Author's Note: Writing Nora is kinda fun honestly, it's like I just turn off my obsessive syntax/grammar tendencies and just write with a sort of free-flow of word vomit. The Pyrrha section also finished in record time - but after that, all progress stopped for a long ass time. I don't know why. But if I had to guess, I just find some perspectives easier to write than others.


Sins of the Forefathers

Act the Third: Heavy is the Head

Chapter Twenty-Three: Friends, Acquaintances, and Bitter Enemies


As Ren was slammed into the wall behind her, Nora couldn't help but wonder if maybe they weren't as ready for Beacon as she thought they'd been.

For the past few weeks - ever since Jaune had sat the team down and spoken to them all about his (surprisingly realistic, given his supposed upbringing) expectations for the team, he'd worked them as hard as he'd promised to.

There was more to the meeting than that, of course - a clearing of the air, a genuine and (as far as Nora could tell) heartfelt checking in on everyone, to make sure they were all okay with being on his team despite his past, some icebreakers, getting their inputs on various training plans, so on and so forth.

But in the long run, it wasn't all that important beyond confirming that everyone on Team JNPR was okay with remaining part of it - and as far as Nora saw it, she was more than fine with being on a team with someone willing to stand up to a bully like Cardin, even if she would've preferred the brawl that Jaune had kept her from starting.

And in the weeks since then, Jaune had been the model team leader - he'd been on time to anything and everything, personally checked on everyone at the start and end of each day, made sure everyone was doing their homework (and even helped tutor the others whenever they struggled with a subject he knew about!), and even helped other team leaders with their team's problems and the leadership course homework (mainly Ruby, but apparently he'd formed a sort of study group regarding the leadership course and often led the other team leaders in reviewing the content and studying for their tests).

He was even involved in a number of extracurricular activities, having signed up as a part-time member for a number of the student clubs on campus. Ren and Yang from Ruby's team had both joined the Martial Arts Research Club (fitting, Nora supposed); Nora had joined the baking club; Weiss had apparently joined the "Society of Young Economists" (?); Blake and Ruby had joined the Criminology Club (weird combo, but okay); and Pyrrha had opted out for some reason or another, Nora hadn't pried.

Jaune, however, was a "part-time" member for multiple different clubs - which basically meant that he came and went from club to club as he pleased, taking part with whatever activity for a day and then moving on when his interests called him elsewhere. He had visited every single club on campus at least once, but the ones he visited most frequently (based on Nora's count) were, in order of most to least: the Military History Journal; chess club; the Martial Arts Research Club; the Melee Weapon Supremacy Club; the Projectile Weapon Supremacy club; the Dust Arte and Chemistry club; the Society of Young Economists (?); and the Philosophical Debate Club (?).

All this to say, Jaune seemed more like an uber-nerd to Nora than some sort of criminal assassin. He'd even worked with the Dean of History, Doctor Oobleck, to publish an essay he'd been working on since before he got to Beacon in the Military History Journal. Nora had tried to read it once, and hadn't made it past the first page.

Speaking of the professors, he'd also taken the time to personally introduce himself (and by extension, the team) to every single professor in Beacon, even the ones that they probably wouldn't ever have classes with due to what they'd all chosen to major in (Nora chose Conflict Resolution, Ren chose Archaeology, Pyrrha chose Sports Science, and Jaune chose, of all things, a double-major in Geopolitics and Economics, which really didn't help his image in Nora's mind). Still, all the professors had been interesting and, in many cases, eccentric, and she supposed that it was worth knowing them all, especially since they were all former active-duty Guardians themselves (it turns out that a Guardian career of at least ten years of active duty was a requirement to teach at Beacon. Who knew? Besides Jaune of course, since he'd apparently memorized the entirety of the Beacon Academy Trivia Guide, if something like that existed.).

If there was any part of Jaune that did seem like it fit in with the idea that he was a dangerous, murderous, cold-blooded assassin, it was his approach to training the team. He apparently woke up at four every morning, did some studying and warm-ups, then went out with Pyrrha and Blake from team RWBY to do some light sparring in a garage where he kept his car (and how much did his past 'work' pay him if he could afford a car?). Then they ate breakfast and got together with the team for classes… and then he did training between classes whenever he had the time, not to mention the various extracurriculars he was involved in.

He was like a robot, programmed just to learn and train and become stronger.

But now that Jaune had detailed his training plans for the team, Ren and Nora had to take part in the nonsense of Jaune's training routines - and while she couldn't deny that there was a clear benefit (the last week, she'd managed to beat Yang once in Miss Goodwitch's sparring class), it also seemed like Jaune's approach to training was… obsessive. Which, in a way, fit with his attitude towards everything else he did at Beacon.

Aside from "team days", where he gathered the whole team for group training, or "partner days" where he worked with the team in groups of two (either Pyrrha and Ren, Pyrrha and Nora, or Ren and Nora), or "individual days" where he worked with one of the others individually, Jaune spent his days doing intense individual training.

He'd shown them his training schedule, and it only gave him one day of "rest" a week - Sunday, where instead of physical training his whole schedule was filled with "extracurricular studies", which usually either meant Club activities or doing something with the team or other teams, whenever they invited him out to something.

Still, Nora had to admit that maybe there was something to Jaune's borderline self-destructive training methods, since he'd gone from the bottom in the ranks of Miss Goodwitch's class to tenth place in just two months.

Though, Ren had once confided to her that he suspected his rise wasn't simply due to Jaune's training, but more because he'd figured out "the right way to hold back", which she sort of understood but also really didn't? Ren seemed to think that Jaune was secretly the strongest and most dangerous student in the class but he'd never won once against anyone from teams JNPR or RWBY, and his win/loss ratio against Cardin was almost dead even at about 6:4.

Though considering how well he does in training, Ren might have a point.

Nora wanted nothing more than to run to Ren's side, but a quick command from Jaune had her instead transform Magnhild into its grenade launcher form. She quickly fired three shots that corralled the mid-sized Beowolf (mid-sized in that it was about as large as Jaune's mid-sized sedan) into a corner of the room. There, Pyrrha quickly skated around the explosions and struck her shield into its legs, knocking it off balance, before delivering some quick slashes at its legs and then retreating. As it tried to get up, Jaune launched a precise salvo of rifle-shots at its face before Ren managed to get up and follow suit, which kept the creature on the defensive. Finally, with another command Pyrrha ran along the wall and slammed the edge of her shield into the back of the Beowolf's neck, forcing it down where Nora finished the job by slamming Magnhild's hammer form into the back of its skull, destroying it completely.

With a soft buzzing noise, the hard-light program of the Beowolf fizzled out as the simulation ended.

With a sigh, Ren collapsed onto his knees and Nora immediately rushed over and began fussing over him. Pyrrha, for her part, simply sheathed her weapon and stood awkwardly at a sort of attention while Jaune paced over to a while where they'd placed their water and towels, and brought them back, passing them out to everyone.

"So," Jaune began as he wiped the sweat off his face, "almost perfect. Obviously, Ren getting hit there wasn't in the plan, but hey, it happens. Personally, I think it's safe to say that maneuver Kappa-Rho-Two is complete, we just need to practice it. Do you guys have any questions, comments, or concerns?"

"I have one," Nora said, raising her hand.

"You don't need to raise your hand when it's just us, Nora. But go ahead."

"Why do you name all these maneuvers using Old Valean?"

"Because it's deliberately confusing. If I shout out, oh I dunno, 'use the Hammer-Shield maneuver!', that's going to instantly draw attention to both you and Pyrrha. Even if we try to keep things slightly vague but among a similar theme, like, 'flower power', 'checkmate', 'Queen's Knight', or something, once it's used we can't use it again because our opponents will know what it is. On the other hand, combining the Old Valean letters to form the names of maneuvers allows for a wide combination of names that don't give away any hints as to what the maneuver will entail."

"Okay, I get that. But why is it that all the maneuvers and tactics you've got us practicing involve pouring all our firepower on a single opponent?"

"I was wondering about that," Ren cut in. "It doesn't seem tactically sound if all our planned maneuvers revolve around defeating a single opponent."

Jaune nodded. "Good questions- Pyrrha, did you have this concern as well?"

Pyrrha jumped, like she hadn't expected to be called on. "Oh, sorry! No, I figured you were doing it for a reason."

Wow, for all that she's a tournament champ, she's kind of a doormat when you get to know her, huh? Ooh, or maybe they know each other from the past, and that's why she trusts him so much?

Jaune shook his head. "I did have a reason, but as I've mentioned before, if you ever have a question or concern, you should tell me. If you're confused about why I do certain things, or ask certain things of you, it'll impact the team's efficiency. I'd rather maintain open lines of communication between us-"

"When will you be working for the IGO and the Council?" Ren cut in.

Jaune glanced at him. "Is there a reason you need to know that?"

"I was thinking about going into Vale to shop for some specialty ingredients and herbs that aren't available in the Beacon commissary. I'd rather not go down at the wrong time and potentially… get in the way of your work."

Jaune paused, thinking for a moment, then nodded. "Understood. I'll give you a heads up when I'm scheduled to work." Ren nodded back.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I'd prefer we keep communication open. As to your concern, I did have a reason for it. Are you all aware of the concept of 'defeat in detail'?"

"It's where a smaller force defeats a larger or stronger one by attacking it when the larger group separates into smaller groups." Ren said.

"Correct. Historically, it was a tactic used by Gaius Caesar and Baal Barca against Mantle and Atlas, respectively. If you want to get technical, the guerrilla warfare used by the modern White Fang falls under the label, but on a strategic rather than tactical scale. This ties into the maneuvers I've developed for us because I think it's the most effective way for us, a team of four, to combat enemies that are at least as strong as us - to split them up using clever positioning and take them out one by one.

"I'm aware that it may not make much sense for that to be the end-goal when we've just been practicing four-on-one maneuvers, but I was eventually going to work us up to maneuvers involving the initial separation of the enemy. Before we get to that, however, I wanted to take time as a team to run through Beacon's obstacle course a few times, and work on general footwork and combat movement techniques."

Jaune checked the time on his Scroll, then said, "Well, that's the end of today's training session. Next week I'll see if we can reserve the obstacle course, or at least one of the training halls again to work on movement techniques. Or… no, nevermind, I doubt the school would let us do that," he started to mutter.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha interrupted.

"Oh right, sorry. As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas that you want to implement in our group training and maneuver development, let me know! I'll workshop it with you."

"There is one thing," Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you use that sword? The one you keep in your room?"

Jaune paused as he was walking away. Without turning back, he said, "It's a display piece," and then left without saying anything else.

After he was gone, Nora said, "That's bullshit."

"Nora!" Pyrrha gasped.

"What? It is! We've all seen that sword, and there's no way it's just a display piece. I talked to Ruby and Blake about it once, and they said they think it's made of some kind of special, super-rare alloy. It's razor-sharp, always clean and polished, and it's not even hanging on a display or anything, he just leans it up against his wall! I'm telling you, that thing must secretly be his-"

"Enough," Ren cut in. "Whatever it is, it's not our place to pry- Jaune's made that clear."

"Oh come on Ren, you must have some theory about it!"

"I'll say this much- I caught him training with it, once, in the early morning before you girls woke up. He was just working through some basic techniques in our common room. You know, movement and guard positioning and whatnot. And if you ask me, considering the sheer dedication he puts into training with it… my theory is that it's his real weapon, the one he uses when he's serious. And I think we're all lucky that he hasn't had a reason to draw it, especially against us."

"Oh, there you go again with the whole 'Jaune is secretly the strongest person in our year' theory! He hasn't beaten any of us in Sparring class, and his physical scores are literally the bare minimum!"

"Exactly," Ren replied, now returning to an old-new argument that he and Nora had been having ever since Ren had developed his crazy theory. "Jaune's scores are literally the bare minimum, not just in physical exams, but in a lot of places - but you'd expect a person's scores to fluctuate more than that. Especially when you consider how hard he trains and studies."

"What do you think, Pyrrha?" Nora suddenly turned to her, drawing her into the discussion. "Do you think Jaune is secretly the strongest, most dangerous person in our year?"

Pyrrha blinked, as though she hadn't expected to be part of the proceedings. "Um. I don't know if I'd consider him 'the strongest', but it seems fairly obvious to me that he holds back often in Sparring class. Though when I asked him about it, he said that it was just a product of his… unorthodox upbringing, to not stand out."

"Oh come on, I know he's a super-nerd but I doubt Jaune can keep track of all that, especially while sparring with all of us!"

"Whatever the case is," Ren said with a note of finality, as he also gathered his things and prepared to leave the training room, "I would advise the both of you to not let your guards down around him, at least not too much. I know we have to trust him as our team leader, but outside of school, we should avoid getting involved with him more than we have to."

With that, he left. Once he did, Nora looked over to Pyrrha, who seemed pensive, and sidled up to her.

"Soooooooo~," she began, "what're you and Jaune doing for your date this weekend?"

Stricken out of her thoughts, Pyrrha sputtered. "Wha- I- I-it's not a date!"

As Pyrrha panicked, Nora gave an easy smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into further discussion.

Yeah, we can ignore all those mysteries… this, at least, makes sense. Though I am still curious about that sword…


Pyrrha fidgeted as she stood outside one of Vale's many shopping centers, waiting. She wasn't used to going out like this - out in public, without a private bodyguard or escort. She half expected that some paparazzi would appear and harass her at any moment, but though she got some looks from passersby, none of them seemed to recognize her.

She attributed that to the great pains that Yang, Weiss, and Coco, an upperclassman, went to assist in her disguise, so she could go out without the hassle of being accosted every few minutes.

Her long hair, usually tied into a ponytail, was let down, and her natural waves were curled using Yang's curling iron. It was also covered by a raspberry beret, courtesy of Coco. Her distinctive green eyes were covered by red-tinted glasses - they looked like regular sunglasses, but from her perspective it was like looking through regular glass.

Her outfit was also put together by Coco, with Weiss' help - in their words, it was supposed to help her blend in while still looking good. She had on a simple white blouse with a gray hoodie over the top, and a knee-length pleated and plaid skirt with black leggings underneath. For boots, she insisted on something she could move in - Coco had argued for stilettos, but as much as Pyrrha fought in high-heels, that was pushing it. Instead, she had on a pair of brown leather heel-boots.

For all that she wore more than her combat outfit usually covered up, Pyrrha still felt naked in the absence of her weapons - so she'd snuck a small dagger (borrowed from Jaune's apparently massive arsenal of weapons) into a black purse (borrowed from Coco's massive arsenal of fashion). It wasn't her preference, but in the absence of Milo and Akouo, it comforted her to know she wasn't defenseless. It also helped that Jaune had insisted that everyone in team JNPR learned to use daggers and knives (along with many other things) so that they wouldn't be defenseless without their weapons.

Did he predict this too? …well, probably not this specifically. As he said, it's just smart to have a basic level of competence in other weapons in case we can't use ours for whatever reason.

Speaking of Jaune, Pyrrha's eyes shot up as she heard someone approach, expecting it to be him-

Only to be disappointed as she noticed a stranger approaching. It seemed to be a young man, and based on the group of snickering young men behind him, Pyrrha could guess as to his intentions.

I think I watched a film that had a scene like this with my mother once.

The man was muscular enough that Pyrrha assumed he worked out regularly. In fact, it was likely that he was coming from the gym, given that he wore a much too small tank-top and gym shorts in spite of the cool Fall weather.

Pyrrha let out a sigh, but rose to her full height and looked the stranger in the eye as he approached.

This seemed to cow the man for a moment, but he apparently gathered his resolve and sauntered up to Pyrrha.

"Hey cutie, how you doin'? Are you waiting for anyone?"

"Yes," Pyrrha gave a curt response. "My friend- he should be here any moment now, actually."

"He- well, forget him! Do you know who we are? We're with the football team at Vale Tech-"

"And we're from Beacon," Jaune cut in, surprising both Pyrrha and the young man.

They turned, and Pyrrha took him in- either he'd talked to Coco about fashion as well, or Jaune had impeccable taste.

His hair was combed and gelled, and much like Pyrrha, he also had square-frame sunglasses covering his eyes. He was wearing a brown-yellow shirt made of a thick material, and over that a deep-blue shirt-jacket. He also wore black pants and dark-brown leather shoes.

Seems like he got dressed up too… for me? Or is this just what he wears outside Beacon?

Jaune walked in between Pyrrha and the man, forcing them to make space, and then stood next to Pyrrha on her left. Leaning his shoulder into Pyrrha's a bit, Jaune put his hands in his pockets and asked, "Is there something we can do for you, civilian?"

He stressed the last word, but Pyrrha wasn't sure why. They might be Beacon students and technically Rank 10's, but legally they were also civilians, weren't they?

The man, apparently not expecting to be interrupted this way, stuttered out "Uh, no, nevermind. We're cool-" and then turned and fast-walked away, to the jeers of his peers.

Before Pyrrha could ask him anything, Jaune took her hand in his and said, "This way."

Pyrrha couldn't help but blush at the casual contact, and let Jaune lead her into the mall. She opened her mouth a few times and started to say something, but each time Jaune turned back to her and mouthed "Wait", so eventually she gave up and let him lead.

Gradually, they made their way through the mall and out another exit. Jaune let go of her at this point (and Pyrrha most certainly did not reach for his hand again) and she followed her into the parking lot, towards a black sedan- Jaune's car, Pyrrha recognized.

Jaune unlocked it with a click from his key fob, and said, "Get in," before he got in the driver's seat.

Pyrrha hesitated a moment, then got into the passenger's seat.

A moment passed between them where neither of them said anything, and then Jaune said, "I'm sorry if I was interrupting something."

Pyrrha shook her head. "No, just a stereotype that I'd never thought I'd see in person."

Jaune scoff-laughed. "He only approached you because you don't look like, well, you. If you were out and about as 'Pyrrha Nikos' openly, I doubt they'd have had the courage to hit on you. Ask for an autograph maybe."

"You may be right…"

"Familiar experience?"

"Well, fans asking for autographs, yes. Being hit on is new, I'll admit. I don't think I'm a fan."

"Few people enjoy it… and in my experience, those who do enjoy it are narcissists more interested in the compliments than the people giving them." Jaune sighed a moment and then turned the car on, pulling out of the parking lot. "Whatever- it's past us now, and now that we're together I doubt we'll be interrupted again."

"Do you think so?"

"It's easier to start a conversation with a single stranger rather than several."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Yes. When I was-" He cut himself off, then. At a red light, he turned to Pyrrha and said, "Sorry, but it's probably for the best if I don't share stories about my past."

"Oh. Right, sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Jaune shook his head as the light turned green. "It's not your fault. I should be sorry- we set this day aside to get to know each other better, but I actually have to do a quick errand I forgot to do the other day first."

"Oh, that's no problem at all! Where are we going, then?"

"Staying in the commercial district, I just need to stop at a side street and make a drop off."

Jaune stopped talking then, and Pyrrha was lost for something to talk about. After a moment, she scrambled for a topic-

"So, how are things going with your, uh, multiple club activities?"

"Well enough, I suppose. The paper I published with Doctor Oobleck's help is apparently making rounds in some Academic circles. Supposedly, they're regarding it as flawed, but a promising sign from an amateur. Doctor Oobleck even said that if I can write and publish another paper and a proper thesis before we graduate, he'll waive the usual credit requirements and petition to grant me a Bachelor's in History."

"Wait, isn't he the Dean of the History department? If he wanted to do that, wouldn't he just, I don't know, do it?"

"He still has to report it to Ozpin at least, since it directly ignores usual protocol."

"Are you going to try and go for it? Considering how hard you already work, I imagine you're plenty capable of completing two more essays over the next four years."

"I'm still thinking about it. The workload is one issue, sure, but the main issue is content. I don't have any other ideas as to what to write about… not right now, at least. What about you? I know you're not in any clubs, and I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What's to talk about?"

"Do you enjoy being alone, Pyrrha?"

"What?"

"I'm not blind or deaf, Pyrrha. You barely interact with anyone outside of our team, team RWBY, and team CFVY, and when it comes to team CFVY, that mostly happens when one of us brings you along to talk to them. Is there a reason you don't want to make friends?"

"I want to make friends!" she exclaimed. "It's just… I-"

"Do you not know how? Didn't you have any friends, or at least rivals, in the tournament circuit?"

Pyrrha remained silent, turning to look out the window.

"Brothers above, Pyrrha."

"Well what did you expect to hear?!" she exploded. "It's not like I had the time to socialize! My every waking moment was spent training, fighting, or- being paraded around like some kind of prize sow! And it's not like anyone wanted to be my friend, after I won that first tournament! Ever since then, people have only seen me as either a challenge to overcome- an enemy to vanquish- or some asset to gain control of! They've always just… put me on a pedestal, as something to either admire or hate. Everyone but my parents, and even then-"

"The expectation. They've never forced you into anything, but they expected you to excel at what you chose to do, and that snowballed into you constantly pushing yourself beyond your limits to meet those expectations."

Pyrrha stilled, her fists clenched, and slowly relaxed as she turned to Jaune. "Was it…"

"The same? Yes and no. Parents having unrealistic expectations of their children is common enough that a layman would probably assume as much, especially since your skill officially ranked you as a 'child prodigy'. But in my case, it wasn't expected and more forced upon me. But I don't want to talk about-"

"I do," Pyrrha said. "You've been… cagey, about your past, and as much as I've wanted to trust you - I know you want me, and Ren and Nora, to leave it alone, but I want to know more about you!"

Jaune was silent for a few moments after Pyrrha's outburst. Finally, the car slowed to a stop, and he simply said, "Later."

"Jaune-"

"I promise, Pyrrha, that I will answer your questions later. But we're here now."

Pyrrha looked out and saw that they were outside a small street-level store. The signage, gold lettering on a green background, declared that it was Tukson's Book Trade.

Jaune got out of the car and entered the building without another word, Pyrrha following after. The interior of the shop was as she imagined - a bookstore with shelves lining the walls and taking up floor space. It was well organized and seemed to be well taken care of, with no visible trash or refuse. There were two other customers, but they seemed to be together as they were in the romance section, giggling between themselves.

Jaune briefly paused as Pyrrha came up behind him and muttered, "Take a look around. I won't be long," before he stepped up to the counter.

Pyrrha thought for a moment, and then followed Jaune up to the counter. As she did so, she noticed him glancing back at her, and she felt his expression carried a hint of annoyance that she was intruding on his business. Still, she refused to back down and simply waited with him at the counter.

With a sigh, he turned to the counter and rang the bell. After a few moments, a man came out the back, carrying a stack of books.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun~!" the man opined, placing the stack on the counter before suddenly stopping as he got a look at Pyrrha and Jaune. His expression darkened a moment and his eyes narrowed. "Is that-"

"Hello, Tukson," Jaune interrupted.

"Jaune," Tukson replied, dropping his voice into a lower volume. "...are you here as a friend?"

"A messenger," Jaune said equally quietly, reaching into his jacket and pulling out an envelope. "A letter for our hard-headed friend."

"Jaune?" Pyrrha tried to interject herself into the conversation. "What is this?"

Tukson's eyes darted to her, then to the letter, then to Jaune. "Who's the eye candy?"

Jaune casually wrapped his right arm around Pyrrha's left arm, but she could tell it wasn't out of love when she felt his grip on her tighten- A warning? He wants me to stay out of this. Fine, but he can't stop me from listening!

Jaune dropped his voice even lower, to the point that he was almost just mouthing the words - "Uninvolved and off-limits. Under Beacon's watch. Here as a courtesy," he finished with another tight grip on Pyrrha's arm.

Tukson nodded slowly, focusing his attention onto Jaune. "What makes you think our mutual friend would want to read this letter?"

"Let's just say it involves some pest control for the IGO."

A tense moment passed between them, before Tukson eventually took the envelope and put it in his pocket. "Fine," he said, "but consider this my last favor for you."

Jaune smirked and raised an eyebrow. "After all the mon- support I gave you when we last worked together - not to mention this - things between us shouldn't be that tense."

"They're not, not really, but you can't be too careful. Especially not with-"

"Jaune? Is that you?!"

A young woman's voice rang out in the store, startling everyone given how relatively quiet it had been before. Her footsteps came up from behind them, and Jaune and Pyrrha turned towards the entrance.

As the voice implied, a young woman was standing there. She had deep green hair that went down past her shoulders,amber eyes, and some Faunus trait - Cat ears? - on her head. She wore a light-brown dress that went down to her knees, with leggings beneath and white high-heels. Over the top of the dress, she had on a light-blue zip-up sweater. Her skin was dark, like mocha, which helped blend the whole ensemble together, as Pyrrha imagined Coco might say.

The girl walked forwards with her arms outstretched and Jaune let go of Pyrrha to give her a quick hug before stepping back.

"Hey Tariro," he said with an easy smile. "You look good."

Her cheeks reddened a bit as she grinned back. "You too! How's Beacon? And who's your friend?"

"Oh, where are my manners? This is Scarlet, my partner at Beacon."

Jaune subtly nudged Pyrrha, and she took that as a sign to join the conversation as though she hadn't just witnessed Jaune making some secret deal with the shop owner.

Stepping forward, Pyrrha extended a hand. "Like Jaune said, I'm Scarlet. He said your name is Tariro?"

Tariro giggled, shaking Pyrrha's hand. "Yep! I'm Tukson's daughter! I know Jaune 'cause he used to work for my dad-"

"Speaking of which, Tariro," Tukson interrupted, "did you finish that project for school?"

"Aw, c'mon dad! We haven't seen Jaune since Summer ended, can't I hang out with him and Scarlet?"

"Actually," Jaune cut in, "Scarlet and I have to get going- we just dropped in to say hi, but we're running some errands for our team today. Sorry T, we'll make time some other weekend, all right?"

"Aw, fine then. But I'll hold you to that, 'kay?"

They said their goodbyes then, and Pyrrha burned with curiosity as they returned to the car.

As Jaune pulled away once again, Pyrrha began by saying, "Thank you for using a fake name."

Jaune shrugged. "You've mentioned that you don't like undue attention, so I figured it was a safe thing to do."

"Still, thanks… but now, my questions."

"Sure, shoot."

Pyrrha blinked. "Will you actually just answer them?"

"Do you mind if I establish some ground rules?"

"Um… sure."

"Don't ask me about my family- my father is the one exception. In fact, I should probably set a time to tell you all about him as a precaution. Anyway, that's the only hard rule, but I'd also like to avoid any discussion about my sexual history."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow in response to that, but respected his wishes and didn't press for more.

"Okay then," she said, and then stopped as she realized she had no idea what she wanted to ask him.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked after a few moments.

"Um. I guess to start with, who was that back there? How do you know them?"

"That was Tukson, and his daughter, Tariro. I worked for him over the Summer, and met his daughter towards the end of the season after she recovered from some major surgery."

"She seemed rather friendly…"

"We keep in touch. She missed out on her last year of high school because of the surgery, so she's going for her GED. She wants to be a doctor."

"And the letter?"

"Private."

"Jaune…"

"Pyrrha."

"Come on, you can't expect me to not ask about it."

"I expect you to adhere to the agreements you made in Ozpin's office when you found out I was an Assassin."

"What does that shopkeeper have to do with your work for the IGO and Council?"

"Private means private, Pyrrha. You should be glad you're uninvolved; and the longer things stay that way, the better."

"If you're involved in something dangerous-"

"Well of course it's dangerous, but it's familiar."

"You can't just leave me out of this, Jaune! I'm your partner, and that means we look out for each other."

"And when it comes to Grimm or schoolwork, I fully agree. But this is so far removed from your area of expertise that you'd only be a hindrance to me."
Pyrrha scoff-laughed at that, despite herself. "You realize I'm stronger than you are, right?"

"But have you ever killed anyone?"

The conversation died there, and Pyrrha couldn't think of a response before Jaune parked the car.

"Come on, we're here."

It was only then that Pyrrha realized they were at the entrance of a park - Carmen Park, according to the sign. It was an open park, with no gate or wall, just a seamless transition from the city's commercial district to rolling green fields, as far as Pyrrha could see. Flowers of every color dotted the fields, some clearly grown in organized rows and others allowed to run wild and spread freely. A few trees, benches, and trails could also be seen from the entrance. There were a number of people around, mostly families with small children, but they all seemed to be heading in one direction - Is there some event today?

Jaune opened the trunk of the car and pulled out a basket and cooler. "Come on," he said, and led the way into the park.

A picnic? Come to think of it, he said to meet at the mall, but he never mentioned what we'd be doing today.

Jaune led Pyrrha down a winding path through the park. Occasionally, he would stop and wordlessly take note of specific sights and views, waiting for Pyrrha to catch up, and then move on.

Finally, Jaune led them up a hill, where a large tree stood. Its leaves were fully orange, some falling now and again, but for the most part they seemed to be holding on, and would for some time yet. An array of flowers bloomed underneath, but there was a small patch of just grass, set square under the branches, with a grassy path leading to it.

I suppose this location is popular enough that they take care to leave room for picnics.

Jaune laid out a blanket, and then began to open up the basket and cooler he'd brought. Inside were typical picnic fare- sandwiches and charcuterie and other finger foods, bottled water and fruit juice. Once it was all laid out, he sat down, then motioned to the space next to him.

"Well?" he asked.

Wordlessly, Pyrrha sat down, and then subtly tried to sit a bit closer as Jaune busied himself with the plates.

He passed a plate to Pyrrha, then poured some juice before digging in himself. In between bites of a sandwich, he finally said, "Pyrrha."

"Yes, Jaune?"

"I-" he stopped, as though considering his words. "I want to make some things clear, since you seem insistent about getting involved with me and my connections to Remnant's underworld."

Pyrrha nodded, and then motioned for him to go on.

"I respect your abilities and trust your character. I know that if I brought you along for my… work," he stressed the word, then motioned at their surroundings, and a few passersby, "that I'd be able to get a lot more accomplished, and possibly more effectively. However, my job can be quite… compromising. Simply put, while you have the skill, you lack specific experience, as I referenced earlier."

He means killing. He's going to kill people for the Council, and the IGO… but why? Why would they need him to do it?

"But why do they need you to do that job at all?" Pyrrha said, trying to keep up with the terminology he was using. "Don't they have… employees for that?"

"It's about deniability. As a- contractor, they can't be held responsible if I fail in any way. It's more convenient for me anyhow, as it gives me certain freedoms to act as I see fit."

"But isn't that also more dangerous for you?"

"I told you, it's nothing I haven't done before."

"But-"

"Pyrrha," Jaune interrupted, placing his hand over hers- one of his fingers slightly slipped between two of hers. Pyrrha tried desperately to ignore the feeling of their hands intertwining, and focus on his voice instead, but she found herself looking into his eyes, and then quickly blushed and turned away as he finished, "...I need you to trust that I won't do anything I can't handle, okay? I know what I'm doing- most importantly, this keeps all of you safe as well."

Pyrrha swallowed, and then said, "O-okay, Jaune, I'll trust you."

"Thank you, Pyrrha."

"But promise me," Pyrrha said, finding the resolve to look into Jaune's eyes without blushing. "Promise me that if you ever run into trouble, you'll turn to me- to us, to your team. Okay? We're team JNPR! It's not just the two of us, but all four of us are meant to look out for each other."

Jaune closed his eyes and exhaled, and then said, "I promise, Pyrrha, that if I ever need help, I will turn to you and the team."

Pyrrha smiled then, and said, "Thank you, Jaune," pulling him into a hug- before she realized what she was doing and pushed him back, coughing into a fist, and then saying, "So, we should keep eating before the food goes to waste," deliberately avoiding looking at him to hide her blush.

Jaune simply chuckled and said, "I suppose we should."


A cozy orange glow filtered through the library's windows and settled on the textbooks and figures sitting at the table. A light wisp of steam rose up from the open lid of a thermos, which was lightly grasped by a pale hand and then sipped from.

"Hmm," Ruby said, "you know, Weiss? I think this is the best coffee you've made yet. And I don't even really like coffee!"

"Coffee has numerous health benefits beyond the immediate energy boost," Weiss mentioned, "making it a valuable resource for times like these. Speaking of which, don't start a conversation just because you're bored! Midterms are next week and you still haven't finished that practice test I gave you!"

Ruby gave off a soft 'eep!' and quickly put the thermos down, before handing her worksheets to Weiss. "But I did! See? Even the short answer part and the essay!"

"Hmm. About time." She handed her own sheets to Ruby, before sitting back with Ruby's worksheets. "Now, let's compare our answers with the answer sheet. You grade mine, and I'll grade yours, of course."

"Okay!"

They got to work, eyes passing back and forth from their practice tests and the answer sheets. Beside them, Yang and Blake were in the midst of their own review - Ruby had been the last to finish.

After a few minutes, the team more or less finished off and began comparing their answers.

"Well?" Weiss began.

"Uh," Ruby said, "you pretty much aced it. Every multiple choice question was correct, and the only criticism I can think of as far as the short-answer and essay portions are- uh, maybe your thinking is too 'Atlas-centric'?"

"What do you mean 'Atlas-centric'? Are you saying I'm biased?"

"I mean, you wrote it in fancier words, but you basically said that Brutus Schnee did nothing wrong?"

"Which is the truth."

"...Weiss, he literally and metaphorically stabbed Gaius Caesar in the back and tried to declare himself the King of Atlas. And then when that didn't pan out, he tried to enslave the Faunus of the Mantle Crater through the Faunus Labor Act, which directly led to the First Faunus Revolution."

"Gaius Caesar, while a decent military leader, was a poor politician and would have been a bad fit to be the King of Atlas. And the Faunus needed to be brought to order! With the Winter season coming in and the country fresh from war, he needed to impose laws on them in order to ensure that they would survive."

"Are you serious!?" Blake exclaimed, throwing her own papers down. "I know he was your ancestor, Weiss, but you can't seriously be defending one of the biggest tyrants in recent history!"

"TYRANT?!" Weiss cried out. "How dare you!"

Things devolved further from there, with Weiss and Blake getting into a proper shouting match that interrupted just about everyone in the library. Ruby sank into her seat and tried to not stand out, but it was difficult with more and more people coming over to complain and getting caught up in the argument or just coming by to watch.

After what felt like an eternity of them arguing, a teacher finally came over.

"Students! What is going on here?!"

Ruby hadn't seen this professor before - he was fairly tall, only a few inches shorter than Ozpin, and he was a Faunus. Feathers of some sort seemed to sprout from the sides of his head, and a lion's tail draped down his back.

I didn't know Faunus can have two different traits, Ruby thought.

The crowd pointed to Blake and Weiss, who, now silent, began to grow red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Professor Hellagur," Blake said quietly.

"Miss Belladonna, Miss Schnee," Hellagur said. "Come with me. Is the rest of your team here?"

"Um, we are," Ruby said as she stood.

"Then gather your things and follow me." With that, he turned and began to leave, parting the crowd, which began to disperse.

Quickly getting their things, they followed the professor to his office. Taking Jaune's advice, Ruby took a moment to examine the room.

Professor Hellagur - well, Doctor Hellagur, if the degree on the wall was any indication - seemed to be a Professor of History, with a focus on Faunus history. Aside from a window in the back letting in some light, the room was filled with bookshelves that were themselves filled with various books - about time periods, about specific events, and an entire bookshelf dedicated to the Great War. Ruby also noted a smaller section about medical science.

He didn't seem to have a weapon, or at least it wasn't out in the open like some of the other professors kept theirs.

"Now tell me," Hellagur began, regaining their attention, "what were you two arguing about?"

Weiss and Blake proceeded to look at each other, then huff and look away from each other. When it was clear neither of them would speak, Ruby spoke up.

"Um, sir-"

"I need to hear it from them."

Blake and Weiss remained silent, refusing to speak, but they glanced at Ruby and Yang.

"Would you be willing to discuss it away from the others?"

They nodded, and the professor sighed.

"Miss Rose, Miss Xiao long, would you mind exiting the office for a moment?"

"Um. Okay…"

Ruby and Yang left, and immediately began whispering to each other.

"What was that about?" Yang said.

"I don't know! I mean, it makes some sense for Weiss to be so defensive of her family, but I don't get why Blake reacted so badly. Maybe she has some Faunus friends or extended family that were affected by the Faunus Labor Act?"

"What, like a grandparent or something? That was like, eighty years ago!"

"Well it has to be something!"

"Maybe her patience just reached its limit? Things between her and Weiss have always been awkward."

"Yeah, but I thought that was just because Blake was an introvert."

"You're an introvert, and you get along with Weiss just fine."

"Against my will, yes, but that's not the point!"

"Ahem," Hellagur interrupted from behind them.

"Ah," Ruby said, "yes sir. You needed us?"

"I've discussed things with your teammates. I won't divulge their secrets," he stalled their questions with a raised hand. "That's for them to tell you. But what I will tell you is that their punishment will be to fight together tomorrow, during your usual Combat Class. However, I will administer their round, and choose their opponent."

He reached behind him and opened the door, letting Blake and Weiss out.

"I'll see you tomorrow, students." With that, he closed the door behind him and left them all standing in the hall.

After a few moments, Ruby spoke up. "So, uh, do you guys want to talk-"

Both Weiss and Blake stormed off in separate directions, shouting back "NO!"

"Well," Yang said after a moment, "that, uh. That sure was a thing."

"Is, Yang. It still is a thing, and it will be until I figure out what's wrong and fix it."

Yang glanced down at Ruby. "Just you? You sure you don't want my help with that?"

"Well… if I ask for your help. But right now, as team leader, I want to try and fix this myself."

"All right. I trust you Rubes, but you know I'm here if you need me."

"Well," Ruby mused, watching Blake and Weiss leave, "I just might at that."


Ren had a feeling Combat Class would be different when a professor he'd barely seen stepped in and spoke to Professor Goodwitch. After a few moments, she nodded and stepped back, allowing the other professor to take the lead.

"Hello class," the other professor said, "my name is Professor Hellagur Azazel. Normally, I teach history, with a focus on the history and geopolitics of Menagerie, particularly in its relations to the other Kingdoms.

"Today, however, I'll be overseeing a particular sparring match. You may have heard about a commotion in the library the other day - this match will resolve the issue. Would Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna come down to the arena, please?"

Both girls left their seats and went down, accompanied by the mutterings of the class, all speculating about what would happen.

"Do you think he'll make them fight each other?" Nora asked.

"Resolving an argument with a fight? Wouldn't that just make them angrier with each other?" Pyrrha replied.

"They won't be fighting each other," Jaune said.

"What makes you so sure?" Ren asked.

Jaune sighed, but before he could reply, Professor Hellagur called out, "Jaune Arc, would you please come down as well?"

As Ren and the others stared at him, Jaune said, "He approached me about this yesterday. Congratulations Ren," he continued, clapping a hand on his shoulder as he passed by, "you'll get to see me fight a bit seriously."

As Jaune left, Ruby scooted closer to their team. "Uh, what did Jaune mean by that?" she asked.

"It means he's confirming my suspicions," Ren said. "I've always thought that he was holding back on us. Now we'll see a glimpse of what he can really do."

To Ren's surprise, Yang wasn't as confused as Ruby - in fact, after Jaune's comment, she zeroed in on him and was staring intently at the ring now.

Does she know something? I'm sure Blake does, since she knew Jaune before Beacon, but I would've thought she'd keep quiet about that from Yang.

As Jaune stepped onto the arena, Professor Hellagur spoke to him and the girls before directing them towards opposite ends of the arena. Without any more preamble, he stepped off the arena and yelled, "Begin!"

Weiss and Blake charged at Jaune, and contrary to his usual tactic of staying on the defensive, Jaune charged in as well, before diverting to the right at the last moment. His footwork placed Weiss between himself and Blake, and even as Weiss stabbed at him with Myrtenaster, Jaune ducked under the blade, physically picked Weiss up, and threw her at Blake who was just coming up behind her.

Blake managed to dodge, jumping over Weiss' falling body, but she ran right into Jaune's point-blank shot. A sawed-off double-barrel blast at such close range that she shouldn't have been able to dodge-

But, being Blake, it was a fairly simple step for her to activate her Semblance and evade the blast.

Unfortunately for Blake, his other hand held a bottle of pepper spray, which Jaune let loose as soon as her Semblance wore off and she was vulnerable. Instantly, she dropped her weapons and started writhing on the ground in pain as Jaune took a few steps back, making distance from Weiss who was getting back up.

"You'll pay for that!" Weiss yelled as she activated her Semblance. A few Dust blades formed in her Glyphs, only to get destroyed when Jaune fired with a pistol. As Weiss growled and stabbed her blade in the ground, reforming her Glyphs, Jaune took the opportunity to lob a grenade at her, causing her to panic and fumble, quickly forming an ice barrier that protected her from the blast, but knocked her off her feet.

"Where was he even hiding that?" Ruby wondered from her seat.

Ren was in agreement. I hide my weapons up my sleeves, but Jaune seems to be a walking arsenal at times. Is his combat outfit custom-made?

As Weiss tried to reorient herself, Jaune ran up and kicked her in the knee, keeping her off balance before he ripped Myrtenaster from her hand and tossed it off the arena. Without sparing any time, he then punched Weiss in the face twice before picking her up and throwing her off as well.

"Oof…" Yang couldn't help but mutter. "I think Blake won't have to worry about Weiss anymore, because Jaune just rose to the top of her shit list."

With Weiss dealt with, he turned around to face Blake, who was getting back up. In contrast to her proud defiance, her face was covered in tears and snot.
"You should give up, Blake," Jaune said. "You should know by now that you lost before the fight even started."

"Giving up isn't in my nature," she growled back.

"That's bullshit, but okay," Jaune said, preparing something behind his back. "The hard way it is."

With that, he ran at Blake, and she reciprocated, but at the last moment the class was blinded by light and deafened by a loud bang. When everyone could see again, they were greeted with the sight of Blake facedown in the arena, with Jaune pinning her down and holding a knife to her throat. Blake struggled for a moment, but Jaune pressed the blade into her neck, her Aura sparking in response, and she quickly gave in.

"I forfeit," she called out. Jaune immediately got up, sheathing his knife somewhere inside his coat.

Professor Hellagur stepped onto the arena, followed by Weiss. He cleared his throat, then began addressing the class.

"Now, can anyone tell me how these girls lost despite their numerical superiority?"

A few murmurs passed through the class, but no one raised their hands or spoke up. Disappointed, Hellagur turned to Jaune.

"Jaune, why do you think you won?"

"I was prepared, they weren't. And they were too upset with each other to effectively cooperate. In Weiss, that's expected, but I'm disappointed in Blake. Given our - similar training, I expected better from her." Blake and Weiss were staring firmly at the floor, but Blake reddened with embarrassment at the criticism.

"Would you care to elaborate?"

Jaune sighed. "At the start of the match I positioned myself so that I only had to face one of them at a time, then I incapacitated Blake, which let me focus on Weiss. Since the arena allows ring-outs, I threw her out so I wouldn't have to deal with her anymore, and that let me focus my full attention on Blake, who's the biggest threat between the two of them in individual combat. As for the finale, well, most people don't expect to get flashbanged."

Professor Hellagur nodded. "Well said, Jaune." he turned back to the audience and said, "For those of you who didn't quite understand what Jaune said, the simple gist of it is that he entered the fight with a plan. More importantly, it wasn't just something he was coming up with at the moment, but clearly a plan he's given thought to for fighting multiple opponents. Positioning, debilitation, focused aggression, and then the finish - those of you who are team leaders should especially keep these sorts of things in mind."

"Question," Ren said, his hand raised.

"Yes, mister… Lie Ren?"

"Just Ren is fine, professor. Given that Jaune's never beaten Weiss or Blake in single combat before, what would you say had a bigger impact on the outcome of this fight - Jaune's tactics or their poor teamwork?"

"Excellent question, Ren. I'm sure Jaune has his own thoughts on it, but I would put forth that Jaune's tactics for this fight were dependent on their poor teamwork. If Blake and Weiss had been able to cooperate effectively, I'm sure Jaune would have adjusted his tactics. Of course, in such a scenario his victory would still be much less likely, but I'm afraid it's not an avenue we can explore at this moment. Does that answer your question?"

"Well enough sir, yes. Thank you."

"No trouble at all. In fact, before I turn the class back over to Professor Goodwitch, does anyone else have any final questions?"

No one else spoke up, so Professor Hellagur nodded and dismissed Jaune, Blake, and Weiss. They returned to their seats as the professors spoke to each other. As they arrived, Blake and Weiss immediately sat as far apart from each other as they could while still sitting with their team. Blake, Ren noted, also made sure to sit apart from Jaune.

As Jaune sat back down next to Ren, Ren whispered something to him. "What did he offer in return for you fighting?"

"You think I'm being paid for this?"

"I think you wouldn't bother with this if you weren't getting something out of this."

Jaune nodded. "True enough. It's not money, though - Professor Hellagur agreed to spar with me."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Sparring a teacher? Like, getting private training or just fighting?"

"A bit of both. Though when you consider the difference in ability between myself and the professor, the fight'll really be more of an endurance test on my part."

"I'll say…"

Things quieted after that as Professor Goodwitch continued the class, giving Ren time to muse on what he'd learned about Jaune.

I'm certain of it now - if he was serious, he could probably beat anyone on any of our teams, except maybe Pyrrha. But even that's not enough, and he wants to train with teachers? Just what kind of enemy does he expect to face?


Ruby wandered the halls, looking for Jaune. Internally, she knew she could just call or message him, but it wasn't just about asking for his help - walking around helped her relax and think about things.

Like how she was supposed to solve the conflict between Blake and Weiss. After their loss to Jaune, they'd calmed down somewhat and weren't as pointed with each other when talking, but they still avoided each other like the plague.

I don't think it was this bad when I had problems with Weiss… I know the Faunus have suffered a lot over the years, but Blake has to have some kind of connection to them if she's reacting this badly. Or am I a bad person for not reacting as much as Blake? Ugh, this is so confusing!

With her mind wandering, she only just stopped herself from bumping into two women talking in the hallway. When her vision focused, she realized she'd stopped in front of Coco, the leader of Team CFVY, and Professor Amber. "Oh," Ruby said, blushing in surprise. "Hello Coco, Professor Amber. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"No problem, Ruby," Amber said. "Do you have a question?"

Ruby was about to say no, but then remembered that Blake had told Ruby that she hadn't gone to a Combat School because she'd apprenticed under Professor Amber personally (and wasn't that cool? Not quite as cool as being trained by Uncle Qrow, but almost!), so Ruby thought she might be able to help.

"Well… it's about Blake and Weiss. I'm sure you've heard about the whole problem by now?"

"The whole school has," Coco said, "and the bit about Jaune beating both of them at once. Speaking of which, I still have to thank him for what he did for Velvet."

"Who?"

"Right, you've never met. She's my partner, and Jaune apparently helped her out when that asshole Cardin was bothering her."

"Oh, her? I hope she's feeling better…"

"Yeah, we talked about it. I had to pull rank and lay down the law about what she should do when people give her problems… speaking of which, that's exactly what you need to do, Ruby."

"Uh, do what?"

"Lay down the law! You're the team leader, you can't let your teammates fight each other! Obviously I'm not saying to ignore their problems but you have to take charge and make sure Blake and Weiss understand that you won't tolerate infighting."

"But before you 'lay down the law', as Coco suggests," Amber interrupted, "you have to decide what your 'law' is. Make sure you know what you're going to say, and more importantly, why. Before you can really take charge and lead your team, you have to decide what you're leading them for."

"Well, that's the hard part… I still don't know how to answer that."

"Then let me ask you this, Ruby. Why did you come to Beacon? Why do you want to become a Huntress? If you can look inwardly and answer those questions seriously, that's the first step to being an effective leader. Do you remember what Ozpin said at Initiation about the history of Valean Huntsmen?"

"Uh, they started out as scouts or something, right?"

"Close enough. The essence of leadership functions similarly. You're leading your team, not just on a literal path, but an ideological one as well. But in order to do so, you have to know where you're going - or at a bare minimum, you have to know what the end goal is, even if you're still working out how to get there."

Ruby nodded her understanding. "I think I get it. Thanks, Professor Amber, Coco! I've gotta get my team together!" With that, she sped off with a burst of her Semblance.

With a sigh, Amber used the Wind Dust in her staff to gather up the rose petals left behind by Ruby and blow them outside.

"Nifty trick," Coco remarked. "Does that make it easier to clean your place?"

"You'd think so, but it really only works on loose dirt. If I used a stronger gust I'd be more likely to send my furniture flying all over the place."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. 'S why I stick to using Dust in guns! My Semblance makes Dust Artes unreliable and more likely to blow up in my face than actually hurt a Grimm."

"That reminds me, I'd been meaning to talk to you about that…"

As Ruby raced back to her dorm room, her mind was racing equally fast with ideas for how to fix her team's problems.

This isn't something I can solve with just hanging out at lunch or playing a game together like we're all buddy-buddy. I have to sit everyone down and we need to air out all our problems with each other!

As Ruby reached her room, she placed her hand on the doorknob only for the door to slam outwards, knocking her off her feet. Dazed, Ruby briefly took note of black hair racing down the hall, then crashing through the hallway window to the outside.

What-?

Weiss ran outside shortly after, screaming, "Get back here, you-!" before she noticed Ruby on the ground. She quickly helped Ruby up and said, "Ruby! Use your speed, you can catch up to her!"

"What? What's going on, Weiss?!"

"You have to catch Blake! She's a part of the White Fang!"

"WHAT?!"

"Just go! She can't have gone far! Yang and I will be right behind you!"

"Uh, right!" With a burst of her Semblance, Ruby sped down the hall again and out the same window as Blake. Landing on the ground, she scanned the environment and saw Blake running towards the Beacon cliff waterfall that led down into the Ilisos River, which fed into Vale.

"Blake, wait!" Ruby called out. "Just stop! We can talk about this!"

At the edge of the waterfall, Blake looked back at Ruby. There were tears streaming down her face.

Without a word, she turned around and dived off. Ruby raced to the cliff's edge, and saw Blake enter the water. A few moments later, her heart calmed when she saw Blake's head bob back up in the basin, and then swim for shore.

"Ruby!" Yang called from behind her. "What happened? Where's Blake?"

"She's okay!" Ruby said, relieved. "But she jumped over the waterfall. We have to go after her, and make sure that she's-"

"Arrested like the terrorist she is? Absolutely!" Weiss roared.

"Hold on now," Yang said, "it was never confirmed that Blake was in the White Fang. You just made a whole lot of accusations!"

"Her reaction is all the proof I need," Weiss scoffed. "Now come on, we need to tell the Professors that a criminal's on the loose!" With that, she turned away and started marching back towards the school.

"Hey Yang?" Ruby said.

"Yeah, sis?"

"I think I'm gonna need your help with those two after all."

"Honestly? I think you're gonna need a lot more help than just me."

"Yeah…" with a sigh, Ruby followed after Weiss, with Yang close behind.


I was surprised to find Blake in the apartment again. Even though I was more or less living at Beacon full time now, I'd maintained the lease to have access to a safe haven in the city. Thanks to the money from Ozpin, I'd actually managed to get a few storage facilities around the city as well, in case of an emergency.

In any case, I had headed out once the weekend arrived to finish the first two jobs for Ozpin. I was stopping in to gather some supplies and change my clothes into something less conspicuous, when I realized Blake was crying on the couch.

When our eyes met, I realized that this would likely completely derail my plans for the weekend.

I sighed. "You okay, Blake? You wanna talk about it?"

She wiped her eyes with a tissue and said, "It's over, Jaune. My team- they know that I'm- That I was- you know."

"A terrorist?"

Blake shot up off the couch. "I was not a-"

"You were a fucking Assassin, Blake! I don't care how you want to justify it to yourself, you need to wake up and face the facts!"

Blake turned away, then made for the door. "I don't need to hear this," she muttered.

I grabbed her arm and said, "Oh, you need to hear this. You can't just run away from your issues, Blake. They're just gonna keep piling up, and eventually they'll fall over all at once and kill you. You need to own up to your mistakes and make a decision about what you're going to do about them. Look- just stay here for the night, calm down, have some tea, take a nap, and when I get back tomorrow we'll talk about this."

With a deep breath and a sigh, Blake nodded, and sat back down on the couch. I made some tea for her, finished my preparations, and then made to leave.

"Alright," I said, "I have work for the IGO and Council. I'll be back tomorrow. If you're not here, I'm going to find you and shoot your kneecaps so you can't keep running away from things."

"I'll be here!" she said, exasperated.

"You'd better be," I finished. With that, I left the apartment, headed towards my first appointment for the evening.

Towards Tukson's Book Trade, for a meeting with Adam Taurus.


A/N: Good fucking God, about time this got published.

Review Replies:

Ravell Aqim: Thanks for reading! One of the main reasons this shit takes so long to write is that I'm fully committed to giving everyone their time in the spotlight, at some point or another. Also, the Ren/Nora/Arslan love triangle isn't a huge part of their characters, and won't really get much play until the Tournament Arc, but believe me when I say we're getting there.

CircusControl: Always glad to see you here, man. Thanks for reading.

Guest Starstrider: Dropping the negative emotions thing was always a huge thing for me because it never really influences the plot of the main show in a meaningful way. It's basically just inverse plot armor - negative emotions don't really attract Grimm unless the plot demands they do. To make up for it I just made the Grimm much stronger than they are in canon, enough to justify both the necessity of Team training over individual strength and also to justify how strong High-Ranked people are, as they're able to kill Grimm with ease.

Guest who talked about Depth: I try. Thanks for reading.

Guest who talked about Jaune's Training: We'll get more into it as the story goes on, but suffice it to say that Jaune's dad hasn't actually been super involved in Jaune's training - rather, he's given Jaune to other Assassins or organizations and had them train Jaune, then he's provided Jaune with the tests that he had to pass to keep going.

Malkor13: Addressed in Private Messages.