"Vale really does go all out on their celebrations don't they?" I asked as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and I walked down the decorated streets of Vale.

"Yeah this place is covered in so many decorations." Ruby said as she looked around.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful." Weiss said happily.

"You're sure are happy to be here Weiss." I told her and she turned around then gave me a wide smile.

"I don't think I've seen you smile this much, Weiss. It's kinda weirding me out......" Ruby said.

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament!"

That sounds awesome!

"Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" Weiss finished.

"What?" I asked.

"You really know how to take a good thing and make it boring...." Yang said.

"Sorry but I gotta agree with Yang." I said.

"Quiet you!" Weiss said as we started walking again.

We walked past the blocks that are being decorated to the bland docks.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, you sorta interrupted Jaune's training. Remember?" I asked.

Earlier Today

Jaune, Pyrrha, and I were on the roof in our usual clothes. Pyrrha was watching me and Jaune from the sidelines while Jaune gotten into a fighting stance with his sword.

"Okay Jaune." Pyrrha said while I shifted into a fighting stance and Jaune gripped his sword. "Go!"

Jaune sprinted forward with his sword pointed at me. He swung his sword at me but I blocked with my (W/N)s. Jaune swung downwards heavily and I countered by sidestepping out of the way. While he was distracted punched Jaune. But he pulled his shield up to block my fist. Then he bashed me with his shield making me stagger back. He rushed forward and slashed his sword as fast as he could. But I was able to narrowly dodge it. I retaliated by leg sweeping him which caused him to fall backwards but he rolled back on his feet.

I smiled then transformed my (W/N) into their blaster forms. I fired shots at Jaune but he deflected them with his sword.

"Good Job Jaune." Pyrrha said from the sidelines.

"Thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said as he turned to Pyrrha.

I fired a shot near Jaune's foot which caused him to scream in terror.

"A quick lesson I learned from my mentor. Never drop your guard." I said the last part in a stern tone.

"Y-Yeah." Jaune said.

"Good. Lets go ag-"

"(Y/N)!" I heard Weiss shout.

Jaune and I turned towards the door that allowed entry up here. Weiss walked through said door and walked up to me.

"Come on. We're going on a trip." She said as she grabbed my arm and started dragging me away.

"Hey Weiss I was meaning to ask you can we, I don't know, go to the Vytal Festival Parade when the time comes?" Jaune said which made Pyrrha look sad for some reason.

"Sorry but I already have someone in mind who can take me. Maybe next time." Weiss said as we walked off.

Back to Now

"Eh, he got Pyrrha. He'll be fine." I told myself.

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom." Weiss said.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake said.

"You can't prove that!" Weiss retorted.

"But didn't you say that was the pla-" I said before Weiss covered my mouth with her hand.

"Hahaha! What plan?! You mean the plan for Ruby's party-" Weiss said before she covered her mouth with her other hand.

"I'm getting a party?!" Ruby said with stars in her eyes.

"You are now." Yang said as she looked at me and Weiss.

"Whoa." Ruby said as she looked down the street.

The rest of us looked down the street to see a police investigation around a broken into Dust Shop. Ruby started walking closer to the scene so we followed.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked the two men at the scene.

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." The first man said.

"That's terrible." Yang said.

"They left all the money again." The second man said.

"Huh?" Ruby said.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs all that dust?" The first man asked.

"I don't know an army?" The second man answered.

"You thinking White Fang?" The first man asked.

"Yeah, I'm thinking we're not getting paid enough." The second man answered.

"Hmph! The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates." Weiss said as she crossed her arms.

"What's your problem?" Blake asked.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss said.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided faunus." Blake said in a slightly angry tone.

"Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss retorted.

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale." Blake said.

"Hmm... Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago... Maybe it was him." Ruby said.

"Who's Torchwick?" I asked.

"Some guy who robbed a dust shop that I was in. But he got away in some aircraft." Ruby explained.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." Weiss said as Blake growled. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"That's not necessarily true...." Yang said.

"Hey, stop that Faunus!" A voice shouted.

"Well isn't this the opposite of Deus Ex Machina." I muttered.

The girls and I looked down towards the docks to an incoming boat. On said boat two sailors was chasing a blond haired monkey faunus.

"Thanks for the ride guys! Haha!" The blond faunus said before he jumped off the boat then climbed up a lamppost.

"You no good stowaway!" One of the sailors shouted.

The faunus hanged upside from his tail with a banana in hand.

"Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" The faunus said before he started eating a banana.

I chuckled to myself.

I like this guy.

The two officers that was investigating the scene behind us, walked up to the lamppost where the monkey faunus is hanging from.

"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" One of the men shouted.

Then the monkey faunus shrugged and dropped the banana peel on his face. He started laughing then he jumped from the lamppost and he took off running....right past us.

"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..." Yang said.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss pointed towards his direction before running off.

Ruby, Yang, Blake, and I followed suit after him. The faunus was laughing as we chased after him and was getting further away from us.

"I got this!" I said as I passed up Weiss.

I picked up my pace and was actually gaining up on him. When he turned around and saw me he went wide eyed.

"Woah, you're fast!" He said.

I was getting closer and closer until we turned a corner and I bumped into someone. We both fell down and I watched that faunus run off into the distance.

"So close." I said as the girls catched up to me.

"Uhh.... (Y/N)." Yang said.

I remembered why he's getting away and I redirected my attention to the person I bumped into. It was little redhead girl with bright green eyes and green clothing.

"Sal-u-ta-tations!" The girl said happily.

I stood up and looked at the small girl.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." The girl said.

"Do you.... want to get up?" Yang asked.

The girl paused for a second to think. "Yes!" Then she leaped back to her feet. The girls took a step back in shock but I smirked at her feat. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny said happily.

"I'm (Y/N)." I smiled.

"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby." Ruby said.

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Blake hit Yang's side. "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny said.

"You already said that." Weiss said.

Penny paused again then before saying "So I did."

Then there was brief silence before Weiss started talking.

"Well sorry for running into you!" Weiss said as we turned around and started walking away.

"Sorry about earlier! Maybe we'll see each other soon." I said as we walked away from Penny.

"Take care friend!" Ruby said as she waved her arm to Penny.

When Penny was out of our view Yang spoke.

"She was.... weird." Yang said.

"Really? I thought she seemed nice." I said.

"Now, where did that faunus riff-raff run off to?" Weiss asked.

Before I could say that maybe Weiss should tone it down on calling that dude different names.....

"What did you call me?" I heard Penny's voice say.

The girls and I turned around to find Penny standing directly behind us. All of us went wide eyed and Ruby jumped up and into my arms.

"What did you call me?" Penny asked.

"Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me." Yang apologized.

"No, not you." She walked past Weiss, Yang, and Blake and pointed at Ruby who I just placed on the ground. "You!" Penny said.

"Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh..." Ruby stuttered.

"You called me friend! Am I really your friend?" Penny asked.

"Uuuum....." Ruby looked around Penny and looked at Blake, Yang, and Weiss who was gesturing "No". Then Ruby looked back at me and I gave her a thumbs up. "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?" Ruby answered.

Blake, Weiss, and Yang fell backwards in a faint while Penny looked extremely happy.

"Sensational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk to cute boys!" Penny said.

Ruby backed away from Penny to Weiss.

"Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby asked.

"No. She seems far more coordinated." Weiss responded.

I didn't get it at first but then I realized she was probably talking about that explosion incident at the beginning of the school year.

"So.... what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament." Penny answered.

"You're fighting in the tournament?" I asked curiously.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny did a salute and I smiled.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Weiss said.

"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake said.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss retorted as she crossed her arms.

Ruby sped over to Weiss' side. "Yeah." Then they low high fived.

"Well you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. You must have some fighting skill. You did jump on your feet from the ground without trying and I've seen a lot of people try to do that.... and fail." I said.

(Do any of you guys' friends try to do that? I mine did....and failed so many times.)

"Wait a minute." Weiss walked over to Penny and placed her hands on her shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean know that monkey-tailed....rapscallion?" Weiss asked.

"The who?" Penny asked.

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!" Weiss said as she pulled out a horrible drawing of that guy we saw earlier.

Wait when did she stop to draw that?

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake shouted which caused all of us to look at her.

"Huh?" Weiss said.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake shouted.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss said while pointing at the trash can and lamppost.

"Stop it!" Blake shouted.

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other faunus in the White Fang!" Weiss retorted.

"You ignorant little brat!" Blake shouted then she turned to walk away but Weiss angrily followed suit.

"How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!" Weiss shouted.

"You are a judgemental little girl!" Blake shouted back at her.

"What in the world makes you say that?"

"The mere fact that you would sort that faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"

"Maybe we should go...." Yang whispered to me and Ruby.

"Where? We all live together?" I whispered back.

"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!" Weiss said.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Blake retorted.

"Maybe this won't last long." I said.

Timeskip

"I don't know why this is such a problem!" Weiss shouted.

"That is the problem!" Blake shouted back.

Yang, Ruby, Kuma, and I was standing near our dorm door as we watched Blake and Weiss continue arguing.

"It'll end soon huh?" Yang said.

"I've been wrong before." I said.

"I just want them to stop fighting and be friends again." Ruby said sadly.

"I do too." I said as I put a hand on her shoulder.

"You realize you ate defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you? The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss said.

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to do such drastic measures!" Blake shouted.

"People like me?" Weiss asked.

"You're discriminatory!" Blake said.
"I'm a victim!" Weiss shouted making everything go silent. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the faunus?" Weiss asked as she walked over to the bookshelf by the window and leaned on it.

So glad Velvet isn't here right now.

"It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target pointed across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train full of Dust stolen. And everyday, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." Weiss slammed her fist on the bookshelf.

Everyone had shocked looks on their faces, even Blake. I felt this overwhelming feeling of sadness that I just wanted to hold Weiss close to me. Ruby walked over and reached out to Weiss.

"Weiss, I-"

"No!" Weiss turned away from Ruby and went face to face with Blake. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" Weiss shouted.

"Well maybe we are just tired of being pushed around!" Blake yelled.

The room went silent again. Weiss took a couple of steps back while everyone else stared at Blake. Then Blake realized what she said and covered her mouth.

"I....I.... "

Then she rushed past me and Yang through the door. I wasn't going to sit there and leave my friend so I ran after her.

"Blake wait! Come back!" I heard Ruby shout.

I chased her down to the quad where I saw her standing in the moonlight. She probably didn't know I was following being followed or else she'll still be running. I saw Blake grab onto her bow. She pulled one ribbon and the fabric fell off her head to reveal two black cat ears.

"Blake?" I said.

She quickly turned around and looked at me with sadness and fear. But before she could say or do anything a voice said something.

"I knew you would look better without the bow." The voice said.

Blake and I turned towards the voice to see the faunus to start this whole argument.

Is this the meaning of irony?

"You?" I asked surprised.

"Oh hey. Long time no see." He said as he walked towards me.

"I chased after you not 6 hours ago." I told him.

"Well I never expected to see you again." He said.

"Why and how are you even get here?" I asked.

Then his eyes directed themselves past me. I followed his eyes and saw that he was looking at Blake who looked.... really worried.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked me.

"Well from what I can understand is that she's a faunus and she kept that a secret for awhile and now she doesn't want to face her team because she might have been a Whi-Wait why am I telling you this?" I asked.

"Maybe because of my charming personality." He smiled and I laughed a little.

But when my eyes fell upon Blake and the state she was in I felt sad again. I walked over to her wrapped my arms around her back. She didn't hug back or move at all, but I did hear some sniffles.

"Um.... is this a bad time?" The faunus asked.

"Yea-"

"Can you help us?" Blake asked.

I released Blake from my hold and she looked at the faunus with emotionless face.

"Can you help us hide? Just for a bit." Blake asked.

The faunus smiled.

"Of coarse I can. Just leave it to me." He said as he started walking off.

Blake started following behind him and I walked next to her. I gave her a worried look but didn't say anything.

Blake....

Timeskip

"Ahhhh!" I said as I put the tea cup on the table. "Tea is great." I said.

"I know right? So how much food have you tried since you came into "civilization"."

"So far Ramen. By the way, thanks again Sun for helping us stay undercover." I told him.

"What? It's no trouble. I can use the company until my team arrives in Vale anyways." Sun used his tail to pick up a tea cup then took a sip of tea. "Yep. I got you and silent treatment Blake."

We looked over at Blake who was silently drinking her tea. She hasn't spoken since we left from Beacon. The last thing she said to me was to not contact anyone at Beacon. Especially her team.

"Is she always like this?" Sun asked.

"No, she usually more.... talkative....ish?" I said.

"Like seriously. Can I at least know something about you?" Sun asked.
Blake looked at Sun, then took a long drink from her cup, then spoke in the first time in the last 2 days.

"So you want to know more about me?"