16

Requiem

"Follow these steps. Dominant foot forward, sword in position, like we talked about, and shield up. Now swing."

Swing.

"Again."

Swing.

"Repeat until you can barely lift your arms."

Jaune swung again and pause before swinging once more, working through the various stances he had been taught from what seemed like ages ago. He had been at this for hours already, the video on repeat as he worked himself slowly in the night. Pyyrha's voice rang out in the silent night from his scroll. It was a constant reminder of his loss as he tried to tell himself that she was still there for him.

"Assuming you haven't been cheating. You can take a break."

Jaune paused, sword arm extended straight out and he could feel his muscles burning and shaking. This training was something he had been doing several times a week for months. With aura if he pushed his body to the limit it would heal by the next day and he could push even farther. He grit his teeth as he lowered his sword and focused on his breathing. He needed to be better, work harder, than everyone else. Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Ren all had many more years on him in regards to experience and training.

That meant Jaune needed to push himself to his limits in order to not drag them down, to even stand on equal footing. He listened to her voice, saying the same words they always did.

"I know this can be frustrating, and it can like so much effort to progress just a small amount."

His eyes burned and his chest tightened, he knew what was coming.

"But I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started training and I know this is just the beginning."

Quickly he walked up and closed the video. He didn't want to hear the rest of it. Couldn't. Every day he missed his partner and it felt like he was beating his head against a wall, the wall of talent. Those who were ready for this and every time he saw the difference between him and his friends a small voice in the back of his mind wondered if it was his fault Pyyrha had died alone atop that tower. If he had been stronger or if it had been someone else then maybe she wouldn't have had to die.

"Jaune?" A voice called out from behind him and he looked up quickly to see that small, unsure form of Ruby Rose. A look of concern was on her face and she looked like she didn't know what to do with her hands. The blond quickly rubbed his eyes and gave her a smile he was sure she saw through.

"Hey Ruby, what are you still doing up?"

"Well, I had something of a nightmare. I decided to walk around a bit. I couldn't help but see that video…" Her voice trailed off, unsure if she was prying or not. It brought a more genuine smile to his face.

"Pyyrha recorded it. Around the time the Vytal festival was beginning. She said she might not have time to train me personally anymore so she made a video I could follow when she wasn't around. Heh, who knew it would come so much in hand."

"In my nightmare, I heard her voice. Pyyrha's."

Jaune stared at the young woman as she approached, his breath crystallizing in the cool night air.

"You miss her?"

"Of course I do, Ruby. She was my partner." He pushed down the annoyance at the insinuation that he shouldn't miss her, knowing it's not what Ruby meant.

"Was she more than that?"

The question caught him off guard and he looked down into her silver as as she stared up at him. Her eyes held no judgement, only pure concern.

"I….I just…" Jaune sighed and closed his eyes before fully sheathing Crocea Mors and returning it to his hip. He couldn't look into those silver eyes and instead looked out over Mistral, "I knew, you know. How she felt. I'm not stupid."

"You knew Pyyrha was in love with you?"

"Yeah. It took me a while, until after the dance, but I figured it out."

"Why pretend to not see it then?"

"Because." He reached his arms our, hands gripping the balcony tight, "She's Pyyrha Nikos and I'm just some guy who snuck his way into Beacon." His voice was barely above a whisper, "I wouldn't be able to give her what she needed. I decided to get stronger. Once I was stronger and would could stand shoulder to shoulder. Then I could think about something like romance. I was stupid."

"It's not stupid!" He looked over to find her indignant glare. "Sure it may have been a mistake but it wasn't stupid. At least I don't think so. You were doing things for her, she would have been so happy to know that."

"Maybe. Or maybe she's angry at me in the afterlife. Cursing that if only we had talked it out something could have been managed. I don't know. That's why after she died I made a promise that I wouldn't hesitate anymore, like I did with her."

They fell into silence. Ruby not knowing exactly what to say so she decided to just hug him instead. He was surprised at first, finding the small huntress suddenly attached to him, but he settled his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back, thankful for it. After a minute she backed up, he cheeks slightly pink, as if she was embarrassed at it.

"Hey Jaune. Can I ask a question?" Her foot kicked at the ground as she looked at him with a little bit of nervousness. She continued after he nodded, "What do you think of Yang?"

The question surprised him. An image of the blond floated to the forefront of his mind and brought with it his conversation with the woman before, and how close they had been standing. And from even before that the words from Scarlett jumped up, I saw a girl staking her territory. Unbidden, heat began to blossom over his face as that brought to mind all of the teasing she put him through.

"Yang is…. Alright."

Ruby studied his face for a moment before being apparently satisfied and grinning slightly, "Yup. Night Jaune. You should get some sleep too."

"What do you mean 'Yup'?" When it became clear she wouldn't answer as she walked away. He grumbled as he made his way to the shower.

"Yang! Yaaaaang!" The girl in question promptly used a pillow to silence the offending party before glaring at the young girl who, while she was her sister, was about to learn once more why it was unwise to interrupt her sleep.

"Ruby I swear someone had better be dead or dying!"

Even a pillow was unable to stop the young girl's enthusiasm as she hovered by the blond huntress' bed.

"Guess what!" She continued when she only got a glare instead, "I'm pretty sure Jaune likes you!"

That brought everything to a grinding halt, including her own thought processes so she could only give an eloquent, "What?"

"I asked what Jaune thought about you!"

Yang's heart dropped into her stomach.

"He said you were alright and he blushed. BLUSHED!"

And then her heart came back with a massive wave of relief.

"Ruby. Blushing doesn't mean someone likes the other. It just means you're embarrassed. You're reading WAY too into this."

"But but but."

"But nothing Rubes. Blushing doesn't mean much and even if it did what makes you think that I'm interested."

This earned an unimpressed look from Ruby, "You are my sister Yang and even you haven't been this awkward around a boy. Ever."

"Okay I might be a little." She hedged and her little sister squealed, "But what about you? Aren't you interested in him?"

"I like him. He's so friendly and kind and he works really hard and he cares about his family. That's why it would be so great if you two liked each other! If you got together he'd be my brother too and I'd have a bunch more sisters too!"

Yang sighed at this, of course her sister would feel that way. She was pretty sure Ruby didn't know what she was feeling though she couldn't blame the girl having never felt any way about guys.

"Ruby. If I kissed Jaune how would you feel. Picture it."

Ruby cocked her head and her cheeks darkened, "I'd be kinda happy."

Yang's palm met her face, "That all?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing Ruby. When you find a guy you like romantically you'll understand." She placed her hand on top of Ruby's head, rubbing it even as the girl squirmed free. A small cute pout crossed her face.

"I'm fifteen not five, Yang. I know I don't like Jaune like that. I thought I did." She added when Yang opened her mouth, "But with you acting the way you have been I've been thinking about it a lot. Jaune's a great guy. I want him to be a part of my life forever but I just don't feel that way about him. It's hard to explain. Every time I think about the things you'd want from a relationship, Jaune just doesn't fit. Y'know?"

"Yeah Ruby, I know. Now go to bed. I have no idea why we are having this conversation at one in the morning but don't you dare wake me up like this again."

Ruby had the self-awareness to look sheepish as she got back into bed, taking her prosthetic off and placing it on the nearby nightstand. The light turned off as the young reaper pulled the covers up leaving Yang alone with her thoughts as she stared up at the ceiling in the dark room. A small smile spread against her will as she thought about what Ruby had said. Jaune might just be interested in her and it turns out it was just a small school crush by Ruby on her first male friend. Normal and lucky for her that her sister had realized it.

She drifted off to sleep thinking of someone tall and very comfortable.

Ruby couldn't quite get to sleep very easily, her thoughts drifting to the lie she had told her sister.

It was fine, she told herself, she knew Yang would give up her own happiness to not get in the way of Ruby's but the young reaper had seen the way Jaune looked at her sister when no one thought he was looking. She thought even he didn't notice himself, judging from their earlier conversation. That didn't matter, what mattered was that she locked her own feelings deep down. For her sister.

"Humans didn't do this!" Blake pointed back to the smouldering remnants of her home, sections of it still on fire, "We did this. To ourselves!"

The crowd stood stock still, several of the faces in the front looked sympathetic to her. Others looked shocked.

"We are just as capable as them for these acts of hatred and violence but I don't think anyone would jump at the chance to point it out." He ears flattened as she remembered herself being that way, before Beacon. Before her team. His face appeared in her mind. One she had previously associated with purpose but was an existence that was only spite now.

"Why are we letting Adam do it for us! By doing nothing we are letting others act and speak on our behalf. If we don't like what they are doing than we have no one but ourselves to blame."

Many of the faces of the crowd looked guilty, a handful remained indignant. Hatred towards humans was deep seated and would be hard to turn over.

"Adam will spread his message of hatred and violence for us to the world unless we stop him. And we can stop him! I understand all of you want a simple answer to this problem but there is no simple answer."

A few voices muttered in agreement, the crowd looked at her in sympathy. She had been a member of the White Fang, had followed Adam. More importantly she had lived among humans as well. She had seen more of the world than many of the Faunus in Menagerie.

"This is a very complex problem and there is no simple answer. I don't know the answer. But I know what it's not. It's not Violence, and it's not hatred. This isn't something we can make go away with force. I learned that the hard way."

At this she turned back an looked at Ilia. Her former comrade had a sorrowful expression on her face, one that tugged at Blake's heart. No matter what, they had been friends. She had only learned this lesson after leaving the White Fang and more importantly after being forgiven. She had run away from her friends, thinking they would blame and ostracize her for her past. Instead she found forgiveness from the most unlikely place, Weiss Schnee. If a Schnee was capable of that then surely they all were.

Now this was her chance to spread this lesson, to make sure that Faunus could truly take a step forward.

"I understand that asking you to leave your homes and defends Haven academy is asking for you to put your lives at risk." Blake scanned the crowd, meeting many of their gazes as best she could before continuing, "But that is what is at stake! So I'm going. And I'll stand by myself if I have to."

She ended her speech with a challenging look out into the crowds but the night was silent save for the crackling of her burning home. There she stood on the stairs, her home burning behind her but hopefully lighting a fire in the souls of the residents of Menagerie. A wake up call to the complacent.

"I'll stand with you. If you'll have me." The voice was unexpected and Blake turned to look at her old friend. There Ilia stood, hopeful and fearful. Awaiting the judgement and damnation she was so sure she was to receive. A feeling that Blake could relate to when her friends had found out about her past. She found no words of condemnation. Ilia had made her choice earlier, that much was clear. Murmurs rippled throughout the crowd of faunus.

Ilia made to step down towards her but was stopped by the Guard Captain of Menagerie.

"You're just going to forgive her?! Just like that?"

"Yeah. I am." She levelled her gaze at the man and he looked to her father.

Ghira nodded that it was okay and the young faunus stepped down until she was next to Blake. The black haired girl gave her a small smile and nod. The weight seemed to visibly lift off of the other girl as another vice spoke up from the crowd, a young ram horned man stepped forward. Soon others joined in, the crowd becoming louder and louder as voices of support resounded.

This is it. Blake thought to herself, This is the beginning of the change I wanted. A hand came down on her shoulder and she looked at Sun, and then Ilia who stood on her other side.

It was time to take a step in the right direction.

Weiss looked up nervously at the sky, not for the first time wishing she had a coat or some sort of blanket. The weather had taken a turn for the wrose in a matter of seconds, something she had never seen before. The wind picked up and started blowing a distant rumble could be heard as thunder clapped. In the distance, blue sky could be seen with the storm being centered directly over the bandit camp.

Things had been unusual today to begin with. Mainly that the normally raucous occupants themselves became very silent minutes before the storm had formed. She had strained to hear anything and could only make out the murmur of voices speaking in the distance. The storm disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Slowly sound began to come back to the camp but a tense atmosphere remained. The cheer was no longer there in the air.

Eventually Vernal, a face she had unfortunately become accustomed to in the weeks since her captivity, wandered in with another figure in tow. It was the same black and red garbed woman from when she was captured and the way everyone treated her with reverence Weiss could only assume this was the leader.

The woman reached up and unclasped the white and red mask she wore, revealing a face that made Weiss draw in a surprised breath. There, staring down at her with cold indifference, was an older Yang. Of course weiss was no idiot and in a few seconds put all the information she had into a tentative theory. Given the woman's astounding similarity to her teammate and the fact that the name Branwen was attached to the bandit tribe she could only draw one conclusion. This was Yang's real mother.

"Hello there Miss Schnee."

"To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" Weiss asked, deciding that antagonizing the woman was probably a bad idea if her temperament was anything like her daughter's.

"My name is Raven Branwen, and though you may have already guessed as much, I am Yang's mother."

Weiss' eyes narrowed at having her thought process guessed so easily. This woman was cunning, and dangerous. It was a fierce intellect that reminded her of her father while also carrying herself with the confidence of an accomplished huntress.

"The similarity was a dead giveaway." This earned her a small smirk from the older woman, "Now if I may, I am at your mercy. I can assume you are seeing me for some purpose?"

"You would assume correctly. Tell me something. How much do you know of Ozpin?"

An odd question, "He was the youngest huntsman to ascend to the position of Headmaster of Beacon Academy, he died in defense of the Academy during the event dubbed the Fall of Beacon." There, a textbook answer.

"And if I told you he wasn't dead, or rather his soul wasn't?"

"I'd say that it was impossible."

A smile that sent shivers down her spine crept across the face of the other woman, "I think we should have a conversation Miss Schnee."

"And why, Miss Branwen, would I want to agree to that?" The ex-heiress stood to level her gaze with the woman, it wouldn't do to appear weak in a negotiation.

"Because, Miss Schnee," Raven's smile widened none too kindly, "I have a proposition for you."

A/N: This chapter is both a reaction and serves as a set up for, well, quite a few things. Also BEFORE you come at me with "you erased Ruby's feelings" Read her PoV carefully. She lied to Yang. What exactly did she lie about? Think about it before you call me a garbage writer.

Also I am officially working on Old Man Jaune. For those of you curious, the first chapter should be up within a day or two. This story will NOT interfere in Lithium Rose's update schedule nor with it have a real shcedule of it's own. I'm going to be focusing on pure quality with that fic.