With what little internet connection I have, I'm posting this. Just like with Blake's, it took me two times to finally get a starting I liked. I blame it on Cardin's involvement. Anywho, let's get this show on the road.

As always, I am still not Monty Oum. Not even close to being that guy.


Velvet wanted to kick herself; why was it so hard to say thank you to the knight-in-shining-armor who had just saved her from more of Cardin's and his cronies verbal abuse? Well, his armor wasn't shining, but imagery was imagery, and Velvet saw Jaune as a knight. As it stood at that time, Velvet was finding herself gawking at the other student's back, unable to force the knot in her throat so she could speak and express her gratitude.

Velvet would admit that she knew of Jaune for far longer than him coming to her rescue. She knew that he was another of Cardin's victims for reasons no one could figure out. She had heard about the rocket-locker incident and had felt anger at Cardin and sympathy for Jaune. She's had her ears pulled, he went to space. After that, she'd see Jaune around Cardin and that had wounded her greatly, although she had noticed that, from his body language, he was not in any way enjoying being with the company. And then almost a week of that, and Cardin went on a hiatus from bullying and Jaune was no longer with them. It was very confusing, especially to an outsider such as herself.

Cardin's abuse had only been a hiatus, and just when Velvet was beginning to enjoy the days where she wasn't ridiculed for her heritage, Cardin had started back up. He and his cronies no longer pulled at her ears, but they still mocked her. Today had just been another day they started up, having cornered her in the corridor on her way to class. She had been about to break down into tears when Jaune appeared out of seemingly nowhere. He pushed his way through the team and placed himself in front of her, glaring up at Cardin. He was taller than her, blocking her view of Cardin. The two leaders had a glare off before Cardin finally backed down and walked away with his team following close at his heels.

And that was how Velvet had gotten into the current situation, gawking like a fish at Jaune, who had turned his attention towards her and was offering her a kind smile.

"You okay?" he asked.

Velvet was proud of herself for not jumping out of her skin when he asked the question, and even more proud when she was able to respond.

"Yes," she answered, clearing her throat when she heard how raspy it sounded. "Yes, thank you. No one really sticks up for me."

"Well don't worry about that," Jaune responded with a confident smile. "He won't pick on you anymore. I've made it perfectly clear to him not to mess with my friends."

Velvet's face turned warm at his last statement, wondering briefly if he already considered the two friends or was using it as an invitation to become his friend. Either way, it was a win-win for Velvet who had developed a crush for the boy some time ago, when she had discovered he was going through a similar torment at the hands of their abuser.

"That's very kind of you," Velvet replied. "And very noble."

Jaune chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, giving her a bashful smile. Was he that unused to compliments?

"It was nothing," he commented. "I just don't like to see him abuse others. It's not right, you know?"

Velvet nodded whole-heartedly. Although she had already thanked her savior for coming to her defense and running Cardin away, she wanted to express her gratitude more. What was it that the girls in those cheesy romance novels her mother reads do when they wanted to thank the hero for the kind deed done? Velvet had racked her brain for the answer before finding it, and it made her blush. Could she really just boldly go and give Jaune a kiss for his bravery?

"So, uhm, I'll see ya in class, okay?" Jaune stated, bringing Velvet out of her thoughts.

She watched as the boy gave her a small wave and headed off for his next class. Biting her bottom lip in indecision, Velvet decided to just throw caution to the wind and chase after the retreating boy. Besides, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Oh I hope so, the faunus thought as she got closer to Jaune.

"Jaune, wait!" she called.

The blond haired boy turned to look at her with curiosity in his eyes. Velvet didn't bother to say anything; instead, she walked closer to him and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. The quick kiss didn't last very long, and was over before either students could blink. Still, Jaune was stunned by the action while Velvet blushed a lovely shade of lightish-red.

"Uhh..." Jaune attempted to say something, but he was so stunned by her action that his brain wasn't able to communicate anything.

Velvet fidgeted a little, her ears twitching in response to the nervousness she was no doubt radiating.

"It's my thank you," she explained. "For getting Cardin off my back. And for implying that we're friends. Or that you want to be friends. Which I do! I mean, if we're not already friends, I would like to be your friend because you're very kind and brave and...and yeah." Way to go there Velvet. Nice way to ramble on like a dolt.

Jaune blinked, still stunned by the kiss and then Velvet's explanation.

"Uhh, yeah, we can be friends," Jaune responded.

Velvet beamed, still feeling awkward but giddy over the fact that Jaune considered her a friend. She didn't have very many due to her shy nature, so hearing this just made her day. Jaune's brain finally seemed to be working cause he managed to ask,

"Errr...do you want to sit with me and my friends at lunch?" Jaune asked, before clarifying, "If you're not already sitting with your team, that is."

Velvet briefly thought of her team. They were nice, treated her kindly, did the best they could to defend her from Team CRDL but they were always scattered when lunch time came around. Having a group of people to eat with was very appealing to the girl, even if she knew them as acquaintances from class and nothing more (but Blake would be there, so maybe it would be alright, and all eight of them seemed to be nice, so maybe this would go well for her). She gave a nod with an accompanying noise of approval.

"I'd really like to, Jaune," Velvet answered, smiling meekly.

Jaune gave a nod, smiling just as meekly.

"Right, uh... see you at lunch. Or class. Or, er, both," he responded.

Velvet giggled a little and nodded, which she found she was doing a lot within such a short time span.

"Right, see you then," she said in lieu of a goodbye, and headed off for her next class (which she didn't have with Jaune), feeling bubbly about what just happened.

Jaune was practically rooted to the ground, wondering if what just happened was all but a dream and not reality. The slap to the cheek he gave to himself confirmed that he was not sleeping; he was in the real world.

Dad was right, Jaune thought in surprise. Confidence was all I needed.

A small smile creeped its way onto his face as he finally found the ability to command his legs to walk, heading off to class in a rather good mood. Maybe things were finally going Jaune's way.


I wish Velvet was used more just so I can have better standing on Velvet's character. I based her personality shown here from the show and how she would act, so this relies heavily on self-interpretation of her character.

I've placed up a poll on my profile about whether or not I should include Penny in this collection. I had originally planned on it when Episode 15 came out, but when Episode 16 rolled around and I realized that her inclusion in Vol. 2 was going to be shaky, I decided against it. However, after watching reruns of RWBY, I'm conflicted on whether or not Penny should be included. So, a poll has been placed up to see if you readers would or would not enjoy Penny's inclusion. Please go there and vote for either "Yes" or "No". Your response for either of them is greatly appreciated!

And yes, I did include a Donutism. I have no regrets.