I know some of you thought I was dead, but here I am. I was busy first with my studies, then with writing some other stuff. If that helps, I will upload a chapter of another story simultaneously with this one.

The room felt empty, despite not being that large and having no less than three people inside. They sat on their respective beds, all feeling like they needed to speak, but not knowing what exactly to say. The only sounds to be heard were the ones coming from the corridors and adjacent rooms, from fellow students who also felt like staying up late and didn't have quite the same problems.

"So..." Yang broke the silence. "I think we will understand each other better if we actually start saying stuff. Just an idea."

"I do appreciate your sense of humor, Yang." Jaune sighed as he massaged his palm. Normally he would watch his words better, especially with Yang, but he was too tired to care about that. "But I don't think there is that much to say."

"What do you mean?" Nora asked, audibly indignant. It really spoke volumes of how bad the situation was for her to get seriously angry. "Blake is out there, gods know where doing who knows what. What if she does something reckless and gets herself hurt? Cause that would totally be like her."

"For one, we have no means of finding her." Jaune pointed out. "Second, if we find her, she will just keep running, if only because she's afraid of us handing her over to the police. Third, I'm pretty sure handing over a dangerous criminal is a sort of thing we are expected to do."

"Hey, we don't know anything yet." Yang protested. "We heard nothing from her, don't know her side of the story. All you have is your assumptions."

"Yeah... I think Jaune is right on that one." Nora said. "Blake clearly wanted to hide something bad, and it wasn't just being a faunus. If it was, she would pick a better disguise. It's not like this ribbon was very convincing."

"It actually took me a few days to catch on." Jaune replied, almost wanting to smile in amusement. "But yes, she clearly doesn't have a clear conscience."

"Wait, so you guys knew about that faunus thing for months now?" Yang asked and, when she received no response, groaned painfully. "Great. It turns out I'm the only one in the dark about my own partner."

"It's not your fault." Nora said reassuringly. "But, you know, if you have any idea about where to look for her, now's the time to say it."

"Why do you want to look for her?" Jaune asked. He wanted to sound firm, though mostly came off as resigned. "I told you, it won't work."

"So you'd rather just sit there and do nothing?" Nora countered. "That doesn't sound like a good plan to me."

"Neither is chasing shadows." Jaune shot back. "In our case, literally. I bet even if we get to her, she'll just use that semblance of her to run away again."

"Even if it doesn't work, we need to do something!" Nora protested. "We are a team. And we cannot just give up while..."

Gentle knocking interrupted them, bring their attention to the dorm's door. Jaune considered the implications, but he saw no reason not to let whoever was knocking into the room. They didn't have anything to hide aside from Blake not being with them, and that would become common knowledge soon enough.

"Come in." Jaune said, loudly enough to be heard through the door and – hopefully – confidently enough not to betray his mental state.

The door opened and Jaune saw a familiar face enter. Lie Ren, in the same clothing he wore when they were out in the town, though with an expression that differed from his usual, stoic state. He seemed worried.

"Sorry for intruding." He said, his voice matching his face perfectly. "I just wanted to check if you were alright."

They weren't, obviously. But Jaune didn't want to explain the situation yet. Not when they still couldn't agree on what to do. "We're fine. We had an argument, but we don't need any help as of now."

Ren didn't seem to believe these words. He looked towards Nora, seeking either confirmation or denial. For a moment, Nora gave neither, simply sitting on her bed silently. Jaune wasn't sure what was going on inside her head, but he imagined she was conflicted between concealing information important to her teammate or telling her friend everything she knew. And he wasn't sure which one would be better.

"We don't need help yet." She eventually said. "I'll tell you when that changes."

"Alright," Ren replied. He then took his eyes off Nora and stepped back, as though to address the whole room. "I won't be asking for more information, even though I can see something is wrong. And I won't demand you ask me or my team for help because you would have done it already if you felt you had to. Just know that we are willing to deliver."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Jaune replied honestly. He appreciated both the offer of help, fully realizing how deep in mud he was and the promise of not pushing the subject.

"And Jaune?" Ren looked at him in particular. "I want to make it clear that we are not enemies. I'm not accusing you of anything, just saying it in case..."

"I get that." Jaune sighed. It wasn't the least surprising that Ren felt this way after he witnessed all these acts throughout the months, but it still felt unpleasant to hear him express it. Showed on how many levels Jaune managed to screw up. "I will not hesitate to call on your help."

"Though our team is still a better one, in case you wonder." Yang smiled, almost managing to not make it seem fake.

"Forgive me if I won't inform my teammates of this fact." Ren replied with a weak smile of his own. Even that disappeared soon enough. "Speaking of, do you want me to tell them anything or..."

"No." Nora cut in. "We'll approach you ourselves if we decide it's necessary. Just give us some time for now."

Ren didn't seem convinced, but he didn't protest either. Instead, he nodded and turned back towards the corridor. "Just don't expect them not to notice anything awry. They're not idiots, they will know something is wrong too when they see you being miserable like that."

"And here I thought we might be able to hide it." Yang sighed. "Just kidding. We know how bad it looks we just... don't know how to deal with it."

"If you need any help figuring it out, call me." Ren said before walking out of the dorm. Jaune wasn't sure whether to sigh in relief or weep at how bad things have gotten, so he just kept staring at a nearby wall.

"So I'm thinking..." Yang cut through the silence once they were sure Ren was gone. "Maybe we should get some help from other students? We don't need to tell them what's going on, just maybe check if Blake isn't simply staying in someone else's dorm? Cause then it would be awkward for us to worry as much."

Jaune wanted to point out that Blake's whereabouts weren't the only or even main reason they should be worrying and that finding her would not resolve the very thing that caused her to run away, but he figured he could at least encourage attempts to improve the situation a little.

"Yes, asking some questions wouldn't hurt. Just be discrete and all, it's better if others don't hear about Blake's past before..." Before what? Before they revealed it officially, or before they found a way to hid it better? "... some time has passed."

"Got it, boss." Yang made one last attempt at a joke, before tiredly standing up and dragging herself towards the exit. She closed the door behind her as she left, leaving only two members of Team JNBY in their common room.

"You want me to help her somehow?" Nora suggested. "I am good at asking questions a lot. And talking a lot, in general."

"I don't think that will help." Jaune shook his head, though this time he had to fight off a smile. Somehow, he found humor more appealing when coming from Nora. "And you already did help."

"In what way?"

"You could have ignored me and just told Ren everything. You sure looked you wanted to and hell, I wouldn't have blamed you. Maybe that's what I should have done."

"Maybe." Nora shrugged. "But that's not my call to make. You're the leader here."

"I'm starting to think that decision was one of Ozpin's worst mistakes." Jaune snorted. "Next to allowing me into Beacon in the first place."

"Hey, that's not a place for self-loathing." Nora chastised her partner. "Especially not the stupid kind. Yang wouldn't be a better leader than you with how emotional she is, and Blake... well, you see what's happening with her, even without handing her the steering wheel. No matter how you look at it, you were simply the best pick."

"What about you?" Jaune looked at his teammate. "You had to separate me and Blake just an hour ago before we killed one another. Don't you think you'd be..."

Nora chortled. "Yeah, I can imagine how well that would go. We wouldn't be arguing, because we would all be long dead by now."

"Why so?" Jaune asked. "I admit, you do have crazy ideas every once in a while, but you usually know how not to kill us all."

"It's not really about my ideas being bad. Creativity is one of my stronger sides, along with my combat prowess, the ability to see what's right in front of my eyes unlike the rest of you, my smoldering good looks... I'm really awesome now that I think about it."

"But...?" Jaune didn't have a mind for boasts.

"But I'm not good at making decisions." Nora's expression turned serious once more. "I only choose when there is no one else to call the shots, and I usually end up screwing up. I'm not assertive, or very good at strategizing for that matter."

"You have usually given me good advice," Jaune argued. "And I recall at least one example when my decision had us fighting a giant arachnid."

"Yeah, I can give advice. A better leader would have dragged you out of that cave by force." Nora smirked, but that only lasted a brief moment. "When we and Ren were traveling alone, he would make all the calls. We would talk about what to do, sure, but at the end of the day I'd follow."

"Ren doesn't seem very assertive either." Jaune noticed.

"He can be if the situation is bad enough. You know that when we first met, I was shaking my pants in the middle of a Grimm attack? Ren had to run up to me and save me before I could become dinner. That should tell you why I don't feel like leading a team against Grimm."

"Sorry for bringing that up."

"No sweat." Nora smiled, this time with no amusement. Only reassurance and a bit of sadness. "But the point stands. I can't make a decision for you. Not a good one, anyway."

"Can you advise, then?" Jaune requested. "I feel like I need all help I can get. And you admitted you are good at it just now."

"Well..." Nora didn't appear so confident herself. "I don't know enough about all the stuff you were arguing about to tell you what to do, but I know that argument got very out of control."

"That's my fault, isn't it? For not keeping my cool where I really should have."

"No! Well, yes, kind of." Nora said in reply. "Blake is annoying and she clearly had it out for you. Anyone would be angry at her. It's just... most people would lash out at her sooner in your situation."

"You're saying I didn't explode at her fast enough?" Jaune raised his eyebrow.

"You exploded because you waited so long, Jaune. I saw how you deal with emotions, or rather how you don't deal with them. You shut them out, try to become emotionless without actually dealing with how you feel. What happened at the ring was unlike you, but it sure as hell wasn't unexpected."

"I'm trying to be calm in every situation. It allows me to operate better."

"You're not and it doesn't." Nora countered. "There is a difference between being calm or focused and just forcing yourself not to feel anything. Do you know why Ren doesn't wear his semblance all the time? Because he realizes it won't make him into some logical superhuman or anything, but would simply wear him out after a while. Just like it will wear you out in time, if it hadn't already."

"I'm not sure if I buy it." Jaune argued. He wanted to dispute these accusations outright, say something about how emotions didn't get bottled up as many people believed them to, that it was healthier to just not let them take hold, but... he wasn't that sure of any of these things himself.

"Well, let me know when you make your mind up." Nora said as she lied down on her bed. "I think I need to catch some sleep for once. You should probably too."

"Right." Jaune sighed, before stretching out as well. He definitely could use some rest if he wanted to think clearly, but all the turmoil of the day made falling asleep pretty hard.

He tried tuning out all the emotions that kept distracting him, like he should have from the start. There was no issue, only possibilities of events that could result in some arbitrary consequence. Perhaps the man calling himself headmaster would expel his team from the institution called Beacon, perhaps he would have to interact with different people than he had thus far and maybe the person he called his teammate would cease to... live if she got herself into too much trouble...

Despite Jaune's best efforts, the peace failed to come. It was like he was shaken too much, or perhaps too tired to think logically. Too emotional. Too sentimental.

When he finally fell asleep, it was from exhaustion.

Blake was tired of running.

Not in an emotional way. Having to run off from her teammates was painful, but Blake wasn't exactly tired of it. It was, as far as she knew, the only way she could avoid getting arrested and imprisoned and she didn't regret it. But the problem with running was, it was physically, painfully tiring. She had spent all night strolling through Vale and now that the sun was shining once more, she was exhausted in more ways than one, with her legs aching and her mind dizzy. She needed someplace to rest, if only by taking a nap.

She didn't have any money on her, not that she had much in general. Beacon was the only place she could comfortably stay in, not having the fund to rent an apartment or a motel room. Searching for a homeless shelter was an option, but she didn't know where to find one and felt too embarrassed to ask random people about it.

She figured she would just walk into the nearest shop or restaurant and take a nap, for as long as she was allowed to stay. Luckily there was a pleasant establishment on the street she was walking on. A book store, it seemed, the kind of shop she would have liked to visit even if she wasn't half asleep. She didn't have much time for reading at the moment, but maybe just browsing through the titles would calm her nerves a little, make it easier to decide what to do next.

Entering the bookstore, she was glad to see there was no one else inside it. No one, save the shopkeeper that is, a large man who measured her up as we walked in, but otherwise didn't say anything. That was comforting after having confronted the crowds of Vale. Sadly, there were no sitting places there, which invalidated the idea of catching some sleep, unless Blake was willing to take the floor.

Still, she figured she could browse through the books now that she was there. There were a lot of them, full shelves of tomes from seemingly all genres. The titles ranged from simple and informative to long and poetic and some of them were just a little hard to read...

"Can I help you with anything?" Blake heard someone say. The shopkeeper, as she found out when she turned around.

"No no, I was just looking for..." What was she looking for? Oh right, she was just browsing. "Nothing. I can leave if you want."

"No, not all. I was just... hoping I could maybe help with something."

"Well, I don't need help." Blake replied, then bit her tongue for not being very polite. "I mean, I appreciate it and all, but I can handle myself."

"You sure?" The shopkeeper kept asking. "Nothing you wish to... discuss?"

"I don't think so." Blake frowned. She didn't know why this guy was so insistent; Was it just a bad attempt at a pick up line? She had no interest in some older man who looked like...

No. Something seemed familiar about him, his silhouette, those sideburns she could now see on his face. She remembered someone with very similar traits, someone who hid his eyes behind a Grimm mask and was wearing a white uniform of the White Fang back in the day. That meant she couldn't be sure for certain, but the similarity was definitely there.

Blake looked at the man's hands. They didn't look unusual at the first glance, but she recalled seeing the faunus with sharp claws that could be extracted at will, and it would make sense to hide those if you were a former terrorist. It would also make sense for the former member of the White Fang to recognize the defector from his brotherhood, and it would make sense for his eyes to widen as he realized he was being recognized...

"You're from the White Fang." Blake stated, taking a step back. When the man didn't deny and showed no surprise, she reached for the weapon. "Tukson, is that right? If you are here for me, you will have to..."

"Easy there, Blake." Tukson said, raising his arms to show that he had no weapons. "I left the White Fang a while back. I'm not looking for a fight anymore, certainly not with you."

"How did you recognize me?" Blake asked, not feeling too safe yet. "I only ever saw you in passing."

"You were always better known then you might think." Tukson replied. "First from your family name, then from working side to side with Adam for few years straight. Your departure was huge news in the entire White Fang, let alone the Vale branch."

"So you know I'm not with them. Why did you get so scared when you saw me?"

"Caution. I think my former comrades didn't appreciate me leaving and I couldn't rule out that you were... with them in one way or another."

"You think I would just change my mind? Rejoin the Fang?" Blake felt somewhat offended by such a suspicion. Leaving the White Fang was a tough choice, but she was sure of it, even if it didn't end up very well... no, it was the right choice. Adam went too far, and so did most of the organization. She couldn't just rejoin them, even if she didn't know what else to do.

"I apologize for the umbrage." Tukson bowed apologetically, showing that he was still at least a little weary with her. "But what are you doing here, if you're not for me?"

"I just came here to rest for a moment." Blake replied honestly. "I'm in a tough situation and just need a moment to breathe."

"I get that. If there is anything I can do to help..."

"Wait." Blake only now realized that there was, in fact, something she needed help with. "You were still in the Fang when I quit. You didn't leave that long ago, did you?

"I was hoping you wouldn't take me up on the offer." Tukson murmured. "But yes, it has only been a month or so. Why are asking?"

"There are robberies happening all across Vale. People say that the White Fang is involved, but that doesn't sit right with me. Do you know anything about it?"

"Not really." Tukson shrugged. "I don't remember hearing about any robberies not directed at the SDC, though I was never one to be trusted with too much information. Although there were rumors of Adam working with some shady humans, so maybe that counts for something."

"Does it? It's not like him to cooperate with humans for too long. And even if he made some deal, that doesn't mean the White Fang is behind these attacks."

"Frankly, I don't see what difference it makes." Tukson replied, grimacing a little. "We both know the White Fang did worse things that stealing Dust from shop owners. We killed people, Blake, directly or not. Why does it matter if those particular robberies were committed by the White Fang or not?"

Because it was how Blake's argument with her teammates begun. Because it was the source of contention and where her mind was. Because if she could prove

But that sounded way too petty to be given as a reason.

"If the White Fang is so bent on collecting Dust, they must have some use for it." Blake said instead. "I need to find out if and why they are doing this, for everyone's sake."

"I know you might be feeling guilty, or responsible for the things White Fang keeps doing," Tukson said, not being entirely wrong. "But I don't think you should be the one to try and stop them. Certainly not alone, and I can't help you much. You'll just get yourself hurt."

"I'll be fine." Especially if the luck was on her side and it was just some greedy criminals robbing all the stores. "And I don't need much help. All I'm asking for is lead, some idea of where I'm supposed to look for evidence. You left a while ago, but you must have some information that's up to date?"

Tukson didn't deny, but he didn't answer either. He didn't seem eager to give Blake what she wanted, but he must have realized that she wouldn't let go before she got it and that there wasn't any way he could get rid of her before then.

"They have a base in the docks." Tukson eventually said. "A large one, capable of containing all kinds of materials. If they are stealing Dust, I bet it's where they would hide it."

"So I just have to go to the port and follow any masked people I see." Blake smiled. "That shouldn't be too hard. If they are just impersonating the White Fang, I'll recognize it straight away."

"And if not, you'll be walking into a place full of dangerous people who consider you a traitor." Tukson wouldn't let her be too optimistic. "If you can't be swayed away from this, would you at least bring someone as backup? Not me, obviously, but maybe you know some other good fighters?"

"I don't have anyone." Blake replied, glancing away as she... not lied, not in any meaningful sense. She still had her scroll and could call her teammates, but there was no chance they would agree to help her. At best they would try to convince her to come back, at worst they would try to find out where she was and apprehend her. If Jaune was involved, he would likely manipulate her whatever his goals were. She had to work on her own for now.

"Well, I suppose this is your choice to make." Tukson sighed. "I just hope it works out for you."

"Don't you worry about me." Blake reassured the fellow faunus. "I'll wait until the evening and make my move. It will be over in no time."

Weiss felt tired.

It was sort of weird, since she had taken her regular dosage of sleep. Then again, the kind of exhaustion she was facing was mostly mental in nature and she still remembered all these hours spent with Penny. Even as she entered the cafeteria alongside her teammates, these traumatic memories still dominated her mind.

She shook the unpleasant thoughts away. It would be a while before she would have to deal with Penny again, or leave Beacon for that matter. Hopefully, at least. In any case, she would have time to relax and forget about the whole event, provided nothing reminded her of this...

"Um, Weiss." The leader of Team RRWP called Weiss, much to the latter's annoyance. "Remember what happened yesterday?"

Weiss turned to face Ruby, throwing her a stare filled with anger she couldn't be bothered to conceal. "Yes, Ruby, I remember you leaving me for dead. Thanks for asking."

"That's not..." Ruby paused when she saw Weiss' nostrils flare. "...what I want to talk about. I mean what happened a little earlier than that."

"Me falling to the ground while chasing a faunus thug?" Weiss recalled another unpleasant memory.

"Yeah. Well, not the falling part. I mean the faunus... guy part. The part of that part not directly related to you crashing into the concrete."

Oh right. That monkey man who they futilely tried to catch. It was easy to forget about him amidst other matters. "Ah yes. It is a shame we couldn't find him, but we must consider the matter closed. If he is a White Fang member, someone will get him sooner or later."

"That's the thing." Ruby fidgeted. "I don't know about that."

"About what?" Weiss asked. With a corner of her eye she could see Pyrrha and Ren moving along, like they were afraid of a fight breaking up, quite unreasonably at that. Weiss was only a little annoyed, not in a fighting mood. "About him being a White Fang cultist, us not having to worry about him or the certainty of him getting caught?"

"All three, actually." Ruby replied, not looking too comfortable either. "See, that guy... he's eating breakfast right behind you."

Weiss turned around, not believing what she was told. But indeed, on one of the nearby tables there was a man with blond hair, wearing a shirt that revealed much of his chest and gently wiggling his monkey-like tail. He sat alone, though didn't seem bothered by loneliness, happily enjoying his meal.

Well not for long.

"I'll get us some food!" Ruby offered before quickly stepping out of Weiss' way and running away, presumably to find a place with less murderously angry teammates. Forgetting about her team leader, or for the entire world for that matter, Weiss approached the faunus with murderous intent. Luckily for him, he noticed her approach before she could get a jump on him and start strangling.

"Something you need?" He said, calmly shifting in his seat to face the angry heiress. "You seem really... unsatisfied with something."

"You." Weiss stated. "You are the rapscallion I had to chase after yesterday."

"Oh yeah, I remember you now." The faunus replied. "It's hard to forget such beautiful hair, but I guess I managed that. Name's Sun, in case you're wondering."

"I'm not." Weiss snorted. "I'm mostly wondering what are you doing here, as opposed to prison."

"Hey, I didn't do anything that bad." Sun protested. "I just needed a way to get to Beacon, and I didn't want to wait with my teammates when all the interesting people were gathering for the tournament."

"...you're a student?" Weiss was so surprised she almost forgot to be angry. "As in, from one of the huntsman academies?"

"Haven. My team's the best of my year, or at least that's what we like telling ourselves. What did you think I was doing at the docks?"

"I don't know..." Suddenly, Weiss felt a yet different emotion come over her. Embarrassment. "There was a White Fang attack nearby, so I thought that maybe, just maybe..."

"Pfff." Sun rolled his eyes. "I'm not into racial supremacist cults, and I doubt Beacon would allow a White Fang member to just hang out in their mesa. I'm a good guy, I just like free rides as much as everyone else."

Part of Weiss wanted to point out how stupid it was to engage in fare evasion just to get to Beacon months before the tournament. It wanted to argue, to prove that she wasn't being unreasonable by almost falling to her death chasing after another student. But she realized that she kind of was unreasonable and, more importantly, that there were now multiple people looking at the two of them and that this conversation probably didn't make her look the best.

"I see." She gritted out. "Sorry for bothering you."

"Hey, you can bother me any time you want. I will never turn down someone as..." Weiss felt the voice grow dimmer as she strode across the hall. She located the table her team sat at, as they usually did, and took her seat without a single word.

"So..." Pyrrha didn't seem sure of what to say.

"If anyone tells me that I should take it as a lesson not to judge based on their appearance, I will unload my entire dust supply on you." Weiss said preventatively. "Or, if I feel particularly cruel, send Penny after you."

No one replied. At first, Weiss thought that she succeeded in scaring the bunch into silence, but that wasn't quite the case. everyone at the table seemed... down, bemused as though they suffered something themselves. The members of Team JNBY were at their places as always, but seemed far less cheerful. And in a lesser number.

"Where is Blake?" Pyrrha asked, voicing Weiss' thoughts. "She doesn't miss breakfast often."

"An exception that confirms the rule." Jaune grunted. Grunted. He didn't try to sound polite or thoughtful, he was clearly and plainly angry. He didn't act like that often, especially not in public where his image could suffer. He either was too bitter to conceal it or just didn't care.

That picked Weiss' interest, perhaps a bit of worry. She was no therapist, but the situation seemed exceptionally serious, plus the idea of having a partner in misery appealed to her.

"So..." She wasn't sure what to say, or even if Jaune would appreciate her saying anything. "Something is not working out for you, I gather?"

"I didn't have a good day, nor a good night." Jaune shrugged. "Did you? You're not in the best shape either."

"A little bit." Weiss admitted. "Though at least my team is complete. Do you really not want to tell us what is the matter?"

"Let's just say it's complicated." Jaune replied, avoiding eye contact for reasons all to obvious to Weiss.

"When people mean something is 'complicated', they usually just want to avoid explaining themselves. " Weiss stated. "Finances can be complicated. Weapon maintenance can be complicated if you have an advanced weapon. Arguments are rarely complicated."

"You think I just had an argument? That's it?"

"It is my best guess. You and Blake were at each other's throats for a better part of the semester, and since she isn't here..."

"Yes." Jaune cut in. "We had a fallout with Blake. You don't need to be a social expert to figure that out. But the details... well, they really are messy."

"Would you bother explaining them?" Weiss offered. She immediately realized that Jaune would never take her up on such an offer; it would mean giving her potentially valuable information, taking a risk without any gain other than an opinion he didn't respect, let alone...

"We were having a spar after exchanging some unkind words to one another. We then yelled at one another even more, which resulted in Blake running off. I can't tell you much more without revealing some of her private information."

Weiss blinked. "You already told me more than I would have expected. Any reason you feel comfortable with talking to me all the sudden?"

"I think it's just a change of perspective." Jaune played with his fork, betraying a level of nervousness. "You are less bitter about prank wars when confronted with serious matters."

"Such as?"

"Well, have you ever felt threatened while in Beacon?" Jaune unexpectedly asked. "Afraid that someone might target us even here?"

"Not really." Weiss replied. "I was afraid of Grimm killing me during the initiation, but not of anything in Beacon. It's a castle guarded by some of the best huntsmen of the generation. Adam Taurus himself would be killed in mere moments should he step in here."

"Right. But if there was such a danger? If you knew our enemies, or at least someone sympathizing with them was at Beacon, what would you do?"

"W-well, I suppose I would tell the teachers about it." Weiss replied, but judging from Jaune's grimace that wasn't the correct answer. "Unless it was not an option, in which case... I don't know. I would just do whatever's necessary to protect my teammates."

"Protect your teammates?" Jaune asked, as though Weiss spoke some strange words. "I was under impression you didn't care much for them."

"That's not true." Weiss replied, and not just because said teammates were listening in. "Sure, we might differ sometimes, but we are a team and must protect each other despite our differences."

"Even if your differences are really huge? Even if they concern things like worldview, or race, or maybe a shady past?"

"You are being awfully specific here." Weiss pointed out. "Though to answer your question, each one of my teammates has plenty of opinions different to mine. None of them is a faunus, but I don't think..."

Weiss cut off when series of gasps, accompanied by laughter, reached her ears from across the hall. She turned to see that, on the other side of the hall, four boys were surrounding a faunus girl. Not attacking or even getting physical, just bothering her in a way that wouldn't necessarily paint them as bullies, if there weren't the now infamous Team CRDL and the girl didn't have bunny ears that Weiss remember seeing painfully tugged on a few months back. And was that a plate lying on the floor? It was hard to see from the distance though the situation certainly didn't look particularly pleasant.

Weiss turned away, somewhat upset but not particularly bothered. The scene from the start of the year was even more serious and nothing drastic came out of it even then. Team CRDL were petty bullies that should be disciplined somehow, but that was a job for faculty. There was no obligation on her or any of her friends to mind someone else's business and no way to resolve the situation without... wait, why was Jaune standing up?

"What are you doing?" Weiss raised her eyebrows. It wasn't just her brother showing interest that was weird, it was the way his face darkened and his fists clenched that caused her no small bit of worry.

"Someone told me I'm supposed to let out my emotions every once in a while." Jaune explained as he walked away from their table. "Right now I'm feeling somewhat angry and I just found an outlet."

Before Weiss could say anything else, Jaune was already at the other table. Even as all the eyes turned towards him, he didn't say anything, nor did he stop. He kept walking, his pace unchanging and measured, until he stood face to face with the leader of Team CRDL, a tall and broad man stood quite a bit higher than even Jaune? Cardin, as Weiss heard him called. He wasn't the greatest of students, academically or combat-wise, but right now he showed no fear or desire of backing down.

"Hey Schnee, did you come here to join the..." Cardin said before being forced to cut off by the fist impacting his jaw and sending him flying backwards, after which he landed on a nearby table. Even from her position Weiss could hear a crack, one which she hoped was a table snapping and not a body part.

Everyone fell silent. Velvet was too astonished to react and so were, luckily, all the members of Team CRDL. They weren't the worst of fighters and some of them could probably take Jaune on their own, but they were all shocked and none of them was willing to make the first move against a guy who just punched out their leader. As for the rest of the hall, well, no one felt like it was their business and most certainly not like it was important enough to get a jaw-shattering punch of their own.

Fortunately for them all, Jaune didn't attack anyone else. He just stood there, not looking at anything in particular, as though in deep thought. Perhaps he was trying to understand what on Remnant got to him – Weiss sure was.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Nora suddenly exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and raising her fist up in triumph. "Nice punch at that. I would have done the same but, you know, decision making."

"What." Weiss requested an explanation.

"It does feel good." Jaune said, paying no attention to either his sister, nor any of the people around him. "And if you still think I'm the one for making decisions, I have a new one. We go out and search for Blake, right now."

"No longer worrying about the details?" Yang asked, though the smile on her face implied she wasn't too worried herself.

"We'll figure something out." Jaune said as he resumed walking, this time towards the exit door. Before reaching it he stopped in his tracks, as though remembering something, and turned towards Weiss and her teammates. "You can go if you want, by the way. There, a promise fulfilled."

"I do appreciate it." Ren nodded with a smile. It also served as a goodbye for Yang and Nora, who quickly hurried to meet up with their leader.

"Where are you even going?" Weiss asked, but at this point all three members of Team JNBY were too far to hear her. Or maybe they just didn't care.

"Good luck!" Pyrrha said, waving them goodbye. "I'm not sure with what, but I hope it works out for you."

"Hey guys, I brought you all some food!" Ruby said as she approached them, balancing several trays of food. "Where is the other team, by the way."

"Running away." Weiss said as she stood up. "I don't know what's up with them, but we can't leave them to it. Not with Jaune being potentially out of his mind."

"They did ask for help, after all." Ren agreed, also standing up. "If we follow them now, I'm sure I can keep track of them."

"Let's not be too hasty with it." Pyrrha said as she turned towards Ruby. "Does our team leader approve of us intervening in this situation."

"Um, sure? I don't know what's going on, but..." Ruby realized that the moment she spoke up, all her teammates half marched, half ran out of the dining hall. She then did her best to follow. "Hey, wait for me! You need me to, you know, make decisions and stuff!"

And so they departed, leaving an empty table and one very confused room of students behind them.

I feel kind of generic for including another 'Velvet gets bullied' scene in the story, but it sort of fits and I don't think Cardin has a lot of other targets now that Jaune wouldn't take it. And I had this scene planned out for a while, so it would feel weird not to include it, even though I'm not entirely satisfied with the effect...

Whatever. I can afford to take the easy path sometimes. Maybe something more profound will come out of this.