Big Issues

AN: Not much to say this time beyond hoping you all enjoy the chapter!

Much Needed Talks

Weiss sat with her sister in the home that they were staying in, thanks to Atlas Military owning similar facilities in every Kingdom. Farkas was busying himself scouting around Mistral, using his far better hearing to scan through the streets. It was odd to see the Faunus outside of his own variant of the Ace Ops uniform and in some ragged clothes that allowed him to blend into the lower levels of the city.

They had agreed to let him check on things while the girls laid low. Which also came with the unfortunate case of leaving them little to do beyond playing some board games with each other while they waited. So far, luck hadn't been on their side so they were looking at the distinct possibility of baiting those looking to collect on their bounties.

"Weiss?" Winter moved her black knight to take a white pawn.

"Yes?" Weiss took the knight with her bishop.

"How much would you like to visit Miss Rose right now?" The bishop was taken by a pawn.

The question caught the girl off guard, as did the move on the board. "I-I would like that very much." She moved a pawn to block the path of Winter's, opening a path for her other bishop.

"Perhaps I could arrange with the General for some leave so that we may see her on Patch for a few days." Another pawn moved to back up the other. She also didn't miss the blush on her sister's cheeks.

"You can do that?" She moved another pawn seemingly without reason.

"You are not technically part of the Atlas Military, just on a work program from Beacon. And I have not had leave of my own volition for quite some time. I'm sure General Ironwood would approve, after we complete this mission." A bishop moved to the middle of the board but not taking any white pieces.

"I would be grateful to see my best friend again." A pawn was moved to block a potential path for the bishop.

"Oh?"

"What's 'Oh?'" Pieces moved quickly and pawns began to be taken.

"It seems that you are open to calling Miss Rose your best friend." Winter grinned, it wasn't just from teasing her sister; she had been able to take the other bishop.

"So what? Shouldn't I be honest with myself?" A knight was moved to take the bishop that took hers.

"Yes, yes you should. And I'm glad you are." A pawn was taken by her rook.

"Yang should be there too. I hope her arm is better by now." The rook was replaced by her own.

"Ah yes. Miss Xiao Long has had five months now to heal after nearly losing her arm. She really was the heavy hitter for your team."

"Please don't be making puns. I heard enough of them from her to last a lifetime."

"But her role on your team was no different than working with Elm."

"True."

"And I'm sure you liked having Ruby on your team far better than Harriet."

"Far better company in every way."

"How long do you think it would take for the two of them to race if they would meet?"

"I give it less than a day and I'll root for her to give Hare a good blow to her attitude."

"I'll wish her luck in that last part. Everyone has been trying to keep her in check with limited success. Perhaps someone she can't outrun will do that."

"Hmph! I bet Ruby could beat her in a fight, not just a race."

"You do remember that Harriet is among the best that Atlas has to offer from all of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in the kingdom? No offense to Miss Rose, but even with as talented as she is for her age, I doubt that she'd be able to beat someone with years of experience as an official Huntress over her and capable of matching her speed."

"Hmm… Perhaps, but Ruby would at least make her work hard for that win."

"That I can agree on. Check."

Weiss' eyes went wide as she looked closer at the board to find that she was indeed in check, with nothing able to block the rook. She found a move to save her king, the white queen taking the rook.

"But you do want to be with Ruby again, don't you?"

"I miss her alot." A new move and her eyes widened a fraction. "Checkmate!"

Winter examined the board to find that she was indeed trapped. White rook on one side of the board that blocked a row with the queen putting the king in check. A nearby pawn that had managed to last through the game holding the proper position to negate the only space the king could go.

"Not bad, Snowball. Best two out of three?"

"Hey! You're rounder than I am, Snowball fits you better!"

Farkas would return to the house to find the sisters playfully bickering about names and their weights over the chess board, deeply confusing him. But he also was on a mission to earn his position in the Ace Ops.

"I found a lead in the lower levels." He began to catch their attention. "The Spiders are willing to give information to anyone who can pay, they don't play favorites as to who asks. They have the largest information network in Mistral and should be able to give us the leads we need to begin tracking down who set those bounties."

"How much will we need?" Winter asks, completely serious now.

"I'm assuming that a thousand upfront will at least get them to open the doors and loosen tongues."

"That's… a lot." Weiss was stunned. She never gave the cost of information much thought before this mission beyond the tolls of lives that it may cost.

"For most people, maybe. Compared to the bounty on you? Loose change." Farkas scoffed. "It doesn't help that Winter has a bounty too, though just as much citing your rank and mission accomplishments as the reason. Weiss just happens to be the heiress to the SDC yet and a Huntress… in training with an interesting record."

"What are we going to do?" Weiss asks, still a bit shocked at the price on her head.

"We're gonna have to find a way to talk to the boss of the Spiders, her name is Lil' Miss Malachite and she's always under guard by her most loyal bodyguards. Fortunately, from what I've heard, she likes to frequent the bar they run as a front and will often do business herself during that time…if you don't mind having a few dozen thugs of varying skill watching your every move."

Winter cupped her chin as she began to think of what would be needed. "I have an idea, we just need a few items."

—-

A trio of hooded figures walked through the streets of Mistral's lower levels. These were among the oldest parts of the kingdom since they were the easiest to settle when humans and Faunus first found the area. The colonization of the mountainsides came later as the population grew and those with wealth and power had the means to begin building on and into the slopes safely. That eventually led to the royalty building their palace on one peak with a separate guard garrison on another.

Today, the palace has become the meeting place for the Mistral Council, as well as their offices and staff and other facilities to keep the kingdom running. The descendants of the royal family still lived in the palace, if confined to a single wing. The emperor was more a position of posterity, a figurehead whose role was more ceremonial than anything else, though they could fill in a Council seat if needed should a Councilor die or unable to fulfill their duties and appoint the emperor as their replacement. That position would be filled after an election and the emperor would return to the wings again. That still made the sitting emperor someone who needed a broad and quality education as the unofficial Councilor.

The garrison had been refitted to be the Haven Huntsmen Academy, not that it needed much beyond updating every so often as it already had the facilities for housing, training, and educating fresh soldiers. The biggest change was the CCT tower near the center of the complex.

But back to far below, the figures stopped outside of a busy bar to flash some lien cards to the guards at the door who nodded and let them in and out of the rain. Inside wasn't much to look at; a bar that ran most of the length of the room on one side, several round tables with simple wooden chairs, and two doors that lead to the back- one in the main room and one for the bar. Other than the rather bare furnishings, there were nearly two dozen rough looking men and women standing and sitting around.

If one looked carefully, a pattern was noticed, a spider was tattooed on everyone somewhere.

With another flash of lien and the trio were led to a table where a blonde woman in a purple dress sat, flanked by a pair of very large men. It was an interesting note that the woman was rather plump but everyone seemed to be looking to her for direction.

"And what may I help you with today?" She asks as she sets her spoon down from the yogurt she was eating. Her accent was rather thick from a region the trio couldn't quite identify beyond rural.

The man took a stack of cards from his pocket and tossed a good number of them on the table, the remainder staying in his hand hovering over his pocket. And the woman smiled at the action.

"Let me introduce myself if you don't know who I am. I'm Lil' Miss Malachite and I'm the one who calls the shots around here. So why don't we get down to business?" She finished by confidently drinking from her cup of tea.

The man used his thumb to flick a few more cards onto the rest before speaking. "We need intel on that bounty for the Schnee sisters."

"Oh? You've heard of that big cash grab too, huh?" Lil' Miss grins.

Another card hit the table. "Any leads on where they are now?"

"Hmm… I have it on good authority that they were seen here in Mistral earlier this week but left on foot for a mission two days ago. Heading south if I recall."

Another card. "Know who issued the bounty?"

"Looking to deliver them personally?" A spoonful of yogurt was eaten with a smile.

Another two cards. "I prefer to know who I am doing the job for. Personal form of conduct."

Malachite grinned at that. "It is always good to know where the work is coming from. But the thing is, we haven't been able to track exactly who issued the bounties. They have been working through a series of intermediaries who will keep their traps shut and have been in the game for a long time."

Three cards. "You seem to have your own information on the subject."

"Ah yes… It does stand to reason that it's their Daddy Dearest footing the bill. He's been trying to get the little girl home for months without success. I guess he's turned to less than legal means now, no real surprise from him. As for the big daughter, I'd say he's got a real fight on his hands to bring her home with her being a big shot in the Atlas ranks."

"Anything else?" A card was hung over the table/

"Sadly, I have little else to say, at least right now. I could send my Spiders to look into things a bit more closely…"

The two cloaked figures had spent some of the time during the discussion looking around at the people in the room. One is short and stocky, a bit of brown hair over their brown eyes that have several scars over the left side of their face. They were dressed in a fur vest over a burnt orange shirt, with a number of furs that kept their legs warm from the knee down as well as a large fur wrapped around their waist.

The second is taller but no less stocky. Their nearly black hair has a few white streaks while their face was covered with a mask which concealed everything from under their eyes. Similarly, they wore a long coat made from furs, and furred pants. Their black shirt was loosely tucked into their thick belt with several large pouches in the back and sides.

The man himself is tall and broad, standing head and shoulders over the other two. But the hooded trench coat and cargo pants with a number of tools attached and belted around his legs and heavily worn boots gave the impression that he was not someone to mess with.

"Don't bother, we won't be here. In fact…" Most of the cards in his hands were dropped with the others. "We were never here."

"Ah… Forrest? Don't we have an appointment who is running late?" Lil' Miss Malachite was an old hand at the game and played her part well as the trio left the bar. A young girl gathered up the lien once they were out the door and handed them to her boss.

—-

"Do you know how much these furs itch?" The short one asks after they left the gates of Mistral.

"I told you to try the wolf pelts." The taller one says.

"Hehe, maybe you got one with fleas!" The man laughed, quickly getting backhanded in the stomach by the shortest. That did little to stop the laughter from him or the other from joining in.

"Perhaps you should know… that's a skunk you are using as a hood."

"AAARRRGGHH!"

—-

"Ah, Yang! What can I do for you today?" Dr. Hemo greets the blonde as she waddled into his office at Signal. "Denko too? No real surprises there."

"Um Doc…ugh, this is embarrassing." Yang tried to talk but got flustered. Denko wasn't any better even if he was remaining silent.

The doctor looked between the two of them for a few seconds before a bemused smile came to his face. "I was starting to wonder if you two were gonna take that next step. But I'm willing to guess that you've come for some specific items?"

He laughed as their faces became beet red, even as he moved over to a set of drawers meant for times like this. It was best to keep easy access to them when surrounded by hormonal teenagers and those in their early twenties who weren't ready to start families yet.

"I'll leave it to you to decide which size is needed." The doctor tossed a few thin packages on the desk in front of them. At least their faces weren't getting any worse as they gave the condoms a look over.

A choice was made and the others were gathered and replaced by a handful of the chosen size. "Anything else that you need?"

"Um… a just in case and I'm gonna begin training again."

"Good to see that you're taking care of yourself. But I'm sure that you'll pull through, one arm or two." He handed her the pill and added a package of other pills. "Your just in case and just in case you forget those."

A bag was provided for them to carry their items, as well as a pamphlet with exercises for those returning to training from major injuries.

"Thanks Doctor Hemo." The blondes say together at the door.

"You're welcome. And before you ask how I knew, remember that I've had dozens of people coming to my office over the years for that same reason." He gave the pair a grin. "Still, a congrats are in order for you two finally hooking up."

"Thanks."

"Oh, and before we forget. Since you are getting back into the action again, I'd like to perform checkups on you to make sure everything is going well. Say… next weekend you stop by?"

"Sure, that won't be a problem."

"Very well, good luck on your training and relationship."

—-

"So… what are we gonna do today?" Yang asks after they returned home. She had gotten changed from her normal brown pants and jacket and now wore some black spandex pants… though those seemed to be at their limit. Her usual orange tank top left her belly free to the sun to warm and her hair bundled in a ponytail.

Denko had left his arm and leg guards inside with his vest, a pair of wristbands covering his scars. "We're gonna be getting you stretched before we do anything else. Don't need you cramping up and wasting the day."

"Really? Don't you think you made me stretch enough last night?" She teases and got the reaction she was hoping for, his face turning red.

"Still, I'm actually more surprised at how well you fought last night. From what I saw, you're really rusty and rough." He managed to regain control of himself quickly.

"Hmph!" Yang crossed her arm, not liking what she was told, even if there was a compliment.

"Hey, let's get to work, you'll only get a tan standing there." Denko says as he pulls one arm across himself to stretch the shoulder.

"Could use a bit of help with that." Yang was having a bit of a problem. Not just because she had a stump for a right arm but because her breasts were too big to allow full movement of her arm like it used to have. Not to mention the increased mass of the limb.

The next half hour was spent with Denko helping to push and pull Yang to her limits of flexibility. Arms from shoulder to fingers, legs from hips to toes… the attempt to touch her toes was amusing to watch, too much belly in the way no matter how soft and plush. Between that and the splits they attempted, the pants were stretched to just short of their tearing point, leading to the decision to buy some new pants tomorrow before they really started.

"Let's see you run." Denko told her flatly once stretches were done. Yang was already sweating, no small part from the summer heat but the effort of moving in ways she hadn't in months and moving a much larger body than the last time she was active.

"You're not gonna hold a donut on a string over my head, are you?" Yang huffed as she did a few light stretches in preparation.

"Thanks for the idea, I hadn't thought of doing that." He grinned at her, getting a pout in response. "But still, I wanna see you run."

"Where to?"

"Try along the treeline around your yard. We'll use your time as a baseline as we keep training."

"That's it?"

"How about if you can beat your previous time record, I give you a freeze pop?"

"No ice cream?"

"The last and only time you lost weight since we met at Beacon last year was when you lost your arm." He pats her right shoulder for emphasis. "You've more than made up for that loss here." He grabbed a handful of her belly and shook it, making her squeak in surprise. His grip was fleeting thanks to the sweat.

"Alright, I get the point." She grabs his wrist and 'forced' him to wipe the moisture on his own shirt.

"Okay, down the driveway to the trees and follow the edge around back to the driveway and back here." He clarified and pulled up the timer on his scroll. "Ready? Go!"

Yang started off quickly, those who didn't know her would have been surprised to see a woman of her size moving like that. But that burst of speed was also short lived as she barely made it to the trees before she was winded and reduced to a brisk waddle. To her credit, either out of her usual stubbornness or competitiveness, she didn't take any breaks as she made the circuit around the property. But she was absolutely drenched in sweat by the time she made it back and puffing hard… and collapsed to the grass where she lay on her back to catch her breath.

"Not too bad, considering everything. Those walks to town all the time must have helped a lot."

"Wha- what's -huff- my time?"

Denko stepped so that he gave her face some shade. "Sixteen minutes and thirty seven seconds."

Yang simply groaned in response, that was her worst time for any sort of race since Signal had the students in the Huntsman program run for five clicks as an introduction. Of course, she weighed less then than one of her legs now. She could only imagine if her younger self saw her now…

"Okay, you have three minutes to catch your breath and we'll go back to stretches. We can have lunch after that before getting back to work."

"What's for lunch?" She asks as her stomach rumbles at the mentioning of food.

"Whatever Iris brings you."

"Iris? She's coming?"

"Yep, she's glad to help you get back into shape. Even if most of the time it will be making sure you are eating right."

"No more Hestia's?"

"Tell ya what, you exceed our expectations for the week and we'll treat you to Hestia's for a meal as a reward." THAT got her stomach roaring. "But time's up." He extended his hand to assist her to stand, though her legs were visibly wobbly and not just from the jiggles of her insulation.

—-

"I guess you are finally doing something about this." Iris poked her friend's large belly with a finger, with enough pressure to make the digit sink completely in the malleable flesh. The release made it spring and jiggle back into its normal round shape.

"Yeah, yeah." Yang groused as she shifted a bit where she sat. If she had a second arm, she could have swatted at Iris' prodding fingers. It was bad enough that she was using her gut to hold her bowl of salad compared to her meal partners resting theirs in their laps.

The three were eating their lunch outside and the blondes were at least grateful that Iris had added some grilled and seasoned chicken to the greens along with cheese and croutons. Iced tea sweetened by honey helped to wash down the granola bars that were flavored by dark chocolate.

Overall, it was filling but compared to what Yang had gotten used to over the months home, it was a tease. It didn't help that she knew her dad was locking up most of the snacks in his own closet and she wouldn't likely see them often.

"Get used to it. There's a lot of you that wasn't here last year and we need to get you back in shape. And not just round."

"What are we gonna do now?" Yang looks to her boyfriend as she gulped down some tea.

"Tomorrow, we're gonna be starting earlier but for the afternoon today you'll be doing some basic exercises to get you used to things again."

"Good luck getting her to do push-ups, her belly won't leave the ground with how big it is." Iris teased, eliciting another grumble.

"Already figured that into things. That's why those rocks are there." Denko points to a moderate collection of stones of varying sizes near the flowerbeds. "They are your weights for training and props for push-ups. I figure that you should be able to get at least low enough for your belly to hit the ground before lifting."

Yang paled a bit at the idea.

"You know, it's gonna be tough to do one armed push-ups from the start, right? I don't care what size you are for that." Iris points out.

"True. But I'm sure we can find something for her right arm to push on. Maybe a bucket or log."

Yang was feeling a bit uncomfortable at the workout plans being made. Back at Beacon, she would have been all in for the challenge, living to be pushed hard and overcoming the tests on her body. Now… the mere thought of trying to get back to that mindset and the work required was daunting. So much that she had second thoughts until Ruby flashed through her mind; her promise to Summer that she'd do her best to protect her sister. And the desire to protect her friends; Weiss, Blake, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren. And the rest of the world that she had volunteered to defend by training to be a Huntress.

"Let's just get back to it. We'll figure it out as we go." The plump blonde hefted herself to her feet.

Denko and Iris glanced at each other, smirking at how the old Yang was slowly coming back.

And the torture/training began again to get Yang's body conditioned again for combat before they would start with sparring.

—-

Jaune sighed as they had to trek a week to get to Shion after Ruby proved that she wasn't the best at reading maps. Hot that he and the others didn't share some of the blame since they had looked at the map too and somehow missed that they had wandered northeast rather than southeast.

He had been excited to visit the large town, having come to the place so that his family could go camping in the surrounding forests when he was younger.

"And I got my own tent because I was special!" He had declared to his friends as they walked. "And so that my sisters would stop braiding my hair." He added quickly and quietly. Pyrrha heard that and had to turn away to laugh at the mental image.

Then they saw the smoke…

Shion was a wreck of a town now. The outer defending walls had sections collapsed, beyond them buildings were partially collapsed and some were burnt. Claw marks were an obvious sign of what had happened- Grimm. There were some signs that the people had defended themselves, if the number of bullet casings and numerous weapons lying around broken and useless.

"Look around! There may be survivors!" Jaune was the first to speak, ordering the team to spread out. He took the main road and began looking into the ruined buildings. It made him sad and angry when he found the occasional body, though from how few he found so far he believed that most had gotten away.

Ren had taken an adjoining street on Jaune's right while Ruby went left. Pyrrha moved to check near the walls where the defenders must have been to at least buy the other villagers time to escape. Nora opted to jump to the tops of buildings for a better vantage point but only found the depressing view of a village with a population of roughly two thousand appeared to be missing any living person besides the five teens.

"Over here!" They heard Ren shout and the team came running quickly, but cautiously.

What Ren had found made them all surprised. "It's a Huntsman." Nora gasped as her hands covered her mouth.

"What happened here?" Ruby asks when she saw the man was still breathing. A simple first aid kit sat next to the man showing that he had tried to tend to his wounds.

"Bandits." The man spoke through the pain. "With all of the panic…" he couldn't finish as his body was racked by coughs, his gloved hand pulling from his mouth stained red. But he also didn't need to for the five teens to figure it out.

"The Grimm." Pyrrha says with no small amount of anger in her tone. The man simply nodded as he fought to keep breathing.

"We have to help him!" Ruby didn't need to raise her voice but her concern made her do so.

"Think we can carry him to the next town? They should have a hospital or something?" Nora suggests.

"The next village is days away, I doubt we'd make it in time." Pyrrha tried to rationalize, but the tears in her eyes were her sign that she wanted to help in any way.

On the ground, Ren kept a hand on the man's shoulder to keep him steady as Jaune dug his own medical kit out of his backpack.

"Okay, this might not be much but it should help buy you time for us to get you to a doctor." The blonde opened the kit and sat it next to him as he began to check the wounds to see which he should treat first.

The man raised his hand and pushed Jaune away, shaking his head, knowing he was already gone, a weak cough sputtering a small trail of blood down his chin.

"What? We can help you!" Jaune raised his voice but this time it was Ren who stopped him. "Ren?"

The ninja simply shook his head.

"He's gone." Nora whispered but the area was so quiet that her words carried.

The Huntsman was now still, slumped against the same wall they had found him and an eerie silence came over them all. The man had given the ultimate sacrifice, having done what he could to defend the village from the bandits and the Grimm. They didn't know how many enemies the man had fought off and won, only that he acquired his injuries during those battles and they didn't know how long ago the fights had been. But the sheer fact that he had done so much and lasted as long as he did with his injuries, waiting to tell someone else what had happened… they had nothing but respect for the man.

And it was something that drove home exactly what they are facing with their chosen profession.

"Should… should we bury him?" Ruby asks.

"It would be best." Pyrrha agrees as she watches as Jaune packs his kit away again.

Ren stood and stormed off, fists clenched at his side. "We need to keep moving."

"What? But Ren." Ruby argued, cut off by Nora's hand on her shoulder.

"You guys take care of him, I'll talk to Ren."

Ruby's eyes widened at the seriousness in the shorter girl's eyes but relented, watching as Nora hurried after her best friend. Beside her, Pyrrha had managed to find a shovel nearby and began digging the shallow grave, the town square they were at being the Huntsman's monument.

It took some time but an hour later the man was now in his grave, his name written on the wall near his head so others would know. They would do their best to let the authorities know at the next town or Haven so they may be able to recover him for his family.

—-

In Menagerie, things weren't going all too well. At least for some. Blake had come home earlier this week from the beach with Sun and didn't seem to be coming down from her good mood for a while yet. Likewise, Sun seemed to be riding on a cloud because Blake was happy… and the cat girl was actively helping with the construction plans, the positivity being infectious.

However, Ilia was the one bringing the mood down when she was around. The chameleon girl still hadn't gotten over her anger since Itazura had presented the offer of the CCT tower for the Faunus and since Blake and Sun were openly happy, especially when they were in close proximity, her scowls were even worse than before or when directed at the adults.

"We need to talk." Ilia heard Itazura behind her stepping onto the balcony from her room. It was night time and her room faced away from the rest of Kuo Kuana which left the side of the house rather dark. Not that the darkness mattered much to Faunus thanks to their night vision nor for the chameleon and her preference to be alone to do her spy work.

"We have nothing to talk about."

"You have a hatred for humans, don't you? Is that why you got so pissed about bringing in some help to build the tower?" Itazura was relatively calm, simply pointing out the other girl's mood.

"Why shouldn't I hate them?! They've done nothing to help the Faunus, only discriminate, segregate, and enslave us!" She yelled back, her skin flashing red with her eyes and spots yellow.

Green eyes gave the seething girl a deadpan stare like she anticipated that reaction. One that lasted until Ilia calmed enough to let her colors fade.

"You know, I have every reason to hate humans as much as you do with how I was treated. But I want to know your story."

"My story?" Ilia scoffed but the eyes on her were simply waiting patiently. "Fine! You wanna hear what happened to me?"

"That's what I said."The fox says flatly.

Ilia rested her elbows on the wooden railing and tried not to look at the other girl. "Years ago, my family lived up in Atlas… technically Mantle. We were poor but we made do. But my parents managed to scrape up enough to send me to one of the prep schools in Atlas.

There were just three rules I had to follow: No talking about family, no bringing friends home, and under no circumstances was I to change color." She paused to draw a shuddering breath. It hadn't been any easier to tell Blake about her past just a few short years ago… nearly three if she remembered correctly.

A glance and she saw that her audience was still listening attentively. "Then the news came that there was a mine collapse, some Dust was unstable and brought down the tunnel. Nearly everyone in the tunnels were Faunus… including my parents." The gasp next to her was enough to know what Itazura felt about that.

"My friends in school… they saw that and just laughed about it. They were HAPPY that Faunus had died!"

"What did you do?" She sounded almost like she knew the answer through the sympathy.

"I turned blue from head to toe as I wept. And they stopped laughing and joking when they realized that I was a Faunus too… and I broke their teeth when they turned on me." She finished as her skin flashed red again for emphasis.

"So… you've been with the White Fang ever since?"

"Pretty much. It was the White Fang that took me in after my parents died. It was with them that I learned to fight and everything else I've done for the betterment of the Faunus."

"I see… Do you want to hear mine?"

"Go ahead, I'm not doing anything else."

Ilia's attention was drawn when Itazura reached up to her hair band that held her ears. "Do you know why I need to wear this?" She began.

"I dunno, it looks cool I guess."

"Thanks for the compliment. But the reason I need them is because when I was just a little kid bandits attacked the town my family lived in. I was too young to really know what was going on besides everything burning and the screaming. My parents were already dead and the bandits dragged everyone they could find who was alive into the middle of everything.

Their leader had us lined up and inspected. Probably for whatever uses they could get out of us. When they came to me… I bit the man's ear. In return, he took mine." She slowly took off the band to reveal the skin underneath. There were no ears as there should have been, nothing but scar tissue with a bit of metal connections poking through. Even then, Ilia could see that some of the scarring had been surgically treated for aesthetics beyond the implants. And as she stared at the scars that were all that remained, Ilia was only vaguely aware that her fingers were gouging the wooden railing.

Itazura then clipped the band back on, her ability to hear returning once she did. "As you can see, I have every right to hate humans for what they did to me and my family. Even the woman who ran the orphanage I was sent to hated me for existing. Tried to cut off my tail at one point."

"Tried?"

"It was the boy who adopted me as his sister who saved me, awakened his aura and semblance to do so. And he is human, just like the Huntsman who fought the bandits and saved me. And it was humans who gave me and my brother a good home, got our education started, and let me hear again."

"I ah… umm…"

"Like I said, I have every right to hate humans but it was also humans who saved me from that hatred." She put her hands on Ilia's shoulders. "You'll just have to remember that not all humans are bad, just the same as not all Faunus are really out to help us either. We have to find the good ones and band together to stop the bad and human friends and family are a good place to start. I know Blake did."

"It's… not that easy."

"I know it isn't but at some point you'll have to try or you'll just wind up helping to keep the cycle going." The fox let the other girl go and took a step towards the screen door, ready to open it. "I had to learn that, Blake did, so did Sun and many others. I just really hope that even before the tower starts getting built that more learn that. Good night."

Ilia watched as the tail flicked one last time before the fox vanished inside, the paper screening preventing her from watching her more. She hung her head as she leant over the railing, "It's not that easy but… maybe?"

—-

"Girls, thank you for stopping by." Glynda Goodwitch says as she sat behind her desk looking over paperwork. This happened to be the schedule for rebuilding the library for Beacon. The books had largely been recovered with more than a few that had been destroyed beyond saving, though they were lucky that those were ones with multiple copies and not the far rarer tomes.

"Yeah, well unfortunately most of our investigation has run dry." Anya scowled as she leaned against the wall.

"Everything we managed to find only led us to what looked to be an apartment that Roman and Neo used on occasion. And it must have been occasional since the only foods there had a long shelf life without need for refrigeration and some powdered drinks with booze." Talon took the chair on their side of the desk.

"Anything in there that could help us?"

"We turned that place inside out, pretty sure if there was anything in there it had been moved a while ago. Best we could tell, the place hadn't had anyone in it for a few months." Anya answers the blonde woman.

"I see. That is disappointing. Hopefully Qrow and the other team will have better luck with their missions to Mistral. Though I do hope they are alright, I haven't heard from them in weeks and they should have been there by now."

"Did you give the other team the codes to call on the reserved channels?" Talon asks.

"They left before the repairs were made to allow that. Qrow waited a bit to follow them and I made sure he can call, but with how he is, he must be in a situation where he doesn't feel he has the information needed or he has been fighting."

"Sounds like him. At least you know if he calls, it's important." Talon shrugs.

"Very true." Glynda agrees as she laces her hands on her desk. "But there is another matter I'd like you two to help with. Team CFVY has put in their paperwork to transfer to Shade Academy. They may be a bit late for the new semester at this point but nothing major. I've already spoken to Theodore and he has no problems with taking them late, he knows they've been doing a lot of rebuilding and taking care of the Grimm over the past few months, along with their excellent records before the attack."

"What? You want us to escort them?" Anya queries.

"Exactly. It will also give you some time to visit home and have a small vacation of sorts. I do have a mission for you but it can wait some time until you have had some time to recharge."

"What's the mission?" Talon was curious.

"Your mission is to take CFVY to Shade Academy. They will be leaving in two days." Glynda smiles, knowing what the girls were really asking about. Honestly, this little game was the most amusement she's had for weeks, little wonder why Ozpin had done things like this all the time.

"At least we get to see mom again." Talon smiles fondly.

"You just want to eat her cooking."

"C'mon Sis, I know you want to too!"

"If it's not too much trouble, do you think you could bring something for me when you return?" Glynda asks as she rubs her stomach. The only good thing about the disaster zone that Beacon and Vale had become was that food was kept secure and rationed for the most part. That meant that Glynda couldn't eat to help alleviate her stress. Didn't mean that her clothes weren't stretched over her large form any less or more than when the attack happened, just that she didn't develop that particular vice.

—-

If there was one thing that Yang was finding to be a real plus about the workouts that her boyfriend was putting her through, it was the cleanup at the end. The hot shower and strong hands going over her sore muscles felt heavenly. But the cleanup was all she really had energy for, the shower before dinner- something simple and tasty but healthy like grilled chicken and rice with carrots- followed by bedtime. Sleep would come easy thanks to her exhaustion, often before sunset and not waking until sunrise. It also helped that Denko would join her in bed but with her normally asleep they didn't do much more than snuggle.

Nightmares had been becoming rarer for Yang as well, thankfully they were brief as of late rather than the ones that would keep her up most of the night as they did before she and Denko had really shown what they felt about each other. When that was noticed, they hoped that it was partially due to her being too tired to have the bad nightmares. At the same time Yang did still have bouts with unexpected noises triggering panic attacks, like a freshly washed glass slipping from her hand and shattering on the floor. Times like that would leave her as a gasping wreck with her back against the nearest wall and holding onto her stump.

But those times were getting farther apart, with Yang having small sessions with Dr. Hemo and the support of Denko and Taiyang. And as the PTSD attacks grew milder and less frequent over the month, her formerly chipper self would slowly return.

And her recovery made everyone around her happy, creating a positive feedback loop.

—-

Elsewhere, a package was being transported by airship from Atlas to Vale.

—-

In a rural region of Mistral territory, a young farmhand found a tall man in a green coat and black pants with brown boots wandering through the property.

"Um… Sir? You are trespassing." He shakily told the man, the pitchfork in his hands as his only defense in case something went wrong.

"Sorry about that, I didn't realize this was someone's property out here." The man told him simply before taking a canteen from his hip and tried getting a drink from it. Tried being the key word since it barely had a drop to give him.

"Um… If you need something to drink, my aunt's farm has a well you can use to refill your canteen." The boy offers.

The man looked somewhat ashamed briefly that he was having to rely on the charity of others but that gave way to a grateful smile. "Lead the way, thank you."

As it turned out, his aunt didn't mind the man staying the night either and provided him with dinner since there was more than enough to go around for the other farm hands as well. And she offered him to use the barn for the night since it was getting dark anyway and she didn't feel that it would be wise to allow a man to roam the countryside at night with Grimm prowling around.

AN: Alright! I'm sure you all are glad to see that Yang really has snapped out of her funk and is now starting to train again, with some help from friends and family. At the same time some faunus were having some deep talks about their pasts and how they affected who they had become today. The team from Atlas are up to something and who are those mysterious figures who paid off Spider and Lil' Miss Malachite for information on them? Plus a few other mysteries left in the chapter to be answered later.

I wonder what the guesses will be for those mysteries? ^_^ You can leave your guesses with the reviews!

Until next time!