A/N: I got more excuses, pretend you read them.

So Last time I said I would explain why Yang was with Winter this chapter...and I forgot. I would try to put it in now, but it would mess with the flow. So I'll explain now, everyone paired up to look for Penny. Yep that simple.

Besides that, this chapter is a little heavy, a little sweet, and whole lot of Guilty Rose goodness that you guys expect of me.

Yeah that makes it sound like I have a swollen head, but this was another chapter that was great to write.

Well, on to the chapter, hope you enjoy!

I don't own anything!

Guilty Rose Chapter 31

Penny sat on the cliff overseeing the entire Emerald Forest with her legs dangling off.

The greenery was so foreign to her, having lived her life in the frigid land of Atlas, but it soothed her somewhat. Her heart was still in turmoil over learning the true reason why her mother had been killed, from the killer's mouth no less.

She always wanted to believe her mother had been killed because she ruffled some bad guy's feathers, but no. Her mother died just because she was a public figure.

Penny wiped away another tear that managed to force its way out and strangled back the urge to sniffle.

"It's okay if you want to cry."

Penny's head snapped to the side when she heard the familiar voice and found the last person she wanted to see sitting next to her.

"Why are you here."

Rose glanced at the girl and shrugged a bit.

"I wanted to be close enough to grab you if the edge broke. This cliff isn't actually reinforced."

Penny stared at the faunus as if she had grown a second head while Rose just stared off into the distance.

Finally, Penny looked back over the grimm infested forests.

"I hate this place."

Penny's head spun back to the faunus to find that the girl had a pained expression, as if she was hold back some monumental weight.

"Why?"

Rose closed her eyes and the scenery around her immediately changed.

"I-I'm standing on a rooftop, watching the street for my target. When I saw them, Hannya is there behind me, asking if I knew what I had to do."

Penny instantly knew what the girl was talking, but didn't say anythig when she saw the tears running down Rose's cheeks.

"I told her her yes, and she told me to go. So I hop off the roof."

Rose's muscles tensed as if she was falling and about to hit the ground.

"I make no sound as I approach the woman I'm supposed to kill. I tell myself 'make it as painless as possible'."

This time it's just Rose's arm that tenses up.

"I spin my kama and aim for the base of the woman's skull, that way I knew she'd only feel the pain for a split second."

Rose's arm relaxed, but her face tensed up this time. Several more tears streamed out.

"It feels like there's a knife in my chest as the woman crumples to the ground. But I still can't make a sound. If I make a sound, the daughter will turn to look at me."

By this point, Rose was trembling. She opened her teary eyes and looked at the ginger haired girl next to her.

"I hate this place because that always plays in my head when I'm here."

The two went back to looking forward in silence for a few minutes. Finally, something about what Rose had said struck Penny.

"Why was it so important that I didn't see you?"

Rose didn't look over at Penny this time.

"Are you aware of what the public knows me as and why?"

"Of course, you're called the Face of Death, because anyone that sees you dies."

Rose hung her head and clenched her fists as she listened to Penny.

"That was another rule imposed upon me by the Oni, I had to make myself seem more deadly and mysterious by killing anyone who got a look at my face."

Penny connected the dots and bit her lip.

"So you had to make sure I didn't see your face."

"No, I had to make sure you didn't see me at all. They knew you were going to be there with your mother that night… They had told me to kill both of you."

Penny tensed at that new piece of information.

"I begged for hours... Apparently, I annoyed them too much so they told me 'if the child doesn't notice you, then you don't have to kill her'."

Penny could only sit there and work her her jaw in shock. Once again, the heartless killer that killed her mother in front of her was shown to no longer be the monster from her nightmares, but just another little girl locked in her own. Her body eventually moved on its own. Her hand found the Rose's and she took it, as much for Rose as for herself.

….

A few days had passed since General Ironwood had arrived. And though he had left the day after he arrived, Penny and Winter remained at Beacon to continue observing the students.

Dinner had just ended and Yang could officially say she was fed up with her partner's pussyfooting around, and if she wasn't so ticked, she'd be proud of the unconscious pun.

She had just sat through another meal that ended up with her watching Blake stare at Rose get waited on hand and foot, obviously wanting to join in.

Thus she got Weiss to take Rose to team CMEN's dorm for a bit and dragged Blake back to team RWBY's. Blake didn't take too kindly to being dragged by her collar, but she wasn't escaping her blonde partner's iron grip.

Finally, they reached the dorm and Yang unceremoniously threw Blake in before closing and locking the door.

"Yang, I could have walked on my own."

"I was not going to give you the chance to run away. We need to have a this talk now because I am tired of this shit."

"What shit?"

"You watching Ruby being fawned over!"

"I don't stare at your sister, and I most certainly am not jealous of her."

Yang crossed her arms and glared at Blake.

"I didn't say you were jealous. In fact I was trying to get at how you wanted to get in on the action and fawn over Rose yourself."

Blake just sat there working her jaw trying to think up something to either deny or deflect that, but was coming up empty.

"Look, I'm not saying you should just go up and kiss her or anything like that. I'm telling you to stop watching from the sidelines and tell her how you feel."

….

"So why do you think Yang dragged Blake off like that?"

Weiss was rummaging through a suitcase of clothing while thinking about how to answer before pulling out a gray and white bolero jacket.

"Can you match or compliment this?"

Cinder looked over her shoulder before going back to her closet.

"I think so. Now back to what I asked."

"From the look on her face, she's probably giving Blake the same talk that you need to give Emerald."

Cinder paused and slumped a bit.

"Don't remind me. Here, what about this?"

Cinder displayed a pair of black slacks that she had altered to accommodate tailed faunus.

"Hmm, now we just need a plain white blouse."

"It's your turn to lend the blouse."

Weiss nodded and retrieved a blouse from the suitcase.

"Alright Rose try these on."

Rose, who was just going through the motions of being dressed up, took the clothes and went off to the bathroom. She was told to change in there only after they had to rush Neo to the infirmary the first time Rose undressed in the room with them.

As Cinder and Weiss watched her close the door, Cinder couldn't help but ask another question.

"You seem awfully okay with our arrangement growing."

Weiss continued to stare at the door for a moment.

"Do you remember why you asked me to make this arrangement?"

Cinder quirked an eyebrow, not sure where this was going.

"Of course, I asked you because I didn't feel like I'd ever be capable of making her happy."

Weiss' head dipped down a bit.

"I honestly feel the same. My family's history with faunus has been terrible. And though I'm nothing like my father, I still feel like I could do her more harm than good."

Cinder regarded the girl for a moment, debating on how much she should say.

"I assure you that your family has nothing on my family. Though I think we could both take a cue from Rose and try to make more of ourselves than our families have."

Weiss looked at Cinder with a bit of a deadpan.

"How are you this wise and only a year older?"

Cinder shrugged noncommittally before deciding to have some fun.

"Wisdom comes not in years, but in experience."

Weiss' deadpan worsened.

"Did you read that from a cheesy fortune cookie?"

"Maybe."

"Thought so."

Unbeknownst to Cinder and Weiss, Rose listened to the whole conversation and was currently letting it sink in. She felt happy that she was inspiring others to be better, and she knew in her heart that she wanted to help them. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of a way to help Weiss at the moment. However, Rose already had an idea how to help Cin.

Hopefully, Cin wouldn't mind her going behind her back.

….

"You say it like it so easy."

Yang shook her head at her partner and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It actually is, the only hard part is nutting up and putting yourself out there."

Blake almost growled defiantly at the blonde. Then an idea struck her.

"Alright, if it is so easy, how about we make a bet?"

"I'm game, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, seeing as everyone has noticed how you've been acting around Weiss' sister, how about if you and her kiss, I confess to Rose?"

Yang smirked at that, it was too easy for the likes of her.

"You'd better figure out what you wanna say then, 'cause I'll win that bet in an hour."

Blake scrunched her face at that, feeling like she just endangered her teammate's sibling.

"Yeah, you would probably do something rash, like walking up and kissing her out of the blue. So here's a stipulation, she has to kiss you of her own free will."

Yang winced, her partner had pretty much read her mind.

"That will be tougher, but I think I can make it happen soon still."

Blake stared at her for a moment.

"Look, I really like the gal, she's all straight laced in public but she has a soft and fun side that she rarely shows."

"That's not much Yang, especially considering that she tried to arrest your sister."

Yang looked down and chewed on her lip for a minute.

"There is more to her, a lot more."

"Like what?"

Yang took another minute to put her thoughts into words.

"She's a lot like me in some ways."

"I doubt that."

Yang huffed and stuck her tongue out at the faunus before continuing.

"She's a big sis that doesn't know how to actually be one."

"Now that I can actually see, but that still seems too flimsy."

Yang was starting to get frustrated with this line of questioning.

"Look, it's not just things about that I like. It's more that everything about her calls to me. I don't know, it's like I have to love her."

It was Blake's turn to quirk an eyebrow.

"Love her, kinda soon isn't it?"

Yang shrank this time.

"I guess it is, but I've never quite felt like this before."

Yang's emotions were etched deep on her face, so Blake could see how her partner truly felt. Blake's eyes widened at this, it was now plain to her that love truly was what Yang had meant.

"What kind of partner would I be if I didn't support her?"

"Alright, so are we still on for that bet?"

Yang looked up to see a different look in her partner's eyes. There was no more defiance, just a feeling of support.

"Yeah, I get Winter to kiss me, and then you confess to Rose."

"Heh, yeah."

….

"Sir, Fennec and Corsac failed to stop Marron."

"WHAT!"

Adam roared at the newest piece of bad news. It hadn't taken long for him to discover Marron's treachery and put a plan in place to stop her, but obviously he was surrounded by idiots.

"What happened?"

The grunt before him was already trembling, not wanting to deliver the entirety of the news.

"They had her arrested for attempting to kill Chieftain Belladonna, but apparently the guardsmen just brought her before him instead of killing her outright."

Adam slammed his fist on his desk and growled.

"Those idiots! Tell me that at least Ghira Belladonna is still being a coward and not interfering with the White Fang."

The grunt sucked in his lips.

"there are reports that Sienna Khan has made an unscheduled visit to Menagerie."

"WHAT!?"

….

Sienna Khan normally would not be seen in Menagerie as she saw it as a half-veiled slap to faunus, especially considering the what the name meant, but she had been called here by Ghira himself. As much as the more zealous elements of the White Fang called him a coward, she viewed her old friend and comrade with nothing but respect, and a small bit of envy.

Thus, this is why she found herself walking up to the chieftain's mansion.

"I just really hope Kali isn't home."

She stopped in her tracks when that sentence escaped her lips without her notice. Her escort stopped and glanced at her curiously as she composed herself.

"No. It does not matter if she is there, I am a mature woman and I can talk to her like a normal person."

She took a few centering breathes and steeled her expression, making her escort worry about what was about to happen.

Sienna finally made it to the mansion door and knocked, still silently praying not to hear the one voice she was weak too.

"Coming."

"Fuck. Me."

The door opened and Sienna found herself face-to-face with her nightmare, the bubbly Kali Belladonna.

Sienna bit the inside of her lip.

It took only a moment for Kali to recognize Sienna and pull the tiger faunus into a tight.

"Oh, Sienna! It's been far too long. How have you been?"

Sienna could only let out a pathetic mewl at first. Then she cleared her throat and pushed Kali to arms length for her own sanity.

"I've been busy, things in the White Fang have been a little weird as of late."

Sienna didn't miss the look in Kali's eye when she said the White Fang.

"I see… Well, that's one of the reasons why we asked you to meet with us."

Kali glanced at Sienna's escort before leaning towards Sienna, making the poor woman's heart race.

"You need to leave your escort out here. We can't trust anyone in the White Fang right now."

Sienna's heart seized before filling with anger. She was about to let the woman know that these were her most trusted guards.

But then she saw the concern in Kali's face. This was something serious.

"Guards, wait out here and guard the mansion alongside the guardsmen."

"As you command."

Sienna nodded to them as they bowed to her before turning and following Kali into her home, Making a point to not get hypnotized by those swaying hips.

Sienna followed the hips through the atrium into the mansions living room, where she found two other people sitting across from each other. She immediately recognized one as Ghira, but the other one was only vaguely familiar to her.

"Take a seat by Marron there, I'll go make tea."

Sienna dumbly nodded and took her place by the fauns and watched as Kali left the room.

"Marron, would you be so kind as to wipe the drool from Sienna's face until she regains her mental faculties."

Marron glanced between Ghira and Sienna rapidly, not quite sure what was going on. Then she noticed that Sienna was indeed drooling. Quickly, she grabbed her napkin and gently turned the woman's head.

Marron had never seen Sienna in person before, but she could honestly say that cameras never did her justice. Thus she took an extra second or two to admire the woman before wiping her face.

After a minute the glazed look in her eyes cleared up, Sienna found herself staring into soft brown eyes. She then realized her face was being held and a napkin was being pressed to it.

This was an uncomfortably familiar situation.

"It happened again, didn't it?"

"Yes."

"You know I'm not trying to do this Ghira, right?"

"I know."

"I'm very sorry."

"I know."

Sienna hung her head in the hands of the woman who had strangely not let go.

"Wow, I haven't seen someone bit this bad since Ilia."

"So I'm not the only poor sob out there."

The room went silent again until a few minutes later when Kali came back with a kettle and four cups.

"Oh good, you're back to yourself, that's quicker than usual."

Sienna glanced over at Kali, still having her face held, and shrugged.

"I had someone much gentler taking care of me this time."

"Yes, Marron is quite the sweetheart."

Marron smiled sheepishly at the praise.

Kali smiled softly and began serving tea while the two other women composed themselves. Finally, Sienna spoke up.

"So, why did I have to come here today? This meeting has to be pretty damn important."

"It is Sienna. Marron here has a lot she needs to share with you."

Sienna turned to the bear faunus next to her and finally got a good look at he.

"Wait, Marron, Marron...Savauge? You work under Adam, don't you?"

Marron nearly gaped, she was recognized by the leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan. She recovered after a srcond and prepared to address the woman.

"I did, though I'm surprised you don't recognize me as a traitor."

Sienna's face contorted in confusion, making Marron sigh in resignation.

"So, Adam really has made you nothing but the face of the White Fang."

"What are you talking about?"

"Adam Taurus has completely taken over the White Fang, and he plans on starting a war with the Kingdoms."

A/N: Soooo, what did ya think?

Sorry, I'm having far too much.

Anyway, that chapter was something, wasn't it?

Penny and Rose have a true heart to heart that leaves Penny somewhere between closure and more questions, because REALISM!

Next, Yang gives Blake a boot to the ass, and Blake returns the favor. Why, you might ask. Because would you expect any less? As for Yang's feelings for Winter, this is still being explored by me as it was a recent suggestion that I really liked. THUS, if you have suggestions, I want to hear them.

Cinder, Rose, and Weiss, that scene was both for fun, and because I am setting up for the future. I am planning more fluff scenes too, by the way. I am not loading up this volume like I did the last one, but I feel so empty without writing them.

So Adam threw another tantrum...nothing really to say there.

Finally, Sienna, she's finally here, and what's this? I made her a useless lesbian. Let me be frank, I did not plan that. I was writing the scene today, and I was going to have drama between Sienna and Kali because Kali stole Ghira's heart. Then I decided against that...and switched things up. But don't worry, Sienna will not be forever alone as you guys might have seen.

Well, that's the chapter, see you next week!

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