LJNT

Trust

"I'm sorry, the Grimm did WHAT!?"

It didn't take long for Lyra to turn on Nico upon hearing the news that Nico had tried to kill someone. After all, it was only natural for anyone to assume the worst..but it didn't stop Nico from sinking down in her chair, her ears drooping to the side. Janelle was horrified, standing by the same logic Lyra did, and even Tanya was disappointed and upset. Having the only person who had really trusted her from the beginning express disapproval hurt, but Nico didn't regret her actions in the slightest. She only wished that her team hadn't gotten caught up the mix...

"This sort of behavior is unacceptable!" Janelle shook her head from side to side, setting down her pen. She nervously played with her dress. "You could have seriously injured Blake!"

"Fucking Grimm," Lyra muttered under her breath. There was a hurt look in her crimson flickered eyes. After all, she had wanted to trust Nico, especially after that whole spiel she'd had. She'd finally put her trust in a half Grimm, and now she'd been betrayed for her efforts...just as she had predicted. I told you, the voice snickered. Kill it. Do it now! "I told you all since the beginning, didn't I? She probably was planning to turn on us all along!"

"N-N-No, I wasn't!" Nico finally spoke up for herself for the first time. She was trembling as the attention shifted to her, but she needed to say something, anything to defend herself. "...I-If I w-w-was going to do that, I w-would have killed you all already!"

"Oh, great! I feel so reassured because you haven't killed us in the past few weeks!" Lyra said sarcastically. She paced back and forth furiously. "That changes nothing, considering how you were trying to kill Blake-"

"She...She helped m-make me...like this!"
Nico exclaimed, her explanation vague enough for Tanya and Janelle to just barely understand it, but telling enough for Lyra to completely comprehend the veracity of her statement. Lyra's red flecked eyes widened in surprise, temporarily reverting back to their usual fully golden state.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Wait, what?" Tanya interrupted the conversation between the two curiously upon hearing this; she had just assumed that Nico had been born like that. But here Nico was, suggesting something different...? "She made you... like, Grimm? But why? When? ...How? That-That-"

"That is simply impossible," Janelle shook her head in utter disbelief. "Blake is just a student here like all of us, and it is ridiculous of you to try and formulate such a asinine excuse."

"Hold on," Lyra gestured for the two of them to stop talking. While the reason didn't excuse the actions Nico had taken, Lyra was curious to know what Nico meant by that. After all, she was the only one who really understood what Nico had insinuated about her Grimm creation... "Nico...I'm giving you one last chance. Explain."

"I-I-I-" Nico hesitated. She wasn't willing to just go and talk about her past all willy nilly. There was a lot of trauma associated with her past that Nico didn't want other people to know. Yet, here she was, stuck in a situation where if she didn't reveal something, she'd lose her teammates... "...Blake was...one of the people who imprisoned me."

"...And you're not lying about this?" Lyra focused her steady stare on Nico, searching for discrepancies in Nico's posture to see if Nico was lying. She didn't find any, but she wanted to be positive. Nico shook her head from side to side. After another intense moment, Lyra glanced away. "...I think she's telling the truth."

Lyra, kill it! Stop this nonsense. Avenge me..kill the Grimm!

"I'm so confused," Tanya butt in once again, completely stupefied. She glanced between Lyra and Nico before impatiently tapping her foot repetitively against the ground. "What's going on? There was an experiment and Blake was somehow involved? What?"

"Perhaps this is a situation best handled by Headmaster Ozpin," Janelle responded. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the other two teammates were talking about something they didn't know about, and while Janelle was also curious, she thought authority could handle the situation better. "Let us go discuss with him."

"No," Nico shook her head fearfully. If she was kicked out of Beacon Academy, she'd have to go back to Atlas, where the military was always keeping an eye on her, and where General Ironwood on her back. No, she couldn't throw away her only opportunity to get out of that place. Ozpin had gotten her out of there, she couldn't go back... "Please, dont-"

"Wait, that's a good idea!" Tanya agreed willingly. "Professor Ozpin will know what to do."

"...Jf Nico is telling the truth, we shouldn't have a problem," Lyra nodded. She was originally hesitant about reporting Nico, considering that she didn't like authority figures getting involved in their affairs if they could figure it out themselves. However, she knew Ozpin would know what to do with someone she didn't fully trust...yet. She wanted to, but...she needed him to reaffirm her thoughts. "Let's go."

•••

"This is outside of Professor Ozpin's hours. Go to bed, it's late. He'll see you tomorrow."

"But this is important!" Tanya exclaimed impatiently. They had tried to visit the headmaster, but Professor Goodwitch was blocking their entrance. "It can't wait."

"That's against protocol-"

"Oh, it's alright, Glynda. Let them in."

Professor Ozpin appeared from seemingly nowhere. Team LJNT would have been surprised by this...except for the fact that he seemed to materialize out of nowhere pretty often. Glynda sighed indignantly.

"Have it your way," Professor Goodwitch shook her head in slight bewilderment, but he moved on her way out of the building. Ozpin turned to them, a pleasant smile on his face.

"What brings you all to my office?" He questioned, and Lyra bit her lip. She was starting to second guess herself. What would be the consequences of telling Ozpin? Would Nico be in serious trouble? Well, probably not, considering how Ozpin had excused Lyra's own murder attempt, but what about Blake?

"Professor Ozpin, I caught Nico attacking Blake in the courtyard," Tanya explained. "She was trying...to kill her. Blake was defenseless, without a weapon..."

"I see," Was all that Ozpin said on that matter before turning to Nico. "And what did Miss Belladonna do to you?"

"She...m-made me like this," Nico focused her furious glare on the door situated behind Ozpin. "S-She stood there...and watched me suffer...S-She did nothing to h-help me!"

"Yes, yes...I'm aware of Miss Belladonna's unique and tragic circumstances," Ozpin mused, not phased by one bit by Nico revealing this piece of information. "She deeply regretted her own inaction."

"T-That's a lie!" Nico blurted out angrily. "S-She's just trying to g-get you to believe her! D-Don't you understand? She's a c-criminal!"

"Yes, I understand that she's a reformed criminal. My school is for all sorts of people, which is why I let you attend here as well," Ozpin pointed out before taking a sip of his coffee. "I have done a thorough interrogation on Miss Belladonna. She's trying to amend for her mistakes."

"That's a lie!!"

"Nico, the Headmaster would not lie to you," Janelle said firmly. "I do not know much about Blake, but I do know that the Headmaster is trustworthy. He would not allow an unrepentant criminal into Beacon Academy."

"Y-You're making a mistake!"

"If that's a mistake, then it's a mistake to keep you around too, Nico," Lyra folded her arms in contempt. "...But I don't think he's making a mistake. Professor Ozpin is choosing to see the best in people...and I will do the same thing."

Nico kept silent at this, only continuing to shake in fury. Why did it matter that Blake was trying to reform? She'd been involved in the experiment that had made her so deformed! Yet...Lyra had a point. If Ozpin was going to continue to let her stay in Beacon, she'd have to understand that everyone got second chances, not just her. She clenched her fists. not saying anything more. Ozpin sipped from his coffee cup once more.

"Go to bed, it's late. I'll see you all tomorrow. I have a very special mission in mind..."