A/N: Okay, so I suffered some Bronchitis that got me hit with the sick stick for about over a month, it was rough, but I'm okay
"Shot, stabbed, cracked ribs… list goes on Kami-yan. Keep this up, you might want to start budgeting your Lien for hospital bills," Motoharu chirped as he placed a glass of water in front of Touma who grimaced in his wheelchair, "Anyways, I know you've got a few questions for me, so… lay it on me."
Touma sighed and looked around, craning his head over the scattered crates around the room but Motoharu piped up, "It's fine, we're probably alone here."
"Probably?" Touma repeated as he scanned once more around the armoury, it was a strange place to even meet up, but Motoharu had pushed him there saying that he needed a change of scenery. All Touma saw were certainly a variety of weapons hung on walls and several crates stacked like tiny islands among the floor, but one would expect that huntsmen could come walking in for their weapons at any time.
"Mhmm, just so you know, it is a pretty popular place for you know…" Motoharu clicked his tongue with a shooting gesture as if to throw an idea at Touma who blinked blankly. It only took several seconds before Touma suddenly gave an 'oh' of realisation before raising an eyebrow at his senior, "What? I'm serious, being a huntsman is a stressful job and sometimes…well... we need to relieve stress with someone… or something… I'm not judging."
"Uh-huh…" Touma's response was accompanied not with indignation, but just pure disappointment if his eyes were any indication.
Motoharu lurched forward in disdain as he felt Touma's eyes glaring daggers into him, with a sigh, he straightened up and said, "Well, either way, you won't have to worry about much here, so… what do ya wanna know?"
Motoharu raised his arms as if to hug Touma who was clearly not in any position with his right hand bound to the armrest of his wheelchair, however, Touma sheepishly grinned and replied, "I do… but, more of a request actually."
"Oh?" Motoharu's eyebrow twitched as he sat down on a chair, leaning over the table as he nursed his cup of coffee, "Well… fire away."
"I… I need to be better," Touma stated, "The way I am now… I know if I don't do anything to improve, people will suffer for it."
"Huh is that so? What made you come to that conclusion?" Motoharu asked but Touma shot him a flat stare that left the blonde huntsman chuckling and waving his hand, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Though honestly, your skill set for a huntsman is already pretty diverse, most of them are pretty much thugs that know how to use aura. Last time I checked, you've been learning how to use and dismantle traps as well as being a solid medic… huh…"
Touma rolled his eyes at Motoharu scanning him up and down as he muttered under his breath, "I get it, it's not lost on me."
Motoharu shrugged with his mouth cracking into a grin, throwing his empty cup into a nearby trash bin, "Either way, it is what it is, you just have to continue on with your training."
Touma swallowed bitterly as it only made him more annoyed at himself, "That's the thing, those skills didn't do anything to help Blake when she was in that state… If I was a better fight-"
"Woah hold up," Motoharu took a sip of his coffee before pointing the cup towards Touma, "I think you're misunderstanding something here. Most, if not all 'extra-curricular' skills are designed to support the huntsman in other aspects not related to combat, not necessarily to help them in direct combat."
"But there has to be something that can help me in those situations," Touma argued as he leaned forward.
"Hmmm maybe, but here's the thing, if there was such a thing, wouldn't Goodwitch have taught you about it by now?" Motoharu tilted his head and Touma leaned back as he realised he couldn't counter the point. "Kami-yan, some huntsmen even avoid direct confrontations for a couple of reasons. For you, well… you got the biggest reason for why you should avoid'em, right?"
Touma flinched as he nodded and Motoharu took it as a sign to continue, "A direct combat should be something you must avoid, I'd imagine that Goodwitch has been teaching you how to deal with it if you are in those situations, right? But there is only so far you could go with that major disadvantage of yours."
Touma sighed, he had always known that the lack of aura was a major obstacle but another realisation had been creeping up into his mind ever since that battle with Blake. He shook his head, perhaps it was the moment Motoharu 'kidnapped' team RWBY and himself was when the idea started growing or maybe the time Goodwitch suddenly assigned him to that class about traps and how to utilise them.
"Ahh… you've known, didn't you?" Motoharu said after a while, "Kami-yan, as you gain more experience, you'll learn a few things. One, Grimm senses are generally superior to those of us, barring a few select Faunus. Two, Operations in which hostiles are humans or Faunus, rarely comes to a 'fair fight'. Finally, if you want to survive in this line of work, you'll have to accept that there's more to operations than just 'direct combat'."
"I already know that," Touma rebutted, "But it's not like I can avoid a fight anytime I want. I mean, it'd be nice if I could just say to the Grimm or criminals 'Hey, please let me through, don't want to get into a fight' but I'm pretty sure that's never going to happen."
Motoharu finally sat down, a wry grin reaching his lips as he remarked, "Okay, okay, I hear you. Well, in that case, there are a couple of things you can do if you find yourself in that situation. You could train but, ah…" he once again scanned over Touma only for him to roll his eyes, "Yeah… so, that leaves, equipment, speaking of which, didn't you have a grenade launcher? Thought your weapon had one."
"Ah, well, uh, Ruby made me a new one but she said she couldn't fit a new one in it without making it too heavy or clunky," Touma replied while Motoharu pushed himself off the desk, whistling to himself as his way to one of the many crates stacked along the walls and began digging into it. Touma craned his neck, "Uhh… is that a problem?"
"No, actually, it's a pretty good opportunity," Motoharu answered and with a snort, he pulled out a dull grey tube-object and placed it gently in front of Touma, "Kami-yan, meet the SSF92. Compact, easy to use and quite a favourite among Atlas soldiers."
Touma wasn't an expert in weaponry, but he was familiar with the basic design as he had used it in his old weapon, "A grenade launcher? I already have a concussive weapon and most grenades use dust."
"True, but…" Motoharu placed a large bullet with a creamy white top next to the weapon, "That doesn't mean every ammo in the book uses dust. The Atlas military is smart, they don't limit their ordnance to dust only, this here is a grenade that uses a spider's web."
"A spider's web?" Touma's scepticism was met with Motoharu's chuckle, "How does a spider's web help with anything?"
"Well see here, Kami-yan, this isn't just your ordinary-" Motoharu began with a wide grin.
"Okay, I get it… honestly, why did I even ask?" Touma muttered to himself as he rubbed the brow of his head.
"Well, I don't blame ya for thinking that at first, but what I'm trying to say is that there are various non-dust ammunition you can use with this launcher," Motoharu said, Touma nodded and leaned forward, "Go on, take it."
Touma picked up the launcher with his free hand and surprisingly, it was far lighter than he expected, the grip seemed to have been molded with his fingers as he looked over the weapon. It was barely shorter than his forearm and on top of the barrel was a small iron-sights piece.
"Though I don't have much to go off Kami-yan, I noticed a major flaw in your combat style, at least when you fought anyone that uses firearms or the like," Motoharu stated, "You only use one hand when in a long-ranged fight."
Touma frowned, unable to rebut as his mind twirled on his most recent battles, "So you're saying that because my Imagine Breaker only works on direct contact, I should use this in battles when I can't use my Imagine Breaker?"
"Yup, let's see," Motoharu peeked into his scroll and continued, "We should have time, we can goto the range so you can get used to the launcher."
Touma gently sighed as he placed the grenade launcher back on the table, leaning into his wheelchair and shaking his head, "It's fine, I'll take it."
"Oh? It's different from your older launcher, you know? And last I checked, you hated using firearms unless it has a less-lethal option," Motoharu questioned, "So better to break it in and all."
"I never said I don't know how to use them," Touma replied and as if to prove his point, his left hand shot out to the nade launcher and casually twirled it in his left hand smoothly. He stopped, his hand cleanly holding onto the grip while the launcher clicked and the chamber opened, "Not exactly the best aimer though, but I can use them well enough."
"Touma?" The Motoharu and Touma craned their necks to see Weiss by the doorway, clutching a small silver case.
"Weiss?" Touma greeted back, placing the weapon back to Motoharu as he struggled to turn his wheelchair around. He was happy to see Weiss as he was about to smile and wave, only to falter slightly as he saw her state. Unlike the cool and confident girl he expected, there was something off about her, even more tense than usual.
The young heir strode in, a small smile gracing her face as she replied, "Good to see that you're doing better than I last saw you," then the smile dropped as she shot a glare at Motoharu, "Now… you called for me?"
The blonde huntsman nodded as he clapped his hands on Touma's shoulders and replied with gusto, "Yep! Got your weapon here too?"
"It's in here," Weiss nodded towards the armoury before she held up the case, "Just need to refill the dust chambers."
"Ok good, because this is in regards to this little test that'll happen in about… ten or so minutes," Motoharu said, "Put it simply, I want you to face Blake."
"Wait what!?" Touma but he couldn't even struggle against Motoharu, "Why does she have to take on Blake?"
"I'll explain it in a minute," Motoharu replied, "Well, Weiss? Will you do it?"
Weiss's glare remained on Motoharu, her grip tightening on the case before she finally exhaled and strode towards a bench next to Touma, "How do you know I'm not just going to 'let her pass'?"
"I don't… but if you have your sister's integrity, you wouldn't dare," Motoharu replied with a shrug.
"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Touma grumbled and Motoharu chuckled as he patted on his shoulder with a wide grin.
"Just a little test for our Faunus friend," Motoharu answered and Touma paled as he shot a glance to Weiss who sighed in annoyance.
"It's alright, everyone knows," Weiss assured and Touma tilted his head in confusion but nodded as he noted to talk to Blake later about this.
"Yeah… didn't realise it was her secret to begin with," Motoharu apologised yet Touma could tell that there was something inside his tone that belies all forms of remorse.
"Yet somehow I think you didn't care," Weiss replied as she snapped the case open, revealing a number of vials containing different coloured dust, she then headed to another area of the armoury and picked up a longer and thinner case.
"Well, you were going to find out, sooner or later, I just… sped up the process," Motoharu replied with a shrug.
"... You don't really care about how that might affect the team, didn't you?" Touma hissed, while he didn't know why Blake asked him to keep that secret, he knew it was the type of secret that Blake was willing to hold onto at all costs.
"It's alright, Touma, he's correct. I would've figured it out," Weiss said as she set the longer case down on the bench and pulled out Myrtenaster, her eyes glanced to the side, watching Touma shift uncomfortably in the wheelchair, "...And I know you promised her to keep that fact, I'm not mad at you."
Touma smiled bitterly as he couldn't shake off the disappointment somehow as he asked, "But… are you upset at her?"
Weiss stiffened, her vials clinking onto the bench, "I would be lying if I said I wasn't."
"And the test would be a great way to get those feelings out and about," Motoharu chimed in brightly, "Speaking of which, here's a little nugget of wisdom I'm going to impart to you. In a line of work where you have to put your life in the hands of others, you'll need to be able to trust them and when it is shaken," Motoharu peered straight at Weiss with a jeering smile while his hands on Touma's shoulders seemed to squeeze enough to make him grit his teeth, "You just need to come to an… understanding."
"...Wait… so you're making Weiss go up against Blake?" Touma asked.
"Yep!" Motoharu flashed a thumbs-up before placing his hands on the wheelchair, ready to push Touma out, "Ah… Weiss, once you're ready, just join me in the training room, got some things to discuss with you, okay?"
Without waiting for her response, Motoharu began pushing Touma, who tried to get a glimpse of Weiss past him before giving up and muttering, "What the hell happened when I was out?"
"Well, it isn't my place to say, Kami-yan, it's actually quite common when you first start out on your huntsman school years," Motoharu replied before chuckling, "Thing is with teams is that, a conflict between two teammates is pretty common, though not at the level between Weiss and Blake."
Touma pondered at the two girls, a little surprised at the fact that Weiss was this upset at Blake's status as a Faunus, "Weird… just because Blake's a Faunus?"
"Kami-yan, do you really believe that?" Motoharu asked almost jeeringly.
Touma grunted as he shifted in the wheelchair, sheepishly scratching his cheek, "Not really… I dunno, feels like I'm missing something…"
"Is that so?" Motoharu asked in the same tone, Touma grumbled at the blatant unhelpfulness of his helper and just sank in his wheelchair. The blonde huntsman scoffed and hummed lightly as he continued pushing the hapless Touma until they reached a door, however, Touma noted a very large door several meters away that looked like something he'd only see in laboratories or the training room back at Beacon.
Motoharu opened the door, revealing a fairly spacious room with some couches and three large screens put side by side together. As he pushed Touma in, he raised an eyebrow, "Huh… thought it'd be empty."
In front of the screens was a White Fang nun, head bowed and hands clasped in a silent prayer. Motoharu bent down and muttered quietly, "Guess you'll have some company then, I'm gonna head off, try to play nice, yeah?"
With that, he pushed Touma towards the centre of the room, only a couple of metres away from the praying nun and with a wave, left the room quietly. Touma sighed, as he warily stared at the nun, unsure if it was Agnese or that other nun that accompanied her.
Seconds turned to minutes and Touma kept his eyes on the screen, but at the corner of his eyes, he was wary of the unmoving nun until she suddenly released her hands and turned to him, "Touma…"
"... Sister Agnese, didn't want to interrupt your prayer," Touma greeted politely and the nun tilted her head in acknowledgement as she pulled off her mask, "But… uh… wouldn't there be better places for you to pray?"
"There are, but I must be here, to observe," the Faunus nun replied as she sat down on one of the couches.
"Observe?" Touma echoed as he turned to the screen, he didn't want her to see his frown as he didn't appreciate the attention a White Fang had on Blake, "Can I ask why exactly?"
"... You don't trust me," Agnese said after a while, her legs crossing and her eyes narrowing into a glare, "Is it because I'm a White Fang?"
Touma flinched at the accusation as he admitted, "Yes, but not in the way you might be thinking. It's just that… the White Fang targeted Blake before and I've seen it with my own eyes. Sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you or anything, just… a little wary of it."
The nun raised an eyebrow, letting out a snort of disbelief as she asked, "Targeted Belladonna? Why would we…" Suddenly, Agnese rubbed her chin as she closed her eyes and muttered, "Of course… it has to be them."
"Sorry?"
"It's nothing," the nun said as she folded her arms, "But I want to make this clear, the Church and many of the White Fang has nothing but respect for Belladonna, or more specifically her father. While they are no longer part of the White Fang officially, we would never do harm to them."
"... They were part of the White Fang?" Touma asked, his eyes widening.
"Did you not know? Ghira Belladonna was one of the first leaders of the White Fang, naturally, his family were also part of the group. Though, I do not know when his daughter left, nevertheless, we respected them and their contributions," Agnese explained while raising an eyebrow, "I thought you knew that already."
"... I didn't," Touma muttered as he looked down to digest the information. What he knew about the White Fang wasn't abundant, but he knew they had used violent methods time to time and even had the displeasure of facing that situation before. For Blake to be once part of it was shocking, but it explained Weiss's position against her.
To Touma, Blake had been nothing but one of his closest friends at Beacon. He always felt that she was the type to deal with issues as calmly and efficiently as possible and for her to be once a part of a volatile group was jarring. Even then, he couldn't wipe off the times he spent with her, her well-hidden smiles when she interacted with her team and friends or her gentle silence when she would bury herself in a book. With a shake of his head, he berated himself for even having a shadow of a doubt, sure she had acted strange last he saw her but she never acted against him or anyone else.
"...But it doesn't matter if she was part of the White Fang or not, she's one of my best friends," Touma replied with a piercing glare at the nun.
Agnese's eyes met Touma's with a mild surprise before a ghost of a smile flashed on her face, "Huh… that must be nice…"
"...And I believe you," Touma said as he turned to the screens.
"Oh?"
"... It just didn't sound like you knew about someone in the White Fang trying to kill Blake. Sorry, for blaming you," he elaborated with a sheepish grin, "But… I just can't shake off the feeling that someone in the White Fang tried to murder her."
"... I see. Unfortunately, not everyone in the White Fang sees eye to eye," the nun replied as she turned to the screens as well, "But I can assure you that my Church has always preferred the peaceful method… Always."
Touma grunted in affirmative, but he decided not to challenge the claim, it wasn't like he knew everything about the White Fang, let alone the inner workings of the movement. Still, he let out an uneasy sigh and he made a mental note to research about the movement if he were to have any capabilities to help out Blake and Weiss somehow.
"... You make it sound like that the White Fang is made up of a lot of groups," Touma commented and Agnese stiffened, her eyes closing as if she realised her slip of a tongue.
"... It is, but I'd rather you don't associate us with those… people," Agnese growled as her eyes flashed warningly at Touma, "I… We had enough of those that tarnish the name of the White Fang, we've been labeled fanatics and terrorists because of them when instead, we are far greater than that."
"Then if you didn't want to be associated with that, you probably should've done something about it," Touma sniped and Agnese answered with a growl as her teeth bared. The boy gulped as his right arm jingled helplessly in its restraint as he continued, "The White Fang had hurt people before, even their own. Anyone would call them terrorists, it's on every person in the White Fang to separate themselves from that."
"Watch your mouth," the nun spat as she stood up, her aura glowering, "We can't just condemn those of the White Fang, we are all united into the betterment of the Faunus. Unfortunately, that's the price we pay, we take the good with the bad and when the time comes, the Church will lead the way."
Despite the obvious danger, Touma snorted derisively as he muttered, "Do you really need the White Fang to help the Faunus?"
Agnese tilted her head, her nostrils flaring as she drew breath and slowly exhaled, her eyes seemed to dim yet the firmness held fast as she asked, "I get it, you dislike the White Fang, but why the concession for Belladonna? I bet you don't know what she did when she was part of it."
Touma's face didn't betray anything, much to the ire of Agnese except for a sad smile that graced his face, "I've figured, I'm not gonna pretend that Blake has only done good. Actually… I think she may have done… certain things I'd never approve of but I also believe that people can change for the better."
"Hmph… you're idealistic, you know that? If people can change, there wouldn't be a need for the White Fang," Agnese remarked as she sat back down and folded her arms.
Touma shrugged and admitted, "Honestly, I'm not good with this kind of stuff, but Blake hasn't proved me wrong and I don't think she will."
The room fell in silence as Touma zoned out into the screen, his mind reviewing the past few turbulent days. He had learned a lot, some of which he didn't expect. Apart from Weiss, he hadn't seen the rest of RWBY and he tightened his jaw as he remembered why they were even here in the first place.
"Touma?"
The said boy turned his head out of his stupor to see Ruby trotting up to him with a face of relief yet somehow, to Touma, her eyes felt hollow. Yang casually waved from behind and like Ruby, seemed to lack the spring in her step, almost as if she had been hammered by a triple back-to-back study session.
"Guys…" Touma returned as Ruby held out her arms and was about to glomp him until she saw his state. With a nervous giggle, she gently squeezed Touma's arm instead and sat down next to him while Yang raised an eyebrow with a teasing smile.
"Wow… You look like you've been through hell," Yang said.
"Can say the same about you," Touma replied with a smile of his own, Yang snorted and turned her attention to the last occupant in the room, immediately her smile dropped in a single moment before deciding to sit onto a seat next to Touma, as if shielding him from Agnese's direction.
"Guess, you heard about this thing they're gonna make Blake do, huh?" Yang asked with a nod to the screen.
"...Yeah," Touma answered and the three just stared at the screen, watching Blake talk to Motoharu until Touma inhaled and with a clear voice, said, "I'm sorry."
Yang and Ruby raised an eyebrow as the former asked, "Uh… what?"
"For dragging you all into this," Touma's elaboration only earned further confused looks before Yang only shook her head while Ruby smiled gently.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Touma, we all chose to do this," Ruby said as she blacked her hands on her hips with her chest stuck out, "Besides, there was no way we'd let Motoharu take you away. We're in this together!"
"Yeah, besides, I think you'll need the help," Yang teased as she poked at Touma's chest playfully, "Anyways, let's go cheer Blake on, it's about to start."
A black bow, it was all that stood between Blake's true identity and her facade, an essential wall that was now reduced to a mere accessory. In some ways, she felt liberated, as if chains had been lifted off her shoulders yet at the same time, she was blindsided. She wasn't sympathetic with Mistral's plight, yet Ruby and Touma both chose to help albeit under duress and at the same time, came to realise that there were Faunus victims in this incident. As a result of her actions in this city, Blake now faced a 'test' that may rob her of the opportunity to help the Faunus as a huntsman, nothing more and nothing less.
A soft knock pierced her thoughts and with a click, Ruby's soft voice echoed into her head, "Umm… are you ready?" Blake turned to see Ruby's worried face peering through the doorway with Yang standing by.
Blake took one last look at her bow before tossing it to the bed and nodded while raising her sheathed Gambol Shroud, and the three of them marched their way to the training room, each one wondering what kind of concoction Motoharu had planned out for their hapless Faunus. The three marched in silence, Blake's face set in grim determination, Ruby's in worry while Yang gritted her teeth.
"Arrrgh!" Yang groaned, throwing her hands up in the air before she placed a hand on her partner's shoulder, effectively stopping the march, "Damnit, I just can't take this anymore!"
Blake and Ruby shot a glance at each other as Yang continued, "This isn't a march to the gallows, seriously!" She took a breath and then a few more while her teammates just stared at her with mild concern, "Look, all you have to do is ace that test and shove it in that guy's face, easy right?"
Silence met her outburst as Yang sighed, resisting the urge to scratch through her hair, "Look, Blake is easily one of the best fighters right? Only Pyrrha can beat her all the time one on one, so what's that jerk gonna do?" Yang then grabbed onto Blake's hands firmly, her eyes flashing with confidence accompanied with a wide grin that both teammates knew too well, "We'll just do what we always do, right? Kick some ass."
Blake's lips twitched, releasing a snort as she nodded, "Yeah… you're right."
"Sweet, now let's go!" Yang shot her fist in the air and began briskly striding to their destination.
Blake shook her head, while her mind trying to figure out what just happened and as she shot a glance at Ruby again, she raised an eyebrow at the young leader's face. There was a blink, followed by a half-smile yet it didn't reach her silver eyes. Blake frowned and asked, "Ruby… are you okay?"
"Huh? Y-yeah! I'm okay, let's go!" Ruby answered as if she snapped out of a daze and trotted after her sister, Blake remained silent, while she wasn't a mind-reader, she knew that Ruby's answer felt like a deflection if anything. However, Blake pushed that thought away and the three of them finally made their way to the training room.
"Ah, glad you could make it!" Motoharu waved with a small smile, waiting in front of a large sliding steel door and tension rose in the air as the three young huntsmen in training could only imagine what lies behind it.
Yang and Ruby both shot a look of encouragement at Blake and she nodded, stepping forward, "I'm ready."
"Of course you are," Motoharu replied dismissively and pointed at Ruby and Yang, "You two, why don't you head to the observation deck? Got some details that need to be hammered down."
"Umm… but," Ruby shot a glance at the door behind Motoharu, but the huntsman shook his head.
"Sorry, can't have you swaying the test in any way, otherwise we'd all be in trouble! Besides, I'm sure there is a certain someone waiting for you in that room!" Motoharu piped up as he began shooing the two girls which only earned more perplexed looks but they eventually nodded and with a quick wish of good luck to Blake, they departed to a simple wooden door, completely less ominous than the one they stood before. Once out of earshot, Motoharu clapped his hands, his mouth stretched to a wide grin, "Now, Blake, I don't need to explain to you why this test is happening, so let's get to 'how' you are going to pass it, okay?"
Blake nodded her grip on her Gambol Shroud tightening as Motoharu began punching numbers at a keypad nearby. The door shuddered and it slowly began to drift apart with a grinding whine, "This is a fairly simple test, but if I were you, I'd be careful and just think on how you can get through it.
"That said, you don't necessarily have to succeed, you just have to do… enough," Motoharu continued as he entered the room with Blake in tow, and as they entered, Blake's eyes widened at the training room at the jungle of wooden structures modeled like buildings. "Your objective, Blake, is fairly simple, all you have to do, is get in, get this," Motoharu briefed as he held a picture with a red scroll, "... and extract. There are no secondary objectives. How you do it isn't important, but you will fail if I deem it impossible for you to complete the objective, okay?"
Blake nodded, "When do I start?"
"Whenever you feel like it, but just hear me out for a minute… This is a stealth simulation, it only ends when I say or when the timer runs out. The timer for you to fail this mission won't start until you are found," Motoharu said.
"Timer?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep, once they see you, you have ten minutes to complete the objective. See? Simple," Motoharu replied.
Blake nodded and unsheathed her Gambol Shroud, she wasn't a stranger to operations that required discrete methods. That said, those missions were often more about sabotaging and destroying property rather than simply stealing items of interest, but if there was anything Blake learned so far, simple doesn't mean easy and as she shot a glance at Motoharu, he chuckled.
"Oh… and before you start, here's a piece of advice. Keep your eye on the objective, don't get distracted," he warned before he stepped back and gestured towards the masses of makeshift buildings, "Whenever, you're ready."
Blake inhaled and her aura pulsed, she carefully walked towards the nearest building. Her ears twitched and though it seemed deathly silent, she could hear the faint thumping and some sort of mechanical sound. She advanced, navigating her way through the spacious rooms and large hallways, it was clear that it wasn't simulating a residential area or an office building like she was used to. It was more akin to a warehouse or factory, that said, she kept her posture low. It wasn't long before she saw a mech emerging from one of the many scattered wooden blocks, clutching a rifle to its torso.
Blake frowned at the presence of the mechs, despite being easy to dismantle, she knew she couldn't recklessly take them out. What they lacked in combat skills compared to a human or Faunus soldiers and huntsmen, they excelled in that they have hive-mind like capabilities, destroy one and it would result in a battalion of Knights and Paladins homing in the assailant's position. Luckily, they aren't able to sense aura and Blake exhaled, her aura rippling around her as she felt her body lighten. She darted in and out between the objects, passing through the mechs' blindspots with ease and moving onto the next room.
Each room would have a handful of mechs at most and Blake had no trouble slipping past them, however, she was no closer to finding that scroll she needed to pass this 'test' of Motoharu's. While her footsteps were one with silence, her mind sifted through ways of how she could find the scroll. Eventually, she began to find her pace to slow down as the mechs seemed more numerous than every last room she would pass through.
Blake's ears twitched as this scenario reminded her of the countless raids she participated in various SDC facilities, every time they would get closer to an objective, the heavier the security and that could only mean one thing, she was getting closer to that scroll. Blake licked her lips and pushed forward, her aura pulsing every time she needed to slip past the mechs unnoticed, however, as she pushed forward the mechs in her sight suddenly jerked and their rifles were raised.
"Ah ah ah! Looks like they detected your presence Blake! Your ten minutes start now!" Motoharu sang over the intercom and Blake clicked her tongue, her aura flashing towards her legs as she leaped over the mechs and scattered furniture towards the scroll like a rocket as the mechs started to fire at her.
Blake grunted as she flicked her Gambol Shroud, deflecting any stray round aimed at her as she pushed forward and swiped the scroll with a victorious smirk until her ears picked up, "Help!"
Barely a few metres away was a bound girl dressed in a simple blue skirt and silver hair with a pair of tiny horns at the corner of the room. Blake's eyes widened as she wondered why someone like this was there in a training simulation but that thought was quickly thrown out of the window as a few shots embedded themselves above her head, forcing her to duck.
She knew that the girl was a distraction, but at the same time, it could be a hidden test and with the volume of salvos increasing as more dust rounds hit closer and closer, Blake cursed as she darted to the girl and demanded, "Okay, calm down, just hold onto me tight!" She sliced the ropes bounding the girl and then showed her back to which the girl climbed on.
Blake's aura pulsed as she unwound the rope on her scabbard and whipped it out, using it like a form of grappling hook as she swung out of the room into the large open area, the mechs quickly tracked their aiming at her but she deflected the hail of bullets as the girl screamed in terror. The Faunus huntsman landed and like clockwork, her Gambol Shroud morphed into its pistol form and she squeezed the trigger twice at one target and then the next before strafing to the side and shot two more times at another mech. Despite her taking down the mechs, the girl sobbed in fear but Blake patted on the arms that hung around her neck and while it helped the girl control her sobbing a bit, her heavy breathing was pushing through her hair just as hard as before.
"We're almost out of there, just hang on," Blake cooed as her golden eyes darted around, the mechs continued to scatter around with their rifles ready to fire.
Without waiting for a response, Blake pounced at the next pair of mechs, her blade flashing as she sliced cleanly through the both of them. The mechs collapsed but Blake couldn't pause as she felt some clacking behind her, she whipped around as she held her arm as she felt the bullets collide into her. Her aura flared, protecting her from the attack but the stinging remained as she grunted in annoyance and fired back at the offending Knight.
The mech shuddered and collapsed, Blake sighed in relief as the clanking was now more distant, "Hey… are you alright?" The girl made an affirmative but scared squeak and Blake turned her head back and said gently, "Okay, we're almost out, just hold on tight."
With that, Blake bounded from the room, her ears held high like an antenna while her golden eyes darting left and right as she ignored fighting the mechs, only using her blade to deflect if necessary. She was close, she could feel it tingling in her limbs as she made it to one fairly empty hallway and just as she was about to reach the centre of the room, she heard something whistling in the air with a shout, she twisted her body and jerked suddenly to the right, the girl screaming in surprise and fear as the area she was about to jump towards was alit in flames.
Suddenly, Blake whipped around as she held up her Gambol Shroud instinctively and deflected a piercing strike, jumping away to get a view of her ambusher. She gasped as her golden eyes widened, being met with a piercing cold gaze by none other than Weiss Schnee who held her rapier at the ready.
Blake could barely gasp as the ground beneath Weiss flashed and the Schnee became nothing more than a white and grey blur. The rapier and katana clashed, Weiss silently slashed and poked, each attack inching closer and closer to Blake as she tried to stave off the onslaught. The child on her back had forced her to not use her semblance and the screaming didn't help but what surprised her most was the aggression of Weiss.
More glyphs flashed around the Schnee, allowing her to dart from positions even huntsmen would find difficult to maneuver as Blake deflected each attack, her feet retreating to maintain balance. However, each strike struck closer and closer to Blake, her aura wavering at every clang of Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud.
With a shout of desperation, Blake's aura flared like flames being fed with oil and Gambol Shroud vibrated in her hands as she pushed against Myrtenaster, sending Weiss into the air. However, Weiss backflipped and landed lightly a few metres away, her eyes focussed on Blake with cold focus.
Blake's breath clouded in front of her as she held up her weapons, her feet slowly shuffling back as her mind raced to figure out her options. She knew Weiss never fought like this, the aggression was more akin to Touma and Yang, but Weiss proved her wrong. Weiss slowly advanced, her rapier twirling around as if she was stretching her wrist before stopping to point at Blake. There was nothing on her face, no determination, no tenseness, just pure focus.
The air around them felt thick, as if daring either of the fighters to cut through it and within those seconds of respite, Weiss dared. Glyph flashed and roared underneath her as Myrtenaster clicked and with a resounding clap, a bolt of thunder shot Blake, but she was ready as she hopped to the side, her sudden movements causing her passenger to cry out in terror. Blake didn't need to know where Weiss was as she immediately felt her senses crying out in warning and with a flick of her blade, it clanged against Myrtenaster but what she wasn't prepared for, was a sudden palm strike to her torso and Blake coughed in shock and pain, stumbling backwards.
Weiss didn't relent, her rapier shooting towards Blake again. The Faunus huntsman-to-be weaved backwards and soon found herself either knocking the attack away or hopping back. Weiss huffed but her feet methodically advanced forward and like its dance partner, her hand controlled the rapier as if it was a snake hellbent on getting a bite from Blake, striking her at places that had her grunt in annoyance.
Weiss's brow furrowed as she pushed on, her feet stepping forward like a dancer and with a singular huff, a glyph suddenly appeared forcing Blake to hop back, but the glyph on Weiss's free hand disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. The glyph then appeared once more as she stepped forward once more and Blake matched her movement, the latter gritting her teeth as she jerked backwards away from the glyph.
This dance of the fleeting glyphs continued, Weiss's graceful yet relentless assault had Blake forced into a jarring jitter, her defensive blades unable to keep up with this new style of attack. Blake cursed lightly as she was edging closer to the wall and as the three girls approached it, Weiss's face seemed to glow as she commanded, "It's over Blake, surrender."
Her rapier was pointed straight at Blake while her sheath and Katana were raised to defend, yet she felt her aura flicker lightly and when she was about to reply, a calm voice entered her ear, "She's right, it's over."
Blake turned to look behind her and instead of a simple wooden wall was a large glyph spinning behind her, purple currents danced and sparked around Blake while the girl just simply looked at her without a single trace of fear. A resounding beep echoed the hall and the girl on Blake's back jumped off as Weiss relaxed her stance, sheathing Myrtenaster. Blake was bewildered, her eyes darting to Weiss and the girl who was leisurely brushing her arms before Blake sighed in realisation as she sheathed her own weapon with a loud clink.
"I don't have to say it," the girl said in an oddly masculine voice, she reached for her face and in one swift motion tore it off, her body glowing and morphing into a form that Blake only saw briefly, Etzali. The man dressed in a simple white suit sympathetically shook his head as he said, "Mission failed."
"Mission failed, indeed," Motoharu's voice grabbed everyone's eyes as he strolled into the room, Blake stared at the floor, her grip tightening on Gambol Shroud and he continued, his voice seemingly surrounding her in a jeering tone, "Guess that means I have to bench ya, right?"
Blake didn't answer but she knew she could only accept the result. She picked up an obvious bait and as a result, it cost her. However, instead of just letting the jeering get to her, she looked back up into Motoharu's shades and with a crisp and clear tone, said, "I still would've done what I've done if I would do this test again."
Motoharu stared at Blake, his mouth twitching as his shoulders trembled before he started cackling, startling even Etzali's lips were threatening to follow suit. Weiss's surprise was quickly replaced as she placed her hands on her hips and asked, "What? Why do you think this is funny?"
After some more chuckling Motoharu straightened himself with a very wide grin as he replied, "Heh, I expected her to point out that little surprise you weren't so fond of, turns out, she's A-O-Kay with it, though a little surprised she got fooled easily there..."
"Just because she is, doesn't mean it isn't," Weiss growled, Blake winced at the words being thrown around, her stance slackening as her eyes fell to the floor.
"Damn right it isn't!" Yang's voice hollered into the conversation as she stomped in with Sister Agnese and Ruby pushing Touma trailing behind, "This isn't a test, you just sent Blake to get her screwed!"
Blake blinked before quickly turning her head away, she hadn't expected Agnese and more importantly, Touma to be here as guilt and shame quickly welled into her chest. Motoharu remained silent as Yang's stomping made its way to him as she snarled, "She had that and you know it! And you!" Yang turned to Weiss, her eyes flashing red, "You're on our team! What the hell were you doing!?"
Before Weiss can answer, Motoharu replied quite calmly with a teasing undertone, "It doesn't change anything, Blake has shown she is not yet ready to undertake the next mission-"
"Bullshit!" Yang's hair flared in a more intense shade of yellow that everyone almost took a step back from the angered girl, "We've heard the brief and you just blindsided her, that isn't fair."
"Yang… it's fine," Blake's voice was subdued, yet everyone could hear her just fine as her gaze was stuck to the floor and her ears flattened and in an instant, the intensity of Yang's aura petered out like a candle snuffed out of its flame.
"Wha-? But…"
"It's fine," the cat Faunus repeated as she looked up, her golden eyes were resigned and without any elaboration, she turned and exited, almost as if she was about to break into a run as she ignored the calls of her teammates and Touma.
Even when she left the room, she didn't slow down, all she wanted was to leave. Blake's teeth grinded against each other as she tried to rewind what had happened in there and she didn't know if she should be angry or ashamed or anything at all. She couldn't think, it was as if she had so many things in her mind yet she can't see anything inside of it.
"Hey! Watchit!"
Suddenly, Blake found herself sprawling to the floor, rubbing her head and suddenly those blurs she was seeing began to focus itself into one person, Awaki Musujime. The zebra Faunus huffed as she stood up and said, "That kinda hurt, you- … Oh…"
Blake hurriedly scrabbled to stand as she muttered a quick apology, but before she could even take one step, Awaki's hand suddenly grasped onto Blake's arm, "Hey, weren't you supposed to be with Motoha- … Ah… of course you did, you 'failed' didn't you?"
The cat Faunus didn't answer, but tore her arm away from Awaki and that was all the more experienced huntsman needed to know as she continued, "You do know you were set up to fail, right?"
The two stared at each other in silence, eventually Awaki snorted and continued the one-sided conversation, "Guess I'm gonna put you straight then, ever since that incident last mission and how you were affected, Motoharu was gonna bench you. That 'test' was just supposed to convince you, not him. So… did it convince you?"
Before Blake could answer, she heard Ruby call out her name and the two Faunus turned to see Ruby sprinting to them, "Blake!" The young leader screeched to a halt, her eyes filled with worry.
"Ruby?"
"Um… I… I mean… we are worried about you," Ruby said as she scratched her cheek, "Just… wanted to know… if you need to talk?"
"... Where's everyone else?" Blake asked, she half expected Yang to be following her younger sister, but the rest of RWBY were nowhere to be seen.
Ruby flinched at the question as she looked away, almost embarrassed to answer the question, "Well… uh… they're kind of… fighting and well… Touma would've come but he's… you know."
This time, it was Blake's turn to flinch as she remembered Touma's wheelchair-bound state. She knew she had to apologise, yet something inside her was making it difficult and she needed to think, "... Ruby… sorry, I just need to be alone."
"But-"
"Please, okay?" Blake tore her eyes away, unable to even face her younger leader, "I know you want to help but…"
Ruby's face slowly morphed into resignation as she pursed her lips and nodded, Blake whispered a thanks and left with her head down, leaving Awaki and Ruby to look on.
"Wow… Motoharu did a number on her, didn't he?" Awaki muttered and Ruby sighed sadly and nodded but the experienced huntsman snorted as she shook her head, "Welp, that's that then, anyways, what's wrong with you?"
Ruby blinked before she muttered, "Isn't it obvious? Blake's been benched and-"
"Nah, I wasn't talking about that. You know, considering you're the leader of your… 'team' you have a member benched and the others fighting each other," Awaki clarified with an annoyed wave of her hand. Ruby grimaced as she berated herself for her 'mouth' while Awaki shook her head, "Seriously, aren't you supposed to keep your team together?"
Ruby looked down, her hands wringing each other with her lips pursed together. She wasn't blind to what the older huntsman asked, in fact, she was painfully aware since the past few hours, "I… I'm just not sure if I'm the right leader for RWBY… I think the others would've been better…"
"Oh?"
"I mean… Blake and Weiss are way smarter than me and Yang… well… I dunno, she feels like she knows how to talk to people… and then… there's me…" Ruby flipped the hood over her head as she mumbled, "I'm not even half as smart as they are and Yang always seemed like she knows what to do… hahh… why was I even picked for the leader?"
"Good question," Awaki replied with a shrug but Ruby's sullen look almost made her wish that she had taken that back, almost. "Ugh… Look, in technicality, anyone can be a leader, smarts and confidence can be major parts to a good leader…"
Ruby shrank further into her hood, as if Awaki's words were pushing her further in and this time, Awaki rolled her eyes and said, "But… it takes more than that, something I'm sure you have… You just gotta find something that works for you."
"... Really?" Ruby peeked out from under her hood, but her tone held no hope, just disbelief, "Then… I'm doing a great job, right?"
Awaki bit back the urge to growl at Ruby's sass, her lips stretching into the stiffest smile she ever held, "Well, every team goes through their road bumps, it just so happens that your one is a pretty big one for a first one and it's your job to try deal with it, or at least help deal with it. Look, I gotta go so think about it, yeah?"
With that, Ruby was left to her own thoughts as she heard footsteps echo away from her and to her distress, more questions were given than answers. The 'road bump' Awaki described wasn't just one big one, there were multiple and Ruby had no idea how to resolve them. With Blake refusing to talk to anyone and her other two teammates at each other's throats, she wasn't sure what the answer was. All she could ask was, "Why was I chosen as the leader?"
"Hey, Hey!" Yang barked but Weiss was far more interested in trying to be alone than having a conversation, but the blonde girl wasn't having it, "I'm talking to you!"
"Hmph, I thought you made it clear that my presence wasn't wanted. Besides we don't have to meet for an hour," Weiss retorted icily as she turned to Yang, her arms crossed while Yang returned the glare.
"No! I just want answers! I thought we were a team, we're supposed to stick together!" Yang exclaimed as she shot her hands out, "But you shot Blake down, what the hell was that?"
"A team? Really? Because as far as I can tell, you're the only one who seemed to think that we're still a team," Weiss's reply had Yang halt as if she was frozen all over, her face held a stony visage as she stepped back with wide eyes.
"What?"
"Blake refused to talk and just left us, Ruby can't pull herself together, let alone 'lead' this team," Weiss explained before trailing off to a silence.
Yang gritted her teeth at the mention of her partner and her sister, but she knew she couldn't lose her temper. With a bitter swallow, she croaked, "What about us?"
"... I admit, I'm not the easiest person to work with nor am I the easiest person to… connect with, but I will not apologise for refusing to join such a fiasco of… this," Weiss's response had Yang blinking, she didn't expect Weiss to be critical of herself considering her usual haughtiness and sense of self, "As for you, you let your emotions get the control of you far too much… but from my point of view, you're the only one who is trying to keep this team together, I'm just not sure why you would even bother."
"...No… What I don't understand is why you don't bother trying to help this team," Yang shot back but Weiss's icey visage barely moved at all.
"I thought I've made my position quite clear to you and granted you are violent and buffoonish, you are smarter than you seem," Weiss answered, leaving Yang to inhale sharply as if to hold herself from jumping on filterless Schnee.
"Yeah, okay… I know, but it's not like we're perfect," Yang growled as her eyes flashed red and her fists clenched tightly. After a few breaths, she rolled her shoulders and relaxed herself while Weiss's finger was tapping on her own arm in impatience, "Look I get it, you don't like the fact that Blake was once a White Fang, you don't like the fact that Ruby is the one chosen to lead this team and I get it that you don't like how I do things… hell, I don't like how you do things either, but we're a team."
Weiss snorted, her lips turning upside for the first time, but the lack of warmth in her eyes did little to comfort Yang at all, "Aptly put, Yang, but it doesn't change the fact that we're a poor excuse of a team. I won't deny that each one of us are quite capable in our own right but you can't deny that our capabilities left a lot to be desired. It may not have been apparent at Beacon, but here in Mistra just exposed our issues and nothing is being done to solve it."
Yang clenched her teeth as she bit back her urge to accuse Weiss's lack of contribution to help in the first place. However, the hot-headed girl kept her cool, she knew she wouldn't win a war of words against someone like Weiss, not in a million years. With that in mind, Yang replied, "Yeah, I know. But it's not like we can just come up with an answer like that, you know? You're supposed to be smart and all, so… maybe help us a little?"
"Last time I checked, Ruby is the leader, it is her obligation to maintain the team's wellbeing, not mine," Weiss's curt reply held only steel.
"Doesn't mean you shouldn't help, you're still part of this team," Yang pointed out, "Besides, you know Ruby's gonna struggle a few times, but I know she's good. You've seen her, she just needs… advice and stuff. Just lay off the criticism, she already knows that she's in a funk."
Weiss paused, her eyes trailing around Yang before slowly nodding, "I suppose you do have a point… Fine I'll lay off my expectations on them for the time being." Yang grinned as she was about spread her arms and hug out her teammate only for the Schnee to step back with her finger held up, "BUT, if I don't see any improvement or at least something out of them, I will no longer be willing to invest in this team… and formally request a transfer to a new team or perhaps appeal for the privileges Touma enjoys."
"Ahh… c'mon Weiss, do you really have to ruin the moment?" Yang groaned as she rubbed her forehead at her stubbornly icey teammate.
"Hmph, I don't know what moment you are talking about, but I have my future to consider," Weiss huffed as she turned away and began to continue to her destination.
"Really? Do you have to be a stick in the mud? We're not going to be soldiers or anything you know?" Yang asked, exasperated at her teammate's stubbornness.
"I'm not telling you or anyone to be soldiers. In fact, I don't care if you act like a barbarian half the time," Weiss started as she looked away and Yang took that opportunity to make a rude gesture behind her back, "or Ruby's childish behaviour, all I care is that you guys at least take this seriously especially if you consider the gravity of our situation. You can't deny that some people on our team have issues that need to be dealt with and if we don't deal with it, someone could get injured or worse, killed. You've seen how Touma was put in a wheelchair and if I had to put an opinion, Blake messed up and they got lucky that they got out alive."
"Yeah… yeah I know," Yang grumbled, even if she'd defend Blake and everyone else she cared about to the death, she couldn't ignore the fact that Blake's decision had endangered Touma. She didn't have to be a psychic to know that Touma had forgiven Blake, if anything, she was more surprised that he took on the blame for everything that happened then and refused to believe otherwise despite Ruby and herself trying to convince him otherwise, "But all the more reason to help us, right?"
"... I suppose so," Weiss said and as she turned to give one last look to Yang, there was a glimmer in her eyes that had Yang almost jerk back in surprise, it was a look she didn't expect from Weiss, "For what it's worth, I do think we can be a great team if everyone gets out of their 'funk' as you say. I don't want us to fail and most of all, I don't want someone like Touma forcing himself to risk his life to keep one or all of us afloat. He didn't deserve that and you know he will do it again if he has to. Also… remember to report back to the meeting room, supposedly they got something for us later."
Yang bitterly swallowed as she was reminded of Touma's injuries and nodded stiffly as Weiss returned it before marching away, her footsteps tapping eerily like a clock, as if it was a countdown to RWBY's fate.
A/N: Now things are highlighted, wheels are turning for the next few chapters, hopefully I don't get sick again.
