"Without black, no color has any depth. But if you mix black with everything, suddenly there's shadow - no, not just shadow, but fullness. You've got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that's real."

~Amy Grant

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"Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past. Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful. But he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction. The creatures of Grimm set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void."

"However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to change and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named, 'Dust'. Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness and in the shadows, absence, came strength, civilization and most importantly, life."

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(Flashback)

Blake: "Can I ask you something, Akito?"

A small campfire burned in the density of the Forever Fall Forest. Just a few centimeters away from them, was a campsite of three tents, the center one much larger than the other two. Sitting around the campfire, were two raven-haired teenagers, the girl with golden amber eyes, and black cat ears on top of her head, while the boy with blood red eyes and a black wolf ears on his head, though around his neck was a necklace with a green jewel in the center of it; they were Blake Belladonna and Akito Zara.

(Blake Belladonna)

(Akito Zara)

Akito: "Hm? Sure anything." He responded with, leading for the ravenette to sigh.

Blake: "Why did you join the White Fang?" That question he got asked a lot, however, the answer he gave...

Akito: "To find a purpose."

Blake: "A purpose?" He nodded.

Akito: "I originally grew up in Mantle alongside Mio... and our mother. Never knew our father, in fact... all I knew about him was that he was a deadbeat. But I barely got to know my mother before she had to leave for a mission. So Mio and I were left at an orphanage until she would return, but... that never happened. After the Schnees force shut down the Orphanage, they took all the Faunus, including me and Mio into the mines for free labor. It was around that time that 'they' finally spoke."

Blake: "They... You mean Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter?"

Akito: "Yeah... I thought I was going crazy at first... but it was until we met in my mind for the first time, that I saw them.. And not long after, they made themselves known to Mio. Knowing that we weren't alone boosted our confidence a bit but we still were trapped in those mines, with no food, and no hope of getting out. That's when we met Adam for the first time. He... inspired us and together we planned our escape. After we escaped, I was a bit of a renegade in Mantle, stealing from others just to survive, but that's when I fully realized my situation. I had no parents anymore, no home to go back to and I could only protect Mio from so many threats. I was starting to lose my steam, fast. What was my purpose? However, at that point, I found out that someone else was in a similar position to me." The amber-eyed girl immediately knew what he was talking about.

Blake: "Setsuna..."

Akito: "Yeah. When I found her in the slums of Mantle, I felt sympathetic for her. And after I broke her out, she's been by my side ever since. And even after Adam, Mio and I obtained Exia and the Eclipse, and after Sienna adopted us as her sons, I still haven't found my true purpose besides... I guess, being there for Mio and Setsuna." he said, taking out a book before he turned to a page with a book mark and began reading it. "And now Mio's away on her own special mission."

Blake: "So you're basically a wolf -away from its pack?" The crimson-eyed wolf shot her a 'really' look as his black wolf ears popped out of his hood.

Akito: "Besides the pussy-ass joke, yeah. I guess that sums it up." Blake rolled her eyes, as her cat ears twitched

Blake: "But... I'm sure you'll find your purpose in the world, Akito. Besides, everyone has one." She gave him a small smile, causing the boy's ears to perk up a bit as he looked at her. He chuckled and smiled back at her. But instead of a thank you, he took out an object from his pocket and handed it to her. "Huh?"

Akito: "Consider it a thanks for listening to me... and for being there for me." He opened his eyes, revealing it to be a necklace with a pennant; that pennant was in the shape of the cat Faunus' emblem.

Blake: "Akito... Thank you..."

Her ears perked up and she smiled with a small blush, as she took the jewelry from his hands and clipped it around her neck. The two stayed up for a bit longer before deciding to call it a night. After saying their good nights to each other, they each entered one of the smaller tents. Akito's however, wasn't vacant as in there, sleeping was a petite arctic wolf Faunus, who uniquely had two Faunus traits, both Wolf ears and tail; this was Setsuna. 

(Setsuna)

He laid down on the sleeping back neck to her, and kissed the wolf girl's forehead gently.

Akito: "Sleep Dreams, Setsu." The only response he got was a pleasant smile and mumble from her as she hugged his arm and continued snoring softly.

(Present Day)

That... was a few days ago. This day, the duo of Akito and Setsuna sat in a dark room with a singular light bulb, both with their hands chained. Akito was quiet, calm and collective, not even attempting to break his restraints. Setsuna however... well, she was the complete opposite, snarling and growling as she attempted to bite the hand cuffs off, but kept failing each time. After a few uneventful minutes, the doors to the room opened, as two adults walked in, a man in green and white hair and a blonde woman with a bit of a witch aesthetic, without any hat; they were Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch.

(Professor Ozpin)

(Glynda Goodwitch)

Ozpin: "Why hello there, I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. And this is my acquaintance, Glynda Goodwitch. May I ask for your names?" The immediate response he got as he sat down was Setsuna growling defensively at them. "Well, she seems to be quite interested in me."

Akito: "She doesn't particularly like humans, but I assure you, she's just on the defensive, even though she knows you both are innocent. Anyways, she's Setsuna, while I'm Akito Zara."

Ozpin: "The infamous Wolf of the White Fang." He was a bit surprised he knew that while the old wizard just chuckled. "You're the one who stole one of General Ironwood's recent projects, didn't you?"

Akito: "So what if I did? You expect me to just give it back?"

Ozpin: "I don't. And if it were up to me, I'd allow you to keep it." He was a bit taken aback but kept his cool.

Akito: "Okay... so what do you want with two criminals like us?"

Ozpin: "I have a proposal for you both. Would you like to attend my school." Everyone went silent. Akito and Glynda displayed expressions of shock and even Setsuna was completely shocked.

Setsuna: "W-What?"

Glynda: "Sir, you can't be serious!" Ozpin however, simply waved her off.

Akito: "No, I agree with her. Why would you want us of all people at your school?"

Ozpin: "A book shouldn't be judged by its cover. You both may have done things in the past that may be considered Injustice, but that does not mean that there isn't a speck of good within the two of you. Tell me, why did you join the White Fang in the first place?" Akito looked down for a second before he spoke.

Akito: "I told a friend this before I left... After my mother left for a mission she never came back from, leaving me and my sister, Mio, to an orphanage that ended up getting shut down by the Schnees, I lived in the S.D.C Mines for a while, until meeting... Adam. After I escaped, I was in Mantle for a bit, as a small petty criminal. Soon after, I found Setsuna in the slums under Mantle." He glanced over at her, to see her wolf ears flattening as she looked away, saddened. "She was kept on a leech like a dog, and was bruised, poisoned and on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion... I felt sympathy for her and felt that we could relate in a way, so I broke her out, she's been by my side ever since. And even after Adam, Mio, Setsuna and I escaped Atlas, and after Sienna adopted us, I still haven't found my true purpose..."

Ozpin: "And you left because?"

Setsuna: "Setsuna felt... out of place." Ozpin looked at her curiously.

Akito: "Exactly as she said. Even though we met quite a bit of interesting people in the White Fang, we never felt as if we fit in. And personally for me, I didn't find it right killing humans... at least, the innocent ones."

Setsuna nodded in response. Despite her strong hatred towards the Humans, she still had a sense of honor. She knew when someone was innocent and would not feel resentment or hatred towards them because of that.

Ozpin: "I see. Well if you join my school and pursue the goal of becoming Huntsmen, I guarantee you both will find your purpose in the world."

Setsuna: "You actually... want us to join?"

Ozpin: "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't, Ms. Setsuna. And if you join, I will personally make sure your criminal records are wiped completely and you'll both be able to start over. But if you do refuse, then I'm not sure what will happen, but it's safe to assume the police would arrest the two of you."

Their options were... quite one sided; Become a Huntsman and Huntress and defend the people, or rot in a jail cell for the rest of their lives. The two Ex-White Fang members shared glances with each other communicating just from eye contact alone, before Setsuna nodded her head.

Akito: "Fine. We'll do it." He said, looking at the Headmaster, who smiled while Glynda sighed.

Ozpin: "Welcome to Beacon Mr. Zara and Ms. Setsuna." While Akito merely nodded towards him, Setsuna on the other hand just looked away. They were waiting for the Headmaster to take his leave but... funnily enough, he didn't. He just sat there, looking at them before...

Akito: "Shouldn't you be leaving now...?"

Ozpin: "Yes I probably should. However..." As if in cue, a series of loud gunshots were heard in the distance, startling the two Wolves and even Glynda. "There is also 'that' to deal with."

Setsuna: "What the..."

Ozpin: "Consider this your first assignment as my students." He smiled at the two while Glynda facepalmed and began walking out of the room to deal with whatever was going on outside. "Help me and Glynda contain this situation, would you?" Akito and Setsuna both looked at him then shared a look of confusion.

GUNDAM SHADOWS VOLUME 1