Chapter Eight: Undecided.

For the next week, things had been routine. During the day, Jaune went to his classes, and none of his teachers bothered him about his mask or goggles, and he was never called on to fight in combat class, because his level of skill would probably raise too many questions, and there was always the risk that he might get carried away. Luckily, none of the students had caught on or called out the fact that he hadn't fought yet.

After dark, he would catch the last dust plane to Vale, and make a few extra lien doing jobs, then catch the first dust plane back to Beacon.

It was a nice routine, and it helped Jaune keep himself occupied, and while it didn't leave any time for sleep, that suited him just fine. It wasn't like he slept much anyway.

Jaune was content with the little routine he had made for himself, but today it was interrupted by a call to visit Miss Goodwitch's office. That lead to his current situation.

"Do you know why I called you here, Mr. Arc?"

He shrugged. "I broke curfew?"

Glynda Goodwitch shook her head. The faculty was privy to his line of work, though not all of them approved, for obvious reasons.

"No, Mr. Arc. This isn't about your… nocturnal activities."

Jaune thought for a bit. It wasn't his job, maybe it was his weapons?

"Is it because I keep a large number of heavy explosives in the dorm?"

She shook her head again and sighed. How many rules did this kid break?

"No, though you should probably keep them somewhere else. Especially since you share the dorm with Miss Valkyrie."

Another few seconds of silence passed. Glynda couldn't help but wonder 'Really? He has to think about it?'

"Is it because of the gambling ring I'm running out of the back of the workshop? Because Professor Ozpin allowed that, as long as the school gets a cut."

Glynda couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that.

"No… But we should probably come back to that. The reason I called you here is because of your team."

Now it was Jaune's turn to raise an eyebrow. "My team?"

She nodded. "I have received complaints from them about how you seem to be neglecting your duties as team leader."

Jaune tilted his head a bit, before asking, "Oh? How so?"

Glynda let out another sigh. "For one thing, your team says that you are never around. They see you in some classes, but after that, you seem to disappear. You can't be team leader and be absent all the time."

Jaune simply shrugged. "I fail to see how that's a problem."

"It's a problem, Mr. Arc, because it's your responsibility. You are the team leader, so you have to be with them. You can't be a team leader if you aren't part of a team, and you can't be part of a team if you refuse to make contact with your teammates."

His reply was timely, but monotone, emotionless. "Once again, I fail to see how that's a problem."

"Your team needs a leader, Mr. Arc, and Professor Ozpin selected you to lead team JNPR."

"A choice that I believe we both disapprove of."

Glynda removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I don't disapprove of his decision, Mr. Arc. I trust his judgement. What I disapprove of, is your blatant disregard for it. He chose you for a reason, Mr. Arc, and I believe you can be a great leader for your team."

Jaune shook his head. "Yeah, I'm not really fit for another management position. I honestly think it would be best if he just made one of the other three the leader. Maybe even all three of them."

Glynda couldn't help but deadpan, "While I'm sure that would solve lots of problems and have no ill effects whatsoever, that's not going to happen, Mr. Arc."

He couldn't help but smirk beneath his mask. He so enjoyed sarcasm.

"Then we are at an impasse. I don't want to lead, but you say I have to. For the sake of argument, let's say I decided to embrace the position of leader. Let's say I opened up to my team, that I was completely honest with them, and told them exactly who I am and what I do. I'd bet that they'd either petition to have me expelled, or request transfers to new teams."

So he had thought of it…

"Listen, Mr. Arc, I'm not saying you walk up to them and tell them you kill people for money, I'm just saying you should spend time with them. Study with them, train with them, even just talk with them. I'm not saying you have to do anything ground-breaking, I'm just asking you try to be sociable."

There was a pause as Jaune considered his options, then he answered. "I'm not going to make any promises, but I'll think about it."

Glynda let out another sigh, this time of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Arc."

"Don't. Don't thank me. I said I'd consider it, not that I would do it."

Well, it was still progress, sort of.

"I'll take what I can get. Now, tell me about this gambling ring you're running."

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Ruby was having a good day. Ever since her little talk with Jaune last week, things had been looking up. Weiss was being nice to her, she got a good score on her last test, and they even had fresh cookies in the cafeteria! Now she was in her dorm, relaxing and enjoying looking at a nice weapons magazine (she reads it for the articles, she swears). Everything was coming up Ruby.

She absentmindedly ran a finger across the knife she had strapped to her thigh and sighed. She wondered what happened to him. Other than the occasional sighting in class, he was practically a ghost. It was too bad. She really liked him. As a friend. Not romantically. Not that she thought Jaune would be a bad boyfriend, actually, someone who liked guns as much as him would probably be an interesting boyfriend. It's just that she wasn't really looking for a significant other yet.

Putting the magazine down for a moment, she took out the knife and took a good look at it. It was a fairly standard steel combat knife. Well balanced, some serration on the blade, and a clip point. While she wasn't much of a knife user, Ruby could appreciate a well-made tool, and this was one fine knife. She wasn't sure that it prepared her for nearly anything, though.

"Hey Rubes. What's up?"

She was quickly pulled from her thoughts by a greeting from Yang.

"Oh, Hi Yang! Nothing much."

Yang nodded before asking, "What's with the knife? You thinking of branching out your fighting style?"

Ruby shook her head. She was already good with her baby, and passable with swords. She doubted she would have much need for a knife.

"No, just looking it over. It's really a good knife."

Yang nodded. It was a pretty typical knife, but it looked nice and sturdy.

"That's nice. Did you dip into your cookie fund to buy it?"

Ruby shook her head again. She liked weapons, but she wasn't about to use her cookie fund for one. "No. It was a gift from a friend."

That got Yang's attention. "Oh, a gift from a friend? Does that friend happen to be a boy?"

Ruby nodded. "He is, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Yang couldn't help but giggle a bit. "I think my little sister has an admirer!"

Now Yang was fiercely protective of her little sister, especially when it came to boys, but teasing her was an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

As Ruby began to blush and stutter, Yang couldn't help but push a bit more.

"So, does my little sisters boyfriend have a name?" It was best if she found out the guy's name now, that way she could have a proper 'discussion' with him about his intentions with her little sister. Even if he wasn't Ruby's boyfriend, it couldn't hurt to be proactive.

"Jaune is not my boyfriend!"

And like that, the smile dropped off of Yang's face.

"Jaune? The weirdo in the mask?"

Ruby nodded.

"Y-yeah. But you shouldn't call him a weirdo. He's nice. We spoke after Professor Port's class and he told me that I was going to be a great leader someday, then he gave me this knife."

Yang's mouth formed a hard line and her eyes narrowed. Was this guy trying to recruit Ruby?

"Listen Ruby, you should stay away from that guy."

Ruby couldn't help but tilt her head to the side, confusion written on her face.

"Huh? Why?"

"Trust me, Ruby. I've seen his type thousands of times before, and that guy's nothing but trouble."

"Yang, just because a guy wears a mask, doesn't make him trouble. For all we know, he might be some sort of super hero with a reverse secret identity!"

"A reverse secret identity?" This conversation was degenerating fast.

"Yeah! Like, he wears the mask, but if he wants to disappear, all he has to do is take it off! And if someone says it's probably the guy in the mask, then he can just wear a different mask, or mention how they're discriminating against masked people!" As she explained, Ruby couldn't help but wave her hands around wildly. She'd love to meet a super hero.

To Yang, this was proof of a few things. One, that Ruby wasn't going to avoid this guy just because she asked her to, two, that her sister still had some pretty out-there theories about the world around her, and three, she really needed to cut back on the cookies.

"Listen Ruby. I'm sure he's probably into some bad stuff. I can feel it."

Ruby sighed and put her hands on Yang's shoulders and looked her right in the eyes. "Listen Yang. I know you worry about me, but I really don't think he's a bad person. You have to trust me to make decisions and meet people on my own. So please, trust me."

Yang took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Alright, I'll trust you. Just… Be careful around him. He's hiding something, and I'm pretty sure it isn't that he's a super hero…"

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Neo was having a busy day. A bunch of seemingly random gang members were getting killed and it was upsetting quite a few of Roman's clients. Now, normally, this would upset Neo, there being a lot of dead people in what seemed to be random gang targeted murders, and her not being involved, but this time, she was alright with it. All of these murders seemed to be done by a single person, and they were professional, brutal, and merciless. Three things that Neo was really liked.

She was currently doing some research on the killer and snooping around the sight of his latest massacre. Now most people didn't know it, but Neopolitan was actually pretty skilled at forensic investigation. It only made sense to her that if she loved violence, and it was her job, she should learn about all the details in it.

As she looked over the carnage, she couldn't help but smile. Most of the guys were killed in one hit, or at the very least incapacitated. Lots of broken bone and torn muscles. There was blood all over the place, along with bone fragments and other assorted viscera. The killer was physically strong, apparently fast enough to avoid getting hit, and not squeamish.

That was the problem with most people nowadays is they were so squeamish. Even Roman looked sick last time he saw a massacre like this. With all the aura and attempts to keep people from attracting Grimm with negative emotions, things sometimes felt a bit muted to the short lady, but seeing something like this? It was refreshing.

Though one thing was still a bit mystifying to Neo. Most of the people there were killed quickly. A single blow to the head, a puncture to the torso, or a broken neck, but some of the bodies were utterly destroyed. One had been crushed into a paste, while another looked like it had been ripped apart by a wild animal. A third body had literally been splattered on the wall, like a balloon made of meat.

The ferocity of these mutilations were on a completely different level from the other kills. It's as if after killing the others, the killer returned to them just to make sure they were dead. In all honesty, the three bodies were destroyed beyond recognition. As much as Neo could appreciate overkill, the fact that these three were chose to die left her wondering why. What connection did these three people have that made them targets?

One thing was certain, Neo wanted to meet the architect of this carnage. She wanted to meet a kindred spirit, someone who wasn't just skilled in the art of the kill, but someone who clearly enjoyed it. She could practically smell the bloodlust in the room, and it was intoxicating.

She wanted to know who this killer was, and if previous targets were any indication, she knew where they were going to be tonight…

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If she was being completely honest, Blake was not having a good day. She was worried. Jaune knew something about her. Their little talk told her almost nothing, other than the fact that he knew much more than he was letting on.

"Who… What are you?" she asked him as he eyed the coin in his hands.

He chuckled. "What indeed. That's a question I often ask myself now-a-days. I don't think human's the right word anymore." Blake couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this. "I think the most… satisfying answer that I can give you at this time is… an old acquaintance."

"I've never met you before."

She could see the smile through his mask. It was parted in such a way that she could see his full toothed grin through the gap between the second and third bandannas.

"You never met me as Jaune Arc."

Never met him as Jaune Arc? What, did this guy have multiple identities or something?

"What do you mean I never met you as 'Jaune Arc'?"

He flipped the coin again and caught it. He chuckled a bit before answering.

"Jaune Arc is my name. People don't always use names. Sometimes they use titles."

"Titles?"

"Yes, like sir, ma'am, professor," He sneered a bit as he spat out the next title. "doctor. The point is sometimes people identify by a job or position, rather than their given name."

"And what was your title?"

He smiled and flipped the coin. It landed, and he spoke.

"Blake!"

The young faunus was quickly pulled out of her memories by their young team leader.

"Are you okay Blake?" Ruby had worry written all over her face. "You just kind of spaced out."

Blake attempted to pacify the small girl with a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about our assignment for Professor Peach's class."

"Oh." She seemed satisfied by the answer. "I know what you mean. I'm having trouble with it too. There are so many different types and mixtures of dust! Aren't things supposed to start out easy then get harder? It's like they're starting at the end!"

Blake couldn't help but smile and shake her head at the poor girl. "It's not that bad, Ruby. I'm sure we'll get the hang of it sooner or later."

Ruby nodded. "I wonder if Weiss would be willing to help us."

Blake sighed. "I'm not sure asking her would be such a good idea. She isn't exactly fond of us… or anyone."

Ruby vigorously shook her head. "That's not true! She likes Pyrrha." It was true that the Schnee heiress was a fan of Pyrrha's. "And she's warming up to us. Maybe. I think…"

It was true that since the day she fought that Boarbatusk in Professor Port's class, she had been more tolerable.

Ruby continued on. "Either way, she's our teammate, and even if she doesn't like us, we should try to get along with her."

She doubted it would be that easy. "Do you really think it'll be that simple?"

Ruby let out a sigh of her own. "No. No I don't, but I'm still going to try."

Their young leader was tenacious; Blake would give her that. She just didn't know if getting along with the Schnee heiress was worth it. At least, Blake didn't really think it was. Truth be told, she didn't think much of the heiress.

Blake didn't think much of the Schnee Dust Corporation in general. Mostly because of their oppressive work practices for Faunus workers, partly because she believed they played a part in Adam's change to a bloodthirsty maniac.

One day about three years back, he said that the Schnee family wasn't going to be a problem much longer. He left for a mission, and came back some time later with a horn missing. Apparently something went wrong and he ended up getting the White Fang blacklisted by most mercenary groups. At least all of the ones associated with some guild.

Apparently the guild has quite a bit of influence over mercenary armies and corporations. Even non-guild mercenaries often refuse to work with people are groups that the guild blacklisted. She never did find out why they were blacklisted. All Adam ever said was "We were betrayed."

Other than that, he never spoke about what happened or how he lost one of his horns. He became more vicious, more paranoid, and more ruthless. She had always suspected that there was a darkness in him, but after that week, he seemed to give in to it.

As far as Blake was concerned, it was then that the White Fang she knew ceased to exist. Even if she had only officially left a few months ago, she never really felt she was really part of the group since the change.

But that wasn't the point. She had many enough reasons to dislike the Schnee family, and Weiss hadn't done much to help the situation.

"Blake? You're spacing out again. I don't think the homework is that bad."

Blake just sighed and shook her head, a slight smile on her face. For now, she was happy that her leader bought her explanation. Yang would probably be a bit more inclined to pry, though Weiss would have probably just ignored her.

Regardless, even if her other teammates would have acted differently, they weren't here right now, and she didn't need to explain her worries to Ruby, and for that, she was thankful. After all, when it came down to it, Blake always took what she could get.

Authors Note: Sorry this chapter took so long. I had to re-write parts of it like five times, and I still feel like I should have done better. I'm still working on my pacing, dialogue, and actions. I'm doing my best to make a good story. That said, does anyone know how the Beta Reader system works? I feel like having a good Beta would help improve the quality of the story. Now, I've read the opinions on OC's, but what about characters from other things? How do people feel about slight crossover elements? That and introducing OC's for the sole purpose of killing them? Please review. Your reviews help me grow as a writer and they are important to me. I'll try to have a new chapter out sooner than last time. Thank you for reading.