7

Hot Chocolate

Yang wondered how it had come to this as she walked through the new town their group had come to. It had taken them just over a week to get to this town from Verde Vista. It was a hub town located halfway between Vale and the port closest to Mistral, their destination. The hub town was called Abelia and was a central supply route for smaller towns like Verde Vista. It was important for trade and therefore had many more amenities than most other towns they had passed through since leaving Vale.

Ruby had run off to the arcade with Nora, both of them showing explosive amounts of enthusiasm. Ren was dragged along once again leaving Yang laughing at how
inseparable they were, but that had left her and Jaune with nothing to do. For about the fifth time Yang told herself she should have just gone along but truth be told she didn't really like arcades. If she wanted fun she'd find a club, or a fight.

Yang just started wandering aimlessly around the shopping district with Jaune following her like a puppy. She had tried several times to suggest he didn't have to follow her and could go do what he wanted but he just refused and said he had nothing with that idiotic and dense smile of his. The guy couldn't take a hint unless it jumped up and punched him in the face and even then she was sceptical.

Desperate not to keep aimlessly doing nothing she spotted a small cafe that looked pretty decent. Yang got a surprise when she entered, it catered to hunters. There were a few weapon racks scattered near the tables but still out of the way and the walls were decorated with pictures of what she could only assume was the proprietor and many different hunters that had given him custom, Qrow was in one even. He drinks something other than alcohol?

Sitting at one of the tables alone was a girl that Yang was somewhat familiar with. The girl was dressed fashonably with a black beret on her head and dark sunglasses even indoors. Coco Adel looked up from the magazine she was considering and did a double take at who had come through the door. One corner of her mouth turned upwards as she downturned her glasses to fix the blonde pair with her brown eyes.

"If it isn't Xiao-Long and Arc. A strange pair to walk into my cafe. Come one sit down." She patted the table and it definitely wasn't a request. Still, though, Yang was kind of glad to see the girl. They hadn't really seen anyone since the Fall so the sight of their senior in good health put the blonde girl into a good mood as soon as she stopped gaping like an idiot.

"Coco! It's good to see you. What are the chances of meeting you here." Yang sat to the girl's right and Jaune nervously took a seat next to the blonde but farther from Coco. Noticing it she turned to the poor boy.

"I'm not gonna bite, Arc. Unless you want me to." With a groan Jaune hid his face in his hands and both girls started cackling. Yang had always known she would get along well with her senior.

"So, Coco what brings you here? You alone?" The blonde girl leaned back and balanced her chair on it's back legs.

"This is my hometown. And no I'm not alone. Bun-bun is here too. In fact, " Coco looked around and then, finding her furry eared target, shouted, "Hey Bun can I get three of the usual over here?"

Within minutes Velvet came over with three steaming mugs of what could only be hot chocolate when Yang smelled it. The faunus was dressed in a uniform with a black pleated skirt, white blouse and black corset with a brown apron over it. She let out a surprised gasp at who she was serving. Of course she knew Coco was here but she hadn't expected the two blondes to stop by. And it was an unusual combination regardless.

"Yang? And…. John?" She let out a squeak when Jaune's face hit the table and Coco guffawed and Yang corrected her in between her laughing fits. Velvet's face went red and she started apologizing to the boy profusely ignoring him telling her it was fine. They hadn't ever really interacted before.

"Man you two picked a helluva time to come to Abelia for a date. But I never really thought you two'd hook up. Guess I owe Yats some lien."

Yang nearly choked on her drink, "No, no, no, no. We're here as a group. Rubes, Red, and Nora are out at an arcade. Jaune and I just figured we'd check out this place cuz we had nothing better to do. Nothin' more to it Coco."

Coco just fixed her with a look of not buying it but decided not to push anything due to Jaune looking like he'd die if anything more was said. They shifted to catching up with what everyone was doing since Beacon. Yatsuhashi had gone to his home village and Fox was helping at the orphanage he had been raised at. Velvet and Coco had decided to go around Vale then go visit Yatsuhashi.

Velvet was working at the cafe in order to get some travel expenses. Coco was apparently set from her modeling gig for hunter fashion. So while visiting Coco's hometown she had used her connections to get the faunus a decent job. According to the fashionista, her partner was quite popular and she had had to literally beat some guys off of her. It was one of the main reasons why she was frequenting the cafe.

Finally the conversation had turned to what they were doing in Abelia. Yang had no problem telling her their real objective. Coco sighed and took her glasses off, looking them both in the eyes. Velvet had long since gone back to her job and it was just the three of them, "Shit, so that's what happened."

Her eyes as she looked down at her hands, "I had friends who died during the Fall and that bitch is the one who's really responsible? Think you'll find her?"

Yang shrugged, "Can't say for sure. This was something Cinder was planning for a long time. Maybe she covered her tracks but we will find out for sure, that's a fact."

Coco nodded at her, "So what did she want?"

"Dunno. None of the adults could, or would, tell me anything. Jaune told me it had something to do with a woman in the basement of Beacon and it involved Pyyrha but other than that, no clue. What she wanted doesn't matter anyways. Only that Cinder dies." Yang's eyes shifted scarlet as she thought of the person who had killed her friend and maimed her sister.

Coco reached into her bag and pulled out a card, "Here's my scroll info. You need help with that bitch, call me. I'll help. Nobody fucks with me or my friends." Looking the both of them in the eyes she got a nod from Jaune and Yang. Putting her glasses on, Coco stood up, putting the lien for the drinks on the table.

"I gotta go see a guy about some clothes. See you, Yang. See you around Arc." With a wink and a blown kiss the girl strode out of the cafe leaving the two feeling like they had just encountered a tornado.

"Well that was a thing." Yang managed to say after a few minutes. Jaune could only nod along. The blonde girl had a complicated feeling in her chest. People had died and she had only thought about her friends. She only wanted revenge for Ruby and Pyyrha. Not for a second had she thought about all the other people who had died. The Atlas soldiers whose lives were lost to their own weapons or the faunus killed by the group that supposedly fought for their rights.

Thinking about it now, it made her sick. It was beyond just evil. Cinder had orchestrated chaos on such a scale that the smoke was still settling and everyone was pointing fingers anywhere but at her. A hand touched her arm and she looked over to see a concerned Jaune. She un-clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

"Hey Yang, let's go to that arcade. I'm feeling kind of up for it now." It was a transparent attempt to get her mind off of her current track but she gratefully accepted the excuse. She needed to do something, anything.

"I thought you said you didn't like arcade's Jaune." Yang grumbled as the boy proceeded to trounce her at the dancing game they were playing.

"Only because of how many times my sisters dragged me to the one back home. They only stopped after they couldn't beat me anymore." He laughed at her as he got a perfect score at the song. Yang's competitive edge flared up as she pushed another coin in the slot and chose a harder song. Now she just wanted to see him mess up.

Towards the conclusion of the song she was just barely behind and getting desperate. A quick glance to the side and Jaune was concentrating on the screen so she reached over and poked him in the side. With a yelp he messed up and lost his combo allowing Yang to secure a victory at last.

"You cheated!"

"All's fair in love and war, vomit boy." She smirked at him as they sat down at one of the tables in the food court. Surprisingly it was pretty fun playing arcade games like this. Usually it was just her destroying Ruby but with a challenging opponent like Jaune she could really let go. It was a shame that they had not found the others there.

"Well as long as you feel good then fine." She laughed at his pouting expression. When he wasn't busy being an awkward teen he was pretty fun, Yang thought. The guy certainly knew how to keep boredom away, a side effect from having so many sisters, she supposed.

"Well thank's you've helped me out again, Jaune. Any more and I might just fall for you. Why I do believe you are one stuffed bear away from a kiss." She couldn't keep a straight face and ended up laughing. He really was too much fun to tease.

"You really have to tease me that much Yang?" He looked away from her and she grinned viciously, sliding across the bench and putting an arm around his shoulders.

"What's wrong Jaune? Hoping I'm serious?" Not getting the sputtering denial she was expecting when he remained silent she straightened up. Before she could say anything else a loud voice rang out.

"I found them! They were having a date and forgot to invite me!"

"That's not how date's work Nore."

Ren and Nora were walking over with the red head exuberantly waving her hand at them over her head. And Ruby came around the corner and spotted them, Yang with one arm around Jaune, and froze.

James Ironwood waited patiently outside of Jacques Schnee's office in Schnee Manor. He was quite familiar with the place, having had constant dealing with the man for well over a decade now. But the one he was waiting for now wasn't the patriarch but rather the youngest daughter of the Schnee household.

The door opened Weiss exited the office with a pained expression on her face. James figured it was probably a common one for her when she had to enter her father's office. It was probably his fault for the man's sour mood and he wasn't keen on how he had taken it out on her.

"Miss Schnee….Weiss. How are you doing?"

Her back instantly straightened and all emotion wiped from her face in a moment as she curtsied, "General, I am doing well here at home. Though I do worry about my friends. I had heard you were in Vale up until last week."

He could sense the question she wanted to ask and smiled at the young girl. She had grown so much in such a short time at Beacon. She had opened her eyes more and become her own person, not merely a pawn of Jacques.

"Weiss, while I could not confirm the location of Miss Belladonna, Miss Xiao-Long and Miss Rose are both doing well. In fact I had the pleasure of seeing the both of them several weeks ago, before I left Vale."

She couldn't hide her happiness at the mention that her injured teammates had recovered, "You spoke with Ruby?!" She covered her mouth with her hand and reproached herself, "I'm sorry General."

Chuckling, James waved it away, "No Weiss it's fine. I'm glad to see you so concerned with their wellbeing. I'm glad you've made such good friends." At that she smiled genuinely, "Yes I spoke with Miss Rose because Doctor Polendina had constructed her a prosthetic one to replace her severed one."

This surprised the young heiress, normally Atlas technology was expensive and she didn't think Ruby or her family had enough to cover for something made custom from a famous person like Doctor Polendina.

"It was a gift from Atlas to Miss Rose for her heroic efforts during the Fall of Beacon. All the students who fought deserve rewards Miss Schnee. Even you. If you ever think of something you might need from me then all you have to do is talk to me."

With a bow James excused himself and headed down the corridor winding his way towards the exit.

When the General was out of sight Weiss looked around and seeing that nobody was in sight she did a slight hop and silent cheer. The good news had wiped away the previous conversation she had had with her father. Hearing that Ruby was okay made her feel light and even though there was no info on Blake, that was to be expected. The girl was a former White Fang operative and wouldn't be found unless she wanted to be.

Besides, Sun had gone with the girl to look after her. The faunus himself may have been questionable but his heart was in the right place, she knew. Weiss found herself believing in Blake and even though it hurt having her leave the young heiress knew the last member of her team wouldn't run anymore.

So Weiss had to do what she was supposed to. Her father may want her wrapped around his finger but her time at Beacon had shown her what love could really be and the warmth of friendship. This cold manor was just a building, not a home and she determined that where she belonged was team RWBY. The memory of those days at Beacon spiked through her chest like a blade, she missed them dearly.

Walking quickly Weiss swept into her room which now seemed to vast for her and opened the long case at her bedside. In it lay Myrtenaster, her partnered blade. Gingerly she picked it up. She had not touched it since returning to Atlas, choosing instead to wallow in despair. But now it was different. Her team was moving on and she was going to do the same.

Moving furniture around she cleared a space in the center of the floor. In order to face her team with her head held high she would overcome the obstacle before her. Weiss raised her rapier in front of her then pointed it down into the floor, pouring the power from her semblance into it.

A glyph whirred to life on the floor.

Cat ears twitched in the wind as the ship settled into dock at Menagerie. Blake took a deep breath of the salty air before moving over the the gangplank. Sun was following her chatting animatedly while she only offered a comment her or there. She couldn't say she really understood his excitement at being here. The whole island was just a reminder of the way the faunus had been treated in the past.

Slowly as he kept babbling on she could guess what he was talking about. After having been away for so long even she could see past the symbolism and just look at the beauty of the faunus only culture here. It felt good not to hide. A place where you could feel comfortable. And even with the disadvantages of the island being mostly inhospitable the work of the faunus had done wonders here.

Stopping by a stall she picked up some grilled fish on a stick that was making her stomach rumble. Sun mumbled appreciatively from a mouthful of his own and she rolled her eyes at him. Blake gave him a tour along the main road as they walked through Menagerie. She answered his questions and couldn't help but think that he was a lot like Ruby in some aspects, that an orphaned vagabond like him could grow into such an innocent person was beyond her.

Still, his smile and exuberance were as brilliant as his namesake and she was secretly grateful he had come along. She dreaded meeting her parents after so long and after all she had down. Blake wouldn't have been surprised if they had disowned her after that. Al the young faunus could do was prepare herself for the consequences, this was bigger than herself.

Her problems had gotten her loved ones involved. Yang and Ruby were injured because of her and she was the only one who could fix it. The first step was admitting she had been wrong and apologising to her parents. She stopped as she crested the hill, the mansion coming into view. Sun got uncomfortably close, pointing his finger this way and that trying to guess where her house was until he went slack-jawed when she pointed him in the right direction.

She would never admit the satisfaction she got out of leaving him speechless for once.

Ruby was pouting.

Yang really had to resist saying how cute it was. Her baby sister was showing jealousy. Of course it was adorable. What wasn't adorable was the fact that she was jealous because the older sister, in teasing Jaune, had been caught with her arm around the boy that the younger sister like.

Yang didn't need this kind of misunderstanding and had been explaining it to the young girl for what felt like forever back in the room at the inn they had rented. It had not helped when on the way back Nora had been over the moon and started singing a strange song about sitting in a tree.

If Ren hadn't finally gotten the girl to stop Yang probably would have started to strangle the red-head. The older sister wasn't used to being the one embarrassed but her cheeks had flushed a little when Nora had started singing about kissing.

"I'm telling you Rubes. It was nothing. I'm not into Jaune."

"Then why were you two off alone at the arcade? I thought neither of you like arcades!"

"We don't!" Yang decried, "But see we saw Coco at a cafe and things got kinda heavy. Jaune was just tryna cheer me up. That's all, Sis."

Ruby grumbled about wanting to be cheered up like that too but Yang ignored it. With a sigh the younger sister finally looked like she believed her. Which was good because it had been two hours since then.

"You saw Coco?" Ruby suddenly asked, sitting on her bed across from her sister.

"Yeah turns out she grew up here. Looks like everyone's visiting home these days." Yang told her about what they had talked about, minus the whole vengeance part. By the end Ruby was nodding along and flopped back onto her bed.

"You think we'll find her?"

"Yep. Definitely. And when we do, we'll bring her to justice." Yang got up and went to change into her pajamas for the night.

Ruby lifter her left hand up, holding it in front of her. It was almost as if she had trouble believing that her artificial arm was still there. Like if she didn't constantly make sure then somehow it would disappear.

"Justice, huh?" Her hand tightened into a fist and her eyes took on a keen edge. "No."

A/N: So yeah, momentum. To be honest the timeline for seasons 4 and 5 are kinda sketchy. But I'm gonna do the best I can to make sense of it. I hope you guys like this chapter. In case you are interested no I am not going to go over EVERYTHING that happens to Weiss and Blake in V4 & 5. I don't think you guys wanna read a retelling of things you already know. That said I will be showing how things change from the ripples I started and how they affect Weiss and Blake's arcs.