-~~ KBTS ~~-

Ilia dropped down with a heavy sigh next to Blake on the couch. She leaned back letting her russet colored ponytail fall over the back of the couch. She stared up at the ceiling as if pleading for answers from the heavens themselves.

Ilia had been invited over for afternoon tea with Blake and her mother Kali at the home her parents were using as their temporary headquarters.

"Your friends are so weird." Ilia finally broke her meditative introspection. Then winced at how rude and out of nowhere that must have sounded.

Blake just took it in stride, simply slipping a ribbon into her book to mark the page before softly closing it. She gave Ilia a sympathetic smile and a bit of a shrug.

"Yeah sorry about Yang, she can be a little over the top, and Weiss is… a lot better actually. Unless it was Nora, then I can't really argue."

"No. The Schnee is…. surprising. I always heard she was the devil incarnate. Even back at school in Atlas the rumors were all about how cold and abrasive she was." Ilia let out a deep sigh again. "Just one more thing that's making me reevaluate my life."

"Then what, or who, is it that has you so weirded out?" Blake asked with a curious head tilt.

"It's that Blonde boy. The human. I just don't get him. He is annoyingly persistent though, and I'm not sure if he is stubborn or just dense." Ilia huffed with arms crossed.

Blake giggled a bit, that was typical Jaune all right. Before a sudden thought had her become deadly serious. "He wasn't hitting on you, was he?"

"I honestly don't know. Maybe? He kept asking if I'd like to be his partner or something.

"Oh… I see…" Blake's expression instantly saddened, and her ears drooped down. "Please. Tell me exactly what happened."

"Um, well… He caught me alone in one of the hallways. Showed me where the training rooms are. Watched me spar with some bots, and asked if we could talk. He asked if I was going to be travelling on with you guys. I said I wasn't sure. He said he was hoping he and I could go together, as partners. I said no a dozen or so different ways and he left. I tried to let him down easy. I really did! He looked pretty disappointed, but I kept telling him I'm not his type!" Ilia looked a tad guilty but mostly just frustrated.

"Oh… Jaune." Blake looked absolutely crestfallen. "Ilia, I think you misunderstood. Jaune was not asking to be partners in a romantic sense. In Beacon and the other Academies hunters are arranged into groups of four, two sets of partners. For example, I'm on a team with Ruby and Weiss, but Yang is my partner. My team, Team RWBY, is back together now meaning Ruby's temporary partnership with Jaune has ended."

"Oh, that poor boy! He has lost two partners in such a short time." Kali suddenly joined the conversation, bringing with her a steaming tea set that she set on the coffee table and went about preparing three cups.

Ilia only looked confused. "I don't get it."

"Jaune's partner was Pyrrha Nikos." Ilia's eyes widened in recognition. Blake just nodded. "Yeah, so I'm pretty sure he was asking if you'd like to join his team, as his new partner."

"But…why me? I never went to an Academy. I'm not a hunter. I mean I'm nowhere near as good as Pyrrha freaking Nikos. I'm just... I'm…. me." Ilia looked like she finally understood the magnitude of what was being discussed.

"Ilia, I think you better tell us exactly what he said and how the conversation went. Try to be as specific as possible." Kali sat down in the arm chair opposite the couch and passed a cup of tea to each of the girls.

With a sip of her tea Ilia began her tale. "So, there I was, walking down the halls of Haven. Just wandering down toward the training rooms. I was really hoping that I might find Blake, or even Sun there. I've never been in one of the Academies before. I wasn't really sure how things worked, but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to improve myself with these state-of-the-art facilities." Ilia paused to sip her tea, while Kali and Blake nodded along encouragingly.

"As I got closer, Blake's human friend exited the locker room behind me and called out to get my attention. At first, I accidently changed color to blue from the surprise, but I quickly spun around, ready to draw my weapon."


"Hey! Ilia, right? How's it going?" Jaune reacted in surprise and backed away slightly. Clearly not expecting such hostility. He stood there awkwardly with his hands raised to show his peaceful intentions. His hair was still damp and sticking out wildly in all directions, and he had a towel hung around his neck. "Whoa…uh… hi?"

"Sorry, just a little jumpy. The empty halls kind of have me on edge." Ilia relaxed a bit. But kept her hand on her weapon.

"Oh, were you going to go train?" He eyed her weapon, just as she eyed the sword strapped to his waist.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure exactly how the training equipment works here." Ilia shrugged.

"Well let me show you around then." Jaune held onto the ends of the towel round his neck as he strode past her and turned walking backwards so he could face her as he gestured to the doors that lined the halls. "Men's lockers are back over there, women's are across the hall. Weights, tread mills and exercise bikes, saunas, pool." He paused pointing at each door in turn.

"I just found out the pool has this cool system that lets you practice your moves and katas in the water. It adds resistance… and you already probably already know about that stuff…" He trailed off and looked away as Ilia gained a quizzical look.

"And here down at the end of the hall are the training rooms themselves. Do you have a scroll?"

She handed it over as he swiped it against the door. "Ok over here is the training area and the spectator area is over there. This panel sets up and monitors the fight, there are a few terrain options and you can order up some training bots and set the fight parameters here."

Ilia watched over his shoulder, as he brought up the different screens. Well technically it was more like over his arm given their height difference.

"Can you set it up for a 2 on one melee fight, with the bots at a 2nd year student level?"

"Wow, really? Sure, you must be pretty good to go 2 on one like that." He started entering in commands. "Do you mind if I watch. I'd really like to see how you fight with that weapon of yours, it's quite unique."

"Suite yourself." Ilia shrugged as she went to the center of the arena and began to stretch and warm up.

Jaune watched as Ilia decimated the robots, then reset with a 4 on 1 fight. That lasted a little longer, and one of the robots almost got behind her when she suddenly disappeared, only to reappear behind her attacker. Jaune wasn't sure if the robots were programmed to show emotion but he thought it certainly looked surprised when it saw the sword whip thing that had emerged from its chest.

Ilia was completely spent. It had been a great workout, but now her aura was deep into the yellow, almost borderline red, and she needed a breather. So, she headed to the bench where the human held out a water bottle for her. Nodding her thanks, she drained it and plopped down on the bench. He sat next to her keeping a respectable distance between them.

"That was amazing." He excitedly gushed while Ilia just raised an eyebrow. "The way you stunned that one bot with your lightning thingy, then used his body to block the others! That was so cool. And the way you disappeared for a bit there, was that your semblance, or just your Faunus abilities? Either way it was amazing."

"Uhhh, thanks? I guess." Ilia shrugged and turned away from the boy.

"Sooooo… I was wondering if you were planning on coming with us?" Ilia turned to face him, noticing he was suddenly quite serious looking. "It's just that if you are, I'd really like it if you joined me. I think your fighting style would compliment our team nicely. You're weapon compliments Nora's semblance quite well and you would balance out Nora and my own utter lack of stealth."

"What?" Ilia, didn't know where this was going, and wasn't sure what the boy was looking for her to say.

"Well I was hoping you would maybe consider being my partner?" He looked incredibly awkward and unsure of himself. Hand rubbing the back of his neck as he looked not at her but at the bench between them.

"You want me to be your what now? You know I'm a Faunus right?"

"Well, yeah…. But what does that have to do with anything? If anything, it would help out the team, especially during night ops."

"I was part of the White Fang! Still am, I think...maybe."

"Ohhh, well that's okay, so was Blake."

"What? ….Look you're a human, humans and Faunus don't really work together. Especially Faunus in the White Fang"

"Oh…. I see, you don't want to work with an un-enhanced person. That's all right, I know you likely have been treated poorly in the past. Those kinds of hurts run deep. I understand, I used to get bullied a lot too. I know it's not the same, but I do get it. Partnerships are built on trust, and if you wouldn't be able to trust me then I can see why you'd be hesitant."

"Wait… what? What did you call yourself?" Ilia was in shock at this point unsure of what was going on anymore. Was she being the bigot here?


"What?" Blake and Kali exclaimed interrupting Ilia's tale.

"Could you repeat that, what was it the boy called himself?" Asked Kali

"I believe he called himself an 'un-enhanced person'." Ilia shrugged. I asked what he meant and he said something along the lines of: "I don't like referring to myself as a Human, that implies that as a Faunus you are inhuman. And that has a negative connotation. So, I decided that since I am not enhanced with any animal traits, I'll just refer to myself as un-enhanced. It sounded less condescending than a Non-Faunus."

"Ohhh. I like that. I'm going to talk to Gira, I think we could use that." Kali looked contemplative.

"Yeah well it sure shook me for a loop." Ilia looked down, as she once again questioned her understanding of the world.

"Yeah, Jaune's like that. He looks at the Faunus's natural abilities akin to a second semblance or knowing him he thinks of it more like a superpower." Blake shook her head in amusement. "He once asked if there was a way to turn himself into a Faunus."

"Really now?" Kali smiled.

Ilia was flabbergasted, "But he's a Human! Why would he want to do that?"

"I know I reacted the same way. He really does see the Faunus as more than human, not less. Others see us as animalistic and therefore less than human. Jaune see's us as a human with additional abilities, so, enhanced humans. Regardless, Jaune treats everybody with the same respect. It truly is one of his most admirable qualities." Blake smiled wistfully. But her expression soon turned sour. "Although I'm starting to worry that he doesn't see everyone as equals so much as he sees himself as somehow inferior to everyone else."

"You're friend…. Jaune, he confuses the heck out of me. But that does kind of explain the rest of the conversation." Ilia took a moment to compose herself before continuing.


"You do realize I was not just a regular member of the White Fang right?" Ilia was looking at him incredulously. "I'm…. I didn't used to be a good person. I've done a lot of harm."

"Did you ever kill anyone?" Jaune almost whispered. But looked relieved when Ilia shook her head.

"But I have done things almost as bad. I lead a hit squad into Blake's house in Menagerie, so they could kill her parents and kidnap her for Adam, presumably so he could kill her too." Ilia stood and began pacing slightly, looking down shamefully.

"But you didn't actually do any of that. They are still here. Did you want to hurt Blake, or kill her parents?"

"No…"

"Have you ever wanted to kill someone? Not just kill them but really wanted to hurt someone, to make them suffer."

"No! I'm not a monster. Faunus aren't all killers and…."

"I have." His interruption completely derailed her tirade and left her gasping like a fish.

"I'm not a monster, I don't think I'm even a bad person. But the other day, fighting that woman, Cinder? She killed someone very important to me. I was so angry, I wanted nothing more than to see her dead. But after it was all said and done, I'm not sure if I would have felt good about it. But, I know for a fact I wouldn't have felt bad about it either. Sometimes you do things that are bad, things you might not be proud of, but you do them for a good… for the right reason." His fists visibly unclenched as he relaxed.

"I guess you were probably the same. Hurt and angry, like me. Then you realized that you were hurting yourself as well as others. And you decided to change. Now your trying to do good in the world. I'll tell you what I told Blake. Your past is less important than your future. I don't much care what you've done, but if you want to do good in the world, I'll support you however I can. What are friends for?"

"But we aren't friends." Even to Ilia's ears she sounded unsure of the statement.

Jaune just rolled his eyes. "Of course, we are. You're a friend of Blake's, so you're a friend of mine."

"But we're practically strangers!" Ilia was frustrated. Frustrated, confused, and a million other things, that all added up to not having the slightest idea of what to do or what was going on. Everything was so out of left field for her that she felt completely lost.

"Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Jaune proclaimed with all the certainty in the world to an increasingly frustrated Ilia. "Seriously though, none of that bothers me. You are a great fighter, an obviously caring person, and you're trying to make the world a better place. I'd be honored to have you by my side."

"I like girls!" Ilia shouted with more than a little desperation.

"That's fine. I don't judge. My sister Saffron is a lesbian too."

"What?" Ilia was again baffled.

"Yup. She and her partner, Terra, got married and are raising the most adorable little kid together. You might meet her if you come with us. She lives in Argus." Ilia just stood there mouth agape, staring at the frustrating mystery that was the boy before her.

"Look, you don't need to decide right now. I just wanted to offer the invitation. If you don't want to be my partner that's fine I guess. I mean I understand. Why would you want to be stuck with me of all people." Jaune's previously upbeat expression faded into a deep melancholy, as he stood up preparing to leave.

Ilia was shocked back to reality by the rapid shift in tone and his suddenly distraught look. "Wait… It's not you, okay? It's me." She winced with how much this sounded like a bad breakup.

"I'm not sure I'll even be going with you guys. I mean I still have responsibilities here, I need to fix so much… fix myself too." Now it was her turn to adopt a wistful and sad expression

Suddenly she was pulled into an embrace that was both startling and at the same time was oddly comforting. Her body rolling through several colors before settling on pink.

"Sorry. You just really looked like you could use a hug right now. And living with Nora has made me a bit of a hugger." He shrugged apologetically, the action jiggling Ilia's head. However, despite the apology he made no effort to relinquish his grip. He chuckled and she could feel the vibration through his surprisingly toned chest. Ilia found her own arms rising as if by their own accord to return the embrace.

"Take your time. If you need to talk or anything, or just want some help with something, I'll be there for you. But you decide what you think would be best for YOU, no pressure." And with those parting words he stood. Leaving behind the still bewildered and now fuchsia tinted girl. As he left the training room, his hands were in his pockets and he began whistling a sad tune.


"And then I came here." Ilia finished lamely. "I just don't understand. How can he, how can all your friends, be so accepting?"

"They are pretty amazing people aren't they." Blake said with a smile.

"But everything I've done, the things I've tried to do…. How can they just accept that? How can they be so willing to forgive everything and accept me as part of the team? As a friend?" Then in a much quieter voice, Ilia whispered, "How can you still accept me as a friend?"

Now it was Blake's turn to hug the girl as Ilia turned an even brighter shade of pink. "You and Jaune are a lot alike you know. I think you would make good partners. You're both caring, driven, loyal…you're both caught up in past events, and you both don't think oh yourselves highly enough to realize you are worthy of being cared for. Of being loved." Blake released the hug and with a teasing smirk added. "And you're both into girls apparently."

Kali giggled as she to moved in to give Ilia a comforting squeeze. "It's good to see she got something from me, other than my good looks." Kali gave Blake a knowing smirk. "I haven't seen you joke around in a very long time Kitten."

"Yeah well, you can thank my friends for that." Blake said smiling at Ilia. Who bashfully returned the smile.

"Seriously though Ilia. You should think about what Jaune said, if you want to join us there will always be a spot for you." Blake looked out seemingly through the walls toward where she knew her team was staying.

"So does this mean you've decided dear?" Kali asked, with a slight tilt to her head.

"Yes, I'll be joining my team on their quest to get to Atlas." Blake said with a fire in her eyes.

Kali and Ilia shared a knowing look. "I don't think any of us expected anything different dear." She walked past her daughter giving her a pat on the shoulder.

"I haven't made up my mind. But I'm not sure this is something I'm ready to get involved in." Ilia said pensively. "I mean the stuff that happened at Haven was crazy. And I know the people pulling Adams strings were some seriously dangerous individuals. I'm just not ready. Besides I think I'm still wanted on several counts in Atlas, and I'm not all that keen to return there just yet."

"It's okay Ilia. I'm sure our paths will cross again. There is a lot of this story left to go after all. I mean we're still teenagers for crying out loud!" Blake's eyes held a mirth and a purpose that had been long absent.

Ilia picked up on the feeling and decided to turn the tables. "So I guess I would have had a better chance if I'd just done this?" Ilia asked while shifting her hair color to a golden blonde.

"I-I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Blake silently cursed at her stammer.

"So which one is it going to be? Sun, Jaune… Yang? Maybe all three? I won't judge." Ilia wiggled her eyebrows.

Blake just blushed and stammered.

"Seriously Blake, is there something between you and Jaune? From what little I've seen; you seem much more relaxed around him than Sun." Ilia gave her a reprieve from her teasing, but her curiosity was piqued. She certainly seemed to hold the huma…. Jaune in high regard.

"Nothing like that. We are friends, close friends, but just friends."

"But you've thought about it haven't you. What it'd be like to have more with him?" Ilia continued to prod noting Blake's shift to a more defensive posture.

"Maybe, but it's no different than with Sun." Blake was blushing heavily.

"I doubt that." Ilia raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You have to have stronger feelings for one than the other."

"I just don't know, I'm really not sure if I'm ready to be in a serious relationship with either of them."

"Sooooo, Yang then?" Ilia smirked.

"No. I don't think I could feel that way about a girl. Sorry Ilia, I mean I just don't feel that level of attraction, I never have had that kind of spark when I think of being with a girl."

"Yeah, I figured that out a long time ago, I just had a lot of trouble letting go." Ilia looked away and rubbed her arms, sadness mixed with regret forcing her to look away. She took a centering breath before deciding that the best defense was a good offence.

"But do you feel that spark when you think about Sun? I mean those abs? Even I can appreciate a specimen of masculinity like that. And he IS a Faunus." Ilia started looking resigned but ended with a bit of a teasing light to her eyes.

"I think Sun and I would be good for one another, we'd work out. I know he would work hard to make sure I was happy. But I…. I'm just not sure. I feel like the only real thing we have going for us is the fact that we're both Faunus. I mean intellectually I like him. I just don't feel it… You know?"

"Your heart isn't in it." Kali gave a knowing look, as Blake nodded.

"So…. Jaune? You obviously like and respect him, but do you feel that spark in your loins when you think about him?" Ilia prodded.

Blake's blush in response spoke more than words ever could.

"And you can picture a future with him?" Kali's voice lacked its usual teasing quality, just harboring a naked curiosity.

"Yes." Blake swallowed her embarrassment.

"You've thought about it a lot, haven't you? You've thought about what it would be like to marry the boy. I bet you pictured what your kids would look like?" Kali's teasing ways were back in effect.

Blake just nodded. "It was mostly Yang's fault." She grumbled under her breath.

"Well I say go for it. There is no reason to hold back your heart." Kali gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Mommmmmm. It isn't that simple."

"You're a teenager. You always think things are life and death. Just go with your heart."

"My heart led me to Adam." Blake deadpanned.

"Well this is different." Kali stated as Ilia nodded along.

"How." Blake looked honestly curious as to what they would say.

"It just is." Kali had all the confidence in the world.

"It's Jaune." Ilia shrugged.

Blake smiled. "It is. Isn't it. But it can't just be that simple." Kali rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Well it'll be a bit harder because he is a human, sorry… an un-enhanced individual." Ilia pointed out. Though having now met both boys she was not at all surprised where Blake's interest truly lay.

"I really don't think that would matter, to him, or to me. And if we are okay with it everyone else won't matter so much." Blake shrugged.

"Yeah I can see that. You always did want to improve human-Faunus relations. No better way to lead than by example." Ilia sighed

"I can't wait to meet the young man. He certainly has made an impression on the two of you. I've heard nothing but good things from our little smitten Kitten, and he won you over pretty quickly too, Ilia."

"Don't call me that in front of Yang." Blake pleaded.

Ilia just shrugged and nodded in agreement. "Honestly? And I never thought I'd say this about a human, but I think Jaune is the better choice. He just makes you happier. You act different when you are around him. Happy in a way I've never seen before. He really is an extraordinary man, isn't he?"

Blake sighed, "You have no idea, you're only scratching the surface. He truly is an incredible person. If only he would believe that too."

-~~ KBTS ~~-


AN: I love the idea of Ilia and Jaune having something of a bromance. Ending up best buds, despite the apparent conflict in interest (at least within this story). I was hoping Ilia would join JNPR in cannon. They could have even kept pronouncing it the same just spell it JNI(P)R, silent P in memory of Pyrrha. Alas, Roosterteeth (the actual owners of RWBY, FYI) did not make it so. Expect more Ilia/Jaune interactions next chapter as well, when they go on a Dudes night out with team SSSN.

In this chapter I wanted to explore not just Ilia and Jaune's interactions, but also Blake's continued journey towards the realization of her feelings. Ilia and Kali prodding her along this time. Expect her feelings to come to a head by the end of this volumes arc around 4 more chapters or so. Still about 6 or 7 chapters before I have them make Knightshade official though.

Also, at the risk of beginning a shipping war you will notice some not so subtle digs at the Bumblebee ship. I'm not one to judge who someone loves, but I feel it came from nowhere in season 7. Well not nowhere, it came from lazy writing and a blatant act of Fan service. Last I looked Bumblebee had the highest number of fanfics and always tops the polls. But in terms of cannon story it was out of character for either and both of them. Yang always talked about hot guys, Blake had Adam and Sun yet didn't even notice or consider Ilia might have had feelings. I guess it just confuses me, they allude to Bumblebee heavily in season 7 and if that's the cannon ship they want to go with that's fine. I'll be disappointed, mainly because that will make it really hard to keep this story going. But it's not like I'm going to rage quit RWBY over it.

I just wish there was some onscreen development to back up why they went that direction. If they even do decide that's where they want to take the show.

Sorry. Rant over. Please carry on with your lives however you chose to live them.