Shops shops shops shops shops shops shops shops shops shops shops shops shops! Everybody!

AN: 'Aight. So. Before any of y'all fuckers mention the time it has taken for this chapter to be posted, I need to remind you that you knew what you fucking signed up for when you clicked on a non-one-shot story by yours truly! I'm a slow ass motherfucker, and this fucking virus hasn't exactly done wonders when it comes to putting someone in the mood to write. Bleugh.

Secondly, I need to point out that I am not a blueberry space-communist. No, I am a node. A synapse in the network. A guide for the all-consuming hunger. All hail the coming of the Great Devourer!

Anyways, hope the wait was worth it. And I hope the timeline of events makes sense. Enjoy.

"Pardon my intrusion, miss, but I couldn't help but notice that you look a bit lost. Do you perhaps need some help?"

Ilia nearly leaped right out of her skin when she heard the amused sounding voice coming from behind her, and she had to force herself to not look tense like a rod of iron when swiveled on the spot to face the admittedly kind looking horse Faunus that had just addressed her. She looked to be in her early forties with light crinkles around her bright, sea-green eyes, her hair an elegant and unquestionably beautiful weave of deep blueish-purple, a pair of equine ears poking out from within the stylishly curled mane. Her delicate hands were clasped in front of what Ilia only could describe as a modified kitchen apron with what had to be at least a hundred different pockets, each every one of which seemingly containing some manner of knickknack that could be used while sewing. Behind her, Ilia could just barely make out a tail in the same style as her hair, curling thrice into something akin to a screw.

Ilia first instinct was to simply reply with a flat no and try to find a more secluded section of the boutique where she'd be less noticeable—and, more importantly, alone—but deep down she knew that the older Faunus was absolutely right. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing, what she was looking for exactly, and being in such an unfamiliar environment put her on edge far more than she'd ever like to admit.

After all, this was just a bloody clothing store, not some kind of Schnee-family stronghold.

That said, actually finding this shop had taken what felt like the better part of an entire day for Ilia. She'd set off that morning with the intention of going on he quick errand before returning to her Vale reconnaissance since she'd spent the past week steadily falling back into the routine of working on her missions every waking hour that she could (a task she did less out of any real desire to finish the assignment and more to get Adam to stop hounding her for updates again and again…), but those lofty dreams had been quickly discarded when she'd approached one of the most popular clothing outlets in Vale and she had immediately realized that the mere idea of going shopping in a human owned and/or staffed store—especially not when what she was hunting for was so… privateutterly mortified her. So she had to go scouting for something else.

When she'd seemingly found a place exclusively operated by Faunus, however, another problem had arisen, that being the amount of other customers already inside of it; Human customers. What she was procuring was a highly delicate matter, and so she had to abandon this store too in favor of one less crowded.

Hours later, Ilia finally found herself here, in a quaint little clothing boutique located on the far-far side of Vale, right next door to a comic book shop, where she was the sole visitor at the moment. She'd passed store after store after store to get to this one, each and every one until now having some kind of problem that made shopping there impossible. She refused to spend money on a place that was supplied by the Schnees or any similarly infamous groups, so that cut out a rather frustrating amount of places, but then it couldn't be too expensive either, seeing as her budget was rather limited, or cheap enough that it might rip or tear for that matter, since she was absolutely not going on this kind of trip again anytime soon.

Finally, the last big hurdle—that she totally hadn't anticipated—was that she couldn't shop somewhere that had White Fang connections, something that more than a few Faunus owned establishments had, since that might leave a trail back to her, somehow, and she simply couldn't risk it. This ultimately narrowed her search down to this sole, out-of-the-way shop.

'Why oh why did you have to convince yourself you needed to buy some damn skirts?' the more or less rational side of Ilia's brain asked, a question that Ilia-prime didn't have an immediate answer for.

Or, at least, not an answer that didn't include the flashing of the unforgettable image of a certain smile in her head, followed by a big, bouncy ball of warmth forming in her stomach, and she had to dismiss all of those since that couldn't be the sole reason…

Right…?

Getting back to the matter at hand, Ilia refocused on the shop owner and gave her an apologetic, albeit rigid smile. "That's… probably pretty accurate, honestly. It's been a long time since I went looking for clothes in a place like this," she explained bashfully.

The horse Faunus let out a soft, yet simultaneously regal sound chuckle and nodded her head sagely. "Don't you worry, darling, I understand. These days, when everyone can simply order most things off of their scrolls, it's only natural that things such as picking out an outfit in person becomes more 'difficult'. Is there anything in particular that you're looking for today?"

"Kinda, but also not really?" Ilia replied, restlessly shifting from side to side where she stood. When the shopkeeper motioned for her to continue, she had to take a deep breath to steady herself. "I'm… looking for a skirt, or a few, but I've never actually worn one before and I don't know what would, you know, look good on me..."

If Remnant's shattered moon came falling down right at this moment, turning the whole planet into a burned out wasteland, Ilia wouldn't have minded it considering just how awkward she felt explaining her 'mission' to the older Faunus. It was just supposed to be clothes shopping, but for some infernal reason it all felt terribly embarrassing and made her long for the sweet embrace of death now that she'd committed herself.

The only reason as to why it was so uncomfortable for her she could imagine was the article of clothing in question that she was after, and how it was far more girly than anything she'd worn before, being so used to her White Fang uniform and its lack of 'femininity enhancement'.

There was, of course, another probable cause for her distress, but she blindly ignored it, no matter how much the warm sensation in her belly grew when the gremlin living in her head tried to pull her attention towards the prospect of being seen by a certain someone wearing one of these skirts. Nope, nuh uh, she didn't spare the possibility a single thought.

If Ilia's explanation seemed at all ridiculous to the shopkeeper, she didn't show it, instead looking over the nervous chameleon with a downright analytical eye before a big smile split her features and she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Oh, it's always such fun to help someone find a new style for themselves. I know exactly what you need, darling. Here, come with me and we'll get you looking breathtaking in no time~."

Ilia didn't have the chance to so much as open her mouth before she was being pulled along deeper into the store to a section that, admittedly, had a lot more feminine looking apparel than what she'd been checking out before. Her arms were quickly filled with a heap of different articles of clothing, everything from skirts to blouses to jackets and even stockings, with Ilia unable to protest. She was then ushered into one of the changing stalls with the older Faunus' sing-song voice rolling over the divider.

"Everything in there should go wonderfully together, so please mix and match to your hearts desire!" She seemed to realize something mid-sentence, as she made a frustrated sound. "My word, just where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself yet! You can call me Rityra and I'm the owner of this darling little boutique. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call for me."

With that, Ilia was left to her own devices inside the changing room, eyes blinking as she tried to replay the sequence of events that got her into this situation. When that failed, she looked to the pile of clothes in her arms and, with a sigh, resigned herself to her 'fate'. This was why she'd come to this store after all, and while things hadn't exactly gone to plan, it'd be stupid of her to not take advantage of Rityra's seeming expertise, eccentric as she may have been.

The only question Ilia had to ask herself now was where the hell was she supposed to start, a decision that was more or less made for her when she put down her clothes pile on one of the benches in the fortunately spacious stall and one of the skirts slid onto the floor.

For an embarrassingly long moment, all Ilia could do was stare at the circular piece of fabric, her stomach churning at the prospect of trying it on.

"C'mon, girl. It's just a damn skirt. It's not going to bite you," she hissed at herself, eventually reaching down to pick it up.

All in all, it was a rather simple little thing. Soft to the touch, red in color, and it looked like it would reach to just around her kneecaps. No intricate patterns, no lace-work, nothing fancy at all, really. A skirt, nothing more, nothing less.

With a sigh that was far heavier than Ilia would ever acknowledge, she kicked off her shoes, tugged off her pants, and then stepped into the skirt, securing it around her waist with a button she only now noticed. She allowed herself to take a second to get a 'feel' for this new garment, twisting and turning on the spot to see herself from different angles, and almost immediately, she had to suppress the urge to squirm her legs against one another as the air hit her thighs. It felt… weird. Really, really weird. Borderline uncomfortable even, and for a short moment, Ilia was all but ready to abandon this whole excursion since she had a very hard time imaging herself getting used to this new feeling that came with wearing a skirt.

That's when she finally glanced behind her and noticed her petite form in the full length mirror on the other side of the changing room, and she got to see the way that the skirt accentuated her legs, the one part of her body she'd always considered her best feature.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Ilia unconsciously posed herself so that the skirt would fan out more over her thighs, and at the same time, the most insidious of thoughts entered her mind, in which she couldn't help but imagine what kind of reaction being seen in an outfit that included a skirt like this might usher from a certain someone. How said person's eyes might widen while his gaze traveled along her lean, smooth, strong legs and how said eyes would get hotter and hotter until her skin would be practically smoldering from being observed oh so very intently...

"Oh my! You look simply marvelous in that, darling~!"

This time, Ilia did jump when she was addressed by Rityra again, scrambling back against the wall of the dressing room while her skin flashed a bright, startled yellow.

"Please forgive me, I did not mean to frighten you so, but you weren't answering me when I asked how things were going in here and I got worried that there might have been an accident," Rityra was quick to explain with a genuinely remorseful voice, obviously noting how shaken she'd made her customer.

While Ilia's mouth was opening and closing to respond, no sound was coming out of it at first, and when she noticed, she cleared her throat awkwardly as she peeled herself from the wall and willed her heart to stop hammering like blacksmith that had just snorted a whole line of lightning dust.

"N-no worries, I'm fine, really," she finally managed to answer, embarrassment wrapping hotly around her neck from how she had zero recollection of hearing someone call for her just now.

Her thoughts were becoming dangerous. And sneaky. Cunningly brutal, one might even say.

Rityra nodded while she cast another long look up and down Ilia's figure, a feisty smile tugging at her lips. "In that case, I'll leave you to continue your try-on session. And I must say, with legs like those and a skirt like that to show them off, you'll be turning heads left and right. Whoever is lucky enough for you to consider wearing one is a very lucky person," she said with a very knowing wink before disappearing from the dressing room.

Were Ilia to turn around to the mirror again, she would be met with the spots on her skin all but glowing with a fiery pink that was being matched by her cheeks as well, the faraway echoes of a gremlin-like laugh bouncing around her head. Rather than acknowledging anything that Rityra had said just now, she instead started digging through her clothes pile, looking for something else to try on that might bring a pair of deep, ocean blue eyes towards her, filling her with that warmt-

'No! None of that! Shame on you!' Ilia shouted mentally at her increasingly deviant thoughts, shaking her head so that she might make them fall out through her ear where she could stomp them to bits before something happened that might make her want to hide out in the Atlesian mountains until the end of time.

Taking off the skirt and putting it aside so that she didn't forget it later, Ilia started pulling random articles of clothing from her carefully picked out pile and busied herself by trying them on one after another, seeing what went together and what really didn't work on her (like when she put her hair up in a faux side-ponytail while wearing a white dress totally as a joke, definitely not trying to emulate anyone, and found herself all but repulsed by the results). Rityra returned every once in a while to give her thoughts as well as suggestions, and while Ilia appreciated the help, 'fashionably challenged' as she was, she could definitely do without the implication-filled comments that the store owner kept leaving.

"Have you ever considered wearing stockings? Maybe even garters? I can tell you from experience that boys love that look~..."

"Nono, that won't do. Not bold enough, dear. Not captivating enough~..."

"Big sweaters are actually perfect if you want to surprise someone by wearing something wonderfully risque underneath it. It will leave that special someone totally stunned, trust me~."

The fact that Rityra seemed to be able to read her so damn easily both annoyed and absolutely terrified Ilia, especially when she had pretty much told the fashionista nothing about herself or her motivations at the moment. If she was really that obvious, then meeting Jaune again was completely out of the question, since things would undoubtedly become awkward.

But at the same time, she had to vehemently insist to herself that it wouldn't matter anyways. After all, she was just grateful towards Jaune for helping her, simple as that. Anything more than that would just be silly!

The last thing that Ilia tried on before she'd finally reached the end of what Rityra had picked out for her was a pleated, dark gray skirt that went down to her knees with a yellow-ish sunburst pattern spreading over her right thigh. It was airier than any of the other ones she'd tried before, but still didn't feel like it was about to flip up at a moments notice. To go along with it, Rityra recommended a lighter gray, long sleeved shirt that only barely covered her shoulders. When she spun around to see how the fabric moved, the shirt shifted to the side, hanging only on her left shoulder while the other was now bared. Much to her surprise, Ilia actually found herself liking the look more and more the longer she looked at herself in the mirror, and before she could think about it for too long, she brought out her scroll and took a picture of herself, only her eyes visible over the scroll's rim. She spent another few minutes just feeling out the ensemble some more, and by the end, she was certain this was her favorite of the outfits she'd tried on today. Wearing it made her feel different, less self-conscious somehow.

More normal, even. Like she was just an ordinary Faunus girl, not a White Fang operative. The kind of girl that be anyone or do anything.

The kind of girl who could be with anyone, Faunus or not...

When Ilia finally left the boutique, a big bag of new clothes clutched tightly against her chest and her wallet a fair amount of lien lighter, it had started raining. Naturally, Ilia had neglected to look at any weather forecasts before setting out that morning, so she was left having to brave the elements as she started walking back to the hideout, and despite the rainfall not being that heavy in all honesty, it took only a couple minutes before she was repressing shivers from the cold seeping into her skin from her soaked clothes.

"Stupid reptile genes..." she muttered to herself, taking a momentary break underneath a conveniently placed awning, simultaneously making sure that her 'precious cargo' was doing okay by opening her bag for a split second before closing it back up again, head shooting from side to side to make sure no one had seen her.

The coast was clear, fortunately—as was her newly acquired clothes—the city around her totally devoid of people, be they Faunus or human, with the sole exception of a single person further down the street she'd just come from. As she was just about to continue making her way back to the base, however, she was stopped by the loud rumble of thunder and her very soul felt as if it shriveled up when the very heavens above opened up and the rain that had been not so bad just moments before turned into an absolute torrent of falling water.

A deep, deep sigh fell from her lips, and Ilia wasn't sure what, if anything, could make her current situation less pleasant.

It was at that very moment that Ilia Amitola heard a noise, and for the third time that day, she was frozen absolutely solid due to a surprise voice coming from behind her. Unlike before, however, this was a voice that was simultaneously dreadful and utterly wonderful to hear again.

"Hey, long time no see, Ilia!" the one and only Jaune Arc called out to her.

For a moment, during which her body remained as still as a statue, breath caught squarely in the middle of her throat, the chameleonic Faunus didn't know whether she should turn around and greet the boy that had been so resoundingly stuck in her head ever since she met him back or just sprint into the nearest alleyway and hide in a dumpster until she was sure she was alone again—or until she died from how fast her heart was beating all of a sudden, whichever came first.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily depending on how one looked at it, she didn't have to make that choice, as the aforementioned boy that had caused so many foreign emotions within Ilia jogged up next to her, collapsing the big, red umbrella he'd been carrying. Only now was she able to will herself to turn her head to look at him, and her grip on the bag in her arms increased tenfold when she was immediately met with that damn smile, and her whole chest became the sudden owner of its very own personal blast furnace that dispelled any trace of the chill that she'd started to feel from the rain while her cheeks and ears turned so red-hot that Ilia wouldn't have been surprised if steam started to rise up all around her.

"H-hi..." she replied meekly, dying internally from how damn pathetic she sounded to herself. Swallowing down the nerves in her stomach that were definitely not butterflies or anything of the sort, she tried again. "Nice to see you again, Jaune."

XXX

In the span of just a couple of minutes, Jaune Arc decided that today was, in fact, not a bad day, changing the opinion that he'd had for the majority of the afternoon. Sure, he might have gotten shoved into his locker by Cardin right as he'd been about to find a bathroom and then spent a very uncomfortable hour just focusing on not wetting himself, and said misadventure might have subsequently lead to him being berated about the values of tardiness by professor Goodwitch for what felt like an eternity when he'd finally arrived a good 45 minutes late to her class. And yes, it was also true that his trip to Vale had been more or less wasted since the new issue of X-Ray and Vav he had been looking to buy was totally sold out absolutely everywhere in the city it seemed, including in the store he'd just exited that shared a wall with one of those old-timey looking clothing shops that he remembered his sisters never passing up the opportunity to visit when they were younger. If one added up all those miserable events into one day, it would definitely seem like a shitty one.

However, none of those things felt as unfortunate all of a sudden when he spotted the hazel-brown hair and distinctly spotted complexion of someone he'd been hoping to run into ever since he'd forgotten to share any contact info with.

The relief that Jaune felt when the girl he'd reflexively called after stopped and he was able see that yes, it was in fact Ilia and not just some other random person was paramount to what he'd been feeling when first reading his Beacon acceptance letter. Not about to make the same mistake of not giving her his scroll number again, he immediately made his was over to her and when she turned and he heard her voice again, it was like music to his ears. The fact that she remembered his name was just another pleasant bonus.

"Man am I glad I ran into you again," he laughed with his smile as beaming as ever. "How have you been? You haven't had any more, uh, problems like last time have you?" he quickly added, genuine concern in his voice. It was a forward thing to ask, he realized after the fact, so it was no small weight off his back when Ilia shook her head no. "Good, good. That's... good."

Silence settled over them for a short moment, the pitter patter of the rain hitting the awning above them punctuating the quiet. It made Jaune feel awkward, and as such, he started nervously scratching the back of his head. Their previous meeting had been so relatively short and strange that he didn't know how exactly he should talk to Ilia, where exactly they stood in regards to one another, but at the same time he was determined to not let this opportunity go to waste. Not when they odds of them running into one another again was practically nonexistent.

"Hey, um, sorry. About just running off like that the other day, I mean. I totally lost track of time and would've gotten stuck in Vale all night long if I hadn't caught that bullhead. Still pretty rude of me though." Jaune's smile turned apologetic as he spoke.

"No need to apologize, I get it. And things are fine," Ilia replied with a small giggle. "Shame about this weather though."

It was only when she mentioned the rain threatening to drench them from head to toe that Jaune noticed how damp his 'companion' looked, as well as the lack of any umbrellas on her person, conveniently missing the way Ilia cringed at herself for the topic of conversation she brought up.

"You could say that again. I definitely need to remember to thank my partner about a hundred times for insisting I bring this with me," he said, gesturing to his umbrella before continuing, "Speaking of which, I don't really see this rain letting up anytime soon, and since I kind of owe you a rain-check more or less, heh, and this thing can definitely fit two people underneath it, would you like to, you know…?" again, Jaune gave his umbrella a shake.

Thankfully, Ilia quickly picked up on what he was implying, and while she looked uncertain for split second, it only took one glance out at the sheet of water beyond the edge of the awning for her to nod at him quickly. "That'd be great actually. Thank you".

Jaune resisted the urge to fist-pump vigorously at his successful gamble to spend more time with the Faunus girl, merely continuing to grin as he walked up next to Ilia and without having to say another word, the two of them set off together down the rainy streets of Vale.

Despite his claims about the size of his umbrella, Jaune realized rather quickly it wasn't actually that big. It served its purpose, keeping them dry, but he couldn't exactly ignore how his arm would brush against Ilia's own every couple of steps. He wanted to apologize at first, but when she didn't seem to mind it, he held his tongue. It wasn't everyday he got to walk side by side with a pretty girl, and if it was okay with her, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. For the most part, they wandered in silence, but this time around it felt much more natural than the one they'd shared under the awning, at least to Jaune. If nothing else, it didn't make him feel nervous. The quiet was broken, however, when he caught sight of one of the comic book shops he'd visited earlier in the day and he simply couldn't resist the urge to complain about how he'd been running around town the whole afternoon looking for the new X-Ray and Vav issue without success.

As it turns out, that was something they shared in common; an appreciation for comic books. For Jaune, this was a delightful revelation, and he happily spent the next couple of blocks of their journey asking about what kind of things Ilia liked to read, incredibly grateful that they had something to talk about. He learned quickly that she didn't have much free time, being a member of some kind of activist group from what he could gather, with most of her days spent working on assignments from said group. She still managed to find opportunities to keep up to date on a couple of series though, and with the exception of one, Jaune recognized all of them, letting their conversation continue without another lapse of silence.

Before he knew it, Jaune was regaling Ilia with stories about his home town, about the many weekends he'd spent in the old but awesome comic store within running distance of his house, the hours he'd spent exploring the forests around there, and of course the countless antics his sisters and he had gotten up to growing up. Like most people he'd met since leaving up, Ilia's first reaction to learning about his many siblings was shocked surprise, remarking that growing up with seven sisters sounded crazy, and Jaune was more than happy to describe just how correct that assumption was.

"How about you? What does your family look like?" he asked eventually, realizing that he'd probably been doing a bit too much talking the last couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, Ilia seemed to deflate a bit at his question, eyes turning down towards the cobblestone beneath them. This was definitely not the reaction that Jaune had expected and he felt worry start creeping up his back, hoping dearly that he hadn't just said the worst possible thing.

"I… don't really have one. Not like yours, at least," she said somberly. "Both my parents died when I was little and I've spent most of my life with the Fa- organization. They're the closest thing I have to a family."

"Oh..." was all that Jaune could reply with.

He didn't think about it often, but it was moments like these that made him realize how lucky he was for never having lost any family members, especially in a world like theirs, where Grimm and wars had taken the lives of so many across the ages. He genuinely couldn't imagine the pain of growing up without a mom or dad, the thought alone making his stomach churn with uncertainty. But he knew he couldn't just go quiet, not when he was the one to bring up the subject and Ilia had decided to share her story with him.

"That's… awful. Just, really, really awful. I'm sorry, for what it's worth. No one should have to go through something like that." Before he could stop himself, Jaune reached down and gave Ilia's hand what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. Immediately, he felt her tense up at the gesture, making him curse inwardly, and he was just about to apologize again for overstepping his boundaries when Ilia's fingers started moving, lacing themselves together with his own, returning the squeeze.

All of a sudden, Jaune's throat felt terribly dry and hot, a feeling that swiftly spread to his cheeks and then his chest, making his head turn to look straight ahead. This was… unexpected, but definitely in a good way.

Had he actually turned back to Ilia, he would have noticed that her spots were almost glowing with pink color and her cheeks were as rosy as his own.

It wasn't until they'd returned to the center of Vale that their hands parted, and if Jaune was honest with himself, he missed the feeling right away, but that was something he kept decidedly to himself. After walking like that for a while though, he now, finally, felt comfortable doing something he really should have done when they first met.

"Hey Ilia? Before I forget, would you mind if I asked you for your scroll number? I honestly wanted to ask you last time, but I totally forgot when I had to run for the Bullhead. You seem really, you know, nice and stuff, and I'd love to get to know you better, maybe even meet up some time again?"

Realizing how weird he might have sounded just now, considering that the two of them had only met once before and it was over a week ago since it happened, Jaune's expression turned unmistakably nervous. He still really didn't know how to approach people about this kind of stuff, much less girls, a fact that his many interactions with Weiss had proven succinctly. The advice his dad had given when talking to the 'fairer' sex had not been nearly as effective as he'd hoped...

Jaune's enthusiasm for exchanging contacts, however, was apparently more than shared by Ilia, as evidenced by the shopping bag she'd been practically cradling in her free arm falling to the pavement as she dug through her pockets and brought out her scroll at speeds which could only really be described as hyper-sonic, offering it to him.

"I-I'd love to!" she practically shouted, almost making Jaune fall backwards in surprise from her sudden switch. She seemed to recognize her behavior, however, gathering herself just as fast as she'd changed. "That sounds good to me," she said, not acknowledging her outburst in the slightest.

Not wanting to make anything more awkward, Jaune elected to follow her lead, tapping his scroll against her own. Seconds later, a happy chirp sounded from both scrolls, and when Jaune looked at his, he saw the name 'Ilia Amitola' along with a number listed as a new contact on the screen.

Just as he was to turn his attentions back to Ilia herself, however, he noticed the bag that she'd dropped in her hurry to get her phone out. She apparently noticed his eyes, as her own turned downwards as well, the two of them staring blankly at the shopping bag, one of them unsure what exactly he should do while the other was utterly mortified.

It was Jaune who eventually moved first, bending down and picking up the bag, doing his best to keep his curiosity since he'd learned from a very young age that looking in ladies' bags, whatever the scenario, was very rude. Despite himself, however, he couldn't help but catch a slight glance at its contents, seeing what he assumed was clothing, before suddenly he was holding nothing but air, the bag having been snatched back by Ilia, arms locking it in a crushing embrace against her chest.

"It's not what it looks like!" she blurted out suddenly. Jaune could do little more than blink in confusion as the Faunus girl's became a bright red and she hid her face behind the bag.

"Uh, what…?" Jaune asked, still having no idea what Ilia might be referring to. "What exactly isn't what it looks like? The clothes?"

At the mention of the bag's contents, Ilia seemed to shrink into herself, and at this point, Jaune was starting to grow worried that something was seriously wrong. He watched as Ilia's silvery eyes peered over the rim of the bag, realization seemingly dawning on her, though about what he couldn't even begin to imagine.

"Ah… r-right. Sorry..." she mumbled. "I just… forgot something."

Still cradling her bag of clothes, Ilia started walking again and Jaune followed wordlessly. The rain had died down considerably by now, but he still kept the umbrella above them until they reached the end of the town square, at which point Ilia turned around to face him.

Just as she was about to start saying something, however, her scroll started beeping and she turned away again, putting the pad to her ear.

XXX

"Operative Amitola, what is your status?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Ilia had to choose her words carefully lest she reveal something she really shouldn't to Jaune, getting them both into massive amounts of trouble.

"Busy," she replied after a split second, "But I can still hear you out. What's going on?"

"Understood. In that case, I'll keep details brief for now and you can check out the full assignment when you're somewhere private," the voice from the scroll said. Ilia didn't recognize it entirely but she knew it had to be one of the communication agents from back at the base.

"Alright, sounds good," she answered as she took another step away from Jaune.

"There's a big operation coming up sometime soon. We've acquired a large shipment of dust, courtesy of our new associates, that needs to be loaded and transported out of Vale. As you might expect, this is something we need to take care of covertly. You have been assigned to keep watch for anyone or anything that may cause complications during the loading process. Should any problems arise, you are also expected to take care of them," the voice explained gravely.

This was big. Bigger than what Ilia had expected to hear at a time like this. Nervously, she looked in Jaune's direction again, suddenly praying he hadn't overheard anything. If he knew about an operation of this size, Adam would without a doubt want him to be apprehended, and that was only if her superior was feeling particularly lenient. The more likely option was far more grim.

Of all the moments she could get a call about this operation, it really had to be now, when she'd been spending a good hour, maybe even more, in the company of a human of all things. A human whose very presence made her stomach flutter. A human whose hand had practically made her heart skip a beat when it had squeezed her own. A human who she had freaked out over seeing the spoils of her shopping trip, only for her to realize a second later that he wouldn't have any idea why clothes like the ones she'd bought were so embarrassing.

"O-okay. I'll take a look at it when I can. Was there anything else?" Ilia said, voice hollow and her tongue feeling like it weighed a hundred times more than it should.

"The rest of the specifics about the mission will be sent as soon as this transmission finishes. Beyond that, all personnel should keep an ear out for rumors that might have ties to the operation and report where and how they overheard them. That is all. Over and out, operative Amitola."

It took a couple of moments before Ilia started to lower her scroll from her ear, her jaw clenched hard as she tried to process the information she'd just been given. This wouldn't be the first major assignment she'd been apart of, but she had simply been so not ready to learn about it while Jaune was around.

As her thoughts went back to the boy, the stray idea of him somehow getting himself mixed up in the operation by being in the wrong place at the wrong time hit her like a sledgehammer to the gut.

In fact, Ilia became so caught up with the prospect, and the dust transportation in general, that she didn't notice Jaune calling out her name with alarm until it was too late. There was another noise that screeched at her as well, yet it felt distant, only registering in the background of her mind while her ears focused on Jaune's voice.

"ILIA LOOK OUT!"

In her efforts to not have him overhear her, the Faunus unknowingly been walking further and further out into the rain slicked street, and as she started to turn her head towards Jaune, she was instead met with the sharp headlights of an oncoming car, the sound of its horn finally breaking through the fog of her thoughts. It hadn't been soon enough, however, time lurching to a halt all around her.

She wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time, nor would the car be able to stop. Not on a road like this.

For an instant that felt like it lasted an eternity, Ilia was overcome with dread, her legs stumbling over one another. Years of training and preservation instincts shouted at her to move, but the signals couldn't reach her limbs in time for her to react properly.

Then the impact hit.

AN: Yup. Chapter ends right there. Hope I wasn't too "subtle" with that shopkeeper reference... heh. See ya in the next one, fuckers!