47

Chapter 47:

After working up an appetite in the ring, the group retired to the dining hall for dinner. Ashley was relieved to see that Beacon served the same food she'd seen in any home or restaurant down in Vale, having imagined that the students were given some super-secret nutritional formula that enabled such a monstrous growth in their abilities.

After that, it was time for Ashley to head home. Reaching the air-docks, she turned to say goodbye to Ruby and the rest of her new friends. "I had an amazing time," she said, gladly hugging Ruby. "Thank you for inviting me here."

"I'm glad you got to come," said Ruby.

"It's unfortunate we won't be able to do this too often," said Pyrrha, resting a friendly hand on Ashley's shoulder. "Hopefully, next time, we'll be able to visit you."

Ashley nodded eagerly. Then her eyes turned to Weiss. Unable to help herself, Ashley found her cheeks heating up at the sight of the pale girl. Even though Weiss looked tired, and a little bit frazzled from the aftereffects of her bout in the ring, she still looked beautiful. If anything, there was something about her slightly disheveled looks that struck Ashley as even more appealing. It was bizarre to think that this was the girl her neighbors and friends had spoken of in such insulting terms, even though mention of her came up far more rarely than it did her father.

"I'm glad I got to meet you," said Weiss, the sincerity in her tone surprising, making Ashley's heart flutter.

"M-me too," stammered Ashley. She and Weiss clasped hands again, Ashley holding on a little longer than she intended.

"Yang...?" said Ruby, throwing a glance at her older sister.

"Sure, I can make it before the last airship leaves," said Yang, nodding and grinning.

"What?" asked Ashley, letting go of Weiss' hand...reluctantly.

"I'm gonna walk you back, at least as far as the faunus quarter," said Yang, giving Ashley's shoulder a friendly squeeze. "Vale's pretty safe. But it's getting late, and nightfall is when the creeps start coming out of the woodwork. We don't want to take any chances."

"Thank you," said Ashley, feeling relieved. She hadn't given much thought to the hour. She paused. "Why you?"

"Ruby's too famous to go with you, right now," Yang pointed out. "It's the same for Pyrrha. Weiss would just attract more trouble." That got an emphatic nod from the girl in question. "Of everyone else, I know you best, and I can handle myself plenty well, without needing to use my weapons, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"All right," said Ashley. She exchanged one last smile and nod with her new friends. "Thank you so much for today. I hope I get to see you soon."

"Good night," said Ruby, waving goodbye.

Ashley and Yang stepped aboard the airship, Ashley watching at the window, staring as it lifted off, treating her to one last view of Beacon Academy, before the vessel turned towards Vale.

Ruby watched the transport go for a minute, before turning to join the rest of her friends in heading back to the dorm. She found herself walking alongside Weiss. "What did you think?" she asked.

"I thought she was nice," said Weiss. She looked down. "I...I hope I made a good impression. I think I did."

"I'm pretty sure you did," said Ruby wryly, remembering the color on Ashley's cheeks whenever she and Weiss addressed each other.

"That's good," said Weiss.

"Thank you," said Ruby.

"For what?" asked Weiss.

"For worrying about what Ashley thought of you," said Ruby. "It's hard for me to think of you doing something like that."

"It...was weird," said Weiss, a pensive frown on her face. "I...I never thought I would be the one worrying about what other people thought of me. I guess that made me...more anxious than usual."

"I can see that," said Ruby. She decided to switch the topic. "That was a good match, by the way."

"Thanks," said Weiss, before sighing. "I thought I was better than that, though."

"You're great!" Ruby assured her quickly. "I had some really tough moments there."

"But you never were really in any danger of losing," Weiss observed. "I could tell. You completely turned the tables on me, at the end there."

"Well, it's not because I was holding back or anything," Ruby replied. "I just learned your rhythm."

"What?" asked Weiss, blinking in surprise and confusion.

"It's a technique my first teacher, Shinrei-sensei, taught me," said Ruby. "When you fight someone, you learn their rhythm, and you can use that to anticipate their moves, so that you can avoid their attacks and keep them from avoiding yours. He calls it the Dancing Blade."

"My rhythm...?" wondered Weiss.

Ruby nodded. "I...I'm still working on getting the hang of it. Most of the time, it takes me more than one fight for me to figure out a person's rhythm. I couldn't do it with Pyrrha. It doesn't help that I was distracted by trying to figure out her Semblance.

"But your rhythm was really easy for me to learn. Your style is super-refined, and it's almost like a dance sometimes. So it was all out there for me to see."

Weiss looked down, thinking over what Ruby had been saying. "So...that sound you were making, that hissing noise..."

"That was me vocalizing the timing of your actions," said Ruby. "When you lunge to when you thrust, when you stab down to when your ice appears, when your Glyph appears to when it moves you...I got the timing down for all those things, so I was able to counter them."

Weiss' eyes widened. Now that she thought about it, it really had felt as though Ruby had been dancing with her at the end there, moving in perfect synch and time with Weiss' own movements, even to the point she was able to use Weiss' own Glyph, which Weiss had been using to avoid her, to catch up.

"How do I counter that?" asked Weiss.

"It's tricky," said Ruby. "I can't beat Shinrei-sensei, because he's even better at reading my rhythm than I am his. But...sometimes, you just have to do something completely off-the-wall to throw off an opponent who can do that. It's not easy. Your rhythm is a big part of who you are and what you do. Most people can't just...turn it off. I can't do that."

"Huh..." mused Weiss, figuring that she had a rather high hurdle to make if she ever wanted to overcome that particular skill of Ruby's. Ruby's statement about learning a person's rhythm over the course of multiple battles indicated that her knowledge of Weiss' rhythm would carry over into their next match, which would mean that her victory was bound to be even more one-sided, as she would be able to do what she'd done at the end of the last battle from the start, in the next one.

I was such an idiot, thought Weiss, not thinking about the match, but further back, when she and Ruby had still been at odds. Back during those first few, frustrating, days, Weiss had, on many occasions, entertained the daydream of her calling Ruby down into the ring, and beating her soundly. Weiss had envisioned demonstrating her superiority, crushing the opposition Ruby represented as decisively as anything else that had stood in her way before. But now, she realized she would have just been setting herself up for defeat. Today's loss had been humbling. But, had she confronted Ruby at the peak of her previous arrogance, the resulting defeat would have been nothing short of humiliating.

Still, Weiss resolved to get better. Ruby was strong, skilled, and intelligent; able to go toe-to-toe with Pyrrha Nikos. But she wasn't invincible. Neither was Pyrrha. It wasn't even just about her own ambitions. Weiss owed it to both Ruby and Pyrrha to strive to overcome them. In order for her to show her respect for how strong they were, she had to strive to become stronger than them.

Now I just have to figure out where to start, thought Weiss.

The trip back home had been uneventful for Ashley. No one accosted her or Yang during their walk, although that could have been due to Yang's presence. Even if Ember Celica was rather innocuous in its standby-mode as a pair of bracelets on Yang's arms, Yang carried herself with an air of confidence and strength that would have dissuaded all but the most foolhardy troublemakers. Fortunately, those people weren't as likely to be out on a Sunday night as they were on a Friday or Saturday evening. The end result was a pleasant walk a short ways into the faunus quarter, before she and Yang said their goodbyes, Ashley confident enough to cover the remaining distance home on her own.

A few minutes later, she entered the door to her family's apartment, closing it behind her, while calling "I'm home," to her parents in the living room.

"Welcome back, Ashley," said her mother, Elowen, who'd been watching the holoscreen alongside her husband. Much like her daughter, she was slim, with a modest figure. Her skin was fair, but her hair and eyes matched Ashley's almost exactly. Like her daughter, she sported a bushy squirrel-tail that extended from the base of her spine.

"Have fun, today?" asked Oliver. Ashley's father was a bit stockier and thicker than her mother, sporting a head of short, black hair and dark-blue eyes. His grin at the sight of her framing a pair of enlarged incisors.

"Yeah," said Ashley, giggling. "Ruby and her friends were all so nice. I got to see some amazing things."

"Really now?" pressed Elowen. "Do tell."

Ashley was quick to tell them everything she had seen and done at Beacon. She even showed them her recordings of the two matches that had been fought today.

"Those Beacon kids really are something else," observed Oliver, raising an eyebrow as Ashley finished.

Elowen, however, had borrowed Ashley's scroll, and was browsing through the various pictures Ashley had taken during her day at Beacon. Her expression fell, a fond smile dissolving into a pensive frown. "So you really met Weiss Schnee," she said, finding several pictures with the white-haired girl in them.

"Y-yes," said Ashley, nervous at the sight of her mother's expression.

"Are you sure everything went all right?" asked Elowen, turning a suspicious look on her daughter.

"Y-yeah," said Ashley, a bit flustered by the sudden shift in tone.

"So, Ms. Schnee didn't say or do anything that made you feel uncomfortable?" pressed Elowen.

"N-no!" exclaimed Ashley. "Not like that, anyway. She was actually very nice and polite...and nervous. I think she wanted to make a good impression."

"Is that so?" mused Elowen, her eyes narrowing.

"Come now, dear," her husband was quick to reassure her, "you don't need to overthink everything."

"All I think is that a Schnee shouldn't be trusted," said Elowen, her tone harsh. "For all we know, she could be trying butter you up, Ashley."

"Butter me up for what?" Ashley wanted to know. "Mom, she's Weiss Schnee! There is absolutely nothing a low-class civilian student, like me, could have that would be worth buttering me up for."

"She has a point," Oliver commented. Then he smirked, borrowing Ashley's scroll from Elowen and swiping through the photos himself. "And, from the look of things, if she was trying to make a good impression on you, honey, she certainly succeeded. I'd almost think you were up there to visit her, rather than this Ruby-girl, who invited you in the first place."

Ashley squeaked, her cheeks turning red, and she looked down, abashed. "W-well...she is very pretty..."

"That's hardly a surprise, considering she's a Schnee," muttered Elowen.

Oliver gave her an encouraging smile. "I think it's fine," he said. "Weiss Schnee isn't her father. It's not as though she has the power to make decisions about what the SDC does, or how they do things, so it's unfair to saddle her with responsibility for that."

"Maybe not," countered Elowen. "But she's also been raised by that man. No doubt she's been thoroughly indoctrinated in his racist ideology."

"Something tells me she wouldn't be worried about making a good impression, if that were the case," said Oliver with a sigh. "Even if she was, most likely it's a habit her friends are trying to break her out of."

Ashley nodded in agreement.

Oliver handed Ashley's scroll back, then patted his wife's shoulder. "Try not to cast a pall over Ashley's day, dear," he said. "She had a wonderful time, up at Beacon. I'm glad she got the chance to go." Then he turned another grin on his daughter. "So...when can we meet this new friend of yours?"

"Um...well...Ruby's a bit worried about coming to Vale right now," said Ashley. "She's waiting for all that hubbub over her sparring match with Pyrrha to die down."

"Yeah, I can see that being an issue," said Oliver. "I'm in agreement with that. From what I've heard, fame by association isn't all that it's cracked up to be."

"I suppose that's true," said Elowen, her manner mellowing considerably. "I'd rather not be mobbed by the press, day and night, just because my daughter happens to be friends with a girl who became an accidental celebrity over a sparring match."

"Still, after watching those matches, it's kinda amazing to think our Ashley's friends with a Beacon student," said Oliver. "You'd think those kids were monsters, the way they knock each other around."

Despite herself, Ashley couldn't help but nod in agreement. During the matches, particularly the second one, with Yang against Nora, she remembered both of them being hit with blows that Ashley had been certain would have broken most, if not all, the bones in her body, had it been her out there in the ring. Yet, each time, they'd gotten back up and carried on as though it hadn't happened. Yang was even in good enough shape to escort her back to the faunus quarter.

It was a stark reminder of the differences between Huntsmen and Huntresses, even ones in training, and a mere civilian, like Ashley herself.

"Well, there's nothing really wrong about it," noted Oliver. "This Ruby-girl sounds very nice. I hope we get to meet her soon."

"I hope so too," said Ashley, nodding emphatically.

Having already had dinner at Beacon, Ashley soon retired to her room, after chatting with her parents some more. Sitting at her desk, she took a few moments to look through the pictures she'd taken that day, smiling at the sight of her new friends. Despite what her father had pointed out, something Ashley herself was all too conscious of, she could also see how the boys and girls she had met this day were, in their own way, perfectly normal people.

She'd seen them talk and chatter, acting no differently than Ashley's classmates in her own school. She'd seen them bicker and tease each other in an easygoing way. For all that they could pull off superhuman feats like they were nothing, they still seemed to do, and be interested in, all the normal things that made up the lives of people everywhere.

Setting down her scroll, Ashley pulled open her desk drawer, pulling out the pamphlet she'd secreted there. Opening it up, she stared at the writing and pictures on it, the declarations and promises it made. Reading those over again, she found herself frowning uneasily.

In the end, it took another couple of weeks for the last of the fervor over Ruby and Pyrrha's sparring match to drain away. Things never truly went back to "normal," for all that that was a bit of a loaded term, when it came to life at Beacon Academy. Some students continued to express resentment over Pyrrha's Semblance. Those who faced her in the ring were reluctant to give it their all, figuring that their defeat was sealed the moment they'd been picked as her opponent. Their lack of effort always incensed Glynda, and Pyrrha's matches often ended with her opponent assigned detention.

On the other hand, Ruby's opponents came after her as enthusiastically as possible. Few of them were good enough to really pressure her though. Strangely, they always seemed to take defeat at her hands as a mark of pride. It only made her feel worse about what was going on with Pyrrha, as one of the things that Pyrrha had always despised about her reputation was that it had made her opponents give up on trying too hard...even before everyone had learned what her Semblance was.

Still, there was at least one student who was willing to put in the extra effort, when it came to facing off against Pyrrha. Dove Bronzewing hadn't yet faced her in Combat Class, but he had become a frequent sparring partner for both Pyrrha and Jaune, alternating between each of them. It was a surprise that he was willing to work to help with Jaune's training. At the same time, he was also the person Pyrrha tested her new applications for her Semblance on.

However, Ruby and Pyrrha were finally able to go into Vale without needing to worry about drawing a mob of reporters and freelance photographers down on them like a flock of vultures. Ruby was quick to take advantage of this, finally able to go out to visit Ashley, instead of the other way around. Ruby mostly visited on the weekends, with Ashley even making changes to her work schedule to better provide opportunities.

One Saturday evening, Ruby even got to meet Ashley's parents over dinner. Oliver and Elowen were a pleasant couple, who appeared to have no issue with the idea of Ashley having become such close friends with a human, and a Beacon student. They were nice, though Elowen did ask a few pointed questions about Weiss, much to Ruby's discomfort. In the interest of smoothing things over, and possibly laying the groundwork that might be used to, one day, allow Weiss to safely visit the faunus quarter, Ruby answered as honestly as she could, talking about Weiss' behavior at the beginning of the year, and how she had changed over the course of the semester. She wasn't sure if her efforts had paid off. Otherwise, everything went well.

Even though she and her friends were no longer watching over his shoulder, Ruby was pleased to see that Jaune continued to train diligently. His efforts were paying impressive dividends. While he was still working on the most basic of attacks with his sword, he practiced them so thoroughly that it was beginning to have a noticeable impact in the ring. A simple downwards strike with his sword, after using his shield to fend off an incoming attack, might not have been the flashiest trick in the book. But, during a sparring match, Jaune was able to execute the move perfectly against his opponent, taking off nearly half the other person's Aura with a single strike.

Of course, when it came to using his shield, Jaune needed a partner, someone to attack him, so that he could practice defending. However, that problem soon solved itself.

With the improved relationship between RASP and RYNB, RASP felt comfortable with admitting Jaune's secret to their sister-team. Ren had already figured it out for himself some time ago, but Nora, Blake, and Yang were all surprised by the revelation.

Nora had bounced back quickly, not even seeming to really mind. Blake, somewhat surprisingly, was silent on the matter, appearing to refrain from judging Jaune in any manner over what he'd done. Ruby wondered if Blake's guilt over the fact that she continued to hide that she was a faunus from her friends had something to do with that. Blake had yet to share it with even her own team, something that worried Ruby a little. But the reaction that had worried them all the most had come from Yang.

It was brief, but harrowing. For a moment, Yang had been silent. Then the room had begun to warm, while her body began to shine. Her eyes turned crimson, and Ruby began to worry that she might have to fight her own sister in order to protect Jaune. It appeared that learning that her little sister's partner and best friend had lied his way into Beacon had caused Yang's "overprotective big sister instincts" to rear their collective head again. If they wound up coming to blows over that, it would mean the end of any reconciliation between Ruby and Yang, something Ruby did not want to happen, now that she'd gotten so close to her sister. However, after another harrowing moment, Yang had managed to rein in her anger, forcing herself to calm down. It helped that Ruby was quick to explain exactly why she had decided to help Jaune, instead of turning him in to Glynda.

The end result was that Jaune had no shortage of sparring partners willing to help him with his training. Ren, Yang, Nora, and Blake all had unique styles, which gave Jaune a variety of different ways to practice his defense. Yang, in particular, became extremely enthusiastic about sparring with him, declaring that, if he was going to be Ruby's partner, then she needed to do everything in her power to toughen him up. The rounds he spent in the ring with her were always especially punishing. But, unlike that first time, Yang never went too far.

On top of that, Jaune found himself spending time with the boys of CRDL, of all people. The change Cardin's near-death in Forever Fall had wrought in his behavior was remarkable, to say the least. Sky and Russel were both contrite about their cowardice in the face of danger, and, with Dove offering a little guidance, they were working hard to get their act together. The fact that they too were willing to spar with Jaune, not simply bully him, furthered his experience and growth even more.

With Jaune's skill and ability improving rapidly, Team RASP began to dedicate their Saturdays to team practice sessions, sometimes on their own, sometimes with RYNB. They worked to coordinate their actions, coming up with combination attacks, while working out how to communicate effectively with each other on the battlefield. Late into the second half of the semester, Glynda introduced double and team-matches during Combat Class. RASP and RYNB found their proactivity in this regard had stood them in good stead, and the two teams quickly advanced to the Number One and Two spots respectively.

Pyrrha and Ruby also found themselves sparring frequently. After her match with Weiss, and revealing her skill at learning people's rhythms, Ruby had been afraid that Pyrrha would shy away from fighting her, not wanting Ruby to learn her rhythm. But Pyrrha, showcasing the dedication she possessed towards bettering herself, attacked the problem head-on. She was determined to find a way to counter that particular skill, but realized the only way she could do so was to confront it head-on, and learn how Ruby used Pyrrha's rhythm against her. Said spars were always conducted in private, with even their friends barred from watching. Ruby and Pyrrha kept the result of every match; whether win, lose, or draw; a carefully guarded secret.

Thus, as her first semester at Beacon began to draw to a close, Ruby found herself looking forward to the future.

"The White Fang are moving."

"Hmm..." Roman frowned, thinking that over. "What kind of movement?" he tapped back against the door of his cell.

"They're starting to do our job," Neo replied. "They're stealing the Dust shipments that make it into the Kingdom."

Roman hid a scowl, knowing that changes in his facial expressions could hint that he was conversing with someone. "Cinder say anything about it?"

"She said there was a change of plans, that was all," Neo tapped back. "I think Adam talked with her about something."

I wonder what, Roman mused silently. The more he heard, the more uncomfortable he felt. Right now, it sounded as though he had become largely superfluous to Cinder's plan. That being the case, his sole remaining purpose was to serve as Neo's tether, for so long as Cinder still needed Neo for her part in the plan. But he was beginning to wonder if Neo would become superfluous to Cinder's plan as well. If that was the case, then their imminent, and probably very painful, death was just around the corner. This needs a rethink.

Of course, he could always change his tune, tell the authorities everything he knew, be honest for a change. However, what he knew was pitifully little. And he had no doubt that whatever he told the police would somehow make it all the way back to Cinder's ears, at which point, her reprisal would come instantly and ruthlessly. He couldn't afford to take that chance.

That being the case, what did he do? Roman's eyes narrowed as he mulled it over. Time probably wasn't on his side. But time was currently the only weapon he had...well...time and Neo. What little time he had left, Roman would bide, looking for his chance. That was his only hope now. He'd have Neo wait and watch. While she did, he would rack his brains for every option he could find to get them out of this situation.

Finally, he tapped on the door again. "Watch Cinder and the White Fang. Report anything that catches your eye."

"Understood," came Neo's reply.

"Neo..." he tapped at a more deliberate pace.

He could feel her waiting in silence.

"My life...in your hands."

The reply, "And mine, in yours."

Then she was gone.

Roman smiled and relaxed on his cot once more, content. Cinder was powerful, but she was a fool, a bully. Whatever mysterious power she possessed, she adored using it to throw her weight around, expecting everyone to acquiesce to her desires out of fear. It usually worked, because that there was no denying, as frustrating as it was to see her throwing her weight around, Cinder definitely had some serious weight to throw around.

But that overconfidence would be her undoing, he was sure. Cinder only saw those beneath her as tools, to be used, to serve their purpose, to be disposed of if they upset or failed her. For the most part, Roman agreed. However, even a self-serving survivor like him needed someone that he could put his absolute trust in. That was why he had Neo. Cinder only knew how to threaten or cajole. But Roman had someone he knew he could trust, someone he could believe in. Come Hell or high water, Neo would come through for him.

I'll find my chance, Cinder, he thought. If you're going to just dispose of me anyway, I'll make sure it's the hardest thing you've ever had to do.

"Where is Ms. Scarlatina?" Oobleck's glasses flashed as he cast his gaze around the room, looking for any sign of her.

The other students could only offer blank looks, all of them just as confused as Oobleck was by Velvet's unannounced absence.

Oobleck frowned. "Odd..." he murmured. "That is not like her at all."

Ruby frowned worriedly from her seat. As Oobleck said, it wasn't like Velvet to straight up skip class like this. She was a model student.

Still, there was nothing anyone could do. Once class was over, Velvet's unexcused absence would be reported, then she would just wind up punished, just like anyone else. The problem was that this behavior was so atypical of her that no one could really accept it. There had to be something going on.

"I suppose there's nothing to be done-" Oobleck began to say, only to pause when his scroll vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he found a message there. "Well...I suppose that's that then. Never mind."

The rest of the class looked on in confusion. Putting his scroll away, Oobleck resumed class as though nothing had happened. Ruby did her best to keep focused. But the nagging worry over what had happened to Velvet kept dogging her.

With the end of class, she quickly approached Oobleck. "Professor-?" she began.

"Doctor!" Oobleck reminded her in a strict tone, making Ruby squeak and flinch.

"Er...Dr. Oobleck," she said. "Was that message about Velvet?"

"It was," said Oobleck. "I am not at liberty to discuss the situation. However, her absence has been excused." He sighed, slumping and looking down a little. "I know you only ask because you are worried about her wellbeing, Ms. Rose. I advise you to speak with her teammates about the situation."

"Yes, thank you, Doctor," said Ruby, quickly bowing her head to him, before rejoining her friends, who waited at the door.

Finding Velvet would have to wait until lunch. Even then, Ruby's friends insisted that she eat lunch first, before checking with CFVY. They would forgo training during their free period today, seeing as finding out if Velvet was all right was more important. Ruby did her best to eat a sufficient lunch, her anxiety curbing her appetite a little. Finally, RASP and RYNB made their way to Team CFVY's dorm, where Ruby knocked softly.

The door opened to reveal Coco. It was a bit of a shock to see Coco in a Beacon uniform, and without her trademark sunglasses on top of that. Her expression was irritated, but quickly softened at the sight of Ruby and her friends. "Hey there," she said, giving them a wan smile. "I think I can guess why you guys came."

"Is Velvet all right?" asked Ruby, blurting out the question foremost in her thoughts.

"I'm fine," said Velvet from within the room. "You can come in, Ruby."

Coco sighed and opened the door wide, stepping aside to let Ruby and the others come in. Granted, along with her and Velvet, squeezing a grand total of ten people into one dorm room was a little much, so RYNB waited at the door, while RASP entered the room.

They found Velvet seated on her bed, nursing a mug of dark-brown liquid. The sweet scent reaching their noses told Ruby and the others that it was hot cocoa. Currently, Velvet was dressed in a set of loose-fitting flannel pajamas in a pale-cream color. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and the skin under her eyes was dark.

"What happened?" asked Ruby, sitting on the bed beside Velvet.

"I had a rough night, that's all," said Velvet, trying her hardest to give Ruby a reassuring smile, though it wavered and wobbled. "I had to make an evening run to pick up some special Dust I ordered. There was a misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstanding nothing!" snapped Coco. "That was the most bullshit example of racial profiling I've ever seen!"

"Please, Coco!" pleaded Velvet, her ears folding over as she gave her team leader a plaintive look.

"Racial profiling?" asked Ruby worriedly.

Coco scowled. "Some asshole saw her leaving the shop with Dust vials, assumed she'd just stolen them, and called the cops on her. The dumbasses actually had the gall to take her in."

"What?" gasped Weiss, she and Pyrrha looking horrified.

"Oh, it gets worse," growled Coco, looking fit to murder someone.

"Coco..." whimpered Velvet.

Ruby rested a hand on Velvet's shoulder, calming her a little, before looking back at Coco. "What did they do?"

"They held her in custody through the whole night," Coco snarled, "didn't read her her rights, didn't even look at her student ID. They just took what she had on her and left her in an interrogation room all night. Then, right as the sun was rising, they started grilling her on what she was doing out at that time of night, why she had Dust, what she was gonna be using it for."

"That's terrible!" exclaimed Nora. "Why would they do that?"

Velvet whimpered, slumping a little more. Ruby began to gently rub her back.

Coco's look darkened even more. "It's an old trick. Sometimes, when criminals are doing their thing, the police just want to find someone, anyone...If they can find someone who matches the basic profile of who they're looking for, then it doesn't matter if that person is guilty or innocent."

"They take her in, deprive her of sleep..." Now Blake was speaking, her tone dark and weary. "...Then they start to ask the questions. They try to steer the conversation, try to trap her into something that sounds like an admission of guilt, or simply pressure her to confess to whatever it is they want to accuse her of."

"What were they trying to accuse her of?" asked Ruby.

"Of being White Fang," hissed Coco.

The tension in the room increased. But Coco's words stirred a powerful reaction from two people in particular. First, Weiss frowned darkly, her entire body going tense, her hands clenching tightly. The other was Blake, who flinched sharply, actually taking a nervous step back, her bow twitching slightly, due to the movement of the ears hidden beneath it.

"So...they wanted Velvet to admit she was stealing Dust for the White Fang or something?" asked Jaune.

"Pretty much," growled Coco.

"I probably could have avoided this if I'd just told them what the Dust was for," said Velvet, looking down morosely.

"Yeah right," scoffed Coco. "Those assholes were looking to pin something on you from the start. Besides, they had no right to pry, particularly since you have a Beacon ID, an authentic one. If they weren't going to charge you with anything, then they had no right to interrogate you."

"What did you need the Dust for?" asked Ruby, before pausing. "Um...If it's all right for me to ask."

"It's fine," said Velvet, giving Ruby a shaky smile. "I need it for my weapon."

"It's a bit tricky," said Coco. "Anesidora uses a pretty special formulation of Dust, so she has to get a lot of it special ordered. That's tough enough during regular times, but especially hard now, with all those SDC freighters being hit...and now the White Fang hijacking a hefty portion of what does make it in through the port."

At the mention of the White Fang, Weiss and Blake flinched again. Now Blake was growing angry. Ruby frowned, sensing Blake's rising anger. Carefully, Ruby looked up at the black-haired girl, fixing her with a look intense enough for Blake to feel the pressure of Ruby's gaze. Their eyes met, and Ruby gave Blake the smallest shake of her head, urging Blake to hold her tongue for now.

Coco continued, unaware of the silent conversation. "The formula is Vel's special recipe, something she's been perfecting for years, so she's pretty tight-lipped about what goes into it, even with us. But, because she was reluctant to tell, those bastards in the police took it as her hiding something, and tried to get her locked up for it."

Velvet shuddered, prompting Ruby to resume rubbing her back.

"When Velvet didn't come back last night, after the last airship had landed, we got worried," said Coco. "We tried calling. But those jerks had confiscated her scroll too, so she couldn't call or take calls. We had no idea where she was. So, first thing this morning, we asked Ozpin for permission to ditch our first classes of the day to go and find her. Then we used the tracking app to find her scroll, which brought us right to the station."

Velvet actually let out a small giggle. "You should have seen it," she told Ruby. "I think I was just about to break, when, all of a sudden, Coco kicks in the door to the interrogation room and tells me that we're going home. The detectives questioning me tried to stop her-"

"But I told them that they either needed to charge Velvet with something, or she was leaving with us. I got all of Velvet's stuff out of their evidence room. The Dust was there, along with the receipt for the purchase, everything that they needed to see she'd been legit, and they'd just ignored it and shoved it into a locker. I'm lucky I got to them before they thought to destroy the receipt. I had to practically threaten to shoot the place up to get them to part with it."

Velvet let out another giggle, one that was mixed with a faint sob, her relief at being saved by Coco mixed with her depression over what she'd just been through.

"Well, after what she'd been through, Velvet was in no shape to go to class," said Coco. "So we brought her back here so that she could get some rest."

"I'm so sorry, Velvet," Ruby said softly, hugging Velvet around the shoulders with one arm.

"It's all right," said Velvet.

"It's not all right," growled Weiss, the last person Ruby expected to say something like that in this situation. "This is absurd! Just where do those cretins get off treating her like this?"

"My thoughts exactly," said Coco, giving Weiss a a smirk that showcased her sympathetic fury. "I just about opened fire on that place on principle. The bastards would've had it coming."

"And it would have just made things worse," Velvet admonished Coco gently.

Coco sighed and slumped. "I know," she admitted. "But it would've at least made me feel better. Professor Ozpin is having words with the chief over this, but I doubt it'll get far. The police don't like Huntsmen sticking their noses into law enforcement, unless they're asked."

"Yeah, but they basically stuck their fingers up your noses and pulled you in," said Yang, before frowning at her own analogy.

"I couldn't put it better myself," said Coco. "But right now, Velvet's back, she's not hurt, and she still has her Dust, and that's all that matters."

Ruby nodded slowly, continuing to gently rub Velvet's back. "Have the White Fang gotten more active lately?" she asked.

Velvet nodded. "For a while, it was the freighters being attacked at sea. But the SDC started sending shipments around the east coast of Sanus, and then bringing them in overland. Then the SDC started sending them both ways, just trying to ensure that some Dust made it to Vale."

"More expensive, but way better than just losing them altogether," noted Coco. "From the sound of things, whoever is going after the Dust at sea is a one-group operation, so they can only stake out one route at a time. It looks like whoever is doing this went to the east."

"But then the White Fang started hitting the shipments that came in through Vale's ports," said Velvet. "Sometimes, they're knocking over the Dust-shops themselves. The proprietor of the shop I visited is an acquaintance of mine. He tries to be unbiased, but he admitted to me that his blood pressure goes through the roof, whenever a faunus enters the place. He apologized for it. But I can't exactly blame him."

"It sucks," muttered Coco. "Perfectly innocent faunus are being suspected. And, if Velvet's case is any indicator, the cops are just plain cracking down on them, hoping they'll snap up a White Fang member more by luck than actual effort. And, if they're trying what they did with Velvet on others, a lot of other people wouldn't hold up as well as she did. So they put innocent faunus away, and get to pretend that they're doing their part to fight the White Fang menace, all while the real crooks are probably getting away scot-free"

"I wish there was something we could do," said Nora.

Coco sighed. "Not much you can do," she admitted. "I mean, unless someone can track down the White Fang and actually find them, then there's nothing anyone here can do."

Once again, Ruby sensed an interesting reaction from Blake, a tensing of her posture. She was uneasy about something. Ruby was beginning to suspect that Blake had another secret, beyond the fact that she was hiding her status as a faunus. Given what she was reacting to, however subtly, it was possible that Blake had some history with the White Fang.

Did Sasame-nee know? Ruby wondered. As astute as Sasame was, she'd likely divined a great deal of Blake's history just from the interactions they'd had while she'd been visiting. Ruby's own insight was nowhere near that level. However, she also knew that, if Sasame had found out something like that, she would keep it to herself. Amongst other things, Sasame excelled at keeping the confidence of her "patients," keeping what important secrets she learned about them to herself, unless it presented a direct threat to someone she cared about. That Sasame had said nothing about Blake's history indicated that she trusted Blake.

Of course, those were questions for later, questions Ruby was fairly certain it wasn't her place to ask. For now though, she wanted to focus on helping Velvet feel better. Despite her outwardly calm manner, Ruby could tell that Velvet was still shaken by what she had been through. She began to send gentle pulses of her Aura through the other girl, allowing it to wash through her in soothing waves, gently brushing away the tension within her.

Velvet's eyelids began to droop. She gave them all a sleepy smile. "Thank you all for worrying about me. But I'll be all right. I can get through this."

"You'll have all of us with you," Ruby assured her, sending another gentle pulse of Aura through her.

"You look like you're finally ready to get some proper rest," said Coco, noticing Velvet's lowering eyelids.

She gently took the mug from Velvet's hands. With Ruby's help, Coco laid Velvet out on her bed, then pulled the covers over her and tucked her in. Velvet let out one last sleepy yawn, before rolling over onto her side and closing her eyes. They watched her for a moment, before everyone, including Coco, stepped outside, Coco turning out the lights and closing the door behind her.

"I don't know what you did, but thanks," said Coco, giving Ruby a grateful smile.

"It was nothing," said Ruby bashfully. As uses for the healing arts Sasame had taught her went, it was nothing to write home about. Sasame's Aura could be used as a full anesthetic, capable of putting someone under for the duration of a surgical procedure. Even though Sasame's kind of surgery wasn't particularly invasive or stressful for her patients, it often helped to put them to sleep so that Sasame had an easier time treating injuries, without them needing to deal with the pain of said injuries.

Compared to that, easing an already drowsy girl into a regular sleep was child's play.

Coco sighed, running her hand through her hair. "Well, if she sleeps like this through the night, she should be good to go back to class tomorrow. I'm still thinking of going back to that station and razing it to the ground."

"If you decide to do that, let us know," said Yang with a feral grin, smacking the palm of her left hand with her right fist. "We'd love to help."

"Oh yeah," agreed Nora, with a grin matching Yang.

Ren sighed. "It isn't going to happen," he said.

"No it isn't," said Coco, her expression becoming defeated. "I just wish there was some way to give those jerks some payback for what they put Velvet through."

"Yes, but that kind of attitude is what's making the White Fang such a problem in the first place," said Weiss, her tone bitter.

"What do you mean?" asked Blake, surprised by the observation.

Weiss sighed. "I have to admit, my family has had a...rough...history with the White Fang. Actually, that's putting it mildly. Thanks to what Father has done with the company, the White Fang have been doing everything in their power to inflict as much damage to it as possible. We've had trains hit, entire loads of Dust stolen, processing plants burned to the ground, even board members who were kidnapped and executed."

She shuddered and hugged herself. "There was one time a package arrived for me. The butler who received it was new. He hadn't been trained enough to remember all the appropriate precautions. He was bringing it straight to my room...when it blew up in his hands."

Pyrrha gasped, her hands going to her mouth.

Weiss stared off into the distance. "I was working on one of my tutoring assignments at the time. I heard the explosion, felt the room shake. I ran out into the hall to see what had happened and..." Her hand went to her mouth. "There was hardly anything left of the poor man...just blood...and a few chunks."

Ruby could hear and feel Blake's breath quickening. Weiss' recounting of what had happened was bringing Blake to the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Weiss continued, oblivious to Blake's reaction. "I later overheard Father talking with Klein about it. Klein was saying that we were lucky. The bomb's maker had botched the triggering mechanism, otherwise it would have gone off when the package was opened. But the maker had made a mistake, so it went off because it was jostled a little. I came this close to being killed by a letter bomb...saved by a mistake."

Pyrrha hugged Weiss tightly from behind. "I'm so sorry," she said softly.

Weiss sniffed. "It's all right. Thinking about it still gives me the shakes." She shook her head. "But...that's the problem. I used to hate the White Fang. I thought they were nothing more than scum-sucking terrorists, who didn't care who they hurt, so long as they got to do some harm to a few humans. They were no better than animals."

Sensing a rising anger from Blake, Ruby decided to head off the impending explosion of temper. "It sounds like your opinion changed a little."

"It did," said Weiss, giving Ruby a smile. "And it's thanks to your sister. She and I talked, and she pointed out some things about what I was going through, and what the faunus were going through. She talked about how the White Fang were all about retaliation now, how they know that what they do makes it harder for other faunus, because that makes it easier to recruit them."

Blake's anger vanished, and she sagged down. Ruby could sense her ears drooping beneath the bow that covered them.

"Well...if you're going through crap like that, I can see why you'd have a few issues," said Coco.

"Yes, but my point is that retaliating won't make anything better," said Weiss, looking at Coco. "In a way, that's what the police are doing. They can't find the actual perpetrators, so they retaliate against the next most convenient target."

"Other faunus," muttered Yang.

"But that won't actually help anything," said Ren.

"Maybe not...but someone needs to stop the cycle somewhere," said Ruby.

She felt Blake stiffen at her words, then relax a little. It confused Ruby a little. But then she realized what it was. That slight change was a sign of resolve, conviction. Blake had faced a difficult choice...then made her decision. She hadn't meant for her words to do that, but Ruby supposed she should be be glad that she'd helped Blake make some kind of decision.

They had to rush a bit to make it to their last class of the day, having spent nearly all their free period with Velvet and Coco. After that, they did their homework like usual, had their dinner, then adjourned to the roof for their usual Aura-training. When they were finished, Ruby wasn't all that surprised when Blake asked for all eight of them to meet up in RYNB's room.

"What's up, Blake?" asked Yang, giving her partner a worried look, watching from her bed as Blake stood at the head of the room.

Blake shifted nervously, her eyes darting back and forth across her assembled friends. Finally, she took a deep breath. I've put this off for too long, she thought. Reaching up, she pulled at the bow atop her head, unwrapping it. The ribbon flowed free, revealing her secret, a pair of black cat-ears that stood atop her head.

Weiss gasped, her eyes widening. Her reaction was the most dramatic, but the others, except for Ruby, were surprised as well.

"You're a faunus?" asked Nora.

"I am," said Blake.

"Why did you hide it?" asked Ren, his stoic demeanor actually faltering considerably.

"You were worried about being bullied, weren't you?" asked Jaune.

"That was...part of it..." said Blake, looking down, ashamed.

Weiss' eyes widened, her mind already beginning to piece together what Blake was about to admit to.

"The fact is..." said Blake. She paused, grimacing, as though she would vomit, rather than say whatever she was about to say next. "The truth is...until a few months before I came to Beacon...I was a member of the White Fang."