A/N: I think I should change the rating to M. Seriously, it's been gradually getting into more and more mature things, especially in this one, so I'd like your opinion on something: should I change the rating to M to the more mature content I've been covering? Feel free to leave messages regarding your approval, disapproval, or neutrality regarding that. I'll be putting this at the end of the chapter for those who don't read the top author's notes (you know who you are). Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or My Hero Academia. They belong to Monty Oum, Kohei Horikoshi, and their respective publishing companies. Please support the official releases.

Trigger Warning: A majority of this chapter discusses sex, as well as some minor but still significant parts discussing consent, withdrawal of consent, and as those things would imply... non-consensual sex. If you are someone who has unfortunately lived through or are otherwise dealing with this kind of situation, this chapter may not be safe for you. Reader discretion is heavily advised.

I do not own the cover image

Chapter 64: Wayward Speech and Unspoken Tales

As the sun continued its wayward journey over the horizon of windswept sand, refracting off the ground to bathe it in auburn light, lighting the ruins in front of them in an ominous yet all the grander silhouette. The columns, once carefully etched with detailed hieroglyphs, runes, and artistic depictions, had been worn at by both time and the sands surrounding them, leaving almost nothing but the faintest traces that this place had once been beautiful, a sight to behold. Perhaps a religious sight of the highest magnitude, a destination for lengthy pilgrimages. Or perhaps a palace, once vast in both its size and its scale, as rulers lost to time gave out orders and judgments.

Whatever the answer was, it was now the campsite for Bakugo and co. To demonstrate this, and his lack of respect for the architecture around him, the blonde direwolf quickly knocked over one of the larger pillars with a calculated explosion.

Though the others were out of the way of its path, it was still startling to hear their de facto leader blow up part of an ancient ruin and use it to block the worst of the wind from the sheer size. Neo looked amused at the development, while Blake and Sun seemed shocked and/or appalled at Bakugo's insistence in gutting a relic that was potentially thousands of years old.

"... what? This place has been picked clean for generations, not to mention the fact that most of the carvings are basically gone. If some "evil spirits" have a problem with me blowing up part of their temple, I think they'd have shown up just now."

"But... that... the pillar was thousands of years old! It's probably one of the oldest things on Remnant!" Blake exclaimed in protest.

"It was. Now, it's a very convenient, very large windshield," Bakugo replied matter-of-factly.

"... I mean, he's got a point," Sun admitted, shrugging in acceptance. "The wind is... unpredictable, in Vacuo. The wind here isn't nearly as bad, but that's not to say that it can't be just as deadly."

"That and dealing with random gusts of the stuff is just fucking annoying."

"That too."

And thusly, a once sacred, thoroughly theorized and revered location of mystery, was converted into a makeshift campsite within the span of an hour. Needless to say, whoever once built or lived within this structure for its original purpose would've been very disappointed. If ghosts were real, that is.

They had managed to get a small fire going before the sun finished its journey over the horizon, and unpack enough salted jerky, bread loaves, and water bottles to have respectable, if not very interesting dinner. They'd also managed to anchor the sandship to the fallen pillar. They didn't bother to cover it, since the design was made for ease of use. They wouldn't have to worry about digging it out unless the wind got unnaturally bad for them.

Bakugo shook his head as he recognized these thought patterns. This wasn't how he thought day to day. He was trying to keep himself distracted. It was why he'd taken his leave from the campfire as soon as he's finished his meal. He'd even given Neo the cold shoulder, not bothering to wait for her to type out a request to join him, or even ask one in sign. He needed to be alone. It got worse when other people were around.

Especially around her.

Every emotion surrounding her was getting more and more... intense. And not in the way he would've liked. The little flirting they'd done was quickly progressing from admiration of looks to sexually charged wit. All those little gestures she made, ones that he'd once been immune to, practically sent fire through his veins now, particularly to his sense of smell, sound, and touch. Especially touch. Even the slightest shift in the air was perceptible whenever it happened.

More personally disconcerting, however, were the thoughts of exactly what the flirting could lead to. Bakugo was under no allusions that he was in no position to be in a romantic relationship of any kind, especially a sexual one. And his instincts were starting to get the better of him. His mother had explained that most Berserkers adapted to the decline in their populations by developing certain responses to sexual advances. Sometimes, it was entirely harmless, and the Berserker would still be sane, if a bit more self-righteous.

Other times, however, the results could be... horrific. Both to see and hear about. Bakugo didn't want to imagine how it felt to experience something like that. To watch yourself through a window, doing something unspeakably horrible to someone, unable to stop it? No, he wasn't going to do that. He wouldn't give himself the chance. If it meant keeping himself at arm's length from Neo, for now? Alright. It wouldn't be forever.

It didn't make him feel any less lonely, though.

"Hey," Sun said, as if on cue. He'd wrapped Sage's coat around his shoulders for protection from the cold that the desert carried at night. Bakugo supposed that was another reason why he'd lugged it along. Other than sentiment.

"What do you want, gunchucks?" Bakugo asked, trying his best to sound like he normally would.

Unfortunately for him, Sun seemed to be particularly perceptive tonight, and sat down next to his fellow blonde. "Just saw that you're avoiding us. Especially Neo. Ever since the ship, you've either been staring at her without a care, or avoiding her like the plague. You hide it pretty well, but something's bothering you."

"... I'm all ears, if you want to talk about it."

"... there was an old story my mom told me, when we were training. About Berserkers," Bakugo began. Sun didn't interrupt, or ask what this had to do with what he asked. He simply waited, and listened. "She was probably around nineteen or twenty. She was asked to dispose of a particularly nasty one that had lost control of himself..."

(21 years ago, Mistral's lower districts, Mitsuki's POV)

The ashen blonde woman sighed to herself as she surveyed the layout of the alleyway in front of her. It was narrow, maybe large enough for two people to walk shoulder to shoulder (and they'd have to be remarkably slender to do so), with trash littering both the ground and the sides of it, seemingly anywhere but the large green container that was already overflowing with trash.

It wasn't nearly as overpowering as the scent of her prey. As the youngest and last of the Enforcers, a group of Berserkers dedicated to hunting down those of their kind who had truly lost themselves, who had conquered their inner beast and could call upon it with absolute authority, Mitsuki always knew that her jobs would be unpleasant. There weren't many, but they were enough to make her stomach twist unnaturally.

She'd hunted down murderers painted in red, jovial rampagers in yellow, and even a cold, logical bandit lord with eyes of an icy blue. But never someone like this. Never a normal person.

Yeah. A normal person who did that to three women. Get your head out of your ass, and your heart out of your sentiment. This job doesn't have a place for that.

Mitsuki let her eyes and heart harden to the job at hand as she walked down the alley. Her combat boots, despite their weight, made little noise as she traversed the narrow path. The sun had finished cresting over the horizon, the last dregs of twilight lighting the way to her prey. Like the wolf she shared traits with, she bared her fangs and claws, prepared to end anything that sprung out at her.

Then she heard the sobbing.

It was soft, and barely audible. A mere trick of the wind, she'd thought at first. Then, she heard it a second time. It was still quiet, but she heard it better than she had before. No. Please, no. No, no, no, no. Please don't make it one of those jobs. Please don't make her care.

She turned the corner, and found her target. He was originally from Vale, immigrating to Mistral to find work that paid better. He had short brown hair that was tousled and wild, unlike the neat style in the picture she'd been given, with his floppy ears limp and in a similarly disheveled state. His glasses were gone. His golden eyes were bloodshot, as though he hadn't slept in days. His clothes were rough and torn in several places. And soaked in blood. Blood that wasn't his.

"... George Vento?"

The man raised his head at an achingly slow pace, as though the motion took all the effort left in his body. His reddened eyes filled with tears when they met her own, crimson pupils, as though he was either terrified she was here or relieved that someone had come at all. Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.

Mitsuki took a deep breath, and sighed. It was as she'd feared. This wasn't the monster she'd desperately been hoping to find in his place, so that it would be easier, more just. This was a normal man. A man with a life, before his Berserker side had awakened. Parents, a home, a job, friends, maybe even a lover.

But she hardened her heart to steel, and her eyes iced over. There was only one course of action she could take. There was no telling when the Beast would take control of him again. It was too late for him to learn how to control it. When the Beast manifested in adulthood, you either lost your mind entirely or went into periodic, uncontrollable frenzies. This was for the best. This was all she could do. For George, and the people he'd destroyed.

"... for the rape and murder of three women, and the attempted rape of a fourth, I, Mitsuki Bakugo of the Berserker Enforcers, hereby find you guilty, and sentence you to death. You are a threat to yourself and others. You were not in control of your actions. But you are still a danger. This is the only mercy we mortals can grant you. May your gods judge you fairly, and impartially."

Then, she plunged a clawed hand into George Vento's beating heart, a relieved smile spreading across his lips even as blood burst from his mouth, and what little light was left faded from his eyes. He was happy to be dead.

It took every ounce of self-control that Mitsuki had gathered over the years not to cry. Damned Beast. Damned Berserker genes. Why couldn't it just leave the adults alone? Why was the world this unfair? Why did so many people have to suffer like this?

The only answer that she could come to was a terrifying one. The world simply didn't care. It never had. And it never would.

(present day, the ruins, Bakugo's POV)

As he finished the story, he could see that Sun had been visibly disturbed. His eyes had gone from curious but concerned to straight-up scared in a matter of minutes. But, he never ran, staying and listening to his story until the end.

"So... you're afraid that "The Beast" will overtake you when you least expect it, and it might make you do something horrible?" Sun asked cautiously.

"... basically," Bakugo began to answer. "We call it "The Beast," but it's not really like having a second voice in your head or anything like that. It's more like an impulse. The strength can vary from faunus to faunus, Berserker to Berserker, and even from situation to situation, but it's always there, and it's always dangerous. It's wild, chaotic, and bends to no authority but power and absolute control. It's why I'm out here in the first place. I'm here to... "tame The Beast," so to speak."

.

..

The silence continued to the point that it became unbearably tense, and significantly more uncomfortable than the solitary one that Bakugo had been subjecting himself to earlier. He wanted it to end, but at the same time hoped it wouldn't. It might make things less tense, or it might make things infinitely more unbearable.

Still, Sun eventually decided that enough was enough.

"Well, since you decided to spill the beans on a reason for why you're here, I may as well do the same," Sun said.

"You really don't-"

"Relax, dude, it's only fair," Sun reassured the blonde direwolf. "You know I came from Vacuo, right?"

Bakugo gave a nod of confirmation. It was one of the only concrete details that the ashen blonde could properly recall about Sun without having to think too hard. It was obvious in his appearance, from his tanned skin to his casual manner of clothing.

"Well, there are a lot of tribes and stories from out there. A lot of them are either so vague they may as well be fiction or so religiously influenced that I'm not sure I could discuss them without someone trying to come for my head. But a few somehow managed to withstand the test of time. One of those is a story that my tribe had. The Wukongs are nomadic by nature, and they used to travel the entire world before eventually settling in Vacuo, by choice or by force. No one knows which anymore. A relic was said to be lost to them as they traveled, one of the most powerful in the entire world. A weapon from before the Purge, before the Brothers abandoned Remnant to its inhabitants. It was called 'The Dragon's Heavenly Pillar.'"

"... wait... a weapon that powerful, that important, is just... here? Somewhere in this desert?"

"That's what my master told me. That and 'The one who will restore the Wukongs to glory, a prince born out of wedlock, baptized in fire, ash, and blood, shall reclaim their legacy, and rule the great desert oasis of Mount Huaguo.' Personally, I still think he's a bit crazy, but he taught me how to fight like a maniac, so I can't really complain. To his face, at least."

"Hold up! Did you just say you're a prince?"

Realization dawned upon the monkey faunus' face as he realized just what it was he let slip. "Erm... Crap. I really didn't want to have to talk about this. Stupid mouth, always ten steps ahead of my brain."

"You don't have to elaborate. You just don't seem like the 'princely' type. Which I'm honestly kinda thankful for. I don't think I could've stood talking to a 'goody-two-shoes, haughty as hell' prince for longer than a few seconds," Bakugo said, referring to Sun's normal activities that a traditional prince would never be caught dead performing. In public, at least. From occasionally stealing from asshole vendors to stowing away on a ship to even his acrobatic skills, there were several things wrong with the picture of this "prince." But, to be entirely honest, Bakugo preferred this version to the traditional one. Otherwise, Sun would've been pretty boring to be around. And annoying. He couldn't forget that traditional princes always pissed him the hell off.

"... I mean, you're not wrong. I am a prince. Technically. And only technically. I was the firstborn, but my mom wasn't married back then. She was Queen Samira Wukong, one of the greatest people that I've ever known. She never named my dad, and never proposed to him."

"... isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"In most places, yeah. But basically everyone in Vacuo doesn't care who proposes as long as one of you just... proposes. And it's traditional in the Wukongs for royal family members to propose to their chosen spouse regardless of gender.

"Anyway, some thought he might've been human, and that she was embarrassed about it. We've... got some really fucked priorities like that. Some thought that it was a divine pregnancy or something similar. Like I was the second coming of Oum. Or one of the actual brothers. To be entirely honest, I still don't know who my dad is. She never even told me. No matter who he was, or why my mom never married him, I was still born, and then heralded as a bastard child, despite my mother's best efforts. I don't remember much of what it was like to live with her, back then, but I remember her smile. It was warm. And kind. Like she was. And the days she had it always seemed just a bit brighter than some of the others.

"Then she forced into a political marriage. And this part of the Wukong tribe... didn't like me very much. They were the ones most vocal about my being a bastard. I was four when she whisked me away to an orphanage. Hell, my name actually used to be Sun Stoneborn. Because 'a royal bastard is still a bastard,' after all. It helped in a sense, I guess. There were plenty of bastards in the orphanage, so I fit right in. And as long as I was in the city, that part of the tribe couldn't touch me, even if they wanted to erase all traces of my existence. Vacuo's main city is considered sacred ground by my tribe. To spill blood or spread death there without permission is considered a cardinal sin. So, I grew up in the rough and thick of it all. The first year was the hardest. I had to acclimate to everything new around me.

"I got the crap kicked out of me by the older ones for a while now, because my mom usually came to visit every few months or so. I get why they did that. If I was in their position, I'd have probably done the same thing. But, when that year was done, I started hitting back. I started getting along with everyone, too. It's weird to think of now, but I believe I made some of my best friends in that orphanage. Once we beat the living shit out of each other. It was always easier to get along after that, for some reason. Hell, that's actually how I met Kirishima. We hit it off over a few broken bones and a really stern lecture.

"This went on until I was ten. Or, around ten. I think. There was an old sage who came into town, called Subodhi. He was human, but he was a friend of my mother. I think, to this day, he's one of the only humans my clan was never actively hostile towards. I'd only ever seen him once or twice, but I still recognized him. He told me what happened. There was a Grimm attack. A large one. No one expected it. Not that late at night. Certainly not in the Canyon. But it still happened. Half the tribe had been wiped out. Samira fought her heart out, but she still died, in the end. The whole legitimate family died, kids and all."

He gave a bitter laugh before he continued. "The pure fucking irony of it all. I was put there so that I wouldn't be trouble for the legit heirs. And now, suddenly, I'm the only person on the planet left with royal Wukong blood at all.

"So... there was never a choice. It hurt, to leave my friends at the orphanage. It really hurt to leave Kirishima and Zidane behind. But I had to. I wasn't sure why. There was just this feeling that it was simply the path I needed to walk. I still visited them, when I could. Subohdi was a good teacher. He taught me how to fight with nunchucks and a staff. He taught me... well, it wasn't so much etiquette as it was basic manners. But most importantly, he... he made me put my head on straight. Know when I could realistically goof off, and when I had to get serious. That was the only lesson that never really stuck to me, until now. He loved telling stories, though. Amazingly good, hilariously bad, or just plain mediocre, he'd still give it such a passion that I couldn't help but listen to him.

"Eventually, he said I needed to get out there, see more of the world. He gave me ten years for that. So, I decided to become a hunter, and I went to Mistral, enrolled in Haven, and, by some dumb luck, got in. From there... well, here we are. You already know most of the rest."

For a few moments, silence dominated the air once again. Bakugo already knew the likely reason as to why he'd avoided discussing his time in Mistral, amiable and lighthearted though it may have been. The memories of better times were probably haunting him. Just like his own memories of Beacon continued to plague his dreams. So, he changed the subject.

"Who's Zidane? I don't think I've heard you talk about him," Bakugo said.

"Hm? Oh, he's an oddball. Just kinda showed up one day. He was a monkey faunus, like me, so we had a kind of kinship. He's basically like a little brother to me. And if thought I could pick pockets... well, good sir, I have got absolutely nothing on Zidane. There was this one time, during Market Day, when..."

And the tales went on, long into the night.

(meanwhile, the campfire, Blake's POV)

The cat faunus was finding it extraordinarily hard to be in her own body at the moment. She was starting to feel those urges again. She had felt them once before, about two years ago. Back when she had still... been with him. Back then, she had given into her heat willingly, spending days upon days in bed with the man she used to long for so deeply. The memory had been tainted by her revelation of what the White Fang, and Adam, had become, but she still remembered what it felt like.

Now Blake was doing everything in her power to do the exact opposite. There was a tension between her and Sun. And not just a sexual one, though that tension was certainly there. There was something else there too. Something emotional. A connection, of kindred spirits.

It wasn't love. She wasn't that foolish anymore. The last time she thought she'd felt that, her "lover" had been turning from a caring rebel willing to make the necessary sacrifices to a mass-murdering, racist sociopath. Humans had done much wrong in the world, she could never deny that. Especially when she'd felt those wrongs almost daily. But there were those humans who were also kind and decent folk, simply living their lives.

Blake already knew why she kept following this winding road of thoughts. It was to keep her mind away from Sun, and to keep those urges under control. And now, it wasn't just urges she had to deal with, either. She also had to deal with intrusive thoughts about doing... things, to and with the blonde monkey faunus. She couldn't give in to that. She wouldn't let herself. Neither of them were ready for that level of intimacy. Blake still felt the lingering feelings from Adam, how much they hurt. How horrible if felt, to have everything she believed in betrayed by the one who instilled those things in her.

And Sun... dear Oum, Sun... he had been through more in a day than Blake had been through in the five longest years of her life. So... for his sake, she had to avoid him. If she stayed around him for too long, or worse, stayed with him for too long alone... there was no telling what could happen. All Blake knew was that both of them would regret it.

Movement in her peripheral vision roused her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Neo, off to the side of the fire, with her hands wrapped around herself. She rubbed her arms absentmindedly as she gestured towards the fire with her head, asking for permission to sit. Even after those few weeks in her family home, there was no less tension between them. And not the pleasant kind.

Still, it was a cold night, and Blake wasn't so petty that she'd deny someone basic courtesy. She nodded, and Neo skipped over to the fire, sitting on the same log as the cat faunus. On the other end, it would seem. That was good. She didn't feel like hashing it out with this girl right now.

A full minute of increasingly awkward silence finally took its toll, and she felt a tap on her shoulder. When she shifted her eyes towards the offending party, Neo held her scroll out in front of her, with a simple question typed out onto its notepad.

"Why have you been avoiding Sun like the plague?"

Simple in theory, but it was still the only question she had desperately wished Neo hadn't typed onto her scroll.

"... I... I don't need to explain that to you," Blake said, hoping that would be enough to make her drop the subject. It wasn't, but she wanted to imagine, for a few, blissful moments, that she wouldn't have to let this go on any longer than a single question.

"Well, it's obvious you like the guy. Or, at the very least, you're really attracted to him. So, what gives?"

"I don't see why you're bothering with this. I don't even like you."

"True. But doesn't that make me the perfect confidant? We know next to nothing about each other, and this is the perfect chance to open up a little. Besides, if I have any objections to what your reasoning is... well, what do I know, right?"

And thus, with the lightest grain of straw, the camel's back broke, and Blake gave the simple answer to the afore proposed simple question.

"I've started... going through a heat cycle. The second one."

It took her a second to connect the dots on that one. As she did so, her face changed from confused, to horrified, to a calm understanding. She simply nodded. No jabs, no sly smirk, no witty retort from her scroll. Just a nod.

"... that's not the reaction I was expecting."

"Hey, I wouldn't expect that kind of reaction from me, either," Nep typed out with a shrug. "But I do get the heat thing. I remember when one of my old friends first went into heat, and she finally got the courage to ask her boyfriend to have sex. They both wanted it, but she was so embarrassed afterward she couldn't look him in the eye for a week. Trust me, I know how this goes. Kinda."

"... kinda?"

"Well... she was a rabbit faunus, so there's definitely a physiological difference between you two. And she went through a heat twice a year, starting at sixteen. So... is there a difference there? Otherwise, you look mighty close to eighteen for being sixteen."

"No, I'm eighteen," going on nineteen, now, she thought to herself. "And there is a... difference. Not every species of faunus has a neat cycle. Hell, I think the only ones that do are rabbits, cats, bulls, and dogs. And the frequency can vary. For cats the average is to have a heat once every two years or so. It also lasts for about two weeks."

"Huh. Well, that explains a lot.

"Hey, Blake. Once things have settled down, and we're back in Menagerie, you should take some time to talk to Sun. You'll need to talk to him eventually. And, once we get him some real help, and you two feel ready to have relationships again... he's certainly a catch. Charming, in his own way. You two would be good for each other.

"Unless, of course, you're interested in something with a bit of a... sweeter taste?"

.

..

Did... did she just... did I actually just read that?

The look on her face must've been priceless, because Neo began giggling uncontrollably. It wasn't audible, but she could see the little pink gremlin was enjoying herself immensely.

"Relax, Chica, I'm kidding! You're certainly attractive, but you're not really my type. Plus, you don't seem to be all that interested in girls."

"... wait... you're bisexual?"

"Is that even a question? I thought it was obvious!"

"No, not really. I never had much of a chance to guess, what with the fact that you were trying to stab me only a year ago."

"... fair enough."

"What is your type, anyway?"

"For guys or girls?"

"Surprise me."

"Oh, you know," Neo said as she typed out a list of features. "Tall, blonde, muscular, a bit aggressive-"

This sounds an awful lot like either Yang or Bakugo.

"-ruby red eyes, cute little ears that flatten when they get mad, gets this crazy look in their eye when they're killing Grimm-"

Nope. Bakugo. Definitely Bakugo. yang loves fighting, but Oum himself would never catch her enjoying killing Grimm. Even if it is kinda fun.

It was strange to think that, that night, would be the start of a journey that would turn deadly enemies into lifelong friends. But that time was not now. Now was only the beginning of their connection. The beginning of a journey through a desert that would change them forever.

A/N: Dear god it's finished! Okay! Thank you all for reading this latest chapter of Team STIK! I hope you enjoyed it!

Also, reiterating the question form the top of the chapter: do you guys think that I should change the rating from T to M? Asking for an honest opinion, because I'm really not sure. The story's gotten into more mature stuff as it's gone on, but I'd like to get your guy's opinions before I do anything like that. Anyways:

Review Responses:

Shadow Joestar: Well... about that... eh, you'll learn more about Weiss and Tenya's situation in the next chapter. I will say this, though: they have not been captured by the Branwen Tribe. Just... want to say that upfront.

jbran104: I actually forgot what names they went by, so I just ended up calling the Grimm Wasps. I'll probably go back and edit that later on, but thank you for bringing that to my attention!

RHatch89: Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

OceanLord2017: It was actually a really fun action scene to write. I do enjoy the natural synergy of their powersets a lot. As to the Rave situation... well, Weiss and Tenya weren't exactly captured by the Branwens. I do look forward to when Izuku's ready to tell everyone about One for All. It'll certainly be quite the day. And I do love me some RoseGarden. While I do love D&D, I wouldn't consider myself a pro. Yet.

Kaiser Dragon: I mean, I thought of going with the 'don't lay a finger on my niece' angle, and there are still some shades of it, but overall, I think Qrow understands the two of them enough to know that Yang wouldn't get into a relationship without trusting the other person completely, and that Izuku is more than worthy of Yang's trust.

Thunder Dragon: Indeed. They'll truly be a force to be reckoned with when the time comes.

Madmagusmax: Indeed, I do. And Qrow is most certainly a shipper, of a sort. I actually like that Chapter name, but I'm not entirely sure how I'd use it. Oh well.

Ikki: Yeah stuff... happened, in that homestead. Not full-on sex, but enough that he's embarrassed to think about it in public.

Saiyans4ever: I do think some lighthearted teasing is in order once Yang gets to Mistral. But, you'll have to wait a while for them all to fully reunite.

And that's all of them! I hope you guys enjoyed!

Next Chapter: Mar. 20th

Seeya in the next one!