A/N: So as noted in the summary, this story takes place right after the events of Volume 5. If you haven't seen the entire volume yet, I suggest watching that before you read on. This story is pretty much a headcanon/wish fulfillment of what I'd like to think happens post Volume 5.
It had been a long day for everyone at Haven Academy. After finding out Leo had betrayed Ozpin and sided with Salem, the huntsmen did battle with Salem's army, along with Raven and her partner Vernal. In the end, Cinder failed to obtain the relic connected to the Spring Maiden, forcing her allies to flee. Meanwhile, Blake and the Faunus of Menagerie successfully stopped Adam's attempt to blow up Haven Academy, causing him to run away as well. Whereas Beacon had fallen, Haven stood tall, and at long last, Ruby was finally reunited with her team.
That night, everyone was at the lodge Qrow and Team RNJR were staying at, where Kali decided to cook a big dinner to celebrate tonight's victory. Worn out from the fighting and switching between himself and Ozpin, Oscar was resting in one of the bedrooms. Kali was cooking with assistance from Ren, while Qrow was doing a final sweep of Haven Academy with the Mistral Police to make sure the threat was over and that everyone was accounted for. Once everything was clear, Qrow returned to the lodge, with everyone waiting in the dining room for their big celebration feast. RWBY and JNR sat on one side of the table while Qrow and Blake's family and friends sat on the other.
"What's the word, Uncle Qrow?" asked Ruby.
"Looks like Haven Academy is perfectly safe," said Qrow. "Vernal's body was recovered from the Spring vault and Cinder is nowhere to be found."
"Woo hoo!" shouted Ruby, standing up with arms raised high. "We saved Haven Academy! Everything's coming up for the good guys!"
"Yeah, that's the good news."
"Oh no," said Ruby, slinking back down in her chair. "What's the bad news?"
"I just found Leo in his office...or rather, what's left of him."
"So Haven Academy has no headmaster? What's going to happen?"
"I don't know," said Qrow, taking a seat at the table and unscrewing his flask. "Until Ozpin comes back, we'll have to think of something ourselves. But hey, I think you girls should be proud. We have the Spring relic, our enemies have retreated, and thanks to our Faunus friends over here, Haven is still in one piece. I say that calls for a toast!"
Everyone stood up with their glass - and flask - in hand.
"To saving Haven Academy!"
"Here here!" said Ruby as everyone was clanging glasses with their nearby friends. Qrow chugged down the whiskey in his flask until he almost ran out.
"Looks like I'm gonna need a refill," said Qrow, looking into his flask to find how much he had left.
"I take it from the smell you're a whiskey man?" asked Ghira.
"Good call. What's your poison?"
"Mistralian Sake. Goes great with the fresh fish we catch in Menagerie."
"Really? Well I'm gonna have to try that before we head to Atlas, then."
"You're welcome anytime, my friend," said Ghira, patting Qrow on the back.
"Dinner is now being served!" announced Kali.
Kali brought out a huge plate of seafood and plopped it on the middle of the table, consisting of at least six different kinds of fried entrees, surrounded by two circles of sushi and bowls of soy sauce. Ren then brought out several plates consisting of shrimp, raw squid, mussels, clams, and a variety of dipping sauces. Everyone around the table were shocked to see how much Kali was able to make in such a short amount of time; Blake had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from drooling on sight.
"I think you may have gone a bit overboard, Kali," said Ghira.
"Nonsense!" said Kali. "I know how big of an appetite a huntsman can have! After all the fighting these kids went through, they must be practically starving!"
"Thank you very much, Mrs. Belladonna," said Ruby, bowing her head.
"So let's dig in already!" said Sun, not wasting any time trying to grab whatever was close by. All the kids were quickly trying to fill up as much of their plate as they could. Qrow and Ghira were surprised to see the kids turn the buffet into a free-for-all, while Kali simply smiled at all the children appreciating her cooking as she took her seat.
After everyone settled down with their starting meal of choice, the huntsmen went into conversation about the recent events and of things to come. After Blake's friends explained everything they and Team RNJR had gone through to reach Haven, Blake was telling them about her time in Menagerie, and the battle the Belladonnas had with the White Fang two weeks prior.
"With Ilia using the darkness as camouflage," said Blake, "I needed to create a different light source."
"So she set the freaking house on fire!" exclaimed Sun.
"No way!" said Yang, banging the table with her hand. "Talk about taking extremes!"
"You seriously thought setting the house on fire was a good idea?" asked Weiss.
"Look who's talking, miss forest-fire!" replied Ruby, poking Weiss in the cheek.
"THAT only happened because YOU were acting like a dunce!" said Weiss, turning around and pinching Ruby's cheek hard, not appreciating the blame Ruby was trying to place on her.
"Well YOU were acting like a big stupid jerk, trying to do everything by yourself!" replied Ruby, removing Weiss' death grip from herself.
"Because YOU were unreliable, miss exploded-on-the-first-day-of-school!" yelled Weiss, getting into Ruby's face. The two growled angrily at each other for a few seconds before snorting and bursting out laughing.
"Those were some good times, best friend!" said Ruby.
"They sure were!" said Weiss. "And for the record, you're still not my best friend."
"Whatever you say, bestie!"
"Anyway," said Blake, "in the end, Ilia switched sides and together we stopped the White Fang from tearing us apart."
"I'm glad things worked out for you, partner," said Yang, patting Blake on the shoulder with her robot arm. Seeing that arm suddenly caused a sense of dread in Blake. Not wanting to ruin the dinner party, Blake suppressed her urge to start crying and simply nodded to Yang.
"Thanks," said Blake, turning her attention back to her food to hopefully cut the conversation off quickly. Yang's attention soon turned to the chameleon Faunus sitting across the other side of the table. Ilia was worried with how she was going to get along with Blake's teammates at Beacon, but so far, they all treated Ilia like she was part of their social circle.
"So Ilia," said Yang, "Blake tells us you were a part of the White Fang as well. What finally caused you to make the jump?"
"The same reason as Blake, I guess," said Ilia. "I realize now violence isn't going to make things right between humans and Faunus."
"Too bad that Adam jerk ran off," said Sun. "That was our best chance to finally get that son of a Grimm!"
"Too bad indeed," said Yang. Blake looked down and noticed Yang's prosthetic arm start to slightly shake before Yang grabbed her glass of water to cool herself off. Hearing the children talk about the White Fang, Ghira decided to chime in.
"It's not so much Adam I blame for all this," said Ghira. "Sienna Khan shares the burden for starting this kind of behavior with the White Fang. Sadly, it's too late for Sienna to see the error of her ways."
"Who's Sienna Khan?" asked Ruby.
"She was the one who took over the White Fang after my father," explained Blake. "But based on the intel we got on Adam, he killed her to take over the White Fang himself."
"So, let me get this straight," said Sun. "The guy who wants to kill all humans and further Faunus rights thought killing a well-known Faunus was a good idea? Seriously, what do people see in this loser?"
"He was a man of action," said Ilia. "He helped us get the revenge we've been craving for so long. As horrible as his methods became...all we cared about is that it worked."
"Thankfully with him in hiding," said Ghira, "we can expose the truth on Sienna. Adam's days are numbered."
"And I'll do whatever it takes to help you!" said Ilia, placing her hands together and bowing to show how much she wanted to make up for the awful atrocities she helped the White Fang commit.
"Well Ilia," said Sun, "welcome to the good side! You've come a long way from stabbing me in the chest."
"To be fair," said Weiss, "knowing you Sun, you were probably asking for it."
"Weiss!" said Blake, taking offense at Weiss' attempt at a joke. "That isn't funny!"
"Oh," said Sun, "we doing dark humor now, miss spear-in-the-hips?"
"Sun! That was uncalled for!"
"She started it!" whined Sun.
"Did not!" replied Weiss.
"Get a room, you two!" said Yang.
"Stay out of this!" yelled Sun and Weiss before going back to arguing with each other. While the two were arguing, Ilia leaned over to whisper to Blake.
"Are your friends always like this?" asked Ilia. Blake wanted to slip under the table and avoid talking the rest of the night.
"Now now, children!" said Kali. "Settle down or you won't get dessert!"
Sun and Weiss sat down and turned away from each other, refusing to speak another word. When Weiss stood up, Kali noticed the bloodstain and hole in Weiss' dress.
"Weiss my dear, your dress is ruined! I hope those aren't the only clothes you have!"
"It was all I had left when I got here," said Weiss. "I would love to shop for more, but my funds are well...non-existent at the moment."
"Well, we're going to have to fix that! I say that tomorrow, you and I go shopping in the city. Ilia, why don't you come too? A girl like you shouldn't just wear their battle outfit all the time."
"You don't have to do that for me, Mrs. Belladonna," said Ilia, feeling somewhat ashamed. "I mean, you shouldn't have to after I've-"
"Nonsense, my dear!" Kali placed her hand over Ilia's and gripped it gently. "What you've done before is in the past. You're part of our family now, and I'm going to get you the best outfit I can find!"
"Th...thank you," said Ilia. Ilia didn't know what else to say other than that. She couldn't believe of all the words Kali could have used to describe Ilia, she decided on "family." It was enough to nearly cause Ilia to burst out crying.
"I'm very grateful for the offer, Mrs. Belladonna," said Weiss, bowing in gratitude.
"Please girls, just call me Kali," said Kali. "Tomorrow will be fun! The three of us spending the day in the city! Would anyone like to come?"
"I have to work on my bike," said Yang. "Poor girl needs a tune up."
"I'll remain here in case something comes up," said Blake.
"Shopping isn't my thing," said Qrow. "Besides, I have to find a new headmaster."
"It's best I stay as well," said Ghira.
"How about you, Ruby?" asked Kali. "Surely you can use some new clothes!"
"Sorry," said Ruby, "but I've already got plans. We're pretty low on funds, so I was thinking of taking up some huntress missions to get us back on our feet."
"Not by yourself, I hope!" said Yang. The last thing Yang wanted was to see her sister run off to fight Grimm on her own again.
"If it's money you need," said Kali, "our family has more than enough to help provide!"
"I'll be fine," said Ruby. "Besides, I need to get some hunting in to make sure I'm not getting rusty."
"If you insist," said Kali, somewhat disappointed Ruby didn't want to come. Kali then turned to Jaune, Nora, and Ren, who were sitting at the end of the table and were surprisingly quiet for most of the night. "Well, how about you three?"
"I'd love to!" said Nora.
"Ahem," said Ren, leaning his head towards Jaune to remind Nora of what they already discussed before dinner.
"Oh, but we've already got plans of our own."
"Like what?" asked Ruby. The three teammates of the former Team RNJR stared at their plates, as if they weren't comfortable with wanting to talk about it. Not wanting everyone to keep staring at them, Jaune decided to speak up.
"We just...need to go somewhere," said Jaune. "By ourselves."
"Do you need a ride of any kind?" asked Kali.
"We'll be fine on our own, thank you."
Ruby was getting worried. Jaune wasn't usually so anti-social around other people, so whatever was on his mind had to be something important, but Ruby didn't understand why Jaune and the others decided they needed to keep this important task to themselves.
"Well," said Kali, "I think it's time we cleaned off this table for dessert!"
Kali and the other grown-ups gathered the dirty dishes into the kitchen to wash them. Everyone else broke off into small talk sans Jaune, who stayed in his chair and looked like he had a lot going on in his mind. As much as Weiss didn't talk to Jaune much, she hated seeing him look more depressed than usual. As the others were having small talk, Weiss decided to go up to Jaune and talk to him privately, hoping to cheer him up to at least socialize with the others tonight.
"Jaune?" said Weiss. "Before I forget, I want to thank you for saving my life. You've really come a long way since your days at Beacon."
"You're welcome," said Jaune, saying it as if he wanted Weiss to go away. Even with Weiss trying to compliment him, he didn't even bother to turn and face Weiss.
"Look, I know I haven't always been the kindest to you, but if you need help with whatever it is you're doing...I'm willing to help."
"I know, but...it's something I have to do alone."
"Well...if you insist."
Weiss didn't want to start an argument and ruin tonight's festivities, so if Jaune decided he was going to mope in the corner, she was fine letting him be. Ruby noticed Weiss' failed attempt and decided to find out what happened.
"What's wrong with Jaune?" asked Ruby.
"I'm not sure," said Weiss, "but whatever it is, it's really getting him down. I even tried to thank him for saving me and he's still acting depressed. Whatever he's planning on doing, he says he needs to do it alone. You have any idea what it might be about?"
"I don't know," said Ruby. "I mean, if it was really that important, I would think he'd want us to know, right?"
"Try to think harder. Maybe it has something to do with what you've been through the past eight months?"
Ruby reflected on the eight months since she left Patch Island and traveled with Team RNJR to the continent of Anima. All the villages they visited, all the Grimm they had to take down, and all the devastation they witnessed. The days they spent walking in what felt like circles in the forests, the nights they spent looking up at the moon and thinking about their alumni at Beacon...
And then it hit her. Ruby couldn't believe she missed something so obvious. That night she thought she heard her voice again; the reason Ruby wanted to head to Mistral; the reason Jaune joined Ruby in the first place.
"It might have to do with...her," said Ruby, placing an emphasis on that last word so Weiss knew whom she was talking about.
"Dessert is here!" said Kali. "Eight varieties of Mistralian Mochi!"
Kali placed down plates of Mochi as everyone took their preferred flavor, all while Jaune continued to sit alone, reflecting on where he needed to go to hopefully clear his conscience.
Just as they thought their days in Mistral were over, everyone realized there was lots of unfinished business that needed to be settled. Starting tomorrow, everyone had their own goals they needed to complete before the group can truly set off for Atlas.