Chapter 19

"Oh come on…" Jaune whined as he slumped against the wall outside of his dorm. Life didn't like him today. He'd given perhaps his worst performance yet in combat class, some older student had pushed him into a doorway and caused his shield to expand which left him stuck. Then he'd asked Weiss to the upcoming dance and she'd rejected him without even giving it a second thought!

Weren't women supposed to eventually stop playing hard to get? When was that going to happen? He really didn't understand what went through her head.

About the only thing that went right was his suit arriving! And that was just the standard suit for all the men in the school!

"Oh, Jaune!" A voice called out. Jaune turned to look at his partner. "I was wondering where you had gone… are you alright?"

"Yeah… just not my day I guess." He looked back to the floor. He felt her sit down next to him.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was filled with naked concern.

"I don't know… nothing;s really happened, I guess. I sucked at training today but I still want to keep going. Had another bully… well, bully me." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Pyrrha gasped.

"Cardin again!? I thought that he had backed off!" Pyrrha made to stand but Jaune stopped her.

"No not Cardin! It was just an older student. Probably thought I was an easy target or something. Don't worry, I won't let it go as far as last time okay?"

Pyrrha sat down again and gave him a smile. "Alright. As long as you come to me if it gets bad."

"Of course. Honestly it doesn't have the same impact as Cardin's bullying. It doesn't make me feel as… useless as it used to. You guys trust me and I've grown a lot stronger!" He smiled. "Bullies just don't matter anymore."

"That's good. You're better than them. You always have been."

"Nah… but I will be. 'Course I'm still not good enough for Weiss." For a moment he thought Pyrrha had tensed, but it must have been his imagination. "She rejected me again. I guess I'll be going to the dance alone."

"You could always ask someone else…" Pyrrha drifted off. He could have sworn she was fidgeting.

"Who would I ask? Ruby? I think Yang would kill me! And after going with her to that bar… I don't think I could keep up with her! Nora is going with Ren, whether he knows it or not." He shrugged.

"What about me?"

"You? I bet You've got to have a whole mountain of people asking you to the dance! What chance do I have?"

"You'd be surprised…" She whispered.

Jaune scoffed. "If you don't have a date to the dance then I'll wear a dress!" He laughed and stood up with a stretch. "Thanks for the talk Pyrrha. It helped." He gave her a big smile and went into their room. Pyrrha followed soon after.

He'd just had a rough day, everyone had them! He'd bounce back tomorrow, especially after his chat with Pyrrha.

It did feel like he'd missed something however.

"And, I said, I don't think it's a good use of time." Adam said with a sigh. The conversation hadn't gone anywhere.

"But it's a once in a lifetime opportunity! You'll never have another dance at Beacon! I mean sure, there'll be another dance at the next tournament but that won't be here!" Yang pouted, obviously annoyed with his lack of caving to her demands.

"I don't have any interest in dancing. We should use the time to train or rest."

"But it is resting! No White Fang, no fighting, nothing but good times!"

Adam sighed and rubbed his face. "I don't think spending several hours dancing and partying is restful. Especially when we have missions coming up! Didn't you hear Goodwitch? We go on missions the day after the dance, how are we supposed to be prepared if we are tired from this party?"

Yang groaned. "Parties are a great way to relax and they've been doing this for years, they obviously know what they're doing!"

It was Adam's turn to groan. "Look, parties just aren't for me alright!"

"You need to loosen up! Ever since the docks you've been all tense and it seems like you're holding everything in! You need a proper break, not just a good night's sleep." Yang frowned now, getting angrier and angrier it seemed.

This is just as frustrating for me. He wanted to complain out loud but that way led to pain. Probably. Yang wasn't very good about controlling her fists when she had lost her temper. Adam folded his arms and didn't answer.

"Look just… follow me alright? Let's find somewhere a bit private."

"Why? Looking to hit me in secret?"

"No. It's just about time you told me, your partner, about your girlfriend." She poked his chest and he stumbled back, not expecting her words. He caught himself on a nearby wall.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried, almost gulping when Yang's eyes turned crimson.

"Bullshit. I want to know all about the girl who kicked your ass at the docks." She poked his chest again but he stood strong, regaining his composure. "I let you away with your pathetic explanations before, but after your outburst in the forest I'm worried that you aren't going to be in the right headspace when we go after them!"

"Don't doubt my focus! I can fight them!"

"But can you fight her?" She stared right into his eyes, or at least where she thought they were. He looked away without a word. "Exactly. I get that you might not be able to talk to the others about any of this. Ruby is probably too naive to understand, you and Weiss have your old grudge, team JNPR are just friends. But I'm your partner. That means something, I'm here to help you, Adam."

Her eyes had returned to their natural purple and her face had taken on a more concerned expression. She's worried… I used to confide in Blake, but that turned her into what she is now. But Yang isn't like Blake. She's set on being a Huntress, it's a completely different situation. He let out a sigh of defeat and nodded.

"Fine… I'll tell you. If only to get you off my back."

"Great!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him away. They passed through several hallways before they arrived at an empty classroom. She closed the door and walked down the stairs, taking a seat on the teacher's desk. She patted it. He sat down without complaint, eager to get it over with.

He took in a deep breath. "So where do you want me to start?"

"I'll start. If we're going to be sharing deep, dark secrets, it's only fair I go first. I did drag you here after all." He blinked and turned to look at her. Her face held a strange kind of sadness he felt was familiar but wasn't sure where he had seen it. "I have two mothers. Summer, who is Ruby's mom and raised me as well, and Raven. Raven is my biological mother, but she abandoned me soon after I was born."

Adam sucked in a breath. He'd met plenty of people who'd lost parents. But he hadn't met many that had a single parent abandon them. Yang nodded solemnly.

"Dad was distraught, which was how Summer got in. She was pretty much a super mom." She chuckled. "Slayer of monsters and baker of cookies! She was amazing."

"She's gone, isn't she?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah. Went on a mission and never returned. Dad broke and I was left to take care of Ruby. But eventually, I found out about Raven. The other mother, the one who had abandoned me. I… well I did something stupid. I put Ruby into a cart and took off into the forest." She stood and walked to the board, taking the chalk and started drawing.

"I heard about some old place she used to go and live at or something. It's hazy now. I took Ruby into a Grimm infested forest. We got there, but only Grimm were waiting. If our uncle hadn't arrived me and Ruby would have both died." She took a step back and put down the chalk, the symbol stared back at them.

"So you nearly got your sister killed. Why bring it up?" Adam shuffled uncomfortably.

"Because I never stopped looking. I kept looking for the woman who brought me into this world. That's one of my goals. To find her and ask why? Why abandon me? Did she hate me? Dad? Did she ever love either of us?" Yang gripped the edge of the desk and split the dark wood. "I don't want her to be my mother, but I want answers."

"Answers huh…" Adam looked away. "What will you do with them?"

"Who knows? Probably feel unsatisfied and go back to being the kickass Huntress that I am." She let go of the desk and sat back down, a sad smile on her face. "So, your turn. I know you were in the White Fang but that's about it."

"Where to begin?"

"From the start?"

Adam looked up to the ceiling and took a deep breath. "The start? That sounds good…"

Yang waited patiently. Adam stared into the air thinking. It did frustrate her but she could wait. He needed to get this off his chest and she was happy to listen. They were partners and she was going to be the best partner she could be.

After what felt like minutes his hands reached up to his head and slowly undid the mask he wore. "I hate the SDC and the Schnee for a lot of reasons… every day I am reminded of them…" He mumbled as he pulled the cloth from his face and turned to her.

Yang didn't know when she stopped breathing, but it was long enough that she had to take in a deep breath. His scar had stunned her thoroughly. It covered a good portion of his face and seemed to have damaged his eye. She wasn't sure if he was born heterochromatic or if the scar had done it, but either way, it made her furious to look at.

"That… explains a lot… and you were teamed up with someone from the family that let this happen?!" Her anger mounted but she didn't know who to aim it at. The teachers for picking teams? The SDC for maiming him? Humanity for being such assholes?

"This is what led me to the White Fang, but what made me work so hard was Blake…" He turned away. Yang shuffled closer and pulled him into a side hug. He didn't resist though he didn't exactly look pleased. She took the win for what it was. He took in a sharp breath. "The woman at the docks. Her name is Blake Belladonna and we were… I wouldn't call her my girlfriend but we were… intimate."

His eyes took on a distant look, like he was staring passed the world around them and into his memories. "I have done terrible things, Yang… death has followed me for years and I welcomed it. I became its messenger."

I believe that. He almost killed the White Fang during one of our missions. Plus he definitely knows how to fight people and not in the way Pyrrha does. He doesn't just aim to win the fight, he aims to keep them from ever fighting again.

"Blake followed my example. I never wanted her too. She was the reason I fought so hard. She was the light I wanted to protect. But when she became as much of a monster as me? I had to leave. I had to save her. I couldn't let her be a monster... that is why I am here, why I fight the White Fang. To save her."

"All this for a girl who hates your guts?"

Tears welled up in his eyes. "Yes… she hates me now. I don't know what to do anymore. I can't convince her unless I show her you can bring about change peacefully. I have to atone for my crimes just to show her it's possible." He clenched his fists. Yang placed her hands on his, giving them a little pat. He didn't seem to notice.

"I have no idea how to go about doing that though. And this school? I haven't felt so… out of place in a long time. I've never gone to school, never trained so casually, never had to deal with anything like this!" He let his tears run free down his face. "I have never felt so lost as I do now!" He took deep breaths, trying not to lose his grip on everything.

Yang's hands continued to pat Adam's. "Want to know what I think?" He nodded slowly. "I think you're scared of losing control. Of yourself and your surroundings."

"What do you mean?"

"You obviously grew up in a place where you had no control over anything about your life. Someone else decided everything. They could stick that on your face after all." Adam wiped his face and held back his tears. They had been short-lived but it showed Yang just how close to losing it he was.

She had to frame this right. "So after you freed yourself or whatever happened, you were in control of your own life. You got to decide what you wanted to do. That led you to the White Fang and this Blake girl. But now? You have to follow the rules of a school. You aren't even the leader despite your experience. You don't have any idea how to achieve your goals. You don't have control over your life and that reminds you of the worst part of your life." She smirked and looked into his wide eyes and winked. "How close was I?"

"I'm not sure yet… how did you figure it out?"

"Well everything you said here, plus how you acted back in Forever Fall and in the forest with that outburst of yours."

"Forever Fall?"

"You got super mad that you were told to get the teacher with me rather than going to fight the Grimm. I thought you just wanted to fight but it was more about not getting a say. Then there's your outburst after the big mission against your old allies where our target escaped."

Adam thought for a moment before he started to laugh. Yang pouted. "Am I that wrong?"

"No, no. In fact, I think you might be completely right." He pulled out of the hug and walked to the board, grabbing the chalk and started to draw his own image. "I don't know how to redeem myself or others. I don't know how to atone. I'm lost and angry because of it. I'm right back to where I was as a child."

He finished and placed the chalk down. Beside Qrow's emblem was a vaguely flame-like one. "Yang I have a request."

She smiled. "Shoot."

"You forced me to reveal all of this, so I want you to teach me."

"Teach you what? How to do homework? Weiss would be better at that." She joked. He turned to face her with a smile.

"Teach me how to be better. Show me what it means to be redeemed. So that I can save Blake." Her smile never faded. She'd expected it after all.

"I don't know if I have the answers you are looking for Adam, but together I'm sure we can find them!" She jumped off of the desk and stood next to him.

"Thank you, Yang."

"So now that that's out of the way, you're coming to the dance right?" She smirked. Adam sighed.

"Fine. I'll go to the dance."

She threw her hand into the air. "Yes!"

A/N: And so Adam's outburst before leads to a conversation where he reveals pretty much everything to Yang and asks for her help. Oh, and Jaune has some more bullying issues and Pyrrha helps. If you didn't figure it out he placed Blake's emblem on the board. The dance is close at hand now and Adam decides to go, if only so Yang stops annoying him about it.

I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you next time!