RWBY: Team DUSK

by HolyKnightX

Hailing from the four kingdoms, four aspiring huntsmen with different pasts, ideals, and goals enrolls into Beacon Academy. These four huntsmen-in-training finds themselves on the same team and living under the same roof as one another. Does this new team have what it takes to unite with one another as friends, allies, or even the family that one another needs?

28. A Confession

Welcome to the next chapter of RWBY: Team DUSK, before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:

altair97: Thanks. Yeah, we learned that Richard up and vanished on Daniel, a tale as old as the existence of most fiction and in real life, though that's sad. I wanted Daniel's and Penny's interaction to be as realistic as our cute gynoid's actual potential reaction. I'll always ensure the chapters are fun to read.

Guest: Thanks, I wanted to do that final cute moment with Penny to ensure that she didn't have a sad moment at the last part of the chapter.

A Confession

---

A literal hour passed since the incident involving Roman Torchwick and members of the White Fang, and Blake found herself sitting inside the interview room at a police station. Of course, since their group was involved in the incident, they ended up getting questioned by the police and had their Headmaster called. As a Huntsman and an important figure, this was a situation that he couldn't be involved in. During this, Blake found herself thinking about all the events that happened tonight.

"Well, this has certainly been an eventful evening."

Ozpin started not sounding annoyed or mad at one of his students.

"Hmph."

Blake couldn't do anything aside from making that sound during the entire situation.

"I'm sure that after a night of thwarting attempted robbery, you probably just want to go home and take a nap," a kind tone could be heard from Ozpin. "But, I was hoping that maybe we could have a chance to talk."

"Of course."

Due to the situation, Blake couldn't deny that request.

"Wonderful. As you know, to enroll at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few that did not. And you passed the exam with flying colors."

Ozpin started, with Blake not being enrolled in a training institute based on her records, there wasn't even a common address about where she was born.

"I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive."

Blake replied, giving Ozpin a half-truth, something that wasn't a lie or the full truth.

"Well, you have most certainly survived, Blake. I admire your drive. And I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, Human…," a faint pause came from Ozpin who from the coffee in his hands. "Faunus…."

At that, it seemed as if Ozpin was well aware that Blake was a Faunus, an abrupt reveal that caused her to send a glare at him on reflex.

"Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are?"

Ozpin asked out of genuine curiosity.

"You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not."

"True, but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide."

"And with all due respect, you need to start taking some larger strides. Until then, I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am."

It seemed as if that comment sparked some reaction from Blake, who experienced and witnessed just what kind of abuse Faunus underwent because of Humans. Such a thing didn't go over the Headmaster's head, who'd found himself continuing the conversation.

"And what are you?"

"I don't understand what you're asking."

Blake tried feigning some ignoring as it seemed as if Ozpin was continuing to dig into her past, her secretly being a Faunus was one thing. But, it begged the question as to the connection between that and the reason that Blake was at the shipyard where the White Fang was.

"How did you know the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?"

"I didn't. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

Blake replied, she didn't want to mention the fact that Daniel gave her that information, something which would've gotten him into potential trouble too. She did wonder for herself about the reason Daniel was even in possession of that information in the first place.

"You wouldn't have been the first," Ozpin found himself going with that response. "But what happened tonight was not an isolated incident. I may be your headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman, and it is my sworn duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it. Blake, are you sure there is nothing else you would like to tell me?"

It was in this instance that Ozpin looked forward with a more serious look, as this situation wasn't something that a couple of students should be involved in. He was a Huntsman responsible and experienced in the handling of the kind of situations that involved the White Fang and Roman Torchwick.

"I'm sure."

"Very well. Thank you for your time, Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin decided to leave things there, then stood up from his seat. "I believe that the Detectives here plan on giving a stern warning this time about the incident, but then you could return to your dorm room with your team. If you ever need to talk to me. Please, don't hesitate to ask."

"What about Daniel, sir?"

Blake asked, finding herself thinking back to the fact that Daniel should be there too.

"Oh, I'll be talking to Daniel Norden too. Based on what I could hear, it sounds as if he's giving the detectives a hard time."

Ozpin replied, walking outside of the doom, leaving Blake alone.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Blake stated, almost amused after hearing that.

---

After leaving from conversing with his more stoic first-year student, the Headmaster started walking towards his more "expressive" first-year student. Having heard about where Daniel would be in the interview room, Ozpin soon walked in that direction, while drinking coffee. Just then, stopping in front of the room, he stopped as a detective stormed outside the room irritated. His partner walked behind him, sighing and closing the door right behind him.

"Is something wrong?"

Ozpin asked, but could almost come up with an accurate guess.

"Headmaster Ozpin. I have more respect for you and the teachers at Beacon Academy than I did before."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't how anyone else could sit in a room with that teenager for more than a couple of hours and stand talking to him without losing it. I heard that the other detectives couldn't get anything out of the other one aside from the simplest answers. But, it was as if he never stopped talking about things we didn't even ask about."

Ozpin listened to the irked detective ranting as he mentioned whatever he was talking to Daniel about in that interview room. He couldn't possibly have guessed what was talked about in the room, but that didn't matter in this instance.

"So, could I talk to him?"

"Go ahead. I doubt that anyone else would want to talk to him."

After being given the go-ahead, Ozpin found himself walking passed the stressed detectives, then went to enter the interview room.

"Welcome to my interview room, Headmaster Ozpin. The last guests who were here didn't seem to like the advice that I was attempting to impart to them."

Despite being in this situation, Daniel found himself leaning back on his chair, with his feet resting on the table.

"If I didn't know the kind of people are in your family, then this might have surprised me," Ozpin had stated, finding himself sitting down in a chair that seemed to have been pushed out. "So, might I ask the kind of advice you tried to impart to the Vale Detectives?"

"Well, the detective that stormed off after I tried advising him that drinking so much isn't good for his health with his age. He doesn't do it often, but I could tell that there were similar signs of him being an off-the-clock alcoholic. But, I guess that it was a bit of a hard time working with the incidents that have been happening lately."

Daniel replied, sounding as if the advice didn't seem all that bad.

"I see. And the other one?"

Ozpin listened to Daniel, then wanted to hear about the other.

"An on and off again smoker. He seemed to be attempting to quit smoking but seemed to be troubled, reading the third or fourth day. I met someone in Mistral who was trying to quit smoking and said that chewing a particular type of gum was helping him."

Daniel replied for the second detective, with great attention to detail.

"I see. I hope those two can work through them, but I don't believe that antagonizing addicts would help."

"You're not wrong. But, if a teenager that neither of you don't know mentions your addictions and even attempts to give a bit of advice about it, then that might be the kick that someone needs. If you go out to drink, then you'll just think about being criticized by someone you don't know. And the second you decide to smoke, then you'll wonder if the person who read that was right."

At that comment, Ozpin could see that Daniel was, in fact, the kind of person who attempts to bring out the best in the people around him, whether or not he knows them.

"So, you never told them about the reason you knew about the attempted robbery."

"No, I gave them an answer," Daniel replied, then pointed at himself with a smirk. "I'm a Norden, that's the reason I knew about it."

"Hahaha, yeah, I believe that answer would suffice."

Ozpin gave a faint laugh at that response.

It was something that he would never admit or tell Daniel, but he was well aware of the actions behind those people born in the Norden Family. It wasn't a single hearing about them alone, rather, it was something that Ozpin experienced and witnessed once for himself.

"So, am I in trouble for intervening in police business or getting involved with dangerous criminals?"

Daniel asked.

"Well, I believe Glynda isn't too happy about her students getting involved with a group as dangerous as the White Fang," Ozpin pointed out, stirring the coffee cup in his hands. "So, I believe that your group can look forward to a punishment from your combat instructor. Or, at least the people responsible for it."

"Ah, I see."

Daniel gave a wryly smile after hearing that as Ozpin looked amused in that instance.

"But, if I were to inquire about how you knew that the White Fang and someone as dangerous as Roman Torchwick would you tell me."

Ozpin started seeming more inquired about the reason that Daniel was aware of something that a Huntsman hadn't heard about.

"Hm, that depends on what happens if said information wasn't acquired in a manner that the people who wanted to know would be the most legitimate."

Daniel said, finding himself looking forward, and inquired what Ozpin meant about that.

"Well, it might not sound like something that a Huntsman and Headmaster should say. But, there are times when it's required that information comes from actions that require the rules needing to be bent," Ozpin replied, sounding as if he understood Daniel's intentions more. "Well, that's something that the people in your family do a lot. And I believe it stems from your grandfather."

"You wouldn't be wrong. I heard there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his friends and family."

"Yes. I can see that in you too," Ozpin said that last part under his breath, at such a volume that Daniel wouldn't be able to pick up on that last line. "A predecessor of mine talked a lot about the kind of person that Gerard Norden was and said that his true home would always be with his friends and family. I talked to Blake before I came here and our conversation would end up being similar to that."

"Alright, I'm game."

Daniel replied, giving his usual nonchalant smile.

"It's rare to find students who managed to enroll into a Huntsman Academy without first finishing their training at a combat school. You and Blake were among the students who had passed with flying colors without attending a combat school. For her, I couldn't even guess the amount of training or experience that prepared her to enroll in Beacon Academy. Well, there is one guess," Ozpin spoke cryptically about the situation concerning Blake, which is something Daniel didn't leave his thoughts. "But, when it comes to you, there are several guesses."

"And I'm sure a lot of those guess involves the time that I spent three years in a fun little place."

Daniel spoke almost sarcastically as he spoke about Mistral, in particular, Lower Mistral.

"Ha, well, I can imagine that being away from home would be quite the lonesome experience. I often heard a lot about your experiences from Leo, the Headmaster of Haven Academy."

"Oh, did he mention the time that I took one of his collectible teacup sets as a prize after I beat him in a game of chess? If so, then it was his fault for thinking that I couldn't play chess."

"Well, I don't think he mentioned that one," Ozpin stated, almost finding that part amusing. "But, back to what I had mentioned about being from your home being a lonesome experience. Daniel, I'll be blunt, but do you know one of the reasons I made you the leader?"

"Is it because of my natural charisma and leadership skills," Daniel jokingly asked, then moved on to an incident that happened during the Beacon Initiation. "But, in all seriousness, it had something to do with what happened during and before the fight against those three Grimm. I coordinate with and instruct Hunter, Sandra, and Alyssa despite not knowing them for all that time. It was the same reason you chose Ruby and Jaune as leaders despite due to the natural leadership and quick thinking they showed in tense situations."

"An excellent response. I can tell that Ruby and Jaune can make great strides when it comes to acting as leaders of their respective teams. But, there's one fundamental difference that exists between you and them," Ozpin again started sounding mysterious about that comment. "Do you know what that means?"

"I don't know, the one thing that comes to mind is field experience."

"Well, that is one, but I was referring to the fact that you seem to not trust others."

"…eh?"

For the first time since the conversation started, Daniel looked confused and stared at Ozpin with a different look on his face, which showed confusion.

"Wait, no, I phrased that wrong. I mean that you don't know how to depend on someone else."

"And what do you mean by that?"

Daniel asked, sounding a little more serious.

"It goes back to a previous conversation the two of us had before. You're the oldest of three cousins. The chosen heir of the Norden Family. And the son of two Huntsmen in Atlas referred to as the strongest partners," Ozpin spoke to Daniel as he proceeded to stir the cup in his hands. "You become someone everyone would expect could handle anything and a symbol that your cousins looked up to. An act which showed the expectations people had in you. But, I'm sure that made it impossible for you to be capable of relying on others for a change."

"Tsk, you're the second person to tell me something like that."

Daniel stated, finding himself crossing his arms and glancing to the side.

"…and there's the situation concerning Richard and…."

"You're starting to push it."

Daniel pointed out, staring straight at the Headmaster with a not-so-happy face.

"I apologize. But, I and several other people are aware of the reasons behind the decisions made throughout your entire life. And I'm sure the situations concerning your father and brother have had a great impact on your life, and you've managed to get through it all. But, you're a student at Beacon Academy and I can assure you that you aren't alone. Whether in regards to your friends, teammates, or teachers."

Rather than giving an immediate comment, Daniel thought about Ozpin's words and could see the reasoning and compassion behind them. If he had to be honest, it wasn't that surprising that the Beacon Headmaster, based on the things he knew about the Huntsmen Academies' Headmasters was aware of his familial situation. Not as if it was something that Daniel wanted to keep secret or anything.

"…I get it. It's not as if I survived in Mistral alone, some people helped me when I was in need and some teachers taught me the things I knew. I might have a reason for not wanting to involve my team or even my friends in my business, but it's not without a reason."

"I understand, but I say this because I'm aware of the mistakes that come with that decision," Ozpin stated, with a more serious look, as if looking into himself. "And the responsibilities that you hold onto aren't things that shouldn't be yours in the first place."

"…, after that, Daniel didn't utter a word as Ozpin stopped and finished what seemed to be the last of his coffee. "I think you have a talent for ruining a good mood."

"I have often heard that sometimes, but I'd like to think I can do both," Ozpin had stated, finding himself smiling at Daniel. "Well, I should be going. But, don't forget what I told you. You might be experienced in certain areas, but at the end of the day, you're a teenager. And you should have all the freedoms afforded to one."

"Hah, I define freedom."

Daniel stated, finding himself feeling pride in that, something which caused Ozpin to chuckle faintly.

"Well, you certainly are your mother's child. But, I should request that you don't give the detectives a hard time."

"That depends on them, both of them had a great start in the questioning, then it divulged in their attempt to undermine me. If they kept acting like normal detectives, then I would've even given them answers related to the questions. I'm not attempting to make it difficult for them, seeing as they're responsible for the security in Vale. I, as a student, cannot do much in regards to that."

Daniel replied, not sounding sarcastic or undermining what the detectives do in comparison to their Huntsmen, who took the more offensive route.

"That's good to hear. I'll be going."

"Just warn them if they attempt it again, I'll start giving romantic advice. Getting that from a teenager would end up being a total loss of a man card."

Daniel jokingly stated as soon as Ozpin left.

Just as the Headmaster left, Daniel found himself stopping laughing as he leaned back in his seat, thinking about the events that happened. He was never expecting that Blake would end up being a member of the White Fang or that the same organization would end up working alongside a Human.

"I doubt that the current High Leader is aware of this. Based on what I heard about Sienna Khan, there's not much hatred for Humans. Instead, she uses violence to act as a deterrent, while not acting enough to the point of endangering the group as a whole. And that brings me to the next point about the fact that more Dust than what a single branch needs is being stolen. There's even the fact that guy decided to work alongside someone such as Roman Torchwick, aside from the fact he's a Human."

Daniel mulled about the information that had been presented to him in this incident, something which made it apparent that he couldn't be half-assed about certain things.

"Well, with the things that have been happening thus far, I can't exactly keep withholding certain things like this. I'm guessing Blake will be looking to stop the White Fang. And based on our group's luck when it comes to getting in trouble, everyone might join in," Daniel said, thinking to himself out loud, then found himself coming to terms with something. "Uh, I might as well rip the bandage off."

Open!

At the same time, Daniel found himself looking forward as the two detectives came back inside the investigation room wearing a begrudging look.

"Hello, Detective Russell, Detective Bruno."

Daniel found himself waving his hand at the two detectives.

"W-We'll talk about the final words before sending you off."

Detective Bruno said, finding himself being hesitant about speaking to Daniel for even just a couple of moments. But, the conversation continued normally from there as the detectives focused on doing their job in that instance. And so, neither of them received relationship advice from Daniel, who responded to their questions without any issues.

And so, Daniel and Blake were released from the confines of the interview room, causing them to return with their friends to Beacon Academy. However, waiting for them there was something far more dangerous than criminals waiting there for them at the heliport. And that was their combat instructor, Glynda Goodwitch standing wearing a displeased look at her students. All of whom almost felt the desire to run from the area, however, seeing as the woman's Semblance was Telekinesis, it would be a pointless effort.

Surprisingly enough, the group did receive praise and genuine concern from their Combat Instructor but were unable to escape from the reprimand.

---

"Well, I think we got off easier than I thought."

"You're telling me."

That was the conversation between Daniel and Blake, both of whom took responsibility for the incident involving Roman. At that moment, the duo found themselves sitting down on the roof of their dorm room after the incident, dressed for the night.

"It reminded me of the first time Ruby said she met Glynda. She said that our Combat Instructor was both proud and strict with her about getting involved with a dangerous criminal. So, it's pretty obvious how Glynda views her students being strict for their benefit."

"Right, that reminded me of the time she said that she met with Roman Torchwick when he was robbing that Dust shop," Blake stated, being reminded of the time Ruby mentioned the reason behind her enrollment into Beacon. A fact that surprised them, while stirring up Yang's pride in her little sister. "I was surprised hearing someone not in their third year of combat school fought criminals. But, seeing her fighting against the Grimm and training, I could see that Ruby can more than keep up with us."

"Yeah, so imagine our little grade skipper gained real training and experience. She'd be an adorable little menace wielding that scythe of hers in her second year, which makes me curious to see her as a real-deal Huntress. If do wonder if Ruby is the youngest person to have ever been enrolled into Huntsman Academy."

"It wouldn't be surprising. Ruby has impressed me a lot with the things that she can do. I don't think anyone other than Professor Ozpin would've enrolled her two years earlier."

Blake pointed out, thinking about the things that Ozpin had done thus far, which were different from what she would've expected from a Headmaster and Huntsman. She couldn't tell what he was thinking most of the time, but what he said to her in the interviewing room sounded genuine enough.

"Yeah, even for me, he is a hard person to read."

"Ah yes, being reminded of the so-called menace of Atlas having such an attention to detail."

"And proud of it," Daniel stated, smacking himself lightly on the chest using his fist. "If you live in a place such as Lower Mistral, then you either focus on even the smallest details or you'll lose your wallet."

"Sounds like a saying."

"And you wouldn't be wrong. Me paying attention to the little details was the first thing that I learned when I was in Mistral for about a week," Daniel spoke, almost as if he were reminiscing about it. "And the person who taught me that was among the two people that I could consider older sisters to me. If anything, I can consider the two of them a real family. The ironic thing is that both of them are Faunus too."

"Oh, is that so? What were they like?"

"There was Helen, a Dog Faunus who was like the supportive sister. And Violet, a Snake Faunus, who is a lot like the protective older sister."

"And by protective, you mean?"

"If you harm a hand on my brother, I'll send you to the hospital for life."

"So, pretty much Yang?"

Blake asked jokingly.

"Uh, yeah, something like that," Daniel replied wryly, causing Blake to wonder what he meant about that. "But, I'm pretty sure Viola means, she'll send them to the morgue."

After that, the two sat there in silence, the reason they were there in the first place was because Blake wanted to thank him for the help. But, the more the two sat there talking about whatever came to mind, something such as thank you was becoming further and further from her mind.

"Daniel?"

"Yes?"

"You know, most of the time you mention your older brother, it's about you two not getting along. You talked about this Helen and Violet being more like older siblings. But, there hasn't been one moment where you said you hated him. So, do you hate him?"

At Blake's comment, Daniel found himself thinking about those words.

"Hm, hate is a strong word. I can't say that I outright hated him when we were growing up together. If we're talking about before, our relationship could have been the same as a cat and a dog," Daniel replied, but felt sharp eyes on him, as Blake was staring straight at him judgingly. "I didn't mean you this time. But, it does beg the question if you hate…."

Hit!

Blake strongly nudged Daniel's side with her elbow, causing him to groan.

"Well, where was I…. Oh right, if anything, we didn't hate each other. It was more or less it was difficult to interact with each other…at least that how he might have seen it. I was just some highborn rich kid from Atlas and he was some Faunus from Mantle. He was far from jealous, it was just real complicated having a half-brother from Altas just walking about Mantle as if nothing was wrong," Daniel replied, finding himself looking forward at the sky. "I talked bad about him since he treated me as if I was an irritated little bro…. Oh, wait I am. Well, the one thing that I could say that I respect is the fact he always helped the Faunus around Mantle."

"Well, I think that the first nice thing you said about your older brother. Most of the time you talk about how much you two can't get along."

"This and that are different. It was a personal thing, but this is more interpersonal. His one selling point is that he always has what's good for the other Faunus in Mantle on his mind. I heard from my dad that it was a trait that he inherited from his mom."

As Blake talked to Daniel about his brother, she could see a different angle from the relationship between them. It was true that neither of them shared much of a normal brotherly relationship, not interacting much if it wasn't for training. But, she could see that Daniel did like the fact that his older brother did have the Faunus back at Mantle on his mind. However, there was another look on his face that made her believe that changed.

"Well, I'll talk about it more later. Since it seems as if there's going to be more trouble for this little group of ours," Daniel spoke, thinking about something then turned his attention to Blake with a smile. "Besides, our little Blake dared to challenge her past. I think that it would be the right time."

"Who are you calling 'Little Blake'? We're the same age, Daniel," Blake jokingly replied, causing Daniel to shrug both of his shoulders, while lightly sticking out his tongue. "Speaking about the incident from before. I truly do have to thank you for what you did for me. Not just you, but Sun, my team, and yours. Despite knowing the dangers and I was a part of the White Fang, none of you let me go after them and Roman Torchwick alone."

"Well, you should've expected that. Leaving Sun aside, our group is far more stubborn than any teacher probably would've ever expected. So, thinking you could go out and the cavalry wouldn't come chasing after you was more or less a fault on your part."

"I guess so," Blake replied, almost amused from hearing that one. "Hah, I honestly never thought that I could share a genuine conversation with you Daniel."

"Oh, is that because of my impeccable sense of humor?"

"Right, let's go with that."

"Yeah, I'm well aware that most people see me as a nonchalant snarker who can't hold even the slightest bit of an intellectual or meaningful conversation. But, I believe that's what most people would refer to as never judging a book by its cover, which is a mistake a lot of people have made."

"Speaking of books, are we still going to have that little book talk of ours?"

"Of course, I'm looking forward to it. I want to hear more about the books that Blake has read. And I wouldn't be surprised if the little Red Hood wouldn't be interested in it too. It might make her a little jealous if she sees one of her teammates hanging out with someone else."

"I can imagine that. I am interested in seeing what other books Ruby read before. Then, Yang talked a lot about us having some 'girl time' later on the weekend, because of the incident. And even Weiss wants to talk far more with me at some point too. I never thought that I would've done something like this before, let alone become friends with someone from the Schnee Family."

"Lucky for you, I think that the three of them are still understandably a little sour with me at the moment."

Daniel comments, being reminded of the reaction the three of them gave when Blake was found and then also the reaction when he was well aware of where they were.

"Well, I'm sure they'll get over it. I doubt that those three would remain mad at you for that long," Blake pointed out then started hugging onto her legs as she looked up. "And I guess the same thing could be said for me."

"Oh, is that so?"

Daniel asked teasingly while looking inquisitively at Blake.

"You might be the most talkative and sarcastic person that I've ever met while being proud to hear something like that," Blake replied, finding herself once again realizing that Daniel seemed prideful about that boast. "But, you're one of the most honest and well-meaning people that I've ever met too. It doesn't seem as if I have to think if you're intending on using people or attempting to get something in return."

Feeling almost as if she was in the process of confessing something, Blake found herself starting to feel heat on her cheeks. But, she played it off as if she were looking down at the ground, being convincing enough to almost make Daniel wonder what was on her mind.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that you share that kind of opinion about me."

Daniel replied, leaving it at that.

"You're welcome. I think that it's about time that we return to our rooms. I can see that we should be prepared for Glynda's punishment."

Blake said finding herself close to standing up.

But, then she looked up to find Daniel having already done that and extending his hand out towards the Faunus, who looked up at him with a smile. Taking the assist, Blake grasped Daniel's hand and he helped her to her feet, causing them to be up close to one another. Thinking back to what sounded close to a confession, Blake felt a bit flustered as she was that close to Daniel, who was smiling at her. Aside from that, she soon found herself having another reaction to standing that close to Daniel and thought back to her previous partner.

"So, you're ready to get to bed?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Want to do it a funner way?"

Daniel's question caused Blake to wonder what he meant about the 'funner way', but then noticed him heading to the ledge. Curious, Blake followed him and then found Daniel leaping down and landing on top of the runes he formed underneath. It was then that Blake realized what he meant by a funner way, causing her to shake her head.

"I hope you know that seems to be a misuse of a Semblance."

"I've seen worse. Besides, what are you going to do, call the Rune Police," Daniel asked, but then thought for just a second about that phrase. "Wait, that sounds a little terrifying."

"…."

In response to that, Blake rolled her eyes but decided to land on top of the runes as Daniel continued to create a path leading to their dorm's window. It was a unique experience, to say the least, but it was something that made Blake smile when it came to Daniel's unique thought process. But, it made the reactions from Team RWBY worth it as their partner entered their bedroom through the window. Of course, the uniqueness of the situation made the half-sisters, Ruby and Yang a little jealous about the experience. Weiss had a similar feeling, but it vanished as she got to see her boyfriend before going to bed, something which earned from silent teasing smiles from her teammates.

After that, Daniel headed to his dorm room, where his teammates allowed him into the bedroom, of course, being surprised about the sudden entrance. But, it was something that sparked an immediate laugh and talk in the dorm room. Noticing the interactions between the people that he had gotten to know thus far caused Daniel to want to tell them more about himself.

---

The next morning, the individual teams left for classes, with the members of Team JNPR wondering about where Blake was over the weekend. Of course, the group couldn't mention the fact that Blake was a Faunus or the fact a lot of them were involved in fighting against the White Fang. Due to the investigation and teenage involvement, all their involvement was kept outside the news. So, it was left off as a simple argument between Blake and Weiss, which was resolved. It seemed as if it was enough to convince the members of Team JNPR, who were simply glad to see their friends getting along.

It seemed as if Blake was returning to normal, or more so showing much more emotion than before around all of the friends she made thus far. For Daniel, who was aware of her being a Faunus, to her, it felt almost as if one big weight was lifted off her shoulders. So, Blake could steadily start expressing herself more in front of them all, without fearing rejection. It was a change that didn't go unnoticed by the people who were close enough to know the kind of person Blake was.

Another change happened during the morning, to Team JNPR, it looked as if Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were avoiding talking to Daniel as much as possible. Now, that made them think as if Daniel did something to earn the ire of those three. But, in response to that, all Daniel could say was that: "I'm a jerk, who kept a secret from the three of them." However, it looked as if Blake was compensating for talking to Daniel whenever they had the chance. All in all, it was an odd switch all things considered. Ruby and Yang would be the main people who'd talk to Daniel, whereas Weiss would often throw in comments.

Not that the group could focus on that, as the time for their first-period class would be coming up, which was the one the students were the most active for. And that would be Glynda's Combat Instruction, though those students involved with the previous incidents prepared themselves for the worst. So, the students either prepared or even steeled themselves for it.

Surprisingly enough, Glynda's classes went as usual, with all the students learning what the experienced Huntress taught them. And the usual sparring between students, though, it did seem as if the members of Team RWBY and DUSK were being chosen a little too much. No matter, it didn't change the fact that none of the students could be mad at Glynda about that.

In the class that Ruby could call her favorite, Weapons Crafting and Upkeep, where the students learned more about the intricacies of crafting and maintaining their weapons. Not surprising as the young Huntress-in-training has called herself a dork when it comes to weapons. During this, even Jaune, who wasn't initially happy with his weapon compared to others thought about the potential upgrades he could give to Crocea Mors. Aside from that, the cleansing oil removed the rust, and the grime on the blade was almost gone, causing the blade to regain a shine.

Seeing such a thing from his student caused Processor Mulberry to feel happy, as he continued instructing the students.

"I wonder if these kinds of lessons would seem boring to someone who learned from a real scientist."

Weiss asked out loud, causing the usual group to realize that the comment was meant for Daniel.

"Hm, not really, there are different kinds of means of crafting weapons, whether normal swords like Jaune's or far more complex things such as Ruby's sniper scythe. Besides, hearing these kinds of lessons makes a good way of learning the perspective of someone else."

Daniel replied honestly, not sounding to be messing around in that instance.

"I'm surprised, I thought you'd play around before answering me."

"Already in the hot seat, so I shouldn't dig my own grave. I do know when to mess around and when not to mess around, Weiss."

Daniel replied, again sounding honest.

"Hm, at least you're aware in regards to that. It still isn't enough."

"And if I were to throw in a date anywhere my girlfriend wants to go and do?"

Daniel asked, whispering that one loud enough to where their particular group could hear it.

"…I might consider it."

Weiss replied, her cheeks turning red from the suggestion and glancing to the side.

"Weiss don't fall for the temptations of the one called Daniel Norden. He'll do something mean at one point, then offer wonderful gifts as an apology."

Ruby reasoned, still seeming to be a bit miffed.

"That's rich coming from the person who was the one who accepted all those gifts without question."

Yang pointed out teasingly, causing Ruby to turn and point to her sister.

"Exactly, Daniel is a master of getting you to forget you're mad at him!"

Ruby replied without shame, something that caused her sister and friends to look in smiling.

"Alright, class, turn this way for a second!"

Hearing their professor calling out to them.

Turning to their teacher, the class found themselves looking at Processor Mulberry standing there wearing a faint smile on his face. He'd often looked enthusiastic about the class but found himself looking forward to whatever would be happening next.

"Alright, the reason that I'm stopping the lesson is because a student of this class has succeeded in crafting yet another weapon to add to their arsenal."

At that announcement, the students looked surprised as though the class was focused on crafting and upkeep, it didn't mean the students could have the time to make another weapon. A lot of them were preoccupied with their other duties to focus on making another weapon. And the most important fact was that it would take time for the person to get used to another weapon. But, that did beg the question of who and what that weapon turned out to be, which was soon answered.

"Alright, come unveil your creation, Daniel."

"Got it, teach."

Daniel replied, standing from his seat, and then went towards a particular cabinet in the classroom, where that weapon was kept stored. It seemed to have been kept in a case where the teacher allowed him to borrow to keep it until the presentation. Reaching into the case, Daniel received the weapon and helped it out in front of the class with a proud look.

"…."

Attempting not to squeal, Ruby found herself being the most attentive in the classroom.

In Daniel's hand, there was a handgun identical to Vanir, but there was some notable difference between the two firearms. The foremost notable difference was that this one was a mixture of black and gold, whereas Vanir was white and silver. For the students not that into crafting weapons, neither of them could deny that the weapon was not well-crafted.

"This one here is named Aesir."

Daniel declared, showing off the handgun one more time to the class.

"Daniel here has been often coming back to class after school to want to use the workshop to create this special item. I don't have an issue with students wanting to use the class to make or maintain weapons as there's no theft of equipment. I was wondering how it would turn out too."

"It took me a little longer to finish, seeing as I needed to wait for the right stuff to come in from Mistral."

Daniel replied, with the processor recalling that some packages had been coming in from Mistral at some moments in the construction of Aesir.

"A lot of that stuff seemed to be a little bit high-end stuff."

"I'm friends with this guy who…eh?"

"…."

In that instance, Daniel turned to find Ruby who appeared beside him through her semblance as rose petals fluttered in the air while wearing a happy smile and sparkling eyes. His eyes turned from Aesir to Ruby several times, not taking long to realize that her eyes were trained on the new firearm.

"Do you want to see it?"

"…."

Rather than responding, Ruby instead rapidly nodded her head.

Daniel held Aesir forward, and then Ruby quickly took the newly crafted firearm off his hands and proceeded to examine it with sparkling eyes. In front of the inventor, she seemed to have started examining every single detail of the firearm as if she were attempting to scan it in its entirety.

"Such an awesome design for Aesir, it reminds me so much of Vanir, but there are so many differences between them. I can tell that there's something special about this little angel," Ruby started muttering to herself as she examined Aesir, almost as if she were looking at something precious. "Is it a double-stack magazine with fifteen rounds like Vanir?"

"Yes, it is."

"Hollow-point rounds," Ruby asked, but then proceeded to remove the cartridge from Aesir, then looked to find what kind of bullets were kept in it. "No, they're Armor-piercing rounds."

"Yes, Aesir was meant to be the first gun that I made. But, then I made Vanir first and wanted to gain more experience in handling and tuning one. Though to be honest, some circumstances made me make Vanir first. But, I can now dual wield guns like a Grimm hunting pro."

"Such a wonderful child."

Ruby said, almost rubbing her cheeks against Aesir as if she were rubbing against a child's cheek.

"Hey, Rubes what was that about not falling to the temptations of Daniel Norden?"

Yang teasingly called out.

"What was that sis?"

Ruby asked back, almost seeming to forget she said those words and was too focused on Aesir to think.

"Yet again, the leader and partner of Team RWBY has fallen to the temptations of Daniel Norden. And he didn't even try with Rubes," Yang jokingly mumbled, then realized those words didn't sound too right. "Eh, if it was anyone else, then I would've been more protective."

"As much as I love Ruby's interest in weapons. There's another reason that I made this announcement and wanted our very own Norden to come out like this. I heard about the unique trait of their Semblance and asked if Daniel here could demonstrate it in front of the class. It wasn't a condition for usage of the workshop, but it was a personal request. So, if Daniel would proceed."

"Alright, I will," Daniel said, as he glanced over to Ruby. "I mean, that is if Ruby here wouldn't mind giving back Aesir."

"Huh," Ruby asked, finding herself snapping out of the trance and realizing that she was still holding onto Aesir without showing intent on returning it. "Oh, right. I'm sorry!"

"It's fine, Red Hood."

Daniel didn't seem mad and instead amused about her reaction.

"Wait, wasn't I supposed to be mad at him?"

Ruby thought, finding herself recalling she was supposed to be mad at Daniel and instead returned to their everyday interactions with one another.

Holding Aesir in his hand, Daniel found himself placing the handgun in a place where the students in the classroom could see the procedure. Interested, the students started standing up from their seats to get a better sight of what was about to happen. Positioning his hand in front of Aesir, then in that instance several runes started manifesting around the handgun. It wasn't the usual formations most witnessed, their number and order, almost as if there was a code being written into a computer.

"…."

Daniel seemed to be more focused than before as the runes circled the firearm, where the Semblance was the most focused. After a minute or two passed, the runes started congregating around Aesir until seeming to become integrated into the firearm. As the runes vanished, some runic inscriptions started to manifest on Aesir.

[OOOOH.]

It seemed as if the students were surprised about what they just witnessed as Professor Mulberry found himself nodding his head in agreement.

"Just as I expected, their Semblance is ideal for these kinds of things."

"Uh, Professor Mulberry what does that mean?"

"I won't reveal much about another student's Semblance, but if you know somewhat of the Norden Family, then you'll know what their Semblance is focused most on is modifying and enhancing things using the second part of their Runes' usage. So, if you think about any weapon in their hands could be enhanced more than other Huntsmen, more so if it's something which includes Dust too."

[Oh.]

The students looked mesmerized and surprised about that, realizing that could grant someone an edge in a fight.

"Hey, Daniel could you do the same thing with my weapon?"

"Same here."

"Me too."

Immediately, the students found themselves starting to request for Daniel to do the same thing with their weapons. As a means of improving them, almost to the point of crowding around him.

"Heh, maybe as soon as I complete my Semblance. It might not look it, but using enchantments is a little bit more exhausting and drains the aura a little bit. Besides, we have an entire year together. So, think about mastering them, in addition to what you want, then I'll do it."

Immediately, the students started finding themselves nodding their heads in agreement about that suggestion from the young man. None of them could disagree with Daniel, seeing as most of them were aware that among the students, he seemed to be more or less an equal to Pyrrha Nikos, who the teachers considered to be among the top first-years. After that demonstration, the students returned to their seats with their processors continuing with the lesson.

"Well, it seems as if Daniel has yet around the weapon to add to his arsenal. I didn't outright expect the demonstration of your family's Enchantments, though."

Weiss pointed out.

"It's not as if I revealed all the cards that I have. It was pretty much a general explanation."

"But, it must be so cool to be able to enhance your weapons."

"Yeah, it reminds me of a mechanic of a video game. You know, like enhancements and buffs?"

Jaune stated, with both Ruby and Yang getting that as a similarity between them.

It was then that the group of three consisting of Ruby, Yang, and Jaune started looking at Daniel with individual looks of expectation. And it didn't take all that long for Daniel to realize what those looks meant.

"It's the same for you guys. But, seriously, if I use the wrong kind of enchantment on your weapons, which doesn't fit it or your fighting styles, then it'll be a demerit rather than merit."

"Well, isn't that the reason we still have four years to be together and get to know one another?"

Ruby asked, finding herself leaning forward.

"Of course, plus I am quite the observant person. But, as I said, doing that kind of thing takes a lot of effort and a lot of Aura to do. Besides, the ones that I can do at the moment are kinda half-assed without all of the runes. At most, the weapons I enchant are more durable or efficient than normal."

Daniel replied, finding himself leaning backward in his seat.

"Hmm, well, could you enchant something like hair?"

"Hm, don't know, I haven't thought of that. Why, are you considering having me do that?"

"Not really I'm just thinkin' about what I should have Dani here do to make up for not telling me about my partner's status," Yang said teasingly, despite that she was well aware that Daniel was doing that with Blake in mind, but she just couldn't help herself. "So, what does Dani have to offer?"

"I mean, I could be your mechanic for your motorcycle, Bumblebee for free."

"Hm, I mean, I often do some basic maintenance. But, the thought of having Dani work as my mechanic," In that instance, Yang wore a teasing smile as Weiss and Ruby wondered what was going through her mind. "Having Dani work as my mechanic would mean that he'll be all sweaty from working on my darling."

As those thoughts entered her mind, Ruby and Weiss could see Yang wearing a cheery smile, wondering what she was thinking about. It seemed to have gotten the girl who had a crush on him and his girlfriend a little more curious about what was going through the beautiful blonde's head.

"If you throw in another condition, then I'll consider it."

"And that would be?"

Daniel asked, causing Yang to look a little teasing as Ruby and Weiss became curious about what would end up coming out of the blonde's mouth. It seemed to be almost a tense moment as the two waited to hear the next couple of words that would come from Yang.

"We'll talk about that in private later."

Yang replied, causing her sister and teammate to go: "Gah", while almost falling forward from the response not being what either expected. As if expecting that, the beautiful blonde found herself smiling and laughing at their reactions, while the class continued from there.

---

After school, the members of Team RWBY and DUSK as punishment for the incident had to sweep around the floors of the halls, where the group was for a week. In that instance, Team RWBY was responsible for moping up the combat class, whereas Team DUSK was responsible for around the cafeteria. Inside, where the tables were put up, the four-man team was moping the floors together, having finished sweeping up the dirt.

"Well, this is the kind of punishment that I'd expect from Glynda."

Sandra pointed out, finding herself leaning against her mop.

"It's what we get for getting involved with criminals," Alyssa stated, standing beside her partner. "But, then again…."

"This is the thanks we get for stopping more Dust from being stolen from Vale right?"

"Exactly."

As if to further iterate that comment, Alyssa found herself snapping her fingers.

'Well, I don't think that teachers can morally congratulate students for stopping a robbery where none of them should have been in the first place.'

"That, or it could be the fact that we ended up getting caught by the police."

['That's true'.]

The three of them replied, seeing that first-year students being involved with the Vale Police Department would end up being a bit bad for the school's reputation. Because the Police and Huntsman are supposed to be a joint group, while the students aren't supposed to be involved in things such as that in the first place. Seeing as their group is going to be involved more in stopping criminal activities, then this might end up happening again.

"Well, then we should get used to not getting caught."

Daniel pointed out, causing them to nod in agreement.

"It's a good thing that we have someone similar to a phantom on our team."

Alyssa pointed out, wrapping her arm around Sandra's shoulder, while smiling as Sandra glanced to the side.

"I won't help if you keep calling me a phantom."

"Ah, you don't mean that, you'll still help us."

As Alyssa and Sandra were still having their back and forth with one another.

'It's funny to think that our group is getting involved in stopping criminals this early on,' Hunter signed, turning over to Daniel, who read them. 'I almost thought that we wouldn't be doing this until at least we reached our third year, if not after graduating. Although, I never thought that the first people that we would end up confronting would be the White Fang. But, I'm our fearless leader and have experience in fighting against criminals, especially based off of how you handled this incident with Torchwick and the White Fang.'

"Yeah, I at least confronted the White Fang at least once or twice in Mistral. But, what do you think about the White Fang as a Faunus yourself, Hunter?"

At Daniel's question, Hunter found himself thinking about that question.

'I never thought much of how the White Fang is now, but before I could recall my father talking about how he thought that peace between Humans and Faunus seemed to be an impossible goal. Some Humans have the instinct to dislike those who are different or superior to them, while Faunus and Humans in general shouldn't be worried about such things. He always used to say that focusing on comparing yourself to others and vice versa is the same as limiting a person's potential.'

"Well, I can agree with at least people focusing too much on others rather than themselves. If a Human sees a Faunus, they're looking at the animal parts rather than the person they are. So, instead of focusing on themselves, they instead focus on demeaning them for those traits and believing they're beasts or monsters who're going to harm them. And in the end, they turned the Faunus into the monsters they were afraid of."

'Yeah, but I can see the reason the founder quit if his intentions of making peace would instead end up corrupting what the White Fang stood for. At the same time, I feel sad that he was forced into doing that.'

"Same, I remember my uncle practicing the speech that he would give to the White Fang at that time. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that meeting the White Fang at that time would build a bridge between the Humans and Faunus. It might not have happened then, but it could happen again."

'Do you believe that?'

Hunter signed, finding himself pointing at Daniel.

"Yeah, even now, in the White Fang there are people who doubt most of the violence that's happening, but feel as if there's no other choice. Also, even if the leader isn't the leader anymore, I don't doubt that the ideals he kept when he made the White Fang vanished. Besides, there aren't people among the Humans who share the same bias when it comes to Faunus. I mean, look at me, my parents were Humans and Faunus. And there's Velvet too."

Daniel replied, filled with the same kind of optimism that the three of them have come to know him for. Both of their female teammates heard the response from Daniel and could hear that he believed that without a doubt. There wasn't a single doubt that Daniel believed that the Human and Faunus could come together. And the team heard about the fact that Velvet's father was a Human too, having heard about Daniel's parents too.

"You're right," Sandra pointed out, finding herself leaning against her mop. "So, we're about done here. So, let's finish it up and head back to our room."

"Wait, wasn't there something that Daniel wanted to talk to us about?"

Alyssa reminded, causing Sandra to recall that.

"Ah, right. I'm guessing that this has something to do with the White Fang."

Sandra pointed out.

"Yeah, but before we talk, there's something that I need to get from a place in Vale first."

Daniel stated the three members of his team found themselves curious about what that could be.

Nonetheless, the members of Team DUSK continued moping and cleaning up the cafeteria, diligently completing their punishment without missing a single detail. Of course, there were sometimes breaks when the group could message all their individual friends, whether in Team RWBY, JNPR, or CFVY.

---

Once the two teams finished up with their first day of punishment, Daniel headed off to Vale, whereas the others went straight to Team DUSK's room. There, the members of the two teams were curious about what Daniel wanted to talk to them all about.

"So, what do you guys think that Daniel wanted to talk to us about?"

Ruby, who alongside Weiss sat on Daniel's bed without hesitation.

"He said that it has something to do with what happened with the White Fang and Roman Torchwick."

Sandra replied, finding herself lying down on her bed while facing them, her partner sitting right beside her.

"Well, if it's Dani, who seems to know a lot about this kind of stuff then it must be something big."

Yang pointed out, recalling all the times that Daniel seemed to know and even experienced things that neither of them had thus far. It was highlighted in the incident involving Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, something which both teams realized as he talked with them.

"Hm, when Daniel and I talked on the roof, it looked as if there was something else he wanted to talk about too."

Blake mentioned, finding herself looking forward from the seat beside her partner.

"Ah, right. It reminds me my partner sure had some experience last night," Yang stated, glancing over to Blake, who in that instance wondered what she meant about that. "I mean, last night, our dear Blake found herself being escorted by Dani back to our room in such a romantic way."

"I-It wasn't romantic."

Weiss pointed out, finding herself thinking back to that.

"So, being brought back to your room through a path he made from his Semblance leading towards our window. I think that screams romance."

Yang stated, though Blake as usual wore a blank expression, while Weiss seemed to be more flustered about hearing a 'romance' between her boyfriend and someone else.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Blake said, turning her attention to something else as her partner pouted.

"Come on, Blakey at least play along."

"I refuse, and don't call me Blakey."

Blake replied, not playing around with her partner, who seemed disappointed about that.

"Well, if Daniel continues at this pace, then he might have the entire members of Team RWBY."

Alyssa stated, that her comment was loud enough to catch their attention as the four women involved, resulting in each of them looking on flustered.

"What does that mean?!"

Weiss asked flustered.

"Well, I mean, it looks as if the other three are having a crush or developing a crush on Daniel. I mean, look a Ruby, she looks as if she'll blush whenever she's around Daniel."

Alyssa bluntly pointed out, as Ruby became flustered about that comment.

"She isn't wrong. Besides, it seems as if the three of you have some love triangle developing there."

Sandra pointed out.

"As if! It's weird thinking about having someone else date Daniel!"

Weiss stated.

"Are you sure that doesn't stem from your sheltered childhood?"

"It could also mean that she's possessive of Daniel."

Weiss ended up getting struck by the words from Alyssa and Sandra, both of which seemed to strike hard against their heiress' mental barriers.

"I mean, there was that time that Rubes here ended up consoling Dani when Weiss was being a mean girlfriend."

And Yang added to the damage, causing Weiss to go: "Ugh!"

"Oh, come on, is it that bad for us to date Daniel at the same time?"

Ruby innocently asked, not minding the immediate reaction from those around her, it was unknown whether or not she was talking about her and Weiss or the entirety of Team RWBY.

"You are so innocent that it's adorable and precious."

Sandra uttered to herself, almost sounding as if she were joking.

"Ruby, I said it once and I'll say it again. You can't date Daniel?!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I'm dating Daniel!"

"We can both date Daniel!"

"No, WE can't!"

The group on the side looked on as the partners were arguing amused at how the argument and interaction were going in this incident. It wasn't out of hate, spite, or jealousy, the two were just having a genuine argument together without showing any kind of contempt against one another.

---

"Alright, I'm back and…eh?"

Daniel, who returned from Vale entered their bedroom but then looked on to find that both Ruby and Weiss were in the process of pulling each other's hair or cheeks. Comically, the people in the room were watching on, while eating out of a bowl of popcorn. As the people glanced at Daniel, who had a black duffle bag around his shoulder.

"I can come back later."

Daniel was preparing to leave but then stopped as he received a response from his girlfriend.

"Jwust gwet in herre!"

Weiss said, which Daniel translated to: Just get in here.

"Soooo, is there a reason why you too were having a…fight?"

Daniel asked, but Blake looked forward from her seat.

"You were going to say cat fight weren't you?"

"It was a general term that has nothing to do with you being a Cat Faunus."

Daniel reasoned as Blake decided to let it go.

"Well, to answer your question, it was your fault."

Weiss stated as she and Ruby stepped from one another.

"Yeah."

Ruby agreed.

"Wha, huh, but…wait, I wasn't even here."

Daniel stated, confused about why this would be his fault.

""Exactly.""

Ruby and Weiss replied, before giving each other a high five.

"How do you two argue one moment, but then come together to go after me?"

Daniel asked while staring at him with a deadpan look, as the partner duo didn't seem to be fighting anymore.

"They do make the perfect love triangle."

Alyssa said under her breath, close enough to where Sandra could hear that and agree.

'So, Daniel, what's in the bag?'

Hunter signed.

"Thank you, Hunter, for asking the right questions and not hurting my feelings. You're truly a great partner."

At that comment from Daniel, it looked as if Hunter became flustered at the compliment while scratching his hair.

"Well, before explaining what's in the bag, I'll start an explanation," Daniel started as he placed the duffle bag in the middle of the floor. "Now, there are different kinds of secrets. There are secrets that you can't share with others due to mistrust. There are secrets that you're afraid of sharing with others. And secrets you can't share with others for a personal reason."

As Daniel started that serious discussion with that comment, the people in the room started taking that serious look on their faces.

"Now for me, it would be the second for one reason and the third reason for at least one other reason," Daniel started, as he stood in the same spot. "Now, there are certain secrets that don't need to be shared at a certain point. But, I believe that if there's a secret related to a particular situation that involves others, then it should be shared. If not, then if that secret is found out that'll break trust and/or even make the situation more complicated than it should be."

After saying that, the people there could see the reasoning behind that comment, but no one said a single word as he looked to be continuing. But, it looked as if Daniel was in the process of sharing a secret with them.

"Alright, so, I'm sure you're all aware that I left Atlas when I was fourteen years old, then went to Mistral. But, one of the reasons was that I wanted real-life experience not in Atlas. And there were other reasons that I went to Mistral in the first place," Daniel stated, kneeling and opening up the bad that he had brought back with him. "And this is a part of one of them."

[?]

From Daniel's bed, he took out what looked to be a high-tech full-faced wolf mask, based on a lot of things that those in Team RWBY knew from the previous conversation.

"A wolf mask?"

"Daniel, are you…."

"I was in Mistral for three years, which was around the same time that the Second Wolf started appearing. So, to reply to that question, yes, I am the Second Wolf."

Daniel replied, surprising them.

Aside from the members of Team RWBY, the members of Team DUSK weren't aware of the "Wolf" identity, but that did spark and immediate conversation. But, Blake who didn't hear the story was well aware of who Wolf was as a person who was known around the White Fang.

"What's the Wolf?"

Sandra asked confused.

"A vigilante that Daniel talked about the other day and who we heard about when we went out into Vale before Blake ran off. The second one came after the original one, but both of them were described as operating in Vale."

Ruby replied.

"Oh my god, you were dropping hints."

Weiss pointed out, placing a hand on her head.

"What do you mean?"

Ruby asked.

"The Second Wolf, someone younger than the first, dressed in advanced equipment, and was in Mistral at the same time as Daniel. And we know that Daniel is someone who learned about engineering from Penny's dad."

Weiss replied, feeling as if the entire situation was too obvious.

"Well, it sounds like Dani is the kind of person to dress up in a wolf mask and high-tech gear, and go around dishing out his justice to people," Yang stated surprised too, but didn't show it and looked to Daniel. "But, you didn't mention that you were the Wolf."

"Well, telling the team that just had a missing member, 'Oh hey, by the way, I'm the Second Wolf'. Didn't seem to be the best time. Besides, it didn't have anything to do with that particular situation."

"I know that I should've kept playing Bad Cop with you."

Ruby muttered to herself, crossing her arms in a pout.

"Wanna go see the mask?"

Daniel asked, holding out his hand with the mask in it.

"Gimme!"

Ruby immediately replied, taking the mask from Daniel's hand.

As she held the Second Wolf mask in her hand, being the ever weapon and tech enthusiast she was, Ruby proceeded to go over the mask.

"So, you're this Second Wolf. But, isn't this the kind of thing that someone wouldn't generally share?"

Alyssa asked.

"To be honest, I couldn't care less about who knows that I'm the Second Wolf. If I wanted to hide it better, then I would have told them another description further from me. But, then again that would end up coming back to bite me. It was simply a convenient mantle to act under without attracting too much attention to me more than I already had," Daniel explained as he stood in place. "Besides, I just took the mantle to attract the attention of the first person to wear that particular mantle."

"Your dad, right," Weiss asked, causing surprise among the group as Daniel replied with a nod. "You knew of the first Wolf and even took the mantle of the Second Wolf. So, it'd make sense that you're using the mantle to attract the first Wolf, which would be your father."

"And Weiss is right. I went to Mistral to find my dad, who retook the mantle of the Wolf to hide who he was. But, as you can tell I didn't meet him the last three years there."

"Daniel."

Weiss and the others could sympathize with Daniel in that regard, more than, Yang, Ruby, and Sandra could come to understand that sentiment due to their reasons.

"Well, it was more or less that kind of situation that could or couldn't happen. Besides, it was the kind of situation that would happen if it happened."

'But, why did your dad become the Wolf in the first place?'

Hunter signed, but Daniel paused for a bit.

"That doesn't have much to do with what I wanted to talk about. I'll talk about it at some point, but it wasn't for really the best reasons," Daniel said, as Ruby was still holding onto his Second Wolf mask. "Besides, the next thing that I'll be talking about is heavy as is."

"Alright, so what was the other reason?"

Alyssa asked as she and the others went into position, then it was that caused Daniel to pause.

"Okay, so, the other reason that I went to Mistral was because of my brother."

Daniel replied, causing them to notice that he was thinking about how he should explain this.

"Daniel, you talked about your brother last night too. But, then…." Blake started, then started thinking about the words that Daniel said about involving their group. "Daniel, is your brother…?"

"Yeah, he's a part of the White Fang too," Daniel had replied, which was something that sparked an immediate response from them and Weiss. "I said he left home a long time ago, but I didn't know the reason why and Dad didn't talk about it to me once. It wasn't until I read a letter my dad left behind telling me that he joined the White Fang, which was the time before the former leader stepped down."

"Daniel, was this that thing you wanted to tell me before?"

Weiss asked.

She was thinking back to the time both she and Daniel had that moment alone in the classroom when he said there was something he wanted to tell her. It was a surprise for them all to hear that Daniel's older brother was someone part of the White Fang. None was more surprised than Blake, who realized what Daniel meant about wanting to talk about it later. But, it caused Blake's mind to wonder more about what White Fang member could've been his brother throughout the conversation that continued. If it was before her father stepped down from being a leader, then there are a lot of people that came to mind. Someone, in particular, entered her mind based on what she knew.

"Yeah," again, Daniel nodded his head as Weiss thought about it. "In the letter, my dad thought that being in the White Fang would be good for him. I don't know what happened aside from him joining to experience the world and join a cause he believed in. I didn't look for him at first, but then when the Sienna Khan took over, I started to hear a lot of rumors about a Faunus with a katana and a familiar Semblance."

"…," Blake found herself figuring out someone, then placed a hand to her face before standing up. "Daniel, is your older brother someone named Adam Taurus?"

"Yes, that's him. I'm guessing that you know him."

Daniel replied, turning to a stunned Blake.

"I guess that makes sense," Blake stated, attempting to come to terms with the fact that Adam was Daniel's half-brother slowly and steadily. "During the times when we first met, I thought that there were some things with you that'd reminded me of Adam. And…uh, Daniel…are you alright?"

In that instance, the people in the room looked to find that Daniel's face was scrunching up in one that showed that he was irritated about that comment. Realizing what he was doing, Daniel immediately fixed his face and stood there in a more casual manner.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I often do that without knowing."

Daniel replied.

"So, what was that face?"

Yang asked, almost attempting not to laugh in that situation.

"It's a habit that he picked up from his mom. She often does that whenever she's annoyed."

Weiss replied, almost keeping herself from laughing at the face Daniel made.

"Alright, before we start laughing at Daniel. I think that we're all wondering how Blake knows Daniel's brother."

Sandra stated, causing Blake to let out a calming breath.

"Adam was my partner and mentor. I learned a lot from him when I was still in the White Fang and I believed that he always wanted what was best for the Faunus. But, then it started seeming as if he was turning more and more into the person that I didn't know."

Blake replied, showing some feelings in that instance, something which didn't go unnoticed.

"Jeez, what a small world," Alyssa couldn't hide her surprise about what was happening in this instance. "I mean, what are the chances that Daniel and Blake would end up meeting here together, with both of them being aware of Daniel's brother."

"Adam said he fought against someone calling themselves the Wolf. So, I'm guessing that fight you mentioned between you and your brother was that."

Blake thought back to the comment that Daniel made about that incident.

"Yeah, that was the time the two of us fought. And as expected, I lost that fight in the end," Daniel replied, thinking about the scar that he got from that fight on his chest. "Of course, I never thought that Adam would ever agree to work with Humans, like Roman Torchwick."

"So, he and Adam are involved together. I thought that it was weird that the White Fang would be involved, seeing as Adam isn't the kind of person to work with Humans."

"I'm guessing that Daniel's brother isn't some low-ranking Henchmen."

Sandra stated.

"You're right. He's running the Vale Branch of the White Fang. So, if the Faunus here is working with Roman Torchwick without question, then they're following Adam's order."

"So, that means Dani's brother is here in Vale."

Yang pointed out, not knowing what to think about them fighting against Daniel's brother, more of him having to fight his brother too.

"There's no doubt about that. During that place that I fought against Roman, I placed a rune on his clothing the other day after I kicked him. It's not something like a tracker, it's more something that'll alert me if Roman pops up around me. But, then I felt it vanishing later that same night when we were being investigated. And the only person that can do something like that is someone who knows that I could do that with my runes, "Daniel replied, much to their surprise. "So, is there anything else that you guys wanted to know about it?"

"Not really. I know that it doesn't matter who your father or brother is, it doesn't impact who you are," Yang stated, as a smile appeared on her face. "You're still our Daniel Norden, the cool, handsome, smart, and sarcastic person that we have all gotten to know and love."

"Ah, that's so sweet."

Daniel teasingly said, rubbing his head with a smile.

"Yang's right. It doesn't matter who your brother is. All of us don't have the perfect family. So, it wouldn't be fair if all of you differently because of that," Weiss said to Daniel, not showing a reaction to hearing about Daniel's situation and didn't mind it. "It was also more my fault that I didn't listen when you said there was something that you wanted to tell me at that time."

"Thanks, Weiss, everyone."

"Oh, cool!"

Everyone turned to find Ruby having put on the Wolf Mask in the conversation, which then seemed to adjust itself to fit on her head. She was seeing things from the unique perspective of the mask's visors and could see various number of functions on the helmet.

"Oh, it has a voice changer," Ruby said, then proceeded to hear something turning on in the mask. "Oh, this is so cool! My voice sounds so weird."

As Ruby said, her voice was shifted and altered so that it didn't sound like herself, and kept playing around with it. It was something that impressed the people there who felt as if it was a good invention. At the same time, Daniel started to inch closer to the door where the light switch was.

"Oh, what this…," At the same time, Daniel turned off the lights and Ruby looked mesmerized. "Cool, night vision."

"You're so lucky that Daniel turned off the light."

Weiss stated.

"You wouldn't believe how many people pressed that function and got faced with the repercussions."

Daniel said as Ruby seemed to have taken off the helmet.

"That was such an awesome helmet."

Ruby said, finding herself smiling.

"Were you even listening?"

Weiss asked.

"Of course, I was listening. Everyone's right, what Daniel's brother does doesn't change who Daniel is to us. He's helped a lot of us when we needed it and so it wouldn't be right if we didn't do the same."

"Ah, you adorable and considerate little silver-eyed speedster."

Daniel stated, placing his hand on top of the now flustered Ruby.

'It also wouldn't be right if I looked at Daniel any different. I mean, my dad is one of the worst mercenaries around."

"Yeah, I guess as partners we match in that regard."

Daniel said, wearing his trademark smile.

"Jeez, I now know what Daniel meant when he said that his brother was worse than mine."

Alyssa uttered.

"No kidding. Your brother was an asshole, but that took it to another level."

Sandra added.

"If Daniel and Adam once fought, then that meant Adam gave his brother that scar."

Blake thought sadly, feeling as if the situation couldn't be worse for him.

"Well, I'd call that a successful talk," Daniel started, then went on to the other secret that he couldn't tell them. "Also if you're wondering the other secret that I have is more or less a family issue. But, it's also something that won't occur any time soon. So, is there anything else?"

At that question, there wasn't a single thing that came to either of their minds and then Ruby raised her hand.

"Oh me."

"Yes, Ruby Rose."

"Can I see what's in the bag?!"

"Of course."

"Yeah."

Ruby excitedly said, then rushed for the duffle bag which was full of an assortment of weapons and equipment, which caused her eyes to sparkle. As Ruby looked on at the different things in the beg, even the stealth suit that Daniel stated he sewed himself. Everyone stood on the side watching as Daniel explained the things that caught their attention, with his usual attentiveness. It seemed as if there wouldn't be anything that could change or alter Daniel's mood even in the slightest. At the same time, the people were aware that couldn't always be the case, however, no matter what happens down the line, they hoped that Daniel would be Daniel.

---

A/N: Well, this is the end of the next chapter of RWBY – Team DUSK, it won't immediately head into the next volume as Ruby once mentioned it has been weeks since they last saw Penny. A lot happened from the interviews the detectives and Ozpin had with Blake and Daniel, which made sense considering the situation. Plus, there was little punishment (and slight praise) from Glynda. Daniel made a second firearm, Aesir, which of course, is the main Norse faction that is most paired with the Vanir. He demonstrated Runes' Enchantments, which is something that he's capable of similar to the Glyphs' Summons. It was likened to adding new properties onto weapons, a trait that their family specializes in and buffs, but there are some limitations.

I'm sure that the one of biggest surprises in this chapter was the fact that Daniel is the Second Wolf, but there could be some people who noticed that. But, the biggest one is the fact that Adam Taurus, the leader of the Vale White Fang is Daniel's older half-brother.

Now, this was the inspiration when I was planning RWBY: Team DUSK with what if Adam had a younger brother who's a Human because there wasn't much about his past before the White Fang. Also, I was one of those people who looked forward to seeing what kind of part Adam would play, but then we know how that turned out.

If anyone knows about the Norse Pantheon, then the two sons that Fenrir has: Sköll and Hati, both of their names were said to mean: "One Who Mocks" and "One Who Hates". And if you've seen Daniel and Adam thus far that's the perfect description for them. Also, Sköll was described as a wolf who chases after the sun, whereas Hati was one who chases after the moon. If you take their characters, then Daniel represents light, whereas Adam represents the dark, as well as his Semblance, Moonslice.