Alright I'm back, settling into online classes was tricky but it's all weekly deadlines but very work at your own pace. I'm going to say Saturdays are when I'm going to update but maybe sooner if I can wing it.
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When Jaune finally settled his tray onto the cafeteria table he felt about ready for the day to be over. Thanking whatever deity was out there for this being a Sunday and thus no classes were necessary after, however, there were still five school days of this. So whatever god was watching over must have been moody today. The cafeteria was only half full by the time Blake and Jaune entered it as no one had to stay beyond the food they wanted to eat yet Pyrrha and Yang remained as well as team WRRN. There wasn't much Jaune felt comfortable trying but he needed to branch out and eat something healthy for a change, or so Amber insisted. It was Blake's howling gut that really surprised everyone at the table.
"Jeez, " Yang said when she was the tried looks from Jaune and Blake as they sat down and back to eat with a surprising lack of enthusiasm in spite of the lateness. "What did they have you to smash rocks in the sun for half an hour?"
"Don't ever get detention Yang," Blake sighed as she lazily scooped a spoonful of stew into her mouth. "They've found a legal loophole to commit torture on students..."
"Torture..?" The blond asked confused.
"I'm sure she's just being dramatic." Weiss rolled her eyes.
"You don't know princess, you'll never know." Blake hissed out darkly.
"Well if you're done with this overt dramaticism," Weiss sat up, somehow gaining an inch in height while moving as if she had practiced it, considering who she was it would surprise Jaune. "I would like to personally thank the two of you for protecting my family's business interest in this kingdom."
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked confused in part to how she knew.
"Yang here told me all about how it was you and Blake that fought off the White Fang at the docks."
"Yang...?" He turned towards his fellow blond who shrugged meekly.
"Didn't see the harm in saying anything, sorry."
Blake groaned. "Your welcome, I guess. The dust was already purchased and the SDC didn't even own it anymore."
"It's more on principle Blake, those vagabonds-" She seemed to catches herself at the last moment to correct with. "Those Faunus have been stealing shipments for years and it was about time someone did a better job stopping them in the act."
"Well, don't mention it because it wasn't exactly a sanctioned act."
"A sanctioned act or not I'm sure I could help you two in getting some high-quality dust," Weiss offered with a genuine smile. "Especially now with prices rising into the roof for most places."
"Dust from the heiress, well I suppose purer crystals for my staff doesn't make the docks a completely pointless venture," Amber said before adding. "Don't get any stupidly dim ideas Jaune."
He was about to ask when Blake spoke up. "I can manage for ammunition costs." It was a moody tone that was likely caused by the girl's disdain coupled with her still growling belly.
"What? Is this still about that argument we had?" Weiss returned with a huff. "Your sheer contempt for me while trying to be gracious is frustrating at best Belladonna."
"Bold of you to assume I was protecting your family's blood crystals."
"Blood crystals?" Jaune asked but when ignored.
"How dare you!" Weiss's exclaim sounded more like a squeal with coming from her voice but carried the intent none the less. "I won't have you ridiculing me or my family's company in any..." Her chest rose the fell as Weiss took a deep breath and allowed herself to calm down.
Next to her Ruby mouth a sorry towards Jaune even as Blake tried to reengage Weiss.
"Blake," Jaune clapped a hand onto her shoulder, this wasn't likely to end in anything but more fighting. "Let's just agree to disagree here?" Less a recommendation and more a plea to stop yet another pointless argument and Blake's amber eyes soften at blue.
"Okay, I'm fine..."
Jaune had excused himself from the others after lunch under the guise of going on a walk. Half it them were fine with it but Pyrrha was a bit insisted in wanting to come with, even Jaune felt a tinge of guilt when he brushed her off and left, she seemed sad about something. Yang has just said to leave him to his lady friend as well as pointing out the nearest bathroom with a wink that had Amber, and almost Jaune, groaning aloud.
A light breeze blew by his bench as he tapped away at the opened scroll until he found the most reasonable site he could find. Hard because finding anything on the subject that could be judged free of personal bias by the writer was difficult. Anything controversial in the current age would obviously have some form of subjective twist to it by someone pushing a certain viewpoint. The topic in question was The White Fang.
It didn't take long for Amber to question all this and Jaune had nothing to hide there.
If Jaune was to be a good team leader it might be a good idea to understand what this organization Blake ran off to fight was as well as her involvement in it. Might as well do that first part alone and allow the girl space. Now what the blond knew about the organization was from listening to the news which was mostly the White Fang causing trouble around the world, except Vacuo.
"Vacuo is far more opened to outsiders capable of surviving and properly integrating within their society, it's a rather an open place for foreigners and especially Faunus." Amber explained. "I do see where you're going with this, although I would advise just using the textbook, might be good practice for when this comes up in class."
"I'm not doing this to get a head start."
"No, but it seems more practical to me."
Jaune moved pulled the screen and learned of its founding and original purpose, a bridge between Humanity and Faunus after the great war then turned into a civil rights organization. Most of what he read was their founder Ghira and appeared he became the Chieftain of Menagerie but ceased working with The White Fang after he abdicated to Sienna Khan. If he left but Blake stayed what did that mean for her parental relationship?
It was a personal question he didn't feel comfortable asking.
"While sounding noble in and of itself," Amber said with a mental nod. "I do wonder why you're not asking Blake, a bit of trust should be afforded at this point."
"It's not from a lack of trust."
"Then why?"
"I don't... feel right talk about it all so soon, still barely knowing her and just digging into her past like that doesn't sit well with me."
"She told everyone much about her already," Amber pointed out. "Pyrrha and even her partner Yang never went along to the docks like you did, perhaps asking wouldn't be as damaging as you're envisioning it to be?"
"Blake chose to tell us that," Jaune said firmly. "That's what she was willing to say but asking more might feel like an invasion of her past."
Amber sighed. "May I press some advice into your hands?" She asked hopefully as Jaune nodded. "You'll never become close enough to someone if you never trust them not to flip out at you the moment you ask them something uncomfortable."
"I'm not afraid Blake's going to flip out on me-" Jaune tried to protest.
"Aren't you?" Amber swiftly interrupted him, she was getting this one way or the other it seemed. "You're worried she will push you away or be dissuaded from talking to you further if you ask anything."
"Blake's apart of my team..." Jaune started meekly.
"Who is supposed to watch your back for the next four years, all the more reason to place some faith in her, especially when the two of you have communicated before?"
Jaune perked up and stared glanced at around.
"What is it?"
"I felt like someone was watching me just now... never mind."
Jaune leaned back into the bench and stared into the sky. Were his fears really unfounded as Amber was saying and maybe even insulting to Blake? Would merely asking her really be as bad as he was making it out to be?
"So Blake," Jaune glanced down the hallway cautiously, the two were heading down for their second day of detention week. Monday hadn't been any better but perhaps Professor Port would have something better to do today or maybe neither of them should cling to false hopes
"I wanted to know more about you and The White Fang."
She perked up at this, her questioning gaze met his meek look. "You never showed interest in the days since, what changed?"
"You don't have to answer, just forget I said anything." Jaune nervously looked while rubbing the back of his neck.
"I'll answer it but just wanted to know why it's never come up until now." It had been nothing but small talk every time to two walked towards the classroom designated for detention. The weather, restaurants, movies, hobbies, just little things to better know one another and it was a fine distraction from the hell they were forced to willingly walk towards.
"I've... been working out with myself whether or not it's a good idea to ask," Jaune muttered. "You wanted to walk away from it and I didn't think that you'd be comfortable talking about it..."
"I am a little bit," She admitted straight out. "But I still feel like you're owned something so what do you want to know?"
"You said at one point you were fine with the violence, its why you stayed with them, but how much of it did you participate in?"
"Ah, yeah I can see why he kept waiting now..." Blake thought somberly.
The White Fang had more than a few board members from the SDC were publicly executed or raids on shops and transports went bloody. Even if he spoke out his support before the idea that Jaune might be teamed up with a potential murder must have crosses into his head at some point.
"I've helped raid a few trains of dust shipments before, they were always protected by bots and human crews typically stood down when we'd overcome those." She said and Jaune seemed to portray no further emotion but simple nervousness.
"I never wanted anyone to get killed in the process, hurt when we smashed a shop or two... although some would be killed or seriously wounded in the process, crippled them even," Blake spoke honestly, intending to earn Jaune's faith he was so eagerly placing onto her. "I'm here in part to atone for the part I played not too long ago."
"Were you high ranked?" Jaune asked more openly even if he was still spying around for anyone who could listen in, no one was of course. The bow on Blake's head didn't muffle her Faunus ears from hearing by any significant margin.
"Kind of, I was close to someone who was, and although it wasn't officially my word did hold some authority around camp."
"Okay then, so what are Blood crystals?"
"Its the common turned used in the White Fang to describe dust mined up by the SDC, they don't exactly give their labor forces the best gear or much protective wear. Dust is volatile so accidents happen."
"And Faunus die"
"People die." Blake corrected.
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by that I'm sorry," Jaune sputtered. "I-If Faunus is offensive then I won't use it-"
"It's not, but Faunus are not the only ones employed in the mines or harmed in them," Blake said assuringly. "It's okay, you didn't say anything wrong, it's something I came to realize in later years."
Jaune let out a sigh, Blake knew was trying to make her feel comfortable but was just overreacting. "You really don't have to answer this if you don't want to..." Blake turned her head to better face him, it sure sounded like he was going to ask something far more important to him now.
"You said you were born into The White Fang and your father was the previous leader but he never helped as far as I know, what happened there?"
Jaune cringed as Blake sighed loudly regret flew with every bit of air that escaped out. "You don't have to answer that Blake."
"I don't and won't, I'm not mad at you for asking Jaune, seriously." She quickly added that last part when he stared into the ceiling. "Whatever happens at Beacon I'm glad I managed to meet someone like you, and while I appreciate the gestures don't go beating yourself up over nothing." Blake smiled as she spoke truthfully, to have someone so easily giving her the benefit of the doubt was both heartening but left her feeling concerned by how trusting Jaune was being.
Not that she intended to abuse it in any capacity, whatever came up Blake would tell him.
"Thanks," Jaune's smile back was all the validation she needed to know he wasn't about to go blaming himself for acting rude. "He's trying and it's best that I do the same."
Neo sighed as she felt herself fade away from the scene and back into the dorm she was staying at. Blond boy didn't seem like much and it felt as if she was wasting her time by spying on him, he was having a conversation with himself then tried to hide it.
Definitely insane but not the fun kind like she was.
Yet Roman had gotten insistent that there was something about him that got Cinders panties in a twist. Whatever it was she doubted I'd be worth much, from what little she heard of this Jaune Arc is that he stood his ground against Bane. That man was bulky and quite menacing Neo would admit but Cinder was definitely on a different level.
"Guess this is what I'm stuck with until greeny and leg day do whatever it is they're cooking up."