Back pain continues. Good news is that it's probably just a muscle strain. Bad news is that it could take a few weeks to heal.
This will be the final chapter for Season 1. I'll put some notes at the bottom of how I feel about the story thus far. Some of those thoughts are things you guys pointed out to me, so thanks again for your continued support.
The previous evening had been a dream come true for the quietest member of the team. Honey and Randi let the rest of Team RWBY hang out in their room to give Yang and Lilly some time to talk, but it was short-lived. Weiss reminded them all that they had detention with Miss Goodwitch still, which Honey had honestly forgotten about. Waiting until the last possible moment, the five of them grabbed Lilly and Yang before heading to detention, barely making it in time. With how angry Miss Goodwitch was with Yang earlier, it would've been suicide to be late.
After dinner, Lilly had slipped into the bathroom with her letter from Bianca, intent on reading it away from any prying eyes. Neither of her teammates cared to invade her privacy, although they couldn't help but smile at each other when they heard the excited chatter through the door. The scroll call lasted until nearly lights out, forcing Honey to take the shortest shower of her life. Considering how much the call meant to Lilly, she was glad to sacrifice a little comfort in exchange for her partner's happiness. The last thing Honey saw before drifting off to sleep was the faint glow of Lilly's scroll, no doubt still exchanging messages with Bianca.
Honey stretched lazily on her bed as the familiar tune of Weiss's voice roused her in the morning. The song was cut short as Lilly quickly silenced her alarm. Honey glanced over at Lilly to see her carefully looking over the photo Yang had given her. Glad to see things are finally working out for us. The drag of Lilly's antagonism toward Yang had been a real damper on Honey's mood all semester, but things had finally been fixed for them. As her eyes drifted past Lilly and came to rest on an empty mattress, Honey sighed quietly. Well, at least some things are better.
Smit had been forced to sit with the team during detention the previous night, but clearly was still in no mood to talk. Honey wanted to say something, but didn't want to risk the ire of Miss Goodwitch. As soon as they were released, Smit had bolted from the classroom and disappeared down the hall without a word.
Figures. Lilly finally starts getting along with Yang, only to isolate Smit at the same time. Is it too much to ask for one day without all this drama?
Classes flew by the same as the day before, ending with a lecture day in Combat Class on weapon maintenance. Smit continued to avoid them, making Honey wonder just how long the silent spat would continue. With the end of their first semester rapidly approaching, Honey worried that the team would head into the break still fractured. She doubted being apart from each other over the break would miraculously fix everything, so she hatched a plan.
It was after dinner that Honey decided to finally broach the topic. She waited until right after Lilly got out of the shower, hoping her leader wouldn't leave the room while her hair was still wet. It was the best chance Honey had at cornering the girl.
With a deep breath, Honey addressed the room. "So…what are we gonna do about Smit?" She had agonized over how to bring up the topic before finally giving up and going with the direct approach. After all, it seemed to always work for Smit.
Lilly put down her scroll to turn to her partner. "What do you mean?"
"He's been avoiding us for a few days now. How are we gonna get him back?" Honey clarified.
"He's welcome to come back any time." Lilly answered, pointing to his empty bed. "No one is preventing him from sleeping in the room."
Honey felt an uncharacteristic frustration bubbling up. "That's not what I mean. I want our team back together."
Things hadn't been the same without Smit. Honey missed the stupid jokes and boisterous laughter of their absent teammate. Randi had been far quieter lately as well, basically cut off from the team by the empty mattress. While it was great to finally get along with their neighbors for once, Honey felt she'd prefer things how they were a week ago. Pretty sad when I miss the days of Lilly griping about Yang constantly, but at least the team was getting along.
Lilly disagreed, it seemed. "After what he did, I'm not sure how we can ever go back to the way things were. Besides, it's not like he's trying to fix things either."
"Maybe we shouldn't be waiting on him to fix it then." Honey struggled not to trip over her words. She had always tried to hold her tongue on the Yang issue, only to watch it fester and nearly explode in their faces. Honey had thought it would be best to slowly ease her partner into the issue, but that had failed spectacularly. Guess I'll have to push here if I want anything to happen. "If he won't come to us, then we'll just have to hunt him down."
Honey rose from her bed and headed for the door, hoping the others would follow her. Instead, Lilly mercilessly pointed out a fatal flaw in her plan.
"You don't even know where he is."
Honey's hand hovered an inch above the door handle. She's right. How am I supposed to fix this if I can't even find him? Dinner was still being served, so he might be in the cafeteria. Then again, he usually spent a lot of time in the training rooms. He had to be sleeping somewhere, so he could easily be in whatever room that is. Maybe he was taking a shower in the locker room.
Honey's mind raced to come up with a plan, but any location was as likely as the next. With an aggravated groan, she turned around and said, "Then I'll just have to search the whole school. I'm definitely not going to find him by sitting around here all night."
Honey smirked at the surprised look on Lilly's face, even if a part of her noted that it was probably a sign of how much of a pushover they saw her as. It doesn't matter. I'm sick of letting others' disputes run my life. I've always taken a backseat and suffered because of it. For once, I'm gonna stand up for myself. Honey turned to open the door…only to stop at Lilly's next question.
"But do we really want him back?" Honey gasped in response, to which Lilly stood up to clarify. "I mean, I watched him kill someone right in front of me. When I tried to confront him, we all heard how he lashed out in response. He had no remorse whatsoever. I…I'm just not sure that's the kind of person I want on our team."
"Is it really that different from Blake?" Randi's sudden interjection caught them both by surprise. Randi had spent the entire conversation staring at the wall while sitting on her bed, listening carefully but deep in thought. Now, the wolf girl slowly turned to face Lilly.
"What?" Lilly asked, confused by the question.
"Just a few days ago, you helped Yang find her partner, even after you found out she was White Fang," Randi said, shrugging as she did so. "You were willing to chase down a known terrorist for someone you hated, but you won't go after a friend?"
"That was different!" Lilly protested.
"Was it? Do you think Blake never did anything wrong?" When Lilly didn't have an answer, Randi continued. "She was a member of the White Fang. I doubt her hands are clean, yet you brushed that aside and helped them track her down, just so they could talk to her." Randi paused, sighing as her eyes softened. "I agree that what Smit did was terrible. I doubt Honey approves either. But someone once told me that no one was beyond redemption. Maybe we should give Smit that chance."
Randi's words hit Lilly hard, muscles tensing as something struck a nerve. Honey wasn't sure how Randi had managed to drive home the point so easily, but was glad to see it working. Maybe she should feel bad that Randi knew her partner better than she did, but at the moment she was just glad someone was getting through to her. Lilly sat with her face towards the ground, eyes darting back and forth as she argued internally. After several silent seconds, Lilly finally looked up and spoke.
"Fine," Lilly relented, unhappy with the outcome but not willing to resist it further. She stood and walked over to Smit's bed, grabbing his pillow as she spoke. "I'll give him one chance to convince me. Not sure if I can get a good lock with this, but I'll see what I can find out."
The room grew quiet as Lilly concentrated, trying to figure out where Smit might be hiding out. Honey silently mouthed a "thank you" to Randi, who merely nodded in return. It took a minute or so before Lilly finally put down the pillow and turned back to them.
"The image was pretty rough, but it looks like he's in one of the training rooms right now." Honey reached for the handle once more, but stopped as Lilly's hand came to rest on her shoulder. "Maybe…maybe I should go alone. If we all go, he'll feel like we're ganging up on him. Might be better to do this one on one." Lilly didn't sound thrilled with the idea. "Besides, I'm the one that drove him away. Only fitting that I be the one to bring him back."
Honey was torn on whether or not to agree. She's probably right. Last time, it was the three of us against him, so he probably felt like staying was a bad idea. Then again, Lilly was more aggressive and pushed him away, so is she really the best choice to send? But would either Randi or I be better? Honey knew she'd probably end up forgiving him right away just to get him back. Randi, on the other hand, might be a good choice. She is his partner, after all. She's also pretty levelheaded, so she won't fly off the handle if he pushes back.
Honey looked to Randi to suggest she go instead, but Randi was already shaking her head in response. Begrudgingly, Honey stepped aside and let Lilly leave, catching the door to keep it from slamming shut behind Lilly. She didn't seem too happy with the idea, but at least someone is actually doing something about it. Not sure why Randi declined, though.
As if she was privy to Honey's thoughts, Randi explained, "She's right, you know. Smit won't respond well to being surrounded. It may just push him even further away from us. As team leader, it's Lilly's responsibility to address the split."
"I know," Honey relented. "I just hope she can control herself this time. If she lashes out at him, I'm not sure he'll ever want to come back."
Randi carefully flipped open Blake's book as she assured Honey of the plan. "Don't worry. I have a feeling things will work out."
/- - - - - - - - - -/
"This way, Smit!" The older man called out as Smit stumbled forward. All around them, the flames grew higher, threatening to engulf them at any moment. Smit aura was on the verge of breaking, but the man beside him had no such protection and was already limping, an arm over Smit's shoulders for support as the two wound their way through the fiery maze, searching for an escape. "We're almost there. Just a little further."
Smit's hands ached as he shifted the man's weight again, careful not to lose hold of him in the process. The air was thick with smoke, but Smit knew it wouldn't take long for them to get out. Just a few more turns and we're free. The entrance was pretty open, so I doubt there's anything blocking the path. Would've heard the roof collapse if that was the case. Somewhere behind them, a series of explosions sounded, the fire having found more of the dust containers. The sounds were far enough away not to concern him too much, but he warily looked back, spotting more containers that the flames were descending on. Gotta hurry. Only a matter of time until those go off.
They rounded another corner and Smit was relieved to find the smoke was thinner here. Brief flashes of blue light heralded the proximity of the exit, meaning emergency personnel should be ready and waiting when they got out. Good. We're gonna need it.
The old man wasn't the only one with injuries. Smit's aura had been slowly eaten away by the fire, but had been strained to its limit rescuing the guy. He tried not to look at his hands, knowing they had taken the brunt of it and would look terrible. Worse, the complete lack of pain told him the burns must have gone deep enough to cause nerve damage.
The pounding of feet to their right told Smit they weren't alone. "Hey! Over here! We need help!" Smit called out, choking as the smoky air invaded his lungs. The sound stopped for a moment, so he called out again. In response, the footsteps started to grow louder, whoever it was zeroing in on their location. "It's gonna be okay," he assured his passenger. "Help is on the way."
Smit turned as he heard whoever it was push through some boxes behind them. "Thank goodness. We–" He cut short when he saw the figure, realizing they weren't there to help him. Instead of the expected emergency gear, this guy wore a white button down and black pants. While not an unusual combo, it was the face that gave him away. Smit glared angrily at the new arrival.
The familiar mask of the White Fang stared back.
"You!" Smit roared, nearly dropping the man he was holding up. "You did this! How could you?"
The White Fang grunt ignored his question, shoving through him as he ran towards the exit. "Outta my way, kid!" Smit fell back, dropping the older man to the ground, who groaned in pain as he landed hard, clutching his leg. Smit felt his anger burning inside as another explosion – much closer this time – shook the building. The grunt ahead stumbled and fell to his knees. Before he could recover, Smit tackled him from behind, the two tumbling forward together.
The White Fang grunt shambled to his feet to face his opponent, catching a fist to his face for the effort. His arms came up to block, but the blows continued to rain down. With unrelenting hostility, Smit laid into the faunus, easily breaking his guard open after several strikes. Still, his fists flew, audible cracks sounding as he impacted the mask. The flames continued to close in, but Smit didn't care, pushing his opponent back towards the nearest wall with each strike.
All that mattered was vengeance.
The mask finally snapped under his assault, his hands now engulfed in flames as he made sure his victim wouldn't rise again. With a shout of rage, he lunged in a final time, a satisfying crunch snapping the mask in half as his opponent finally fell, never to rise again.
The flames vanished as a shirtless Smit panted for air, a burning building quickly giving way to the Beacon training room once more. For what had to be the third time that night, Smit waited for the haunting images to end and kicked the punching bag towards the others, each with broken seams and burn marks covering them. He winced as he brought his hands up in front of him, staring blankly into the flames before they slowly receded to nothingness.
His memories had gotten worse since the incident at the docks. He no longer only faced that reality in his dreams now. Worse, the final image had changed. Before, he always saw the familiar face of the faunus in the refinery. Now, it seemed his mind was intent on replacing the image. First, it was that White Fang girl he had killed. Then, other faces from the docks filtered in. He could get over those for the most part, but things had turned ugly.
Last time, it was Blake's face that stared back at him.
This time, it was Randi.
The image still clung in his mind, his own partner battered and broken, her blood literally on his hands. What is wrong with me? I'd never attack one of them! It's only the White Fang that deserve such a fate, not my friends! Smit tried to reassure himself, but Lilly's words chilled him.
What happens when you can no longer tell the difference?
Smit was sure he wouldn't just suddenly snap and go after his friends for no reason, but that wasn't the point. Blake used to be one of them. What if she went back to them? What if she tried to defend them from him? In the heat of the moment, would he see her as just another target? If he did, the rest would probably turn on him. Would he someday see them as sympathizers as well?
Smit shook the thoughts from his head as he walked over to the closet and grabbed another punching bag, carrying it over his shoulder and returning to the stand to hook it up. Good thing the school buys these things in bulk. I've got a lot of issues to work through.
He readied himself, ungloved hands raised into their usual guard as he prepared for another round, pausing briefly as he heard the door across the room open. These training rooms were available to all students, but the older students usually stuck to the specialized rooms, meaning he rarely saw anyone else. Once or twice, another first-year had come in, but they rarely stayed long and none of them ever addressed him. He jabbed the bag a few times, focusing more on footwork this time as he danced side to side every few strikes. A meaningful cough behind him made him turn. Halfway across the room, Lilly stared at her teammate.
"What do you want?" he asked with a snarl. Great. Another lecture. This oughta be good. The coarseness of his question made Lilly take a step back, but she recovered quickly, evidently determined to see whatever this was through.
"I…I just want to talk." Lilly took a few steps towards Smit, keeping a respectable distance. "I think we handled things poorly a few days ago."
"I'll say." Smit rolled his eyes at the obvious conclusion.
"I still think what you did was awful, but now the team is in shambles. I want to fix that."
"Fix the team, or fix me?" Smit shot back, still on edge from the lingering images.
While Smit was grateful that she hadn't brought the whole team with her, he was pretty sure he knew what came next. Lilly's tone reminded him of the psychiatrist he had seen after the refinery incident in Atlas. They act like they want to help you, but really, they just want to change you.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lilly questioned.
"Simple," he replied. "What do you actually want from me? An apology? A promise to never do something like that again? A confession of all the sins of my past?" Smit's voice rose with each question, a visceral growl hidden beneath each. With a deep breath, Smit calmed himself before continuing. "None of that's about to happen. I am who I am. I did what I did. If you can't accept that, then I doubt we have much to discuss. Not like you'd ever understand."
Smit turned his back on Lilly and continued punching the bag, enjoying the chorus of thwacks it created. He knew he was poking the bear on this one, but lashing out felt good. Much better than hiding from his team for the last few days.
"You're right."
Smit paused for a moment, masking the hesitation by stabilizing the bag with his off-hand.
"I don't understand. I can't imagine what would drive someone to do what you did. I know I'll ever agree with what you've done," she hastened to add, "but I'm willing to listen."
Smit turned to face her once more, looking over his team's leader, trying to judge her sincerity. With a sigh, he asked, "Did Honey put you up to this?"
Lilly's red face and hesitation made it obvious this wasn't her idea. "She…may have insisted on talking to you, but it was actually Randi who convinced me." Smit chuckled at her admission.
"That's not surprising. How'd she manage to do that?" While his partner's perceptiveness made her pretty good at arguing, Lilly's stubbornness was legendary. She held a grudge against Yang for at least two years now. We're only on day three for me.
"She threw my words back in my face." Lilly sat down on a nearby bench with an exasperated huff. "Hard to argue with myself."
"That certainly sounds like my partner." Smit had tried to bait Randi into little debates, but she always found a way to shut him down early, which stole all the fun from it. Plus, she never really got angry. Arguing with Lilly was much more enjoyable, as she was easy to mess with and could get emotional at the drop of a hat.
"Anyways, I said I would listen, so here's your chance," Lilly said.
"What's the point?" he responded, leaning against the wall beside him. "You said yourself you'll never agree. I'm not gonna convince you and you can't convince me. This is all a waste of time!"
"Listening to a friend is never a waste."
Friend? After what I did, I'm surprised she didn't report me, but now she's still calling me a friend? Again, he searched her face for any signs of insincerity, but came up empty. From what he could tell, she was genuinely interested in hearing him out. The question was, did he want to be heard?
Smit never liked talking about the incident back in Atlas. The only time he had mentioned it in the last three years was when his team asked him about himself at the start of the semester. Even then, he had just glazed over it, not willing to go into all the details.
When he was back in Atlas, he made the mistake of sharing his story with a friend at school. It felt good to let it all out for once, but the guy must have told a teacher or something, because the next day found him meeting with a shrink. Regular therapist visits, teachers treating him differently in class, classmates trying to assure him it would be okay – it was all sickening to the point he decided to clam up about it. He went through the motions with the psychiatrist until they finally decided he was better, regardless of whether he was or not. All they accomplished was helping him conceal it better.
"You really want to know?" Lilly nodded, eliciting a tired sigh from Smit. "Do you know how I got my Semblance?"
Lilly sat quietly, trying to recall if he had ever told them. "I don't know. What happened?"
"It was back in Atlas when I was younger," Smit began. "Mom was a Huntress a while back. One of her missions went south, killing two of her teammates and injuring her leg pretty bad. Thankfully, her last teammate helped her escape. Her leg had to be amputated." Lilly winced at the result but remained silent so he could continue. "The trauma of it all broke her. Between the medical bills and trying to get help for her emotionally, we went into a bit of debt. Dad's refinery job only paid so much.
"With all the crap going on with the SDC, several faunus employees walked out on the job, including the foreman. Dad was a hard worker and always took extra hours when he could, so they gave him the job. The boost in pay was really helpful and we were soon paying off all the loans again. Of course, nothing ever goes that smoothly for long."
"What happened?" Lilly asked, knowing some of the basic details but hoping to keep him talking.
"The White Fang happened. The SDC needed a lot more dust due to the White Fang robberies and worker walkouts, so he volunteered to work longer hours with a small crew to boost output. That evening, I decided to go meet him after work. I was still a ways away when the bombs went off." Smit's jaw clenched as the memories began to flood back once more. "Most of the crew got out fine, but Dad and three others were missing. Before they could stop me, I rushed in to find him.
"I ran into one of the workers along the way. He said Dad had freed him from the break room, so I took off in that direction. I found him deeper in the building, pinned under a burning beam that had fallen and landed on his leg. The other two workers were killed by the collapse. Dad told me to leave him, but I refused, lifting the beam enough for him to wiggle free, even though it fried my hands in the process. I helped him stumble back towards the exit, but we ran into one of the White Fang grunts on the way."
Smit's hands clenched as he relived the moment once more. "His buddies had abandoned him and he was searching for an exit. He shoved by us, knocking Dad down in the process. When he cried out in pain, I just lost it." Flames began to form around his hands. "I rushed the guy, even if he was a lot bigger than me. Managed to catch him off-guard and started pummeling him. At first, it didn't do much, but then my hands burst into flames.
"I kept punching until he stopped moving…then I hit him some more. Blow after blow, I vented my anger on the figure, uncaring for how much each strike hurt my badly burnt hands. When the mask finally gave way, I realized it was the previous foreman. That just made everything worse. Dad had to crawl over and drag me off. I mean, this was a guy that knew everyone there, yet he was willing to sacrifice them without a second thought! He deserved to die! He needed to die!"
The images finally faded again, leaving only Lilly before him, stunned into silence. The shock on her face was enough to make him extinguish the flames on his hands once more.
"Of course, I freaked out when we got outside, since I couldn't figure out how to stop the flames on my hands. Managed to douse them by diving into a snowbank." The memory helped Smit relax, imagining what it must have looked like when he shot by everyone to get to the snow. "Once again, the bills piled up, since Dad was off his feet for a few weeks and the refinery was closed for repairs. The SDC actually covered a lot of his medical expenses, but we still had debts to pay and no income for the time being. Even when the refinery reopened, Dad couldn't work as much. I ended up taking a small job there to help out, lying about my age so I could work part-time.
"A lot of people think my Semblance looks cool." Smit commented, bringing his open hands up in front of him. "I don't. All I see is that night. The burnt corpses. My dad trapped in an inferno. All I see is a fiery refinery and the monsters who caused it. My hands ache every time I use my Semblance – a constant reminder of what happened."
Smit held his hands out in front of him, revealing his palms to Lilly. Much of the skin there was darker than the surrounding area, slightly raised lines darting across in different directions. Smit was sure some thought his gloves were a fashion choice. The truth was, he just wore them to hide the constant reminder.
"Our family struggled after that, until the Headmaster of Alsius heard about what happened and offered me a spot in his school. Even let me work on-campus a bit for extra money. Of course, I just wanted to get strong enough to get revenge." Smit's eyes locked onto Lilly's. "Those monsters nearly stole everything from me. They attacked my family and left me scarred for life. Worst of all," Smit lowered his head, a forlorn look in his eyes, "they made me into a monster as well."
The terrified face of the White Fang girl pushed its way back into his thoughts. The wide eyes stared at him not in anger, but in fear of the monster before her. I never wanted it to be this way! He never thought he'd take it as far as killing. Then, when faced with the reality of what he had done, his mind tried to justify the killings. It was so much easier to lie to himself than accept what he had done.
In spite of all his bluster, he knew what he did wasn't reasonable. Sure, the White Fang had done some awful stuff, but one evil does not justify another. Problem was, that's easier said than done. Seeing those grunts right in front of him, trying to hurt him and his friends, had made him lose control. Then, his own team, the only people he felt he could trust, had turned on him. He couldn't even blame them for it. Being forced to confront his inner demons and losing to them had pushed him to lash out.
"That's not what I see."
Lilly's whispered words sucked all the air out of the room. Calmly, she stood and walked over to him, gently taking both his hands in hers so she could see the scars up close. Up close, she could see that the skin was redder on the edges. Lilly gently traced a line across one of his ruined palms, finger bouncing over the subtle ridges along the way. Carefully, she released his hands once more, looking up to meet his gaze as she stepped back.
"I don't see a monster. I see someone who is hurt, thrashing about in pain. Someone who holds onto the past so hard, it burns." Smit snorted quietly but decided not to ruin the moment by pointing out the Yang-like pun. "They hurt you, so you thought you had to hurt them back, but that's a vicious cycle to be caught in."
"They still deserve to pay for what they've done."
"I agree, but not like that. It's not worth losing yourself over," Lilly said. "A certain blonde idiot recently told me that I needed to move on from my past. Maybe it's time you do the same."
Move on? Just like that? "I'm not sure it's that easy."
"Trust me, I know," Lilly sighed, grabbing a pair of trainer's mits from the wall. "We can't change the past, but we can decide our future. Maybe the two of us can work on that together."
Without warning, Lily swung for Smit's head. He ducked quickly, the mit sailing above him. Lilly tapped the padded mits together, then held them up in front of him.
Smit smiled as he struck one of the pads, forcing Lilly to adjust her stance. As the tension in the room fell, he jokingly asked, "Are we having a moment here? I never knew you cared so much."
Lilly's swing came in a little lower, barely brushing his arm as he leaned back.
"If you try anything, I'll tell Yang you tried to kiss Ruby."
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Honey looked up from her textbook as the door opened. To her delight, Lilly and Smit both walked in, joking as they went.
"I'm pooped," Lilly exclaimed as the door closed. "Dibs on first shower."
"I thought we were doing things together now?" Smit waggled his eyebrows, earning a well-deserved kick to the shins.
"Only in your dreams, idiot," Lilly laughed back. "On second thought, not even then."
Their banter continued as Honey leaned back on her bed. The smile that crossed her face was nothing short of euphoric. Team LHSR is back together! Nothing can stop us now.
The Angst Arc is finally over! Not that there won't be any in the rest of the story, but it will only be occasional. The main plotlines will now focus on bigger issues (team missions, breach, etc.).
Sorry to give you two weeks of personal conflict resolutions in a row, but it made sense in my mind. Lilly finally clears things up with Yang, which helps motivate her to come to terms with Smit. Of course, she still doesn't like what he did, but she wants to help him rather than push him away.
I'd like to think Smit's struggle is relatable (not the killing part, just the inner conflict). We've all done things we regret, but sometimes we try to convince ourselves that nothing's wrong. Sometimes, we need someone to come along and point out the obvious before we can address the issue ourselves.
Thoughts on story thus far:
It's been kinda fun fleshing out this story, but I've made some mistakes along the way. Thank you to those that helped point them out to me.
My biggest regret is not laying enough groundwork for the Bianca thread. I was so focused on making sure I stuck to the team's knowledge only that I left a lot of details out until the reveal. For instance, Lilly could have mentioned Bianca's parents a bit so we would have a better feel for her reasoning. Little things like that would have made the reveal a little easier to swallow, I think.
Also, I did tend to do a lot of "pairing" at the beginning. That is, each character pretty much stuck to one other character (Lilly and Weiss, Honey and Ruby, etc.). It made sense early on, but they should have branched out a bit more as they all settled in. Definitely will watch for that moving forward.
Overall, I'm satisfied with what's here, even if there are a few sections that I think could've been better. Looking forward to the Season 2 section, as we get to bring in some more characters and change some story events. Mostly, I'm just glad to have finished the "Angst Arc" and move on to some actual plot.
Next chapter will jump into Season 2.