Alright, here we are again with yet another chapter of GOTM. It's been a hot minute, i.e. two weeks and some change, so let's just hop into it, yeah? I really don't have much to say here, so, instead, how about I just get into my responses to reviews/comments?

[Response to Reviews/Comments]

(Qoutev) Shine375: LORE is always the best when it's hidden, lol!

(Qoutev) TACO SENSEI: I wasn't really trying to parallel Finding Nemo with that. I guess it just happened. Also "As useless as two tits on a bull" is a phrase I heard a lot growing up. It pretty much just means someone is so useless that it needs to be pointed out. Kinda like how it would be useless for a Bull to have a pair of tits, yeah?

(Guest) Reader 451: Yeah… Zain's a little dumb. Don't worry, he'll catch up! Maybe… possibly…. Probably not.

Kolt999: Interlude chapters are basically the main plot of the story progressing. You know, the Gods stuff, which is kinda important. They are going to be few and far between unless there is a need for them or we're world-hopping.

Now, to clear something up regarding the stuff Ruby has. While I can't go too far into detail because, you know, spoilers, you're pretty much on the money here. It is definitely a more NSFW thing, but not strictly NSFW if that makes any sense. I'm keeping it vague for a reason, but trust me, when it happens, you'll know whether or not I'm saying this just to say it, or if I'm being quite literal.

Now, as for how the Multiversal Systems work, Each Multiversal System is tied to what I call The Nine Major Pantheons. These Pantheons are Norse Mythology, Greek Mythology, Roman Catholic Mythology, Buddhism, Egyptian Mythology, Hinduism, and Native American Mythology. Now, as for the Sin that the systems are tied to, it already comes pre-packed. The Norse system is tied to Lust, and Roman Catholicism is tied to Pride. The others will be revealed as time goes on, obviously, but you get the jist. It has always been this way. It has never changed, and it will always be that way.

Oh, and it's more like it's "managed" and not owned. Any of the pantheons can become beholden to The Multiversal Systems, its more of the fact that Roman Catholicism takes Pride as their own because they have been the only ones in history to have some modicum of control over the users without it getting out of hand, Jamol notwithstanding. Also, Jamol's determination to not do what Jamol typically does is… well, it'll be a riot once the two actually see each other, you know, in three months from now (In story time, not irl).

Once again, Zain is dumb, and I'm portraying him to be that way on purpose. Not because I don't like his character, but because it is in his character to do that. He's more determined to "do the right thing" than to listen to reason.

And then we get to Kokichi… good luck Cinder, because she'll need it.

Have yourself a wonderful day, Kolt!

Xmasboss (Chapter 24): she forgot to use it/I forgot to have her use it.

Now, with that out of the way, let's jump into the chapter!

xxXXxxXXxx

[Natsumi Kuzuryu]

Walking in the desert for days on end was not how she wanted to spend her time, and frankly, she was fairly certain that everyone around her, except for the monster in human skin, felt the same way. Mahiru looked like she was about to die from heatstroke, the two idol girls looked like they had died and come back to life, and Jasper… Jasper seemed to be just fine all things considered.

Then came, well, Natsumi herself. Because she was now part Cheetah, which was an animal that had abysmal heat regulation, she had to sit under as much shade as possible to allow her body to cool down. Sure, she could sweat and have her body cool down like that, but her body, now being part Cheetah, had to deal with the same problems that Cheetah's had.

And it was not fun.

Heatstroke was a very real thing, as was sunburn. Keeping in mind the fact that she was wearing a black business suit in the middle of 45-degree weather, with barely any cloud coverage, and constant sunlight was fucking annoying. She had half a mind to strip down to her underwear and bathe in the shadows.

But, for as much as that would be relaxing and good for her body in order for her to cool down, she was not doing that in front of a guy. The other girls? Okay, sure, she didn't care. She was straight and therefore didn't care if another girl looked at her. But a guy? And not only that, a guy who could pass for a legal adult?

Fuck that and then some.

And so, the sooner that she was in a city to buy better clothing, and more to the point, clothing that didn't suffocate her in disastrous levels of heat like this, the better.

Speaking of distances to destinations….

"How far away are we from Vale, Jasper?" Natsumi asked as the man in question looked over his shoulder. He was facing away from Natsumi, who was sitting underneath an overhanging cliff, along with the others, with the exception of "The Dog" as Jasper called it, who was standing further ahead acting as a bodyguard.

"Well, I'd say, with the rate that we're going, and if we take another shortcut through Grimm Infested lands, we'll be at Forever Fall—a part of Vale's land—in about 7 hours. The only problem is, well, the Grimm Infestation part. After that, and after we make it to Forever Fall, it'll be another 3 day's walk to The Kingdom Of Vale. And this is all under the pretense we, or I, have enough supplies to make it there in time," Jasper said as Mahiru was the one who spoke up.

"In time? In time for what?" Mahiru asked as Jasper sighed.

"Beacon Academy's Exams. My… Boss's Children are attending the school, and he tasked with me two things while I am in Vale. The first thing was to find someone, and the second thing was to deliver something that he knew he was going to forget to give his children while they were there. It was… an unspoken thing but I assumed and I assumed right," Jasper replied as Mahiru frowned.

"And what makes you think we'll just go with you?" Mahiru asked as Jasper looked over his shoulder at her.

"Because, for one, you don't know how to fight, meaning you'd die in seconds if I left you alone without proper guidance to Vale. Secondly, you've already come this far, why would you give up now? And finally, you owe me, big time for helping you," Jasper listed off as he turned back to face the vast yellow and sandy expanse.

Mahiru was about to say something when Fumiko placed a hand on her shoulder. "He's right. As much as I don't like it, he's right," Fumiko said, before looking over to Jasper. "That said, why don't you help us get stronger then so we can fend for ourselves?"

Fumiko made a good point, one that Natsumi agreed with. Of course, she knew how to fight. One didn't live in the Yakuza for as long as she did without getting some basic CQC training. Natsumi looked over to Jasper, who didn't look back at them. He was seemingly lost in thought, what with how his boot tapped against the sand.

That was something that Natsumi made note of—his mannerisms. They had only been travelling together for the last three days, but in that time she was able to pin down certain things about Jasper. One of those things was his being lost in thought. Whenever he was, he would tap his foot or grunt. Despite the fact he looked to be in his early 30s to maybe late 20s, he acted like a teenager.

Another thing he did was comb a hand through his hair. He'd do that when he was anxious about something. He had only done it once, and it was when he was mumbling something to himself. She honestly didn't know what exactly it was about, and nor did she care, but it seemed to get him in a bit of a mood.

"If I train you… it'll be the worst thing you all will have had to experience in a long time. That, and if I were to do that, it wouldn't be here. It'd be somewhere else. Something I have no real access to without permission. So no, I won't. You're all competent, aren't you? Everyone except you, Red hair. You said to Kuzuryu over here that you wanted to go on your own, because you think that you know how to fend for yourself. And yet, just by me looking at you, I can tell that you know jack-shit."

As soon as Jasper said that, he turned to face her, as Mahiru narrowed her eyes toward the blond. "Excuse you! I know how to live and survive out in the wilderness! I do know "Jack-shit" I know a lot of things, actually! And who the hell are you too—"

Jasper thrust what appeared to be a spear with lightning bouncing off of it as if it were conducting electricity toward Mahiru, making the redhead clamp her jaw shut in fear. The metal point gently pressed against the middle of Mahiru's neck, and never moved an inch. His blue eyes looked glazed over as if he was dead, and his expression was devoid of emotion. Mahiru, on the other hand, paled, her hands brought up but to no use. She couldn't have protected her neck in time for the attack, and that was something that scared Natsumi the most.

This Jasper guy…. He was quick. Way too quick for his own good, and because of that, it had caused genuine fear to build up in the Yakuza's chest. Fumiko and Satomi didn't budge from where they were, they simply stared in confusion and terror.

"Dead." The word left Jasper's mouth with such ease that it didn't make a difference in what tone he spoke it in. The message was clear, and yet Mahiru still didn't say a word, allowing Jasper to continue. "When I mean you don't know jack-shit, I mean it. You know nothing, Red Hair. This world, the world we are in, is ruthless. People like you? City folk? Out here in Vacuo, hell even in Vale's wilderness, you'd get chewed up and spit out. You can't defend yourself for shit. Hell, I have half the mind to throw you into a Grimm nest and see what happens."

Jasper withdrew his spear, and it vanished into thin air. "Allow me to make this clear to you now. It's not just The Grimm you have to worry about. There's the White Fang, The Bandit Tribes, Corrupt Hunters and Huntresses, and pray to the brothers you never run into The Beastkin…."

"Beastkin?" Natsumi asked as Jasper shook his head.

"An experiment that never should've happened. Just know that they are ferocious beasts that live within heavily wooded areas. They look like Faunus but aren't. They are what Faunus Bigots think the faunus are. They're a kind of… diversion of The Faunus. Some sick freak of a man fused a couple hundred Faunus with a bunch of Grimm and… something else, and ended up creating The Beastkin. Then, they multiplied. The Southern portion of Vale's forests are filled with the fuckers…" as Jasper explained, he shook his head. "Listen to me, and listen to me well. If you think for even a second you're going to go alone, Red Hair, you might as well kill yourself now. It's better than being turned into a Grimm's chew toy or being turned into a slave for The White Fang, or worse, a meal for those corrupted bastards and their Beastkin pets."

Natsumi frowned, crossing her arms. "You keep saying corrupted as if we know what you mean, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Corruption…" Jasper continued. "It's a plague. One… caused by my Boss." Everyone froze at that, as Jasper lowered his head. "I don't work with him because I want to, mind you. I don't have a choice."

"What do you mean?" Natsumi demanded, looking at Jasper with narrowed eyes. "Everyone has a choice, you choose to work with him, do you not?"

"Out of fear of my life… and someone else's whom I hold dear," Jasper stated as Natsumi flinched.

"Hostage situation?" Mahiru questioned, her tone more demanding than asking. Natsumi looked over at Mahiru as the redhead glanced at her, her frown turning into a scowl. "What? I'm not blind to stuff like this. I was a hostage to your boss, remember, Kuzuryu."

"That—"

"Enough, I don't want to hear it," Mahiru interrupted, looking back at Jasper. "I sympathize with you, Jasper. You don't deserve to have this happen to you, I would know, but right now we need information. So, first and foremost, tell us more about this Corruption stuff."

Jasper paused, averting his eyes from Mahiru, tapping his foot again. Natsumi had no idea what was going on in that man's head, but it was clear based on the gleam in his eyes that he was thinking very carefully. Almost as if the information he possessed could be dangerous.

Eventually, Jasper sighed, looking back at the group. "Very well. I can't tell you much, but what I can tell you is very important. So listen well, because I'll probably only be able to say this once. My Boss is… very much into mind control and degradation of the people he views as his enemies. Case in point, Hunters and Huntresses. Corruption is a spell that he cast across the world, one that would slowly take over the minds and turn those who work for a man named Ozpin into drooling, babbling, mindless drones who only have one purpose—to kill. It takes years to take effect, but the symptoms are obvious when it occurs."

As Jasper was about to continue, he snapped his attention behind him, as did everyone else, and saw "The Dog" make its way to them. It stopped just before Jasper and pointed in the direction of The Grimm Infested area that he was talking about before. The man sighed before gesturing for everyone to get up. "We'll talk more about Corruption later. For now, we have to get moving. It's early in the morning, and we don't have time to be wasting precious minutes talking about stuff."

As much as everyone wanted to object, they didn't have time to waste. Covering ground was a little more important than learning stuff. Granted, it was important stuff, that much Natsumi knew, but the sooner they got out of this humid, annoying ass desert, the better.

And so, off she and her travel companions went.

[Chinatsu]

The densely packed forest of the wilderness was humid, dry, and crawling with insects. Quite frankly, it annoyed Chinatsu more than anything due to having to swat away mosquito after mosquito trying and failing to land on her to suck some of her blood.

"I knew I should've bought some bug spray at that shop while I had the chance… or maybe I should've asked Jupiter or Titan if they had any… damnit!" Chinatsu thought as she swatted away yet another mosquito.

Out of her little travel party of four, Chinatsu purposely stayed in the back, being a kind of rear guard for Sayaka and Nagisa, who were stationed in the middle, and at the front was Saichi, who was paving the path forward within the densely packed forest that they had been travelling in for the last few days.

"I was a little iffy about magic at first, but pushing bushes out of the way and making a path is a lot more fun than I thought it would be!" Saichi said, her tone joyous along with the smile on her face. She was still wearing that tacky Idol outfit, as was Sayaka, but Chinatsu didn't much care for it either way.

Besides, it wasn't as if they had a change of clothes to swap into. They were probably going to have to wait to get to civilization before even thinking about changing into something new and fresh.

That, and taking a shower. Or a bath. Or both. Seriously, there was enough dirt, grime, and sweat gathered on her forehead alone to start giving her some sort of skin disease if she didn't get clean soon.

"You are putting them back, though, right?" Nagisa asked as the blue-haired horse boy stared at the deer Faunus. "It's bad for the environment and can cause several extinction-level events for fauna and other creatures alike!" Nagisa said, slight alarm in his tone of voice as Saichi sighed.

"Of course, I'm putting them back! I'm not that much of an airhead!" As the deer Faunus said that, Sayaka giggled to herself, earning a glare from Saichi. "Say anything about that time and you're dead to me," Saichi snapped as Sayaka smiled.

"I would never embarrass you in front of friends," the blue-haired idol said with barely a hint of remorse in her voice. Chinatsu sighed, looking around the place.

They had gotten what they had wanted, i.e. a trip to Anima. It cost her a pretty penny, but she were able to pay for it. After all, she had hundreds of thousands of dollars because of her previous ventures in The Danganronpa Universe, even after the conversion, it wasn't as if she was lacking. They ended up docking just off the coast of the north end of the island. They were originally going to go to Mistral, but it was on lockdown, and their borders were closed to all of those who weren't native citizens of Anima.

At first, she was confused as to why that was, but the pilot had informed her that It was because of a threat they had received from someone. Whoever that someone was must've been really strong if the whole city was in lockdown. Her first thought was that it was this Jamol Anderson person that Ghira had mentioned when she first spawned here.

If that was the case… then Mistral was going to be in some major trouble. If her assumption of him being a Multiversal Gamer was to be true, then that meant that things were going to get messy, and fast.

Either way, regardless of who had been the one to do it, Mistral was still in lockdown, meaning that they couldn't enter it. That being said, they still got to the location they needed to be at, and now all they had to do was find Jolyne and her group.

And to do that, they decided to take a hike throughout the wilderness in hopes of potentially finding them, taking rests whenever they could…

i.e., never.

Seriously, if they weren't being bombarded by those extremely terrifying if not fodder, shadow wolf things or even two black and white snake monsters—Beowulfs and King Taijatus respectfully—then they probably would've been able to catch some Zs earlier in the night. But, unfortunately, that wasn't the case, seeing as every night they got bum-rushed by those damned Grimm.

If it wasn't for Chinatsu's second favourite spell Group Refresh everyone would be dead on their feet.

Then came the dense forest itself. Anima had several forests that were known for these Grimm, specifically Beowolves and Ursa, but rarely King Taijatus. She was told this by this a passerby heading to a place called Zammoth, a settlement a few miles away from another settlement called Styx, which was where they were heading now considering it was closer than Zammoth was.

Also, according to this person from Zammoth, Styx had recently gained itself a new Champion, someone who had been able to hold off a literal army of bandits by themselves. If that didn't scream Jolyne, then Chinatsu didn't know what would.

"How far away are we from this Styx place, Chinatsu?" Sayaka asked as Chinatsu shrugged.

"We ran into that guy about a day ago, right? So maybe another day or so of walking. Does anyone need a refresh?" Chinatsu asked as Nagisa sighed.

"Are you sure this is healthy? Constantly refreshing our bodies with magic?" Nagisa asked as Chinatsu shrugged.

"I mean, I used it on D.I.C.E. when we were forced by my late father to train for weeks on end, and there were no adverse effects, so I'm fairly certain you'll be fine," Chinatsu replied as Nagisa frowned.

"Your dad sounds like a garbage person," Nagisa spat as Chinatsu nodded.

"He was, but he's dead now, so it doesn't matter. Well, that's not true. He wasn't always like that. He just got far too caught up in his work and his goals. He stopped caring about us at some point, so I responded in kind," Chinatsu replied, stuffing her hands into her pockets. Nagisa, for his part, hummed to himself after that.

The walk became silent, with the exception of the sound of dirt getting crushed underfoot and the moving of foliage out of the way via magic use.

In the silence, all Chinatsu could think about was what Kokichi was up to. She shuddered at the thought of him causing issues for those in the main cast of the RWBY universe. Anyone who found him and the group of people he was teleported here with would find themselves overwhelmed with frustration, anger, and annoyance all at once.

There were only a few people who could truly put up with Kokichi's antics, and one of those people was already dead, leaving only Chinatsu. That wasn't even considering Chiaki or Gundham. Masaru might've actually been the only one there who had a stable head on his shoulders, and that was saying something, considering everyone else around him would be, at the bare minimum, 14 years old.

Yes, despite his appearance and mentality, Kokichi was only 14 years old. Chinatsu was older than him by 7 years. Well, that actually checked out, considering she had been reborn 7 years in the past.

That aside, the blue-haired Gamer snorted to herself at the idea of a pre-teen having a more stable mind than a full-grown teenager. The idea was crazy in of itself, and quite frankly it was ludicrous. Her younger brother was a handful, and the only reason why she was able to get used to his antics was simply by being around him a lot.

Patience was also something that was required when it came to Kokichi. Not many people had a good amount of patience, especially in this world. The only few people that she could think of off the top of her head would be Ozpin, Salem, and maybe Ironwood, and that last one was a bit of a stretch.

Glancing over to Sayaka, Chinatsu noticed that she looked a little tense. The fellow blue-haired woman raised an eyebrow at this, tapping her on the shoulder to gain her attention. "What's got you so tense?"

"Actually, yeah, I've been wondering that too," Saichi spoke up, looking over her shoulder and at Sayaka. "You don't usually get this tense unless it's before a big show. What's got you all worked up, Saya-chan?" Saichi asked, causing Sayaka to look at the ground.

"I—" Sayaka paused, biting down on her lower lip before continuing. "I feel like something bad is going to happen. I've always had a… sharp intuition, bordering on psychic abilities such as mind reading and precognition. It was so uncanny that I made it a joke for most of my life. Tangent aside, I've been getting a weird… tingle up my spine ever since we started heading in this direction. I don't know why, but it's starting to worry me…."

"Oh, c'mon, this again?" Saichi groaned. "Look, it's probably nothing, Saya-chan. You're probably just nervous about the new environment. I'm pretty sure the others are feeling that way too. This is an entirely new world compared to our own, so it's okay to feel a little worried," Saichi said as Sayaka frowned.

"I'm not kidding, Chi-chan, I mean it! You remember the last time this happened, right? When… you know what happened?" Sayaka said, making both Nagisa and Chinatsu curious. Saichi, however, didn't seem too keen on speaking after that, before immediately looking away and picking up the pace a little bit more after that.

"I'm going to assume that whatever Sayaka means by that is something that I should not bring up…" Chinatsu noted mentally, before looking for a way, any way to defuse the situation and bring it back into focus.

And then, a brilliant idea came to mind. It might get her slapped, but it was better than allowing the tension in the air to get any thicker, and possibly attract Grimm due to the negativity driven to it.

Chinatsu patted the idol on the back, confusing the teen. "You sure it isn't that time of the month, Maizono?"

This caused Sayaka to blush profusely with a mix of shock and outrage, smacking the gamer upside the head, which had done a surprising 200 damage to her. "No!" Sayaka refuted, before looking away. "That was two weeks ago, and besides that's not important. I mean it, Ouma-san. Something bad is going to happen. I don't know when, but it's probably not far from now…."

Rubbing the back of her head with a slight frown on her face, Chinatsu sighed. "Well, when do you think this bad thing is gonna happen?"

"Three Months from now," Sayaka said as she grasped her right wrist with her left hand. "It's a gut feeling, and my gut feelings are usually spot on."

"Three months from now…. What could be happening three months from now?" Chinatsu thought, thinking back to her knowledge about RWBY. "It's not the Vytal Festival. That takes place 6 months after Canon begins… And most of the other major story beats from canon take place through the first semester of Beacon Academy, before The Fall of Beacon…. This would then mean that whatever is going to happen in three months is something either inconsequential to this world, or changes everything. Considering there are not one, but supposedly TWO people who have Multiversal Systems here…." Chinatsu shook her head, putting both hands behind her back as she looked up at the sky.

"I don't think we need to worry about it, Maizono. We should be fine," Chinatsu said as Sayaka glanced over at Chinatsu, before looking away. There was a gleam in the idol's eyes that made Chinatsu believe that she didn't believe her for even a second. But, she was remaining optimistic.

{Reputation with Sayaka Maizono – 009/100}

"Huh, neat," Chinatsu thought. "Better than negative 10 a few days ago…" And with that, the conversation ended. The tension wasn't nearly as bad as it was before, but it was still there. There was, maybe, another day left of travelling, and then afterward, Chinatsu would've joined up with Jolyne.

Unless, of course, something happened that would cause that to not happen. But there was no way that was possible, right?

Well, the noxious fumes that just hit them were more than enough to change Chinatsu's mind about that. Immediately, Chinatsu went to activate Light Beam to defend herself, just as Nagisa summoned Boku No Rythem Wo Kiitkure. Sayaka covered her nose and mouth, and Saichi began to attempt to manipulate the trees around her to keep herself from inhaling the potentially lethal fumes.

But, it was to no avail. Try as Chinatsu might to locate who was attacking them, she was hit violently in the back of the head, her body slamming into the ground as her health bar went from 15,000 to 1,350 in a matter of a second. What didn't help things was the status effect that was applied to her, that being drowsiness.

"Sleep gas…" Chinatsu thought as her eyes glimmered with confusion and fear. She was only able to see the boots of the person who had attacked them, and the voice was a little muddied, but when she was picked up to be examined, she immediately recognized the logo on the clothes the person was wearing.

White Fang.

But by then, by the time Chinatsu figured out that The White Fang was kidnapping them, it was too late, as Chinatsu had already fallen into involuntary slumber.

The only thing on her mind, when that happened, was a simple "Why me" before her consciousness faded completely.

[Weiss]

A faint, green glow came out of the corner of her eyes as she squinted. There was a soft, cushy feeling underneath her body, and her head hurt to the high heavens. She felt weak and worst of all, she was so tired that she could barely even open her eyes, let alone move her fingers. But, the only thing that she supposed mattered was that she was alive.

The faint green glow disappeared, as a muffled voice flowed in one ear and out the other. She could barely make out what the person was saying; only a muffled "awake" was what she could make out. It was a little on the quiet side, which didn't help her case any.

The next thing she knew, something wet passed through her lips, and down her throat. She didn't fight it, mainly because she couldn't before the liquid stopped, causing her to cough. It was only then that she could power through enough to open her eyes even a smidge, and what she was greeted by was a green-haired boy who looked to be around her age, if not a little younger, with just as green eyes as his hair. His skin, much like her own, was pale. But unlike her own, it didn't have a sickly hue.

The boy was wearing what appeared to be a school outfit… with a skirt. Odd, but she wasn't going to question it. And when she was finally able to process her surroundings, she realized that she was in someone's bedroom. She wanted to jolt up, but the boy placed a hand on her stomach and forced her down, which was annoyingly easy for him to do.

"Hold on," the boy began before he draped what appeared to be a blanket made of animal hide over her body. "You're kind of el' naturale there lady. Let me find you some clothes before you go jolting up anywhere."

Weiss's first instinct was to scream the moment she realized she was in a room with a boy with no clothing on. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have enough energy to do or pretty much say anything. The boy left the room, leaving her by herself for about a few minutes, before a tunic and a pair of pants, along with some underwear, were thrown at her, before the door shut.

Weiss looked at the clothing and examined them. The tunic was a simple maroon colour in the center and a darker brown colour for the shoulders and forearms. The sleeves were short, but that wasn't all too big of a problem. It wasn't like she was in Atlas anymore, and hadn't been for 9 or so years. She was actually more used to hotter climates due to her enslavement at the hands of the White Fang.

Not that it mattered, mind you, but she digressed.

Then came the pants. They were, much like the tunic, maroon in colour with the knees having brown patches in them. There was a part of her that thought about the fact that if she hadn't been kidnapped at a young age and made a slave, she would've stuck her nose up at this. And that part of her hated that because it was probably true.

Not wasting any time, Weiss got dressed, and just as she finished slipping on the tunic, the green-haired boy came into the room again. He had changed as well, no longer wearing the school uniform for girls and was wearing a similar outfit to her own, just a lighter colour than hers.

"Good morning, it's good to see you awake," the green-haired boy said before sitting down on a wooden chair beside the bed. Weiss was standing now, although her legs felt weak. He seemingly noticed it, seeing as her legs were shaking, and motioned her to sit. She did and felt a little bit of relief. Weiss was still tense though—she was fairly certain that was going to be the case no matter what she was told.

"What did you make me drink?" Weiss asked as the boy nodded.

"Herbal medicine, which was given to me by one of the doctors in town. They said it would be good for pain relief such as aching muscles and broken bones; the latter of which you have a few of. Which brings me to something I want to point out. How have you not noticed them?" When the boy asked that question, Weiss didn't know how to answer it.

She guessed she was just used to it. And so, that was exactly what she had said. "I… I'm just so used to having broken bones. I think I've… kind of become numb to it," Weiss replied as the boy frowned.

"That's not how biology works. It could just mean your pain receptors are shot, meaning that… hmm, give me your hand," the boy said as he drew a knife from his pocket. Reluctantly, Weiss gave him the palm of her hand, and when she did, he glided the blade across her palm. There was no pain, although she felt slight discomfort from seeing her blood. "Did that hurt at all?" The boy asked as Weiss frowned.

"No," the white-haired teen answered as the boy's frown deepened. There was a gleam of concern in his eyes, and it didn't go unnoticed. Why, though? Why did an absolute stranger care about whatever kind of condition she may or may not have? It wasn't as if he was a doctor or anything. So why would he care?

"I see. So I was right. You don't feel pain. That… is an issue. And it explains a lot," the boy muttered before shaking his head. "So, do you want the bad news or the good news?"

"I want to know who you are, for one, and for two, I want an explanation," Weiss stated bluntly as the boy nodded with a sheepish expression on his face.

"Right, sorry. I should've introduced myself. My bad," the boy said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "My name is Rantaro Amami. I… hail from a settlement in Anima that went by "Japan." It… no longer exists," Rantaro said, a flash of grief in his eyes that Weiss could somewhat relate to. After a second or so, Rantaro cleared his throat before continuing. "Right now, you're in the settlement of Styx. I don't know much about it seeing as I've only been here for a day or two. That aside, some woman with cat ears passed you off to me and for the last day or so you've been in a deep sleep, where I've been using my Healing Magic to, well, heal you."

"Blake… she left me here. I… no, it was for the better. Hopefully, Adam doesn't harm her, that would leave me with a sour taste in my mouth…" Weiss thought before looking over at Rantaro. "On a more important note…" "Magic? Are you sure you aren't confusing that wives tale with your Semblance?" Weiss asked as Rantaro shook his head.

"Nope. Pretty sure I'm not. Semblances are powers that come from the Soul, which are in turn powered by Aura. Magic is power derived from Mana, and Mana comes from Chakra points within the body and can be influenced by meditation and practice. The more Mana you have, the more spells you can do, so long as you already know them and have practiced with them," Rantaro explained as Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Is this guy insane?" Weiss thought, before pursing her lips. Magic wasn't real. That was a fact of life, and yes, while Semblances and Aura can be assumed to have come from some sort of magic, it wasn't magic. It was the manipulation of one's own soul. And using it so brazenly came at a cost.

While yes, Aura and Semblances were extremely powerful, even if some seemed useless, overuse of Aura and one's Semblance led to "Aura Exhaust." Aura Exhaust was basically a death sentence if someone wasn't given immediate medical attention. It happened frequently in the field of hunters and huntresses. It was why the average life expectancy for Hunters and Huntresses was, at the youngest, 26 and the oldest somewhere around 32. If you made it beyond that, then you got lucky.

But magic? Well… Magic just, flat out, wasn't real. It had never been real, and would never be real.

"Magic doesn't exist," Weiss responded faintly as Rantaro sighed.

"Well then, what explains this then?" As Rantaro said that, he reached his hand out toward her as a Green Glyph the size of her chest appeared right in front of her. Weiss's eyes nearly widened out of their sockets upon seeing that.

Sure, these Glyphs were green, but Glyphs only existed with The Schnee Bloodline. And… now that she looked at Rantaro's face a little, he bore some resemblance to her little brother Whitely.

The only issue is that Whitely was dead. She watched that monster's sword plunge through the toddler's chest and out of the boy's back. There was no way Whitely survived.

Maybe… "Was Jacques unfaithful? No, because then this boy wouldn't have Glyphs. Only having a child with Willow would produce a Glyph wielder. And Willow was an only child, so it's not as if she had a sister that Jacques could have had an affair with…" Weiss's thoughts continued as she grimaced. "That, and this Rantaro Amami boy would have only been 9 years old. And, Willow is dead too… never mind, this isn't making any more sense…"

"Are you alright, ma'am?" Rantaro asked as Weiss blinked.

"O-oh! No, I'm fine, It's just… Your… Semblance reminds me of one that ran in my… Family." As Weiss spoke, she said the two words "Semblance" and "Family" with a distinct amount of venom to get across the fact that she hated them. Her family abandoned her and left her to die, and as for her family's Semblance… well, she never had the chance to awaken to it because her Aura wasn't unlocked by her mother when it was supposed to.

Granted, if her Aura was unlocked by someone else, maybe she would get the family's Semblance. But now, looking at it, she wouldn't want it. She wanted nothing to do with The Schnees, therefore, what was the point?

Rantaro, for his part, sighed. "It's not a Semblance, ma'am, it's Magic. I don't have, nor have I ever had Aura. You can even hit me to prove that theory if you'd like," Rantaro stated as Weiss raised an eyebrow. Rantaro continued to have his Glyphs visible, though he had now retracted his hand away from her and had them pointed to the ceiling.

She frowned, more convinced that this Rantaro person was insane than she had previously thought, before sighing. If he'd allow it, then she'd do it. Aura came up to defend the user as if it were a reflex, so as her hand came close to hitting his face, it should, by all means, activate to protect the user.

So when it didn't, and when her hand came into direct contact with the boy's face, Weiss was left a little flabbergasted.

"W-What?" Weiss muttered as Rantaro smirked, his Glyphs disappearing from his hands as he soothed his cheek. "B-But that's—"

"Impossible? Absurd? Ridiculous? Absolutely unbelievable?" Rantaro prattled off with a small Cheshire grin. "Believe me, I've heard a bunch of that coming from the townsfolk. Magic is real and from the looks of it…" Rantaro trailed off, looking her up and down with a judgemental eye. "You seem to be more than capable of using it. Well, you know, after you get a little healthier, that is."

Weiss… honestly didn't know what to believe. Aura was what allowed someone to use their semblance. And, if Rantaro didn't have an Aura, it would therefore be impossible for him to use those Glyphs.

"No… there has to be something that he's not telling me. Maybe he just repressed his Aura to make his lies sound believable…." Weiss's thoughts teetered out when the door behind her opened, causing the white-haired teenager to turn around. What she was greeted with was… well, it was certainly a shock, and not for any other reason than that someone else had shown up.

Standing in the doorway was a black and pink-haired teenager, maybe around the same age as Weiss, with what appeared to be forked horns and a long black and purple scaled tail that went down to the girl's ankles, immediately signalling to Weiss that the girl was a Faunus. She was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a white hoodie. Her dual-toned hair reached down to her shoulders, and she had one visible eye, as the other one was covered by an eyepatch, which meant that she was either blind in that eye, or lost it somehow.

"Ah! So little miss sick stick is awake. I would say you look well, but a gust of wind could blow you over," the girl stated as Weiss stared at her with a judging gleam.

If Weiss were to be honest, she was weary of Faunuskind as a whole. She didn't hate them, far from it, actually. She sympathized with them, especially after what she went through. But she was weary of them. After all, she was enslaved by them for nine years, so it only made sense.

"Who… are you?" Weiss asked as the teen smirked.

"Names Jolyne, Jolyne Brooks. And you are?" The teen, Jolyne, asked.

"Weiss… just Weiss," the snow-white-haired teen replied as Jolyne frowned.

"Everyone has a last name, so either you don't want to bring it up, or you were disowned. Either way, doesn't matter. Any family you have or had is irrelevant if they let you get… like that." There was a palpable amount of disgust in her tone of voice, and Weiss had to assume it was because of her rather sickly appearance.

The former Schnee nodded in agreement, placing her hands on her lap, and glancing over to Rantaro. "Um… I believe earlier you said you had both good news and bad news… uh, what's the bad news?" Weiss asked, a small hint of worry in her tone of voice. Out of the corner of her eye, Jolyne crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, a concerned gleam in her eye as Rantaro frowned.

"You sure you want to hear that first?" Rantaro asked as Weiss nodded, prompting Rantaro to sigh. "Well… due to the amount of damage done to your body and exposure to… all sorts of diseases, your immune system is, for a lack of a better word, completely fucked. If you were to get the common cold there would be a high likelihood of you dying from it." As Rantaro spoke, Weiss felt her stomach turn at the information. However, if that was all, then Weiss might have been fine. But it wasn't, and that was proven as Rantaro continued to talk.

"That's not even the worst of it. The worst of it is yet to come. Thanks to my Healing spell, I was able to feel around within your body without actually opening you up. It comes as a sixth sense of mine, don't bother asking how, because I barely even know myself. Anyways, I was able to detect that your body is producing fewer White Blood Cells than normal. This is due to your abysmal vitamin count on all fronts." Rantaro paused, allowing for Weiss to absorb all of the information. A worried grimace made itself known on the girl's face, as she looked down at her hands.

"Is… is that all, or…?"

"Nope, there's more," Rantaro confirmed, making Weiss clam up. Rantaro noticed it and sighed. "Look, I said it was bad news. But… no, I guess I never really told you how bad. Alright, how about this, I'll cut it to brass tacks. Everything I've just mentioned, and a bunch more stuff that is either uncurable by modern medicine standards, or will take years, bordering on decades, to repair, as I just mentioned, would take a lot of time. And that… is time you don't have, Weiss."

Weiss turned sharply over to Rantaro, eyes narrowed with confusion and a hint of anger. "What does that mean? Can't you treat it? So what if it'll take decades, what does that matter?"

Rantaro frowned, a look of disappointment in his eyes. Weiss didn't like that look, and neither did Jolyne.

"What the hell are you talking about, Rantaro? I thought you told me that you'd be able to heal her after a few days. What's the sudden change?" Jolyne asked as Weiss glanced over to the Faunus teenager.

"So… she was the one who ordered this Rantaro boy to heal me? I'll… have to thank her later," Weiss thought before looking back to Rantaro, who seemed to be in deep thought.

"It seriously can't be that bad, can it? I mean, if I was able to survive 9 years as a slave, beaten and made to look lesser than sentient, then I'm sure whatever virus or flu I have can be fixed in time. It's not like I'm dying or anything… right?" Weiss asked as Rantaro flinched.

And… Weiss didn't like that. Not one bit.

"Well, it's funny you say that, Weiss… because… You only have two years left to live, and at the rate your body is breaking down, there is nothing that I, nor anyone else, can do to help you."

-To Be Continued-

HAHA! Get fucked! I'm leaving you on a cliffhanger, cause I'm such an amazing person! Anyways, that's all from me, see ya in the next chapter!