Author's Note:

I hath return with cringe backstory! If it makes any of you feel better, I never forgot about this story, just didn't know where to take it really. I have too much stuff for the fall of Beacon, and practically nothing for before. Enough about my woes, here's my terrible writing.

Akamu sunk his head further into his scarf, a bad feeling in his gut forming as they came closer to the cloth banner being put up. Ruby and him had just finished his new outfit, and the team saw no better opportunity than today for a trip to town. A white t-shirt with his new emblem, a black silhouette of a sword wreathed in a silver-colored flame.

To hide the arm straps of Prelude, a high-collared dark green jacket with pushed up sleeves, unbuttoned in the front. For pants, he settled for a simple pair of darker jeans. Luckily, he found a nice pair of jeans that somehow stretched, meaning Akamu could use even more of his innate flexibility. To finalize his look, he had a simple pair of boots. He had also painted the limbs of Prelude the same color as his jacket, along with the pommel and cross guard of Epilogue. As Akamu chuckled to himself remembering Weiss being conflicted on whether he looked good, the girl in question started saying something.

Weiss clasped her hands in front of her chest and spoke excitedly. "The Vytal Festival! Oh, how wonderful!" The cheer made Akamu feel creeped out.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Ruby said, reaffirming Akamu's thoughts. "It's actually kinda weirding me out."

Weiss looked offended as she turned around to face Ruby and argue. "How could you not smile? It's a festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! Dances, parades, even a tournament! I couldn't even imagine the amount of planning and organization that would go into an event this size." Akamu thought for a second about the logistics of it.

"You really know just how to make a good thing sound boring." Yang said, arms crossed. Weiss made a noise of indignation as the group continued forward. "Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting these docks?"

Akamu giggled as Ruby pinched her nose. "They smell like fish!" She wasn't wrong. However, where Ruby was grossed out, Akamu started feeling hungry. 'Shut up, stomach, everything sounds good to you.'

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today." Weiss explained. "And, as representatives of Beacon, I feel as though it is our solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom."

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake said, correcting her in a comical manner. Again, Weiss made a noise of indignation, this time directed at Blake. Akamu could have sworn he saw her bow move when she chuckled.

The group's attention was caught by a nearby storefront, windows shattered and police tape strewn across the scene. "Woah." Ruby said, voicing everyone's thoughts. Ruby walked towards the shop, her team following. "What happened here?"

One of the detectives turned around to address her, Akamu seeing his badge. "Robbery. Second dust shop to be hit this week. I swear, it's like this place is turning into a jungle."

Yang seemed the most outwardly sympathetic to the businesses of the area. "That's horrible..."

Akamu continued to overhear the conversation between the detectives. "Money's all here again."

"This doesn't make any sense, who in Vale would need this much dust?"

"I don't know, maybe an army?"

"Y' thinking White Fang?"

"I'm thinking we ain't getting paid enough."

Akamu remembered his experiences with the White Fang, the last of them leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

Weiss was apparently also listening in and made a 'Harumph' before speaking. "The White Fang." She assumed a pose he hadn't seen in a while, her nose in the air and arms crossed. "What an awful group of degenerates."

Blake looked offended. "What's your problem?"

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss retorted. Akamu suddenly realized why he had a bad feeling. Not to mention, Weiss was also making assumptions about all those faunus who want equal rights.

Blake got even angrier, though it was hard to tell through her moody facade. "The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're just a collection of misguided faunus."

Weiss now looked offended. "Excuse me, misguided? Blake, they want to wipe humanity off the face of Remnant!"

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, this doesn't give an explanation as to why they would just rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!" Blake argued, trying to steer the conversation away. Akamu noticed Yang giving him concerned eyes.

Ruby took hold of that subject change as tight as she could. "Blake's got a point. The police also never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago... Maybe it was him!"

Akamu got a terrible feeling as Weiss started talking. "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. It's like those faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

At that final comment, Akamu finally felt his anger ignite. "Want to rephrase that last bit, Weiss?" He said, standing in front of her to get her attention.

Suddenly, the call of a sailor got all their attention. "Quick, get that faunus!" As everyone, including the detectives, ran over to see what was going on, a monkey faunus ran down the length of a boat.

"Thanks for the ride, guys! Whoo!" He said, leaping off the boat onto the docks.

One of the sailors started trying to get down onto the docks, still calling after the golden faunus. "You no-good stowaway!"

Leaping onto a nearby lamppost, the faunus started opening a banana while hanging from his tail. "Hey, a no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm an awesome stowaway!" One of the detectives ran up and threw a nearby rock at the hanging faunus. In retaliation, said faunus threw the peel into the face of one of the detectives before eating the banana whole and jumping. Landing past the detectives, he started running, turned, and ran past team RWBY+A. Akamu tried getting a good look at his face before he realized that the faunus was... Winking at him? And just like that, the monkey faunus was gone.

"Well, Weiss." Yang said, amused. "There goes your chance to see the competition."

Weiss' face turned excited again. "After him, we need to observe!" Akamu then found himself running alongside his team, Blake lagging behind. Surprisingly, they were gaining on him before they rounded a corner and-

Thud!

Weiss crashed into a girl, but clearly didn't pay that any mind. "Ugh, he got away!" She complained, still laying on top of the orange-haired girl.

Yang finally broke the scene. "Uh, Weiss?" She said, pointing at the poor girl. Weiss immediately got up, but the one who was trampled still stayed down.

"Salutations!" The girl said, still laying on the floor. However, she did wave.

Ruby looked as confused as the rest of her team. "Uh... Hi?" 'Absolutely stunning charisma.'

"Are you okay?" Yang asked.

The girl on the ground responded as enthusiastic as before. "I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking."

Akamu exchanged looks with the rest of his team before speaking up. "Are you going to... get up?"

"Hmm... Yes!" The girl answered before jumping up to her feet. "My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Ruby laughed nervously. "Hello Penny, I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss." Said the Ice Queen, her posture held.

"Blake."

"Hi, I'm Akamu."

"Ya sure you didn't hit your head?" Akamu lightly punched her arm. "Ow- Oh, I'm Yang."

Penny's enthusiasm was now starting to weird Akamu out. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Uh, think you already said that." Yang said.

Penny paused for a moment, clearly thinking. "So I did!"

There was a sizable gap in conversation before Weiss declared it was over. "Well, sorry for running into you!" She said, turning away and walking. Everyone followed.

"Take care, friend!" Ruby said, giving Akamu a strange feeling in his gut.

The group walked a moment before anyone said anything. "Well, that was... Weird..." Yang said, stating the obvious.

"Alright, now, just where did that faunus riff-raff run off to?" Weiss said, the name upsetting both Blake and Akamu.

Suddenly, Akamu felt a ping in his head. 'Jump right!' He followed the guide just seconds before a green and orange blur ran through where he just was.

"What did you call me?" Penny asked, posted in front of the group.

"Sorry, I wasn't referring to you." Weiss said, confused.

"No, not you." Penny said, pushing her way through the group before stood in front of Ruby. "You called me friend! Am I really your friend?"

Ruby looked stunned, before checking back at her whole team for guidance. Everyone was giving obvious signs of 'no' except for Akamu who held a thumbs up. 'If anything, she's a neat character, if not a little unhinged.' Then, Ruby made her answer. "Yeah, sure! Why not?" Everyone else fainted except for the wolf faunus, nodding in approvement.

"Sensational! We can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" All but one of those activities sounded boring to Akamu, and it wasn't the boys.

"Weiss, was this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby asked, already tired from the girl's joyous exclamation.

"No, she seems far more coordinated." Weiss replied, getting up. Akamu wished he could have seen said meeting.

"So." Yang started. "What brings you to Vale?"

Penny turned startlingly fast. "I'm here to fight in the tournament!"

Weiss' jaw dropped. "Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?"

Penny saluted. "I'm combat ready!"

"Forgive me, but, you hardly look the part." Weiss said, eyeing her clothing.

Blake scoffed. "Says the girl wearing a dress."

Weiss crossed her arms. "It's a combat skirt!" Ruby jumped beside her, and the two high fived. Akamu didn't even know that Weiss knew what a high five was.

"Besides, you've got your stomach exposed." Akamu said to Blake, pointing out the flaw in her clothes.

Weiss suddenly had a realization. "Wait, if you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know who that monkey-tailed... Rapscallion?" Akamu saw Blake's demeanor crack.

"The who?" Penny asked, clearly not knowing who Weiss was speaking of.

Weiss held up a hastily drawn version of the faunus in question. "The filthy faunus from the boat!" Akamu was now upset.

Blake let out a frustrated noise before yelling. "Why do you keep saying that!? Stop demeaning him, he's a person!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Weiss said, her voice sounding much more snobbish than usual. "Would you like for me to not refer to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?" She said, pointing at the objects she listed.

Akamu finally felt his anger boil over. "Weiss, stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Just give him time, I'm sure he'll join up with those other faunus in the White Fang."

"You're an ignorant little brat!" Blake spat, turning away trying to walk away.

Weiss followed. "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

Blake then turned on her heel to continue arguing. "You are just a judgmental little girl."

"Now what makes you say that?"

"The mere fact that you would sort that faunus with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you as much of a scoundrel as you make him out to be!"

Akamu began feeling the oncoming of a panic attack, shuffling near Ruby and giving her a look. Yang spoke up, also uncomfortable. "Hey, we should probably go."

An oblivious Penny popped up behind them. "Where are we going?"

Akamu forced himself to block out the argument as best as he could. He felt a half hug from Ruby as she started leading them away from the docks, but the commotion followed.

Akamu sat in his personal quarters, trying to use music to drown out the noise of the arguing. Somehow, the opposite colors had been arguing for the past several hours, spanning the walk to the airships, the ride, the walk to the dorm, and even after that. He felt memories surface that he hadn't thought about in years. 'You're going to want to hear this, as hard as it is. Don't worry, everything's going to work out.' The thoughts rang out in his head, Akamu noticing a personality and mood behind them. Reluctantly, he took off his headphones and slightly opened the door, the walls and doors being surprisingly soundproof.

"-t's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, with actual bloodshed." Weiss explained, Akamu remembering even more. "My grandfather's company has had a target painted on it's back for as long as I can remember. Even since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed, even entire train cars of dust just stolen. And every day, my father would come home furious. And that made for a..." Weiss said, searching for the nicest way to say what she wanted. "Difficult childhood."

Akamu heard Ruby walk over to comfort Weiss, but the yell from Weiss clearly stopped that notion. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a lot of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

Akamu felt a strange feeling in his gut as Blake yelled back. "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

'We... She was one of them too?' Akamu pondered, many realizations happening. 'Wait, the bow! And her being secretive about her past! We don't even know how she got her training! It all makes sense!' However, the pause suddenly made Akamu worried. Before that worry was justified as Blake ran out the door. Something cracked in Akamu as he felt an anger mixed with bitter memories mash into something he just had to say, else he was going to feel sick. Sicker than he already felt.

Opening the door the rest of the way, Akamu looked at the surprised faces of his already distraught teammates.

"Akamu, don't-" Yang started, noting his face.

"Weiss, what the hell is wrong with you!?" Akamu yelled, feeling the anger directed towards the White Fang suddenly reversing to their worst enemy. "Have you ever even thought about why people join the White Fang? Or were you too busy playing princess to look out the window?"

"So what, you sympathize with them too?" Weiss spat back.

"Sympathize? Yes, I sympathize with the people who stand by them because companies like the Schnee Dust Company exploit faunus workers and leave them in situations where they can barely survive!" Akamu retorted, ears pulled back. "When you live in a reality where you can be killed because of some reason you can't control, you're bound to bite back eventually!"

Weiss scoffed. "And what would you know about that?"

Akamu growled, stepping back and running his hands through his hair. "Hmm, how about how my parents were killed because of their faunus traits? Or how I was personally exploited by a Schnee Dust competitor, used like a tool for having these ears!" Akamu said, pointing to his again-raised wolf ears. They flicked around, irritated.

Akamu watched as the wind was suddenly taken out of Weiss' sails. Still, he continued. "Grayson Dust, ever hear of them?"

Weiss thought for a split second. "Didn't they go out of business because of illegal experimentation on faunus?" Weiss thought aloud before realizing where Akamu was going.

"That's them, alright. When I thought that it was hard enough being an orphan, I was abducted and tested on with dust." Akamu remembered, feeling his rage peter out, but still holding on to the hatred that drove his speech. "I was only free because the White Fang drove an attack on the facility I was being held." Akamu began zoning out, not seeing straight anymore.

Boom!

Akamu's cell rattled, a the distant sound of an explosion waking him. Suddenly, alarms blared through the hallway into his room, hurting his sensitive ears. He could hear the mispaced marching of soldiers running down the hallways, before gunfire suddenly filled the soundscape. Scared, Akamu curled into a ball and covered his ears, hoping he was going to be okay.

Slowly, the sounds of fighting began to dissipate as he heard the yells of his captors. Opening his ears, Akamu looked outside the cell to see a tall armored figure wielding a large shield and flail, the flail having a cord rather than a chain. Akamu also noted the small pig tail poking out from the rear of the figure. His knight in shining armor.

With a mighty swing, the armored faunus slammed the flail into the door's lock, making a loud clang before a small dust explosion detonated at the head of the flail, blasting the door wide open.

"Hey, kid, c'mon, let's get out of here." A female voice came through the masked helm, holding out the shield hand towards the scared boy.

"She was a member of the White Fang, and practically inducted me. I helped them for a few years before I realized that... I didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. And as much as their methods helped faunus, they were brutal." Akamu thought for a second, realizing he had been talking the whole time. He stopped himself from going into further detail. "So I left. Wandered the world, picked up some skills here and there, ended up at Mount Glenn. Though, I did get beat up in Atlas, though that's a tale for another time." Akamu sighed, feeling a strange euphoria from the lack of emotion.

"So." He looked up at the Ice Queen. "Weiss. While it may just seem like I'm saying that you have no right to be upset with your upbringing because mine was worse, I really don't mean that. I'm sure your childhood was awful, just like mine, just for different reasons. Honestly, I couldn't imagine myself lasting long as a literal heiress to one of the largest companies on Remnant. But what I am saying is that everybody has a past. Sometimes, they don't agree with who they were, sometimes not. You just need to listen."

"I thought I was doing the right thing with the White Fang for a long time. And, I'm not going to lie, seeing humans treat me as an equal felt really good. But what I was doing was entirely wrong, and I realize that now. And I will take full blame for that. But I don't want you to think for one second that those people in the White Fang are all evil."

The mood of the room felt somber now, and Akamu realized the looks everyone in the room was giving him. Shock. Sadness. Akamu felt a familiar ping in the back of his head. 'Tell them.'

"To be honest... I... Never really thought about anybody but myself. Egotistical, I know, but it never really... clicked in my head. That was until I met you guys..." Akamu began tearing up. "But now Blake's missing and I-"

"Then we look for her." Weiss said, a new conviction in her voice. "I want to hear her story. We can decide from there."

"Alright, team... Well, Blake's not here so I guess it's just..." Ruby said, brainstorming.

Akamu snickered and sniffled, finding an acronym. "Well, guess it's team AWRY for now. Fitting."

"Ugh, is this what I sound like, Ruby?" Yang asked, tired for several reasons.

"Nope, he sounds way more coordinated." Ruby replied, jumping up into her bed.

"Night, team." Akamu said, entering his private quarters. The second his head hit the pillow, he was out.