Wow, I'd like to thank everyone for the support last chapter. It meant a lot to me. I didn't actually intend for my AN to spark that kind of response, nor to feel like a cry for help or something. I love doing what I do, and the fact that people support me to do more means I can keep doing what I love. So I am totally happy with doing all these stories like this, please don't think I'm losing my mind or getting stressed out at this.
But thank you still – it means a lot to me (and every author) that you take a little time to let us know you appreciate our work. Even more so for those who leave criticisms and their thoughts in a manner we can understand. It helps me improve a lot. (Anyone who read OGT will see how much I had to take from reviewers to learn what I needed).
Anyway, I don't want to waffle here, so here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy.
Beta: College Fool
Chapter 14 – All that is gold does not glitter
Jaune sat against a wall in the middle of a corridor, strumming notes on his guitar. The lilting melody, more a soft tragedy than anything else, soothed him more than he dared admit. Sleep had finally come, free of nightmares the previous night. It often did when he had something warm beside him. Now with a ruffled shirt, the top two buttons undone and a bruise or two down his neck, Jaune ignored passers-by who whispered and flushed at the implication of his presence.
He'd never been one to worry about a walk of shame. Not when he still wasn't sure what scene would await him upon arriving back at his dorm.
His left hand worked further down the neck of the instrument, fingers stretching into familiar shapes, the metal strings biting into skin. He'd have liked to have said the risk was calculated, that those hasty words had been spoken in an effort to prevent Blake's pointless little episode. She ran away time after time, never once finding the answers she wanted. He hadn't for once thought words would stop her, but when silence wouldn't either, was it not worth the attempt?
A tired chuckle slipped from between his lips. That was what he'd have liked to say, but for the truth that he'd lost control. Just like he had the day before, where he'd taken more pleasure than was strictly necessary in the act of putting Cardin down. Life after life, year after year… after a while, the sensations became dull and muted. What had once been enjoyable had been reduced to nothing more than tired motions.
Blake's tantrum was not a new experience. It happened every single time, no matter what he tried. That was why the guitar was novel, he supposed. It was because he had not played it for what felt like decades, or maybe even centuries. That was why his family was so new and exciting as well, as cruel as that sounded. But the day to day life of Beacon was not new, nor was it nearly as joyful. To think, some people complained about being in school for four or more years. They should try that many centuries.
So yes, perhaps it had been understandable that the frustration would mount up, festering beneath the surface, hiding under those dopey expressions and lazy smiles. For all that much in life became boring, adrenaline and anger never did – nor did the grief or rage. Hating the White Fang was a part of him now, as was enjoying the thrill of battle. Yang had mentioned it once, that overpowering drug that lived within your own body. It was one of the few things that could get him truly excited these days, beyond new experiences, that was. And isn't there something to say about me relating peaceful times with my family to the thrill of life or death combat, he laughed, shaking his head.
"Jaune!" a voice called, and without missing a single note he looked up and down the corridor to where Yang and Weiss approached. They looked worried, and it didn't take him long to guess why. A soft sigh escaped him. So Blake hadn't taken his words to heart. She knew what Adam was like. It had been a vain hope, but forcing her confession a little earlier… it couldn't have hurt to try.
"Morning," he said, strumming a little louder and slipping into a tune more befitting a romantic ballad. "Were you worried about me? That's so sweet."
"Where's Blake?" Yang snapped.
"Hmm?" he slipped his hand higher, playing the chorus, "Wasn't she with you?"
The notes stopped entirely, tight fingers wrapping around his own and pinning them to the strings. Jaune looked up in time to catch a flash of scarlet in the blonde's eyes, before they faded back to purple. Yang wasn't in the mood to play games it seemed.
"Where is she?" Yang repeated.
"How should I know?" Jaune said, making sure she could see that he wasn't messing around either. The girl sighed and let go of his hand, allowing him to shake his fingers a little before beginning the melody once more. "Does it look like she's my child or something?" their expressions didn't budge. "I spent the night in someone else's room." He didn't miss the grimace both girls showed, "So I'm afraid I have no idea what happened from the last time I saw you."
"Blake left," Weiss said, stepping forward with a complex expression. The girl's flight often stemmed from Weiss' words and actions, so Jaune supposed it made sense she considered herself to blame. It ought to have been a little easier for her this time, however, since it was he who had pushed Blake over the edge. "She…" Weiss looked around before whispering, "-she told us her heritage… and what she used to be, before running away."
"We thought she might come back," Yang said. "Or that she'd maybe gone to talk with you or something. But it's been already ten in the morning and hasn't showed up."
"Her scroll is turned off as well." Weiss added.
Jaune hummed, strumming lightly on the strings as he let his eyes drift shut. Typical Blake, always so stubborn and unrelenting. That had been one of the things he liked about her, because wasn't it the same for himself – the man who lived his life over and over again with just one single goal? But of course she wouldn't listen to them. She just had to see the truth for herself.
"And what do you want me to do about it?" Jaune asked.
"Help us look for her," Yang grinned. "She can't have gone far, I'm sure she's still in Vale. If we comb the streets, ask around and see if anyone's seen he-"
"Go right ahead. I'll wait here."
"P-Pardon?" Yang was still smiling, though even to him it looked strained and weak. Weiss seemed suddenly nervous too, looking between the two of them with an anxious expression. Yang laughed, "I thought for a second that you said you wouldn't help us find our teammate."
The situation was delicate, Jaune was more adept at sensing danger than most, but even an amateur would have been able to read the threat in Yang's words. A lesser person might have been cowed.
"That's what I said."
Fingers curled into his collar, dragging Jaune up so that his face was almost touching hers.
"Try again," Yang hissed.
"No." Calm, collected, the exact opposite of the emotions that warred across his old friend's face. With a scowl she tossed him back, Jaune wincing as his ass impacted the hard floor. He kept a safe hold of his guitar, cradling it against his stomach.
"Blake needs help!" Yang shouted, loud enough for just about anyone to hear. "She's out there on her own, doing god knows what, and you just want to sit here and… and play guitar and whore around?"
"Hey now, Yang," he chastised, "I'll have you know I don't charge for my services."
"Blake-"
"Will be absolutely fine."
Neither of them was impressed at that, in fact they looked like they thought him insane. Jaune rubbed his forehead, his head hurt – a migraine building behind his eyes. It seemed to spike when he'd said that, but he ignored it was practiced ease. She would be fine, it was true, not that they could know it. Every repeat, every time, the two of them would rush out into Vale in search of Blake, and every single time they would never find her. About the only thing they would achieve was wasting their own time and that wasn't something he was keen on joining in with. Besides, Blake always made it out in the end.
"So you're not going to help us?" Yang asked, fists clenched at her side as she glared down at him. It didn't look like she shared his confidence in her partner, which was a little sad when he thought of it like that. Then again, she didn't have the benefit of foreknowledge either, so he'd forgive her for being worried.
"We could report her absence to the teachers," Jaune offered, "They'd be better able to search for her."
"And have her arrested?" Yang hissed, quieter this time. Ozpin wouldn't have arrested Blake, but then again, how could Jaune explain that to either of them without raising more questions? "No, we have to do this on our own – as a team."
And there was that troubling word again, so casually dropped from her lips.
If Jaune got involved in Blake's little soiree at the docks, then he was fairly sure Ozpin would count that as being more than enough to secure his presence in Beacon. It was hard to think of something more worthy of proof than fighting a dangerous criminal while he's surrounded by armed terrorists. Even if he stuck with Yang and Weiss, where they would have arrived late, Jaune wasn't willing to risk it. Visiting Vale should not have ended with him meeting everyone, Weiss' concert should not have resulted in him winning that prize…
If there was something pushing him towards those events, then going with Yang and Weiss seemed like a bad idea.
"You two go look for her then," Jaune said. "I'll stay in our dorm in case she comes back."
"You-" Yang shook her head, scowling at him. "You know what, fine. Stay here. We'll go find our teammate on our own."
"Sounds good," Jaune watched Yang's face fall, before she became angry once more. If she were hoping to guilt him into it then she'd be disappointed. His head hurt too much for such emotions. "Good luck."
Yang's mouth opened and closed a few times, before eventually she huffed and spun on the spot, storming away. Weiss watched him silently for a few seconds, and Jaune raised one eyebrow to ask if she wanted to say something. She shook her head as well, however, following after Yang.
He sighed, strumming a few strings. The music sounded flat, however, and with a sigh he stopped. They were disappointed in him… well that wasn't anything new. It frustrated and hurt, to see those looks on the faces of his best friends, who he had died for so many times. But again, they didn't know - it wasn't their fault.
"Damn it Blake," Jaune sighed, finally letting the guitar slump against him. "You really are more trouble than you're worth sometimes."
"Sorry, not seen 'er," the elderly man said. Weiss didn't think he'd looked at the picture very hard, but if the shopkeeper wasn't willing to look at a photo then he probably wouldn't have remembered actually seeing Blake either. "You want t' buy anything?"
"No, thank you," Weiss forced out a polite smile as she nodded and left the store. She heard him mumble something behind her but she slammed the door before she could turn back and give him a piece of her mind. Yang stood outside, creating a pocket of empty space around her through the sheer power of her glower. "No luck," Weiss called, "he hasn't seen anything."
"Same as the last ten," Yang spat. "Come on. We can keep trying."
"Yeah…" If Yang heard Weiss' reluctance then she didn't comment on it, which was likely for the best. The blonde had been in a furious mood ever since Beacon – and that didn't look to be changing anytime soon. What a mess, Weiss thought to herself. Here she was, wandering around Vale on a hot Saturday at noon, looking for – but kind of hoping she didn't find – their missing teammate.
And if Yang found out how she really felt, then sparks would surely fly.
It's not that I don't want to find Blake, she quickly assured herself. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Blake, and spending the night alone in the city wasn't a good thing at all. But at the same time Weiss wasn't sure what would happen if they did find her.
Blake was a faunus. No, that didn't really bother her. Blake was a member of the White Fang – the very organisation that had made it their life goal to eradicate the Schnee family from the face of Remnant. Someone who could have so easily killed her had been sleeping not two metres away. Weiss was a proud girl in most situations, but that thought made her shiver. I came to Beacon to escape these things… do they have to follow me, even here?
"I can't believe him," Yang growled – for what must have been the tenth time in as many minutes. And of course there was that kettle of fish as well. They'd been in Vale for three hours now and if Weiss had thought Yang's temper would have cooled, then she'd been quickly disabused of such a notion.
"I know," Weiss said, more because she'd heard what was no doubt coming so many times already.
"It's just… I can't believe how he wouldn't… I thought he cared!"
"I know, Yang," Weiss sighed. Gods, how she knew. For a second Yang look at her, and Weiss thought she'd made her frustrations a little too obvious, but the girl quickly turned back to ranting about their leader. Weiss wiped an imaginary bit of sweat from her brow, making a quick note not to get Yang any angrier than she already was.
All they had to do was find Blake, decide what it was they even wanted to do with her… then do it, she supposed. Maybe the time it took would give Weiss the opportunity to figure out how she felt about her frie- her teammate.
Maybe it would give her the time she needed to figure out how she felt about her partner too, and wasn't that a statement loaded with implications? Except no, her partner didn't make her heart race or skin go warm. He made her heart race in the sense that her blood boiled, pumping around her body even faster as she sometimes wanted to encase him in ice.
In fact, her whole team was a mess – and this seemed to be proof of that. She was currently afraid of Yang, she didn't know if she could trust Blake, and didn't even understand Jaune. Sure, she'd never been the most social of people, but come on, this was ridiculous. Pyrrha's team was so simple by comparison. Two childhood friends, a championship fighter and a young girl – the biggest drama of which being that Ren and Nora probably liked one another but didn't know how to express it. Right now Weiss would have killed to be on Ruby's team.
"Do you think she'll be okay?"
"Hm?" Weiss asked, trying to pretend she hadn't been zoned out.
"Blake." Yang shook her head, "I'm just… what if she got into trouble, or what if she had to sleep rough in an alleyway and was attacked?"
"Then there'll be some unconscious mugger in an alleyway," Weiss scoffed, before her eyes widened at the terrified expression on Yang's face. Okay, the blonde really was worried. Weiss sighed as she walked over to touch the girl's arm. "Yang, she'll be absolutely fine. Leaving aside the fact that Blake's a trained huntress, she's also… her life before… she probably knows her way around the darker elements of a city then we do!"
"Both Jaune and you know about the White Fang," Yang slumped onto a nearby bench, and after a moment's caution to check for any muck, Weiss sat beside her. "You had to deal with them when you were younger and… I guess it was obvious from his voice. I just… to me they're just a name."
"You've not actually seen what they're capable of – or been affected by their handiwork," Weiss nodded, and she had to admit that Jaune's reaction had been on her mind too. It was something she couldn't get out of her head, particularly the tone of his voice, and the way he'd seemed to tower over them all.
"I want to defend Blake. But I want to do it because she's my partner and friend. She's someone who never cared about whether I was popular or not, or how strong I was or what I wanted to do. She puts up with my puns, even if she looks like she wants to strangle me. I enjoy being around her! This isn't about the White Fang… what she's done in the past doesn't even matter to me." Yang trailed off, but Weiss could infer the rest. But it does to the two of you, Yang wanted to add.
"The White Fang are a terrorist group," Weiss said slowly, trying to pick out the right words to explain how she felt without alienating Yang or dooming Blake. "I won't say that some of what Blake said wasn't true. But it's not the whole truth. There's more to anti-faunus sentiment then the SDC, and the White Fang existed long before we started hiring faunus. Before Blake and I were even born, to be honest. I suppose by the time we were both old enough to know the world around us, the Fang and my family were already at war."
"Did Blake ever do anything to you?" Yang asked, and the question made Weiss wince.
"I've never met her before Beacon, I promise. Look Yang," Weiss sighed heavily, "I am trying to think on this reasonably, and I am trying to find where she is. I just don't know what I want to say or do if we find her."
Yang's face fell into her hands, though she was too strong to cry.
"It just feels like I'm the only one on the team that actually wants to save it," she said. "Jaune doesn't care, or doesn't care about Blake because of what she is. You're not sure if you want to have Blake on the team anymore and I'm just stuck in the middle. I like Blake, I like our team."
"I like it too," Weiss said – and it was something of a surprise to admit it as the truth. "I hate how confusing it is, but I can't say I hate the team nearly as much as I thought I would."
"Gee thanks…"
"And that's why I'm out here," Weiss went on, "because I'm willing to swallow my pride, force back my distrust and confront her, if it means we can maybe get our team back together."
"For Team Jazzberry?" Yang smiled, holding a fist out.
"Yes," Weiss smiled shakily and reached out to shake Yang's fist - it must have been some bizarre custom from Patch. "For Team... for Team Jazzberry."
"It's not that bad of a name."
"It really is…" Weiss sighed, "But you know, there's more than just the two of us on the team. It's all well and good for us to agree to hear Blake out, but what about Jaune?" The reminder made Yang scowl and toss her head angrily. Weiss coughed out some blonde strands that had slapped into her face.
"I was kinda thinking we wouldn't even tell him. If he doesn't care about her then he shouldn't care when she comes back, right?"
To Weiss' disgust she had to admit that might work. Jaune was lazy and apathetic at the best of times, and if Blake vanished he'd probably shrug and get on with life. If she returned he'd do the same, usually without the slightest hitch. But that was how he was usually… a factor which had been thrown out of the window the moment he'd opened his mouth the previous night.
"Jaune's had experience with the White Fang," Weiss said, a statement which made Yang's shoulders slump. "And judging from how he acted, they weren't good."
"I was hoping to ignore that," Yang admitted, "It's just… I'm not sure what to do about it."
"Without knowing more, I'm not sure there is anything we can do." Weiss frowned into the palm of her hand, "Did you notice that he called Blake out specifically? He not only knew she was a faunus, but also that she had been part of the Fang before. Unlike me, whatever experience he had, Blake was a part of it."
Which made things all kinds of complicated.
Had Jaune been a part of the White Fang too? No, that was silly… she'd seen him in various stages of undress, much to her horror, and he didn't have any animal parts that would have defined him. He could have been part-faunus, but that wouldn't have been enough for the White Fang as it was today. From what she knew, the old White Fang used to have a lot of human members, supporters and protestors who agreed with their aims. But when it had become more militant, they'd started to purge the ranks – sometimes violently. Even if Jaune was half-faunus, he'd have been hard-pressed to prove it to them before they attacked.
Plus, the way he'd talked about them showed a level of emotion she wasn't used to hearing from him. His interactions with them… they had been just as visceral as her own. Had Jaune lost someone he loved as well?
Was that why he acted as he did, like nothing in the world mattered anymore?
"It was the first time he called her by name," Yang sighed. "I used to think it was just a joke he was playing. Do you… do you think it was his way of refusing to acknowledge her, because he knew the truth?"
Weiss didn't know what to think, and her silence said it. Yang's point was an interesting one, and something she hadn't considered. That could complicate matters, if it meant he hated her as much as that made it seem. Even if he was just passive-aggressive, he might use this opportunity to have her removed from Beacon.
And would that be such a problem, when it was a terrorist they were talking about?
That's something I can decide later.
They searched for another hour or two; it was hard to keep track of the time. Yang and her would enter various buildings and shops, showing people the few pictures of Blake they'd taken on their scrolls. Once or twice there were near cases, where people thought they might have, maybe, if the light was right, or if they weren't imagining it, have possible seen her. Inevitably those leads ran dry, and Weiss began to wonder what they were hoping to achieve at all. Unless someone literally said, `oh yeah, she's right behind you` then they wouldn't be able to track her down.
But she didn't dare express those concerns to Yang, even if the blonde must have already known. In reality, all they were doing was wandering around in the vague hopes of bumping into their errant teammate. And it seemed like luck was not on their side.
"It's getting on," Weiss said, making Yang spin to glare at her. "It's five in the afternoon and we need to stop for some food."
"I can keep going."
"You can, but you'll be hungry and distracted." That made Yang growl, though she did stop in her path. No doubt she recognised the truth in Weiss' words. "We can head back to Beacon, grab a meal and check in to see if Blake hasn't returned." Weiss didn't think she would have. Surely someone would have sent them a message if it were so, but it didn't hurt to hope.
"Okay…" Yang sighed. "You're right. Maybe she's gotten it out of her system and come home anyway."
"Yeah," Weiss said, without a shred of confidence. "Maybe she has."
"So you're…" the blond faunus looked left and right to make sure no one was listening, but Blake had already chosen a table far away from any other customers, "White Fang?"
"Ex-White Fang," Blake frowned. "I left before Beacon and I don't intend to go back."
Then where do you intend to go? Her treacherous mind whispered. Back to Beacon, where half your team hates your guts? Or are we running away… again? Blake resisted the urge to shake her head. She wasn't going to start talking to herself in the middle of a café and if Sun wanted to treat her to food, who was she to argue? Her stomach growled hungrily, and she could just imagine the delicious food that could have been hers at Beacon.
She could have gone back too. She was a student there and it wasn't as though she had officially quit. All she had to do was sneak in, avoid her team – and probably Ruby's team too – and grab some food.
But she didn't dare take the risk. Too terrified of running into her team, of seeing Yang's pain, Weiss' condemnation. Or those empty blue eyes, which seemed to look straight through her. Those eyes that seemed to say he knew her every thought, and that he placed judgement upon her.
"Won't your team worry?" Sun asked, and Blake realised she'd missed his last comment.
"Yang might. That's my partner, the blonde. But I don't think Weiss would trust me anymore and…"
"And?" Sun prodded, when she trailed off uselessly.
"I don't think my team leader ever trusted me."
"Ouch," Sun winced. "Doesn't sound like a good leader if he can't trust the team. See, I didn't get on with the guys when we first met, but once I gave them a chance they were pretty cool. Now we're tight."
"He has good reason to hate me though, Sun." she said softly. So many good reasons. "For one, he knew I was a White Fang operative from the very start."
Why he hadn't said or done something she didn't know. If he hated her so much then he'd had plenty of opportunities to ruin her, but he'd instead settled for little snipes and hints, along with his annoying habit of forgetting her name. It just didn't make sense. He either hated her or he didn't, but if he didn't then why mention what he had the last night? And if he did hate her, why not tell everyone sooner? It made her head hurt, it made her sick with worry.
Sun pointed a fork at her, "You sure that's enough to make him hate you?"
"We met when my partner was about to blow up a train with his family on."
Sun blinked, the fork and piece of cake on it still held suspended between them. She'd tried to say it casually, but Sun's reaction said it all really.
"Well…" he coughed awkwardly, "I guess that would do it."
"My… my partner at the time was the one who wanted to do that," she said, "but I couldn't go through with it. That was the moment I decided to quit."
Blake wanted to tell him they weren't always like that, or how they'd once fought a peaceful battle for equality, but the words felt empty. They had once, sure. But when Adam had pressed for more immediate results, she had been one of his greatest supporters. Peaceful hadn't worked, it didn't get results… violence did.
She'd been so naïve back then, just a small child who didn't realise what real violence was. By the time she had found out, it had been too late.
"When things first became violent I thought it meant self-defence. Or that we'd break into mining camps to rescue faunus, fighting out way out. I imagined it would be a revolution or some honourable battle we could be proud of."
Sun tried to smile but it looked weak.
"Instead we weren't defending anything, nor were we mounting daring rescues. We didn't attack SDC convoys to secure money to help the faunus, we attacked to secure prisoners we could use as bargaining chips. And as everyone knows, Atlas doesn't negotiate with terrorists." And as the world had soon come to learn, Adam did not make idle threats.
"So you left."
"So I left."
"Well that's good enough, isn't it?" Sun laughed, as she spooned some cake into her mouth. "You can't keep beating yourself up about what happened in the past. Thing is, you want to change and make a difference now."
"I guess…" If only the world were so simple a place. The desire to right the wrongs she'd done before, it was an admirable thing, but did it redeem her for what she'd done? If a serial killer suddenly found their conscience and dedicated their life to helping orphans, did those good deeds wash away the bad? Blake wasn't sure. "But the thing is, this argument all came about as a result of rumours that the White Fang have been working with Torchwick. Something I know they wouldn't do."
"Deny it all you want," Jaune's words from the previous evening came back to her, making her wince. She would prove him wrong as well. She had to. It was the only way she would be able to go back and face them.
"And if they are?" Sun asked, leaning forward on one elbow.
She wanted to say they wouldn't, to proclaim that the situation wouldn't come up. But he had told her to stop lying to herself, and maybe he was right. Had she been running away, just like she always did – except this time, running from the truth? No more... she wouldn't run away anymore. Not if it meant giving Jaune Arc the satisfaction of being right.
"If they are," she took a breath, releasing it as her eyes narrowed. "Then I'll stop them myself."
The monkey faunus sighed, rubbing one hand across his face as he leaned back in the seat. His tail came up, a mug held in it as he took a quick sip.
"I guess I'm coming with you then."
"I'm doing fine," Lavender raised her eyes towards the sky, as though to ask for divine patience from his constant badgering. Jaune would have been more willing to put up with it if he'd actually spoken to her at all that week. "I'm red because it's a hot day. I haven't been wearing myself out."
"I never said that," Jaune said. "I just asked why you look so tired."
"Like you do every time you see me looking the slightest bit out of breath, big brother." Only a year or so younger than him and already so sassy, where had he gone wrong? "I take it you didn't call just to accuse me of not looking after myself."
There was a warning there as well, one that he would not be silly enough to fall into.
"Is my little sister accusing her favourite brother of such horrible things?" Jaune swooned, one hand held to his forehead. "Why I just wanted to talk with my beautiful sister."
"Such flattery," Lavender fluttered her eyelashes at him, "it makes me think you're about to tell me you've done something wrong. Oh god, you've gotten someone pregnant haven't you?"
"Your brother knows how to put on a condom," Jaune deadpanned, enjoying the way her face twisted in disgust. "He's had enough practice."
"Too much information Jaune, please…"
Jaune laughed at the colour of her skin, normally paler than was usually healthy, but looking a little green to boot. She tried to frown at him, but she just wasn't built for it and the gesture came out more like a cute pout.
"I do have some good news though," Jaune smiled, "unless Sapphire already ruined the surprise?"
"She did. Or rather Amber overheard her telling mum and dad about it and quickly ran around the house screaming about how you're being expelled. It was quite the odd experience." Ha, the little brat. So much for any hopes of keeping it a secret, but he supposed there was no harm. "Sapphire said it depends on you not doing anything to ruin it?"
"Pretty much. So long as I don't do anything to make myself stand out I should be free of Beacon come next weekend."
"Convenient timing," Lavender smiled, "since we're all coming down to Vale to see you."
That little snippet had his eyes going wide. "You are?" he asked, "Why?"
"To see you of course, silly," she giggled, one hand across her lips. "Did you think we'd leave you alone in Vale on your school holidays?"
He did, and it must have shown on his face for she gave him a disappointed smile.
"You're a stupid older brother," she sighed, "but I suppose you're mine so I'll have to put up with it. Things aren't the same here without you, Jaune. We've all been excited to see you again, so of course we would want to come and visit."
His breath came out in one great sigh, shoulders relaxing as he felt warmth flow through him. Such unconditional love, he was still getting used to it – even after spending the last two years with them. All it took was some unexpected words and he would freeze up.
"It's going to be Amber's birthday as well, so make sure you get her something nice."
"I will."
"Something other than you saying that you managed your expulsion… you can't cheat your way out of it."
"I won't! Such little faith you have." Lavender leaned forward, narrowing one eye as she stared at him. For such a frail girl she sure knew how to put the pressure on, likely because she knew no one would retaliate in kind for fear of hurting her. Jaune's head perked up as he heard the door to the room slam open, two figures pushing their way in.
"Sorry, I've got to go. I'll see you later?"
"You'll see me next week," she smiled. "Love you."
"You too." The screen flashed black as he put it away, standing to address his teammates. "Any luck?"
"None," Weiss said, shaking her head as she flopped down onto her bed. Yang looked like she wanted to say something but took one look at him and clamped her jaw shut. She was still angry, of course. He hadn't expected any less.
"I take it that wasn't Blake?" Yang asked needlessly, glaring at him.
"I haven't heard from her," he said.
"Well thanks for not getting distracted or anything," Yang spat sarcastically, leaving the room and slamming the door behind her. He wished he could tell her Blake would be okay, but she had no reason to believe it as anything other than a vacant attempt to cheer her up. Jaune winced again as his head throbbed with pain. Those painkillers he'd taken hadn't done anything to help.
"We've just come for some food," Weiss said. "Yang's… still upset."
"I can tell." he grunted, still rubbing his temples to try and massage the pain away.
Weiss tried for a smile, but shrugged when it never properly came out.
"Who were you talking to?"
"My sister. We're making plans for the end of semester." No need to tell Weiss what those plans were. She had enough to worry about. It didn't really matter anyway. Weiss hummed, making it clear she was just making conversation to distract herself.
For a few minutes there was no other sound in the room, other than the ticking of a clock on the nearby wall and the dull beat in his own head.
"You should come with us," Weiss said, not quite meeting his eyes.
"What good would that do? Do you even know what you'll do if you find her?" he asked, making the girl wince lightly. That was the ultimate irony in a sense, wasn't it? Weiss was still angry at Blake, still betrayed and upset – yet despite it all she continued to search for her. The young girl had no idea what she would do or whether she would be able to forgive the faunus. But the irony was, Jaune did.
Jaune knew she'd forgive Blake, that she would welcome her back and become one of the girl's closest and most trusted friends.
Yang and Blake had always been best friends, but that seemed to be on an emotional level, with the two teasing and baiting one another. Blake and Weiss were closer in a different way, an intellectual one – of two people who could associate and talk with one another about sensitive issues. Weiss gave Blake an outlet from Yang's puns and carefree attitude, while Blake gave Weiss the same from Ruby.
"I was angry when she admitted it," Weiss sighed. "Unbelievably angry. I couldn't even think, or maybe that was all I could think about. It didn't matter what her reasons were or what made her decide to leave them, only that she'd lied to me all this time." She turned to him, "Do you think she had good reason to?"
"Everyone has reasons," Jaune shrugged. "Some are good, some bad and others don't even make sense. But we all have reasons to do what we do."
"Even you?"
He shrugged, "I'm no different."
You just wouldn't ever be able to understand mine.
"I never used to hate the White Fang," Weiss said, lying back a little on her bed so that her head rested on the pillow. "Our family had faunus maids and servants who were well-paid and happy. Father only got rid of them after the first problems occurred, and even then only because one of the butlers let the White Fang in." She laughed softly, "I remember being so upset because I used to love the woman who was my nanny, and they were taking her away as well. She didn't do anything wrong. I think she would have died before letting anyone hurt me."
It would have been so easy to hate her father, Jaune thought. But like he had said, there were reasons for everything. If the man feared for the life of his daughter, was any decision to be considered too drastic?
"It never got better though. If anything, the firings made it worse because people took it as a sign that we hated all faunus. The mines are low-paid work and it's dangerous, I know. But we don't put our job adverts for just faunus. It's just that faunus are the only ones desperate enough for the work… because they can't get jobs anywhere else in Atlas. I know that's no excuse, but we're not targeting them on purpose. What kind of business do you imagine would purposefully try and kill their workforce? Why would anyone think we would?"
"People look for someone to blame." Jaune ignored her as she looked towards him in surprise. "Humans, faunus, we all need something to hate when it comes down to it, to blame all our little problems on. A single company is easier to hate than an entire Government, or worse, a culture."
"That doesn't make sense."
"I told you, some people's reasons don't seem to make sense." He shrugged, "All that matters is that it makes sense to them."
"Why do you think Blake ran away?" Weiss asked. Jaune spared a glance for her, now propped up on one elbow and looking at him. He felt tired already, though maybe that was the stress talking. His nerves were on edge too, with only a week left until his freedom. If fate, or whatever it was, was to get in the way… then it would happen soon.
He didn't need to answer her. In fact, part of him wondered if he would be better off staying silent, but the way she'd asked it… it wasn't like Weiss to ask others for help or advice. This must have been weighing on her even heavier than he'd first thought. Jaune's eyes softened a little, as he decided to give her just a little bit of advice. She would make the right decision, like she always did, but maybe he could help her along a little.
"Who knows?" he shrugged. He knew. "Maybe it's because she thought everyone would turn on her."
"Yang wouldn't have," Weiss sighed. "And I don't think you would have, either."
"Oh?" Jaune glanced over to her.
"It's too much effort for you to bother," she said – and the sarcasm in her voice made him laugh lightly. She was right, in a roundabout way. He would never forgive Blake, for there had never been anything to forgive. Why bother making a fuss out of something you weren't upset about? "But I guess it doesn't matter what we think. Because Blake thought she had to run… her reasons were enough for her."
Weiss sounded so sad, likely because she'd been unable to list herself in those who would have forgiven their missing teammate. Weiss knew, or at least she thought she knew, that Blake would never trust her. With a sigh, Jaune braced his shoulders and went for the distraction.
"If I knew making some crap like this up would be enough to keep you quiet I'd have done it a long time ago."
"What was that?" She was sitting up and levelling a glare at him in a flash. Jaune hid his smile, pleased despite himself to see her a little livelier. "I never said I was taking your advice to heart. Goodness knows you have to be the worst example of human empathy I've ever seen."
"Someone lacking empathy struggles to understand the emotions of others, right? I think you're pretty angry right now – did I get it right?"
Weiss didn't answer, or at least not in the vocal sense. Instead, a pillow bounced off his face as she huffed and rolled over, presenting her back to him. He thought about pointing out that the way she was laying made her skirt ride up, but he shook his head and turned over, granting his partner some privacy instead.
"I'm not going to give up on her."
"Hm?" Jaune heard the girl roll over once more, but he remained as he was.
"I'm not going to give up on Blake that easily."
"I never expected you to."
"I'm going to find her… then I'm going to force the answers out of her!"
Jaune blinked. Okay, not quite as lovey-dovey as he'd imagined. Maybe the whole forgiveness thing had been more of a last minute thing from Weiss in the other lifetimes. Not that it mattered, it always played out the same.
Team RWBY always came back together.
"Ugh…" A lance of pain burned through his skull, making him grip his head in both hands. "Just… just a headache, ignore me. What were you asking?"
"Won't you come with us?" she repeated. "You say you don't know why Blake left either. Why not try and find the answer?" Jaune wanted to sigh, but his head was pounding too much and he instead just grunted.
"For someone to want an answer there has to be a question they want to ask. There's nothing I feel I need to ask her." He already knew her reasons, what more was there?
"Why do you hate the White Fang so?" she asked.
Jaune sighed, bringing his arms up over his head, both to block the bright light from his eyes but also in a vague attempt to ignore the question. He could feel those pale eyes boring into the back of his head though.
"Who says I have any particular reason to dislike them?"
"You," she said. "Last night."
"I said they were scum, along with a few other things. Most people tend to have a poor opinion of terrorists, it's hardly anything special."
Weiss laughed, "Anything that can get a reaction like that out of you is definitely special. About the only emotion I've been able to squeeze out of you is various stages of distress at training."
"Do you want more?" he asked, grinning. The pain had started to dull a little, into what was just a normal, ignorable headache. "I could go for wildly in love, if that helps. Maybe call you Snow Angel."
The sound she made might have been something between a cough, a shout and someone trying to swallow a watermelon whole. It wasn't something he'd ever heard from her before and he desperately wished he could see the look on her face.
"Call me something like that and I'll show you real distress," she growled. "I can't imagine how annoying you would be if you acted like some lovesick fool."
"Who knows? Maybe I'd try my hardest and do everything you say in an attempt to impress you. I might even appear outside your door to serenade you."
Weiss snorted in quite the unladylike manner, "That doesn't sound like you at all."
"Yeah…" Jaune smiled sadly. He hadn't been like that for so long now, enough time that he could only vaguely remember that he'd once harboured such feelings for the girl. That and the niggling reminder in his head that he'd been absolutely insufferable about it, to the point that he'd somehow been able to miss Pyrrha's rather blatant attempts at catching his attention.
And how he could fail to spot her feelings, he had no idea. I must have been a complete wreck back then.
Still, it was sad to imagine how much he'd changed, though perhaps that was inevitable. Nothing stayed the same, or so it was for normal people. It felt somehow stranger for him, since he'd changed so much over the repeats, while everyone he knew remained the same. Of course they wouldn't change; to them it was only ever a year or two.
"Is our team really so annoying to you?"
The question caught him by surprise, so lost in thought as he was. But it was an opportunity nonetheless. Weiss was the last bastion of support he had.
"Yes." Jaune said. He couldn't see her, and that was perhaps for the best, she might have seen the deceit in his eyes. "Blake's a terrorist, Yang's a violent psychopath and you nag me all the time. I'd have to be an absolute masochist to like being here."
"Do you hate us that much?"
Don't sound so sad about it... Jaune flinched behind his arms.
"I do." he said.
It came out in a quiet breath, leaving nothing but the beating of his heart in his ears. He wondered what she would do. Would she shout and yell at him, accuse him of being a monster? He'd deserve it all, but it had to be done. The cut had to be clean so that they wouldn't be in agony when he left. If this was how bad they were when Blake vanished for two days, he couldn't let his expulsion cripple them.
"Liar."
Jaune froze. The tone of Weiss' voice, it wasn't angry or accusatory, more disappointed. He turned over in the bed to look at her, in time to see the frustrated look she gave him.
"You're such a liar Jaune Arc. If you truly didn't care then you wouldn't do half the things you do. You wouldn't have stepped in to have Yang help Velvet."
"I only did that because I couldn't be bothered to listen to all of you whining!"
"You also wouldn't have put up with Ruby. She's enough to annoy even Yang some times, yet you act like an indulgent big brother willing to listen to her no matter how bad she is."
"She's just a ki-"
"And you wouldn't have tried to help Yang at Forever Fall. You wouldn't have sat here and listened to me now – or accepted any of the training I forced you through. And you definitely wouldn't have helped Blake like you did."
"Helped her?" he laughed, trying to force as much scorn into his voice as possible. "Are we even talking about the same person? I don't think I've done much to help someone stuck out on her own in Vale."
He expected Weiss to give in, that she would bristle in anger – but instead she grinned like a shark.
"You didn't stay for Blake's confession," Weiss continued, never once looking away from him. "You left before she said what she had done, yet you haven't once been lost when I talk about her being a terrorist. You knew from the start exactly what she was, from the very first day you met her. You either knew, or Blake somehow felt comfortable enough to tell you."
And she definitely didn't need to narrow those down, since the chances Blake would have confided in him were pretty low. Jaune managed to hide his wince only because of experience but even then he was kicking himself inside. That was always the problem with time travel, remembering what was specific to this life and not the last, or any number of times before.
Weiss had involved him so casually in conversation that he hadn't even thought to consider what he should or shouldn't know. He was only lucky it wasn't something that could have ruined him.
"I knew she was in the White Fang," Jaune admitted. "But I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"You didn't tell anyone," Weiss pointed out. "You didn't tell us about it."
"It wasn't my secret to tell."
"Strange," the white-haired girl smiled, "that you would show so much respect to someone you apparently hate. If I disliked someone half as much as you claim to, I'd have run straight to the headmaster."
Jaune clamped his mouth shut. If she was determined to twist his words then he wouldn't give her any. Perhaps he'd already given her too many. She'd always been sharp, sharper than him – even with all his extra years. He was a fighter, someone who acted on instinct. He'd gotten better after all this time, but it seemed he still wasn't on her level.
"If it were me in trouble then, would you also refuse to help?"
"What?" Jaune asked, frowning slightly as the girl stared at him. "Where's all this coming from?"
"It's a simple question. It should be easy to answer if you feel like you do. If I was in trouble, would you leave me to suffer?"
That wasn't fair – it wasn't the same thing and he didn't know what to say. Blake wasn't in trouble, or at least not in trouble she wouldn't get out of. Jaune also had other things holding him back, like Ozpin's offer which still lay on the table. If he explained all of that then Weiss might have understood, but it would have led to other questions as well. Inevitably they would have been just as difficult to answer – like why he wanted to leave Beacon at all.
And here came his headache again, back like a sun burning the front of his brain.
To his infinite relief the opening of their door saved him from having to reply. Yang pushed her way back into the room, throwing something towards the two of them. Jaune caught it automatically, looking down at the assorted packets of food on the bed.
"This isn't what I meant by stopping for dinner," Weiss sighed, but he heard her tear open a packet and start to eat regardless. Jaune turned his over, noticing that they were field rations that Beacon made for students going on long missions or treks.
"I've already eaten," he said. The dried food was full of calories and very nutritious. It tasted like it too, in the horrible way only the healthiest of foods could. It was like eating cardboard with sand strewn over the top. Right now it was the last thing he wanted, since he felt more like bashing his head against a wall to make the pain stop.
"Great," Yang said, "Then you'll be full and ready to help us out in Vale. Ruby and Pyrrha say they've kept an eye out in Beacon but she hasn't been seen."
"You're going out again?" Jaune turned to the clock on the wall, "It's past seven."
"We'll have an easier time with less people on the streets as it gets darker. It'll give us an advantage."
"There's that troubling word again. You keep saying us and we, when I think you mean Weiss and you."
Yang didn't scowl, nor did she get angry at him. That was the first sign, and one Jaune didn't miss as he sat up on his bed. He'd spend enough time being friends with the girl to know how volatile her temper could be, not to mention spotting the signs of it. There was always a calm before the storm with Yang – and you'd have to be a fool to miss it.
"Nope," she said, echoing her sister, though he supposed that conversation hadn't happened this time. "You've had most of the day to yourself. Now you're coming out with us to find Blake."
"You weren't able to find a thing all day," he tried to be reasonable about it, but the way her skin darkened told him she thought he was rubbing her nose in it. "If she doesn't want to be found then she won't be. How can two people – or even three – be expected to find a single girl across all of Vale?"
"We have to try! I'm sorry if we can't all be like you and not give a shit, but my partner is out there and she needs our help!" Weiss winced as Yang's volume increased, or maybe it was the curse, Jaune wasn't sure. Yang usually had a pretty good grip on her mouth, usually for Ruby's benefit, but it slipped when she got really pissed.
"You don't know she nee-"
"You don't know she doesn't!" Yang roared. Weiss flinched and looked away, while Jaune weathered the storm as best he could. Heat rolled off her in waves, threatening to smother him. For a moment he wondered if they might actually come to blows.
But it winked out a second later.
"Please, Jaune…" and the soft tone of her voice made him wish she had punched him. "If you care for us even the slightest – even if you don't get on with Blake – then please… all I'm asking is a little of your time, the slightest bit of help."
Her eyes bore into his, her lilac irises filled with such emotion that it made him want to die. He could, couldn't he… it wouldn't be that much of a risk, would it? He wanted so badly to get rid of the pain she felt. Yang had always been such a close friend, to see her like this was agonising.
"Even the smallest improvement, just a sign that you could be a person that others could rely on to protect them. It would be enough to assure your place here with us."
Jaune swallowed the guilt, the resentment and the desire to help his friend.
"I can't."
"Can't?" Yang laughed, though there was no mirth in it. "Or won't?"
The pattern of his sheets was the only thing he could see.
"Okay," she said. "Well… I guess that's how it is. Not sure what I expected really. I mean… you don't even want to be here."
"What!?" Weiss gasped.
"I know it's my fault too," Yang ignored her, "but I guess I sort of figured I could make it up, or that we could make it work. I was wrong… I get that. It's just…" Yang sighed, pushing her hair back. "I thought for a minute that things might actually be working out. We were laughing, you hung out with us and you even helped me the other week when Cardin tried to throw sap at me."
He felt sick. Anger he was prepared for. It would have been easier to deal with. But the sheer amount of disappointment in her voice made his stomach roil. His headache had become worse, like waves crashing against a shore within his mind. He thought for a moment that he might pass out.
"I guess you tried, which is more than I'd have expected. So yeah, thanks for giving us a go." Yang turned away, walking to the door. She didn't turn as she pulled it open, nor did she look back as she spoke, "But if you hate us that much… then you don't need to pretend anymore."
Jaune and Weiss were left alone in the room, though from the way she slowly climbed to her feet he knew it would soon only be him. Perhaps it would be better that way. The room already felt suffocating, and that was just with the two of them.
"What did she mean you don't want to be here?"
"You should catch up with her," he dodged the question. "If you don't catch up then she'll think you're siding with me."
Weiss looked like she wanted to argue. She looked at him, then back to the door – before letting out a quick curse and rushing after the other girl. He wanted to say she made the right choice choosing Yang over him, but it still hurt.
"Well I messed that up…" he sighed. Gods but he felt so tired, so utterly and thoroughly exhausted. How could it be that this was harder than dying? It didn't make sense that putting himself through this could hurt worse than fighting a losing battle, of watching another lifetime slip away. Death and loss he was used to… but this felt like the first time in so long in which he'd actually disgusted the people he cared about.
Or maybe that was it. Maybe it was so hard because it had been so long since he'd been anything other than their best friend. Someone they could trust on to watch their backs, a teammate they could rely on. He was a far cry from that now.
But if he changed his tune, if he had agreed to help them… even if Ozpin didn't take it as a sign and still let him leave, it would just end with Yang, Weiss and Blake hunting him down. They'd travel all the way to Ansel if they had to, just to try and bring him back. He was sure of it. That was just the kind of people they were, utterly loyal to the people they loved. And so… he could not let them love him.
That necessity didn't make it hurt any less, however.
And of course, they still wouldn't find Blake. She would come back and this whole situation would be over and done with, but they weren't likely to forget that he'd stood back and refused to join in. Even if Blake didn't let it bother her, it was clear Yang would never see him the same.
"My damned head," Jaune groaned, gripping his skull with both hands.
Something was wrong.
He knew it.
"He didn't mean it like that," Weiss tried to catch up with the blonde, who was pushing ahead with reckless abandon. "Did you see him? He looks like he's sick!"
"Don't," Yang choked, and it was the croaky sound of her voice that made Weiss wince. Like she was fighting back tears that she refused to shed. "Just… just don't make excuses, Weiss." At any other time Weiss would have stopped, would have listened. She liked to think she'd grown though, in her short time with the team.
At the very least she'd grown enough that she refused to leave Yang to be upset alone.
"I think he does care," Weiss pushed on. "I… I don't think he fully means what he says, or at least not as he says it." It sounded weak even to her, but it wasn't something she could easily explain. "He has to have his reasons!"
"And what," Yang barked a bitter laugh, "would those be?"
Weiss winced, "I don't know. But that doesn't mean they're not important – or at least to him." And here she was, throwing his words back in Yang's face, even though she had barely understood them herself. If Yang knew where the wisdom had come from she'd have never taken it. All the better that Weiss wasn't going to mention it. "We have no idea what history he has with the White Fang… it might not be that he hates Blake. Maybe he's just afraid of what will happen if he sees her again."
"You have every right to be afraid of what might happen," Yang said, still not turning around to face her. Weiss made no effort to look at her face, worried that she might see tears and feel even worse. "Yet here you are, willing to at least try – even if you're not sure what will happen."
"That's me, though," Weiss whispered. "This is Jaune. We're not the same person; we're going to act in different ways."
"What do you think then?" Yang asked, turning at last to face her. The blonde girl's cheeks were clear, but her eyes were rimmed red. She looked so proud that Weiss tried to pretend she didn't see it. It was hard though, since the mere sight made her eyes want to water as well. "What do you think he feels about us all?"
That threw her for a moment. In some ways Weiss wasn't sure what kind of person her partner was. After what he'd said, she would trust he had a reason for his actions. But that didn't mean it made any more sense. Was his reason good or bad – and who for? In some strange way, some indiscernible manner, he almost reminded Weiss of her father. Not in the way he looked or acted, at least most of the time, but in the way he held himself back.
She knew her father cared about her. He always had, but that same caring had taken turns that she didn't agree with. He hadn't wanted her to attend Beacon. Instead he had wanted her to work within the company, to do something she hated… and he hadn't been afraid to try and force the issue. But that wasn't because he didn't care about her. In truth, it was because he perhaps cared too much, enough that he would be willing to limit and try to control her life, just to keep her safe.
She didn't think that was Jaune's reason here, or that he somehow refused to go with them because he wanted to discourage them from wandering Vale after dark. But that didn't mean he was just being lazy either.
"I knew about her being in the White Fang," he had said, "It wasn't my secret to tell."
But if he hated the White Fang, and if he was angry at Blake… then why worry over spilling such a secret at all? Why respect her enough to keep it?
"I don't know," Weiss admitted at last. "But one thing I do know is that Jaune is definitely lazy."
"What's your point?" Yang sighed, shoulders slumped.
"Well if he was truly lazy. If he really was completely apathetic and didn't care either way... then wouldn't he have agreed to come with us?" Yang spared her an odd look so Weiss hurried to explain. "What I mean is, surely the easier option is just to come with us – or to agree but not put any effort in? And if he really didn't care either way about us or Blake, then he would just pick the path of least resistance. A person like that wouldn't start an argument, because that's too much effort."
That seemed to make Yang pause. It didn't last for long, however, as a great sigh tore itself from the taller girl's lungs, her entire frame seeming to shrink an inch or two.
"I'm just tired," she said slowly, and the exhaustion in it made Weiss's forehead crease with worry. "One moment he cares, the next he doesn't, and even then it's never clear what he thinks or wants. It's my fault he's here and I've been trying so hard Weiss, so hard to make it work."
And Weiss still didn't know what she meant by that. Yang's fault he was here? Where? At Beacon – or this team in particular, and why would that matter either way? He was a student like them. He signed up, passed the tests and got in – just like the rest of them. She didn't ask though. Not when Yang looked stressed enough already.
"I've been back and forth so much," the blonde went on. "One moment I'm scared, the next I'm thrilled because it looks like he really cares, then I'm back into the dumps again, then excited once more. I can't keep doing this Weiss."
"I know Yang," Weiss said, wanting to help but not knowing how. "We can fix this though, give me a chance to talk to him – after we find Blake. I can make it work, I swear."
"I don't know Weiss." Yang tried to smile, but it came out a grimace. "I'm not a yo-yo and being yanked back and forth is making me feel sick to my stomach. It hurts too, since I'm never sure if he hates or likes me. Hell, just the other day Ruby was telling me how she thinks he's in love with me. Do you know how confusing all that is?"
"I do," Weiss said, thinking instantly of not just her father but also her sister, two people who also didn't make it clear how they felt. It was easier for Weiss, though, if only because of how busy they were but the fact that she didn't have to share a room with the two.
"I don't want to be the one who gives up," the blonde said, "but this… did you know Ruby's only my half-sister?"
"I didn't," Weiss said. She had half-expected it, since they looked so different, but the two were close enough that it never bothered Weiss. But if Yang wanted to talk then Weiss would listen. The girl looked like she needed it.
"My dad used to be married to my mum and had me." The despondent tone of Yang's voice told the heiress the tale wasn't going to be a happy one, and Yang didn't waste any time buttering her up. "She left soon after I was born."
"Why did she leave?"
"No idea." Yang laughed bitterly. "I didn't even get to meet her and she never gave a reason. Just lived with dad, gave birth to me and decided she didn't like it anymore. I never even got to see her, never received so much as a letter."
"I'm sorry…"
"Thing is," Yang went on, "I got over that, or I thought I did. But I've always wanted to know why and kept trying to find out, to hunt her down and demand an answer. I guess it's like you and Blake. I'm pretty sure the answer's going to piss me off, but I can't go on forever not knowing."
"And Jaune reminds you of her," Weiss sighed.
"Weird, I know. I didn't even know her, so how could he be like her? But after Summer, our other mother, went and got killed… I guess I started feeling like I had to know where I stand with people."
Abandonment issues, Weiss didn't say. It was fairly clear, however, and from the uncomfortable look on her face, Yang knew it too. For a girl who kept losing people, Weiss supposed it made sense that she would stick to anything that's stable. Was that why she was so desperately closed to Ruby? And of course Jaune would be the absolute worst person to be near Yang… since we can't tell how he feels.
"I think I understand," Weiss sighed, reaching out to touch Yang's arm. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to find Blake," Yang sighed. "I want to just get everyone together and see what happens. See if we can't force a final answer out of him. Out of both of them."
"And if either of them refuses?"
"Then…" Yang's face was agonised. "Then I'll quit. I can't keep doing this Weiss. I can't."
Would their team even survive? Weiss wasn't sure.
But she wasn't willing to give up just yet.
Jaune hadn't even gotten two hours to himself. He'd left the room almost as soon as they had, eager to escape the oppressing atmosphere and any reminder of the lifelong friends who weren't his friends. He hadn't been in the mood for anything. Not guitar, not training – not even sex. Instead he'd wandered aimlessly around the academy, steadfastly ignoring anyone who tried to engage him in conversation. No one had tried, perhaps because of how he'd staggered by, as though drunk. Occasionally he'd stopped to hold his head, the dangerous hum within rising to a crescendo as it threatened to overwhelm him.
He'd never had a headache so bad before… not once.
But eventually he found a place to crash, and crash he did – slumping into a corner with heavy breath. No one would find him there, or so he'd thought. And when he awoke in the morning, a night's sleep would surely have gotten rid of the pain.
That was where Ruby found him, knees drawn up to his chest, head resting atop them in the corner of some dark classroom. He heard her before he saw her. The rapid staccato of what could only be her boots and semblance combined audible down the corridor, before the door was wrenched open.
"I'm not in the mood, Ruby," Jaune growled, loud enough to make her flinch. The pain was throbbing behind his eyes, the pulsing sensation throbbing away. Even her brightly coloured clothes seemed to hurt him. His fingers came to his nose reflexively, coming away red.
For a moment he thought his harsh words might have been enough, as her face twisted with indecision and she seemed to gnaw on her lower lip. But she took a step forward.
"Yang is really upset." the small girl whispered. She was so quiet, yet in the silence of the room her words reached him without difficulty. His jaw ached as he grit hit teeth. Tell me something I don't know Ruby. You've always been a master of the obvious.
"Did she put you up to this? I'd have thought Yang cared enough about you not to throw you into the firing line."
"Yang didn't put me up to anything," Ruby said and sat down beside him. Her shoulders were stiff, as though she wasn't sure if he wouldn't knock her aside or something. He tried to tone down on how angry he felt. She didn't deserve his rage. None of them did – only two people had any right to be hated: Cinder… and himself. "I overheard her in the corridors," Ruby admitted with a sheepish expression. "I didn't mean to but… a-anyway, that's not important. She said how…" Ruby stammered, and there seemed to be a quiver to her voice, "she said how she might quit Beacon."
"She won't." Jaune said confidently. He knew she wouldn't because that had never happened before. Yang stayed at Beacon until the end.
"I wish I could share your confidence," Ruby mumbled – and it wasn't just her unusual choice of words that made him pause, but the way she said them. Was Ruby…? Well, it made sense that she would be angry at him as well. "Yang was really upset Jaune. This Blake thing has really hurt her – and it's worse because she thinks she is the only one who actually wants Blake back."
The accusation was clear, and if it weren't for the pain he felt he might have mentioned it. Instead he just sat there with laboured breathing, trying to gather himself and think.
"Weiss wants her back," Jaune said, and once more Ruby gave him a strange look. "I know how my partner thinks, Ruby. Trust me in that, even if it's the only thing you can trust me in."
"I do trust you," she said.
Jaune snorted. She had tried to hide it but he could hear the hesitation there.
"They'll find Blake and bring her back," he said. "And when they do, Weiss and Yang will welcome her with open arms. They're not going to let a pair of cat ears get between them."
Ruby gave him a small smile and a nod. Even if she wasn't sure what was going on, it was clear she still took him at his word. She would see, either way. It would work out. It always did. Blake always did this – she always ran, the stupid, stupid girl. And she always got out of it alive, that was a given. But that was because Ruby was always there to rescue her, and on those rare times when Ruby wasn't a member of the team… Jaune made sure to conveniently find a reason to drag her along to the docks. Or handle it himself. Or someone else would go and stop her; Weiss, Yang or Pyrrha.
"But even if they come back together… things won't be the same, will they?"
"Things change," Jaune grunted as he pinched his nose and looked towards the ceiling. She meant how things wouldn't be the same between Yang and him; it was always fairly obvious with Ruby. "You won't have to worry about it for too long." She shot him a worried look. "Holidays are coming up soon. Things will calm down after that, you'll see."
"I guess," Ruby smiled, and he felt a stab of guilt for what he truly meant. Things certainly would change. There wouldn't be any more arguments between Team Jazzberry for one, because they would be down their leader. "So are you going to hide here until it's all over?"
"I'm not hiding," Jaune said. It was a lie and they both knew it. He wasn't hiding from Yang though, but rather trying to hide from his own emotions. "It's just comfortable here."
"Hmm…" Ruby pushed herself back up, apparently having found out whatever it was she wanted. Jaune wasn't sure if he'd passed her test or not, likely not considering how he wasn't going to be moved to do anything. "I should go then," she said. "You… don't look very good, and I have to meet up with Pyrrha in the library."
What…?
"Aren't you going out into Vale?" Jaune asked, staring at her through one eye, the other scrunched shut as he massaged his temples. Why was his brain hurting so much? It was like something was screaming to get out. It was already getting on late; shouldn't she have already been dragged out by Yang to help look?
"Eh?" Ruby tilted her head to the side. The innocent expression was at odds with the agony he felt. "No… why would I?"
"What about the docks?" Jaune rushed, the pounding in his head seemed to reach its climax. Like static growing louder. For a second he thought it might knock him out. His vision swam but he fought past it to ask, "What about Penny?"
"Who?" Ruby asked, before her eyes lit up and she let out a sigh. "Jaune, her name's Blake, not Penny." The small girl sighed, apparently not noticing how his mouth fell open. "Besides, my team wants to go over homework together and Yang's asked us to keep an eye out if Blake comes back her- Jaune!? Jaune, where are y-?" He didn't hear anymore. The door slammed shut behind him but he was already briskly walking down the corridor, heart hammering in his chest. Ruby hadn't met Penny. None of them had, now that he thought about it. What was more; Ruby wasn't a member of Team RWBY. There was no Team RWBY.
That had happened before – of course it had. He'd tried so many different teams, done so many different things. He knew how they worked. He could go through the motions almost automatically. He had been for the last few decades, doing the same thing over and over, just changing little things to see what it changed.
And that was the problem. It was just one of those little things he'd gotten used to doing, almost without thinking about it. Like his training before Beacon, like running away from his family or throwing himself in front of every little attack that might have threatened his friends. It was as instinctual as breathing, which was what had made trying not to do it so hard. If Ruby wasn't on the team to save Blake then he'd always done little things to make sure someone else was. But this time he'd done something he had never tried before. He'd done nothing. He hadn't thought to put any plans in place, because he'd been so focused on forcing himself not to act like he always did. He'd just assumed it would go how it always did.
How it always did when he was actively trying...
Men and women shouted in shock and surprise as his power-walk broke into a mad dash, insults were hurled as he knocked students aside, but he didn't stop for any of them. A teacher shouted for him to stop, but he ignored it, barrelling through anyone that dared stand in his path, heart hammering in his chest. The pain in his head was gone, replaced now with perfect clarity - and a crushing weight on his chest.
He'd fucked up.
And Blake was going to pay the price.
Blake cried out in agony as her back struck hard granite, bouncing and skittering across it until she came to an agonised halt. Sun screamed her name, or he might have, she couldn't even tell. Her heart beat in her ears and it felt like she was concussed. One hand pressed down in an effort to push herself up but a booted foot cruelly kicked it away, sending her falling to the ground so that her cheek slammed into it.
Sun went down – and didn't get back up. Torchwick, that hated man, looked down on him and laughed, as though seeing someone defeated defending another was the most hilarious thing. Blake tried to reach for her weapon, but a faunus in a familiar uniform kicked it away. She looked up towards him, not recognising the face she could see under the mask.
He sneered down at her, the unknown dog faunus, with eyes filled with hate. Why did he hate them so, when they were the same? Were these new recruits, savage fools who cared for nothing but bloodshed?
Or was this how they'd always been… and she had just never noticed?
He had been right… as much as it agonised her to admit it. They had become scum. Or they had always been scum, she didn't even know anymore. It all hurt too much, outside and in.
"Well, well, kitty-kat," Torchwick laughed, strolling towards her. The White Fang laughed at the derogatory jibe, even though it should have made them furious. By this point she couldn't say she recognised them all, working with not only a human but one as racist as this. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's dangerous to be outside after bedtime?"
She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her. No matter what she said, no matter what foul curse she uttered, he would probably enjoy it.
Sorry Yang, she whispered to herself. I guess I won't be proving him wrong anytime soon… guess I won't be coming back at all.
And Sun was going to die for her mistake as well. Would that she could die twice in his place. It seemed too steep a price to pay for just wanting to help her. Blake tried to gather herself, to cast one last clone in a desperate attempt to retrieve Sun and escape. Her aura was already so weak, though. Poorly rested and recovered after having so little food and sleep. It hadn't been full when she engaged Torchwick, and after a firm beating it was just about empty.
"No words?" he asked, and she locked her teeth together. "Shame kid, but you know… I can get behind a girl who knows when to shut her trap."
He lifted his cane to point towards her, the hollow end a damning reminder.
"Nighty-night, kiddo." Blake clenched her eyes shut. There was a click, followed by a loud explosion.
And a rush of heat.
This turned out to be a very difficult chapter for me, mainly for pacing reasons. Originally this was about 3-4k longer, but College Fool and I clashed (meh, over-dramatic, more like we slouched and chatted) over what to include. I wanted to include more, he suggested against it. I decided to take that advice this time and see where it goes. So I went and cut around 3k, rejigged and changed a lot and came to this.
I thought as a kind of add-on to last chapter's AN about pacing, that I might actually explain a little decision making here to show you what i mean – it's spoiler-free. This chapter is obviously very much about the fracturing of Team JBWY, and that deserves a chapter to actually happen, to show it taking place and the fallout of it. In a shorter story where chapters are 5k or so, I'd have just left it at that – as a single chapter of them searching in vain while all blaming themselves. But the chapters are long… so I asked myself, what do I do? Do I play it as though there is two chapters? And write what I planned – but then go further as well? This is what I did at first, but despite the "length" suggesting it was like two chapters, it still felt super rushed.
And that's because if you both start and finish an issue (like this) in one chapter, it feels like it's being trivialised. It would be like writing a romance with a big break-up in the middle – obviously it's meant to be a scary moment and a big deal – but if you have them break up, make up and get together again in the same chapter? That feels like it's got no consequence. There's no time for the readers to get used to it, no time to let the characters fester or experience it. Ultimately that's what I decided here, even if it means the chapter is a little shorter than usual and also lacks action. The Team's problems – the effect it has on them… it needs to be profound enough, big enough, to be an issue. Which means it needs a chapter to itself, and not to be included as a mere intro to a big climax. In that case the readers would just remember and enjoy the climax, without coming to understand how difficult the lead-up is for the characters.
As a writer I know and appreciate that, but that's the trick question sort of… in a book you can turn the page to get more. Here you have to wait, and that makes things different, maybe... I'm not making excuses here as in the end I think the right choice was made, sort of… in fact, actually, I think the right choice would be to have had this as one chapter like this, but condense it to just 7k words or so and say "Short chapter today, sorry." In that way it would have the same effect but not seem to drag on. But I guess I felt like that might disappoint people and so pushed for more words. But is length for the sake of length really the right answer? I probably don't need an answer to that, lel – we all know it isn't. (I'm still going to stick to 15k chapters though, even if it's not the perfect choice. Rather than balk at how hard it is, I want to see if I can find a way to get around it.)
Anyway, I'm sure some will be disappointed that the docks isn't happening right now – but rest assured, it will happen next chapter and it will be big. The bigger the black moment, the bigger the climax. If this feels like a filler to anyone then all I'd like to say is that it isn't, this had to happen. There has to be this huge emotional break-up to make the story work. But hey, don't feel like you have to take my word on it. You'll see next time, I hope.
After all, "All that is gold does not glitter."
Next Chapter: 16th September
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur