A Few Days Later…

The written test was held in an unremarkable building in downtown Vale three days ago. But more than that, Akane thought that the exam was easy enough. More than that, she had succeeded! It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, Akane thought. Some theories regarding Aura here and there, some case study problems scattered about, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. All in all, Akane passed with flying colors.

But speaking about flying, though….

"Bleeegghhhh!" Akane poured out her breakfast on a trash can aboard Beacon's Bullhead. Damn motion sickness-!

Her stomach rumbled. 'Oh no, it's coming again-!' "Egggghhhh!" More stomach contents spewed out of Akane's mouth. She felt several gazes burning on her back. Aw come on! The humiliation!

This was her first day on Beacon! Tomorrow's Initiation! She had to make a good impression to get a good partner. She can't do that by barfing all over the plane!

Please, make it stop!

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally, finally felt the Bullhead land on Beacon's entrance. As soon as the Bullhead's doors opened, she rushed out of the aircraft and straight to the nearest trash can outside.

And once she was there, she continued her internal escape.

"Euugghhh!" More contents of her breakfast came out of her mouth. Oh, she shouldn't have eaten so much this morning! And- wait, was that a trace of dinner?!

"Ew, gross!" Akane quickly stumbled back and pulled out a water bottle. She quickly washed her mouth with what little water he had. Blegh, that was gross!

If only she hadn't left her motion sickness pills back home…

She wiped the water on her lips with her sleeve. "Blegh…" Now how was she going to make an impression now?

She heard footsteps approach, this one distinctly going towards her from behind. Oh no, she wasn't ready to see anyone else yet! Please let whoever it was just walk by!

The footstep was accompanied by a voice that specifically addressed her. A male, one that had a distinct Valean countryside accent. "Hey, miss! Y' okay over there?"

"O-oh, I'm fine!" Akane didn't dare turn around, but the voice and footsteps were getting closer and closer! Oh no!

"You sure? 'Cause you looked pretty sick back there on the Bull." The voice said. "I've got some motion sickness pills if you'd like-."

"You do?!" And with that, all of Akane's previous hesitance was gone. She swiftly turned around and faced the boy behind her. "Gimme gimme gimme!"

"Heheh. All right, sure…" Akane's eyes were tunnel-visioned to the boy's hands as he shifted around his pockets. "Should be around here somewhere… aha!"

The boy pulled out the pills from his pockets and showed them Akane. "These are the ones, right?"

After a quick check, Akane broke out a smile. "Sure are!" She quickly snatched them from the other boy's hand and gulped them down with her bottle of water.

"Ah, that's great!" Akane wiped the water from her mouth with her sleeve. She looked at the boy that gave her the pills and gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks a lot for that!"

"Aw shucks, it was my pleasure, miss." The boy tipped his hat and gave her a slight bow. "Always happy to help."

It was then that Akane took a good look at the boy who helped her. He was tall and around 17 years old, over 185 centimeters and towering over her own relatively smaller 15-year-old body. He had bright blue eyes, dirty brown hair, and a calming aura paired with a smile on his face. But alas, he seemed to dress a bit peculiar above his normal clothes, complete with a hat, a duster, a poncho, and spurs. As such Akane couldn't help but ask. "Are you- are you a cowboy?"

"Sure am, miss!" The cowboy put his hands on his hips and laughed. "Nathan Redslinger, at your service."

But Akane wasn't impressed. Instead, she snorted behind her hands, giggling to herself. "Slinger? As in 'gunslinger'?"

"Hey, don't diss the name!" Nathan responded, but he still had a smile on his face. They both joked around, "I'll have you know Mom and Dad love the theme a lot!"

"Sure, sure." Akane waved her hand. "You're still such a- such a dork, though, ahahaha!"

Nathan smirked. "Well, at least I'm not the one who threw up on the Bullhead and Beacon too."

"Hey, you take that back!" Akane shouted, but she still had that playful smirk on her face. "I'll let you know that motion sickness is a common problem that a lot of people have!"

"Is that why your forgot to bring your pills today?"

"Engh…. Fine. You win this round, mister. But I'm getting you next time, remember that!"

"Sure, sure." Nathan smiled and waved his hand. "Anyway… we're alone now, aren't we?"

"Huh?" Akane took a look around as well. Huh, he was right. The courtyard was empty now, save for the two of them. "Where's everybody gone?"

"Probably to the auditorium." Nathan remarked. He turned to Akane, "You know where it is?"

"Oh yeah, I've got the campus map memorized." She tapped a finger on her head. "Just last night, actually. Wanna get going?"

"Yeah, let's go." Nathan scratched the side of his head sheepishly. "Thanks for helpin' me out on this. I'm not that great at remembering stuff…"

"Hey, what are friends for? Besides, this just makes us even, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose it does…"

The things that followed were, in Akane's honest, opinion, quite dull. There was Ozpin's speech (which seemed a bit off, from what she understood the Huntsmen were). He had talked about continuing the legacy of Huntsmen past while protecting the future, honing their skills to be the best, and to never let your guard down. It was now their job to secure the future that the past Huntsmen sought so desperately to achieve.

Honestly, she had heard a lot of that from her Uncle before. And it was also exactly why she was here, so she could realize those very words. And through hearing the same words from Ozpin, she felt reaffirmed that this was the right choice.

And then there was lunch, which was pretty good. And free! No one could complain about that!

And then after that, they were brought to the space where they would be sleeping for the night, at around 20:00. Oddly enough, it wasn't a communal space or something cheap like she had expected for prospective entrants. Instead, they got the full package; each person was given individual rooms for the night since Beacon had a large amount that wasn't being used currently. And even more, those rooms were prepped quite nicely, and with squeaky clean toilets and new sheets all around, it was practically a one-night four-star hotel stay, free of charge.

And so, Akane stepped inside her room and began unpacking her things as well as familiarizing herself. There wasn't really much to unpack, so it barely took half an hour to get things settled. And the rooms, while good, were still relatively simple enough to figure out. And as such, as soon as she was done…

Akane flopped on her bed with her arms spread out. 'I'm booooooored~!'

She couldn't sleep, not with the adrenaline for tomorrow running through her like this. And there was nothing else to do in the room either!

With a sigh, she got off her bed and exited her room. Maybe a walk around campus would be nice…

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Nathan lowered his .44 Magnum after quickdrawing his targets, the barrel still smoking. He squinted his eyes as he looked at his training results.

Four empty soda cans propped up on some pillars, one bullet in each and all 100 meters from his position.

He let out a breath as he twirled his revolver, then stopping and reloading it back to full capacity. Not good enough…

Another voice shouted out to him. "Hiya! Couldn't sleep?"

Nathan turned around and saw Akane approaching. He greeted her with a smile. "Yeah. I had to burn off some energy… figured getting some late training sessions would be nice."

"Ah, I see…" Akane turned to look at the targets. "Quickdrawing?"

"Yeah. Used to do a lot of it back home… figured I could brush it up just a bit before tomorrow morning." Nathan put his gun back in his holster and took a quickdrawing stance.

"But why a revolver, though?" Akane had to ask, "There's a lot of guns out there, right?"

"Yeah, it's true… but I like the simplicity." Nathan said. His hand twitched towards his gun. "Makes 'em easier to understand."

Fwip!

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

In a flash, Nathan had drawn his gun and hit the four targets dead on. He let out a breath just as the gun barrel started smoking, slowly lowering it and putting it back in its holster.

"Wow…" Akane gasped. She could barely follow his movements with her eye! But still, it seemed he had to set up a stance before he did that… hm, well, she was never much a fan of guns, anyway, but it was still impressive. No denying that.

"Pretty good, right?" Nathan smiled. "Four shots out of six. Eh, more than enough to stop anything that moves, in my opinion."

"So what did you name it?" Akane asked. "Your gun, I mean."

"Hindsight."

"Hindsight… that's a good name." Akane nodded.

"It is, isn't it? Glad you agree. Doesn't have any Mechashift tech, though… I'll get it once I have the money." Nathan turned to Akane, "So then, what's your weapon?"

"Hm? My weapon?" Akane shrugged. "Eh… I don't have any."

"You don't have any?" Nathan parroted back in shock. "What's that supposed to mean? Every Huntsman has a weapon!"

"Well, I never saw a need for it." Akane said simply. "Usually, these two get it done just fine." Akane lifted her hands and clenched them into fists, then tapped them together. "Well, if I do need something, usually picking stuff up would do."

"That's erhm, pretty unique, Akane." Nathan shook his head. "But what about ranged?"

"Eheheheh…" At that, Akane rubbed the back of her neck. "I haven't thought about that, actually…"

"Well make sure to have it covered, I guess. Can't have you dying on me, after all." Nathan said sternly.

"Yeah… you're right. I'll look into it once I get the chance. No more chance with Initiation around the corner…" Akane sighed. "Say… mind going with me to Vale when this is all over? I'm not going alone, not if I can help it at least."

"Or we could get in the same Team and do it as a group activity." Nathan pointed out.

"You're saying you want to be on a team with me?" Akane looked up.

"I don't see why not." Nathan smiled reassuringly. "I could give you backup in range, while you cover me in close quarters."

"Yeah… not bad, not bad…" Akane thought it over, putting a hand to her chin. "Hm... you've got any idea on what Initiation looks like, though?"

"Not a clue."

"Ah dammit." But Akane looked up and gave Nathan her brightest smile. She gave him a thumbs up. "Guess we'll just have to try our hardest, then!"

"I could go with that." Nathan returned her thumbs up. "See you on the other side tomorrow, K."

"K?"

"Saying Akane's a bit of a mouthful, ain't it?"

"Huh now that you mention it… yeah, K sounds good!" Akane gave him a nod. "Well, see you tomorrow-!"

And then, another stern voice spoke up near them. "As you should, students."

They turned around, coming face-to-face with another professor.

"Y-y-you're…" Nathan stuttered in shock. Clearly, this must be someone important. "You're… Professor Nikos!"

Pyrrha smiled at the two, though it was still a rather stern one. And beneath her smile, Nathan began to wilt.

Akane turned to Nathan "Uhm…Professor who?"

"You don't know?! I thought you were from Mistral!" Nathan hissed.

"What gave that away?!"

"Your name!"

"Oh, well, yeah, I do live with Uncle there…"

"She's won the Regional Tournament four times in a row before even coming to an Academy, Akane! Surely you know that!"

"Uhm…" Akane trailed off, clearly not knowing anything about that.

"She graduated top of her class here in Beacon!"

"Eh…"

"Oh for fu- She's in the front of every Pumpkin Pack's Cereal box!"

"Uncle never buys cereal." Akane said plainly.

"That's what you're focused on?!" Nathan hissed.

"Kids… I think that's enough about me, isn't it?" Pyrrha said again. At once, the two prospective students froze once more.

"In fact, I think it should be me that's asking the questions here." Pyrrha said with fake-sweetness. "So if I may ask, why am I seeing two prospective students who should be in their rooms loitering around, alone?"

"O-oh, well actually, we're just about to go, Professor!"

"It's Deputy Headmistress now, actually."

"D-deputy Headmistress, yeah! We're just about to go!" Nathan quickly grabbed Akane by the arm and led her along. "We're sorry for the trouble, Deputy Headmistress!"

"H-hey, stop pulling so hard!"

"Good night, Deputy Headmistress!" Nathan shouted as both he and Akane faded into view, all the while he kept pulling Akane along. "Come on, K,don't fight so much!We need to go!"

"Owwwwwww!"

Pyrrha watched with a faint smile as the students left, slowly fading from her vision. As soon as they were gone, she rubbed her temples and let out a sigh. Kids these days, and these days in general…

Ah, but enough of that. She had somewhere to be tonight, after all. Mainly, talking with Ozpin and the rest of Beacon staff for tomorrow's Initiation.

And also about the shadow threat that supposedly loomed over them all…

Ding!

The door to the elevator in Ozpin's office opened and Pyrrha stepped in.

She looked around as she arrived. Evidently, she was the last to have come. Everyone else had already taken a seat at the round table in the middle of the room, and their positions from left to right; Professor Peach, Professor Ooobleck, Ruby, Qrow, an empty seat, and of course, Headmaster Ozpin at the end of it all.

"Ah, Pyrrha. Good to see the Bullhead made it in time." Ozpin smiled. He motioned to the seat beside him. "Please, have a seat."

"Of course, Headmaster." Pyrrha gave a nod and sat beside Ozpin. "The Bullhead wasn't late at all, Headmaster, in fact it was rather fast. It certainly made the trip from Mistral feel rather short."

"Yes, well, the occasion called for it. Glynda decided to call in the paid leave she's been saving up…."

"And that means…" Pyrrha trailed off.

"She's going to be on paid leave for the whole year." Ozpin sighed.

"Well, she certainly deserves it." Professor Oobleck said simply. "You've been running her to the ground ever since Professor Rose's time! She certainly needed her break, Oz."

Ozpin sighed again. "I suppose so…"

"Well, look on the bright side!" Ruby said, "At least Pyrrha's free right now, right? After all, It's been a while since you came over for a visit to Vale, Pyr!"

"That's true. It just so happens that I recently cut a media deal short, so I should have the entire year free." Pyrrha smiled and gave a short bow. "I look forward to giving back to Beacon."

"Ehhh, don't be so serious." Qrow waved her away. "We're happy to get you here either way, girlie. Been a long time since we saw each other, hasn't it?"

"Qrow, it's only been one week."

"Really? Qrow leaned back in his chair. "Huh… still, y'know what I mean."

"Yes, yes…"

Ozpin coughed into his fist. "I think we should get back on topic."

With that, everyone's attention shifted back to Ozpin.

"So, everyone…" Ozpin put his hands on the table. "Regarding tomorrow's Initiation…"

The discussions went on for quite some time and finished quite late into the night, though most of it was just backtracking what they had agreed to before. In the end, with finalizing some logistics, SOPs, and last-minute checks, the meeting was adjourned for most of the members.

That was, save for those who knew something else.

"Qrow, Ruby, Pyrrha. Stay." Ozpin said just before they left.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, the three turned back and sat across from Ozpin as the others left.

Silence stretched on for more than a moment. No one else was in this room, just the four of them. And yet, they all understood that save for a select few, no one else could know what was said in this room either.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ozpin decided to speak first.

"So, Ms. Nikos, Ms. Rose." Ozpin smiled, "How are your teams?"

"Oh! Well, everyone's doing alright I guess." Ruby said. "I'm… well, I'm here, Blake's off in Menagerie with Sun, Weiss' in Atlas with the SDC, and Yang's out exploring like she usually does."

"Really?" Ozpin asked. "And where is your sister now?"

"Last I heard she was going to Mistral." Ruby said. "We keep in contact pretty much every day, but sometimes the signal's bad, so we had to cut calls short."

"And… they have nothing to report?"

Ruby closed her eyes and shook her head silently.

"Very well. Then… what about yours, Ms. Nikos?"

"Ren and Nora are doing well. They're taking a bit of a break from missions to raise their kid, though, and I haven't found anything else either, so nothing to report from us for now."

"I see." Of course, JNPR was only three members. It had been as such for a long time now. "Then…" Ozpin turned to his longest compatriot in the room. "Qrow?"

"Nothing on my end." Qrow said simply. "Haven't managed to scour up anything for the past week."

"Any new movements? Leads, perhaps?"

"Nada. At least, none directly related to her."

"Hm…" Ozpin placed his hands on the table and leaned in, light reflecting from his glasses. "This doesn't make any sense…" He trailed off.

"You mean ever since the Grimm Wipeout? Yeah, tell me about it." Qrow leaned back and propped his foot up the chair. "I mean, eight years is a bit too long, isn't it? Unless she's got something bigger and badder."

"Then maybe… she's got roots on some other groups? Other fighting forces that have sprung up?" Pyrrha asked. "Huntsmen aren't the only ones around now, after all."

"Yes… yes, you're right on that one." Ozpin gave a nod. "So… which one should we cover first?"

"How about the Expansion Corps?" Ruby said. "They're the most public after Huntsmen, after all."

"Ah yes, the Expansion Corps." Ozpin said. "A group dedicated to expanding the reach of each Kingdom after the Grimm Wipeout, formed only a few months after that fact, headed by Sada White. Most of them have Aura, but are rarely trained to even half the degree of Huntsmen are. They're a collaborative group that works for all four Kingdoms at the same time, but will work only on expansion missions exclusively."

"They're… kinda like Private Military Companies, aren't they?" Ruby pointed out. "It'd be easy for Salem to manipulate, right?"

"Exactly, and they far outnumber us, but have less than a fraction of our skill." Pyrrha said. "And besides, they're purely business oriented. I doubt Salem would have her roots in there. It's way too crowded."

"What about the LIFE Group, though?" Ruby asked. "They're the ones directly opposing us. Seems Salem might be there too."

"The LIFE Group… At first glance, it certainly seems so." Pyrrha nodded. "They want the total eradication of Aura and sanctions for its users, specifically because Grimm are no longer present. First popping up in Atlas by Immigrant worker Otohito Kuro, and then spreading to every other Kingdom in Remnant. They want the world to return to its normal 'life' form, and the existence of Aura directly implicates combat. Combat incites death; the direct opposite of 'life'."

"But…?" Qrow asked.

"But I've done some background checks on them, and specifically on their leaser. They're really nothing but hot air." Pyrrha sighed. "No way to directly oppose us, and they're very, and I mean very,abrasive to others that don't agree. It's honestly a surprise they're even standing at all."

"Now that you mention it, they're the group that Akane fought a few nights ago, right?" Ruby said.

"Yes, they're the ones." Pyrrha said. "Which is quite surprising. They want Aura out of the picture, but it seems that none of them actually know how it works."

"And so… that leaves us with the last one then, right?" Qrow concluded. "The Gokudō."

"The Gokudō…." Pyrrha trailed off. The most mysterious of them all. Native to Mistral, they popped up six years ago and began rapid expansion. But still, even as a Mistralian herself, she never knew too much…

"Qrow. It seems you're the one that knows the most about them." Ozpin said. "Your thoughts?"

"Hm…" Qrow played around with his seat. "The Gokudō, huh…? I tried sneaking in a bunch of times, but it never works. What I can tell you though is that they're really tight-knit. Like a bunch of families. Recruitment is… pretty hard, but they rarely do things in the daylight. First popped up six years ago, in Mistral, and took most of the Kingdom by storm pretty quickly. But they rarely go out of there, and it's just now that they're beginning to move out…"

"Their movements?"

"Funny enough, most people say they're the kindest people they've ever met, even if a bit rough." Qrow chuckled. "That's a bit of an understatement since every opponent they fight ends up eating from a straw, but still… they're shady, but they never, and I mean never,have had any history of underside dealings."

"Nothing?"

"Zip, nada. No drugs. No weapons. No mercenary work. No smuggling. More like… a group of vigilantes, 'cause I don't have any other words for 'em."

"But why would someone so good hide in the shadows?" Ruby said. "Doesn't make any sense…"

"Exactly, and their tight-knit nature is what makes a lot of alarm bells go off. Because like it or not, they're liked, they're secretive, and while they're the least amount of the others, they're also the strongest." Qrow said.

"And your opinion, Qrow?" Ozpin asked.

"I think they're dangerous but can be made peace with." Qrow said. "We just need to find out what their plans are exactly…"

"Right." Ruby nodded. Because…

She sighed, and she could feel Pyrrha's downtrodden mood as well.

Because this wasn't the old days anymore, back when RWBY and JNPR fought Torchwick and Neo and the White Fang.

The world had changed, and Huntsmen were no longer always viewed in a positive light.

One wrong move, one wrong incident with too much damage, and they would be proving that the LIFE Group was right, that the Expansion Corps were more needed, and the Gokudō were more discreet.

"Look, all I know is that there are three main figures of the Gokudō." Qrow said. "There's the Trickster, the Kicker, and the First Chairwoman."

"And no one knows who they are?" Ruby asked.

"No one on the streets at least." Qrow said.

"Wait." Pyrrha said. She racked her mind on what she knew of the Gokudō. "Wasn't there the other guy? The Fourth one?"

Qrow turned to Pyrrha. "You're right. But I didn't mention him because he's way too vague."

"And who is he, exactly?" Ozpin asked.

"He's got a lot of names, Oz." Qrow sighed. "But, the word on the general structure is like this. The Trickster and The Fighter answer to The First Chairwoman. They've got their own branches and then sub-branches after that. But they also say that The First Chairwoman reports to one guy above even her. Mind you, this guy's so secretive that no one knows what he looks like or what he could really do. There's no records of him in Mistral, and nobody ever saw the Chairwoman meet with anyone that matches the legends either."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "And they call him…?" He asked.

"They say he can take out a group of Grimm with his bare hands. That weapons to him are obsolete. They say he's a wall that will protect anyone behind him, and also a warrior that will strike down any in his way. And moreover… that he's got Aura larger than anyone in history." Qrow's eyes met Ozpin's own.

"They call him The Founder, The Man Above the Huntsmen. And those that fought him have this to say: He is even more than the legend itself."

Meanwhile…

The Expansion Corps had certainly done well, she idly thought. Their first move after the Grimm Wipeout was to build a large, interconnected highway between the Kingdoms to increase mobility and inter-Kingdom relations as well as to make a name for themselves. It was finished after four years of construction, and it did many things that benefited almost all parties involved.

The Expansion Crops received a reputation for being decent men and women. Inter-Kingdom relations became better than ever before. Many normal civilian lives were improved. And of course, it has to be mentioned that the highway made it easier for The Expansion Corps themselves to mobilize any necessary troops, materials, or weaponry.

The only group that seemed to be affected negatively were the Huntsmen, due to their inaction, and the LIFE group, but they've always been nothing but hot air and radicals all around.

Besides, she was never much fond of Huntsmen anyway.

Those were her thoughts as she silently stared out the window of her limousine, going down the highway which connected Mistral and Vale. The driver had started to drive five hours ago, and they left Mistral's borders four hours ago, but even so, it was going to be a long trip. However, she'd rather take this method than a Bulhead or any of the sort. Being discreet in a car was much easier, and she enjoyed to look at the scenery.

This, everything she could see, came at no easy cost, after all…

And now, her further dealing in Vale was going to be of utmost importance and would determine the future of both the peace of Remnant and also her organization.

Ring! Ring!

She paid no mind to her assistant as he picked up a call from his Scroll. No doubt, it was meant for her, and the assistant was the only way someone could contact her, but she trusted that he would be able to handle it.

She didn't want to be interrupted right now.

She stayed silent as her assistant spoke to the other end.

"Yes. It's me."

"…"

"Yes… she's here right now."

"…"

"Now? You're not going to wait to meet face-to-face?"

"…"

"I understand. I'll put her on."

Her assistant lowered the Scroll and covered his hands over it, and then looked over to her. "Chairwoman."

The First Chairwoman turned her head away from the window, ever so slightly, and looked to her assistant. "What is it?"

"He didn't tell me."

She raised an eyebrow. "He? Then what…?"

"Ma'am… it's him."

"Him?"

Her assistant nodded. "The very one."

"Wonder why he'd call right about now… we just met a few days ago." The First Chairwoman wondered. But then, she shook her head. "Very well, then. Patch me in."

Her assistant nodded and gave her the phone. She took it from his hands and put it next to her ear.

"Hi. It's me. Didn't expect you to call so soon." She spoke.

"Look… I need your help." The other end spoke bluntly.

"My help?" She asked skeptically. That was rather blunt. And her help? Really? "I mean, can't you do it yourself? No offense."

"This situation… it's out of my control."

"Really?" She took a deep breath. "Well, hmm… well then I'll be happy to help. You know that. But I'm kind of busy right now, since I just took off for Vale, like I said the other day."

"Yeah, I remember… but please. It's an emergency."

"An emergency?" She leaned forwards. "I could divert some manpower for you. They won't know who you are, of course, but I'll put in a good word and they'll respect you still."

"No. This requires secrecy. I need you."

The First Chairwoman felt a blush creep up, ever so slightly. No, focus. Now's not the time for that. "And that is…?"

She heard a heavy sigh from the other end.

"It's Akane… she's missing."

The First Chairwoman felt a pang of panic shoot through her heart. Carefully, she closed her eyes as to not show any sign of weakness. After several seconds, she opened them again and spoke in a calm tone.

"I… I see. Any idea on where your niece last went? Maybe we could start a search there."

"Not a clue."

"If that's so, then do you have any guesses?"

Another sigh, this one mixed with just the slightest amount of anger.

"…It's Vale, isn't it?" The First Chairwoman concluded.

"Why does it have to always go back to that damned place…"

"Calm down." She advised, and she never imagined it. Her, giving him advice, after all these years. He doesn't go angry, so the fact that he is now...

Let's not finish that thought then, shall we?

"I'll do my best to find her. But…" The First Chairwoman trailed off.

"But…?"

"I can't promise your secrecy on this. Not anymore."

"…"

"…" She stayed silent. No, she can't budge here, no matter how much she owed him.

And she owed him for showing her what she could be as is.

"… Fine. I'll take any consequences there are."

"Alright. Then we'll get there post-haste." The First Chairwoman lowered her Scroll slightly and covered it with her hands. Then, she spoke to the driver. "Hey. You. Speed things up. We arrive at Vale in four hours or less."

"Yes, Chairwoman."

As she felt the car begin to accelerate, she put her Scroll back up to her ear for one final goodbye.

But before he could speak, he had already spoken first.

"Cinder… thank you."

Cinder smiled. "Of course. I'll find your niece. What're friends for, right?"

XXXXX

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Thanks for reading, and see you next time!