Wowza, fifty chapters in already. I haven't even noticed that it has been a full year since I started this story. And in that year, we are only in Volume 1… Jesus. How long is this story going to be? 50 chapters for Volume 0 and 1. Does that mean it is going to be a 100 chapters by the time Volume 3 is completed? I don't know, but at this rate in 2020 today, we hopefully might get a bit farther into the story.

Also, thank you all for the 400 followers. I know it might be around 399 or something, but I caught it when it reached 400. So hah!

Masso 2010: I was going to PM you sometime this week about your review, but I completely forgot somehow. And I am sorry about that. What I wanted to say was that Kai is not as strong with his semblance as Aang from TLA is with his element bending. If he was that strong, then any maiden he fights is downright screwed and he'd be too powerful, leading to a boring story where he wins every fight and saves Beacon. Neo on the other hand, we never did find out just how good at fighting she is. I think it is safe to say that she is good enough to beat Cinder without her maiden powers, and is good enough to even beat Pyrrha. If anything, Neo has experience over Kai, even if their skill might be around the same. Also, we know that Neo's semblance are illusionary in nature, we don't know everything about it. We definitely know it's at least optical and auditory, but it could also be tactile. Also, cannot confirm or deny anything of course, but I know you'll like it. Battle scenes and sneaky planned stuff like this is part of my speciality.

Oblivious IJ: Orchid will reign supreme! Return of the Flamingos, stomp out the fiendish Jaune and his foolish words to Nora! Charge!

Thank you all for the reviews!

Beta: CrowSkull

Now let's get right back into the story!

The Blind Huntsman

Chapter 50- Volume 1, Episode 17

A Blind and a Mute enter a warehouse…

Kai moved down the steps as quietly and stealthily as he could, he pondered for a moment if he should grab the dead man's mask and use it on himself to blend in with the other members of the White Fang, but thought against it. He doubted he was going to have enough time to get completely changed by the time someone else decided to come up and have a smoke. He could just silence them like he did to the other, but it could lead to him getting found out, and this early, he didn't want to risk it.

With each step he took a sonar type of sense flowed throughout the building, courtesy of a quick lesson from Fox. It got nullified and more muddled the farther it went out, but around his immediate area as he went down the stairs he could sense at least a dozen people around him. Which meant there was probably a few dozen other members of the White Fang held up here in this building. There was a chance that he was exaggerating that number, but he'd rather go there expecting more than to get caught off guard and pay dearly for it. He didn't want to have any time for regrets, if he would have any at all.

Going all the way to the bottom of the steps would get him caught instantly. He didn't know how well lit the place was, but these were faunus anyway, they would see him in the dark, especially in the dark clothes that he was in now. He'd stick out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, he didn't have to go all the way down in order to get to the rest of the building. About three quarters or so of the way down the steps, there was a door to the side. He opened it after sensing just one person in what he assumed to be some kind of cabin for some kind of machine. He shut it gently behind him as he walked in. That one person didn't even notice him coming.

The woman gasped and was about to scream when she felt someone grab her by her hair and pull her back roughly. But a hand covered her mouth and she died quick a quick death as Kai used the sword he took off the earlier White Fang grunt and stabbed it into her back and out through the other side. He felt something splash against his stone mask, but paid it no regard as he gently let the woman's body fall to the floor. Only removing his hand from her mouth when he knew that she was dead.

That was the third person he's killed so far, and he was almost shocked to notice how little it affected him. Then again, they were White Fang. It wasn't like anyone noteworthy was actually going to miss them.

Steeling himself up, he now had a sort of safe spot to hold out in so he could get a proper read on the area. It wasn't perfect, but he was able to sense almost every inch of the warehouse from where he was now. As he expected, there was about three to four dozen members of the White Fang in this warehouse, a lot of crates with dust, and that large machine that he sensed earlier. He still didn't know what that machine could be, all he knew that it was bipedal, and very, very large and heavy.

He had to think of some way to dwindle the numbers of these White Fang down enough so that he could take the rest on himself. He figured that if he really went all out with his semblance, he could probably take these guys on himself as Kai Matusoka pretty easily, especially if he caused explosions that he could siphon power from with his semblance. But the whole point of these missions he was sending himself on was to take the attention of himself and onto his Stone Face vigilante persona. That way he could hope that Cinder's attention would be divided in another direction, and even more so if Stone Face was killing her forces. Eventually, she would be forced to try and get rid of him herself. He was ready for that, and prepared for it. He knew he couldn't beat her without using his other abilities, but he might be able to get the drop on her if he knew she was coming.

"Oi Clem! Time to swap shifts!" A voice from outside the door of the room he was in called out. Kai reacted instantly, moving the body of the dead woman up until it was sitting in a chair near the end of it. There were a few windows in the cabin that they were in, but the walls were high enough that he could hide behind them. But in the case that someone walked in on him, like now, there wasn't anywhere good to hide besides one place.

"Since you're not opening up I'll just come in myself." The other man said as he fiddled with the door knob. Kai threw himself toward the one hiding spot he could think of on the spot. "There you are," The young man said, he sounded like he could be a student, just barely on the cusp of ages between teenage and young adult. It was a shame he was White Fang. "What are you doing Clem? You know the boss doesn't tolerate… Clem?"

The woman's dead body fell to the floor, her dead eyes staring through her mask and toward the man's face. He froze, and his body was paralyzed with fear.

A bloody blade tickled his neck, forcing his mouth shut before he could scream, and the threat was clear. Try and call for help, and get his throat slashed open. Kai stepped out from behind the door and pushed it shut with his tail. "Drop your weapon." He said in a forced voice to make it deeper than his true age suggested. "If you so much as whimper, you'll end up like her."

The White Fang grunt was more than happy to obey him, he dropped his weapon and held his hands up above his shoulder. Like it would get him out of this situation. If he didn't have this hunch, the kid would be dead already.

"Turn around, and kneel." Kai demanded, pushing the barrel of a gun into his back.

"I-it's you, isn't it?" The grunt asked as he turned around, even lowering himself down on both knees in the hopes that Stone Face would take mercy on him. "Stone Face… I thought you were some story…" He said in a fearful voice. He glanced toward his dead friend, and whimpered. Knowing that if he said anything wrong or too loud, he would end up just like her. "You k-killed her…"

"What are the White Fang's plans in Vale?" Kai asked, aiming the gun he had in his left hand toward the man's head. He was blind, but Ruby taught him how to use guns anyway. Besides, he doubted that he was so bad with weapons like these when he was basically stuffing the barrel into the guys cheek. He wasn't going to shoot though, even if he wanted to. The gunshot would be too loud and draw the attention of everyone in this warehouse. It would practically be a dinner bell to all that were there to go up there and kill him.

"I-I don't know-" The boy whined as Kai pushed the gun deeper into his face. He must have barely been older than him, or maybe even younger. Way in over his head. "I'm just a grunt, they don't tell us anything important!" He pointed out desperately. "All I know is that it involves that big machine down there, and I-I don't even know what that is either!"

Kai sighed and lowered his weapon. He couldn't sense any lie in his words. If the grunts didn't know anything important, then that meant that he would have to try and corner, capture, and interrogate one of the higher ranked officers. "Fair enough." He said, returning the gun to it's holster.

"You… believe me?" The White Fang grunt said in disbelief and hope.

"Yes." Kai replied, sticking another one of his daggers into the boys throat. He tried to scream in pain, but his windpipe was severed and all that came out was a pained gasp and a gush of blood. Kai nudged his foot against the mans chest and pushed him over onto his back. He let him drown in his own blood as he searched for a way to get out of this room other than the most obvious being the same door he walked in through earlier. By the time he found it the boy was already dead. He set up their bodies in ways that made it look like they were at least not dead bodies in the few chairs that were in that room. At first glance, they were just grunts slacking off. It might save him a few seconds, but those few seconds were the difference between life and death. He was already on borrowed time, soon enough someone would want to know where 'Clem' and this other guy were.

He found his exit in a hatch in the ceiling above him. He slowly and quietly unlocked it and pushed it open. Thanking his luck for it not slamming down on the other side as he hauled himself up through the opening and rolled onto the tarmac of the cabin. His senses were much worse up here, but he could smell in the air reeked with dust. It was so intense that he scrunched his nose and reached up to pinch it shut, only for him to pinch uselessly at the mask he had created for himself. It was primarily fire dust, which was the most common kind of dust. Huntsman, Huntresses, police officers, and even criminals and the White Fang used it. It was easy to use, and even in its raw form it was highly explosive and dangerous. Even more so in the hands of amateurs.

Kai sensed a girder to his left, and slowly crawled toward it. If he could get high above the White Fang so that they didn't see them, he could wait until they were huddled up in the center of the Warehouse. He could shoot one of the many crates and set off an explosion, it would kill most of them, and those that remained would easily be able to be taken out up close and personal. The only downside was that the moment he pulled the trigger he would be spotted. It was a solid plan, and as long as he didn't miss and remain hidden, this would be a White Fang massacre.

Easier said than done. His own mind sounded like a broken record as he thought of how exactly he was going to use his firearm he appropriated from one of the White Fang grunts. It wasn't as simple as aiming and shooting like it could be for others, he was blind, and so he had to take aim, sense, make sure he was aiming in the right direction, double check, and then take the risk and hope that the bullet was going to go where he wanted it to. It was why he loved his shurikens so much more than guns, he could throw them, and in mid throw he could adjust the trajectory however he wanted. With a gun, there was no controlling the bullets. Just the direction it went in and once the gun was set off there was no stopping it unless it hit something or someone.

Which was why he grew increasingly nervous as he balanced himself on the girders near the very top of the warehouse. One wrong step, and he would be sent tumbling down in the middle of all those White Fang members. The time he would spend being stunned from the fall would most likely get him killed if he fell awkwardly. He might be captured, but that would be a fate worse than death since he would most certainly be sent to Cinder to probably get tortured and suffer for what he did to her in Mistral. He was suddenly more nervous about having to aim the gun he had. If he missed the first shot, he might be able to get a few more off before having to take cover from the retaliation that would rain on his head from below.

He listened to the conversations beneath him as he got himself into position, waiting to see if there was anything that caught his attention. But what he got for the most part was just people whining about having to do work and move things around. That this wasn't what they signed up to do. He wanted to spit down at them. If they wanted to make a difference, then they clearly made the wrong choice.

Still, his hand shook as he went up on one knee and reached for the gun. Even now, the nerves were getting to him. Deep down inside, he didn't think he wanted to pull the trigger. But after thinking about what almost happened to his sister and mother he forced his hand to stop shaking, and aimed in the general direction of one of the crates full of dust. He was prepared to keep pulling the trigger until he emptied the clip if he had too in order to detonate the crystals in that crate. There was a decent amount of people around it, and just in case the first bullet didn't do the trick he had plenty more to use.

All he needed to do was pull the trigger, and more of his enemies would be dead. But he hesitated, and that hesitation cost him.

At the last second, he whipped his arm around to aim the gun at someone that just landed on the girders behind. He fired the gun, but it bounced off of something he couldn't sense properly. Before he could do anything else, the person was quick to break into his guard and dropkick him off of the girders, sending him plummeting toward the ground.

"Agh!" Kai winced as he fell through the air, and then cursed as he realized that the floor was about to become one with his face. He flipped through the air and subtly used the air to slow his fall, and landed on his feet, in the center of every White Fang member that was down there on the ground floor.

It took a few seconds for them to realize just who he was.

"It's Stone Face!" One of them finally had the sense to call out.

"Kill him!" Another screamed.

Kai dove for cover in the only direction he knew he could realistically be safe in. Toward the crates of dust. As he hoped, the White Fang ceased their fire as he hid behind one of the crates.

"So much for being stealthy…" Kai said out loud to himself as he readied the curved sword he'd stolen earlier and a few of his shurikens in his off hand. He lost his gun somewhere in the middle of all the chaos, which was a bother. But it wasn't like he absolutely needed it.

One Huntsman trained fighter could decimate a battalion of civilians. It was part of the reason why those without a provisional hunters permit or license weren't allowed to just go after criminals whenever they pleased. Just because they were trained and had aura didn't mean they could just do anything they wanted, there had to be rules. The White Fang here were going to learn why those rules were established.

He sensed someone land above him on one of the crates of dust, and he threw a few of his shurikens their way. They hit nothing as the person jumped away and landed on another crate. Ignoring them for now, Kai charged for the White Fang that were charging him from the side. Foolishly announcing their approach with their screaming as they flailed their weapons his way with little skill.

He disarmed the first one quickly enough, and wielded his single-edged sword to heavily parry a blow he heard whistling through the air from the side. He shoved his curved sword through that man's chest and kicked his dying body toward his comrades, then finished one off he disarmed earlier by stabbing into his stomach with his own sword. If he didn't die from that blow, the blood loss would kill him quickly. The three other grunts that charged with them suddenly had second thoughts about this, but it was far too late for them to reconsider. Kai cut through them like a hot knife through butter, they didn't even stand a chance. He even decapitated one of them who foolishly left himself completely open as he went for an all out overhead strike.

Kai hid behind cover once they were dealt with. It was only about five of them, and there was still plenty more to get through. As well as the mysterious person who kept bouncing around the warehouse, doubtlessly watching him and observing his movements. He would have loved to deal with her, but he was pinned down and cornered.

"Stop charging him!" Someone had the sense to call out as he killed another two that foolishly thought they could take him on by themselves. "Let's just get out of here, he's Huntsman trained! He'd kill all of us by the time he breaks a sweat!"

"Coward!" Another one screamed. "We can't run away, imagine what Cinder would do to us if we did! I'd rather get killed by this guy then deal with her."

The name Cinder made Kai growl angrily. He felt a rage grow inside of him and threw caution to the wind. Before he knew it, he jumped over his cover and sprinted toward the ones that pinned him down. They didn't even have time to put their fingers on the triggers of their guns before he got to one, cutting off one of his hands and letting him fall to the ground in his pain as his stump spurted out with blood. He went to slash at another, but they wisely backed off and staggered back to his fellows. Kai sensed half a dozen guns train on his body and his eyes widened, pushing his aura forward to block the first dozen bullets as he crouched down behind a piece of machinery.

"He's after the Paladin! Don't let him!"

The what? Kai didn't know what that was, but he doubted that it meant anything good. He would have to remember to look that up one of these days to see what it meant, or ask one of his friends about it. After placing one of his blades down on the ground, he stabbed his hand into the concrete floor and started refilling himself of more shurikens, right as he was about to cover up the hole however, something smashed into the back of his head.

He cried out in pain as he felt his brain shake around in his skull when his head bounced off the metal machine he was using as cover. Pushing his aura into the fold, and out of pure instinct he slashed his sword across the empty space behind him. He sensed someone flip and impossibly bend over backwards to dodge his attack. He wondered just who this person could be, but couldn't wonder any longer for his back pressed against the cover he was using as he tried to hastily parry a thin blade that whizzed across his stone mask.

He held back the blade with his borrowed weapon, and quickly found out that he had the strength advantage as he pushed back the person with ease. It was a woman, he quickly realized as he felt hair tickle his arm as he tried to counter attack. A very short one at that, she could even be described as diminutive. He knew exactly who she was immediately, especially since he saved Brick against her before the term started. Neopolitan. Oh how he wished he could curse her name as he fought her right now, she worked with Cinder after all, and almost killed Pyrrha and Cyan in Mistral. But there was always the chance that she would recognize his voice, even if he tried to fake a deeper one.

Now that he thought about it, he should have known she was here before, that telltale smell of ice cream was so prevalent now he wondered how he missed it. Oh well, he's the one trying to get noticed at the moment. Neo here is providing him with the best opportunity to do so.

Kai ignored the White Fang behind her and made to attack her, as he expected she pulled off some acrobatic maneuver that even he couldn't keep up with even with seismic sensing. She was very quick on her feet. He barely was able to tell where she was moving and what she was doing. His head snapped back as the tip of her parasol smashed into his stone mask. It held strong, and his aura defended him as he expected it too. But it also made him open to attacks by the White Fang.

Silver aura flared around his body even more as bullets pinged and bounced off his body. He managed to dodge the last few, and tried to get to cover again, but Neo was on him immediately. Bouncing her sword off the back of his shoulder right as he turned around to get to cover. Gritting his teeth, Kai bared it and backhanded her sword away, running around a corner and pushed his back against some kind of storage container.

He jumped over the container when a grenade was tossed at him, and covered his head and ears as it exploded behind and under him. From what he was able to hear, it was a flash bang of some kind. He bit back a chuckle at the thought of it, these fools didn't even know he was blind, and so flashbangs besides their loud snapping explosion sound didn't do anything to him besides make his ears ring softly.

Neo jumped up onto the container, and the amused smile was wiped off his face immediately. He jumped up and held two weapons, one in each hand. One of which was the same curved sword, dripping with blood of faunus, and the other was a dagger, the same weapon he started this whole operation with. Neo smirked at him and held her parasol across her shoulders. Kai used his senses to try and tell what she was feeling, and sighed internally when he put it together that she was just having fun. Just as he expected, she was nowhere near going all out right now.

He sensed something else land on the container next to him, and he lashed out. His sword passed through something, and it felt like it was a person. But he widened his eyes as this person broke into pieces and glass shards tore at his clothing.

What the?

Neo punished him in his moment of confusion, kicking him across the face and then jabbing her parasol into his stomach. He fell off of the container and landed hard on his back, Neo slid her blade out of her umbrella and jumped down to run him through with it, Kai rolled to the side at the last moment and stabbed the stone dagger into her side. But again, glass shards fell onto him as the figure shattered away instantly.

What the hell is going on here!? Kai thought to himself as he got thrown across the warehouse by a kick to his stomach. He had a lot of aura luckily, and only felt pain as he jumped back up to his feet. He knew that Neo's semblance was some kind of illusion manipulation, but illusions shouldn't work on him. He's blind. Which was why Emerald was never able to use hers on him. But this was different. He sensed Neo coming at him, but he also sensed three others running at him from different angles.

He chose one at random and swung at her, but as he expected this time her body shattered to pieces. He was only just able to turn around in time to block Neo's blade from slashing a gash across his back, catching it narrowly and parrying it hastedly with the curved sword.

Are her illusions tactile? That was the only thing he could think of, and something he cursed himself for not considering before. Optical and auditory illusions like Emerald was able to control didn't work on him, mostly because she wasn't able to even start using them on him. From what he guessed, she needed to get a seconds of eye to eye contact and she could use her semblance however she wanted. But since he is blind, she'd never been able to use it on him. Optical illusions wouldn't work, obviously. Auditory might throw him off a bit, but tactile? Illusions that fool his mind into thinking there was someone behind him when there was none. Neo's semblance was difficult to understand, and he didn't know how she was able to use it on him like this. But he couldn't lose, not here.

Neo saw stars in her vision as he smashed his face into hers. He felt the stone mask crack, but it was still in one piece. Neo on the other hand felt as if her nose was broken. She wanted to bend backwards to dodge the reckless headbutt, but as she looked down she saw that a brown hairy tail was wrapped around her waist. Angrily, she twisted her blade across the curved sword and slashed a nice gash across the stone mask. Forcing Stone Face back and jabbing her edged blade down to force his tail off of her.

Kai hissed and whipped his tail back, and then grabbed Neo but her overextended sword and spun her around his body once before throwing her. She flipped through the air once before opening her parasol, landing softly on the same storage container that she kicked him off earlier. He sensed her wipe her nose with one hand, and the anger that went with it as he could imagine a spot of blood coming off her nose.

"Quick," One of the grunts shouted over everyone. "As she deals with him, move everything out!"

That caught his attention, Kai turned his head and sensed throughout the warehouse once more. The White Fang were scrambling around and stuffing crates of dust into vehicles, and the paladin that was mentioned earlier was lowered down onto a truck. Kai figured that machine was important to the White Fang for some reason, and after double checking for Neo, dashed after it some of the White Fang with his blades in hand.

The grunts screamed in terror as he slashed at one of them, but his sword clashed with another and he found his strength matched suddenly. Neo was already there, stopping him. He grit his teeth and put more strength into his attack, forcing Neo to duck under it and counter. Jabbing him twice with her knuckles and spinning around to stick the end of her parasol into his chest. Kai caught it with one hand, but it suddenly opened, forcing his fingers apart and making him drop the stone dagger. It was closed and he heard the worrying sound of a blade being removed from its sheath. He leaned back instinctively as he heard it whistle through the air almost silently, and with the momentum he let himself fall backward and spin around across the floor, kicking Neo's legs out from under her. The real Neo this time.

He kicked at her again when she landed on her hands, and felt nothing as he leg flew through the air. Neo pushed herself up into the air, and wrapped her legs around his neck. He staggered around for a moment for a sudden extra hundred pounds being put on his shoulders. He caught her by the thighs and stood strong like a statue as she attempted to flip him around like she did to Brick back at that dust robbery. She noticed quickly that it wasn't working, and inside somehow managed to twist and weave her way around one of his arms, and locking it in an arm bar.

The bones in his left arm creaked painfully as Neo pulled with her entire body, trying to break it in to. He flexed every muscle in that arm and managed to bend it back in the proper way, and then smashed that arm into one of the crates. Neo still held on however, even if he could hear a silent cough as the air was driven from her lungs.

"S-should we help her?" He overheard one of the grunts asked as he and Neo wrestled. "She's got this, let's go!"

"RAGH!" Kai grunted as his arm was snapped back into a bad angle. He felt his shoulder nearly pop out of it's socket as Neo somehow managed to dig both of her feet into his back and force his arm up and behind him. His tail wrapped around one of her feet, and he pulled her off balance. He forced her to make a split as she kept one foot on his back while the other was pulled away by his tail.

While a position such as that would end the fight, that was only if it was any other person. Neo didn't seem phased at all by being forced to do a split like that, but she did have to let go of his arm when he managed to turn around and throw a fist into her face. It barely bounced off of her cheek and she staggered back, smirking at him as a trickle of blood ran down his now exposed arm.

Kai panted and forced aura into his cut arm. Neo, while wrapped around his arm, also somehow managed to drag her sword across the back of his shoulder, putting a nasty gash in it. His aura tried defending it, but it was too spread out across his arm and back. He didn't think to put any aura around his shoulder blade. He wanted to make her pay for that, but some of the White Fang behind him started shooting at him again. He dodged the bullets, but Neo was on him immediately before he could even think to get behind cover.

The situation was getting dire now, he was fighting Neo and getting shot at at the same time. He was now unarmed, and Silver Ebony was all the way back in Beacon. Raven wasn't going to come help him, and with how late it was everyone that would be able to help were either sleeping or in some other part of Vale, distracted, and he didn't even have his scroll. Not to mention that he was forced into holding back as well. If he so much as manipulated a gust of wind, he would be recognized. At a time like this, he really wished he wasn't as famous as he was.

But that didn't matter.

He had to do this.

He had to win.

Neo widened her eyes with shock as Stone face let her stab her sword into his mask, and was even more shocked when he pushed her back like that. A tail wrapped around the hilt of her sword before she could think to let go of it, and she flipped back before her own weapon could be used against her. Stone Face wrenched the blade out of his mask, and didn't even run to her with it.

He ran toward the White Fang. Those who were near didn't know what to do, from their perspective they just saw a guy get stabbed in the face, only to take the sword out and start attacking them with it. Blood splattered as someone's throat was slashed open, and someone else fell to the floor as they found their heart poked with a hole. Neo came back to her senses and tackled into him shoulder first, and the two of them fell to the ground together in a heap of limbs. Once, twice, and then three times Kai's sword hand was stomped on by Neo. After the sixth time he finally let go, and caught the blade with his bare hands again to stop it from going into his jugular.

Neo coughed as his tail wrapped around her throat and squeezed. But before she could be thrown off, she smirked. Kai cut his tail on glass shards as she appeared somewhere else. Above him.

The White Fang ironically saved him by shooting at him. Kai rolled onto his side and kept rolling, and thankfully sensed Neo forced to back off lest she get caught in the crossfire. His heart beat a thousand times a second, he was getting tired and he felt like he had a brush with death multiple times already. He couldn't stop however, he couldn't afford too. The Paladin was already leaving the warehouse, but at this point he gave up on that. He couldn't chase it without using his semblance, and with Neo on his ass he doubted he could even leave the building without getting through her first.

But there was one thing he could do. This mission was a bust, that was for sure. He figured he did enough as it is. He killed a decent amount of the White Fang, and even went toe to toe with Neo. If that wasn't going to get Stone Face noticed, he didn't know what was.

Creating more shurikens and covering up the hole, he threw them out toward the White Fang as they stopped to reload. They were sloppy, and all had to reload all at the same time after shooting their entire clip at once. He hit a few of them, and used that distraction to run back to the crates of dust.

He fell over as a weight crashed into his back, and legs around his waist. He reached back and caught Neo's arms before she could shove her sword into his back and once again they fell together. This time into one of the crates. Kai managed to roll over onto his back, and growled as he struggled to keep Neo's blade away from his body. His aura was weak and he was tired, holding back as he was now on top of that, he would lose this fight if he kept going.

Neo smirked down at him as she felt his strength weakening. She was actually able to push it down against his chest at one point before he punched the blade and forced it away from his heart and over his right shoulder.

The sound of his scream as her blade finally pierced aura and flesh was music to her ears. Neo's smirk went to face splitting proportions as she forced the blade further into his shoulder, and felt it come out the other side. As she felt his strength weakening further, she reached a hand up to try and peel off the mask. It was time to see who this Stone Face was.

Except, something ignited underneath them both.

An explosion, great and black swallowed them whole and blew a massive hole in the warehouse.

Kai held pressure on the stab wound through his shoulder and ran through the streets of Vale. His mask was forgotten as he threw it to the side, allowing it to shatter into pieces as he willed it with his semblance. His clothes were singed and burned, he was practically half naked now, with half of the sweatshirt he was wearing being half burned off on one side. The wound hurt more and more the more he moved, but he had to keep going. He could hear the sirens wailing as they made their way toward the warehouse he just blew up.

He hoped Neo was killed by that blast, he had no idea and figured that she was probably still alive. But it was nice to keep up that hope at least. He wasn't able to sense her after the explosion, and luckily his own blast cauterized the wound she gave him. Her sword and body was nowhere to be seen, and the White Fang were in panic and running away in either vehicles or on foot. Another stroke of luck, he didn't know if he could still fight them off as he was now. He counted himself incredibly lucky tonight, if they didn't land on that crate of dust full of every kind of dust there was, he might have not been able to get away without revealing himself. All it took as a simple spark, and everything went off.

Slumping down in an alley, he struggled to catch his breath. His blindfold was still on, so that had some kind of secrecy as to what his true identity was, or it might just give him away faster. There was a problem though, he couldn't run anymore. He was just too exhausted.

"R-Raven…" He rasped, coughing up smoke and some unknown substance. "I… need you." His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he felt himself drift into unconsciousness.

Minutes later, his call for help was answered. Vernal stepped out of the portal and quickly scooped up the boy in his arms, his head slumped against her chest as she carried him back through the portal, and into the dorm room where his sister was being kept. Malienna was sleeping, and undisturbed as Raven stood by her bed, looking toward them as the portal closed and Vernal laid Kai across the bed.

"He's hurt." Vernal said, feeling things she hasn't felt in a long time. "I need to help him."

"Do what you wish." Raven said, looking at Kai's wounds for a few moments before averting her eyes and looking out the window. "But do it quickly. Morning will come soon, and we need to get back to the tribe."

"Tch," Vernal refrained from talking back to her and went to work on Kai. The power of the Spring Maiden was destructive, but there was also hidden remedies within it that if found, could save lives.

She placed her hands on the hole in Kai's shoulder, and sealed it shut. He groaned but did not wake, and once his aura was awakened once more, Vernal went to work on the many burns he had all over his body. He really was a mess. She had to clean him off and even change his clothes for him. It was no more use to him now, destroyed as it was. The only thing that survived unscathed was his blindfold by some miracle, but as she knew it used to be Malikai's, and even when she blasted at it the thing never so much has gotten a scratch on it since.

"He'll be fine." Raven said, looking back towards the two of them after about an hour of Vernal fixing him up. "You may have to support him like this again Vernal, be prepared for it."

"He's just a kid…" Vernal whispered, looking at his hands she saw that it was calloused like no tomorrow, and there was still blood trapped underneath his fingernails.

"And?" Raven said, taking a step toward her. "You were younger when you took your first life. Are you going soft on me now?"

"No… of course not." Vernal said, forcing herself to stand up and leave Kai's side. She felt like she owed the kid, not for anything he did but for what his father did for her. He made her realize that she was still human, and capable of emotions and feelings. After living a life of murder and fighting, Malikai was a nice breath of life, and she liked to think that he also trusted her to keep his son safe. Seeing Kai now… he wasn't the same kid she enjoyed teasing two years ago, she saw herself in him. A bitter hatred and a great sense of rage bellowing beneath that mask he put on for everyone else. No one should have to go through that, especially not someone like Kai used to be.

"We must go." Raven said as she slashed a portal through the air. She spared one final look down at Kai, and placed a hand on his forehead. She brushed some of his hair out of his face and then left through the portal.

Vernal watched with a conflicted expression. Raven cared for him, yet pushed him so hard. She wondered what her endgame plan for him was going to be. She shook her head and walked around Kai's bed, and was thankful that the little girl didn't wake throughout the whole thing. She must have been a heavy sleeper.

She spared one more look at Kai before she left, muttering a 'see you later, kid' to him before she too disappeared through the portal.

Roman practically dove out of his car and sprinted toward the burning warehouse. The sirens were loud and blaring, but he didn't care. The White Fang were distracting them. He heard the explosion from all the way downtown Vale, and had a feeling he knew exactly where it came from. It was a wreck in here. He immediately thought as he looked around the burning warehouse. It was easy to see where the blast originated. The giant hole in the wall pretty much screamed it. He ignored the fire and dead bodies and ran further into the warehouse.

"Neo!" Roman called out after cupping his hands over his mouth. "Neo, where are you." He shouted as he waded his way through the flames and burning dust. He didn't care for the way his white coat was getting singed black, he could always get a new one. He couldn't get a new Neo. His aura protected him as he felt like he was walking into an oven.

A hand wrapped around a corner, and Roman felt guilt and sorrow welled up inside him as Neo pulled herself around the corner. She was still in one piece, thankfully. But her hair was singed and frizzled, some of it was burned off. Her skin was bruised, burned, and red from the exhaustion she had to feel. Blood spilled out from wounds all over her body, and her coat was completely burned off. Leaving her in just her corset with her shoulders and most of her upper body exposed and what remained of her boots and pants. He parasol was burned away, just still clung to her sword. Upon seeing him, Neo's eyes went white and she ran toward him.

Roman caught her as she fell after taking her third step. "My God…" He said as he picked her up, bridal style. "For someone as dangerous as you, you really know how to worry me."

Neo just barely managed to smirk at him and mouth the word 'sorry' before she fell unconscious. Slumping her head against against his chest as she finally found a moment to rest.

Roman hummed and hugged her close to his body. He was terrified when he got a message from Adam that one of their warehouses exploded suddenly. From what he could guess, Neo fought that Stone Face guy, and somehow that ended up with the dust being ignited. But hey, even though she was hurt badly she was still alive and the Paladin didn't get taken away. At least the animals were smart enough to get that thing out of there during what must have been a chaotic fight.

He nearly jumped when Neo smacked a hand against his chest. When her hand fell, a dagger made of stone fell onto her lap. Roman looked at it with shock, and turned around to look toward the warehouse.

"Oh…" He laughed, shoulders shaking as he walked past some of the debris, and back to that mysterious hole he saw when he first entered.

The whole in the concrete floor, was in the shape of a hand.

"Well then…" Roman chuckled, he might have been more angry if Neo was dead. But instead, he found himself impressed. "This makes things much more interesting."

Uh oh. Looks like Kai did an oopsy.

Sorry this is late in coming out. I was going to finish this yesterday originally, but I got sick and tired and snotty and I just couldn't even move. So I took a little relaxing break.

Another thing is, Kai is not unstoppable. As seen here, he pretty much lost to Neo. But keep in mind that he didn't have his strongest weapons in his possession at this time. He had no Silver Ebony, he couldn't use his semblance (except for the very end) and he couldn't risk revealing himself. Not to mention the White Fang were shooting at him at the same time, and he was still up against Neo. Neo. No matter how good he is, he had so much stuff stacked up against him, he is lucky that he made it out in the end like he did.

As always, please review and tell me what you think of the story.

T w itter . com (slash) genatools

P a treon . com (slash) Genatools