The Schnee Black Sheep

Chapter 32: A Grave Re-opened


When Blake awoke the next morning, she had to bury her face in the pillows to hide her smiling face. Smothering her face in the pillows only made her smile grow as she took in the scent of these heavenly objects that did not belong to her, but rather a certain human. She took in a satisfying breathe of her human's scent of charcoal and fresh paper thanking silently that with the absence of alcohol, the human held a smell that she had come to recognise instantly. She could tell straight away when he was around because of the smell she had simply grown to love.

It was then, after the second breathe, that the memories of last night flooded back to her, causing Blake to grin further and try to hide further into the soft pillows. After the dance, Blake had been escorted back to her room where she and her boyfriend intended to part ways and return to their own quarters, alone, and for the night to end there like every date they had been on beforehand... Yet, neither wanted that anymore.

She couldn't remember which one of them broke the cycle. Blake would guess that it was her fault as recently she had been feeling more... Needy. Being a Faunus, she fell under the same natural tendencies of the animal she resembled and being part cat, she would sometimes feel the same desires as a cat in heat. That and she was ready for her relationship with the human to progress and after such an outstanding evening she couldn't stop herself from making advances. Not that she received any arguments against her advances. So much for her boyfriends no sex before marriage policy.

Speaking of Coal... Where was he anyway?

The scent that Blake could smell from his bed may have been fresh but she couldn't feel the extra weight alongside her in the bed anymore, unlike when she fell asleep wrapped up in his arms earlier that night. It was a feeling she could get used to and secretly wanted to. Not that she would give him the satisfaction and tell him that of course, though she would find a way to use it to her advantage and wind him up with it. She loved all the playful jabs at one another. It was their thing.

Finally, sick of the missing body and the comforting heat that came with it, Blake rolled out of bed taking the blanket with her to cover her naked form and search for the one thing ruining her morning. If only her boyfriend could sit still for more than a few minutes. She cursed his inability to remain in one spot. During her midnight raids on her boyfriend's room with the motive of curing that damn reaction whenever he was awoken, Blake had laughed out loud more than a few times at some of the places and positions she had found Coal lying in. She was sure that every surface, every single spot in his room had been used to sleep on and that included inside his wardrobe. Blake found that one the weirdest but she couldn't help but laugh at it regardless. It was as if Coal was afraid of sleeping in the same place so constantly. She wondered if that was linked to his instinctual need to defend his sleeping form.

She only took a few steps before she found her human, lying on the sofa lightly snoring away to himself. Blake's smile returned upon seeing him with his arms crossed over his bare chest and covered modestly only by a pair of gym shorts. Even in his sleep, Coal could still look like he was solving another puzzle or studying for a major exam. She found it rather cute, how he acted all serious when he needed to when really, he was just a big kid at heart. Another thing she loved about him.

Blake never realised that she had been watching his chest rise and fall for nearly five minutes before she finally regained control over her body's movements. She remembered that his defence instinct was still a problem, despite how well it had improved over that last month, and that she could still end up getting hurt accidentally. She knew that Coal wouldn't hurt her purposefully, but it was a reflex that he simply couldn't control. She had developed a means of recognition when it came to waking her boyfriend. Every time she woke him up she had done so by running her hand through his hair softly until he awoke. Simple yet effective as over the last month, Coal gradually grew less and less aggressive when disturbed from his slumber...

It didn't take long at all for Blake to wake him up with a start. The second she caught a hair, Coal jerked awake and gripped Blake's wrist in a startled fright, his mind convinced that he was under threat and needed to defend himself. Blake often questioned internally about what kind of horrors Coal must have seen to develop such a reaction but never spoke of the subject out loud. She was confident that he would tell her when he was ready.

"Good morning to you too." Blake greeted sarcastically waiting for Coal to eventually realise that she posed him no threat what so ever. It only took a few seconds for Coals eyes to refocus and actually recognise his Faunus girlfriend. Upon which he cast an apologetic smile releasing his tight grip.

"Sorry kitten." Coal yawned rubbing his eyes clear of sleep. "What time is it?"

"Early. You should know that I get up with the sun." Blake smiled retuning to messing with his hair finding it rather relaxing for herself just as much as Coal also found it… Now that he was awake to register what was happening. "Care to explain why I woke up alone and cold." She continued to tease. Naturally, Coal caught the teasing tone in his girlfriend voice.

"Well that would be your fault there my lady, you have a nasty habit of kicking in your sleep." Coal chuckled flipping over and grabbing his girlfriend and pulling her onto the sofa and into a tight hug. Blake let him pull her down easily, she had been wanting a cuddle since she woke up. Not that it would stop her firing another shot back.

"Oh, I highly doubt it was any worse than your snoring."

"I do not snore!" Coal exclaimed looking genuinely offended.

"Aww, have I hurt your ego there Fluffles."

"I thought I told you never to call me that." Coal grumbled through his teeth. Though it was a damn sight better than the nick name Runt he had been given by his squad. Blake giggled at his irritated growling. Sometimes the human could mimic an animal almost perfectly. Sometimes she wondered if he could have been half Faunus, but she knew it was impossible. "So, are you going to tell me why you woke me up at the crack of dawn?"

"Like I said, I got cold."

"You sure that's not because of the lack of clothes?"

"What did happen to my dress anyway?"

"I don't know... I only found my suit jacket and that was because I tripped over it when I went to the bathroom. I have yet to stumble upon the rest of it. "

"I can't believe we did that last night!" Blake giggled snuggling into her boy's shoulder and taking in a long breath of his scent first hand. "You performed well for your first time. How did that even happen anyway?"

"I have no idea... One second we are standing in front of your door, next we are in here doing it like they do on the discovery channel." Coal shrugged ignoring the roll of the eyes Blake gave him and his terminology. "I'm going to blame you though."

"No, no, no... Only partly my fault. You need to take some of the blame."

"I'll accept some of it, only some. Like, thirty percent-"

"Thirty percent!" Blake laughed slapping his chest just hard enough to make him flinch. "That's it, you're not getting anything more from me."

"Well, that also means that you're cutting yourself of just as well as me... Now which of us do you think will cave first? You, the one who started it last night, or me, who has a fisherman's patience and is in control of your endless supply of fresh, home cooked fish caught by that very same person?" Coal grinned knowing that he had struck a nerve. One thing he had learned about his relationship with Blake was that it was built upon a series of playful jabs and a competitiveness over making the other give in over petty little things. But taking away Blake's supply of fresh fish hand caught, gutted and cooked by himself, Coal had Blake dead to rights.

Blake glared at Coal thinking it over for a second. Weighing over the options in her head before finally coming to a decision and rolling off the sofa, managing to maintain her modesty by keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around her as she walked away from the boy who couldn't tear his eyes away from her as she headed straight for the bathroom. More specifically the shower. When she reached the door, Blake took one cheeky look back to make sure that Coal was still staring at her before dropping the blanket, showing off all her curves before disappearing around the door frame, leaving a very confused and slack jawed Coal staring at the empty doorframe as the sound of the shower started running in the background.

"You coming or what Fluffles?" Blake called out over the sound of the water. Coal didn't need a second invitation.


As it turned out, only being one door down from her boyfriend was actually quite useful when it came to committing to the walk of shame. After their joint shower, Blake redressed herself in the dress that she wore to the dance last night and made her way back to her own room figuring that the rest of her team would already be at breakfast so that she could quickly change into her usual attire before heading out on her first official mission with the rest of team RWBY.

Fortunately, she stumbled in on both Yang and Weiss who were too distracted to bombard her with questions as they were currently too worried over their team leader who had yet to return from a meeting with the headmaster over something that transpired last night that Ruby would not speak about.

Yang and Weiss tried to fill Blake in with what little information they knew; just a rumour that had already spread around the school that someone broke in and attacked a student in one of the towers' higher floors. And judging from the bruise around Ruby's neck that Weiss had caught the young huntress trying to hide, they had a pretty good idea which student had been the victim.

"When I find who did this in gonna bash their head in!" Yang promised thumping her fists together once the situation had been explained to the Faunus who had showered once again and changed into some more comfortable clothes. Blake felt slightly bad that she was relieved that the attention wouldn't be on her rather questionable state of return.

"But who would go out of their way just to break into a school for training huntsmen and huntresses?" Blake asked trying to keep a level head on that matter. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to me."

"Or me. There's something going on here and I don't like it." Weiss agreed only half listening to her friends talking. For reasons she could quite pin her mind on she couldn't get the image of the bruise from Ruby's neck out of her mind. It was as if she had seen it somewhere before and couldn't quite remember where. "I never should have let her go outside alone last night."

"It's not your fault." Yang countered quickly shutting down the Schnee's remorse before it grew too far. "It was the bastard that started this, and when I find the little fucker I'm going to kill him."

"Not that I don't agree with you Yang but we need to think about this properly." Blake spoke calmly. "I say we wait for Ruby and let her explain exactly what happened. Maybe she can shed some light on this whole thing."

"And what do you suggest we do in the mean time?" Yang growled looking incredibly fierce. "Sit on our asses and do nothing?"

"No that's not what I-"

"She's right Yang." Weiss agreed with Blake again. "We have no information to go on. We can't even get into the tower to have a look for any clues as to who ever broke in and attacked Ruby. We may as well just wait for her to come back."

Yang didn't like the idea but gave into her friend's suggestion and sat back down on her bed. Folding her arms and pouting in silence the whole time.

Weiss understood the blonde's anger and frustration at finding out that her sibling had been attacked and injured. Weiss often needed to conceal her own frustration whenever her twin returned from deployment with the military sporting a new bandage or masking a wound he had received along the way. He always assumed that he was rather clever at hiding his scars and injuries but Weiss knew every single time that he had been hurt at some point. Whether it was from training or being out in the field she didn't know for sure but her twin had been hurt none the less and went out of his way to cover it up, much like Ruby had done earlier that morning.

"Coal…" Weiss whispered as she started to remember where she had seen that type of bruise before. "Coal had a bruise just like that once."

"Think it could be from the same person?" Yang asked perking up at the chance for some information regarding the person who hurt her sister.

"It seems like a bit of a long shot to me." Blake commented trying not to get Yang's hopes up and send her on a rampage looking for someone who possibly was innocent. At least in this circumstance. "Anyone could have given both of them that type of bruise."

"But how many people have hands in the shape of claws?" Weiss asked rhetorically. "I know what I saw. The one Ruby has looks exactly the same as the one my brother had not that long ago. There's a good chance it could be the same person."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go interrogate that some bitch!" Yang jumped up full of energy. "Where is he now Blake?"

"Why would you think I would know?" Blake asked trying to appear innocent in front of her friends, teammates and roommates.

"You spent the night in his room, right?" Yang shrugged stifling a cheeky, knowing smirk. "And I highly doubt you slept on his couch last night, did you?" She continued to imply. Blake remained silent as she could. Catching a quick glance at Weiss who was staring at her in utter disbelief and a disgusted look in her eyes yet she still sported a clear childish smirk learned from the very boy that the Faunus had spent the entire night with.

"You slept with my brother!" Weiss yelled trying to sound disgusted and angry yet relishing in the fact that she now had a whole new set of material to tease her twin with and make him squirm with embarrassment. However, deep down she also felt happy for her twin that he was that serious about his relationship with Blake. For one, Weiss knew all too well that the only reason that Coal only made the rule of 'no sex before marriage' as a means to try and keep his ex-fiancée Orchid off of him. But over time that restriction turned into a devotion, eventually Coal felt as if he was saving himself for the right person rather than trying to stay away from the wrong one.

"Does it count if we went to bed together and then he moved to the sofa while I was asleep?" Blake mumbled blushing a vibrant crimson red. This was exactly the conversation she was afraid of having but at the same time she wanted to talk to someone about the step that she and Coal took in their relationship. "Hey! Weren't you going to find Coal and 'Interrogate that some bitch?'" Blake asked hoping to change the subject. She could wait to have this conversation until later.

Yang glared at her partner deciding between the two but in less than a second decided to rush out of the room and locate Coal hopefully inside his room. Leaving Blake alone with the sister of the boy she had slept with last night.

"Don't think you've dodged that bullet. We are going to talk about this later." Weiss assured folding her arms and glaring at Blake. "Just… Just try not to hurt him okay?"

"What?" Blake stared back confused by the sudden change in Weiss' tone. She now sounded overly concerned.

"I don't know what you're thinking about right now, but if what I really don't want to think about what happened last night actually happened last night, damn that was hard to say, but if it did, then Coal must be pretty serious about this relationship. He has this rule that he lives by that mainly was made for Orchid's case but he kinda started to believe in regardless, no sex before marriage. I just need to know that you feel the same way."

Blake didn't know how to respond at first. She originally thought that Coal made up that rule only to wind her up in some way… Which it did slightly, not that Blake would ever admit to that. But with Weiss now stating that it was true, Blake was now fully aware that their relationship hadn't just taken a step forward but a giant leap. Suddenly she was scared of what was to come between her and the human.

"Err… I-" Blake started only to be cut off from the bedroom door crashing open and a tumbling body of her boyfriend rolling into the centre of the room and landing face down in a heap taking both Weiss and Blake by surprise. "Why are you shirtless?" Was the only thing the Faunus could bring herself to say upon see her boyfriend again without a shirt. A sight she was happily getting used to.

Unfortunately, she didn't get an answer as Yang stormed in soon after, stomped right up to Coal, flipped him over, extended her shotgun gauntlets over her arms and shoved the barrel right into Coal's face.

"Start talking!" The blond brawler threatened menacingly. She knew all too well how to handle the alpha male types. And knock some sense into them when they needed it.

Coal looked at the barrel of the weapon barely an inch away from the spot in between his eyes. Definitely not the first time he had been threatened like this nor did he expect it to be the last. While Yang did have a scary side to her, one that Coal actually held as one of the blonde's better qualities. In good spirits, Coal appeared mildly scared of the blond while she held the barrel to his head even though he was used to the experience and threw his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay…" Coal calmingly spoke. "Blake and I did sleep together last night."

"EW! That is not what she, or anyone else for that matter, wanted to know you dolt!" Weiss yelled slapping Coal upside the head trying to get rid of the disgusted thoughts rushing through her mind. "She wanted to know how you got that bruise on your neck the last time you came home before we headed here." Coal dropped his hands and glanced confusingly around the room.

"What bruise?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Weiss scolded. "I know you think I'm stupid enough to believe that you don't get hurt working for the military as a… well whatever it is you really do. But for once just tell me the truth. How did you end up with a claw shaped bruise on your neck?" Coal released a deep sigh realising just how stupid it had been trying to conceal the injury from his sister. She seemed pretty hurt the last time they talked about his involvement with the military.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, we do!" Yang growled nudging him with the barrel of the gauntlet. "Now start talking!"

"Fine… I got it in a fight with someone. Happy?"

"Details! Who, when, why?"

"I feel like I should be asking why you want to know this information." Coal changed to a harsher tone and swatting the blonds fist and weapon out of his eye sight.

"Ruby had a similar bruise this morning." Weiss informed getting a confused and rather disbelieving look from her twin. "She was attacked last night. You didn't hear about it?"

"No, I… Who did it?"

"That's why we're asking you." Blake spoke flatly trying to keep a level head and pick up on any uncontrollable flickers of body language Coal let slip.

"Me? How would I know who attacked the little red runt?" Coal asked confused at his friends reasoning.

"And another thing! Why are you always so mean to her?" Yang questioned.

"I'm not mean, its character building." Coal argued. "I'm just helping her break out of her shell."

"You know she was in tears about what she did." Weiss countered. "When the accident happened."

"You mean when she pushed the button that sent a few hundred volts through my system and stopped my heart? Yeah, I remember that. If she cried about it then what can I do about it. She made a choice and now she has to live with it."

"How can you be so heartless?!" Yang barked.

"Because no matter which way any of you look at it, there is nothing I or anyone else can do to alter what happened." Coal stated. "Shit happens to everyone. She will get over it."

"Not if you keep reminding her and being a dick about it!" Weiss sided with Yang.

"Sins are not meant to be forgotten!" Coal yelled growing angry but quickly forcing it down and away before he said something he couldn't come back from. "Look, the lass that gave me that bruise is long dead so it couldn't have been her last night. I watched her die so there is no way in hell that she-"

Coal was cut off from the bedroom door once again opening from Ruby returning from her meeting with the headmaster. The three girls rushed the young team leader who paid them no attention and moved to stand in front of Coal with a darkened expression as she talked to him in a flat tone.

"Apparently you should know what this means…" She started making eye contact with the boy for the first time since the accident. "It's time you made due on your deal. You need to pay up what you owe to some woman with a mask with the letter X on it. Do you know what that means?"

Coal lowered his head as to not show his horror ridden face as he muttered quietly. "Yeah… I know what it means." The sorrow in his voice echoed around the silent room as team RWBY waited for more of an explanation. Coal let out another sigh before finally speaking up again. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this kid... It should have been me she came after."

"So, you do know who did it!" Yang said desperate to know at least the name of the person who assaulted her sister.

"Yeah… I know who she is." Coal said in a hollow voice. From the look in his eyes, he could have seen a ghost.

"Then spit it out, who is she?" Yang demanded growing further and further impatient with the boy while in turn, Blake and Weiss watched with conflicted thoughts. Both wanted to know who had assaulted their friend while at the same time didn't want to unearth a memory Coal had long wanted to leave behind. They both pieced together the meaning behind what he said earlier, about sins not being forgotten. Coal couldn't forget about his past no matter how hard he tried. But that didn't mean he hadn't wished for such a miracle.

"Classified." Was all Coal gave in response as he stood to leave. Yang stopped him by getting between him and the door. Her eyes shifting red.

"Don't give me that crap!" Yang barked. "Tell me who it is right now!"

"I said it's classified." Coal, or at least the boy that looked like Coal, spoke darkly. Yang watched first hand as the iris of the boy's once empty obsidian eyes gained colour and burst into a cobalt blue. Just like herself, Coal held back a fire beneath the colour change.

However, standing just behind Coal, Blake was far more concerned form what she saw on his back. A dull white glow of a broken glyph constructed of what remained of the dust embedded inside of him at the age of 10.

Coal had lied when he told her that the operation had been successful. Though there couldn't be more than a quarter of what used to be a complete glyph, now the symbol was broken, shattered from the missing elements. Yet it was plain as day that Coal could still call upon what was left.

And with it, he could channel more Grimm just like he had once shown her.

It was then that Blake finally realised what was happening to Coal. Why his eyes changed colour and also why his voice changed with it. Coal was channelling more than just a collection of Grimm. He was channelling another person. A person that he more than likely killed…

"This is a military matter and will be handled." Coal, or whoever was behind the wheel at the moment spoke. "You can be assured that she will see hell soon enough."

Coal barged passed Yang who was too stunned at the sudden change in not only his eyes but what felt like his entire aura. The rage that pulsated from his centre was enough to push the blonde brawler to the side as the boy took his leave leaving Ruby to explain in more detail what had happened.

It was a quick tale to tell really.

She left the dance for some air, spotted someone moving across some rooftops, followed said shadow up to the tower and was jumped. Ironwood interrupted just in time and less than a minute later she was surrounded by two new strangers. One baring a shoulder flask of alcohol engraved with the number 5 (V) who she later found out was Coals best friend from the squad, Ruin, and another much older gentleman in a doctor's lab coat with the number 2 (II) stitched onto the lower left side. That person had turned out to be another of Coal's squad mates called Lucian, though he had responded to another name that had been used only once during the entire time they were with her. A name that for the life of her, Ruby couldn't remember.

After that she explained what happened when she was summoned to the headmaster's office where she once again explained her story of what happened last night and told the headmaster what she knew but when it came to the part about the girl with the mask, Ruby was cut off by the general and was unable to tell the headmaster about that detail. A statement which confused the rest of her team.

"I don't get why it seems neither Coal or General Ironwood want the headmaster to know about that girl." Weiss hummed pondering the question over in her mind. She never really knew a great deal about her twin's life as a soldier but now she had more questions than she had ever had before. "Just who is she?"

"Ruby said that the only weapon she had as a claw, similar to that of a Grimm, on her right hand as well as a gauntlet." Yang described remembering her sister's story well. "Anything else you can remember sis?"

"Now that I think about it… The gauntlet reminded me of Coal's. You know, the first one he used before we upgraded it?"

"He's had that thing for years." Weiss informed. "Though now that I think about it, he only started using ice made weapons just after her joined the military…" She continued pausing to think about the situation more deeply.

"What?"

"I wonder if Coal was used to be close to her." Weiss voiced exactly what Blake was thinking silently about. "It would explain why he didn't want to get us involved if they had a bit of a falling out. Ge would know better than anyone if she is dangerous."

"So you think he's not telling us anything just to protect us?" Yang said unconvinced.

"It's more than that." Blake spoke for the first time since she had seen what remains of the dust embedded in his back. "As far as I know, Coal and his old squad are like a family. For him to have that kind of response to knowing that someone he once considered family is alive? It can't be a good relationship, especially if she gave him that bruise you mentioned before Weiss. All things considered, I doubt this will be the last time we run in to her if she is indeed after Coal."

"She said that she tried to take his body once…" Ruby mumbled recalling what information she could. Blake gave the young huntress a look that spoke of anger and betrayal. "Not in that way Blake. When she was choking me, I felt her inside my head, like she was overtaking my own mind."

"She's a ghost." A voice spoke from the doorway. The girls turned to see Coal standing in the doorway this time fully dressed in his combat gear, his gun hanging from his waist and gauntlet ready and waiting. "I'm sorry you all got dragged into this but I'm asking you all now, please, if you come across her at all, run the other way."

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Yang bellowed.

"Please." Coal spoke so softly that he almost sounded like he was begging. "Don't get involved." From behind Coal in the hallway a man patted the boy on the back as he walked by.

"Let's go Runt." Ruin said as he kept on walking. "We got a ghost to bust." Coal grinned as he followed the man away once again leaving team RWBY confused and silent.

"We aren't really going to just let this go right?" Weiss asked the team finally breaking the silence.

"Aw hell naw!" Yang grinned smacking her fists together.

"Nope!" Ruby bounced like a child.

Blake only offered a grunt and a roll of her eyes towards the Schnee who suggested something so stupid as Yang suddenly remembered that she and her sister had received a parcel from their father.


"Today we stand together, United." Professor Ozpin addressed to the first-year students of Beacon gathered in the amphitheatre. All the first-year student had been requested to attend a quick formal send off for their first official missions presented by the headmaster. The only student not standing with the rest, was Coal.

He stood in the shadows up in the rafters of the hall overlooking the whole first year student body as well as the headmaster and several teachers of beacon. Standing, or rather sitting, beside him, was his closest friend for his days as a soldier. Ruin.

"Damn does that guy ever drone on." The oldest male groaned once again drinking from the shoulder flask which bore his number. "And does he ever just shut up?"

"He may say a lot but at the same time he never says more than what is needed." Coal remarked getting a hum of agreeance from Ruin.

"Very true. He probably already knew about something or other in the south east and needed an excuse to send someone there."

"So, all I need is a mission in the south east."

"Then I fly us out there and conduct business."

"Just like old times." Coal grinned fist bumping the man. "Going behind Ironwood's back once again."

"As I have said, today we stand together. United." Ozpin continued uninterrupted from the quiet scheming from above. Little did the soldiers know that he had already spotted them long ago and presumed that they would already be planning something behind their superiors back. "But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it."

"Peace doesn't exist in this world." Ruin mumbled.

"If it did, you and I would be out of a job." Coal agreed feeling his scroll buzz. Upon checking the message, he found that Pyrrha had messaged him for some reason. And she seemed annoyed from the context of her message.

'Where are U? U missed breakfast? Wht did U do 2 Jaune? He called U an amazing detective/genius in front of the school for no reason!?'

Coal smirked and chose only to reply to the spartan with a simple smiley face and look around the room below him. It wasn't long before he spotted the blond and red hair colours of Jaune and Pyrrha once again standing side by side so close that their shoulders were almost touching. He could see that Pyrrha looked rather worried about Jaune, taking curious glances at the blond every so often who kept his head low and avoided eye contact with the girl as much as humanly possible. Coal smirked knowing that Jaune had made good on their little bet and respected the knight more so for taking such a big leap towards the first step in any emotional discovery.

Acceptance.

"However, no matter which path you choose," Ozpin carried on building up to his final words. "Remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

As the headmaster left the stage, Coal thumped his buddy on the shoulder before jumping down from the rafters and quietly falling into the rest of the first-year crowd unseen approaching the mission boards. Specifically, for his favourite assignments, search and destroy. He was surprised to find team RWBY already there trying to sign up for a mission in the south east already. Those girls were quick. Though disheartened when they failed to qualify for the mission because they were first years.

"I thought I told you to let this south-east business go and not get involved." Coal spoke with authority catching the girls by surprise.

"You don't get to decide what mission we go on." Yang spat back. After hearing the story her sister told about what took place last night, as well his outburst earlier, Yang once again had trouble trusting Coal. She had seen him fight enough to know that he was dangerous but now he knew a lot more information than he was willing to share. He knew who attacked her sister and refused to share it under what his twin thought to be for their sake. Yang had a sneaking suspicion that the soldier was only trying to protect himself by not getting them involved. If that were to happen, his two lives would collide and she suspected that a lot of Coal's secrets would come out into the open and reveal just who he was behind that happy go lucky childish grin that he always seemed to have.

"Doesn't matter anyway, you can't sign up for it." Coal remarked grinning.

"We could mail ourselves there!" Ruby suggested unfazed by the boy's appearance. A sight that didn't go unnoticed by anyone else. Ruby had been avoiding Coal as much as possible up until this point so why the sudden change?

Blake on the other hand was plagued with other thoughts. She had already heard a few stories about some of the people Coal had worked with in the past. She was rather looking forward to meet the rest of them at some point but after Ruby's story, she felt rather isolated. She had no idea why Coal had suddenly gone into a rage induced state after hearing about some woman from his past was still alive. She wondered why Coal had never mentioned her before and what exactly the relationship between them was.

"Well that's one option." Ozpins voice carried from behind Coal. "Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first year students." The headmaster then shared a knowing look with both Coal and Ruby before continuing. "It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that the six of you will make your way there no matter which job you choose."

"Err… Six?" Ruby asked doing a quick headcount using her fingers. She gave up after the third try having ended up with five people each time. Herself, Weiss, Yang, Blake and Coal. she hoped that the headmaster wasn't including the small lifeform tucked away inside her backpack.

"Mr. Valiant, isn't that your companion up there, drinking endlessly in the ceiling?" Ozpin smirked glancing up as did all five students, all to see the sight of a twenty five year old man without shoes dancing along the beams wearing Coal's headphones and drinking from a shoulder flask that never seemed to end.

Coal groaned and lowered his head into a hand trying to look like he didn't know the man. "I can't leave you alone for two damn seconds Ruin…" Blake recognised the name that her boyfriend had used.

"Ruin? Wasn't he your partner back in the military?" The Faunus asked recognising the man as the same one who dropped off the young girl Angel for Coal to baby sit.

"I have no idea who that man is or why he is here." Coal defended offering his usual childish grin fooling nobody and only annoying Blake further. She would not be taking any more lies no matter how little they were.

"Despite your record Mr. Valiant, I cannot permit you to undergo that assignment either, not without a full team to accompany you. Even with the added benefit of bring your, let's just say, rather entertaining friend." Ozpin smirked, he had read up on some of the missions that the two had undergone in the past and found the results rather amusing. No matter where they went, something would always end up in ruins be it building, people, landmarks or even entire villages. "And knowing your own personal record about breaking and bending rules to suit your purpose, as well as the rest of your rather… Underhanded methods." Coal could only whistle innocently in response. "Coupled with the righteous wills of team RWBY who I have no doubt in my mind would rival your devotion to breaking rules." This time only the girls could whistle innocently. Not that they were planning of going behind the headmasters back in the first place. "Why don't we just bend them right now."

Ozpin pressed a few buttons on his scroll. Only seconds went by before the mission board lit up once again to show that Team RWBY was assigned to the search and destroy mission in the south east. This action gained smiles from each of the girls.

"We won't let you down." Ruby proclaimed. "Thank you, professor."

"Do not thank me for this." The headmaster countered quickly. "Teamwork and persistence have carried you far, but you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the kingdom will not care. You need only ask Mr. Valiant to understand the truth in that." Coal opened his mouth to argue and question exactly what the headmaster meant but quickly stopped himself and looked away with a twisted expression. He knew exactly what the old man was implying. "For that matter, I am also assigning Coal as an addition to team RWBY for this mission, I understand that his… experiences, could be found useful in this particular area of assignment. Meaning that you have full superiority Ms. Rose." Ruby chuckled awkwardly at the notion. "Though the huntsman you shall be shadowing does have the authority to take command should either one of you seem unfit, ill-qualified or immature at any point of the mission duration. You could even be sent home after the first few minutes should you pose a danger to the mission, or your team."

The headmaster took his leave after his rather heavy speech. The girls, more so Ruby for being responsible for not only her team but also an extra person now, all felt like they were slightly in over their heads. Coal however merely yawned uninterested. He had heard better threats. And received far worse punishments for being unprepared for a mission.

"That wasn't exactly uplifting." Yang broke the silence as the five teens headed out to the airship Ruin had secured for the mission. While Ruby appreciated the company of someone laid back and upbeat, Coal knew that the man was only tagging along because of orders. Ironwood had ordered Coal to be monitored by someone and Ruin volunteered for that role instantly thinking that it would be the best way to ensure that the boy was safer and also able to chase after their old ghost of a teammate.

"But it's the truth." Blake agreed secretly keeping an eye on her boyfriend lagging behind the group of girls. She was still curious as to why Coal hid so much of his life from her, not that she openly revealed everything about her past willingly either, but the woman Ruby had mentioned, the one who seemed obsessed with Coal, had to mean something. But what?

"It's gonna be tough but I know we can do it." Ruby tried to keep an upbeat attitude despite the hollow air.

"Hey! Team Coffee is back!" The announcement from a random student gained the attention of the teens. Coal was the first to reach the exhausted second years who had just returned from a mission which had taken up weeks of their time.

"Vel!" Coal called out sliding to a stop right beside the rabbit Faunus. "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine, I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." Velvet replied in a soft smile hiding her tiredness as best she could. Coal easily saw through the illusion as the others caught up with him.

"Your mission was supposed to end a week ago." Weiss stated also seeing the girl's effort to hide her tiredness. She had seen Coal with that same look far too many times after he returned from training with his squad. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened… it was just, there were just so many…" Velvet trailed off slightly before doing a complete one eighty and reaching into her bag. She pulled out a hand full of maps with some scribbles and marks, returning them to Coal. "Your maps were pretty helpful. They helped us avoid a few of the bigger packs along the way. Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Coal smiled taking the maps back from the girl and placing them in his own small bag upon his back. He preferred to travel light and only had three days' worth of supplies in a small single strap bag that hung over his shoulder and covered his once family symbol on the back of his coat. "If you ever need another scouting report, I've always got one for pretty much everywhere."

Behind them, Yang had to nudge Blake to stop her low irritated growling over that stupid smile the rabbit Faunus had on her face when talking to Coal. Not to mention that Coal was too dense to realise that he could be far too nice to everyone at this school and that he would unknowingly end up lightly flirting with everyone.

"I might just need to take you up on that offer sometime." Velvet giggle, infuriating Blake even further. "You heading out on a mission as well."

"Yes." Blake answered glaring at the Faunus unintentionally. Velvet was actually a really nice girl and the two quickly hit it off as friends but Blake wasn't happy to begin with and now she was just in a worse mood. "We are."

"That's great, you first years will be just shadowing huntsmen so you shouldn't have too much to handle this time around." Velvet smiled unfazed by the glare. She knew that Coal could be too nice for his own good sometimes and only had the intention to help people. Plus, and from what she had heard about what happened between the two at the dance, she figured that Blake had no reason to be worried about Coal breaching her trust. Yet she had no idea about anything else. "You'll all be fine. I should go and catch up with my team. Enjoy your first mission!"

As the Faunus ran off to join with the rest of her team, Coal turned back around to receive a glare worthy of putting men into an early grave from his girlfriend.

"What did I do now?" Coal questioned unable to fathom what it was now.

"Nothing." Blake said flatly.

"You two aren't gonna have a domestic on this mission, are you?" A voice called out from afar.

"Shut it Ruin!" Coal launched back spotting the man by an allotment of airships which a few teams had already boarded with their huntsmen. When the teen reached the man and the ship they would be taking, they noticed some minor differences with their airship compared with the rest. For one, it was engraved with the letter (or number) V. "We're using your ship?"

"I aint flying one of those stock hunks of junk." Ruin scoffed patting his personal bulkhead. "I don't cheat on my lady."

"So, we are going to be fighting alongside a genuine huntsman and two soldiers?" Weiss asked hopefully.

"Nah, you guys only get one huntsman and half a soldier." Ruin shrugged, chuckling slightly at the small dig at his old companion. "I'm only here to watch over the Runt."

"Fuck you Rupert." Coal shot at the man.

"Don't call me Rupert you fucking Runt!" Ruin shot back.

"Don't call me Runt, Rupert!" Coal wanted to argue further, reminiscing in an old tradition before setting out on a mission with his old friend but unfortunately for him, Blake yanked on his ear harder than usual stopping him for partaking in the shouting match. Much to Ruin's joy at seeing the boy so whipped.

"So, who's our huntsman anyway?" Yang asked also enjoying the way Blake reigned in her man. Ruin checked his scroll having hacked into the academy network to find out the mission details as well as the personal his baby would be carrying.

"According to this… Professor Bartholomew Oobleck."

"AAAHCHOO!" Coal sneezed breaking out of the tight grip of his girlfriend. "Why do I smell dog?"

"Oh, that would be Ruby's dog Zwei!" Weiss gleefully bounced in place. "Her father mailed him here so that they could take care of him while he's away or something. No need to worry, he is still in the room, there might just be some dog hair on our clothes or something."

"Fair enough." Cola shrugged pulling out a tissue and blowing his nose before it interfered with his sense of smell. For someone who took pride in observation and knowing all the possible dangers around him, he never saw the small shuffling from inside Ruby's backpack containing the small bundle of fur that was indeed Zwei. "AAHCHOO! Just keep that thing away from my stuff and if I find that the mutt has been in my room, I will burn it to the ground."


So, I know it has been a long, long, long time since I updated this fic but please be patient with me you kind loving people. This chapter was super hard to write as I wanted to include so much info without getting to heavy on the info at the same time. Also, since I probably won't be getting around to a prequel any time soon here is a little snippet I've taken from Coal's days with the executioners.

Enjoy!


Training.

Day in and day out. It was all they ever seemed to do at the moment.

Coal, still a teenager in every right had no reason to be stuck in the simulator at his squad's HQ running basic training programs with the latest recruit. He should be out there at arcades, the beach, parks doing something other than stand and watch the latest recruit as she swiped at the holograms and robots with that claw shaped gauntlet of hers.

Coal would admit though, she had skills.

Agile and boosted with an agility to match his own both on the ground and in the air, twisting and turning around and through opponents with ease. She was still nowhere near his level but she was improving quickly. He knew he saw her untapped potential when he found her. It looked like bringing her in was a good choice after all.

"How is she fairing up Runt?" A deep hollow voice asked from behind Coal. The boy was not surprised by his superior's appearance, he heard the man approach from a mile away as he stepped up side by side with the boy. Coal needed to mask the distaste upon smelling the horrible smell of burnt flesh from either a Grimm, animal or possible a person emitting from the man's equipment and weapon.

Coal looked to his left to see his superior officer by a single rank standing at attention, a stance that the man was far too comfortable in for it to be just natural. His black trench coat hanging low almost to the ground covering most of his body. Black hair cut military short and a set of deep dark blue eyes watching the latest recruit's movements with intrigue and judgment.

Coal also noticed that the man's hands twitched behind his back, ready to grasp the simple yet deadly scythe hanging from his back should the moment be necessary. Coal knew full well the damage that the weapon could cause. He had been on the receiving end of that blade too many times when he himself had been trained to fight by this very man when he first joined the squad.

"She's okay. Though I really don't like how I drew the short straw on training her this week." Coal informed returning his attention to the recruit. "Maybe good enough for the mantle of our number ten?"

"She appears reckless." The man spoke once more in a hollow deathly tone. "Emotional, driven by something."

"Revenge I figure." Coal shrugged. "It's a good focus point."

"I taught you better than that Runt."

"Will you all stop calling me that name?!" Coal barked.

"Don't like it, then do something about it, Runt." The man insulted again placing a hand on the stem of the scythe wanting, hoping that the boy would try something stupid again. Coal did no such thing, having learned that lesson of picking his fights long ago. "Revenge doesn't grant you anything bar a fast trip to seeing hell."

"Yeah, yeah I know." Coal sighed. "Ruin keeps reminding me."

"That man is right, you should consider letting go of your hate and anger sooner rather than later." The man chuckled releasing his grip on his weapon. "Heck you will never find someone to settle down with if you keep trying to scare everyone you know half to death!"

"Shut the fuck up Cobalt!" Coal spat at the man whose dark blue eyes only burnt with childish joy as he laughed in a low rumble. "One of these days I'm gonna kill you myself."

"I'd like to see you try Runt!"

End