Chaos had ensued in the following hours after the White Fang attack.

There were priorities they had all agreed. First, they all escorted the students to their respective dorms, after making sure all of them were secure on the school grounds. It had been idea of the Mistral Representative – Roget – to declare a temporary curfew until further notice.

Ozpin had been initially against it, but Ironwood pressed him to accept when he brought up the students' safety.

Second, they were to station some soldiers on the cable carts and any of the exits to avoid any scurrying away in between the students. It had been less than an hour before they had landed their first offender, and then the next one after a mere half an hour.

Which led to the third priority: Communicate with each and every one of the family members of the students who were near the former Hall at the time of the attack, both for security and possible witnesses.

Needless to say, it had been a long night.

None of them had slept, and wouldn't have been able to do so anyway. It was morning again, and Ironwood would very much appreciate a drink, but he would not drink while on the clock.

He wished he could enjoy the coffee with the same gusto Ozpin did. Speaking of which…

"Ozpin, what is the status of the situation?" he asked the man, after watching for a while how he went back and forth with some Council Representatives, Vale Police, and the Head of Vale's General Hospital.

"According to Glynda, the Vale Police say they found empty Dust containers and remains where the fireworks should have been, it was the most likely cause of the explosions," he explained, rubbing his temple. "As for the injured, Shuzo is-"

"Let go of me!"

"Not until you calm down!"

"Yuya, please! I'm sure that they will tell us if something bad-"

Before any more discussion was heard, there was some fumbling around along with some grumbling and yelling, and then some banging on the elevator door. Ironwood saw Ozpin looking up to the door. Undoubtedly he recognized the voices because his eyes widened considerably.

"At least try to press the button first," recommended a much quieter voice.

*ACCESS REQUESTED*

"Ozpin, we have no time to deal with-" he attempted through gritted teeth, but the man had already accepted the request and before he could finish the sentence there in front of the desk was the young boy whom he had seen just yesterday in the 'recreation' of the Dining Hall; the very same one who had been caught numerous times trying to breach the curfew last night.

"Where's is my Dad?" he asked, not bothering to salute or even greet his superiors. Behind him, another two tall boys and a girl – the Hiragi girl he noticed – walked to the desk and stood just a little behind him.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster. We tried to hold him off but…" started the broad boy, but Ozpin held his hand up to silence the boy.

"It is not a bother, Mr. Gongenzaka-" he started but the other boy – whom now Ironwood thought familiar for different reasons – slapped his hands on Ozpin's desk, gripping it tightly.

"I asked: Where is my Dad?" he punctuated. His face was downcast and the words were accompanied by a slight growl.

Ironwood told himself that the chill running down his back was the product of a cold breeze - even if the windows were closed - Then he saw the taller boy of the group step forward, and Ironwood would recognize him anywhere now: Reiji Akaba.

He was the team leader; he remembered this from Beacon's team files. Of course Ozpin would have made him a team leader. It was in is veins, after all. He sensed it from the moment he saw his demonstration the past year.

"With due respect Headmaster, General," he started, giving a slight bow to the two men and then taking his time to adjust his glasses. "While I don't necessarily approve of his attempts to get in trouble, I …understand where his worry comes from. After all, we all saw and recognized the voices in the live feed," he finished.

"Yes, Yuya has the right to know if Mr. Sakaki is fine," spoke up the girl next to him too. "Headmaster, you can't deny him that, to all of us," she said to Ozpin.

Sakaki; Yuya Sakaki. So he was Yoko and Yusho's son. It all made sense now, including Ozpin's consideration for the boy, who as of now seemed to have calmed down a little after his team's support.

"Of course I wouldn't do that, Miss. You can be rest assured that the first thing we did was check the status of the people inside the Hall. Your father is alive and without any grave injuries, Mr. Sakaki," conceded Ozpin.

"Then can I go see him?" he asked, eyes lighting up with such eagerness that James almost wanted to tell him yes.

"If you allow me, as much of a fair point made by the two of you, both eloquent and inspiring, considering that it managed to move Headmaster Ozpin," a voice started from the windows on the far left, startling all the students, who seemed to have missed his presence. "I should have expected nothing less of hunters-to-be, especially from the heir of the Leo Corps, after all."

Roget stepped from the sight of the mountains and the forests he had been admiring, wearing that self-serving smile of his. If it was up to James, he would have banned him from the office until further notice; these were official confidential matters, after all. It both marveled him and disappointed him that Ozpin tolerated his presence in matters outside his field of concern.

The students, on the other hand, didn't seem to recognize the man, but one didn't need to be familiar with Jean-Michel Roget in order to dislike him, as it was made apparent by their frowns.

"As for you, Mr. Sakaki, while I can understand your plight given you err… family history." He faked a cough at this, but Ironwood didn't miss the boy's grimace at the words. "And of course you and your father definitely have my best wishes," he started while walking around Ozpin's desk to face the kids. "However, you can't expect us to make special allowances like this. You are not the only victim, especially now when the entire city of Vale has been marked as a target of a terrorist group," he finished stepping closer to the boy with each sentence.

"The White Fang are not terrorists," stated Reiji, putting himself between the man and his team. To say Ironwood was surprised would be an understatement, however he thought that the faint snort Roget gave was hardly necessary, not to mention unprofessional.

Ozpin didn't look happy either, but as usual he seemed to be weighing the options at hand, switching his sight in between the kids and Roget.

"I apologize, Mr. Akaba, but were we not witnesses to the same events? Did we not see those animals attacking a mere ceremony? With civilians? Whatever they may have stood for in the past, doesn't change the fact that today they attacked innocent human lives. I would have thought that you on behalf of your family understood that better than anyone in this room," he finished.

Ozpin had his eyes closed and his lips pursed in obvious discontent, barely containing his temper most likely for the kid's presence. The kids, in turn, looked like someone had thrown a bucket of ice cold water at them or wanted to throttle Roget through the window; or both.

"Reiji owes no explanations for his stand to you, Representative," spoke the corpulent boy for the first time since his rushed apology. "What he may or may not understand from his family conflicts is none of your business and is a far cry from what we saw today. Things are never that simple," he said with a huff.

Whether it pissed Roget to be defied or he was just displeased that he couldn't look down to this particular boy was unknown, but his whole demeanor changed in one single shift of expression. He looked now every bit the sneaky bastard everyone said he was.

"Of course they aren't. I shouldn't have expected a bunch of students who have never been out there in the real world to understand such complicated matters either, and heir or not, Mr. Akaba is not allowed to have a 'special' position in this whole situation either," he bit out.

If Ironwood had not been completely sure of his displeasure for the man, then he was now. Before he could say anything, however, he saw the girl step not just side to side her teammates, but quite literally getting in the man's face.

"That's rich coming from a Mistral's Representative. A city where everyone knows the rift between social classes is wider than in any other kingdom," criticized the girl, Yuzu, if memory didn't fail him. "Where the organized crime has many government officials on their pockets. Where orphans aren't allowed to have family names and a bill that advocated for Faunus registration barely avoided being declared a law," she added for good measure, and he could see how complicated matters or not, she was Shuzo's daughter through and through.

"That's right, and if memory doesn't fail me, " started the corpulent boy, more in thought than anything else, then his face shifting on recognition adding: "I seem remember that you Representative Roget were among the strongest supporters for it"

'It seems someone has been doing their research,' he thought as he saw Ozpin trying to hide his content smile behind his entwined hands. Which didn't last long when it looked like Roget was one moment away from striking one the kids.

"As enlightening as this has been for everyone," Ozpin put in diplomatically, getting attention back on him. "Mr. Sakaki I apologize but as per orders of the Council, students are to remain inside school grounds until further notice," he explained.

The boy looked like he wanted to protest, but a hand placed on his shoulder stopped him. Ironwood raised his eyebrow at the word 'later' mouthed by no less than Reiji Akaba.

"As for you, Representative Roget, I am forced to ask you to remove your person from my office. You too shall be confined to the school grounds along with the Haven students," continued Ozpin, swiveling his chair to the man with that apologetic-sounding voice which Ironwood knew was anything but. "Security measures. I'm sure you understand."

As expected, the man didn't look happy at all, he gave a faint sneer and a purposefully shallow bow to them and turned around to leave without excusing himself.

"..Um we'll be leaving too. We apologize for the inconvenience," said the buff student, bowing and forcing the Sakaki boy to bow as well earning an 'eek' from him.

"I should be the one to apologize, Mr. Gongenzaka, since we are talking about conceding points. The people in the video did make an important one: we have failed as a government and as institution. If we didn't, then things like this wouldn't happen at all," he answered to them.

Ironwood found himself sighing at the sight of the students frowning.

"We are not allowed to disclose public details, but I'll have you know that-" Even Ironwood had to concede every once in a while, he thought as he struggled with the words. "-While injuries were unavoidable, none of them were critical, let alone deathly. All the people in the Hall have been accounted for, thus there were no casualties," he said.

"But… the explosion was huge," said the Sakaki boy, frowning again this time in puzzlement. "The Hall was left in shambles," he added after a moment.

"Exactly. Even if by some coincidence or miracle all the occupants would have all been trained in Aura Control, we were bound to have some casualties," he finished.

Let them make of that what they wanted, maybe they could make a better sense of it than the VPD, the Council or himself.

"Understood, we will be leaving now," said Reiji Akaba after a while and made a gesture for everyone to follow him. It was only when he heard the blink of the elevator that he turned to face Ozpin.

"I have to say James that was almost kind of you." …who at the moment was practically smirking at him, amusement oozing from him.

"As long as it will keep them off prying around dangerous situations," he said trying not to sound too pleased, but it was also about pragmatism. If Ozpin was going to let people run around as usual, then he would be the one having to keep an eye on them.

-oOo-

"We should go to the city," he said as soon as they stepped out into the gardens. Yuzu turned her head so fast that she winced and needed a moment to both adjust her sight and to rub her sore neck. It was typical of Yuya to say such things after promising the exact opposite as soon as the nearest authority figure was out of earshot.

Except that this time it had come out of Reiji.

"…Why?" she asked, looking around in slight panic, but there was no need. It was still pretty early and the gardens were deserted.

"Does it matter? I'm in," said Yuya immediately, but she didn't blame him. If her Dad was in the same situation she would do the same.

"Wait a minute, did last time teach you nothing? Did we not hear what we were told? The only reason a curfew like this is put in place is if the city is in state alert above yellow!" snapped Gongenzaka to both of them.

If possible, the silence in the garden deepened to such an extent that it could have swallowed them all, and Yuzu only heard an ugly buzz from the heavy tension settled in between them.

"We did, but I believe these are extraordinary circumstances," Reiji said after some mussing. He was looking at her now, looking for…

Support? Reassurance? Yuzu hated to admit – both to him and herself – that she couldn't give him any of that right now. She promised to her Dad, after all.

"Sorry Reiji, but Gongenzaka has a point. As of now, everything is an 'extraordinary' circumstance," she started. "And… I thought… I thought we had agreed to never run into danger like this again," she said, almost biting her tongue in the effort of not betraying her feelings in the matter.

Reiji's expression morphed in what might have been pursed lips and looked expectantly at Yuya to chime in as well.

"I want to go, I really do, and I need to know…" His fists balled for a second and he exchanged looks with her before answering,"...but if Yuzu and Gongenzaka are agreeing on something being a bad idea… then maybe it really is for the best not to do it," he finished, his shoulders falling considerably.

"I will not force you." Of course he wouldn't, she thought. What worried her was what he would be up to alone. "Nor is it wise to go without support of backup of any kind," he said and Yuzu allowed herself to sigh in relief.

That's right. Without his team's support, Reiji was quite simply out of choices and he loathed himself for the train of thought that assaulted him in response to this.

"Good then-" started Gongenzaka, but he couldn't allow him to steer the subject away, not yet.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, trying to ignore what felt like a rock stuck in his throat.

"…"

"…"

"…Why do you ask?" asked Yuzu, avoiding his gaze and he forced himself to breathe through his nose before answering.

"You all said once that I… that we could count on each other. Is that statement still effective?" They all looked between each other and he added, "Right now I… need you to trust me. Can I count on that?"

Looking at their expressions, it was enough for Reiji to recoil for putting them in this position.

"I will not fault you if you decide I'm still not reliable," he added. Yes, that was the appropriate thing to say. Trust was earned, not taken for granted or forced and he had already failed not once but twice.

He balled his own fists to stop them from shaking.

"This is something you can't tell us about, right?" asked Yuya, finally deigning to meet his eyes and he saw recognition pass through his red eyes. Reiji somehow knew that Yuya understood – if only for now – his position.

Of course he does. He has his own burdens as well, he thought as he just nodded.

"What exactly would you have us do?" asked Gongenzaka at last.

"For the most part, it would be following crumbs," he admitted. "While I was at Atlas, I took a few… liberties by scouring all the data from the LDS schools and I found something, a pattern that I need to confirm," he explained.

"Is this about the White Fang or Heartland?" 'Or both' Yuzu probably meant to ask all of the sudden. She was still not looking at him, but the fact that she was willing to listen again was relieving enough.

"Best case scenario: none; it's all circumstantial. We go and come back empty-handed…" 'And with a clear conscience,' he almost said out loud. "…and let the matter go. We leave it to the pertinent authorities to handle properly," he found himself saying.

"And worse?" she questioned, finally looking at him again.

"We may end up involved in the scandal for the covering of the worst atrocity in the history of Remnant."

-oOo-

When he finally reached his personal quarters – which, while spacious had absolutely nothing noteworthy about them – Roget slammed the door.

The nerve of those brats! Of the General and even from that damned Headmaster. Who the hell did they think they were to talk down on him like that? Him! The one who had managed to scrape from the bottom of the ranks to being only a step down from being in the Ruling Council.

And in time, he would be not their equal, but their superior.

The thought went great ways to calm him down and even brought a smile to his face. In no time he would have no need to answer to anyone but his own person. Not to the General, not to any of the Headmasters, the Council or…

There was a soft tap on window, and he looked to see a cloaked figure perched outside of it. He just made a sign for them: it's open.

"It's everything going according to the schedule?" he asked to the cloaked figure once they settled in his room, partially hidden by the curtains.

"It has," they answered with a hiss and shifted slightly, pulling a flash drive from under the heavy clothes. "Here are the blueprints of Beacon's grounds, a layout of the security system and the team's profiles you requested-"

"And in perfect time. I have a feeling that we may have to deal with some annoyances before moving forward the pieces on the board," he said, taking the device. It was black and golden. "What have you found out about the General?"

"Nothing worth mentioning." Ah, meaning they had no freedom of discussing it with him. "His presence in Vale was unexpected, along with the Atlesian floats, but they may even help us speed up the process," they answered.

"And the girl?" he pressed.

"The girl seems to have no suspicions of her part on the matters. However, it is advised that we remain vigilant for any misshape," they said again.

"When will the harvest take place?" he asked, testing his luck, but there was no immediate answer to it, as he expected. Instead, he was regarded heavily by his 'guest.'

"That information is above my clearance." The figure moved uncomfortably as they said this.

'Liar,' he thought, biting his tongue to swallow a retort, but he contained it. So the Professor didn't trust him; that was nothing new. If anything, he would have been disappointed if he did, but if he could win this particular pawn over to his side, then the tides may turn in his favor.

A messenger was not something to underestimate nor in his case to let them slip below notice.

"What do you know about the Heartland Disappearance?" he tried.

The figure shifted uneasily on their spot. Whether they had an answer or not they were still curious.

'Like catching fish in a barrel,' he thought, feeling a the grin on his face widen.

-oOo-

Today was not a normal day. Sawatari could tell that much.

Even before the Beacon's newsletter confirmed what he and Masumi had already guessed, he already had a clue. There would be a mandatory curfew. He was transported back to the day the Heartland incident had been announced.

Hushed comments popped up, underhanded remarks about Faunus, pointed fingers at every entity of power. It would last a couple days - a week tops - and then people would get tired and move on with their lives.

Sawatari was used to this. The first few casualties of any tragedy would make it to the news. You would go to funerals for people whose names you struggle to remember, and then the next time you barely bothered to check the obituaries anymore.

When one thought about it, it was nothing short of remarkable how everyone could act like it was the worst possible thing to happen one day, and the next day, everything would go back to normal.

"You are delusional," Hokuto told him, and the others just nodded their agreement.

"What it's true!" he yelled at them. "Why would I lie about something like this?"

"I could list at least a dozen of reasons right now," Masumi spoke up.

Fine… he deserved that, but he seriously needed to convince them.

"Ugh, fine! What would it take for me to prove it?" he asked them.

"Oh! I don't know. How about when we find him in the hallways, you go and shake hands with him like the good friends you supposedly are," said Yaiba.

"I didn't say I was his friend, I said he's Pap- my Dad's associate," he said, grumbling.

"When it comes to the great and marvelous Sawatari family, is there really a difference?" asked Masumi in between giggles.

"Well you are my friends," he admitted in a low voice, and that seemed to do the trick. They all stopped their teasing and looked like they were sorry.

"Fine, fine, teasing aside I think if we can agree that you can't possibly take seriously to all of your Dad's business associates," he said, using flying commas for emphasis. "Especially those who fill your head with praise because-"

"Because they all want to stay on my Dad's good side," he answered. "You think I don't know that?"

Of course he did. He had already forgotten when he first realized he was just another way to gain his father's favor, but if people were going to use him as a political tool… then what was so wrong about him doing the same?

Especially for someone like Jean-Michel Roget.

Seeing Mistral for the first time had been such a delight.

He had often heard wonders about the metropolis that brought even Atlas to shame. Back then, he had shrugged off the remarks. Everyone always told that their city or kingdom was the best of the best, that you had to be there to understand but – and this was something his parents had taught him early on – if their homes were so great, they wouldn't have to convince you of it; they would only need to show it to you.

Reality rarely lives up to the hype.

After all, it wasn't like they had technology like this in Atlas, and he had known for a fact that Vale had better infrastructures and organized government. The only thing Mistral was famous for was entertainment business and crime organizations, but when he first caught sight of the luminaries shining bright into the night sky, the beautiful buildings and carvings of the – admittedly impractical designs – huge skyscrapers, the halls, the theaters, the promotions of celebrities he had only heard on the radio or read about in the magazines, and the beautiful and lush gardens.

Everything stole his breath away, and that was before he caught sight of the floating platforms – no more like buildings – adorning the sky like spaceships or satellites.

"You like those? I've heard that these hold the headquarters thatcommands the whole city!"

"You mean…?" he had asked, his eyes probably looking like giant saucers.

"Yep, our host lives right up there in the sky," Papa had said.

Sawatari felt heady with wonderment, imagine the power, the respect held in such position! He wanted it all.

"Oi! Are you even there?!" He came back to the world with Masumi's face looking at him as if he had lost it.

"…Uh, sorry I was just, um… thinking?" he tried.

"Fine, let's for a minute pretend that this time your so called 'connections' aren't completely exaggerated. How exactly does that translate in an opportunity for us?" asked Hokuto, rubbing his eyes.

"To be honest, I was sort of expecting you to tell me that," he admitted, twiddling with his fingers in an attempt to soften the blow.

If their sweat drops were any indication, it didn't work.

"Masumi," called a voice at the end of the hallway. It was Reiji, looking slightly more sneaky than usual, which piqued his interest. "We need to talk."

"About…?" she asked, looking a little peeved for some reason.

"Not here, but can you tell me if the name 'Marco' rings a bell to you?"

-oOo-

When he finally found a decent signal to log into the Vale News stream, Roman almost missed it by not recognizing the face speaking.

"…On this following the, um, incident in the former Velaris Hall, the Council has sent an official announcement to the Vale City, which we will read to the audience now."

The poor girl on the screen looked like she could faint from nervousness as she flipped through the papers she was given looking for the right one. Her bottle glasses, plain face, uneven haircut and cheap-looking clothes seemed far more fitting for a camera girl or a reporter assistant.

Roman snickered at the thought – and at the girl - obviously the Vale Station had never even considered that Lisa would need to be replaced any time soon.

"Oh, here it is!

"To the Citizens of Vale:

"All of you must have your heads filled with questions and doubts on our current fight against chaos and monstrous, uncivilized behavior.

"But we must not falter. We may be divided as kingdoms, but as Remnant, we have stood together for eight decades now, and we will not be deterred now."

Roman almost cracked up to the – interim? – reporter looking at the piece of paper as if she was waiting for the punchline or something, and turning it over to see if there was anything else to the 'message.'

"Um, I g-suppose that was all for the message. We should um probably- I mean most definitely take at heart this …heartfelt words and…"

Really, those old coots were digging their own graves.

He turned the stream off and pulled the cigar from his pocket. After all, this deserved a little celebration. Everything was going according to the plan without any nosey people, cops or snooty brats on their tail, in no time everything would come together and…

Someone knocked at the door.

'Ugh, so much for a little break,' he thought and just murmured for them to come in. Of course the White Fang recruit heard him and entered as expected. He could barely mutter things under his breath whenever one of these animals was around.

"Report," Roman ordered to the guard standing upright in front of him.

"We have finished the scouting of the immediate areas surrounding the Velaris Hall-" he spoke after saluting.

"Former Velaris Hall," he corrected.

"…Right, and we found nothing out of order. The police are following the Dust trails just as expected and we have secured and destroyed the actual evidence."

"Excellent Perry, you are dismissed," he said, but before the Faunus could begin to move, a thought sprouted in his mind. "Well, you can leave, after you tell me one thing."

"…Sir?" he asked, remaining in place, but he did tilt his head to the side, as if he was a dog or a puppy; typical.

"What is the main conflict between truths and lies?" he asked, walking slowly towards him and finally giving a puff to his cigar. He wondered if he ever had the pleasure of tasting one of these babies.

"…I'm not sure what-" he attempted, his nose scrunching clearly not fond of the smell.

"Easy: accountability," Roman interrupted him. He never expected him to answer either way and laughed at the puzzlement that he showed. He exhaled the smoke in the Faunus' face, and he had to admire when he didn't cough or even flinch. He turned his back on him and just barked, "Are you waiting for a consolation prize or something? Leave!"

He only heard the fumbling of steps and the door close before his scroll beeped with a message labeled as 'Nosey Roger.'

It was time to get to work.

-oOo-

"I'm not going," he said with a finalizing tone, crossing his arms for emphasis.

"What are you talking about? We have to go!" Yaiba yelled from his place at the windowsill, looking as if he wanted to jump at him and slap some sense into him.

By punches or kicks, it was usually up to how pissed off he was.

"We don't have to do anything," he stated matter of factly. "Or at least I don't. That is just something you decided in my place."

"You-" Whatever his partner was about to say was stopped when Masumi put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.

"If he doesn't want to go, then I won't force him, and neither will you," she informed him, and Hokuto felt relieved.

"…Can you at least tell us why?" Sawatari asked, looking weirdly gloomy.

"Because this stuff about the Faunus and the Disappearance and ALL of this…stuff it's just…ugh." There really wasn't an easy way to say this so he decided to just wing it. "Because I don't care, okay?" There, he said it. Why would they put themselves in the line of danger over a bunch of people they didn't know? "We were lucky last time to be able to walk away mostly unscathed. I seriously doubt we will be that fortunate this time. If we dive in into this then… that's it, there is no way out, and I don't think I want to be there when it will undoubtedly explode right in our faces."

He waited for them to start glaring at him, to shout at him even but they only frowned – more to themselves than to him – as if the possibility never occurred to them. He wasn't sure if this was worse than their indignation.

Reiji released a long sigh, which coming from him felt like an admonishment.

"Fair enough. In that case, you would do us a great service to leave this dorm… at least until we finish the planning stage," he said, adjusting his glasses.

"Hmph fine by me," he snorted, making his way to the door. "I hope you enjoy jail time." He said sparing them one last look and trying to sound nonchalant but it was probably ruined by the slight slam of the door.

Hokuto couldn't understand anything of what was happening, and if he was honest with himself, he would rather it remain that way.

It was preferable than to pry around and discover what lied underneath.

-oOo-

It was too quiet, way too quiet.

Which, in any other circumstance, it would be far from being a problem. He didn't like noise, especially not unnecessary loud noises, but this time the racket had been replaced by something not just more annoying, but also far more dangerous.

Stares, either mocking or scornful or just plain curious.

Wherever he passed, he could feel the stares that people gave him – sometimes accompanied by low murmurs and even giggling. No matter how much they tried to be subtle about it, he could always notice them, as if anything could have ever escaped his sight.

Other than a skilled fighter, that is, and he almost wanted to snort at the thought. He didn't get why they – he especially - had to waste time in this so-called renowned 'Academy.' He had nothing he needed or wanted to learn from these… humans.

Their issues, either about their so-called safe heavens, incapability of their government and police or their clashes with the White Fang were all inconsequential to him.

If any of this was up to him, he would have been happy with staying in his assigned dorm for the rest of their stay, only coming out for the very much needed food, fresh air and of course the showers and general hygiene.

But as it was, it was this or…

"Would it kill you to watch where you're going?!" It was the first thing he heard as soon as he stepped into the hallway. People would be surprised by how many times a day he got to hear it – or any variation of thereof – no matter how much Yuto mocked him for it.

He just walked around whoever it was this time.

"Oi! I'm talking to you!" Shun withheld a sigh as he turned to the speaker. "Some manners you have!" It was a lanky-looking boy with lavender hair whom, judging by the white uniform, was from Atlas and he was looking at him with what he guessed was a frown, but in that baby-looking face it looked more like a pout.

"…Maybe you should try to watch your step," he replied simply, finally spotting a smaller figure next to the boy. It was a blonde girl from Haven, with unusually large eyes that made the half-forgotten corners of his mind realize that she would immediately strike anyone as attractive.

She was now clutching tightly at the boys' arm, him in response looking a bit bashful; typical.

"Yuu-kuuun! Let's just go, okay?" she whined to the boy. "Let him be or else we'll miss lunch." Whatever wishes the guy had to argue with him seemed to fly away as he let himself be coddled by her.

Which worked perfectly for him, so he just ignored them further as they strolled away.

"That went better than I expected," a voice commented from the corner of his eye.

"Shut up and take your food," he spat out, throwing the containers at him, which he caught with ease.

"Did you…?" he was about to ask, but he stopped him midway:

"Yeah, I did." Of course he did notice. The mere suggestion that he might miss such an obvious thing offended him.

"Should we..?" he started and Shun didn't want to hear any more of it. He was tired of all of it.

"…I won't stop you, but don't drag me down with your chivalrous quest," he spat out. He had to see if he could get Kaito to eat something. He had made a promise to Ruri.

That was all it mattered.

-oOo-

Masumi was staring hard at Reiji after he finished explaining his plan. It was well-thought, it accounted for all types of disadvantages and the groups he formed complement each of their strengths while covering for their respective weaknesses.

Really, she would have been envious of him if the plan was not as, well, absolutely dangerous.

"Give one reason as to why my team and I shouldn't back out from this…mission of yours," she spoke to him. "I mean… neither of us will blame you or tell on you, but unless you have one …" She was going to have to agree with Hokuto on this one thing.

Reiji stared at her and seemed like he was having a hard time coming with the right words to answer her.

"Do reasons really matter this time?" asked Gongenzaka out of nowhere instead. Masumi assumed it was a rhetorical question since he was obviously trying to get to something with this. "Masumi, I'm …tired of pretending that night didn't happen. I'm tired of trying to make a full picture out of it, one that actually makes sense, but it's futile because we know nothing. What I see here is that Reiji has the key to some answers and I'm sure as heck will be getting them, or else… I fear I will never get a night of full sleep again," he finished.

Now that struck a chord and unlike Reiji, she knew Gongenzaka had no ulterior motives nor was trying to coax her in any way.

And she needed answers too, but she wasn't going to force her team into anything.

"What do you think?" she asked to the boys.

"I'm going," said Yaiba. "I mean… with Hokuto kinda ditching, I feel a bit responsible. And I know I joked about not standing by my grandparents anymore, but I think I was actually restless." He looked at Gongenzaka now. "I'm also done being idle."

"I need to be there too," spoke Sawatari now. "I've known for a while that I'm constantly trying to bite more than I can chew, but I need to prove to people that I won't just ditch out …like everything else I've attempted in life." Masumi had to admire the great effort it took him to say the last bit. "Besides, if you're gonna throw yourselves into possible jail time, who's a better partner than the influential son of a soon-to-be Council Member?" …He was going so well, she thought as she watched him flip his hair to the side as if he was some kind of heaven's gift to them all.

But she also couldn't help the smile that crept up her face.

"Thank you guys, I mean it." She turned to Reiji now. "When are we leaving?"

"Tonight, while the trail is still warm," he said.

"Sounds good to me. Have room for one more?" requested a voice from the window and Masumi would be a filthy liar if she said that she – along with everyone else – didn't jump out of her feet. Sawatari looked like he wanted to hide under the bed, and for once Masumi didn't feel like laughing at him for it.

There sat perched upside down was the Haven girl from before, though she was not wearing her uniform anymore. Rather, she wore a white jacket with pastel colors. Despite the wardrobe change, Masumi recognized her green hair, golden eyes and the little antlers peeking from her bangs.

What was her name? Lynn? Erin? But more important than anything: how much had she heard? Stupid question, she knew, but maybe they could they pretend to have been talking about something else entirely? Would she rat them out if it wasn't possible?

"Oi! Rin! Can I come inside now? It's freezing out here!" yelled yet another voice, this one much louder, whinier too.

However, the girl seemed unconcerned as she swooped up for a minute, then a smack was heard along with grumbling, and then she swooped back again – like a swing or something – and added,

"Mmmm… Actually…make that two," she said, winking at them.

At this point, why not invite the entire school?


So... I may have taken a bit of an "hibernation state from writting during the holidays, because my house get full of ALL my relatives and I can't think when I'm surrounded by so many people, and they are so nosey and... well either here is the new chapter with Ironwood's POV as a gift!

Also some crumb trails, although those ones are up to you to follow or else the birds will eat them :P