As promised, Jaune has sent Ruby an update on Blake. However, he did not tell her where Blake and he are staying for now since Blake told him not to tell her team.
Currently, Jaune and Blake are in a café in Vale.
Jaune ordered black coffee, and Blake ordered green tea. She said it helps calms her down.
"So? Do you want to talk about it?" asked Jaune. He knew all about Blake, but he would let her explain.
"Are you familiar with the White Fang?" asked Blake. She was afraid of what Jaune would think about her when she tells him of her past.
"Yeah, I am," said Jaune. The first time he learned about the White Fang was not pleasant. It was the time he was training near his hometown outside the Instant Dungeon. "They're not a very friendly bunch. At least not anymore. I read that they used to only do protest movements, but after your father stepped down and handed the mantle to Sienna Khan, things changed".
"That's right. When my…father…," said Blake. She stopped as she realized that Jaune knew about her connection to the White Fang. "You knew I was part of the White Fang".
"I did, but to be fair, you didn't hide your last name," said Jaune. "It was a dead giveaway".
Blake sighed. She knew that Jaune might have figured it out when he told her that he knew she was a Faunus.
"You're right, 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 as a voice of our people. And I was there," said Blake. She held the cup of tea tightly. "I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist. Or so I thought back then. I was young and did not know better.
Then, as you said, five years ago, my father stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking, Sienna made drastic changes to how the White Fang operated. 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. I thought we were being treated like equals. But the truth is, they were merely afraid of us. Our action, we didn't know, I didn't know that it made things worse for those not in the White Fang.
So, when I found out, 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".
Jaune smiled at Blake. Yes, she has done terrible things, but she was trying to make amends by being a Huntress and helping people. Human and Faunus alike.
Blake looked at Jaune, she saw him smiling at her. She was relieved he didn't walk away after hearing what she said.
"Blake. You've done horrible things," said Jaune. He looked at the sky, thinking. He looked at Blake and continued. "However, you are trying to make amends for the things you've done. It will not erase the things you've done, but you are trying to change for the better.
I don't know the full scope of the things you've done. So, I can't truly say much. However, I have to ask. During your time in the White Fang, have you ever taken a life?".
"I haven't done so directly," said Blake. Her expression became saddened. "However, some of the operations I've participated in have inadvertently caused death. I still remember when I came to the same place as Blake and not Blake the White Fang member. What I saw that day horrified me. That's when I started thinking about the horrible things our operation has caused".
Blake explained the operation was meant to be simple. Steal the supplies they need. However, the town no longer had enough supplies for themselves, which caused a massive amount of negative emotion, which attracted the Grimm. When Blake back to the place, it was devastated. It was gone…except for the corpses of the former residents.
"Since that day, I have questioned the things we do," said Blake. She held the cup in her hand tighter. "I thought back on all the operations we went to, and they were bad. I saw just how horrible our operations were. So, when I had the chance to leave, I took it. Especially when my partner in the White Fang wanted to kill innocent people on the train where our operation took place. He didn't even care that there were also Faunus in the group. It was then I realized how unhinged the White Fang truly was. Just because the Faunus were mingling with Humans, he already saw them as traitors to Faunus kind".
"Sheesh, your partner is horrible," said Jaune. He waited for Blake to continue as he saw that she had more to say.
"The worst part is? He is the leader of the White Fang here in Vale," said Blake. She sighed. "And the others have no issues following his every order. Don't be mistaken, not all of them agree with his horrible plans, they are just afraid that he would kill them".
"Yeah, he is worse than I thought," said Jaune. He sighed. "Who is your partner anyway?".
"Adam Taurus," said Blake. "He is my ex".
Jaune went wide-eyed at the name. He knows who that is.
"I met him," said Jaune. His tone was venomous. "When I meet him again, this time, I will make sure that I kill him!".
Jaune fought Adam before and won. He spared him as he thought the guy deserved a second chance. That was a mistake and caused the death of a person. A child no less.
Blake can see the anger in Jaune's eyes. Whatever happened, it angered Jaune to the very depths of his being.
"Back then, I thought everyone deserved a second chance," said Jaune. He squeezed his fingers together. He was nearly in tears remembering the memory of what happened. "But now I know, people like Adam, don't deserve a second chance. I gave him that chance and he used it to kill a child in front of me".
Blake looked aghast at what Jaune said. Adam was worse than she thought.
"Did you say Adam killed a child in cold blood?" asked Blake. Jaune nodded at her. She didn't think Adam would be worse than she thought.
"Back then, I didn't have the ability I had now," said Jaune. It was during the beginning of his training. He could not heal people. It was the reason why Adam was able to escape while he was trying to tend to the child that was attacked by him. "It was then I pushed myself to the limit. I thought that if I was strong enough, the child wouldn't have died. For an entire year! I had nothing on my mind but to train".
"I am sorry he made you experience such a thing," said Blake. She looked down. For someone like Jaune to keep smiling after witnessing such a thing was quite something.
"Don't apologize, Blake," said Jaune. He looked at Blake seriously. "You have nothing to apologize for. It's Adam's doing not yours, and not your people. I am smart enough to know that a single person who has done something terrible does not represent an entire race".
"Thank you for that, Jaune," said Blake. She knew that many people do not think that way. "I have seen many do the opposite. They believe the action of a single person equates to the action of all. It is frustrating".
Jaune and Blake continued to converse.
"What are your plans now?" asked Jaune. He wanted to help Blake, but he can't if he doesn't know what she is planning.
Blake was thinking if she should tell Jaune about her plans to find out if the Dust robbery is truly done by the White Fang because it doesn't make sense to her. The White Fang has never needed such an exuberant amount of Dust. Plus, it would place a bigger target on their back with all the robberies being done.
"I plan to find out the truth," said Blake. She decided to bring Jaune in. She knew that he was going to find a way to be a part of it. May as well get his help in the beginning. "However, I don't know where to start".
Jaune helped Blake think of a way for them to figure it out.
"How about if we scout out a place robbery could happen?" asked Jaune. That was a good idea. "The only problem is, where or who would their next target be? There are hundreds of Dust shot in Vale".
"That's true, but I noticed that the robberies are only happening in stores that are from medium to large," said Blake. "That way, we can rule out quite a bit of the list".
Jaune and Blake looked at their scroll and searched for Dust stores that fit their criteria.
"There aren't any more Dust stores of those sizes," said Blake. She saw that all the stores from medium to large have already been robbed. "There's got to be something".
Jaune and Blake continued looking. They both knew that the White Fang are trying to gather large amounts of Dust, hence, they avoided the smaller shops.
"I think I have an idea," said Jaune. He used his scroll and hacked into a system. It was scheduled for incoming ships. "Bingo! There is a Schnee Dust transport arriving today. If the thieves want to score big, that's going to be their target".
Blake looked at Jaune. She was curious.
"How did you know that?" asked Blake. She knew that schedules for those kinds of things are not public information. "Where did you get that information?".
"I may have hacked the system of different companies to see if there are going to be any ships arriving today," said Jaune.
"Huh…You can use magic and you're well-versed in technology," said Blake. Thinking about it, it is quite scary. "Imagine combining Magic and Science".
Jaune smiled at Blake. He's already done that. He even created a CAD (Casting Assistant Device). Perks of Divine Smithing. But he was not going to say that.