"You know, we've been talking to each other again for a few weeks now, but you never told me why you were here," Titus informed Natalia as they sat together in his dorm room, working on homework. Natalia chuckled under her breath, returning to her work and more or less dismissing his question. He knew better than to ask her, and if he didn't, she was going to have to lie about it. "Nat. Please."

"You know that I can't tell you that unless I'm given express permission from Glynda to do so," Natalia reminded him. "It's no different than the high-profile mission you were given when you were promoted." He stared at her blankly for a long moment before she gasped. "Are you telling me that you weren't given a classified mission to work on when you became Lieutenant General?!"

"She didn't have one available at the time," Titus explained. "It's not like I wouldn't tell you mine if I did have one." He glanced up at her, reading her eyes before returning to his paper. She scoffed.

"One Man Army!? Are you, of all people, asking me to bend the rules and tell you the details of my mission?" She gawked. He shook his head.

"I would never do such a thing," he stated. "I'm slightly appalled that you came to that conclusion." He smirked devilishly before moving his chair closer to hers. "I could make it worth your while." She swallowed hard and blushed.

"Are you… is this a test?! Did Winter put you up to this?! This isn't like you!" Natalia shouted. Titus leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I've changed since I left you," he said quietly. "You tell me the briefing you were given for your mission and I'll do whatever you'd like." Her face became red. Whatever!? This was madness! It has to be a test! I've undergone interrogation resistance training, there is no way that I'm going to let this break me! She nodded slowly.

"Where can we go that's more private?" Natalia questioned. Titus stood and helped her up by the hand. He motioned with his head.

"There's a classroom that's been closed off for remodeling and the construction crew is off for the week. Once classes are done for the day we can discuss things in full without any interruption," Titus explained. I hope he's talking about my mission! What if he's not!? Ahhhhh! She tugged at her collar.

"Yeah… okay…" She agreed. "So where are we going?"

"I figured I could show you the place now so you'd know where to go later," Titus informed her. She pulled back against him. "What's going on?"

"I figured maybe you could do me that favor first and then I'd tell you about my mission later," she suggested. Titus stared out the window and nodded.

"That seems fair. Did you need help with anything? Any homework?" He inquired.

"I had something else in mind…" she sheepishly stated.

"What?" He asked.

"Gods! Again!? These second years never cease to piss me off! They could literally be outnumbered two to one by actual, competent fighters, and they'd still find a way to pull out a win somehow! Did you read this article? What the hell was your team doing last night?! Why didn't they have you guys take care of this!?" Soya shouted in the midst of the busy hallway as she tossed the newspaper at Rowan and it nailed him in the chest. He grunted, grabbing it quickly and flipping it over to find NITE plastered on the front page, accompanied by an article about the team's feat that night and an interview given from Coco.

"You know as well as I do that the teachers are in charge of assigning missions," Rowan reminded her as he tossed the paper away and watched it slide down the hall for a bit before someone accidentally kicked it away. "Are you still upset about the tournament last year? I can't imagine why else it would bother you so much that Neela's on a 'winning streak'."

"You know I don't care for Faunus," Soya grumbled. He looked at her for a long moment and she cleared her throat. "You're the exception, you're easy to manipulate."

"I feel like I should probably be insulted by that," Rowan noted.

"Why?" She questioned. "I meant it as a sincere compliment." He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Thanks," he replied.

"I hate her," Soya told him. "She's just perfect and she doesn't have to try at it, and it pisses me off!"

"So then, what are we going to do about it?" Rowan asked her as students brushed past him.

"I have a pretty good idea to get my revenge," she noted. "We just have to wait until the dance that's coming up to carry it out." Soya smirked as she watched Ilia and Ivory head towards them from down the hall. "They're all so dense."

"So, what are your plans for the day?" Ivory asked Ilia as they headed past Soya and Rowan, nearly bumping into the two of them.

"Watch where you're walking!" Soya yelled at her.

"Watch where you're standing," Ilia replied. Soya tilted her head and followed after her.

"I beg your pardon?" Soya shouted on her heels.

"Listen, I don't have the patience to put up with you ever since that stunt you pulled with Bái. Scram before I pay you back for it," Ilia told her. She shook her head and motioned for Ivory to follow. Soya watched on as they disappeared from sight.

"That went well," Rowan chuckled.

"Shut up," Soya instructed him.

"As I was saying, I was at Jaune and Pyrrha's this morning for breakfast, and I think I'm going to head into Vale to buy some Dust. Want to come with? I'd ask Neela, but ever since that phone call, she hasn't been doing great. Sure, that victory against Harriet raised her spirits, but not for long. I just hope that she can get back to where she was before this all started," Ilia told Ivory as they stepped outside.

"Sure I'll go with you," Ivory said with a smile. "What happened with Neela and Eliana anyway?" Ilia laughed sheepishly.

"I'd tell you, but I don't know how many people Neela wants knowing that," Ilia explained. Ivory held up a hand.

"Say no more then," Ivory offered with a smile. "Did you let Vin know that we're heading into town?" Ilia grimaced and sighed. Ever since Xavier had offered to walk her back to the dorms that night, Vin had been keeping tabs on her every move. She meant to address it with him, he was starting to remind her of her father, which was just pushing her further away… but maybe Vin was just overly protective? She gave him the benefit of the doubt. He had the right to be jealous, and maybe he was the possessive type and she had just never noticed?

"Not yet, I guess I probably should," Ilia noted as she felt around for her scroll and noticed that it was missing. Where had she left it?

"Problem?" Ivory asked her as Ilia racked her brain.

"I must have left it back in the room I guess," Ilia suggested as she shrugged and Ivory groaned.

"Sure, yeah, why not?" she sighed. "We'll walk all the way back up there."

"It's not like we had anything better to do," Ilia reminded her.

"Fair," Ivory replied. They headed back in the direction they came from, passing by Soya once more.

"Back for seconds?" Soya asked as she cocked her hip with a stupid grin on her face.

"I'm not surprised that you didn't hear me properly when I walked through the first time with all of that hot air in your head," Ilia taunted. Soya took a step towards her.

"You want to go?" Soya shouted. Ilia stood still, facing ahead before turning slightly to look Soya in the eyes.

"Go where? There's a perfectly good floor here that I can mop with you," Ilia stated. Soya turned red and reached out to grapple Ilia when a hand gripped her and pulled her away.

"Don't try it," Coco stated.

"She started it!" Soya yelled as Rowan slowly made his exit.

"You want to end it in detention?" Coco asked. Soya jerked away and flipped Ilia off before heading down the hall after Rowan.

"Sounds like favoritism to me," Soya called back. Coco shook her head and sighed as she looked Ilia over.

"Can't you like… avoid her?" Coco requested.

"What, and ruin my fun?" Ilia inquired.

"I hate to break this to you, but Harriet is the instructor in charge of you four this year, and trust me, I'll be way more forgiving," Coco informed her. Ilia nodded.

"Okay, thanks," Ilia agreed as she left with Ivory.

"You guys should just ignore her," Ivory suggested. "She's washed up and overrated."

"That might be true, but she tried hurting our friend, and we still aren't exactly over it," Ilia informed her as they left the building and headed for the dorms. "So, you guys have been on a team with Vin ever since you started your first years?" Ivory rolled her eyes.

"Not exactly," Ivory explained. "I'm surprised he hasn't told you any of this." Ivory paused for a moment. "Actually, no I'm not."

"How did it happen then?" Ilia asked.

"He's got deep pockets. Like, crazy deep pockets," Ivory told Ilia. "He was on his own doing some individual studies and didn't really plan on becoming a full-blown huntsman until we started dating. He got a call one day, though he never really told me who it was, and decided that he'd pay for me and my brother to be on a team with him since we were just attending one of the smaller academies at the time. Yvonne just happened to be another solo student that was looking for a team, and boy, you should have seen her eyes light up when he told her that we were coming to Beacon to study."

"Makes you wonder what that call was all about," Ilia offered. Ivory nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't think about it too much. It got me here, and that's good enough for me. Rowan and I have always wanted to be a pro huntress and huntsman, but until Vin came along, it didn't seem possible," Ivory said. "And now… we're here. It's surreal. And I've made some good friends." She bumped Ilia and gave her a wink. "Seriously though, if it doesn't work out with the two of you, the offer is on the table." Ilia laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ilia chuckled. They opened the door to the dorms and entered, Ivory looking around and holding back a fit of laughter as she shook her head. "What?"

"You could be sleeping with us out at the beach house and yet you choose to room here," Ivory noted. "I just don't get it."

"I just prefer rooming with my teammates. Between Yvonne's antics every single night, Rowan's snoring, and Vin acting like 'big brother', I don't think that I would get very much sleep," Ilia informed her. Ivory looked away and fidgeted her fingers.

"So the two of you… haven't… you know…" Ivory pried.

"No!" Ilia blurted out turning red and taking Ivory off guard. "Honestly, don't get me wrong, I like him a lot, but my childhood was really shitty and I'm trying slowly to make improvements." Ivory nodded.

"Don't let him rush you," Ivory told her. "You ever feel rushed, you let me know. I will take him out back and you'll never hear from him again." Ilia shook her head and chuckled.

"I don't know if that's necessary," Ilia replied.

"If it ever is… just saying… I have an ax to grind… figuratively and literally," Ivory offered.

"Sure," Ilia said with a smile. They reached Team NITE's floor and Ilia turned to Ivory. "You don't have to follow me all the way to the room. I can grab it quickly."

"Don't leave me waiting too long," Ivory called after her. Ilia laughed to herself and ran down the hall, stopping as she reached the door and turning the handle to find that it was locked. She jiggled it a bit to make sure that it hadn't become stuck for some reason, removing her keys and placing them into the lock. Titus didn't normally lock the door when he left the room, but she couldn't think of any reason for him to do so if he was still in here with…

The sight Ilia was greeted with was instantly burned into the back of her mind as she viewed Titus from behind, who was gratuitously covered with enough sheets that she couldn't make anything out, from where he sat she could make out deep and fresh claw marks on his back. Natalita was wrapped around him, her legs clinging on for dear life around his torso as her arms were draped over his shoulders. She made eye contact briefly with Ilia, holding a finger to her lips which seemed to draw Titus's attention.

"Is something wrong?" He asked breathily, trying to turn to face the door but Natalia grabbed him and kissed him deeply as Ilia slowly backed out. She closed the door as quietly as she could manage, her eyes wide and mind blank as she stared into the void that was forming in front of her eyes.

Did… what… that… but… and…

WHAT?!

"Did you find your scroll?" Ivory asked in Ilia's ear, almost causing her to jump out of her skin.

"It was dead!" Ilia blurted before lowering her voice. "Super dead. Never been more dead actually. So… yeah… we'll just have to drop in at the beach house… cause it has to charge…" Ivory raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?" Ivory questioned.

"Yes. Yep. Fine. We should go," Ilia insisted, leaving quickly. Ivory nodded, pausing for a moment before following after her.

"Why does food taste so bland right now?" Neela asked as she sat down in the cafeteria for lunch with Ilia.

"I don't have the stomach to eat either right now," Ilia noted.

"Feeling okay?" Neela asked her.

"Who are you seeing for counseling again?" Ilia inquired. "I might need to go next." Neela stabbed at her food haphazardly when Natalia sat down across from them, beaming.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Neela offered.

"I am in a fantastic mood. Can I borrow Ilia?" Natalia requested. Ilia stood slowly and shakily as she followed the Atlesian. Neela cracked a grin.

"It's about time he got laid," Neela noted. Ilia walked to the far end of the cafeteria with Natalia, the two of them sitting by themselves at the furthest table, Natalia keeping an eye on the door the entire time to make sure that no one came through while she was talking to Ilia.

"This is a bit embarrassing," Natalia said blushing.

"I saw nothing," Ilia replied. "But I am well aware of what was going on."

"Sorry," Natalia sheepishly apologized. "We didn't think you were coming back so soon. Not to mention we locked the door."

"Does he know that I opened the door?" Ilia asked. Natalia shook her head. "And you don't want me to tell anyone?"

"It would mean the world to me if you just keep this to yourself," Natalia blurted out, lowering her voice as someone entered. "He's hard enough to get out of that shell anyway. I feel like if people tell him that they know that he'll completely regress and go back to being a One Man Army again."

"I prefer Gargoyle, but I hear you," Ilia said sighing. "I won't tell anyone for both of your sakes."

"Thank you!" Natalia blurted as she leapt to her feet and saluted.

"Just do me a favor," Ilia instructed with a grin.

"Hm?" Natalia questioned.

"Pick somewhere else to do it from now on," Ilia chuckled. Natalia rubbed the back of her neck.

"Heh… sure," she agreed.

Well, that was a thing. Next week, Chapter 25: Showdown!

A big thank you to AG_Nonsuch, Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. The artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy!