Chapter 18: Open Book

"Who did you text?" Blake asked Yang as the blonde girl put her scroll away.

"Ruby, again," she responded, rolling over on the couch in the loft of Tukson's store. The two of them were preparing to spend the night out in Vale again. "She made it back to Beacon."

"That's good," Blake said. She gave Yang a nervous glance. "You didn't tell her everything though, right?"

"Nope," Yang said, smiling. "I believe that's gonna be your job."

Blake's cat ears drooped as she frowned. "Didn't I get expelled?"

"Nah; Ozpin talked to Weiss, and then Coco had to talk to my sister, but as far as I know, team RWBY isn't done yet." Yang beamed at her, resting her head on her arms.

Blake shifted uncomfortably. "You weren't surprised?" she asked while pointing at her faunus trait.

Yang shrugged. "I'd suspected it ever since we got paired up, but I figured you'd tell us all eventually; once you were more comfortable." She smiled devilishly before adding, "Plus, you purr in your sleep."

Blake blushed a bright pink. "I do not!"

"Wanna hear the recording?"

"You delete that right now!"

Yang laughed, getting her scroll out, only for Blake to snatch it away. She was flipping through the files when she stumbled on a picture of a woman that looked like Yang with black hair. The next moment, the scroll was out of her hands.

"And… there," Yang said after poking the device. "All gone. I'm sure I'll be able to get more." She pocketed her scroll and laid down on the couch again.

Blake blinked, then leaned into her chair.

They sat in silence until Yang began tentatively, "So, what did you do before coming to Beacon?"

The faunus girl glanced at her as Yang continued, "It's fine if you don't want to say, but your outburst certainly left out a lot of details."

Blake cringed, keeping quiet for a while longer.

Eventually, she let out a sigh and cautiously began to explain:

"I used to be a member of the White Fang. In fact, I was rather prominent within the organization. For most of my life, I was at the front of every rally, taking part in every boycott. But, that was when we had a better leader. You could say I joined because that man was in charge.

"After the revolts in Mantle, faunus around the globe were promised equality and freedom. Despite that, many humans refused to see us as their equals. That's why the White Fang was formed; to bridge the gap between faunus and humans. I joined back when they were still that symbol of peace and unity.

"And then, five years ago, our leader stepped down. The new leader started to turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by low level protesters. I'd even heard rumors of him outright condoning their behavior, though I left before I could verify that.

"I don't know when, but I started to notice that I couldn't honestly justify our actions anymore. Right and wrong became a blur. That feeling was unnerving, and I couldn't keep living like that. I saw what it did someone… someone close to me. And so I left, before that corruption got to me too."

Yang listened intently to her monologue, keeping her thoughts reserved until Blake finished.

"I contacted Tukson- he used to be in the White Fang as well -and he helped me set up here in Vale," Blake continued. "He left for the same reason I did; we saw the organization radicalizing and wanted no part in it."

She turned to Yang, relaxing as she saw the understanding in her friend's eyes.

After a moment, Yang asked, "You weren't going to tell your team any of this? Or, even just me?"

Blake looked down.

"I've been burned by personal relationships before," Blake explained. "I wasn't looking to root myself at Beacon; in fact, I had no idea huntsmen trained in groups. All the ones I've encountered outside the kingdoms worked alone.

"After initiation, I found myself caught between wanting to connect with you guys and wanting to stay detached." Blake clasped her hands together. "The fact Weiss wanted to leave the team didn't help me make a decision either. She never wanted to be friends with me, even before she found out…"

Yang sat up, smiling. "Well, we're friends, and when you're friends with me, we're friends for life, even if we never see each other again! It's not the distance that matters, it's the connection…" She trailed off, her face growing distant as she tapped a finger on the pocket with her scroll.

Blake's cat ears perked as Yang shook her head, returning to her normal self.

"So," Blake began, "our team is still together?"

"Yep," Yang assured her. "As long as you want to come back." She paused, then genuinely asked, "You do want to come back, right?"

"I- well," Blake hesitated. "If… What about Weiss? Won't she hate me?"

"We'll deal with her," Yang said, her face growing serious. "If she doesn't accept you, that's her problem."

"Pyrrha, wait!"

Ruby looked up from her scroll to see Weiss running after Pyrrha in the adjacent hall of their dorm floor. She ducked behind the wall to listen in on their conversation.

Pyrrha turned to Weiss, folding her arms. "What do you want?"

"Can I talk with you?" Weiss asked, shifting under Pyrrha's glare.

"I don't really want to," the champion said. "Your defense of Cardin yesterday and the bigoted mindset you displayed have done nothing to endear me to you, Weiss."

"I know," Weiss choked out, looking down. "I'm… going through a hard time. Could you please listen?"

Pyrrha wavered at her words, muttering, "I am far too nice," while putting a hand to her face.

"Fine. Come along," Pyrrha said, waving for Weiss to follow. The two of them made their way out onto the balcony. Pyrrha looked over the edge to make sure Cardin's window was closed while Ruby scooted after them.

Eventually, Pyrrha leaned against the railing, asking Weiss, "What's bothering you?"

"I'm so confused about everything happening around me," Weiss admitted, folding her arms and setting them on metal. "Back in Atlas, no one outside my family would challenge me as often as everyone here does, and I left home specifically to get away from them!

"And now, with each passing day, I'm finding it harder to connect with anyone. Even the headmaster of Beacon glared at me when I tried to bring my problems to him! It's all making me sick with anxiety." Weiss looked down from their perch. "I came here to be free, but I feel more suffocated than ever."

Pyrrha glanced at her, asking, "Why are you telling me this? It seems like just the thing to discuss with your team."

"Well, you're someone of status," Weiss said slowly. "A sort of celebrity, like me. I figured you might understand better than them."

Pyrrha nodded, taking her words in. "I guess you're right, in a way. I do have experience with not relating to people because of my fame."

"Exactly!" Weiss perked, looking over at her. "You adjusted to your team so well that I'm practically jealous, and you're not even the leader! I honestly don't know how you did it."

"Well, for starters," Pyrrha said, "I had to stop viewing everyone around me as being there only for me."

Weiss blinked. "What do you mean?"

"When I began my combat career, I let the success and attention go to my head," Pyrrha explained. "I'd often push people around because I thought I was better than them. But, then I caused an accident. Someone got hurt, and it was my fault. It really shocked me out of that mindset."

"Wha- But, I've never heard of any incident like that," Weiss said.

"Of course, almost no one has," Pyrrha sighed. "My press team covered it up. Only me, the victim's family, and a few others ever knew what really happened. I wanted to show the world that the 'Invincible Girl' wasn't perfect, but they didn't let me.

"And so, I left, eventually," Pyrrha said, turning to Weiss. "I came to Beacon to get away from the fame, to just be a normal girl. And I'm lucky to be on a team with friends who don't put me on a pedestal all the time."

"But wouldn't that mean less problems?" Weiss asked. "You'd have full command of your team- and they wouldn't challenge you!"

"But then, they wouldn't be my friends," Pyrrha said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone is an individual, whether they're human or faunus, quiet or loud, ditzy or poised. If you treated other people as equals, like the way we're talking now, you'd get along so much better with your team."

Weiss' face dropped as Pyrrha went on, "No one wants to work with, or even talk to, someone who is pompous and ungrateful, regardless of how skilled they are. You'll need to humble yourself if you want to fit in here. Do you think you can do that?" Her voice had no edge to it, placing the question as an invitation.

Weiss leaned deeply against the railing, settling on Pyrrha's words as she stared out at the horizon.

The champion glanced back toward the hall, causing Ruby to let out a quiet "Meep!" as she scooted out of sight again.

"I can try," Weiss finally said, nodding.

"Then perhaps the first step is to apologize," Pyrrha said, lifting herself up and turning to leave. She nodded at Ruby as she stood by the threshold, and the girl meekly walked out onto the balcony.

Weiss balked at seeing her, holding herself up with the railing.

"Ren's going to make pancakes again," Pyrrha said as she turned away. "Nora's been insistent about it all week. There'll be enough for two whole teams; if we can find another." She turned around a corner, leaving the partners alone.

They held stares for an extended time until Ruby broke the silence.

"Hi."