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Zenless Zone Zero x RWBY Crossover, Chapter 1 of 3.
🕑 Added 2025-03-14 17:38:39 +0000 UTCZenless Zone Zero and RWBY crossover. This'll only be a threeshot, so don't worry about it distracting from other fics.
Patreon note - Sorry for the delays everyone. Things changed at work and I got a new position, so things were hairy for a bit. I promise the next update - the final(?) chapter for Rizzless V1 Jaune - will come out quicker.
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Weiss did not like Jaune Arc.
For anyone who knew her, this wasn't some grand revelation or some secret finally come to the light. She'd never once hidden how she felt about the the cocky young man ever since he started flirting with her before Initiation. She didn't lead him on or feign politeness that could've given him mixed signals. She flat out told him no. No. Not a chance. Not even if he was the last man on Remnant. And what did he say to that? 'So you're saying there's a chance' with a falsely confident smile on his face.
She'd nearly tossed him into the Emerald Hollow for that.
It wasn't just the fact that he flirted with her. No, she was sadly all too used to that. As the heiress to the SDC, she'd had more than her fair share of admirers. Even when she was just the spare to Winter, people knew that getting close to her meant a connection to the SDC. There were 'playdates' and various other attempts for parents to have their children befriend her. Her 'childhood friends', if one could call them that, were nothing more than sycophants in the making forced by their mothers and fathers into becoming her toadies. She honestly felt sorry for them. Children used as pawns in their parents' power plays. It was sickening.
It only got worse when she officially become the heiress at 14 when Winter went to the army. After that, the the playdates and 'casual' invitations made way for not-so-subtle arranged marriages. Talks about how she and so-so made such a cute couple or how they fit so well together. She could see the greed in their eyes. They didn't see a girl who'd barely entered her teens. They saw a potential profit margin, an 'in' with the biggest corporation in all of Remnant. One man even older than her own Father had offered himself as a possible husband when she'd barely turned 15. Even Father seemed appalled by that; for the audacity, if nothing else.
She felt far less pity for the overconfident young men who considered themselves the Gods' gift to women. They thought of her as nothing more than same vapid princess to be swayed by their so-called charms. It wasn't even about the SDC to them, not completely. No, it was all about claiming her, as if she was a prize to be won. It didn't matter if she said no or that she made it clear she wasn't interested. They thought they had a chance and they refused to see otherwise.
Arc was just like that. While she'd give him credit that he wasn't hungry for her family name or fortune like those other cads, his misplaced confidence irritated her all the same. Weiss had a list of characteristics she disliked, and one of the ones at the top was misplaced confidence. She was fine with having a healthy ego - she'd rolled her eyes at Yang, but the blonde could more than back up her claims - but she couldn't stand those who proclaimed themselves better than they were. It was irritating hearing Arc pretend to be some great Huntsman in the making when he was practically failing all the Huntsmen courses he took.
Which was a shame. Arc may have been sub-standard at best as a prospective Huntsman, but as a Proxy (technically, the proper term was Guide, but almost no one used that) he was one of the best in their year. His carrot data was among the most accurate she'd ever seen and his Semblance - which allowed him to remotely control his Bangboo - meant that he could be more active in supporting Huntsmen in the field. If he focused solely on that, he would've been one of the best in his field.
Instead, he insisted on becoming a Huntsman despite being clearly unfit for it.
She didn't fault him for wanting to be something different - after all, she herself had broken out of the cage her father set her in. She did fault him for being incompetent about it, however. This was Beacon. To even get your foot in the door, you needed to be among the best in your peer group, whether that was as a Huntsman or a Proxy. Arc had gotten in because of his skills as a Proxy and yet he insisted on taking majority Huntsman courses.
Double-dipping wasn't uncommon in this line of work. Weiss herself had taken some courses to interpret carrot data in case their Bangboos ever got destroyed or malfunctioned and Ruby had taken a class on Bangboo maintenance. But for the most part, everyone stuck to their tracks. She didn't have the skills to make it as a Proxy and she was sensible enough to understand that trying to do both only meant succeeding in neither.
Perhaps it was due to that dated perception of Proxies somehow being lesser compared to Huntsmen. Foolish. Meatheads like Cardin Winchester, and even Yang to an extent, saw themselves as inherently better than Proxies because they did the 'hard work'. As if even the strongest Huntsman wouldn't just die to Grimm corruption if they didn't have a map to get outside of the Hollow. As a Proxy, Weiss respected Arc. It was just everything else that made her not want to be in the same room as him.
Which was why she had to force herself to trudge along as Ruby practically dragged her by the arm to the courtyard. It was the Vytal Tournament, which meant visitors. Winter would be arriving in a few days, but Ruby insisted that they be there when Arc's 'old gang' visited. Ugh. If she didn't care for the man himself, what made her think she'd be any more receptive to his group of Outer Ring ruffians?
...
What? She wasn't prejudiced! It wasn't like with the Faunus, which she already acknowledged as wrong. Was she prejudiced in despising the White Fang now? The Outer Ring wasn't much different. True, they weren't terrorists like Blake's former group, but she'd heard the stories. It was full of unlicensed Huntsman and it was where criminals and exiles fled to when they were barred from their kingdoms. Romantics and delinquents like Blake and Yang called it a 'fresh start' or a 'rebel's paradise', but Weiss saw the place for what it really was: a haven for those that had been rejected by polite society. A wretched hive of scum and villainy.
"I can't wait to see what they're like!" Ruby said, blatantly ignoring her displeasure. She promised her partner that she'd hold her tongue when Arc's gang - something about Kids of Caliente? - arrived, but if Arc flirted with her again or tried to ask her out one more time, she wouldn't hesitate to give him a dressing down in front of the entire Outer Ring.
Yang and Pyrrha were already there. Yang because she was obsessed with the Outer Ring and Pyrrha because she, for whatever reason, had a crush on Arc. Weiss sighed. She would've told Arc flat out about it (it wasn't her fault that Pyrrha had bad taste) if the champion hadn't begged her not to. As a favor for someone she admired, Weiss agreed to keep mum, even if it meant having to deal with his incessant 'charms'. Let it never be said that she didn't sacrifice for her friends.
Arc, of course, was a little further ahead near the bullheads proper. He turned around to greet them, "Morning, Rubes. Snow Angel." His lips quirked up in a 'suave' smile. Weiss' right eye twitched, "Just in time! I got a call from Big Sis that they're on the next ship. Should be here any minute now."
"You've been talking your old gang up a bunch, VB. They better be at least half as cool you say they are." Yang crossed her arms.
"Oh please, I didn't even tell you the best stories! I wouldn't be able to do them justice." Arc rubbed his chin proudly, "Seriously, just wait till you hear what Big Sis and Big Bro've been up to since I went to Beacon."
"I'm sure they'll live up to the legend." Pyrrha smiled pleasantly. Poor girl.
The next airship landed and scores of tourists milled out. The Vytal Tournament was one of the few times that Beacon was open to the general public and many were taking advantage. Among the sea of civilians, what she presumed to be Arc's gang stood out. Five women and one man, all dressed in leather. The style practically screamed 'Outer Ring'. The group couldn't have blended in if they tried. Even Yang, for all her claims of being a rebellious icon, looked like a common pleb by comparison.
The one in front of was a tall woman with light green hair and muscles that put some of the Huntresses she'd seen to shame. Her arms and legs, which her stockings and shorts only drew attention to, showed off the results of what must've been years of hard work. Her right arm was covered by the sleeve of her baggy leather jacket, but the left was left bare, exposing the corded, scarred muscles. Weiss made a point of not looking at the taller woman's chest, though she did wonder how she didn't suffer heatstroke. She heard the Outer Ring was a boiling death trap.
From her left elbow down, the skin turned from sun-kissed to pure black. Weiss' first thought was a glove, but a closer look made it clear it was a prosthetic. Odd. It looked rather advanced for someone from the Outer Ring.
'She probably stole it,' the thought came unbidden.
The one to her direct right looked like someone from one of Yang's teen magazines. Tall and covered in leather from the neck down with his eyes hidden by a pair of dark aviators. Among the sea of black, a long red scarf trailed behind him, adding a splash of color to the ensemble. He didn't show an inch of skin, but his physique was obvious despite that. She took note of his stance too. She'd been surrounded by bodyguards before she was old enough to walk and his gait was all too familiar. He tried to hide it behind a relaxed stance, but she could tell. He was keeping an eye out for threats.
"Jauney~" Another woman pushed past the pair and tackled Arc in a sudden embrace, nearly toppling him over. She looked like an odd mix of juvenile and slanderous. The twintails and comically large hair decorations, plus her jubilant expression, made her seem almost younger than Ruby. Everything else about her didn't. Leather jacket, leather skirt, a crop that pushed up against her ludicrously-sized chest, and... were those golden high heels? She was a heel connoiseur herself, but even she found those over the top.
"Careful there, Burnice," a lazy voice called out. Weiss turned to the source and frowned at the sight of what looked like a girl who couldn't have been past fourteen yawning. As a Huntress-in-training, she was all too used to odd fashion senses. It was practically encouraged in Huntsman culture. Still, the sight of a child wearing a camisole, bike shorts, and pants clipped to her belt that didn't even cover her rear-end was apalling. Did no one in the Outer Ring have any sense of propriety?
"So this is Beacon?" The one that spoke next was a Thiren. A Cat Thiren, specifically. She was even more sparsely dressed than her compatriots. A white tanktop that almost blended with her yellowand cream colored fur, jean shorts about the same size as Yang's usual outfit, and a sleeveless leather vest that might as well have not been there. What stuck out the most was a black and red mask that covered the lower half of her face, which made her look (needlessly) menacing.
Thirens were a rare sight. She'd only ever seen a handful throughout her whole life. Up until recently, she held a dislike for the Faunus due to the actions of the White Fang, but her feelings for Thirens were far more muted. There were a few of them in the White Fang, true, but for the most part, the race kept to themselves. The last Thiren she recalled was that dashing butler von Lycaon her dad hired for some 'off the books' tasks.
Weiss was considering just slipping out then and there when an oddly familiar voice screamed, "Grassy, Woody, Bricky! Don't wander off!" Her brows furrowed. She knew that voice. Weiss looked past the much taller figures to the shortest one at the back. He'd ignored her at first, her attention drawn to the much taller and more imposing figures, but now that she took a closer look, it only took her a moment to realize that the woman at the back wasn't a stranger at all.
Luciana Montefio.
She almost didn't recognize her. The last time Weiss ahd seen her, she'd been dressed in attire fitting for the Montefio heiress. And now? A torn dark shirt, a poofy sleeved leather jacket, daisy dukes(!), red-tipped leather boots, leather opera gloves, and...was that an old Atlesian army helmet? Weiss stared goggle eyed as the red-eyed blonde stamped her foot and coralled three knee-high boar Thiren. She had the air of nobility around her, managing to look dainty and out of place compared to her other compatriots. Like a noblewoman playing at being a delinquent.
A part of her still couldn't believe her eyes. When Luciana left, it was a scandal. The talk of Atlas for at least two weeks (which was a long time for those self-interested fops). And why wouldn't it be? While the SDC was the biggest corporation in Atlas - possibly even all of Remnant - the Montefios were firmly in second place. Lesser than the Schnees, but better than everyone else. They had their hands in weapons manufacturing, robotics, and even alternative energy sources. Dust was still King in Remnant, but it allowed them to tap into an unknwon market.
So of course, the sole heir to the company running away was the talk of the kingdom. People had mostly forgotten about it now, of course. Nowadays, it was only ever brought up by fossils trying to dig at Alexander Montefio. Jealousy and spite, really.
"Hey, little bro!" She was jarred out of her staring when the green-haired woman shouted boisterously, "How've ya been?"
Arc, who was still barely carrying the blonde in the leather skirt, laughed, "Pretty cool, big sis! I've been doing great on classes." Weiss rolled her eyes. No, he wasn't, "Uh, lemme introduce you to my friends! This is my partner Pyrrha, that's Ruby, that's Yang, and that's Snow An- uh, Weiss." He gestured to each of them in turn."
"Nice to meet ya'll." The woman grinned, "Name's Caesar! Thanks for taking care of our little bro."
"Oh, i-it was no problem!" Pyrrha said meekly, mouth curled up in an awkward smile.
"He must've been a handful." The only man in the group chuckled, his voice deep and smooth, "Name's Lighter, by the way." He smiled lopsidedly. He was handsom, in a rugged sort of way. Weiss didn't miss the way Yang was looking him up and down.
"And I'm Burnice!" The twintailed blonde said, finally letting go of Arc, "Hey, Jaune, I brought my special Nitro Fuel just for you! No one else gets a sip!"
"Ha, awesome!" Arc pumped his fist, "But, uh, maybe Auntie Piper needs some? She looks like she's about to pass out." He gestured to the inappropriately dressed child.
Wait, did he say Auntie?
"Eh, I'll be fine. You young'uns just have too much energy for little ol' me." The child(?) yawned, "Besides, I'll be meeting with Pete and Bart after. Bart'll gimme a little pick-me-up."
"Uh...are you talking about Professor Port and Oobleck?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah. Been years since I saw em. We need to catch up on the good old days." Piper scratched her belly, "You know what they say: older you get, you see friends going more than coming. Gotta hold onto the ones ya got left."
Weiss didn't get a chance to comment on that before the Thiren finally spoke, "Name's Pulchra."
"You could stand to be less gruff." Luciana scoffed. The three boar thiren were huddled around her feet like scolded children, "You're representing the Sons of Calydon now."
"Says the person who didn't introduce herself yet." Pulchra rolled her eyes.
"I-I was getting to that!" She coughed and stood up straight, "My name is Luciana, but all may call me Lucy. It's such a pleasure to-" She paused as soon as her eyes met Weiss. Red orbs met blue and the blonde's haughty expression turned into something sharper, "My, my, is that Weiss Schnee I spot? I heard rumors that you were playing pretend Huntress."
The friendly atmosphere around the group suddenly turned cold. Weiss' lips curled in an equally sharp smile. As daughters to the two biggest companies in Remnant, it was expected that the two would have rivalry of a sort. When they were younger, it had been forced upon them. Father told her to treat the other girl, barely two years her senior, as an enemy while Luciana was no doubt given the same instructions. Their first interaction had been laced with insults and double-edged comments no children should've been saying.
Somewhere along the line, their dispute had turned from an obligation to something sincere. She couldn't even remember whether it was due to some big thing or just them genuinely growing to truly dislike one another. Regardless, their years-long spat ended when Luciana ran away two years back when Weiss was 17. By then, she'd already made plans to attend Beacon and the other heiress' disappearance hadn't occupied her mind.
Seeing her again - that crooked smile, those half-lidded eyes, the snappy words - brought it all rushing back to the forefront.
"And I heard that you ran off. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you ended up in that dustbowl." The same barbed insults from years past resurfaced. The logical part of her said that there was no point to it. Luciana wasn't a Montefio anymore, so there was no need to keep up the conflict. And yet, hadn't she been minding her own business when the other woman decided to mock her for no reason? She was the one who chose to start a fight. Weiss would simply end it.
"Hmph, I don't expect a daddy's girl like you to understand. We aren't all comfortable living under our parents' strings."
"Big talk coming from a runaway who turned herself into a criminal."
"Woah, woah, woah! What's going on here?" The tall woman - Caesar, she reminded herself - "Luce, you know her?"
"An acquaintance of the past before I left Atlas. And not a pleasant one." It was amazing how haughty she sounded despite how she was dressed. Weiss was almost impressed, "When Jaune told us about his, ugh, infatuation with someone he called his Snow Angel, I hardly imagined it would be Weiss Schnee, of all people. Frankly, I thought he'd have better taste."
"H-Hey now! Come on, Lucy!" Arc said, stepped between them. It only irritated her more, "Weiss is great! I'm not sure what happened between you two, but I'm sure if you just talk-"
"We have nothing to talk about." Weiss crossed her arms. All eyes from both groups were on the two of them now, but she didn't care, "We don't see each other in years and the first thing she says when she sees me is saying I'm 'playing pretend Huntress'? I see no need to make false niceties. And another thing," She shoved a finger harshly against his armored torso, "I am not, nor will I ever be, 'your Snow Angel'. It's bad enough that you insist on calling me that here, but doing so even when talking to your gang? How would you like it if I called you 'that yellow-haired buffoon' to my letters back home?"
"Uh...well-"
"Hey, leave him alone!" Luciana stomped up to her, looking up with her face knotted in a scowl. Weiss was never the tallest (much to her annoyance), but even she (albeit with her heels) was taller than the former Montefio heiress.
"What? Am I not allowed to disagree if someone flirts incessantly with me without my consent?"
"You-"
"Alright, cool it." The child(?) from before cut in, "It's obvious you two've got some beef, but we're not here to stir up old grudges. We're here to visit Jaune."
"I wasn't the one who used an insult as a greeting." Weiss scoffed.
"She's a Schnee, Piper. The daughter of the bastard who hired Lucius." Luciana growled.
"Hold up, Luce. That was Old Man Schnee," Caesar cut in, "Even if she's his kid, she wasn't the one who did all that crap." Weiss' brows furrowed. Despite her anger, some part of her was still curious. She wasn't naive. Even months back when she was at her worst, she knew her father was... morally flexible at best. She wondered what it was her father had done.
The Outer Ring was one of the very few places - possibly the only one - that didn't use Dust. They used something called oil instead. It baffled her even now. Dust was so much more practical and versatile, and yet they insisted on harvesting that black sludge out of some misguided sense of independence. While she respected a desire to stand on one's own two feet, was it really worth losing the use of something as integral as Dust?
She was just about to ask what they were talking about when Luciana scoffed, "Oh please. She's a little daddy's girl, always has been. I doubt she didn't know what he hired Lucius for."
Suddenly, all thoughts of clarification slipped her mind. A vein bulged on her forehead and she let out an honest to Brothers growl. Luciana had a way of getting under her skin like no one else could. It appeared two years hadn't changed that in the least, "Big words coming from some runaway Outer Ring ruffian." Weiss put her hands on her hips, "If you think I'm going to stand here and let you insult me, Luciana, you're sorely mistaken."
"Is that a threat, Schnee?" She said her named like a curse. It only angered her more.
Before she could retaliate with another barbed insult, the energetic one - Burnice - suddenly cut in, "Oh, I know how we can settle this!" She clapped her hands, "You two should have a fight! Oh, wait, let's make it group fight! Your team vs us! Then when we beat each other up, you two can kiss and make up when you realize you're destined to be best friends! It's just like the shounen manga Caesar pretends to read instead of her shoujo stuff!"
"I-I'm not pretending anything!" Caesar sputtered.
"That's fine with me," Weiss said, "Solo, as a team, it doesn't matter. I'll wipe that arrogant look off your face."
"Hmph, that's my line!" Luciana scowled, "The Sons of Calydon never run from a fight, especially not from pampered brats."
"Don't forget, they're still keeping our weapons on lockup." The man - Lighter - said. Weiss frowned. They weren't Huntsmen, so that made sense, but it only gnawed at her impatience, "Hm...maybe we postpone this till tomorrow? Let us choose who's going to go for this thing."
"Count me out." The cat Thiren - Pulchra - said, "I'm not getting paid enough to fight rich girl grudge matches."
"Do you guys really have to do this?" Arc asked with a whine.
"Stay out of this." Weiss didn't even turn to look at him, "My team against yours tomorrow, Luciana."
"Weiss, Blake's not gonna be here tomorrow. She's down visiting someone in Vale, remember?" Ruby said, sounding like she'd rather be anywhere but here..
"That doesn't matter!" Weiss growled, "We're Huntresses-in-training! Even if we're down one member, we can certainly deal with them!"
"Have it your way. Once we get our weapons back, I'll make you eat your words." Luciana clicked her tongue, "Come on, Jaune, let's go before I get even angrier."
"Huh, but-" The smaller blonde grabbed his arm and tugged him along despite his protests with the rest of their gang following, leaving only the four of them. Weiss watched them go, her face set in a deep frown. Luciana didn't seem hesitant in the least, though perhaps that was to be expected. She clearly hadn't lost her pride despite her fall from grace. She doubted the other woman was that adept in combat. Weiss' interest in fencing marked her as an anomaly among her peers. Scrapping in the Outer Ring wouldn't come close to matching the level of training she'd gotten.
"Did you seriously volunteer us to fight for your honor or something?" Yang groaned.
"Since when did you ever turn away the chance to fight?" Weiss raised a brow.
"Never, but usually, people aren't volunteering me without even asking." She sighed and brought a hand through her hair, "Ah, whatever. Maybe if I'm lucky, that big guy's gonna be part of the other team. I can tell he's packing under that jacket. I wanna see what he can do with those arms." She put a hand on her chin and grinned.
"Don't be crude, Yang." Weiss rolled her eyes and turned to Pyrrha. She'd barely said a word since Arc's gang arrived. Her eyes had been glued to that Caesar woman, "Would you be interested in joining this spar, Pyrrha?"
"Huh? O-Oh, no thank you!" She shook her head, "Actually, I should go..." She shuffled away with an awkward gait unfitting for her skills.
"...What's up with Pyrrha?" Ruby asked.
"The mind wonders." She called Blake on her scroll only to receive no reply. The heiress' brow furrowed. Where was she?
[line break]
Blake trudged through Vale with her head held low, hands stuffed into the pockets of her baggy hoodie. She'd changed from her usual attire in favor of something more downbeat. The aforementioned gray hoodie, dark jeans, and old boots she wore during some more strenuous hikes back... before. It wasn't her usual style, but that was the point. It made her look like a face in the crowd. Because the last thing she needed right now was her team finding out what she did in her free time.
She liked Team RWBY, she really did, but there were some things she wanted to stay secret.
She walked the familiar pathways. Down an alley, up a fire escape, and finally through the door where the lock didn't even properly work. Blake sighed. She'd warned them over and over that it wasn't safe, but Nicole always brushed her off. Repairing that door would take lien. Besides, she said, it wasn't like anyone but the five of them went up this way.
The sight that greeted her when she entered was all too familiar.
"Billy! Where did you get that?!" Nicole screamed, pointing accusingly at the Monica album the android was desperately trying (and failing) to keep behind his back, "Ugh, I knew we were more in the red than normal this month!" Blake didn't know whether to laugh or cry. More in the red. As in, they were already in the red. Nicole was just angry that it was more than usual.
"B-Boss, come on!" Billy pleaded, his blank face somehow managing to convey just how terrified he was, "It's a limited edition! Only 50 in all of Vale!" The pink haired woman growled and took a single step forward, "O-Okay, so maybe I took some lien from the emergency fund, but this was an emergency! I'll never have the chance to get this kind of merch again! J-Just take it out of my cut of the next job!"
"Next job?! You'll be lucky if I don't sell you for spare parts!" Nicole grabbed his jacket and shook him angrily. Just a few feet away on the (second-hand) couch, Anby sat without a care, watching a new movie while munching on a burger. It was a common day for the Cunning Hares. Nicole lost her temper, but they knew it was more bark than bite. Billy would use some cheap, shady black market parts for his maintencance to make up the difference. And Anby? She'd think nothing was wrong and it was all part of Nicole's cunning leadership.
Her eyes shifted from the three to Nekomata sleeping in the corner. She was the newest member of the group, joining just a week before Blake left for Beacon. It was supposed to be her last job, a simple snatch and grab from the Red Fang gang (no relation to the White Fang). Instead, it ended up being a whole thing where they barely made it out alive against the Dead End Butcher. She shuddered. She'd faced Grimm before, but the oldest ones inside Hollows always had an eerie quality to them. Like they were more than just mindless beasts.
And they all got involved because of Nekomata. The Fauren girl (half-Faunus, half-Thiren) was planning to kill them because of Miguel Silver getting himself turned into a Grimm until they ran into that mess with the Vision corporation. Billy, Anby, and Nicole forgave her and invited her to join the group, but Blake still had her doubts. Maybe it was because of her past, but she found it absurd just how quick the three of them were to forgive attempted murder. While she didn't hate the other girl, there was a distance between them; not helped by her leaving soon after she joined.
"...I see nothing's changed."
All eyes turned to her. Billy's blank eyes widened and he pulled away from Nicole, desperate to draw the attention away form himself, "Blake, hey!"
"Greetings." Anby nodded before turning back to the CRT TV (it was all they could afford).
"Heh. Well, look you came crawling back." Nicole crossed her arms and smirked. It was a joke, of course. Nicole was the only reason she'd even gotten into Beacon at all. Beacon used to accept just about everyone if they could pass the exams, but they changed that policy a decade ago. Now there were background checks. Sometimes they didn't find anything, but for Blake? She was a Faunus with parents basically founded the White Fang. If they looked deeper, they'd see that connection and she could kiss her chance at being a proper Huntress goodbye.
But Nicole, somehow, was owed a favor by one of the staff. She didn't reveal who it was, but it was enough that she was allowed to take the exam without anyone looking too close at her background or ask too many questions.
"I'm back." Blake smiled. Yang might've liked to take credit for 'getting her out of her shell', but she'd been 'out' of it long before Beacon.
After Adam, she'd been desperate. Her attempts to get into Beacon were at a dead end and she was at her lowest point. She had had nothing but the clothes on her back and what little she could take with a to-go bag. Vale was better for her kind than Mistral and Atlas, but she was still a minority in a city that was already overpopulated. Jobs weren't easy to come by. It came down to begging on the streets, joining a gang, or becoming an independent thief.
Meeting Nicole had been a blessing in disguise. She'd gotten desperate enough that she took on a job as a Hollow Raider from a sketchy client. She didn't have a choice. Stupid. Her carrot data became inaccurate barely an hour in and she would've turned into a Grimm if Nicole, Billy, and Anby hadn't run into her. When they offered her a place in the group after they made it out, she took it for the lifeline it was. For a desperate woman with nowhere to go, it was practically a godsend.
She expected the position to be temporary. Maybe work a few jobs before splitting off with whatever meager share they could get. Instead, she ended up staying with them for almost a year. She lived with them, ate with them, and bickered about stupid stuff she can't even remember. It was both similar and completely different form her time in the White Fang. There was no culture of martyrdom or a leader that told them they had to sacrifice themselves to the cause without hesitation. Nicole might've had the financial sense of a lemming with debts to half the city's loan sharks, but she... she was a good person.
She almost forgot about becoming a Huntress altogether and considered just staying with them, but they'd pushed her into doing it. Nicole framed it as getting connections to a future top Huntress, but she could tell that was just hot air.
"How Beacon? Bet it beats getting shot at by the gangs." Billy chuckled.
"You'd be surprised." Blake rolled her eyes, "One of my teammates is Weiss Schnee, by the way."
"Huh?" Nicole blinked, suddenly looking nervous, "You, uh, didn't tell her about m- us, right?"
"No."
"Oh! Well, good!" Nicole nodded quickly. Blake sighed intenrally. Nicole had a...colorful history, and somehow that included scamming Weiss out of 50,000 lien a year back. While it was nothing in the grand scheme of things - her monthly allowance was at least four times that - Weiss wasn't one to be slighted. There was no chance the heiress would just let it slide if she knew Blake was working with her scammer.
"Nyaa~" Nekomata stretched exagerratedly, tongue darting out to quickly lick her right knuckle. Blake frowned. That was another reason Blake's relationship with her was strained. She'd fought for years for Faunus to be seen as more than just the sum of their animal parts. Yet here Nekomata was, seemingly proud of being a walking cliche, "Nicole, what are we gonna do about dinner tonight?"
The reminder of their dire financial straits caused the (one-sided) argument between Nicole and Billy to flare up again. Blake brought a hand across her face and sat down next to Anby on the lumpy couch. She cared about them, but there was a reason she was so quick to get used to team RWBY's shenanigans. No matter how much Nicole wanted to pretend they were a professional outfit, the truth of it was that it was a miracle if they could go more than a few months without going back into the red.
"Guess it's back to discounts at the farmer's market." Nekomata yawned, "I'll handle it."
"No need. I can treat you all." Beacon didn't have a proper mission board for professional Huntsmen, but students were given a scaled down version. Across the term, students were expected to accomplish a minimum amount of them with escalating difficulty depending on the year. First years were generally only allowed the most basic of work. Shadowing deputies, working with a village militia, or (if they were lucky) killing Grimm inside a Hollow under the supervision of an older Huntsman. It was good practice for both Huntsmen and Proxies.
And of course, they got paid too. Not a lot - especially when it had to be split four ways - but it incentivized doing more missions than the minimum. And Blake was used to saving and living frugally.
Nicole's pissed off expression disappeared, replaced by a catty (ugh) smile, "Oh, Blake~ I know you'd come to our rescue!"
"Hehe, maybe I won't have to sell my parts before I see big sis and the others tomorrow." Billy's shoulders slumped.
"I recommend burgers. There's a sale on Big Bang Burger today," Anby said.
"Ugh, burgers again? Let's go for mackerel this time!" Nekomata whined. Blake resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Yet another stereotype. Why couldn't she think of something different? Like ramen with tuna. Mmm, that sounded nice...
Nekomata, Nicole, and Billy started debating on where they should eat. Blake leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. Being here felt different than being with team RWBY. She trusted her new teammates, but even then, she kept up her guard. She didn't even take off her bow. What if someone outside of the team walked in, she told herself. But here, the bow was stuffed into her pocket and her cat ears were finally given time to breath again.
"How is Beacon?" Anby asked softly next to her.
"It's...fine." Blake stared up at the ceiling. Team RWBY was working out despite some initial bumps, and Yang was a decent partner, all things considered. But not for the first time, she found herself wondering what would come next. Once she got her license, what then? She thought becoming a Huntress would be her shot at bridging the gap between Humans and Faunus, but was it really that simple? And what about the Cunning Hares? Could she still work with them once she was licsensed? Hollow Raiding was illegal, even if the government looked the other way for the most part. Would they do the same if a Huntress was working with them?
"Are you happy there?"
"I...I think so."
"Hm." Anby finished off her burger, "Please don't forget us."
"What?" She sat up straighter and looked the white-haired girl in the eye, "What are you talking about?"
"When you become a Huntress. Please don't forget us."
Blake opened her mouth, but no words came. Was Anby really worried about that? She'd eben stoic and unfazed for all the months Blake knew her. But now, she sounded like she was making an earnest plea. It left her feeling flat-footed.
"Anby, I-" She stopped. Wait a minute, didn't she hear that before? "Anby...are you quoting a line from Silver Eyed Journey?" She remembered the exact scene. It was when the heroine's childhood friend said goodbye to her before she left to become a Huntress. His last plea was that when she became a Huntress, that she didn't forget about them. She didn't - her last thoughts before sacrificing herself was about her village.
Anby's eyes flicked to the side, "No." A pause, "This was not an attempt to endear myself to you so you'll pick Big Bang Burger." Another pause, "If that's what you're thinking."
...
A vein bulged on the Cat Faunus' forehead. This little...
"We're eating at the Tuna Shack," Blake announced. All four of them, even Anby, complained, but she drowned them out. Her money, her choice. Maybe that'd teach the burger addict a lesson about tugging on her heartstrings.
[line break]
This chapter was pretty exposition heavy. Sorry about that. It was also supposed to be more Jaune-focused, but it ended up shifting to the Weiss/Lucy rivalry and Blake being the surprise fifth Cunning Hares member.
The next chapter will be the SoC and RWY sparring match, Lucy and Weiss arguing, and an appearance from Winter with a plotline focused on Anby. It will have Soldier 0 Anby spoilers, so be warned.
Comments
The Brotherhood of Steel
Love it so far can't wait for the next chapter
Syraxes
As a recent convert to Zenless Zone Zero, loved the crossover. I can't wait for the next chapter!
