Author's Notes

Between work and a vague sense of lethargy, things have been going slow on my end. Might need to soon take some time to be able to write more. It also doesn't help that, with the benefit of experience, doing the final revisions for these chapters more and more involve rewriting sections.

Interlude 27.35: About Flowers, Sheeps, And Wolves

Fiona Thyme. Age 21. Atlas Academy Graduate. Freelance Huntress.
Last Known Location: Burrow, Vacuo.
Status: K.I.A.

Probably. Maybe.

And nobody will know that the cause of death was poisoning. Or allergy. Or any one out of a myriad of food-related ailment. Surely food couldn't kill you from sheer exquisiteness. She died from some nefarious plot against, fated to whatever afterlife good sheep girls like her go.

"She's moaning," a male voice hiding in the darkness of the afterlife whispered to the nothingness. Was he referring to her? Good thing she was dead. She would die of embarrassment otherwise.

"Shhh, you'll wake her up and make her self-conscious."

That voice. It was female. It sounded… familiar. Like a distant dream. Where had she heard her before? And what did she mean by 'wake her up'? Dead people don't wake up, silly. At least as far as she knew. Although… if there can be an insta-kill Semblance, surely the opposite is true and there's a Semblance out there to raise the dead. She pitied the poor soul that possessed the power of necromancy. Between kingdoms and notorious organizations like the White Fang, the world would undoubtedly bend backward to make the life of such an individual a living hell.

But she was well on her way to paradise. It was not her problem.

"Eh… Kohi? She has been like that for a few minutes now," the male voice said. Worry laced his words. Why? Surely worry was a mortal sentiment with no stake in blissful eternity.

"It is a bit of an extreme reaction, but she'll snap out when her plate empties."

Sacrilege! She didn't know why, but the words from the female revolted her. They were heresy to her religion. She wouldn't be able to tell you what she worshipped, but she was convinced; pious in her unknown faith.

But that voice. It still sounded familiar. The male had called her Kohi. Sounded like a pet name. Maybe short for… Kohaku? Yeah. That sounded right. Hadn't she met a girl like that not so long ago, before meeting her untimely end? And her surname, she recalled whispers saying it was Mino. Pity. She wanted to dig the girl's brain regarding that surname.

But she was dead. And another dose of paradise was surely incoming.

But it didn't arrive.

-o-

Kohaku took a spoonful of her opportunistic meal. It was a simple risotto, but the texture, the flavor, the spices, and choice of meat; all of it worked in tandem to create an experience. Yes, an experience. An experience that the faunus girl sitting across the table, Fiona, was lost in. However, it wasn't the ecstatic experience the faunus was relishing. It was good, but not 'forget about my surroundings and moan' good.

And conversation was going so smoothly before the distraction. They had introduced themselves. Sun and her as Beacon students spending the break in their hometown, telling her about what there was to see in Burrow. Fiona, as a relatively recent Atlas alumni, spoke about her reasons for being across the world in Vacuo, along with some light recount of her tales as a Huntress so far. She was hired to provide protection to the Atlas archeologists that were roaming about.

Kohaku guessed they were the same that were courting Jin.

After the earlier confrontation, the restaurant had all hands on deck accommodating them: 'can we take your order?', 'have an appetizer on the house', 'look at our wine selection at half-price', 'is everything to your liking?', and more. Add to that the occasional patron apologizing on behalf of the cretin that started it all or commending how they handled it, and they had little time to properly establish a conversation.

And now Fiona was lost in whatever food-induced delusion the meal caused.

"Something tells me Atlas cuisines leave something to desire," Sun commented, taking a mouthful of his own plate, glancing at Fiona apprehensively. Kohaku was inclined to agree.

The sheep faunus, still in her trance, went to scoop another bite of her meal, but was met with the clank of ceramic and metal clashing.

"Any second now…" Kohaku said.

Fiona slowly opened her eyes, waking from her stupor, still dazed from her apparent ordeal. A stranger to her own body and reality at large. Looking down, she was met with an empty plate. Confusion was written on her face, but as the last traces of drowsiness fled her face, the confusion was replaced with dawning understanding. And horror.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Kohaku chirped, a little smirk curling on her lips.

"I… didn't moan. Please tell me so." Fiona begged.

"It wasn't as bad as you think," Sun tried to appease the girl.

A long, drawn out whine left Fiona's mouth, her cheeks burning from the inside. She hid her face behind her hands, curling into a ball to the best of her capabilities while remaining in her seat.

That was too much for Kohaku, who erupted in laughter. "Glad you like the food. I'm ordering seconds."

"That food was drugged!"

Sun stared at the sheep. "With what? Flavor?"

"…Yes." Fiona drooped her head in defeat. The difference between what Atlas' military, and by extension the Academy, called food and this is criminal. The Academy's cafeteria should be put on trial for war crimes!

Another plate was put in front of her. She eyed it warily.

"Just think unhappy thoughts," Kohaku suggested.

Fiona nodded, slowly picking a bit of her food and placing it in her mouth. She didn't lose consciousness and her trepidation slowly receded.

Another table, who had been present at the time of the altercation Fiona was victim to, came to apologize. Once more, Fiona assured them not to worry.

"How many does that make?" Kohaku wondered. "Six? Hope that's enough apologies to assure you that guy was an asshole."

"My little Kohi, cursing up a storm," Sun mock sniffled. "I'm so proud."

"I don't blame you for it. Besides, it's not like this is worse than Atlas," Fiona said.

"That doesn't make it right though," Sun pointed out. "But I get it. It's why I've been pestering my team to move to Shade. I try to keep optimistic, but Mistral is really starting to fray my nerves a bit."

Fiona gave Sun an appreciative, but sad, smile. "I understand how you feel. But I wouldn't keep my hopes up. Even getting this job was a small miracle, and that was lowballing the price by quite a margin."

"What do you mean? I though overall Vacuo wasn't as bad," Kohaku asked. Vacuo wasn't perfect – nobody would call this ninety percent hellhole of a kingdom perfect – but when it came to equality it was leagues above the others. Everyone was equally screwed in the grand cosmic scheme. The only reason Burrow was as good as it was is because it was one of the few settlements at the edge of the desert that managed to survive long enough to build defenses against the Grimm.

Fiona hummed "Hmmm. I suppose you might have not heard yet if you've been focused on your studies. With the White Fang's influence on the kingdom rising, so are anti-faunus sentiments. Considering the relative passivity of the Fang not even five years ago, the transition has been quite a shock to Vacuo. These last few years has been much worse, and the discrimination is starting to truly gain traction not only in the city itself, but across the settlements in the kingdom, nomadic and otherwise."

'The White Fang!?' Kohaku thought. For an organization that has been around for the better part of two decades, during the last few months they have been particularly bothersome. Or was it just a shift in her perspective? Maybe being a Huntress meant becoming more aware of the world's problems?

But then… there was the timing. It brought to the forefront her teammate's past.

Sun leaned on the table, his hand on his chin, deep in thought. "Now that you mention it, Mistral's faction has also been more active lately. In the political sphere, I mean. And apparently the same holds true for Vale's."

"What about Atlas's?" Kohaku asked Fiona.

Fiona shook her head. "The Fang's presence has always been strong in Atlas. Being the seat of power of the SDC and all. If there has been an increase in their activity, it's not enough for anyone outside the military to notice."

"Why didn't you join the military?" Sun asked. "I thought that was Atlas's schtick."

"I'm actually from Mantle. While legally Atlas and Mantle are one and the same, merely names to differentiate the flying city and the original Mantle, in practice… it sometimes feels like we play second-class citizens to Atlas. You can probably relate to some degree." To emphasize her point, Fiona twitched her faunus ears. "The military is an extension of Atlas's power. With tensions between Atlas and Mantle brewing, if it comes to blows, I rather not be on the wrong side."

"If it isn't the Grimm, it's a terrorist organization. Or criminal overlords. Or the corrupt military. Or Miss Goodwitch." Sun lamented. "At least I can always count on cute village girls at the end of the tunnel."

Fiona sent Kohaku a questioning look. Kohaku mouthed an "Ignore him" in return.

Fiona's scroll rang.

"Oh! I have to go back to work… already." She looked at her table's companion. "How long was I drugged?"

Kohaku and Sun looked at each other.

"Ten minutes?"

"Felt like an hour."

Kohaku looked at Fiona. "We'll average it out to thirty-five minutes," she offered.

Fiona bit her lips, before gathering her courage. "Can we meet again? I'm the only Huntress in my group, so there isn't much to bond over with the researchers."

Kohaku gave her a wide smile. "Sure! You're free on Friday, right?"

"How did you-"

"Just keep an eye out for a boy named Jin," Kohaku interrupted. "Messy black hair and glasses. Tell him I say he is to bring you along on Friday."

Fiona deflated at that. "I'm not really good at meeting people."

"Really?" Sun asked. "You met us well enough."

"I wouldn't call being saved from rampaging racists a conventional meeting method," the sheep girl explained with a sigh. "But I guess I'm a freelancer now. I'll manage." Standing up, she shot Kohaku and Sun one last look. "See you later?"

"Count on it."

-o-

The rest of the week came and went without much excitement. Friday arrived and with it, a new challenge.

"Kohaku! I challenge you to a duel."

Quite literally. Opting to arrive early at the orphanage, it wasn't long before Kohaku and Sun were confronted with Kyota, up and ready.

"I'm ready to chew gum and kick asses. And I'm all out of gum."

Kohaku walked pass Kyota, shaking his head in a mimicry of ruffling his hair, which was out of reach due to his helmet.

"Hey!"

"You're also out of originality," Kohaku sniped. Seeing Maria and a couple of other kids further along, she made her way towards the blonde teen. "We need to wait for Jin, so you can calm down."

Kyota nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, the more people present for my victory, the better."

Maria giggled at the comment. Kohaku didn't find it particularly funny. Was Maria crushing on Kyota? They were the same age and spent a lot of time together…

At any rate. "Kyota, can your scroll read Aura?" Upon receiving a shake in response, she extended her palm, silently asking for the scroll. "Sun, give me your scroll too."

The ability of scrolls to read Aura wasn't a standard feature. It was one of the reasons the Academies issued them to students. Civilians could still buy scrolls capable of doing so, but it costs extra. More than Kyota would be able to afford… with a new scroll. But if he bought one that used to belong to a Hunter…

"There!" Kohaku announced brightly before returning the devices to their respective owners. "You," she pointed a Kyota, "should be able to read your Aura, along with mine and Sun's. And you," she moved her finger towards Sun, "will be the referee."

"Wow, this is so cool. How did you do this?"

Kohaku blinked at Kyota, who was showing her the screen with the three aura readings. "I… just did it?" Syncing scrolls like that is an obvious function to have. She just swiped here and there and bam! Synced scrolls.

"Kyota is right, you were never particularly good with technology," Maria pointed out.

"I can learn!"

"Kohaku!"

Her attention was pulled towards an approaching boy, Jin, and the sheep faunus with him that was looking around with mild wonder.

"Is that an actual Huntress!?"

It wasn't long before Kyota, along with other children, surrounded Fiona.

"What weapon is that?"
"Are you a Huntress?"
"Can I touch your ears?"
"You're pretty."

Jin abandoned the poor faunus to her fate, holding his laughter as she was overwhelmed.

"Shouldn't you save her?" Kohaku look on warmly as Fiona stuttered her way through the avalanche of childlike wonder thrown her way.

"I'm just the delivery boy," Jin shrugged, before looking around. "Seems like we are gathering quite an audience."

Maria giggled again. "Yep! Kyota spent the entire week inviting everyone to this fight."

"Smart," Jin pointed out.

Now Kohaku was suspicious. "What are you three hiding?"

Jin winked and held one finger to his mouth in silence. "That's a secret. You're a smart and strong girl. I don't think it will cost you the fight."

Kohaku pouted. "Not fair." She leaned towards Jin, who leaned away from her. "Don't I get a tip?" she asked with her best puppy eyes.

Taking a few steps backward, the bespectacled boy composed himself. "You can always use explosives."

Kohaku eyes widened incredulously. "What."

Jin shrugged. "It's how I would deal with this. Mines, grenades, dust grenades, grenade launchers, trip wire, laser trip wire, claymores. Prepare the battlefields before the fights even starts."

Kohaku blinked. "What."

Sun whistled. "Ruthless." He placed a hand on Jin's shoulder. "Tell me. Who hurt you?"

Taking Sun's hands off him, Jin laughed. "Nothing quite dramatic. Helped build a couple of perimeters not so long ago. Learned to deal with explosives and booby traps. Turns out I have a knack for it."

Kohaku shook her head in disbelief. "You have a knack for a lot of things."

"Help!"

The group turned towards direction the cry. Fiona was slowly trudging her way towards them, dragging the kids clinging from her along the way.

"Everyone is here!" Kyota announced. "Come on! Stop dragging your feet." His smile widened, stretching a little too far, and his voice evened out to an unnerving monotone. "We both must grow stronger from this. There is no other way."

"Yes, Koh. Show us your strength. It's your fate," Maria said in the same creepy smile.

"You will win. It is inevitable," Jin played along.

Kohaku shrank away from the surrounding trio and glared. "How long have you been rehearsing this?"

"Help…" Fiona cried as she finally succumbed under the collective weight of the children.

-o-

"The rules are simple. You will fight until either of you drop to 20% Aura or are knocked out of the arena. No projectiles are allowed. Not from bullets, not from explosives, not from Semblances, not from Dust. Nada. Cinch. Nihil. Zero. Do I need to continue?"

Both Kohaku and Kyota shook their heads, not willing to take their eyes off each other. They already knew the rules, but it wouldn't do for Sun to slack off on his duties. Around them the crowd was restless, mostly children from the orphanage, but other members of the community had taken time off to see the spar between them.

In the back of her mind, Kohaku wondered why Kyota had gathered an audience like this. He should know that he was at a disadvantage. She might be a bit behind her peers, but she still was a first year Huntress-in-training against Kyota's first sparring session. The odds were heavily stacked against him.

"Play nice, play cleanly." Sun gave each of the fighters one last look over. "On your mark."

Kohaku brought her sheathed sword to her side, left hand gripping the sheath in place and right hand holding the hilt, ideal for quick drawing. She coiled her body into a fighting stance, ready to spring into action. Though given the no projectiles rule, Kyota would have to close the distance. She had the superior reach and saw no reason to give up that advantage so readily.

Opposite to her, Kyota stood in his own fighting stance. Body hunched; weapon held low. His weapon was a mechashift metal bat. There was a mouth of what looked like some kind of launcher, covered by a metal lid. It seemed like it opens with the press of a button. If she had to guess, the bat was meant to throw grenades or cannonballs. Maybe even allow Kyota to pop said cannonballs in the air so that he could bat them. Not that it helped him. With no projectiles allowed he was stuck to the bat.

She would have wondered where the kid got his hands on a mechashift weapon this early, but between Kon and Jin, he had a couple of venues.

"Get set."

Her fingers itched as they felt the leather of her blade's hilt. Should she draw immediately? Even at this distance, all it would take is a quick dash forward to get in range for her sword-whip. Or should she wait? She wasn't the one that needed to be at close range.

"Go!"

With a battle cry, Kyota immediately dashed towards her, taking the choice out of her hands.

'Is he mad?' Kohaku couldn't help but question. Dashing straight at her, while she was holding this stance, was asking to be sliced in one swift movement. The boy had to be aware of Kon's fighting style and while hers wasn't an exact copy, at its core it still upheld the same basic tenets. But if Kyota insisted on running headfirst into her blade, she should oblige, right?

In an instant, Kohaku drew her blade. Kyota wasn't in range of the sword, but he was definitely at spitting distance of the whip and she wasted no time unleashing the full length of her weapon. As expected, to a bit of her disappointment, Kyota ate the brunt of her slash, too quick for him to react. She reeled the blade back, before sending another swing at her opponent. With the benefit of a properly telegraphed attack, Kyota managed to place his bat between himself and the whip. But didn't know what to do next as the whip came dangerously close to coiling around his weapon. A last-minute retreat saved him from losing his grip on the bat but earned him a shallow hit as Kohaku twisted the whip to change momentum and strike him on his chest.

Kyota gave her a misplaced grin. "Is that all you got? You will want to do better than that, Kohaku."

"Go, Kyota!"
"You can do it, big bro!"
"Show her who's the boss."

Kohaku was befuddled by the taunt. What is he talking about? That wasn't even close. At any rate, it wouldn't do to shatter the kid's ego so thoroughly. She pulled her sword into the high, downward pointing stance her sister favored. While Kohaku preferred the whip, when it came to actual sword fighting this was the stance she felt most comfortable with. She would allow Kyota to breach the distance. To be fair to him, in a real fight he would either have projectiles, be able to retreat to a more favorable terrain, or have another objective other than defeating her. She could give some leniency to see how good his actual short-range fighting was.

Once more Kyota rushed at her. With some adrenaline pumping, he moved slightly faster. He brought his bat into a telegraphed swing that Kohaku parried. She grunted, forced to tighten the grip on her sword. She had to remember Kyota might be younger, but there was a good chance he was as physically strong as her, if not stronger. And his weapon was probably heftier, needing to endure the strain of also being a gun and… well, being a bat.

The young boy continued battering her sword, each strike more ferocious than the last. But still well within what she could handle. He had some speed behind his movements, but nowhere near Ruby, Blake, or the twins. His attacks packed a punch, but he was no Yang, Nora, or Cardin yet. And he clearly lacked the technical skills of the likes of Ren, Russel, and many others.

And he definitely didn't have the winning lottery tickets some of her classmates had, be it the regular but still manageable ones like Jaune's Aura Amp or Marina's Aquakinesis, or the jackpots like GV's Azure Striker, Pyrrha's Polarity, or Weiss's Glyphs.

Blocking another of Kyota's swings, her feet sliding a bit on the dirt, Kohaku opted to counter the opening he left with a swing of her own. Kyota managed to bring an arm up and use his forearm as a shield, the telltale flash of Aura mitigating the blow. But Kohaku didn't let him rest as she sent another strike. However, this time he parried properly with his bat. Without breaking the lock between their weapons, Kohaku closed the remaining distanced and did a front kick, hitting her opponent straight in the chest and sending him reeling backwards.

-o-

"You can do it, Kyota!" Maria cheered from the sidelines. At the same time, she incited a few of the spectators to follow her lead.

"Ahhh, cheering for you boyfriend?" Sun pinched the cheek of his fellow blond, who squirmed in an attempt to escape.

"It's not like that!"

Jin brought a hand to the side of his mouth. "Go, Kyota, go."

Fiona raised an eyebrow. "That didn't sound too enthusiastic."

Jin smiled easily and shrugged. "I'm rooting for Kohaku to win. But it cannot hurt Kyota if I send some words of encouragement. Every bit helps"

"You can do it," Maria yelled. "Teach that broad who's boss."

A "What the hell" was heard from the arena.

Sun gasped. "Maria! Language."

Maria sent a Sun a dismissing gesture. "Kohi is going to win."

Fiona nodded. "The difference in skill is too great. His attacks are telegraphed and wasteful. I'm not anything special as far as Hunters go, but even I can tell that."

"Hell, I can tell that," Sun agreed.

"I can tell that," Maria emphasized. "That's why I'm cheering for Kyota. Every bit helps him. And insulting Kohi also helps a bit." She cusped her mouth. "Go, Kyota. Mop the floor with that trampy wench's greasy hair."

Another "What the other hell" was heard from the arena.

Something clicked in Fiona's mind. "Wait, when you say every bit helps…"

"Yep," Jin answered, smile widening a bit and eyes critically observing the fight. "The question is, how long before Kohaku notices it?"

-o-

She was not a trampy wench!

Kohaku blocked another assault. The strength of the attack almost made her lose her footing. Her opponent was quick to follow with a second attack, but she jumped back, leaving behind a stab of her whip for Kyota to contend with. A fancy twist of her wrist caused the whip to suddenly bend and shoot upwards to her opponent, as if ricocheting off the ground.

The boy swiped the sting away, forcing Kohaku to reel in her sword.

Upon landing, her eyes narrowed as she observed her opponent, who took the opportunity to catch his breath. She hadn't expected the boy to be able to react to that last attack. It took quite a bit of trickery on her part to make that whip work. Even back at Beacon, it took quite a few students by surprised. Yet Kyota managed to react to it and create quite some space between them.

"Show her no mercy, Kyota."
"Keep swinging!"
"Marry me!"
"Kyota! Make that hussy regret showing so much skin!"

Kohaku turned her head towards Maria. "What the other, other hell!?" Why was Maria so insistent on cheering for Kyota while insulting her?

In fact…

"Swing that bat of yours to the heavens!"
"Don't let her whip scare you!"
"You can do it."
"Kyota, just think of that whip as her repressed sexual desires lashing out against the world!"

She turned her body towards Maria. The girl that she cared for as a sister and that had always craved Kohaku's coddling. "What in the name of Vacuo's hellholes are you saying, Maria?"

It was luck. Pure sheer luck that both Fiona and Sun had been standing next to Maria, close enough for Kohaku to see as their pose tensed and their eyes scream at her. A combination of quick wits and instincts had her launching herself to the side.

Just as a bat, traveling in a diagonally upward trajectory, barely miss her.

Kohaku clenched her teeth. She had left the boy quite far away. 'When did he close the distance?'

The attack rattled her, but the displaced air the followed shot her eyes wide open. 'What the…'

"That was close!"
"Finish her!"

All the pieces fell in place. Her eyes hardened. She would commend Kyota for setting the stage to his advantage. She respected that.

In fact, she respected it so much, she will stop holding back.

Allowing her whip to extend to its maximum length, Kohaku unleashed the whirlwind that once had Blade on the back foot. A maelstrom that had only improved since entering Beacon, taking its initial bluntness and sharpening it to a razor's edge. Blade, her sister, dealt with a chaotic, indiscriminate attack. Kyota wasn't as lucky. The chaos was organized, and the indiscrimination targeted, each amber‑tinged blade segment of her sword-whip chipping away at the boy's Aura. Not a single blade went to waste, pushing him back, creating distance between them. Kyota had overextended his swing, like he always did in his inexperience, and Kohaku punished him harshly, trapping the boy in her attack where he could do nothing about it.

With a twist of her wrist, she willed her whip to cease the amber rampage once she was satisfied with the gap between them. But she didn't relent. If Kyota had been Ruby, he would have taken that instant to scatter away. Had he been Pyrrha, he would have forced the whip to reel itself into a sword. Yang or Nora might have disrupted her attack with sheer strength, while the twins would have flown away before she could react while Lumen or Lola covered their retreat. GV would just have used the whip as a conductor and electrocute her.

But Kyota wasn't any of them. Not even close. He wasn't prepared. He wasn't trained. Not giving him any rest, with a spin to give the weapon some momentum, she sent her whip towards his left leg, forcing it to coil around the limb. Edges inward; Kyota had Aura. He could handle it. The action earned a hiss from the boy. Aura protected the body, numbed the pain, but didn't completely eliminate it. With a sharp pull, she swept the boy off his legs, even dragging him upward a bit.

'Let's finish this,' she thought, uncoiling the whip and reeling it back halfway. With a single rotation of her whip-sword at her side, slashing the floor next to her and extending back to full length at the apex of the rotation, she slammed it into the boy's torso, sending him crashing, back first, into the dirt.

"MATCH!" Sun declared.

The crowd erupted in cheers, but the tune was different.

"Way to go, Kohaku."
"Holy… that was so cool!"
"As expected from Blade's sister!"

Kohaku recalled her sword and sheathed it just as Maria passed her by, rushing to tend her opponent, who was groaning on the floor. Readjusting the sheath to her preferred position on the small of her back, she calmly made her way to the convalescing boy, who was currently being poked by a half-worried, half-exasperated, full-serious Maria.

"Chew on this," the nurse apprentice instructed the boy, presenting him with some sort of leaf. After some hesitation, he did as he was told. "Your Aura prevented any lasting damage. The plant should help a bit with the pain of the attacks and the lethargy of low aura."

"Nothing addictive, I hope," Kohaku commented.

"Nah," Maria confirmed, "effects are minimal and normally not worth the effort of foraging the plant. But it grows in this region, so why not?"

"By the gods, Kohaku, what the hell was that last attack," Kyota groaned as he managed to get into a sitting position. As he fished the scroll from his pants, Kohaku caught a glimpse of the Aura readings. She was still well above the 75% mark, but Kyota's aura was under the 10%.

He winced. "I lost over 10% when you sent me into the ground?"

"You have to ask Sun that," she said. "Good job. For someone with almost no training, you handled yourself well." Kohaku crouched and looked Kyota into the eyes, amber meeting ocean blue. "Especially stacking the odds in your favor by gathering this crowd." Kyota's nervous laugh confirmed that she had been on the receiving end of his Semblance. "Since you're a big boy with a big brain," she added a tinge of teasing to her words, "I thought it appropriate to stop holding back."

Kyota looked back at his scroll, at the Aura readings. "I wasn't even close."

Kohaku poked him on the forehead, catching his attention. She sent him a warm smile. "You'll get there. You're just starting, you have nowhere else to go but up."

That did the trick, as the boy return Kohaku's smile with one of his own. "Yeah! I'll catch up with you in no time and we'll have our rematch!"

Kohaku smile widened. Accompanied with a short giggle, she responded, "Looking forward to it."

-o-

Fiona couldn't take her mind off Kohaku. She had been looking for an opportunity to speak with the girl, but every time the chance arose, she froze. It frustrated her, leaving her feeling like a stupid schoolgirl.

She angrily bit at the fried… something on her hand. Some local dish, she was told. She couldn't take her anger on herself. She wasn't into that. Maybe. She was open to experimentation.

'Wait, what am I thinking!?' She shook her head, dispelling the mental images that assaulted her.

"You ok there, Fiona?" Jin asked. He was sitting between her and Kohaku. They weren't on the village proper, the group deciding on an impromptu picnic in the outskirts beyond the moat. Being at shouting distance from Burrow, the dangers of Grimm were minimal. Even more with three Hunter trained fighters plus Kyota in the group.

Rather than the baskets and homemade meals the word picnic brought to mind, they were instead enjoying a sample of foods collected from several vendors along the way to their current location. Maria and Kyota had insisted and Kohaku caved to their demands. A reminder that the kids couldn't just eat takeout to their hearts' content.

"Fiona…"

"Huh?" Fiona smartly communicated she wasn't really paying attention.

"You are spacing out," the bespectacled boy pointed out.

She noticed his chocolaty eyes staring intently, a hint of worry on them. Next to him, amber eyes were also trained on her. And based on the silence around, she was betting those were not the only colors observing her.

"I-it's nothing," Fiona waved off their concern. "I'm just thinking about… er… stuff?"

Why did she have to phrase it like?

"Is it Hunter stuff?" Kyota asked excitedly. Fiona would have kissed the boy for the easy out.

"Y-yes. I was thinking about…. The Vytal Festival!"

She winced. She was doing this, wasn't she?

"Oh yeah," Kyota exclaimed excitedly, "that's this year, right? Koh, are you participating?"

The brunette paused her munching, thinking about it and giving herself time to clear her mouth. "I think so. Cannot imagine Mytyl letting us drop out. I recon my team has a very good chance at winning the first- and second-years' division."

"Oh really?" Sun smirked. "Didn't take you for the arrogant type, Kohi."

Kohaku shrugged. "I wouldn't call it arrogance. I DO have GV on my team." – Sun flinched at that. Fiona didn't miss it – "and Copen has only lost to Pyrrha, Mytyl, and GV himself. So really, he let Mytyl win and his lost to GV doesn't matter, so he only lost to Pyrrha."

"…some people have all the luck," Sun mumbled, crossed his arms, and sulked.

Swallowing her trepidation, Fiona pushed forward with the conversation. "Kohaku, you mentioned your surname is Mino, right?"

"Did I?" she asked genuinely. "Maybe you heard it from the grapevine. They do like to remind me at every chance."

Fiona nodded at the whimsical remark. "Mino as in Kon Mino?"

"Oh, that's my sis! Wait, do you know her?"

Fiona pieced together the familial relationship. Considering that people weren't afraid of referring to the young Huntress as 'Blade's sister', it wasn't hard. But that was really the only concrete evidence. If her memory served her right, Kohaku and her sister were like night and day. The Blade in her mind was cool and reserved, with sharp features and fair hair. Kohaku, on the other hand, was lively and outspoken, both verbally and visually. Physically, her features were softer, and her hair could, at best, be charitably called dirty blond, but that was just when light hit it just right. Fiona had a hard time believing Kohaku and Blade were blood related.

She shook her head. "I know of her. I don't think there's an Atlas Hunter in my age group who doesn't know of her."

"I got it!" Jin exclaim, capturing everyone's attention. "Ten years ago, didn't Kon win the Vytal Festival in Atlas?"

Kohaku's mouth morphed into a small 'o' as the memories flooded back. "Now that you mention it, I remember something like that." Embarrassment creeped into her demeanors as she bashfully scratched her cheek. "But don't ask me what happened in the tournament itself. All I remember is the celebration, the food, and that Kon was to blame for all of it."

"It is the biggest upset in a tournament in recent memory," Jin elaborated. "Third year Team DMDL from Shade against fourth year Team FGMN from Atlas in the third- and fourth-years' division's finals."

"Yeah, I'm remembering," Sun added. "Wasn't the entire match Teach and her team leader against the entirety of Team Forget-Me-Not?"

"Basically," Fiona confirmed. "Half of Team DMDL was taken out of bounds early by FGMN surprise rush attack with their Semblances. But I'm so glad it didn't end there," Fiona enthusiasm rose as she elaborated. "What followed has to be one of the coolest fights I've seen. They way your sister and her leader kept FGMN at bay, she keeping all four members at bay in melee while he supported from range with his sniper rifle. I still remember the shift in atmosphere as they both slowly chipped away at FGMN. People looked at me weirdly when I screamed a 'Yes' after the first member of FMGN fell."

"You were cheering against Atlas?" Maria asked in confusion.

"Hehe, yeah. I mean, not initially. But I've always been a sucker for underdog stories and seeing DMDL crawl their way out of a almost assured defeat… it was so cool. The twisting of the lightning-charged whip‑sword keeping FMGN at bay, the unerring accuracy of the gun providing support, how Blade and her partner wordlessly worked together…"

Fiona's gushing devolved into an unintelligible, high-pitched gibberish. Seeing a full-grown woman capable of battling monsters fangirling was a sight to behold.

Maria was the first to take a metaphorical stab at the daydreaming faunus.

"You have a crush on Kon!"

Fiona froze. Her only response a pathetic "Eh?"

Kohaku eyes widened. "For real?"

"No, no, no. I don't have a crush on your sister."

The skeptical silence that followed had Fiona sweating.

"I had a crush on your sister," she started twiddling her index fingers, not willing to meet anyone's eyes. "And her team leader. And going in… I thought all members of FGMN were hot…"

Kohaku took a can of soda and sipped from it, carefully thinking her next words. "Kon is not getting any younger. Maybe I should take a page out of Mytyl's book and start pairing her with people."

Fiona face paled at the implications.

"Sun, Fiona," Kohaku invaded the personal space of each of her targets as she wrapped her arms around each of them and brought them together. "Any of you interested in a strong, independent woman that needs no man and/or woman in her life?"

Fiona cried a whine into her hands, her face quickly heating up.

"I already told you, I don't see Teach like that," Sun insisted, picking Kohaku's arm and moving it away from him. "It doesn't help she's over a decade older than me."

Kohaku sent her friend the flattest look she could manage. "You're telling me that if Kon walked up to you and proposed a relationship, you would say no." Kohaku didn't even bother making it a question, convinced about its falsity. Just because she said it didn't make it true.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

sHE blinked. Then she squinted. Her face drew closer to Sun, as he examined the monkey's faunus carefully. "How did you do that?"

Sun scooched away a bit, looking at Jin in confusion. No answers were found, as Jin shrugged, unable to explain Kohaku's question.

"Do what?"

"You know. Lying with a straight face. You've always been a terrible liar."

"Er… I'm not lying. I'm not into older women," Sun offered.

"You did it again! How odd…"

Jin snorted in amusement. While Kohaku and Sun were occupied, he turned towards Fiona. "So… you are crushing on Kon-"

"It was a teenage crush!" Fiona cried.

"Haha, ok, ok," Jin tried to placate the sheep girl. "So that's a no to Kohaku's offer?"

"…"

"You know, silence does you no favors."

"It's not that simple!" Fiona tried to defend herself.

"Fiona!" Kohaku rushed to the girl, grasping the faunus hands and pulling, "let me arrange a blind date!"

"And it's not a blind date if I know who I'm dating!"

Kyota and Maria observed the proceedings with hidden fascination.

"Who knew the Hunter's dating scene was so complicated," Maria commented.

"No kidding. I'm having seconds thoughts about my career choice," Kyota agreed.

Author's Notes

This ends Kohaku's portion of the interlude. Next three chapters we'll see what the Vale gang is up to. Hooray!

Let's do a quick rundown:

Title: The chapter's title has no grammar error. Trust me.

White Fang: Part of the reasons for this interlude was to take a very quick peek at the White Fang in a global scale and their influence on the world of Remnant as a whole, as well as their role in this fic.

Kohaku vs Kyota: I enjoy writing dialogues more than action scenes, but every now and then I do like the turn and twist action scenes can take. When I read other people's fanfic, I notice I'm lightweight in my descriptions comparatively speaking and fight scenes like this allow me to flex my muscles a bit. They are still lightweight, but it helps a bit.

The fight was, from the start, going to Kohaku. There was no doubt about it. But I had fun writing Kyota's Semblance slow build up. Speaking of, his Semblance is called "Cheer me on". The name was inspired by that one time in competitive Pokemon history where a Pachirisu led a team to victory with Follow Me. The Semblance itself is loosely based on what little characterization we have on Kyota. He seems like a kid that would love to be the center of attention. Combined with his carefree attitude, this seemed like a fun Semblance for him to have. I won't go into the nitty gritty details, but basically Kyota's strength, speed, and reflexes increase based on the number of people cheering for him and for how long they've been cheering. He would be a monster in a tournament setting.

Fiona's crush: I don't know if it's hero worship or a legit crush, but I cannot help but feel Fiona has one of these for Robyn. I took that personality quirk when establishing her crush for the D and M of Team DMDL. The idea of her developing those crushes when she was around 12 is adorable. Oh, to be young. It also allowed me to brush upon the… 35th(?) Vytal Festival. Since the 40th is in Vale and the 38th was on Vacuo, that leaves Mistral and Atlas as possible hosts. Chose Atlas to give Team FGMN home team advantage and make it more memorable. Speaking of…

Team FGMN: When I was looking through possible names for this team and saw Forget-Me-Not, it was love at first sight. I didn't look any further. Forget-Me-Not is a pretty dope name for a flower.

I think it's almost self-evident the FGMN's members are not OC. Care to guess their identities?

Their names might not start with the letters I used (a.k.a. they didn't have a last name and I gave them one), but I tried to keep it in line with the character's theme.

Reviews

EvanderAdvent: I prefer the rap version. The no rap version fills empty and I don't particularly dislike rap. Not my favorite genre, and I won't go out of my way to listen to it, but I don't mind the occasional rap section in a song. And someone told me they liked the instrumental jazz version from Volume 3, so there's that.