RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, of which I am not a part of.
Volume 2, Chapter 2, 'Welcome to Beacon'
Despite their planned detention, the headmaster managed to intervene and have the two teams' punishments be severely reduced, much to Professor Goodwitch's chagrin. Instead, RWBY and JNPR were to write a ten-page paper, due the next weekend, on the aftereffects of continuous semblance usage and their impact on one's health. For Ruby, Yang and Nora, this was less of a reduction and more of a 'change in type of punishment.' As such, both teams had headed to the library to touch up in preparation. Of course, in the end, only Jaune and Ren had ended up studying, though the former had been forced to by Pyrrha.
Nora, naturally, had fallen asleep on top of one of Ren's books. Pyrrha, Weiss and Blake already knew everything they needed to in order to write their papers, but while the former was making sure Jaune got his work done, the latter two had been forced by their other teammates (who were, unsurprisingly, planning to procrastinate) into a game of 'Remnant.'
Eventually, when Pyrrha had laxed her hold on Jaune's studying, the blonde boy looked up at his friends at the other table after hearing some amount of sobbing from Ruby and Weiss. Deciding he'd read enough on differentiating semblance impacts from battle fatigue (and already having enough field experience of the latter) the team leader walked over to the other table.
"Hey, that looks fun? Mind if I join in?"
"YES, I do mind." Weiss replied, wheeling around to shoot him a look that said 'Back off.' She'd had to deal with him enough during the fight before and she fully expected any contributions he made to be directly based on trying to flirt with her.
All because he didn't pick up my sarcastic tone on the first day, she grumbled under her breath.
Yang smirked. "I'm sure HE'D do a better job than YOU did last turn." She teased. The heiress's only reply was a blushing groan.
Jaune had always been one to take on a challenge, especially if it involved calculated thought. "Maybe I will! I'll have you know that my ability to process battle strategies is second to none!" He said, flexing his arm as though it would prove his point.
Weiss couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Come on! Let me play your hand for a turn!" The blonde boy begged, causing Weiss to reel back.
"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo." She cried in exasperation. She hadn't exactly been enjoying the game when she was pulled in but there was no way she was going to hand over her responsibility to Jaune, of all people.
She'd sooner leave a full jar of cookies alone in a room with Ruby for half an hour.
The boy was adamant. "Why not? You've trusted me with WAY more important stuff before." He reasoned, "I mean you told us all that Blake is secretly a Fau-"
Pyrrha, who had practically teleported to his side, covered the blonde's mouth and tried her best to cover up, looking around to see if anyone else in the library had been paying attention to the conversation. "…FUN-LOVING person, whom we all admire and respect!"
Jaune let out a nervous laugh. All he got was a death glare from the Faunus herself. She hadn't been paying much attention to the game or the conversation but the near-exposure of her secret in a public place left her bristling. She was typically tolerant of the boy's mischief, but this…
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Blake let out a long sigh. "Look Jaune, it's… fine. Just PLEASE…" She didn't know how to put it. Shut up? Would that be too rude? Go away? No, that'd be worse. Her mind, already stressed from her previous thoughts, simply couldn't find the right words. Instead, she waved him off.
Oddly enough, the young leader took the hint. Brushing back his hair awkwardly, he backed off.
"Sup, losers?"
Blake turned around to see Sun standing behind her. His blue-haired friend, who looked like he'd just taken a shower, was standing next to him.
"Hey, Sun." Ruby greeted the monkey Faunus.
The boy responded by rattling off a series of acknowledgements. "Ruby. Yang. Blake. Ice Queen."
"Why does everyone keep calling me that?!"
Ruby suppressed a giggle. Yang didn't. Blake simply smiled and shook her head.
Ignoring Weiss's clamor, Sun threw a thumb over his shoulder towards his friend. "I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend."
Neptune took a sweeping glance across the table. His eyes stopped on Weiss before he turned back to Sun. "Uh, aren't libraries for reading?"
"THANK YOU!"
Everyone turned around to see Ren throwing up his arms and giving them a hard glare. He'd been stuck on the same page ever since Team RWBY had loudly began their game on the other table. Nora let out some sort of grumble before returning to her normal rhythm of snoring.
Sun was far less impressed at his friend's tendency to be a killjoy. "Shut up. Don't be a nerd."
Neptune completely ignored the insult, instead turning towards Team RWBY, the Ice Queen specifically. "I'm Neptune." He gave off his best smile.
Weiss blinked. Then narrowed her eyes. He was giving her the look of a smitten suitor. Sure, he was handsome, but so were many of the guys before him. She immediately filed the name Neptune under the 'Suspicious' category of her brain, right next to Jaune.
"So, Snow Angel, I don't believe I caught your name." Neptune wheeled around Ruby, the team leader eyeing him with a look of utter confusion.
Weiss couldn't do much other than look away uncomfortably. "Weiss." She replied formally.
What's up with him? She thought warily. Usually, they wait at least a few minutes for trying those kinds of moves.
Eyes moving forward, her gaze set on Blake. The brunette was twiddling some of her hair between her fingers and her eyes shifted over to the heiress. Catching Blake's golden gaze, Weiss saw some form of anxiety within it. Somehow, this caused her to relax, assuming that the girl across from her felt the same tension she did. She looked over at Yang, who also seemed quite concerned about this new guy getting incredibly close to the heiress, as well as Ruby, who mirrored her sister's look. This at least meant that she wasn't crazy. She allowed her muscles to unwind and looked up at her new acquaintance in the knowledge that, if he tried anything funny, she'd have her teammates by her sides.
In reality, Blake wasn't focused on anything outside of her own brain. Her mind keeping returning to the last mission she'd done with the White Fang. Then her thoughts shifted to the night at the shipyard. Once more, her mind went fuzzy.
Her wrapped ears pricked up as her fellow Faunus spoke suddenly. "Never took you for the board-game-playing type! Mind if I play?" He looked over the table quickly. "I mean, I can be on your team if you guys don't have any spots open."
Blake closed her eyes. She was thankful that Sun had helped her when she'd run from her team and it was clear from his actions that he did care a great deal about her, which she was grateful to return. However, his intervention had marked a spike in the headache she'd developed ever since the end of the food fight. One that she didn't blame on him but…
Ever since I thought back to…
Blake stood up, surprising everyone at the table. "Sorry, I'm not feeling very well. I'll head back first." She excused herself, Sun backing up to let her through as she left.
Ruby began to rise as well before she felt a hand grip her wrist. She turned to look into two pools of crystal blue. Weiss gave her a smile before she walked off after Blake, the black ribbon in her ponytail bouncing behind her.
Jaune fixed his gaze on the accessory.
Blake sat down on the edge of her bed and rubbed her temples with the insides of her wrists. Unable to clear the image in her head, she opted instead to fall back on her mattress and squeeze her eyes shut.
"This has certainly been an eventful evening."
Blake looked up at the headmaster of her school. Professor Ozpin pulled up a chair at the other end of the table. The young girl simply hummed in response.
"I'm sure that after a night of thwarting attempted robberies, you probably just want to go home and take a nap. But... I was hoping that maybe we could have a chance to talk."
"Of... course." Blake replied, though only after a moment's hesitation. There was something about the way he spoke that sounded... suspicious. Almost condescending. The brunette tried to relax but made sure to watch her own words.
The professor smiled. "Wonderful. As you know, in order to enroll at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of the many combat schools around the world." He stopped for a moment. "YOU are one of the few that did not. And you passed the exam with flying colors."
Blake's barely reacted. Is this REALLY what this is about? He mentioned the day's events already; she herself was rather surprised that her group wasn't being told off after the Vale police escorted them back to the campus until she was called in by the headmaster himself. Having already worried about his earlier tone, the Faunus couldn't help but wonder why this was a problem, especially since something concerning her entrance exam would have been brought up earlier than now.
"I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive."
That was about as close to the truth as Blake was willing to get. She'd rather be taken for a street rat than a former terrorist. Of course, Menagerie didn't actually have a huntsman academy or combat school. If it did, she probably would have gone there instead of one residing in a human city, where every other block had anti-Faunus shops and stores, filled with... Blake stopped her thoughts before she showed anything outwardly. She even stopped her ears from flattening under her bow when she thought back to her home.
She couldn't even remember how many years it was since she'd seen her parents.
Ozpin put his cup of... whatever he was drinking, down on the table. "Well, you have most certainly survived, Blake." She couldn't really tell if that was a compliment; it didn't sound like one, especially since he was using that condescending tone again. "I admire your drive. And I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich. Poor. Human..."
He took a long sip from his drink, his expression unchanging, like his face was some sort of mask.
"...Faunus."
Blake narrowed her amber eyes. THAT was on purpose. Even though he was her headmaster (and likely much stronger and more experienced than she was,) she became incredibly conscious of Gambol Shroud on her back.
She wondered how long of a drop it would be from the window behind her to the ground.
The headmaster put down his drink once more, his point already being made. His neutral look dropped into something that seemed sad, even mournful. "Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are?"
Despite his surprisingly encouraging words, Blake didn't react. The simple fact that he knew about her traits brought paralyzing anxiety. How did he even know? The only person who might have told him was that Penny girl. Did Ozpin send her to spy on them? Why would he need to meddle in his students lives? The brunette managed to push all of this to the side quickly, figuring she might as well give a reply considering the jig was up. She looked away. "You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not."
"True," the headmaster conceded, "but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide."
Blake scowled to herself as her mind returned to the anti-Faunus stores along Vale's streets. And Cardin Winchester. And all the other jerks like him that still existed within Beacon and the city. And the other kingdoms.
"With all due respect," and she meant that; even if he was seriously pushing her buttons, he did know at least one of her secrets and he WAS still one of her teachers, though that did nothing to remove the calm yet bold stress she put on her words, "you need to start taking some LARGER strides. Until then, I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for WHO I am, not WHAT I am."
Professor Ozpin suddenly leaned forward, his face pensive. "And what ARE you?"
"I-I... don't understand what you're asking."
Except she did. To a certain degree. While it did come out of nowhere, she had a fairly good idea that it played into her past; the same one he'd tried to bring up before and questioned her on. He had already talked about being alright with hosting the poor, so...
Ozpin pressed on. "How did you know that the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?"
Blake was very thankful she'd perfected her poker face years ago.
"I didn't. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
Of course, she supposed she could still work on coming up with excuses on the spot.
The professor brought out that tone again. "You wouldn't have been the first." Then his expression changed suddenly, in a slight way, as though he was giving a speech to an audience that only included the Faunus. "But what happened tonight was not an isolated incident. I may be your headmaster, but I am also a huntsman. And it is my sworn duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it."
Blake felt herself shift slightly as Ozpin seemed to refocus on her. "Blake, are you SURE that there is nothing else you would like to tell me?" He asked once more, his face becoming considerably more sympathetic.
Amber eyes narrowed again. The black-haired girl felt like something was... off. She knew he was the headmaster of the school, but now he was acting like a therapist. One that had been questioning about her past. Though her expressionless look held firm, her mind suddenly jumped to the possibility that, with his small speech before that and their talk about the Faunus, he was about to accuse her of being associated with the White Fang. An accusation that would be completely undeniable without her lying to his face.
"I'm sure."
And there WAS truth in that. She was sure she wasn't about to tell the authorities something that might end with her being further associated with the organization. Not when she'd specifically come here to leave that part of her life behind, even if current events made that impossible.
Ozpin didn't look satisfied (Blake was beginning to think that everyone just looked like that when she dismissed their help) but didn't press the issue any further. "Very well," he concluded, standing up and grabbing his walking cane, "Thank you for your time, Miss Belladonna."
The anxious Faunus kept her eyes on the headmaster as he began walking towards the door before he turned around once again. "If you ever need to talk to me..."
His request was met with another narrowed glare.
"Please, don't hesitate to ask."
His final look had a solemn aspect to it. As the door closed, Blake looked down, wondering if she should have told him at least something. Even if she didn't trust him fully, he said he was their headmaster and she knew that much was true. For all she knew, he held information that might be useful to her. Her ears flattened against her bow as she closed her eyes...
"If you're feeling that bad, you might want to check into the infirmary."
Amber eyes shot open. Propping herself up on her elbows, she caught a look from her white-haired teammate who had entered the room at some point, her face showing clear concern. Blake's ears fell flat under her bow. She hadn't meant to worry the rest of her team, even if she did feel awful.
"You know, talking about it might help."
Once again, Weiss managed to surprise her, despite her knowing full well that the other girl was still there. The heiress had sat down on her own bed, looking across at her while playing with her signature ponytail and the black ribbon coiled around it. Blake's own hand instinctively drew up to her own white ribbon before she pulled it away.
She shook her head.
"I'm sorry. It's… just a part of my past. You already said that you didn't need to hear about it." The Faunus looked down.
She didn't trust Ozpin with this information. Why should she share it with anyone else?
"Not needing to and not wanting to are distinctly different concepts." Weiss countered. She got up and walked over to the other set of bunks. "Tell me what's wrong? I'm not exactly good at comforting others, but I can at least lend an ear or keep a secret."
Without thinking, Blake began to draw back to her sheets. Realizing what she was doing, the brunette managed to stop herself, bringing herself back as she decided that running this time do anything but make the other girl worry even more.
But… if she knew…
Blake's eyes pleaded with Weiss's. Though the heiress began to feel sorry for her teammate, she refused to back down. Not if it left her suffering. "Blake." She said, her tone neutral and her look defiant.
The girl in question winced. There was no going back now. Weiss could see that there was an issue and she wasn't going to let go. Blake let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding as she resigned herself to her fate.
She didn't trust Ozpin with this information and yet... she couldn't see Weiss doing anything bad with it. Maybe... maybe she WOULD feel better if she talked it over with Weiss.
"I… before I left the… the White Fang…" She paused to observe Weiss's reaction, but when the girl's face didn't move, she pushed herself on, "…I had a partner named Adam. He was… he was the closest person I had in my life at the time, but, as the years went by…" She lost her voice before swallowing and starting again, "…as the years went by, h-he… he just changed into something else and… I know that I don't have any say in who he can be but…"
Blake stopped and looked up at her companion. Weiss was giving her a leveled look, seemingly thoughtful but otherwise indescribable. She gave the Faunus a small nod, as the brunette sucked in another breath, unaware of how little air she was getting.
"…but... it just kept pulling me along and before I knew it, I… I was hurting people. I was hurting people because he told me to and because I thought it was right because he SAID it was right and I-I… I just…"
She looked up again to see the same face, still observing and still thinking, looking straight into her.
Just like she knew Ozpin would have. Judging her.
Blake couldn't take it anymore. She felt miserable. Tears started to fill her eyes. She tried her best to wipe them away but they kept coming. She couldn't believe she was breaking down in front of someone who, only weeks ago, probably would have enjoyed seeing a former member of the White Fang falling apart like this. She covered her face, being unable to stop the flow of tears and choked out several sobs.
"I… I wanted to b-become something better here. I w-wanted to… to make up f-for all the people I've… I've..."
This had been a terrible idea.
She jolted as a pair of arms wrapped around her head…
…and pulled her into the heiress's chest.
She slowly felt the pressure of the bow wrapped around her ears release. A hand brushed her long hair, occasionally caressing the white ribbon near her face. Any touch that made contact with her feline ears was silk-like.
Slowly, Blake's heartbeat began to reach a steadier pace. She closed her glazed eyes as a rumble built up in her throat.
Meanwhile, Weiss was panicking again. Attempting to help Blake HAD calmed her down, as it got her mind off the uncomfortable exchanges before. She managed to keep herself composed throughout Blake's story and she knew that this technique would calm the Faunus down or at least keep her mind off of her… misery.
But, instinctively, she couldn't shake the feeling of taboo; the feeling that she REALLY shouldn't be doing this.
Yet, somehow, she felt like being with Blake was the one place where she could simply not worry about the rest of the world. Without its influence crushing her or demanding her attention.
Frankly, it made no sense. She was a Schnee; not just any Schnee but the heiress to the head of the Schnee Dust Company itself, with all its controversies with the Faunus almost common knowledge amongst the people of Remnant, herself included. For her to feel comfortable around a Faunus, specifically one that apparently had a major past with her father's company…
Yet, just as she had felt the night Blake had first ran, she couldn't shake the feeling that they had more in common than meets the eye. Of course, there were obvious differences between the two, yet somehow… Weiss thought back to the night in question.
…like looking in a mirror…
Weiss searched through her mind, trying to make some sense of all of this. Granted, this wasn't the only times she'd ever felt at ease; it had occurred plenty of other times at the academy, particularly when she was with her team. Her friends. Even the massive food fight had almost felt therapeutic. Yet right now… she pondered to herself what the exact cause was, attempting her best to skirt around the most obvious answer that was her teammate.
Her teammate that was now grasping her arms incredibly hard.
The heiress hadn't realized how much she'd relaxed until she felt Blake tightened her grip, pulling herself up further into the embrace and purring loudly just as she had the other day. Weiss immediately questioned how long she'd drifted off as she sat down on the brunette's bunk, moving the Faunus into a more comfortable position on her lap and resumed stroking the curtain of black hair.
Wait, she thought, wasn't I JUST freaking out about this?
She most certainly wasn't anymore. Realizing, however, that she couldn't simply rub Blake's head forever, Weiss thought through every piece of information she'd processed throughout the school year to try and find a solution to Blake's distress, finally stopping on the night she'd found the girl fighting at the pier, attacking what were likely her former allies.
"Hey," she spoke up, receiving a response as the feline ears on top of Blake's head flew up. "If you're worried about the White Fang, maybe we should go after that Torchwick? If he seems to be working with them, well… maybe we could take him down?"
Weiss bit her lip at her own comment. They were STUDENTS, not full-fledged huntresses. The thought of engaging in vigilantism against a robber also rubbed her the wrong way. Particularly, a robber with an apparently spotless escape record and knowledge that could fend off multiple opponents. However, they DID seem to have more experience fighting the criminal than conventional law enforcement and if it would put her teammate's mind to ease…
Thankfully, this lessened the death grip on Weiss's arms (though it had still left a bit of a mark) and Blake began pulling away a bit. She blinked residual tears from her eyes as she gave a small nod.
Blake sniffled as she rubbed another tear from her eye. This was the second time she'd let herself be overcome by her instincts and she felt ashamed of herself. Still, not wanting to seem unappreciative of the help, she inquired, "I thought you said you weren't good at comforting others."
"I'm not." Weiss replied, frowning and placing a hand on Blake's shoulder. "It's just… well, it seems that I'm not the same person I was a few weeks ago. I guess this school just sort of does that to people."
The pressure on Blake's mind began to ease. The thought of having that madman behind bars was somewhat comforting to her. As was the confidence being instilled in her by Weiss.
Her muscles began to loosen up as she laid her head on her teammate's chest, her thoughts beginning to focus on the soft thumping of the heart next to her ear.
…
"You guys can come in now."
A cry of shock and a thud was the response from beyond the room's door before it slowly creaked open. Ruby and Yang stood in the doorway, smiling guiltily.
Blake froze up. How long were they out there? Did they here ALL of that? Her cheeks glowed pink as she released herself from Weiss's hold. She placed her hands on top her knees and kept her amber eyes glued to the floor, not daring to look up at her leader and her partner.
Weiss, however, had correctly guessed that the sisters had followed her back to the dorm. In fact, she would have been pretty surprised if they hadn't, giving the girls' personalities. The heiress rose to her feet and walked over to the door to greet the rest of her team.
"So, uh, where should we start?" Ruby asked, aware to a certain degree of the conversation over the last few minutes. She brought up a hand and scratched the back of her head, a gesture that seemed to be reflexive by now. She gave an apologetic look, though there was still a spark of relief and confidence dancing in her silver eyes.
Weiss smiled as she looked back at Blake, then returned her gaze to her leader. "Well, I suppose we could start planning right now."
Geez, had I known that this drama would be so hard to write, I would've given up by the second chapter.
Oh well, I have a commitment to make; can't exactly turn back this far in. Too much time and effort sunk in and I don't wanna leave people hanging. I also do actually wanna finish this despite all the deprecation I'm giving myself. Just let me know if you guys think I'm doing too much 'retelling of the original show' stuff; I'm trying to change as much as I can in an attempt to prevent plagiarism, though if I want to complete the story as I have planned, it's almost unavoidable.
