Clark lightly rapped on the door.

It opened and Ruby appeared, wearing casual clothing. "Oh, hey Clark. Do you need something?"

"Yeah. Can I talk to you for a bit?"

She nodded and stepped back. "Sure, come on in."

He walked in. "Is Yang going to be back soon?" he asked, looking around. Ruby had a few comic books spread out on her bed, and her sister was nowhere to be seen.

"Nah, she said she's going to stay out late tonight."

"Okay then, it should be fine if we stay here. There's something I want to talk to you about which is kind of . . . well, private."

"What is it?" Ruby's brow wrinkled, showing concern at his discomfort.

He sat at the desk closest to him and took a breath. "It's about Penny."

"Oh." After a pause, she asked. "What about her?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to know how you moved on after she died. It's because-wait, you know I've been seeing a therapist, right?"

The sudden change in subject seemed to confuse her. "Yeah."

"Okay. So I've been meeting with him, and he recommended that I talk to you, since you were her friend too."

Understanding swept through her face. With enthusiasm, she said "Alright, I'll help anyway I can. Is there anything specific you need, or should I just say what I went through?"

"Actually, I have a few questions. How long did it take until thinking about her didn't make you want to cry?"

Ruby looked away, her face pink. "The only time I lost control of myself crying was when you first told me about her." Her embarrassment dissipated, replaced by sadly tinged reminiscence. "After that, it was a few weeks until I could hold in my tears. I still sometimes feel like crying, though it's not that often now."

"Thank you," Clark bit his lip, starting to regret having to remind her about Penny. "Are you sure it's okay for me to ask you about this?"

"Yes," she said, insistent. "Clark, I'm fine now. You helped me back then, so it's only fair I help you now."

"You're not obligated to."

She only answered with a determined expression.

"But I still appreciate it." He flashed a smile, which faded when he recounted his own experience. "It was different for me. I didn't cry for Penny until that night you guys convinced me I needed to sleep."

"You did? Why didn't you tell any of us?"

His eyes widened slightly, and he rushed to explain. "Well, I was already in bed and I'd kind of already upset everyone-

"That doesn't matter! None of us would have been bothered, especially not me."

"Isn't it better late than never though?"

She frowned. His platitude ineffective.

"I'll make sure to remember that for next time," Clark promised. "Let's get back to Penny. Do you think it's wrong for me to have gone so long without mourning her? I didn't mean to. I overworked and distracted myself, but not on purpose."

"Overworking yourself was bad, but I don't understand why it would be wrong that you didn't cry until a few weeks ago. You cared about her and felt sad that she died, that's enough. You don't need to beat yourself over it."

"Maybe, but it still doesn't feel right."

"Why?"

Clark's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds. Then he said, "It's hard to explain."

"Do you usually cry a lot after losing someone close to you?"

"I don't know. Before Penny, I only lost one person like that. I didn't cry much back then, but that's not the important part. For him, I felt devastated and lost, and it didn't go away until a long time. Actually, it still hasn't gone away. With her, those feelings were brushed aside."

"But they were there, and they're still here, right?"

"Yes."

"I don't think anyone would ask for more than that. Besides, your reaction isn't something you can change. If you think it's a mistake, you should remember not to do it again. Take care of yourself the next time."

"So I should move forward, huh? You have a point, I probably have been dwelling too much on the past."

"Exactly. Time heals all wounds, right? Maybe it'll take a while and it won't be the same as before, but someday you'll be okay again."

\\\\\

Today, the blinds in Greer's office blocked the view of the courtyard. It wasn't much of a loss, since it was a dreary sight with the rain coming down.

The constant pitter patter was soothing though. With the warm yellow lights in the office, the gloomy weather hardly affected Clark. It seemed to be the same for Greer, he'd been just as open and welcoming as usual.

"I've looked through the answers you sent me for your daily questions," Greer said. "It looks promising. You're not reminded about Penny and Velvet as often as you used to be."

"I've also spoken to the mutual friend I mentioned before."

"Do you think it helped?"

"Yeah. She described her experience in depth and gave me some good advice. That maybe time is what I need."

"She's not wrong, but we have something even better than time alone, tried and true medical science." Greer jotted a note down and looked back up. "By the way, there's something I should bring up regarding our sessions. We haven't had many yet, but I've noticed that you don't tend to open up on certain topics."

Clark examined him, now careful on how to proceed. "Which ones?"

"You haven't mentioned the specifics on why you feel responsible for Velvet's death. You were side-by-side with Penny, so it's understandable that you'd blame yourself for what happened to her. Velvet though? She was injured and you placed her in the guard of evacuating soldiers. I don't see why you'd have such a strong reaction without more specifics."

"More specifics . . . how much do you need them?"

Greer gave him a small, encouraging smile. "I can still try to help you without them, but it would be difficult."

Clark stared down and pressed his palms together. He considered Greer's request, and after a while, he looked back up. "There's a reason I'm hiding it, but I'll say as much as I can. I have a powerful Semblance, an ability huntsmen get after unlocking their aura. If I'd paid more attention that night back in Vale, I could have guarded Velvet even while I was fighting Grimm."

"Regardless of your Semblance, I'm fairly sure you'll know what I have to say about that."

"That it's not my fault and I shouldn't beat myself up over it."

"Yes. I can say that a million times over, but it won't work nearly as well as seeing that other people, people you're close to, don't blame you at all. Talking to Penny's friend seems to have helped. Have you tried contacting Velvet's team like I recommended?"

Clark wore an awkward expression. ". . . No."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I haven't talked to them in a while, and there's no way they'd just happily accept a call from me when I ignored them. They must be busy with their own lives too, trying to contact them would just be an interruption. Also, well-" He trailed off at Greer's questioning look.

"I don't think those are good reasons, do you?"

"No."

Greer chuckled. "Then I hope you can find it in yourself to call them soon. Let's get back to your Semblance, since I think it may have influenced a lot in your life. Have you had it for a while?"

Clark nodded. "Since I was a kid."

"Can you give me an idea of how powerful it is?"

"Well, at Beacon, Headmaster Ozpin thought I could be the most effective huntsman in the world."

Surprise spread through Greer. "I didn't realize you had that potential." He rested his chin on his hand, the pen just under his nose. "You don't have to tell me anymore for now. This is already very helpful and puts a lot in perspective."

"It does?" This was only their fourth session, and until now, Clark had been pretty careful not to hint at his powers in any way.

"Yes. When I first met you, I thought you were modest but you're more than that. When you speak about your huntsman missions, if it's a group mission, you downplay your part. If it's a solo mission, you're vague. You don't mention how many Grimm you killed or how you killed them. When you're in a group, you describe their methods and even their weapons without being prompted."

Clark squeezed his thumb against the side of his index finger. He hadn't realized that Greer could find out so much from only a few instances of his behavior.

"Clark, it seems that the topic is making you uncomfortable, but that can be a good thing. I think it's extremely important that we keep talking about this. Will you agree to that?"

Clark nodded.

"Let's start with your early life. What problems did your Semblance cause for you back then?"

"Let me think." Clark said, trying to decide where to begin. He'd had his powers for as long as he could remember but saying so early an age would be suspicious. "It started when I was fourteen. The place I lived in is very different from here. It's outside the Kingdoms, but so well-isolated from Grimm that we hardly saw any. There wasn't much need for huntsmen, so my Semblance wasn't necessary to protect our town.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"There were still issues though, which I used my Semblance to solve. Frauds, thieves, murderers, we had a surprising amount for such a small town. I stopped them in secret, and I hid my Semblance from everyone because if I didn't, my parents were afraid that word would get out and I'd be taken by the government. Vale's government, I mean."

"Your parents were paranoid?" Greer asked. His pen moved over his notepad.

"No no." Clark quickly interrupted him before he wrote down something wrong about his parents. "They were right to be afraid."

"Were they? I've heard some incredible stories of what huntsmen are capable of, is yours so different?"

"Yes, I can't tell you why, but it is. It's a lot stronger and a lot less limited than many Semblances I've seen or heard of." For one, he didn't need aura for his powers. As far as Clark knew, Qrow was only one with a Semblance like that, but it was hard to control and inconvenient in daily life.

"Okay, I understand. The thing I need to know is that you kept your ability secret from your community. Nobody but your parents knew, not even from your friends?"

"For a long time, yeah."

"Was it a daily issue, hiding your Semblance?"

"Sort of. I wasn't always at risk of being found out, but . . . it was still hard being different from everyone else. I could do so much more than them, even more than most huntsmen, but it's really not worth it if I can't be myself around them."

"Huh, most people would take pride in being much more capable than those around them."

"I could understand if those people earned their abilities, but that's not the case with me. It's not a point of pride, it's just a fact."

"That's a very interesting viewpoint, but I think we should get back to it another time. About your friends, do you regret hiding it from them?"

"No." Clark paused. "But I do regret hiding it from them for so long. I'd known them for years, but I didn't tell them freely. They both found out enough that I had to explain the rest."

"Did your friendships survive?"

"They did, but it was pretty rocky with one of them. We recovered though, which I'm glad about."

"Ah, a happy ending." He turned his wrist over to check his watch. "And just in time for the end of our session. Clark, I'm going to send you an updated list of questions. I think your Semblance has had an enormous effect on your life, even involved with what you originally came to me for. I think for future sessions, we'll focus on it."

"That sounds good to me," Clark said, sounding a lot more certain than he was.

\\\\\

The Interference. As he'd been told, Simon Atreus had prepared a new task force just to deal with them. The mysterious group disrupting crime in Mistral and threatening the decades-long stability in the city.

As Simon had found out, nobody knew anything about them. Not even Councilor Dolus had been able to offer any useful information. Luckily, that had gotten him some slack with the task, but it wasn't going to hold up forever.

That was why he was on a video call with Nioxan Iona.

"It's been a while since we've last spoken, hasn't it?" Simon asked.

"Yes, it has. Please don't read too much into it. I've merely spoken with a few friends, and we decided that it would be best to keep contact with the government to a minimum."

A few friends. In other words, that worrisome coalition of families and gangs Simon had heard about. Like Nio, most of them had some prior connection with the authorities, but their agreements were starting to fray with the Interference causing so many problems.

This would be a good first step in keeping them intact. Simon started his pitch. "The Interference must be bothering you guys too, huh? I heard you got a good look at them though. Mind telling me what you saw?"

"I'd be glad to share what I know. As long as I get something in return, of course."

"What do you have in mind?" Simon could offer a lot if he wanted something with the police. If it was more, Simon could still negotiate, but he'd have to be careful.

"For the next two months, I want the police to overlook any Iona family business in the far east sides of the third and fourth levels of the city," Nio said.

"That should be easy enough, if the information you have is worth it."

"It is. I had two of my people, amateur huntsman level, and some gunmen pin down two Interference members for a short time. Do you want more details?"

Simon's eyes bulged. Nio had actually seen them? Or at least, had reliable information on their appearances? Honestly, it was a pathetic thing to get worked up over, but when nobody else had managed to even catch a glimpse, it was impressive.

Nio smiled. "I'll take that as a yes. The most important aspect of them is that they're strong. One of them took down a dozen armed men and an amateur huntress-level woman without trouble. The second wasn't as strong, but he still gave some trouble in a similar fight." He described their clothing and weapons. Black cloaks, swords, and shields. Not very helpful for identifying them, but how he'd attracted them was much more promising.

"You pretended to have a gang war so they would come in and break it up?" Simon asked.

"Yes. Although I don't think it'll be successful again. We've tried a few more times and haven't found any more Interference."

Simon sank back down in his seat. That had been a fleeting hope, and it would have been easy to arrange. He'd still try it though if better options didn't come up.

"Thank you. I don't have anything else to ask."

"Very well. It's been a pleasure doing business with you." Nio cut off the call.

Simon pressed a button for a clerk. A few minutes later, a slim Eastern man with glasses came into his office.

"You called for me, sir?" His tone was helpful and precise.

Simon narrowed his eyes. "You're a clerk?"

"Yes sir."

"You must be new. Usually Leon or Cyril help me with anything I need." Those were the two Dolus had arranged to work for him. They could take care of work both legitimate and illicit.

"You're right about me being new, I was recently transferred to this department. Regarding those two, they're facing legal troubles after the Petridis investigation revealed that they had ties with his activities."

Simon balked. "When was that?"

"A few days ago. From what I remember, the case didn't seem that strong, but the prosecution kept finding more and more evidence. It's going to be an interesting trial."

Was that true? It would explain why Dolus hadn't told Simon about it yet. Crap! What if they found out about his involvement?

He'd have to ask the Councilor later. For now, he needed to calm down and deal with his current problem.

"What's your name, by the way?" Simon asked.

"Fai Ling."

"Okay Fai. I want all members of the Disruption Minimization Force to be notified of a meeting tomorrow at three in the afternoon."

Fai nodded. "I'll get it done."

"Wait." Simon said just as Fai reached for the door. "Before you leave, let me ask you something. How'd you get transferred here? What's your guarantee from Dolus?"

Fai met his eyes with an even look. "Sir, Councilor Dolus didn't assign me here."

What? Dolus was supposed to have a stranglehold here. Obviously, most of the management wasn't important, so they were independent. However, if Fai was meant to work directly under Simon from now on, how could he not have been sent by Dolus?

"I am allowed to tell you that my friends are different from yours, but still powerful. You won't have to worry though, we find the Interference troubling as well, so I'll do my job properly, sir." With that, Fai left Simon's office.

\\\\\

Only a few spots at the table were empty, but their absence was a powerful reminder to the remaining family heads. If he'd been asked about it, Diomed would have told them to get over it, but even he was bothered by what had happened.

Myron and Petro were gone. They'd been the most adamant on sticking to past ways and were now behind bars. Meanwhile, the original plan to temporarily reduce activity in the city had turned into a permanent arrangement. When they could, they changed business strategies to run covertly. When they couldn't, they either tried to expand outside the city, with much lower profits, or give up on some business completely.

Despite Nio's attempts to push for new ways, he'd gotten the worst of it out of everyone here. Diomed had no idea what happened in Pellina or why Nio had tried to route through there, but if the Ionas had been in this state back when the alliance had begun, they wouldn't have been allowed in.

Diomed watched his friend. He'd known Nio for years, he liked him, but sometimes business had to come before friendship.

"Everyone, I'd like to start this meeting on a subject that's come up before but has been unwisely dismissed," Nio said. "We need a leader. At the moment, we're subsisting by adapting to the Interference, but we need a coordinated effort in order to fight back against them."

"This again?" Daryn Athanasia asked. Many of the others gave similar sentiments, scoffing at Nio's suggestion.

Nio was unfazed by their reactions. "Yes, 'this again'. Except the difference now is that we're much more jeopardized. Do you want to see the number of people around this table dwindle more and more until it's finally your turn?"

"Stop blowing it out of proportion. We have a workable system now with the police and our businesses. We're not going to drop out so soon."

"We have workarounds, but are you all really satisfied with what the Interference has reduced us to? What happened to the men who wanted to make them suffer?"

Diomed had to wonder, did Nio really believe that they needed to take severe action against the Interference? It hadn't been that long ago when Nio had urged caution. Had he actually changed his mind, or was he just saying what he had to so they could appoint a leader? Also, what was he planning after getting a leader? What was his goal?

Diomed had no idea. Nio hadn't been easy to read even before this alliance had been formed. Now, with his family business threatened, his plans were a complete mystery.

"Don't try and rile us up by calling us cowards, Nioxan," Stephen Garis said. "We're not that stupid."

"I don't think you're cowards at all. I just doubt that your priorities are in the right order. We've adapted to the Interference, but how much longer do you think it'll take for them to do the same? The only time we even saw them indicates that they're too strong for our best fighters. It's only a matter of time before they break us down. We need to organize under someone who can make coordinated attacks against them with all of our resources."

"He's not wrong," Diomed said. No matter what Nio wanted, he was right. They weren't getting anywhere like this. "The only success we had is when two families worked together. Not just sharing information and methods but executing them as a group."

Nio nodded. "Thank you, Diomed. Since we're all strong-willed individuals, I have a few recommendations that might satisfy you. Firstly, the leader wouldn't be absolute. We could each be allotted a few exemptions that we can use to refrain from following an order. Secondly, we could limit the kinds of orders he's allowed to give."

A few previously reluctant faces now seemed to open up to the idea.

"How many?" Daryn asked.

"I think it would be reasonable to give one every fifty days."

"Fifty days? No, three weeks."

"Come now, be reasonable. That's not even half of what I proposed."

"Fine, four weeks."

"Every month seems easier to remember. Of course, there's a range of twenty-eight to thirty-one days, but I think it'll be much more convenient."

"I'm fine with that."

"Good, and I'll take the silence to mean that nobody else has any complaints regarding that. Although I'm sure we each have much to say on other specifics."

Negotiations continued for the next two hours. They considered how many orders he was allowed to give in a month, how many men of what level of skill he could demand from each family for a plan, and the maximum number of families that could refrain from an order. Long, sometimes heated arguments which dragged on. There were eight groups, six families and two Eastern gangs, which was the most important factor in their decisions. Eventually, they settled on three orders a month, various fractions of a group's men depending on the need, and three groups at most were allowed to refrain from an order.

Compromise. Where everybody gave up something and nobody was happy, but at least they were less upset than they would have been otherwise. Besides, it was almost a miracle that they'd gotten this much with the families.

"It's wonderful that we've made so much progress, but we still have to choose a leader," Nio said. "Fortunately, I already have someone in mind. Diomed Thrace." He smiled and faced Diomed directly.

He couldn't suppress his shock. "Me? You want me?" Nio had mentioned it before, but Diomed had thought it was just meant to distract him from his real plans. It still could be. How could making him leader help Nio at the expense of giving up the role himself?

"I support the decision," Zhang Xioaping said.

Chen Yu raised a hand. "As do I."

Stephen glared at them. "No, Diomed's far too close to you, Nio."

"Too close?" Nio feigned confusion. "I admit, we're friends, but the rest of you are no strangers to Diomed either. Don't you agree that he'd be the best one here for the job?"

"If it were just Diomed, I could argue that, but with Iscon too there's really nothing to say," Hector Kallis sat next to Stephen and met his eyes. "You're making too big of a deal out of this. So what if they're friends? Nio's already taken away so much power from Diomed that there's not much he can force us to do if we don't want to."

"Diomed and Nio were the only ones to get back at the Interference. As long as Diomed gets results and keeps it in his head that we're not going to be pushed around, I think it could work."

"Don't forget, Iscon's there too. Even if Nio manages to sneak something past Diomed, no way it's getting through him."

"Besides, you Easterners seem to support them, but no way you're gonna let them get one over on the rest of us. If you somehow manage to get it good for the four of you without the rest of us, hell, that might be impressive enough that I wouldn't even get that mad."

More and more comments poured out. It was reasonable to suspect that Diomed and Nio were working together or that Nio was just trying to use him. The latter was probably what was happening, but there really was no way for Diomed to force his will on them. In their eyes, the worst-case scenario was him, Nio, and the Eastern gangs all cooperating to pull the wool over their eyes. Even in those unlikely circumstances, the four remaining families had just as much power in the meetings. Plus, with Nio's recent losses, the four dissenters now had more resources than a hypothetical arrangement between Diomed and the others.

When Diomed had hardly any idea what Nio was planning and less on the motives of the Eastern gangs, the other families seemed to sense something of the truth and their suspicions fell to the wayside. It took a while, but they came to an agreement.

"Wonderful!" Nio said. "By unanimous vote, Diomed Thrace is the leader of our alliance. Do you currently have any thoughts on how to coordinate us?"

Diomed's eyes wandered the table. They all stared back at him. The leader, the one who'd organize them and get back at those Interference shits. If Nio were in his seat, he might have reveled, but Diomed only felt unease. He was great at running his family but handling five more and the Easterners was going to be difficult.

"Not much for now, but I want a list sent to me of your strongest fighters. They need aura at the very least. At our next meeting, I'll tell you how I plan to use them."