39 Chapter 39: Missing red and white

"Okay team, we're in the home stretch! Just a few more days and a few more concerts before the mission will be over!"

It was early morning and Team AACE found themselves sitting in a conference room listening to their leader give a speech as well as a review at the halfway mark of their mission. Unlike the first couple days, the past two had been uneventful and with five more to go, the team couldn't wait to be rid of these annoying man children.

As Amber spoke, Cinder stared vacantly at her, lost in her own thoughts. Yesterday, she had done some research on the event Jiao had talked about and she found the report, which hadn't been fun to read.

The report wasn't anything special, a Grimm attacked a village, then bandits came looting and plundering, typical stuff. But what had caught her eye was the report on the girl they had found barely alive.

She different matched Amber's description and while being found alive was nothing short of a miracle, reading some of the details had made it even more disturbing if the girl was Amber.

Reports suggest she had been held captive for a month before anyone found her. And she was far from unscathed. Starved, beaten, threatened on a daily basis, and they planned on being selling her as a slave. Those alone were enough to make a lesser person stop, but the part that really got to Cinder was a side note saying that they had tried to use the girl…in a way nobody should be.

But what the report didn't say was the name of the girl. In fact, someone had gone to great lengths to keep it a secret. Apparently, the huntsman who found her said she was in a fragile emotional state and wasn't going to do anything that might make things worse. She had given her report over the phone and nobody had seen her face!

In the aftermath, the media had swarmed the Arc residence, trying to get a picture of the mysterious girl, but there were so many children who lived there, they had no luck and after Nicholas filed a complaint to their sponsors, the reporters were forced off his property.

And even after hours of carefully scrutinizing every bit of information she could get, she found nothing about the girl playing any hand in the destruction of the village she called home.

Had Jiao been lying? Making stuff just to get under her skin? Maybe, but she still couldn't think of what reason he'd have for calling out Amber instead of someone like Summer or Cinder herself. Either way, something didn't make sense. How could Jiao know something that wasn't in the report? Did he have other contacts or something? Or maybe-."

"Cinder? You there?"

The dark haired girl jerked up to find Amber looking at her while Adam and Eric were getting ready to head out.

Realizing her had been spacing out, she immediately stood. "Sorry. I was lost in thought. What were you saying?" She asked. Her question made Amber's eyebrow twitch very slightly. If Cinder hadn't been paying close attention, she would have missed it. Both of the boys had as they made their way towards the door.

"No worries. I was just saying that after today's concert, I'm giving you four hours off!" Amber said in her usual cheerful tone with her familiar smile. And it was only now Cinder notice she always closeted her eyes when she smiled like that. Was she…?

"Basically, just in case we're…you know… I want you to have a good time with your family. I'll take over your duties and seeing as the band is planning to just chill after it anyway, I'm pretty sure you should be fine to enjoy your day. Just make sure you come back early. Remember, tomorrow morning there's a huge concert for the Three Dragons. So we'll all need ple-."

Bang!

Amber was cut off as the door was thrown open, smashing Eric in the face sending him crashing to the ground where, thanks to the shield strapped to his back, he found himself unable to get up!

But nobody on the team gave him a second thought as they all looked up at the man who had just entered.

"Good, you're all here." Bobby said as he fixed the collar of his suit. "There's been a change in plan! Ms. Rose. For the rest of the day, you are forbidden from leaving Jiao's side! If he disappears from your sight for one second, I'll fire you all so fast, you'll get whiplash!"

"What!?" Cinder snapped, her rage immediately boiling to the surface. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! Why the hell was it suddenly so important that he did not wander off?! This hadn't happened when someone had shot him and nothing else had happened since!

"Mr. Rocks. I don't understand. What happened?" Amber asked, taking a step towards him. "We had agreed I'd handled shifts. You must understand that working a twelve hours shift like that is very demanding on-."

"Be quiet! If I want your opinion, I'll ask!" Bobby snapped, walking towards Amber until he stood directly in front of her. "You have proven your completely incompetent at your job! A worthless piece of trash like you shouldn't whine! That fact I haven't fired you is a testament to my kind heart! Now shut up and let the adult talk!"

With that, he turned back to Cinder and made his way towards her. Though he kept glancing over at the door and dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief nervously, as if he was worried about someone coming in.

"Apologies for that." Bobby said as if he had done nothing wrong. "Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I need you to keep a closer eye than normal on Jiao. He is never to be left alone! If he goes to the bathroom, I want you right outside his stall!"

"Okay, first! I'm not standing outside a bathroom stall!" Cinder said shortly. "I'm very certain there are rules against doing that! And even if there wasn't, I'm not standing around in a boy's public bathroom! That's disgusting! And second! What the hell is going on?! Why the sudden increase in security? You don't react this way when a gun was pulled on your star singer. What gives?"

Bobby rolled his eyes at the girl, then began to speak again. This time, there was a strain in his voice. One that he normally covered up, but now his act was starting to slip.

"What gives is that I'm paying you." He said, trying to keep his temper under control. "So you have to follow my orders. If I say jump, you jump. If I say go right, you go right. If I say stand outside a bathroom stall waiting for my star singer to get out of it, guess what? You do it!"

"Sir, with all due respect." Amber said, taking a step towards him. "I don't know what's going on, but try to understand that going into a public restroom if you're the wrong gender is forbidden even for huntsmen on guard duty. It's call-."

"I don't know what's going on, but try to understand that going into a public restroom if you're the wrong gender is forbidden even for huntsmen on guard duty!" Bobby repeated in a high pitched mocking tone. "Oh boo hoo! I'm a useless little baby who can't do anything! All my decisions are the wrong ones because I want to impress my mommy and daddy and listening to the adult who's hired me won't make me seem as cool! I want to be a rebel! I want to be a hero! I want all the attention because I think I'm a big strong huntress now even though I'm just a baby relying on daddy money!"

His mocking hit Cinder very deep in a place she didn't know she had. Each word felt like a gust of wind fanning her rage, making it burn bright and hotter until it would soon become a raging inferno! Every inch of her mind was screaming at her to break this fat, bastard's face and smear across the floor!

And she probably would have if she wasn't too stunned to move.

She wasn't the only one affected by his words. Amber's face had started to fall when he had begun the mocking, but when he brought up her parents, her usually calm composure vanished and was replaced with emotions Amber NEVER had!

Her mouth was open, teeth bared at the man! Her eyes were narrow, filled with burning rage and anger that only grew with each word he said as it slowly changed to hate! Her normally calm and kind demeanor was gone, replaced with cold livid fury that emanated from her with the presence of a hurricane!

Cinder could feel her aura surging with fury without needing to try! Were Amber's emotions affecting her soul!? Cinder hadn't heard of something like that before! Was that even possible!? Nobody, not even Summer, had done something like this before!

This could be felt by everyone in the room! It would be enough that any normal person would stop trying to make her angry as she glared at them with killer intent. But Bobby didn't seem afraid. In fact, he looked delighted he had found something to crack the normally stoic girl.

And where must would have stopped the moment Amber fixed them with a death glare, he pressed on as if it was nothing.

"Aww. Did I hurt the little baby's feelings? Gonna go cry to mommy?" He continued in that mocking tone as he stepped forward to meet Amber's glare head on. "Well mommy's not here to take care of you! So stop being a baby and do what I tell you! I'm in charge and parting with a handsome amount of money for what I can only describe as subpar service! So be a good little brat and do what the adult tells you!"

A long silence followed as Amber and Bobby continued to glare at one another. Nobody else dared to speak or even move as they watched the intense stare-down continued for several more seconds. Until.

Amber let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a couple seconds, then looked back at him, face now completely void of emotions. "Yes sir." She said tonelessly, making the shorter man smirk before turning back to Cinder.

"Now, as I was saying, I do believe that you'll find that you will be doing exactly as I say because-."

"Like hell I will!" Cinder snapped, cutting Bobby off as she glared down at him. She had heard enough from this short piece of shit! She wasn't going to just sit back and listen to him run his mouth to Amber like he was so much better than her!

That was Cinder's job!

"I've had enough of your bullshit! Ever since we got here, it's been bad call after bad call because of you!" She yelled. "If you had listened to Amber on day one, the incident with the shooter would have never happened! But no! You know better because you're an adult! Well I got news for you asshole! THAT'S NOT ENOUGH!"

"You think because you're older, our opinions aren't worth considering! But unlike you, we've studied this subject! Battling both humans and Grimm is what a huntress does, while you sit back in a comfortable, air conditioned, million dollar mansion sipping imported tea with your feet kicked up on a leather footrest! You don't know the first thing about formations or battling! I bet you don't even know how semblances work! So you have no right to talk smack to someone who actually has real power!"

Cinder's shouts drew Amber's attention causing her to stare in surprise at her partner. She never imagined she'd hear something like this from the arrogant girl. And even though she knew she was probably just doing this to try and assert herself as a leader, it still caused a warm feeling to fill her chest. And while the rational part of her brain was screaming at her to step in, she decided to stand back and watch what happened next.

But while she may not have made a move, someone else noticed this and decided to make a decision on her behalf.

"Cinder, enough." Adam said, stepping forward and grabbing her arm. "Now isn't the time. Remember, we're on a mission and he's our client. You can't just threaten him no matter how much you want to. Or how much he deserved it. Cool off now or I'll have to take disciplinary action."

"People like you make me sick!" Cinder said loudly, pulling her arm out of Adam's grip and flipping him off at the same time. "You think just because you have money, you're untouchable! Well I have news for you! All that power you think you have is fake! And it won't protect you forever! Someday, that house of glass will crumble on top of you, leaving nothing but your failures for others to remember you by! And when that day comes, I'm going to be right there to watch you begging for my help! Crying and offering everything you have left as your pathetic body is dragged away by all the people you've screwed over! And believe me, once their done with you, you'll wish you never crossed my team!"

Bobby looked slightly taken aback by her outburst, but soon his face changed to one of smug anger.

"Fine, you can't do what you want." He said in an evil tone. "But if we're on the subject of repercussions, perhaps your school would be interested in hearing about YOUR failure."

Immediately Cinder felt her confidence burst like a balloon as the short man continued to speak.

"I think they'd be very surprised to hear you not only failed to protect your client, but also attacked them! Why, for a school that's supposed to be training the future protectors of the world, if anyone was to learn one of their students put her own emotions before the people she was supposed to protect, then your future would be the least of their concerns!"

Cinder felt her jaw drop as Bobby continued, his eyes burning with enjoyment as he held her actions over her head in a way she hadn't expected.

"Why, can you imagine the media outbreak if word got out about that? In fact, if they had a video, like from a security camera, they just might have the headline news for century!" His grin grew wider as the entire team went pale at his words. "Why, I wouldn't want the future huntsmen being trained by people who allowed such a bully into their school! It would be an insult to the noble name of huntsmen! Not to mention the poor media response to the family that raised such a selfish person!"

Immediately all the fight building in Cinder fizzled out at his threat. She was more than willing to risk herself with her actions, but there was no way she'd EVER put her family in danger for it. Not after all they had given her.

"With a few hundred phone calls, the parents of such an irresponsible brat could lose their jobs! Or worse, become part of an investigation into potential criminal neglect as I can't imagine what else would cause such a delusionary idea of what a huntress is supposed to do!"

Bobby's face became even more sung as each word he spoke broke Cinder a little more. Her face losing more and more color as she lowered her gaze.

Grinning evilly, he decided to put the final nail in the coffin as he continued.

"And with a reputation like that, why anyone with the family name would probably be ostracized! Regardless of age. Could you imagine how a child would react to having their future snatched away like that? Why to have their future reduced to working the rest of their lives at a fast food drive through is just so harsh. Wouldn't you agree?"

Biting her tongue, Cinder turned her gaze to the ground and fell silent.

Bobby gave her a satisfied smirk upon seeing he had won. With one last sneer at Cinder, he turned and walked towards the door.

"Glad to see both of us were able to come to an agreement." He said with a smug tone. "Now remember, Exactly like I say. Otherwise you'll find I MIGHT let our little secret slip to a couple media outlets I know. I can't imagine the stories they could whip up with that juicy scoop."

He paused at the door to meet back at the team. "Anyway, have fun! Music Fest is very difficult to get into. I'm sure you'll be more than happy to get a chance to look around WHILE you stick to my band like glue. I'd hate for anyone to think I was being unfair, but I suppose, even if rumors did start, squashing them would be nothing more than an inconvenience."

With that, he disappeared down the hallway, leaving team AACE standing there in utter silence until they could no longer hear his footsteps.

A few seconds passed, then a full minute. Nobody really wanted to say what was on all their minds. They were locked into a contract with someone who very clearly had some ulterior motive, one they were all in the dark about. And due to the actions of one individual, they were now completely at their clients mercy.

"Well, if we're going to sit here in silence, can someone help me up?" Eric asked, breaking the tension momentarily.

________________________

A few hours later.

Cinder stood outside the employee entrance staring angrily at her Scroll. She was supposed to be guarding the back area that led directly onto the stage, but she had gotten clearance to go to break from Amber.

This let her check her messages and become filled with a bit more resentment as she saw Summer's response to her update on her mission.

"It's okay. Things happen. Don't worry too much. The kids are having so much fun I'm sure they'll understand." It read. But Cinder knew better. Whenever Ruby and Yang were having fun when she wasn't with them, she'd always send pictures of what they were doing. This message had no pictures, telling her that they had probably been pretty upset.

Apparently, Tai hadn't been able to make it either. School year was in full swing and with all the tension, Signal was making all their students and staff take extra precautions. For both their protection and the protection of the huntsmen image. Something she now realized was much more fragile than she first thought.

"Cinder, breaks over. The band is heading out."

Amber's voice broke through the girl's thoughts. With a deep sigh, she slid her Scroll into her pocket and scanned the area for any threats. Surprising absolutely nobody, there wasn't anything in sight. After the incident with the girl from two days ago, the event had increased security. Now, not even huntsmen were allowed to carry weapons.

She turned as the door opened and the band made their way out. They had already changed into their disguises meaning they were planning on walking around again. Great.

"So what's on today's agenda?" She asked as they came to a stop in front of her.

"Kang is going to a music store outside the event." Eric said, nodding at his charge. And Cinder did notice her was easily the most obvious of the bunch. "Public image stuff or something. Apparently it's good for idols to be seen doing normal things in public to ensure people think they're normal."

"It's called humanizing us." Kang replied with a dry tone. "Trust me, I don't like it, but it's important for our fans to see us as people, not singers."

Cinder hit back the retort that immediately formed on her tongue. She wasn't giving these assholes anymore ammo then she already had! As much as she hated it, she'd have to suck it up and deal with them until the Mission was over.

"Fai and I are going down to the docks." Adam said as he followed the said singer who was already making his way towards the water. "Said he wanted to try fishing. Not sure why, but whatever. It can't be that bad, can it?"

With that, the two groups split off leaving Cinder alone with Jiao, who looked somewhat agitated for some reason. Normally, Cinder would have been annoyed that he was playing the victim when she and her team were the ones being blackmailed, but once again she bit her tongue and remained silent. Waiting impatiently for him to say something.

Unfortunately, they stood there for several minutes doing nothing at all!

Finally at the end of her patience, Cinder broke the silence with a hard, but very restrained tone.

"So, are you going to do something? If not, let's get back to the trailer before another scorned lover shows up and tries to kill you." She fought to keep the edge out of her voice, but it still managed to slip in as she realized she could have been spending this time with her family. "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think standing here on SUCH a nice day is-."

"Hey Cinder, sorry about earlier today."

Cinder blinked in surprise at what Jiao had just said. Had he known about her plans? No, he couldn't have, could he?

"Look, I know Bobby Rocks is a dick! That's kinda what it's like in the world of idol management." He said with a surprising amount of sincerity in his voice. "His only concern is making money, and he has no problems trampling over others' right and privacy to get it. Believe me, I had the same reaction when he told me about the bathroom thing."

Aww! So that's what he meant! Now that she thought about it, this was as much an invasion of his boundaries as hers. Maybe more so as he was the one taking a piss/dump right behind a closed door.

"Yeah well, that's the job." Cinder said begrudgingly. "Huntress life isn't all dangerous hunts and life threatening adventures. Which I am learning very quickly."

"Still, I want to make it up to you." He said, once again surprising her with his sincere tone. "But first, you are NOT to come into the bathroom. I'll talk with Bobby later, explain why I'm not allowing that. He might be hard to reason with, but I'll figure something out. I'll make sure you aren't held responsible for that outlandish order."

Despite his words, Cinder highly doubted he'd be able to talk that bastard down. If anything, he'd probably just ignore the singer and then yell at her again for not following his orders.

"Anyway, is there something you wanted to see today?" Jiao asked, catching Cinder off guard. "I don't have any plans. Already seen what I wanted. So consider this my apology. And a way to get out of this boredom."

Cinder started, hardly believing her luck. This was her chance! She could finally go spend time with her family! Sure, it wasn't what she had imagined, but it was better than nothing!

"How much time you got?" She asked in a mischievous tone, causing Jiao's eyebrows to raise in concern.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" He said, looking at Cinder's expression. "If I say all day, what would you do?"

"Oh stop being a pussy! You'll be fine!" She replied as she took out her Scroll, grinning as she looked over at him. "After all, can you think of a safer place than with a war hero?"

_________________________

As Summer and her family existed the youth singers compilation. The mood was much happier since they received Cinder's text saying she couldn't make it. But it had still taken quite a while and many different exhibits, one of which Yang had managed to win a remote control drone with a camera attached that could connect to a scroll. A prize Summer already knew would undoubtedly drive her crazy before the end of the year.

She understood the girl's position all too well. Years ago, she had actually missed Tai and Raven's wedding as Ozpin had sent her on a long term mission that took even longer than expected. It was the unfortunate reality of the job. She even knew some people who had quit to spend more time with their loved ones.

And then there were some people who had to step down because of the death of their significant other. That was always one of the hardest things to swallow. Like poor Todd Howard, Isaac's son and one of her closest friends until his unfortunate and unnecessary death. Thinking back, he had been like a brother or her. He may not have had the aspiration to be a huntsman, he had been her closest confidant. He was the first to know about her crush on Tai when she was still in school, he was also the one to help her get closer to Raven and Qrow with some sound advice. He might have been younger, but he was still so full of knowledge. After his wife had found out she was pregnant, he had been the one to step up and take care of everything for her, even those she was already a renowned huntress. It had been so sweet listening to stories about their time together. But on that fateful day when he was killed was the day everything changed. His death had been part of a massive tragedy that resulted in several hundred civilians killed. He along with his crew he had brought to rebuild housing for towns that had been damaged by the war had been whipped out in a second. She had been nine months pregnant with Ruby at the time. And thinking about either of her girls growing up like his son would have to have almost caused so much distress she had almost damaged her own daughter! Only being helped when Tai had-.

"Cinder!? Cinder!"

Ruby's sudden cry snapped her out of her rambling thoughts. Turning in surprise, she saw her daughter rushing into the arms of her oldest sister, who happily picked her up laughing as she went.

"Haha! Ruby! What's the occasion?" She asked, grinning. "You saw me less than a week ago! It's not like I went on a trip around Remnant!"

Before Ruby could answer, Yang ran over to her as well, just as happy as Ruby.

"Cinder! What are you doing here?" She asked excitedly. "Mom said you were stuck at work! How come you're here?!"

"I was." She said and Summer felt her heart drop. "But I found a workaround. And now I'm here for a while! We can go see Music Fest together!"

"Workaround?" Summer asked as she and her daughters walked over smiling. "What kind of Workaround? Nothing negligent I hope." Despite her words, she couldn't shake the feeling Cinder might have ditched her job for this. Or something else equally as risky.

But Cinder grinned at her and jerked her finger behind. "Luckily, I was able to bring my work with me." She replied. "So I hope you don't mind an extra wheel, cause this was the only way I could get here. And don't worry. My team captain already knows about this."

Summer let out a breath she had been holding. Thank goddess! She had been worr-!

"No way! Get the fuck out of here!" Yang gasped, eyes wide as she looked behind her sister, ignoring Summer's scolding about her language. "Cinder! Is that who I think it is?!"

"In the flash!" The boy replied as he stepped forward, smiling down at the blonde who was staring starstruck up at him. "A pleasure to meet my guard's family. I've heard all about your exploits, Mrs. Rose. I'm a very big fan."

Summer racked her brain trying to remember who he was. She never paid much attention to music so she didn't know who this guy was. But given his age and handsome appearance, she guessed he was part of some kind of boyband.

"It's my pleasure!" She said smiling and shaking his hand. His face definitely looked familiar, but when she had been helping Yang look into music as a career, she had seen so many pretty boys their faces had started to meld together.

Fortunately, Cinder saved her from the awkward situation.

"Right, this is my client, Jiao, of the Three Elements Dragon." She said, "And Jiao, this is my family, Ruby, Yang, and Summer, my mom. Their very important to me so don't do ANYTHING stupid, okay?"

Summer caught the strain in Cinder's voice as she spoke to her client. So it was already that bad, huh. Noticed.

"A pleasure." He said smiling and pointing at them with finger guns with a wink. Was this seriously what girls liked? If so, Summer was very happy Cinder broke the status quo.

"Wow! A real celebrity! And you're guarding him, Cinder?" Yang asked happily. "That's awesome! It must be so cool to see how everything works backstage! I bet it must be amazing to see all the choreography for the dances and watch them write the music!"

Cinder let out a cough, pointedly turning away for a few seconds as she 'cleared' her throat.

"Most of the writing is actually done already." Cinder said, voice straining to keep herself from going off on a rant. "It's mostly pretty mundane if I'm being honest. Most of the time I'm just standing around waiting for them to finish whatever wasti- their doing. Honestly, with the lone exception of a crazy fan, not too much has happened."

"Well, that's actually pretty good." Summer said brightly. "A boring mission is the best kind! No danger or enemy attacks! A bit dull, but when weighed against life or death battles, I think we can all agree which is better."

Cinder knew which she'd prefer, and had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't the same as Summer's. But she didn't comment.

"Aaww! So you don't get to see anything about the composure, lyrics, or tuning? That's lame!" Yang whined, folding her arms and pouting.

"Yang, mind your manners." Summer said firmly to her daughter before turning back to the singer. "Sorry about that. She wants to become a musician, but the teaching event today got canceled. She's been grumpy ever since."

"Teaching you say?" Jiao said as he knelt down to the blonde's level. "Well, today is your lucky day. I'd be more than happy to give you some tips. And given that this advice will be coming from the most popular idol in Mistral, I think it'll give you quite an edge!"

"Really!?" Yang cried, her gloomy expression gone immediately.

"Really."

Jiao held out his hand in a fist towards Yang, and the blonde girl was quite eager to give the singer a fist bump, her face seemingly radiating light from a huge smile she had.

"Free lessons? How uncharacteristically generous of you." Cinder said in an icy tone as she folded her arms to glare at the singer. "What brought on this sudden change of heart? You've never seemed to care about teaching before."

Jiao let out a fake laugh as he stood up and walked over to Cinder.

"Cinder, Cinder. Always with the aggressive jokes!" He said in a light tone as he wrapped his arm around her neck and began guiding her a little distance away. And while she could escape easily, she allowed herself to be dragged to ensure their conversation wouldn't be overheard.

And once they were a safe distance away.

"What's your problem?" Jiao asked irritably, now in the same honest tone he had used a few nights ago when she confronted him. "I'm just trying to help! Believe it or not, I do want people to go and achieve their dreams. I wasn't able to, but that doesn't mean others shouldn't! And if I can help those people reach those dreams, then I'll be more than happy to help!"

"It's not her dream!" Cinder shot back, her irritation clear even in her whisper. "Trauma is causing her to give up on her real dream! She doesn't want this! So don't encourage her! Honestly, part of the reason I brought you here was so you could be a dick and maybe show her she doesn't want anything to do with the singing business!"

Jiao raised an eyebrow at Cinder. "And you get to make decisions on your sister's behalf because?" He asked in a dry tone. "Last time I checked, she's her own person, not an extension of your will. If you want my opinion, it sounds like you're trying to control her decisions. Make her into what you want. Almost like owners back when I was a slave."

Immediately Cinder felt rage build up in her stomach. How dare Jiao suggest she was like a slave owner! She was nothing like the mistress or her selfish daughters!

"Look here, you worthless asswipe!" Cinder snarled, becoming much more physical by stepping on his toes. "I love my sister! And I want what's best for her! And seeing her become this sexual merchandise that a greedy manger would sell to horny teens isn't something I'm going to allow! So don't you DARE compare me to a-!"

"Is everything okay?"

Cinder and Jiao looked up to see Summer approaching them, a concerned look on her face.

"Whatever you two were talking about looked like it was getting intense. Is everything alright? Nothing happened while you both were out here, right?"

"Nope!" Cinder replied, turning to face her mother. "I was just telling my client that if he hits on either of my sisters, the contract we signed won't save him from my wrath! He understands, right Jiao?"

She sent a hard glare at the singer as she spoke the last part. Daring him to cross her.

Jiao looked at Cinder for a second, weighing his options, then he let out a sigh.

"Yep, Cinder is quite protective of her sisters. I learned that a while ago." He answered, rubbing the back of his head. "I have a bit of a playboy record, and while it's nothing extreme, she still felt the need to enforce her opinions. In fact, she threatened to choke me out while burning my throat so even if I did survive, I might not be able to sing anymore."

"Huff! Hey, I could charge into you with a firearm and try to shoot you while endangering everyone else in the area." Cinder shot back, glaring daggers at Jiao. "And besides, your reputation is so bad, I might think you got a girl pregnant then dumped her! And nobody decent would be that heartless!"

Summer raised a concerted eyebrow at the jabs Cinder and Jiao were throwing at each other. They were oddly specific and very concerning considering some of the newest articles she had read. For both their sakes, she hoped that they hadn't done anything extreme, because both could lose their jobs if this was true.

But instead of voicing her concerns, she clapped her hands and smiled. "Well, if you've got that settled, how about we do some more sightseeing?" She said happily. "We're burning daylight and you both have an early concert tomorrow! How about Yang gets her lessons while we look around with some real life examples?"

"Sounds great!" Yang replied, punching the air happily. "Thank you Mr. Jiao!"

"No need for thanks." Jiao replied with a smile. "And drop the Mr. Jiao stuff. You can call me Chen. Jiao is just my stage name. And I prefer not drawing attent-! Ow!"

Jiao was cut off as Cinder kicked him in the back of his knees, making him turn pointedly to glare at the girl who was looking the other way and whistling peacefully.

"Right, let go then!" Ruby said, completely oblivious to what had just happened. "I wanna see some more performances! There's another band here who are huntsmen themed! I wanna go see them next!"

With a laugh at Ruby's excitement, the family plus the singer began making their way into the event, Ruby in front leading them, and Cinder hanging in the back, glaring at Jiao's back as he continued to talk with Yang about music.

_____________________________

A little while later in the food court.

"Irritating little shit, isn't he?" Cinder said as she, Ruby, and Summer stood in line to get some food of the whole family and Jiao, who had given Cinder a much longer list then anyone else in spite.

"Now, now. Let's try to remember he's still your client. So be nice." Summer said as she smiled at her daughter. Ruby bouncing up and down beside her. "He's being nice, which is more than I was expecting given his reputation. So let's just accept that for now. No point getting into a fight over nothing."

"You don't know him like I do." Cinder said dryly. "All day he's been uncharacteristically nice and generous. Normally he's an asshole. In fact, one of the reasons I brought him along was to-!" She caught herself before she mentioned her plan to make Yang give up on the singer nonsense. She knew Summer wouldn't approve, even if she also had her concerns about the trade.

So instead of continuing, she turned to glare at Jiao and Yang who had found a bench and were talking about music stuff Cinder didn't understand.

Clenching her hands into fists, she had half a mind to storm over there and stop him from encouraging her to go into his line of work. How dare he overstep like that after she had just warned him! Was he really so spiteful that he was just doing this to get back at her?! She had punched him twice and held back both times! He was being a b-!

"Cinder, can we talk?" Summer said, breaking Cinder out of her thoughts. "I know you don't like where Yang's headed. Trust me, I don't like it either. But Try to understand that at the end of the day, it's not our decision to make. And if Yang wants to go into music, she'll need support for EVERYONE she loves. Including you."

"Support her?! Your joking, right?" Cinder protested, eyes wide in shock that Summer was even willing to entertain the idea. "Maybe you don't get it, but after the past few days, I've seen what goes into making an idol like Jiao! It's not fun! And don't even get me started on their wardrobe! They're practically naked just to get horny bastards drooling all over them! I don't want that for Yang!"

Summer smiled at Cinder as she reached out and gently placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I understand, but you need to accept that it's not your decision to make." She said gently. "Like it or not, Yang's growing up. She'll need to make her own decision. And if she wants to try for a music career, she'll need to start now. And while it'll be tough, I trust that she'll be able to handle it."

Cinder opened her mouth to shoot back a retort when Ruby suddenly tugged on her sleeve.

"Hey Cinder, look over there!" The little girl asked, tugging once again to try to get her attention. "I think I see huntsman! He even has-!"

"Just a minute, Ruby." Cinder said, pulling her arm out of the girl's grasp, not looking away from Summer. "I know Yang is tough, but I've seen what music managers are like! I don't want Yang to end up with some filthy pervert who just uses her for his own gain! She deserves so much more than that!"

"Yes, she does. But I repeat, it's not our decision." Summer said kindly, but firmly. "Yang is the only one who can decide what kind of life she wants. And it's not our place to stand in the way. We can offer her different paths to choose from, but it still has to be her choice. You can't protect her forever. Keep trying, and one day, she'll come to resent you."

"I don't care! I know what's best for her!" Cinder snapped as she pulled her arm away from Ruby who had started tugging again. "I understand it's her life, but I know this isn't a good choice for her! So why shouldn't I, the one who knows, not step in?! I'm-!"

"Cinder, stop."

Immediately any protest on the dark haired girl's lips died at Summer took a much more serious tone. A tone she only took when she was done playing games and it was time to listen.

"I understand where you're coming from, I really do. But I need you to understand that like it or not, Yang's life isn't something you control." She spoke softly to the girl, as if she was scared of frightening her off. Because Summer knew underneath all that flamboyant bravado Cinder carried an immense fear. Something the girl still refused to address.

But that stopped today! Summer was exhausted from practically begging Cinder to try therapy, to talk about her problems. So even if she wasn't a professional, she was going to dredge up some long dormant trauma.

"Cinder, I know you're afraid of losing people. I know you've been afraid of that since you first opened up to us. And because of that, you feel that you can't afford to lose, to anyone." Cinder immediately took a step back in surprise at Summer's words. But her mother wasn't done yet.

"I get it's scary to let someone you love go, but it's not your right to hold them close to you. They're there because they want to be. Staying because they can't leave is imprisonment, not love." Summer took another step towards Cinder, who found herself rooted in place as she struggled to find an argument.

"But-!"

However, the girl's voice died on her lips as Summer pulled her into a hug. Squeezing her tightly against her chest.

"I know it's hard, but Yang's old enough to make her own decisions. And now we have to support her, even if we might not want to." She said comfortingly. "and besides, how many kids have said they wanted to do something and ended up doing something else? Yang's young. She has plenty of time to pick a different career if she wants. Regardless of us that's a huntress or a singer or even a business woman. She has plenty of time to find her path to the future."

Cinder felt Summer's warmth flow into her, calming her like it always did. She was right. No need to push Yang away from music this week. Yang was young, she had time to pick a different path. And Cinder had plenty of time to talk with the blonde about what really happened during this mission. No need to rush.

"Yeah, you're right." Cinder muttered as the two pulled away. "I guess I was being a bit rash. I can't talk with her later. Thanks mom."

Summer smiled at her eldest daughter. She might not have gotten the whole picture, but she definitely was starting to understand and that was enough. As she said, there was plenty of time to show her what she meant.

"You're welcome." She said with a smile. "Now, let's get that food! Don't want Yang to get hangry over us being late!" The two shared a laugh as they turned their back to the line. Thankfully, it was still quite long and they hadn't missed much as the man in front of them had conveniently just finished ordering. Seemed he was a huntsmen too given the two kusarigama hanging from his belt and tattoos of horns on either hand.

Speaking of which.

"Hey, Ruby? What were you talking about?" Cinder asked as she turned to her sister. "You said something about huntsm-!" But she stopped mid sentence as she stared at the area next to her.

Ruby was gone. And there wasn't a trace of her red cloak amongst the crowd!

___________________________

Meanwhile,

Ruby crept after a group of three as they made their way to a more secluded part of the docks, away from all the commotion. "Maybe they were on a mission or something! They were only a single person short of a full team!" Ruby thought to herself as she followed them, hiding behind one of the warehouses as she watched them.

Their members consisted of two huntsmen and a lone huntress. They looked to be in their mid to late twenties and were carrying a large heavy bag and were dressed bulky for the time of year and were carrying several thick t-shirts. What's more, the huntress had a long cheetah's tail protruding from her back and one of the men had a long rhino's horn sticking out of his forehead.

They were Faunus! The first real Faunus huntsmen she had ever seen! Huntsmen rarely came to Patch and even few were Faunus! She wanted to meet them and what kinds of adventures they had been on!

Sure, she knew she should have gotten either Cinder or her mom, but they were having such a serious talk and the huntsmen were leaving, she had decided to go on her own. After all, they were huntsmen! They would help her find her way back! It was their code to help others in need and she was sure they wouldn't min-.

"Hey, you sure this is the way? This is going to be harder the more time passes!" The rhino man said. He seemed agitated by something, and Ruby wasn't sure why.

"I'm sure." The huntress said. She seemed like the leader of the group as she held herself with an air of confidence and the other we're looking at her for instructions.

"Just a little farther. Then we're home free. Just make sure the package is recognisable. Otherwise this will be all for nothing and we can't afford that, not after everything we've gone through." She spoke with more confidence than the man, but Ruby still had no idea what they were talking about.

But seeing as they were in a hurry, Ruby thought maybe she should just step out and ask for their artigraf or something. She didn't want to be a pest.

But before either the huntsman or the little girl could do anything. A glowing glyph suddenly appeared behind the man! The next second several shards of ice shot towards him! The woman reacted instantly, kicking him out of harm's way and leaping away at the same time! And while Ruby would normally gawk at their skill, something else immediately caught her eye!

As they dodge, a shard split open the bag and something came tumbling out!

It was a young girl! Around Ruby's own age! She had beautiful white hair and blue eyes that burned with fury as she glared up at the Faunus, struggling frantically against the handcuffs holding her arms behind her back!

She was screaming angry profanity that was muffled by several layers of tape that had been wrapped over her mouth and she had been silenced to a point even Ruby could barely hear her!

"Shut it bitch!" The rhino man yelled, slamming his fist into the girl's stomach! Knocking the wind out of her and breaking her aura.

"Stupid bitch!" He grunted as he pushed several thick t-shirts on the coughing girl, making her squirm as it became extremely difficult for her to breath. "Couldn't even die without inconveniencing us. Oh well. At least we finally nabbed her! Can't complain about that!"

"Hey, it might be a good idea to keep your voice down. We're not exactly the most inconspicuous group right now. And if we're caught kidnapping her, we'll all be in hot water." The other huntsman said, turning to the bag where he began moving his fingers next to the tear, making it mend right in front of him.

Ruby's heart stopped at his words. This was a kidnapping!? Why?! Weren't they huntsmen?! They were supposed to protest people, not kidnap them!

As the man continued to weave the bag shut, the girl inside began thrashing around again, making the huntress let out a sigh.

"Aften, hit her again. She clearly didn't get the message the first two times. Maybe the third times the charm." She said, hands stuffed into her pockets as she scanned the area. "And make it quick! Something feels off. Things have been going too smoothly. We haven't run into a single problem or wrinkle, and that's never a good sign. I'm starting to feel like that geezer may have had something else on his agenda than just helping our cause."

Ruby ducked behind the wall, pressing herself against it hoping they wouldn't notice her! But as the girl in the bag let out another muffled cry of pain, she felt anger burning in her stomach.

How could these people hurt others when they had sworn to protect people?! This was wrong! Just by doing this, they were bringing shame to the name of huntsmen and huntresses everywhere!

"What would Cinder do in these circumstances? Go get help? Set up an ambush?" Ruby thought to herself. No. She would charge in and beat the stuffing out of them! But she was strong though! And Ruby still had trouble keeping up in her training! She couldn't fight off three grown huntsme-!

"Found you. I thought I heard some breathing over here!"

Ruby let out a squeak as someone came crashing down on her, crushing her body against the ground. It was the man who had been using some weird power to seal the bag!

Unfortunately, before she could gather any more information or even regain her breath, the man carried her out from behind the warehouse and in front of his companions.

"A child? What's she doing out here?" The woman asked as Ruby was carried over. "Why aren't you with your parents?"

"I-I!" Ruby stammered as she stared weakly at the three huntsmen. She was in a very bad situation! She had no way to fight back and nobody knew where she was! Even worse, she had now been captured by the people who were actively kidnapping people! And all of them were looking right at her!

But as she looked at the Faunus, she didn't see malice in their eyes. Just a blank surprise. Maybe, maybe they didn't know she had heard everything!

Maybe there was still a chance to escape!

"I got separated! I- I was wandering around and heard voices so I came to investigate! I-I need help finding my mommy!" She lied, hoping her lying skills had improved. "I wanted to see if you could help me! T-then this guy jumped on me! I-!"

"You're lying." The woman said dryly. "Don't bother denying it. I've seen my share of liars and racists in my day, so I can tell a lie when I hear one."

Ruby's head slumped at her words. So much for that plan. Now what was she supposed to do?!

As the woman took another step forward, the young girl flinched, making the woman stop and raise her hand in surrender.

"Easy kid. I'm not going to hurt you." She said gently and earnestly. "How about we make a deal? You forget what you saw, and we let you go. No one gets hurt and you can spend the rest of the day with your family. With this event just a permanent reminder not to wander off alone. What do ya say?"

"Chesher!" The rhino Faunus snapped, taking a step forward. "You can't be serious?! She goes and tells a huntsman about this and we're done! We can't risk-!"

"Don't worry, she won't." The woman, Chesher, replied. Then she calmly walked over to the bag and dumped the tied up girl onto the ducks.

"This thing is Weiss Schnee. The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. A company that profits off slave labor." She said, driving her heel into the girl's stomach, making her cry out in pain. "She's basically a crime boss the law can't touch. So we're giving them a hand and trying her for her crimes. And believe me, nobody's going to mourn this worthless piece of filth. So by not saying anything, you're going to be a big hero to the larger whole. Sounds like a good deal, right?"

Ruby stared back at the woman wide eyed unsure of what to do. Of course she knew about the abuse of power in Atlas, Cinder had talked about it when her past was brought up. And going by what she heard from her classmates, especially the Faunus ones, the SDC were the living embodies of evil and corruption.

But as she looked down at the helpless girl laying on the floor, she didn't see an evil slaver driver like in her cartoons. She saw a terrified girl being taken against her will to never be seen again. The fear in her eyes as she looked up at the younger girl, tears in her eyes told her the truth as to who the monsters in this story were.

"No way!" Ruby yelled, glaring at her captor. "I'm going to tell everyone what I saw! You can't just kidnap an innocent girl! That's wrong! You people are in the wrong! And I won't be a part of-Mmpphh!"

Ruby's screams were silenced as the woman clamped a hand over her mouth. As she did, her sleeve slipped slightly revealing a gauntlet with extendable claws underneath them, making the young girl freeze in terror.

"So you're on the side of the human? Shame, I was hoping the next generation would have a better idea of justice." She said, then she turned to the rhino Faunus. "Pack up the package. We're out of here. And we'll be taking our little ant-hero with us! After all, I think we can all agree the few of them there are, the better!"

Both girls let out a scream as Weiss was shoved back into the bag. Frantic, Ruby began kicking and screaming and biting her captor, only to bounce off her aura harmlessly.

"Oh shut up kid!" Chesher snapped, her claw like blades extending from her gauntlets stopping close enough to graze the girl's cheek, silencing her immediately. "You're going to be killed right alongside the heiress. So unless you want me to make it even more painful, I suggest you put a lid on it!"

Ruby felt tears sting her eyes as fear completely overtook her. She didn't want to die! Looking back at the warehouses, she begged Cinder to come running around the corner and save them from the huntsmen!

But she had no such luck, and soon enough, she was also tied up and gagged, leaving her completely at the mercy of these psychos.

/////////////////////////////////////

So, this might come off as a bit random, but who's your favorite character in this story so far?

I'm doing a survey for something and your opinion MIGHT effect part of the story. If you don't want to use your personal account for this, feel free to to comment as a guest. Just please don't spam or anything. I do really want this feedback.

Thanks in advance and I hope to see you all next time. Bye!