A Wolf, A Red Hood, and A Sneaky Smile

by jwrite

My own oc is trapped by his own power till he meets Ruby and her friends, the road ahead is a bumpy one and many haunting shadows of the past come to the light of day as the road these heroes-in-training walk is unknowingly guided by the hand of another. Also, there is going to be some lovey dovey with neo later on.

12. Chapter 12: Expectations and Reality

Hello everyone, I originally intended to have this posted by Christmas and then by New Year's Eve. Now I'm posting it on New Year's Day, writer's block is a bitch. On a more positive note, this Fanfic has reached over 10,000 views and I cannot thank you guys enough. Now for some business, I told myself I wouldn't try to monetize my Fanfic unless I made it to 10,000 views. Don't freak out, I will still post content to this site. You can still view it for free if you want. I am just doing this as a way to make some extra cash to help support myself. If you like my work and want to support me that is fantastic, if you just want to read my fanfic for free that's cool to. See my profile for the link and my page for details.

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Chapter 12: Expectations and Reality

Tuesday proved itself to be a LONG day for William. it all started with him waking up to it raining. William didn't necessarily hate rainy days, more that when he was trapped in the Valley of Grimm he couldn't really do much when it rained so he primarily passed the time by sleeping. The weather app Weiss helped him download to his scroll showed it would be raining all day for the next couple of days. Though feeling tired William decided to try to make the best of it, weary or not.

He also decided to leave his collar off. He still carried it in his pocket, but didn't want to risk it raising any more questions or jogging any more memories from Yang.

William was beginning to think he would end up keeping secrets from everyone at this point. The secret about his relation to Summer Rose, Weiss' secret, dating Neo... he wasn't sure where it would end. Although if he had to list his top ten guesses they all ended with him being sliced and diced, frozen solid, and/or locked up in jail. All the more reason to keep quiet about everything.

Speaking of Weiss' secret, the second he walked out of his door the icy heiress grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to a secluded corridor. Once she was sure it was safe to talk, she relentlessly grilled him about what he had sensed from her the night before. Apparently she hadn't slept too well on the idea of William knowing her secret, but still, somehow, managed to suppress her emotions to the point William couldn't detect it. To her dismay, William confessed- at rapier point- that he found out her secret. He knew that she was attracted to both Blake and Yang and sought to be in a polygamistic relationship with them both. She even came up with a group name for the three: Bee's Schnee.

She loved Yang's bold, warm, and down to earth personality. Sure Yang teased her, but she didn't really mind it. In fact, she kind of liked it. Yang never saw her as Weiss Schnee heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, but just as plain and simple Weiss. In her bold and, sometimes, reckless actions Weiss felt feelings of wanting to say to hell with the rules rise with in her and just do something reckless and irresponsible. Something she had always wanted to do. There was also the brawler's warm honest spirit that just seemed to melt Weiss' heart.

Of course, there was also the physical attraction as well. Anyone with eyes could see the buxom brawler had a body blessed by the gods and a chest that could put some air bags to shame. Oh how the thought of using Yang's soft breast as pillows was always an appealing thought to the snowy Huntress.

As for Blake, she loved Blake for the unique dynamic she had with her. All her life she had spent countless agonizing hours with mindless people who kissed the ground she walked on like she was some kind of goddess or the sycophants who desired her favor, or rather the Schnee Dust Company's favor. Weiss wasn't sure which she hated more, but with Blake, she found someone who would oppose her and call her on it when she would act spoiled or snobbish.

Weiss tried not to be, but when you've been groomed a certain way your entire life, it's hard not to act that way sometimes.

The raven haired Faunus wasn't just the first friend she actually had to work for, but also someone who had forced her to actually truly look at herself and her family legacy. It was something she had closed her eyes and heart to long ago.

The air of mystery and adorable kitty ears were always a welcomed touch. Weiss' attraction to Blake was never for the purpose of humiliating her father, though that doesn't mean she didn't enjoy the idea.

Returning to the main point, and the Multi-Action Dust Rapier pointed at William's throat. Weiss made him swear to NEVER tell a soul about her secret. William reassured her he wouldn't tell a soul and even commented how he thought the group name was cute. Though, it still took about forty minutes to persuade her to put Myrtenaster down and even then she still threatened to send him to a frostbitten grave should he ever talk. William, being the Were-Grimm he is, could tell she meant every single word.

When the two entered the cafeteria, got their food, joined their team at their usual table, the resident brawler immediately tried to, involuntarily, see if Weiss would make good on her word. Luckily Weiss was quick to stop Yang in her tracks before she could even finish asking about her secret. The rest of William's day would follow the same pattern; Yang sees an opening to question William, either Weiss is present and shoots Yang down or William brings up the business with Junior and her dad before escaping, and then after both instances when Weiss and William have a moment to talk, Weiss informs William about the dangers of Glyphs and what horrible things they can do to the human body. Though the last part apparently extended to whenever Weiss found out William said so much as "hello" to Yang.

Adding to the growing list of reasons why William should have just stayed in bed pretending to be sick is the fact that in addition to needing to catch up on all the work he missed the previous day, professor Port decided to give everyone a take home test on everything he had covered thus far; something William's teammates forgot to mention until the professor handed him a copy. William had NO memory of him talking about ANY of the questions and it was due the night after Vytal Festival ends. Even someone like Weiss, who recorded the portly professor's ramblings verbatim, admitted to being stumped by some of the questions. William didn't like the idea of putting it off, but Ruby and most of the team agreed that they needed to focus on the tournament and decided to put it off until later. Though this still made the wolf Faunus a little uneasy, somewhat mentally kicking himself for agreeing to help his team prepare for the tournament. It wasn't that he didn't think he could do it, he just liked to get work out of the way as soon as possible…and having professor Goodwitch, one of the strictest teachers in Beacon's history, as his legal guardian may have had something to do with his feelings as well.

Lunch was, verbally, quieter than the first half of his day, verbally at least. Blake had persuaded Yang to cease her questioning, which did make things more comfortable to all non-Were-Grimms present. However, to William he got a triple helping of negative emotions; Yang was frustrated about not knowing Weiss' secret, Weiss was afraid she couldn't lower her guard around Yang, and Blake, well William wasn't entirely sure with Blake. Whatever she offered to bribe Yang had her shifting from guilt and embarrassment to excitement and curiosity so much that he simply couldn't get a read on her.

While intrigued by the prospects of what Blake might have to do for, or to, Yang- William is still a teenage boy after all- his main focus was to get Weiss at least to a good place so he could at least have some peace and quiet...and not having a rapier pointed at him every five minutes would be pretty nice too.

Despite appearing like business as usual to everyone around her, save for her teammates noticing some slight inconsistencies in her actions, Weiss wasn't in the best of places when it came to people knowing her secrets. William got a glance at her memories of the time Weiss told her brother, Whitley, she loved another girl from her fencing class when she was thirteen. Whitley told their father, Weiss tried to defend herself saying she meant in a sisterly kind of way, but that didn't stop her from receiving a severe scolding and an even more severe spanking. Since then she had been afraid to let anyone know her more private thoughts. Like the exact situation she was in at this very moment.

Even with Blake keeping Yang from prying and William agreeing to never tell anyone, Weiss was still feeling emotionally frail. The pressure to keep up appearance and the anxiety of her crush were being amplified.

This kept Weiss' focus divided. This was none more apparent than during combat practice as the normally flawless formed and flowing Huntress' bout was holey and rugged. She was pitted against Sun Wukong, normally this would have been a good match, but Weiss' distracted mind allowed Sun to take the advantage early on, which for Weiss was normally the kiss of death to the match, but was made infinitely more substantial as she couldn't even seem to be able to land a single hit. To everyone who knew her or was skilled enough to notice, even her Glyphs seemed to be less powerful than normal. William knew that Weiss couldn't go on like this and team RWBY sure as hell didn't have a chance in the tournament if he didn't figure out a way to help Weiss out, at least a little. Something that could bring her back to her old self.

William had planned to ask Ms. Goodwitch about what to do to help Weiss, without revealing too much information. Just because William could regrow his limbs didn't mean he wanted to. At the very least he was hoping for a few tips that could at least get her head on straight. However, at the end of her combat class, she notified William that she was needed elsewhere and handed him some test papers and a few pages of handwritten notes to help him out. She then informed him that they would be leaving Thursday at ten for an all day trip. Though she gave little more in the way of information than that. Before walking away.

As she was walking away the Were-Grimm caught a brief glimpse at her emotions; he didn't get the whole story as she was intentionally trying to shield herself from him, probably as a means of protecting him. However, he did manage to find out it had something to do with Ozpin, the council of Vale, and she was feeling a mix of anger and concern. William wanted to help, but he already had too much on his plate and knew Ms. Goodwitch didn't like it when William read her emotions like that. Weighing his options; he decided to just play it by ear.

That evening William made good on his promise to help team RWBY practice for the tournament. Thankfully teams participating in the tournament have training rooms reserved for them until the end of the tournament. Especially given the fact it was still raining cats and dogs outside. William was also quite thrilled that training rooms at Beacon were sound proof, blast resistant, and most importantly private. This way he could use his Grimm abilities without restraint, well without fear of causing a panic at least. Though, Weiss' performance during practice was arguably even worse than during combat class. All through practice, her mind kept shifting from the fear of her secret being revealed to her insecurity about her two crushes. The fact some of team RWBY's combinations had Weiss close enough to either, or both, of her crushes to smell their perfumes, did not help the situation at all.

When her teammates asked why she was off her game; she simple told them that she was feeling a little under the weather. Ruby, being the leader she was, decided to call it a day so Weiss could rest up. Feeling tired himself, more emotionally than physically, William seconded their leader's decision. Thus, the group returned to the dorms and continued their usual after class routines, with the exception of Weiss pretending to be sick. Dinner came, they meet up with team JNPR, had some usual banter and small talk, and then proceeded to get ready for bed.

What was supposed to be a reprieve from his agonizingly long day turned into an agonizingly long night. Weiss was jealous that Blake and Yang had decided to cuddle up for bed. So jealous and insecure that she was actually drowning out the rest of the negative emotions in the entire dorm. Something William didn't even know was physically possible.

William had spent most of his life dealing with negative emotions, somewhat viewing them as people playing different radio channels at the same time. normally, these created a type of white noise when the channels would overlap, at least to a certain degree. However, with Weiss having the volume cranked so high it drowned out everyone else it made it more difficult to ignore.

Come Wednesday morning William was, sadly, still completely clueless as of what to do about Weiss. He knew he had to do SOMETHING, but a lack of sleep did not yield anything resembling an answer.

Then came another headache for William to deal with. As he was leaving his room to go to breakfast, Blake suddenly pulled him to the side corridor to ask him for help. As it turned out she had yet to tell Sun she was officially dating Yang. It wasn't to be misconstrued that Blake wanted to string Sun along or anything like that. In actuality, she saw him in a jovial brother kind of way. This, however, was the very reason she couldn't break up with him. She had had a few chats with him since she began dating Yang, but could never bring herself to actually bring it up. She just couldn't stand the idea of breaking his little monkey heart. To William, this was in all honestly bewildering to see one of his team's most pragmatic members so flustered.

William tried giving much of the same advice as before, but Blake wanted something a little more… substantial. After a little while, and eventually some unintentional emotion reading, William came to realize Blake was trying to ask him to do it for her, without actually asking.

Just when William was wondering how this could get worse Weiss turned the corner toward them and Yang turned the other corner effectively boxing him in. He also noticed Yang making a somewhat sly and mischievous expression when she saw Weiss. Weighing his options carefully, William took the only logical course of action and jumped out of a second-story window and ran for his life.

…

During lunch, William decided to eat out in the courtyard, away from his team. While he was mulling over his mashed potatoes about how to get out of this situation Ruby sudden sat down next to him.

William snapped his head towards the girl, more than a little surprised that Ruby had managed to sneak up on him without him even realizing it.

"Hey, William how are you doing?" She asked with a smile only for it to quickly degenerated upon seeing William's responding expression. "Not doing so well?" She asked already having a good idea what the answer is.

"Just a little down," William said stuffing his mouth with a T-bone steak, chewing it whole, bone and all.

It seemed to Ruby he didn't even realize he was actually eating the bone. She also couldn't tell if this was a reason for concern or not, given William's semblance.

"William, can I ask you something?"

William raised his head allowing the, now paste, stake to slip down his throat. "Sure Ruby, what is it?"

The red reaper hesitated for a moment, "Are you happy?"

The wolf Faunus was taken aback by the question. "Um, sure. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Monday, before the, you know throwing up, you were smiling so much…and now… now you look worse than Zwei did that time dad tried to teach Yang to cook."

William paused for a moment, not sure what he was feeling right now. He definitely didn't feel the same he had Monday morning but was he really that down in the dumps?

Realizing he was taking too much time thinking he gave Ruby the first answer that popped into his head. "I'm fine, just…Grimm stuff. Nothing to worry about." He lied trying to wave off.

"William." she began clearly seeing through his lie, "I know you want to help us with our problems, and I really appreciate what you've done. I don't think I've ever seen Blake so happy before. But I don't want you to do this if it makes you miserable."

"What, I'm not miserable." He tried to defend.

"William, I can tell you're lying. And I know you are using this whole 'new start' thing and helping us as an excuse to run away from something. I can tell you were happier, but at the same time, you're still hiding from something. If you want to help the rest of your team that's great, but I don't want you to be unhappy because of it."

"Ruby, I'm not running away from anything." He said unconvincingly.

"Yes you are!" she raised her voice somewhat surprising the wolf Faunus, "You're using us as an excuse to distract from your problems and trying to forget them. You told Blake that she can't run from her problems, well NOW I'm telling you can't hide behind us try and forget the bad stuff from your past without facing it."

William's shoulders slouched, "wow, so this is what it's like to have your own words used against you. It feels really weird being the receiving end of someone knowing what's going on in your head. Ruby…you…you got me. I just don't know what to do." He finally admitted. "I've dug myself a mile-deep hole and can't get out."

Ruby placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and gently smiled, "That's because you tried to fix everyone else's problems by yourself."

"Heh, you're probably right. So what do I do to fix everything?"

Ruby put her finger to her chin, "Well how about you try asking for help?"

"Help?"

"Yeah, we are a team after all. We're kinda supposed to help each other." She smiled.

"Is it really that simple?" He unintendedly snorted.

"Your problem is all this time you've only ever been able to rely on yourself, but now you have a team to back you up; me, Yang, Blake, even Weiss. I'm not telling you to stop, I'm just saying if you ever feel like it's getting to be too much or you just need a someone to listen, talk to one of us. That's why we're here."

William abruptly hugged Ruby with incredible force. If not for being a Huntress, in training, and her sisterhood with physically stronger Yang Xiao Long, she might have had a bone or two broken. However, she knew the meaning behind the hug and just hugged back as best she could.

The two continued their embrace for a few more moments before disconnecting.

"You know Yang once told Blake something similar before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you two are definitely sisters, you know that?"

"Yeeeaaahhh" She dragged out not sure what he meant, "… why wouldn't we be?" The red reaper asked with her usual innocence.

"Bwhahahaaha." William began to laugh just completely shocked by her well… Ruby-ness.

"Are you done?" Ruby asked as William picked himself up from having fallen on the ground.

Receiving a nod from the Wolf Faunus, still holding his side, "Why don't you tell me what's all going on with you?" Ruby chirped with a smile.

William explained the situation to Ruby, first asking her to NOT tell Weiss, referencing her promise to freeze his manhood with ice Dust, among other threats, should he tell anyone. Weiss apparently learned a few negotiation strategies from her father.

After giving the reaper's brain time to reboot and process Weiss' desire for "Bee's Schnee" the two started to formulate a plan of action. Ruby came up with the idea of playing both sides to help smooth things over with Weiss.

When William asked what to do about Blake Ruby simply stated: "Just let me handle that, we girls have ways of dealing with this stuff."

William wasn't entirely sure what that meant and was more than a little scared to hear Ruby, of all people, say something like that. Nonetheless, he didn't have any better options and decided to just let it go if it meant he wouldn't have to witness an awkward breakup.

"With some luck, I'll be ending up with a new sister…well, sisters." Ruby smiled.

The two then departed to work on their own part of the plan.

After getting partially frozen in a block of ice only twice, William eventually managed to finish proposing the deal to Weiss; in that he would ask Yang and Blake anything she wished in her place. This way she could get any information she wanted without any risk to her secret. It also gave William a way to at least have a conversation with Yang without it ending with a rapier pointed at him. It took a little more convincing to quell her nerves, but the heiress gave into the fact this was her best option. Only after making William agree not to go beyond what she asked. William was happy to agree. This actually helped him a lot in his mission to help his teammates.

For Weiss' case, the Were-Grimm was at somewhat of a standstill. On one hand he didn't want her to have who she loved decided for/forced on her, much like the rest of the things in her life were, but on the other hand she was still trapped by the inhibitions of her upbringing and thus couldn't bring herself to take the first step, so this plan worked well for everyone.

By dinner time, William and Weiss were set for operation "questioning Yang and Blake", pending an operation name change.

As the group was seated for dinner, Weiss said she had "accidently" forgotten her scroll in the classroom and went to retrieve it.

Per Weiss' instructions, once she left, William was to ask her two crushes how they felt about a third partner. She knew they saw her as a prude, and to a degree she was, so it stood to reason they might be willing to answer more honestly if she wasn't present.

Things were also made easier by the fact Ruby claimed she had minutely chipped Crescent Rose's blade during professor Goodwitch's class and was working in the metal shop to fix it. When she showed the chip to her team, they couldn't even see it, but she swore it was there. Ruby typically worked on her weapon almost nightly, but William had already learned that Ruby would accept ANY excuse to work on her "baby" as a good one.

Returning to the topic at hand, William posed the question under the premise he had heard some classmates talking about doing something like that. Blake was expectantly hesitant to answer; Yang, on the other hand, gave a definitive answer: yes!

She then started posing a few potential candidates eliciting a blush from her girlfriend too embarrassed to even acknowledge the list of women the blonde seemed to just roll out, almost as though she had already given it quite a bit of thought. Chances are she had.

Blake would immediately respond to the ones she didn't want and Yang and William gathered that when she said nothing and just lowered her head and blushed meant that they were someone she would be interested in. Not surprisingly individuals like Pyrrha, Velvet, and some girl people call Boar-chan were the ones Blake didn't speak up about.

William posed a few names Yang hadn't listed, some of whom he didn't even know, but had heard about.

Then came the question he knew Weiss really wanted him to ask: how did they feel about Weiss being their third partner.

Yang practically choked on her milk, "Will what brought that up?"

William shrugged, "What, it's just a hypothetical…and you've kind of already listed all the Huntresses I know, well, except for Ruby, but I think that crosses a line." He technically didn't lie. "And stop calling me Will."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Damn, we need to introduce you to more girls."

"So about Weiss…" He led on, trying to not let on his interest in the question.

Yang raised an eyebrow, "Why are you so interested in a threesome between us and Weiss anyway Will?"

Crap, she's on to me. William screamed in his mind.

Not wanting to remain silent too long William blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Well, I think the three of you together could be really cute. You could even call yourselves 'Bee's Schnee'." He stated mentally kicking himself.

"Yeah, you got a point there," Yang stated plainly while William was cerebrally blaring that it had actually worked. "I guess I would be up for it." She shrugged.

I'm a sucker for a good pun-named couple… or triple. I'd just have to be careful not to get my tongue stuck to her." She joked.

"And you Blake?" He directed at the cat Faunus.

Blake was still blushing, yet she seemed to be more composed, at least compared to when Yang was rattling off a list potential partners, "I feel like it would be kind of fun." She stated calmly earning a surprised look from her girlfriend.

"Well… that's a surprise." Yang stated.

"I think she can be pretty cold at times, but when she lowers her guard and shows us what's she's like when she doesn't have to be a Schnee, I think she can be…cute." The usually stoic Huntress admitted with another blush.

"So enough about us, what kinds of ladies are you into?" The blonde directed towards the wolf Faunus.

"W-what, what brought that up?" William asked completely surprised.

Although in hindsight he probably should have seen this coming.

"Oh come on man, you've asked us about our preferences towards the ladies. It's only fair we get to ask about yours's."

Starting to think this might be turning somewhere it shouldn't- this IS Yang we're talking about here- William looked towards Blake for some kind of way out only to find she had the same inquisitive expression Yang did.

"Come on wolf boy, spill it. What kinds of girls do Were-Grimms go for? Tall? Skinny? Hefty? Faunus? Human? Black? White? Hispanic? Asian? Boy? Girl? Both? Come on give us something?" She asked in rapid fire succession.

Seeing the determined look in Yang's eyes and clearly seeing he wouldn't be getting any way out from Blake William just admitted defeat.

What's the worst that could happen if I told them? He thought.

"Well, let's see," He began stroking an imaginary beard, "First, definitely females only. I'm sure you can understand my reasoning." He smirked receiving a nod from Yang, "Not too tall, my height or below, I guess. But's it's not really a solid requirement. I guess I'm okay with most body types as long as they are in any kind of physical danger, like being obese or malnourished. I'd like her to be kind of flirty and maybe the type who would tease me, but never to an extreme or to the point they can't be serious about anything. She should be playful and fun to be around. But also, someone I can cuddle up next to and hug. Oh, and having a Faunus tail is definitely a big bonus."

"Not bad, not bad," Yang began, "But you left out all the good parts?"

Blake and William shared a look before turning towards the brawler. "Good parts?" the two repeated back.

"Yeah, you know legs, butts, boobs; the important stuff?"

"So am I just that a rack with a nice ass to you?" Blake asked debating what to do to Yang given her answer.

"Relax Kitty Cat, you know I love you for a lot more than that. You're sweet, caring, sharp as they come, and I don't mean just your swords. Plus, those cat ears of yours's are just too damn CUTE!" She said raising her voice at the end to stress it.

"Oh, and you have a killer set of legs too." She quickly added earning a smirk from Blake.

"Thanks Yang, I love you too." Blake hugged as Yang wrapped one arm around her waist.

"So, what will it be Will; butt, breast, or legs?"

"Honestly? I guess I've never really been that attracted to women's behind, minus the whole tail thing, but I can see the appeal. For the legs they have to be long and silky, I won't compromise on that."

"What about Bust? Are you like Blake, going for the perfect duo?" Yang asked puffing up her chest, "Or are you more into Weiss?"

"I guess closer to Blake's preference, but I don't have anything against, um, the Weiss-es of the world."

"Speaking of which what's taking Ice Queen so long?" Yang asked.

What they didn't know was that Weiss was in the building next to the cafeteria waiting for William to discretely signal her to return once he got the answer.

"I'll text her." William volunteered taking out his scroll and began typing giving Weiss the all clear and the good news. Even telling her that they liked the "Bee's Schnee" name.

"And…send…" He said finishing his message and returning his scroll to his pocket.

A few minutes later Weiss walked into the cafeteria. To everyone else, she seemed her usual Ice Queen self, but William could sense she was on cloud nine, or at least close to it. He couldn't sense any negative emotions from her so it meant she was either repressing her emotions again or happy enough to let all the worries of life slip by. A sly wink and smirk confirmed it was something along the lines of the latter.

After dinner, the group walked back to their dorm, with the exception of Weiss who said she was going to study in the library. In doing so she earned a raised eyebrow from Blake and William who, thanks to their Faunus heritage, heard her make a sound they never heard her make before.

Seeing the two Faunus share a look of confusion Yang felt she needed to ask, "Okay do you two want to fill me in?"

The two Faunus shared a second look before William spoke up, "Weiss was actually giggling under her breath." William answered. Despite already knowing the reason he was still surprised; this was after all the first time he had heard Weiss giggle.

Yang took a moment to process the information, "Wow, either she really likes to study or the library took a page from Blake and stoked up on the latest 'Ninjas of Love' volumes." The blonde teased.

"Oh you." Blake playfully shoved.

"What's a matter kitty cat, thinking of your favorite book got you in the mood?" Yang again teased eliciting a blush from her girlfriend. Apparently forgetting William was still there.

"Please, stop." She asked trying to not blush.

"How are you going to stop me." Yang grinned, "Blakey." Yang cooed.

For a brief moment, William noticed a shift in the cat Faunus' eyes. They seemed almost predator.

Yang looked as she was about to say something, most likely to add to the fire she had already started. However, before she could even say the first syllable, in a flash, Blake had unlocked the door, pushed her into their room, and closed the door shut. All while giving Yang a deep tongue domineering kiss.

William decided he should just go back to his room. After all, he was now just standing in the middle of a hallway, by himself blushing like his face was on fire.

As he closed his door, still flustered by what just happened, he received a text message from Neo. In all the commotion with his team for the last day and a half, he had almost completely forgotten about his first "official" date with Neo.

Panicking he looked at the time on his scroll. It was six thirteen. This caused him to relax a little. The movie he and Neo had wanted to see wasn't showing until eight-thirty. They had intended for it to be earlier, but when they were planning it Neo remembered that she would be working that day and wouldn't be home until seven at the earliest.

Perplexed about the early text William read it aloud, Will got off work a lil early do u want to meet up sooner?

After all the craziness with Weiss and the rest of his team, some time alone with his ice cream girl was just what the doctor ordered. It also didn't hurt his argument that as soon as he finished reading her message did soft music start to play from team RWBY's room accompanied by a very discernable repetitive banging.

I always imagined Blake as the more composed individual; less likely to just given to her desires like that. I guess what they say about the quiet ones is true. He thought, returning his attention to his scroll.

He texted her back: Sure, just got 2 run an errand first and I'll be there by 6:40 or so.

He waited a little for a response until he heard his scroll ding.

Sure. She texted him back.

William got ready and texted his team that he was going to pick up some Gravity Dust and then was planning on walking around a little and run a few other errands.

This worked out pretty well, despite the fact they had planned on practicing for the tournament, but with Ruby locking herself in the weapon shop, again, Weiss hiding in the library waiting for her giddiness to subside, and Blake and yang… cuddling. It was probably safe to say no one was really in the mood to practice fighting. At least tonight.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing either. Everyone needs a break and this was good to help their bodies relax before such a big event as the Vytal Festival.

William grabbed his disguise of a beret and dark sunglasses, made his way to the airship port, and took an airship to the port closest to Neo.

As he exited the airship port he slipped on the choker Neo had given him. he missed how the soft interior felt on his neck.

From there he made his way to the store "From Dust Till Dawn" to pick up his Gravity Dust.

William entered the establishment seeing a small line to the counter with each person clearly eyeing the dark purple crystals in the new display behind the counter.

While waiting, William flew through a complex set of emotions watching the shop keep talk to his customers. His kind elderly appearance was completely contradictory to the fact he seemed to effortlessly convince his customers to buy more Dust than they intended to.

He would start with small talk and covertly add in small suggestions. It was incredibly weird looking at it from the outside. What was really confusing is that William didn't even sense a hint of negativity as though he was completely fine with what he was doing.

When it came to William's turn in line to buy Dust he was sure to keep the conversation to a minimum and stay on his toes for any of the shop keep's subtle suggestions.

After leaving the store- with only what he intended to buy- William contently began to make his way to Neo's apartment.

Looking around he was amazed at how festive Vale felt. Even though the tournament wasn't until Saturday it was still so festive. William loved the feeling of such a festive scene. Not merely for his own enjoyment, but also for the fact that the more festive a place is the less negative emotions he can sense, which makes him all the more festive.

As he strolled through the city he noticed a small store wedged between two much larger buildings called "The Six Gifts". If you weren't specifically looking for it, one could easily miss it. Seeing that he had some time to kill William decided to go in and look around.

Inside he found numerous little things of varying interests; a foldable wooden toy ship, an assortment of wigs, gold rings, a stuffed golden boar made to look like a Boarbatusk, and of course being so close to a combat school, there was an assortment of weapons including spears and a few hammers. William wondered if Nora shopped here. Browsing further into the small story William was about to walk out when something in the glass counter display caught William's eye. it was something he felt Neo would really like.

As he exited the shop he noticed it was drizzling and decided to pick up the pace. This time he remembered the way to Neo's apartment and her apartment number. Arriving only a little damp he knocked on the door.

Suddenly it opened with Neo blitzing William, jumping up, wrapping her arms around his neck, and giving him a deep kiss. Out of habit, William wrapped his arms around her to help hold her up as well as to reciprocate her feelings. Her lips said everything that needed to be said. They were warm and inviting, like those of someone who hadn't seen their loved one in such a long time, but that wasn't quite right.

The best comparison William could make was that it made him feel like Neo was his wife welcoming her him home after a long business trip. Though this thought did confuse William for a second or two. Sure he really cared for Neo, but did he really feel that way or did the last day and a half just fry a portion of his brain resulting in the aforementioned mental image as a type of delayed suspension bridge effect. His life had definitely been threatened enough. Either way, he enjoyed the kiss letting all the rest disappear.

"That's the kind of greeting I could get used to." William smiled drawing back for air, still holding Neo up in a hug.

Neo put her head on his left shoulder, "We can always make it our special greeting when we're alone." She cooed in his ear.

"I'd like that." The Wolf Faunus smiled gently lowering his petite cutie to the ground.

"So is your hair still dyed pink or are you making it your new look. Because if we are voting I say keep it that way."

"As much as I hate to disappoint you; when this extra strength hair dye wears off, I'll be keeping my usual hair color. Thank you very much. Besides, we both know the only one of us who can pull off pink hair is you."

"True."

"Since our movie doesn't start until eight what do you want to do?"

Neo put her finger on her chin like she was thinking. She knew William loved it when she posed all cutesy for him. "Well, are you hungry?"

"Sorry about this, I know we planned on going to dinner first, but I just had dinner not that long ago."

"It's okay, you're not the only one, after work I was so hungry I couldn't help myself. So how about a nice walk?"

*loud thunder noise*

"EEEPPP!" Neo involuntarily let out as the light drizzle turned into a heavy downpour.

"On second thought, I can wait, do you just want to watch a little TV until the rain dies down a little," Neo said somewhat sheepishly.

"Do you mean when it's not thundering?" William asked with a smirk.

Neo gave him a very disapproving look, "You know how I am with thunder." She said with a huff.

"Believe it or not, I like thunder. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Neo asked with a look of incredulity on her face as to why anyone would enjoy the sound of thunder.

"Because it gives me a reason to cuddle up next to my favorite Neo." He grinned eliciting a sign of some pink forming on her cheeks.

Neo looked away and down a little, "You know you only need to ask me. You don't need to wait for it to thunder." She blushed further.

William lowered his head next to her ear, "I know, but I'll take just about any excuse to cuddle up next to you." He cooed making Neo's blush grow even more.

William loved to tease Neo, there was just something so adorable about her when she blushed.

Suddenly William picked Neo up and carried her to the bed bridal style to the bed.

"You're unusually forward today, trying to get me into bed already?" Neo teased as William gently laid her on the bed, trying to give William a taste of his own medicine.

"If that's what you want, you need only asked." He replied with a calm, but sly smile as he slid onto the bed next to her.

"Maybe after our first date, then I can really show you how to have a good time." She cooed in a sultry voice that made William's wolf ears stand at attention and eliciting a small, but noticeable effect another body part.

Not wanting to get him too revved up, at least not yet, Neo decided to stop there and turn on the TV and cuddled up to next to her favorite Faunus.

The two channel surfed a bit before settling on a documentary on the history channel. Though they didn't really watch the program so much as just enjoyed each other's company. Not saying anything, just letting the warmth of the other envelop them.

Time passed and Neo's scroll went off. She had set it to go off to give her and William enough time to make it to the movie theater.

Neo, somewhat regretting breaking contact, stood up, "Well, shall we?" She asked extending William a hand up.

"We shall." He said taking her hand.

As the two opened the door they saw it was still raining. Not as hard as before, but still pretty heavy.

"Oh well, I guess we will have to use your parasol and cuddle up together under it," William stated nonchalantly sensing Neo was considering backing out of the movie.

Seeing that blush spreading across her face confirmed his plan worked. Though when the thought seeped in, he felt his face heat up a little.

Neo grabbed her signature parasol, locked the door, and away they went. William being the gentlemen, held the parasol up so that it sheltered them both as Neo wrapped her arm around the one William wasn't using to hold up her parasol, making sure to snuggle up as close as she could without impeding either of their ability to walk.

The theater wasn't more than twenty or thirty minutes away from Neo's apartment, though for the two they wouldn't have minded, if not requested, it would be a little longer. They enjoyed each other's company, still warmly rosy as they felt their bodies respond to each other practically exuding an aura of limerence.

The two eventually made it to the theater. Stopping a block away, Neo suggested just using her semblance to sneak into the movie. However, William told her no, with some difficulty. Neo seemed to always have her own unique style of negotiation, primarily involving physical assault. However, she also had other methods at her disposal. In this case, Neo was giving him the most irresistible puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. She could arguably even out do Ruby and Yang. Thankfully William reminded her that her boss not wanting her to make any trouble.

"Okay, I'll buy the damn tickets, but you are buying me some candy." Neo poked his chest.

"But of course." William grinned beaming a somewhat triumphant smile while enjoying Neo's lovable pouty face.

Neo bought the tickets for the eight-thirty 3-D showing and William paid for the snacks and boy did he pay for them. In addition to the popcorn bucket and drink for him, Neo insisted on buying her a dozen boxes ice cream flavored Choco-bites.

"Are you really going to eat that many?" William asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe." She said cocking her head with a cute smile.

This time William couldn't find a way around the power of Neo's puppy dog eyes. He could only shake his head as Neo grabbed her treats from the counter beaming a triumphant, cocky smile.

She is too damn cute for her own good. And mine.

The two entered the theater and found two empty seats in the middle row. Both of them wished they had left the apartment later as they sat through twenty minutes of the same previews for the same four movies, all about as appealing as getting gum stuck on the bottom of your shoes before the actual movie started.

The movie itself was okay, not great, but not terrible. The effects for the ghost were pretty good and the plot was pretty interesting. It just, somehow, didn't all come together with good cohesion. Albeit, that didn't really matter.

About halfway through the movie, William and Neo's eyes began drifting towards one another before becoming completely locked on the other's. William lost himself the pink and brown irises of playful beauty that he had grown to love while Neo lost herself in the swirling galaxies of William bluish purple orbs. Inch by inch the two drew nearer to the other. As the two were about to kiss, William felt a taping on his shoulder.

"Sir…Sir…You're spilling your soda." A voice said.

returning to reality William sat up straight, "Oh crap!" he said realizing his grip on his soda was crooked and allowing a small stream to flow down the slope of the theater.

Looking up to get a clear view of the usher- at least for a movie theater- the usher turned his flashlight on, making sure he was pointing it directly in William's eyes.

"Um, excuse me, can you please stop shining that in my eyes, please," William asked from behind his hands held up to shield his eyes.

"Do you know you were spilling your soda on the ground?" The usher asked in an agitated and somewhat haughty voice.

William couldn't quite make out his face due to the flash light, but from what he could see is he was a tall heavy set man. He also appeared to be wearing a pair of glasses and sporting a pretty advanced beard.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Now can you please get that light out of my face?" William asked again this time getting a whiff of the usher, due to his Faunus heritage.

The usher smelled like body odor, beer, and…Cheese Puffs?!

"Hey wait a minute", the usher said moving the focus of his flashlight from William to Neo, "You're that bitch who attack me!" He exclaimed.

What were the odds the guy Neo assaulted the first time they hung out together would be an usher at the movie theater they went to for their first date? Seriously, what are the odds of something like that happening?

Sensing the usher's emotions and knowing where this was going from experience, William released a smokescreen of Grimm ash. In the confusing William grabbed Neo and ran towards the exit.

"Scramble the security cameras," William shouted busting through the door to the theater carrying Neo over his shoulder as his Grimm smokescreen flooded out of the theater.

For anyone else, there was no way to even find the security cameras as the black haze spread through the lobby, but Neo, being the career criminal she is, could project false images onto each of those cameras drunk with her eyes closed, possibly even while on fire.

William exited the front of the building and made a mad dash down the road weaving through several streets before taking the back way towards Neo's apartment. The crowds of people still roaming Vale helped in concealing themselves as they jostled their way through.

Suddenly Neo began hitting William on the back of the head, "Will you need to let me down NOW!" she exclaimed.

Sensing her having a distressing reason, he lowered her.

Not a second after her feet touched the ground did glassy crystal-like shards begin coating both of their bodies.

Turning he looked in a nearby store window, William was wearing a white and gray jacket with the hood up and a pair of clear glasses; even though he still saw the world through dark glasses. Looking down he was wearing black jeans and blue tennis shoes. Furthermore, his physical features had changed. His hair was now brown, the scar over his right eye was gone, and now his eyes were a bright green. He couldn't even see his wolf ears. Though he still felt them.

Turning around to ask Neo why she did this, he was suddenly pulled down by a long red haired woman with lavender eyes wearing, what looked like a purple uniform similar to the Atlas military uniform.

As William was still trying to figure out why she was doing this- but not trying too hard- a police car turned the corner rushing by. Neo must have caught sight of the car through the vacant lot at the end of the perpendicular block they had passed.

They waited a few more moments, either for authenticity or just because they enjoyed it, probably both before separating.

"I didn't know you could use your semblance on other people?"

Neo just shrugged with a grin.

"Hey wait, where's your parasol?" William asked seeing only a single box of Choco-bites in her hands.

"Huh, guess I just left it." She shrugged nonchalantly, "I really wanted more of those Choco-bites." She dolefully sighed seeming more concerned about the lost candy over her weapon. "They were tasty."

"Neo!" William half shouted, "If they have your weapon they might be able to find you!" He stressed with his hands.

"Relax", she waved off, "truth be told, they've actually got ahold of my parasol at least six or seven times. I'll just sneak into the evidence lab or whatever. Good thing I have a tracking device in the handle." She said coolly raising her scroll to show him a red dot on a city map as she began to walk towards her apartment.

"I feel I should be concerned, but in all honesty, I think I'm either just indifferent to crime or just numb to the idea of you committing a crime." He said plainly as he walked quickly to catch up to her.

"You just have excellent taste in women." Neo tried to joke.

"No argument here." He chuckled not fully connecting the dots.

The two locked their arms and continued to walk back to Neo's apartment, still in disguise.

"By the way Will, what was that smoke stuff you used?"

"Oh that, I just released the same ash-like substance that comes from creatures of Grimm when they disintegrate. The stuff I expelled just takes a little longer to disappear. By the time that cop car reaches the theater it should be gone."

"Damn Will. If you ever want to join the dark side I can always put a good word in for you." She smiled patting him on the shoulder like a proud parent.

"Maybe, just as long as I get to work with you; it wouldn't be so bad…BUT only if being a Huntsmen doesn't work out."

"Deal."

Once they were in front of her apartment Neo dispelled her semblance.

Unlocking the door, they stepped inside.

"Well, that was something," Neo said trying to at least feign a cheerful demeanor as she unlocked the door and stepped through the doorway.

William sensed a faint whiff of negative emotion slip from Neo before completely disappearing. William knew she was upset about something, but knew she was trying to hide it.

"Want to tell me what is bothering you?"

"Can't you already tell?" the usually smiling ice cream girl sighed with a somewhat defeated look on her face.

"All I got was that you felt something negative before you tried to cover it up."

Neo stopped, turning her head with a somewhat regretful look on her face, like a child who had to admit she had broken her mother's favorite flower pot.

"It's…it's just I… I feel like because of me you're always having to cover up for me or getting in trouble for me. I mean, you're a Huntsmen-in-training, a protector of the world, one of the noblest professions in the world. And me? I'm just some criminal."

William lowered himself getting to eye level with Neo, cupping her face between his hands- much like she does to him.

"Neo, I want you to hear me on this one. I love YOU. I honestly don't care if you are a criminal. I don't care if you've killed people. Hell, I've lost count of all the people I've killed. And don't say it was all for self-defense. If I become a Hunstmen or if I don't, I still want to be with you. I don't know how all of this is going to end; maybe I'll become a Huntsmen, maybe your side will win, maybe you won't. it doesn't matter, all I want is to have you in my life."

"Will…" Neo softly spoke removing his hand from her face before kissing him deeply.

The two disconnected, "Does that mean you liked our first date?"

"Hmmm, I don't know. We probably should do it regularly just to see if we like it." She smirked.

"And I believe I promised you a good time after our first date, or do you not want it?" the triple colored girl asked with a sultry tone.

William simply kissed her on the lips, "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes."

The two started making out as they removed their clothes. Only breaking the lip lock to remove an article of clothing they couldn't remove while connected.

By the time William was in his boxers and the choker (collar) she'd given him- she could only smile at how he seemed to treasure it so much- Neo had just finished taking off her shoes leaving her only in her lacy pink bra and panties with a swirl pattern on them and her favorite pair of lace stockings. She knew how much William liked her in stockings.

Not wanting to wait any longer, broke off from William's lips and Neo gestured for her to bend down.

William was all too happy to get a closer look at Neo's body. Her toned muscles complementing her pearlescent skin that contrasted perfectly with her pink underwear and brown stockings. She was the only person William knew who could make Neapolitan ice cream look so sexy. All while giving him her triumphant and confident smirk, usually reserved for her work.

She had set him up perfectly, William slouched down altering his center of gravity as he stood between Neo and the bed.

Without warning, Neo bounded forward causing William to fall back on the bed.

From there the two continued their little activities from getting undressed.

As William continued competing with Neo for dominance of his tongue, his eyes caught the second layer of Neo's semblance glass crystals disappearing into thin air revealing her still injured and bandaged body.

He had to kick himself for not realizing it. It hadn't even been three full days. Unlike himself, humans can't heal that fast.

"Neo wait." William raised his voice, breaking their make out session, as he took a long look at her injuries on her torso.

"What is it, Will?" Neo asked feeling more than a little deprived.

"You're still injured, if you're hurt I don't want to make it worse."

Neo gave him the "really?" look before pulling his chin with her hand so he was looking her directly in the eye.

"Will, it's okay, if you haven't noticed if nothing else I am two things: very tough and someone who loves it rough." She cooed towards the end almost enticing William to give into his desires. Almost.

"I just want you to promise me if it gets too painful you'll tell me to stop." He said giving her a more serious expression.

"Of course lover boy." Neo smiled reaching over his head to scratch one of his wolf ears. She knew how much he liked that.

"Now fuck me six ways to Sunday." She said in such a sultry and somehow casual manner that William had to hold himself back from laughing.

William closed his eyes took a breath, "alright, just remember you asked for this." He said before opening them again showing Neo the bright crimson orbs she had been desiring.

Instantly, Neo was overwhelmed by feelings of both fear and excitement. Somehow the fear made it all the more exciting.

In a blur of speed, William had spun Neo around, trading places with her, pinning her to the bed, as he furiously began to make out with her violently kissing her as though he was trying to suck the very life out of her. Neo could only mewl internally at what was about to come next.

That was until her scroll began to loudly buzz.

"Mhmm…Will…mhmmm…Will stop." She tried to speak up while still not removing her lips from William.

William wasn't exactly inclined to stop having given into his darker desires and Neo knew if she didn't stop him now she'd be in the same boat. So with some regret she reached above his head, grabbed his still whole wolf ear, she didn't want to cause any more damage to the already cut one, and twisted hard and fast eliciting a yelp of pain from the wolf Faunus. If working with Faunus taught Neo anything it was that you NEVER twist a Faunus' animal ears.

"Neo what the hell-" The hurt William began before Neo took control of his mouth with a tongue dominating kiss to momentarily silence him while she picked up her still ringing scroll.

Holding it up she saw that the caller idea was Neo's code name for Emerald: Mint.

"Will I need you to be quiet for a minute. This is my work calling."

William gave her a hurt, but understanding look as he massaged his still stinging ear.

Feeling a little guilty Neo patted her lap, gesturing for William to rest his head on it. Not seeing why not, he laid down. When his head was resting comfortably she began to scratch and rub his wolf ears with her left hand while she operated her scroll with her right.

Briefly looking down, before speaking, at the content smile on his face. Neo was fairly sure she had been forgiven.

"Hello?" She said casually.

"Oh, I was in the bathroom. Have you ever noticed people always seem to call when you're on the in the bathroom?" she tried to make casual chatter.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Wait, when?"

"Are you serious, how could that have happened?"

"ugh, those idiots!"

"Wait, now, as in right NOW?"

"No, I just like to have a little heads up before I have to travel that far at night."

"Okay, I'm on my way." She hung up.

Lifting his head, regrettably, off of Neo's lap, "Got to go to work again?" William questioned fairly certain of the answer.

Neo sighed, "Yeah, apparently, some people don't understand that when a label says 'DANGER HIGHLY FLAMMABLE SUBSTANCE' that means they shouldn't smoke around it."

"Yikes, is everyone okay?"

"No, like three people have third degree burns all over their bodies. And now we not only have to do cleanup and replace all the lost supplies, but we also have to listen to Perry give another safety lecture. Ugh, why?" she asked looking at the ceiling.

"Do I even want to know what you have to replace?" William asked innocently.

"No, you probably don't…" Neo trailed off for a bit, "Holly crap, I just realized I've been talking shop with you this whole time." Neo half shocked, half smirking realized.

"Relax, I promise I won't tell." He said kissing her on the forehead.

"I know, I know. It's just so…weird how okay I am with all this. Everything I know tells me this is a huge mistake, but…I…"

"You what…?"

"I just can't seem to find a reason not to trust you." The ice cream themed girl smiled.

William hugged her.

While his head was next to her ear he smirked, "So does this mean there is still a possibility of a quickie?" He whispered trying not to laugh.

Neo lightly chuckled, "Sorry lover boy, but I'm going to have to take a rain check."

"Will you be okay with the thunder?" William asked undocking from Neo.

Neo looked down and fidgeted a little, "It's kind of embarrassing, but I'm okay with lighting and thunder when a lot of people are around. I only have trouble when I'm alone."

"I see then how about I give you this so you're not always alone, at least in spirit," William spoke as he lifted up his pants fishing something out of his pocket.

He gently took Neo's hand and place a small brown paper bag in her palm before curling her fingers to conceal it.

When Neo emptied the content of the bag into her other palm she smiled. It was a white threaded necklace with a black wolf with red eyes charm on it. It was similar in design to a common cartoon depiction of a Grimm-like wolf.

"This way, I have a little piece of you with me," He smiled tugging on his collar, "and you have a little piece of me with you."

"Oh Will, I love it." She beamed jumping up, hugging him around his neck, and kissing him deeply.

"I just want you to know I love you Neo."

"I love you to Will." She said standing on her tippy toes as William bent down to meet her for another kiss.

Maybe that image William had of Neo and him being like a married couple wasn't so much a stress-induced imagination, but more wishful thinking. Regardless of that, or what's to come, he knew he wanted to be with her as long as he could.

/-/

Thursday morning William felt unexpectedly refreshed. Despite not being able to cuddle with Neo, just spending time with her was enough to get his head on straight. It also probably helped that Weiss and Blake's problems had been resolved. Truthfully, William thought it was all too easy, but didn't want to question it too much.

He met his team for breakfast. As they sat down he and Ruby shared a glance at Weiss and Blake, both looking like a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders. With a wink and smile for the team's caped leader, William knew her half of the operation was finished. She could also tell William's part was completed by the small smile on Weiss' face.

He then began to inform his team about his trip with professor Goodwitch. The second he finished, as though having been planned ahead, the bespectacled teacher herself walked into the cafeteria.

Looking at his scroll he saw it was only seven-thirty, still too early to leave.

"Good morning Ms. Goodwitch."

"Good morning William, everyone."

"Are we still going at ten."

The platinum blonde woman made an annoyed expression before sighing, "About that, it would seem our time table has been pushed up. We need to leave once you are finished eating."

"What happened?"

"We are supposed to meet a woman in Dafi, the southernmost city within the kingdom of Vale, and Once we make contact we are to escort her back to Beacon. However, this individual is somewhat…free-spirited and as a result, she is insisting that she come by herself. Given her advanced age, she would not be able to survive a Grimm attack."

"I thought it was safe to travel within the kingdom," William asked somewhat confused.

He had always been raised that while the borders of the four kingdoms were a little dangerous, the interior of the kingdoms were completely void of all Grimm.

"While the territory within the kingdom's walls and natural barriers are a Grimm deterrent; it does not mean that creatures of Grimm cannot sneak in, especially, for the southernmost region of the kingdom." The teacher explained.

"I see," William said finishing off the last of the food on his plate.

Standing up, "Let me just put my tray up and we can go."

"Do you have your knives?" she asked.

"But of course." The wolf Faunus smiled tapping his side, showing the collapsed chain knives on his side.

With a few words of goodbye, the two departed on their journey.

-roughly four hours later-

Ms. Goodwitch and William took a Bullhead to a port near the southern border of the kingdom. Due to the narrow mountain passes surrounding Dafi they could not enter it via air travel. Fortunately, from the southern border is a train system used to transport personnel and supplies to those protecting the border. There is a separate train used for noncombat personnel, but it was damaged due to a Nevermore attack and wouldn't be up and running until later that day.

The train itself was thickly armored with mounted turrets at each end of the train and one on the middle car. The back of the train was stocked with empty supply boxes and weapons being sent for repair. The first half housed the passenger compartment of individuals rotating off of duty. Supposedly some of them had family in Dafi. William didn't doubt this.

As the two sat down, "Hey Ms. Goodwitch, I've been meaning to ask you something about the tournament."

"And what would that be?"

"I've just been wondering why there aren't more third and fourth year students in the tournament."

"Well, that is a common misconception. While it would seem like the four combat schools would want to have the students they have been under their tutelage the longest to represent them, however, this is not the case. While the exact criteria for selection process vary between schools, they typically select their participants based on performance and merit. Individuals like Miss Nikos, for example, have managed to demonstrate immense combat ability when she defeated team CRDL in a four-on-one match." She explained as the train began to move.

"Really?" William asked confused. "I know Pyrrha is a strong fighter, but is beating Cardin and his flunkies really that impressive?"

"While individuals like Miss Nikos and yourself have defeated them single handedly, team CRDL has performed above average in the field and have even shown considerable ability when acting as a cohesive unit. Provided Mr. Winchester doesn't lose his temper first." She added at the end.

"Huh, I had no idea that Cardin could control his temper," William said plainly eliciting a chuckle from the sorceress.

"haha- I mean, that kind of comment isn't appropriate." She tried to act properly, not really making a convincing statement when she was still struggling with a smile.

"Are there any other ways a team can participate in the tournament?"

"There are also teams that have performed significant feats while in the field. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY are such teams as they helped defend Vale during the Grimm breach."

"How many first and second year teams are participating?"

The sorceress put her finger on her chin recalling the exact brackets, "Let me see, there is there are three first year teams, two second years, one third year, and two fourth years."

Suddenly, the train violently shook with a loud crash.

"ATTENTION, ATTENTION GRIMM ARE ATTACKING! ALL COMBATIVE PERSONNEL PLEASE REPORT FOR COMBAT POSITION!"

"William we will assist them. I am authorizing you to use your Grimm powers." Professor Goodwitch instructed.

"Yes, ma'am!"

-meanwhile back at Beacon-

Team RWBY decided to use their first free day to catch up on practicing for the Vytal festival. They had managed to get a good momentum going before Yang ran out of ammo. She had forgotten to grab her spare magazines. Unable to continue with one of their team out of ammo Ruby decided to call it a break and designate Yang as the team's official ammo retriever for the day. After everyone gave her the list of ammunition and Dust vials to get, Blake accompanied her to the dorm room to carry everyone's orders.

Yang and Blake were walking down the hallway towards their room when they saw a green hooded figure knocking on their door.

"Can we help you?" Yang called out.

The figure quickly turned to face the two, clearly surprised by the sudden call to her.

When the person's face was in view the two Huntresses were shocked that the individual in question appeared to be Ruby.

"Ruby, what are you doing here? And what's with the green hood?" Yang asked walking towards her.

She abruptly stopped when a set of fox Faunus ears lifted the hood off of the girl's head.

Taking a better look the girl was a little shorter than Ruby. Her hair was orange, she kept it slightly longer than Ruby's. Her eyes were a dark purple. Despite her stature, her face showed someone more mature than the brawler's little sister.

"Patricia?" Blake asked recognizing her.

"Yang, Blake, it's so good to see you." She spoke in a timid voice.

The black haired Faunus smiled, "Likewise, it's good to see you."

As Blake drew nearer Patricia's eyes widened, "Blake you're a Faunus?"

"Oh, yeah. A lot has happened since you last saw me. I used to not want people to know I was a Faunus because… well you know," She said receiving a nod from the Patricia, "but now I have people who accept me and that allowed me to accept myself." She smiled taking Yang's hand into her own.

"What brings you back to Beacon? Are you going to become a Huntress again?" Yang asked.

The fox Faunus shrank back a little, "I'm sorry, I just…I just…" she trailed off as she tried to stop herself from shaking.

"It's okay. You don't have to if you don't want to. Just don't be a stranger. We're here to help anytime." Yang beamed with a thumbs up.

"T-thank you. Do you know where I can find William Beorthwulf? I want to thank him for what he did."

"Oh Will, sorry, but he's out today and is supposed to be gone all day."

Patricia's ears drooped. "Oh…I see."

"We can leave him a message if you want or we can give you his scroll number if you want." Blake offered.

"No, that's okay. I'll just come back later." She meekly replied.

"Well, how about we treat you to lunch at the cafeteria," Yang asked trying to raise the girl's spirit.

Patricia let a small smile appear on her face, "Thank you Yang, but I don't think I can do it. It took everything I had to just come back here." She said lowering her eyes.

Blake stepped forward, "Patricia, we know what happened with team JPIT. Everyone knows what they did to you."

"I know, it's just...too much has happened. I DO want to become a Huntress; I just need time. time to think and find my reason to become a Huntress again."

The look Yang and Blake saw in her eyes were of someone who had lost so much, but still had hope for the future.

"We understand. If you ever want to talk, please don't hesitate to call."

"Thank you. If you don't mind, can you please tell William 'thank you' for me."

"We will."

"Are you sure you don't want to at least see the rest of the team, I bet they'd be happy to see you." The brawler asked.

"I really appreciate the offer, but I'm not as ready to be back as I originally thought. I'm sorry."

"No problem." Yang waved off. "Just take it at your own pace and when you're ready, we'll be here for you."

"Thank you so much." She said taking both girls into a hug.

As she let the two go, "I am really glad I meet you two. I just wish I could talk more. I made a promise to my mom that I would be back before three. So I should probably be leaving now."

The three waved goodbye and Patricia walked down the hall towards the elevator. Yang noticed some kind of unusual lump on her lower back. At first, she thought it was just the fact Patricia had a large posterior, but looking closer she noticed that there was the tip of a fox tail sticking out under her hoodie.

Once Patricia was in the elevator and the door closed, Yang turned towards her girlfriend, "Hey Blake."

"Yes Yang?"

"Faunus only have one animal trait right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then was it me or did Patricia also have a fox tail too?"

"No, I saw it too. Certain Faunus believe that if human's view us-them- as animals then they should become more like animals. It's called Diametric Plumage, when Faunus get tattoos like animal skins, wear fake animal features, or even have artificial animal traits grafted onto their body. They do it as a way of saying they would rather become closer to animals than humans."

"Does that mean…"

"I don't think so; I think she has just had it rough for a long time. Hopefully, things with get better for her."

-one epic battle later at Dafi-

The train pulled into the station. There were claw marks and scorched four finger claw prints covering the exterior of the train. The caboose's turret was completely gone, appearing to have been literally twisted off.

The soldiers exited the train most bruised with entire pieces of armor missing and the parts that weren't missing were damaged and scorched to match the train.

They had been attacked by Salamanders; giant spike covered lizard Grimm the size of train cars that can encase their entire bodies in flames hot enough to melt steel. Normally they don't go near the border, but a landslide diverted them towards the boundary.

The only two who exited the train unscathed where Ms. Goodwitch due to her years of experience and semblance and William due to abilities. It also didn't hurt that William happened to like spicy food and nothing is "spicier" than giant flaming lizards.

The real challenge was trying to keep the soldiers calm after the fight was over, but not for the reason one would expect. William had expected the soldiers to be terrified of him, however, they did the exact opposite. The all crowded around him, thanking him for saving them, patting him on the back, giving him a "good job lad", and even a few asking if they could buy him a drink. This was unexpected, but not unwelcomed, in William's eyes. It was definitely a preferable change of pace.

"So where do we go from here?" William asked ready to feel his shoulder break after so many pats on the back. Though some of them felt more like getting a smack on the back by a bear.

"We will be going to the Mountain Saloon." The good witch stated plainly despite the fact the second she mentioned the establishment's name the soldiers lost all color in their faces.

William didn't even need to try to sense their emotions; the establishment itself had a few rowdy regulars, but the real reason for their fear was the saloon's owner- Madame Liadan Ghoul.

If the name wasn't scary enough, William sensed a deep seated fear of the woman in the soldiers. Some remembering her leaving a row of corpses belonging to bandits who tried to attack Dafi.

"Come William. We have much to do." The professor said, snapping William back to reality, as she began walking.

Following her lead, the two made it quickly down the single street of the small village. As William came to find out later, this wasn't all of Dafi, but a small section of the city; separated due to the unique layout of the terrain. The buildings were kind of worn down, but still felt like they were still being used regularly and kept in operating condition.

"I take it you got the name of the woman we are going to see from the negative emotions of those guards, correct?" she asked seeming to already know the answer.

"I got the gist of it. We are going to see some Madame Ghoul and she is really dangerous. Is she the one we have to pick up?"

"No, but the two do know each other and the person who we are to retrieve is staying with her."

"By the way, you never told me WHO we are retrieving."

"I couldn't say until now. Her name is Gretna Roseate and all you are allowed to know is that she possesses one of the rarest semblances in the world. So please refrain from reading her emotions if you can help it."

"I'll do my best."

After walking for about forty minutes the two came to the end of the street where the only building was a well-kept wooden building with a yellow neon sign that read "Mountain Saloon".

Standing in front of the building were two large burly, menacing-looking individuals. Even if they were not even able to fight, their looks alone would be sufficient in warding off most people. They were dressed in baggy clothing you could find anywhere, though William suspected their clothing was merely there to conceal some weapons.

As Ms. Goodwith tried to enter the building the two guards closed ranks denying her entrance.

"I have come to see Madame Ghoul, please move aside." She said calmly.

The two guards looked at each other before smirking, "Yeah whatever you say toots." The two began to chuckle.

Until they meet eyes with the Huntress. When the usually calm Glynda Goodwitch gave you that glare, as any student of her's could attest to that those eyes come the closest, of any look, to being able to kill.

The two guards froze in her gaze, sweating and looking like they were about to void their bowels at any moment.

"I suggest you two move." She said in a calm, but spine-tinglingly cold manner.

The two could not get apart from each other fast enough.

"Thank you, gentlemen." She acknowledged them casually.

William had to suppress his urge to laugh.

The interior of the saloon looked almost exactly as it did in Yatsuhashi's spaghetti western: circular tables, piano on the second floor, long bar with glass beer mugs, hardwood floors, etc. William could have sworn that the painting, of the sun setting on a prairie, on the back wall was even the same as from the movie.

Ignoring the potential décor plagiarism, there were around twenty or so men sitting in various locations throughout the dining area and the second floor, all dressed like cowboys. He was beginning to see a pattern. At the back of the room, sitting just below that fore mention painting was a tall slender woman wearing a gray Victorian dress with a wide collar and red interior. She had her silver hair in the same style as Ms. Goodwith but with several smooth strands falling to the outer sides of her eyes. Eyes which William felt were an almost unworldly red.

granted this was odd coming from a guy who can turn into a red-eyed Beowulf at will.

As they fully entered the saloon William caught the scent and sound of people hiding in the back room as well as in the basement below them.

"Hey, the guy in the basement!" William suddenly spoke up, "I know you're supposed to be the backup incase things go wrong, but if you look up my mom's skirt either she will kill you or I will." He threatened before blushing that he had accidently called Ms. Goodwitch his mom.

The tall woman in gray smirked, not only at the boy's keen senses, but also that he managed to make the legendarily stoic Glynda Goodwitch start to blush.

"Tibias, please come up. Oh, and don't look up any woman's skirts or you'll have me to deal with." She joked.

A small door opened from the floor and a heavy set man with a modified assault rifle stepped out.

"How did you know I was down there?" the man asked.

"You need to bath more often, not eat so much fish, and, oh, you stepped in some kind of poop."

The man lifted his left boot to examine it seeing there was a copious amount on the tread. "I thought I smelled something down there."

"Tibias, please go outside and clean that off." Madame Ghoul instructed.

"But Ma'am-"

"No buts. The two in front of us are Glynda Goodwitch, a legendary Huntress with power that surpasses even my own and the young man next to her is none other than William Beorthwulf." She said calmly as everyone else in her employment took a step or two back. "I don't need to tell you the rumors. If either one of them wanted to they could annihilate everyone here. However, since they aren't, that means they only wish to talk. So please go outside and wash your boot off." She said holding her nose trying to block the smell.

He followed his order, taking off his boot, and walked out the back door.

"Just out of curiosity, what are those rumors? If you'd please." William asked the woman.

"Not at all. There are a number of different rumors actually; that if you bite someone they become a Beowulf, that you can lift a building over your head, you are planning to eat the sun, that you are a guardian deity here to dispense knowledge upon the worth, and various other wild tails."

"Where do they come up with this stuff? Honestly?"

The woman only shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

"hold on boss." A skinny henchmen spoke while walking up to the two. "How do we know this is the really Glynda Goodwitch and William Beorthwulf? They could be fakes." He said turning his head to speak to his boss.

Seeing his coworkers turning pale he turned his back meeting eyes with a rather savage-looking Beowulf before it released a soul shattering roar in front of the man's face.

The henchmen trembled a bit before collapsing on the floor.

"Is everyone satisfied or does she need to demonstrate that she's really Glynda Goodwitch." The Beowulf inquired with a somewhat darker undertone than he intended.

All of the henchmen quickly shook their heads.

"Thank you, William. However, please refrain from using your abilities without my permission." She thanked/reprimanded him as he returned to his normal form in a disintegrating cloud of Grimm ash.

"My apologies."

"It's alright." She said taking a seat inform of the gray woman.

"I apologize for my men. I didn't intend for them to act the way they did."

"It is quite alright. Now for the matter at hand, can you please tell Gretna Roseate we are here to pick her up?" she requested.

Madame Ghoul looked confused, "I'm sorry to inform you of this, but she left hours ago."

-meanwhile at a warehouse near the docks back in Vale-

Patricia walked up to an unnecessarily state of the art lock and swiped a keycard from her pocket.

Walking through a hallway for a short time, she opens the third door on her left revealing it to be a janitor's closet. Entering the room and closing the door behind her, she made her way over to the fungus stained large sink at the back right corner of the room. Taking out her scroll she tapped a series of numbers, text it to an unknown number triggering three beeps from somewhere within the room, and the turned both the left and right handles of the faucet till they faced each other.

Sudden there was a mild shaking of the sink before it suddenly began to rise revealing it to the top of a small elevator. She entered and walked inside and pressed two. The elevator descended as the sink returned to its former resting place and the handles moved away from each other.

The elevator opened revealing a narrow hallway leading to a living room-like area complete with big red couch, a matching lounge chair, a newly bought brown lounge chair adjacent, and a hundred-inch hollow screen TV. Though the most important feature of the room is the tall woman lounging on the couch watching the food channel.

"Welcome home Patricia, how did everything go?" She asked almost sounding like a mother asking her child how her day at school was.

Patricia shrugged and plopped down on her favorite red lounge chair. "Didn't really work out, William wasn't even there. I did get to see Yang and Blake at least. They are still pretty nice. I still can't believe they are so accepting of Blake. Kind of makes me wish I teamed up with them or someone like them."

"That's a bit of an odd thing to say, don't you think?" Heather lowered the volume of the TV.

"Not really. I mean we needed a test subject and I brought three of them."

"Let me ask you something, if you had been a part of team RWBY would you have done what you've done?"

"At the beginning of the year probably with Weiss, but not the rest. Why do you ask?"

"Mothers loves it when her children listen to them, but we love it more when they can think for themselves." The taller woman smiled making Patricia blush.

"Though it probably didn't hurt that you hypnotized Jasper and the others to be Faunus hating bigots."

"It wasn't that hard. They already had that inside of them, as you might recall." Heather mussed as Patricia rubbed her shoulder, no doubt, remembering something painful, "I just wish they hadn't been caught before we could set the stage. But, I guess that's how life goes some times."

"Which is where I come in, right." A British male voice echoed from another hallway.

Stepping out of the shadows was a tall lanky young man with a forward drooping purple Mohawk, a gray armored vest with two straps forming an "x" on his chest over a short sleeve black shirt, black jeans and metallic grey mechanized boots. He had several facial piercings with four in each year, two in his left nostril, and one on his lower left lip. On the outer thigh of his left pants leg was a purplish-burgundy image lit candle with the right bottom swirling into a circle.

"Jack, how are you feeling?" Heather asked.

"Much betta now, mum."

"And here I thought we had a chance of being rid of you." Patricia half sarcastically remarked.

"Sorry love, but you're stuck with me." He smirked.

Not wanting to two to go into their usual back and forth, she was too tired for that, Heather decided to get to business, "So Jack, do you think you are up for the mission?"

"You mean those two scrubs? If so, then the answer is yes." He grinned.

---

First I would like to thank everyone again, making it to 10,000+ views is a milestone I never thought I would reach. If you like my work, please support my . If not, that's cool to. Man did I hit the nail on the head with that title. In all honesty who was expecting Bee's Schnee to make an appearance in the pairings? I'm legitimately asking. I have a couple of fun little facts about this particular chapter that you might like. The first is did you notice the store William entered after getting his Dust? A few people have asked me who/what William is based on. I can't tell you the exact answer just yet, but I can give you a hint. William is actually based off of two "individuals", one who is related to the story Ruby is based on (NOT the big bad wolf though they are related in a way), just look for the William-connection. As for the other one it is hinted at, though not directly, by the store. More accurately the store points you in the direction of the mythos William is based in and the story that store comes from relates to the character William is based on's grandfather. Second is that ancient civilizations nobles would mistake spiel, a gem that comes in many different colors like red or green, for rubies. Ironically, spiel is actually more valuable than rubies are. So that explains the mix up Yang had. Finally, a little foreshadowing, do a little research on Gretna's name. Happy New Year everyone!