Chapter 3 - Summer Bloom:

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you no, Touko." Shirley reprimanded her daughter, now a lovely 15 year old girl. "Besides, you would have needed to enroll last year. Your future is in science, not fighting monsters." Touko scoffed at her mother, turning away while she slammed her bedroom door. Despite unlocking her Aura and Semblance three years ago, she was rebuked at every attempt to try and get out of her homeschooling and go to a real school. But her mother had cherrypicked a single incident regarding a student getting killed at a combat school on the nearby island of Patch to fulfill her confirmation bias, annoying the girl who was so eager to see more of the world. She'd even tried to admit herself to the nearby Pharos Academy before but she was caught before she had a chance to send it out. Touko had taken steps to annoy her parents in many ways to maybe get them to reconsider, as the best way to quell a troublemaker is to get them out of the house for a long period of time.

She did this by taking components out of multiple electronics around the house and using the company account her parents had consistently left easily accessible on their home network to order components to make new devices in the house, but she had been getting bored with that as everytime it happened the devices would just be replaced and she could only build so many rudimentary robotic fingers, drones, and other knick-knacks before getting tired of it herself. She wanted to get inspiration, find what she thought was her true calling. Pharos was a no go, since her parents had alerted their staff to her attempt to forge admissions, but she didn't have much other options. Looking online the only other school on mainland Vale was Beacon, and she couldn't just slip in there, not to mention that was considerably more advanced than she was ready for. Plus from the looks of it it was at the entirely opposite end of Vale, there was no way she could get there on her own!

However, there was another option. Signal Academy, sure it was on Patch, but it was much easier to get onto a boat and get there than it was to find a train or public transport to get to Beacon, she was on the coast after all, there were ferries near hourly, her parents barely paid attention to her whereabouts as is, so why not just sneak out for a day? Better yet, her parents were going to be on a business trip to Atlas next week! All she had to do was prepare, she didn't know what kind of dangers were awaiting her so she proceeded to search online about Patch, mostly about dangers, safe routes and general locations. Took a while before she found somebody with a very well defined guide to the area, likely a tourism guide? It listed that it was a quiet peaceful island, where the only dangers were off the beaten path and even still the resident Grimm on the island were considered small fry compared to the mainland. Touko printed this guide off and got to packing, a confident look on her face. She was going to sneak into Signal even if it got her in trouble.

-

"Well Touko, we'll be off. Be good, don't burn the house down, and please don't raid the cupboard for snacks." Claude sighed as he made his way out the door. The business meeting was not set to be a happy one, as they had gotten approval to mass produce the newest model of Atlesian Knight, the 130 series, however this also meant having to enter into a business agreement with the SDC, as they were the only ones with the quantities of dust needed to make the amount of AK's the military had requested, in exchange the SDC was to get multiple AKs of their own at no additional cost to be reprogrammed as security forces for their distribution line, as Dust prices were starting to spike in recent years due to several big heists by the White Fang and rising criminal activity in Vale. Claude was willing to make deals like this to keep his company afloat, even if it meant in his eyes making a deal with the Dark Brother himself.

"Don't worry, i'll probably just stay home and play games. Hasn't been as fun since most of my online friends have left for school though..." Touko shrugged. "Well, no promises but I might be able to get one in over your mother. I'm not particularly fond of the thought of you living here till you're almost 30 because of how protective she is, either." Her father chuckled, as he closed the door behind him and drove off to the airship port with Shirley in tow. Touko waited until she couldn't see her parents vehicle or any indication they were coming back, she immediately set her plan into motion. Knowing that the house had cameras on the front of the building made leaving that way complicated, but there was nothing of the sort in the back. She'd opened up her window and looked down from the second floor. It wasn't a very long drop, but it was still a bit intimidating. "Alright, now or never." She'd muttered as she ensured the string she'd tied to the window was secure.

"Three... two... one... Jump!" Touko shouted as she jumped from the window, pulling the string behind her to close the window as she jumped from it. The plan worked perfectly as the window shut just as she'd reached the first floor. Making a shaky landing she got herself back on her feet and dusted herself off. "That went better than I had expected, and all I have to show for it is some dirt on my pants." She mused to herself as she set on her way to the docks. Surprisingly, getting a ticket for the ferry was absurdly easy, they didn't charge very much, most likely a necessity for people commuting to and from the island on a regular basis. The small cruise was nothing short of a disaster though, as Touko quickly found herself nauseous from the waves rocking the boat. She'd not ever been before, and it was something she was hoping she'd not have to do again anytime soon, but being in the fresh air helped considerably.

Disembarking, Touko felt herself nervous. This was the first time she'd been anywhere new, so she didn't want to attract too much attention to herself. Patch was a calm little island, a small wooded area with a small town inside, quite cozy and very different from the upper class area of Vale. She consulted her map of the area, noting that Signal was a bit farther out from the main residential area, likely both as to not disturb the residents and also to keep the small Grimm population away from defenseless civilians. Still, she wasn't willing to get cold feet after going this far, so she began walking before she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. "Excuse me, Miss." Touko froze, turning around to see an older man holding her bag in addition to a bunch of other bags filled with what looked like groceries. "I think you dropped this by mistake." Touko immediately breathed a sigh of relief as she took the bag back. "Thank you, I'd be lost without that." The older man chuckled as he handed her the bag. "Not a problem, but you don't look like somebody who would come out to little ol' Patch, mind if I ask what brings you?"

Touko paused for a moment, before a simple answer made itself clear to her. "I'm going camping, heard its supposed to be really good to just get away from the hustle and bustle of every day life." The older man seemed to accept that answer. "Well, I won't pry too much then. Go enjoy your camping trip, and don't get too negative unless you want to be Beowulf chow." Touko sighed once the man was out of earshot. "Just relax... it was just an honest question, its not like he's out to get me, just a kindly man buying groceries for dinner to feed his family. Probably retired out here and they don't sell the brands he likes on the island." Reassuring herself, she continued walking.

Soon enough, she'd found herself standing in front of Signal Academy. It was a pretty decently sized campus, she was astounded that such a small island could afford to house such a nice facility. "Now... I can't exactly walk through the front gate since i'm not a student. But if I remember what I saw online there should be an unguarded access point... right there to the left." Touko nodded as she slipped into the forest to reach the school grounds, once inside she began the second phase of her plan, gather information, take notes and pictures. All while staying in the seclusion of bushes and the shadows. But she had a time limit, she had to get back home in three days so her parents wouldn't find out she was missing.

Touko gathered lots of information, watching classes on Grimm studies, which seemed somewhat boring to her. Combat classes, which were interesting in concept but everything seemed so complicated. But the tinkerer in her was instinctually drawn to the Weapons class, where students were forging their own weapons. Her eyes went wide as she saw all sorts of unique tools being made. Swords, Bows, Axes, which in every situation they had a secondary function, becoming various sorts of firearms. And some of them were even able to tailor their weapon to work in tandem with their semblances! Touko's mind started flowing with inspiration, and once classes were done for the day and the sun began to set she slipped into the buildings to look at everything she could closely. Industrial forges and raw materials, the Fuchsia Foundation had a production plant in Vale she could easily utilize to make a weapon of her own, she thought. They had similar, if not more advanced technology there, after all.

'CRASH!' She'd accidentally knocked something over in her intrigue, and began to hear footsteps. In a fit of panic she darted out of the building and kept watch outside, she'd noticed the Teacher began walking back into the building, this late at night? To top it off, one look at the man and she could tell he was drunk, something she had grown somewhat accustomed to as her father would get that way after business dealings fell through or the night before the business meeting. But it could also be the flask he was actually still drinking from at the moment. It didn't even seem like he had noticed the loud crash, he just went back in to refill his flask. Touko shook her head as she ducked back into the woods and unrolled her sleeping bag for the first night of her camping.

-

The next day came somewhat quickly, and Touko had awoken to the sound of gunfire in the distance, getting up and looking out into the clearing she saw students sparring. She'd known Aura was a protective tool but she didn't think it could be used to protect against gunfire. She couldn't make out any faces or hear any voices due to the gunfire drowning everything else out, but she saw what looked like one of the students getting heated. Maybe she has anger issues? That's not the important part though, Touko thought. She focused more on the weaponry on display as she gathered ideas.

The day continued without a hitch as Touko filled her notebook. Feeling confident in her ideas she felt happy that she could return home and start work on what she felt was her calling. It was just then that she had felt a twinge of melancholy. Going back home would mean being alone in the house again. She had been denied a chance to go to a combat school by her parents, yet again starved of social interactions in favor of a disconnected, isolated homeschooling experience. She looked over and thought about how it seemed like the students were having fun, making friends.

She'd wanted that, she knew she couldn't stay but deep down she wanted to go down there and find a way to become a student. She had gotten a live of relative comfort, but she still felt she wanted more. It was a cold night that night. And it would have stayed cold had her negative emotions not turned her into a massive flare for nearby Grimm, indicating to the un-natural monsters that prey was nearby. And it only became brighter as the girl's emotions sank deeper.

As the girl tried to sleep, she heard rustling and shot awake. A twinge of panic shot through her as she started to relax. Just the birds moving through the trees... At least, that's what she thought until turning around to find a vicious Beowulf charging in her direction! It was small, but came across as ferocious to the defenseless Touko, who tried her best to run but was pounced upon by the nightmarish beast. As it swiped at her the girl tried her best to defend herself, her semblance keeping her from getting too injured but her suboptimal aura not holding up against the slashing from its claws.

Touko was scared, yet again she was at risk of getting horribly injured or even killed, was this how it would end for her? She'd thought so, bracing herself to accept death and apologizing to her family for sneaking out as she closed her eyes.

'BANG!' a shot rang out and the beowulf flew back, Touko felt the weight fly off her as she opened her eyes to see the black haired teacher she had seen the night before standing in front of her, with a sword plunged into the rapidly dissolving Grimm, and the tree behind it. As she saw the man turn around she quickly pretended to be unconscious, but it proved futile as the man sighed and nudged her with his foot before speaking.

"Is this what i'm set to do for life? Protect brats who wander into dangerous areas?" The man sighed, nudging the girl with his foot again. "I know you're not unconscious. You think I haven't played that trick before myself? Get up." Touko, realizing the futility of her endeavor opened her eyes and sat up. "So, mind telling me what a girl like yourself is doing sneaking around a combat school you don't attend?"

Touko's eyes widened as he said that. "You... knew I was here?" The girl responded, as the man looked unamused. "You think I'm not aware of my surroundings just because I get a little drunk? I knew you were here since yesterday afternoon. I'd be a pretty poor excuse for a Huntsman if I couldn't spot things like intruders or potential threats." He had raised a good point, but one thing in Touko's mind still nagged at her. "Then... why didn't you do anything until now?"

The man stifled a chuckle. "Because, I could tell immediately that you weren't a threat, and I was curious to see what you were going to do, you don't have any weapons, you appear to have unlocked your Semblance and Aura or else even that small fry would have left you a sorry sight, and all you were doing was, from my eyes, studying classes. You must want to be a Huntress, I take it?"

Touko nodded, though with some hesitation. "I wasn't really sure, I was interested but my parents wouldn't allow me to attend a combat school, they were worried I'd get hurt after the incident where I unlocked my Semblance. They're out of town so I slipped out to the closest school I could get to, and any doubts I had went out the window when I saw how many weapons there were, and everybody was making their own that was tailor made to them? It was that moment that I realized this must be my calling!"

"Oh, so that's why you were poking around the forge area, not to steal anything but just to gather ideas?" The man chuckled. "You kind of remind me of my niece a bit, that girl likes weapons more than people." As he got caught up in the anecdote he immediately changed tunes. "Anyway, I'm afraid i'm gonna have to make sure you get back home immediately. Not only is this no place for a civilian, you're not a registered student and we could be held liable if word got out about you being here and getting hurt. Its nothing personal, but I gotta make sure not to ruffle any feathers." The man sternly said as he reached a hand out and began escorting Touko back to the docks.

Touko looked down embarassed as the man continued to escort her, even going so far as to ride back on the ferry with her. "So, what's your name, kid? Don't worry, i'm not going to tattle on you to your folks." In an effort to make her more at ease, he tried to make conversation. "Touko, Touko Fuchsia." She replied, relieved that he was just looking to pass the time. "Is that so? Can't say i've ever heard of that name before." The man said somewhat non-chalantly. "The name's Qrow... tell me, Touko. Are you really dead set on trying to become a huntress?"

"Absolutely, I don't know how good I can actually be in a fight. But I feel I could do something for once in my life, rather than just be a homebody sitting in boredom at home. I want to explore more of the world outside of the walls of my house, I want to see more than just Atlas or Vale, and more people besides my parents and people like the General." Touko said with a bit of resolution in her voice.

"The General? You know James, then? I'm sure if you show him some impressive weapon you've made you'd likely be able to get admittance for Atlas Academy in two years." Qrow said with a bit of curiousity in his voice. "Though I've heard he runs a pretty tight ship, might as well be the military."

"The military sounds scary, not at all what I'd want to do. And I'm sure my parents would flip a lid if I was anywhere close to Schnee territory." Touko sighed. "I know its too late to go to Signal or Pharos, but when I'm 17 i'm hoping I can get into Beacon since its less of an adjustment in climate and environment." Qrow could only sigh at that. "Beacon is... a bit tricky. I'm going to be honest it'll take a lot more than just some fancy tech to get in there. But tell you what kid, I'll put in a good word with the headmaster there, he owes me a few favors anyway." Qrow said, sipping again from his flask as the Ferry finally ported at the dock in Vale.

"I snuck out back so I should probably go in through the back." Touko said as she looked up at Qrow. "Thank you for saving me. I don't know how I can apologize for sneaking to Signal." Qrow sighed as a small smile crossed his face. "Just... stay out of trouble, I'd say to tell the General you said hello but that would likely out you as having snuck out." Touko chuckled. "I guess you're right. Thanks again." She waved her goodbyes as she slipped back into her house.

"Well, her parents have the right idea keeping her away from Schnees, at least." Qrow said as he slipped behind a tree, seemingly vanishing into the night while a black bird flew off.