10

Ruby searched high and low, looking everywhere for her faunus friend and teammate. Velvet had spoken to shopkeepers, asking them if they'd seen Blake, but alas, the answer was always no. Ruby stood outside the shop, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of the raven haired girl.

"Thank you for your help." Velvet said, politely as she exited the shop.

Ruby turned to the rabbit faunus, hoping to hear good news. "So, anything?"

"No, nothing." Velvet sighed. They had been searching for hours upon hours and still had no luck in finding Blake.

Ruby crossed her arms in annoyance. "Damn, I guess we have to keep looking."

"Hey, Velvet." Ruby said, getting the brunette's attention as they walked through Vale.

"Yes?"

"I've been wondering, can another faunus tell who's a faunus from who's not even if they're hiding it?"

"Well, yes, we can. Why do you ask?" Velvet was curious as to why Ruby would want to know such a thing.

"Does that mean you know Blake is a faunus?" Ruby stopped and stared at Velvet, waiting for an answer.

"H-How did you find out?" Velvet faltered. Blake never told anyone except for people she considered close friends of her faunus heritage. Ruby might've been her team leader, but she didn't think they'd be that close already.

"Let's just say that I've known her for a while now." Velvet was about to ask how they met, but decided against it. Ruby took Velvet by surprise when she grabbed her hand and pulled the faunus along with her as they continued their hunt. Velvet stared at Ruby as she held her hand.

"I-I... Why are you h-holding my h-hand?" Velvet spluttered, feeling very nervous from the close contact.

"Please, it makes me feel safer." Ruby said as she bowed her head. "It doesn't work with everyone, only with people I really trust." Velvet blinked a couple of times before she looked away in embarrassment.

"I guess if it makes you feel better, I don't mind." Ruby sent Velvet a grateful smile.

The teens had asked everyone they came across if they had seen their friend, but the answer was always the same. Velvet had gone into another shop to question the owners while Ruby waited outside again.

"Hm..." Ruby hummed when she saw a rather fancy looking jewellery store on the other side of the street.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen anyone that matches your description." The owner apologized to Velvet before he went back to his business.

"I see, thank you for your help." Velvet walked out of the store, ready to tell Ruby the owner had no information on Blake either, but realized Ruby wasn't there anymore. She looked around and spotted her walking into a store across the street.

'What's she doing?' Velvet looked left and right, making sure no cars were coming, before she quickly ran across the street towards the store and opened the door.

"It would take at least a few hours to make your request." She heard someone say when she entered the store. She peered to her left and saw Ruby talking to a jeweller.

"I can wait for it." Ruby had told the man.

"Ruby, what are you doing here?" Velvet asked as she came up beside Ruby.

"I'm getting something made, but it'll take a while. Do you mind searching while I wait?" Velvet nodded before she left Ruby.

"It'll be 2 300 Lien each." The tall man said as he tallied the cost of Ruby's request.

"I don't care about the cost." The shop owner nodded and began digging around for the materials needed before he turned to the young girl.

"Is there any specific material you want?" Ruby pondered carefully before an idea popped into her head.

"I'd like one of them to have a black sapphire with a red chain."

"And the other one?"

"A black chain with a ruby."

The shop owner bowed slightly. "Very good miss." He walked into the back of the shop while Ruby sat in one of the chairs, waiting patiently.

On the other side of Vale

"Thanks, anyway!" Yang shouted as she and Weiss walked out of the store. "You don't really care if we find her, do you."

They had been doing a search of their own for Blake. Yang had never seen her sister look so serious before, until that morning she burst into the dorm saying they had to find Blake. Yang had whole-heartedly agreed to help her; Blake was her partner after all. Weiss had agreed to help as well, just not as zealously as Yang did.

"Don't be stupid, of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say once we find her. The innocent never run, Yang." Weiss spun and walked off. Yang stared at her back before she sighed and followed after Weiss.

"It's gonna be dark soon, should we go back?" Yang said when she caught up.

"I suppose we should. We can continue tomorrow if Ozpin lets us skip school so we can find her." Weiss said as they headed to the airship dock.

Vale Docks

Blake laid pressed firmly against the top of a building close to the docks. Her ears twitched when the boy she left Beacon with landed next to her. "Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"No, nothing." Blake said as she kept a vigilant watch on anything that resembled the White Fang.

"Okay, here I stole some food." He handed her an apple.

"Sun, do you always break the law without a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something." Blake glared at him which made him look away. "Okay, too soon."

A loud humming noise caught their attention. Looking up, Blake and Sun saw an airship slowly descending to the ground. Blake narrowed her eyes, watching closely as the side of the airship opened, revealing a figure in white and black as they stalked out of the airship and scouted the area.

"Oh, no." Blake whispered.

"You didn't think it was them, did you?" Sun asked.

"No, deep down I had a feeling it was them. I just didn't want to be right." They watched on as another group of White Fang members appeared. Blake's ears twitched when she heard someone yell; a bright haired man walking out of the airship.

"Come on, let's go! We aren't exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace!"

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human like him." Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud and jumped off the building.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun called out to her, watching as she disappeared from sight.

Blake silently ran by the Dust crates and watched as the man insulted a White Fang member. With his back turned, she took the opportunity to grab him from behind and place Gambol Shroud to his throat.

"What the!? Oh, for..." Torchwick sighed as he rolled his eyes. Realizing their boss' predicament, the White Fang members in the area pulled out their weapons and pointed them towards Blake.

"Whoa, take it easy there." Blake eyed the White Fang grunts surrounding her before she untied her bow, revealing her cat ears.

"Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?" They peered at the cat ears on top of Blake's head before they lowered their weapons.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" Roman said, snidely.

"What are you talking about?"

"The White Fang and I are going on a little joint business venture together."

"Tell me what it is, or else I'll put an end to your little operation." Blake held the blade closer to his throat. Again, that loud whirring noise filled Blake's ears as an airship appeared out of nowhere and hovered over them; Roman only smirked. Aiming Melodic Cudgel behind him, he fired a shot into the ground, the blast knocking Blake back.

Downtown Vale

"Thank you." Ruby paid for her items and left the shop. While walking down the street, she bumped into a familiar face. "Penny? What are you doing?"

"I'm going for a walk." She smiled at her friend.

"It is a nice day today."

"What are you doing, friend?"

"I'm searching for a friend of mine. She ran away and I haven't been able to find her since."

"Oh, no. Did something happen?"

Ruby sighed. "There was this big argument between her and my partner and in the heat of the moment, some words were said. Needless to say, things went way overboard."

"I hope nothing bad happens when you find them." Suddenly, a loud boom was heard behind them. They turned around to see smoke rising in the distance above the buildings.

"Grr! I don't have time for this!" Ruby groaned as she ran in the direction of the smoke with Penny following.

Vale Docks

Blake gracefully dodged the explosive shots that were being fired at her before she sprung to her left and hid behind one of the containers.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty." Roman clucked. His trademark hat dropped and covered his eyes as a banana peel fell on it. Grunting, he grabbed the banana and threw it away. He looked up, his eyes widening as the blonde haired boy flipped and landed on his face before pushing off.

"Leave her alone." Sun warned, turning to face Torchwick.

As if like clockwork, more White Fang lackies appeared as Roman rose from the ground. "You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you kid?"

The grunts charged at Sun, but unfortunately for them, he effectively blocked their attacks. Going on the offensive, he delivered his own series of blows to the poor saps. He unfurled his staff and countered each attack aimed at him. His recent counter had smacked a grunt in Roman's direction, who in return had ducked and fired a blast at Sun.

Sun quickly spun his staff and blocked the shot, a smoke cloud forming from where it had impacted. Peeking out from behind the crate, Blake had been able to see the smoke puff in front of Sun. Thinking on her feet, she bolted from behind the container and burst through the smoke with enough speed to make Ruby proud.

"He's mine!" Blake slashed at Roman, but to no anvil as he successfully blocked all her of attacks. Snarling, Blake increased the speed of her attacks, determined to land at least one hit on the mafia themed criminal. But it wasn't enough, Roman had blocked every single attack she threw at him. Roman had punched a clone of Blake before blocking another attack. He slammed his cane into her side, before following up with a sequence of strikes that had left Blake stunned as she fell to the ground.

Sun intercepted Roman with a kick, his staff collapsing into a pair of nunchucks made of guns. He sent his own onslaught of gun shells and strikes, but everytime time he swung, Torchwick blocked. Where the hell did he learn to defend like that? Criminal or not, Roman was good.

Having recovered, Blake rushed into the fray and knocked Roman away from Sun. While still on the ground, Roman shot a hanging container before he got up; the falling crate nearly crushing Sun and Blake as they dodged.

"Fuck! Whoa, where did that come from? Is that even a word?" Sun yelled.

Blake rolled onto her back, only to be met to face to face with the barrel of Roman's weapon. An arrogant smile was plastered on his face as he watched the fallen girl before him. That smile vanished, however, when he felt himself soaring through the air before crashing into a Dust container.

"What?" Blake whispered. She looked around her, searching for the culprit of that attack; her eyes widening when she saw Ruby standing next to her with her hand out.

"Hey, Blake. Hope I'm not too late." Blake smiled and accepted the younger girl's help.

"Ruby, when did you get here?"

"A few seconds ago. We heard an explosion then I saw smoke rising in this direction before we rushed over here."

"We?" Blake asked confused as she saw no one else with her.

"Oh, Penny, came along." Ruby pointed behind her as the green and grey clad girl came into view. "Rest for a while, I'll handle him." Ruby walked towards Roman as he recovered from the unexpected blow.

"Hello, Red, that was quite rude, you know."

"True, but if I hadn't done that, where would be the fun?" Ruby said as she charged at Roman. He swung his cane at her, but she ducked and jabbed him the stomach. Roman quickly retaliated by sending his own attacks back at her; Ruby countering each strike. Blake marvelled at the sight before her, it was an impressive display she had to say, an array of limbs clashing against one another as the two fought it out. She gasped when Ruby was slammed into the ground.

"Ruby, where's your weapon?" Ruby backflipped off the ground, barely avoiding the explosive blast Roman shot.

"Damn! I knew I forgot something!" Ruby gnawed on her lip, carefully watching Roman before she ducked behind a container. Roman sighed, twirling his cane as he casually walked towards little Red.

'I doubt it'll arrive in time if I call it. I really messed up, what do I do?' Ruby thought before a twinkle caught her eye. Behind Roman laid Gambol Shroud, ready for the taking. 'Here goes.' Ruby used her semblance and sped by Roman, the surge of wind from her speed leaving him slightly dazed as Ruby picked up Blake's weapon.

"I guess I'll use this if you don't mind." Ruby engaged Roman in combat once more as she rushed at him. Roman may have been able to block most of her slashes, but her incredible speed made it nearly impossible for him to block every single blow. Red had to be the fastest person he'd ever fought during his life as a criminal. He was snapped out of his admiration filled stupor when Ruby kicked him in the chest. Really, what was with these kids and kicking people?

Ruby marched towards Roman, all but ready to finish him. Until suddenly, bright lights lit up the night sky, the beams nearly blinding Ruby as she had to shield her eyes. Using this to his advantage, Roman hooked the handle of his cane around the disoriented girl's neck and pulled her closer to him, punching her in the face as he did. But he didn't stop there, he slammed Ruby into the cement before throwing her skyward, firing a round at her to seal the deal.

"Oof!" Ruby crashed next to Blake, smoke rising from where she was blasted. Blake quickly scrambled over to her leader, praying she was alright.

"Ruby! Are you okay?!" Blake cried as she cradled Ruby in her arms.

Ruby's eyes fluttered open, a weak smile on her face as she looked up at Blake. "It'll take more than that to take me down."

"Oh, thank Remnant, you gave me quite the fright there." Blake gazed into Ruby's eyes, liquid silver meeting amber. "You've saved my life again, thank you." Their little moment was interrupted when Penny walked by them, heading towards a large group of White Fang members.

"Penny, wa-" Ruby shut her mouth with an audible click when she saw a dozen blades emerge from Penny's back. Blake could only blink as she was incapable of forming any words.

An arrogant grunt lunged at Penny, but his strike did not succeed as her blades cut him down in an instant. She sent a flurry of her blades at a smaller group of grunts, the blades configuring into disk and knocking them off their feet.

Sun stared open-mouthed as he watched Penny single handedly take down her opponents.

"Woah!" He scurried to safety, hiding behind a container.

Penny turned around and saw three airships heading towards her, their guns ready. Soon a barrage of bullets were fired Penny. The freckled teen expertly spun her knives in front of her, block each round shot at her. Her backpack slid open, two blades firing outwards and lodging themselves into the closest building, yanking her towards it.

Now at a safe distance, her blades began spinning rapidly, a green energy forming in the centre. Shooting her hands forward, Penny fired a laser at the airships; the powerful beam slicing them in half with ease.

"Whoa, a laser." Ruby gasped in amazement.

In the corner of her eye, Penny noticed another airship trying to escape with a container filled with Dust. She was definitely not going to let that happen. Launching a couple of her knives at the aircraft, she walked backwards, all the while tugging the airship down with the thread attached to her weapons. The airship came crashing down, dropping the crate as it did.

Knowing when he was beat, Roman ran up the ramp of a parked airship, and cast a swift glance over his shoulder at the four teens before he entered the cockpit and took off in the aircraft.

"Well, I think I did a good job." Penny smiled.

Ruby, Blake, and Sun just stared at the girl from their respective positions.

Aftermath

Ruby and Blake sat on nearby crates while they waited for the police to arrive, both exhausted from their battle against Torchwick. Ruby looked at Blake before she pulled out a long box.

"Hey, Blake, I got you something."

"Oh, what is it?" Blake asked, her fatigue making itself known in her speech.

Ruby opened the box and pulled out a black pendant with a lustrous ruby in the middle. "Here, I had this made for you."

Blake held the pendant in her palm, ogling the beautiful pendant before Ruby gently took it from her and placed it around her neck. The action sent shivers down her spine when she felt Ruby's fingers brush her neck.

"Can't forget this part." Ruby grabbed her scroll and lifted up the pendant, holding it close to the screen.

"What was that about?" Blake asked.

"I also had distress beacon installed, look." Ruby pressed a button on her scroll and Blake's pendant faintly flashed in response.

"It lets you know if I'm in trouble." Ruby said, a smile that stretched from ear to ear on her face.

Blake stared at that smile; a smile that showed warmth and kindness, a smile that showed sincerity and genuinity. That was a smile Blake knew she could trust no matter the circumstance. She looked back to the pendant resting on her bosom, tears prickling the corners of her eyes.

"H-Hey, why are you crying?" Ruby panicked, worried that Blake didn't like her gift.

"Don't worry, Ruby. You're the first person ever to do something so kind for me. Thank you." Blake smiled as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Well, it gets better, I had another made." Ruby pulled out a similar pendant, but it was red this time and had a finely-cut, polished black sapphire in the middle. "It's the same as yours, but it lets me know when you're in trouble." Blake wiped her eyes before she wrapped Ruby up in hug, which she happily returned.

"You're great, Ruby." Blake whispered, her breath tickling Ruby's ear. She let go of Ruby and looked back to the pendant. Feeling Ruby's stare on her, she raised her head. "What is it, Ruby?"

"Uh... It's been awhile since I've seen them. Can I look at them?" Ruby asked as she fidgeted. Blake was about to ask what she meant before her mouth formed an 'o' when she realized what Ruby wanted.

"Oh, s-sure." Blake slowly pulled off her bow, letting her kitty ears out into the cold night breeze. Ruby wasn't able to resist petting them as they twitched whenever the air brushed them. Her hands were soft and gentle as she rubbed Blake's ears, a purr rumbling low in the faunus' chest as she was pampered. Blake leaned closer to Ruby, yearning to feel more of her touch.

After a few pets and purrs later, Ruby spotted Yang and Weiss strolling towards. "Hey, Weiss and Yang are here." The mention of Weiss' name waked Blake out of her pleasure induced state. She quickly got up and retied her bow before facing the heiress who approached her.

"Weiss, I just want to you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. When I was a kid I-"

"Stop." Weiss interrupted Blake. "Do you have any idea how long I've been searching for you? Twelve hours. In those twelve hours I've had time to think about this and I've decided..." Everyone looked worried, fearing the words that were about leave Weiss' mouth. "I don't care."

"You don't... care?" Blake parroted, her ears not believing what they'd heard.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I haven't been-"

"I don't want to hear it. All I want is, the next time something this big happens, you come to your team and not," Weiss paused, casting a less than pleased look at Sun. "someone else."

"Of course." Blake said as she wiped away a stray tear.

"So, since we're all sharing, would this be a good time to mention I was also apart of the White Fang." Ruby chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of her head.

"What!?" Weiss and Yang shouted in utter disbelief; Yang more so than Weiss. Where was she when this happened?

"You know what, we'll deal with that later." Weiss groaned, the tell-tale sign of a headache coming on as she rubbed her temple.