Chapter 16: Vindicate

Beacon Academy

Jaune recovered swiftly and was soon able to resume classes at Beacon Academy. He was told not to overdo his physical training, but the rest of his teammates were sure that he would do just that. As team leader, he felt responsible for all of them and in order to be the best leader possible, he needed to be as competent as they were.

But despite his return to the freshman ranks, the relationships in Team JPBY were awkward. With Blake's credibility all but gone, the way she was approached by everyone depended on their mentalities and their moods at the time of any given interaction, but everyone had found their own way of interacting with the faunus girl.

Jaune was professional, polite, and friendly, but he was not personal. Pyrrha did her best to be approachable and smile whenever her ninja teammate was close by, acting as the forgiving one. Yang's typical response now was to nod at her once with an indifferent stare, still not in the mood to forgive.

In the past, Blake might have found this sort of thing to be aggravating. Truthfully, she did find herself feeling that way, but more important than what she felt was the sense of guilt and regret that still loomed over her. She had come to realize just how much she had relied on her team leader during her brief but meaningful time at Beacon Academy. It was due to his kindness that she had managed to get away with what she did. Now she didn't have that kindness, only courteousness and wariness.

It was all on her to prove that she could be trusted.

So the girl with golden eyes began to throw herself into studying, training, and everything else expected as a future aspiring huntress. Whenever the team was out doing something together, she made a conscious effort to go with them and do her best to support them no matter how trivial the event was. She didn't particularly care for everything that Team JPBY did together, but she put aside what she felt and focused on what she had to do.

As Ruby had told her, it was the small things that added up which made the big goals more attainable. If Blake was being completely honest with herself , it was hard to understand this advice. Small things had never really worked out for her, so her focus had always been on the ultimate prize. Nevertheless, she didn't go back to her old ways because they had proven ineffective numerous times. Anything but her usual response was fair game as far as she was concerned.

On a side note, she and Jaune had become the subject of much talk thanks to their defeat of a Goliath. None of the other students had experience with such a dangerous species of Grimm, so the two of them were being barraged with questions about how to fight one, tips and tricks for an encounter, and their encounter with one.

The attention was annoying.

RWBY - - - RWBY

"Blake, it's time to get up." That was Jaune's voice and she felt a hand on her shoulder. "We've got training to do."

"Give me a second." Blake opened her eyelids and slowly rose from her bed. "I'll be out in five minutes."

As promised, she spent those five minutes getting dressed, fully waking up her brain, and then meeting with her partner. During the week, the two of them were doing physical training. Usually, one day was spent doing cardio workouts with running and sprints while the next day was used for calisthenics and other muscle-focused drills.

Although Jaune's time in recovery wasn't lengthy, he had been out of action for long enough that his physical performance had lessened. He was eager to regain what he had lost and then some. It showed when he went all out from the get-go only to burn out quickly after they went for endurance.

"I know that you want to get back into the action, but don't overdo it." Blake reminded him after finishing up a two-mile run. "Remember: start slow and get faster as you go on. That's how you'll get a faster overall time."

"I know." Jaune wheezed through his long and ragged breaths. "I just… don't want to… get… left… behind."

"Well, if you do know, then I hope you follow my advice next time." Blake offered him a pat on the back. "You were doing fine before. You'll get your mojo back."

Jaune continued to pant and try to steady his breathing, to which the ninja girl could only offer him moral support.

"You know, for a guy that claims to not be very competent, you have an incredible amount of discipline." Blake offered him offhandedly. "I think with enough time and effort, you could do anything you set your mind to."

Jaune didn't speak, still regaining his breath, but he regarded her with a questioning look, like he was trying to confirm what he said was her honest opinion.

"I mean, by all accounts, most people would've quit if they went through the same things you went through during initiation alone." Blake explained what she meant. "And for those that did stay, they would've walked out the door when they realized that the secret to getting strong is through study and practice, years of it, but here you are, still fighting. Why?"

Jaune raised himself to his full height, drawing air into his lungs, then answering. "When you've been a spectator in your own life, you eventually get tired of watching and waiting. You just decide to go for it, even if it kills you."

Blake hummed to herself as she processed his answer. It wasn't hard to understand what he was saying. Most people in the world weren't exceptional. Most people would go through life living an ordinary life according to society's definition of normal. However, being normal meant being boring and for some, that wasn't good enough.

"Then you're better than a lot of people." Blake said.

Jaune gave her a neutral look.

RWBY - - - RWBY

Pyrrha was given very simple instructions by Jaune: stay by Blake's side and watch her. What happened after those two conditions were met were entirely within her discretion, so the spartan decided that they would just talk about whatever subject came to mind, but she had no idea how to approach.

So she started off with a random topic.

"I've grown up in Mistral all my life." Pyrrha did her best to look at her current companion. "I know the kingdom as my home. It's where most of my memories were made. My early childhood had some of my best memories. I was just a little girl with a lot of passion and a desire to become a huntress."

Blake nodded, although it was unclear if she was digesting the words or merely motioning to show baseline awareness.

"But then I began huntress training." Pyrrha smiled sadly. "My mother always encouraged me to keep pushing the limits. I remember winning my first match. Those were much simpler times. I won and I was proud of it, but then I kept winning and eventually, it became less about winning for fun and more about winning for the sake of money, deals, and anything else involved in business."

Blake seemed to be paying more attention now, as in she was making eye contact and listening with clear intent. The redhead had no idea that her own life story was going to work so well.

"The fame, the sponsorships, the praise, the money, all of it I have and while I do admit to using all of these for my benefit, I would say that it has never truly made me happy." Pyrrha frowned. "Being at the top sounds wonderful to most people, but what most people don't realize is that when you're at the top, you're alone. You're glamorized, idolized, and immortalized. There are no friends at the top."

That was exactly why she had come to Beacon Academy: to get away from it all and start fresh. To a degree, she had managed to do just that. She now had friends, her fame wasn't nearly as suffocating, and she could move around with a certain degree of freedom.

"You probably don't relate to my story at all." Pyrhra laughed when she realized how much of a tangent she went on. "I know that most people don't."

"Being in the White Fang is its own brand of loneliness." Blake spoke out of the blue. "But instead of being made a goddess or an idol for people to look up to, you're villainized, hated, and condemned. When you join the cause, no matter when you came in, you were choosing to embrace a path that few could stomach."

This sudden reversal had the spartan giving a surprised look. Despite the somewhat depressing subject matter being discussed, there was a connection that was being formed.

Perhaps it wasn't the most orthodox conversational topic, but it was something at least. They were talking to each other, more so than they had prior.

RWBY - - - RWBY

Yang was only going to channel her time with Blake into one simple avenue of entertainment: combat. It was amazing the conveniences that aura provided. She could cut loose against her teammate and keep her whole, physically speaking.

And to neither of their surprise, the brawler was the one that always came out on top. There were some very close losses, but near victories didn't count for anything. They were still losses.

"Yeah." Yang's red eyes reverted into their usual lilac color. "That felt good."

Blake took a breath in. "That's entirely a matter of perspective."

"Quit your bitching." Yang crossed her hands over her chest. "If you want to beat me, do better."

"Which is exactly what I'm trying to do." Blake grunted as she got to her feet. "But every time we fight, you're going at me with killing intent."

"This training is my perfect excuse to vent." Yang replied with a flip of her hair. "But I'm sure you knew that already."

"I had an idea." Blake, despite wanting to respond with sarcasm, merely relayed her words with an even tone. "Are we done for today?"

"I guess so." Yang retrieved her scroll and looked at the time. "Yep, we'll save the whooping your ass for another day."

"Right." Blake got up and dusted herself off, noting some soreness in her legs. "I'll be feeling that tomorrow."

"You'd better feel it, sister." Yang gave her a light glare. "I just decked you."

To that, the girl with raven hair said nothing, merely drank from her bottle of ice-cold water and kept to herself.

Aside from fighting and trash-talking, there was nothing that these two ever talked about. They didn't hold any meaningful conversation, they didn't small-talk. Even small greetings and exits were something of a hassle between them.

Maybe it was going to be like this for a while.

Maybe it would go this way forever.

"By the way, you're never going to beat me with your swordsmanship." Yang casually mentioned. "You might want to ask Pyrrha about how to improve there."

Blake ceased what she was doing and gazed at the blonde with mildly surprised expression. Although there was nothing surprising about a piece of advice at this time, it was something that didn't seem like the sort of thing that the brawler would offer to her.

The ninja recovered quickly.

"I'll be sure to do that." Blake answered."I could use some more tricks."

"I'd better see some new tricks when we fight next time." Yang smirked. "Or I'll have to kill you."

With those last words said, the two girls returned to their team dorm with no more words exchanged between either of them. The blonde had plenty she could say, things that she wanted to say, but she kept her silence.

She was a team player and a professional. Her time to vent was over. The next time she was the babysitter, she would get her chance again.

For now, some time with her partner and team leader sounded good.

RWBY - - - RWBY

"You shaved off a minute." Blake noted the stop watch in her hand. "You are getting better."

"Good." Jaune gasped for breath. "Now I need to get off another minute."

"You can do that next week." Blake curbed his impatience. "I know you want to hurry it up, but you can only do that so much before your body gives in."

"I know, I know." Jaune wiped sweat from his brow. "I can't help it, okay? I'm the leader of the team. I have responsibilities to you all. I need to get stronger so that I can look you all in the eye and say that I've earned my right to be here."

"You've already done that in our eyes." Blake squeezed his shoulder. "Pyrrha has never doubted your leadership once. Yang actually likes your insane ideas. As for me, well, you know how that works."

Jaune gave her a look, somewhere in between acceptance and doubt. She was going in the right direction. She just needed to encourage him a little more.

"I believe that you guys believe in me, but remember why I came here in the first place?" Jaune brought his concerns to the forefront. "I came to Beacon for myself, to prove to myself that I was worthy. Until my own combat abilities are at the level of you three, I can't stop training."

"You worry too much." Blake leaned in closer. "You're going to be a find huntsman. Just be patient. I know from experience that pushing too far can get you hurt, and even killed for some people."

Again, his face wavered between what he knew in his heart and what his mind was telling him. He stared at the ground with a longing expression.

"I just want to be useful." Jaune sighed, then hardened his features. "My abilities right now don't extend that far."

"They extend far enough." Blake affirmed with conviction. "And with all of us helping you, they'll extend even further."

That seemed to snap him out of his self-deprecating thoughts. He looked her in the eye, as if to confirm that what she said was truly genuine. She matched his stare with her own, not wanting to give him a reason to doubt him.

Eventually, he looked away and nodded his head once. For now, he was placated, but she had a feeling that the only way he would ever truly get out of his own doubt was him getting more experience.

Which was strange. Having killed a Goliath together, Blake would've thought that Jaune would be a lot more confident in himself, but instead he was pushing harder than ever before. She didn't talk much about that fight, but even she felt a tinge of pride at having beaten back something that powerful.

Whatever the case, she had to do her part to make sure her team leader was at his peak performance. She couldn't lead like him, not in a million years, but she could provide him with guidance and mentor him.

RWBY - - - RWBY

Pyrrha was an absolute beast in combat, not that this was news to anyone who knew about the spartan. Her name was known throughout all of Remnant. Literally, there was no teenager out there with as much fame as her.

But more important than what people said about her combat abilities was what she actually did in combat. In many cases when it came to fighting legends, stories were overexaggerated to an insane degree, but in the case of the four-time Mistral Tournament Champion, the stories were all true.

At least that's what Blake was seeing.

"I think that's enough for now." Pyrrha offered a hand up. "We can take a break for ten minutes."

"Thanks." Blake accepted the hand. "Watching you fight is one thing. Experiencing it is something else."

"Thank you." Pyrrha accepted the praise. "I do my best."

It was heartwarming and frustrating that the redhead could be so casual about her abilities. There was no getting around the fact that this girl was a prodigy. Seriously, there was probably nobody in the freshman class that could beat her.

"Many of us are doing our best and we're still not at your level." Blake gave her a look. "What does that say about us?"

"There are plenty of fighters in the world who are better than I am." Pyrrha rebuffed calmly. "Contrary to popular belief, I am not perfect."

"One of your titles suggests otherwise." Blake commented. "You don't get called the 'Invincible Girl' for no reason."

"I told you all my semblance, didn't I?" Pyrrha appeared somewhat dismayed by this topic. "All three of you know that my reasons for the way I fight are very simple."

"But no one else knows that." Blake pointed out. "In fact, that's exactly what you want, isn't it? You want people to believe that you are invincible."

"I certainly don't make a habit of showcasing my semblance." Pyrrha admitted while rubbing the back of her head. "I believe that it's important to keep at least one or two tricks carefully concealed."

Something about the way the 'pride of Mistral' spoke those words made it sound somewhat suspicious. It was almost as if she was saying that there was a deeper reason as to why she was using her magnetism in such a subtle way.

Blake didn't consider herself to be a master of understanding people, not by a long shot, but she did understand what it meant to keep a few secrets for personal reasons. Perhaps it was her own deep-seeded pessimism, but there was the feeling that Pyrrha was hiding something a little more dark than her overall character presented.

Not that it was the ninja's business. There was no point in prying into such things, not at this time. In the future, there could be a chance to talk more about it.

For now, they had other things to do.

"Okay, I think I'm ready." Blake grabbed her weapon.

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha questioned.

"No time like the present." Blake reasoned.

Their conversation forgotten, training resumed.

RWBY - - - RWBY

Okay, so maybe sparring wasn't the only thing that Yang did with Blake. That said whenever the Bumblebee duo, as Jaune had dubbed them, were together, they usually did some sort of physical activity.

Today just so happened to be the day that they would do all kinds of strength training, something that the cat faunus girl could do, but the intensity which her busty brawler overseer brought to the table was beyond what she normally did.

"You're slacking off!" Yang was now sounding like a drill sergeant. "FASTER, LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"

Personally, Blake hated doing this, but she made a promise to herself not to lash out. She had to tough it out. This was to establish individual trust and no matter how much she found this particular moment agonizing, there was nowhere to go but forward.

"JAUNE'S MORE MOTIVATED THAN YOU ARE!" Yang made a point to jab at her often. "AND HE'S A NOODLY NERD! GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!"

Blake knew that the blonde girl had a soft spot for their team leader. Yang might tease Jaune, but she did so out of fondness for him. It might just be her intuition, but Blake wondered if maybe Yang saw him as a sort of older brother.

These push ups were starting to become absolutely torturous. The first fifty or so were okay, but with each successive rep, they were becoming increasingly harder. Aura didn't factor into the equation either. It was all done with the ninja girl's own physical capabilities and nothing else.

"You know, you can quit now if you want." Yang got right into her face. "I've got a cold tuna sandwich just waiting for you. All you have to do is give up."

It was obviously a trap, that much was clear and it wasn't untrue. Indeed Yang happened to bring the specific food item for lunch. That much could be told from the faunus's sensitive smell alone.

But Blake wouldn't fall for it. If she gave up, that would only earn her an additional regiment of physical work and this one was already pushing her. With more willpower thrown in, she refused to cave, despite the tempting offer.

"This could all be over. There's no need to subjugate yourself to this torture." Yang wouldn't relent. "You could be relaxing and eating."

It would have been easier for her maybe in the short-term, but it wouldn't help when it came to building trust. Plus, the easy path was almost never the correct path.

Thus began a long and grueling process of listening to Yang taunt and Blake mentally fighting back while physically continuing to perform. This went on for another twenty minutes until there was nothing in the tank for the latter.

To which the former responded with three words.

"Not bad, girl."

They still weren't friends, but it was the closest thing to a compliment that Blake had gotten from the brawler in a while.

Maybe things were looking up after all.

RWBY - - - RWBY

Team building exercises ranged from going to class to training together, but right now, neither was the case. Today, it was Saturday, a chance for all of them to break away from the school routine and just cut loose for a little while.

And what better way to spend the day than to play Remnant: The Game, which by the way, was a very creative title.

Today, Jaune was playing as Vale, Blake as Vacuo, Pyrrha as Mistral, and Yang as Atlas."

"Hehe." Yang arranged her cards with a grin. "The world is all mine."

"Yang, should I be concerned right now?" Jaune was just a little off-put by his fellow blonde. "Are you going to be the Queen of Atlas?"

"Queen? Hah, queens are for little girls." Yang leaned back with all of her confidence on display. "I'm going to be Empress of Remnant after this."

"Haha!" Pyrrha laughed, although she didn't seem sure about what she was laughing about, or even if it was right. "I get it."

"Get what?" Blake asked the redhead.

"Um, how much this game is fun." Pyrrha again sounded unconvincing.

"Yang is a bad example, Pyrrha. Don't ever use her as an example." Jaune gave his teammate a firm look. "Just keep doing what you've always been doing."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Yang pouted. "Pyrrha gets the royal treatment and I get kicked to the curb? Not cool."

"Yang, shut up." Jaune dismissed her.

"Wow." Yang narrowed her eyes. "Rude."

"I know. It sucks." Jaune wasn't phased. "So who's next?"

"That'd be me." Blake said, looking carefully at her cards. "I play the Sand Tornado Card. A sudden and violent storm passes. This gives me time to recover and all of you are prevented from attacking me during your turns. Also, since you guys have all attacked me once, you all have to surrender a single card."

For the most part, everyone surrendered a card without much of a fight, save for a particular girl with lilac eyes. Apparently, her cards had been arranged so that she could win without her three teammates being able to put up a fight. Now she had to rearrange her cards and retool her overall plan, a hassle to be sure.

"Alright, you're all going down." Yang had a gleam in her eye. "And you're going to be the first one, boss."

"Here it comes." Jaune muttered quietly. "What have you got for me, Yang?"

"Well, see for yourself." Yang placed her own card down on the table. "With my Atlesian Special Forces, I am able to bypass all the terrain difficulties of Mistral and seize some of the territory surrounding the major cities."

"But you need to roll a seven or higher in order to cause any serious damage." Jaune countered with a mildly amused look. "If you get a six or lower, your units will be discovered and wiped out."

"I'm feeling lucky today." Yang shrugged. "And I will win."

In order to build up the intensity and anticipation of her roll, the brawler made a show of shaking her hand containing the two dice. Everyone watched her with varying levels of interest. The knight had an even look, the spartan appeared somewhat nervous, and Blake couldn't care less.

"One." Yang began to count dramatically. "Two. THREE!"

The dice were rolled. They cluttered on the table a few times before coming to a rest.

The results?

A two and a five

"HA!" Yang rang out in victory. "SEVEN!"

Then the dice with a five on rolled itself to become a four.

"Six." Jaune began moving his pieces. "Yang, you've just lost your special forces units and you're out for a turn trying to recover from your losses."

"Shit!" Yang cursed out loud.

"Language." Jaune said in reply to the foul language.

"What are you, my dad?" Yang glared at him. "Get off your high horse."

"Yang, shut up." Jaune perceived her attempt at pun, him being the knight on that high horse.

"Rude." Yang crossed her arms, emphasizing her bust in the process.

"Moving on." Jaune regarded the redhead. "You're up."

"Right." Pyrrha looked at her cards. "I think… I'll play the Concealed Deathstalker Card. A nest of these Grimm attack a critical military base of operations, critically depleting Atlas of much-needed resources. Atlas must surrender on card."

"This is so not fair." Yang did as she was told with a sullen face. "Why?"

"You reap what you sow." Jaune guessed. "Now it's my turn."

Five cards were in his hands and he took only a second to look them over. He already knew which one he was going to play. As much as he wanted to take Yang's arrogance down another peg, he decided to do something else.

"Hurricane Card." Jaune made his move. "Pyrrha, your ports have been destroyed thanks to an unexpected natural disaster. My kingdom is able to salvage some of your valuables. Give me two cards."

"Okay." Pyrrha appeared surprised that she was the target.

"Yikes, boss." Yang gave her team leader a look. "You do not go after the nice girls. That's so not cool."

"War and conquest aren't cool either, but here we are." Jaune spoke plainly. "I mean, what would be the point of playing this game if you're not serious?"

"Fair point." Yang conceded. "Alright. My turn. Sorry Pyrrha, but since you've just been hit by a hurricane, I'm moving in a legion to take you by storm. I effectively hold your territory rich with resources."

"I see." Pyrrha appeared saddened. "I will need to compensate for my losses."

"You're taking this pretty well." Blake took note of the redhead's tame response.

"I've had experience with this game." Pyrrha offered an answer.

That would have to do for an explanation for now.

RWBY - - - RWBY

Blake didn't notice until she was lying awake in her bed during the night that with her mind so occupied with so many things to do, she didn't have a chance to feel anything for herself nor about her past.

But even now as she was thinking about the White Fang and her own sins, the wound didn't strike as deep as they once did. Deep down, they still hurt her and she couldn't help but breath out heavily at the thought of her old self, but that was just it. Slowly, but surely, she was finding a way to alienate herself from the version of herself that she was slowly minimizing.

Everyday she spent training, it was another day that her physical constitution increased and she was able to better keep herself in the fight.

Everyday she spent studying, it was more knowledge she could use to her advantage in practical environments where certain knowledge could give her the edge.

Everyday she spent time with her teammates, individually or as a group, that was more time she could understand them as people and become closer to them.

Everyday she spent having fun, it was a reminder of a time when she had just been a carefree and playful child, just like any other kid.

There was a sudden and almost stupidly easy revelation that made her question what she had been doing from the beginning. The whole reason she had become part of the White Fang was to see human and faunus cooperation. She just wanted to see everyone treated with fairness and not be judged solely by their physical appearance.

But as she became more entrenched in the way of life that came with being a revolutionary, the more she forgot about the life that she had originally wanted to live. It was expected that she had to make sacrifices. Her personal wants and needs were put aside in favor of the cause. It seemed a rational sacrifice. After all, the ideals were worth fighting for and they weren't going to get done. These things got in the way, so discarding the simple things in life was simply par for the course.

And that was exactly why she failed to grasp her own shortcomings and the shortcomings of the White Fang as their methods became radical and they became terrorists. By forgetting the simple things that made people normal, she had become a true monster. The Creatures of Grimm were monsters, but they were created that way. She, one the other hand, chose to do away with the emotions and feelings that she was born with. She chose to put on the mask of a monster and become one.

When put that way, that made her worse than Grimm.

She had done her best to keep herself contained in front of her teammates. She needed to be stronger for their sake, but now, with her own self-awareness telling her exactly what her life had become, she could no longer contain anything.

She still tried. Her sobs were subdued, her tears were held back.

But Blake Belladonna, for the first time in a long time, cried to herself.

THIS IS A GENERAL REMINDER TO ALL OF MY READERS. I WILL BE LEAVING FOR BASIC COMBAT TRAINING ON AUGUST 4TH. JULY, THIS MONTH, WILL BE THE LAST MONTH THAT I POST CHAPTERS FOR ANY OF MY STORIES. UPDATES WILL RESUME IF AND WHEN I AM ABLE. UNTIL THAT DAY COMES, EXPECT NO FURTHER UPDATES FROM THIS STORY.

Now for the chapter notes.

This is perhaps the turning point for Blake. She's come to realize how much her life has changed without her even realizing it. I'm sure it's something that many of us have experienced. We start down a path, expecting to accomplish something good, but then we end up realizing that what we got as a result was far from what we wanted.

Hopefully, arriving at this realization helps us spring into action to try and get ourselves back on track. The worse thing to do is dig a deeper grave for ourselves.

Thoughts on this chapter? Reviews and feedback are always appreciated.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again real soon.

-Ktyou