A/N: Sorry this one came out late, guys. I got sick at the beginning of the week and it's been hell on my throat. But enough about me! In other news:

Volume 7 of RWBY and Season 4 of MHA have officially begun! Woo! I'm excited for these ones! I'm probably going to do a full Volume review of Volume 7 once it's done, so be on the lookout for that in the coming future. I also have a bit of an announcement for the end of this chapter, so stick around for that.

Also, The Dragon Prince Season 3 is out! Man, where has time gone? I can't wait to binge the whole thing and make my already shaky REM cycle even worse. With all of that said, 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.

I do not own the cover image

Chapter 61: Final Step of a Thousand Miles

The sky was a crisp, late spring blue, and dotted all over with clouds of different shapes and magnitudes, fluffed and white. The sea was a serene, deep azure color, almost looking still at this height in the air. It was a fine distraction from their current predicament.

Weiss' day had not started out the best. First, she'd been forced to sleep in a dank, musky cargo hold for the better part of six hours, and didn't get much in the way of actual rest. Tenya seemed to fair better, but he seemed to have enough cramps and aches for her to say that he hadn't gotten much more rest than she did, if any.

Then they realized that they weren't on the primary cargo airway. At least, not anymore.

Questions surfaced along with her confusion as she and Tenya quickly made their way up to the front of the ship. The bridge was only occupied by a single pilot, with an Atlesian model pilot's helmet obscuring most of his discernable features. He'd refused to give them his real name, just in case, so they took to calling him Leiten, or "Guide" in one of the old languages, fairly quickly, which he laughed off. Weiss suspected he liked the nickname, secretly.

That, however, was irrelevant to their concerns. Tenya spoke first, saying, "Why aren't we on the Cloud Wind airway? It isn't-"

"It was getting rough out there, Mr. Tenya," Leiten said. Respect was clearly in his wording, but his tone sounded as though he'd hardly gotten any sleep at all. "Grimm were getting more and more frequent on that airway, and I didn't want to take the chance that we'd get spotted once the air force came in and blew those things to hell. This one's not as commonly used as the Cloud Wind because it's so much slower, but it's also much safer."

Tenya couldn't argue with that. So, as quickly as the concern had been raised, he dropped it. Weiss gave the spectacled boy a brief tap on the shoulder, to at least try to comfort her friend in his lost argument.

Then a signal burst onto the radio waves. A distress signal on all frequencies, desperately begging for help. Grimm were attacking, and they didn't have enough ammunition to fend them off forever. If someone didn't come to help them, they were all going to die.

Leiten, without any more emotion than a grunt of dissatisfaction, switched off his radio. That was when the argument started.

"Wait, why did you do that? Aren't we going to help them?" she asked, more confused than angry. Weiss had been surrounded by idealists in her time at Beacon, and this deviation... well it confused her to high heaven.

Leiten spun his head around and looked straight at her. Despite the visor covering his eyes, she could swear he was giving her an 'Are you serious?' look. Then, he quickly answered, "Help? No. No, no no no. We need to avoid them."

That answer almost made her reach for Myrtenaster. Weiss needn't have bothered, however, as Tenya's hand was firmly on one of his holstered Desert Eagles. "Turn this ship around, right now. We cannot just leave those people to die."

Leiten acknowledged the veiled threat, thin though it was, and returned his gaze to the sky in front of him. "I know you're used to having the backup of a whole team and being able to decimate entire groups of Grimm on ground level with little effort, but here's the thing: we're in the air. Even if you could find a way to safely navigate it without oxygen masks or an airship, there's still the fact that the Grimm in the air are way stronger by design. Why do you think at least half the hunters that come from Atlas know how to fly an airship?"

The bout of logic caught them both off guard. When the looming silence became his answer, Leiten continued, "And whatever's drawing the Grimm in, it's giving us an opportunity to get ahead of the game and as far away from them as we can. Besides, this is a cargo ship. I don't know how many cargo ships you've seen equipped with guns, but this one doesn't have any. Even if I was willing to turn this bird around, there's nothing we could do. Not without putting ourselves in senseless danger.

"I'm sorry, but that's just how it is. My boat, my rules," he said, finality in his tone.

Tenya sighed heavily, clearly dissatisfied with the situation as he stormed out. Weiss, on the other hand, looked at Leiten's dash. There were various trinkets and souvenirs from where he'd been. All across Remnant, it would seem. One thing in particular that stood out, however, was the framed picture of a faunus man around the same age Leiten was, a wide grin across his face in spite of the contrasting scar that trailed from his forehead to his upper cheek.

Is that... his boyfriend? She thought, idly. If it was, it would make sense. He had someone to get back to. Someone who would weep if he died. Leiten, whatever his true name was, clearly wanted to see him again.

Weiss wondered, for a moment, if anyone would weep for her if she died. Winter immediately popped into her mind, as well as Ruby, Jaune, Tenya, Momo, and even Whitley. After realizing her rather strange train of thought, she then, as she sometimes did, analyzed it. Most of the people who came to mind had made sense, at least on some level. Momo was her best friend before Beacon, Winter loved her unconditionally, and Tenya had already proven to care for her wellbeing.

The only person who hadn't made sense was Jaune. The fact that he'd popped up at all was enough to make her start questioning the sanctity of her of mind. Still, it was intriguing, if nothing else. Jaune had been a bit... blunt, and forward in his approach and attempts to court her, but he had stopped when she actually asked him to. After that, their relationship had turned from one-sided affection to a mutual friendship. He'd even asked her for advice regarding Dust combinations, which had surprised her, and she had happily obliged, surprised to find that his passion for the subject was almost equal to her own.

Then there came the thoughts of Neptune... he was nice, and certainly charming, but, as Yang would surely put it, he was a skirt chaser. And a womanizer to his core. He didn't seem to do it on purpose, even, it was just part of who he was. They hadn't lasted long as a couple, only a few, fleeting weeks. They hadn't even kissed. It had been a bit disappointing at the time, but it was for the best.

Still, she hoped that the blue-haired flirt was alright. Bad choice of a romantic partner or not, he was still a good person, if you could look beyond the skirt chaser part.

Weiss then abandoned this rather pointless train of thought that had taken up so much of her time. Ten seconds idly thinking and staring into space was not a whole ten seconds wasted, and she would not have that.

Tenya had moved his chair to the corner of the hold, staring intently at the dull, metal wall. It was like he was trying to bore a hole into it through pure willpower. Concerned, Weiss walked over to her friend and gave a light touch to his shoulder.

The spectacled boy gave a slight jump to her touch, but otherwise had no reaction. He did speak to her, though. "I... I don't understand. We're supposed to save people. We can still save those people. If he would just turn around and go after-"

"Tenya," Weiss said, silencing him. Her tone, while sympathetic, was still firm. "I want to help them too. But Leiten's right. We're not prepared for that kind of fight-"

"That doesn't matter," Tenya said, harshly. "I'd have found a way to fight them. I'd have found a way-"

"No. No, you wouldn't. You'd just get yourself killed," Weiss said. "That's just... how the world is sometimes. There isn't a perfect solution for every situation at hand. You can't..."

She froze here. She didn't know why, but saying this next part was... incredibly hard. It felt like giving up in some regard. But Weiss still knew that Tenya needed to be reminded of this by someone. Even if it had to be her.

"Sometimes... you just can't save everyone."

Tenya hadn't spoken a word since. So, Weiss sat at the opposite end of the room, watching the clouds zip and roll by while the waves on the water began to show themselves. It was all she could do to distract herself.

A breath later, and she drifted off to sleep, her cheek smudging the cool glass her head leaned against. Just a few minutes, she told herself. Just... a few... minutes...

(meanwhile, Menagerie, Bakugo's POV)

The first day on the sand had been fairly smooth, at least thus far. That also meant, however, that it was rather boring. One could only stare at massive, magnificent sand dunes in awe for so long.

So, with nothing else to do, the ashen blonde direwolf decided to see how everyone else was doing. Rising from in perch on the ship's edge, he quickly stretched his limbs before walking towards the interior.

Sun, unsurprisingly, was steering the ship itself, making both himself and Blake co-pilots since they were the ones with the most firsthand experience actually sailing the thing. He had no smile on his face, not even a slight one, as he slowly turned the ship over the next dune. Honestly, if the winds weren't so strong and the sand itself so heavy, it probably would've made for a much more excruciating experience. As it was, they were sailing smoothly, and Bakugo hoped that it would stay that way.

Blake quickly tapped Sun on the shoulder and gave him a break from steering, his muscles visibly slacking when he let go of the wheel. Bakugo didn't know how long he'd been there, but it probably would've been far too long if Blake wasn't there to switch off with him. The two had been dancing around their feelings for a while, ever since the Vytal Dance, really. Even now, as their fingertips slightly brushed, they both jumped away at the contact, muttering apologies as they quickly got out each other's way and got on with their duties.

It was getting to be so damn annoying and commonplace that Bakugo was honestly tempted to just tell them to screw already. Of course, that would be in bad taste, seeing as everyone was going through a lot, but the thought was there. He didn't know where it had come from, but kept note of it.

As Blake went down to get some rest, Bakugo went into the captain's quarters and saw Neo standing in the center of the room, her arms crossed across her stomach, staring at a map of the desert. At least, as much of a map as they could manage to find in Menagerie. There wasn't much, only a few places of interest, like a potential oasis or a couple of crumbling pillars to start with. They'd have to make their own educated guesses and spread to the rest of the desert from there.

The dual haired girl finally noticed him, deciding to keep her ram horns for the time being, giving him as wry, knowing smile. An excited one, if the bubble gum pink in her right eye was anything to go by. He couldn't blame her. Bakugo had to admit, he was excited by the prospect too.

Neo then started to rapidly sign to him, asking, "How far until the ruins? I can practically smell the old brimstone and mortar just standing here."

The ashen blonde gave a chuckle. Uncharacteristic of him, but he continued on regardless. "You're so excited you're smelling stone? You smoking something?"

An indignant curve replaced the smile as she jumped up slightly to flick him in the forehead. He rubbed the area she'd stung, but his smile had widened a fraction, showing a bit of teeth, only making him look slightly feral. "You really wanna start this, Minty?"

When Neo wiggled her eyebrows up and down, suggesting that she did, Bakugo rather suddenly realized that he'd been flirting. And she'd flirted back, in her own way. Which really was irrelevant to what he'd been trying to do when he came in here, but damnit, he couldn't help it. It was really easy to ignore, especially when he didn't know her that well, but now it was starting to drive him crazy. It also didn't exactly help that she was so... unintentionally sexy.

Bakugo blamed it on his Berserker powers influencing his normal demeanor, but some part of him knew that wasn't entirely true.

Before Neo could ask him why he'd gone silent, Sun burst into the room, saving them from what would've been a rather awkward conversation. His face portrayed complete seriousness however, not even giving them a chance to speak before he did. "We've got a pretty big sandstorm heading our way. We'll have to adjust course and hole up to avoid the worst of it. C'mon, help me with the riggings. We're headed east, towards a few plateaus."

As quickly as he had come, the blonde monkey faunus scrambled out of the captains quarters and made for the main mast, with Bakugo and Neo hot on his heels. Strangely, he had almost felt the need to reprimand Sun for "interrupting." And not in a 'hey, you interrupted a conversation, please leave' kind of way. If was more of a 'get out or I'll rip out your throat' feeling.

It had shocked Bakugo to the point that he hadn't interrupted Sun for a second, and followed him out without a word, eager to get his mind off of what had nearly been said. He was going to have to meditate for an hour to get this urge under control.

He looked back at Neo, who gave him a confident wink as she sped up the mast with Sun as her back.

...make that two hours. Bakugo decided as he followed them up with a slight explosion, gripping an edge in the wood as he climbed the rest of the way up. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe...

(meanwhile, a hospital in Mistral, Shoto's POV)

The sterile white of Shoto's hospital sheets were both disorienting and slightly blinding. That wasn't exactly helped due to the equally sterile, white, artificial lights, which made him feel queasy just looking at them, but he at least managed to sit himself up.

He was wearing a hospital gown in place of his trench coat and scabbard; not much surprise there. He was also covered in bandages, which, after some careful movements, he realized were really more of a precaution. He could probably take them off and be just fine. This was also expected.

What he wasn't expecting was Ruby to come barreling into his side and nearly take him off of the bed he was sitting in. Jaune was by his side in an instant, managing to catch the pair before they actually tipped over the side, and Ren and Nora, who looked to have been napping next to each other, were right behind him, their hands still clasped together.

"... hey, Ruby," Shoto said as Jaune managed to separate, them, the rose-themed reaper looking on the verge of tears as he continued with his apology. "Sorry about that. It-"

"-was the only thing you could think of to get out of a bad situation on short notice," Ruby finished for him. "You don't need to apologize for that. You saved our lives. Especially Ren's," indicating the now distracted hunter. "But that was damn stupid. And impulsive, and kinda arrogant, and-"

"I think he gets it, Ruby," Jaune said, calming her from what likely could've been a many minute tirade. "Short answer is, she's happy you reacted in time. Despite how stupid it was."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Guess Bakugo and Izuku have rubbed off on me," he joked. It wasn't entirely a lie. Izuku had helped develop the initial idea, and Bakugo's temperament with his semblance had inspired him a little bit.

"Well... as long as you realize that, then we're good," Ruby said with a bit of a huff. "And remember what I said in Athens? That applies to you too, got it?"

"Wouldn't dare to think otherwise," he said, giving the girl a pat on the head and ruffling her hair, causing her laugh and ask him to stop in faux-annoyance. It was good to be back. Speaking of which...

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Only a day and a half," Jaune began. "That smokestack you sent up with that massive attack got the attention of Mistral's border force pretty fast. They got to us in a couple of minutes. A good thing, too."

The unspoken question hung in their air for several awkward seconds, before Ren and Nora rejoined the conversation, the former explaining, "Tyrian's still at large. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, but if Ruby hadn't gotten to you in time, he... would've killed you. I'm not sure how he was even standing, but I have no doubt about that."

That statement, strangely, didn't bother Shoto all that much. Maybe it was because they'd gotten used to life or death situations? He wasn't sure, but the half and half leader wasn't about to dwell on it if he didn't have to.

"Well, enough about me. Is Qrow alright?" Shoto said, wishing to change the subject.

"Present... and feeling very, very sore," a voice, thick and scratchy, drawled out from the bed next to his own. There sat Qrow Branwen, one of the most powerful hunters in the entire world, recovering from poison. He would've thought of it as a start of a horrible joke if he wasn't seeing it firsthand.

"So, you're in the clear?" Shoto asked.

"The doctors said he'll have to wait a couple of days to walk properly, but he'll be fine, once he gets enough sleep," Ruby said sternly, turning back to her uncle as though she were about to scold a child. Qrow promptly shut his eyes and began snoring not three seconds later.

"... what just happened?"

"I've been trying to figure that out myself," Jaune replied. "Anyways, they said that you'd be good to walk around as soon as you woke up. I know the hospital gown isn't much for clothing, but it'll have to do for now. They won't let you have your stuff back until you're discharged. Something about 'too many idiots trying to push past their body's natural limits.'"

"Yeah, that sounds like hunters, alright," Shoto said, letting his feet drift off his bed and stretching his arms before he stood. After testing his balance, he gave them a cheeky thumbs up before he left the room and began heading for the nearest receptionist. He had a feeling that there were things they needed to talk about. Luckily, Shoto already had something to do, so he wouldn't intrude.

Hospitals like this one were pretty common around Mistral. A couple floors high, various meds and surgeons going about their admittedly hectic days, with jargon flying this was and that that he could never hope to decipher. Due to the fact they were so interconnected, however, it also meant that they swapped records often and regularly. You could never be too careful, especially these days.

So, he walked up the receptionist, a bored but friendly-enough intern, and said. "Hi there. I have a question."

"Go ahead. I'll help how I can," the boy responded.

"I'm looking for someone who was admitted a few years ago. Her name is Rei Todoroki."

The boy simply stared at him for a few moments, his expression blank, until something finally clicked. Did he recognize Shoto from somewhere? Probably the sports festival. Still, he quickly answered, "Of course, just give me a moment."

A few seconds, and a nearly destroyed keyboard later, the boy turned back to Shoto. "This is... ironic. She's in the same building-"

"What floor?" Shoto asked almost immediately.

"Erm... floor 3, in 310."

That was the last thing that Shoto heard him say before he rushed to the nearest elevator. As the sliding, silver-colored doors closed in front of him, he felt an anxiousness crawl its way up his back. It felt... strange. He was about to see his mother again. The mother who'd held him close, who'd watched stuff about hunters with him long into the night. The mother who had told him that he could be whoever he wanted to be, no matter his heritage.

The mother who poured boiling water over your left eye.

He shook the thought from his head as quickly as it had intruded into his thoughts. He couldn't... he needed to focus. He needed to calm down. Breathe. In and out. Breathe.

All too slowly, the doors opened, and he was deposited onto the next floor. A few drifted steps later, he stood in front of her room. 310. But something just wouldn't let him walk inside. His shoulders felt heavier. His breaths came a bit faster. Shoto moved some of his longer bangs out of his face. The gown felt stiff, but too damn loose at the same time.

Stop distracting yourself, he said, finally regaining control of his breathing. I'll have to face this sooner or later. Besides, if Izuku could see me now, he'd hit me upside the head and throw me in there himself. He'd be polite about it, but he'd still do it.

And so, with his resolve regained, Shoto twisted the handle to his mother's room, and entered.

(meanwhile, the Pine homestead, Izuku's POV)

A brief sting traveled through Izuku's bicep, causing a barely audible wince, as Yang replaced his bandages for the second time. It was more to prevent infection than anything else, but damn did it not work well for his incredibly sore limbs. Then again, the somewhat stuffy room and old, uncushioned chair weren't exactly helping matters relating to injuries. Especially his still heavily bound left hand. It felt weird, not being able to flex his fingers all the way.

Well, at least Yang was with him. Even if she had a tendency for tying bandages too tightly when she was nervous. Like him, she practically had bandages covering her from head to toe, evidenced by the wrappings on her calves, stomach, forearms, and shoulders, with various band-aids dotting her skin here and there.

He normally wouldn't have seen this much, but she'd forgone her normal outfit for something more breathable and comfortable while she had them on, a yellow tank top and black short shorts. He'd done something similar, but he had far more than she did, which worried Yang to no end. It was why she'd offered to do this in the first place. Izuku would've preferred to do that himself, but his still-sore limbs said otherwise. Besides, it was nice to get to just be alone with her for a little bit. Even if it was for something like this.

Yang gave a small noise of frustration at his wince, glancing up apologetically. "Sorry. Too tight again?"

"Yeah," he answered. Izuku felt like a mummy. Not entirely, but the feeling was close enough.

Once they had been unbound and redone, Yang pressed her hands together with a prideful smile across her lips. "Alright, that's the last one. Now you do mine."

"Erm... Yang-"

"I know, I know, it'll be a bit awkward. You have my permission. Besides, these things are a pain to replace without help," the blonde brawler joked, though it was clear that she wanted to talk about something.

Gently, Izuku started unwrapping her lowest bandages, then judging the severity of the injury and deciding whether or not it needed to be rewrapped at all. By the time he worked his way up to her stomach, she looked a lot less like a mummy, with only one or two minor wraps remaining on both of her legs.

When he actually started working on her stomach, it almost seemed to flutter as his touch. Was she... ticklish there? As Izuku continued, and Yang tried, and somewhat failed, to choke down an involuntary chortle, his suspicion was confirmed. Luckily, all her wounds here were already done healing, so he moved on to her forearms next, leaving her midriff exposed.

When he was halfway through replacing a bandage on her left forearm, Yang suddenly grabbed his hand. It wasn't needlessly tight, but it was still unusual for her. Izuku had been trying to avoid serious talk until they were done changing bandages, but the blonde brawler looked... extremely nervous. Like whatever courage she'd brought out wasn't going to last, that she needed to get something off of her chest.

As gently as before, Izuku took her hand in his own, leaving the bandage he'd been working on loose and yet unfinished, saying, "What's wrong?"

There was a moment of hesitance before she answered. It was small, a barely noticeable thing. But it was there, the words catching in her throat for only a moment before she regained her resolve and continued. "I... finished processing everything. Took a while, huh?"

With a rub to the back of her hand, Izuku quickly finished up the bandage before answering, "As long as you're sure. So, how do you feel? About... everything?"

"I think I'm going to punch Bakugo in the face, next time I see him," Yang said without hesitation. "I mean... seriously, I know he's changed, but I really underestimated just how much of a jackass he was to you."

"Let's... leave that between me and him. We'll sort it out eventually," Izuku reassured her.

Yang gave a brief sigh, slumping down in her chair slightly. "Okay. Erm... actually... speaking of sorting things out... I don't... I can't go to Mistral, with you and Oscar. Not yet."

Izuku had been expecting something of this sort. He had heard the rumors of bandits, specifically the Branwens, who were gathering a short ways from Malt, maybe one or two days by vehicle. They weren't many, but if he had heard them, he had no doubt that she had too.

"I just... I need to talk to Raven. I need answers. I need to know why she left me and dad. The opportunity is right here in front of me, staring me in the face, and I just... I can't pass that up. I want to go with you guys, I really do, but I won't be able to dedicate everything I've got to what we need to do if I don't. I guess... I need closure, good or bad."

Izuku gave a firm nod, squeezing her hand gently. "I get it. If you really want to go after her... then that's fine by me. I'll be right behind you, like always."

Yang's smile seemed to turn a bit sad at that. "Izuku... I appreciate the sentiment, but you know that getting Oscar to Mistral is a top priority right now. At least one of us needs to get him there. Otherwise, they're not gonna believe his story."

Izuku gave a heavier breath. He knew that much. He just... "... I don't like it. You, going in there alone, without backup. It just feels like I'm sending you into a wolf's den with nothing but your bare hands and no Aura. I know you can handle yourself, I just... I worry sometimes."

"And I worry about you too," Yang said. "You've scared me half to death more than once. Ya know, like maybe the next time you pass out... will be the last time. And I am scared of going there alone. I'd honestly feel more confident with you there. But even if we didn't need to get Oscar to Mistral... I feel like this is something I need to do myself. And then... whatever happens, I'll come back, full force. I'll give our mission everything I've got. Alright?"

…

"... you'd better," Izuku said with a firm squeeze of her hand, as though she'd disappear any second.

"I will. And don't do anything too life-threatening until I get back. Someone's gotta pull your ass out of the fire," Yang quipped, causing Izuku to give her a wide smile.

"... wait, how're Oscar and I gonna get to Mistral before a train? I don't know how to ride a motorcycle," Izuku pointed out.

"Don't worry, I can teach you how to ride without dying," Yang said with an excited tone. She had a bit of an obsession with bikes, and it was honestly adorable to watch. "For now, though..."

The blonde brawler quickly found a spot on the floor in front of where Izuku sat, causing him a brief blush at the proximity before he caught her gaze. It was full of love... and longing. And Izuku felt much the same.

"... let's just stay like this, for a while."

The kiss that followed was as passionate as it was euphoric.

(meanwhile, living room of the Pine homestead, Oscar's POV)

This predicament had already been weird enough when his aunts hadn't known about Ozpin. Needless to say, he wished he had that awkwardness back. This was just so... tense. It felt wrong. These were his aunts, the two who'd practically raised him when his parents had died. It had always felt wrong to hide something like this from them, but he'd understood the necessity of it. Now more than ever, it would seem.

"Oscar, are you entirely sure you don't want my input?" Ozpin asked, genuinely concerned.

I'm sure. If they're going to let me go to Mistral... well, they've gotta be convinced by me. I don't want to just leave without an explanation. That wouldn't be fair to them. At the very least, I need to try and do this myself.

"... alright," Ozpin said. For the first time in a whole month, the old man's voice fell deadly silent. He wasn't gone. Oscar could still feel him there, in his mind. The lack of his often sarcastic voice was a bit unnerving, though. He'd gotten used to it, in some way.

Still, Oscar shook himself out of it before he could go any further down that train of thought. He had to focus. In front of him, sitting on the wide family couch, were Shino and Beth, both still recovering from their brief but valorous fight against Muscular. Thankfully, Mistral's border force had been passing by only a few minutes after the battle had ended, and took him into immediate custody. They were also the reason that those who'd been injured had been able to recover so quickly, if not entirely.

Oscar sat across from them, in a hardwood chair he'd taken from the dining room, seating himself directly in front of their rather small TV. Between them was a small table, and on it was the weapon that he'd... that Ozpin, he quickly reminded himself, had used to assist Yang in defending the town's border before Yuri and Sharpe had abruptly returned. The original maker had simply let him have it, as a token of thanks, and Shino had quickly confiscated it. He understood why, until recently he'd never learned how to properly use a sword before... but still.

"... how long... how long have you had his voice in your head?" Shino asked. It wasn't a comfortable question, but it needed to be asked. Hell, Oscar didn't think any of the questions would be.

"About a month or so," he answered honestly, trying his best to maintain eye contact with his dark-haired aunt. It wasn't proving easy.

"Why did you never tell us?"

"I didn't think you'd believe me. I mean, it just... it honestly sounds crazy, I know that. I didn't want to worry you guys."

Beth broke the silence that quickly followed. "I knew you were acting a bit more odd than you usually did. I mean, you stare into space a lot, but never for very long."

"I might have been talking with him."

Her raised eyebrow and quirked lip asked a question that didn't need to be voiced.

"It's not like I could say no. We're sharing the same head."

"And... because of that... you're supposed to go to Mistral? To..." Shino didn't finish her next question.

"... to save the world? I don't know about that. I mean, I'm a farm kid. I hadn't even held an actual sword before yesterday. I know you guys don't... you don't want me to end up like my parents. You've both lost a lot, I get it, but being a hunter has always felt like the only path for me. I don't know how or why or when, but it just... something clicked. And don't get me wrong. It's nice here. It's peaceful. Some part of me will always call Malt home. But I can't just sit around and do nothing when I know that so much is wrong in the world.

"I know, I'm a kid, barely fifteen, with nothing to my name but a dream. I can't make much of a difference on my own. I know that. But if I only manage to help or save even one person... then it's worth the risk."

Shino and Beth had gone wide-eyed in the middle of his speech, as if he had reminded them of something. They quickly recovered from this, and Shino nodded to the auburn-haired woman. Beth pulled a pocket watch out then, silver, and embroidered with the designs of gears, with a thin chain hanging from the top.

"This... this was your mom's," Beth said, walking towards a still sitting Oscar. It was his turn to have widened eyes. "She told me to hold on to it, to make sure she got it back. I... I've wanted to give this to you for a while now. You don't have a whole lot of things from them, but I... I didn't know what it would inspire in you. You'd probably reenact one of those disappearing acts from your books."

Oscar felt the need to object... but quickly stowed it when he realized that she wasn't technically wrong. If he'd received the pocket watch before everything else that happened, he very well might've done that. But he felt responsible. Maybe it was Ozpin's attitude rubbing off on him. Maybe it was Izuku. Maybe it was just him realizing what he really had. Any way he thought about it, Oscar knew he wasn't going to leave his home without saying goodbye. Not anymore.

"You've said your piece. You're gonna go to Mistral eventually, whether we approve or not," Beth continued, pressing the pocket watch into his hand. Reflexively, he grasped it. A feeling of comfort he'd almost forgotten about washed through his entire body. It was almost enough to make him cry from sheer joy.

"So know that as long as you have this, we support you. And that we'll always be here. You'll always have a place to call home," the auburn-haired woman finished, hugging her nephew so tightly he thought he might burst.

And Oscar hugged her back, finally allowing the tears to escape his eyes as he cried into her shoulder. A goodbye, of sorts. But not forever.

(meanwhile, an undisclosed location in Mistral, Tomura's POV)

The urge to scratch his neck was growing by the minute. This guy was taking an awful long time to get here. Rude. Incredibly rude. His master would've had the guy killed for daring to show up late. Torchwick said that this guy liked to play by his own rules, but this was so-

"Tomura? Are you alright?" Kurogiri asked, his wispy hand almost catching his shoulder. He'd stopped halfway, as though he was afraid to touch him. Tomura didn't blame him, he had been rather volatile lately. They'd had to stop for two other "walks" on the way here. Needless to say, his footprints were quite red when he was done.

"I will be. I'm just annoyed that this is taking so damn long," Tomura said. Torchwick was supposed to bring Chisaki here. They had a bit of a history, and they were banking on that being enough to grant them an audience.

Tomura had half a mind to get off his perch and find the guy himself when the door to their meeting spot suddenly opened, with Torchwick himself leading the way.

"Sorry we took so long. Mistral's a big place, and I haven't been here in a while. They completely remade a district," Torchwick said as he sauntered over to Tomura's side, his cane making a soft echo on the ground as he took up an eased but prepared stance. He was on-guard.

And then, there came the man of the hour. A pale man of narrow build with short, shaggy auburn hair, parted to the left. His eyes were thin, their irises small and gold, with rather long lower eyelashes and small eyebrows. There were three piercings in his left ear, and the rest of his face was covered with a plague doctor's mask, which was colored a dark crimson and plated with brass. He wore a black dress shirt with matching dress pants, a pale gray tie around his neck and a belt with a long, thin buckle around his waist, with three beaded lobe piercings in his left ear. Over this, he wore a dark, olive-green bomber jacket, its collar lined with thick purple fur, and white lace-up sneakers, their soles tan-colored, with no socks on his feet. His hand, covered with white, sterile surgeon's gloves, completed the outfit.

Kai Chisaki. Leader of the Shie Hassaikai.

Their new business partner.

A/N: And that's a wrap for this one! Sorry again that it came out a bit late, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!

Now, on to that announcement I was referring to earlier. I... will be taking the rest of the year off. Don't worry, this is a temporary thing, but I really feel the need for a break. Now that I've basically got Volume 4 covered, I figured that now was as good a time as any. I can enjoy the rest of the year and maybe focus more on college stuff.

That being said, the next chapter will definitely be coming in January of next year! Thank you all for reading, and I hope to see you next year! And now:

Review Responses:

Thunder Dragon: Indeed it is! Although I must admit I do not know what the Curb Stomp Song is.

Kaiser Dragon: It's not actually hurting him or anything. Think of it like giving him and extra layer of really durable and hard-hitting skin.

Midgardsormr Jr: You'll have to wait a bit for that to make its debut. I'm not entirely sure who else is gonna get one, though I did have something for Jaune on the brain.

KongKing94: He's not dead. Just very, very, very hurt. And in custody, so yay! Justice!

Mecha Manda: In a manner of speaking, yes, he did.

DD Lore Nerd: Muscular isn't dead. He just took a really bad beating. He's also in jail now, so there's that. I actually read through the entirety of the Yu Yu Hakusho Manga in high school, although I must admit I've never seen the show. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do when I finish this story up, but I'll be sure to keep this stuff in mind.

Gojifreak: He's alright!

Phoenix Wizard: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Next Chapter: Jan 17th

Seeya in the next one!