A/N: As always, I don't own any of Toaru and RWBY characters. Special thanks to furaiz for beta-reading and giving his thoughts to my fic.

To add with some reviews concerning Misaki, while she may have a support type power, she is physically strong as she is a 'second-generation huntsman' unlike her canon counterpart. And when you face an injured Touma Kamijou that seemed to point that he is out of aura (at least in another person's point of view) then he would be considered easy pickings.


Blake turned another page in her novel at the library, unable to muster up her normal contentedness with the quiet atmosphere, while her leader and partner struggled to finish some homework under Weiss's watchful eye. JNPR was more or less quiet, with Nora peacefully sleeping and the rest of them tackling their own work as well. However, Blake felt restless, everyone hearing the rhythmic tapping of her foot from under the table they shared.

Weiss threw a silent glare at her and Blake sheepishly smiled, mouthing an apology as she shifted her foot back from tapping the floor relentlessly. It wasn't like she was the only one feeling concerned, Ruby made a small 'eep' as Weiss cleared her throat and stared straight at her with her arms crossed before the former hurriedly put her pen to paper and started writing.

Blake wasn't a superstitious person, but her mind kept whispering a premonition of something happening to Touma that she wouldn't be able to handle well. After all, he should be back by now, yet he was still absent in class, something that got even the normally cheerful Ruby, who was smacked in the head once again by Weiss, to worry.

"Ruby, you made the same mistake for the third time! Menagerie was given to the Faunus after the Great War, not before!" Weiss hissed as she shook her head, "What's gotten into you? You don't usually make the same mistake all the time!"

"Ehe… sorry, Weiss," Ruby sheepishly smiled as she scratched her head, Weiss just sighed and closed her book, leaning back on her chair. They spent hours on this essay alone and Weiss despised having her time wasted like this.

"I think you all could do with a break, there's no point in doing this if you're distracted all the time," Weiss muttered tiredly, and if Blake had anything to say about it, Weiss could use it too. She had seen how her 'tutoring' went with the two sisters and it often ended up with a very stressed Weiss, especially when Ruby gets distracted.

"Phew! Professor Oobleck's essays are killers," Yang complained, she clenched and unclenched her hand in an attempt to circulate the blood in her hand. Aura powered or not, these essays seemed to just drain her in ways Grimm and hardened criminals couldn't.

"Tell me about it," Jaune said as he put his pen down with a sigh, "The extra essay he assigned me is just making it worse."

Pyrrha patted her partner's shoulder as she fought to keep her lips from smiling, as much as she didn't like the fact that Jaune had to deal with the punishment because Cardin picked on him, she was glad that she could help him out with his work directly, "Perhaps we could take a break too?" she suggested and Jaune's glance was filled with gratefulness, and in her mind, she fist-pumped for that small victory.

"Yeah, guess we could…" Jaune agreed and stretched his neck.

"We all could, especially with the way Weiss teaches," Yang replied teasingly.

However, Weiss dully stared at Yang, completely unimpressed as if she had expected this kind of teasing in some form, "Well, if you don't like it I could always spend my time on something else instead."

Yang paled and Ruby's eyes widened in horror, it wasn't that they were bad at schoolwork, it just helped that they had a walking and talking encyclopedia of knowledge in the form of one Weiss Schnee. Losing that would force them to spend even more time on homework, something they were not keen on, and Ruby made it very clear with an uncharacteristic glare at her older sister, "Okay, okay, I take it back! Geeze… you need to loosen up," Yang responded in a panicked voice.

"Oi, you guys know this is a library right?" a new voice entered the fray, a voice not unfamiliar to Blake and as she looked up, she froze. A blonde boy wearing a green shirt white flower patterns, blue trousers and shades had his arms crossed somewhat sternly, waiting for the group to reply.

"I apologize for our rudeness," Weiss replied before shooting an accusing glare at her blonde teammate who seemed to find the ceiling far more interesting, "We'll try to be quiet."

"Yes, we apologize as well, we didn't mean to cause a disturbance," Pyrrha chimed in.

"... It's no probs, I mean, the library is all about study and all," Motoharu said as his face broke out into a grin, almost shocking Weiss at his sudden change of tone.

Nora snorted, her head resting on the desk but nonetheless didn't even twitch as she continued to slumber away the afternoon, while Ren's eyes merely flicked up to Motoharu before focusing themselves on the open tome.

"Where's Touma?" Blake suddenly asked, everyone whipped their heads towards her, looks of confusion dressing their faces. While Blake might've been uncomfortable with the stares, what she needed to know overpowered it as she glanced at the grinning blonde boy.

"Uhh… Blakey? Why would this guy know about Touma?" Yang asked and almost everyone seemed to ask the same question with their eyes.

"I'd imagined that you'd tell them about me, after meeting you last week and all," Motoharu said to Blake and at that moment, some of the group started to have a look of realisation growing on their faces. "Allow me to introduce myself, Motoharu Tsuchimikado, at your service." Everyone just watched him in silence while some, like Yang had their jaws drop.

"Wait, you're Motoharu? The 'I took Touma on a mission' Motoharu?" Yang inquired, her voice raising only for Weiss to throw another glare at the blonde.

"He is? I kind of imagined Motoharu to be a lot more… well, huntsmanny?" Jaune whispered to Pyrrha, who only smiled humorlessly. It was pretty uncommon to see a very young huntsman, but there were a few all over Remnant and most of them were very talented at what they do.

"Not necessarily, most huntsmen tend to prefer clothing that benefits their movement over presentation," Ren supplied in equal volume.

"The one and only!" Motoharu answered with a grin, "And I'm sure you're all eager to see him, he's at the infirmary, but-" Suddenly, Motoharu shot his hand out and Ruby squeaked as she was jerked back from zooming to the said infirmary. "Woahh, where are you going… uhh?"

"Ruby," she provided with a sheepish grin as she gave up on tugging her wrist from the blonde's grip.

"Ruby… right, anyways," Motoharu replied as he dragged Ruby back and turned to everyone, "I'm sure you want to see him, and you'll get to, but after I had a… private talk with him."

"I can't believe it… you, a huntsman?" Weiss asked in disbelief, as her eyes trailed at his choice of garments. After all, of all the huntsman that were 'highly endorsed' by the Beacon headmaster, one would expect that they actually look the role, serious and disciplined.

"Yep! Is it that surprising?" Motoharu asked, innocently raising his eyebrows as he tilted his head, but completely unfazed. He had a feeling the Schnee heir would react like that, after all, he had worked with the older Schnee a few times, it wouldn't be far-fetched for the two to have a similarity or two.

Weiss paused, while Motoharu certainly looked young, barely older than her if she had to estimate, it wasn't exactly impossible for someone like Motoharu to be a fully licensed huntsman. Her eyes flicked to Ruby who was staring at her curiously, her partner was quite young to be at Beacon, but if she had made it then there was a likelihood that Motoharu had similar circumstances to Ruby.

As Weiss slowly shook her head, Motoharu grinned as he gestured towards them, "Now, he has never told me about you guys, but the Ozman had mentioned that you were friends with him. Well… he could use a bit of support, let's just go with that."

"Why are you telling us this?" Weiss asked and Blake had to agree, Motoharu never really had to tell them anything. He could've just dropped Touma here and left to whatever he wanted. Sure he might not be a bad guy or anything like that, but Blake had dealt with people that were often difficult to trust, and no doubt Weiss felt the same way.

"Ah…" Motoharu his head cocked side to side, his lips pursed and his arms folded before giving a hapless shrug, "I guess you can say that… it's an apology of sorts."

Apology? Blake frowned at the current information she had now. First, Motoharu had taken Touma under his watch for his first mission, sanctioned by Beacon Academy. Next, Touma was now at the infirmary and that usually means one thing, an injury at the very least and knowing about Touma's unique circumstances did not settle well with her. Finally, while vague, Motoharu mentioned an apology

"But, that is not your business or concern," Motoharu's voice broke through Blake's thoughts, and though his shades obscured his eyes, she knew that he was staring straight at her. Weiss opened her mouth again to respond but before she could even let out a single sound, Motoharu clapped his hands as if everything was concluded, "Well, it's been nice meeting you and all, so I'll see ya at the infirmary, Ciao!"

He strutted away, jamming one of his hands in a pocket and the other waving, leaving the group in surprise, with a few questions left hanging. As they watched his back retreat into the hallways of Beacon, Yang asked, "Is it just me, or does this Motoharu guy seem really… Off to you?"


Soft, warmth, comfort. It was all Touma felt, he had to be in some kind of heaven, he could sleep all day if he wanted, but at the same time, he was a little curious to see if he actually made it to heaven. As he cracked his eyes open, he was greeted with a bland blue ceiling, that definitely didn't give the impression of a heavenly vibe. He shifted himself to a sitting position but for some reason, his left arm felt off, like it was bigger and heavier.

As he was about to look down he heard, "Looks like the Sleeping Beauty has decided to wake up! Heh, you shoulda seen outside, everyone's been wanting to see you," a teasing familiar voice rang through Touma's ears and as he glanced to see who decided to announce it to the world, a blonde huntsman with a large grin stood up from a couch and lazily strutted to him, "So Kami-yan, a fractured arm, shot in the torso and a whole bunch of bruises, what a first mission, am I right? Luckily you can show the ladies your 'badge of honour' with those battle scars!"

At that moment, images of Lych, Harumi and those lifeless children flooded his mind. Steel walls, high-tech machinery and that vivid green light echoed and Touma gripped his head only to accidentally smack himself on the forehead with a slight sting in his arm. His left arm was covered in a white cast and another scene flashed in his mind, the time when that Shizuri girl kicked him and he blocked it, leaving him with a fractured arm. He shook his head and then scanned the room, it looked like some kind of infirmary, or rather, it was the Beacon infirmary with only a couple of empty beds and stocked medicine cabinets.

"Now… I know you got a lot of questions but, first things first," Motoharu cut in just as Touma opened his mouth, the blonde huntsman tilted his head to the right of Touma and following that, he saw something that made his heart sank as several bits of broken metal and electronics, lay hapless beside it, one looking suspiciously like Retterhand. "Yeah… So… your weapon and scroll got busted, either you're lucky to be alive or not crippled… or you are unlucky enough that you're alive but everything else is broken."

Touma flinched as if an invisible spear pierced his chest, but Motoharu wasn't done talking, "To top that, thanks to your semblance, dust-based meds and aura techniques have virtually no effect on you. At least the sterogel meds still work, but you're gonna be stuck with that cast for at least a week or two," But that didn't comfort Touma in the slightest as his good hand flew to his chest, scrunching up the green shirt provided by the infirmary as the words continued puncturing into him without mercy before he hung his head in defeat.

Still, there were a few things that plagued his mind and he looked up, asking, "What about those girls, Shizuri and Misaki?" He had no idea how long he had been out, but he wanted to know that all these people he met at the bunker were safe, including Doctor Gin.

"Ah… well, let's save that for later, shall we? Just waiting on Winter and Ozman to arrive then we can start the debriefing, they should be here at any moment," Motoharu answered as he sat down and took out his scroll, soon enough beeping and other electronic sounds emitted from his scroll. Touma sank back into his bed, questions floating in his head and he began to feel restless, he just needed to know what happened.

As if the heavens had answered his call, the door opened with Winter and Ozpin entering in, and Touma could've sworn he saw a familiar red hood before Winter closed the door and the infirmary fell silent.

Ozpin smiled gently, he grabbed a stool and with a sigh, he descended like an exhausted old man on Touma's left side and asked, "Touma, it is good to see you awake, how are you?"

Winter, however, had other plans as she briskly walked to the other side and sat down, crossing her legs over as she pointed out, "Ozpin, we don't have time for this." Ozpin raised an eyebrow but didn't answer. Winter then turned to Touma with a small smile and he felt his cheeks heat up a little, unable to get used to how warm she could be, "Touma, I'm glad to see you up. However, time is something we don't have and we must start the debriefing."

"Debriefing?" Touma asked, he was aware that he would have to write a mission report, but a debriefing wasn't something he was privy to.

"Indeed, Touma Kamijou," Ozpin answered as he shifted slightly in his seat, "As you are aware, this is the first time we have executed this kind of curriculum and for each mission, a debriefing can help us adjust that curriculum to your best interests." Ozpin's eyes then lingered at Touma's injuries, something he felt a little weirded out by as he tried to cover his cast with his right arm, "As you can tell, despite the mission's success, it could have gone better."

Touma scratched the back of his head with a nervous laugh, "So uh… what am I supposed to do?"

"We just need your account of how the mission, Touma Kamijou, be sure to not leave out any details, no matter how small or insignificant it may be," Ozpin answered with a nod.

Touma paused and drew a breath, steadily images began to stream into his mind as he attempted to figure out how he would recount what had happened throughout this mission. With a firm nod, he began retelling the events he had seen from his point of view, stumbling on a few words or even being interrupted by Ozpin for clarification. Apart from the minor interruptions, the three huntsmen patiently allowed Touma to narrate the story, how he met Lych and Doctor Kiyama, how he tried to persuade Doctor Gin to abandon his cause and how he fought the girls, Shizuri and Misaki.

As he concluded his story, Ozpin smiled and remarked, "I think you've done impressive work Touma Kamijou, using your capabilities for what's best in every party's interest is an important trait all huntsmen should have." Touma smiled in response, a little flattered by the praise.

"While his intentions were certainly noteworthy, his actions were completely reckless, facing a subject unarmed and injured?" Winter argued with a frosty glare and Touma shrunk away from her. Her gaze held him in its grip for several good seconds before she relented as she sighed, "Touma, there's a fine line between recklessness and heroics. I'd advise you to consider your position carefully next time."

"It just goes to show Kami-yan will do anything to save anyone, especially the ladies," Motoharu piped up with a shrug but Touma did not feel that the blonde huntsman was really on his side, "Either way, the past is in the past and if he succeeded, no need to worry about it. So… any questions you have Kami-yan?"

"Shizuri, Misaki… everyone… how are they?" Touma asked as he glanced at all three.

"Well! They are just fine, I'd imagine Ironman is taking good care of them?" Motoharu asked as he stood up with a grin.

"Yes, he has taken Project Revolution under Atlas Custody, they'll be given a home and Doctor Kiyama will be their caretaker as she has interacted with them," Winter affirmed. While Touma's lips twitched upward a little, happy that the girls seemed okay, their responses had pushed him into more questions than before.

"Wait, wait, wait. Ironman? Project Revolution?" Touma asked as he waved his hand as if to slow them down. He heard the latter being thrown around before by Harumi but he still haven't really figured out what this Project Revolution actually was.

"Hmm… Perhaps, Motoharu, Ms Schnee, it would be better if you start from the beginning, it would seem that Touma is more confused than ever," Ozpin suggested as he glanced above his spectacles at the blonde huntsman.

Winter and Motoharu shared a glance with each other and nodded, out of all who were in this mission, including the other Atlesian soldiers, Touma was the one who was completely in the dark. Motoharu sniffed and grabbed another stool before dropping onto it with a lopsided grin, "Fair enough. Okay, Kami-yan, get comfortable because this one is gonna be a long one. Wanna take it away, Winter?"

Winter nodded and her eyes sharpened, something Touma found very reminiscent of a certain blonde professor of Beacon, "Project Revolution is an initiative headed by former Lieutenant Colonel Gin, it is a way to revolutionise how huntsmen operate and combat Grimm by targeting key foundations of a huntsman, their aura and semblance. In some other cases, physical aspects as well.

"According to some of the documents Motoharu found, Doctor Gin had conducted a number of altercations to the subjects by use of drugs, augmentation, and other procedures. The Atlesian Command had eventually discontinued it under ethical grounds and concerns by some of the high ranking officers, but Doctor Gin had resumed the project after he went missing, presumably," Winter lectured, Touma nodded as he recalled some of the conversation between Gin and Harumi about this particular subject and it sickened him. He couldn't imagine people of his age would be willing to put themselves under these conditions just to fight Grimm.

"Simple as it is, there were successes, but minuscule in comparison to failures, only five out of almost a hundred candidates," Motoharu continued on, "Each one capable of massive destruction in some form of capacity. Like the girls you have met, Shizuri Mugino and Misaki Shoukuhou, as well as, Mikoto Misaka, Teitoku Kakine and the unnamed orphan. I don't suppose your guys have figured out who he is?" Winter shook her head and Motoharu shrugged nonplussed, it wasn't like it was critical information.

"Wait… so what do the bandits have to do with this?" Touma asked, after all, when he was briefed there were bandits and he thought Motoharu might've taken care of them.

Ozpin and Winter turned to Motoharu, and his grin widened but behind it, everyone could feel that roil of unpleasantness radiating from him, "Kami-yan, what we thought were bandits, weren't bandits." Winter sighed as she closed her eyes, a mixture of disgust began to crack through her normally composed face while Ozpin maintained a pensive stare at the blonde huntsman. Touma frowned, had he mentioned something he wasn't supposed to mention? "You're familiar with the group, White Fang, right? You even took them on at some point." Motoharu inquired and Touma nodded as he remembered the assassin of the infamous group that had tried to kill Blake.

With a short chuckle, Motoharu explained, "The White Fang has three main factions, each one that mainly operates in one of the three continents. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a run-in with the Howling Battalion faction."

The name seemed far more fearsome than the 'White Fang' and if Touma had to put a finger on it then, "It… sounds like they are a group of soldiers?" he ventured tentatively. The White Fang, at least on television and from what he saw personally, seemed more like Faunus trying to fight for rights and equality. While more violent than Touma was comfortable with, he could hardly imagine a group of White Fang members being actual soldiers.

"They are a group of soldiers," Winter spat as she stared at her knees, Touma jerked back from the sudden but small outburst she made, "As ashamed as I am to admit it, the Howling Battalion draws its members from the Atlesian Military, at least not officially. But, the fact that this knowledge is common within our ranks makes it difficult to not suspect our Faunus comrades as part of a terrorist organisation."

Touma gaped, to think that there were actual soldiers within the White Fang had him hit with a number of reactions. Disappointment that soldiers joined a fairly violent group, but at the same time, the problems stacking against the Faunus must've been dire enough that even soldiers of a well-paid military would be willing to join such a group.

"For them to have knowledge of Project Revolution has implications that no one here would be comfortable with," Motoharu said with a heavy sigh.

"I would assume that James is conducting an internal investigation then?" Ozpin probed. While the headmaster had complete confidence that his friend was on top of the issue, something in his mind was nagging him that the issue may be deeper than that.

"The General has committed resources to an investigation, but I'm not part of the team, so I won't have any idea as to who in the higher ranks are part of the Howling Battalion," Winter answered as she pushed the hair at the side of her head to behind her ears, "However, rest assured, the General has made it clear that it would be thorough."

Ozpin nodded, giving a small gesture with his hand to allow them to continue, "Thing is, Kami-yan, the actual target of this mission wasn't really the 'bandits', but Doctor Gin," Motoharu said and Touma just stared at him blankly.

"The General hoped that Doctor Gin would be able to help us deconstruct the project but… I've had reports that said he suffered a major feedback from a subject's semblance. He's essentially a vegetable," Winter finished with a shake of her head and Touma's blank stare turned to Winter, he didn't exactly like Gin, but he couldn't help but pity the man who was for all intents and purposes, dead. Silence reigned the room, everyone sitting as still as a statue, except for Motoharu who was swaying slightly on his stool.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Touma whispered, he knew he couldn't go back and do this whole mission again. However, had he the knowledge of such that Doctor Gin was performing those inhumane experiments, he would've acted earlier and perhaps the mission may have concluded in a cleaner manner, even Doctor Gin might have used his brilliance to help everyone.

Winter's face softened as she leaned in and firmly but gently gripped onto Touma's shoulder, "Motoharu and I agreed that we needed to see how you work and how you make your decisions."

Motoharu clapped, grinning all the way like a kid in a candy store, "Yup! Kami-yan let this be a lesson to you."

Winter drew a breath as she closed her eyes, resisting the urge to massage her temples as she heard Ozpin chuckling softly in the background. As she opened, she saw what she expected, a look of pure confusion by the one Touma Kamijou, she threw a silent glare at the blonde huntsman and he held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, the thing is, Kami-yan, just because you were hired by a client or work with parties that required your help, does not mean that they are doing it in the best interest of other people or even yourself," Motoharu elaborated and he stood up, his grin faltering a bit, "Even as you work with your fellow huntsmen, there will be times where you'll have to do things that go against their wishes."

Touma's brow furrowed at his explanation, he wasn't sure if he completely understood what Motoharu tried to say but he nodded nonetheless. Suddenly, a beeping noise emitted from Winter and as she flicked her scroll out, she closed it with a snap and announced, "I have to leave. Professor Ozpin, Motoharu," she nodded to each one as she stood up, then turned to Touma, "I'll be expecting a better performance in the next mission, Touma… I look forward to it."

Touma could've sworn he saw her lips twitched upwards, if only momentarily as she turned and marched out of the room. "Hmm.. yes… I think this will do for now, Touma Kamijou, the nurse informed me that you are to rest here for the rest of the week before you return to class, but should you need any assistance. Your scroll will be reissued shortly as well," Ozpin's suggestion hung in the air as he stood up and turned before he added, "Oh and… excellent work, if I say so myself, Touma and I'd imagine your friends would be very eager to see you."

The headmaster shot a glance at the blonde huntsman who said, "Yeah, I just need to have a word with Kami-yan, I'll meet ya later." Ozpin nodded and as he opened the infirmary doors, Touma could see curious eyes poking in to see inside and more familiar faces before the door was shut.

Motoharu stood up and clapped as he took Winter's seat, leaning forward, "Alright Kami-yan, just so you understand, under no circumstance should you tell the specifics of what that mission contained to anyone else." Motoharu held no humour, but Touma raised an eyebrow, a little confused as to why he shouldn't.

"Why? I mean, it's not like the world would explode-"

"Because, it'll create a mess and no one, including you, would want to clean it up." Motoharu answered and clapped his hand on Touma's shoulder. Touma winced, it almost felt like his shoulder was being constricted by a snake, "It's fine if you talk about it, as long as it's vague it should be fine." Touma's face twitched at the pressure on his shoulder and nodded, next, he felt a significantly more gentle pat on his shoulder, "Good! Now, I shouldn't deny you your time with ladies! I'll see ya around, Kami-yan. Even if you're injured, missions will still continue… at least it won't be action-packed… probably." With that he stood up and opened the door, just as he left, a red blur shot through and Touma suddenly found himself surrounded by familiar faces and feeling like it had been months since he last saw them.


Adam Taurus sighed as his boots continued to squelch against the grainy ground, it wasn't exactly a difficult day, but what he was about to do was going to make it a worse one for sure. However, he still had a job to do and he marched towards the tent guarded by a lone White Fang member.

The White Fang stiffened and snapped to a salute, "Sir! It's all ready!"

Adam sighed and as he was about to enter the tent, he gently placed a shoulder on the guard, "It's Adam, remember? We are not the Howling Battalion, we are equals fighting for the common and greater cause."

The guard's stance relaxed, but his mouth opened and closed as if not sure what to say, "Uh… um… Y-Yes Sir- I mean, Adam!"

The Bull Taurus held in a sigh, at least the guard tried. As he gave one last nod, he entered and was greeted by three large displays, each one lit up and occupied by a White Fang member of the very top ranks.

The screen on the left had one Lidvia Lorenzetti, the detestable leader of the Mistral Seeker's Church, her white and gold robes shifted slightly as she noticed the younger leader. Her smile was thin and her blue eyes stared at Adam with serenity, however, he could feel the contempt behind her maskless face. "Ah, Adam, gracious of you to join us."

Adam grunted in acknowledgement but turned his attention to the centre screen that held the leader of the entire White Fang. Sienna Khan's golden eyes were sharp and held nothing but authority, something that Adam himself respected to a degree. While he didn't always agree with her leadership, he'd rather work with her than someone like Lidvia's dogmatic and evangelical style.

"About time, we haven't got all day," this time, the voice came from the screen at the right, housing a blonde woman and she wore the abominable uniform of the Atlesian military. Major General Carissa, despite her fairly young age and status as a Faunus, she had managed to achieve such a high rank within the Atlesian Military. Unlike Lidvia, she was open with her disdain of Adam and Lidvia as her face was painted with a sneer.

"Enough, Carissa," Sienna ordered as she leaned back in her chair, "You mentioned that you have something to report?"

"Was it to do with the fact that you attacked a settlement north of Vale?" Adam piped up, Carissa didn't answer, but her raised an eyebrow was all that was needed for him to know her answer, "Don't think I wasn't aware of your activities on the Sanus continent, and don't think I wasn't aware of yours either, Lorenzetti."

"Adam, for the last time, we are all under one banner," Sienna said exasperatedly as Carissa scoffed.

"That may be so, but that doesn't mean they can operate in my region at the cost of my people," Adam retorted as he kept his eye on Lidvia who has yet to make a single reaction.

Carissa chuckled and leaned forward, her cheek resting on her white-gloved hand, "Look, boy, you may be fighting for the cause of the White Fang, recruiting those that need it and such, but the Howling Battalion doesn't care about what you do in your region, or hers. We do it for our cause, I secure the best weapons and resources and that is what is needed for the White Fang."

"Oh? Interesting, coming from a patriot like you, Major General," Lidvia said, despite her seemingly neutral tone, everyone was aware of the underlying mocking dripping from Lidvia's lips, "If I recall correctly, you'd rather ensure that Atlas maintain its might, a place for the Faunus to exercise military capabilities. How detestable."

Carissa snorted, closing her eyes and replied in equal mocking, "I don't want to hear it from a lunatic like you."

"Enough!" Sienna commanded and everyone's attention was focussed squarely on her, "Need I remind all of you, that while each one of us has a different philosophy, we use our resources to better the lives of the Faunus, even if it requires methods some of us don't approve." Her golden eyes flashed briefly before she sank into her chair again, "Carissa, your report, let's get this over with."

"Right, right," Carissa replied with a wave of her hand and shifted to a more business-like position, "...The operation in regards to Echo-Nineteen was a success." A grin peeked out from her mouth, very befitting of a lioness Faunus like her before it shifted back to the stone-cold mask, "Though it came at a cost."

"A cost?" Sienna's measured voice was already screaming disapproval as her stare seemed to gain a sharp edge.

"The platoon that was sent there were all apprehended or killed by Atlesian forces, though my people should be able to silence them from speaking," Carissa reported, her tone was clinical and betrayed no feelings. Adam had to admit, despite the pretentiousness of Carissa, she was a soldier through and through, he could respect that ruthlessness she wielded.

Sienna and Lidvia, however, did not as the latter asked, "You're willing to kill them just to cover your tracks!?" Her face cracked as the bridge of her nose seemed to scrunch up as if she swallowed something incredibly sour and vile.

"My people were already prepared for the consequences should they meet a certain situation," Carissa replied frostily, unlike Lidvia her face was more like a statue, not even a single wrinkle on her face.

"Even then, we do not put members of the White Fang into danger recklessly. Granted what we do holds dangers, we should minimise it when it's possible, I thought you, of all people, should know that," Sienna argued with a small frown. It wasn't like she didn't understand why Carissa did what she did, but at the same time, the leader of the White Fang felt this could've been avoided.

"Perhaps so, but if she doesn't do that, more members could be revealed and what may happen to them could be even worse," Adam spoke up, much to the surprise of everyone, though Carissa's eyes barely widened, "Perhaps that's why she only takes in soldiers, because they understand the risks. I am the same, I don't recruit any Faunus to the White Fang, I only recruit those who understand what we might have to do and the risks behind it."

It was one of the many reasons his subordinates were so fiercely loyal to him, he doesn't deceive them nor does he provide them with illusions of grandeur. Every raid on SDC property or emergency defences for Faunus settlements against the Grimm, every mission carried a significant risk and he had made it clear to them that the chances of being a casualty were great. Not every White Fang member was a fighter, but they chose to fight and Adam made sure to guide them as best he could.

"...That is correct, I can't afford the prisoners to reveal any members of the Howling Battalion to the Atlesian military, we'd lose too much and maybe even lose a considerable amount of resources," Carissa explained as her eyes lingered on Adam, momentarily before focussing on Sienna.

Sienna sighed and Lidvia's nose wrinkled before deciding to ignore that discussion together, the former waved her hand at Carissa to continue. "I have a number of critical documents in regards to 'Project Revolution', however, there is a problem. Lieutenant Colonel Gin, the head of the project, is… unable to help."

"Unable to help?" repeated Sienna, she wasn't the only one confused, the first thing those words meant to Adam was that this 'Gin' guy was dead. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who reached the conclusion as he saw Sienna shaking her head slowly.

"His mind was… rewired, essentially, he doesn't respond to anything, and the official word is that a Project Revolution subject's semblance had caused his brain to be damaged extensively," Carissa elaborated, briefly looking down before looking back up, "According to the doctors that examined him, he's essentially terminated. We'll need to find someone that can pick up the work… someone we can trust to a degree."

"When you said good news, I was hoping for something better than that," Sienna said tiredly before turning to Lidvia, "Lidvia, you mentioned you had a pressing problem?"

Adam's eyebrow rose, while he wasn't the biggest fan of Lidvia working in his territory, he had yet to make any active moves against the Mistral Seeker's Church. Lidvia shifted as she lowered herself to the screen, presumably to adjust the display. The screen then replaced Lidvia's appearance with a number of photos and Adam's eyes widened, corpses, Faunus corpses.

He wasn't a stranger to dead bodies, but the detail on the photographs had his hands tightening into fists as he tried to look away, but his body refused to move as if it were completely petrified.

"Lidvia… what's the meaning of this!?" Sienna asked, her voice lowered to barely above a whisper as her ears seemed to face outwards.

"I apologize for the… images," Lidvia's voice echoed, "But I feel this is something you all need to see." After a few more photos the screen eventually flickered back to Lidvia, her head bowed and her eyes closed, "My missionaries have come across a small Faunus settlement, it was completely wiped out."

"Who did this? Humans? Grimm?" Adam spat as he took a step towards the screen.

"Not likely," Carissa answered and as everyone turned to her, they noticed that her face had remained completely neutral, "If it were bandits, they would've captured some to make some Lien, Grimm rarely leaves corpses… depending on the type and if someone were capable of this… it would be either a huntsman or a psychopath."

"We have assumed as such… but my missionaries have also come across human corpses, merchants," Lidvia replied sombrely. Adam crossed his arms as his mind tried to piece each information he could, it wasn't uncommon for humans who tried to help Faunus communities be ostracised by other humans. While he wasn't a fan of humans, he respected the very few that had actively tried to help, to see another human that cared for the Faunus killed had him purse his lips.

"Unless we have a proper autopsy and investigation, we'll never know who the culprit is," Carissa stated with a shake of her head, "Considering that you churchies would never agree to 'defile the bodies' as you would put it, we could be sitting on this for years and never find out who… or what did this." Lidvia's face flinched, unable to deny Carissa's point as she would never have her faction do anything to the bodies other than the traditional burial methods their church used.

Sienna rubbed her chin, her eyes closed in thought at the new problem that was laid before them. A wiped out Faunus settlement, while rare, wasn't something that they can afford to devote resources to, for all she knew, it could be a Grimm attack and that the denizens simply couldn't defend itself against the ruthless monsters. Her golden eyes flashed open, "Lidvia get to the bottom of this, I don't care how, just do it" Lidvia only bowed in acknowledgement and Sienna nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, I assume that's everything, I'll call the meeting again within the month." With that, her screen turned off and the other two quickly followed.

Adam sighed and exited, the incident at Mistral had certainly grabbed his attention and knowing the Church, they would rather sit on their hands than do anything worthwhile. He may not necessarily have the capability to devote extra resources, but perhaps there was a way he could influence it somehow.


Touma stumbled on his narrative for the umpteenth time as he tried to omit some of the details he deemed important about his mission to his friends, team RWBY and JNPR, though Weiss seemed to be missing. Unlike the trio of Ozpin, Motoharu and Winter, his friends' reactions were far more varied. In fact just Ruby and Nora alone had the most change in facial expressions, ranging from excited, to horror, to shock, almost as if they were watching a thriller action movie. On the other hand, some like Blake and Ren barely had a muscle twitch on their face except the occasional minuscule eye-widening and blinking. What surprised Touma the most was Yang, her face just seemed to morph in disbelief, occasionally mouthing 'wow'. However, he was pretty sure Ruby seemed a little horrified when he mentioned how Retterhand got destroyed, judging from how she glanced at his arm and then the weapon.

When he concluded his story, Yang whispered as she cast a glance at the muscle of JNPR, "Damn, Nora actually won the bet…"

Everyone else apart from Touma and Ruby who seemed much more interested in the broken weapon, very much had the same reaction as they heard Yang, Jaune muttered, "You're kidding…"

"It seems she did," Pyrrha chuckled, a little happy, if bemused that her friend had won.

"I did? I did!" Nora cheered, throwing her hands up in the air before she hugged Ren who quickly turned blue, "Ren, we could buy like… all the pancakes in that new shop!"

Suddenly the door opened, revealing Weiss, her face seemed a little too cheerful despite the lack of a smile, even her footsteps seemed to have a bit of a spring to it.

"Yo, Weissalot, how's the talk with your sister?" Yang greeted with a wave.

Weiss's eyes rolled at the umpteenth nickname she was given, but her lips stretched upwards, "It was great, haven't seen her in a month, but Winter and I had a great catch-up. Touma, you never told me that she was your tutor!"

"That… slipped my mind," Touma answered, it wasn't like it ever came up and he half expected to go on a mission with Winter and Motoharu way later down the semester at the very least.

"Well, I'm not angry, or anything. I'm just telling you that you have a very important privilege-"

"Toumaaa! How could you do that to Retterhand!" and in Ruby-like fashion, Weiss's 'happy' mood came crashing down as she glared at her partner, offended.

"Ruby! I was talki-"

"Look at this! Look at this!" Ruby cried as Retterhand rattled at Touma's face, "With the frame damaged… I don't think it's possible to repair it without taking the whole thing apart…"

"Ruby!" Weiss threw her hands up in the air and gave up, it wasn't like she couldn't talk to Touma later.

Touma, on the other hand, chuckled humorlessly, what Ruby told him confirmed his fears that his weapon was pretty much good as dead. With his left arm out of commission for at least a week, it would be a long time before he could start building his weapon again.

"Well, I guess I'll have to do it! I'll build your weapon while you focus on recovering," Ruby declared with an assured nod, everyone looked at the youngest member of the group with widened eyes, or in Yang's case, a knowing snicker. Almost everyone knew that building a weapon is a complex and time-consuming task, and for her to offer Touma a chance to rebuild it was endearing in a way.

"Ohh? Building a weapon for someone other than yourself? Are you trying to earn some… brownie points with him, maybe?" Yang asked, she couldn't help it, it was just handed to her on a plate as a couple of them started to laugh good-naturedly as Ruby cheeks tinged pink.

"Yaang! Touma's weapon is broken! I'm just trying to help because he needs it and… and his arm is broken! I mean, what will he do if he has to fight Grimm and the bad guys without a weapon?" Ruby's justifications shot out like a machine gun before she relented and just pouted as she heard a round of chuckles from her friends, while clutching the broken weapon in her arms.

"Speaking of which, how'd you fracture your arm?" Weiss asked evenly while ignoring Ruby's look of thanks.

"He challenged a huntsman and during the fight, his arm was fractured, he did win though," Ren answered, Weiss rose an eyebrow, slightly impressed. Usually when fighting against a huntsman without being empowered by aura was a recipe for disaster.

"Then he challenged another huntsman without his weapon and injured, he still won, now THAT'S impressive!" Nora declared with a fist pump.

Weiss's eyes widened as she replied in shock, "What!?"

Touma laughed sheepishly as he scratched his head and said, "In hindsight, it was reckless, but I had-"

"No! Ruby's reckless, Yang's reckless, you are insane!" Weiss's scalding remark struck Touma in the chest, and he hung his head as he had no way to respond to her. Nora sheepishly shot a glance at Touma as she mouthed 'sorry'.

"To be fair, Snow Angel… I kinda would've done what he-" Jaune's mouth snapped shut when the piercing glare of Weiss Schnee was directed to him. Jaune shrank as he gave one apologetic glance to Touma, who couldn't blame the blonde boy, at least he tried to defend him.

"Idiots! I'm surrounded by reckless, crazy, moronic idiots," Weiss muttered as she rubbed her brow.

"Awww! Weiss, don't be like that! I know you're just worried about us," Yang replied as she slung her arm around the girl.

"Get off!" Weiss shook Yang off, but the blonde girl only laughed as she backed off, "You!" Weiss pointed at Touma, her eyes lit with fire, but eventually, she struggled to find the words as her aggressive posture softened, "Just… get better, I want to talk to you later." With that, she turned and stalked out of the room.

"Well, I gotta head off too, C'mon Nora, I'll get your Lien," Yang called out with a wink to Touma. Nora let out a 'whoop' as she dragged Ren who muttered a farewell, after the retreating Yang.

"Ummm… Well… I'll get the designs and stuff for your weapon," Ruby said with a nervous grin, her cheeks were still tinged pink from Yang's teasing, "I promise it'll be awesome! So uh… seeyoulaterbye!" With a swirl of petals, she left the room, leaving a blank Touma in her wake.

Pyrrha and Jaune glanced at each other and chuckled knowingly at Ruby's actions, "We should leave you to rest, it's good to see you again," Pyrrha said as Jaune nodded in agreement, the two then followed the rest out, leaving Blake and Touma alone.

However, unlike everyone else, it seemed Blake's face was shrouded behind a mask of indifference and the silence between the two of them had Touma scratching the back of his head as he grinned nervously.

"Um…" Touma froze as Blake's golden eyes seemed to flash as she slowly approached, grabbing a nearby stool and taking a seat. Touma's traced Blake as she crossed her legs and now that she was closer, Touma noticed her bow seemed to twitch slightly.

"Touma, I'm glad you're back safe," Blake spoke at last, and Touma smiled, out of everyone, Blake was the one he knew most. "But, Weiss is right, what you did was incredibly reckless, you could have died, Touma!" He baulked, Blake's voice had risen, not to shouting levels, but enough to startle him.

Touma grimaced but he couldn't back down here, "I did it because I had no other choice, I didn't know anyone else around that could save he- the hostages, so I had to go," Touma replied firmly, carefully stopping himself from saying anything specific. He kept his eyes against Blake's, not willing to blink, not willing to turn away.

Blake eventually relented with a sigh, "I know, I know… I have a feeling if you could do it all again, you would do the same thing." She knew it, and from Touma's sheepish expression, she was right. After all, he already knew the risks, he saved her despite knowing nothing and understanding the risks, if he was willing to do it for her then he would do the same for others.

"Look," the sound of glass shattering rang through the room as she grasped his right hand, he could feel the warmth and softness in her grip, she muttered, "Please be careful next time… okay? You don't have an unlocked aura and from what you told us, you got extremely lucky. You always said that you had bad luck and many people wouldn't be forgiving next time…"

Touma nodded and muttered, "Yeah… sorry… I didn't mean to worry you or anything."

"Then… don't be needlessly reckless, can you promise me that?" Blake asked.

Touma froze, he wasn't sure he could if he had to be honest, but what response would Blake make if he refused? Anger? Sadness? He couldn't do that to a friend that's been with him since before his time at Beacon, especially since she shared how worried she was. However, deep in his heart, he knew that this was a promise he could never keep, he swore to himself that he would do what it takes to save anyone from Grimm or people, whatever the cost to himself and as he looked at the golden spheres, he uttered, "Yeah… I promise."


"Yo Ozman!" Ozpin looked up from his desk, the orange glow outlining him, almost as if he had some sort of divine effect on him. Motoharu swaggered into his office with a grin and as he reached his desk, he said, "So… You mentioned you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I was asked by Leonardo to convey a message to you," Ozpin replied and he held out a brown scroll to him.

Motoharu raised an eyebrow, at the scroll, "A disposable scroll from old man Lion King, huh?" he took it and in one smooth motion, opened it up. Ozpin noticed that the grin on Motoharu's face died down into a complete focussed and serious one.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. There were very few things that could affect Motoharu, but what he read on that scroll must've been less than pleasing to read.

Motoharu's lips stretched to a grin, pocketing the scroll and waving his hand dismissively, "Eh… just a small problem back at home. You know how Lion King can be a bit of a worrywart and all."

Ozpin chuckled, he couldn't deny that despite Leonardo's name, he was far from the bravest huntsman in Remnant. "Very well, I'll be seeing you soon Motoharu, please send my regards to Maika."

"Yeah, yeah, gotta get home, I'm missing my little sister's curry already," Motoharu replied as he spun on his heel and headed to the elevator with a casual wave.

Ozpin dropped his smile, there was clearly something wrong, but Leonardo was unwilling to disclose it with him, he had no idea what could be force his old friend to refuse to divulge any information. However, he knew Leonardo had excellent huntsmen like Motoharu under him and hopefully that issue was not a major one at all.


A/N: Now I'm sure there are a lot of Accelerator, Misaki, Shizuri and Mikoto fans out there, while they are under Atlas jurisdiction, in true Toaru fashion, they'll be back, perhaps not in the way you'd expect. Cheers and see ya next time!