Picking Up the Trail

'Yang's acting kind of weird…' Jaune thought as he eyed the blonde girl laughing happily with her team as she teased her little sister. 'I mean, she's acting normally, but I'm not sure if normal is the right word to describe it.' He took note of her change of clothes, a yellow sweater that covered the entire length of her arms and a pair of jeans. 'It definitely isn't cold this time of year.' As Yang smiled, she subconsciously picked at her arms from the sleeves of her sweater.

'There it is again!' Jaune practically screamed in his head as he continued to stare at his boisterous bud. 'Has Yang always been doing things like that? Picking your nails is fine and I guess doing it to your skin isn't that bad either. But the way she does it without thinking is off-putting me here…' Jaune thought back to Weiss as he remembered the way she would bite her nails, until they were as perfect as all the other ones, with all her attention drawn to them. Never subconsciously. His mind then wondered to the forlorn Faunus of the group.

The cat enjoyed licking her lips that was for sure. Whether her heightened senses let her smell something that mere humans couldn't, Jaune didn't know. So he chalked it up to her own little habit. Ruby had a small twitch, it was barely noticeable and she didn't seem to mind, but on the odd occasion, her eyelid would budge and her head would jerk slightly to the side. It was actually kind of adorable. Nora was mentally unstable, that was by-far the most obvious thing to note and Jaune decided it was best not to think further on the subject.

Ren was clearly an introvert. Rare moments would pass when he would actually glare at everyone around him, even when they were all enjoying themselves and he was laughing along with them, he'd just stop, roll his eyes and get even more pissed than Yang when you touched her hair. Whether he secretly hated everyone or he was bipolar, Jaune was afraid to ask.

At one point after Jaune and Pyrrha became friends again and she started training him, Pyrrha found Jaune trustworthy enough to divulge one of her darkest secrets. Crippling self-doubt. After so many years of praise from her fans, Pyrrha had actually grown so worried about losing a battle that it overcame her psyche and any time she lost at anything she would have a small panic attack. Jaune helped her overcome this problem of hers for the most part, but it still lingered and she was less okay with losing than most people.

Jaune himself has serious self-depreciation; Jaune would always say that he cares about his friends more than he cares about himself. Not because they're the most important thing in the world to him (they are, but not the point), but because he hates himself more than anything. Most people who seem him fight would say he's dirt, Jaune disagrees. He would say he's the amoeba that lives and thrives off the dirt.

Basically, Jaune likes to think himself a small bit knowledgeable on the subject of mental illness and habitual ticks. So when he would see Yang picking at her arms or darting her eyes to everyone in the room as if they were watching her, Jaune knew something was up. Sadly, the direct approach never worked in these types of things and some reconnaissance was in order. Jaune would need to ask around for all the information he could get his hands on and the easiest way to start would be the closest.

'I hope I can find Ruby alone soon, this seems really important to Yang…' Jaune continued to watch the girl as she stared out the window. After following her gaze through the glass pane, Jaune realized Yang wasn't looking at something outside; she was looking at the reflection. 'She's looking at herself.' Jaune easily saw the pain in her eyes when she looked away and decided that he'd figure out what was up no matter what.

Classes were over by the time Jaune found the opportunity to strike and he held Ruby up at the door of Port's Grimm class before she could leave with her team. "You guys go on ahead, we'll catch up." He said to them and they all shrugged in reply as they continued on without them. Jaune turned to Ruby and told her to follow him. His voice held no room for disagreement and the two leaders made their way into an empty classroom to talk in private.

"What is this about Jaune?" Ruby asked as she leaned against one of the desks that littered the room. Jaune sighed to himself, having had all day to think up a way to approach the subject, Jaune didn't find one. 'Direct approach it is then…'

"Ruby, is there something wrong with Yang?" Ruby tilted her head to the side in honest confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked. 'Not direct enough.' Jaune sighed. "I mean she's constantly looking everywhere and always picking at her arm, not to mention how she'd stare at herself. Don't even get me started on how depressed she obviously is-"

"Stop it." Jaune stopped. Looking up, Jaune saw Ruby with her head lowered and her hands clenched. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Jaune…" Jaune's eyes narrowed and he walked closer to the trembling girl. "So this has been happening for a while, does the rest of the team know?" Jaune saw the look on her face and his eyes widened. "You don't even know, do you?"

Ruby let out a sob as she clutched her arms to her chest and cried. "She never says anything! Every time I ask, she just avoids the subject; I don't know what to do!" Jaune had been expecting this and as he wrapped the girl into his arms, his mind raced with thoughts on how he could fix a problem he didn't even know the name of. "Ruby, look at me." She didn't budge. "Ruby, if you want this problem to be taken care of, I need you to look at me first.

This time, the small girl complied and as she looked up at the blonde friend of hers, her head twitched to the side. This, of course, caused her to think things over and break down again, her head stuffed against Jaune's chest. Jaune could only sigh as he pressed the girls head closer to him began to whisper sweet nothings into her ear. After some time, the crying stopped and Jaune was simply rocking the girl back and forth. He then decided to try his luck once more.

"Ruby, look at me." She complied immediately and looked at Jaune with red eyes. Jaune sighed once again. "I want you to tell me everything you know about Yang Xiao Long. Everything. Even the things that may seem unimportant can mean more than the most traumatizing experience here." Ruby nodded slowly and for the next three hours, Ruby rounded off every single detail about the girl named Yang Xiao Long.

As expected, it wasn't enough. After Jaune said goodbye to Ruby and he returned to his dorm, Jaune collapsed onto his bed, his mind raging with thoughts on yang and what could be wrong with her. When it came to the details on what Ruby told him, she was lacking the when, the why, the how and most importantly, the what. She was basically as clueless as Jaune when it came to this problem, the only difference being experience and more instances where Yang's mood changed.

After all that Ruby told him, Jaune now knew that Yang and Ruby were half-sisters, their father being the common parent. Both of their mothers disappeared at some point. Ruby's on a mission and Yang's after her birth. Possibly causing abandonment issues at an early age. Ruby also informed Jaune that while they were growing up, Yang would frequently leave home to visit friends, but would never bring any home.

Either her friends didn't like her, or she didn't really have any. Ruby also told him that when Yang was going to Signal for two years without Ruby, she wouldn't be out for long after school ended, opting to come home straight away. 'Definitely no friends.' She then informed him that when Ruby herself started attending Signal, everything changed. Yang always acted like the happy-go-lucky girl when Ruby was around and she always knew it was a front.

But what yang was doing at Signal was just a massive lie. Everyone Yang spoke to hung off her every word and she basically had the whole school in the palm of her hand, although she never acted any differently. This was a cause for concern. How could someone manage to go from never talking to anyone and having no friends to being the idol of an entire school? The answer, whatever it may be, would bring Jaune closer to the question he needed.

Ruby told Jaune that for the entire time they were at Signal, Yang flirted with every guy she came across; made friends with every girl she came across and managed to keep anyone who wanted to hurt Ruby far away. 'Over-protective tendencies' Jaune thought as he continued his brain storm. Jaune was also told that Yang turned down every single guy that asked her out and that, as far as Ruby knows, Yang's never had a boyfriend.

'That's important, very important.' Jaune thought to himself as he went over what that would most likely entail. 'Self-doubt, mainly. She could think lowly of herself for some reason…' He then made it to the other end of the spectrum. 'Or, she could think that no guy is good enough for her.' Both were equally plausible and deniable, she may have just said no to the guys so she could take care of Ruby.

Another important factor is that Yang's violent tendencies began around this time. Stringing those two moments together could mean that Yang was angered by men asking her out, or the reaction the men had to being rejected. They'd be pissed, which would cast a negative outlook on how Yang thought of men in general. 'Great, ruin it for all of us, why don't you…'

Ruby noted that at this same time as well, Yang started acting differently. Her wardrobe changed to less revealing outfits, she spoke to less people, and she went out of the house less often. Ruby blamed herself, having come to the conclusion that her going to Signal caused some emotional distress in her sister. Jaune knew that would never be the case.

This was the turning point, one of these thing caused yang to snap. Perhaps it was all of them at once, Jaune didn't know. But he would. 'Let's see… Ruby begins studying at Signal; Yang changes her personality and turns flirty. Guys make advances, she turns them down and turns angry, she then begins to analyse everything, picks at her skin and hides her features. Why?'

The fact that he couldn't figure this out simply infuriated him. Jaune's friend was deteriorating into madness and there was nothing he could do about it. 'Alright, Ruby goes to Signal, Yang wants to keep her sister from worrying about her because she doesn't have friends. So she uses her talents that she gained from watching other people for two years at school and makes friends with everyone. Ruby stays oblivious and, although Yang doesn't want to hang out with these people. She needs to keep up appearances.' He stopped to think for a moment then nodded.

'After some time, guys finally work up the courage to ask her out and she refuses to give her more time to care for Ruby since she's basically acting as mommykins. Guys get pissed and begin to hate her, then Yang gets pissed at them for only liking her for her appearance and she…' Then it dawned on him, he wasn't sure if he was right, but it seemed like the most accurate description.

Picking at insecurities, watching everyone as if they're watching her, hiding her body, violent tendencies, it all pointed to the same thing. 'Yang hates her body and how she looks. She must know that she's beautiful and that's why guys liked her and that's why she's the way she is.' Jaune thought that idea over long and hard and realized if he isn't right, he's at least close to right.

'What was that called again? Body… Dyslexia? No, no it was Body Dysmorphia. That's right. Hating your body for how you look, or how you think you look.' Jaune almost laughed. 'No way in hell Yang thinks she's ugly. This is Yang! She's the hottest girl I know, even more so than Pyrrha, and that's saying something!' He cut his thoughts short. 'Damn it, Jaune. This is why she's upset in the first place, because she's so hot.'

Jaune made sure he'd remember everything detail he learnt this night before he went to bed. Phase two of this little plan is managing to get Yang to talk about it. Not an easy task in any way…

Yang woke up that morning the same way she did every morning, far too early, cold and in tears. She then proceeded with her morning ritual. Wipe her tears on her blanket, hop off the bunk and go take a shower. As she entered the bathroom, towel in hand, Yang took off her pyjamas and looked in the mirror. She had to fight back the urge to cry again. When she saw herself, all Yang could see were the imperfections. The pimples on her chest, the scars on her arms from fighting, every single freckle, her stretch marks and her God forsaken nose.

Every imperceptible detail was painstaking to her, people always say that she's beautiful, but they've never seen her whole body. They've never seen that her left breast is just bigger than her right, that her right canine is crooked, that she has scars all over her, sometimes from herself. 'They can never know how ugly I really am…' Her eyes scanned over her uneven breasts once more and she sighed.

'These are the only reason people even talk to me these days.' Her eyes continued to look over every part of her body as she ingrained the sight into her memory. As her eyes landed on themselves, Yang let a flicker of a smile escape. Her lilac eyes were the only naturally beautiful part about her that Yang could ever find. Most would say that Yang's hair was her favourite aspect, it is, but it's not her favourite natural one. Another thing most don't know is that Yang dyes her hair very frequently.

'People like blondes…' She thought as she looked at her hair and all happiness she gained from her eyes vanished. Yang sighed once more as she turned away from the mirror and entered the shower, her morning ritual now complete. Yang cleaned every inch of her body, as if simply washing her skin would drive the imperfections away. As usual, it didn't.

Yang stepped out of the shower and dressed in her uniform. Once she was done putting on her makeup, Yang looked at herself in the mirror once more. She then smiled as brightly as she could, it died immediately. She tried again, less bright this time and with more focus on the eyes. Again, obviously fake. After focusing for a few seconds and taking a deep breath, Yang put on her trademarked grin and looked in the mirror.

Not even she could tell it was fake.

Yang left the bathroom to find the rest of her team still asleep in bed; she decided not to disturb them and left the room to go for a walk. The moment the door closed behind her, another one opened and Jaune stepped out of his room. He looked up to see Yang standing in the hall way in front of him. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked as he saw the bags under her eyes that were barely hidden by her makeup.

Yang smiled with her usual grin and wrapped an arm around Jaune's shoulder. "Yep, dreaming of too many dirty things. You?" Jaune sighed as he plucked Yang's arm off his shoulder and looked at her with sad eyes. He remained in this position for longer than Yang was expecting before he closed his eyes and looked away and sighed. "Yeah, same with me. Too much dirt in this head of mine to get a good night's sleep."

Yang was fairly confused by his behaviour, but decided not to press him on it. 'We all have secrets to keep…' She draped her arm around his shoulder once more as she pressed her chest against him. The uniform wouldn't allow any cleavage to be seen but that doesn't mean you can't feel them. Yang was even more confused when, instead of Jaune blundering all his words and tripping over himself, he shuddered.

It wasn't the usual shudder of nervousness and pleasure either. It was as if he was disgusted. He removed her hand from his shoulder again and gestured to the stairs at the end of the hallway. "Want to go for a walk?" Yang nodded, making sure her smile never faulted and the two of them set off for the school grounds. As they neared the doors, Jaune pushed them both open and let the cold morning air into the building.

"Ahh, beautiful day, isn't it?" Yang could have sworn Jaune put emphasis on the word beautiful, but chalked it up to her tired mind playing tricks on her. She then decided to play with him a bit and hugged his arm with both of hers as they walked. "Yeah, it's perfect for a date." She could feel Jaune tense under his uniform when she did that and he slowly pulled his arm out of her grasp.

"Yep, too bad for us we're both single." He said with a slight chuckle. Yang knew that chuckle anywhere though, it wasn't his usual awkward one, this was a chuckle that someone would make after years of lying. Yang would know, she practically chuckles like that every day. Yang also knew that Jaune didn't have a girlfriend, so that wasn't what he was lying about. Perhaps it was his entire demeanour, the happiness and the camaraderie could be the entire lie itself.

Investigation was now necessary. "So, get up to anything interesting with my sister yesterday?" Jaune tensed immediately, she didn't even need to be in contact with him to notice it, she could see it. "No, not really. I just asked her a few questions." Another thing Yang knew about Jaune was that he couldn't lie. Not that he was incapable of doing it; it's just that his honour wouldn't allow him to.

There were only two things he would lie for. A promise, or something so big and important that telling the truth would cause catastrophe, such as his faulty transcripts. So Jaune would either tell her the truth, or she'd know that he asked her something important and he'd have to lie about it. Only one way to find out. "Such as?" Jaune nervously gulped, reminding her that this was still Jaune she was talking to, the nervous wreck that he is.

"Just stuff to do with her team, people and qualities necessary for being a good leader." Yang remembered that every good lie has a sprinkle of truth to them. Jaune wasn't lying, he was avoiding the question with more subjects, some of which had to be lies. Yang was about to question him further, when suddenly a wolf whistle was heard in the distance. After looking around, Yang saw a team of senior students staring at her and her eyes flickered red for an instant.

She then turned abruptly and started walking in the opposite direction. When a hand touched her shoulder, she spun around and prepared a number of profanities to scream at the person, but stopped short when she saw it was Jaune that had his hand on her. She was about to tell him off anyway, but couldn't when he suddenly pulled her close to him and hugged her. His hand passed over a strand of her hair and her quickly pulled it back, muttering a swift apology.

When he realized he wasn't a bloody pulp, Jaune tentatively reached his hand out again and pressed it against her hair. He was shocked when she began to literally purr. He began to shake with unconfined joy and glee at how adorable she was acting, but managed to rein it in when he realized she was on the verge of tears. He knew it would take more than a wolf whistle for her to completely break down and give him an opportunity to find out what was really wrong and help her.

'Her appearance is definitely what's causing this to happen.' Yang mumbled something into his chest and Jaune pulled her back a bit to get a look at her face. "What was that?" He asked as he looked at her blushing face. "I said if you tell anyone about this, I'll castrate you!" Jaune just laughed as he brought her back to his chest and began to stroke her hair. He wasn't surprised to find it so well maintained.

"I got it. Just know this, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on or…" His hand went from her scalp all the way through her golden locks. "A hand to stroke you. I'm always there to help." Yang mumbled something into his chest again but Jaune could tell it was a thank you. Or a shut up, both were equally possible.

After they broke apart, the blonde duo decided to go to the cafeteria and get some breakfast while they wait for their teams. That day, they both saw a part of each other that they could never lie about, and in some small way, they were immensely happy about it.