A Wolf, A Red Hood, and A Sneaky Smile

by jwrite

My own oc is trapped by his own power till he meets Ruby and her friends, the road ahead is a bumpy one and many haunting shadows of the past come to the light of day as the road these heroes-in-training walk is unknowingly guided by the hand of another. Also, there is going to be some lovey dovey with neo later on.

9. Chapter 9: Some time to think

Before I begin I feel I need to clear up a misunderstanding about William's ability to sense negative emotions. The reason William could basically read Blake's mind, but not team JPIT's is because of the difference in how strongly they felt their emotions. JPIT did want to kill William, but due to being borderline psychopaths they thought of killing William in much the same way you would kill a spider instead of a person. The intent was there, but they didn't see it as murder and didn't put forth the emotional resolve you would normally see in someone going to kill another person. Blake, on the other hand, seems, by default, to be a negative person and the negativity was enhanced by feeling sad/concerned/etc. Second I originally wanted to add a NSFW scene to this (hold the smut alarms) but didn't because it would have turned this chapter's length into a behemoth, and if I am being honest it wasn't that good, so, for now, all smut is on hold, for now. Enjoy.

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Chapter 9: Some time to think

After William's outburst the group split into three; Ozpin and the teachers returned to their regular Saturday activities, Ironwood went back to his airship to access the damages, and the students went to the cafeteria for breakfast. Team RWBY hadn't left the cliff side the entire time and therefore hadn't eaten breakfast. Aside from some soft goodbyes, this process was fairly quiet and uneventful. Everyone was still processing everything that William had revealed to the world, even William himself. As they entered the cafeteria they happened to meet up with team JNPR and while they went through the line to get their food team RWBY filled them in on what had transpired last night and this morning.

"Wow, I can't believe you said all that to the general," Nora said sitting down with her team.

"I still can't believe you're hungry, you just spent the last SEVEN hours eating non-stopped," Yang commented pointing to William's typical food mountain.

"Eating Grimm to charge my powers and eating for sustenance are two different things." William calmly retorted as he began to dig into his food with his usual gusto.

Ruby being the last to sit down turned her head towards William. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He stopped, lowering his fork he seemed to think heavily on something for a few moments while he finished chewing. "I…I don't know. I never meant to say that… it just sort of all came out at once. I'm not even entirely sure if that's what I really feel."

Yang, sitting next to him, put her hand on his shoulder. "Will, you've been keeping all that stuff locked up for so long, just relax and let it all out." Yang smiled. "Like a giant dump." She quickly added getting a number of disgusted and "that's inappropriate" looks from everyone.

"Yang, first I do not like being called Will and, disgusting metaphor aside, while I do appreciate the advice, I still don't even know what to think right now. Yeah some of the things I said are true, and I guess so are some other things, but I… it's just so much to process. Maybe I should just go lay down."

"Well you did just go all night without much sleep, perhaps a good rest is what you need to get your mental faculties in order." Ren calmly stated cutting into his second pancake.

"I guess so. By the way, does anyone know why professor Port asked me to drop by his office sometime for a sample of my saliva before we went our separate ways?"

"You don't know?" Weiss asked quizzically.

"Know what?"

"Your saliva prevents Grimm from disintegrating, it's an indispensable tool for study." The heiress explained.

"Wait, don't you guys already have something like that?"

The other huntsmen-in-training looked at each other confused before their focus returned to William. "No, we don't have anything like that." Stated Pyrrha.

"Then what about all those stuffed Grimm in professor Port's class?"

"William those are just taxidermy animals made to look like Grimm," Weiss explained trying not to snicker.

"Really? Why would anyone do that? What is the point of having so many fake Grimm statues?"

"Probably so he can show off and tell more tall-tales," Yang stated bluntly receiving a majority of nods, William included.

The topic soon turned to the new couple as they formally announced their relationship.

"Wow, that's great you two, I wish you nothing but the best." Jaune celebrated.

"So, when did you two start dating?" Ruby asked.

"At first I never really thought about Yang as anything else than my partner…" She began, quickly adding "…in fighting Grimm," feeling Yang about to say something. "I guess it started when she told me to not let my search for Torchwick takeover my life and I guess I finally realized how I felt after my identity as a Faunus was revealed. The first thing that came to mind was the fear of not being able to see Yang again. I finally got the courage to ask her out after my conversation with William the day of his entrance exam. When she told me she felt the same, I just felt so… happy."

"Aw, that is so sweet." Nora, Ruby, and Yang let out.

"Really, it's not that big of a deal," Blake said trying to wave it off while failing to conceal her blush red face.

"Oh, come on kitty cat it's not every day you confess to your friends that your dating your partner." Yang chuckled taking Blake's hand in her own intertwining their fingers.

"Yang don't call me…" She stopped seeing Yang make Ruby-grade puppy eyes. "…It's just I haven't exactly had much luck with relationships." She tried to salvage her argument.

"You shouldn't worry this won't end like it did with Adam." William bluntly announced stuffing three whole pancakes into his mouth.

"William, I thought you said you wouldn't read my mind anymore."

William held up three fingers as he finished chewing and swallowing his food. "Three things; first I never said that, second I don't read minds, I derive meaning from the negative emotions people have and in some cases the images of specific memories chained to those emotions, and third I didn't."

"What?" Ruby asked scratching her head.

"Blake, I told you before when someone is happy I can't read them at all. That's how I know you are happy because when you look at Yang I can't tell what you are thinking. Yang and the Adam I've seen through your memories are two VERY different people. You feel happy around Yang and she feels happy around you. So, don't worry about it."

A small tear slipped from the corner of Blake's eye. "William I don't know what to say."

"How about you say you will give yourself a chance to be happy and trust in the people you care about and that care about you. You need to stop punishing yourself for the past, nothing you do will ever change it, but if you keep looking back you won't move forward with everyone else."

Ruby all of a sudden gave William a big hug from behind.

"What's this for?" William asked turning his head to see the red reaper on his back.

"Just because you're a good person."

"I wouldn't say 'good', I just don't like to hear people's negative emotions…is all." The Were-Grimm huffed avoiding eye contact and blushing profusely.

"That reminds me, what about Sun?" Weiss asked killing the mood.

"Well… I haven't figured out how to tell him. I know he likes me; I just don't know how to break the news to him." The cat Faunus frowned.

"Just go and tell him." Yang bluntly stated as she gently held onto Blake's hand.

"Yang's right, even I can tell that he likes you." William chimed in. "And normally I'm not that great at reading positive emotions."

"I guess; I just don't want to hurt his feelings." The cat Faunus said returning her eyes downward.

"Just tell him as best you can. I may not have much experience with these kinds of things, but I'd like a girl to be honest with me about this kind of thing. And you know Sun is a really good guy, I don't think he would hold it against you."

"Wow, Will you are on fire today," Yang commented.

"Yang, please don't call me Will."

Blake raised her eyes up and smiled. "She is right, whenever I need advice, since I've met you, you've been right there. Not to mention you're really good at it."

"Oh, come on guys I…I'm just…" William trailed off blushing.

"Okay, enough making William blush, let's change the topic," Pyrrha suggested.

"Oh, that reminds me Jaune, I've actually been meaning to ask you something." Posed William drawing everyone's attention to him and Jaune.

"Uh, sure what do you want to know?" The blonde boy asked wondering what this was about.

"Since we ran into you this morning I've been wondering something, why you didn't use your semblance when we first fought?"

The Arc knight became visibly nervous. "My semblance, well…you see… I…the thing is…" He stuttered.

"Well not everyone can or chooses to use their semblance in a fight. It all depends on the situation and the user's judgment if their unique power will play a beneficial role or not." Pyrrha interjected shifting focus off of Jaune.

William looking at Pyrrha raised an eyebrow and then turned his head towards Jaune looking him dead in the eyes. "You don't actually know what your semblance is, do you?" He asked with a pan face expression.

"I… well… you see…-"

"-Jaune, I can tell when people are lying." The wolf Faunus cut in not breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, okay, I don't actually know what my semblance is." The Arc knight reluctantly admitted putting his head and arms on the table.

"You really don't know what your semblance is?" Weiss half scuffed.

"Hey." Pyrrha defended.

Before Pyrrha could continue William spoke up. "Weiss, it isn't his fault, with a semblance like his, it is more something along the lines of the right situation arising as opposed to it appearing through training." William explained.

"Wait, what?" Jaune let out completely lost. "Do you know what my semblance is?"

"Sort of, I have something akin to a vague idea about it."

"And how exactly is that even possible?" The ice queen inquired.

"Well, up until now my Grimm supply has been at most an eighth of my maximum capacity, but now that I have a full tank, the clarity by which I can perceive not only the memories attached to negative emotions has increased, but also gain access to connecting memories." The Were-Grimm explained.

"Wait doesn't an increased Grimm level mean you're now more susceptible to losing control with being able to perceive negative emotions more clearly." Blake astutely observed.

"Yes and no, the risk of me losing control lies not in the clarity in which I can perceive negative emotions, but simply in the volume and intensity of the negative emotions. And since I have grown accustomed to the typical level of negativity for Beacon there isn't any need for concern."

"What about eating all that Grimm?" Yang inquired.

"After initial ingestion, it gets easier to resist the influence of the Grimm, and since I wasn't even conscious at the time, the risk of losing control is about the same as it was this time yesterday." The Were-Grimm clarified.

"Soooo" Jaune interrupted. "Do you know what my semblance is?" He almost desperately asked.

"I don't know the exact details, but, looking through your more 'negative' memories, I can tell you is that your semblance has an emotional trigger and is defensive in nature."

"Emotional trigger?"

"Well take Yang for example; she can increase her power as well as have her aura take on the same attributes as fire by simply getting angry."

"Then what's my trigger?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I'm getting a lot of interference from your fear."

"Fear? Me, no, what would I be afraid of?" The blonde knight tried and failed to brush off the wolf Faunus' claim.

"Jaune, I know what you fear, and it is completely normal. Everyone is worried about the tournament, but you will be fine."

"It's just I- "

"Jaune." William calmly interrupted. "I know all about your fears and everything they stem from, and I mean EVERYTHING." He calmly stated causing Jaune's heart to almost stop. "I want you to just think about this: if you weren't cut out to be a huntsman, how could you have survived up until now, be made a leader, and if you weren't 'huntsmen material' why do you stay? The answer is simple, yes Pyrrha has helped you, a lot, but you are able to stand with us now at Beacon through your own hard work and determination."

"But I... what if that isn't enough?"

"Jaune…" Pyrrha comforted, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"If you're still worried then how about I just help you figure out your semblance?"

"Wait, I thought you said you didn't know what the trigger was?"

"I don't, but I at least have an idea on what it might be, but before I tell you anything I need you to agree to two things; first you have to do what I say, second you can NOT question my methods. Do you accept?"

"If it will help me get stronger for my team then, yeah. I'll do it."

"Very well, the first thing you must do is…" He pondered stroking his chin looking around the cafeteria thinking. "…to take Pyrrha out on a date."

"WHAT!?" the rest of the group let out completely caught off guard. Jaune nearly choking on his bacon.

"What does a date have to do with my semblance?" Jaune asked swallowing the crispy strips.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't question my methods?" William asked calmly.

"Yeah, but…"

"Do you not like Pyrrha or something?"

"NO, no I think she's great." He assured causing Pyrrha to slightly blush.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem, regardless if you unlock your semblance you at least get to go on a date with a cute girl. Most guys would call that a win-win." William reasoned sipping his orange juice.

Jaune opened his mouth to speak. "Jaune if it will help you discover your semblance then I don't mind." Pyrrha assured him trying to hold back the blush across her face.

"T-then it's a date, I guess." The blond somewhat stuttered with his typical goofball smile showing some nervousness, in what more than a few people suspected to be his first date.

"Wow, I guess we should call you doctor Will from now on," Yang added from nowhere.

"Yang I don't get the joke and enough with calling me Will."

The conversation quickly became about the impending date; what to do, where to go, etc. Yang chiming in every now and again with a more amorous comment or two regarding the two only to receive a look from her girlfriend and a nudge to the ribs. The group eventually finished their food and went their separate ways; William and team RWBY went back to the dorms to sleep and team JNPR headed to the practice fields to get in some more practice before the tournament.

/-/

On the way back all of team RWBY had a burning question to ask.

"Hey William, will Jaune going out with Pyrrha really help him discover his semblance?" Yang finally probed.

"I'd say fifty-fifty chance. What I said about him having a specific emotion trigger his semblance was true, but for the most part, it's to help Pyrrha and Jaune get their heads on straight." William replied nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" She inquired further.

"Well, Jaune needs to stop worrying so much, so I figure a nice date with a cute girl will help him calm down and I know Pyrrha has a thing for Jaune, despite his cluelessness, so I figured this would work best for everyone."

"But that still doesn't help him solve his semblance problem, does it?" Blake pointed out.

"Actually, it might, I can't be completely sure, but I believe his semblance is triggered by his desire to protect others, or at the least something along those lines. By forming stronger bonds and possibly opening up his heart he might be able to draw on his semblance." He answered stopping in front of his dorm room.

"Now ladies if you don't mind I have a date with my bed and I'm running late good night." He joked unlocking his door, thankfully due to him not fully transforming back general Ironwood couldn't confiscate his scroll.

Feeling completely drained William slipped off his shoes, tossed his pocket contents on the desk, and plopped down on his bead falling asleep before his head even hit the pillow. As he felt his consciousness drift away he noticed something weird, usually by the time he succumbed to his sleep he was trapped in his murderous nightmare, but instead, he was floating in a black void that is usually reserved for when he is healing himself.

WELL, THIS AN UNUSUAL SITUATION FOR YOU ISN'T IT? An all too familiar dark yet emotionless voice sounded.

"I guess this is where you try and tell me something even though all I want to do is sleep?"

WHY SO COLD?

"How about the fact you've been keeping me from telling my friends about my nightmares until today."

IT WAS YOUR CHOICE TO LISTEN TO ME, WAS IT NOT?

"There's kind of a hole in your logic when you take into account the fact you practically screamed in my ear every-single-time."

DOES IT REALLY MATTER NOW? YOU HAVE ALREADY TOLD THEM, AND THEY DO NOT BARE A GRUDE. MORE PRESSING IS THAT IRONWOOD WILL NOT LET THIS GO EASILY, YOU HAVE STOOD AGAINST HIM AND PROVEN THAT HE CANNOT CONTAIN YOU AS EASILY AS HE THOUGHT. NOT TO MENTION YOU INJURED A NUMBER OF HIS MEN, SOME QUITE SEVERELY. HE WILL SEE YOU AS MORE OF A THREAT NOW THAN EVER!

"You're probably right. However, I am not the same I was before."

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

"I can't really explain it I just feel different. What's more is the fact Ruby and the others believe in me and I trust them. They are people I can rely on."

SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU RELIED ON THE TRUST OF OTHERS?

'I guess they're starting to wear off on me." William said nonchalantly.

HEH HEH HEH HEHE. The voice laughed showing any kind of emotion for the first time.

"What's so funny?"

IT IS INTERESTING HOW THEY HAVE CHANGED YOU SO QUICKLY AND YOU HAVE HARDLY EVEN REALIZED IT.

"Okay, maybe they have been more of an influence on me more than I may be aware, but is that such a bad thing? I have people who look out for me and I don't have to do everything on my own."

BUT ARE YOU FREE?

"What do you mean?"

BEFORE YOU WERE TRAPPED IN A CAGE THAT PREVENTED THE MAJORITY OF YOUR AGGRESSORS FROM ATTACKING YOU AT THE PRICE OF BEING UNABLE TO ESCAPE. YOU SURVIVED, BUT YOU DID NOT CONSIDER THAT LIVING. HOW IS THIS SITUATION ANY DIFFERENT?

"This isn't a cage!" William yelled.

CAN YOU GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT WITHOUT REPERCUSSION OR THE THREAT OF ATTACK?

"Well…"

CAN YOU EXPRESS YOUR EMOTIONS WITHOUT RESTRAINT? The voice asked not letting him finish.

"Kind of…"

CAN YOU DO AS YOU PLEASE WHEN AND WHERE –EVER YOU WANT, INCLUDING USING YOUR GRIMM POWERS? The voice asked again not letting him answer.

"…"

YOU MUST STILL REFLECT ON WHAT IT IS YOU WANT. SOON YOU MAY BE FORCED TO DECIDE YOUR PATH WHETHER YOU CONSENT OR NOT. The voice faded into the void.

"Wait! I'm not done talking." William yelled into the void only to receive no response. "Great he can come and go as he pleases, but I can't. Figures. And does he HAVE to be ominous and foreboding, why the hell can't he just say what he wants to say, who actually does that in real life?" William shouted into the void until his fatigue forcibly dragged him into the void of sleep.

/-/

For the first time since he had slept in the same bed with Neo, he had slept so peacefully. Not dreaming, but just floating in a sea of tranquility, until out of the blue he heard his scroll's ringtone go off signaling he received a text. Waking up William walked over to the desk seeing it was 4:33 pm he swiped to his text messages, it was from Neo. It read: "hey Will I heard that you got in trouble with some Atlas soldiers last night r u ok?" Ever since William had gotten his replacement scroll he and Neo had been texting almost every day, only breaking communication for when Neo was doing something for her job or William was busy with school.

William thought for a little bit about what to say before texting: I'm ok, the general apparently does not trust me very much. He waited for a reply. Sounds like u've had it rough, how about we hang out tonight, I know this great burger place that just opened up. Excited by the idea of hanging out with Neo for the first time in about a week, he quickly text back: sounds great can we meet at 6? Waiting for her reply William finally noticed the serious body odder coming off of him. All of his activity last night really worked up a sweat. Hearing the scroll go off snapped William's attention back to it: 6:30 works better for me, and can you meet me at my apartment? Looking again at the clock on his scroll showing 4:36 pm William replied: sure.

Not wanting to meet Neo stinking to the high heavens William decided it might be best he take a show. In grabbing his shower caddy, he noticed his shampoo was missing. Crap, don't tell me I left it in one of the stalls. He thought exiting his room.

"Hey William." A voice called out. Turning his head to see Pyrrha and the rest of team JNPR walking down the hall.

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better now that I've had some sleep."

"Going to take a shower?" Nora inquired point to William's shower caddy.

"Yeah, as soon as I find my shampoo, probably left it in a stall, again."

"I have it," Ren stated in his usual monotone manner.

"You have it?"

"Yes, I found it in one of the stalls yesterday morning."

"I see thanks; I must have forgotten it after my morning shower."

"Okay let me go get it." Nora offered diving into their room and quickly emerging.

"But how did you know it was mine?" William asked taking the bottle from Nora.

"Well, it says it's specially formulated for Faunus and since I found it in the men's shower stall and you're the only male Faunus on this hall..." he led on.

"Oh yeah, well thanks." William waved heading towards the shower.

- In team RWBY's dorm room a few minutes later-

"So, Weiss how do you think William's doing?" her leader asked. "You know with all the press, the trial, general Ironwood, and everything else."

"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A familiar male voice roared.

"Something tells me he may be having trouble with Nora too". The heiress said as she and her teammates rushed towards the door.

When they opened it, they saw a pink wet Beowulf without any kind of bone protrusions or even a faceplate running down the hallway upright on his hind legs. Ruby felt a similarity to the Beowolves she had once fought leaving her mother's grave. However, their attention soon drifted to the appendage between his legs. Not noticing the girls standing in their doorway the Beowulf stops in front of team JNPR's dorm room and began to pound on the door crying "NORA!" over and over again. Seeing the Beowulf from behind confirmed for the girls that the thing they saw was NOT his tail.

Jaune opens the door to see a wet pink Beowulf.

"WHERE IS NORA?" He growled.

"Hey William, buddy, calm down," Jaune tried to reason with the Were-Grimm, while not wetting his pants.

The Beowulf closed his eyes, takes a deep breath and then exhales, "Jaune, Nora put hair dye in my shampoo and now I'm pink…" he said in a menacing manner, "…I really need to 'speak' to her about this."

"I think you may need to do something else first." The familiar blonde voice declared from behind him.

Turning around William saw all four members of team RWBY standing in their doorway. Weiss was covering Ruby's face with her hood in her right hand while trying to block her own vision with her left, Yang seemed a little 'interested' in something in William's direction, and Blake was giving Yang an annoyed look before giving her a light slap on the back of the head.

"Tell him already." The Faunus girl commanded Yang then averting her eyes with a slight blush.

"Tell me what?" The pink Beowulf asked looking rather confused.

His answer came from Yang giving him a big goofy grin while repeatedly pointing a finger down. William looked down and his eyes widened as he felt completely embraced. He was naked, and not like a normal Grimm 'naked', in his anger at Nora messing with his shampoo, and overall coloring, he was partially transformed, more specifically his lower anatomy was still present, so he could properly clean himself. William hadn't noticed that his towel had fallen down a few doors down. Feeling his face begin to burn he covered his nether regions and awkwardly walked down the hall to pick up his towel and put it on. Once properly secured he walked back to the group.

"I am sooooo sorry you had to see that." William apologized.

"I'm not," Yang replied. "Although I don't remember ever seeing a Beowulf so…well equipped."

Blake then gave her a swift elbow to the ribs. "Yang knock it off."

"What you can't tell me you didn't enjoy the view."

"That's not the issue."

"So, you did enjoy it?"

"Hey, team RWBY what goes…. on…." A familiar brunet greeted, hearing team RWBY's voices, as she turned the corner and began to take the whole scene into view. "Pft, what happened to you?" She pretended to try and stop herself from laughing as her three teammates came to a stop behind her.

"Hey Coco." Ruby greeted.

"Hey Rubes, so what's with pinky here?" She smirked pointing towards William.

"Nora thought it would be funny to put pink hair dye in my shampoo and it just happened to be the day I decide to clean my fur."

"Are you ok?" Velvet asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, or I will be after I have a few words with Nora."

"Do you actually need to wash your Grimm fur; I mean doesn't it just disappear?" Coco asked.

"Just because it disappears doesn't mean I don't find a full body shampooing relaxing, and believe me I need a little relaxation," William answered.

"William?" A female voice called out from the end of the hallway. Team CFVY parted to either side of the hallway revealing Ms. Goodwitch. "William why are you in your Beowulf form and why… are you… pink?" She asked trying to make sense of what she was looking at as she walked towards the group.

"Ms. Goodwitch?! I swear there is actually a good reason for this. You see I was grooming myself and Nora put hair dye in my shampoo, but I didn't notice and-"

"William-" Ms. Goodwitch cut him off. "For the time being please transform back to your normal form before anyone else sees you."

"Okay." He nodded as the creature of Grimm disintegrated leaving the wolf Faunus in his towel surprising those in front of him.

"What?" he asked noticing everyone was giving him an odd look.

"Pft, you may want to take a look for yourself," Coco said taking a small pocket mirror and holding it up for William to see himself. Looking in the mirror he realized his hair, wolf ears included, was pink.

"WWWWHHHAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT!" William exclaimed. "I am going to kill her."

"William!" Ms. Goodwitch barked. "While I can understand that you would be angered my Ms. Valkyrie's actions, but please restrain yourself."

"I know, I know." He reassured gesturing with his hands. "I'm just a little upset about the pink hair. By the way, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here Ms. Goodwitch?"

"I came to return your things to you that were confiscated by General Ironwood." She said holding up a bag with the Dust he had purchased, his pocket chain knifes, and the disguise Ruby had given him."

"Oh, thank you." He said taking the bag from her.

"Oh, and you will be happy to know that general Ironwood will not be spying on you anymore." The professor informed him.

"Really? How did Ozpin pull that off?" William asked in disbelief.

"When it comes to his students and their safety he can be a force to be reckoned with."

"Hey what's going on?" A chipper voice called out from behind the regrouped team CFVY only for them to separate again to show who was on the other side of them.

"NORA!" William called out to the redhead standing next to Ren both holding several heart printed metal canisters.

"William!" Ms. Goodwitch commanded stopping the Were-Grimm before he could advance towards Nora. "Ms. Valkyrie care to explain why you put pink hair dye in your classmate's shampoo?" she asked with a stern look in her eyes.

"Well you see…" she nervously fidgeted.

"Nora." William glared.

"I accidentally knocked over you shampoo and then it spilled out and then I went to refill it with Ren's and I must have accidentally grabbed his hair dye by mistake because he keeps both bottles in the closet and the light in there doesn't work and I guess I mixed them up, I'm sorry William, please don't be mad." She said as fast as she could.

Off to the side, Coco whispered to Ren "so you dye your hair, do the curtains match the drapes?"

*sigh* "It's okay Nora, I'm not mad. I can tell you're genuinely sorry so I forgive you, just next time please warn me there is a chance my shampoo has hair dye in it." Closing the distance between them. "Between you and me I don't think I can pull off pink hair." William jokingly whispered. "By the way, why weren't you in your dorm room?" He asked in his normal volume.

"Well someone may have forgotten a few grenades at the training ground." Nora tried to wash over.

Ren gave her a look. "Nora."

"Okay, it was me." She admitted feeling Ms. Goodwitch preparing another lecture about the dangers of leaving grenades lying around. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" She asked hoping to distract Ms. Goodwitch.

"Just apologizing is enough and since I have everyone here I might as well tell everyone I'll be gone the rest of this weekend," William said, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

"Where are you going?" Ms. Goodwitch asked.

"Just to the Forever Fall Forest."

"I thought that you had Grimm supply was full?" Blake probed.

"It is; I just need to take care of a few things."

"William," Ruby announced drawing everyone's attention to her. Ruby was wearing her serious leader face. "If something is bothering you you have to tell us, we're a team now. You can trust us."

"Ruby… it's not that I don't trust you because I do, it's … after what happened with Ironwood this morning and if I'm being honest, since team JPIT I realized no matter what I do people will continue to see me as a monster and I understand that it will probably take a very long time to change their minds. The problem is if I want to continue to be a huntsman I need to figure out what I want to do. If I can't find a reason to continue through all of those things and whatever comes next, that I am willing to endure for, then I may not be able to become a huntsman." William solemnly answered.

"William, you're are one of the strongest people I know. I know you can do it." Ruby tried to comfort.

"It isn't really a matter of if I can, but if I am willing to. For the past TEN years, I have had to fight in order to survive, I didn't have a choice in the matter, but now I do. If I can't figure out a reason I'm willing to go through all of the training, studying, and inevitable battles then I have no business becoming a huntsman. You told me you do it to be like the heroes in the stories you read as a child, and that's great for you, but I'm not like that I need to figure out what it is I want out of life. So I'm going to into the woods to get some space to think." He explained all the while trying to conceal a somewhat dreaded undertone in his voice.

Ruby and the rest of the group didn't immediately respond, many of them had been or still are where he is and knew that he needed to figure it out for himself.

"William…" Ms. Goodwitch finally spoke up. "I know you have been through a lot and you have every right to decide not to be huntsmen if you so desire, just know you will always have a place to stay with me, regardless of your choice, and if you ever need to talk things out I will be there. Though it looks like you won't have just me looking out for you." She said noticing the nodes of the rest of the group.

"Thank you, guys." He said feeling relieved and touched at their understanding.

"But what about general Ironwood, won't he freak out knowing you will be gone the rest of the weekend?" Weiss pointed out.

"I think this is one time he wouldn't benefit from knowing." Ms. Goodwitch suggested causing every student in the hallway's eyes instantly locked on to her with shock.

"Are you sure you're Ms. Goodwitch?" William asked.

"William while I am a teacher, I am also your guardian and if you believe some time alone will help you then I do too." She smiled.

"Ms. Goodwitch, thank you." He smiled quickly hugging her.

Realizing what he just did, without thinking, William was about the pull away until Glynda hugged back. "Your welcome, just remember to call if anything happens and try not to miss class Monday morning."

"I will." He softly smiled.

"Now..." She said returning to her stern demeanor. "did you remember to turn off your shower?"

William's eyes widened. "Oops, sorry I'll go take care of that right away." He said receiving a nod from Ms. Goodwitch as he headed towards the showers.

"If you need to talk or just want to hang out you have our scroll numbers." Ruby mildly yelled as William gave a thumbs up without turning around.

William reached the shower and turned it off. He went into the stall dried himself off, thankfully this got all the excess dye off of his skin, returning it to its semi-normal tone, but not his hair, and he proceeded to get dressed behind the shower curtain. As he collected shower caddy William felt the feeling of someone behind him. William quickly turned around only to find nothing. Great, we're back to this, again. He thought to himself. Collecting the rest of his things and exited the shower area. Looking down the Hall he could see teams RWBY and CFVY turning the corner at the other end of the hall, team JNPR and Ms. Goodwitch, he presumed, were back in their room and office, respectively.

I wonder if I should have told them I plan on going on a date with Neo before going into the woods. He pondered. Nah, although come to think of it, I don't think I've actually mentioned Neo to any of them. Huh, weird. He mentally shrugged.

/-/

William got dressed in his battle attire, half expecting he'd need it given it's Neo he was meeting. He put on his black hoodie with two buckles across the chest and three more on the left shoulder over his black t-shirt that read 'BIG BAD' in yellow letters with a red outline, matching pants, two wallet chains knives that hung from the right side of his belt, and his, now signature, black fingerless gloves with the insignia of a red wolf eating itself on the back of the hand. He decided he might want to work on a few things while camping out he grabbed his backpack, his Dust, and a few other things he thought he might need.

As he left his room he grabbed his disguise, he knew that most reporters had at least an idea of what he looked like, so he just needed to cover his ears and the pink hair, at the very least, would help conceal his identity.

William effortlessly slipped past the reporters still parked at the airship port and hopped on an airship to the location nearest Neo's hotel. All through the trip, William felt a mix of joy and anxiety. He wasn't sure of when it happened, but he felt he could be himself around Neo; Ruby and the others were unquestionably his friends, but they all seemed a little too… nice. William still couldn't fully wrap his head around how they could be so trusting of him even after he had tried to kill him. There were a few other reasons, but that was the one that was most prominent in his thoughts. Despite the comfort he felt around Neo, William could already tell his thoughts would be fixated on what his next move in life would be. He didn't want to bring down the mood, but he also really wanted to see Neo again.

Maybe I should just text Neo and go straight to the forest instead. He mulled over as the airship landed. As William would later describe it, his head was saying just leave for the Forever Falls, but something else made his feet move towards Neo's apartment.

William tried looking for Neo's apartment based on memory but ended up getting lost. Looking at his phone and seeing it was already 6:40 and the last remnants of sunlight were about to disappear. William was about to consider giving up and going with plan B of just leaving until he smelled something. It was Neo's scent he would never forget the aroma of ice cream, mint, and the same orange citrus shampoo Yang used. "Sometimes being a wolf Faunus comes in handy". He said to himself following Neo's scent.

After a few minutes of tracking Neo's smell, through what William presumed was her daily route given its abundance, William made it to her apartment. As William approached the hotel he realized he didn't remember her room number. Stopping at the front of the hotel William tried to remember it until a voice spoke up behind him.

"Hello sir, are you lost?" the voice asked in a polite slightly British accent. William quickly turned around shocked that someone had managed to sneak so closely behind him without him even realizing it.

Taking the individual in as a whole, she was a petite woman, roughly neo's height and build, with short black-brown hair, magenta eyes, and was wearing some kind of hospital uniform.

After a second William smirked. "Why yes, I am a bit lost. You see I am looking for a friend of mine, you may know her, her name is Neopolitan, Neo for short." He said trying to sound as plainly as possible.

"Can you perhaps describe her?" The short woman politely asked.

"Yes, she is about your height, a little chubby, has a kind of Neapolitan theme, and has some borderline psychopathic tendencies."

The short woman made a face, but William began to speak before she could say anything. "Oh, there is one more thing."

"And what might that be?" She asked trying to hide her anger.

"She is probably the most adorable thing in the world…" He said making the girl's anger dissolve into a blush. "…Even if she does try to trick me by changing her hair and eye color while dressing as a nurse." William smirked.

"Oh, you…" Neo gently pushed returning to her normal voice. "How did you know it was me?"

"I'm a wolf Faunus remember? I'd know your scent from a mile away, in fact, that is how I found your apartment. Now I have a question for you: why are you in a nurse's outfit?"

"Well first this isn't a nurse's outfit, it is the official outfit of an ambulance driver and it's for my work. I need to make sure I know every detail of this outfit before the end of the week."

William raised an eyebrow. "For urban development…?"

"The king must wear many hats." She smiled.

"Okay, say I believe that; what's with the hair dye and contacts?"

Taking off her hat allowing her hair fell down to its normal length while at the same time small almost mirror-like shards broke off of her hair and disappeared into thin air revealing its normal color pattern as she blinked and her eyes turned into two different colors, the right eye pink and the left eye brown.

"Let me guess, your semblance?"

"Maybe." She teased. "Now let me ask you a question, why is your hair pink?"

"Well I liked it on you so much I thought that I would try it myself, but I don't think I can pull it off as well as you do." He joked.

Neo laughed. "Okay, but really why the pink hair?"

"Let's just say there was a mix up with my shampoo."

"I think it looks good on you."

"This isn't because my hair reminds you of strawberry ice cream, is it?"

"Nooooo." She dragged out with an added licking of her lips to add to the joke.

After chuckling a little William changed the subject. "Okay, so where is this burger place you mentioned."

"Do you mind if I change my outfit first?"

"I don't mind, but I got to say you do look cute in your paramedic's outfit."

"Alright enough teasing," Neo said trying not to blush as she moved towards her hotel.

William slid his head next to Neo's ear and whispered. "Whoever said I was teasing." Making her blush further.

Neo went into her apartment, room number 105, and William waited outside. After a few minutes, she emerged wearing her typical triple colored ensemble. The two locked arms as Neo led the way.

"By the way were you serious about what you said before?" Neo asked after walking for a few minutes.

"Kind of… you do tend to be aggressive at the bare minimum- not that I find anything particularly wrong with that. I actually kind of like it."

"Not that." She said trying not to blush. "What I'm asking about is if you think I'm chubby."

"Oh, that, no I don't I just wanted to see that cute pouty face of yours."

"You do realize I've killed people for less, don't you?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I can see that, but you didn't. That tells me you at least like me enough not to kill me-"

"-you were only saved because you said I was cute," Neo added still a little pouty.

/-/

After several minutes of walking, they eventually arrived at the restaurant, there wasn't much of wait so they were almost immediately seated. When they were seated and the waitress took their drink orders; William ordered a sweet tea and Neo ordered a People Like Grapes soda.

"So, what would you recommend?" William asked opening his menu.

"An associate of mine ate here when it opened and he told me about their signature Goliath Burger and I thought you might like it. Although looking at it myself I think I might try it." She said placing her menu on the table and pointing to the large picture of the burger next to a regular burger for scale. Off-hand the Goliath Burger was about twenty times that of a regular burger.

"Neo, uh, according to this the burger is two hundred Lien, normally, but if you take the Goliath challenge and eat it within half an hour its free and if you don't its double."

"And…?" Neo led on.

"I know I can eat something like that, but are you sure you can?"

"Don't think I can do it?"

"Neo…" He said flatly. "that burger is half your size."

"Tell you what, last time we didn't get to finish our contest right?" William nodded. "Then how about this if I can not only finish a Goliath Burger but finish it before you, it's my win. If I can't then you win."

"And the prize is still the same: the loser has to do one thing the winner says?"

"Of course."

"Okay, but if you feel sick or puke, we stop there…and I win."

"so long as the same applies to you then we have a deal." She said extending her hand.

William extended his and they shook sealing the deal. At that exact moment, the waitress came back. "Have you two decided what you want?"

The two of them smiled at each other. "Yes," William spoke up. "We would both like to order a Goliath Burger and we would like to take the Goliath challenge, please."

"Okay, so one Goliath Burger for the two of you-"

"Um, Miss, I think you misunderstood, we want a Goliath Burger each."

The waitress looked at William and then at Neo for a moment. "Okay so two Goliath Burgers, anything else?"

"No that will be all, thank you."

"Okay, I'll have those out to you when they're ready."

Neo watched the waitress leave and when she was a safe distance away, "What was that all about?" Neo asked.

"I think she thought the same thing I did."

"She probably thought the same about you, based on appearance alone you don't look like you can eat the way you do."

"Point taken."

"So, what happened with the Atlas Military last night?" Neo asked changing the subject.

"More of the same old, I suppose."

"William," Neo said giving him a stern look. "Tell me what happened."

Looking at Neo he knew she wouldn't let it go until she got a full explanation. "Okay, I'll tell you." He admitted.

William went through the events of that night the best he could, a few of the details he was still a little unclear about, some he got from Ruby, which in retrospect were not as clear as he would like them to be. He didn't mean to, but before he realized it he was talking about how he lost control, went on a rampage as a Beowulf on Ironwood's ship, not noticing Neo paying particular attention to that fact, Ruby tricking him into the loading bay with ice cream, and even his outburst in the forest in front of everyone.

"I still don't get something William?"

"What is that?"

"How do you transform into a Beowulf?"

William froze for a moment, in his previous meeting with Neo William tried his best to avoid mentioning anything about his Grimm powers and even when his secret was revealed to everyone and they started texting he didn't really tell her much. Though seeming calm William was panicking on the inside on how to tell her when "Here you go." The waitress announced as she and another waitress set a burger in front of Neo while two other waitresses set one in front of William, both coming with a side plate and another plate loaded with French fries.

"Well looks like that the food is here, let's eat," William said quickly grabbing the ketchup trying to change the topic.

"Don't try and weasel out of this Will," Ne said struggling to see over her burger.

"Well if you want to lose I guess I can tell you."

"Oh, that's the way you want to play it then let's raise the stakes." She said standing up to finally make eye contact with William.

"What do you have in mind?" Asked William not sure where she was going with this.

"If I win in addition to doing one thing I say, you have to tell me everything."

"…And if I win?"

"What do you want?"

"I'm not really sure what I can ask for, how about you tell me what you really do?"

Neo visibly gulped. "What do you mean?"

"Neo." He said plainly. "We both know that 'urban development' story isn't really true. I want to know the truth-" William suddenly felt Neo's concern go up, despite her typical smirk. "-on second thought I'll just have you do two things for me."

Neo shot William a confused look. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'll let you in on a little fact; Grimm and Were-Grimm, like me, can sense negative emotions such as…say fear or more specific concern."

"Oh."

"Do we have a deal?" William asked extending his hand.

"Yeah," Neo replied shaking his hand. "But wait, did you do sense that I was afraid of thunder?"

"Neo I'll be honest it was pretty obvi-" William saw Neo trying not to be upset about her own fear. "-I mean yes."

"Liar." She mumbled with a slight smile.

"Come again?" Asked William pretending he didn't hear her drizzling ketchup on his fries.

"Let's eat."

"Gotcha." William grinned removing the knife from the middle of his burger and using it to cut his burger.

William cut his burger into eight pieces moving the first slice onto his plate and beginning to dig in grabbing some French fries here and there. once he finished the first slice William looked up to get his next piece seeing Neo digging into her burger whole. Despite her size, Neo was definitely making progress. Seeing Neo eating her burger like that William felt he may be in for more of a fight then he thought.

By the time William was about to finish his final bite of his final piece of the monster burger he was feeling incredibly full. Just when he was about to overcome his struggle to finish the final bite.

"Done." Neo proclaimed.

"What?" William let out looking up from his plate to see Neo' reflectively clean plate. "Where did you put it all?" he questioned in disbelief.

"trade secret." She teased with a wink quietly gesturing by placing her pointer finger vertically across her mouth.

"So who pays, the winner or the loser?" William asked grabbing the check from the side of the table. William was so busy eating he didn't notice the waitress placed the check on the table. Looking at the check it showed two burgers FOUR hundred Lien each!

"What the? Neo am I reading this right?" William asked reading it a second time before handing it to Neo.

"It looks alright to me eight hundred Lien for two burgers" Neo paused for a moment before her eyes went as wide a dinner plates. "EIGHT HUNDRED?!" she exclaimed.

At that moment their waitress must have heard their reaction and headed to their table. "Is there a problem?" She asked disinterestedly.

Neo turned her head sharply looking at her. "Yes, there is. Both I and my friend finished our burgers within half an hour. So they should be free."

The waitress frowned at Neo pulling up her watch and adjusting her glasses to check the time. "Well according to my watch, I delivered those burgers thirty-two minutes ago, so miss you are over your time limit and must pay double."

"We finished more than two minutes ago."

"Then why does your check say your total bill is eight hundred Lien." The waitress scoffed.

"WHY?! Because you put it there before either of us even finished!"

"I do believe you are misremembering that…little girl." The waitress said sizing Neo up.

The second she said that William knew what would happen next and prepared to grab Neo and run before things got out of hand. Even without his Grimm powers, William was almost 100% sure that underneath that smirk Neo was contemplating some horrible fate for the waitress.

Neo let out a sigh. "Fine, you're right, I'll pay double." Neo uncharacteristically admitted.

William sat back in his chair completely stunned at her admittance. "Neo are you okay?" He asked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah." Was all she would answer.

William still sensed her anger but was confused as to why she didn't act on it like usual.

Neo and William went up to the front desk and each paid double. Neo remained fairly quiet through it and so did William completely unsure of what was going on. Normally he didn't like to focus his Grimm powers on someone and try to figure out what is going on in their head, but he couldn't help it, he wanted to know what was wrong with Neo.

He sensed she was remaining quiet because of someone else or maybe even the threat of a punishment. William, thinking about all he knew about Neo, just couldn't find a reason that she would just admit defeat so readily because of someone else or WHO could frighten Neo.

/-/

After they paid and left the restaurant they walked for a few blocks towards Neo's apartment. "Neo are you okay?" William finally asked.

"Yeah, why?" She asked back.

"Because normally when someone does something like that you usually bash their head into the nearest blunt object." The wolf Faunus explained with a pan faced expression.

"Well...it's just…my boss."

"Your boss?"

"Yeah, she heard about what happened at the mall and…warned me not to cause any more trouble." The petite girl said with a small quiver.

William picked up on this immediately; not only was Neo scared of her boss, but he felt there was more to it than that. "I see is that why you are scared?"

"What…no…yes…kind of." She stammered. "If I don't do what she tells me then I won't be able to get Roman back."

"the friend you mentioned before?" He asked.

The short girl silently nodded.

"I see," William said wrapping his left arm around her back and placing his hand on her left shoulder.

"Neo, I want to tell you something." He spoke quietly and calmly.

"What is that?" Asked Neo turning her head.

"I won't ask you to go into detail, but I know you don't work in urban development and what you really do probably isn't legal…"

"Not technically." The short girl inputted.

"…and I can guess that's it's probably very dangerous-"

"-You're not going to try and tell me not to stop doing this, are you?" Neo cut in.

"No, I can tell how much this Roman person means to you, but I can probably speak for him too when I say I just want you to be safe. If it gets too dangerous and I mean if you don't think you can make it out in one piece, I want you to run."

"Run, why would I run?"

William stopped, turning Neo so he was face to face with a hand on each of her shoulders, "Because there are just some things you can't win against."

"DO YOU THINK I'M SOME KIND OF WEAK LITTLE GIRL?!" Neo yelled.

William gripped Neo's shoulders harder, "NO, it's because I'm afraid something might happen to you!"

Neo frowned. "WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE?!" She yelled shaking William loose.

"BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU!" The wolf Faunus yelled back.

Both William and Neo were taken aback by the outcry. The two took a step back from each other looking away from each other. The two stood there for a few minutes not saying anything.

"Do…do you really care about me?" Neo shyly asked.

"Yes," William answered looking at his feet.

"William," Neo spoke softly lifting William's head to meet her gaze. "I need to see it in your eyes."

"Neo, I care about you." He softly told her not breaking eye contact. "A lot."

The moment Neo heard those words she hugged him as tightly as she could.

"What's this about?" William hugged back.

"Only two people have ever said anything like that to me. thank you."

William crooked his head as though he was looking at something tall or far away. "Hey Neo."

"Yes, William?"

"I know about this park near here if you want to go for a walk to work off all this food…" He said rubbing his belly. "…or do you just want me to take you home?"

"I like the park idea, let's do that." The triple colored girl smiled, not her typical confident smirk, but more a genuinely soft and gentle one.

William gently took Neo's hand and lead the way to the park.

"Oh wow!" Neo cried with joy seeing the entrance to the park lit up to bring out the beauty of the scenery. "William, how did you find out about this place?" She asked not looking away from the sight.

"I actually only found it last night."

Neo turned around. "Wait, is this the park where you were attacked?"

"Yeah."

"Why would you come to this of all places?"

"It is still a beautiful park." He shrugged off.

Neo still a little skeptical nodded.

The two continued in the park enjoying the beautiful scenes. They walked for about twenty minutes seeing a number of plants and decorative lights placed everywhere making the park all the more dazzling.

Upon coming to a small bridge crossing the narrow section of the lake the two stopped in the middle to observe the natural beauty of the lake enhanced by the decoratively placed lights.

Looking at Neo seeing her face light up at the sight something clicked inside William. "Neo, do you still want to know about me?"

Neo turning to him with a genuine smile on her face. "Do you really mean it?"

"I lost a bet."

Neo shifted her eyes away to the side. "Yeah, about that…I may have, and I mean may have, cheated." She ended with a cutesy smile.

"Your semblance?" He plainly guessed.

Neo nodded. "I can create images and project them onto other things." She explained as she made a nearby lamppost disappear into thin air. "The drawback is the images are as brittle as a glass window." She demonstrated by shattering the invisible screen with her parasol.

"You do know you could have probably gotten away without telling me, you know that, right?" William asked.

"Yeah, I just…I don't know…I didn't want to." Neo turned her head downward to avoid eye contact. Neo felt William might be angry with her deceit until he gently hugged her.

"Neo, it's okay, I'm not mad. But just out of curiosity how much of the burger did you actually eat?" He queried as he released his hug.

"I'd say maybe an eighth. Probably less." She chuckled.

"Hehehe. I should have known." William snorted.

After the two finished laughing at Neo's little trick they took a deep sigh catching their breath. "Tell you what Neo, why don't we just call the whole bet a tie."

Neo tilted her head like a little puppy. "And that would mean…" She led on.

"I'll tell you everything you want to know about me and do one thing you ask me to and you do two things I'll ask of you."

Neo put her finger to her chin. "hmmm, I guess that could work. But we can't use our favors to cancel each other out, okay?"

"Okay, but if I'm going to tell you my life story, I think we might want to sit down, it's a little bit of a long story."

/-/

The two found a nearby bench to sit on that was fairly secluded and William began to tell Neo his origin story. He told her about his parents, living in Feign, how he discovered his semblance and became a Were-Grimm, and even how he met Ruby and the others and how he got out of the valley thanks to them, even if it wasn't exactly intentional.

William didn't entirely realize it, but he told Neo everything without hesitation as though it was normal, he felt sad remembering the more unpleasant part of his past, but through it all Neo's subtle gestures; holding his hand, leaning on him, a hand on the shoulder, it all helped him through it all.

Before he realized he had continued talking about recent events; team JPIT's attack on him, a brief recap of all his head-butting with general Ironwood, finishing with his outburst early that morning and how he planned on spending time in the Forever Falls Forest to try and find out what he wanted to do with his life.

"Wow, you were not kidding about it be a long story." Neo exhaled looking at her scroll seeing that they had been there for almost an hour and a half.

"Did I bore you?" He asked showing a particularly bad fake hurt expression.

"No, it's just going to take a while to process it all. Oh man, I've got to tell Perry, a Faunus I work with, he was hoping to retire in Feign someday. He's always saying that it'd be the perfect place to live. I have to remember to tell him Monday when I see him."

"You really should, a lot of people that move there usually regret it."

"But are you really going to go to the forest for the rest of the weekend?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"If you're doing it to figure out what you want to do with your life then why don't spend the weekend with me?"

William's right eye perked up. "And why would you suggest that?"

"I don't know, I just thought I'd be nice…. And maybe, just maybe, I'm a little lonely being by myself."

"You would definitely make better company than some random Grimm, albeit no less dangerous."

Neo giggled. "Just for that, you get the lumpy bed."

"that's fine by me, I've slept in a cave for a decade, I can handle a lumpy mattress."

"Hey, William."

"Yes, Neo?"

"I don't know how to say this, bu-"

"-Hey there pretty lady." A large stranger interrupted walking over with four others equally large individuals following him. None of them were as tall as Yatsuhashi, but they were all still towering compared to William and even more so to Neo.

"Well hello there, you're quite a little cutie. How about you ditch this loser and hang out with us?" another asked.

'Sorry guys, but me and my boyfriend here would like some time alone." Neo politely, for Neo, replied.

"Oh come on baby, don't be like that. We would like some alone time too." A third one slurred. William didn't need to be a wolf Faunus to notice the overwhelming smell of alcohol on his breath.

William knew Neo couldn't do what she normally would do so he figured it was up to him. "Hey buddy, me and my girlfriend are trying to have a moment here." He stood up moving between them and Neo, trying not to blush saying Neo was his girlfriend.

"And what are you gonna do about it." The first one said pulling out a butterfly knife.

William reached forward grabbing the hand with the knife was in it with enough force that the man's hand could be audibly heard breaking.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He screamed trying and failing to unhook William's grip.

"Now I'm only going to say this once," William said in a calm yet clearly serious manner as he pulled the man up to eye level. "Leave now or you will wish I stopped at breaking your bones."

Before he could answer the thug saw William's eyes glow a demonic red. "Hey man, we were just joking."

"You may want to invest in a new joke book." William mussed in a sinister voice matching his eyes and cold facial expression.

"Hey man, we'll leave you alone just let go of me." The hoodlum begged still trying to free himself from William's grip.

"I expect you to keep your word." William released the man's hand forcing him to drop to the ground cradling his crushed hand.

"Get him!" The man on the ground ordered the others.

The closest one charged first, William drew one of his collapsible chain knives ready for them.

"Just stay back Neo," William called out blocking the knife of the first assailant before parrying it out of his hand and punching him in the face with enough force to break his jaw and send him back several feet. Seeing this the other three charged him.

One pulled out a pipe concealed under his baggy clothing; as he swung it down from over his head William sliced it into six different pieces before the pipe got near his head. Looking down at the now few inches of pipe in his hand and then to William who smiled for a second before he struck him like his friend causing him to land right next to the other.

The remaining two split up; one wearing armor similar to a cross between Jaune and Cardin's rushed William brandishing a collapsible spike ball forcing William to dodge while the other drew a weapon that resembled a flaming branding iron made his way towards Neo.

"Don't go near her!" William roared trying to find an opening in the rapid and sporadic swings as the thug used its retractable chain to change the attack range. William could tell this guy was different from the others, he had received some kind of combat training.

"AAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" The man who ran behind William screamed, both William and the thug he was fighting turned see Neo retract a blade from the man's throat causing him to drop to the ground floundering around coughing up blood. For several seconds he flopped on the ground gasping until he slowly began to move less and eventually he became completely still.

Looking up from the fresh corpse all eyes turned to the slight blood splattered Neo beaming a triumphant and sadistic smirk. Seeing her lick some blood from a section of her blade William's heart skipped a beat.

In that moment of fear Neo rushed past William sword drawn and before he could turn around she thrust her sword through the heart, and apparently cheap armor, of the mace wielder, killing him instantly before moving on to the others. William had every intention of harming them, but by no means did he desire to kill them.

The next few instances become something out of a horror movie.

Neo ran past the leader on the ground still cradling his hand going for the two William had sent flying. In several fluid and playful motions, Neo delivered a flurry of deep cuts, not fatal, but limiting to their range of movement and causing extreme pain. She continued cutting them acting almost like it was a game.

The two had already been begging for their lives after the first few slices, but Neo never said a word and, even though he was looking at her from behind, William could tell she was wearing her signature smirk.

Seeming to quickly tire of her game she sliced both of their throats in one fell swoop and walked away as they fruitlessly tried to stop the bleeding before they also grew silent.

The leader slowly turned around still on his knees visibly shaking as the tiny terror slowly and triumphantly strutted towards him smirking, splattered with the other's blood.

"P-pl-please d-d-do-don't kill me." He stuttered, tears and snot rolling down his face.

Neo stopped a few feet in front of him and squat down meeting him on eye level. She gave him a big bright closed-eyed smile.

"Does that mean you'll let me go?" He asked with a gleam of hope in his eyes.

Neo's facial expression returned to her normal smirk as she made a 'tsk, tsk' gesture with her finger not making a sound before standing up readying her weapon again. But before she could even take another step forward William moved between her and the thug on the ground.

"Neo." He called moving in front of her. "You don't need to do this, let him go."

William's wolf ears visibly perked as he heard a metallic clink sound. Turning around William saw the hood standing up holding a gun which he cocked with his crushed hand. "You fuckers are gonna get it." He threatened; giving a full tooth grin until William almost instantly bit through the chamber of the gun causing the barrel to fall to the ground, leaving only the handle in his possession.

William quickly chewed and swallowed the now scrapped metal, "Listen, buddy, I'll say this just one more time; leave or choose between which of the two of us are going to kill you."

Not needing to be told twice he ran as fast as he could, leaving a small puddle where he had been standing, screaming like a little girl.

William calmed himself and his eyes returned to their normal purplish-blue. Turning his head, he saw Neo looking at him like a little kid who was caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Neo-"

"AAAAHHHH!" A woman screamed.

William realized Neo was covered in blood, they both were standing in the middle of four corpses and a man running from them screaming his head off.

"We've got to go!" William shouted grabbing and carrying her over his shoulder picking up to full running speed.

/-/

After running for several minutes it dawned on him that he was still running in the park. "Hey Neo, how big is this park?"

"How would I know?"

"Do you see a map or anything?"

Neo looked around. "um, over there." She pointed to a map stand.

Stopping in front of the map William set Neo down.

"Okay let see." William pondered dragging his finger across the map trying to see through all of the smudged fingerprints on the glass case. "We were next to the bridge and walked around here, and then we ran-"

"-you ran." Neo interrupted.

"Okay, I ran this way and over there is the replica statue of the one at Beacon, so we should be here." He pointed to a location on the map just then realizing there was a 'you are here' sign on the opposite side of the park then the spot he was pointing to. "I mean we are here." He said correcting himself slightly embarrassed.

"Okay, so what now?"

"Well according to this map this park is over thirty square miles and apparently I can run about twelve miles in about ten minutes. Chances are the police aren't going to immediately search this far into the park, so we can probably take a break here." He sighed sitting down on a nearby park bench. "Come on take a load off." He said patting the bench.

Neo just walked in front of him. "William how can you be so calm?!"

"Isn't it a little odd that you are asking me that?" Chuckled the wolf Faunus.

"William!" Neo's brows furled.

"I know, I know, it's just kind of weird you're the one nervous and I'm the calm one."

Neo was clearly nervous, even fearful. "Well excuse me, if my boss find's out who knows what she'll do to me."

"It's okay, I have an idea." He smiled taking out his scroll and selected a number from his contacts and placing it to his ear.

"Hello, professor Ozpin."

Neo's eyes went wide as dinner plates, just as she about to say something William put his finger to her lips and mouthed 'trust me.'

Yes, William, what can I do for you so late?

"I've got some bad news, I was taking a walk in the park when I saw these five guys closing in on this young helpless little girl -Neo stuck out her tongue- and I could sense her fear. I told them to stop and they attacked me and…and well-"

-William. Ozpin interrupted. First is the young girl unharmed?

"She was pretty shaken up and ran away before I could check. It didn't seem like any of them got a chance to harm her, though."

And what of you?

"I'm fine."

*sound of him exhaling* What happened to the assailants?

William began to choke a little. "I-I don't know, one minute I was telling them to leave her alone and…and then the next I was standing in the middle of four corpses and there was this woman screaming and I… and… I ran." He pretended to nervously stutter, well enough to even impress Neo.

William calm down, where are you right now?

"I don't know after that woman screamed I ran…and now I'm sort of lost."

I understand.

"Please don't tell general Ironwood about this. I know for a fact he'll use this as an excuse to throw me in jail, again."

I understand your situation; I will do what I can to keep your name out of this.

"Thank you, professor."

Now correct me if I am wrong, but aren't you supposed to be in the Forever Falls right now?

"Ms. Goodwitch told you about that, huh?"

You will find there aren't many things that go on in my school without me knowing. Now returning to my question.

"Oh, I heard about a new burger place that serves burgers that are supposed to be big enough to fill even me up. I tried it, the food was good. I didn't care for the wait-staff though. After I ate I wanted to go for a walk to digest my meal before heading to the airship port."

You do know that airships routes that travel outside of the city of Vale stop running at nine.

"I actually did not. Although it doesn't really matter I suppose."

And why is that?

"All I need to do is go to the edge of the city and, running at top speed in my Beowulf form, I could probably get there in about an hour or two. Provided I don't need to remain in Vale to answer questions about what happened."

No William, I do not believe that is necessary. You may continue with your plans, but please remember to show up for class on Monday.

"I will professor."

Oh and William…

"Yes, professor?"

I hope you find the answers you are looking for.

"I hope so too and thank you."

You're welcome and goodnight William.

"Goodnight professor." He tapped on his scroll ending the call. "I guess that solves our problems." The Wolf Faunus breathed a sigh of relief.

/-/

"I can't believe you did that for me." She hugged. "That was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me."

William hugged her back and lowered his head next to her ear. "If you want to thank me you can tell me what all that was back there."

"Oh that, well…would you believe it's my time of the month?" She shrugged with a clearly phony smile.

"Neo."

"Alright, that's just what I'm like sometimes."

William gestured with his hands for her to elaborate.

"I don't really know myself, I've always been like that, it's not like I hate it or anything, I just like that sometimes, especially when I'm at work."

"Including the silent treatment and the smirk."

"Yeah pretty much." Neo shrugged before turning her head to the ground. "Were you…did I scare you? It's okay if you think I'm a monster, most people do."

"Neo I've spent the last decade trapped in a valley full of monsters, fought dozens of huntsmen hell-bent on killing me, fought Atlesian soldiers, mechanical and human alike, and am constantly bombarded by the worst horrors imaginable, I know what a monster is, and you are not a monster. Having said that, honestly, and I don't know how, but you were kind of adorable."

Neo's head popped up raising along with it one of her eyebrows. "Adorable?"

"I don't know how you do it, but somehow you can be cute even while covered in blood."

"You think so?"

"yeah, you are probably the only person who can look cute while pulling off the 'bloody psycho' look."

"Awww, that's so sweet." She gushed.

"Well as much as I'd like the park, I think we should probably get you cleaned up." He said taking off and handing his hoodie to Neo. "You may want to cover up a little until we can find a washroom or something." The wolf Faunus gestured to her bloody clothes.

"Probably a good idea." She said quickly putting on the hoodie making sure to put the hood up to try and hide the little bit of blood on the right side of her cheek.

The two locked arms and headed back to Neo's place.

/-/

"So, I'm your boyfriend now." William finally spoke up after a few minutes of walking.

"I…well…I just…" Neo stuttered. "I just said the first thing in my mind to get those guys to leave."

"So, do you not want me to be your boyfriend?" He jestingly pouted.

"I don't know, how do you feel about me being your girlfriend?" Neo nudged back.

William blushed. "I…I don't know, truth be told, you're the closest thing to a girlfriend I've ever had. The last time I told a girl I liked her she hit me with a rock."

"Let me guess, a girl in Feign from when you were a kid."

"Yeah, I know I said I like Faunus girls with tails, and I do, but I seem to have a habit of falling for human women. Huh, I wonder why?"

"Does that mean…you're falling for me?"

"Maybe. Are you falling for me?"

"well…I don't know…maybe. I honestly haven't had much luck in the relationship department either."

"What about this Roman guy?"

"That's…that's different he's more family than anything else. Truth be told, outside of Roman, I don't think I've ever gotten along with anyone as easily as I do with you. But I've never really been much for the whole dating scene. I don't even know what makes a couple a couple."

"Well how about this; Wednesday is the last day of classes, how about you and I go out on an official date. If we like it then we're boyfriend and girlfriend, officially, and we let things develop from there. If not, we go back to being the way we are now, sound fair?"

"Can we really do that?"

"Do you know any written rule that says we can't?"

"Do you know I have a habit of breaking rules?" She joked.

"Either way I think you just proved my argument," William smirked.

"Alright, then I guess Wednesday night is our first 'official' date. Where do you want to go?"

"I heard that new hero movie with the guy and shield was pretty good."

"I'd rather see the one about the mad birds."

William stopped and looked at Neo. "Really?" He asked eyebrow raised. "No, I'm just kidding, I'd rather see the one with the spirits possessing the kid."

"Okay, then I guess we'll grab lunch before going to the movies."

The two continued walking back to Neo's place. As they neared the end of park Neo popped into one of the restrooms and managed to get the blood off of her face, but not her clothes. She wasn't too worried, she had a blood removal laundry kit back at her apartment and it just so happened Sunday was laundry day. The two left arms locked and more than a little giddy thinking about their date Wednesday.

Walking up to Neo's door the two disengaged so that Neo could unlock the door.

"I guess we're here," William said as Neo opened her door.

"Wait, Will, there is something I've been meaning to ask you." The triple colored girl said somewhat nervously.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Did you really mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"What you said before… about me…. And when I'm like… that." She said about to start shaking until she felt William wrap his arms around her and bring her in for a hug.

"Neo, I meant every single word. You aren't a monster, believe me, I know monsters and you are not one." He reassured putting his right hand under her chin and raising it to meet her eye to eye while still hugging her with his left arm. "And I'll say it as many times as you want. You are NOT a monster; you are Neo, a very special person to me."

"William." She softly cried embracing him as fully as her body would allow.

"Neo." William softly replied.

Neither really thinking as they closed in and kissed.

Call it the heat of the moment, love, or call it puberty when the two sets of lips meet something was triggered within them. They felt new feelings welling up within them. In that single moment of heat, they both felt a warm intense heat flaring up. Neo guided William into her apartment, not breaking the kiss, and shut the door. It would be the longest night either had ever experienced and neither could have been happier. ;)

-meanwhile inside some secret base in an unknown location-

"How is he doing?" A tall, slender, pale woman with her hair wrapped in a towel on her head asked while lying on an overly large red couch with her eyes closed as she enjoyed the soft feeling of her custom pink bathrobe with a white flower pattern on the trim.

A green hooded figure emerged from a dimly lit hallway and plopped into an adjacent red lounge chair. "The doctor said he got a minor case of pneumonia." She answered in a somewhat mechanical feminine tone. "Since we caught it early he just needs to rest and take his meds and he'll be fine." She said with a sigh.

"That's good, we wouldn't want to lose such a rare ability if we can help it." The tall woman said with her eyes still closed.

"This is what that idiot gets for diving head first into freezing waters buck naked." The green hooded girl said trying to get comfortable in the red lounge chair.

"If I recall correctly, weren't you the one he dived into the water to save after you stole his clothes from the changing room?" The pale woman lightly chuckled.

"…"

"Let's change the topic." The woman suggested sitting up revealing her hazel eyes. "How is William progressing?"

The green hooded girl sunk as far into her chair as she could. "I'm not sure." She sighed. "He seems to be progressing, but not in a way we expected. Those people he hangs out with are making him more human than monster. I thought they were supposed to be making him crazy or something?"

"I never said that; I said they would be helpful in setting the stage for his final transformation."

"And when exactly is that?"

"Granted he has made some great progress, nonetheless at his current development I'd say it would probably take at least two or three years."

"Two or three YEARS? We don't have that kind of time."

"I am well aware of that." She calmly responded, expecting that reaction. "That is why I have taken measures to ensure a faster development. Which reminds me you are no longer under surveillance detail."

"What, why?"

"Do you remember what Mayil's semblance is?"

"She can place a glyph on someone to see and hear everything they do, right?" she asked receiving a simple nod. "I thought for sure she'd be busy trying to kill that Mercury guy, you know after he nearly bashed her head in with a rock."

"Believe me, it took quite a bit of convincing, but she has accepted her new role all the same."

"Wait does that mean you already knew about William's little outburst this morning?"

"Yes." She said calmly.

"Then why did you ask me?"

"I value your input."

"Oh, okay. By the way, I haven't actually seen her since lunch, where is she?"

"I think she is still in the bathroom."

"The bathroom? Is she sick too?"

"I'm not sure she said since William was going out of her range I ordered her to keep tabs on Blake Belladonna, I believe she will be useful to in the future. However, about an hour ago I saw her running into the bathroom trying to stop a nosebleed."

"A nosebleed?"

"Yes, however, I don't think she has left the bathroom yet and I keep hearing the occasional muffled sound coming from there, I do hope she's okay."

"You know that's kind of weird unless Blake and Yang are getting it on and -" The green hooded girl joked before going silent and sharing a look with the woman on the couch.

"Sooooooo who else did she mark?" The girl in the green hood questioned trying to change the subject.

"A few people actually…." The tall woman replied still blushing. "…all of who are very close to William, individuals he lets his guard down around. Additionally, I had her mark some guards at the prison to get Jasper's and Iris' cell number and daily schedule."

"Are you going to break them out and have them join us?"

"No, no I have something else planned for them."

"I guess I'll be handling that job then?"

"No, once our sick friend is better that will be his job."

"You do know he is still going to be out sick for at least week, right?"

"I am aware."

"Are you also aware William has been hanging out with one of Torchwick's lackeys?"

"You mean that Neo girl? I am well aware, just do nothing for now."

"WHAT!?" She yelled jumping out of her chair. "How can you say not to act? One of Cinder's forces is trying to seduce our target."

"First, she isn't trying to seduce him, in fact, Cinder hasn't contacted her about him at all and I should know I bugged Neo's scroll. Second I think it is more William is starting to fall for her."

"Isn't that just as bad?"

"No, it is actually a good thing. Having someone he cares about in that way may be enough to push him over the edge when the time comes." She calmly explained.

"Do we play matchmaker then?"

"No, just let nature take its course on this one. Best case scenario this all ends with us getting William and use Neo to topple Cinder. Worst case we get William much sooner than expected. Either way, we win. Speaking of which how is the Grimm weapon manufacturing going?"

The girl in the green hood plopped back into her chair and sighed. "About the same as last time, given the fact we have to continue to use up resources capturing enough Grimm we currently only have about twenty weapons on hand. Counting the prototypes in field testing and the one Ozpin has locked up, that's forty Grimm-weapons in total." She answered in a monotone manner.

"I see, how long till we can reach our quota?"

"Hard to say. With Mr. Pneumonia going to be out for a week, Mayil is on surveillance duty, and the four people we had on your 'special mission' are all comatose; that just leaves me to make the weapons and the twins and the new guy to collect the Grimm." She explained with another sigh. "By the way what kind of mission did you send those four on anyway?"

"None of your business." She half seriously teased. "That reminds me, I never did thank you for getting Vie Verte for me. Where ever did you find it?"

"Oh that, no problem, believe it or not, William's mother, Ms. Dawn, used to teach an intro class for beginner huntsmen and she would throw in a few botany lessons and I really took to it."

"How lucky I am to have you, not even the best minds in all of the four kingdoms have yet to artificially grow a Vie Verte and yet you have provided me with an entire fridge." She said in a cutesy voice.

"Well don't thank me too much, there isn't any more money in the budget to grow another batch for a while and I need at least another three months to make my special plant growth accelerator. It really pisses me off that if Feign hadn't treated her like crap, Ms. Dawn would have been a successful botanist. It was her ideas that I based the creation of my growth accelerator off of."

"You and William lived in the village around the same time. Do you think he still remembers you?"

"Maybe, I'm two years older than he is, but he definitely remembers my brother."

"The one who culled him?" She asked clearly already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, got to say though he might like what I did to my brother."

"You mean how you killed him." The tall woman said in morbidly cold manner.

A large grin quickly swept across the green hooded girl's face. "Oh yeah, there is always something special about your first actual direct kill, I mean granted I initially confronted my brother to stop him from burning the human half of Feign Village to the ground, but the second my knife connected with his flesh it all turned into a nirvana blood rain." She psychotically chuckled to herself as her grin morphed into a purely demented smile as her mental state began to visibly devolve into something far more dark and twisted.

Before the younger girl realized it, the older woman had rushed over to her, wrapped her arms around her, and was deeply hugging her. "It is okay." She said in a calming voice as the towel on her head let loose her long flowing white hair with light pink tips.

Seeing the older woman's hair fall back to its natural form with the ceiling light serving as the background the younger girl's facial expression changed to one of confusion as though she had been absent-minded for a moment only to be brought back to reality.

For a moment neither of them moved or said anything. To someone looking in the scene resembled that of a mother hugging her young child, only on a larger scale. The older woman was six foot eight inches standing flat footed and the younger girl only exemplified the parent-child comparison with her five-foot one-inch height in heels.

"Sorry about that Heather." The younger girl finally spoke up.

"It is alright my dear. You are my child after all, what kind of mother would I be if I let you slip back into that state."

"I know, it's just it happens so naturally and-" The young girl is cut off by a finger to her lips.

"It's okay, I know. I would never hold it against you, that is just who you are. However, I will scold you for one thing." She said raising her finger from the girl's lips joining it with the rest of her hand over her head as though she would smack the girl.

Naturally, the younger girl closed her eyes and flinched expecting that very thing, only to suddenly feel her hood being drawn back.

She opened her eyes to see Heather with a warm smile on her face. "I don't know why you insist on hiding your face, you are so cute, especially these ears." She said looking at the orange fox ears wiggling after being covered up for so long.

"Then again, I would have to say my favorite part of you would probably be this-" She said using one hand to completely remove the green hoodie and the other to gently grab a long orange fox tail rubbing it against her soft skin.

"Come on Heather, you know that's so embarrassing." The orange haired fox Faunus whimpered trying to keep her growing blush under control.

Heather released the young girl's tail and then cupped her face in between her hands so that the two were facing each other. "I'll only stop when you accept who you are. And even then, I probably won't really stop." She gave a telling smile.

"Oh, that reminds me, tomorrow I know you and our sick friend were planning to cause a little chaos to take back the sword, but since William is away from Beacon till Monday how about you come on an errand with me, I am going to see William for a 'tune-up', would you like to tag along?"

---

Well,things are starting to heat up. Three factions nearing war and William's smack dab in the middle. What comes next, you probably won't see coming.