Yellow Brick Road

by Naruzeldamaster

Tobi is a stoic who wants desperately to not be stoic, Naya is a timid genetics expert with a beast within, Chrome is an idiot motivated by her libido, and Tenebres is a Grimm Faunus too precious to corrupt. If these four sound interesting, their tale is quite an adventure, and there's also a sociopathic AI involved as well. Hope you enjoy this sort of 'fix it' journey as I do.

2. Nakama

Chapter Two: Nakama

"Well, all the nations have hunter schools, and every few years there's an event called the Vytal festival," James paused for a moment, putting a hand to his chin. "Essentially it is a sporting event held to honor cooperation between the continents. The program will have teams of students from the other countries hunter academies attend three full semesters. During the third semester a...contest of strength will be held in which the students will compete in a tournament of sorts. The 'festival' part comes from the celebration of the union between the four countries. " He finished with the same stiff demeanor that Tobi's father had.

"So essentially a student transfer program that leads up to a...sporting event? And you want to host such an event with the political climate and the situation with the White Fang and brothers knows who else in the state that it is?" Tobi stated seriously while crossing his arms. "I'm not up to speed on every goings on in modern Remnant. Lieutenant. But with tensions as they currently are. Is that not a bit of a gamble?" He tilted his head attempting to display a puzzled demeanor.

"If you know the situation with the White Fang then you know exactly what the purpose of this sporting event is. Beacon has been increasingly aggressive in trying to buddy up with other nations lately. Ozpin is a wise man: but his current demeanor and secretive nature lately have us all on edge. " James explained with a bit of surprise in his tone, the boy was pretty quick on the uptake.

Ozpin this, Ozpin that, what could one mortal man do to make others so wary of his demeanor. This was the second time the man had been referred to with a sort of backhanded praise. The few people he'd met seemed to trust him a great deal, given their praise of his apparently wise nature. James's description of the man brought back memories of a certain individual Tobi had met. If this Ozpin was anywhere close to that man in demeanor or morals, James and whoever else of the top brass of each country had every right to be wary. The last thing his forgotten mentor said about his relationship with his lady friend was troubling to say the least. It almost sounded romantic, if not for the creepy intensity in which he said it. Either way, what little information he got out of Naya about huntsmen schooling had piqued his interest.

"Ozpin you say? I wonder...bah I'm overthinking it. I'll do it. Mostly to see if I get to meet this enigma of a man who's made you so wary. I believe I had a hand in shutting down a rogue robot yes? Where is it at the moment? It could be quite dangerous in the wrong hands." Tobi asked with the same monotone voice that he'd had since he'd lost his memories, at least that's when the change seemed to happen.

"It is, for lack of a better term, being dissected and studied at the moment. We just had to examine the technology it possessed. Don't worry though, we aren't just eggheads banging rocks together, it'll be in fine working order when we're done." James was a bit surprised at how calmly Tobi had taken the news of his amnesia. It wasn't exactly a normal condition like the common cold or the flu.

Tobi tapped what would've been his right toe on the ground. "I'm not talking about the combat shell." He paused and tapped the other foot once. "I'm referring to the core itself; the self-evolving AI who answers to Tessa. I was clutching a container of sorts in my hands when I arrived yes?" He didn't know why he needed to specify what he meant, it was merely a habit.

"Under lock and key inside our most secure bunker, several levels of protection inside and out. Along with some of our best troops, a few humans for backup. Nothing short of an army will take your precious Tessa unit." James stated with confidence in his voice and pride in his posture.

"You remind me of my old man; and no that wasn't a compliment. Glad to see the cocky confidence of Mantle has only grown finer with age. You say nothing short of an army. What about an ambitious moron with far more capable handymen to do their bidding?" Tobi wasn't even sure what people meant when they brought up hunches, but asking the question out loud made him think he was having one.

"Are you saying our security isn't tight enough without a tour of our facilities?" James raised a brow, the lad was certainly brazen to speak doubt in front of an admiral.

"The opposite actually...the security is likely shall we say...too tight. From what your little tinkerer told me Atlas is too reliant on metal and oil in the rank and file instead of ya know...actual rank and file." Tobi paused when his right shoulder sparked a little. "As you can see; dystopian or not technology is technology. I'm actually a bit impressed though. Typically full system repairs would take upwards of a year. Who was the head mechanic in restoring my limbs?" He had to admit that he was a little curious, sure Naya handled the basic repairs and some butterfingers got his power cores up and running. But the pair of engineers seemed like they wouldn't be able to work without direction.

"Dr Ignis Light, we just call him Dr. Light for the shorthanded version. Naya, you look like you're trying too hard to speak out of turn. What's got you spacing out?" James asked as he noticed that she was being even more quiet than usual.

"N-nothing at all Admiral, well m-maybe kinda sorta a little something? Tobi's description earlier got me thinking about someone I and Chrome almost signed a contract for. He wanted a boomstick, so I built him one-but he also wanted it to be a cane. He didn't seem too important, just some dapper nobody in a white tux and a silly black hat. But he had enough stones to claim he was running e-errands for the White Fang? Can't imagine they'd ever trust a human, at least if he didn't have any sort of connection." Naya spit it out all at once, but at least she managed to remain calm while explaining her mental process.

"A white tuxedo and a black hat, and a boomstick cane?" James put a hand to his chin and hummed in thought. "It's good to know you two were cautious enough to know better. I think that's all there is to discussing that man for now. Naya you should find Chrome and go help Dr. Light with whatever big pipe dream he's scheming at the moment." James finished seriously with a bit of concern in his eyes.

"You mean you want us to be your flies on the wall?" Naya wasn't entirely sure why she had enough courage to phrase it quite so bluntly, normally she'd simply nod and follow orders.

"No, I need you two to make sure he isn't up to anything overtly dangerous. Besides he's stated several times in his reports how useful both of you are to him." James had a feeling meeting a new friend might help her out of her icy shell, but he was surprised for it to be so sudden.

"Only because our room and board are paid for and we use our paychecks on food." She wasn't trying to make it sound bitter at all, it just sorts of came out that way.

"That has very little bearing on your usefulness as well as your species. Talented hands are going to put nuts and bolts together regardless of how they were born." It was kind of interesting to see a little of her bravery return. She had been so timid and frail since that little outburst in the lab a couple of years ago.

Tobi crossed his arms and glanced between the two. "James I will ask this nicely out of curiosity once more. How exactly is the relationship between humans and the Faunus? If I am recalling correctly things were always dodgy. But never so bad that it required any sort of activist group like the White Fang you both keep mentioning." Normally he wouldn't be terribly invested in matters like this. However, the exchange between the admiral and his mechanic was getting interesting.

"Activist group would be putting it mildly if I'm perfectly honest with you. Their hearts and motives are in the right places, but certain branches can be a tad on the extreme side. We even have equal opportunity employment for them now." James answered seriously with a bit of caution in how he phrased it.

"For 'them' Admiral?" Tobi crossed his arms, he was not pleased with that tone or that label, his mother was one of them after all.

"With twenty percent less medical coverage and tax prices explicitly for Faunus-related products." Naya was more or less thinking aloud at this point considering she said that one under her breath.

"Ahem, the four nations also came together and elected to organize a country for them." James had an inkling that this conversation was just going to go from bad to worse if he didn't smooth things over soon.

"If you call a quarter continent-sized island in the middle of nowhere that's two-thirds desert a country." Now that one Naya actually did intend to sound bitter, but she didn't mean to say it quite so loudly.

Tobi was growing a bit more fascinated by the exchange with every minute. In his time even talented Faunus were overworked and underpaid on top of being a minority. Now their population was likely on par with or even outnumbering the human race in numbers. The government was obviously genuinely trying to smooth things over. Unfortunately, the suits in charge were as always only looking at statistics and PR results. The conversation itself was utterly dull, a story he'd heard time and again from many departments of the company his father managed. Interestingly the pair didn't seem to be sizing each other up for a scrap. However he didn't need to understand emotion to know what empathy was, nor what was causing the rising tension. At the moment he could probably cut the tension with a knife, but the main concern was the notable chill coming from Naya. James likely was too far from where she was standing to notice, but it certainly wasn't his imagination. Logic would dictate that it was the air vent above her, but many things in Remnant didn't operate on logic. That cold chill slowly building up around Naya was coming from her.

"Ahem. Miss Naya you mentioned something called a manga cafe in our conversation yes?" Tobi tried to act natural, which for him was completely neutral and void of any emotional tells.

"Huh? Oh! I um, y-yes me and Chrome used to stay there when we didn't have anywhere else. W-what are you b-bringing that up for anyway?" Naya couldn't stop her eyes from lighting up at the mention of her favorite kind of comics.

"Would you mind going there and fetching me a few volumes to sample as long as it's the first issue? Assuming you have the admiral's permission to do so of course; she can do that and then go help

Dr. Light with whatever he's cooking up correct?" Tobi wasn't sure what emotion to display in this situation, so he settled on giving the admiral an icy glare.

"Ahh-er, yes, of course, she can run that little errand for you while I give you a tour of where you'll be working and staying for now." James was caught off-guard by the sudden shift of interest, Tobi had a sharp intuition for an amnesiac.

"I c-can? Yay! I mean ahem, t-thank you so much for permission to do so Admiral Ironwood. I'll talk Chrome into helping with Dr. Light duty afterward of course." Naya was even more elated to get permission to leave the grounds. If the subject hadn't changed when it did, she probably would've exploded. And last time she lost her temper like that wasn't good for her research.

"And just like lightning, she's off in a heartbeat. It's almost adorable seeing her so elated from time to time." James finally had a chance to breathe after Naya practically pranced out of sight.

"Open foot, insert mouth." Tobi uttered audibly with just the smallest little smirk on his face.

"Er-come again?" James raised a brow, Tobi was a bookworm from his demeanor and vocabulary. But he really didn't seem like the proverb-spewing type.

"Something my mother would say to tease father after a failed business engagement. I realize the government, and all involved mean well. But I'd like to think that the military was better at phrasing after thousands of years. If you indeed wish to improve public relations, you may wish to work on formality and worry less about how a speech looks to the PR. Maybe consider what both sides wish to hear next time." Tobi wasn't sure if his phrasing was correct at all, but just the way James spoke about the benefits irked him.

"Oof, I'd hate to take a jab at ya James but uh I think the kid's got your number already," Qrow stated with amusement in his tone as he entered the room.

"Hello Qrow, and what may I ask brought you all the way to Atlas?" James was annoyed by Brownen's quip, though he did have a point.

"Just here to deliver some information, we found spring," Qrow stated seriously after taking a sip from his flask.

Tobi tilted his head to the side "You...found spring? I'm not sure I follow what you mean." He was pretty sure that the four seasons weren't actually people. Sure he'd read the fairy tale, but that was just folklore.

-[Three Weeks Later: Doctor Ignis's Underground Lab]-

It was a pretty dull few weeks of work for Tobi, getting accustomed to the modern Remnant technology. The tells were all over the place why they called his tech ancient. So he settled on improving his ideas and working hard to aid Ignis in his research. Tobi's father was far too focused on the mechanical side of bioengineering, while his mother was the exact opposite. Doctor Ignis was much like Tobi, somewhere in the middle. Though his unrivaled passion for animated media was a tad concerning in terms of research priorities.

"So did you guys get to see that new kid Doctor Light's got working for him yet?" It was one of the security guards on duty for the protection of Dragoon's core. The bunker itself had the best security around, and the few humans working the grounds were somewhat cocky.

"Are you kiddin? The runt leaves his workstation even less than the doc does, and that's saying something!" A more burly looking guard stated with a chuckle as he examined the full house he had been dealt in their game of poker.

"Can't really blame him though; the kid's been coming up with all kinds of great stuff. A fiber that can stretch to near limitless potential, solid light projection, even something called a satellite. What is launching a buncha hardware into orbit gonna do for us?" A more boy-ish security guard stated as he groaned in annoyance and folded, he had been dealt a poor hand of one pair.

"It would be unwise to tempt fate, that boy has potential with all of his cybernetics. Still, the few times he has left the lab it's been to check in with security. A runt he may be, but he's probably more capable than the three of you." The more business like security guard spoke in a firm tone, clearly an authority figure of the group. "I win, by the way, a royal flush." He finished with a smirk as he showed his hand.

The other three security guards were somewhat dejected as they folded their current hands. After the poker game was finished they all went about their rounds as they usually did. The grounds themselves had several layers of protection. It was so well guarded that anyone who didn't know the facility would have just a hard of a time getting out as they would breaking in. They weren't entirely sure what the big deal with the Tessa thing was. However they were just nameless grunts, it wasn't in their job description to ask questions.

"What's that alarm for? We usually don't get security breaches this far into the doc's personal storage warehouse." The scrawniest of the bunch questioned his partner as they passed it.

"It's for the only purpose you'd put a security alert system this deep into the compound idiot. Didn't you get briefed on your assignment before you started your shift a week ago?" His partner asked in a dejected tone as he thought about it.

"Well yeah, but it's not like I read the entire dossier for how the security system worked. It's supposed to be the most advanced detection system we have right?" The scrawny guard paused as the alarm sounded. "Advanced enough to...trigger itself?" He finished as he crossed his arms and gave his partner a puzzled look.

"Idiot! That means someone else triggered the alarm-" A distant explosion shook the compound's foundation. "And that's the reason why. Now activate your breach scanners and get moving! We're actually earning our paychecks today." He stated with frustration as he bolted toward the sound.

Meanwhile, the four individuals responsible for the ruckus were standing a few feet behind the solid steel walls that previously blocked their paths were surrounded by soot. A dark tan skinned teenage girl with emerald clothes and hair, a silver-haired teen boy wearing a grey jacket and pants. Accompanied by a slender man in a white suit and pants wearing a black hat, and a buxom woman with black hair with a strand of white and some pink as well. Both the wall and their eardrums had hardly finished rupturing before they started bickering.

"Mercury, I think next time we maybe use a little less?" The emerald haired teen questioned with her tone full of sarcasm.

"Come on Emerald, any less C4 and the steel walls wouldn't budge...what do you mean le-oooh, right, security guards." Mercury wished he was kidding, they were greeted with a group of twelve security guards. Many of them were well armed, and their laser sights were already trained on them.

"Well now, what have we here? A Welcoming party gentlemen? Surely you must know who we are." The tall man was leaning on his cane as he spoke to them. "Smile for the camera Neo, we got work to do that doesn't involve-what is it this time?" He stopped mid speech when Neo had a glint in her eye.

"Which. Camera. Boss?" Neo signed with a childish grin on her face.

"It's a figure of speech Neo! Quit being a smartass and get to work already." The man in the white tux seemed to have little patients.

"Let's see Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black, some random guy and-" The commander of the group blinked and paused as Neo vanished. "Huh, she disappeared, neat." He hadn't really seen semblances in action before so he wasn't sure what to expect. Most people knew of Semblances and how to deal with them, but actual aptitude for it was slightly uncommon.

"I told you she'd run at the first sign of trouble," Mercury stated bluntly shrugging his shoulders as he spoke.

"Could you gentleman move aside, the big wigs back with the White Fang aren't paying me to deal with low-level grunts." The tall man chimed sarcastically as he tipped his hat to them in a mocking way.

"Like a do nothing street thug could do anything against us, what's with the mob boss getup anyway? Ya plan on singin in the rain?" One of the security guards knew exactly who he was talking to, and he was amused.

"Street thug?"

"Oh dear, you pushed the angry button. Emerald, beat these mooks up before he actually gets angry?" Mercury's tone couldn't bear any more sarcasm if he tried as he gestured toward them.

"Don't look at me; I'm only paid to handle machines remember? Besides aren't you the son of some big name assassin or something?" Emerald asked curiously, putting a hand on her hip and shifting her weight as she did.

"Keyword there, son of an assassin. I mean yeah I took the job after offing the old man, but I just needed the money. Like you said, we're not paid enough by this idiot for goons like these. Our other benefactor though...it is a tough call, specially cause she literally just assigned us to him." Mercury was entirely serious, he could easily handle four maybe even five guards. Twelve of them would be exciting sure, but he wasn't really in the mood.

"I'm right HERE you know! Kids these days, no sense of respect." The tall man lit a cigar and began smoking it. "If you want something done right, ya gotta do it yourself." He pointed his cane at the guards and opened its sight while aiming at the leader.

"Oh look big bad Roman Torchwick is angry at us!" One of the security guards quipped playfully.

"Better watch out or the kids he's chaperoning might actually lift a finger." The leader of the guards chimed sarcastically as he started laughing.

"I thought we had real intruders for once-gah..." One of the weaker guard's arms had suddenly been twisted behind his back. Both Mercury and Roman slowly turned their heads toward Emerald and raised a brow.

"Don't look at me guys, I can only manipulate sensory information! Sights? Sounds? Smells? Easy peasy, actual freaking telepathy? Get Neapolitan to do it." Emerald stated half annoyed, she had extremely strict limits on doing that too unless she wanted a migraine or worse. One person was hard enough, she was pretty sure this many would cause her to black out.

It wasn't much longer before Neo had reappeared, she was the one twisting the guard's arm. Before the guards could train their sights on her she vanished again and decided to attack one of the others. Again and again, to the point where her fighting style seemed more like an elaborate dance. Though the dance itself wasn't likely to be seen too often at a ballroom hall; a nightclub might be a better place.

"Is she always so...brutal?" Emerald winced as she watched the last guard take a tumble over Neo's shoulder. He'd be feeling that in the morning.

"You should see her in a bad mood kiddo," Torchwick stated seriously with a grin. "Put your toys away Neo, we've got actual business to attend to." He finished with a shrug as he returned his cane to its default state.

"Hmph. Always take my fun." Neo signed as she finished knocking out the last of the guards.

"Remind me never to piss you off, like...ever." Mercury stared blankly at the woman, noticing her two-colored irises as he did. She'd never really locked eyes with him, when she did it was a bit creepy. As an assassin in training he could feel the malice in that innocent seeming grin.

"Can do!" Neo signed with a snarky grin. Younger kids were a pain to work with but they could be amusing once in a while. Her work didn't allow her to make or rely on friends, plaything was the usual label for most people with potential. "Also. Not Telepathy, illusionist!" She added as she wrote the words with her finger onto the air.

The troublesome four made their way through the compound they had broken into. The deeper they got into it the more layers of security they had to bypass, at one point they had to resort to crawling through the air vents. Either way, they eventually reached the deepest part of the compound which was loaded with several computer servers. Surely they would find what they were tasked to retrieve in this part of the compound.

"Yooho, anyone out there?" The group jumped when the perky voice suddenly rang out.

"That's...weird, there's nobody in here but us," Emerald was thinking out loud, though she suspected the others had about the same reaction.

"No body is right, I'm all stuck in a jar! Well not really a jar, maybe...canister? Oh! Are you friends, I want those! Friends play games right? Let's do that! Games are fun!" The voice obviously had a source, since the speakers in the room were producing it.

"That would depend on the kind of game since we're sorta in a rush." Torchwick was at least partially amused as he said it, they weren't in a big rush but this sounded like it might get annoying.

"You guys can roam around like idiots and I'll tell you if you're hot or cold." The computerized voice explained in a matter of fact way.

The group nodded and decided to play that little game, hoping they would be lead straight to their target. They weren't even entirely sure what they were looking for since Hazel said they'd know it when they see it. Following along with the game eventually lead the group to the center of the compound with a large laboratory held within. Judging from the equipment and containment chambers it was some kind of genetics lab. The voice had led them to a large steel container with several layers of reinforcement. Oddly enough all of the security measures were aimed at keeping what was inside the container from getting out. The group jumped in surprise when an unidentifiable Grimm roar bellowed loud enough to hear it for miles.

"Let. Us. Out. Hungry!" It was very beastly, and not digital at all.

"Uh, what in the world was that?" Emerald barely dodged away from the container quickly enough to avoid the large set of bone claws. They were definitely the claws of a Grimm, but she hadn't seen many with paws that human.

"Oh, just some accidental discovery Ignis made with his Grimm research. Something about simulating an incident that happened ages ago? I think it worked, sorta, I'm at the literally across from her by the way. " The digital voice chimed playfully as lights in the lab activated to reveal the server. It was some form of sealed chamber with a server built around it. Inside the glass window was a cylinder containing a constantly moving silver gel-like substance that pulsed with electricity on occasion.

"I think we definitely found what Hazel was looking for but which one is it?" Mercury gave both of the discoveries a glance, Hazel certainly didn't make it easy with the vague description.

"Probably me, theoretical emotion simulating software assistant...er...that is a little long winded isn't it?" The digital voice replied with shyness in its tone. The lights focused down on the chamber protecting the cylinder.

"Tessa?" Neo signed with a raised brow, she had heard of artificial intelligence before but never thought of anything like this.

"That's not a terrible idea ya know? Oh! Can my last name be Richter? Humans have those, and I'm at least supposed ta be human I think. But uh why are you guys here?" Tessa actually sounded a bit more human once they got closer to the server housing her core.

Emerald's jaw dropped, she wasn't into history in other departments but technology? She could probably put most biomechanics to shame if she bothered to try. She'd studied machine history nearly as long as she could walk. That not-very-subtle name drop was far more than coincidence. This Tessa thing was adapting to the situation as it was happening. Dr. Hazel wasn't too into Grimm, he had an insane mind for technology though, insane being a keyword.

"Ok, can we steal this thing before Emerald goes all geek mode on it?" Mercury wasn't at all interested in a job like this, breaking into the place was the only challenge.

"Stealing? Is that something interesting? What does that mean?" Tessa's curiosity was piqued at the mention of a new concept. She had a lot to learn about humans, especially since eventually she'd be as close to human as a machine could get.

"It means that you're our property now, and you're going on a little trip with us." Torchwick was somewhat amused by the childlike personality. Though the fact that it was childlike made this quite a bit easier.

"Hey! I'm not a property, I'm a person! You're like Tobi, treating me like a...thing! You have a boss right? I wanna word with em. Oh but uh, gimme outta here first, it's booooring." Tessa had just met this man and he already annoyed her. Judging from how the security guards treated him he didn't seem all that dangerous.

"Pff-" Neo literally had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing. She had to maintain her cover at all costs.

-[Vale Airship Docks: Day Before the entrance exam]-

"Why am I the only one waiting for a flight to Beacon?" Tobi questioned dryly as he activated the communicator in his arm. "And who's responsible for adding a two-way radio to my arm?" He had discovered it while doing part of the routine check on the flight here. The device was active, and a number of other circuits and functions were added that didn't seem to have firmware yet.

"That would be my slightly-too-creative roommate; don't worry, she didn't rewire too much of the actual hardware. Although I'm pretty sure she only installed those upgrades cause' you were unconscious at the time and she couldn't resist." It was a girl's voice on the other end of the radio, one he hadn't heard yet during his stay in Atlas.

"Chrome! Don't rat me out like that! Yesh, what am I gonna do with you? Er, guilty as charged; sometimes once I start tinkering with electronics I just can't help my inventor's intuition." Naya seemed a lot less nervous around whomever this friend of hers was.

"Got any other features you just couldn't help installing? And why am I not on the private airship with the two of you?" Tobi wasn't really in any mood for surprises. He naturally wasn't in any sort of mood at all, it was just how he was.

"Only like four; oh but they're mostly for your arm. And it's cause Chrome gets nervous in big crowds. And when she gets nervous she kinda...grows, or shrinks, or panics." Naya sort of wanted to spoil the surprise but for now she figured she'd somehow keep his interest piqued.

Tobi felt his mechanical arm twitch slightly as the tinkerer mentioned that. Not only had she added new features, she neglected both telling him and explaining how they worked. The obvious answer was that none of the additional features were fully usable yet. He wasn't amused, but he could test things out the next time he ran into one of those creatures. As he admired the construction of the airship docks he found himself people watching. He saw people that clearly belonged to different cultures, something he never got a chance to do back in his time. There definitely seemed to be some social cliques forming already, chances were that would only escalate once they got to Beacon. He had been briefed on how things were handled at the academies, which meant he would need to work on teamwork.

One thing he never could get used to was being around so many new people. This Chrome person Naya was with had the right of it, crowds were a huge pain. If only he had inherited his mother's open heart he might be tempted to interact with others. There were honestly too many colors and sounds for his liking, compared to the sterile labs he was used to. At least the three years of schooling would give him time to get used to all the faces, potentially even names.

"It's rude to stand behind someone and stare you know?" Tobi stated bluntly as he turned around to face someone behind him. Technically they were in line to get aboard the ship, but he was sure people watching was a bit different than a steely glare regardless of the person giving it.

"Pot, meet Kettle." The young lady signed, Tobi couldn't guess her age from her build but she certainly looked the part.

Tobi uncrossed his arms. "So she has heterochromia...is a mute and doesn't pull her punches. And has interesting taste in hair dye and apparel." The outfit was just a white vest with neon trim, the vest itself leaving her middriff exposed. He wanted to admire the two tone irises, but the almost too snug vest and tri-colored locks were distracting. "Not to offend but my sign language is...quite rusty. You wouldn't happen to have a pen and notepad on you would you?" Tobi added dryly, with the most puzzled look he could give her.

"Pen and paper, in what decade? I'll cheat since you were stupid enough to ask." Judging from his step backward, he'd never seen illusionist writing before. "You don't strike me as the nosey type. Unfortunately it's my job to be nosey about you. So three questions; who do you work for, why do I care, and a two way radio in your ARM, seriously? Also ow, my hair is natural kid." Neo wasn't happy using her illusions for something so simple, much less on someone so simple. However he at least admitted he was bad at reading sign language, few people did that so bluntly. Though it was tricky to write the letters that quickly it was an efficient way of communicating.

"Natural? That's a joke I don't plan on laughing at." Tobi had to admit Remnant had odd ideas with genetics, hell he was a prime example. "You care because your boss ordered you to. I work for myself. And frankly it was installed without my permission." Her physique was fit for her size, his muscles tensed up a bit. "I'd like to know who's so concerned about me. The few that would care would be avid historians and someone who'd be long gone by now." She was already somewhat aggressive, he wasn't in the mood to fight. So he figured he'd answer her bluntly. "To be honest your talent would be wasted on me." He added crossing his arms, not sure if she would fight him in a spot like this.

"A loner? Cute, she was worried for nothing then. Also no need to be so tense kid, I'm just sizing you up for later." So Neo had almost flown out here for no reason. Oh well, there were still other jobs to do. "Also...explain how I would be wasted on you." That bit did annoy her, he said it so plainly with so little enthusiasm behind it.

"She who?" He had to wonder, but half of the population was female so that did little to narrow down the suspect. "I don't need to know my opponent to know my own limits. And at the moment you're far above them." Tobi's response was cold, he knew full well of his limitations. And they were what resulted in the whole time travel thing, to begin with.

"At...the moment? You do realize who you're talking to?" Neo raised a brow, he was either really confident or really stupid, potentially both. Then again she couldn't even get a read on his Semblance or Aura skills, the former probably hadn't awakened yet but the latter should be obvious standing a few feet away from someone.

"Yup a mute lass who thinks she's untouchable because of her Semblance. A word of caution miss; even semblances and aura have limits. I honestly can't get a read on you which is why I think whatever talents you have are wasted on pointless jobs." Tobi was entirely serious, he could see it in her eyes. He'd seen many a gifted Semblance user go south, some past the point of no return because of their skill.

"Ow kid you certainly don't pull punches yourself," Neo was moderately impressed, the kid already had an inkling of her skill level. "Just don't be cocky cause of your robo arm, you realize literally anyone with the credits for it has that level of tech now right?" She actually had a bit of curiosity, she couldn't tell if he was arrogant or stupid, likely both.

Tobi shrugged his shoulders. "This is true. Anyhow I do have a flight to catch. And stop calling me kid. I am Tobi...no more and no less." He figured that it had been long enough for the scanners in his arm to get a good bit of data about her abilities.

Tobi didn't know what to make of the illusionist mute as he boarded his flight. On one hand, she did have a point but otherwise, he was sure she was trying to get a read on how useful he'd be. There was a certain glint in her eyes that he both liked and hated, that spark of ideas reminded him of his mother. She was fairly skilled in her field and was all about trusting her instinct and being brazen enough to follow through. The part he hated reminded him of his father, a man at the top of his field but challenged on other fronts that he didn't fully understand. Tobi somehow landed in the middle of the pair, and that bugged him just a bit. Pleasing them both was tiring, but favoring one would send the other on a tirade. At some point, the overdrive technology was developed, and somehow they reached a moniker of peace. Everything past that point was a bit fuzzy and attempting to recall it only made his head ache.

"Is that a freaking robot-arm?!" The voice couldn't be any more shrill, it'd potentially shatter the glass windows on the airship. Not so much the tone, just the energy, it was far too much for a sixteen-year-old soon to be schoolmate.

Tobi finished up replacing the dust crystals. "No. It's my completely boring organic arm." Tobi uttered with his best attempt at sarcasm. "I fail to understand the excitement. It's just a prosthetic limb." He did fail to understand the excitement, until he got a good look at his enthralled inquisitor.

She was shorter than Naya, and wore a black skirt with red trim, the corset was the same color. The darker tones were offset by the silver bullets on her ammo belt and the white cotton shirt. The overly long scarf seemed like it had been shredded. The most notable thing about her were her silver eyes, even in his time those were rare. The way they lit up with more excitement than her small frame could contain annoyed him a bit. High energy people were difficult to communicate with, he knew he'd run into Brownens niece eventually but this soon was unlucky. He had little time to mentally prepare for her childlike nature. The drunkard at least had the courtesy to warn him of her enthusiasm before the flight to vale.

"Of course it's not boring! It's a Robot arm! Robot. Arm." She emphasized her statement as if Tobi didn't understand. "Can it shock people, do you have a rocket fist, sound cannon, laser cannon? Extendo arm?" Honestly Naya would have a difficult time competing with this technophile, it was almost amusing.

"Prosthetic. Limb." Tobi was entirely disinterested in humoring her. "If you must know what features it has. No, No, working on it, and an electromagnetic rail cannon. Just because it does cool things does not make it cool to have; it comes with it's own problems." Tobi finished with a sigh, he was already starting to get a headache.

"Ruby, you're embarrassing me...let's leave our obviously obviously busy potential classmate to his repairs. Sorry, ya know...sisters, first day at a new school and way too many cookies for breakfast." The tall blonde in a yellow biker ish tank top had saved him from yet another question.

"Yes sisters are indeed a handful. Especially when you're busy doing routine work on your prosthetics." He did what he could to hide the stress building in his mind. The blonde was likely more than a handful too, but even he wasn't stupid enough to say that outloud.

"So...your legs too right?" The blonde spoke up abruptly after eying him with scrutiny for a second.

Tobi sighed. "You can tell? At a glance?" He crossed his arms and gave her a stern look, he was certain his hologram projectors were completely functional.

"Course I can! Any grease monkey worth their salt can spot these things, plus your movements are so stiff you're practically robotic. Name's Yang, if you ever need an emergency tune up." Yang offered a hand to the potential classmate.

"Thanks...I think. You may address me as Tobi." He froze when she thrust her hand forward, was this one sizing him up too? "Is this the part where I shake your hand?" He wasn't sure what her plan was, and her sibling hadn't bothered with such a gesture.

"Your legs too? That. Is. Awesome! Do they have jet boots, space jump, super speed?"

Yang forced a smile. "One second." She paused a moment and bonked her sibling lightly to get her attention. "Ruby?" She stated with a bit of stress in her tone.

"Present!" Ruby stood at attention, eagerly awaiting what Yang was about to say.

"Guess what time it is?" Yang used one hand to grab her gently by the scarf.

"Uh oh-retreeet." She started to run away, un-effectively before Yang had her in a grapple lock.

Tobi adjusted his glasses. "Peculiar..." He noticed a significant change in Yang's demeanor, if only for a second.

"That's right-sister noogie time! Comere you!" Yang had picked Ruby up off the ground, at this point Ruby's legs were literally a blur.

"Help! Oh no, sister noogie...draining powers, tell Zwei I loved him..." Ruby was clearly faking passing out, Yang was not rubbing her head hard enough to even mess up her hair.

"Feel like behaving now?" Yang chimed with an almost sinister tone as she placed Ruby back down.

"Fine," Ruby squirmed out of her sister's arms. "But you owe me two cupcakes later...with frosting!" She pretended to sulk on the way back to her seat and unfolded her weapon to begin tuning it.

Tobi tilted his head. "What exactly...was all that?" He blinked as he collected his thoughts, there were more questions than answers about that whole interaction.

The blonde smirked, "You seriously don't know what sisterly bonding is?" She seemed both inwardly amused and obviously doubtful of his question.

Tobi had to take a moment to find the right way to phrase it without it sounding absurd. In truth he really didn't know that phrase; he had always been somewhat of a loner. He could tell she was far more willing to humor him at any rate. Either out of curiosity or for the sake of an interesting story to tell. Either way, her intrigue seemed harmless enough, and he figured he'd only encounter her once.

"Not...that." Tobi put a hand to his chin. "Before you administered your...punishment, you seemed apprehensive. During and after said punishment your demeanor changed completely. I wish to know how you did...that." He was immensely curious, apparently changing ones mood on the fly was like flicking a switch. It had always vexed him that he couldn't perform this change of emotion, much less express it.

Yang blinked. "Dude, how much of a dead fish are you?" She paused and hummed in thought. "I guess I just decided I gotta embrace the big sister thing more. Sometimes I forget how important it is. Wait...you meant the actual switching of emotion? It's just...instinctive, you...know what to do in your heart and your mind reacts...I think. Like yeah it sucks when you lose to a hard boss but breaking the controller won't help-what?" She stopped when Tobi raised a hand to stop her talking, at least he didn't actually cover her mouth or something.

"Heart? Instinct?" Tobi crossed his arms. "These things are quite foreign to me. Yet you explain them with little effort. Is emotion really so...simple...so...primal? Either way..." He paused and glanced toward Ruby. "I can't be paid to give a fuck but...even I know the healing potential of an open ear." He gave her a soft grin. "I too have...complicated issues with a sibling, if you ever want to talk." He hoped that he wasn't being too blunt. Honestly he was curious if anyone in the family knew the significance of those eyes. He knew for sure their significance, due to a childhood acquaintance having them.

"The emotionally stunted stoic wants to console me on family matters," The blonde shrugged and put a hand on her hip. "Thanks but I'll pass, it's a minor thing at worst. That's still a cool arm though, almost makes me wish I could use one." She was about to introduce herself, but the so-called sister had squealed again. Apparently, they could see Beacon from this location.

"My emotion is...stunted? An odd statement, what on earth do you-and she's gone." Tobi sighed, this is why he always hesitated to converse with females. Their personalities were so varied yet could be grouped into a formulaic pattern of sorts, not that there was anything wrong with that.

-Exam Day-

There were few ways to explain the odd sensation Tobi was currently having, but Tobi was certain the proper word was anxiety. The charismatic dean of Beacon had him and a large group of students standing at the edge of a large cliff. Each student was standing on a decently sized metal plate, and one would certainly notice a glint in his eyes. Something about that man got Tobi ever so slightly perturbed, though he couldn't place why.

"Today you all will be surveying the Emerald forest. There are some old ruins at the center that I would like you all to find...if you survive." Ozpin explained briefly as the long line plates began launching the students a fair distance into the air.

"Just...one question, about your cane?" Tobi crossed his arms, he could swear he'd seen that cane before. It was a fine wooden cane with a rather large emerald at the top, and it had some kind of mechanism inside it by the look of the metal lever.

"You can field all questions to me after the exam Tobi. You aren't scared are you?" Ozpin had a smug look on his face as he spoke, his demeanor depicted a man who knew more than he lead on.

"This exam of yours...what purpose does it-" Tobi jumped upward as he sensed danger, narrowly avoiding being launched. "And you intended to fling us off the cliff...why?" He was relieved that the pressure plate only fired once, the very thought of dealing with flight out of his control gave him an odd sensation.

Ozpin grinned as he leaned on his cane. "What, you haven't heard of a lioness throwing her cubs off a cliff? Same principals really." He paused and watched Tobi dodge the platforms attempt to launch him. "My, your reflexes haven't aged a day. Unfortunately...you still have to jump off the cliff like the rest of the students." The old man seemed inwardly amused at Tobi's behavior as he spoke.

"Fine," Tobi stated with frustration. "But you owe me answers old man, I dislike how you speak to me as if we were old friends." He finished before getting a running start and leaping of the cliff with all his might.

Glynda gave her superior a curious look. "Do you...know that boy sir?" She was mostly thinking out-loud at this point.

Ozpin smiled and shrugged. "It's a long and...complicated story Glynda. It's a shame he didn't recognize me, although...he would have even more complicated questions either way." He had to admit that he was a bit disappointed, it would have been amusing to speak with an old friend.

"Not to be blunt Ozpin but." Glynda sighed with frustration. "Everything with you is long, and complicated." She knew he was always hiding secrets, even among his circle of friends whom he trusted dearly.

By the time Tobi realized he had jumped a bit further than intended, he barely manage to plant himself squarely on a tree branch. Before he had a chance to get smug, that tree branch cracked and then broke. He did what he could to avoid hitting branches on the way down, but a few did manage to slow his decent enough that he could land with a bit less damage than expected. He had made the mistake of miscalculating his weight distribution, which stung more than the fall itself. After wincing in pain for a few moments he shook it off and stood up.

"That cane...why does it make my skin crawl? I'm certain it's the first time I've seen it since I've awakened." Tobi paused and gathered his bearings, before letting out a sigh. "I must be overthinking it, that individual would be long dead by now. That cane was one of a kind, could it be a reproduction?" He tapped his foot on the ground as he thought about it, then decided to move onward.

He had to assume that the ruins were at the thickest and deepest section of the forest. And that the cliff face was facing that general direction. Ozpin did want the students to find them, to retrieve some important trinket, so that had to be the logic behind it. As he walked, he got the sensation he was being followed. The more he tried to ignore it, the more his mind wondered. And if he tried to address it with common causes, his imagination took hold. Tobi was not at all a social person, but he preferred minor annoyances over absolute loneliness. He wasn't much of a prideful person, but he had to swallow what little he had. At least for the time being, he was experiencing fear.

Tobi's organic hand twitched. "Coward! Reveal yourself at once." He barked at some rustling bushes, he did not do well under pressure like this.

"Gao, Gao." An odd sound for an animal to make, it was almost...cute?

"Make note. I may be afrade, but I am no coward. I realize that's backward logic but if you wish to fight me...do so like a man." Tobi wasn't trying to hide his fear, he was hoping to intimidate his predator with.

"Gao, Gao. Nope, can't fight like a man." Red lights pierced through the shrubbery, what little english that was there was quite broken.

"You are...some manner of beast then?" Tobi was ready to use his arm canon, if only he could get a solid beat on his target.

The eyes were tricky to follow, and he didn't like how they faded in and out of sight. There were clear signs of movement, bush to bush, then to a tree and back to the ground. Whatever this being was, they were too nimble for his liking. By the time he had his arm canon at the ready, he'd lost sight of the beast. It infuriated him, it was intelligent enough to speak, so it was also intelligent enough to hunt. Before he had time to react, he was tackled from behind. And he was tackled with enough force that the tumbling he took eventually ended with him being pinned. His attacker was female, and quite heavy, it had to be mostly muscle since she didn't look too overweight for her height.

"Fooled you, fooled you, ya thought she was a Grimm!" The girl chimed playfully pressing her weight down on her prey. "Uwha? Hey! Hey! Hands off!" Her prey clearly had no qualms against throwing her off of him, the fact that he thought to use her waist as leverage was surprising though.

Tobi dusted himself off as he stood. "Tch...worried over nothing." He crossed his arms and gave the girl a stern glare. "And why the hell would you impersonate a grim? People hunt those! It's literally a profession." He was far from pleased, he'd wasted energy over some Faunus girl playing in the woods.

To put it in a single word, she was scraggly. She had a few inches over him, and her body was about as masculine as someone without any kind of abdominal muscle could be. Her blue jeans and white tank top were a bit worse for wear, a bit small for her too since the shirt snugly wrapped around her tiny chest. The girl was a wolf Faunus, judging from the sharp canines along with her tail and ears. What was visible of her tan skin was covered in bits of dirt, as were her clothes. She bore thin, red markings around her red eyes, similar to what you would see on a grimm. Her messy shoulder length hair had a few streaks of red as well, clearly she was in need of a bath...or four. Tobi was hesitant to spend more time with the odd wild child than he had to, she looked like the clingy type.

"Tenebres knows! She will be studying them greatly, become noble hunter and bring pride to pack. She has been studying in these woods for many moons! She was also seeking this...shower thing, but does not know of what it looks like. What is strange mettle boot man doing in woods? Very dark, very dangerous woods...not safe for...most people." Tenebres hadn't really met people her own age before, she was curious about their smell.

Tobi sighed. "I am seeking the center of these woods. A Stupid, smug man ordered me to find them as part of some grand test. I too will become a hunter...for no reason. Even if it means tutelage of people who work for that man. His mere presence makes my skin crawl and my head hurt. I have no idea why though." He figured that was enough to sate her curiosity, he couldn't stand the smell. "Could you not...simply bathe in the river?" He crossed his arms as he asked, surely she knew about that much at least.

"Incorrect! One does not become hunter for no reason!" Tenebres exclaimed with a serious expression on her face. "Wait, stupid? Smug?" She paused and approached Tobi's personal space. "Yay high? Fancy Cane? Green ish hair? Equally stupid looking witch lady by his side?" She completely ignored the comment about bathing in the river.

"I don't know if she was a witch but...yes? What does it mean to you?" Tobi raised a brow, and took a step back. She was oddly enthusiastic about a man she likely had never met before. "And for the record, I simply mean I have no 'reason' at the moment. Many things I do because I have the ability to choose to do them. It doesn't mean I won't come up with some reason while at Beacon academy though. Hell, I fully expect my time at the academy to be the root cause of my reason to become a hunter." He was inwardly curious about this girl at this point, it seemed to be happening a bit too much for his liking lately.

"Beacon? Mrgrger!" Tenebres clinched her fist and teeth, and her eyes glowed bright red. Of course it had to be that man, that she had no idea why she hated him so.

"Are you well? Your eyes are glowing." Tobi tapped his foot as he spoke, he was getting tired of standing in one place. "You know these woods correct? I prefer to work alone. But a guide would be useful in this situation." He did wonder how long he could bear the smell, though at least he didn't have Faunus senses.

"Eep! Uh, you didn't see that! Must be imagination! Umm...please don't tell mother, mum is very scary." Tenebres took a moment to shake off the anger. "Tenebres prefers to work alone also! Her nose tingles when too many others are near. But...we could...work alone...together?" She attempted to give him a cute puppy dog face.

Tobi sighed. "I do not know your mother. If I did I think she'd be concerned about glowing red eyes." He stated bluntly as he shrugged his shoulders. "This is why females trouble me. Fine, lead the way oh wise lady of the forest. Preferably before I change my mind about you." This girl was all over the place, she must've had a rough upbringing to be out in these woods alone on her own accord.

"Nope! Mother knows! Mother expects the glowing! But...it's very scary reason why. She was so proud, but scary spooky grin as she said it!" Tenebres didn't feel as shy around this person for some reason. "I mean, mum is always kinda scary, but never around me. But that's enough of that topic, to the center of the woods!" She figured that wasn't enough information to clue him in, she just wanted to get this job over-with.

Tobi couldn't help but be amused at how Tenebres moved. Every act was unconsciously driven, for instance she took great care to not snap a twig under her foot with every other step. Her ears were alert and ready, tilting toward even the softest sound. More than that she was using a bone dagger to mark trees as she passed them by every once in a while. Eventually it became a bit of a game to guess what survivalist behavior tick would come up next. She was dedicated to her craft at any rate, more than ready for beacon even without formal education.

He tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "Tenebres. Quiet. Our prey will elude us." Tobi had heard a familiar voice just barely within earshot. To be fair the shriek was just long enough to be caught.

"Prey? What are we hunting? Frozen snake?" Tenebres said as her eyes lit up, she pointed in the direction of a large ice sculpture that was several feet high.

"Information. Silly beast girl." Tobi stated patting her on the head, there was no way that ice structure was natural in this heat.

"Information is not prey. Stupid boy." Tenebres hunched forward in disappointment, slowing her walk and getting low to the ground anyway.

Tobi laughed. "That depends on who you're asking." He stated quietly moving into a large shrub with caution. "You'd be surprised how much certain circles would pay for good intel." He never liked being a fly on the wall for his old man, that didn't stop him from using those skills for his own gain.

Sure enough, the root cause of that snake like structure of ice was Naya, whom he'd met before. The timid tinkerer must've used it to break both her fall and that of her companion. Both girls seemed exhausted from the jump, but they were currently displaying different demeanors entirely.

"Ugh! Why did I sign up for this again? Chrome...where...are you going?" Naya was on her back, leaning upward to speak to her companion.

"Duh! Back to those cliffs! I wanna try those launch pads at an even higher setting. Ya think the professor will mind if I tinker with em?" Chrome rubbed her hands in a sinister manner as she spoke.

Chrome was quite tall, she stood at least six feet and ten inches, not counting her fox ears. Tobi didn't typically get distracted by such features, but her waistline and bustline were exemplary compared to Naya. She was more masculine than Tenebres and her skin seemed like it was given a lot of care. Her outfit was a traditional mechanic's uniform similar to Naya, barring the more elaborate placement of the pockets for tools. The white tank top was...lived in to say the least, the oil blotches looked permanent. Her golden fox tail was long and fluffy, but still came to a pretty fine tip. Her blonde hair went down past her shoulders, and the highlights were light brown. Both Naya and Chrome had charm on opposite ends of the spectrum. And honestly even at gunpoint Tobi knew he would have a hard time choosing one over the other.

"For crying out-honestly your thrill seeking is about the only thing that would drown out your relentless libido!" Naya gave up trying to reason with her companion a long time ago. "Seriously do you ever stop and listen to what comes out of your mouth sometimes?" She wasn't sure if she would leave the lab much if not for Chrome, but she was pretty insane on occasion.

"Right? I totally shoulda been a rabbit Faunus! Instead I got stuck with boring fox ears~" Chrome chimed with amusement in her tone, at least then her codename would've made sense.

"For the last time that's not how the gene therapy works!" Naya stated with a groan as she sat up , dusting herself off before standing up. "Besides that, you know the reason we're not in Atlas prison right now right? Shouldn't we be taking this test a bit more seriously?" She asked as she crossed her arms, hoping that her partner hadn't forgotten that.

"Gene...therapy?" Tobi put a hand to his chin, that got him curious.

"Hey. What's a libido?" Tenebres blinked as she said it, thankfully under her breath.

"A part of the brain that controls certain...hormones." Tobi stated quietly as he shook his head.

"Does new friend have one?~" Tenebres asked her new friend as her tail wagged in excitement.

"Contrary to...popular opinion, yes. And Shh!" Tobi figured she wasn't smart enough to decipher sarcasm. Or that if she was, she'd know the implications of his statement well enough.

"Yeah yeah. Big, dumb military man saved our butts because a nutty lab rat wanted some extra hands." Chrome paused as her ears moved on their own. "Huh, thought I heard somethin. And course I'm taking this test seriously, this is our big break yeah? Freedom from that head case like we've been pining for, and without busting out this time even! I'm just...not as serious as you are, like about everything." She finished as she stretched out her arms, she was about ready to explode from boredom.

Naya sighed. "That carefree attitude is what got us in hot water to begin with. And you know I hate being hot, so maybe think before opening your big mouth. Besides you've only been a Faunus for what, three years? You've got some growing to do before your stronger senses actually kick in." She was more annoyed at how laid back Chrome was than anything. Even back at the research center she never took actual tests seriously.

"I'm telling you I heard somethin!" Chrome stated with annoyance in her tone. "Maybe you just didn't hear it because it came from downwind or whatever." She finished as she crossed her arms, if only Naya was a bit more patient with her.

"Ugh...that's not how hearing works, you're thinking of smell! But fine, let's test your stupid theory then and see if you did hear something." Naya picked up a stick and angled her shot before giving it a good toss into the distance downwind. "You...were thinking of chasing the stick weren't you?" She asked as she watched Chrome's thousand yard stare into the direction the stick went.

"No! Well...maybe a little...heh." Chrome stated sarcastically, she had to fake the sarcasm since Naya would've been furious if she was being honest.

"Ow! Tenebres will crush weak twig!" Tenebres bit her tongue when that silly twig hit her on the head.

Chrome cracked her knuckles. "Told ya! Hands and eyes where I can see em!" She chimed with enthusiasm as she took a fighting stance.

"Wait! Wait! No shooting! Tenebres is unarmed!" Tenebres rushed to her feet and into the clearing.

"Lier. You're carrying a bone hunting knife..." Tobi decided to enter the clearing as well to avoid further hostile behavior.

"Hunting knife is for cooking and trail cutting! Bare hands are preferred and much better for hunting prey. Also less ugly to watch most of the time!" Tenebres replied playfully with her tail wagging, she loved a good challenge.

Chrome smirked. "Scrappy little pipsqueak, I like it. As for you, you were spying on us...why?" She asked curiously as she crossed her arms, she didn't like spies that didn't involve laser watches and fast cars.

"Well..." Tobi paused for a moment. "I don't spend much time around females. I thought it'd be prudent to research your natural behavior around Naya first. That and I'm significantly more nervous about my inability to comprehend emotion around females my own age." It was the truth, and he really had no other way to word it.

"Research you call it? You can't just you know...talk to us? Like a normal person?" Chrome stated bluntly as she tapped her foot on the ground, this guy was annoying her more the more he spoke.

"I wish I was." Tobi said it under his breath. "Clearly I can't change my mistake or your opinion. What I can promise is that it won't happen again. Let us say, old habits die hard. I...beg your forgiveness." He answered with a slight bow of respect, even if she clearly didn't want it.

Naya sighed. "Please stop arguing, you're making me edgy. That can be...bad. Well, since we found eachother...why don't we...take the test together?" She was already exhausted from using her semblance to break her and Chrome's fall earlier. She didn't need domestic violence stressing her out as well.

"Hmm? I'd almost want to see this...edgy side." Tobi stated bluntly with a small smirk on his face, that actually sounded interesting.

Chrome turned pale as her ears perked up. "Uh...no, no you really do not want to see that!" She spat it out so quickly she bit her tongue.

"What? It's not...that bad...really," Naya muttered a bit bashfully as she tapped a toe on the ground while thinking about it.

"It most certainly *is* that bad Naya. We had to hypnotize you with a damn safety word to control it! Remember? Wrecking air carriers, fifty something injured, two found dead from shock?" Chrome really wasn't eager to go through something like that again, especially not for meager curiosity.

"That was just the one time! I've gotten better...mostly...I think. I mean, fighting games are fun, and great for coping! I uh...think I'm...mostly in control...kind of." Naya was starting to get nervous now, it really was quite bad. Just the one time, she was pretty sure someone stole security footage to make a fighting game character out of it. "You...believe me...right?" She turned toward the new girl and forced a big, hopeful smile.

Tenebres gave Naya a thousand yard stare. "Tenebres...has no comment. She has seen many beasts, all shapes and sizes. Timid little leaf girl is hiding something dark...something that might even make mum flinch." The feline did seem innocent, but those eyes and the fox's reaction told a different story.

"Whomever this mummy dearest is, she certainly sounds daring." Tobi was thinking out-loud at this point, trying to keep from pondering other distractions.

Naya sighed. "Ugh! Fine! Let's just head to the center of the woods and retrieve this artifact or whatever for the dean. Maybe barbaric wolf child will be able to lead us there." Naya had to admit she was a bit annoyed. She really only was that bad the one time, maybe.

Tobi put a hand to his chin. "What makes you think it's an artifact we're after?" Tobi was thinking out-loud, but the question did come to mind immediately as she said it.

"He's old, creepy...and he's sending wayward teenagers on an epic journey for their first trial. Of course it's an artifact!" Naya didn't have any proof, but she'd read these kinds of stories too many times for it to not be true.

Tobi sighed in defeat, clearly Naya read too many fiction novels or comics. Then again if Ozpin was anything like the old man he knew it was a plausibility at minimum. While he found interacting with the three females mildly entertaining, he wanted to get this trial over-with. He barely had any rest anticipating the test itself the night before and was a bit tired.

"Okay! Let us walk...this way! Tenebres smells many smells of human smells. Likely where the other students are, currently." Tenebres noted several Grimm trails heading in that direction too, but the less they knew about those the better.

It didn't take terribly long for Tobi to feel lost, foraging in the woods was clearly not his strong point. Thankfully the small group had a talented tracker in the party, though that didn't shorten their time together. Honestly the idle chatter of females was near intolerable, curious in nature but not enough to suffer through it. Honestly he just wanted the day to end so he could fret about who he'd be paired with.

"Chrome, we're in a forest we know nothing about full of deadly Grimm, is now really the time to be thinking about which way you're gonna...swing?" Naya couldn't help but feel annoyed, Chrome brought the topic up just about every time she got dumped.

"Yeah, I don't even know if we're gonna live past today so of course! But I get it, you guys just want me to be honest with myself right?" Chrome asked seriously as she crossed her arms, still uncertain where things were going to end up.

"No..." Tenebres, Tobi, and Naya spoke in unison, with the same dejected tone and expression.

"Ha! Fine, but because you didn't ask. I'm gonna bone my entire tea-tha...that's a big Ursa..." Chrome had bumped into Tobi since Tenebres had instructed the team to stop walking.

As the name implied, Ursa were similar in structure to the average bear. Aside from being quite a bit larger, several times stronger and far more territorial. This particular Ursa was larger still, and had a scar on it's eye. On top of that, almost it's entire body was plated with that bone-like material Grimm were known for having. Though it had several battle scars the beast was still breathing, which meant two things. Either the hunters set against it were fools, or it was a fair bit mightier than the average Ursa.

"Oh~ Alpha male, very very old one too! Thankfully it's hibernating, we can sneak past it if we're careful...and quiet, very, very quiet." Tenebres could tell this from a glance, going against something like that now would be suicide.

*snap*

Naya's face turned pink. "Ehehehe...oopsie?" Naya had stepped on a large branch, cracking it in two unexpectedly.

"Oops she says..." Tobi muttered in equal parts of amusement and annoyance.

The Ursa stirred from its slumber and slowly rose to it's feet with an impatient growl. It stood at least nine feet tall, and had the agency of mind to stretch its arms as it woke. It took a step forward, then a step back, smelling the air. Its eyes glowed a bright red, as it gained its footing it scratched its back.

"I know Chrome said it already..." Naya swallowed as she trailed off.

"But it bears repeating..." Tobi blinked when they gave him a raised brow. "What? I'm stoic so I can't be funny? Odd time to be picky." He crossed his arms as he spoke, he needed to cope with the rising danger somehow and even he knew laughter was good medicine.

"BIG Ursa, Nice Ursa? Not thirsty for human blood Ursa?" Tenebres chimed in with her tail wagging as she said it, hoping that it was in fact one of the rare sane Grimm she'd read about in books.

"You realize that last quirk only saves one of us right?" Chrome had little time for a reply from the others as she was knocked off her feet by a swipe of the Ursa's arm. The other three of course joined her, slamming into their own trees as a result.

Tobi briefly felt a sharp twinge of pain run up his right arm, that was never a great sign. While he was still reeling the other three had regained their composure. They all took their stances, with Chrome being the only one to draw a weapon, a simple bo staff. He sighed in frustration each time they ran up for their strikes on the beast, just about every time he had a good shot they got in the way. And the other times he tried to fire his whole arm briefly shorted, most likely due to the large scrape from the Ursa's claws. As the fight prolonged, Naya got more agitated while Chrome's strikes became sloppy and unfocused. Tenebres seemed to occasionally spend a moment or two just standing there, with her eyes glowing red as if in a trance. He had to wince any time his so called companions got knocked off their feet. At this point it wasn't looking good for their survival, they needed to function as a unit. He was about to signal them to group up before the Ursa swiped him again, while he was prepared this time, the landing was far from soft.

"Well...I'm officially out of ideas." Naya stated bluntly as she ran to help Tobi to his feet.

"And my arm is useless, and I have nothing too fancy in my legs. Since someone removed the speed boosting equipment." Tobi gave Naya an annoyed glare as he said it.

Chrome moaned in frustration. "Seriously? One Genius should be fine, with two we shouldn't even be sweating!" She couldn't help but feel the exhaustion of the others just from looking at them.

"Mrgrger...stupid Ursa too angry to listen! We only interrupted nap-time! Should be easy to say sorry!" Tenebres snapped as she cracked her knuckles, in her defense most Grimm were too angry to listen these days.

"Welp. We're Dead." Tobi crossed his arms as the Ursa slowly approached them.

"What?" All three girls sounded equally stupefied at Tobi's declaration.

"Unless we distract it while Chrome finds a way to pin it down and ice queen strikes its only vulnerable location with something sharp. But that would require cooperation, so...yeah, we're dead." Tobi added the last part to drive his point home, hoping the extra dose of sarcasm would get them focused again.

Tenebres's eyes glowed red briefly. "Um...mister Ursa says you should've said that the first time." She stated bashfully with her tail wagging, of course the thing wanted to talk now of all times.

"Everyone's a critic." Tobi responded with a shrug of his shoulders, he wasn't sure what to make of what Tenebres was capable of doing at the moment.

The small group of warriors didn't have much time to talk about a plan of attack, with the Ursa resuming it's assault. Tobi was impressed that the raging beast had the agency of mind to actually make a comment like that. Of course it could have just been Tenebres messing with them, nobody could actually communicate with a Grimm. It was a known fact that only a Grimm could understand others of it's kin, anything else would go against the laws of nature.

"I can pin em down for a fatal blow, but I need space and a distraction~ any takers?" Chrome stated playfully as she began to stretch her limbs.

"Chrome! No! You've never gone that big before." Naya almost had a heart attack running the calculations, the risks far outweighed the reward.

"Pfft. It's only a few extra feet, what could possibly go wrong?" Chrome jumped out of the way of the Ursa's strike as she spoke.

"Wardrobe malfunction, nerve damage, muscle stretching, tendon snapping, brain damage-" Naya wasn't even trying to fake it, there were all kinds of medical issues that could happen.

"Ugh forget I even asked, hey shrimp! Distraction? Please?" Chrome rolled her eyes as she continued to warm up her muscles while avoiding any strikes from their foe.

Tenebres's ears perked up. "Rodger! Hey! Uh...mister Ursa!" She called out to the beast from behind and lept onto its back. "Hey you! Uh, no attacking friends-hey!" She was caught off guard when the Ursa picked her up and stared her in the eyes. "Um? Pretty please?" Tenebres made a cute, harmless pose she could muster in her situation.

Tobi was surprised when the Ursa wrapped its hand around Tenebres's tiny frame, clenching her with utmost care. The beast took a moment to examine her, likely pondering her sanity if it did have a mind to do so. While it was doing so, Chrome had found the time to lodge her bo staff into a crack on its back plating thanks to Naya making it into a spear with her ice. This caused the beast to enter into a blind rage, proceeding to effortlessly toss Tenebres into the sky. From that height, and trajectory, any number of things could happen. Many broken bones being the least of her worries, the question was why did he care? He'd only known her a couple hours at most, and Naya and Chrome he'd only known for days. As soon as he went to take a step toward where Tenebres would land his legs locked up. He had too many calculations going on at once at the moment, was it really worth the risk?

"Dammit. Fuck logic! Move already!" Tobi silently hoped the three girls didn't hear him cave into emotion. "Phew...just...in time." He sighed with relief as he took his last step, the tiny girl had landed squarely in his open arms.

"Hehe! Our hero-wa...why'd you drop me?" Tenebres was going to hug him, but he let her fall to the ground on purpose instead.

"Regret." Tobi stated bluntly, his legs felt like jello at the moment and he was too annoyed to argue with her.

"Heh! Ding!" Tenebres chimed playfully as she stood up, thankfully Naya was distracting the Ursa at the moment.

"Ding? What do you mean, ding?" Tobi tilted his head to the side a bit, what was she going on about now?

"Dumb dumb, honesty...so you get a ding!" Tenebres replied with amusement as she poked him in the nose.

Tobi sighed. "I...see, I...think." He paused to clear his throat. "How are things going over there you two?" Tobi turned around to quite a sight, Chrome was now the same size as the Ursa and putting a decent grapple fight with it to boot.

"Just...fine...thanks...for...asking! Ha!" Chrome had managed to judo throw the Ursa over her shoulder and a few feet away. Of course the Ursa wasted no time stumbling back up and engaging in a shoulder grapple with Chrome.

"For crying out loud guys, this isn't a game!" Naya snapped in frustration as she charged toward Chrome. She then used her friend as a stepping stool and lept upward a bit. "Just die already!" She came down hard onto the Ursa's face, with her palms out.

Water trickled in from the air and close to her palms before sinking into the Ursa's eyes. Shortly afterward several ice spikes erupted from various vital points on the beasts body, nearly skewering Chrome in the process. The Ursa struggled as more and more ice spikes jutted out, before finally caving in and collapsing to the ground in a pile of black ash. Naya stood up slowly with her tail wagging, and she was audibly purring. The whole group was put off by her sudden outburst, something dangerous lurked inside her indeed.

"Right~ now let's get to those artifacts!" Naya chimed blissfully as she walked past Chrome, who gently grabbed her by the arm after returning to normal size.

"Hold it cowgirl, are we going to talk about what just happened or not?" Chrome stated with moderate concern in her tone as she said it.

"Talk about...what...exactly?" Naya asked innocently, still purring as she turned around to face her friend with a smile.

Chrome sighed. "You know damn well what missy. Out with it." Chrome crossed her arms and gave Naya a cold stare. She knew exactly what happened, but the group wouldn't be safe until she admitted it.

"Grimm don't 'die' until a fatal blow is struck. You deliberately avoided critical vital areas until the last minute...while still striking the other important parts. Basically you kept it alive...for fun...on purpose." Tobi didn't want to spell it out, the image was unsettling enough without realizing the danger behind Naya's normally timid nature.

"Okay fine! I...may have indulge a little. What's the big deal, we needed her to survive." Naya gave Chrome the puppy dog face as she admitted it outloud.

Tenebres blinked. "Indulge? Her? Tenebres is confused! Explain!" Tenebres snapped seriously as she scratched her head a little bit.

"How do I put this?" Chrome paused to think for a moment. "Look, we all have...tendencies right? Stupid ones? Parts of ourselves we want to 'lock away' and keep hidden?" She asked seriously as she thought about it some more. She was sure at least Tenebres would understand, Tobi not so much with what she knew of how his mind worked.

"You speak of the concept of...temptation? Understood. Everyone has skeletons in their closet, even myself. Though in my current state it's a pain to remember which ones. What does that have to do with Naya and...whatever just happened?" Now Tobi was curious, after all Naya was about the most harmless person he'd met until just now.

"Got it in one. Long story short, Naya kinda...broke one day, and since then she seems to think she awakened something. We have a safety word just in case, but what we saw today? Yeah that was the pg version of nasty Naya. Trust me, her fuse may be hard to light...but damn if she doesn't go boom like the rest of em. You'd never see Naya the same way again if you saw what she was really capable of." Chrome figured that was a suitable explanation, without going into too much detail of what happened that day.

Tobi shrugged. "My father became a different man entirely when he was angry, his strength and disposition changed in such a surreal way. I can't imagine going through that myself. I will make an effort to inform especially chronic idiots not to test Naya. As for you Tenebres, I have questions for you as well." He figured now would be the most prudent time since she had gotten answers to her bit of confusion.

"Questions? Tenebres has no idea what you would be referring to, heh." Tenebres uttered sheepishly as she tapped her fingers together like she was innocent. Honestly would it kill people to leave well enough alone and treat her like normal?

Chrome put a hand to her hip. "Don't 'heh' us missy. Let's start with your eyes glowing like a Grimm for one! Oh, and while we're at it does 'mister Ursa said blah blah blah' ring any bells?" Chrome had every intention of finding out what she needed to know, mostly to put her own mind at ease. She couldn't roll with the scrawny teen if she didn't understand her.

"Um? That? It's uh...normal, if you think about it. I mean, Faunus are part animal right? And Grimm are kiiiinda animals right? So if some stubborn dumb dumb scientist knew enough about genetics and Grimm...things wouldn't be that complicated! But...that would be pretty silly, Tenebres prefers not to think about it." Tenebres knew she was going way too fast, but she had to keep things concise in case she was being observed from the distance somehow.

"Slow down a second. What...exactly...are you saying Tenebres?" Naya blinked and stared at the young teen, she couldn't get any more vague if she tried.

"To be perfectly blunt you two." Tobi walked over to Tenebres and gave her a head pat. "Tenebres is saying she's a Grimm Faunus, Beowolf if I had to hazard a guess." He couldn't help but grin a little, as if he'd solved some grand mystery worth solving.

"Hehe! Ding!" Tenebres chimed with her tail wagging in excitement, finally someone smart who wasn't also really dumb.

"What? How?! Doesn't that go against the laws of-stop copying me!" Chrome and Naya spoke up at once, they were apparently on the same page in terms of thought processes.

"Simple. Have a Faunus father donate...seeds of life to a willing test subject who's had their DNA altered by Grimm somehow. Do that through science or otherwise, and nature does it's best to stay the course. The child of a Faunus will take traits from both mother and father and it's usually a lottery to see which species the child ends up with, most of the time." Tobi clenched a fist as he said that last bit, then he released it. There was no point in getting angry over things that could have been.

"Hehe, ding ding! Mister Tobi is super smar—oops." Tenebres retracted her hug as quickly as she gave it, she wasn't supposed to say his name yet. Granted she had only heard it a few times, when she was locked up for testing.

"So what, she can talk to Grimm like it's nothing cause she's part Grimm? Weird but I've definitely heard of weirder, there's rumors of a seemingly harmless lady who uses teabags as a weapon. What's the look for?" Chrome tilted her head to the side as she caught Tobi's glare, he didn't seem angry, just unimpressed.

Tobi sighed. "You can stop cheating on your measurements Chrome. A real man would love you for the who, not the what." He had wondered how she was so blessed, that curvature of hers was unnatural for her build.

"Gah! Dammit, I didn't think anyone would notice!" Chrome folded her arms underneath her chest. "What do ya got against a body like mine anyhow? Are you really so virgin that your puny genius brain can't handle a looker like me?" She stated with a huff as she stepped toward him, she had a hard time seeing why Naya took a shine this guy.

"Well if I must be blunt? Yes, I am virgin, so what? I intend to stay that way until I find someone truly special. The flesh is just a small, distracting bonus, the mind is what really intrigues me. So if you want my attention, stop with the flaunting and start using your brain. I simply think it's a waste of your semblance to put stress on those areas just for fun. Any man drawn in by such wiles isn't likely to be worth your time anyway." Oh yes, he meant every word of that, and didn't care how she reacted. It did feel good to speak his mind once in a while, despite possibly shoving his foot into his mouth while doing so.

"The fuck?" Chrome blinked and stared blankly at him. "Damn dude, I just wanted an opinion. Good luck finding miss right with a mouth like that. I can see why Naya took pity on you." She did her best to regain her composure, but that cold delivery really surprised her. Maybe she underestimated how sheltered he really was.

"Speaking of pity, he kind of has a point. You don't want to go pulling muscles before a battle even begins right? Remember that time you shrunk too much and you were sore for weeks?" Naya grinned and walked over to her partner. "For example~" She gave Chrome's mid back a good slap, not too hard, but hard enough to make a point.

"Jesus! Don't. Do. That!" Chrome practically jumped out of her skin. "If you were anyone else I'd literally be slapping you back, ow. Maybe I did overdo it this time, point taken." She cringed and rubbed her back for a bit as she said it.

"Can we go now? Don't you three, and as a result Tenebres have an important...thingy to find? Tenebres has idea where it might be, but she needs the three man comedy to be patient and follow her." Tenebres stated with her tail wagging, she liked this group, they were better than cable. If she was lucky she would get to spend more time with them.

"How do you know where it might be if you don't know what the 'thingy' is?" Tobi asked as he watched the Grimm Faunus start walking away.

"Because there's only one interesting place in these woods, and keep up! Tenebres won't slow down for slackers!" Tenebres replied with amusement in her tone as she waved for them to follow her.

The remaining three had little time to catch up as she was already barely within earshot. Once they did catch up with her they had to fend off some thankfully average Beowolf along the way. The further they went, the denser the forest became, the hike took long enough that the three girls partook in some idle chatter. As the sun began to set the howls of Grimm became more frequent, which made Tobi a bit uncomfortable. He would rather avoid further conflict if he could manage it.

"Man...looks like we missed most of the fun! Just look at this mess!" Naya was shocked at the damage whoever came through here last caused.

Aside from the stone ruins being well, ruined what was left of it made the circular structure seem elaborate. The pieces of stone pillars that remained had carvings of an unknown language on them. The platform itself was quite large, maybe around a hundred feet in diameter. Several pedestals littered the outer edge of the stone platform, many of which were empty. There were however, four chess pieces remaining on a few of them. A rook, a pawn, a bishop, and a knight were all that remained there, seemingly undamaged by the conflict.

"Tenebres will pick this one! It's the smallest so it's perfect for her!" Tenebres ran up and collected the pawn piece.

"I'll take the knight cause I'm the only one between me and Chrome who can use it right." Naya stated with a bit of curiosity in her tone as she retrieved her piece.

"I reckon I'll grab the bishop then, it's almost as clever as I am." Chrome really didn't have an excuse, she just wanted to join in on the fun.

Tobi shrugged at their antics. "No boulders have come to take us yet. Guess that leaves the rook for me. Shouldn't we be...concerned?" Tobi examine the small stone chess piece, it was far newer than any of the architecture here.

Their reasons for choosing their particular chess piece was mostly just poking fun at the challenge. It was an overdone trope and they all knew that, again complete with a wizened old man giving it to them to begin with. Thankfully they made it to the gathering location just in time to be the last ones there. Tobi had no idea what to expect of Beacon, he only knew to be slightly wary given Tenebres's reaction. What did the dean do to encourage her mother's ire, more importantly who was that mother. Last time he checked it was incredibly rare to survive the tests for merging Grimm genetics with humans.

---

The rest of the day was fairly hectic, getting adjusted to school grounds was surprisingly easy. Everything else, however, was nearly a train wreck, one he and his unlikely teammate barely survived. Whoever trained them was highly skilled, with both Naya and Chrome exempt from the dean's entry exam they barely edged out a victory. The team naming ceremony was troublesome too since apparently Chrome's sense of direction somehow landed her across town. He wasn't thrilled to have three of the opposite gender on his team, but he figured he could live with it. With the few hours he'd spent with his team, Tobi was certain of one thing. Deciphering why Ozpin placed his team of wildly different temperaments together was a waste of time. In the next few days, he had instead chosen to deliberate on another matter when he had the time alone. During his poor performance in sparring class, Glynda had pulled him aside. She mentioned something about telegraphing less and communicating more.

"Ah, what a peculiar gesture..." Tobi could only watch in mild bemusement, two of the girls in team RWBY had lept slightly into the air and thrust their palms together. Judging from their jubilant tone, it was some form of celebrating.

"Dude I don't know you but I doubt even apathetics haven't heard of a high-five." Yang's words were characteristically blunt, not so much rude or calculated, but blunt regardless.

Tobi tilted his head. "I see; so that is what a high five is? Might I pry a bit and find out what you were celebrating?" He couldn't have been any more curious if he tried, social interaction was so far removed from him that his only experience was at business meetings.

"Ozpin approved us for a mission to investigate some weird robot sightings lately. He said something about our natural chemistry helping our teamwork or something." Rose seemed significantly more calm than the first time he encountered her, probably from the first week at a new school buzz dying down.

"Weird robot sightings? Why would he trust you lot with such a task," That phrase brought back some memories and not good ones. "I hope you're not getting in over your heads if it's the bot I'm thinking of. Still, may I also congratulate you four on being chosen for said investigation?" From what Ironwood and Brownen had told him, Ozpin's decision-making skills weren't always the brightest. Tobi sort of hoped it was merely the old man recognizing their talent.

"Seriously, you're asking permission to congratulate us?" Yang seemed more amused than annoyed as she raised her hand. "I guess you can, but only with a high five." She replied with a bit of mischievousness in her tone.

Tobi wasn't certain, but Yang seemed to have a point in her statement. The whole point of congratulating someone was a reward or recognizing skill. It would be rather silly then, to have to ask the one being congratulated for permission to do so. As he raised his right hand up, memories came rushing back. He remembered project Tessa, what it meant for artificial intelligence, and how exactly it all went downhill. His arm sparked a bit as his palm made contact with Yangs, it was indeed a traditional gesture. What was untraditional however was the fact that his arm released an audible shockwave which propelled miss Xiao Long several feet backward. Even more unusually, she passed through two walls from the kinetic force, unscathed from the impact.

"I am OK, bleh" Was all Yang said as she pretended to pass out from pain, which clearly she wasn't in.

"Is that woman indestructible?" Tobi thought aloud with a raised brow, he was impressed she was conscious enough to make light of the situation at least.

"Nope, just Yang, so uh...what actually just happened?" Miss Schnee seemed unphased, clearly, this kind of thing happened to that teammate often enough for it to be a bore.

"If I could hazard a guess; most likely the laws of physics having a lovers quarrel between how my rail canon and unfinished sonic canon work. As well as how Xiao Long's semblance interacted with them just now. Frankly, I have no logical answer for what caused the glitch in my hardware, to begin with." Tobi did find it somewhat amusing how used to such antics the group already were. They were certainly leagues above the cooperation within his team.

In truth, Tobi did know what caused the glitch, and it was an inconceivable source at least for him. Ever since he'd gotten the overdrive he hadn't felt a thing, beyond actual pain the way most normal people do. The memory that would likely trigger such a response was a load bearing one, something he felt responsible for. Namely a cataclysmic event that happened to be part of what caused Mantle to go poof. Well not poof exactly, it was more of a kaboom than anything. The only thing he was responsible for on that project was the activation and deactivation devices. He had accounted for every potential outcome except for one, human error. Or rather an artificial intelligence attempting to handle that flaw. It did not end well if he knew what guilt was he was pretty sure that'd give him some.

"Come on, tell us your Semblance; Naya controls temperature, I can alter my size at will and three of Tobi's limbs are modular cybernetic tools of butt kicking." Chrome and the others had been discussing the links between aura, semblance, and personality for the past hour. The raw data was interesting, but Tobi couldn't test his theories just yet.

"Nay silly fox lady, Tenebres will not reveal her Semblance. Mostly cause she promised mother she wouldn't until the time was right. That time is not now, it will be soon but that is a ways away. Mother gets angry when rules are broken, so no telling." Tenebres replied with a serious tone, the girl's unorthodox dialect made her tricky to understand at times.

"Ah...so it's a secret, and what kind of secret is it that you can't share your semblance with your teammates?" Tobi was curious, due to her being so adamant about not revealing it and apparently angering her mother was a bad idea. He couldn't help but raise a brow as Tenebres walked over to the light switch for their dorm room.

"The seeeecreet kind!" Tenebres chimed devilishly as she turned out the lights, while the lights were off, glowing red eyes showed her position.

"Uh, maybe we shouldn't pry too much into Tenebres's personal life," Naya gave Chrome a stern glare as the lights came back on, the group had been spooked by Tenebres's trick but Chrome jumping into her arms was beyond silly. So she elected to drop her teammate as soon as she was able. "Is something the matter Tobi, you look like your gears have been grinding all night." She normally wouldn't pry, and Tobi likely had his reasons to remain quiet. However, he had almost been too quiet since Glynda's lecture on teamwork and coordination after they botched their first mission.

"Hmm? Oh nothing too serious, I was considering giving you lot a label...er-decoration." Tobi stopped to think about his phrasing for a moment. "Let me finish, this is no mere species classification or degrading culture label. It is far more significant, something that only applied to my mother's closest coworkers and friends." He felt a little relieved when the brief bit of tension in the air waned. "From this day forth, until your ethical values give me a reason to doubt this decision; you lot will be my Nakama." Tobi had to focus as he said it, this was the first time he'd ever genuinely uttered the phrase.

"Yay!" Tenebres pounced on Tobi, tackling him to the ground in excitement. "Tenebres will be good Nakama, you'll see, you'll see! Erm...question...what is a Nakama?" She seemed excited about the concept at least.

"Please remove your person from mine and I will tell you." Tobi stretched after the excitable girl that made a diving board jealous got off of him. "I must apologize, the multiple century language barriers has caused a lapse in judgment. A Nakama is...a comrade, someone who's bonds run thicker than blood or species; but most importantly, it means friend or family depending on how you pronounce it." He explained with what barely registered as a smile on his face as he spoke.

Tobi was almost certain they would either tease him or balk at the thought of humans and Faunus working on a team together. The kind of comradery he was talking about was hard to come by in anything other than a fairy tale. It wasn't the kind of thing noteworthy foes would take lightly, so he didn't want to squander the notion. Either way, his concerns seemed unwarranted, the kind of grins they were giving him were welcoming. Although it was clear from at least Chrome's body language that they were in fact about to mess with him. Logically this would have lead to another disaster, so he braced himself mentally for it.

"Aww, that's actually...sweet, I mean a touch condescending but still!" Naya's response seemed fully heartfelt, he'd grown to understand the notes of her song well.

"What you expecting us to go 'they grow up so fast' and all that noise?" Chrome paused to stretch her arms, she always seemed full of energy. "Sorry mister stoic mc steel buns, but I don't buy it. Not yet anyway, you say next to nothing for over a week and suddenly you want to butter us up! Please, I'm not normally the grown-up of this situation but I'm reservin my judgment till I see proof you aren't just another schmuck like Cardin got it?" Despite her joking tone, her statement on the matter was laser-focused. He had almost expected this exact reaction, though not quite in that way.

Tobi put a hand to his chin. "Yes I am stoic and yes my buns are in fact made of steel; as for your comment about Cardin. I'm not entirely sure what a schmuck is, but it sounds demeaning so I will attempt to not be one." He paused and turned to face Tenebres, who appeared deep in thought. "And what about you? Are we not worthy of your little pack or tribe or whatever?" He actually was curious, since Tenebres was quieter than him which would be saying a lot. She rarely spoke except to explain her actions or to agree to follow orders given to her.

"Mergrgr, Tenebres will not be patronized for how she sees friends and family. What Tenebres will do is do her best to be Nakama! There are few words Tenebres knows well, but friend, family, comrade, all very important yes!" Her butchered English was almost charming, even if the third person self-referencing got a tad cringe-worthy at times.

"I...see..." That statement was a tad blunt, but at least she got her point across. "I need some air, apologies but your 'girl talk' is suffocating." Not that Tobi minded it too terribly, at least it was concepts he could wrap his head around over actual girl talk.

To be entirely blunt, Tobi knew their statements could have gone a lot worse than they had. His logical side wanted to blame being honest with his words. But then again he was almost certain it was because he did the irrational thing and opened up to them a bit. At least he didn't have a random impulse to talk about the power of friendship or whatever. That would get annoying with repeated viewings at every conflict. He really didn't know what the future held, but at the very least things were less boring now.

-[Author's Note]-

Just to explain something that may or may not be obvious: Neapolitan's Dialogue isn't her 'talking' physically with her mouth (unless she's doing something like a raspberry or 'pff') and she isn't using telepathy either. She's using her hands to physically write the dialogue into the air with light, using her semblance to do so. This idea was suggested to me when I asked RWBY Reddit what to do when wanting to give Neo a 'voice'. So it's still (technically) sign language, she's just being cheeky and cheating with her semblance for the sake of the audience. I honestly find it weird she doesn't do this in canon! I hope that clears up why I stop explicitly saying 'she signed' at some point in this chapter.