Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

About a Year Ago at Hathaway

"Alright… so… this all started when we were in first grade, so about… a year ago." Nick began. "Faunus racism was still pretty prominent in Vale at the time, and these three alpha rich snob girls who were a grade above us, decided it would be a fun time to pick on my sister."

"Demon fox!" The leader pushed her down.

"Nnngh!" Magnolia grunted.

"Go rot in hell with the rest of the demons!"

One of her friends laughed. "What a freak!"

Magnolia teared up. "Just… leave me alone already…"

"Aww… is the little vixen going to cry like a little baby?"

The third snickered. "Hey, guys… take a look at this fox-faced trash. The tears really bring it together!"

The alpha bully smirked. "Yeah, you're right! Maybe her new name ought to be "Foxface" instead!"

"I'm not "Foxface"!"

The three girls pointed at Magnolia with mocking smirks. "Foxface! Foxface! Foxface~!"

"Wow… that'll put a damper on anyone's mood. Bunch of jerks…" Chiaki mumbled.

"I'm sure your parents weren't too thrilled with that." Hajime said.

"Right… about that…" Nick scratched one of his fox ears. "It's just me, my sis and mom at home. She's usually busy doing medical work at a hospital, but at least she tries to spend time with us whenever she's not busy. Dad, on the other hand-" Nick heard the sound of a "Hmph!" from Magnolia. "They were separated for a while because dad had some… issues… dad left home, while mom stayed behind and took custody of us."

"Ooooh, I don't like where this is going…" Iris grimaced.

Nick sighed sadly. "That separation thing didn't last long because… they both decided to settle for divorce a few months later after they figured out that nothing will ever work out between the two."

"Not only that, but ever since that divorce, dad has never bothered to check in on us ONCE!" Magnolia added irritably. "Friggin' deadbeat…"

"Ah geez… that sucks… sorry about that." Ryuji said.

"Ah, it's okay. It happened a year ago…" Nick said. "I got over it, but it did a number on my sister."

Nick let out a sigh. "I still remember that conversation… that was not a fun time for us."

"Nick. Magnolia. Can you come here for a moment?"

The twins approached their parents, both of them noticing they looked solemn and disappointed. "Something wrong?" Magnolia asked.

"Your father and I… you know that we separated for a bit considering we've had a lot of arguments…" Their mother sighed. "We… lost the spark in our lives. Your father's issues kept building up and, despite all we could do, we can't do it anymore."

"What are you saying?" Nick asked.

"Your mother and I are getting a divorce."

"What?!" The twins said in surprise.

Magnolia instantly teared up. "Is it something that I did?!" Her voice cracked. "It's something that I did, isn't it!"

"No no no no, sweetie… you didn't do anything wrong." Her mother reassured her. "None of you did anything wrong…"

"It's my fault, kiddo… I can't seem to get over these… issues that I have." The father mumbled. "Both of you did nothing wrong. Just know that I still love the both of you."

"As do I."

Nick sighed sadly. "Well… this stinks…" He mumbled as their parents gave them a hug, and then their father walked out of the home.

"Daddy! Don't go! Please, stay here with us! You can still make this work! Everyone has their problems! You don't really mean it!" Magnolia pleaded at the front porch as her father soon disappeared as he turned the corner of the street block. "Daddy! Come back! I don't care if you have your issues! Come back to us! Daddy? DADDY!"

"It… doesn't help that Magnolia looked up to our father like a role model."

"Oh gosh…" Sonia put her hand over her mouth. "Poor kid…"

"So on top of the divorce and bullying at school, it… really messed up Magnolia. I will admit that the divorce messed me up as well and I took it pretty hard, but… I soon moved on when I realized how much of a deadbeat our father really was. Magnolia… not so much."

"Oh geez… that's horrible." Logue said.

"Not only that, but our so-called father decided it'd be a fun idea to just… cut out any sort of contact in our lives." Nick grumbled. "But then it got worse… because rumors started to spread like wildfire in the first and second grade student body. Once the divorce reached their ears… most kids gave us sympathy. However… not all of them were kindhearted."

"Oh gosh, I remember that day…" Laura shuddered.

"The bullies again?" Chiaki asked.

"Yes… and once the rumors reached their ears…"

"Hnnngh!" Magnolia grunted, having had a hard punch to the gut by the lead bully.

"What's wrong? I thought you could take a few hard knocks after that divorce!" She said, pushing Magnolia down. "Hahaha! Look at the little Foxface. You're pathetic!"

"You filthy fox!" The second bully kicked her in the stomach as the third bully raised her foot and stomped on her hip.

"Filthy foxface!"

"Stop… please…" Magnolia grunted.

"Why should we stop? We're just having some fun with you!" The lead bully chuckled, gently grasping her chin. "After all, you deserve this kind of "fun" because your kind shouldn't even exist…" Her smile disappeared into a scowl. "You pathetic excuse for trash!" She punched her in the face. "You're so trashy! No wonder your dad left you! You never had a loving daddy because he knew that you are a pathetic waste of garbage, that's why he left you, you filthy foxface!"

"Hey! Stop this!" Laura yelled. "Leave her alone!"

"Yeah, this is going a bit too far, even for you three!" Another kid said as the lead bully turned to them with a glare that intimidated them all.

"What, you want some of this?"

"Hahaha! That's what we thought!" The third bully chuckled as the lead bully turned to look at her.

"Soon, your mom will leave you too… and what will you do? Not like she's a peach either. She's a whore for even marrying that guy. He did the right thing!" She said as she spotted a ruby pendulum necklace on her neck. "Oh oh? What's this?" She grabbed the necklace, tearing it off of her neck.

"D-don't…! That's my birthday gift from my dad!"

"Oh, really? It looks rather valuable. Too bad it's tainted because a Faunus wore this!" She threw it to the ground. "Rubies are supposed to be priceless, but you had to go and ruin the value, you filthy foxface!" She raised her foot and proceeded to crush it underneath her foot.

"Big mistake…" Nick said. "That was the moment when Magnolia had enough… for that was the last connection she had with our father. This was also when her semblance unlocked."

"That… that was my only…"

"Welp, it's useless now!" The lead bully laughed, staring at the crushed remains of the necklace.

Magnolia gritted her teeth, a shadow cast over her eyes as she slowly stood up. Anger burned inside of her as a fiery aura surrounded her body. "You… you… YOUUUU!"

"Oh look at her, she's burning up with anger! Let me just cool you off!" The third bully attempted to slap her, but she caught her hand, giving her a hateful glare and crushed her wrist before punching the elbow, breaking her arm. "GYAAAAH!" She screamed as Magnolia threw her down and stomped on her back for good measure, leaving behind a scorch march of a shoeprint on her back.

The second and lead bully looked on in surprise as fear came upon them as the second tried to escape, but Magnolia grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head into a locker, which caused her forehead to split open.

"W-wait a second!" The lead bully exclaimed as Magnolia kicked her in the stomach hard enough to send her flying into the lockers, leaving behind a bloodied dent. She planted her foot on her back. "Agh! I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! WE DIDN'T MEAN TO TAKE IT THAT FAR!"

"Screw off!" Magnolia shouted angrily. "You're only just apologizing to save your own skin!" She embedded her foot deeper in her back as she grunted and looked on to see Albedo and Damian.

"Damian… h-help! You're anti-Faunus yourself! HELP!"

"Yeeeeah, no." He glared at her. "If only you and your stupid friends simply just left the girl alone to mourn in peace from the divorce of her parents, then none of this would have happened." That and I do not want to get caught in the crossfire…

"Al…?"

"Don't "Al" me, you stupid idiot. Admire me with your dumb love letters all you want… but I refuse to help out an admirer who likes hurting my close friend for no good reason at all." Her eyes widened in horror. "And just like Damian said… you and your friends have brought yourselves into this mess. So good luck trying to get out of her death grip."

"No…" Her eyes widened as she looked behind her as Magnolia raised her foot up in the air. "NOOOOO!"

"Stop this at once!" A voice exclaimed as Run and Spear ran toward the scene with Laura behind them as she had went to the faculty room to ask for help.

Oh no! The lead bully whimpered. "M-Mr Run! M-Miss Spear! W-we were just minding our own business when Magnolia just came out of nowhere and-"

"Quit your lying. We knew from the very beginning that you were bullying her." Spear said.

"And despite our advice that she ought to ignore you three, you decided to get physical with her. While it is regretful that Magnolia pummeled you three, it is also understandable and we are not surprised that she retaliated. You three. Principal's office. Now."

"And Magnolia… as regretful as it is, you have to come with us too." Spear said with a stern, yet solemn voice.

"They understood why Magnolia did what she did, but she still had to take some responsibility." Nick explained.

"I'm just glad we got there before it got worse…" Laura shuddered.

"Oh gosh, no wonder she didn't want to tell me… I… I don't blame her…" Sonia said solemnly.

"Poor girl…" Xena mumbled.

"That's awful what happened to her." Jade said.

"Poor girl, she has my sympathy… I know what that's like." Futaba mumbled.

"We were also brought in because we were witnesses." Albedo said. "Granted, most of the first and second grade student body were witnesses, but we were close friends to Magnolia."

"I'm still annoyed you didn't do anything, bro…" Magnolia mumbled.

"Well… her posse was giving me dirty looks. I didn't want to be caught in the crossfire… sorry."

"No no, it's fine… I guess…"

"This is rather unfortunate." The principal, Chouri, grumbled. "You mean to tell me that you didn't have the decency to give Miss Foxtrot the space that she needed? Her parents are divorced and you decided to pull that stunt? I do not blame her for retaliating, your friends are lucky they got away with minor injuries!"

"B-but-"

"No buts!" He glared as Magnolia was also in the room. Laura, Albedo, Becky, Nick, Damian, Ewen and Emile were also there as witnesses. Magnolia, however, had a terrified look on her face, hugging herself over what she had done. "Do you have any idea that Faunus are being treated poorly in this world? Do you have any idea that there is a ragtag group of Faunus called the White Fang who are trying to make this world better for them? It's because of people like you is why the White Fang are continuing doing terroristic acts! Let's not forget what happened in Atlas a few years ago…"

The lead bully teared up. "I am… so sorry… I-"

"Enough! As of today, you are expelled. I will do the same with your posse. And let it be known that I will tell your parents about this."

"N-no! Please, anything but that! I was working hard on my grades so my parents could get me a pony!"

"Well, you should have thought of that before you bullied Ms. Foxtrot. You are dismissed. You will wait outside of my office along with your posse and I will explain everything to your parents." He said as the lead bully ran out crying.

Chouri looked over to Magnolia, giving her a more sympathetic look. "Ms. Foxtrot.. I understand why you did what you had to do. I do not blame you… bullying is such a lowly art that I do not know why people do this sort of stuff. However, given how you acted violently… this is regrettable, but I have to do this. You are… suspended for the next few weeks."

The others looked completely shocked at what they just heard. "M-Mr Chouri! Please, can you turn this around?!" Nick begged. "Can you overturn it?! It's not her fault she retaliated and-"

"Easy… easy…" Albedo said as he and Damian put their hands on his shoulders to calm him down.

"We don't need to make it worse…"

"I understand your concerns." Chouri said. "But fret not, she'll be back here at school before you know it. Oh, and if it helps, she'll be receiving mandatory therapy while she is away. She will definitely need it following that divorce… that lousy deadbeat of a father…" He mumbled quietly to himself on the last part.

"Mmph… th-thanks… I guess…"

"It got pretty wild after that… There was a proper investigation on the incident with everyone who was involved with that. Not only were they expelled, but mom pressed charges at the bullies' parents of those horrid girls did to my sister. She got mandatory therapy and… so did the rest of us since they were worried we'd have nightmares so they thought we'd get counseling over it too. A bit silly, but… eh, what can you do."

"Hmm, I can see that. Being a witness to something would lead to some problems later on…" Nyx said.

"Not only that, but for some reason, the bullying became public knowledge to the public. It… also became a scandal for the families of the three girls that bullied Maggs." Nick added.

"It was because of the divorce and the bullying is how Maggie became the short-fuse we know today. Sure, she's normally calm but when she hears someone insulting her family or when she sees a Faunus getting bullied… she's a whole different person." Laura chimed in.

"Ever since the incident, Principal Chouri and the Hathaway School implemented a new rule in the school. This was created in the aftermath of Magnolia's bullying incident."

"Any form of bullying or general discrimination towards the Faunus student body is strictly taboo and will not be tolerated. No exceptions.

1st Strike: Detention

2nd Strike: Suspension

3rd Strike: Expulsion"

"Basically, three strikes and you're out." Nick said.

"Sounds reasonable." Esdeath nodded.

"Sure, it may have stopped people in Hathaway from trying to do anything funny with Magnolia, but it didn't stop some people from being afraid of her and treated her like an outcast even after first grade. They even gave her a title to… the Demon Fox of Hathaway."

Magnolia walked through the doors of the school with a blank look in her eyes. Becky and Nick accompanied her as did the rest of LAFF, but as they did, Magnolia was greeted by a lot of stares from the students in the hallways.

"Isn't that the demon fox?"

"Ugh… she's probably going to hurt another student."

"Do you think she killed that girl to finish the job?"

"I wouldn't put it past her…"

A cross vein appeared on Becky's forehead and turned to glare at the gossipers. "WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A PICTURE! IT'LL LAST LONGER!" She yelled, causing them to shut up and looked away.

"Don't listen to them, Maggie. They don't mean anything." Laura said.

"Yeah… don't bother with them!" Albedo said.

"Don't… I'm just…" Magnolia closed her eyes. "I'm… sorry I've been such a huge letdown to you guys."

Nick's eyes widened, his heart breaking when he heard those words as he took off running. "Nick? Where are you going?" Damian asked. "Nick!"

Nick ran into the bathroom, planting his hands on the sink as tears ran down his cheeks. "Maggs… I wish I had helped you out…" He sobbed uncontrollably.

"I wish I could've done something to help my sister instead of just… being a helpless witness…"

Ibuki: Oooof... kids can be so cruel...

Yeah... shout out to DarkRebellion for this Gaiden idea.