So, it seems like most of my readers are very blood thirsty. You all want to see Jaune kill a man in cold blood. Not that I blame you. I made that slaver very unlikeable. The main reason for that cliff hanger wasn't that I wanted to torment everyone. (Though it was entertaining.) It was because I had two routes to go. One where Jaune kills the slaver and one where he did not. Both had pros and cons for the long term plot. I sat down and debated which route to take and finally made a decision. Some people won't be happy with the choice, but I think in the long run, it's going to work out better. It lead to some interesting discussions at least. But with slave traders operating, it's no wonder the White Fang started to exist in the first place.
Special thanks to ancientdragonduelist for betaing.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
CLANG!
A shockwave rippled through Jaune's arm as his blade connected with hard metal.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, kid? Are you trying to kill him?"
Standing diagonally in front of Jaune, with his sword held out to absorb the blow, Qrow was staring at him in disbelief. At first, Jaune didn't seem to understand why Qrow stopped him from smacking the slave trader in the face. Then as the man's words sunk in, the weight of the sword in the boy's hands registered at last. Jaune's finger's opened and the blade fell with a thud, blade stuck in the ground.
"I… didn't… it wasn't…" Jaune stammered as it dawned on him what he had just about done.
"Hah," The slave trader laughed, blood gurgling a little in his throat. "Kid'sh shocked he wash about to be a murderer."
Qrow looked down at the man with a broken nose, then back at Jaune who had stepped back in horror. The blonde's face was deathly pale, letting the Huntsman know what he had almost done wasn't planned. Annoyance was etched on the man's face at the asshole's words. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. The first thing he had to do was shut that man up.
"Oomph!"
The man let out a grunt as Qrow's foot met the side of his head.
"Ah!" Jaune gasped, pointing. "Did you… did you-…"
"No, just knocked him out." Qrow sheathed his blade. "I wanted to though. That bastard was riling you up. He figured his life was over once they were caught and wanted to end it, but he's too much of a coward to end his own life. Vale punishes slave traders rather harshly." He bent over and picked up Crocea Mors. "I believe this is yours. What did I tell you about dropping your weapon?"
"I almost killed him," Jaune gasped, not reaching out to take his weapon. "He was already beaten, and I rose to his taunts. If you hadn't arrived…"
"He would be dead." The man finished without any delicacy and Jaune's face changed from white to green. "You know me, kid. I'm blunt. You fucked up. No one here is going to deny it. But you know what else? You're a kid and you're going to make stupid errors in judgment. My job is to prevent these errors from causing problems. And you know what I just did? I stopped you from making a mistake. A big one."
"I just wanted to punch him." Jaune mumbled. "To shut him up. But I forgot I had Crocea Mors in my hand. I was just so angry. That bastard beat up and tortured a girl, preparing to kill her… for what? Fun?"
Qrow's expression hardened.
"Trash like this, Jaune…" The Huntsman took a deep breath as he noticed movement on the hill. "We'll talk later. For now, help me find some rope. I got a bunch of unconscious people… I use that term loosely… to tie up. There's no way in hell I'm letting them escape."
Jaune nodded in agreement, his throat dry.
Things passed in a blur for the boy who almost killed a man in cold blood.
Ruby had returned to check up on them while Qrow had gone to bring back the criminals he knocked out. Due to night falling, all the freshly freed Faunus were forced to return. They would use the camp set up by the slavers as their base for the night. The beaten slave traders were rounded up, bound, and tossed into the back of the armored transport, locked inside like they had locked in the former captives. No one was happy they were alive, but didn't argue about it. Two of the male Faunus with field experience were given weapons by Qrow to help defend in case Grimm were attracted to the negativity while he left to quickly pick up the supplies Ruby and Jaune left behind.
Though, with how relieved the captives were to be free, it didn't look like the Grimm were going to be a problem.
The fire crackled as Jaune, Ruby, and the two male Faunus sat around it in a circle.
"We can't thank you enough for saving us." The first one, a tall lion Faunus with a tail told them. "If it wasn't for you three, we would have been sold without anyone knowing what happened to us."
"It's what we do." Ruby declared proudly. "We're Huntsmen and Huntresses. Fighting Grimm, saving people, and stopping bad guys."
"Yeah…" Jaune agreed halfheartedly. Ruby could instantly tell something was up.
"Have to say, when I saw you open that door, I didn't know what to expect." The second Faunus, a man with a couple small tusks, looked at Jaune. "Wasn't sure if you tried to buy us or something."
"I know our chief doesn't like the White Fang, but when they captured us, when those assholes ripped us from our families… I understood why they were formed." The lion Faunus muttered.
Jaune was quiet and Ruby bit her lip. The atmosphere was going downhill fast. Everyone should be happy the bad guys were stopped and they were going home. Not dwelling on the negatives.
"I understand you would be angry," Ruby said slowly. "At the same time, you can't blame everyone for what some people do. I have two teammates back at Beacon who argue about that a lot. The White Fang… I don't know a lot about them, but I do support helping Faunus. There's no reason they shouldn't be equals to humans. At the same time, I have heard of some of the stuff they have done, people they hurt. That's wrong too."
"Life's not black and white or fair, girl." The tusked man shook his head before staring off into the woods. "I told myself, if I escaped, I would seek them out to join." He slowly turned back toward Ruby, "Then you two saved us all. A couple humans trying to help some random Faunus." A sigh escaped his lips. "You're not wrong. If we blame all of humanity for what some people do, we just become like those humans that hate our kind."
"I come from a small village where we didn't have racism." Ruby admitted. "At least, none that was obvious when we were kids. I had some friends who were Faunus and never really saw differences. It wasn't until I came to Beacon, to Vale, that had so many different kinds of people, that I realized it existed."
Weiss and Blake were prime examples of that. They could be talking about the same event but focus on completely different details than the other. Weiss said her father paid employees the same, but from what her uncle told her, that was just on the surface. Blake said similar things. Of course, there's no way Weiss would have the power to change things until she took over. Once she did, she would change things for the better.
Right?
Of course her bestie would.
"You know what the biggest problem in places like Vale is for the Faunus?" The first man asked and Ruby shook her head. "It's not the laws. We're supposed to be equal. No, it's inaction on the part of those who say they believe in equality."
"Inaction?" Ruby asked, her mind still on her team and it took a second to snap back. "What do you mean?"
"Let's say discrimination is outlawed, but a shop refuses to sell to Faunus," he continued. "There are humans who think that's wrong, but what do they do? Nothing. They will keep shopping there, ignore when a Faunus is being bullied, thinking, 'I don't discriminate, so I'm not bad, but I don't want to get involved.'"
A bunny Faunus suddenly swam to her mind. That girl back at Beacon had been bullied by Cardin and his gang and yet… she and her team just watched.
"Your expression tells me you've seen it." The lion Faunus seemed satisfied. "But at least you haven't seen a person cut off-…"
"Knock it off." His companion muttered. "She's already shown she's not like that."
"Sorry."
"No, he's right." Ruby admitted, a little confused about what was being talked about. "I've seen bullies mistreat Faunus and did nothing." She made a fist and stood up. "I'm going to change that starting now. No more being quiet. I'm going to make sure to stand up for what is right."
"Heh, there's hope left for your generation." The man's tail swiped in amusement as he stood up. "I'm going to patrol around the perimeter. Been stuck inside that vehicle all day and need to stretch."
"I'll come with you." His partner said then looked back at the two kids. "We'll call out if we see anything. That guy, Qrow was it? He'll be back soon?"
"Yeah, he shouldn't be much longer." Ruby confirmed, watching them leave. The moment they were out of ear shot, she pulled her legs close and looked at the fire. Most of the other captives were sleeping or trying to. It had been an exhausting mission and those civilians faced the worst of it. Meanwhile, Ruby couldn't help thinking about what she was just told. "Jaune… back home… when we didn't stand up to bullies… does that make us culprits?"
Jaune fidgeted as his friend used his name.
"I… don't know," The boy admitted. "He's right in a way. We didn't stand up to Cardin and his team bullying people. No one did. It wasn't our job to."
"And that's the problem, right?" Ruby pushed. "We let bad people do bad things, because we didn't think it was our job. Isn't that why people are being discriminated against?"
"That… maybe…" Jaune couldn't deny it and now that Ruby was actively engaging him, he pushed his own worries down for the moment. "I thought about standing up to him, but Cardin would just knock me around. There wasn't anything I could do."
"I could have." Ruby muttered, her face darkening. "I should have."
"Ruby," Jaune looked up. It was one thing for him to mope. It was another for her. That girl deserved to be happy with everything she's done for others. "I know you hate hearing this, but we're kids, and you are young. You may be an amazing friend and fighter, but you're still growing up. This isn't something you should have to worry about. No wonder you didn't know what to do."
"I know now."
"So do I, so we won't make that mistake anymore."
"Can we kick Cardin's butt if he bullies someone?"
"Sure."
Ruby gave a weak chuckle and Jaune felt slightly better. It was weird how cheering her up made him feel better. Like he wanted to protect that smile and innocence she had. As the atmosphere finally began to relax, they heard someone approach and turned to see the dog Faunus woman and her daughter. Now that they were side to side, the resemblance was uncanny. Blonde hair, with the mom's longer, brown eyes, and the facial features were near identical. Both of them looked nervous, accented by the flat ears on their head.
"Excuse me," The woman told them. "I wanted to thank you again. Because of you, I got to see my daughter alive again and we're going home. Words… can't express how thankful we are."
Ruby and Jaune felt their faces burn. They had been getting thank you and praise since they rescued the civilians. At first, it felt kind of nice once the danger had passed, but it quickly turned very embarrassing. Ruby had been there when the daughter was reunited with the mother. There had been so many tears and hugging, then she got dragged in it too. The mother wouldn't let her go as she thanked her over and over. It felt great to reunite them, but there was also a throbbing pain in her chest.
Her own mom had vanished on a mission when she was young, so she never got a chance to grow up with her. To have her mom hug and cherish her over the years. To never get a chance to see her during graduation or important events like birthdays. Over the years, Ruby had thought she got used to it, but then situations like this caused her discomfort.
"We're just trying to help," Jaune answered, noticing Ruby had gone silent. "In fact, your daughter was the one to save me. She shouted a warning before I got shot at. If anything, I should be thanking her."
The little girl smiled but looked down and rubbed her foot on the ground.
"Heh, she always idolized Huntsman and Huntresses," The mother admitted. "My husband was a Huntsman, but he passed away two years ago. Not by injuries!" She shook her head and added that last part quickly as Jaune and Ruby looked worried. "No, disease. It was hard seeing him grow weak, but we had our goodbyes. Rest his soul. He was a good man and worked hard to protect people against the Grimm."
"You're just like him." The girl told Jaune, smiling. Her injured eye was still partially closed, but she looked better after getting some food. The people had been half starved and they split the slavers rations to help them last until they got back to town. "Really nice and strong. I want to be one when I grow up."
"That means a lot." Jaune smiled. "But you know, Ruby?" He pointed over to her. "She's a lot stronger than I am, and younger too. One of the best Huntresses I have ever seen-…"
"J-Jaune!" Ruby squeaked.
"You can definitely be a Huntress, but it's a lot of hard work," Jaune continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "I know that for a fact. But if you're serious about helping people, I think you'll be a great one. You proved today you were brave enough to be one."
"Hehe!" The Faunus girl giggled and beamed at him, even with her injury. "You know, mom's single and she was looking to start dat-…mmph!"
The mother quickly covered her daughter's mouth and pulled her back.
"It's late and she's tired… she always says silly things when she is." The woman's face was red like Ruby's. "Thank you again for all your help and we'll never forget this." She ushered them away as the two trainees watched.
"That was… embarrassing." Jaune felt his ears burning.
"You deserve it." Ruby stuck her tongue out at him. "You embarrassed me first."
"I did?" Jaune asked, confused. "Sorry. I was just telling the truth. You are an amazing Huntress."
"S-so?" Ruby stammered as her face felt warm at the praise. "You don't have to shout it to the world." She chuckled a little. "It feels better than when Yang or dad say it though. There's always a small part of me that thinks they just say it because we're family, you know?"
"Yeah, sometimes family does say things to try to spare feelings," The boy agreed, remembering his own. "Even if they don't believe, they don't want to hurt your confidence." In a way, he was thankful that his parents and sisters didn't say he couldn't be a Huntsman. If they did, he probably wouldn't have come to Vale. "That's not the case with you. You deserve the praise. You're a much better Huntress than I am a Huntsman."
"Jaune? Is something wrong?" Silver-eyes bore directly into the blonde's face. "You've been down since we took out the bad guys. Why aren't you happy we saved everyone?"
"I am!" Jaune denied that accusation. "Really! I'm glad we saved them."
"Then what's got you so upset?"
Nothing seemed to get by that girl. Jaune knew that traveling with each other for extended periods of times would bring them closer, but he didn't think it would be this fast. With everything that has happened, he was sure his friend would be focused on training. Yet she still paid attention to how he was feeling. In some ways, having such a good friend felt unearned. Part of him wanted to tell her. Why he didn't, confused him a bit.
Was it guilt? The boy wasn't sure if Ruby should know what he almost did. The image in his mind of her shocked face was more than enough to keep him silent. At least until he worked out his own feelings. At some point he would tell her. Rationally Jaune knew Ruby wouldn't judge him. Emotions did follow logic and a small part of him was afraid she would be digested at what almost happened. Like he betrayed her trust and did something very un-Huntsman like.
"Thinking about a few things I guess." Jaune muttered.
"The whole situation with people treating Faunus badly?"
"Sort of, yeah."
"It's not right." Ruby crossed her arms and gazed into the fire. "We should be fighting Grimm, not people."
"Couldn't agree with you more." Jaune poked the fire with a stick, sending up some sparks. "Hey, can you handle the night watch until Qrow gets back? I kind of want to lie down."
"Sure, I doubt we'll see anything and there's a couple other people helping keep watch."
Ruby wasn't stupid. She knew something was up with Jaune and the way he was acting. Prying felt wrong and she figured he would tell her when he was ready. Still, as she watched the fire and eyed the surrounding area, her mind kept focusing on what could be bothering her best friend. They saved all the captives and captured the slave traders without a single loss of life. Things went perfectly. So what was on his mind?
Eventually, the girl caught wind of her uncle returning.
"Over here!" Her voice carried, but she purposely kept it down because people were sleeping. Her uncle sauntered over and dropped their bags, before plopping down opposite of the fire from her. "You were fast. I expected at least a little longer."
"I'm used to traveling at night." Qrow answered, tossing some wood on the fire. "Any problems?"
"Nope!" Ruby shook her head side to side quickly. "The slave traders have been quiet in the back of the truck and all the freed people are sleeping except for two people helping keep watch. Now that you're back, they will probably sleep too."
"And Jaune?"
"I don't think he was feeling good and he's sleeping over there."
Qrow's eyes followed where his niece was pointing to examine the blonde in his sleeping bag. There was a look of contemplation on his face. Something Ruby failed to notice as she had other things on her mind.
"I guess I won't kick him awake until his shift." The man decided.
"Uncle Qrow?" The girl's voice came out nearly a whisper. "How much… how much do you encounter stuff like… this?"
"You mean fighting against people?" Qrow asked, pulling out his flask.
"Not people, I know criminals exist. They rob and steal, but I mean really bad, like these guys."
Qrow took a long swig before screwing the cap back on.
"Not as often as you fear, but more than you would like." Qrow rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. "These things happen a bit, Ruby. Outside the main kingdom proper, it can be a pretty lawless world. Towns that last make their own laws and rules to govern and protect their citizens. Some succeed, some don't. The kingdoms have been cracking down on the slave trade, but you'll still find it occasionally."
"I think it affected Jaune a bit." Ruby whispered urgently. "He's been… off. Can you talk to him?"
"You know I'm not a good talker, kiddo." Qrow groaned.
"You and Jaune get along perfectly though."
"He just learned to smart off."
"See, perfectly!"
Qrow raised an eyebrow as he looked at his niece.
"How are you holding up?"
The question surprised Ruby.
"Huh? I'm fine. What do you mean?"
Qrow didn't say anything instantly, but continued to watch her closely. Fidgeting under her uncle's stare, Ruby tried to think about why he would ask that. They saved everyone and beat up the bad guys, so why wouldn't she be fine?
"Ugh…" The man groaned at last. "Kiddo… you talked with these guys a bit, didn't you? How are you feeling about what you heard?"
Oh, that made more sense to Ruby.
"I find it hard to believe that people would be so mean to someone just because they are a Faunus," Ruby admitted at last. "The stories… and what you told us when we first came to stop the bad guys. It's really bad, isn't it?"
"Things have died down in a lot of locations, so it's not nearly as problematic as it used to be." Qrow set down his flask. "It was a lot worse even just a decade or two ago. You might find people who were scarred or still reeling from what happened back then."
"Like having something cut off?"
"Yeah, I remembered meeting a 1 eared girl who got her ear cut off by a huma-…" He slammed his mouth shut as Ruby gasped. "That's not what you were referring to, was it."
"One of the guys mentioned something being cut off, but an ear!" Ruby tried to keep her voice down, but it was difficult. "Just because they are a Faunus?"
"I wish I didn't have to explain this." Her uncle growled, more to himself. "I would have preferred if you and Jaune there didn't have to deal with people like this yet. But, yes. There were humans, who considered Faunus pure animals, and would even… hunt them for sport."
Ruby's face went pale.
"Their group was rounded up, actually mostly thanks to the White Fang." Qrow continued. "The old White Fang. It's one of the reasons they started getting a lot of traction. That group started off doing a good service, but lately, they have been rather violent. Attacking stores and people only ruins the image they had. Not that they had a choice. They were tired of being beaten down."
His eyes noticed his niece shaking and holding her cloak against her tightly. It was her typical sign of closing herself off when she was feeling horrible.
"I'm telling you this now, not to hurt you, but to understand what you'll see traveling on the outskirts." Qrow explained. "Scars do not heal easily and many people out here hold onto the past. You tell us you're an adult, and I want to treat you like one."
"What can I do to help?" Ruby whispered.
"That's a million Lien question if I ever heard one. I would say keep doing what you're doing and what you plan to do. You see an injustice? Step up. Don't lose yourself in depression though. It's not your fault what happened in the past. Instead, show people there's a better path toward the future. Defeat Grimm, protect innocent people, and treat everyone equally. You're going to be an amazing Huntress squirt. Jaune even told me he would eat his right shoe if you didn't. I plan to hold him to that."
"Heh." Ruby gave a weak watery chuckle. "I hate this, but at least I know. Thanks, Uncle Qrow. I always imagined being a Huntress was just defeating monsters and protecting innocent people. If I stop the bad guys, I guess it's the same thing in a way."
"It is, Ruby." Qrow agreed. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'm sorry for sharing this heavy stuff with you. It's not something someone your age, or even Jaune's age, should have to experience."
"No, I'm glad you did." Ruby tried to discreetly wipe her eyes. "I'm an adult. I need to know this. It's not going to change who I am, but how I go about it." She got up and hugged her uncle. "Thank you for being honest with me. I have so much trouble getting Yang and dad to."
"I'll yell at Tai next time I see him."
Ruby gave another weak chuckle and went off to her sleeping bag. The girl was trying to be strong, but Qrow knew she was fretting about so much. He let one thing slip and now had to go into a topic he really didn't want to go with her. It would have been nice to let her keep her innocence a little while longer. Yet, deep down the man knew he couldn't. This apprenticeship was designed to teach misbehaving brats what it means to be a Huntsman or Huntress. Not telling Ruby the story would be a disservice.
Then why did he feel like shit then?
"I'm too fucking soft." Qrow mumbled, taking a deep swig from his flask and finishing it off. "Fuck, I'm out. Wonder if those bastards have some?"
His adventure wasn't fruitful.
"Bunch of assholes, don't even have cheap beer. What's the world coming to?"
More annoyed than he was before, he slipped past the people sleeping in tents, checked that the door to the armored truck was secured, and then approached Jaune. The boy was lying silently in his sleeping bag. Without hesitating, Qrow kicked the boy in the side.
"Get up! Ruby should be asleep by now. I know you're not asleep, so don't bother faking it."
Blue eyes reflected in the fire as Jaune pushed himself up.
"How did you know?" The blonde asked.
"You weren't snoring."
"I don't snore… much."
"Enough for me to tell the difference." Qrow turned around and walked back to the fire, plopping down on a log. He waited for Jaune to slowly trudge after him and sat down on the other side of the slowly dying flames. "So, you want to explain what that shit was about earlier?"
"I didn't mean to!" Jaune tried to explain again. It was easier now that he had plenty of time to think things through. Words actually came out the way he wanted. "I disarmed him, knocked him down, and then he kept saying vile things, so I was going to knock him out. But… I forgot my sword was in my hand. I was just going to punch him, I swear. Just because he was evil, doesn't mean I was planning to kill him."
Qrow stared at him in silence. Seconds turned into minutes until the length became awkward. Jaune fidgeted in his seat and kept looking away from the man. He could feel his mentor studying him, looking for something. The boy debated saying more in his defense, but nothing came to mind. What he said summarized things perfectly.
"Okay." Qrow said at last. "I think I got the picture. Have to say, I'm glad the situation is what I envisioned."
"What do you mean?" Jaune choked out. "I nearly killed a man."
"But you didn't."
"But I-…"
"But you didn't!" Qrow repeated a little firmer. "I wanted to know what you were thinking. If you had been trying to purposely kill him. I see it was more of the training I gave you stuck deeper than you realized. Never let go of your weapon. You did that. The fault lies with me for not teaching you there were exceptions."
"It's not!" Jaune protested, shaking his head. "You're an amazing teacher. I've come so far from where I started, because of your methods."
"Heh, I am that good." Qrow chuckled lightly, as he picked up a stack and tossed it onto the fire, sending sparks into the air. "But I should have known something like this would happen. You and Ruby are not used to fighting humans, but Grimm. How you fight them is completely different. Just like in combat class at Beacon. These weren't trained Huntsmen with Aura, but normal people with guns."
"What if I had meant to kill that guy?" Jaune whispered, clutching his fist in his hand. "Part of me wanted to, but I really just tried to knock him unconscious."
"Then we would be having a completely different discussion," Qrow answered simply. "Something along the lines of, how I would be kicking you out of this program."
Jaune's face paled and his eyes widened.
"Yeah, you wouldn't get away with it," The man continued. "We aren't judges, juries, and executioners. Grimm are one thing, people are another. Stopping them and injuries from fighting? Nothing we can do about it. Sometimes accidents happen, no matter how skilled you are. But once they surrender? No longer a threat? You put your weapon away. The fight is over."
"That's what I was planning to do," Jaune admitted. "Then that asshole said so many disgusting things…"
"And I don't blame you for wanting to punch him out, kid." Qrow looked at him with a little concern. "It's just, you need to control your temper. You're lucky I arrived back when I did. If I had been a second later, you might have done something you would always regret."
"I'm glad you did." Jaune's voice had fallen to a whisper. "I would never forgive myself."
"Good," Qrow actually appeared pleased. "It's easy to get carried away. Remember, your life is important. If your survival is at stake, do whatever it takes to survive. Their life is also important… usually." The man groaned. "There are times I want to do what you almost did. People who are lower than trash, but we have to suck it up. Don't lower yourself to their level. It's hard to come back once you do."
Jaune could only nod and didn't say anything. Qrow noticed this and sighed heavily.
"Kid… Do you know why Ruby got into Beacon early?"
"She beat up some robbers and chased a guy named Roman Torchwick away." Jaune answered. "She told me."
"Keep this a secret from her," Qrow told him sternly. "The squirt did a good job on just knocking the robbers out, but many of them had broken bones. Fighting a Huntress, even a younger one, isn't easy for normal people. They can see us as monsters, for good reasons. Ruby had been trained for years, but at the same time, it's hard for someone her age to fully control her strength. One of the thugs she fought actually died in the hospital."
"What?" Jaune blinked in confusion. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, not that the gang would tell anyone," Qrow continued, shrugging. "They would lose reputation in the underworld about how they lost to a kid. No, they covered it up. Ruby doesn't know, so keep it a secret." He repeated himself to make his point clear. "The point is, no matter how good you are, sometimes people die. It's something they brought on themselves. Criminals take the chance that when they are stopped, force will be used. What we can do is try to avoid going too far. Let the justice system deal with them."
"Is that why we're taking these guys back to town?" Jaune pointed to the armored truck.
"Yeah, along with interrogating them and hacking their Scrolls to see who they have been contacting with. We'll find the bastards involved in this and hunt them down until their organization is nothing but dust in the wind."
"Good! They deserve it!"
Jaune's voice became strong again. Knowing those sick individuals would get what was coming to them gave him hope. It wouldn't be him to deliver justice. His job was done and the people were saved. This lesson would be engraved into his soul. There was no way he would forget what almost happened. It is impossible to change the past, but he could learn from it.
"You'll find out, Jaune." Qrow explained. "That a lot of people can be worse than Grimm. Grimm are monsters. They want to kill us, but that's the way they were made. People have a choice. There are those who decided they want to be human garbage, some who decide to be Saints, and some who make stupid decisions…"
Jaune gulped at the last one.
"…but you can't let the trash get to you. You're better than them."
"I doubt that sometimes." Jaune muttered.
"Really?" Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Thought I did a good job at showing you what being a Huntsman is like. It's not glamorous like many people think it is. Yet you're still here. You aren't giving up. That's more than a lot of people say. This apprenticeship… you know why it was discontinued?"
"Because of death tolls?" Jaune answered, remembering this conversation from before. "You told us it was dangerous."
"Yes, that's partially the truth, the other half?" Qrow jabbed the fire. "A large number of students give up. This job is tough and wears down on us. The Grimm horde is nearly endless, so why do we continue to fight among ourselves? When kids see this, it makes them give up hope. The future can be pretty bleak."
"You and Manny know that," Jaune pointed out to the man. "He told Ruby and me, to keep our spirits up. At first we thought it was just traveling alone with our thoughts, but now I'm beginning to see what he means."
"That old bastard was pretty wise when he wanted to be." Qrow smiled wistfully and looked up at the stars. "Still feel like being a Huntsman, kid?"
"Never crossed my mind to quit." Jaune lied. He wasn't planning too now of course, but there were a few moments. "If I don't fight, innocent people like them will be the one to suffer." His hand gestured to the sleeping civilians. "There are bad people, but I want to believe the majority of people are good. Just like Ruby does. Letting something bad happen to them? I won't forgive myself if there was something I could have done."
"Good speech." Qrow held up his empty flask in a symbolic gesture. "We'll see if that holds true. Now, do you feel better talking it out? About what happened?"
"Sort of… yes?" Deep down, the answer to that question was a yes. "I won't forget what I did, but talking with you… I think it's better than hiding it."
"Good, you're learning," Qrow shrugged and yawned. "Maybe you'll use that lesson for something else."
Jaune's eyes widened when he realized what Qrow had been doing. This lesson was important, not only in determining his future, but also determining how to fix the problems he made in his past. It had been days and he still hadn't talked to Pyrrha about what happened since he blew up at her. Something she didn't deserve. He had to apologize to her and discuss what happened in a calm and civilized tone. His hands tightened together in front of him as he imagined that conversation.
"Just a thought." Qrow noticed the panicked look on the boy's face. "For now, Ruby might need someone to talk to tomorrow. You may not have noticed, but I'm not good with shit like 'being delicate.' I'm blunt. You'll get the truth. Ruby found out something I rather she didn't have to hear so soon. It's going to affect her. Try… try to help her through it."
"She's strong, Qrow." Jaune told him. "Stronger than you think. I'm her friend and I'll always look out for her, but she'll bounce back. We're similar after all. She knows people need our help and we can't sit around moping."
Qrow accepted this answer as he stood up without another word. He glanced back to see Jaune heading toward his sleeping bag to get a few hours of rest since Qrow was going to take watch. The man stopped by his niece and paused, debating if he should wake her up. Deciding against it, he continued on his way.
Meanwhile, Ruby's eyes were open as she faced away from him. The girl had overheard everything.
When the villagers heard what happened, Qrow, Jaune, and Ruby were welcomed back with open arms.
It had been a pain getting everyone back to town. More so than traveling alone. Some of the people could drive, so they were able to take all the vehicles back with them, but there weren't enough seats with the slave traders occupying the truck. Many of them had to walk. Not that they complained, even though it was obvious they were tired. They were free and were going home. It just took longer for normal people to travel than Jaune and Ruby did. Even with a direct route back to the city, it took most of the day.
Of course when an armed convoy approached the city, defenses were raised but Qrow quickly talked them all down. Ruby got to see firsthand how the guards reacted when they heard the news. Shouting rang out and a crowd of people hurried outside to see what was going on. People recognized some of the former captives and rushed out to hug and kiss their loved ones in excitement.
Ruby rubbed her eyes.
This was why she wanted to help people. Just like all the stories her dad, Uncle Qrow, and Yang told her of her mother. Someone who would do whatever it took to save others. It was just so touching. Husbands meet wives, wives meet husbands, brothers reunited with their sisters? They only had a small group, yet the atmosphere had changed instantly. The depressed cloud of fear and anger seemed to have lifted up over the town as the sun brought forth hope. If any Grimm were nearby, they were sure to hate the positive emotions radiating from this place.
A hand fell on her shoulder and she looked up to see Jaune, also appearing much happier. He even had a small grin on his face as he watched the young Faunus girl run off to hug her friends.
"You look better," Ruby commented. "Feeling okay now?"
"Who wouldn't feel better after seeing something like this?" Jaune asked rhetorically. "Makes all my worries seem insignificant."
"You aren't wrong…" The younger girl admitted. Freedom and life was so much more important than a small fight. Both of them had their own demons they needed to deal with, but they could push those aside for a little while to enjoy the festivities.
That time would be much shorter than they would want.
A woman came forward and shook Qrow's hand. Neither Ruby nor Jaune recognized her. She had long auburn hair, piercing green eyes, and a couple cyan-green feathers on her head. Not something they would see often, even among Faunus. Qrow seemed to recognize her easily enough, but he did act like he knew everyone they met.
"You found them!" The woman wasn't smiling, but she looked relieved all the same. "Seems trusting you was the right choice. I had my doubts."
"Because someone as handsome as me was too good to be true?" Qrow asked amused.
"Because you seemed like a drunk and I wasn't sure you were capable. Glad I was wrong."
Both of them shared a laugh as Jaune and Ruby stared, politely bewildered. Qrow was the first one to notice his wards' confusion.
"Brats, this is Teal, the chief of the village. We met last night and she's the one who gave us our mission."
"Huh, when did you have time for that?" Ruby demanded to know.
"When you brats went to bed."
"You sent us to bed!" Jaune reminded him.
"Yes, so I could get drunk without you bothering me, then she showed up." Qrow had a huge grin on his face.
"Glad I ran into him, or we would never have gotten this resolved." Teal crossed her arms. "Still, slavers out here? That's going to put all the other towns on high alert. Any humans traveling in the region are going to be monitored."
"You do what you have to do to keep order." Qrow shrugged. "I take it you want to interrogate them? They are all locked up in the truck your cops took."
"Oh, we will." Teal's expression hardened. "They are going to regret kidnapping our people. I'm sure the other towns they kidnapped from will want a piece of them."
Ruby fidgeted where she stood while Jaune gritted his teeth to stay silent. The anger was justified, but they both hoped this woman would still follow the law.
"Speaking of, I found some information in one of their vehicles." Qrow pulled out a metal box from under his cloak. "It has some recordings along with a few digital documents. You'll know more about this than we would."
Teal's eyes widened in surprise.
"We can use my office."
The woman turned and led them to the center of town. Qrow surprisingly waved for Ruby and Jaune to follow. Both of them were under the impression he was going to tell them to stay behind while they discussed things. Excited to see what was going to happen, they quickly moved to catch up. The four of them entered an official looking building and took a seat across from the chief's desk. Qrow then passed over a Scroll.
"Procured this from the leader of the slave traders." Qrow told her. "Has some contact information."
"Hmm, let me see." Teal plugged it into her computer and began working. "Some of this is heavily encrypted, obviously. Can't have people finding out who ordered this."
"Can you?" Ruby asked. "We can't let them get away with it or they might just hire more people to keep kidnapping."
"I know," Teal assured her. "It will just take time. There are some non-encrypted documents they don't seem to care about. Ah… so that's it… no wonder they are doing this." She slammed a fist on the table. "Of course the SDC is involved."
Jaune and Ruby instantly sat up straighter and looked at each other in alarm.
"Care to explain?" Qrow asked, holding up a hand to prevent the kids from blurting anything out.
"Seems like the SDC is opening a another mining operation in Atlas after discovering a new vein of Dust," Teal replied, turning her monitor so Qrow could see. "They are reaching out to all employment organizations for workers. Seems they are paying a lot of Lien too. No wonder slave traders are operating all the way in Vale."
"So the SDC isn't directly asking for illegal labor," Ruby sighed in relief. "It's just this organization."
"Kid, the SDC encourages these organizations," Teal snapped at her. "They pretend they only want legal workers, but they won't question people who get forced there. If they get caught, they just feign ignorance and the company they got workers from mysteriously disappears. Schnee's are just a bunch of rich manipulators!"
"Take that back!" Ruby and Jaune shouted, standing up.
Teal looked surprised at their outburst.
"Calm down you two." Qrow stood up and put a hand on their shoulders, forcing them back down into their seats. "Sorry about that. These two actually know Weiss Schnee, the youngest girl of that family."
"Weiss is a little strict, but she hates her dad!" Ruby protested. "Always complains about him."
"Weiss is also our age and went to Beacon to get away from her family," Jaune added, as he knew that much about her. "Do you think she could be in charge of controlling the SDC? She's supposed to inherit it eventually, but that's it." He could say this because of the earlier conversation with Qrow about it. The stuff you learn on the fly can be pretty handy.
"I… t-that's not the point." Teal stuttered for a moment.
"Isn't it?" Qrow asked. "Going to blame a brat for what their parents do? The fact BOTH daughters left that bastard should tell you they have some good in them."
"Isn't this the same thing people are doing about Faunus now?" Ruby asked. "With that White Fang? Blaming all Faunus for the actions of a few violent people?"
Teal went silent.
"You're right," The woman admitted. "I can admit when I'm wrong. Jacque Schnee may be a piece of shit, but I won't blame his kids unless they do something that shows they support the mistreatment."
"Guess we all found some middle ground." Jaune tried to lighten the atmosphere. "Can we do anything with that information? Like finding out who was in charge? It's possible the SDC did legally hire out companies to find workers, but it's the illegal ones that are causing the problem, right? Shouldn't we focus on those?"
"Your mind's in the right direction," Qrow complimented. "The problem is they cover their tracks and this Scroll is heavily encrypted. We try to force our way in, and we'll just delete the information."
"We don't have the technology out here to hack it." Teal sighed, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her temple.
"Someone has to!" Ruby protested. "Maybe send it back to Vale or something? We can't let them get away with it."
"We won't, Squirt." Qrow assured her. "In fact, I have an idea. Teal might not like it, but I'm sure this will work since we're getting involved with the SDC."
Jaune and Ruby looked at the man completely confused. Teal nodded and gestured for Qrow to continue. Anything that would help bring the men to justice was okay with her. Qrow pulled out his Scroll and dialed a number. He waited a moment, whistling nonchalantly, when it clicked.
"You better have a good reason for this call, Qrow. If you're drunk, no matter what Ironwood says, I'm blocking your number."
The voice sounded so familiar to the two kids. Curt, but not as high pitched as they imagined it should be. It was so similar…
"Winter, I have some important news I know you'll want to hear."
Ruby's jaw dropped. She now knew who it was and it seemed her uncle had not been kidding about knowing her. Jaune was still confused and nudged Ruby's arm, noticing her expression. The young girl leaned over and whispered into his ear.
"It's Winter, Weiss' older sister."
BANG!
Teal had heard Ruby and jerked, slamming her knee into her desk. The woman grimaced in pain and then tried to play it off like it was nothing. It was a little amusing, but everyone was too busy focusing on the Scroll to call her out on it.
"What is it?" Winter didn't sound very interested, but she didn't hang up, so that was something.
"So I was traveling in Vale's outskirts when I was told of missing people," Qrow explained. "Naturally, being the smart, handsome Huntsman I am, I took it upon myself and my apprentices to discover the cause."
Ruby was stifling a giggle while Teal was rubbing her knee. Jaune's focus was on the semitransparent screen that showed an annoyed Winter. The woman resembled an older Weiss perfectly, except her hair was tied up in a bun. The man's jokes didn't appear to amuse her at all.
"I'm hanging up."
"Hold your horses, Ice Queen!" Qrow interjected. "We discovered the cause. It was linked to some slave trading operating."
That got the woman's attention.
"Slave traders?" Winter raised an eyebrow. "Operating in Vale? That's pretty risky for them. Vale is really strict with laws governing that. You see this more in Vacuo."
"Or Atlas." Teal muttered, but Winter either ignored her or didn't hear from the Scroll's mic.
"So it's interesting and I'm glad you stopped it, but why on Remnant do you think that warrants a call to me?" Winter continued.
"It was who they were working for," Qrow's voice lost his amusement for a second. "Due to encryption, we don't know the specific member, but we do know they were kidnapping people to work… for the SDC."
Winter stiffened.
"Naturally, if I took this to Vale, it could be a diplomatic incident," Qrow started to sound a little smug. "All the bureaucratic tape and that shit. Atlas will deny involvement, the SDC will deny everything, and things will get pushed under the rug. But!" The man was grinning. "If a certain specialist with Atlas grade decryption technology swung by to help out…"
Teal's mouth fell open.
"I'll try to be there tomorrow." Winter stated, her voice unnaturally firm. "You caught me at a good time. I was heading to Vale with my… own apprentice."
"Ice Queen took on an apprentice?" Qrow started laughing. "Looks like we aren't that different after all."
"Do not compare me to you." Winter growled. "Send me your location and I'll meet you in a day or two."
"Fine, sending coordinates now." Qrow rolled his eyes, sent the information, and then hung up. "Well, looks like we'll have some help."
"ARE… YOU… MAD?!" Teal found her words at last. "You're going to bring a Schnee here? After we JUST found out the slave traders were trying to recruit for the SDC?! It's going to start a riot!"
"We know, the rest of the town doesn't." Qrow reminded her.
"And didn't you just say you admitted we shouldn't be judging kids for their father's actions?" Ruby pointed out.
"Can't we just not tell them until after you investigate?" Jaune asked.
"We could… if a Schnee wasn't coming to town!" Exasperation rang in Teal's voice. "It's going to cause a riot! We'll have to work overtime to ensure everyone the SDC isn't trying to kidnap them!"
"Can't we spin it so that Atlas is helping?" Jaune questioned her. "Seems like it might help build some faith that even Atlas doesn't condone slave trading."
"If we focus on Atlas and not the SDC…" Qrow rubbed his chin. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people kidnaped would figure out those slavers are from Atlas. So if Atlas shows up to arrest them, they aren't pushing them off on Vale."
"Or that Atlas is covering things up." Teal pointed out. "Most people here would expect that. Worse case, White Fang sympathizers will use that knowledge to spread more chaos among the townsfolk."
"Are the White Fang active here?" Ruby wondered. Slowly she was learning more about the group and she was really glad she had some facts from Weiss and Blake. Even if she wasn't sure which side was fully accurate, or if either were. Every moment she was out here, made her realize how things were not always black and white.
"Not openly." Team leaned back in her chair. "As much as sometimes I want them to." Jaune and Ruby sat up in alarm. "Calm down, kids. What I mean is, regardless how much progress places like Vale have been making… and trust me. They have been making progress. There's still a lot of open racism going on. Can you two deny that after what you saw?"
No, neither Ruby nor Jaune could. Especially since they both say it at Beacon. Faunus students being bullied for being Faunus. Qrow noticed their expressions and frowned.
"This is a little much for them." The man spoke up. "I trust you'll have your hands full dealing with celebrations tonight, Teal. I'll stick around for a bit while those two head back to our 5 star hotel room. They did a lot today and could use some rest."
"Not much we can do until we decipher this." Teal agreed. "Though, I take it you're all staying here for a couple days?"
"Yeah, not a lot of Grimm around here for now and I'll help out if any problems occur when the Ice Queen shows up," Qrow assured her. "She's a tight ass and a stickler to the rules, but I can vouch for her. She doesn't discriminate and does believe in equality, along with absolutely hating her father. I got her drunk once at a bar and she talked about how much she loathed him for like 3 hours. I should have recorded it."
Ruby was trying not to laugh. While she knew the situation was serious, the fact her uncle could still find humor in this was a relief. Then there was everything he said about Winter. She sounded just like Weiss. Strict, curt, but once you get past her frosty shell, she's a good person who does care. It only took some time to see through it. If their father was as bad as people said, it was no wonder Weiss didn't open up easily.
"If you vouch for her, I doubt you'll hear too many complaints from anyone around here," Teal agreed. "Not for the heroes who saved our people."
"We aren't heroes," Jaune told her. "Not yet. We're just trying to help the best we can."
"That's more than a lot of people do."
After Teal thanked them once more, Qrow dismissed the students. Ruby and Jaune headed back, both conflicted. They were happy of course. Saving all those people and reuniting them with their families and friends was what they wanted. At the same time, there were other things weighing on their minds. The entire situation dealing with Faunus and racism, Jaune and what he almost did, along with Ruby and what she heard her uncle and Jaune talk about last night.
They were tired, physically and mentally.
It was earlier than they normally would want to sleep, with the sun still lighting up the sky in the early evening. Yet they both wanted to lie down and crash. As they headed back to the inn, a few Faunus waved and cheered for them. Treating them like heroes. In a way, both of the kids knew they were to those people, but they just didn't feel like it. It wasn't like they imagined it would be. You go in, kick bad guy butt, save people, then leave and celebrate.
The weight on their shoulders was a lot heavier than they realized.
"This apprenticeship is a lot more than Ozpin and Qrow told us at the start," Jaune muttered, as he plopped down on his bed. "I might have second guessed this if we were going to learn about political and economic stuff."
"Maybe that's why we have history with Oobleck?" Ruby suggested, drying her hair. Showers in civilizations were a god send. "Because once we leave Beacon and do missions, we'll run into this."
"Think so?" Jaune wondered if that was true. "His lessons don't dive into anything like this."
"We only had a few classes with him." Ruby pointed out to him. "As Uncle Qrow said, you got to start with the basics."
"Yeah… but basics don't prepare you for everything."
His tone was weary and Ruby noticed immediately. The girl completely agreed with him. When she fought the robbers back in Vale that caused her to be allowed into Beacon early, she never once thought about if those guys were okay. They got knocked around because they were bad guys and she only fretted about what happened to that Roman Torchwick guy who escaped. Never once did she consider that those Auraless henchmen could be seriously hurt.
'Does that make me a bad person?'
Without meaning too, Ruby laid down next to Jaune. The boy froze as he felt Ruby hold his shirt. If this had been at Beacon, he might have considered it to be something romantic. But because this was his best friend and they knew each, it had to be something else. She must have a lot on her mind.
"Ruby?" Jaune asked cautiously. "Are you okay?"
"It's just… whenever I had a bad dream or fretting about something big, Yang would let me sleep in her bed." Ruby muttered, her face a little pale. "Can I just… lay here for a bit?"
"Sure, Rubes." Jaune moved his arm so she could lay on it. "If anything's troubling you, just let me know. I promise to listen without judging."
Silence followed his words.
The boy waited patiently, letting Ruby decide if she wanted to talk. He was not going to force her to say anything she wasn't comfortable with, nor would he pry. If she wanted to talk, he would listen. If she didn't, Jaune would still be there for her as a comforting presence if that's what she needed. Ruby meanwhile, was considering if she should say what was on her mind.
Minutes passed and the quiet finally got to her.
"I heard you and Uncle Qrow talking last night."
Jaune's blood froze as his face turned ashen. He slowly turned toward Ruby, who was looking up at him. Not out of anger or disgust, but concern. His friend was honestly concerned for him. Yet there was more. What looked like fear was there in the back of those silver eyes, but didn't seem directed at him.
"Everything?" He choked out.
"Yeah," Ruby confirmed. "I wanted to say, I don't blame you. It was an accident on your part. Uncle Qrow stopped you so it worked out. You're the type of person who would never do that on purpose. So please, don't fret over it."
As much as he appreciated these words, Jaune felt something was amiss. Yes, that moment hurt and he would remember it for a long time, if not forever, but it wasn't something that was going to stop him living his life and following his dream to be a Huntsman to protect people. There was something more. Ruby had heard their entire conversation last night. It took a second to click before his mouth spilled his thoughts.
"Are you… thinking about those robbers you beat up before Beacon?"
There was no vocal response, but her hand tightened on Jaune's shirt.
"Ruby…" Jaune had a feeling he knew what was wrong, but what could he say? It wasn't like he had any words of wisdom that didn't sound cheesy.
"I never thought about them once until I heard you and Uncle Qrow talk about them," Ruby mumbled into his side, her face buried in his shirt. "They were normal people, criminals sure, but they didn't have Aura and I beat them all up."
If it had been someone like Yang, her words might have sounded like bragging. With Ruby's nature, it was easy to tell she regretted it.
"Listen," Jaune said sternly. "As you have told me many times, we can't dwell on the past. What happened to them… was because of their own choices. They chose to be a criminal and attack you. Self-defense was perfectly acceptable in that situation. The fact you care so much for them shows just how kind and good a person you are. And let me tell you, Rubes. There's one thing I know. We have to accept the choices we made, regardless if we like the outcome or not."
There was a small snuff.
"You should follow your own advice then." The small girl muttered into his sleeve.
The little aggressive comeback was actually kind of adorable.
"Funny thing is, you're right." The boy agreed. "How about we get some sleep and maybe everything will be brighter tomorrow."
"I'm staying here." Ruby mumbled, closing her eyes in defiance of getting made to get up.
"Ruby, behind you!"
Jaune's warning barely reached his friend as Qrow stepped past Ruby's guard and wound up at her back. With a light push, he sent Ruby reeling into the ground. That didn't stop the young Huntress in Training, who tucked and rolled before springing to her feet. Qrow stepped forward to strike her with his sword, but Jaune stepped between them, absorbing the blow that sent ripples of pain through his arm.
"Not bad, you're learning." Qrow commented, before forcing the boy back with a well-placed kick.
Just because they were going to spend a couple days in town, didn't mean they were allowed to slack off. The situation called for their training to be modified. Instead of fighting Grimm and hiking everywhere, they focused more on sparring and techniques. With Jaune, it was swordplay, with Ruby, it was reading her opponent. As both kids watched Qrow spar with the other, they witnessed the vast difference in skill between them. That man changed his approach on how he fought them.
Though Jaune kept practicing the basics, even while Ruby was getting her butt handed to her. All the blond had to do was withstand attacks and learn to counter, while Ruby kept being dodged and parried, before being struck in her openings. She had a much harder lesson of learning to discover an opponent's weak points, and not fall for feints.
Jaune dreaded when he would get to that point.
Right now, they had spent a couple hours doing their own training, had a short break, and now were fighting two on one versus Qrow. Since they had numbers on their side, the man was not going easy on them. He could easily block Jaune's attacks and dodge Ruby's. If the kids had been back on their own team, they might have been able to do some combos, but Jaune and Ruby hadn't had time to invent combination maneuvers with each other.
But that didn't mean they couldn't fight with each other.
The King Taijitu, which Qrow definitely did not know about until the kids told him, had helped teach them to think on the fly and work together. In fact, the Huntsman was actually surprised at how well they were cooperating. Jaune didn't have agility, but always seemed to get in the way when Qrow would start trying to smack Ruby around. That could have been part of his nature to protect his friends. Ruby was using Jaune to try to hide from Qrow's sight and strike him from a blind spot.
The difference in skill was still far too great.
"Ahhh!"
"Oomph!"
Jaune laid on his back with Ruby landing on top of him.
"Not bad for beginners," Qrow held his sword over his shoulder while he grinned. "Tell you what, land a single hit on me, and you can take a break."
"Ugh…" Ruby rubbed her head as she forced herself to stand. "Got a plan, Jaune?" Her words came out a whisper.
"Just one, but I'm going to regret it." The boy groaned. "Be ready to strike." Ruby jerked her head slightly in a nod then held her weapon tightly. Jaune slowly walked toward Qrow.
"Got a plan?" Qrow asked sarcastically, mimicking Ruby's words.
"Just one." Jaune told him and then looked behind him. "Ruby! Want to know who Qrow REALLY met two nights ago?"
Qrow's face paled and he wrapped an arm around the boy's neck with the other hand holding Jaune's mouth closed. There was no way Ruby could learn Raven had been there. Things would have gotten much more complicated.
"Kid's just being a smartass, Ruby." Qrow tried to explain. "Nothing happ-… fuck!"
He realized the plan too late.
The red scythe collided with the side of his head as he jerked back, pushing Jaune away after letting the boy go. The metal hit skin but the man tilted back with the blow, mitigating a good chunk of the damage. The force was just enough to throw him off balance and he fell backwards. Not enough to do any real damage though. Qrow just rolled back and sprang to his feet.
"Got you!"
Ruby's face couldn't be smugger as she helped Jaune up.
"You got me, brats." Qrow groaned. "Fine. You get an hour break for lunch. Then it's more basic training." He rubbed the side of his head. "I heard people need wood chopped."
"Un-cle Qrow!" Ruby whined. "That's not fair!"
Jaune tried not to laugh as Ruby flailed her arms angrily at the retreating form of her uncle. He then excused himself to get a drink. Ruby pouted, before collapsing her scythe into the travel mode and heading toward her stuff. Right when she got there, her Scroll began ringing. The caller ID indicated it was her sister.
Frowning, Ruby picked it up. She had forgotten to call last night to tell Yang what was going on, but Yang wouldn't call in the middle of the day. Something must have happened.
"Yang?" Ruby asked. "Hey, what's going on?"
"So…" Yang seemed hesitant. "Today, Weiss wanted to go to the docks and greet some of the competition for this year's Vytal festival."
"Okay?" Ruby tilted her head in confusion. "Sounds like she wanted to scope out the competition."
"Yeah, Blake said the exact same thing," Yang looked like she tried to laugh, but couldn't. "Speaking of Blake, we found something out about her. Something big."
"You didn't pry into her secrets, did you?!" Ruby demanded. "You know what happens when people blab about secrets!"
"I know!" Yang held up her hand in surrender. "Blake let it slip so I wanted to know if you knew. Did you know… Blake's a Faunus?"
"Huh?" Ruby blinked as her brain processed this. "She is? So? She's still Blake." For a second there, she was worried Yang had some hidden dislike for Faunus. But that was impossible. Yang had some really close friends back on Patch who were Faunus.
"I didn't think you would." Yang sighed in relief. "But… there's one thing that came up and Weiss is really upset about."
"Weiss isn't upset Blake's a Faunus… right?" There was no way her bestie would hate Faunus, even if she was a member of the Schnee family.
"It's not so much being a Faunus… but the fact Blake was part of the White Fang."
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.