I don't own anything.
"So let me get this straight, you" Weiss pointed to Blake, "are a Faunus and used to be White Fang."
The black-haired girl simply nodded, shamefaced.
"And then that bookstore owner was killed, and he was White Fang too?" Pyrrha continued. Another nod.
"And he wanted to leave as well?" The Schnee heiress asked again.
"Yes." Blake answered.
"So, you went to investigate his death, and somehow Jaune got roped into it?" Pyrrha went on.
"Yup." I cut in, but I quickly put my hands up at the looks I got from both Pyrrha and Weiss. These were Blake's questions to answer, and it was clear that they didn't appreciate my input.
"And that was the research you were doing?" Pyrrha again.
"Yes. We were looking for criminal activity in the area around Tukson's." That earned me a narrow-eyed stare from my partner.
"You lied to me." She accused, and I put my hands up again.
"Hey, Blake asked me not to tell anyone. I'd do the same for you." I told her, and it was true too. This was personal for Blake, and while I'd have liked it if she told the rest of the team, it was ultimately her decision. If Pyrrha had some kind of personal issue and didn't want me to tell the rest of the team, I would have kept it secret as well.
It didn't seem to mollify her completely, but at least she stopped glaring. Weiss put us back on track, though, continuing the questioning.
"You then found the White Fang at the docks with Torchwick robbing an SDC dust shipment and decided to fight them." It wasn't a question; she already knew the answer. Her next question, though, was a little harder to answer. "Why?"
"I… I needed to know why they were working with someone like Torchwick." Blake began after a moment to gather her thoughts. "I left because we were becoming too radical, there was too much violence, too many innocents who were put in the line of fire. But even then, everything was still to further the cause. This, this doesn't make any sense. The White Fang are robbing dust stores with a human thief who's ordering them around. It's… it completely goes against everything the White Fang stands for." By the end of her rant, the girl was breathing heavily, her chest rising harshly as she slumped forward on her bed.
"Okay, so what are we going to do about it?"
Both my own and Blake's eyes snapped over to the white-haired heiress as she asked her question. Not only at her lack of reaction to Blake's past and the news, but also at how blasé she sounded while assuming we would continue to investigate the civil rights activists turned terrorist organization.
Even Pyrrha was looking at her oddly.
"What?" Weiss asked, narrowing her eyes at our confused expressions. "Look, Blake left the White Fang, and if she went to fight against them, I trust that she isn't going back. It's in the past, and she's clearly on the right side here. And if the White Fang is going to continue to be active here in Vale, I need to know what they're doing. Not only are they hurting my family business with their continued theft, I am also a natural target for them. It only makes sense to put a stop to them."
"She's… not wrong." Pyrrha was the first to react. "If the White Fang remains active in the area, there is no telling how much damage they might incur or how many people they might hurt. It is only prudent to stop them. As Huntsmen and Huntresses, it's our duty to protect the people."
I shot a look to Blake, who turned towards me as well, hope shining in her eyes as she realized the rest of our team was eager to put a stop to the organization she had left, the organization that had killed her friend. I closed my eyes for a moment, blocking out the golden orbs that silently pleaded with me.
I was going to regret this.
I nodded.
"Another hard day, no water, no rest
I saw my chance so I got him at last
I took his six shooter, put two in his chest
He'll never say a word no more
He'll never say a word no more
The Devil got him good for sure
Ain't got no place, to call a home
Only chains and broken bones
Ain't got no place to call a home
So, come on Gods, won't you take me now
Ain't got no place to call a home
Only chains and broken bones
So, come on Gods what you waitin' for?"
Somehow, the song felt appropriate after dealing with the White Fang. What with it being about a Faunus laborer just after the Great War, working the mines of Vacuo and killing his oppressive 'Owner' due to the abuse piled upon him during his time there.
It reminded me that the White Fang was still made up of people, no matter how despicable their actions might be at the moment. Their ultimate goals and reasons were valid, but the means they used to get there were wrong. Equality was a good dream to strive towards, but terrorism and violence wouldn't get you there. Just like in the song, the worker didn't have to shoot his boss to get out of the mines, but just like the White Fang, he turned to violence to solve his issues.
"I didn't know you played the guitar." Startled, my hand clenched around the guitar's neck, turning my next strum into a bum note. When I saw who it was, though, I relaxed, idly playing the rest of the melody out without the vocals.
"Yeah, I uh, I learned with my dad back home." I told her. Feeling a little awkward, I tried to focus on playing instead of looking at her. It was the first time we had been alone since our fight and subsequent kiss. While it had been wonderful, more than wonderful even, I wasn't sure where we stood now.
We hadn't had a chance to talk about it yet, and I didn't want to assume. As bad as I was with women, I'd heard enough complaints from my sisters to know that it was generally a bad idea to think you were together without actually talking about it first. The fact that I actually liked Blake quite a bit and didn't want to screw this up definitely didn't make it any less nerve-wracking.
Vanilla and wildflowers entered my nose suddenly and I couldn't help but freeze up at Blake's sudden proximity. A soft hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up, only for a pair of soft lips to suddenly land on mine. After a single second of surprise, I began to kiss back, moving in sync with the girl opposite me as we leaned into one another.
Far too soon for my liking, she pulled away, though she remained close. "There's no need to be so nervous." She whispered, looking into my eyes. Idly, I put the guitar down and pulled Blake into a hug that she gladly accepted, sitting down in my lap in one smooth motion.
"Was I that obvious?" I asked with a small laugh as the nerves melted and only butterflies remained. Well, not all of the nerves left me. After all, there was still a beautiful girl on my lap, and I was more than a little afraid of bungling it somehow.
"You looked like you were going to bolt when I walked in." Blake giggled softly as she tilted her head to look me in the eyes again.
"I didn't want to screw this up. Whatever this is anyways." I told her, hoping she would have some kind of answer for me.
"I didn't want to screw this up either." Blake admitted as a small smile appeared on her face. It was just a little quirk of her lips, but for Blake, who rarely showed her emotions so blatantly, it might as well have been a cheshire grin. "But I think it's pretty obvious what I want, isn't it?" She teased, leaning forward, and I met her halfway.
The taste of strawberries lingered on my lips when we parted a moment later.
"Well, I didn't want to assume." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly as I told her. In lieu of an answer, Blake kissed me again. She pressed her soft body into mine as she did so, letting me feel every incredible curve and angle that tantalized the senses.
"Wow…" I breathed as we separated again.
"Is that clear enough?" She teased again, that little grin remaining on her face as she relished in the effect, she had on me, her golden eyes twinkling with mischief. Gods she was beautiful. Seeing an opportunity, I leaned forward again, whispering as I did so.
"I might need a little clarification." I told her, and she gladly 'clarified' her intentions for me.
I didn't pick the guitar up again for the rest of the night.
CLANG!
Miló bounced off my shield in a shower of sparks, but failed to push me back even a little. I stabbed Crocea Mors forward for a quick stab at my opponent, but it was similarly blocked by Akoúo, being pushed off to the side while Miló came careening towards my face in its javelin form. I didn't have time to get my shield up, but I simply tilted my head to the side.
The bladed tip skimmed the side of my face, taking a sliver of my aura off. In return, I rammed my shield directly into Akoúo, hoping to knock my partner over by leveraging my greater strength. Somehow, though, the girl barely moved an inch when out shields collided. The lack of kinetic-to-kinetic energy transfer that had to have something to do with our semblances forced the energy to convert to heat instead, and I felt the way the metal of my shield suddenly became scalding even through my aura.
Judging by the slight grimace on Pyrrha's face, she'd just experienced the same. I didn't have time to think about it much, though, as I had to lean back to avoid the tip of Myrtenaster. The rapier suddenly appearing in my peripheral vision a second before it would have carved into my skull.
I sent an elbow to my left, aiming to push Weiss' extended arm up even further to put her off balance, but I didn't get the chance. Instead, the SDC heiress was suddenly launched off her feet by a shield bash from Pyrrha, the Mistrali champion sending the smaller girl flying.
The brief moment of airtime was interrupted when a Glyph appeared under the flying girl's feet. The solid platform of aura allowed her to stabilize herself, but also gave her a something to push off of and change her trajectory. Suddenly, Pyrrha found the white-haired girl bearing down on her, a storm of ice surrounding her rapier as she approached the champion.
I didn't get to see Pyrrha's counter, though, as my instincts screamed at me to get out of the way. I leapt to the side, completely sacrificing my footing to dodge a swing from Gambol Shroud. The curved blade swung through empty air, and I quickly regained my footing, though not before taking a shot to the leg while I did my best to stabilize myself.
Lightning-quick, the blade came for me again, though this time I was ready. My shield lashed out, turning the blow aside, but I wasn't fooled. Crocea Mors quickly parried a second blow from the real Blake, who was standing behind her clone. With a smile, I riposted and forced the black-haired girl to activate her semblance a second time in as many seconds to dodge the hit.
BZZZZZZZT
A loud mechanical buzz sounded throughout the training room, and all of us froze, abandoning the attacks we had been throwing out in the final seconds of the spar. It was something new that I had suggested we try for today. If we were serious about hunting the White Fang, and thus Roman Torchwick, then we needed to be ready to face situations like this.
Hectic fights with multiple opponents who might all be on or above our levels. And so, the free for all spars were invented. With a smile, I sheathed my sword and collapsed my shield, hanging the both of them on my belt as I heard my teammates similarly putting their weapons away.
Looking over at the aura meters displayed on the right side of the arena, I was pleasantly surprised at the results.
Weiss Schnee: 37%
Blake Belladonna: 41%
Jaune Arc: 55%
Pyrrha Nikos: 89%
It was the lowest I had ever seen Pyrrha's aura drop from a spar, and I was quite proud to have been the one to do most of that damage. The fact that I had managed to make it out of the spar with significantly more aura than either Weiss or Blake certainly didn't hurt.
"Good job, all of you!" I crowed, idly throwing everyone their water bottles from the spot we had left them on the benches. Instead of taking a drink, I simply took a moment to wipe some sweat off my forehead with my towel.
"You did quite well today, Jaune." Pyrrha told me as she walked over, taking a sip of water. She was barely out of breath. To be fair, so was I, but I had my rather high Endurance score to thank for that. My partner was just that strong.
Weiss didn't even move from her spot on the floor of the arena, simply taking small sips of water as she lay there, recovering from her bout with the redhead. "If we keep training like this, the White Fang won't know what hit it." She said, her breathing labored.
Blake, who had sat herself down next to me chimed in then. "To be honest, we are already stronger than most of the members of the White Fang. Most of the members are just normal people with their aura unlocked and a small bit of combat training. There's only a handful of members who are on the level of a Huntsman."
"Wait, really?" I asked, surprised. Sure, the people I had fought at the docks had been far from impressive, but for such a large organization to only have a couple of Huntsman level combatants was still surprising. As I did so, I looked over to Blake and I felt some heat creeping onto my cheeks.
She nodded as she took a sip of water, the motion accentuating her smooth pale neck and the curve it followed down to her cleavage, which was hidden only by a sports bra. Honestly, it was a fairly modest piece, but it didn't detract from the girl's beauty at all, and I couldn't help but feel the urge to lean over and kiss her.
"Then we will make short work of them." My partner's voice broke me out of my stupor, and I glanced back over to the redhead. Her lips were slightly downturned into a frown that was uncharacteristic for the normally cheerful girl. She must have been more affected by the threat of the White Fang than I'd thought if she looked this upset just at the mention of them.
I simply smiled at her, though, hoping that I looked reassuring.
"We will."
What do you guys think? A little more time spent with the whole team, some more training and a nice little scene with Blake. This is my first attempt at writing any kind of romance, so definitely let me know what you think.
As always, have a good one!
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