Author's Note

I think I'll start doing these here for a while because... reasons... good reasons. Anyways, sorry this took so long. Work was starting to become a big pain in my ass and things are only barely looking better. Had some family stuff that kept me busy too, but it was the good kind so it's hardly something worth complaining about. Let's just go take care of the reviews and you all can get to the chapter.

Oh, before I forget. So I'm still going to be focusing on this story for a bit, but I'm wondering what I should be working on for a side chapter. I've got a poll on my home page, so check that out when you have the chance. I'm going to keep it up until I get one story with a decent lead in the votes, so let me know what you think.

Reviews

Dasgun: . . To you too.

Yuki Terimi: Thanks, I always wanted to be seen as a conductor with my words. Or an amazing puppet master, an unknown planner, or even just a writer. I'm not picky.

Felipe1402XZA: As she should, the Lose Fodder joke is already played out way too much.

Wlyman2009: ...So about that...

The Unplanner: Nice theory, stay tuned for confirmation.

Az-Bebere: I mean she has a rapier. It's low hanging fruit, but it's still ever so sweet.

P3R50N4: Real talk, that bit was added in as an EDIT in post and it became my favorite scene of the chapter.

BloodedgetheReaper2113: I understand your frustration (though I have yet to see those Endless Eight you're referring to), but progress is easy to answer. If all of the girls need their own chapter, how and who's left?

Zero: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

AtomicGod666: I'm always happy to get these reviews, but all I can ever say in response is sorry it took so long.

GM9000: All things to look forward to.

Ragriz: Hmm...

Bismarck Alexander: Like I said in the chapter itself, if Cinder really was a known cause then wouldn't Ragna have done something to stop her?

A. Nonny Mouse: ...Adding an eighth slash for an underline effect (and laughing the whole time doing it).

Galino: Considering the whole Most Dangerous Semblance In Remnant claim that his teacher made, likely not well.

Thanks everyone for the reviews and for participating in the poll afterwards... or go to my home page then come back to this story, I get more traffic that way. Anyways, enjoy and I'll see you in the next chapter!

Ciao!

Crimson XXV: Project Hell Part 3

"Seems as though we've finally hit the straining point," Relius Clover noted as he sat with his colleagues in the teacher's lounge. "These next few weeks will reveal much of our students. Those without the true potential of Huntsmen and Huntresses will falter in their work as the cruel reality sets in, those that do however will likely accel above the rest. And just in time for the schoolwide vacation."

"Indeed, our fantastic camping trip is fast approaching! It brings a tear to my eye, already reminiscing of the mischief and adventures we got into as strapping young students," Port declared loudly, not unlike another acquaintance of Relius's. "But do you think you're exaggerating? Just a bit?"

"That's a laugh, coming from you of all people," the masked man groaned.

"Even given Peter's eccentric behavior, he does have a point," Dr. Oobleck noted in one of his calmer moods (so far he'd only had three cups of coffee that morning). "We've done our best to stress the importance of returned grades on these on these projects, but the students won't be at risk of expulsion... save for any extreme circumstances that may crop up."

"Seems that neither of you are looking at their papers correctly. Any written answer can still be far more than the basic sum of its words. Study habits, knowledge, understanding; the grades we give can hardly look at all of that. The only thing it shows is results and some amount of luck. Two very important factors to be certain, but too far removed from an actual overview."

"So in short, it's a matter of reading between the lines. Your speciality," Port said before chuckling. "Though if memory serves, one of your Projects was returned with only an average mark. Is this just an excuse to defend your reputation?"

"I've told you repeatedly that it was Bang's fault. How many times do you insist I repeat myself?" Relius demanded crossly.

"You and your partner were like oil and vinegar and I'd say it's safe to say that not much has changed," Oobleck noted as he adjusted his glasses. "If fact I doubt that Beacon has seen more than a few equally chaotic duos since then... much to Goodwitch's delight."

"I doubt she finds herself too elated these days, from my understanding she still has her hands full with quite the problem student. So far this quarter it seems he's been quiet, but I've heard the stories and innuendo around him, not to mention the stigma he bears on the other students."

"Ah yes, I know the student that you're speaking of," Port began with gusto. "I'll grant you that he's certainly rough around the edges and slow to warm up to, but his knowledge of the Grimm is astounding and he put that to great effect in the Hunting portion of the last exam where he blasted all previous records out of the water... yours included."

"Yes, and he managed to score high to above average on all of his exams, as well as saving my dolt of a partner on an unofficial assignment that might've been classified as a Huntsmen Class 7 mission if he'd had a proper license. I am aware of all of this," Relius noted with a scoff.

"You don't sound all that impressed," Oobleck noted. "Does your own judgement place him in a different light?"

"...Perhaps," was the ominous response. "But that is not for the likes of you to know."

"Relius! That's hardly fair!" Port exclaimed. "As teachers ourselves we should have all resources that will allow students to excel under our tutelage!"

"Then learn to read between the lines as I have if you owe that much to your students. I'll speak of this no more, especially since you're nearly late to the staff meeting with Glynda."

"You're supposed to be there too, but you keep declining just to get on her nerves," Oobleck muttered as the two men rose. "Lunch then?"

"Can't I'm afraid. Carl wanted my input on a project of his, so I'll have to spend that time on a long distance call. Perhaps another time, should your food and company be worthy."

As the two left the lounge, Relius glanced at the mountain of paper he'd brought with him and let out a tired sigh. Be it by fate or by chance, the top paper of the stack was written by the recent student in question Ragna and his partner, Cinder Fall. While it was easy to see who had written whose part with Cinder's much neater handwriting, Ragna was at the very least legible. The strategies presented were sound and the sources came from not only credible works, but many of which Relius himself considered well above a First Year's reading level even if they were Beacon Academy students. But despite all of this...

'If he continues down his current path... I don't think I've ever seen such an obvious case of failure.'

Substory 26: Champions... eh?

The current situation in the library was oddly tense, and Goodwitch wasn't even there. Instead now the students were giving the widest berth they could to the missive blue hair monstrosity… and his smaller unassuming blonde partner. Given the sheer intimidation around the man and the bloodthirsty reputation he'd acquired in the last quarter, most would already make avoiding him a priority. Now as he read over the several books that he and his partner had acquired for their project, the occasional growl he gave off made him comparable to a ticking time bomb.

"Um… Azrael?" Noel started, though she was only nervous because of her natural timidness. "Is something wrong? You've seemed pretty tense since we got here."

"It's so damn infuriating," he explained with an even deeper growl. "All of this looking into the past is getting on my last nerve."

"It is? But Azrael, we've been working on this project all quarter and we've done just fine."

"Yeah, because we've only been studying musty old relics up until now! Looking back at warriors of the past is agonizing!"

"It is?" Noel asked as she looked over their current reading material.

Ignoring the lengthy history of the discovery of their artifact, she instead focused on what the wall drawing itself seemed to depict. It seemed very worn (though considering how ancient it was the quality was amazing), but the two were still able to tell the drawing showed a glowing sort of god-like figure with a lengthy scroll in one hand and a halberd in the other. He was thrusting his weapon towards a scribbled collection that appeared to be some sort of enemy army. There appeared to be rays of some sort shining down upon the hero figure.

"This is the story of the warrior sent from the heavens themselves. Someone who was supposed to be unmatched in combat in his time. The few other ancient works we have of this man also depict him as a great patron of the written arts, hence the scroll in his hand. I thought you'd love stuff like this."

"And I do love it! Too much! I keep thinking of fighting people like this and it gets me so damn aggravated! I've been starving for a proper meal for so long and now I have to learn about these amazing champions I could've been fighting if I was only born a few centuries earlier! It's sheer agony!"

"More than a few centuries..." Noel's correction of the item's time of origin did little to help Azrael's current mood. "B-but we still have our mock battle fights! There are still a ton of strong students here!"

"If that was really the case I wouldn't have anything to complain about, but even those are screwing me over. I hardly get called on for those things, and even when I find a decent challenger Goodwitch always ends up calling it to an end before I can even get through an appetizer, much less a main course."

'I've always wondered, why does he treat each fight like it's a meal?' Noel wondered. "Then... isn't there anyone else at Beacon you can spar with?"

"...I'd get kicked out if I tried to force them into a fight on campus." The hesitation in her partner's words made it clear to Noel that he had already tried. "And without Ragna I can't get out of the city walls to fight there. He's in no mood to help me and at this point getting a fight out of him would just be a disappointment. That damn Vytal Festival can't get here soon enough."

"I guess you would be looking forward to that, that makes one of us," the blonde sighed, her stagefright already returning.

"Even that club I leveled last week was a complete waste of time."

"At least you managed to do something. It's better than just sitting around and... wait, what?"

"Fighting club, underground, brawl pit; Ragna and Yang used to go there. Guess I gotta respect them for doing their date night there at least. I could think of cushier places to-"

That's not what I'm worried about!" Noel said. "What did you say you did to it?!"

"Please, you're making a big deal out of nothing. It was only a three story building, I mean the basement they'd hollowed for a fighting ring was decent enough, but I could've demolished something twice that size with one-"

"But why did you destroy it!? What happened!?"

"Disappointingly it was far from a night worth remembering. The place was located on the wrong side of town, so I was already stupid to think that there'd be someone with enough stones to try and mug me."

"So... no one tried?" Noel asked worriedly.

"One person did; some roided-up muscle man and that's coming from me. Tried to get my wallet and had a gang of toadies to back him up. The idiot used a strength enhancing semblance and..." The growl from Azrael was filled with displeasure. "SHATTERED HIS ARM by punching me in the chest. That bloodcurdling scream he let out as his limb flopped around like a worthless piece of meat was just icing on the disappointment cake."

Noel was taken completely aback at her partners retelling and the rest of the library was no better. Taking no heed of them, Azrael continued his retelling.

"After the leader scampered off crying and the rest of the toddlers followed, I made my way to the bar the place was hiding in. I'd originally thought about forcing my way in, but decided it'd be better to get the fights I wanted first. So I played tame and signed up for a match." Azrael then gave a feral growl. "But then those jerks told me that the champs of the ring weren't even in. They were off that night for the first time in months."

"Oh, so you were really looking forward to fighting them?" Noel asked, though she was still bracing herself for the worst.

"Far as I can tell, both of them were able to give Ragna a decent run for his money even before he hit his recent slump. Not sure what they would've been able to give me, but it was worth looking into. I was already there, so I decided I'd just have to face someone a little lower on the food chain. I signed up for my match and got ready for a fight."

Flashback

'Damn shorts, why can't they just let me wear my own damn pants, it's not like it's armor,' the Mad Dog thought bitterly as he sat with his arms crossed in the underground fight club and waited for his turn to fight. He had his usual clothes in a pile off to the side 'This wait had better be worth it, but the more I see them...'

Peeking a single eye open to view the two contestants, Azrael was honestly starting to feel depressed. Their fighting seemed so slow, had such little impact, and seemed so... meaningless.

'If they don't pass the muster this means I wasted my time convincing blondie earlier... Well I already went through the trouble of walking to the buffet, might as well enjoy myself even if the food is only 2 stars at best.'

"And Axe Hand Anderson takes the fight in what might've been the most exciting match all week!" the announcer shouted as most of the betting seats. "Now we have a new challenger entering the ring for their first solo fight! And guess what? They're another Beacon student."

Azrael heard the boos and jeering from the crowd... and savored it.

"Yeah, I know. After the last champ pissed us off all to hell and his bitch of a partner had to ruin her own chances here and ran off with him. Just what we needed."

"Huh." After his one word non-observation, Azrael fished his rarely used scroll out of his jacket coat and unlocked it. "Hey, Axe Hand. I want you to record what happens next, make sure you get a good shot of the action."

"I... guess I can do that," the previous winner accepted, even after his victory he was too put off by the giant student to refuse. "But, why?"

"I have a few... associates that I think are going to want to see this," Azrael began with a cocky snarl. "Don't worry, I'll give you my fight money after this. I didn't come down here for the cash anyways."

"...I'm no photographer, but I won't miss anything."

"Good, now let's get to the carnage!" Azrael said as he stomped up to his hunting grounds where his opponent was waiting for him in the ring.

"Defending his position just below the champion is Stone Wall Jack! I tell ya folk, this guy's Unmovable Object Semblance is nothing to scoff at!"

'Defence based, eh? I wonder how many strikes it's going to take to break him.'

"Both fighters are in the ring and ready for a brawl! Let the match..." The bell echoed through the arena. "BEGIN!"

Curious to see what his opponent's first move would be, Azrael simply watched as Jack gathered a silvery aura around his body. Given all of his battle experience, he could easily tell that his muscles were tightening and his skin seemed to become a protective shell. Beneath him, there were cracks forming in the ring's floor as gravity itself seemed to be gathering around him.

"YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO EVEN MOVE ME!"

"So this is your defence," Azrael stated before slumping forward. "Dammit..."

"How can you act so depressed in the middle of a fight!? You're letting your-!"

With far less effort than he wanted to use that night, Azrael rushed forward and slammed into his opponent. The horrid crunching of bones rang out as Jack was very much launched off of his feet before being sent through the arena barrier and blasting into the wall. Seeing how terrified everyone had become of this simple act, the Mad Dog merely shook his head.

"A-and Jack is sent... through the ring..." the announcer tried to say, stumbling through his words. "I think that's going to have to be the end of our fights for-"

"HARDLY!" Azrael shouted. "I'VE PLAYED YOUR GAME LIKE A GOOD DOG UP TO THIS POINT, BUT I'M THROUGH WAITING AROUND FOR A DECENT FIGHTER! ONE OF YOU HAD BETTER DAMN WELL GIVE ME WHAT I WANT!"

"Don't get too cocky," came a voice from where Azrael had entered the ring. It was one of the burly security guards and while these guys likely weren't a match for the fighters, they were armed in kevlar and had Dust elemental nightsticks as weapons. "You won your match and you caused us quite a bit of damage. So take your prize money and get out rookie."

"Why don't you try and make me, asshole!?" While appearing enraged, Azrael was actually trying his best to emulate his team leader in order to piss this guy off, and that meant swearing his head off along with plenty of insults. "Come on, Beacon Academy's damn cleaning staff could give me a better challenge than anyone here!"

The continued boos and jeering told him that his strategy to aggravate was at least having an effect on the crowd, it seemed to do the tricks to get the guards against him too as the main one readied his nightstick and called two additions and signaled for two others to aid him.

"Can't take me on alone!? THAT"S FINE! BRING AS MANY AS YOU CAN! YOU'LL NEED IT JUST TO GET ME STARTED!"

Against the first guard he actually did his best to dodge their nightstick rather than tanking the blow; if he got them to think that all they would need to bring him down was to get a hit on them, then he could get more of a fight out of them while they still held onto their misplaced hope. Batting the first away with a decent hook, Azrael then caught the next attacker's arm in their overhead swing before throwing them against the cage walls. Ducking, he avoided the wild horizontal sweep from the third before uppercutting them with enough force that they crashed into the overhead screens, destroying the entire display.

"H-He's destroying the arena!" the announcer shouted as more security ran to stop Azrael. "Somebody stop him!"

"I'LL DO A LOT WORSE THAN THIS IF YOU DON'T THROW OUT EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT! BETTER SEND THE REST OF THE FIGHTERS OUT WHILE YOU STILL HAVE THE CHANCE!"

"Guh... Double, no Triple the champion's pay for whoever can take this freak out! Come on! Get out here you lot!"

"THIS HAD BETTER BE GOOD!"

Back to the present

"It was... for about half a minute. There I was inside the arena, new prey gathering all around me. The armed security guards, the fighters that were after me for money, quite a nice buffet to feast on. But as soon, as I started to enjoy myself... it was already over. Everyone was either out cold or already fleeing for their lives. The place was a complete wreck and the damage seemed pretty serious. While I changed back into my regular clothes in the locker room, it seemed like everyone that was out cold had been evacuated. I hadn't stepped out of that place for a minute before the foundation gave way and it finally caved in." He growled again. "A complete waste of time."

"So much destruction... how did you not get arrested?" Noel asked in terror.

"Like our city's cops would come anywhere near that warzone. I wanted to show off those events to our leader and blondie, but I guess my scroll got busted in the little fun I had." Azrael shook his head. "Now that the truth's out at least someone can understand how frustrated I am with that whole mess."

"I wouldn't say I understand any of that..." Noel admitted meekly.

"Hmph, then let's just get back to work before I get irritated again," he decided, sending most of the library into terror. 'I really need that fight soon... Maybe if I can get Ragna back into fighting shape, I can convince him to continue where we left off. But I don't know how I'm supposed to fix his damn problem.'

Substory 27: Reunited at Last

"...Sorry, but do you mind not looking over my shoulder every two minutes?" a young girl asked, looking up at the person behind her. "It's kind of hard to concentrate while you're always standing there."

"Aw, but what about all of the times you were helping me fill out my paperwork while you were sitting on my lap? I'd tell you what to write down and you'd-"

"Mom, I'm not five anymore." Linhua had to give a sigh for her mother's behavior. "What's with you anyways? If dad were doing this, well that's just him. But you..."

"I'm sorry for the teasing, sweetie," Litchi said, though the warm smile she carried showed little regret. "It's just that it's been over a month since I've been able to see my own daughter, my maternal instincts can only take so much before I need to make up for lost time."

"If you want to make up for lost time, then we should go shopping together like you promised." The young girl was hoping she wasn't making things too obvious.

"Nice try, but you know full well that work and studies come first, just like for everyone else here at Beacon," Litchi said, ever the responsible parent. "That being said though, you know that you don't have to help me catch up with my own work when you have plenty to do myself."

"I know, but this is the kinda stuff that I'm training to do anyway. It's better for me to get the practice in now, right?" Linhua said confidently.

"Well if you say so dear, but don't feel like you have to tackle it all at once. I don't want you hitting burnout when the chips are down and the students really need us."

"If anything, burnout's exactly what the two of us are going to be treating with this whole Project Hell thing. I've seen people more lively after giving them surgery. Are these Projects really that hard?"

"Speaking from experience, I can confidently say that they're far worse than whatever you're thinking of," Litchi admitted. "Though I guess part of it is that your uncle is overseeing what was already the toughest of all the projects."

"Uncle... you mean Relius Clover?" Linhau realized with widened eyes. "No wonder everyone looks so defeated already. It's a wonder that Carl and Ada are able to deal with expectations like that."

"Oh, are you saying that I'm not setting my own standards high enough?" Litchi asked with a little more of an authoritative glare.

"Eep! Th-that's not-!"

"I'm only kidding sweetheart, I'm proud of all of the work you've put in while I've been gone," the doctor assured as she dropped her mask. "In fact you're much further ahead than I thought you'd be, you're already dealing with subjects meant for someone two years ahead of you."

"Of course I am, I've been working my butt off this whole time," the young girl assured. "Though I honestly can't take all of the credit for this. I had someone back in Haven that helped me with a lot of this. Not my teacher or even someone in my class, just someone that knew their stuff about seemingly everything."

"Really? Well that's interesting. You'll have to tell me more about this friend of yours later."

'I wouldn't call her a friend, not with how annoyed she was whenever she was helping me out,' Linhua thought nervously. "At any rate, these reports and my other work looks like it's going to take me all day. Up until dinner at the very least. And don't try to talk me out of it; I said that I was going to get it done so that's what's going to happen."

"That's the spirit sweetie, your mother has your back as always. But if it's going to be that much work, then how about we add a little reward at the end of all of this?"

"A reward? What were you thinking of?"

"Nothing too special, just that we could head into town and grab some dinner from one of the restaurants here. I know a place in the area that serves really good curry, we could even stop by one of the sweets shops afterward and do some window shopping so we can plan that shopping spree I promised you."

"Seriously? I'm in!" Linhau said excitedly as she got right back to work with renewed motivation.

"But we should also make some time to call your father at some point today. I haven't talked to him in some time and I always start to get worried whenever he's this quiet."

"Dad's probably fine, but I think that it's whoever he's working for that's going to have the headache," Linhau admitted, though she remained focused on her work. "I get where you're coming from though; even I'm kind of surprised he hasn't called either of us."

"I had a nice long talk with him the last time we saw each other. Maybe that had something to do with it?"

"Ah, one of your famous lectures."

"Right, I made sure he was taking his work as a Huntsman seriously and that he knew the rest of the family was fine. You know how hard it is for him to stay separated from us for long periods."

"Kinda like a dog. A very very scruffy dog."

"Now Linhau," her mother chided, but not offering any counter remarks. "Try to be supportive of him. He's probably just finished a very important job and he's a ways from Beacon. Even if he is done with work, it's probably going to take him at least a week to get here even if he manages to find a flight first thing. Hearing your voice will do him some good."

"Alright mom, I'll try to-"

SLAM!

Both ladies turned in surprise as the door into the doctor's office was thrown open with so much needless force that cracks appeared on the walls. Standing in the hallway was a silhouette they had both come to recognize easily, but neither of them could react before-

"OH MY SWEET LITTLE ANGEL! HOW I'VE MISSED YOU SO!"

...Before Linhau was tackled by her father with a tight hug.

"Wa-!? Dad!? What are you even doing here!? I thought you had work that you needed to-!?"

"NO WORK COULD EVER KEEP A TRUE MAN AMONG MEN FROM HIS LOVELY WIFE AND ADORABLE DAUGHTER! AS SOON AS MY NOBLE DUTIES WERE COMPLETED IN RECORD TIME, I RAN BACK HERE AS FAST AS MY LEGS COULD CARRY ME TO SEE YOU BOTH!"

"Wait, you RAN that entire distance!? But your work was at least-!?" Lanhau couldn't finish as her father hugged her even tighter, rubbing his face against her and letting her feel every single one of his- "N-NO! D-DAD STOP IT! NOT THE- NOT THE- NOT THE WHISKERRRRRRRRS!"

Seeing the rest of her family reunited and causing their usual chaos, Litchi gave a large smile as she stood back and watched the scene unfold. Saying there was never a dull moment with her daughter and husband was the understatement of the century, but to her it was perfect.

Substory 28: Bitterness

"Can't believe I'm actually starting to rely on this swill just because some lousy paperwork has me worn out," Jin Kisaragi groaned to himself as he stood cross armed in front of one of the school's coffee makers. Unsurprisingly, the pot had been emptied by whoever had made the last batch so he was forced to wait for a new brew to be finished. Truthfully he could've been using those few precious moments to continue his own studying, but even Jin needed a break with this stressful project. 'And what's worse is that I still haven't made any progress with my other problem. The only thing that's helped us fight it is my brother covering my cleaning duty with Weiss, but aside from that...' Jin shook his head. 'As soon as I finally get ahead in these damned projects, I'm going to have to put all of my efforts into fixing this problem... I might even need to go directly to Weiss for help this time.'

Hearing the shrill signal as the coffee finished brewing, Jin poured himself a mug and waited for it to cool. To the average observer Jin's stillness as he watched the steam might've seemed like an almost childlike fascination, but he was far from a fan of heated things like this.

'...Seems like my skills of observation have fallen if it's taken me this long to pick up on the signals. In that case, it's no wonder that brother would-' He shook his head before his mind could derail him any further. One issue at a time for now. "I know you're there; your stealth leaves much to be desired... and your bloodlust is hardly clouded."

"Bloodlust? You misunderstand, or at the very least you're overreacting."

'Hardly,' Jin thought as his recent stalker came into view.

Venus. He knew her name because it was part of his strategy to remember what he could about the people he came across; not as a form of attachment, but he needed to be sure he'd have such information should it ever become useful. Aside from the obvious facts that she was Tsubaki's random assignment partner and seemed to worship the ground she walked on, there was little that he knew about this woman. True her family name sounded familiar and likely carried some degree of importance, but it was nothing compared to the Mutsuki, Yayoi,Kisaragi or Schnee families. He'd seen from her fighting that she also carried a katana, but hers was equipped with a rifle based scabbard and the sword could transform into a deadly bladed whip. She had this weapon on her now; either as insurance if their conversation went a poor direction... or her intent might've been to use it regardless.

"What is it you want?" Jin asked, not moving his eyes from the coffee's steam. "I'm busy."

"Clearly, but what reason could I possibly have to sneak around following you? As you put it of course."

"Anyone with two brain cells could put it together. You're infatuated with Tsubaki for some ungodly reason-" He took notice of the twitch in her brow as he casually spoke his friend's name. "And you're currently trying to get as close to her as you can while removing anyone already close to her from the equation. Am I wrong?"

"You make it sound so sinister."

"Then just what is it you're trying to do?" Jin demanded, finally taking his eyes off his mug and turning them towards the other in a scowl.

"Do you really care? I thought that Tsubaki-sama didn't mean anything to you. Aren't you supposed to be more focused on that brother of yours that's working with her?"

"She's still my best friend, and the people I'm allowed to put even modest faith in are chosen by unbelievably strict standards." There was a long pause as neither of them broke their gaze. "Whatever your ideas are, so be it. Tsubaki has been killing all of your advances just fine on her own." Her sharpened scowl was impossible to miss. "I just ask... no, I insist that you don't cause too many problems for her. Or else."

"And you choose now to be overprotective of her?" Venus asked with a shake of her head. "If anything I figured you'd be playing knight for your own Random Partner."

'Playing knight?' "What does Schnee have to do with this?" he demanded, consciously using Weiss's last name to distance the two of them.

"I just assume that the two of you are going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on, even after these projects are over. The two of you seem... close." Brushing her hair to the side before turning on her heel, Jin didn't offer her a rebuttal. "I'll let Tsubaki know you said hi. Enjoy your coffee."

'This suddenly just got even worse. It certainly sounds like she knows about my situation with Weiss, but how? Why? I can't imagine that her family's had any dealing with the Yayoi family or the Schnees... so how could she have possibly found us out? Or am I just imagining things?' Hearing footsteps approaching, he turned his scowling eyes which landed on Weiss. "What do you want?"

"And people think your brother's the rude one," she said with a sigh as she set her books down on one of the breakroom tables. "I don't mind having to avoid you on our off time, in fact I prefer it. When it comes to our projects though, we're both here a hundred percent. Especially when you're the one that called this review meeting."

"...Apologies, I just had had to deal with a rather annoying individual." Jin shook his head. "Stupid question, but is there any chance you could have let it slip?"

"None, I can promise you. Does someone know?" Jin didn't answer, thinking it over for a second before returning with a casual shrug. "That's not good, but how could it have gotten out?"

'There's no way Venus could have found out from Tsubaki, though she might be a good way to learn where that information came from. The only other person here that should know is Kagura, and he wouldn't give that up. ...Unless he was completely drunk. But then still, how could Venus specifically have even found out? We're missing something important here.'

"If public opinions are what we should focus on changing before the secret gets out so we can both confront our families, then there are two key chances coming up. The Camping Trip and the School Dance," Weiss reminded. "Ragna's looking forward to spending time with all of us on the camping trip, so there won't be much we can do there aside from only seeing each other in a group setting. As for the dance, even if it's only as friends..."

'I should go with Tsubaki... I don't doubt that she'd understand my position, it's even less likely that she'd turn my offer down, and Venus won't be able to interfere with that. But I'd still be using my friend as a means to an end... she's more important to me than that.' "...I'll consider it. What about your own plans for the dance?"

"That's for me to decide, and this time it's not something you'll be able to influence," she declared sharply.

"I never said I was trying to influence you," Jin said before he finally took a taste of his coffee. He grimaced at not only the disagreeable taste, but the unappealing temperature as well. "...Any word from your family?"

"None since you asked me at the start of the quarter. I'd almost be less worried if he was trying to order me around already," Weiss admitted. "But if he does message me or your family decides to start pushing you into the union, what then?"

Jin didn't give her an immediate answer as he looked at the worthless cup he'd prepared for himself before reaching in the drawer below the coffee maker and grabbing out one or the spoons. Instead of stirring something into his mug however, Jin activated his Frostbite semblance and caused the contents of his mug to gelatinize. Taking a small spoonful, he mulled over his impromptu creation and the events surrounding him. While there was no improvement in taste of cheap coffee, the new texture and his prefered temperature made a world of difference to his perception of the brew.

"We adapt."

Substory 29: New Territory

...A sigh.

"Ruby."

Either unheard or ignored. Another sigh.

"Ruby the seat's open, we can go over and sit by them."

A third sigh. This was starting to get ridiculous.

"Ru-"

"EEP!"

Even with a higher patience than most (especially given similar issues), Pyrrha couldn't help but roll her eyes as her Random Assignment partner dove behind her book for protection. The reason for this sudden shift and the earlier focus of her gaze gave a confused tilt of his head before their attention was taken once more by his own partner.

"Did something happen between you and Ragna? I've never seen you act like this before; normally you're always smiling and trying to get him to enjoy himself, but lately it feels like you're trying to avoid him. And now you're doing... whatever this is."

"I'm studying!" she frantically whispered in denial. Pyrrha didn't even need to say anything. "With a... purposefully upside down book... so I can learn to read like this when I'm a Huntress?"

'That does it.' "Pack you things up for today, it's clear we're not going to be making much more progress on our Project."

"No, I can stay and work. Promise," Ruby tried to tell her. "I don't want to be holding us both back."

"Then make sure you're ready for when we try this again, taking today off isn't exactly a bad idea from all of the reading and note taking we've had to do lately," Pyrrha decided as she gathered her books up. "Of course if you'd like we can try to get some battle practice in instead, I don't think either of us have had a good mock battle match in a while."

"You mean a one-on-one? I... I dunno..." Ruby admitted hesitantly.

"Why not? I heard from your teammates that they've practiced like this outside our regular classes and not only has their fighting improved, but it's also helped them through personal issues by giving them a chance to clear their minds. This could be just what you need." The younger student still looked hesitant, but thankfully Pyrrha had yet to play her true trump card. "And here I was going to finally show my new lance-rifle skills. The skills that no one's seen yet."

"N-New skills!?" Ruby stuttered, her attention caught hook, line, and sinker.

"One of a kind skills, I'd like to imagine," Pyrrha said, sounding as casual as she could to sell her offer. "But if you don't want to be the first person to see them, I guess we can-"

"N-No no! I'm game! I'm super game! I'll just go back, grab my stuff, change clothes, and meet you there! See you soon!" Ruby hurriedly said as she took off faster than if she'd been using a semblance. Unable to not notice her sudden departure, Ragna looked at Pyrrha with slight worry but she only gave him a reassuring smile. Cinder grabbed his attention again soon enough anyways.

Much like she'd promised, Ruby was already waiting in the mock battle room having both gather Crescent Rose from her looker and changing from her school uniform into her usual red and black dress. With something like this to look forward to, her demeanor had returned to its much happy-go-lucky contrast. Something that Pyrrha intended to use to help her partner and friend.

(Cue King of Fighters XIVKD-SR)

"You promised me new skills! So I better get to see all of them at least a couple of times!" Ruby declared as spun her scythe around in a blur just to show that she meant business. "Let's go!"

'If she's already this excited, I guess I don't have a choice. I'll have to make a few up as I go,' Pyrrha thought to herself with a smirk. "Good luck then."

"Luck's got nothing to do with it! I'll see those skills of yours one way or another!"

Taking the initiative, Ruby stabbed her scythe into the ground in front of her and fired off two shots. Pyrrha deflected the first one with her spear before blocking the second with her buckler, but while she was busy with that Ruby immediately used her impaled scythe to vault her forward and her Semblance only increased her speed. Spinning into a high speed velocity buzz saw, her opponent had to use both her weapon and her shield to block it. Letting loose a point blank blast, Ruby managed to disrupt Pyrrha guard as she flipped backwards and swung Crescent Rose in an arc with her own body. As it made contact with her hastily placed shield, the school idol reposted with her spear to make contact with the scythe and send Ruby flying back. Well placed bullets would have made easy contact if it wasn't for the Speed Semblance that saved her opponent as she not only dodged the gunfire, but managed to quickly travel around to Pyrrha's blindspot.

She didn't even have to turn to block the attack with her perfectly placed shield, almost as if it was attracted to the weapon. Turning into a spear swing, she made Ruby had to lean so far back that she started stumbling. A follow up stab was then avoided by a rifle shot blasting Ruby off to the side before she followed up with one that blasted her back to Pyrrha with a diving kick to her shield. Landing on the surface with her other foot, she leapt up right as Pyrrha shoved her away and readied her rifle for another movement blast. Her opponent saw this and didn't give her the chance to maneuver around again. Pyrrha's let loose a string of rifle shots and forced Ruby to block by swinging her scythe in circles like a propeller.

Throwing her shield like a frisbee, she managed to strike Ruby's weapon and leave her off guard with her lack of footing. Leaping up, she also threw her spear at the scythe and managed to knock it free of Ruby's aim with expert accuracy. So expertly that Pyrrha managed to catch both her weapon and her buckler on her approach and equip them both as she honed in on the unarmed opponents. Acting on instinct, Ruby twisted her body in midair for an impromptu axe kick. Pyrrha acted more defensive than usual and went for a full on guard with her shield. This brief contact with a surface was all Ruby needed to activate her semblance again, grab her scythe from midair, and bring her back to solid footing as Pyrrha landed a short distance away.

The current school champion was about to rush forward to continue her assault, but had to do a double take as she noticed Ruby's own rush. She was barreling towards her with the Crescent Rose held above and behind her, the weapon screaming as it cut through the air in her charge. Her face seemed different as well; while it might have been the same sweet and carrying Ruby that she'd come to know and appreciate, there was some sort of untapped ferocity in her eyes. Pyrrha managed to block the epic downward slash with her buckler, but grimaced as she felt just how strong the attack was. Not done with the move, Ruby then spun her body around into a second wild upward swing the Pyrrha had to leap back to avoid.

"What the-!?" she exclaimed as she landed, only to see that Ruby wasn't immediately following up her attack. "Was that what I thought it was?"

"Yep, picked up a new move from Ragna!" the scythe user said with a smile, so invested in combat that her previous woes didn't even return at her friend's mentioning. "You better show me more of those skills that you were promising!"

'She's getting better,' the champion thought seriously. 'In fact if it weren't for my semblance, Ruby might be able to push me even further... but she wanted new skills, so let's see how this works.'

Going for her rifle, she let loose three of her four remaining shots. Ruby deflected them away with ease, but then Pyrrha threw her shield and forced her to quickly dodge the attack so she wouldn't be set off balance again. This was all part of the plan as Pyrrha fired off her last bullet and ricocheted it off her midair shield. The surface gave her the perfect angle for a back attack as Ruby was forced to block behind her as Pyrrha rusted from the front with her full spear.

Ruby was forced to sidestep the first stab and lean far back to avoid the next swing, but managed to block Pyrrha's overhead attack. The spear user did a wide swing with her weapon and forced her opponent to duck before dancing around the counter strike to grab her thrown shield out of midair. Scythe and spear clashed in swing from both fighters and were held in a blade lock. While still keeping a hold on her beloved weapon, Ruby used the lock to launch herself into the air to avoid Pyrrha's shield bash before using her Speed Semblance to once again rush around to Pyrrha's blindspot only to have her back attack clash once more with a perfectly placed spear.

Using her Semblance again to rush back and dodge Pyrrha's shield bash swing let her shift back into an easy offensive, but if she abused the amazing movement her semblance gifted her it would quickly drain her stamina and leave her unable to fight. Knowing this weakness from when she revealed it last quarter, Pyrrha skillfully deflected the flank attack and pushed her to do just that. A horizontal slash with her spear caused another weapon clash before slamming the scythe with her shield caused Ruby to go off balance. Stabbing forward, she forced Ruby to use her semblance again to retreat though she could only go back a short distance. Throwing her spear again which Ruby knocked to the side, the champion used the new cover for a shield charge and slammed into Ruby's faltering guard. Throwing her shield as a discus once more, she aimed to break Ruby's hold on her weapon again. She got what she wanted, only to notice that the scythe user had let that happen. Using what was likely the last of her Semblance usage, she'd blitzed forward to close the gap and spun into an overhead axe kick.

'I'm glad that she's trying something new,' Pyrrha thought to herself as she raised her guard. 'But I remember her admitting that her unarmed skills were-'

She couldn't finish as she felt the solid sting going through her arms from the strong impact. Gritting her teeth as she was forced to block a follow-up midair kick (yet another mimicking of Ragna's moves), she realized that kick too had significant strength behind it. Retaliating as her opponent landed, it wasn't just Ruby's unarmed offensive that had improved but her blocking had as she tanked a three-hit jab combo like a champ. Ducking under Pyrrha's following left hook, Ruby swung with a fierce uppercut that actually forced the champion stumbling to leap back in order to avoid it. Following up with a signature roundhouse kick against her hastily formed block, Ruby managed to send Pyrhha sliding back. Chaining into a final lunging straight punch as her partial Semblance use increased her speed forward, it was the final mimicked action as Ruby... stopped in her tracks partway through.

(End theme)

"Hey! We were supposed to be doing this because you had a ton of weapon techniques to show me! Not this unarmed stuff!" Ruby shouted as she comically used her semblance out of combat to gather the weapons and properly arm Pyrrha and herself in a split second. "Round two! Let's go!"

"Not before you tell me what just happened with those weaponless skills you just used!" she demanded. "You told me that your unarmed combat wasn't that good, so what was that just now!"

"It was training, I've been practicing unarmed techniques with..." Her sudden if violent pause gave Pyrrha the confirmation she needed, but she already had a decent suspicion based on the moves she'd been using.

"I get using a few of Ragna's weapon moves yourself, but how did you start trying out his unarmed skills?" she asked.

"...Back at the start of the quarter, I actually saw him a couple of times before Cinder was taking every bit of his attention. It was always past midnight when he tried to sneak in some extra training outside. I kept wanting to see his sword in action and he kept fighting me back on it. Eventually he caved, but his condition was that I had to learn a couple of unarmed attacks too. I mean I had to take the chance, so I started learning a few things from him."

"Which is why your weaponless strikes looked so much like his?" Pyrrha summarized.

"No actually, I..." Pyrrha could see a slight blush on the young girl's face. "He was just teaching me the really basic stuff, like really really basic. He told me that I needed practice so I started working on unarmed techniques on my own, the reason that they started looking like his moves was..."

Still blushing, she took her scroll out of her pocket and made a couple of taps on the screen before showing Pyrrha. It was Ragna in some of his earlier fights that quarter, actually some of them were even further back during the last quarter when he was at his peak. While she noticed much longer videos, most of them seemed to be smaller clips from said videos showing bits of Ragna's unique way of fighting.

"How often do you practice these?"

"A... bunch?" Ruby said scratching the back of her head. Not exactly a straightforward answer.

"While I've still got you in a somewhat decent mood after that match, what's the real story with you and Ragna?" Nothing. "Ruby, you're not going to feel any better until you get this issue off your chest. Our time in the library showed that much. I'm willing to listen and I won't judge what you have to say, but help me understand where you're coming from at least."

"It's... I... I have no idea how things are between us!" Ruby finally exclaimed. The fact that she was shouting made it clear to Pyrrha that she'd needed to let this out for some time now. "I know that Ragna's still my friend and I look up to his fighting skills, but I have no idea what kind of friend he is to me! I barely see him these days because he has to spend all of his time with Cinder working on the projects! On the rare chance that he's not working with her he's already spending time with one of my teammates and I'd feel bad just butting in, like I'd be some kind of nuisance. And by some miracle he doesn't have to deal with either of them? Then he already looks so exhausted that he can barely even stand! How am I supposed to...? Ugh!"

'I never thought Ruby of all people would need to vent this much. I could tell from earlier that she had something on her mind, but all of this...' "I think I understand most of what you're saying, but you really don't know what Ragna really means to you?"

"I know this sounds like I'm making excuses. I mean, I know he's my best friend and has been since I got to Beacon, but..." Her hesitation told Pyrrha everything she needed.

"You mean you're still wondering if you and he should be more than friends." Like she'd promised; no teasing, no judging, just getting to the heart of the problem.

"Yeah, but I don't even know if it's what I really want to do. Does Ragna even see me that way? Would he be alright with it? And then there's the rest of my team who have been spending time with him. I... think that they might care about him too... in that way. Weiss was always dancing with him, Blake managed to get over some of her greatest problems that the rest of us didn't even know about, and even outside of their own extra matches Yang flirts with him like crazy... and then there's Cinder."

"What about Cinder?" While Pyrrha wasn't exactly an enemy of Cinder's, she'd seen how she acted around Ragna... and how the girls of RWBY might've had a problem with that. She wanted to be sure she knew how Ruby felt about it before she said anything.

"She's... said that she kinda has a thing for him," Ruby explained. "I don't know if she's followed up on that or anything, but she's been spending time with him this entire quarter while I... aside from that bit of time at the start, I haven't."

"And what does Ragna think about her now? Or for the rest of your team for that matter?"

"I don't know, he hasn't said anything about it recently," Ruby admitted. "Though I've never really gone and asked him. I haven't been able to."

"Because he's so busy with Cinder and Project Hell as a whole?"

"...No."

"I see," the model said in understanding. "Then what is it that you want?"

"I already told you. I know that I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, or their chances with-"

"No Ruby; what do you want? Do you want to be closer to Ragna?"

Ruby couldn't answer immediately; even with how close she and Ragna had seemed since the beginning, this was completely uncharted territory for her. She knew that she should give an honest answer to Pyrrha since she was only trying to help, and eventually she found the words.

"I'm not certain that this is something that I want," she started. "But... I also know this isn't something that I don't want. Something came up a bit ago and I thought I was happy with where things were with us, but now I can't stop asking myself if I really am."

"Then just find the time and talk to Ragna and figure how both of you feel about each other, right now just staying silent is the worst thing you can do," she advised. "You don't have to commit to doing it right away either, just promise yourself that you'll find the time to talk to Ragna in the near future and you'll feel so much better."

"...You know what? I think already do," Ruby admitted with a thankful smile. "We can get back to working on our project now, I won't slow us down anymore."

"Don't worry about that for today, we've both done enough lately to work on it that we could use a bit of a break," she admitted. "Today's actually my cheat day and I've been meaning to visit that crepe stand that Nora and Ren visited a while back. Want to try it out? Let's treat it as a celebration for you finally figuring things out."

"Really? 'Cause I'm totally game for that!" the younger student agreed excitedly. "I've been craving something with strawberries in it for so long! Thanks Pyrrha!"

"Any time, always happy to help a friend," the redhead assured as the two ladies started heading out. 'I'm glad I got Ruby's potential love life back on the right track. Maybe once if I can find a good chance during the camping trip, I can start working on my own.'

Substory END: Failure

'...Seriously, what the hell was up with Ruby earlier?' Ragna the Bloodedge thought tiredly to himself, even if it was distracting him from his already hard to focus on work. To say that his condition was continuing to worsen was far from an exaggeration; now he was starting to sleep through any alarm he'd set and still wake up exhausted. Coffee did nothing to help keep him awake at this point and he'd lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Luckily he hadn't been reduced so far that he couldn't use the Aramasa, but even retaining that basic of a level was taking effort from him and more importantly time. Time that Cinder was already holding a nearly total monopoly on.

'At least she hasn't been screwing my work times up with her job rescheduling her shifts.' The thought from the Reaper was only bittersweet, with everything else he had to deal with Cinder rescheduling their study session was a drop in the ocean. 'Gotta focus, she's only got me for an hour more. Then I can grab dinner before the study session on my group project and I can get a break in and... try doing anything else.'

"I think we're okay to go for our final push and finish the fight now," he finally said after looking over their notes. "We did everything we could to get to this point. Our heavy unit can lay down a barrage of suppressing rapid gunfire while the more agile lancer goes around for the rout. Our sniper's able to cover the heavy unit as well as handle anything that gets out of the trap."

"That sounds like a good plan," Cinder admitted, hesitant to let Ragna find a solution and make good progress on their work. "There's just one bit of this that's missing; the enemy has their own heavy unit and their armor is perfect for taking the bullets from our suppressing fire. How do you propose we get around their own wall?"

"The rapier user that I placed off to the side; soon as the suppressing fire starts they'll come in and deal with that monster in one shot. With everyone else surrounded by our different attacks and having to focus on every problem, the rapier user will be able come in, score a killing hit, and break their defences down to nothing." 'At least my sense of strategy has improved, when I'm able to focus on it at least.'

"And we're sure the rapier user is capable of this? ...Not that I'm doubting your plans, just making sure that we've got every angle covered."

"That's the best person on our force for this; the perfect weapon to get to the weak points in that armor, a speed focused style to get in and get out like we need them to, and their training history makes it certain that they'll make the stab at the perfect moment. This is everything we need."

"...If you think we should let such a large part of our strategy hinge on a successful stab with perfect timing, then I guess we'll have to allow that risk in our plans," Cinder said seriously, before remembering that she still needed Ragna to like her... or at least perceive that she liked him. So she smiled sweetly to sell her praise. "Of course you'd probably have a good idea what you're talking about when it comes to rapier users, since you're such good friends with Weiss Schnee. In fact, I could tell from our fight that her style is something else. She was really tough to spar against."

'...Maybe it wouldn't have been too bad if you weren't just playing with her.' Despite the insult occasionally lobbied against him, Ragna was no idiot. He could see that there was some beef between Cinder and Weiss and that his silver haired friend was hinging a lot on her victory a week ago. He could also tell that (much like she usually did) Cinder had been playing around that fight. That had left Weiss with a bitter taste in her mouth, even after her decisive win.

"Either way, that scenario is done for now. Let's keep this momentum going and move onto the next one while we can," Cinder encouraged.

"Right right," Ragna sighed tiredly, something Cinder tried to ignore. Moving their completed work off to the side and turned his attention to the next sheet, only to discover a cleared table. "...There isn't one."

"Pardon me?"

"There isn't another question. Hell, I don't think we have another sheet to work on," the Reaper realized, surprised even with how tired he was. "Cinder... I think we're done."

'Done?' she repeated as the meaning of the word finally came over her. 'Then...' Going back over their individual paper and the digital saves that Ragna had made, she looked to confirm that Ragna wasn't pulling her leg (though she knew he was hardly the type to do so). Ragna meanwhile was doing his best under the pressure of all of the glances and glares from around the library, the sources were students that were nowhere close to done with what was obviously the hardest assignment this quarter. "We really did everything..."

"With all of the extra studying we've been doing, it might actually be surprising if we weren't done at this point," Ragna said before giving an actual chuckle. This... this was the first time Cinder heard anything close to laughter coming from him. "Damn, talk about a relief though."

"We... we should still continue to see each other a few times a week," Cinder suddenly demanded. "Just to make sure we're not missing anything and to check over our work."

"I... guess?" Ragna said with a bit of confusion. "...Figured you'd be a lot happier with this. I mean this is the major project of the year. Sure we should check back to be safe, but those meetups should be pretty damn quick."

"I know and... I am happy." Cinder's tone was completely off to Ragna. For the life of him he couldn't understand what it was. "It's thanks to you that we're this far along; if it wasn't for you, managing this quarter with my job would've been impossible."

"I guess you're welcome, but don't read too much into it. You kept saying that you had a family to take care of, so I wasn't about to get in the way of that if I didn't have to."

"And I appreciate that, more than you could ever imagine." Now her tone was insistent as she was getting right in the Reaper's bubble. He was starting to feel the earlier discomfort from earlier that quarter, only magnified. "I... I really wish there was some way I could thank you."

"Seriously, don't worry about it. This was my project too," Ragna tried to tell her again. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw several of the library's occupants spying on them. "And we got it done, didn't we?"

"We did... but... maybe we could still see each other even after the project? Outside of... the Academy even?"

"Outside of-?"

"Ragna..."

...That final bit of distance between the two was closed now. Even the normally quiet library seemed dead silent from the onlookers watching them. The tension could be cut with a knife... even after the observers realized what they thought they'd seen wasn't the full story. Cinder's lips had stopped mere centimeters from Ragna's, held from touching by the Reaper himself as he pushed against Cinder's shoulders.

"Sorry, but no."

Ragna said it simply, as if that explained everything. He then scowled harshly around the room.

"Mind your own damn business."

As he got up from the table and started gathering his own books, he heard an obvious sound coming from Cinder. He didn't pay it any mind.

"Why...?" she croaked out from her tears. "Can't you just...?"

"We're Project Partners, that's all. And right in public really ain't the place for this."

"But you won't even give me a chance? Give us a chance?" she demanded. "All this time we spent together already, that I've been right at your side... and you aren't even willing to try?"

"If anything, I'm just doing you another favor," Ragna retorted. Cinder could feel the shift of aura in the room easily enough, even without looking it was obvious that there were people scowling at the heartbreaker.

"Is there... is there someoneelse?" Cinder tried one final time.

"For me? Fat chance," he told her crossly. "You should-"

He didn't get his chance to finish as his random project partner bolted from the room, crying in full now. He shook his head as he began gathering her materials up as well, making a note to return them the next time they saw one another.

...Needless to say, he wasn't looking forward to that meeting.

Later

"You... you almost kissed him!?" Emerald screamed from her bed in her team room.

"I panicked," Cinder corrected sternly as she brushed her hair, yellow eyes sharp in a displeased scowl. "It was a calculated risk, and it's not without its rewards."

"Rewards? He turned you down," Mercury noted as he stood in the room's corner with his arms crossed.

"And I wasn't surprised that he did. The point was to make it public so enough of the school would see us."

"Even though he might not have been fast enough to stop you with everything you've put him through. You could have ended up kissing him for real. Ever think you're getting into this too deep? If you stop now, you can at least play your cards right with Hazama and make sure he knows that he isn't the only one that can make Ragna's life a living hell."

"Just when I'm getting started? When things are looking better now than they ever were before? I think not; this is about when I reap all of my rewards for all the planning I've done."

"I've heard that one before," Mercury sighed, his usually playful demeanor gone. "When are you going to go through with it? You've been leading us on for how long now?"

"Long enough, and the final planned piece has finally been moved into place. I just need another week, maybe not even that long if the right opportunity presents itself. Ragna has no idea how hard he's about to break. We won't even have to worry about this coming back to us... understand?"

"I'm just here for the show, you're the one that cares about putting on a good performance... Damn that Amane, I had to listen to those terms all day working next to him and Mai."

"My pity, but you're right. This play is just a... passing interest I guess you could call it." She looked at Emerald. "You've practiced for the role I've assigned to you?"

"Down to the letter, I can do it whenever you're ready," she promised.

"Good, good. Now..." Cinder put down her brush. "Where is Neo? Shouldn't she be done studying by now?"

Meanwhile

Neopolitan walked through Beacon's hallways with a slight slouch to her step. Even with her abilities placing her far above the regular students, the disadvantages she carried (namely her inability to speak) made it difficult to work with a random project partner that didn't understand her own manner of thinking. That left communication to written notes, but there was only so much that language alone could convey. It was extra work, extra annoyances, and it left her in a bad mood. But not, as she summarized, as bad as a familiar red coated Reaper emerging out of the cafeteria doorway with an armload of books.

"Neo."

She waited for him to approach, wondering what Cinder had done to put him in such a foul mood and to see what she should do in response.

"Glad I ran into ya." An odd sentiment and he seemed to mean it. "Listen, I got a couple of books here that Cinder... left back in the library by mistake." He was hiding something. "You mind bringing these back to her? I got somewhere I need to be."

Though he held a book out for her at arm's length, she didn't take it immediately. Only looking the much taller man directly in his eyes as she tapped her foot, expecting an answer. Ragna kept up his own stoic stance, but be it through a lack of personal conviction or just exhaustion, he couldn't hold it.

"Things are kinda... awkward between us at the moment. Some stuff just happened and... I'm a little worried that I'm just going to set her off when she sees me. It's better that you make sure she has them." No response. "Please? I... can owe ya o-"

She tapped the front of his nose with a free hand before he could finish. Taking the needed books from him she headed off... but not before shooting back a sudden wink.

"What the-?" he muttered, before shaking his head. "I don't get her." He started heading back to his room, but didn't get more than a few steps before pausing again. 'Someone spying on me? Normally they'd at least have the balls to glare at the back of my head where I could notice them.' He stayed still for a long moment, trying to get a sense of the aura around him. Unless his abilities were completely shot, focusing like this would have been able to get a clear reading on everyone in the area. Not sensing anything, he let out a dead sigh. 'Must be getting tired, now I'm imagining stalkers of all things.'

Around the corner though... the concerned Ruby was far from imaginary.

Next Time: Anchor