Team SWRZ - Volume 1 - Chapter 20 - The Cruel Decision!

"Thanks for the assist back there," Rowan Cassidy expressed her gratitude as she followed after her savior, Max Wisteria. The licensed Huntress offered her services to guide the students back to the extraction point. Leaving them out in the forest teeming with Grimm didn't sit well with her.

"No problem," Wisteria dismissed the girl's gratitude. She didn't deserve it. Saving the lives of others was the duty of Huntsmen. She didn't want any shows of thanks for doing her job. "Protecting people is what I do."

Schwartz der Hund fought off the urge to scoff at the woman's statement, feeling that it was far from the truth. But he decided to keep quiet about his opinions on the matter. After all, the young man was in a precarious situation. He was face to face with one of the Huntsmen he raided a few months ago.

He ruthlessly took the life of Pewter--Wisteria's partner and team leader. If that secret came out and his identity got revealed, then all bets were off. He'd probably have to fight his way out of the school and evade the authorities until he returned to his bandit tribe. Attending school to learn how to kill Huntsmen would be a pipe dream.

The thought crossed his mind to end Wisteria's life as well. One slash of his swords would take the distracted Huntress down, no problem. The only snag in his plan was his partner, Rowan--with her around; he couldn't act how he wished.

There'd be no explaining a sensible reason for killing a Huntress in cold blood in front of her. However, as he rested his arm on his sword, another dangerous scenario crossed his mind. What if he killed them both? The forest was a dangerous place, after all. Anyone could lose their lives if they weren't careful.

His thoughts vanished when he received a sharp elbow to his side, courtesy of Rowan.

"Can't you show a hint of gratitude?" The orange-haired girl harshly whispered. "That woman saved your life."

"She saved your life. I was doing fine on my own," Schwartz arrogantly corrected, wanting to ensure the girl got it straight. He wasn't the one that nearly got devoured by a Grimm. He wouldn't thank the woman for something she didn't do.

Besides, he didn't want to risk Wisteria recognizing him. If that happened, it was all over. That couldn't happen — not this far into his training.

Rowan shook her head and sighed. Why did her teammate have to be so stubborn? "That's not the point,"

"Stay focused," Wisteria demanded. Schwartz and Rowan straightened their postures and nodded in response, not wishing to incur the woman's wrath for different reasons. "We're getting close to the extraction point. Keep pushing forward."

Schwartz and Rowan followed the woman's orders without complaint. The three maneuvered through the forest in silence, or so Rowan wished. The chimes of Schwartz's pesky bells tested her patience for too long. Everywhere he went, the bells announced his presence.

What was the point of them? To annoy everyone within earshot? If so, it worked.

"Can you quit it already with those bells?" Rowan demanded.

"What's your problem?" Schwartz asked before he checked to ensure his bells were on his person.

"How do you expect us to sneak through the forest without alerting any Grimm if those bells keep chiming? You might as well be a dinner bell to them!" Rowan pointed out.

"The girl has a point. Wearing those bells could prove to be troublesome in the future. Take them off," Wisteria looked over his shoulder as she gave the order.

"No," Schwartz refused.

"What was that?" Wisteria completely turned around to face the insubordinate student.

"Hard of hearing?" Schwartz playfully flicked his bells. "I said no. The bells stay."

"Schwartz--"

"You understand that I'm sticking my neck out to keep you two, right?" Wisteria approached the defiant Schwartz and reached to remove the bells from his person. The student swatted her hand away to her immediate surprise and glared at her with intense ferocity.

"Don't touch me," Schwartz demanded. He didn't care about the woman's status above him. He wouldn't restrain his desire if she tried to touch his bells again.

Wisteria stared directly into the young man's eyes. She couldn't quite describe everything that she saw, but she understood the reason behind his aggressive outburst. It was clear to her that the bells were more than a fashion statement. However, they still posed a threat.

"Understood, but don't blame me if they attract more Grimm our way," Wisteria warned and continued along the path.

"You won't hear any complaints from me," Schwartz assured her and followed after the woman with Rowan beside him.

The rest of the walk to the extraction point was mainly silent, albeit awkward. Upon reaching the designated area, Rowan rushed ahead to the safety of the bullhead along with the other students. Schwartz shared no enthusiasm for boarding the ship.

"About time you two showed up," The Instructor, Lilith Hale, called out to him as she approached.

"Lilith. It's been a while," Wisteria smiled at the sight of a familiar companion.

"What are you doing out here, Max?" Lilith inquired. "I thought you and your team were out escorting caravans the last time I saw you."

"That was the case until recently..." Wisteria rubbed the back of her neck, unsure how to break the news of her team's unfortunate circumstances.

"No need to talk about it in front of the children," Lilith diverted her attention to Schwartz. "Go along on the ship. I'll take us out of here."

"Yeah, yeah," Schwartz sighed and boarded the ship without further complaint.

"Do you want to come along, or do you want to stay out here in the forest?" Lilith asked.

"A ride back to Haven would be nice. I need to speak with Leonardo anyway," Wisteria shrugged her shoulders and boarded the ship as well.

Once she was out of earshot, Lilith silently swore, "Damn it."

The Huntress took a moment to collect her thoughts. Things had taken a different course than she intended, but there was nothing else she could do. She swallowed her anger and boarded the ship, taking the controls and directing it back to Haven Academy.

"Oh, you guys made it back," Sunil Ambrus stood up and approached Rowan and Schwartz once they made it onto the ship. "We were worried you guys got hurt or worse out there."

"We got lost thanks to this idiot's desire to kill everything that moves," Rowan indicated to her teammate with a point of her thumb.

"You seriously went out there to kill more Grimm than us?" Sunil stared at Schwartz in bewilderment. Schwartz's aggressive streak was no secret to anyone among the first-year students, but he never imagined it would reach such disastrous extents.

Schwartz clicked his tongue and avoided eye contact as he wandered over to an empty seat.

"You failed, didn't you?" The arrogant tone came from none other than the leader of team WEIS, the White Tiger Faunus, Wei Tian. The young man sat in a meditation pose, not even bothering to open his eyes as Schwartz walked past him.

"I'll get you next time. Count on that," Schwartz warned before he took his seat and shut his eyes to mull over the sudden turn of events. He didn't have time to worry about petty rivalries at the moment, not that his loss to Wei didn't bother him. But there were more concerning matters.

The return of Max Wisteria weighed heavily on his mind. After his raid against the woman's team months ago, it never crossed his mind that he'd come across her again. As far as he was concerned, the Huntress had no idea about his identity. But how long would that last?

What would Schwartz do if she outed his identity to everyone?

The young man gritted his teeth and contemplated the various scenarios in his head. No matter what he thought, it all reached the same conclusion. The only way to save his ass would be to end the woman's life.

"So, what brings you back to Haven?" Lilith questioned Wisteria once they returned to Haven Academy and dropped the students in the courtyard.

Wisteria hesitated to answer. It wasn't something she'd ever expect to say aloud after recently graduating from Haven Academy. But the truth would come out sooner or later.

"Bandits raided my team and me on our recent mission," She started, nearly choking up as the memories flooded her mind again. She fought through the pain and continued, "Pewter stayed behind to fend them off so that we could escape, but he never returned to us. We went back to find him, but..."

"He was dead." Lilith finished, comprehending the young woman's state of mind by her reactions alone.

"God damn bandits!" Wisteria drove her fist into the metal wall of the ship. "They've no idea the pain they've caused! With Pewter dead, the others lost their will to continue being Huntsmen! I'm the only one left! They don't care about avenging our leader's death!"

"Revenge won't bring him back, Max," Lilith stated.

"I know that! I want those bandits wiped off the face of Remnant!" Wisteria continued to vent her frustrations. "I'm going to talk to Leonardo about gathering a task force of Huntsmen to exterminate them! He can convince the council to approve this motion!"

Lilith went through the plan of the infuriated Huntress in her head. It sounded like a good plan on paper. However, it was a waste of time in resources that could go to the kingdom's defense. Bandits weren't the only threat on the continent. Focusing too many forces on one target left them wide open for other unforeseen attacks.

"Leonardo won't agree to that request, Max," Lilith laid out the bad news. She didn't feel right about it, but someone had to play the bad guy and break the unfortunate news to the enraged Huntress. "Bandits aren't the only enemies for Haven, let alone the continent. Besides, do you know which bandits attacked your team? Or even where they are?"

Wisteria took a few deep breaths and rubbed her temples. When a hint of rationality returned to her, the woman answered, "I don't care what bandit group attacked us. I want to take them all down with my bare hands. That's why if we gather an elite unit of Huntsmen to hunt them down, we can eradicate them."

"Max..."

"We disguise ourselves as ordinary citizens and bring a caravan full of useless items to draw them out. Once we capture them, we interrogate them to learn the locations of their camps..."

Wisteria continued to lay out the fine details of her plan to eradicate the bandits. She sounded so sure of herself. Lilith stared into the cold, dead eyes of her former student. The once bright and joyful girl she trained all those years ago was long gone. She was no longer a Huntress but a woman out on the warpath, hellbent on avenging the death of her teammate. Lilith understood that desire all too well.

"Well, if you're that passionate about this, I won't stop you," Lilith heaved a heavy sigh, knowing that the woman's wish was a pipedream. The council saw bandits as an inconvenience compared to the Grimm or White Fang. If Lionheart refused Wisteria's request, the woman would give up on her quest for vengeance.

"Thank you, Lilith. I'd like to have someone like you join us on the mission once it's approved," Wisteria wearily smiled.

"Sorry, but I have to look after the children here," Lilith politely refused.

"I understand. Training the next generation of Huntsmen is an important job. I'll also become a teacher once my last mission is over," Wisteria assured her former instructor. "I know there's one bandit in particular that I'm searching for."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, he had twin swords and..." Wisteria's eyes widened once the memory hit her. Multiple chimes of bells filled her mind, summoning another wave of rage within her. "bells..."

Almost immediately, the image of Schwartz flashed before her eyes. It couldn't be possible, could it? Was the bandit that attacked her caravan and killed her partner attending Haven Academy? If so, for what? What did he want with the school?

"Max?" Lilith cautiously called out to the Huntress. "Talk to me. Where's your head at right now?"

"That one student I brought back to the ship, the one with the swords. How long has he been here?" Wisteria suddenly questioned.

"About two months or so. Why?" Lilith responded but then realized the reason for the sudden question. "Don't be ridiculous, Max! You think one of my students is a bandit?"

"He has twin swords and bells. Does anyone else in the school fit that description?!"

"Perhaps! There are hundreds of students in attendance!" Lilith countered. "You're paranoid! Do you think a bandit would have the resources to sneak into Haven Academy and attend classes like a normal student without being able to raise any flags with the staff?"

Wisteria didn't have an immediate answer to Lilith's question. It did sound ridiculous, after all. How would a simple bandit manage to do all of that?

"...Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry," Wisteria brought her hand to her face and settled down. What was she thinking? Instantly suspecting a mere student of such a heinous crime without proof? Was her desire for revenge so strong that she'd attack an innocent student? "I...I need some rest. I'll make my request to Lionheart tomorrow."

With that, Wisteria disembarked from the ship and wandered onto the campus. The more she walked, the more she considered the possibility of Schwartz's involvement with the raid on her team. She couldn't let the thought go. No matter what, she'd conduct a full investigation on Schwartz.

And if it turned out that he's the bandit in question, she steeled herself to put a bullet through the bastard's head.