Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY
Chapter 10: The Good Deeds of an Honest Thief
Blake let out a loud yawn as she walked along Vale's waterfront with her sisters. She didn't understand why Weiss was dragging them all down to the docks on the weekend when they could be doing anything else…like sleeping in. She could almost hear her soft, comfortable bed calling out to her.
"Keep it together Blake. Just humor Weiss for a little bit longer then you can go back for a catnap." Yang said as looked back and gave Blake a smile. Blake gave a tired one of her own in return.
"You wouldn't be needing a nap if you had gone to sleep at a reasonable time like a normal person." Weiss called back without looking back, staring ahead as she led this little procession. "But no, you had to stay out late doing your little 'hobby' after I told you we were going out early; You have only yourself to blame."
Blake made a half-hearted gesture that looked vaguely rude; she was too tired to put any effort into it. Now Weiss was telling the truth, she didn't necessarily need to go out last night, but she wasn't going to give her twin the satisfaction of letting her know she was regretting her decision; stubborn pride was a shared character trait.
Her nightly excursion may have hit a few bumps but overall, she was content with the outcome.
Flashback
The sun had set on the Kingdom of Vale and the starry sky was reflected back by the many lights of the city. On one multi-story building close to Beacon, a dark, female figure was walking along the edge of the flat roof.
"She is the terror that prowls in the night". She was thinking to herself as she walked; one wrong step and she would fall but she moved with perfect balance and grace.
"She will rid the Kingdom of all evil-doers. She will wipe the streets clean of crime like a…like a…wet mop?"
Blake stopped in her tracks and shook her head; that wasn't heroic sounding at all. She out a sigh, her inner monologue ruined, and looked out across the city.
It was an amazing sight as always and seeing it, being within it, was one of the main reasons she went out on these nightly excursions. She had gotten the itch earlier that day and had informed her sisters that she would be going out for the night. She got the usual response of jealousy from Ruby at being able to go out so late, quiet concern from Yang and words to be careful, and what appeared to be indifference from Weiss.
That wasn't the truth but Blake didn't press her. Her prim and proper twin never approved of her nightly excursions but never seriously tried to stop her. This night she gave a off-handed remark about wanting them to go out early the next day, but Blake was barely listening, too busy anticipating what she would be doing once night fell.
Of course, Blake didn't go out in her regular clothes when went out to 'prowl'. She wore a black, form-fitting shirt and pants and reversed her jacket so it was black on the outside. A large black ribbon covered her cat ears and a simple black mask, coupled with red contacts, disguised her face. A pair of functional boots and gloves completed the set and with Gambol Shroud covered with a cloth sheath on her back, she snuck out of Beacon and into Vale.
Blake smiled as she looked out onto the City. The night was young and she had already done some good tonight. Just a short while ago, she prevented a woman from being mugged in an alley. It had been as simple as dropping down on top of the ski-mask wearing punk and quickly knocking him out. She was careful not to show off Gambol Shroud, using it mostly as a means to travel across buildings. It wouldn't do if someone recognized her by her weapon, which was fairly unique.
In this case, it wasn't an issue and she quickly and effortlessly subdued this would-be criminal. She handed the stolen purse back to the shocked but now very relieved young woman. She took what she confidently assumed was a heroic pose as she brushed off the woman's thanks, saying it was simply her civic duty. She then threw her sickle and ribbon like a grappling hook, quickly climbed back up the building and disappeared into then night.
She had come to this building to give herself a much-deserved pat on the back. She had to humbly admit that she was pretty awesome. Saving the innocent and punishing the wicked; she was basically like the heroes from the comic books.
Unlike those characters, who performed these deeds for no reward, Blake did levy a very modest service fee for her actions. She pulled out a wallet from her jacket and tossed in the air before catching it. It had belonged to the wannabe mugger, with Blake relieving him of it when she had knocked him out. Judging by the weight, he hadn't been hurting for money; meaning he had probably done all that just for the thrill of it.
Blake shook her head as she pocketed all the cash before tossing the wallet away. She wasn't doing this just for the money, but she wouldn't pass up a chance to get some lien. Weiss wasn't the only one with a Debt to pay off.
As Blake pulled her hand back, she noticed something strange. There was a diamond engagement ring adorning one of her fingers now. She hadn't put any sort of jewelry on before heading out and the mugger hadn't any on him…but the young woman had one on her hand and Blake had brushed her hand against hers when she handed the purse back.
"…Oh Shit!" Blake cursed as she dashed back towards the alleyway, hoping she could fix her mistake.
Over an hour later, a very chastised Blake returned to this rooftop, sans one 'borrowed' ring. She paced back and forth for a few moments before letting out a barely suppressed scream.
"Damn it! Why am I so bad at being good?!" she shouted. She had been lucky to catch sight of the woman as she was entering a nearby apartment complex. Staying out of sight, she managed to find which apartment was hers and slipped the ring under the door before sneaking out unseen.
But it shouldn't have come to that at all. What kind of noble hero stole a precious item from a victim? She didn't want to do that, no matter how much of a rush it was to take things that didn't belong to her.
Being honest with herself, the thrill and adrenaline rush was a big part of why she did this, but it wasn't, couldn't be, the most important thing. Making money was a nice benefit, but that was secondary. The most important thing had to always be to do good.
"I made a promise" Blake whispered to herself "And I will keep it, no matter what."
She looked out over the City, her eyes blazing. Her accidental jewelry theft gave her an idea; it was quite reckless but Blake wasn't concerned by that. She needed to do something good tonight and this was the best option available.
Taking off in a sprint, Blake leapt off the rooftop and onto its neighbor. She traveled quickly, using Gambol Shroud to reach buildings too far to jump, as she made her way towards the more affluent area of Vale, where the target of her next righteous cat-burglary was located.
Midnight was long past, but there were still a few hours before dawn broke when Blake entered the alley behind a certain bookstore, a bag heavy with jewelry slung over her shoulder. She made double sure that no one was around before emerging from the shadows and approaching the back door of the shop. It was locked of course, but that was no obstacle for her. In less then a minute, the door was successfully lock-picked and Blake entered Tukson's Book Trade.
This great store advertised that it had every book under the sun; what wasn't written was that the whole store was a front for another, more important type of trade.
The backroom of the store was dimly lit and empty, save for boxes filled with overstock books. The hallway ahead led to the front of the store while a set of stairs to the side led to the building's basement.
Blake headed down the stairs, making sure not to make a sound. The door at the bottom of the stairs was ajar slightly, with light spilling form the gap. She could hear that someone was inside, lifting and moving some kind of heavy object. It was only after making sure that it was only one person that she was hearing that she slowly, quietly, opened the door.
The room inside was large, larger than the store front above and filled with crates and boxes of varying sizes. Blake knew for a fact that those boxes didn't have anything that would be needed for operating a simple bookstore.
The person that Blake had heard moving inside was near the centre of the room, lifting one of the boxes from one end of the room to the other. He was a fairly tall and broad man nearing middle age, with black hair and simple plain clothes; just what you would expect form an ordinary shop keeper.
Blake watched the man for a few more moments; he had his back to the door and was completely unaware of her presence. She slowly crept into the room, a mischievous grin on her face.
"Burning the midnight oil?" She said in a loud and cheery tone. Just as planned, the man jumped at the sudden voice, dropping the box he was holding and whirled around, the nails on his hands extending into sharp black claws.
He stopped when he says who it was, the smiling girl who was trying and deliberately failing to appear innocent.
"Night Cat? Jeez, what I have said about sneaking in here? I specifically asked that you call the store phone to let me when you are coming by; there a pay phone just down the street." The store owner, Tukson, signed deeply before looking Blake in the eye. "I put a new lock on the back door." He said flatly,
"Yes, and it took me an extra 10 second to get past it; so, an improvement overall" Blake's answer was dripping with sarcasm, making Tukson sigh again. Before he could ask why she was here, she tossed the bag of jewelry at him, startling him as he hastily took hold of it.
"I relieved that jewelry store at the edge of the rich district of it's choice stock; you know, the one ran by the racist asshat who was using underpaid Faunus workers to cut the gems?"
"Yeah, I know the one…. wait, you hit that place tonight? Last time we talked about it, you said you were going to wait on it." Tukson tiled his head as he looked at her.
"Well…I decided that tonight was as good a time as any. That place's security system was lousy anyway; the owner was a cheapskate on everything. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't been robbed before." Blake's answer was quick and nonchalant as she walked over and picked up the box Tukson had dropped.
It wasn't as simple as all that and she wasn't going to admit what the real reason was. She had done it all on pure impulse, a foolish gesture to make up for her earlier misstep. It was truly lucky that the security system was so lackluster that she was able to get in and out almost effortlessly.
But that was only because that this particular business was so cheap in regards to everything, skimping on worker wages and security to maximize personal profits. There were countless business and companies that took advantage of Faunus workers and were far better at protecting their assets. This was just a minor score, with so much more crime and discrimination against the Faunus that it seemed impossible to make a difference no matter what she did.
Tukson decided not the probe further and took the bag to the far corner of the room where a large safe was set into the wall. Blake took a look at what was in the box and saw that it was filled with canned foods, some basic medical supplies and a warm blanket. A simple but vital little bundle that would help any of the City's less fortunate Faunus survive a few more days. Most of the boxes were the same, with some having used clothes, infant formula and a variety of other useful and needed items.
Tukson's Books Trade was a front for an underground movement of goods for the White Fang to help poor Faunus of Vale to survive. This particular store had been around for decades, under different names and owners, each one a Faunus that could easily blend in with humans and thus not arouse any suspicions. It had been around long before the White Fang and even after the Faunus Rights Revolution it still operated alongside official charities and government programs. Legal, above ground efforts to help the poor always ran the risk of bureaucratic or criminal interfere, so an operation like this stayed around to make sure aid always got to those who needed it.
Still, being all hidden and secretive did have disadvantages; namely that Blake had initially assume that something more nefarious was going on. Two years ago, when out on a day trip to Vale with her family, she had noticed several suspicious men moving boxes into the ally behind the store. It was odd that a fairly small store would need so many supplies at once and would need to be delivered in such a strange way.
The young and righteous Blake Xiao Long immediately assumed that it had to be some criminal operation, that it was drugs or weapons being smuggled in. The obvious solution would have been to either give an anonymous tip to the police or confide in either her father or uncle, who could have used their Huntsmen status to investigate. However, Blake, somewhat correctly, assumed that her suspicions would be dismissed as childish fantasy. Not willing to stand by while such an obvious criminal act was going on, she instead resolved to handle it herself.
At this time, Blake and her sisters were considered old enough to be trusted to take trips to the City on their own and could stay over for the weekend; many hotels and motels in Vale gave preferential treatment to Huntsmen and their families. They only needed to let their father now so he could make the arrangements in advance.
So, as soon as she could, she told her family that she was going to Vale for the weekend by herself to buy school supplies. After getting to the City and settling into her motel room, she waited for nightfall before heading out to Tukson's store, wearing the first iteration of her sneaking outfit.
Everything went smoothly at first; she reached the store unseen, picked the lock on the backdoor with ease and proceed inside without incident. After a quick look around the main floor, she headed downstairs and discovered this large storage area. Her plan was to just take a couple incriminating pictures, something that she could give anonymously to the police so that they would have to take action; thankfully she wasn't so foolish as to attempt to dismantle a criminal enterprise by herself.
She was foolish enough to not cover her tracks or make sure no one else was around. She had just opened one of the crates, and was very confused by the non-criminal contents, when she was attacked from behind. Her sharp hearing and quick reflexes saved her from Tukson's claws as he rushed up to swipe at the her.
They engaged in a brief bout of hand-to-hand combat, with Blake doing everything to avoid being hit. She was at a severe disadvantage in terms of size and strength and at this point she was still developing her weapon and had left the prototype back on Patch, so she was unarmed. She wasn't going to simply give up and was about to counter-attack when Tukson simply stopped.
"You're…a Faunus, aren't you?" he had asked. She almost stumbled at the sudden question and hurriedly insisted that she was a human. She was unconvincing and her mannerisms also revealed just how young she was, so Tukson told her the fight was over. She wasn't going without an explanation, so to prevent more fighting Tukson explained everything.
To say Blake was mortified was an understatement; she thought she was bringing criminals to justice but had instead almost shut down an organization dedicated to helping downtrodden Faunus. She sat down on one of the boxes and quietly held her head in her hands, mentally berating herself.
She had made a promise but seemed unable to keep it.
She was lost in thought for some time and was brought back when Tukson suddenly held a cup of tea in front of her. She was embarrassed again that she had zoned out like that and meekly accepted the cup of tea, taking the time to calm and centre herself. Tukson sat down with his own cup and quietly engaged Blake in conversation.
Blake obviously didn't want to give away anything that would who she or her family was, so she said very little about herself, even refusing to give a name. Tukson decided to call her 'Night Cat' instead, again poking at the obvious lie that she wasn't a Faunus.
So Tukson ended up doing all the talking. He told her of his childhood in Vacuo, how it was tough but fair for him and the other Faunus. Still, it was a pretty chaotic and fractious country, making it hard for anyone to make a real difference. So, he decided to move to Menagerie, where the people were united in their struggle to make that harsh island their home. He took on a variety of jobs before joining the White Fang, where he eventually ended up as the personal bodyguard for Ghira Belladonna. He was there for many years before deciding to leave and take over this underground aid scheme, making a bookstore the cover.
Blake was enraptured by the tale and asked endless questions about Vacuo and Menagerie. These were places outside of the small world she lived in, completely different from what she knew. Part of her desperately wished she could leave Vale and travel to all these amazing places herself, but the larger part of her was terrified of leaving her family; she would just have to wait until she was a Huntress to see the world.
It was odd to her that Tukson had decided to leave the respectable and prestigious job of being the White Fang's leader's bodyguard for a small job in Vale. He never gave a full answer and the most Blake could ever get out of him was that something had happened several years ago that made living in the Belladonna household 'unbearable'. She had no clue what that could be, and since he still seemed to hold both Ghira and Kali Belladonna in high esteem, it had to be something very personal.
After they were done with their tea, Tukson escorted Blake out the backway and gave her a gentle, but still stern, warning about breaking and entering. Blake wanted to make up for her mistake, but Tukson just shooed her away, telling her not to worry.
Patch's Number One Cat Burglar wouldn't be deterred and so not long after, Tukson found "Night Cat' waiting for him in the secret warehouse and demanding that he let her help. While aggravating, Tukson couldn't help but be impressed by this girl's dedication; the world would be a better place with more people like her. Plus, she knew enough about this operation to make things difficult if she wanted, so staying on her good side was a smart move.
It started with just a few simple errands around the store, but soon enough he had her going out into the city to scout out dirty business and organizations that were abusing or cheating the Faunus and getting information that could be used to expose them. He never expressly asked to steal anything but he never reprimanded her when she returned with either documents or material goods. It wasn't the best way to make the world better, but it was the best way that they had at this point in time.
Blake finished setting the box with the others that would be used for the next round of handouts when Tukson returned, a small wad of cash in his hand that he handed to Blake. This was her cut of the stolen jewelry. It was only a fraction of what the bag was worth but Blake wouldn't accept any more then this no matter how much Tukson insisted. Money was nice but it wasn't what this was all about.
Blake pocketed the money, not even having to ask that the money that Tukson would get for re-selling the jewelry to an underground buyer go to the Faunus families that had been taken advantage of by that particular store. Tukson always made sure that money and supplies got to those who needed and deserved it the most. It might only be something small, but it was still doing good and that was more then enough for both of them.
"Anyway, if you don't have anything else to pawn off, you should probably get going. I got nothing else here that needs doing and no major jobs on the horizon for the next while, so it might be some time before we see each other again." Tukson said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Ahhh, don't be like that. Our relationship doesn't have to be all business." Blake replied. She valued her time and conversations with Tukson, as there were few Faunus she could comfortably talk to.
"Oh yes, my 'human' friend, your more then welcome to visit here…in the daytime as a paying customer" Tukson's disappointment was replaced with sarcasm. While he understood this girl's desire to keep her identity a secret and he would never pry too deeply, it was a bit irksome that she didn't trust him enough to be more open, especially after he revealed most of his past. And it was more then a little annoying that she was constantly breaking and entering instead of just knocking on the front door.
Was a slightly more normal relationship too much to ask?
"Don't be so boring. This arrangement is far more exciting." Blake flashed a smile as she started up the stair, followed by a sighing Tukson. Maybe one day she could tell him the truth, but not now; she had to make sure that nothing from this part of her life could negatively impact her family.
Speaking of family, she should probably get back to Beacon. She opened the backdoor and was about to say her goodbyes and head out when Tukson stopped her.
"Hold on, I got something for you" He opened out of the boxes nearby and pulled out a book. "That odd book you ordered finally came in. I don't see why anyone would want to read…"
He was cut off as Blake snatched the book out of his hands faster than he could blink. She held the book up to her face, a wild grin on her face as she as she softly started to cackle.
The latest addition to the superb 'Ninjas of Love' series; most stores wouldn't be getting it for another week but Tukson had managed to get an advance copy. He always felt bad about paying her so little for her work, so getting her a book now and then was the least he could do. Plus, it was nice to use his legitimate business connections now and again.
Still, this wasn't the kind of book he would normally like to carry and this girl's reaction was a bit worrying. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be giving such…controversial reading material to a young lady.
Before he could give voice to those concerns, the young thief dashed out of the store, a hurried goodbye and thank you echoing away as she ran out the backdoor and into the waning night. She entered like a shadow and left like a hurricane. Tukson could only let out a deep sigh as he closed the door and prepared to get some sleep in before opening the store later that day.
He should be more mad and exasperated with this girl, but for some reason he could never muster any anger at her. She almost reminded him of someone else, from a long time ago…before things got difficult.
The Faunus man shook his head before yawning. No need to dwell on the past; sleep was all that was important now.
Outside, Blake was moving quickly across the rooftops of Vale, heading towards Beacon. A big smile shone on her face, as she couldn't wait to get back and crack open her book; sleep was the last thing on her mind.
End Flashback
The black Xiao Long let out another big yawn and almost stumbled; sleep was the only thing she wanted right now. She really shouldn't have binge read through her new book, but she was too excited not too and before she knew it, dawn had arrived and she barely got an hour of rest before her very unsympathetic twin dragged her out of bed. She just wanted to back to bed, get some sleep and then get back to the marvelous reading that was 'Ninjas of Love'.
More then her eyes, it was Blake's nose that registered that they had reach the docks of Vale. The sharp sting of salt water added with the pleasant (for her) smell of raw fish helped to wake her up a bit as the group stopped beside a railing overlooking the harbour front.
"Okay Weiss, seriously; why are we spending our weekend at the docks?" Yang asked, annoyance creeping into her voice.
"Because, my dear sisters, I got a hot tip that some students from the other Huntsmen Academies will be arriving today by ship in advance of the Vytal festival. No doubt they wish to get a leg up on the competition by scouting Vale and Beacon out first." Weiss whirled around to face her sisters. "But we will do one better; we observe them and learn all their strengths and weaknesses before hand. Then when the Festival begins…we will utterly crush them and take the trophy for ourselves."
Weiss nodded to herself. Though the goal of the Vytal Festival was to foster good relation between the kingdoms and to allow the young Huntsmen and Huntresses to show off their skills while bringing honour to their school and homeland, the prize money for the winning team was nothing to sneeze at. Not to mention the sponsorship deals the winning fighter was guaranteed to receive and Weiss could already smell the lien; she was going to do everything to make sure that RWBY was the victor.
Her sisters were less enthused. Sure, they wanted to win the Tournament like every other team but this was going a bit out there. Plus, more then once Weiss's 'hot tips' had proven to be duds, so they had a sinking feeling that they were just going to be wasting their time here.
A commotion nearby drew their attention to up a nearby street. Looking over, they saw that the police were contouring off a small Dust shop that had its windows broken; the obvious sign that they had been robbed. The girls all moved closer and strained their ears to listen to what the two officers in front of the store were saying.
They got the gist that the place had been ransacked last night, but the thieves had taken only the Dust, leaving all the money behind. They had no idea who it could been, with one of them speculating that maybe the White Fang was behind it. The girls moved away and went back to the railing, leaning against it in silence for a few moments.
"Blake?" Yang asked softly.
"I was on the other side of town all night long. I didn't go anywhere near the docks…and I didn't see or hear anything that could be related to this." Blake barely held back her anger at the last part. She had staged her own robbery but it was against a crooked business and the proceeds were going to help people. But right under her nose someone else had gone and ransacked an honest store and ruined someone's business and life. It seemed that her act of good was countered by this act of evil, that it cancelled it out and the world wasn't better; and that frustrated her to no end.
"Do you think it was the White Fang? I mean that violent splinter group that's been in the news." Yang said cautiously, "That Adam guy did try and hijack a Dust train not too long ago."
"Plus, they haven't caught Torchwick yet; maybe he did this?" Ruby added.
Blake nodded at the suggestions before yawning again. This was all too serious and confusing for so early in the morning. She wanted to figure this all out but she really needed to some real sleep first.
"Hey! Stop that Faunus!"
The group turned towards the voice, seeing out across the docks that two officers were shouting at what looked a monkey hanging upside down from a lamppost by its tail.
No, not a monkey; a monkey Faunus. A young man with blond hair and a yellow monkey tail that he was using to hang on with. The boy was showing the officers very little respect, throwing a banana peel at one of them before back-flipping from the lamppost to the main street in an impressive feat of acrobatics. He took off down the street, enraged officers on his heels, and dashed right pass Team RWBY.
Blake had let out another involuntary yawn, her eyes closing as if begging for sleep. When they opened again, she was greeted with the sight of the blonde, spiky haired Faunus boy suddenly being in front of her. He looked over at her and gave a rather suggestive wink before continuing his evasion of the law.
The Faunus, one Sun Wukong, had a big smile on his face as her turned a corner and dash through the streets of thus unfamiliar city. He believed that his little performance, along with his dashing looks, had sufficiently dazzled that cute Faunus girl and thus made a lasting impression on her. While no where near as bad as his partner, he still had a perchance for his own type of flirting on occasion.
What he didn't know was that look of surprise and bewilderment on her face was due to her being half-asleep and confused as to what was happening. Among the many things on her sleep-depraved mind, being blown away by a 'handsome and daring' young man wasn't on that list.
Sun was so preoccupied with his winking at Blake that he didn't pay any attention to the three other girls next to her. He didn't notice the three rage-filled looks he received the moment he winked and ran away not knowing that he had just landed himself on the top of three of the Xiao Long Sisters' hit list; the same place Jaune had been until recently.
While Ruby was the usual source of these burst of over-protectiveness, the Sisters all had similar feelings towards each other. Weiss and Yang had accepted Blake dating back at Signal easy enough, but having a random guy making a pass at her in the streets just set their blood boiling. Ruby had her own set of slightly different but still very complicated and strong emotions towards a situation like this.
"That was one of the foreign students you wanted to scope out, right?" Yang growled. His athletic display spoke of having some Huntsmen training.
"Yes…come on, we need to…observe him" Weiss's voice was cold. Yes, there were many observations she wanted to make…like how much pressure his sleazy, perverted bones could take before they snapped!
Weiss took off running, down the street the monkey boy and the pursing police had gone down. Yang was hot on her heels and Ruby started to follow, stopping when she noticed that Blake was just standing there, having missed what was going on and was unsure what was happening. Her confusion didn't abate as Ruby grabbed hand and pulled her along, but she did do her best to keep up.
The monkey boy was out of sight but Weiss ran at full speed down the street she thought he had gone down. She would catch that ruffian and make him fully apologize for his unacceptable behaviour towards her twin (not to mention his flaunting of the law) and if he didn't, she would rip his tail off and use it as a belt.
All thoughts of her committing excessively violent, and highly illegal acts, were cut short as Weiss turned the corner and promptly ran right into something. She didn't know what it was and her first thought was that it was a metal pole, but what was a pole doing in the middle of the street? The sudden impact caused her to stumble backwards and lose her balance.
Yang, who was right behind her, immediately grabbed Weiss before she hit the ground, lifting her back onto her feet and holding her tightly.
'Are you okay?! Where does it hurt? Are you bleeding? Where the First-Aid Kit? Screw it, which way is the hospital?!" Yang voice was frantic with worry, the yellow Xiao Long more then ready to carry her sister to the nearest doctor if necessary.
'I'm fine! All I did was bump into something" Weiss retorted, pushing her sister away a bit. Sure, she had a pretty painful bump on her forehead but it wasn't anything to get into a frenzy about. More then any of them, Yang could go from 0 to 100 in worrying over her siblings; she took her job as the big sister very seriously.
Right now, Weiss found it mostly annoying, but the fact was that if their positions were reversed, she would be fretting just as much as Yang.
Ruby and Blake caught up just as Weiss extracted herself from Yang's overprotective embrace. Blake smiled, still seeing this all as a strange little exercise before spotting something on the ground just beyond Weiss.
"Uhhh…Guys?" Blake spoke up, pointing with her finger at what she had seen. The others followed and say that laying on the ground, the thing Weiss had run into, was a person.
It was a girl, around their age, with orange hair, bright green eyes and pale skin with freckles. She was wearing a whitish-gray old-fashioned blouse with short gray feminine overalls as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. When she noticed that everyone was looking at her, she gave a big, albeit slightly unsettling smile.
"Sal-u-ta-tions!" The girl said in an overly bright and cherry tone.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Weiss was understandably upset and apologetic; running into someone, knocking them down and seemingly ignoring them was just the height of bad manners.
"I am wonderful! Thank you for asking!" The girl replied, still laying down on the ground.
A long, awkward moment passed.
"Do you…want to get up?" Yang asked uncertainly.
The girl seemed to think for a long moment before replying with a firm 'Yes'. She proceeded to quickly jump back onto her feet, making the others take a half-step back.
"My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you." The girl introduced herself, resuming her cherry demeanor.
"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby." The youngest Xiao Long replied, setting off a series of introductions from the others.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Penny said again, her tone and voice exactly the same as before.
"You…already said that" Blake said, tilting her head in confusion.
Penny again looked thoughtful for a long moment. "So, I did"
Team RWBY simply nodded slowly, finding all of these just a bit disconcerting.
"Well…I'm terribly sorry for running into you. We'll just be on our way." Weiss said, the others following her lead by turning around and beginning to walk away.
"Take care, friend!" Ruby called back with a wave, thinking that she should at least leave with a friendly goodbye. Walking away, she failed to noticed the startled expression on Penny's face.
"She was a little…odd" Yang said in low, but still audible voice after they were a short distance away.
"Well, no matter" Weiss stated, taking charge again. "We have to get back on the trail of that half-naked monkey riff-raff".
Before they could do anything, they were startled by Penny flying over their heads and landing in front of them, an impassive look on her face.
The Sisters were all surprised by this display, none more so then Blake. Even with her attention dulled by lack of sleep, she still should have heard this girl running up behind them before she jumped. Did…did she jump the distance form a standing position? That was insane and probably more then any of them could do.
"What did you say?" Penny asked, looking ahead with an intense look.
"I…ummm…I didn't mean…" Yang stumbled, thinking that Penny had somehow heard her remarks.
"Not you" Penny stated before walking pass Yang, Weiss and Blake and standing in front of Ruby. "You"
The elder Xiao Long Sisters all tense up. Was this girl trying to start something with Ruby? If so, they were more then ready to jump in and make her regret it.
"You called me friend. Am I really your friend?" Penny said in an almost desperate and pleading voice, which stopped the elder Sisters' thoughts of aggression in their tracks.
"I…ummmm…." Ruby didn't know what to do; part of her just wanted run away from this conversation or pass it over to her sisters.
No, she couldn't hide behind her sisters anymore; she was training to be a Huntress after all. Besides, her sisters were always telling her to open and make new friends, and here was someone straight out asking to be her friend.
"Sure, why not" was her response, ignoring all the waving from her sisters to say no. Said sisters silently groaned as it appeared that Ruby had again made friends with someone they would have preferred that she stayed away from.
"Sensational!" Penny shouted in glee. "We can do all sort of fun activities, like paint our nails, try on nice clothes and talk about cute boys!"
Ruby smiled, usually she was the overly excited one. Those did some like pretty fun things to do…except for that last one.
The Sisters recovered their bearings; this girl didn't appear all that bad, just a bit weird.
"So…what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked, wanting to know more about Ruby's new 'friend'.
"I'm here to fight in the tournament. I'm combat-ready". Penny saluted after saying that, as if to drive her point home.
"You'll forgive if I say that you don't quite look the part" Weiss's observation wasn't meant as an insult, but just a comment that she didn't quite match the warrior image that she had for someone competing in that illustrious tournament.
Of course, one could easily say that same about Weiss, something her dear twin was more then willing to point out.
"That's rich coming from the girl who wears a dress into battle." Blake said snidely.
Weiss whirled around, indignation on her face and opened her mouth to set the record straight.
"It's a combat skirt!" Blake and Yang said in unison. "We know, we know" This wasn't the first time they deliberately poked this particular subject.
Weiss's only response was to fold her arms and pout angrily at her sisters. She held out one of her hands, palm up, and Ruby dutifully dashed over and gave her a supportive low-five. Yang and Blake just didn't understand the elegance and grace of the combat skirt like they did.
"Oh, you have no cause for concern" Penny spoke, not reacting to the antics going on. "I am fully capable in both offensive and defensive maneuvers and can-"
Penny suddenly paused, as if she was listening to something. Blake's cat ears twitched and she could have sworn that she heard some sort of beeping sound.
"I'm sorry, but I need to get back before they send someone to look for me. I'll see you again soon, Friend-Ruby." With that, she took off down the street at a quick trot and was soon out of sight.
"Well, she was nice. A bit odd, but nice…right?" Ruby turned to look at her sisters and saw that they had all adopted a thoughtful posture.
Yang, Blake and Weiss were all thinking the same thing, about all the odd things about this new girl; the long pause for her to get back onto her feet, her repeating things, the jump from an absurd distance, the beeping sound before she left and the sheer exuberance she had over simple human interactions. There was one and only one conclusion.
"Ruby…I think Penny is a robot." Weiss said in a serious tone, Yang and Blake nodding along with her as they had reached the same conclusion.
"W-what?! What are you talking about?" Ruby was floored by this sudden turn.
"Yeah, definitely a robot. No question about it." Yang had an almost scholarly expression on her face.
"Yes, it's clear as day that she is a robot." Blake added in.
Between the three of them, they had consumed a vast amount of science fiction media. From movies to books to comics to video games, everything they knew was pointing to this one inescapable conclusion.
"Wait, wait!" Ruby spoke up, waving her hands. "That's just crazy! If you guys just think about this logically and rationally, I'm sure you'll see that this is ludicrous and…"
Ruby trailed off and a confused, almost concerned expression came across her face. "This is weird; I'm the one trying to be all reasonable and level-headed. That's…weird. Is that weird?"
Ruby's sisters all nodded, it was weird…almost unnatural. Ruby was the cute, adorable, excitable one; being all rational was just out of character.
"…Anyway, if we don't see her again before the tournament, we will when it begins. Then we can get to the bottom of this and put this crazy notion of yours to rest" Ruby shook her head; this was really surreal and she would be happy to have her sisters return to being the level-headed ones instead of her.
"Of course, for now we have more important things to do" Weiss stepped up while pumping her arm in the air "We have to get back on the trail of that law-breaking monkey vagabond!"
"Okay seriously, what did he do again?" Blake asked, still not sure why her sisters were so dead set on catching this guy. She let out another yawn; couldn't they just call it a day already?
Weiss grabbed Blake's hand and pulled her along. "Don't be like that. This is an important mission to uphold the honour of both Vale and the Xiao Long Family name! Come on, if you get moving, you'll wake up."
Blake didn't resist. She still had no idea what that boy had to do with her family's 'honour', but if it made her sister happy, then she was fine with going along with it.
Back at Beacon, the sound of clashing steel could be heard ringing from one of the school's many training facilities. This particular room was smaller than others, being a more private spot for just one team of students to practice with each other. This was fine for the purposes of Team JNPR and their ongoing goal of getting their leader up speed in his weapon training.
It was going very well, with Jaune successfully parring all of Pyrrha's swords strokes with his own, even counterattacking and putting her on the defensive. Now Pyrrha was only using her sword, no shield or Semblance and was very much not fighting with everything she had. But she was also not holding back a huge amount either; not as much as she did when they first started these training session several weeks ago. His stance, swordsmanship and overall fighting ability had improved greatly over a relatively short time and Pyrrha was sure that one day he would be able to face her head-on.
A powerful swing from Jaune forced Pyrrha backwards and she retreat to the edge of the room, adopting a relaxed posture; she job was done for the moment. Jaune didn't advance, instead whirling around and raising his shield just in time to block Ren's thrown weapons. The green ninja caught Stormflower as they bounced off the shield and proceeded to launch a flurry of swipes at his teammate.
Jaune continued to block with his shield, keeping his sword at the ready but deliberately not using it. This particular exercise was all about using his shield in the most effective way against a fast barrage of attacks.
A strong shield bash sent Ren stumbling backwards towards the wall. Jaune didn't pursue, instead quickly rolling to the side, just in time to dodge a blow from Nora's hammer. This time, Jaune didn't try to block at all, instead either side-stepping, jumping or dodge rolling to avoid Nora's powerful attacks.
That was the gist of this training routine; using his sword against Pyrrha, shield for Ren and dodging against Nora. This focused on the two parts of his weapon, with dodging being a universally important skill to have, especially for someone behind the curve like Jaune. It also trained him to quickly switch his tactics on the fly, something vital when fighting multiple different Grimm types at once.
They had been at this all day and Jaune, who was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, was finally reaching his limit. Nora leapt backwards and both Pyrrha and Ren dashed forward at the same time. The blonde knight whirled around and did an admirable job holding his two teammates at bay. On his right, his sword was blocking Pyrrha, while the shield on the left was holding off Ren.
Unfortunately, this left his front exposed and his third teammates took the opening; next thing Jaune knew, Nora's hammer was heading straight for his face. It stopped an inch short, seeming to just be frozen for a moment, before lightly tapping him on the forehead.
"Boop"
Nora's catchphrase was the signal that the bout was over. Jaune's teammates all took a step back while the blonde knight himself collapsed to the floor, panting heavily.
"I…left myself open…again." Jaune said between deep breathes. This was the third time in a row that he had been caught by this exact maneuver, he just couldn't process everything that was happening fast enough to dodge or counter.
"Don't be like that. You've improved immensely since we began" Pyrrha said supportively.
It was the truth. They were all holding back when they sparred with Jaune, but they had to give a little bit more each time and he had surprised them more then once during a fight and forced the them onto the backfoot briefly. His strength, speed, endurance and precision had improved considerably.
Still, taking on three opponents at once was beyond even most older students, let alone a first-year. Pyrrha did it often but she was a special case and had argued strongly against this intense level of training.
But Jaune insisted; he needed to get as strong as possible as quickly as possible and that meant pushing to the absolute limit. His drive to succeed, to better himself, was incredible and his teammates found themselves relenting.
Ever since that day when Cardin had beaten him and he was rescued by Weiss, a fire had been lit. That day, when they went out to the city, Jaune had confessed to everyone that he had come to Beacon on false transcripts and he asked him if they would help him train. They were all shocked, except for Weiss and Nora, and they had conflicted feeling over it but the sheer honesty and earnestness of Jaune convinced them all to both keep his transcripts a secret and to help him train.
Team RWBY help as much as they could, but it inevitably fell to JNPR to get their leader up to speed, hence why they were spending their weekend training. They didn't complain, as they understood how important it was for Jaune and their team, and they honestly found it enjoyable and fulfilling. Not just Pyrrha, but Ren and Nora also hadn't had much of a social life before Beacon and thus had spent most of their time training, so this was quite familiar and comfortable.
Nora went to the corner of the room and returned with four bottles of water, which she handed to her teammates. Jaune accepted it gratefully and took a big gulp, his breathing slowly returning to normal.
"I…guess that enough for today." Jaune slowly got to his feet, stretching a bit to get feeling back in his limbs. "After I rest a bit and get cleaned up, I'll hit the library and get back to those books on Alpha Grimm; what are you guys gonna do?"
"Oh, I'll probably join you." Pyrrha replied, "There are some…things I need to brush up on"
That was a lie; she was up to date on everything and was acing every test and assignment so far. Really, she just wanted to stay around Jaune as much as possible. She didn't want to be clingy or anything, but Jaune was the first real human connection she had for a very long time and she cherished it. The same was true for Nora, Ren and Team RWBY; she just loved being a normal person around them.
But if she was being honest, she was also hoping to pick up a few comic books at the library and read them on the sly. Such material had been banned from her home as being 'useless', so being free to read it here was a bit of a rebellious thrill.
Nora and Ren were in the same boat; along with wanting to stay close together, they too wanted to be around Pyrrha and Jaune. They made their own excuses for needing to go to the library as well, so all of JNPR would be going together.
Jaune wasn't just throwing himself into physical training; he was charging headlong into the academic side of Huntsmen training too. He had immediately apologized to Professor Peach on the following Monday for breaking into her storeroom and breaking one of her jars of Red Sap. His sincerity and earnest desire to make up for his mistake had impressed Beacon's chemistry professor and she agreed to not report him for his infraction or give him official detention in exchange for him replacing the lost jar and helping to organize her storeroom after class for the next few days. A new jar of Red Sap was thankfully as easy as picking it up from the Professor's regular suppler in the city; no need to go all the way to Forever Falls by himself.
When it came to helping sort and organize the professor's vast collection of chemicals and reagents, Jaune chose to take it as an opportunity rather then a punishment. He asked question after question about all the substances that could be used by a Huntsmen, most of which he had never heard of before. Professor Peach patiently answered all his queries and then some, happy to help a student so eager to learn.
Jaune didn't stop at just Chemistry Class, he approached Professor Port and Oobleck after their respective classes to asked more questions and for supplementary readings. They too were more then happy to help and Jaune was quickly making up the distance between him and the Combat School graduates. He wasn't anywhere close to the top of the class, but he was steadily improving and the Beacon staff were taking notice of him.
To his teammates, Jaune's efforts were nothing less then amazing. To them, going to Beacon learning to fight Grimm was an obligation rather then a choice. Pyrrha had her inherited destiny and duty to be a savior of mankind while for Ren and Nora, their past and current…conditions, meant that there wasn't really much of a future outside of being Huntsmen for either of them.
But Jaune was here entirely by choice and he was choosing to give it all he had to be the best he could be. They had had more training and experience then their leader, yet they had nothing but respect and admiration for Jaune and they vowed to help him in any way they could.
Jaune moved his arms around and made a face. "Argh. I'm drenched in sweat, it's disgusting."
"Well, that's what you get for training not only with armour, but while also wearing a sweater underneath." Ren commented as he put his weapons away into his sleeves.
"Yeah, why are you wearing that anyway? It would be fine for the fall or winter, but the weather's been pretty warm lately" Nora added.
'It's my favorite sweater. I had to mail in like, 50 coupons from Pumpkin Pete cereal boxes to get this. This is a limit-edition item. My armour and weapons are family heirlooms, so this is my personal touch." Jaune explained as he moved to the wall and started removing pieces of his armour.
"Still, getting overheated because of inappropriate attire can be serious problem" Pyrrha chided him lightly. "It important to dress for the climate; I would suggest you consider switching to summer fatigues or at least something lighter."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jaune conceded as he pulled the sweater off. "A T-shirt and shorts wouldn't hurt I guess, though I still want to wear the sweater for important missions and stuff."
Pyrrha nodded at this and was about to suggest that they could go shopping tomorrow but her words failed when Jaune grabbed the hem of his undershirt and lifted it over his head, leaving him bare-chested.
The blonde sighed contently as he fanned himself, cooling himself down with his sweat-covered sweater and shirt off. His teammates on the other hands were started to feel very hot as his sweat-covered upper body was now on full display.
Jaune may not have been the biggest or buffest guy in Beacon but he was starting to add a good deal of muscle. Before coming to Vale, with no recourse for formal training, Jaune had done his best with physical exercise at home. That, combined with the intense regime he was undergoing with his team, and the results were beginning to show. Nora, Ren and Pyrrha could only stare as their face grew red and their minds began to run wild.
For Pyrrha, strange and unknown feelings were coursing through her; this had happened many times since coming to Beacon. It had started with Jaune, with other instances like now when he had his shirt off for brief periods or when he was in casual clothes but recently it had been going beyond that. Looking at other people were beginning to stir these feeling as well, both men and women. She had blanked out more then once when watching Yang, Blake or Weiss train, their bodies in graceful motion. It had even happened with Nora a few times and she was glad she hadn't done anything stupid yet.
Pyrrha knew about puberty and hormones, she had a first-rate education, but she had never had the chance to really feel anything. At home and at Sanctum, everything about her life was regulated and anything even remotely considered indecent was kept far away. Her only physical interactions with anyone was through grueling training and this was the first time she had spent any time with people her own age.
It was…confusing; immensely so. It was so different from what she knew and it unsettled her, but at the same time it didn't feel bad. She wasn't sure what to do about, but she was certain that it wasn't something bad; maybe she should talk to someone about this?
That was for later, as right now her full attention was given over to ogling her partner.
Nora was in a similar boat as well, having never seen like this before or felt these kinds of feelings for another person. Her relationship with Ren, while very close, had never gotten to something like this nor had she any close relationship with any male before now…for obvious reasons. She had always thought that it was for the best to not get close to any other then Ren, who in many ways had no choice but to be around her. But Jaune was such a nice and welcoming person that she couldn't help but want to spend time around him, which in turn was leading her to realize just how attractive he was.
It was both similar and very different to how she felt about Ren, which itself was a complicated mess of emotions, so it an overall very exciting and confusing situation she was finding herself in.
For Ren, he was trying to keep his mind out of the gutter. Thinking such things wasn't becoming of a proper Huntsmen in his eyes. He was here to learn and become strong, so he would never to helpless to save those he cared about again, not to stare at guys or girls not matter how attractive they may be. He was here to become strong, not to ponder on how well Jaune's top half matched his bottom…
Ren shook his head at these thoughts. He had no issue with feelings like this per say, but he felt they weren't appropriate at this time. He needed to become a great warrior, not focus on his kind and attractive teammate like some fawning school girl…
"Boys are easier to deal with then girls."
That phrase, spoken in a hard and cold voice echoed in Ren's mind, making him finch as a sharp pain cross his right palm. Looking at the hand, a long and thin line of white crossed the calloused palm. Jaune had asked about it some time ago and Ren had given the very truthful answer of it being an old scar from his early training.
That was the truth, but not all of it. There was a lot of emotional baggage alongside this scar and he wasn't comfortable talking about to anyone; not now and not ever. He just locked it away deep inside, along with all these confusing emotions that Jaune was causing.
The blonde knight simply grabbed a towel and began wiping the sweat from his body away. He was completely unaware of the effect he was having on his teammates and it was a situation that wasn't going to stop any time soon.
Such were the unique trials and tribulations of Team JNPR.
It was late afternoon by the time Team RWBY returned to their dorms, with Weiss finally admitting that they couldn't find that blonde monkey Faunus anywhere. Blake staggered to her bed, yearning for a good, long catnap.
"Blake…there something I want you to do." Weiss said in a serious tone, making the others all turn to her.
"What is it? Can it wait until after I get some sleep?"
"No, it's important." Weiss looked Blake straight in the eye. "It's getting really dangerous out in the city at night. Several Dust shops have been in the last week and if is a part of the White Fang doing it, then it's a whole group of people doing it."
"Don't worry, I'll be safe and-"
"NO!" Weiss shouted. "Damn it. Those thieves were out in the city last night, same as you, and you could have easily run into them. You could have gotten into serious trouble with no one around to help you."
"Weiss, you being a worry wart. I'm fine, but if you want, I won't go out for the next little while" Blake conceded.
"That's…not good enough. This whole exercise of going out and pretending to some 'noble' thief is ridiculous. You're breaking the law and risking your life for cheap thrills. This ends now; I forbid you going out at night."
Blake's eyes widen at this declaration before narrowing to hard slits. She crossed the room and got right in front of Weiss.
"What did you say?" she asked, her voice low.
Weiss didn't back down, getting right up to her and looking up at her taller twin with her own hard stare.
"I said, I forbid you to play at being thief anymore."
To the side, Ruby was frantically looking between her sisters while Yang began to open her mouth to say something before closing it and watching silently with her arms crossed.
"You're ordering me? You're a lot of things Weiss, but you aren't Dad and you aren't Mom!"
"At least I have more common sense then you. Going out robbing and stealing for fun? You're not doing anything good with that!"
Something snapped in Blake's mind. Not doing good…this whole thing was about her doing good! If it wasn't doing good, then what was all this for?!
Blake gritted her teeth and for a moment it seemed like she would slap her sister. Instead, her turned on her heels and stormed out of the room.
"Immature little…." Weiss muttered angrily. "Can't she see that…GAAAHHH!" With a growl of frustration, Weiss stomped towards the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
The room was silent for several moment before Ruby turned to Yang.
"Yang! Why didn't you stop them?"
It was a fair question; as the big sister, Yang often took it upon herself to make her sisters stop fighting and make up. It had always been that way, so why hadn't see spoken up this time?
Yang didn't answer immediately, instead looking around the room for several moments before turning to Ruby with an impassive look.
"That was a fight between members of Team RWBY, inside of the Team RWBY dorm." Yang's voice had an uncharacteristic lack of emotion. "Thus, it is the responsibility of stopping those from fighting would fall to the leader of Team RWBY, which isn't me, is it?"
Ruby stared at her sister for a long moment, processing what she had said. She then pulled her hood over her head and began to pace around the room, upset with herself.
Yang was right, she as the leader of this team and she had a responsibility to keep them in line. Hadn't she been upset with Weiss not long ago for not treating as a leader, of still viewing her as just her little sister?
But that thinking went both ways and Ruby obviously having issues seeing Yang, Blake and Weiss as her teammates and not as her big sisters. As the little sister, she didn't get involved when her sisters go into fights with one another, instead waiting for her Dad or Yang or someone else to come along and solve the issue. In the middle of battles, she could easily disassociate enough with her siblings to give out commands and orders but in the dorm room she was still the dutiful little sister and that wouldn't cut it anymore.
Yang watched this display, guilt weighing heavily on her heart. It had taken a lot of effort to not immediately jump into the middle of that argument and force the two of them to back down. She wanted to make all their problems go away, but she knew she couldn't keep coddling them all. Ruby need to step up and be a leader in all situations and she knew Weiss had been holding in her feelings regarding Blake's nightly escapades for a long time. Airing it all out was something she needed to do, though perhaps not in this manner, and it was about time Blake fully articulated why she had to do all this. Standing back and letting this all unfold was the responsible thing for her to do.
Didn't stop her from feeling like absolute crap.
After a few minutes, Yang gently grabbed Ruby by the shoulder to stop her from pacing. She stood in front of her little sister and slowly, gently, lifted her chin up so she could look her in the eye. The sad expression and tears forming at the corner of her eyes almost ripped Yang's heart out, but she held firm and simply held Ruby's gaze for a long moment.
"I…" she muttered, taking a deep breath. "When…when Blake gets back, I'll make her and Weiss sit down and talk this through. I'll…order them to do it, for the good of the team." Ruby looked at Yang with a hopeful expression. "Will…will you help me?"
"Of course," Yang said with a big smile, gently wiping the tears from Ruby face before kissing her on the forehead. "I'll always be here to help you."
That was her vow; to be help and stay with her sisters, for all their days and more.
Night had fallen as the distraught Blake Xiao Long jumped between the buildings of Vale, too upset to worry about a disguise though thankfully no one noticed her. He earlier tiredness and exhaustion were temporarily forgotten as she dashed through the darkening city. Eventually, she returned to ground level and run into the middle of an empty park. The central piece of this particular park was a statute of a human and a Faunus shaking hands, symbolizing the end of Faunus War and heralding a new era of peace and cooperation.
Blake didn't know why she had ended up in this place. She had walked this park many times before with her family and she really liked the statue and what it represented; it had been unveiled just before the Tragedy and Blake's arrival at Patch. Maybe she wanted what the statue was showcasing, harmony and understanding between a Faunus and a human; or in her case, between her and Weiss.
The fact she was a Faunus wasn't the issue here but it was a fact that she and Weiss were very different in a lot of ways. That had never been a problem before but it seemed that they were on diverging paths. Weiss not understanding her now, the White Fang going crazy, the stress of school work, it was all overwhelming her at once.
As Blake looked at the statue, she desperately wished that her sister could just understand that what she did, she did it to make the world better; to do good in the only way she felt she could. Just because it didn't fit perfectly in Weiss's little box of what was acceptable didn't make it have any less value or make it bad. Why couldn't she think less about herself and more about how others…
"Hey! I was hoping to see you again."
An unfamiliar voice caused Blake to spin around and see that blonde monkey Faunus from earlier that day. He's shirt was still open and he had a cocky grin on his face.
"You're…that half-naked monkey boy from this morning…" Blake said, confused as to why he was suddenly here.
The mysterious boy let out a loud groan. "Arrggghhh! Listen! Just because I leave the front of my shirt open, which is to keep me cool as I was raised in a hot climate and not to show off my sick abs, it doesn't constitute being 'half-naked' or indecent. This is the one time that the law is firmly on my side, believe me." This was obviously a recurring point and he was apparently quite sore over it.
"Oh…okay." Blake responded softly.
A long moment passed before Blake's eyes rolled into the back of her head and started falling to the ground, unconsciousness taking her. She had been running on no sleep for almost a whole day now. The sheer exhaustion, combined with the emotional stress of her fight with Weiss, hit her all at once and her body just shut down without warning.
Sun dashed forward and caught before she hit the ground. A quick check showed that she was unhurt and just sleeping, but now he had an unconscious girl in his arms, in the middle of the night in a city he had only just arrived at.
Sun let out a sigh as he picked her up and started to look for a safe place to spend the night. He had hoped to get this cute girl to swoon over him, but this wasn't what he wanted. It was looking like his first night in Vale was going to be interesting in a way he hadn't been planning on.
And so, darkness fell on both the Kingdom of Vale and on the Sisterhood of Team RWBY. Dawn would come in due time, but it wouldn't be the end of these troubling times. In fact, it was only just the beginning.
That's it for this chapter, sorry it took so long. Next time we will get a bit more on why Blake wants to be a noble thief and a big battle at the docks with Roman's crew.
For Nora, Ren and Pyrrha, I'm going for that none of them have any experience or preconceptions with relationships and are open to same-sex relationships; the main issue is taking that first step into a relationship and opening up to another person, where our open-hearted Jaune will help them out with. These three have a number of issues and emotions to work through, which we will see more of as time goes on.
With the issue of Blake being a Faunus and former White Fang member not being a driving force in this story, I've been trying to add in new conflicts for the girls to go through and I hope this all works out alright.
I've decided to give Tukson a bigger role in this story; his death in the show really had no impact at all besides showing us how dangerous Emerald and Mercury are. They don't really explain why it was such an important thing that he was leaving the White Fang and why he had to die, so I hope to expand a bit more on this, with him having a bigger role and history with the White Fang. His past with the Belladonna's also means that he knew Blake from before the ship crash and might recognize her if not for the disguise she wears when around him. This is a plot point that will come up in the future.
Penny has a few new additions here, mostly in how it a bit more obvious she's a robot and that RWBY figured it out right away. I don't have a lot else planned for her right now, so I'm open to suggestions.
That's all for now. I'll try and get the next chapter out as quick as possible, as it should be shorter than this one, but again I make no promises. If you liked this chapter, then please leave a review or a PM, as they really do help.
I'll see you next time.
