A/N: Er. Yeah. Not much to say. O.o for the first time ever. I guess I'll just say to watch out next Thursday 'cause I might be posting late, maybe even early Friday. Yeah.
Tired.
'Nyways, onwards.
Jaune was finally able to escape the grasp of pleasant company by making a few excuses about checking out Beacon's library. Nora made a disgusted face and dragged Ren off somewhere to have her fun while Pyrrha offered to accompany Jaune. Jaune just waved her off, saying that he preferred being alone. With another strained smile, Pyrrha waved him off and retreated into the room by herself.
Arriving at the library with L'alchimie in tow, Jaune plopped down in a seat and cracked it open, resuming the chapter on the exchange of heat and electricity. Jaune transposed the book onto a handbook that Jaune carries with him at all times. He drew out a few diagrams and some brief concise notes about the theory of equivalent exchange concerning thermodynamics. Of course, as an experienced Alchemist, Jaune made sure that his notes were hidden in a cipher. He continued to do this until he heard a rustling to his left, which caused him to turn.
Blake stood there with a book in her hand, her eyes watching Jaune carefully. Jaune gave a small smile and casually closed his handbook.
"Hello Blake." Jaune said. "To what pleasure do I owe this company?" Blake smirked and held up her book. "Just checking out a book to read. You seem to have quite the read as well." She said, gesturing to the tome by his side. "What's it about?"
Jaune gave a smile. "Just something I've been interested in for a while." Jaune gestured at the book in Blake's hand. "So you're a pretty avid reader, huh? Anything you could recommend to me?"
Blake seemed to pause at the sudden change of topic before answering. "Well, there's a book about this detective who uses magic. I think you'd enjoy his sense of humor…" They continued to converse before a zooming brunette popped up beside them.
"Jaune! Blake! There you guys are!" The two of them glanced over at each other in amusement. "Yeah. Did you need something Ruby?" Jaune asked politely. Ruby gave them both a stunning smile and grabbed both of their hands.
"Yes! We're having a get together. Come on!" Ruby said, dragging them both to their feet. Jaune chuckled and picked up the pace, shaking off her hand. "Alright Ruby. Lead the way. Let me just grab my stuff alright?"
Jaune turned to grab L'alchimie and his handbook before he was stopped by a huge armored chest. Looking up at Cardin's eyes, Jaune rose an eyebrow.
"Excuse me."
Cardin's scowl deepened before he leaned over and grabbed Jaune's two books.
"What's this? The nerd's reading some book in another language. Is this stuff important to you, Jauney boy?" Cardin sneered as he shook the books back and forth in Jaune's face. Jaune's face stilled, his posture completely relaxed.
"Yes. Those are a little important to me." Jaune said calmly, holding out his hands. "I'd like to have them back."
Cardin kept his face in that ugly sneer, giving a nasty laugh. "I don't think so Jauney boy. You see, you didn't really put your best foot forward when we were having that friendly spar, now did you?"
Jaune kept his eyes on Cardin before bursting out into laughter, causing Cardin to step back in surprise.
"Oh Dust, I'm sorry, I just can't take you seriously with that silly monocle and mustache." Jaune said in between chuckles. Cardin's face morphed into something uglier, with a hint of restrained rage in his eyes.
"Well, it seems you get a laugh when things get drawn on. Maybe I should see how funny it is when your books get a little more worn out?" Cardin threatened.
Jaune stopped laughing instantly. His lips pursed into a thin line and he straightened his back, hands held loosely to the side.
"I don't think you want to do that." Jaune said quietly. Cardin looked victorious, knowing that he scored a point against Jaune. "Oh?" Cardin said mockingly, "And what're you going to do about it?"
Jaune stepped forward, ready to unleash ten times as much fury as he had during that spar before a quick form sped past him, grabbing the two books right out of Cardin's hands. Cardin blindly reacted, lashing out his hands to try and smack the shadow, which dissipated as Blake back flipped back beside Jaune. She glowered at Cardin before handing the books to Jaune.
"You shouldn't be threatening to deface books. That's a little low for even you, Cardin." Blake said quietly. Jaune's lips quirked a little. A real book-lover indeed.
"Yeah, I didn't realize you could stoop so low Cardin." Cardin looked between the two of them, seeing an impassive wall. Smartly, Cardin decided just snarl at the two of them and stalked off, pride wounded enough to back down. Jaune huffed at Cardin and crossed his arms.
"Honestly, I swear that armor's just for show." Jaune muttered before turning to Blake, thanking her. Blake gave a small smile.
"Don't worry about it Jaune. I won't stand anyone trying to destroy books. Even if I don't know what the book is about." She said, subtly trying to get Jaune to tell her what the books were about. Jaune paused in thought before sighing internally. Blake did deserve something for rescuing his books.
"They're about a forgotten art. Something interesting that I've been enjoying uncovering is all." Jaune said.
Blake nodded, her eyes narrowing. "Like alchemy." Jaune's eyes widened, imperceptible to most humans, before his face gathered into a mask again and he nodded. "Like alchemy." Jaune agreed.
This was strange. Alchemy was such an old subject that many people would have no idea what Jaune was talking about when he said the name. It was… very uncommon to find someone that even knew Alchemy existed.
"How did you—" Jaune started before Ruby's scroll beeped rapidly, alerting all three of them. Jaune mentally slapped himself, completely forgetting about Ruby, who opened up the scroll.
"Oh, we're going to be late! Come on guys!" Ruby again grabbed their wrists and dragged them away.
## #
"—And that's when everything exploded, and Ren and I flew out on the back of a Nevermore, ready to sell our stash of gold that we stole from the bandits." Nora declared happily before falling back into her seat.
Ren shrugged. "There wasn't a stash of gold. But everything else is pretty much true." He admitted, Nora's story for once almost completely aligning up to the truth. Yang burst into laughter.
"Wait, even when you got held hostage—and the ice cream cone and the Ursa—and, and the crotch kick?" Ren nodded and Yang held her stomach in laughter.
Team RWBY and JNPR were hanging out on Beacon's rooftop, enjoying each other's company and eating snacks that Yang and Nora stole from the kitchens.
Pyrrha was conversing with Weiss and Ruby, smiling serenely. Yang, Ren, and Nora were wildly telling stories, comparing each other's stories to see who would top the other. Well, Yang and Nora were doing that, while Ren was trying to reign them both in.
Blake sat a little to the side and was reading a book, content that no one was bothering her. Jaune was the exact same, except a little closer to the railings on the edge of the roof than she was.
Blake turned her attention to Jaune in thought.
The Ancient Art of Alchemy. Something that was dangerous enough to be buried away from the masses, where everyone was happy to let the information fade in time. It was something that the White Fang was introduced to just a little before Blake left them. She knew it was dangerous, and Jaune was looking into that?
Was he part of the White Fang? Blake scanned his body, trying to see if there was anything that would give away if Jaune was a faunus or not. Did any humans have knowledge in this? Blake needed to know what Jaune knows, to make sure that he wasn't a spy, or worse.
Picking herself up slowly and marking the page she was on, Blake walked over to Jaune.
Jaune was in the middle of drawing an increasingly complex circle when he heard footsteps approach him. Eyes meeting Blake again, Jaune gave a wave and shut both his books. Blake greeted him back, noting that Jaune had hidden the books he was reading once again, and gestured to the spot next to him, silently asking permission to let her take a seat. Jaune nodded and shifted to the side a little, letting her take a seat.
An awkward silence held out while the two of them tried to figure out what to say to the other.
"So. I uh, know that I already said this, but thank you again. These are really important to me." Jaune said lamely. Blake just nodded. "I can see that," She said in amusement. "seeing as how you haven't let them go after I took them from Cardin. I mean, I thought I loved books." Blake said in an attempt to joke, with had Jaune chuckling.
Jaune's eyes darted up to Blake's bow, still trying to figure out how Blake knew about alchemy. Who else knew about it? Jaune could count on his one hand how many people he's talked with that knew about alchemy. One.
Juane gave up trying to figure this out by himself and just decided to ask Blake.
"So how do you know about alchemy?" Jaune asked out of the blue. Blake's bow seemed to twitch at the mention of the word before Blake looked at Jaune carefully, trying to figure out if it was just curiosity speaking or if Jaune had an ulterior motive.
"I… heard about it. From someone." Blake said vaguely. Jaune nodded though, understanding that alchemy, to those who know it, was a bit of a sensitive subject, guarded jealously. To those who learned the way of alchemy, they were ruled by one saying.
Knowledge was power.
"So do you… know any? Alchemy I mean." Jaune asked again. He needed see what Blake knew about the subject, and if Jaune would have to downplay his 'semblance' when he was around her.
Blake was able to freely give out that information, seeing as how that wouldn't really paint her as a faunus in any way, nor related to the White Fang. "I've just heard about it. And besides, I thought it was a lost art?" Blake said, recalling Jaune's words from earlier today.
Jaune nodded and smiled. "You're right, but you never know." Jaune laughed.
After all, I was able to learn it. Who knows who else could do the same as well?
So Blake wasn't an Alchemist. Judging from the way that she answered the question, Jaune had a good approximation that Blake didn't know enough about Alchemy to actually recognize that his semblance wasn't really just a semblance.
But she was hiding something. Blake had the same guarded look that Jaune always had when he tried to figure out if the person next to him was trustworthy or not. Jaune knew that he shouldn't pry anymore now that he knew Blake wouldn't be able to expose him, but he couldn't help himself.
Blake on the other hand, wasn't going anywhere fast. She still wasn't sure if Jaune knew anything about the White Fang, and if Jaune would be able to expose her or not. Blake had a feeling that Jaune was hiding something major, probably something that related to the ancient art. While Jaune didn't need to follow up on his questioning, Blake needed to.
"Jaune." Blake said, catching Jaune's attention. "How do you feel… about faunus?"
Jaune was caught off guard with the question, something that put Blake's fears a little more at rest. If he had known about the White Fang, the question wouldn't have surprised him as much as it should have.
"Faunus?" Jaune asked before tapping his chin reflectively. "I don't know. I guess I don't really feel much for them. They're not much different from humans, so I guess the way they're treated is unfair. It's not like they're monsters or anything."
Not like what Jaune had done. After his brief encounter with what could barely be considered human, faunus were as different from humans as daisies were to roses to Jaune. They were still people. There were good and there were bad, but as a whole, they were neutral. Blake could grasp what he was trying to say, and was interested in his point of view. He seemed not to care much about the issue at hand, but knew that the treatment of faunus was unfair. That was pretty much the outlook of many people nowadays. If he had known the White Fang, his opinion would have probably been a little more extreme, either in a good way or a bad way.
"What about… the White Fang?" Blake asked uncertainly, knowing that if Jaune had his suspicions about her already Blake would be painting a target for him with that question. Again Jaune thought briefly about the question before looking a little sheepish.
"Sorry Blake, but what's the White Fang?" He asked. "I kind of lived a secluded life before I came to Beacon." Jaune explained. That put Blake's fear completely to rest. Blake had been watching closely for lies, and after seeing none, Blake decided that she could trust him.
Well, trust him as much as she trusted her other teammates.
"They're a pro-faunus group." Blake said shortly.
"Oh. Well that's pretty good then," Jaune said, smiling.
"Hardly." A voice said. Blue and amber eyes swung to meet Weiss, who had a cross glare aimed at the both of them. Jaune looked confused at the interruption.
"Excuse me?" Blake said irritably. Weiss kept the glare and continued talking.
"The White Fang are a bunch of degenerates aimed at causing wanton destruction to innocent people and property. They are terrorists." If Weiss wasn't a prim and proper lady, she probably would have spat the last sentence out. Even without it though, Jaune and Blake could see the disdain Weiss held for the White Fang. Blake's eyes narrowed.
"Innocent? Like the your family, who decides to force faunus into mining jobs that pay little to nothing and let them live in terrible conditions?" Blake scoffed at the thought. "Hardly innocent."
Weiss crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Oh please. That's an exaggeration. The faunus that are there stay there for a reason. If they simply wanted to, they could leave and find other jobs."
"Where would they go? Who would take them?" Blake tossed her arms up in exasperation and anger. "They're staying there because there isn't anything else to go to!"
"Well then maybe they should be grateful for what they have and not needlessly demanding for more!" At this point, all other conversation stopped, both teams watching the shouting match between Weiss and Blake.
"Needlessly?" Blake laughed cruelly. "They're demanding things that should be given to any other human freely! Breaks! Habitable living spaces! A wage that could support a grown human!"
"And how would you know any of this?" Weiss screamed at Blake. "You haven't been there! Why do you care? Huh?"
Blake glared at Weiss before whispering, "Because no one else seems to." Before Blake stood up and walked out. Silence followed her departure as everyone watched Weiss.
"What are you guys looking at?" Weiss snapped before following Blake, and leaving the rooftop.
"Well I guess the party's over." Nora said awkwardly before Ren shushed her. Ruby was casting worried glances at the door before she followed, probably to talk to her partner. Yang did the same, either to support Ruby or help Blake, Jaune wasn't sure.
Jaune knew that none of this wasn't really his problem. Except he was the one who made Blake explain the White Fang to him. But he didn't understand why Blake was so defensive about them. Surely, even if they were doing things for equality, blowing up places and hurting innocents couldn't be something that Blake would condone? And why would Blake care about it so much? Why would she unless—
The bow. Her defensive and secretive nature. Jaune was finally piecing everything together. Picking himself up, he went out to try and find Blake.
It didn't take more than a few minutes before Jaune found Blake hiding in the library, head in a book.
Yang was walking out of the library, passing Jaune.
"Good luck." She muttered before leaving him alone with Blake.
Jaune stood there, waiting for Blake to make the first move. She flipped to the next page in her book before she decided to say anything.
"I need some time alone, Jaune." Blake said quietly. Jaune nodded, leaning against the desk. "Can I ask you a question before I go?" Blake nodded slightly, eager to for him to leave. Another second went by as Jaune tried to figure out the right way to say it.
"Why're you hiding that you're a faunus Blake?"
All of a sudden, cold metal touched Jaune's neck, causing him to freeze in panic. Blake held Gambol Shroud up to his neck, her eyes cold with anger… and a little bit of fear.
"How did you know?" Blake seethed, looking as if she was ready to take off Jaune's head regardless of his answer. Jaune raised his hands in surrender.
"Whoa, hey! Let's not take out our pointy things just yet alright? I just pieced it all together! Honest!" Blake growled and her stomach dropped to her feet. Was it that easy to figure out? Did she just inadvertently tell everyone her secret? Jaune could see her thought process and tried to find the words to reassure her. Mostly because the metal pressed against his neck was really close to an artery and Jaune was kind of afraid to swallow. Or breathe a little too hard.
"Look, I only put it all together because we're kind of alike." Jaune said, looking a little more serious. "We're both hiding something."
Blake raised an eyebrow in question. She slowly lifted her blade so that it wasn't touching his neck anymore, instead just a few centimeters away from Jaune's Adam's apple. Jaune didn't move, not sure if Blake was going to let him.
"Look, I know what it's like keeping a secret. I don't know why you don't want everyone to know that you're a faunus, but I promise you that I won't tell anyone." Blake kept her eyes trained on Jaune.
Part of her wanted to find a way to silence Jaune, either with threats or bribery… or something more extreme. Blake's hands almost shook with the thought of killing Jaune. But there was another part of her. A more emotional and vocal part of her that told her to put down the weapon and… just trust him. Her emotions warred against each other, trying to find a solution.
Finally Blake gave a soft sigh and lowered Gambol Shroud.
Jaune was able to let his shoulders fall a little, his hands going back to his side, although he made special care to show that they were open and he wasn't going to fight her. Blake sheathed Gambol Shroud and cast her eyes to the ground.
"Sorry." Blake murmured. Jaune gave a nervous smile. "Don't worry about it. I would've probably done the same." Not exactly, but those were probably the right words to say at the moment.
Everything went quiet again as Jaune and Blake stood there together, neither looking at each other, neither really sure what to say. Jaune was about to excuse himself before Blake decided to speak out.
"I—it's true that I'm a faunus." Blake rubbed her arm, looking everything like a bashful schoolgirl instead of a weapon toting warrior. Jaune nodded, not really wanting to say anything lest she gets scared off. She drew in a shaky breath and reached up to her bow, pulling it softly to reveal a pair of cat ears. Jaune's eyes widened as he made sure to control his reactions before he squealed at how adorable those ears were. Because he was a man. And men don't squeal.
Right.
Clearing his head, Jaune tried to keep his mind on track.
"Why're you hiding it though? I mean, it's not like Beacon discriminates between students. I mean, I guess I'd understand it if you're trying to avoid being bullied, but I think you could pretty much handle anything someone like, I don't know, Cardin would dish out—"
"It's not that." Blake interrupted Jaune's ramble. Jaune winced, knowing that when he got nervous his calm mask tends to slip. Blake paused in amusement at seeing someone who usually was so collected look like a bumbling wreck. It made her wonder what had happened to turn that boy into someone like Jaune. She shook away the thoughts as she continued.
"I… I used to be in protests rallies. And I took part in the more… fanatical parts of equality fighting." When Jaune didn't show any understanding to what she was saying, Blake continued, "I—I used to be in the White Fang." Blake finally said, getting to the point. "I left after they started to go to even further with their protests… hurting people." She still wasn't looking at Jaune, not wanting to see his look of horror or disgust.
Which was why Blake didn't see Jaune after what he said next.
"So?"
Blake's ears twitched in surprise as she rose to look at Jaune, who genuinely looked confused. Blake stopped uncertainly, not sure if Jaune actually understood what she was saying.
"It doesn't matter what you were before. You said you left didn't you?" Jaune asked. Blake nodded.
"Then it doesn't matter. If you saw the White Fang trying to hurt someone, would you stop them?" Jaune asked.
"Of course." Blake said. The White Fang might be fighting for their rights, but Blake wasn't going to let them kill for it. Jaune just nodded, patting Blake on the shoulder.
"Then it doesn't matter. You're different now. And that's all that matters."
Blake still looked uncertain. Jaune sighed, not sure what he was going to do next was a smart idea. He wasn't sure why he was trusting someone he's only known for a few days.
But he did.
"Look. I know you're probably still doubting me." Jaune ran his fingers through his hair, trying not to think too hard about his decision. "I can understand you keeping a secret." Jaune sighed, still struggling to find the right words.
"I know alchemy." Jaune finally said, causing Blake to flick her eyes to meet his.
"I know how to use alchemy too. And I need to keep it a secret because it's—"
"Dangerous." Blake said quietly, finishing Jaune's sentence. Jaune nodded.
Blake was smart. It didn't take her long to piece what he was saying and what he's implying together. Alchemy was supposed to be a lost art, and rumored to be more dangerous than Dust. It also didn't use any Dust, and supposedly had power that was beyond the modern world's imagination.
It was also incredibly dangerous to the reckless. Blake remembered some of the stories that the White Fang would talk about, the horrors that alchemy would wreak and how it could potentially upset the fragile balance of power that Remnant had.
All of this, Jaune probably knew, and was telling to Blake. He was trusting her with something incredible. If anyone knew that Jaune had this kind of… this kind of knowledge, people with the right resources and wrong motivations would hunt him down to the ends of Remnant. Blake knew what Jaune was handing to her right now.
Power.
Power over Jaune, and the kind of power that would potentially upset the whole of Remnant if she revealed it, changing thousands of lives forever.
Jaune was handing her trust.
Trust that she would keep his secret like he would keep hers.
Blake curled her lips into a smile at the heartfelt offering.
"Thank you. For trusting me." Blake said quietly. Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Figured I owed you."
Blake shook her head. "You didn't owe me anything. You could have kept that secret over my head and did whatever you wanted with me." Jaune blushed at the implications of her sentence.
"Well, I wouldn't have done that. And I don't mind telling you. Friends need to trust each other." Jaune said softly.
"Besides, I have a feeling that if I tried something like that I'd end up waking to a slit throat or something." Jaune said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. "Probably," Blake nodded and smirked a little to show that she was joking.
Both of them grinned at each other.
"I should probably get going." Blake said, glancing at her scroll to see a message from Weiss wanting to talk. Jaune nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. It's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow." Jaune said.
Blake nodded, retying her bow. She still needed to speak to Jaune about the White Fang and their forays into alchemy, but that can wait until tomorrow.
She had more important things to do tonight.
Jaune watched as Blake left. He felt… good. Jaune came to Beacon reluctantly and wanting to leave as soon as possible. Maybe… maybe it wouldn't hurt to have some friends as well. It's not like he would have to abandon them after he left right?
Right.
"Well, well, well." A voice that sounded like irritation reached Jaune, making him stiffen.
Cardin stepped towards Jaune with a smug looking grin.
"Alchemy huh? I'll admit, I'm not sure what that is." Cardin shrugged. "But I wonder what would happen if I told everyone about it?" Jaune glared at Cardin. Killing him would be easy. But…
"What do you want Cardin?" Jaune sighed, knowing that for now, Cardin had the upper hand. Cardin knew this as well, sneering at Jaune.
"Not so cocky now, are you? Oh Jauney boy, I think we're going to be great friends." Cardin said, slinging his arm around Jaune.
A/N: D:
Le gasp!
Oh! and French because Nicholas Flamel. Look him up. He's cool.