Chapter 8:

Ruby sighed into the kiss as Jaune's arms tightened their hold around her, pressing their naked bodies together. Skin slid against skin, slippery with sweat, the smell of their lovemaking hovering over them.

The apartment, while sizable, only had four bedrooms. Fortunately, they were each large enough for two people to live comfortably. Yang had ended up rooming with Neo, while Weiss and Blake shared another room. The other two rooms had, naturally, been taken by the two pairs of "newlyweds," as Yang termed them. Ren and Nora shared one, while Jaune and Ruby shared the other.

Jaune and Ruby had invested in a large, queen-sized bed, providing more than enough room for the two of them, particularly when they were feeling frisky. It had its own bathroom, and the pair shared the space in a walk-in closet. For Ruby, that room was now more of a home for her than the room at her family's house, back on Patch, or the dorm room at Beacon. Perhaps it was better to say that Jaune was her home now.

It certainly felt good to put it in those terms.

"Are you okay?" asked Jaune, pulling back to look Ruby in the eyes. "I thought having Kyo here in Vale would make you more upset."

"I..." Ruby closed her eyes and tucked her head under Jaune's chin. "I don't think he's an enemy anymore."

"You really believe what he told you about how it all went down?" asked Jaune.

"Not a hundred-percent," admitted Ruby. "Kyo keeps reminding us that it's his word against Ironwood's. But...it does match with how Ironwood's been acting lately. It's something I could see Ironwood doing...and that scares me."

"So...you're more worried about what you'll want to do, if you find out that Kyo's version of the story is true," said Jaune.

Ruby nodded. "If that's the case, then I can't forgive Ironwood for doing that to Penny. But he's still the leader of Atlas."

"Can't exactly wage war against an entire Kingdom by yourself," said Jaune wryly.

"Nope," conceded Ruby. "But, if Kyo is telling the truth, I will wage war with one man, and whoever gets in my way."

"I feel sorry for them then," said Jaune. He kissed Ruby's forehead.

"If I do decide to fight Ironwood, then-" Ruby's voice was cut off as Jaune gently pressed the tip of his finger to her lips, forcing her head back so that he could look her in the eyes again.

"Don't," said Jaune softly, eliciting a soft gasp from Ruby. "I know what you're going to say, but I'm not gonna stay out of it. I don't care if I might get hurt, or if it might get me in troubl,e or even mean the end of my life as a Hunstman. No matter what you decide to do, Ruby, we'll do it together."

"Jaune..." whispered Ruby.

"You know," said Jaune, "I used to think about it every day...that moment when she kissed me."

He felt Ruby flinch against him.

"I was so shocked by it, so stunned that, by the time I realized what was going on, I was already in that locker and flying away," continued Jaune. "Every day, I used to wonder what would have happened if I hadn't let her do that. Maybe if I had it together enough, maybe if I had realized how she felt sooner, maybe I wouldn't have let her do that to me. Maybe I could have stopped her. Maybe Pyrrha would still be alive."

"Jaune..." repeated Ruby, tears running down her face.

Jaune moved his finger down to her chin, gently holding it so he could keep her from looking away. "I'm not going to let that happen again, Ruby. If you want to go pick a fight with Ironwood, then I'm coming with you. No matter what, I'm not letting you go."

"Thank you," whispered Ruby. "I love you."

Jaune smiled at her. "I love you too," he said. Pulling her in, Jaune pressed his lips to hers once again, reveling the feeling as his hand moved across Ruby's back, tracing its way down to her waist, then down to her thigh, which he pulled up over his own legs as he pulled her close. A few minutes later, they were making love again.


"And so...that is how it is," said James Ironwood, standing with his arms folded behind his back as he addressed the Atlesian Specialists assembled before him.

Winter Schnee pressed her lips together tightly as she lowered her gaze, calling upon all the strength of will and discipline she possessed to keep from trembling. She didn't like the look on Ironwood's face one bit. The James Ironwood she had decided to serve didn't seem to exist anymore. In his place was a paranoid, obsessive, and unpredictable man, but also an extremely vindictive one. When Ironwood had decided to not allow Penny Polendina to go to Beacon the better part of a year ago, she wished she'd had the wherewithal to try and stop him, or at least try and help Penny escape. But instead, she had sat back and watched, saying nothing.

After the complete destruction of the Seventh Mobile Brigade, it seemed that Ironwood's issues had only gotten worse. He had amassed more power than ever, and yet, also seemed more insecure than ever. When he'd revealed that Beacon was allowing Demon Eyes Kyo to stay on their premises, she had been afraid that his next act would be to call for them to assemble the fleet and raze Beacon Academy to the ground. She was amazed that he had enough restraint remaining to actually agree to Ozpin's terms.

"I will leave it up to you to decide when or if you will go to Beacon and make an attempt to bring this man to justice," said Ironwood. "You do not have to go alone. If you wish to work in teams, you are welcome to do so. That said, it is absolutely critical that you do not endanger the lives of Beacon's students while you do so."

He let his gaze drift across the assembled ranks of the Special Forces before nodding to them. "Dismissed."

Winter let out a breath and relaxed, letting her ice-blue eyes fall to the ground. As she turned to head towards the auditorium's exit, Ironwood's voice thundered out behind her.

"Specialist Schnee, report to my office immediately."

Winter couldn't help but flinch. She couldn't imagine anything she had done that would draw Ironwood's ire. She could only hope that he hadn't somehow developed the supernatural ability to read her innermost thoughts, and caught onto her reservations with the way he was running things.

That said, there was no point in hesitating. Winter turned and headed towards the stage, where Ironwood had been standing, knowing that the corridor behind it was the most direct route to his office from there. Ironwood was standing there, waiting for her.

"You wished to see me, Sir?" she asked as she stepped up next to him, and the two of them set off down the hallway.

"Specialist Smith is dead," said Ironwood simply.

Winter's eyes widened. "How! When?"

"Three days ago, in Cherry Grove," said Ironwood. "The settlement's mayor contacted me to inform me of it. Smith had gone there because he believed that he would find Mibu Kyo there."

"Is that so?" asked Winter, wondering why Ironwood hadn't shared this information with the rest of the assembly.

"Cherry Grove is over a week away from Vale by foot," said Ironwood. "Yet he was at Beacon only two days ago. When I questioned the mayor further, he said that Kyo left in the company of a team of Huntresses."

"Huntresses...?" Winter's, already light, complexion lightened by quite a few shades. It couldn't be!

"I checked the mission logs at Beacon, and found that Team Ruby had been dispatched to Cherry Grove on a mission over a week ago," said Ironwood. "They returned on the very same day that Kyo arrived at Beacon. It is not hard to make the connection."

Winter swallowed, worried about where this conversation might be going.

"It's clear to me that Ozpin put Team Ruby up to this," said Ironwood.

Winter's discipline kept her from heaving a sigh of relief. For a moment, she had been certain that Ironwood had been planning on accusing Team RWBY of aiding Kyo. The last thing she wanted was Ironwood's wrath to end up directed at Weiss and her friends. "I see," she said.

"I can't believe that Ozpin would go so far as to manipulate Team Ruby to aid in his schemes," continued Ironwood. "After everything those girls have done for this world, they deserve better than to be used as tools to further someone else's agenda."

I think the same could have been said for Penny Polendina, thought Winter sourly.

"I am sure that this irks you as well," said Ironwood. "If you wish to have first priority to take down Mibu Kyo, then I would be happy to grant it to you."

"Thank you, sir," said Winter.

"I also would like to extend my condolences to your family," said Ironwood. "I am certain that Specialist Smith's death is a severe blow."

"I don't believe that will be necessary," said Winter. "Weiss did not express any positive interest in Smith as a prospect." If anything, Winter was relieved that Farran was out of the running as a potential suitor for Weiss, remembering what a detestable person he had been during their time together at Atlas Academy. She knew that Weiss despised the man, but also knew that Ironwood had a rather favorable attitude towards Farran recently, thanks to his reputation for getting "results."

"If you are going to go to Beacon to confront this menace, it is only fitting that you have proper support," said Ironwood.

"If I may be frank, Sir," said Winter. At Ironwood's nod, she continued. "I don't believe any number of Jaegers will be enough to get the job done. Kyo has shown himself to be equivalent to entire armies in the field. No matter how many androids you send with me, I doubt they will be enough."

To her surprise, Ironwood smiled at her. "It's a good thing that I managed to secure something much better than androids," he said. "Or rather...I should say that I secured someone."

"Someone?" Winter raised an eyebrow.

They reached the door to Ironwood's office. When it opened, Winter looked inside, surprised to see that someone was already in there.

It was a young man, someone she judged to be just a couple years younger than herself. He was at least six and a half feet tall. His long, unkempt, black hair was mostly tied up in a simple tail behind his head, with long, shaggy bangs that nearly completely covered his eyes, but were especially long on the left side of his face, running down almost to his chin, and obscuring his left eye completely. He was dressed in a long, black, sleeveless overcoat, under which he wore a black shirt of some kind, accompanied by a pair of loose, black shorts, exposing only a small section of the bare skin of his legs before the rest was covered by a pair of tall, black boots that nearly rose up to his knees. Around his waist was a belt. Attached to that belt was a leather loop, from which hung a large, broad, curved sword, which hung in its sheath so that it rested at the small of his back, with its handle extending out to his left side, yet positioned so that he could easily pull it forward to draw it across his body if he needed to.

At the moment, the man's sole visible eye was closed, and he gave no indication that he noticed as Winter and Ironwood stepped into the office.

"Who is this?" asked Winter.

"A most capable mercenary that I managed to discover," said Ironwood. "His name is Nigel Whitaker. He annihilated an enormous swarm of Grimm that was threatening Weathertop single-handedly, in less than half an hour. He's a brilliant swordsman, with a blade that witnesses described as being 'fast as light.'"

"And have you ensured that his skills actually fit the bill?" asked Winter.

"Of course I did," said Ironwood. "The first thing I did after I found him was have him face down two platoons of Jaegers to show me his skills."

"And..?" pressed Winter.

"They didn't last thirty seconds," replied Ironwood. "I believe he will be more than a match for Kyo. When I told him who I wanted him to find and take down, he seemed plenty eager to do so."

"You want him to accompany me to Beacon," observed Winter, realizing what Ironwood was working towards.

Ironwood nodded. "If anyone can handle Kyo, it's him. However, I want to have a Specialist on the scene to ensure that the job is done properly. Because he's a mercenary, it can't be guaranteed that he'd hold himself to the same standards that I hold my soldiers to," said Ironwood. "I want you to be there to remind him that Beacon's students are not to be endangered by his efforts to take down Kyo."

"Understood," said Winter, mentally heaving a sigh of relief. She probably should have taken it as a blow to her pride that Ironwood merely wanted her to play escort to a mercenary that he'd found, seemingly at random, rather than believing in her abilities. But, when it came to Demon Eyes Kyo, Winter didn't quite believe in her own abilities, not when she had seen what Kyo had done to the Seventh Mobile Brigade, and even less when she learned about Farran's death.

Farran had been one of the few Specialists to willingly undergo cybernetic implantation to enhance their combat capabilities. Winter thought it was a drastic approach to enhancing one's own strength, practically a step away from willing self-mutilation. She thought it more of a crutch herself, an embedded enhancement that increased one's abilities without any requisite training or personal development. It was ideal for people like Farran, who wanted to get results quickly and with minimal effort on their own part.

But cybernetics, even if they initially outperformed the parts of the body they replaced, were inherently limited. A prosthetic arm might be stronger than a flesh and blood arm initially, but a prosthetic could not be strengthened through training and dedication. With hard work and development of one's Aura, it was possible to surpass the power output of even the strongest current prosthetic limb. Not that Winter objected to prosthetics when they were used to replace a limb lost to injury, as they had for Ironwood, or even Weiss' teammate, Yang. But she believed that having prosthetics implanted when one wasn't already injured was a wasteful act.

Regardless, Farran's implants had improved his combat performance considerably. Yet it sounded as though Kyo had taken him down with relative ease. Winter did not consider her chances to be any higher than Farran. If this Nigel person had a chance, Winter would be glad to accompany him, if only to ensure that Kyo was the only person who fell to his sword.

"Well then, Mr. Whitaker," said Winter, approaching Nigel, "I suppose this means that we will be working together for the foreseeable future."

Her words were met with no response. Nigel didn't even move his head to look at her. Instead, he remained in the same position, head slightly bowed, eye closed and angled towards the floor.

"Mr. Whitaker?" queried Winter, stepping closer. "Answer me, please."

There was still no response from the silent man. Winter stepped a little closer, worried that he was performing some kind of prank on her. However, as she got closer, she noticed the slow movement of his breathing and, more tellingly, heard the faint sound of snores issuing from the man's nostrils.

Nigel wasn't ignoring her...he was asleep on his feet.

"Mr. Whitaker?" asked Winter, reaching out to touch his shoulder with her hand.

She expected him to flinch, maybe strike out at her. However, he made no move whatsoever. She frowned, beginning to wonder if Ironwood's praise for the man's skill had been premature. She grabbed his shoulder and gently shook him. "Wake up," she said sternly.

Nigel's visible eye, the one that wasn't hidden by his bangs, blinked and then slowly opened. He lifted his head and stared straight at Winter, his gaze blank and almost completely empty. "Hmmm?"

"Mr. Whitaker?" repeated Winter.

Nigel's dark-brown eye seemed to focus, and he blinked again. "Good morning," he said.

It's afternoon, thought Winter icily, already having serious doubts about this man.

"Mr. Whitaker, this is one of my most trusted agents, Specialist Winter Schnee," explained Ironwood. "She will be accompanying you on this mission as your handler. You will leave as soon as you are able."

"Okay," said Nigel, his voice trailing off into silence for an uncomfortable moment before he asked, "Where are we going again?"

"Vale," said Ironwood, his tone of voice indicating that even his patience was fraying, despite the fact that he was the one who had recruited Nigel for this mission in the first place.

"Okay," said Nigel noncommittally, seeming disinterested in the whole thing. "What am I doing in Vale again?"

"You are fighting and, hopefully, apprehending a very dangerous criminal," said Ironwood. "You are pursuing Demon Eyes Kyo. Can I count on you to get this mission done?"

At the mention of Kyo's name, the atmosphere in the room shifted abruptly. All of a sudden, Winter was beset by an intense buzzing sensation that put her nerves on edge, as though the air around her was suddenly growing excited. Her skin broke out in a light sweat. The source of this sensation was unquestionably Nigel. As Winter watched, he showed the first signs of emotion that she had seen from him, a chilling smile spreading across his face.

"All right," said Nigel. "If it's Kyo, then I'll gladly go."

Winter shivered and gave Ironwood a dubious look. She didn't like the look or feel of the man...not one bit. "Are you sure about this, Sir?" she asked.

"Absolutely," said Ironwood, his confident smile back in place. "I'll leave everything to you, Ms. Schnee."

Winter suppressed the urge to sigh. "Very well, Sir. I will escort Mr. Whitaker to Vale." Silently, she hoped she wasn't making a serious mistake.


"Well, it looks like someone slept well," observed Yang wryly as Ruby ambled into the kitchen, wearing a dark-red bathrobe, lined with black. Her hair was straighter than usual, and slightly damp from her shower. Though her face looked a little bit sleepy, mostly due to her not being much or a morning person, Ruby was smiling and looked more relaxed than she had before, even after their little vacation.

Ruby blushed, but only slightly. Given how long that she and Jaune had been together, she'd grown accustomed to meeting her friends in the morning after a "busy" night. Still, Yang knew best how to get a reaction out of her little sister.

As Ruby seated herself at the table, Jaune slid a waffle, decked out with strawberries and whipped cream, in front of her. Ruby blinked, the last of her sleepiness disappearing as she dove on the waffle, devouring it with ravenous abandon.

Yang fought off a grin as she filled her mouth with a bite of her own waffle, which had been coated with a drizzle of maple syrup. "Not bad," she said, once she finished. "Are you sure Nora's gonna be okay not having pancakes?"

"It's not good for Nora to get what she wants every time she throws a fit," replied Jaune wryly, "even when her fits are accompanied by threats with her hammer." He leaned over and spoke to Ruby in a stage-whisper. "But I left a bowl of pancake batter in the fridge for her and Ren...just in case."

Ruby giggled, nearly spitting out her own mouthful of food. Chewing and swallowing, she quickly leaned over to plant a kiss on Jaune's cheek, leaving a smear of strawberry juice behind.

Jaune smirked at her and used a finger to wipe off the smear of juice before slowly bringing the finger to his mouth and sucking it clean, all while giving Ruby a sultry smile, which made her cheeks flush even more severely and giggle louder.

"Ugh! No food-play in the kitchen," said Weiss with a groan as she too entered the room. Like Ruby, Weiss was wearing her bathrobe, hers being silver in color, while her hair was wrapped in a towel over the top of her head.

"Too late for that, Snow Angel," said Jaune, eliciting a groan from Weiss at his nickname for her.

"Oooh! When?" asked Yang with an eager grin. "I want details."

"Well I don't," replied Weiss icily, her expression brightening only slightly as Jaune slid a waffle, decorated with syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar, right in front of her. "I especially don't need to hear details about your sex-life at breakfast."

"Your loss," said Yang with a shrug.

One by one, the other residents filed into the kitchen, their sleepy faces brightening as Jaune supplied them all with waffles decked with their favorite toppings. Neo's was topped by three small scoops of ice cream: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. Blake's was perhaps the oddest, given that hers was topped with sliced, seared tuna, with a drizzle of soy sauce. Ren preferred his devoid of any toppings, save for a generous pat of butter in the center. Nora, like Ruby, got strawberries on hers. (Surprisingly, Nora made no protest about not getting pancakes for once.) Whilst Jaune decked out his own waffle with syrup and chopped pecans.

As they ate, they contemplated their plans for the day. Blake was going to the CCT in order to call her boyfriend, Sun, in Mistral. Weiss was going to find a seminar to sign their team up for (seeing as their last mission had turned into an impromptu vacation). Ruby decided to spend the day with Jaune.

"I'm gonna head for Beacon," Yang declared after a moment's thought.

"Going to hook up with your new boyfriend?" asked Ruby teasingly.

Yang's cheeks colored slightly, but she kept her composure. "Well, I am planning on seeing Kyo," she said. "I do have some things I want to ask him about."

"What?" asked Blake.

"I wanted to ask him about the Aura-manipulation techniques the Mibu are supposed to have," said Yang.

"Why would you want to learn about those?" asked Weiss.

"Why wouldn't you?" retorted Yang. "You all saw what Kyo's Aura was like."

"Uh...we didn't," said Jaune as Nora, Ren, and Neo all nodded in agreement.

"I meant our team," said Yang, directing a look at her teammates. "It was huge."

Weiss looked down. "It felt endless," she conceded. "Do you really believe that kind of power can be credited to some kind of strange school or technique? I can't imagine some obscure technique being able to evoke such a change."

"Well it's probably not something that has an effect like that right away," said Yang. "If it's something he learned in his homeland, I bet he's been practicing and training in those kinds of techniques since he was a child."

"When you put it like that, it makes sense," said Weiss. "But if that's the standard of the Mibu Clan, I wonder if that means all their warriors have the same level of power as Kyo."

"I can ask," said Yang. "In any case, if learning something like that is able to give us an edge, I think it's worth asking about."

"You have a point," said Blake.

Yang was already fully dressed and groomed for the day. So, as soon as she was finished with her breakfast and had taken care of the dishes, she was able to head out. Much to her surprise, she found she had a companion for the day. "Are you coming with me, Neo?"

Neo's pink and brown hair bobbed as she nodded enthusiastically. She twirled her umbrella by its crook around her fingers before tucking it under her arm as the two of them set off.

Yang took them into the garage below the apartment, where she kept her pride and joy. The orange motorcycle, which Yang had named Bumblebee, was her prized possession. Back during her first year at Beacon, the opportunities she'd had to ride it were more limited. But now, many was the time she used Bumblebee to take herself and, occasionally, one of her friends around Vale, or to Beacon and back. While the length of the trip made it a bit of a tossup as to whether or not taking the road to Beacon was faster than flying, Yang often appreciated the adrenaline rush of cruising along at high speed, with the wind in her hair.

Yang strapped on her helmet and seated up, already turning the motorcycle on and revving the engine, even as Neo leapt on behind her, hugging Yang around the stomach. A minute later, the two of them rolled out of the garage before Yang fired off the Dust-combustion engine with a roar that sent the motorcycle's front wheel clear of the ground for a few seconds.

Yang could hear Neo's faint squeals of excitement as they raced through Vale, darting down side streets and cutting through alleys, utilizing a series of shortcuts Yang had discovered in the time she'd spent exploring Vale from Bumblebee's seat, creating the quickest, most efficient route to the school. Still being in the city, Yang couldn't drive at full speed. However, once they cleared the residential areas and found themselves on the winding road that led up to Beacon itself, Yang was free to open her ride up and go at full speed.

Traffic was good, I probably beat the airship today, thought Yang as she pulled into a parking place in Beacon's parking garage. The nice thing about the road to Beacon was that it was mostly used by supply vehicles, which meant that traffic was usually rather sparse. That allowed Yang to roar along at her cycle's top speed, which was the most thrilling part of every drive.

"Are you going to come with me to see Kyo?" asked Yang as she pulled off her helmet and stored it in the compartment under Bumblebee's seat.

Neo thought over Yang's question for a moment before nodding. "Cool," said Yang, beaming. "I think you'll like him. He's nice." I just hope I can find him.

Logic dictated that Kyo was probably somewhere near the guest dormitory, though Yang wouldn't have put it past him to wander some place else. Ozpin had apparently given him the run of the school while he was their guest here. Of course, without a scroll, Yang had no way of contacting Kyo to find out where he was. If he wasn't at the dorms, then she would try the dining hall, then move on to searching the rest of the school.

However, luck appeared to be with her as Yang entered the guest dormitory's common area. The guest dormitory was practically identical to the dorms for the regular students, both in terms of layout and the available amenities. As such, the dormitory contained a common area, which served as a lounge, complete with tables, and a small kitchen for the students' own use, if they felt like cooking their own food, rather than eating in the dining hall.

Kyo was seated on one of the room's couches, reading a book. Aside from him, the common area was deserted, which was the norm for most of the year. Aside from the occasional team of exchange students, the only time the guest dorms saw heavy usage was when Vale's turn to host the Vytal Festival came around, during which numerous students from the other Kingdoms would flock to Beacon, and the guest dorms would become almost as crowded as the regular dorms.

"Hey," said Yang, grinning and raising a hand as she approached Kyo.

He looked up from his book and smiled. "Hello, Yang. It's good to see you again." His eyes moved to Neo, who was standing beside Yang. "Is this an even younger sister of yours."

Neo's eyes narrowed in the tiniest of glares and she huffed silently, resting the knuckles of her hands against her hips and standing up straight.

Kyo blinked. "I see...my apologies."

"This is Neo," explained Yang. "She's a member of Team Juniper, our sister team."

"Sister team?" asked Kyo, raising an eyebrow.

"We took the initiation together," explained Yang. "We ended up working together during the final part of it to bring down a pair of really dangerous Grimm. So, basically, our teams wound up being really close, so they're basically an extension of our own team."

Neo gently prodded Yang's side with the crook of her umbrella.

"Right," said Yang with a small laugh. "Neo wasn't with us back then. She joined us later."

"How so?" asked Kyo.

"Well...funny story..." Yang shifted uncomfortably. It always seemed like such an awkward topic to bring up. "Neo used to work for the bad guys who were trying to wreck everything. A lot of things happened and she ended up joining us, then Professor Ozpin allowed her to come to Beacon with the rest of us."

"So...Juniper is a team of five members then?" asked Kyo, getting up from his seat.

"No," said Yang, her expression falling. "One of Team Juniper's members...died." She looked down. "Pyrrha Nikos used to be on Team Juniper. But, during the Fall, she confronted Cinder and...Cinder killed her."

"I see," said Kyo. "I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't mean to bring up such an uncomfortable topic."

Yang took a moment, but rallied and smiled again. "Nah, it's fine," she said. "I was the one who brought it up, in a roundabout way. It's not your fault."

"All the same, I am sorry to hear that you lost a friend," said Kyo. Closing his eyes, he sighed tiredly, and shook his head. "That woman is quite the nuisance."

"You know her?" said Yang.

"By reputation," said Kyo. "We've never met. She's also known in my homeland...albeit by a different name."

"It makes sense," said Yang. Cinder seemed to make a habit of making enemies out of everyone she encountered, even people who were supposed to be on her side, as Neo was a testament to.

"In any case, it's nice to meet you, Neo," said Kyo, bowing slightly to her.

Neo beamed and bowed back.

Kyo turned his attention back to Yang. "I assume you didn't just want to introduce your friend to me," he said. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Well...yeah," said Yang, twirling a bit of hair around the index finger of her left hand. "When we were talking back in Cherry Grove, you mentioned that your clan is supposed to be really good at Aura control. I was wondering if I could learn some more about it."

"Anything in particular?" asked Kyo, tilting his head.

"Well...anything you can teach me," said Yang earnestly. "To be honest...your strength is crazy. None of us has ever seen anything like it. I was hoping you could show me how your Aura became so strong."

"I see," said Kyo. He paused and looked up thoughtfully, gently stroking his chin with his fingers. "Is there anything like some kind of sparring facility here, somewhere where we don't have to worry about collateral damage?"

"Yeah, of course," said Yang. "Follow us."


"So the mission turned out to be a dud," said Sun.

"Well...dud isn't the word I would use exactly," said Blake, smiling at her boyfriend on the other side of the screen.

Sun Wukong was the kind of boy that any girl would be excited to be with. His short, shaggy, blonde hair framed a pair of dark-gray eyes that practically brimmed with mischief, complimented by a mouth that seemed fixed in an equally mischievous smile. All that, combined with a tan complexion, made him practically the embodiment of the handsome, "bad boy" archetype that could make girls the world over swoon on sight. Blake also knew that, below his head and shoulders, the parts visible on the screen, was a perpetually unbuttoned shirt that showcased a set of rock-solid abs that were every bit as attractive as, if not more than, his face. Of course, one of the other parts not visible on the screen was Sun's prehensile, monkey tail, a feature that marked him as a faunus, like Blake.

Despite the mischievous image Sun presented, Blake also knew that he was one of the kindest, sweetest, and most loyal boys she had ever met. She had initially seen him as nothing more than an irritant, a boy who thought they belonged together because they were both faunus. However, after getting to know him, Blake had realized just how caring and devoted he could be...which, rather ironically, he had demonstrated from the day she'd first met him, though Blake hadn't been as willing to see it back then.

"It turned out to be a really nice vacation," said Blake. "The cherry blossoms were beautiful. I'd love to take you there next year, if we get the chance."

"I'll see what I can do," said Sun.

"We can take Weiss and Neptune with us," said Blake.

"It sounds like a plan," said Sun. "Neptune's been behaving himself, so I don't think there should be any trouble on our end."

"Has he really?" asked Blake, her eyebrows going up.

"If he isn't, he's gotten a lot better about being discreet...which I don't think was even in that guy's vocabulary when it came to girls," said Sun.

Neptune Vasilias was Sun's teammate and partner on Team SSSN, along with being Weiss' boyfriend. The blue-haired boy's street stylings were primarily to hide the fact that he was an intellectual at heart, something that had caused him quite a bit of insecurity in the past. Unfortunately, as part of the persona he used to cover up his "nerdiness," Neptune had a tendency to flirt with girls shamelessly. After he and Weiss had hooked up, this tendency of his had gotten him in hot water with her, on more than one occasion. Fortunately, Neptune was too honest at heart to go any further than flirting with a girl, if he wasn't serious. Knowing that Weiss was attracted to him, in spite of, or rather because of, his intellectual nature had also helped curb Neptune's tendency to flirt. At both Weiss' and Blake's request, Sun had been keeping an eye on Neptune, after the boys had returned to Haven, to ensure that Neptune didn't fall back into old habits.

"Anyway," said Blake, "we ended up finding something much more interesting than Grimm."

"Oh really?" asked Sun.

"We found a billion-lien bounty," explained Blake.

"Demon Eyes Kyo? You mean you caught the Demon Eyes Kyo?" asked Sun incredulously.

"We didn't catch him," said Blake with a sigh. "All it took was one attempt to realize he was way out of our league. We got to see him annihilate an Atlesian Specialist while we were there."

"Seriously?" Sun leaved forward in his seat attentively.

Blake nodded. "It wasn't even a contest. But we managed to convince him to come back to Beacon with us."

"That's kinda crazy," said Sun.

Blake nodded in agreement with Sun's words. "It was Professor Ozpin's idea," she explained. "He wants to make contact with the Mibu Clan. Do you know anything about them?"

"Never heard of them," said Sun with a shrug. "But it's not as though I'm a history buff, so maybe I just haven't been looking in the right places. You want me to see what we can dig up here?"

"If you can," said Blake. "I'm going to look through Beacon's archives and see if they have anything here. It strikes me odd that there might be an entire Kingdom's worth of people out there, hidden."

Sun frowned. "I'd be more worried about whether or not they're all army-wrecking badasses, like Kyo. One of him stirred up things plenty with Atlas. Imagine what an entire clan of guys like that could do."

Blake shuddered at the thought. She highly doubted that everyone in the Mibu Clan was as strong as Kyo. In any group of people, even if they were all training in the same techniques and fighting styles, there would be all sorts of levels of strength. Blake didn't doubt that there were numerous members of the Mibu Clan who were considerably weaker than Kyo.

Of course...the flip side of that was that there might be at least a few who were even stronger than he was.

If such a clan unleashed their power on the world, just what kind of consequences would there be?


"This will do nicely, I think," said Kyo as he stared around the sparring room Yang had reserved for them.

The sparring room was one of several. Some of the larger ones were actually fully-equipped classrooms, with raised spectator seating so that the students could watch their peers fight while Professor Goodwitch critiqued their skills, tactics, and abilities. This sparring room was on the smaller side, meant for practice bouts between students during their free periods. As third-year students, Yang and Neo had plenty of free time in between missions and seminars.

"So...now what?" asked Yang.

Kyo set his sheathed sword down, letting it lean against the wall of the room before stepping out into the center. "For a start, show me your Aura," he said.

"Show you...?" Yang blinked in confusion.

Kyo nodded. "Yes. Concentrate on your Aura, then project it outwards from yourself. It's a basic technique."

"Oh! That," said Yang, blinking in surprise. What Kyo had described was a defensive technique that was taught in most Combat Schools. By projecting her Aura out in a powerful surge, a Huntress could drive back a number of weaker Grimm if she was in danger of being overwhelmed or even repel wide-area Dust effects. That said, it was also considered something as a last resort, as expending so much Aura at once could rapidly sap the reserves of even a strong Huntress or Huntsman.

For Yang, the technique was not all too different from unleashing her Semblance, once it was charged up. Neo stepped away from her and Yang closed her eyes. She took a deep breath to settle herself and snapped her eyes open. "HAAAH!" She forced her Aura outwards, the power manifesting as a golden shockwave that washed out around her. The air displaced by the force of the blast formed a wind that was like a slap in the face to Kyo and Neo. Kyo had been standing a little closer than he probably should have, so he ended up being driven back a few paces, having to raise an arm to shield himself from the blast.

"Very impressive," said Kyo. "Your Aura is quite powerful already, but I'm surprised a basic move like that fatigued you so much."

"Well it's basic, but it's not exactly conservative," said Yang, frowning.

"Well then, we have the first thing I can teach you," said Kyo. "By rousing your Aura like that, it makes it easier for me to see it. Can you see your Aura when you're not using it?"

"Not really," said Yang. "I mean, I have an impression of how much is left, but we usually use our scrolls to measure it."

Kyo tilted his head. "That seems counter-productive."

"Why?" asked Yang.

"Well, for starters, using a device like that means you distance yourself from your own sensation, which keeps you from sensing your own limits, which is critical in any combat situation. Furthermore, if you want to check it, I assume that you have to pull it out and look at the screen."

"Yeah," said Yang.

Kyo raised a finger. "Well, there's a free hand that's now occupied. And, in order to look at it, you're taking your eyes off of potential hazards and opponents, making it into a potentially fatal distraction. I'm honestly surprised that they'd teach you to do something like that."

"Well...now that you mention it..." said Yang, blinking at the realization that Kyo had a pretty good point.

"So then, the first step is to refine your awareness of your Aura," said Kyo. "That can be tricky. It's one of the longest preliminary steps to learning any of the styles that the Mibu Clan employs. Of course, that's in part that it's a novice step that develops the skills you later use to master the more advanced techniques."

"Oh? So I'm a novice, am I?" asked Yang teasingly.

Kyo laughed his awkward laugh and blushed slightly. "Well...by Mibu Clan standards, I'm afraid to say..."

Watching them, Neo frowned and she snapped her fingers. Kyo and Yang looked over at her and Neo pointed sharply at Kyo with a stern look on her face.

"Oh, so you want to see my Aura?" asked Kyo.

Neo nodded.

"Uh..." Yang took a few steps back.

"Well...I won't go at full strength," said Kyo. "I don't want to cause unnecessary damage..."

"Brace yourself," Yang told Neo, who looked at Yang in confusion.

Kyo didn't even take any preparatory measures. A second later, his Aura exploded out of him in a blaze of crimson that washed over Yang and Neo. Yang had braced herself, but was still driven backwards, sliding across the smooth floor of the sparring ring, until her back hit the wall with enough force to earn a grunt of pain from her. Neo, on the other hand, had been knocked clean off her feet. Kyo's Aura nearly filled the entire room.

Yang felt as though her body was being crushed against the wall, as though the very air around her had become too heavy to breathe. For a second, she was afraid that Kyo would smother her with the force of his Aura alone. But then its presence relented, and she slumped down.

"Geez!" she gasped. Her ears picked up a faint squeak from one of the other walls. Looking over, Yang saw Neo laying on her side, her back having been forced up against the wall as well. Her eyes had gone from brown and pink to a uniform white color, which happened when her emotions overrode her control over her Semblance and allowing her eyes' natural color to shine through.

"Are you okay, Neo?" asked Yang, running to her side and helping the diminutive girl to her feet.

Neo nodded shakily and stood up.

"That was just the projection of my Aura," said Kyo. "Without any malice behind it, its force is limited."

"Does everyone in your clan have that much Aura?" asked Yang.

"Not everyone," said Kyo with a smile. "While it may sound like boasting, I believe my strength is in the top tier of the Clan."

Yang breathed out a sigh of relief, secretly glad that the entire Mibu Clan wasn't made up of people with Auras as insanely powerful as Kyo's.

"That said, I'm not the strongest in the Clan," conceded Kyo drawing a start from both Yang and Neo, "not yet anyway."

"How many people there are stronger than you?" asked Yang.

"Well, my parents for starters," said Kyo. "Then there are a few of the Clan's elders...less than six, all told, I'd say."

"I'm amazed there's even that many," said Yang in a nervous tone.

"Well, I don't plan on letting them remain stronger than me for long," said Kyo, with a confident smile. "After all, my objective is to become stronger than my father, and he is, without question, the current strongest member of the Mibu Clan."

"Who is your father?" asked Yang.

Kyo's smile widened. "Like I said, he's the strongest. He's also the only other person besides me to be born with the Crimson Eyes constantly active. It's a trait limited to our family line. In the Mibu Clan, he is known as the Crimson King."


When it comes to shipping, in any fandom, I've never been one for OTPs. It always mystifies me how worked up some people can get over the romantic relationships of fictional characters. I'm still more than a little irritated by one author, whose work I was actually enjoying, who up and basically quit the fandom, leaving all his stories unfinished, while essentially throwing a hissy fit, because there were people writing what were essentially anti-Arkos works (usually a story where Pyrrha cheats on Jaune with Cardin in some fashion), amongst other things. Seriously, if that kind of thing isn't your cup of tea, then don't read those stories. But their mere existence isn't some deliberate insult to your preferences.

I admit to having my own preferences, when it comes to RWBY ships, which can affect the kind of stories I both read and write. I tend to shy away from Arkos stories, not because I dislike the pairing, or Pyrrha, but because they tend to be a dime a dozen. An Arkos story needs something more to it, in order to goad me into reading it. Out of all of them, I'll admit that Lancaster is my personal favorite, mainly because Jaune and Ruby really do complement each other as a couple. With the introduction of Oscar, in Volumes 4 and 5, I'll admit to having gained a liking for Rosegarden fics to, despite how many people point out how creepy it is that Oscar has a millennia-old wizard living in his head, which I just think adds an interesting wrinkle. But enough about that...

I will never miss an opportunity to harp on Glynda's little lecture, back in the Volume 1 episode, Jaundice, where she instructs the students to consult their scrolls to check Aura levels. She even tells Jaune to refer to his scroll during combat. How fucking stupid is that? She's basically telling him to, in the middle of pitched battle, stop and consult a mobile device! That's like telling a race-car driver, "Hey, make sure you check your phone for texts from the pit crew, while you're out on the track." And Glynda is supposed to be a competent Huntress and teacher. I'm guessing this realization might have occurred to someone on the crew, as it has not been brought up since.

And now for something completely different...

When it comes to Neo, my theory is that Neo's eye-color is a product of her Semblance. Considering that she can switch their colors at will, they might well be as much of an illusion as anything else she does. They change to white when she's startled, and frightened, by Raven's sudden arrival on the train, which leads me to suggest that that is actually the natural color of her eyes, when she forgets to use her Semblance to keep them mismatched.