Welcome to the next chapter of RWBY: Team DUSK, before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:
altajir95: Yeah, this is coming closer to the finale of the first volume of RWBY. As always, I appreciate the support and I'll continue doing that.
A Belladonna's Dilemma
"Just letting you know, this doesn't hurt me. I've been involved in so much trouble that…."
""Hush!""
"Yes, ma'ams."
Daniel replied submissively, in response to Ruby's and Weiss' order.
In Team RWBY's dorm room after the incident, Daniel found himself sitting in a seiza position, while the members consisting of Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stood around. After being forced to endure the tickle torture, he was dragged into their dorm room for a talk. Daniel wasn't lying, sitting in this kind of position was something that he had long since gotten used to doing. Although, the "talk" was something that he was curious about, being well aware that it would've been impossible to catch up to Blake, who was one of the sneakiest people he knew.
"I think that it's so cute that Dani continues going along with things like this," Yang stated, sitting down on Blake's empty bed. "He could probably leave from here without much trouble."
Despite sounding casual, Yang was worried about her partner who made the saddest and surprised look after it was revealed that she was a Faunus. But, more than that, it was rather strongly implied that she was a member of the White Fang, the terrorist group that took some Human lives. She could tell that despite the situation Ruby and Weiss were worried too, while taking some frustration off on Daniel.
"So, you knew the first time that we and Blake met that she was a Faunus?"
Weiss stated something that caused Daniel to nod his head, apparently being told to "hush".
"And then she ended up telling you that herself."
Ruby added, again causing Daniel to nod his head.
"Ugh. Of course, Daniel of all people would have been able to figure out such a thing."
Weiss reasoned, while standing there arms crossed about the entire thing, being well aware that Daniel has been one of the people who have been around Faunus the most.
"But, for Blake to not be comfortable with telling us that. I mean, I think that I can understand it. But…I thought our team could've shared anything. It might've been some time since we worked with Team RWBY, but I thought that we were close enough."
Ruby stated after Weiss, she felt complicated about the entire thing and felt as if she was wrong about something as the team leader.
Watching the entire situation for himself and reading the room, Daniel could tell that it was more than Blake being revealed as a Faunus. If it were that alone, then it wouldn't have made Ruby, Weiss, and Yang look this conflicted about the situation. He wasn't odd that Weiss might be conflicted, considering her situation involving Faunus and in an environment like Atlas, which didn't help that. Ruby and Yang never had an issue with Faunus, but it looked as if whatever happened with Blake made them conflicted somehow.
"…."
Daniel raised his hand in the air as if to catch their attention and gain permission to speak.
"Yes, Daniel?"
Being one of the two responsible for "questioning" Daniel, Weiss permitted him to begin speaking.
"So, I was wondering this since I saw Blake running down the halls. But, was she running simply because she had ended up revealing she was a Faunus? I know Blake didn't want to reveal she was a Faunus for her reasons. I can imagine that it'd be rather shocking to be revealed like that," a logical tone came from Daniel. "But, that alone wouldn't have brought that kind of reaction from Blake. So, did something else happen?"
"…."
"…."
"…."
At Daniel's question, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang looked stunned, but complicated as soon as the young man right in front of them asked that. That reaction alone was enough to make him realize what happened and it meant that it wasn't simply because Blake revealed herself as a Faunus.
"Alright, then, I won't say or ask anything else."
Daniel stated, wearing a casual look, which seemed to have calmed them down.
However, it was then that Yang remembered something that their group heard during their time inside Vale about another character.
"Actually, before going silent, there's something we wondered. During our time out in Vale, there was a detective that mentioned something about a "Wolf"."
"A Wolf? You mean, a Faunus?"
Daniel joked, almost causing Yang to laugh at his demeanor, but reiterated.
"No, smart aleck. I meant someone who calls themselves, the Wolf."
"Ah, you mean, the Wolf, the Vigilante?"
Daniel asked, continuing to look nonchalant.
He looked forward and found himself still in the same position while looking just as casual as usual.
"So, you Do know something about the Wolf?"
Ruby asked, appearing in front of Daniel, almost as if she were interrogating him.
"Ah, Detective Rose, please don't rough me up."
Daniel replied, feigning fright as he pretended to be back from Ruby in fright.
"Just answer the question suspect."
Ruby stated, grabbing onto Daniel's collar and seeming to continue with the role of a detective, who continued feigning terror as he was being pulled on.
"Ah, this is so cute and funny to watch. My sister is going bad cop. I always thought I'd play bad cop."
Yang couldn't hide her smile and joy from watching it, something which caused Weiss to roll her eyes.
"I would imagine, you'd be Worse Cop," Daniel stated, before turning his attention to the three of them. "Well, that depends on which Wolf you're talking about."
"Huh, there's more than one?"
Ruby asked something that caught the attention of Yang and Weiss, both of whom looked surprised.
"Yeah, in Mistral, there were two reports about someone wearing a wolf mask being spotted in different locations across the continent. But, the original Wolf's appearance was waaay before the appearance of the second one. If you think about the description, the first Wolf is described as someone adorned in the same wolf mask, but the outfit is more rugged and wild. And their fighting style is more or less about the same as an attacking wolf."
Daniel replied, looking at them and watching as their expressions changed into curiosity and attentiveness, with their eyes trained on him.
"Ah, I see. So, this first Wolf is the original one, and the second one decided to take on the same," Weiss stated, crossing her arms and thinking about it. "It doesn't answer the reason that both of them appeared though."
"Well, the first one appeared during a particular incident, which I won't go into detail about. But, the second one, on the other hand," Daniel continued while looking straight up at the ceiling. "I couldn't tell the reason he decided to become the second Wolf. But, based on the description, then the person is much younger than the original and is dressed in newer equipment, some of them being advanced."
"So, one of them being old-fashioned and the other being more up-to-date. It does sound as if neither of them are related to one another. But, there has to be some connection between the first and the second Wolf. But, we don't know if it's the first or second one that appeared in Vale."
Weiss stated, wanting to see some connection between them, while not knowing which one the detectives inside of Vale were talking about. The one link between them was the fact that both of them ended up utilizing the same as the "Wolf", but that wasn't much. It wouldn't be the first time that someone underwent the same name as their original person.
"Well, there isn't much about either of them aside from sightings. But, the original one seems to be attacking the more dangerous criminals and assassins. And the second one seems to target the same kind of people, but adds the White Fang on top of it."
"Hm, this isn't something that might help Blake, though."
Yang stated, finding herself placing her chin on top of her hand.
"Yeah, you're right about this. It might not solve anything in regards to Blake herself."
"What was the point of this again?"
After Yang, Ruby, and Weiss seemed to agree with her comment, finding the questions not related at all.
"Uh, to torture an innocent and caring young man?"
[Ah, right. I guess.]
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang replied at the same time, causing those words to soon metaphorically stab Daniel straight through the heart.
"…no one cares about me. I'm simply an object for abuse," Daniel stated, reigning emotional pain, finding himself staring at the ground. "…I'm nothing more than that."
"Oh, poor, Daniel."
Ruby innocently stated, placing a comforting hand on his head.
"Come on, Weiss, Ruby is consoling your boyfriend. Are you going to let that happen?"
Yang teased, glancing over towards Daniel.
"Let her. I have other things to be worried about for a bit."
Weiss replied, crossing her arms.
"My girlfriend is so mean to me, Ruby."
Daniel whined, with Ruby wrapping her arms around Daniel in a comforting manner, catching Weiss' attention.
"Ah, Weiss can be mean. But, she means well, Daniel."
"Yes, she can."
Both Ruby and Daniel seemed to have come to an understanding about Weiss' usual attitude towards them.
"Excuse me, what was that?"
Weiss asked, turning to her silver-eyed boyfriend and silver-eyed partner, both of whom glanced to the side in an attempt to look innocent. In noticing the interactions between Daniel and Ruby, Yang tried not to laugh, while their heiress teammate seemed to be moving to do something.
"Ugh, today has been so complicated. Daniel, stay turned around," at Weiss' comment, Daniel didn't turn around to face her as Weiss retrieved some night clothing and underwear from her part of the room. "I'm going to be taking a shower first. And then…."
"And Daniel will come in a minute later to join me."
"Daniel will come in and join…," Weiss caught herself as her face turned a deep shade of red, before glancing right at Yang, who burst out laughing. "Yang! What the hell?!"
"Hahahahaha, what's wrong?! I can see that as being a good time! I mean, come on, Weiss, you should start being more used to Dani seeing you like this!"
Yang replied, almost falling on Blake's bed while laughing out loud and Weiss retreated into the bathroom embarrassed. In that, Daniel looked to see Ruby's reaction to the words that were just said and looked to have one thought enter her mind. To him, it looked as if the young leader was attempting to process what Yang just said in that instance.
"Daniel and Weiss are in the shower alone. But, wouldn't it mean that both of them would be in there," as if starting to imagine that in her mind, Ruby seemed to have put herself in that scenario to make it easier to imagine. And then thought of herself being naked in the shower, then went onto Daniel being naked too. As soon as that potential scene entered her mind, Ruby's face turned bright red and smoke seemed to have come out from her head. "B-B-B-Both of us would be in the shower n-n-naked together."
"Yang, I think that you broke your sister with that question."
Daniel pointed out, as he pointed to Ruby who was seeming to have a meltdown.
"Ah, my little sis is having her first lewd thoughts about a boy. Don't worry, she'll cool down in a sec," Yang pointed out as she stood up to pet her sister on the head. She then knelt in front of Daniel with a seductive smile on her face. "So, do you want to know what goes through mine?"
"Yeah, I'm not stepping on that mine."
"Aw, you sure?"
Yang seemed disappointed about that comment from the young man, then sat down legs crossed right in front of him. Daniel could see that the blonde was attempting to lighten the situation but found herself still worried about the entire situation with Blake.
"I wouldn't mind risking stepping on that mine," Daniel teased, something which surprised Yang, who was a bit surprised about that. "So, tell me Yang, what's on your mind?"
"Uh, well…," Yang seemed to find herself stammering a bit, as she received that surprising comment from Daniel, who sounded as if he egged her on. She'd acted confident at that moment, but the thought of being in that same situation as Daniel, them being naked in the shower caused her face to burn hot. "Alright, I give."
"I see."
Daniel replied, looking forward with a smirk.
"Jeez, sometimes you're no fun. I think that it's awesome you're not as dense as most guys, but sometimes that makes it so hard to tease you," Yang stated groaning as she leaned her head backward, then started heading to the shower being turned on in the bathroom. "So, Dani we had heard Weiss' reason for not liking Faunus, or the White Fang, in particular. Weiss said that she became a victim, because of what the White Fang was doing. And I can get where she's coming from. But, I can see where Blake is coming from. Do you think either of them are wrong?"
Hearing Yang's words as she sat down in front of him, looking forward and seeming to be conflicted about where her thoughts should be. The same thing could be said about Ruby, who was standing in the same position while wondering what Daniel thought about this situation.
"Well, neither of them is responsible for…no, they shouldn't be responsible for the relationship between Human and Faunus. Now, I'm not being biased, because Weiss is my childhood friend and girlfriend. But, I'd more or less of a front-row seat about seeing the kind of effect that the White Fang has had on her childhood. It wasn't exactly the most stable situation, more so considering the kind of person Weiss' dad is," Daniel stated, causing Ruby and Yang to think about Weiss' words before Blake left. "For Blake, the Faunus have always been ridiculed and treated like animals for much longer than either of our great-grandparents could've remembered. And considering what happened, I can imagine that Blake had a front-row seat for seeing Faunus abuse."
Both the half-sisters listened to Daniel's words and could understand them, though that could be because of how he explained it. He then held up his left and right index fingers, as if representing Weiss and Blake.
"Neither of them can be blamed for their reaction because both of them happened to have been born right in the middle of it. Weiss happened to have been born in the Schnee Family around the time the current bozo in charge decided to deviate from the founder's original intentions. And Blake happened to have gotten caught right in the middle of a dispute that's long since been reaching its boiling point," Daniel stated, then united his hands. "But, it doesn't spell the end of Team RWBY. Both Weiss and Blake have their own experiences, but that doesn't entirely define who they are. Besides, fighting among friends from time to time is what builds bonds."
At that last comment, Ruby and Yang felt some concern leaving their chests. Hearing those words from the leader of Team DUSK seemed to have a positive effect on them.
"Ah, Dani, a young man with wisdom well above his age."
"Knock it off."
In response to Yang's honest and teasing tone, Daniel casually responded.
"But, she's right. You're one of the smartest people we know."
Ruby stated as she sped up behind Daniel, wrapping her arms around him from behind, hugging him as if to act as a sign of gratitude.
"Yeah, though I'm not the smarter than most. My thoughts on Humans and Faunus are simply something that I had always heard from time to time."
Daniel stated, not wanting to sound as if he knew everything in the world.
"But, that does make me curious."
"About what?"
"If Weiss has that much of an opinion on Faunus, what did she think about your dad and brother."
"Eh, well. She never met my dad before…and well, the entire situation is a bit complicated."
"Dani, you say that all the time."
Yang pointed out, wondering the many times she heard 'complicated' from Daniel.
"Yeah, I know."
"What about your brother?"
"Hahaha, yeah, him," Daniel gave out a dry laugh and then found himself sounding serious. "As long as I'm around those two are never going to be in the same room."
Both the sisters looked surprised about the words from Daniel's mouth, being aware that he doesn't have much of a relationship with his brother. But, hearing that comment made them wonder how bad their relationship with one another was.
"I take it that he doesn't…."
"Yeah, he doesn't particularly like people from Atlas. We barely get along, so you can imagine what he thinks of other people from Atlas."
In response to Ruby's question, Daniel replied already knowing what she was going to ask.
"Any particular reason?"
"Uh, yeah…."
In thought, Daniel found himself thinking about his older brother, who didn't have the slightest good opinion about people who came from Atlas. He might have been someone who didn't mind sharing stories with others, but it wasn't something that he could share for several reasons. At least, for the moment.
"So, how long am I supposed to sit here," Daniel asked, not hearing a time limit for him being in the female team's room, let alone how long he was supposed to be sitting in this position. Hearing that, Ruby and Yang glanced over to one another, sharing the same expression. "You didn't consider how long I would be here, did you?"
""Nope.""
"And there's a slim chance you would've had me sit here all night."
""Yep.""
Again Ruby and Yang replied honestly.
"You're all so mean," Daniel stated glancing over towards the side, feigning depression as the sisters stared right at him. "Blake wouldn't have been this mean to me."
"I mean, unless you said something that deserved it."
"That's not untrue. I have gotten on Blake's bad side sometimes."
Daniel stated, thinking about the times that he earned some of Blake's ire and has been hit sometimes from a lot of the comments made.
"Yeah, you do seem to have that effect on people."
Yang pointed out.
"Everything happened so fast. First, we went into Vale to see the preparations for the Vytal Festival and ended up running into a stowaway Faunus. And then we ended up meeting some girl from Atlas, who ended up becoming a new friend," Ruby stated, as she continued with the events of today. But, ever the dutiful leader, Ruby kept the secret of Blake being a part of the White Fang secret. "And then one of our teammates ended up running off."
"Right. I think that we need to get some air. Come on, Rubes let's go for a walk."
"Alright."
Ruby agreed, finding herself wanting to get some air and clear her head with Yang.
"Well, Dani we'll be gone for about fifteen minutes, if not more," those were Yang's words for Daniel as she walked outside of the door and stuck her body halfway in while smiling mischievously. "Try not to have too much fun."
"Come on, Yang!"
After Ruby's comment, it looked as if the younger sister pulled the older sister, with Yang being cartoonishly dragged out, the door closing behind her.
"…well, those two sure do get along."
Daniel couldn't help finding himself laughing each time the two sisters interacted with one another.
"Hey, Daniel come here for a second."
After a minute passed, he heard the shower stopping and Weiss' voice could be heard from behind the bathroom door. Turning his attention there, Daniel didn't stand up from that spot and instead found himself in a complicated situation right there in that instance.
"Uh, I was told not to move from this spot."
Daniel replied, almost speaking in a childish tone, with an expression that matched.
"Stop being childish! Just get up," Weiss shouted from the bathroom and then breathed. "Please."
"Alright."
Daniel replied, standing up as if it wasn't an issue at all, and headed in the direction of the bathroom door.
Getting there, he started thinking that Weiss wanted to talk from the other side of the door. She didn't speak at all, then he heard the door unlocking and then opened it up. Weiss stood right there at the bathroom door, dressed in a nightgown, smelling of whatever soap and/or shampoo she showered with. Despite looking beautiful, Weiss wore a neutral and almost blank expression, almost as if she didn't know what to think.
"Hm, so what did you want to talk about?"
Daniel asked, knowing that there was something on Weiss' mind.
"…I don't know…."
Weiss replied in an unsure tone, then walked outside of the bathroom.
He turned around to find Weiss heading in the direction of her bed and took a seat, then followed her league while sitting beside her. Neither said a word for what seemed to be five minutes, while Weiss held her fingers together and breathed out.
"I don't know what to think about this situation with Blake now," Weiss stated, resting her head on her hand. Just as she would normally do around Daniel, shared some of her feelings on the matter. "Apart from me wants to know more about Blake and another wants to reject it. Daniel, I know that I might not be the best person whenever it comes to my personal feelings towards Faunus. But, the thing with Hunter, Velvet, and now…Blake."
"None of them have done anything that you could view as threatening. For Hunter and Velvet, I can never imagine either of them being threatening. Just being around them makes you almost want to hug and protect them," his casual and almost joking tone seemed to be enough for Weiss to calm down a bit. "In Atlas and Mistral, there are people who hate and discriminate against Faunus for no reason. And you grew up in the center of that hate and discrimination from childhood around the time that the White Fang turned militant. Your perception of the Faunus became distorted because of the things you experienced, because of what the White Fang became. So, for you, the Schnee Heiress, and the Faunus are out to hurt you and others. But, then you came to Vale and started meeting a collection of Faunus who didn't."
Weiss listened to Daniel's words, finding them meaningful and accurate, something which she never thought that she'd think would come from him. For her, Daniel has always been the one person who never put up a front just to benefit himself and genuinely wanted her friendship. Her childhood friend who would be one of the ones who'd make her laugh and smile was giving meaningful advice like this.
"Daniel, I…sometimes wonder if the time would come when you end up resenting me. I have complicated feelings when it comes to your father," after Weiss said those words, she clenched her hands together almost as if saying those words were hard to say. Daniel didn't utter a single word and allowed her to continue speaking. "It might be hard for people to believe, but there's this part of me that feels words complicated when I think about Faunus. I want to be an ideal Huntress, which means that I have to protect Humans and Faunus. But, it feels as if there's a knot in me holding me back."
"Well, as I said, you're not in Atlas and you're meeting Faunus. You never met a Faunus yourself, so you ended up being stuck with the opinions and incidents revolving around the White Fang. But, you're not being held back by a person's dumb ideals. No one can tell you how to tell about the Faunus," Daniel turned himself around so that he could touch Weiss' cheek and cause her to look at him. "No one can tell you what you're feelings are. Whether it comes down to the Faunus or being a Huntress, the one way that you'll feel content is finding those things out for yourself. If you want to figure out your feelings about Blake, then think about who she is instead of what she is."
"…who Blake is."
Weiss thought about those words from Daniel, then felt a familiar sensation on her forehead. It originated from a warm kiss on her forehead, something that caused her face to turn red.
"Yeah, I think that's enough of tonight."
"Uh, don't you ever get tired of being nice to the people who often deserve to be yelled out?"
"Well, being yelled at doesn't help in certain situations. If it endangers your life, then I wouldn't hesitate if that was the case, remember," Daniel stated, causing Weiss to remember the time that he yelled at her for not focusing on a fight against an actual Grimm in class. "Trust me, if the situation calls for it, I'll chew you out. If it's simply just one big misunderstanding, then talking it out is the best."
"It's so ironic hearing such wise words from someone who calls themselves a menace."
Weiss pointed out in a more lighthearted tone.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I can't be full of wisdom."
"Uh, I doubt that. Well, either way, you're free to go."
"Oh, I thought that I would be forced to sit in that position all night."
"We did think about doing that."
At Weiss' comment, Daniel found himself wearing a wry smile on his face while heading in the direction of the door. Amid that all Weiss found herself giving an almost vacant smile, almost not knowing what to think about in regards to Blake.
"Hm, well this is a little bit of an unexpected situation."
Outside of Team RWBY's room, Daniel found himself standing in the same position as he was heading next door towards their bedroom. Unlocking the door via his Scroll, he entered the bedroom to find his teammates sitting on their beds doing their own business.
"Look who's back. Didn't think that a phone call would take that long."
Alyssa pointed out, hanging off of her bed a bit.
"Did you get yourself caught up in something with Team RWBY again?"
Sandra asked, turning her attention from the book in her hands.
"You could say that."
"Hm, based on how you said that," realizing that happening, Alyssa found herself sitting up wearing an intuitive look. "I'd reckon something happened."
"And you wouldn't be wrong. Although, what happened is more of a personal thing that I ended up getting caught into," Daniel stated, thinking back to the fact that he got interrogated. "Well, you're going to figure this out as soon as you notice the difference tomorrow. But, Blake left about half an hour ago."
Hearing that, Hunter, Sandra, and Alyssa found their attention being redirected to whatever Daniel was saying in that instance. It was surprising to hear that whatever happened was enough that Blake left their dorm which can mean an assortment of things.
"So, when you say Blake left. Do you mean that she got into a fight with either of them and went somewhere else?"
"Or does that mean she isn't in Beacon right now?"
Alyssa and Sandra asked their questions.
"Based on what I can tell Blake isn't in Beacon Academy at the moment. So, she's in Vale."
"I don't know what happened, but it must be something serious if Blake left for the night. As it must've been a last-minute decision, I don't think that she'd managed to find a room for the night. Though knowing her, I don't doubt she found herself somewhere to stay."
"Hm, in this situation, I'm glad that Beacon Academy isn't strict about certain rules for students. One of them their slack when it comes to not returning to school during the night. I mean, I know that we are meant to be Huntsman who fights against monsters, but you'd think curfew would be something they'd focus on."
Alyssa pointed out.
"Well, I guess that if we're expected to fight Grimm, then such privileges are granted. I mean, if we're not prepared to handle our own lives, then that would affect our studies here. And in turn, that would mean that none of us were prepared for this life in the first place. In that case, then I'm sure we would receive a reprimand."
Sandra rationally stated, wearing a calm face.
"Hmm, that makes sense."
Alyssa agreed, having not thought much about the rules in general.
In Sandra's life, their sole rule in Vacuo was survival of the fittest, and weren't that aware of how other kingdoms did things. But, held onto that mindset even after leaving that kingdom, having no real personal connection with Vacuo in the first place.
"Well, I can imagine that this is going to get complicated," Sandra added, finding herself resting her head on her head. "Is it me, or does it feel as if the people in our friend group get involved in more incidents compared to the average first-year."
"Well, that could be because we each have some problematic backgrounds. I come from a family of Huntsman, who pretty much shunned me for wanting to be a Huntress. There's the stuff that you went through in Vacuo. Based on what Hunter told us, his dad is one of the worst mercenaries on Remnant," Alyssa listed out all of their teams' pasts and quirks. "And don't get me started with Daniel. I feel as if whatever is happening in his life might end up falling on top of all of us."
"That's true."
'You're right.'
Both Sandra and Hunter agreed.
"You know, I'd be more hurt is that wasn't a little bit accurate," Daniel pointed out, beginning to pick up clothing so he could take a shower. "I know that I have a habit of getting involved when my friends are in trouble. So, I won't tell you guys not to get involved if you want to. But, I'm just gonna say, my situation isn't exactly what you considered as an average scrap."
"Well, considering the fact you told us that someone tried killing you. We knew that much," Sandra stated, wearing a casual look before turning serious. "I might not be the easiest person to work with. But, the thing that I might consider my best trait is the fact that I don't leave a situation behind if I could do something."
"Yeah, I think that we realized that the first time we all met up as a group," Alyssa pointed out, thinking back to the time Sandra didn't leave behind Ruby who got herself caught between a Death Stalker and Nevermore. "Daniel, if you're going to go to lengths for other people, then you should expect people to do the same thing for you."
'Alyssa is right, Daniel.'
Hunter signed agreeing with what both Sandra and Alyssa said.
Hearing those words from them, caused Daniel to smile and brushed his hand straight through his hair, thinking of a particular memory.
'Y'know, Dani, you should expect that the people who you help will want to help you back. I'd like to think about how the world works. If you do good to others, then that should come back full circle. And considering this is you we're talking about, then you should be expecting something amazing down the line.'
A young girl's voice echoed in his head, someone who wasn't a member of Daniel's family. But, she was someone who Daniel considered as close as family to him. To him, 'that person' was the reason that he could survive in Mistral for as long as he did the first month he was there.
"Well, alright, but don't say that I didn't warn you guys. But, the one thing that I ask if that you three listen to me to the fullest in those situations."
Daniel replied to the convictions behind his teammates while pointing at them.
['Fine'.]
Hunter, Sandra, and Alyssa agreed, almost looking as if the three weren't looking forward to being ordered around by Daniel. Noticing such a thing caused Daniel to shake his head as he entered the bathroom to take a shower.
"Those guys."
Daniel uttered to himself amused as he closed and locked the door behind him.
Having said those words, he removed his shirt, again unveiling his honed body and the scars on it. Thinking of the incidents that he just witnessed, Daniel found himself leaning forward.
"Now, what to do about the situation in front of us," Daniel asked himself and stared into the mirror. "If it was just the fact that Blake was found out to be a Faunus, then I doubt that would result in that big of a reaction from the three of them. So, it must be something that goes beyond that…and it doesn't take a genius to realize that."
In thinking about the fact that Blake hid herself as a Faunus, pretending to be a Human, something which meant she experienced persecution. Blake wasn't a weak-willed person, meaning that there had to be more than that if it resulted in her coming to Beacon Academy in hiding. Her reactions and feelings to Faunus being mistreated and the fact that sometimes if the White Fang was mentioned, she would instantly freeze up. All that together meant.
"Blake must have been a member of the White Fang. I think those detectives chasing after Sun were investigating the latest Dust robbery. We weren't that far from the crime scene, but I'm surprised they chased him for that long. If Weiss' and Blake's argument started there, then Blake might've gotten emotional and left her secret slip," Daniel rationalized with his analytical skills, then kept his focus on Blake. "I might not know Blake's past, but I know that she wasn't the radical type, who would kill others. If I had to guess, then she joined to fight for peace and came to Beacon. Whatever the case might be. A former member of the White Fang is around as the others are starting to cause trouble…. So, this situation might not turn out well."
At that, Daniel found himself thinking about the things that could happen with Blake coming into contact with the White Fang at some point. And there was something else that concerned him, considering the reason he decided to come to Vale in the first place. In thinking of Blake coming into contact with "that person", Daniel had a sudden thought enter his mind.
"Hah, whatever happens, nothing can happen to Blake from this. I know that she didn't join the White Fang to kill Humans, but instead made peace. I'm tired of good people getting hurt, because of those who want to achieve their ideals," Daniel stated to himself, thinking back to some incident back at Mistral, which added more to the things considered a terrible memory. "Well, I don't doubt that Ruby, Yang, and Weiss won't attempt to find Blake in Vale tomorrow. I just have to be the one to find her first, which won't be that hard."
Coming to that realization, Daniel found himself starting to head into the shower and then preparing himself to go to bed for the night. But, that night, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about Blake and whatever feelings were going through her head right now. Being discovered that she's a Faunus and a member of the White Knight, meant Blake was alone with her thoughts. To her, Blake revealed herself to the Schnee Heiress whose family business found themselves stuck in a war between them. At the moment, the reputation of the White Fang is nothing compared to being the original organization. Having the friends you made during your attendance at Beacon Academy find out you're a part of one of the most dangerous terrorist groups might make things complicated.
"I hope she isn't going through something right now."
Those were the thoughts running through Daniel's mind while thinking about whatever Blake was doing in that instance.
Meanwhile, that night, Blake found herself sitting on the roof of the hotel that Sun managed to get a "good deal" on. Of course, the door leading to the roof wasn't unlocked, but having remained in the White Fang after turning to a militant group, Blake underwent the same training. Picking the lock of a somewhat cheap hotel wasn't much of a difficult task, which was practically child's play. As promised, Sun ended up taking the couch and she would get the single bed.
There, of course, was the minor inconvenience of the staff believing that the two of them were doing something other than what was true. Sun managed to settle that because Blake wasn't in the mood and wasn't focused enough to humor that misconception. Blake found herself sitting at the roof's ledge, with her legs hanging out, while staring out into the barely lit streets of the residential area.
It wasn't the first time that Blake found herself staring into areas like this at night this was a usual thing when she wanted to think alone. There were parts of herself that didn't want to be alone, but another part felt as if being alone made it easier to think. But, the thing with this situation, there was almost too much to think about to calm down.
"I can't believe that I ended up revealing that I was a part of the White Fang myself," Blake started, sounding a bit embarrassed. "I couldn't hold myself back after Weiss started talking about Sun without knowing him. I never thought that it would be this soon for me to get found out. It's not like I can't see things from Weiss' perspective, but I thought that she'd see it from ours too."
Blake spoke, finding herself thinking of the time that Weiss could hold a calm conversation around both Hunter and Velvet from time to time. She came to see that the heiress wasn't as biased towards Faunus, almost finding herself to be influenced by Daniel. It made it almost comfortable with the possible fact of revealing herself in front of them, if not omitting the fact she was a member of the White Fang. Thinking of the moments when she thought that it would be fine if she revealed herself entered her mind.
It was then Blake remembered that she was hiding her ears before enrolling into Beacon Academy as one of their first-years. Even while still being a member of the White Fang, which most came to believe was a means of seeming "Human" in front of potential targets. However, one of the few people closest to her happened to be her mentor and partner. Though, there were other feelings for him that she held within her heart.
Before one of their missions together, as usual, it was something that involved messing around with Atlas, the most notable being the Schnee Dust Company. In a particular area where the cargo being carried by them would be coming around the forest the White Fang would be in wait. However, it would take some more hours for them to arrive at the ambush site.
Sitting on a rock, Blake found herself without her black bow on, having decided to remove it for a while. She felt the sensation of the wind brushing against her cat ears and fluttered about, almost as if relishing in the freedom afforded to them. Blake couldn't help admitting that covering her ears felt uncomfortable, no matter how much she learned to get used to it.
"Blake, our brothers and sisters are about prepared to move out."
A strong and authoritative tone could be heard coming from behind her, something which caused Blake to turn and face him.
Standing behind her was a tall and lean auburn-haired young man in his twenties, as a Faunus, his traits were the reddish-black bull horns on his head. As per the tradition started by him, he wears a personal Grimm mask on his face, with red markings on them. His outfit consists of a black long-sleeved stylized high-collared blazer, bearing a red thorn emblem, with a white crest on the left shoulder; exposing a black-lined red shirt underneath it, long black dress pants, black gloves bearing a modified Omega (Ω) symbol, and red-soled black shoes. Situated on his right was his main weapon, Wilt and Blush, a red katana situated in a scabbard, which functions as a rifle.
A rising star of the White Fang, Adam Taurus, someone who acted as a mentor to Blake and a person whom she looked up to. She couldn't count the amount of things that she learned from him and the fact that at the time, he was the best person she could have ever been partnered with. His passion in regards to the treatment of Faunus and leadership whenever leading the White Fang. All of this was something that attracted Blake to him. But, it could've been the responsibilities of what it entailed or the incidents that occurred, but that person she knew had begun turning into someone else.
"Alright, I'll be prepared when the time comes."
Blake replied, beginning to redo the ribbon that hid her cat ears from others.
Noticing such a thing, Adam turned his attention towards Blake and approached her a little closer, while she then looked up at him.
"Why hide behind that ribbon," Adam asked honestly confused about the reason that Blake would hide behind the ribbon despite knowing her pride in their kind. However, he decided to ask the question anyway. "Are you ashamed of being a Faunus?"
"Of course not. But, Humans are afraid of us."
Blake stated, not wanting to be pushed about anymore, but didn't want to become a symbol of fear for Humans in the future. No matter the resolution, it wouldn't lead to the kind of future that she wanted for the White Fang and Faunus as a whole.
Hearing his partner's and student's response, Adam found himself pausing for a bit but then found himself giving a response in that instance.
"If they're afraid of us, then that makes things easier for us," Adam replied, finding himself looking at Blake, who, in turn, looked back with a neutral expression. "We aren't the ones who started this fight. It was the Humans who targeted our kind first. The White Fang started as a means of forming a bridge between Humans and Faunus. It was an admirable move from the former High Leader, your father, but things have changed. There hasn't been one Human since David Norden who made progress in the treatment of the Faunus. We can't wait as Faunus are still being mistreated and attacked. So, we'll need to do what we can for our brothers and sisters ourselves."
Hearing Adam's words, Blake could still hear the passion for building a better future for the Faunus, which made her remain by his side. But, the kind of future in her mind with Humans and Faunus being together wasn't a future she wanted to abandon. However, Adam was correct, at least in the way that no Human, aside from David made significant progress in aiding in the Faunus' treatment.
"If David Norden was still alive, then how much would things have progressed until this point? I heard recordings of some of the speeches he gave out in Mantle himself, and I could tell none of them were lies. But, is there no other path without someone like him," Blake thought to herself while standing up and looking right up to Adam, not losing her expression. "Let's just get this mission done first."
"Alright."
Adam replied, finding himself giving a faint smile at Blake's response.
Both of them then proceeded to head in the direction of their brothers and sisters of the White Fang, who were all preparing to commence the mission.
Returning from that memory, Blake's position on the roof didn't change and she found herself looking down. Not a single moment passed where Adam didn't enter her mind.
"I sometimes wonder, if there was something that I could've said to Adam. His thoughts of Humans continued getting worse as time passed until I couldn't see the person that I first knew," Blake found herself looking down in almost despondence, thinking about who Adam was and who he became. "Or, did I think that I knew Adam?"
Leaving behind Adam and thus the White Fang wasn't the easiest decision that Blake made, but it was something that she felt needed to be made. Both of the things she grew to love and cherish turned into something that Blake couldn't recognize anymore. Thinking about the life she had before, then the life she gained, Blake couldn't help but believe she made the right decision. She made some new friends, joined an interesting team, and found herself having different experiences regularly. And—
"Again?"
Blake found herself placing a hand on her forehead, in thinking about Adam, Daniel's image started coming up in her head too. It wasn't the first time that something like this happened, it was around the first time that Blake first met and got to know Daniel that both images of her partner and new friend began overlapping.
"Each time, I think about Adam, Daniel enters my mind," Blake found herself wondering what that feeling meant to her in that instance. "There are some times that when Daniel talks about the Faunus or anything in general, there are some times it reminds me of Adam. But…."
In thinking more about what was it about Daniel that reminded her of Adam, she couldn't help going over all their encounters with one another. There were times when he showed himself as a great leader and friend. There were times he showed how much of a stand-up and supportive guy he was. There were times when he made her, in particular, laugh whether it was funny or not. And the time when Daniel and her found themselves talking with one another on the dorm roof.
It was some days before the incident when Blake found herself wanting some peace from the usual noise that occurred in Team RWBY's dorm room. She didn't hate it, interacting with and seeing the others have a good time was an amazing experience for Blake. However, there were times when Blake wanted some quiet to just enjoy a book. Reaching the door leading to the roof, Blake could hear that no one was there and found that to be a good thing.
"Good, I thought that there would be someone here already."
Blake found herself glad about that, seeing as the dorm's roof seemed to have become the obvious spot for the residents who resided there. For herself, it was a good place with the moon being in the right position and the temperature too. Letting a breath escape from her mouth and wearing a smile right on her face, Blake, who was dressed in her nightwear stepped onto the dorm roof.
Closing the door behind her, Blake found herself sitting beside the door leading back into the dorm and opened up the book. It was another romance novel, a little different from the Ninjas of Love, though it was almost a part of a similar genre, Under the Moonlight. As a Faunus, of course, Blake didn't need to concern herself about not having enough light to read a book, which was something she felt blessed about.
So, not concerning herself, Blake proceeded to read the novel in her hands with invested interest, being one of the ones she planned on getting into reading. She sat in the same position reading through the page without the intent of rushing and instead took in the words that were in front of her. Continuing to read the book detailing an encounter between a female warrior and someone from a rival group. After an intense bout, the two gained a deal of respect and hidden affection for one another. But, the leaders from their respective parties would never allow the union.
Despite their love for one another, there was still compassion for their respective groups, which the two were born into. So, each night for days, weeks, and months, the two would continue meeting in secret under the brilliance of the moonlight. It was never the same location to not attract suspicions, but each location gave them beautiful angles of the moon. Seeing the time, Blake didn't finish the book and didn't want to rush things this far, finding the experience to be wonderful.
"Hah, that was a good start into the book," Blake stated, placing the bookmark into the spot she left off and then placing it on her lap. Smiling to herself, she found herself looking up in the air, right at the moon. "There's so much that I can understand about romance novels like these. It was such an amazing tale of two people from opposing sides meeting underneath the moonlight. But, that didn't stop them from meeting each other."
Blake spoke in such an emotional and thoughtful tone while thinking about each word in Under the Moonlight. As someone who found comfort and solace in reading books, she could find such joy in thinking about them. Having kept staring into the moonlight, Blake thought that there was something odd. As a member of the White Fang, the experiences led to Blake being capable of sensing things better than most.
"…?"
Blake wondered what the feelings were, but then received an answer.
Thud!
A notable thud on the rooftop sounded, but it wasn't that loud despite how hard the person landed on the ground. It was enough for Blake to prepare herself for anything, but then found herself settling down.
"Daniel?"
Blake looked surprised to find Daniel standing there in front of her, dressed in training gear.
"Hey, Blake. I thought that I noticed you sitting on the roof," Daniel stated, seeming to have been sweating a bit as if he had done training. "Sorry, if I ended up startling you."
"You did for a moment. I wasn't expecting anyone to land on the roof like that," Blake pointed out, causing her to look up at him with a surprised look. "But, what were you doing?"
"Oh, I went for a jog."
"But, you landed on the roof."
"I was sky jogging."
"Sky jogging?"
Blake looked visibly surprised about that comment.
"I was doing pretty much this."
Daniel leaped into the air a bit, manifesting a particular set of runes underneath his roof, then leaped off of it, continuing doing it until he reached a good distance in the air. After causing them to vanish, he landed right in front of Blake.
"That's something."
Hearing he w casual Daniel casually say that he was "sky jogging", Blake found herself smiling amused by the comment alone. Noticing that he couldn't help finding himself smiling as he managed to make Blake laugh a little in that instance. Wanting to sit down for a bit after doing that for as long as he did, Daniel walked forward and then took a seat beside Blake.
"So, how long have you been 'sky jogging' for?"
"For about half an hour, I think," Daniel replied, then pulled out his Scroll to check on his Aura levels. "And now I'm about down to 50 percent Aura. Well, I call this particular rune, Leap. Its effects are pretty much self-explanatory, which also happens to be the first one that I used."
"Is that so? I do recall you using that from time to time."
"Yeah, well navigating in the air doesn't look as easy as it sounds."
"I know, I experienced that before, remember?"
Blake replied, causing Daniel to remember the time Team RWBY before their formation fought the Nevermore on a bridge in the process of being broken down. He could see that Blake could somewhat navigate around in the air using her Semblance and Gambol Shroud.
"No matter how much I look at it, you're Semblance does look interesting. You can create multiple runes that have their effect, then arrange them in a specific order to create another effect."
"Yeah, though I think you're interesting too."
"Mine isn't anything that special," Blake pointed out, appearing to not have that big of an opinion of her Semblance. "I just create empty copies that take the hits for me."
Daniel could hear in Blake's tone that she doesn't have that much of an opinion on her Semblance. He was well aware that something in her life made it so that Blake didn't feel comfortable with revealing herself as a Faunus.
"Hm, well, if you don't mind. I can have some insight about whether or not a Semblance is useless."
"Well, if you say it like that, then I can't help but be interested."
"If you say that your Semblance, Shadow does nothing more than create empty clones, then theoretically, you'll need to fill them up. You know, kind of like when you have an empty cup and fill it up with water, which makes the cup a cup. If you think of your Semblance like that, then you're limiting the potential of what it could become."
Hearing Daniel's words, Black couldn't help but find them to be illuminating. However, there was another part of herself that didn't see that much about herself.
"How could you be so sure that someone could develop their Semblance like that?"
"Well, considering that Semblances are said to be the representation of our character, then how they develop will depend on us. I met someone, a female Faunus in Mistral who didn't have that much of an opinion about what her Semblance was. Well, for her, it was the fact that she couldn't control it and couldn't accept it, because of what it entailed."
Hearing Daniel's comment about the female Faunus in Mistral caught Blake's attention more and could tell that the two of them were close to one another.
"And what did you tell her?"
"It was something like, a Semblance's development depends on the person who uses and trains it, then because of that," Daniel answered, pausing for a moment, then pointed at Blake with a genuine smile. "Because the person that I'm talking to is awesome, then their Semblance is going to turn out awesome. So, seeing as Blake Belladonna is awesome, then her Semblance is awesome too."
"…."
Hearing that genuine comment from Daniel caused an immediate reaction from Blake, who pushed her book up against his face, causing them to turn in another direction. Amid that, she turned in the opposite direction, while her cheeks turned red.
"…thanks for that, I guess."
Blake stated, wearing a faint smile, and found herself looking forward, as her expression returned to normal.
"You're welcome," Daniel replied, feeling the sensation of the book being removed from his face, but then turned enough to see the title. "Oh, Under the Moonlight?"
"Huh, you read this book before?"
Blake asked again, finding herself wearing a surprised look at that question.
"Yeah, won't spoil anything though. I needed something to do sometimes when I was Mistral, which was creating things, doing odd jobs, or reading books."
"So, would you want to talk about it after I finish?"
It was a surprising suggestion from Blake, but it wouldn't be the first time seeing as the two talked about Eventful Twilight. But, from the looks of it, there weren't many people to whom Blake talked too much about the books she read, which could be a good experience.
"Sure thing, but under one condition."
"Alright, and that would be?"
Blake asked, feeling some interest in whatever this request would be.
"Whenever we're alone like this, I want you to take off your ribbon."
"…!"
Blake was surprised about that sudden suggestion from Daniel, not expecting that to be the condition for sharing a conversation about a book. It caused her to reflexively extend her hand out towards the ribbon, which she was using to hide her cat ears from others.
"Uh, are you sure that has to be one of the conditions?"
Daniel could hear that Blake didn't want to remove the ribbon with the chance that someone might catch her with it removed.
"Hm, well, it was more of a suggestion. I know that wearing a ribbon all the time might feel uncomfortable, for a Faunus who spent years with their ears out. Since we were going to be talking about books, I thought that it'd be a good way of making you comfortable."
"I appreciate that Daniel," despite the sudden suggestion, Blake could hear that Daniel had nothing but the best of intentions in it. "But, what if someone caught me without my ribbon? Didn't Jaune get caught by Cardin, and then blackmailed."
"Oh, I doubt that anyone would be able to sneak up on us. I'm pretty sure that we're the ones who often do the sneaking thing," Daniel mused, causing Blake to almost laugh. "Besides, if Cardin or anyone on his team were to catch or attempt to blackmail you, then I'd deal with them."
"Oh, by kicking them?"
Blake mused, knowing that Daniel had a penchant for kicking.
"That is one of my solutions."
"And the other would be?"
"Shipping them off to an acquaintance of mine back at Mistral," at that, Blake gave Daniel an inquisitive look. "He won't do anything bad to them. He'll just have them work at his private practice…and might even test some weird medicine on them from time to time."
"….?"
Again an inquisitive look from Blake.
"Alright, the worst side-effect is discomfort or a slight stomach ache for about a couple of minutes, if not an hour. The guy might be an eccentric weirdo, but he takes his medical practice. He often tests experimental medicines on himself before others, which he can survive because of his Semblance."
"Yeah, though, I don't think that their parents would like that, Daniel."
Blake stated, pointing out the obvious, while still feeling amused by the suggestion.
"Ah, right, they have parents or at least relatives," Daniel made it sound as if he overlooked that. "Well, then I'll just with the usual order and beat the snot out of them if that happens."
"Daniel, you always seem to go to the limit for defending Faunus, don't you?"
"Of course, no one should feel as if there isn't a place for them in the world. Whether a Human or Faunus, there's a place for everyone on Remnant. It shouldn't be so black and white, a person shouldn't be judged because they happened to have been born a Faunus. Some Humans feel entitled, while some Faunus feel fearful which leads to hate," Daniel replied, finding himself leaning backward. "Ugh, hearing that mess in Atlas was enough, but then I went to Mistral where it was bad in some places. Under some circumstances, you can't blame some Faunus for getting tired of it and fighting back."
"Is that so?"
Blake replied, not knowing what else to say, but found herself taking in Daniel's words without hesitation. Whether it was the fact that he was born into the Norden Family or the fact his father and brother were Faunus, Daniel held a great distaste for the Faunus' treatment.
"Fine. I'll think about taking off the ribbon when we're alone like this."
"Alright, I'd say that's a mission accomplished."
Daniel stated, holding up his fist for an apparent fist bump.
Noticing that, Blake rolled her eyes but decided to follow his lead in initiating the fist bump, resulting in linking up their fists. It was another meeting between friends, who planned on having another discussion about a book for the second time. It wasn't anything major, but Blake found herself happy to have someone to talk to about such a thing as books.
Coming back from that memory, Blake found herself looking out forward, with her face turning a bit red thinking of that little moment between them. She couldn't help finding herself thinking about the moment between herself and Daniel, where the two could have a meaningful conversation, which she couldn't with her teammates. Among those things, he was the first person who figured out that she was a Faunus.
"Daniel ended up seeing whatever face I was making at that moment," Blake stated, placing her chin right on her hand, immediately realizing the kind of person Daniel was. "I don't doubt that he'll attempt to do something about this incident between me and Weiss. I wonder what she'll end up doing."
At that question to herself, she found herself anxiously thinking about whether or not Weiss would want anything to do with her at this point. It wasn't as if Team RWBY had been together for years, but the bond the group had built up til this point has been something that made her happy about being in Beacon Academy. At first, pre-formed, their team argued, but then fought together, despite being their first time together, and built up their bond since then.
"…is this the end of Team RWBY?"
Blake questioned, finding herself believing that a former member of the White Fang wouldn't be allowed in a team of those three and Beacon Academy as a whole.
"I don't know what I'm going to do anymore."
Blake found herself uttering out loud, feeling as if she lost her place among the friends that she made thus far. In uttering those words, Blake found herself feeling lonelier at the thought of not being away from those whom she'd become friends with. It wasn't the easiest decision to leave the White Fang and was satisfied spending time doing the duties of a Huntress. However, coming to Beacon Academy, it became more than that. She became far happier in being around her new friends.
Two days passed, and Blake did not attempt to speak to the person with whom she stayed in the hotel, Sun. No matter the attempts made at speaking to her, she ignored the Money Faunus, who didn't take the silence to heart. But, that changed on Monday, with Blake and Sun sitting outside of a balcony cafe, having ordered tea.
"So, you want to know more about me…."
Blake spoke, having taken her first sip out of the teacup in her hands.
"Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks," Sun spoke in a humourous and nonchalant tone, but then received a firm look from Blake. But, that simply solidified his previous comment. "Yeah, like that."
"I swear if I didn't know any better, I'd say you and Daniel were related," Blake uttered under her breath, rolling her eyes then looked sad. "Sun…. Are you familiar with the White Fang?"
"Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them," Blake's comment appeared to have set off a sore spot for Sun. "Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"
Blake paused, having heard that comment from Sun, and then took a drink before placing the teacup down, then revealing the big secret.
"I was once a member of the White Fang."
Blake revealed.
"…," Sun seemed to have become cross-eyed, choking on the tea, forcing himself to put it down and wipe away the tea in his mouth. "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!"
"That's right. I was a member for most of my life. You could almost say I was born into it…," Blake looked to have thought about that comment, seeing as her father founded the original White Fang, but she kept that one to herself. But, Blake still thought back to what formed the organization in the first place. "Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus."
Thinking about the ideals it was meant to represent, Blake found herself thinking that the ideal sounded like more of a fantasy to others, Humans, in particular.
"Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose as a voice of our people. And I was there," Blake thought back to the times that even she from a young age stood alongside the White Fang protesting the mistreatment of Faunus. "I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I thought we were making a difference. But, it was just a youthful optimist."
She thought back to the previous White Fang flag, a white wolfdog with a gentle expression, which turned into a fierce beast bearing its fangs at the world.
"Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and then a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking," Blake held onto the teacup in her hands. "Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But, it wasn't out of respect...out of fear."
"So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow."
At that, Blake found herself intentionally wiggling her cat ears underneath the ribbon, then waited for Sun to come to terms with the information afforded to him.
"So…have you told your friends any of this?"
At that question from Sun, Blake found herself in silence, not knowing how to respond.
"Oh no, Miss Belladonna didn't say some things to her team. But, she didn't say a single word to any of her other friends, Daniel Norden, in particular."
A familiar voice caught Blake's attention as she stopped staring into her teacup, though it was more accurate to say she was staring into her reflection. She looked up to find Daniel, who was dressed in casual attire, holding a bag in his hands with something inside of it. Sun found himself surprised, but happy to see Daniel again, but until this point was unaware that he was one of Blake's friends.
"Daniel, what're you…?"
Blake found herself stopping from speaking in that instance, then looked to find Daniel taking one of the empty seats.
"Blake, I think we should talk for a bit."
Daniel stated, with the number of people sitting at that sole table in the almost empty balcony cafe increasing to three people.
A/N: Well, this is the end of the next chapter of RWBY – Team DUSK, well, this chapter is a follow-up from the last with Blake's identity as a member of the White Fang being revealed. I wanted to elaborate more on the aftereffects of it rather than moving on to the next portion. So, it showed more of Team RWBY's emotions towards finding out about Blake's involvement with the White Fang, while at the same time, tormenting Daniel as usual. Daniel shared a lot of his personal feelings towards the sides Weiss and Blake have found themselves in, in particular the feelings between Humans and Faunus. I hope that I wrote those out well enough.
As per the chapter title, it showed more of Blake's feelings afterward and finding herself thinking about her past and future. It seems as if she is thinking about the parallels between Adam and Daniel while noting the differing ideals between them. But, in the end, it seems as if Daniel ended up finding where Blake and Sun were sitting in the cafe.