-Last Time-
Finally spotting it, and seeing that her sister was already disembarking, Weiss hurried over to greet her. "Winter! You're here already! How!?" …Did I say greet, my bad, I meant interrogate.
Winter was a tall woman, with short white hair set in a bun, wearing a long white jacket with slits arms going from her shoulders to elbows and mostly open in the front, a black corset, white pants, and black/grey garters. Her face was set in a stern expression that softened slightly when she saw Weiss before hardening again. Along her right arm was a long skinny scar that hadn't been there the last time Weiss had seen her sister, which was just before the whole faunus abductions situation. It looked like a branching bolt of lightning or a crooked tree depending on the angle, being at it's widest near her elbow where part of it was obscured by her jacket and reaching all the way up to her shoulder.
"I was already nearby on important business, but that isn't what we need to discuss right now. Where is he?" Winter asked bluntly making Weiss freeze.
"Hehe… *Gulp* about that…"
-And Now-
"I told you not to let him out of your sight." Winter said in a stern tone as she rubbed her forehead while she and Weiss marched down the halls of Beacon. Weiss had just finished telling her elder sister all that had transpired in the last few hours and already she could feel a headache starting to brew. Winter gave her condolences to whomever had to deal with all this before she arrived.
-Transition-
On the other side of Beacon, Glynda sneezed in the middle of using her telekinesis to place several new mini security cameras up, accidentally launching one straight into poor Professor Port's groin.
-And back-
"It wasn't my fault sister, there was nothing I could have done." Weiss said with a slight whine as she struggled slightly to keep up with the older Schnee's pace. There was no way in the four kingdoms she was going to argue against an angry Professor Goodwitch, no T.W.L.S. therapy for her thank you very much.
"I am sure there was something, you just didn't see it." Winter stated, "Not that it matters now if what you have told me is accurate."
"Why are you so interested in Naruto anyway? How do you even know about him? Did the military send you for him? …or dad?" Weiss asked, adding the last bit hesitantly, but got no response. "Also, what happened to your arm?"
Winter actually stopped for a brief second, just long enough to glance down at the large blemish that now covered her arm. "That is…
-Flashback, Five Months Ago-
Winter withheld a sigh as she tiredly patrolled her sections of the dust transport train she was on. Ever since the debacle with the faunus children being turned into slave labor, the White Fang's attacks had become several times more frequent and severe. This in turn lead to the Schnee Dust Company having Ironwood assign military personnel to the various shipments and factories for better protection.
Being a specialist class, Winter herself was constantly placed with the highest priority, and thus most likely to be attacked, shipments for the last month. It was currently headed towards Vacuo from Vale with a mass dust shipment that is sent triannually, an estimated thirty-five billion liens worth of pure dust.
*Ksht* Winter tensed as her earpiece crackled to life. [Officer Schnee, the motion sensors are detecting an anomaly inside cargo car seven.] An emotionless robotic voice said. [Should I send a squadron to investigate?]
"No, hold off for now while I check it out." Winter said after checking her holo-map and finding herself to be just two cars away. "Stay on standby, but be prepared to send backup if I don't call in after ten minutes."
[Understood, returning to standby.] *Ksht*
Drawing her weapon, a masterfully crafted single edged dueling saber, Winter remained on full alert as she cautiously entered the next car. 'Who the hell keeps turning the lights off in these damn things? It's like they want the White Fang to have the advantage.' She thought in annoyance, straining her senses to the max as she crossed the darkened car.
Reaching the other side, Winter pressed herself against the wall next to the door and slid it open an inch. Peering inside, her eyes narrowed as they saw the broken storage crates and softly glowing dust fragments scattered on the floor.
*Crrrrck, crackle, crunch* Winter snapped her gaze to the other side of the car and her eyes widened. Something was hunched over one of the destroyed crates, gnawing away at a large chunk of lightning dust. While most of its features were hidden away by the murky blackness of the car, the Schnee could clearly make out it's glowing red eyes as it consumed the crystalized wrath of nature.
'A Grimm? A Grimm that eats dust!?' She thought in shock, before quickly shaking it off as her face hardened into a sneer. 'Not on my watch!' Silently sliding the door open wide enough for her to slip inside, Winter kept herself pressed against the wall as she snuck around the monster and got to a control panel.
'Three,' She placed her hand above the light controls, 'Two,' She summoned a pair of small gravity glyphs under her feet, 'One!' In one smooth motion, she switched the lights on and dashed towards her target at blinding speed with sword poised to strike.
Briefly blinded by the sudden light change, by the time her vision cleared up Winter was right on top of her target ready to strike it down. Her expression swiftly turned to shock and horror though as instead of seeing the familiar dark bodied, bone masked face of the enemy of humanity, Winter found herself looking down at the terrified face of a young boy.
It was only thanks to her many years of training and experience that the elite soldier was able to stop herself in time, her blade halting mere centimeters from the child's neck. The room was completely silent except for the boy's ragged breath and Winter's own slightly heavy breathing.
During this time, Winter got a full look at the stowaway. Young, blonde and red hair, red eyes, tattooed whiskers on both cheek, and nine long fluffy red tail tails with multicolored tips sticking straight out with the fur on end. Bits of dust were crumbling down his lips and his eyes staring straight into hers.
Finally, after several seconds of eternity passed, Winter slowly withdrew her blade and sheathed it. Just as slowly, the Schnee dropped to one knee and proceeded to reach out towards the shaken child with one hand, pausing for a moment when the boy shied away slightly before gently placing it against his cheek.
"Are you alright little one?" She asked, her voice changing from its usual callousness to soft and caring, a tone less than a handful of people had ever heard from her, as she gently rubbed the boy's whisker-marked cheek.
Despite how she may act, Winter did have a soft side, but one only her younger sister and mother had the pleasure of seeing on a somewhat regular basis. Not to mention she was smart enough to know that trying the usual brisk military approach to this situation would only make the boy more distrustful and/or scared of her than he already was.
Her action proved effective as the faunus child almost immediately relaxed from the contact, his tails gradually lowering to the floor and his breathing evened out as he leaned into her touch slightly. Winter could even swear she heard a light purring echoing from the boy's throat.
*Ksht* [Officer Schnee, your designated time limit has expired, do you require assistance?] *Ksht* The boy snapped out of his little trance due to Winter's radio crackling. He immediately scrambled away from the white-haired woman until he bumped into the cart wall.
Winter groaned quietly as she raised a hand to her ear. "Negative, it's just a kid, repeat the anomaly is just a civilian child." She said, never moving her eyes away from the cowering boy.
…
*Ksht* [Understood, transferring back to regular patrol patterns.] *Ksht*
Dropping her hand, Winter stood up and took a step forward which caused the child to tense up more. She responded by raising her arms in a placating way, trying to show that she meant no harm. "Easy… I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk. You can talk, right?"
"…y-yes," He uttered quietly while his eyes darted all around the room, most likely looking for possible escape routes.
"Good, can you tell me what you're doing here?" Winter asked. She didn't bother asking about why he was by himself or where his parents were. Judging by his scrawny frame, ragged clothes, and not-so-pleasant smell, she could deduce that he was most likely homeless and/or orphaned.
"W-was hungry… s-s-saw food…" The boy said while pointing to the broken crate he ransacked when she first showed up currently sitting by her heel. Several chunks of lightning dust sat in an unstable pile that jostled slightly from the trains movement.
Recalling how she saw him eating the volatile material while under the assumption he was a Grimm, the snow-haired soldier reached down and gingerly grabbed a piece about the size of her fist. Switching her gaze from the vibrant crystal and the young child several times, Winter mentally went through the possible consequences of what she was about to do.
Walking up to the boy slowly so not to startle him, she stopped just a foot away and knelt back down until she was almost eye level with him and offered the dust to him. "Here then, have some," She said while casually waving it in front of his eyes.
Looking at the offering with longing, the boy only hesitated for a few seconds before swiping it from her grasp and sticking the whole thing into his mouth.
'Fascinating. No hesitation, no negative effects, he legitimately just ate dust like nothing.' Winter thought as she watched him chew the dust up for about a minute before swallowing.
"…Thank you, lady," The boy said, finally relaxing some as he smiled slightly.
"It was nothing. And my name is Winter,"
"Nice to meet you Winter-chan. I'm…" The boy trailed off suddenly before his eyes widened. Before Winter could ask him what was wrong, his mouth snapped open and a blast of electricity shot at her.
-End Flashback-
"…Classified."
Weiss stifled a groan at that, instead just drooping her head slightly at the response her sister gave. "Of course it is," She grumbled with her cheeks puffed out as they arrived at an elevator and Winter pushed the call button.
"Pouting about it isn't going to do anything but make you look like a child Weiss." Winter said, before a barely noticeable smirk crossed her lips as she glanced down at her sister. "If that's the case… I could always give you a spanking."
Weiss choked on air while her hands instinctually dove down to cover her rear end. Her sister may act kinder around her than others, but that did not exempt her from being disciplined whenever Winter caught her doing something she wasn't supposed to do. After a few seconds however, she spotted the teasing grin on the elder Schnee's face and her cheeks turned crimson.
"That wasn't funny," She said with an embarrassed blush, turning away from her sister with a huff as the elevator doors opened. Winter didn't say anything back, just continuing to grin as the white-haired duo stepped inside before hitting the topmost button.
Neither of them spoke again, allowing a semi-comfortable silence to settle between them that was only broken by the relaxing music playing through the elevator speakers. Finally, the doors opened to reveal the ever-odd looking office of the headmaster of Beacon, said headmaster currently sitting behind his desk with his arms crossed. The instant the door opened, his and Winter's gazes locked.
"Hello Ms. Schnee, how may I be of assistance today?"
-Meanwhile-
"Thanks for stopping by! I'll call you as soon as the clothes are ready!" Donut called happily as Nora, Coco, and Naruto stepped out of the shop. The unusual faunus child was now wearing a smaller black shirt with a pink heart in the middle and a pair of red shoes with pink highlights. He kept the same shorts, but Donut had modified them with a new front zipper and pockets. To top it all off, his tails had a matching black belt right where the red fur ended and the blonde began, with a small colored gem that matched each tail's respective tip.
"Thanks again Donut! Oh, and tell Doc I said hi!" Coco called back with a wave as she walked off. Nora and Naruto followed suit after the orangette lifted her charge back onto her shoulders. Instead of heading to the bullhead to Beacon though, the leader of team CFVY took the lead again. "Time for those new shades you owe me." Was all she said when they asked where they were going.
Nora just nodded, it was just a pair of sunglasses after all.
-Four hours later, Beacon-
'Now I know why men hate shopping so much.' Nora thought with a grimace as she struggled under the weight of numerous boxes and bags. Coco was walking ahead of her, wearing her new sunglasses and an equally new dark brown cowboy hat. She was now the one carrying Naruto on her shoulders while both of them were enjoying an ice cream cone.
Not only did Coco make Nora pay for a new pair of aviator sunglasses, which cost her a decent chunk of her remaining lien, but also had her carry everything that the coffee themed girl decided to purchase as well. She comforted herself with the fact they were finally close to dorms.
"Well that was a fun day, wasn't it squirt?" Coco asked, while looking up at the boy riding on her back.
"Uh huh, lots of fun Coco-neechan," Naruto said enthusiastically as he happily licked his vanilla and chocolate scoop. "This was the best day… …. …" *Splat*
Coco stopped when Naruto suddenly stopped talking and dropped his ice cream, his face rapidly changing from happy and joyous to complete shock. Following his gaze, her and Nora were greeted with the sight of Weiss and Winter standing before them.
-End Chapter-