Approximately a hundred Atlesian grunts could be seen marching across the red dyed wheat field, a scouting party. The soldiers disregarded the severed body parts their fleets stomped over. The smell of burning and rotting flesh was strong; the corpses were piled on top of each other and burned. Though most of the officers now stationed in the Henan ruins were used to such a foul stench, even they couldn't help but cringe at the gory sight. The rooks were required to wear helmets with air-scrubbers to keep them from gagging too much. Winter was recovering within a docked transporter, an Atlesian military base was quickly erected and reinforcements were flooding in. The fugitive hunted by the three governments was still in this land, and now, what could've been the best news for Winter was now one filled with shame and degradation. For years she spent the bulk of her time hunting down the Arc knight for murdering her sister, but to find out she was still alive. How could she betray her family and aid the rebels that crumbled an entire kingdom. But then, it would explain how the rebels knew how to operate Atlesian weaponry after raiding Valen military posts. The question remained; should her father know? He already had the burden of burying the majority of his family to the White Fang, but to know that his daughter worked side by side with them to overthrow a kingdom would surely end the old man. Either way, now that Winter knew her sister was alive, there would be many questions in the days ahead, and just as equally; blood spilled.
-Runa Village-
By dawn the defenses were completed, and men were shifting between guards. Their arsenal consisted of six dozen machine guns, a few light tanks, three artillery guns, and about five hundred bolt action dust and tracer rifles. Swords, spears and bows were handed out to those without a rifle. Coco and Emerald finished giving the men brief training and rejoined the now asleep Neo with her children cuddled beside her.
"So, what now?" Emerald asked, unsure if they should leave the villagers so soon. Coco on the other hand retrieved the slip from within her breastplate and pointed to the dense forest of Runa. "I asked one of the villagers, they say the only person who lives on Mt. Runa is a woman by the name of Natasha. The locals say she saved the village from a few raiders over the years." Coco then proceeded to try and wake the sleeping woman up, while Emerald kept her eyes to the now guarded village entrance in hopes that, if the Atlesians attacked, Jaune would be here. As the sleeping woman awoke, she was met with the huntress from the day before, not exactly the face she wanted to see in the morning, but a new friend was better than an old enemy. She glanced around and saw how quickly the two villages came together to prepare for any attack. It wasn't common, but one of the best traits of these people; setting aside squabbles to deal with a much larger problem head-on. The light tanks were being moved to hilltops, their tracks creating dust clouds and making quite a ruckus. After waking the kids, the small group departed from the village and upwards to the hidden home within the mountains. The women had little to no idea what to expect from this unknown friend of Jaune's, perhaps the bigger question; was she also a member of the Coalition or a loyal Valen? With Jaune, there was no way of telling. The man had a knack for making friends even with an enemy.
After a half an hour hike, they saw the cottage hidden within the thickets near the edge of Mt. Runa, overlooking the entire forest. From this distance, they could also see what remained of Henan, now an Atlesian outpost. Noa kept hoping that his friends managed to escape, but judging by the carnage for which his mother tried desperately to shield his eyes from, those optimistic hopes crumbled painfully. When they approached the door to the cottage, no one could find the courage to knock. They didn't know who or what would be expecting them, nor did they believe a warm welcome would come from someone protecting Valens.
"Ok, Emerald, go knock." Coco suggested, Neo nodded approvingly.
"M-me?! Why not you?" The minty-haired girl protested.
"Because I got the directions, now you have to do your part!" The two began arguing, loudly, and annoyingly. So much that it caused Noa to approach the door himself, after all if his father suggested this person, why would harm come to them? As he knocked he heard a pair of feet running across a wooden floor, getting louder and louder until.
"Mom?!" It swung open to reveal the girl he met the night before; Adelheid. It only took a second for the girl to recognize Noa, and even shorter for another blush to arise. "W-w-w-what are y-y-y-you doing here..." No matter how hard she tried, her words kept lumping atop one another in an effort to come out simultaneously. Though just as Noa was about to answer she slammed the door in his face. Just then it opened again, this time the same thing from last night happened, she opened the door, bowed her head and apologized while also accidentally slamming her own head onto his and closing the door, yet again delivering a painful blow to the pink-haired boy. He turned to those waiting for him whilst caressing his wounded nose, all of them looked to him with sympathetic smiles. With an annoyed groan, he knocked again. Not outraged, but just impatient. "Hey, Adelheid, we're not here to cause trouble, my dad gave us a map that led us to this house. He said our parents are friends, I promise we won't cause you any trouble. So can we please come in, if not me then at least let my family in."
There was a momentary silence before the door opened slowly, Adelheid hid halfway behind the door. Hesitantly, the young girl allowed the newcomers to enter her home. Her whole life in Runa, the people always talked down on the Atlesians and Villagers from Henan, but last night the people of Runa helped the injured survivors. She didn't know how to feel about these people, especially towards Noa. Although only meeting him a day prior, she couldn't rid him from her thoughts. Nor could she account the motivation she had to so casual speak to him the first time. The newcomers entered, though Noa entered last as to have a quick word with her. "Look, I'm sorry if I did anything in any way to make you mad at me yesterday. Why don't we start over, I'm Noa Beildschmidt." He offered his hand again.
Adelheid was speechless, she never imagined him doing anything to offend her, although her accidental head-butts might've caused such a misunderstanding. And while she wanted to clear the misunderstanding between them, her hands were trembling when trying to grasp his palm. When she finally did, she shut her eyes and spoke rapidly. "MynameisAdelheid! Nicetomeetyou!" This time, before she bowed, the girl made sure she didn't have another 'accident'. She couldn't face him in the eye, and she tried to end their conversation quickly; yep, she hated him. And he didn't even know why, again. Although for those from afar, this situation was all too easy to read. Neo had no qualms with a girl liking her son for the fact that the boy was so dense he'd never be able to respond properly. Blake was thinking of what kind of cliché romance scenarios she could play out this time; all the while the two women were surprised the boy inherited such an unfortunate trait from his father.
Though for the most part of the day, they all sat in the living room and conversed. It was quite an unusually seating arrangement, there were three couches in the living; counting down the seats from three to one. Coco sat in the lone couch. Emerald, Neo and Blake sat on the three person couch, leaving the last two seats to the already tense kids. Noa and Adelheid sat beside each other, though in the moments that for some reason they bumped ever so slightly, Noa would tense up, and Adelheid would blush lightly. It was kind of cute, and to be fair Noa didn't have many close female friends. Truthfully, Adelheid couldn't say she had any. Her mother kept a firm hold on her lifestyle and the people she socialized with. She was never like this when her father was around. Perhaps the loss was more than she could handle, and risking her little one wasn't an option she ever considered. The women of Runa sometimes came around but the kids in the village hardly ever came near her. Interactions with other kids her age wasn't something she was used to, especially one this close to her. If her mother saw this, there's no telling how badly she would scar Noa mentally. All the while, Noa himself was busy averting eye contact with his sister, and especially his mother. While he could easily disregard Blake's smutty imagination, what he feared most was his mother's protective attitude. The only girls his mother actually allowed him near were; a childhood friend from Henan and his own baby sister. Noa stole glances at the girl beside him, she was cute, no argument there, but understanding how he continuously angered her was frustrating to say the least. He sighed heavily, too tired from yesterday's hike to ponder this problem. When placing his hands down on the couch, he felt something long and somewhat fluffy. All the while he was unaware of an increasing blush on the girl next to him. He continued to investigate this sudden soft fluff until he eventually pulled it, causing a loud help from Adelheid. Noa glanced to the deeply blushing girl who was on the verge of tears, "Can you please let go...of my tail?" She asked while avoiding eye contact. Noa stared at the object in his grasp, a long white and lightly fluffy tail. It twirled a bit before Noa released his hold; Adeheild caressed her tail whilst hiding her crimson red blush. "Pervert." she whispered.
"Big brother is a pervert." Blake stated, to which the women around her nodded with blank expressions.
"H-h-hey! It was an accident!" Noa argued, to no avail.
"Who could've raised such a child is beyond me." Emerald commented, receiving a nod from Neo.
"That's not funny, mom!" Noa shouted, though not too loud as he knew what would occur had he not watched his voice level around her, again. By now the boy was deeply embarrassed, combined with an angered expression earned a small round of laughs from the group.
These antics were new in this house, and in some way, Adelheid was willing to ignore this lewd act on the account that it was because these people knew her mother. And they brought something that was somewhat nonexistent in this house after her father left; laughter.
As for the women, they were relieved that the girl was a Faunus. This meant whoever her parents were, more than likely they were ex-Coalition too. "So, sweetie, you're a Faunus? Where might your parents be?" Coco asked.
Almost instantly, Adelheid's face went blank, though with the proper manners her mother taught her, she answered the woman's question. "My mother departed yesterday morning to the village of Henan. I haven't seen her since, and my father...he is...gone." Her eyes avoided any form of contact, and her words escaped carefully as if she tried her best to hold back her feelings. Noa picked up on her tone, she lost her father, and she was no older than he was. How cruel this world truly is, most of the kids he knew had either one or no parent. But then, in this day and age it's as common as a village massacre. The boy knew better than to tread on this subject any further. But those with him did not.
"What was your father like?" Emerald asked this time.
Noa inwardly face-palmed, although he wasn't quick to pick up on flirting, he could read an atmosphere enough to know when to keep his mouth shut about a certain subject. Before he could interject, Adelheid answered. "My father? He was really kind to me. He read to me every night, showed me how to forage for food in the forest, spent most of his time with mom and me. Sometimes he took us camping, and one time we saw the ocean for the first time. He kept going on about how he used to stow away in ships when he was young, and that was how he met my mom. Most of all, he made me and my mother laugh, and was like a best friend. Every day was like an adventure and my mother...she was actually happy." When she dwelled on her memories, Adelheid smiled widely. The fond experiences she had with her family when they were whole brought back a true sense of happiness. And then came the cold trip of reality. She looked as if on the verge of crying, yet managed to put in a brave face and pull herself together.
"I don't really remember much about what he looked like, but I do know he was blonde, kind of goofy, and got on my mother's nerves a lot. She used to tell him he was really dense about some things. Oh! My mom also said they went to school together for a short time in some place called Beacon."
A sudden violent and suffocating aura began emitting from Neo, whom was currently sporting a false smile after hearing the small description of Adelheid's father. Like those with her, she had jumped to a conclusion of who it was, though Blake and Noa remained clueless. Both Coco and Emerald had their doubts, yet we're currently trying to calm down the almost ready to burst woman.
"Adelheid, I'm home." The newcomer's voice brought a brightened sign of relief from the young girl as she hurried to the door to welcome back her mother. The others followed, and just as the woman entered, so too did her companion. Though the biggest shocker was the quick identification of whom she was; the undeniably familiar scar over her left eye, her calm and cold voice, light blue eye, pale skin and somewhat small stature. It was the long thought dead; Weiss Schnee. Her being alive even shocked Neo, who all this time assumed her husband had killed the heiress during the uprising. Still, when they all met by the doorway, both Neo and her kids tackled their blonde. Laughing as the small family was reunited after the events prior. Adelheid was slightly paralyzed when she saw the blonde man, she assumed it was...no, it couldn't be. Her wishful thinking was always asking for too much. Besides, the man lacked a certain feature she took pride in. When the pleasantries were done with, the hardened glares from Coco and Emerald came down on him. Followed by the blonde man's wife, there was a ton of explaining to be done. Sensing the conversation that would follow, Weiss gestured her daughter to take Noa and Blake to her room. Under normal circumstances, she would do so with nary a complaint, however, there was an overwhelming sense that whatever these adults were going to talk about, her father might come up. She stood her ground, as did Noa. Weiss was taken back that her own daughter would disobey, especially when she wasn't ready for this kind of topic. Again, she gestured her daughter to leave, but the child stood her ground. By this time, the heiress grew slightly agitated. "I'm not going to say it again." Her voice was cold, and somewhat threatening. Before Adelheid could again reject the order, Noa placed his hand on her shoulder. He gestured towards the door leading outside, she reluctantly agreed. Blake would've followed, but she instead left to explore the house, leaving the adults to converse alone. Within her knapsack was the book she hid before escaping.
When the two children were outside, and a good hearing distance away, Adelheid's calm composure almost quickly disappeared. She groaned loudly before kicking up a dust of dirt. "She's doing it again!"
"Again?" Noa asked while making sure she wasn't too aware of his presence. If she continued her little tantrum, he might learn a bit more about her.
"Every single time my dad comes up, she never wants to talk about him in front of me!" Small tear drops were emerging from her eyes; Noa had started to regret this. "Anytime I ask her to tell me about him, she changes the subject or ignores me completely. When I look for pictures of him, I never find a single one. I don't even know what his full name was! It's like she thinks we can be happy again if we just forget about him. Do you know how that feels?!" Her focus was now directed to Noa, it only took a moment for Adelheid's mind to process that she just had a small breakdown in front of this boy. Her cheeks blushed deep red as she cleared any form of liquid from her eyes.
"...I'm so sorry about that." Her voice returned to its calm tone, though it was wavering. She kept holding back the urge to cry, which puzzled the boy before her. Normally, kids his age would sometimes cry uncontrollably over the smallest things, even he did when his mother gave out her 'usual' punishment for certain broken rules. But what was this girl's reason for holding back?
"It's ok if you want to cry, there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Noa noted.
"I don't need to cry, I'm strong like my papa! He didn't cry when he died, and I'm sure he didn't want me to either!" She yelled out. "He smiled every day, and told me to live my life with no regrets. I've never needed to cry, and never will."
Really, is that what she believes? Well, to be fair she was young when she lost her father, whatever he was like before dying was a piece of memory Adelheid preferred. Still, it wasn't right for her to bottle these feelings, not like this. Noa grabbed Adelheid and held her tightly to him, her head buried in his chest. Her heart began beating at a tremendous speed. He, on the other hand, was used to showing this form of affection towards his sister. "You know, I think your father was strong, but not for the reason you think." Adelheid's momentary struggle from his grasp stopped as he continued. "Your dad smiled every day for you; even in death he gave you a smile. Do you know why?" It wasn't often she spoke of her father, nor did she particularly enjoy speaking to other people about it. Before she was able to cut him short, he answered his own question. "Because that's how he wanted you to remember him. He wanted to show you how happy he was to have you and your mother by his side." Small tear drops grew from the corner of her eyes, her arms were caught so she couldn't wipe them off, and shutting them tightly would only cause them to fall.
'Please, stop. I'm begging you.'
"You can't tell me that when he died you didn't see an inch of sadness in his eyes; the idea that he'd never see his princess grow up to be as strong and beautiful as her mother. Not being able to put a good beating into any punk that would take advantage of your innocent heart, walk you down the aisle, or see his grandchildren. I've seen a lot of it yesterday, and believe me the pain is unbearable for both sides. But your dad put on a brave face and smiled just for you. He didn't want you to remember him as a sentimental breakdown, but as the geeky and fun-loving father you grew up with. Crying is fine, but if you want; you can cry around me, I promise I won't say a word to anyone." By now Adelheid was trying hard to fight the already streaming tears running down her cheeks, her teeth gritted, trying to put on a brave façade. Her hands hooked over his shoulders, whilst burying a partial of her head in his chest. "Why?" She whispered weakly, near the point of breaking down. "Because we're friends, and that's what friends are for."
Adelheid's tears almost instantly stopped for a moment as a wide smile spread across her lips. Being secluded atop a village with having little to no opportunities to go out and socialize, having someone to relate to was a rarity as were friends in general. "...friends?...yes, I will take you up on that." Her head was pressed against his chest; his heartbeats were strong and calm. Just like her father. Adelheid, for just this moment, smiled widely.
'He really is a good person.' A sudden thought came to mind. 'I wonder if he'll mind...a kiss on the cheek. Just a friendly gesture.' She reassured herself.
As she removed her head from his chest, as if by luck, she caught his attention just as she was rising up. The boy looked down at the exact moment her lips were to touch his cheek, and at that moment time stood still. Both were in a moment neither was prepared for, nor did they know how to react properly. Yet, there was no movement, nor sound from them.
"Chu~"
Upon hearing the small eerie whisper of an unknown voice, the two quickly split. Both blushing heavier than before. Meanwhile the young newcomer was staring at them with a sly full grin. Two long white rabbit ears were twitching playfully at the sudden development. It took a few seconds before Noa recognized her unruly black hair that reached her shoulders, slightly tan skin, and eyepatch over her left eye.
"M-Mochi?!" Noa wasn't surprised to see this girl survive the massacre of Henan, but to think she found him so quickly. Either she asked around like a normal kid, or she went about her 'normal' way of getting information. Like Noa and Adelheid, this Faunus child wore attire made from the fur of animals. Though, known only to Noa and his father, Mochi's outfit was made from the fur of bears she took down on her own, without needing to touch them directly. But that little secret remained between the three of them. It was a somewhat long dress, reaching only to her knees with short sleeves. The color though was black, and adorned with red string that held the fabric together. Her only accessory was a necklace with a carrot shaped pendant. Her only exposed eye was a light shade of amber, leaving Adelheid to guess what the newcomer's hidden eye looked like.
"I turn my eye off you for one second, and when I turn back you're having fun without me." The girl's eye then glanced over to Adelheid, whom by instinct was slowly backing away from this newcomer after feeling a dangerous atmosphere surrounding her. "Hmm. But, I don't blame you, she is really cute." Mochi was now getting too close into Adelheid's personal space, so much so that the poor girl was still backing away, but not fast enough. "Don't worry I won't bite. Well, at least not much." She teased before a thick book slammed atop her head.
"Calm down you pervy bunny." Came from a small voice above them. All eyes were now on Blake, whom was sitting atop a large boulder outlined by purple aura. Adelheid stared in awe as she never expected a girl as young as Blake to have the ability to use her aura in such a manner. Though judging by how smoothly she handled this girl called Mochi, and Noa being unimpressed with her arrival, it was like they were used to this already.
-Meanwhile, Inside-
Inside the cottage, the silence was more unbearable than the fact that the blonde kept yet another secret from his wife. Neo had mixed feelings about this one in particular, she was glad that her husband didn't stain his hands with the blood of all his friends, but what other secrets did he hide from her? Coco was more agitated than anything, out of all the people she expected to see join the coalition, the heiress was at the bottom of the list. But, why did Jaune let this girl live, what was so important about her? Emerald kept silent, she knew the blonde had an informant that gave him secret data on the Atlesian weaponry, and for a while she assumed that perhaps a Schnee was indeed his informant. Still, to think the snobby heiress was the second turncoat, and with a half-faunus daughter no less. Both Weiss and Jaune remained silent, not knowing whether to tell them the truth, or keep it hidden.
"So..." Coco broke the silence yet again, though she was more eager to discover if anyone she knew was still alive. Regardless of which side they were on, she wanted to know. "...care to fill us in?" She asked.
The heiress and the blonde glanced to one another before nodding in agreement; no more lies, the truth.
"The truth is, there were a handful of us working against the coalition after I became a member. On our own accord, we discovered that Cinder had a special weapon in her arsenal, one that could've turned every city in Remnant into another Vale, or Glenn. A dust crystal, when used at an appropriate time and place, can attract the foulest Grimm possible." Jaune explained.
"The Onyx crystal; the very weapon that turned the well-guarded city of Vale into the heap of rubble we know now. We were sure that if we waited long enough, the moment to destroy the damn thing would come to us...but..." Weiss cut herself short, remembering the split decision she made was weighing down on her even to this day.
Jaune decided to finish her part. "But she caught us all by surprise. When I said I had reasons for siding with the coalition, Neo was one of the reason, but as I stated, not the full reason. The main reason; was to destroy the Onyx crystal and take down Cinder Falls. But the woman started the war all too quickly, and we were forced to make a decision; try our luck at finding the damn thing and have the entire Coalition come down on us, or do as she said until we could get close enough to relieve her of it without notice."
"She gave us our orders, and we followed them. To be fair Jaune didn't kill everyone we knew...my team...and a few others were killed by me. Blake was the only that got away." Weiss nearly choked remembering how shameful she felt killing her team leader and her sister. Both were done quickly, but with much hesitation. Though she did lie a bit; Blake didn't exactly escape, Weiss could've killed her, but instead allowed her to run; leaving Jaune the duty to finish the job years later. "In the end, we finally got her damn crystal, but by then the thing was almost used up, and within a few weeks, the other kingdoms invaded. Everything we've ever done was in vain. So, we decided to go our separate ways, but to live close enough that in the case one of us needed a temporary shelter, we'd know where to go." Jaune added. The entire news was too for them to handle, especially Neo and Emerald, they never knew Cinder had such a weapon, and it explained how she was able to orchestrate the Vale incident. The two before them allowed the information to sink before another word was spoken.
"I just have one question." Coco pointed to Weiss's daughter who could be seen from the living room window hiding behind Noa whilst a bunny girl was approaching her with obvious perversion in her eyes. "Is blondie here Adelheid's father?"
The very question brought back Neo's dark aura, her false smile was more threatening than Weiss scowl. Though, the heiress was quick to interject. "No, he isn't."
Which settled ever so slightly the woman's deathly aura, but the question remained, who was her father? Judging by Jaune's initial reaction, even he didn't know Adelheid's father and was also awaiting an answer.
-Outside-
Blake had mastered a few aura spells, particularly ones that involved eavesdropping on people; mainly her brother. While she enjoyed watching Noa shield Adelheid from Mochi's perversion, she too was curious about whom the girl's father is. In truth, Blake was happy her father was removed from the list of candidates, but it would've been nice to have a sister. Before leaving the adults she left a written spell card infused with a bit of aura in the pocket of her aunt Emerald. With a similar one on her end, it could be used as a listening device. This little trick showed how much she learned from reading her father's books. By now, spells like this one were almost second nature as her aura grew every time she practiced. Such as now.
-Inside-
Weiss wasn't sure how to explain her daughter's father, nor did she think she could handle the memory a second time. While she did initially dislike him, as did most of the blondes in her life, he grew on her. In more ways than one would expect, losing him was hard, especially for Adelheid. "It was..." She hesitated for a moment, assuring her daughter was still preoccupied outside. Upon seeing her warming up to the bunny girl, she let the truth come out. "...Sun Wukong."
To say they were shocked would be an understatement, from the time they saw their interactions, Weiss couldn't stand the sight of the monkey boy. Though in all honesty to the women present, it did make sense when Adelheid said her father used to stow away on ships. Sensing the question coming, Weiss answered. "When the war ended, Jaune moved me here to Runa, helped me build my cottage, and then left to help the others who worked with us against the Coalition. After a few months, Valens started to settle at the foot of the mountain, and when I went down to greet them, thank Oum they didn't recognize who I was. But one of them did; Sun. He confronted me here in the cottage, called me a traitor and a rat for siding with the Coalition. Even knowing I was the reason Neptune was dead, he didn't take any form of revenge. It's Ironic how our personalities changed during and after the war. Since there was really nothing left to fight about we drank away our sorrows. And then after that…things happened. Neither of us was too drunk to just jump into it, but we just did. I don't know why we...did what we did; I guess the loneliness and loss of loved ones might've been the only thing that we shared. In either case, it happened, and when I found out I was pregnant, I didn't want to burden him when he was just starting a new life here so I kept it to myself. Oddly though, he continued to visit, we spoke from time to time. Mainly about our families and how the village was slowly growing. But that was that, nothing more. When my pregnancy started showing, I stopped going to the village, and when he came by to check on me...I didn't really have much of a choice on whether to tell him or not. He was mad, but only because I lied to him. I expected him to say he wanted nothing to do with us, yet it was the complete opposite." The heiress smiled widely, the warm memories flooded her mind, so much so she didn't realize the wide grin she was currently sporting. "He insisted we give our daughter my mother's name, he said I needed a reason to smile more. What made it count more; was him being there for every moment of Adelheid's life. He taught her so many things, most of them got in my nerves but it was all for the sake of making his little princess happy."
"So, what happened?" Emerald asked cautiously. From the little info Adelheid had over her father, she assumed Weiss wanted her daughter to know little about her father. Unknowingly, she was treading on dangerous waters, for Weiss's smile vanished completely and was replaced with a mixed expression of anger and sadness.
"What made me mad most of all was his biggest lie to me and his daughter. Hypocrite. Before coming to Runa, he worked as an engineer in a power plant in Havana, a city that was locked in a stalemate between rebels and Valens. When the Atlesians invaded, they didn't even try to identify the Valens in the city, and bombed everything. Sun was outside of the power plant, but got caught in the blast. His body absorbed too much radiation. Technically, the village doctor said he should've been sterile, but I guess we know the answer to that. He was sick, and never told me about it until it started to show. For eight months I had to lie to my only daughter about why her father was always tired, getting paler by the day and coughing blood. Adelheid was five when he died, and to this day I don't have the courage to tell her anything about him. She asks almost nonstop, and I can't say a thing without breaking down. I...I actually fell in love with him." Weiss broke down; this was the side of her she refused to show her daughter. The history behind the relationship between Sun and her, along with the added shameful history of her own family would be too much for a child. As a mother, Neo consoled the former heiress. The other two allowed the information to sink in. Jaune and Weiss went to great lengths, and paid heavy prices to kill Cinder Falls, only to fail miserably, and forced to forever reside in the darkness. Although there was key words in their stories that caught Coco's attention.
-Outside-
Blake was too into her little project, she didn't feel the single tear drop fall down her cheek. To lose a parent at so early an age and before her very eyes would be too much for any child. More so for the parents themselves, to think Adelheid's parents were on opposite sides of the war. And when she was the reason they put stayed together and eventually fell for one another, the recoil of the rebellion continued to take lives years after the fact. The hardships everyone faced in this world was overwhelming, making the contents of the book she recovered from her father's library all the more important. Sensing she had heard enough, Blake was ready to cut her signal with when a question from the mercenary woman came up. Halting any Attempt to disconnect.
-Inside-
"You both said there were others who worked with you, where are they?" Coco asked, with a somewhat sense of hope in her tone. Weiss herself had no answer to that seeing how she cut all contact with them, yet remained in contact with Jaune. Being the only one who knew the fate of their allies, the blonde shared what he knew. Before that though, he gestured to the bunny girl outside obsessively hugging Noa while Adelheid was trying to pry her away. "There were four of us, Weiss and I are human so we couldn't gain much trust in Cinder's White Fang, Sun and Blake's identities were compromised when they snuck into that warehouse so we only had one more Faunus friend to ask for help. When the war ended, I found them a few clicks south of here, in Tigris. But not in the state I wanted to see them in."
Coco skeptically glanced to the rabbit Faunus, the girl was so active and cheerful, unlike those she once knew.
Jaune continued "The village was attacked by Atlesians, and both were dead when I arrived. In their arms, guarded tightly within an embrace was her." All eyes fell on Mochi, by now Adelheid had finally pried her away from Noa, yet was currently running from the girl as she could sense perversion again.
"I took her to Henan, and left her in the care of a close friend of mine. My children call her Mochi, though her name is Eirin Inaba." Jaune stated.
"Ok, where are you going with this?" Coco asked, her eyes darting back and forth from the blonde to girl now known formally as Eirin.
"Because Inaba isn't her family name…" He paused for a moment, sighed heavily, and finished. "…her birth name is Eirin Scarlatina."
I've kept my word…for once. To answer the questions I'm guessing a few of you had from the last chapter, this chapter will hopefully cover them, but if there are any left unanswered please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you for reading. Auf Vierdersehen!