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Scene 10:

Sapphire Lies

A/n:

This isn't a new scene.

Calm down.

Please.

Edit: So apparently the scene with Blake picking partners made some people go apeshit.

I didn't write it very well and apparently what I was actually going for didn't come across too well

In any case, the scene was actually mostly irrelevant, so I edited it out.

Really it was about as important to the plot as Ruby's conversation with about school uniforms.

Which is part of the reason I'm so surprised about the response about it.

Regardless, here you go. The slightly re-written, hopefully un-fucked, and much better Scene 10: Sapphire Lies Mk II

Edit: I added timestamps to Scenes 9-11 to get the timeline across better

Ruby Pov

9:43 am

And once again, fate proves to be my mortal enemy. I think drily as I gaze into the emerald eyes above

Those emerald eyes happen to belong to Pyrrha Nikos, the "Invincible Girl" to most, and what many consider to be the golden girl of Remnant. She's beautiful, smart, kind, and strong. Most can't even begin to find fault in her, and as such see her as either beyond their level, or as a means to get glory or achievement. To most, Pyrrha Nikos is perfect.

But nobody's perfect.

Pyrrha Nikos has a secret, and her life is a lie. I don't know the whole story, but from what little I've been able to gather about her, I know her to be one of the most dangerous individuals in the school, second only to Professor Ozpin.

And now she's my partner.

Most people would probably be jealous of me. I just happened to get the girl everyone looks up to as perfect, the ultimate teammate, so on and so forth. Some would even congratulate me on my luck.

I don't share their enthusiasm.

Of all the students at this school, she might be the most difficult for me to manipulate. While I don't plan on manipulating people too much, it's nice to be able to do it as a safety net, a precaution if they do something unexpected. I prefer to have a way to ensure someone's trust, to make sure that they don't betray me.

Pyrrha Nikos, however, isn't as…susceptible…to manipulation as the others. Not because of her kind, bleeding heart, no. It's because of the lengths she will go to in order to ensure her survival, as well as the…irregularities…surrounding her.

As a result, the only person I wanted to be partnered up with less than Pyrrha, was my own sister, Yang. But that's because Yang makes me hurt, not because of how dangerous she is.

I suppose it's not all bad. I thought She is strong, and…noble…at times. The biggest problem, really, is how much of an unknown she is.

And that's the problem. I know she's dangerous, and she has a deep dark secret, but I don't know too much else about her. That's what has me so worried, I just don't know enough about her. All I do know about her has raised more questions than it's answered.

She's a mystery, an unknown.

And unknowns are…troublesome.

All these thoughts run through my mind in the time it takes her to blink. Realizing that I'm awake now she leans back, giving me space.

"I'm glad you're awake." She begins in a soft, sincere voice. "Are you okay?"

Upon giving me space I take the chance to sit up from my prone position. In the process my body screams in protest, sending pain coursing through me. Everything hurts, from my feet to my head.

As a result my movements are stiff and jerky, and I give an involuntary groan in pain. In addition, I felt nauseous and dizzy. The worst pain by far, is in my brain, which still feels like it's sitting in napalm. A close second is my right arm, which I notice idly, is broken.

"No." I say shortly after the involuntary groan

Frankly, the pain isn't really that bad compared to some I've suffered. I barely register it as significant, and I could easily fight through it if I wanted to. That being said, I know enough to know that fighting through a broken arm when I don't have to is a really stupid idea.

Pyrrha flinches at this, pity, concern, and…guilt, marring her face.

"How bad is it?" She asks hesitantly, but filled with genuine concern for my safety.

"Everything hurts, my head is killing me, I might have a concussion, and my right arm is broken in two places." I respond slowly.

I then proceeded to bend over to the side away from her, and expel breakfast from my stomach.

She flinches again, even more severely this time.

"Shouldn't your aura have protected you?" she asks as she attempts to help me up by offering her hand.

I take it with my still functioning left arm before I respond.

"My aura is…weird." I respond, trying to figure out the best way to explain this, as well as how much to reveal.

"Weird?" She repeats in confusion.

Once again standing up, albeit shakily, I pat some of the dust and dirt off me before checking my weapons. Finding everything in order, I put my hood back up, and look back at her.

"Most people's aura protects and heals. Mine…doesn't exactly do that." I continue

"What do you mean?" She asks, concerned curiosity filling her voice.

"Hmm…I guess you could say…due to certain…circumstances…my aura heals more than it protects." I explain slowly, trying to find the right words through the congested muddle that is my mind right now.

"How so?" She continues.

"Well, my arm may be broken in two places, but in a few hours my aura should heal it back up like nothing ever happened." I explained.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That's really fast for aura, normally it would take a day or two."

"Yeah, but the price is that it can barely block a staple gun, let alone an actual bullet." I explained.

Pyrrah nodded her head in understanding, taking that information into account as well as what it meant. While she thought about it I decided to ask another question.

"What happened?" I ask innocently with a tilted head.

I can't remember much, only that one second I was about to be launched into the forest, and now I'm here. I think I was launched into the forest, but I'm not sure why Pyrrha is here, or why she seems so guilty.

At this, she stops. Her eyes widen in horror, remembering what she did and why I'm here.

"I, uh, I may have…hit you with my javelin…and stuck you to a tree by the hood of your cloak." She said, hanging her head sheepishly as she rubs her arm.

Then she abruptly looks me in the eyes with such…regret and sorrow.

"I am so so sorry, I didn't really mean to hurt you." she apologizes passionately.

Wow, didn't even get to actually meet her before she tried to kill me. I think drily.

Then again, she does seem like she honestly regrets it…

"What do you mean you didn't try to hurt me?" I ask

"Er, well, I just…I'd rather not talk about it." She says quietly, ashamed at her actions.

"I'd rather know why my new partner almost killed me." I shot back drily with a straight face, my hollow and unyielding gaze boring into her emerald eyes.

At this she flinches again, "What do you mean?" She asks hesitantly.

"If your javelin had been a few inches off, we might not be having this conversation" I answered.

Her eyes widened in horror once more as she finally realized the implications of her actions. My aura was far too weak, protection wise, to deflect her javelin. If it hit my hood, then all it would have needed was to be a few inches off in order to hit me straight in the head or neck.

"I-I" She began, stuttering in horror at her own actions, not even knowing what to say.

It's kind of hard to believe that this is the girl who is such an unknown danger to me I thought wryly, realizing that she was taking this seriously.

The truth was, I wasn't actually that mad. While it would be nice to know why she nearly killed me, especially since I technically hadn't even met her yet, it wasn't necessary. I already knew she was incredibly remorseful about what she did. She regrets it with all her being, and that's enough for me right now. She wasn't trying to kill me, and she doesn't want me hurt or dead.

I sighed in mild frustration at her

"It's okay, I'm not mad, just…annoyed. Broken arms and concussions aren't fun." I said to her, trying to get her to relax.

Even if it is temporary. I added silently

She seemed to react well to it, as she closed her eyes and let out a breath. When she opened them again, she was still filled with remorse, but it wasn't as…overpowering…as it was before.

"I am sorry though, I never meant for this to happen." She apologized once more.

I nodded in acceptance of her apology.

"It would still be nice to know eventually." I added with a sharp look.

She gulped in response to my stern request, but acknowledged it with a nod.

Her mood changed a bit, going from remorseful to slightly hopeful and curious, as she held her hand out to me.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Pyrrha Nikos, and you are?" She asked, though I could tell there was an unsaid question underneath she wanted to ask, but didn't think it was appropriate.

Taking the hand, I responded in kind. "Lilith Totenrot."

"I guess this makes us partners, right?" she asked, somewhat unsure.

"Why would it not?" I asked back, tilting my head in confusion.

"Er…well… I wasn't sure that you were…um… I didn't know if you were actually a student here, because you're…well…" She tried to say, feeling extremely awkward and weird asking it. I simply stared at her as she tried to ask it.

Finally, having had enough of it, I decided to intervene.

"It's because I look like I'm 12, isn't it?" I asked with a raised brow.

She hung her head and quietly said, "Yes" Ashamed of her own curiosity.

I simply nodded, but refused to actually answer.

"S-so, are you?" She asked finally, yet hesitantly.

"Why did you throw a javelin at me?" I asked back, a brow raised questioningly.

She hung her head once more, though this time in defeat as she realized that it was useless.

Deciding to move on, she once again raised her head and looked at me.

"Okay, well can you still fight?" She asked, taking stock of the situation.

I just look at her judgmentally with a raised eyebrow, swaying in place as I desperately try to keep my balance. My entire body hurts, my right arm is broken in two places, and I have brain damage.

Finally, in way of response, my stomach once again violently rebels against me. I bend over and throw up again, right next to the fist pile of partially digested food.

I look back up at her with a look that says, "This is your fault."

Pyrrha frowned, realizing that this had gotten a bit harder now. I suppose if I had to, I could technically fight, not that it would be even remotely well.

"I guess there's not much we can do about that then. I'm just going to have to fight for the two of us. I suppose it's the least I can do for putting you in this condition in the first place." She finally sighed.

Well, at least she's taking responsibility for her mistakes, unlike certain someone I know. I think approvingly, nodding in assent.

"So, we'll just head north to the temple-" she began to say before I cut her off.

"No." I interrupted, disagreeing with the plan.

She stumbled in her sentence, thrown off guard by my rebuttal.

"What do you mean, no?" She asked, surprised

"We need to find someone. I'm…worried…about him." I answered awkwardly.

"Really? Who is he? Do you know where he is?" She asked, now more curious than surprised.

"I know where he landed. Jaune's further back toward the cliff we started from." I answered, gesturing behind us.

The second I said Jaune, however, she reacted.

"Wait, Jaune? Jaune Arc?" She asked, surprised, along with a measure of…hope.

I cooked my head at her, surprised by her…enthusiastic…response.

"Yes? Why?" I asked, confused.

"Er…well…I…uh…met him earlier." She began to say hesitantly, then she froze.

Suddenly an odd look flashed behind her eyes.

"Who is he to you?" She asked cautiously in an odd tone with an unusually sweet smile.

I looked at her with a head tilted in confusion. Had I been in my normal state of mind and not suffering from a mind-breaking headache and a concussion, I might have been able to figure out what was going on with the girl faster

"He's my only friend here." I responded slowly and cautiously, wondering what was going on with her.

When I said that, she widened her eyes in surprise for a second, before a look of…understanding…and empathy came upon her. She looked like she understood what I was going through.

"Oh, I see. You…don't have any other friends here either?" She asked.

I looked at her with a raised brow, confused by her actions. Still, I responded with a shake of my head.

"Most people think I'm creepy. Jaune didn't" I explained simply.

Frankly, my mind was too much of a congested, sluggish, and broken mess to even try to come up with a good lie on the spot.

When I mentioned how people thought I was creepy, she flinched, silently acknowledging that she was guilty of the same.

Shaking the guilt from her face, she donned a determined look instead.

"Well then, I guess you made one more." She said confidently and cheerily, trying to raise my spirits.

I gave her a questioning look at her oddly optimistic behavior, but she just ignored it.

"So, Lilith, let's go find Jaune!" She declared confidently.

And with that she picked up her Javelin again, as well as her bronze shield, and led the way back into the forest towards the cliff.

I shook my head at her odd behavior, but nevertheless I followed closely behind.

Maybe she won't be so bad. She's…odd, and she's still a dangerous unknown I began to think as I followed

But then I grew a small grin on my face as I realized something.

But then again, that just means she's a mysterious curiosity. And I do love curiosities.

Blake pov

8:38 am

I had been flying through the air after being launched form the cliff, trying to spot the temple form the air, when it happened.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, my fine-tuned instincts screamed at me to dodge. It felt like there was a sniper with his aim trained on me, just waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger. In all my years in the White Fang, my instincts hadn't failed me once. In fact, they had only gotten sharper, more refined, and more accurate.

So when they screamed at me that there was a sniper, I didn't even stop to think about the logic behind it, I simply did.

Wasting no time, I used Gambol's kusarigama form to impale a tree and pull me into the forest. In seconds I hit the ground and took cover behind a tree with respect to the general direction my instincts told me the sniper was.

I took a moment to recollect myself, and it was in this time that I realized one thing.

Why would there be a sniper after me here? I questioned.

There were many possible answers. Perhaps the White Fang decided to take me out for being a deserter, and found out I was here. Maybe someone else discovered who I really was and wanted to take me out. Maybe someone uncovered my Faunus heritage and disagreed with it.

None of them were, strictly speak, impossible. They were all just so unlikely or illogical so as to dismiss.

So what could it be? I questioned.

For most, the logical answer would have been that they were simply imagining it. For me, however, to question my instincts like that was laughable. I'd sooner question my eyes than the instincts that had saved my life countless times.

They knew things before I ever did, they could tell when something was a trap, when there was a patrol coming, or a gun aimed at my head, before I could even begin to realize it consciously.

In the end, I just shook my head and moved on. I didn't feel the sniper on me anymore, so doubted they were still looking for me. My instincts weren't screaming at me to run anymore, so I figured I was safe.

Well…

Safe enough, considering I was in a Grimm infested forest.

Hopefully it's not a nightmare this time. I thought wryly.

And with that thought, I remembered a lesson I learned from the dream. I needed a partner.

In the dream I was all alone, which I was somewhat used to.

While working in teams was something I did often enough in the White Fang, it wasn't exactly my specialty.

That being said, that was in completely different circumstances.

And that's really what I realized.

I had proficient combat skills, yes. But, fighting hordes of enemies was never really my specialty. Infiltration was. If I had to fight my way through a small army of guards or robots, I did something very wrong.

While Grimm weren't exactly hard, they were numerous. They would wear me down, and they had much better senses than humans. I couldn't hide from the Grimm, at least not as easily as I could humans, or even robots.

Not to mention, as a huntress I would rarely actually have to infiltrate anything regarding the Grimm. I might have to do it here and there, to avoid Grimm to get to someplace else or retrieve something. Usually, however, I would probably have to fight my way in and out.

That wasn't my specialty.

I sighed, realizing that this wasn't going to be nearly as simple as I thought it was. That's not to say I ever really thought it was going to be simple.

I shook my head, deciding to move on from this topic.

In any case, I need to find a partner. Hopefully one more suited to fighting large groups of enemies up front than I am I thought, walking into the forest.

I could sense Grimm around me. Not close enough to attack me, not yet, but they were on their way.

They already know I'm here I realized.

And this was why I would have a bit more trouble with Grimm.

If they had been humans or robots, or possibly even other Faunus, they wouldn't have noticed me yet. They wouldn't have even begun to suspect I was here.

But the Grimm did.

They knew the second I got near the forest.

Still, that didn't mean they were omniscient. They could still be tricked, dodged, and avoided. And from what I learned last night, that was probably the best course of action.

The objective was to both find a partner, and get a relic from the temple. It wasn't to kill X number of Grimm, or show off your ability to kill Grimm in a loud and flashy way.

Retrieval was something I could do just fine.

So, my mind made up and my course set, I jumped into the trees and stealthily made my way through the forest. First, seeking a partner, second, seeking the temple.

9:39 am

Well…I found somebody. Technically. I thought as I looked at the person in a clearing in front of me.

They were…not exactly what I wanted.

Due to my time in the White Fang performing infiltration missions, I had developed not only finely tuned instincts, but good analytical skills at a distance. I learned how to discern things about a person, place, or object simply by observing it stealthily from afar. Using these skills, I observed him stealthily from the tree line.

And what I saw was…disappointing.

He had golden blond hair, and sapphire blue eyes, wore a black hoodie and jeans. Over the hoodie he wore a white set of armor. He was one of the only initiates I've seen actually wearing armor, and unlike everyone else, he didn't have a flashy weapon. In fact, his weapons seemed to be the height of simplicity. A simple sword, and a shield.

Sure, they weren't exactly the tools of an assassin, but compared to everyone else's weapons, which all seemed to be calibrated for maximum shock and awe, they were relatively stealthy. They didn't even have a gun in them, nothing about them was loud. They may have been rather shiny and white, but that's what matte spray paint was for.

In fact, the biggest problem was the boy himself.

Frankly, he was absolute shit. He had little to no skill or experience from what I could see.

Did he actually graduate from a combat school? I questioned as I saw him get knocked back by a mere Beowolf.

He got back up, and went right back into a meager imitation of a shield and sword stance. That being said, it worked well enough for him to deflect the next strike of the wolf well enough to counter attack.

Said attack was an uppercut with the glowing sword strong enough to cut the wolf in half.

Well, I suppose he has potential I thought, noting his surprising strength.

And with that, I took another look at those sapphire eyes, and I was surprised by what I saw.

There was doubt. A lot of doubt, but that wasn't surprising. Combined with the fear I saw, he was probably nervous. Then there was determination. It wasn't there too strongly, like a weak and dim fire, but it was there. Again, however, that's not what surprised me.

What surprised me, was the guilt.

There was a lot of guilt in those eyes. It wasn't just crippling guilt, all by itself, though. It hadn't fully consumed him.

Instead, it seemed to be connected to his determination. As if the guilt is why he was here, why he was doing this.

like me I realized with wide eyes.

He was like me, fighting here to redeem himself in some way. I couldn't be sure of the how and why of it. Perhaps his motives regarding this guilt were completely different than mine.

Not many people I had seen here were like that. Most had either more selfish motives, or more…noble…ones. Some wanted to uphold family tradition and honor by becoming a strong and renowned huntsman. Others wanted to become a rich and famous huntsman. And some just wanted to do what they could to help the human race, to be the best they could be.

Few were like us. Few were driven by some event, or tragedy. Something they wanted to repent for, something driving them to be better than they were.

Something driving them to be better than they ever could be.

Even still, I wasn't sure if I wanted him to be my partner. Sure, we had similarities, but I wasn't here to just make friends. We hadn't technically met eyes, so we weren't' technically partners yet. He didn't even know I was here, watching him.

I suppose I could teach him how to fight. Considering how raw he is, I could mold him into becoming my perfect partner. I thought, considering the benefits.

But…do I really want to put that much effort into my partner? It'll be a while before I'll actually be able to reap the rewards.

Then I remembered.

He was the boy that tried to help Pyrrha. Sure, it blew up in his face a little bit, but apparently he had endeared himself to the girl.

What was his name? Was it…Jack? John? I thought, trying to remember his name.

Wait, no, it was Jaune I realized.

Then I sighed. I didn't really want leave him now that I knew his name. What if he got hurt? He wasn't very good, and if he wasn't careful he could die out here.

Then again, he'd be a terrible partner. Sure, he has potential, and I could mold him into something useful eventually, but as it is right now, he's more of a liability than anything else.

Right now all it seems Jaune can really do is be extremely distracting with his death.

And with that thought, I made up my mind. I was sure that Jaune would find someone nice to be his partner, someone who could deal with his...deficiencies. It just wouldn't be me.

However, just as I turned to leave, to try to find someone else more…skilled…I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

It was an Ursa, and Jaune didn't see it coming.

He was too busy fighting off a pair of Beowolves to even notice the Ursa. It was coming up behind him, and in just a few seconds he would be overwhelmed.

I sighed again, realizing that I had no choice anymore.

I may have wanted the perfect partner, I may be a coward at times, and he may be a liability in the field, but...

But I can't let this boy die. Not when I could have done something about it I thought with a sigh.

And with that thought I leapt from my position in the tree, wielding Gambol in its sharpened sheath for more mass.

Just as the Ursa got in swiping distance and prepared to crush the ignorant boy, I collided with it. The large blade was driven deep into the thick hide of the bear-like Grimm, propelled by the force of my entire body accelerated by gravity. It pierced its spine, severely damaging it.

It roared in agony, nearly dead, but not quite.

The roar grabbed the attention of the boy, who foolishly looked away from the two Beowolves he was fighting.

Cursing under my breath at his stupidity, I twisted Gambol, and with a loud SNAP! I severed the Ursa's spine, killing it instantly.

In a flash I drew Gambol from the sheath imbedded deep in the Ursa, aimed the pistol, and sent four .45 FMJ Dust rounds into each of their skulls, the bullets tearing through their masks and ripping chunks out of their skulls. Soon each had a shredded, bloody, boney, stump where their heads used to be.

All three Grimm dropped to the ground, dead, within moments of each other.

Jaune just looked up at me with those sapphire eyes in awe and surprise. "Whoa"

I considered chastising him for being a fool, but quickly discarded it. It wouldn't exactly be conducive towards our relationship as partners if I made him feel like garbage the second I met him. I'd rather start it out on a good note.

I'll have a hard enough time teaching him how to not be a liability, I didn't need him to hate me on top of it.

So, with that thought, I pulled Gambol's sharpened sheath from the dead Ursa with a wet POP and jumped down. I swiped the blade through the air, flinging off the blood, before I fully sheathed Gambol Shroud on my back.

He walked up to me, slightly nervous, with a hand extended.

"Uh, Hi. I'm Jaune Arc, and you?" He asked.

I took it and responded calmly, "Blake Belladonna."

After a short shake, he looked away from me sheepishly and said, "Uh, thanks for helping me back there."

I raised a brow in mild surprise, expecting him to try and play off being confident or something. I half expected him to say "It's not like I needed your help or anything" or "I had that you know."

Then it morphed into a small smile.

Well, he may be shit, but at least he's appreciative. He could have been an asshole.

"You're welcome. I couldn't just stand there while I watched you get mauled." I teased lightly.

Instead of violently protesting, he instead just seemed to deflate even further, hanging his head down low in defeat.

As much as I wanted to feel sorry for him, I couldn't help but chuckle at his expressiveness.

At the sound of my suppressed laughter he brought his head up. Realizing I was teasing him, he pouted slightly.

"Why do I always do this when I meet a girl?" He pouted.

In response I just chuckled again.

He may be a miserable, mostly useless, pile of untapped potential, but at least he's funny. Even if it is at his own expense. I thought.

He sighed, resigning himself to his fate, before bouncing back.

"Well then, Blake, we should probably head north, right?" He asked, giving me a bright, if unsure, smile while pointing in a direction with his sword.

"Yes." I began, grasping the end of his sword and pulling it away from southeast, and directed it toward north. "We should." I continued with another teasing smile.

"He he, yeah. I-I knew that." He said with a nervous smile, lying through his teeth.

As we began to walk onwards, I decided to ask him something that occurred to me watching him fight.

"Jaune?"

"Yes?" He responded, turning to me.

"You do know how to use that, right?" I asked, gesturing to his sword.

"What? Sure! It's a sword! Just…swish swish stab, right?" He exclaimed boisterously, but his sapphire eyes told me it was all a lie.

I looked at him judgmentally with a raised brow, silently saying, "What? No!That's not…no."

God, nevermind, I take it back. He doesn't even know how to use a god damn sword. I thought, suddenly starting to regret my actions.

He chuckled nervously, realizing that he had been caught.

Then we heard it.

"Jaune!" someone cried out in the distance. It was faint, but it was definitely there.

Since Jaune reacted to it as well I knew that whoever it was they had to be relatively close.

I looked at him with a surprised and questioning face, "Do you know anyone here?"

He thought about it for a second, saying "Not really, just you, Lilith, and…"

Then his eyes lit up in understanding. He turned towards the sound and screamed "PYRRHA!" into the depths of the forest.

Right, I almost forgot about her. I thought, remembering the kind girl I helped in the bathroom, the one who gave me his name.

It bounced around for a bit in the Emerald Forest, but no response came.

After couple seconds he turned to me and asked, "Should I do it again or-?"

He was abruptly cut off, however, by a large Ursa flying out of the tall bushes in front of us before slamming into a tree to our side with a loud, wet, CRACK!

We instantly turned toward it, ready to fight it off, when we noticed something about it.

It had a large hole, bleeding hole in its chest where its heart should be. It also had a large dent in its white armored head. And it was extremely dead.

Turning back to the bushes from whence it came, we saw the sight of Pyrrha Niko burst forth with a hopeful smile on her face. That, and wielding a xiphos covered in blood that went up to her elbow.

"Jaune!" She cried out in joy.

"Pyrrha! What are you doing looking for me?" He exclaimed, happily surprised, yet confused.

"I, er, well…" She began, trailing off sheepishly, not wanting to say it.

I was about to say something, when my instincts spoke once more. They yelled again, telling me something was coming, something it didn't even know how to categorize.

No sooner did they speak than did a little girl with silver eyes in a tattered red hooded cloak come out of the bushes behind Pyrrha.

Relying on my instinct, I drew Gambol once more, and aimed the sidearm at her head. She looked like a little girl, an innocent little girl. One look in her hollow silver eyes, however, told me otherwise.

Just looking into those silver eyes had my instincts screaming that this was some…dark, unnatural, impossible, thing. It wasn't normal, it wasn't human, it wasn't Faunus, it was a monster. Not like the Grimm, no, this was an abomination to the very rules of reality.

She lazily looked up at me in response to the gun aimed at her, but did nothing else. She looked at me with those hollow eyes, not like I was a person, an animal, or even alive.

She looked at me like I was a thing, an annoyance. Like I wasn't Blake the person, but the human shaped object designated Blake.

Before I could do anything else, however, the other two intervened.

"Whoa! Blake! What are you doing?' Jaune questioned, concerned and confused.

Pyrrha responded to my actions by jumping in front of the girl, her shield raised to block my gun.

I blinked, taking hold of myself, reigning myself in. I lowered my gun, took a breath, and calmed down.

"I'm sorry, she just…startled me." I answered.

As much as I trusted my instincts, they had gotten me in trouble before. They often operated on a "shoot first, ask later" mentality. While that might work in a dangerous combat scenario, I would need to keep a tight leash on it here at school.

Still though, why would she provoke that kind of response? Even if my instincts can be rash, they're never completely wrong. I wondered.

Then I looked back up at Pyrrha and was startled by what I saw. It was only there for a flash, but it was there.

Her once kind, soft, concerned, emerald eyes were gone. In their place were two cold, wrathful, balls of emerald so dark it was almost black. They glared at me with such focused intent that I had to struggle to keep from flinching.

Most people, when enraged, burned with a wild fire. They became furious, uncontrolled, and destructive. They would attack or hurt everything around them blindly in their rage. They would become uncontrolled, and vulnerable to attack by leaving their defenses open. Usually when someone became enraged, or lost themselves to fury, they would lose all their focus and control.

Pyrrha's eyes, however, were all about focus and control.

It was only there for a moment, just a second, a flash.

But for one second, I could see that she was prepared to kill me without a second thought.

My instincts reacted, and just like that the moment became tense once more. We just stared at each other, two killers in a standoff.

Then, an explosion roared in the distance with a resounding BTHOOM!

A shockwave passed through the forest, shaking everything from the tremendous force.

Instantly, we all looked towards the direction of the sound in surprise.

That sound… I thought in horror, remembering my nightmare.

It wasn't exactly the same. That one sounded more like thunder playing through an old radio.

This sounded real.

On a gut feeling, I looked up to the sky, and sure enough, dark storm clouds covered the sky, hiding the sun.

I could feel a shiver pass through the group, as if the mood suddenly changed.

We all looked back down at each other, and like that Pyrrha was back to normal. She was that same kind and nervous girl I saw in the bathroom this morning.

I considered bring it up, but decided to dismiss it for later.

Jaune, however, realized something.

"Lilith! What are you doing here?" He asked, bewildered and a little concerned about the little girl.

In response she just looked at him with a tilted head, like he was the oddity here.

"Because this is where Initiation is." She responded slowly and questioningly.

"Wait, what?" He responded, surprised.

"You're an initiate?" I asked, surprised they would let in someone so young.

She let out an annoyed breath, obviously realizing that this was going to become a thing.

"Yes." She affirmed tiredly.

At that, Jaune jolted up, as if remembering something of his own.

"Hey guys, if you see a big…white…thing…could you let me know?" He asked, suddenly very nervous and worried.

Pyrrha and I both just gave him a questioning look, wondering what he was on about.

He chuckled nervously, realizing how he sounded.

"You know what? Just…nevermind, okay? We should probably head to the temple." He said, gesturing north with a nervous smile.

Pyrrha and I glanced toward each other before nodding in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan." Pyrrha agreed.

"Lead on." I consented.

Lilith, on the other hand, just silently nodded at him.

And so, with that, off we went into the Emerald Forest in search of the temple.

But I couldn't help this sense of dread I felt. It was like the nightmare was happening all over again. I just prayed it didn't end the same way.

But I still felt like someone was going to die.

? pov

I walked down the marble floored hall of my house next to my friend. The light of the sun shone through the tall windows that lined the hall, lighting it up.

As we made our way to the armory, he spoke to me.

"So, why is it you have such an attachment to this slave of yours?" He asked me

"I mean, sure, some people might care for their slaves, but to send her to school?" He continued.

I sighed, realizing that many of my friends just didn't get it.

Maybe I need better friends? I considered.

"You know how I feel about the whole slave issue." I responded tiredly.

"Yes, but it's more than just that. You didn't just pick her up off the trading block, you got her from her old mistress. You managed to arrange a bet for her life, but why? It might have made sense if you used her like Lady Agathe did, but instead you sent her to school." He explained, exasperated.

"School!" He repeated.

"You weren't there, you didn't see her in that pit, covered in blood, surrounded by corpses. She had a look no child should ever have on their face." I explained.

"So…you pity her?" He questioned.

I sighed again.

"It's more than that. She was deprived of even the most basic of childhoods. She wasn't a person, she was an object of entertainment for this city, and nobody batted an eye at it." I explained.

"Actually, no, it was worse. They endorsed it. They made her like that, sacrificing the life of a child for their own amusement." I continued before turning to him.

"How could I sit there and not do anything? How could I walk away from that broken girl and still call myself human?" I asked him, looking him straight in the eye.

Ashamed, he couldn't meet my gaze. He couldn't really answer me, he knew I was right.

I sighed again, realizing I had let myself get all riled up about this.

"I just…I just want Kokkinos to get a chance to live, to have a childhood, to have fun. I just want her to have a chance to be a nice, normal, girl. Not that object she was in the pit." I explained.

We walked a couple more seconds before he responded

"You see her like a daughter, don't you?" He asked.

I sighed again, realizing the truth of the matter.

"Yeah, I guess I do." I answered.

A/n:

Mystery girl tales returns!

And Team 1 has been formed!

Yea

Oh yeah, and some of you guys have mentioned stuff about Ruby doing badass things.

That made me laugh.

Ruby both has, and hasn't done badass things yet.

Chronologically, during this story she has done badass things.

I have told you about none of them

or at least, not up front.

In any case, next chapter we see the formation of team 2.

Oh yeah, and it seems like there's a slight division in people that love Jaune, hate him, or think he needs to be buffed and have a harem.

I kinda like him, but I do agree that his reasons for becoming a huntsman are kinda...

weak

and whiney.

So I decided to change that.

He's still cannon Jaune, I just...added something.

Something to give him ironclad convictions.

Something dark

In a way, it might be the darkest of the backstories, if only because of how...realistic...it is.

But yeah, team...ANBL is a thing now.

Also known as team NASB( Not A Social Butterfly.)

Yeah, I realized everyone in the team is socially awkward in some way.

Despite ANBL being the team name now, if you have a better way to make a team name out of Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lilith Totenrot, I'd love to hear it.

It's the tentative name I'm going with for now in case I can't think of anything better.

In any case, The Emerald Forest arc should be done by scene 12, which will be a HUGE one, if this is anything to go by.

I mean, all it is is people meeting and it's one of my longest chapters.

Oh, and just to be a dick and a tease, the next chapter is titled "Golden Regrets"

That's all I have to say.

Tell me how you think I'm doing so far, and bye.