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Chapter Twenty Two: The Approach of Destiny
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"That's a big Ursa!" - Speech
'I'm so tired.' - Thoughts
[Game Announcement]
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I don't own RWBY or The Gamer.
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"I'm sorry." Yang lowered her voice as people walked by in the fairgrounds. "You said you liked Jaune?"
"I think so," said Ruby shyly.
"Huh. Now I'm wondering, since when did I become the authority on boys?" wondered Yang.
Ruby shrugged. "I mean come on Yang. You're. Yang."
"Yeah but I've never even had a boyfriend before," Yang said. "And now you like Vomit Boy? As in. Romantically?"
"I'm pretty sure. He's still being nice to me even though he's dating Pyrrha."
Yang sighed. "See that doesn't mean he likes you. I don't think I needed to point that out."
"I know but I don't know why I can't stop thinking about how nice he's been to me. How sweet he is."
Yang looked at her sister. "Yeah Jaune might be cool and all, but he's the king of dweebs. The guy doesn't make any sense. He's half part fighting machine half part goofball."
"That's why I think I like him. I'm a lot like that too I think." Ruby said.
Yang finished her pretzel. "Okay, all I can't really offer you good advice. I honestly don't know how he or Pyrrha's gonna react when they find out but it's them that matter. Not me."
"Really? You don't think I care how you feel about this?"
Yang nodded. "Oh, I know. But it doesn't change the fact that they're the ones involved in this. Pyrrha and Jaune have a good thing going. Don't see how or why you'd want to change that?"
"Who said I did? I didn't plan on changing anything."
"Right which is why you just admitted to having a crush on Jaune."
Ruby spoke slowly. "Well. That's why I wanted to talk to you about what I should do. I don't want Pyrrha and Jaune to stop dating because of me but I'm still conflicted about them dating."
"Here's my advice. Tell Jaune how you feel. I don't think he'll just stop dating Pyrrha for you but he should at least know the truth. How long have you liked Jaune like this?"
Ruby looked aside for a second. "Let's see, we had that walk on the beach since our summer trip in Vacuo so. About a couple of months."
"You've had a crush on Jaune since Vacuo and you didn't think to tell me?"
Ruby shrugged again. "Well, I didn't think it was anything at first. Then the more I realized how much seeing him with Pyrrha made me feel, the more it changed."
Yang laughed a little. "This semester just gets crazier and crazier."
"So I should confess to Jaune? What would that do to him? What would that do to Pyrrha?"
"I have no idea." Yang raised her hands defensively. "Hey, I hope it goes well. I honestly can't imagine the nightmare he'd have with two girls fighting over him. Especially since Nora got all defensive over him on the beach."
Ruby decided she should wait for the right time before talking to Jaune.
~000~
Cinder shook her head in disappointment as Emerald sighed next to her. "Why'd they have to pick the idiot instead of the redhead? Can't believe they went through with it."
"Not everything is ruined because of him, the tournament still can be interesting," said Cinder knowing the few people around them were too busy cheering to listen to their quiet conversation.
Jaune watched as he knew this match would not be easy. When he walked out on stage, he knew the Gamer noted this would be his toughest match yet.
[Penny Polendina LV 38 - Student]
"Hi there friend!" she waved to him from the other end of the stage. "I hope we have a great fight!"
Jaune smiled back lightly, drawing his sword and shield and getting into his stance. He was only about two levels higher than her, but he knew that if he could just overwhelm her with superior STR and his Speed Demon perk, Jaune would probably win.
The stage raised, and the lights were set for the opening round of the singles fights.
Port started the countdown. "3! 2! 1! Go!"
Despite being a few levels higher than her, Penny provided a significant challenge to Jaune. She was fast enough to not get hit early on, and her swords moved quickly enough to provide a decent barrier.
Staying light on his feet, Jaune dodged the flying sets of swords before charging right at Penny. She evaded while summoning the swords to spin together and send green energy blasts at him. Jaune dodged all of them before finally closing the distance between him and Penny. His blows were monstrous, but her swords moved fast enough to stop her from taking serious damage from Ina.
Penny moved forward to strike Jaune but he countered while she was attacking. In a successful shield bash to the face, Jaune sent Penny flying back. The whole stage rang loudly after the blow, and Jaune raised his shield to brace himself for the coming attack.
Penny flew across the stage at full speed using her energy beams as a sort of jet pack before trying to kick Jaune as hard as she could in the chest. Parrying the blow in time, Jaune slipped Penny's attack off, making her lose his footing.
Doing a front flip over his opponent, Jaune swung while in mid-air. Penny's blades swung over her head in a desperate attempt to block but she still took damage.
According to the Gamer Jaune knew he had lowered Penny's aura by about a third, while he had barely used more than a tenth.
Jaune then played it safe, staying at long range and waiting for Penny to attack him. Her swords would swing down in spinning sets that he dodged easily, and her energy blasts were evaded as well. Then, Jaune's finely tuned combat instincts told him he had waited long enough.
Jaune's strategy to face Penny was an onslaught of blows so strong that Penny had trouble blocking them. Pulling away, Penny moved to a different part of the stage using her swords to protect her exit from the exchange. By this point, Jaune knew he had won.
He hadn't taken any decisive hits, and he had more than established control of the arena's ring.
Slipping his head off-angle to build up a strike while Penny's swords glanced harmlessly off his shoulder armor, Jaune closed the distance between them in a single swipe of his sword. While he knew this would be blocked, it was a setup attack for his leg sweep.
Penny jumped in time to avoid it, her attacks ringing off Jaune's shield during his slide tackle.
Losing her footing, his opponent watched as Jaune was able to get a read on Penny's attacks from how high his DEX was and how much speed his perks gave him. He timed counters so well that Penny had no idea how he was able to adapt to her Floating Array so well.
Reeling back from taking a sword thrust directly to the chest, Penny slipped away in time under the speed and strength of Jaune's attacks. The worst part was that he wasn't even going all out when Penny was trying her very best to remain on the ring.
It was clear just why every opponent Jaune faced up until now was so outmatched. Even Penny had trouble landing her attacks and Jaune was on the offensive the entire match.
Doing a side flip over Penny's spinning sets of swords, Jaune flung his shield directly through Penny's swords in a very precise attack that surprised everyone watching from how well executed it was. Jaune had used the fraction of a second he had to slip his shield directly into Penny's chin when she was protected by three different trios of swords in the air.
Jaune's shield hit her so hard that Penny's aura hung above the red with only about a third remaining.
Finishing the fight, Jaune had the speed to catch his shield after it bounced off Penny's chin and use it to land completely on Penny using the tiny window of time presented to defeat her. The entire arena cheered when Jaune smashed his shield with all he had into Penny and made the buzzer ring loudly when he won the match.
[You have gained +3000 EXP!]
[You have gained +2 DEX!]
[You have gained +1 LV!]
Quickly looking at the EXP gain he got, Jaune noticed he should help Penny.
Helping up Penny from the ground, the girl shook her head. "Wow! Those were some skills you have! I thank you for such a good fight friend!"
Jaune wondered why she spoke so awkwardly. "Um. Thanks?"
"With that, Jaune Arc has more than opened up the singles round! What a tremendous display of skill and speed!"
Jaune walked off the stage to be congratulated by his team as the randomizer picked Yang against Mercury. Not surprised that what they'd chosen worked, Cinder looked to her follower.
"You know the plan." Cinder spoke into his ear before he left.
He nodded, making sure no one heard him either. "Yeah yeah, let her win, make her panic."
When Mercury walked out on stage, he was really disappointed he had to let Yang win.
Jaune watched the fight begin carefully as Oobleck spoke. "3! 2! 1! Begin!"
Yang's punches were in a series Mercury easily read in about four seconds. However, despite the fact that he could finish the fight quickly, Mercury let her get close enough that he had to block each punch one by one.
Dodging a kick, Mercury checked a follow-up kick before kicking Yang right in the stomach. Moving her back, Mercury slipped a punch before missing one of his own, using his legs to catch Yang while she attacked.
Catching her in a headlock, Mercury used his legs to spin her onto the ground.
After that, Mercury tried stomping directly onto Yang's head but she spun away in time. Yang shot gauntlet blasts that Mercury could have yawned at from how well he dodged them. Mercury then released silver dust blasts from his legs so strong that Yang watched him spin them into a tornado before she could do anything about it.
Sending them flying down into her, Mercury turned around smugly knowing Yang was still in the fight. Brushing his shoulder off, Mercury taunted her to the crowd.
In a fiery rage, Yang's hair was lit on fire when her semblance was activated. Yelling, Yang cocked her gauntlets when she took her stance.
Mercury rolled his eyes. Now came the part where he really had to hold back.
Yang flew forward unloading blows that Mercury let connect one after the other. Still not wanting to end the fight so early, Mercury dodged a kick to land a flying kick of his own right to Yang's temple.
With her semblance activated, each of Mercury's counters may have lowered Yang's aura as they dealt damage, but they only added to the power of her own blows. Yang blocked a kick off her elbow to land a strong cross to Mercury's eye.
Reeling back, Mercury smiled tauntingly knowing he would have dodged had he not been ordered to let her win.
He still didn't make the end of the fight easy, being quick enough to dodge or block enough of Yang's strikes that he became a challenge still. Yang knew that if she didn't win soon, her aura would simply run out from how much she putting behind each attack.
Landing a decisive blow, Yang's roundhouse caught Mercury in the middle of his counter. Staggering him, Yang ran forward to win the match. She checked Mercury's kick while sending an uppercut flying into his chin.
With the buzzer sounding, Yang took a deep breath.
As she turned and smiled at the crowd, Mercury spoke rising up from the ground. "Think I'm finished?"
Yang watched as Mercury attacked her, and she punched his leg while he flew through the air.
Everyone else watching saw something else.
Yang watched as the crowd gasped and booed. Jaune had no idea what just happened, it being very strange for Yang to try and hurt her opponent with his aura so low.
As Mercury faked his pain, his legs not remotely hurt from the blow, Atlas Military androids surrounded Yang. "Yang Xiao Long! Surrender yourself immediately!"
~000~
Nora practically threw the door open to RWBY's dorm room, ignoring Pyrrha behind her when she interrupted Yang's conversation with Ironwood. "General! Please stop, and think about what you're doing!" pleaded Nora.
"Think about what I'm doing? You saw what happened. So did millions around Remnant. Your friend here has crippled another student."
"But he attacked me!" said Yang.
Ironwood sighed. "I understand why you want to protect your friend," he said to Nora. "But the decision has been made. Team RWBY has been disqualified from the tournament, and will not be going on to the finals."
"That isn't fair! I know what happened was strange but Yang never would hurt someone like that." Nora said. "I know her. She wouldn't do something that violent."
"I already spoke to Professor Ozpin. You've beaten Atlas' top student already," Ironwood said to Jaune. "Vale still is moving on to the finals."
"Yang just got booted out of the tournament and you're all playing politics?" Nora laughed. "That's so wrong!"
"The decision's been made Ms. Valkyrie. The tournament has earned enough bad publicity already, we shouldn't even be letting it continue." Ironwood walked past Jaune and his team as he spoke. "This tournament is starting to look like more and more of a mistake every day. I'm hopeful it will change next weekend."
"What do you mean?" asked Jaune.
"Your performance so far in the tournament has inspired many. People have heard how you were ranked at the bottom of Glynda's class when you began here at Beacon. It's the only redeeming quality I've found in the tournament. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of how history can repeat itself."
Weiss crossed her arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Vale has been known in the past for being overly aggressive. In the War, it commanded enough strength to almost rule the whole world. Jaune here has ironically shaped the way Vale's been viewed. Until Ms. Xiao Long's performance here. Almost ruined it." Ironwood shook his head. "It disappoints me to see this happen," he said before he left.
Nora shook her head as she left to her own dorm. "This is ridiculous."
Teams RWBY and JNPR left the dorm before Jaune stayed behind to talk to Yang. "Hey."
"Hey." she looked out drearily from her dorm window.
"Yang, I know this was all strange but Nora had a point. Why would you do that?"
Yang sighed. "I thought you'd get it. I'm sick of repeating myself so many times. He. Attacked. Me. I saw what I saw."
Jaune considered this for a second. Team CFVY was clearly outmatched during their match against CNME but it almost seemed like they were so lost they had no clue what was going on. And Yang's fight against Torchwick the semester prior had already proven to him that semblances can alter the way people look at things.
"Hm," Jaune said. "I have a theory. It seems a bit flimsy but here goes."
"All right," Yang said. "I'm all ears."
"You legitimately thought Mercury was attacking you. But someone was making it seem like he wasn't. I don't have much to back it up, but people's semblances can come in all shapes and sizes."
"Huh. Sounds crazy, like, completely crazy."
"I know," said Jaune. "But it's the only logical explanation why you acted so strange. Otherwise, you basically tried breaking that guy's leg for no reason."
"If that's true, why didn't you back up Nora just now?" Yang asked.
"Because it doesn't remove the fact that none of this makes sense. Why would you honestly believe that Mercury was attacking you? Did you just suddenly develop hallucinations, just now, all of a sudden, right after the fight? I initially thought all of this was too weird to believe, but it all made sense."
Yang scoffed a little. "How? Sounds completely mad."
"A lot of stuff hasn't made sense since I got here at Beacon." began Jaune. "Why have the White Fang stolen so much Dust? What do they plan to do with it? Why did they try to attack the city last semester? Why has Atlas basically occupied the city?"
Yang nodded slowly. "Yeah, that sounds pretty reasonable. Ruby and I had the same questions at the end of the spring semester earlier this year."
Jaune realized just how much Gamer's Mind was letting him process things rationally. "It just makes no sense that all of a sudden you'd go completely crazy. I honestly believe that you were seeing something no one else was. Otherwise, you're crazy but not really?"
"Even what you saw?"
"Yeah even what I saw," said Jaune. "Hey. Don't get so down."
"Why? I just ruined the entire tournament." Yang looked crestfallen. "Who cares if you win or not? I ruined." Yang covered her face in shame. "I ruined everything."
Jaune put his hand on her shoulder. "I felt the same way too."
"How? You're half hero half dork now." scoffed Yang.
"I think you guys forget this too often," Jaune said. "But I felt like. Garbage when I first started out here at Beacon. I couldn't do anything right. Cardin beat me up every day, I couldn't be honest with Pyrrha, I sucked at well. Everything."
"But you didn't ruin everything for everyone though."
"In a way. I felt like I did," admitted Jaune. "I didn't think there was any hope that I could even finish my first semester at Beacon, forget about becoming a Huntsman. The worst part was, I honestly believe it was over."
"So why did you stay?"
"Pyrrha told me something that basically changed the way I felt about it all. She told me I could always ask for help if I needed it. It showed me that I could become a Huntsman just like everyone else." Jaune said. "And if I could think everything was gonna be okay? Me? Jaune Arc? King of failure? Then you sure as can too."
"You really think so?" Yang asked.
"You're Yang Xiao freaking Long!" Jaune made her smile a bit. "You're confident! You're tough, you're awesome, you're. You're super cool."
Yang kept smiling lightly. "You're not half bad either. You can be really supportive when you want to. I can see why Pyrrha likes you so much."
"Thanks. You know I'm not too thrilled about how the tournament turned out either. But if we can beat the White Fang. Twice? And Roman Torchwick. Twice? We can do anything together. I know it."
"Jaune um, now that we're speaking honestly. There's something I have to ask you. Can I tell you something?"
Jaune nodded. "Sure, anything."
"Do you know about what's going on? About what's really happening? About what Ozpin's really hiding?"
Jaune said nothing for a moment. "Why do you ask?"
"Someone pointed out something very true to me. That if Ozpin has nothing to hide. Then why is he so vague about everything?"
"Vague? In what sense? Why're you worried about this?"
Yang shook her head. "Why wouldn't I be? People's lives could be in danger because of what he didn't tell us. I need to know because I care about my sister. My uncle, my team. And, you."
"You don't have to worry about me Yang."
"I do. That's why I want to know what you know. Tell me the truth. About everything."
Jaune exhaled loudly. "You wouldn't believe it anyway."
Yang's expression changed. "Jaune. I need to know."
Jaune stayed quiet for a second before he looked back at Yang. "All right then."
Yang nodded quietly.
"I've known about this for a while but. Ozpin's lying. About Beacon. He told me that Huntsman and Huntresses are officers in a way. Just like in the war he learned about in class, only we don't even know what it's for."
Yang looked puzzled. "I don't understand. What for?"
"He was vague to me too about it. But all I know is that there's a group of people, women actually. Called Maidens, one for each season. They have access to some sort of secret power, and that's the reason why Beacon's here. To help protect it."
Yang's eyes widened. "That must be why Atlas came. It must be in trouble."
"It was. But after I helped. Ironwood and his army stayed. Which means that they're not finished. They. The people, this strange ominous thing that's behind everything. The White Fang, Torchwick, all of it. Someone needs what Ozpin's hiding. And they're willing to kill for it. I know they at least tried killing one person for it."
Yang squinted at Jaune. "You knew all of this. And you kept quiet about it for this long?"
"I didn't see an alternative. Ozpin told me it was for the best. While I doubted him, I didn't doubt your uncle in the slightest. He was the one that really convinced me. I knew that if I wanted to become a Huntsman so badly like he was, I should lead by his example."
Yang made eye contact with Jaune. "So I didn't just ruin everything. It was already ruined. Things are. Screwed. Badly. How are they supposed to get better when we're in a secret war we don't even know what for?"
"I think they will but. You could ask your uncle too. He was the one I trusted, not Ozpin."
Yang considered what her mother told her. Even if she promised Qrow to never go looking for her, she was right. At least about how Ozpin was lying to her.
"You made the right choice then about Qrow." sighed Yang. "Jaune, why would you want to keep this a secret?"
Jaune nodded slowly. "For the longest time, I thought it was for everyone's safety. Until I started dating Pyrrha. Until I saw you hit Mercury in the leg. Something is very obviously messing with us that we don't know about."
"Ozpin has to know. We deserve to know the truth."
"I agree." Jaune said.
Yang smiled again. "I really owe you. For being so supportive. For being so honest. Hard to believe you were the same guy Cardin kicked around all the time before."
"It's hard for me to believe too," Jaune said accepting the quick hug Yang gave her.
"I still feel like crap but. You really helped clear things up for me. Thank you." Yang said.
Jaune left the dorm room with her glad he could at least try to make Yang feel better.
~000~
After dinner that night, Ruby walked up to Jaune and Pyrrha as they held hands. "Hey Jaune. Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure. Uh, I'll see you at our room." Jaune smiled at his girlfriend as she pecked him on the cheek and walked off.
When Pyrrha walked out of earshot, Jaune turned to Ruby. "Hi there."
"Heyyy…" Ruby cleared her throat. "Been meaning to talk to you since yesterday. Had something I had to um, get off my chest."
"Sure what is it?" Jaune asked.
"I uh. Don't want you to think I'm just being goofy or awkward or anything. I mean, even though I am, but not now, this is serious. I promise that, you know-"
Seeing her ramble, Jaune shook his head. "Ruby. It's fine, I swear."
"Great." Ruby looked very nervous. "You've been really supportive. To Yang after today, and really nice to me like you did inviting everyone to come with you guys to Vacuo."
Jaune laughed a bit. "Of course I would. I'm your friend."
"And I know that. But it's made me feel strange. And it's not because you're all, super strong now or whatever. It's because." Ruby gulped. "I think I like you. Like, more than a friend."
Jaune grew blank. "You mean. You like me?"
"Yeah yeah. Um, sorry."
Jaune smiled. "Don't be so nervous. I think you're awesome too. I mean, you're beautiful."
Ruby laughed nervously. "You think so?"
"Yeah. Your eyes, your hair. They're really unique and pretty. But, I am seeing someone."
Ruby gulped again. "Yeah, I know. Just hoped that. I could get it off my chest and we could all forget about it."
"Yeah, forget about it." Jaune said, "If you wouldn't mind I need to go talk to Pyrrha about it, I just totally have to tell my girlfriend, or else I'll lose all her trust in me."
"I understand completely," Ruby said. "If you don't mind, do you want me to come with you?"
"No no, it's fine," Jaune said. "This is something I have to do alone. But um, thanks for telling me."
In JNPR's dorm room, Jaune saw that Pyrrha was alone as Nora was showering and Ren was already asleep. "Hey Pyrrha." Jaune closed the door behind him. "How would you react if you knew that Ruby liked me? As in, romantically?"
"Hm," Pyrrha said flipping a page over in her magazine. "Well, I'd need some more context and need to talk to her about it."
"Would you be mad?"
"Mad?" Pyrrha laughed putting the magazine away. "Oh, I'm not mad."
"Um," Jaune said. "I mean-"
"So Ruby just told you she liked you. Or, you just happened to assume this randomly?"
Jaune took a deep breath. "Yeah," he said painfully. "Maybe you should talk to her about it. I should probably shower after competing today."
"I can respect that. I'll talk to you afterward."
~000~
After Jaune returned from the locker rooms wearing a fresh set of clothes, Jaune walked back into his dorm room to see Ruby and Pyrrha sitting together looking strangely calm and happy.
Jaune stopped drying his hair with a towel seeing this. "Is. Is everything all right?"
"Hey Jaune," Ruby said in a very oddly happy way. "Pyrrha and I have made a decision."
"I was hesitant to hear her out, but I think we've found something that would benefit all of us," explained Pyrrha. "Normally I'd be a bit mad. But Ruby and I have talked, and we both decided that fighting over you would just drive an unnecessary wedge between our teams. Especially since we've been friends for so long."
"Okay…" Jaune nodded slowly.
"So we've found a peaceful solution," Pyrrha spoke in her usual kind tone. "We've decided that we're both going to be your girlfriends."
Ruby saw Jaune become speechless for a second and raised her hands cheerfully. "Yay!" she said.
Jaune put his towel down. "Okay, why?"
"Well I've had a crush on you for months," Ruby said. "And you and Pyrrha have basically been dating since the beginning of summer."
"No no, that's not the problem. I get that, that makes sense. Just, why would you both be fine with this?" asked Jaune.
Pyrrha shrugged. "Well Ruby is a very great friend and an amazing person, and she feels the same about me. We both just agreed that we'd be fine dating you. I couldn't just have Ruby be ignored. It'd be unfair, besides." she nodded to Jaune. "She more than understands I started dating you first."
"It just seemed like we could kill two birds with one stone. Pyrrha gets to keep you as a boyfriend and I don't have to get my heart stomped flat." Ruby smiled.
Jaune laughed in surprise. "Wait. So how is this gonna work? We all go on dates together? I hold both your hands in the hallways?"
"In a way yes," Pyrrha said. "That is, if you don't agree."
"No I totally agree, I'm just wondering about the details of this."
Ruby looked from Jaune to Pyrrha. "I think this is gonna work out great. Don't you?"
Pyrrha smiled back. "Absolutely perfect. Great?"
"Great," said Ruby.
"Great?" Jaune then spoke. "No, wait. I still have questions. I can totally see you two being friends, we have been since we met, but just to suddenly agree to this the instant Ruby confesses?"
"Well like Ruby said," explained Pyrrha. "We think this would be most beneficial to all don't you think? Better that than to ignore the way Ruby feels completely."
Jaune stopped.
'I mean, I would hate to break Ruby's heart. She's really sweet and an awesome friend. So yeah, I don't see why not.'
Jaune nodded. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Let's try it."
Nora walked in holding a new book from the library. "Hey guys, what did I miss?"
"Pyrrha and I just became Jaune's girlfriends!" Ruby said.
"Oh sweet, can I join too?" asked Nora sarcastically.
Pyrrha and Jaune spoke together as Ruby got it. "What!?" the couple slash trio asked together.
Ruby shook her head as she stopped laughing. "Yeah no, we were serious."
"Oh. Then I was kidding." Nora waved a hand before picking up her clothes to change before bed. "Maybe for now anyway," she whispered to herself before entering the bathroom.
Only Jaune's perception enhanced ears due to the Gamer being able to catch this, and that he was standing closest to Nora when she said this. After Jaune quickly confirmed in his Status menu that his DEX and INT stats both determined his perception, he knew he hadn't heard incorrectly.
"Wow Ren is such a heavy sleeper." pointed out Ruby.
"I know, I thought I was the only one to notice," Pyrrha said.
Jaune watched how well they were getting along. "Yeah. Cool," he said.
He could hardly believe Pyrrha was dating him. But now Ruby too?
'Huh. I guess mom was right. The ladies love the name.'
~000~
Yang walked into Ozpin's office almost running out of the elevator. "You lied to us!"
Ozpin sipped his tea. "Well hello to you too Ms. Xiao Long."
"My mom told me everything."
"Everything?"
Yang lied, not wanting to have Ozpin blame Jaune. "Everything."
"Hm. Then I suppose I don't know what I have to explain to you then."
This only made Yang madder. "Oh really? So you just expect me to just forget it all? To let you keep lying to us like this?"
"What exactly do you want from me, Yang?"
"An apology at least. And an explanation. Explain why you've been lying to us for so long."
Ozpin put down his teacup. "All right then. I'll tell you what I told Jaune. I can't tell you everything. And neither can Qrow yet."
"And why not?" asked Yang. "I practically risk my life for you all the time anyway. Why shouldn't you tell me the truth?"
"Because that's not how I run Beacon. That's not the way it should be run."
Yang crossed her arms. "I can't believe it. My mom was right. You really are just patronizing aren't you?"
"Yang I've made myself clear. I just hope you realize that if you'll just be standing there the rest of the night insulting me. You won't be accomplishing very much."
"No I won't." agreed Yang. "Who else but Qrow knows the truth? Does my dad know too? Is that why my mom was so mad about this promise he made?"
Ozpin sipped his tea again. "Is that why you're so mad at me? Yang, I apologize for the turmoil Raven put you through, but it's not my fault, unfortunately. I-"
"Not your fault? Why should I believe that when you've done nothing but lie to me since the moment I joined Beacon? Lied to Ruby. Lied to Jaune. Lied to all of us!"
"Is that why you're so mad at me? Because of your mother?"
Yang said nothing.
"Yang. Look at me."
She refused.
"Look at me," he repeated, and this time she accepted. "I'm sorry. I've made many mistakes, but what happened with your mother was my biggest one. It broke my heart when I heard what she said."
Yang balled her fists. "Then why can't you tell me the truth? If it hurt you so bad when my mom left me and Ruby because of it why not just be honest for a change?"
"Yang I told you already."
Kicking the chair in front of Ozpin's desk away, Yang yelled again. "Stop being so patronizing! I'm not a little kid! There's no reason that you'd keep this from me!"
"There is," Ozpin said calmly.
"I said stop being so patronizing!" yelled Yang said leaning on Ozpin's desk and getting in his face. "Tell me the truth for once! Tell me why my mother hated you so much she had to leave me! Tell me why it's not your fault! Tell me-"
"Because Beacon can't lose you!" Ozpin lost his seemingly infinite patience, raising his voice for the first time Yang ever saw him do so. Sighing, Ozpin raised his glasses as he held the bridge of his nose. "There have been very odd things happening since I found Ruby stopping that Dust robbery a year ago in Vale."
"As such, I needed people like you more than ever." Yang listened as Ozpin sat back down. "Yang you're one of the few people I was happy, ecstatic even when I found out joined Beacon. Knowing the person you were, I was almost sure you'd seek out your mother. To seek what she gave you."
Ozpin looked genuinely sad to Yang. "It pains me to have to keep so much from you. Knowing what you gave up to be here in Beacon. But believe me when I tell you that I only care for your safety and your sisters, and everyone else's."
Yang still kept quiet. "I know Qrow made you promise to not seek out your mother. But I can't risk you leaving when you learn about it."
"I won't go. I promised my own uncle. Why wouldn't I promise you?"
Ozpin looked Yang in the eyes. "Because after today, and what might happen afterward, Beacon might not seem like your best option."
"Ruby's here. Weiss is here. All my friends are here."
"Yes. But when you've experienced the pain I have, you only gain sight of what drives you. Yang losing you as a Huntress would mean my complete failure to change my mistake with your family. It would mean losing you."
"I said I won't go. Now can you just please tell me the truth please?"
Ozpin kept making eye contact with Yang. "It will paint a whole different picture of being a Huntress for you. I'm afraid I just can't."
Yang left Ozpin's office as quickly as she could. "Real great help thanks."
On the elevator down, Yang felt everything only got worse.
'How can Jaune tell me everything's gonna be okay when it all just gets worse and worse?'
Yang felt like punching something from how awful she felt.
Shaking her thoughts away, Yang left Ozpin's office.
'Things can't be this bad. Can they?' she thought.
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