It had been two weeks since Blake's big reveal, and Ruby was still in shock. Not that her friend was a Faunus, she knew that. The bow may fool some people, but not Ruby Rose. What had surprised her was Blake's status as a former White Fang member. The infamous group was feared by both human and Faunus, after all. And then there was Weiss' reaction. First anger, then...acceptance. She never could have expected that. She did wish that her team mate hadn't hidden who she was from them, though. Not that she was one to judge. They all had their secrets. Ruby just didn't like living in a world where people felt the the need to hide who they were.

"Yang? Have you seen my hair pins? I can't find any and I'm gonna be late...Yang?" Ruby was certain her sister had been in the room when she had gotten out of the shower. The stupid things are so easy to lose. She thought to herself.

"I may not be Yang, but I do have some hair pins you can borrow." Blake's voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

Crap. I can't leave the bathroom like this, but I really need those pins. "Sure Blake, thanks! Just uhh" before she could finish, the doorknob began to shake. "Just slide them under the door. I'm um, still naked. Yeah. So you really can come in here.".

"Okay." Blake slid the pins under the door, and walked back to her bed. So, Ruby carefully folded and pinned her very canine ears to her head. Once both ears were flat and barely visible, Ruby adjusted her hair to cover them further, using one more hair pin on each, and finally applying a liberal amount of hair spray. There. I look completely human. Ruby thought as she walked out.

"Thanks for your help, Blake." She was genuinely grateful for her friends help, but still shaken up over nearly being exposed.

"Yeah, no problem." Blake looked up from her book, smirking slightly. "But don't most people do their hair after they get dressed?"

"Huh? Oh, well I guess so." Oh no, she must be suspicious, wait, is she mocking me? "Are you making fun of me?" Another smirk. "Blake…" She whined.

"Sorry Ruby, couldn't help it. I guess your sister's been a bad influence lately. Anyway, see you later."

Ruby barely made it to Port's class on time, earning a glare from Weiss. Though to be honest, she could have missed half the class and the professor wouldn't have noticed. He'd be too busy boasting about bashing an Ursa's skull with his bare hands (he told them the story twice), and wouldn't pay attention to a lone student wandering into class. She took her seat next to her sister, who was clearly struggling to stay awake. Yang must have decided Ruby's reason for being late was more entertaining than the lecture, considering she immediately passed her a note.

"Why are you late" Yang's note read.

"Couldn't find hair pins. Blake almost saw." Ruby wrote back.

"I think you should just tell her"

"What?! It's a secret for a reason."

"You know her's. It's only fair."

"No."

"Why?"

"Reasons. You wouldn't understand."

"But Blake would." At this last note, Port noticed them.

"And what are you ladies doing? Passing notes?"

"No, sir. Um, we were comparing notes on your awsome lecture, so we don't miss anything. Yeah" Ruby replied, the lie was obvious, but the professor appeared to buy it, and class ended a moment later.

"So why won't you just tell Blake?" Yang asked suddenly.

"Because. It's complicated." And did you have to ask in the middle of the hallway?" Ruby said as she looked around, hoping no one had heard them. "Let's at least go somewhere else."

"Fine. There's an empty classroom down the hall." They walked the rest of the way in silence. Something that was unusual for the sister's. "Okay, now that we're alone, please explain why you won't tell Blake of all people? Blake, your team mate, who happens to also be keeping...certain things secret? It makes no sense."

"Um, well, what if she decides she doesn't like me anymore?" At Yang's incredulous look, she elaborated by gesturing to her hair, and therefore her ears.

"I don't get it. You're both, you know, the same."

"Ugh." Ruby leaned in close. "She's a cat Faunus, Yang!" She whispered. At this, her sister nearly doubled over laughing.

"Isn't that like the worst stereotype, like ever? You don't get the urge to chase her up a tree, do you?" Yang was just managing to contain her laughter.

"Yes. It's a stereotype, but you never know! You've seen how she is around dogs. What if she acts like that around me? And no, I don't want to chase her up a tree." Ruby hadn't been around other Faunus much, so she wasn't sure how a feline Faunus would react to a canine like her. Sure, Ruby may not have the urge to chase, bark at, or otherwise harass Blake, but she was only part Faunus. Her instincts were less intense than that of a full Faunus, like Blake.

"You're lying" Yang said, "it's got to be something else that's keeping you from telling her. What is it, the truth?"

"She was in the White Fang, Yang. They hate people like me. I'm not human, but I'm not really a Faunus, either. The one thing the White Fang hates more than humanity, are the part Faunus." Ruby was in tears now. She knew she would never be truly accepted by anyone other than her family. Not even her team. Not even Blake.

"You're wrong, Ruby. Just give her a chance. Blake isn't like that. She left the White Fang because she doesn't agree with their ideology anymore." She reached over to hug her sister, "Just give her a chance."

"Fine, but you're buying me dinner AND dessert at my favorite place if this goes badly." And this will go badly, she thought to herself. But I've gotta try.

Her team mates were acting strangely. Yang kept giving her expectant looks, and seemed disappointed when she had nothing to share. Weiss was still slightly awkward around her, but that wasn't too unusual. The real problem was Ruby. She was evasive. If Blake didn't know better, she'd say her leader was avoiding her. But she couldn't be, that was just so unlike Ruby. The girl was just too friendly, especially towards her team. Though she was different only around Blake, making the older girl wonder if it had anything to do with her Faunus heritage. Ruby didn't seem like the prejudiced type, but anything was possible. Or maybe she's just angry with me for lying. Or she doesn't trust me since I was in the White Fang. But that isn't who I am. Not anymore. I need to speak to Ruby. Getting her alone was going to be difficult, though. She had to think of a plan. Maybe Yang can help. She went to find her partner.

"I need your help" Blake asked, startling Yang.

"Um, sure. What's up?" Blake appeared deep in thought, and just as Yang was about to crack what was, in her opinion a genius joke about cats and their tongues, Blake spoke.

"I think Ruby is upset with me, and I don't know what to do." She said plainly.

"What? No, trust me, Ruby isn't upset, not with you. She just...got a lot on her mind, ya know?" Yang began twirling her hair around one finger, a nervous habit. Blake became suspicious, but continued.

"Regardless, I still think I need to approach her about this myself. I just don't know how. Could she be upset because, you know?" At this, Blake gestured to her bow, reminding Yang of her conversation with Ruby. She had to suppress a laugh.

"No. She'd never judge you because of that. Or be mad because you hid it from us." Blake was surprised her team mate seemed to read her so well, but she wasn't convinced.

"She's avoiding me specifically. I need to talk to her, to make sure everything's okay. Ruby's my friend. You all are. The first real friends I've had in a very long time. I don't want to lose that, Yang. What do I do?

"Just talk to her. Ruby is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, despite everything she's been through. She may seem naive at times, but she understands more than people give her credit for." Yang walked away, leaving Blake to think over what she had been told.

Ruby had decided it was time to talk to Blake and tell her the truth. She didn't want to hide who she was anymore, but every instinct told her to. It wasn't malice, but self preservation that had her lying to her team and friends. She knew better than most the darkness of both humanity and Faunus-kind. I guess Blake would know, too. She thought. Still, knowing that darkness had never made her give in to it. She decided early on that she would fight against evil in all it's forms. Despite all this, she still believed in the good in people. She had seen plenty of that, too.

"Blake?" Ruby called as she walked down the hall towards their dorm. "You in there?" Not in the hallways, or the dorm. Where next? The library! Ruby thought enthusiastically. Upon reaching Beacon's library, she spotted her friend in a secluded corner, peacefully reading. It was almost a shame to interrupt her, but Ruby knew she needed to have this conversation now, or else she might back out. "Blake? Can we talk?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure. I actually have something I need to ask you." Blake said, seeming unusually nervous.

"You do?" Ruby was a little surprised.

"Yes, I do. I just wasn't sure how to bring it up." The older girl looked uneasy, but determined.

"Whatever it is, Blake, you can just ask. After all, what are friends for?" She said genuinely, her prior fear gone, replaced by worry for her friend.

"Well, alright. If you say so, Ruby. Are you upset with me? Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No! Of course not. Why would you think that?" Ruby spoke a little too loudly, earning them a glare from the nearby librarian.

"You've been evasive. Towards me, that is." Blake's voice was much softer. "I asked Yang, and she said you just had a lot on your mind, but I wasn't sure." She heard Ruby take a deep breath.

"No, I'm not upset with you, Blake. I do have something really important to tell you, but I think we should go back to the dorm, first. Okay?"

"Okay", Blake let out a relieved sigh, "let's go, but tell me, is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Well, I think so." Ruby gave her a cautious smile as they stopped at their door. Once they walked in, Blake looked at her expectantly. "Maybe it'd be better if I just showed you." She said as she slipped of her hood, which she had worn up instead of pinning her ears down. Ruby closed her eyes at first, hoping Blake would break the silence, but all she heard was a gasp. Time to face the music she thought. What she saw was a very shocked, and very angry Blake Belladonna.

"What is that?!" Blake asked in a tone she hadn't used since her argument with Weiss weeks ago. She was hurt, and surprised, and angry, and betrayed all at once. How could Ruby wear something like that? Doesn't she know she's making a mockery of Faunus, of me?

"Um, they're ears" Ruby said tentatively, unsure why Blake would react this way

"I know they're ears, Ruby, but why do you have them?"

"Because I'm a-" She didn't get to finish before Blake closed the distance between them, looming over her.

"What? You think it's okay to make fun of Faunus traits? That they're funny, cute little ornaments for you to wear? Well they're not!"

"No! Of course I know that, I'm not making fun of anything, I swear."

"Then why are you wearing them? You can't be that ignorant that you don't know what fake ears would mean, what they represent!"

Ruby was close to crying by this point, but Blake appeared to angry to notice. "Blake, please calm down!" Ruby shouted "Just listen to me!"

"Why should I? I can't even take you seriously with those!" With that she reached out, grabbed onto one of Ruby's ears, and yanked. Hard.