This Chapter has been rewritten.

Scan Completed.

Motive Unestablished…

…

Unacceptable…

Rerouting.

Scribbling into her notebook, scanning the area around for a moment, a grin appeared on her face. Everything was progressing as expected, so she slid the book into her skinny pants pocket, not afraid to flaunt herself before those around her.

She never was. She only had eyes for one person.

Well, mostly. The fox was cute, but she had more fun playing with him and making the cat jealous.

With fake pink and brown ears and a mask she picked off from a now knocked-out guard hidden well out of sight, these idiots were so easy to fool. At least those with a less developed smell. She had learned her lesson after her battle with the fox and knew some had a highly developed olfactory sense, so she knew to be more careful, and her illusions weren't quite as effective. But visually, they were dense and so easily fooled by such a paltry trick of hers.

Neo was eager to dig into her bag of tricks. She wanted to show off. She wanted to leave them crying. And then maybe…

Get a little reward from the fox. Something to make the cat jealous, perhaps? Force her to make a move.

Neo silently giggled to herself. That would be perfect!

Casually strolling through the barracks, with scant care of being caught as she strutted through, she grinned as it was all too easy. No one ever noticed her as she made her way through the hallways, pulling out her notebook once more and making notes of a map. They pathetically let her through as they thought she was one of them, and no one challenged her due to the pressure her presence emitted. And if anyone did…

They would soon learn why that was a terrible idea.

Mapping the area was imperative, as they likely would have come back here. The fox and the cat would want to come here if she dug any information up here, so ensuring a detailed layout of the area was vital. She was sure he would be fine. It was more so for the cat's sake and given how she saw her facial reactions any time they mentioned the leader's name of these worthless faunus when she listed him connected to her man's associates before…

There was some tension there, and she was curious about the story. Grew up together and turned bitter enemies? Jilted lovers, perhaps? Oh, she wanted to know!

And drive her crazy with it! To make her snap and break! Oh, what a glorious show that would be to witness! Then to see the amazing climax of her stress finally broken as she gave into her urges and let the fox break her from behind!

Her equipment was ready for the day!

Her eyes dazzled at the thought before they were drawn to a cargo elevator. Tapping on it a few times, frowning as it seemed locked behind some electronic access, Neo rolled her eyes. It would take time to find the person she needed to take out to access that if she could do it silently. If it happened to be their target…

Well, she'd take the shot if given the opportunity. He wasn't beyond her skill set, but she wasn't looking to take him on in a straight fight in that capacity. She tried the fox without knowing how strong he was as he wasn't a known quantity, and then her man was hurt…

That did not end well. Retreat was the wiser call but information needed to be more extensive on his skill set. For the White Fang commander, it was not.

She knew very well that the fire one had coerced them somehow, and knowing her plan had something to do with Beacon and Vale, the fox wanted as much information as he could on their activities. She was more than willing to reciprocate, as it was easy to find and infiltrate enemy bases.

And the filthy animals made it so easy!

Whoops, her man was talking through her. She needed to be more mindful, given that she was working with two faunus. Sort of. She was under the same impression.

She hated everyone equally. Only a few earned her admiration, and the rest she tolerated.

Which made the betrayal of the false maiden all the more enraging. She would find her. She would draw it out and make her scream deliciously.

And it would be music to her ears!

Seeing yet another door, this one guarded by two large faunus, a grin came to her face as she strolled ever so elegantly toward them. That seemed very interesting. What could they be guarding that was so critical?

"What are you doing here? No recruits are allowed here!" The larger, hairier of the two faunus boomed and, she didn't want to be racist, looked like a big ole monkey, and towered over Neo as she stopped in front of him. "I swear they're getting dumber and dumber…"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, but we need the numbers..." The leaner but still impressively sized faunus that seemed to have equine features looked down at her as he rolled his eyes, holding out his arm. "Hey, I get it. The base is large. If he traveled back down the hall and took a left…"

"Holy shit, my arm!" The equine faunus screamed out as Neo reached out, gripped his wrist, and snapped the larger man's arm like a twig with a single twist.

And she followed with a single twirling kick to his stomach, driving him forward and through the door, slamming him through and to the other side. There was a sudden shout from the other side as someone was clearly not expecting the intrusion. "What the hell?"

"You little…" The hairy ape faunus tried to reach down and grab the tiny woman.

Only to feel two knees drive straight into his chin as Neo grinned manically, jumping up into him. Flipping in mid-air as the beast of a man landed on his rear, stunned, she landed and stomped on his chest with both her heeled boots. Her grin never left her face as she loved the fear on his face as she lifted her boot and curbed his skull into the concrete.

It was so intoxicating!

Twirling into the room happily as the equine faunus coughed heavily in a heap against the broken door and wall, Neo's eyes sparkled as she found someone that looked of importance. He wasn't like a lieutenant, which would have caused a few problems, but he was higher in the Fang's ranks. She was sure of that.

He was sure to have some information!

Drawing a pistol from his petticoat, she swiftly closed the distance, slapping it out of his hand as she pulled for her parasol she lovely adorned with the name of Hush. With several jabs into his stomach, his eyes widened as the hidden blade extended. She thrust forward, spun, and delivered a split kick into the rising equine's chin.

As he stumbled back, his head slammed back into the wall and slumped against it unconsciously as the high-rank official fell to his knees, holding his bleeding stomach. Neo's grin only became more sadistic as she smacked the parasol against his face, dropping him on the floor as she pinned him to the ground with a single foot on his chest.

"I'll tell you…" The faunus groaned in agonizing pain as he looked up at the petite woman who held him down with surprising strength for her size. "Whatever you want. Just please…"

"Let me live."

Lifting her notebook from his tight pockets, she snapped it open, and leaned forward, not caring that she was sharing a small amount of her cleavage, as she pointed to a single name. And while the tempting view would have been pleasant in many other circumstances, despite the horrid pain, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he growled and swallowed hard. "You might as well kill me…"

"Because if I tell you, it's death anyway."

Narrowing her eyes at hearing that, Neo swiftly brought her other boot up and shoved it against his throat, her heel driving in. He gurgled as he reached out and gripped his arms against her left ankle, but nothing he did could remove her, and his eyes were drawn to her heterochromatic eyes.

He shivered seeing the glimmer within, and then the scream came as he felt her parasol stick to his wound, poking around and playing within. But with his throat sealed shut by her heel, nothing came.

And all she did was silently laugh, taunting him as she brought him misery, enjoying every second.

She was going to get what she wanted. And enjoy every minute of it!

"This is frustrating! He's here and Vale, and we're no closer to finding him after all this time!" Blake paced back and forth between Naruto and Neo's bed, her bow twitching as her ears beneath expressed her irritation. "And they're cut off from the rest of the Fang? What is going on? How did Sienna let this happen? She had been so tight fist over everything before, but now Adam is finally going rouge?"

"You had your chance long ago and missed it! And all of this is over me! May a Grimm break your asshole open wide!" Blake raved as she walked over to the desk, picked up a lamp on it, nearly threw it, restraining herself, took a breath, and sighed as she placed it back down. "Forgive me. I'm just so damn mad about this!"

During the night, Neo returned from her infiltration. While she had given Naruto her report, he knew throughout the day that he had waited until the end of the school day and even their training session to inform Blake of what had been found out. He knew it would upset her and wanted to wait until she was worn out.

Neo, however, was in a cheerful mood as she nodded side to side, a bright smile on her face as she beamed vacantly in front of her. Naruto wanted to know what was so wonderful to her, but he didn't question it. He guessed that everything was well if she was in a cheerful mood.

Little did he know she was listening to a faunus' screams in her head on repeat…

Imagining they were fire maidens.

"It's okay. I think I understand some of the frustration from our talks," Naruto responded in a soothing tone as he watched the feline faunus try to calm down but struggled to do so. "You can express yourself honestly. I want to find him too. If he's connected to all this, I need to figure out just how, as that's the worst imaginable thing I can think of."

"I rather your past not be brought into all of this. That can be, as an old friend of mine would like to say, troublesome." Naruto sighed as Blake turned around and sat on the desk, her bow depressed hearing his words.

"They could use me against you." Blake gazed lower toward the floor, her feet hanging and swaying. "They already know there is a connection due to the media showing us together since the Rainbow incident, but if they were to learn we are together…"

"If Adam learned that…" Blake bit her lip and looked away, closing her eyes. "I don't know what he would do or what lengths he would resort to."

"Hey," Naruto softly spoke as he left his bed, walked over to Blake, and held his hands to her, letting her hand slide into his and drawing her eyes into his. "It's okay. I told you once before that my friends and family are the most important thing to me. I won't let anyone hurt them, and I especially won't allow anyone to hurt you."

"You said you wanted to join me, so we'll do this together." Naruto gently smiled as he rubbed his thumb against the back of her hands, holding her gaze. "Some things are going to be difficult. But we'll make it work. We'll help each other when we need it and listen to each other when we need to talk."

"So let's take this step by step and figure this out, okay?"

Gazing deeply into his cerulean eyes, his presence and scent soothed her. Even with Adam here in Vale, looking for her, he could somehow calm her down. His touch was what she needed, and his words were the confidence boost that gave her strength.

But those lips were so…

"Thank you," Blake blushed furiously as she broke eye contact with Naruto as her bow flattened in embarrassment. "I needed to hear that."

"But that makes me worried." Blake sighed as she hopped up from the desk, disengaged hands with Naruto, and slowly strode to the center of the room. "If he was here because Sienna wanted to recruit you into the White Fang, what's changed? What made him go so overboard that he would disobey her orders and turn rogue?"

"I mean, from your account, you said he was always kind of roguish, so why not?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he didn't have an answer for Blake, and Neo held out and waved her hands in an apathetic manner, not caring and not knowing the answer. "He might have finally decided, screw it, make his own group, and accomplish his own goals."

"Adam wouldn't do that." Blake frowned as she tapped her foot and tried to figure out what was happening with her ex. "He needs the strength and resources the White Fang affords him, regardless if he occasionally clashes with Sienna behind the scenes. Going against that seems counterproductive, so I wonder if it is because of his new allies?"

"If it is, it is all the more reason we need to act and force him into the open and capture him," Naruto commented before his attention was drawn to Neo holding her hands out in exclamation and looking irate. "What? What's that look for?"

"Yes, that's his name…" Blake twitched in annoyance as Neo held out her notebook, pointing at Adam's name before shifting pages, pointing to a particular fire witch's name, and then making a slicing motion to her throat.

She growled under her throat at the motion but turned her head. She understood the reasoning as much as she hated it. Adam was dangerous, and if he worked with even more dangerous people, it might be wise to pull the trigger.

But she wasn't sure she could…

"Only if necessary," Naruto spoke as he crossed his arms and looked into the multi-colored eyes of Neo. "We still need more information on what Cinder and her group are doing here, and we have nothing. We know she's here and that she had something planned, and you were to be involved, but you hadn't been informed what it was at this time."

"He might have more information, given he's been in contact with her recently and…" With Naruto's eyes shifted over to Blake for a brief second, his gaze returned to her. "I'm not keen on putting him down just yet. There are still a few things that bother me, and I need to solve."

Furiously throwing her notebook down and glaring at Naruto, crossing her arms and huffing, Neo crossed her legs while rocking back and forth in her seat. All the while, she was silently mouthing off. He could only figure she was cursing him, and he could understand.

"Yeah, I'm mad at me too." Naruto sighed and turned to Blake, who seemed to give him a look of sympathy but was thankful he wanted to spare Adam.

Until she saw him again, she wasn't sure what to think. But when that moment came and if he had fallen further, she knew she had to make the call. The only worry was…

A knock at the door interrupted her thought, and all three gazed at the door with confused expressions. Then Naruto panned his gaze back to Blake as he felt three familiar presences outside the door. "Um, did you have a team meeting or something?"

"No, I came straight here as you said we needed to talk." Blake blinked, slowly realizing who was at the door, and wanted to cry in frustration as she wanted some time to herself as this was her usual reading time.

And she was barely getting that anymore! Neo was there half the time, and she barely got alone time with Naruto! What if she just wanted to snuggle with him and feel…

"Yoo-hoo!" Yang's voice echoed from the other side of the door, making all three twitch. "Know all three of you are in there! Blake came straight over after practice today and didn't grab one of her books, so something's up, and we want in!"

"Are you serious right now?" Blake held out her hands in exasperation, rolling her eyes before crying out at Yang. "Do I have to give a reason to want to come over to my boyfriend's dorm room besides having our usual quiet time?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Ruby sounded a little embarrassed from the opposite side. "I feel awful right now. Are we really that loud?"

"Yes, you and Yang are." Weiss bluntly stated before she sighed. "Blake, I'm sorry about this. But we know she came back last night. Given that Naruto has been venturing out and helping the citizens nightly, we've come and decided…"

"We want in! Let us in, dammit!" Yang pounded on the door angrily. "We've been training for this. Let us do something! We've been working our butt off to prove ourselves, so by the Brothers, you better give us a chance!"

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto roared as he walked over to the door, opened it, and quietly snarled at the blonde dragoness. "Are you trying to get people to overhear you and expose me? For the love of the Sages!"

"If it gets us on the same page, I'll do what it takes!" Yang glared defiantly into Naruto's cerulean gaze as her lilac eyes threatened to burn. "So, you get let us in? Or am I going to have to holler some…"

"Bitch!" Yang screamed as her eyes burned red as Neo slid between them, unbeknownst to either of them, as they stared at one another, and then stomped her heel directly onto her right foot's toe drawing her attention down on her. "Oh, you and I are about to go, you small little…"

"Enough, get in here!" Naruto gripped Yang by the collar of her jacket and yanked her inside and onto the floor below in annoyance before beckoning the others in and glaring at a gleaming Neo. "And enough of your sass."

Neo smirked as she turned around, swaying her hips side to side as she walked back to her bed. Naruto glared at the tiny woman as Ruby and Weiss carefully entered the room. Yang growled as she pushed herself up, glaring at Neo and then back at Naruto. "Hate you. Hate you both."

"You started it." Blake hissed as she sat back down on the seat in front of the desk, glaring at Yang, her golden eyes narrowed at her.

Yang's aura fizzled out, seeing her partner giving her such a scornful look, and she grimaced. Ruby and Weiss did not feel too comfortable at first, but the team leader tried to bring them together. "We believe it's time for us to get involved too. Blake's been involved for some time, and we feel we're ready…"

"You're not ready for this," Blake responded, shaking her head as she broke her glare at Yang and sighed. "Not this. Maybe our other stuff…"

"That's not fair!" Weiss frowned, daintily sitting on one of the zabutons, as Ruby couldn't figure out how to do it, and plopped down on it. "We're more than capable, Blake. I don't know what's running in your head, but let's not forget what we've already done together."

"Weiss…" Blake muttered as she lowered her head and sighed. "It's more complicated than that…"

"It deals with my past, and I don't want to get anyone else involved or hurt due to all the problems I've caused and brought with me."

As Weiss was startled by hearing that, bringing her hand to her chest and her heart poured out to her friend. Yang sat herself up and paid attention, feeling something was wrong with her partner. And Ruby…

"Wait, what?" Ruby blinked in confusion, looking at her friend and teammate. "Blake, what do you mean?"

Closing her eyes and looking away from her team, Blake sighed and reached up to her bow. "Let's start it this way…"

With a simple tug, the bow was untied and fell, her ears flicking freely as she placed the ribbon on the desk. "It entirely deals with my heritage as a faunus. Now, Ruby, you have researched my family, haven't you? You know who my father is?"

"What group did he lead?" Blake's golden eyes gazed into Ruby's silver ones as her voice lowered upon quizzing her friend.

"Oh." Ruby shrank in her seat, recognizing they were dealing with a terrorist organization, before frowning. "But, we've already dealt with them and handled them just fine. Sure, you were injured, but that was more because…"

"Her." Yang glared at Neo and rubbed her foot as her toes were still aching.

Neo smirked as she tilted her head, patting her foot as if it had done a good job. Yang twitched at the taunt and her eyes temporarily burned.

"Ruby, remember why Blake ran last month." Weiss winced as she recalled a detail she mentioned when they argued several months back and grimaced as she looked at her friend, and her eyes were drawn to her. "She said…"

"She has been a part of the Fang all her life." Weiss closed her eyes as she became eerily calm, and her ice-blue eyes snapped open and peered into Blake's. "So, I have one question for you, friend."

"Were you ever one of those who led an attack on my family?"

"What the hell? Weiss?" Yang looked startled as she looked between the two of her teammates and friends, not sure what had happened. "Of course, she didn't…"

"Not directly," Blake admitted as she steadily held Weiss' gaze even as she narrowed her eyes upon hearing her. "I was stationed and have been on Sanus since I was fifteen. I have not left this continent, so I've never attacked your family directly. No, I've hit Dust trains that pass through several times. Destroyed Atlas property your father shipped out in the Vale and Vacuo regions. Stolen what we could and did whatever we could to hurt."

"We were forced into the shadows, so we wanted to humiliate him and others that made us feel degraded, persecuted, vilified, and make them bleed for it! To make them feel the pain we've experienced all our lives!" Blake hissed, her ears flattening before her attention was snapped as she became aware of a presence next to her and saw Naruto sitting on the desk, giving her a concerned but empathetic look.

Her ears perked slightly at his presence but inhaling, she returned her sight to Weiss. "We did what we had to do in order to advance. For change. Even now, I regret many of my actions and didn't see half of what we were doing…"

"What he was leading me to do."

"What?" Ruby again cut in, really confused and worried upon hearing everything as she looked between her friends, frightened hearing one of her friends was part of a terrorist group and now seeing there was possible tension in her team again, but hearing Blake muttering at the end was also alarming. "Who was leading you to do what?"

At this, Neo was proud to answer, much to the annoyance of Blake. Snapping up her notebook, the four-foot woman shifted through her pages before tapping her book and pointing to a name repeatedly. Ruby squinted, trying to read the name, and tilted her head. "Adam… Taurus? Who's that?"

"He's one of the commanders of the White Fang," Weiss spoke in a strained voice, her gaze still unwavering and focused on Blake. "Said to be one of their rogue groups' more vicious and violent members. So he's located here in Vale, and I'm guessing…"

"He was your commander, Blake?"

Glancing over at Naruto, looking for his support as she wasn't sure she was strong enough to say this, Blake closed her eyes. She took a moment to compose herself and nodded as she finally met her friend's gaze. "Yes, but he was more than that. He and I…"

"We were…" Blake lost her voice as she looked away from everyone, unable to finish and admit the truth.

"Oh shit…" Yang grimaced as she looked between Naruto and Blake, seeing that he knew before focusing on her friend. "Hey, it's okay…"

"No it's not!" Weiss snapped at Yang before she returned her glare at Blake, her breath short and rigid as she tried to gather herself. "I know and understand that everyone changes. That you were young and that you made mistakes…"

"But you don't understand how much those actions hurt me!" Weiss shook as she clenched her fists and took several breaths to calm down. "You don't know what happened because you and your cohorts destroyed Atlas property! Sure, whatever! You one-upped my father and hurt his wallet! Big deal! He still has plenty of dust and lien! He's not hurting!"

"That is the kind of stuff that made my life miserable for years! What drove my sister away from home?! Drove my mother to drink all the time! It was all thanks to actions like yours and your fucking animal friends!" Weiss spat vitriolically as her eyes glinted while glancing at Blake before drawing her hands back to her chest, seeing her startled reaction.

She then turned away, lowered her head, and brought her hands to her face as she began to sob gently. "I'm sorry! You would never know what happened to me back then, and I know about your problems, but it's so frustrating! To know someone I'm just starting to consider my friend unknowingly did something that caused me so much pain!"

"Weiss," Ruby reached over to her friend, tried comforting her, and placed her hand on her shoulder. "We're here for you, okay? If you need anything, just let us know."

"Right?" Yang slid behind Weiss and reached around her with her right arm, and embraced her. "As you said, there was no way of knowing, but obviously, things are different now. Things have changed, and you are both different people than you were then."

Turning her attention away from the scene of her friend sobbing, trying not to shed tears herself and biting her lip, Blake closed her eyes. Then, taking a breath through her nose, she spoke with grim resolve. "I don't want you involved in any of this business with the Fang. After leaving them, I'm already a target. We just learned Naruto is a high-priority target as they wish for him to join, and I don't want them using anything to get to him or me…"

"I've already done enough damage and caused enough pain. This is my problem to fix."

"Oh, get over yourself!" Yang snapped back at Blake and glared at her as she narrowed her eyes at her while still comforting Weiss. "We're partners and friends. You think I'm not willing to help you? You've got another thing coming! We're in this together! It's why we've been training, so I'm not taking no for an answer!"

"You're not the only one with problems! We all got them!" Yang snarled as she continued, her voice dropping an octave at the faunus. "So stop thinking you have to do this alone without us. Yeah, you got Naruto, but dammit, we're here for you too! Give us a chance. We're your team! We're going to be here for you for years, so stop shutting us out all the time!"

"Believe in us, Blake, please?" Ruby added as she tried to smile at her friend and held her other hand to her chest. "I know we don't completely understand the issues you dealt with…"

"Yes, you don't!" Blake yowled as her head swiveled and turned to Ruby and her eyes shimmered angrily at Ruby before she turned her attention to Yang. "And give you a chance? Why?! Where was our chance for all those years?! Were we given a chance to be accepted?! To be treated as equals instead of the scum of the earth?!"

"You know how long it has taken for us to be seen and heard?! To fight for what we deserved all along!" Blake hissed as she stood up from her chair, the hair on the back of her neck standing and her ears violently twitching as her eyes dilated before she recoiled. "Don't touch me right now, Naruto! I'm not in the mood!"

"Okay, I'm sorry." Naruto took a step back, shrinking back and minimizing his size as he continued to try and calm her as his first attempt by placing his hand on her shoulder only agitated her further. "I understand why you're upset. I know this subject is traumatizing for you. Taking it out and everyone isn't helping."

Seeing his image, trying not to transfix another on top of his as her breathing became ragged and rigid, Blake took several breaths. He was right, and she needed to relax. Her reaction was not helping matters and only making things more complicated. But right now…

All she could see was him.

"Naruto…" Blake tried to deeply inhale the air around her, finding anything that could calm herself but it was failing her. "There's something I tucked away, hidden in my drawers. I need it to show them…"

"And you ask why I am this way…"

Worryingly raising his eyebrow as he could see the hazy fog clouding her vision, Naruto frowned. Something was affecting Blake dramatically, and he didn't like it. He knew she had difficulties bringing up Adam, and her history with the Fang was muddled, but this was something more.

Exactly what happened during her time with them over the last two years?

"Yeah, I'll grab it." With a simple motion of his hands, Naruto created a clone and let it head out of the room to fetch what she requested while keeping his sight firmly locked on his troubled girlfriend. "But first, I want you to take a few moments for yourself. Something is clearly wrong."

Blake's gaze focused on his, hazy as it was, and she was drawn into his eyes further to keep herself present. She didn't want to be drawn into memories. She didn't want to go back there. And she took a deep breath and shook before turning away from him as the door clicked open once more. "No…"

"No?" Naruto questioned as Blake took a few steps towards him, walking over to the stumped clone as he held a peculiar object in his hand. "Blake, this is a bit..."

"You all need to know what the Fang truly is…" Blake hauntingly walked to the clone as all watched, a black aura slowly enveloping her, snatching the item from his hand, and she trembled for a brief second as she looked at it. "And understand what horrifying abominations they have become!"

With a single, swift motion, a white mask slipped and snapped onto her face with a hissing sound.

A hollowed scream filled the room as Blake gripped her temples violently, shaking her head, her nails raking into her flesh. Flesh blood dripped as she fell to her knees, her golden eyes flickering with tears pouring down her cheeks underneath the veil as she looked to the roof and then viciously ripped her hands away, splashing a few droplets of crimson on the floor.

And she then slowly began to stagger her way back to her feet, hissing shakily and the tears dried from her eyelids as she glanced at the others in the room, her golden eyes filled with disdain. "We are…"

"From the shadows…" Blake's voice echoed eerily as she gazed amongst them and focused on Ruby first. "This isn't a fairy tale, little girl. We fight and make others bleed to be recognized. To have our rights handed to us!"

"Blake, you're scaring me…" Ruby leaned back, her voice filled with fear as she slid off the zabuton as her friend's intense golden eyes focused on her.

"Good!" Blake screamed as she stepped towards her, her eyes shimmering behind the mask. "This is our world you are trying to delve into. Stop trying to be all heroic and step into it when you don't understand it!"

"Hey," Yang immediately jumped up and stepped in front of Blake, standing up for her sister and trying to back her friend down. "Ruby was just trying to help…"

"No, she's trying to get herself killed!" Blake retorted as she stared right into Yang's lilac eyes and hissed, pressing chest-to-chest against Yang and getting nose-to-nose with her. "You want to know what it takes to become a White Fang member? Step up, Yang. Let me show you. Let me break you as they broke me. Shove you into the dirt. Beat you mercilessly. Vilify you. Keep you down and remind you…"

"You are nothing. You will never be anything. Not until you can stand on your own, claim your worth, and fight back."

Stumbling back, tripping, and falling flat on her back, Yang stared horrified at Blake's masked face as she expressed distaste for her. She snarled as she stood over her, looking down at her. "That's right. Stay where you belong."

"Blake, enough." Naruto stepped forward and opposed her, locking his cerulean eyes with golden eyes, and his displeasure with the situation became clear. "You made your point clear. Give me the mask. We're done with this."

Becoming very rigid as she looked at Naruto eye to eye, her stance became timid before she quickly stood at attention. This drew a scornful look on his face as he had an idea of one of the underlying issues she was dealing with before he sighed and held out his hand, his steely face voice taking on a commanding tone. "Hand it over, soldier."

"Yes…"

"Commander," Blake muttered at the end, her ears dropping as she reached for her mask, a hissing noise dispersing as she took it off and gently placed it into his palm.

Hanging his head, his fear being proven correct with her response, he took a deep breath before moving to her, wrapping her in his embrace and holding her tightly in his arms. Feeling her tense in his arms, shaking at his touch, he gently whispered so only she could hear. "You're not with them anymore. You don't have to think that way any longer."

"Be yourself again. Let it go."

Blake's eyes filled with tears as she fell weakly into his grasp, falling into Naruto as she began to weep. "I can't. I can't! I've tried so much and am so afraid, even now! What they did! What can they do?! I'm just so tired of this!"

"I'm so tired of running!"

Those words resonated throughout the room. Another set of teary eyes, watching Blake in horror, unsure of what she was witnessing, shimmered. Something within her came to comprehend what her teammate went through. And while the pain was different, the experience and grief they shared…

Felt so similar because she was running too.

So slowly rising to her feet, wrapping her arms around the sobbing faunus, Weiss shook her head as her golden eyes snapped down at her. "Then let us help you, idiot!"

"If we're all in this together, helping each other, we stand a far better chance than going at it alone. That's why hunters are paired in teams! To help each other when we're in need! That's what we're supposed to do!"

"Weiss…" Blake muttered as she looked at her teammate while Naruto maneuvered slightly out of the way as the three broke their awkward embrace. "Thank you, but…"

"Look, these two morons will follow after you if you don't and bring me along anyways, so by the Brothers, stop dragging us through the mud and just let us come along!" Weiss tried to mildly alleviate the tension with a sobbing laugh as she motioned her head at Ruby and Yang.

"I'm going to let that one slide…" Yang sighed as she stood up before she noticed a sign being held up by Neo saying 'True' as she nodded her head vigorously in confirmation. "What do you mean?! Why do you even have that sign?!"

"She's not wrong. We followed them last time, which got us into this mess in the first place." Ruby nervously laughed as she scratched the back of her head, ignoring her sister's heated glare and turning on her. "So, we allowed in on this then? Because I really want to help. Not only are we helping clean up the streets, it seems…"

"But we're also helping out our friend, which means so much more to me than anything else," Ruby added with a bright smile, her silver eyes glistening with renewed vigor.

Looking at her team, who each seemed to be eyeing her worriedly, Blake hung her head. She didn't want to but looking at Naruto, he twisted and waved his hand at her. "I've honestly thought for some time they're ready for some of the smaller stuff. They can at least help with this, so it's up to you. Letting the others get involved with the Fang is up your alley, and I'll leave the call to you."

"I see," Blake bit her lip, hearing Naruto's decision leaned toward letting them help, she hung her head once more before she softly sighed. "All right, but you have to be extra careful. I don't want anyone to get hurt, got it."

"Oh yeah, we're in!" Ruby pumped her fist and shook her hips as she did a small dance. "You won't regret it! We've got this…"

"OW!" Ruby gripped the back of her head as a parasol smacked it and dropped her to a squatted position momentarily before she turned on a dime and glared at an annoyed Neo, glaring at her with crossed arms, tapping her foot. "What was that for?!"

Pointing at her and then at Yang, Neo began to gyrate her arms exaggeratedly while silently mouthing off wildly. She then stomped over to Yang, latched onto her hair, and pulled it and Yang down in the process, making her eyes burn brightly at the slight in front of everyone, and began to point at it. "Oh, you are so…"

"Yang, she's making a point!" Naruto intervened as Yang's eyes narrowed and focused on him. "She's specifically calling out how both of you are naturally loud and not suited for stealth, and currently, these are espionage jobs. She is also saying that you, particularly Yang, stick out like a sore thumb as you are naturally bright."

"What the fuck?!" Yang roared as she lifted her arms as aura began to burn around her, still upset at her hair being tugged on. "You're blonde and just as bright as me! Where does she get off?! How the…"

"Where the hell did you go?!" Yang blinked as Naruto suddenly disappeared from the room they were in and looked around for the blonde ninja only to feel the impending doom as she felt a shiver behind her.

Only for nothing to be behind her as she turned around.

"I'm quite adept at not being seen when I don't want to be." Naruto's voice came from behind her once more, back in his original spot as he stood beside Blake again. "So I am more than able to overcome my natural brightness and get around it. You don't have that advantage, I'm afraid. You did stick out, so we might have to find something else for you to do in the meantime."

"Well, what about missy two-tone hair bitch!" Yang growled and pointed at Neo, her eyes still burning as her aura faded somewhat after the display but she was still quite angry. "I'm not standing for this and…"

The shattering of glass around their visions let them know their world had been distorted, and their attention was drawn to Neo. And in her place stood a smiling and waving…

"Ruby?!" Yang cried out dismay before looking over at her sister and narrowing her eyes. "Wait a second. I don't like where this is…"

The other Ruby grinned as she suddenly pulled out a specific object from under her bed and grinned, Yang's eyes narrowing further. She swore she saw Ruby take it and couldn't track her down after it, but she claimed she didn't have it after and never got it back, and now it made sense. "Oh you are dead! I blame Ruby for that!"

"That was you!" Ruby screamed indignantly and waved her arms as tears flooded her eyes. "You got me into so much trouble! I would never steal that! That's nasty! Almost as vile as the filth Blake reads!"

"Liar! I know your search history. I'll send it to your father through your scroll." Blake hissed, and Ruby's eyes widened before she quickly pulled out her scroll in horror, browsing through it and deleting everything she could.

"Neo, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Naruto took a step back at the object and waved in fake Ruby's hands. "Why would you steal that? You could buy one if you needed it?"

"Eh, my model is bigger." Blake looked slightly amused at the situation. "Firmer too."

"Didn't need to know any of this!" Weiss looked horrified at all of that as she closed her eyes and shook her head, clamping her hands over her ears. "I hate all of you right now!"

"Give me that!" Yang snatched the foreign object from Neo's hand and quickly wrapped it up in her jacket, hiding it away from sight for the time being. "I am so kicking your ass later! You, me! Right after dinner! Got it!"

Shattering into her usual self, Neo grinned as she stood right in front of Yang, looking up into her eyes and nodded.

Oh, she wanted to take the big one down. Prove to her that her size didn't matter…

And flaunting them didn't matter! She would give everyone a show!

So she held up a sign. And it said… 'Bring it, Sl…'

"Who are you calling what now?!" Yang roared as she heatedly cracked her knuckles and glared at the tiny ice cream woman. "I'll have you know, ain't no one touched this body but me!"

A second sign was immediately pulled out as Neo denied that claim with a sign that said 'BULLSHIT!'.

"FUCK YOU! LET'S GO RIGHT NOW!"

"Not here!" Ruby tried to separate Neo and Yang, holding them apart as she got in between them. "Someone, please help me!"

"I'm not stepping into that one." Weiss held her hands up and shook her head vehemently. "I know my limits. All I can ask for is for them to take it outside."

"Naruto! Please!" Ruby cried as she tried to keep her sister back while Neo was taunting her and beckoning her to bring it on.

"You two, come on…" Naruto rolled his eyes at the two when he felt a tug at his pant legs and looked down to see one of his crabs holding what seemed to be a flyer in his hands. "Oh, you've got something for me, Crabtholomew?"

Waving its arm up and down as it blew bubbles excitedly, Naruto bent down and accepted the flier from the larger-than-normal crab. Looking at what was brought to him, his eyes narrowed. "Well, talk about timing. Spot on. Got to treat you all tonight."

As the crab blew more bubbles and happily scuttled along, Blake tilted her head to see what was brought. She hissed at the sight. "That's a White Fang recruitment flyer. Sent those out all the time when we were here in Vale."

"Seriously?" Weiss looked at the flier, her eyes narrowing as she joined in, and she didn't see anything obvious about it at first that would connect it. "I'll take your word for it, but it looks like a generic faunus rally flier for a rather undisclosed location."

"Yeah, that's why it works," Blake commented as she growled and gave the flier one last thorough scan. "Nondescript, no links to the Fang directly. They're terrorists, so they can't actively broadcast their recruitment methods, but I can tell you when we post them, they are scattered in the slums and lower sectors where faunus struggle and are persecuted."

"That is so abhorrent!" Weiss exclaimed as her mouth hung slightly agape.

Naruto inhaled before sighing as he slid the flyer onto the table, as those fighting slowly came to a stop as they realized there was something more critical still happening. "Unfortunately, that is standard military recruiting practice. Make your pitch to the masses in desperation and need that don't have anything to lose. Give them hope, and they'll fight for you tooth and nail until their dying breath."

"And a lot of faunus in the slums don't have much left to fight for. The Fang know who to target and who they want to recruit. It works every time they need more bodies." Blake hissed before turning her head away in disgust. "To rally for their so-called cause. I hate Sienna so much…"

Twitching his ears, knowing there was a special hate in her heart for the leader of the Fang in Blake's heart, Naruto shook his head. "Well, it seems we have an in now. But I think we still have another issue."

"What issue?" Blake's ears perked, and she curiously looked at Naruto, crossing her arms across her chest. "You and I can easily infiltrate a rally like…"

Neo began to hold up her notebook, point to her map, and then to the flyer, recognizing the coordinates, and Blake narrowed her eyes. Naruto's eyes glowed, and she rolled her eyes. "That's the issue. The rally is where the base is. That means we can infiltrate the base and get further access to what she wasn't. But we'll most likely need someone else to come with us to run interference…"

"Can I?" Ruby asked as she tilted her head and smiled. "I know I'm not a faunus, but with her illusions, maybe I can help somehow…"

Neo immediately began to shake her head and started waving her hands in refusal, not wanting to take the youngest with her. She had already stated her case for their stealth abilities and didn't want her to cramp her style. She could handle it on her own…

"Suits me fine. I think she can coat you in her illusion as long as you stay close." Naruto stated before his eyes sternly gazed into Ruby. "But under one condition. You follow her every command and direction. One wrong step, and it's trouble for both of you. You make a mistake…"

"You both pay for it."

Taking in the seriousness of his gaze, Ruby was reminded a lot of her uncle when he became serious. She swallowed a lump that grew in her throat. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Got it. You can count on me."

"Good." Naruto grinned as his ears tilted up, and he closed his eyes. "Take a day to figure out what kind of faunus you want to model after, and I am sure Neo can make it work. She's managed to influence me with her illusions so that she can do the same with others. Tomorrow is Friday, so we'll start prepping after school since the rally is on Saturday. Lines up perfectly for us."

Silently crying in exasperation, Neo suddenly threw her notebook into Naruto's face as she stomped away and walked off to the bathroom, kicking and screaming silently until she slammed the door. For the most part, he took it in stride, sighed, and picked up the notebook. "I'll deal with that one later. Everyone else good?"

"I'm good. Let's get this on the road!" Yang pumped her fist and started rocking side to side. "Oh, I'm getting heated up here. Finally, we get a chance to do something. I hope something happens so I can do something. I know that means something bad has happened but still…"

"Please don't." Weiss flatly stared at her teammate with a bland expression on her face. "Everything working according to plan is better, and having nothing go wrong is best."

"Yeah, I know, but testing myself is what I'm all about!" Yang grinned as she picked up her rolled-up jacket and turned to Naruto. "Do we still have that spar date on for later? I really need to work out this excess energy!"

"Maybe a little later for dinner." Naruto glanced over at Blake as her ears lowered and her shoulders depressed as everyone seemed to be getting ready to head to the cafeteria.

Weiss immediately took the hint, sliding her hand onto Yang's shoulder and gently nudging her to the door. "Come on. Let's get out of here and have dinner. The others are probably wondering where we are! And drop that thing off! Disgusting!"

"What?! Don't you have one?!" Yang countered as they headed to the door, Ruby giggling behind them.

"That is not something a topic a lady discusses!" Weiss responded and rolled her eyes. "So uncouth."

"Better than being a spoiled princess!" Yang strutted out the door, swaying her hips and showing off as Weiss twitched following her. "At least I have fun!"

Ruby's laughter could be heard after the door closed.

"Naruto…" Blake's voice echoed sullenly soon as it did, and his eyes turned to her as her form shrunk under his gaze. "I apologize for everything today. I…"

"That's enough apologizing for now." Naruto swept over to her, wrapping his left arm around her waist, and gave a comforting smile. "We'll work on it and figure out what to get you better help, okay? I insist you bring this up in your next session, although leave out our mission details."

"Okay…" Blake leaned into his touch, enjoying his warmth and presence, his scent comforting her before she caught a peculiar smell about him that made an odd thought crossed her mind. "Naruto?"

"Yeah?" Naruto blinked as he could feel Blake's heart racing, and seeing her golden eyes lift and look at him, he had to wonder what she was thinking about.

"Um, would you…" Blake tried to find her voice as she gazed deeply into his cerulean eyes, getting lost within them like they were the sea.

And at the end of the sea was a place she wanted to see again. To visit once more. To see…

"After we take care of all of this and have the opportunity, would you like to come home and see Menagerie with me?"

Being caught off guard by her request, Naruto was a bit stumped. The request to visit one's parents comes a little later in a relationship. It was also nerve-racking as he wasn't sure if he was prepared to meet her father and mother. He knew it would be sometime in the distant future, but…

It seemed Blake caught onto his nerves, and she nuzzled against him, laughing slightly as she did. "I said after all of this. So that means later. Not right now."

"Yeah, sorry." Naruto returned with a nervous chuckle before shaking his head. "You surprised me, and I wasn't ready for that question. I think it'd be neat to do, but of course, I'm going to be nervous. That's a big step there! We've barely been going out for a month!"

"Feels like it's been longer…" Blake muttered momentarily as she looked around the room, and her ears twitched. "Probably because I spend much of my time in this room…"

"And your presence just makes me feel like I'm at home." Blake's ears dropped as she admitted something deeply personal.

"So, wait…" Naruto began as a smirk graced the corner of his lips. "Does that mean I give off vibes like your dad? Does that make our relationship weird? Do you have…"

"YOU JERK!" Blake screamed as she shoved Naruto, pushing him over and onto his back.

All the while, he grinned as he looked up at Blake from below. "Or does that mean I give off vibes like your mom? Because that opens a whole new door…"

"I WILL END YOU!" Blake jumped and mounted Naruto, gripping him by the collar, lifting him up, and glaring at him. "I was trying to be serious and having a moment with you…"

"And I failed miserably. I apologize for that." Naruto tilted his head, flicked his ears, and closed his eyes as if he knew the magic password to melt Blake's heart. "But after your gloomy mood, I just wanted to see you back closer to your normal self."

Her ears curled, and she furiously blushed as she released Naruto's collar and looked away, trying to stay upset with him. She knew he knew what that look did! He had to! It was so damn effective at getting what he wanted from her!

"Yeah, whatever," Blake mumbled, rolling her eyes as she huffed, straddling Naruto by his waist as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm feeling better, so you can quit your teasing, jerk. I wanted a serious answer and poured out my feelings to you."

"I know," Naruto reached out and gently pried Blake's hand free, grabbing her attention and drawing her attention. "So once this is all over…"

"Let's go. I feel like heading there will help me figure something out myself." Naruto smiled and held her hand. "Since I'm stuck in this world, far away from my home, I've been thinking about this for some time now…"

"I want to create a village of my own, and I'm not sure where to start." Naruto began as Blake's eyes widened, hearing about his world and home. "I know that my village's system wasn't the most efficient, but with help, I can make something so much better. With people I trust and know. So I can't help but think someplace like Menagerie might be where I can get a few ideas and begin to craft the foundations for my new village."

Staying silent as she listened to his idea, it was Blake's turn to be taken aback. It seemed Naruto had been dwelling on this idea for some time and had given it some thought. But he was right. Her home would be an excellent place to start and learn from everything they did to make it work.

And maybe…

Build a new place for faunus to call home. One where they could share with humanity and stand equally. That was a dream…

"We can only see." Blake tilted her head as she closed her eyes and her ears flicked happily. "Perhaps my father can help with that. Being chieftain of Menagerie, he may be able to assist in other ways."

"Did he transition from High Leader of a progressive movement to Chieftain of an entire people? Damn, he didn't get a break, did he?" Naruto chuckled, and Blake frowned momentarily before smiling for a moment.

"Yeah, he works too hard." Blake shook her head before leaning forward and delicately pressing her lips against his, tasting his unique flavor before slowly drawing back. "Like someone I know needs to take a break now and then."

Flicking his ears curiously, loving her sweet taste but frowning considering the position they were in, Naruto shifted slightly. "I'm getting mixed messages here, and I don't think either of us want to go…"

"Neo, what the hell?!" Naruto blinked, and his head snapped to the corner of the room, and now two sets of eyes, one cerulean and another golden, were drawn there. "Is that a film reel camera?! Why do you have that set up?!"

Holding out a single finger for them to hold for a moment, Neo sprinted out of the room in a dramatic hurry leaving the occupants confused. She dramatically re-entered the room carrying an orange book that Naruto instantly recognized, and Blake looked horrified at seeing and held out a page and pointed to it.

Promiscuously, she began to act out the scene herself, stroking the air in front of her mouth with her mouth open and drooling. She then pointed at the camera and then at both of them.

Neo quickly sprinted out of the room, a manic grin on her face, as Blake followed hot on her heels. "Get back here! We will never do that in front of a camera!"

"What is wrong with that one?" Naruto gripped his temple before his eyes widened, seeing Blake's ears twitch madly as she chased after Neo. "Oh no. Blake, you are falling for her trap!"

"You are forgetting something!"

Motive…

Confirmed.

…

Reestablishing Course.

…

Purge Resumed.

…

Confrontation Inevitable.

Engaging.