To say that Rose was bored would be putting it nicely.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss swooned, eyes darting around the city that was in the stages of preparing for the upcoming Vytal Festival.

Rose just sighed in defeat.

She'd given up and resorted to inserting an earbud and starting up some tunes before the airship had even landed.

"Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into all this is simply breathtaking!"

"...Really, Princess? That's what you're excited about? Logistics?" Rose deadpanned.

"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Yang agreed with a sigh of her own.

"Quiet, both of you." Weiss huffed, crossing her arms.

Rose sighed and turned to her partner. "Remind me to bring a book next time Weiss wants to visit the city." She pleaded.

Golden eyes roved over to her from where they had been observing while Weiss and Yang started to bicker. "There's a bookstore a block over that way." She noted, cocking her head to indicate the direction to which she was referring.

Rose followed the gesture.

And then blinked.

"Uh...guys?"

"You can't prove that!" Weiss scoffed...then both her and Yang blinked and as one, turned to face Rose. ""What?"" They asked in stereo, each tilting their head in the opposite direction in inquisition.

Rose rolled her eyes, gesturing with her arm.

They both blinked again and as one, turned to observe whatever Rose was trying to bring to their attention.

And then blinked in unison again.

""What happened there?"" They asked in stereo again, seeing all the police tape surrounding a dust shop with a shattered window.

Rose snorted.

"If you two are done bickering like an old married couple, maybe we can go find out?" She asked.

She didn't wait for their no-doubt indignant replies before strolling over towards the scene.

"That's the second one this week. And they left all the money again. It doesn't make any sense. Who the hell needs that much dust?"

Alarm bells began sounding in Rose's head. Dust shop robbery?

"I don't know. An army? White Fang, maybe?"

Oh, no…

"Hmph! The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates!" Weiss huffed, turning her nose to the sky like the very thought of the violent faunus rights group was beneath her.

Rose groaned quietly and ducked her head, bringing up her right hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.

You see, Rose's sneaking suspicion that her partner was secretly a faunus had not at all dissipated since the start of the semester, especially considering Blake's vehement defense of the Faunus in class whenever Cardin opened his mouth.

Not that she was the only one to call Cardin on his shit, but she was the only one who went to lengths to explain the things that motivated the faunus, rather than just listing off biological facts or snarking at Cardin.

She was also the only one that never took off a cosmetic accessory that could very well be used to hide a faunus trait.

"What's your problem?" Blake shot at the heiress.

Rose could have sworn there was a hissing undertone beneath that question.

Yep. This could only go over well.

She massaged her temples while she listened to ensuing debate about the merits of the White Fang...And the judgement that Weiss was slamming down on anyone who would dare associate with the group.

"Then they're very misguided! Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!"

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"Ooo-kay." Rose interrupted before Weiss could go any further, or before Blake could respond. "As lovely as this conversation is, I'm too hungry to deal with drama right now. C'mon, Blake." She grabbed Blake's wrist and started pulling Blake down the street. "I want sushi."

She could have sworn she saw Blake's frustration vanish at the very mention of sushi.


"So, you want to talk about it?" Rose questioned, sitting across the table from Blake and picking up a piece of her smoked salmon roll with her chopsticks.

They'd left Yang and Weiss behind to do...well, whatever they wanted to do, really. Rose had honestly had no desire to follow Weiss around in the first place and it was quite clear that Blake needed a breather from the Princess and her pre-conceptions.

"...About what?" Blake asked cautiously, fiddling with her own chopsticks and seeming to try and decide whether she wanted to dig into tuna, crab, or salmon first among the three rolls she had ordered.

"About why Weiss' opinion on the White Fang frustrates you so much." Rose returned, popping the piece of sushi into her mouth and letting her eyes flutter closed to savor the taste of salmon and rice.

"It's not just about the White Fang. It's her opinion on faunus in general! She's just using the White Fang as an excuse to mistrust faunus and I can't take it anymore!"

"Because you're faunus yourself, right?" Rose asked softly, settling silver eyes on her partner.

Blake froze.

"H...how…?"

"Did I know?" Rose asked, keeping her voice gentle and grabbing another piece of sushi - this one a snow crab roll - to eat.

Her every movement was casual. No reason to make sudden movements.

There was a shaky nod, Blake's eyes darting around the restaurant as if looking for an escape.

"I didn't. Not for sure. I suspected. I thought I saw your bow twitch a few times. But I have enough secrets that I recognize when someone else is keeping something from me, and I didn't see a reason to press. Whether or not you're faunus doesn't matter to me. You're Blake Belladonna and you're my partner. That's what I care about."

The relief emanating from Blake when she slumped was palpable.

Rose hummed thoughtfully, chewing on her sushi and swallowing, before raising her chopsticks and pointing at Blake's plate. "Cat faunus, of some sort? Just curious, forgive me if it's a stereotype. You just seem to like fish and milk a lot. You're quiet on your feet and your balance is incredible."

Blake flushed and ducked her head, nodding. "Panther."

"Nice." Rose replied honestly. "I wasn't kidding, you know. In the fight against Team CRDL. There are a lot of times where I wish I was faunus."

"You'd be one of the few…"

"The others are idiots." Rose dismissed with a wave of her hand.

She reached over to Blake's plate and stole a tuna roll with a small smirk.

"Hey!" Blake complained.

"Hey, take some of mine if you want." Rose countered. "I told you, I have secrets of my own. This is one of them." She explained, holding up the stolen roll.

"...Sushi?"

"No, stealing." Rose corrected. "I grew up in a bandit camp. That's why I haven't told Yang where I've been for the last ten years. I'm used to doing whatever's necessary to survive. Whether that's stealing food and supplies, or killing grimm and rival bandits. I'm used to fighting...And not for fun."

Blake blinked slowly, staring at the piece of sushi in Rose's chopsticks before it disappeared into Rose's mouth.

She flushed at the image of Rose's lips, before shaking that sidetracked thought away.

"I guess that explains why you're so…"

"Brutal?"

"Yeah, that works."

"Right." Rose nodded. "I don't play around when I fight. My mom - my adoptive mom, that is - She taught me to do whatever it takes to eliminate a threat and to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Less time you take, the less chance you have to make a mistake."

Rose reached down, grabbed a snow crab roll with her chopsticks and shuffled it over to Blake's plate to replace the tuna roll she had stolen.

"The way you fight makes me think your training was similar."

"...Yeah." Blake sighed, grabbing the offered snow crab roll and bringing it up to devour, chewing thoughtfully.

"That's the other reason I'm so frustrated with Weiss. I...used to be part of the White Fang."

Rose nodded in acknowledgment. "But you're not anymore. I'm guessing you left because of many of the reasons she mentioned?"

Blake looked at her plate and considered her answer quietly, but eventually she nodded. "Yeah...But not every member is like that. I refuse to believe that. I still have friends in the White Fang and I won't deny what they're doing is wrong but…"

"You refuse to believe that they can't be reasoned with, can't be saved."

"Yes! Exactly!"

"Weiss isn't exactly known for her tact." Rose commented dryly.

"Yeah, I know. It's just…She's so…"

"Close-minded? Stubborn when it comes to accepting when she's wrong?"

"Are you just going to finish all my sentences?" Blake glowered, bow drooping.

Rose laughed.

"Yep."

"Hmph." Blake's response was not at all serious and Rose knew it.

"C'mon. Let's finish eating and hit up that bookstore." Rose offered, grabbing another piece of sushi and consuming it.

"Right. What are you gonna look for?"

"Not Ninjas of Love, I can tell you that." Rose teased.

She very much enjoyed how red Blake's face got.

"You know about those?!" She hissed in mortification.

"I have no idea how you read those with company around, you filthy pervert."

"Hey! It is not filth!"

"I didn't say it was, I said you were."

"That's not better!"

There was nothing that could remove the smile on Rose's face in that moment.