Back, and here we go! Some initial notes before we go. In response to many reviews I guess, thank you - in response to others. I'll be trying to keep Cinder in-character as much as possible, but with her changing so wildly in the show, as it's focused on her now, that will be difficult. That said, the story for this has already been "planned" in advance. So like i said at the end of last chapter. If she goes through one of those annoying RT twists, where they seem to get utterly bored of their character and re-write them... then I'll be ignoring it sadly.

This is all written from the PoV of Cinder as a criminal mastermind. Now some I may still use from the show, and I hope to. But like I said, if they suddenly add in a "she actually loves children and won't hurt them" thing or a "Cinder is actually a hero in disguise" - then I'll be ignoring that. If they give her a past, then sure I'll use it. What I'm saying is, the whole premise here works on the assumption that she is a driven, sometimes cruel criminal - who isn't afraid to do what needs to be done to reach her goals. If they vastly change that, in a way that she could never be cruel or hurt someone... then I will ignore it.

On another note, someone said she's utterly OoC because she isn't snappy or angry like in last chapter... sigh. You haven't seen her snappy in the show because she's usually shown in a good mood. That would be like saying I cannot ever write angry Ruby, because she's never "truly" angry. In this fic (early on anyway) she is frustrated and annoyed. So of course she is going to "act" frustrated and annoyed. We've never seen the shopkeeper aroused in the show, that doesn't mean he's a eunuch.

Also as for never snapping at Mercury and Emerald, some of Cinder's first lines were to tell them off, tell them to be silent, and then say; "Don't think - obey."

Her snappy nature will only last so long as her frustration does. When she's back in a good mood, then she will be much more similar to how she acts in the show.

Anyway, I'll be trying to keep in-character, but obviously the whole premise is a little AU, as RT will never include sex or any desires for, in an anime aimed at younger audiences.

Chapter Two

"We can't afford to have you slowing down," Cinder sighed as she lay back on the hard bed, her scroll pressed to one ear, "we need more dust if we're to make this work Roman. You are a master thief are you not?"

"I am," the voice on the other end of the scroll shot back, "but that doesn't make me invincible. With the Vytal Festival coming up, security is through the roof - this just isn't a good time to be out on the streets. Not to mention after the last fiasco, Schnee Freight Shipments have started arriving with robotic guards."

"And whose fault is that? It might have been worthwhile had you even managed to bring back a single container, but instead you were scared off by some children."

"Those children, as you call 'em, are better trained than any of my men – or the White Fang you've saddled me with."

"And you should be more experienced than any bunch of brats. I'm not in the mood to put up with yet another failure from you." One hand clenched the bed sheets she lay upon, twisting them as she imaged it as the thief's neck. "Just… get it done, Roman. Or the heat from the police will be the least of your concerns."

"Tch," she heard him spit loudly, "I see someone's in a foul mood. Alright then, Cindy, I'll get you your dust – here's hoping your impatience doesn't get me – and you – killed." The scroll went dead as he hung up, right before she threw it against a nearby wall. It didn't shatter as she hoped it would, instead it made a dull thump and fell to the carpet.

That… that… she had no words. He never dared be that mouthy when she was face to face with him, clearly distance had allowed him to grow something of a spine. She would make sure to tear it out when they next saw one another.

A great sigh escaped her lips as she fell back into the soft sheets. Golden eyes tracing patterns the rough paint made on the ceiling, swirling white circles that interlocked and danced with one another, becoming ever more complex. Her body felt heavy, and even stretching out her limbs didn't quite do enough to remove the tension in her muscles.

It was as though Mercury and Emerald's words had sparked an ember within her, a slow flame building in intensity with each passing hour. Ever since they pointed it out she'd been unable to focus on anything else, as though by drawing her frustration to her attention, they had made it worse. Her body ached for something, anything. A deadly fight, pulse-pounding adrenaline, a massage… she would take anything other than this endless waiting. Where her muscles were tight and coiled, her nerves ever on edge.

Waiting for an attack that never happened.

Little wonder she was stressed, and unlike in Vale – she couldn't bury it in work. There was simply nothing to do at Beacon. Other than that utterly pointless six-page essay on history that hyperactive excuse for a professor had given them. Such a suggestion was an insult, she made Emerald do it – complete with a warning of just what would happen should a teacher figure out and call her in for copying.

There were far more important things for her to focus on than schoolwork… like scratching that damnable itch.

Except that it wasn't an important matter at all, was it? Simply one she had come to realise would impede her every decision, even the way she reacted to people. Her eyes drifted closed as she cursed at how she had lambasted Roman. He was a threat yes, but honeyed words achieved more than empty threats… she knew that. He'd just caught her in a bad mood.

How could she be expected to balance so much when her body was distracted so? No one did good work on an empty stomach, and when the body was hungry – you fed it.

This would be no different.

She had sought to take matters into her own hands, as it were, the previous evening - but a night alone in her room with her fingers had done little to alleviate the flame that grew within her. If the other two had noticed her mounting sexual frustration, then they chose not to comment.

A wise choice.

As far she was concerned, that last little experiment made it official. She needed a man, in fact - not even that; she needed the services of man, for a single night. After which he would be expected to fade away into obscurity and never approach her again.

There was no use arguing with the body, it would only waste time – and that was something she couldn't afford to squander. She could seduce a man easily enough, in a school like this most of the male population were probably walking bundles of hormones. She would enchant one, take him – and that would be the end of it. No complications, and certainly no more frustrated evenings alone.

A knock on the door interrupted her musing, with Mercury's voice sounding out a moment later. A brief glance at the dust-powered clock by her bed told her it was time for lessons. With a frustrated sigh she swung her bare legs over the side of the mattress and climbed to her feet.

"I'll be there soon, go on without me," she called through the door. If they replied then she didn't bother listening to it, instead pushing open the wardrobe door as she pulled out a fresh uniform. So dull, a mixture of blacks and greys, Haven was clearly a boring place to study – likely why not a single person from there had actually bothered to chat with them. Only Atlas seemed more zombie-like, with whites and light greys, all their students arranged and poised like soldiers. She could just imagine Ironwood being the type to enforce something like that.

Always results with that man.

She sat on the edge of the bed as she pulled the stockings up her long legs, rolling the soft fabric out against her skin. She briefly imagined someone's hands running up and down them, fingers ghosting over her flesh as they drew them down. No, focus. She shook her head, the pleasurable sensation fleeing as she growled. Damn Mercury and his poisoned words, she would need to think up a suitable punishment for what he was putting her through.

Perhaps she should make him deal with Roman's excuses next time.

She was never one for make-up, just the briefest touch of shadow around her eyes as she blinked into the mirror, her thick lashes lowered, flecks of gold shining through. It would do. She didn't need to impress, and even if she did – she was so far ahead of the others in the school it wasn't even fair. A wolf among sheep, a Goddess amongst mortals.

The alarm sounded, her sigh echoing it. She slammed the door behind her as she made her way through the halls. Yet another lesson with Professor Port, another chance to peruse the reports being sent through – perhaps even make contact with Adam once more. The White Fang certainly were digging their heels in.

Or should it be hooves, she thought to herself with a soft laugh.

"Oh, hey Cinder," a voice called out to her before she could reach the classroom, and once more she sighed. A false smile bloomed as she turned to the man who dared speak her name. Blonde, taller than her – a uniform this time, but unmistakably the one she had bumped into the other day. But what was his name?

"Ah, Jo-Jaune?" She hazarded, breathing a sigh of relief when his smile didn't falter. "I didn't see you there."

"Ha ha, yeah – I just finished a lesson with Port. Well… not sure I'd call it a lesson."

"Rest assured I know what you mean," she sighed honestly, "I'm about to go through the same myself." The teen winced, and for a moment she felt amused at how such a man's lessons could inspire similar emotions between a criminal and a Hunter, even if it was one in training. She blinked slightly when she realised there was someone else behind the boy, another of similar age – though this one seemed infinitely quieter, with hair the colour of her own, but for a single streak of pink.

"Anyway, this is Ren – he's one of my teammates, though I'm the leader," she didn't fail to notice him add proudly, even as she internally rolled her eyes. Goodness gracious, was the child honestly trying to impress her like that? She wasn't sure whether to feel amused or exasperated. Of course, the emotion her face gave off was that of a woman impressed with such news.

"I didn't realise," she said, "I'm the leader of my team too – a pleasure to meet you Ren, I'm Cinder."

"Charmed," the boy's voice was deep and lilting, "I'm guessing from your uniform that you're from Haven?"

One of those silent analytical types, he certainly fit the bill. In a way he might have reminded her of what she was once like, and that wasn't something she liked to see in a potential enemy. She would need to keep an eye on him, maybe even remove him if he made himself dangerous.

"Yes, Jaune was kind enough to offer to show us around."

"That was good of him, I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thank you, but I must get to my lesson now," she shrugged elegantly, one shoulder rising and falling as her smile took a lopsided edge. "The last thing I want is Professor Port to lecture me for being late, especially if it's anything like his lessons."

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll see you around though, right?" The blonde asked eagerly, the words prompted another internal eye-roll from her.

"Of course Jaune, have a good day if I don't see you again." The two boys nodded and walked away, some small chatter between them. Cinder's happy-go-lucky smile slipped from her face easily, an annoyed sneer taking its place. Heaven help her if she needed to put up with any more people like them…

"Was worried you might not make it," Mercury moved to allow her past, and she took the seat the two had saved between them. The last thing she needed was someone trying to chat with her, or worse – catching a sight of what was on her scroll. "Something hold you up?"

"Someone," she sniffed as she smoothed out her skirt and sat down, crossing her legs beneath the desk, "that blonde buffoon from the other day, Jaune." Emerald tutted loudly, pretty much echoing her thoughts on him.

"Really?" The grey-haired teen chuckled quietly. "Aw man, I said he had a crush but this is a bit rich. Do you… maybe want me to warn him off. You know, say you have someone back home in Haven or something? I can do it subtle, like I'm saving him the heartbreak."

She did consider his offer, genuinely did, before shaking her head no. There was really no need to bother them with something so small, and her being a social pariah might just draw more attention. It was standard fare for students to form crushes, and for boys to moon over young women out of their league. It would only help her cover further if she appeared to blend in with the crowd like that, even if she did have to resist the urge to light the poor sap on fire.

"Allow me to tell you all about the time I came across a village in peril," the obese fool Port started, the sheer force of his voice causing his moustache to twitch like a dying animal. Cinder simply allowed her head to fall onto one hand, as various other students around them let out their own sighs and began to get comfortable.

She swore he would be the first to die.

A few peas rolled around her plate as she poked at them, her head once more resting in one hand as an elbow balanced on the cafeteria table. As always the feeding hole of the Academy was a hive of activity, as students bustled and chatted away. Emerald's tray settled beside her own with a clank, as Mercury sat across from them – the two falling into their usual banter. In front of so many others she dared not draw attention by silencing them.

No matter how much she wished to.

Still, it did provide her an opportunity to scout for a solution to her little problem. If she was to look for a man to settle that itch, then there would be no better place to see them all. Her eyes roved over the student body, picking out potential candidates - before dismissing them for various reasons. Too plain looking, too clingy, already in a relationship - she cared not for their childish attachments, but she did not need some jealous harpy dogging her every step.

She didn't need to leave a corpse.

Her eyes fell upon a burly figure, who she recalled as being the scion of House Winchester, little more than a bully and a braggart from what she had heard and confirmed for herself. He was tall and broad enough, but there was a point at which confidence became arrogance - nothing was more dissatisfying than that. His mistreatment of the faunus bothered her little, but the attention he generated while doing so was an issue. The Winchester name might also cause complications with her alliance with the White Fang, since their position on faunus was clear. While she was only looking for a single night, there was always the chance of a White Fang member misinterpreting her actions as affection.

This wasn't to interfere with her plans, so he was definitely out.

His teammates were not options for various reasons. Too ugly, ridiculous hair, but more than all of that – Winchester seemed like the type that had to see himself as the alpha male. If she was to take any of his members, even for a night, then he might seek to redeem his lost pride by `bagging` her as well.

Cinder Fall was no prize. Whatever man she chose would count himself blessed to stand in her presence, if only for a short time. He would count himself fortunate, she would make certain of it.

A few others caught her eye – a tanned figure with reddish hair, although badly scarred he looked exotic and exciting. She didn't recognise him from any notes from her peons, which meant he wouldn't be a threat – but she was forced to dismiss him when the brunette with the beret slapped his ass. The… literal giant next to him, she dismissed for logistical reasons.

She wasn't one to make assumptions, but if his size was relative to the rest of his body…

A few others caught her fancy for brief moments, but the problems were common among them. Like many women when she was looking for someone, she found the same features attractive. Confidence, good posture, a handsome face, personality. But the men who had each of those tended to already be in relationships. Good catches snagged by others, and often jealously guarded.

She didn't want to settle for someone unattractive, certainly not when she was looking for a single night of pleasure – but would clearly have to expand her horizons a little bit. Her gaze was drawn to the one she had met earlier, Ren if she recalled correctly. An eastern name; suitable for a man clearly not from Vale. He certainly had the elegant look down, with his dark hair with a single streak of pink – and though he was slim and fragile looking, he was interesting enough. She dismissed him however, partly for the girl constantly hanging from his shoulder, but also because of how intelligent he had seemed.

She needed someone relatively easy to approach and seduce. While she was confident in her ability to win over a person in the long-run, she didn't want to waste time on it, this was to be an immediate solution. So the less effort she needed to put into ensnaring, and getting rid of her catch – the better.

It was while her eyes were trailing back over the Ren boy, that she heard laughter come from their table. It was the team that had gotten in their way, this time laughing over the antics of a particular blond boy who was attempting to talk to the white-haired girl.

"Not. Interested." The Schnee deadpanned, causing the boy who had crashed into her earlier to slump. Jaune looked defeated for a moment before plastering a smile on his face and walking back to his own group, getting a consoling pat on the shoulder from the redheaded Pyrrha Nikos.

Looked like it wasn't only herself trawling for company, she considered with a dark chuckle, subtly enjoying the drama unfolding. Apparently his approach needed some work if he'd been rejected so easily. The laughter from some of the tables around them suggested it was a fairly regular routine. He certainly looked like one of those naïve types who wore their hearts on their sleeves, he'd been much the same with her.

She hated that kind of person.

So predictable, so easy to manipulate, so completely unimportant…

...

Wait... No, surely not?

She hated that kind of person… and yet… wasn't that exactly what she was looking for?

Unimportant enough to not raise much fuss, simple enough for her to enchant with relatively little effort. He had already met her, and even shown interest in getting to know her a little better. Sure it had been bumbling flirtation on his part, but she wasn't exactly looking for scintillating conversation or a romantic date. As long as he had the required body parts and a pulse, that would be enough for her.

"Looks like someone has a crush."

She watched him a little more, noticing how he poked at his food, a look of dejection sneaking back onto his features, even as the other members of his team clearly did their best to cheer him up. Typical teenage angst, as though the girl was the most important thing in his life.

He wasn't exactly handsome, not by her usual standards. He wasn't rugged enough, lacked that dangerous edge that set her off. When the lifestyle you lived was already full of danger, it took a certain type of man to really hold your interest. Jaune Arc was still a boy transforming into a man, but he wasn't quite there yet.

He wasn't ugly though. A little gangly true, but he was hardly obese or strangely proportioned. He had the physique of a hunter-in-training, which already placed him far above the common man in the streets of Vale. And while blond was not normally her colour, she could put up with it.

Normally his expressiveness would have turned her off, especially if she was looking for a meaningful relationship… but the fact that he showed his every thought on his face, no matter how hard he tried…?

That sounded exciting.

There was no doubt in her mind that she would be his first. There was no confidence in the way he moved, she doubted he had so much as kissed a girl before. He was completely innocent.

Would it be exhilarating to taint that innocence? Tarnish it. Coax lustful and dirty expressions onto that face… he would be completely unable to hide them from her, showing and sounding his every emotion. Each and every bit of pleasure would be reflected on his face, in his voice…

In every desperate gasp…

Already she could feel her body beginning to warm up.

Yes…

Yes! He would do nicely. In fact, the more she thought about it - the more she realised she wanted that more than any other thing. Experienced hands were nice, but she would become an unforgettable experience for him, a spectre that would haunt his dreams and thoughts for years to come. No one remembered their tenth roll in the hay, but the first time lasted forever. She would last forever.

He turned his head, the instincts drilled into him by his training no doubt allowing him to finally pin-point the feeling of being watched. His blue eyes scanned the room nervously, before finally noticing her smouldering gaze.

Their eyes met, his blue locked onto her golden orbs. He was everything she hated in a person, loyal to her enemies, idealistic, young and foolish. And oh so innocent.

She smiled at him, lowering her head slightly so that he could see one eye through her thick black lashes, even as she raised her delicate fingers in a gentle wave. He looked behind him, scanning the cafeteria to see if anyone else was waving back to her, before turning back, a surprised expression on his face.

She giggled. Like the little girl she had never in her life been, allowing her expression to turn a little more flirtatious, before nodding.

He waved back, nervously, an almost excited smile coming to his lips.

He was already hers.

He just hadn't realised it.

There we go. Jaune, you are the chosen one. Also, I still haven't seen the last three episodes or so of RWBY, but I'll be watching them all before next weekend. At this stage there shouldn't be too many clashes though, unless it's been revealed that Cinder is a man. Or my own little joke (but also hoping it ISN'T as it's cliche as hell, but kinda scared it is.. please RT, do not...) conspiracy - Cinder is Summer Rose, or Cinder's boss is Summer.

Next Chapter: 18th Jan.