Rhomson and Niklaus were in a restaurant in Vale eating plates of cooked bison steak with a side of green beans. Both hung their heads as the other patrons happily ate their food. The restaurant had many booths, tables, and chairs. Yet it seemed the place was divided in two halves. Each side had a different style of tables and chairs.

Niklaus sighed. We lost. How is the question that I want answered. He is blind, a Faunus, and doesn't have any ranged weaponry. Yet he-

"DAMMIT ALL!" Rhomson shouted.

The restaurant got quiet at his out burst. A muscular man in late thirties wearing a red apron, black shirt, blue jeans and black shoes. His short white hair was styled upward and his red eyes burned like fire.

"It's alright everyone," he said. "Just my nephews having a bad day go back to your meals."

The patrons soon were back to eating and talking among themselves. The man before walked up to Rhomson and Niklaus.

"Rhomson please keep your anger in check while here so you don't scare my customers."

"I'm just so...pissed," Rhomson growled.

"You know how he is Uncle Roy," Niklaus stated.

"Which is why I'm asking him to calm down," Roy said. He went back behind the counter. "In fact, how about you two finally tell me what is going on. You two don't usually come here."

"It's too shameful to bring up," Rhomson said with a scowl.

"I think you two and I have different definitions of what is shameful," said Roy.

"Well it's shameful to us and that is that matters," Rhomson replied with a bite in his voice.

"...we lost a fight," Niklaus spoke.

Roy tilted his head. "How is that-" His eyes widened and his head straightened. "You lost a fight with a Faunus?"

"Please don't say it!" shouted Rhomson.

The patrons ignored him this time.

"With Leon," Niklaus stated.

Roy was silent. He then laughed loudly. "Oh my gosh that is so poetic. You two kept looking down at him and he whips your butts. That is priceless." He wore a big smile.

"Of course you would be happy about it," Rhomson growled. He took a fierce bite of his food.

"Careful or you might bite the fork in two," Roy stated.

"I just...can't believe we lost...to a blind Faunus," Rhomson grumbled.

"Hey now I've told you two before that the only battles that take place in my restaurant is between the food," said Roy.

"I need to vent," Rhomson said in a near shout.

Roy sighed. He pointed them to the back door. Niklaus and Rhomson took their food and headed that way. Roy signaled to one of his workers that he was stepping out for awhile. Rhomson and Niklaus headed through the door to some stairs. They climbed up and reached the top to reveal another door. They opened it to reveal a living room with an kitchen on the far side of the wall. They immediately walked over towards a large square table and sat down next to each other. Roy closed the door behind him.

Roy walked over to join them. "You should have said that you wanted to rant when you arrived." His voice was firm with a little bit of anger. "It's bad for business when you yell in the restaurant."

"Is that all you can think about when your two nephews lost a fight with a blind animal?" Rhomson asked. His tone had a hint of shock.

"First off, and I will say this every time you say call them that, they are Faunus," Roy stated, "and secondly, it's about time that a Faunus taught you two a lesson." He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass. He began to fill it with water.

"What do you mean Uncle?" Niklaus finally spoke.

"You two share a similar trait to my sister and her husband," Roy replied. "The fact that you both look down about the Faunus." He turned the faucet off before joining Rhomson and Niklaus at the table.

"Why shouldn't we?" Rhomson asked in confusion.

"That isn't the right question," said Roy.

"Then...perhaps you mean why should we?" Niklaus asked.

Roy smiled. "That is better."

"What do you mean 'why should we?'" asked Rhomson in confusion. "I mean Humans are better."

Niklaus nodded.

Roy sighed. My sister drilled that into their heads.

"Rhomson, I know that you are an emotional individual and that you act on instinct but this is a time to use your brain," said Roy.

"How smart can I be when I can't figure out how we lost to a blind...Faunus?!" Rhomson yelled.

"Jumping subjects isn't a good way to go about a conversation Rhomson," Roy stated. "You two need to seriously think about that question."

Rhomson sighed as Niklaus picked at his food.

"I must admit that I myself cannot understand how we lost," Niklaus spoke. His voice was gentle yet lost.

"Well I have a guess myself if you both are willing to listen," Roy said seriously. Niklaus looked up and Rhomson was at the edge of his seat. "I'll take that as a yes. Did you both take the fight seriously?" They were silent. "I guess not."

"I know I did," Rhomson argued. "I used my Semblance and got good hits on him and we used our normal strategy to fight him."

"Well how about you Niklaus?" Roy asked.

"...no..."

"Bro?" Rhomson asked in confusion.

"I never once thought to use my Semblance on him," said Niklaus. "I wanted to make the fight last as long as possible and...to get back at Chloe seeing how those two are close friends."

"I mean...I get that," Rhomson stated.

Roy was silent.

"But I guess I was overconfident and that cost us the fight," Niklaus stated.

"During that fight, from start to finish, was there a single moment when you thought you would lose?" asked Roy in response.

"Of course not," Rhomson said passionately. "We are trained warriors and we have incredible talent as well as Semblances. He is a blind Faunus so there was no way he could have won."

"And yet he did because neither thought you could lose," said Roy.

Niklaus's eyes widened as the answer was illuminated. ...he is right...I never thought I could lose...even...even when I was knocked out of the fight.

"I'm guessing you had a similar train of thought Niklaus?" Roy asked.

Niklaus nodded.

"I thought as much," said Roy. He stood up and walked over to a window that gazed out towards Vale. "You two must learn this lesson immediately since you both are going to be Huntsmen one day."

"What is that Uncle?" Niklaus asked.

Roy turned back towards them. "Out in the field, anything can happen. You could come across enemies that are beyond your power as well as Huntsmen and Huntresses who don't play by the rules. One thing that you must remember above all else when on a hunt is simply this: never think you are invincible."

Silence fell among them. No one said a word or a whisper and the atmosphere itself was quiet.

Niklaus looked down. Never think that you cannot lose in a fight. I wonder...did Leon think he could lose?

"...I guess," Rhomson said with hesitation, "...that is true..."

Roy smiled. It's a start.

WwwwwwW

Back at Beacon Leon and Chloe were sitting in the gardens underneath a tree.

"I was worried that I wouldn't get to hear your puns again," Chloe said with a smile. She had her arms wrapped around one of Leon's arms.

"Are you worried about my puns or our two teammates?" Leon asked.

"I don't think they will like what I got planned tomorrow," said Chloe.

"Don't worry too much about it," replied Leon. "Rhomson has his games to console him."

Chloe burst out laughing.

"And it seems that Niklaus is hooked on his book," he continued.

Chloe let go and was rolling on the ground. "Can't...breathe."

"I'm sure that the trees would like autumn to leaf them alone," Leon asked with a smile.

Chloe laughed harder and was holding her stomach. "Please...stop...I need...air." Tears streamed down her face as she continued to laugh loudly. Leon smiled and patiently waited. It took some time but Chloe regained her breath and wiped away her tears. "Too many in a short time frame Spot."

"I got 'carried' away," Leon joked.

"That isn't a pun," Chloe replied.

"I know but you could use a 'pun' break," said Leon.

Chloe only chuckled but it still made Leon smile. She wrapped her arms around his arm again.

"I wish this could last longer," Chloe whispered.

Leon lifted his head up toward the sky. "I know...me too."

A gentle breeze grazed across the area. Both were silent, absorbing the moment of peace at hand. Leon gently patted her head with his free hand. Chloe hummed in content. Neither of them knew how long they sat there, yet soon light started to fade from the sky.

"I think its time for dinner," Leon said finally breaking the silence.

"Just a little longer," Chloe whined.

Both of their stomachs grumbled.

"I don't think our stomachs want to wait," Leon said with a smile.

Chloe sighed. She nodded her head and stood up. Leon followed suit. Chloe began walking. A soft ringing echoed quietly with each step she took. Leon followed the sound with no trouble. They arrived at the cafeteria, got food, and sat down to eat. They enjoyed the time they had together.

WwwwwwW

Time passes on and night time arrives. Rhomson and Niklaus arrive back at Beacon and walked somberly toward the dormitory. The words of Red continued to echo in their minds.

Rhomson kicked a pebble off the main path. Is it really as simple as that?

Niklaus looked up at the night sky. Why should we? That doesn't make any sense...unless he was trying to lead us to a different question. Or maybe...maybe its a question that we should answer.

"Hey Bro," Rhomson called out.

Niklaus turned to look at him as their stride came to a halt. "Yeah?"

Rhomson looked at his hand. "Do you really think its that simple? To the reason why we lost that fight I mean."

Niklaus looked down at the ground. "...yes."

Rhomson stared at him. "What?"

"Rhomson, Roy was right."

Rhomson grunted. "Man...I was hoping you would find an answer I liked."

Niklaus looked up at Rhomson. "I don't think there is one in this situation."

"And now we have to go through whatever Chloe wants us to do," Rhomson complained.

Niklaus sighed. "We gave our word so we have to follow through it. After all, the mark of a true man is keeping his word."

Rhomson smiled. "One of Dad's lessons."

Niklaus nodded. "Well we best be prepared for the worst...and all of Leon's puns."

The two of them walked into the dormitory and headed into their room. Both of them could hear familiar laughter when they reached the door.

Here we go, Rhomson and Niklaus thought in unison.

They opened the door to see Chloe on the floor holding her side, laughing from something. Leon was sitting on his bed smiling. Leon wore white pajamas while Chloe had green ones.

"I see that you two are enjoying yourselves," Niklaus stated.

"Yup," Leon replied.

Chloe finally caught her breath and sat up. "My sides...oh...I'm okay."

"Don't hurt our leader with your puns Leon," said Rhomson.

Leon gasped over dramatically. "Hurt our leader with puns? That's the 'sealest' thing I've ever heard."

Chloe burst out laughing while Rhomson and Niklaus groaned.

"You set that one up," Niklaus grumbled at Rhomson.

Rhomson hung his head. "My bad."

Chloe calmed down after a minute or two. "I'm okay...I'm okay."

"If you say so," Niklaus stated.

Chloe stood up. "Now that you two are here, you have a choice."

"A choice?" asked Rhomson.

"We can either start the training I thought of for us tomorrow or tonight," said Chloe.

"But its late," Niklaus stated.

Chloe nodded. "I know. Either way the first exercise will be the same and it is something we will stretch out the longest across this training."

"And what is this exercise you are talking about?" Rhomson asked.

"Are you saying you want to start tonight?" Chloe asked.

Rhomson sighed and looked over at Niklaus.

Niklaus crossed his arms. "Fine...we will start tonight."

Chloe clapped her hands once. "Great. Now let's sit in a circle on the floor."

Leon got off his bed and walked over. He sat down first, and was soon followed by Chloe. Niklaus and Rhomson remained standing.

"Guys...sit please," Chloe said kindly.

Rhomson plopped on the floor and rested his chin on his hand. Niklaus hesitantly followed suit with his arms still crossed.

"Don't worry guys, I'll keep the puns to a minimal," said Leon.

"The one you cracked earlier passed the limit in my opinion," Rhomson complained.

Leon smiled. "As a fair warning, if you complain about it, I will make more puns."

Niklaus and Rhomson grunted.

"...thanks for the warning," Rhomson grumbled.

"Just want to make sure we all 'pun-derstand' each other," Leon joked.

Chloe snorted while Niklaus sighed and Rhomson groaned.

"Alright...it is time to get serious about this," Chloe stated.

"What do you mean?" Niklaus asked.

"We don't even know what we are doing yet," Rhomson stated.

Chloe looked at them with serious looks. "We have been a team for awhile now. However, in that time we have avoided each other due to our differences. It's time we got to know each other better."

Rhomson and Niklaus wore confused looks.

"You want us to talk to each other?" Niklaus asked.

"We need to get to know one another," Chloe stated. "We've been here for nearly two years now. During that time, we didn't get along at all. Honestly, we should have tried doing something like this sooner."

"Why would we do something so stupid?" asked Rhomson.

"Circumstances have changed," replied Chloe.

Rhomson groaned. "Getting to know each other will take more than one night."

Niklaus nodded.

"I know, and I am willing to let you two pick who goes first," Chloe added.

Rhomson and Niklaus sighed.

"Let's just get this over with," Niklaus stated.

Rhomson gave a small nod. "Yeah...we'll go first."

"Alright you two have the floor," Chloe stated.

Chloe and Leon were silent and listened carefully.

"I like books while my brother here fancies video games," said Niklaus.

"Your turn," Rhomson said quickly.

Chloe pouted. "Come on guys. Take this seriously."

"We are and we gave you some information about us," Niklaus said with a smirk.

"Yes because we totally didn't know that about you guys," Leon said sarcastically.

"Shut it," Rhomson barked.

"I think you two have a fear of hurdles and need to get over it," Leon replied.

Chloe quickly covered her mouth but was chuckling fiercely. Rhomson's free hand was shaking with anger.

"Fine...our parents are not only skilled Huntsmen but they are private investigators," said Niklaus.

"Really?" Leon asked.

Niklaus nodded. "Finn and Daisy Vermillion."

"Oh they are good," Leon said with a smile.

"They do have an impressive track record with their cases," Chloe stated.

Rhomson scoffed. "Well of course they do."

"Good enough for you?" Niklaus asked.

"Do you have any other family?" Chloe asked.

Niklaus's eye brow twitched. Dammit all!

Rhomson was repeatedly tapping his chin with a finger. "We also have an uncle who owns a restaurant in Vale. I still don't understand the menu or how he thought of it."

"Rabbit vs Bison or RvB for short," Niklaus stated.

Leon rubbed his chin. "That is actually interesting."

"Our uncle and his wife run the restaurant, they too are skilled Huntsmen," Niklaus continued. "But they prefer to run their business."

"Oh so being a Huntsmen runs in the family," Chloe replied.

Rhomson nodded. "Their names are Roy and Lilac Marine."

"So wait...your uncle changed his last name?" Leon asked.

Rhomson slammed his fist on the floor. "None of your damned business alright!"

Chloe shot him a fierce glare. "None of that you hear me."

Rhomson looked away. "Whatever."

"Are we done now?" Niklaus asked.

He yawned slowly.

Chloe scoffed. "Yes you are done sharing for the day...now its my turn."

"Oh come on," Rhomson whined.

"I think we've kept our promise enough for one night," Niklaus stated.

"No you have not," Chloe argued. "Leon nor I haven't gone yet so you two will listen. Unless you want to break your promise?"

Niklaus clenched his fist while Rhomson growled.

"I think that means you have the floor Chloe," Leon stated.

She nodded. "I am actually from Atlas."

Rhomson and Niklaus stared at her.

"Really?" Rhomson asked.

The sound of confusion rang in his voice. Chloe nodded.

Niklaus blinked. That is a surprise.

Rhomson lifted up his chin from his hand and scratched his head. Why did she come here? Why not stay at home?

"Why did you not stay in Atlas?" Niklaus asked.

"I move away from Atlas due to the schools there. I really didn't like the academy there," said Chloe.

Leon's left ear twitched.

"Dumb reason if you ask me," said Rhomson.

Niklaus nodded.

"To each their own guys," Leon stated. "Go on Chloe."

Chloe nodded. "I do miss the sweets there though. They were so delicious."

Images of cakes, cookies, and cream danced in her head. A little drool slipped from her mouth.

Rhomson looked stunned. She must have a massive sweet tooth.

Leon gently shook her. "Come back to us Chloe."

Chloe shook her head. "Sorry about that."

Niklaus turned his attention toward Leon. "I guess...you're next."

Leon nodded. "Well you both know two key things about me: I'm blind, and I like making puns."

Rhomson groaned. He is going to make one isn't he?

Niklaus nodded. "Yes...very true."

"But I really like to do is listen to the world around me," Leon stated.

"Listening?" Rhomson asked.

Leon closed his eyes. "The chirping of the bugs outside, the cluttering pitter patter of people walking by, the wind gently grazing across the ground, I take all of these things in and try and paint a picture of what they look like." Rhomson and Niklaus remained silent. Leon opened his eyes. "I've been blind my whole life yet its fun to guess what objects and people look like."

"How can you guess how things look when you don't know what anything looks like?!" asked Rhomson. Confusion rang loudly in his voice.

"Imagination and I have a general idea thanks to Alani's parents," Leon replied. "They were very descriptive while I was growing up."

"Couldn't your own parents teach you that?" Niklaus asked.

"I'm guessing not seeing how they would be Faunus and they have a hard time affording education," Rhomson suggested.

Chloe's formed a fist that trembled.

"They could also be just very dumb and had to rely on humans to teach him," Niklaus stated.

Rhomson nodded.

Leon shrugged. "Actually none of those things. They abandoned me as a child."

Rhomson and Niklaus gasped.

Chloe shifted her weight uncomfortably. That's putting it lightly.

Rhomson's mouth remained agape. His parents...left him? No way...that can't be right.

Niklaus arms finally fell to his sides for the first time that night. Parents are suppose to watch out for their children...yet his parents ditched him?

Leon yawned. "Well I think that should do it for tonight. I'm beat."

He stood up, walked over to his bed and laid down on his bed.

"We have made a good start," Chloe stated, "but we should get some rest."

Niklaus and Rhomson somberly nodded. Each one went to their own beds and laid down for the night.