Here we go.

Cover Art: Serox

Chapter 35

Ever since he was a hormonal boy going through puberty, he'd dreamed of going with a beautiful girl to a school dance. Sienna was much more a woman than a girl, tall and lithe, with slim dark arms and the sharpest eyes he'd ever seen, but she was undeniably beautiful in a combination of black and red robes that would have smacked of cultural appropriation if she wasn't from Menagerie herself.

It made her look exotic, with a paradoxical combination of more layers than a normal dress, and somehow ending up more revealing for it. Most of that was because the strips of cloth focused on what someone must have decided were the important parts, the chest, pelvis, upper thighs and legs, but had decided that the stomach, almost all her back and the entire side of her left leg should be bare.

He, by comparison, had gone boring. A light grey tux with a charcoal grey waistcoat and a black shirt. About the only interesting part of it was the inversed shades of lighter on the outside, darker on the in, which Ilia assured him would look different enough to Beacon's students to make him stand out without sending any weird undertones. Black might be seen as threatening or mourning, white was too close to Atlas, and blue, well, that could be mistaken for what most of the students might wear.

Dressing up had never been so complicated.

They wore no masks thankfully. His identity was out there and even if most of the White Fang wore them, Sienna Khan was a known enough figure as to make the gesture pointless. Instead, she'd gone with a golden link of thin chain around her neck and some hoop earrings to accentuate both her human and her faunus ears.

"You look handsome," she said on seeing him. As compliments went, she wasn't blushing, looking away or even admiring him in any way as to make it mean anything, but Jaune blushed all the same.

"Not as good as you. I… uh…" He looked down at his suit. "I look pretty boring compared to what you're wearing. Is that from Menagerie?"

"Yes." Sienna twisted and the skirt flared up to show her long, dark legs. "You've never been, have you? It's much warmer back home, even at night. Our festivals would always take place on the beach, so clothing is made with that in mind. Everyone would go dance in the water after, so the skirt is made to roll up and you can wear a swimsuit underneath."

That explained why the whole thing looked like it was one tug away from falling off her. That was a design choice based around it dropping off to reveal a bikini. Jaune wished he hadn't heard that since his brain helpfully imagined it dropping off Sienna right there.

"That's nice. The dress, I mean-" He cringed under her raised eyebrow. "You look great is what I mean. That's really good. We want to show everyone we're normal people when we're not fighting."

"Hm." Sienna hummed and nodded. He was glad she was willing to follow his plan at all, especially since she was more used to using opportunities like this for violent ends. "I feel like that should have been obvious. Of course we're normal people outside our duties. Why do people need to be told that to believe it? Still," she sighed, "You're probably right. We are demonised in the eyes of many, so they probably assume we spend our free time plotting the deaths of human babies."

"You mean you don't?" he asked with a wry smile.

Sienna returned it. "I like to fish."

"Really?"

He wouldn't have pegged her for it.

"Menagerie is an island. There's nothing quite as satisfying as catching your own food. It's a freshness that can't be found in any store or market. Perhaps I'll show you one day," she said. "You'll have to visit the White Fang's home one day."

"I'd like that. It'd be a nice break from Vale."

"Boss." Yuma poked his head through the door. "Or bosses, I guess. The shuttle from Beacon is set to land in twenty minutes. It's about that walk from here to there, so you might want to get going."

"You made sure the drop-off point was away from our base?" Sienna asked.

"Of course." If it weren't for Ilia, he wouldn't have thought of it. "We were aware they might use wherever we tell them to pick us up as a starting point for a search for us once this is over. It's far enough away that it won't be a problem. Just in case, Deery and Perry are going to be listening in to Atlas' comms through the event. Make sure they don't plan anything."

"Good." Sienna offered her hand and Jaune gingerly took it, unsurprised at how callused her fingers were and wondering if his felt soft and feminine in contrast. "I'm pleased to see our latest gift to you is being utilised properly. Shall we be off? This will be the first time an active member of the White Fang has been invited to step foot inside an academy. It will be a big moment for faunus everywhere."

Assuming it went well…

/-/

Weiss assumed she was not the only nervous one watching the Bullhead approach. For all that the headmaster stood with mug in hand, dressed in a black suit and without movement, she was sure he must have been anxious about how this would go. It was his reputation on the line after all. Similarly, General Ironwood and her sister, having come together scandalously, but assuredly as colleagues, were stiff and gave off their tension in waves.

Her team were little better, and for markedly different reasons. Blake was… well, that was obvious enough. Bristling would be the best descriptor. Ruby was tense in a guilty way, and Yang in that of an older sister unsure how to help the younger. It was rare that Weiss felt sympathy for Team RWBY's most obnoxious member, but she did feel bad for Yang now.

On her own side, it was more complex. There was the danger of Team RWBY failing, yes, but also of having to play diplomat before Sienna Khan, someone who had in the past ordered attacks on her family. Even herself. What would her father say when he heard about this? How would Sienna Khan act toward her? What was she to do if someone tried to intervene and harm them? Why had Ozpin chosen them at all?

So many questions; so few answers.

"If they try anything…" General Ironwood said.

"Then I trust Team RWBY will step up to the occasion." Ozpin interrupted. "This is Beacon after all, not Atlas. My guests shall be granted the hospitality they deserve."

The Bullhead turned and angled itself so that it would settle down with its side toward them. Weiss took a deep breath and reminded herself that whatever was said, however crass they were, she would be professional and polite. Rise above it, Weiss. Kill them with kindness.

The aircraft landed and the ramp thumped down onto the grass. The doors hissed and then slid open, aided by the man within, one Weiss recognised immediately. Jaune Arc looked remarkably proper in a grey suit – she'd expected him to try and make more of an impact with some caped monstrosity of an outfit. Instead, he'd come dressed to dance.

His `date` was the one that stood out. Scandalous, Weiss thought. I can see so much. Sienna Khan, lady of the White Fang, strode out with so much confidence Weiss felt like a child in front of her. No one showing off their belly and so much leg should look so relaxed, least of all walking into enemy territory. Her yellow eyes roamed over her audience. Weiss froze when they met hers, but they soon slid away, narrowing on General Ironwood before moving on and fixing on a surprising choice.

"Blake. I wondered if I would see you here."

Her teammate stiffened, going ramrod straight in her purple dress. They hadn't even considered this, and Blake looked like she was ready to run – again, mind you. Yang grabbed her shoulder before she could run and never stop.

"I-I have no idea who you are," Blake lied.

"Really? Is that the game we're playing?" Sienna chortled, pushing her left hip out and planning one fist on it. "I remember the name and face of everyone who served under me, though you served more under Adam, didn't you? Literally, in some cases."

"I… I…"

"Your mother wasn't the only one to warn you against him. I did tell you he was bad news."

"Ahem." Ozpin coughed to draw attention. "I would like to mention that Miss Belladonna's past is known to us, and that she is a student of Beacon Academy now. Any actions toward her would be seen as threatening by myself and the other teachers."

"I'm not here to make threats." Sienna said. Her lips curled upward. "I don't make them. I do have something for Blake, though." Her hand disappeared into the ribbon-like sash she wore as a belt, then drew out a sealed envelope, which she handed to Blake. "For you. Your parents send their regards."

Blake bristled. "What have you done to them!?"

Team RWBY tensed. Ironwood's hand fell to his gun.

Sienna Khan only tilted her head, gripping Jaune Arc's arm and leaning against him. "What have I done? I do believe I've delivered a letter from them to you. They were quite shocked to see reports of you in Beacon, and quite upset you never thought to call them and tell them you were safe."

"Don't lie!" Blake snapped. "My parents never forgave what you did to the White Fang. If you harmed them-"

"You always were so dramatic. You and Adam both. Yes, they never forgave me. That hardly means Ghira and I are at each other's throats, or that Kali doesn't stop me to chat whenever we bump into one another at the grocers. We live on the same island, we visit the same places, they're its chieftains and I am the head of the White Fang. Obviously, we have business together." Sienna rolled her eyes. "It would be ridiculous if, after all these years, we couldn't so much as be in the same room without weapons being drawn."

Blake didn't look like she trusted the older woman. "Then if I were to call them tomorrow…"

"Call them. See for yourself. It would certainly get Kali off my back. Really, she finds out I'm going to Vale and suddenly she's camped outside my bedroom door demanding I hunt you down for her. I'm the leader of the White Fang, not some babysitter."

This is the terrifying woman behind the White Fang…?

It was… disappointing? No, not quite, more surprising. She'd expected a little more barbed words, angry rhetoric and insults toward herself specifically. Perhaps this was an attempt to unsettle them. Weiss would keep her guard up.

"I'm pleased to see you're here peacefully then," Ozpin said. He stepped up and offered his right hand, shaking Sienna's first and then Jaune's. "Welcome to Beacon. I'd love to give you the tour and speak a little of what we do, but I don't want to ruin the evening."

"The White Fang knows what it is the academies offer Remnant," Sienna said. "It is a responsibility we have to fill in Menagerie. We've no academy to call our own, so dealing with the Grimm is one of our duties."

"I apologise, Miss Khan. Had I known, I would have sent huntsmen out there."

"We are not considered a Kingdom, are we? More a run-off dumping ground for Atlas' cast offs." She sniffed in Ironwood's face. "My war has never been with the academies, least of all Beacon."

Ozpin's smile grew. "Nor has mine with you. I have done my best to provide every faunus in our halls equal opportunity."

"So I've heard. There are few complaints I have about Beacon." Sienna eyed General Ironwood and smiled sarcastically, making it abundantly clear she couldn't say the same there.

"I have a faunus on my best team." General Ironwood said defensively.

"Yes, and you regularly enforce Atlas' laws, dispersing protestors, often violently-"

"I am bound to the laws of my Kingdom. If I broke them, what message would that send?"

"One that you are a man who wouldn't stand for such inequality. A shame that can't be said." Turning away, Sienna dismissed him with a casual flick of her dark hair, turning and resting a hand on Jaune Arc's shoulder. "Why don't we go get a drink? It's awfully cold out here."

Jaune Arc jumped. "R-Right. Let's head in."

Team RWBY, Ozpin and General Ironwood watched them go, before Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and said, "That went well."

"Well!?" Ironwood barked. "She insulted me, Atlas and everything my Kingdom stands for! I would not call that going well, Ozpin."

"It's a matter of perspective. It went well for me."

Yang snorted. Even Weiss had to resist the tiniest of smiles breaking through. She brought her face back to an indifferent mask when Winter looked her way suspiciously.

"Don't you and your team have something to do, Weiss?" she asked. "A pair to follow and cover within the dance?"

Team RWBY scurried after the faunus couple.

/-/

"They're here, ma'am."

"Excellent." Cinder's voice came through the tiny speaker embedded in both Mercury and Emerald's ears as they danced hand in hand. Both of them watched the odd couple of a dark-skinned tiger faunus and a pasty terrorist mastermind entering the hall.

They weren't the only ones doing so. One did not ignore the arrival of two of the most wanted people on Remnant, especially not when they were making precisely no effort to blend in. Students parted way before them like water around a rock. They had their own little bubble of personal space that no one dared step into.

All of this, Mercury relayed to Cinder as he and Emerald danced.

"This is our perfect little opportunity," Cinder said. "If both Jaune Arc and Sienna Khan were to have an accident right here under Ozpin's protection and Ironwood's eye, it would reverberate across faunus everywhere. It doesn't even matter whom the blame falls on. Either will serve our purposes."

"It might be hard to get close to them," Mercury said. "People are avoiding them."

"Look for your opportunity. The frightened sheep will calm down once they realise there's no danger. Once they do, you should have an easier time approaching."

Mercury nodded. Right now, people were too afraid, and no one wanted to be the first there. No one except Team RWBY, he noticed, who were following the duo rather inconspicuously.

"I think we have bodyguards, ma'am."

"As expected. Ozpin is taking no chances. Work around them. Emerald, you may use your Semblance if needs be. Try to be subtle, but this is worth the risk. Focus on Jaune Arc. While it would benefit us if both died, Sienna will be suitably enraged if her rising star is murdered under her watch. We may well gain her as an ally."

"Yes ma'am," they said in unison. Cinder would be off with her own work during this. While she had initially been against the idea of letting them handle the assassination without her, an opportunity like this didn't come around often.

"Bet you I can off him first," Mercury said.

"You?" Emerald snorted and rolled her reddish eyes. "He'd bend you in two, then fold you like a pretzel. We both know I'm the subtle one."

"I was raised by an assassin."

"You were beaten like a dog by one." Emerald laughed when his face darkened. "And we both know you're more brute than anything."

"Watch it, bitch."

"Watch me!" she teased, pushing away from him. "I'll take your bet. First to kill him wins. Loser has to follow the orders of the winner for a full week."

"That eager to have me under you, babe?"

"I'll order you to jump off a bridge."

Bitch. Mercury eyed their target. He wasn't afraid to let Emerald have the first crack since his own methods were a little less subtle and he couldn't get close until people started crowding them. Maybe on the dance floor. Accidents could always happen there. For now, the lovely twosome were sticking to the edges of the hall, chatting and staying away from the dancing until people calmed down.

"Alright. Fine. What do you have in mind?"

"Heh." Emerald pushed away from him. "Watch and see."

/-/

Be polite. Be a gentleman. Jaune didn't have much experience in taking girls out, but he did have seven sisters, some of whom were older, which meant he had all the experience in the world listening to them complain about things guys had failed to do, or things they'd done wrong.

"Can I get you a drink?" he asked Sienna. "It was a long flight over."

"I wouldn't mind one," she said, eyeing the long table dotted with flutes of punch. "I doubt they'll serve anything too hard at a school. A shame. Dealing with all these people staring makes me want something a little stronger."

"Tell me about it. I'm still not used to it." He was used to being forgettable or at least only noticeable when he was embarrassing himself. "Does it get any easier?"

"After a while, yes. The hardest part is knowing people are judging your every decision looking for weakness or ill-intent. Something I'm sure you've experienced by now."

He had, but he'd thought that more a thing about him being a terrorist here. "Is it bad in Menagerie as well?"

"Just because we're all on the same side there doesn't mean there isn't just as much politics. The radicals, the traditionalists, the modernists – don't get me started on the avant-garde lot."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"They do raids on convoys and then spend an extra hour setting up the crime scene just right," she said with a pointed groan. "It's something about `sending a message` or so they claim, but I'm fairly sure they're OCD. Or touched in the head. There's a lot of commentary about art being used to inspire. Believe me, you don't want to deal with it."

"Aren't there any normal people in the fang?"

"Just me," she said, then smiled. "And maybe also you now. You cannot possibly understand how much of a relief that is." She licked her lips and Jaune caught the subtle hint.

"I'll grab those drinks. Be right back."

There were a couple of people at the table, but they all vacated the area sharpish when they saw him coming. They obviously weren't as welcome as Ozpin wanted them to believe. Then again, he wouldn't want to get close to a terrorist either. Jaune reached out for a glass only to have his hand bump into someone else's.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The girl had skin lighter than Sienna's but still dark, with pastel green hair and a friendly, if embarrassed, smile. "You first," she said, letting him take the glass. "I just wanted a drink."

"Oh. It's fine." This was it, his chance to show the students he was a good guy. Jaune picked up two and handed one to her. "Here. Let me."

The girl laughed and pushed her hands against the glass, one over and the over touching his hands to push it back. He was sure he heard a light splashing sound, but he had to be imagining it. He could see she was just pushing the glass back to him.

"It's fine. I need one for my teammate anyway, and you have to get one for your date, don't you?"

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry for taking yours."

"It's fine. It's fine." The girl waved it off, picked up two more glasses and hurried away. "Have a nice night!"

Huh. Well, maybe that wasn't such a bad first interaction. She'd been pretty skittish around him, but he'd been friendly, and she seemed to realise that. Jaune shrugged and took a sip from the glass, taking another from the selection and heading back to Sienna.

/-/

"Easy," she said smugly. "Now we just have to wait."

Mercury scowled. He'd seen the pill drop into the drink and dissolve. Arc hadn't, which suggested Emerald had cheated and used her Semblance. Such bullshit. "What is it?" he asked, annoyed. "Toxin?"

"A deadly poison cooked up by one of those human supremacist groups, the type that no one talks about despite them being just as bad as the White Fang. It reacts with something in faunus DNA and causes horrifically painful symptoms within seconds, and, if there's no antidote administered, death within the hour."

Jaune Arc raised the glass to his lips.

He drank deeply.

"And that is a win for me," Emerald said.

Mercury held his ground. "Is it?"

Jaune Arc downed the drink and wiped his lips clean, then answered a question Sienna posed, waving his hand while she sipped her own drink. He looked out his depth, nervous and shy like he'd never dated a girl before. Amusing enough reactions for an onlooker like him, but probably not the reaction Emerald was looking for.

"What?" she hissed. "I don't get it. That's supposed to be some of the fastest acting stuff there is. Why isn't it working?"

"You really didn't do your research, did you?"

"What?"

"Those `trashy magazines` I read aren't just for gossip, you know. They happen to be a font of information on famous people." And right now, you didn't get much more famous – or infamous – than Jaune Arc. "There are huge arguments over what kind of faunus he is, it's obviously something without any external features, or with features under his clothes."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Come on, Em. Look at him. That guy has survived everything thrown at him, from huntsmen to Grimm to Neo of all people. He always comes out alive. You know what that means? He's a faunus whose abilities are geared toward survival." Mercury nodded his head. "My money is on the honey badger."

"Again, what does that have to do with anything?"

Mercury grinned. "Honey badgers are insanely resistant to venom and poison. They even go after and eat snakes and scorpions with venom so powerful it'd kill a fully grown human in minutes."

"You… but… he…" Emerald ground her teeth and stomped her foot. Point for him. "How was I supposed to know he's a honey badger faunus? He doesn't even have striped hair!"

"Not on his head anyway."

It took Emerald a second to process that. "Ugh. TMI. Fine, go show me how it's done then oh master of the silent kill. I can't wait to see you fail twice as bad as I did."

As if. Arc would never know what hit him.

/-/

"We should dance."

"Eh?" Jaune looked at Sienna in shock. "Now?" he asked. He looked around. "They're all still terrified of us."

"That's my point. We have most of them staring at us and four of them tyring to run interference. If your goal is to prove we're here peacefully then we have to show them."

True. Show don't tell, that was what he needed to remember. Jaune nodded, finishing his drink and taking Sienna's empty glass to set down on a windowsill. He offered his hand and she, with an amused smile, took it.

"I hope you know how to dance," she said.

"I have a lot of sisters. Trust me, I know how to do this."

"Good. Because I don't."

Jaune almost stumbled. "You… what…?"

"Does it surprise you?" she asked, more amused than embarrassed. "I went from being a young and idealistic peaceful protester straight into a wanted terrorist. There was never much time to learn."

"What about in Menagerie?"

Sienna laughed. "I think everyone here would faint if they saw how we dance there. This is a proper little event. Menagerie belly-dancing wouldn't be appropriate."

Jaune looked. How could he not after she'd said that? He tore his eyes away from her smooth and taut stomach, but the damage was already done. Sienna's lips were curled upward like the cat who'd just caught the canary. Blood rushed to his face.

"D-Dance?" he stammered.

"But of course. Lead on."

He hadn't lied about knowing how to dance. As the only brother he made a good practice partner for every single sister, and they'd all been to their graduation dances from school, so he knew the parts well enough. Actually having to do it with a woman in your arms was different now that said woman wasn't related, and all the people staring didn't help.

Sienna is right though, I need to show them we're here to dance and be seen. That's the whole point of coming. If we stand in a corner the whole time then people are going to say we're up to no good.

One or two couples gave way for them, abandoning the dance floor the moment they stepped onto it. Others hesitated, missing beats, but Jaune focused his eyes on Sienna and doggedly ignored them. Focus on her. They could pretend no one else existed and that they were in their own little world. It would be easier.

As the music slowed, Jaune drew her into a slow waltz. He made sure to guide her as he had his younger sisters when it was their turn to learn to dance, after he'd mastered it with his older siblings. Sienna was quick on her feet, so she managed to avoid stumbling or tripping. It must have been from all the combat she'd seen.

He slipped his hand around her back as they moved into a dip, his palm and fingers running over a vast expanse of hot, smooth skin. He swallowed, suddenly unsure where it would be safe to put his hand on a completely open-backed dress. He had to settle for the small of her back because there was nothing else, and he could feel the interplay of surprisingly strong muscles working under his hand as she arched back.

Sienna was not a petite lady. She wasn't big either, at least not when it came to weight, but she was muscular. Not like a bodybuilder, but still, he had a feeling she could bench more than him and probably rip him in two if she wanted. Never had that been clearer than now.

"You're good at this," she purred.

"Like I said, I've had a lot of practice."

"You're not doing a good job of convincing people we're not together though. There will be rumours after this."

Crap. He'd forgotten. Blood crept up his neck and he tried to move away. Sienna clutched his hand instead, smile growing as she showed her quick wit and executed a twirl, her skirt flying up around his legs. He had to go with her, or risk being thrown on his ass.

"I'm only teasing. You're surprisingly innocent. Or you're putting it on."

"I'm not-"

"I can tell you're not," she said. "This visit was as much for me to get a feel for you as to address these other concerns." Her hands came to his shoulders, Sienna mimicking the other girls on the dancefloor as they swayed together. "I'm sure you can understand why. Issues of loyalty crop up and I've no desire to be supplanted. Or killed by a traitor."

"I would never do that!"

"Don't worry, I believe you. Let's just say I'm not too displeased by what I've seen so far. You're no Adam, and that's a good thing." Her eyes twinkled and he knew something bad was coming. "I wonder if you have the same tastes as he does, especially in…" Her tiger ears flicked, "-feline women."

Even if he'd been ready for it, he still tripped, almost falling into her if it wasn't for Sienna laughing and taking a step back, pulling him in so instead of tripping into her cleavage he could hop a step and catch himself. At least, that would have been the theory.

Someone crashed into him as he did, knocking Jaune straight into her.

/-/

Mercury smirked smugly as he went in for the kill. Dance floors were crowded places with too many bodies crammed together like sardines in a tin, which meant a person could slip a knife into anyone. Who could say who was responsible when Jaune Arc bled to death in his lover's arms? Beacon would deny involvement, as would Atlas, and that would drive the White Fang into a frenzy.

He slid between two couples, twisting sideways on as the small knife flicked out from his sleeve. One step and a lunge would see it planted in the small of Arc's back. He wouldn't think to have his aura up here. Now, Mercury thought, right when Arc and Sienna swung by.

The knife flashed.

Sienna Khan said something, and Arc dodged. Mercury barely had the time to react – Sienna had seen him! She must have. It wouldn't matter if he could land the blow and escape, but Sienna dragged Arc along with her, hopping back in time to make Mercury miss entirely.

He couldn't pull the blow back in time. His hand was already thrusting, his momentum committed. Mercury bumped into Arc's back, knocking him even further out the line of danger as he stabbed his knife right into the back of some random girl.

Murder on the dancefloor, Mercury thought dully. Cinder is going to kill me.

The knife struck flesh.

The knife snapped like it was made of cheap plastic.

It pinged off and into Mercury's own foot, which would have raised more of a scream if it were an actual foot at all. The blade was lodged in his show and he desperately stamped on it with his other foot, driving it in to try and hide it as the girl turned.

"Greetings!" she announced, completely unbothered by the fact he'd tried to stab her. Who the heck had their aura up on a dancefloor anyway? Mercury was sweating bullets and trying to come up with an excuse to explain away a blatant assassination gone wrong.

"Um. I… uh. Gah. Tripped…?"

"Your elevated heart rate and difficulties speaking suggest you are lying!" the girl said happily. Mercury whimpered. "Could it be that you are trying to ask me to dance and are too embarrassed, and that this is how you chose to approach me?"

"Uh. Yes…?"

"Sensational!" The girl clapped her hands together and grabbed Mercury by the collar. "I am Penny, and I am boyfriend ready."

"Hah-!?"

Mercury didn't get a chance to comment as he was yanked away and into the wildest, and possibly most dangerous, waltz of his life.

/-/

"Getting a little friendly there, don't you think?"

Jaune spluttered and babbled as he pushed his way out of Sienna's chest. His face was bright red, his eyes wide as dinner plates. Sienna saw it and burst out laughing, instantly knowing it hadn't been planned. He couldn't have been more humiliated if he tried.

"Oh relax, it was an accident. I saw. That guy bumped into you." Smiling, she petted his cheek. "I'm not some schoolgirl shrieking if a boy accidentally looks up my skirt. It's fine."

"S-Sorry!"

"Like I said, don't worry." Sienna hooked her arm around his waist and continued to dance. Her quick learning contrasted with her lack of experience, somehow culminating in her not realising she was taking the male lead as she twirled him around. "I always try to look at the motives behind the action. It's why Adam and I had such issues with one another. We had the same goals but he… there was an anger to him. A hatred. There were times I think he went over the top solely because he enjoyed seeing humans suffer."

"That's horrible…"

"I agree. What's the point of fighting to send a message if the message is that we are monsters? The whole reason we started fighting is to show we wouldn't sit back any longer and be victims. We – I – knew that people would be hurt by this, but I always felt we'd limit that where we could. Focus on those who wronged us. The innocent were never supposed to be involved."

There was a sadness to her voice that caught his attention. "What happened?"

"Recruitment. It's… our core team when we started was good. We were all on the same page, all loyal and dedicated to the cause. It's when you bring in more people that things get harder. Managing fifty people is okay, but five thousand is too much for me. New ideas formed, new mentalities and factions. All of a sudden, we had people joining who didn't really want equality at all, they wanted to `get back at the humans who wronged them`. They wanted blood. The White Fang grew too fast. We needed members, so we didn't reject anyone, and that made it grow out of my control."

Ilia had never mentioned this side of things. Maybe she didn't know. "Why didn't you stop it?"

"How could I? If a faunus comes to us they've given up their normal lives to do so. We can't just turn them away. Whether they want all humans dead or want to live in peace with them, they're still faunus and they're still victims. I swore I would make a world where that didn't happen anymore." Sienna's face hardened. "I can't do that if I turn away people just because I don't like their reasons."

"Waiiiiit! Too fast!" a silver-haired boy was flung past them by a very cheerful girl with orange hair.

"That sounds rough." He kind of knew what she felt like, even if part of the pressure on him to keep moving forward was from Sienna. "You didn't have much of a choice."

"Not other than following Ghira and letting the White Fang be continuously ignored and abused." Her hands tightened behind him. "That was a choice I could never accept, though having to do near everything on my own has been just as big a problem. It sometimes feels like I'm the only person in possession of a functioning brain."

"Oh for sure. It's the same here."

Sienna smiled. "In that case I think I have an interesting proposal to make, one that may help us both with that and with those rumours about our illicit relationship."

Jaune looked up. "What?"

Sienna's face came down to meet his.

"Embrace it."

Her lips did just that to his.

Poor Mercury and Emerald just trying to impress sempai with an assassination. They're just trying to do their job!

Next Chapter: 13th April

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur