In a way the incident on Forever Fall Forest became a turning point for Jaune. Nora made sure to spread the wild tale of how Jaune and Pyrrha defeated a hundred Ursa riding Nevermores and saved Cardin from the jaws of a pack of Beowulfs. This made many people grow a good deal of respect for him, and put him in a spotlight he hated. The good part was that team CRDL was behaving way better since the incident, and everyone was sure it has to do with both Jaune saving his ass as it did with Ms. Goodwicth chewing their asses. Added that they had a long lectured by courtesy of Peter Port (something people was sure classified as a cruel and unusual punishment) and three months of detention combined with community work, and their behavior improved tenfold.
His grades were up, thanks in no small part to Blake's tutoring, he was enjoying the day to day tranquility of Beacon (even if Nora and Ruby, sometimes Yang, decided that they needed a bit of chaos around) and soon the Vytal Tournament would start. He wasn't thrilled to participate, and would only do so because Pyrrha clearly was earning for it. Now they would have the afternoon off, and Weiss wanted to spy (no matter how much she said she wanted to welcome them) the students from other academies that would transfer to Beacon in a temporary fashion to wait for the tournament.
But before that they still have classes to attend to.
"…and that is how Jay Argentums Arc drove his troops to victory at the Battle of Sturnash and made it possible to expand what today's the Kingdom of Vacuo." Oobleck was about to conclude his lecture and sipped his coffee. "Unfortunately it ended with his death as he valiantly set a trap to give the time to allow his troops to surround his enemies."
"Er… Professor…"
"Doctor, Mr. Arc. I told all of you that on the first day." Oobleck zoomed in Jaune and the blonde put his hand down. "Want to add something to the class?"
"Well, yeah, Jay Argentums Arc real name was Janette. At the time armies didn't allow women to enlist, no matter how much skill they held. So she lied her way to enter the army and become field commander. The Vacuo government doesn't recognize it and insist portraying her as a man, despite my family having the documents and letters proving otherwise." Jaune said and Oobleck sipped his coffee emotionless for a second.
"I knew it! Every piece of evidence pointed he was a she! It's quite a recurring theme with your ancestors, Mr. Arc. I'd love to see those documents someday!" The bell rang out loud and the students shuffled impatiently on their seats. "You can go now. Mr. Arc, can you stay for a minute?"
Jaune sighed and stayed as his friends moved on, Pyrrha and Yang sparing a pat on his back as they left. He wondered if it was about his grades, and lamented that Blake probably would get disappointed on him if he didn't improve as much as he hoped, after all the time she spent helping him.
"Mr. Arc, what do you think of the Four Kingdoms?" Oobleck didn't wasted time as the last student left.
"What? Oh… I think… well… I think they are both better than what I was told but worse than I hoped…" Jaune muttered. It was true he met many nice people, but he also met many people whose definition of being nice was not the same as him.
"I see. And how are you adapting?"
"I am… fine? My friends are really nice, so they have being great help." Jaune now wondered why he was being asked those questions.
"Good, good. It was unexpected when you entered Beacon, considering your circumstances, and I hoped we could give a good impression to you. Everything is connected, Mr. Arc, even your homeland is not apart of Remnant as you might think. I hope you keep that in mind."
"Sure?" Jaune was completely lost on what lesson Oobleck wanted him to learn.
"One last thing… You made good friends, Mr. Arc. Keep them close. That is all." Oobleck didn't waste time to get out of the classroom, and Jaune just grabbed his stuff and followed suit.
As he stepped outside, someone jumped on his back. Usually that would be Ruby, and sometimes Nora. But he knew it wasn't Ruby or Nora as the person who jumped him was heavier than the two, and there was also a nice, soft sensation on his back that made him blush as red as Pyrrha's hair in a second.
"Y-Yang!" He protested, but the blonde brawler didn't let go of him.
"Yesh!" She said and giggled a little. "So, how does it feel, lady killer? Do you like my onboard pillows?"
"Please don't do this!" He protested as she clang more on him.
"Why, aren't you enjoying my generosity? Or are you calling me heavy?"
"What? No! You aren't heavy at all! Actually, surprisingly light considering how strong you are… That's not the point!"
"You let Ruby and Nora ride you, why not me?"
"First, never say that again. Second…"
"That's completely inappropriate!" Weiss protested as she saw the scene. Yang rolled her eyes and kissed Jaune's cheek, making him blush hard.
"You're just jealous you don't have anything to tease him with." Weiss blushed hard and started yelling about how inappropriate that comment was before Pyrrha chimed in.
"Shouldn't we change our clothes and go to the docks? After all, we all agreed to spy…"
"Greet!" Weiss shout.
"…with the incoming students." She finished.
"Yeah, let's go back to our rooms." Yang stated still on Jaune's back.
"Yang…" he started.
"Hey, same destination. If you play nice, I might even invite you in my shower." She teased, and Jaune almost fainted and Nora was sure he was about to explode.
"YANG!" The rest of them yelled at the blonde.
…
It was a beautiful day, the ships were docking, the birds were making a ruckus…
"It smells like fish…" Ruby complained as they arrived at the docks.
"It does…" Blake agreed with a happy smirk.
"How do we will even know who's participating on the tournament or not?" Ren questioned as people started leaving a docked ship.
The group was about to discuss it when they heard a commotion. From inside the docked ship they saw a blonde boy with a tail running from some sailors that were yelling at him, and then he jumped off. As he crossed in front of the Beacon's group, he spent a second to blink at Blake before running as Vale's police gave chase.
"Well, Weiss, you wanted to know our competition, and there it goes." Yang remarked.
"After him!" Weiss prompted and team RWBY ran in an attempt to follow the boy.
"Do they… how can they even be so sure he's participating in the tournament?" Jaune asked as he stayed behind with his team.
"I don't think they are thinking this through." Ren commented back. "Should we go after them?"
"Nope!" Nora stated simply and jumped on Ren's back, which cursed Ruby inwardly for making Nora like this. "They're all grownups. I suggest we go eat something and have fun."
"Are you sure they'll be alright?" Pyrrha gave her two cents as the girls weren't visible anymore. She knew the tendency team RWBY had to get in trouble… and pull them in those troubles sooner or later.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. Come on, I know the best place to get ice-cream and waffles!" Nora led the way (by forcing Ren to move) and was followed by the rest of team JNPR.
…
"They… don't sound happy. Maybe we should've taken them to ice-cream and waffles…" Nora commented as they could hear Blake and Weiss discussing about the Faunus they followed previously. It was common to hear yelling from their room, but that was the first time it was really angry yelling.
"It's sad that this is such a point of contend. Especially when they're friends." Pyrrha added as she started checking her gear. "Should we interfere?"
"No. That's their problem; we would make it worse if we start taking sides." Jaune suggested as the shouting from the other room become louder. "I… I'll go for a walk." He decided as he got to the door.
"I feel like doing some late exercise." Pyrrha agreed as she followed him.
"Renny…"
"Let's go find some pancakes, Nora." Ren suggested and she smiled, jumping on his back again.
…
Blake stood in front of the statue in front of Beacon. There stood Jon Aurum Arc, one of the most famous Huntsmen and generals of Remnant. Behind him was his partner, whose name was lost to History and below them a defeated Grimm. It was supposed to signalize the purpose of Hunters, to defeat savage beasts hunting people. And she wondered where that put her as she removed her little bow and let her cat ears on the wind. She dried some tears trying to escape her eyes when she heard a surprised gasp and a loud sound. Turning around she found Jaune on the ground, on his butt.
"Jaune!" She shouted as she realized he saw her little secret.
"I saw nothing!" Jaune said as he tried to get up. "I… are you OK?" He asked with concern as he noticed her sad face.
…
"So, do you want to know more about me?" Blake finally spoke as she stared at her cup. They both sat in a rather nice little coffee shop, though none of them were really drinking the stuff, one thing they had in common. A preference over any hot beverage but coffee.
"Well, I might, considering we spend last night with me following you around as clearly you don't want to go back to Beacon and you stole my scroll so I can't say to MY team where I am." Jaune stated as he poked his hot chocolate cup. Blake rolled her eyes and closed them, sadness clearly on her face.
"Jaune... Are you familiar with the White Fang?" She asked and Jaune used a few moments to think about it.
"I am... Well, familiar is not the word, but I heard of them. By what I understand, they are a violent Faunus group that uses the Faunus right movements as an excuse to commit acts of violence and have been causing lots of troubles around." Jaune stated as he sipped his chocolate. Blake didn't stare at him before giving her answer.
"I was once a member of the White Fang." Jaune frozen on his seat and simple stared at her in shock. Blake decided she liked that better than him making a big fuzz that would draw unwanted attention. "That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it..." She closed her eyes while remembering of times past. "Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people. And I was there." She paused a moment to see Jaune's reaction, and he was simple watching her, no judgment on his eyes. "I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist. Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking." Jaune nodded in understanding, and prompted Blake to go on. "Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect... out of fear. So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am: a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." She moves her cat ears beneath her bow and Jaune took a few moments to process the information she just gave him. After a while, when Blake was starting to get anxious, he put his chocolate down and spoke.
"No one should suffer what you and the Faunus suffered." She stared in surprise as how well he was taking it, and how supportive his voice was. "I'm not saying I agree with the violence… it tends to only generate more violence, but I do understand why you thought it was the only way." He added, and she couldn't ask much more of him. "So... have you told our friends any of this?" She went silently and Jaune sipped his coffee. He wondered what he could say to her, considering how little he knew about her people's struggle… except…
"I don't like the statue in front of Beacon..." He started, and she could only stare at him in awed shock for a minute.
"But isn't that statue of one of your ancestors? A great hero?" She finally mouthed, wondering where he was going with that.
"He was… but that statue is all wrong. We have one back home… I can show you if you give my scroll back." He asked, and she grabbed the device.
"I want your word you won't tell anyone where we are." She asked first.
"You have it, and an Arc never goes back on it." Jaune affirmed, and she hesitantly gave the scroll to him, her curiosity taking over her fear of betrayal. He grabbed it and found the picture, giving it back to her. It was him before coming to Beacon, with two long haired petite girls on each arm, probably his sisters. They were at the feet of the statue, but it was different from the one at Beacon. His ancestor was on top of the Grimm, but the sword rested atop the beast, and the woman was by his side, holding his hand, and without the hood covering her head.
"She… is a Faunus?" Blake stated as she eyed the big heard on the head of the woman.
"Yes, her name was Catherine Verdin. During the Great War she was the second in command of my great-great-grandfather. When Humans didn't follow in their promises to the Faunus, my ancestor got angry. They fought together, like brother and sister, and he demanded the new governments to follow on their promises. When they didn't, he took whoever wanted to follow him and created a new settlement where such promises, promises he did with Catherine and his fellow soldiers. That's the place I came from." Jaune told Blake, and she heard about that, about the Arc settlement. It was far apart the Kingdoms despite being officially a Vale settlement, and was so hard to get there many put it as a place of legends.
"Was he able to do it? Follow the promise?" Blake asked maybe more eager for the answer than she wanted to be known.
"I like to think so. Half of the people back home are Faunus, and while I won't lie to you and say there's no discrimination and disagreements, I can say that's an exception, not a rule." Jaune explained and a little happiness filled her face.
"That explain why you behave so well with Faunus." She muttered and he shrugged. He wouldn't be able to tell he acted different with them or not.
"So, ready to go to your team and talk with them? Ruby and Yang will understand you, though Weiss might be a tougher cookie." Jaune stated and Blake panicked again. She lacked the faith he had on his teammates, especially Weiss. She simple stood up and walked away.
"Wait!" Jaune was about to follow her, but turned back to drop some lien on the table before rushing after her.
…
"I hope they are OK…" Yang commented as she and Weiss searched for Jaune and Blake, both being missing since last night. She hoped the two of them were together and safe. Ruby was with that weird girl Penny that they met when chasing the Faunus boy, and the rest of JNPR was helping, though it took a lot of talking to convince Pyrrha and Weiss to not just inform the staff or the police.
"I hope so too, so I can tell them a piece of my mind." Weiss stated as she walked, prompting Yang to stop before her. "Don't you even start! I'll give her a chance to speak, mind you! But whatever I do after depends entirely on her."
"We could have avoided it if…" Weiss raised her hand to make Yang stop talking.
"I don't want to hear it. I'm aware not all Faunus are bad people, but when there's so many out for you, you learn soon that assuming the worst will probably save your life." Weiss said in a somewhat sad tone.
"Maybe that's the problem, assumptions. Maybe if no one assumed anything, we could avoid all this." Yang answered and started walking again, followed by Weiss. The blonde brawler could only worry about her partner and her childhood friend to waste too much time teaching the heiress a life lesson.
…
"Where are we going?" Jaune asked as he followed a distressed Blake. She turned around and gave his scroll back to him.
"You're going back to Beacon and stop following me. This is my problem, not yours." She affirmed, but then he held her by holding her wrist.
"We're friends, and at the same time an Arc don't go back on his word, we also don't abandon a friend in need." He affirmed and she sighed. Apparently he wouldn't leave her alone and she was unsure if she liked him for that or wanted to slap him.
"I need to find proof that the White Fang is not behind those robberies." Blake stated as she tried to move away from him.
"Why?"
"Because I can't believe they would do it. They never needed so much Dust before. If I find proof that wasn't them, then it would help to avoid this crescent mistrust between Faunus and Humans." Blake explained and Jaune groaned a little.
"So what, we go to the most likely target the Dust robbers would want and wait them to appear and hope it isn't the Fang?" Jaune questioned and she simple nodded.
"Though I don't know where they might attack next."
"People at the docks commented a Schnee cargo would arrive tonight, big cargo, lots of Dust."
"Thanks, Jaune. You might…
"Keep following you to be sure you don't get killed. Yang would kill me if her partner gets hurt and I did nothing to help." He stated as he followed her, and Blake walked faster, so he could not see her smile.
…
Jaune and Blake kept hiding behind some crates while they saw the Schnee Company employees unloading the last container of Dust. The knight offered a tuna sandwich he bought to the catgirl, and she was about to say she wasn't hungry but her stomach talked first, forcing her to take the treat and eat it while blushing.
"So, anything yet?" He whispered to his current partner. He kind of liked the change from Yang's constant teasing and Pyrrha's constant caring. He loved both girls in a way, but sometimes they could be too overwhelming in their different ways.
"No, they just unloaded all of it. With lucky, no one will appear." She affirmed and bit the sandwich, appreciating its good taste.
"Isn't that the opposite of what we want? To someone appear so we can clean the White Fang's name… well, at least from this crime?" Jaune commented and Blake was about to retort before realizing she had no way to answer that. Then they heard a sound above then and a bullhead landed in the middle of the docks, and the door opened with members of the White Fang walking out of it, or at least Jaune assumed that considering the mask and the symbol on their backs.
"Oh no..." Blake said partially in shock, partially in disappointment.
"So it's really them… I'm sorry." Jaune said offering a comforting word to his friend, but Blake just shook her head.
"Yes... It's them. Even if still doesn't make any sense." She murmured as they saw the White Fang members moving towards the Dust cargo and checking the containers.
"All right, grab the tow cables!" One of the soldiers with a rifle yelled to the others.
"Surprised?" Jaune asked to Blake, and she straightened her back at his voice, but her face clear showed how disappointed she was.
"No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." She answered while closing her eyes. It was shocking to see how a group she belonged for so long and that she defended so vehemently against her own friends could go so low.
"Hey! What's the holdup!?" They all turned to see the man in a bowler hat coming from the bullhead, one the two Hunters in training recognized from the news, Roman Torchwick. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"
"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that." She almost shouted towards Jaune as she grabbed her swords and rushed to the direction of the thieves.
"Wait! No, no nononono!" Jaune muttered to himself as he kept himself hidden. He couldn't act without seeing what Blake was planning… if she was really planning her actions at all, what he suspected she wasn't. He was almost taking his scroll but cursed over the fact he promised her to not call anyone.
Blake silently moved behind boxes and containers approaching Roman from behind as he yelled at one of the members of the White Fang. Jaune observed as she was ready to strike and just hoped for the best.
"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" At that moment Blake grabbed him from behind, putting her blade on his throat. "What the- Oh, for f-"
"Nobody move!" She ordered, and the soldiers readied their guns and swords. Apparently they weren't as found of Roman.
"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Roman said surprisingly calm, and the soldiers inched towards her. Blake then used her free hand to reveal her Faunus nature to them, causing a little hesitation from the soldiers.
"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"
"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" Roman said as he laughed of her attempt to talk with the White Fang.
"What are you talking about?" She asked in surprise, still threatening Roman.
"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"
"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." She moved the sword even more threateningly, but stopped as she heard turbines and saw two more bullheads approaching.
"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation..."
Blake couldn't believe it, and got distracted. Roman sensed the opportunity and fired his cane, sending her flying backwards. With that he walked and smoked his cigar while looking very smug, the White Fang soldiers following him. He approached the downed Blake and pointed his cane towards her, then started firing, prompting her to roll of the way and jump to avoid the shots.
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." He taunted as they searched for her. Jaune had enough of that and decided to give Blake time to recover, so he jumped from his hiding spot and ran towards the enemies, bashing one of them with his shield before confronting Roman.
"You better leave while you can!" Jaune threatened more confidently than he really was, and said confidence faltered when the bullheads descended and let more White Fang members on the ground, and they moved surrounding him
"You're not the sharpest sword in the armory, are you, kid?" Roman taunted and signaled the White Fang to attack.
Jaune groaned and start attacking, protecting himself with the shield while slashing his sword around, creating an opening allowing him to move away. As the Fang members rushed to give chase he charged with his shield, avoiding the bullets and ramming the enemies, allowing him an opening to attack back, his sword downing them quickly.
Blake observed the fight and saw the criminal growling and aiming his cane at Jaune, firing a shot that the knight is able to block with his shield just in the nick of time. The catgirl used the opportunity to jump in action and attack Roman.
"He's mine!" She yelled and Jaune decided to keep fighting the White Fang for the moment, despite cursing Blake's recklessness.
Blake closed in and used her afterimages to slash both blades at Roman, which surprised her as he skillfully kept blocking the attacks. Blake continued attacking in anger, trying to force Roman down, and while she hit him a few times, he was able to use his cane to strike her and put her out of the fight. As he was about to move to finish the job, but Jaune jumped in, clashing his sword against his enemy's cane.
The two started to trade blows, and Jaune was really happy for all the training he received as he was able to keep up with the thief, but it was clearly the man was used to fight people while they all trained to fight Grimm. It was while they were fighting that Blake knocked him back, and Roman growled until he noticed a container hanging above them. He fired his cane at it, and Jaune noticed the danger. He folded his shield and put on his back, running as fast as he could, taking Blake with him along the way and jumped to avoid the container. They landed badly though, and Roman threatened them with his weapon. But when he was about to fire, they heard a familiar voice.
"Hey!" They turned to see Ruby appear on a nearby rooftop overlooking them, with her weapon ready to engage in action. Roman put down his cane and waved at her.
"Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?" He shouted, and when she was about to respond another girl appeared by her side.
"Ruby, are these people your friends?" she asked and stared at the redhead.
"Penny, get back!" The distraction proved to be a mistake as Roman aimed and fired against Ruby, sending her flying backwards. "AAAAAH!"
Roman laughed and turned back at Jaune and Blake. Penny turned towards them and started walking towards the enemy with a determined look, to the surprise of Ruby.
"Penny, wait! Stop!"
"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" The girl answered back as her back opened and something came from it. At first it looked like one sword, but then opened as several of them.
Leaping from the rooftop, she used the swords to control her fall and using the surprise, she started fighting the White Fang, easily defeating every single one of them, not giving time for any to react to her actions as she kept advancing towards Roman.
"And here's our cue to regroup!" Jaune shout to Blake and the two moved away to a safer spot.
The enemy ships started firing at the newcomer, but she used her swords as a moving shield to keep herself in relatively safety. She then used to swords like Jaune uses his shield and zipped backwards, and proceeded to form some type of energy canon to bring down the attacking ships. Seeing one bullhead trying to flee, she used the swords to pin on the container and started pulling it down until it crashed and exploded.
"Who's she?" Jaune asked Blake as they watched her actions.
"A friend… I guess? Where's… Oh no!" They only had time to see the last bullhead fly away carrying Roman with it. Blake let out an angry yell unto the night sky. She only calmed down when Jaune held her, and she stared at him before hugging him tight and crying on his shoulder.
…
Talking with the police why they were all there proved quite a difficult task, but at least the fact they were Hunters in training and that they simple saw the White Fang and decided to help proved to work. Of course, the fact Beacon would be informed made Jaune cringe knowing Glynda would talk with them. That was enough to make him regret everything... But seeing Blake was safe made it all worth. He dreaded thinking what could've happened if he didn't followed her.
"I'm so glad you're fine." Ruby said to both Jaune and Blake. "We have being searching you two for hours."
"We?" Jaune asked before being tackled to the ground by Nora, who could barely make sense of all the words coming from her mouth. Soon Pyrrha and Ren approached, the champion giving a piece of her mind to Jaune before helping him up and hugging him.
"Well, at least someone is happy to be with his team." Blake lamented.
"What are you talking about? Yang and I were super worried, and Weiss also was searching for you." Ruby said in a hurry. "We want you back!"
"You do?"
"There you are!" They both turned to see Weiss approaching with Yang, and Jaune got his team to give them some privacy. As they moved away he was held by his collar by a very angry blonde brawler.
"You two owe us." She growled at him. Jaune gulped and tried to smile. "How you plan to pay us for all the worry you caused?"
"You know, she's right. We did lost sleep because of you." Pyrrha added with an evil smirk.
"First, let us all sleep. Then I'll buy everyone pizza." Jaune offered, using the best smile he could summon, though the fear for his safety made it awkward.
"That's a start, but the full extent of it will be known tonight, with pizza. Extra toppings." She added and Jaune nodded, but felt the pain in his wallet already. "Good, now excuse me while I go talk with my partner." She was about to turn around and leave, but give a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for protecting my partner." She whispered before walking away.
"Sorry guys, I wanted to tell you where we were but Blake made me promise to stay quiet." He said as they started walking back to Beacon.
"Then promise us you will always inform us of your whereabouts. So they can't force you to stay quiet." Pyrrha demanded, and Jaune obliged. They stared back for a moment to see Weiss and Blake talking. "Do you think they will be fine?"
"I think they will." He said as he saw Yang bear hugging the whole team despite their protest.