Chapter 1: All I Can Do
"WHITE FANG ATTACK KILLS 4 AT PROTEST"
"FAUNUS RALLY SPILLS BLOOD AFTER SPAT WITH POLICE"
"WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE FAUNUS RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND CAN THEY RECOVER FROM THIS PAST WEEK?"
The worst thing in the world is feeling as if all your hard work was for nothing… and Blake felt as if that was the case.
These were just some of the newspaper headlines in Vale recently that further justified why her leaving the White Fang was all for naught…
Why did she leave the White Fang in the first place? To make sure Faunus gained equal rights the proper way, one that would show humans that Faunus are not just dirty animals that deserve to be tread on, but instead equals that deserve the same treatment as everyone else.
Of course, Blake thought this would be easy.
She simply thought that by leading by example people would follow suit and back her cause, resulting in a peaceful movement that lead to the eventual change in ideology of people. How naive she was back then… After leaving, she soon found out that only a handful of people followed her lead and abandoned the lead of Adam Taurus and Sienna Khan.
However, half of those that left would be killed by Adam's men due to what they knew, and Belladonna could only assume it was a matter of time before the same happened to her, even though she had kept silent about it in order to take on Adam her own way.
This was the issue though… the way Blake wanted to do it was a path she needed to walk alone, but how could she?
In the few months of her attendance at Beacon, she had created bonds with people she didn't think would ever be created, and friends that would last a lifetime. She had even developed a small crush on someone, and just seeing her everyday was enough to bring a small smile to her face.
But seeing news like this consistently was making that smile turn to a frown, the small optimism that existed inside of her turn to doubt and frustration.
Now in the middle of history class, she could barely focus on taking the notes on the board, and instead was scribbling away on her notebook pictures of Adam and his weapon, Wilt and Blush. She never did get to finish this back at the cafeteria thanks to that food fight they had…
Now that Blake thought about it, that was the last good memory she had as of late, and that was upsetting to her as well…
Why was she wasting her time on something so stupid when she could be out there making a difference! More anger filled her body as the bell rang to signal the end of class.
During class, the other members of her team, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang, had sit on opposite ends of the classroom, with Blake sitting in the middle. It had become sort of a tradition to go reconvene with their Faunus teammate in the middle to walk to lunch together right after.
Everyone seemed to be in a good mood for now, but Blake was far from it.
"That lesson was soooooo boring! At least we have lunch now!" Yang Xiao Long sighed, the team's blonde brawler, "I heard they're serving fried chicken today though, so that's a plus," she said with a toothy smile, both hands behind her head with her fingers flowing through her long blonde locks.
"I have to agree with you Yang. Today's lesson was unusually bland, and that is saying something considering our professor, Dr. Oobleck," Weiss Schnee stated, the heiress of the team, as she held her books close to her chest.
"It doesn't matter now," Ruby Rose waved off, the silver eyed reaper dismissing the class to keep it behind them, "We have lunch and I'm hungry!" she exclaimed with a bright smile, her optimism beaming off of her.
Normally, the reaper's optimistic personality rubbed off on anyone in need of it and brings their mood up to her level, but Blake was unable to capture it and hold onto it. Ruby sat down on the bench next to Blake and gave her a nice smile to see if she was as happy as the rest of them.
"What are you going to get for lunch Blake? Maybe they'll have that tuna salad you love!" she said with a giggle.
Blake growled and clenched the paper she was drawing on, ripping it out and crumpling it up before throwing it to her side, past Ruby.
"I'm not hungry. I'm going back to the dorm," the cat Faunus said with a sharp tone in her voice, grabbing her books and storming out of the room.
All three of them were initially surprised, but after a couple of seconds the shock faded away, and a loud, audible sigh escaped from Yang's lips.
"Man, she just hasn't been in a good mood at all recently… I wonder what's got her upset…" the blonde said as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Well, Blake knows that she can talk to us about anything, but this has always been her coping mechanism… Hopefully she'll find answers on her own…" Weiss said with a sigh of her own, turning with Yang toward the exit of the classroom to head toward the cafeteria.
While they did that however, Ruby had made her way toward the paper that Blake had thrown, slowly bending down and picking it up. She uncrumpled it and raised an eyebrow when she saw drawings of a man on it…
It showed his back as he looked over his right shoulder, wearing a mask and having something in his hair that made him resemble a bull. To the left of that doodle was a flower that looked like a rose, and under that was of a katana and sheath, a rare model that Ruby had admired for quite some time.
These doodles were amazing, but for some reason they made her friend upset and angry. Was this the source of her recent anger and why she was distancing herself once more?
While she was lost in her own world of investigation, Yang was tapping on her shoulder and calling her name.
"Hey! Ruby! You okay?" Yang asked with a confused look on her face.
Ruby quickly turned her head up and shook it to snap out of her daydreams. She looked back over her shoulder at Yang, bringing the paper close to her chest and nodding her head in agreement.
"Y-Yeah, I'm okay! But I'm going to go back to the dorm quickly… I forgot something important there," Ruby said with a small smile, "Go on without me okay?"
At first, the blonde was skeptical of what her sister needed from the dorm, especially after seeing Blake storm out in a fit of rage to go there. But instead of pressing it further, Yang simply shrugged her shoulders and walked back toward Weiss.
"Alright, but you better get there soon! They'll run out if you don't catch up quick enough! Come on Weiss, I wanna make sure I get the best of the batch right out of the fryer!" Yang said with a smile as she grabbed her teammate by the arm, dragging her off to the left of the exit, much to the heiress's dismay.
Ruby couldn't help but giggle at her older sister's antics, but that wasn't her concern right now.
She took one more look at the drawing and folded it up, pocketing it in her side pocket before heading toward the exit. Ruby was going the opposite way back to their dorm, where hopefully Blake would be there and ready to talk…
Team RWBY's dorm room door swung open, and as quickly as it was it was slammed shut by Blake. Both her arms pressed against the door as she leaned up against it, panting angrily as she looked down at the floor.
After about a minute, she pushed away, making her way over to her bed and grabbing her pillow. Blake sat down with her back against the bed frame and burying her face into it.
Her hands clenched the side of the pillow angrily as she let out an enraged scream into it. At this point, her frustration had reached an all time high, her thoughts on nothing else but everything she had went through just to get to this point.
All of the training and straining of relationships she had done, and it had all been for nothing…
Blake had abandoned both of her parents for a cause she believed was right, only for her to leave that one to fight for one that was failing…
It was a constant string of running away from problems when they got bad, and now she was even considering leaving here…
What purpose did she serve here? She was never going to be able to do this on her own…
Blake had basically failed, and there was no sign of change in the near future. As much as she loved her friends here, they all had their own goals and dreams they wanted to achieve… they wouldn't help her with her own fight, and she didn't expect them to.
However, her rampant thoughts slowed when she heard the dorm room door creek open slightly and heard the footsteps of someone make their way inside, causing her to look up and see her leader standing right at the door.
"Hey Blake… Are you feeling okay? You've been pretty upset recently a-and as your leader I want to make sure you're okay…" Ruby said in a gentle but shaky tone. She had never been in a situation like this, and giving a talk that was this heavy seemed weird to her.
Blake muffled an aggravated growl and turned her head away, not wanting to answer the question.
Ruby could only rub the back of her head as she looked down at her feet. She stayed silent for a few seconds before pulling the paper Blake threw earlier out from her pocket, unfolding it and showing it to her teammate.
"I found this! I-It's really well done Blake… the detail is-"
"Throw that away." Blake said in a commanding tone, visibly angry at what she showed. The tone only confused Ruby, causing the reaper to scratch her head.
"B-But Blake it's a go-"
"THROW IT AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT!" Blake shouted angrily, small traces of tears forming in her eyes as she looked toward Ruby, her chest heaving and her hands clasping onto the sides of the bed now.
The reaper was shocked and jumped back a bit, holding onto the paper tightly as it crumpled even more in her hands. Ruby looked down and slowly pocketed the drawing again. She would throw it out once they came upon a garbage can, but… she had a feeling this problem was a lot deeper.
"Blake… what's going on… Talk to me, please…" she asked in a confused and tender voice, slowly approaching the bed her teammate was sitting on.
Blake turned her head again, wiping her eyes clear of the tears that had begun forming. "I don't want to talk Ruby… J-Just go get lunch… I'm only holding you back here…" the cat Faunus said shakily, sniffling a bit.
"But I want to help… Let me understand why you're so angry… Please…" the reaper asked before sitting down at the opposite end of the bed, looking at Blake with great concern and sorrow in her eyes.
For a few minutes, a stifled silence filled the room and a weird tension began to form. Ruby had never been in a situation like this before, and the tension began making her feel uncomfortable.
She wasn't going to leave until she knew Blake was okay… Her lunch could wait. She wouldn't even be able to eat if she knew her teammate was hurting, especially if she couldn't even help fix the problem.
After what felt like forever, Blake took a deep breath and looked toward her leader. She couldn't blame the reaper for wanting to help her… It was in her nature and she knew it… It was one of the reasons Blake found herself developing feelings for Ruby, and it was a trait she hoped stayed with her leader for the rest of her life…
"Ruby… That man on the paper… His name is Adam Taurus… H-He used to be my boyfriend when I was in the White Fang…" the cat faunus said in a shaky tone of voice, the tears in her eyes slowly forming once more.
Ruby's silver orbs widened at the statement, but she held back her shock to respond calmly.
"Oh… S-So did you draw him because you still have feelings for him…?" the reaper questioned, still confused at the situation as a whole.
"No! I hate him!" She snapped back angrily, her golden eyes glaring at Ruby after her statement.
Blake took a deep breath after that to calm herself down. It wasn't fair of her to be angry with the reaper… she was only trying to help.
"H-he… He wasn't the person I thought he was…" Blake said in a much calmer voice, looking down at her lap to reflect a bit on her past with the bull.
Ruby stayed quiet on her end. She was here to listen and help, even if that was all she could do here. From what she could tell, her partner needed to rant and let out her emotions, so she was going to let her do exactly that.
A conversation like this wasn't what Blake wanted… she didn't want to open up about her past and talk about him, but for some reason she felt okay discussing it with Ruby. Her feelings for her shouldn't have changed her, but she did feel safe about having this deep conversation with her still innocent leader.
"Back on Menagerie where I'm from, the White Fang is considered good… They don't wear masks like they do here in Vale, and people look up to them… As a child, I grew up around them and their teachings… I met a lot of people that I became very close with, and one of them was Adam…"
Blake clenched her fists at just the mentioning of that name. Ruby could only nod her head slightly and continue listening to what she had to say.
"I read a lot when I was younger… a-and I didn't have an easy time making friends because of it… I was an introvert and still am… I don't like talking with people… But when I met Adam it changed me… I wanted to be around him and learn more from him… He was strong and brilliant, and he said all of these things about what he wanted to do to help our cause, about how he was going to make people give us the rights we deserved, and how he was going to fight against discrimination with force… It sounded amazing, but when I told my mom and dad, they didn't think the same thing… that led to many fights between us… Then came the day they promoted Adam to a general…"
Blake stated that last part in a weaker tone of voice, a couple of tears rolling down her cheeks.
"When he was promoted, I was so happy for him… They assigned him to Vale, and he wanted me to come along and fight by his side… I was ecstatic and of course couldn't wait to tell my mom and dad… When I did, they weren't happy, and it caused a huge fight… My father said that Adam was a terrible influence on me, while my mother said that he had a toxic view of Faunus rights… Both warned me that he was going to lead me down a dangerous path, and I didn't listen to either one of them at all… Ultimately, they let me leave to go with him, and I did so on terrible terms… When we left the port that day I felt horrible for how I left them, and I still regret the way I ended things off.. But Adam told me I was doing the right thing… He told me that he would take care of me and make sure nothing happened to me… Told me he loved me…"
The cat faunus said, sniffling as more tears streamed down her cheeks and hit her white bed sheets. For a few moments, the girl could only pause. Her words were losing themselves in her pained throat before she finally took a few deep breaths and managed to continue, finding that grip she needed to compose herself. Blake took a few deep breaths before she continued speaking.
"When we arrived in Vale, we became a lot closer to each other… we fought alongside each other and I slowly began falling for him… I did everything I possibly could to make him happy and help our cause… But over time he began changing… He did terrible things, hurting innocent people and killing those who opposed him… Adam was turning into a monster right before my eyes, and all I could do was watch… Eventually, I began questioning his actions and voicing my own opinions… W-When I did, h-he would do terrible things to me… H-He would slap me, g-grab me by the hair… J-Just beat me in general… I-I was scared… S-S-So scared… T-There are scars on my back from him, and sometimes I-I can still feel the pain of each one I got, constantly serving as a reminder of my mistakes… Something I-I can never fix…"
Slowly, Blake was starting to break down completely, struggling to even speak about her abusive past. More tears hit her sheets as she cleared her eyes with the back of her hand
"One day, we had a mission that involved raiding an SDC train transporting faunus slaves… W-We finished the job, b-but I cut the carts apart and left with the head of the train, officially leaving the White Fang a-and… him… I-I left because I wanted to make a change, b-but I can't even do that… J-Just look at the news and you'll see… The White Fang is still running around a-and I-I'm here doing nothing… I-I got people killed because of what I wanted to do, and my entire cause is failing… I-It's failing miserably!"
At this point, Blake had completely broken down. She had brought her legs into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. The cat faunus buried her face into her tucked in knees, sobbing harder than she had during this entire conversation.
Blake began feeling the pain of the scars on her back once more. They ran far deeper than anyone could ever know, the faint reminders dug shallowly across her skin but nobody knew just how far they cut into her heart and soul. She could never forget their sting, that dull emptiness from her past… They were permanent, and there was no way she could ever heal fully from them.
After hearing her friend's story, Ruby came to a harsh but true realization… even though she was young, she understood that she would never truly be able to help Blake…
Ruby couldn't relate to her pain at all… How could she? Her childhood wasn't amazing, but any struggles she might've had were nothing compared to that of her faunus teammate…
But… she learned just how strong Blake was today…
She learned just how capable she was at getting back up and fighting back for a cause she believed in, and it made the reaper so proud to be Blake's friend.
Tears bubbled up in Ruby's eyes as she slowly shook her head. The reaper crawled over to the opposite end of the mattress, moving apart the arms that locked Blake's legs tightly together and opened them up. Her hand then gently lifted the chin of her teammate up, her silver eyes willing themselves to stare into the cat faunus' glassy golden gaze.
"T-That's where you're wrong Blake… I-I can never say I can relate to your pain… B-But look at what you've gone through to get here… You managed to fight past a dispute with your parents… a really bad relationship… everything… and you're still standing… A-And think about what you gained because you never gave up! You have Weiss… Yang… me… a-and everyone else here!"
Ruby was smiling brightly through the sorrow she felt for Blake, her own tears streaming down her cheeks and hitting the bed sheets now.
The cat faunus was still in tears, but she was slowly coming back to her own and regaining the composure she lost a few minutes ago. Just watching Ruby do everything she could to hold back from breaking down after hearing her story was enough to make her find it in herself to stop crying, the girl slowly realizing this was all just to make her feel better…
A small smile crept over Blake's face, her mouth opening to begin thanking Ruby for what she did.
However, her smile was quickly replaced with shock and a small blush after she felt the reaper's arms wrap around her waist to hug her.
Blake froze and kept her arms out to the side, unsure of how to handle this tender affection being given to her.
"Blake… I-I need you to promise me something…" the reaper said as she looked up at her teammate, still hugging her tenderly.
"P-Promise me… T-That no matter what… Y-You'll never lose sight of the bright future t-that's ahead of you… T-That no matter what happens t-to you… our team… or the world in general… you will keep moving forward like you have before… A-And I promise you that I-I'll move forward with you as well… D-Deal?"
Ruby was still teary eyed, but the same smile from before was painted across her face. It was emitting a warmth that soon entered Blake's body, and for the first time in a long time… she actually felt loved and wanted...
Slowly, the cat faunus figured out what to do with her arms and hands, as her left arm wrapped around Ruby's back and her right arm around her head, bringing her close to her chest to hold Ruby tightly. Blake was visibly shaking and crying, slowly nodding her head in agreement to the deal the reaper had proposed.
"N-Never change Ruby… P-Please… n-never change…"
Blake had again broken down, but this time it was in the best way possible… Her voice was almost inaudible when she spoke, but she made sure to speak loud enough so the reaper could hear.
Normally, Ruby was the one that was showing the affection through hugs that made people uncomfortable as well as other displays. Aside from Yang and other members of her small family, nobody else had returned the affection so happily.
When Blake returned her hug greater than she had started out, it was enough to make the reaper blush a shade of red as dark as her hood and cape. At first it felt weird coming from her, but then she heard what her teammate said, and that was what changed it from awkward to heartwarming.
She readjusted herself in Blake's arms and began rubbing her back gently. A fuzzy feeling entered Ruby's body as they hugged, but the reaper wouldn't question it and instead accepted it completely.
This was a conversation that the two would later on promise would stay between them, but that pesky door was still open, and through the small crack that opened up, a lilac eye could be seen peeking from the hallway on the tail end of Ruby's speech, watching the two hug it out.
"So are they in there? What's going on? I can't see from where I am," Weiss questioned in a soft tone in order to make sure Ruby and Blake wouldn't be able to hear them if they were inside.
A small smile came across Yang's face as her chest began to hurt in a way unparalleled to most feelings of joy.
She felt an overwhelming sense of pride in Ruby right now, enough that it brought a small tear to her eye. Not only that, from what she saw the blonde could tell that there was something else going on here, and it would give her much to discuss with Blake later.
Yang moved away from the door and wiped her eye with the side of her hand, turning back toward the heiress and nodding her head.
"Yeah… let's go back and wait for them in the cafeteria, okay? I don't want them to know we were here." she said with a smile, walking past Weiss and back down the hall.
The heiress was still very much confused, so she turned back to the door for a moment before jogging back to catch up with Yang
"So what exactly happened in there? I couldn't exactly hear from my spot either." Weiss asked as she finally caught up to her blonde friend.
Yang chuckled a bit and continued walking, giving her a bright smile as she looked down at her shorter teammate.
"Ruby was being Ruby…" she exclaimed with that same smile as before
Weiss noted how happy Yang was, and she assumed something good had happened. However, that statement didn't really answer her question.
"Okay, but what really happened Yang? I want details not a mystery!" the heiress demanded, her feet stomping a bit out of frustration from her blonde friend not being straightforward.
Yang quickly began laughing and smiled once more at Weiss. "Cool it Ice Queen, I'll tell you when we get back to the cafeteria, fair?"
Weiss sighed and begrudgingly agreed, heading back toward the lunchroom to Yang's left side.
Meanwhile, both Blake and Ruby were still hugging in the dorm room, as the cat faunus ran her hand through Ruby's smooth hair, keeping her close as the two rested against the bed frame.
"Thank you Ruby… You truly know how to shine brightly in a dark world like this one…" Blake thought to herself.
At this point, she had kept her here long enough, and the reaper was probably starving at this point. The cat faunus was through crying, so she wiped her eyes clean and looked down at her teammate with a gentle smile.
"N-Now… Do you want to go get lunch? You're probably famished at this point."
Hearing Blake's voice, Ruby looked up at her and returned the smile, wiping a few tears of her own away before pulling back from her teammate.
"Y-Yeah… let's go…"
They slowly got up from the bed at the same time, grabbing their school bags which the reaper had left by the door and her teammate by the foot of her bed. With their bags in hand, Blake exited the room first, Ruby following suit shortly after.
However, when the door closed behind the cat faunus, she quickly froze in her tracks, forgetting one small thing.
The reaper reached into her pocket and pulled out Blake's doodles, looking down at them with a small smile. As beautiful as they were, there was no need for them anymore.
She exited their room and activated her semblance, using her speed to dash down the end of the hallway and leaving a trail of rose petals behind her. At the end of the hall, Ruby quickly found a garbage can suitable for throwing out the drawings and did away with them.
The road to moving on from her past was going to be long, but Ruby would do anything to help Blake. As her team leader and close friend, she cared for the cat faunus' well being and wanted to see Blake at her happiest all the time.
The reaper looked at the doodles one last time before crumpling them up in ball, dropping it in the waste bin and using her semblance to dash back toward Blake's side. Ruby had used some aura for this, but it really was worth it in the long run. She gave her teammate a toothy and gleeful smile.
"Ready!" she exclaimed happily. A small giggle escaped Blake's lips as she turned her back toward the dorm, walking back to the cafeteria with Ruby happily skipping next to her.
The rest of that day flew by a lot quicker, and Blake couldn't remember getting angry after their talk, enjoying the time she spent with her teammates and friends.
Her happiness was on full display thanks to Ruby and her efforts at trying to help.
She made the cat faunus feel welcomed and loved once again, and got the gears turning in her head to start moving on from her past to a better tomorrow.
Blake was definitely going to have to repay the reaper back somehow...
Hello readers! First off, I'd like to take a moment to thank you all for reading the first chapter of "Two Silvers for a Lost Kitten"! This is my first work on here, and I had a blast writing it and am really excited to write more! I would love to thank roman-dax and relatablepicsofblakebelladonna for giving me a wonderful headcanon to start out with as well! It's honestly one of the best ones I've seen for Ladybug, and it was fun putting it into a story! See you all soon for chapter two!
All characters and places belong to RoosterTeeth.