Demyx's life hadn't gotten any easier since indirectly contacting Torchwick. There was nothing Demyx loved more than instant gratification (well, besides his sitar), and he wasn't getting it. Torchwick showed no signs of noticing or caring that he had been left an invitation, and the Nobody was left hiding from the authorities and living off whatever food he could steal. The news was calling him 'the sloppiest criminal of all time,' and he was losing hope in his mission, considering risking a return to the World that Never Was, only deciding against it when he thought of what Saix would do upon realizing Demyx had abandoned his mission. However, he had no idea that today was going to be his lucky, or perhaps unlucky, day. For, after all, today was the day he met Crimson. Well, that was what she was known as in the criminal underworld. Her true name was Cinder, and Demyx wasn't sure which name scared him more.

The flames were his first tip-off. Demyx saw a fire burning where it shouldn't, and he at first thought Axel had joined him.

"Axel?!" He called out hopefully. More fire was his answer. A massive column of it shot towards Demyx, and he dove out of the way.

"You are not Axel!" He shouted shrilly.

"No. No I'm not," a voice rang out. It was an alluring yet frightening female voice, and Demyx didn't want to find out who it belonged to.

"D-Don't kill me! I'm too pretty to die!"

"I won't kill you. I simply want to talk to you."

"A-About what?!"

"Roman Torchwick." Demyx, who was dancing his way away from the voice, hopping around and moving his arms like a mime in an invisible box, stopped. He raised an eyebrow quizzically in the direction of the voice.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"A friend of Torchwick's. You can be a friend of his too, if that's what you want."

"If I'm a friend of his, will you stop trying to cook me medium rare?"

"I was never trying to." Demyx sighed in relief and walked towards the voice. Out of the shadows stepped a woman in a striking red dress and lips that were curved into a beautiful but intimidating smile. Everything about her was dual-sided in its nature. On one hand, she was absolutely stunning, the kind of woman most people only saw in their dreams. On the other hand, she had an air of mystery around her, and that air was garnished with a healthy dose of terror. She was unreadable, and that terrified Demyx, not to mention her unnerving smile and burning yellow eyes.

"Uh, can you step back in the shadows again? I think I wet my pants," the Nobody said. The woman laughed harshly.

"Cut the act, Nobody. I know what you are." Demyx blinked in surprise, and then frowned.

"Nobody? That's not very nice. You really hurt my feelings!"

"You have no feelings. You have no heart, no essence, no Aura. You are, essentially, nothing in physical form. Don't play your games, I know your 'emotions' are all fake." At this, Demyx did nothing. He made no movements, no insulted gestures or expressions. Instead, he spoke simply as he put on his hood.

"I exist, right? Nothing is the absence of existence."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you're wrong." The woman laughed.

"Regardless of what your true nature may be, Torchwick and I are interested in you." Demyx turned around.

"And why should I trust you? Why do your words matter?"

"Because they burn, Number Nine." The woman had piqued Demyx's attention more than ever. He had no idea how she knew about the Organization of its inner workings, but he knew that she was too dangerous to be kept running around. She could expose the Organization at a moment's notice, and it was then that Demyx knew he was trapped. He had to keep her off-guard. He had to let her play her game as they both tried to manipulate Torchwick, because there was no was she was simply a friend. She was the mastermind, Torchwick the pawn.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Take me to your leader," Demyx sighed. The woman looked slightly annoyed that he went back to portraying himself as more than a Nobody, but he was. Roxas and Axel weren't the only ones with feelings. He wasn't like the others.

"So...you seem busy," Yang said nonchalantly. Sora was leaning against the wall next to her, his arms crossed behind his head.

"I am. Being a teacher sucks! I mean, it's one thing to do homework; it's another thing to make it. I really need some sleep," Sora replied, yawning. Yang chuckled.

"Then why not slack off?" She asked. Sora blinked at her a few times, pushing himself off of the wall as Yang leaned back onto it.

"Are you serious?! Glynda would kill me. Well, first she'd yell at me. Then she'd kill me! I'm actually on an errand for her right now, and she could come around the corner any second, wondering where I've gone!" The blonde girl laughed at Sora's paranoia.

"Relax. Glynda's not that bad, you're just tired." After thinking about her words, Sora realized she was right.

"Yeah, I guess. Glynda's fun to work with, anyway. This is...it's just a lot of responsibility for me, and I've never been great at dealing with responsibility," the spiky-haired teen said wistfully. Yang put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're doing fine. Your classes have been great!"

"But what if they're not? What if I'm messing up? I...I don't want to mess up. So many people are counting on me...what if I let them down, Yang?" Sora sighed, looking down at the floor. Yang was surprised by his depression. She didn't think he could be brought down like this, but she supposed he was only human. He didn't have endless supplies of optimism.

"And you're gonna let them down if you keep worrying. How have to gotten to where you are today?" Yang asked.

"Uh...I believed in my friends?" Sora asked, wondering if he said the right thing.

"Bingo. You don't have to carry your burdens alone. You know that. You're just feeling the pressure, and it's getting to you. You did the right thing by talking to me, Sora. A good friend can always help you out." Sora looked up, his gaze shifting from the ground to Yang's face. He knew she was right. This wasn't his fight alone.

"Heh...sorry about that. It's just hard to keep smiling when you're so worried inside. This isn't just about the class, Yang. It's about the worlds. I've always been lazy. I've never really had a motivation, not like my friends." Sora thought of Riku, so determined to get off of Destiny Islands and see the world. Sora knew that he didn't share Riku's passion. He was just along for the ride.

"It's weird, suddenly having to decide what to do with responsibility when you've spent most of your life not worrying about consequences and choices. I just...didn't know what to do with my burden. Maybe I'm still deciding. I've never had to lead anyone before, Yang. I've never been a teacher. Saving worlds is one thing. Trying to teach them is another." Yang chuckled, putting an arm around Sora. Her smiling made him do the same.

"This really isn't like you, breaking down like this. Come on. Let's blow off some steam." Yang led the spiky-haired teen down the hallway, neither even thinking about Sora's task and Glynda's reaction when she found out he wasn't doing it. Sora was too happy. He didn't know what he'd do without his friends.

"So, Sora. This is team RWBY. There's our fearless leader, who you already know. This is Weiss, as you know. She's the wet blanket," Yang said.

"Hey!" Weiss protested.

"And this is Blake, who you might not know as well. She likes books," Yang said plainly, presenting her team to Sora. He waved, grinning. Ruby waved back kindly, Blake nodded, and Weiss wasn't even paying attention to him.

"What about you?" Sora asked Yang.

"You already know me." She walked to her team, and Sora followed.

"Wet blanket..." Weiss muttered. Sora looked around the cafeteria, wondering why Yang had brought him here.

"You must be wondering why you're here," Yang said mischievously.

"Wow. You must be psychic! That's exactly what I was wondering!"

"Well, you're here to blow off steam. We can't go off-campus today, but we can sit around and talk!"

"About what?" Sora asked.

"...Cute boys?"

"Like him?" Sora pointed to a blonde boy who was sitting with team RWBY, as well as three other students who were most likely part of his team. He had plain armor plating on his body and a sword in a sheathe at his side.

"Uh, no." Yang led Sora over, sitting him down across from both teams so as to allow them to scrutinize him.

"Hello, professor!" A red-haired girl said cheerily. Her hair was in a ponytail, and it stood out, like everything about her from her gold armor to her wise green eyes.

"Hey, student!"

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos. This is Lie Ren, this is Nora Valkyrie, and this is our team leader, Jaune Arc," Pyrrha introduced her friends with a wave of her hand. Ren was a boy with black hair that had an attractive magenta streak. He wore a long green coat-like pierce of clothing, and had a very mellow expression on his face. Nora was the exact opposite. She had bright orange hair, a pink skirt, and her body was constantly moving, her expression was a crazy grin. She seemed like she was on a permanent sugar rush.

"Hello," Ren said simply.

"Woah...do you know the answers to all the tests?" Nora asked. Sora shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he said, grinning.

"Hello, professor," Jaune said. Sora chuckled awkwardly.

"Uh, can you call me Sora? It'd be better for me."

"Sure." The two teams looked at their professor, and he looked at them. There was a strange silence going around the table.

"So...read any good books lately?" Sora asked.

"Yes. In fact, I'm reading one right now. It's quite fascinating," Blake replied. Sora grinned. He'd finally found a foothold in the conversation, and he was determined to use it to climb higher.

"What's it about?" He asked.

"A girl who wants to be left alone because a boy with spiky hair won't stop asking her questions," Blake replied.

"Really? Wow, it sounds familiar..." Sora mused.

"Yeah! Maybe the author time-traveled into the past and listened to this conversation and then traveled into the future and wrote the book!" Nora exclaimed.

"But then how would Blake have gotten it?" Ren asked with calm patience. Nora thought, making a noise that sounded like the buzzing of a bee. Yang burst out laughing, and Sora realized his foolishness a few seconds after Nora spoke.

"Hey!" He shouted angrily, peering over Blake's book. Blake glanced up at him, smiling.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist."

"I'm a professor, you know. I can give you detention."

"Will you?"

"Eh, probably not." In front of Sora, Nora and Ren were arguing. Well, Nora was arguing. Ren said something every thirty seconds that made Nora make her buzzing concentration noise again. Jaune grinned sheepishly.

"How about that...uh...Heartless stuff, huh? Pretty crazy," he said.

"Yeah, pretty crazy..." Ruby chuckled.

"Help me out here, Pyrrha!" Jaune whispered to his friend. The conversation had no starting point, and it didn't seem to have a place to end.

"I'm as stuck as you are, Jaune," was the reply. Yang's head was buried in her hands, and Weiss wasn't even paying attention.

"Somebody suggest a topic already!" Yang shouted angrily, attracting attention from around the room.

"I should probably be getting back to my errand..." Sora said, slinking off. However, Yang grabbed his hood as he walked away, and he gagged before falling to the ground.

"We're going to talk and you're going to like it! Topics, now!" Yang announced. Weiss looked up.

"I think Sora should get back to his errands. If he wants my trust, he's going to have to earn it, and slacking off isn't earning him anything," she said.

"I like Weiss' idea," Sora said.

"No you don't! Look, I want to talk, so we're going to do that! Ruby, say something adorable and hilarious!" Yang shouted at her sister, who shirked in her seat.

"Uh...do I have to?"

"Yang, stop pressuring her," Pyrrha said gently.

"Then you do something!"

"We should be doing this when we have a topic in mind. It was nice-" Sora was stopped with a quick hand to the mouth. Yang covered his face with her hands and pulled him back to the table.

"You can't hold us hostage here, Yang!" Sora protested when she released his mouth from her hands.

"Then let's have a nice conversation so I don't have to!"

"You can't force conversation, Yang," Ren chimed in.

"Go back to talking with Nora, Ren."

"I'm just saying that that's not how conversation works."

"That's not how you work!"

"Nora, help me out here."

"Want me to break her legs, Ren?"

"Why did I even ask you?"

"Guys, how about we just let Sora go?" Jaune suggested.

"Shut up, Jaune!" Yang shouted. The blonde boy shrunk in his seat.

"Okay okay, let's keep him here," he said shrilly.

"Way to be a friend, Jaune," Sora muttered.

"She's scary!"

"So am I!" Jaune looked at Sora strangely, his eyes scrutinizing the spiky-haired teen's clothes and hair.

"Not really," Jaune told him.

"...Fine, you're right." As the two teams and Sora kept arguing, with Yang trying to intimidate a conversation to start out a of boredom, Jaune and Sora trying to sneak away, Ruby trying to calm down her sister, Weiss already having left, Blake having left as well, and Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren simply being caught in the crossfire. The noise was attracting a lot of attention and laughs, most of the student body pitying Sora for being the object of Yang's interest. However, they all dispersed when an unwelcome figure came in. As Sora and Jaune finally got away from the chaos of Yang's ramblings, they found themselves being dragged back by Glynda Goodwitch.

"What is the meaning of all this?!"

I'M HONESTLY NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS CHAPTER. I LIKED BEING ABLE TO SHOW THAT SORA WASN'T COMPLETELY UNFAZED BY BEING A TEACHER. SORA, FOR ALL HIS HAPPY-GO-LUCKINESS, IS STILL A HUMAN BEING AND HAS HIS BREAKING POINT. AFTER ALL, TEACHING CAN'T BE A COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR HIM. HOWEVER, NOW I FEEL I HAVE TO SHOW WHY OZPIN CHOSE HIM TO TEACH. I UNDERSTAND THAT OZPIN, AS HE HIMSELF SAID, MADE MANY MISTAKES, BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE SORA'S APPOINTMENT TO PROFESSOR AS ONE OF THEM (I RIPPED THAT LINE OFF FROM EPISODE 10 OF RWBY). HOWEVER, I FEEL LIKE IT KIND OF DERAILED AT THE END. I'M NOT SURE HOW FREQUENTLY I'LL BE UPLOADING MORE CHAPTERS, AS MOTIVATION FOR THIS STORY IS RUNNING DRY. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF CEASING TO WRITE IT, BECAUSE I DO LIKE IT, BUT I'M HAVING TROUBLE HOW TO CONTINUE THINGS FROM THIS POINT. ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE, AS ALWAYS, WELCOME. I ESPECIALLY WANT TO KNOW IF PEOPLE FELT YANG WAS OUT OF CHARACTER. I WANTED TO PORTRAY HER MORE AGGRESSIVE SIDE AND PUT EMPHASIS ON HOW POSSESSIVE SHE CAN BE OF SORA (AS I THINK YANG IS A POSSESSIVE PERSON, RELATIONSHIP-WISE. SHE'S NOT ALL CRAZY-YANDERE LIKE YUNO FROM MIRAI NIKKI, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE FUNNY IF YANG WERE A BIT CONTROLLING IN HER RELATIONSHIPS AND TOOK THINGS MORE SERIOUSLY THAN A ONE-NIGHT STAND, AT LEAST FOR PEOPLE SHE REALLY LIKED). ALSO, FEEDBACK ON DEMYX WOULD BE NICE. I'M TRYING TO ADD SOME OF MY OWN OPINIONS REGARDING DEMYX'S CHARACTER INTO THIS STORY (LIKE I THINK THAT HE EITHER HAS FEELINGS LIKE ROXAS AND AXEL, OR WANTS TO BELIEVE HE DOES). I ALSO WANT TO KNOW HOW PEOPLE LIKED ME HAVING HIM TURN ALL COLD AND EMOTIONLESS LIKE HE DID IN KH2. IT WAS REALLY AWESOME WHEN HE DROPPED HIS ACT AND SAID 'SILENCE, TRAITOR.' THAT SURPRISED SORA AND SCARED ME!

ALSO, I LIKED SEEING MORE CRIMSON/CINDER IN EPISODE 16 OF RWBY. SHE'S BEAUTIFUL, CONNIVING, BADASS, AND TERRIFYING ALL AT THE SAME TIME, AND SHE SEEMS LIKE THE PERFECT MAIN ANTAGONIST OF RWBY, AT LEAST FOR NOW. SHE REALLY HAS TORCHWICK WRAPPED AROUND HER LITTLE FINGER, AND IT SEEMS LIKE SHE OUT-SCHEMED HIM, THE SCHEMER. ALSO, I WONDER WHO THOSE TWO PEOPLE BEHIND HER ARE, AND IF THEY'RE CONNECTED TO ANY OF THE PROTAGONISTS IN ANY WAY. I THINK CINDER KNOWS GLYNDA IN SOME WAY, PERHAPS AS A FELLOW STUDENT AT BEACON, BUT I HAVE NO PROOF, AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEIR RELATIONSHIP WORKS.