I sit down at my desk to take another look.

Yellow dust crystals increased in price from 1,349 to 1,929 Lien per pound. Red dust crystals from 1,199 to 1,549 Lien per pound. White dust prices are stable. From Dust to Dawn shops on 4th st. and 19th st. have shut down. Multiple other dust shops have had to cut employment significantly. Soo-yung Dust on 43rd and Warrior's Necessities on 31st have had to reduce security personnel. Illegal ammunition has unsurprisingly increased in cost. After the failed robbery of the Schnee Dust shipment last month the White Fang cut our daily operating budget to 50,000 Lien, which only allows for up to 5 man armed teams for subsequent dust shop robberies. Perhaps 12 man teams for robberies of dust in transit. Does that still leave us at 4,000 Lien overbudget? Or 2,000? Hmm, maybe if we don't actually load some of the guns. Or go back to using swords for armed robberies. That worked well last time.

Ugh, blegh, gag. How annoying. Of course there isn't a soul among these animals that can handle this type of work. "Forget it, I'll come back to this later."

I lean back in my chair so that the two front chair legs come off the ground and close my eyes for a moment. Sweet silence please help my growing headache. Speaking of sweet silence, I open my eyes to a pair of pink and brown irises no more than three inches in front of me.

"Gah!" I flail and my chair leans back the rest of the way.

"Uff, Dammit Neo. The buttons on these lapels are brand new."

For a girl with such a distinct look she has no respect for other people's clothing. Neo leans down to get her face right into mine. Her head cocks cutely to one side, and she smirks. I place my index finger in the center of her forehead and push her away.

"Whatever, let's just get out of this room. I'm growing old in here."

She prances around my desk to stand by the door, while I don my trademark bowler and grab Melodic Cudgel before leading the way out.

"I'm all for running a crime outfit, but the people I'm forced to work with. Let me tell you Neo, there can't be a high school degree among them. Not that I have one, but we're talking people who could fail a personality test. So all of that necessary paperwork tends to migrate to my desk. Sometimes it's just hours and hours of, ugh, Math," I explain. "How's your day been Neo?"

"..."

"You don't say."

She had to step on my foot for that one.

"Ow! Alright, I gotcha. Let's go see how the repairs on some of the paladins are coming along. Two pinks if you think they'll be all repaired and ready for shipment to the southeast. Two browns if you think this place is the next step up from an animal shelter and the only difference is that my animals are house trained."

After getting to know her a bit, I discovered that Neo has a very intriguing talent. She can change her eyes' colors between pink and brown at will. I don't know how or why, but admittedly it's kind of cool. Neo glances up at me with her preferred arrangement of left eye pink, right eye brown.

"I hope you're right," I say.

We enter the main storage room of our current warehouse base. With the move to the southeast now in progress there's finally enough room to walk around without the chance of accidentally tripping over a canister of materialized lightning or whatnot. Wooden Crates are stacked against the walls, with the cargo of dust prioritized closest to the large steel double doors at the front of the room that make up the warehouse's entrance. Weapons and living necessities towards the back. And one giant mess of metal right in the middle.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What is going on here? These didn't have to be completely disassembled to be fixed. Why did you let them do that Perry?"

"But sir-" A man who has somehow found a way to look even less intimidating when wearing a grimm mask whines.

"But nothing. You are in charge. This thing that looks like a Battleship took a shit in my warehouse is your responsibility."

"Actually-" Perry tries to weasel out.

"Perry please. It's been a long day, and I just want this mess gone. Am I going to have to write that down so you remember it?"

"Roman," says a sultry voice to the left. "I see your skills of perception are as keen as ever. Maybe you should brush that hair out of your eye."

As I turn to the foreboding tone I see that Neo has hold of my sleeve and has been motioning with her head for god knows how long. Oops.

"Cinder, an honor to have you down here as always. Is this metal work of art your doing? Lovely piece really. I'm sure you already have the curator of the Vale Museum of Fine Art breathing down your neck."

"Oh, Roman. You flatter me, but please. Shut up," Cinder purrs out in her lovely melodic tones. Seriously, how do you make such a beautiful, seductive voice sound so decidedly not sexy?

"I had these paladins deconstructed for another purpose. They are to be shipped out in parts with the next assortment of cargo," Cinder belatedly informs me.

"The next shipment goes out on Tuesday," I offer her.

"Good. Now, this cargo is a bit special. I want you to personally see it safe to Mountain Glenn," Cinder says.

"Fine, fine, sure, fine, ok. Whatever you say boss."

She narrows her eyes a bit, and her nose gets just a hint of a wrinkle in it. Ah, it's the little things that make life worthwhile.

"I have important matters to attend to back at Beacon, so I'm entrusting this to you," Cinder adds as she turns to leave.

"Ok, well this has been an informative talk. Be sure to write if you get the chance. You can tell me all about your time in school. Don't let those meanies bully you about your gray hairs. I think they're cute."

The door to the warehouse shuts behind her as she leaves. My closing statement earns a little snicker from Neo, and I can't keep a smile off of my face. It's another not so secret talent of Neo's to be able to do anything a normal person does, completely silently. I'm not sure if I'll ever get an explanation for that one.

"Well Perry, sorry about earlier. I said some things I didn't mean. You said some things... So let's forget the whole matter. You heard what needs to be done. So get to it."

"Of course sir," the honorable Perry replies.

Neo and I take that moment to make our departure.

Living options are certainly limited when you have an outstanding warrant for up to a lifetime imprisonment. But like hell am I going to stay at a White Fang hideout when I'm trying to sleep. Neo arranged for some disguises to be made up, and acquired us a low-end but serviceable apartment. Now, I'm not a big fan of the clothes or the apartment, but they aren't too bad. A marked improvement over warehouse 15's accommodations.

We head to a couple rooms in the back to change. I have to trade my bowler out for a beanie, and ditch my beautiful hand-stitched red lined coat in favor of a gray t-shirt and tan duster. The only concession is that I get to keep my cigars. At least Neo looks disappointed with her outfit as well. She doesn't strike me as much of a hat person, but that vibrant, unique hair would turn her in without a second thought. So, she's wearing a cream colored beanie, with a standard brown raincoat, and boots accompanying it. It's not a striking outfit. I think I prefer our matching white coats. Definitely a better vibe.

"..."

Neo cocks her eyebrow. Oh. How long have I been staring at her?

"Well, no sense in hanging around here any longer. hehe. Home sweet home awaits."

The walk to our apartment would probably perturb most people. It's not exactly the area of town where one finds cafés and dust shops. There are mostly cramped for space apartment buildings, maybe some ground level grocery stores, and a short walk to the warehouse and industrial districts. The population consists of mostly immigrant faunus workers, dock hands, and other worse off types. Not a lot of cops though. If I had to guess, I'd say that probably one crime in ten gets reported.

I don't think any amount of danger in the world could wipe the ever-present smirk off of Neo's face. Hmm, she'd actually probably get more excited if there was a chance that her life was threatened. Sometime I'd just like to pry open her skull, peek my head in, and take a look at the world from behind those eyes. Clearly she sees something I don't.

"..."

Well, right now she sees me. How long have I been thinking about her again?

"You have some beautiful eyes, you know that? I bet there're some good stories about tricks you've played on people with those baby pink and browns?"

"..."

"And then he did what?! Hahaha, you kill me sometimes."

Neo looks me in the eye and smirks a little wider at that one. That's not disturbing. She seems to be looking behind me now though. At an ice cream shop. How an ice cream shop covers the cost of rent and Junior's protection with the lack of business in this part of town is beyond me, but Henry's Doublescoop is pretty much a landmark on 54th. I wouldn't be surprised if old Henry's slipping some mind-altering dust in the tutti-frutti. Ice cream is Neo's one vice, well as far as material things go. I don't know what the deal is for her, but we find ourselves here at least once a week. Considering that we've been holed up in headquarters for I think four days now, it looks like it's time.

The bell rings as we open the door. To my surprise there actually is a single other patron at a table towards the back. There's a first for everything.

"Roman, and my darling Neo," the proprietor Henry calls out to us.

Neo smiles sweetly at him like usual. The bastard. Henry's a middle aged human man, late forties, early fifties, but he's stacked larger than the Great Wall of Mistral. And all of that muscle goes straight to his burly, Ursa-esque voice.

"Henry, I thought I'd never see you again. How are the kids? Also, can you not call me Roman in present company. Don't want people to talk now," I discreetly motion towards the gentleman at the table...Has he moved since we walked in?

"What? Oh, that's just Ben. Odds are he doesn't even remember his own name right now," Henry belts out with a laugh.

I just shouldn't even ask.

"That isn't a problem?" Screw it.

"Nah, Jerry'll be by to pick him up sometime," Henry informs me.

At this point Neo takes it upon herself to let me know she's ready to order, with her elbow in my gut. Fine, fine. I'll get you your pasteurized crack.

"So Henry, Neo'll have a triple scoop of her namesake," I'm reasonably sure Neo got her name more from her addiction to ice cream than her interesting hair color, but I'm not sure who can confirm that. "And I'll have a signature double scoop of vanilla," I request.

"Toppings?" Henry asks.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a bit saucy today."

Henry gives a short chortle. "Roman, please. Spare me."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

Ha! Got a laugh out of Neo with that one. I think that's two for ten on the day so far. Not bad. Henry drizzles some chocolate sauce on my ice cream, and I pay him a few Lien. Neo and I grab our order and sit down to enjoy our sweet treats. I'm not as much of an ice cream man, but I'll partake if Neo will pull me here anyway. I once offered her a drag of one of my Vacuo hand rolled 200 Lien treasures to get her to understand my own obsessions more. She was coughing for a good seven minutes. That was fun. But it's also nice to see that look of unbridled joy when she has her defenseless dessert in her clutches. The smirk becomes a smile, her eyes grow wider, and her dimples sink into her rosy cheeks.

Hmm, one of her eyes is white now.

"..."

Wow, what's my counter on that happening today? I look away and quickly start to consume my own bowl of Henry's amazing creation. Sometimes it really concerns me that I don't see more people in here. After all the man's a genius. I suppose the people around here simply have better things to spend their money on. Like the one pot of lentil soup that their family can afford off of Schnee Dust wages. Oh well, their loss.

After some light 'conversation' we finish our bowls and head out the door. No need to say goodbye. He knows we'll be back. Never did see Jerry show up. Neo, now in a much better mood (I assume), and I continue the journey to apartment building 1171 room 302A. We arrive shortly with no further incidence or distraction. I unlock the door and we head inside.

"Ugh, I just want out of these, eh, tasteless clothes. Neo could you be a dear and help me with these pants?" I politely inquire.

That earns me a sickeningly sweet look, then a sharp rap from her always on hand Stiletto Moon. It's common for fighters to name their weapon of choice. Even White Fang Lt. Robredo named his chainsaw, Spinning Bite... He's not really a creative type. However, since all Neo has to work with for naming things is '...' I have taken the liberty of christening her umbrella knife thing for her. You'd think she would be more grateful.

Our apartment is sparsely decorated. We have one couch, a small tv, a single potted azalea plant, and a standard little kitchenette. We did splurge to get me a small desk and chair for the work that inevitably follows me home. Also, we only have one bathroom and one bedroom. Two beds in there though. It was a bit hard to fit them both in there, so Neo's ended up facing away from the door, which she is perfectly comfortable with. If that's not a sure sign of insanity, I don't know what is. The shared bedroom does inhibit the indulgence in certain activities, but honestly with the work load the White Fang is giving me these days, I'm too tired to care much.

After taking her shoes off Neo sits down on the couch to do nothing. She does this sometimes. She doesn't take a nap or even really slouch down. She just sits there only closing her eyes to blink, and for the only time of day besides when she's sleeping or incredibly flustered, the smirk comes off her face to be replaced by a complete lack of emotion. I just assume it's some form of modern meditation. Or perhaps it's just another thing truly psychotic people do for fun. I see her eyes are back to normal again.

"..."

"God dammit Neo! Stop distracting me. There's still work to do. Can't you see that?"

"..."

"Pfft, yeah I guess it's my fault I'm thinking about you right now?"

Neo breaks her stony stare to give me one of her trademarked smirks. Hmm. Is there a little more meaning behind that one?

"Whatever, I do have things to do, so just carry on with your scarecrow impression."

Neo turns back to the powered down tv, and I sit down at my desk. More papers are scattered everywhere, but these ones hold my interest a little more. This apartment is the only place where I can safely work on my pet projects. The two I care about the most these days are finding out what Cinder is actually planning, and planning some way to get rid of these infuriating school girls that just keep showing up. These documents consist of a combination of intel provided by contacts outside the White Fang, and papers that have been carefully pillaged from headquarters.

I spend a short while mulling over their contents and formulating possible theories. Hmm, Cinder did just enroll in beacon herself, the same place this Ruby girl is from. Perhaps it's not a coincidence they keep showing up. Perhaps Cinder, Ruby, and the Schnee heiress are partners in a much larger scheme to simultaneously eliminate the White Fang, the government of Vale, and me. Then upon the anarchic ruins of Vale, they'll establish the new kingdom of Roschneederland... It's been a long day. Nothing productive is going to get done right now.

I get up and approach Neo. I rest my hand on her shoulder, which awakens her from her trance.

"C'mon, if you come to bed now, I'll give you a goodnight kiss," I tempt her.

She turn around to give me a short glare before heading to the bedroom. I'm not sure when or why it happened, but Neo and I have been going to bed together for a little while now. Not in the same bed, but we always make sure the other is in the room before turning in. Maybe Neo is just more comfortable with someone else in the room. Maybe I am too, despite Neo being one of the first people I'd accuse if someone were stabbed to death in their sleep.

We change into our nightwear, a.k.a. take off our pants before getting into our beds. I don't normally look, and neither does she. Even without looking I can still picture her in a less dressed state. I had to look at least once. Neo flips the light switch off and gets under her covers. So do I.

"Good night my darling little abomination."

"..." She stirs a little before falling still.

I don't even know if I meant that as teasing or endearment. Something must be wrong with me today. I settle down on my pillow and close my eyes. I'm bombarded with pictures of a pink, brown, and white figure. Ugh, why is this room so hot and stuffy? Eventually I do fall asleep still picturing that confounded smirk behind my eyelids.