To the guest that commented anonymously: Sorry, but I don't have any other way to contact you. You make a fair point, so I'd like to explain my thoughts. There is 8 to a room simply because that's how Remnant works as I understand it. Full teams of hunters contain 4 hunters, not 6. Therefore I chose two full teams per room. As far as their earnings, it's simply due to how I view Remnant at large.

Ruby and Blake work mostly for charity, they don't earn any real income. This has been established heavily in the fiction. Weiss and Yang don't take anything that might be considered potentially deadly, and that's the reason for their low pay. The way I see it, hunters would need to take very high risk jobs in order to earn large incomes. In my eyes, it would have to be that way to allow for the academies to work the way that they do.

Anyone can choose to be a huntsman so long as any of the kingdom academies accept them. The bar for entry seems low too. Jaune (early seasons) and team CRDL are good examples of that. You're right that Remnant needs hunters, but it's the type of hunter that matters the most. There seems to be a large variety of jobs a huntsman can do, and not all are created equal.

One of the largest criticism I've had of the show is that some of the students are "better" or at least "equal to" their graduated or highly trained counterparts. This is either faulty writing in the show, or merely world building at large. Either way, in cannon, incompetent hunters seem to be a dime a dozen. A recent example is Volume 6's two train hunters (who had graduated/were licensed). Those two were incredibly useless. Cardovin wasn't particularly smart either, considering she's a specialist just like Winter. Even if a case can be made that she was outnumbered and out-witted, her two subordinates were epically incompetent and no good excuse could be made for them.

I think a strong case can simply be made that being a huntsman isn't exactly a specialty. Rather, it's a foot in the door for many job opportunities, and how the huntsman chooses to use their degree (license) matters. I've always viewed huntsmen who take safer jobs to be earning far less than huntsmen that seek out particularly dangerous missions.

Under that logic, team RWBY wouldn't get a plot armor pass in this story just because they're great huntresses and we all know it. If they play it safe, they would get low pay. They could easily choose to take more dangerous jobs to make more money, but, at what cost?

I hope that helps to explain my view of things.

Significant Changes: A scene that used to be in last chapter was moved here and more was added onto it. It's now a standalone chapter due to the length of the scene.

Original chapter length: 2077
Revisited chapter length: 2,160

"Regular dialogue" [Faunus speech only]

Chapter 16

Yang thought about it, but, it didn't take very long to decide. She agreed to take the mission assignment along the wall of Vale.

Ruby had reluctantly signed the paperwork, unhappily dissolving the only team name she had ever been given. Relinquishing her title as the team's leader, and any duties that came with it.

Within a week Yang and Weiss were called in to Beacon. After a simple meeting with Ozpin the details began to slip into place. The final paperwork took a matter of days to be finalized. Blake protested, but Ruby couldn't do anything else about it. The choice had been made.

Soon boxes started to arrive. Yang and Weiss were both sent an empty duffle bag to carry personal items. Due to the nature of the small living space, anything that couldn't fit in the duffle or the assigned weapons locker would have to stay home. They were each issued a backpack of survival gear. Finally, a box containing five uniforms, five pairs of pajamas, a pair of steel toed shoes each rounded off the delivery.

Soon after, the messenger arrived with their new mission details. They had requested and had been granted the open slots on Vale's westward wall. It was the one nearest to their home.

Blake, however, was not pleased with the decision. "I can't believe you actually got Ruby to sign off on the documents. She should have never let you do this."

"Ruby knew better than to try and stop me." Yang told her. "I do what I want, and I always have. Besides, Weiss got to her first. By the time I got to her it didn't take much convincing at all."

"I still don't agree with this."

"Then it's a good thing you're not my team leader."

"No, but I'm still your teammate. That should count for something."

"We're not a team anymore, Blakey."

"And that doesn't upset you, even a little?"

"Why? It's just a title. It's still the same way it's always been around here… Not being a team anymore doesn't change that. Well, kind of doesn't change anything, I mean."

"I know what you mean." Blake groused, arms crossed. "I still think this is the worst idea that Weiss has ever come up with."

"We're only going to be two hours away." Yang said, already resigning herself to her fate. "We couldn't get a closer assignment if we tried. Well, unless we asked for the Beacon tower position…"

"That's supposed to be a comfort?!" Blake snapped.

"Well, yeah." Yang told her. "No one wants to be stationed there. It's all computer terminals and babysitting academy kids. I'd lose my mind, and Weiss would blow her top the second she was told to shadow a bunch of first years. Besides, that's really no different from field work. When the students go on assignments, I'd have to track them down."

"Yang-"

"Besides, we really do need the cash…" The blonde interrupted. "That's what Weiss and I do, we bring home the bacon around here. We just need fattier pork, that's all."

"Right…" Blake muttered under her breath before shaking her head to clear the mental image. "I agree that the assignment you were given was a lucky one. There's just one huge problem that you're not thinking about…"

"Hmm?"

"What are you going to do about Ace?" Blake asked, that little detail one of the ones that bothered her the most. "You don't actually think leaving Ruby and I in charge is a good idea, do you?"

"It's not a bad one…"

"You're crazy…"

"What? I'm just saying the truth." As she continued to cram her admittedly small duffel full, she realized that Weiss would be in for a rough time of things. If she thought Beacon's storage was hell in a handbag, this was going to be a whole new level of torture. "It's not like I'm leaving you guys for good. Wall rotation isn't all that bad."

"It isn't all that good, either, Yang."

"Weiss and I will work twelve to sixteen hour days, seven days in a row. Then they give us seven days off. Rinse, repeat. It's a good system. I mean, yeah, I'm sure the seven days working sucks. Crammed living space, long hours, the food is probably crappy, but then I have a whole week after that to be home with Ace…"

"You should be staying here." Blake insisted. "Ruby or I should be going with Weiss. Ace needs you. You're her sister."

"Yeah, sister." Yang shot back. "I'm not her mom…"

"You're the closest thing she has."

"Blake, remember what we talked about. You know, that whole bad influence thing?"

"Not this again." The Faunus could feel the headache forming. Eyes closed she brought a hand up to her forehead. "I told you, stop thinking that way about yourself. It doesn't do you any good."

Yang knew that Blake had said something about that, but the blonde still had plenty of doubts. She still cursed all of the things she couldn't do right the first time. Working along the wall was one thing she knew she could do. She needed the stability too, even if that was one of the hardest truths to admit.

"Look…" She began, hesitating over her words as she looked down at the dust bottle in her hand. "Blake, I… I'm never going to be good at this whole keeping a baby out of trouble thing…"

A Faunus ear flicked in aggravation. "She won't be a baby forever."

"Yeah, and you have no idea how much that freaks me out…"

"Why?" Blake asked, demanding to know. "Why does that bother you so much?"

"Because when I look in the mirror, I don't like what I see." Yang began slowly. It was hard to explain, and she looked away feeling more than a little ridiculous. It felt stupid to say it. "When Ace gets older, I don't want her to see me as the bored alcoholic who goes off on missions for months at a time and never sees her. I don't want her to think I'm unreliable, or that I can't do an honest day's work just because I'm a huntress."

It wasn't that she resented her uncle. Not in the slightest. It just wasn't the life she wanted for herself. She needed something more.

"You aren't like your family Yang…"

"Can't prove that, Blake." Yang told her. "If I can't keep myself grounded, who knows where I'll be one day. I wanted to be a huntress so that I didn't have to worry about this kind of thing. Now, I've got no choice but to be a good role model, and there's no way I can be that selfish anymore. This isn't anything like what I'd planned, mostly because I never had a plan to begin with."

"You and Ruby turned out differently." The Faunus retorted, her face edging onto a scowl. "You've been careful. Maybe too careful in retrospect, not to do anything that could possibly make Ace think poorly of you. You're a person, not a robot. You're allow to live your life and make mistakes..."

"It still isn't good enough. Maybe it is for Ace, but it's not for me." Yang admitted pulling her lip between her teeth. She looked down at that small duffel bag again, palms sweaty. "If I can't give Ace a normal upbringing, then at the very least I need to do the best I can. No excuses. She needs a life that's stable. I'm tired of living paycheck-to-paycheck, praying for work that might not come when we need it."

"Then I'll go. That way you can stay here." Blake repeated, feeling as though it was the better option. "Ace might give you a tough time, but you'll figure it out just like you always do. I'll only be a phone call away."

"You'll give up the soup kitchens and homeless shelters you put all the hours you can at?" Yang asked.

"If I have to…"

"What about the spousal abuse center you visit every Saturday to help?" Yang went on. "Or the youth center for troubled Faunus? You're just going to give up all of that?"

Yang watched as her friend's golden eyes closed, an annoyed sigh lingering in the air. A slow exhale. Face pinching unhappily under the weight of the Faunus plight. Blake wanted to bite back and fire off another retort. Yang could see it in her expression. Something stopped her from trying.

The verbal battle seemingly won, Yang smirked. "You became a huntress to make a difference. That's what you wanted and that's what you're doing. Don't throw that all away for my sake."

"What if I'm not thinking about doing it for you?" Blake growled under her breath. "Ever think of that? Ace is the Faunus plight, Yang. A textbook case, another example of an orphan left forgotten. If it wasn't for you, she'd just be another statistic. It's her, and Faunus like her, that's why I became a huntress."

"Blake…"

"What, Yang?"

"I never wanted this… I wanted to just be a huntress. Go and do my own thing, whatever that was." She said softly. "Maybe Raven and I aren't that different…"

"Don't say that."

"It's true."

"No it isn't!"

"Hey, it's okay." Yang said quietly. "You know, being a sister to Ruby was awesome. We grew up together and that was great, but, I don't know how to raise a kid." And that was one of the darkest things that loomed in her mind. The soft hours of each day reminding her of the blood-ties and the sins that came along with it. "I never planned to... I don't know... Maybe this is some sort of retribution for how much I chased after Raven. Mom or not, maybe that wasn't really something I should have done."

"What do you mean, Yang?" Blake murmured as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I get it now." Yang admitted softly, pacing back and forth a few times. "Feeling trapped. Like everything I do is just one big fuck-up after another. Maybe Raven just wasn't ready for me. Maybe she never would have been. Just like deep down, I know, I'm not ready to look after Ace. I don't think I ever will be. Stupid as this is about to sound, I don't wanna just leave her be, either. We're sisters, but at the end if that day, that's it. That's all she'll ever be to me. I can't be her mom, Blake. I don't know how to be one."

"But you are doing everything you can, Yang. That's a whole lot more than you could ever say about Raven. Even this new mission assignment. You're doing it for Ace, because we need the money if we ever hope to look after her…but I'm telling you that you don't have to do this."

"Yes I do…" Yang said quietly.

Yang pulled out her scroll and flipping to a picture she took unbeknownst to the trio who'd fallen asleep. She tossed her scroll to Blake, who caught it haphazardly. The image was starting to become more common place, though Yang wondered if Blake or Ruby truly noticed it. The nearness of the two of them sitting cross-legged on the floor. A bowl of pretzels between them, and Ace hunkered down in Ruby's lap.

"Go ahead, lie to me if you want." Yang jibbed. "Tell me you don't want moments like that…"

Blake said nothing, thumbing through the incriminating evidence that Blake herself had never really taken notice of. There were so many pictures, some while the three were awake, some while they were asleep. The timestamps showed weeks of little moments. One or two photos she would have been able to brush off. Instead there were at least twenty, maybe more, if she took the time to look even further back.

Hands on her hips, Yang asked again. "Well?"

"I…" Blake licked her lips. "It's... You took that many?"

"Yeah…"

"Why would you…" Blake trailed off and sighed. "You're being completely ridiculous."

"See, you can't deny it, can you?" Yang said, only a hint of smugness in her tone. "You like your movie nights, and your morning fairytales. It doesn't matter if you admit it or not. You and Ruby are both playing house. Living vicariously because neither one of you are aware enough in what the hell you're doing to make a move. It's like you're already a sexless couple satisfied with settling for a lukewarm romance that doesn't go anywhere."

"That's hardly the case…"

"Then tell me otherwise. Tell me you don't have feelings for her." Yang pushed. "Fact is, I don't think you can." She gestured back to the scroll still in Blake's hand.

The pictures still on the screen. None of them were huge, or particularly scandalous. That was the worst thing about them. They didn't need to be. The natural feeling of each one proved that none of them were scripted. Blake only remembered a small handful. The rest took place while she wasn't paying attention, far too enamored with whatever else was happening around her.

She tossed the scroll back to Yang. "All this proves is that you're a shameless shutterbug. I'm sure if I tried, I could take that many phots of you and Weiss. It doesn't mean anything. They're just pictures."

"Still not denying that fact that you like Ruby." Yang told her. "Yeah, Weiss and I, we're close. It's just not the same thing Blake, and you know that. If you want to deny it, that's fine, but it still doesn't change my point…"

"Which is?"

"If something bad happened to us, Ace wouldn't have anyone." Yang explained, knowing the same unfortunate rule applied to Blake and Weiss. Outside of their friends, they had no real family anymore. "We need to stick together, and I've got to do what's best for everyone. I feel like this is the right thing so I'm going, you're staying, and that's just the way it's got to be."