Chapter Three: Is There a Book of Love To Check-Out?! Throb-Throbby! Even a Faunus is a Girl, You Know?! Love is a Salmon Dish in a Quiet Library! Enter His Heart Like a Ninja, Blake-chan!


"Well that was bust. Thanks, Weiss," Jaune plopped down in the library seat next to Weiss, who was busy studying.

"Do tell," she said as her eyes kept on the text, her left hand writing down notes.

"We broke up," Jaune said, "It wasn't any one thing. We didn't hate each other, it's just… There was no romance, you know? No passion. After we kissed and started going out, nothing really changed. We trained, studied, went out to Vale with Ren and Nora, hung out and watched movies, same as always."

"Uh huh," Weiss said as she scanned her notes.

"After a while, we called it quits. We both agreed we're better as friends, you know?" Jaune frowned, "Weiss?"

"Mmhmm," Weiss said as she flipped a page.

"Are you listening to me? Do you even care? We played your game and I won didn't I?"

"Hah!" Weiss barked out, startling Jaune. She turned to to face him, "We've only just begun. I figured you two wouldn't last. She is the tutorial after all."

Jaune frowned deeper at that, but Weiss continued, "You still have a lot to learn about romance, and the tutorial is just one woman," she put down her pen and gingerly placed her notes away into a binder. She put the binder away, then pulled out an even bigger binder and plopped it down on the table, "Let's see who shall be our next route."

She opened it up, and immediately, Jaune was surprised at the level of detail Weiss kept. Not just about him, but about their friends, games she's played, and games that have yet to come out, judging by an ETA stamp on some of them. Weiss pulled out a white sheet with five names on it.

"Time for a lesson," she grinned widely, "A feature in both games and real life is the butterfly effect. News of your break up will soon spread, and when that happens you will be on the rebound, giving you a subtle bonus multiplier to certain women. Thinking on it however, it is best for your first breakup if you don't immediately rebound, and instead gradually build up a new meaningful relationship. This will prevent you earning a 'playboy' reputation, while also protecting you emotionally."

Weiss looked at Jaune, who nodded, "So you want me to take it easy for a while. Don't rush into another romance."

"Exactly. That is why, while Ruby would usually be an easy conquest, having the second lowest difficulty besides Pyrrha, as well as having the 'Rebound Queen' attribute. The attribute would make a relationship between you two occur swiftly, but I believe it would be too swift for your emotional wellbeing. Thus, we shall save Ruby for a later route," Weiss tapped her arm, "This has the additional benefit of avoiding triggering a death flag."

"What? When was death ever on the table?"

She pulled out a photo of Team RWBY, "Yang is an Older Sister archetype, with a protective modifier for Ruby. Dating her right now before bringing up Yang's trust level in you is dangerous. Besides," Weiss said, "I'd rather not my teammate worry about you defiling her Little Sister."

"I'd never hurt Ruby!"

"Yang knows that, she's your friend after all. But her protective streak clouds her judgment. We're going to have to bring up trust at some point. And pursuing Yang before Ruby could lead to a misunderstanding that would leave a negative modifier to interactions. Of course, that could also be said for the converse, but we'll deal with that later."

"Uh huh."

"Just know that it's much too early for a Little Sister route," she furrowed her brow.

"What ew! Why would I even— ew!" Jaune disgustingly looked at Weiss.

"It is an archetype, Jaune Arc, nothing more, nothing less. Real life is nothing like TV, movies, or games. It's just that Ruby shares many similarities with a certain archetype. Just be glad she isn't related to you by blood."

Jaune groaned, "Why did you have to say it like that?"

"Come on, let's go find your next target. She should be on the other side of the library."

Jaune frowned, "Did you plan this?"

"Of course not, it's just a coincidence Blake and I happen to read in the library at the same time."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure I believe you."

"Good! You're learning," Weiss patted Jaune on the back, "Now what do you know about Blake?"

"She's quiet, likes to read, and she has cat ears," he listed off.

"And?"

"We don't talk much."

"No surprise there. Of course, most people around here don't know much about her, and that's by design. It took a bit finagling and dipping fingers outside the kingdoms, but take a look at what I've found," Weiss pulled a black folder out of her binder and slid it over to Jaune, "Don't rip anything."

He opened the folder, "I won—"

Shrrriiiiippp!

They both blankly stared at the torn news article in Jaune's hands.

"Sorry."

Weiss took a deep breath, "Do you know how hard it is to import newspapers from Menagerie?"

"Very?"

She nodded, "Very. So please, do not touch anything else and just read the article."

Jaune nodded and read aloud, "New Chieftain Elected. After much debate in the Chamber of Tribes, a new leader for Menagerie has been chosen: Former leader of the White Fang Ghira Belladonna, along with his wife, Kali, as Chief of State."

He paused, "Wait, Menagerie has a chieftain? And Blake's related to him?!"

"His daughter to be exact. Not to mention his previous status as leader of the White Fang. But enough about that, that's just foreshadowing. We need to focus on more concerning matters."

Jaune paused, "What?"

"Her favorite books!"

"Right," he raised an eyebrow.

"Here is a list of novels she has read since attending Beacon. One she's very passionate about is The Man with Two Souls, a Young Adult novel about a man with inner conflict personified and transformed into a fantasy action adventure by his second soul."

Weiss passed him a hardcover with a black dust jacket, "Here. Read it. Blake will be here for at least another two hours."

And so, Jaune sat down and read. And read. And read. All while Weiss was making notes for class.

An hour later he put it down, "I don't really like the book."

Weiss shrugged, "It's a story about a teenager down on his luck with a bad lot in life, who after a bunch of terrible circumstances, becomes ensnared in some supernatural plot that increasingly escalates. He gets a love interest, narrowly saves the day but there are still questions, et cetera et cetera."

She pulled out another book, "I liked this one better, although it has a love triangle in it. A bunch of bad stuff happens at the end of the first story, raising the stakes in the sequel. It's about a princess who has to save her world from darkness and stuff."

"The series Blake reads the most however," she handed him a copy of Ninjas of Love, "Is mostly smut. I know because she has all fifteen books on a shelf in our dorm. It has a bare plot as an excuse for smut, and the actual sex scenes are a C Plus overall."

"I'm both impressed and concerned you know all this, and that you rated the sex scenes," Jaune said.

Weiss shrugged again, "It happens in a lot of dating sims, and I don't want to miss any of the content."

"Sure you don't."

She glared at him, "At this juncture, I would have you talk to Blake about the book while I whisper in your ear, but it's simply easier if we play another tactic."

"What's that?"

Weiss pulled out a stack of X-Ray and Vav comics, "What do you think? Passionate people attract other passionate people within the same field, that's a known factor."

"You want me to talk about comics with Blake."

"Yes indeed. Here," Weiss passed him the The Man with Two Souls hardcover, "Return this to the shelf while muttering about what you think. She'll hear you. Also mention X-Ray and Vav bye."

And then Weiss left him alone in the library.

He picked up the book and walked down the aisles of books, passing by the many multitude of genres the school had. There were thousands in the history section alone, and over ten times as many fiction stories. It took him almost ten minutes to walk there, but he finally reached the shelf he was looking for.

Jaune glanced back and forth, but saw no sign of Blake. He placed the book between two others by the same author and whispered, "The Man with Two Souls was stupid."

The book was in the shelf. He turned around and there was no one. He shrugged. Then, he walked out of the aisle and turned the corner.

"What did you say about that masterpiece?" Blake was right in front of him.

"Gah!" he screeched and stumbled back.

Blake glared at him and asked again, "What did you say about MTS?"

Jaune straightened himself up and blinked, "It was stupid?"

The black-haired girl crossed her arms and huffed, "Why would you say so?"

"Well, more boring than stupid. The main character was painfully generic, and you know that's saying something," he gestured at himself. Blake nodded in agreement, "The voice in his head was super mysterious at all times for no reason, despite being, you know, in his head. The guy spent the first half of the book thinking he was crazy when the voice could have easily proven otherwise."

"How could he possibly do that?"

"Set up an email address and a bank account, get the kid to log into it. Being able to access a bunch of money out of nowhere is totally proof the voice is the real deal. But no, the voice gives him evidence of things that could easily have been proven to be a delusion, as if he hadn't done this before, except you know, he has."

"It's not like the voice planned to die any time soon," Blake said.

"But he knew he could. Isn't dying like the number one thing he does?"

"Yes it's a plot hole, a minor plot hole, but I read it for the inner struggle of a man with two minds within him, two sets of ideals and goals."

"And they're are all buddy-buddy by the time the second half starts. It's boring. The other characters are also there messing things up for no reason too. Five had one job."

"Everybody hates Five," Blake said, "He's the worst character. The rest of the book is great."

"Pffft," Jaune laughed, "Five is the worst, and that's a feat given the terrible cast. He's useless and whiny and his subplot took up like four chapters. And then he got off scot-free because of the mafia."

"I know. It's gets worse in later books," Blake shook her head, "You could honestly just skip his chapters if you continue."

"No way. Zander has the lamest plot. He wants to be a pilot. They made Bullhead piloting boring!" Jaune groaned, "And what's-her-face, the girl with the magic tattoo, she's an idiot."

"Hey! Eve is great! She's a complex character with inner conflict."

"'Five or Zander, who shall I choose!' Boo hoo," Jaune made fake tears, "Why can't we focus on the guy who's on the book title, huh?"

"Clearly you have no taste in literature."

"Of course I do. Just because I don't like cliche stories about super special teens or smut doesn't mean I hate quality."

"Oh? And what do you read?"

"X-Ray and Vav, especially the Cott era," Jaune said, "The new ones just aren't as good."

"Fella Fauna is great!" Blake crossed her arms, "She spent years in the novel industry before coming to comics, so you probably just don't like her style."

"Her style is that she sucks," Jaune retorted, "A book is way different than a comic. Have you seen the way she lays out panels? Because it's bad."

"Sure it doesn't flow as well as her predecessors', but she's improving."

"It's been three years!"

"Besides the panel comp, she's great at story and characters."

"Eh," Jaune vaguely shook his hand, "They're okay. April Cott's interpretation of X-Ray was better, and Time For Bran invented half the cast. FF hasn't done anything outstanding, not like how Jade Frost made Vav's backstory really sad and tragic."

"I think we'll agree to disagree then," Blake raised an eyebrow, "I've got to get going, Weiss and Ruby want the whole team to train while blindfolded."

Jaune frowned at that. Blake rolled her eyes, "Don't ask. If you do, Weiss might drag you in too."

"Yeah. Nice talking with you. The only one else who reads XV is Pyrrha, but she only does it casually. She reads it but never wants to talk about it."

"Ugh, tell me about it. I had a friend back in the Fang, she couldn't even tell the Blue Age from the Red."

"But they're color-coded."

"It's even worse since she was a chameleon faunus, who can change colors at will," Blake shook her head, "See you around."

They waved and Blake left. Jaune stood still for a minute. Then he muttered, "Great now I want to read some Blue Age stuff."


"Well done, Jaune. You did better than I expected," Weiss said after Team RWBY's training.

"Yeah I guess so," Jaune said. The two of them were out in the hallway between their dorms.

"Keep it up. Library, same time, every day for the next three days. Here," Weiss pressed another book into Jaune's hands, "Fella Fauna's best novel. Although it isn't really saying much."

"Oh joy," Jaune said blandly, "Anything else I should know?"

"Expect a monkey faunus to burst in at some point in the future. Now, if you'll excuse, I shall get some sleep."

"You mean three hours of gaming then sleep?"

"Two tonight, I'm a somewhat exhausted from training."

"Right," Jaune waved Weiss goodnight, then retired to his own dorm and bed. He sat down on his mattress and cracked open the book.


Jaune sat down next to Blake. Both of them were in a slightly hidden nook of the library, fitted with coffee tables and bean bag chairs. His bean bag was green.

"Weiss gave me The Prudence last night. Apparently it's FF's best work."

Blake nodded, "It's definitely up there, although I'm partial to Allied myself. What did you think?"

"Better than Man with Two Souls," Jaune shrugged, "I don't hate it, so that's a plus. It's closer to her comic work."

"It was written just before she got the job, that's probably why," Blake remarked, "Have you reached chapter 20 yet?"

"No, fell asleep. Why?"

"No reason."

"I guess I'll read then."

"Good."

Blake continued reading her own book as Jaune read The Prudence. Time passed in the library. Soon, the sun began to set, bathing the room in a yellow glow.

Jaune closed the book, "Well, didn't see that coming."

"Nope."

"I mean, wow. That is, huh."

"Yyyup."

"I'm going to keep reading."

"Do it."

He did. At the same time, Blake pulled out a laptop she was borrowing from the library and began looking at the news.

An hour later, Jaune closed the book for the final time, "Ye gods, that was interesting."

"You didn't expect half the population to die, huh?"

"Yeah. The main character failed. In the first book. How's the rest of the trilogy?"

"The Cadence is decent overall. It really bridges the gap between the crazy events in the first book, while answering a few of the questions. The third book though, really just throws everything out of the water and gives an annoyingly confusing plot twist about the whole society," Blake shook her head.

"That bad?"

"FF is good at many things, but endings are not one of them. The Inflection is a mess."

"Should I just stop now then?"

"If you want. I can give a summary of the plot."

"Sure."

She told him.

"That's so… stupid."

"Yeah."

"They're clones?!"

"Yeah. I'm in agreement there."

"Does this mean that when she finishes her tenure on XV, it's going to get worse?"

"Her co writers could fix it."

"Yeah it's gonna suck."

"Or she passes it on without finishing?" Blake reached.

"If only," Jaune sighed.

A while later, they both went to dinner with their teams. Jaune returned the book to Weiss.

"How was it?"

"Great actually. Too bad the other books aren't."

"The ending is important to the story, as much as everything else. To ignore a bad ending is to leave the characters in Limbo for eternity. At least having no ending lets the viewer imagine a decent scenario," Weiss said as she bit an apple.

"So what now?"

"Hang out with Blake a bit more. You'll see the next flag."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Flag?"

"You know, key turning points in a story, a moment where you can raise your standing with the target," Weiss sucked at the apple juice dribbling down, "They're also events that can allow you to choose someone's particular route as well."

"I almost follow."

"Still much to learn. When the flag happens, you have to take the opportunity. Don't miss it, because unlike games, you don't have second chances in real life."

"Right."

"And remember the foreshadowing."

"I think I do."

Weiss rolled her eyes and showed Jaune a photocopy of the news article, "Ring a bell?"

"Yeah, got it."


Blake and Jaune talked about comics and books over the next week. It wasn't every day, but it became a common occurrence. Jaune attempted to persuade Blake into trying out other non-Fella Fauna comics.

She tried one, got bored, then Jaune gave her another. She liked it well enough. When they weren't talking, they sat in comfortable silence, each reading things they liked or the other recommended.

It was during the second week of this when things changed. They had both entered the nook that day, sat down in their respective bean bags, and read. Then, the silence was broken.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Sun waved at Blake, walking in to their nook.

"Hello Sun," Blake replied.

"Hey," Jaune said.

"So Blake remember that uh, thing you wanted me to look into?" Sun half whispered at her.

"Yeah?"

"I think I got something."

"Really?" Blake's ribbon twitched at that.

Jaune blinked, "What's going on?"

"It's a um, thing that we're doing together later. Tonight."

"Tonight?! And you're only telling me now?" Blake huffed.

"I just found out ten minutes ago. Heck, the people involved didn't know it was happening until this morning."

"Well we have to go," Blake insisted.

Jaune blinked again, "Is this… related to the White Fang?"

Both faunus turned to him. Sun said, "Yeah."

"Sun!"

"Why is this a secret anyways?" Sun crossed his arms, "I really think we should have back up this time. We would have been toast back at the docks otherwise."

Blake grumbled, "Jaune, do you want to help us investigate the White Fang?"

Jaune paused for a second, thinking it through. Wait, he was a huntsman-in-training! This was going to be his job in the future, might as well get experience now!

"Yeah. I'm in."

"Cool," Sun said, "Maybe one more person should come, boost our numbers."

Blake bristled at that, "Not Yang. She isn't very stealthy."

Sun stroked his chin, "My team isn't at Beacon yet. Who else, Jaune?"

"Pyrrha's too noticeable," he winced at the memory of the Beacon Gardens. Maybe Ruby? No, then Yang would want to come with. Ren and Nora could work. Or at least Ren, but then Nora would tag along and that was a disaster waiting to happen.

That left one other person.

"I would like to join in as well."

The three of them turned to see Weiss Schnee waving at them, "What better way for the SDC to make amends than to listen to their grievances?"

She smiled. Blake raised an eyebrow, "You do know you're almost as noticeable as Pyrrha, right?"

"I have a foolproof disguise," Weiss said, "And you're not so anonymous yourself, Ghira Belladonna's daughter."

Blake frowned, "How did you…"

Weiss brought out her hands and shook them, "Money!"

The three of them stared at Weiss. Blake eventually caved in, "Fine."

"I'm also doing this to prove I meant what I said, Blake. I don't care about your past, but I do care about what you're doing now. As your teammate, I'm here to help."

"Glad to have you on my side, oh heiress to the SDC," Blake smirked.

The smile Weiss gave sent chills down Jaune's spine. He was going to regret this, he just knew it.


"Weiss, what are you wearing?"

"Pretty isn't it?" Weiss smirked at him as she twirled around. She was wearing… tan street clothes and a sunhat.

"We're going to a White Fang rally."

"And?"

"You're Weiss Schnee," Damn it, even he knew this was a terrible idea.

"Exactly," she said, "No one will ever expect the heiress to the SDC to appear at a White Fang rally. It will be so unbelievable, most of the rally goers will convince themselves they were mistaken. For the alternative is to invite madness."

"And if they do figure out you're you?"

A wide smile spread on her face, "You'll see," she giggled, "Watch if you want, but you should be focusing on Blake."

Weiss grabbed him by the arm and led him to the Bullhead port, leading to Vale. A half hour later, the two of them met up with Sun and Blake just three blocks from the rally's location.

They stopped by Blondo Mollari, the premier shopping center for blondes. Jaune didn't like it, but four of his sisters did, and thus he was intimately familiar with the store, having spent hours in total just staring blankly and listening to the muzak, carrying their shopping bags with him.

When Jaune and Weiss arrived, they saw Blake staring blankly at the wall as Sun was looking at different dress shirts. Blake saw Jaune and said, "Kill me."

He nodded in sympathy, "Don't worry, you get used to it. The numbness becomes joy after a while."

Weiss meanwhile glanced at the place with a puzzled look, "Are these items blondes purchase?"

Jaune rolled his eyes, "Only the fashionable ones."

"Gods, I think I recognize the shades Yang wears," Blake muttered.

"And the paint for her weapons," Jaune shook his head, "Come on, let's go."

The four of them walked in silence, Blake too shellshocked to ask about Weiss' disguise. Sun was happily whistling as he held his new shirt in a bag.

The rally was being held in a warehouse just by the shopping district. Judging by the size, it could have held hundreds. As they checked in with cheap White Fang masks (the mask dealer gave Weiss a funny look before she explained she was a look-alike), the room they were in filled to near capacity.

Jaune realized they were in the middle of a soon-to-be angry mob. Weiss told him it was fine, so long as they stayed with Blake and Sun.

Then, a faunus walked out in a mask. He was dressed in the proper White Fang uniform, looking out at the potential fresh recruits for his cause. He spoke.

"Our human guest speaker tonight is absent unfortunately. However, his colleague and partner-in-crime is here in his stead. Please welcome Miss Neopolitan!"

There was no clapping, but rather hushed whispers as a very short and very human woman stepped out onto stage. Her multicolored hair and eyes stood out. She took a bow before everyone, before opening her mouth and moving her lips.

She paced back and forth, her mouth still animatedly moving, but there was no sound coming out. The entire warehouse was quiet, save for some light coughing and Neo's shoes pounding the stage.

Neo gestured out to the audience, her face making a triumphant expression. She paused briefly before continuing to mime out her monologue.

Whispers spread throughout the audience.

"Is something wrong with the audio?"

"I can't hear her."

"Neither can I."

"Maybe her mic isn't working."

"Oh my gods I've gone deaf!"

Jaune and Sun just frowned at the display before them, while Weiss and Blake were scoping their surroundings.

"You know Blake, this wasn't what I expected," Weiss conceded.

"Oh? What were you expecting?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"A slow motion riot, perhaps an angry genocidal maniac hellbent on exterminating humanity. But the woman up there makes good points."

"... You can understand her?"

"I can read lips. She's attempting to appeal to socioeconomic problems currently underlying Vale's political and social system, that frankly, I hadn't considered before now," Weiss said as she stroked her chin, "The discrimination befalling faunus isn't just prejudicial, but systemic."

Blake blinked, "You're screwing with me. You can't possibly be getting that from the mute midget up there."

Weiss shrugged, "When I was younger, a White Fang fire bomb blew a hole in my estate. I was nearby, and while my aura shielded me, I was left deaf for several days. I figured lipreading was easier than sign language."

"I feel guilty now," Blake said.

Weiss patted her on the shoulder, "It's alright. It's not always about you."

Blake frowned at that. Weiss then turned to the back of the large room, "Is there a lavatory in here?"

"With this many people, there should be at least one."

"Let's take a look behind the scenes. Shall we?" Weiss grinned.

Blake raised an eyebrow, but couldn't help but smirk, "We shall."

As they tiptoed off, Jaune and Sun whispered to each other.

"So what's the deal with you and Blake?" Sun asked.

"We talk about comics and stuff. She's a friend," Jaune was moving his mouth to Neo's lips, trying to figure out what she was saying.

"That's good. I mean," Sun facepalmed, "Forget I said anything."

"No I get it. Blake's a nice girl. I'm not as into her as you are. Weiss was the one who started me on this path."

"Really?"

"It's a long story, and a weird one that I'm not repeating while surrounded by a hundred strangers, Jaune whispered.

"Right. But are you into her? I mean, it's cool if you are."

"A bit," Jaune shrugged, "Why are you into her?"

"Well," Sun paused as the crowd started moving and the announcer walked back onto the stage, "I'll be honest. My very first impression of her was 'she's cute'."

"Huh," Jaune frowned slightly.

"What?" Sun said, "It's my first impression. That's how we met. I passed by her as I ran away from some dock workers. But that was it, just an impression. After I got to know her, I realized definitely like her."

"Why?" Jaune said, keeping himself next to Sun as the crowd parted in the middle to allow a VIP member to walk to the stage.

"She's intelligent but not wise," Sun said, "It's like she's book smart but not street smart, the opposite of what you'd expect from being a former terrorist."

"That doesn't make sense," Jaune said.

"Exactly. She has all these strange quirks. Her books, the way she goes about things, it's odd. Like a puzzle, you know?" Sun said, "And I will tell you, there's nothing I like more than a puzzle."

"You like her because she's mysterious," Jaune summarized, "I get it, I think. Better not tell you what Weiss has learned about her."

Sun smiled, "Yeah, I want to figure out myself," he slapped Jaune on the back, "And a little competition never hurt either."


Inside the bathroom, Weiss and Blake had finished scoping the place out.

"Nothing. It's just a rally," Blake concluded.

Weiss, on the other hand, nodded, "It's strange. A shipment of top secret Atlas tech was stolen, but it's not here, the obvious place to store it."

"What kind of tech?"

Weiss shrugged, "Something big, expensive, and state-of-the-art. It was probably stolen by Roman Torchwick, but after it went missing, it stayed missing."

"It's got to be difficult to hide. How big is it?"

"About ten centimeters shorter than the ceiling."

"Weiss, the ceiling's at least ten meters up."

"I did say it was big."

"Hmm," Blake hummed, "We'll have to figure this out later. Let's go back to to Jaune and Sun."

Weiss nodded, "What do you think of Sun?"

As the two walked out of the bathroom and into the crowd, Blake responded, "He's a nice guy. A good friend, I'm sure. But, he's a bit too eager for my tastes. Too hyperactive, not like Jaune, who knows how to sit back and just quietly relax."

"Nice to know," Weiss said as they made it back to where Jaune and Sun were.

"Did we miss anything?" Blake asked Jaune.

"The 'Vice Captain' of the Vale Branch just spoke, and the current Branch Leader is about to speak," Jaune said.

"That is… um," Blake pursed her lip.

"You know him?" Jaune asked.

"Well…"

The lights dimmed slightly as a tall red-haired man in a White Fang mask walked onto the stage.

"My faunus brothers and sisters of Vale, I greet you today out of necessity. Our cause is under daily attack and peril. Over the past several months, our goal of making the world a better place for our kind has been met with constant rebuke by the human governments and their huntsmen. Hundreds of our loyal and courageous soldiers have been captured, subject to interrogation and empty promises of a better tomorrow. And yet!"

He reached to the sky, "We are still here before you. No matter what, we shall be here. Whenever a faunus is beaten on the streets, denied the same rights and pleasures, or forced to work under the worst conditions imaginable, we shall be here to fight back. And we will make them pay."

Raucous applause broke out, cheers and claps across the room. The crowd around the four hunters-in-training whooped and whistled, roaring out their frustrations in deafening shouts.

Weiss bit her lip as she made out a few phrases. She knew it was bad, but never this bad. She turned to Blake, who had the same expression, but for different reasons. Weiss saw that Blake kept the man onstage in her line of sight the entire time. Weiss nudged Jaune in the shoulder, and he responded by grabbing for Blake's hand.

Jaune and Blake looked each other in the eye. He squeezed her hand lightly. Blake cracked a slight smile. Sun put his hand on Blake's shoulder and gave her a nod. Blake knew she had help this time.

Weiss coughed and gave Blake a thumbs up, who reciprocated with a smirk. Jaune glanced at Weiss too, and saw her own expression. Jaune didn't quite understand what was happening, but he would be there to help his friends.

As Adam Taurus, leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang, finished speaking, the crowd burst into applause. Adam then excused himself, leading the announcer to declare a short intermission before continuing.

The large crowd began dispersing towards the walls, where food and refreshments could be found.

Weiss was standing next to one such table and took off her mask to try the strange hors d'oeuvres.

"They are not strange. That's cod from Western Menagerie," Blake sighed, "The fact that they got some here is amazing. They're really splurging on these recruits."

"A sign of desperation then," Weiss said as she nibbled on a small biscuit with fish paste on top, "Considering they're missing a bunch of stolen Atlas tech that was clearly important, I can see why."

Weiss continued nibbling, not noticing the attention she was garnering.

"Is that Weiss Schnee?"

"No way! It can't be."

"Look! She has the same face and scar!"

Faunus began crowding around her. Jaune and Sun could only watch as they began to hurl insults at her, becoming angrier and angrier. Their screams became louder as they began reaching out with their hands at her.

Then, Weiss spoke. She stood out, loud and proud, and bellowed, "My name is Snowflake, and I am a Weiss Schnee body double!"

Everyone quieted at those words.

"Or at least I was, until the Schnee moved here to Vale, at the same time throwing me out like an unwanted rag! Hear me my brothers and sisters! Jacques Schnee is an asshole!"

The crowd burst into applause, and Weiss was hoisted onto the shoulders of two rather large men. Weiss pumped her fists in the air as the crowd began pumping their fists in unison.

It was all broken by a single yell.

"Schnee!" the red-haired man bellowed at the top of his lungs from the railway above the stage. He leaped and landed on the ground, cracking the concrete below. He snarled, "The others may be fooled, but I know for a fact you don't use body doubles."

"Hmph, I see you're a step above the mooks around here," Weiss said, creating glyphs on her hands after she knocked out the two men holding her up. She landed on the ground as the crowd around her began to back away.

"And you!" he pointed his red sword at Jaune, its sharp tip only a foot from his nose, "I hear that a human has the gall to take an interest in my beloved!" he took an aggressive stance, "I will kill you for this. Blake is mine!"

"Ew, male yandere," Weiss made a gagging face.

"Die!" he lunged at them.

Weiss blocked his sword with her glyphs, as Jaune pulled out Crocea Mors and began slashing. Adam tanked the hits Jaune made as Weiss threw a fire dust grenade at him.

The minor explosion rocked the bull faunus just long enough for Sun to jump into the fray and shoot from his nunchuck-guns. Sun then began whacking the redhead as Jaune continued slashing.

Adam roared as his blade began to glow.

Blake ran up and yelled, "Run! His semblance Moonslice will kill you!"

It was too late. A crescent slice of energy and aura erupted from his sword, and rushed out in Jaune and Weiss' direction. Before either could move, the semblance struck—

Jaune opened his eyes and blinked. He wasn't hurt. He turned. Neither was Weiss. Then he saw it.

Moonslice, what Blake called the semblance, was in front of them. It glowed a fiery red and white, just a few inches from them. They could feel raw energy and heat radiating the crescent shape just stuck in midair, violently vibrating yet unable to move forward.

"To think I was just in time," a familiar voice could be heard. Everyone cocked their heads and turned to see a tall blonde woman sauntering her way to the scene.

Glynda Goodwitch glared at Adam, and with a flick of her riding crop, the angry arc of raw energy flung itself into the wall behind her.

"Imagine my surprise when I heard of an incident involving the White Fang, just three blocks away from the nice shopping outlet I was visiting," another flick of her wrist and nearby White Fang grunts were pushed to the floor.

"Now, imagine my shock to see an outright brawl between the White Fang and my students. And even worse, two of them were just about to be brutally murdered by an errant semblance," Goodwitch barely contained the snarl on her face as she brought up her weapon, "A semblance launched by Adam Taurus of all people."

Her riding crop quivered as purple energy began to flow around her, "I will not let my students come to harm. Stand down, or I will make you."

A brief silence was broken by Adam's laughter, "I will never take orders from a human."

He charged once again. And then, he stopped moving. He was lifted into the air by Goodwitch, screaming profanities at her the entire time, "Well that was easier than I expected."

Then a white flash appeared, and a multicolored girl landed inside the gravity field Glynda made. She floated up until she touched Adam, and in another flash, they both vanished.

"Damn teleporters," Glynda Goodwitch grumbled gratuitously.

The warehouse doors then burst open, "Vale Police! Stick your hands up!"


Most of the rally attendees escaped in the fight between Adam and Glynda, but the few that were captured by her semblance were brought in for questioning.

As the warehouse was searched by the police, Professor Goodwitch walked up to the four students sitting on crates with blankets over them. They each had plastic cups of hot chocolate in their hands. She glared at Sun and Blake, "I see the two of you are still getting in trouble."

They winced, and then Goodwitch turned to Jaune and Weiss, "I am glad you are alright," Weiss could have sworn she saw Glynda's eyes glance toward Jaune, "But I would like to ask you to refrain from doing anything reckless like this again."

Glynda shook her head, "Every time, every year," she muttered.

She looked at all four of them, "We will discuss your punishment back at Beacon. For now, be happy you are all in one piece. I will also be contacting your teams, and in Mister Wukong's case, his school about the incident."

Glynda left the four of them to sit together in silence until they went back to the airship port.


Jaune was busy reading in the library when Sun came up next to him.

"Hey," Sun said.

"Hey," Jaune replied as he looked up from his comic.

"I asked Blake out," Sun said.

"How did it go?"

"She rejected me," his tail drooped.

"Come on, have a seat," Jaune pulled out a chair for him, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sun leaned back and pushed the front legs up into the air, precariously perching on the chair's hind legs, "Yeah. My bro Neptune's not here and busy, so is it okay to talk to you?"

Jaune nodded, "Always glad to help. Within reason," he thought he should add that last part from now on, considering he just got roped into fighting the White Fang.

Sun laughed, "Good to hear. Well, I liked her, I asked her out, and I got rejected," he shook his head, "I feel kind of empty right now. I don't know what to do."

"From my experience," Jaune said, "And it's mostly rejections, by the way, is to either try again or move on."

"From Weiss?"

"Yeah. It took me a while, but ironically, it was Weiss that got me over her herself," he chuckled a little.

"Really?"

"She's great at matchmaking. That's what she's doing with me right now, and because of that, she's completely unfocused on any romance for herself. She set me up with my partner. The relationship didn't last long, but I learned a lot from it."

"So she's a friend now?"

"Friend and mentor. Well, mentor in the sense that she pushes me out of my comfort zone to do things I'd never do."

"Like attending a White Fang rally?"

"That was just me being stupid," Jaune scratched the back of his head, "It wouldn't be the first time I didn't think things through."

"What's the phrase, birds of a feather flock together?" Sun wondered, "Because now that I think about it, that's basically what Blake does all the time."

"No way," Jaune scoffed.

"We went to the docks and she decided to reveal herself to ask a question instead of watching secretly like a normal person. Then this whole thing with the rally."

"Maybe she's just impatient," Jaune shrugged.

"Yeah but I think that's another reason I liked her. She's just so different from me I couldn't help but be drawn to her," Sun sighed, "I guess she didn't feel the same way."

"I'm sure as a cat faunus, Blake would tell you 'there are plenty more fish in the sea'," Jaune joked.

"Don't let her hear that, she doesn't like those kind of jokes, even from me," Sun chuckled.

"Good to know. Feeling better?"

Sun smiled, "Yeah. Not 100%, but this was a good talk. Thanks."

"No problem. Anything for a friend," he reached out his hand.

Sun took it and shook.


Weiss looked at her chart again. On the right side was Jaune, while the left was Sun. With Sun scouting ahead and failing, it granted Weiss a pseudo-save scum attempt analogue. She now knew that what Jaune currently has is likely inadequate, probably being on the same affection level for Blake as Sun.

Simply put, reading books and fighting the White Fang was not enough to date Blake. There was a facet missing. What did Adam Taurus have that Sun did not? Blake admitted to dating him at one point, sharing an intimate relationship. Was there something about him specifically that could help Jaune?

She pulled out a new piece of paper, and on it, was her information on Adam Taurus. Born in an overcrowded hospital in Mistral, he and his mother moved to Menagerie around the time he was eleven. A prodigy swordsman, he joined the White Fang and taught younger members how to defend themselves.

Based on the report she bought, a year in, the supreme leader of the White Fang reassigned him. He became his daughter's personal tutor. Well, a mentor-student romance must have blossomed, further egged on by shared ideology and conflict. None of that Jaune really had, except perhaps the White Fang as an enemy.

Wait a minute.

Daughter of the supreme leader of the White Fang and later Chieftain of Menagerie. A handsome prodigy senpai as a personal tutor. Lack of patience in getting results. A book collection as far as the eye could see. A weapon almost as fancy as Myrtenaster. That 2400 thread count silk black ribbon. Weiss found her answer. She pulled out her scroll and dialed Jaune's number.


"We're not dealing with a rebel with a cause. Nor are we dealing with an edgy Young Adult novel protagonist. We're dealing with the reverse," Weiss smirked as Jaune dodged a blow from Pyrrha.

"That's. Nice!" the Invincible Girl's javelin slammed into his gut, sending him back a few feet. He heaved, prompting Pyrrha to stop.

"I'm sorry Jaune. Why don't we take a break for you to catch your breath? Weiss seems to have something important to talk about," Pyrrha gave her a thumbs up, which Weiss reciprocated.

Jaune sat down next to Weiss on the stands. He took a few deep breaths before asking, "What do you mean 'reverse'?"

"Think about it, the average YA character is a normal person with a hidden heritage beyond their wildest dreams. Several, such as The Queen of Red Dust and The Heiress Journals, are about an average girl realizing that they're actually a princess to some fantasy kingdom."

"So Blake is…?"

"Think about it! In those stories, you have a normal, average, middle-class or lower girl trying her hardest to be high society or the leader of a small-slash-huge nation. Blake is the opposite, she's the Princess of Menagerie trying to be a normal girl."

Weiss stood up and declared, "Blake wasn't just hiding the fact she was a faunus terrorist, she was hiding the fact that she was a rich faunus terrorist!"

"... Okay," Jaune said. He blinked, "And?"

"Think. Think really hard. Imagine me, if I wasn't talking about dating sims."

Jaune scrunched his face. He's only known about Weiss' ahem, eccentric hobby for a short time now, but it was hard for him to picture her doing anything else. What did he think of her before then?

He gasped, "I know what I've got to do."

Weiss smiled, "Good," the smile went away, "But you should tell me just in case it's a bad idea."

He nodded, "That would have been bad, yeah."


It was definitely a good thing he and Weiss talked things through. Otherwise he would have rented a butler suit for this. Weiss smacked some sense into him with a backhand to the head. Jaune chuckled at how she had to get on her tippy-toes to do it.

Despite the distraction, his mind wandered back to Sun. Was he okay with this? So soon after his rejection? Sun did say he liked the competition, but damn it, Jaune wasn't keen on this.

Weiss assured him it was fine. That almost put his mind at ease, if she hadn't been playing two video games at once while saying so.

In the end, he resigned himself to the plan. He sneaked into the library, avoiding the watchful eye of the librarian as he snuck in a large silver platter, courtesy of Weiss. The stuff inside was also her purchase, but he planned out what to buy. He thanked the gods there was one faunus restaurant back home.

He snuck into the library and down the aisles, passing by some bemused library goers, until he arrived at the nook.

Blake had her nose stuck in a book when he arrived, but the succulent scent of the platter's contents brought her nose (and face) up.

Jaune waved at her, "Hey, I got us some snacks."

She barely repressed her smile, "Jaune, you shouldn't have."

Wow, she really was trying hard.

"Oh it's fine. Weiss owed me a favor, so I got this whole plate of stuff," he pulled off the silver dome covering and revealed a selection of cut fish.

"I think it's Menagerian, although I'm not too sure. The folks back home never really said where they were from, I just followed the recipe with Ren's help."

Ren was eager to help, especially with the fresh ingredients Weiss provided.

Blake smirked, "That, my dear Jaune, is authentic Mistrali cuisine," she placed a bookmark and set her book down.

"That does explain why Ren knew what it's supposed to taste like," Jaune placed the platter on the coffee table and stroked his chin.

She shook her head and laughed, "Come on, I'll show how to eat this."

"You're from Mistral?"

Blake shook her head, "No, my family traveled a lot. I'm from Menagerie, originally, but I think I spent half my childhood in Mistral thereabouts," she picked up the chopsticks next to the sauce.

"Traveling what for?" Jaune clumsily picked up the chopsticks near him.

"My dad's job. It wasn't until a few years ago we returned to Menagerie. Even then, I ate this every chance I could," she picked up a piece of fish and dipped it into the sauce, before putting it into her mouth.

"That's interesting," Jaune tried to pick fish up, but to no avail, "I'm from a small town called Ansel, a ways away from Vale. It's more established than a village or settlement, so we've got things like Blondo Mollari and a toy store. It's peaceful for most people, but I grew up with seven sisters."

Blake widened her eyes at that, "Seven?! I've seen what Ruby and Yang get up to, I can't imagine five more."

"They weren't as violent, but my youngest sis was about as hyperactive as Ruby," Jaune waved, "And the third oldest was kind of like Yang, but it was pretty chaotic most days."

"You miss them?"

"A little bit, I'm thinking of visiting home at some point," he winced, "Although I'd have to explain the whole 'running away to be a huntsman' thing to them first."

Blake nodded, "I have… issues with my family as well. Let's just say I haven't been in contact with them for a while and leave it at that."

Jaune nodded, "Okay. How do you use these?" he gestured at the chopsticks in his hand.

She smirked, "Come on, you have to grip them like this," she took Jaune's hand into her own, then moved his fingers into the correct position, "Then you just move these two fingers up and down. Simple."

Jaune reached down to grab a piece of fish, and very delicately brought one into the air, only for it to flop down to the plate.

"It's a start," Blake smiled, "It took years as a kid to learn it, so maybe a few meals for you."

"Blake," Jaune smirked himself, "Are you asking me out on a dinner date?"

She blushed, "No. No. Just a lunch thing, with friends. You, me, and Weiss. And Yang and Pyrrha too."

"I'm kidding, come on, I'm going to try a few more times before using a fork," he reached down for the fallen fish.

Despite herself, Blake couldn't help but keep smiling.


They did eat again a few days later inside the student lounge. This time, Jaune and Ren made some kind of noodle soup. Weiss was also there.

Jaune and Blake sat next to each other while Ren and Weiss stared into each other, waiting for either of the other two to talk. For Weiss and Ren were going to be the greatest wingpeople ever.

"This is really good," Blake said as she munched on the wonton that came in the soup.

"Thanks," Jaune said, "Ren made the— ow! ow! I mean, I made the wontons."

Both Ren and Weiss had kicked him in the shin. What great wingpeople.

"This is great. It's as good as this nice restaurant back in Menagerie," Blake slurped her spoon.

"Oh my! I just remembered, Ren and I have to find Nora and Ruby before they set the Beacon forge on fire!" Weiss clapped her hands and stood up, along with Ren.

"Isn't the forge supposed to be on fire?" Jaune asked.

"Uh more fire than it should be. We really need to go. And we can't have more than the two of us because of…" Weiss waved her hand.

"Fire safety. Any more people and we'll be breaking the maximum occupancy of the forge, let's go," Ren and Weiss nodded to each other and left.

As the two wingpeople left Jaune and Blake alone in the student lounge, Blake said, "That happened."

"Weiss is insane and it spreads around," Jaune said, "It's too late for Ren."

"I'm fine it seems," Blake smirked.

"Don't be too sure," Jaune said, "Maybe you used to like proper literature before you met Weiss. FF could just be a phase."

"No way, I've been a fan long before Beacon," Blake shook her head, "My mother introduced me to them. Apparently she knew the author herself, under the pseudonym."

"I kind of want to know who it is," Jaune leaned in.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I've narrowed it down to three or four people," Blake said, "The scariest part is one of the suspects is Sienna Khan, the current leader of the White Fang."

"I don't know who that is, but I am scared," Jaune nodded, "How is it?"

"How much of it was you and how much of it was Ren?"

"Noodles and wontons were me, soup was Ren. The garnish was from the bushes outside."

Blake smirked, "And I suppose the chopsticks were splinters from a tree."

"Definitely leftovers from Forever Fall," Jaune joked.

The two of them ate in silence. Then Blake noted, "You've gotten better at chopsticks."

"Yeah. Your advice was great help. It only took a few more tries and now I can get it to work more than half the time."

"That's pretty good."

"Yeah."

A few more minutes passed, and Jaune asked, "I don't mean to pry but, what was up with that guy at the rally, Adam Taurus?"

Blake froze, "You want to know?"

Jaune nodded, "He said some crazy stuff, about you being his beloved, and wanting to kill me. Imagine you dating him, crazy huh?"

Blake was silent.

Jaune frowned, "Blake? Did you actually date him?"

"He was different back then," Blake shook her head, "We were kids, and Adam taught me how to use a sword. It was a good time, you know? We were making the world a better place, slowly but surely.

"But," Blake sighed, "It wasn't enough. Things were still bad for faunus everywhere. I didn't really understand it, I've lived in what you'd call a bubble most of my life and Adam was the one that got me out of it. Even then, he was still the same optimistic guy. At least at first."

Blake put her chopsticks down, "Adam was like Sun, but years and years of the hate and disappointment wore him down. He always shielded me from it, and by the time I was strong enough, it had hurt him too much and he became who he is now.

"That's his and my story. He was my friend, we dated for a bit, but by the time I realized what he'd become, I'd already yelled at my parents, run away to the Fang, and blew up a train. There wasn't anywhere else to go but Beacon."

"Well," Jaune said, "From what I've gotten, Adam wasn't a very good friend."

She narrowed her eyes, "Explain well and I won't smack you."

"He always helped you and protected you and taught you," Jaune said slowly, "That's not what a friend or boyfriend does, that's a parent or older sibling. My big sis practically helped raise me and the rest of my sisters. That's just how family works.

"Adam tried to be your parent and then become your boyfriend," Jaune paused, staring at Blake's glare, "It's a bad dynamic, you're not equals, not really. And that's just not good for a romantic relationship. It might have been fine if you were just teacher and student, but I think he helped you out a lot more than just swordsmanship, right?"

Blake nodded, "He… he taught me so much more. Before I met him, I was the sheltered little princess of the White Fang. By the time my dad got a promotion and became Chieftain of Menagerie, I had changed," she shook her head.

"He changed me, he was an influence on me. My parents never realized it, and neither did I. When we argued about the White Fang and I left, we'd become strangers. Adam was the only one left. And then when I left Adam…"

Jaune reached and grabbed Blake's hand, "We're all here for you. Me, Weiss, Sun, Yang and Ruby, the rest of Team JNPR too. We're friends, ones that help and protect you, just as much as you'll protect us. Because we're all in this together."

Blake just stared into her bowl. A tense moment passed before she murmured, "Thanks."


It was the single strangest feeling. Blake was being hugged. Ruby and Yang had wrapped themselves around her while Weiss stood near them and smiled.

"We are in this together. Friends forever!" Ruby exclaimed as she squeezed tighter.

"What she said. Just hang in there, Kitty Cat," Yang agreed as she pressed her bosom into Blake's face.

Blake had to squeeze her head out to say, "This was your doing, wasn't it?"

"Jaune had a hand in it," Weiss said.

"Fine," Blake grumbled as she resigned herself to her squishy fate.


"For you, princess," Jaune handed Blake a fresh towel.

"Stop it. I get enough of it from Yang," Blake complained, but still took the towel anyways. Both of their teams decided to train together that day, a few days after Blake and Jaune's talk.

"You're lucky I didn't wear a butler suit," Jaune grinned.

"Even I know you're not that stupid," Blake rolled her eyes. Jaune coughed.

"Oh dear gods, really?"

"Weiss talked me out of it."

"Weiss 'I'm a body double' Schnee talked you out of it."

"I am extremely bad at this."

"Oh? Bad at what exactly?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"This in general."

"And what is this?"

"It's, well... Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna go out?"

Blake shrugged, "Sure. If you stop listening to Weiss for dating advice."

Jaune winced, "You knew?"

Blake rolled her eyes, "Weiss spilled a bunch of papers in front of me by accident last night. It wasn't too hard to piece together the truth."

Weiss probably spilled it on purpose. She did say that honesty was important in a relationship. Jaune shrugged too, "Okay."

And then, they kissed. At some later date. But they did kiss. On a date. It was super fluffy and adorable.

ROUTE COMPLETE

Knightshade End Achieved

Continue? [Yes/No]

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A/N:

This chapter was the first one I envisioned for the story, so don't expect the others to arrive at a fast pace. Man, I hope future chapters aren't as long. I read a lot of YA novels in my teens. Now it's finally paying off.

Blake isn't a rebel, she's a rebel princess of Menagerie. That being said, there are novels where the main character starts off as royalty or high position before having to be normal. It's just the converse is much more common.