A/N: So I have been strangely MIA for a couple of months. Real life happened and I am forced to put the fic on a hiatus for a time. Rest assured, it is now back and running.

Amateurs. The mutts are even worse than those nobodies that work for Junior.

Roman Torchwick watched on as his White Fang associates carried crates of dust from the warehouse to the waiting truck with great difficulty. The operation was simple: disable security, break-in, loot, and drive off with a couple of vehicle escorts. Despite the simplicity of the plan, the White Fang mooks almost tripped the security and had already wasted a crate of dust by spilling them over a drain. Twenty minutes behind schedule, he really needed to talk to Cinder about getting more competent minions.

It did occur to him that despite working with less than ideal people, he still managed to succeed in most of his dust heists. After all, he was being paid serious Lien as his employer was 'impressed' with his capabilities. His reputation in the Remnant underworld even got attention from the Mistral's infamous and he had no doubt that he was close to being one of the top dogs of the underworld.

"Alright, hurry it up, I've got a date soon, wouldn't want to be late," Roman called out as he tapped his cane against the ground. The goons, however, showed little indication of hearing their associate supervisor as they continued their tasks.

After another ten minutes, the crates of dust filled the truck and Roman muttered under his breath, "Finally!" as he took the wheel and cranked up the engine. Just a quick drive to another warehouse on the other side of the industrial district and the heist was done. Honestly, the Schnee Dust Company had to be pretty dumb to not beef up their security after their successes in Vale these past months.

The heist could've been smoother and more efficient but at least he wasn't attacked by a prepubescent teenager with a scythe this time. As much as he liked to dance with huntsmen wannabes from time to time, he preferred to do things cleanly; literally and figuratively.

Little did he know, his convoy was being tailed by two shinobi. For Sasuke and Naruto, it wasn't difficult following the group thanks to how the roads were designed. The vehicles couldn't move too fast in the winding roads littered with various crates and machinery, but for the black-clad operatives, it was perfect.

With something easy as this, the mission would be over in under an hour. They would, as Naruto eloquently put, "be in the noodle stands before midnight".

As they reached the final destination, they observed the White Fang members unloading the crates. Roman had already retreated into the warehouse for unknown reasons. The two approached swiftly and silently, the Faunus goons completely oblivious to their presence.

Once they got to the vehicles, Sasuke and Naruto split up, each of them ready to perform their own task.

As the Uchiha climbed the warehouse, Naruto slowly approached the White Fang members who were still going about their job. There were only about five of them outside the vicinity, either guarding the entrance or moving the loot. The blonde could only assume that the rest of the members were inside for other reasons.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Three exact copies of Naruto appeared right behind him, wearing the same concealing gear. The four of them dashed forward and knocked out the five Faunus before they could even yelp in surprise.

With the first group down, Naruto left his clones to tie them and watch the perimeter as he entered the warehouse. He flared his chakra as he used the Transformation Jutsu to become one of the Faunus in White Fang uniforms he had knocked out, now all that was left was to take care of the remaining enemies while Sasuke dealt with their leader.

As he walked further into the maze of containers, he finally found some of the White Fang members resting, some with a can, others simply sitting or leaning on crates. One of the Faunus noticed Naruto coming in and gave a wave.

"Yo, thanks for the hard work out there," he said, digging into a small box beside him and tossing a can to the disguised blonde. The shinobi caught it and grunted with a nod. He moved towards a crate where he could see all of the goons, so he could listen while he planned his attack.

"Damn that human, just because we are working with him, doesn't mean we have to be his glorified thugs for this bullshit," one of the members growled as he crushed his can in anger. Some of the White Fang murmured in agreement with the large man.

"It's for the long-term plan," a calmer woman said, "Boss said we have to work with him if we want to get the resources we need."

"But this is no different from before! We were slaves to the humans and now we are doing the same thing for another!" the large man retorted as he smacked on the crate to emphasize his point.

"It can't be helped, if we are to strike humans down from their pedestal, then we need resources," the female replied as she folded her arms, "I'm not saying we have to like it, we just have to do it if it gets what we want."

"She's got a point," another man said tiredly, "Besides, have you seen all the huntsmen and huntresses out there? Gonna need some serious firepower to take 'em out."

Naruto frowned; in a sense, he pitied the Faunus. Temari never mentioned how unjustly her race was treated. He hadn't talked to her directly simply because he wasn't ready to trust her. However, he drew the line at solving hatred with hatred, he had seen enough of what it could do. So far, they had mentioned a leader, but nothing concrete. Seemed like someone he would have to get Sasuke to look up on it.

"Hmph! I still find it disgusting we have to work under a human who's been calling us mutts all the time," the burly man snarled as he held up his left hand and promptly caught another can.

"Yeah! Who does he think he is? Just because Boss says we have to listen to his orders doesn't mean it gives him the right to just walk all over us!" a new voice piped up. More started to chime in agreement and to keep appearances sake, Naruto did as well.

"Humans have abused us long enough, my brothers and sisters! We only have to endure a little longer!" another Faunus called out.

"I'll tell you what, if it wasn't for that bitch that abandoned Boss a while back, we wouldn't need to be working for that human scum," a female Faunus chimed in with venom. A chorus of agreement resounded the warehouse again. Naruto raised his eyebrows; seemed like the White Fang probably had a few people that abandoned their cause. It could be for any reason, but so far, from what he could tell about them, most if not all members were passionate about their cause. So why would some of them abandon the organisation?

As Naruto listened to more of the conversation, he empathised the Faunus's plight. It reminded him a lot of his earlier years back at Konoha. Being alienated, abused and jeered at were some of the 'lighter' things he had to deal with every day. He knew that hatred, it boiled and grew with every spit, every insult, and every physical confrontation. He had wanted to hurt those who wronged him so badly.

If it wasn't for Iruka, the Sandaime Hokage, Teuchi and Ayame, he was sure he would've ended up something like the White Fang. Fed up with the abuse and eager to let the hatred turn into a source of energy.

He decided he heard enough; the members were now just ranting drivel. He created three more clones and immediately had them dart to all different targets. Each of them incapacitated their targets by slamming their fist or foot into their heads. The White Fang goons barely responded, and if they did, it was a surprised yelp or two before they crumpled into unconsciousness.

Once all of them were down, he had his clones tie them up and keep watch again. By now, Sasuke should be apprehending Roman. In the meantime, he would have to take a look around, see if he could find anything of interest.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!"

Sasuke observed as he watched the man rubbed his forehead. The two White Fang minions with Roman were knocked out thanks to an ambush the Uchiha set up in the office. However, the criminal did not show any sign of panic or worry, just annoyance. Sasuke greatly underestimated Roman; he showed solid reflexes being able to avoid the trap unscathed.

"And by some spy wannabe, really?" Roman complained to himself as he gestured towards the operative who showed himself.

"Surrender, and this won't get ugly," Sasuke offered; he'd rather settle this quickly if possible.

"Oh great, now he's spewing cliched lines from some B-rated movie," scoffed the criminal as he raised his hands in exasperation.

Roman flicked his wrist; his cane shot a volley of dust projectiles at Sasuke, but he frowned as his opponent avoided the hits and charged. The two exchanged blows, cane against gloved fists, but it was clear who was gaining the advantage. The criminal cursed as he jumped back, using his cane to throw a nearby empty box at his attacker.

Sasuke easily dodged the wooden crate followed by another volley of fire. He approached but was halted when Roman shot a few rounds between them. The criminal bolted towards the labyrinth of containers; he knew there was no point sticking around, and the fact that none of the other White Fang members raised the alarm meant that he was alone.

The shinobi chased the man, and it didn't take long for him to catch up. Roman, however, wasn't ready to give up. He turned and attempted to strike his pursuer, but the Uchiha caught the cane and countered with a punch to the chest. He pushed forward, unrelenting with his attacks while the criminal used his cane to block and avoid the incoming blows.

"I know I'm attractive and all, but could you please just not go after me? I've got important things to do and all," Roman quipped casually despite the growing pressure from his assailant's attacks. Sasuke only responded with more force, not interested in the verbal sparring. "The silent type, I see. Great."

Sasuke frowned at his own performance; for the criminal to even mount a defense against his blows shouldn't be a possibility. Either he had a semblance tailored for close combat, Remnant produced far better fighters than he thought, or his body was simply not as good as it was before he had been resurrected. It was unlikely to be the former two; he had seen Naruto take out enemies effectively with little to no issue by either overpowering them or simply with better hand to hand combat skills. The Uchiha had no issues with countering or outright overwhelming most opponents unless they had tailored their abilities. Even then, he noticed how it took him significantly longer to takedown this enemy compared to his past encounters or his friend.

As he continued the exchange of his fist against Roman's cane, he was pretty sure that his opponent's aura should be at a point where he could crush it without being fatal. The Uchiha flared his chakra, determined to end the fight decisively.

"Chidori Current!" Sasuke roared. His body flickered with electricity and Roman screamed as he felt it dance all over his body. His aura flashed to defend him from harm before it fizzled, indicating his vulnerability.

"Damnit! Damnit!" Roman grunted as he stumbled backwards from the attack. He used his cane to support himself as he breathed heavily in pain.

"...Last chance. Surrender," Sasuke ordered, this time pulling out his sword and pointing at the criminal.

Naruto entered the area where he had effectively cornered Roman. He nodded to his fellow shinobi and snarked, "Was wondering what all the grunting there was about. If you wanted some alone time-"

"Not now!" the Uchiha commanded, a little irritated at his friend's insinuation.

Roman glared at Sasuke, more annoyed than upset with the fact that he was once again interfered on his own turf. He stood up straight, the pain subsiding enough for him to ignore it as he dusted his white coat casually.

"Okay, okay, you got me," Roman sneered as he fixed his bowler hat. He still had a few cards left to play and he was not about to let some bunch of assassin wannabes take him out. "But… you didn't get her."

Sasuke jumped back instinctively and avoided a hurtling missile in a form of a lady and a parasol. Roman used the distraction and twirled his cane under his arm to aim in Naruto's direction, firing a volley at him.

As Sasuke was about to retaliate, the woman in white threw a small object in his direction, forcing him to deflect it with his sword; he gritted his teeth at how sloppy his reaction was. The Uchiha just saw a small jeering smile from the lady, clearly thinking the same thing. At that moment, the object exploded and propelled him back a few metres. But that was the least of his problems; he wasn't aware just how much Roman was prepared to sacrifice to escape. In this case, every single crate, barrel and box containing dust surrounding the four of them.

It was then he noticed something strange. His Sharingan picked up a very faint flicker from the two opponents. There were no chakra irregularities, but that tiny detail could only mean one thing. Damnit!

The Uchiha darted towards his teammate, who was flying through his hand seals. The criminal and his partner stood side to side, and the man took off his hat as he bowed towards his assailants with a mocking smile before they both shattered like glass.

"Earth Release: Rock Shelter Jutsu!" Naruto slammed his hands onto the ground, letting the earth swallow the two shinobi in a small dome. They remained crouched inside as they heard explosions resounding outside their protective shell. Once silence reigned over them, the rock shelter receded.

Instead of being greeted by walls of boxes and crates, they were greeted with a large crater. The explosions had taken out some of the adjacent warehouses as well as the one they had been in.

"Phew… still got the captured guys safe," Naruto muttered to himself.

Sasuke didn't share his friend's relief. By all accounts, he should've been easily able to subdue Roman and his ally. In fact, his combat over the past few weeks had been strangely subpar. If he had to guess, the Black Cat lied about returning all his strength to him.

Another thing that annoyed him was the fact that anyone here could create an illusion. It was very different from genjutsu since it didn't require chakra, but like the ninja art, it had irregularities. He'll have to be very attentive in fights next time.

"Sasuke, you okay?" Naruto asked, noticing how silent his friend had been.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm okay," Sasuke replied, still staring at his hand. A few moments later, the sirens of Vale's emergency services were wailing in the background, steadily becoming louder. "C'mon, let's get out of here. Bring the White Fang members."

A new beginning, that's how Ren would describe Beacon. He joined this academy with his closest and only friend, still looking for a place he could return to. The past decade or so had been difficult and he didn't know how he had kept going. Perhaps it was his long-time partner or his 'deluded' hope in finding a place to call home. In the end, he, along with Nora, may have found it.

Ren flinched, not because he was in pain, but because he saw his new blonde teammate get floored again, literally. He had been watching Obito and Jaune spar for the past hour after dinner, every time they clashed the blonde would end up on the ground groaning. According to his leader, it was much needed 'training' to get the taller boy more effective in combat. Nora seemed to enjoy the spar and cheered for either one like a competition.

He didn't mind it too much, he even attempted to give his shield-wielding friend some pointers only to be met with confusion before the blonde would end up on the ground in pain. Nora, however, had forgotten the point of the training session and egged on her leader to use the 'flamethrower of doom' on the poor blonde.

Obito easily weaved in and out of Jaune's clumsy strikes before he smacked his sword away and kicked the taller boy in the chest. Jaune stumbled backwards before he fell and let exhaustion do the talking. His chest rose up and down fast, the engagements with his partner had him in pain from overexertion.

"Okay, take five!" Obito declared as he held out his hand to his partner, who gladly took it. "You're doing better."

"Really? I couldn't tell with you beating me down all the time," Jaune retorted as he panted. Ren nodded to himself; Obito may not look like it, but he was a pure slave driver if the last hour was anything to go by.

"Aww, don't be like that, Jauney-boy! You lasted a few seconds longer every match!" Nora said brightly as she came up and smacked him on the back, only for him to tumble back down.

"Well, my old master said that the first rule to fighting Grimm is to learn how to dodge," Obito said with a smile before he decided to take a seat next to the unmoving Jaune. The taller boy only groaned.

Ren suppressed a chuckle at his new teammates. In the past day, all four of them easily got along with each other. Both Obito and Jaune were amiable and Nora had taken a shine to them. The four of them even bonded over a popular game app they played the previous night with their scrolls. Of course, it resulted almost his entire team far too tired to join Professor Port's lesson.

"So, what's the second rule?" Jaune asked as he sat up and rubbed his ribs.

Obito pondered at the question before he said uncertainly, "Er… hit back very hard…probably."

Ren and Jaune looked at their leader with a raised eyebrow while Nora agreed as she flexed her biceps with a grin. "Yep! Sounds like the plan!" she replied. Ren shook his head in endearment, his closest friend was simple, but he wouldn't have her in any other way.

"It isn't a bad tactic to use," Ren chimed in. After all, he had dealt with many adversaries in similar fashion. Obito shrugged, not concerned about their reactions but smiled regardless. He tapped his partner on the shoulder and stood up, with the taller boy following suit.

"Well, the session isn't over! We still got a good half-hour before curfew hits. Ren, Nora." Obito left the order hanging is he jerked his thumb behind him. Nora perked up at the suggestion with excitement.

Ren paled slightly, he knew what his leader wanted. He was not a fan of sparring with Nora for a very good reason. She was strong, remarkably strong. While he considered himself to be a competent fighter, he knew that training with her often ended up with him being sore in places he didn't even know he had.

"Oh! Yes! Ren, let's do this!" Nora took out her trusty Warhammer and she twirled it around without much trouble.

"Um… I'm going to have to take a rain check, I have this essay-" Ren tried to back out, but his leader nudged him towards his partner.

"Bah! You can do that once we get back to our rooms. I need to know how you guys fight anyways." Obito waved off his teammate's attempt to escape the situation.

"C'mon, Ren! It'll be fun!" Nora crooned. She was already on the field with her fighting stance at the ready.

"Yeah, and we don't have long before we gotta put our weapons back in the armoury," Obito added as he gave a final push before nodding with an enthusiastic grin.

Ren looked at his last line of defence, only for Jaune to give an apologetic smile and wave. He resigned as he took out his weapons and braced himself for the spar. He knew Nora, she was an enthusiastic girl and when she put her mind to it, she was nigh unstoppable. Living with her for over a decade was more than enough time to get to know her.

Within a few minutes of desperate dodging, Ren found himself staring at the darkening sky, his body aching in various places. His vision soon filled with the sheepish faces of his leader and partner, while Jaune had a worried look.

"My bad," Obito apologized with a nervous chuckle. He had clearly been unaware of Nora's monstrous strength and energy. "But damn, Nora, you hit pretty hard!" The leader helped Ren up as the sole female member grinned with a thumbs up.

"You know it!"

"Well, it's good to know we have someone who could take on anything," Jaune commented as he scratched his head. Nora, compared to her teammates, hadn't even broken a sweat. The blonde was almost convinced that if the three of them were to gang up on the hyperactive girl, they would still lose.

As the four trekked their way back to the armoury, Ren pondered about his team. The two of them were easy to get along with and were serious in bettering themselves. Perhaps he and Nora could finally find a place to call home.

Xiong groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She felt like she had the worst hangover of her life. She tried to rub her head to soothe her pain but found she couldn't. She moved her right arm, and failed; her left arm, no dice. She struggled one more time and realised she couldn't move at all. She was bound with ropes, and her feet too were completely tied up.

She decided to yell, but that proved to be futile, she was gagged as well. The panda Faunus could only lay there as she tried to remember what happened before she was knocked out. She and a few of her co-workers had been moving crates of looted dust from the SDC to their warehouse. After that her memory was blank.

The captured White Fang member lay on the leather couch on her side, with an illuminating TV screen on the adjacent wall as the sole source of light in the room. Now that she had a better look around her, there were couches, a glass coffee table, bookshelves… She was probably in someone's living room and they seemed to be decently well off.

"You're awake, good," a disembodied voice sounded through the room. She struggled to sit up in an attempt to look for the source, finding two figures dressed in black from head to toe. She had no idea who they could be behind those helmets, but she knew they were human.

One of them sat down on the couch opposite her, while the other peeled the tape off her mouth before sitting to her left.

"Let's make this clear; we ask, you answer," the man opposite of her stated briskly. Xiong glared and spat at him, impressively hitting his helmet. The man wiped at it before murmuring softly to himself.

Xiong smirked triumphantly; these humans were soft, she thought to herself until she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and a blade protruded out of her. She screamed and flailed, but a second later the blade and the pain were no longer there. She breathed heavily. It felt so real, what was going on?

"There are plenty of ways to break you without touching you," the man continued as is if nothing happened. He stood up and directed his colleague to leave. "Now, I'll ask you again, will you cooperate?"

She wasn't keen on experiencing whatever they had done to her again, but she wasn't going to let them do what they wanted for free. If she played her cards right, she might learn something. "Fine, what do you want?"

"Good." Even with the tinted eyepieces, Xiong was wary of whoever was behind that helmet. "Why is the White Fang working for Roman Torchwick?"

"... Why should I tell you?" she muttered bitterly, her black bangs covering her vision.

She heard the man sigh before he murmured to himself again. Her nose twitched, smoke filled her senses as she felt heat from her feet. They were on fire, and it crept up her legs and the scalding pain forced a scream from her throat. After a few seconds, the fire disappeared, and the smell dissipated completely.

"One last time. Why is the White Fang working for Roman Torchwick?" the man asked. His distorted voice was measured.

The panda Faunus could only glare at him from under her hair before she spat, "Fuck you!"

Her interrogator sighed, then he snapped his fingers. The second man appeared and dragged with him another White Fang member. The Faunus was forced down onto her knees as her mask was ripped off, revealing despondent blue eyes.

"Azuli?" whispered Xiong. The other Faunus didn't respond. What did they do to her? In one swift motion, the second man jammed a combat knife into her neck, and she died before she even hit the floor. Blood sprayed across the table and the floor, petering out and pooling underneath the corpse.

"Azuli!" Xiong screamed as she tried to propel herself forward, only to be pushed back by the murderer.

"We are serious, if you do not give us a proper answer, we will do what is necessary to make you talk." Xiong could only tearfully glare at the interrogator.

"We… we were all prepared to die for the cause. You won't get anything from me you motherfucker!" she snarled as she struggled even further against her binds.

"... I see." The interrogator opened his scroll and began browsing through it. He then showed the display to the Faunus. "Miss Xiong Mao, I'm aware of the fact that you have a family that has no idea you are part of the White Fang. Hmm, both parents are dead, but you have two younger siblings. Good thing we found them."

Xiong froze; they had to be lying, there was no way they would have known her that intimately. The interrogator nodded to his accomplice, who again disappeared into another room. In a few minutes, a younger boy with panda ears was pushed through the door and to the floor. His eyes darted left and right before they finally landed on her.

"Xiong! Xiong! Wh-what's going on? I-" the boy choked out, but his warden smacked his head to silence him. He collapsed, sobs punctuated by hiccups.

"I wonder… if you'll talk when your brother is about to die," the interrogator said, more to himself than Xiong. He signalled his accomplice, who nodded and roughly pulled him up to kneel. He drew his combat knife, ready to plunge it into the boy's neck.

"Stop!" Xiong shrieked, and the about-to-be killer paused and turned his helmet towards the prisoner. "I'll tell you everything… please, just… let him go."

Her voice no longer held any defiance, just fear and resignation. The second man relaxed his grip on the boy who kept his head down. The interrogator stood up and approached the girl.

"Good. Talk. I warn you, if you try to lie, I'll know," he said.

Sasuke listened to Xiong as she obediently answered all the questions he asked. Contrary to her belief, they were simply sitting in a room with a couple of wooden chairs and a worn couch. Behind her were a pile of unconscious Faunus, captured an hour ago along with her.

Sasuke sat back as he dispelled his genjutsu on Xiong. It was never his strongest suite, but it was their best option to get anything tangible from that fiasco of a mission last night. He and Naruto failed to apprehend Roman, secure the stolen dust or obtain any other relevant items. The result? Roman was likely to go into hiding for who knew how long, the dust was good as gone and all they had was a bunch of captured goons from the lowest point of the totem pole.

Well, at least they had made some progress with interrogating the Faunus. The White Fang was working for a third-party entity and planning to use the dust for another operation, probably large scale. That meant that they were likely to have more dust stored elsewhere in the city.

"You done?" Naruto called from the door. Sasuke nodded and turned to leave the room with his friend. He would get Ozpin to call the police; there were only a bunch of unconscious White Fang goons anyways.

"Well, at least you didn't use the Human Path. Would've given the police a heart attack," the blonde muttered with a small sigh of relief. He had never seen the end result of what happened to the victims of the technique, but from what he heard it wasn't pretty.

"No need to kill her. Already got as much as I could from her," Sasuke replied tiredly. They exited the apartment and scaled towards the roof.

"What did she tell you then?" Naruto asked as he adjusted his helmet slightly.

"Nothing huge except that she pretty much confirmed our suspicions that there are more than just the White Fang we have to deal with."

"Great! A whole bunch of nothing… did she mention the name of the 'Boss'?"

"Yeah… His name is Adam Taurus," Sasuke answered, "But she doesn't know why he decided to cooperate with Roman Torchwick. They were just ordered to follow him for a series of operations. No idea what the end game is."

Naruto sighed and jumped to the next roof with Sasuke following him. Tonight had sucked, but at least they still had a trail to follow.

"Welcome to the Reality Augmented Dust Arena Room, or RADAR for short. This is a new part of the curriculum that will be added to your combat training," Professor Goodwitch announced in front of her first-year class. "The aim of this class is to prepare you for different types of missions where your team will face multiple scenarios."

The RADAR consisted of one large enclosed area, enough to house two football fields. The class were in a control room just outside. Goodwitch tapped on the keyboard and several screens buzzed to life as they displayed a variety of information.

"This class is scheduled once a week. I strongly suggest that you all work with your team to figure out how you will move together. A good grade will be dependant on both your skill and teamwork," Goodwitch continued as she surveyed her class. Many of the students over the stands started chattering excitedly.

"Now, to get you all to understand how this works, we will have a mock mission right now. Do we have any volunteers?" she asked. Weiss instantly snapped her hand up. "Ah, team WNTR. Very well, please gear up and meet me at the lock in ten minutes. Everyone else, the four screens above me will be our observation tools for these classes."

Weiss was excited. Something that could prove her to be a true leader. After all, if Winter graduated at the top of her class, then she could too. They didn't have anything like Scenario Training during her days, so this was an opportunity to surpass the older sister.

Weiss watched her team as they readied themselves; Naruto and Ruby chatted excitedly about the RADAR which was just beyond the larger of the two doors, while Temari inspected her battle fan. At the very least, all three of them seemed eager to do their best compared to other classes like History or Grimm Studies.

"Good, all of you are ready," Professor Goodwitch stated as she entered the lock room. She gave a single approving nod and continued, "I'm sure this goes without saying, but take this mock mission as you would take this as a real mission." She distributed four small devices to between each member of the team. "These are panic buttons, if for any reason you feel you cannot continue, place your thumb over the scanner for three seconds and the RADAR will deactivate. I will act as your tactical command for this class."

With that, she left the lock room. After three minutes, the room hummed, slightly alarming Ruby before the large door opened, revealing what seemed to be the interior of a Bullhead. Weiss entered first without hesitation followed by the rest of her team.

"Team WNTR, you have been assigned to a subjugation mission. There has been a sighting of an Archon near a village, it appears to have settled in a destroyed nearby farm. Eliminate the Archon, all other Grimm are secondary. All necessary information will be uploaded to your scrolls," Goodwitch's cool voice echoed in the dark hold.

"Umm… What's an Archon?" Naruto asked as he raised his hand with a sheepish grin.

Weiss held in the urge to sigh at her partner's underwhelming Grimm knowledge. She folded her arms and stated, "An Archon is a Grimm that takes the shape of a lion. They mostly are known for the capability to spawn Reavers that are humanoid Grimm. Didn't you read the Grimm Studies textbook I lent you?"

"...A little bit?" he replied as he shrugged. Weiss merely raised her eyebrow and Naruto hung his head. "Fine… I'll read it later for Port's assignment."

"You better. I'll be checking to make sure you are doing it correctly," Weiss warned. The leader had made it clear to her partner that she would not tolerate him getting anything lower than a credit, much to his chagrin.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Temari chimed in. Her hands were folded as she leaned against the wall. This was technically their first 'mission' together and there was no doubt that the Faunus was wanted to see how the Schnee would lead.

"Oh! I say we go in, first come, first serve!" Ruby cheered. She had never faced an Archon before and she was excited to take it on.

"No!" Weiss hissed, effectively deflated the youngest member on their team. She paused as she tapped her chin, formulating a decent strategy for this task. The problem was that she had never worked with Ruby and Temari in this kind of environment. Much to her displeasure, the plan would likely be half-baked at best. "We will do this as a team. Naruto, box the Archon in. I will hold it in place and the two of you will finish it off."

Weiss nodded to herself, convinced that this was the best strategy with the resources she had. After all, Ruby and Temari both had long ranged capabilities, so why not have them prepare a long-ranged support?

"Wait, an Archon is way too fast to be held in place! It would be better if we move it to Naruto or Ruby so they can make a decisive strike on it," Temari rebutted; which firmly earned her a glare from the Schnee.

"How would you know? We can't exactly drive it to Naruto or Ruby and expect them to hit it with everything they've got," Weiss argued back.

"But trying to box the Archon in would just put Naruto in danger!" the Faunus retorted as she leaned forward.

Weiss's eyes narrowed at the female blonde. She always suspected someone like Temari to refute her strategy. She didn't know why she expected better and it was probably what she deserved for expecting too much from a Faunus. She had hoped that Temari would be an exception to the majority of Faunus she had met or heard off. Naruto and Ruby, on the other hand, seemed to be fine with what the young leader was laying out.

"Well, I'm the leader. You will follow my orders to the letter!" Weiss bit back in equal volume as she pointed at Temari with her eyes narrowed.

"Well… this is going well," Naruto mumbled to Ruby, whose eyes were darting back and forth between Weiss and Temari.

As the two heated teammates glared at each other, a cool voice echoed into the Bullhead, "Archon sighted. ETA one minute."

The doors of the airship opened, and the team found themselves flying over a densely packed forest. The team could only marvel at how seemingly realistic the environment was. The sky looked cloudy yet authentic in such a way that none of them would be able to differentiate it from the real thing. As the airship slowed down, they noticed how each tree seemed to sway softly with the wind. Weiss knew a few years back that the Atlas tech institutes were working on something like this, but she never expected the level of detail and realism to be this advanced.

Weiss stood to the edge first, nodded to the rest of her team and jumped, with them following in tow. Once they landed, Weiss opened her scroll and it displayed a small map with several blinking dots. As she analyzed the information given, Naruto and Ruby decided to 'experience' the very dirt below them, completely in awe of their environment.

"The target is about three hundred metres to the North from here. Let's go," she ordered. She noticed Naruto and Ruby touching everything they could grasp while Temari was a little more interested at keeping watch. It was almost funny how out of all of them, it was the Faunus who was taking this more seriously.

"Ahem! Let's go!" Weiss repeated in a louder voice, successfully grabbing the attention of her team. She began marching towards the objective, with the team closely following behind.

It wasn't a smooth journey and they encountered a few packs of Grimm which they swiftly dealt with. As team WNTR approached the abandoned farm, they saw the Archon laying there, not even acknowledging them. The Grimm was massive and harboured a large bone-like helm. Across the muscular body were several bony spikes.

Weiss narrowed her eyes; it was still daylight so they shouldn't have to worry about fighting in the dark.

"So that's an Archon, looks pretty nasty," Naruto muttered as he slowly approached it.

"It doesn't see us as a threat," Weiss stated. The Grimm had its eyes fixed to the two of them without making much movement. "Hmph, we can use this to our advantage. Wait until the others get in position."

The Grimm sat like a statue for what felt like several minutes. The team approached with caution, each one of them except Naruto drawing their weapons for the confrontation. Eventually, it stood up and slowly moved towards them, putting the team on edge. It lowly growled and lowered its body ever so slightly.

"If we're going to do something, we gotta do it now!" Temari stated as she opened her fan. The team positioned themselves for the battle as the Archon slowly approached them, lazily flicking its bony tail.

Weiss huffed at how they couldn't execute a simple strategy. There were so many things they could've done differently but they didn't do it. The white-haired girl sighed; so much for the plan. She nodded to Naruto who then prepared his first move. "Earth Release: Enclosing Cage Jutsu!"

The dry fields around the Grimm erupted with several walls. The Archon, however, easily jumped over the growing cage before it could even get close to touching it. It landed and the ground beneath it cracked under the sheer weight, its eyes surveying the team as they prepared their next move.

The Grimm roared, its voice carrying over to the forest. As if it was a command, several scrabbling figures burst out of the ground. Each one of them had a bony mask and they pulled themselves out of the cracked field like they were zombies. Their arms were pointed bone like spears and their legs resembled bird's feet.

They steadied themselves and started to charge towards the team with their sharp appendages raised.

"Reavers!" Temari called out. She swung her fan and a gale of wind crashed into the small army of Grimm. However, only a few of them fell to the attack, most having been able to resist thanks to their bony armour.

"Ruby, Naruto!" Weiss's semblance flared to life as the glyphs appeared underneath the two of them.

Naruto's chakra charged up as he activated the Earth Release: Iron Skin Jutsu while Ruby clicked on her dust ammo for extra speed. Weiss flicked her rapier forward, and her two teammates rocketed towards the pack. Ruby sliced through the Grimm like a hot knife through butter, her scythe and figure twirling like a vicious red tornado as scores of Reavers fell before her. Naruto, on the other hand, zipped right through the enemies, smacking the smaller ones away with his fists as he approached the Archon.

The monster wasn't interested in engaging the blonde and ferociously roared at him approaching. As Naruto was about to make plant his fist into the lion Grimm, he was batted away with a quick swipe of its paw. The shinobi wasn't hurt by the attack thanks to his jutsu, but he landed back in the horde of Reavers and many quickly jumped to pin him down. With a grunt, he recovered and began smashing away the smaller Grimm by slogging his fist at each one close enough to him.

"Temari!" Weiss turned to the Faunus. The blonde paused, she already knew what her leader wanted but now wasn't the time to argue. She nodded to the shorter girl and readied her fan. More glyphs appeared beneath and in front of Weiss in a straight line. With one swing, a massive wind was brought forth and propelled the young leader forward.

As Weiss joined Naruto and Ruby, the three systematically eliminated each Reaver but for each one they killed, another would rise and take its place. The Archon wasn't idle. It leapt forward towards the closest target: Ruby. She dodged in a flurry of roses and circled the Grimm, firing at it with a volley of dust shots, but they did little to the massive body of the Archon, and it attempted to whip its tail at the zipping huntress.

Naruto and Weiss took out the remaining Reavers as they seemingly ceased being produced by the Archon. Temari finally caught up and with a nod to the two, she readied her fan again.

"Get ready!" their leader yelled as a glyph appeared beneath her. While Ruby kept the large Grimm busy, another glyph appeared under it. Weiss rocketed forward, her Myrtenaster aimed at the intricate circle. The moment her rapier made contact, ice bloomed like a flower, effectively keeping the Grimm in place as she gracefully vaulted over it and joined Ruby. Temari's wind soon followed and collided with the Archon, covering it in gashes.

Naruto grinned and jumped forward. Normally he would use Wind Release: Rasengan to finish the job, but he couldn't since it wasn't his 'semblance'. He stomped onto the Archon's head and knocked it to the ground. He wasn't finished; he jumped off and with a few more punches the struggling Grimm finally ceased to move as it's bony helm cracked and eventually caved.

A loud buzzing resounded through the area and soon the environment started to fade away as the mock mission was completed.

"Satisfactory job. Come back to the lock room," Goodwitch's voice echoed. The team glanced at each other and started to head off, with Ruby and Naruto high-fiving.

"Well, that wasn't too bad," Naruto mused cheerfully. It could've gone faster in his opinion, but overall it was pretty easy.

"It could be better," Weiss said. It didn't play out how she wanted, but for what it was worth no one was hurt at all.

"Oh, we can actually agree on something!" Temari replied mockingly behind her leader's back. That effectively drained Ruby and Naruto's spirits. Weiss and the blonde girl did not get along at all.

Most of the class erupted in cheers and applauded as team WNTR entered the classroom. Yang grinned and she whistled loudly. Ruby kicked some serious ass and even went toe to toe with the Archon by herself. Sure, it had the blonde a little worried since they were considered to be a fairly dangerous Grimm, but her pride for her little sister grew tenfold after that engagement.

As the applause subsided, Blake commented, "They did pretty good."

"Well, what do you expect? My sister's on their team and they got Naruto! There's no way they'll fail!" Yang folded her arms and nodded confidently.

Blake's golden eyes only turned to her with the most deadpan stare she ever witnessed. "Really? I seemed to recall you grabbing Sasuke's arm and hair because you saw Naruto getting knocked away and Ruby being pounced by the Grimm." Sasuke only grunted in affirmation as his face mirrored his leader's.

Yang sheepishly laughed before she slouched in dejection. She couldn't help but be concerned, damn her big sister instincts!

Glynda then called out for another volunteer to enter the RADAR. With WNTR's solid execution, many students shot their hands up, eager to try out the new system. A team was selected and soon they were ushered to the facility while the rest of the class started to chat among themselves.

"The RADAR system looked pretty realistic, we should do it whenever we have the chance," Pyrrha suggested as she stared intently into the TV screens. They were blank for now, but any moment they would buzz to life and follow one of the four team members. It did the same thing with WNTR's run of their mock mission. Each screen displayed the actions of each member as if there was a camera following them from above.

Yang's grin quickly grew again, she thought it was pretty exciting. It wasn't as spontaneous as when you go out exploring, but all things considered, RADAR was close enough. She glanced at her teammates. Both Pyrrha and Blake had their attention on the screen with mild interest while Sasuke seemed to be more interested in his scroll than anything else.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Yang asked her partner in a sing-song voice. As expected, he froze up and glared at her. "C'mon! Don't you want to see more of the RADAR?"

"...No," Sasuke refocused his eye on the scroll only for it to be snatched by his partner. She then slung her arm over his shoulders.

"Oh, you know you want to."

"No, I do not."

"You definitely do," Naruto piped up. He sat next to Sasuke with a large mischievous grin and nudged lightly at the Uchiha. He then gave a small wave to team BYSP. "Hey guys, Sasuke being a recluse?"

"Yep, it's a shame, really, I'm worried about his social life," Yang replied in a sad tone. Her face, however, was still stretched with a grin. Her female teammates waved at Naruto before they concentrated on the mock mission being displayed.

"You felt that too? So, I wasn't the only one concerned for his wellbeing! Thank goodness you're his friend," Naruto said in fake worry. Sasuke twitched.

"Oh please! I only did what any friend would do and care for a person who needs it most," Yang hugged her partner tighter. Once again, he twitched.

"You hear that, Sasuke? We'll make sure you aren't a functional mute! We want you to grow up healthy-"

"Enough!" Sasuke commanded as he shook off his partner, only eliciting giggles from the two blondes that never cease to annoy him. "I'll watch the damn thing."

"That's the spirit!" Yang cheered as she slapped his back only for him to groan. She then winked at her fellow blonde. "By the way, nice job on the RADAR!"

"Thanks! You guys should definitely go for it when you get the chance," Naruto replied as he followed his fellow students and watched the screen. On the display, a lanky boy got battered by an Ursa's swipe despite him trying to block it with his bo-staff. "Ouch, that guy just got floored."

"Well, it was his fault for not watching his surroundings," Blake piped up casually. The team in the RADAR were struggling to complete the task. They were continuously pounced and had been separated by the pressure the Grimm were exerting. Some of the students even cheered in hopes that the team would somehow hear them.

"Hn, they are just not good enough," Sasuke commented with a shrug.

"Oh, don't be like that! Most of us here haven't fought powerful Grimm before," Yang chided as she rested her arm on his shoulders again. Naruto had to suppress a chuckle; watching Sasuke squirm from his partner had just become his new entertainment.

Yang glanced at her fellow blonde. She wanted to ask about the 'interaction' they had at the end of their run. She honestly expected some cheers, but it quickly went down the drain with something Weiss and Temari said. No one needed to be a mind reader to know that there were some tensions in the team. The very fact that there was a Faunus and a Schnee in the same team was already more than enough to be concerned about. She decided that she would let it play it out; they would put aside their differences, hopefully.

"...the Vale Police are still investigating the scene. We will update you once they release more information. This is Lisa Lavender and-"

The TV's power cut off as Roman sighed and set his empty glass on the table. The job's progress had been set back considerably thanks to the two assassin wannabes. He lost a whole platoon of useless White Fang mutts and a cache warehouse of dust. A massive blow that delayed months of work in just one confrontation.

He tapped his perfumed lit cigar, irritation subsiding now that he looked at the results of that 'assassination' attempt. No, it was a capture attempt; he wasn't an idiot, if they wanted him dead they wouldn't bother trying to go through the White Fang mooks in the first place. They would've just killed him and pinned it all on the terrorists.

That could only mean one thing: he was a high-value target to them. He didn't even know if he wanted to laugh at the situation or not.

Sharp knocks echoed through the door and it was obvious who they belonged to. As he stood up and opened it, he was greeted by a man and woman; the two people he was last eager to see. He muttered, "Oh, great… it's you two."

"Heard you were on the ass end of an ass-kicking," the man with grey hair quipped as he pushed through Roman, "Every single fuck up would see you as an inspiration! Bravo, I applaud you."

The woman followed the man, not even bothering to spare a glance at Roman. She looked around, her face revealing nothing but disinterest.

Roman inwardly growled. Today had not been a good day and he was not interested in retorting to some kid's attempt to mock him. "What does she want? Do I have to babysit you two again?" Roman asked as he closed the door. He continued to puff on his cigar as he kept his gaze on them. He had never been fond of the two and for good reason. They were basically her lapdogs that did virtually nothing as far as he had seen.

"She wants to know what the hell happened last night," the woman stated as she folded her arms. She stared around the apartment and quietly muttered to herself, "Ugh, what a dump."

"What do you think? I didn't just blow up a whole depot of dust because I wanted to," Roman retorted with a snort. "Seriously, I thought you two would be intelligent enough to figure it out by yourselves."

The woman's eyes narrowed at the jab, while her partner chuckled instead. "Funny you should say that, because I'm pretty sure almost no one would be dumb enough to do that… except maybe you. You are special!" With that, he slowly clapped and got a snort out of his partner.

Roman gritted his teeth. The last thing he needed was some jest from a street rat and a sociopath reprimanding him for things out of his control. "I still have plenty of other locations that hold all the dust we could ever need, I'm not an amateur like you two kiddos."

He knew it was a weak defence at best; a warehouse of dust being blown up was still a massive loss and whatever scheme they were planning, it probably dented their schedule by a large margin.

"She said this will be your last chance, try not to screw it up," the green haired woman said as she made for the door. The man mockingly put his hand to his mouth as if Roman had done something 'very bad' before strolling behind her with his hands behind his head.

Once the door was shut, Roman fought off the urge to throw something expensive at the floor. If there was one thing he hated more than annoying pests or having a constant interruption in his operations, it was that he was being kept in the dark. Cinder had been completely silent about what the dust was for and the resources he was given to perform her tasks were inadequate.

Deciding to pour himself another glass of bourbon, he concluded it was time to pull in some favours. He may be an ambitious criminal, but it meant nothing if the next few months left him with a good chance of being dead.

A/N: Since I have other things I must focus on, new chapters will be released at a slower rate. It won't be abandoned, I despise being unable to finish things, especially under my own power. Anyhow, hope ya enjoyed!