Chapter 10

Whenever the Faunus wars were talked about, there were those who objected to the various terms used to describe those who fought in them.

Of course, Atlas, who took a leading role in the human side of the conflict, tended to label the Faunus armies as rebels. While other sources, primarily those from unaffiliated writers, a wider range of other terms were used to to describe them, a popular one was 'freedom fighter'. It may seem like a small difference, but depending on which kingdom you were in, that term had negative connotations to them.

Atlas, who tended to lean towards authority had a much more negative reaction to 'rebel'. While in Vacuo, the term was often used in pride, and more recently, the term rebel has been used by some Faunus as a sort of defiance against the state. Either way, the saying that 'One man's terrorist, is another's freedom fighter.' held true to most rebellions and civil conflicts in history. Both in Ruby's old world and in Remnant. Now, however, she was face to face with the leader of one such 'rebellious' group. Or at least, the Valean branch of it anyways.

Seeing that a pier was no place for a discussion, she and Adam decided to head towards a ruined beachside cafe instead. The decor was faded, torn apart by years of neglect and storms, though its wooden chairs still stood in place as if waiting for its owners to one day return. The weather was great, and if she were alone, she may have decided to stay a while longer before returning. Patch had beaches sure, but they were usually populated by tourists from Vale, and she preferred not to deal with them. If anything, it was similar to some places on the Adriatic Sea, the Sardegna Empire did pride itself on its tourism industry after all.

"I've heard you do not smuggle weapons. Why?" Adam Taurus was quick to the point, he preferred to waste no time. Ruby had a similar feeling, though groups like the White Fang invited more trouble than they were worth, but she had a feeling that just leaving was not an option either. At least, not without a fight.

"...personal reasons."

The bull Faunus had come with only a small entourage, who were busy securing all of the surplus equipment Ruby had brought. She did have mixed feelings about who her equipment went to, the fact that it went to an armed and militant group did not sit right with her. It felt 'borderline', if there was a line to be crossed if you will. Counterfeit products and other things were fine, Dust and weapons crossed it. Handing off military equipment, even if it was non-lethal, enabled the White Fang to conduct more of their operations.

Adam did not seem impressed with her answer, seeing as how his lips thinned. "And do your personal reasons interfere with the liberation of our people?"

"Our?"

"All Faunus share in the struggle, many don't realize it at first. Those in the kingdoms follow the same old lie taught to them since birth, that the Faunus were traitors and rebels. Undesirables. Some Kingdoms, I will admit, are better than others. But all eventually stand in our way, and I believe your skills and semblance will help us achieve our goal of liberation."

Ruby let him drone on, it seemed that Adam enjoyed hearing himself talk because he did not react to her look of confusion. It then hit Ruby, while in rigging form, she had red horns that protruded out of her head. Adam was currently mistaking her for a Faunus. Technically those horns weren't even natural, many Ironblood Kansen had them for some reason, similar to the elf ears in the Royal Navy or basically all of the Sakura Empire.

"I believe you are mistaken. We are not allies, and I am not of your people-"

"Then what? Are you human?"

That was…a good question. Were Kansen human? Was she human? They, who were born by the grace of the Wisdom Cubes wielded their own vessels as weapons. Try as they might, their bodies were never truly 'human' in a sense. Ruby was similar, as no one else on Remnant could shrug off gunfire and even small-calibre artillery without the use of Aura or a semblance. She always felt distant towards other people not in her immediate family. A difference in nature or otherwise, Ruby often found herself struggling to understand why people did things. At some point, she just accepted that things happened because it was the way it was, and went on with her existence.

"The fact you do not answer is telling. You may be able to hide it among the humans, but eventually, they will turn on you. They will come to think that your existence is an affront to theirs, and eventually, seek to remove you as a threat. The White Fang fights so that this future never comes to pass."

There were some in Ironblood and beyond, that feared the existence of the Kansen. Everything from them being the result of Siren technology to their supposed might was something that was attached to them arbitrarily, as if they could go 'rogue' and level a city at any moment.

"...I am not human, but neither am I friend to your methods."

Ruby stood up, looking at Adam's eye visor directly with her own. "I do not oppose your ideals, but I am not one to throw myself in pursuit of them either. Take care to not lose yourself, Adam Taurus. Affection is a poison, and you may find yourself poisoned by your affection for the ideals you long for."

"Disappointing." Adam huffed in response. "A fence-sitter, like so many others."

She had no response to that. Instead, she and Schwarz began walking away from the ruined cafe, only to turn back at Adam one last time. "Before I leave, how did you convince Junior to hire me specifically?"

It was good to know, as the next time something like this happened Ruby could see if Junior was bullshitting. Was she happy that she was tricked? No, and the next time she went to the bar, she was going to dangle him over his ice-making machine. Those crushers inside weren't for show, and she knew where to threaten him for maximum effect.

"Junior? Ah, Hei Xiong. It was simple, he was the only Faunus underworld contact of Vale, so he made the prime candidate. He seemed oddly eager to take any job, though I'm certain you know more about him."

"...Faunus…?" Ruby's voice was barely above a whisper, but Adam still heard it regardless.

"Yes, he is a black bear Faunus, you of all people should know. It's why you work with him, no? A Shame he refused all of our other offers, though I have yet to actually meet in person."

Seeing how confident Adam was in his answer, Ruby decided that not correcting him was the correct move. Passing by the uniformed White Fang members, most of them parted ways immediately upon seeing her. She chalked half of it up to Adam meeting with her personally, and the other half to Schwarz menacingly floating right next to her. Either way, she got back onto the water and proceeded to make her way back home. Upon checking her scroll, she found a dozen missed calls, all from her father.

"Here we go again…"

It wasn't the first time a delivery ran over schedule, and each time Taiyang made sure to spam her scroll incessantly. Annoying perhaps, but it was just his way of showing affection, his poison if you will.

AN:

Hei Xiong means black bear in Chinese, in case you didn't know already.

Responding to reviews

Midnightmoonglow:

Didn't get to you the last update. I think Kansen clothes are also extremely tough, as evidenced by battle damage in anime/manga. Even taking explosions point blank, they are just ruined/torn apart slightly instead of blown off completely. So could they be given to others as a form of armour? Maybe, who knows, but certainly a creative use of it.

Dragish:

Oh yeah, I know. It did occur to me as I was writing it, but at that point, I didn't care. Not that important to the story anyways. Just chalk it up to different shipbuilding standards/rules in Remnant if you need to explain it away or something.

Be civil in the comments below.