I was debating whether or not to post this today or not, but I figured why not? Today is Ruby's special day! Happy Birthday Little Rose!

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Chapter 03: Underneath Our Noses

Night has fallen as Mercury and Emerald return to their dorm, the latter looking pleased with herself. "Somebody looks happy." Mercury commented. "Want me to grab you a bone?"

Emerald rolled her eyes. "I am just following Cinder's orders, something that you should start trying."

"And how is that any different from a lap dog?" Mercury asked.

The female thief scowls at him. "Whatever. Let's just report back to Cinder." She knocks gently on the door. "It's me, Emerald."

"Come in." Cinder said from the other side. Emerald opens the door to see her benefactor sitting on her bed, sewing a black outfit. Laying down on the other bed is a young, Quincy male. He has pale peach skin with brownish-red eyes. His hair is long, in a crimson-red color and is in a styled, yet slightly messy look. He seems to have a laid-back look on his face. He is reading a book. "And where have you two been?" Cinder asked.

"Mercury and I went to take care of Tukson." Emerald declared proudly.

"Isn't that the runaway Roman was supposed to deal with himself?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah, it was. But Roman had been taking his sweet time to even do it." Mercury said.

"So, we decided to do it for him." Emerald added. "Tukson was gonna leave first thing in the morning."

Golden, well-groomed eyes narrowed. Cinder gently places the clothing next to her. She glances at the two. "Didn't I say that you two should keep your hands clean while in Vale?"

Mercury tsked. "Didn't Alvis here do the same thing with those dudes from Club Junior?"

A brownish-red eye twitched. "At least I cleaned up my mess." Alvis quipped as he flipped a page.

Cinder hummed a little. "While that was unexpected, it has at least got rid of some potential rats."

When the red-haired Quincy didn't acknowledge Cinder's praise, Emerald sneered at him. "You better show Cinder some respect, Alvis." She growled. She was also mad that Alvis was the one being praised.

A laugh catches both Mercury and Emerald off guard as Alvis rose from the bed with his closed book in hand. A wicked smile twisted his face, a huge contrast to his aloof appearance just a moment ago. "Aren't you cute playing handmaid for Cinder here. News flash, I'm not going to bow and lick her glass slippers like a certain somebody." Emerald would have attack Alvis if Mercury didn't hold her back. Alvis released a breath through his nose. "It's late. I'm going to bed."

Not the least bit unsettled, Cinder said, "Rest well." Alvis nodded before leaving.

"I still don't see why you invited him into this." Emerald said. "He doesn't cooperate when he needs to."

"Emerald, what did I say about knowing your place?"

"S-Sorry, ma'am…"

Cinder turns to Mercury. "You go too. You will need the rest." Mercury, clearly not happy with rooming with Alvis, followed orders.

After Mercury left, Emerald turns to Cinder, her expression now submissive. "My apologies, ma'am."

"Oh, don't worry." Cinder said. "After all, tomorrow is another day."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A poor girl had tears streaming down her face. Who could blame her? She, along with many other children, were taken away from their homes and to a place completely unknown to them. Thankfully, Rukia was there to calm her.

"It's okay. You're safe now." She said to the child, pulling her into her lap. She looks over at the other children in the building huddled near her, also as scared. Seating in the corner adjacent from them is a man, though his features are shadowed by the darkness of the room. Rukia looks outside a broken window where a battle is taking place outside.

Hordes of Grimm had appeared, sensing the fear of the kidnapped children trapped in the dilapidated building. Thank whatever deity that IURR and NGUS arrived in time when they did. Ichigo, his Zangetsu in his hands, hacked and slashed at the Grimm.

Ain't ya gonna use your power?

Shut up, will ya? Ichigo argued to the voice as he continued his assault.

Assisting him is Nel, using her double-sided lance to attack. One large Beowulf made a swing at her and she jumps out of the way. After a couple of slashes at the Grimm, Nel stabs the Beowulf in the chest. An Ursa goes to attack her from behind and she leaps back. When she positioned her lance on her shoulder, the tip portion lifted open and a grenade was launched out and killed the Ursa.

A member of Nel's team, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, seems to be having the time of his life. Like Nel, he too is a Faunus, his trait being the panther-like ears nestled in his wild, electric blue hair. A tall and muscular with blue eyes paint with green lines underneath. He looks like a punk rocker with a tattoo on the side of his face styled to look like teeth and his attire consists of a black shirt with light blue claw marks (his emblem) which he keeps partially unzipped, exposing his muscled chest and a large scar. He also wears black pants with light blue panther spots and black boots, and two belts around his waist. He also wears a ragged white jacket with an upturned collar and turquoise panther spots along the lower half. The inner lining of his jacket is black and Grimmjow wears it with the sleeves rolled up and leaving it open to expose his muscular chest. On his hands are black gloves with light blue claw rings on each digit.

Said claw rings are extended as Grimmjow slashed through every Grimm that met his gaze. He had just got done with a Beowulf when another behind him gets shot by an arrow. Grimmjow glowers at the culprit. "That was my prey, Quincy!" he growled.

Uryū only rolled his eyes. He stabs through the jaw of a Beowulf with the tip of his staff. After it died, he turns the staff back into a long bow. He pulls back the Aura string and releases a volley of Aura arrows at a colony of Death Stalkers, killing them instantly. Calls of Nevermores caught his attention to the sky. However, the raven-like Grimm are already being dealt with.

Ulquiorra Cifer, a Quincy of NGUS, aims his javelin up to the Nevermore flock, a hand in his pocket. He is slimmer and paler, more so than Uryū himself. He has dull green eyes, shoulder-length black hair, and his upper lip is painted black, as well as his black eye liner and nail polish. In fact, he looks straight out goth.

His held little expression as he created Aura replicas of his javelin and flew them towards the Nevermores, killing several. What's left of the avian Grimm fired off their feather projectiles at the Quincy. With a powerful swing of his javelin, Ulquiorra swerved the feathers off course, landing to places further from the building. Some of the feathers even returned back to the Nevermores, impaling and killing them. Ulquiorra flicks his javelin, his free hand still in his pocket, in time for an Ursa to attack him. Renji comes into view and blocks the Ursa with his shield before slicing it in half.

"…That was unnecessary…" the goth Quincy said monotonously before sprinting off.

Renji shrugs. "You're welcome."

Rukia grins at the sight. There're really isn't anything to worry about. But then, one of the children screeched in horror as they saw Grimm coming to the other side of the building. Rukia gets up and readies her sword.

A yawn erupts from the man in the corner. "Oh, come on. And here I thought I could take a good nap." He complained as he gets up. He, Coyote Starrk, is a tall man with a right blue-gray eye while the left is covered by an eyepatch connected around his head by two small chains and wavy, dark brown hair, which ends at the base of his neck, is unkempt, and is parted down the middle. He has a faded goatee. His upper body is covered in a gray fur-lined jacket over a double-breasted vest, while his legs are covered in dark, skin-tight pants, with gray knee-high fur leggings covering his lower legs, and his arms are covered in gray, elbow-length fur armbands, which end at his wrists. There are ribbon-covered bandoleers emerging from his upper back and disappearing into his upper forearms. By his side is a light pastel green-furred wolf with a visible left light pink eye, as her left eye is covered by an eyepatch. Both of their eyepatches have an eyelike symbol on it.

The lackadaisical man yawns again as he brandished his twin guns from his fur-covered holsters. "Whelp…" He aims his gun at the Grimm. "…no use cryin' over it." He pulls the trigger, shooting a Beowulf square in the head. Coyote proceeds with his shooting as the wolf, Lilynette, leaps out of the window and charges at an Ursa. The wild canine sunk her teeth into the bear Grimm's throat, ripping and tearing it. With the Ursa dead, Lilynette went after a Beowulf. Coyote whistled. "She was gettin' angsty." The kids watched in awe and Rukia chuckled.

Soon, all the offending Grimm were taken care of and after checking to make sure that no more were approaching, they guide the kids out of the building.

"You guys were so cool!" one boy exclaimed.

"Thank you for helping us!" A little girl thanked them.

Nel giggled, kneeling to their level. "Nel, Itsygo, and their teams are happy to help!" The children cheered. Ichigo smiled. Thank whatever deity out there that they made it in time… Ichigo was able to find them by sensing their distress. Imagine Uryū's shock when he found them first. Ichigo turns to the building, pondering. Why did the kidnappers leave them there? What's going on?

Is this kidnapping anything like the ones from before?

The vibrant-haired human notices his Quincy partner looking at the building as well, his expression thoughtful. Maybe even worried. No… he is worried. Ichigo walks over the children. "Hey," he said in a gentle tone as he bends down to one knee. "Do any of you know who brought you guys here?"

The kids didn't seem sure. "I don't know." One said.

Ichigo takes out his Scroll. After looking for something, he shows it to the kids. "Do these men look familiar?" He asked them. The Scroll showed the pictures of Ryo Utagawa and Ugaki, the two members of the disbanded Bount Group, who has been on the run for the past year.

The kids shook their heads 'No'. Well, that's good… for the most part.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh, thank you all so much!" a mother thanked the teams as she held her daughter close.

"Nel is happy to help!" Nel said.

"…May I admit something to you?" the woman asked.

"Sure. What is it?" Nel asked.

The woman seemed ashamed as she balanced her child on her hip. "I…used to think rather unsavory about the Faunus, but after this, I can safely say that there are amazing Faunus out there." She looks at something behind Nel. The woman smiled. "Especially since the children are delighted." Nel looks and sees a cute and funny sight. Cute because Ulquiorra of all people was doing the ol' pulling-thumb-off trick to entertain the kids and funny because, all the while, he still had on his dull expression. Nel giggled.

Ichigo smiles a little. He remembers when he first met the palerer Quincy two years ago. He didn't like Ulquiorra at all. The goth had an attitude, or lack thereof, that didn't sit right with Ichigo. However, after he met his girlfriend, Ulquiorra was… nicer in a sense due to his personality. Still a prick, but more tolerable.

The Grimm Reaper scans around taking in the children reuniting with their families, some kids he noticed didn't look they're related to a family. Orphans, maybe.

Ichigo finds Uryū again off to the side, seating on a bench, his expression the same as before. Ichigo walks to his partner. "Everything all right?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh… it's nothing." Uryū said.

"Of course, it's not nothing." Rukia said as she appeared beside Ichigo. Renji also comes into view as he leans on the back of the bench. "Now, what's wrong?"

Uryū didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned his gaze to the children. Renji noticed it and connected the dots right away. "Does it have anything to do with the recent kidnappings?"

"Yes." Uryū answered.

"And does it have anything to do with you have been held captive by the Bount Group and by Askin…?"

"…Yes."

"I…thought you don't remember what they did to you." Ichigo said.

"I don't. I still don't. But…" Uryū trailed off. His grip on his arms tightened. He really can't remember what Utagawa and Ugaki were doing to him, what he does remember was pain. So much pain. More so than what Askin Nakk Le Vaar did two years ago, and that's saying something. Rukia takes a seat on the bench next to Uryū and snaked her arm around his back, Renji places a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Ichigo sits on the armrest, placing his hand on Uryū's other shoulder. They stayed like this for a while until Grimmjow walked up to them.

"Now that all the brats have all been accounted for, we can get the hell out of here."

"Right." Ichigo said as he stood. He then heard something in the sky. He looks up to see Atlesian Military Airships flying towards the direction to Vale.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

IURR and NGUS arrived back at Beacon at lunchtime. Nel stretches her arms up to the sky. "Nel had so much fun!" she exclaimed. "She also had fun being with Itsygo and his teammates again."

Coyote yawned. "I'm gonna go take a nap." He walks away, Lilynette just behind him.

"Okay. Have a good nap!" Nel said. She notices Ulquiorra leaving. "Where is Ulquiorra going?"

"…I have to rendezvous at a place called Único Gusto. I will not speak any further." Ulquiorra said before walking off. Nel giggled.

"A date, huh?" She wondered. "Well, Nel is going to a spa with Rangiku. Nel thinks her horns could use a good filing." She turns to Rukia. "Does Rukia want to come?"

"Thanks, but I'll have to decline. I'm meeting up with my brother for lunch." Rukia said.

"Okay, Nel will see everyone later!" Nel said before jogging off.

Kon pops out of Ichigo's duffle. "Can I come to? I can do one hell of a massage!" Just as the plush jumped out, he was caught by Lirin and her talons.

"You're welcome." She said before flying off with a crying Kon.

"Byakuya is here?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Colonel Kuchiki." Rukia, Renji, and Uryū corrected.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He notices the Atlesian Air Fleet around Beacon. "I'm curious as to why did Ironwood bring his entire air force for the Vytal Festival."

"Color me surprise. Kurosaki is actually vigilant." Uryū quipped.

"…You can't go through one day without ever saying something snarky, can you?"

"If I did, I would spontaneously combust." Uryū joked.

"If you ask me, that would be an improvement." Ichigo retorted.

"Ha-ha. But you are right about the Atlesian armed force being here. I understand one airship, but practically the whole fleet?"

"I'm being honest, it's kind of unsettling." Renji said.

"Maybe I can ask Brother about it." Rukia suggested.

"That would be nice." Uryū said. "Provided that he is allowed to."

"Maybe you should ask him." Ichigo said to Uryū coyly.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Okay, okay. We just got back from a mission. Save the quarrel for another time." Renji said.

"Yeah." Rukia said. She turns to Ichigo and Uryū. "Don't try to kill each other, deal?"

"But it's so much fun." Ichigo said.

"Later." Rukia laughed before leaving.

"As for me, I'm heading to the gym." Renji said. "Catch you guys later."

"So, what are you going to now?" Ichigo asked Uryū.

"I think I'll go see Team RWBY since it's lunch time right now." He answered.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about doing another training session."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get going then."

"Mind if I join?" Ichigo and Uryū jumped by the gruff voice of Grimmjow. How did they forget that he was still here? Despite his bad-temperament, Grimmjow is oddly patient.

"Oh… You sure?" Ichigo asked. Grimmjow shrugged. "… Okay. Then let's go."

They walked to the mess hall, where they meet up with Sun Wukong and his teammate, Neptune.

"Huh? Oh, hey!" Sun greeted.

"Hey. What are you doing?" Ichigo asked.

"I was going to introduce Neptune to Blake and her friends."

As they were talking, Grimmjow leaned the wall next to a window. Great, he was patient enough before, but his impulsiveness is starting to take over. He then heard something hitting the window from the inside. He sees various foods being thrown about in the mess hall. Even Jaune was thrown into the window. Grimmjow watched in bewilderment as the blonde boy slid down the glass, saliva and snot trailing down with him.

"Uhhh, Kurosaki?" the panther Faunus spoke up.

"What?" Ichigo asked. Grimmjow points into the cafeteria. Ichigo sees what is going on. "What the…?"

Ichigo, Uryū, Sun, Neptune, and Grimmjow runs into the cafeteria just as the students ran out. The hall looked like a tornado just hit the place. Nora, standing on top of a pile of tables, laughs manically.

"I'm queen of the castle~! I'm queen of the castle~!" She exclaimed. The rest of JNPR are standing on various levels of the tables, almost like guards.

"What is happening?" Uryū asked.

Ruby jumps on a table with a milk carton in hand. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" She squeezes the carton, the milk spewing out. "It will be DELICIOUS!" her teammates let out war cries. The battle is on. All the while, Ichigo and Uryū stood there in silent astonishment with their mouths gaping open, feeling like they were watching a train wreck happening. The freshmen students even used various products that were akin to their weapons. Ruby has an oversized lamb chop as a substitute for her scythe for goodness sake!

At some point, after knocking Yang through the roof, Nora was starting to gain the upper hand, thanks to the assist of Pyrrha. Soon, only Ruby was left standing. Not willing to back down, Ruby uses her Speed at full power, going at beak neck speeds to the point of carrying soda cans, dishes, food, and even Jaune and Ren along. The Ruby spins around, making a small twister and taking Pyrrha and Nora as well. Ruby eventually stops on the end of the hall, the force of her speed causing the wall behind her to break. Team JNPR finds themselves planted on the wall and in the mercy of the sodas, food and other objects. Ruby, who leaped out of the way, stood in triumph.

"Well, questions were answered." Grimmjow said to Ichigo. To his surprise, Ichigo and Uryū were covered in food. He glances over his person, not seeing a speck of food on himself miraculously. Uryū removes his glasses, leaving a perfect rim around his eyes.

"I like these guys." Sun said to Neptune, who is also covered. Glynda barges into the cafeteria, none too pleased with the state of the place. Using her telekinesis, she returns the tables back to their spots, put the unshattered dishes into a sink and threw away the broken ones in recycling bins.

"Children, please. Do not play with your food." Glynda surmised, giving teams RWBY and JNPR an icy glare. Nora's only response was a burp and Yang falling back down. Thanks to her Aura, she is relatively unharmed.

"Let it go." Ozpin said, appearing beside Glynda.

The blonde combat instructor sighs. "They are supposed to be defenders."

"And they will, in time. But for right now, they are children. So, we should let them play the part. After all," The headmaster turns to Ichigo, "it isn't a role that lasts forever." Ichigo and Uryū exchanged knowing glances.

"Excuse me." Someone said. Everyone turns to see officers Barnie and Yesman from the Vale Police Department.

"Yes? Do you gentlemen need something?" Ozpin asked.

"We're here to speak with one of your students. You are Uryū Ishida, correct?" Officer Barnie questioned Uryū.

"Yes, officer." Uryū answered.

"And it's from our understanding that you were an employee of Tukson's Book Trade?" Officer Yesman inquired.

"Yes, I used to work there before attending Beacon." Uryū answered earnestly. He smiles fondly. "The owner of the store was the only one who offered me a job. I even remember the slogan. 'Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun'. That may have been of a stretch, but it has a nice ring to it." It then dawned on him. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Mr. Ishida..." Officer Yesman said, his voice softens. "Earlier today, Mr. Tukson was found dead in his store."

A small gasp of shock escaped from Weiss as she and the others look on in shock as well.

"...Dead?" Uryū breathed. "...How?"

"It looked like he was shot." Officer Yesman explained. He was starting to feel sympathy for the Quincy, as he did with anyone else when he delivers such news. While he adores being a member of the VPD, this is the one thing he hates about his job.

"And according to Tukson's records, you were the last person he spoken to over the last 24 hours before his death." Officer Barnie said.

No one liked where this is going. "What is it you're tryin' to say?" Ichigo asked, with an edge of danger.

Officer Barnie didn't look intimidated. "We're saying that Mr. Ishida here is a suspect."

The two detectives are the ones voiced by Burnie Burns and Joel Heyman.

When I was typing Grimmjow in, I realized how much his name fits into this. GRIMMjow JAEGERjaques, Jaeger meaning 'hunter'.

Has anyone read the RWBY Official Manga chapter 9? They emphasized more on the food products weapon substitutes used by RWBY and JNPR. It was hilarious!

Next Chapter: Wavering Choices (November 2; don't worry, ya'll still get a chapter this weekend)