"So this is the Ocean." Jett gave the air a thorough smell before almost retching. "Just as salty as people say."

Tidus laughed as he walked over and stood next to him. After a hero's send off from Vacuo and a long rise through the desert, they had finally reached the coast. Now at a port town, they were only one boat ride away from Vale and Beacon Academy. Theodore, unfortunately, would not be joining them. His position as one of the few respected figure heads in Vacuo made him too important to leave for so long. So for this trip, Mirage would be supervising. While she was getting the boat ready, they had a bit of time to kill. "Yeah. But the breeze is so refreshing. A lot less sandy than the ones inland." Tidus said, stretching his body and letting the sea air wash over him.

"It is unique." Kai said, stopping next to them before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his notebook and a pen and contemplated for a second. "I think I'll draw it and send it to my sis- carer."

"Look at you three idiots, all gawking out like you've seen a Death Stalker." Brawnz strutted over and gave Tidus and Jett a slap on the back. "What, you never seen the sea before?"

"Nope." Tidus said simply.

Jett nodded as well. "Yep, me neither."

"Huh?" His face fell when he realised they weren't kidding. "You really haven't?"

"Yep. But I've been here now. I can knock it off my bucket list." Jett said, looking out over the sea one last time before gagging a bit. Far too salty for his taste. "Just seems like a large, overrated body of water to me."

"Yeah, I never had the time. The trip's pretty dangerous when you can't hire any basic protection." Tidus said. An impromptu trip to the coast from the city was something your average person struggled to pull off.

May walked over after listening and joined the conversation. "Your brother is one of the best Huntsmen in Vacuo. Why do you need to hire protection?"

"Being the best Huntsman in Vacuo means you spend a lot more time on pressing matters instead of trips to the beach."

"I get what you mean." She turned around to ash who was buying some shaved ice. "What about you, Ash? You've seen the sea before, right?"

"Yeah. I've been all over with my dad. Vale, Atlas, Mistral. Didn't actually get to see much, though." Ash said before shuffling some shaved ice into his mouth. His father had confined most of their trips to the insides of cars and the mansions of his business partners. "So I'm going to make the most of this trip. I heard they've got some delicious food. You guys ever had pizza before? I heard the ones in Vale are to die for." His face fell a bit. "Last time I went, I got stuck eating this fancy pants slop. Can you believe they eat snails over there?" He stuck his tongue out and made a sound of disgust. "Anyway, why'd you want to know?"

"Because this loser's never seen it before." Brawnz said, pointing a thumb to his side at Jett with a smug grin.

"Glad I didn't. It's overrated." Jett responded with a snarky tone.

"You only think it's overrated because I saw it before you."

"Yeah? And you're just mad that it's the only thing you have over me." Jett turned to face Brawnz fully.

"And you're annoyed because you know it's significant." Brawnz squared up and stared face to face with Jett.

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

Everybody else watched in amazement and despair as the two of them somehow ended up blowing such a minor problem out of proportion. It was saddening but predictable at this point. Nolan, as usual, tried to step in to stop the argument. "Jett, if it helps you feel any better, I've also never seen the sea before."

Both Brawnz's and Jett's head snapped to him. "Shut it Nolan!"

Brawnz was immediately back to arguing with Jett. "Now that I think about it, I bet you've never been on a boat either. Can't wait to see you hurl when we get on."

"You think a little water's going to beat me?" Jett started pumping himself up for his inevitable victory. "You're the one who's going to be seasick."

Ten minutes into the boat ride and NDGO were having a splendid time. Sure, the ship was a little rusted and turbulent, but the sea breeze was cool and the sun was just perfect. Octavia could have stayed looking over the railing forever. However, there was just one issue…

"Ugh, oh man." Jett stumbled next to Octavia and leaned over the railings before dumping out the contents of his stomach. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she shuffled further down, only for Brawnz to block her path.

"I don't feel too good." Much like Jett, he was soon leaned over the railings, losing his breakfast. Octavia cringed before leaving and going back to her team. The people in the center of the boat were at least keeping their food down.

Dew gave Octavia a sympathetic look before looking back at the sight of the two boys. "Ugh, how many times is that now? Weren't those idiots talking a big game about how they wouldn't get seasick?"

"Honestly," Gwen said while filing her nails. "It's revolting that we're even associated with these troglodytes."

"Oh, come on. Show a little sympathy." Nebula let out a strained laugh as the two boys let out some more uncomfortable groans. "They are a little funny with all their… shortcomings."

"Jett's going overboard," Dew said with a bored expression.

"Wait what?" Nebula turned around before sprinting over in panic as Jett leaned dangerously close over the railing. "Jett, don't do that!"

Dew let out a humourous huff as she watched Nebula. "She mother's him way too much."

"Yep." Gwen said with a nod. "But do we know any boys that don't need babysitting?"

Octavia took a seat next to them. "Nolan?"

"You only say that because he lets you test makeup on him." Dew thought it over for a second. "Tidus could count."

Gwen was quick to dismiss her. "And you're only saying that because you spend all day drooling over him while you spar. Plus, you've never had to sit next to him in lesson and wake him up every few minutes." Dew opened and closed her mouth a few times before turning away to hide the blush on her cheeks. She almost jumped out of her seat when May appeared in the space between her and Gwen..

"I mean, the answer's obvious. It's Kai."

The three girls considered May's input. It almost seemed like the obvious choice now they thought about it some more. Kai's only critical flaw was his lack of social flexibility. He could be formal, and that was it. Something Octavia would not let slide. "That feels like cheating. He's like an anomaly of a human being. He also needs to learn it's rude to ask a girl how much she weighs."

May had to concede she had a point. It had been strange when Kai went around asking about every person's height and weight in the second week. "Then, in that case, instead of who doesn't need babysitting, who needs babysitting the most?"

All of their heads turned to the man currently balancing on the railings at the bow of the boat without a care in a world.

"Hey Tidus." Tidus looked up from his leather-bound book and removed a headphone before giving a hum of acknowledgement to Ash's question. "What's your dream?"

"My dream?" He let out a sigh before settling down again. "Don't know. Not figured that one out yet."

"Surely you must have one? What about when you were a kid?"

"When I was a kid? A rockstar, I think?" Tidus' face fell in confusion as he continued to think. A lot of the memories from his childhood were spotty at best.

"A rockstar? That could still happen. I reckon we would make an awesome band."

"Maybe if we all woke up tomorrow with the power to play instruments."

"So since I'm obviously the lead singer. What instrument would you be?"

"Drums."

"Drums… fitting." There was a spark in Ash's eye as he looked out at the horizon. "Listen, I have something to ask of you. You may not know your dream, but I know mine. I will restore Vacuo and the moment we touch down in Vale marks the true starting line. We're going to win this tournament and become national heros. From there, we can make a real difference." He made an impressive spin, not losing his balance on the railing before continuing on in an authoritative voice. "We'll create a Vacuo free of conflict, open to all. Where there's enough for everyone and people don't have to live in poverty. Instead of being grumpy, people will be happy and driven to follow their dreams. But I can't do that alone." He looked at Tidus with unbridled intensity, contrasting the bug eyed stare that was being given back. "I need the lightning that will herald my arrival and strike down my foes," he turned and pointed at Kai. "The prevailing wind that will blow at my back." Finally, he pointed to Jett's partially conscious form. "The second in command that can wield both." Ash raised his hand to the sky as his voice reached fever pitch. "With that, the flames of my ambition will burn a path ever bright into the future! Now are you with me?!"

A silence swept over the deck as everybody stared at him. The speech had come out of complete left field and had been very unlike Ash. For once, he appeared very put together with all his boundless energy put towards one concise act. Finally, Mirage clapped. "Wow Ash, that was very inspirational."

Roy opened and closed his mouth before deciding on snorting. "Yeah, hope you remember that for when you have an audience bigger than fourteen people."

Ash looked at Kai, who nodded and lifted his notebook. "Don't worry, I had it all prepared and pre-written."

Tidus' eyes widened as he realised Ash may have actually done some planning for this. Even if it was with a little help. "You had Kai ghost write a speech for you?"

"No, we worked together. We've been working hard on organising at strategy meetings."

"We have team meetings?"

"Strategy meetings. Which means it's just me and our lead strategist."

Tidus just sat in awe. Every time he thought he had, Ash figured out he just evolved. Was a meeting with just two people, even a meeting? How could Kai be the lead strategist when he was the only strategist? He just rolled with it like usual. "Well then, maybe work on your delivery as well. You sounded like a dictator rather than a saviour towards the end."

"Hmm. Point taken. Kai, write that down. We'll keep workshopping this."

Tidus watched as Kai and Ash sat down before talking enthusiastically, or at least Ash was enthusiastic. It really was one of the most unlikely of friendships he had ever seen, but the two of them seemed to absorb knowledge from one another like a sponge. Their topics of conversation were equally wild, they could range from the hypothetical question of if Ash could wrestle a bear to the best way to cook a steak. Today he could overhear Kai talking about some four time Mistral champion. He put his headphones back on and turned up his music as he went back to his book. Old and tattered, the book bore his family's emblem on the front and had been a gift from his brother. Something to "get him to the next level", as his brother had said. The book itself was a hand-me-down filled with techniques and skills practiced by people he assumed to be his ancestors. It went so far back that towards the end, the writing was in a completely unfamiliar language. He'd just have to use the diagrams for those. It also had a fair amount of wear and tear, with quite a few pages missing or damaged.

"The lightning palm…" He mumbled to himself as he took in an impressive diagram of a person stepping forward, shooting lightning from his hand. When he turned the page, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw his brother's personal emblem at the bottom. "Flicker step?" Seemed his brother had also made additions. Tidus couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement at the idea of adding his own move to the book. Probably the Thunder drop. Now he just hoped Beacon had some opponents worth using them on.

In the City of Vale, team RWBY made their way down the main street to the docks for a second time that day. The mood was notably tenser than the first time. After their run around with the monkey Faunus and the resulting argument, tempers had cooled a little. Enough to get Weiss and Blake to agree to go back to the docks. With both of them as far apart as possible. And in complete silence. Yang and Ruby acted as a buffer between them, trying to keep things at least a little cordial.

"Oh, come on, cheer up. We can still make it to the docks in time." Ruby shot a big grin in both directions that was met with a moody huff from the white-haired girl. "I mean, we might at least catch one team." Her smile grew more nervous as Weiss' poor mood persisted. Helping Weiss and Blake get along was going to take time, but right now, she really wished they would just be a little less standoffish.

"Yeah, I mean, we were just going to scope out the competition. We'll have plenty of time to do that before the tournament." Yang said, doing her best to help her half sister.

Weiss' face finally softened a little. "There's no proof I was going to do that."

"Well then, you better put on a bright face." Ruby's smile picked back up when she saw Weiss becoming a little more receptive. "As a representative of Beacon, you don't want to appear rude, do you?"

"You're right. I should do my best to welcome them." Weiss took a deep breath and strode ahead confidently like she had that morning. She would just push Blake to the back of her mind for now and focus on the task at hand. Yang and Ruby could breathe a little easier now that Weiss was a bit more positive. Although the problem with Blake remained. Ruby had been desperate to say something to her, but Yang told her to leave it for now. Blake would come around in time, hopefully.

The four rounded the corner, bringing the docks into sight. Even better, there was a group of Huntsman. Ruby let out a deep sigh of relief at the chance for a welcome distraction. "See, I told you we would catch one team."

Weiss gave a nod of approval and walked ahead, eager to introduce herself. Her feet slowed and her mouth opened in disgust when she realised what she was watching. Three men all surrounding a blonde who was making some very grotesque noises.

"Are you done throwing up now, Jett?" The brunette crouched down and gave the blonde a pat on the back. "If you want, Tidus can carry you to the Academy."

"Nah, I'm fine… just give me a couple more minutes." The blonde said, lying there, dry heaving over the water. Even with the boat ride done, the absolute stench of the docks was too much for him right now.

The four didn't notice her approach, so she cleared her throat to get their attention. "Excuse me, but are you ok?"

The sound of her voice almost seemed to resurrect the blonde one. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." He looked up and glimpsed the white-haired beauty. Then a smoking hot blonde. Then the pair of the most enticing amber eyes he had ever seen. It was like he was in heaven. With a fresh surge of energy, he stood up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before offering a shaking hand. "Better than fine, actually." He tried his best to give a seductive smile despite his pale and sweaty face. "Names Jett, Jett Masters…"

Weiss looked at him and then his hand in pure disgust. Throwing up was one thing. But wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and offering it for a handshake? And those stupid ears. She was going to blow a blood vessel. Two Faunus in one day had to be some kind of cosmic punishment. Despite her reservations, she took his hand gently, doing her best to avoid as much skin to skin contact. "Weiss, Weiss Schnee."

Jett let out a sudden cough that sent Weiss recoiling in fear of more unsavoury 'business'. "Schnee?!" The shock seemed to be enough to finish him. He had so many choice words he wanted to say. But all he could manage was a noise that sat somewhere between annoyance and discomfort. He turned around and held his head in his hands. The disappointment he felt in himself for thinking a Schnee was pretty was immeasurable.

Weiss watched the sudden change in Jett's behaviour in bewilderment before turning to the rest of the team. Whatever, if she didn't have to deal with the Faunus, it was all the better for her. "As I was saying. I am Weiss, a representative here at Beacon. I assume you're the Huntsman from Vacuo?"

"Of course, we're AMBT!" Ash dashed forward and took her hand, giving it an energetic shake. "I'm Asher Novis, the team captain." He rushed past her without a second thought and made his rounds, shaking the hands of the other girls. Weiss stood there in shock again, her mind reeling. Asher Novis. The memory of an official gathering where some brat had knocked over the chocolate fountain, drenching her, played in her head. Councilor Novis' son. Asher Novis. She twitched a little before she realised the purple clad man now stood before her.

He gave a deep performative bow. "Kai Blackwood, at your service, miss Weiss."

Weiss broke out of her frazzled state enough to give a small curtsey back before he moved on. The sight of someone else with white hair was another shock to the system, but this time, far more manageable. At least Ruby was doing a much better job at milking information from their opponents than her. Even if it was unintentional.

Ruby stared in awe as Kai presented his sword to her, taking quick note of the difference in metals between the blade and rings. "Ooh, so the rings hanging from the center are magnetic. Then the sword can split down the middle and work as two, I assume?"

"Yes," Kai said, taken aback by her quick assessment. "I'm surprised you could tell just by looking."

But Ruby had already scurried her way over to Ash, taking in the two batons on his hip. "And that tonfa has a shotgun down the barrel?" She turned to Yang. "A bit like your Ember Celica." She paused for a second as she took in the second one before Ash offered it to her. Within a second, she was already running her finger down the baton's side. "But the second one is different… is this one a shield?"

"That's right!" Ash took the weapon back and flicked the switch, making the shield pop out. "I call these the Tiger's Pride and Fury."

Once again, Ruby had already dashed on. Far too overwhelmed with the sudden variety of weapons to sit and look at one. She stopped in front of Jett and took a second. This one was tricky. Ruby mumbled to herself as she broke down the components in her head, "Metals are different… switch must do something… they stretch? Maybe… could be…" Jett gave her the answer and transformed Reaper into scythe mode. "Huh!? Do you use some kind of aluminium alloy for the links? And I didn't even realise the blade itself was adjustable."

Jett chuckled as he listened to her motor mouth in excitement. "It would have been a decent choice, but that would be a bit too lightweight and limit my damage output. It's an alloy of my creation that's closer to steel."

"Wow. But don't you risk rusting or constant wear from friction? No wait, you have a finish on it? That's so cool." She let out a little squeal of delight. "Us scythe wielders have the best weapons."

"Yep, you have a keen eye. You have a scythe as well?"

Weiss tore her eyes away from their animated conversation and collected herself once again. Enough of watching Ruby gush over weapons, even if it was rather adorable. This introduction could have gone better on her part. Although all the ridiculous curve balls hadn't helped. Kai had been very polite at least, and the last one seemed a bit more laid back, if not a little intimidating. She put on her brightest smile and went to talk to him. "Hello, could I ask your name?" She gulped a little when he silently observed her with an intense stare. Even with all the hair, she could feel his hooded eyes staring back. She really wanted to know what he was thinking right now.

Tidus was dumbstruck. Surely their boat had capsized, and he'd just washed up on the beaches of heaven. Maybe he had fallen asleep reading that book and was suffering from Misery's Kiss. Or his brother was right. The girls here really were a step above Vacuo. Milky, white skin that looked beyond smooth and snow like hair that appeared so silky. Baby blue eyes that melted his insides as she gazed at him. He just wanted to run his finger over the shallow scar that ran down her face. Her soft lips parted as her songbird voice carried her words to his ears.

"Um, what's your name?"

"Name." He repeated breathlessly. Tidus blinked a few times as he let the words sink in. His name, tell her your name. "I'm uh Tidus…" He said, not sounding so sure about the fact himself. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Yes, my name is Tidus. Sorry I think I missed yours."

"Oh, it's Weiss." She reached out and took his large hand in her far daintier one.

"Weiss… I… uh… it's…" Tidus tugged at his coat collar, suddenly feeling rather hot. Why did her hand have to be so soft? "Oh, man, I didn't expect it to be so hot in Vale."

"Hot? I didn't think the temperature today would compare so much to Vacuo's. Especially with the sea breeze."

"Ah well…" Shit. What did his brother say again? Why did he zone out during those conversations? Small talk. He mentioned small talk. And that's what they were doing. "Yeah, well, the weather is exquisite today."

"Hmm, what is it?"

Tidus almost jumped in surprise when he heard the high pitch voice behind him. He turned around, nobody there. He turned around again. Nobody.

"Hey could you stop moving around so much?"

"Who?" He spun around one last time.

"Below you."

Tidus finally looked down to see Ruby. There was easily a foot of height between them. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you down there."

"That's understandable." She looked past him and at his back. "But what is it?"

"Oh, this?" He pulled Sky Piercer from his back and held it out for her. "It's a halberd."

"I know that but…" She attempted to take it off him before almost getting crushed under the weight. He quickly took it back. "What does it do? And why is it so heavy?"

"I swing it and thrust it. You know, just hit things."

Her face fell in disappointment. "So it does nothing?"

"Yep, pretty boring, right? What you want to look at is this," Jett said, before grabbing Tidus' arm and showing it off like some street peddler. "An aura conversion medium armament."

"The BAG," Ash corrected.

Jett rolled his eyes. "Or the BAG for Badass Aura Gauntlet. It translates aura into tangible attacks, each one unique depending on the person's aura. All without the use of dust."

This was the last understandable part of the conversation before it became filled with mind numbing engineering speak. Yang couldn't help but laugh as she watched Jett and Ruby nerd out. This strange team had been the perfect distraction from their earlier argument. Weiss had held her voice and didn't go off on Jett. Ash had forced Blake into a somewhat one-sided conversation, but it seemed like he was trying his best to get her to open up a little. He was surprisingly patient. Tidus looking so intimidating, but being so easily flustered was also quite funny. Kai was silent and reserved, but she could respect that. She was honestly quite content to sit back and watch for now. For today, it was better to let them keep the others occupied and hopefully put everyone in a better mood. She could always talk to them later.

"So if you're here for the tournament, you must be staying at the dorms? We can take you and show you around if you'd like?" Yang said, hoping to keep the positive exchange going.

"Yeah! You can show us some sights along the way." Ash rushed over to fall into step with her. "Also, point out anyplace you can get pizza along the way."

Kai was soon to follow with the rest. "Indeed. We should have been there by now, but Jett's sea sickness delayed us."

"What, seasick? I was never seasick. That boat was just poorly built. I bet Theodore isn't here because they were worried he would get lost at sea in a boat that bad."

The two teams made their way down the main street towards Beacon Academy. Ash, Yang, Weiss and Ruby lead the way, engaged in conversation and pointing out certain buildings now and then. Tidus and Kai followed close behind, taking in the sights and foreign architecture. All the buildings here were so much taller and older. People were actually driving cars on paved roads. Heck, they actually paved the roads. It really made Vacuo look like even more of a backwater shithole than it already was. They passed a shop that someone had recently broken into. Some things obviously didn't change.

As they continued, Jett's nose picked something up. Away from the stench of the docks, the fresh scents of Vale got a lot clearer. Vacuo actually had an incredibly clean smell, very earthy and even fragrant in the parks. In contrast, Vale's scent was a lot richer, damp, but with undertones of foods and perfumes. But there was one, no two, that held an undeniable familiarity. He slowed his pace as he realised what it was. The amber eyed girl. He fell into step with her behind the group. She shot him a nervous glance as he gestured to her. Jett lightly tapped the side of his nose, then pointed at her. Blake felt a brief shiver run down her spine before furrowing her brow in confusion. Was he trying to say she stunk? Jett sighed when he realised how that came across before wiggling his wolf-like ears. With her attention drawn, he pointed to them, then back to Blake.

She felt the heat rush to her cheeks when she realised he was onto her secret. On the one hand, she really did not want someone who was still essentially a stranger knowing her secret. Worse yet, outing her to her team. But he was a Faunus too. There was a sense of underlying kinship between the two and so far he was at least being subtle. He could have just outright asked and everyone else would have heard. She just hoped he would understand and keep it on the down low. She finally wiggled her own ears, causing her bow to jiggle slightly before shaking her head. Jett smiled and made the gesture for zipping his mouth shut before holding out his fist. Blake felt her heart ease a bit as she returned a small smile and bumped his fist.

That was one scent down. The next scent felt like it could be a more open question. "You guys haven't seen a Monkey Faunus by chance? He has a blonde tail and blonde hair, a bit like mine, but obviously I'm more handsome."

The last thing Jett expected was for the mood in the street to plummet into the deepest depths of hell. Monkey boy might have been a sore subject. Weiss' turn around was instant. "Why? Do you know him?" She said, placing herself right in Jett's face.

"If I say yes, is that going to make this better or worse?"

Ruby felt a wave of panic when Weiss wasn't receptive to the joke. "Weiss maybe you-"

"All you filthy creatures are the same. I bet you're here to cause trouble like him."

The silence following her words was deafening. Each member of AMBT stood stunned at the outburst. Some people in Vacuo disliked Faunus. But this? "Oh, so that's what you think?" Jett let out a humourless chuckle and took a step forward. "I was waiting for you to drop the act. You stuck-up little bitch."

Weiss' expression grew even more cold and fierce. "You dare call me that, you mangey mutt. I should turn you in right now and save everyone the trouble."

"I'd like to see you try." Jett reached for Reaper. "Word of warning, I bite."

Tidus was quick to take action. As much as he was on Jett's side, he couldn't allow him to attack an unarmed opponent out on the streets. He rushed behind Jett and put him in a full nelson. "Absolutely not. This isn't happening."

Weiss took in a deep breath and turned her nose up at him. She may have gotten ahead of herself. Vacuan students carrying their weapons with them at all times was not what she was used to. "Savage animal. Of course, you'd attack an unarmed opponent."

The dam holding back Blake's emotions finally burst. "He did it because you provoked him! I don't understand how you can be so cruel?"

Weiss immediately fired back. "It's not my problem if he can't keep himself in check."

"Yeah-"

Kai clamped a hand over Jett's mouth. "Your input won't improve the situation."

The six of them watched as Weiss and Blake verbally tore into each other. Yang and Ruby's face fell as they realised they were back to the beginning of the day. So much for a welcome distraction.

Ash felt his heart sink feeling at a loss. There wasn't much he could do, but he felt like he should have done something. "Are they always like this?"

"Its…" Yang let out a deep breath, "complicated."

For the rest of the way, they traveled to Beacon in complete silence. Blake and Weiss both burnt out from another round of arguing, and Jett left to argue with a strawman in his head. By the time they reached their room, it was late. They would've liked to meet up again tomorrow to hangout, but after today that seemed like a far cry. Instead, Ruby gave Ash the number of someone called Nora, a member from another team they could meet up with. It was a shame. They had only talked briefly, and it seemed Jett and Ruby got on really well. Unfortunately, as things were, they probably wouldn't receive any invites to hangout anytime soon. After trekking the desert and a boat ride, they collapsed into their beds and let exhaustion take them to sleep. Jett lay awake, stewing. The fact his team defended the Schnee bitch really pissed him off. Although the more rational part of his head told him, it would have been worse for him if they didn't. Despite that, they'd all just stood around dumbstruck and had said nothing in his defence. But he also had to admit that it would have annoyed him just as much if they didn't just let him go at her by himself. He told himself to let it slide and sleep it off, but he just couldn't. He really needed a distraction.

There was a light tap on the window. So light that if Jett didn't have insane hearing, he wouldn't have known.

He rolled over in his bed and squinted out the window. There was no way. Jett was on his feet in an instant, padding across the floor barefooted to the window. He fiddled with it for a second before silently sliding it up and open, ready to unleash a verbal barrage. The visitor put a finger to their mouth and pointed at the sleeping figures behind Jett. Jett reluctantly stayed silent, instead reaching to grab the visitor. They dodged nimbly and gestured for him to follow before climbing down a nearby drain. Jett let out a strangled growl before grabbing his boots and breastplate. Slipping out the window with practiced ease and closing the window behind him. At the bottom of the drain, he fixed the visitor with a hard stare.

"Sun Wukong, you motherfucker."

Sun gave him a wide grin, his tail swaying happily. "Happy to see you, too." He said, stifling his laughter as Jett hopped around, putting on his shoes. "Glad you weren't in your PJs yet."

"Do you know how much trouble-!" Jett stopped when he realised how much his voice was echoing in the empty courtyard. He lowered his voice before saying, "Do you know how much trouble I got in because of you?"

Sun rubbed the back of his head. "Listen, I'm sorry about all that back then. But you know I'm not the kind to stay in one place for long."

"I'm not talking about Vacuo." Jett threw his arm over Sun's shoulder and brought him closer so that he could shout at him. Quietly of course. "You've been here for how long and already made this many problems?!"

"Oh right. That's actually why I'm here. I need a little favour." Sun at least looked a little bashful when he asked, but the wide grin was never leaving his face.

"Seriously? You come crawling back and expect a favour?"

"We'll catch up later, I promise. But think of this as a favour for a mutual friend." Sun bit his lip before sighing. "I need you to help me find the cat girl."

Jett felt his anger vanish when the pair of amber eyes entered his mind. "Blake?"

"Is that her name?" Sun shrunk further when Jett shot him another hard glare. "Anyway, she ran off into the night suddenly and she looked pretty distressed."

Jett let Sun go and massaged his temples. He had a sinking feeling that this had to do with the morning's problems. A problem that he may have unintentionally contributed to. Even if it was mostly that Atlas hag's fault. "So now you want me to track down a girl whose name you didn't even know into the dark of night? Actually, how do you even know she ran off into the night?"

"Ok, when you say it like that, it sounds weird. But me seeing her run off was purely coincidence. This is entire thing is partly my fault." Sun's tail sagged and his face finally fell. "Just help me find her so we can at least see if she's alright."

Another problem that was ultimately Sun's fault and he would have to it clean up. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Blake was probably fine. She hadn't taken shit from the Atlas hag, and she had a dangerous aura about her. He was sure of it. Blake was a fighter through and through. She didn't need their help. He looked up and took in a deep breath of the night air.

Her scent was carrying on the wind. She couldn't be far. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Who's the best tracker in all of Vacuo?"

Sun's grin returned as he ran next to Jett and made a theatrical gesture to him. "The Street Reaper Jett Masters!"

"You're damn right."

Blake stood at the bottom of the statue at a loss. Her constant bickering with Weiss had finally reached a head and had inadvertently revealed her past affiliation with the white fang. And by extension, her Faunus identity. Maybe running hadn't been the best option, but it was the first thing she had thought of. She let out a strangled growl of frustration and rubbed her eyes. It was all so silly. She'd been stupid to think she could keep her secret for long. Now the way it had ended had really torn their team apart. Could she even go back and face them? She blinked in surprise when a droplet hit the ground. Reaching up, she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at the statue. She removed the bow from her head and let her cat-like ears stand.

"I knew you would look better without the bow."

Blake froze as she felt a brief shiver run down her spine and turned around. She didn't know if she should cry or laugh right now. Of all the people to find her. Instead, she settled on giving them both an annoyed stare.

"Hey don't look at me like that. I'm just here to make sure this idiot says what he has to say." Jett said, giving Sun a hard shove in the back.

"Right, I was just thinking that after this morning, I may have caused you some trouble." Sun rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh. "So I'm sorry. But right now, you seem like you could use someone to talk to, so I also want to let you know that I'm willing to listen."

"I'm right here, you know."

"We will listen." Sun corrected himself, giving the still silent Blake a broad smile.

Blake rubbed her arm before looking at the two warily. This would end up being a brilliant decision, or the stupidest one she'd ever made. Either way, she was too tired to care right now. She made a small nod, and without a word, turned around and walked away. Jett and Sun exchanged confused glances before following behind. She didn't seem to hate their presence, but she also obviously didn't want to talk right now.

After a while, Jett broke the silence with an annoyed huff. "I can't believe you really are a Cat Faunus."

Sun turned to him, grinning. "You didn't know?"

"No. How did you know?"

Sun let out a small chuckle. "Lucky guess."

Jett let out an annoyed growl at Sun's teasing. After all these years, he really hadn't changed. "Where are we going, anyway? Usually when I'm feeling down and runoff in the middle of the night, I grab a midnight snack." Surprisingly, he was actually speaking out of experience rather than being facetious.

"Noodles it is."

"No way you always want noodles. Barbecue."

"But barbecue sucks as a midnight snack."

"Yeah, but so do noodles."

Blake couldn't help but feel amused as she listened to their squabbling. Maybe she could get used to listening to dumb and dumber. But right now she really need to work out what she was actually doing. Was she running away? Just clearing her head? She heard her stomach growl. A midnight snack didn't sound bad. But since they were following her, they were definitely getting seafood.