Here we are at Chapter 11. Time for some one-on-one time between Velvet and Blake. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's Chapter 11. Enjoy.
Chapter 11: Secrets
Ever since the field trip incident, Team RVWBY has noticed how Jaune and Pyrrha are talking to each other again, and how Pyrrha was smiling like she usually does. Even better is the fact that Cardin Winchester has been leaving him, and the two teams alone, although that is mostly due to his fear of both Nora and Velvet and looking to keep his limbs intact from now on. For now, the two teams are leaving their history class with Dr. Oobleck as they return to their dorms for the day.
"I'm still having a hard time keeping up with his class. There's so much to remember and he goes through it all so fast," Jaune complains.
"What are you whining about? I'm having no trouble keeping up with him. It's easy," Weiss comments.
"That's because you study twenty hours a day," Velvet exaggerates, making Blake chuckle.
"Quiet you. I'm just a very studious person. I want to pass all my classes with the highest grades possible…If only I could say the same for the rest of my team," Weiss retorts.
"For your information, Ruby, Velvet, and I have been doing fine in our classes. The only one on our team who has some trouble with a few classes is Yang, though not by much," Blake says.
"Not everyone holds themselves to your high-society standards, Weiss. We may not have grades as high as yours, but they're still good grades. Let it go," Velvet adds.
"Hmph, whatever," Weiss pouts, turning her head away.
"Excuse me, Velvet," Pyrrha calls her on her right.
"Yes?" she replies.
"I just wanted to thank you again for helping me with Jaune. Whatever you said must've really helped, so thanks," Pyrrha says.
Jaune then joins in, "Said to me', more like what she DID to me. She grabbed my face with her demon arm, dragged me to the training room, and tossed me around like a ragdoll," Jaune corrects them.
Velvet rolls her eyes, "Not my fault you fight like a weakling," Velvet says, making Jaune groan in response.
Pyrrha chuckles, "Don't worry about that. I'm going to help train him so he can be a better fighter. That way he'll be ready for anything in the near future," she explains.
"Hm. We'll see how that turns out," Velvet notes as they continue on their way.
…
Later that night, all members of Team RVWBY are in their dorm room, having a little study session for their classes.
"Okay, is anyone else confused by this other than me?" Yang asks, scratching her head.
"Ugh! It's not that complicated, Yang! Vacuo's system of government is that there really isn't a strong government system to speak of. The only true authority there is their huntsmen academy, Shade Academy," Weiss teaches her.
"Yeah, I get that, but how can a kingdom operate successfully with just the school imposing some kind of law and order? I mean, doesn't it just become a messed up place of crime and mayhem?" Yang asks.
"Maybe that's how it can operate the way it does," Velvet notes, getting their attention. "Think about it; most of the people there are lowlifes, mercenaries, and even some criminals. However, it is said that they all follow the same philosophy: if you can survive here, you can live here. People who all have the same kind of thinking tend to get along more easily than other people," she explains.
"She's right. They could get along like this without much assistance from the Kingdom's council, which I'm sure they wouldn't really trust that much. Of course, they know not to do anything that would get the attention of a school full of trained huntsmen, or else they would be in big trouble. I guess that's basically how it works. Every kingdom, though designed with the same basic governmental structure, still operates in their own way, and this is Vacuo's," Blake explains.
"Does that help you a little bit Yang?" Ruby asks.
"Yeah, I guess so. Good thing I was born in Patch and come to this school, in this kingdom," Yang replies.
"I hope so. Geez, you're sister got into this school two years early, and yet she's ahead of you in her grades. I'd like to know how that's possible," Weiss notes.
This gets Velvet's attention, "Oh yeah, Professor Ozpin said that while most students first come here when they're seventeen, Ruby got in two years early. How did that happen exactly?" she asks.
"I stopped a Dust shop robbery by Roman Torchwick. Professor Goodwitch came in and helped me, but he got away. After that, I met Professor Ozpin. He was so impressed with my scythe skills that he moved me up two years into Beacon. Sometimes I still can't believe it," Ruby explains.
"Yeah, and then you and Weiss literally exploded a hole in front of the school," Yang teases, much to the two members' displeasure.
"Yang! I told you to stop talking about that!" Ruby whines.
"Explain, please," Velvet asks, raising one eyebrow.
"Ruby accidently fell on Weiss' luggage, Weiss got mad and started waving a vial of red Dust that was leaking it, Ruby sniffed it and sneezed, causing an explosion, and Weiss started yelling at her some more before I stepped in to diffuse the situation and then left myself, "Blake tells her.
This makes Velvet somewhat glare at Weiss, "Was that really necessary?" she questions her.
Weiss shrinks back a little from the gaze, "When I look back at it now, I realize I may have gone a little overboard-," she begins.
"A little?" Blake stops her.
"Okay, a lot. But I've learned my lesson, and I can see that Ruby deserves to be hear and Ozpin made the right call in choosing her as leader," Weiss continues.
"Aw, thanks Weiss," Ruby says, trying to hug her, but Weiss pushes her away.
Velvet drops her glare, "Good. Otherwise, I'd have to kick the crap out of you for hurting Ruby," Velvet half-jokes, half-threatens her.
"What?!" Weiss shouts while the other girls aside from Velvet giggle.
…
The next day, Velvet is returning from another training session to her dorm room. When she enters, she finds the others are gone, leaving the room empty.
"Guess they're off doing whatever it is they do at this time of day," Velvet muses as she looks around.
However, her eyes stop on Blake's bed when she notices a small bulge from underneath her bed sheets and her pillow. Deciding to take a look, she walks over and moves the sheets and pillow to find a book hidden underneath. Picking it up, she sees what looks like a ninja on the front with the words "Ninjas of Love" in red. Looking over the book, she decides to take a look inside and opens it. For the first set of pages, the story seems like any other medieval fairy tale, but as she reads through, she gets a faint blush as she gets to the more…mature… pages in the story.
"I never expected Blake to be into this kind of stuff," she thinks as she reads through the story.
A little while later, Blake returns, but the second she enters, her eyes fall onto Velvet, more specifically to the book in her hands. Blake's eyes widen and she blushes from embarrassment. Velvet looks at her like nothing was wrong.
"W-w-what are you doing?" she gasps.
"I should be asking you that. I never pegged you for being a fan of erotica novels, Blake. I don't know what would be worse, Yang finding out about this and teasing you about it for the rest of your life, or Ruby reading this and having Yang find out only to come and burn you alive. Personally, I find the first option to be worse," Velvet says while waving the book around.
Blake runs at her, trying to get the book back, but Velvet moves away, keeping the book out of her reach. Blake tries again using her semblance to appear at her side and makes a grab for it, but Velvet tosses the book up as Blake moves in front of her. However, her gauntlet gets snagged on Blake's bow and as she passes by her, pulls it off her head. The ribbon and the book drop as Velvet looks at Blake, only to notice a distinct pair of black cat ears on her head. Blake's face pales in horror as she tries to cover up her ears.
"I-I can explain. I…I," she tries to speak, but freezes and decides to try to run away.
However, Velvet quickly grabs her by her shirt and pulls her to the ground before going to the door to close and lock it.
"Oh no, you're not getting away that easily," she begins as she walks back to Blake, arms crossed. "So, want to explain to me why you've been hiding the fact that you're actually a Faunus from your teammates?" she interrogates her.
Blake tries to grab her bow on the floor, but Velvet stops her with her left foot being planted on the bow. Seeing no other way out, Blake sighs in defeat.
"Yes. I'm a Faunus. I wear this bow because you and I both know how most people treat Faunus. I just…I didn't want to deal with that, so I hid my Faunus traits," Blake explains, looking down in shame.
"Okay, you're love of erotica is nowhere near as bad as this. I thought you were just a little introvert, but I never thought you were a coward. Guess I was wrong," Velvet berates her.
This makes Blake get angry, "What would you know? You've never been discriminated, persecuted, and hated by most of the whole world. You could never understand what I've been through-," Blake yells until suddenly, a loud snap sound is heard.
Blake looks shocked as she realizes that Velvet just slapped her, looking aggravated herself. She grabs Blake by the collar of her shirt and pulls her face close to her own.
"You don't think I haven't been through what you went through. When I gained these abilities of mine, the people I knew back home stopped seeing me as a friend. They hated me, saw me as a monster. They even tried to have me KILLED! I've been exactly where you've been. The difference is, I was never ashamed of what I became, and I never made any real attempt to hide it. Unlike you…" Velvet growls.
Blake looks her right in the eye and sees all the emotions in them; the anger, the hate…but also the pain and sadness. Then she recalls what Ruby once told her.
"I was about to talk to her when she said she was a monster. She told me that when she got her semblance, everyone she knew back home hated her, called her a monster, and were afraid of her. She looked like she hated her semblance, calling it a curse" Ruby's words echo in her mind.
"Velvet…I…I'm sorry," Blake tries to apologize. Velvet releases her and looks away, gritting her teeth a little bit. "Ruby told us about what you said to her the night after your match with Yang. I'm sorry about how a reacted to you, even though you went through the same kind of pain I went through," Blake says.
"Whatever," Velvet mutters before looking back at Blake. "Now then, I believe you have more to say about your little secret. Because I doubt it was just because of some discrimination," Velvet replies.
Thinking Velvet deserves to know, Blake nods, "Are you familiar with the White Fang?" she asks.
"Yeah. They used to be a peaceful protest group fighting for equality for Faunus. That is until five years ago when they started becoming more violent and became an extremist group. What's your point?" she asks.
Blake sighs, "The truth is…I was once a member of the White Fang," she confesses.
Velvet raises an eyebrow, "You were a member of the White Fang?" she replies.
"That's right. I was a member for most of my life actually. You could almost say I was born into it. Back then things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between the humans and the Faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings, and so, the White Fang rose up as a voice of our people. And I was there. I was at the front of every rally, I took part in every boycott, and I actually thought we were making a difference, but I was just a youthful optimist. Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, high-jacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor, and the worst part was; it was working. We were being treated like equals, but not out of respect, out of FEAR," Blake says while wrapping her bow around her ears. "So I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead I would dedicate my life to becoming a huntress. So, here I am, a criminal in plain sight. All with the help of a little black bow," Blake says, her bow twitching for emphasis.
Velvet crosses her arms again, "Were you ever planning on telling our other teammates?" she asks.
Blake shakes her head, "No. I can't tell them that. That their teammates used to be part of what is now practically a terrorist group. They wouldn't think of me as their friend anymore. And I know Weiss would hate me, given the history between the White Fang and her family," Blake says.
Velvet walks up to her…only to slap her again.
"You're an idiot. Now I can sort of understand not telling Weiss, but that's not fair to Ruby and Yang. I'm sure they would understand and still see you as their friend," Velvet berates her.
"You don't know that will happen," Blake retorts.
"You don't know that WON'T happen. Look, I won't tell them about this right now. But when the time comes, you need to tell them the truth and let them decide how to handle it. And if you don't tell them…Then I will. I don't like cowards, but I can sort of understand where you're coming from, just be ready to tell them when the time is right," Velvet tells her.
"So what. You still want to fight for justice and all that and decided that being a huntress would do the job since the White Fang went nuts?" she asks Blake as she sits down on her bed.
"I don't like how most humans have treated my kind, but I don't want to kill innocent people. Even Faunus who don't agree with the White Fang's newer methods are attacked and seen as enemies. I wanted equality and peace, not mindless bloodshed. So yeah, I left to become a huntress because I figures that would be the right way to achieve that goal," Blake explains as she sits down on her own bed.
Velvet thinks on this, "…Well, as ironic as it sounds, it looks like you and Weiss have similar reasons for being here," she notes.
This gets Blake's attention, "I kind of finding that hard to believe," she says.
"I'm sure she told you about our conversation in the library a while back, about my reasons for being here. Did she ever mention her reasons for coming to Beacon?" she asks, to which Blake shakes her head. "She said that she didn't agree with how her father has been running the Schnee Dust Company, which she wanted to restore her family's honor or something like that. She also wanted to try and make things better for the people that work for his company," Velvet explains.
This comes as a bit of a shock to Blake, "You're joking right? Weiss Schnee, actually wants to make things better for Faunus working for the Schnee Dust Company. Still not sure I believe that," Blake says.
Velvet then stands up and walks in front of Blake to look out the window with her arms crossed.
"Well, there's only one way to find out. And it involves your ears, but that can wait for now. Either way, your reasons are bigger than mine for being here," Velvet notes.
"…Weiss said you told her that you're here mainly for one person, but you wouldn't tell her who. Who ARE you here for?" Blake asks.
"My business," Velvet vaguely answers.
Blake grunts, "Hey, I practically told you my life story. The least you can do is tell me who you are here for, or why you're here for that person," Blake demands.
Velvet thinks about it and sighs, "…I can't tell you who that person is, but I suppose I can tell you why. The reason I'm here…is to protect that person…from anything and anyone that would attempt to harm them," Velvet admits.
This gets Blake curious, "Does that person know about why you're here?" she asks.
"No, and I'd prefer to keep it that way," Velvet says.
"Okay. Does this person know you?" She asks. "The more I know, the closer I'll come to figuring out who she's talking about. This is too interesting to pass up."
"Sort of. That's all I'm saying on this matter, "Velvet says. Hoping to change the subject, Velvet goes to pick up the discarded book that the two forgot about earlier, making Blake go wide-eyed at seeing it again. "Now then, what are we going to do about this?" Velvet half-questions-, half-jokes.
Blake tries to make a grab at it again, but Velvet keeps it out of her reach.
"Please Velvet, you can't let the others know about this. I'll never hear the end of it if Yang of all people finds out," she begs.
"Oh that I'm sure. Well, I suppose I could keep your little secret…if you do something for me," Velvet says.
"You're blackmailing me?!" Blake asks incredulously.
"No, business. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. Now then, do we have a deal?" Velvet asks.
Blake eventually relents with a groan, "Fine. What is it you want?" Blake asks.
Velvet tosses her the book, which Blake hastily grabs, "Just make sure you tell the others about what you're hiding under that bow soon. Do that, and we're even," Velvet answers.
"Wait, that's it?" Blake replies, confused.
"That's it. I told you, I don't like cowards, so you better grow a spine for this soon, even if I have to force you too," Velvet says.
Blake sighs, "Alright, fine…I'll tell them. I guess I should say thanks for not telling them immediately about this…about both my secrets," Blake says.
"Whatever. Though I'm sure they'll eventually find out about your erotica novels soon enough anyway," Velvet comments.
"VELVET!" Blake yells.
So now Velvet has had a little bonding chapter with all her teammates. I may do more of those if the future. Again, keep those semblance ideas coming, though I'm inching closer to a defensive-type semblance for her right now, so try something like that. Now Velvet knows about Blake, when will the others know? Until next time, please read and review.
