Here's the Velvet chapter. I asked a couple of questions at the bottom that'll affect the story going forward.

Velvet Scarlatina was used to hate. As a Faunus living outside Menagerie, she always knew she'd be an outsider. A part of her resented her parents for their choice to stay in Vale despite knowing they just wanted a better life for them all. Vale was one of the better places for them all. The only other choice was Vacuo, and in many ways it was more dangerous than even Atlas despite their acceptance of anyone, Human or Faunus, that could survive the harsh landscape.

Vale treated Faunus better than Atlas and Mistral, though that wasn't exactly a high bar to clear. At the very least there were rarely businesses that refused her service because of her ears. Still, that didn't stop the few loud ones from making it clear what they thought of her.

Cardin Winchester was one such individual. The rest of his cronies at team CRDL followed in his footstpes, but it was clear that without their leader they wouldn't have the guts to antagonize a second year. Cardin was different. He was proud, and more than that he thought he was impervious to consequences. Being the son of a councilor taught him that he'd always be shielded no matter what he did.

She never fought back and she'd pleaded for the rest of her teammates to do the same. As much of an asshole as Cardin was, it wasn't worth team CFVY getting the ire of a councilman. Huntsmen were apolitical by nature - outside of the ones in Atlas, at least - but it was a well-known fact that cozying up to the politicians (if not being actually loyal to them) was part of the culture. The last thing they needed was to be blacklisted in Vale.

That was why she grit her teeth and said nothing when Cardin pulled her ears again while his cronies laughed. It would've been so easy to lash out and hurt him. Everyone else ignored them. A few others shook their heads and clicked their tongues about how shameful it all was, but of course none of them helped. That was how it always was with the Faunus. Too many people thought it was good enough to just say they disapproved.

"Hey."

Team CRDL and even Velvet turned to the new voice. It was someone she only barely recognized. Denji, if she remembered right. She didn't really know much about him, though she had heard rumors. He was enrolled under unusual circumstances, he didn't have a team, and his Semblance allowed him to transform into some kind of bladed monster. That last one really should've gotten more attention, but apart from one Yang Xiao Long screaming in fear whenever he got close, no one really cared.

"What do you want?" Cardin spat.

Denji didn't say anything and just kicked Cardin between the legs. The attack was so unexpected that Cardin didn't even get the chancce to put his Aura up. The remaining members of team CRDL, Velvet and the people in the cafeteria only watched in utter shock as Denji kicked Cardin in the nuts again before the bully finally managed to put up his Aura and take the next hit.

"Geez, did you just put a titanium cup in there?" Denji hopped back made a show of hopping on one foot. She could tell he wasn't really hurt.

"What...the fuck are you doing?" Cardin growled.

"Kicking you in the nuts."

"I know that's what-" Cardin groaned and resisted the urge to cup his manhood, "Do you have any idea who I am!?"

"Nope."

"I'm Cardin Winchester!"

"Good for you?"

"My dad's a councilman, you fucking freak! Touch me again and I'll-"

Another kick to the balls. To his credit, Cardin took it way better than before. Velvet watched the two lay into each other and was torn between stepping in herself or calling a teacher when another voice cut in, "That's quite enough." Professor Goodwitch separated the two with her Semblance, letting the two of them hang in the air upside down.

"W-Wait, he was only trying to help me!" Velvet cut in quickly.

"I'm aware, Miss. Scarlatina."

Professor Goodwitch plopped Denji onto a nearby table and led the still-floating Cardin out, ignoring his protests that he was only defending himself and 'that freak' should be expelled. The rest of his team could only sheepishly follow after him when the professor gave them all a cold look.

Velvet was left just awkwardly standing there while the rest of the cafeteria went back to their usual business. Just another day in the life of a student Huntsmen, they'd tell themselves. She really wished the rest of her team was here now.

Taking a deep breath, the rabbit Faunus walked forward and and sat next to her unlikely savior. He had a few forming bruises on his face and his nose was bleeding, and yet despite that he was grinning happily.

"Um...thank you," she said. Normally she hated being treated as weak - she was a Huntress-in-training, for god's sake - but she couldn't ignore that he'd gone out of his way to help her without even being asked.

"It's cool." He leaned back on the seat and propped his elbows up on the table. To most people it might've looked effortless, but she - and likely more than a few of the other students - could tell he was deliberately trying to look cool as he did it. Velvet paid it no mind.

"I don't mean to sound like I'm ungrateful, but...why did you do that?" Even if Cardin wasn't a councilman's son, most Huntsmen had the viewpoint that you should be able to take care of yourself. In their eyes it was up to her and her team to deal with Cardin, not an outsider.

"I mean...do I really need a reason to help out a pretty girl?" Velvet blinked. That...wasn't what she expected.

"Cardin's father is a councilman. He'll make life difficult for you."

"Eh, who cares? Isn't that Ozpin guy in charge of the Hunters or whatever? Don't really care what some other guy in a suit thinks about me."

"I...see." She nodded weakly. In all honesty she would've fought if she didn't have her team to consider. Was Denji the same way, "I...I'd really like to thank you for helping me. Would you like to have lunch with me down at Vale this weekend? It'll be my treat!"

"Woah, you serious?!" Denji's face lit up like he just won the lottery. It was sweet, "Heck yeah I'll come!"

"Great! I'll see you this weekend."

The rest of her team, and Coco in particular, wouldn't stop asking her about her far more chippeer mood for the rest of the week. They heard all about Cardin's ball-kicking incident and both Fox and Yatsuhashi just assumed she was happy that Cardin and his team had finally stopped harassing her, though Coco could tell it was more than that. Velvet kept mum, however.

The weekend arrived faster than she expected. She went down to Vale an hour early just in case and was surprised to see Denji already there waiting for her, "Denji, you're here early!" She smiled nervously.

"Uh, yeah, I actually got here at six am." Velvet blinked. They agreed to meet at ten and it was only nine now. He'd been here three hours?! "Doesn't matter, though." He looked away and blushed. It felt so out of place what little she knew of him.

"O-Okay, well, let's go."

He took her to a burger place she knew. For some people it might've looked cheap considering he'd antagonized a councilman's son to help her, but Denji acted as if she'd taken him to a five-star restaurant. He smiled so brightly when he bit into the double burger that she almost laughed. He was just like Fox in that way.

It was only supposed to be lunch as a thank you, but she ended up going with him to other places. The arcade, the park, and then a cafe late in the afternoon. This time he insisted on covering for his own part of the cost since 'she already paid him back', to use his words. Any and all arguments to the contrary were rendered moot when he slammed some Lien onto the counter before she could finish.

Before she knew it nighttime had come. Her scroll had blown up with messages from Coco asking if she was okay or if she needed backup, though Velvet barely paid it any mind. She found herself having too much fun.

They were on their way to the bullheads when Velvet stopped and said, "Denji, please tell me the truth." He stopped and looked back at her, "Why did you really help me with Cardin? Was it really just because you wanted to help a 'pretty girl'?" She never considered herself exception in the looks department. Huntsmen and Huntresses tended to be some of the best looking people their age, and while she was attractive in a general sense she didn't have Coco's style, Fox's exotic charm, and Yatsuhashi's raw physicality.

"Uh, yeah...kind of." Denji scratched his cheek, "But, uh...well, I was tryin' to look cool too."

"Cool?" She tilted her head to the side.

"I mean, you hear about it all the time, yeah? Guys who swoop in and save the girl from the assholes?" Velvet blinked. He wasn't wrong per-se, and she probably did look like the damsel from an outside perspective, "I just thought...well, I thought I'd look awesome doin' it. And...maybe few girls would think so too."

She blinked again. He helped her out because he wanted to look cool in front of girls. It was so...simple that she couldn't stop herself from laughing. It wasn't just light giggles, either. Her hands were on her knees and she was full-on belly laughing at the idea that this was what it all was. That he didn't care about antagonizing the son of a councilman because he wanted to look cool.

"H-Hey, come on! It's not that bad!"

"No, it's just..." The laughter trailed off into softer giggles after a few seconds, "I'm sorry, I just...I wasn't expecting that."

"You were the one who asked."

"Yes, I'm sorry again." She smiled up at him, "Well, I'm glad you did it. I had a great time today and I'm sure that girls thought you were cool." Mostly foolish and short-sighted, or an Animal Lover for those with more narrow viewpoints, but cool nonetheless.

"You think so?"

"Well, I certainly did." She closed her eyes briefly, "I had fun today, Denji. Thank you. Do you wanna do this again next week?"

The blonde's eyes widened and he jumped like an eager puppy, "Yeah, totally! Wouldn't miss it!"

"I'm looking forward to it."

And then, in an uncharacteristic burst of confidence, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his right cheek. Denji froze on the spot, and for a moment she wondered if she did something wrong before he suddenly turned around and screamed, "Oh yeah!" The cheer was loud enough to draw a few stares. Denji paid them all no mind and continued to whoop and holler, even fistpumping the air. It was flattering.

Velvet wondered what their next date would be like.

What's this? Denji gets a date and isn't screwed over in some way? Count your days, Velvet. You're either gonna die horribly or something will compel you to try and kill Denji.

Next chapter is gonna be Blake or Ruby. We'll see.

Questions:

1. Alright, so when I first started this fic I didn't really think about Denji's placement, so let's try to solidify that now. Do you guys want this Denji to be from Part 1before Makima even got him or Part 2 after everything is said and done and he's adopted Nayuta?

Depending on the choice we can get different segments. V2 Denji allows me to have Nayuta be present, though it would make his boob obsession in the previous chapters kinda out of character. V1 Denji allows for more malleability, but we don't get the more mature bits like Denji being a caring parental figure or understanding that he has to make his own choices.

2. So what do you guys think, stick with Velvet or pair Denji off with some else? Others have suggested that Denji's type even in Part 2 is authoratative women and if so then Blake, Weiss or even Winter might be a better fit. Would definitely somewhat funnier since Velvet is mostly fine with Denji's eccentricities and doesn't really react to his odd behavior whereas those three would do.

If we go with Part 1 Denji then he can also be paired off with villains. Reze kinda proves that Denji would still be down bad for mass murderers so Neo and Cinder are options in that case.