22

Ruby Rose sat at a table in the main room of the Royal Veronica Hall, her head resting on her right arm while her outstretched left flicked at a pencil every time it rolled back. It was now Friday afternoon and her team sans Blake were putting the finishing touches on their plans for the dance the following day. Due to the extenuating circumstances of their appointment, they had been given the entire day off from classwork in order to finish it but that had actually frustrated the young leader.

Ruby hadn't slept well that night, her anxiety getting the better of her, and all of the plans she had made to address her anxiety at the source fell apart when they were informed of their free day. Emiya Shirou hadn't shown up for breakfast and, since they weren't attending classes, it would be awkward for her to try and corner him in the halls. Given the distance involved, it had also been impractical to try and meet with him during lunchtime. A text conversation she had with Jaune around that time revealed that he hadn't been present then anyway (Jaune had been under the impression that Shirou had decided to take lunch to Team RWBY) and it was only his reassurance that Shirou had been in class that prevented her from fearing the worst. Not that her current situation was much better.

That wasn't her only cause for concern, either. Blake Belladonna had also been moodier than usual and was currently refusing to even so much as help with preparations for the dance beyond carrying a few items to the airship that morning. While it wasn't as bad as she feared it may have been— at least she was getting some sleep— it still worried her that her teammate wasn't letting herself relax for even one day. While she understood the urgency of their situation, even she knew that you needed to take a break every now and then.

The sound of heels clacking on the hardwood floor broke Ruby from her thoughts. "I need you to pick a tablecloth," Weiss Schnee said with a smile as she placed two white swatches of material before her leader.

Ruby eyed them for a moment before saying "Aren't they the same?" in a fairly disinterested tone. She expected her partner to grow frustrated and storm off but was surprised when, instead, she pushed the swatches aside and pulled up a seat.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked as she placed a hand over Ruby's extended one.

Ruby gave Weiss a tired smile, "Not really but I'll be fine."

"Is this about Shirou?"

Ruby opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted when Yang Xiao Long spoke up, Weiss quickly removing her hand at the sound. "I really need to deck that jerk next time I see him," she said as she sat down the speaker that was larger than she was, the resulting thud causing the table and chairs to jump slightly. "I honestly thought that he was just going to reject you. Didn't think he was going to leave you hanging like this."

Ruby raised her head as her brow furrowed in confusion, "You thought he was going to reject me?"

"Well, honestly, yeah. He doesn't strike me as the dating type. I told you to go for it anyway because I could have been wrong and it would have been a good experience for you to have either way."

"I'm also worried about Blake," Ruby said with a slight scowl, both not wanting to talk about Shirou anymore and not being sure how to feel about what her sister said. "I still can't think of any way to change her mind."

"You're not the only one," Weiss said as she rubbed at her forehead. "I understand her reasoning, I truly do— I doubt that there are many people who want to stop the White Fang more than I do— but I just can't seem to get her to understand our reasoning."

"Guys, don't worry about it. Trust me; Blake will be at the dance tomorrow night," Yang said as she walked off to give a certain kitty cat a dose of reality.

And maybe clobber a certain redhead along the way.

OoOoOoO

Blake Belladonna stared at the screen in front of her, only half reading what was on it. She let out a tired sigh when she realized that she had reread a sentence three times, rubbing at her eyes and grabbing the nearby coffee cup. She growled when she found the cup to be empty and tossed it into the nearby recycle bin before trying to focus on the screen again.

It had been ten days since the battle against Roman in the Paladin and they had made an amazing lack of progress into the investigation. They knew that the White Fang were operating out of a base somewhere in the southeast outside the kingdom and that they were stealing from the Schnee Dust Company to supply their group. After some group discussions and research, they had also narrowed down their possible location to four places: Melton, Astral, Mountain Glenn, and Kurotsuchi. Each of those places were abandoned settlements near-ish the City of Vale and thus, by their reasoning, would be the perfect place to stage something.

The problem was that they still had no idea what that something was. They had already burnt through all of their contacts and exhausted every possible lead. Since they were still students, they couldn't just head to those places themselves and they had no one they could ask to go for them. As it was, Blake was spending an inordinate amount of time on the internet, trolling through obscure message boards and blog posts in a vain hope that she could find a recruiter or a member who'd let something slip but all of her efforts turned up nothing. The others were hoping that they'd get lucky and could join a Hunter for a mission in that region when they had their first outing next week but Blake couldn't just do nothing until then.

Blake growled as she hit another dead end but her thoughts came to a sudden halt when a little red dot appeared on her screen. She watched in confusion and irritation as it moved up and down before dropping down to her hand and disappearing. She quickly spun around in her seat, trying to see who had the gall to bother her, but everyone at the tables behind her were glued to whatever they were doing. After a few seconds, she turned back around and started typing away, hoping that maybe this combination of search terms would turn up something after twenty pages of results, only for the dot to appear on her hand again.

Blake spun back around in her chair but, again, there was no clear culprit (although, a few people were now sending her strange looks at her odd behavior). She turned back around to her computer, muttering darkly about how she was going to claw the eyes out of whoever was messing with her, only to pause when she saw the dot going in circles on her screen. She scowled and pounded the table, abruptly standing up as she watched the dot zoom to the floor. With a single-minded focus, Blake glared at the dot and followed it, her frustration mounting as she rounded the corner of one of the bookshelves and straight into Yang Xiao Long.

"Hello~" Yang said in a sing-song voice as she waved at her partner, a laser pointer in her right hand.

"Yang? What are you—" Blake's question was cut off as the blonde grabbed her by the arm.

"We need to talk," Yang said as she whisked the Faunus off.

A few minutes later, Blake found herself in one of Beacon's empty classrooms. Yang took a seat on the teacher's desk and let out a small sigh, the light from the late afternoon sun casting her features in a gentle orange glow. Blake paused for a moment, letting the scene before her be burnt into her mind, before walking forward to be in front of her partner.

"Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well save your breath," Blake said with more than a little heat.

Yang crossed her legs and gave her partner a calm smile, "I don't want you to stop, I want you to slow down."

Blake opened her mouth to respond but bit back her gut response. Getting angry with and shouting at her partner wouldn't accomplish anything. Yang was only looking out for her well-being so she should at least hear her out first.

When Blake said nothing, Yang continued, "We already have a plan of attack. We know what we're going to do next. I know it's hard but what we need to do right now is just take it easy and relax so that way, when the time comes, we can go in and go in hard. If Roman and the White Fang are at wherever we end up going, we need to be at the top of our game."

"I know that but there's still so much we don't know! If we can figure out what they're up to, we can stop them that much easier and maybe even that much quicker!"

"And I get that but we've already exhausted all of our other options. You won't be doing anyone any favors if you're a wreck come Monday."

"But I need to stop them as quickly as possible! I need to stop them before they hurt anyone! Roman's already escaped twice because of me, I can't let him hurt anyone else!"

Yang paused and looked down, searching through her mind for the right words. While she wanted to deny Blake's claim of fault, she knew that doing so would be a waste of time. She was a lot like Ruby and Shirou in that, once she decided to take the blame for something, convincing her otherwise was nearly impossible.

After a moment, Yang came to a decision and patted the desk next to her. "Sit down," she said gently. "Let me tell you a story." Blake looked confused but complied nonetheless. "I… nearly got Ruby killed once." Blake's eyes widened with shock but she remained silent. "You see, we grew up in this little place called Patch, a small island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were both Hunters; Dad taught at Signal while Mom did missions. One day, Mom went out on a mission and… never came home." Blake gently placed her hand on Yang's while Yang looked past the empty classroom before her and into her memories.

"It was tough. Ruby was really torn up over it but she was only, like, four at the time so she didn't really understand why Mom wasn't coming back. But Dad? Dad just kinda shut down. It was because Summer Rose wasn't his first love. His first was Raven Branwen; my mom. He wouldn't tell me everything but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow and that she'd left me with him right after I was born. No one had seen her since."

Blake tightened her grip on her partner's hand as her eyes widened again in surprise. "Why did she leave you?" she asked quietly, afraid to break the somber mood that had fallen over Yang.

Yang sighed as she turned her hand over to interlace her fingers with Blake's. "That's the question I've been asking myself every day since then. At first, it was all I could think about. I spent nearly every waking moment trying to find out more about her, about where she went, about why she went. Then, one day, I had a lead. There was a shack out in the forest that she used to visit; why, I don't know. So, I waited for Dad to leave the house before I put Ruby in a wagon and headed out.

"I walked for hours. I didn't know exactly where this place was beyond a vague direction and there was no real path. I was totally exhausted but I wasn't going to let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn't care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes… There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time— Dad had asked him to help look for us. My stubbornness should have gotten us killed that night."

Blake watched as Yang pulled herself out of her memories and turned to face her, her smile a touch melancholic. "I might not understand what you've been through, Blake, but I think I understand what you're going through right now. Pace yourself, Blake. Keep looking for your answers, keep trying to stop him to save others, but don't forget those around you. I don't want to see you killed."

This time, it was Blake's turn to look down as she thought about what Yang was getting at with her story. Despite Yang's statement at the end, she knew that, should she make the same mistake Yang did, it'd be Yang who'd end up hurt or worse. Yang or any of her other friends. They'd do everything in their power to keep her safe and she wasn't sure if she could live with any more blood on her hands.

After a long moment, Blake spoke up, "Even if I wanted to go to the dance, it's not like I have anyone to go with."

Yang's smile became a bit more tender at this, "Then why not go with me?"

Blake looked at her partner out of the corner of her eye, "As a friend or…?"

"That's up to you."

Blake was silent for a moment longer as a million different emotions pulled her in a million different ways. "I think I'd like that," she finally said as she gave her partner a weak smile.

Yang smiled a bit more fully as she pulled Blake into a tender hug which, after a moment, Blake returned. "Thanks, Blake," Yang said quietly into her Human ear.

Blake felt herself slowly relax for the first time in days as Yang's unusually warm body enveloped her like the world's most comfortable blanket. "No, I should be the one thanking you for putting up with me," she whispered back.

"I'm not 'putting up' with you, silly. You're my partner and my best friend. I'd do anything for you."

Blake hugged Yang that much tighter.

OoOoOoO

Emiya Shirou leaned back in the chair in his room, mindlessly staring up at the ceiling as copious notes lay strewn about the desk before him. It had been a very long day and so Shirou was trying to do some studying to relax but it wasn't helping. His thoughts were too consumed by Ruby's proposal and Ozpin's words. He instinctively wanted to deny Ozpin's words, to say he was living because he was doing exactly what he wanted to do, but a little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Tohsaka Rin was stopping him.

Thinking back, Shirou realized that Tohsaka had said something similar to him a lifetime ago. It was a conversation they had shortly after Shirou had summoned Saber. Shirou had told her, after some pressing, just what his usual day looked like and it left Fuyuki's Second Owner flabbergasted. When he confirmed that his schedule had been pretty much the same since he was nine, she became positively concerned. As if desperately grasping for one last shred of sanity, she had asked if he was at least enjoying himself. His confused response, for he had no idea what that had to do with anything, made her completely shut down and walk away.

After that incident, the conversation wasn't broached again until just before Shirou's disastrous date with Saber. Tohsaka had asked him why he was so insistent that Saber enjoyed herself and his reply of "Because she needs to have fun and see herself as more than just a weapon or a king" left her wide-eyed.

"So, why are you doing this?" Rin had asked, setting down her teacup.

Shirou had replied immediately as though the answer was obvious, "I need to save her."

"From herself?"

"If I have to." Rin had went silent at this for a moment, staring into her tea, before wishing him luck.

At the time, Shirou had thought nothing of that conversation, focusing instead on trying to come up with something resembling a plan for that day but, in hindsight, he couldn't help but wonder what had been going through Tohsaka's head. After all, Shirou and Saber were two incredibly similar people despite having been born about fifteen hundred years apart. Both held similar ideals and both were willing to sacrifice everything they were for the sake of others. Yet, despite this, Shirou had seen that as a flaw in Saber's thinking but didn't see it as a flaw in his own.

Though it took some time, this hypocrisy hadn't been completely lost on Shirou. As the Holy Grail War had taken a turn for the worse and he started losing those close to him, Shirou had realized that his ideal of saving everyone was truly impossible. It would cost him everything and gain others little, if anything. His sacrifice would, in the end, be just as meaningless as the ones he had seen during that terrible fire he had experienced ten years prior. As such, though it troubled him greatly, he resolved to place those most important to him above all others. So long as they survived, so long as Saber survived, it would be a victory.

Of course, even after devoting himself to selfishness, Emiya Shirou had failed to accomplish anything.

Regardless of that outcome, Shirou couldn't help but wonder if the position he was currently in was similar to that one. He would admit that he had resigned himself to the belief that he didn't deserve any of the happiness he had currently found. After his complete and total failure on Earth, he firmly believed that he didn't deserve anything. He had fully committed himself to carrying out Saber's ideals in her stead and save as many people in this bloody world as he possibly could. It was the only penance he could think of that was suitable for his failure and sin of survival.

Even in its final moments, the Holy Grail managed to have the last laugh and take away the only thing Shirou wanted.

That just left Ozpin's words. It was true that, as he was, Shirou was simply surviving rather than truly living. He never hung out with anyone. He never watched TV outside of the news. He didn't read anything that wasn't educational. The only thing outside of his kitchen that was superfluous was the shogi board he had purchased more for Blake's benefit on a whim and even that was currently collecting dust in his apartment. This fact is what had made Ruby's questioning of him nearly two weeks ago so awkward. Emiya Shirou firmly believed that he didn't deserve any happiness and thus he avoided anything that existed purely for that reason like the plague even more than he had on Earth.

This fact was the core of Shirou's current dilemma. He didn't deserve to go to the dance and have fun. Ruby Rose also didn't deserve to be drug down by him. Lastly, Shirou simply couldn't betray Saber's memory by going out with someone else. Not for the last time, Shirou lamented the fact that Ruby had explicitly asked him out on a date. Had she asked him out as a friend, he would simply see it has him doing this for her sake and would gladly agree much as he had when Velvet took him shopping that one time. While he didn't deserve any enjoyment, if he had fun in the process of helping someone else then he wasn't going to complain.

To put everything simply, Shirou had no idea what he should do. While he couldn't deny the truth of Ozpin's words, he also couldn't deny the truth of his own feelings. He still loved Saber will all of his heart and thus, while he did see her as a good friend, he didn't have any feelings for Ruby. While she was a great person and they got along well and she was no doubt destined for great things, to have romantic feelings for her would mean betraying Saber and betraying Saber would mean that the Holy Grail War and his subsequent survival would be truly and completely devoid of meaning. Clinging to that past, as painful as it was, was the only way to ensure that it meant something in the end.

A familiar tingle at the base of Shirou's neck brought his thoughts to an end as his bounded field picked up someone approaching. Sitting up in his chair, he straightened his papers and made sure that anything concerning the Moonlit World was out of sight as whoever it was knocked on his door.

"Coming!" Shirou called out as he got up. The vague scent of lemon told him who it was and Shirou was more than a little curious as to what the other boy wanted. Last he checked, Jaune's relationship was Pyrrha was going very well, so what would make him seek out his help instead of hers?

Things became infinitely more confusing when Shirou opened the door to find not only Jaune standing there but also a very embarrassed Ren. Given the fact that the latter was wearing only a pink towel and was slightly damp, Shirou could only guess that Jaune had caught his teammate exiting the shower before dragging him off.

"We need to talk," Jaune said resolutely before practically forcing his way inside, dragging Ren along with him. Jaune sat down on Shirou's bed, Ren somewhat awkwardly sitting next to him, as Shirou closed the door and pulled up his chair.

"What about?" Shirou asked as he gave the embarrassed Ren a sympathetic smile. Come to think of it, it was perhaps the most expressive he'd ever seen Ren be.

"You guys are my best friends," Jaune began as he looked to be steeling himself for something. "These past few months, I feel like we've really bonded. I may not know that much about either of you but, darnit, I consider you two to be the brothers I've never had!"

"And I you," Ren said with a nod and a smile as he sat aside his current embarrassment. For his part, Shirou simply smiled awkwardly at the declaration but neither of the others noticed.

"Which is why I wanted to get your advice on… girls."

"Girls?" Ren asked as Shirou fought down his rising apprehension.

"You see, I sort of asked Pyrrha to the dance yesterday and she said 'Yes' and I have no idea what I'm doing!" Both of the other boys sat in stunned silence for a moment as that revelation sunk in. Eventually, Ren groaned and cradled his face in his hands. "What‽" Jaune said in a combination of frustration and a bit of hurt.

"I owe Nora twenty lien. I didn't think you'd have the courage to do it," Ren revealed.

"Well, thanks for the show of confidence, 'brother'!" Jaune took a breath before continuing, "Honestly, you would have been right. It's thanks to Shirou here that I did."

"Me? I don't recall telling you to do this."

"You didn't but do you remember that stuff you said last semester right after our meditation training?" An expression of understanding passed over Shirou's face as Jaune continued. "Well, that got me thinking a lot and made me a better friend for her but, eventually, I realized that I didn't just want to be her friend or her teammate or her partner. I wanted to be something more. So, even though I was terrified, I took that chance. I didn't want to live with any regrets."

"That was very brave of you, Jaune. Most people in your position wouldn't have been able to say anything. What was it you needed our help with, again?" Ren asked.

"I don't know what I'm doing!" Jaune cried out as he threw his arms up. "I've never been on a date before! I don't know what girls are like! I don't know what to say or do or anything!"

"I'm honestly not sure how much help I can be here," Ren confessed. "I've never been on a date before, either."

"But you and Nora are going out, aren't you? You must know something !"

Ren's embarrassment about being in the hallway in nothing but a towel was nothing compared to his current embarrassment. He immediately looked away from Jaune and started stammering halfway between a denial and noncommittal phrase as his face started heating up. Feeling bad for his friend, Shirou spoke up despite his own lingering issues.

"I've… been on one date before," Shirou said as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's great! What was it like? What did you do? What can you tell me?" Jaune asked as he put all of his attention onto Shirou. Finally free from scrutiny, Ren gave Shirou a grateful smile.

"Well, I was in much the same position as you are," Shirou began, trying to focus purely on the happy memories and not on what came after. "We kinda just ran around all day doing things I thought she might like."

"How'd it turn out?" Shirou grimaced at Jaune's question as the memories came back. Jaune's eyes widened as he realized his mistake and quickly apologized. "O-oh, I'm sorry. I forgot."

"No, it's okay," Shirou brushed off his friend's concern with a shake of his head. Ren looked between Jaune and the melancholic Shirou but said nothing.

"So, uh, do either of you have any advice for me?"

Ren spoke first, "My best advice is to just be yourself. Pyrrha's clearly interested in you so it's not like you have to try to woo her." Shirou nodded in agreement.

"So, I won't mess anything up if I just be myself?" Jaune asked with a hint of doubt.

"You almost certainly will," Shirou said, "but don't worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes and, so long as you admit to them and apologize, Pyrrha should forgive you if she actually likes you. Which I'm pretty sure she does."

Jaune sighed and sat in silence for a moment as he absorbed all of this. After a time, he spoke up again, "So, what about you two? You guys going with anyone?"

"Nora and I will be going together as friends," Red said. Jaune gave him an incredulous look but Ren pointedly avoided his leader's gaze.

"I…" Shirou began only to quickly trail off. He really didn't know how much, if anything, he should reveal to his friends about Ruby's offer.

"C'mon, you can't tell me no one's offered. You're, like, the most popular guy in the school!" Jaune said.

"There's… been… an offer," Shirou said carefully, "but I don't know if I should accept."

"Why not? Do you not like her?" Ren asked, curious as to why Shirou was deliberately avoiding naming the girl.

"Well, I don't like her that way but…" Shirou's mind raced as he warred with himself. On one hand, he really didn't want to drag anyone into his problems more so than he already had with Blake and Velvet. On the other, Ozpin's words kept gnawing at him. Maybe he should try to open up a little more. "Ren, there was once this woman who I loved— who I still love— but she… died some time ago. Ever since then, I've been carrying out her ideals, the ideals we shared, to honor her. I just feel like, if I accepted, I'd be betraying her memory and that's not something I can ever do."

Ren sat in shock for a moment as Jaune nodded, what he had suspected being all but confirmed. Ren chewed on his bottom lip and appeared indecisive for a moment before speaking. "I know what it's like to lose a loved one," he said, his voice quiet. "When I was young, my village was attacked by the Grimm. Nora and I were among the very few that survived but my parents… weren't so lucky. While I can't understand exactly what you're going through, I can definitely understand not wanting to betray the memory of a loved one. I think you should accept the offer, Shirou. Even if you don't like her that way, you could still end up having a good time and, if your loved one was anything like my parents, she'd want you to be happy."

Shirou stared wide-eyed at Ren, not having expected this turn of events. While he knew very well that many towns on Remnant had fallen to the Grimm and that many people shared stories similar in nature to his own, his friends were generally so happy and almost carefree that it never once occurred to him that one of them could have been among that number.

While their experiences certainly weren't the same, how many people had Ren and Nora seen sacrificing themselves to save someone just for that person to then die shortly thereafter? How many people had sacrificed themselves so that Ren and Nora could keep on living? Shirou couldn't answer those questions and it wouldn't be right to ask. Still, the chances were high that both of those things had happened and yet both were still willing to pursue their own happiness.

Of course, even with that having been said, the idea of Emiya Shirou pursuing his own happiness felt wrong. He had attempted that once and the result had been Saber's blood staining his hands after he ran her black form through with Caliburn. In his mind, Emiya Shirou was someone cursed to consume the lives of others to extend his own regardless of his will. Someone like that didn't deserve any happiness. Fate had dictated the course of his life and could not be denied so the best option was to keep others at a distance to keep them from being caught in the inevitable backlash.

But maybe it didn't have to be that way? Ren was absolutely right in saying that Saber would want Shirou to be happy. Even now, as she forever awaits her next summons on the bloody hill of swords, there is little doubt that she wishes for Shirou to be happy. He could even feel Avalon thrumming inside of him as though in agreement with this idea.

It hurt. It was a painful idea. Every fiber of Shirou's being screamed out that he should not pursue his own happiness. But Ren was right. Ozpin was right. He didn't want to betray Saber's memory but perhaps he always had been. Perhaps he always had been betraying the last wishes of his loved ones. Perhaps he hadn't truly been living after all.

"I… think I will," Shirou said after a long moment. "Even… even if it doesn't work out, it couldn't hurt, right?"

Ren and Jaune both smiled at their friend, having watched a wide range of painful emotions dance across his face in the silence. Jaune had already seen beneath Shirou's mask but the experience was still a highly discomforting one. He could tell that his friend was far more troubled than he let on but he hoped that this would help him start healing or at least make amends with the past he seemed to blame himself for.

As for Ren, he always had a feeling that something was lurking underneath Shirou's geniality much the same way that he and Nora hid the pain they carried but he hadn't been prepared for the storm of raw emotion that he had just witnessed. Ren had always felt a connection with Shirou right from when they first met and this feeling had only been strengthened by the time they spent cooking together but now he knew that they were truly kindred spirits. He was capable of relating to Shirou on a level that the others, even Nora, simply couldn't and hopefully never would. He also knew that there wasn't a whole lot he could do to help Shirou that he wasn't already doing. By opening up and revealing his own past, he could only hope that Shirou might do the same in return. He could, to a degree, understand how Shirou felt and he knew that that simple fact could be a world of difference.

After Jaune thanked Shirou and Ren for the advice and Shirou did the same in return and the group parted ways, Shirou only had one thought as he collapsed on his bed and sent a message to Ruby via his Scroll:

Wherever she was now, Shirou hoped that Saber would forgive him.

OoOoOoO

Blake Belladonna sighed quietly as she stared up at Yang's bed. A quick look at the clock revealed it to be nearly one in the morning and yet sleep simply wouldn't come to her. Through the darkness, she could hear a gentle snoring coming from Yang along with mumbling and the sound of cloth rustling from Ruby as the young leader shifted in her sleep. Weiss was the only sleeper who was perfectly still and silent but a glance over at the heiress revealed a slight frown creasing her face, as was often the case. The loudest sound in the room by far was the ceaseless ticking of the wall clock. The sound was almost painfully loud in the relative quiet of the night to Blake's cat ears and every single tick of the second hand was like a mallet scattering her thoughts even further.

This was far from the first time that Blake had difficulty going to sleep even in the past few days. Such nights were a common occurrence to her lately but this time was different. Before, her thoughts had been consumed by the White Fang, Roman, and Adam. They dwelled on her past actions, her past mistakes, her past sins. They chased each other around as she tried desperately to come up with solutions to her problems, with ways to atone.

This time, however, Blake's thoughts were consumed by something that wasn't entirely new but had never received much focus from her. This time, her thoughts dwelled on her conversation with Yang earlier that day and what, exactly, her partner meant to her. Yang had left it up to her if they went to the dance as just friends or as something more and Blake was uncertain as to what it was she wanted.

Yang was a good person, of that there was no doubt. She was every bit as energetic as her younger half-sister but in a different way. She liked to live life in the fast lane, always tackling problems head-on and never second-guessing herself. She was troubled by her missing mother but she never let any of her worries slow her down or stop her from enjoying life. She was basically the exact opposite of Blake and she would be lying if she said she didn't find that at least somewhat attractive.

Then there was how supportive Yang was. She was supportive of everyone and had been since day one but she had been especially supportive of Blake ever since that incident at the docks. She did her best to encourage or help her whenever she struggled with something and always tried to cheer her up whenever she seemed down or troubled (which had been nearly all the time as of late).

Then there was all of the casual and friendly touches. Yang was literally a very warm person— it apparently had something to do with her Semblance— but she had a warmth that went beyond that. Even though Blake usually shrugged her off, she took an unusual amount of comfort from them. That hug that they shared after their talk had frankly been one of the most comfortable things that she had experienced in a long time. She would be lying if she said that there wasn't a small part of her that wanted to crawl into bed with the blonde right now and just let her hold her.

However, if there was one thing that Blake was certain of it was that she couldn't trust her feelings. She had felt something similar once before long ago with Adam. While it was different with Yang, the general idea was the same. She had felt inspired by Adam and attracted to his straightforward bravery and approach to life. He knew how things worked, he knew he didn't like them, and he knew what must be done to change things and make them better. She had been swept up in his overwhelming confidence in his cause and course.

In a lot of ways, Adam and Yang were similar and that thought scared Blake.

Blake knew that Yang was not Adam. What Adam was, and still is, doing was hurting innocent people and any improvement this resulted in for the Faunus was not worth the pain and misery it was causing others. Meanwhile, all Yang wanted to do was help people, enjoy herself, and find her mother— if not necessarily in that order. While Blake ended up disagreeing with Adam's choices, she knew that she couldn't disagree with most of Yang's without also disagreeing with her own recent choices. Even if not all of them were nice people, being a Hunter was a noble thing.

Despite that logic, Blake was still afraid. After how much Adam had hurt her both emotionally and physically, she couldn't help but be wary of any new relationships. It had been one of the reasons she had kept her distance from the others for nearly all of the first semester. She knew that the others would never do anything to intentionally hurt her unless it was to stop her from hurting herself in a far worse manner but it was still difficult for her to open up to them any more than she already had. She knew that her fear was irrational but it was still there.

Could Blake trust her feelings again? Could she let herself get close to others not out of necessity as she had with Shirou but merely out of desire? Could she actually let someone into her heart again? She certainly wanted to but she was just so afraid that she had no idea if she could.

The clock struck one am and Blake sighed again. Her thoughts were getting her nowhere, as per usual, and she really needed to sleep. So, she did what she had done every other night recently when she couldn't sleep:

She closed her eyes, focused on Yang's soft snoring, and let the sound lull her into slumber.

A/N: This was an interesting chapter to write for a number of reasons. While quite a bit of it is more-or-less the same as how it went down in canon, the devil is in the details and this chapter really showcases all of the little changes that Shirou's presence has caused. I also decided to have the girls actually narrow down where the White Fang could be because just having them be in a general area and having them go to the exact right place within that area is way too convenient for my tastes. Also, do keep in mind that Shirou is passing any information they find along to Ozpin.

Then, of course, there's the bit with Jaune, Ren, and Shirou. Having Jaune also go to Shirou here felt natural given their relationship so far in the story. It also gave me a reason as to why Shirou would decide to go to the dance with Ruby since, otherwise, he wouldn't have. For those of you who think Shirou telling them anything is out-of-character, any Shirou (sans Archer) is willing to make any sacrifice if it means saving someone else. Shirou was thus willing to reveal this much in order to save Ren from embarrassment.

Also, fun fact: The closing portion with Blake was written while the story was being posted. I realized that I really needed more stuff with Blake so I decided to make an omake. However, it was far too important for such and thus ended up in the story proper.

Speaking of which, have an omake!

Omake 7

Acceptance

After V2C9

Emiya Shirou sighed deeply, his breath coming out in a white cloud as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. Even with a projected Aura, it was an incredibly cold night and the fact that the sun had already set didn't help at all. Still, there was something that simply couldn't be put off any longer and required some degree of privacy so that meant it had to happen on the dorm roof. It was honestly rather amusing how many important events seemed to happen here.

After a few minutes of waiting, Shirou turned around when he heard the door open to see Ruby Rose making her way over to him. She was wearing her school uniform, surprisingly enough, but the somewhat sloppy way she was wearing it indicated that she had just thrown it on.

"Hey, Shirou. What's up?" Ruby asked as she got near.

Shirou swallowed thickly before speaking. Every part of him was screaming at him to not do this but he had already made his decision. "It's about your invitation," he began. Ruby looked confused for a moment before her face lit up in recognition. "First of all, I'm sorry about taking so long to get back to you. I had to talk with a few people first."

"No, it's okay!" Ruby quickly said. "I know it wasn't something you had really thought about or planned on going to so it's only natural that you'd need some time to think it over!"

Shirou shook his head but carried on. "Anyway, I'd like to give you my answer now," he said before bowing. "I'd be glad to go to the dance with you."

Ruby was silent for a long moment, Shirou's growing more anxious as the seconds ticked by, before she forced him to stand straight before throwing her arms around him. "Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes! Thank you thank you thank you!" she practically shouted as she tried to choke the life out of him.

Shirou was grateful for both his past experience with Velvet hugging him and the talk with Jaune and Ren he just had. The last thing he needed right now was to have another breakdown as he awkwardly returned the hug.

Ruby broke the hug enough to look at Shirou. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement and there was a slight blush on her face. "So, I'll see you at the port at 7, right?" she asked.

Shirou nodded as he forced himself to smile, "I'll be there."

Ruby hugged him fiercely again before letting go. "Thanks again, Shirou! Goodnight!" she said as she hurried off to tell Yang.

"Any time, Ruby!" Shirou replied.

Once Ruby was gone, Shirou's entire body sagged as his expression fell. It was great that Ruby was so happy but why did he still feel so miserable?