Chapter 3 Wounds

Snow took her gaze off Ash for a moment and finally saw their teacher laying bed unconscious. She can already imagine what Ash must be feeling, seeing her mentor in this kind of condition. What on earth could have been so strong to take out one of Beacon's most talented and strongest Huntress so easily? 'I'd hate to see the other person's state.'

It was fairly late at night, even majority of the staff and visitors of the infirmary have retired to their dormitories. It almost surprised her to see Snow standing there, being watched under those icy blue eyes. Though she should have known better, rumors spread like wild fire around Beacon.

Everyone had heard about Beacon's Golden Flame return from a mission severely wounded, and in critical condition. Ash was sure Snow had found out and was the first one to march here to the infirmary to find her, with a list of questions no doubt. The more she stared at Snow she started to remember back to last semester when it was the start of everything, how she and Snow had met for the very first time on that fateful day of initiation.

The Emerald Forest, ever still infested with Grimm. She had made her landing into an open meadow and she took in her surroundings, no trees were around near her at the time to cover her presence to the flying fiend that was circling high above her head. The next thing she knew she had been caught by surprise before she realized what was about to happen, the winged creature struck her and knocked her down heavily with its wing as it swept down her.

Ash's arm had been injured to the point of not being able to move it, more than likely fractured. There was no way her Aura could keep up with the healing process, there was so much her Aura could do. She was kneeling on the ground, the Nevermore was about to swoop down again, this time with its sharp talons drawn out. Readying itself to rip her apart. It was rapidly diving down towards her, and all Ash could do was sit there frozen as reality hit her. She was going to die, this was the end and her days as a Huntress in training were over before she could even begin.

In that instant a bright flash blinded her, when her vision cleared a large floating pattern hovered in front her as if it was protecting her. The symbols moved and turned as it casted a spell, glowing with a bright Aura as it did so. It had shielded her from the Nevermore's attack and caused the Grimm to be pushed back by its magical force.

Ash blinked her eyes several times, trying to get rid of the left over white spots in her sight. "A glyph..?" She recognized this form of attack immediately, someone had casted it and saved her life. Just as she realized this, a figure appeared and stood tall before her.

She started by the white knee high boots, their heels tall but thick to be able to move in them through battle easily. Legs clad in tight white pants, one thigh fastened by a leather belt that carried a pistol holster by its side. .

Slowly Ash gazed upwards to witness her savior's face.

It was a girl, and Ash was taken aback by her appearance. Long flowing white hair danced in the light breeze of the meadow they both stood in, which had a single braid to the right side of her hair. Skin delicate and pale white for it to even be natural, there was not a single blemish on her face. One would think she had never seen the sun before.

Her chin was tilted upwards with poise and confidence. The way she stood and carried herself screamed that this girl was raised with specific manners, as if she was some kind of aristocrat. Ash's savior stood and gazed down on her with the purest blue eyes she had ever seen. Though those eyes held a strong icy edge to them, Ash still felt warm relief that this girl had saved her life.

The girl was dressed in an all white tailored tailcoat; it was fitted to her tightly to show off her feminine figure. Attached to both sleeves of the coat were matching in color leather belts that wrapped around her upper forearms. The coat was designed with blue elegant diamond patterns at the edges of its sleeves and down the row of its buttons. Along her right arm light armor plating protected her shoulder; the silver plating as well had thin swirls and diamond patterns crafted into its metal.

Ending down at her arm was a black leather glove that covered her hand completely which held a rapier sword at her side. The rapier was forged entirely of silver as well, it's guard crafted elegantly with the same diamond patterns on it. Along the blade as well shared the same craftsmanship with the thin swirls that traveled along its edge.

The coat was partially open to reveal a button up blouse that was fastened by a red vest underneath it. The blouse's collar was folded neatly down, but parted enough to expose a slender neck that was covered with a black lace choker. Its pendant crafted as a snowflake emblem, one that Ash recognized instantly.

The snowflake was the mark of the Schnee Family.

"I will not allow a careless and weak amateur like you get in my way." The girl dressed in white said flippantly before turning her back towards Ash. Keeping her focus on the still airborne Nevermore, "If you are intending to be my teammate, I suggest you perform with a bit more…" She paused momentarily in her words, trying to find the correct phrasing she was looking for. "Grace." She finished, bringing her rapier up to prepare herself for an attack.

Snow Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. Daughter to Winter Schnee, current owner of said company. And niece to the headmistress of Beacon Academy, Weiss Schnee.

Soon after they fought off the Nevermore, they met up with the third addition to their team and completed the initiation. They passed with flying colors and Ash was dubbed leader of the first ever team of three in Beacon. Which was a minor miscalculation, not many students had enrolled for Beacon this year, and they ended up with one off number.

But the first few minutes of being paired up with Snow was more challenging than the initiation itself. Snow was a very frigid girl, very blunt and distant. It was hard to work with a snow storm like her, but eventually as time went on during the first semester that snow storm had become a gentle winter breeze. Ash and Snow had become closer than ever, and as a leader Ash couldn't ask for a better teammate to be apart of team ASH.

Even if it was still an incomplete team, they were still rising up ranks in their classes regardless of being three in total.

"Is my fearless leader paying any attention to what I am saying? Ash?" Annoyed blue eyes were back on her, waiting for a response for the question she had asked minutes ago while Ash was still walking down memory lane.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something." Ash apologized, and stood up from her seat. The two of them stepped outside of the room as to not disturb Yang's rest, her mentor greatly needed it after what's happened tonight.

Once they were outside of the room Snow sighed and repeated herself again, "Why did you run off on a mission unauthorized? If my aunt finds out-Which I'm sure she has already caught wind of this-she may not be so lenient this time." She warned, concerned about the consequences that may befall Ash. This is not the first time she had done such a reckless act, there was numerous times before and had even gotten the rest of team involved on occasion. Depending on Ash's mood. Though now with what's happened, Ash won't be getting just a slap on the wrist and a warning.

Honestly Snow was also worried about the possibility of their team being disbanded if they lost their leader. Two team Huntresses would not work out, and who knows where that would leave them in school. Snow was sure that their third team member, Howlite, would not be happy if something like that were to happen.

Noticing that she was still wearing the black cloak, Ash decided to take it off. Revealing her attire that was hidden underneath it. She wore a tight long sleeve shirt, its color a dark blue. Though the rest of the shirt was a bit short, its length stopped just above her navel, showing off her stomach. Around her neck she wore a lime green bandana like a scarf.

Over the shirt she wore a black vest that was fully unbuttoned, on the back of the vest was a symbol engraved on it, much similar to the burning heart emblem her mentor wore on her clothes. Her wrists were adorned by her weapon that disguised itself as silver cuffs, and hands covered by black fingerless gloves. Finishing her clothes off with dark blue cargo pants that were stuffed into high black combat boots. Now feeling much better with that cloak off her body and threw it aside.

Snow scowled at her, still waiting for some answers. Yet Ash was stripping clothes in front of her, she sometimes forgets how overly confident the girl can be when attempting to show off.

Ash waved a hand about casually at Snow, trying to ease the tension that was growing. "You worry too much. I didn't cause any trouble while I was out there, besides…" She had found out some information she had not expected to run into, which now only led to even more questions. "I felt obligated to go, something else is going on here and it heavily involves both teacher Yang and headmistress Weiss." She revealed to Snow, feeling that her teammate had the right to know that her aunt may be a part of this as well.

Snow gave Ash a questionable stare and looked around the corridors of the infirmary, making sure no one was listening in on their conversation. By the way her leader was acting, this was something of great importance, and if her auntie Weiss was part of the subject she needed to make sure no bystander was around to hear of it. To be cautious that this isn't information others could use against the Schnee family. When Snow was satisfied of the lack of presence in the infirmary she turned back to the navy haired girl. "What do you mean, Ash?" She asked carefully.

She answered Snow with a question of her own, hoping to see if the name was familiar to the Schnee heiress at all. "Have you ever heard of team RWBY?"

For a moment Snow stayed silent and repeated the name to herself mutely, surprisingly enough she admitted to Ash that she had not heard of that team name before. "Hm, so not even you know about that, interesting…" Ash concluded, now she was definitely sure that both teacher Yang and headmistress Weiss were hiding something. If Snow knows nothing of the headmistress' past, there has to be a reason for it. And Ash had to assume it has every bit of reason to be about the deadly seven leader, this sword master named 'Seven'.

"Answer me this Snow, if you can… Do you have any reason to believe your aunt may be hiding some serious baggage from you or maybe even from the Schnee family?" Ash pointed out, trying to see if Snow was suspicious at all of the headmistress.

Snow slightly gaped at Ash, appalled that she would even consider the possibility of something like that. Not only appalled, but offended. "That's absurd, Ash! How dare y-"

"Is there something you would like to discuss with me, Ms. Hart?" Weiss asked pointedly as she walked towards them from down the hallway they were standing in. She had not heard the conversation entirely, but she did catch Ash asking Snow if she truly trusted her and this peeked her curiosity to know what the two students were talking about.

Snow immediately stood straight and bowed her head down, showing her respect towards her aunt. "Headmistress Weiss, we were just discussing future educational plans for our classes that may be beneficial for both the school and yourself." She covered up the conversation swiftly, "Ash was a bit forward in questioning certain decisions you've made as the head of this academy, which I found to be ludicrous, of course!" She hoped to see if that will defuse any questions her aunt might have thought of already.

Weiss looked at her niece for a moment and then back to Ash, cold blue eyes piercing through her. Much like Snow's eyes whenever she was displeased with her over anything, Ash still could not get use to the two of them being so similar. They would be easily mistaken for twins, if it wasn't for the headmistress' scar that marked her right eye and her age.

Ash responded with one of her trademark smiles, trying to act as innocent as possible as she swayed back and forth on her heels with her hands behind her back.

Weiss scowled and took her gaze away from Ash, mentally noting that she will deal with the rebellious student at a later time. She stared back to Snow with a gentler gaze, and addressed her niece more softly. "You know we are outside of school hours, Snow. You may call me auntie Weiss, if you wish. I swear your mother has overly disciplined you." She shook her head disapprovingly, already guessing the many trials her sister might have put Snow through during her childhood.

The comment earned a light laugh from Snow, the sound a rarity to Ash. She never see's the Schnee heiress smile or even giggle over anything, this made Ash wonder if Snow felt close to the headmistress more than just an aunt and niece relationship. That would be no wonder of Snow's reaction when Ash questioned Weiss' honesty with her. Now Ash felt like a jerk for asking Snow such questions.

"Of course… Auntie Weiss." Snow corrected herself and nodded her head in acknowledgement of her aunt's request. Relieved that her aunt had not pushed any questions about what Ash was really discussing before when she had cut in.

Weiss looked at the time on the clock that hanged on the wall beside them, and found that it was past regular curfew for students. "The two of you should go to your dorms and sleep; it is very late and we do still have school tomorrow. I will not tolerate any low performances in my school due to lack of sleep, am I clear ladies?"

Ash hesitated, "But… Teacher Yang…"

The headmistress sighed and smiled sympathically at Yang's apprentice, "She will be just fine, it is Ms. Xiao Long we're dealing with after all. I will watch over her health tonight personally, and you may visit her again tomorrow after school." She reassured both students before adding, "And after your meeting with me, Ms. Hart. We have a few things to discuss…" She was still going to discipline the student for attending a high risk mission unauthorized. Weiss was sorely getting tired of this kid's antics, she was also going to discuss her behavior with Yang when given the chance.

Ash laughed nervously but accepted the Headmistress' orders to see her tomorrow, yet felt more secured in knowing that her mentor was being looked after. With that she left the infirmary with Snow right behind her.

Weiss watched the two girl's retreating backs until they disappeared from view, still wondering exactly what they were discussing before. Not at all stupid enough to believe her niece's poor cover up. Though she decided to leave it alone for now, if her niece had any worries or concerns she was sure that Snow would come to her about it immediately.

Weiss turned and stared at the closed door of Yang's room, contemplating if she should really visit her friend at this hour. She took a deep breath before entering it quietly to be sure she did not disturb her.

The sight of her friend lying in bed unmoving gave a strange sensation in Weiss' chest. Yang was still unconscious, eyebrows furrowed in discomfort from her injuries. Weiss could see the bandages that wrapped around her arm and up her neck. A white patch covering her cheek. It didn't seem that she was in any danger now, but that brought no comfort to Weiss, she still felt that she was to blame for Yang's current condition.

Weiss took the seat at Yang's bedside, where Ash had sat previously. She watched her friend in silence for a long moment and watched the rise and fall of Yang's chest. She was still checking to be sure her friend really was alive, and the beeping of the heart monitors snapped her from the daze.

There was silence, and ever so often the soft beeps of the heart monitor would break it.

"Honestly…" She finally spoke, her tone soft to the sleeping Yang, as if the brawler was listening to her. "Look at the state you're in, I'm sure you charged in head first without thinking… You hothead." She scolded in a motherly way, her voice still only a whisper as she continued to converse with her unconscious friend. "I can't believe she did this to you, I knew she would fight back but…" Her voice strained and her throat began to tighten.

Much like Yang, deep down inside she had hoped and had wished that things were different. That their lost teammate would have hesitated, or possibly even regret the choices she had made all those years ago. She hoped for any remains, be them insignificant, that Blake still existed.

Now Yang was hurt, she could have died. She could have been killed, and knowing this now left no room for doubts. Weiss squashed those hopeful thoughts and feelings aside, a new resolve taking its place. "She will not get away with this. I will make sure of that, Yang." Weiss vowed as she forced her tears to go away, "She will pay for everything she has done."

Seven will not hurt them again like this, and this was Weiss' own mission now.


It's been a long night, by this hour she would be fast asleep but she found it hard to do so. She stood up top a ruined building, standing just mere inches away from the edge of the rooftop. Down below was a small campsite, where a small battalion of White Fang members reside. She could see the camp fires burning dimly from her view; she watched them carefully as she thought over tonight's events.

This would be the first work her group had failed. But no matter, things were still going as planned. They will just have to make due with what they have currently for supplies, she and the rest of the White Fang including Shadow Fang have operated in much more worse conditions.

Though there were other things in mind that prevented her sleep, this feeling inside of her was something she could not identify. Or perhaps she had felt it before, and it's been so long that she barely recognizes it anymore for what it is. She stared up at the shattered moon in the night sky, she stared long and hard. Trying to seek some answers from it, a hint.

Anything.

The moon had witnessed all of the things that have happened to this world, everything that's happened to her and to the people around her. It was witness to her happiness, and witness to her despair.

Now it only watches the monster she had chosen to become, watched the monster drown her former self into the shadows. Never to come back.

"Do you ever take that mask off, Seven?" Came a monotone voice from behind her, there was only one Faunus that would regard her so casually. It was One, her subordinate and member of the deadly seven. Éclair, the only name she'd ever bother knowing in the group. And reason being that Éclair is her apprentice and most trusted disciple, the only known cat Faunus out there that shared her Semblance.

Seven looked over her shoulder to acknowledge her, seeing that she was still wearing the Shadow Fang uniform but One's mask was off.

Bright yellow eyes were staring at her with wonder, but her face was still emotionless as ever. Cat ears standing straight, waiting for any responses from Seven. Her hair long and dark, save for a streak of white that ran down the side of her bangs, framing her face perfectly. The smooth light skin of her face was also scarred; a thin line crossed the bridge of her nose. By the shade of pink the scar would be two or three years old now. Seven had trouble keeping track of the years pass since that incident that earned her apprentice that scar.

Éclair gave up on waiting for a response; she and Seven rarely ever exchange words. It wasn't needed, silence was always a form of communication between them. So it never bothered her, but at times she was curious about Seven's past. Being young came with being curious, and nosy like any other seventeen year old.

Éclair briefly remembered the first few words Seven said to her a few years back when she had first met the White Fang. It was desperate times back then, she was orphaned and scavenged for food daily. Yet still starved for weeks and had gone as far as steal food for herself to survive. The White Fang had been the only direction she could go, and when she went to one of their gatherings to be recruited that was when she met her mistress.

Seven's voice was stern and short, she remembered. 'You should be in school.' And that was it. But of course she didn't listen to Seven, she still joined the White Fang and when she displayed her talents in creating shadow illusions of herself Seven took her in to train under her, and soon became One. A member of the Shadow Fang.

Éclair now stood beside her mistress, staring out to the night sky as well. They both stayed there for a long time, just sharing the silence. Though it was clear to Seven that she was nervous, which was only natural. Starting next week she was going on a mission all alone without any support, an undercover mission at that.

Seven at first wanted to protest, but there was no way around it. Éclair was the only one suited for this mission, because of her age and talents. She was the only one qualified to carry out these orders, Seven had to accept it.

She kept her gaze up at the shattered moon, "…You'll be okay." Seven reassured, her voice was a light but neutral.

Éclair's cat ears twitched at the sudden sound of Seven's voice, she had heard her loud and clear but still could not believe it. Shocked yellow eyes were staring at Seven, she had not expected that. She smiled hesitantly as she expressed her gratitude, "Thank you… Mistress Seven."

The two of them stood under the shattered moon and resumed the joy of the night's silence.


Early morning now, the bright rays of the sun peeked through the curtains of the infirmary room. It had been a day later now since the confrontation between Yang and Seven.

She opened her eyes, and groaned out a bit in pain when she tried to sit up. Deciding that moving was a bad idea she stayed still on the bed, already guessing that she was in the infirmary.

She remembered what had happened before she lost consciousness, the scenes of the fight flashing within her mind. She had lost, and Seven got away.

Yang stared at the white ceiling blankly, a million thoughts going through her head. Trying to define her feelings right now, to figure out where she stands and what exactly she needed to do. She was sure Weiss had already visited her while she was out cold, and may have already started to find another Huntsmen or Huntress to take ownership of executing Seven since she had failed to do so miserably.

"Damn it all." She cursed out loud, her jaw tensing.

She had broken down during last night's fight, she had let herself lose composure even after being pierced by Seven's sword. The stab wound had hurt, but what had hurt Yang the most was seeing Blake again.

She now felt numb and completely empty, more than ever before. To face her former partner in brutal battle-To be defeated with so much ease. The entirety of the fight felt like it was one sided, she was pouring out all of her rage. But Seven's movements were calculative, and indifferent all at once. All Yang did was headbutt with her like a bull, and still she had not once landed a single blow on her opponent. Seven was faster, and she was stronger.

The next thought caused Yang's blood to boil, a wave of rage crashing through the numbing sensation she had before, replacing it with fury at the realization of her own weakness. What she lacked.

Seven was ruthless.

Yes, Yang had attacked with all of her strength against the deadly seven leader. She attacked with fists that were full of desire to hurt Seven, and had full intent to kill Seven as well. Yang's body was ready to execute her enemy; it was set on autopilot to do so. There was neither room nor time to rethink the decision; her body did want to kill Seven. It felt the desire to with so much intensity that it probably burned more than her own aura did when unleashing her Semblance. She lacked ruthlessness. What held her back… was herself.

In the back of her mind, there was a spark of hesitation. Deep inside her seventeen year old self was screaming at her to stop, to not fight and begged to save Blake instead. That this wasn't right, and that it wasn't what they wanted.

Emotionally, Yang hesitated during that fight, and she had to accept these facts. Even if she attacked relentlessly, within herself she was having a different battle of her own. She was not ruthless like Seven, she could never be.

Never will she have the true strength to kill someone she knew, that kind of resolve was unreachable to Yang. She had spent long hours thinking things over while still recovering from her wounds, lying in bed with so much time to kill had made Yang dig deeper within herself and understand why she had lost the fight against Seven. A conclusion had been finally made.

Lilac eyes that still gazed up at the ceiling widened with fear and began to water with incoming tears.

She whispered out the truth to herself, a truth that she had been running from for so many years. "I still have feelings for you." A lone tear slid down her cheek as the words spilled out of her, her chest and stomach tightened as she suppressed a sob. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly as more tears bled from her eyes, now truly feeling what had held her back from doing the job.

She still loved Blake, even if it's Seven now it was still Blake to her. Her heart isn't wrong, she still loved her and there was no way in hell she could ever bring herself to fight Seven again. Let alone kill her. Yang had lost this fight way before she even laid eyes on Blake, and she had not known. Or perhaps she pretended and lied to herself that she didn't know of these hidden feelings.

Even if she had failed and had confirmed that she was unfit to face Seven again, the idea of another Huntsmen taking out Seven just didn't sit right with Yang. It should be the former team members of RWBY. Not some stranger, and certainly not anyone else period.

Regardless, right now there was no point in crying over this. She needed to focus on recovering, the sooner she was out of this room the sooner she'll think things over better. She needed to gain some strength again before seeing Weiss, she can't let her friend see her like this now. "I'm such a cry baby." Yang scolded herself as she wiped away her tears with her good arm.


She tapped her foot anxiously, apprehension taking over as the elevator neared the top floor of the watch tower. Where Headmistress Weiss' office was located. Ash was not sure what to expect, but she was sure she was in deeper trouble than she had ever been during her time in Beacon.

Snow had wanted to come with her, in case she needed to defend any outrageous punishment the Headmistress might have in store for her. But she denied that, stating she could take care of herself and that she wasn't afraid of the Headmistress. Though as the elevator came to a stop and the soft ding indicated her arrival to the office, she now believed that Snow's idea might not have been so bad.

Ash took a deep breath and willed herself to step out of the parted doors, and into the spacious office. The clock work of the tower clicked and ticket softly as the gears above her head turned and shifted.

The room was painted in several different shades of white and red, the mechanics of the tower's clockwork were black to give it some contrast. Ash had wondered why this place did not look as old as the rest of the academy; it appeared that this area had gone through some specific renovations. The sight was very breath taking for any newcomers to the school, though Ash was not impressed since she had been in this room many times before for past transgressions.

In the middle of the office was a large glass desk, and sitting in the desk was the Headmistress. Busily going through some documents, her blue eyes tracing the contents of each page thoroughly.

Ash took a few more steps forward and cleared her throat, announcing her presence to the working woman in the desk.

Without ever taking her sights off her paperwork, the Headmistress spoke. "Please do take a seat, Ms. Hart." She requested formally.

At this Ash raised an eyebrow, but complied at the request and sat on the chair. She was confused at this, normally the Headmistress would make her stand whenever they have these "meetings". She was wondering if this was a good sign, or a bad one. As of late the Headmistress had become very unpredictable with her, which only concerned the young student even further the longer she sat there in silence waiting for the Headmistress to speak.

Weiss' voice was still stern as she spoke, still not taking her eyes off her papers. "There is no use in punishing you, I am sure you are aware of your… mistakes." She described carefully while signing off on the sheet paper with her pen. "In all honesty, your stunt from last night is actually enough reason for me to expel you as a matter of fact." She finished casually while she flipped through a few more pages.

Ash gulped, and fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably. 'This lady is toying with me now.' She thought in her mind undignified.

There was another brief silence, save for the sound of flipping paper that filled the office space. Finally Weiss placed her documents aside neatly on her desk and stood from her desk, she walked around with her hands behind her back. Circling Ash like she was a Nevermore watching its prey squirm.

Ash carefully kept her sights on the Headmistress, taking in the way the woman walked around her. Her hair was carefully braided into a pony tail, though her bangs were left free to cover her forehead. The braided tail was extraordinarily long, the tail reached past her hips.

And it swayed slightly behind her back with each step she took. She wore an elegant white dress, the skirt length ending just above her knees modestly. She wore a short jacket over the dress, the inside of it tailored with red silk, the collars of the jacket were folded back to show off the color more and it was fastened around her neck securely. Though the rest of the buttons were left open, leaving her chest exposed, there in the center of it hung a necklace that kept a small stone pendant.

Ash noticed that on the back of the jacket was the Schnee family emblem perfectly sowed onto the material. Completing the outfit was her white high heeled shoes that clicked against the marble floor of the office as she continued to slowly pace around Ash.

"You will be relieved to hear that I will not be doing such a thing... Not this time." She confessed a small satisfied smirk on her face when she saw the slight jerk in Ash's shoulders. Her voice must have frightened the girl.

Ash sat there, mouth parted slightly as she processed the Headmistress' statement. Trying to understand what it meant, she questioned in her mind if she wasn't in trouble anymore or what. But she stayed silent, not daring to interrupt the Headmistress. She had pushed her luck far enough already.

"The reason for that being…" Weiss continued, stopping mid-step in front of her desk. Making herself comfortable on it and crossed her legs lady like as she took a seat on top of it. "You are going to be apart of a very important and very delicate project." She outlined the words sternly, making it clear to Ash that this wasn't going to be regular school work she was about to be assigned to. Which the student could not make up her mind on whether or not this was a good thing…

"Beacon is welcoming a late enrollee this year." Weiss continued, speaking her words carefully, to make sure that Ash understood the value of this 'project'. "Given the coincidence of your team only having three members in total… I've decided to add this student to your team. Completing it officially into a team of four, as it should be." She finally explained, and handed a folder to the student who grabbed wordlessly.

"Basic information of this student is in these documents. I'm sure you'd like to know every bit of detail of them, since you will be their leader. This new student is highly important, and may bring some attention to the school. Very close attention from society as a whole to be more specific."

Ash was dumfounded and stared at the folder in her hands, flipping through its pages and scanning its contents. Her green eyes practically popped out of their sockets when she saw the profile picture of this new student, and soon to be teammate. "She's…!" Ash struggled with her words and tried to articulate her thoughts. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "She's a… a…!?"

Weiss finished her sentence for her, "She is a Faunus... Her name: Eclair Baroness. The fourth member of your team for the rest of your school years here." A pause before announcing the finalization for this assignment. "A week from now your team will be renamed officially as: Team ASHE."

Ash sat still, stunned at the task she was about to undertake.


A/N: Hello peeps, thanks for the follows and favorites on this story. Super glad some of you liked it enough to do so. As I continue to write this and post updates, slowly but surely the plot is forming in my head more. It's super fun writing this, not gonna lie lol Also I had this in mind waaaay back before RWBY started Vol. 3, way before we had any info on Winter. So it might be weird for some of you at the idea of Winter having a child age around 10 at the time Weiss had enrolled to Beacon when she was seventeen, but that's besides the point! It's just a fanfic in the end anyways haha It's still a slow start for the story, I'm just trying to have everyone get familiar with these new characters I've added in and then work my way to get everything more Yang/Blake centered. So please be patient with it :)

R and R please!

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Sorry for any errors or grammar issues. Will try to edit this when I get the chance.