Hiya everybody! I'm sorry for the delay of this chapter, but at the very least, it didn't take me three years to write this one, right?

Takedo: I felt that the last chapter had an appropriate stopping point, which is why Velvet didn't make an appearance that chapter.

CykaBlyatintensifies: I've thought about answering this outright, but I don't think that it is necessary to know where the story currently sits at. As of now, Kaneki hasn't expressed the desire to return to Tokyo, so I don't think that will be explored any time soon (But it may be in the future!).

Tiawoeretan1: I'm glad you enjoyed those! While I did want to write those in, I felt that Yang's reaction was the most important to write as she's the one who's interacted with him before. Ruby's came from her being the youngest and seeing how monstrous Kaneki really was. This would definitely rattle the other two as well, but I didn't want to take away from Yang's.

King Crimson Requiem: His Majesty has graced me with his words once more! You humble me with your praise, Your Grace. In all seriousness, I really do appreciate your review! It has really helped me feel a bit more confident about my writing abilities, which is to say I don't have a whole ton of it (confidence that is). I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story for the long run!

(Guest) StategicChamp: I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter! As for your question... Well, I don't want to make any statements that I'll flip on later, but I think it's safe to say that no, I don't plan on giving Kaneki an Aura or a Semblance. While it is true that everything that walks on Remnant has a soul and therefore can use those things, Kaneki is not a descendant of any of the natives of Remnant. While I could try to justify that he could have one in theory, the fact that he already has so many other abilities foreign to Remnant, I just feel that giving him any sort of extra ability on top of his existing arsenal creeps too far into making the story more of a power fantasy and OC territory. However, if I was going to give him a Semblance, I think depending on the route I went about it, it would change. For instance, if he was reincarnated into Remnant or something with his old memories, I would give him a Semblance that resembled his Ghoul abilities, so maybe some sort of ability that let him 'eat' another's Aura to fuel or magnify his own, (or if I was going for a darker theme, eat the person). If I was writing a story in which he retained his Ghoul abilities and had a Semblance, I think I probably give him a debilitating Semblance, or something he couldn't control (kind of like Qrow). Maybe instead of misfortune, I'd give him an aura of "madness" in which the longer he is in contact with somebody, or close proximity, that person's reason slowly starts to deteriorate until they resemble a hungry Ghoul. Is that kind of messed up?

Kragh: Thanks for your input! I think that I've found a way to interact with people who actually want me to interact with, although I really do love writing these responses, it always cheers me up to see that people like what I do. More info about my method at the end of the chapter!

Itharax: Having Neo stab Zwei wasn't something I enjoyed writing, if I'm being honest. I just felt that she wouldn't hesitate to attack anything hostile, regardless of how cute he may be. Her ability to project her Semblance is definitely something that I had to remember about too, as I think she's only done it one with that airship, but that's just off the top of my head, I could be wrong! And no, I did not kill Barty, Kaneki did. Well, he aiding in his demise, but nobody will ever know if he died from being cannibalized or if he was still alive during the explosion. Either way, yes, he is 100% dead! You can't have tragedy without some character deaths! His passing definitely will affect the characters (especially Port), but we will explore that when we get there! I hope that Ironwood and Qrow being on the same page isn't too out there, but I felt that the circumstances would have allowed that something that unlikely to happen, even if Qrow generally still trusts Ozpin more, which is why he wasn't grilling Ozpin in the second half of their conversation when Glynda joined. Kaneki seeing the Scarlatinas as family is definitely something that should cause worry, given his nature, and I'm glad you are appropriately happy/worried. Oz's circle are making logical assumptions, but as you said, they couldn't be further away from the truth. I thought it would be fun to explore how they try to piece together a being that is 100% alien to their world. They are putting together what they know and coming to conclusions that, while sound, are wrong. As for the Imps, they're the top half of what the Nuckelavee is, which means that either it, the horse portion have the ability to fuse (or Salem fused them on her free time and decided that she didn't need more than the one), and I decided to give that ability to the Imp, since we don't have an official name for the Horse-Grimm, and having Ozpin say "Horse Grimm" in the middle of the meeting felt really awkward. I hadn't given much thought into his scent as a bird, although I imagine that magic could disguise it to an extent, but given how heavily Qrow likely reeks of alcohol, it probably wouldn't do much. Kaneki has not met Adam, but he is definitely on his radar. You can't just go around killing his men without sparking some ire, I just felt like writing anything regarding him at this point would be kind of jarring to shift since he's not really active until the Fall of Beacon, but things have changed so we may see some of him soon! As for his Moonslice, well, let's just say that Kaneki isn't invincible, just durable. I do agree with you that Hazel and Yamori have similar builds, I don't think they give off the same energy. The two both do harbor a strong hatred, but Hazel's is pretty much focused on Ozpin, given that he helped Oscar with his train ticket, whereas Yamori was pretty much sadistic to whoever he could get his hands on. But that's just my opinion! I don't wanna talk about the possibilities of who might show up since if I just told you outright, it would sort of spoil any sort of suspense of who I may bring. Hope that I've answered enough, but not too much with this response! And reading your review brings a smile to my face too! I still find it surreal that I can elicit such a positive response with something I've made. Hope to hear from you again!

Phantommore: Ozpin definitely is looking into Kaneki, but I wouldn't say he's on to him. There's a lot of unknown variables, but Ozpin's doing his best to find him, that's for sure!

David4796: Thank you so much! I don't think I'm that great a writer, but I'm trying to stop putting myself down so much, so your words really do mean a lot. I mentioned above that Kaneki's reason/method/excuse for being in Remnant isn't really something that is being thought about for the characters, but I don't really think that it will be explored much any time soon. However, that doesn't mean that he won't think about it in the future! Kaneki is doing his best to stay away from all Huntsmen, so if he does end up at Beacon, it definitely won't be his choice.

KnightOfZaku: I do like your ideas, and if I ever write another fanfic, I'll explore that dynamic, if you don't mind me using it! As for what this chapter entails, well, here it is! As for Kaneki joining forces with Beacon, if you didn't see the response above, I'll restate it here. He's not really looking to interact with any Huntsmen, so it is very unlikely with where he stands now that he would join Beacon willingly. That being said, I don't think that anybody, including Ozpin, would want him to.

YeTianshi: Having Kaneki be slow to trust is mostly because (in my opinion) explaining his situation to a person/people from a world where a creature of his nature has never been heard of, much less seen, would warrant way to many questions. At least where he was from, he could just say, "I was made into a Ghoul" instead of giving a long winded explanation of what a Ghoul is, how they work, what their physiological restrictions are. Also, explaining "I need to eat human/Faunus flesh to live, otherwise I will pose a greater danger to society as a whole" isn't really something that can be understood by a world where good and evil is almost universally black and white. Kaneki's existence is a grey area, in my opinion anyway.

(Guest) Ghoulish Grimm: I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter, and I agree about the character development! When one is out in the battlefield you don't get the luxury of thinking about things, whereas when it's all said and done, you can't help but wonder if you made the right decision at all. I'm relieved to hear that you think I've captured the proper reactions of the characters, it's a lot of work getting into their headspace to write them.

a54321: I was worried people wouldn't like this direction, so I'm glad that you, and others, did! Thank you for the praise, I am trying my best here, so it's rewarding to see that it isn't going unnoticed!

lapidot16: You'll just have to read to find out, I guess!

artem-abramov-2004: Hearing that you were shocked with Dr. Oobleck's death makes me feel a bit sadistic in that I enjoyed getting that response. Hopefully it wasn't too out of the blue. Cinder is definitely not happy, as you'll see! I don't know if I'll bring along characters introduced in recent volumes, mostly because the Ace Ops really wouldn't have any business operating anywhere outside of Atlas. Even if they are hand picked by Ironwood, I find that he's still not paranoid enough at this point of the story for him to sic them on a problem from another Kingdom.

Bluebunny9: I honestly didn't know I was writing angst, but I guess it's just second nature for me. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

blackdog420: I do not plan on introducing any new Ghouls anytime soon, but I like your idea!

AcumenDarious: I had a sudden spike of motivation and just kept writing. Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy my story!

mikelz0426: Thank you so much!

Villiandeku9501: I hope that when that scene does finally come up, I am able to do it justice. I'm not sure if I can deliver if I hype it up, so I'll just say this; We'll get there when we get there! Sorry for the non-answer.

Tony the tired one: I appreciate your feedback and I'm glad that you're enjoying the story for what it is rather than what it could be. I hope to hear from you again!

Cinder scowled as she watched the video footage of the strange creature that helped Torchwick escape. It was unlike anything she had seen before, even in Salem's domain. Its raw strength was already leaps and bounds every other Grimm his size, yet he had many more tricks up his sleeve. The ability to mutate its own body at will, tendrils that can puncture steel doors like cardboard and a frighteningly efficient regenerative ability that began working instantly. What stood out to her, however, was his blurry face. The red cracks around his eye resembled the marks her Mistress wore on her own face and arms, his hair was just as white and most of all, his eye was nearly identical. She needed answers.

"Cinder? What do you want?" asked a man's voice, clearly annoyed.

"I need to speak to Salem," she demanded. She could hear Arthur mumbling under his breath. "I need information."

"Oh, and what kind of information would that be?" he asked.

Cinder nearly growled her next response, but managed to contain herself. "There's a creature in Vale, possibly a Grimm. I must ask Salem about it."

Watts laughed on the other end. "A Grimm? That's what you're calling about?" he laughed. "By the gods, do you need Hazel to come down there and hold your hand when you cross the street as well? Grow up, woman, do you honestly believe that I would go to Salem with such a colossal waste-"

"It looks like Salem," she snapped. Suddenly Arthur fell silent. After a moment, he cleared his throat.

"You could have led with that," he mumbled. Cinder could hear him begin walking through the dark castle as he sought out Salem. A few moments later, there was distant chatter, Salem seemingly amused by everything. Finally, she picked up the scroll.

"Cinder," she greeted, eerily calm. "Arthur here has informed me that you believe you've found some sort of humanoid Grimm you haven't seen before, but I know you wouldn't waste my time with something so trivial, so please, elaborate."

"Yes Ma'am," she said, voice steady. "I'm sending video footage of the creature in question now. It seems to share some of your abilities as well as appearance, Ma'am. Did you send it to Vale?"

Salem didn't answer right away, as she watched the creature get torn apart from the Bullhead. Cinder heard the gunfire faintly, followed by more silence. Then, Salem's voice called out, dripping with a barely contained fury. "No."

"What is that thing, then?" she asked, frustrated.

"Cinder, do not raise your voice at me," Salem said, the edge in her voice still present. "I've told you, you will know what you need when you need to know it. Do not mistake your place, girl. As for this creature, have somebody take care of have your mission, and you cannot fail. Use those children you've picked up to handle this."

"R-right, I'm sorry, Ma'am," Cinder quickly apologized. "It'll be done."

"Good," Salem said, seemingly pleased. "If this foe proves to be too difficult for you to handle, allow Arthur to know, and I will recall Tyrian from his search and send him to Vale. I will not tolerate failure."

"Yes, Ma'am."

With a click, Cinder took her scroll away from her ear and took a deep breath. She wanted nothing to do with that twisted Faunus, but from what she's gathered from her disciples, she knew that without the other half of the Maiden powers, she might need the reinforcements. Cinder then used her scroll to call Emerald and Mercury to her room.

With a chime of the bell, the doors to the Scarlatina Café opened and in walked Kaneki. He looked around the empty shop. He knew that Marble wasn't working this week, but he could not stay away from the place that's begun to feel like home. Kaneki slowly made his way over to the counter, his fingers lightly touching the clean tops. Even without the machines running, the scent of the coffee beans waft around, soothing any stress he may have been feeling. The café wasn't particularly big, but he tried to memorize every detail he could; this is what he was going to live for.

He made his way to the customer area, sitting at one of the tables. He could see the tiny scratches from the countless mugs that have been placed, moved and rubbed against the tabletop. The chair was worn in but still sturdy enough that it didn't squeak when he shifted in it. He knew that Marble loved this café, but only now did he truly begin to realize how much she took care of this place. Yet, she would rather help her community than to be here in the place she loved.

The idea of Marble working so hard to keep her community brought his thoughts back to the conversation he had with Torchwick a few hours earlier.

"I don't know what to tell you, Eyepatch, I'm just following orders."

"Your orders nearly got a lot of innocent people killed," Kaneki snapped, shouting into his scroll. "I understand doing what one needs to survive, but I won't let you hurt innocents to do it."

Torchwick laughed nervously on the other end of the call. "Geez, a mutant cannibal with a heart of gold, huh? Look, I never wanted to hurt all those people, but my hands were tied. I'm not exactly willing to work for the she-devil, I don't have a choice."

Kaneki's eyes narrowed at the mention of his superior, somebody he hadn't brought up before. "Who is this she-devil?"

"Her name is Cinder," Roman informed hesitantly. "Look, I get that you're really hard to kill, but this woman… She's different. If I fail on any of her stupid little missions, she'll kill me and Neo. I don't know about you, but I'm quite fond of being alive. So long as she's around, Neo and I are going to be forced to do more of her bidding. It's why I didn't tell her about you. If she got you under her thumb, who knows what would happen."

"Where is she?" he demanded. "I'll kill her."

Roman laughed. "Kid, she's not exactly stupid. She's deep undercover. She contacts me whenever she needs something, I have no way of knowing where she is. Not to mention that she has those two brats with her all the time. They might be young but they're strong. I heard rumors that one of them is the son of an assassin."

Kaneki calmed himself for a moment, thinking about the turn of events. This Cinder character seemed to be the type to work from the shadows, meaning that she relied on fear to control others. Which begged the question, who did Roman fear more? "You're no longer taking orders from her," he said simply. "All this time I was working for you because I needed the money and a source of food, but I refuse to allow innocent lives to be in jeopardy. We're going to do things my way. Is that clear?"

"Whoa, hold up a minute, Eyepatch," Torchwick began to argue. "I'm all for finding you criminals to eat, but why should I take orders from you?"

"I didn't say I would give you orders," he clarified. "From what I've read about you, you're not a violent criminal nor do you victimize those who can't afford it, so I don't care what you do. We all need to eat."

Torchwick was speechless for a moment. This murderous cannibal was just giving him back his freedom? Ever since Cinder had come along, he wasn't sure if he and Neo would ever get the chance to go back to living their lives as they did. "What's the catch?" he asked carefully.

"We will exchange favors from time to time," he replied simply. "When I need a source of food, you'll provide one. If you need extra protection, I'll provide it. Do we have a deal?"

"We do," Torchwick replied, almost too quickly.

DING

The ringing of the front door brought Kaneki back to the present. He turned towards the front door to see Velvet looking around, no doubt confused as to why the door was unlocked. "Um, hello?" she called out.

"Hey, Velvet," greeted Kaneki, getting up from his seat. Velvet looked over surprised, which soon shifted into a mixture of relief and delight.

"Ken!" she greeted, rushing over to him. As Kaneki awkwardly waved, she simply wrapped her arms around him and began to squeeze. "Oh thank the gods you're okay! There was an invasion of Grimm a few days ago, it was crazy! I'm so happy you weren't here for it."

"I heard about it," he admitted, a bit ashamed. His new agreement with Roman may prevent events like this from happening in the future, but that didn't suddenly make their involvement in the Grimm's breach any more forgivable. Still, he was grateful that the two people he cared about were okay, and tried to focus on that. "I can't tell you how relieved I was when I found out your mom and her business made it through. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if something happened."

"You're a worrier, aren't you?" she asked, pulling away from the embrace. "I guess that makes two of us. What are you doing here, though? Mum isn't opening this week."

"I know," he admitted. "Truth is, this place… it's comforting. I understand your mother not wanting to open… but I just couldn't stay away from here."

Velvet tried to understand his sentiments, but could only feel confused. Regardless, she smiled at him, and nodded. "Well, I was going to use this place for some team projects," she admitted. "My team is coming down here tonight to talk about what we're all going to do since school isn't in session anymore."

"Are you on break?" he asked, not being familiar with how the school ran here.

"Well, sort of," she admitted. "It's actually got to do with the Faunus Killer, according to Coco. After the breach in our kingdom's defenses, it looks like a lot more focus is going to be given to finding out who and where the Faunus Killer is. Coco thinks that the VPD are going to enlist the Huntsmen and Huntresses from Beacon until they can get more from other kingdoms. Once they arrive, school should be back in session, but there's no way of telling how long that may be. Professor Ozpin said that it was likely that we'll have a minimum of a month off, but that's being optimistic. I've never been one for politics, so I'm not exactly sure how the council works."

Kaneki shrank a little at hearing his criminal title. "I see," he began, clearing his throat to mask the shift in the tone of his voice. "This murderer has become public enemy number one, huh? I didn't think that this case would require so much manpower…"

Velvet noticed his shifted demeanor and shook her head. "Wait, no, I didn't mean to scare you! I just… sorry, Ken. When I'm with you, I forget you're not a Huntsman in training. I'll be honest, my only friends are students at Beacon, and I guess I mentally put you in that category without thinking."

"It's alright," he said, trying to brush it off. "Is that what your team is going to discuss here at the café? I imagine that not having civilian patrons coming in would make that a bit easier."

"Yeah, that's exactly why," she nodded. "I mean, you can stay when they're here. You're not just anybody. I trust you."

Kaneki smiled softly at her, scratching his face. "I guess it would be beneficial to know as much as I can about this killer so I can be on my guard. Still, running into him scares me to death."

"If I'm being honest, it scares me too," she admitted. "After seeing what he was capable of… I don't know if anybody can really stop him."

Kaneki felt guilt wash over him as he recalled bits and pieces of that night. He didn't remember facing Velvet. "You… you fought him?" he asked, almost as if afraid of the answer that was already given to him.

"We all did," she admitted. "I think it would be better to talk this over when the rest of my team is here, it's not exactly fun remembering that fight."

"Oh, of course," Kaneki said, shaking off the stupor he fell in. "Sorry."

Velvet frowned at him and crossed her arms. "What are you apologizing for? You haven't done anything wrong."

Kaneki shrugged, looking away. "It's just so much. I wish I could do something."

"Well, you can help me put some of these tables together so we have a place to work," Velvet offered. "We're gonna need quite a few, since they're all so small."

"How many people are in your team?" he asked, walking over to pick up a table.

"There's only four of us total, but I had promised some underclassmen that we'd work on this case together. I think you've met them before, team RWBY?"

Kaneki froze for a moment, grateful he was turned away from Velvet. The four girls he fought on the train. Now, they were clear in his memory, which meant that he was clear in theirs. He began to think of a reason to make himself scarce. He may have worn his mask the entire time, but he needed to be extra cautious. "Are they all coming tonight?" he asked.

"I think so," she replied, though she was uncertain. "The sooner we all get together the faster we can get to the bottom of this. Coco doesn't like reviewing old news, so having team RWBY here from the first meeting would be most efficient. Why do you ask?"

"I, um, just wanted to see how much coffee I should make," he replied, unable to think of an adequate enough excuse. "Wouldn't want anybody falling asleep!"

Velvet's smile widened. "You're the sweetest guy I know, Ken."

Ken returned the smile, though it felt forced.

Ruby lied on her bed staring up to the ropes that held it up. Her eyes slowly trail up to the ceiling and she let out a silent sigh. After their report to Ozpin regarding their mission in Mountain Glenn, nobody felt like talking, and even the ever-cheerful team leader could not bring herself to break the silence. The atmosphere was heavy, and she had heard a pair of footsteps leave the dorm room, but couldn't bring herself to see which of her teammates left. She didn't blame them as Ruby herself wanted nothing to do but make herself scarce, but she couldn't think of anywhere the weight of failure wouldn't follow.

She had the same nightmare last night, but was able to keep herself from waking up screaming. Still, the fear in her chest took much longer to subside than when her father was there for her. Ruby had not had any doubts about her spot in Beacon since she and Weiss began to get along, yet the lingering fear and feeling of helplessness began to make those feelings resurface. Was she a good leader? Did she really have it in her to become a 'fearless' Huntress, or was she just an idealistic girl who hasn't grown up yet?

"Everything okay, Ruby?" asked Blake quietly. "You're not really ever this quiet… it's kind of weird."

"I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile before she rolled over to look down at her teammate. She could feel the expression falter a bit and looked away. "Sorry about that, just… a lot on my mind."

Blake looked up from her book, and smiled gently at her. She could see the troubled expression on her leader's face. "I'm sure you're not alone in that. Anything you want to share?"

"No, not really," she said too quickly. She winced at the defensiveness, sighed and added, "just a stupid dream I had."

"What was it about?" she asked, curiously. Blake set her book aside, and sat at the edge of her bed, inviting Ruby to come down from her perch. Ruby hesitated for a moment, but soon hopped down, sitting on Weiss' bed.

"I… I dreamt that the Faunus Killer had me again," she admitted, unable to meet Blake's gaze, afraid she would judge her. Still, she continued. "In it, I'm standing in a spotlight in a dark room and he's just stalking around in the dark. No matter how hard I look for him, I can only hear him, almost like he's slithering or something. After a while of that, he finally shows his face, and he… he just toys with me, making me feel completely helpless. When he finally has enough of tormenting me, he lunges at me and tries to eat me again… which is when I wake up."

Blake took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "That sounds horrible," she says simply. She pauses for a moment, thinking carefully on her next words. Blake reached up to her neck, touching it gingerly. "I can feel the way he choked me. To be honest, I thought we were all as good as dead. When he took out Yang and Weiss… it's like I forgot all my training. Everything I did that night… I was scared. But you… you were the focus of his attention the entire time, not to mention that he called you out by name… I can't imagine how that must have felt."

Ruby looked up to see Blake wearing the same expression of dread that she had. Suddenly, her nightmare didn't feel so foolish, yet, it didn't make the deep fear dwindle. "Do you think we can actually do something to stop him?" she asked. "I mean… nothing we did seemed to phase him."

"I'm not quite sure about that," Blake replied. "After Weiss used her time dilation on Yang, he almost made it a point to take her out first. Not to mention that Yang's attacks did seem to hurt him. I mean, she dislocated his jaw, so it's not like he's invincible."

Ruby nodded, but she wasn't convinced. Still, she kept her feelings to herself, unwilling to do nothing. Her scroll suddenly went off, a much welcomed distraction. She opened up her messages and was surprised to see a message from Velvet. "Oh, Velvet said Team CFVY is going to have their first meeting tonight at the Scarlatina Café and wants us to come along."

"Didn't they engage with him too? They might have some information we don't," Blake pointed out. "I'll go find Yang, we should definitely go."

"Right," Ruby agreed. "I'll find Weiss, and we'll meet there."

Torchwick sat in one of his many safehouses, the news playing but he paid it little attention; his mind fixated on his deal with Eyepatch. He had not heard him express much emotion before which is why his reaction to Cinder caught him off guard. He could understand wanting to keep a low profile, but it baffled Roman at how his new partner saw himself as having the moral high ground when he went around eating people. Still, the new agreement was infinitely more beneficial to him and Neo.

"What a freak…" he muttered to himself. He leaned back into the couch taking a deep breath. He had made a deal with a devil. "Still… better the devil you know than the devil you don't…"

His scroll went off again, revealing Cinder's number and the black queen. He tossed it aside, ignoring the call yet again. He would need to get a new scroll soon, but for now, he would take a much needed break. He looked over to Neo who was sitting with her arms crossed glaring at Torchwick.

"What is it?" he asked. She reached into her pocket and tossed him her own scroll, which was broken beyond repair. "What did you do to it?"

Neo rolled her eyes and with a shimmer, turned to Eyepatch. After pantomiming an exaggerated turn of events, she returned back to her normal self and pouted again.

Roman sighed tiredly and shrugged. "I'm in the market for a new scroll too, but I think it would be best if I laid low for a while. I don't think the General is exactly happy that I got away from his tin soldiers." He looked over to his partner and formed a sheepish expression. "Think you can get me one while you're out?"

Neo held her hand out expectantly. Torchwick shook his head but took out some Lien anyway. At this point in their partnership, he knew there was no point in arguing. He tossed the cards over to Neo and sank back into the couch. She smiled at him as she wore her go-to black haired and emerald eyed disguise and headed out the door.

Kaneki finished pouring the fourth cup of coffee, carefully placing them all on a serving tray alongside a cup of tea. Team RWBY had not arrived yet, but Velvet's team was already sitting around the rearranged tables. It seemed that the bunch had a lot on their mind, as Velvet didn't have the chance to introduce him to them; not that he minded. He did his best to appear as if he was minding his own business, but he was keeping an ear out to what they were saying, despite how quiet they tried to whisper.

"Are you sure this is the wisest course of action?" the gentle giant Yatsuhashi asked his leader. "Our Headmaster has made it clear that we are not to engage this foe again."

Coco took her shades off and placed them on the table in front of her, rubbing her eyes. "I know, but we were able to hurt him! I mean, I wasn't personally, but Velvet and you were able to damage him. If we can somehow isolate him, I'm sure we could bring him down."

"I'm not entirely sure about that," Velvet cut in. "Even after I managed to cut off two of his Grimm appendages, they grew back almost immediately."

"That's news to me," Fox chimed in. "I didn't know the thing could regenerate."

"We have not had the opportunity to mention it," Yatsuhashi admitted. "Besides, that's what this meeting is for, isn't it?"

Kaneki walked over silently, placing the three mugs of coffee and single cup of tea in front of each member. As he did, Coco looked over to him, a bit surprised.

"You already know our orders?" she asked. Kaneki gave her a friendly smile and shook his head.

"No, Velvet told me your preferences before you all arrived. We don't have any pastries, but I can cut up some fruit if any of you are hungry."

"We're okay, thank you Ken," Velvet said with a warm smile. "Sit down, you don't have to work right now." Kaneki nodded, taking the fourth mug he had not placed down and sat next to Velvet. The Faunus girl looked over to her team apologetically. "I sort of promised that Ken could be here, I hope that's okay."

"How much does he already know?" asked Coco neutrally, looking over to the half-Ghoul. Kaneki noticed that she seemed to have an incredible poker face from how little she gave away. He placed down his coffee and laughed nervously.

"Oh, well, I just know that this Faunus Killer person has been on the news for a few months now. I was out of town when the Grimm invaded the city, but I was relieved to hear that Velvet and Marble were unharmed."

Coco took a sip from her drink, never breaking eye contact with Kaneki. "What happened to your eye?"

"Coco!" Velvet chided. Kaneki was surprised by her bluntness but didn't allow it to show on his face. Instead, he feigned a wistful sadness.

"I… I'm not exactly sure," he lied, his left hand brushing his face. He wore a pained expression on his face, facilitated by him recalling what Yamori did to him; he had no shortage of pain to draw from. "There's a lot I don't remember."

"It might be from a head injury," Yatsu offered. Velvet looked over to her partner, realization dawning on her.

"That would explain a lot," she realized, turning to Kaneki. "Ken, do you remember when you first arrived? You had no idea what anything was for a while! You didn't know what Grimm were or where you were and even where you came from!"

Kaneki had thought of using that idea before but due to his regenerative abilities, there would never be any evidence of such an injury. Months later, however, it could be plausible if he tried to pass it off as blunt force trauma. "You might be right," he said carefully, hiding his relief.

Coco frowned slightly for a moment, but let it pass. "Velvet did mention you had a spotty memory. I guess it would make sense that you suffer from some sort of retrograde amnesia if you got hit hard enough on the head."

"It would also explain how quickly you picked things up around the café," Velvet added. "Maybe you have other skills that you forgot you have!"

"What does this all have to do with the Faunus Killer?" Fox asked, finally chiming in to the conversation.

Coco rolled her eyes at her partner. "I'm just getting to know the kid," she said. "If he's gonna be Velvet's boyfriend, I need to be sure he isn't some sort of creep."

"Coco!" Velvet groaned, her face now pink. Kaneki laughed quietly at the girl's expense, which seemed to earn a smile from the team leader. Things quieted down a bit as they each introduced themselves a bit to Kaneki. As they continued to make small talk, the front door chimed suddenly.

"Oh, you're all here!" Velvet greeted, hopping out of her seat. She walked over to her underclassmen ushering them in. "We were waiting on you to get started. Can I get you all something to drink?"

"I can do that, Velvet," Kaneki offered, getting up from the table. He picked up his own empty cup and the tray he used to bring the drinks over and walked back towards the front counter. "It's the one thing I can do to help."

Team RWBY walked in, taking their place at the tables. Kaneki walked over to them to reassure what he was going to bring out. "Three coffees and a tea?" he asked.

"How did you-" began Ruby, before remembering him. "Wait, you remember us?"

"Any friends of Velvet are friends of mine," he said with a gentle smile. He looked over to Yang who seemed a bit quieter than he remembered. His smile faded a bit, but he said nothing. Wordlessly, he walked back to get their drinks started.

The two teams began their initial discussion, Kaneki keeping his ears perked for any information that he wasn't sure was known about him. So far, they seemed to be talking about the effectiveness of various types of Dust to his own body, which he found interesting. It was true that Ice Dust gave him a lot of trouble, but he couldn't recall what Hard-Light Dust was. Before long, he finished the drinks and brought them to the table, along with a container of sugar and a small jug of cream. Once he distributed the beverages, he took his seat between Velvet and Yang.

Velvet and Yatsuhashi seemed to be finishing their recounting of their encounter with him. "It was strange how much more effective my version of my team's weapons were against the Faunus Killer than the originals. I have never caused more damage than Yatsu with my version of his Fulcrum."

"Which is how we found out that Velvet's Hard Light weapons seem to bypass whatever strange defensive mechanism he has. I only cut about a third of the way through one the appendages, but Velvet cut them all clean off." He tapped at his scroll to display the footage of the fight. Team RWBY seemed visibly shaken by Kaneki's strange appearance.

It was Blake who spoke up first, alarmed. "He can transform?!"

Team CFVY turned to her, confused. "You mean he doesn't always look like that?" she asked.

"No, we've never seen him in that form before," Weiss informed, noticing that her leader had gone completely silent. "When we encountered him, he resembled a person much more than a Grimm, but there… It looks like he mutated. The wanted posters are a bit of an exaggeration, but he does seem to have facial disfigurements."

Coco nodded, and zoomed in on the video to show off the Kakuja mask that had formed over Kaneki's face. She inspected it closely, until she noticed Kaneki's expression through the holographic screen. Her voice was still even, but there was a hint of concern in it."Is this too much for you, Ken?"

Kaneki's lone eye was wide as he looked at himself in the video. He recalled none of his actions, yet he nearly killed four of the people in this room. The guilt was starting to get to him, but he did his best to steel his nerves. He covered his mouth as he cleared his throat and touched his face. "I'm fine. That thing… it doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before."

"That's kind of the problem," Coco admitted. "None of us have, not even our Professors. According to my mom, Professor Ozpin is enlisting a lot of help from the VPD, his staff and Huntsmen from other Kingdoms. This Faunus Killer has a lot of eyes on him, but he's damn good at staying hidden."

Ruby finally spoke up, her voice uncharacteristically frail. "Do you think this guy can shapeshift into a person?"

The room fell silent. They had all thought about it at least briefly, but they had each came up with their own methods of debunking it.

"It's definitely possible," Coco admitted. "I don't know if you or your team has gotten any pictures of this guy without this bird mask thing on his face, but it could definitely be helpful in figuring out what he looks like."

"We can start by debunking what the wanted posters say," Blake said. "The description says that this guy has red hair, but when we fought him it was white."

"Yeah, we noticed that too," Coco replied. She took out her own scroll and began typing into it. "What else is wrong or misleading?"

"He only has one eye," Velvet added. "When we fought him, it was in the center of his strange mask thing."

"When we faced him his eye was on his left side," Weiss replied, touching her own scar on her face. "Although even without that mask, he did seem to only have one eye. However it was completely black with just the red iris, just like it appears there," she added, pointing to the still frame.

Fox took a deep breath and yawned. "Well, it looks like I'm not much help here," he joked.

"Oh shut up, Fox," Coco said with an eye roll. "Unless you've gathered something from what we've said."

Fox sat forward and shrugged. "He's not a Grimm," he said simply. "I don't know what he is, but he's not a Grimm."

Team RWBY looked bewildered, while Team CFVY waited for him to elaborate. "How can you be so sure?" asked Ruby. Fox turned to her direction, his expression blank.

"I haven't mentioned this yet, mostly because I was waiting for this meeting," he admitted, "but I was able to use my Semblance on him. I can't communicate with Grimm, no matter how old they may be, they're essentially mindless. This guy, thing… whatever the hell it is, it was sentient. As fractured as his mind was, he still had thoughts."

"What did he say?" asked Coco.

"That's the thing, it was like multiple voices talking over each other. Most of it was drowned out by some sort of screaming, but there was a man and woman laughing and I think a child crying for help. I couldn't make anything out, but I've never experienced anything like that before. It was so… loud and incoherent."

"What is a Semblance?" asked Kaneki, confused. "I mean, I've read about them before, but a lot of research I've found was vague and unclear."

"They're unique abilities that many Huntsmen and Huntresses have that allow them to do special things. For instance, I can copy anyone's movements after seeing them do them," answered Velvet. "Coco can increase the effectiveness of Dust, which is really helpful when she's using her Gatling gun."

"My Semblance is telepathy," Fox answered, turning towards Kaneki. "I can communicate with whoever I open the channel to. At the time, I was trying to open the channel to Yatsuhashi, who was fighting the Faunus Killer head on… but the Faunus Killer also became a part of it. I had to close the channel almost immediately due to how deafening their mind was."

Coco pat him on the shoulder understandingly. "I can only imagine what that freak was thinking. When he got his hands on me, he began to squeeze my skull while demanding that I count backwards in sevens," she admitted. "What sort of freak does that?"

Kaneki stiffened slightly as he heard these words, his lone eye widening. He had not only nearly killed Velvet and her team, but he was displaying the same tendencies that he adopted from Yamori. Suddenly Fox's description of his mental state made sense. He could only remember bits and pieces because different parts of him were fighting for control. If Rize was his hunger, Yamori was his desire to hurt others, why else would the pair laugh? His hands began to shake as the guilt began to wash over him. He didn't dare at Velvet, but could see he turn towards him in his periphery.

"Ken…" she whispered. "Do you want to get some air?"

"Y-yeah," he said, standing up suddenly. He walked out the door, Velvet following closely behind. The seven students looked confused by this sudden course of action. Coco frowned as she crossed her arms, watching her teammate leave. There was something that Velvet wasn't telling her.

Kaneki began to pace back and forth away from the café, trying to recompose himself. Velvet soon caught up to him, concern plastered all over her face.

"I'm so sorry," she said suddenly, hugging her friend. "I'm so sorry, Ken." Surprised, he didn't say anything back. He wasn't sure why she was apologizing, but he didn't trust his voice to ask. Luckily, she seemed to understand. "He hurt you, didn't he?" she asked.

"W-what?" he asked. Velvet broke the embrace, but held on to his hands. She wiped her own tears away with the back of her sleeve. "What are you talking about?"

"Your eye," she began. "Your memories, the way you went into shock all those nights ago! This Faunus Killer hurt you, didn't he? I remember when you froze up and I tried to snap you out of it, you ran away. You trembled in fear and you were counting down just like that monster tried to make Coco do. I'm so sorry!"

Kaneki took a deep breath to steady himself. "Velvet… I…" he began, unsure. He tried to come up with a lie, but couldn't think of anything. Instead, he shifted the subject. "I imagine your team will want an explanation, huh?"

Velvet looked to him confused, then shook her head. "No, Ken, you don't have to tell them anything if it's too painful, I'll just tell them that it's personal, or something."

"Tell them," he said simply. He touched his face, wearing a stoic expression. "I have nothing to hide and if it is helpful at all for your investigation, it would be best to tell them. Thank you for letting me sit in tonight, but I think I'm going to go home now, I don't want to look at that thing anymore. "

"Of course! Do you want me to walk you home?" she asked. "I can pop in and tell them, I mean you're a civilian, so I'm sure they'll understand."

"No, that's alright," he said, "I'm going to go for a walk before I head home. I need to get my thoughts together."

Velvet frowned with disapproval but kept her objections to herself. "Just be careful, okay? If this Faunus– well, actually you're not a Faunus, so I guess using that name wouldn't be appropriate anymore… but still, if that psycho is out there, don't stay out too late."

Kaneki gave her a small smile. "Of course, I won't be out for long."

Velvet watched as he walked off, his steps seemingly heavy. Frowning sadly, she turned back to her mother's café.

So, I've finally got to updating again! I have written this chapter three separate times and this was the version I was finally happy with. As I was mentioning in a response to Kragh, I feel as if these replies to reviews are getting to be a bit long. I love doing them, because you all take the time to leave your thoughts and praise as well as critiques and theories, which I have started to live for. Reading about what you all think and hope for/expect make me feel like I'm doing something right. So, I decided to create a Discord Server. I don't really use Discord much outside of talking to my beta, but I wanted to extend that offer to any of my readers who are interested! I'm still setting it up, but by the time this chapter is up, it should be active. Just click the link on my profile, or if it's not working, message me, and I'll send you one!

Thank you all a thousand times, I love you all and I can't wait to read your thoughts and comments,

~Liz