AN: I'M NOT DEAD! I am really sorry for the lack of updates for the last few months (even longer for this fic given how I focused on finishing A Rose by Any Other Name), I'm going to try to get back onto a schedule. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, a new chapter of Mystery of the silver eyes will be coming tomorrow.

BTW did you see the premiere on Thursday in theaters? Holy shit episode 1 is awesome. If you didn't you'll love it tomorrow/Tuesday if you're not a FIRSTer.

Troubles

Blake awoke to an initially unfamiliar sight, a bright yellow ceiling. Where am… right I'm at Yang and Ruby's house. After eating and drying her clothes, Yang gave her bed to the black-haired woman, opting to sleep on the couch, despite Blake's objections. Looking at her phone she notices it's about… 9 am? Oh crap, I'm going to be late. She jumps out of bed and throws her change of clothes on, she darts downstairs into the kitchen. There she is surprised to see Summer frying some bacon & eggs on the stove.

"Morning Blake." Summer greets. "Glad to see you're up. You hungry?"

"Sorry I slept late Summer it was a long night and I've got to…" Blake's ramblings is silenced as Summer steps in front of her path.

"Don't worry Blake, we've taken care of it. You came down with a bad cold and are in no condition to go to school today, at least as far as the school is concerned."

"I… but… Adam…"

"We'll deal with him later. We've got other business to take care of." Summer sets a plate of food in front of the Blake. "Primarily getting your stuff from the house, since I doubt you plan on living off 2 pairs of clothes, nor do you want to go back there." Blake shakes her head as she digs in to the food "He laid a hand on you Blake. I don't care what he says you know the truth, as do the Maidens."

Blake scoffs at that "Like they care."

"I know you don't believe me but they do care about you Blake. But this is not the time to debate religion. Do you still have your key?" Blake nods, motioning to the front pocket of her pants. "That's good. When does Adam go to work?"

"He doesn't. He spends his days drinking, either at home or at the bar."

"I don't see how the cops don't notice that."

"He's got one of his drinking buddies that 'pays him'" Blake uses air quotes "Every couple weeks to keep them off his back." Summer nods and stares off in the distance, thinking. "For what it's worth he usually…" She's interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Hold that thought." Summer gets up and walks over to the door, while Blake goes around the corner out of sight, opening it to reveal 2 police officers.

"Mrs. Xiao-long…"

"Rose. My husband took my name."

"Sorry. Mrs. Rose, we're looking for a young runaway, and were told she might be here. Have you seen her?" The cop hands Summer a picture of Blake.

"Is she in trouble?"

"Not necessarily. Her foster father is just worried about her." Summer scoffs at that. "Is there something you know that we don't Ma'am?"

"I just find it hard to believe that man would care about her at all." The cop raises an eyebrow. "Let's just say I've heard some… disturbing reports coming from that household."

"We are aware of the history that house has Ma'am. Is Ms. Taurus here?"

"First off, it's Ms. Belladonna, not Taurus. Second off, she is but I can't in good conscious let her go back to that house." Summer motions for Blake to come forward. Blake does so. "That man is abusive, you see this?" she points to Blake's eye, swollen and black. "That was courtesy of her 'foster father' last night. She ran to get away from him."

"Now Mr. Taurus says she ran into a door last night and..."

"BS," Blake interrupts "he's doing that to cover his ass."

"Look Ms. Belladonna I understand you're upset about your daughters' friend but right now it's your word against his, so we don't have enough…"

"When will there be enough evidence?" Summer yells "When she's lying dead in a ditch because she's outlived her usefulness to that asshole?" Even Blake has taken aback by how loud the mother of 2 of her best friends is getting. Summer gets upset, but she's not known for her yelling. "I am a teacher, and I will not stand by and let my student be abused."

"Ma'am you are not her legal guardian…"

"WHY CAN'T I BE!? I'd do one hundred times a better job than he would"

"You are not certified to Ma'am."

"I'M WORKING ON IT! I HAVE THE PAPERWORK TO PROVE IT. IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOUR SYSTEM IS SLOW AS HELL!"

"Ma'am I don't wish to fight with you. Mr. Taurus merely wishes for her to return by tonight. Otherwise we will be forced to bring her back by force and you will be charged with harboring a runaway. Am I clear?" The cop sternly states.

"Crystal." Summer says through gritted teeth. "Now I ask you to leave my property. I will personally make sure she returns tonight." The cops nod and leave, not before Summer slams the door behind them. She then returns to the kitchen counter and leans against it, rubbing her temple between her fingers, Blake looking on in worry.
"You're… not going to make them drag me back there are you?"

"No… I'm sorry Blake, stupid bureaucracy is slowing this down. We've filled out all the paperwork and someone has come to check us out. I don't know what's holding them up"

"It can take months, if not years for the process to go through. I'll be 18 before you go through the process. And even then, unless Adam is deemed unfit to foster me it's not like you can just take me from him."

"It's a start though. I'll make some calls, see if I can't convince them to speed up the process."

"I'm just glad they didn't bring up me using the check."

"Probably because they would then wonder where the hell the rest of the money went." Summer points out.

"Yea. Can I say though I've never seen you get that mad before, not even with Ruby and Yang."

"If anyone threatens to hurt my daughters they will face my wrath." She cuts off Blake before she speaks up "and before you say anything I consider you and Weiss to be as much my daughters as I do Yang and Ruby, you are a member of this family, and family means no one gets left behind, or forgotten."

"Did you just quote Lilo & Stitch?" Blake says with a snicker, a small smile coming to her face.

"It's true though Blake. Family isn't just those you share a bloodline with, nor does it have to even include those who raise you. It's who you choose to be around, who you are most happy with." She puts a hand on Blake's shoulder. "I promise you I will get you out of there as soon as I can. Just have a little faith, if not in the Maidens, then in me okay?" She embraces Blake in a tight hug, tears beginning to fall down her face "I couldn't bear to lose you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Rose."

Beacon High

I hope Blake is okay. Ruby thinks as she walks down the hall towards lunch. She could be in a lot of trouble for everything. No mom will make sure she's fine.

"Come on wimp can't stand a little pushing?" She's pulled out of her thoughts as she hears a voice she recognizes, and not in a good way. Rounding the corner, she sees Jaune getting shoved against a locker by a brown-haired man, about twice his size. Cardin Winchester is a senior and the captain of the football team, and a complete jerk to almost anyone he doesn't deem as worthy. Even most of his fellow football players, save for a few, can't stand him. Before she can even think about what to do she darts forward, using her power to ram into Cardin, knocking him away from Jaune and several feet back, the blonde's eyes widening as he sees what happens, before rolling back. "Oh, looky here, your girlfriend has to come save you. You'll pay for the Red."

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size Cardin? Or better yet just leave people alone?" Ruby shouts as the two of them get to their feet. Cardin quickly moves in, swinging his left hand in a hook. Ruby blocks it with her arm, and throws her own punch, which connects straight into the chest of Cardin, not even phasing the larger individual. Ruby is knocked back by another punch, hitting her straight in the nose, a sickening crack is heard as blood begins gushing from her nose, she's about to stand when a voice interrupts the 2.

"That is enough both of you!" the booming voice of the assistant principal Glynda echoes through the hallway, the blonde woman storming up and glaring at all 3 of them. "What is going on here?" all 3 participants in the fight start talking at once, trying to explain what happened before Glynda cuts them off "All 3 of you to the principal's office now." She hands a handkerchief to Ruby, who's nose is still bleeding fairly badly. "Keep this up to your nose Miss Rose."

Rose Household

The aroma of fresh-baked cookies seeps from the kitchen of the Rose household as Summer opens the oven, pulling out the metal baking sheet within.

"These smell delicious Summer." Blake says, "I can see why Ruby loves them so much."

"We'd best hide these from her when she gets home, otherwise they'll be gone within the hour." Summer says with a laugh, which Blake reciprocates. "I'll make sure you have some to bring…" she's interrupted as her cell phone rings. Pulling it out she sees the number of the school. "What did Yang do now?" she sighs as she answers it. "Hello?" there is a pause as the voice on the other side speaks, Blake unable to hear what they're saying. "Is she okay?" another pause. "Alright. I'll be there momentarily to pick her up. Thank you." She hangs up the phone and looks down with a sigh.

"Is Yang okay?" Blake asks.

"It's Ruby actually. Apparently, she got into a fight with another student." Summer shakes her head. "I've got to go pick her up. You want to tag along?" Blake nods and the pair make their way to Summer's van.

"I am very disappointed in you Miss Rose." Principal Ozpin says to the redhead finishing up staving off a bloody nose.

"He was picking on Jaune, I couldn't just stand there and not do anything."

"Yes, but attacking him like you did was not the correct option."

"I know that now." Any further conversation is stopped as the door opens, revealing an angry Summer. Ruby shirks back at the sight of her mother so upset.

"Thank you for coming Mrs. Rose."

"What happened?" Summer snaps.

"Miss Rose saw Mr. Winchester picking on Mr. Arc and decided to attack him. There was a brief scuffle in which Miss Rose was punched in the nose." Ozpin motions to the trash can full of bloody tissues. "The nurse said the nose might be broken unfortunately. You might want an actual doctor to look at that."

Summer nods "So I'm assuming she's suspended for 3 days, as per policy?" Ozpin nods "What of this Winchester? He did hurt my daughter."

"He will face the same punishment, with some additional detention given the injury Miss Rose has sustained. Now if you just sign here you can take Miss Rose." He hands Summer a paper, which she signs and hands back. "Oh, before I forget, Mr. Arc mentioned something about Miss Rose and I quote 'teleporting'. Do you have any idea about that?" Summer's eyes widen but she shakes her head. "Of course, he must have been seeing things. Thank you." The pair walk out of the office and to the van in silence, Ruby not wanting to say anything to upset her mother further.

"Mom… I'm really sorry I…"

"Ruby stop." Summer says with a stern tone. "Did you have a good reason to attack him?"

"Yea he was picking on Jaune. I was just trying to stop him. Then he swung at me." Summer nods as the pair get in the car, Ruby taking the back seat since Blake is sitting in the front.

"Hey Blake."

"Hey Ruby."

"Did you use your power?" Summer suddenly asks as she starts the car.

"I… might have." Ruby admits. "Jaune was the only one who saw though. I didn't mean to though… it just kind of happened. I only wanted to run into him."

"Interesting." Summer sighs "How is your nose?"

"It hurts and feels weird, plus it's hard to breathe through it, but the bleeding has stopped so that's a good thing."

"You do kind of sound funny" Blake admits, chuckling at Ruby's pout. "Let's be real though Cardin deserves a beating."

"From what I've heard I'm inclined to agree." Summer admits as the pair pull into the drive-thru of a fast food chain. "I'm assuming you haven't eaten lunch yet Ruby?"

Ruby shakes her head, a confused look on her face "No… but… Aren't you mad?"

"I'm disappointed in you for resorting to violence Ruby, but I understand why you did what you did. I always taught you kids to stand up for what you thought was right. So, I'm not mad, and no you're not in trouble with me. If I could I'd honestly fight your punishment at the school, but their hands are tied by the school board's policy. Just please promise me you'll be more careful about starting fights? I expect this from Yang not you."

"I will Mom."

"You hear Cardin got into a fight with some redhead earlier?" Yang overhears someone say as she walks into the cafeteria.

"Yea" another student replies "he clocked her really good though. She'll think twice before messing with him again. Apparently, she's friends with that Arc nerd."

Arc? Isn't that Jaune, Ruby's friend's last name? Yang thinks to herself. Figuring the punks wouldn't have much more info she sighs and grabs her food, before making her way to the groups normal table, surprised to see only Weiss there.

"Hey Weiss."

"Hey Yang. Have you seen where Ruby and Blake went?" Yang sighs for a second before filling Weiss in on what happened to Blake the night before. "That's horrible."

"You're telling me. Mom was absolutely livid when she heard. She didn't show it, but you could tell. She's staying there making sure Blake's okay and possibly to go pick up some of her stuff from there."

"That's good. If she can escape that hellhole, it'll do her a lot of good. What of your sister though? She isn't here permanently damaging my hearing."

"I was hoping you'd know. Mom dropped us both off today." As if on time Yang's phone goes off, signifying a text message. Pulling it out she sees it's from Summer "Whelp that explains it."

"What happened?"

"Ruby got herself suspended for fighting. Apparently, her and Cardin got into a bit of a tussle earlier. She's got a broken nose, they're at the doctors getting it looked at, as well as Blake's eye. I need to find my own ride home." She looks at Weiss, a puppy look in her eyes

"Yes Yang, I can have my driver drop you off as well." Weiss says with a roll of her eyes, letting out a startled yelp as Yang pulls her into a hug. "Unhand me you brute."

"Thank you Ice Queen." Yang says with a laugh, quickly pulling back before relooking at the text, her eyes raising as she does so. "this is less good though."

"Your sister getting into a fight is good?"

"Well… to some people maybe not, I'm just proud of my lil sis."

"Of course you are." Weiss says with a sigh

Yang shoots her a cheeky grin. "Anyways… what is troubling is apparently Ruby used her power when she tackled Cardin, which Jaune saw… or I guess didn't see given her power."

"That dolt can't go 2 days without spilling her secret, can she?"

"Apparently she didn't even intentionally activate it though, it might have been instinct. Mom suggests we all head over there after school and start some training, so this doesn't happen again. The cops swung by today and unfortunately unless Blake returns home tonight she'll be labeled a runaway and Mom could be charged with harboring her. I bet she has some choice words for Adam though."

"that'll be interesting. She might not be your biological mother Yang but sometimes I swear you get your intense anger from her."

"HEY! I mean… I don't know what you're talking about." Which Weiss responds to with a laugh.

AN: There we go, Ruby and Blake always getting into trouble. Next time the group will begin honing their powers in Unlikely Heroes Chapter 6: Trainings. See you then (I promise it won't be as long a delay).