A/N: New chapter, New day. Special thanks to Furaiz beta-reading. I'd say the arc is somewhere around the half-way to two-thirds way mark. Enjoy and review, cheers!


Touma winced as he looked down, a black and thin blade was buried into his belly. There was no pain, but he could feel the blade pressing into him. It could kill him or it was about to yet, he smiled weakly as he reached for the hand that held the blade. It was warm, yet shaking and as he grasped onto it, he muttered, "Finally… I got you, Blake."

A shattering sound echoed around them and as Touma peered into Blake's blank golden eyes, light slowly trickled into it as if she was waking up. He smiled as he felt something trickled down his chin and the pain started to settle into his gut, he made it. He knew that there was no way he could land a hit, let alone his Imagine Breaker on her, but with this, it was the opening he got.

He could see the horror of realisation now overtaking Blake, but Touma was fine with that, he couldn't leave her like this and though her aura was absent for the time-being, it would give her a chance to escape and he was satisfied with that.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," a tired voice greeted, Touma blinked as he stared at the ceiling, a lone dust-powered light stared right back at him behind a haze of smoke. Though, it wasn't stifling, the smell of nicotine was invasive as he pushed his head up to see one Stiyl Magnus reclining lazily in a chair, cigarette hanging from between his lips.

Touma's head fell into the pillow with a groan and as he tried to massage it, his hand refused to budge as something clinked on its side. He peeked again, his right hand was bound to the bedside in an aura-suppressing cuffs, "What the...?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Stiyl said callously, he reached out and stubbed his cigarette on the ashtray nearby, before fishing up another one and lighting it up, "Precautions and all that."

"Precautions?" Touma asked as he struggled to sit up.

"Mhmm, you've successfully killed one of the Sentinels but," Stiyl sighed as he flicked his eyes up at Touma, "There are… concerning results because of your… thing."

"Killed the Grimm? But… that's what it does," Touma replied with a scratch of his cheek, "So, what do you mean by 'concerning results'?"

"You don't remember? That's fine, but what's more important is the casualties," Stiyl replied with a dismissive wave, "Turns out, on your little rampage, people got caught up."

Touma blinked and shook his head, "Rampage?" Before he knew it, it was as if the word triggered an echoing roar in his head, it wasn't a typical one he would hear from animals or even Grimm. It held something dark yet familiar.

"Yeah…" Stiyl mused with a scowl, his eyes surveying Touma with a flash of disgust, "Frankly, if it wasn't for Tsuchimikado, I'd kill you myself and if not me, those nuns from the White Fang would've wanted the shot."

"What?"

"... You've successfully got rid of whatever the Covenant was using to control those Faunus, but when you went on your… rampage, they ended up getting killed… Including your friend, Belladonna," Stiyl said and with one look at Touma's face, he retrieved a scroll from the breast pocket on his cloak and held it out for Touma, "Don't believe me? Take a look."

Touma stared at the scroll, his mouth slightly ajar as Stiyl's words echoed tremulously in his head. His hands trembled as he looked at Stiyl who wore the same disinterested face and it betrayed nothing from the huntsman.

He took the scroll and within seconds of watching whatever it was on it, he closed his eyes in disgust. Touma bowed his head as he heard Stiyl said, "You didn't do it intentionally, but it doesn't change the fact that the thing killed everyone there and the source of it is you."

"What's going to happen?" Touma asked quietly as he clutched his blanket with his knuckles turning white.

Stiyl scoffed, a small cloud of smoke escaped from his mouth as he folded his arms and leaned back, "I'd imagine that you will still be forced to kill the Grimm and then after that, well… more than likely to hit Mistral Prison if the Kihara's don't get to open you up instead."

Touma nodded as flashes of his fight against Blake haunted him, "How did I kill them… how did I kill her?" Stiyl paused as his eyes flickered to the cuffed hand and the boy caught it as he whispered, "Imagine Breaker? But…"

"Turns out, your 'Imagine Breaker' is more than just some sort of anti-aura, anti-Grimm ability… But no one is completely certain of what it is," Stiyl explained.

Images flashed in Touma's head as his right shoulder ached, his free hand flying to it and rubbing it gently, revealing no abnormalities. Though it was brief, he was certain that his right arm was cut off, yet the pressure on his right wrist and his seemingly fine arm told him otherwise. He stared at his shackled hand and as if it responded itself, his ears picked up echoes of roars that felt familiar and in a trance, he summarised, "It did all of this…"

"Exactly. Whatever the hell it unleashed, it left you as the only living person in that courtyard, even the Sentinel was gone by the time Awaki and Sister Agnese made it to your position," Stiyl said as he stubbed his dying cigarette, and like clockwork, he placed a fresh one into his mouth once more, "Oh… and if you are thinking of running away after taking care of the Covenant, don't bother. We will hunt you down and if you're lucky, you'll be a burnt corpse instead, clear?"

"... Don't worry, I won't run," Touma answered as he glanced one more time at the scroll, the image jeered at him and unlike Cardin and his goons, it was successful at taunting him as he gazed distantly at the amount of blood that surrounded Blake.

"Oh?"

"Once I deal with that Covenant… I'll turn myself in," Touma clarified as his eyes turned sharply to Stiyl whose lips twitched ever so slightly. He expected the boy to be more dispirited or even a sobbing mess, but instead was met with eyes clearer than a cloudless sky.

Stiyl scoffed while shaking his head, earning a perplexed look from Touma as he said, "Yeah… about that… That was just a lie." The red-haired man scratched his head and clarified, "We needed to be sure that the person we're talking to is actually you. Don't worry, Blake Belladonna and the other Faunus are fine, nothing more than a couple of scrapes and bruises."

Touma's shoulders, though raised, felt like the chains were completely lifted off him as he muttered, "You serious? Then..."

Touma lifted the cuffed hand but Stiyl shook his head and answered, "Stays on, as far as we are concerned, it's too risky until we have that Kihara examine it as much as she can, and besides," he leaned in and flicked at Touma's torso, leaving the inexperienced boy to flinch and gasp in pain, "You're completely done in by Belladonna, might as well recover when you can."

"Right… then, can you tell me what actually happened?" Touma asked as he brushed his hand against his torso, "You mentioned my Imagine Breaker was more than it is."

Stiyl's eyes flicked up to the ceiling, his cigarette wiggling in his mouth as he answered slowly, "To be honest, not really sure, all we have is some eyewitness accounts from Awaki and the nun, but they came in too late to be really sure… oh and the drone. Happened in only a few seconds, something came out of your arm, killed the Sentinel and next thing...," he snapped his fingers, almost startling Touma, "you were laying next to Belladonna with your right arm fully intact."

"Just like that?" Touma stared at his arm, almost in disbelief that his Imagine Breaker was capable of such feats. His mind scrambled to make heads or tails of what could possibly be under his right hand, only to be awakened by a soft knock at the door.

There was a nun, masked and dressed in white and it didn't take long for Touma to hitch a breath as the member of the White Fang walked in with a strange clopping sound. Agnese Sanctis was perhaps one of the very few members he had the pleasure to meet that walked under the White Fang banner and he knew to be wary of them even when she was technically on his side.

He had seen her and her companion staring at Weiss before his last outing and his few yet brief interactions with her were frosty at best, but Touma couldn't hold his gasp as the nun reached for her mask and pulled it off, revealing a pair of brown eyes on a childish face, framed by braids of reddish hair. If Touma had to guess the age, she couldn't be older than Ruby. Another thing he didn't expect were strange green scales that seemed to hug from her hairline to her temples and her pupils were slits rather than the normal round eyes.

"Sanctis… You're not supposed to be here," Stiyl stated with a pointed look, yet his tone held no hostility.

"You said I could talk to him when you were done, aren't you?" Sister Agnese declared as she made her way to the vacant side of Touma's bed. Her eyes were gripped onto Touma as he blinked, a little unnerved by them.

"Yeah, yeah, Kamijou, if you have questions, Tsuchimikado will answer them, I'm done here," Stiyl replied as he stood up and left with a swish of his black robes, the stench of nicotine followed him outside.

Agnese opened her mouth and then closed her mouth, she repeated the action like a fish before she finally bowed her head and exclaimed, "Thank you!"

Touma blankly looked at the nun, blinking a few times before saying smartly, "Pardon?"

Sister Agnese rose up, her face set in a small frown as she muttered, "You've saved my- those people's lives. Thank you, really."

Touma blinked before laughing stiffly as he scratched his head, "Ahh, well… that's what huntsmen are supposed to do right? No need to thank me or anything."

"... No…most huntsmen wouldn't even give a second thought and would just assume the Faunus as acceptable casualties," Agnese answered and though she tried to hide it away, a flash of disgust appeared on her face in a split second.

Touma nodded, while he didn't know the complete details, he knew that the relationship between the White Fang and huntsmen were cold at best. Despite that, he tried to find the words that could alleviate that tension somehow, "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories or anything."

The nun tilted her head in acknowledgement as she continued, "But… it's good to know that there are huntsmen out there willing to help the Faunus out of their own volition." Touma's face froze before he chuckled bitterly while scratching his head and Sister Agnese raised an eyebrow ash she asked, "Something, wrong?"

"No, just… realising the limits of becoming a huntsman," Touma muttered as he patted his stomach.

The Faunus frowned, unable to grasp what the boy meant. The power he held was tremendous, she had seen it with her own eyes, yet he did not kill a single Faunus and even released them from the grasp of the Grimm. By all accounts, Sister Agnese was impressed and though she did not have a high opinion of Huntsmen, she rated Touma far higher than most, at least among the humans.

"I… don't understand," Agnese whispered, but she stepped forward, as if urging Touma to elaborate.

Touma flinched and pursed his lips, his eyes fixated upon his bedsheets as he tried to ignore the curious eyes from Agnese. Soon enough, all he could hear was her gentle breaths before he sighed and mumbled, "I don't have an active aura."

"An active aura?" Agnese repeated and straightened up with her hands on her hips, a little perplexed at the significantly more mundane secret she thought she stumbled upon, "Well, why not get someone to unlock it for you? I mean, uh…" Agnese coughed into her hand and looked away, "I can unlock your aura for you. It's the least I could do…"

Touma grinned bitterly and shook his head, "Thanks but, I already tried that… the thing is, my semblance prevents me from having an active aura at all. At the same time, it got me this far at Beacon…"

The nun's face twitched in a mixture of annoyance and confusion. However, she didn't want to just leave and let Touma stew in his problems, after all, she owed him, not that she would ever admit it out loud. With a small huff, she asked, "So what's the problem?"

"... I… what?" Touma blinked and to his surprise, Agnese's face held nothing but an unimpressed raised eyebrow.

"Many of us in the White Fang lack an unlocked aura, but we still engage against Grimm out of necessity. Maybe we have the numbers or the teamwork, but for you, you need something that can make up for the lack of aura," Sister Agnese pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Touma groaned, he already knew that and in earnest, he had even taken some extra-curricular activities under Professor Goodwitch's guidance. However, ever since he got shanghaied into Mistral, he never had the chance to work on it. Agnese turned to the door, her clopping echoed in the room as she declared, "But even then, at least in my book, you are far better a huntsman than any other I've known… and if you ever decide to leave the profession, well… the church…" Touma leaned in, trying to hear what she mumbled out in the last part, but Agnese nodded to herself and strode out of the room before he could even respond, leaving him to his thoughts.


"YOU TRAITOROUS SCUM!"

Blake grit her teeth as the man before her roared with his blade outstretched and his teeth bared. The man, barely recognized as Adam Taurus, lunged with his blade outstretched, as if it thirsted for Blake's own throat. However, she flicked her Gambol Shroud to life, easily deflecting the blade with her scabbard and in one smooth motion, thrusted her own blade straight at Adam's torso.

Adam's strangled cry echoed around Blake as he gripped onto Gambol Shroud in pain, his head hung as blood dripped from his jaw. As he panted heavily, the mask seemed to fall off and instead of the lone clear blue eye Blake expected to see, she saw two pained black eyes staring at her as he choked, "Blake… why?" Within a few seconds, the ground shook as a resounding roar echoed around her.

Blake sat up, gasping for air and as her eyes peeled open, it was met with gentle light. Her breathing slowed as she attempted to rub her face only to feel restricted by something warm on her hands. On one side of her bed, Ruby's head was right on top of her left hand and on the other side, Yang's hand was firmly clasped over her remaining hand.

"... What… what happened?" Blake muttered to herself, last time she remembered, she only saw Touma's arm being lopped off by the Grimm, then everything seemed to fizzle out of her memories.

A small groan to her left had Ruby stirring, her head finally releasing the hand. The younger girl's eyes scanned around her before landing on Blake. Ruby's drooling mouth and sleepy eyes quickly morphed into a variety of expressions before the older girl was ensnared by the younger girl's arms, "Blake! You're awake!"

"Ruby!" Blake's muffled voice held out a tone of complaint, but she figured that whatever happened worried her team greatly. Resigned, but not against it, she returned the hug and at the same time, she heard a ruffle and a groan.

"Huh?" Yang's head swayed side to side as she rubbed at her eyes, as her hand slowly moved away, she lightly gasped as she also hugged Blake and to her partner's relief, far softer than the youngest girl, "Damnit Blake! You and Touma had everyone scared out there!"

Yang then held Blake's head, her lilac eyes scanning the girl before giving a satisfied nod, "Honestly… it's a miracle that you got out with only a few scrapes…"

"Yang…" Blake's voice peeped through before pushing away Yang's hands from her cheeks, "Where's Touma?"

"Ummm…"

"Uhh…"

Yang and Ruby glanced at each other, before turning back to Blake, the former pursing her lips while the latter laughed stiffly as she shrank away from Blake.

"He's injured, more so than you, but he's stable… at least that's what we've been told," a clear and steely voice cut through the awkwardness like a blade. Weiss Schnee gave a curt nod as she rose from the couch and stood at the foot of the bed, "... Good to see you've awakened… Blake."

Somehow, the awkwardness seemed to even grow heavier, like a tightening collar around everyone's neck. Blake couldn't pinpoint why, but she knew that Weiss was far more frosty than ever. In fact, the young Schnee's eyes seemed to regard Blake with nothing but cold professionalism as she folded her arms, her finger tapping against her arm.

Blake grunted in response and the whole room descended into silence and while she appreciated silence as much as any other person like her, she found this one to be suffocating, with Ruby's eyes more focused on the bed sheets while Yang shot a worried glance at Blake.

Weiss, however, continued staring at Blake before she finally said, "You know, when I first heard your surname, I thought it was very familiar…"

Blake's eyes widened as she pulled her hand from Yang's grasp and patted on her head, her ears flicked as she rubbed them and realised that her bow was completely absent. Yang stood up, her eyes now glued to the Schnee as she warned, "Weiss… we talked about this…"

Weiss kept her sight on Blake as she continued, "Honestly, I was foolish to believe that your name just happened to be a coincidence, in no way, shape or form did you have any relations with a founder of the White Fang."

Blake closed her eyes, she had been found out, in the worst way possible by the worst person to discover the fact that she was a Faunus. However, not just any Faunus, but ones that had connections to a group that targeted the Schnee family multiple times. The White Fang, was misguided or even desperate, but she knew deep in herself that Weiss who was probably targeted by the group multiple times could not have a single positive feeling about them.

"Weiss! Now's not the time for this!" Yang growled as her eyes flashed red but Weiss's scowl found its way to the blonde girl. She didn't reply, but the challenge between the two teammates was there.

As the two glared at each other, almost as if they were ready to pounce each other, a voice piped up, "Um… guys, let's cool off for a bit, Blake just woke up!" Ruby stood up as she held out her hands in an attempt to calm her two more aggressive teammates, "Weiss… I know you needed to talk to her but-"

"You want to know the truth? Fine," Blake croaked and all three turned to look at her, each face different from the last. Blake stared at Weiss's annoyed look as she clutched her blanket.

"Blake…" Yang whispered while Ruby gave a comforting grip on her shoulder.

"I was part of the White Fang," Blake admitted, but no one on her team even blinked in surprise.

"We know, I suspected it, Motoharu confirmed it," Weiss replied in a clipped tone as she narrowed her eyes, "Honestly, I don't know what to think about you…" She sighed as she took a seat at the foot of Blake's bed, "I thought of you as someone I could count on, but the fact that you were a part of White Fang… I thought about this… if you were still part of them, you could've kidnapped me, killed me any time you wished when we were at Beacon. But the fact that you stabbed Touma…"

Blake winced as she knew that was irrefutable, she glared at her hands, her head bowed as if in attempt to ask for forgiveness as her frosty teammate continued, "You could've left him there to die and escaped, but instead, you protected him, even when he suppressed your Aura, you stayed behind… so… I've figured that you've cut ties with them… but why?"

The Faunus girl's eyes widened as she looked up and Weiss's face was completely absent of any hostility but instead a patient stare. Yang and Ruby blinked in surprise but remained silent as Blake said weakly, "Because…"

Her team leaned in, while they've heard plenty about the White Fang, it was rare to hear it from someone who was even affiliated with them. Blake sighed as she straightened up, she had already expected that this was a possibility when she signed up into Beacon, "They've lost their way."

"...Excuse me?" Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow.

Blake gritted her teeth as she elaborated, "Originally, the White Fang was a group that protested peacefully for the rights and equality of the Faunus. We never wanted to cause violence, we just wanted our voice heard. It didn't help that organisations like the SDC exacerbated the problem as well."

"... Really? Is that what they think or what you think,?" Weiss asked, skepticism was oozing out of her as her eyes narrowed and the air around her chilled to the point that Ruby squirmed and Yang flinched at the current atmosphere.

Yang raised a hand in order to appease the girl as she said, "Maybe? Look, I'm not exactly a fan of the White Fang either, but I saw that they were just protesting peacefully but nothing really changed."

Blake nodded, "It went on for months and we were hardly acknowledged, some of the White Fang members grew tired of being ignored… so they resorted to more… extravagant methods."

"Vandalism, rioting… even kidnapping," Weiss muttered with venom to her voice.

"I… I didn't know that, all I heard was that the 'White Fang attacked this or that', it was never about their rights or anything," Ruby admitted as she bowed her head.

"Hahh… if what Blake said is true, then it's obvious that the Government or other organisations covered it up through the media," Weiss said before she shot a glare at Blake, "But that doesn't change the fact they've resorted to violent and barbaric methods that created fear."

Blake's jaws tightened, she couldn't ignore that what Weiss said was true, "You're right, but some of the White Fang tried to condemn it while others saw that those methods were what garnered attention in the first place. As the White Fang grew bigger as more joined, there were… factions that were created within it."

"Factions? You don't mean…" Weiss then gripped onto her chin.

"Yeah… that Church we worked with is one of the three factions… They were devoted into protecting the Faunus, but they also believed in true supremacy, that the Faunus are the next step in evolution and that's what their dogma revolves around," Blake confirmed with gritted teeth, "Them… and the other factions are just one of the reasons why I left.

"Not all of them are bad, we were just desperate because of our treatment by humans. But as many that only ask for fair treatment, there are those that were… extremely angry and sees that only their way is right. So… there are some in the White Fang too scared to leave and those that do..." Blake finished as she brushed a hand on her chest.

Her team glanced at each other before Ruby asked, "Did… did they do something to you?"

Blake smiled bitterly as she replied, "I don't think the White Fang actually tried to kill me officially, but someone did try to kill me, and they almost did… That was when I met Touma."

"Wait… you met Touma then?" Yang asked, bewildered, she already knew that Blake met him before Beacon, but she was surprised as the rest of her team with that tidbit of information.

The Faunus girl pulled at the simple white t-shirt she wore, revealing part of the scar just between her breasts, "He found me when I was almost killed, I… don't really know what happened after that, but if it wasn't for him…"

"You would've died," Weiss finished gently, "And he knew you were a Faunus for all that time?"

"... I asked him not to tell anyone," Blake replied, flattening her shirt, now her eyes twinkled as she remembered Touma's promise.

"...Does he know that you were part of the White Fang?" Weiss asked but Blake shook her head. The Schnee's brow creased as she closed her eyes and turned away from her team, "Honestly, I still don't know what to think of you… Maybe you really are separated from the White Fang and clearly…" She threw a glance over her shoulder, directed straight at Blake's chest, "you've paid for it. You… tried to wipe the slate clean, and maybe, I should try too."

Blake's eyes widened, she couldn't believe the stiff and untrusting Weiss Schnee was willing to overlook her past. Even Ruby and Yang had their mouths gaping like fish before it quickly morphed into smiles. As Weiss turned around, she immediately rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Oh for crying out loud…"

"Thanks Weiss," Blake said with a small bow.

"Don't thank me now… I still can't fully believe what you said," Weiss replied with her arms folded, "But I said I'll try, okay?"

"Ahh look at that! Friendship, what a magical thing!" a voice echoed into the room, Motoharu swaggered inside with his hand on his chest while the other wiped a 'tear' from under his shades while behind him, Yuiitsu silently walked in with a less than enthusiastic face, "And here I thought this whole team would break up because of this little mishap."

Yang's face flashed in disgust as she muttered, "Really? We're kind of having a moment here…"

"Yep, I know, I was just waiting outside," Motoharu said as he jerked his thumb at the door, "You know, being patient and all that, but!" He clapped his hands as a wide toothy grin adorned on his face, "We have a little problem we need to talk about."

"... You're talking about Touma aren't you?" Weiss asked as she folded her arms with a scowl, her team all straightened up at the mention of the name as Motoharu chuckled, even Yuiitsu's lips twitched.

"Yeah… come to think of it, can we see him?" Yang asked with Ruby nodding fervently.

"Yes," the blonde huntsman pointed at Weiss and then pointed at Yang, "And no, see the thing is, we have a few things we need to discuss about him and ultimately yourselves. No, you're not in trouble, but we should deal with this as soon as possible," Motoharu said as he grabbed a nearby chair and made himself comfortable on it.

"Wait… what do you mean?" Blake asked, at the corner of her eyes, she noticed Ruby, Yang and Weiss all share a glance.

"... Umm, uh… how do…" Ruby began as she scratched her cheek while Weiss and Yang kept their mouth shut and their eyes glued to the bed.

"Guys?" Blake asked but Ruby nervously laughed while the other two maintained their silence.

"I think… it'll be easier if we just show you… can't blame them for not being able to explain them to you," Motoharu said as he stood up and fished his pocket for a scroll.

Blake stared at the scroll and nodded, gingerly taking it with a small gulp. She was greeted with a single video of herself holding Touma with the Sentinel only a few meters away from the two, hunched and ready to skewer them with its tendrils, but it wasn't a clear image, she could tell there was some sort of distortion as if a glass sculpture was moving across the image. Next, Blake's eyes widened as her body stiffened inside the video before collapsing next to Touma, what she didn't expect was Touma rising up as if puppet strings were pulling his body.

The Sentinel twitched, its head swaying left and right before it was suddenly hoisted into the air. Its figure contorted as its head twitched erratically and the tendrils seemed to be clamped to its sides. Something invisible was coiling around the Grimm like a snake and in the next second, its head was ripped from its body and soon, it disintegrated to black dust all within a few seconds.

"What…" Blake muttered in horror, she had fought Grimm by herself and with many others, seen them killed in various ways, but none so primal as this. The video paused at Touma standing in the midst of several Faunus people, his right arm absent yet something was occupying it if the distorted details was anything to go by.

She glanced up to see her entire team all looking away with frowns or pained faces. Motoharu chuckled as he plucked the scroll and stashed it away, "Crazy, isn't it? From the look on your face, seems like you had no idea Kami-yan was capable of doing this."

"...What is that?" Blake whispered.

"... We don't know," Yuiitsu said for the first time, her frosty eyes graced Blake yet there was a glimmer in her eye, "But I have spoken with my teacher and we have arrived at some agreed upon conclusions..

"This thing that resides with Kamijou has its own will and intelligence, unlike any other Semblance we've recorded," she continued as she rubbed her chin, "And, before my sensor was destroyed, it picked up one last reading… a major spike in aura."

Motoharu froze, only momentarily before he nodded while the rest of the room raised an eyebrow in confusion. Yuiitsu rolled her eyes as she shoved her hands in her lab coat and tilted her head, she had forgotten she was talking to less scientifically inclined people, "What I'm saying is this thing is likely to be completely separate from his… 'Imagine Breaker'. Before this incident, the aura readings were completely absent, suggesting that his Imagine Breaker creates some kind of zone that suppresses aura and other certain elements, in some instances, it even erases them like it doesn't exist anymore.

"However, when his right arm was destroyed, it picked up a reading of a relatively major increase of aura present in that vicinity," Yuiitsu huffed as she pulled out her scroll and tapped on it, "This thing that emerged out of his right shoulder was powerful enough to eliminate the Sentinel without much issue, but there isn't much we can say about it except one thing. It is likely that Imagine Breaker is not a Semblance… but something else entirely.

"Furthermore, when those animals-" at that comment, Blake's jaw tightened as she knew who Yuiitsu was referring to. Ruby and Yang's eyes darkened and even Weiss clicked her tongue in disapproval, "-found Kamijou, it turns out that his right arm had somehow been restored, as if nothing ever happened to it."

"Yep, that only enforces that this Imagine Breaker is something else entirely," Motoharu stated before he waved his hand and jabbed his thumb at the door, "Well, I'll let you go back to observing Kami-yan, keep me posted, yeah?"

Yuiitsu shrugged and walked out of the room without any lingering stare before Yang finally muttered, "Ass."

"Well, that's a Kihara for you and believe it or not, she's one of the… uh… 'nicer' ones," Motoharu said before he straightened himself on the seat, "But now, we got a bigger problem and the Mistral Council is breathing down my neck about this whole shebang."

"Oh really? Tell that to someone who cares," Weiss sniped, while her whole team didn't exactly agree with her, they weren't in any rush to defend the shades wearing blonde either.

"Ouch, fair enough, I earned that one," Motoharu chuckled as he raised his hands in surrender, "But, enough of the chatter. Ladies, developments have been made thanks to your efforts, we've caught the scent of the Covenant and… we've now got an idea on how we're dealing with the Kiharas that have been looking into this. So… once we're done with those things, you're all free to go home."

"What about everyone Touma and Blake saved?" Ruby asked, Blake's eyes widened but kept silent, while she couldn't forgive herself for harming Touma, she felt a small bloom inside her chest as she realised that the effort those two spent for their lives was not wasted.

"...They'll be fine, but unfortunately, that's only a small group of people that have been missing. Better than nothing, though, they're recovering at a hospital away from the quarantine zone," the huntsman said as he leaned forward, "Once Kami-yan is done recovering, we'll get straight to dealing with them."

"Yeah, team RWBY's all good to go!" Ruby cheered.

Yang grinned as she smacked her fist into her palm, "Yeah, we've been taking some "L's" lately, time to get us some big wins!"

"Well, we are still processing the new intel we got, so we have time. Which leads to a pressing matter," Motoharu said with a wave of his hand before turning his head to Blake, "I'm pulling you off the active team."

The room fell silent at his decision, each girl's face was frozen for seconds before Yang cried out, "The fuck!?"

Ruby reflexively blurted out, "Language!" however, her eyes still remained on Motoharu.

"Yep! Sorry, but the way I see it, you're too risky to be put into combat," Motoharu shrugged as he shifted in his chair for a more comfortable position.

"Woah, woah, woah! Hang on, Blake's already good to go! The doc said she only got a couple of scrapes at worst!" Yang protested, her arms animatedly pointed at Blake.

"... Yeah, I mean, apart from the headache, I'm actually okay," Blake nodded but Motoharu shook his head.

"Your physical health was never in question, rather… it's your mental health that is a concern," Motoharu replied as he stood up, now eye level to Yang, "We've observed… struggles when she was sleeping and while it isn't really much to go off, I think I know enough to make that judgement."

"Really? I somehow doubt that," Weiss replied, earning an affirmative chorus from most of her team, "Many huntsmen are experts in multiple fields, but psychology isn't one of them."

"... Fair point, but like I said, I think I know enough," Motoharu countered as he tapped on his shades, "Ladies, let me ask you a question, did you ever wonder what my semblance is?"

"How's that related to-" Yang began, shaking a pointing finger at him.

"It will so answer the question," Motoharu assured as he began to walk around the bed, observing each girl as he asked, "Anyone?"

"Don't know… come to think of it, you've never used it in our combat evaluation," Blake answered and Motoharu nodded with a small grin before he stopped behind Ruby and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yup, alright, let me explain, there's a reason why I wear sunglasses no matter what, it's because my semblance is ah… indiscriminate," he explained.

"... Like… Uncle Qrow's?" Ruby asked, earning an inquisitive look from Weiss and Blake, but Yang folded her arms as she looked pensive for a moment.

"Yeah… in that aspect, that would be true," Motoharu replied as he patted on Ruby's shoulder, "What she means is that my semblance never turns off and as a result, it cannot distinguish between friend or foe. As for what it does, direct eye contact with me will result in memory destruction."

"Memory… destruction, like you can choose which memories to destroy?" Weiss inquired but Motoharu cackled at the remark with Ruby jumping slightly at the sudden action.

"Ah… nope, not really, I don't get to choose what to destroy, it's just a gradual destruction of any memory, think dementia on steroids," Motoharu explained lightly as he knelt over Blake, "Frankly, I've noticed a couple of signs of some stress disorder. But as Weiss had aptly put it, I'm no expert in the sciences of the mind. So, to be sure, I've decided I'll test you!"

"Hey! She's damned good, you've tested her before didn't you?" Yang protested.

"I'm sure that you're intelligent enough to understand that I'm responsible for the wellbeing of my subordinates, whether dealing with Grimm and other hostiles, or from other elements," Motoharu replied lightly, however, each word seemed to weigh as heavy as the atmosphere as Yang's eyes flashed red in response, "But I'm not that cruel to make you go through it right away. Take an hour or so, I'll be expecting all of you in the training facilities, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, okay?"

With that Motoharu sauntered out of the room with a small wave over his shoulder, leaving Yang cursing softly as she said, "Who does he think he is?"

"... I think he's correct," Weiss stated, her eyes glaring at the closed wooden door.

The blonde girl blinked at Weiss and whispered, "Et tu, Weiss!? I thought you're on our side."

"Umm, Yang, I think you should-" Ruby tried to calm her annoyed sister but Weiss cleared her throat and shot a side-glance at Blake.

"We can't afford her to be on the field if she isn't a hundred percent, she would be a liability… a danger to us and herself," Weiss shot back before she made her way to the door, she threw one last glance at her team and said, "By the way, I am on your side, but I can't just stand there and watch a dust bomb waiting to explode." With that, her exit left the rest of team RWBY into a deafening silence.


"No, that district is off-limits, Minister or not!" Leonardo refused as he strode through the hallways of the Haven Academy. The very few passersby were all staring as he walked by, a little flabbergasted by the uncharacteristic tone used by their headmaster, especially to his own daughter.

"But these people need us, after that roar, they are looking for answers and are even attempting to breach the quarantine zone!" a blonde woman with lion ears argued in a pleading manner as she trotted behind him, her green dress and veil almost gave them the impression that the woman was some sort of princess.

"Villian," Leonardo swivelled towards his daughter as he rubbed his brow in stress, "I've already sent some of my best men and women to deal with the issue at hand, I assure you, once they've resolved it, you are free to help the victims there, but until then, you are forbidden to set foot there!"

Villian frowned, her hands clenched into a fist at her chest as her father heaved a heavy sigh and resumed his walk. The lioness Faunus followed as she implored, "But how long until then? Those people… our people will think we've abandoned them. They need more than just 'eliminate the threat', they need assurance, protection, supplies..."

Leonardo's pace slowed at a moment, his bearded face tilting to the side before he continued to his brisk movements. Villian sighed in disappointment, but she couldn't blame her father as she knew that he would do anything to keep her safe. As they reached the headmaster's office, Leonardo turned to Villian and whispered, "Now, is not the time to be sending civilians such as yourself to a dangerous area."

"But Motoharu and his team can protect me while I'm there! Just send me with the Mistral Guards and-" Villian countered in a hushed voice but Leonardo's eyes flashed as he pushed the door open.

"No, and that's final, Villian," he growled as he trudged to his desk and made his way to his chair, his hand brushing on the desk before he collapsed with a sigh.

Villian's lips pursed as she closed the door behind them, though she wasn't a huntsman, she wasn't blind to the sensitivity of the issue. However, she couldn't let this issue drop, it wasn't her nature to abandon those people, "Father… Please, why do you insist that I must be kept safe? You've sent Carissa to Atlas and Rimea to the Bureau here, but why not me?"

Leonardo looked up, his eyes glinting in confusion and the young Faunus stepped forward to press the question, "You know that if my sisters were involved, they would handle the situation in their own way, why not me?"

"Because, you aren't ready!" he answered forcefully.

"But Father, I may not be as smart as Rimea or strong as Carissa, but I still have a duty to the people! They can't wait for me to be ready fore-" Villian replied but she gasped as Leonardo suddenly slammed on his table and a massive cracks burst from the impact, yet the wooden table managed to hold.

"... Villian, you are not ready," Leonardo repeated, stressing each word through gritted teeth, he never expected Villian to push the issue, if ever, but this with the strange reports he was getting just added to the stress. His daughter stared back yet her face wasn't of fear, but genuine concern and the old huntsman's frustration subsided as he calmly continued, "Please, Villian, that place is too dangerous… I cannot risk you and concentrate on dealing with the issue at hand."

"Umm sir? You have some people heading to your office… I uh… couldn't stop them," a small device spoke out from the damaged desk.

Leonardo stared at Villian before pressing the button and asked, "Who is it?"

"I… I don't know sir," the voice replied but at that moment, the doors burst open, causing Villian to squeak in surprise as a man swaggered in, his arms raised with a large smile on his face.

"Leo! Buddy! It's been a while!" Qrow Branwen jovially cheered, his teeth glinting in the sunlight, yet behind him, four unfamiliar people followed him, some with sheepish looks while others had a colder visage. The man then turned to Villian and greeted, "Hey, Villian! Still lookin' good I see!"

Despite the seemingly happy demeanour, neither Lionhearts were happy to see him, yet the younger one politely smiled and replied, "Qrow, it's good to see you are in good health."

"Thanks, now…" Qrow's smile dropped into a cold gaze, his eyes targeting the elder Lionheart as he placed his hands on the cracked desk, "Leo… I need to find someone."

Leonardo glared at the man, his face twitching underneath his beard before he replied, "Qrow, you'll have to ask another time-"

"I ain't asking," Qrow leaned forward, "I don't have the time, so all I need you to do, is to find me Tsuchimikado."

"I refuse, he is on an important mission and cannot be disturbed during this time," Leonardo replied in an equally venomous tone.

"Don't care, I've got more important things and I need his help. So either you tell me or I'm gonna have to do this the hard way."

Leonardo's eyes narrowed as he stood up, the men were barely a few inches away from each other, yet their auras flared as the headmaster growled, "Are you threatening me, Qrow?"

Qrow smiled, yet it didn't reach his eyes as he tilted his head and replied, "Oh, of course not, wouldn't want to cause an international incident, yeah? Besides, I've a feeling the big boys at the SDC would want to know where one of their kids got kidnapped to as well, might as well save the trouble."

"Hmph, so what? I've more important things to handle than some corporate dunderheads," the lion Faunus retorted.

Qrow's face twitched, almost ready to fly at the headmaster's face for stonewalling him, "What makes Tsuchimikado's mission so important that you're willing to ignore the international implications. Cuz frankly, it stinks."

"Nothing you need to know," Leonardo growled before he pointed at the door behind team CFVY, "And you dared to come here uninvited with such hostility, I suggest that you leave, Qrow." Qrow's glare lingered for a few more seconds before he pushed himself off the desk and raised his hands, stepping back slowly.

"C'mon, let's go," Qrow muttered as he pushed through CFVY and strode out, just as fast as he walked in. Villian stared at Qrow before throwing a glance at her father who slumped back into his chair and rubbed his eyes.

The girl pursed her lips and dashed out after Qrow, "Qrow! Qrow!"

Qrow and team CFVY were just at the entrance of the hall, and all turned to her, eyebrows raised as the young Lionheart finally reached them, panting slightly. The one with the sunglasses asked, "Uh… looking a little out of breath for a huntsman aren't you?" Fox only shrugged and tapped his chest earning a small glare from Coco while Qrow nodded.

"Fox is right, she ain't a huntsman, Coco, never unlocked her aura," Qrow affirmed and Coco shrugged in reply with Velvet laughing stiffly behind her, "Villian…"

"Qrow…" Villian stood up after taking several breaths of air and bowed her head, "Please forgive my father, he's just… stressed lately."

"Aren't we all? As far as I can tell, he's got a stick shoved up his ass," Qrow replied dismissively as he was about to turn away.

"Please, you know he didn't mean anything bad… but… I can help you," Villian replied and Qrow froze, he turned with his face that only encouraged the young lady to continue, "I can help you find Motoharu."

Qrow's eyes widened as he stepped forward so fast that Villian scooted back a little from his sudden approach, "You do? Tell me!"

"Well… um… I will, just… one condition," Villian replied as she held up a finger.

"Name it," Qrow didn't hesitate, his hands raised almost as if to grasp her by the shoulders but his sense got the better of him and he stepped back.

Villian shook her head as she looked around, noticing that some of the students were staring at their way, she beckoned to them as she muttered, "Not here, follow me."

As Villian left, Qrow and the Beacon students glanced at each other, but followed nonetheless, eventually reaching a small secluded patio, surrounded by stony pavement and arranged flowers. There wasn't a single soul in the garden apart from the six of them as they followed the young Lionheart.

"Okay… so… what do you want?" Qrow asked as he peeked around the garden to make sure they were alone.

"Please, take me to the Quarantine Zone," Villian requested earning looks of surprise.

"... Can't you just get in?" Qrow asked as he folded his arms.

Villian shook her head and sadly muttered, "My father refused my request every time and he had explicitly ordered all the guards maintaining the border to refuse entry to me."

"Wait… so you're asking us to smuggle you in?" Coco asked, both impressed and concerned, "Huh… guess you're not the princess he made you out to be." Coco nodded her head towards Qrow whose face twitched.

"Alright… I can do that, but you gotta tell me why, I'm not risking some incident if there are other ways of locating Tsuchimikado, I've got contacts here," the huntsman said and while he had an inkling of an idea what Villian wanted, he had to make sure.

"It's to help my people there, I wish to provide supplies to the people there while provide safety and assurance," Villian answered and like clockwork, Yatsuhashi and Coco sidled up to Velvet, the former quickly putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. The rabbit Faunus's face held a frown and her fists clenched, but she remained silent.

"Really? I don't see how one person can do any of that," Qrow replied as he leaned forward, "Even if you are a Minister, I doubt anyone would move a finger to help."

"Yes, that may be true, but it is better than just watching my people suffer," Villian replied with a bow of her head.

Yatsuhashi gave one more pat on Velvet's shoulder, aware that she was no fan of Mistral, especially those with some form of power, "Miss Lionheart, how do you hope to achieve any of this by yourself?"

"... Honestly, I'm hoping that if I'm in a dangerous area, it would force my father to act and I won't allow him to take me out of the quarantine zone without a significant amount of aid granted to the people there," Villian answered with a hand to her chest.

Coco lowly whistled as she commented, "Forcing a council member to act like this? I like you… I like you a lot." Villian chortled lightly while Qrow nodded to himself.

"Fair enough, even if the other members won't support it, it'll grab enough attention that other groups might do something instead, fine let's do this," Qrow said before he turned to team CFVY, "Alright kiddos, this is where we part, you know this is personal for me and I work better alone."

Coco's jaw dropped while her team only looked on in surprise as their leader exclaimed, "What!?"

"It's personal… don't get me wrong, I think you're all decent, but I don't do teams and where we are heading isn't worth putting yourself in danger for some random virus," Qrow reasoned and as he was about to turn, Coco stepped up, her lips set in a small frown.

"Look, I get that it's for your nieces and all, but the headmaster has assigned us this mission as well, we're not leaving until we bring them home," the leader of CFVY and then she crossed her arms, tilting her head as she pointed out, "Besides, they're our juniors, we kinda have a responsibility and all that."

"That's different," Qrow tried to rebut but Coco shook her head.

"You know we'll just follow with or without your permission, why not just make it easier for all of us and use our help?" Coco shot back.

Villian tapped on Qrow's arm and said, "She's right, inside the Quarantine zone is mostly controlled by a White Fang faction."

Velvet barely hid her gasp as her male team members' faces darkened at the name, Fox stepping up and was about to speak, but Villian only tilted her head in confusion as his team members and Qrow only looked at him.

"Yeah, he's right, even more reason to bring us along, you know that Schnee girl can be in heaps of trouble and your nieces will be caught up with it, you need all the help you can get. It's not like you can be in two places at once," Coco agreed with whatever Fox stated and Qrow was left rubbing his forehead.

The oldest man sighed in annoyance, he knew they were right and there was no way to tell if the girls and that unlucky boy he had to retrieve would be separated or not, he muttered, "I need a fucking drink. Fine, do what you want, but if I say 'get out', then you get out, clear?"

Coco and her team glanced at each other, Velvet with a small hint of worry and the boys with determined looks before shooting a nod at the huntsman, "Crystal."


Pieces are broken and rebuilt, lining up for the rolling storm. Oh and if you are wondering why Leonardo is OOC, well, it's sort of a good thing this is a crossover, but it will be explained in due time.