Some good news. My book is halfway done. Yay! Just broke over the 100,000 marker last week, and it's still rising. I work on it during the week that I don't update fanfics, so if you're still wondering why this isn't being updated weekly like it usually was in 2020 and sooner, that's why. Once this first book is done, I will be aiming to finish most of my fanfics before I start on the second book. This one for certain. I may just create an ending of my own for this story since it doesn't look like RWBY is gonna be ending anytime soon. Depends, depends. Let's get back into it.

Beta: CrowSkull

The Blind Huntsman

Chapter 104

Volume 4, Episode 4

Circles

Malienna Matsuoka stood against a Grimm with a small dagger in her left hand and wide eyes staring back into glaring red. Her hair was messy and long, uncut and unkempt after a few years of no one being able to keep it under control. She had grown a full foot over the time she has spent in the Branwen tribe. Her new mentor, Raven Branwen, stood atop a branch of a tree watching the scene below with bated breath. This was to be her trial by fire, the only way to activate one's silver eyes and have them learn to control it would be the only way they could. Kai Matsuoka has been through this rigorous training, his sister surely could as well. She moved just as she was taught, she was still a novice - such was to be expected when it came to training a six-year-old how to fight and move. She was eager, and at first, she was much too terrified to even consider the idea of going up against even the weakest Grimm by herself. She may have been directly related to one of the strongest huntsman in the world today, but that didn't necessarily mean that she would perfectly match him. Give it another ten years or so, and Raven believed that she'd be well on the path to surpassing him.

"Ah!" Malienna staggered back when the Beowolf swung at her. It was of the smaller variety, roughly about the size of an actual wolf rather than being three to four times larger. Malienna caught her balance just as quickly as she lost it, and she moved well to avoid its attacks. Raven nodded with approval, she was doing well. But there were only two ways she was going to be able to get out of this training regime: She had to either kill it with her dagger or activate her silver eyes and kill it that way. Neither was an easy task for a child like her, but this training wasn't meant to be easy, Malienna couldn't be allowed to grow weak and as a civilian with a power like hers at her disposal. Raven was doing her part to help against Salem and preparing the next generation of warriors. In the worst-case scenario where Kai, Ruby, and everyone else failed, Malienna would have to take on that role.

Now, however… it was rather pitiful, as Raven couldn't help but compare the girl to her older brother. It wasn't as though Kai was being training so eagerly when he was her age, but he was still far, far stronger than she. It would take some time, she knew, the girl was still very young. But she was only human, Kai was a much easier student to teach how to kill Grimm and human's alike. Malienna required a… gentler approach. She realized that throwing her up against a Grimm - even if it was pathetically weak and tiny - was a bit of a step up from regular physical training and aura control lessons. But there was simply no time to be too kind.

The Beowolf lunged and Malienna dodged again. She jabbed her dagger into the creature's side and yanked it out in a small spray of black blood. The Grimm hardly acknowledged the pain and continued charging at her. Striking the girl's shoulder with three of its claws. Bright silver aura glared and shone, protecting the girl from any real harm. It did throw her back, however, and her back crashed against a tree, stunning her and knocking her down. She saw stars in her vision, and right as she tried to push herself back up to her feet, she already had to protect her own life from the Beowolf trying to bite out her throat. Her forearm took its place instead, stopping it from getting any closer to her vital organ, but at the same time rendering her weapon arm useless as it was stuck in the jaws of the Grimm. Her free and non-dominant hand punched into the side of the creature again and again, but she didn't have the right build or the required muscle mass in order to do any actual damage that would make the Grimm let go. Quickly, Malienna realized that she was going to lose and perhaps get herself killed if she didn't get out of this situation quickly. She groaned and cried out, punching the Grimm futily as it bit down on her arm and tried to rip it off. It started to hurt more and more as it continued to drain her aura.

"Use your eyes!" Raven screamed out, holding a hand on the hilt of her sword just in case she saw her aura start to go out. "You can kill it just by looking at it, I know you can do it!"

"I-I'm trying!" Malienna screamed back through the fear. She forced herself to keep her eyes open, but the fear gripped her heart more than the desire to save herself. It just hurt too much, tears threatened to spill from her eyes until they started to fall down her cheeks. "I can't!" She shouted out. "I'm scared, help me, please!"

"Tch," Raven ripped her red sword out of its scabbard and jumped down behind the Beowolf, slicing out its nape in a swift horizontal slash. The Beowolf slumped down, released Malienna's arm as it faded away to dust within seconds. A Grimm so dumb and so small coming so close to the location of the tribe… just how many of the huntsman and huntresses fell during the battle for Vale? In any case, Raven looked down at Malienna as the young girl hung her head in shame, sniffling from the trauma and reeling back from the fear. "You gave in to fear," Raven remarked. "If I wasn't here, you would have been killed."

"I-I know," Malienna replied, biting her lower lip in an effort to stop herself from crying out any longer. "I just… couldn't. I was so scared. Grimm is so terrifying."

"They are," Raven accepted. "But fighting them despite that fear is what makes people brave. Everyone is scared of Grimm, the only reason they wouldn't be is if they have killed so many they no longer see them as a threat. It's the amount of fear that makes them more aggressive and violent," she explained. "A Grimm can sense your fear and the quantity of it. If someone like your brother faced a Grimm, they wouldn't be so aggressive and determined. If anything, they may even fear him because of the strength of his eyes. But if someone, even a huntsman, gets terrified of Grimm. They begin to ignore their pain, they push past any injury, and they do anything to consume the human that is giving off that fear. That was how Vale fell so quickly. The huntsmen face Grimm every day, but most people in the world have never seen a Grimm before."

She grabbed the girl by the scruff of her shirt and pulled her up with one arm. "You are no normal faunus, you are a silver-eyed warrior. The Grimm will come to fear you in time as you learn how to control your power, but you must first overcome your fear for them."

"I-I know…" Malienna said, looking down and twiddling her fingers with each other. "I just… don't know how they work. They only ever turned on when I was with my brother, when I think about him, or when I miss him…"

"Oh?" Raven got an idea. "Alright then, think about your brother. Use his memory to give you strength. It is not the most admirable way to draw strength from, but if it works it works."

"You… really think so?" Malienna asked. "Even if there are no Grimm around right now?"

"I don't know every little exact detail on how the silver eyes work," Raven replied. "But I know that is required to be near Grimm to use them is merely a novice baseline. Your brother is able to use them whether or not Grimm is around at this point."

"Really?" Malienna seemed hopeful. "What about Ruby?"

"I… do not know." Raven shrugged. "I never met her."

"You should, one day," Malienna said. "She's really nice."

"Hm." Raven knew that she would someday in the future. But not now. "Enough talk. Try and use your eyes, think about your brother if you must. I want to see at least a flash from you, some iota of progress so I know today wasn't a complete waste of time."

"O-Okay, I'll try." Malienna gulped, tilting her head up with closed eyes and sucking in a deep breath into her lungs. She hummed softly as she concentrated, focusing on a memory of her brother. She remembered him during his 18th birthday, he was so surprised, he didn't expect the party at all. He was so smiley and so giddy about it. It made her sad thinking about it, because that was the happiest she'd ever seen him in her short life. She didn't have the pleasure of being born early enough to be with him, mom, and dad all in Vacuo, but she kept hearing about how kind, cool, and awesome he was before she was born. Then dad died, and he kept having to fight the bad guys and the Grimm, all to protect those he loved and cared for. To protect his little sister most of all. She felt guilty, guilty that she may have been the reason that he kept pushing himself more and more every day. Every time he visited, he seemed so tired, so exhausted, and yet he continued to put on a face that said he was anything but. He was always so cool and kind to her, he unlocked her aura, helped her when her eyes acted up, and promised to show her how they worked. Now she was on the other side of the world from him, and he kept fighting. He was alone, fighting the bad guys and killing Grimm, only this time there was no one to keep him in the light like before. It made her sad, angry, it made her regret that she was so helpless!

"Malienna…" She didn't notice Raven stepping back.

Here her brother was fighting for his life every day and here she was barely able to fight a small Grimm! She was still so young, and so weak, she wished she was older. She wished she was bigger. She wished she wasn't so hopeless when it came to fighting. There had to be a way she could make herself useful - a way to prove to herself that her mother didn't for nothing! She wanted to share the burden, she wanted to just be strong.

"A-Ah…" She grabbed her face, she looked through her fingers, which were reflecting a bright white light right back into her face. "Aaaagh!" She started screaming, feeling the pain and sorrow, and anger that has been swelling within her. She dropped to her knees, holding her face and shutting her eyes. It did little to stop them from glowing or hurting. "Kai… brother… please help me. Aah!"

"Stop!" Raven exclaimed, holding a hand in front of her face to prevent herself from going blind. "That's enough! Shut it down!"

"AAAGH!" Malienna screeched as her eyes became even brighter. "It hurts!"

"Shit," Raven shut her eyes and ran into the light, finding the girl in the center of it. She pushed her over one arm and cracked one eye open as the source of the light became angled toward the ground. With one swift chop to the back of her neck. Malienna was knocked unconscious. Leaving Raven to sigh in relief. That was different from the other activations that she witnessed before. Usually, it was just flashing. The same kind that she witnessed from Kai and from what he told her about Ruby's own activations, even Malikai to a certain extend. Malienna's on the other hand was constant, it didn't shut off when she activated it. Was it because she was still so young? It was possible, but she may have been unique. "Stupid girl, now I have to carry you back to the valley," Raven said as she picked the girl up in her arms, letting the girl's head lean into her chest. She made her way back to the tribe, which has been relocated to a valley not too far from the city. It wasn't a very well known location, as it was well within the territory of the Grimm. It wasn't too active, however, or else she wouldn't be bringing the girl so far out into their territory each and every time to train her. It got too annoying seeing the stupid stares of the other bandits in the tribe, and it was quieter out there.

"Let's get you back, and eat," Raven said as she felt her stomach growl. Thinking about the day they had. "At least we made some progress today. Me knocking you out because you lost control of your silver eyes is better than nothing, I suppose."

"Ah!" Kai exclaimed, waking up in the middle of the night suddenly. Neo got startled, waking up with him and brandishing her sword. Kai pressed two fingers against one of his eyes, it came back wet. There were no tears of sorrow, but tears of joy and relief. "M-Malienna… she's alive."

"Who?" Aiden asked, concerned about his sudden outburst. The boy had hardly shown any emotion before, now that it was suddenly coming out, it was strange to him.

"My sister," Kai said, smiling and laughing more than he has ever done for the past year. "She's alive, I just sensed it."

"Ah…" Aiden smiled. "That's interesting, to say the least. How can you be so sure that she's alive?"

"We're connected," Kai explained. "I unlocked her aura, and furthermore our eyes interact with each other. That means that she used her eyes… even still, she's alive!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He was so relieved, so happy. Neo shared in his joy, patting him on the shoulder and showing mild surprise when Kai went the extra mile and pulled her into a hug. He was certainly in a great mood, Neo chuckled silently. He never initiated any form of affection. She returned his embrace as he laughed and wiped his face of tears. "All this time… I thought she was dead… She's in Mistral, I know she is. I felt what she felt, I heard her thoughts…"

"Good thing we're already on our way to Mistral then," Aiden said, getting an idea. "Why don't we find her before we get to the city? We're almost there to the harbor anyway. A small detour wouldn't hurt."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Kai said, still excited from this wonderful news. "I know someone who may be able to help as well, just in case we can't find her right away. I have a general location in mind. As Malienna was using her eyes, she was thinking about me…" After saying that, Kai looked down and couldn't help but grin. She was still thinking of him, just as he was always thinking of her. "I heard something about a valley. We'll find a map and go there. Maybe we can find some kind of sign of her there."

"Sounds like a plan then," Aiden replied.

"You don't have any quarrels with this?" Kai asked.

"Why would I?" Aiden asked. "I said I am here to help you, I'm not about to tell you that you can't go try and find your sister. I want you to like me, not hate me." He laughed as he said that. "However, I hope you know what you're doing. If we're about to bring a little girl into our group, we're going to have to take care of her. We're low on supplies as it is."

"We'll just go into the city when we find her," Kai said. "We can find help there, or Neo here can… apprehend some for us." Neo smiled cruelly at the idea. Enjoying the new mindset that Kai had adopted over his team spent with her. "For right now though, we are so close to the port, if we can get a ship over to Mistral it shouldn't take too long to find her. That is the hope, anyway. It'll be a set back from stopping Cinder, but my sister is more important than my revenge."

"Good to see you have that trait…" Aiden said, idly wishing that Malikai was the same. He thought his secret was more important than the lives of his teammates. "I'll back you the entire way through."

"Thank you," As he thought, Kai was too distracted with this sudden news about his sister. Aiden tested it by blatantly lying to his face and smirked internally after confirming it for himself. "If you help me with this you would earn my trust. There is one other thing I'd like you to help us with, though, if you are willing."

"Yeah?" Aiden's interest was piqued, an eyebrow rose as he waited for Kai to explain what it was he wanted from him.

"People might recognize me or Neo if we just walk up and ask for a place on the ship," Kai explained. "We can't risk getting found out, we are still ultimately in Vale, after all. We need to get out, and forcing ourselves onto the ship is not an idea I am keen about entertaining…"

"Alright, sounds easy enough," Aiden said, nodding. "I'll do it."

"You will?" Kai sounded surprised. "Just like that?"

"Yeah, if it helps us get to Mistral faster, why would I say no?" Aiden said. "It's not something that should be incredibly difficult. Tomorrow, stay in the woods and let me do my thing. We are coming up on Kunusko village, which has the road that would take us to the port. Just give me some time to get myself and you some tickets, and we'll get you on that ship."

"Got it," Kai said. "Do what you need to do, we'll wait."

"Let's get going then since we're all awake," Aiden said as he stood up. "We can camp out in those woods I mentioned before near that village. We'll rest up there, then I'll head into the village and to the port. I'm a licensed huntsman, so I shouldn't be questioned too much."

"Sounds like a plan," Kai echoed him from before. "Let's get moving then. The faster we find my sister, the faster we can get to Mistral where it's safer, and where we can make it safer for others."

Adam Taurus sipped from a ceramic mug. For once, his mask was off, as he was in the home of Ghira and Kali Belladonna. The parents of Blake were never fond of him, as he was the one who initially convinced Blake to join the White Fang and stay in it for so many years. Which then lead to her leaving them with some choice words. They glared at him the entire time he sat, his guards were just as nervous as Ilia was, who sat next to him with one leg bouncing up and down while her hands were clenched over her knees.

"This is good tea," Adam said as he set the cup aside. "Thank you for making it, Kali."

"I didn't intend to share it with you," Kali remarked. "But I appreciate your gratitude nevertheless."

Adam nodded his head in turn. "I won't mince words, as Sienna has… died in the line of duty. That makes me voted the next supreme leader of the White Fang," he explained. "As such, I have a responsibility to every man and woman within our ranks. After the battle of Vale and Beacon, we find ourselves with a mass shortage of manpower."

"So?" Ghira asked. "That's what happens when you invade an entire kingdom, Taurus. Every drop of faunus blood spilled that day was because of your orders."

"I am aware," Adam sighed, reaching up and scratching an itch on his scar. "I'm only reminded of it every time I see another faunus. Still, we need more men, and Menagerie has the largest amount of faunus population to date. If I can just get some volunteers - stop glaring at me like that," he said suddenly. "I am not going to force anyone to join if they don't want to. I will only be taking volunteers, all I need from you as the chief of Menagerie is to simply announce my intentions for me."

"Ah, does that mean you've learned your lesson?" Ghira asked. "A lesson in which entails that manipulating and lying to young inexperienced folk isn't exactly the best way to invite people into a terrorist organization?"

"This 'terrorist' organization is something you began, Ghira." Adam pointed out. "You just couldn't handle the shift to more aggressive tactics. Peaceful protests weren't working, and don't you dare tell me otherwise."

"And don't you dare tell me that violence has been working." Ghira snapped back. "Everything you have done in the name of the faunus has only made the faunus feared and resented across the world. Because of that, faunus are living under even worse scrutiny. You have done nothing to halt Atlas in their enslavement of our kind, just as you've done nothing to make lives any better for us. The only safe place for faunus now is here, and I'd be damned before I allow another innocent soul into being manipulated to joining the bastardized version of the White Fang you now regrettably control."

Adam sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. He glanced to Ilia, who still couldn't say anything to Blake's parents. Not after everything that had happened. She was stationed on Menagerie ever since the first attack on Mistral to help bring in more recruits and keep a steady relationship with the Belladonna family. She had done wonders for recruiting, but unfortunately nothing in convincing Ghira and Kali to remain supportive of the White Fang. Still, she was better than the fantastical Albain brothers. They supported him, which was good, but they took it to another level. Ilia was much more level headed and admittedly less cunning and silver-tongued. Which was good, as anything she would say would be the truth and the Belladonna's would know that.

"Unfortunately, neither of us have a choice in the matter," Adam said, pointing over his shoulder to Mercury and Emerald who stood leaning against a wall together behind the guards. They were being closely watched by Ghira's own guards, and the atmosphere was thick enough with the intensity it could be cut with a knife. "We need more people. We need more manpower. There is no alternatives. We either get our men, or we suffer the consequences."

"Then you will suffer the consequences," Ghira remarked. "There is nothing else to say-"

"Okay, then thousands more faunus will die when Mitral is attacked for a second time," Adam said, silencing Ghira. "While the number of huntsmen is dwindling worldwide, especially in Mistral. They are going to be prepared for us with the fortification and help from Atlas. They are making their walls larger and more well-armed as we speak. We are going to launch another attack, and if we don't have the required manpower, then many of us will die." he explained. "This will happen whether or not you help, but at the very least, fewer faunus will die if you do. This isn't something even I can prevent."

"Yes you can," Kali said, leaning forward suddenly. "You are the supreme leader of the White Fang, you have the power to make them do whatever you want, or to stop whatever you want. Use that power and save your people."

Adam sighed and hung his head, but picked it back up soon after. "I can't," he said, his eyes jerking to the side in the direction of Emerald and Mercury. "I have to oblige, or those sacrifices I spoke of before will become too much to bear. I have to do what they say, or else the outcome would be even worse."

"Who!?" Ghira snapped, slamming his hands on the desk and shattering it, startling Ilia in the process. "Who can possibly be telling you what to do, and actually getting you to obey!?"

"Hey now, that's a question that can't be answered right now," Mercury spoke up, warning them. "All you need to know is that this woman is powerful, powerful enough to make you rue the day you even considered going against her. I'd suggest you just keel over and let her take control, everything easier that way."

"Easy for you to say, assassin," Ghira hissed.

"Ex-assassin," Mercury yawned. "Actually, I don't think I was ever an assassin. Sure, I did assassin things, but that doesn't make me one. Hell, I can count the number of people I've killed on one hand. That guy though?" Mercury gestured to Adam. "I don't think there are enough fingers in this room to count how much blood is on his hands. Directly, anyway."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Ghira asked, bearing his claws and teeth.

"No," Adam waved at Mercury to stand down, earning himself a scoff and a roll of the eyes. "I have no intention of doing battle with you. Nor do I have any intention of harming you or your family."

"Why I'd love to believe that, but I can't help but recall rumors that you battled my daughter," Ghira pointed out.

"I did fight against her," Adam admitted instantly. "And I could have killed her. But I didn't," he added before Ghira and Kali could lunge at him. "I had the chance to kill her and her friends a dozen times over. But I refused to. Instead, I pulled back and I ordered a full retreat of the White Fang, saving countless lives in the process. I know it is no redemption for what I have done, but do not mistake my coldness for an uncaring nature for your daughter. She may have betrayed me, but she is still dear to me. Even if the day may come where one may slay the other, she was still my first love."

"Hopefully your last, at this rate," Ghira growled.

"Dear," Kali stood, placing her hand on the big man's shoulder and making him sit down. "Adam," she said next, looking at him meaningfully. "You are right when you say that what you've done can never be redeemed, but if what you are saying is true, then I thank you for sparing my daughter, and I thank you for realizing that you are too far deep in the hole you've dug for yourself and the White Fang as a whole. I'll be frank, I never really liked you. I thought you were too violent and aggressive. But I do know that somewhere within that tainted heart of yours is a strong sense of justice - True justice. I can only hope that when the time is right, you will show the world that sense of justice, and prove me right."

"I hope I don't disappoint you then," Adam said, bowing his head toward her in respect. "I will give you time to deliberate about my request. I will return in a few day's time but expect me earlier. As promised, you and your family will not come under harm."

Kali bowed her head in return. Adam took his mask and returned it to his face, covering the SDC scar once more. When he stood, he bowed again, this time to Ghira, and made Ilia do the same before taking her away. He gestured for Emerald and Mercury to follow, which they did, and they made their way out of the Belladonna home and back into the streets of Menagerie. Behind him, he could hear Mercury pst at him, earning his attention. He stopped and turned to Ilia.

"Go continue your duties with the Albain brothers." He told her. "Make yourself useful."

"S-Sure," Ilia nervously replied. She was always nervous around him, he figured it was because of his reputation. It made sense, and it wasn't something he had the energy to repair. He and Ilia were hardly ever considered friends anyway.

That left him alone with Emerald and Mercury, the latter of the two making his excuses to speak with him privately. Emerald stood off on her own but stayed near, but out of hearing range. Mercury led him along until they were somewhere quieter. "So," he began. "I heard there was a ship of faunus coming to move here, arriving in not that long a time."

"Is that so?" Adam said. "That's good, I suppose."

"I also hear that there are a few stowaways on that ship," Mercury added. "Come clean with me Adam, we can trust each other a bit, right? I think we both know who's on that ship, and who's coming here to put a stop to your little schemes."

"I… didn't put too much thought into it," Adam said. "But it is a possibility that she may be returning, and I presume not alone."

"I think it's a good thing," Mercury said. "Maybe we can use 'em a bit. I know them pretty well, and I know that a certain one of them is going to be pretty adamant on trying to make us see the light as they say."

"Are you positive that's the one that's going to appear?" Adam asked.

"It's a guess," Mercury shrugged. "We'll just have to see what happens next. Until then, let's get back to Emerald before she starts to think something stupid. Can't keep having these private talks, she's gonna start getting jealous."

"Then stop taking me out of here out of nowhere all the time," Adam said. "Just text me, everything is easier that way."

"Text you with Watts being a person that exists? Hah, no thanks. Talking like this in person is a lot safer than talking over the scroll. Unless you want Salem to know you plan on betraying Cinder?"

"That would be regrettable." Adam agreed. "Very well, I hope you know what you are doing. Keep Emerald in the dark for now, and perhaps after Cinder is dealt with, you two can move on from this shit show."

Mercury smirked. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

And there we have it, more set up. I plan to sorta speed through V4, as I pretty much skipped or gotten through most of it already I think. Next chapter some extra stuff will go down. May be expected, maybe not, we'll just have to see what happens. See you next time!