Chapter 1: Another Path on the Road


Cinder Fall was strong. She was always strong. No matter how hard the world is, or how dark the future seemed to be, she would never give up. Never again she would allow herself to feel hopelessness and helplessness. Never again would she allow herself to bow and submit before fate, or crumble against it's pressure. She was strong, she was STRONG. If she set her mind to it, she would stop nothing to achieve it.

Failures and obstacles were mere rehearsals to her inevitable victory. She had overcome great enemies with words or force. She stared down at an infamous serial killer and walked away without a scratch. She met the very Queen of Darkness herself had not faltered once despite standing before the very definition of evil.

She was strong. She was STRONG.

Which was why, despite her bleeding wounds, extreme exhaustion, screaming muscles, and the smoking remains of a dozen other expendable White Fang grunts littering the bloody and burning Dust storage warehouse they were in, she would not give in.

She was strong. She was not afraid. She would not back down. She was strong. She was STRONG.

"You are strong indeed Cinder... but against me? I might as well you use your corpse as a practice dummy."

Cinder seethed internally. Her fists clenched as blood trailed down her pale skin.

Burn you fucking bastard!

"What's wrong?" Her opponent laughed, twirling his spear around; completely woundless. "You tired yet? I want to see you suffer first before I kill you."

He spat the last word out venomously, hatred and anger clear as day. Cinder clenched her teeth before a low guttural growl escaped her.

She was strong. She was STRONG. She was not afraid of this hindrance to her plans. She would never give in. Her wounds were nothing more than handicaps to work with. Nothing new. Let him toy with her now, he will pay later.

"Oh heavens no. I'm just getting started." She hissed, ignoring her screaming muscles. "You have been rather... annoying in my operations. Interfering left and right and burning down several months' of handwork."

"Oh really?" Her opponent replied, putting a foot forward and pointing his spear towards her. "That's sad. I had fun ruining your operations."

Oh you did?

"I truly hope you had your fun." Cinder spat venomously. "Because your fun ends now."

Her opponent merely snorted at her remark, rolling his eyes. She ignored it and gripped the handles of her twin swords Midnight. Her right arm positioned itself in front of her, pointing the sword towards her opponent. Pain jolted through her body as she tried to lift her left arm up; feeling shattered bone piercing right through muscle.

Damn it! Stay strong damn it!

"Oh you're injured. Silly me. Maybe I have been too tough on you."

The jab earned an angry hiss from her.

"You should've never messed with me."

"Oh no, you're wrong Cinder Fall." He hissed back, his voice steadily grew louder with each word. "I know behind that little mask of yours that you are afraid of me. Don't bother lying to me, because I am a liar myself. You've seen what I can do, you know what crimes I can commit, and what I do to my enemies."

He took a step forward; Cinder flinched and took a step back, gritting her teeth all the same.

"The moment you attacked me and my little sister, your days were numbered."

Cinder's eyes darted around the warehouse. Front door, locked. Back door, locked. Windows, out of reach.

No matter. She was strong. She was STRONG. She was definitely not afraid. She would not back down.

"You should have known better to fight me. You should have known better to attack my little sister..."

Electricity started to flare up from his body, and Cinder cursed as his Semblance activated. He pointed his spear towards Cinder, and electricity lashed and crackled from it like a whip.

Her instincts told her to run. Her mind told her to run. Every self-preservation instinct told her to run; fear building underneath. But she won't run. She was STRONG. SHE WAS STRONG.

"Now let me turn you into your namesake! Fall and be turned to cinders-"

"DIE HUMAN!"

A fox Faunus came out of nowhere and zoomed past Cinder, screaming and brandishing a battle axe. He swung it over his head, only for him to side step to the left, punch him in the stomach with his right fist and deliver an uppercut to knock him out.

As the fox Faunus fell unconscious, a dozen more White Fang members zoomed past her and charged.

"DIE HUMAN!"

"THIS IS FOR THE ALL THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS YOU TOOK FROM US!"

"FOR THE FANG!"

The Faunus were upon him like a wave, and wildly swung their weapons at him. Maces, swords, knives, spears and fists were thrown. All pathetically dodged.

"I don't want to kill if unnecessary," He said as he jumped back to avoid a spear stab. "but if you don't stay out of my way I won't hesitate to put you down."

"DIE!"

"Cinder!" A voice shouted from behind. "Seems like you've seen better days!"

Cinder Fall turned around slowly, pain jolting with each movement.

"Roman." She grunted.

"Well, I know you're glad to see me sweetie but we need to move like now. Need me to carry you?"

Cinder scoffed. "In your dreams. Do you have an escape route?"

"I got a Bullhead parked outside. Now come on, I managed to rile up a couple of mutts to fight against this guy, but if none of them are half as good as him we have two minutes tops before he comes out chasing us."

He motioned Cinder to follow, and Cinder offered no resistance as she followed him; abandoning the Faunus to their fate.

They arrived at the Bullhead. Explosions and fire rocked the warehouse behind them; pillars of black smoke rising all the way up. The panicked screams of the White Fang grunts bellowing all the way to their parked Bullhead.

"God damn it, Roman! Move faster!"

"Oh give me a bit of slack, Cinder!" Roman barked as he typed away at the Bullhead's controls. "It's not exactly easy to do when we have a literal psychopath on our trail!"

The screams of the Faunus died out one after the other. Cinder vaguely hearing the sound of metal slicing flesh like butter with her Aura-enhanced ears. Heavy footsteps grew closer and closer, running towards them in frenzied chase.

Little by little, Cinder's brave facade started to chip away. No, don't give in. She was strong. She was STRONG. SHE WAS STRO-

"Faster, Roman!" She screamed. "If you won't get us out, he'll have both of our heads!"

"Don't you mean your head!?" Another explosion rocked the warehouse behind them. "I don't what you and your brats did to him, but he wants you! He's literally tearing the place down to find you!"

"CINDER FALL!"

Where there was a solid grey wall lining the exterior of the warehouse, a giant hole with cracks reaching all the way to the roof was punched through it. As the debris settled, the vague outline of a man became more and more apparent.

The man - wait, no. Roman squinted to see a... teenager?! The guy Cinder was afraid of was a fucking teenager!? - walking out of the hole, his eyes hollow and betraying any expressions. Both Roman and Cinder flinched slightly as they saw his coat; the right side of his grey coat noticeably dyed in a fresh paint of red. His spear dripping with freshly spilled blood.

"You're not going to escape!"

Cinder's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights. "Roman go go go go go GO GO!"

Roman banged away at the controls recklessly. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK FUCK! Fly damn it! Fly!"

Roman whacked the controls with his cane, and the Bullhead sprung into life. The pilot controls lit up; The motors of the Bullhead hummed and turned; the Bullhead lifted and hovered over the helipad. With a face furrowed in equal parts frustration and fear, Roman quickly veered the Bullhead away from the helipad and into the sky in seconds.

"Ha ha! We're saved!" Roman celebrated. "Now let's get out of here-"

An explosion to their right forced Roman to swerve left. Then an explosion to their left forced Roman to swerve left. Seconds later, dozens of explosions occurred left, right, up and center in a ceaseless barrage; cloaking the sky with white smoke and static electricity zapping in and out of existence.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Roman screamed as he veered left from another explosion. "Who the fuck did you mess with!?"

Cinder didn't answer. She frowned bitterly, her fists clenching in tension.

She was strong...

... but he is stronger...

Cinder growled.

"Just... just keep flying up as high as you can and far away from here." She commanded while another explosion rocked the Bullhead. "His Railgun is powerful, but gets more inaccurate the further away the target is."

Another explosion rocked the Bullhead as she sat down to rest, but it was considerably less this time. Now that the tension faded away, both occupants of the Bullhead felt exhaustion creeping in.

"Railgun." Roman spoke tiredly. "Is that his Semblance or something?"

Cinder didn't answer, causing Roman to glance behind his shoulder towards the eerily silent girl.

"Hey..." he spoke nervously. "... Cinder?"

Cinder merely grimaced.

"I wish it was. It would have been easier that way."

Meanwhile, the teenager narrowed at the Bullhead steadily turning into a dot in the distance.

He fired forty-six shots, all coming close to hitting the fleeing Bullhead but missing anyways. Each shot becoming more wildly inaccurate than the last.

Distance: 3452 meters, Velocity: 58 meters per second, Height from ground: 1254 meters and stabilizing. At their height, wind speed should be around 50 meters per second. The wind is in their favor, so their velocity should be more or less 108 meters per second. Reaching them is next to impossible with current voltage and ampere output. Accuracy is even worse.

Anger seethed through his clenched teeth. She will not escape. She will not escape!

He grabbed his last dust bullet from within his bloodstained trench coat, positioning the bullet as if he was flipping a coin and took aim by extending his index and middle finger and thumb into the shape of a gun.

Electricity crackled through his right arm as he aimed the bullet directly at the Bullhead in the distance.

Readjusting voltage to 1,500,000 volts.

Like a lightning rod, his whole body spontaneously generated electricity of increasing intensity. The electricity crackled around him and lashed out against its surroundings, and the world bent to its will.

Electrical equipment all around him blew up. Fuses short-circuited and burned; ceiling lights shattered and smelled of burning smoke; electrical switches caught on fire. Light metal objects and heavy vehicles weighing in thousands of kilograms suddenly levitating tens of meters in the air. Even the warehouse's metal roofing suddenly uprooted and levitated in accordance to the sheer power output.

Increasing ampere output to 2,250,000 amperes. Focus energy to right arm.

Just as the electricity spontaneously generated and affected it surroundings, it suddenly disappeared and focused itself on his right arm. All around him, metallic objects or simply objects with some form of metal landed back with a clang or a strong thud. The levitating roof had collapsed back on the warehouse off-balance; before sliding off to the side and falling onto the adjacent warehouse.

But the boy stood unflinching and uncaring. His gaze right and true, and focused on the fading dot in the distance.

Accounting for all external factors and margin of error. Target deviation: 30 meters. Accuracy, unknown.

"Good enough. Let's see if you survive this. Be turned into ashes, Cinder."


"God damn it. I should have killed her right there."

Akira muttered angrily under his breath, just barely biting his tongue to avoid screaming. Veins bulged out in his neck and faced, his tensed muscles shaking violently in barely repressed blood lust and vengeance.

Cinder was already weak before she escaped. A million volts of electricity to the face tended to weaken, if not outright kill, people. Killing her would be trivial. But nooooo. He had to toy with her before finishing her off, and the damned White Fang showed up and took away his chance to kill her again. If it weren't for his idiocy, Cinder would have already be turned into literal human kebab by now.

And thus, his mission to kill Cinder Fall failed.

To add insult to injury, the exploding warehouse and the sonic boom from firing a Dust bullet at three hundred meters per second forced him to run from the warehouse and avoid the police and Huntsmen and Huntresses arriving at the scene. And his grey coat, freshly tinted with red dye, had to be destroyed. If the police saw it, no one would have second thoughts on getting him arrested. Thankfully, he was able to wash off the blood of his spear so he didn't have to abandon it.

"I swear to the Brother Gods that I will choke the life out of that bitch."

Akira rubbed his temples, dispelling his anger slowly. He could get angry with himself later, and having a temper tantrum in public was pretty immature of him. Escape and evasion was priority.

Thankfully, he left nothing of his presence, and by the time the police would arrive the warehouse would be in ashes anyways. Frying the security cameras, cutting power lines, shutting down security systems and firing an EMP bomb to shut down all electronics in the area beforehand was a good action too.

Nobody would ever know that he was even there in the first place.

He stopped walking. Something vibrated on his person. He shuffled around his pockets and pulled out his vibrating Scroll.

Caller ID: Ozpin.

Akira narrowed his eyes and glanced around, observing his vicinity.

There were people everywhere, walking and minding their business in the city. No surprise there. Vale was always a busy place especially when it came to the more urbanized zones. But there was always a chance for eavesdroppers or suspicious persons following him.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to care about his presence. Nobody was batting an eye at him. No suspicious persons either in the crowd. No threat or hostiles anywhere. Good.

He swiped the green accept button and raised the Scroll to his ear.

"Akira speaking." He began while beginning to walk again.

"Akira, this is Ozpin. I assume your mission failed?"

"Failed is an understatement." He grimaced. "When the White Fang spotted me, they opened fire and forgot their entire warehouse was full of volatile fire dust."

Akira briefly glanced behind his shoulder as he continued walking. Though it was mostly obscured by tall buildings and skyscrapers, a visible plume of black smoke rose from behind and up to the sky, and he could still hear the distant wail of sirens.

"Safe to say, a few of them will survive to remember their lesson."

Ozpin sighed at this end of the line. "This is unfortunate. I honestly expected more from a person of your caliber, Akira."

Akira twitched at his comment, before sighing in defeat. As much as he wanted to deny it, he had to agree with him there. He let anger and vengeance get the best of him today.

The blood of the two dozen innocent Faunus he murdered to grab an opportunity to kill Cinder Fall was on his hands too. Even if they were White Fang and radicalized, they were still people with families to return too.

And he just killed them.

"I... I... I can't deny the fact I lost my mind. Cinder was just right there." He admitted, regret and bitterness seeping into his tone. "After my cover was blown, the first thing I thought was kill Cinder Fall. I might never get a chance like this again. You can imagine what happened next."

"I can sympathize with you alright." Ozpin said, with a seemingly nostalgic and reminiscing but sympathizing tone. "I have met dozens of people who went mad with vengeance in my many lives. Though admittedly, I never met one as young as you."

"I can see that. You don't see a fifteen year old decide to kill a woman who is a decade older in your lifetime..."

Akira trailed off, pulling the scroll away from his ear and letting it hang uselessly in his right hand.

I'm just fifteen years old after all.

His pace slowed into a crawl.

Just fifteen, and I already have blood on my hands.

He stopped, and he gazed into his right.

He stared at a glass pane, and his reflection gazed back.

He was still young. It struck him. He was still young. Grey steel eyes, raven black hair, a flat nose, some baby fat in his somewhat handsome face. A teenager with lean body build with a height of four feet and eleven inches. All things considered, he was normal aside from his embarrassing height. Not that his height mattered. On the surface, he was just a teenager barely halfway through puberty.

And somehow, he ended up doing and experiencing horrors that can scar even the most hardy adults for the rest of their life. It was honestly surprising that he wasn't physically scarred yet.

He was Akira Kirigaya, a man of many things.

A murderer.

A killer.

A child.

...

Some child he was.

"Akira, you are not alone. We have both spilled blood, and you can always share your burdens with me. Amber is here too, and the staff here in Beacon are always ready to support you. Physically, emotionally, and financially."

"... perhaps..." He answered absentmindedly.

Akira gazed at the store behind the glass panes. It was a toy store. It was colorful as expected, shelves upon shelves off toys. Dolls, robots, action figures. Things unfamiliar to him, things he never had in his childhood.

A mother was in there with her child. The child, full of energy and innocence, eagerly pointed at a random toy in the shelf. The mother happily smiled, and mouthed something before the child's eyes sparkled in happiness.

The child hugged the mother, who took the toy and paid for it before handing it back to her child.

Akira could imagine what the child was saying at that moment.

Thank you Mommy!

...

...

...

"I wish I had a mother."

"I'm sorry Akira what was that?"

"Nothing." He shook, dispelling the sadness in his tone. "Is Fremea awake?"

"Fremea is awake and rather energetic." Ozpin replied. "Last time I checked, she was having fun with her new prosthetic arm and playing with Amber. Why?"

Akira eyed the giant teddy bear nestled on top of one of the shelves.


"I'm going to buy something for her. To celebrate her successful surgery."

"Ahhhh I see. We can have the briefing about the information you collected tomorrow. Take the rest of the day off and have fun."

"Huh?" His voice piped up. "I thought you want this information ASAP."

"You're right, but your actions today certainly put a setback in Cinder's plans. And if I know you enough, you probably injured Cinder enough that she wouldn't be able to make a move assuming you didn't kill her. We don't have to worry about her for now, so for now take the time off and spend it with your sister."

"... thanks Ozpin."

His scroll beeped, and the call disconnected. Then, silence filled his Headmaster office; with only the ticking of the clocks filling the ambience.

"You know," A female voice spoke up. "Akira is really sweet person."

Ozpin nodded, his smile not receding, as he looked up at his fellow deputy headmistress sipping tea on a chair.

"He is, Glynda. He may not believe it himself, but deep down he is a truly good person. He is simply unfortunate to have been forced in... bad circumstances."

Glynda noticeably saddened at his last remark.

"I honestly wonder how he remained sane with all the trauma he went through. Just looking at his records before he met Amber is depressing enough..."

She briefly glanced downward towards the floor, tea on hand momentarily forgotten.

"Glynda."

She broke out of her stupor. "Yes?"

"Its all in the past. What matters is that Akira and Fremea are here and safe." Ozpin consoled. "Don't forget that Akira will work here and Fremea is slowly recovering. They are here to stay. In fact, Fremea considers us as family at this point. And Akira trusts us and is willing to work with us even after knowing about Salem and the relics."

Ozpin flashed a light-hearted smile.

"They will be okay. They have us now."

Glynda nodded hesitantly. "Very well, then."

"Now, where were we?" Ozpin diverted. "I believe you were bringing me something. I just had to call Akira after the news reported an explosion on where he was having a mission."

"Oh right. Here,"

Putting her tea down on a table, Glynda picked up a folder full of files on an adjacent chair and placed it on Ozpin's desk.

Ozpin grabbed and opened the folder, scrutinizing its contents.

Course Proposal
ETHICS05: Huntsman Ethics and Decision Making

This course is aimed to prepare Huntsmen-in-training and Huntresses-in-training to raise awareness of, and how to critically analyze stressful and difficult situations and determine the appropriate course of action; particularly those situations which demands students to make morally questionable choices (e.g. abandoning one to save ten civilians). To this end, this course will endeavor to expose students to these aforementioned situations in a controlled environment and provide guidance on how to properly act under such circumstances. Students will also learn the common psychological stress disorders that may arise from such impactful choices such as survivor's guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder and how to handle it treat it, on others or themselves, until they can receive proper medical attention.

It is hoped that this course will complement with other courses to build the necessary psychological hardiness demanded by their profession.

"So... what is your evaluation of his course?" Ozpin asked curiously.

"I checked Akira's syllabus for the course he proposed, as well for all the activities and lessons." She began as Ozpin read the files. "I honestly had my doubts when you and Oobleck said he was better off as professor. I know from his results that he was too overqualified to be a student, but professorship? At that age? And you even told him to prepare a course to prove it? I thought you might have lost your mind..."

Ozpin chuckled, putting down the files and focusing on his deputy.

"But I suppose you changed your mind, haven't you?"

A graceful and somewhat sheepish smile appeared on Glynda.

"... yes... yes he did." She admitted. "That child is just full of surprises..."

Yes. Yes he was.

"The course he proposed is both practical and invaluable." She praised. "His proposal for teaching students on how to appropriately handle difficult situations Huntsman face will prove useful in developing the psychological and emotional endurance being a Huntsman demands. I added a few more pointers of my own to improve it. I also had other professors evaluate his course just to be sure, and we're all in agreement."

"There are, of course, some issues with his course. His proposed methods of teachings are somewhat harsh, but nothing that refinement can repair. There are also some professors thinking that this course should be thought by a more experienced professional and or should be reserved for third and fourth years given the sensitive subject matter. But otherwise, a few more adjustments here and there and this course is ready to be inducted into the core curriculum should you approve it."

"That is acceptable." Ozpin waved. "And this is the first time we shall have such course, and we can always improve it on later dates.

He closed the file and pushed back to Glynda. "I'll have Akira perform a mock class with us as students and perform a few adjustments before I approve it. Besides,"

He looked to Glynda in the eye, smiling victoriously.

"I told you he was suited for professorship."

She merely smiled.

"He is, and I am honestly glad we have him as part of the faculty." Glynda admitted, smiling herself as she continued sipping tea. "Young as he may be, he has a realistic and well-versed understanding of reality. If his summer classes are anything to go by, we can trust Akira to teach our students without us needing to worry over him. A few more sessions with Oobleck over professorship should help make things smoother."

"Mhmmm." He hummed. "With that, I suppose any doubts of his professorship is expelled?"

"Essentially, yes. Some professors of course are somewhat hesitant to have a person barely halfway through puberty as a professor, but they are warming up to him. The only problem Akira should have would be getting the students to listen to him. They will definitely question why a fifteen year old is their professor."

Ozpin chuckled, waving it dismissively.

"Akira has a dominating presence during battles. Qrow did say that Akira was a monster on the battlefield. Perhaps arranging a few matches for him to fight our professors with all the students watching will fix that. And with him capable of fighting the Fall Maiden on equal grounds and win? Akira shouldn't have too much of a problem. Now I believe with all concerns addressed for the day,"

Ozpin stood up from his chair.

"Do you have the cake and ice cream ready?"

He never though Glynda could smile so mischievously.

"Yes. I have hidden away in my apartment's fridge for the time being. Oobleck and Peter are probably bringing in the rest of the food to Akira's apartment dorm by now."

"Excellent." He grinned. "Let's go Glynda. We have a party to attend."


"Amberrrrr. I'm borreeeeddd~."

Amber snickered at her antics, sipping her tea. "I know Fremea."

"Entertain meee~."

"I'm bored too." She shook. "I can talk about Dust, Maidens, Relics and school stuff, but you eat knowledge like a cookie monster. I still don't know how a twelve-year old kid like you are interested in reading books on chemistry of all things..."

"Well, I know!" Fremea lit up, a metaphorical light bulb glowing above her head. "How about you use your Fall Maiden powers and shoot a fireball at me!?"

A veritable waterfall appeared as Amber sat her tea out.

"Wait, what!?"

"I want to see if I can still channel my Aura through my new arm!" She declared as she flexed the prosthetic arm connecting at her shoulder. "I want to apply as a student as soon as I get recovered, and what better way to recover fast than to start fighting again?!"

Amber facepalmed. "Fremea!"

"What?! It might work!" She shamelessly said. "I can get used with my new arm faster if I can fight and spar with you. And I can start building up lost muscle too! And with Akira finally earning enough money to buy actual food, I can start growing taller and build tougher bones! Its the perfect plan!"

"If I did, Akira would probably kill me..."

"Nonsense! You are our friend! You even treated us to a meal back in Mistral remember!? He'll probably torture you first before killing you..."

Amber groaned as Fremea laughed loudly. "... sometimes I wonder what you went through to make those kinds of jokes..."

"Dark humor makes things better." Fremea giggled, settling back on her bed. "Back before we met you and got entangled with this Salem mess, dark humor made me and Akira's days much easier to cope with. Helped us ignore all the fighting, the killing and the ruthlessness of the lands beyond the kingdoms and feel normal somehow..."

She looked up at the ceiling made of smooth brown mahogany; a look of nostalgia and whimsicalness gleaming in her eyes.

"... but since we met you, even after losing my arm and leg, we have never been any more happier. Salem aside, we would probably be starving somewhere in Mistral if we never met each other. We have a house. We have food. We have medicine. We have a bed. We also have money to spend. We also have friends. We also have you."

She gazed back into Amber, who was smiling bitterly at her. She did not miss the extreme guilt in her eyes.

"True..." She began, putting down her tea to the side; her eyes glossy. "... But your arm and leg-"

"It was really bitter for me at first. I mean, I thought I was going to bleed to death after getting my arm cut off. Then Qrow saved us, then Akira had to cut of my leg after it got infected. It was really painful and hard to cope with losing two of my limbs so fast, and both me and Akira were really bitter and angry at you even though it was that bitch's fault after all. But..."

She stretched her arm out, her new prosthetic metal arm, and cuddled Amber's hand with her own.

"You gave us a home. You got Ozpin to pay for my surgeries so I can live a reasonably normal life. You got Akira a stable job, and as an Ethics professor no less, so we can settle down as civilians. Sure, it was hard at first, two limbs gone and all, but both of us are grateful to you and everyone here in Beacon. Akira and I are indebted to you, and we don't turn on our debts."

She carefully hoisted herself up on her bed and before enveloping Amber in a tight hug.

"Fremea?"

"We are the Kirigaya siblings." She continued, holding Amber close. "We have gone through suffering that can make a grown man go mad. We've learned to be grateful of whatever we have, and thanks to you we finally achieved our dream of finding peace in this cruel world. So stop being guilty already. You've done so much for us and we're friends damn it! You have been our first friend in years."

Amber couldn't hold it back anymore.

Amber sobbed loudly, hugging Fremea back for dear life.

"I-I-I'm so sorry for dragging you into this mess... you shouldn't be dragged into this war with Salem this young..."

"Its okay, Amber. Its okay." She consoled; rubbing her back. "A war against Salem is bad and all but we can let Ozpin and Akira worry about her. We just have to wait for a new leg then I can start learning to be a girl again..."

"Y-y-you know... Fremea?" Amber choked out between sobs. "You're like the little sister I never had..."

"Shhhhhhh. Don't let Akira hear you. He'll probably try to murder you for taking me away from him or something along those lines..."

"Pfft. Hope he doesn't mind sharing."

"I wouldn't mind."

Both girls giggled.

"How did we end up like this?" Amber wondered. "We were just talking about you getting me to shoot a fireball."

"Don't know. Don't care. I have a friend here. And that's all that matters."

"Oh Fremea-"

knock knock knock knock knock

"Amber? Fremea? Are you there?" A voice sounded through a wooden door. "Its me, Ozpin. Me and Glynda just wanted to check up on Fremea."

"Professor Ozpin? and Professor Glynda?" Fremea blurted confused. She glanced at the clock in her room. "Its only four in the afternoon. Don't they have work to do? Initiation in three weeks and all?"

Meanwhile Amber gasped and covered her mouth.

How could she forget!?

"Coming!" She acknowledged, wiping away all other tears. "Let me just get Fremea on her wheelchair! Come on Fremea, we need to do something important!"

"Huh?! What's important?!"

"It's a secret!"

"Wha!? Amberrrrrr!" She whined. "No fair!"

"Life isn't fair."

"Heyyyyyyyy!"

Ignoring Fremea's cries, Amber carefully took off Fremea's blanket. She winced and quickly averted her eyes from the bandage-wrapped stump on her left leg and focused instead on her pouting face. Carefully, she wrapped her arms around Fremea's waist and shoulders and placed her on her wheelchair.

"Come on, Amber! Friends don't keep secrets!"

"Nope."

"Amber!"

She wheeled Fremea out of her room and into the living room of her and Akira's shared teacher apartment. Rich mahogany wood made up the walls and doors of their home, with equally mahogany wood furniture decorating spicing up the environment. Afternoon light shone through the window panes; overlooking the Forever Fall Forest below.

Amber stopped Fremea by their main door, who was still whining.

"Amber! Tell me already!"

"Fine! Ozpin tell her!"

Amber opened the door.

Meanwhile, Akira was downcast as he approached Beacon Academy with a newly bought bag on hand.

I'm sorry, Fremea. I couldn't kill Cinder.

He clutched the bag tightly, almost ruining the straps before he released his grip.

I'll get her next time. I promise.

There was no telling when Cinder Bitch would rear her ugly head next. It would probably months before she showed up. He was sure he broke a leg and an arm and probably her rib cage before that oh so Gentleman Thief waltzed in and plucked her off.

Bastard. Maybe I should assassinate Roman along with her-

He shook his head. No. That was a terrible idea. That girl that was accompanying Roman around would definitely take revenge, and the whole underworld was kept in line with Roman keeping watch. Killing him would only sent the underworld in a crazed power chase to fill the vacuum, and Cinder would probably just find another lackey to do her bidding.

He made his way towards the teacher apartments, home to Beacon's teachers and staff. Beacon Academy had dormitories for their teachers; their quarters were considerably larger than the students' and complete with a kitchenette, working office, a dining room and even a laundry room. It was pretty much his dream home: safe, secure and comfortable.

If only it weren't for Fremea losing both her arm and leg it would have been perfect.

He cursed underneath his bed as he walked up the stairs. He pulled out a Scroll and-

"Oh my god! What is this?!"

"That's fried chicken. A staple here in the Vale."

"Can I have some?"

"Eat your vegetables first, Fremea."

"Let the girl enjoy what she wants, Glynda. She needs to know there's more to the world than cafeteria food."

"Indeed! A girl as young as her needs to enjoy her youth as much as possible!"

"That, I agree."

A resounding chrous of approval roared, muffled by the walls of his and Fremea's apartment. He narrowed his eyes. Why was it so loud inside? And why were there multiple voices? Was that Professor Ozpin who spoke last? What was happening?

Adrenaline pumped through his veins. Static electricity charging on the side. He carefully put down his bag down and pulled out a dagger from his belt. He swiped his Scroll on the electronic lock and his door unlocked with a hiss.

He gently opened the door and-

"Akira! Welcome home!"

He blinked, then his stomach growled.

Food. So. much. food. A dozen different scents of fresh and assaulted him all at once. Colorful foods he had never known sat at his table and begging to be eaten. Sitting around his table was Fremea stuffing her mouth with food on her wheelcahir, Professor Glynda actually laughing along with her colleagues, Professor Ozpin being enigmatic as always but with a smile on his face, Amber serving a heap to herself and the Professors Oobleck and Peter laughing with each other.

"... whaa-"

"Hehehe. Surprised, Akira?" Amber arched a brow. "Didn't expect this, didn't you?"

"I. What. Huh? What?"

"We're celebrating, Akira!" Fremea shouted, stuffing more food in her mouth. "Cheers to my successful surgery and recovery!"

"Cheers!"

All the professors raised their glasses and... smacked it at each other? Was that a norm during eating? Ten years outside of the Kingdoms didn't tell much about culture.

And what were they celebrating? Fremea's successful surgery and-

His dagger clanged harmlessly to the floor.

"Woah..." He spoke genuinely surprised; warmth filling his heart. "... you guys..."

"Come on Akira! Join us!" Peter waved him over. "Let's celebrate!"

"Forget about your professorship problems and eat!" Oobleck shouted before chugging down his drink. "We must celebrate your sister's recovery!"

Ten years. It has been ten years since we were set on this bloody road.

"Happy recovery, Fremea! You're looking lively already!" Peter said enthusiastically.

"Keep eating vegetables and fruits darling and you will be as healthy as an ox in no time!" Oobleck followed.

We have a place to call home. We have food on our table. We have beds to sleep in. We have medicine to stay healthy.

"Ms. Glynda! What is this?!"

"That is called ice cream."

"And what is this!? Why is it so squishy and white? What is this black stuff?"

"Its chocolate icing. And that is called cake. You can have a slice when you're done eating."

We have friends now.

"Fremea, before I forget." Ozpin began, handing over a plainly wrapped box with a ribbon on top. "James couldn't come, Headmaster and all, so he sent a gift for you instead."

"A gift?! What gift?!"

Fremea ripped the gift apart with her hands. Her eyes shone as she gazed upon its content.

"A leg! A leg!" She shouted gleefully. Pulling out a prosthetic leg the same length as her remaining leg. "A prosthetic leg! Oh my god I can walk again! I thought I had to wait for a couple more months!"

"James couldn't bare seeing you like that and wanted to wish you well," Ozpin spoke. "so he bought the most advanced prosthetic leg in Atlas immediately and shipped it over. Qrow also sent his well wishes to you and said he could bring you to meet his nieces in Patch once you can move freely again."

"Friends?! Tell Qrow thank you!"

We finally realized our dream.

"Akira! Come join us already! Don't just stand there!" Peter shouted as he helped himself a serving of spaghetti. "We don't get to party this much you know?!"

"You can worry about your professorship training tomorrow!" Oobleck spoke hurridly, waving a cup of coffee from nowhere. "We have much fun to do today!"

I will protect you. I'll protect you until you can fight for yourself. I'll protect this reached dream of ours to my last breath.

"Hey, Akira! Whats that?!" Amber pointed at the shopping bag he held on hand. "Wait... did you buy that from a toy store?"

"Toy?! TOY?! You mean those things kids get from their parents!? Showmeshowmeshowmeshowme!"

Akira let out a good-hearted laugh at her little sister's antics.

"Not a toy." He said as he pulled out a giant plushy teddy bear from the bag. "Happy recovery, Fremea."

"Akira!" Fremea wheeld herself over to him; waving her hands excitedly. "Give it to me! Give it to me! Pleaseee!"

"Okay, here you go."

Fremea snatched the teddy bear from his hands and enveloped it in a tight hug.

"I love it! My first teddy! Thank you! I love you so much!"

She put the teddy bear on the side and hugged Akira on the waist.

I promise I'll protect you,

He wrapped his arms around her too.

"I love you too, Fremea."

By any means necessary.


I hope you liked it. I poured a lot of time and effort into planning this story.

Please review, favorite and follow! Helps me a lot! Criticism is valued!