This is a commissioned work.

It was always one thing after another.

Jaune sighed as he entered the library, his book bag dragging across the floor. Normally he would be ecstatic; it was a Friday afternoon, classes were over and the weekend was inbound. Two days to relax and do whatever you wanted. What student wouldn't be over the moon? Ordinarily, that would be the case.

But not for Jaune Arc.

Not this time.

He'd thought that the worst was behind him. Dealing with Cardin Winchester had been a horrible experience but after their trip to Forever Fall earlier in the week, he'd been able to break the shackles and escape from beneath the sword Cardin held above his head. While it was true that the bully still had information that could get him expelled at any moment, he now owed Jaune his life. If nothing else, Cardin seemed to recognize this fact and even he wasn't such a big jerk as to dismiss it.

There was a small smidgen of honor in that thick skull of his, and Jaune was reaping the benefits of that now.

But while one problem was solved, it didn't mean everything else fell into place. At the end of the day, Jaune had faked his way into Beacon and that meant a few things. Not only was he woefully unprepared for the combat portion of his education, he was also significantly behind many of his classmates in other areas. His grades were suffering because of this and while he had made great strides in attempting to improve his scores, he wasn't there yet.

Hence the scolding Professor Oobleck had given him after History that very day.

They were still learning about the Faunus Rights Revolution, a subject Jaune knew almost nothing about. It hadn't been taught much in high school, only the briefest of mentions, and his town had been devoid of faunus entirely. He'd only ever heard of the discrimination from afar, and it hadn't been until he arrived in Vale that he'd seen it first hand. While it was apparently better here than in the other kingdoms, it was still not entirely absent. Witnessing it in person had been... confronting, and upsetting.

And now he was learning about the causes, the past events that shaped the modern day, and the groups involved on both sides of the coin.

Oobleck had set him some supplementary work in an effort to help educate him, and increase his grades. If he managed to get a good score on this assignment, he would obtain key credits that would go towards his end of year result. That was why instead of enjoying himself on this lovely Friday afternoon, he found himself in the library, getting ready to buckle down and do some work.

The subject he'd been set? The White Fang.

As ignorant as he was about faunus affairs, he'd heard all about the activist organization that promoted equality between humans and faunus. Even if his little town had been largely separate from such matters, he'd seen a number of protests on television over the years, and had even seen the odd poster when he was younger, visiting the city with his folks. These days, though – they weren't seen as activists. They were labeled as radicals, even terrorists and indeed, they'd been implicated in several attacks in recent years, primarily in Atlas and Mistral.

It was all very sad. They'd once preached unity and equality, and now they sought to enforce dominance and fear. This was the subject matter Oobleck wanted him to write about.

It was a bit depressing.

Finding an empty table, Jaune dropped his bag on top and reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slip of crumpled paper. Written in erratic cursive was a list of books, titles that Professor Oobleck had penned as being helpful to his cause.

There were eight in total.

Jaune groaned. "This is going to take forever."

But it was his fault. If he wanted to stay at Beacon, he needed to be good enough to pass the classes. He could complain about it all he wanted but did he really want to fail? Did he want to return home to his parents with his tail between his legs, only to sheepishly admit that he couldn't be bothered with a little History homework?

He scowled.

No. That isn't what he wanted at all. He wanted to be a Huntsman. He came here to be a Huntsman. Maybe he'd once had a skewed view of what a Huntsman was but he knew better now. It was about more than just fighting monsters and saving the damsel. It was about so much more than those childish dreams of being a hero.

And if he had to study and read about the White Fang to accomplish his goals, then he was going to do just that. No matter how soul sucking, no matter how mind numbingly boring it was, he would do it, damnit!

It couldn't be any worse than the training Pyrrha had started putting him through.

It hadn't even been a couple of days and Jaune felt like his arms and legs were about to fall off after a session with his partner. He'd already thought about quitting a half dozen times already but no, that had just been in the moment when the pain was at its greatest, when he was at his most worn down.

A thought was just a thought. He hadn't given up yet, and he wasn't about to start now.

Wandering around the shelves, he slowly found each book and returned it to his table. Most of them were about the Faunus Rights Revolution and the immediate aftermath of the conflict, though there were a couple that dealt with more recent events. There was even one about Menagerie; their economic growth, position in world politics and the state of their homeland.

Each book was thicker than the last, and when they were all lined up together, Jaune grimaced, rubbing his forehead as a mild headache developed.

This was... a lot of reading.

Pulling out a pen and his mostly unused notepad, he thought about how he would deliver his work. Oobleck hadn't set any particular guidelines. The words used had been, "Tell me everything there is to know about the White Fang."

An essay, then – about the organization; why they were founded, by whom, and their place in society. Their methods and ideology, and how it had changed over the years. Sounded easy enough, right?

"Right," he muttered, tapping his pen against the table. "Okay. Let's get it done."

An hour later, Jaune felt like his brain was melting and about to seep from his ears. He'd managed to get through a couple of the books, siphoning what information he could and made notes, but he was quickly learning that this topic was a lot more complex than he'd originally thought.

The White Fang were deeply connected to several key points in history. While the group as it was known now hadn't been formed until after the Revolution, similar groups that held spiritual ties and preceded their formation had existed since the Great War. In some way or another, a form of the White Fang had been around since the Treaty of Vytal had been signed.

And that wasn't even getting started on the various different forms it had taken on afterwards, with the recent radicalization being the most glaring difference between all other iterations of the group.

This assignment was going to be bigger than he thought.

There was also something strange going on.

Jaune frowned as the name 'Belladonna' appeared for the dozenth time. At first his eyes had glazed over it without recognition but it soon became apparent that these people were a recurring feature in the history of the White Fang, and it made sense when he realized that they were the founders of the organization as it was currently branded.

He knew he could be a little bit slow. Dense was perhaps a better word for it. But not even he was so slow as to not recognize where he had heard the name before.

It was the same as Blake's.

It was an idle thought that passed through his mind and left it, just as quickly. It didn't really mean anything on its own. Names were constantly reused over history and even surnames popped up with no connection to one another, even though they were spelled the exact same. Just because these people – Ghira and Kali Belladonna – had the same last name as Blake, didn't mean they were related in any way. They were clearly faunus and Blake wasn't. That was the biggest indicator that it was unlikely that they were family.

He didn't know much about faunus but he knew that it was impossible for a human to result from a faunus union, and rare for a human and faunus to produce a non-faunus, though not impossible.

So he forgot about it – right up until he started searching online when he got tired of reading those boring books, and came across a picture.

Jaune stared at the screen, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tilted his head as if it would help him get a better look. A tall, broad shouldered man stood beside a shorter, slender woman. They both had black hair; Ghira had a full beard and was wearing an open coat, his muscular chest covered in a wild patch of pitch black fur while Kali sported a pair of black cat ears, pierced with three golden studs – two on the right, one on the left. They both had yellow eyes, though Ghira's were a brighter color while Kali's were more... amber.

The longer he stared at the picture, the more he noticed. Not only were the color of her eyes similar, but the shape of them was also familiar. The slope of her nose, and the line of her jaw and chin also spoke to him.

...but this was impossible, right?

Blake was a human! He didn't know her very well, it was true. Out of all the new friends he had made at Beacon, she was perhaps the one he had spoken to the least. There was an... aura around her that had nothing to do with her actual aura, a cloak of mystery and cool beauty that was intimidating. She'd been perfectly nice whenever they had spoken but it was difficult to start a conversation with someone so... reserved. She was a little like Ren in that regard, but a girl. Ren was easy to speak to because he was a guy, just like Jaune.

Even though he didn't know her overly well, he was pretty sure he would have noticed if she was a faunus! Every other faunus he had met in Vale so far had been immediately recognizable. Velvet, for instance – there was no missing those ears! But Blake didn't have animal ears, or a tail – at least, he didn't think she did? He thought about it for a moment. No, those little shorts she liked to wear in combat class did very little to hide the shape of her butt. All the guys had noticed. There was no way she was hiding a tail back there.

Ears?

He was about to dismiss that as well when he paused, mouth falling open slightly. Reaching for his scroll, he quickly opened his photos and found a picture of Blake and Yang, the pair seated on a bench in one of the many courtyards found around campus. Yang had asked him to snap the picture and was the more enthusiastic of the two, holding her fingers in the classic peace sign while embracing her partner and teammate. Blake, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but there, struggling against Yang's hold; a futile endeavor.

Jaune's eyes settled on Blake – more specifically, the bow perched neatly atop her head.

"No way..." he uttered, leaning back in shock.

Could she be...? Was it actually possible?

Jaune tried to think of a time he'd seen her without that bow but he couldn't come up with anything. The first time he'd seen her, the night before initiation, she'd been wearing it. She slept with it on, and first thing the next morning, she'd still been wearing it in the locker rooms. She wore it while fighting Grimm, and she wore it to class.

She wore it everywhere.

But could it really be so simple? Could you even hide a pair of ears with nothing more than a piece of ribbon?

That wasn't the real question though, was it?

He frowned.

No – the real question was; why?

Why was she hiding these ears? Why was she hiding the fact that she was a faunus?

He stared at the couple on screen who looked so much like his new friend. Now that he was coming around to the idea, it was clear that they were related to her. Most likely her parents. Was this why she was hiding away? Because of her connection to the White Fang?

This assignment was suddenly so much more interesting than it had been only ten minutes prior.

A small part of him wished to stop here, that piece of him that felt uncomfortable with delving into the past of someone he knew. She was keeping this all a secret for a reason and he should respect those reasons, shouldn't he? Isn't that what friends did?

But a larger part wanted to know. This secret was right in front of them, and no one seemed to know. It... excited him, but also filled him with trepidation. He knew a little something about keeping secrets. He'd just dealt with someone discovering his own smoking gun. Not all secrets were harmless, and those that weren't were not created equal.

He needed to be careful.

But it didn't take long until he knew he'd done the right thing.

The Schnee Dust Company was another organization he hadn't known much about before coming to Beacon. He'd heard their name in the past, surely – but he hadn't paid attention to them. They mined Dust and had their fingers in most pies, but it just wasn't something he was interested in. At least, he hadn't been – until he met the beautiful heiress of the company, Weiss Schnee. Then he'd wanted to know everything he could.

But this hadn't popped up during his prior searches. If not for a brief mention that he almost glossed over, he wouldn't have found more. It wasn't until he typed in Schnee Dust Company and White Fang together that any true results were found.

It quickly became apparent to Jaune that the relationship between the Schnee Dust Company and the White Fang was poor, and that was putting it lightly. The attacks in recent years had mostly come at the expense of the SDC. Destruction of property, stolen cargo, assassinations... it was about as serious as it got.

A feeling of dread festered inside as he read on.

Business man found dead in suite, suspected White Fang involvement.

Millions in Dust, stolen – White Fang take responsibility.

Attack on the Schnee Family, thwarted by police.

On and on it went until his eyes stung, and Jaune was forced to look away. Pinching his nose, he leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back until he was facing the ceiling.

There was no way he could just ignore this.

This was serious.

If Blake really was connected to the White Fang, and she was on a team with Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company...

Even Jaune could see the problem there. As much as he didn't want to think about it, it was impossible not to. Could Weiss be in danger?

He felt sick thinking about it and he immediately tried to dismiss it. Blake wasn't that type of person. She would never hurt one of her teammates. But the reality was; how much did he really know Blake? If she was a faunus, and was the daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, then how the hell would he know what she would and wouldn't do? She'd been hiding all this time and none of them had been the wiser.

All it would take was one scroll call...

Jaune sighed heavily and tossed his scroll away, the device clattering across the desk. If he wasn't holding it, he wouldn't be tempted.

No. He wasn't just going to go off, half cocked. He needed to be sure.

This wasn't something he could fuck up. It needed to be done right. This was sensitive information and it needed to be treated with the proper respect that it deserved.

He gathered as much information as he could. His assignment wasn't due for a couple of weeks, so that was placed on the back burner for the time being. He trawled through forums, through official websites and discovered that Ghira was actually the current Chieftain of Menagerie, and had been for a few years now. Did that make Blake a princess? Or at the very least, the child of an elected world leader? They no longer led the White Fang and had stepped down right before the group took on a more radical approach under the leadership of someone called Sienna Khan. The dates all lined up. The first incident they took responsibility for happened several months after Ghira's first engagement as Chieftain. It appeared that even if they were the founders of the White Fang, they had nothing to do with the current radicalized element.

That was a good sign.

But Jaune knew better than anyone that children didn't always follow in their parents footsteps.

...and maybe there was more than met the eye, here. Just because they had officially stepped away didn't necessarily mean they weren't still involved in secret.

Blake wasn't mentioned anywhere. Some articles written around the time of Ghira's ascension to Chieftain mentioned the couple having a daughter, but her name wasn't published anywhere he could find. The reporting journalists had respected her privacy. But he did find one thing...

A photo. An old photo of Ghira, Kali and what appeared to be a younger Blake in a copy of Remnant Today. She couldn't have been older than ten, standing with her folks on a beach, her face filled with happiness as she swung between them with infectious cheer. The article it was attached to wasn't anything special. It talked about the trials and tribulations of leading a nation, and it read like a glow-up piece to introduce them to a wider audience. It wasn't quite the smoking gun but it was close enough. There was no mistaking that face and those cute little cat ears atop her head proved to him that she was hiding them under that bow.

He had everything he needed.

Now what?

Jaune saved the photo to his scroll before shutting off the terminal. Now that he knew the truth, what was he going to do with it? This could completely shatter his friend group if he wasn't careful. The more he thought about it, the more he was confident that Blake wasn't going to harm Weiss, at the very least.

If that had been her goal, she'd had ample time to do it. She could have attacked her in the Emerald Forest, for starters. Though maybe she hadn't been able to find her until everyone was already partnered up and on guard. But since then, she'd been alone with Weiss on several occasions, no doubt. They shared a room, a bathroom, had fought in Combat Class and trained together on weekends. She'd had plenty of time and opportunities to make a move, and hadn't.

If she really wanted to harm Weiss, what was she waiting for?

Jaune collected his things, including the mountain of books and took them over to the librarian to check them out. It was ridiculous but he felt uneasy as the old woman behind the counter looked at him, at his books and then back again, as if she knew exactly what he had discovered.

When the last book was scanned off under his name, he hauled everything back to his room. He was expecting to find at least a couple of his teammates there but the place was empty. A quick glance told him that they'd returned after class and changed out of their uniforms – Nora had just tossed hers on the ground, while Pyrrha and Ren had neatly folded theirs, and placed them on their beds – and had left again, no doubt enjoying their Friday evening.

Dumping his books on their study desk, he sat down on the edge of his bed, conflicted.

Should he go to Ruby? She was the leader of Team RWBY and he felt like this was something she should know about. But she was also young. Not just young but the youngest in their year, admitted two years early. The thought of dumping all this on her made him feel scummy.

Maybe Yang? They were partners, after all. Maybe she could deal with it? He'd only known her a little over a month now but despite her bombastic personality, Jaune felt that she was a lot more mature than she liked to portray. Ruby had mentioned a few times to him that Yang had helped raise her after her mother died, and if that didn't show a level of maturity that not many their age could lay claim to, he didn't know what would.

He didn't even toy with the idea of going directly to Weiss. Not only was it possible that she just didn't believe him, their friendship... rocky at best, non-existent at worst, but that would be a sure fire way to kick things off on the wrong foot.

No – he knew what he had to do.

He had to go to Blake. Directly.

But maybe he didn't have to do this alone. Maybe he could ask for a little bit of help.

Pyrrha had already shown him that he could trust her. She was his partner; not through chance, either. She'd chosen him. Why she did that, Jaune wasn't sure he would ever understand but she'd kept his fake transcripts a secret and had offered her assistance, every step of the way during his darkest times under the thumb of Cardin's sustained bullying. If there was anyone he could go to and trust not to overreact or spill the beans, it was her.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, the door to their room opened and looking up, Jaune saw Pyrrha step in.

"Oh," she exclaimed, startled as her emerald green eyes fell upon him. "Jaune – you're back!"

Jaune sighed.

"Pyrrha," he said. "Do you have a minute?"

She noticed his tone immediately, her expression shifting. "Jaune, is something wrong?"

"You could say that," he tried to laugh, make light of it – but it wasn't happening. "Are you alone?"

She closed the door swiftly, making her way over. "I am. Ren and Nora decided to go down to Vale. Well – it was mostly Nora, but Ren didn't want to let her go alone. They're not from around here, and he wasn't comfortable letting her wander."

Jaune patted the bed beside him and she took a seat, looking even more worried as silence stretched between them.

"Jaune?" she prodded gently. "Has something happened? Did – it isn't Cardin, is it?"

The look of outrage that sudden spread across her face was endearing, and with a long exhale, Jaune felt his nerves calming considerably.

"No," he shook his head, smiling slightly. "No, it isn't Cardin. He – er, has been good. He hasn't been bothering me. Not since Forever Fall."

"Oh," Pyrrha fiddled with the hem of her skirt, looking pleased. "Well, that's good."

"Yeah," he said lamely before clearing his throat. "Uh – so..."

Pyrrha grinned. "So...?"

Jaune hated being so awkward. "I – uh, don't really know where to start."

"Well - the beginning is always a good place," she teased and he huffed, leaning back on his hands. Pyrrha watched him curiously.

"Right. Well... okay. The thing is..."

By the end of his explanation, Pyrrha was left speechless.

Erised: Heya. This is one of the new stories that I spoke about in the author's note last year before Christmas. This will be updated weekly like my other stories until I run out of chapters to share, and then it will be continued in the future at some point. This is a pure Jaune/Blake story that will be focusing on their relationship, and the overall plot of RWBY will remain the same as in the show, though minor changes may occur. And then sex. Lots of sex, eventually. Pretty vanilla, all things considered. :)

If you wish to support me or have early access to any content, you can find me over at: w w w . p a t r(e)on . c o m (slash) erisedfiction

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