Team SWRZ - Volume 1 - Chapter 5 - From Bandit to Huntsman!

The battle against the Huntsmen was over. During his return to the caravan, Schwartz cleaned his clothes the best that he could. The mixture of blood and mud always proved challenging to wash off. It crossed his mind to ditch his clothes in the forest and find new ones. Perhaps the caravan would bring him such salvation from the filth he found himself covered in.

Upon his return, he spotted his partner in crime resting against the same tree she collided against earlier. He rushed over and checked on her condition.

"Bruna? Bruna! You alright?" Schwartz gently shook her.

There wasn't a response.

Schwartz removed the Grimm mask from the woman's face and slapped her cheek, hoping to get a reaction out of her. And in a matter of moments, he did. Bruna's eyes snapped open, and in a rage, she punched Schwartz across his face in retaliation.

"God damn idiot! Who told you to remove my mask?!" Bruna scolded. It was one of her main rules while out in the field. Never remove the mask. Their identities as bandits must always remain concealed.

"No one else is around to see your pretty face, boss," Schwartz flirted, even though blood ran down his nose from the hit. He tore off small pieces of fabric from the bandages on his arms and stuck the pieces into his nostrils.

"Cut the shit," Bruna demanded and stood to her feet, albeit with difficulty. She wandered over to her mask and returned it to its rightful place over her face. "I take it; you took care of that, Pewter fellow?"

"Put one right between his eyes," Schwartz casually reported. "If you want, we can take his body back and try to--"

"That won't be necessary," Bruna interrupted, having already predicted what her subordinate planned to suggest. The two bandits moved to the caravan and searched through its contents. Besides the necessities of food, clothes, and medicine, nothing else of real value caught their attention. "This isn't good. This kind of haul won't last as long."

"Especially not with all the mouths we gotta feed," Schwartz brought up, which earned him a glance from his superior. "Speaking of which, have you heard back from the others? They should've raided the other caravans by now."

"My scroll was damaged when I hit the tree," Bruna revealed. She reached in her pocket and pulled out her cracked communication device. "Those Huntsmen were a hassle."

"Well, what did you expect? We went against four of them with only two of us. We're the strongest in the tribe, but we were already exhausted." Schwartz complained and took a seat on a nearby briefcase. It was perhaps the only moment of rest he'd had in a long while. For months bounty hunters and huntsmen had chased him and his tribe down. He'd lost count of how many times the tribe had to relocate.

Unfortunately, they'd lose some members here and there throughout each move. Now, they were down to less than a dozen — the entire group held together by a thread. They'd soon find themselves captured or executed if they didn't gather enough money to escape Anima.

"I know it was foolish to split up and raid these caravans, but..." Bruna paused, struggling to find the right words to describe her desperation. As the leader of the Bruna Tribe, it was her responsibility to look after her members and keep them safe. The first few years of the tribe's creation saw nothing but infamy and fortune. However, the constant blood feuds between other clans and battles against Huntsmen dwindled their numbers severely.

The fear of the potential collapse of her tribe never showed on her face but rather in her erratic and desperate actions. Her time at the top had long passed. Or rather, it never began in the first place.

"Look, I'm not judging you too much, boss," Schwartz got up and placed a comforting hand on Bruna's shoulder. He never liked it when his leader showed weakness in front of him or anyone. He envisioned Bruna as the dominant, unstoppable force of nature that toppled anyone and anything that dared to stand in her way. "I can't imagine the pressure you must feel, trying to lead all of us the best you can, despite all that's happened. You're stronger than me. I would've given up a long time ago."

Bruna smirked from behind her mask. If there was anyone she could always trust to have her back, it was her right-hand man. The three years they worked together were perhaps one of the best times of their lives.

"We need to get stronger," Bruna lamented. The Wolf Faunus looked down at her palm and clutched her hand into a tight fist.

"And we will if we keep fighting against Huntsmen," Schwartz concluded.

"No, we'll die out if we keep this up," Bruna corrected him; such was the fate of bandits. They lived savagely, and that's how they would die, squandering out in the wilderness. Unless they did something to change their unfortunate fates, it wasn't until a specific flyer caught the woman's eyes did a plan pop up in her head.

She wandered to the caravan and picked up a flyer that featured the illustrious Haven Academy advertisement. It was all coming together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. The perfect plan to ensure the survival of her bandit tribe. Her family.

"I've got it, Schwartz! I got it!" Bruna exclaimed.

"What's got you all excited?" Schwartz asked.

"I've got the perfect plan to keep us alive! Schwartz, you're going to attend Haven Academy!"

"What are you talking about, boss?" Schwartz asked, internally wondering if his boss had suffered severe head trauma from that blow to the head earlier. What was she thinking? Who'd ever heard of a bandit trying to attend an academy for Huntsmen?

"What better way to grow stronger than by learning how to kill Huntsmen from Huntsmen themselves?" Bruna tapped the side of her head with a wide grin. It was genius! Schwartz would infiltrate the school for the next four years, learn the proper training regimen and skills from professional Huntsmen, and then pass on that knowledge to the tribe. With every member of the tribe having the power to take down Huntsmen, no one would stop them in the future.

"I don't like that idea, boss. It's too risky," Schwartz nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Sure, the plan sounded good on paper. But out loud, it was a suicide mission. One slip up, and Schwartz would find his head on the chopping block. It was too risky of a move to make, especially in their dire state.

"Look at us, Schwartz. Is this where you planned to be when you first joined the tribe? Scavenging out in some muddy and murky forest? Attacking and killing Huntsmen for the bare necessities?" Bruna indicated to the caravan.

"No, I can't say that I did. But, I'd be dead a long time ago if not for you." He mentioned. While it pleased the Faunus to hear those words, Schwartz didn't convince her.

"If this keeps up, we'll all die sooner or later. We killed Huntsmen today, Schwartz. Soon enough, the council will fund a subjugation force and have us wiped out." Bruna figured, although it was a bit of an exaggeration on her part. The tribe wasn't nearly as infamous as it was in the past. They stayed under the radar for so long because most people considered the tribe disbanded.

"Oh? All for little ol' us?" Schwartz laughed off the woman's warning, seeing the possibility as more of an opportunity than a threat. The Huntsman from earlier wasn't much of a challenge. If the council considered guys like him full-fledged Huntsmen, then the people of Mistral had to get their shit together.

"This isn't a game, Schwartz. I'm serious," Bruna removed her mask, breaking her own rule. That action alone knocked the smirk from Schwartz's face. "We survived today, and maybe we'll survive tomorrow. But, if we keep going like this, we won't live much longer."

"That's why we should hurry and get to Vacuo or Vale. We can hide out there and make new lives for ourselves. That should be the plan, not this Haven Academy nonsense." Schwartz questioned his leader, wondering what brought on the sudden burst of rejection from her. He'd never seen her like that, and it scared him deep down.

"The only one that needs to run is me," Bruna admitted. She knew for a long time that the authorities only wanted her head. "I stay under the radar for the next few years until you graduate."

"Quit talking like that, Bruna. C'mon, let's get the supplies and return to camp. We need to get you some rest." Schwartz offered.

"Please, Schwartz. Attend Haven Academy and become a Huntsman." She ordered.

"What?! Why would I want to do that?!"

"You're the second strongest member of the tribe, Schwartz. You already outclass most Huntsmen, I know. Imagine how much stronger you'd become if you received a formal education."

"Start making some God damn sense, Bruna! Why spring this on me now?" Schwartz demanded answers. Nothing about the situation made sense to him. Sure, the tribe had gone through rough patches here and there, but they still had a chance to make it out. He believed that. He wanted his leader to understand that.

"Because we're at the end of our rope. We're barely clinging on to a hopeless idea of freedom. If we don't get stronger, we'll get wiped out. Do you understand?" Bruna shoved the Haven Academy flyer on Schwartz's chest. "Please, go to school and become a Huntsman. Don't just do this for me, but the family. Remember our creed--"

"--Family is everything. It's the most important thing in the world. Protect it at all costs," Schwartz recited the creed of the tribe.

"And you'll be doing that by joining the academy. Do this for me," Bruna grabbed Schwartz by the head and rested her forehead against his. Despite the cold mask pressed against his face, the young man felt a sudden warmth in his body. But that feeling went away quickly.

He knew he was getting strung along.

"How the hell do you plan to get me in the school anyway? I don't exactly have any records or anything like that," Schwartz mentioned, pulling away from Bruna. Hell, he didn't plan to go through with the ridiculous plan in the first place. It was a stupid idea. One that he foresaw backfiring on the first day.

"Don't underestimate my connections, Schwartz." Bruna smiled. "I know of a few spiders that would be more than willing to help. If not them, I'm also acquainted with a few birds."

"This is crazy." Schwartz shook his head. "What are you going to do?"

"Pay an old friend a visit and see what happens from there," Bruna answered. And without another word, the two collected the supplies from the caravan and wandered off in silence, mulling over the decisions they had made that would alter the course of their lives forever.