Chapter 35: Black Cat
"You're like a black cat with a black backpack full of fireworks and you're gonna burn the city down right now..."
"You've finally calmed down," Weiss said, crossing her arms as she loomed over the ghost-ninja. The one sitting on the edge of her bed. "Now. Are you ready to start acting like an adult?"
Blake scowled, her fists clenched over her lap. "I'm already acting like an adult."
Evidently.
If being an adult meant avoiding your team when there was trouble.
It was stupid. Beating around a problem when there was something that could be done. He did not survive the floating city of Atlas by avoiding the nitty-gritty stuff. Things that needed to be done—reputable or otherwise.
But then again, that exact attitude probably landed him in his current predicament.
Well, in hindsight. Everything was still relative.
"Blake, I'm sorry," Ruby said, her hand curling around the bedpost. "I shouldn't have said teeth."
Blake scowled. "You're mocking them. All three of you."
They were most definitely not. But still, there was no point in telling her otherwise. Not when she seemed insistent on her beliefs.
"I'm not!" Ruby said, the bedpost creaking. "Why won't you listen?"
Evidently, he was the only one who got the memo.
Nex shrugged, leaning against the door. "We can talk or you can run away. Again."
Blake flinched. "I didn't run away."
What did she call it then?
A tactical retreat?
Truly, the depths of their ghost-ninja were yet to be explored.
Come to think of it, they knew nothing about her past. It never came up, but she never volunteered anything either.
Maybe she had skeletons like his.
But jumping to conclusions would have been unfair.
It was up to her if she wanted to tell them or not.
"Yes. You did. You ran off," Weiss said, holding up a hand. She was counting down every sentence, raising a finger for every one. "Went missing for most of the day. And when you return, you're still angry."
Angry was an understatement. It was probably an old wound that never healed—something like Summer Rose. Or even Qrow Branwen.
The only question was what inflicted the wound on Blake Belladonna.
"I'm not angry!" Blake replied, her face turning red.
"Yes. You. Are!" Weiss said, stomping the floor. "And the sooner you admit why, Blake Belladonna, the sooner we can go back to being a team."
Nothing but the truth, and it certainly spoke a lot about his partner's intent.
There was no Team SSBR without the B.
But there was no way it was going happen under his watch. Not if he could do anything about it.
"It's your fault," Blake said, glaring at him. "You and your boyfriend."
Well, at least they were getting something out of the ghost-ninja. Even if her accusation seemed unfair.
She probably had reasons. And one of them definitely started with White and ended with Fang.
Weiss fixed the ghost-ninja an icy stare. "Care to explain?"
"You're loving this, aren't you? The heiress of the SDC in a relationship with a faunus," Blake said, squaring her shoulders. "Is this supposed to be your redemption arc? A twisted way to make up for your company's abuse?"
Now that was definitely unfair. Below the belt, even. Something one could have heard in Mantle.
He could have shrugged, closed his eyes on that one. Stitched the wound in silence. But probably not his partner. Not when the ghost-ninja just insulted both him and her company.
Insulted the reality of their bond, even.
"What did you say?" Weiss said, raising her chin. "You won't involve my boyfriend in this. Whatever this grudge of yours is."
Called it.
Ruby sobbed, closing her eyes. The silver-eyed girl fidgeted, sliding against the bedpost as she sank towards the floor. She buried her face into her cupped hands.
Damn it.
"And why not? He's already involved," Blake said, sweeping a hand. "You've brainwashed him. Turned him against faunus. Against the White Fang."
Brainwashed?
It was too strong a word.
Influenced, more like. But then again, they influenced each other. It was definitely not one-sided, nor forced upon them.
"Brainwashed? The White Fang raided our school," Weiss said, her fist clenching. "They took everyone hostage. They almost killed us."
Almost being the key word.
Blake twitched, her eyes narrowing. "They wouldn't have done it if they didn't have cause."
Weiss snarled. "And what reasons could possibly justify the crimes they've committed?"
"Everything!" Blake said, her legs shaking. "You don't know what it's like to be a faunus."
And she did?
If anyone should have been saying those words, it should have been him. Not the ghost-ninja who seemed as human as they came.
"And you do?" Weiss said, waving a hand. Right. "Enlighten us then."
"You don't know what it's like to be spit on," Blake said. Her fists crushed the top of her trousers. "You don't know what it's like to be treated as less than a person."
Admittedly, Blake had a point.
Bigots like Cardin existed, as well as a lot more. People who found pleasure in pulling on other people's ears.
If that was not treating someone as less than a person, then what was?
"And you don't know what it's like to watch everyone disappear," Weiss said, throwing up her arms. "Family members, missing. Friends, discarded. All because the White Fang's obsessed with their murderous revolution."
Blake growled, leaping to her feet. "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"
There was no way he heard that one right.
We?
As in, we, the faunus?
Or even we, the White Fang?
Or perhaps the ghost-ninja simply misspoke.
People said stuff when they were angry.
"What did you say?" Weiss said, her breath like knives on a chopping board. "We?"
Blake reached for her bow. Her fingers pulled at the lace. The innocent piece of fabric fell, making way for an extra pair of ears. The tufts of black fur sat on her head, twitching, even as her bow fluttered to the floor.
"You're a faunus," Weiss said, flinching as she stared at the ghost-ninja's extra pair ears. Her entire body stiffened. "You're a member of the White Fang?"
Blake sighed, her fists clenched over her hips. "I'll just go."
The ghost-ninja weaved around his petrified partner. She marched straight towards him. Her amber eyes had slits. Near-invisible slits. Slits resembling the ones on that cat in the alleyway. And those where probably cat ears.
The ghost-ninja was a cat faunus. Maybe even a member of the White Fang.
Nex crossed his arms. A wolf staring up a cat. "Where are you going?"
Blake flinched, a few seconds away from a direct collision. "Out."
No shit, ghost-ninja.
Or cat-ninja now.
Nex sighed, rubbing his temple. "You're not running away again."
Blake fixed him a glare, her extra pair of ears twitching. "Don't make me jump out the window."
Well, of course not. Jumping out the window was a health hazard. Even if they did say cats always landed on their feet.
"You'll come back, right?" Nex said, stepping to the side. "Tomorrow's a Monday."
A school day. One of the last few before the break. The past him would be laughing right in his face.
Since when did Nexus Shade give two shits about school?
Or anything?
Or anyone?
Blake twisted the doorknob. "I'm not welcome here."
The ghost-ninja raced through the doorway, slamming the door shut.
Wood banged against the doorframe.
Nex sighed, clicking his tongue at the crisp scent of books—books lingering in their dorm, even after their half-owner was gone.
"I can't believe it," Weiss said, sighing as she fell on the edge of their bed. "She was a member of the White Fang all along."
Nex padded towards her. Towards the remnants of his team, even if the room was crashing down around them.
Their ghost-ninja was gone. Took off her bow and turned into a cat-ninja.
She was out there.
Alone in Vale and alone in the world.
Blake Belladonna was probably not the type to have a wide circle of friends. Or even acquaintances. She was quiet, recluse, and introverted. Buried in one of her books all the time.
And now they knew why.
She had skeletons like him—skeletons painting her as a terrorist. A member of the White Fang. The same organization after his girlfriend.
And then there was him.
Just another guy burying his own set of skeletons.
Fuck.
Shit.
And all the other swear words in the world.
Why did his team have to be so complicated?
Yang and Jaune were tame in comparison.
Nex plopped down beside his partner, looping an arm around her waist. "You okay?
Weiss sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "How could she?"
Probably because of their exact situation.
Blake had reasons to hide who she really was.
Like he did.
If this was how they reacted to her skeletons, then how would they react to his?
He did not have a bow.
But the bow was only a metaphor for something.
Not the problem.
Not the solution, even.
"What she said was unfair," Nex whispered, his lips brushing her earlobe. Vanilla tinged with the musk of sweat flitted through his nose. "It's perfectly alright to be mad."
Weiss shuddered, her skin burning through her coat. "She's wrong. I love you."
His brain froze, grinding to a stop.
Would she really say that if she knew who he really was?
His skeletons waved their rotten hands, their teeth clattering. They cackled between the walls of his skull. Their bones were as dense as the ones under his skin. No escaping them. Not when the bones were very real, and very, very sharp.
Sharp enough to skewer his heart into itty bitty pieces.
"I know," Nex murmured. Screw it. "I love you too."
And he meant what he said.
He meant those four words. Courage, even as Weiss trembled in his half-embrace. From the deepest recesses of his bleeding little heart.
Curse his cowardice.
If only a little bit of self-esteem made everything a little better.
If only he could come out and say it—spill his secret and throw caution to the wind.
Just like Blake.
Just like Jaune in The Club.
Ruby sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she shifted on the floor. "Blake's gone. She's coming back, right?"
Maybe she was.
Or maybe she was gone forever.
Not even Pareidolia could predict what their ghost-ninja would do. It was not its purpose. His semblance was dreadfully limited on that front.
In hindsight, it spoke a lot about him.
"I don't think she will," Weiss said, her eyes snapping towards the silver-eyed girl. "She's a terrorist. She's a member of the White Fang."
Ruby scowled, crushing a fistful of her gothic skirt. "You don't know that. Blake's my partner. She's our friend."
And she was, even if she spoke little.
She was their teammate.
The B of Team SSBR.
His team.
Their team.
Even if she was a member of the White Fang.
They could cross that bridge when they needed to cross it—just like how they crossed that old, rickety bridge in the Emerald Forest.
Nex nodded. "There has to be reason why she's studying here. Instead of out there with the White Fang."
Right?
Logically, it made sense.
If she really was a hundred-percent behind the White Fang, then she would have been working with Roman or something. And she would not have called the White Fang misguided. She would not have been playing devil's advocate for them.
Nope.
She would be playing the metaphorical devil instead.
Ruby wiped her glistening cheeks. "Maybe she's not part of the White Fang anymore."
A very real possibility.
But it was doubtful the White Fang just let her go.
Maybe she was running from them.
Hiding in Beacon.
Weiss huffed, something moist whistling in her throat. "What if the White Fang plans to attack Beacon? What if she's here to spy on the school?"
Another possibility.
But so could any other faunus in Beacon.
Including him.
But there was no point in thinking about what-ifs.
Not when Blake was out there alone, doing who knows what. Maybe even getting herself hurt.
Or worse, getting herself killed.
"We can't just sit here and wait," Nex said, heaving a sigh. "We have to bring her back."
"Bring her back?" Weiss said, her voice climbing. "You heard what she said."
Well, he did.
But then again, people said things when they were angry. Things that could have been spoken in a fit of rage.
"We don't know the entire story," Nex said, rubbing her shoulder. The tight muscle loosened under his finger, even as she sighed. "We only know she has history with the White Fang."
Ruby nodded, her lips lifting into a smile. "Our team leader's right. We have to find her."
Weiss drew a deep breath, her shoulder rubbing against his. "You're right. We don't know for sure. But we can't possibly find her alone. Let's call the police."
Absolutely not.
Calling the police for help was stupid.
It was probably just his thief instincts talking, but working alongside the police was definitely creepy.
Besides, they could arrest Blake on sight. Or worse. Arrest him on sight. Even if that possibility was deemed irrational by his brain and his semblance.
What could he possibly say?
He was still an anonymous thief. A criminal. An outlaw.
The Artificer.
The very fact was etched into his bones and scars.
"Nope. We can handle this on our own," Nex said, managing a smile. "Or with some help from our friends."
Ruby hauled herself to her feet. "Let's call in Team Auburn."
Weiss frowned, resting her palm on his thigh. "If you're sure."
Good.
They had a black cat to hunt.