Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was always one thing after another.

Jaune sighed as he entered the library, his book bag dragging across the floor. Normally he would be ecstatic; it was a Friday afternoon, classes were over and the weekend was inbound. Two days to relax and do whatever you wanted. What student wouldn’t be over the moon? Ordinarily, that would be the case.

But not for Jaune Arc.

Not this time.

He’d thought that the worst was behind him. Dealing with Cardin Winchester had been a horrible experience but after their trip to Forever Fall earlier in the week, he’d been able to break the shackles and escape from beneath the sword Cardin held above his head. While it was true that the bully still had information that could get him expelled at any moment, he now owed Jaune his life. If nothing else, Cardin seemed to recognize this fact and even he wasn’t such a big jerk as to dismiss it.

There was a small smidgen of honor in that thick skull of his, and Jaune was reaping the benefits of that now.

But while one problem was solved, it didn’t mean everything else fell into place. At the end of the day, Jaune had faked his way into Beacon and that meant a few things. Not only was he woefully unprepared for the combat portion of his education, he was also significantly behind many of his classmates in other areas. His grades were suffering because of this and while he had made great strides in attempting to improve his scores, he wasn’t there yet.

Hence the scolding Professor Oobleck had given him after History that very day.

They were still learning about the Faunus Rights Revolution, a subject Jaune knew almost nothing about. It hadn’t been taught much in high school, only the briefest of mentions, and his town had been devoid of faunus entirely. He’d only ever heard of the discrimination from afar, and it hadn’t been until he arrived in Vale that he’d seen it first hand. While it was apparently better here than in the other kingdoms, it was still not entirely absent. Witnessing it in person had been... confronting, and upsetting.

And now he was learning about the causes, the past events that shaped the modern day, and the groups involved on both sides of the coin.

Oobleck had set him some supplementary work in an effort to help educate him, and increase his grades. If he managed to get a good score on this assignment, he would obtain key credits that would go towards his end of year result. That was why instead of enjoying himself on this lovely Friday afternoon, he found himself in the library, getting ready to buckle down and do some work.

The subject he’d been set? The White Fang.

As ignorant as he was about faunus affairs, he’d heard all about the activist organization that promoted equality between humans and faunus. Even if his little town had been largely separate from such matters, he’d seen a number of protests on television over the years, and had even seen the odd poster when he was younger, visiting the city with his folks. These days, though – they weren’t seen as activists. They were labeled as radicals, even terrorists and indeed, they’d been implicated in several attacks in recent years, primarily in Atlas and Mistral.

It was all very sad. They’d once preached unity and equality, and now they sought to enforce dominance and fear. This was the subject matter Oobleck wanted him to write about.

It was a bit depressing.

Finding an empty table, Jaune dropped his bag on top and reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slip of crumpled paper. Written in erratic cursive was a list of books, titles that Professor Oobleck had penned as being helpful to his cause.

There were eight in total.

Jaune groaned. “This is going to take forever.”

But it was his fault. If he wanted to stay at Beacon, he needed to be good enough to pass the classes. He could complain about it all he wanted but did he really want to fail? Did he want to return home to his parents with his tail between his legs, only to sheepishly admit that he couldn’t be bothered with a little History homework?

He scowled.

No. That isn’t what he wanted at all. He wanted to be a Huntsman. He came here to be a Huntsman. Maybe he’d once had a skewed view of what a Huntsman was but he knew better now. It was about more than just fighting monsters and saving the damsel. It was about so much more than those childish dreams of being a hero.

And if he had to study and read about the White Fang to accomplish his goals, then he was going to do just that. No matter how soul sucking, no matter how mind numbingly boring it was, he would do it, damnit!

It couldn’t be any worse than the training Pyrrha had started putting him through.

It hadn’t even been a couple of days and Jaune felt like his arms and legs were about to fall off after a session with his partner. He’d already thought about quitting a half dozen times already but no, that had just been in the moment when the pain was at its greatest, when he was at his most worn down.

A thought was just a thought. He hadn’t given up yet, and he wasn’t about to start now.

Wandering around the shelves, he slowly found each book and returned it to his table. Most of them were about the Faunus Rights Revolution and the immediate aftermath of the conflict, though there were a couple that dealt with more recent events. There was even one about Menagerie; their economic growth, position in world politics and the state of their homeland.

Each book was thicker than the last, and when they were all lined up together, Jaune grimaced, rubbing his forehead as a mild headache developed.

This was... a lot of reading.

Pulling out a pen and his mostly unused notepad, he thought about how he would deliver his work. Oobleck hadn’t set any particular guidelines. The words used had been, “Tell me everything there is to know about the White Fang.”

An essay, then – about the organization; why they were founded, by whom, and their place in society. Their methods and ideology, and how it had changed over the years. Sounded easy enough, right?

“Right,” he muttered, tapping his pen against the table. “Okay. Let's get it done.”

An hour later, Jaune felt like his brain was melting and about to seep from his ears. He’d managed to get through a couple of the books, siphoning what information he could and made notes, but he was quickly learning that this topic was a lot more complex than he’d originally thought.

The White Fang were deeply connected to several key points in history. While the group as it was known now hadn’t been formed until after the Revolution, similar groups that held spiritual ties and preceded their formation had existed since the Great War. In some way or another, a form of the White Fang had been around since the Treaty of Vytal had been signed.

And that wasn’t even getting started on the various different forms it had taken on afterwards, with the recent radicalization being the most glaring difference between all other iterations of the group.

This assignment was going to be bigger than he thought.

There was also something strange going on.

Jaune frowned as the name ‘Belladonna’ appeared for the dozenth time. At first his eyes had glazed over it without recognition but it soon became apparent that these people were a recurring feature in the history of the White Fang, and it made sense when he realized that they were the founders of the organization as it was currently branded.

He knew he could be a little bit slow. Dense was perhaps a better word for it. But not even he was so slow as to not recognize where he had heard the name before.

It was the same as Blake’s.

It was an idle thought that passed through his mind and left it, just as quickly. It didn’t really mean anything on its own. Names were constantly reused over history and even surnames popped up with no connection to one another, even though they were spelled the exact same. Just because these people – Ghira and Kali Belladonna – had the same last name as Blake, didn’t mean they were related in any way. They were clearly faunus and Blake wasn’t. That was the biggest indicator that it was unlikely that they were family.

He didn’t know much about faunus but he knew that it was impossible for a human to result from a faunus union, and rare for a human and faunus to produce a non-faunus, though not impossible.

So he forgot about it – right up until he started searching online when he got tired of reading those boring books, and came across a picture.

Jaune stared at the screen, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tilted his head as if it would help him get a better look. A tall, broad shouldered man stood beside a shorter, slender woman. They both had black hair; Ghira had a full beard and was wearing an open coat, his muscular chest covered in a wild patch of pitch black fur while Kali sported a pair of black cat ears, pierced with three golden studs – two on the right, one on the left. They both had yellow eyes, though Ghira’s were a brighter color while Kali’s were more... amber.

The longer he stared at the picture, the more he noticed. Not only were the color of her eyes similar, but the shape of them was also familiar. The slope of her nose, and the line of her jaw and chin also spoke to him.

...but this was impossible, right?

Blake was a human! He didn’t know her very well, it was true. Out of all the new friends he had made at Beacon, she was perhaps the one he had spoken to the least. There was an... aura around her that had nothing to do with her actual aura, a cloak of mystery and cool beauty that was intimidating. She’d been perfectly nice whenever they had spoken but it was difficult to start a conversation with someone so... reserved. She was a little like Ren in that regard, but a girl. Ren was easy to speak to because he was a guy, just like Jaune.

Even though he didn’t know her overly well, he was pretty sure he would have noticed if she was a faunus! Every other faunus he had met in Vale so far had been immediately recognizable. Velvet, for instance – there was no missing those ears! But Blake didn’t have animal ears, or a tail – at least, he didn’t think she did? He thought about it for a moment. No, those little shorts she liked to wear in combat class did very little to hide the shape of her butt. All the guys had noticed. There was no way she was hiding a tail back there.

Ears?

He was about to dismiss that as well when he paused, mouth falling open slightly. Reaching for his scroll, he quickly opened his photos and found a picture of Blake and Yang, the pair seated on a bench in one of the many courtyards found around campus. Yang had asked him to snap the picture and was the more enthusiastic of the two, holding her fingers in the classic peace sign while embracing her partner and teammate. Blake, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but there, struggling against Yang’s hold; a futile endeavor.

Jaune’s eyes settled on Blake – more specifically, the bow perched neatly atop her head.

“No way...” he uttered, leaning back in shock.

Could she be...? Was it actually possible?

Jaune tried to think of a time he’d seen her without that bow but he couldn’t come up with anything. The first time he’d seen her, the night before initiation, she’d been wearing it. She slept with it on, and first thing the next morning, she’d still been wearing it in the locker rooms. She wore it while fighting Grimm, and she wore it to class.

She wore it everywhere .

But could it really be so simple? Could you even hide a pair of ears with nothing more than a piece of ribbon?

That wasn’t the real question though, was it?

He frowned.

No – the real question was; why?

Why was she hiding these ears? Why was she hiding the fact that she was a faunus?

He stared at the couple on screen who looked so much like his new friend. Now that he was coming around to the idea, it was clear that they were related to her. Most likely her parents. Was this why she was hiding away? Because of her connection to the White Fang?

This assignment was suddenly so much more interesting than it had been only ten minutes prior.

A small part of him wished to stop here, that piece of him that felt uncomfortable with delving into the past of someone he knew. She was keeping this all a secret for a reason and he should respect those reasons, shouldn’t he? Isn’t that what friends did?

But a larger part wanted to know. This secret was right in front of them, and no one seemed to know. It... excited him, but also filled him with trepidation. He knew a little something about keeping secrets. He’d just dealt with someone discovering his own smoking gun. Not all secrets were harmless, and those that weren’t were not created equal.

He needed to be careful.

But it didn’t take long until he knew he’d done the right thing.

The Schnee Dust Company was another organization he hadn’t known much about before coming to Beacon. He’d heard their name in the past, surely – but he hadn’t paid attention to them. They mined Dust and had their fingers in most pies, but it just wasn’t something he was interested in. At least, he hadn’t been – until he met the beautiful heiress of the company, Weiss Schnee. Then he’d wanted to know everything he could.

But this hadn’t popped up during his prior searches. If not for a brief mention that he almost glossed over, he wouldn’t have found more. It wasn’t until he typed in Schnee Dust Company and White Fang together that any true results were found.

It quickly became apparent to Jaune that the relationship between the Schnee Dust Company and the White Fang was poor, and that was putting it lightly. The attacks in recent years had mostly come at the expense of the SDC. Destruction of property, stolen cargo, assassinations... it was about as serious as it got.

A feeling of dread festered inside as he read on.

Business man found dead in suite, suspected White Fang involvement.

Millions in Dust, stolen – White Fang take responsibility.

Attack on the Schnee Family, thwarted by police.

On and on it went until his eyes stung, and Jaune was forced to look away. Pinching his nose, he leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back until he was facing the ceiling.

There was no way he could just ignore this.

This was serious.

If Blake really was connected to the White Fang, and she was on a team with Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company...

Even Jaune could see the problem there. As much as he didn’t want to think about it, it was impossible not to. Could Weiss be in danger?

He felt sick thinking about it and he immediately tried to dismiss it. Blake wasn’t that type of person. She would never hurt one of her teammates. But the reality was; how much did he really know Blake? If she was a faunus, and was the daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, then how the hell would he know what she would and wouldn’t do? She’d been hiding all this time and none of them had been the wiser.

All it would take was one scroll call...

Jaune sighed heavily and tossed his scroll away, the device clattering across the desk. If he wasn’t holding it, he wouldn’t be tempted.

No. He wasn’t just going to go off, half cocked. He needed to be sure.

This wasn’t something he could fuck up. It needed to be done right. This was sensitive information and it needed to be treated with the proper respect that it deserved.

He gathered as much information as he could. His assignment wasn’t due for a couple of weeks, so that was placed on the back burner for the time being. He trawled through forums, through official websites and discovered that Ghira was actually the current Chieftain of Menagerie, and had been for a few years now. Did that make Blake a princess? Or at the very least, the child of an elected world leader? They no longer led the White Fang and had stepped down right before the group took on a more radical approach under the leadership of someone called Sienna Khan. The dates all lined up. The first incident they took responsibility for happened several months after Ghira’s first engagement as Chieftain. It appeared that even if they were the founders of the White Fang, they had nothing to do with the current radicalized element.

That was a good sign.

But Jaune knew better than anyone that children didn’t always follow in their parents footsteps.

...and maybe there was more than met the eye, here. Just because they had officially stepped away didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t still involved in secret.

Blake wasn’t mentioned anywhere. Some articles written around the time of Ghira’s ascension to Chieftain mentioned the couple having a daughter, but her name wasn’t published anywhere he could find. The reporting journalists had respected her privacy. But he did find one thing...

A photo. An old photo of Ghira, Kali and what appeared to be a younger Blake in a copy of Remnant Today. She couldn't have been older than ten, standing with her folks on a beach, her face filled with happiness as she swung between them with infectious cheer. The article it was attached to wasn’t anything special. It talked about the trials and tribulations of leading a nation, and it read like a glow-up piece to introduce them to a wider audience. It wasn’t quite the smoking gun but it was close enough. There was no mistaking that face and those cute little cat ears atop her head proved to him that she was hiding them under that bow.

He had everything he needed.

Now what?

Jaune saved the photo to his scroll before shutting off the terminal. Now that he knew the truth, what was he going to do with it? This could completely shatter his friend group if he wasn’t careful. The more he thought about it, the more he was confident that Blake wasn’t going to harm Weiss, at the very least.

If that had been her goal, she’d had ample time to do it. She could have attacked her in the Emerald Forest, for starters. Though maybe she hadn’t been able to find her until everyone was already partnered up and on guard. But since then, she’d been alone with Weiss on several occasions, no doubt. They shared a room, a bathroom, had fought in Combat Class and trained together on weekends. She’d had plenty of time and opportunities to make a move, and hadn’t.

If she really wanted to harm Weiss, what was she waiting for?

Jaune collected his things, including the mountain of books and took them over to the librarian to check them out. It was ridiculous but he felt uneasy as the old woman behind the counter looked at him, at his books and then back again, as if she knew exactly what he had discovered.

When the last book was scanned off under his name, he hauled everything back to his room. He was expecting to find at least a couple of his teammates there but the place was empty. A quick glance told him that they’d returned after class and changed out of their uniforms – Nora had just tossed hers on the ground, while Pyrrha and Ren had neatly folded theirs, and placed them on their beds – and had left again, no doubt enjoying their Friday evening.

Dumping his books on their study desk, he sat down on the edge of his bed, conflicted.

Should he go to Ruby? She was the leader of Team RWBY and he felt like this was something she should know about. But she was also young. Not just young but the youngest in their year, admitted two years early. The thought of dumping all this on her made him feel scummy.

Maybe Yang? They were partners, after all. Maybe she could deal with it? He’d only known her a little over a month now but despite her bombastic personality, Jaune felt that she was a lot more mature than she liked to portray. Ruby had mentioned a few times to him that Yang had helped raise her after her mother died, and if that didn’t show a level of maturity that not many their age could lay claim to, he didn’t know what would.

He didn’t even toy with the idea of going directly to Weiss. Not only was it possible that she just didn’t believe him, their friendship... rocky at best, non-existent at worst, but that would be a sure fire way to kick things off on the wrong foot.

No – he knew what he had to do.

He had to go to Blake. Directly.

But maybe he didn’t have to do this alone. Maybe he could ask for a little bit of help.

Pyrrha had already shown him that he could trust her. She was his partner; not through chance, either. She’d chosen him. Why she did that, Jaune wasn’t sure he would ever understand but she’d kept his fake transcripts a secret and had offered her assistance, every step of the way during his darkest times under the thumb of Cardin’s sustained bullying. If there was anyone he could go to and trust not to overreact or spill the beans, it was her.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, the door to their room opened and looking up, Jaune saw Pyrrha step in.

“Oh,” she exclaimed, startled as her emerald green eyes fell upon him. “Jaune – you’re back!”

Jaune sighed.

“Pyrrha,” he said. “Do you have a minute?”

She noticed his tone immediately, her expression shifting. “Jaune, is something wrong?”

“You could say that,” he tried to laugh, make light of it – but it wasn’t happening. “Are you alone?”

She closed the door swiftly, making her way over. “I am. Ren and Nora decided to go down to Vale. Well – it was mostly Nora, but Ren didn’t want to let her go alone. They’re not from around here, and he wasn’t comfortable letting her wander.”

Jaune patted the bed beside him and she took a seat, looking even more worried as silence stretched between them.

“Jaune?” she prodded gently. “Has something happened? Did – it isn’t Cardin, is it?”

The look of outrage that sudden spread across her face was endearing, and with a long exhale, Jaune felt his nerves calming considerably.

“No,” he shook his head, smiling slightly. “No, it isn’t Cardin. He – er, has been good. He hasn’t been bothering me. Not since Forever Fall.”

“Oh,” Pyrrha fiddled with the hem of her skirt, looking pleased. “Well, that’s good.”

“Yeah,” he said lamely before clearing his throat. “Uh – so...”

Pyrrha grinned. “So...?”

Jaune hated being so awkward. “I – uh, don’t really know where to start.”

“Well -- the beginning is always a good place,” she teased and he huffed, leaning back on his hands. Pyrrha watched him curiously.

“Right. Well... okay. The thing is...”

By the end of his explanation, Pyrrha was left speechless.

Chapter Text

Life at Beacon was good.

Gunfire roared in her ears as she flipped through the air, avoiding the hail of bullets by a whisker. Landing in a crouch, she vaulted forward into a roll as Ren followed her with his twin machine pistols, the stage splintering as dust rounds punched through hard wood with vicious cracks. Closing the distance between them, Blake slashed at his throat, her blade clashing with his bladed pistols in a shower of sparks. She attempted to press the advantage but despite his slim build, Ren was strong . He didn’t budge an inch.

Pink eyes met amber, and she saw his face tense as his shoulders flexed. Blake allowed him to push her back, rolling with the momentum and flipping away in a cartwheel. Shifting her sword into its firearm form, she took aim and fired. The first two bullets were deflected expertly before he moved, dashing below her shots and engaging her in close quarters.

They exchanged blows, Blake grunting as his foot found purchase on her hip. She spun with the blow and counter attacked, swinging wildly at his head and forcing him to duck. Her knee rose and struck him in the chest as he attempted to back pedal, throwing him off balance. Shifting her gun into its blade form once more, she dashed in and tried to take advantage of his wrong footing, only to wildly bend back as his foot almost slammed into the underside of her chin.

“Yeaaaaah~! Kick her ass, Renny~!” Nora howled from the stands as Ren let the momentum of his kick carry him into a backflip, landing on his hands before easily vaulting over to his feet. “You’ve got her on the ropes!”

“Ms. Valkyrie,” Professor Goodwitch snapped, looking irate at her use of crass language. Nora flinched and shied away.

“Don’t let him beat you, Blake~!” Ruby countered with a cheer of her own, waving her hands in the air. “Do it for Team RWBY~!”

“You can do it~!” Yang followed up, clapping loudly. “Go get him, girl!”

Blake’s eyes panned across her team in an instant, a feeling of embarrassment welling up inside her – and pride. Even Weiss was clapping, looking excited at the display of martial skill – but then her eyes settled on Team JNPR, and more specifically Jaune Arc.

His eyes pinned her in place and she almost forgot where she was, and only barely managed to avoid Ren’s next attack, his blades whirling a little too close for comfort. Blake scowled as she stumbled, unraveling her ribbon and using it to catch his next swipe, encircling his wrist with the loose material before pulling it taut. Bracing her feet against the floor, she turned her body and swung, creating tension and hauling Ren off his feet in a well executed throw.

He sailed across the stage and the match was almost won then and there, as he threatened to fall out of bounds. At the last moment he twisted in the air, regaining his footing right on the edge, balanced precariously before Blake felt a feeling of unease pass through her.

Bringing his leg up, he looped it around the taut ribbon and stomped down, wrenching her forward before she could release her hold. Yelping, she hastily raised her arms in defense as he appeared in a blur, a chambered kick slamming into her arms. Aura flared as pain raced up into her shoulders, her whole body jarred at the brutal impact. Ren followed it up with a spinning back kick, Blake gasping as the air was driven from her lungs as he kicked her in the stomach. He hit her with such force that she folded over his foot, briefly leaving the ground and thus was defenseless as he flowed into another kick, and then another, the two strikes hitting her so fast that they might as well have been simultaneous.

Blake tumbled through the air, in a world of pain before she flew straight off the stage and into the wall below where her classmates sat. Groaning, she slumped to the ground, cradling her stomach as Goodwitch announced the winner.

“The winner of this bout – Lie Ren!”

Blake lay there for a moment, feeling battered and bruised, annoyance welling up at losing her concentration in the middle of a fight, knowing that in a real fight it could cost her more than a bruised ego – but then she sagged, gritting her teeth as she attempted to stand.

“Ms. Belladonna,” Professor Goodwitch called and when she finally straightened up, she continued, “You fought well and played to your strengths, but you seemed to lose focus towards the end of the fight. The cheering of your classmates can be a distraction and you must learn to ignore outside stimuli in the middle of a fight. Only pay attention to that which is important and never take your eyes off an opponent. It can prove costly.”

Blake nodded sharply, already knowing this lesson better than most. Yet she’d fallen victim to it and wholly deserved the lecture. “Yes, Professor.”

When Goodwitch started on Ren, Blake tuned her out. It was logical to think that the reason she’d been distracted was because of her friends, and she was right – to an extent. But it wasn’t the cheering from Ruby or Yang, or even the reserved clapping from Weiss that had thrown her off.

No – it was those blue eyes of Team JNPR’s leader that seemed to constantly follow her these days, and she had no idea why .

Jaune Arc was someone she knew almost nothing about. While they were friends in the most loose definition of the term, it was more likely that they were mere friends of a friend. He was close to Ruby, her team leader, and so they spent time around one another. Her first impressions of him hadn’t been kind. A little naive, a little in over his head, a head full of dreams, someone that didn’t quite belong – but ultimately, a kind person. While he could be a bit silly and childish at times, that was a far sight better than being cruel or arrogant or mean.

From every interaction she’d had with him, Blake had come to the conclusion that he was a good person. Hopelessly, stupidly infatuated with Weiss – but a good person all the same, even if she questioned his taste.

But something had changed in the last week, and she didn’t know what.

He thought he was being discreet and Blake would give him credit; he was. It was just that Blake was very good at knowing when she was being watched, and once she’d caught him the first couple of times, it was easy to catch him the dozens of times since. At first, she’d worried that his feelings for Weiss had somehow shifted target and now she was the subject of his heart's desire, but no. He still tried to flirt with the heiress every chance he got, no matter how scathing Weiss’ retorts were, and whenever his eyes followed her, he wasn’t checking her out. Perhaps she was being a little full of herself but she recognized her own beauty, and knew what a man looking at her that way looked like.

Jaune wasn’t looking at her in that way. He wasn’t staring at her butt or her boobs, and wasn’t gazing lovingly at her face like a love sick fool.

But if not that, then why else would he be sneaking looks at her every chance he got?

Blake glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she made her way over to the stairs. He was still watching her, though when her head turned slightly, he looked away. Feeling unnerved, she returned to her team and endured their attempts at trying to cheer her up, mulling over any and all reason Jaune Arc may be taking an interest in her.

She couldn’t come up with anything.

Nothing plausible, anyway.

“Damn, Ren really put you through the blender at the end there,” Yang said as she sat down, shaking her head ruefully. “You were looking good and then bam , he hit you with the combo and it was over.”

“Yang, stop being a boob,” Ruby rolled her eyes. “It’s okay, Blake. You’ll get him next time, I know it.”

Weiss didn’t offer any words of comfort or recriminations, instead watching the stage as Pyrrha and Russel from Team CRDL were called up.

“I’m not being a boob,” Yang said defensively. “I was just pointing out the wicked combo Ren put on her ass. It was pretty impressive, huh? I know Blake will bounce back from it, she always does. Maybe we just need to kick our training into overdrive. How about a spar after classes today?”

“What? Oh, sure,” Blake said absentmindedly.

Life at Beacon was good. Better than she’d ever expected. Leaving the White Fang behind, Blake had been adrift without a cause. Her options had been limited. Return home with her tail between her legs, begging forgiveness… or attempt to make something of her life, something she could be proud of, that her parents could be proud of.

Because she hadn’t given them many reasons in recent years to feel proud of their daughter. Their last conversation echoed in her memories, the horrible things she’d said to them…

Blake banished the thought.

Beacon had been an easy choice. Headmaster Ozpin had been understanding of her plight. It had been a risk, going to him – but it was a risk that had paid off. She was here, training to be a Huntress; a real Huntress, someone that helped people instead of something that made them fearful. She wouldn’t just be helping faunus. She would be helping everyone. Grimm didn’t make distinctions between race or species. They were the enemy of all.

But while life was good, it wasn’t perfect.

She was still hiding.

Ruby and Weiss had begun bickering, though it was nothing like the nasty fights they’d had at the beginning of the year. Weiss’ wounded pride at being passed over as leader had scabbed over and healed, and now she was trying her best to be the best teammate and partner possible. Some days were better than others, and Blake was willing to admit that while Weiss could chafe with her haughty demeanor, she was far from the monster she’d been expecting when she’d first met the girl. Dare she say it, she even liked her sometimes – when she wasn’t constantly reminding her of why she hated her family in the first place. While they were focused on each other, and while Yang followed the thrashing Pyrrha was delivering to Russel, Blake reached up and subtly adjusted her bow.

Covering her faunus traits was something she’d never believed she would ever do. To stoop to such a level, to deny her very heritage… the Blake of old would never have even thought about it, let alone do it. Sometimes she wondered why she was even doing it but the answer was always the same. She wanted to prove a point. That being viewed as human made things easier, that people would treat her differently all because she had two ears instead of four. Now with Weiss on her team, it only made her glad that she’d decided on this course of action. How different would things be if Weiss Schnee knew she was a faunus? It would be a disaster.

But how long could this continue?

Eventually, they would find out. She couldn’t hide who she was – what she was – forever. Four years was a long time.

It had taken courage to enroll in Beacon but Blake would never lie to herself; she was a coward, through and through. She would hide for as long as she could, and if her team ever found out, then there was only one thing she could do.

Run.

It was what she was good at.

Her hands curled into fists, her mood plummeting.

She felt his eyes settle on her once more and this time, she didn’t bother hiding it. Blake met his eyes and glared, a small twinge of satisfaction rushing through her as he hastily looked away. Whatever his problem was, she was tired of skirting around the issue. If he wasn’t going to say something, then she was!

Filled with determination, she waited until the end of their last class. The bell rang just as Professor Port was in the middle of his ridiculous story about wrestling an alligator Grimm into submission. Packing her things away, she stood – only to flinch as she found Jaune standing right next to her desk.

A quick glance showed that the rest of Team JNPR had already left.

“Oh, hey Jaune,” Ruby greeted happily. “What’s up?”

Weiss’ face soured and Blake could see the heiress preparing herself for some type of pick up line that never came. Instead, he cleared his throat and directed his question at Blake.

“I was wondering if I could speak to you,” he said, either pausing due to nervousness or dramatic effect, she didn’t know. “Alone.”

Yang glanced between them, surprise clear on her face.

Blake was so taken aback by his sudden straightforwardness that she couldn’t speak, simply staring at him stupidly.

The silence stretched for a beat, and then it was Weiss who finally broke.

“What?”

Jaune briefly glanced Weiss’ way and for once, there was none of the adoration he usually showed for the white haired girl. No – he looked serious. More serious than Blake had ever seen him.

“If you can spare a few minutes,” he continued when she continued to just stare at him. “It’s important.”

“Oh?” Yang snapped out of her shock and smirked, looking too smug by half. “Do I smell a confession coming?”

“Nothing like that,” he assured quickly, shooting her partner down in an instant. Yang looked disappointed. “I promise.”

Ruby glanced back and forth between them, and it wasn’t until Jaune looked like he was about to press the issue that her tongue became unstuck from the roof of her mouth.

“Sure,” she managed to get out. “Lead the way.”

He nodded and turned, and Blake followed after him. She ignored the way her team immediately began whispering amongst themselves, placing one foot in front of the other as they left the classroom and walked down the hall. Her eyes remained trained on his back, watching him carefully as they passed by windows and doors, the afternoon light casting long shadows across the floor. He led her to an empty classroom, and when they entered Blake realized they were no longer alone.

Pyrrha Nikos stood calmly inside and Blake felt her body tense at once, though she wasn’t quite sure why. It almost felt like she was walking into a trap. But that was ridiculous, right?

Right?

Pyrrha’s eyes met hers for a moment and the champion fighter smiled, putting her at ease if only a little bit.

“Thanks, Pyrrha – can you make sure we aren’t disturbed?” Jaune asked.

“Certainly,” Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune’s shoulder briefly, a look passing between them that Blake could not decipher before heading for the door.

“Blake,” Pyrrha nodded.

“Pyrrha.”

When the door closed, it sounded unusually loud.

Now that they were completely alone, in a room rarely used – Blake felt awkward, her fingers fiddling with the hem of her skirt. Awkward and nervous, but hadn’t she wanted to know what his deal was? The constant glances and watching? She was about to get those answers.

He turned to face her and something about his expression immediately set her on edge, the hair on her arms standing on end.

“So,” she said, voice calm even though she felt anything but. “What’s this about?”

“Right,” he said, and Blake held her breath. “I wanted to talk to you about something. Er – do you want to sit down?”

She shot him an unimpressed look.

“Okay, forget that,” he muttered. “I – I don’t really know where to start.”

“Are you… serious right now?”

Jaune grimaced. “Look, this is… delicate, okay? I’m trying my best here.”

“You called me out here to speak, so speak,” she didn’t quite snap but it was close. “You’ve been watching me all week – I noticed , by the way, you aren’t very sneaky—”

Jaune made a sound of surprise.

“—and I’m sick of it, so whatever you have to say, just get on with it already!”

“Professor Oobleck – well, I suppose Doctor… anyway, Oobleck set me an assignment because my grades aren’t that good. It’s for extra credit, see? My score will contribute to my final grade and since I need all the help I can get, of course I’m going to treat it seriously, right? History has never been my strong suit. So…”

Blake stared at him incredulously.

“...I totally didn’t mean to snoop or anything, it wasn’t my fault! But it was sorta, kinda hard not to come across something . You didn’t even change your name or anything and—”

“Jaune,” she cut across him angrily. “You’re rambling. Get to the point!”

“The White Fang,” he blurted – and Blake felt her heart leap into her throat, and she couldn’t breathe . “Your parents founded the White Fang.”

In an instant, her eyes narrowed – fight or flight instincts kicking into high gear. The shock of being discovered barely settled in and she was glancing around the room, looking for danger, looking for a way to escape. An old habit born of paranoia, of being on the wrong side of the law. The room only had one window but from where she stood, she could tell that it was locked by the position of the lever. Not only that but Jaune was standing between it and her, blocking her path. It meant that she had a free path to the door but beyond that door was Pyrrha Nikos, and Blake realized with sudden clarity why the crimson haired girl was there at all.

This had been all planned out. It was a trap.

Blake knew she could beat Jaune, and beat him easily. But could she beat him before he yelled for help? She didn’t have her weapon and even if Jaune’s skills were subpar, he had an enormous amount of aura. There was no way she could knock him out or get around him without Jaune alerting his partner.

And she held no illusions about her odds at trying to force her way by Pyrrha. It wouldn’t even be a contest. Pyrrha Nikos was by far the strongest in their year, and probably stronger than the upper grades as well. She was a once in a generation talent; perhaps a once in a lifetime one. Blake bet that even the Professors would struggle against her. She wasn’t a four time champion for nothing.

There was no escape.

She was at their mercy.

Blake tensed and she watched Jaune back off, hands raised. While he looked worried, he didn’t seem surprised.

“What do you want?” she growled.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play stupid,” her glare intensified. “You want something from me, don’t you? Why else would you set all this up? I thought you were better than this,” she really, really had. Jaune Arc, blackmail her? Only minutes ago, she’d thought such a thing was impossible. Hadn’t she thought he was a kind person earlier? She took that back. He was scum. “Come on, then. Tell me. What do you want to keep this a secret?”

Jaune frowned. “Blake, I don’t want anything.”

“Money? Is that it? Or maybe something else?” Blake was filled with revulsion. “Sexual favors? I know some people have a faunus fetish – is that in your lane, Jaune? Am I just an object to you?”

“Blake,” he tried.

“I’ll claw your eyes out before you touch me,” she promised darkly. “I’m not some fetish fuel for you to do with as you wish. I’m not a toy or – or an animal for you to tame, I’m a person! I don’t care if you tell everyone at this school what I am, I won't sleep with you—!”

“Blake!” he barked, startling her from her rant. “I don’t care that you’re a faunus!”

She blinked, taken aback by the heat in his voice.

“Look,” he sighed then, deflating. “Like I said, Oobleck set me an assignment and I didn’t mean to find all this out, but it was a little hard not to when the subject was the White Fang and your parents founded the organization. It was purely by accident, okay? And I don’t care that you’re a faunus,” he repeated sternly. “And I’m not looking for money or – or sexual favors ,” that last part was said with disgust. “Do I really come across as someone like that?”

No, he didn’t. Not once had he ever shown any inclination towards that type of behavior. But then why ? Why had he cornered her here, revealing her deepest, darkest secret?

As some of the panic started to abate, she realized that he had come to her . He could have gone to anyone else and told them, revealed her to her team, to the rest of the student body – but he hadn’t. Jaune had come to her.

If he wasn’t blackmailing her, then what did that mean…? Blake knew it meant something, she just couldn’t figure out what.

Blake grit her teeth. “No.”

“And I’m not, okay? I’m not,” he implored. “I just… I don’t know,” he shrugged hopelessly. “I – I’m sure you have your reasons for hiding who you are. I don’t care about that. That is none of my business and I wish I hadn’t uncovered this at all. But I did. And I saw – I read about what the White Fang has been doing lately. I read about their attacks against the Schnee Dust Company.”

Blake felt her mouth go dry.

“I got worried,” he said truthfully, meeting her eyes. “I’m a country bumpkin from the sticks, I didn’t even know who Weiss was when I first got here, but I know now. And the organization that your parents founded, well – I just read that they are basically at war with her family. Wouldn’t you be worried if you read that?”

She had no answer for him, no rebuttal. His reaction was normal.

“That’s why you’ve been watching me, isn’t it?” she said, understanding blooming. “You thought… I might try and hurt Weiss.”

Blake couldn’t lie to herself. That hurt a little.

“I didn’t know what to think but it was a possibility. I wanted to believe that you would never do such a thing, that it’s been weeks, months since we started school and you’ve not done anything even remotely threatening to her. At least, as far as I know. I’m pretty sure Weiss would have been vocal about it if you had.”

Blake swallowed thickly.

“The girl I’ve had classes with, the girl I fought with in the Emerald Forest – that girl didn’t strike me as the type to do such a thing. That girl was quiet, and a little aloof, sure – but that girl wasn’t a bad person. I’ve seen her joke with her team, and be patient with Ruby and laugh with Yang. I’ve even seen her work together with Weiss, and not once did anything look out of the ordinary. Maybe you’re the best actress in the world, or maybe I’m just too trusting, but that’s how I feel.”

She didn’t know what to say.

Then he asked, “You were in the White Fang, weren’t you?”

He sure knew how to drop a bombshell question without warning.

She hesitated – then nodded. There was no point in hiding it.

“And if they could, they would hurt Weiss, wouldn’t they?”

She nodded again, unable to meet his eyes. It was the truth, no matter how much she wished it wasn’t so. Once upon a time, she may have even agreed with it.

“But you don’t want to hurt her.”

“No,” Blake said and she meant it. She’d thought Weiss was an arrogant brat, and still could be at times. Weiss could also be narrow minded, unreasonable, and cold. Blake thought Weiss’ family exploited faunus and profited off that exploitation. But Blake wasn’t so stupid to believe that anything the company did was Weiss’ fault. At her most unreasonable and emotional, she might think that – but logically? No, Weiss might be heiress but that company was run by her father. And the few things she’d gleaned in conversation told her that Weiss’ relationship with her father wasn’t a close one. “I don’t want to hurt her. I would never hurt her.”

“You promise?”

“I swear it,” she declared.

Blake felt a little light headed, her heart racing a million miles an hour. Her breathing was uneven, and her hands were sweating. She felt strung out, at her wits end.

Jaune nodded. “Okay.”

Blake blinked. “Okay?”

“That’s all I wanted to hear.”

A little off balance, she stared at him, unable to hide her surprise. “What?”

“I believe you,” he said. “Your secret is safe with me.”

She couldn’t help it. She gaped.

“Oh – uh, Pyrrha knows,” Jaune suddenly revealed, rubbing his neck sheepishly. “I needed her advice so I had to let her in on it, but she won’t tell anyone either. But she insisted on being around when I confronted you. Just in case , she said.”

“O-Oh?”

“I told her it wasn’t necessary but she was adamant,” Jaune shrugged.

What was going on...?

“Well, uh – right, I guess we’re done here,” and all of the sudden, it was like Jaune had flicked a switch. Gone was the serious, concerned friend and in his place was the socially awkward, jittery teenager she’d come to know. “W-Well, that was a bit nerve wracking, huh? Hah hah hah...”

Was this really it?

Did he really not care that she was a faunus, that she was a former member of the White Fang?

“Your team is probably wondering where you are,” Jaune rubbed his neck, his eyes crinkling as he smiled stupidly. “So I won't keep ya. Uh – yeah, I guess have a good day?”

And then she watched as he passed her, opened the door and stepped out, letting it swing shut behind him. Vaguely, she heard him greet Pyrrha and the pair speak for a moment before their voices faded until only silence remained.

“...what just happened?”

Chapter Text

Jaune hadn’t enjoyed the burden of knowledge he’d accidentally stumbled into and felt much better for finally being able to clear the air, so to speak. Even though he still felt a little shitty for getting involved in something that on the surface didn’t involve him, he was willing to be the bad guy if it meant averting an even more horrible situation from developing.

Other than a few awkward glances from Blake, the following couple of weeks passed without incident. Classes continued, of which Jaune continued to struggle in many of them but he was able to complete his assignment on the White Fang. He hadn’t expected much but Doctor Oobleck had been impressed with his work, and he managed to score an almost perfect mark for it.

The only criticism he received was that his essay structure was a little lacking and so it read a little wonky at times. The body of work he managed to put together was exceptional though; Oobleck words, not his own.

That placed Jaune in a really good mood. It always felt good to do well in something, especially something you weren’t particularly good at in the first place. It was something he could be proud of.

Now he just needed to get his fighting up to par and he could really feel good about himself. Easier said than done. Pyrrha was doing her best and Jaune had already seen some results. He was less prone to panic, his basic swordsmanship was coming along nicely and his footwork had seen a massive improvement over where it had been only a month ago. That part of his training was his favorite and the thing he seemed to be the best at.

It probably had to do with his years and years of dance.

It wasn’t the same, of course it wasn’t. One was a part of fighting and the other was a recreational activity. But there were similarities found within the two disciplines. It didn’t need to be a perfect comparison. Things like rhythm and position, form and muscle memory. Drilling the steps in a sword kata wasn’t much different than drilling the steps in a waltz.

It was all about practice. Practice until it becomes second nature.

All he needed was time.

Whenever he got frustrated, he just reminded himself that he shouldn’t even be here. Everyone else attended years of preparatory schools or had tutors, or their lives had been hard and dangerous in a way Jaune had never known. He’d just shown up with some fake papers and a dream with only the most basic knowledge of how to hold and swing a sword, or brace with a shield.

He also had one of the best fighters of their generation teaching him personally.

He had nothing to be frustrated about.

But he needed to put in the hard work. Despite her amazing natural gifts and talent, Pyrrha worked harder than anyone else. He’d seen it first hand. Jaune knew that if he wanted to catch up with his friends and stand by their side, he needed to work just as hard as she did.

No.

He needed to work harder .

If Pyrrha ran ten laps, he ran twenty. If Pyrrha lifted for an hour, he lifted for two. If Pyrrha practiced her sword forms every morning and every evening, then he would make sure to practice twice as long. He knew that rest was important and he was very careful about not overdoing it but sometimes, he let himself get caught up in the moment.

But he wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. Not only for himself but to pay back all the effort Pyrrha was willing to put into him becoming a Huntsman. She didn’t need to do any of this but she was. Jaune would be eternally grateful to her.

Which was why instead of going to dinner, he was jogging around campus while the rest of his friends made their way to the dining hall. The kitchens didn’t close until late so he wasn’t in any danger of missing out. The nature of Huntsmen-in-training meant that students were regularly coming and going at all hours, deployed or returning from missions. This was more common for the second year students and above but even the first years went out on occasion. They hadn’t yet but as team leader, Jaune had made sure to find out these things.

If there was one thing the staff knew at this school it was that a tired Huntsman made for a hungry Huntsman.

Beacon spared no expense in that regard.

He thought all of his friends would be there but when he rounded the dormitory building and passed through the paved courtyard, it was to find Blake Belladonna waiting for him by the archway that led further on towards the library.

At first he didn’t know what to think and almost just ran straight by her without a word, his brain registering what he was doing at the last possible moment. He came to a stumbling stop, his tired legs protesting as he hastily gasped for air.

“Blake?” he asked, wiping at the sweat that had accumulated on his brow. “Why aren’t you at dinner?”

“I thought you might like some company,” she said, her face giving nothing away. Amber eyes stared at him with resolve. “That is, if you don’t mind?”

Unexpected didn’t even begin to cover it.

Jaune shook his head. “No, of course not. I’m just – uh, a little surprised, that’s all.”

Blake had taken the time to change out of her school uniform and into something more appropriate for exercise. She wore a simple purple tank crop top that showed off her ridiculously toned stomach and a pair of black spats that left little to the imagination. Jaune felt his eyes waver from her face before focusing on her hair before he could make a fool of himself. It had been pulled back into a high ponytail, something he hadn’t seen from her before. It was very cute.

Of course, as usual, her bow was neatly in place.

“Good surprised, I hope?” she pressed.

“Yeah, sure – I mean, I’m happy to have you along. Uh – I just run a route around campus that Pyrrha showed me. You want to do that or do you have something else in mind?”

“That’s fine.”

And without any further words, they were off.

They didn’t speak. The only sounds they made were their panting breath and their shoes pounding dirt as they continued around the school. Jaune tried to keep his mind focused on the task at hand but it was difficult.

Blake was… really pretty .

Jaune wasn’t blind. All of his friends were ridiculously attractive and Blake was one of them. Her sleek black hair and pale skin, those golden eyes that oftentimes reminded Jaune of heated honey, and her Huntress fit physique – calling her merely pretty was a little bit of an understatement.

She was beautiful. Just because he had a massive crush on Weiss didn’t mean he couldn’t acknowledge the objective truth.

And she was running in front of him while wearing some pretty revealing clothes. Blake’s stride was long and sure, graceful. She moved without effort, her toned legs flexing powerfully as she practically floated. In comparison, Jaune felt like a lumbering brute, ambling behind her in an approximation of a run.

They ran, and ran, and ran until Jaune felt the burn in his lungs reach a point where he couldn’t ignore it, and then he ran some more. Blake had built up a nice sweat herself, her neck and face pinkening from the strain. Jaune was really starting to feel it in his thighs now, his legs feeling like dead weights. As they passed by the library, he spoke for the first time since she joined him.

“One more lap,” he managed to gasp out.

Blake nodded, her ponytail bouncing as she straightened her shoulders.

When they reached the finish line, Jaune nearly collapsed. Stumbling over to a nearby bench, he thumped down with zero grace, sprawled out as he gulped desperately for air. Blake was a little more dignified but she was breathing just as heavily, leaning forward with her hands clasped between her knees as she sucked in some big ones.

“Do you – haaah – run like that everyday?” she said after a moment of recovery.

Jaune nodded tiredly. “Yeah. Whenever I find the time.”

Blake shook her head, straightening up. “You’re trying really hard, aren’t you?”

He felt a little swell of pride grow within him. It was nice of someone to notice. “I have to.”

Amber eyes glanced at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Everyone else is already so good,” he shrugged, his heart rate beginning to come down a little. “If I don’t put in the effort, I’ll be left behind.”

Blake nodded slowly. “I suppose I can understand that feeling.”

Jaune considered her, thinking it over. He’d discovered her deepest, darkest secret and yet she knew nothing of his. Pyrrha had been first, and he’d since told Ren and Nora, but only his team knew about his false transcripts. Well, Cardin knew but he didn’t count.

Should he tell her?

“Jaune?” she asked when he continued to stare at her. “Is there something on my face?”

“Are you thirsty?” he asked, standing. His legs protested the movement but he ignored them. “I’ll get us a couple of bottles of water from the vending machine.”

“Oh,” she gave him a grateful look. “Yes, please.”

Beacon had vending machines everywhere . You couldn’t go down a corridor and through a courtyard without bumping into at least three of them. Jaune hurried over to the nearest one and purchased two waters, swiping his scroll to pay. The bottles clunked into the catch tray and he picked them up, holding one against his neck.

The chill was amazing against his overheated skin.

He had made his decision.

“Thank you,” Blake said as he handed her one of the bottles, and he waited until she’d taken a long pull before speaking.

“I have something to tell you.”

Something must have shown in his voice because Blake suddenly straightened up, her face guarded.

“What is it?”

Jaune didn’t bother mincing words or beating around the bush, though he did look around to make sure they were completely alone. He just came straight out and said it. Thankfully, his voice didn’t crack.

“I falsified my transcripts to get into Beacon.”

Blake stared at him, almost like she couldn’t comprehend the words that had left his mouth. Truth be told, despite the seriousness of the conversation, he thought her slightly shocked, slightly stupefied expression was pretty funny.

“What?”

“I falsified my transcripts to get into Beacon,” he repeated. “I shouldn’t be here.”

Her mouth opened and then shut, speechless. Jaune sat down beside her and cracked open his bottle, taking a long draw. The cold liquid was heaven against his parched throat, and he ended up drinking most of the bottle in one go.

“Oh man, I really needed that,” he groaned, sipping at the rest. “That hit the spot.”

“You falsified your transcripts,” Blake finally managed to say. “To get into Beacon.”

“Yep.”

As flippant as he was being, he was curious about how she would take it. Jaune didn’t think she’d run off and tell the teachers. If he thought that about her, he wouldn’t have dared utter a word about it. And all for nothing, he held an even more damaging secret about her so even if she were that type of person, she would think twice about it.

But she wasn’t that type of person.

Jaune was positive.

He might not know Blake very well but he was sure about this.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I know something about you,” he said. “So I thought you should know something about me. Fair is fair, right?”

Her expression was hard to read.

“...does anyone else know?”

“Pyrrha does,” he confirmed. “We sort of had a bit of a fight and I blurted it out. Real dumb, right? Well, Cardin overheard us so he also knows.”

“Cardin knows?” Blake suddenly stood, looking outraged. “Jaune!”

“I know, I know,” Jaune held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Not the best person to know.”

“Wait a minute,” Blake frowned. “Is that why you were hanging out with Team CRDL? Was he blackmailing you?”

Jaune grinned, happy that she felt so offended on his behalf.

“Something like that, yeah. Did you really think I liked hanging out with those jerks? But don’t worry, that’s all been sorted. Cardin won’t be telling anyone else about it.”

He hoped. He hadn’t so far and Jaune had no reason to believe that wouldn’t continue. Cardin hadn’t even told the other members of his team. Russel, Sky and Dove only knew that Cardin had something on Jaune, not the specifics of what it was.

Cardin knew if his entire team knew, it wouldn’t stay a secret for very long. His teammates liked to run their mouths. Cardin was dumb but he wasn’t completely stupid.

“Jaune, are you sure?” she appeared doubtful. “Cardin Winchester is the worst type. An ignorant, vile bully that relishes lording his strength over others.”

Faunus in particular. Jaune had heard more than enough insults for faunus come from Cardin’s mouth to know exactly how he felt about Blake’s people, even if he hadn’t already seen the way he treated faunus students like Velvet, the rabbit faunus second year.

“I’m sure,” he said and after a moment, Blake sat down again. “I told Ren and Nora, and now I’m telling you.”

Blake blinked. “Ruby doesn’t know?”

Jaune shook his head, grimacing. “No, not yet. I’ll tell her eventually but… well, I guess I don’t want to disappoint her. Ruby is a really good girl and maybe I didn’t want her to think any less of me.”

Blake smirked. “You don’t care if you disappoint me?”

Jaune gave a half-laugh. “Maybe I thought you would understand. If only a little.”

Blake went silent.

“I never went to combat school and my father was always too busy to train me,” Jaune began to explain, a desire to share a little more about his circumstances rising up within him. “He wasn’t a Huntsman but he was a warrior. He used to be part of the local militia that protected our village from bandits and Grimm. My grandfather was the same, and my great-grandfather fought in the Great War. Crocea Mors belonged to him.”

Jaune finished off his water, setting the bottle aside.

“I come from a small town in the north. There isn’t much there, really – just farms, and fishing trawlers. We’re right on the coast. I was expected to become a farmer or a fisherman, or something else that would help the village operate. The old militia is still around but these days, Huntsmen live in the village. Retired, of course – but they’ve picked up the slack of defending the place, so there was less of a need for an official force,” Jaune shrugged. “I could have joined them, though. If I really wanted to but… well, I guess I wanted more.”

He sighed.

“So one day, I picked up my great-grandfather's sword, told my parents I had applied to Beacon and I was accepted, and caught a train from the nearest station I could find. A complete lie. But I’d found someone online that could get me some fake papers so I saved up all my pocket money and everything I earned from part-time jobs, and came to Vale to buy them. And… here we are.”

Jaune fiddled with his fingers, waiting for Blake to say something.

“...Jaune, did you even have your aura unlocked?”

He wasn’t expecting that question.

“Uh – haha?”

The expression etched on her face caused him to lean away.

“What were you thinking? ” she asked, aghast.

“Not very much, apparently,” he tried to joke but she looked decidedly unimpressed.

“You could have died!”

“Yeah,” he said solemnly. “I know.”

Blake shook her head incredulously.

“Luckily, I somehow captured Pyrrha’s attention and she pinned me to a tree before I hit the ground. Otherwise I might have been nothing but a red smear for the rest of initiation.”

“You’re either really brave or really stupid,” she told him. “And I think I know which one.”

“But it worked out in the end, so I can’t complain.”

“Barely!”

She was getting really worked up about this. Jaune smiled.

“Hey – I appreciate the concern but we’re here, aren’t we? I made it.”

Blake huffed, crossing her arms. “I never would have thought this but you’re a lot like Yang, aren’t you? Ridiculous.”

He laughed, something she didn’t seem to appreciate.

This was nice. Even though the subject matter was a little too serious for his liking, this was the longest conversation they’d had – well, other than when he confronted her about the White Fang. It seemed that they only really talked when they had something big to discuss. He wanted to change that.

He wanted them to be friends.

Friends could talk about the serious things, but friends could also talk about nothing as well. He wanted to talk about nothing with Blake.

“Enough about that,” he said. “What’s your favorite color?”

Blake blinked at him.

“What are you – why do you want to know that?” she asked, a little more defensively than he expected.

“I dunno. I don’t really know that much about you. Other than, you know – so I thought I’d ask.”

“And you want to know what my favorite color is?” she said in disbelief.

“Mine is gold,” he offered first. “Though I also like white. I think white goes well with almost anything.”

Blake continued to stare at him.

“This is what friends do, right? Get to know each other?”

She seemed surprised.

“You consider me a friend?”

“Yeah. You don’t consider me one?”

“Er – I – I guess?” she answered, flustered. “I just thought…”

She trailed off.

“Thought what?” he asked. “I know we don’t really hang out and talk much, but we’ve fought side by side, haven’t we? My dad always used to say that you find your true friends on the battlefield. He also always said that all a guy needs is confidence but that one isn’t working out so well, so maybe he was wrong about the first one as well,” he laughed awkwardly.

Blake looked down at her lap. “My favorite color is purple.”

Jaune perked up. “Oh?”

“But I also like black. I think black goes well with almost anything,” she parroted him, smirking slightly.

“You aren’t wrong. Black and white work well together,” Jaune mused. “I guess that’s why you wear so much of it.”

Their eyes met as she looked up from her lap, and he grinned at her happily. A tentative smile graced her lips.

“You can ask me anything,” he told her. “I’m ready for it.”

Blake looked lost, wracking her brain for something to ask. She wasn’t very good at this sort of thing.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“You could say that,” Jaune rolled his eyes. “I have seven sisters.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “You’re lying.”

“Trust me, I’m not. Here, let me show you.”

Jaune pulled out his scroll and quickly logged into the family social media account on MyFace. A sea of pictures appeared and finding the best one, Jaune turned the screen to show her.

It was a slightly older photo from a few years before Saphron had moved to Argus, placing Jaune at around fourteen years old. As usual, he was mashed in the middle between seven blonde haired girls, at their mercy as they glomped him and beamed at the camera. His expression was one of extreme torment, clashing with the absolute joy his sisters exhibited.

Blake gaped.

“As you can see, I am severely outnumbered,” Jaune pulled a face. “Do you have any idea how tough it is for a lone boy amongst that many girls?”

Blake shook her head in disbelief. “Your family is so big .”

“Yeah, well – mom and dad are monsters.”

When Blake recovered from her shock, Jaune asked her the same question even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”

Blake shook her head.

“No, I’m an only child. I… I always wanted a little brother, though.”

“I understand more than you know,” Jaune said grimly. “I’d love a little brother – or an older brother, or any brother.”

Blake laughed – no, she giggled . The sound was so unexpected from a girl that Jaune would have claimed to fit the cool beauty archetype that he ended up gaping at her a little.

“What?” she asked self-consciously, frowning.

“Sorry, nothing,” he shook his head. “Uh -- favorite food?”

Blake hesitated. “Don’t laugh.”

“Don’t – what? Why would I laugh?” Jaune shot her a confused look. “Is it something bad like those peppermint clusters that they pulled from shelves because they were, like, really bad for your teeth?”

She shook her head. “No. it’s just… I like tuna.”

Jaune blinked.

“Okay?”

Blake stared.

“I like tuna as well,” Jaune said, shrugging. “I like salmon more but tuna is pretty good. Why would I laugh?”

A frustrated expression appeared on her face. “Jaune.”

Was he missing something? Jaune wracked his brain and it took way longer than it should have, the lightbulb in his head almost exploding when it hit him. He perked up.

“Oooh,” he palmed his face. “Right, I get it.”

“You do?”

“Tuna is brain food, so you don’t want people to think you’re dumb.”

“I – what?” Blake almost choked, incredulous. “That isn’t it at all! I was saying don’t laugh because tuna is a fish and I’m a—”

It was then that she spotted the smirk on his face. Her words died and she mouthed silently for a moment, brow furrowing.

“You’re messing with me,” she deadpanned.

Jaune snickered. “It took me a little while to get what you meant. Sorry.”

Blake pouted and it was one of the cutest things he’d ever seen. He was forced to look away or fall victim to such a look. Had she been learning from Ruby or what?

“What’s your favorite food, then?” she asked, grumpy.

“Burgers are my go to,” he admitted. “Smash burgers, especially. Onion, cheese, and an egg. Can’t beat it.”

“Typical.”

“What? What’s typical?”

Blake grinned. “That was such a guy answer.”

“Well, I am a guy. Despite the best efforts of my sisters. Anyway, tuna was such a…” he trailed off, thinking better of it

“Such a what?” she pressed shrewdly.

“...nevermind.”

Blake snorted.

“Chicken.”

“I prefer smart,” he corrected, ignoring her smug look. “Hobbies?”

“Reading. You?”

“Same,” Blake looked surprised. “Comics, mostly,” he clarified. “What about you?”

“Books.”

“What type?”

She shrugged. “Anything, really. Mysteries, fantasy, crime – as long as the story is good, I’m happy to read it.”

“Any other hobbies?”

Blake thought it over, becoming very interested in her hands as they fiddled with the water bottle she was holding. “No…”

“That didn’t sound very convincing.”

She glared at him. “Fine. I… used to write. A little.”

“Oh?”

“But I haven’t in a long time,” she continued. “Years now.”

“What did you write?”

She looked away but Jaune caught the way her cheeks reddened. “Just things.”

“Things?”

“That’s all I’m saying.”

Her tone brooked no argument.

“Okay, okay,” he relented. “I also play video games. Ruby comes over a lot to play and we sorta just chill out.”

Blake didn’t face him again until her cheeks cooled down, and they went back and forth like this until the sky began to darken, afternoon into evening, and then approaching night. Jaune was having so much fun that he didn’t even notice the time and neither did Blake.

He discovered that Blake liked wearing dresses but didn’t own any because they’d been impractical for her. She also liked ice cream, though she didn’t have a favorite flavor. She liked to try a different one every time and confessed that if anyone left a tub near her, she would eat the whole thing in no time. She also hated dogs. A lot.

“I guess that makes sense.”

Blake sulked. “It isn’t because… you know. I just don’t like them.”

Even though she said it, she didn’t sound like she completely believed it.

Jaune was in the middle of sharing a story about his sisters when her scroll began ringing, quickly followed by his own. Checking the screen, he saw that Pyrrha was calling him.

He answered. Her face appeared and from the looks of it, she was in their room.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Hello,” she frowned for a second before her face cleared up, a smile replacing it. “I was just calling to see where you are. Have you even had dinner yet?”

“No, not yet. Sorry, I got caught up.”

“Is that Jaune?” he heard the very familiar voice of Ruby exclaim from Blake’s scroll. “Are you with him?”

“What was that?” Pyrrha asked, confused. “That sounded like Ruby.”

“It was. Blake is with me. You guys called at the same time,” Jaune grinned. “Anyway, I better go grab a bite to eat. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay, see you soon,” she replied, and the screen went black.

“I’m fine, we were just jogging,” he heard Blake try to explain, no longer on speaker. “What? No, tell Yang to mind her own business. I’ll be back soon, after I eat.”

After a few more words, she hung up.

“Guess we were away a little too long,” Jaune joked. “Want to grab a bite?”

Blake stood up and he followed suit. “Sure.”

There was something that was bothering him, though. Something he should have asked her about sooner.

“Why’d you come looking for me, anyway?” he asked and he saw her shoulders tense slightly. “Not that I mind but… well, I had fun.”

She was quiet as they walked and just when he thought she wasn’t going to answer him, she said, “I don’t know.”

Jaune almost stopped walking. “You don’t know?”

“I just wanted to talk to you, I guess.”

They were silent the rest of the way to the dining hall.

Chapter Text

The life she had built was falling apart.

It didn’t matter that it had only existed for a couple of months. It was meant to be a new beginning, a new chapter in her life, one she could look back at proudly when she was old and withered, waiting for that next great adventure called death. She’d done many things in her life that she wasn’t proud of. She wasn’t perfect; far from it. But she’d really thought that coming to Beacon could help erase some of those mistakes. That becoming a Huntress and helping people, truly helping those in need, human or faunus, that is what would make her life mean something.

But it wasn’t to be. It was crumbling away, sand sifting through her fingers and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it.

How could she have been so damn stupid?

Why had she risen to the bait? Blake knew she was better than that, better than this – but when she’d heard Weiss go on and on about how the White Fang were criminals and implying that all faunus were the same? It wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before but hearing it from Weiss Schnee of all people?

She’d snapped.

The arrogance, the ignorance… though what hurt the most, perhaps, was that Blake had been beginning to like her. Her opinion of Weiss had been low when they’d first met. No, scratch that – low wasn’t enough to describe her feelings for the Schnee heiress. That first day when she’d seen the white haired girl berating Ruby, it had only confirmed all the opinions she’d already formed about that family.

As the weeks went by, however… Weiss had shown her another side of her, one that Blake couldn’t help but grow to appreciate. Things in life were never so clear cut. Black and white didn’t exist, only shades of gray. Life in an ivory tower wasn’t all that it appeared, even though Blake only surmised much about Weiss’ past. The girl wasn’t exactly the sharing type.

It had been enough.

Blake’s opinion had shifted.

Then… disaster.

Disaster in the shape of a blond haired monkey faunus stowaway.

To think that the day had started innocently enough. They’d made the trip to Vale to scout out some of the coming competition for the Vytal Festival, even though Weiss denied vehemently that this was their purpose. They all knew why she’d been so excited to visit the city when usually, she was more than content to spend her weekends on campus. Weiss hadn’t been the only one excited about it, either. Ruby and Yang were just as pumped, though for different reasons. For Ruby, she wanted to see all the different weapons people would be bringing from across the globe. Yang wanted to know which fighters to look out for; basically, she was scouting for a good time.

Ever the thrill seeker, her partner.

Even Blake had been excited by the prospect. She’d never taken part in a tournament before and the Vytal Festival was a symbol of unity, an agreement between nations when the world had been at its lowest. It meant something – to both humans and faunus. It was a reminder of their mistakes and of their triumphs, and how they should never forget their past unless they wished to repeat it.

Though not everyone took those lessons to heart.

Blake cradled her head, sitting at a small booth in a nondescript cafe in downtown Vale. After her fight with Weiss, she’d run without thinking. She had nowhere to go, no one to go to, and had just let her feet take her wherever they wished. She’d fled Beacon in the middle of the night and that was how she ended up here the next day, alone with nothing but a cold tea that she’d ordered but not touched, lamenting the loss of her new life.

It had been short lived.

She could still hear those scathing words from Weiss, as if she were here with her. That filthy faunus, she’d said about the stowaway. Criminally insane, she called the White Fang. Every word out of her mouth had been laced with bigotry, discrimination. She’d compared Weiss to Cardin, and she wasn’t wrong. They were the exact type of people that the White Fang was created to combat.

...they were just misguided now, going down a path that wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t their fault!

Blake sighed.

Even she couldn’t tell how much she believed it.

Hadn’t she left them for exactly that reason? That they’d lost their way and were going too far over the line? Targeting innocent people, maiming and murdering… Adam wasn’t the only one within the organization that felt the way he did. Many of them wished to hurt humans just because they were human.

But had they really fallen all the way? Were they really robbing stores like petty criminals now? Stealing Dust for… what, exactly? It wasn’t to sell. They hadn’t taken any money…

What was she going to do?

Her scroll was set to silent and so she didn’t notice at first. She’d been ignoring any and all messages and calls, knowing that Ruby and Yang were desperately trying to contact her. It was by pure chance that she checked the time and saw that someone was actively attempting to call her at that very moment.

Blake felt her mouth go dry.

Jaune Arc’s name blinked at her, alongside a picture of the blond boy she’d snapped when he wasn’t looking.

Their friendship was a strange one. They’d gone from barely interacting to knowing each other's deepest, darkest secrets within a small span of time, and then… they’d become friends. It wasn’t anything special, they just hung out together sometimes, trained at others, nothing different than things she already did with her team.

But he knew .

And he didn’t care.

Jaune had been the first to know and instead of spilling the beans, he’d come to her. From there, he had revealed a damaging secret about himself. From that moment on, as much as she didn’t like to admit it, her trust in him had been unshakable.

Jaune… was a good person. A little silly, a little naive, but a good person.

And now he was calling her.

He must know by now what happened. There was no way Ruby wouldn’t have told him. If there was one person that would understand, it was him.

Right?

She answered before she could convince herself otherwise.

There was a long silence, as if her picking up had shocked him, and when she saw his face, it was plain as day in his expression – but then she saw him sigh, sounding so relieved that it made her chest hurt, just a little.

“Blake,” he said softly.

“Jaune,” she replied, feeling her eyes tear up. She wiped at them furiously. What the hell was wrong with her? “You’ve heard.”

He didn’t bother denying it. “Yeah, I’ve heard.”

“I didn’t mean to,” she tried to explain, unsure why she felt the need. She hadn’t done anything wrong! “I just… she was saying all these nasty things and I – I snapped. I couldn’t take it any more. It was stupid and childish and I… I just couldn’t.”

“I don’t care about any of that,” he said sternly, frowning. “Blake, I’ve been trying to call you since last night. We heard your fight across the hall. We’ve been worried sick!”

Guilt pooled in her stomach heavily.

“I – I’m fine, I’m just… I found a place to stay, some hotel – and now I’m at a cafe,” she said lamely.

“Are you?” he asked. “Okay, I mean?”

Blake looked away. “No… not really.”

What else could she say?

“Blake… I know you won’t want to hear this right now,” he started tentatively. “But you should really give Ruby a call. They’re really, really worried about you.”

Blake grit her teeth. “I bet Weiss isn’t worried.”

Jaune gave her a gentle look. “Don’t be like that.”

“Like what?” she snapped, suddenly incensed. “Are you going to defend her because she’s your Snow Angel ?”

Blake felt rotten as soon as she’d said it.

“I’m not going to defend anything,” he replied, face serious. “Whatever she said, whatever you said, that doesn’t matter to me. It isn’t my business and is between you and your team. I just want to know if you’re okay and when you’re coming back to Beacon.”

Blake looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “Jaune… I’m not coming back to Beacon?”

“What? Why?”

“What do you mean why ?” she glared at him. “How can I when they know ? It’s over! Finished! I – I messed up.”

“Ruby and Yang don’t care,” he tried to say but she cut him off.

“They will when they understand what it actually means!” a few people glanced her way, and she hunched over, lowering her voice. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. Weiss will want me gone, there is no way she is going to accept me back. My time at Beacon is finished.”

“Do you really believe that?”

She didn’t want to. But she’d heard the venom in Weiss’ voice, had seen the anger on her face. To Weiss, Blake was the enemy. Blake could understand; she viewed Weiss as the enemy, too.

“I do,” she said with faux calm.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“Jaune…”

“I’m coming down to Vale, just let me know where you are and I’ll meet you.”

She couldn’t tell him. As much as she’d appreciate meeting up and seeing a friendly face, if she told Jaune where she was, there was a zero percent chance that he kept it a secret from Ruby.

“Give up on me.”

“The hell I will!” he snapped and Blake leaned back, surprised. He’d never spoken to her that way before. “I’m not just going to turn my back on you, are you insane? What kind of friend does that?”

Blake scowled. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“It isn’t about owing anything,” he said, and Blake knew he meant every word. “This is what friends do, Blake. If I was in your position, wouldn’t you help me?”

She wanted to say no, she wouldn’t – and maybe if this had been a month or two ago, that would have been true. Hadn’t she witnessed Cardin’s rough treatment of the blond and turned a blind eye? She hadn’t known the specifics of the situation but even she could tell things hadn’t been right. But Blake had ignored it, angry that he hung out with such a disgusting, bigoted prick.

If that had been happening now, though?

No. She wouldn’t turn her back on him. If it had been happening to Ruby or Yang, or even Weiss before all of this had blown up… she wouldn’t have ignored it.

“I…” she hesitated.

“I always knew you’d look better without that bow,” a voice said from behind her and she jolted, spinning around in her chair.

A familiar face grinned at her, cocksure. It was the blond haired monkey faunus, the stowaway that had caused this entire mess unintentionally. Wait, what had he said…?

“What…?”

Without her bow?

One of her hands darted to her head, feeling around. With dread, she realized that her bow was missing. She’d forgotten to put it on. Had she really been so out of it?

Blake spun back to face her scroll, furious. “Why didn’t you say anything!?”

Jaune blinked at her. “Er – why would I? I thought you had decided to stop wearing it after what happened with Weiss.”

Blake mouthed stupidly. “W-Well – I didn’t!”

“Okaaay?” he said, confused.

Her cheeks burned hotly.

“Oh, hey,” the monkey faunus leaned over her shoulder, smiling. “What’s up?”

Jaune appeared surprised. “Ah, hey?”

Blake shoved him away. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The stranger shrugged. “Just being polite.”

“Looking over someone's shoulder isn’t polite!”

“Listen, Blake—”

The interloper perked up, cutting Jaune off. “Your name is Blake? I’m Sun. Sun Wukong. I’ve come all the way from Haven for the Vytal Festival. Pleased to finally meet ya~!”

He puffed out his chest, hands on hips as his slender tail curled behind his back. Blake stared at him.

Sun remained that way for a few seconds before he sagged. “No good?”

“Do you need help?” Jaune asked and she almost gave in. Shaking her head, she took a steadying breath.

“I’m hanging up.”

“Don’t you dare!”

Blake forced her voice to remain steady. “Goodbye, Jaune.”

“Wait!”

But she wouldn’t. Ending the call, the screen went black. After a few seconds, it began ringing again but she ignored it, collapsing her scroll and putting it in her pocket.

“Uh – was that your boyfriend?” Sun asked.

Blake glared at him.

“No,” she said coldly.

“Ex?”

“We’re just friends,” she swallowed thickly, the word catching in her throat. Jaune didn’t care what she was, what she had been .

“So why’d you hang up on him?”

“I believe that is none of your business.”

Sun opened his mouth and then shut it again, thinking. “Yeeaaah – you’re probably right. Sorry.”

Blake wasn’t expecting that and she didn’t even react as he plopped himself down on the seat opposite her. He waved down one of the staff.

“I’ll have what she had,” he said, pointing at her cold cup of tea. “Want a new one?”

When she didn’t answer him, he shrugged. “Make that two, thanks.”

When the waitress left, he leaned back in his chair, rocking back on the hind legs. “Lien for your thoughts?”

He wasn’t leaving, then.

Blake did her best to ignore him but he just didn’t take a hint. When their new tea arrived, he sipped at his cup while she stared blankly at her own. There was a good chance that Jaune was on his way down to Vale and if his words were to be believed, then Ruby and Yang were also probably looking for her. It wasn’t like she wanted to leave, but she didn’t have a choice! Weiss was never going to accept her, not unless she could prove that her careless words about the White Fang were wrong.

But how could she do that?

Weiss believed that the White Fang were responsible for that crime scene they came across. The Dust store robbed of all their Dust. Blake didn’t think so because it didn’t make sense . The White Fang were no strangers to stealing Dust but they stole from the Schnee Dust Company. They intercepted shipments and took from the source. Targeting the end of the chain didn’t help anyone and only punished innocents. Blake knew that Adam had stepped across the line but ultimately, he had still been targeting Schnee Dust Company employees. As twisted as it was, Blake understood the why of it.

This? This was completely senseless.

If she could prove that it was someone else, then maybe…

“That’s an interesting face,” Sun commented.

She ignored him. “I need to prove that the White Fang aren’t behind these robberies.”

He shot her a confused look. “Uh, come again? White Fang? Robberies? Why are we talking about those psychos?”

Blake opened her mouth but paused as the waitress returned, delivering their drinks.

“Thanks!” Sun beamed and Blake waited until she left before speaking.

“I used to be a member of the White Fang.”

Sun had been mid-drink and inhaled sharply, choking. He almost spilled his tea, thumping on his chest as he set the cup down, coughing.

“Woah, woah, woah – you were seriously a member of the White Fang?”

“That’s right. I dedicated my life to the White Fang. I was born into it.”

Sun looked at her incredulously. “Blake – they’re insane! Are you kidding me?”

Blake tried not to feel hurt by that. “They weren’t always like that. We weren’t always like that. But five years ago, our leader stepped down and a new one took his place. She had a new way of thinking. Our peaceful protests turned into organized attacks,” she sighed, looking down into the fresh cup of tea. “We set fire to stores that refused to serve faunus and stole cargo from companies that mistreated their faunus labor. The worst part was… it worked, or so we believed in our delusion. Humanity came to fear and hate us.”

Fear wasn’t equality. Fear wasn’t unity. Fear was fear. Acceptance could never be achieved that way. 

“That’s why I left them. I stopped using my skills to aid in their violence. I decided to dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress instead.”

Why she was telling this stranger all this, she didn’t know. She was spilling her guts and Sun was some random guy she’d just met. Was it just because he was also a faunus? Could she not be this honest with a human?

With Jaune?

Even though he knew everything already? Okay, not everything – not the specifics. Blake feared him knowing those. But he knew enough. More than enough.

Maybe it was because it made her ashamed, and she didn’t want Jaune to look at her like she was a monster? This boy who’d stumbled upon her past and hadn’t shunned her. Instead he had befriended her and not judged. Hung out with her, read with her, trained with her.

Blake felt her hands curl into fists.

She didn’t want to lose that. She didn’t want to lose Yang’s stupid jokes and Ruby’s optimism. She didn’t want to lose their warmth.

“So… what?” Sun asked. “You want to prove the White Fang aren’t hitting stores? How are you going to do that?”

Blake had no idea. “I don’t know – but I just don’t think they’d ever need this much Dust. When we stole cargo, it was less about what it was and more about who we were taking it from. These stores haven’t done anything wrong.”

As far as she knew. Blake had only been in Vale a short time but she’d been pleased to see that none of the stores she’d visited or had seen in passing had signs that disallowed faunus. In that way, they were miles ahead of a place like Mistral where that was common practice. Vale wasn’t perfect but they were much more accepting of her people.

“Hmm,” his tail slithered up and stroked the underside of his chin as he thought. “To prove that the White Fang didn’t do it, you should go where they are likely to hit next, right? If they don’t show up, then it means they’re probably innocent.”

Wasn’t that a little too convenient? Though maybe Sun was onto something. Pulling out her scroll, it didn’t take long for Blake to find several articles written about a spree of robberies in the city, all of them targeting Dust shops. Strangely, the only lead they had was Roman Torchwick because he’d been seen at a failed robbery dated right before the Beacon school year began.

So if she could prove that it was Torchwick all along and not the White Fang…

How did she do that, though? She had some ideas. Foiling a robbery in progress would be one such method and Sun was right, if they just showed up at the most likely target, then there was a good chance something might happen. It wasn’t a foolproof idea but it was all she had.

“I can’t think of where they would try and hit,” Blake confessed.

Sun frowned before perking up. “Uh, come to think of it, some guy on the ship said that a huge shipment of Dust was coming in from Atlas.”

Blake felt her heart stop. “How huge?”

“Huge,” Sun gestured widely with his arms. “It’s coming in on a Schnee Company freighter.”

Could this really be the lead she needed? It almost felt too good to be true. Such a shipment would be impossible to ignore if they really were stealing Dust. Stores only held so much stock due to the volatility of the product. Even if you hit every store in the city, it would only be a drop in the bucket of what could be hauled in on a freighter. Why the White Fang – or anyone – would need or want this much Dust, Blake didn’t know. All she knew was that whatever it was for, it couldn’t be good.

“Do you know when this shipment is coming in?” she asked.

Sun shook his head. “Only that it was coming in today sometime.”

When was the last time she took part in a good ol’ fashioned stake out? Blake sighed.

She finished her tea in silence, no matter how often Sun prodded at her for a conversation. If she did this and found out that it wasn’t the White Fang, then she could take the proof to Weiss and prove their innocence. But that didn’t change all the other things they’d taken part in.

But what if they were there? What if they were the ones stealing all the Dust? That Weiss was right in her assumptions? What then?

She didn’t know. She’d have to deal with that when it come.

Standing without warning, Blake approached the counter and paid for her drink. Sun scrambled after her as she left, paying for his own order before catching her down the sidewalk.

“Hey, what gives?” he asked. “Where are you going?”

“The docks. I want to be there when the shipment arrives.”

“Need company?”

She wanted to say no but having an extra pair of eyes couldn’t hurt.

“Fine,” she said sternly. “You can come but this is serious. We aren’t messing around.”

“Serious, gotcha,” Sun said in a voice that didn’t inspire much confidence. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Blake somehow doubted that.

The docks were easy to find. Where else would they be but where the city met the sea? Blake watched through slitted bars as dock workers moved around the concrete wharves, the sound of heavy machinery deafening as they unloaded and sorted cargo containers, stacking them several crates high. A quick glance around the perimeter showed plenty of cameras and a handful of security guards. It wasn’t the toughest place she’d ever snuck into but it wasn’t a cakewalk, either.

It didn’t help that it was still the middle of the day.

Sun took one look around and said, “Right. Follow me.”

Blake startled as he jogged down the fence line about fifty yards and then leapt straight over. The last thing Blake saw was his tail as it slipped over the top and out of sight.

“Sun!” she hissed, outraged. A quick glance showed that no one on the street had seen, though there were plenty of people around, walking and driving, or sitting at the waterfront cafes. “What do you think – argh!”

Making sure no one was watching, she followed him, vaulting over the fence easily. Landing in a crouch, she saw him dart between containers. Already committed, she dashed after him, finally catching up to him when he paused at the end of the long line and was peeking around a corner.

“You idiot,” she snapped. “Anyone could have seen you!”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he waved away her concern. “I never get caught.”

Blake glared at him hotly. “Like on the ship? They were chasing you.”

He opened his mouth to deny it before remembering she saw it happen. “Okay, sometimes I get caught – but not often!”

“Great,” she shoved past him with a hand on the chest, moving him aside. Peering around the corner, she saw a forklift moving a pile of pallets. She waited until he was out of their line of sight before moving, sprinting towards the nearest building while keeping an eye out for cameras.

She spotted two on each corner but thankfully, they were pointed in different directions. They slipped between their blind spot and finding the nearest downpipe, began scaling the building.

“Don’t look up,” she warned him when she heard his shoes clatter against the corrugated iron sheets of the walls. Peering down through her legs, she saw that he was doing the exact opposite. Blake scowled. “Perv.”

“Hey, it’s a little hard, okay? I need to see where to place my hands,” he defended himself but she was already moving, climbing swiftly before swinging herself up on top of the roof. Keeping herself low so the men in the cranes couldn’t spot her, she moved between air circulation units to break line of sight.

There was a building next to the one she was on with a slightly higher roof and more coverage, so she leapt across the gap effortlessly. A few seconds later, Sun landed beside her.

“You move pretty well.”

Blake hummed and approached the edge, laying down on her belly. Crawling until she could see over the lip, her eyes traced along the containers, looking for anything that could identify their cargo. From personal experience, she knew that Schnee Dust Company freighting containers were all well labeled. They needed to be, considering their contents.

She couldn’t spot any.

“I don’t think it’s arrived yet,” she said.

Or if it had, it hadn’t been unloaded.

It was a waiting game now.

Chapter Text

Finding one person in a city full of people when they didn’t want to be found was almost as bad as searching for a needle in a haystack. Jaune sighed as he left yet another cafe, no closer to finding Blake than he had been twelve hours ago. Yeah, that’s right – he’d been at this for twelve hours! And all he had to show for it was a bunch of pitying looks as he asked time and time again if they’d seen his friend, here, this was a picture of her, are you sure you hadn’t seen her?

Jaune wasn’t very good at socializing. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to or even because he let his anxiety get the best of him. He was the one that had approached Ruby, right? And he was most definitely the one that had approached Weiss and Pyrrha. No, he wasn’t good at socializing because he had a tendency to flub his words the more flustered he became.

He was beyond flustered right now. He was down right beside himself.

Pyrrha, Ren and Nora had long headed back to Beacon. The fact that they’d spent their day searching for Blake with him meant the world to him, but night was quickly approaching and someone needed to be back at the academy in case she miraculously decided to show up, or to explain his absence the next day because they knew he wasn’t going to stop until he found her.

If there was one thing Jaune knew about himself it was that he could be stubborn. When he set his mind on something, come hell or high water, he would see it through. Why else had he been stupid enough to think he could sneak into Beacon with false papers and be ready for the life of a Huntsman? Stubbornness, that’s why. He had enough money in the bank if he required a room for the night, so there was no problem there.

But the longer he searched, the more helpless the entire situation felt. Jaune had targeted cafes and hotels, motels, any sort of accommodation he could find because Blake had admitted during their short scroll call that she’d visited both. It was the only lead he had, and he pursued it like a bloodhound with a scent.

There were only so many cafes and hotels in the city, right? He just needed to visit all of them . Easy!

If only.

Spotting another establishment he hadn’t yet visited, he jogged across the street. They were in the process of closing for the day, and he was met at the door by one of the waiting staff.

“I’m sorry, we’re closing now,” she told him.

“That’s fine,” he said quickly, holding up his scroll. “I just wanted to ask – have you seen this girl?”

She shot him a suspicious look, “Why?”

That wasn’t an unusual response to his question. While some people had been happy to help without further prompting, many had been wary of helping a guy trying to find a girl. Jaune totally understood the feeling but he wouldn’t lie and say it didn’t fray at his nerves, constantly being questioned about his motivations, if only by implication.

“She’s a Huntress-in-training from Beacon,” he explained. “But she didn’t come back last night and her team is looking for her. Can you help?”

At the mention of Beacon, her expression cleared. “Oh. Let me take a look.”

He wasn’t expecting much but when he saw her brows furrow and lean in closer, a spark of hope bloomed in his chest.

“Actually, she does look somewhat familiar,” she leaned back. “She came in this morning. You’re lucky I had a double shift today or I wouldn’t even be here.”

“She was here? Really?”

The waitress nodded. “Yeah. She was here alone for a while but then she was joined by a guy. Blond. Had a monkey tail. He ordered them tea, and then they left together. I didn’t serve them myself but one of my colleagues did.”

“Do you know which way they went?”

She shot him an exasperated look. “What do I look like? An information kiosk?”

Jaune brought his hands together. “Please, this is important. You’re the only one that has seen her all day.”

She sighed before pointing down the street. “They went that way.”

“Thank you,” he bowed. “That helps a lot!”

“Does it?” she questioned but he was already hurrying down the street.

That must have been the cafe she was at when he’d called her and the blond was that strange guy that had said hello over her shoulder. While it was heartening to finally get somewhere, this was only the beginning. A vague direction wasn’t a lot to go on and a lot of the stores were shutting up for the night.

It was better than nothing.

He called Ruby.

Silver eyes blinked at him from his screen. “Jaune? Did you find Blake?”

“I found where she was this morning,” he relayed. “Though all I have is a vague direction she left in. Do you want to meet up?”

“Sure, we’ll be there soon. Where are you?”

He passed on his location before asking, “Are you with Yang and Weiss?”

Ruby’s smile was odd. “Uh, not exactly.”

An unfamiliar voice asked, “Ruby, who are you speaking with?”

Ruby shifted the camera and he was met with a cute girl with short ginger hair and freckled cheeks. She peered at him curiously, head tilting to the side.

“Uh – hi?”

She smiled at him. “Hello~! Who might you be?”

“I’m – uh, Jaune.”

“I am Penny,” she announced loudly, perking up. “Penny Polendina, Ruby’s friend .”

“Oh,” he had never heard of her before. When did they meet? “I’m also Ruby’s friend.”

Penny’s eyes lit up and she bounced excitedly. “Sen-- sational ! Does this also mean we are also friends?”

She was a little strange but her energy was infectious, and Jaune found himself going with the flow. “Sure. We can be friends.”

He didn’t see the harm in it.

Penny looked like she was about to burst. “I’ve never had a boy friend before!”

“Er…”

Ruby reappeared as she flipped her scroll around. “Sorry, she is a little…” she struggled to find the right word. “Unique?”

Jaune snickered. “Right – well, see you both soon.”

He only had to wait ten minutes before he saw a flash of red round the nearby corner. Ruby waved as she skipped over, appearing pretty upbeat considering the circumstances. Penny followed behind her at a much more lackadaisical pace, each step carefully measured.

“Hello Friend Jaune,” she greeted before Ruby could get a word of greeting in.

“Uh – hi, Penny,” he said, a little bemused. “Hey Ruby.

“Which way did she go?” she asked, getting straight to business. Jaune pointed and the three of them began walking.

“So – is she a friend from Signal?” he jerked a thumb at Penny.

Ruby shook her head. “No, no – we kinda just met yesterday.”

“Weiss ran into me,” Penny chirped.

“What?”

“Yeah, literally,” Ruby snickered.

“Oh,” Jaune gave Penny a grateful look. “Thank you for helping us find our friend.”

“No thanks needed. This is what friends do,” Penny nodded, self assured. “But if I may ask – why did this Blake run away? Are you not friends?”

Ruby’s good cheer rapidly evaporated. “It’s… complicated.”

“Are you mad at her?”

“Yeah – well, no,” Ruby hastily corrected. “Not me. Weiss is the one that’s mad.”

“Are Weiss and Blake friends?”

Ruby grimaced. “Not really – at least, not right now.”

Penny appeared confused. “Why?”

“Blake might not be who we thought she was.”

Penny let out a little gasp. “Is Blake a man?”

Jaune snorted, quickly covering his mouth as Ruby shot him an annoyed look. Penny’s question had been so unexpected that he couldn’t help it, and it was perhaps the first bit of humor he’d felt all day.

“No, Penny – she’s not a man,” Ruby corrected her. “We don’t really know who Blake is. Blake doesn’t really like to talk much. I guess that is sort of the problem.”

A sliver of guilt gnawed at him. This whole thing was about Blake being a faunus, and a former member of the White Fang. Two things he’d known about for a little while now. A part of him wondered if this entire mess could have been averted if he’d given Ruby a heads up but it wasn’t his secret to share. Even so, it didn’t change how he felt.

“I don’t have many friends, but I would hope that my friends tell me everything,” Penny declared.

It was a nice sentiment and maybe a little naive. People had secrets, Jaune knew that better than anyone – but in a perfect world, yeah, he felt the same way. It would be nice, being able to share everything about yourself and not fear judgment.

The few stores that were still open, they stopped at but none of the workers had seen Blake. He’d gotten lucky with the waitress who’d been pulling overtime. It was unlikely that anyone else along this route would have seen her, and they weren’t the police. They couldn’t ask to see any footage from security cameras they might have installed. Even so, they continued along their path.

“Jaune,” Ruby started, her voice unsure.

He glanced her way. “What’s up?”

“...did you know that Blake was a faunus?”

Jaune blinked.

“Er – why do you ask?”

She shrugged. “It’s just… when I told you about what happened, you didn’t seem very surprised.”

Was there any point in hiding it now?

“Yeah, I knew,” he confessed. “I – uh, also knew about the White Fang stuff.”

Ruby stopped dead. “What? How?”

“You know how I had to do some extra credit work for History?” she nodded. “Well, it was about the White Fang. I sorta accidentally came across some information that may have led me straight to her,” Jaune sighed. “I confronted her about it because I read some stuff about their conflict with the Schnee Dust Company.”

“You what ?”

He laughed awkwardly. “Yeah. I wanted to make sure that Weiss wasn’t in any danger. If I thought she was bad news, I would have come straight to you but… well, I was convinced that Blake was harmless. She was just here to become a Huntress, nothing more. After that… well, it was her secret to share.”

Ruby perked up. “That’s why you’ve been hanging out more.”

“Oh, you noticed that?”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Of course I noticed. Blake hardly speaks to us and all of a sudden, she was getting all buddy-buddy with my best friend. It was a little hard not to.”

“Ah, right,” Jaune felt stupid. “Yeah, I guess we sort of… became better friends because of it.”

Penny leaned between them and Ruby jerked away, having forgotten about the ginger haired girl.

“You didn’t know Blake was a faunus?” she asked, shocked. “But it was so obvious.”

“Huh? Penny – you knew ?”

She nodded, giving Ruby a very serious look. “Ruby – Blake has cat ears.”

Penny was right, of course – but how did she know that? If they’d only met yesterday, wouldn’t Blake have been wearing her bow?

Ruby appeared aghast. “How did you notice and I didn’t? Wait a minute – she has cat ears under her bow?” her eyes lit up. “Ohmigawd – I bet they are the cutest things~!”

“Penny,” Jaune waited until he had her undivided attention. “How did you know about her ears?”

Penny blinked. “What do you mean? They were right there.”

Jaune opened and closed his mouth, speechless. Were they just stupid? They’d spent weeks around Blake and Jaune had only found out because of happenstance, and Ruby hadn’t known anything until Blake blurted everything out, while Penny met her one and just… saw them?

Were they really dumb? Or maybe just blind?

“Oh…”

Maybe they were just bad friends.

“I want to see them, I want to see them,” Ruby wiggled on the spot before calming down. “But we have to find her first. We have to convince her that we don’t care about her past.”

Jaune had to ask. “What about Weiss?”

Ruby looked pained. “I – I don’t know… I can’t say Weiss is wrong for being mad. The things she said… about the White Fang attacking her family…”

For Weiss, this was a lot more complicated. Jaune understood that much. He’d seen the articles.

A sudden loud bang rattled the nearby storefront window, causing Jaune and Ruby to flinch. Spinning around, they noticed a plume of smoke rising above the skyline of the nearby shops. It wasn’t far.

“Aren’t the docks in that direction?” Ruby asked, frowning.

Jaune nodded. “Yeah. Just on the other side of those buildings.”

They shared a look, no words needed. When in doubt, run towards trouble.

“Let's go,” Ruby said before she exploded in a stream of rose petals.

“Ruby—wait,” but it was too late, the red streak that was his friend vanishing around a corner. “God damnit, I can’t run that fast!”

He went to follow before remembering he wasn’t alone. “Oh, uh – we gotta go, Penny, sorry. You should probably head back to where you’re staying.”

“Can I not come?” she asked, confused.

“It might be dangerous,” he told her. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Oh,” she smiled brightly. “There is no need to worry, Friend Jaune. I am combat ready!”

“Oh, uh – wait a minute, Penny – are you a Huntress?”

She nodded happily. “Huntress-in-training, Penny Polendina at your disposal!”

Jaune gave her a quick once over but didn’t see any weapons, though that didn’t mean anything. Some Huntsmen were more than capable of fighting with their bare hands, and some like Yang had weapons that weren’t so easily discernible until they were deployed. Penny didn’t look like a Huntress… but he supposed he didn’t look very much like a Huntsman either beyond the armor and sword.

“Oh,” he said lamely. “Okay, uh – you can come, then.”

Any doubts he had about her vanished when she easily kept up with him. While Jaune wasn’t the fastest or even the fittest at Beacon, he was well beyond the scope of all but the most elite athletes without aura. Sprinting down the street, Penny remained by his side, effortlessly matching his pace. When they reached the nearby intersection, they made a left turn and followed that street right down to the docks. More explosions sounded as they approached and with a roar, several bullheads flew by overhead.

Penny frowned. “Those airships appear to be unauthorized.”

How she knew they were authorized or not, he didn’t bother asking. Penny was a strange girl. Not in a bad way but he didn’t have time right now to try and figure her out.

“Come on, let's get moving.”

Jaune followed the very clear sounds of fighting. The unmistakable sound of gunfire grew louder as they approached and when they arrived at the main loading area, it was utter chaos. Dozens of people in white sleeveless coats and metal masks brandished rifles, firing at a black shadow that danced through the hail of bullets. Jaune saw a ribbon trail in her wake and knew instantly that it was Blake, her slender form vaulting through the air before she took several of them out in a series of bone shattering kicks. From the familiar red symbol on the backs of their coats, it was obvious who these people were.

The White Fang.

“I don’t think so, Red,” a masculine voice called and turning, Jaune saw Ruby hastily back peddle as a man in a handsome white suit coat and black dress pants attacked her with what appeared to be a cane. Crescent Rose had the clear reach advantage but the man was fast, stepping inside her guard and delivering punishing blows that sent Ruby reeling.

“Ruby!” Penny called.

“You help her,” Jaune said before he charged in, unsheathing his sword. “I’ll help Blake!”

He didn’t hear her response, targeting the nearest White Fang grunt. The man didn’t even see him coming, Jaune shoulder charging him in the back. Jaune heard him grunt in pain as he was smashed aside, dropping his rifle as he hit the ground hard.

“Hey!” one of them noticed his presence, swinging his rifle around to face him. “Who are you?”

“The guy that is about to take you out,” he said, though it sounded much cooler in his head. Jaune dashed in, deploying his shield as the White Fang grunt opened fire. He felt the rounds impact his shield, rattling his arm and then he barreled into him, lifting the masked figure off his feet. Jaune slammed him into a nearby shipping container, the man’s mask coming loose as his head banged against the steel, knocking him out.

These people didn’t have aura.

“Jaune!” Blake shouted. “What are you doing here?”

“Why do you think?” he yelled back as more of the White Fang turned his way, opening fire. “Looking for you!”

Blake scowled and flipped through the air, looping her ribbon around the necks of several people before pulling them off their feet, sending them slamming into the ground. When one of them tried to sneak up on her, a blond blur appeared, a long red and gold staff swiftly taking care of them.

“Oh, hey,” the monkey faunus greeted him with a wide smile. “You’re that guy from the scroll call.”

Jaune blinked. “Er – yeah. You’re Sun, right?”

“That’s right. And you are… uh, Jon?”

“Jaune. Jaune Arc.”

Sun gave him a thumbs up. “Sweet.”

“If you two are finished,” Blake snapped. “Ruby needs help!”

Jaune turned just in time to see Ruby get smacked aside, the handsomely dressed man in the bowler hat tutting as he swung his cane around before resting his weight on it. If nothing else, this villain was certainly stylish.

“Red, what’s the matter? Things aren’t going so well this time, are they?”

Jaune frowned. “So who is this creep?”

Blake’s voice was grim. “That is Roman Torchwick.”

Roman Torchwich – the master criminal? Even Jaune had heard of him!

Wait a minute, where was Penny?

He’d sent her to help Ruby but she was nowhere to be seen. That was until an ominous green glow began to build up, drawing his attention away from Torchwick and over towards the nearby crane. Penny stood at the base, a dozen or so blades forming a circle as they spun rapidly. The airships above head opened fire with machine guns, tearing up concrete and asphalt but before they could do much more damage, a beam of green energy fired from Penny’s spinning swords. It sliced through one of the bullheads like a hot knife through butter, cutting it in half effortlessly.

Jaune gaped.

What the hell was that!?

Even Sun appeared at a loss for words, staring as Penny proceeded to cut down two more airships like they were nothing. One of them crashed into the wharf before erupting in a fiery blaze while the other careened into the water with a massive splash.

Roman Torchwick shook his head in disbelief. “What the hell are they feeding kids these days? Sheesh.”

Blake was the first to recover.

“It’s over, Torchwick,” Blake declared, mecha-shifting her weapon into its pistol form and taking aim. “You’re outnumbered and outgunned. Give up.”

Torchwick scoffed. “If you really think that a bunch of punk kids can capture me, you’re dumber than you look – and trust me, you look pretty dumb.”

Blake opened fire while Sun dashed in, a pair of yellow clones erupting from his back. Torchwick’s cane flashed through the air, intercepting her bullets before he was forced to defend against Sun’s sudden assault. The pair exchanged rapid blows while his clones ran misdirection, Sun’s unusual staff weapon breaking apart, swinging around and unleashing shot after shot from unpredictable angles. They were almost like nunchucks, the force of each blast causing them to swing even faster. Despite his strange weapon and fighting style, Torchwick was more than up to the task, tanking the last few shots on his aura as he hooked the curve of his cane around the back of Sun’s neck and pulled, slamming him face first into a brutal knee.

Sun reeled back with a shout of pain, aura flickering. It was the only thing that prevented him from having his nose caved in.

“Sun!” Blake called, dashing in to help.

“Blake, wait!” Jaune saw Torchwick spin, aiming his cane like a gun and moved without thought.

She tried to avoid the shot but her reckless charge put her much too close. Blake managed to summon a clone and backflip into a handspring but Torchwick had accounted for her potential evasive maneuver. A multi hued mote of light fired from the end of his cane, aimed right where she planted her hands. It whistled through the air and at the very last second, Jaune managed to place his shield between it and them.

“Jau—” Blake managed to get out before something powerful slammed into the pair of them. Jaune felt his ears pop as he was lifted off his feet and flung through the air like a ragdoll, end over end. The world spun wildly and it felt like he spent an age in the air. He didn’t even feel anything when he hit the ground, rolling several feet before coming to stop, facing the sky.

What the hell just happened?

His ears were ringing and vaguely, he could feel a pain in his shoulder.

Jaune tried to breathe and felt that he couldn’t, almost like he’d been winded. No, it wasn’t almost – it was exactly like he’d been winded. He gasped and wheezed for breath, slowly turning onto his front and lifting himself up onto his hands and knees. His vision swam into focus, blinking rapidly as he tried to fill his lungs with air.

Just breathe , he thought frantically. Just breathe!

Looking to his right, he saw Blake sprawled on the ground. She wasn’t moving.

“Blake,” he said, though he couldn’t hear his own voice. “Blake!”

He crawled across the ground, quickly reaching her side. Her eyes were open, though she appeared dazed and confused, lashing out at him when he loomed over her.

“Hey, hey!” he grunted as she slapped him across the face. “Oi, Blake – it’s me!”

Amber eyes blinked at him. Her mouth moved sluggishly but he couldn’t hear her.

“I can’t hear you,” he said. “My ears are ringing!”

Whatever Torchwick hit them with, it packed one hell of a punch. Some sort of dust explosive? In any case, he didn’t want to get hit with it again. Jaune found his sword nearby and scrambled for it. Turning to face the enemy, he saw Ruby was engaging him in battle alongside Sun.

Another airship carrying one of the shipping containers filled with Schnee Company Dust hovered overhead. Realizing the problem, Penny didn’t shoot this one down. Instead her blades flew through the air, piercing the steel plating easily. Jaune watched as something glinted in the air and with some shock, he realized that they were thin wires.

The airship tried to bank away but no matter how hard the thrusters burned, it couldn’t pull away. Seemingly without effort, Penny began to reel them in, walking backwards and dragging the airship with her.

Just who in the world was this girl?

Ruby squealed as she was nailed in the stomach, Torchwick jabbing her with cane before tossing her right into Sun. The fact that Jaune heard that made him realize his hearing was returning, though only somewhat. The pair hit the ground, limbs tangled and the master criminal picked that moment to attempt his escape. Jaune hesitated, looking down at Blake who was still out of it.

He was getting away.

But he wasn’t willing to leave her alone, not in such a vulnerable state. Especially when there were still White Fang skulking about, though Penny’s display of firepower was giving them all second thoughts.

Torchwick boarded a bullhead and soon it was airborne, quickly pulling up and away while Penny dealt with the remaining ship by pulling it to ground. Thankfully the container full of Dust didn’t detonate, uncoupling from the underside the ship before it flipped over and crashed into the wharf, engines sputtering and dying.

The remaining White Fang that were still conscious chose that moment to flee, scattering in all directions. So much for being a brotherhood. Dozens of their comrades were left behind, and dozens more were dead.

It was over.

Still rattled and half deaf, Jaune sheathed his sword and knelt by Blake’s side.

“Blake,” he said and those beautiful eyes peered up at him, a little clearer now. “Are you okay?”

She nodded slowly. “I – I see double.”

Jaune grimaced. “You might have a concussion.”

In the distance, he could hear the beginnings of police sirens.

When she tried to get up, he placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place.

“You shouldn’t stand,” he said. She glared at him half-heartedly. “And don’t think I’m going to back off just because you’re giving me the stink eye.”

She looked away, sagging. “...I told you not to come.”

“And I told you that wasn’t happening. You’d think with two sets of ears, you’d hear better.”

Blake blinked, giving him a surprised look. “...I’ve never heard you so snarky before.”

Jaune huffed. “Well, if you’re going to be stupid like this, be prepared for more of it.”

“I wasn’t being stupid.”

“Yeah?”

“I wasn’t!”

“Sun,” he suddenly called out, looking around.

“Right here,” the monkey faunus waved, approaching with Ruby in tow. “What’s up?”

“Whose idea was it to engage the White Fang?”

Blue eyes darted to Blake and Jaune already had his answer, even without him saying anything. He turned back to her.

“I rest my case.”

Blake glared at Sun. “He was the one that figured out they would be here!”

Sun raised his hands. “Hey, woah – I mean, she isn’t lying but I didn’t mean for you to jump in and start threatening Roman Torchwick when you were outnumbered one to twenty.”

Ruby sighed, shaking her head. “Blake…”

When even Ruby was disappointed in you…

“I just… I couldn’t not do something. I was the only one who could!”

“You have a team!” Ruby implored. “That’s why we are on a team in the first place! So we don’t have to do things on our own!”

Blake opened her mouth furiously but Ruby cut her off.

“No, now you are going to listen and listen good,” Ruby said firmly, stamping her foot. “ I don’t care that you’re a faunus or you were in the White Fang or whatever! I only care about what you do now, got it? And what you do now – no, I mean, what you’ve been doing… argh! My words!”

Jaune couldn’t help it, he started laughing.

“Jaune, no,” Ruby sulked, shoving him weakly. “It isn’t my fault!”

He understood completely. They were kindred souls in this way. Socially awkward for life!

“What Ruby is trying to say is the Blake we know isn’t that Blake,” he said, meeting Blake’s eyes. “The Blake we know is the Blake that fought with us against a giant Deathstalker and Nevermore, who groans whenever her partner tells bad jokes but then offers her own bad jokes in return. She might have made some bad decisions in the past but she told me she is trying to make up for them, that she wants to become a Huntress to help people. Isn’t that right?”

Ruby nodded along. “Yup~! And the Blake we know is the Blake that likes to read naughty books in our dorm room and pretends they are normal books, but we know better.”

Blake’s face lost all color. “Ruby…”

Sun laughed loudly. “She what?”

“There you are!”

They all flinched.

Walking through the destruction as if it wasn’t there, Weiss Schnee marched over with a very cross look on her face. Yang trailed behind her, wearing a conflicted expression.

“Uh oh,” Ruby muttered.

Uh oh was right.

Chapter Text

Against all odds, things worked themselves out. Never in a million years did Blake think that Weiss would ever accept her past, especially with the undeniable proof that the heiress had been right. The White Fang were now reduced to petty crime, robbing stores and targeting those most vulnerable on the supply chain; simple store owners trying to make an honest living. Not only that, they were working with Roman Torchwick, and from their brief encounter, Blake saw and heard what he thought of the faunus.

He was cut from the same cloth as Cardin Winchester but somehow worse. Not only did he believe faunus were inferior, that they were animals , but he was exploiting them for his own goals. Because that was the only way Blake could reasonably understand this strange, impossible alliance between her old comrades and the master criminal of Vale.

Despite all this, Weiss forgave her. Not only that, the white haired girl admitted fault and apologized for her harsh words. Her emotions had gotten the better of her, she said. Even though she hated the White Fang, she did not hate faunus. It was wrong of her to imply that all faunus were criminals, and she would never imply such a thing ever again.

Blake honestly couldn’t believe how well things fell back into place.

She’d been devastated, thinking her new life was over before it even truly began. And now she was welcomed back into the fold, embraced by her team wholeheartedly, though with a condition.

“If you need anything, then come to us,” Weiss told her sternly.

“We’re here to help,” Yang added seriously, ganging up on her. “You don’t have to shoulder your burdens alone.”

“There is no Team RWBY without the B,” Ruby finished, silver eyes intense. “So don’t you dare run off on us again.”

They were with her, they said. If there was a problem, they would back her up. If she needed to vent, they would lend her an ear. All they demanded of her is that she include them, and to never leave them behind.

Blake promised them she wouldn’t. It was true that she found it difficult to open up but she would try. She would try for them, and she would try for herself.

The White Fang may have been her family, once.

But now Team RWBY was her family.

And families stuck together.

Now if only she could apply that to her actual family, but Blake wasn’t ready for that yet. Call her craven and you would be right. After the things she said to her mother and father… not enough time had passed, not yet. That wasn’t something she could face.

Not yet.

Someday.

Ruby, Yang and Weiss weren’t the only people looking out for her, though. Pyrrha, Nora, Ren – they’d all taken time out of their day to look for her, worried sick at her sudden disappearance. Blake had been worried about how Ren and Nora may take the revelation of her past, but just as Pyrrha had accepted it, they had as well.

They saw her as Blake. Faunus or human, it didn’t matter to them. She was their friend. They’d fought together and their bond was iron.

It made her want to cry.

And then there was Jaune…

He’d come for her, just as he promised. He’d fought for her, protected her – and to think, she’d once thought he was in over his head, that he was nice but without true substance. That the life of a Huntsman was beyond him.

She’d been wrong – as she was with most things, these days. He was a man of conviction, and he was her friend. Friends didn’t just cut and run when things got difficult, he said. They stood by you, and he did exactly that.

She didn’t know how to repay him for such staunch loyalty. Jaune had shown her, time and time again, that he would keep her secrets, that he would stand with her, that he would literally jump in front of an attack meant for her…

The guilt almost crippled her. If something had happened to him because of her, she would have never forgiven herself.

Jaune Arc was a good friend. No, he was the best.

What did she do to deserve so many good people watching out for her?

The end of the semester came quickly, and Blake got her affairs in order. She had plenty of money left over from before she left the White Fang, so affording a place to stay for a couple of weeks wasn’t difficult. But that money wouldn’t last forever. It needed to last years, if need be.

She needed to get a job. Something part-time for just over the holiday period, enough to keep her funds level so she wasn’t broke by the end of the year. There were plenty of places looking for staff but most of them wanted a permanent addition, not someone that would only be around for two weeks before heading back to school.

It reduced her viable options significantly – but she managed.

She just hoped that none of her friends saw her in this ridiculous outfit.

Thankfully, most of them had returned home. Ruby and Yang were with their father on Patch, while Pyrrha was in Argus. While Weiss was still in Vale, Blake was confident that the heiress would never be caught in such an establishment – or anywhere near it, for that matter. Ren and Nora – well, she wasn’t sure where they’d gone. They were pretty secretive about it and Blake wasn’t one to pry.

That only left Jaune – and Sun.

A new addition to her friend group but not an unwelcome one. Though he wasn’t someone she could spend much time around before his extroverted personality clashed with her introverted one. Sun was a lot like Yang in that way; fun in short bursts.

She was also pretty sure he was a little sweet on her. Blake wasn’t looking for romance. Her last relationship hadn’t exactly gone well and she wasn’t hurrying to repeat it.

If Sun saw her here, it would be bad enough. If Jaune saw her here… she would die . A girl couldn’t survive that type of humiliation. She didn’t want him to think less of her.

But it was a paying job and they were flexible, and they paid well. Blake couldn’t turn it down.

Did their uniforms have to be so revealing, though?

Blake picked at the short black skirt she was wearing before adjusting her top. It hugged her bust a little too tightly, and cut a little too low, but that was the whole point. A maid cafe was all about drawing in clientele with fan service, after all; the delicious food was just extra.

...as long as she just thought about it as if it were cosplay, then it was easy enough to deal with. If a few guys leered at her tits and thighs, so be it.

The other maids were really supportive, which also helped a lot.

“Look~! That guy is back to see you again,” one of them whispered, peering out into the store and waving over her friend.

Her friend rolled her eyes good naturedly. “He isn’t just here for me.”

“Bullshit! He always tips you waaaay more than everyone else.”

“That’s because I provide better service.”

The first girl scoffed. “It’s because he wants to bury his face in your cleavage. I’m so jelly~!”

Yep. Really supportive.

Blake carefully adjusted her bow, ensuring that her ears were well and truly hidden. A part of her wondered if she should still be wearing it, considering that all of her friends now knew the truth. What was the point? And yet it stubbornly remained atop her head, shielding her truth from the world.

She’d become so used to putting it on that it was almost second nature now. It wasn’t the type of thing she wanted to become a habit, but it had.

In many ways, she was still hiding.

Blake wasn’t proud of it.

“Ah, Blake,” turning, she saw the owner in the doorway. She was a woman in her forties, carrying with her an ageless beauty. “How have you been adjusting?”

“Good,” she replied.

“Excellent,” she said before handing her a stack of fliers. The name of the cafe was printed on them in bold, colorful letters along with some… provocative photos of the staff. Nothing too risque but enough to raise some eyebrows. “Can you hand these out?”

Blake felt a bolt of trepidation. “Outside?”

“Mainly just on this street and down on the corner,” the owner said, nodding. “You don’t have to stray too far. Best if you don’t. Some people might not take too kindly to it.”

Blake grimaced. “Right. Sure.”

As she was the newest addition, she was struck with all the little jobs the others didn’t want to do. Handing out fliers wasn’t difficult but dressing up in a maid costume and serving customers inside the cafe was much more comfortable than being out on the street where anyone could see you.

“You’ve got spunk, and guys like that,” the owner continued, smiling. “Sometimes they want to be glared at.”

Did they? She wasn’t so sure about that. And it wasn’t like she glared at the customers. It was just that sometimes, they said things that left her unsure on how to react.

It was more likely that the owner was taking advantage of the fact that she was a Huntress-in-training. The other girls were all very pretty, but none of them were Huntress fit. Her body was peak performance in terms of athleticism and aesthetic. Slender but not skinny, toned, with a well developed chest and hips, and long, sculpted legs enhanced by her black stockings. Couple that with her sharp features and exotic, honey-colored eyes, she was a certifiable draw. Blake knew how she looked in the maid costume. She was the best advertisement they had.

And if anyone got a little handsy? Well, she could more than handle herself. Blake was perfect for the job. Alluring, but capable of weeding out the bad eggs.

The street was bustling with the afternoon commute and Blake quickly got to work, plastering a fake but believable smile on her face as she handed out fliers. Men of all ages appreciated a pretty face, and so it wasn’t long at all until she’d handed out over half of the pile the owner had given her. Even some women had approached, complimenting her on her outfit.

If that wasn’t a bit of an ego stroker, she didn’t know what was.

Remembering the owner's words, she only went as far as the corner. Being outside in the sun, and without customers to serve, it gave her time to think. Too much time.

She should have been content. Happy, even. Blake was still enrolled at Beacon, she still had her new friends, she even had a job. This is what normal people did, right?

The thing was, she wasn’t normal – and when she had too much time on her hands, her thoughts always spiraled in one direction.

The White Fang were still out there. Roman Torchwick was still out there. It wasn’t something she could simply forget, nor ignore. They were once her comrades in arms, her brothers and sisters. Watching them being exploited by some bigoted piece of work like Torchwick infuriated her, but that wasn’t all.

There had to be a reason for all of this. The Dust they were stealing – why did they need so much of it? It went beyond self supply. It went beyond harming the Schnee Dust Company’s bottom line. There was more to it, Blake knew it. She just didn’t know what.

This alliance was bad news, and Blake had little faith that the police could handle it.

So didn’t that leave it up to her to do something about it?

“Blake?”

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there, lost in thought – but when that familiar voice called out to her, she tensed.

“Blake, is that you?”

It was everything she had been dreading.

Turning around, she came face to face with Jaune Arc.

He was dressed casually but nicely, a pair of jeans with a white shirt and a dark jacket thrown over top, and a pair of new boots. In fact, everything looked brand new, as if he’d just walked out of a store with an entire new wardrobe.

Blue eyes blinked at her, as if he couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing. Blake watched as his eyes slowly dipped lower before quickly darting back up, meeting her eyes. She felt a brief spark of amusement, having caught him about to check her out, but also… annoyance, that he’d stopped.

What…?

“Blake,” he said. “What are you wearing?”

She scowled. “Shut up.”

He opened his mouth and then shut it, confused.

Her scowl deepened. “This isn’t what it looks like.”

Jaune found his words. “I don’t even know what this looks like.”

Pursing her lips, she thrust one of the fliers into his hands. He peered down at it, reading it, his eyes widening the further along he got.

“A maid cafe?” he questioned. “Are you working here?”

She nodded shortly, fighting the rising flush of her cheeks. “What of it?”

Jaune held up his hands. “Hey, I’m not judging. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

Of course Jaune wouldn’t judge her. He wasn’t that type of person, Blake knew. It didn’t mean she wasn’t embarrassed that he’d caught her in the act, so to speak.

“It suits you,” he said, complimenting her much like those earlier women had.

Blake glared at him. “What does that mean?”

“Er – that it suits you?” he asked slowly, unsure why she was angry. “Black and white are your colors, after all.”

Jaune Arc was annoyingly honest, at times. Blake felt her cheeks turn hot, her battle lost.

“Don’t you think it’s a little… revealing?”

He shrugged. “It isn’t so bad. You’ve seen what Yang and Pyrrha wear when they fight, right?”

Jaune had a good point. Blake frowned. It wasn’t like she was a prude and above showing a little skin, she just thought that a work uniform should be more professional. When your entire business model was to attract guys with a bit of fan service, then maybe this was on the more conservative side of things.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Nothing much. I was bored so I decided to go for a walk. You can only spend so many hours at the arcade before the lights start to get on your nerves.”

“So that’s what you’ve been doing, then?” she smirked. “Playing games?”

“And training,” he added. “I go to central park in the evenings and – well, Pyrrha made me some videos to help with my training, so I know what to do when she isn’t around. It keeps me sharp.”

Blake wondered if Jaune understood just how lucky he was to have someone of Pyrrha’s calibre overseeing his training, and then banished the thought. Of course he did. He wouldn’t take it for granted.

“I was just looking for somewhere to have lunch when I spotted you,” he continued. “At first, I thought I was hallucinating. I’m glad I wasn’t.”

Blake scoffed lightly. “Shut up.”

He laughed.

It was nice, how easy it was to just speak with him. Things just effortlessly flowed between them, almost like they’d known each other much longer than they actually had. In some ways, Blake found it much easier to be herself around Jaune than she did her own team, though that was beginning to change after what happened at the docks.

It was nice to have friends. She’d almost forgotten.

His stomach growled loudly and he rubbed his neck, grinning. “As you can hear, I’m starving. Say – how’s the food here?” he waved the flier she gave him.

“Oh, no you don’t,” she dismissed instantly.

“Why not?”

“You can eat anywhere else but there,” she told him – but much to her frustration, he ignored her.

“I don’t know. It seems like a nice place.”

Blake changed tactics. “Pervert.”

“What?”

“You just want to leer at all the girls there.”

“I do not!”

“Then go somewhere else!”

She wasn’t really sure why she was trying to steer him away from that place. They served good food and if he came back with her, they could spend a little time together. The thought of Jaune around those other maids made her uneasy, though. Jaune was an innocent, easy going guy. Some of those girls were… a bit intense.

They were drawing a bit of attention, a girl dressed as a maid and a guy on a street corner, arguing about where he can and can’t eat. A few teenagers had even pulled out their scrolls, recording the encounter. Though maybe they were less interested in their argument and more interested in how she looked.

In the end, Jaune ended up exactly where she didn’t want him.

“ Welcome, Master~♡” the maid on the door greeted him, bowing as he stepped inside. Blake followed him in, annoyed. “Are you here alone today?”

Jaune hesitated, taken aback by the greeting but quickly recovered. “Uh – yeah, I guess? Blake doesn’t count, right?”

The maid – Coral – giggled, finding his question hilarious.

“Just get inside,” Blake muttered, shoving him towards a table while Coral continued to titter. “I’m working, remember?”

“I know, she just – I don’t know,” Jaune looked flustered. “Do they always greet customers like that?”

Blake nodded.

“Do you greet customers like that?”

Amber eyes narrowed. “I’m not saying that to you.”

“I didn’t ask you to!” he returned quickly. “I was just curious, that’s all.”

“You’re too curious,” Blake nudged him into a chair. “So stop.”

Jaune looked around, taking the place in. It wasn’t a large store, Blake knew – but it was well furnished and decorated, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. Besides Jaune, there were five other customers, seated at tables and awaiting their orders. All of them were men.

“What do you serve here?” he asked, and Blake grabbed a menu and shoved it into his hands. She heard Coral giggling again, and even some laughter from the back. They were all watching her. Her hands balled into fists, self-conscious.

“Food,” Blake said shortly.

Jaune snorted. “That’s a big help. Thanks a lot.”

“Just hurry up and order something,” Blake tapped her foot against the floor, crossing her arms.

“Do you recommend anything?”

He was trying to piss her off, wasn’t he? Blake wasn’t going to fall for his innocent blue eyes, blinking up at her.

“One omelette and rice,” she snatched the menu from his hands, storming away.

“Who’s the cutie?” another of the maids asked. Her name was Cherry – and she was a faunus, two small antlers protruding from her hairline. “Do you know him?”

Blake made a sour face as she placed Jaune’s order with the kitchen. “I go to school with him.”

Cherry clapped, excited. “So he’s a Huntsman?”

“Huntsman-in-training,” Blake corrected. “And yeah – he is.”

Another of the maids – Cerulean – grinned, and Blake didn’t much like the look of it. Not at all. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“No,” Blake denied instantly, glaring. “He isn’t.”

“Is he looking?” Cerulean asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear for effect. “I’m available if he is.”

“He’s taken,” Blake lied – and she wasn’t sure why. “He already has a girlfriend.”

“Bummer,” Cerulean rolled her eyes. “Why are all the hot guys taken?”

Blake had never heard anyone call Jaune hot before. At Beacon, he was known as a bit of a goofball; a goofball that was absolutely smitten with Weiss Schnee. Yang sometimes liked to rope them into ‘girl talk’ and Jaune was never a subject of conversation.

Even so, Blake supposed that Jaune was handsome in his own way. He just wasn’t her type. Blake liked someone that had a little edge to them, a dangerous streak. Not a delinquent or something like that, no. She just liked that hint of a darker nature. Though thinking about it, maybe that wasn’t exactly a good thing.

That fit Adam to a tee, and she knew how that turned out.

She frowned.

“Are all the guys at Beacon good looking?” Cerulean asked. “Hook a girl up, would’ja? It’s been awhile since I’ve had any action and a Huntsman must be a beast in the sack.”

Blake didn’t bother correcting her.

Cherry tilted her head. “Didn’t you dump your ex a few weeks ago?”

Cerulean clucked her tongue. “A few weeks is a long time for some girls. You’ve gotta keep the engine hot or what’s the point in living?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have dumped him, then,” a voice said from behind them. Her name was Lime, her hair bright green in color. She was just returning from her break, a hair tie pinched between her lips as she gathered her hair.

“He was checking other women out, what was I supposed to do?”

“You check guys out all the time,” Lime reminded her, shaking her head as Cerulean shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Table four is ready,” the chef called, and Cerulean pranced off to deliver the order to her table, leaving her alone with Cherry and Lime.

“You weren’t lying, were you?” Cherry asked. “He isn’t actually your boyfriend or something, right?”

Lime perked up. “Who?”

Cherry waved her over and pointed out at Jaune, Lime leaning around the corner to sneak a peek.

“Oh,” Lime exclaimed. “He’s cute!”

Blake shook her head. “No, he isn’t my boyfriend. I wasn’t lying.”

“Should he be visiting you here if he already has a girlfriend?”

It was an innocent question but this line of thought was beginning to get on her nerves.

“We’re just friends – and he didn’t come to visit me, we just bumped into each other on the sidewalk, that’s all. He didn’t even know I worked here.”

By the time his food was ready, Blake felt exhausted and she hadn’t even done anything.

“That looks good,” he said when she set down his plate in front of him. “Though it’s missing something.”

When she’d ordered it, Blake hadn’t even thought about what usually accompanied the dish. There were options to have the maids draw or write something in ketchup, usually something sappy or cute. Even though Jaune had barely had the menu in his hands for a few moments, he’d clearly read that part.

Blake pointed at him. “No.”

“I’m a paying customer.”

“I don’t care.”

“Could you write something nice on it?” he asked, ignoring her. “Something like ‘you’re the best’?”

When did he get so cheeky?

Blake didn’t take too kindly to the amusement she could see brewing in his eyes, so she snatched up the bottle of ketchup on the table and wrote a short three lettered word.

Die.

Jaune laughed, finding it hilarious and Blake left him to eat it on his own, fighting a smile as she walked away. Cherry watched her with curious eyes as she entered the back but didn’t say anything, for which she was grateful. Blake remained there until Jaune was ready to pay for his food, and met him at the counter.

“That was actually pretty good,” he complimented.

“The food here is… surprisingly good,” she admitted.

“Listen – I was thinking, maybe when you have some time off, we could hang out,” Jaune said casually, paying his bill. “It’d be nice to do something with a friend instead of just chilling alone, you know?”

Blake smiled. “I’d love that.”

“Great. I’ll give you a call, then.”

It would be nice to just hang out and be friends, though Blake felt a little guilty because that wasn’t the only reason she agreed. She had an ulterior motive. If she was with Jaune, then maybe he could distract her from her thoughts about the White Fang. If she was on her own, it would only eat away at her, and she’d end up letting it consume her.

When he left, she was rushed by her co-workers, demanding answers.

Chapter Text

For the rest of the semester break, Jaune spent almost every day with Blake. Sometimes it was just for breakfast at a cafe of her choosing, and sometimes it was for dinner. They made sure to visit a new place every time to change things up and keep it interesting. And when she didn’t have work, they spent the whole day together exploring the vast city of Vale.

There was far from a shortage of activities to partake in. One evening, they decided to go to the movies and watch the new Spruce Willis film. It was predictably filled with outlandish action sequences and one liners, and even though it was a bit campy, it was a fun experience. Another time they went to a bowling alley. It was a first for both of them and as you would expect, they were both horrible at it – at least, at first. They were both Huntsmen-in-training, after all. After a few games, they both had the hang of it and while they were far from pros, they were able to knock down all or most of the pins for every ball they bowled.

They visited the beach but they didn’t swim, instead taking long walks and eating ice cream like it was going out of fashion. They visited many of Vale’s historical sites like the old, white stone castle that once housed the King of Vale, war memorial park with it’s grand monolith inscribed with the names of the fallen, and the oldest section of the city, the streets still cobblestoned and the buildings appearing like a snapshot of the past, old red brick walls and tiled roofs.

Jaune showed off the arcade, and watched with amusement as Blake tried and failed miserably at every game she played. She was particularly bad at the rhythm game which was a bit of a surprise. Blake was always so graceful in her movements, dare he say she was cat-like – but when it came to moving her feet to the beat, she was horribly uncoordinated.

It was cute. Especially how flustered she got when he laughed at her.

“This game is stupid,” she declared, stomping off the flashing pad as he chortled after her. “Only stupid people are good at it.”

Jaune compared their scores. It wasn’t even close, more than a million points separating them.

“I guess I’m stupid people,” Jaune grinned. “How many times have I won again?”

“Shut up,” Blake was an even bigger sore loser than Ruby. “Who cares, it’s only fake dancing. I’ll beat you at the real thing.”

Jaune may have believed it before he saw her feet flail in a panic. She was right, of course; this wasn’t real dancing. Jaune was even better at that.

Day after day was filled with fun, and Jaune couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so carefree. While he never asked, he knew Blake was also having a good time. Ever since the incident at the docks, it had felt like something had been weighing her down, as if her mind was elsewhere. If he could distract her from whatever that was, then it was time well spent. He’d never seen Blake smile as much as during these two weeks.

There were only two more days until they were due back at school, and on the final day of their break, Jaune decided that they needed to cap off their holiday with a bang.

“An amusement park?”

Blake tried to act nonchalant about it but she wasn’t fooling him. Now that he knew she was hiding a pair of cat ears beneath that bow, he often found himself watching it to see if they ever gave themselves away. Jaune had come to find that whenever she was surprised, her bow would shift, as if her ears were flicking in response. He’d also discovered that whenever she was happy or pleased about something, her bow would almost perk up, as if her ears had grown stiff.

That’s what it was doing right now. Her face was carefully blank but her ears, even hidden, had given her true feelings away. How they’d missed this little quirk for months was beyond him. It was so obvious.

Jaune hid his smile. “Yeah. We’ve never been and we’re back at Beacon in a couple of days, so I thought we should do something special.”

“Isn’t it a bit… childish?”

Jaune shrugged. “Is it?”

Maybe it was? But Jaune didn’t really care about that – and from the reaction of her bow, she didn’t really care either. She was putting on airs, so he would humor her.

“Have you ever been to an amusement park before?” he asked.

Blake hesitated before shaking her head. “No. We – Menagerie doesn’t have something like that.”

What went unsaid is that whenever she’d been elsewhere, there had been no time for things like this. The White Fang had consumed all of her time and effort, and left little space for Blake, the girl. Jaune wanted to change that. She wasn’t a member of the White Fang anymore, she was a Huntress-in-training, his friend. Blake the Girl had plenty of time to goof off, and going to an amusement park was well within that scope.

“So it’ll be fun, right? I’ve only been to those small country fairs, you know? Never anything like this.”

“I don’t know…”

She was playing hard to get.

“I mean, if you don’t want to then I won’t force you,” Jaune said slyly. “We could always just have a quiet day at the library or something.”

Not that Blake would dislike such an outing, well aware of her love of books. But they’d already visited the library a couple of times now, so the allure had waned a little. Blake already had a stack of novels she was in the middle of. She didn’t need any more.

“I suppose we can go,” she rolled her eyes. “If you want to so badly.”

Jaune laughed. “Thanks. I do. It’ll be fun.”

Blake was also cute when she was trying to downplay her own feelings.

They agreed to meet early in an attempt at getting a good spot in the queue, for there would be no doubt a long line of people wanting to cap off their own time off with something different. Elementary, middle school and high school students were also on their break, so it was practically guaranteed to be chaos incarnate.

That was putting things lightly.

Even though they arrived well before opening, they were still fifty or so spaces back. Children of all ages were running around while their parents held down the fort, arms filled with bags containing towels, changes of clothes, and more. Blake looked like death warmed over, morning was not her forte, but once he handed her a coffee he’d picked up from a nearby cafe and she inhaled that rich aroma, it injected her with a bit of life.

“Thanks,” she muttered, sipping at her drink eagerly.

“No problem.”

He took this time to observe her. Blake was dressed in a black knee length, high-waisted skirt and a light purple, sleeveless leotard. The tight material hugged her narrow waist and healthy bust, a loose white knitted cardigan thrown over top. Along with her knee high brown boots, it was a very fashionable look. Little skin was showing and yet that did nothing to diminish her sex appeal. Her make up was very minimal but more than enough to enhance her pretty face; a touch of lip gloss, a dusting of rouge along the arch of her cheeks, and a small application of violet eyeshadow making her eyes pop.

More than a few guys were checking her out and Jaune couldn’t blame them. She looked amazing.

The crowd continued to build as they waited until hundreds of people were lined up, awaiting opening time. When the ticket booths finally opened, they were ushered forward. Jaune paid for the both of them and wouldn’t hear any objections, even when she started pouting.

“You can buy me lunch,” he conceded. “Deal?”

“Fine. Deal.”

When they entered, they found themselves in a large open courtyard and were instantly assaulted with mascots carrying balloons, streamers and buckets of confetti that they showered them with as they passed. Someone in a dog costume approached and Blake instantly backed up, slipping behind Jaune to keep him between them.

“Not a fan?” he asked, amused.

“I don’t like dogs,” Blake said sourly. “And it isn’t because--!”

Jaune raised his hands. “Hey, I didn’t say anything.”

Blake eyed him shrewdly. “You were thinking it, though, weren’t you?”

Yeah. He was – but he wasn’t about to admit that.

The crowd thinned out as people rushed towards the rides they wanted to experience first. Looking around, Jaune pointed towards the bright blue roller coaster with an edgy name. A line was already forming but if they hurried, they’d be on the second go around.

“How about we try that one first?”

Blake hesitated. “If you want.”

Jaune had never been on a roller coaster like this before and neither had Blake. They stepped into the queue and watched as the people that rushed over were seated in the carts, locked in by the metal harnesses that came down with loud snaps. The tracks began with a steep climb, and all they could hear was the clunk, clunk, clunk as the chain hauled the carts up until they crested the peak and then gravity took its course.

The people screamed as they came down in a rush, hitting a corner and then a twist before going through a loop. One look at Blake’s face and Jaune saw her trepidation.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “We don’t have to do this one if you’re scared.”

Blake glared at him.

“I’m not scared.”

“Nervous, then.”

“I’m not nervous!”

“I’m nervous,” Jaune admitted. “Now that I think about it, maybe this isn’t the best idea with my motion sickness.”

Blake eyed him warily. “...you better not throw up on me, or you’re dead.”

Jaune laughed. “Right. I’ll make sure to aim it away from you.”

The ride time wasn’t long, taking about two minutes from the first drop. When they pulled back into the boarding zone, they were wide eyed and filled with excitement as the staff helped them disembark before ushering the next group of people on. By chance, they ended up in the very last car, right at the back.

Jaune got in first before Blake followed him in. Now that they were in close proximity, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh, a gentle scent wafted across his senses. Something flowery and fresh, and without meaning to, Jaune inhaled deeply.

“What are you doing?”

Jaune blinked, realizing that he’d been leaning towards her slightly. Feeling embarrassed, he fiddled with the belt, securing it around his waist.

“Nothing. Something just smelt nice.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“Nothing, don’t worry.”

Once their belts were secure, the metal harnesses came down, securing them at the shoulders and across the chest.

“Ready?” he asked.

She didn’t answer and with a loud clunk, the chain began hauling them up the steep, vertical climb. Being at the back, they got to watch everyone else go up first, and felt the weight of gravity, their backs pressing into their seats as they started going straight up. Jaune grabbed onto the bars, holding on tight.

He sure hoped he didn’t regret suggesting this ride.

When the first car reached the top and crested the pinnacle, there was a moment where everything stopped. It lasted only a couple of seconds, and then they were pulling the back cars forward with sudden speed as the front entered free fall. Jaune tightened his hold as they were yanked forward, pulled over the hump and then it felt like they were airborne.

“Oh shit,” he swore moments before they accelerated, dropping. Wind rushed by his ears as the people in front of them screamed, and when they reached the bottom, they rocketed into a turn. Jaune couldn’t help but sway to the left before hitting the twist, corkscrewing wildly.

He didn’t know why but suddenly, he began laughing hysterically as they were tossed around and flipped at intense speeds, eyes wide as they hit another hill and drop. He felt a hand latch onto his leg and turning, he saw Blake’s face twisted in terror.

She didn’t scream but not for a lack of trying, her mouth open but throat locked up, hand tightening every time they went through a twist or twirl, drop or sharp turn. Reaching for her hand, he pried her fingers off his thigh and laced them with his, holding on tight.

When their two minutes were up, Blake looked paler than usual which was quite the feat.

“Have fun?” he asked breathlessly, heart pounding in his chest. Thankfully, he didn’t feel sick at all.

Blake’s lips moved silently more a moment before she realized they were holding hands, staring at them dumbly.

“Blake?”

“I – I’m fine,” she muttered. “I just – need a moment.”

Jaune helped her out of her seat when they were released, and led her back out onto the main avenue. She appeared dazed, almost, so he sat her down on a bench.

“Not a fan, then?” he prodded.

She looked up at him blankly before blinking rapidly.

“That was… fun.”

Jaune looked at her doubtfully.

“I liked it,” she pressed stubbornly. “I just wasn’t… expecting it to be quite so intense, that’s all.”

Now that she wasn’t stun locked, a small smile twisted her mouth. Jaune wasn’t sure if she was just putting on a prideful face or not.

“Really?” he asked.

“Stop treating me like a kid,” she snapped.

“Sorry,” he laughed. “It’s just that you looked like you’d seen a ghost. I’ve never seen you look that way before.”

Blake untangled their hands. “Like I said, I wasn’t prepared for how intense it was. That’s all.”

“So if I said I wanted to go on that,” he pointed at the tall tower that dropped as soon as he gestured at it, people screaming as they fell towards the ground. “You’d join me?”

She scowled. “Of course I’d join you!”

So that’s what they did next. It wasn’t quite as harrowing as the roller coaster but it did take you much, much higher. The view from the top was magnificent. To their right was the ocean, glittering far beyond the horizon, while the city was on their left, Beacon perched high above on the towering cliffs further still.

Blake was less rattled by this ride, having no fear of heights and the drop was over within an instant. After that, they went on a ride that flipped them up and down and upside down, and then another that spun really fast. There was one that swung like a pendulum, carrying them up into the sky just shy of flipping over completely, and another that went every way imaginable.

Several rides in, Jaune was starting to feel a little overstimulated and it must have been even worse for Blake, so he decided to pick something a little calmer in nature.

“I’m not getting on that,” Blake said at once.

Jaune stifled his smile. “Why not?”

“That ride is for children,” Blake shot back instantly, glaring at him. “We’ll look ridiculous!”

Her words were only reinforced by the overly cheerful tune coming from the ride as the fake horses bobbed up and down, circling the carousel as young children clutched to colorful poles, seated atop those fake horses. The really young children were in carriages.

“It’ll settle my stomach and then we can go get something to eat, if you want.”

Blake’s lips pursed as he walked over to get into the queue. He stuck out a little since he wasn’t six, and he wasn’t a parent. A moment later, he felt Blake sidle up behind him, sighing.

“You’re an idiot.”

Jaune couldn’t hide his smile.

She was right, though. They looked ridiculous riding on the horses and sneaking out his scroll, he snapped a picture of Blake who looked awkward, sitting side saddle because she was wearing a skirt. He sent it to Ruby and got an instant response.

Crater Face: Hey, no fair! Where are you?

Crater Face: That looks fun~!

Crater Face: ...but why are you riding the merry-go-round?

Jaune snickered as she continued to spam him messages before following it up with a call. They were just hopping off the ride when he answered, Ruby’s cute face appearing on screen.

“What’s the big idea?” she started with, pouting at him furiously.

“Hey Ruby,” he waved at her, grinning.

“Why didn’t you invite us, you big dummy?”

“Who are you – oh,” Blake blinked. “Hey Ruby.”

“Heya Blake,” Ruby beamed. “You looked really cute on the merry-go-round.”

Blake scowled, shoving Jaune. “That was his idea, not mine.”

“You looked like you were having fun, though,” another voice said and a head of blonde hair entered, Yang smirking devilishly. “So you like that kind of thing, huh?”

“I just didn’t want Jaune to go on his own,” Blake deflected. “He was begging me to join him.”

“You call that begging?”

She shoved him again, making him laugh.

“What are you guys doing, anyway?” Yang glanced between them. “Are you two on a date or something?”

Ruby gasped.

“Nothing like that,” Jaune quickly interjected before things could get out of hand. “We just thought we’d do something cool since we’ll be back at Beacon in a couple of days.”

Yang eyed Blake shrewdly.

“What?” Blake snapped.

“Nothing~!”

“Hang up on her,” Blake said sharply.

“Oi.”

Ruby giggled. “We were getting a little worried. We hadn’t heard from Blake in a while.”

“Not since semester’s end,” Yang continued. “We weren’t sure if something happened or what.”

Jaune eyed Blake curiously but she wouldn’t meet his eyes, crossing her arms and looking away.

“Uh – I didn’t know that.”

“We haven’t really heard from Weiss either,” Ruby rolled her eyes. “I think she turned her scroll off after I messaged her a bunch.”

“You sent like two hundred messages, sis,” Yang’s shoulders shook. “She probably blocked your number.”

“She wouldn’t do that!” Ruby exclaimed – before sagging. “Probably…”

That was exactly the type of thing Weiss would do.

“I haven’t seen her around Vale, so I don’t know what she’s been up to,” Jaune shrugged. “Blake?”

Blake shook her head.

“So what are you guys up to now?” Yang asked.

“About to go get lunch, I think,” Jaune was starving. “Are you hungry, Blake?”

Her stomach gurgled which was answer enough.

Blake flushed. “Maybe a little bit.”

They talked with the sisters for a few more minutes before ending the call when Yang and Ruby began bickering amongst themselves. There were food stalls all around the park but according to the large map they came across, there was an area designated strictly for food and beverages, as well as some sort of hourly show for kids.

“What do you feel like for lunch?” Jaune asked.

Blake shrugged. “Anything is fine.”

The air was already filled with the mouthwatering scent of fresh popcorn and salted fries, but when they approached the main food area, Jaune was assaulted by so much more. Towering burgers, fried battered fish, hot dogs, corn dogs, chicken wings, marinated meat in freshly baked rolls and so much more. And that was before you got to the dessert items like cream filled donuts, chocolate bananas, every flavor of ice cream imaginable, cinnamon sugar dusted churros, cotton candy – they had it all.

They also had foreign cuisine; Vacuoan-style curry, Mistralian sushi, Mantlese seafood based soups.

Naturally, Blake was drawn to the sushi.

They had a wide selection considering they were at an amusement park and not a restaurant in downtown Vale. Meanwhile, Jaune had a hankering for a good ol’ fashioned burger and fries.

“I’m buying,” Blake said before he could sneak off to get his food. Amber eyes turned to him, pinning him in place. Jaune held up his hands in defeat. “You paid for my ticket, remember?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

There was a large eating area with picnic tables, benches and a wide patch of grass to sit on if you wished with a number of trees for shade. He let Blake pick and she found a nice spot under a towering tree, shielding them from the sun.

His fries were crisp and the burger juicy, the ground beef infused with a bit of char from the grill, the egg velvety smooth. Honestly, it was one of the best burgers he’d ever eaten and Jaune quickly found himself devouring it hungrily, getting sauce and egg yolk all over his hands and lips.

In comparison, Blake looked pristine as she popped a piece of sushi into her mouth, chewing carefully. She was enjoying her food just as much as he was, though, her eyes crinkling as she smiled blissfully.

“Good?” he asked.

“Mhm,” she popped another one into her mouth. She then saw the state of his hands, quirking an eyebrow. “Jaune, you’re making a mess.”

“I’ve got napkins,” he gestured at the stack of white by his knee. “This burger is really good.”

“You’ve got most of it on your hands.”

“Very funny.”

She then stole one of his fries. “Mm – these are good.”

After finishing his burger, he wiped down his hands and mouth before asking casually, “So, why haven’t you been keeping in touch with your team?”

“...I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”

“Are you mad at them or something?”

“What? No,” Blake denied. “I just… I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I’ve been busy with work and…”

She trailed off at his unimpressed look.

“What?” she snapped. “I just forgot, that’s all.”

“Blake, they were messaging you,” he said slowly. “How can you forget when they are actively sending you messages?”

“You’re really nosy, you know that?”

“I’m not trying to be. I just… is everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” she rolled her eyes. “Really. There isn’t some big reason or anything.”

Jaune somehow doubted that but he wasn’t going to push too much. He didn’t want to upset her when today was all about having a good time. He wondered if it had anything to do with her strange mood since the incident at the docks.

“You answer my messages,” he couldn’t help but say, though.