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Blake's POV

I sit on the edge of my hospital bed. I stay perfectly still, I keep my breathing steady, and work to keep my heart rate under control. I try to appear perfectly calm, despite the storm of emotions raging in my head. But it gets harder to keep up my composed façade as the silence continues to stretch on. I let my eye shift up from the floor to the other occupant in the room, Ozpin. He came to get my report on what happened during the mission.

I had been dreading having to relive in detail what happened, but I knew I didn't have a choice. So when he asked me to tell him what I remembered, I put on a brave face, separating myself from my emotions, and recounted the mission, leaving out only a few more…..sensitive details. I was able to tell him everything without so much as flinching. But now, I feel myself growing agitated under his watchful gaze, hoping he will break the heavy quiet hanging in the room.

"Did….did I say something wrong?" I ask when I can no longer take his lack of response.

"No Blake. You gave a very good account of what happened. It matches with the other reports I was given." He says while standing calmly in front of me. "I just couldn't help but notice that you seemed a bit….distant, when speaking about it."

"Distant?"

"Yes. Which isn't surprising, considering the trauma you endured."

"I'm fine." I say. "All my injuries are almost healed."

"I wasn't talking about your injuries Blake." Ozpin sighs. "Taking someone's life is a weighty burden to bear." I drop my eyes to the floor and swallow the lump forming in my throat.

"I didn't have a choice." I whisper.

"No. You didn't." Ozpin says firmly. "But that doesn't make it any easier to live with."

"Good." I say, looking back up at Ozpin. He raises an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?" he questions.

"Because I don't want it to be easy. Killing someone should never be easy. I want it to weigh on my soul until that day I die." I try to stay calm but my voice shakes the more I speak.

"Blake, you shouldn't want to punish yourself over this."

"This isn't about punishment, it's about not being a…..a monster."

"What do you mean?" he asks. I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

"You said taking someone's life is a heavy burden to bear, but that isn't the case for everyone. I've seen people killed before. And I've watched their killers simply step over their bodies and continue on like nothing happened." I say. "I have met those who felt nothing when they killed someone, and when I looked into their eyes. It was like staring at a Grimm. Soulless and without remorse. So I'm glad I feel like this. I'm more than willing to carry this burden for the rest of my life. Because the moment it gets easy, is the moment I become nothing more than a Grimm. And that isn't a life I'm willing to lead."

"That's a very interesting view on the matter." Says Ozpin, his face unreadable.

"You don't agree." I say.

"Actually, I do agree with you Blake." He says. "I just think that there's a fine line between not wanting to become a monster, and letting yourself be crushed by your own guilt."

"Then I'll do my best not to cross it." I say. Ozpin smiles.

"I believe that would be for the best." He says as he turns towards the door. "I should be on my way. I don't want to take up anymore of your time. I hear you'll be leaving the hospital today." I can't help but smile at the thought of getting out of here.

"That's the plan." I say.

"Try not push yourself to hard." He says. "And Blake. Have fun."

Jaune's POV

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." I say. "I don't think she's going to like this."

"Of course she'll like it!" says Yang as she balances on top of a dresser. "How's this Ruby?"

"A little to the left." Ruby says.

"Perhaps Jaune is right." Says Pyrrha. She's standing in the back of RWBY's dorm room along with Ren and Nora. The room is rather small, so there isn't a lot of places to sit. "Blake doesn't strike me as the type who would like a surprise party."

"It's not a surprise party. It's just her friends welcoming her back from a long stay in the hospital." Says Yang. "How about now Ruby?"

"Yes! Perfect!" says Ruby.

"Awesome." Says Yang as she jumps down from the dresser. The six of us then stare at the large banner hanging up on the wall. Wecome Hone Bake!

"Umm….I think something is missing." I say.

"Like more glitter?" asks Nora.

"More like a couple of L's and maybe and M." says Ren.

"Making a banner isn't as easy as you'd think." Says Ruby. "And we ran out of paint."

"I think it gets the point across." Says Yang with a smile on her face. "Now all we need is Bake….I mean Blake."

I smile at how joyful Yang and Ruby seem to be. They've been having a hard time lately. It's nice to see them smile and laugh. Which is why I agreed to this party. I know Blake will hate being the center of attention, but I also know that she'll be happy to tolerate it when she sees how happy everyone is.

"Do you think she's been released yet?" asks Ruby.

"She should be with the doctor right now." I say. I feel an excited flutter in my chest. I'm happy for Blake. She was thrilled when she got the good news from the doctor last night. So was I. I couldn't even sleep last night. Blake getting out of the hospital feels like a big step for everyone. Like everything is finally starting to move forward again.

"I should head over there soon and pick her up." says Yang. "And I need to take her some clothes so she doesn't have to walk around campus in a flimsy hospital gown."

Ruby and Yang start to argue about something but my scroll starts buzzing, taking my attention away from the conversation. I take it out and look at the screen. It's a message asking me to meet them out in the hallway, sent by…Weiss? Why would she message me? She never has before. I look around the room. Everyone's wrapped up in a conversation and hasn't noticed my surprised reaction to the message.

"I need to go get something, I'll be right back." I tell Pyrrha as I leave. I slip out the door and close it behind me. Weiss is there, leaning against the wall to my right. She looks upset.

"You look awful." I say. She sends me a glare.

"Why did I ever think coming to you for advice was a good idea?" she mutters.

"Sorry. Are you okay?" I ask. The glare drops from her face and she sighs. After a few seconds of silence I go up and lean against the wall next to her. "Blake's being released from the hospital today."

"I heard." she says.

"Are you coming to the party?"

"What party?" she asks.

"Yang and Ruby are throwing Blake a little welcome back party." I say. Weiss huffs and shakes her head.

"Blake will hate that." she says.

"I know. But she'll do it for her team." I tell her. Weiss's eyes start to shine with unshed tears.

"I've made a mistake." She says in a small voice.

"We all make mistakes."

"I don't know how to fix it." she looks up at me.

"Whenever I try to fix a mistake, I always start by saying sorry." I say.

"It's not that simple."

"Sure it is."

"What if they don't forgive me?" she asks.

"Who? Ruby, Yang, and Blake?"

"Of course, who else would it be." she says.

"Why do you need to apologize to them?" she looks at me like I'm an idiot.

"I know they must have told you." Weiss says. "I abandoned them. I haven't even seen Blake in almost a week, and I've hardly spoken to Yang and Ruby. I know I've only added to their problems. They needed me and I checked out."

"They don't think you abandoned them." I say. "They're not angry, they're just worried about you."

"How could they not be angry at me?"

"Weiss. I was there when Blake told us what happened. I get why you would need time to deal with it, and so does your team." Weiss looks down at her hands, a look of shame crosses her face.

"It's more complicated than that." she says. I scratch the back of my head.

"Look, I don't know what's going on in your head. But I do know that hiding out in the hallway isn't going to fix anything." I say. She sigh again and steps away from the wall.

"What time is Blake getting released?" she asks.

"Soon. Yang's getting ready to leave to pick her up." I say.

"Do you think you can hold her off for a little while." asks Weiss. "I'd like to speak to Blake before I talk to the others."

"I think I can manage that." I smile. She clears her throat and tries to stand a bit taller.

"Thank you Jaune."

"No problem." I say as she walks away. I turn back to the door. "Okay, now I just need to figure out how to stop Yang."

Blake's POV

"Everything checks out." The doctor says as he finishes giving his examination. "You'll need to come back in a week to get your stitches removed and the cast off your arm."

"So I can go?" the doctor smile.

"Yes, as soon as one of your teammates arrive." I want to argue, but there's a knock at the door before I get the chance to open my mouth. "Looks like you won't have to wait." The door opens. I'm expecting Yang or maybe Ruby. I really didn't think it'd be Weiss. It's been a week since I've seen her. She looks exhausted.

"Now that your teammate is here you're free to go whenever you're ready." The doctor tells me before turning to Weiss. "Make sure she doesn't push herself too much, her injuries are still healing."

"I… Of course." Says Weiss.

The doctor says his goodbyes and leaves, and for the second time today I find myself surrounded by a tense silence. Only this time, I don't says anything. I wait for Weiss to start the conversation. It doesn't take long.

"I'm sorry." She says.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." I say immediately, but she shakes her head.

"That's not true. I …I should've come back sooner."

"Weiss I get it you….."

"No. You don't. You don't know." She finally looks up at me. "I've spent days sifting through every Schnee document I could get my hands on, because I …..I wanted to prove you were lying."

"You….you didn't believe me." I say.

"I…I'm sorry. I knew you wouldn't lie about something so…I just didn't want it to be true." She looks down at the floor again.

"So what did you find out?" I ask.

"Not much at first." She says. "I….I ended up going to my sister. She has clearance that I don't. She didn't want to help at first, but I was…..insistent. She did some digging for me, and she sent me the files last night. It was an investigative report, looking into the deaths of the security team at the camp. The investigation turned up a scroll belonging to Matis." Tears start to fall from Weiss's eyes and her voice starts to shake. "The scroll…..it had recordings of you…..when he….." my eyes widen.

"Did you…"

"I didn't watch them." She says quickly. "I didn't have to. The report gave a…..detailed description of the recordings…. I couldn't even make it through a single paragraph."

"Weiss. You…"

"How can you even look at me!" she shouts. "How can you stand being on a team with me, after what my father did to you? You should hate me."

"If we went by that logic, then you should hate me as well." I say.

"What?"

"I was with the White Fang. The SDC did a lot of horrible things against me and other Faunus, But the White Fang did just as many bad things to the Schnee family and other humans." I say. "So if I should hate you because of what your family did, then you should hate me because of what the White Fang did."

"It's not the same." She says.

"You're right. It's not." I say. "I was aware of what the White Fang was doing, and I didn't stop it. But you, you had no idea what was going on."

"Me being ignorant doesn't make it right."

"But it does make you innocent." I say. She stares at me for a moment.

"How….how can you be so calm about this!?" she says.

"I've had years to think about this. You've only had days." I say.

"Blake I…. I don't know what to do. I…..I just don't." Weiss says in a defeated tone. "I…I always knew that my father wasn't the most…..honorable man in the world. But not once did I ever think it was possible that he could….."

"Weiss, the White Fang tried to link your father to what happened, but there was never any proof that he knew what was being done." I say.

"No one employed by my father does anything without him knowing about it." says Weiss. "And if he truly didn't know the details of what Matis was doing, then that means he suspected it would be bad so he distanced himself in order to remain faultless incase anything was ever discovered."

"I wish I could say something that would help, but I know from experience that the only thing that helps is time." I say. "The White Fang was my family. I spent a lot of years in denial, trying to convince myself that the violence was justified. I constantly made excuses for them. And when that wasn't enough, I thought I could change them….Him. Adam. He was leading the White fang down a very dark path. And I truly believed that I could change him. But there was a moment…. A single moment where it all came crashing down. My whole world came to a stop as I realized that there was nothing I could do to stop Adam from being a monster."

"What did you do?" asks Weiss.

"I left." I say. "As soon as I saw the truth, I walked away. I've never felt so lost before. I left the only family I ever knew. I was alone in the world with no plan and no one to turn to."

"How did you know what to do next?" she asks.

"Like I said, I didn't have a plan. I was basically just wondering around aimlessly." I say. "I just happened to see a Huntsmen one day. He was a human, helping out a group of Faunus. It reminded me of what I really wanted. Of what I almost lost sight of. I wanted to make the world a better place for humans and Faunus. So I applied to Beacon. And….well you know the rest."

"So I should just walk away from my family?"

"I think you should do whatever you feel you need to do." I tell her.

"But I don't know what that is!"

"Then wait until you do. Take as much time as you need to figure out what you want." I say. "And while you're doing that, you have Ruby, Yang, and me to rely on."

"Damn right she does!" Weiss and I jump at the sound of a new voice. Yang is standing in the doorway with Ruby. I don't know how I didn't hear them come in.

"What….how long were you standing there!?" Weiss sputters out.

"Long enough." Says Ruby as she approaches Weiss and pulls her into a hug. "You should've come to us sooner. We could've helped."

"I…I'm sorry. I just…"

"Don't be sorry." Says Yang. "Just promise to talk to us next time."

"Of….of course." I can tell Weiss is trying to hold back tears.

"So does this mean we're all talking again?" asks Ruby. Weiss sigh.

"Yes Ruby. It's just…. I'm going to need some time to figure things out." Says Weiss. "But I'll do my best to remain…..present, while I'm working on it."

"Do you feel like going back to the dorm with us?" asks Yang. "We have a little… surprise for Blake." I sigh.

"It's a party isn't it." I groan.

"Who told you?" asks Yang.

"No one told me." I say. "I just now you well enough to guess."

"Well at least try and act surprised when you get there." she says.

"Are you up to going Weiss?" asks Ruby.

"I….I guess so. I shouldn't miss out on anymore team activates." Says Weiss.

"No one asked me if I felt like going or not." I say.

"That's because you don't have a choice. Now get dressed, we're going to be late." Says Yang. I don't bother arguing. Not because I know this is a battle I can't win, but because it's so good to see my teammates together and happy and I don't have the heart to ruin that.

Jaune's POV

It's a cold night, but the chill in the air is refreshing after spending a few hours crammed into a room with seven other people. But I make a note to keep an eye on Blake to make sure she doesn't get too cold. I glance at Blake, she has a soft smile on her face, despite being tired. She spent most of the party resting on her bed, but she still joined in on all the conversations. I can tell she had a good time, but after a while she said she could use some fresh air, so I volunteered to go with her. Which is how we ended up sitting side by side on the roof yet again.

"So are you happy to be out of the hospital, or did the party make you regret ever leaving?" I ask.

"The party wasn't so bad." She says. "Much better than the hospital."

"It was nice to see Weiss there." I say. "She seemed to have a pretty good time. Even when she yelled at Ruby for eating all the cookies."

"Yeah, I'm glad she was able to relax." Says Blake.

"I saw her earlier, she seemed to be having a pretty rough time."

"We talked a little. I think it might of helped." She says. "But it will still take time."

"She was really worried that you guys wouldn't forgive her." I say. "I'm not sure why she would think that."

"I think that she was having a hard time understanding why I don't blame her for what happened." says Blake.

"I understand that." I say. "If it were me I'd have a hard time not hating every human after…..after being tortured."

"If you think about it rationally, there's no reason to blame Weiss for simply sharing her father's name." says Blake.

"But wasn't it hard to keep that perspective after what you went through." I ask.

"It was. In fact, there were moments that I could've easily gone over the edge. Where I could've let myself be consumed with hate. It would've been simple to let myself follow Adam's lead and start to believe that all humans should die."

"What stopped you?" I ask.

"Something from my past." Says Blake. "Something I didn't tell Weiss about."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I say. Blake looks at me and smiles, but there's a hint of sadness in her eye.

"It was my parents." She says. "They died when I was five, so I don't have many memories of them. But the ones I do have are a constant reminder that Faunus and Humans are meant to live and be treated as equals."

"How did they teach you that when you were so young?"

"My father was a cat Faunus, like me." says Blake. "But my mother, she was a human."

"You…you mean you're half human?" I ask, more than a bit surprised. She nods her head.

"Yes. All of the Faunus traits are dominate, but I'm just as much human as I am Faunus." She says as she gets a faraway look in her eye. "I have memories of them, happy and in love. It was clear that they felt Faunus and humans were equal. If I treat one better than the other, I would be dishonoring their memory. Also, it would be difficult to think of humans as lesser beings since I'm half human."

"Wow, that really gave you a unique prospective." I say.

"I've always been grateful for it." she says. "It helped to stop me from making a terrible mistake more than once."

"I'm grateful too." I say.

"Why?"

"Because it helped shape you into the person you are today." I tell her. "And I'm really grateful I get to be friends with that person."

Blake turns her face from me. I think I see a light blush on her cheeks, but it's too dark to tell for sure. I'm about to ask her if she's okay when she shifts her weight and leans her head against my shoulder. I feel my own face blush as my heart starts beating faster. Before I can think about what I'm doing, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and rest my head on top of hers.

"Thank you Jaune." she whispers, her warm breath dances over the skin on my neck, making me shiver.

"For what?" I ask.

"For a lot of things." she says. I laugh softly into her hair. I can tell she's smiling without even looking at her. And in that moment, I realize I would do anything to keep that smile on her face.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review and tell me your thoughts and suggestions.

-Echo Artemis