And we are back. I started a new story if you guys are interested in it. Yup, it's YBWR, it's on my profile and you should easily be able to find it. Shameless self-advertising is a go, as they say. Now since that is said and done with, next up we got another chapter for this awesome story of mine. I swear, every time I think about this story it gives me another reason to love it.

Here we go.

Beta: CrowSkull

The Blind Huntsman

Chapter 89

Volume 3, Episode 8

Preperational Decisions, Yet to be Made

"Ironwood wants you to become a Specialist?" Amber asked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Why?"

"He said that he sees potential in me," Kai recited. "More potential than he has ever seen in anyone."

"Just like everyone else does, I'm guessing." Amber laughed when Kai nodded his head. "You seem to get that a lot. I kinda feel bad for you,"

"Why is that?"

"You're just a kid, and don't give me that 'I'm eighteen' or whatever, you are still a kid. When I was your age I was the fall maiden, and even though I never had to train for power, I was still one of the most powerful people in the world. That didn't change the fact that I was still a kid way in over my head." Amber explained. "I understand what it feels like to be so young and feel like you are holding the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's not a good feeling. You feel like if you stay still for a moment then everything is going to fall apart, right?"

"I…" Kai gulped nervously. "I… yeah, I guess you could say that's how I feel. I didn't even know what my eyes meant until three years ago. Now all of a sudden I am involved in a war between two ancient beings," His laugh felt empty and forced, even to him. "I used to think the most exciting part of my life would be becoming a huntsman, and then Raven showed up and took me under her wing and I think it all started to change from there."

"Wait, Raven took you under her wing?" Amber asked, in pure disbelief. "Forgive me for saying this but she doesn't seem like the kind of person to take anyone under her wing, she didn't even do that for her own daughter."

Kai shrugged helplessly. "I wish I could say I understand everything that goes through her mind. I used to think it was because she used to date my dad, so through that, she might have felt some kind of misplaced obligation toward me, but I know it's not that. Whatever her reasoning is, she has helped me get as strong as I am now."

"Hm, I guess people can change if they want to," Amber commented.

They spent the next few minutes going through some light exercises. Kai didn't know exactly how athletic Sienna was, but it helped that she was in fantastic shape when Amber took over her body after the transfer completed. All Amber had to do was get used to her new athleticism and regain her muscle memory when using a staff as a weapon. For now, Kai found a broomstick and took off the end of it and offered that to Amber as a training weapon. She was going through the motions of what she learned in her previous body, and while the knowledge was clearly still there in her mind, her body wasn't used to this kind of style. It would take time, but Kai knew that Amber would improve quickly, especially since she is putting her mind to it like she is right now.

"So," Amber said as she swung her training staff in the same motion for the hundredth time. "Are you going to accept Ironwood's offer? Even if he used the same cheesy line that everyone else uses on you, it's a good offer. I don't know him well, but I'm sure that he doesn't make an offer like that to just anyone."

"Of course he doesn't," Kai easily agreed, leaning back in his seat as he put thought into it. "I have to admit it is a pretty enticing offer, but Ozpin isn't going to like it when he finds out that Ironwood is stealing me away from him. He's put a lot of effort into getting me and keeping me in Beacon, even going as far as to train me himself."

"Then why do I get the impression that you wouldn't feel bad for leaving him then?" Amber asked, jabbing the staff into the mat and leaning into it for support as she would a hiking stick. "He's done all that for you, and yet you are still considering Ironwood's offer, aren't you?"

"My dad once told me that I shouldn't trust Ozpin," Kai said. "I still don't know why he told me that, or what his intentions were, but he must have said it for a reason. I still don't trust Ozpin, even now. I let him think that I do, and while I am grateful for all that he has done for me and my family, I… I just can't find it within myself to trust him completely."

"I may be a little biased," Amber admitted, nodding her head lightly as she made to sit down on the mat. "But I trusted Ozpin once as well, I trusted him to keep me safe, I trusted him to keep Salem's gaze off my back, and I trusted him to keep Malikai under control. But in the end, look at what happened to me," Amber gestured to her new body, that was an answer in itself. "I was killed. And then he kept my body alive and my soul trapped for years and even though I'm back now and in a different body, I'm sure he wasn't planning on me actually returning. So honestly, I don't trust Ozpin much right now either."

"I guess that's another thing we have in common," Kai chuckled with no real joy.

Amber followed suit. "Yeah, you could say that again. So, to answer your unasked question, I think you should take Ironwood up on that offer. Maybe not now, but later. You're still in your first year in Beacon, which is crazy for me to think about, and you have three more years until you graduate."

"I actually already have a huntsman license," Kai informed her. "They gave it to me after… well, an incident."

"No kidding?" Amber burst out in laughter for a moment. "Well, that just shot down my next strip of advice for you. It's up to you then. I won't make the decision for you, but if it were offered to me I would have accepted the moment he asked."

"I'll think about it," Kai said. "There's still the Vytal Festival and Cinder to worry about at the moment, there's no reason to put so much thought into this when there are other more important things to worry about."

"Fair enough, be careful though." Amber reached over and pat his knee. "We just met but I've already grown pretty fond of you, I wouldn't want my new friend to get himself into trouble that he won't be able to get out from."

"Hmph," Kai smiled as he shook his head, amused. "I'm sure it won't be anything too drastic. I am going to be partaking in a mission tomorrow, most likely, so you're probably not going to see me for a while. Keep up on your training, your body is already in good shape but it still needs to get used to you and your prior combat knowledge-"

"I know, Kai, remember, I was a full-fledged huntress once." Amber laughed to show that she took no offense. "I know you're supposed to train me and you're actually pretty good at doing that. But I can train myself pretty well. Worry about your mission now, I'll worry about regaining my powers."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Kai nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I sort of forgot that you are the maiden for a second there and that you were already a huntress before I was even born."

"When you say it like that it makes me feel old," Amber pointed out. "Though I guess with this body I don't really feel old anymore… It's weird, being ten years younger all of a sudden, not to mention the fact that I'm a faunus now."

"You'll get used to it, I'm sure. You've done a good job with that so far already." Kai replied as he stood up. "We can call it a day for now. We've done a lot already, there's no point in continuing when no progress would be made."

"Sure, I'm getting hungry anyway," Amber's face turned red for a moment when her stomach growled loudly. "Or I am hungry right now…"

"Let's go get something to eat then," Kai said as he helped Amber back up to her feet. "I'm sure a giant flagship like this has a kitchen somewhere. I'm a known quantity on the ship by now, so they'll give me food if I ask for it. You though…"

"I know what you're about to say," Amber sighed. "I have Sienna's face and body. The soldiers here are bound to not like the fact that I am out of my cell. I'll go back to my room."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit then."

Qrow groaned and rubbed his eyes with his knuckles as he heard rapid knocking on his door. He yelled at whoever was on the other side to stop and let them know that he was on his way. Seriously, if he was with Marron and Malienna right then it would have made things a lot more awkward since the moment he opened the door he found himself being shoved back into his own room by his own niece.

"Woah!" Qrow yelped as he was then pushed onto the couch, Yang stood before him with her arms crossed and eyes a burnt red. That was a telltale sign of her temper reaching its breaking point, Qrow would know, he helped raised the kid. "Yang? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like I murdered your puppy?"

"You knew," Yang started simply, growling out each word as she forced them past her lips. "You knew what Kai was going through, and instead of aiming him back on the right path, you just made it worse!"

Qrow felt a lump in his throat rise as his eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" His voice stammering gave the lie away immediately. For an instant, Yang's hair burst into flames. Shutting him up before he could spout anything else out.

"I'm talking about the fact that Kai isn't on some stupid training mission! I know, Qrow. Raven told me everything. I know that Kai is being kept somewhere and is being controlled and manipulated by the ones he should consider his teachers!"

"Raven told you?" Qrow asked, shocked. "Since when did my sister start talking to you!?"

"That doesn't matter," Yang spat. "At least she tells me the truth."

That stung more than anything else she could have ever said to him. Because it was true, Raven did tell the truth and he just tried to lie to her. The troublemaker sister, right now, was someone that Yang believed more than she did him. That was a problem, but not one that Qrow ever thought he'd have to deal with.

"Alright, Firecracker," The nickname didn't have any calming effect on his niece. "I get it, you caught me, I'm sorry I lied to you."

"Sorry you lied or sorry that I caught you?" Yang questioned.

"Both," Qrow admitted. "But getting angry at me about it isn't going to help anyone, especially not Kai. His situation is… a lot more complicated than you think."

"Then make me understand," Yang demanded. Qrow almost wanted to sigh a sigh of relief when Yang's eyes shifted back to purple again. "I already know about his eyes, I know about the stupid maidens, and I know that he is trying to protect us from something. It's why he damn near kills himself when he trains every damn day and expects us not to notice how he has had at least a few bruises on his body consistently for the past year."

"He's fighting for a reason," Qrow pointed out the obvious. "If there wasn't something he thought he'd need to protect you lot from he wouldn't be doing this. Do you want to know where he is? I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to try and make this a bigger issue than it should."

"And why the hell shouldn't I?" Yang asked. "He's my friend Qrow. He's Ruby's best friend and he has done so much for us ever since he came into our lives. Where you and Dad would have never told us about maidens and the silver-eyed warriors, he told us. The least I can do to repay him is to make sure he doesn't do anything he won't be able to come back from."

"Trust me, I know it may be hard to believe for you, but I feel the same way." Qrow insisted. "But it's out of even my control. Do you think I don't want Kai to stay with his mother and sister? Actually, live a damn life so he can experience what it's like to be a kid again? I do want that for him, I wish he achieve that."

"So why isn't he now?"

"Because like it or not Yang, Kai was brought into what he's into now the moment he was born. Those silver eyes of his? They are evolving at a rate unlike even Summer or Malikai's did. Ozpin doesn't just want that on his side, he needs that on his side."

"Why?" Yang barked. "Why does Ozpin need him so badly? Just what the hell are they fighting?"

"An enemy I just can't tell you about, Yang," Qrow replied, shaking his head as he did so. "I'm sorry, but it's just better if you don't know. All I can say is that in order to protect everyone he cares about, he is willing to do anything to stop our enemies."

"Including killing people?" Yang asked, frowning when Qrow bit his lip and looked away from her. "Including wearing a mask and sneaking out at night pretending to be some kind of vigilante?"

"...Yeah." Qrow finally said after several moments and remaining silent. "Those are the choices that he made."

"He shouldn't have had to make them in the first place," Yang said, sadder than angry at that point. "He shouldn't have had to do anything. Hasn't he done enough? He damn near killed Cinder back in Mistral, can you guys really not handle an insane bitch like her on your own?"

"Cinder is not insane," Qrow pointed out. "And that's not me defending her. She might be crazy, sure, but if she was really insane she wouldn't have us backed up against a wall right now."

"How is that possible?" Yang demanded.

"I can't say," Qrow said, standing up and crossing his arms now that he has regained control of the conversation. "Look Yang, I get why you are so worked up over this, I really do. I've felt it myself a long time ago when Ozpin first recruited Summer. If anyone understands what you're feeling, its me. But for right now, you need to let us handle it. We plan on killing Cinder soon, but in order to do that, we need Kai's semblance and his eyes. You've seen what maidens can do, and you've seen what Kai's semblance and eyes can do. With some help from someone we recently picked up, he'd be able to take her down. Once Cinder is taken care of and we regain full control over Vale from the White Fang, Kai is probably going to be allowed to take it easy and rest up for a while."

"Probably?" Yang asked.

"Probably," Qrow repeated. "No guarantees. Wish I could offer that to ya, but that's all I got now Firecracker."

"Does his team know?" Yang asked, the last wisps of her anger finally fading away completely.

"..." After some thought, Qrow answered honestly. "Yeah, they do."

Yang's eyes widened and Qrow could see the feeling of what could be mistaken for betrayal, but Qrow knew what it really was. Utter shock and a realization that her little sister has accepted this truth before she even found out it existed in the first place.

"I shouldn't need to tell you this at this point but… he's on Ironwood's ship now. Awaiting his next mission." Qrow explained. "Not that you'd be able to get close to him at all, but I'd suggest that you don't even try it. Atlas isn't Vale, and they do not take kindly to trespassers. Hell, even I'm barely allowed to go there."

With nothing else to say, Yang burst out of the room. Qrow sighed to himself and wondered if he should start drinking again.

Yang slammed the door shut behind her and ran until she was outside and crouched down behind a bench. She refused to cry, wiping away the beginnings of tears before they could become too overwhelming. But she definitely wanted to scream out in anger and sorrow. After refraining from doing that as well, Yang pulled herself together and sat down on a bench, slumping her face into her hands and slapping her own face lightly to try and get some kind of idea in her head.

"Damnit…" She said instead, shaking her head helplessly. "Even if they need him… he's barely older than I am, just a few months. He doesn't need to be living a life like that. Ozpin shouldn't need a kid to help win his wars." And yet the brutal truth was that he apparently did.

She looked up to the sky and saw the giant battleship that was under General Ironwoods command. Somewhere there, Kai was waiting for his next mission. The broken moon was high in the sky and the Vytal Festival was still raging on. It was quickly getting to the finals, and just as everyone expected, Nora and Rick won their duo match quickly after banding their semblances together and making Nora so powerful and bright pink that their opponents from Atlas didn't stand a chance. Yang almost wished that she went to watch their fight instead of hunting down Qrow, but she knew that she wouldn't have been able to pay attention either way.

"You can't keep doing this Kai," She said to the sky, knowing damn well that no one was able to hear her. "You're going to break someday. It might not be soon and it might not even be years from now. But you are going to break if you keep going on like this."

Standing up, Yang figured out what it was that she had to do.

"Which is why pretty soon, I'm going to do my damndest to make sure that you won't have to do it by yourself."

Kai was woken up, alarmed by the sudden knocking on his door and the fact that it slid open before he even had the chance to completely wake up and get out of bed. By the time he sat up, Winter was already inside his given room.

"Apologies, did I startle you?" Winter asked as she flicked on the light. She knew it wouldn't have bothered the boy as his eyes wouldn't have been able to see the light anyway.

"No, no, it's fine," Kai lied. "I didn't think you'd come this early is all."

"You can tell that it's early?" Winter asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"I've only slept for about five hours," Kai said. "I learned how to keep track of the number of hours I sleep per night. It's almost impossible for me to tell what time it is unless I'm outside, but I can feel that the sun is still in the process of setting even now."

"Hm, that is impressive," Winter admitted as she dropped a stack of clothing on his lap. "Which is why I suppose General Ironwood insisted on getting you this specific outfit. I know you can't see it, but it's all black and gray and made out of cloth-like material that is lined with dust."

"Dust?" Kai picked up the garments and ran his hands through them. It didn't feel like anything special, but when he went to sniff it he could tell that Winter was right. It was lined with dust, what kind of dust he didn't know, but it had to be a type that wasn't harmful to his body or combustible in any way. "What kind of clothing is this? It almost feels like I'm holding nothing."

"That's the way it should be," Winter explained. "When I leave to let you put them on, it should feel like you are wearing nothing. Of course, you will feel it if you think about it, but the General thought it smart to give you clothing that will not only allow you comfort but also allow your senses to work at their full strength. It wouldn't do to blind you if we gave you the wrong kind of boot, after all."

"I was going to ask about the boots," Kai said as he hefted said boots up in his hands. "I'm guessing that its made out of the same material or something similar to it?"

Winter nodded her head. "Yes."

"Then I won't bother asking you to explain how that works," Throwing the covers off his body, Winter averted her eyes and kept them closed as he went to put them on at that very moment.

"You didn't need to do that now." She pointed out.

"No point in being embarrassed over something stupid like that, I wasn't even naked underneath there," Kai replied. He threw on a tank top before sliding his arms through the sleeves of the coat that was offered to him. Just as Winter said, it almost felt like he was wearing nothing at all save for his underwear and a tank top. The same went for when he slid his legs through the pants, his feet into socks, and then into his new boots. Ironwood seemed to have done his research and didn't bother to add any laces and instead replaced it with some kind of strong velcro material that actually required some strength to take off. In just under a minute he was dressed, and he felt amazed at how he felt.

"My senses," He chuckled as he tapped his feet on the floor several times. "I have full access to them. I can't even imagine the technology required to make this possible but thank you. First those socks from before and now this? Man, you really know how to give gifts to me."

"Hmph," Winter let an amused smirk appear for a moment. "I could hardly recall that. Though that was the gift in a much more experimental phase while this has been worked on for quite some time."

"Ironwood has been planning this for a while, huh?" When Winter didn't respond, Kai shrugged his shoulders. "Can't say I blame him, I've been involved in a lot more than I probably should have, and in a very short time span, that must be a respectful trait to him."

"It seems so," Winter agreed. "You are aware of the goal of this mission, to apprehend the criminal and known quantity Roman Torchwick. I will be working with you directly as your shadow. I will keep close but out of sight, but since your senses are so sharp you should be able to keep track of me nonetheless. If you are willing, I shall start to brief you on the exact procedure of this mission we are going to soon partake in."

"Go for it." Kai sat down on his bed and gestured to the chair that was in the room, offering it to Winter. She sat down in it and sucked in a deep breath before beginning.

"We have a suspicion that Roman wants to form some kind of alliance with you for one reason or another, first I'd like to confirm that with you since you are the only one who can tell us exactly what happened in that room when you were alone with him and his accomplice Neo."

"He wanted me to work together with him," Kai admitted easily, it wasn't much of a secret and he already figured that Winter would have been told about it anyway. "He says he wants an out to get away from Cinder and thinks that if I work together with him that we can find some way to stop Cinder. Of course, that didn't entirely work out…"

"At first," Winter added for him. "That will be how we get Roman close to us, or rather, you. He knows that you are Stone Face, so if he sees you he may be inclined to try speaking to you again even if it didn't work so well for him the last time he tried. At the end of the day, Roman Torchwick is not a true fighter. He is the mastermind behind his schemes and he has others more able to handle the more difficult ones. He is good, but clearly not good enough. I trust that if it comes down to it, you will be able to defeat him."

"I'm sure that I can," Kai said, nodding along with her. "But in order to do so, I'd have to get past Neo first. She's much more of a problem than he will ever be when it comes to fighting. I can probably beat her to if I use my semblance but…"

Winter nodded along. "You have the authorization to use your semblance if need be. If the need arises and the world starts asking questions, it is not too uncommon for two people among millions to wield a similar semblance. Though, we would ask that you simply use a part of your semblance. You can manipulate elements, correct?"

"Fire, water, air, and stone," Kai confirmed. "I can control other parts of similar elements, but for this mission, I'll most likely use stone the most, air if I can hide it well enough."

"If this operation works the way we want it too, you shouldn't have to restrain yourself at all," Winter said. "The best-case scenario for us is that we keep this quiet, and we catch Roman off guard. If you can incapacitate him quickly, that would make this much easier, but of course that most likely won't be the case. A less ideal scenario is if Roman doesn't want to speak and begins a fight, this would of course force me to come out of hiding and aid you once this Neo joins in to help her ally. Together, I have full confidence that we could defeat them, but there is also the great risk of Neo using her semblance to get herself and Roman out before we can defeat them."

"I'm guessing the worst-case scenario is if Roman is not alone, has the White Fang with him, or makes our fight loud and public?"

"No." Winter shook her head. Kai raised an eyebrow at her and she was quick to explain. "While that is a case that is far below on the list of things we would want to occur, it is not the worst. The worst-case scenario is if he is with allies, namely Cinder."

"I want to be able to trust that you won't try to fight her on your own if she does happen to make an appearance," Winter said, leaning in closer. "We will retreat in the case that she, Adam Taurus, or any other of her powerful allies appear. We do not want to risk you getting killed or worse, captured."

"I'll back off if I have to," Kai said flatly. "I'm not so enraged as to risk not only myself but the people around me just to get to her. I can calm myself down if need be."

"Are you positive?" Winter asked, glaring into his blind eyes.

"Yes," It almost seemed as though Kai was glaring right back at her with the way his white pupils stared back into her normal ones. "You can trust me on this mission. I won't put my friend's older sister at risk because of my own personal agenda against her."

"And I believe you now," Winter said, leaning back into her chair. "I just needed to confirm it for myself."

"Well, since that is out of the way, where are we going to find Torchwick?" Kai asked, leaning back and crossing his arms as well.

"We have suspicions that he is present within the festival area itself," Winter said. "There is an expected White Fang presence along with other risks that you know of already. Recently, there was a sighting of Mercury Black, and who we assume was Emerald Sustrai scouting out the festival themselves. They were lost to us before we could mount an operation to capture them, but if they were there, they had to be there for a reason."

"Roman won't be far," Kai said. "I don't know them well, but I know that Roman makes friends in those he can keep them from becoming an enemy. Chances are, he's already befriended, Mercury and Emerald."

"The two of them have not been spotted around since," Winter continued. "But you may be right. We are hoping that they are also sucked up of their time in planning and may not be paying attention to their enemies as much as we are to them."

"With any luck, we'll catch him with his pants down and bag him before he even gets the chance to react," Kai grinned at the idea. "What are we going to do once we have him?"

"We will imprison him and interrogate him, make him believe that we will let him go if he complies and helps us bring down Cinder, and then he will either be executed or locked away in the most secure prison in the world," Winter answered.

Kai was admittedly shocked. He didn't expect such brutal truth to come out of the Specialist before him.

"There is no use lying to you about it, is there?" Winter pointed out, reminding him of his own ability to sense when someone is lying. "It is cruel, even I would admit that. But Roman Torchwick is an accomplice of Cinder Fall and therefore is an accomplice of Salem. He would have little else to offer to us, and if we let him go he may as well be hunted down by Salem for his betrayal and I doubt that he would turn his ways so easily if we keep our side of the bargain. This is what needs to be done."

"I know, I wasn't questioning you," Kai didn't care much about Roman anyway, he could rot in prison his whole life or die, as long as he was out of the way. "I was just surprised that Ironwood would be the type to do that. Though, I guess I shouldn't be…"

Winter took that chance to bring it up. "He offered you a Specialist position, didn't he?"

Kai tilted his head slightly. "Are you going to try and convince me to join? Is that part of Ironwood's plan to get me to become a closer ally to him?"

"It may, I don't entirely know," Winter said. "But I for one am not going to tell you what you should and shouldn't do. I'll have you know he made the same offer to me, once. I took it immediately. You have a stronger will than I for waiting to think about it as you are now."

That was not what Kai expected.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Being a Specialist has its perks, but it also has its cons. Once you are a Specialist, you are always a Specialist. Even once you retire, that life never truly leaves you. I would never presume to know exactly what your life entails, but I would urge you to think about it."

"Is this because you're going to be the next Winter Maiden?" Kai asked. "Is this why you're warning me to think about it?"

Winter didn't answer the question. "I am simply urging you to put thought into it. When I became a Specialist, I thought I would be living a much more normal life, as normal a life as one could expect anyhow."

"Yeah…" Kai understood what she meant. He just wanted to be a Huntsman at first but now… "Yeah…"

"Our mission begins later today. General Ironwood offers his apologies for such short notice, but we are afraid that we are running out of time. The Vytal Festival is nearing its final rounds, we know that something will happen."

"I get it," Kai raised a hand and stopped her. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Ironwood. Whatever it takes, I'll make sure that Cinder is stopped."

Winter looked at him and nodded her head one last time. From her belt, she unhooked Silver Ebony from her hip and offered it to him. "I trust that you will use this weapon well, then."

"It's going to give me away to Roman but…" Kai gripped the sword and took it. It was always a captivating feeling, holding the weapon in his hands. He used it to train with Qrow all the time while he was in Beacon's secret underground facility, but for some reason, it always felt different every time he touched its blade. The runes on it grew in number, and he counted a dozen runes on the flat of the sword now. He didn't even know what some of them meant. He'd learn soon enough.

"It's about time I get a mission like this."

And that is another chapter down. Closer and closer we get to the climax of this volume that you all know is coming. My own… not so little spin on it is going to be awesome for me to write. I am eager to see how you guys react to it.

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