Well, I guess I'm back for a spell? I wanted to make this chapter as long as my other ones, but I felt if I added stuff to match the word count, it would have felt more like filler. Hopefully this chapter will satiate you all enough until the next one, but I'd like to respond to a few reviewers first. Feel free to skip down to the story though!

LostSoul000: I don't think I've read anything in regards to Prototype, so I can't say that my story won't follow that, so anything that does happen will be free from any outside influences. Heck, I stopped reading fanfiction so I didn't accidently borrow ideas.

austintristan16: No, I don't. I don't feel that I could adequately portray multiple characters from another world unless they were in some sort of 'us vs them' mentality. Also, it would feel kind of lazy, at least to me, to suddenly bring in characters at this point in the story, considering how much attention Kaneki has gotten up until now.

Aergaia: While suspicions were on him for a while, I don't believe that Kaneki was aware of who was on his tail. Coco suspecting him wasn't as much of a concern to him since she was a student and Velvet was acting as some sort of buffer that clouded Kaneki's judgement and because Coco definitely cares about Velvet enough to be hesitant to just accuse him without evidence. Coco talking to both her own mother and Velvet's mother kind of made her second-guess herself. Qrow, on the other hand, is directly working with Ozpin, who as far as Kaneki knows, is the most influential person in Vale. It was kind of Kaneki wanting Velvet to find out from him rather than Ozpin. I might not have captured that properly, so I apologize if it felt jarring.

Hellibleri: I wasn't sure about the backstabbing part, if I was being honest, but as I wrote it, it kind of felt like it was the right thing to do, given the emotional turmoil and all. I'm glad you liked it.

Halo 69 (Guest): I did not and you know it.

asthane: I'm so happy to hear that you enjoy my little story so much! I'm trying to stop ending chapters on cliffhangers, but it feels weird to end a chapter without setting up for the next one. Hopefully this update won't be as big a cliffhanger, as I don't know when I'll update again. As for your question, I'll be honest, it's been so long since I've written that chapter, that list slipped my mind, especially since you're the first to bring it up since. I feel that the next story I publish will have to be done in its entirety before I start posting to avoid this kind of mistake. I'll have to go back a few chapters and write a scene that explains why that list is obsolete in a previous chapter, so thanks for pointing that out!

The morning began to break as Velvet and Kaneki still remained in the employee room alone. Kaneki had been true to his word, starting from the day he became a Ghoul to last night. Not once had Velvet interrupted him to clarify anything, something Kaneki wasn't sure if it was because she didn't know what she wanted to know, or if she just wanted to wait until the end. After what felt like years but in reality was only a moment, Velvet stood from her seat and began to pace back and forth, trying to make sense of any of it.

"Did you want to ask me anything?" Kaneki asked, unsure of how to proceed.

"I… I'm not sure," she admitted, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. "Nothing you said makes any sense," she said incredulously, "but there's no way you could possibly make all of that up. I'd sooner believe you got possessed by a Chill before thinking you're some sort of monstrous species… I mean, you said you were human at one point, but how did an organ transplant alter your entire physiology? Don't answer that, I'm just thinking out loud," she added quickly.

"You're taking this much better than I had hoped," Kaneki admitted. He could see how hard she was trying to make sense of it all, but he noticed much of her trepidation was gone. "Velvet… I'm grateful, but why are you still here?"

Velvet turned with a confused look. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Ken, it's only been a few hours, I'm still trying to wrap my hand around you eating people. I mean you're working with one of Vale's most wanted criminals, but that pales in comparison with everything else you've told me! How am I supposed to process everything you've told me?"

"That's not the point," he said, shaking his head. "Doesn't it bother you?"

Velvet let out an incredulous laugh. "Of course it does! Do you think I'm okay with all of this?!" She noticed Kaneki recoil slightly as she shouted at him. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Look… this whole situation with… well, everything… It's awful. I don't know what I'd do if something like that happened to me, but I'm trying my best to try to see things from your perspective, okay? I just need time. Honestly, a lot of the things you told me you did, I would have probably have done things not too far off. If I thought I could hurt somebody because I couldn't control myself, I would absolutely distance myself from them, at least until I could figure something to keep it under control which you're clearly still struggling to do. If my body rejected normal food as viscerally as you said yours did, I would be devastated… but most of all, I don't think I could bring myself to kill somebody… but I guess you were in the same boat not too long ago…"

Kaneki looked at his hand and it frightened him how easily he could remind himself what it looked like dripping with blood. He quickly shook himself out of his thoughts and looked over to Velvet. She leaned against the wall, running her fingers through the sides of her head. "I'm sorry, Velvet."

She looked at him, her expression hard to read. She shook her head. "Where do we even go from here? It's not like we can call Ozpin and the VPD to tell them it's all a huge misunderstanding; no matter how you look at it, you've definitely done a ton of terrible things since you arrived here which can't be pardoned. Have you thought about leaving the Kingdom?"

"I have," he admitted.

"If you lived outside the walls, you could make a name for yourself as a bounty hunter. Not to mention that you'd probably be able to get away with using bandits as a source of food since I'm sure nobody would miss them, much less look for stopped you from escaping?" she asked.

Kaneki let out an uncharacteristic laugh as the question left her lips. "You," he said a bit too easily. "Your mother, your team even. I know Coco and I are never going to look eye to eye, but she's important to you."

"Oh gods, Coco," Velvet groaned as she thought about all the work she had done. "She was right this whole time, I'll never be able to face her…"

"Has she told anybody?" he asked.

"Just my team, but it was all theories," she admitted. "Although there's no telling if they took it seriously and shared it with team RWBY or our professors. They normally wouldn't but given how… Well, grand this whole mystery has been, there's no telling what they've done. I can't even ask them if they have, because they'll wonder why I'm asking them all of a sudden. Gods, this is all just too much." She sat back on the chair she pulled out earlier in the night and sat, supporting her head with her hands as she put her elbows on the table. "What are we going to do, Ken?"

Kaneki stared at her for a moment. "We?" he repeated. "You don't have to involve yourself with me anymore." He tried his best to mean the words he spoke, but they came out unconvincingly. Velvet's ears perked up, and she wore a sudden frown on her face. She got up from her seat and made her way around the table to Kaneki. The Half-Ghoul, feeling he had not convinced her, tried again. "I mean this is all my fault, you don't need to—"

Kaneki was interrupted when he felt the Faunus girl's lips pressed against his. Time slowed to a crawl around him. Kaneki became acutely aware of Velvet's sweet scent at the sudden proximity and the warmth of her palms as she cupped his face. His vision became unfocused but he could see her Faunus ears gently flop down behind her as he realized that his eyelids were slowly closing. He wasn't sure how much time had passed before he returned the kiss. Kaneki pulled her closer, gently wrapping his arms around her. She didn't resist at first, but eventually did pull away. "You said that I was one of the reasons you didn't just leave," she said, her cheeks pink. She gently pushed Kaneki away and took a few steps back. "Judging from that kiss… I'm assuming you feel the same way that I do."

Kaneki, trying to gain his bearings, nodded. "I… yes," he confirmed. He opened his mouth to say more, but simply couldn't think of anything to say.

"I don't know if that makes things better or worse," she admitted. "To be honest, part of me was hoping this was one-sided, but a bigger part of me is so relieved that it isn't." Velvet further distanced herself from Kaneki, crossing her arms around her stomach. "I mean, I'm a Huntress, Ken. I shouldn't be in love with somebody society thinks is a monster…"

Kaneki silently agreed, remembering the posters and news coverage that plastered his likeness around the clock. "Well, I do have an agreement with Ozpin right now," he admitted. "I've already got some idea of how to fake my death, but it'll take some time."

"What exactly is that agreement?" she asked. "You glossed over it last night, but I was a bit more focused on… well," she said, gesturing to him. "You know."

"There's a group of people against Ozpin right now, although I don't really know what it is that they want. However, they're big enough of a threat that Ozpin seemed concerned about them when I mentioned them, which is why we have a temporary ceasefire."

"You explained to Ozpin about your condition, right? That you can't just not eat otherwise you'd lose control of yourself?"

"I mentioned it, but he didn't really seem very sympathetic about it," he said with a shrug. "If I'm being honest, I didn't think it would change anything, but I figured as a gesture of good faith, I'd let him know that I wasn't doing what I was doing simply because I felt like it. Although some of his underlings have already decided I'm beyond reasoning, which is why Qrow attacked me in the bar when I approached him."

"So what's your plan now? Help Professor Ozpin with your side of the deal and then make a break for it once the truce is over?" asked Velvet.

"The way this world works is still pretty foreign to me, I don't know what it's like outside the walls. You telling me about bandits outside the walls was the first I heard of it. I just thought there were four major kingdoms and nomads and Grimm in between. I've already tried eating Grimm, but they kept dissolving before I could digest them… Honestly, there's no path I can take that will result in a peaceful life."

Velvet sighed as she heard his defeatist tone. She wanted to argue, but she would never be able to understand what it was like to be in his position. Not to mention she still had conflicting feelings about him. No matter how much her heart wanted him and how desperately she wanted to ignore what he'd done, she couldn't. "We'll figure something out," she said, rubbing her eyes. The fatigue of being up all night began to get to her. "I've got to get going, Ken. I'm surprised Mum hasn't called or messaged me already; I don't want to press my luck."

"Of course," Kaneki said, standing up to follow her out.

"I can walk home by myself," she said, gesturing to him to stop. "I mean, I really don't have to worry about the Faunus Killer now, do I?" She winced at her poor attempt to make light of the situation. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"It's alright," Kaneki assured. "I've got something to take care of today anyway."

"What is— actually, I think it's better I didn't know," she admitted. "Oh, are we still on for dinner tonight? I already told my Mum yesterday you had said yes. I don't want you having to eat anything if you can't keep it down so I can tell her something came up."

Kaneki nodded slowly. "I think that it would be best if I didn't come over tonight. I haven't really given you a lot of time to process what we talked about."

Velvet nodded and headed towards the door of the breakroom but stopped. She walked over to Kaneki, embracing him gently. "I'll see you soon, won't I?"

"I hope so," he replied, returning the hug. "Thank you, Velvet."

Dr. Merlot walked around Vale, hiding his features as much as he could without seeming too suspicious. He had placed the ghoul's appendage in one of his scanners to get as much information as he could without compromising the hand, but it was a long process. If his initial estimate was accurate, he would have a few hours to kill before he'd get anything useful which is how he found himself wandering around. He thought to Eyepatch's words, forbidding him from experimenting on it, but he had no intention of listening to his orders. His work with Grimm was unrivaled and he knew that if anybody would be able to figure out how to further weaponize that young man's biology, it would be him.

Dr. Merlot eyed a few Atlesian Knights that patrolled the streets, smirking as he could see with his robotic eye that they were infected with his virus. He almost continued walking away, but he realized that he wasn't the only one who had hacked into these robots. He took out his scroll and began to type away some orders for a pair of Atlesian Knights to patrol a nearby alley so he could further inspect them. Ensuring he wasn't being followed, he made his way over to the alley, already taking off the glove on his mechanical hand.

Silently seething, he began to scan one of the Knights, reading the information on his scroll. At first he was angry that somebody would tamper with his contingency, however, he noticed that whoever tampered with these robots had done so before he had. His scowl turned to interest as he began to look through the code, trying to identify whose it could be. Before long, his interest turned to annoyance, seeing the digital signature he was all too familiar with.

"Arthur…" he scowled. He wondered what the disgraced Atlesian scientist's code was doing in Vale, but knew the man was too good to leave anything digital paper trail that would link to him directly. Instead, he decided that he would try to track it down from where it was first deployed. Had he tried to deploy it from Atlas, it would likely have been caught, so Merlot suspected it was done locally. There hadn't been anything on the news other than Eyepatch's meals, so if there was somehow a breach in their security, it would likely have gone unnoticed. Still, Merlot might not be as good as Arthur when it came to programming viruses, he still knew a thing or two.

"Let's have a look somewhere away from prying eyes," he said to himself, tapping away on his scroll. Arthur's virus seemed to be dormant still, which Merlot planned to use to his advantage. Making his way back to his temporary lab, Merlot grinned at the possibilities.

"I heard that the students from the other Kingdoms are going home at the end of the week. Apparently Professor Ozpin couldn't convince the council to hold the Vytal Festival because of the Faunus Killer," Nora announced to team RWBY as she took a few more bites of her pancakes. Both teams, JNPR and RWBY sat in their usual spots in the cafeteria having opted to stay on campus to stay together.

"You can't really blame them," Weiss said with a shrug. "I'm actually surprised it took this long to officially cancel it; nobody has any idea where he could be hiding." She looked over to Ruby who had been uncharacteristically silent for the last couple of days. "What do you think, Ruby?"

Ruby didn't respond immediately, instead poking at her food with a fork. Weiss called out her name a second time, alerting the young leader. "Huh? What did you say?"

"You dolt, weren't you paying attention?" Weiss asked curtly out of habit. She then noticed the vacant expression she wore and Weiss' expression softened. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said unconvincingly. Ruby noticed the looks of concern from both teams and shrank a bit in her seat. After a moment of feeling uncomfortable, she got up. "Actually, I have to do some maintenance on Crescent Rose. I haven't used her in a while, I don't want her jamming up once classes start up again." She disappeared in a burst of petals, leaving behind her friends.

"Is she going to be okay?" Blake asked, turning to Yang. "I haven't seen her act like that before."

Yang shook her head and waved it off. "She'll be fine," she assured. "When she gets like that, she just needs a little time to herself. Trying to force it out of her will only make her run off like she just did."

Jaune frowned slightly, thinking to his own sisters. "Has this happened before?" he asked.

"Once or twice," Yang replied, taking a sip from her drink. She began to remember the last time Ruby got that way, before realizing it had been quite a while. "Don't worry, I plan on talking to her once she's settled down a little, but I know Ruby."

"If you're sure," Pyrrha said politely. "We were going to spar a bit after this, if you wanted to join us," she said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, you're on," Yang agreed. "I still haven't managed to get a win over you, but that's going to change today."

Pyrrha laughed a bit at Yang's sudden shift in attitude. "I won't hold back!"

Weiss looked over to Blake who just shrugged her shoulders and turned another page on the book she was reading. "We have uneven teams," Weiss pointed out. "How's that fair?"

"I don't really feel like sparring," Jaune said, "I'll sit this one out."

"That settles it!" Nora declared, putting a foot on the table as she posed triumphantly. "Three on three! Let's do it tournament style, since we won't get to show off at the festival!"

"You mean elimination?" Yang asked. "Hell yeah, I'm up for that."

Nora grabbed Ren, who was trying to sip some tea, causing him to spill it. "Come on Ren, let's come up with a battle plan! I'll face them up close and you pepper them from afar! They'll never see it coming!"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "You do realize we're still here, right Nora?"

"Hey! Team ears only!" Nora replied. "Come on guys!"

As Team JNPR walked off, Weiss looked over to her two teammates. "You know, I would normally not care for this, but I think we should keep our skills sharp. Good thinking, Yang." Yang grinned at the uncharacteristic compliment from Weiss.

"Do we even know when they wanted us to show up?" Blake asked, not bothering to look up from her book. Yang visibly deflated and sighed.

"I'll send them a message," she said, taking her scroll out.

"You must really like Ken," Marble said as Velvet walked into her house. She sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and judging from her appearance, Velvet knew she didn't sleep a wink. "I thought you were just taking a walk?"

"I'm sorry Mum," Velvet began, "something came up, I didn't expect it to take so long, honest!"

Marble laughed, putting down her mug. "It's okay sweetie, I just had to be sure that you made it home. To be honest, I'm a little relieved that you've finally started rebelling a little."

"W-what, why?" she asked, confused.

"You always take on a lot of responsibility, sweetie. As much as I appreciate all the sacrifices you've made, I always felt like you never got the chance to act your age. Was I worried? Of course, but it's so good to see you step out of your comfort zone. That being said, I don't want you to make a habit of lying to me, okay?"

"I didn't mean to lie," she defended. "It's just Ken wanted to talk about something urgent and it couldn't wait. I didn't expect to be out all night and I thought you'd be asleep, so I didn't want to call to let you know I'd be gone longer."

"It's fine, Velvet, I'm not angry," Marble assured. "I'm just asking that you let me know in the future, okay? I know Ken, he's a good boy, and I know you much better. I have no problem with you seeing him, just let me know where you are. And be safe, okay? If you two are going to get intimate, remember to—"

"MUM!" Velvet shouted, turning beet red. "It really wasn't like that! Oh Gods, please stop!"

Marble's expression finally faltered and she started to laugh. "I'm sorry Velvet, but I'm serious! You're still a teenager, I don't want to be a grandmother just yet." Velvet immediately walked off to her room, unable to take more of her mother's teasing. Marble sighed contently as she finished her coffee. "I'll try not to tease you too much when he comes over tonight."

"He's not coming!" Velvet called down.

"Did my teasing really bother you that much?" she asked, a bit concerned.

Velvet stepped out from her room and looked down the stairs. "No, it's not that. Something came up, he had to cancel. It's part of the reason he called me so late, he knew he wouldn't be able to tell me today."

"What could have possibly come up for that poor boy?" Marble wondered aloud. "I hope it's not related to me not having the café open…"

Velvet wanted to assure her mother it wasn't but didn't really know what to add if she asked for any details. Instead, she pretended not to hear and went to her room to catch up on some sleep.

Kaneki sat in his apartment thinking about his conversation with Velvet. He could not believe her willingness to remain at his side. Touching his lips, he thought back to the kiss they shared. While he did like her, he had already prepared himself for the worst long before he could really think about any possibilities. He wondered how much he'd affect her relationship with her teammates if he became a recurring presence in their life. While he understood Coco's well warranted suspicion of him, he began to wonder about the other two. He knew from his conversations with Velvet that Yatsuhashi was her partner but she seemed closest to Coco. Given that they had been together for a few years, Kaneki felt he could safely assume the four of them were tight knit. Fox was definitely the one Kaneki was most wary of, given that he wasn't sure how his Semblance worked, nor if there was any way to resist it.

As he dwelled on his thoughts, he began to wonder if he should live outside the walls like Velvet had mentioned. It was most likely the best way to stay away from the eyes of Huntsmen and Huntresses, not that he felt particularly threatened by most that he's met. Still, even if all the Huntsmen on Remnant couldn't hurt him, it wouldn't change the fact that he would never be able to have a normal life.

"Normal life," he muttered to himself bitterly. He knew it was wishful thinking, but there was the smallest part of him that hoped that things could be different. He conjured his Kagune, snaking it around his arm to look at it. He knew that all of his problems could have been traced back to this implanted organ. He wondered if there was some sort of way to reverse the process, but given that he was an anomaly in this world with unseen biology, he dismissed the thought almost immediately. He moved his Kagune towards his severed hand, now only missing the palm and fingers. Curiously, he tried to mold the Kagune in the shape of his hand. The ends of his appendage split into five jagged and uneven digits. He tried flexing them, but it was awkward and stiff. He figured it would come with more practice, and dismissed it. He knew it would be a nice ability to have should he ever lose a limb in battle so he would find time to build his fine motor skills.

Kaneki walked out of his apartment, typing away a message to his two criminal confidants. As much as he wanted to keep Velvet from his situation, he knew it would be better to have everybody on the same page. He wasn't really worried about this conversation, especially after his night with Velvet. As soon as he got the address, Kaneki headed out the door.

"Well, well, looks like Her Grace's pet failed to produce any results."

Cinder looked over to a man stalking her in the dark. She could see his yellow eyes staring at her menacingly. "Tyrian… I see you've finally arrived," she said, glaring at him. She could see his coat was splattered even in the dark. "I thought you weren't supposed to make a mess on your way here?"

"Sometimes I can't help myself," he grinned, stepping out of the shadows. "Still, Her Grace wants your mission done sooner rather than later. I'm here to make sure that it gets done. So, what do you know about him?"

Cinder scowled and began to walk off. Tyrian wore a sinister grin and walked alongside her. "He's a freak," she said, "You've seen the video of the Breach, and when he ambushed me and my pupils it became apparent that he has limited knowledge about Salem. There's only a few people that he could have gotten that information from and I never told Torchwick her name. He must have found another source."

"Ozpin?" Tyrian asked. "We all know how that man likes to collect pawns."

Cinder shook her head. "Unlikely. Right now, the Faunus Killer has overtaken Roman as Vale's most wanted criminal. There's no way that Ozpin would tarnish his precious little image any further by working with him. He's on thin ice with the council as it is."

Tyrian laughed at her assessment. "You think that being backed into a corner would make him less careful? If anything, this would be when he has the least to lose. A sort of last resort, if you will. How else could you explain his knowledge of Her Grace?"

"Why were you sent here, anyway?" she growled. "It's not like you can do anything against him anyway."

"I won't know if I never try," he said a bit excitedly.

"He's regenerated from having most of his torso blown off by a Bullhead, what do you think you can do?"

Tyrian's interest piqued at this revelation. "Is that so?" he asked. "Well, there is more than one way to hurt somebody," he grinned. "Looks like I'll have to give you a brief lesson on that."

Cinder felt a chill run up her spine. Something about Tyrian had always unnerved her and seeing how excited he was to face off against the Faunus Killer was unnatural. "Do what you wish, I have other things to take care of."

Tyrian began to laugh, startling Cinder at how abruptly it began. "I have orders from Her Grace to assist you. As much as I would love to go around and have fun, I must obey our Goddess's demands first… even if that means working alongside you."

Cinder scowled at his dismissive attitude but not her tongue. "Fine, what did you have in mind?"

"Are you kidding me?" Roman asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You told your little girlfriend everything? Are you a fucking idiot?"

Kaneki shook his head as waved off Torchwick's concerns. "She took it better than I had hoped," he reiterated, "besides, my agreement with Ozpin makes it so that we aren't enemies at the moment."

"Kid, it's one thing to tell somebody you've done some bad things, it's another thing entirely for them to see it firsthand. Do you think she's really going to still be lovey-dovey after you rip somebody's head of and start frenching it?"

Kaneki sighed and shook his head. "That isn't a concern right now. First, we need to figure out what Cinder's planning and how to stop her. You two were in her circle, what could she possibly want?"

Torchwick shook his head and let out a breath. "The whole plan was to televise some accidents at the festival. Emerald was supposed to do some mind fuckery to make the Vale students look bad, that's all I know. After that, it was supposed to be a…" Roman trailed off. "Ironwood's tin soldiers," he realized.

"His what?" Kaneki asked. "You mean the Atlesian Knights? What about them?"

"I remember Cinder talking about planting some virus to take over them. I think I was supposed to take an airship to control them, but we never got into details for that. She has a standing army right under their noses."

The idea of a mechanized police force suddenly turning their weapons on an unsuspecting populace was definitely a frightening thought, yet he couldn't think of a reason that she didn't activate them now. "What is the end goal?"

"Chaos," he said simply. "The gist of it was to create an overwhelming atmosphere of negativity so that Grimm would overtake the walls and keep the Huntsmen and soldiers out on the wall busy. I wasn't really given much details after that, but I imagine she planned on infiltrating some place in the mayhem."

Kaneki crossed his arms and began to think. "We're missing some key details about this plan," he muttered. "Without them, we have no way of knowing when she'll pull the trigger… I have to tell Ozpin."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Torchwick said, "don't you think that's it's a bit too soon to waltz in there again and show your hand?"

"If I don't show Oz that I was serious about our truce, he'll have no reason to honor his end of the agreement after this is all over. I'm just trying to give myself my best chance."

Torchwick shook his head and sighed. "Alright kid, but I retain the right to refuse working with him or any other Huntsmen."

Kaneki looked at Torchwick with a frown. "I am not forcing you to work with anybody other than me. Who I deal with is my business, and if you rather not be involved, that's fine." Torchwick let out a tired breath.

"Gods damn it, kid… Fine. Go, Neo and I will keep having your back."

Kaneki bowed slightly. "Thank you," he said. Kaneki left the safehouse and made his way into a public area where there was a decent amount of foot traffic. Due to the Vytal Festival officially being canceled, there were many students from other Kingdoms wandering around with their weapons on their person. He didn't mind, however, and ducked into an alley and put on his mask. He opened up his scroll and dialed the Beacon Headmaster.

"Centipede," Ozpin said, not showing the surprise in his voice as he answered his scroll. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I have information," he said. "It's not much on its own, but something tells me you're hiding something from me that would make what I know make sense. Are you interested?"

"Information in regards to what, exactly?" asked Ozpin, genuinely confused. It had only been two nights since they had spoken, what could he have possibly learned.

"Arrange a place to meet and find out. I'm coming alone, but feel free to bring your circle. I'm sure that they all have things they want to discuss with me."

Ozpin felt uneasy about the proposition. On one hand, it found it strange that he would not only make the offer, but go out of his way to inform him that he would be alone. On the other, he wondered if this was his way of getting to know who was in Oz's inner circle. As much as Ozpin wanted to go alone, he knew that when Ironwood found out, which he would definitely find out, it would only further drive a wedge between them. "Very well, where are you? I'll send a Bullhead to pick you up."

"I'm just revisiting the area of the breach," he said, looking at how many people continued to live their lives as if they hadn't been invaded by Grimm not too long ago. He knew it was people like Marble who extended a helping hand, giving what little they had to those who needed it most. "Where will the Bullhead land?"

"If you make your way south of the commercial district there is a landing zone where students of Beacon often disembark from academy airships. Try not to attract any attention." Ozpin could hear a scoff on the other end, followed by an affirmative hum. "I will meet you there."

Ozpin shut his scroll off and sighed. He looked around his currently empty office and pressed a button on his desk. "Glynda, please gather James and Qrow and meet me at the eastern landing zone. We're going to Vale."

He didn't wait for a response and made his way down the elevator.

Ruby walked through the courtyard where she had last seen The Faunus Killer, a mixture of sadness and anxiety stirring in her stomach that only made the overwhelming sense of anger she felt towards herself build. She had all the evidence she needed to want to take down the cannibalistic psychopath, but try as she might, she felt like there was something in him that was begging to be saved. Perhaps it was the lifeless look in his eyes when he spoke to her that reminded her of her father when her mother passed away that made her want to save him. She was too young to help her father when he shut down, and maybe she was still inexperienced to succeed in helping the Faunus Killer… but the overwhelming urge to try continued to push her towards what she knew to be idiotic actions. If she was on the outside looking in, she would have been against the idea too, which is perhaps why she refused to ask for anybody's advice.

It didn't help that her uncle had shot down the idea before she could fully attempt to explain her reasoning. Hell, even the Faunus Killer himself told her that it was hopeless, just like Ken had warned her.

'Ken," she muttered to herself, stopping in the middle of the courtyard. Sure, he had disagreed and thought the Faunus Killer to be a lost cause, but he at least heard her out. Still, she didn't really feel close enough to him to just seek him out and ask him, especially after he had already told her what he thought. Sighing, she resigned herself to having to go about it alone, even if she would much rather have some backup of some sort.

Ruby continued to make her way through the courtyard when she saw a Bullhead approaching the school. At first, she chalked it up to picking up some of the visiting students, but the airship ended up making it's way towards Ozpin's tower. Curiously, she wondered if he had a lead on the manhunt and thought of approaching, but eas caught entirely off guard when a familiar voice spoke up behind her.

"I think you'd better head towards your dorm, pipsqueak."

"Uncle Qrow?!" Ruby shouted as she turned swiftly to face him. Once she composed herself, she registered his words. "Why do you say that? I wasn't doing anything."

Qrow chuckled to himself and shook his head. "Kid, you take after your parents, you don't have to be actively doing something for me to know you werr planning on doing something stupid."

"You don't know that!" Ruby said indignantly. "I could have been doing something really smart!"

Qrow narrowed his eyes at her slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Well, let's see then, shall we? You're wandering around without your team knowing there's a killer on the loose. You have your weapon on you, so it's clear to me that you're expecting some sort of trouble. You aren't going anywhere in particular if the several circles around the fountain are any indication, so it's likely that you're weighing your options. Not to mention that you haven't noticed me pacing behind you for the last five minutes."

Ruby sputtered at his last comment. "You've been– for how long?!" Qrow laughed at her reaction and ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry about anything, kiddo, us adults have this covered, alright? Just go back to your dorm and get ready for classes to start up again."

"Is that why you're here?" Ruby asked, feeling a strange, almost morbid, sensation of hope. "Do you have a lead?"

Qrow frowned at her and let out a breath. "I just said don't worry about it," he repeated. "Listen, pipsqueak, I know you've not experienced something like this, but this is out of your league. Don't get involved, alright? I'm not only telling you this as your uncle, but as a Huntsman."

Ruby suddenly felt very defiant. She crossed her arms and puffed out her chest. "What would you have done?" she asked, doing her best to glare at her uncle.

"Definitely not what you think I would have done," he said under his breath. Ruby being a first year made him remember the amount he grew his first year at Beacon. "Ruby, please don't do anything you wouldn't let someone else do. There's a difference between a suicide mission and just suicide."

Ruby took a step back at his declaration. Try as she might, Ruby couldn't remember Qrow sounding so pessimistic about success. There was definitely something he knew that he wasn't telling her. Even without knowing, it was enough to give Ruby pause. "I… okay, Uncle Qrow… I'll head back to my dorm soon… I just need to clear my head."

"Alright, good," Qrow said, only a tinge if relief in his voice. "I've got a meeting with Oz, I'll swing by and check in after."

"Okay," Ruby replied, not meeting his gaze. Qrow did his best to ignore the guilt he felt and began to walk off. Qrow found himself struggling to treat his niece as a Huntress-in-training rather than the little girl he saw grow up. He took out his flask and took a deep drink before pocketing it away and shaking off any lingering feelings.

There you have it! Chapter twenty-one!

Let me know what you all think! I would promise to update soon, but every time I do, it seems that more and more time passes between chapters. Instead, I'll just promise that I won't stop writing this story until it's done, even if I do have a couple of other projects I've been working on.

Toodles! ~W.C. Morgan