Beta read by Levi Ackermanlet
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Despite all the time Zuko had spent stuck in whatever alternate reality or different planet or whatever he was on, he had never gotten used to all the "fake" sounds he was constantly hearing. Case in point, whatever Ruby was currently doing with her Scroll. She was tapping away furiously at the piece of glass, rapidly flashing coloured lights illuminating her face, and strange beeps and boops drowning out the chatter of the cafeteria as everyone enjoyed their breakfast.
She had her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth, her eyes locked in concentration on the Scroll even as she constantly tilted it around in her hands. He didn't know what she could be doing, but that couldn't have been helping. As if to prove him correct, there was a sudden rapid beeping and then everything went quiet. At least it was until she let out a whimper, the adorable little whine being punctuated by a pout. Sadly, he wished he could say it reminded him of his little sister.
She looked up and managed to catch Zuko's eyes on her. "Did, did you want to play?"
His brow furrowed in confusion. Play what? She hadn't been playing any game he recognised. Then again, he hadn't seen anyone playing anything even remotely similar to something like hide and explode, so it was probably just another weird quirk he'd yet to discover.
"No, I'm okay. What even is that anyway?"
She gasped dramatically, slapping her hands against her cheeks with dismay. "I know you don't have a Scroll, but how could you have never heard of Grimm Eclipse?"
"I've had to focus more on other things besides mindless games in my life."
Before Ruby could fully show just how offended she was over her favourite game being insulted, Blake quickly decided to change the subject. "So, you think the school could lend you a Scroll? There are some classes where you need it and you haven't been able to take part since the beginning of the year."
"Uh...no. I've asked them about it, but budget constraints and all that. Besides, they're already paying my uncle, so I figure he'll buy me one once he's saved enough money."
"Geez, I figure a school like this could afford to help out someone that's here on a scholarship. What if one of us ever needs to contact you?" Yang said, surprised at the school's dismissal at someone like Zuko not having a device that was practically essential.
"And what about when you go to Vale? How do you not get lost?" Weiss had finally joined in.
Zuko groaned internally and externally, not bothering to answer Yang's question. "I've never even been to Vale, so it doesn't matter."
"You've never been to… That's it!" Weiss slammed her fist onto the table, standing up straight to appear as much like an authority as possible. "Today, we are going into Vale. And today is just the perfect day for it too!"
'Oh no.' Zuko really didn't want to go into the town and be bored for the day. Seeking sanctuary, he turned to his actual team leader. "Can you overrule her, please?"
"Nope. She's right, we need to show you around Vale today!" She paused, remembering something else that Weiss had said. "Wait, what's so special about today Weiss?"
The heiress had already left, leaving Yang and Blake to only shrug their shoulders as Ruby's questioning eyes roamed over them. No doubt she had already disappeared off in her excitement to pack for their trip into town.
~RWBYZ~
Zuko's eyes roved around the city in wonder. It truly was magnificent to see just what the other towns and cities of this new world would look like. As he'd been expecting, they were nothing like the ones in the Fire Nation, or the Earth Kingdom. Not a single wooden building or thatch rooftop in sight, instead everything was brick or stone or even metal of all things. Glass replaced open windows, and wooden or dirt roads were fully paved.
It almost felt like being back near the palace again in some aspects. The high quality architecture, the clean streets…and yet, he still loathed the sight of it. He was in a good mood make no mistake, and seeing more of the world was certainly interesting. But it felt almost wrong that somewhere so unimportant, so normal, could compare to the Fire Nation palace. Beacon he could begrudgingly accept, it was after all a fairly prestigious academy, and with everything else that angered him about living there…
Zuko took a deep breath and pushed it to the back of his mind. What he had once thought of as home was gone now, no amount of bitterness would bring it back. It was a hard truth to swallow, and one he still hadn't, but ever since he'd come to accept his place on team RWBYZ after months of living with them, it hadn't felt quite as bad.
He glanced to team in question by his side as they walked through the streets of Vale. Balloons and streamers were already filling the city in preparation for some kind of festival. One old man had even taken it upon himself to hang up a banner with the words 'WELCOME TO VALE!' written on it in bright red letters.
"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss was practically skipping with glee.
"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Ruby tilted her head in a mixture of surprise and confusion. "It's kinda weirding me out..."
"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"
Yang sighed as she crossed her arms. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring."
"Quiet, you!" The team rounded the corner, finally arriving at their destination after Agni knows how long of walking.
"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?"
Zuko frowned dramatically. "I hope it's good. Y'know riding in one of those 'Bullhead' things just to get here isn't exactly fun."
"Oh please, you were fine." To his surprise he actually had been. Years of being out at sea and months of watching the Avatar fly away from him had made the whole trip not as bad as he'd expected. It was still boring though. "Besides, this is the best time for you to see Vale. 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!"
No-one believed her for a moment, and Blake took it upon herself to set the record straight. "She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament."
"You can't prove that!"
"Whoa." Ruby pointed towards a nearby building, its windows smashed and two detectives inspecting the area. "What happened here?"
"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." The detective walked off towards his partner.
"That's terrible." Yang sighed in sadness and looked away. Zuko however took a few subtle steps over towards the building, just close enough so that he could hear the two detectives talk clearly to each other.
"They left all the money again."
"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?"
"I don't know, an army?"
"You thinking the White Fang?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."
"Hmph! The White Fang." Weiss crossed her arms in a huff.
"Wait, who're the White Fang?" Zuko asked, walking away from the cops so that they couldn't be overheard by them.
"They're an awful bunch of degenerates!"
"What's your problem?" To Zuko's surprise, Blake of all people looked to be annoyed by Weiss's 'explanation'.
"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."
"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths." Blake turned to Zuko, who still looked confused. "They're a collection of misguided Faunus."
"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"
"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!"
Zuko noticed how she had quickly changed the subject slightly and narrowed his eyes. He would have to do his own research on them at some point… Ruby either didn't notice or simply let it be as she answered.
"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."
"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." She whirled on Blake in anger. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."
Yang stepped in to try and defuse the situation. "That's not necessarily true...?"
"Hey, stop that Faunus!"
From the edge of the docks team RWBYZ could easily spot the blonde haired Faunus as he leapt off of a cargo ship. Rather astonishingly, he leapt on top of a lamppost and began to poke fun at the sailors who yelled at him. He didn't even move until the two detectives from the store began to order him to get down.
He got down from the lamppost and sped past the two detectives, making his way up and towards the team. For a brief moment, Zuko considered stopping him. The cops wanted him, and he was going to pass right by Zuko. However, if he remembered correctly, many Faunus were treated abhorrently for…some reason, and so the guy was probably pretty desperate. Remembering his days travelling through the Earth Kingdom robbing others to survive, Zuko let him pass.
Yang watched in amusement as he got further and further away. "Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..."
"Quick! We have to observe him!"
Weiss gave chase as quickly as her high heels would allow her, the rest of team RWBYZ following more from wanting to stay together than agreement. As Weiss rounded the corner after him however, she smacked straight into somebody and fell over. When she looked up again, it was just in time to see him disappear over the rooftops.
"No, he got away!"
"Uhh... Weiss?" Yang pointed to the girl she still sat atop of. She quickly jumped off, her hands raised apologetically even as the girl laid smiling on the ground.
"Sal-u-ta-tions!"
"Um... hello."
"Are you... okay?"
"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking."
The team looked to each other in bewilderment before Yang turned her attention back to the strange girl on the ground. "Do you... wanna get up?"
"…Yes!" She eagerly leapt to her feet, the team taking a step back in discomfort. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby."
"I'm Weiss."
"Blake."
"Uh, Zuko."
"Are you sure you didn't hit your head? Oh, I'm Yang."
"It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Weiss raised an eyebrow at her. "You already said that."
"…So I did!"
"…Well, sorry for running into you!"
Ruby waved goodbye as they turned to leave. "Take care, friend!"
After they'd gotten a safe distance away, Yang was the first to speak. "She was... weird..."
"I know I find a lot of normal things strange, but…that was strange right?"
Weiss ignored Yang and Zuko, already looking around the rooftops for clues. "Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?"
'Penny' suddenly appeared before them. "What did you call me?"
Yang looked immediately apologetic. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"
"No, not you." Penny walked over to Ruby. "You!"
"Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh..."
"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?"
"Uuuum..." The rest of team RWBYZ, Zuko included, began to make big 'NO' motions with their hands from over Penny's shoulder. "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?"
"Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys! Like him!" Penny pointed straight at Zuko, who promptly dropped his head into his hand and wished he was anywhere else. "I have heard many good things about scars on boys. Although yours looks very different from how it was described to me." And just like that, Zuko's embarrassment turned to anger.
While the team seemed content to chuckle at Zuko's suffering, it was actually Yang who decided to lend him a hand. "So... what are you doing in Vale?"
"I'm here to fight in the tournament."
"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Weiss put her hands on her hips in disbelief, while Penny saluted.
"I'm combat ready!"
"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."
"Says the girl wearing a dress." Perhaps it was spite from chuckling at him a moment ago, but Zuko couldn't stop himself, nor did he bother to try.
"It's a combat skirt!
Ruby slid next to her skirt sister. "Yeah!" Weiss held out her hand as Ruby promptly low-fived her.
"Besides, you're one to talk, you fight in rags!"
"Oh I'm sorry, I suppose I should have worn my dirty school ones instead?"
Weiss was about to snap back at him when a realization hit her. "Wait a minute." She whirled on Penny. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?"
"The who...?"
"The filthy Faunus from the boat!"
"Why do you keep saying that?!" Snapped Blake, Zuko's eyes narrowing once again.
"Huh?"
"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"
"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?"
"Stop it!"
"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"
"You ignorant, little brat!"
~RWBYZ~
The argument continued for several hours even after they headed home, their trip into the town ruined. Inside of their dorm room, Zuko was desperately trying to drown out the sounds of Weiss and Blake bickering by catching up on some of his homework.
'Much like a person's Semblance, Auras have been known to activate in times of extreme distress. While it is typical for Huntsman and Huntresses in training to have their Auras unlocked by teachers or more advanced fellow students, it is not uncommon for dangerous training exercises to result in the activation of-'
"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Aaaaand he was back.
"That is the problem!" Blake fumed, pacing around the room in an attempt to try and vent at least some of her anger.
Weiss stood up from the bed she had been arrogantly laying on. "You realize you are defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"
"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 take such drastic measures!"
'No such thing as pure evil?' Zuko's mind drifted to the Air Nomad genocide, a slaughter which had been lied and turned into a glorious victory for the Fire Nation. That…that was pure evil. Turning the murder of an innocent and harmless people into something that was celebrated, it could never be justified.
'Except by father.' Zuko pushed those treacherous thoughts to the back of his mind. That was the past, he didn't want to think about that ever again.
"People like me?"
"You're discriminatory!"
"I'm a victim!" For perhaps the first time that night, Weiss grew quiet, rage dripping from her words. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted 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 car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood."
Ruby stepped forwards to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Weiss, I-"
"No!" She batted Ruby's hand away and stalked over to Blake. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"
"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" The room went deathly quiet as the others stared at Blake in shock. Even Zuko, who hadn't really cared one way or another about the Faunus, looked at her in surprise. "I... I..." Her eyes widened in horror at the words which had escaped her lips, Blake ran out of the room.
"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby tried to catch her as she left, but having been caught off guard she lost sight of her as soon as she left the room.