[RWBY] A Character Arc: Jaune Arc RWBY SI BS Revised

[digcat]

In a alternate world the fang doesn't actually do anything they are basically Blake's babysitters. Her parents have more kids and didn't want her to pass her crazy on to them. Adam was just her handler their relationship was all in her head.

 

[jgalue]

In a alternate world the fang doesn't actually do anything they are basically Blake's babysitters. Her parents have more kids and didn't want her to pass her crazy on to them. Adam was just her handler their relationship was all in her head.

Click to shrink...

Why does that sound so plausible considering how Blake is?

 

[Grrrrrrr]

Weiss: OK i'm buying everyone a spray bottle just for you.
Blake: That's racist!
Adam: No it's good thinking.

Click to shrink...

here's a austion, how likely
is it that a spray bottle was involved in a faunus' upbrigning?

 

[digcat]

here's a austion, how likely
is it that a spray bottle was involved in a faunus' upbrigning?

Click to shrink...

Probably more than any of them would admit.

 

[AJ_Talon]

Ozpin's office was quiet. It helped with my nerves.

"…And Lionheart's been a traitor for a while," I said. "Not sure when he broke or if he was always a scumbag. He says he was just a coward, but I was kind of emotional at the time."

Ozpin's face went grave. "Understandable. I would ask you to try and get your godfather to assist us in this matter. I don't want to move against Lionheart too soon and tip our hand. If he could give us intel on Salem's plans, we might be better able to deal with them."

"My godfather…?"

The memories arrived late, like a file that had been misfiled on purpose. I blinked hard.

"Yes. King Arjun Sarkara of Pandu?"

"Ah. Right. Sorry. I think the visions are messing with my mind…"

I only came up with like half of that worldbuilding. Why isn't my co-writer here instead of me? Oh well. Good to know, I guess. Maybe I was getting a clearer transmission from Remnant than Monty. Not that I want to be presumptuous and think I was the better writer, because I'm NOT.

Well he didn't really write but-Nevermind! Focus!

"Still… he's going to want Lionheart dead, since he probably had a hand in the coup that made him an exile and orphan in the first place. Exile-orphan."

Ozpin nodded. So my worldbuilding was even more accurate, huh? Geez.

"True," Ozpin said, "but he can be patient and cunning. He can keep control of himself. Or his wife will rein him in."

I paused.

"Speaking of… my parents and my godparents were a very powerful team, right?"

"Indeed. Expert heavy combatants and disaster relief specialists. I was very proud of them all."

"So… why didn't you make them your strike team instead of STRQ? Nothing against Ruby and Yang's parents and uncles… well, okay, a lot against Raven."

Ozpin steepled his fingers. "For a few reasons. Summer's Silver Eyes made her a natural counter to Grimm and Salem's agents. The others all had skills very useful as a covert strike team. Whereas your parents and godparents… were not covert. At all."

"But… my mom can shapeshift and Uncle Arjun is like a ninja archer—"

"Yes," Ozpin said dryly, "and your father is a wrecking ball in human form and your godmother fires death rays. Your mother can shatter buildings at full strength, and your godfather is, shall we say, very liberal with Aura-powered explosive arrows. Approximately eighty percent of their missions in urban areas ended in property damage so extensive the insurance companies had strokes. And of course, they also overthrew a dictatorship—granted, with the support of a multinational alliance, but overthrowing a government is not something anyone can call inconspicuous. Your family are many things, Jaune Arc, but covert and subtle are not among them. It's not much of a victory if in defending Remnant, you reduce most of it to rubble."

"…I guess I can't argue with that."

"Indeed. As for the Ever After, do you recall what fruit you ate?"

"Ummm… I think it was a mango? But again, it's all really fuzzy."

"So possibly a peach, then."

I stared at him. "…Was… was that a dad joke?"

"I think I'm entitled to make them."

"Fair enough. Joke away."

Ozpin chuckled.

"No, no. I believe I will spare you. After all, you have a date tonight."

I coughed.

"Yeah…"

"Not the girl you were expecting to go with?" Ozpin asked kindly. I shook my head.

"N-No… But then I didn't really get with anyone, and… She ended up with someone else…" I made a face.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"How did that go?"

I sighed.

"It was… A horribly toxic, terrible relationship that made no sense. Like demons decided to mess with their minds… And yet, the future-"

Ozpin stared at me.

"Do you like this girl?"

I nodded.

"Yeah… But this other girl, she likes me, and she died for me and-"

Ozpin held up a hand.

"It is your decision to go on the date or not, Jaune. You are making the choice. If you're willing to change the future, you must accept the consequences. And even with that power, you cannot control or see all ends…"

He slowly shook his head.

"But if you don't stop and appreciate what's around you, then there is no point to saving the world." An ancient pain filled his eyes, fathomless and deep like the ocean.

"It is just one date. How significant that is… Is up to you."

I slowly nodded, and let out a breath held tightly in my chest.

"Thank you, sir. I… I appreciate it."

Ozpin smiled gently, and sipped his coffee.

"Believe me… I know all about regrets when it comes to romance."

He would, at that.

---

Yang had dressed me. White shirt, khaki pants, black jacket, hair cut to her specifications. She swore it was fashionable. I swore simplicity was safest and tried not to look as nervous as I felt.

I smiled at my team in our dormroom. Nora and Ren were studying, and Pyrrha was doing stretches in a tank top and shorts.

"Well… I'm off to my date," I said. "Have fun."

Nora looked up from her book and beamed, waving at me.

"Sure! Have fun!"

Ren nodded to me respectfully. I looked over at Pyrrha with a smile.

"Don't wait up, huh?" I said.

Pyrrha paused, and smiled. It felt too perfect, too plastic.

"Sure thing," she said quietly.

Damnit…

I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah… Uh… Any last minute advice, Pyrrha?"

She stared at me. I coughed.

"I-I mean, I have had a girlfriend before but… You know… It didn't last and uh…"

Pyrrha smiled a bit more softly, wistfully. God she was so beautiful.

"Just be yourself and… Don't overthink things. She likes you enough to go out with you so… Don't push. Don't preen. Just be genuine and… She's sure to love the experience with you."

I chuckled softly.

"Yeah… Yeah. Thanks."

GODDAMNIT PYRRHA!

This was so aggravating. Damnit! All she had to do was ask! Or say something!

GODDAMNIT!

I took a deep breath.

"Well… Night." I turned and headed out, across the hallway.

I knocked on RWBY's door and waited. My agitation just got worse as my thoughts went into overdrive.

Shit. Should I have gotten flowers? Or chocolate? NO. No, this is just a friendly date. Ease up. Wait—the dating rules are different between worlds. What if she thinks I want to marry her? I mean… that would make sense in a civilization fighting Grimm that isn't totally wrecked by other nonsense. Crap, crap, why didn't original-me pay attention to anything but nerd shit and hunting history? Yes, it's cool that his great-grandparents took out an entire army. THAT DOESN'T HELP WITH DATING. And Pyrrha, damnit, Pyr-

The door opened.

Yang stepped out in a white dress and a stylish yellow jacket, and my brain briefly filed for unemployment. She was gorgeous-Like a goddess of war who had let her hair down. Her glorious, golden hair, the freckles on her cheeks, the curves of her body. She smiled.

"Hey."

"…H-Hey."

I offered my arm. She took it. We headed for the Bullheads, slowly, not really saying anything. It was quiet… Outside.

Inside my head…

OH MY GOD HOTNESS I WANT TO—urk. No. Calm down. CALM. Boobs are incredible. We are not going to stare at them. We are a gentleman. We are a disaster wearing a jacket-GODDAMNIT STOP ACTING LIKE YOU HAVE BOOB ROT-I MEAN BRAIN ROT-ARGH!

I did not look down her dress. I wanted to. I also wanted to live.

---

We went to a street carnival. Games. Grease. Lights. Yang won me a prize at the strongman booth by hitting the thing so hard the bell left the planet. I won her one back at the shooting gallery, farmboy muscle memory doing what years of video games only pretended to teach. We ate too much. We laughed too loud. For a couple of hours I forgot there was a Queen of Grimm and a girl in red who might still walk into a tower for me and a silver eyed girl who would off herself in a world of madness and… Yeah.

We ended on the Ferris wheel, Vale spread out under us like a sea of stars.

"…I had a really great time tonight," Yang said.

"Yeah. Me too."

I've been so used to school, training, trying not to panic. It was nice to just exist for a while.

She watched me sideways. "You don't relax very easily, do you?"

"I, well… I always feel like I'm behind. Like I need to work harder than everyone else, I guess. I don't want to let anyone down."

Her smile turned sad. "I believe you… I dunno. I—I'm not used to the men in my life being reliable."

"Oh… ex-boyfriend?" I feigned.

"Nah… my dad and uncle. I… I mean, I've kissed a boy or two, but I couldn't go any further. Not with Ruby to take care of."

"Oh…"

"So, um… thanks. Thanks for that. Being her friend."

I smiled. "It's not an issue. She's like my little sister, and I really care about her."

"Yeah…"

The wheel creaked. City light slid over her face.

Okay. Nice moment. I can't read her. Quiet isn't always angry. Quiet also isn't always yes. Or no, or-Why is this so damn hard?

"How about you?" she asked.

"Hm?"

She smiled. "Since we're on the subject… you have any girlfriends?"

"I mean… one. She was my neighbor, childhood friend. We were close, but… we decided we were better off as friends."

"Oh? Why?"

"I wanted to be a Huntsman. She wanted to marry a rich doctor." I shrugged. "And well… our parents were trying to push us together. My Nana finally had to step in and tell my mom off for trying to matchmake so hard."

"Big family?"

"Huge. I've got seven sisters."

"Seriously?!"

I showed her pictures on my Scroll. She laughed at the bad ones, which were most of them.

"Geez… and yet I had to dress you for our date?"

"Well, I wanted to match." I smiled.

"Yeah… heh… still…" Her expression went wistful. "It… must be nice. Having a big family that looks out for you."

"…Most of the time. There were bad times and good times. Fights and arguments and all that. But… I do love them. Even if we don't get along sometimes."

She nodded. "Mm…"

The ride ended. We walked toward the Bullheads. I reached for her hand, half expecting her to miss it.

Yang took it.

Okay. Okay. Calm down. Quiet doesn't mean mad. Quiet might mean she's into me, which is also terrifying, because Pyrrha is going to read this like a death sentence if I'm sloppy. I don't want her walking into that tower. I don't want her dying period. Would she still make that choice if I didn't know? Does she still like me with this wreckage in my head? Would she be okay with sharing? I DON'T KNOW. WHAT DO I DO?

"Hey, Jaune? You okay?"

I started.

"Huh? Oh, uh… just… thinking. A lot."

Yang chuckled. "Maybe you should cut down on that a little. I mean, I'm starting to think that you don't like looking at me~." She winked.

"No, no, I really like that… and the date… and the holding hands and uh… I liked it all. A lot."

Smooooth.

"Me too." Her voice dropped. "I dunno… I—I mean, I was the most popular girl in school back in Signal, and I had all these guys after me. But the second I started putting Ruby ahead of them, they fell away. I was kind of like the single mom, ya know?"

"Well, they were idiots. Because you'd be a great mom, Yang."

"I'll never be as good as Summer—"

"So? You'd still be great. I mean that."

She went bright red. "S-So… you think I'd be a great mom?"

Shit. Too sincere. Too sincere—

"Yeah."

Yang giggled, covering it badly. "Geez… You're way too blunt, ya know?"

"Well…" I shrugged. "Let's just say… I feel like life is way too short to not be honest. Even if I don't know all that I want yet, there's… Just no reason to play games."

She smiled and leaned over to kiss my cheek. "I get it."

I flushed. She then tensed. I frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Just uh… oh crap. I mean… um… I don't have to marry you now, do I?" She looked worried.

My eyes went wide. Like, almost Looney Tunes level.

"EH?!"

"Blake and Weiss looked up your family tree… royals tend to be picky about who they romance, right?"

"Arcs haven't been royals for centuries!" I sputtered. "We don't—we don't need to get married! I mean, if you wanted to, it's a bit fast! It—it's just been one date! Not that—I mean, if we go on more dates and we connect and—and stuff then absolutely but uh—I mean—!"

Yang burst out laughing. "Okay… I thought I was nervous. You're like this stoic snarky badass in a fight and now you're stuttering like a preteen! It's hilarious!"

Teasing me? Oh, I will not let that stand. Pride and hormones, unite!

I leaned in and kissed her.

She froze for half a heartbeat, then kissed me back. The world just fell away. There was just her mouth, her hand fisting in my jacket, the stupid dizzy fact that this was real.

We broke apart gasping.

"I… haa… um…"

"Oh… oh… wow… uh…"

SAY SOMETHING, IDIOT! My brain screamed.

"…Wanna go on another date?"

Yang blinked, then smiled, dazed. "…Yes."

"Cool. Me too." I smiled, because if I didn't I was going to say something dumber. "Night."

She nodded and slipped into RWBY's dorm. I turned, walked the few steps to JNPR, and tried to remember how doors worked.

Pyrrha was up. She smiled like someone bracing for a storm. "So… um… how did it go?"

Nora's head popped up from under her covers. "Did you suck face?"

"Nora, you're grounded."

She grinned. "That's not a no~!"

I sighed and shrugged with a little smile that wouldn't go away.

"We're going on another date."

Pyrrha winced. Nora looked at her, and suddenly things were less funny.

"B-But we're not getting married or anything," I added quickly. "Just friends having fun."

Pyrrha nodded slowly, the tension in her shoulders a bit less obvious.

"R-Right… right…"

If she would just SAY something. Anything. Goddamnit, how is she this meek? She could break me in half without trying. Her parents must be horrible. There is no other explanation. I shipped this. I still will not cash it in. I also will not watch her smile like that and call it fine.

"…Pyrrha? We're starting some special training."

She brightened on reflex. "Oh? What kind?"

"You'll see. But I expect you to do your best, understand?"

"Absolutely!"

"Good. I'm counting on you."

"You always can, Jaune."

Fuuuuuuck.

I am going to get her to be honest about her emotions if it kills me. And I will never let her kill herself for it... No matter how this turns out.

---

I had promised to teach my friends the boosting techniques Mom taught me, and I was going to make good on it the next weekend.

We'd just been buried under the week after the dock incident—detention stacked on detention, reports, lectures, Glynda's eyesight lingering on us like a curse. But there was at least a month before the rest of the exchange students arrived. Useful. Time I could actually use instead of spending it waiting for the next disaster.

I brought everyone down to Training Field 69.

Yes. Field 69. Nice.

It sat on the outskirts of the grounds, all broken stone and old ruins and boulders that looked like they'd been waiting centuries for someone irresponsible to punch them. Ozpin had let me pick it specifically because of the breakables. In particular, there was a boulder near the treeline the size of a few shipping containers.

This was our classroom.

Weiss had brought a fold-out chair and sat in it like she'd been sentenced to death. Ruby and Yang had brought a blanket, which was decent of them, and the rest of the group piled onto it. I took a breath and smiled.

"Good morning, class. I am Professor Arc, and I'll be learning you today."

Weiss made a noise of spiritual pain. "Ugh…"

Yang and Ruby giggled. Nora snickered. Pyrrha smiled like I was doing something admirable instead of making a fool of myself on purpose. Ren remained Ren. Blake just stared, notebook probably open in her head even if it wasn't in her hands.

"Right, well. You all know how to surge your Aura to increase the power of your strikes or to increase your defense. That's the basics of the basics. This technique is to boost your output using your own Aura. Think of your Aura like an electrical circuit—it flows through your body, going from positive to negative, negative to positive. It's always going, though. So in this case, what we need is a capacitor. Or maybe an inductor. It's a little hard to gauge."

Ruby leaned forward. "So how do you build up the energy?"

"First part of it is emotion. Focusing your energies. Usually you want positive feelings, though negative ones can fuel it too—they just attract more Grimm. Then you store this built-up energy in your external Aura shield, like so…"

My Aura flared around me until I looked like one of those old glow-in-the-dark action figures. I cocked my fist, pulled it back, and twisted my hips.

Weiss scoffed. "This is ridiculous…"

Please let this work. If I wind up and tap the rock like an idiot, I am never living it down.

"Then…! Once you've built up enough power… you let it GO!"

I swung. Hips first, fist second, the stored charge dumping out of the shield and down the line of my arm in one ugly, concentrated burst.

The boulder spiderwebbed like glass.

Then it shattered.

The sound was a cannon shot. Whole sections of stone sloughed apart and collapsed into a pile. Birds exploded out of the nearby trees like the forest itself wanted off this lesson plan.

I stood there breathing hard. Plenty of Aura or not, that much output still left my muscles screaming. The circuit analogy held: resistance, heat, strain. Aura could laugh at physics right up until the bill arrived. Weirdly comforting.

I turned back.

Weiss was gobsmacked, chair forgotten. Pyrrha looked proud enough to burst, color high in her face. Yang was red too—and hungry in a way that made my brain short a fuse. Ruby's jaw was hanging open, eyes locked on the rubble, a faint blush on her cheeks as well.

Why are they blushing? I punched a rock. That should not be a courtship display.

Blake's eyes were wide. Ren looked quietly impressed. Nora grinned like she'd seen the face of God and it sold pancakes.

Then she dropped to her knees and bowed.

"TEACH ME, VIOLENT LEADER! AND TOGETHER, NO PANCAKE PALACE WILL BAN US AGAIN!"

"Nora, you can't use the technique just for Pancake Palace. And anyway, the best way to not get kicked out is to behave yourself."

Nora pouted. "Hmph!"

She still looked like she was going to listen, which I decided to count as a miracle.

"Anyway, this technique was invented by my mom to not only hit harder, as you've already seen, but to boost your strength, speed, and endurance in general for short bursts. She used it to rescue people trapped under heavy objects, as an example."

Yang grinned and licked her lips. "Oh, I can think of a few ways to use it, Stud."

Ruby made a strangled noise. "G-Geez, Yang, ew!"

I was suddenly both interested and afraid for my life. I cleared my throat. Weiss flushed and scowled at Yang like public decency had been personally assassinated.

"Can't you two act like—like professionals for one minute?! Pyrrha isn't acting like some—some hormone-crazed idiot!"

Pyrrha went scarlet and cleared her throat. She had, in fact, been staring at me with uncomfortable intensity.

"Oh… um… Jaune, are you sure you want to teach us this technique? It is your family's work."

"I am absolutely sure, Pyr. This technique can let you save your lives, or the lives of others. I'm not hoarding it. But! You have to be responsible with it."

Look. I'm a gamer. I've watched a lot of anime. I am not doing the secret-clan-jutsu thing. If a short burst of extra strength keeps one of them from dying later, they can have it. This isn't Naruto. If we lose the Vytal Tournament, who cares? Alive matters more than impressive.

Weiss composed herself with visible effort. "Well… if you're offering it freely… it would be nice to have such an ability…" She made a face, as if gratitude physically hurt. "Thank you."

I smiled, softer. "You're welcome, Your Highness."

"Ugh… can you stop calling me that?"

"Would you prefer Your Worship?"

Yang barked a laugh. Weiss looked ready to bury me in the rubble I'd just created. Pyrrha hid a smile behind her hand. Blake was still watching like she expected the lecture to turn into another confession.

I clapped my hands before the class could collapse into chaos again.

"All right. Theory's over. You're going to learn the charge and punch, and we'll take it slow from there for anything else. If anyone tries the full dump on day one and tears something, my mother will appear out of thin air and kill me."

I went over the technique again and again until the field smelled like dust, sweat, and overworked Aura. It was a bit like ozone.

Ren got it first. Of course he did. His Aura rose and settled like it had been waiting for permission, every line of it clean.

"That's amazing, Ren!"

"Mm. Thank you."

Nora bounced on her heels. "Renny was the best student at the Pathist monastery we were at! The monks trained him and he was super good at everything!"

Ruby's eyes went huge. "Wow… like in those kung fu movies?"

"Yes…" Ren said.

"Yeah! He was good enough they were thinking of making him the new master!"

I blinked. "At your age?"

Weiss actually looked impressed. "That's incredible, Ren! To be offered that level at your age!"

Yang cocked her head. "So why aren't you off becoming a master?"

Ren's gaze flicked, just once, to Nora. "…I have my reasons."

Nora chose that moment to charge her Aura like she was trying to power a small city. It flared too bright, too fast—then she yelped and went down in a heap. Ren was beside her before the dust settled.

"GAH! Wha—?!"

"You gotta be careful, Nora!" I said. "Overcharge it too much and you can overload your nervous system."

She pouted up from the grass. "I do it all the time with Lightning Dust!"

"Yeah, but that's your Semblance."

Ren helped her sit. "It does mean you should be able to master it quickly. Here."

He talked her through it, quiet and exact. Nora went still in a way she almost never did, eyes locked on him like the rest of the field had stopped existing. The rest of us exchanged looks.

Yeah. It was pretty obvious why Ren didn't go on to become a Master.

Yang mastered the technique almost as fast. She banked the charge, grinned, and punched the nearest boulder hard enough to take the top half off in one clean smash.

I grinned back. "Very good, Yang!"

"Heh. Thanks, Professor Stud!"

Ruby groaned. "Ugh, with her Semblance it's super easy!"

Yang tossed her hair. "Well, that's why I'm amazing."

"Definitely," I agreed, "Mind helping Ruby and Weiss with it?"

She smirked. "Not at all!"

"I am doing just fine, thank you—!" Weiss's Aura sputtered and died with a sound like a wet fuse. "UGH!"

"Easy. Don't force it!"

Blake drifted closer. "Jaune, I'm having trouble."

Pyrrha followed, too quickly. "Um… I'm having trouble too, Jaune. Sorry."

I looked at both of them.

Neither of you is actually stuck.

"I'll help Pyrrha first, Blake. Work with Yang for now. She's your partner."

Blake's ears flicked. "…Of course."

What was that about?

I took Pyrrha toward the wreck of my original boulder. Yang watched us go. I smiled at her, small and steady.

After a second she nodded and turned back to Blake and Ruby.

"Okay…" I said. "Surge the Aura up… that's right… now anyone can hit like a truck, but can you focus the force of the blow into a small point?"

Pyrrha set her feet, breathed, and punched.

The next-largest boulder didn't explode. It accepted a hole the width of a coin and the depth of a bad decision. Stone dust drifted out of it like smoke.

I grinned despite myself.

Let's see you shrug that off, Cinder.

"Okay. Awesome!"

Pyrrha smiled, shy around the pride. "Thank you…"

"I'm just glad I can pay you back. You've helped me so much."

"Oh… your parents sent you techniques—"

"Yeah, but those came with conditions. You? You helped me freely. You unlocked my Aura. You're helping to make my dream come true… thank you, Pyr."

Color climbed her face. "…You're welcome…"

I let the quiet sit. "So… if you want to say anything to me… anything at all… go ahead. I won't judge you for any of it."

"I… well…"

I waited.

She flushed harder. "I… um…"

I waited some more.

"I… just really appreciate… your praise. Sorry."

"I mean… you should be used to it—"

"I am! I mean, sorry… I mean… from you it just sounds… different."

I nodded. "Well… you deserve it."

Say the rest, Pyr. I know it's there. I shipped it in another world and I still won't steal it from Yang. But I will not let you sacrifice yourself.

A small explosion cracked behind us.

"WEISS BLEW US ALL UP!" Nora bellowed.

"I DID NOT!"

Pyrrha startled like she'd been caught stealing. "Oh… sorry… we should go take care of that!" She bustled off toward the smoke, grateful for the exit.

I sighed at the rubble.

Okay. So I wasn't the best teacher at everything. Getting a confession out of Pyrrha Nikos was going to take more than one compliment and a punctured boulder.

I still wasn't going to let her die.

Yang had my heart. We were dating. That was the line.

Pyrrha had saved me and cared for me. That was the other line.

I could keep both. I had to.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Lol dudes got it bad.

 

[Despacitoleo]

Yeeeah baby actual romancital development

 

[jgalue]

You know, maybe one of the reasons Ozpin belive in what Jaune is saying is because how he is beheving, he is beheving like the typical oracle, a person while capable of seeing the future and is kinda not all there in the present, Jaune forgetting his uncle, be confused on some points and having the not important details wrong or inacurate is making him look like a oracle, from Ozpin point of view his information at first hand look either fake or manufactured by Salem, but the more he is talking the information look more credible, because of how he is acting in ways that if faked them that make him the best actor and liar in Remmant history and nevermind the fact Jaune come from a historiec family he has many dealing with the past and his parents were former students of his.

 

[AJ_Talon]

I stepped into a certain bookstore, dressed in a motorcycle helmet with a dark visor and a voice synthesizer. Even then, I could smell the place through the air filters. I loved bookstores, and this one smelled familiar and comfortable.

Leather. Paper. The quiet of a place that was tucked away, an escape from the world. Tukson looked up from the counter with a particular stillness, like he wasn't surprised.

"Tukson, I presume?" I asked.

He stared back intently.

"Who's asking?"

"I'm the man who is about to save your life."

His ears flattened. "…Adam knows, doesn't he?"

He was sharp. I slowly nodded.

"He does… but my employer is willing to offer you protection and safe passage to Menagerie."

Tukson let out a humorless breath. "I'm even more dead there than I am here. Ghira might be in charge on paper, but the Fang controls who gets on and off alive."

"Then we'll keep you safe and hidden in exchange for information. He knows places you can go. But you can't stay here."

He looked around the shop like he was already saying goodbye. "Yeah. I figured as much. Gonna need to close up shop."

"There's a car out back. Grab anything you can't live without and go."

"Beats getting killed by that pyromaniac."

He moved fast for a man who'd spent years among books. He picked up a bag, shoved money and a few knick knacks and random things in the office. Then he was gone out the back, and the car pulled away before anyone could notice. I followed, and headed in the exact opposite direction down the alley, past trashcans and stray cats.

I cut through to a second car, slid in, and pulled the helmet off. The city air hit my face. I let myself sigh only then as we pulled away. I looked at the back of the head of the driver.

"Will he be okay?"

Professor Oobleck, of all people, chuckled like this was a field trip. "As long as he doesn't try to murder anyone, yes."

"I don't think he will… he was more a numbers guy." I rubbed my eyes. "Thanks for this, Professor."

I didn't have to do this myself. Ozpin has people. Qrow has people. I could have written a note and gone back to breakfast. But I remembered a bookstore and a body and Blake walking into the aftermath like the world was just like that. Not this time.

And… I wanted to make sure I was really doing something. Ozpin had agreed, and sent me with a familiar face.

Oobleck's smile was thin and genuine in the rearview mirror. "Thank you for speaking up, Mister Arc."

"Yeah… well… when you get visions of the future and past and… whatever, you gotta do something about it."

Oobleck nodded.

"Courage involves more than swinging a sword. Trust me… I know." He adjusted his glasses, already vibrating toward the next problem. "Now, we have a trap to set!"

"Yeah… I just…"

The words stuck. Saving one bookseller didn't fix everything else. It didn't keep Beacon standing by itself. It was one man who got to keep his life because I opened my mouth.

It felt good, but against all that I had to handle… We had to handle.

Oobleck's voice gentled. "If it helps… you've given us hope. Something we haven't had in a very, very long time."

I watched the street slide past and didn't know what to do with that.

Fine. Change this one. Let Emerald and Mercury find an empty shop. Let Adam swing at air. One less corpse in Blake's story. One less thing I have to worry about.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "Hope."

---

Blake started acting weirder after the dock incident. Even for her. It really ramped up after the night I told Tukson to skip town, enough that I even I could notice.

I'd catch a flicker of movement on a rooftop, a shadow in a window, the sense of being catalogued like a specimen. Most of the time I never saw her do it. Ren did. He mentioned it once over tea, calm as weather, and that was enough.

So I sought her out, and found her in the Star Maiden Garden.

Yes. That was a real place here. One of the little names I'd made up years ago for corners of Beacon that barely existed in the show, and now I was standing in it: white stone paths, pale blossoms, a fountain with a hooded girl carved in marble like she was waiting for a story to start. Comforting, in a way. Also a whole other argument about fate and free will that I was not going to have with myself.

At least not in public.

Blake was on a bench with a notebook. She closed it when she saw me, which was as good as a confession.

"You've been taking notes," I said.

She stared back intensely.

"I'm trying to figure you out."

Well… At least she didn't deny it.

I sat on the opposite end of the bench, leaving her space. "That's flattering. Also a little creepy."

"You started as a goof." Her eyes stayed on the fountain, not me. "Someone I didn't really pay attention to. Then you figured out who I was. And while you're still fairly weak, and still bad at combat, you know how to fight. And how to plan."

I knew this might happen. The version of me she first met was supposed to stay simple. Harmless. Easy to dismiss. I'd already failed that.

"Everyone has hidden sides of themselves," I said. "I wasn't allowed to train to be a Huntsman physically. That didn't mean I couldn't train my mind. And when Radian got attacked by Grimm, I was still expected to help out."

Blake studied me intensely, like I was a puzzle she hadn't solved.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," I quipped.

Her ears flicked under her bow. "That's racist."

"Don't care."

Her eyes went wide.

"Yeah," I said. "Now what?"

"Y-You…!"

"Blake, I literally had a Faunus girlfriend growing up. And her big brother was a great friend. I have Faunus ancestors. You really gonna play this game? Because that's not how you change society for the better. That's how you shame people for not being part of a cult."

Silence. After a moment she bowed her head, the fight going out of her shoulders in a way that made me feel like a heel even when I wasn't wrong.

"…Blake."

I reached over and pulled her into a hug before she could slip away. She tensed immediately.

"Let go—"

"Just listen, okay? Your life fell apart and you're trying to rebuild. I get it. That's not easy, and I'm proud of you… but part of that is running into people with different viewpoints. You need to talk to other people. Befriend them. Get to know them. And you need to reconnect with your parents."

She was still against my chest for a second. Then a quiet sniffle. "You think you know everything, don't you?"

"No… just what you need to do. It'll be painful and hard… but if you want to make up for everything you've done, you need to do it. And I'm willing to help you… but you need to take important steps yourself, okay?"

The garden stayed quiet except for the fountain. Blake didn't answer right away. She didn't run, either. For her, that counted as progress.

Blake didn't leave. She stayed by the fountain with the notebook still hugged to her chest, watching me like I might split my face and reveal I was an alien.

Or at least that's how I think she looked. Nuance.

"How do you know so much about me?" she asked at last. "Some fanboy from when I was at home is one thing… but guessing so much of how I felt?"

The truth was ugly and unusable. I'd extrapolated from the version of her I'd watched grow from a cautious runaway into something flatter and louder, a character increasingly written as if she were always right and everyone else was scenery. That wasn't a conversation I could have.

So I gave her what I could.

"I didn't… but when your mom owns a hospital, you tend to meet a lot of people who are broken. Lost. I just made some educated guesses."

Blake's mouth tightened. "You act like you know me already…"

I shrugged.

"Heh… maybe we met in another life."

"Hmph. That's a terrible clichéd line."

Said the secret ninja princess with four people orbiting her and a narrative that later decided she was incapable of being wrong. I didn't say that either.

"You're right," I said. "I guess you just reminded me a lot of people who get into something awful and get out of it. A lot of them sink back into bad habits. You're trying not to… but you need to make real, firm steps to change, Blake."

She was quiet long enough that I thought she might walk. Then, softer:

"…Why do you want to help me?"

"Because it's the right thing to do."

And because in another version of this world, her choices helped destroy Atlas. Because a conversation with the wrong person at the wrong time, a refusal to work with the reasonable authority figure twisted into a villain, a city falling, and millions of people gone. If helping a basket-case catgirl with her family issues saved that many lives, I was going to help. Heroism, self-interest, guilt—call it whatever.

The work was the same.

"Plus… I want to be a hero. What kind of hero would abandon a fair princess in need?"

Blake stared at me. Then a small, unwilling giggle slipped out. "I thought you were dating Yang? Why are you flirting with me?"

I blinked. "Huh? No… geez. Not everything is romantic, Blake. Get your head out of your smut books."

Her cheeks went pink. The notebook lowered an inch. For a second she looked less like a revolutionary and more like a normal girl.

Good.

"Also? Yang and Ruby are worried about you. Even Weiss is. She'll never admit it, but she is."

Blake's ears lowered. "Weiss… it's complicated—"

"Yeah. I know. So uncomplicate it. Call your parents."

She hesitated. "I… I don't know if I can—"

"Blake… they aren't going to hate you."

"…That's worse."

There it is. Not fear of punishment. Fear of being loved anyway. Of having to stand in front of people who still think of her as their daughter instead of the story she's been telling herself.

"Right now they have no idea where their little girl is. If she's alive or dead. All they know is that last they heard, she was a terrorist under some very bad people who might do bad things to her."

"They… they weren't at the start—"

"Really? Because if I was a revolutionary and a thirteen-year-old girl—the daughter of my leader—came to join our terrorist group, I would send her home."

"It wasn't like that! I could fight—!"

"And they made you. A what, thirteen-year-old girl?"

God. Thirteen. I keep saying it because Jesus....

"I… they said I was brave—"

"They said what they needed to, Blake. Why do you think they kept you? Why do you think they used you? What do you think they told your parents? You were their hostage. Their means of keeping your parents from stopping them."

I hate this part. I hate being the one who says it. But someone had to tell her.

"N-No! No, it—it can't be—!"

"Did they ever even suggest talking to your parents? Once?"

"I—I don't—they said they took care of it but I never did and they told me… not to…!"

She was crying by then. Ugly, breaking-open crying.

I sighed and pulled her in again. She resisted, tried to slip, tried to throw a clone and vanish the way I knew she would. I pushed a brief strength boost through my arms and held on—not enough to hurt her, just enough that she couldn't outrun this conversation.

Sorry. I know. Running is your whole deal. But if I let you leave now, you'll file this under "personal attack" and never look at it again.

She kept crying. I stroked behind her ears without thinking about it, the same way that used to settle the cats back home. The same way it had settled Katy, once.

Don't make this weird. It's comfort. That's all. You're not her therapist, her handler, or her next bad idea. You're just the idiot who opened the door and now has to stand in it.

Blake sniffled against my shirt. "…I'm… I'm the worst… I'm horrible… I didn't see—"

"Blake, Blake. Look. That part? That's not your fault, okay? That was all them. Not you. You did bad things… but they put you in that situation. And you got out."

Hold the line. Responsibility without crushing her. If she decides she is only a monster, she will either flee or go looking for someone to tell her she was right all along. Neither of those ends well.

She rubbed snot and tears into my shirt and tie and kept going. I held her and let her. There wasn't a clever line for this. There was just staying put.

Yang came around the corner and stopped dead. I signed wait with one hand. She did, jaw tight, eyes flicking from Blake's shaking shoulders to my ruined collar.

Please don't take this the wrong way. Please see what this is.

Blake looked up at last, sniffling. "…I'm sorry…"

"…We'll call it even if you just call your parents, okay? Whatever you go through with them, I promise, it's not as bad as them not knowing if you're alive or dead. Believe me—if they know you're alive, that you're well? They will be happiest over that. You will make up for so much of what you've done just by doing that. Okay?"

One concrete action. Not a personality transplant. Not a thesis. A Scroll call. If she can do that, she can do the next thing. If she can't, I at least tried my best.

She was quiet for a long second. Then, shakily: "O… okay…"

She hugged me. I hugged her back, awkward around the notebook and the mess. Then she sniffled once more and vanished into the shadows .

I sighed in relief and sat back.

Yang walked up, frowning. "What was that?"

"Me trying to convince her to call her parents…" I looked down at the wreck of my shirt and tie. "Maybe I shouldn't meddle…"

Maybe I should have left it. Maybe every time I push the timeline I create a new crack I can't see yet. Every change I make might cause unpredictable outcomes in the timeline. But leaving her like that felt like watching someone walk back into a burning house because they can't deal with the real world.

"No! No…" Yang shook her head. "Look. I tried to get her to stop freaking out and running herself ragged. I didn't make her cry."

"Well yeah, you're better at this than me—"

"I mean you actually got her to agree to something. You got her to break loose. To… to be honest, ya know?" She smiled, small and real. "So… thanks."

I sighed. "Don't thank me yet. I don't know what she's gonna do next. I just… I wanted to help you and Ruby and Weiss out. And her too."

And Vale. And Atlas. And every nameless person who never got to be a main character.

Yang bumped my shoulder with hers. "Heh. Sure you're not cut out to be a doctor?"

"Oh hell no. I would lose my mind…"

The garden was quiet again. My shirt was ruined.

We went back to the dorms.

Yang shut the door, pointed at my chest, and said, "Hand over the shirt and tie. I'll clean it."

I blinked. "You don't have to—"

"Just give it."

I complied, because arguing with Yang Xiao-Long about laundry felt like a losing fight I had not trained for. She took the ruined shirt and the tie with brisk, practiced hands, then immediately turned pink.

"I just did it for Dad sometimes," she said, already heading for the sink. "It's no big deal."

Sure. No big deal. That's why your ears are red.

I leaned against the wall while she worked soap into the fabric. Water ran. We talked around it at first—class, Nora, whether Glynda was going to make the food-fight into a formal punishment. Then Yang glanced at me over the sink.

"So… when she isn't obsessing over White Fang, she was obsessing over you?"

"Hobbies, huh?"

"Heh… you got under her skin."

"I think we all do."

"Yeah, but… you were direct about it."

I watched the water turn faintly gray. "I just… she made Ruby cry. I have an issue with that."

Yang wrung the shirt out and pulled the ironing board from behind the door like she'd done it a hundred times. "Yeah, but… you take such an interest in her. Cat got your tongue?"

Oh geez. There it is.

"Yang… I just want to help her. And keep her from getting you, Ruby, and Weiss into another firefight with terrorists… and us from getting expelled."

"Yeah… well… she's also really pretty-"

I stepped in and took her hands before that sentence could grow teeth. We'd only had one date. She was seventeen. I had a head full of older wreckage and still managed to miss the obvious: of course she was going to worry.

"And we're dating," I said. "And I like you. Frankly, she's a drama queen, and I really don't want any of that."

Yang flushed hard enough that I felt it in her fingers. She recovered by going back to work—shirt over my shoulders, buttons, the tie knotted with more concentration than the job needed. Her face stayed bright red the whole time.

"Thank you, Yang… I really appreciate you."

"G-Geez… ya gotta say stuff like that?"

"Yes. Because you're cute when I do."

She punched my shoulder and laughed, nervous and warm, and I let her.

She looked really pretty like that.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

And another events disrupted. Can't wait to see the conversation with her parents. That was always hilarious