The black head of the King Taijitu dashed forward, almost too fast for Velvet to dodge out of the way. The head, on the contrary, swiftly slithered around Yatsuhashi. He wasted no time in leaping into the air over the Taijutu, arching his sword behind his back and bringing it down onto the thick hide of his half of the creature. Velvet, in a precarious move, leapt upward as the Black Taijitu attempted to strike once more, tightly clutching one of its large fangs for support as she performed a barrel roll onto its head. Velvet, with an idea in mind, clawed into the head of the Taijitu for stability, then whipped out her camera. After carefully aiming, she managed to take a picture of Yatsuhashi's weapon. She slammed it back into it's resting place, then made short work of summoning a Hard-Light Copy of his greatsword. She released her grip on the Grimm's head, slashing where her hand had just been.

While it was stunned, she began to run down the length of its body, hacking and slashing with her blade. Ousting her summon, she leapt off of the Taijitu's body, summoning Kandase's throwing knives in the process. Landing in a crouching position, she accurately threw three of them into the face of her enemy. They exploded, causing the Grimm to hiss and retract its head. This also caught the attention of Yatsuhashi, who looked over and offered a look of approval. Upon noticing, Velvet couldn't help but smile at the silent admiration. She ousted her current weapon and, in an effort to save her energy, charged at the Black head with only her fists as weapons.

Velvet primed herself, then leapt to face the Taijitu at eye-level once more. The creature snapped once more, an attack that Velvet's sharpened reflexes were able to narrowly dodge. As she recovered herself midair from the dodge, she lifted one of her legs and thrust her heels into the red eye of the Grimm. It howled in pain, giving Velvet ample time to use its head a springboard and leap even further into the air. Once there, she gave herself a sense of Deja Vu as she summoned a Hard-Light copy of Icarina's Bow and three arrows. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and shot the arrows in rapid succession. The first landed in the remaining eye of the Black Taijitu head, shattering upon impact. The second landed square where Velvet had leaped from on the base of the Taijitu's skull. The third encased the beast's head in a large block of ice, sending it falling to the ground where it lay dormant. Velvet leaned forward, using her Semblance to form a spear-tipped boot around her right leg.

I never imagined I'd be using any form of this again. Then again, I suppose I should thank Kandase. If it weren't for her, I would never have been able to find a...less self-destructive form of it. If this works, I suppose I'll have to thank her for it.Velvet leaned forward even more so, sending her body into a front flip. Once she was just over the block of ice encasing the Black Taijitu's head, Velvet reared her leg, then thrust it forward against the ice.

She amassed the surrounding area in a fog from the explosion of ice. She ousted the copy on her leg, then quickly looked through the fog, trying to get her bearings. The first thing she saw was the blocks of ice around her, slowly melting as a result of the decaying chunks of Grimm flesh inside. The black half of the King Taijitu lay limp. She turned, then saw Yatsuhashi slowly turning in a circle, desperately trying to cut through the fog with his eyes. Almost immediately after, she saw the remaining head of the beast begin to lurk up behind him, from an elevation that would have limited his vision of the creature.

"It's behind you!" She cried out. Without another beat, he turned on his heels and raised his blade over his head.

Just as quickly as he brought it up, he swung it in a heavy downward motion, an amplified variation to his previous attack. Velvet watched in awe as his strike cut through the fog, sending up a shockwave of air and earth towards his opponent. As the attack reached its target, it easily bisected the remaining Taijitu. Its two halves began to dissolve before they even hit their own respective patches of ground. Yatsuhashi took a deep breath, then dropped to his knees, using his sword as a support to stay upright. Velvet rushed over and knelt with her fighting companion.

"Are you alright?" She asked, offering Yatsuahashi a hand. He took a deep breath, then calmly waved her away. After another deep breath, he uprighted himself. His light-green Aura began to glow, and the cuts and scratches across his body began to disappear as a result. He looked at Velvet, eyes narrowing as his gaze drifted downwards onto her clothes.

"Where did you come from?" He asked suspiciously.

Velvet looked down at herself, then gasped when she realized she was still donning the dress of White Fang members. "It...It isn't what you think."

"No, I believe it is exactly what I think. I think you're a misguided girl who had her eyes opened to the reality of what she was a part of and took the first opportunity that was presented to her to get out. I think it looks like, before me, is a Faunus who is seeking life anew."

Shocked by how perceptive Yatsuhashi had made himself in their first meeting, Velvet ducked her head in emabarrassment and warily nodded. Yatsuhashi was silent, and remained so until Velvet lifted her head up to meet his gaze.

Huh. I suppose he is a bit taller than Kandase. She surmised.

"Would you like me to escort you into the city? It is the least I can do, for your helping me."

Velvet rubbed her arm, unsure how to respond to this spontaneous act of kindness. Finally, she settled with "I would appreciate that."

"It's going to be a daunting task if you are dressed in those clothes, however. Perhaps you would like to change?"

Velvet looked down at herself once more, then gasped in revelation as she slipped the straps of the backpack Kandase had given to her from around her shoulders and into her hands. She pulled the buckle of the black receptacle to see that there were several articles of clothing and survival equipment inside. "Yes...Yes, I do."

After Velvet had arranged for Yatsuhashi to stand behind a tree facing away from her, she had extracted a set of the outfit that Kandase had evidently designed for her. Once she was wearing it, she couldn't help but admit that it was quite the stylish upgrade as compared to her brown form-fitting jacket with yellow stripes and leggings during her days in Valkryite.

Kandase had provided Velvet's wardrobe with a dramatic fashion change, Yet managed to keep the essence of her original outfit. She had provided Velvet with a short, long-sleeved brown jacket with a golden zipper running down the center, along with brown shorts containing a golden detail to complement her black leggings(of which Kandase provided a new pair) Along with this was a sleek black, semi-translucent undershirt. Along with these fashionable changes, Kandase had remembered to place in tactical armor enhancements as well. Within the backpack were brand-new sets of golden spaulders and vambraces for both of her arms, as well as a belt similar in style to them. Her heel and toe were likewise protected by such garments that had been provided to match the previously mentioned articles of armor.

While she was looking over her new outfit, she couldn't help but notice a small patch that had found its way onto her chest. She ran her hand across it. It looked as if it had been sewn on by hand. The batch was the same shade of brown as her outfit, with a golden border to match the details on her shorts. In the center was a golden heart, apparently held together by heavy stitching. Upon inspecting her other jackets, Velvet realized that Kandase had placed this patch on all of her jackets. Unsure of the exact meaning, she had dug around in the backpack for an answer. It was at the bottom of the bag that Velvet found a letter that Kandase addressed to her.

Her name was written in quick, small handwriting across the front of the sheet of paper, which was in itself a crumpled mess after bearing the stress and weight of its armor coinhabitants and being thrown around. Despite the wrinkles, Velvet opened the paper and began to read what it was that Kandase had felt was important to tell her. She looked back to see if Yatsuhashi had kept his end of the promise that he made to Velvet. It was a pleasant surprise to see him where he had remained, back leaned against the tree, facing away from her.

She turned back, the red petals falling around her, and began to narrate in her mind what it was that Kandase had written to her.

Hey!

If you're reading this, then you made the right choice. You got out while you still could. I know I'm not one to tell you such (sarcasm, there. I can't turn it off!), but I'm proud of you, Velvet. You really are just like everyone would tell me that you'd be. A great ball of fluff and innocence caught up in a world that is out of its damn mind. Only the gods know how, but, despite everything you've been through, everything that you've had to do and all the crap that you've seen over the past few months, you still kept your morality, your humanity (Well, as much as us Fauna can have. Sorry, stupid joke. Hehe). That's really admirable to me, and it goes to show how mature you are. I know that things have been a bit tough over that time (They'll probably stay that tough as you go through the recovery process. I know how those images, those people lost along the way, stay with you for a while, maybe forever. Those feelings won't beat you, but it'll be hell to get through it. Just know that, though we're apart, I'm rooting for you, Velvet Scarlatina! I know that, no matter what the world hurls at you, no matter how many times you get the living crap kicked out of you, you're always the one who gets back up the fastest and the tallest. That point brings me to the patches. Well, I started off with only one, obviously. I sort of just had it. It had no meaning to me, at least... not until you came along. I saw you when I looked at that little heart. For a time, I couldn't figure out why. After a while, it hit me. The heart was yours. You'd been hurt and screwed with so many times in your life. yet, it seems like every time that it happened, you would simply pull out a needle and Stitch your own heart back together, no matter what happened to you, no matter how traumatic. I know you never told me why you did that, or even if you knew that you did that, but I have a theory. You were so driven by your need to help people buy your conscience it wasn't in your nature to leave someone behind or care only about yourself. no matter how much of an awful person they were, or how undeserving they were of your affections in your attention and your care, you would always be there for them sticking your neck out even when you were sure that they wouldn't do it for you. your heart is whole, velvet, and it's only that way because you have the strength to pull yourself together after every time you've been hurt. that's why I want to give you these patches. That's why I went to the best seamstress that I know and I had her make copies of it so that anytime you would look down over your heart you would be reminded everything that you've been through and your resilience through it all. I wish that I would have been able to tell you all this in person, but I guess this was Fate's way of giving us the finger huh? One more thing, I just wanted to tell you that no matter where you go in life no matter what you do, you've already made me more proud than anyone else ever has. I sincerely hope that we meet each other again, but if we don't, I want to thank you for showing me that there is still some light left in this world, that there is still some things worth fighting for, still risking my life for. I'll never forget that, just like I'll never forget you. OK, I should probably stop getting all mushy. I need to keep up my image after all. Hehe, sorry, had to get one more joke in for the road since we probably aren't going to be seeing each other for a while. Until we meet again, Somewhere down the road.

Never Stray from your Heart's Path, Velvet

Kandase

Velvet had to wipe her eyes to keep from having tears drop onto the parchment. She folded the paper once more, replacing it in the black backpack. She rounded the corner to find Yatsuhashi still diligently standing behind the tree where he would not be able to see anything. Velvet sniffled a small bit, wiping her tearstained hands on her leggings in an attempt to alleviate the wet substance from them.

"Are you alright, Miss... Velvet?" He asked in a tranquil tone, likely just recalling that Velvet hadn't told him her last name.

"Yes, Yatsu... hashi. And I'm alright if you just call me 'Velvet'." She replied, looking up at him with a smile.

"And I'm alright with you calling me 'Yatsu'." He said, giving Velvet enough reason to giggle in a manner that someone had not brought on her for an extremely long joke before then. Her laugh put a smile of innocence on his face, giving her even more reason to grin. "I suppose it would be in our best interests to be on our way to the city walls." He began to walk when Velvet called out to him.

"Why did the Grimm attack you? What were you doing out here all alone?"

"Well, the Forest of Forever Fall always made me feel the most at peace. I often come here to meditate and expel any bad energies from my Aura. In retrospect, I imagine that the expulsion of any negativity would make me attractive to those creatures."

Velvet jogged forward to Yatsuhashi's side, craning her neck to get a look at his expression. He noticed, and cocked his gaze back at Velvet. "I know it's not my place to ask, but are you planning on meeting anyone in the city?"

Feeling that he was a trustable individual, she slipped her bag around once more, now realizing she had somehow missed the address that Kandase had mentioned before. Her first few seconds of searching fruitless, she became desperate and began checking for any hidden pockets within the bag.

Then, the one true solution hit her harder than a charging Deathstalker. She retrieved Kandase's letter, taking a closer look. There, in the margins of the letter, sat the address. She recited the cipher to Yatsuhashi, who listened intently for a moment before his face lit up. "I know where that is. It's a restaurant."

"That's what my friend told me as well. It was a restaurant, somewhere in something called the...Commercial District?" Velvet recalled. Her rural lifestyle made her foreign to the ideas of major cities and Districts.

"Yes. The Commercial District. It's just north of us, past the Kingdom Walls. I can take you there if you want."

"Please. I'd rather not navigate through such a strange urban jungle alone."

They soon reached the entrance to the city which was, to Velvet's surprise and relief, unguarded. The two walked through, and Velvet couldn't shake the feeling that she was quite literally walking out of one chapter of her life and proceeding to the next.