, then he should be able to avoid any unpleasant bad end."


Very annoying that Torchwick was the only 'translator' of such a dangerous element in her plans and yet there was nothing to do about it.


Neo was a thorn on her side, but one that had yet to display even for a moment something from her behavior that resembled any treacherous thoughts about her commitment to the half-maiden's cause.


"If you are so certain of it, I suppose you can bet your life on it," Cinder mused quietly, the man pausing for a moment in surprise at that aggressive development. "I can see it as a good exchange for even a mere scratch being caused by Neo's own initiative upon the target."


"Of course!" Roman exclaimed with a little grin on his face. "It isn't like I'm already on a difficult spot with you trying to murder me for little mistakes-"


"The 'little mistake' did force us to let go of Adam's support," The dark-haired woman interjected coldly. "We lost men to use as fodders, the Fang was brainwashed enough to be used as the backbone for our operations."


"And that is why you got us some interesting contacts from outside of Vale."


"Contacts that now would like some of the cake that was supposed to be only yours," Cinder shot back coldly, causing the crime boss to grimace at this very issue for his part. "I wonder if it was worth to have the information about your last major theft to be leaked to some unpleasant ears."


Feline ones to that.


"Meh, could have been 'my life'," He conceded with a heavy sigh. "Still, I don't want to snoop around but why the boy is that important to get his own escort guard?"


The question lied unanswered and Roman didn't pester any longer as the half-maiden graced him with a strong glare.


"I hope you endeavor with Junior have sparked any good opportunities, some minor thefts that can be done to not warrant the interest of the authorities while we recover from our recent loss."


"A few ones, I had them planned out to be completed in a week time," The crime boss finally relaxed at the easier to understand topic. "But there could be more opportunities before the end of the time I'm giving you. Anything that could be alluring in getting some coin without getting the cops on our trails."


She nodded. "Good, then I don't see any other reason to be lingering about. You better return back to work."


Roman nodded, his new cigar now lit on his lips as he alternated his stare between the retreating woman and the paperwork that still required his attention to be concluded.


Neo didn't glance at the boss, her eyes directed up at the ceiling as she lied onto the steel beam while trying to catch some rest.


The next day was going to be a big one for her after all.


But Cinder didn't care at all at the lack of 'goodbyes' from the two, her mind directing its attention right on the next step of her infiltration.


With the school uniform fitting her 'perfectly', her little efforts to find a wig that best conformed with her overall appearance had resulted in a shoulder-length dark-blue wig that had covered well enough her original dark-haired locks.


With the Belladonna now studying once more at Beacon, having some extra precautions was just a good way to avoid more suspicion from Ozpin and his little group.


It was a slow and steady process, one paved with carefully planned steps that were going to provide her with a complete victory over the mind of one of the most ancient souls in Remnant.


---------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d---------


AN


AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! It's been almost a month since last update and… I'm sorry!


It wasn't something born from personal desire, the reason behind so much time had passed since last update is more related to my schedule. (I think I have 16 stories up and running at the moment… goddamn.).


Now, some quick comments before I get called a 'Tumblr Polyamory' writer (in the very story where pairings aren't even a goddamn thing. You can try to call me that in Stark Rebirth but… I don't even have Tumblr to begin with!?) [Also quick advertisement: I don't consider the term a derogatory one as everyone is entitled to their own writing delights and… I'm not even much of a fun of RWBY's pairings with how aggressive all sides are right now so… yeah, that's it.]:


1) No, I'm not pairing Neo with Sid. I've decided that her role will actually be a funnier one. It will be actually an apt role for her muteness and mysterious personality;


2) Blake is not paired with anyone. I will throw some mad scenes of the ships but it will be all in a satirical light than a serious one; (The kitty ain't getting any tuna tonight, instead she is sticking to some napping.)


3) If you have managed to stick in there, then you are commended to be a good reader of mine and one of the few that actually do mind the fine lines instead of falling in fallacious arguments because they don't want to read the 'boring AN'. Here is a cookie, a 'Imma Cool' t-shirt and a pat on your back.


Lastly. JoJo SI, Chibi Dio starting from Ep1 of Phantom Blood. Name? Absolute Divinity!

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 15: It's good to vent-


~Blake's POV~


Her life has suddenly resumed some of its burdened pace, there was no doubt about it.


Blake was aware that there was a non-negligible amount of people that would surely love to pester around one way or another.


From morning up to the first pause from lessons, her mind was left in a state of peaceful remembrance as she was once again left to get accustomed back to the school life.


The first obstacle had been the bathroom as the Belladonna was reminded of the fact she had to share that service with three more girls.


Having lived just for a few weeks with Sid, a young man that would be swift with his morning routine, she couldn't certainly ignore the sudden waiting time she would have to endure.


Yet there wasn't much of a choice and at least she was the third in line with Yang left for last turn-wise.


The first lesson of the day was with Professor Port, something that wasn't truly ideal to start a normal day with.


It turned out to be as boring as the Cat Faunus could remember it to be back before the battle at the docks, but while her first impulse was to reach out for the little book she had decided to bring with herself, the Cat Faunus had instead opted to make an effort to listen to the actual lecture.


Some of her fellow students would easily question her sanity at the horrid choice, yet the reasoning within her head was a logical and meaningful one.


There was no hiding from the truth, Blake needed to improve her current fighting capacity.


She could remember the rigorous training sessions she had to go through before becoming a White Fang operative, a mix of formal exercise left by some decent trainers within the organization and… some lessons that her mother had been so keen to tutor her about.


Kali Belladonna had fought much more than her husband has, having trained at Beacon herself and having been one of the top Huntresses before retiring home as per her father's order, at the time the Chieftain of Menagerie.


With the extra preparation, rising up from the early ranks proved to be easier than she had thought it to be and she had so carefully started to try out to adapt some new means to keep up with her improvement.


But then her free time started to tank the sudden increase of responsibilities with her higher roles, forcing her to train lesser and lesser.


It didn't help that by becoming Adam's direct subordinate, she was also left with quite the overpowered companion to trust in any fighting.


They were quick to find some synergy with their unique styles and from there the need of training had silently vanished from her mind.


Maybe it was meant to be seen as ironic that it had been Adam's indirect presence that had caused this desire to rekindle.


But it was also fairly infuriating how she had been neutralized so quickly against the two thugs.


Sid had managed to hold a steady ground, something admirable for someone that had just some knowledge and training from his parents, but that also highlighted how much Blake needed to restart some proper daily exercise.


Her first step was returning her focus back on writing down notes about battle-hardened teachers.


Albeit Port's voice tended to get her to distract more than once, the narration he offered was actually useful for someone that most depended on natural instincts.


If there was something that the old professor's stories shared up to a fascinating degree, it was the importance for Huntsmen to never drop their guard when they weren't in a place that could be considered a safe location where to ease up and rest.


Not only during mission, but also everywhere that wasn't their home or something even so relatively close to that.


Scribbling down his accurate and surprisingly-morbid depictions of some of his precise strikes brought back to the Belladonna an interest in resuming her studies of Grimm Anatomy.


Since she lacked considerable firepower, or at least something close to what her teammates had, Blake was left to rely upon her knowledge of the weakspots that were in Grimm's bodies.


Some were quick to notice because of the different shade, mostly reddish, over the beasts' skin, yet not many first-year students knew about the 'unseen' flaws on the monsters' bodies.


It had been something that Adam had commented about a couple of years back, when one of their missions had been of clearing up a large area near to one of the bases in Mistral.


He was methodical, almost eager to swiftly decimate the Grimm that they had been meant to kill and his tone, so suave and yet so tense, made it possible for her head to promptly remember it even now.


Once Port was done with his lesson, it was time to face a lecture a little more practical than theoretical.


Professor Goodwitch decided to give about five minutes to describe what was going to happen now that there was a growing number of students coming from the other schools for the Vytal tournament.


The blonde started by citing how the classes would end up teaching the new arrivals too and how the lessons would take a wider approach to best keep up with the different curricula from the other schools.


Once the woman was done with her speech, the sparring sessions were officially started and… Blake decided it was high time to get herself engaged with this new purpose at Beacon.


But just as the Cat Faunus prepared to ask Yang if she wanted to train together in that session, her little attempt was killed as one voice coming from the other side of the benches reached her ears.


"Teach, I want to fight that stray cat there."


The dark-haired girl tensed a little, her eyes scanning over whom had decided to address her in that racist term and… surprisingly enough it wasn't Cardin.


In fact, the orange-haired bully looked fairly annoyed by the loud request coming right beside him.


It was one of the members from his team.


The young man had light-brown hair combed to the left and… he looked scrawnier than the team leader.


Was his name… Dove?


"Mr. Bronzewing, I will not accept requests about fighting students that have been recently hospitalized and I will not tolerate any other remarks of that kind," Ms. Goodwitch cooly replied, her eyes narrowing at the now squirming young man, but then her attention was taken by a hand that had been raised by the very Faunus.


"Ms. Belladonna, I hope you aren't going to-"


"I think I can do this, Ms. Goodwitch," Blake interjected politely, ignoring the concerned looks coming from her teammates.


"You shouldn't exert yourself this much," Weiss said, surprising the Belladonna a little with her note of genuine worry. "You just recovered from what has happened to you and-"


"I appreciate the concern," The dark-haired girl interrupted quietly, giving a small smile. "I really do. But I wasn't hurt that badly to need a day off from fighting."


The heiress looked a little uneasy about it all, but it was Yang that actually put her at ease.


"If she has any problems, I will intervene myself," The blonde said calmly as she turned to stare at Blake right up to her eyes with her lilac orbs. "And that is final."


A mere nod ceased the little tense situation, freeing Blake to go for what was supposed to be some simple sparring session.


…


Disappointment has never been so quick to come to her mind.


While she had expected for Dove to be slightly weaker than her, considering how long since she had last trained and that she had been slouching for some time now, Blake had thought that it could have ended up turning into something a little more… instructive.


Her already-low expectations crumbled when the 'battle' began and… the young man proceeded to attack her with some wild swings of his swords.


There was no logic, no planning, only swinging around in a stupid manner.


It was somewhat annoying, if not rage-worthy as she would have expected a little more from the 'standard Beacon student'.


The Cat Faunus merely used her agility to carefully move through his attacks, press him to keep his footing unbalanced as she continued to stalk him around the arena.


His confidence collapsed after two minutes of futile lashing out, his eyes widening by the moment as he realized that he wasn't getting nowhere with his attacks.


His team kept quiet during the fight, only Cardin was speaking to him and trying to give him some advice.


But none of the leader's words reached his mind as he continued to lose more of his 'dominance' over the fight and soon he was stolen of the control over his own stance.


He tripped backwards, a panicked yelp cut shortly as Blake decided to intervene at this point as her boredom had reached far beyond what she was usually capable of bottle up.


Gambol Shroud moved silently, the ribbon attached to the end of the katana was swiftly unfolded while she delivered a strong kick right onto the side of his face.


Nothing dangerous, his own Aura had dropped just a little with her attack but the purpose behind this quick physical exchange far complex than it looked like.


Dove didn't notice the ribbon was now wrapped around his body, pressing his arms into his chest as it tightened under her hold.


This time a yelp did leave his lips, but it was a pained one mixed with a groan.


He dropped to the ground again, trying to struggle out to what was a Dust-reinforced ribbon.


Some time passed as she loomed over him, her dull expression staring upon his nervous-angry look and… soon it was over.


Ms. Goodwitch gave Blake some little praise as there was just so few things that she did, while the woman was more than earnest to chide the freed Dove about his lacking capacity in a normal fight, providing him with a list of what he was supposed to do if he wanted to improve.


Some harsh training for sure, the means that he had to fight were so far close to what Jaune had back when he joined Beacon.


Cardin was mostly silent, only answering when it was necessary as the teacher repeated the situation with him, giving him the burden to see his teammate shaped up in a proper huntsman.


The bully gave her a brief glance, and surprisingly enough it lacked any malicious intent behind it.


The oddity of this case vanished right as she found herself scooped up in a hug by Yang, soon followed by Ruby and… some shoulder-patting from Weiss.


The rest of the lesson continued smoothly, with Blake still taking notes over the spars unfolding after her initial one.


Lunch was the next stop and the Belladonna was ready to enjoy some good time in peace and- sadly, fate was a cruel mistress.


The dark-haired young woman had thought that her team would have been the worst obstacle to face once she had returned to Beacon, yet a certain Monkey Faunus had proved her immensely wrong about this thought.


Sun was over-joyed with her safety.


Yes, the term was the closest adjective that happened to wrap up the sheer giddiness the blond had displayed as he had decided to come and see her when it was lunchtime.


The Cafeteria, one of the few places that she had thought to be devoid of any annoyances, became the 'battlefield' for one of the most irritating predicaments she had to face in her entire life.


And yes, that was also considering Adam's creepy advances.


With a wide smile plastered on his youthful face and the hopeful glint in his blue eyes, the young man decided to coat her in various tales about what the Cat Faunus had missed while she had been 'kidnapped'.


Stories that were farfetched in most part as they went far and long about the incredible hardship the student from Haven had to go through for the sake of trying to find her.


The Belladonna was almost keen to snort in several occasions at some exaggerated bits over his main theme, one that saw him following some mysterious trail that was somehow connected to the warehouse where she had been taken into.


Of course Sun had never come as close to the truth of things as he was so earnestly pointing out, his summary being quickly sniped down by her own team as she had been sitting beside Yang when this situation escalated.


There was another young light-blue-haired man that introduced himself as Sun's partner, but while he seemed to be in a friendly relationship with the overly-enthusiastic Monkey Faunus, he wasn't holding back from intervening in some of the exaggerations.


Neptune Vasilias ended up being quite capable in trying to restrain the eccentric tale-telling from his 'brother-in-arm', his efforts almost doubled by the rest of team RWBY.


Weiss proved to be prone in dismantling with the driest tone the 'outlandish' remarks lingering in Sun's tale.


Yang was quick to playfully tease some of the sections that contained innuendos that she keenly exploited much to the fellow blond's dismay.


But the one that surprisingly got the young man to cease with his little rant was... Ruby.


It had come out as a surprise, yet the naive girl was able to unbalance the already-shaky foundation which this 'incredible' story was starting to become the more the foreigner student continued to speak.


Ultimately, it was Neptune that got him to tell the truth over his efforts and… it wasn't as 'limited' as he made them appear.


By the third day Blake had gone missing, the Monkey Faunus had gained some favors with one of the criminal informants in the capital, yet the man had proved to be unable to find out where she had gone.


There was no clue, nor hint for any Cat Faunus that had 'appeared' in the underworld, thus denying any chance for Sun to even begin some serious investigations and…


The girl knew that it would have been a shocker if he had.


Since a large period of her 'kidnapping' was spent wandering in plain sight (with some alterations to her appearance, but still there for everyone to see her around), no criminals would have had any reason reported her presence as she was just one of the numerous civilians that walked in Vale.


A simple dot in a sea of dots.


Bianca had been a normal individual that spent most of her time around Sid Tremaine, a 'human' woman that was merely going with her life by working in a bar by Vale's central district.


In the end, both Sun and Neptune decided to walk away from the cafeteria with the intention of looking around some more about the school.


It meant some brief peace before she was forced to deal with what was left for her to do today.


Something that she herself wasn't sure how to deal with.


-------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d----


The office was surprisingly quiet as Blake took her seat by one of the chair in front of the main desk.


Ozpin was mostly silent as he took a sip from his cup of coffee, a minuscule hum leaving his lips as he enjoyed the beverage in relative calm.


He had already greeted her, and he had been quite welcoming by letting her know that Ms. Goodwitch wasn't going to assist him in this session.


Numerous were the thoughts rumbling within the Belladonna's mind over what was supposed to happen now that she was there.


She had plenty of time to contemplate what the headmaster had truly wanted to known from her by going through what he defined as 'therapy sessions'.


As much as the Cat Faunus was aware of, there wasn't anything that seriously warranted a mental evaluation as she had received a standard one when she was first escorted back to the infirmary just two days ago.


Nothing about the White Fang, nothing about her kidnapping-


Yet Ozpin was sure that something about the last two weeks or so had escaped her attention and it was something important enough that had become reason to make this kind of… afternoon chats.


In her opinion, there was no real reasons that warranted this predicament, and yet there was nothing that she could do about without ending up dealing with more troubles within the school.


The old man's attention didn't seem to stem from something negligible and… surprisingly enough, she had to still understand why.


Why would the headmaster be interested in what had happened in these last two weeks if she knew plenty enough that nothing wrong had been done?


The silence lasted a little much more as her musings were left undisturbed, as much as the gray-haired man was finishing up the content in his dark-green mug.


In the end it was Blake herself to spoke up, finding the curious state of quiet to be far too 'noisy' to face for too long.


It was the inner pressure that had dictated for a response, something to get her to begin what was going to be quite the irritating circumstance.


"H-Headmaster," She addressed politely, drawing the man's eyes on her as he gave her an inquiring look. "H-How exactly are you going to start this 'therapy session'? Are you going to ask me questions or-"


"Do you want me to ask questions, Ms. Belladonna?"


The sudden interjection caused the girl to tense up in a moment of nervousness.


Her eyes went wide and, a blink later, she frowned. "Wh-What?" Blake asked with a hint of uneasiness.


What kind of game was the headmaster playing? Why was he dragging this situation so much? And why like 'this'!?


"Do you want to turn this in a test of sort, Ms. Belladonna? Where I act as a teacher, pushing you to give me precise answers about a topic you might or might not be aware of?" Ozpin asked with more details. "While I understand that you are frightened by the concept of someone unraveling the inner thoughts you have, I can assure you that I will not push you to do anything except be at ease with yourself."


A few seconds passed, his words sinking right deep in her mind as he settled his now-empty cup to the side.


"I can also deduce you are unwilling to spare any major details about what has happened in the last few weeks, your stay at Mr. Tremaine's home and..." The headmaster paused quietly, a little hum coming right out of his throat as he glanced up to the ceiling of the room. "Can you tell me about Menagerie?"


Another unexpected query, yet this time the young woman recovered faster than before.


"What do you want to-"


"I've visited the place several times in the last couple of decades," Ozpin interrupted with a sigh. "Yet all of those times was for diplomatic purposes, while I admit I would have loved to see the pearly beaches that the island is known for. Tell me, Ms. Belladonna, are the rumors about their pristine state true?"


It was a strange topic to begin what was supposed to be a serious session about herself, but Blake didn't certainly have a reason to truly complain if she was left alone about the real subjects of her discomfort.


"They look… nice," She replied quietly, her cat ears twitching in remembrance about her past. "At least, I remember them being quite lovely… until late hours."


"Aquatic Grimm are still a threat for those people wandering near the water near nighttime?" He asked with some surprise. "I thought that Mistral had offered some gunboats to solve this issue."


"There was some effort to try and eliminate the threat, but things went wrong when most of the guns broke down beyond repair two days after the acquisition," The girl mumbled tiredly, thinking back at the scandalous development about the boats being left without defenses against the Grimm assembled against them.


So many lives lost without an apparent reason…


"Was it sabotage?" The headmaster pressed a little more, eyeing her with barely-veiled surprise.


"There were some hints about that possibility," Blake admitted with a blink. "But the Council of Mistral reneged any possibility of that, offering numerous documents over the proper maintenance of the boats during the years those were under their navy's service."


"But it wouldn't exclude for a willing sabotage, one that happened just before the transaction."


She felt her fists on her lap tightening into turning white at the remembrance as she kept sitting on her chair.


"Yes," The young woman replied dryly.


…


Silence resumed from this very point and Blake almost felt glad of this little pause away from thinking about these uneasy memories.


She had been incredibly young, almost nine, when her father had started to deal with the grievances coming from the relatives and the loved ones of those that had perished in that horrible incident.


It had been one of the first issues that had driven Ghira Belladonna to leave the White Fang, as in that very instance a majority of the organization had requested a fiercer rebuttal about Mistral's almost-mocking reply.


Yet her father had been forced to sternly refused such a course of action, but his reasoning was nothing to truly be displeased about.


While it would have been legitimate to clash against the kingdom, the fear of a naval retaliation was big enough to dissuade any violent reprisal.


There were times where logic had to prevail over the sorrow, and this very circumstance had been one of the ones that her dad had to deal with as the chieftain of Menagerie.


It wasn't easy, it was never easy for someone to hold that much responsibility, and yet Ghira Belladonna had done that and much more.


"Do you miss your home, Blake?"


Her mind was brought back to reality and away from her memories, right to face Ozpin's newest question and… the Cat Faunus blinked.


"I do, sometimes," She admitted quietly. "Just as every student here as Beacon Academy."


The man had a small smile lingering on his face, and it almost widened at her response.


"Truly?" He inquired with some fascination. "Yet I'm sure you have never thought of calling to your parents and-"


"They wouldn't appreciate how things had gone for me," Blake promptly interjected nervously. "They weren't much keen when I decided to continue with my support for the Fang even when they formally left."


"But they would still love to hear some news about their daughter, wouldn't they?"


The Belladonna flinched at the pressure, but she gave a slow nod in return.


"I guess they would."


There wasn't truly a grand reason why she had yet to contact them, especially since the true threat of re-establishing contact with her parents had literally exploded when Sid had gotten that warehouse to blow up.


With the White Fang here in Vale crippled from calling back to the main headquarters, Blake certainly didn't have a serious motivation to not try to call either her mother or her father.


The issue was… beyond logical and it was related to her own uneasiness over the matter.


While they would surely love to hear from her, she didn't feel ready to take that kind of step by herself.


"I feel myself wondering how they would react if it wasn't you to speak with them," The headmaster resumed the conversation with a curious note. "What if it was someone from your team?"


She blinked at the query, confused by its importance within the… everything that this discussion was supposed to represent!


They had digressed far and away from what had happened mere weeks ago to talk about 'pearly beaches' and 'talking with her parents', things that weren't truly essential for Ozpin to debate about.


While it was fine to lose some time, it was also best to keep some buttons unpressed.


Yet Blake pondered over his words, deciding to drag the time of her answer a little more as she thought about that eventuality.


Yang would probably be the best candidate… until serious topics were to be brought up.


The blonde was slowly making an effort to make up with the fact she had been 'uncaring' towards her about Blake's own problems, promising to give more attention to her than before, but it wouldn't be a lie to say that the process was slow and incredibly lacking of grand results so early on.


Weiss would be quite calm and collected while explaining the situation to them, and would surely have been the best option she had if not for the fact that she was a Schnee.


While her parents weren't going to be prejudiced by such detail, the very notion that their daughter was in the same team as a Schnee would have put them on the edge and probably pushed them to pick some drastic choices.


Drastic choices that wouldn't be that much acceptable from her part.


And lastly… Ruby.


The young girl would surely endear both her parents.


In the best of scenarios, they would try to make her part of some surrogate family to how much she look as innocent and 'lovely' to have around.


Yet the worst circumstance would see that they would be brought to the fact that someone as young as the Rose was leading their child's team and, albeit cute, that wouldn't have been much professional within their own standards of Academy's experiences.


Promptly seeing her asked to leave Beacon Academy as quickly as possible.


Blake frowned at the ceiling, actually surprised by the fact that none of her teammates could technically contact her parents without causing some unwanted developments out of this possible eventuality.


Seriously, when did things turn so much complicated than a month ago?


"I suppose it can be truly complicated considering also the recent situation," Ozpin pointed out calmly, drawing her attention back to him. "But then again maybe there is something that you could do instead of delaying the inevitable as they will learn one way or another with the Vytal Festival."


...Oh Gods, her team was going to compete before hundreds of thousands of spectators, among which would be her parents.


They would learn at that point and there was no reason to deny the fact they would surely be the ones to call her.


They would be worried, her father would surely mobilize the entire Menagerie's guard to 'pick her up and bring her back home', while her mom would pester her about the adventures she might have had at Beacon Academy.


The Belladonna gulped nervously at that possibility, yet her concerns were brought to a state of stillness as the headmaster continued.


"What if… the one that informed them of your situation is someone that you know and trust well enough to say the right things?" He inquired with a curious voice. "What if it was someone that has a good background and good relationship with you, Ms. Belladonna?"


There wasn't much attention to hide about who the man was referencing about and… Blake was unsure about what to think about this newer option.


Sid was sure quick to get angry, even quicker than Yang, but he was usually fairly nice and diplomatic when calm.


The dark-haired young woman could easily see him having some trouble with her father since he was a young man and… since Blake had spent two weeks in his flat.


Still, after the initial annoyance, Ghira Belladonna could probably end up accepting the truthfulness over the matter and, with proper caution, the human could get her story right to her parents without seeing them either go ballistic or extremely worried. Or both.


Yet this situation would be… quite odd.


She blinked at the fact that her mother would seriously tease her about this 'fascinating period of time spent with Sid', probably pressing her daughter to tell her about how things had gone by in that curious predicament.


It would be embarrassing, but Blake could at least endure some of the teasing of that caliber.


It wasn't the best, but it wasn't even close to have the same drawbacks as the ones of having her teammates deal with this matter.


"It could… work?"


Her voice was soft, almost too difficult to hear herself, and yet the headmaster seemed to catch her reply without much of a trouble.


In fact, his interested expression seemed to grow more intense as his smile widened even more.


"Isn't that peculiar that you find yourself at ease at having someone that you have known since a few weeks ago instead of anyone here at Beacon?"


…


"W-What?"


"While I can see some minor issues born from having one of your teammates to contact your parents, it wouldn't be difficult for me to help you in making sure they don't do anything incredibly… brazen with this revelation," Ozpin started to explain with a cautious tone. "I think you would prefer best to have someone like Sid Tremaine to try his hand at this curious gamble. I wonder why."


Was this truly the case?


Sure, she had thought about Ozpin trying his hand to keep the team from breaking apart… but that wasn't truly the reason why she had been more interested in having Sid to make that call instead of the girls.


It was all about making good impressions over her awkward case.


She would still remain at Beacon, that was undeniable now, but their parents' reaction would still be a tense one despite Ozpin's reassurances.


It would become difficult to mend with that kind of relationship and… maybe she wanted to also do something else about it.


But what exactly? What did she want to do by having Sid known to her family?


"I think this session… has concluded successfully, Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin sighed quietly. "I think your new inner questions born from this enlightening conversation will do well as your very homework for this unique subject. You may take your leave now."


…


"T-That's it?" She blurted out of shock, surprised that the headmaster wasn't asking more from her.


"We have plenty of time for tomorrow or maybe the day after that to discuss about this curious case of yours, but I think we made some progress with this first session," He replied happily. "You did, in fact, recognize that something is indeed fascinating about your relationship with Mr. Tremaine."


The Cat Faunus briefly gawked at his words, uncertain about how to reply to those and… so she merely stood up, giving the man a silent nod as she proceeded to leave the office in utter quietness.


Despite the 'progress' she had made there, Blake couldn't help but feel that something was still missing.


What was Ozpin talking about when he mentioned 'something fascinating' about her and Sid?


-------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d--------


AN


It's been a while…


But I feel much more refreshed!


I know, I know, people are surely awed at the fact I'm still alive as an author but… I had to transcend reality itself!


For I, Bukharin, have written the first Dio Self Insert ever! Check out Absolute Divinity, and see how… I got some interesting omakes going among the chapters.


I would also shamelessly plugin two new Fate stories with 'Tale of Two Kings (Redux version for FFN)' and 'Fate/Last Heaven (Redux for FFN)', and something about the Las Lindas circumstance with Learning: Affection!


Now some little words over the chapter:
1) No, I don't plan to pair Cardin with Blake in her 'growing (is it tho?) harem', but I do plan to make something no fanfiction/story has ever done. Who's up for a redemption arc? And a redemption with Arc?
2) This is a 100% Blake chapter. Oh my, we are indeed transcending here to a level of writerhood beyond humane! (I can already feel the WRYY!)

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 16: -When someone listen.


It was quite early in the morning when she decided to take a stroll around the city.


Vale was still fast-asleep, and just a handful of people was wandering around at that hour, giving her plenty of time to ponder about today's plans.


She was quiet, her silence putting her in her bubble of indifference with those that walked around her, ignoring her peculiar appearance.


Today was truly going to be a fun day, the young woman could already feel it in her blood.


Neo was never much of a big-planner, especially when she wanted to spend time doing practical things instead of boring herself out with some doodling.


It wasn't like she wasn't capable of taking some moments to do such a dull activity, it was more a lack of willingness to spend her time delving in paper and ink as the task was usually left to the pragmatic hands of her boss.


Roman wasn't good by all mean.


He was respectful and somewhat accepting of her childish thinking of things, but he was someone that rightfully preferred to not dig too deep in her mind out of 'fear of going mad'.


Technically-speaking, the Criminal mastermind was correct that her mind would haul the sanest individual to the closest asylum as her memories were nothing but feverish nightmares compared to the usual hardships of the normal people here in Vale.


It didn't actually bother her. Quite the contrary.


The lack of people as scarred as she was left the short criminal to a pleasant state of calm that just drowned her in complete amusement.


The world was her oyster, her semblance granting her the chance of enjoying Remnant to the fullest while also giving her a sense of fiction and reality that strayed away from the common perspective.


Illusions were easy to imagine, but difficult to properly understand.


Some people can make them seem like they are easy to apply to reality, others required years of training and then there was Neo.


A mere thought, a little glimpse from her mind represented in reality. She was sure that she could actually create any images she wanted to, but instead of being limited just in imagery and sound, it was the complete perception of people that was tricked by her 'pranks'.


A terribly-powerful semblance… left to be used by a giddy girl with no major ambitions and lots of ideas for her current present.


Heck, even her past had disappeared after mere months of being set free, and the memories had been suppressed by unwillingness to let those anchor her down.


Silence welcomed her inner request, and she was glad to accept the delightful calm and peace of the world around her while she twirled around at her unknown tune.


But that was until she felt the need to shake the world for some entertainment.


A mere spin, maybe a kick or two. That's when things turned so amusing that even a noiseless giggle would leave her lips at the scenes she would get from minimal involvement over the order of things.


It was so simple, yet so complicated and quite the gamble to pull through.


It had been Roman that had given her a proper explanation.


'Everything is a gamble. Going for a walk, hoping to not be mugged or to not step on some crap, and even your semblance can protect you from when life decides to be a mean bitch.'


A fair thought over the ironically twisted world that housed them all.


Roman tried to appear sane, but even the image he built over his 'pragmatic criminal' person was but a façade of his real self.


She could remember meeting him the first time. He had been but just a lone thief trying to make successful heists without getting caught.


The initial operations were all easy activities that were meant to draw rewards with little to no risk.


He was tired even back then when he first began his career, but Neo could remember some oddly-endearing spark in his eyes.


It had given her plenty of reasons to see where he wanted to go, where he was trying to walk into and…


He hadn't disappointed her despite the lack of sunshine and explosions.


There was still ice cream for her to buy, her favorite delicacy keeping her satisfied in numerous situations.


It was sweet and cold enough to keep her from burning names or claiming buildings- wait, she was switching things.


She hummed silently, her mind budging away from her little deviation into this pleasant, but distracting topic and right into the real issue of her current lifestyle.


Roman was acceptable in her book, Junior fell a little lower in her grading system of people that she knew she could poke around without seeing any retaliation…


But then there is Cinder.


Powerful, incredibly-clever, mysterious-


What an infuriating bitch!


Not only her semblance was strong enough to put some fear in Neo's mind, despite the fact that the ice-cream addict was conscious of being capable of avoiding direct attacks thanks to her own abilities, but the fact she had managed to get a tight grasp over Roman made things…


Annoying.


She wasn't mad at her boss for bending at Cinder's demands, knowing well enough that Roman was someone that knew how to play his cards in this kind of instances.


It wasn't the first time someone had managed to get him in this kind of predicament, but this time what truly got Neo worried was the fact that Cinder wasn't planning a mere takeover of some gangs.


Vale was her target, but even now the general lines behind her 'planned attacks' were still unknown to her.


One can wonder what the dark-haired woman was planning to do with so much Dust, and one can wonder why she had to be blessed with such a good guy for a brother.


It didn't take Neo too much effort to discover the connection between the two, especially with how detailed Sid Tremaine's profile was in the CCTV system.


Born in Mistral in a family of warriors of different branches, he was the 'youngest' if she took under consideration the correlation between him and Cinder.


He had some combat preparation, but never went to continue his studies in Haven as he preferred to keep a civilian route for his last school years.


This bit was confusing for multiple reasons since the young man had an enviable certification that could have seen him become quite the influential hunter in Mistral.


There was no comments about this information, driving Neo to fish for some more details to keep herself attentive to what was going to be a long mission.


Not that the young woman minded the extended period of time spent away from the hideout, especially since she was supposed stay at a bar that offered well-made ice creams!


Indeed, this assignment might lack the excitement of fighting her way through some pesky cops or backstabbing grunts, but it did offer her the chance of some relaxing time alone and without worries of getting attacked any time soon.


The city was by now well-defended by the Council's militiamen and Huntsmen, and no criminal in Vale would dare to try anything funny in broad daylight.


She took the last corner that led right to where the modest-sized establishment was sited, a small smile perched on her face as she decided to skip the usual timing and get in earlier than normal.


There was no client at the moment and both the owner and the lone waiter of the activity were standing near the counter.


The young man's eyes widened in surprise at her appearance, the state of shock making her almost preen at the detailed expression that she could now enjoy together with some sweet treat.


Taking a seat by her usual chair, she waited for the worker to approach and offer her the menu.


Neo already knew what was on it, but she would enjoy the moment she had to see him so closely and so expressively.


This very scene was enough to dignify the curt depiction she had given back to Cinder.


Sid Tremaine was nice, just not in the 'kind' denotation of the word.


Many waiters had come to avoid approaching her in the places she used to visit in the past for some breakfast or after-lunch meal, fearful of how sickly sweet her posture would take and… how her eyes would glint mirthful deadliness once in a while.


She was creepy, she knew this very well, but this wasn't a flaw of her personality.


It was a fun trait from her unique charisma!


The young man finally offered her the plasticized paper with the list of the various possibilities that she could pick up for to day-


"Again with the Neopolitan," He muttered with a huff. "You sure have an obsession with that..."


Was that so easy to spot on? Perhaps ordering just that flavor might get that kind of idea out, but there was no way in Hell that she would just surrender her little addiction without a brave and stubborn fight.


She merely nodded with a bright smile, waiting for Sid to go through the small steps required for the preparation of a Neopolitan-filled cup.


The order was served mere seconds later, the girl almost ready to dive in at the enticing treat, but she stopped momentarily to take hold of the waiter's closest hand.


Sid stopped, with his eyes going wide open as he tensed up under her grasp.


It was as if a big sheep has been caught off-guard by the bite from a tiny wolf.


Now, wasn't that an image nicer that what was actually going on?


In fact, Neo was almost tempted to squeeze a little more to see how resilient his wrist was… but then again she wasn't meant to maim her little target.


Also, the pleasure would be abysmal at best if she went through with this since he hadn't shown anything that had warranted that little play.


"Ms. Neo?"


Oh? Now she was a 'Miss'? What a novelty! Miss Neopolitan, professional illusionist and hearts-thief!


Maybe she should put this in her business card instead of merely Neopolitan.


But while her mind was eager to lose itself in the spiral of thoughts storming in her mind, the girl merely patted at the table while glancing at Sid, drawing a confused look from him.


"You want me to-" He trailed a little bit as he followed her gesture. "Sit with you?"


She blinked and then gave a quick nod.


His frown deepened, but his hesitation seemed to be attached to the owner as the burly man was staring at the sight from the safety of the counter.


'Yeah, as if that is safe enough from an attack from me~.'


Giddy thoughts were concluded the moment the young man actually took a seat by the chair in front of her and… blinked.


"So… is there something you wish to tell me?"


...


That was rude. Very, very rude!


He knew well enough that she wasn't capable of speaking and yet-


"Really, what do you want?" He pressed on with some insistence, getting a silent huff out of Neo's pouty lips.


Pity swelled deeply as she failed to capitalize the teasing opportunity, merely drawing it within the walls of her head, but then she nodded and took out… one of her business card.


Presenting it to the waiter, his frown seemed to increase even more at how 'insignificant' the gesture seemed to be.


"Yes, I know that your name is Neopolitan, but why did you want to show me-"


She flipped it, revealing some words she had written into it with her semblance.


I will talk with you like this.


"-This," He concluded the pseudo-question with surprise at the development, his eyes widening again as he studied the card.


"That was… your semblance, right?" He inquired calmly, which Neo replied with a nod. "That's cool."


Truly a flatterer. Another reason to be surprised about his connection with that fire-bitch, but one that she didn't mind to be subjected to.


Not many had 'rightfully' complimented her incredible powers and she smiled.


So, how are you doing?


He blinked at the query and he hummed.


"Pretty fine considering last few days," Sid replied quietly. He tapped the table with his fingers for a while before speaking once again "What about you?"


I'm doing more than fine. I mean, I'm getting some ice cream right now!


The waiter snorted. "Seriously, you know that it's not healthy?"


She pouted again, this time taking her time to contemplate a proper response.


Aren't you technically the one selling me this? Shouldn't you just… allow me to have my fun?


"You can eat anything else. Heck, I think even another flavor would be a nice change of pace," He shot back with a sigh. "i mean, it's not like this is the only thing we offer here."


But it's the best-made in my opinion. In fact, I think this my favorite!


"Oh, thank you-" He paused a moment in his response, his soft features hardening in another frown. "Wait, you haven't tried anything else other than that."


She let out another giggle, this one stretching a little longer than the last one.


True, but I want that.


To emphasize her demand, the girl took her mini-spoon and took a quick bite out of the cup.


He sighed. "I guess you are hell-bent about it."


Damn right, I am!


"But is there… something else you want to tell me?" Sid sobered up a little bit. "I understand you are just enjoying your time here, but I think you aren't just here for ice cream."


…


Should she drop some hint?


Maybe she could make a game out of it, something to keep herself amused even beyond this usual things.


But what kind of game would it be and how should it be played?


So many questions and so little ice-cream.


Taking another bite out of her cup, she blinked and nodded.


Maybe?


He groaned, close to facepalm at her purposely-infuriating comeback.


"I feel like you are hiding something big but… I'm not sure what."


Her lips twitched in amusement at that comment and the card spun around again.


I'm actually taller than I look like.


"I fail to see it being true," He retorted quickly, catching her off-guard for a brief moment. How could he just shot down her flimsy effort so easily and- "I mean, you look pretty cool right now and I think you being taller would… screw your style a little."


She blinked once, then twice… then thrice.


It was a first for someone like Neo to be complimented in such a subtle but dastardly amusing way.


Her hands reached for her belly as she let out a silent laugh.


The reaction made the young man jumpy, at first seeming concerned as she did seem like she was in pain, but then he noticed the giddy grin on her face and the tears forming by her eyes.


He crossed his arms close to his chest and huffed. "Now, what's that reaction?"


I've to be honest. This is the first time that someone pulled such a flawless flirt like that.


Sid blinked, slightly confused by the comment he received back.


"What are you talking about?"


Aw, you didn't even notice? Tell you what- Tomorrow morning, I will be there again to continue this pleasant conversation.


"Wait, what?"


How adorable, trying to stop her by taking hold of her hand… pity that this isn't how life truly works.


A longing sigh slipped in her mind as she moved through her semblance, out of the two men's sights and right out of the building with a pretty smile plastered on her cute face.


But not before leaving some money to pay for the ice cream and a little reward for Sid to discover~.


-----------d-d-d-d------------------d-d-d-d---------------d-d-d-d-------------


~Sid's POV~


Today was truly an interesting day, with Neo providing some information about herself, giving out details about what her personality was and… I was quite tired.


The first thing I did as I returned back home from work was to literally stumble into the welcoming couch in the living room and shut my eyes for a couple of seconds.


I tried to take a brief rest, just enough to lift my spirits long enough to go through making some dinner and get some real sleep by the bed.


Yet the more I tried to ignore the lingering annoyance coming from some recent embarrassing instances, the more those appeared to stick around in my mind.


When Neo had left without notice, she did so by putting some money on the table to pay for her order while also dropping a quick peck at my right cheek.


The little lipstick mark had then been reason for mortification, irritating questions from other clients and much more.


It all started when Marcus had exploded in chuckles at the sight of the pink a shade darker than my skin impressed on my face, enough to get some customer that had just arrived to notice what was wrong.


This little spark was enough to bring up some neverending lines of comments about how 'lucky' I was and inquiries from those that had been curious about the identity of the cheek-kisser.


Thankfully, the work-day didn't stretch beyond the usual and I proceeded to reach the flat as quickly as I could.


Yawning a little, I turned to the side and looked around the illuminated room.


Everything was quiet… like yesterday and the day before.


It was devoid of any strange noises, any signs of people being there and giving more company to the empty apartment.


…


Goddammit, I'm missing Blake.


I can't believe this is a thing. This shouldn't be a thing!


While I can show some caring side towards the Cat Faunus, I had no reason to be missing her presence here now that she was gone back to Beacon.


Sure, I had some fun when she was around but-


The young woman was safe if she stayed there and the most important thing was her safety.


After foiling her recent kidnapping, I was so sure of this that I had no reason to doubt the fact she had to stay there.


Yet I was still dealing with the fact I was alone in that flat.


This is supposed to be my home. The place where I'm supposed to be feeling the happiest and the calmest at.


But it wasn't the case, quite the contrary if I had to mention.


I felt deprived of someone to talk to and could actually reply back. Blake was smart enough to make proper comments and snippets, to be antithesis and my supporter when certain circumstances were brought up.


And now she was away from the city itself and up in Beacon Academy, possibly trying to fit back with the school's life and messing around with the people there.


I had left people back in Mistral. Heck, I had left my parents back there to start my own life away from that correlation and from Mistral's general lifestyle.


It had hurt for a while, and settling down had been quite difficult to achieve without dealing with some strong doubts of calling back home.


I knew when both my parents were at home, when they would answer and how they would reply to my words.


Support, love, and affection.


Which didn't exactly help with the way I was supposed to deal with Blake.


The girl was sure something of a friend of mine, the reason leading her to crash into my place still hanging threateningly over the chances of confirming a true friendship as I was still unsure what to think of it all.


Pure luck, or bad luck considering the damage she had caused on the flat, had made her stumble onto my life but she wasn't left unscathed herself.


Changes had happened from both sides, with me growing to accept the oddity that was Blake Belladonna, and the girl accepting that some orderly effort was necessary for her own sake.


Time had passed, but it hadn't been enough to concretely clarify the real nature of our wacky relationship.


Love didn't exceed into the romantic. I was missing her presence, but I wasn't certainly fawning over her personality and physique.


She was pretty decent for someone with her background for sure, but she just wasn't my type.


Friend? Possible. There was no reason to hide the fact that the various challenges we had to go through, the most significant one being her botched kidnapping, cemented the fact that there was something.


A bond that was unique in its own rights, defying anything that I had experienced until now.


It was less than brotherly, but so more intense than any friendship I had back in Mistral.


The more I spent time pondering over this maddening topic, the more questions would come out of my thoughts.


I groaned on the soft pillow of the couch, drowning my face more into its delicate texture, my mind fully delving deep into this immense dilemma.


What was Blake to me? And why was I feeling this much upset over her being not here?


But just as I headbutted the metaphysical problem until something could truly come out to answer this insanity, my brain had to reboot at the familiar sound of… my ringtone.


I blinked, thinking back at the fact that I had gone to fix my Scroll just two days ago.


I took the opportunity of free time to see it finally looked up and properly fixed, giving up some hundreds of Liens to see the device's problems solved and restored back to a prime degree.


Now it worked properly and it had been upgraded to have the latest update of the system.


Taking it out from one of my pants' pockets, I glanced at the display to see who was calling and… the number ID was an unknown one.


The initial digits seemed to be from Vale, crushing instantly the chances of dealing with some Vacuo-based 'harassers'.


Feeling just a hint of curiosity at this unexpected call, I decided to check who it was, especially since Cinder had promised me that she would have called once she was free from her currently-tight schedule.


I waited for a moment, but then the caller spoke.


"Hello?"


...


My entire body tensed and my brain fully woke up from the state of sleepiness it had been drowning into until now.


With my eyes widening in surprise at realizing who it was, I decided to slowly reply.


"Hello Blake," I muttered quietly.


There was a brief pause but then the Faunus resumed the call.


"Did I call you in a busy moment?" She inquired uneasily. "If you are at work, I can call-"


"Just got home a few moments ago," I interrupted her before she could have continued down that line. "We can talk right now."


I could hear her sighing from the other side. "I know that it's also late. But… we need to talk about a few things."


I blinked at her sudden serious voice, quite perplexed at the swing up to something that sounded ominous.


"Is everything alright at Beacon?"


"Yes, I- this is not only me, it's about the me and you," Blake replied with a sigh. "I've been waiting for some time but, I have to tell you that Ozpin knows what truly happened in the last two weeks."


…


"Care to elaborate, please?"


My brain burned fiercely at the little but powerful sentence she had delivered.


The Headmaster of Beacon Academy was quite the important guy in Vale, not only as the principal of one of the most famous Huntsmen schools in Remnant but also for having an influential position in the Council.


Ozpin was someone that wasn't meant to be trifled with, even my father commenting that approaching him wasn't something as easy as it was with normal people.


There was just that weary tone in his posture, that saddening glimpse that made him stand out like a tragic character in a dreadful theatrical play.


The worst thing was… he had the means to achieve the absurd task of knowing what is going on in the city while he is in his office.


"When I returned back here, I was taken to his office and… he told me that he knew about what had really happened in these two weeks," The young woman continued to explain. "He said that despite that he will still support the little explanation we had planned out for this."


...But why?


Why would he do something like this?


"Did Ozpin tell you why didn't he just order for you to return back at Beacon?" I finally asked and I waited for an answer about this heavy query.


Blake stood quiet for some time, but then she spoke up with certain nervousness.


"H-He mentioned that he was interested by… what was happening," The Faunus replied carefully. "I'm not sure myself what he found to be a good reason to wait and see but… he said that he was actually fine with-"


"Blake, did he do something to you? Anything you found suspicious?" I asked quickly, as I stood up from the couch and started to give a thorough look around the flat for any hidden microphones or cameras.


Gods only know how screwed I truly was in that very moment and my brain wasn't giving me the happiest of the prospects in the scenarios I might be dealing with.


"He didn't do anything odd- You mean like trying to get more information or-"


"Anything that might have gotten you in the false presumption that he isn't doing actually anything," I pressed on with this interruption. "Did he ask anything odd? Worth of any concerns and-"


"H-He wants me to have therapy sessions," The girl admitted suddenly. "I know that he isn't doing anything strange here except asking me questions about what has been going in the last few weeks."


"Therapy sessions?" I paused for a moment in my search, frowning a little at her world. "Why would you need that?"


"I don't know," She groaned a little at the questions. "But he wants me to talk about… nevermind."


I sighed and glanced briefly at the Scroll. "Blake, if it's important, I need to know since it's also about me-"


"He wants me to talk about us," The young woman admitted with a tired voice. "About what has happened in the last few weeks, how our relationship truly works and..."


She paused again, but this time she didn't wait for me to press her on.


"I miss you."


I tensed up a little at that comment, my eyes widened at the three words and I felt my breathing itching to repeat those words back.


"B-But- why?"


There was a sad sigh from the other side.


"He said that the instance was created by a 'dual paradox'. Something that has to do with our backgrounds making strange stuff happens," Blake explained once more. "I just concluded the first session and things seemed to be fine, so I don't think there is some secret operations going on while we were discussing."


I blinked, ready continue the conversation when I was interrupted by the girl's tired tone.


"I will be going soon to the cafeteria for dinner," The Cat Faunus commented quietly. "And since I will be in the dormroom with my teammates once I'm done there, I will not be able to call you again."


She took a long sigh and then continued.


"I want to tell you goodnight."


My eyelids dropped a little and I smiled at her words.


"Blake," I finally piped in with a somewhat uneasy voice, still unsure how I'm going to word out what I had to say now.


While I had been so reluctant to tell her back that I missed her, I wasn't certainly going to skip returning the favor now.


"Yes, Sid?"


"I want to tell you goodnight too and..." I blinked, doubtful if this was alright or not, if it was proper or not.


Goddammit, since when I'm this indecisive!


"I did find your absence to be… upsetting," I shakily continued. "I will buy some movies by Saturday, so that we can have a marathon if you want-"


"Yes."


I froze for a moment, eyes widening in surprise at that sudden reply.


"I-I mean, I'm glad that you… missed me," She teased a little about that, my cheeks flaring in embarrassment in getting caught so early on. "And I suppose we can spend some time watching movies. Can you spare any of the titles you want to buy?"


I felt a twitchy smile creeping in at that, and then I started to list her the movie titles I had in mind to go and buy for that day.


The conversation lasted for a couple more of minutes as Blake still had to conclude before entering the cafeteria and I… felt a little better about staying at the flat.


Feeling energized by the call, I began preparing dinner, wondering within the safety of my mind what kind of stories the girl would have to tell me once she would visit by Saturday.


And the worst part of this all? I was still smiling like a moron.


I snorted in amusement.


Goddammit… Blake.


-------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d---------


AN


Nothing much to say but that I'm fine here! So here we go again!

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 17: You can be Selfish-


~Yang's POV~


If someone ended up asking Yang what is her favorite subject here at Beacon Academy, the girl would quickly supply with a swift reply.


The blonde loved Combat Training, there was no doubt about it as nothing came even close to allow her to find just the nice setting to let out her pent-up stress.


Only good sparring sessions against a resilient opponent offered her that opening, that access to the blissful world of simple brawling against each other, until one of the two contenders managed to gain victory over the other.


In fact, one of the first things she decided to once she was done with the initiation test was to check on whom would be the ideal sparring partner to have for the rest of the year, something that got her to carefully study all of the big shots here at Beacon.


A few candidates had popped up very quickly, and some proving to be actually some pushovers that were all appearance and no substance with their fighting prowess.


Much to her immense chagrin, only a single individual turned out to be a worthy partner as she was the only one capable of matching up with her fighting style and Semblance.


Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl for many and the 'P-Money' for Yang, was someone that had plenty of experience and training to equally fight against the blonde, if not win in certain cases.


It was like a friendly rivalry, one that both just enjoyed within their own means of finding entertainment in brawls, and one where the Xiao Long knew that she would always gain a sense of satisfaction even when losing.


The redhead was just so polite, never talking shit back when the heat got to the blonde's head and got her to make some unpleasant comment that only her opponent could hear.


It was a rare occurrence, but the fellow girl was easily capable of noticing these foul comments and would reply with even politer remarks.


Normally, this would have gotten Yang to retaliate even harder, but the lack of joking mid-fight was more than enough to deprive her of the chances of accomplishing such plans.


Instead of enjoying the mere trash-talking, the brawler thrived in the delightful exchange of blows that would eventually force her to tap in her Semblance.


When she was in that state of raw anger, that furious moment within her mind… it was just oddly warm.


The use of her powerful berserk state would usually left her in a trance, a couple of seconds where her mind would lose focus over everything and everyone but her main target, her opponent.


It was a distinctive flaw, she had to admit, one that her father had chided her about more than once in the last few years.


A mindless brute, a very strong one to that.


But while her Semblance allowed her to have some edge over Pyrrha's seemingly impenetrable defense, her control over speed and strength wavered to a point where the redhead would just switch to a more paced maneuvering so that she can beat the fellow student with quick strikes that dented at the blonde's Aura.


It was a classic moment in their usual school day, yet this time the Mistralian girl wasn't going to be the one that Yang has to face in a spar.


Lilac eyes showing a fair degree of uncertainty and discomfort, the young Xiao Long prepared for what was going to be a battle she herself was unsure of the possible results.


Blake was quiet as she adjusted the ribbons by her dark-colored weapon, her golden eyes studying the state of the hybrid gun as the countdown began its count.


Part of her had wanted to back away, just for the sake of not injuring her partner again after the ordeal she had to go through, even Weiss and Ruby mentioning that it was for the best for the two to not fight each other in this occasion.


It was too soon, the blonde had thought instantly as Ms. Goodwitch had allowed this to happen, the brawler's mind facing some conflicting thoughts over the matter as she knew that just a moment of her control slipping away would warrant some heavy damage on her partner.


Yet it was also true that Blake had showed more than once that she had recovered fine from what had happened to her.


It wasn't only the previous day's spar, nor the fact that she had paid much more attention to class compared to before…


It had to do with the way she was actively taking notes of everything and everyone, the way she was making sure she had every single clue that could help to beat people and Grimm.


It was a surprise for sure, but considering the situation she had to go through up until now, it was understandable that the Belladonna had to develop a sense of paranoia over those around her.


It was barely perceivable by Yang, but the brawler could recognize the signs of an attentive individual over the world around her.


And Blake… was just that. Her attention was now on the school, on learning… on improving over what could have been her mistakes.


The sudden drive having stomped everyone in the team, but none actually went to try and understand what is going on with the cat-eared girl.


It was so raw, so intense and… it made Yang felt antiquate with her training's pace. And that wasn't something she was even thinking as a joke.


Training was something the young woman loved to do the most, to get stronger, faster, meaner, and perhaps even less hot-headed with proper stretching before and after her usual sessions.


But now? Blake looked confident, or as confident the Cat Faunus had ever showed before, with her eyes sporting an amount of conviction and determination that forced the Xiao Long to reluctantly adopt a stronger guard over that stare.


Her breathing slowed down, her eyes gaining more focus over her opponent and… the spar began.


There was just a little bit surprise in her mind when her partner had decided to rush towards her, blade ready to lunge at the blonde… but her eyes had ultimately widened when her faster punch crashed on Blake and caused the close to disperse.


Surprise that turned into shock when she felt pain emerging quickly by the side of her head.


It was just a blink, the clone dispersing in dark particles like an after-image to make way to the real Blake as the girl was already moving her leg to connect right by the brawler's head.


The kick slammed right on its target with non-negligible power, and it served to remind Yang that she had never seen Blake make use of physical attacks before.


Perhaps a stunning kick or punch here and there as the beginning of close quarters, to push away her foes before drawing her blade and use it against them…


But more pain erupted in her head as the Belladonna followed up the first attack by slamming her right knee up to her chin.


Groaning in a mix of surprise and pain, Yang finally recovered from her early stunned moments and tightened her fists as she rushed out a quick jab at her opponent.


Blake noticed just in time, taking two steps back and letting the first counter find only air… only to be forced to further back away when the brawler gave a swifter pursuit.


Annoyance riddled the Xiao Long's mind, as her Semblance was already trying to take over so early on… but she didn't feel the need of using it yet.


It was just a second later in that rush that the young woman noticed a solid mistake, something she should have noticed way before making that sudden counter.


The two kicks that drew first blood had more reasons than just distract her… no, it was much more complicated than she had initially thought.


Her attention in delivering punches was sloppier than it was on a normal instance, unfocused even, and that made her activity easy to predict over her next few moves.


The Faunus wasn't keen to show hesitation over this little discovery, promptly switching her weapon to its gun form and taking aim at her legs.


The pain was lessened by the Aura, but it was still there to put some duress over her steps and forcing the blonde to actually focus more on dodging the barrage of bullets trying to weaken her footing.


There was no doubt about it, Blake had ditched her usually calmer approach and had adopted a more aggressive one to keep up with her.


It was a surprise that she was enjoying, despite the beating she was getting in the mean time, as this meant that the Belladonna was no longer playing around.


And that also showed that she could take some punishment instead of getting a soft-touch from her.


Yang's eyes flickered to red as she could feel some bits of her own Aura starting to reinforce her body, her Semblance starting to slowly diluting more energy in her system as she pressed on despite the lack of success.


It wasn't a full deployment, knowing full well that her partner had more hidden plans instead of some little tricks.


Perhaps she should have taken a couple of steps back to properly evaluate the situation, but now her mind was hellbent to at least land something on her friend.


Blake was her friend, yes, they both were friends… but they had never spoken honestly about this. Never once Yang had tried to formulate anything with the cat-eared girl mentioned as a friend and now she was facing her in the best of environment.


There was no social basis, no standard, only fighting. It wasn't mindless, it was primitive, it was simplified for the sake of making people understand despite any sort of barrier, from language to social, from silence to chaotic chatting.


It was endearing, it was enticing… but it was also quite dishonest sometime as messages through blows can be mistaken.


In fact, after having fought against many people, Yang couldn't just catch on anything that Blake was 'saying'.


Only quietness coating both in that state of heated exchanges of hits. There was no secrets… except when the other individual is quite the silent one, just like Blake was being.


Finally, the brawler snarled and proceed to rush even more at the Faunus, ready to even headbutt her all for the sake of a moment of pause away from the constant attacking from the bullets.


Her Semblance continued with its steady take over, transforming more damage into new energy for her to use and forcing Yang to adopt a faster pace to keep up with the higher momentum.


Yet the desire to land a hit on her partner seemed to go unanswered for sometime, with Blake more than happy to lead her around by using her own Semblance to deflect the blonde's hit away from her while also sponging some of Ember Celica's pellets from actually reaching the real target.


It was so simple, and so familiar to what she had used against Dove Bronzewing, yet it was also unique as the Belladonna was passively damaging more her opponent, tipping her more with the Semblance as her hair turned into fiery blazes.


"You are annoying me, kitty-cat," Yang muttered in that state of pure fury, feeling even more incensed when she was met with a small smile.


"Just annoyed, Yang?" Blake replied with a little playful tone. "Don't lie. Dishonesty doesn't suit you."


It doesn't. But… what about you, partner?


But the Xiao Long didn't mention this, her attention intensively given to the brawl, and only the brawl… and for a moment she forgot about her opponent.


It was a strange sensation to perceive in these circumstances, something that just offered her a sense of pleasant curiosity for what might happen at the next step.


There was giddiness within the anger she was perceiving for the lack of progress, perhaps driven by the fact that it wasn't just some complicated issue that was keeping her from actually winning but that this was just a lengthy delay.


It was a surprise, she could already feel that the unexpected might be around the corner, just a couple of seconds after this was all done and…


It happened.


Her anger peaked at its zenith, a mane of golden fire replacing her locks as her red eyes fixedly remained at the dark-haired girl.


It was now or never.


A roar left her lips, her right feet pressing for one last time as she prepared to deliver the strongest punch she could muster at the time as this was meant to be her conclusive attack.


It had to work, there was no hesitation-


But then Blake stopped, her arms spread as the golden blur slammed her fist… through her.


Shock filled Yang's mind, killing whatever anger was left in her mind at the sight as she felt her world crumble before her.


Just as she had initially feared, her anger had done the unthinkable… and beyond that.


She was shaking, caught in that state of pale-faced horror as she glanced at the smug smile on Blake's face and… the lack of blood.


How odd-


The clone exploded in silver mist, taking over her body as it soon melted down from its initial state right over her clothes.


The blonde felt a sudden cold as she tensed up, her entire self drenched in cold water after it had melted a little from the Ice Dust mixed with the clone.


Her panic turned into annoyance, but now that her aura was drained from that use of her Semblance, she fell on her knees, starting to shiver quite actively at the chilling 'wake up call'.


"It seems like you got an early shower," The real Blake mused mirthfully as she started to approach her, with the voice of Ms. Goodwitch proclaiming her the victor in the background.


"F-Fuck off," Yang wanted to really feel angry at her partner, but the current state of her body, so drained and tired, prevented her to do so, instead she accepted the helping hand from the Faunus… only to 'accidentally' trip on her.


Golden eyes widened as the Belladonna was forced to the floor, the water dripping from Yang's clothes falling right onto hers and drenching her up too in that mix of simple water and sweat.


"Goddammit Yang..." The dark-haired girl muttered, yet a smile twitched by her lips much to her self-disappointment.


Yang giggled, at least she got a victory out of that nasty play.


And now she really needed some real shower out of this...


------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-


~Blake's POV~


"That was quite an impressive strategy you've employed against your partner, Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin praised while taking a sip from his coffee. "To think you would have actually moved to find a way to disrupt Ms. Xiao Long's Semblance without putting yourself in notable danger."


Blake merely nodded at the flattering words, her distracted attention directed mostly at some of her own thoughts over the day.


It had been quite a gamble to have a spar with Yang, especially since she herself had been doubtful over the final stage of her plan to counter the brawler.


While using Dust in conjunction with her Cloning Semblance had been something she had already used quite a lot in the past, the real issue was created by the fact that she had to make a bet over the heat of Yang's flaming aura.


Ice require a certain amount of heat to melt… and water could easily evaporate without proper attention to the substance.


The moment she had created that Ice Dust Clone, the Faunus had made a little prayer to see her plan come to fruition, to prove her once and for all that there was indeed some progress behind made by her renewed interest in improving her own body and mind to a better state of understanding.


She needed time, there was no fretting over that, but Blake was eager to see some results already as she was willing to take even more attention right into training any areas that she still lacked about.


Her Aura was slowly increasing, the process being a sluggish one as the difference between now and a couple of weeks ago was abysmal at best, but there was a high chance of ending up with a more acceptable level of energy to keep up with her Semblance much more than now.


Using her clones to carefully change the trajectory of some of Yang's movements had severely dented over her own reserves back during the brawl, thus making that final task of defusing the Xiao Long imperative to succeed about to actually win the match.


It had been far closer than the blonde had made it appear, with her stamina too getting drained by dodging so many blows at once.


At least it wasn't Adam's sword, she thought absently as she concluded her trail of thoughts with a mere sigh.


"Is there anything you wish to talk about, sir?" Blake finally inquired back to the headmaster, causing the old man to hum and ponder over the question.


"I suppose you've heard about the crash of the current stocks of coffee, right?" The man asked back with a sigh. "To think that they would attack so many brands at once."


"I've… heard of that… yes. But why-"


"Do you know why it happened?" Ozpin pressed on with a certain degree of sadness, confusing the Belladonna for a while. "Why the price has floated to almost double the usual?"


The girl blinked, contemplating over this little event with just some attention as she was still uncertain as to why coffee linked back to her situation.


"It something related to some strikes happening at work, most of them being led by Faunus-"


"That limited the production, delayed the accomplishment of some of the factories' quotas, and urged many industrialists to increase the price of coffee to avoid a sudden rush to buy the currently limited product," The headmaster commented quietly, concluding her explanation.


"And… that is important?"


The man snorted. "Of course it is important, Ms. Belladonna," He muttered with a hint of annoyance. "Why, haven't you thought about Ms. Tremaine's job? What kind of strain it will warrant to the activity he is working for?"


The young woman hummed calmly about it. "Probably nothing since the owner keeps reserves of everything, so he will probably just experience more clients during this time of the year."


There was some silence, then the man spoke once more.


"So you mean to tell me that the Morning Sip will not increase the prices of its coffee?"


… "Yes?"


"Interesting," Ozpin hummed happily. "Now that little thing is settled… let us move to the topic of that I was trying to press onto. Blake, do you believe in destiny?"


Her eyes narrowed at that sudden question, but she merely shrugged at it.


"I… I actually don't," The cat-eared girl admitted with a nod. "I can understand some things happening because of some logical reasoning, but destiny is a step absurd to even think as real."


The headmaster looked perplexed. "And why do you think so?"


"I've met people that have tried to blame some ordained path for their decisions, for their own actions," Blake started to explain with a hint of uneasiness, her first example being Adam and his musings over his 'unavoidable' turning. "It's hypocritical, to blame successes and failures on some entity beyond our understanding, to make it seem like it isn't our fault to make stuff happens."


"That's honestly… one of the strongest arguments I've heard against this theory," The old commented with an awed tone. "Still, I've to ask you a very simple, but quite unfair question."


The girl frowned again at this… but nodded slowly at his silent query.


"What happens if you end up graduating from Beacon Academy?" Ozpin inquired calmly, yet pressing her with more details. "Hypothetically speaking, you and your team end up becoming Huntresses for Vale, you start doing missions with them within the Kingdom."


"What are you really trying to ask me, sir? I think we both know that the question is just-"


"Too general?" The man interjected with a sigh. "I suppose I should be a little less restrained and offer you a clearer inquiry."


…


"Would you really want to become a huntress with your team, or do you wish to truly retire once you are done with Beacon Academy?"


"I thought I've already answered that question," Blake pointed out.


"You did?" The headmaster shot back quietly. "From what I can recall, you were actually mentioning that you planned to retire after the end of this year."


"And the difference is-"


"Two more years here at Beacon, more knowledge and more experience in the field," Ozpin interjected without hesitation. "You will have more time there to improve with your abilities, and perhaps learn some more about the students of your current school year and beyond."


"So you are asking me what would happen if I keep lying to them and myself?" The Faunus asked back with a tense voice. "If I decide to just-"


"Think about your decision instead of planning your next 'escape', Ms. Belladonna," The man stressed out with some irritation, causing the cat-eared woman to flinch at the tone. "What I'm asking you is hypothetical, and yet you are already bringing up leaving Beacon the very moment Vytal is over."


"It would be dishonest of me to just keep this lie going. Despite them being so nice to me now that I'm back… it wouldn't just work for what I feel about this situation."


"And what do you feel, Ms. Belladonna?" Ozpin pressed on even more, seemingly growing interested by her words. "What makes you unwilling to pursue a career as a huntress?"


"I… I'm just-" The girl paused, her eyes closing down for a moment as she though how to best phrase her thoughts with words and… she sighed, eyes once more staring at the headmaster. "I'm tired of being selfless. I'm tired of not… just ditching everything and everyone, to just sleep and eat, perhaps even watch the TV and read a book during my free time."


"You make it seem like you've never experienced the peace of being an individual, without having to make happy someone-"


"I've been born in a family that had one of the closest connection to the White Fang, I couldn't just ignore the fact that it was 'correct' to do the 'right thing'," She replied with a little rant. "My only friends? All either indoctrinated within the Fang or dead by doing the 'right thing', their memory remembered just barely and if so used to press on this ideal. There isn't never a moment of peace for me, never a moment that I can close my eye and not see the disappointment of those that wish more from me, that I'm actively 'hiding' my capacities and not doing my best to help people."


…


"I care for people, I really do," The girl continued quietly, her tone drained by much of her early energy. "But I also want a time that I can dedicate to only myself. To be selfish and not have to make up for someone's mistake or problem."


Silence ruled the room for a couple of minutes, with the Belladonna staring somberly at the table with half-closed eyes. She didn't dare to stare up to Ozpin, knowing that her words might be easily misinterpreted so easily as of how she had exposed them.


"And I assume that… Mr. Tremaine represent that state of selfishness that you aspire to," The headmaster questioned calmly. "Despite the fact he himself is a hard-worker with barely time for himself."


…


"What?" Her throat was aching a little, her mind raptly listening to his words.


"He is a waiter for a bar, the schedule is sometime so unforgiving that he can barely take a moment to do any of his favorite hobbies without having to deprive himself of something else," The old man started to explain with a certain understanding tone. "He has to make sacrifices to make space for things he likes, or even more work. Then you entered his life, and that would entail another mouth that would require food, so that would mean even more work on himself."


"But I've worked there too," She mentioned with a hint of nervousness. "I wasn't leeching off from him or anything like that."


…


"Were you, Ms. Belladonna?" Ozpin asked sarcastically. "But why would you need to work if you want to be 'selfish'?"


"It's not the same thing-"


"It actually is," The headmaster pressed on again. "In fact, the only difference between a waiter and a huntsman is that the huntsman know how to use a gun."


She frowned at that comment. "Sir, I don't want to fight forever."


"And I don't recall asking you to do that, Ms. Belladonna, nor I will ever ask you to do so," The old man muttered while leaning back on his chair. "Being a huntsman is not a burden, but a duty. You would still have the freedom and time of making your own personal decisions. Missions aren't something that would occupy you on a daily basis and… I know two examples of people that have actually managed well in turning their experience in new work for themselves, becoming teachers."


Perhaps some within Beacon's staff? No, that would be easy to spot on but… then who was he referring to?


"There is also the fact that once outside of Beacon Academy, you wouldn't have any reason to share the same home with your team. While many do this… it's not something that is done nowadays," The man continued with a sigh. "In fact, your wage as a Huntress would also help Mr. Tremaine to lessen up the need of working as hard as he does."


"It sounds so easy," Blake muttered quietly, only to be matched with a sigh from Ozpin.


"And yet it isn't," The man admitted. "In fact, killing Grimm is sometimes difficult and… you would have to make some important choices during your line of work. Choices that could end up haunting if you don't feel like you have chosen properly, and you might end up with more nightmares to face at night… but I think there is actually something you should also know that teachers sometime tend to miss to explain."


She blinked. "And… that is?"


"You mentioned your desire to be selfish once in a while," He muttered with a frown. "That kind of emotions… I want you to always keep it around even during missions."


…


"What- why?"


"Because too many people die just for the sake of glory, or to try and make it through their jobs successfully." His voice turned somber, his eyes turned to the table as he thought about something sad. "I've seen so many of my former students put in graves because they never detached the fantastic nature of the Hunter's dream from reality, latching their existence to the idyllic, and getting scattered by the unforgiving winds of the darkness around us."


There was just something ominous from the words just uttered that Blake couldn't just understand with what she knew. Something felt oddly familiar, yet she couldn't help but fail to pinpoint the origin of this familiarity.


The words were so deep and heavy, so sad and truthful, like a bitter pill no one can avoid to take.


The world was already an ugly place, yet to see someone as hold and optimistic as Ozpin to appear this much… tired- It made the whole experience even worse than she wanted it to appear.


It was beyond the Fang, it was beyond the Grimm… Ozpin's current struggle sounded so… unfair.


"So you wish for me to… be realistic. To never put too much of myself in doing the impossible if I know that I can't do this?"


He nodded. "That would be correct, Ms. Belladonna."


There was even more silence and… the headmaster finally sighed. "And I suppose this is a good point where to drop this conversation. Once again, I think we're making progress and I hope you will pay some more thoughts over what you wish to do with your stay here at Beacon."


"Only thinking? I thought that you-"


"I can never impose you to do anything like that, Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin interjected one last time. "But I can advise you to ponder well over it, even with the help of Mr. Tremaine. In fact, I think he will offer quite the insight over the matter considering his own experiences."


….


"I understand, Headmaster," Blake muttered, nodding quietly as she stood up from her chair and started to make her way back to her dorm-room, confused as to why Ozpin had completely stopped sipping from his coffee and… why he had looked so much older than he had looked just an hour earlier.


But instead of musing mid-corridor, the Cat Faunus focused on reaching her bed, enjoy the best she could some rest lying there and… maybe Saturday will offer her the means to properly think about everything that is going on.


And surely, Sid would offer some good perspective over the matter… while also dealing with her parents.


---------------d-d-d-d---------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d------------


AN


Ozpin, the poor guy thinks he's at fault for many deaths beyond his own control. Heck, I've even left a little Easter Egg for those looking thorough his dialogue about a very important one.


But yes, Blake's mindset has a little problem… and that is that she was never shown that you can find balance in both private life and line of duty. For her, the White Fang was both and when she reached Beacon Academy, she thought the Academy worked the same… only to find out it wasn't like that.


This discovery was made in Canon by the end of Volume 5 on her own… and in this story she had Ozpin's insight over this issue, speeding up the process of understanding that hers is a flawed perception of the world.

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 18: -Only if you can be selfless too


~Sid's POV~


"No."


"Sid, you know that-"


"Absolutely no," I refused for the umpteenth time, arms crossed close to my chest as I stared sternly at Blake.


It was early in the morning, my brain wasn't truly fully awake and I was still trying to understand how exactly the Cat Faunus had managed to get here in the city so quickly.


The helipads were supposed to open up in about an hour from now, and yet the dark-haired girl had somehow managed to show up even earlier than that by my doorstep.


Surprise and relief were slowly subdued by the fact that I was instantly stormed with a myriad of words leaving from the Belladonna's mouth, all directed to stuff that were legitimately shocking, but also quite… good.


Ozpin had put her in therapy to deal with her lingering issues and… about me.


Quite the extreme action, but considering her nature of bailing through lesser instance I could see some sense about this decision.


Just some.


What made it impossible for me to truly accept the headmaster's intervention was that I had turned into a subject of interest for the man.


Bad, really bad. Dad would seriously chide me if he ever learned up that I managed to get myself in this much trouble.


It wasn't that I was fearing any violent retaliation from the man, especially with Blake vouching quite vehemently that this wasn't the case.


After preparing some breakfast, I found myself dealing with the real problem that was soon going to become a reason to fear for my dear life.


"I trust you to contact them without creating misunderstandings," The Cat Faunus pressed on with some more force in her voice. "I understand it's awkward for you to do this, but I can assure you that mom will not jump to conclusions so suddenly-"


"But what about your father?" I interjected with a tense voice, her eyes widening just momentarily before moving away from looking at me. "And what's that supposed to mean?"


"M-Mom will not create any problems."


Why is she ignoring that question!?


"Still, I'm not doing that," I refused once again. "If you want to call them, then do it yourself."


"You know well enough that I haven't speak with them for years now," She reasoned and I frowned.


"I thought you did spare some rare calls," I admitted with a surprised tone. "I mean, you never bothered to even check on how they were doing?"


She paused, tensing up at being subjected to that very query.


"It's… you know it's complicated."


"Or maybe it's just silly," I retorted with a sigh. "You know, I believe that mostly everything that is 'complicated' about your past has been either caused by some avoidable situations."


Blake frowned. "I'm not dumb."


… "I didn't call you that-"


"Yet! But you were thinking about saying that," The Belladonna interjected with a fierce voice. "Every single time we end up talking about my past, you take shots at the fact that I made mistakes. But I'm trying to change from that."


"And I'm not trying to diminish the difficulty of that," I had to admit quickly after. "I understand that you're going through some recovery, but… you messed up a lot."


"When you say that I'm 'dumb,' your tone makes it seem like as if you've never made any dumb errors in the past," She confessed. "It's annoying- I understand that I messed up but-"


"I did make mistakes," I interrupted with a nervous tone, starting to see how this derailing was going to be problematic in the long run.


I might have… been a jerk about this. I really didn't want to make it sound as if I had been flawless since day one.


But there was a difference that truly made my mistakes somewhat acceptable compared to hers.


"I made some horrible stuff when I was a kid," I started to explain with some uneasiness as I really wasn't sure if it was right to mention this up in these circumstance. "As you know I've another older sibling."


"You mentioned him, yes," The girl answered positively, her tone quietened by the interest of seeing where this topic was going. "But barely compared to your sister."


"And for good reasons too," I said while giving a nod at her consideration. "While we're in good terms now, there was a time just a couple of years ago where we would always compete against each other."


I blinked, remembering the various misadventures caused by the bets that Stacy was keen to prepare for us both show who was the best at random circumstances.


Nothing overly-antagonistic, but we were quite fierce back then… enough to warrant some non-negligible accidents back home and at school.


"Who was the quickest to rush back home after the end of the lessons, who was the first one to develop a semblance… who was the best of the two to prank people."


"You're making it sound as if you've harmed people with that last one."


…


"Sid, you just… you are not the kind of person to-"


"Right now? No," I interrupted with a sigh. "But when I was just a child? I was a pest with little understanding over the whole 'every actions creates consequences.'"


"But hurting people?" Blake inquired with a surprised tone, almost skeptical about my words.


"Not on purpose," I added quickly. "I was a dumb kid, but not a malicious one about my pranks."


"But still you did something wrong," The Cat Faunus pressed on. "So what just happened?"


"That's a tall question, especially with how many episodes of mess ups I can offer," I had to point out with a snort. "But I guess I can offer you one of the worst predicaments I had to deal… and it is actually the story of how I unlocked my Semblance."


… "Was that so dangerous that-"


"Yes," I sighed and… I started to narrate. "I was eleven, and I had been training with my father for just a year… I think."


It was difficult remember precise dates, but I could still remember so vividly the happenings of that very day.


"I could remember that both Stacy and I had been taken out to follow dad with one of his missions," I muttered quietly. "It isn't much odd for a veteran huntsman to bring his own children to see how a low-rank mission work. And this one was the first time we were going to see how it worked."


"You wanted to become a huntsman," Blake reminded softly and I nodded.


"I was still bent on that path, so I was as eager as Stacy back when we were picked for the task," I confirmed happily. "I was so eager to see the place we were supposed to go and… that's were the issue truly begin."


The dark-haired girl kept quiet as I took a moment to ponder well over my next words.


"We weren't told what exactly was the objective of this mission, and Stacy thought it was going to be just a scouting mission without any risk of finding Grimm along the way," I hummed quietly, nervous as I delved in this bit of the tale. "So we decided to… prank dad. We had some sparring planned once this mission was done, so Stacy and I decided to sabotage just his portable shield."


"Did you find Grimm?"


"Not truly," I shook my head at that guess. "There were some bandits creating problems in the area and dad managed well against them without having to use his shield..."


"And then?"


...And then the worst truly happened.


I could remember standing far away from the battlefield, with Stacy keeping beside me as we both keep watching our father go through so easily against the ranks of bandits trying to hurt him.


We had our own weapons ready, with Stacy haivng his own customized one while I was given a simple short sword.


There was no reason for us to intervene there, especially after dad had said to not engage until something wrong happened.


We thought this reality impossible, with the mere proof of such a silly notion being given by the way the experience huntsman was dealing with the thugs.


But then… something did change.


I felt nervous, at first without much of an explanation behind this reaction, and my body tensed up instinctively as I felt something off about the battle.


My eyes focused more on dad, and I saw him starting to struggle as he was finally pushed back while trying to slam away the sudden strike from a dark-red blade.


Dread settled on my chest as I stared at the one that was now finally giving trouble to the man.


The figure had long dark hair, and her frame was covered by what looked to be a medium-grade red-colored armor that was meant to give her flexibility in moving with that kind of protection.


Yet what truly made me pale back then, what truly gave me a taste of what facing the worst threat possible as a hunter… was her mask.


It was a replica, even there in that situation I knew that this woman wasn't a Grimm… but my mind showed doubt before truth as a red glow came from the eye-openings within that mask.


"And then… Raven Branwen arrived."


Blake frowned. "Who?"


"She is one of the most infamous bandits in Mistral," I explained with a sigh. "She was once a huntress bu then went rogue and took over one of the various tribes there."


"And your father-"


"Could have been able to repel her if he had been able to use the full potential of his portable shield. Perhaps."


But the shield had collapsed when he had tried to create some space to breath between himself and the enraged woman.


Fear rouse from the quick shock of seeing his only mean to have some cover being broken so suddenly and without reason.


I was stuck in fear, jaws dropping at the realization of what had just happened, but Stacy hadn't stood quiet.


He had bolted, his focus behind the scary woman that was coming close to damage our father and… he tried to offer some time for the man to recover.


A futile effort as Raven merely swatted him away without much hesitation. Three mere years spent at Combat school weren't going to just do enough for him.


I knew it, I could feel that this was going to be a horrible disasters.


And it had all been my fault.


I saw the bandit lunge back at my brother, my heartbeat increasing as I felt my panic skyrocketing at the scene.


And I…


"Stacy tried to fend her off, but failed and as she prepared to attack him."


"You intervened," Blake said with a somewhat convinced tone and I gave her a nod.


"And I… intervened."


A moment I was merely running, then I could feel the rush and the wind pressing on my face as smoke formed below my feet and propelled my small frame towards the former huntress.


Raven had noticed immediately that I was approaching, the trajectory of her sword moving in an effort to clash with the small blade I was preparing to hit her with.


But while the two of us had expected for my flight to culminate with that interaction, we were surprised when my trajectory turned out to be just… off.


I flew a little higher, my capacity of hitting hindered by this development, while the Branwen went forward and missed the attempt to bisect me.


Instead of a clash of weapons, the two things that clashed were my head and her mask.


Her footing was already unstable, and while the brunt of the damage was absorbed mostly by her aura, the power behind the impact was more than enough to push her several meters away… offering just the opportunity for my father to recover and use his semblance to move us out of that general section of the forest.


Vines took hold of both me and Stacy… and the rest of the story was then told by me as I fell unconscious because of the concussion I suffered after that unexpected headbutt.


Dad managed to get us all back to the nearby village, quickly rushing to see the two of us taken care by the local hospital while he contacted the Council to request more huntsmen to that part of Mistral.


The request was approved, but the time required for the reinforcement to arrive proved to give more than enough time for Raven to make her hasty retreat.


"You headbutted her?" Blake inquired, making me tense up at the fact that I had been muttering quietly about this while thinking about it.


"Not willingly," I flatly conceded, taking a moment to sigh. "Still, that issue risked to see my father killed, and it was all because my brother and I thought that it would've been funny to make his life more difficult."


"You couldn't have known that-"


"It could've been Grimm, it could've been more bandits. In the end, weapons are still essential to be all functional to a team of huntsmen," I interjected sternly, my disappointment all directed to my past self. "No matter how much one can justify the behavior behind a 'silly action', there are consequences."


"And why this story makes it different than my own past?"


"We never lied about our faults," I started to reply, making her frown in confusion at this development. "We never shifted the blame elsewhere… and we never ran away from our punishments."


It was then that her eyes widened in realization. "You told him?"


"I did, and so did Stacy," I curtly replied.


"But that wasn't your fault," The Belladonna tried to convince me, but that old story was fell stuck like that in my mind.


"It was," I pushed back with a nod. "And we both were punished for causing this many problems."


…


There was some silence, and the two of us were keeping quiet as I affirmed my determination over that very predicament.


We were both thinking, pondering over what we were supposed to do now that the crux of the issue was finally brought up and… I sighed.


"I'm sorry," I stated with a quiet tone. "It's early in the morning and… we shouldn't be having this kind of discussions."


"Yeah… it's quite early and I wouldn't mind taking a break from serious topics," Blake muttered with a nod. "I can see some of your logic, I really do… it's just that it seems like I'm making so little progress and-"


"You're doing a lot right now," I interjected with a frown adorning my face. "It seems nothing because this is actually not some 180 change you're meant to do. You're just growing out of that whole 'running away' gig."


"It's not a gig," She huffed. "It's more of a meh answer to everything."


"Yet you still use it even though you're aware about that," I commented with a dry tone, making her sigh.


"I'm working on it, you know that and… I was thinking about the fact I still want you to call my parents," The faunus confessed much to my immense chagrin. "And I was thinking that… you can talk with mom and, if it's dad answering the call I will talk with him."


I blinked in surprise at that proposal. "Why the sudden change of heart?"


She merely shrugged, enjoying for a moment the softness of the couch. "I think I want to try that. I… want to try and not run away from my problems."


"That sounds like big progress to me," I pointed out with a small smile, yet dark-haired beauty merely sighed.


"I… I really want to watch some TV now," The girl admitted softly, letting out a slow yawn. "Does this count as running away?"


I snorted. "Don't you dare," I chided mirthfully, drawing a small smile on her face. "And… I suppose we can watch something until it's lunchtime. Movie marathon?"


Her smile widened at the offer, and she nodded as I turned on the TV with the first movie ready to begin.


"Movie marathon."


-------------d-d-d-d-d-------------d-d-dd-----------------d-d-d-d-------


This was going to end badly for me, I can already tell by the way Blake was staring at me as I finished inputting the last number to call her home.


She looked curious, hesitant, incredibly nervous, but overall intrigued by what was going to happen now.


Lunch had passed quickly, and I had decided to put a brief pause to the Movie marathon so that we could get this incredible burden done already.


There was silence at first, the scroll trying to establish a connection with the other side of the call, and I felt my panic rising at the chances of ending up being received by her father.


I had experienced plenty of times from how dad would react when some of Stacy's classmates showed some interest over Cindy, and the reaction wasn't pretty even for those that looked from afar.


So I gulped nervously as the call finally commenced, praying silently that it was her mother and not-


"Hello?"


The voice was feminine, quite suave.


"H-Hello, am I talking with Mrs. Belladonna?"


"Yes, that's… that's me," The woman replied slowly, sounding legitimately suspicious over the sudden call. "May I ask to whom I'm currently speaking to?"


I nodded. "Sirud Tremaine, ma'am," I replied quickly. "And the reason why I'm calling is that I've some information about your daughter."


"Blake?" Her voice gained some sudden interest. "You know where she is?"


"Right now she is… sitting by the couch with me," I answered bluntly, the young Belladonna's eyes widening in shock at the sudden revelation. "She asked me to talk with you about her current disposition."


"What are you doing?!" She whispered furiously, trying to understand why I was offering so little subtlety over this matter.


"Is that so? I suppose she has to be quite nervous over speaking through the Scroll," The girl's mother sighed patiently. "She was always the kind of child that would delegate some awkward situations through people she trust and… I guess that this is the case."


"Mostly. I also think it has to do with the fact that explaining what had happened in the last month could create some massive misunderstandings without proper explanations."


"I hope nothing horrible has truly happened then," The woman muttered quietly and I sighed.


"There were some big bumps, but everything is fine," I mentioned just barely as I was unwilling to let out so quickly about what had happened in that warehouse. "She is doing great."


"That's good to hear," Blake's mother mused with some relief. "And I assume you're the one that is currently housing my wayward daughter."


"I was up until a couple of days ago," I admitted, looking at young Faunus. "Right now she is studying at Beacon Academy, so she is staying there and-"


"Blake is in Vale?" The woman inquired swiftly. "And- So Tukson was correct about the whole warehouse situation."


Oh- Wait what?


"I-I don't understand, ma'am-"


"One of the closest friends to our family mentioned having helped a 'determined young man' that was trying to save a Cat Faunus from one of the outposts of the White Fang," The mother interrupted, her voice gaining a certain degree of amusement. "He also said something about having left you some explosives. I've heard that a warehouse did explode quite recently in the capital."


"There is a good explanation for it all-"


"You saved my daughter, what else can I think from that?"


Many strange things.


"I didn't mean to-"


"Still, she has been staying at your home for a while, Sirud," The woman pointed out with some curiosity. "And I feel compelled to ask in which conditions she had been living."


"I offered her the guest room, but she would usually wound up sleeping by the couch," I explained carefully. "I did ask her about why she does this and she said that it was comfier."


A mirthful chuckle reached out from the other side of the call.


"That's my little Blake. By the way, can you please pass her?"


I blinked, glancing at the girl as she tensed up at this question and I hummed, nodding at her.


"Since we've got mostly everything done, I suppose she can talk with you without having nothing to worry about."


"Thank you, Sirud and… please, do call me Kali," She mentioned as I prepared to pass the device to her daughter.


"Understood, ma- Kali."


A giggle arrived from that half-fail, but I had already passed the 'ball' to the Cat Faunus and I prepared to see what would come from that interaction.


Initially, I thought that nothing strange would come from that discussion, knowing that I discussed most of the important things with the woman and that it was going to be only family-related topics from now on.


Yet I failed to remember that a mother that speaks to her own child will always have 'hidden' questions that she would never demand the answers about from 'strangers'.


"H-Hello mom-"


"Sweetie, I hope you understand that you got both me and your father worried sick when you left Menagerie," Kali interrupted with a sickly-sweet tone. "While I'm glad that you ended up leaving the Fang, I've to mention that I'm disappointed over the fact you've left home without saying anything."


"I understand, mom-"


"It's good to know that you've decided to join Beacon, I can still remember when I decided to stay there for two years," The woman sighed happily. "Why, I remember some amusing adventures I had with some odd students there-"


"M-Mom, I understand that you and dad missed me and… I'm sorry."


Blake's swift outburst caused the conversation to a brief pause.


"Sweetie, I'm glad that you did apologize about this," Kali praised with a serious tone. "I guess that staying at Beacon and living temporarily with Sirud managed to offer you chance of thinking about your silly mistakes."


"I'm trying to solve the problems I've missed up until now," The daughter replied to this with a sigh. "I should've called sooner, and spared you and dad this kind of worry."


Another giggle from her mother. "I'm glad to hear that and… can I ask you why you are still staying with Sirud?"


...Oh crap-


"W-What do you mean, mom?"


"While I can see the need to have someone to help you with this situation, I think it would've been easier if it had been a member from your team."


"Let's just say that… I trust Sid to not make misunderstandings with this sensible situation," She admitted, making me blink in surprise at the fact that she hadn't asked to someone from her team.


During lunch, Blake had been quick to mention how her relationship with the three other girls had slowly warmed up to a friendly terms, and how she had pursued a more active role at school.


"I reckon that some students at Huntsmen schools can be quite… quirky. I can only assume that your team is made by quite the cast."


"They are good people but… I don't feel they would solve this predicament as well as it is now," The Cat Faunus answered truthfully. "I reckon it would be awkward to explain how things have unfolded up until now."


"And yet you found 'Sid', and I've to ask- Actually, is he listening to us?"


"He's listening, his scroll has been set to have high volume," Her daughter replied quietly. "Do you need to ask him something or-"


"I just wanted to ask… you two are just friends, right?" The query was met with a blush from Blake and a sigh from me.


"We're just friends, Kali."


"How close are you two?" She pressed on quite fascinated over the topic. "I feel like you two have to be fairly close after what happened with that 'bump' about the warehouse."


"We… we care for each other?" Blake suggested, only to be met with a round of giggles from her mother.


"I see, that's… that's quite familiar. Yes, now I see what Tukson was referring about and…" The woman paused for a moment and then sighed. "Your dad right now is busy, but he should be done with his paperwork in an hour or two. I assume it will not be any trouble if I call back to this number."


"If I avoid dealing with Mr. Belladonna, I will be more than happy to lend Blake my scroll for that conversation."


Kali chuckled. "I assume that my daughter has mentioned how overprotective my husband can get."


"Indirectly, but yes," I confirmed much to the mother's amusement.


"Then I guess I will interrupt this conversation now so that my little girl can prepare to deal with her dad." The nickname drew a full-face blush on Blake. "It's been a pleasure making your acquaintance, 'Sid'."


I sighed. "Likewise, Kali."


The call ended there and I felt the weight of the entire world return back to my mind and body.


…


"So… do you know what she was referring about this Tukson?" I inquired slowly, looking at the frowning girl.


"Tukson is a close friend to my family, and had been one of the first members of the White Fang," She explained quietly. "I knew that he was planning to leave but… I didn't expect things to take this kind of odd turn."


"I was actually talking about the situation over our closeness, the one your mother was mentioning in correlation to something that Tukson told her," I hummed. "It just felt… oddly worrying."


Blake tensed up. "You think that… he might have told something to my parents about us? Maybe he misunderstood everything and-"


"I think that your father would've been marching to find us instead of being back home to deal with the paperwork," I interrupted with a sigh. "But perhaps there is some half-truth to that supposition."


"Should I be worried about talking to my father- I mean, if he makes some strange questions, I might have some troubles and-"


"I will be there," I said with a defeated voice, making her eyes widen in surprise… and a smile appear on her face. "But I will not intervene by doing more than that. I will not directly face your father about this."


She still smiled and I couldn't help but feel like I've dug my own grave with that concession.


Maybe I should've thought about this a little more instead of capitulating over the fact that it would've been a strenuous situation.


We ended up watching two more movies, Try Hard and The Huntsman Rises, and, after a couple more of hours passed, I felt tensing up as I felt my scroll ringing by my pocket, notifying me that someone was calling me.


I stared at the familiar number on the display, swiftly passing the device to Blake while also pausing the movie we were watching so that there was nothing distracting us from facing this last issue for today.


"Hello-"


"Blake, is that you?" A manly voice thundered with a degree of surprise and anxiety that quickly brought up some concerns within my chest over how things were supposed to develop from there. "Kali told me that-"


"It's me, dad," Blake interrupted quickly. "And… it's been a while."


…


"It has, my child," The man admitted with a quieter tone. "Your mother mentioned that you've left the White Fang and joined Beacon Academy. I hope Ozpin didn't create you any unpleasant issues."


"No," The girl replied. "Actually, he gave me some help by keeping some of my secrets hidden to the rest of the school."


"I'm glad to hear that. The man can be benevolent, but I still warn you to be wary of offering him too much of what you have, Blake."


"I know and… I will be careful about it."


"Good," Her father confirmed with a pleased tone. "And now… let's focus on something I wished to ask to… is Mr. Tremaine listening too?"


Oh Gods, no. Please no-


"He is?" Blake blurted out nervously, making me stare harshly at her for messing me up like this.


"Then can he please explain to me why my daughter had to sleep on the couch?"


There was an amount of calm in his voice that just unsettled me and… I sighed.


"Sir, I think I explained to your wife that-"


"Ouch- Wai- Kali, why?!"


Before I had the chance of explaining, I paused as some exchange of words and more happened on the other side of the call.


"Dear, I think I've mentioned plenty of times that putting words that aren't mine on my lips isn't nice," Kali chided her husband with an annoyed tone. "And please, don't harass the poor young man like this."


At least I had some mercy coming my way.


"I-I understand, Kali. Can you please leave my poor shoulders alone now?"


A giggle came through the device and I sighed while sharing an amused look with Blake.


"Okay… now that we've this situation 'solved', I think I can ask a little more about what happened with the warehouse situation," The man resumed with a subdued tone. "From what Tukson told us, Mr. Tremaine was responsible for not only finding where Blake had been taken and… actually, how was my daughter kidnapped to begin with?"


"We were ambushed while we were returning from the place where Sid works," Blake explained with some hesitation. "We were attacked by two individuals that were wearing standard White Fang uniforms… but we're sure that they weren't Faunus."


"Is that so? You think that someone out from the group in Vale was working with the branch sited there?" Her father pressed up with some surprise.


"They were far too experienced. Strong Aura, one had some refined Illusion-based semblance and one of them was acting too much about it that it just sounded fake," I replied with a hum. "This is why we think that someone was trying to use the White Fang here in Vale to perpetrate some Dust-only thefts. Blake also saw Torchwick leading some of the members during one of the latest attempts."


"That's absurd but… I suppose you can confirm this, Blake."


"I thought that they were only criminals wearing the uniforms, but there were just too many Faunus for it to be the case," The girl admitted tensely. "The warehouse itself was filled with Atlas Military-grade equipment and various crates filled with Dust."


"Sienna would've never condoned this much aggression," The man mused with some confusion. "Perhaps it was an initiative taken by the leader of the Vale's branch. Who was it?"


Blake blinked, tensing a little more at thinking about that. "It was Adam, dad."


…


"Oh… this is quite… an unexpected development," Mr. Belladonna admitted. "I hope you both managed to avoid getting too much hurt while leaving the warehouse."


"Sid took care of Adam, he stunned him so that we could leave and-"


"Blake, you helped me fighting against him," I interrupted with a huff. "You were fighting him too."


"But-"


"Speaking about that, I would like to also understand why you had to… destroy the entire building, Mr. Tremaine," The man pointed out with a dry tone. "Tukson told me that he had left you with some explosives but-"


"He left me with all of his explosives, sir," I interjected with a frown. "Destroying the building was the least damage I could offer with so many bombs."


"Now, that is something that we will have to ask to Tukson," Kali mused with a hint of surprise. "Still, there is one last thing you wanted to ask our daughter, right Ghira?"


Ghira sighed nervously. "This question is actually still about Mr. Tremaine-"


"Sir, you can call me Sirud or Sid-"


"Mr. Tremaine," He ignored my words as he started with his last inquiry. "I wish for you to honestly tell me what you feel about Blake."


Are you kidding? I thought that his wife would have made sure that this topic wouldn't have been brought up.


"Dad, Sid and I are friends. Nothing else other than-"


"When our daughter was kidnapped, Tremaine, how did you feel?" Ghira pressed on with some insistence. "What kind of emotion fueled you, what made you take so many drastic decisions all at once?"


Blake looked annoyed at the fact that she was getting ignored too and she seemed ready to reprimand her father for prying so much over this topic.


But before she had the chance of replying to that, I decided to speak up.


"I was angry, sir," I confessed with a sigh. "I was so infuriated at what had happened back then. Blake had been taken, I had been beaten, humiliated and left in the middle of the city."


The cat Faunus looked at me in surprise as I started to tell about this, but she continued to keep quiet as I wasn't done.


"This- I was also angry at the fact that this had happened without notice, that we weren't ready to face an ambush and..."


"Were you worried about getting caught when you entered that warehouse?" Kali asked with a quiet voice and I nodded, despite the fact that they couldn't see me.


"I was, I don't see a reason to deny that- but my priority was to get Blake out of there," I replied with a nervous voice. "And waddling in my own fears would've done little to help me with that task."


"And so you saved her," Ghira hummed calmly, a hint of interest dripping from his words. "I suppose you both were glad that… this rescue happened as it did."


...What?


"I… I expected Sid to arrive," Blake finally answered with a tense tone, drawing my attention to her and… I blinked at the sight I was bestowed.


Tears had grouped by the edges of her eyes as a twitchy smile was present on her face.


"I was… I was glad when he came and… got me back here."


…


"That's enough," The man concluded with a sigh. "I guess I was a little pushy over this questions, and I apologize for having brought up some unpleasant memories."


"We should finish this little conversation. I think we've got most of our questions dealt with and..." Kali took a moment before continuing. "Sid, once more, thank you for keeping an eye on our daughter."


"It was the right thing to do," I muttered, my right arm reaching around Blake's shoulders and bringing her closer. "And as I've said, I care for her."


She looked surprised at first… but then she leaned her head on my own shoulder.


"Hopefully, we will be able to have a better chance for some discussion when we will came to visit Vale," Ghira mused quietly. "The Vytal Festival is around the corner, and I suppose we can visit for this occasion."


"Then we shouldn't be wasting any time," His wife added with a mirthful tone. "We should be preparing for-"


The call interrupted there, abruptly so, and there was a strangely heavy silence that took us both by surprise.


I wasn't in the mood of continuing the movie just yet, staring at the Cat Faunus as she was clinging a little at my arm, while trying to hide her expression away from me.


"Blake," I hummed quietly, trying to break into that dense quietness, my ears finally catching some sniffling coming from her. "Why?"


"You… you had to risk your life to save mine," She pointed out. "And it was all because of something from my past. One of the mistakes I've been running away from up until now."


"It wasn't your fault-"


"It was," She gulped quietly. "I- I should push even more to train and-"


"Stop," I said sternly, pulling her closer and initiating a much-needed hug from. "You're doing good steps, and by exaggerating you would just mess things up even worse."


She sighed on my chest. "I'm dumb."


"Nope," I said with a sigh. "You're Blake."


…


"Really?"


I snorted with some amusement. "Yep. And for now you should probably let everything out."


…


"Why?"


"'Cause I'm offering you a rare hug," I replied with a huff. "And you should be enjoying this considering it's quite expensive."


…


At first it was a giggle that developed, but then it increased in its intensity, turning in a full-fledged laugh.


I had a small smile on my face as I kept the hug going for some more time.


"Sid."


I blinked. "Yes?"


"When… If I finish Beacon Academy…" She hesitated for a moment, her cat ears twitching nervously before my eyes. "Can I… come to live with you again?"


"As my flatmate?"


I could feel her shuffling to look upward, and I found myself staring down at her eyes.


"Hm-hm."


…


I sighed.


"Sure, why not."


In the end the movie marathon was interrupted quicker than planned so that Blake could get by the helipads in time to reach back Beacon.


We decided that we would've continued it for Sunday after lunchtime, so that the Cat Faunus could have spared some time with her team without causing any suspicions.


And boy, if only we had known how suspicious the girls were already by what had happened today...


--------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------------d-d-d-d-


AN


Sid used 'Headbutt' on Raven. It was super-effective!


I wonder if she still remembers that after almost a decade has passed… probably yes.


A quick explanation over some bits that might have caught some of my readers' attention:


Most of my RWBY fanfics follow a kind of 'universe' that has elements of the Coeurverse, but also some suggestion to the timeline of the fancomics produced by Tikoriko (Old Days in particular), in which Kali has gone to Beacon for some time, Willow frequented the school for a student exchange program with 'Jimmy', the future moms knew each other, and Raven is… actually chiller than in Canon? Wot?!

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 19: There is an explanation to all of this!


~Blake's POV~


Sunday seemed to be a slight rehearse of what had happened Saturday, with just a twist to the early bits of the day.


Instead of bolting to reach Vale without her team in the early morning, Blake had been forced to be a little less eager at the opportunity of spending some time away from the burdens here at Beacon Academy.


Boredom proved to be a troublesome beast to tame while waiting for the rest of the girls to be prepared for their little trip to the city. Two hours had gone through just because of the lengthy bathroom routine that both Yang and Weiss seemed so attached to.


And while the Belladonna could easily understand the need of the blonde to have high maintenance over her golden mane, the reasons behind the Schnee heiress' constant need to keep a perfect appearance had eluded her tired mind.


While sleep had come easily for her the night before, the fact that she had woken up so early had ended up leaving her in a somewhat drained state. It wasn't terrible, but it could've been better.


Once everyone was done with their little routines, Ruby took the lead in guiding her team through the halls of the school and right where the Bullheads directed at Vale city were. The hangar of the Academy was one of the few places that Blake had just seen and been around in a couple of occasions.


Most of those connected to the fact that she had done something awkwardly bad. Or just horribly messy and worth of some disappointment by the staff here at Beacon.


But now the situation was completely different as this little trip wasn't going to end up in a disastrous and panic-worthy aftermath. No, the Cat Faunus had set up a clear plan to avoid any awkward circumstances that could lead to anything the opposite of normal and good.


She had to appear calm in front to the other girls, to look as happy and 'certain' that there weren't any other plans meant to happen for the rest of the day. Her team couldn't learn, not like this- not this suddenly.


Thus her face was devoid of any uneasy hints that could suggest that she wasn't truly 'glad' that she was going to spend some time with her team members.


Hopping inside the plane and taking a seat beside Yang's, her attention was half-drawn by Weiss' speech as she offered a very simple but quite bland schedule for their trip in Vale… up until lunch.


The rest of the girls had decided to not stay beyond that time, leaving just Blake to happily enjoy some time alone with movies, popcorn, the couch and…


Oh right, a certain friendly human.


She almost snorted at the mere idea of being finally granted some space away from the never-ending troubles of being an active individual in a fighting-related sector of the world.


Beacon Academy would usually offer some pauses, but nothing was capable of clearing her mind as much as being left to enjoy a nap by that comfortable couch… away from the responsibilities and the nagging.


The flight wasn't long and soon they were already walking on the streets of the city. Weiss had decided to take on command of their next few steps, starting from one of the few cafes that were open during the weekends.


It wasn't like the Morning Sip in terms of size, but the place was homely enough to relax a little while Ruby and her partner entertained the rest of the world with their unique style of bickering.


Differently from the early time of their friendship, both the caped girl and the heiress had developed a display of understanding which was exemplified in some of the most amusing scenes available within the school.


While Weiss would eagerly flex her knowledge over things that not many individuals knew about, Ruby would act like the compliant listener that would press for more details with a bubbly tone.


And despite the Atlesian girl's best intentions to be actually helpful, the simple amount of puppy-like attention would make her capacity to keep a straight face very difficult and very entertaining.


From there, the heiress would then retaliate with some attempts to sound authoritative and stern, to chide the little Rose about her earnest tones.


Which wouldn't actually work and only end up getting even more adorable responses from a clueless Ruby.


The entire exchange would provide no little reason to get distracted in that simple day, and the coffee she was able to get from one of the waitress helped up restoring some sanity to her poor brain.


But while the little friendly quarrel persisted before her amused amber eyes, there was a little issue she had really hoped to not be dealing so soon in the morning.


Lilac eyes flickered at her, an amused smile painting Yang's face as the blonde finally decided to start a conversation with her.


"This place is quite nice," She commented curtly and quietly, yet her interested tone suggested that it wasn't a sentence meant to be left without a respons.e


Thus Blake let out a sigh and nodded. "It's quite warm. Really rare to see one of these during weekends."


After going through a brief tenure as the only waitress for the Morning Sip, Blake had been able to study a little more how the 'simple business' truly worked like.


The sector itself was terribly extensive compared to any other jobs that she had the opportunity to learn deeply about, and the competition could easily become antagonistic without some proper diplomacy.


By looking at the slightly-strained expressions on the workers' faces, the young woman could see how cumbersome working during weekends was.


People were freer by Saturday and Sundays, and while this could be ideal to make huge gains from a few shifts, the amount of clients to serve could easily become troublesome to deal with, especially with a limited staff as the one of this cafe.


"Do you remember the guy that I mentioned you? The one that I found while searching for you?" Yang continued with a strange tone, drawing the Cat Faunus' attention on her at the mention of that very individual.


Panic swelled a little at the sudden queries, but her mind soothed her worry before she could've done something terrible. There was no way that the brawler had discovered anything about her little escapade the day before. But what if she did?


"Hm? Yes… what about him?"


Calm and steady. Blake couldn't afford to face something so dangerous to obliterate her little lie, but she would've to ride the wave to avoid getting hit by a golden-haired tsunami.


"I've been thinking about this for a while now," The blonde began talking once more, her lilac eyes flashing a worrying degree of seriousness over the matter. "And since I've been talking with him sometime now, I wanted to ask you what would you think if I tried to ask him out."


...What?


Her mind put a struggle to avoid any of the shock within her thoughts to actually appear within her current expression, but her brain was just frozen by this very affirmation.


She had listened to her partner going through some statements regarding Sid, but nothing that could've suggested this kind of interest from her part.


Plus, it was odd to consider someone like Yang actually thinking about trying her luck with someone as serious as the waiter.


Sure, there was a correlation between the two over some temper issues, but that very detail shouldn't actually be known to the brawler, and thus there was no actual logical reason for the girl to even think of going for that.


"Wait, really?" Blake let out with a faux clueless tone painting her words. She didn't need to sound overly-surprised, but some shock was expected by her partner considering the way her question was phrased.


"I mean, I can see why it can sounds odd but- I had been thinking about this for a while now," The blonde explained genuinely. "While I can give chase to hot studs forever, I think I… I actually want to put a limit to my little quirky self."


Now, that was oddly mature coming from the generally-unruly girl… but not truly impossible to see it happening. It just sounded so sudden and quite odd to listen to.


"But why? You are almost sounding like you're already planning to have a solid relationship or-"


"That's the plan." A sigh from Yang's lips interrupted the Faunus mid-sentence. "Let's just say that while I can have some little fun, I think a proper relationship is the thing that needs to be legit in my life."


"Paint me surprised but, I really can't see you going after a waiter of all people."


Blake almost flinched at her own words, knowing full well that it wasn't just nice to label Sid just as that. He was a 'little' more than just a waiter.


"A waiter that got some muscles underneath his shirt," The brawler rebuked happily, a cheeky smile on her face. "You see, there was this time that he got sick and had collapsed over and when I went to help him up, I got a 'glimpse' of his frame. Those aren't something you find in a normal waiter."


She was referring to the time when she had come close to find out that Bianca was Blake, the Belladonna tensing up at that very notion.


Sure, Yang had been there to try and help up early on with Sid's little act, but to think that she would notice this very detail in such a crass way? Now there was a good reason to be worried about the current knowledge her partner had about the young man.


"So, how do you plan it? A date and then you're a couple?"


"What? No!" Yang looked scandalized over that very quick interrogation. "I mean, if the date goes well, I will try to have some more. I'm not in the mood of rushing things so suddenly. And I'm not even sure he's the right one, I just think it might work as a serious relationship."


At least the brawler wasn't trying to rush things up. That would've been a very awkward situation to bear through while also keeping what had happened in the previous few weeks a secret.


It was hard enough to not make false steps with how inquisitive Yang was on a normal basis whenever Blake showed any attitude that wasn't 'usual of her'. Even considering the possibility of having to keep this secret while the blonde was dating her co-liar was enough to warrant some uneasiness at the possibility.


"That sounds… nice?"


"I was thinking about asking him tomorrow," The girl continued without hesitation. "Which is why I would need a wingkitty for the occasion."


The Cat Faunus frowned at the nickname, but her eyes nonetheless widened as she realized why the blonde had been speaking to her of this very argument.


For a brief moment, Blake could now see why Sid had been very adamant in her keeping an alerted state while talking about her teammates about anything related to him or his workplace.


"Yang, I don't think that-"


"I will pay for you coffee, you will get a few hours out of the dorm and… I will buy a book?"


The bribery was duly noted and partially rejected. There was this new book from the writer of Ninjas of Love that- No! She couldn't. Not now that the situation required her to be incredibly serious about this bad development.


"I can't really-"


"Or I will tell the girls that you've not been at the library," The blonde continued, delivering a sudden threat at the young woman.


Cat ears twitched at the ultimatum. "This is ridiculous. Of course I've been going to-"


"Tukson has been closed for a while now. And I've been looking around for any other libraries where you might have been," She interrupted again, her smile widening and yet her eyes sporting a suspicious look. "Still, it's up to you to tell me what the heck you were doing yesterday… or maybe we can talk about tomorrow's arrangements."


As if there was any choice to made here with how everything was settled in such a manner that nothing Blake could think of could work with the things Yang had brought up.


She was at least glad that both girls on the other side of the table were still bickering with one another, distracted enough to not be hearing what kind of problematic supposition the brawler was bringing up against her.


In the end, the Belladonna couldn't do much but sigh at that dreadful imposition, one that was surely going to 'irk' Sid a little more than usual. And for good reasons she herself could see on the immediate circumstance.


"So, will it be in the morning or in the afternoon?"


Lilac eyes displayed some mirthfulness as blonde decided to finally expand more on her plans for Monday, dragging the reluctant dark-haired girl's attention all on her as she detailed perfectly what kind of idea she had plotted up until.


But while both partners were well-distracted in that very conversation, a certain caped girl had a minor frown appearing on her face while still investing most of her focus on Weiss.


Ruby might have failed to listen to the whole discussion happening while she was dealing with the usual fun predicament with her partner, yet the young team leader had heard enough to actually understand that there was something worth of some investigation once this trip was concluded.


If Blake didn't go to the library, then where did she spend her time yesterday?


------------d-d-d-d---------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-------------


The atmosphere within the flat was quite tense as Blake stared carefully at the human currently sitting beside her on the couch.


She had just finished telling him about the situation that was going to happen with him and Yang tomorrow, deciding to ditch the need to keep secrecy of this matter with the kind of leverage that her partner had tried to use against her.


The young man had been close to settle the DVD disc of the first movie inside the player when the Belladonna started to tell him about what had happened hours earlier, driving the waiter to a silent but surprisingly calm moment of stillness.


This very situation persisted for some time, enough to drive some more worry within her mind that she was going to assist to a glorious (but incredibly unpleasant) situation with the human as he carefully went to lean back by the couch.


"Uh- So Yang likes me?"


"I think it's more that she finds you a good candidate for a serious relationship," Blake corrected with a hint of nervousness. "She mentioned that it was just an attempt. Nothing overly serious and-"


"I guess I will see it for myself tomorrow," Sid interrupted with a nod, drawing a frown out of the Cat Faunus over this strange and sudden dismissal.


… "You're not going to question the whole-"


"I mean, it's pretty much a surprise, but she did make some hints at that a while ago," The human pointed out with a shrug. "Plus, it's just a date."


"A date that could go well, and get you in a relationship with my own partner," The Belladonna retorted with a tight tone. "Which would make things difficult for us to keep our friendship a secret."


The young man sighed, his left hand reaching the top of his head, settling by there for a while as he thought about the complex situation.


"That sounds like a bad aftermath, but you're forgetting that I can easily refuse a relationship," He admitted with a sigh. "I don't see a reason to be that much worried about this-"


"You don't understand. Yang will not stop just because you said no," Blake interjected with a tense voice. "She will take it as a challenge for try some more and-"


"She will start to investigate about-"


"About you, then about me and finally discover everything," The girl counter-interrupted without hesitation, her amber eyes narrowing in an annoyed look. "And don't interrupt me."


The stern reprimand was met with a surprised look from the young man as more silence resumed from that very point of the situation.


There wasn't much to think too hard about. Now it was about time to ponder how they were supposed to make the date go in a way that would see Yang being the one to dismiss the chances of going through that kind of connection with the waiter.


"But what if I actually let that one happen? What if you just end up meeting up with me and we decided to hit it off by having movie marathons together?" Sid inquired with a hint of curiosity. "We wouldn't have any reason to worry about the secret being discovered… since there would be a 'logical reason' behind our friendship."


She opened her mouth, ready to advance some protest at this very scenario as this- This-


But while the girl had wanted to oppose such a thought, her traitorous mind decided to wholeheartedly agree to what the young man had just pointed out.


If Sid ended up together with Yang, then there would be a reason for him to know about Blake and… so all their problems would vanish without any complications.


So, why was the Belladonna still so unwilling to even just consider this option? Why it felt so difficult to even accept such a change of things so radical and sudden?


Just as she thought about it, having yet to offer a true response to his questions, her trail of thoughts were interrupted by the sudden noise of a doorbell ringing.


It was the one from the flat and… nobody was supposed to come around at this hour from Sid's confused frown.


The young man merely graced her a nod as he quietly stood up from his seat on the couch and walked up to the front door, eyes sporting a certain amount of tension born from the unexpected development.


He stood for a moment there, carefully looking through the peeping hole before going to unlock the door. From his disbelief, he hadn't seen anyone beyond the barrier, and his guarded stance suggested that whoever could've been outside wasn't anyone friendly.


Some smoke started to form around his free hand, the young man preparing for any sudden fight while the door slowly started to open, enough to give space for him to peek on the other side… and blink in surprise as he yanked the entire door open.


"Hello?" He greeted quietly, with some shock and panic dripping from his tone.


"Wait, you?!"


Blake tensed up, her eyes widening in sudden dread as she recognized the high-pitched voice almost too quickly.


She gulped nervously, her attention on Sid intensifying as she hoped and prayed that her ears had just tricked her about this very situation.


"Yes, me?"


"But- But I was following up-"


There was no doubt about it, the Belladonna could feel horror crawl up on her back as she prepared for the worst situation possible.


"This is my flat, why are you here, Ruby?" The waiter finally confirmed her suspects, and Blake prepared to bolt out of that situation if the caped girl managed to break through the obstacle presented by the owner of the house.


"I was- wait, no. I know what I've seen and- Where is Blake?!" The leader of team RWBY demanded sternly, showing a surprising amount of anger in that brief moment. "I saw her coming through here and-"


"Well, she is not here," Sid interrupted with a frown. "And you shouldn't be screeching like that. People are actually sleeping at this hour."


"B-But it's afternoon-"


"And people can still end up working at unfair morning shifts," The young man pressed on with some irritation. "So, why are you here?"


"Blake. I saw her walking inside and- she is here."


"She is not," He rebuked easily, only to deal with a huff from the young girl.


"Then I'm going to call Yang!"


Oh Gods, no!


Blake could feel herself shivering at the ramifications of this unplanned visit. Ruby had seen her coming here… but why? And how?


The Belladonna had been careful that she hadn't been tailed. It had been one of the few things that she had to go through everytime she was outside of Beacon Academy, especially since she realized that there were people that still hunted her.


So how did she miss the 'red-caped girl shadowing her steps'?


Truly an embarrassing note in that sea of dread.


"And?"


"She will help me find Blake- I know she's here," Ruby continued adamantly.


The young man merely shrugged. "How about we make a bet?"


...What?


"A… A bet?" The young girl parroted with a frown. "Wait, why should I-"


"Considering the hostility you're showing right now, I think you expect me to have kidnapped Blake or something worse," He interrupted with a sigh. "If that's the case, then you would easily beat me up since I can see you've brought your own weapon and I'm unarmed. But-"


…


"But?" She pressed a little annoyed, almost childishly as Sid smiled at the rapt attention from the caped girl.


"But if she is fine and she is here by her own free will, you will allow us to give an explanation… and I can also offer some cookies as an appeasing bribe."


There was some silence at that offer, and Blake genuinely hoped that she had really failed to listen up the kind of madness that the young man had just proposed to the scythe-wielding girl.


There was no way that Ruby would've accepted such a bargain without-


"Deal!" The team leader accepted eagerly, perhaps her resolve crumbling before the chance of getting some cookies anyway.


Nevermind, then.


Sid made way so that the shorter figure that was Ruby Rose had free access inside the flat and… Ruby stopped by the doorstep leading to the living room, with her silver eyes widening at the sight bestowed to her.


"Blake- you..." There was so much betrayal, so much shock at the dreadful discovery that it wasn't a kidnapping but-


"You were having a movie marathon- about Spruce Willis' amazing movies too!!"


"You mean that you're angry about-" The Cat Faunus tried to inquire, only to be interrupted by a groan from the incensed brunette.


"How could you?! You know that I love his movies!" The younger girl continued with her contempt. "And I thought that you were in a dangerous situation- when you actually were being a selfish jerk by keeping this opportunity for yourself!"


Blake actually flinched at the legitimate anger coming from Ruby, her cat ears going flat in sign of distress as she was subjected to this sudden and bizarre predicament.


While she could've understood if the situation had been just about her getting kidnapped and this turning out to be wrong, Ruby seemed to actually be more furious about the fact that she hadn't been invited to a movie marathon with action movies.


But before the shorter huntress-in-training could have gone further than that, her attention was stolen by a large plate appearing before her sight with numerous cookies on it.


Her already wide-open eyes turned comically even wider as she took the first cookie with her hands, munching happily on it.


"That's every cookie I managed to find in the house," Sid commented with a calm hum. "And I suppose that you will listen to a truthful explanation about what is going on… right?"


There was a lot going through Ruby's mind in that very instant. While she could easily give a dry 'nope' and merely call Yang to screw them up about having failed to invite her to the movie marathon, she still found the sweet fragrance of the snacks before her eyes making her consider the merciful path over this confusing situation.


"Okay," She mumbled before taking her second and third cookie, taking a seat by the couch much to the Belladonna's increasing shock over the strange route this situation was taking before her eyes.


While she hadn't known Ruby that much, Blake had thought that the girl was still someone capable of making 'logical and normal choices' about this crazy predicament.


Calling Yang from the brunette's standpoint would've been the smarted decision to make as to not complicate things even more than those needed to.


And yet Ruby had sat down and she had quietly listened to their side of the story. The caped girl would still offer some questions, her curiosity flaring more than once with what turned out to be twenty minutes of intense explanations.


The plate with the cookies turned lighter and lighter the more time passed, the voracious girl devouring the sweet treats while she continued to allow this very odd situation to continue to the very end.


There were some awkward points that Blake herself was urged to answer on her own by Sid's own insistence and Ruby's fascination over the topics, some of those related as to why she had shied away from returning back to Beacon Academy and about her parents.


Through some queries were unpleasant, the final results ended up being fairly lenient considering the messy circumstances that led them to this very aftermath.


Ruby was disappointed with a couple of parts, but she seemed to keep a generally calm and respectful attitude over the full length of the explanation.


"Wait, Ozpin knows about this?" The caped girl had inquired with some surprise. "I- But why would he just keep up this lie? Isn't that bad?"


"I think it's connected to the fact that if Blake revealed the truth, it would fracture the team to a point of no return," Sid had pointed out calmly, drawing a nod from the Cat Faunus. "Right now, both Yang and Weiss are relieved by Blake's return- but if the truth was to come out so suddenly, and with them still recovering from the rollercoaster of emotions that came with the end of this ordeal, I think the results wouldn't be pretty."


The little Rose huffed. "This is so complicated. I understand it- It's just that… Ugh!"


"We're working on defuse this bomb, Ruby," The young man continued with a tired sigh. "And that's why I would ask from you to keep quiet about this."


"I would've to lie to Yang," She pointed out with an uneasy tone. "I- I really don't want to do that."


"Because she is your beloved sister and she is part of your family," Sid reasoned with a nod, getting a surprised look out of Ruby. "I can relate to this because… I'm a young sibling too."


Her eyes widened with renewed interest. "You mean that you have big brothers… or sisters?"


"A brother and a sister, both older than me," He replied with a smile. "I care a lot about them."


"But they can be so pushy, right?" The young girl whined with a groan. "I mean, Yang has been telling me that I'm super-special for getting into Beacon this early on."


The young man nodded. "Oh, I can relate to that one too. In fact, there was a time when my father wanted to send me early to Haven since I trained with my Semblance to a decent degree- but I kind of diverted from there."


"And you're a waiter-" She stopped there a frown replacing her surprised look. "Wait, you were going to become a Huntsman? Why didn't you go through with it?"


"I had some reasons that got me think away from it," Sid answered with a shrug. "Still, I'm fine with what I got. I hope you're happy with your school experience."


"It was difficult- my partner was a little bit annoyed that I'm the team leader but now things are fine."


"I'm glad to hear that and… I'm sure that you will help us to keep the situation from escalating any further with Blake's bad luck streak," He commented, drawing a frown out of the Cat-eared girl.


"I don't have bad luck-"


"I think you have bad luck," Ruby interrupted with a clear and truthful tone. "And… I will keep an eye on her if she does something stupid."


And now the situation was turning once more against her. Blake had yet to decide if it was worst to be told she had bad luck by Sid or by someone as young and honest like Ruby.


Truly a dark day for her luc-


No! I don't have any bad luck! It's all a stupid estimation!


"Good to know, I can see why Blake consider you a good team leader."


The praise was met with a giddy look from the young Rose. "Really?" The girl glanced to the side, right to her teammate. "You think I'm that good?"


Not that she had been praising her that much about it, only muttering about it rarely and sparsely while talking with Sid… but-


"Yes."


She decided that it wasn't just worth to ruin the moment.


Ruby looked incredibly convinced of their genuineness and there was no reason from her part to try and screw things up.


Just as the Belladonna had started to seriously hope that the situation was finally coming to its closure, her poor mind was gifted with one last predicament.


"Can I please stay? I really want to see some Spruce Willis' movies and- Wait, you have Try Hard 3: Try the Hardest?"


…And while Sid conceded her a proper seat by the couch so that Ruby could've taken part to that Movie Marathon, Blake couldn't help but sigh at the unfairness of this very development as she soon ended up getting to deal with some childish commentary from Ruby herself over the movies.


Not the worst, but undoubtably not the best situation ever she could've drawn from that few hours away from responsibilities and other stuff connected to Beacon.


…


Goddammit.


------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d--------


AN


sOMEBODI once asked if this was still a comedy. It is still a comedy.


Yay for Ruby and her adorable, but partially-crazy self. Cookies for the Cookie monster!


And… next time Cinder? Prepare for some funny interactions with Oneesama!

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 20: When there's a rainbow...


~Cinder's POV~


The infiltration was finally complete.


Cinder was glad with the situation. Not only Ozpin had failed to take notice that his enemies were currently hiding among his students, but the headmaster had also been distracted elsewhere to notice how some bits of Beacon's database had been copied and downloaded in her trusty pen-drive.


While it wasn't part of her current plans, the acquisition of a full list of active Huntsmen and students within the school was going to prove important in the long run. The Queen would surely approve to have a defined list of her preys. Maybe the half-Maiden could finally request a little more 'attention' over the Grimm presence in the Emerald Forest, to increase the numbers needed for the invasion.


Despite her best efforts to secure 'smart' grunts by hiring mercenary groups and criminal gangs within the city, the recruitment campaign was… disappointing. At least compared to how much manpower had been spared by Valean Branch of the White Fang.


A massive pity, but a much-needed sacrifice to actually avoid any major attention from the Wizard. It'd been a surprise to notice how 'smoother' the operation to infiltrate the Academy had been now that the headmaster believed that the 'worst was now over'.


It made her almost chuckle. But her mood was dampened by the fact that she was now forced to wear a bright green long-haired wig to cover her dark locks. Since one of the students was now aware of her appearance, it was only for the best to adopt some changes to avoid getting recognized by the little naughty cat.


Blake Belladonna. The name mattered little at first if not just for the nuisance factor caused by the bow-wearing girl's closeness to her younger sibling, then Cinder learned some interesting details. Daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, the girl was a precious pawn within the chessboard. One that actually would help in the eventuality that Menagerie tried to rally up any resistance against Salem.


Which is why, against her utmost irritation over dealing with the Cat Faunus, the young woman had well thought about kidnapping the brat once the plan was in full swing. It would've been difficult since Sid seemed to have a 'silly aversion' to keep close to the girl. Truly an annoyance that would be eased up only when her job here was done.


And hopefully things would break too much between her and her family. Cinder was still latching at the memories of her past, it wasn't possible to sleep without thinking back about these times. She was slightly tired, but not truly interested by backing away from her plans. Especially when those would've ended with true World-Wide peace.


It was a big ambition. One that would warrant some frowns from her family because of the toll imposed by her ideas. But she couldn't just back away, the Half-Maiden just needed to… do it for the sake of good.


But while her mind had been prepared to be labeled a monster by the large majority of the world, her core clenched at the mere thought that Sid and the others were going to join that group. The angry stare, the hurtful words, and the trust broken so suddenly and unexpectedly.


…


As much as Cinder wanted to consider it poetic, the truth was far from melodious. It was chaotic, it was messy. She didn't want to hurt her brother, not after what had happened in the past. Not after she had run away from home. It was frustrating, she repeated again within her mind, but it had to be done.


Still, even though her main priority was to go through with her mission, Cinder wasn't shy from actually focusing her attention elsewhere. There wasn't much to do up until Atlas arrived with their envoys, and thus she was left to interest herself over a curious discussion Emerald had caught while wandering the walls.


A discussion between a blonde girl and Blake Belladonna. A discussion about some concerning topics for an old sister like she was. A discussion that saw her going alone in Vale to keep an eye to a possible attempt at her little brother's heart.


Unacceptable. The database even reinforced the Half-Maiden's perception of disdain over the efforts being displayed by Yang Xiao Long. Unruly, quite careless, and the prime example of an irresponsible young woman. All these details only burdened even more Cinder's mind as she switched to her usual clothes for this occasion.


Following the blonde up to Sid's workplace allowed the young woman to contemplate how she was going to approach this situation. While in her mind 'rushing in and kill the harlot' sounded like a good idea, there were things she couldn't just ignore because of her blood-thirst.


The first thing was… Sid's own presence there.


If there was something that the dark-haired woman had learned from past experiences, it was that her foolish little brother was quick to anger at the thought of someone monitoring him. It had been when mother had wanted to know more about his first crush, and it had been when Stacy had gone as far as flirt with the few girls that actually showed interest in the young man.


Cinder had always restrained herself from trying to act in broad daylight and in a manner that Sid would recognize her own 'footprints', and the results were interesting to say the least. The young man was angry, but devoid of any targets at the sudden rejections from those girls greedily aiming at his heart, and his lovable big sister would offer him hugs and a shoulder to cry upon.


A massive win-win that… now couldn't just be achieved in this specific case. The girl in question was a Huntress-in-training, and one that could push her well enough to tap in her Maiden powers thanks to her Semblance.


A direct approach was quickly ditched, but her creative mind didn't shy away from pondering some more about other solutions. It was by the time that the blonde entered the 'Morning Sip' that Cinder started to evaluate a convoluted plans to ruin the date.


She didn't have to actually 'make a ruckus' out of that hang out, and it would take only a couple of 'adjustments' through her own semblance to get a fiasco out of that attempt. The flawless plan that just waited to be properly elaborated as both Yang and Sid finally walked out of the pub a couple of hours later.


It was the first time in a while that the dark-haired woman was forced to wait in her hiding spot to see some actions to happen, and she quickly regarded it as a training to her patience. Through patience she shall gain victory.


And that success was right within the small cafe that the blonde had taken her brother into. Sid made a comment about the place, perhaps sweetening a lament over the stupid decision of spending a date by a place similar to the one he worked for. Quite silly, but not enough to get a scowl out of him.


The brawler merely joked about it, sheepishly denying any major effort from her part. Stupid, but endearing. Cinder could see how the student was just playing with the fact that she was trying to restrain herself from going 'too far' with the planning.


Oddly enough, she could see the useful in that approach for the occasion. It was just so… precise. It seemed like it had been gauged by someone that knew how Sid behaved with this kind of situations, and the young man just liked way too at ease.


But… Yang wasn't supposed to have spent that much time to know with Sid. And that was worrying to a newer level. In fact, instead of keeping away from interacting with the couple, Cinder decided to take a huge risk and actually move her current position away from her hiding hole.


Entering the cafe through the flow of people entering and leaving covered her from getting spotted by the two. It also gave the dark-haired woman the chance of fishing a spot where to sit and watch the situation from a closer perspective.


She couldn't still hear what they were talking about properly, but the sight over their table was good enough for her. There were other tables between hers and theirs, but those served as barriers to keep herself from getting caught.


From that post, the chances of her quickly intervening if the situation took a sudden and sharp turn south were high enough to soothe her concerns. Just enough to make contingencies over whatever was happening with these two. Did she miss something happening during the infiltration? Should she plan out something to keep track of her brother while she is busy?


These thoughts kept her from focusing too hard on the theories behind Yang's knowledge, and more into the current state of things. Distractions weren't accepted, and her eyes were all fixed at the scene when-


"S-Sorry, Miss," A soft, nervous, but feminine tone asked shyly, causing her to glance to the side and right onto an unexpected individual standing close. "Is that seat occupied?"


A blink, then two. But Cinder couldn't just digest the fact that a familiar red-caped girl was standing there and looking at her with an uneasy look.


Silver eyes. This element just confirmed her concerns as she finally grasped at the reality. Ruby Rose, the little girl that was the blonde's young sister and team leader of Team RWBY, was standing there.


Another blink. "It's free."


The implications were massive, but Cinder wasn't going to divert away a source of fresh info over this very situation, especially since her presence seemed to be tied to the date too. As the girl took the chair, and patiently hummed at the sight of her sister and the young man, a waiter finally arrived at the table.


"Do you wish to order something?" A formal query, a standard from places like this. The half-Maiden nodded, while the young Rose was a little bit more hesitant to accept. Still, she ended up giving a quiet 'yes', leaving Cinder to pick her own order. The choice wasn't difficult, and the dark-haired woman picked her usual favorite.


"A glass of milk."


A little childish, but not something that the woman deemed outright silly. The sweet flavor of milk was just too good, especially if it was mixed with cookies. It reminded her of… the delicious meals prepared by her mother.


Yet, as she turned to gauge the girl's reaction at the order, surprise swelled within her chest at the happy look now replacing the previous nervousness in Ruby's face.


"I-I will take the same."


...Oh? So the caped girl liked milk too? There weren't any details related to favorite food and drinks among students within the database, so this came to Cinder like a fascinating development. One that she could exploit for some conversation.


"It's quite surprising to find someone else that prefers milk to coffee," The half-Maiden commented quietly, gaining Ruby's attention on her.


The girl gave a shaky smile. "It's- I just like milk. Plus I know it's the best thing to grow up healthier and properly!"


A strong response that was met with a nod. Cinder herself could remember when she'd been so sure of that detail herself. Then she grew up, and puberty bestowed with a body that she couldn't exactly be embarrassed by. If only people could restrain themselves from staring.


"It's an interesting grasp over the matter. Have you found any success yet?"


The inquiry was meant to be a simple question, but perhaps it was confused as a form of teasing by the little groan leaving Ruby's lips.


"Only my height. I've grown taller since last year- but I'm sure that I-I will achieve more."


She was determined. That was already a good headstart as far as the woman was concerned about her success… and that was odd. It shouldn't be a concern to her. She shouldn't be caring about this matter.


Yet the more Cinder looked at the easygoing expression, the serenity that the younger girl had… she couldn't help but see a mirror of her young self in her stead. Young, happy… naive. Painfully naive.


Ultimately, the woman sighed. "And I suppose that you're not here for some conversation with a stranger. Or else you wouldn't have spent so much time staring at them."


Getting called out in these circumstances must have been dreadful. Yet the girl merely tensed, looking away like a child caught in some cheeky but naughty deed. A little blush, a moment of weakness. Just like she would behave when her mother had a stern glance directed at her after something unpleasant had happened because of her actions. But still a far cry from the shyness that Cinder was once caged by.


"It's- It's complicated."


"I suppose," The half-maiden rebuked softly. "But maybe you could start by introducing yourself."


The indirect query was matched with a quick nod from the young girl. "Ruby. Ruby Rose."


"Nice to meet you, Ruby," The woman replied kindly, mustering up some of her past self to appear as close to a civilian as possible. "I'm Cinder Tremaine. You can start by explaining why are you spying on my little brother and his date?"


Calm, suave, confident. She needed to embody these three elements within her speech pattern. Trust wasn't difficult to gain, but it was hard to keep with people as young as Ruby. The young Rose herself looked shocked at the revelation combined to the question, yet, despite her pale-faced complex, the student offered a weak look of uneasiness before trying to answer.


"Well- I mean, I'm surprised to- and-"


Keyword was trying, as the mumbled mess just rendered difficult for Cinder to get a coherent explanation out of the embarrassed girl. Truly an annoying sight, but one forgivable with how 'strong' she had gone with her presentation. Maybe it was the result of her nerves finally showing at the presence of someone that was so familiar to her.


She could still remember the first encounter with the scythe-wielding girl, the fierce and admirable standoff making it certain that despite her young age, Ruby was prepared to become a powerful huntress. Still, to see her so closely and so 'privately' was enough to give Cinder a different perception of the silver-eyed teen.


Not a fierce enemy that she would've to eventually kill, but someone that surprisingly enough matched with her past self. And this wasn't a good thing. Not at all. Especially since she would've to still kill her when the proper time will come.


A saddening thought that couldn't just be ignored considering that the topic was standing in front of her. Ruby was clueless about it, and perhaps thinking that Cinder was just contemplating over her mess of words. She looked nervous and awkward, the byproduct of a girl with few friendly connections and… without a mother.


...Why are things so fucking complicated!


But there was no time to whine over the unfair situation. She didn't have much of a choice… and the moment she will have to do what she has to was still far from happening. Cinder finally hummed, holding back all negative emotions and trying to make a genuine smile devoid of awkwardness.


"Is that your sister?"


A little nudge to unlock the situation. Ruby's eyes widened a little more, but instead of asking how she had come to guess so easily, the girl merely nodded.


"I-I was just… seeing if things were going alright," The girl meekly admitted, her stare still directed at the table and away from Cinder's own eyes. "I don't want to annoy them. They seem to be having fun, plus everything looks fine there and… It's just odd."


The woman blinked. "Odd?"


"Yeah, it's… kind of difficult to explain in simple words," The young Rose continued with a nervous tone. "I know things are going fine, but I can't help but expect things to do bad too. It's a hunch, but I don't really have anything to- to base it of to."


"Maybe you're just concerned for your sister's heart?" Cinder guessed, only for her little deduction to be dashed away with a shake of head. Slight irritation grew from that, but she didn't display it on her face.


"I know that Yang can handle this stuff. It's… not the first time she has to deal with it," The student explained. "But I also feel that she deserves to be happy and… I think Sid would be a good boyfriend material."


An intrigued look replaced her confused one, with the half-Maiden hiding away the fact she was seething at this very comment.


"Truly? I don't see how that could be," The woman admitted with a restrained tone. It wouldn't be convenient to spit poison early on. The girl would react badly, and mess up their current covers for the sake of protecting her older sibling. "I don't wish to sound too much disrespectful, but I can assume by the way she is behaving right now to be quite the opposite of what Sid is."


Cinder expected a quick reply to that. Either to confirm or disagree with what she had just said. But much to her surprise, Ruby took a moment to think about those words. She contemplated about those and… finally she sighed.


"I suppose that's what it looks like… and I know that Yang can be overly-irritating with her puns, or how much she tries to tease me about my accomplishments," Ruby started with a legitimately serious tone. It was a change from the previous voice, as the stammering and stuttering were gone. In their places was a steel-like resolution that made Cinder freeze up in fascination. "But I can also say that she is just trying to… be the funny one. To be the one that helps people cheer up, or even going as far to help them on a more direct way. When mom… died, she took care of me as much as she could, trying her best to hide away the fact that mom wasn't coming back home."


"You don't need to-"


"I think I want to," Ruby interjected with a sigh. Her eyes sporting a mix of sadness and determination. An odd mix for sure, but woman decided to still listen at her points. "In fact, I think I should've done this much before. I… I always try to sound mature, to be mature… to be an adult. I want to be an adult and yet I still rely on Yang. She doesn't mind, or at least she tries to not show it. It's… something that confuses me, but also angers me because I know I can help her myself."


"It's the duty of a big brother or sister to help their younger siblings," The half-maiden pleaded, for some reason feeling directly interested by the words coming from Ruby. While she wasn't the Rose's older sibling, the claim she was bringing forward was… quite familiar, but on an opposite scale.


Sid had always been there. There was no occasion where he would just skip giving her attention, devotion, emotions, and genuine happiness. It was mesmerizing, but also addicting. He was there, and things were fine. But…


…


But when was the last time she actually showed more interest in what he cared for? When was the last time he checked on his emotions rather than selfishly think that things would just be fine until they were together?


There was no moderation, there was no reassurance. It would be wrong to say otherwise.


"I think it's nice to be cared like that," Ruby rekindled the discussion with a small smile, drawing Cinder out of her own mind and back to reality as the caped girl addressed the matter once more. "To be spoiled, pampered. To know you can fall back and have someone to trust without hesitation. But I also think that everyone deserve to be happy. One can't just live to make people happy, and then deprive themselves of their own happiness. It's unfair. It's wrong."


The dark-haired woman stared at the table. "It's bad."


The comment was matched with a nod from the girl, the student unaware of the impact her speech was having on Cinder's mind. The entire situation put a single but unmovable doubt that was halting the half-maiden's thoughts of conquering her step-brother. It was strange to just accept this and… there wasn't anything to do about it for now. With the situation forbidding her to not think thoroughly about this, Cinder decided to restrain herself from pondering about this up until she was left alone in a safer place.


"This is why I wish for them to succeed," Ruby concluded with a brighter smile. "I want them both to be happy."


…


"That's… an interesting thought about the matter," Cinder confessed quietly, glancing as both Yang and Sid seemed to have finished their meal, paying the waitress coming to their table… maybe they were going to continue elsewhere.


There was a temptation to still follow them, but her mind was once more ensnared away as Ruby spoke again. Having grown accustomed with the older girl, the young Rose decided to inquire some more about their family


"Sid mentioned that he was the youngest sibling, as in that there is you, his big sister, and his big brother," The girl started with immense curiosity just barely held back by her mouth. "Can you tell me more about it?"


A smile now adorned Cinder's face. "Only if you give me some more about your sister."


And from a simple but awkward conversation, to something a little more complex and serious, two unlikely individuals shared a pleasant afternoon together among teasing stories and fond memories.


---------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-


~Sid's POV~


This was perhaps the smoothest date I had in ages. And that was an achievement on itself.


Yang looked to be positively elated by the entire situation, and I was actually finding her personality to be a little less pushy than usual. I was unsure if it was something born from Blake's advices, or if this was a genuine attempt coming from the blonde alone. Nonetheless, I wasn't having any issues with how things were developing between us.


The visit at the cafe, albeit a little bit cliché and awkward because of the fact that I worked at a bar, seemed to be domineered by small jokes over this very element. I hadn't put too much thought over the possibility of having to deal with an elaborated schedule, and for now things were being reasonably acceptable. If not better considering how the brawler's humor worked without too many puns at once.


Her jokes were fine as they were and she knew when to throw those in at the most opportune time without sounding overly-cheerful about the situation. She was giddy. I could see her almost vibrating as we made our way out of the cafe and into the nearby park. We took a moment to sit by some of the available benches before resuming our previous conversation.


"But how much strong are you now?" The blonde quickly pressed on. "Sure, you got plenty of training in the past, but you've to admit that you've got to be rusty now."


I shrugged. "I didn't have much practice, so I would suppose I'm not 100% as ready as I was before dropping my training. Is there any reason why that's important?"


"Lemme see..." She hummed sarcastically, listing up her reasons with her fingers. "I would have a permanent sparring partner; We can learn each other fighting styles; You can admire my hot bod; And I think you would want to admire my hot bod."


"You've a hot bod alright, no need to doubt that," I commented calmly, my smile twitching at her amused giggle. "But I think you're missed a point in your 'enlightening listing'."


She frowned. "I did not."


"I believe you forgot the fact that I would've a lovely woman with a big heart to talk to before, during, and after the spars," I pointed out with a genuine note of amusement, drawing a huff from the girl as her arms crossed below her bosom. "What? I'm telling the truth."


"I know," Yang muttered with a small pout. "Doesn't mean I can feel surprised by the smooth flirt you pulled there."


"Aw, is someone unprepared for some calibrated compliments?" I teased, only to recoil a little bit as she playfully punched my arm. "And ouch, that did sting a little."


"It's not my fault you turned in a wimp," She cheekily rebuked and I snorted. "What? I'm telling the truth."


My eyes narrowed at her, a small scowl on my face. "I can easily say this 'wimp' can still beat you squarely in match."


"Bah, you're tripping now," The blonde giddily remarked. Then she tilted her head to the side, her lilac eyes regarding me with an interested look. "Are you betting on a match?"


"A bet needs to have a wage. It's like yo-"


"I win, I get to do whatever I want to do to you. You get a shot at me if you win," She quickly brought up with a smug tone. "Nothing too crazy, nor perverted."


I shrugged. "Sure."


"Then we can go there and see how much of a 'professional' you are."


I blinked at the large patch of short grass she was pointing at and I pondered about it. This was still a date, not just a friendly hang out. While I know that Yang is someone that likes to fight, it wasn't no intention of mine to-


Ya know what? Fuck it, we going in!


I was feeling excited at the situation, plus I knew that the brawler was just craving for a quick fight to test each other abilities. And I wasn't going to deny her the pleasure of checking me out… heh.


Soon we were standing a couple of meters one away from the other. She was already taking her stance and I slowly took mine as we waited for something to start the match. There was a suave breeze cooling off my skin, giving me a state of peace that was just difficult to achieve in a normal situation.


I felt electric, I could feel my muscle tensing in preparation for a match. Not one driven by panic, or need. But a fun game between two morons to see who was the greatest moron. Either by winning or losing, I was still unsure about that.


It was nice to finally be granted the opportunity to spar again. We both heard a dog barking in the distance, and the noise proved to be what we were waiting for. Bolting towards each other, I studied the situation with a careful approach compared to Yang's aggressive pace.


There was moderation in her attacks, and her fist were focused and well-aimed, enough to paint me surprised a couple of time about how precise her hits were. Of course my speed gave me some edge, enabling me in countering and dodging her attacks. Some still reached through my guard, dignifying the pitiful state of my memories over my current stance. I was too sloppy with my movements and… I was really growing embarrassing about it the more the fight continued.


The girl wasn't picking up any speed, restraining herself to just probing, attacking, and outright rushing me with a brazen posture. She wasn't by any mean holding back the power in her punches and kicks, mostly her punches. I was fighting a hardcore boxer that just seemed to have endless stamina. A boxer that had a pretty grin on her gorgeous face within her beautiful body.


Dammit, I was getting too distracted- didn't Blake say something about keeping out from reaching her hair?


I pondered over trying to strike her face, just enough to make her back away from the active persecution onto my sore body, but I was worried over the 'berserk button' that the Belladonna had mentioned earlier that morning. Her Semblance was something correlated to heat, power boosted through suffering damage, and something that was defined as 'everything she touches technically burns'.


I was wary of it all, and so I tried to unbalance her footing with kicks. With her stance focusing on keeping most of her attention on her upper body, her legs were the least defended and active bits within the fight excluding the quick pacing. She seemed to realize almost too quickly about what I was trying to accomplish, but I noticed how there was little effort made to switch out of that stance and cover for that flaw.


I didn't hesitate in mustering up some serious kicks to try and weaken up her balance. There was some progress alright, but my defense against her continuous barrage of punches wasn't doing well. We were both taking damage in that battle of attrition. I could see some white glowing spreads through our bodies as our auras manifested by how swift our strikes were on our mutual openings.


Her grin widened at the heated exchange of blows, and I would be lying in saying that I wasn't actually liking how intense this spar was being. No foul hit had been thrown yet, we were both respectfully holding back from being utterly murderous, and I was doing my utmost to not come anywhere close to that golden mane.


Despite my best efforts to keep her from tapping in her Semblance early on, my hopes crumbled as I saw her hair glowing a little bit and her eyes switching to a strangely familiar blood red. I felt confused at the sight, feeling like I'd seen someone with this characteristic before, but now I couldn't help but frown in confusion at the weird sense of familiarity I had over Yang's current state.


The girl seemed to ignore my confusion, rushing to land stronger hits on me and forcing me to employ my own Smoke to deal with the brutal rush of attacks. Her punches were quicker and stronger, but those had nothing that could manage to inflict damage through my 'defense'. Her eyes widened a little as she realized that she wasn't doing much with this, forcing her to back away and… throw a sweeping kick to keep me away. She severely misunderstood the situation I was in, and the brawler seemed to understand without any input other than me rushing behind her thanks to my augmented speed.


A shocked look greeted me and I swiftly threw a steam-powered punch on her cheek. It was in that very moment that I introduced Yang's face to the ground. Much to my surprise, the blonde recovered quickly and her speed picked up thanks to the damage inflicted.


I was put in a difficult situation. A dilemma weighting over my head while the girl resumed with her charge. I finally started to land some destabilizing blows by her legs, with her lower body starting to tremble at the damage but not bend over the pressure. I was impressed by her resistance, but I could see that she was already starting to get winded because of this.


I could technically overwhelm her right now by putting pressure on her upper body's defense at the risk of reaching her hair, or I could just make a prayer and hope that she would tire out before I had to resort to that. But with more time passing and her determination hardly allowing her to falter even a single moment in her assault, I knew that I had to take a huge risk.


And a huge risk I did take by rushing a powerful steam punch by her face. Her Aura tanked the attack perfectly and without leaving much of a small bruise by the cheek, but as soon as the first hit reached her and with Yang blinked in surprise at the sting going through her face, I decided to exploit the situation to land two more punches.


Two strikes later, and she was having trouble with a small concussion I'd caused through that three-hit combo, and I decided for this instance to be my opportunity to end the match. I was feeling particularly tired, and I was sure as heck going to lose if I didn't rush for victory. So I ran towards her and pushed her forward and towards the ground, a gasp left her lips as I succeeded in wrapping my arms around her waist.


I counted on Yang's surprise distracting long enough to pull that pounce-tackle properly, and I sure had high hopes for it to go through without any problem. I was proven to be the greater moron because of a sudden development that I thought only when I went through the first two steps of my three-steps to victory plan.


There is a part of physical training in preparation school that just helps you understand how to counter this kind of situations. I'd completely forgotten about the anti-tackle protocol, but I remembered it quite easily when I saw the blonde's arms quickly running down and then lift up suddenly, slamming my own ones away and then pulling me in a bear hug. I then braced for impact as she fiercely turned me around and used my chest as a landing mattress when we finally reached the floor.


I groaned at the weight pressing me down, and her victorious giggles made me realize how my little anxiety had costed me a close victory. I glanced at the giddy girl as she continued to straddle me like a big pillow, her face leaning down with a smile.


"Seems like someone bit the dust," The blonde commented eagerly. "And you know what? I like how you're right now."


"On the ground and defeated?"


"Nope," She popped the 'p' as she leaned a little more. "I was thinking that you're just ready for me to take my reward. And I want some sugar~."


At first I was confused at her comment. My mind wasn't just there with how crazy that fight had been and I was ready to inquire some more about it-


"Wha-mhh?!"


But Yang wasn't in the mood for more talks. I saw her lilac eyes closing up as she rushed for my lips. I tensed up a little bit at the sudden kiss, surprised when I was met with some tongue on her part. It wasn't even a particularly long one, and I returned the favor almost instantly with how enticing the entire situation was.


Moments passed, but soon she retracted away with a satisfied smirk. "And sugar I got!" The cheeky proclamation was met with a frown from me.


"For a moment I really thought you just wanted normal sugar," I confessed almost too quickly, causing her to snort and redden up at the amusing comment I forwarded. "I mean, we went through a fight and my brain isn't just there."


"But it seems it's now back after getting some honey," The girl continued with her eagerness, staring down at my face with a degree of confidence that was all deserved after this fight. "By the way, how was it?"


I blinked, a small smile appearing on my face at the query. "I might… need a little more testing."


"Really? Why didn't you ask?"


She leaned back down, stealing another kiss as this time we properly enjoy this through. No surprises, just shared happiness.


Backing away, the brawler's lilac eyes returned the question once more and I sighed.


"You're a marvelous kisser, m'lady."


"Flatterer. But yes, I know that I'm good," The blonde admitted with a snort. "Yet I didn't expect you to be this good. I thought you mentioned having no relationship before now."


"And I didn't lie. Plus, I could swear you said something similar to that."


"Yep."


…


"No further comment?" I inquired, only to be met with some shuffling down below my chest as she carefully settled her head there, basking in the pleasant warmth coming from there. "Really?"


"The wind is nice, plus I need a moment to recharge," Yang said flatly, yet her small smile suggested satisfaction at the situation. "And I can see you need some rest too. It's a nice day after all."


I snorted, but I didn't mutter anything else after that as I focused on some rest. She was correct in saying that I was drained after that heated spar, but I didn't fall asleep much to her inner surprise. Instead I just stared up at the sky and pondered well about this successful date. It would seem like I had scored a relationship. One that seemed fairly serious from the first step.


But while I contemplated about the good spin at my current luck, a certain cat-eared Faunus stared at the sight with a small blush on her face, a notebook in her hands and some scribblings being done in the name of 'good literature'. Who would've thought that Blake was planning to start a writing career…


-----------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d----------


AN


Sometimes in RWBY stories: Cinder takes Ruby as her apprentice;


In this RWBY story: Ruby happily takes a clueless Cinder as her mentor.


Expect some fun business between the two, especially with the kind of plans I've for Ruby. (No White Rose or Rubes/Cindy tho. Keeping it all platonic for now).


You never know when the need to write strikes, and Blake got some inspiration out of the spar and the aftermath. Just not in the light-hearted manner it went through. What a pervert.

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 21: ...Then you might find an empty pot.


Blake's nights in the last week had been fairly… strange.


It wasn't like she was experiencing much of an issue with her nightmares, or at least not as much as she usually did.


Nor the girl was having troubles with her sessions with Ozpin. The headmaster was incredibly fair with his questions, but he would always bring up the interest he had over her friendship with Sid.


It wasn't nothing too pushy, or genuinely worrying from the way the elder would back away at the first sign of uneasiness on her face over the topic.


The issue was more correlated to the recent developments. The dynamics of relationships between 'study' and 'free time' had mixed in a somewhat strange compound.


Yang was dating Sid.


The Belladonna had been there to see it happen. She knew what had happened there and she knew that the date had been successful. But the young man knew nothing of that, which prompted for a rather awkward discussion through Scroll.


The blonde had respectfully kept that part a secret, and the Cat Faunus was glad that there was no proof tracing her back to her role in that date.


The little story she had written about the two had scored some interesting milestones when she had posted it on some adult sites, but the entire situation just didn't sit well with what happened from that point onward.


Blake was happy for them. Ruby was on the same wavelength while a certain white-haired Schnee was less enthusiastic over this development. Especially when the girl was 'obliged' to finally apologize to Sid.


Still, the black-haired girl really was happy for them. Heck, she was half-tempted to make a ship out of this novelty all to celebrate her recent earnings with the recent story and their happiness… if not for the fact that their new relationship had started to put a strain on the friendship she had for the waiter.


It was odd to believe what was happening. She was incredibly sure that friendships were meant to taken minor damage from that kind of escalation, but what ended up unraveling in the last day proved her wrong.


The Cat Faunus was still keeping in touch with Sid after her 'therapy' sessions, but the scope of those conversations started to slowly but surely turn into his new romantic tie with her partner.


Yang here, Yang there. It wasn't obsessive as it might sound at first listening, but the presence of the blonde in their discussions was difficult to ignore. Especially if Sid had taken the habit of inquiring about his girlfriend at the beginning of their private chats.


Blake didn't mind much about it at first. It was alright to be loving if both were taken about each other. It had sounded so sudden that they were sticking into each other's faces so frequently, but it was fine.


It had to be fine. She couldn't just mess things up for them.


But while the first few days were somewhat bearable… by day 5 something started to finally get in her nerves. It was something subtle at first, something that the girl couldn't give a proper name to.


There had been two other dates. Each being fairly simple, almost close to the first one in terms of simplicity, but without the final brawl at the end of those.


And Blake had been 'asked' from Yang to be around and offer advice whenever possible.


The issue about that 'smart decision' from the blonde? The brawler would hardly ask for anything. If else, she would rebuke any suggestions forwarded by the Belladonna.


Confusion had swelled from that very behavior, but it wasn't just clear to her why she felt like this was worse than it looked like at first glance.


Enlightenment came through the most unexpected of situations.


"So you say that Ms. Xiao Long doesn't make use of your help… despite the fact that she wants you there to help?" Ozpin summarized with a skeptical and confused tone. "Forgive me, Ms. Belladonna. But paint me surprised about this strange circumstance."


The girl nodded. "I'm confused myself- I mean, I'm not experienced in love so I can't truly say if it's just me or- or if there's more to it."


"Perhaps your suspicions aren't that baseless as you think, Ms. Belladonna," The headmaster commented with a slow voice. "I can't say for sure if what you're suggesting can be the subtle truth, or if you're seeing beyond the reality of things. Sudden relationships of this kind can and will make people close to the couple rather hasty with their thinking and-"


"I'm supportive of them," She blurted quickly. "I know what you're implying, but I want them both to be happy. If them being an item is the best path to that, then I don't mind it."


"Hmm," The old man leaned back on his chair, his eyes were fixed at Blake's frame and… he looked fascinated at her face.


What? Was there something there that was making this much of a distraction?


She fought back the urge of searching for anything that could confirm this theory, ultimately holding back until the headmaster was resuming with his words.


"Ms. Belladonna, while I'm not best experienced in this topic, I can forward you a way to see if Ms. Xiao Long is being honest or not with her commitment with Mr. Tremaine," Ozpin muttered. "Sure, Mr. Tremaine isn't a student of mine, but I hope you understand that romantic relationships are… complex things. They make people let out their hearts to their partners. Fragility becomes a variable that can shatter the strongest of individuals."


"One mistake and… that would become a mess," She added, her lips twitching in a moment of nervousness at that very development. "But… I think I will still give it a try. I- I feel something is wrong with this."


He nodded. "I suppose I can't dissuade you from trying a closer approach. Then I shall offer you this very notion that I learned through my past relationships."


Blake was slightly surprised when she was given a genuinely good key to begin a conversation with Yang. One that could seriously work if she voiced the words given by Ozpin in the correct tone.


But before she could do anything over her suspicions, she knew that there was something else that needed to be addressed before walking into an eventual fallout with the brawler. She needed support… from an unlikely source.


"Hello Bla-"


"Sid, we need to talk."


Quick and… incredibly awkward. Maybe she should've been a little more mindful about her current anxiety.


Emotions can and will ruin important moments like this. She needed to be serious about it, at least for Yang's and Sid's sakes.


The waiter sighed. "Sounds important. What's up?"


Now, how was she supposed to explain properly and without making any mistakes with her phrasing.


...Gods, why is this so complicated? Why am I dealing with this situation? Especially after that murderous fiasco with Adam.


"You… How much do you trust me?" The cat-girl almost blurted out without thinking about it.


Simple, incredibly worrying and, worst of it all, telling that something was wrong about this discussion.


"A lot? Do I need to offer some specific amount or-"


"I'm serious about it," She curtly interrupted. "How much do you trust me about… your relationship with Yang?"


There was some humming coming from the other side of the call. Blake couldn't tell if it was something to be concerned about or not. Hopefully, things weren't going to take a terrible turn already.


She didn't have any contingencies planned if the talk went south. She really didn't need that.


"I mean, do you have something against it?" He asked back with a confused tone. "I thought you were happy about it, especially when- Actually, I found the smut you wrote about us. Is this about it? Because if it is, I can't talk to you about it right now."


She opened her mouth, ready to go ahead with her little speech when her brain was hit with that final bit.


"O-Oh- I can assure you that I didn't write anything about you and-" The Faunus paused mid-sentence, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Wait, how did you find it? I'm quite sure it wasn't posted in a site one can easily access."


"I..." There was a brief pause from the young man. "It's- It's complicated. How about you continue with that discussion you were talking about? If it's not this, then surely it has to do with something away from that."


Quite an interesting development. But one that will have to sadly wait for the situation was way too serious to be derailed any further from the main point.


"I know that it might sound odd but… have you noticed something wrong about Yang… in the last two dates you two had?"The Belladonna asked with a hint of nervousness. "Just asking, of course."


"You're not just asking," Sid rebuked with a sure voice. "But I've to admit that I saw that there was something quite strange about it."


"Surely, you've seen that- Wait, you did?"


He did? When and… why didn't he investigate about it?


Knowing the young man, he should've made some efforts to discern if something was off about his date.


So why didn't he do that? Why he kept quiet about it to her too?


"Yeah. And what's with that surprised tone? You seriously thought I couldn't see that something was off with her during the last two hang outs?" He inquired with renewed interest. "Nothing against Yang, but it seemed like she wasn't really trying about it like the first time."


"She wasn't… trying? Can you be a little more specific about it or-"


"It looked as if she wasn't gambling on her attempts. It was all pretty moderate, way more moderate than I generally like and… it sounded almost shy."


Blake could remember how Yang had restrained herself from going far with her own initiatives. It was something that just screamed that the blonde was unsure about what she was truly doing in that situation.


"You remember how I was supposed to give her help for that date?" The Faunus finally asked.


"I do- Wait, are you trying to say that she hasn't asked help in the other ones-"


"I was there," Blake quipped swiftly. "But she… didn't ask for my help."


… "What?"


"I know it sounds strange, but… it's the truth," The Faunus continued, her stare diverting away from the device. "She asked to me there and offer some help but she didn't want any of that when the dates started."


"That sounds pretty stupid, but also incredibly not-Yang."


She would've cracked a smile at that, but the situation couldn't be lightened up with some silly amusement.


"I thought the same and… that is why I want to ask you if..." She sighed. "If it would be fine for me to see if there are ulterior motivations that got her to behave like this."


"I can tell from the way you worded it that you believe this is quite… worrisome. And I can see your point as I too think that something about this decision is plain strange. I really do," The young man muttered lenghtily. "But I can't help but say that it wouldn't be right to ask her directly about it. While that theory sounds worth of some investigation, it can also be some silly attempt from Yang to try and succeed in a date without external help."


"I just… what if you both get hurt with whatever is going on? What if the situation is much worse than that?"


"Then we should take a slow approach in finding the truth," He replied with a calm tone. "I'm glad that you're telling me this, Blake. I know it had to have been difficult to try and bring up this situation to me, but I really wouldn't like if you went ahead and tried anything… too sudden. You know that acting before thinking in this kind of situation isn't the best option you have."


And she couldn't exactly fault him for saying that. With the bad wagon still pending over her mind, Blake knew that she had plenty of reasons to not just dive into the issue and solve it through direct questioning.


Which is why, instead of pressing on about it, the girl kept quiet.


"But I will not stop you if you wish to still try," Sid added with an uneasy tone.


"...What?" She blurted out suddenly, surprised by this new comment. "But- what if-"


"You asked me if I trust you, didn't you?" The young man interrupted with a sigh. "And I know you're not going to gung-ho the entire situation. I think, and I really hope this is the case, that you know the risks and can gauge if the situation is beyond intervention."


"So I can try this-"


"But without my full support about it," He reminded sternly. "I see your logic, I know you're not going to mess things up because you're aware of what might happen if you mess things up… but I still don't like this. Not at all. And I've already told you why."


"Still, I will give it a try," The Belladonna rebuked quietly. "But- What if I'm wrong about it?"


"Then you face the consequences of your actions, Blake. I think we can both agree that Yang would've all the rights to be angry about it if you're wrong and made this much of an issue about it," The young man answered readily, but not as coldly as this sentence would demand much to the girl's surprise and minor relief. "I can help you whenever it's possible. I can help you with a talking buddy, maybe a sparring one to that, but I will not hold your hand if you're going to take that kind of risks when dealing with other people. Especially if said risks might end up hurting someone we both care about."


… "I suppose I will take that risk," She pressed onward. "I know it sounds silly but- I know that this is important. And I will never forgive myself if I don't act about it."


She expected to be denigrated at that point. Trusting her instincts wasn't certainly something that Sid would've approved about. Way too many troubles had been caused by her gut-feelings.


But, much to her surprise, the human merely snorted and chuckled.


"I suppose there's no stopping you about it. Then go ahead and try," Sid stated with a slightly happy tone. "But don't come here and cry that you make a big chaotic mess that needs some cleaning because I will not help you with that."


…


She sighed. "Then I will have to use your example and clean things up on my own."


Yes, she will be ready for any eventuality.


She needed to.


For Yang, for Sid and… for that strange squeeze within her chest at the idea of facing Yang about this.


---------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-d-----------


Things were set perfectly for what was going to be a thorough talk with Yang.


Blake was ready to face the brawler by the dorm room, thinking that the girl had to have been stuck by the bathroom by the moment she had reached their team's room… only to find out that the place was unoccupied.


Ruby and Weiss were already sleeping soundly in their beds. But the blonde was nowhere in the room. Which was quite… strange.


Confusion started to rise in her mind at the lack of her partner, but then… she decided to wander around.


Clearly Yang wasn't planning to sleep at the usual time for tonight. Which was fairly odd considering how devoted to her 'beauty sleep' the girl was.


This should've been taken as a sign for Blake to not try and have any conversations with the girl in that moment. Maybe there was a reason why the blonde was being late for that night.


Maybe she had forgotten to conclude some important homework and she was trying to get access to the library for the sake of getting it done already-


No, that very scenario was… absurd on itself. If Yang risked to flunk a test, it was either Weiss that hounded her to get it done before the end of daylight, or she would happily let the bad grade come her way with a 'proud smile'.


The silly image was enough to make Blake snort in brief amusement as she finally walked out of the dorm room. At this time of the night, a large majority of people was already sleeping and… there were some teachers already patrolling the halls for any students sneaking around.


The Cat Faunus wasn't worried about getting caught. Especially since she had long refined her former stealth, making it once more a valuable assets either during fights… or in these situations.


Wandering around the school, her frame disappeared easily in the shadows, rendering sight of her presence completely impossible for anyone without a source of light to use against her.


Humming quietly, her little stroll took her all over the main classrooms which Yang could've gone to.


Professor Port's classroom looked to be empty as she stared by the doorstep, but there was a strange noise of something trying to get out of metallic restrictions. It wasn't human, and the grunting just reminded her of a Boarbatusk.


Another live specimen? The portly professor sure had a thing against Grimm. A little more than what other Hunters were known for, at least.


Blake didn't even try to see if the brawler had gone to Professor Oobleck's classroom. The area was already hated by the blonde, and there was no reason from the girl to dare and visit it during nighttime.


The classroom assigned to Professor Peach looked to be devoid of life. Only various glass jars filled with jam or other liquids correlated to the flora native to Vale.


...Maybe she could steal some of the sap for- No. Resist the- urge!


She will think about doing it on a latter date, when things actually allow her to 'borrow' one of the jars for herself. She had a Yang to catch and… those blonde-maned creatures truly are of the elusive kind.


Despite how loud and annoying she could get, her partner sure had kept quiet about the fact she was sneaking around Beacon.


...Why did she have to do this tonight?!


Ignoring her urge to headbutt the brawler once she found her, Blake ventured inside the only place where Yang could've gone to.


Professor Goodwitch's classroom was one of the largest rooms here at the school. Considering that it was the union of two rooms, one meant for theoretical lessons and one for practical ones, the spaciousness of the area was explained by the dual purpose it had.


Still, her suspicions proved correct when she heard the noise of someone punching around and… fighting against something?


Curiosity killed the cat, but Belladonna easily reminded herself that she was a Cat Faunus… with Cat-like reactions once or twice in a while. Approaching the epicenter of the loudness brought Blake before the most interesting of scenes.


Yang yelled, her entire face a bright red as she threw the umpteenth punch to nothing in particular in the air. The swinging move was sluggish, much slower than anything the blonde was normally capable of.


It was testament of the fact that the girl had been training for some time now. Who knows how long she had been there… and who knows if she knew how late it is right now.


But those questions were held back from being asked, with golden eyes staring silently and with a hint of curiousness at the fatigued state which her partner was right now.


Wearing a sleeveless orange shirt that barely reached down her midriff and a pair of short pants that were reached just a little below her knees, Yang's clothes were the ones that she would usually wear when busy at Beacon's gym room.


It was light compared to her usual clothes, and merely looking at her made Blake shiver in mental cold at how exposed she was at the chilling temperature. Aura can do so much for heat, and that much exposure was just begging to be bedridden with a fever.


But why was she here and why was she training at this late hour? What got her to forsake sleep for… this foolish effort?!


Instead of being granted an answer, the Faunus was given the chance to move closer as Yang took another right hook at the unfazed air and… promptly slipped and tripped to the ground. A soft thud dignified the end of her fall, but the lack of any attempt to get up revealed how much drained the blonde was.


A step, then two. The cat-girl walked closer to the tired blonde, stopping just as the brawler managed to turn around and stare up at the ceiling and… at her.


Lilac locked onto yellow. Panic surged in Yang's mind and face, her body tensing up and trying to get off the floor. The latter reaction was a complete failure, with her muscles too stressed to genuinely stand up.


There was some silence, but Blake couldn't say if it was an awkward one or a confused one.


"The weather is nice today, ain't it?"


Stupid question to start a conversation, but it could've been worse.


"What are you doing?" The Cat Faunus inquired calmly. "It's nighttime."


The blonde's eyes widened a little bit at that comment, and it looked like the girl was realizing this just now.


"Oh… so that's why the lights went off."


"You..." Blake restrained herself from face-palming at the degree of airheadness she was witnessing. "Yang, we need to talk."


"Aren't we already?" The brawler's cheekiness was astonishing considering the current situation… but there wasn't time to grow annoyed by it.


The Belladonna sighed. "It's important. And I think you know what I'm talking about."


… "Do I?"


"Yes. In fact, I'm quite disappointed you've not told me before," The Faunus continued. "I trusted you, Yang."


"L-Look, it's- Can I at least be helped up? I really don't want to be lying on the ground while we're talking about this-"


"Perhaps you shouldn't have been training this much. Sadly, you're stuck like this until you admit to the truth."


"C-Come on, Blakey- there's no way you're leaving your partner yanging. Am I right?" A nervous chuckle followed.


Blake didn't move at that, merely staring down at the blonde as she quickly sobered up.


"You ain't joking-"


"Yang, I will tell the others if you don't tell me the truth right now," The dark-haired girl pressed on. "And at that point, things will be even more difficult for you."


"I mean, it wouldn't," Yang replied with a frown. "Ruby knows. I think Weiss knows too by the fact that she was close enough to hear about what happened."


...What was she talking about?


Maybe Blake did mess things up. Maybe this was something different than she planned to discover. But now that the situation was unraveling, there was no means to stop. And she was incredibly curious about what Yang was talking about.


"What did you do?"


Lilac eyes darted away from her feline ones.


"Do… Do you remember when you couldn't find Gambol Shroud about three days ago?"


Of course the Faunus could. She remembered panicking so much when her weapon had disappeared from the dorm room.


Ruby had been the first one to be interrogated, mostly because the short girl was the only one with a reason to take Blake's weapon because of her unhealthy attachments to guns.


Weiss was ignored as she herself was surprised by the happening, and Yang hadn't been around when the odd situation had unfolding. 'She is training', Ruby had said back then.


"What-"


"I swear, I didn't want to use it that way, but there was nothing else to do," The blonde muttered. "There's no plunger in the bathroom and-"


"No! NO! Don't continue-"


"I'm sorry, but I had to use Gambol Shroud to unclog-"


"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"


Maybe Sid was correct in saying she shouldn't be headbutting into problems. If that was the kind of madness she was supposed to suffer through all for the sake of getting the truth out of the brawler, then maybe the thing wasn't truly worth that much.


"B-But-"


A diversion was nice, Blake needed one. The Faunus had a reason to press on, and she didn't hesitate in diverting the attention elsewhere.


"I was talking about your relationship with that waiter- Sid?"


Yang merely nodded, still recoiling from the embarrassing confession she had offered.


"Okay, tell me the secret about that. The one you're keeping from everyone else!"


…


"Oh, so you're not mad that I-"


"I will administer a proper punishment once you tell me about this other subject," Blake interrupted with a stern tone. "This one deserves more attention since you did something bad."


At first Yang was confused by the strange derail, but she seemed to realize that she wasn't going to avoid this very issue. And thus she sighed.


"I guess I can tell you since… I feel like I can trust you about it."


Was that it? Was she finally going to say the truth- confirm that Blake was correct all along?!


Eagerness started to build up behind the Belladonna's stern look as she prepared for the situation to go along the lines she had theorized.


"I might have lied to you about why I went after him," Yang muttered with a serious tone. "I mean, part of me feel like I should still give it a try, especially since he's a good kisser, polite- but then again I think he's aiming at someone else."


"What are you-"


"Blake, have you ever noticed how much he looks at you all the time we visit the Morning Sip?" The blonde interjected quickly. "How he smiles so kindly and… how you smile back with the same warmth?"


"Yang, that's not-"


"You never smile like that when we're at Beacon," The brawler continued without hesitation. "You know, I kind of feel awed by how you two connect. A simple stare, and bam- you're both looking dumb."


There was much more than that 'simple stare'. There was also the few weeks spent trying to make a strange situation work as normally as it could while also avoiding messing things up for both. It was an exercise that heightened their capacity to find common grounds against their common enemies.


But there was no mean for Blake to rebuke that situation without blurting out the rest of the situation.


It hadn't passed long enough for her to genuinely show this much of a 'legitimate' bond with the young man… but then again it was difficult to not be honest around him. The strong trust they had for each other was proof of their genuine friendship.


"Yang, this is-"


"I'm kind of jealous," The blonde spoke again, this time huffing. "He really seems like a fun guy. He's a joker, and someone that can tank my puns without cursing my pretty name. He can throw good hooks and he doesn't stare at much at my puppies."


…


"But there's something I saw from the second date onward. Something that just made the entire effort of seeing what kind of guy he was, and if he meant well with his stares quite difficult. Painful even," Yang finally paused for a moment, her lilac eyes lazily staring up at the ceiling. "He's really good. I think pops used to call those 'keepers'. The kind of guys you really want to have around your life until the very end."


"We're not going to date," Blake finally rebuked.


"And why not? You both seem to hit it off without much of an issue. Plus, I heard he got a big flat you can just hole yourself into when you're in Vale."


The Cat Faunus had to flinch at that 'suggestion'. If only Yang knew how close she was to the truth with these words…


"Yang, why did you do this? Why?"


Blake had to know now. Something just felt so wrong about the twist things were taking.


"You're angry at me anyway, so why would it matter if you know my reasons or not?"


"Because I know you're smarter than this," The Belladonna pressed a little more. "And I know you're interested in him."


"He's a good kisser. He will make you twirl with his jokes and..."


"And you're a moron," Blake finally muttered, drawing Yang's lilac eyes back at her. "You- I- We shouldn't be lying about this. I know you're better than this, Yang. I know that there's more to it than you're letting out."


"What if I'm just dumber than I look?" The brawler exclaimed in an annoyed tone. "I tend to punch all problems, may those be emotional or material by their mug. I'm not going to land a proper relationship like this, just… not when you've higher chances of dating him."


…


Blake sighed, finally starting to realize where the discussion was going and… she wasn't liking nay of that.


Seriously, why was love this complicated- and why everyone was trying to place both Blake and Sid together!


Truly a dreadful situation… but one that had a particularly interesting solution to it. Right now Yang had no reason to turn angry if Blake decided to actually tell the truth about the relationship between her and Sid.


Telling her now? She wasn't sure it would've done well to them both.


Tomorrow was Saturday and… maybe the Cat Faunus had a devious, stupid, and incredibly suicidal idea. Especially since it could easily end up with a certain young man getting furious and… getting mauled by an even angrier Yang.


"Yang, I… I'm glad that you told me this," The dark-haired girl started with a genuinely calm tone. "I know it's… a big burden to not tell to anyone else but… I think I want to continue to talk about this tomorrow. I know a place where nobody can disturb us."


The blonde offered a slow nervous nod. "I guess we can talk about it in private."


"It's quite private. Nobody will disturb us."


The brawler easily accepted the little offer, relief finally washing over her tired body and… Blake started to walk away from the room.


Panic swelled within Yang's chest, and her eyes widened in panic.


"W-Wait, Blakey. You're forgetting about-"


"Oh, I'm not forgetting," The Cat Faunus interjected with a hint of smug and vindictiveness. "But I just decided that the best way for you to pay for your heinous crime is to have a good rest here in this room."


"N-No, wait- I could freeze up and die here if-"


"You got plenty of Aura left, and I know that you can still activate your Semblance to keep yourself warm."


Good reasons to keep her stuck in there, but the brawler hardly looked endeared by the prospect of sleeping in that cold floor. While her body was mostly fine in enduring that kind of unfair punishment, the same couldn't be said for her hair.


But while she was ready to whine even more about it, she soon found herself once again alone in that room.


She closed her eyes, and she took a moment to breathe and think.


Next time, I should use Myrtenaster for that kind of job.


--------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------------


AN


Next chapter will be utter madness. While I had kept a hint of seriousness with the chapters up until now, things are going to change now that Yang is going to be brought up to the situation… in the oddest of way possible.


I can't guarantee a peaceful explanation, but I can offer ya'll an amusing insight over what Yang's role in this story will be: The flat will have a new occupant/visitor.


BTW, the 'Unclog the Toilet with a weapon' joke is a reference to 'The Graveyard Shift' drawn by Ari-6. I found it while lurking in Pinterest and I just loved the way it was delivered. Poor Weiss…

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 22: I now have a Dragon Issue...


The flat was surprisingly silent despite the words that had just been uttered.


I was incredibly tense as I tried so 'reduce my presence' by pressing onto the closest edge of the couch. Blake was following a similar pattern, but her act was more evident by the flat hears and legs lifted up near to her chest.


In front of us was… a calm Yang.


While in a normal circumstance the situation shouldn't have warranted this much worry, the real problem was that the blonde had just listened to the full story behind the last few weeks, the truth about what happened after the battle at the docks.


I was slightly irritated by the fact that Blake, in her grand wisdom and capacity to think, had seen telling the truth to her partner right in my home and right with me in the brawler's proximity. While I was slightly happy that she had dived into the issue and tried to find a good solution to it, albeit without my consent, the thing was that I really couldn't see the lucidity in having Yang aware of what had truly happened.


Having seen the Xiao Long mutter with utter sadness and minor despair about her possible fault behind the Belladonna's disappearance, I knew that this approach was meant to cause no little reaction out of her.


And so I was bracing for a sudden pounce from the possibly angry blonde. It wouldn't be unusual, and it wasn't just because Blake had mentioned the moments of fury the brawler was known for, but the fact that I spent plenty of times around the girl to know myself that she wasn't someone to piss off. Ever.


But instead of looking for the sensible development to finally happen, I found myself staring at the most absurd move Yang could've ever dared to pull in that kind of instance.


Lifting her right leg and crossing it above her other one, the blonde hummed thoughtfully as she scratched softly at her chin.


"So you mean to tell me… that you weren't kidnapped until the very end of your disappearance. All because you were sleeping here all the time?"


"Not all the-"


Yang huffed, her hands slamming calmly by her knees.


"You're both morons," The brawler stated with a serious tone. "Morons I would like to punch for not only leaving me to sickly worry over this silly cat's conditions, but because you literally held me from exploiting countless hours of teasing."


"Of all things you could be most irritated about, you decided to go after the teasing," I mused with a frown. "And you're not even looking that much angry. Why is that?"


…


She sighed. "You know how things ended up like this, right?" The girl started to elaborate through the queries. "With me trying to 'check' if you were a good keeper or not?"


I merely nodded, and I could see Blake from the edge of my sight starting to understand what I was referring to with my confused question.


"Well, thing is that… while I should be pummeling both of you for making up this much shit, I've to admit that the aftermath isn't a terrible thing," The blonde continued, nodding to herself as she thought back at the various instances after her partner's return. "Especially with Blakey starting to put more attention on school and… actually talking with the others."


"So you're conflicted about what to say-"


"Because I did wrong myself- and I don't see the lie worth much of stirring trouble considering why you keep this from the others," The blonde interjected, her lilac-eyed gaze offering a stern glare back to me, prompting me to keep quiet. "I'm still angry. But I can see why the headmaster would decide to stay silent about the matter and leave the lie persist."


"So you're angry… but also not," Blake commented blankly, highlighting how strange that explanation was.


"Sounds like a complicated mess, but I can assure you that I still want retribution," The blonde exclaimed loudly. "And I want… an individual favor each."


...What?


The grin, the amused glint in her eyes… I could tell that she was trying to get something incredibly complicated and dangerous. While Yang lacked the 'means' to get some big favor out of either me or Blake, she still had enough to make some substantial move that could either screw us both or actually 'let us be' with minimal damage.


"The first favor is about you, Sid," She mentioned with a strange smile on her lips. "I want a place to crash by in case I can't make it to the dorms before curfew."


I frowned at that sudden demand, but then again it wasn't one of the worst scenarios I had in mind. It would mean keeping an eye over this new secret for the time being while also having my fridge filled with enough food for three people instead of two.


Which meant a newer pressure to my finances. Goddammit.


"I can give you the guest room I tried to give Blake," I proposed quietly. "And before you ask no, I did offer the guest room first and she just found the couch 'comfier' and-"


"Is that true?" The brawler inquired suddenly. The Cat Faunus offered a nod, making way as Yang stood out of her chair and quickly sat down in the middle of the couch, between the Belladonna and me.


"Holy shit, that's some comfy fabric and pillows," The girl muttered in unexpected surprise, her stare quickly returned to me. "How much did it cost?"


Why the hell is everyone interested by my couch? Is this some curse I ended up inherited by buying this cheap thing?


Like really, I could understand a single individual making it a proper reason to prefer it to a mattress, but I had tested thoroughly if the guest room's bed was 'lesser' than the sofa, and I ended up learning that there was literally nothing much different from both sleeping spots.


"It was a sale, I don't really remember where did I-" I paused for a moment, realizing that the Belladonna's eyes were glimmering with a strangely familiar glint. Was it… nervousness? It took me just a moment to understand why this derail existed and why Blake seemed so earnest to go through with ti. "Wait no, we can't just digress on this. Not when-"


"We should actually," The dark-haired girl muttered a little too eagerly for my tastes. "In fact, you never told me where you brought it and-"


"Blake, you can't just delay the-"


"Delay? What delay? I'm just studying how this fascinating piece of furniture ended up in your care," The young woman persisted, forcibly ignoring my efforts to bring normality back in that conversation. "I mean, I could buy this for my room once I'm done with Beacon."


…


"Blakey, I will be honest with you," Yang finally commented with a dry tone and look. "I might be interested in that trail of thoughts you got going, but I'm not forgetting that I've to cash in the favor you owe me."


The Belladonna's cat ears twitched in minor irritation, and a grumpy look appeared on her face as she knew that her ploy had gone wasted like that. "Fine, what do you want from me?"


"Oh, compared to Sid, yours is pretty tame… but also one I can't budge away from," The blonde started with a happy tone, her smile resurfacing. "From now on, I want you and I to have a serious partnership over our career as huntresses."


…


"What?"


"Yeah, I didn't catch the meaning myself," I muttered with a frown.


"Up until now we've been training as partners very sparsely. And that is something that Weiss has been nagging to me for days now," Yang elaborated after letting out an annoyed huff at the combined confusion. "Since Vytal is around the corner, I thought about how important it would be for us both if we increased our chances of winning. Not only the prestige and all of that crap… I really want that improvement to our grades."


"Maybe you should just start studying seriously instead of grasping at glass," Blake retorted hotly, only for Yang to wave at her with an unfazed look.


"I think the chances of us winning the tournament are higher than me actually drowning myself in books," The Xiao Long pointed out with a cheeky smile. "Plus, I'm already working on improving on that too. I know that winning Vytal wouldn't stabilize everything."


"Would be quite annoying if you ended up unable to proceed to Year 2," I commented back, and her cheekiness disappeared in an exasperated sigh.


"I know right?" The blonde said while leaning her head on my shoulder. "By the way, I still retain cuddling rights despite us breaking up."


I frowned. "On which basis?"


"That I'm cute, and I trust you to not abuse my hair while I'm like this," She smugly admitted, her violet stare turning at Blake. "And I wouldn't mind extending this trust to you, Blakey."


The Faunus snorted. "As if I would want to be cuddled."


I felt the need to intervene at that point, but Blake seemed to realize what she had just said, swiftly glancing at me and gesturing for me to keep quiet about 'past interactions'.


"I call bullshit," Yang quickly interjected. "I believe the kitty-cat is just grumpy because she got yanked into more work."


"Could be," I agreed much to the Belladonna's growing irritation.


"It's not like that and-" She huffed. "Why are you two lovey-dovey? Didn't you say that you were through?"


"We are."


"But that doesn't mean that we need to part away completely," Yang pointed out. "In fact, we have the cuddles; then we got the fact that we can offer each other contacts about possible friends we could date and… cuddles. Cuddles are always the best part in this kind of breakup."


"It's just… why?"


...Why what? She had this confused look I couldn't just make sense about and why was she blushing- Oh.


"Yang, stop lifting up my shirt," I chided the girl, her hands subtly letting go of the half-lifted shirt.


"Sorry, but I really needed to look at a pair of abs right now," The blonde giggled. "Do you know how draining the last topic was?"


"It just sounds so… strange. And wrong," Blake argued back with a quieter tone, getting our attention back on her. "It's not like I find it bad but-"


"It's just unusual for you to see two individuals break up and be like this, isn't it?" I suggested, getting a nod from her. "Well, I think that's what happens when you base your knowledge of relationships in Ninjas of Love."


"What does it have to do with you and Yang."


"Nothing," The blonde promptly replied. "Which is why he is saying that it doesn't work as good material for relationships."


She didn't comment after this, merely staring right at the TV and… I sighed.


"We could go ahead with our planned movie marathon," I offered, getting a quick nod from Blake as the Belladonna stood up from her seat and walked towards the kitchen.


"I'm getting the pop corn and chips."


Without Blake around, I was left alone with Yang, and, before I had a chance to rekindle a conversation, I felt her right hand rise up quietly right to my cheek.


She started to pull, quite viciously I might say. I flinched a little at the hold, but my attention was fully on her as she let out a sigh.


"While I might not be angry at Blake, I'm still miffed over the stunt you pulled about having 'not seen her around'," The Xiao Long quipped with quite the incensed tone. "And the worst bit? I know I can still trust you, and that you're a good guy."


"Yang-"


"I'm not going to make a scene, but I will tell you this because I care and you care," The blonde huffed, finally letting go of my cheek. "Next time you pull a stunt like that… I will kick you. Really hard. And I don't need to point where I will aim said kick."


I gulped nervously at the threat. "Understood."


Another sigh. "I don't hate you by any mean. You're nice and caring- but also terribly dumb in your own ways when you need to cover for someone," The brawler hummed happily. "Which is why, once we got some time for ourselves I will see to have a legitimate spar with you. I will not pull my punches about it."


"Anything else?"


Snorting, she carefully turned to me and her lilac eyes stared up at my own eyes.


"You and Blake, did you two cuddle?"


I tensed up a little at the unexpected question… but I nodded at her.


Her interest was piqued by my silent answer. "Really?"


"It was more of a hug actually-"


"Was she nuzzling on your chest, while you had your arms pressing her onto it?"


Kind of? It was quite difficult to remember how something like that went through. It's been a while ago and I really don't keep track of details about those moments. Still, I nodded at her with some uncertainty.


"You cuddled. And I wasn't there to record this from happening."


Yang sounded disappointed, and I frowned once more.


"How is that something important?"


"You know that Blake isn't the kind of gal that accepts being too close to people on a physical level," The young woman explained. "She doesn't hug people. Period. And I can say that after having been her partner for a while now."


"But… she does with me."


"She does, and that leaves me more puzzled than angry," The blonde continued. "I know you're friends and all of that… but can I say it's just plain odd that you two are so attached to each other."


I raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous?"


"Of the fact you've higher chances of scratching those adorable cat ears? Yes. Immensely so," Yang admitted with a big grin. "But not aggravate me about it. I will destroy you if you dare me like that."


I chuckled. "Wouldn't want to do that."


Her grin widened. "Damn right you are."


Blake returned shortly after, blissfully unaware of the conversation that had happened while she was by the kitchen. Still, she gave us a suspicious stare over why we both looked… giddier than before.


Instead of asking, she merely sat down, offering the two bowls filled with snacks to us while she hold onto her own. I went to set the first movie of an action-filled trilogy that was just two years old now and… things proceeded smoothly.


It was odd to say, but for some reason I felt like things felt incredibly calmer than I felt them being.


I frowned at this, still keeping track of the movie as I pondered about it.


Why I felt like something odd was happening… and it was somehow connected to me?


-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d----------------


Everything was a blurred. Almost nauseating to look at as he quietly woke up in that dark alley.


A cough, then two. His lungs were burning a little bit, the result of what had been a furious exchange between him and the unexpected guard that had prevented him to truly strike.


Adam was still dealing through the painful concussion preventing him to make complex thoughts, and his first issue was the lack of the mask that helped to hide his scarred self.


Growling, he noticed a mix of white, brown and pink taking a couple of steps toward him.


The girl was smiling, deviously so as she twirled around the thin blade that had been kept within her parasol.


Silence was her reign, one that Adam had been caught off guard by as he tried to fight her off when she struck her first hit. His senses had yet to recover from the fight against both Blake and that puny human, and his fighting prowess was way too weakened to keep up a serious match with this watchdog.


It didn't help that he had lost his customized blade, leaving his capacity to fend off bladed strikes relatively null compared to before.


Wakey-Wakey!


The Bull Faunus frowned at the strange sign the girl was holding in front of him.


"Y-You."


She twirled it, and he realized that the words had changed in that simple action.


Yes, me. The one that kicked your butt into submission.


"Your gloating is futile, human. Once I break out from these restraints you-"


Will perish at the mighty of the big, bad Faunus?


Another growl left his lips. "You think this is all a joke? My people' plight is-"


Inconsequential~.


A silent giggle followed the newest interruption, further spurning at Adam's growing frustration. It was a torture similar to the one he had suffered so many years ago, the one that had left that bloody mark on his eye.


There was none of the malicious commenting, or the racial slurs thrown his way in that moment of fragility, but the silent poking was already sending him in a frenzy. If it hadn't been for the chains tying his hands at a reinforced pillar, then things would've gone way more differently than now.


Still, he couldn't exactly act upon the infuriating teasing… but he could do something to agitate his captor in making stupid moves.


"I suppose you're quite close to man, the one that stole my Blake," He said, starting from a blunt but slow approach to the topic.


Kind of. His workplace makes some delicious ice cream.


He twitched at that comment. Surely, the woman wasn't doing it just for-


"But you've to be close to him to go through to this."


She shrugged, keeping 'quiet' for a while as she pondered about that comment.


He's nice, but I'm not doing it for that. At least, not as my priority. It's a job.


"Someone else hired you to protect him?"


That meant that someone else was keeping an eye out for him. Could it be Beacon's headmaster? No, it wasn't his style to just employ dangerous assassins to guard people that hardly had any connection to his school.


Yep. She's a massive bitch, but I can dig this work. Ice cream and talking to a cutie? I see it a win-win.


She? Why did this sudden detail brought him a sense of dread about the current and previous circumstances?


And now that his sight was getting better, he could get a clearer look of the young woman. She was familiar. He had seen her somewhere else.


But where-


"Let's go, Neo. Can't linger too much 'to disgust' pretty guy over there."


Torchwick, always the thorn on his side, was speaking to the same individual standing in front of him.


Neo smiled down at him as realization finally struck. "You work for Torchwick- but why would you-"


She didn't need to 'say' anything, and the girl merely grinned as she enjoyed the horror building up in Adam's features as he continued to think more over the matter.


It was Cinder. The blasted woman had decided to take a hit at him by setting off this chain of events that ultimately led him to this state of utter weakness.


Anger surfaced again, but not before he had the chance of asking one last question.


"So, Cinder sent you to deal with me? Is she so much aggravated by my presence that the decided to cover for her pawn's wellbeing?"


Neo's grin disappeared on that, and she stopped her sign with a single twirl.


I mean, she is just protecting her younger brother. Kind of 'caring' from her part considering how much of a bastard she can be.


…Brother?


…


...


"WHAT?!" His anger tried to keep up at the shocking news, but the surprise was just that much that it all melted away. "Cinder's brother. He is- He is Cinder's brother?!"


Yep.


"And he stole my Blake!"


It's more like your kitty girlfriend preferred a friend that didn't try to hit on her, especially one as pushy as you sound like.


"What are you talking about? She likes this- This act! This is an act," Adam pressed on. "I know she likes this. Ilia- Someone we both knows told me it was something she likes!"


And now it was the time for Neo to provide a confused look.


I'm fairly sure she's just a repressed dummy. And I can tell when someone has a knack in that kind of stuff.


"Then you're wrong!" He pointed out brazenly, only to pause as he saw her blade now aimed at his good eye.


Now now… who said it was nice to tell a girl is wrong? Didn't your mama tell you that it's not nice to do that?


"I'm pretty sure that you don't enter well in the standards that makes a girl a 'girl'."


His head was struck swiftly by the sheath portion of the parasol, sending him tumbling down on the cold ground. Soon he was lifted up by his shirt through it, and his eyes locked onto the young woman's irritated look.


That was rude. And sad. Mostly sad.


"You seem angry, so it's more than just sad," Adam said defiantly, knowing that his time was now coming. "And why don't you just go ahead and finish this. I don't plan to entertain you- just kill me already."


A strange smile crept on her face as she pondered over his words.


Kill you? Why now?


"What? Aren't you going to just dispose of me?"


She huffed, shaking her head.


Not now. Not when you gave me plenty of reasons to coax more answers from you- like how the hell did you, the leader of the White Fang in Vale, get tricked by some friend in being the 'creepy moron' with your crush.


"B-Blake is more of a crush- and what do you mean tricked?!"


She was still talking about it? Surely she had to have seen Blake be more open about the matter.


Surely- Surely-


I mean, did 'Blakey' offer you hints that she was into it?


No. He held himself from actually answering, knowing that this was one of the things that just made his romantic efforts the more frustrating.


The Bull Faunus had more than once told himself that it was just because he wasn't giving out enough of this acting, that he wasn't offering the most endearing performance for his love interest.


Over-confidence, an aggressive way of doing things… being pushy. Ilia had mentioned this while highlighting characters from within Blake's favorite book. And he trusted Ilia to have not lied to him.


Despite the fact that a distraught Blake would always end up getting comforted by the Chameleon Faunus, always belittling or calling him names behind the safe walls of his love interest's room.


…


Why now that he thought about it, he could see where things had gone wrong? WHY NOW AND NOT BEFORE-


Before…


"I'm an idiot."


Neo nodded happily, her blade retreating as she once more returned to watch his complete downfall.


"And I'm not just saying I'm the 'oops, I made a single mistake' idiot. I really fucked things up with what I just did," The young man muttered with wide eyes and shock taking over his body. "And I told her that I was going to kill civilians… despite the fact it was just a fake flex. Why would killing civilians help our cause?!"


Silence resumed for a while, with Neo quietly looking around the empty warehouse and paying him little to no attention as he continued to wallow in his own shocking thoughts of revealed failure and idiocy.


It was… It was all Ilia's fault. If only he had stuck to the 'nice, helpful, and trusting' companion kind of person as he once was, perhaps he would've had a chance with the lovely Cat Faunus.


But now it was all lost and… he was nothing.


…


…


"Kill me."


Neo glanced back at him, her eyebrow arching in a curious manner.


"Kill me. There's nothing left to do for me now," The Bull Faunus conceded weakly. "At this point… everything's lost."


She blinked, tilting a little to look closer at the depressed young man.


Her sign twirled again, and he stared hardly at the single word in it.


Nope.


"Of course. You just want to torture me more. Maybe even get some fun out of it and-"


Nope and- Heck nope! As if I'm into that crazy stuff.


"Then why!?" He exclaimed incensed. "I told you everything, you're happy. What do you want from me now?"


I want you to send a message- to be one, actually.


… "What?"


Stand up.


The sign disappeared as she used her parasol to lift him by the chin up from his crouched form. He was confused when he felt that his chains were no longer attached to the column.


"W-What are you doing?"


I already said it. Now please follow.


The request turned out to be something a little more of a demand that else as he was wacked softly on the back and pushed out of the warehouse.


It was still daytime outside and people were wandering the streets of the capital. But none was paying attention at the squalid sight created by a tired Adam being led around by a smiling-looking Neo.


The young woman was quiet thorough the trip, barely offering any signs that she was paying attention at the clueless questions coming out of his mouth. Frustration continued to grow within the young man at the lack of answers, but soon his irritation turned in dread as he recognized the building he was being led into.


The complex of apartments… was the very one he had entered to try and infiltrate the man that took in Blake.


…


Oh no, now he knew what was happening.


So he tried to push back, to bat away the parasol so he could leave that place… only for Neo to tilt her sheathed weapon and wack him to press on, shoving him harder into the horrible situation that might happen anytime now.


He gulped nervously, preparing for what was going to be quite the horrifying situation. He was standing in front of the door as Neo's parasol reached for the door bell and gave it a solid poke.


Panic swelled more and more, but soon the Bull Faunus was left alone to deal with whoever was going to open the door.


Either Blake or the man. And both scenarios were going to end poorly for him.


The door opened, and someone unfamiliar appeared in front of him.


Wearing an orange shirt and a pair of tight jeans, the blonde regarded him with a quizzical look as her lilac eyes trailed down from his face right to his chest. Right where Neo had somehow left her sign resting to.


There was a misunderstanding.
I'm an idiot.
Please don't kill me.


"Oh," The girl commented with a nod, then turning her head to look inside.


"Blake, did you invite a stripper for that talk?"


------------d-d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d--------


AN


Goddammit Yang. Poor Adam- He's just an idiot believing in Ilia's good advices…


Quick note: Neo's reasoning behind this smug move stems from two factor, which are A) Cinder is gonna be pissed that someone that knows her true self is now in her brother's hold; B) Chaos. Pure and simple chaos.


Also, I might start 'rewriting' some of the early chapters (easing up on the details and offering more insight rather than complex depictions). First chapter will be ready by tomorrow.

 

[JBukharin]

Chapter 23: Sugar-lovin' Killer Queen


This just wasn't what she wanted. This was far from what she had expected for today.


But Blake perhaps should've expected things to go awry one way or another. Especially after she had dodged a serious bullet by letting Yang know about the truth.


With the blonde actually coming to accept this situation after forcing some agreements on both the Cat Faunus and Sid, there hadn't been any of that explosive inferno that she had expected to happen when the truth was unraveled.


And because of that, destiny itself decided to barge in unannounced and fairly unforgiving as it dropped in an element of chaos itself.


The sight of an uneasy Adam tied up with ropes of all kind to a chair in front of her was surprisingly bringing plenty of unpleasant thoughts over what was going to happen now that he was here.


The first question that came to mind when this strange gift arrived at the doorstep was why, or rather who had decided to leave the former leader of the Vale Branch of the White Fang for them to deal on their own.


The easiest solution would've been to just press the Bull Faunus to speak about the matter. And much to their surprise, Adam himself had sounded quite eager as to reveal the name of his assailant… only to stop in a cold sweat as Sid noticed that there was something else written on the paper.


If this package decide to sing an unwanted tune, I will come and pay a visit to silence said package.


The subtle threat was easy to spot within the message, but the very sentence was more than enough to draw the usually brazen redhead to a complete stop.


Having removed his bandages covering his upper face, it was easy to see the dread spreading out from his blue eyes.


The scar created by the mark impressed years ago by the SDC was long ignored by the two other occupants in the room, with Yang mostly fussing over the fact that this wasn't a stripper.


The brawler was quite inconsolable at the fact that she hadn't been blessed with such an appeasing gift, almost whining over having not asked for one instead of the two favors.


But crying over spoiled milk wasn't Yang's specialty, and the girl was subsequently poking some questions at the restricted Bull Prime.


"So you mean to tell me that your semblance is based about taking damage and then turning it in firepower?"


Adam nodded quietly.


It was odd to see these two individuals share a simple discussion as if nothing was wrong with the situation itself. Maybe it had to do with Yang being reluctant in accepting that the guy tied to the chair and looking fairly frightened could be some devious and brutal leader to the White Fang.


Or maybe it was more correlated to the fact that she had been giving him a mirthful look since they had him put by the living room.


"I generally use my sword to synchronize with my Semblance. I can't use it with my own body because of the Aura creating interference, so I generally have my weapon become the catalyst for my semblance."


A giggle left the brawler's lips at that, and Blake could tell that it had to do with the 'similar abilities' both shared.


"It's kind of like mine then!" The blonde added with a small grin. "The more damage I take, the stronger I get as I use my Semblance."


The Bull Faunus blinked in minor surprise, completely taken by the conversation and ignoring the fact that both Blake and Sid were discussing about this absurd development.


"They seem to be having fun talking with each other," The young man pointed out with a curious look.


"Yang could befriend anything that has a brain and a smile. Especially if it's a man," The dark-haired beauty remarked. "I would say she is restraining herself well enough after we told her what Adam has done."


He gave a quiet nod at this but then… he let out a perplexed blink.


"What do we do with him?" The human inquired quietly at the Cat Faunus, getting a shocked look from her.


"Call the cops and get him in jail?" The woman suggested rhetorically. "We can't keep him in here."


The young man tensed at the affirmation, possibly highlighting how his view of the situation differed from Blake's.


"Oh, I'm against this myself as I really don't want to house a potential terrorist with love issues," Sid rebuked with a sigh. "But do consider the circumstances that brought him here. I think you can guess that there is only a group of people that could've done that."


A grimace appeared on Blake's face as she thought well over what the young man was alluding to.


What if this was all a ruse created by the ones that had kidnapped her back then? What if this was an effort to see the kind of reactions they would get at this sudden 'offering'?


The more she thought about it, the less pleased she was by the ramifications of said theory. It would deepen up the extent of their reaches, and render valid the worry shown by Sid over this topic from the very beginning.


It was chilling to see how this could happen without a warning. And the idea that they were currently being monitored was enough to tap into Blake's natural sense of paranoia and distrust over the world surrounding her.


"We- you can't keep him here."


"In a normal situation, I would agree with you… but I think it would be best if we keep him around to see what happens next," The human rebuked grimly. "And before doing that, I think we should check if his reasoning about his attitude is legitimate or not."


She huffed. "You can't believe what he said. While I know Ilia could get possessive, I don't see her doing something as devious… and to stay close to me."


There was a moment of silence at this, with Sid offering a pause as Blake needed to think. She needed to think how someone she had trusted for long could've done something like that if this proved to be correct.


Adam was known to lie in his words, but this very case saw him being undeniably genuine about it. Something about his voice just struck her as the truth and… that couldn't just be.


Ilia was violent, yes. She was rather attached to Blake, and the Cat Faunus was quite sure that Ilia had only had her as a friend.


Her thoughts were dropped to silence when she felt a hand reaching for her shoulder. Giving her a soft squeeze, Sid showed a calm smile as he waited for her to look up at him.


"I'm not going to accuse anyone you feel trusting like this," He admitted with a hint of kindness. "I understand that it's tough and… I can't just relate with everything you have, so I will not throw any baseless accusations about it. But I wish to see if Adam said the truth or not, if we can trust him to behave well or not."


…


Blake sighed in defeat. Yet she couldn't actually attempt to reach out Ilia. Not after so much time had passed and… because of the fact that she had bailed from the Fang.


"I can't call Ilia. She wouldn't tell anything about this if it's true- and I don't want to ask her that so directly and-"


Sid nodded. "I was thinking of asking your father to check for any of these conversations Adam had with her."


And that suggestion was easy to understand. Since her father was the Chieftain of Menagerie, it would be easy for him to check for any footage that could prove Adam's alibi. While Menagerie didn't have any surveillance system as the one here in Vale or in Mistral, it still had some cameras within the Chieftain Palace and other important buildings in the island.


But still-


"I can't call my father for-"


"Either that or you can call your mother," The young man interjected dryly. "Last time I did you the favor of talking to them about the current situation, but I can't just become your intermediary to speak with your parents."


Blake actually flinched at that comment. Last time she had promised that she would've taken it upon herself to speak with her own parents… but to think that the chance would come up so suddenly and so quickly just didn't sit well with her.


Maybe if there had been some more notice and… time to ponder how she was supposed to tackle the matter.


But right now? She didn't have that luxury.


With a little scowl pending on her face, Blake slowly retrieved her Scroll and started to go through her contact list.


The waiting time wasn't even that long as Kali Belladonna picked up the call almost instantly.


"Hello? Blake dear, is that you?"


A quiet sigh. "Hi mom-"


"It's so good to hear from you so soon, sweetie," The woman said before offering a giggle. "I hope everything's fine. Has been there any issues? Do you need something, hun?"


Her cat ears went flat at the prelude of what sounded to be a storm of questions. Yep, now Blake could remember why she had trouble calling her own mother.


"Not truly, mom. I just needed to check something on Menagerie," The younger Cat Faunus answered quickly. "Something that I know Dad should be able to check on."


"Hmm? Is it important? A document or a certificate for Beacon, or-"


"Security footage," She replied again curtly. "It's about a couple of conversations that Adam had with Ilia."


"Did something happen?" Her mother swiftly inquired, knowing that the strange request warranted plenty of worry and confusion. "Did Adam try to hurt you or kidnap you again?"


"No, it's… it's just that… what do I tell her?" Blake whispered the last bit to Sid, feeling uneasy at how she was supposed to tell her mother about what had just happened.


The young man offered a quick sigh before taking the Scroll off the girl's hands.


"Ms. Belladonna-"


"Kali, and hello Sid," The woman corrected and greeted with a cheerful tone. "I hope everything is fine wherever you two are."


"Things are mostly well, Kali," Sid replied swiftly, knowing that wasting too much time would create just unwanted misunderstandings. "It's just that we ended up receiving a strange gift in the form of a tied up Adam Taurus and… he said some things that got us thinking about issues at Menagerie."


"Care to elaborate, dear?"


Blake frowned at the way Sid was explaining all of this so bluntly and without looking even just for a moment nervous of explaining this situation to her mother.


"Someone rung at the doorbell and we found him standing there with some ropes tying him up," He continued calmly. "Blake and I think that it's the same group that kidnapped her a while ago trying to play games at us and… Adam said some things that we just can't confirm nor deny without checking on some security footage in Menagerie."


"Is Adam still tied up?" The Belladonna matriarch inquired with a strange voice, getting a quick 'yes' from the young man. "Then, Sid, could you be a dear and take a photo of him right now?"


A smile twitched on the human's face as he complied with the request. The dark-haired beauty was still confused as to what her mother needed with such a picture, but she still allowed this to happen.


After a couple of quiet seconds, Kali hummed giddily. "It's quite ironic how he ended up in such a situation, at the mercy of my lovely daughter and- can you tell me who is the young blonde near to him?"


"Oh, that's Yang," Sid replied with a nod. "She is Blake's partner."


"Yang? Can I talk to her for a moment about-"


"M-Mom," Blake interjected with a nervous voice. "Dad. The footage."


Kali sighed at that, perhaps even shaking her head disappointingly at her daughter's insistence.


"I will let him know about this once he's back from a reunion with the head of the Bank. He should be back in an hour or so," The fellow Cat Faunus responded. "So I don't see any issues to not speak with the young woman."


Panic exploded within Blake's mind at that, knowing that disaster was now around the corner.


But instead of being 'smart' about this apocalyptic scenario, Sid did the unthinkable and turned to glance at the blonde.


"Yang, can you come here for a moment?"


The brawler's lilac eyes turned to glance curiously at the young man, ending the conversation she had entertained with their 'prisoner' and leading Adam to stare at them too.


Blinking in surprise as she was offered the Scroll once she was close enough, Sid stood out of his seat by the couch to offer the seat to the girl. Yang accepted quietly the offer and brought the device by her ear.


"Hello?"


Blake felt the world growing colder the more she stood there doing nothing to stop this madness from completely unfold before her eyes and… she glared momentarily at the young man as he retreated to take Yang's former seat by the lone chair in front of Adam's.


She should've spoke with her mother on her own. Now she could see that this was all a ploy to punish her for being too hesitant in talking with her own mother. The smug look on Sid's face was enough to cement this thought as the truth in her mind.


It was embarrassing already as it was after so much time had passed since she had a regular schedule to call both her parents, but now she was here to make damage control with what Yang was going to say now that she was speaking with Kali.


Sighing, the Cat Faunus began correcting Yang's giddy approach at her mother's words, knowing that the blonde had plenty of reasons to further tease her by speaking with the older woman in front of her. Especially if the topics of the conversation were centered around Blake's bad habits back before the battle at the Docks.


She scowled, snarled, was close to a full mental collapse and… she groaned as she saw Sid actually entertaining a conversation with Adam while she was busy with Yang.


This- This was going to be hell to go through!


Goddammit Sid!


---------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d----------


~Neo's POV~


Silently tip-toeing around the quiet room of the warehouse, Neo patiently waited for her boss to be done with the final calculations of the Vytal Heists.


Roman was drowned in the paperwork. This wasn't the first time she saw the man delving so deeply in the planning side of their work, but this was possibly a rare occasion since the paper was far less than the usual workload.


Which translated in more free time that the crook got once he was done with this, and in Neo getting the opportunity of spending a break together with him. It's been ages since she had the chance of having some time alone with Roman and… they both needed to chat about the recent developments.


This very thought was more than enough to keep her quiet to not distract the already-tired crime boss. The man had to deal with the unfair times for his heists, especially with Cinder pressuring him to do more of those despite the legitimate concerns over the police finally finding them.


But Cinder, being the massive bitch that Neo had learned to know and despise, decided to ignore Roman's reluctance, preferring to offer another threat in case he failed to keep up with the schedule.


It was unpleasant, but Neo herself knew that there wasn't much to do about it. Roman couldn't defend himself from Cinder, and the short young woman was unsure if her own Semblance would give her enough edge to kill the dark-haired hag.


And that was if they ignored the two morons that brown-nosed to the bitch. Emerald would've been easy to dispatch, but Mercury would genuinely be an issue to put down. The young man, albeit cocky and somewhat stupider compared to his partner, still had a degree of battle analysis that rendered him a troublesome threat to kill.


He was also aware of part of her Semblance's scope, which meant that any prolonged fight would see him get the secrets of her ability unveiled and countered. And that was incredibly far from ideal for both of them.


Still, despite the negative outlook over their near future, Neo was happy enough with the current state of things that she didn't feel the need to gloom around and influence her boss. Not when he was already feeling down with the situation itself.


But while she lingered around in the purest act of silence, her mere presence was enough to bring a distraction to the tired man. It wasn't that he was finding her to be an issue, or something he didn't need to look at from time to time.


It was more of a… moment of utter tiredness. He had dealt with much worse than this, and yet the reason that got him to be reluctant to swiftly put an end to this paperwork was the unwillingness to think back at their current predicament.


He sighed, allowing his right hand to remove the spent cigar off from his lips.


"Neo," Roman muttered quietly. His voice was just enough for the girl to pause in her aimless twirling and actually approach him.


Another sigh, and then he gave her a serious look.


This was going to be important. Neo could tell from the way he looked so active and drained at the same time.


"You know that when Vytal turns towards its end, we will be dealing with a situation that might see us both dying," He started crudely, drawing a surprised look from his henchman over the matter. "Which is why I want you to promise me that, when the time comes, you will abandon your position and leave Vale altogether."


…


What?


Her mind short-circuited at this sudden order. It was so absurd- no, it was insane.


She would never dare to abandon her position in no circumstances, and yet her boss was asking her to do this… why?


A joke? Was this an attempt to a prank? Maybe Roman's mind had been so stressed that he really needed a walk after all.


A long one. One accompanied with a large amount of relaxing ice cream.


So she stared tensely at him, hoping for him to deliver an affirmation that would confirm these last words to be wrong. That those were stupid, fake, and not worth to be ever thought about.


But there was just silence and the crime boss was staring at her with an intense look. It was the same intense look from back then.


She could remember it, the time when she had been so young and hungry. So desperate and so… hopeful.


He had been there, holding out a cone with her favorite ice cream. She had been wearing a large shirt as her clothes, having long forsaken a normal life by becoming a street thief.


When she stole from Roman… the man didn't yell at her. He didn't rush furiously and with the intentions of punishing her.


He merely cornered her by a dead end and… crouched in front of her. His eyes were so intense, but instead of the tired scowl that he had now, she was blessed with a dazzling but kind smile.


"Look at you. A diamond in the rough," He had said with so much interest and caution. She had been so nervous, so tense… and he had been so careful to not scare her with sudden actions. "I've this ice cream. I wanted to try it since some of my stupid goons said it was good but… you can keep it."


It became her favorite Ice Cream flavor, from the very moment she took a lick at the delicious snack.


From there, the downhill that had been her life changed in a complete rise to better days.


New clothes, a proper room, her own food, her own toys and… her own good life.


She was happy for some time… but then things changed when people started to rally against Roman.


He had been softer than now. He had offered mercy and kindness to those that really needed it.


Some of the hardliners in his original gang didn't like it. They wanted a tougher boss and… a brief civil war ensued.


Neither Roman nor Neo came close to harm during these hard times, but there was a major change in their lives.


Frugality became a must to avoid being caught by the police's investigations, Roman became colder the more old friends he was supposed to put down.


Neo was idle at first, but soon started to refine her knowledge of fighting. She was silly with her early stances, but soon she acquired experience and wisdom thanks to the hardship.


Life wasn't as good as it had been back in the latter parts of her childhood, but it was still more than enough to leave her smiling by the end of the day.


Or so that was until Cinder came around and put her boss in a troublesome position.


Things didn't improve from that point onward… but maybe with Sid now in her reach, Neo could make something fun happen.


Something so fun that Cinder will be caught between her own tears if everything proceed as planned.


"Neo, this isn't a game," Roman added with a sterner voice. "I don't think I can get her off my ass before Vale starts to explode. But you can because she has nothing tying you to her."


The girl blinked in renewed surprise, but before the man could've said more she aimed the tip of her shut parasol at him. He snorted in brief amusement.


"As flattering as it is that you care for scum like me, we both know that it will not work well for us if we stick together to the very end," He reminded dryly. "If I die, you can still live. If you die because of me, I still end up dying."


She huffed, drawing her arms below her bosom as she sported the best annoyed look she could muster.


Roman wasn't impressed.


"You're stubborn, and I'm really glad that you stuck around long enough to see me rise and fall in quite the brilliant flair. But I didn't pick you up from the streets so that you could one day met your demise the very day I did," The crime boss added. "I didn't take you as part of my family because I would've used you as a fine tool against my opponent. I remind you of the time I really didn't want you to hold that blasted parasol."


Neo clenched Hush's hilt tightly in her hands, flinching as she remembered how much time was spent trying to convince the man to let her fight too.


It had taken so long and… now it wouldn't matter much if he died like this.


But he couldn't die like this. Not when she had the chance to do something about it.


The young woman knew she could and… she knew exactly what to do about it.


Bringing up her trusty sign to make some conversation.


But what if you don't die?


Roman blinked and… sighed. "Sounds like you got something. What is it?"


Neo's smile widened at his words, and she twirled her sign once.


Sid Tremaine is the key to kill Cinder's Plan altogether.


Raising a curious eyebrow, the crime boss showed some interest at this sudden development.


"The kid? You mentioned that it was her little brother. Do you plan to kidnap him or-"


Oh no! I'm not risking myself against him.


He blinked. "That's quite a quick refusal. Any reasons?"


Illusions work badly against smoke. Especially when one of his abilities render stealth actions futile against him.


Roman tapped at the table. "Then what do you plan to do with the kid?"


Her smile peaked in a mix of angelic and deviousness.


We set Sid against Cinder… right when she can't avoid the confrontation. And when her minions are busy elsewhere.


"This doesn't open much window of opportunity," The boss mentioned with a sigh. "But I assume you got a little more than some flashy explanation."


She nodded, having thought about this matter for a long time now. Before Vytal truly begins, Teams in Beacon were going to make experience with their first missions as Hunters.


By setting Blake Belladonna's team in a mission close to where Mountain Glenn was, Cinder would be forced to dispatch both her attack dogs to hinder any lasting damage in her theater of operations… leaving the bitch alone for her brother to approach.


It would be easy to force the young man to track down the woman, but it will be incredibly difficult to prepare him in a mood that wouldn't leave much space to talk.


Ambitious, difficult, different, and overall funny.


The very moment everything will come to fruition, Neo would end up with an interesting fight to spectate while Roman made his own preparations to leave.


"Would that really kill her?"


Neo let out a grimace at that unpleasant question, as she knew that Sid wouldn't have been able to put down her bitch of a sister. The guy was strong and his semblance was sublime against someone that manipulated fire, but the chances of him winning a struggle against Cinder were close to none.


Nope. But that's not what you would be worried about while you're leaving for Mistral.


Roman's eyes widened in realization and an amused smile spread on his face. "You want their fight to be a distraction for me to bail?"


She nodded happily, but she soon sobered up when she noticed her confused look.


"And what about you? What do you think will happen when I leave?"


Now, that was a question she was more than happy to answer to.


I will stay behind, make plans and… kill a fire bitch.


"I thought you didn't want to risk your position," The man reminded swiftly. "And I didn't teach you to risk your life for any revenge. If you want to kill someone-"


Let them die at the hand of someone else. But I will not be the one to strike at her dead.


"At least I know that my lessons were wasted when you were younger," He admitted with a sigh.


She nodded, twirling around as she pondered about that idyllic sight.


Cinder dying, Sid weeping and the short young woman staring from afar and preparing to comfort the poor young man.


It would be tragic for him, but he would learn to find an ally in someone like Neo in due time. And maybe also offer her a space in that comfy flat.


It's been a while since she had her own warm room to occupy at her own leisure.


She saw potential in him. Potential to become a helping hand, but also the potential of turning him in her personal ice cream maker.


The chances were endless and all scenarios available struck her as the truest winner.


Who care about love when you got an endless reserve of ice cream?!


Neo wanted to giggle at the mere thought, but she was against showing Roman signs of some serious deviation.


It wasn't her fault Ice Cream had yet to turn her its back.


Instead of portraying her inner giddiness, the young woman resumed with her twirling while Roman returned to what was left of his paperwork.


Their conversation had taken quite some time from the planned schedule, and they didn't need to waste further time in digressing in the past and in the future.


The present was rich as it was with chaotic chances of screwing with their enemies, but they still needed time to recharge their batteries.


And Neo braced for what was going to be the ride of her lifetime. The one where this gamble of hers can leave her the greatest of winners or the sorest of losers.


Now it was only a matter of time and effort. And Ice Cream. Lots of it.


-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------


AN


SCP-ADAM TAURUS is now safely contained. But I can't say the same for SCP-NEO as she twirls around her enemy and imposes her domination through pirouettes and silent giggling.


The madness!


Two little news before I leave:


1) I started a snippet series called 'The Unwanted Guest'. The story is set in the 'Satellite City' universe created by FENNAH/Sam Fennah. You can find more of the lore in the YT channel of the author and I think there will be a book coming soon;


2) I thereby announce that I'm currently working on a book! Yes, I'm making a big step forward and I can only offer you the title and the inspiration: 'ARMED: of Justice and War' was inspired to as story I've written in Elementary School. While the inspiration sounds cringe-worthy and quite bland, I expanded the idea to include some of my current knowledge of writing and of a particular genre that has been barely explored. It will be a fun ride, I can assure you all.


P.S. The Art is from dishwasher1910. This artist is just brilliant, especially with his pieces about RWBY 3.0 and Grimmverse RWBY.