Capítulo 801: 144
Chapter 144:
Jaune hadn't been with Sasame, when Blake had called. But, fortunately, he'd been available, rushing out to meet her and Sun at the docks, catching the first available airship into Vale. From there, they made their way through the streets, until they found themselves at the mouth of an alley in the Kingdom's commercial district. Blake couldn't help but notice that Ilia had set their meeting point as far away from both the industrial district and the faunus quarter as she could get.
Entering into the alley, Blake cast her eyes around, looking for any sign of her friend. "Ilia...?"
"Here," came Ilia's voice, soft and whispery, from behind a nearby dumpster.
Jaune and Blake rushed around. Blake immediately pulled back, her hands going to her mouth to muffle a horrified gasp, while simultaneously fighting down the bile that threatened to rise up in her throat.
Ilia was crouched beside Neo, who was lying on her back. The reason for Ilia's distress was immediately apparent. Neo's jacket and corset had been cleaved through in a clean vertical line, running from her right shoulder and down to the level of her waist, the fabrics dyed red with her blood. Neo already looked deathly pale, her breaths quick and shallow, blood dribbling from her lips as well. She was being cradled on Ilia's legs, Ilia flicking her gray eyes back and forth, on the lookout for threats.
For her part, Ilia looked uninjured, though one might not assume that at first glance, considering the dark stains that had completely covered her black outfit in the area around her abdomen, with streamers of partially dried-blood having run down her legs.
"Hang on," said Jaune, crouching down beside the pair. "Sorry in advance."
With that said, he peeled back the sliced clothing, exposing the right side of Neo's chest, revealing that the cut had bit deep through her breast, as well as her ribs, possibly reaching her lung, if the blood coming out of her mouth was any indication. The sight made Blake gasp in horror, her hands going to her mouth. Sun grimaced, looking away, and keeping himself occupied by standing lookout.
Blake saw the tiniest flicker of unease on Jaune's face, a tiny tightening of the lines of his eyes and mouth, the slightest bob of his throat, before he schooled his expression into one of the utmost seriousness. Bringing up his right hand, he channeled his Aura into it, and started carefully using his fingers to trace the line of Neo's wound, not even pausing as they glided over the swell of her breast. The progress was slow, but Blake was relieved to see some color return to Neo's face.
Neo's breathing slowed a tiny bit, and her eyes opened slightly. Rather than her normal pink and brown, Neo's eyes were currently an off-white color. Considering that she was able to switch those colors at will, Blake guessed that they might have been a product of Neo's Semblance, with the color her eyes were currently showing being their natural shade.
"Can you...?" asked Blake uneasily.
"Not this much," said Jaune, trying to maintain his focus on treating her. "I...I can buy her some time, but this is too much for me.
"Call Ruby. She's the one who can find Sasame the easiest. Sun, can you call in a bullhead for an emergency pickup?"
"On it," said Sun, pulling out his scroll, Blake doing the same as well.
"Aside from that, keep an eye out," said Jaune. "I'm guessing you two are still in danger, right?"
Ilia nodded, half-listening to Blake and Sun speaking frantically into their scrolls. "I think we got away. But...with how much Neo was bleeding, I don't know if we made enough of a break in the blood-trail to lose them."
Blake put her scroll away. "Ruby's already back from the interview. She said she'll have Sasame ready and waiting at the docks."
"The bullhead's on its way," said Sun, hanging up his scroll. "It'll be here in three minutes, tops."
"Good," said Jaune, sweat gleaming off his forehead. While he wasn't exerting himself, the concentration needed to get Neo into a state where she could survive until she received more intensive treatment was intense. On top of that...the wound was...wrong.
"Will she be all right?" asked Ilia, looking at Jaune plaintively. "Please!"
"I won't let her die," said Jaune, injecting all of the will he had in his voice.
Blake and Sun took up guard-positions, watching their backs, looking both ways down the alley for any sign of someone pursuing Ilia and Neo. Fortunately, everything remained quiet, until the roar of the bullhead's jets echoed from the way they'd come. The dropship was setting down in the middle of the nearest intersection, its emergency signal stopping traffic to keep the space clear for it to set down. A minute later, a pair of medics, carrying a stretcher, arrived at the alley.
Getting Neo on the stretcher was a bit tricky, because they needed to work around Jaune, who couldn't afford to take his hands away from Neo for more than a few seconds. However, with some shuffling and careful movements, they managed to do it. Then it was out of the alley and onto the waiting bullhead, Jaune moving alongside the stretcher, continuing to channel his Aura into Neo's body, sustaining her.
When the bullhead's ramp closed behind them, and the aircraft lifted off, Sun and Blake heaved sighs of relief. Apparently, whoever had been pursuing Ilia and Neo had not managed to track them down in time. There was the risk that someone would try to shoot their airship down, but they were both inundated with the feeling of safety that came from knowing they were on their way to help.
"Who did this?" asked Blake, sitting down next to Ilia, doing her best to ignore the bloodstains on her friend's hands from a hopeless attempt to staunch Neo's bleeding.
Ilia shuddered, then sniffled, then looked at Blake, an expression of fear on her face more intense than anything Blake had ever seen before. "Adam did this."
"What?" gasped Blake, her entire body feeling as though she'd just stepped into a freezer. Sun quickly wrapped an arm around her, hugging her tightly. "But..."
Ilia swallowed, looking sick. "It's...it's all wrong, Blake. Adam's back and...and...Sienna-High Leader Khan...is dead."
Blake's jaw dropped, her entire body going numb. For a moment, the ability to speak completely deserted her. Her mind reeled at the mere implication.
Adam's back! Sienna's dead! Does that mean...? "Ilia...Adam...did he...?"
"Yes," said Ilia, knowing exactly what Blake was asking.
"Oh God..." whispered Blake. "How bad is it?"
"Really bad," said Ilia, her eyes going back to Neo.
"And so, the number of merchants reported to discriminate against faunus customers has been reduced. There have been reports of some discriminatory behavior from some sellers from Mistral and Atlas." The unmasked faunus looked up from his report at Sienna.
"Identify them, and make sure there aren't any mistakes," said Sienna firmly. "After that, we'll ascertain whether it's better to hit them when they are in transit, or after they've returned home."
"Understood," said the soldier, lowering his scroll to the table, while the next one stepped up to deliver a report on recruitment efforts in the faunus quarter.
Ilia was only half-listening. Much of it was the same as before. After Sienna had rolled back the changes Adam had made to the recruitment rallies, recruitment had fallen. But the fact that curious faunus who had merely wanted to learn more about the White Fang weren't being pressed into service for the organization was better than any number of unwilling conscripts or brainwashed fanatics.
At the moment, the White Fang's tactics were quieter, more subversive, and more precise. Just as they had before, they were targeting businesses and people who discriminated against faunus, and giving them a little taste of fear. However, Sienna had decided to dial down their activities as much as possible during the Vytal Festival, most likely an arrangement made with Ozpin. Instead, visiting merchants who were caught discriminating were being slated for reprisal after the festival ended, to avoid any disruptions to the event as a whole.
Personally, Ilia preferred the idea of waiting until the offenders had returned to their home Kingdoms and establishments, waiting until they felt safe and sound, and then giving them what they deserved. It would serve to let them know that the White Fang's memory was long, and that, just because they left the scene of their crime behind, racists wouldn't be able to get away that easily.
The main reason that Ilia was only half-listening was seated comfortably on her lap. Neo leaned back against Ilia's chest, allowing Ilia to rest her chin on top of her girlfriend's head, while her arms were wrapped around Neo's midsection, the whole thing feeling so comfortable and natural to her that Ilia actually felt a little guilty about feeling so content, especially in the middle of a meeting that was constantly discussing various kinds of discontent.
There was no helping it though. Neo happily invited herself in when she wanted, left when she felt like it, and could not be made to leave or stay by anyone. At best, she would heed Ilia's requests, if a meeting was too sensitive that the other officers didn't feel as though they could speak freely with the human present. Rather than a girlfriend, it was more like Ilia had been taken to by a stray cat, an independent creature that came or went as the mood struck her.
By and large, opinions about Neo's presence in general seemed to be ambivalent. The officers that had come to Vale alongside Sienna largely ignored her. A few teased Ilia for her relationship with the smaller girl, but never in a malicious manner. However, several of those from the Vale Branch, the leftovers of Adam's administration, occasionally glanced at the girl with looks of disgust, looks that bled over to Ilia herself, with Ilia easily understanding that at least some of the faunus present viewed her as a traitor for consorting with a human.
At least they don't know about Mountain Glenn, thought Ilia gratefully. Sienna had chosen to keep the part Ilia had played in the operation's failure a secret. No amount of approval from Sienna herself would keep the rank and file from seeing her as an utter traitor for actually leading agents from Beacon through the security perimeter and to the tunnel. Sienna knew, and had given her approval, and that was enough.
The door nearest to the meeting area they'd established in this empty warehouse swung open hard, striking the wall beside it with a loud clang to allow the one who'd opened it to step through, the door swinging shut behind him with another loud impact. The sudden entrance, unannounced, sent everyone shooting to their feet, including Ilia and Neo, hands rushing for weapons, ready to deal with this interloper. There was no telling who it might be. Perhaps Ozpin had decided to go back on his word, or someone from the Vale itself had decided to take matters into their own hands. The fact that this person had not been announced or challenged was an ominous sign.
"Who goes there?" demanded Sienna, her chain dangling down from where it was wrapped around her right forearm, ready to bring it into action in an instant.
For a second, the click of shoes on the concrete floor of the warehouse was the only sound. Then a familiar figure appeared, stepping confidently out of the darkness.
"High Leader Khan," said Adam Taurus, dropping to one knee in front of a gobsmacked Sienna, "I have returned."
"So you have," observed Siena, her chain rattling gently in her grip.
Ilia could scarcely believe her eyes at the sight of the man. Adam's red hair had grown down to nearly the level of his shoulders, looking shaggy and unkempt, as though he hadn't groomed in quite a while. His jacket was looking ragged and tattered around the edges, and the right sleeve had been completely torn away, all the way up to the shoulder, black bandages wrapped around his right forearm.
It had been weeks since Adam had been abducted from the middle of Mountain Glenn. But it looked as though he'd been away for months, if not years. Not merely seeming aged in spirit, it was as though he'd been through a different period of time entirely.
On top of that, his weapon was completely different. Wilt and Blush were gone. In their place hung the form of a long, broad, curved sword, its sheath hanging from leather straps around Adam's waist and over one shoulder, allowing it to hang behind him, with its handle extending out to the left, but with enough freedom of movement that it could easily be pulled around to where he could reach across and draw it with his right hand. Such a large blade looked far too cumbersome for Adam to employ in his signature style, making Ilia wonder just what he thought he was doing, carrying something like that.
"You have my deepest apologies for not being able to complete the operation in Mountain Glenn," said Adam lowering his head. "I was taken away against my will, and was only recently able to deal with my captor, and return to my place."
"Is that so...?" said Sienna, clearly not knowing what to make of this. "If you had any sense, Adam, you would not have come back."
Adam raised his head. "How can you say that? Everything I have done, I do for the faunus."
"Including forcefully conscripting unwilling faunus to act as your foot soldiers?" growled Sienna. "What about marking one of our fellow faunus for death, even though she never raised a hand against us?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What about an unauthorized operation set to cause indiscriminate destruction on an heretofore unheard of scale?
"With all due respect, High Leader, the time for coddling is past," declared Adam, rising to his feet. Reaching up, he pulled his mask off his face, revealing his brand.
Ilia gasped. Adam had never willingly removed his mask, not even before his fellow White Fang members. Blake had probably been one of the only ones he'd been willing to do that for.
"Can you really say that such small measures are enough?" asked Adam, his voice growing in volume. "Our people are suffering from human arrogance. Time and again, we have made entreaties, protested, and tried to convince them to accept us. But it has been for naught. The humans have shown that they don't want peace or coexistence. Even if a scant few change their tune, the vast majority of them will never change. They are unworthy of this world."
"Do you realize what you're saying?" asked Sienna. "You're proposing war against the humans in their entirety. This won't be a battle for rights, but a war of extermination."
"It is what the humans deserve," declared Adam firmly.
"It is what will befall us, if we push past that line," Sienna replied just as firmly. "Beyond your defeatist attitude, you have the idiocy to suggest that we can win that kind of war against the humans?"
"Of course," said Adam, a cruel smile appearing on his face. "We faunus are superior to the humans in every respect. During the Revolution, the Kingdoms held the edge in both numbers and power, and yet we still won, because we could leverage our advantages to the fullest against them.
"It's time for a new revolution. This time, we will not stop with a worthless treaty. We will continue. We will advance. City by city, village by village, we will grind the humans out of existence, and bring the world under our complete rule."
"You will, will you?" wondered Sienna. "I knew you'd taken leave of your senses, Adam. But this absurdity is beyond the pale. You dare to come before me and peddle in such nonsense, after all your previous abuses, including those against your own people?"
"As I said, the time for coddling is past."
Adam's tone remained level and composed, which troubled Ilia even more than if he'd been raving and foaming at the mouth. Even when he'd been raising his voice earlier, there had been no trace of his earlier fury, only an intense passion.
Adam continued. "Those who lack the will to fight for their brothers and sisters are cowards. Those who consort with humans are traitors. The time has come to dispense with half-measures, and do what it takes to see this through, once and for all. The time where those without will were permitted to sit on the sidelines is over. They will either fight alongside us or die alongside the humans."
Ilia held back a growl, fully realizing that, if Adam had his way, she would be among the faunus he would be purging. She shifted, preparing to give Sienna her full support in subduing the dangerous man, but found herself halted by the pair of hands that had wrapped around her right arm, holding her back and keeping her from even reaching for her weapon.
Glancing down, Ilia was shocked to see Neo, giving her a desperately plaintive look. Without her voice, she was using her face to soundlessly scream for Ilia not to move against Adam. The look of utter fear in Neo's off-white eyes stopped Ilia cold. If Neo was this afraid of the man, then...
"Is that so...?" growled Sienna rhetorically. "Truly, I misjudged you, Taurus. Your delusions are unacceptable. I had told Ozpin that I would be happy to deliver your head to him, and it isn't merely for the sake of our agreement. You are a blight upon all faunus-kind."
"I'm sorry to hear you think that," said Adam, his calm frightening Ilia more than any enraged shout ever could. He bowed his head slightly to Sienna. "You have my thanks for all that you have done for our people up until now..."
A flickering strobe of red blocked out Ilia's vision for all of a second. When it passed, Sienna's upper body tumbled away from her lower body, sliced clean through, diagonally up from her right waist to the left sight of her abdomen. Blood fountained through the air, and Sienna's lower half collapsed.
"...but I will take it from here," said Adam, already returning his sword to his sheath. The blade had been red, when he'd finished his quickdraw, but had shifted to a light-gray steel, by the time he'd re-sheathed it.
Ilia's jaw dropped, her entire body going numb from the shock. Just like that, Sienna was dead, before anyone had realized it. Somehow, despite how large and heavy his new sword was, Adam's attack, nonetheless, was faster than it had ever been, by an order of magnitude. Ilia hadn't even seen him take a stance and reach for the handle of his sword...just the end result.
What has he been doing?
Adam was already stepping past the pieces of Sienna's body to stand at the table. "I will be taking command of the White Fang from here on out," he said firmly.
"TRAITOR!" howled one of the officers Sienna had brought with her from Mistral. In a flash, he was jumping up, using the table as a platform to leap even higher, while he raised his broad-headed battleaxe over his head to bring it down on Adam's skull.
He wasn't the only one. Of the seven other faunus, besides Ilia, who'd been seated at the table before, four of them lunged for Adam, drawing their weapons. Ilia would have joined them, but Neo only tightened her hold on Ilia's arm, not merely holding her in place, but actively pulling her back away.
Adam's body flickered. A series of strobing flashes of light filled the air, red lines being drawn across the bodies of the attacking officers in several pieces. And then it was over, Adam casually re-sheathing his sword before the pieces of his attackers had even finished falling all the way to the table and floor.
"On behalf of the White Fang, I thank you for your years of faithful service," he said to the pieces of his attackers. "Know that, even though our paths have parted, I still respect all that you have done for the sake of our people. Your sacrifices will not be in vain."
He's talking as though he hadn't just killed them himself, thought Ilia incredulously, now no longer resisting as Neo continued to pull her away desperately.
Adam's gaze went to survey the remaining officers at the table. "Are there any left among you who object to me assuming the mantle of High Leader?"
In unison, the remaining three officers, Adam's subordinates from the Vale Branch, dropped to one knee. "We are honored to serve you once more, High Leader," said the highest ranking among them. "We look forward to seeing justice delivered upon the wretched humans."
"Good," said Adam. Then, to Ilia's horror, his head slowly turned her way, making both her and Neo freeze in place, both of them too terrified to even recoil as his branded visage turned fully towards them. "Now then...it is time to deal with the real traitors."
Ilia's legs tensed, and she prepared to run. She knew what was coming. Adam was sure to strike with that same overwhelming speed as before. She hadn't even been able to follow his movements in the slightest before. Her death was all but certain.
Then she lurched backwards. Her eyes caught a flash of white from the back of Neo's jacket, the smaller girl interposing herself between Ilia and Adam. Red strobed in Ilia's vision, then Neo's body slammed into her with the force of a charging Goliath. Ilia barely had any time to register what happened, before they were both sent flying back, slamming into, then through, the wall of the warehouse behind them, Ilia going sprawling, grimacing as the asphalt ground against the Aura protecting her back. Neo landed on top of her, Ilia reflexively catching her to keep Neo from getting thrown away.
With a pained groan, Ilia forced her way through the daze the impact had left her in. They had to run for it. Fighting Adam was impossible. Ilia shifted, but Neo remained on top of her.
"Neo...?" Ilia craned her head to look at Neo, then gasped in horror at the sight of the gash up the left side of her chest. "NEO!"
Neo's arms fell limp to either side of her, the pieces of her umbrella clattering to the ground from limp hands. Neo weakly shifted her head to look at Ilia, her expression betraying how much pain she was in. Her lips moved, no sound coming out, but their movements allowing Ilia to read what she was saying clearly.
"Run."
Grunting, Ilia struggled to get out from under Neo, the smaller girl's body heavier than it looked, with her dense musculature, Ilia's movements still slightly hampered by the hit she'd just taken. She quickly picked Neo up in her arms, getting to her feet.
From within the warehouse, she heard Adam's command. "Finish them off."
Desperately, Ilia turned to run. As she did, she felt a faint tingle run up her arms, then over her body. Glancing down, she saw Neo's Aura rippling off her, running over them. Even after being injured so badly, Neo was doing everything in her power to hide them from their pursuers, even if it meant spending the very last fraction of Aura she had left.
However, even if Neo could hide them from sight, Ilia realized that she was bleeding too badly. Blood dripping to the ground would leave a trail that their pursuers could follow. She held Neo as close to her body as she could, allowing her own outfit to sop up what blood that it could, while she curled Neo's body so that the blood would pool over her abdomen, before it began to run off. Hopefully, that would keep the blood from reaching the ground until they got far enough away that their pursuers couldn't pick up their trail again.
Hang on, Neo! thought Ilia desperately. You saved me. Now I'll save you. Ilia resolved that, as soon as they got to a safe hiding space, she would call Blake, and get her to bring that healer-friend Ilia had heard about. Hopefully, Neo would last long enough.
"...and that's what happened," said Ilia, leaning back and staring dazedly at the interior lights of the bullhead's passenger bay.
"Unbelievable..." whispered Blake, her mind barely able to even comprehend what she'd just heard. Adam was back, and more dangerous than ever. He'd killed Sienna, and was, even now, probably working to rally the radical remnants of the Vale Branch for God-knew-what.
Wait...Adam's back!
Blake's eyes snapped open with a horrified gasp. Ilia flinched in surprise as Blake desperately pulled out her scroll and frantically searched through her contact-list.
"Blake, what's-?" Ilia began to ask, only to cut herself off when Blake put the device to her ear, clearly too preoccupied to answer her.
After her scroll rung a few times, she heard the click of the person on the other end of the line picking up. "Ms. Belladonna, this is unexpected. What-?"
"Adam's back!" said Blake. "He's back, and he's already killed Sienna!"
There was a fractional pause on the other end. "I see. I shall send a bullhead out immediately. Do you have a means to contact the Forest Family?"
"I think Weiss is with them," said Blake.
"Good," came the curt reply. "Tell her to make sure they prepare for evacuation."
"I will," replied Blake. "Thank you, Professor."
Blake hung up, and immediately sought Weiss' contact. Ilia looked on, unable to say anything.
Mere minutes after lifting off from Vale, they arrived at Beacon's airdock. To the passengers' undisguised relief, Sasame was already there, Ruby standing alongside her. They weren't alone. Pyrrha, Yang, Ren, and Nora were there as well.
Jaune hovered by Neo's stretcher as the medics carried her off, keeping his hands moving back and forth over her wound, though not closing it completely. Once they were off the bullhead, Sasame came to stand by him, gently shouldering him away from Neo's body, her hands taking the place of his. Her fingers immediately phased through Neo's skin, and Sasame worked her way from the shoulder down, almost seeming to pinch Neo's injury closed, inch by inch. She frowned as she worked, apparently finding the injury more difficult to treat than she normally would.
"NEO!"
Everyone except Sasame looked up at the desperate shout, seeing Roman Torchwick rushing over to them, his eyes wide in a frantic look. Considering how heavily he professed his mentality as a survivor, it was an absolute shock to see him so terrified for the sake of someone else. However, before he could reach Neo's stretcher, Sasame's tail rose up, then slammed into him, knocking the man sprawling.
"Stay back," said Sasame, still not looking up. "The last thing I need is an interruption at this stage."
Ruby gasped in shock to see perspiration beading Sasame's brow. Given what she'd learned about treating injuries from her sister, Ruby figured that a wound as simple as this one (however severe it might have been) would be a fairly routine piece of work for someone as experienced and skilled as Sasame.
Finally, Sasame's fingers made their way down Neo's abdomen, stopping just short of her waist, before pulling free of Neo's flesh. Sasame stepped back with a sigh, her tail flicking back and forth with unusually sharp movements, betraying her agitation. "It's done," she said. "She'll pull through. She just needs rest now."
"Thank God!" gasped Roman, coming over to take Neo's hand, too busy being relieved to worry about how he'd been batted aside earlier.
"What happened?" asked Ruby, looking at Sasame in confusion. "Was it really that hard?"
Sasame frowned, looking down at her hands. "It was much more difficult than usual. The injury itself was relatively standard, something I could have fixed in a few seconds...under normal circumstances."
"What was wrong about it?" asked Pyrrha.
"The Aura behind the blow that cut into her was refined with a pure intent to kill," said Sasame, turning her head to watch the medics carry Neo away, Torchwick by her side. "That's something I've rarely encountered, even among the Mibu. As such, the residual Aura in her injury actually caused it to resist healing. It's the kind of attack that could circumvent my regenerative abilities, if I were on the receiving end of it. Whoever did this is a master, who was able to channel the whole of his unbridled malice into a stroke of the sword."
"Adam..." Blake whispered, just loud enough for Ruby to twitch.
"Adam did this?" asked Ruby, having gotten the call before Ilia had explained what had happened. "He's back?"
Blake nodded, glancing at Ilia, who was staring after Neo, apparently uncertain of whether or not to go after her. Ruby swallowed, her skin paling.
Sasame shivered, her tail's agitated movements becoming more frenetic. "This is...troubling. If this is true, then Taurus-san's strength, from when you last fought him, has increased by an order of magnitude." She fixed her gaze on Ilia, the intensity of her look prompting Ilia to jump and look at her in confusion. "Tell me what happened."
Ilia told the story of Adam's return and Sienna's death again to horrified expressions from the others.
"This is bad...very bad," said Sasame, almost looking ill, an expression she'd never adopted in all the years Ruby had known her. "From what you describe, Taurus-san is wielding Hakuya. Worse still, he's apparently mastered it. That...shouldn't be possible."
"Are you sure?" asked Ruby.
"It's only been a few weeks since Taurus-san was taken by Jester," said Sasame. "Mastering Hakuya to that extent should take years. There's no way Taurus-san could have such complete command of that blade after so short an interval." Sasame's brow furrowed. "It's almost as if..."
"As if what?" asked Ruby.
"I'm not sure," said Sasame. "It feels as though I'm overlooking something. This is clearly Jester's doing, though I'm not sure how it's possible."
"What should we do now?" asked Blake, looking between them all in confusion.
"We need to tell Ozpin," said Ruby.
"I've already called him," said Blake. "He sent a bullhead out to get Ashley and her family. Weiss is with them, so I think they'll be okay for now."
"Good," said Ruby, her shoulders slumping in relief. "But we need to give him a more detailed rundown, and then figure out where to go from here."
"Part of that can be established right now," said a firm, familiar voice. Everyone looked over to see Winter approaching at the head of a cadre of Atlesian Knights, Ciel walking alongside her. "Ilia Amitola, you are under arrest."
"Wait!" exclaimed Blake. "Ilia's-"
"Fine," said Ilia, cutting Blake off, the word coming in a tired exhalation. There was bitter resignation in her tone, but also tiredness.
Standing up, Ilia walked towards Winter. Reaching down, she pulled her weapon out of its holster, prompting the Knights' rifles to snap up, training on her, only to lower again when Ilia bent down to place the weapon on the ground, walking up and holding her hands out to Ciel, who placed cuffs on them.
"I'm sorry," said Ciel softly.
"It's okay," said Ilia. "Now...well...I certainly can't go back to the White Fang. I guess this is all that's left for me."
Winter sighed, not looking particularly satisfied with the situation either. "The outcome will be dependent on how cooperative you are, Ms. Amitola. Come with us and answer our questions."
"Of course," said Ilia, lowering her gaze. "I'll give you everything I have."
"That will be greatly appreciated," said Winter. She and Ciel led Ilia away. Blake looked after them, wondering if she ought to follow.
"Go on," said Sasame, using her tail to gently push Blake forward. Blake nodded reluctantly, then set out after Ilia.
"Now what?" wondered Yang.
"Let's wait for Weiss to get here with Ashley and her family," said Ruby. "Then we'll talk to Ozpin." She jolted up, looking around. "Wait! Where's Jaune?"
"He was here a minute ago," said Sun.
"He bolted right about the time I finished," said Sasame, smiling knowingly. "Ruby-chan, could you point me in the direction of the nearest restroom?"
"Is that where he is?" asked Ruby.
"Most likely," said Sasame.
"Should I...?" wondered Ruby, only for her voice to trail off at a shake of Sasame's head.
"Stay here and wait for Ashley-chan and Weiss-chan," said Sasame firmly. "Leave Jaune-kun to me. I know what he's going through."
"Okay..." said Ruby, feeling worried despite herself. However, from the way Sasame spoke, as though she knew exactly what was going on, Ruby guessed that this had to do with Jaune's status as Sasame's new apprentice, more than anything else. So she supposed it was best to leave things to Jaune's master.
Jaune cupped his hands under the faucet, filling them up with water, bringing them to his mouth and drawing the water in through his lips. After sever seconds of swirling and gargling, Jaune bent over, spitting the water back into the sink, before repeating the process again. This was about the fifth time, and he could still taste the bile at the back of his throat. His legs were shaky, and his throat burned from vomiting into the toilet in the stall directly behind him.
"God..." gasped Jaune, bracing his hands against the sink, staring into the water that swirled down into the drain. For a brief second, it seemed tinted red to his eyes, and his stomach churned viciously. Only the fact that he'd already completely emptied it earlier kept him from pulling an about-face, and returning to the toilet.
After another few seconds, he regained a marginal degree of control. His breathing calming down, Jaune hobbled towards the door to the restroom, his legs shaking. Pushing out through the door, Jaune shaded his eyes, staring towards the sun, which was beginning to set.
The restrooms were in an outhouse, a small building off to the side of where the docks were built, where people waiting for or getting off of the airships that ferried them to and from Beacon could use the restroom without having to walk all the way back to the school's main buildings, a fair distance away, down the column-lined path. It had taken Jaune all his willpower to keep from throwing up until he'd managed to get inside.
He looked down at his hands, examining the upturned palms, thinking about what he'd just done. His hands began to quiver.
Then something warm and soft draped itself over his shoulders, and Jaune felt a warm feeling wash through him, the weak feeling in his legs and arms subsiding. Looking over, Jaune flinched to see Sasame standing beside him, looking up at him with a neutral expression. "I..."
Sasame's lips pulled up in an approving smile. "You did well, Jaune-kun."
"But I...I still..." Jaune began to protest.
"After," said Sasame, steel in her voice. "You let go of your control after the important part, Jaune-kun. This was much earlier than I planned on you encountering this kind of situation. However, you controlled yourself, and maintained that control all the way up until you were able to turn over your duties to me, and even then, you held on until you were sure of Neo-chan's safety...and I'm proud of you for that."
"Thanks," said Jaune sagging. "I guess that training paid off."
"It most certainly did," said Sasame. "Though, as I said, we hadn't reached the point you were at today yet, so you are well ahead of the curve. More than anything, this affirms my belief that you will be a superb healer, Jaune-kun."
"Thanks," said Jaune, his mind going back to that particularly difficult lesson, which had been taught in one of the visitor dorm rooms that Ruby's friends had occupied...
"What's going on?" asked Jaune, facing the window, which seemed rather pointless, given that the curtains had been drawn, leaving him with nothing to look at, save for the patterns on the drapes.
"Just bear with me, Jaune-kun," said Sasame. "This will be one of your more difficult lessons, I'm afraid.
Given that she already had him working on sorting salt and sugar granules, Jaune couldn't imagine what kind of lesson she had in store. He also couldn't help but wonder why she needed Miyu's help for this.
"Miyu-chan...go ahead," said Sasame.
Miyu had been sitting on the bed. At Sasame's urging, Miyu stood up. A second later, Jaune heard the unmistakable fluttering sounds of cloth falling to the floor. It took a few seconds for his brain to realize what she'd just done. He immediately went rigid, his spine straightening, his hands clenching, palms sweating. Sweat broke out across his forehead as well, and his face became uncomfortably hot. She can't be serious.
"Jaune-kun..." said Sasame, her voice firm, brooking no argument, "...turn around."
Swallowing, Jaune turned in place, finding his fears confirmed.
Miyu was standing before him...completely naked.
Almost immediately, Jaune's hands went to cover his eyes. "I'm sorry!" he yelped reflexively, despite his conscious mind already reminding him that Miyu had clearly done this at Sasame's behest, and that he'd turned around on her orders as well, indicating that this was something he was meant to see.
"You're going to need to uncover your eyes, Jaune-kun," said Sasame firmly. "If you intend to be a healer, then you cannot allow yourself to look away."
"What does this have to do with healing?" demanded Jaune frantically, splitting his fingers to look through them, as though to confirm that, yes, Miyu was naked, before closing the gap again.
Sasame sighed, her tail splitting in two, both reaching up to wrap Jaune's wrists, then pull them down away from his eyes. Jaune gasped, then scrunched his eyes tightly shut.
"Jaune-kun, do not make me force your eyes open," said Sasame firmly. "Look at her."
Reluctantly, Jaune opened his eyes, keeping them narrowed into a squint, looking at Miyu. She stood before him, still naked. Her arms hung limply at her sides. Her fair skin contrasted sharply with the red of her hair. With her arms at her sides, Jaune had a complete view of everything. Miyu's nipples were a rosy red, nowhere near as vivid as her hair, which Jaune also glanced below to confirm that her hair was all red. Her kimono had hidden an impressive figure, a rival for Ruby's in Jaune's eyes. Because of that, it took all his willpower not let his eyes shut again.
"Open your eyes wider," ordered Sasame firmly.
Unable to disobey, Jaune did so. His face was hot to the point where he felt it would burst into flame. Down below, he felt another part of him respond automatically to the sight of the attractive young woman standing before him, completely in the buff. He would have covered it, but Sasame's tails still held his hands and arms fast, not permitting them to move at all. He knew he was pitching a tent in his trousers, something that both the girls in the room with him could see. He half expected either of them to either mock him or attack him for it.
But nothing of the sort happened. In fact, Miyu didn't even appear to be acting as though she was naked in the room with a boy she was a friendly acquaintance with at best. Instead, her gaze was straight forward, looking in his direction, but not actually looking at him. Her expression was composed and calm, not betraying the slightest iota of embarrassment. There was no flush coloring her cheeks, and her chest swelled with soft, even breaths. More than anything, she seemed like an incredibly lifelike doll.
"I...I'm..." said Jaune, his eyes darting down to his pants, confirming that the bulge there was impossible to miss.
"Yes you are," confirmed Sasame, her tone just as neutral and composed as Miyu's face.
"Setsuna is gonna kill me," moaned Jaune, "if Ruby doesn't first."
"Setsuna-kun and Ruby-chan both knew that this was going to happen," said Sasame. "I informed them shortly before I called you here. They both understand that this is necessary."
"Looking at her naked is necessary?" asked Jaune.
"Looking is just the start," said Sasame. "Later, you will touch."
Jaune's legs felt weak.
Sasame continued, undaunted. "You will put her hands on every part of her. Understand one thing...this is not sexual. You will not grope her. You will be conducting a tactile examination."
Jaune whimpered, his eyes darting down to his crotch again.
"That is to be expected, of course," said Sasame, her tone remaining neutral. "But you will be learning to control that, so that you don't have that reaction, in a situation like this."
"Wha-what kind of training is this?" asked Jaune nervously, as Sasame extended a third tail to his chin, directing him to look at Miyu again.
"The first step in one of the most important lessons you will have as a healer," said Sasame. "This lesson is about self-control; though, perhaps not in the sense that you might expect. This is to condition you to viewing the body of another, without losing your composure."
"I don't...understand," said Jaune.
"Let me put it this way," said Sasame. "Imagine that, in the course of your adventures, you encounter a young woman, who is not Ruby-chan, who is severely injured, possibly minutes away from expiring. Do you help her?"
"O-of course?" asked Jaune.
"What if treating her injuries would require you to touch her in the area around her breasts?" asked Sasame. "What if they are in the vicinity of her vagina?"
Jaune swallowed, his mouth going dry.
"If you lack control, and your composure falters, then her life could very well be lost, and I imagine she will think you for being such a gentleman with her final breath," said Sasame, her tone cold.
"O-oh..." said Jaune.
"Understand, Jaune-kun, that this is just the beginning," said Sasame. "There is no harm in admitting that Miyu-chan is attractive, so long as you learn to put that in the objective sense. When you act as a healer, you must set all else aside, and engage with your patient almost as though they were an object. However, you will also need to learn how to deal with sights that are not so aesthetically pleasing."
"H-how so?" asked Jaune.
"If you have a commitment as a healer, then you must be committed to look at your patient, regardless of who they are," said Sasame. "When we return to Onmyo, it won't just be young women, like Miyu-chan, you will need to look at. You will examine older women. You will examine men, both young and old, as well.
"More than that, you could be required to touch any of these people in their most intimate areas. You will handle male and female genitals directly-handle, not fondle. You will do this, and you will be required to maintain your composure, and completely control your base reactions. And that is still just the beginning."
"Why?" asked Jaune.
"Because, after that...you will be handling corpses," said Sasame.
The heat disappeared from Jaune's face.
Sasame continued, undaunted. "You will be required to dissect corpses in a variety of conditions," said Sasame. "You will view ones that have been altered to simulate a wide variety of conditions and injuries...and you will be required to touch those as well."
"Why-what good will that do?" asked Jaune, sweating, despite the cold feeling running down him like a shower turned all the way down. At the mere thought of what awaited him, his erection wilted almost immediately.
"Because that is what you will be doing as a healer," said Sasame.
Even during their previous lessons, Jaune had almost never heard this tone from her. There were no playful jests, no gentle affection, no affirmation. Sasame's tone was deliberately neutral, stating purely the facts, imparting a sense of seriousness that really was beyond what he'd experienced in any of his previous lessons.
"They say that the path of the warrior is the path of carnage and bloodshed..." At this, Sasame's cold expression broke for the briefest of seconds, as she let out a scoff with a smirk, before her face returned to a more stern expression. "...but that is nothing, compared to the path of the healer.
"A warrior is free to cut one down, and continue without looking at what they have wrought. As a healer though, you shall be seeking out the aftermath. Your aspiration, the very fulfillment of your role, will have you seeking the carnage and bloodshed of others, so that you can mend it. But, in order to do so, you must first be able to look upon it without flinching.
"A warrior may spatter themselves with the blood of their victims, but you will soak in it. You will sink your arms up to your elbows in gore. You will experience repulsive sights, revolting smells, and relentless sounds. If you wish to heal someone, you must first understand how they are injured. To manage that, you will need to look at them with a cool head and a keen eye, observing everything...and never looking away."
Jaune swallowed.
Sasame continued. "One day, 'helping' someone may require stuffing their entrails back into their abdominal cavity. To heal someone's lung, you may first have to remove the rib that punctured it. And so...you will subject yourself to things that no mere warrior would ever have to face."
"So that's it," said Jaune, his throat tightening painfully.
"I will be perfectly honest, Jaune-kun," said Sasame, "if you truly do not feel up to this, then here and now, say so. If that is the case, then you shall be giving up the path of the healer. Proceeding from here requires nothing less than complete commitment."
Jaune swallowed again.
"There will be times where life and death can be decided in a matter of seconds," said Sasame. "That is just as true for a healer as it is for a warrior. This training is to keep you from hesitating.
"What is more, a healer is required to maintain their objectivity. As I said, you will see revolting things. But if you allow yourself to be revolted by them, that revulsion will be reflected in your Aura. And I know that you've already experienced what happens when you allow your Aura to waver in such a way."
Jaune's hands went completely limp, his fingers dangling straight down.
"Lust, anger, fear, disgust...these and so many other emotions can alter the way in which your Aura enters another person. When that happens, your Aura ceases to be a source of help, and instead becomes a source of harm. Let your composure falter, and you will kill the very person you are trying to save. That is what this first lesson will be working you towards, Jaune-kun. Do you have the resolve to see it through?"
Sasame's tails unwrapped from around his wrists, while her third tail removed itself from beneath his chin. Jaune was now free to do as he pleased. He closed his eyes, not to keep from seeing Miyu, but to decide himself.
It's the same as before, he thought. Just as he had come to Beacon without fully understanding all of what being a Huntsman had entailed, so too had he started to walk down the path of a healer, without realizing what the result would be, the experiences he would need to walk that path. And now, just as he had been before, he was faced with the reality of the commitment he would be forced to make. Knowing what he did now, just what would his decision would be?
I never got this far by giving up, he thought to himself. His hands clenching shut again. And...this path...it's the best way to walk beside her. Before his mind's eye, he saw the face of Ruby, her radiant smile, those magnificent silver eyes... I want to support her.
If this was what it took to become the kind of person who could keep holding her up, then he would walk down this path, however difficult it would be. With that in mind, Jaune took a deep breath, then opened his eyes once more.
Sasame was smiling now, an expression of approval. Miyu was giving him a slight smile as well.
"Okay..." said Jaune.
"Good," said Sasame. "I know you will make me proud, Jaune-kun. Miyu-chan...lie down on the bed, and we will begin."
"That was a few levels above where your training should have been," said Sasame, thinking about Neo's condition. "You never cease to impress me, Jaune-kun."
"I still felt some, at the beginning," said Jaune. "It was...God!" He scrunched his eyes shut, the memory of what Adam's sword had done to Neo's body making his stomach rebel again.
A pulse of Aura from Sasame made the reaction subside. "And yet," she said, "you didn't let it stop you. Neo-chan's condition was severe, Jaune-kun. When you reached her, she was seconds away from death. If you had hesitated, she would have expired before you could have sufficiently stabilized her. What is more, you retained your composure, and kept your feelings from disrupting your Aura. Because of those two factors, Neo-chan is alive now. You have every right to be proud, Jaune-kun."
Sasame pushed herself up on one of her tails slightly, rising up high enough to plant a gentle kiss on Jaune's forehead. "You should be proud, because you've made me proud. I couldn't ask for a better apprentice."
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder