I Know You

by AStranger'sFate

He's dangerous, reckless and irresponsible but Ruby still wants to trust him, Yang wonders why she can, Weiss can't afford to ignore him, and Blake, despite everything, wants to keep him from becoming Adam. The question for all of them though isn't why, it's how? How do they know Jaune Arc?

3. Chapter 3

OK. . . this chapter pretty much wrote itself but also did exactly what IT wanted to so I'll understand if a number of people are annoyed. I had fun though. Excuses can be found at the bottom.

I do not own RWBY or any referenced material that will inevitably slip its way in, only my OC's, please support the official release.

IIIII

"You thought a bike ride of all things would freak Jaune out." Pyrrha was trying to keep her laughter subdued as her partner of less than a day sulked beside her.

Yang gave her a withering look as she stalked behind her. "Ok Miss Invincible Girl, let's take a ride this afternoon, see how you handle my driving."

"I'll have to decline, three of my contracts forbid me from riding motorcycles." Pyrrha answered diplomatically.

Yang snorted in feigned disgust. "Nice excuse."

Pyrrha used the excuse of opening the cafeteria's door to hide her smile only to stop in her tracks, Yang bumping into her have a second later. Pyrrha barely even noticed, to busy trying to process the sight of Jaune talking amicably with all of team Cardinal didn't change, neither did his enthused expression or the raptured attention of his audience. The blond abruptly turned about to catch the attention of one of the older girls at the table across from him.

Even from where they were, Pyrrha and Yang easily spotted the girl's elevator eyes as she distinctly checked out the blond. "What the hell, vomit boy's got game." Yang stated loudly, Pyrrha blushing faintly beside her.

Nora, who'd managed to sneak up behind them somehow, summed it up in a single word. "Boys." It came out in an exasperated sigh before catching Ren's arm and dragging him away.

Pyrrha shared a look with her partner but the blond only shrugged. "She's not wrong."

"I just didn't think he was the type." Her fame had attracted the attention of all sorts after all and would be suiters were almost as bad as reporters. Jaune simply lacked the 'emptiness' she'd come to associate with such men or women.

"I don't think he's quite what you're thinking girl," Yang stated dryly as she moved towards the lunch line. "He's just mature enough to talk to anyone confidently." She snickered. "Or did you think a guy able to make Weissicle take a bet wouldn't be able to flirt with a girl."

Pyrrha laughed at the thought. "No, I guess I'm just to used to the real Jaune already."

Yang smirked dangerously. "Oh, think you've cracked everyone's second favorite blond already? The arrogant statement within the question was given with such a sly smile Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh this time.

"Maybe not all the way but you can't tell me that you find such a shift in personality natural." She stated with a good deal less flare then her partner seemed to insist on adding to everything she did in life, starting with her semblance.

Yang glanced at the blond again before holding out her tray to the server. "He wants something."

Pyrrha frowned but waited tell they found an empty table before she spoke. "How do you know?"

"It's a trick my Uncle taught me, guys are weird so often enough a beating like the one Cardin just got can end with them being best friends."

"But what does he get out of it?"

"Friends, minions, reliable cannon fodder, and plenty of other options I'd rather not get into." Yang answered with a careless shrug.

Pyrrha was distinctly horrified. "How can you be so calm about that?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "It sounds worse than it is, odds are they'll probably turn out as better huntsman at the end of the day."

"Your still ok with him manipulating them like that though?" Pyrrha asked as she shot another glance at the group of boys who were all laughing at something.

"You've probably noticed but Jaune is bizarre." Yang stated dryly. "He's not a rebel per say but never acknowledges any of the teacher's authority either." She gestured towards Cardin, "With asshat over there, he may as well be playing stick and carrot."

The champion gave her partner a curious look. "You have a PHD in psychology I don't know about." She was mostly joking but Yang was surprisingly adept at reading people.

The brawler chuckled. "Nope, Jaune is no one's idea of subtle." She jabbed a fork at her fellow blond rather viciously. "The problem with him is finding all the pieces which is pretty common with illusionists actually, they tend to be a little scattered whether its apparent or not."

Pyrrha considered what little she knew of those with illusion type auras. While not particularly rare they weren't common either and most of them weren't practical in direct combat, often better suited for a team which, in typical Jaune fashion, didn't suit him at all. With the cards down, his semblance while disturbing, was little more a flashy novelty compared to his skill with weapons and Dust.

IIIII

Student's strolled about the gardens, some studying but most just enjoying their free period before lunch started like Blake as she leaned against a tree reading. With how comfortably warm the air was she have considered a nap if she hadn't had one just an hour ago in Professor Port's class.

Never once in her life had she ever thought that a wood bench and desk could be so comfortable and she'd seen people crash in some of the craziest of places before out of sheer inconvenience and boredom that came with White Fang hideouts. Port made those places feel like her dorm room first thing in the morning.

Now free of the exhaustion from combat and the hypnotic droning of her teacher, her mind refused to be silent and let her read, yesterday's fight playing over and over in her head. She'd found it frighteningly easy to mesh her style with the blonde's yesterday, his elegant force complementing her adaptable grace almost better then Adam's ever had.

With Jaune fully admitting that his hatred honed his resolve to its fine edge though she couldn't help but compare him to her old partner though.

After seeing the cost of such thinking first hand though, she was forced to conclude that Jaune was at least capable of controlling that edge or at least discerning how it cut through his twisted sense of humor and oddly enough philosophical thinking. What's more, his target was the Grimm, the enemy of humans and faunus alike. Healthy or not, it was a legitimate enemy at least.

A flicker of blond and black briefly caught her eye over the cover of her book. She glanced up in time to watch Jaune slip into some of the thicker bushes in the garden. Turning over a new leaf or not, Blake couldn't resist the possibility of gathering at least a little dirt to hold over her pain in the ass teammate's head.

She didn't have any real expectations but the near clandestine phone call to his friend from Mistral still caught her off guard. "Things have been running smooth so far, he doesn't seem interested in rocking the boat quiet yet."

Blake strained her ears, trying to pick up whatever his contact was saying but to no avail. Jaune clearly had the speaker set as low as possible. She considered getting closer but caution won out, she already considered herself lucky he hadn't noticed her yet.

"Fafnir and Angel are recovering faster than normal, the others aren't responding quiet as strongly as usual so we should plan on dealing with port after all." He laughed at whatever was said on the other end. "Oh no worries there, Firework's got BS sending him all the love."

He smiled almost fondly a moment later. "She's got a hobby, an actual hobby brother, not certain if that's the Misses work or not." Blake could tell he was beyond ecstatic. "Oh hells no, there is no way I'm missing your face."

One of Blake's hidden ears twitched as he started to giggle. "Fafnir picked up Martyr this time and already seems up to her old tricks, seal completely untouched, go figure huh, bastard might actually be playing along for once."

His face suddenly became serious. "I haven't picked up on the fifth anomaly yet, whatever change he made this time may actually be internal." He pulled the scroll away to look at it as if it was a moron. "No, really, I hadn't thought of that." He half shouted the sarcasm at the device before putting it back to his ear.

"Look bro, the more you talk about it the longer it'll take her to get one, he's an ass like that." He smiled softly a minute later. "Thor seems to be clinging to Flower more than usual at least but that might mean more work than less at the end of the day."

Whatever was said next made the blond groan, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "The misses remains as obtuse as ever but that's what we get for never breaking her seal, we'll get a chance after port." He stiffened, becoming frighteningly serious between one moment and the next. "I don't want to smell it again either brother." He ended the call, slumping against a tree as he did.

Blake could only gape as she watched her teammate slowly slid down the tree despite what the bark did to his uniform and bury his face in his arms from where she hid. He was completely still and she could smell anything suggesting tears but it was still a cruel sight. Jaune Arc had come to mean many different things to her in a short amount of time, few of them good. Seeing him so. . . defeated though of all things left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She darted away, leaving a shadow to cover her. She stopped only moments later as she felt something warm caress her cheek. The feeling was brief, almost timid in its gentleness but undeniable and worse, familiar.

IIIII

Weiss watched from the bleachers of one of the many training rooms in Beacon along with the majority of team Cardinal as Jaune swung their leader's mace about with surprising dexterity. "As a counter weight like Ruby or Nora use, it has potential, but your simply too big for that and lacking the years needed for such training."

Cardin's new-found humility had him looking rather sheepish. "What do you recommend?"

Jaune held up two fingers. "You have two options at this stage that best incorporate what training you have the most efficiently, one is a shield combined with suitable one-handed weapon, the second is a more maneuverable two-handed weapon."

To his credit the former bully seemed to think about both instead of instantly going for the two-handed weapon like Weiss predicted. "Could you explain the differences?"

Jaune shrugged. "The two handed weapon would have little change while a shield combo would differ in your typical attacks but the foot work is significantly less complicated in the early stages and play well with your size," He seemed to think for a moment, "Either combo can be enhanced with a shot gun, it'll work best with your current and potential abilities."

"What do you suggest?" It was almost pitiful to hear the once arrogant boy reduced to little more than a boot licker, even sadder that doing so would probably save his life someday.

"Look up Spectrum's designs and techniques for both and have a five-thousand-word essay on his Faunus human thesis checked over by Professor Oobleck for me before bringing me your decision." His eyes narrowed at Cardin's shocked expression, before offering the boy his weapon back. "Your life hinges on your allies as much as yourself Cardin, don't make enemies where there are none."

The taller boy grimaced before taking his weapon back and headed for the locker room. His team stood and did the same

Weiss however jumped into the arena, stalking up to her partner. "Feel like explaining why your helping another team improve instead of your own?"

"They asked?" He deadpanned, even having the nerve to phrase it like a question before drinking deeply from his water bottle.

Weiss scowled. "Fine then, do you have any suggestions to help me improve?" Each word was bitten out sharply with bitter sarcasm.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You know your physical weaknesses better than I do but your emotional ones seem to be hindering your growth as well, having any trouble with your semblance?"

Weiss blinked before nodding. "How much do you know about my family's semblance." She immediately knew she shouldn't have bothered asking.

"I think I've made it clear how closely I follow Spectrum's theses." Came the predictably dry retort.

Weiss stiffened at the mention of the renegade but pushed it aside. "Fine then, I can't get my summoning to work at all."

He considered the knowledge briefly. "A mental block of some sort, possibly involving a hesitancy to impose your will on others." A toothy grin that followed, "Daddy issues?"

Baby blue eyes dilated and Myrtenaster was in her hand a second later. His sapphire blue gaze was gone, replaced by a dull pulsing white that gaze down at her in disinterest. Neither of them moved even the slightest as the Schnee family mansion burned around them and her rapier hovered a hairs breath away from his throat, the blade caught between his bleeding fingers, white aura sparking violently from between them.

The dueling arena reappeared as Jaune jumped back, one hand covering his eyes, face contorted in actual pain. "Fuck, nailed it!" He crowed with sarcastic joy, blinking away a number of tears shed on reflex. "Damn Weiss, that hurt."

Weiss gave him a deadpan stare. "It's your semblance bastard."

"It's your mental block, daddy's girl." Jaune snapped back.

The mocking sneer he used for the last two words had Weiss's teeth grinding painfully, her dominant hand loosing feeling from her grip on Myrtenaster. "That is none of your business."

His blank look spoke volumes. "Your pride is talking again Weiss" Night mirror hummed faintly as it took on it's gauntlet form

No signal was given, Weiss simply lunged at him, silver crashing against midnight blue briefly before doing so barely a second later, filling the room with the resounding ring of steel clashing.

A grudging respect built with each strike as Weiss analyzed her partner's style. Seamlessly switching between his frustratingly versatile weapons different forms, Jaune easily maneuvered through her attacks, his foot work unnervingly natural showing countless hours of harsh training. Most frightening of all was his adaptability as he purposely let her get into abstract angles only to nock her blade aside with disdainful ease at the last possible second.

She saw little of his offensive abilities as he only attacked when he could score a crippling blow. Each time he did though the blow was pulled back by the barest margin clipping only the smallest slivers of her aura, showing an absolute awareness of his weapon and her. Showing the sheer difference in their levels.

This was no match or even a fight. This was her ego grinding against his like ice against diamond and an inevitable result that ended with her panting on all fours, dust and aura gone and him standing above her, covered in sweat but little else. "Talk to Ren about meditation Weiss, it will help."

He didn't ask for her approval as he lifted her to her feet, slinging her arm across his shoulder as he did. She didn't bother to complain.

IIIII

Ruby looked over her shoulder, checking on Blake with a narrow gaze. Thankfully, the girl was still studying at her desk. The two of them had been a little stiff with each other since their incident and she honestly couldn't blame the older girl for being so. Explaining herself though would be so. . . embarrassing. On top of that, the dark-haired girl seemed oddly distracted, her hand repeatedly touching her cheek ever since she'd returned.

Further thoughts were shoved aside when the rooms door flew open as Jaune strode through, his workout clothes and hair drenched in sweat and Weiss looking borderline catatonic in his arms. The blond unceremoniously dumped the heiress on her bed before making for the shared closet.

His shirt landed wetly on the ground, giving both cognitively functioning girls yet another fantastic view of his well-defined abs and chest when he came back out, fresh clothes in hand, before he vanished into the bathroom, door slamming behind him.

"Huh, wonder what pissed him off." Ruby commented a second later.

He was out less than ten minutes later, dressed in his usual combat gear. "Do either of you want any help with your fighting style or weapon mods?" Blake's eyes widened as her teammate all but offered up his soul to their team leader for free.

At least until he flicked the girl's forehead before she could get a single word out. "Mounting slots for dust shard or capsules on Crescent Rose and learn how to fight bare handed, something Blake is more suite to teaching you for now." The girl pouted as she rubbed her forehead only to have Jaune's broad hand cover her face as he muttered something about fate and unfair cuteness.

"Why Blake?" Their team lead asked when she escaped.

"My style wouldn't work for you, our builds are to different." Jaune stated easily before he looked toward . "Your thoughts?" She could tell he was only humoring her.

Blake sighed. "Experience with dust manipulation primarily but just in general as well." His grin made them both shiver.

That was before he dramatically thumbed his chin like a villain stroking his goatee. "I wonder if team RYNN would be interested."

They were spared from further dramatics when an unfamiliar song went off. 'Cause baby you're a firework," The obnoxious sounding pop song cut off a second later, suggesting it had only been a text.

Jaune's face went from amused to stone the second he looked at it. "We'll hash out the details later, I need to have a. . . talk with someone." He commented vaguely, neither girl missing the connotation. He was out the door a second later, leaving the partners to share a look.

"Well," Ruby started, her mouth unusually dry, "That was a thing."

Blake only nodded in agreement.

IIIII

Roman winced as Neo emasculated one of the White Fang the old-fashioned way. The man hadn't even earned it, he'd just made the mistake of getting in the striking distance of the pint-sized bundle of feminine wrath and lethal precision.

The fact that they were located on the outskirts of Vale meant that the odds of attracting at least a few Grimm were already on the cusp of triple digits so, despite his highly warranted reservations, he'd have to do something.

The White Fang lieutenant beside him chuckled deeply in amusement. "Someone's mate isn't providing." He rumbled from behind his mask. "Must have been dire to let that go to waste."

Roman blinked at how perceptive the man whose name he'd never gotten actually was. The thief had honestly already written him as a meat head after seeing his chainsaw. Spectrum had definitely pissed Neo off, the why or how remained unknown and would continue to do so as far as Roman was concerned.

The thief eyed the terrorist beside him suddenly, sensing opportunity. "If this is going where I think it is, I wouldn't recommend it, wild as she is, she's loyal and her boyfriend's possessive." It was almost tear jerking how easy the guy was to manipulate.

The lieutenant snorted arrogantly. "I'm not seeing a contented mate human, so there is no reason to respect his claim."

Roman shrugged. "I won't try and stop you but only because I know she'll leave you alive." The massive Faunus chuckled before stalking towards the multi colored girl. Roman on the other hand pulled out his scroll and shot a quick text to the number labeled SPARKLES.

By the time he'd finished, the Faunus had reached his assistant who was noticeably twitching in irritation. Neo hand twitched towards her parasol but stilled as her scroll buzzed. Blatantly ignoring the massive White Fang, she checked the message, a slow smirk pulling at the corner of her lips barely a second later. She flashed a look at Roman, who winked.

The terrorist seemed unsettled by her shift in mood. "Good news, I assume."

Neo nodded with her usual playfulness already back as she typed on her scroll. Roman assumed she was telling her boyfriend was on his way.

Whether he was right or not remained unknown but whatever it was didn't even faze the Faunus as he crossed his arms, subconsciously posturing. "Your forgiving him rather easily with how you've been terrorizing my men." Neo shrugged, typing on her scroll once again.

"He ditched you for his apprentice?" The Faunus clearly didn't believe her but Roman blinked at the revelation. He certainly hadn't known that the world grade troll had picked up a stray of all things. From there it wasn't a significant leap to assume that not only was said apprentice female but also close enough to the enigmatic mercenary to warrant a notable crack in Neo's normally unwavering demeanor.

This led to the mixed feeling summed up in the two words 'cat' and 'curiosity' with the possibility of a third most likely being tacked somewhere painful.

Given that the man wasn't quiet as aware of the circumstances, he didn't realize the depths he'd suddenly been tossed into. "You clearly don't believe he's remained faithful?"

Neo shrugged, typing again. Whatever it was clearly didn't get the man to back off and only continued to dig his grave. Roman had to give the man props for tenacity as the Faunus didn't let up for an entire hour.

Roman did note that Neo willfully egging the man on with her body language telling the thief just how much shit Spectrum was in with the girl. When the man did appear, the man made straight for the two, faint traces of silver white aura shimmering in the air about him.

Neo hopped off of the crate she'd been sitting on and blatantly swayed her hips as she moved towards him, swatting his ass as they passed each other.

Spectrum on the other hand was completely focused on his Faunus lieutenant in a manner distinctly less showy then his usual MO.

The thief was fighting not to laugh as the prime grade alpha male Faunus terrorist noticeably trembled as he was stared down by a man easily half foot shorter then him and, by all appearances, blindfolded. Roman hadn't been lying when he'd said Spectrum was possessive.

He may have forgotten to mention a few other things such as vindictive, overtly terrifying, or the man's name but he hadn't been lying.

The young mercenary hadn't said a single thing before he abruptly looked past the brute, going from territorial alpha to a predator abruptly backed into a corner. "Raven." Roman followed his colleague's masked gaze which turned to focus on a woman clad in a red and black combat out fit and her face covered with a Grimm mask, her long feathery black hair trailing down the length of her back, a large cylindrical dust blade carrier on her hip, pale fingers resting on the black hilt protruding from it.

Spectrum surged past his former target, now completely forgotten, stalking towards the woman who didn't even shift a muscle, something Roman would have considered arrogant if he hadn't already witness Spectrum's reaction to her presence.

Roman closed his eyes and counted to five when the White Fang member tried his luck at attacking the mercenary when his back was turned.

The funny thing about aura was that it wasn't the save all, even at full power, that way too many civilians thought it was. Leverage was particularly efficient at circumventing its protection. Excessive blunt force trauma on a particularly vulnerable location was also a common favorite.

Basically, the combination of the anatomical limits of a humanoid limb's flexibility and Spectrum's naturally hair trigger reflexes meant that the idiot Faunus was writhing on the ground with his dominant arm dislocated, his other one cupping his manhood and the mercenary half way to the strange woman before Roman opened them again.

"I asked you a question," The white-haired man stated so softly, Roman barely heard him, "Answer me." His snarl sounded more grimm then a human.

The woman only stood and sauntered away in a frightening show of confidence. Roman swallowed nervously as Spectrum just let her, his masked gaze never leaving her until she vanished into the forest. It wasn't until she did that Roman realized just how much he'd been sweating. Spectrum on the other hand just shook his head silently before walking up to him.

"If she returns do nothing and don't speak of her directly, she'll kill you." Roman failed to restrain a small tremor. Spectrum being nice was a reason for concern, Spectrum giving an actual Oum honest warning was enough for Roman to start to wonder just how much he wanted the ridiculous sums of money from this job.

Roman gave the man a barely existent nod after a moment's deliberation. "Need anything added to next month's pay?"

"Not this time firework." He murmured with a smile.

Roman did roll his eyes this time. "Get lost punk and take Neo with you, the grownups have work to do." He got a laugh from the man before he scooped Neo up in his arms and carried her off, the girl beating her small fists against his back in a mock attempt to get away.

The thief chuckled before he started barking orders out, getting the grunts just standing about watching the drama back to work. A task that took all of five minutes, leaving him ample time to give Spectrum's warning all his attention.

He jumped rather noticeably when he turned to find the woman less than a foot behind him but managed to keep his ego shattering scream contained to a loudly exclaimed breath as he scrambled to make space between them. Thankfully every bit the professional he claimed to be, Roman was quick to regain his balance. Resting both hands on his cane, he quickly gave her his usual smirk. "And how may I help you today Ma'am?"

"What do you know about that man?" She spoke softly much like his boss.

"Who, Spectrum?" He clarified jokingly, her lack of response creating an unsettling pool of doubt in the pit of the thief's gut. "I know he's talented to the point of borderline precognition, world grade jackass, and not someone to upset without an exceptionally good reason." He answered simply, silently pointing out both the fact that the woman seemed to do just that by simply existing let alone touching his associates.

"Who is his apprentice?" She asked, her voice even softer than before.

Roman forced himself to shrug casually, mentally cursing Neo for letting that one out, but it did give him a clue to just how frighteningly talented this woman was. "No clue, first time I've even heard of her."

He stepped back as she moved closer on instinct alone. "Save me the so called 'honor among thieves' spiel, this isn't a Holly Forest film."

Roman calmly pulled a smoke from his jacket though he didn't light it. "If you say so but whether you like it or not, I'm telling the truth."

The silence was all but agonizing before the woman finally chose to walk away. Where to he didn't know so he made certain to type quickly. 'birdy knows you have student, no clue how'. He sent the text and slipped his scroll 'inside' of his coat. The clever bastard wasn't nearly naïve enough to believe the second part but it was for the best.

With a trump card to Neo's righteous fury, the two would make up all the faster. The best part was that Neo couldn't get mad at Roman since he had 'tried' to cover for her mistake.

He chuckled as he lit a fresh cigar. "Watching the asshat's back and couples' counseling in less than ten words, damn I'm good." He murmured as he enjoyed the smokes flavor finally having a good chuckle over this 'Raven's' naïve belief.

Crime didn't have legally binding contracts and governments to back them up. Oh sure, you could threaten the grunts into obedience but pro's like him or Spectrum. He nearly choked on his cigar trying not to laugh at the thought.

Roman was an international criminal for a reason and Spectrum was currently waging a personal pissing contest slash prank war with SDC itself as a hobby. The fact of the matter was that the higher tiers of humanity's scum were sadly a prime example of human and Faunus ingenuity and tenacity.

One that hinged solely on honor alone.

His scroll buzzed and he blinked before answering. "Evening dear."

"Hello Roman," Her tone was thankfully laid back, "I heard you met Raven, I fear I haven't had that pleasure." The thief knew alarm bells were going off in the back of his head as the woman was almost certain to still be close. He was in far, far too good a mood to listen them though.

IIIII

The Ursa rumbled in annoyance, the call having quieted from its original screech to a strangely earthy hum, making it distinctly harder to track. The creature lumbered around one of the thousand giant trees making up the ancient forest, stopping at the sight of a pair of its prey moaning as they ran their useless paws over each other.

Their weak finger clawed pathetically at clothing, clearly trying to remove it without breaking away from each other, all while their tongues tangled fiercely, a faint amount of scarlet dripping or smeared across their lips.

The Ursa growled savagely, stalking towards its prey even as the call hummed distantly in the back of its mind. The creature stopped as the taller of its prey lowered the black cloth wrapped around its face, revealing a single dark blue eye. The smaller multi colored one giggled as it shifted from the taller one's front to his back, faintly crimson teeth nipping at his ear and neck.

Laughter filled the Ursa's head. It wasn't ominous or anything like that, the creature honestly found the strange mixture of squawks and howls exceptionally annoying. 'It's not that funny bastard.' A voice barked angrily.

'You-' The new voice was cut off again by its laughter, 'You got sent fly-' This time the voice couldn't seem to collect enough air to properly speak. 'Flying halfway acc- the snickers started up again 'Across VALE and-' The laughter commenced once again, this time accompanied by the sound of something hitting wood, 'skipped off two buildings." The voice wheezed out quickly before laughing again. 'It's not funny, its fucking hilarious.' It finished, the words coming out as little more than panting breaths.

The Ursa snarled faintly trying to break free from whatever bound it.

'What the hell do you expect from me bastard, that dragon didn't even realize it killed me.' The first voice snapped.

'You were the idiot that chose to play valiant Knight and charge at the damn thing like a fucking moron.' The voice had lost much of its humor in its dryness but it was by no means gone. Instead the call shifted from a clawing itch to a scorching heat at the base of the Ursa's neck.

'It's not like your giving me all that many hints or help here and just so you know, the scientific method concerning 'world saving' is really fucking painful.' The original voice commented almost petulantly.

'Ooh, you lived through that?" The voices distinct amusement had the call all but purring.

'. . . long enough.'

The howling laughter started up again only to lapse into an eerie silence minutes later, a silence disturbed only by the call that roiled with in the creature. 'I could you know.' The burning instantly turned to ice coating every inch of the creature's spine.

'You could what?' The Ursa watched its prey start to move towards it with confident lazy strides, the second one still hanging off its back.

'Give you actual hints and help,' The silence was deafening as the Ursa fell prey to it's own instincts. 'You'd just have to deal with a few more. . . additions.'

'I'm listening.' The Ursa had just enough time to hear those words before its prey's hand descended over its eyes.

IIIII

A pained groan drew Blake's attention towards Weiss as the girl finally moved from her borderline catatonic state that Jaune had left her in before rushing off after giving Ruby and her the offer ultimatum hybrid. Given the state he'd left her in, the disguised Faunus could only imagine how gross the girl must feel now that the sweat had a chance to dry.

The white-haired girl groaned as her undoubtedly abused muscles protested every single move she made while sitting up. Didn't stop baby blue eyes from flashing dangerously as they darted about the room. "Where is that bastard?"

Blake shrugged as passively as she could, not interested in attracting any of the girl's ire on herself. He got a text a couple hours ago and ran off, actually looked a mad about something."

Weiss snorted. "Must be something special to get that tombstone worked up."

"Tombstone?" Blake asked skeptically noting Ruby's share in her disbelief, Jaune was morbid for certain but he definitely had flare about him. Flare that made you feel like you were possibly standing next to a Grimm but flare nonetheless.

The petite girl groaned as she tried to stand, managing to do so with the aid of Jaune's bunk. "Yeah, you'd have to see it to believe but that bastard's colder than my father." Blake had heard enough about Jacques Schnee for her to wonder just what Jaune had done to make such an impression on the man's daughter of all people.

The Heiress started to limp towards the bathroom only to stumble after two steps. She tried to catch herself but her arms were clearly in no better condition than her legs. Thankfully, Ruby vanished in a burst of rose petals, managing to catch the girl before she could land on her face.

The heiress instantly tried to push her away with about as much success as her attempt to walk. "I don't need help you dolt." Blake couldn't help but wince at the hurt look in the younger girl's silver eyes. Weiss clearly regretted it to but the damage was done.

Then their rooms door banged open as Yang strode in. "Hey sis, I've got some free time if you're interested in-" The blond noted Weiss's condition. "Dang, that hornet worked you over good." She commented as she all but slung the heiress over her shoulder and dragged her into the bathroom.

Blake looked at Ruby. "I knew she was blunt but that's a little forward for anyone."

Ruby giggled a weakly. "Yeah, Yang's pretty much a force of nature when she wants to be," She glanced towards the closed bathroom door, complaints and the sound of running water coming from behind it. "She kinda never got over mothering people after all but raising me for years."

Blake frowned. "Raising you?"

Her partner winced. "Yeah, my mom died when I was two, dad wasn't really. . . able to and uncle Qrow had to work."

Getting slugged in the stomach would have been more preferable then seeing the haunted look on Ruby's face. It brought all the guilt Blake had over her own parents straight to the surface.

IIIII

"This is ridiculous." Weiss snapped as her teammate's sister filled the tub, mixing in a decent amount of therapeutic bath salts as she did. "I'm not some invalid that can't be trusted not to drown themselves."

Yang only smiled at her. "No, you're a huntress in training that was foolish enough to tax her muscles and aura well past their limit," She remarked cheerfully, "Followed by falling asleep without properly cooling them down in the slightest."

The heiress glared at the girl. "That's-"

"Completely on you Weiss," Yang stated dryly, cutting the girl off without hesitation, "Antagonizing as he is, you could have just walked away."

Weiss blinked at the girl's audacity even as the taller girl closed the short space between them in a single step to where Weiss had been forced to use the toilet as a chair. "As much as you don't like it Weiss, you can barely stand let alone maintain your balance in a slippery bathtub."

"Your hardly qualified to assist though."

"I can get someone who is Weiss," Yang answered crisply, "but that means I'll have your teammates make certain you can't do anything stupid tell I get back with, as you put it, someone qualified."

The words were a slap to the back of the head for the heiress. She may not have much of a connection with Yang but she did have one at least. A professional would almost certainly have questions. Worse yet, it would increase the chances of her little display and its results getting back to her father. That didn't even bear thinking about. She hated feeling powerless, hated feeling she was back under his thumb. Before she could seethe any further over her weakness, a strong hand caught her own. She looked up, realizing Yang had crouched in front of her, a sense of understanding shining in the violet coloring of her eyes.

"We barely know each other Yang?" Weiss argued weakly.

The brawler laughed. "I'll point out that your partner brings out the absolute 'best' of people Weiss."

The heiress let out a bitter laugh without meaning to. "I can't argue with that." She suddenly noticed how warm her arm that Yang was still holding had become. Not uncomfortably so but it was still abnormal, what's more, Yang's hair was faintly glowing. "Are you doing something?" She wasn't going to complain as the heat was doing absolute wonders for her abused muscles and her general dislike of cold in general.

Yang smiled. "You've probably noted my semblances flame like appearance by now, it's actually highly condensed kinetic energy."

The heiress stared at the brawler in shock. Condensing kinetic energy to the point that it appeared as visible flames was ridiculous. That Yang did it naturally made the fact that she was using her aura as the ultimate massage tool hinted at her staggering level of control over it.

"Its technically an absorption semblance," Yang explained, "Any blunt force trauma that hits me I can send back with twice the force," Yang stated proudly, "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to stop wasting half the power from blowing up everything around me though."

Weiss couldn't help attempting to retrieve her arm after hearing that but Yang only laughed. "Don't worry snowflake, my teacher put me through hell making certain I had this down. No gamer alive has grinded like I have I swear."

The heiress laughed at the brawler's dramatized lament. "He can't be worse than Jaune."

Yang snorted. "Yeah, don't envy you there snowflake," the two shared a laugh before Yang became serious again, "The water's only getting colder Weiss, what's it going to be?"

Baby blue eyes turned icy. "Nothing leaves this room understood?"

Violet eyes sparkled with mirth but Yang only nodded. "As you wish snowflake." Weiss doubted she'd ever feel more awkward in her life but by the time it was over, she had a new-found respect for her team leader's big sister. She was far more than the uncouth brigand she liked to pose as. Despite her exhaustion afterwards though, Weiss's thoughts refused to be silent, the brief illusion playing over and over in her mind. Something about the total emptiness in her partners gaze.

While its practice was never distinctly outlawed, moral division had been bound with a frightening stigma that even Vacuo, the most accepting of all kingdoms, held a distinct animosity to it.

What Weiss couldn't find was 'why' such an acclaimed practice was given such notoriety outside of the rumors of curses or madness. She found no concrete data until she gave in and finally looked through Spectrum's theses.

It was late when Jaune returned. Weiss watched as he collected a fresh set of sleep clothes, vanishing into the shower a moment later before her gaze moved back to the same few paragraphs she'd already read numerous times.

Moral Division is a dangerous and unreliable practice that should never be attempted. While its potential in combat is high, the training required is inhumane and holds the potential to create a split personality with in the practitioner. Given the violent nature that they come into being, these personalities are always hostile without question. In extreme cases, these splits in the practitioner can even appear to have access their hosts aura and semblance without the host even stimulating Moral Division.

Visible signs of a practitioner having stimulated the ability will include the loss of eye color or, in intense users, trails of aura visibly appearing from their eyes. With will neither talk nor move in this state unless a threat is perceived, exceptional caution should be taken that this does not happen.

A common civilian in such a state would at least equivalent to one with a number of years of huntsman training though they would be at in exception danger of injuring themselves because of their body incapability to handle the stress the state would put on it.

The threat presented by hunter trainee would veritably eclipse that of a civilian without question and a full huntsman of even average standing would be capable of abilities even the most talented or seasoned would find difficult to handle or accomplish.

These are warnings of what to expect if you ever do have the misfortune to cross paths with some poor soul capable of moral division.

Historically, it was first created by a semi-religious order of monks that predates written history. Their origin somewhere in what is present day Atlas and their strong affiliation for martial custom can certainly be seen in the kingdoms structure. There are some vague references to Mistral but they are few and inconclusive forcing me to abandon their pursuit.

As of now, I can only confirm that the practice of Moral Division first came from this order along with what I believe were the first of todays adepts. This and what we huntsman and huntresses refer to as our mantra's today are the only surviving connections' we have to what may have been the first true huntsman and huntresses. A sad loss if ever there was one, both for history and the much-needed ace our forces need.

In retrospect though, I shudder to imagine what the great war or even the Faunus rights war would have become if such power were used so shamefully.

The acclaimed renegade went on to describe a number of historical incidents in which the bastardized methods attempting recreate true moral division had gained its current reputation but little else had caught her attention.

When Jaune emerged from the bathroom once he didn't immediately climb into his bunk like she'd expected. Instead, he slumped to the floor with his back turned to her as he leaned against her bed.

"Your nothing like your father Weiss." He stated in a soft murmur. Weiss's breathing hitched as she stared at the dark shape of her partner long enough for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness fast enough to catch the faint reflection of his blue gaze from the moonlight streaming through the window when he turned to look at her. "You're too strong for that."

The scent of antiseptic and the faint beep of a heart monitor came to mind, as she fought through the haze of medication to see her partner. One of his eyes covered in bandages, the other filling with tears even as a smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

The haze vanished and she tried to glare at him before rolling over. "Bastard." She hissed softly, unable to put even a trace of heat in the words.

Warm air brushed against her ear as her bed shifted faintly as he leaned over her to whisper. "Hime." He was gone a moment later, taking the sudden rush of claustrophobic warmth with him.

IIIII

Ren was enjoying his Friday. Classes had passed quickly with the girls had wandering off to the outdoor training grounds, he'd been granted the rare opportunity to meditate in silence so he was taking full advantage of it.

The last thing he'd been expecting was for team Razzberry's blonde to come knocking on the door. Knocking, as in he kicked it open, shattering the doorframe and revealing just how pointless the door's state of the art lock actually was, before glancing about. "Where's Yangster, Sugar bomber and Red?"

The distinctly quieter boy blinked for a moment. "Red?" A strange question but this was Jaune. The door didn't surprise the gifted martial artist in the least, or honestly trouble him to much either. The fact that he used such a. . . boring nickname for Pyrrha though was something to be noted.

"That's the only one I could think of that isn't degrading," He answered with a shrug. "Anyway, I'm doing a practical study group with my team and figured I'd ask if you lot were interested."

Ren decided to participate simply for the fact that he'd rather know firsthand what Jaune was teaching his team, or more accurately Nora. He seemed crazy enough to teach her subtlety or something equally terrifying.

Unfortunately, to Ren's horror, he was right and couldn't do a thing about it but sit and watch as the blond showed his childhood friend and his fellow team leader a series of foot work and weapon pattern drills from yet another one of Spectrum's thesis's. The strange half dance half kata helped both the ever-cheerful berserker and peppy reaper keep their balance while maximizing their weapons optimal strike radius.

The 'worse' came in the talk of possibly altering Magnhild to better focus its point of impact without sacrificing the grenade launcher.

The blond left the giggling light and dark redheads to their fun and sprinted towards the rest of them. "Ok, they'll be busy for the rest of the day so we can hash out a few details."

Ren shared a look with Pyrrha and Yang while Weiss and Blake noticeably drew closer to each other. Their cautious doubt turned into an hour-long disheartening discussion of their styles strengths and weaknesses.

Forced to acknowledge that stormflower's caliber of bullet was simply too small to pose a threat against anything of note, Ren grudgingly accepted the blonde's offer to help him construct a more practical model. Yang came out the best of all of them, needing no actual adjustments to her style or weapon, just more experience in adapting to sudden changes.

Blake lasted the longest and almost descended to a childish argument with the blond over not being able to afford Dust, to not wanting to accept his charity, to just arguing for the sake of her pride. Jaune weathered the onslaught with ironclad logic and sheer tenacity that left the dark-haired girl with no choice but to accept just for the sake of ending the argument.

Weiss only had a glaring match with her partner that lasted all of five seconds before he moved on with a snicker, leaving her the hollow victor.

Pyrrha ended having it the worst as Jaune challenged her to a spar. Even Ruby and Nora paused to watch as the 'invincible girl' faced off with team Razzberry's enigmatic wildcard. They probably could have sold tickets to the entire school for a show like this.

The scarlet haired girl's style was well rounded, incorporating her height and strength with remarkable displays of acrobatics and flexibility, all while displaying a frightening ability to avoid Jaune's weapon by the barest margin. Jaune on the other hand was a mountain that could dance, never faltering when he missed a blow and often revealing a second seemingly impossible one barely a second later in the form of a quick punch or a harsh kick.

The stylized frenzy of blows ended as Jaune jumped back with a frown. "Pyrrha, why are you holding back so much, your semblance literally renders my weapon obsolete."

The celebrity's shocked expression was absolutely amazing. "What?"

"I can feel my weapon being pushed away from you Pyrrha," Jaune remarked firmly, "That's either a frighteningly accurate form of telekinesis or its polarity which is honestly even scarier."

Pyrrha's downcast expression would have sent Remnant's Tabloids into a storm of blood and fire to print the first addition. "When I unlocked my semblance and started to get famous all my friends practically abandoned me, saying I was to powerful or to talented." Ren could understand why she'd choose to limit her use of it. His own talent had set them apart as well but he'd had Nora through it all. Ruby and Yang were the same, he'd read a number of articles about Winter Schnee, Blake had to have had someone, and Jaune wasn't even worth mentioning.

That Pyrrha had been dealing with the media garnered by her fame on top of being completely isolated sense she was Ruby's age forced him to change his perspective of the talented girl.

More than a few jaws dropped as Jaune simply flicked Pyrrha's forehead. "Well, as one of your new friends, I find the fact that your weakening yourself for my sake insulting." Ren instantly noted both Pyrrha and Jaune stiffen, the two undoubtedly caught in Jaune's semblance.

He never saw them lunge, the violent crash of metal as midnight blue steel crashed against its bronze colored kin made him jump. Vivid green eyes dilated in fear, their owner reacting on instinct and trapping the weapon against her shield, yanking back sharply while striking almost blindly with her own weapon.

Jaune didn't bother to fight for his weapon, instead going straight for the champion, catching her weapon and the hand that held it, pinning them together in an iron grip while his hand, now free of his sword, yanked her shield out of the way as he jumped. Their audience winced as his knee slammed harshly into the girl's chin to break her balance even as he followed her to the ground as she fell.

It wasn't even a fight from there. Jaune had weight, technique and the superior position on the champion. The shameless brutality of the fight aside, Jaune had just made defeating the 'invincible girl' look disturbingly easy as he disarmed and caught her in a brutal joint lock forcing the girl to tap out or risk him dislocating her arm.

Jaune easily pulled Pyrrha to her feet a moment later. Your talent is amazing Pyrrha but unlike so many, you have a semblance that is so versatile that focusing on it will only benefit you."

The girl's shock vanished with impossible quickness. "Where do I start?" Her voice had steel despite the illusion's connotations and her first real loss since she'd unlocked her semblance.

He chuckled cruelly. "Have you ever heard of a coil gun?" She blinked and his smile only grew more blood thirsty, "How about metallic Dust?" His smirk grew savage when Pyrrha shook her head. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

IIIII

Ruby sighed. "Friday night and not a damn thing to do." She muttered. Jaune and Yang had blitzed off to town after the training session, Blake had vanished, and Weiss was studying in the library. The first was immediately out, the second she didn't have a clue where to begin, and the third held all the appeal of one of Professor Port's lectures.

She could go over Crescent Rose again but, zealot that she was about her baby's welfare, she knew that she hadn't missed a single thing, making the option redundant. While writing held at least some appeal, there was honestly only one thing she wanted to do.

It still took her another ten minutes of debating before she reached for her scroll and pulled up the number. 'You have time to talk?'. She'd barely sent the text before doubt began to set in. It was late, she might be asleep already, she might be busy, might be annoyed. So many different thoughts buzzed through her mind.

She had to wait an entire agonizing hour of doubt before her scroll buzzed. She fumbled with it twice in her rush to answer. "It's rather late little gem," The woman's soft teasing made all her worries seem so childish, "I'm glad though, I've missed you."

Ruby smiled, hugging pillow tightly. "I've missed you to Eclisse." She whispered the name they'd both agreed on when she was out with Qrow. As the old Mistralian word for eclipse, she thought it suited her girlfriend perfectly. Learning how to pronounce it though had been hell though.

"Eh-clay-see." A thirteen-year-old Ruby exclaimed, her friend struggling somewhere between laughing incessantly and strangling her.

"It's Eh-clee-say little gem."

The girl pouted only to get caught in a hug from her much taller and much more endowed friend. She did it each and every time much to Ruby's absolute embarrassment. Some nonsense about it being her only defense or whatever.

Ruby didn't get it but she really liked the hugs even though she always got laughed at for blushing. She didn't care since she really liked her friend's laugh. "Why do we have to do this C-"

Her protest was cut off by one of her friend's fingers as it pressed against her lips. "You know the rule Ruby, you say my name before you can pronounce Eclisse, you'll pay for it."

Ruby knew that would mean running sprints tell she was out of aura. It wouldn't be a good way to end this already long day. That's what she would have thought if she'd bothered to. Her brain had already circled back to 'long day' instead of considering the consequence as she stood on her tip toes and pulled her friend down to whisper in her ear.

She struggled not to laugh when she saw her friend's absolutely priceless face, topaz eyes blinking in shock behind dark tresses she'd been growing out of late.

Ruby's laughter was cut off just as her complaint had been, but it wasn't a finger this time. The kiss was brief and featherlight but that didn't stop Ruby from remembering the heat or tasting the wisps of aura left behind.

Her friend loomed over her with an unfamiliar smile on her face. "I said you would pay my little gem."

Embarrassing, agonizingly, joyful hell she would never regret or fail to blush at every time she remembered. The fact that it happened each and every time she used the name proved an endless source of amusement for her girlfriend. "So how as Beacon been treating you?"

Ruby smiled widely. "It's amazing Eclisse, you wouldn't believe how much my partner looks like you, I almost hugged her on reflex." Ruby could almost see the expression, topaz eyes heating even as they narrowed dangerously. "Shorter though and way to quiet, always reading books when she isn't training or whatever."

"Horrifying," Her girlfriend commented dryly, "What about the rest of your team?"

Ruby giggled, it was too easy sometimes. "We have Weiss Schnee of all people, she's kinda bitchy but could be way worse." Ruby giggled. "Her partner Jaune though, you're going to hate him, he's bat shit crazy, really creepy semblance and doesn't even blink at talking back to pretty much anyone."

The silence had her fighting not to smile knowing she had the woman's interest now. "That's a pretty extensive list for only knowing the boy a few days little gem."

"Yup but he's also ridiculously strong, he took out Pyrrha Nikos like nothing, his weapon is this really cool belt called Night Mirror, " Ruby continued, "He even managed to call out this small horde of Grimm and then totally wasted the first couple dozen of them like they were nothing."

"He called out a horde." The hissed exclamation from the other end of the scroll told Ruby it might have been a better idea to keep that detail to herself. If nothing else, she'd have to explain how he'd done it or risk her teammate being investigated by her uncle and his apprentice.

"Kinda," Ruby spoke slowly trying to think of a way to get Jaune out of the hot water she'd landed him in, "Remember how I said he had a really creepy semblance?"

"Yes." Her girlfriend answered softly clearly waiting for her to continue.

"Well it's a sort of illusion that turns your subconscious against you briefly, creating these really vivid memories of other places." The more she spoke the more she realized she was only digging Jaune's grave even deeper. "He sort of showed me one that you. . ." Guilt gave way to the misery she'd been avoiding and the small girl curled into a ball.

"Ruby?" Worry tinged the woman's normally confident tone.

"Do you know what betrayal feels like?" Ruby whispered.

The silence was all the testament she needed. "I do." The dark satin growl the reply was given in told Ruby her teammate's life was completely out of her hands.

The memory and emotions attached to it still so vivid in her mind, Ruby honestly couldn't bring herself to care, just wanting it gone. "Don't ever let me feel this Eclisse." Her whisper came out in choked sobs.

IIIII

Weiss turned the page but didn't bother trying to read the words, already blurring together the second she looked at them. Closing the text with a bit more effort than was strictly necessary she rubbed her faced tiredly. "Where the hells did that bastard get all his information?" She muttered under her breath.

"Numerous hardships, hours of lost sleep, and other countless sacrifices?" A faintly amused if equally tired voice answered her formerly rhetorical question and Weiss lowered her hands to see Pyrrha sitting across from her. The heiress couldn't help but note the distinctly slouch in the girl's normally perfect posture, a rather impressive bruise forming under her chin.

She let the champion's assumption that she was talking about Jaune slide, it was better than admitting she was studying Spectrum of all people. "Please don't patronize that thing; I can only count my blessings that I'm saved at least a few more days before that goes viral." Weiss groaned, not wanting to imagine the hell her life would quickly be thrown in.

Pyrrha frowned. "What do you mean?"

The white haired girl gave the champion a dry look. "Imagine the publicity that Jaune will garner when he beats you in an official match." Pyrrha winced at the thought. "Now imagine what my father will do when he hears that an 'untapped' prodigy is connected to his heiress."

The redhead looked sick briefly but it passed, a smile quickly forming though she tried to hide. "I'm sorry but apocalyptic consequences or not, it would be an amazing show."

Weiss opened her mouth to argue but couldn't find the words. Impossible or not, she simply couldn't believe that Jaune Arc could be intimidated by her father or even the full weight of the SDC. Worse, with the publicity he stood to gain, Spectrum would almost certainly take an interest. It was all she could do not to groan once again. "I'd better warn my father to keep his distance and hope Jaune tells whatever media crosses his path to go to hell."

Pyrrha laughed. "That seems rather likely if not a little tame for Jaune honestly."

The heiress snorted. "True, we could probably see that as a best case scenario actually." The two fell into an amused silence, both imagining what the volatile blond would do when a camera was shoved in his face. At least before he made its unfortunate owner eat it. Whatever he decided to do, Weiss made a promise to herself to 'not' become involved.

She sighed and glanced back at the history text in front of her. The reminder of why she'd bothered coming to the library despite her exhaustion reminded her of what had prompted Pyrrha to go full out against the blond. "What illusion did Jaune's semblance create?"

The champion fighter shuddered. "Nothing exact but I think- I think Jaune had betrayed us." Baby blue eyes widened considerably as Weiss recalled her own vision but she remained silent as the champion struggled to find her own words. "I know it was on top of Beacon tower and we'd already done some serious damage considering the roof and walls were literally gone."

Weiss gaped. "What?"

Pyrrha shook her head clearly at a loss herself despite actually seeing the illusion. "I know, it sounds ridiculous but I swear I can almost imagine seeing him doing most of the damage with aura strikes alone." She was quiet briefly, Weiss distinctly noting how her sword hand rubbed against her shield arm. "He crushed shattered Akoúo̱ and my arm with a single direct strike. . . barehanded."

The heiress's gaze narrowed instantly, remembering how the Jaune from her own vision fought barehanded as well. "What did his eyes look like?"

It was the champions turn to be caught off guard, vivid green eyes widening in surprise before understanding came over them and Pyrrha simply nodded. "You've already been caught in one then?"

Weiss nodded, quickly explaining what she'd seen along with what she'd manage to piece together as frighteningly little as it was. "I'm not certain how honest Jaune's being with us when it concerns his semblances use of our subconscious."

Pyrrha gave her a confused look. "How so?"

The white haired girl didn't answer for moment, trying to find the best way to answer the champion's question. "The timings to perfect not to match up with what he's told us but the visions are far to detailed with things none of us would ever dream of."

Understanding flashed through Pyrrha's eyes as they widened considerably. "If your right it would mean it couldn't just be 'our' subconscious involved with the illusions creation."

Weiss nodded. "Yes, Jaune's has to be involved as well, it's a given since he clearly shares at least a cursory knowledge and even negative effects if the reaction is strong enough." She stated recalling how Jaune had recoiled in legitimate pain when his semblance had 'acted up' between them. "Given the fact that he managed to produce a strong enough emotional reaction from Ruby to call out a small horde with only the barest of actual use," Weiss didn't finish the sentence, letting Pyrrha form her own conclusion of the semblance's horrific potential.

The red head noticeably steeled herself as she met Weiss's gaze. "Can we trust him?"

Weiss let out a bitter laugh, recalling the morbid excuse Jaune had given them only a few short ours ago. On top of those ridiculously hot showers he took, she really couldn't come up with different answer. "He's self-destructive, frighteningly set in his beliefs, and isn't afraid of us absolutely loathing him." She summed up quickly.

"Your point Weiss?"

"Jaune hates himself, expects to lose us but at the same time makes every effort to increase our abilities as quickly as possible while trying to keep himself distant."

Pyrrha winced. "Survivors guilt, that would certainly explain a few things."

Weiss nodded. "So yes, I believe we can trust him to be a pain in our collective ass, but we'll all have to thank him for it when it saves our lives."

The champion fighter laughed at Weiss's crude answer as she stood. "I can't argue with you there meaning I'd better go and warn Ren and Yang."

Weiss gave the girl an amused look. "Not Nora?"

The champion laughed. "I don't think even Jaune is crazy enough to upset her without at least a damn good reason."

Weiss knew her laughter drew far more attention than was appropriate, especially given her current location but it really was funny. She could all to easily see Jaune folding like stack of cards under a single pout from Nora or one watery puppy dog look from Ruby. "He did say he had sisters." She finally snickered, picking up the text as she stood.

"I feel sorry for any boy that tries to date them then." Pyrrha stated with mock solemnness that Weiss tried to share but it was hopeless, the two of the descending into poorly muffled giggles as they left the library.

Despite her mirth, Weiss was soon fighting off yawning as they made their way back to the dorms. It was late, almost ten thirty, and if she was entirely honest, her body was anything but recovered from her and Jaune's little sparring session. Enough so that she was even debating asking Yang for a more in-depth display of her semblance's perks.

The heiress was pulled from her thoughts as Blake all but appeared at her side in total silence. For all appearances Weiss only nodded to the brunette calmly, inside though she was trying to stop her pulse from the gallop it had accelerated. At the same time, she wondered if the girl even realized the 'black cat' vibes she all but screamed when she did things like that?

Blake nodded back politely. "Studying?" She half comment, half asked.

Apparently not, was Weiss's forgone conclusion. "Of course," She took in the girl's vaguely sweaty appearance, "Kata's?"

Blake laughed faintly while Pyrrha snorted. "People are going to start thinking team Razzberry and Rain can read each other's minds in a month."

Weiss couldn't help a giggle with how accurate she probably was. It was a given that Weiss was, to her own shame, predictable in her habits. Thankfully she was intuitive enough to make an accurate guess of what her mysterious contrast had been up to. Ruby was young and naturally straight forward so no mysteries there and Jaune was his way and fuck whatever highway was in his path, so just not reacting would give the appearance they'd been expecting it.

"I can't even begin to imagine what sort of mess we'll be by the time we graduate." Weiss was pleased to note the small shiver of dread that Blake was quite able to conceal. It was good to know miss apathetic wasn't completely immune to dread as she liked to appear.

"We'll just get ahold of his bank info and put all our therapy bills on him." The girl replied, the dark humor coming out with unnerving sweetness.

Weiss snickered at the idea. "Among other things." The three of them shared matching smirks as Blake waved her scroll over their dorms lock and Pyrrha headed for hers with a wave.

The heiress's good mood vanished the instant she spotted Ruby as the girl sat up, scroll pressed to her ear, eyes red from crying. "I have to go now Eclisse, you, talk to you soon." Whatever was said on the other end made the girl smile. "Ok, thanks again." She ended the call before trying to smile as brightly as possible. "What's up?"

Weiss barely managed not to look a Blake for help, thankfully the girl moved towards her partner. "I think we should be asking you that Ruby." She replied gently.

Ruby's down cast expression only worsened. "It's nothing I promise, at least nothing that can be solved tonight." She suddenly looked up, eyes brighter than before. "Oh yeah." She exclaimed as she quickly opened her scroll back up.

"Ruby?" Blake asked curiously, only to hear her scroll chime with a new message. Her eyes widened when she realized Ruby had just sent her an entire folder. She looked up at her partner in a mixture of eagerness and disbelief. "Your certain?"

Ruby scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "It's not the best honestly but it's the only one I managed to finished," The younger girl gave her a sheepish look, "Sorry about snapping at you about it before by the way."

Weiss couldn't help but enjoy the sight of the two making up, trying to keep her presence as unnoticeable as possible. "It's okay, it was rude of me to read over your shoulder."

Ruby suddenly jumped from the bed, snagging a set of pajamas from the closet so quickly several rose petals floated about the room. "I'm gunna take a shower, either of you need the restroom first?"

Both of the older girls shook their heads before watching their team lead vanish into the bathroom. Weiss caught Blake's gaze. "You think she's going to cry again?"

The dark haired noticeably sighed. "I can't imagine what else she'd be doing in there at this point."

Weiss looked towards the bunk above her. "I guess the road to hell truly is paved in good intentions." The dark-haired girl snorted as she pulled out her yukata. The heiress shook her head as she dressed for bed. Opening her email, she considered the best possible way to convince her father to leave Jaune Arc alone if he did display his full capabilities.

Dear father

As much as I wish, I cannot say that I'm sending this as an apology for our last meeting but for the good of SDC. As you no doubt know, Pyrrha Nikos is one of classmates and quickly becoming a dear friend, something I'm am certain brings you no small pleasure. She however is not the true reason that I am contacting you but most likely an eventual catalyst to my warning.

My partner, Jaune Arc, defeated her in single combat earlier today with what I can only describe as grotesque ease. As troubling as this might be to believe, I know this was by sheer ability alone and ask that you simply trust my confidence in this belief. This bout was held in private, with only my team and Ms. Nikos's present so it has not been publicized as yet.

I'm sending you this letter under the presumption that Mr. Arc will no hide his abilities in class when our teacher, Ms. Goodwitch, undoubtedly has the two spar once again, something that, I assure you, will be recorded, both in an amateur and professional manner, both of which will eventually be leaked to the public.

Obviously when this happens my partner will become a fixation of the media for all four kingdoms and him being my partner will undoubtedly lead back to you and the company. I implore you to keep as distant as possible.

My partner while trust worthy is, through and through, a very outspoken individual of the crudest manner and possess no respect for SDC or authority in general, enough so that I believe any attempts from you to garner his favor or employment will undoubtedly be out right ignored and persistence could lead to exceptionally unfortunate media.

The worst case scenario I can see is that Spectrum himself takes an interest, thus again I implore you to keep as great and neutral distance as possible.

Sincerely Weiss Schnee

Weiss quickly checked over the letter before saving it and starting on a much, much longer one. The one she'd need to send to Winter in an effort to avoid her from performing an investigation on Jaune after father gave her the details of her warning. Nothing good could ever come of that.

IIIII

Blake had to stop herself from rubbing her eyes to avoid jostling her contacts once again as she finally settled beneath her covers. Watching her partner get torn apart by just the memory of that nightmarish illusion made her want to strangle someone, Arc being the first on her list. That the blonde was clearly throwing himself head first into damnation as Weiss put it did little to sooth her either.

With another glance towards the bathroom door, Blake pulled up the folder Ruby had sent her. From the title 'Requiem' alone she'd already guessed it was built on tragic elements but as she found it hard to believe that her sweet kind-hearted team leader would 'start' a book almost a year after the destruction of Beacon and Vale. That didn't even begin to describe her feelings towards the girl's main character.

Hissing in pain, Suzume glared at the woman pinning him against the wall, aura coated fingers imbedded in his armors chest plat like pale claws wreathed in wisps of fire. Her gold eyes flashed haughtily, blood streaming from the cut trailing from her temple across her left eye down to her chin. His blade had even clipped her full lips, the vicious wound already hinting at the ugly scar that would now mar her formally hauntingly beautiful features for the rest of her life.

Gone was gorgeous young woman he'd known for longer than he could even begin to remember, now replaced by a veteran huntress at the height of her prime. Aside from the grievous wound and having forsaken her former dress ages ago for meticulously crafted armor of her own most would never see the difference given aura's unnatural agelessness. He could though.

Stance, gaze, smile, aura, everything about her was as cold as hells lowest level, a barren chasm of frost covered ash and towering needle pointed pillars of frozen blood.

The same could be no less said for him, years of desperation honing his body to match his weaponized mind fashioned from countless deaths many at the hands of this very woman.

Brenna Cadere though, had given herself to the Grimm and their queen Saeva years before he even chose to become a huntsman. The ancient witch had turned the girl in to a peerless fighter and strategist. Suzume though knew Saeva had never been able to smother the burning prideful rage that had raged within the girl. He would know after all, having taken every chance to stoke those that very flame in attempt to make it consume her.

Instead he'd done what the witch could not. Any fire that burns to hot will die and Brenna's was no different. Countless delays, numerous fails, endless hunts, he'd put her through all of them, all while bleeding her at every chance. From leaving her ever faith full Jade crucified to a safe houses wall to leaving bits of Ash's prosthetic legs for her to find. Any loose string he found he pulled trying to make her unravel.

He'd never gotten his opening though and, looking back, he could only blame himself, having never truly committed himself to anyone strike. In the end he'd been too timid, too terrified of burning. Even Soliel's mother Magpie for all her experience and Maiden powers had found herself pressed and even failed to finish Brenna at her weakest.

He'd failed and after eight years their brutal war descended into little more than a bloody game of cat and mouse. One in which he'd watched each of his friends give their lives over the next four. He'd felt the threads tightening about him with each one. Felt that creature in his shadow, its threads and breath on his neck.

All of it spiraling to this final moment with his family's sword lay in a pile of cooling slag but not before he'd left her with a lifelong reminder. In a final show of irony, his strike had failed thanks to the helmet she'd taken to wearing along with her armor. Now laying besides the ruined weapon, cleaved in two and useless but a mocking reminder all the same.

The woman's remaining eye perused the room, decimated from the entrance she'd 'fashioned' initially before laughing as her gaze fell on the two bodies splayed out on the floor amidst scattered medical supplies. Green robes soaked in blackened scarlet covered one, an effect not present in the formerly white dress of the second now a brilliant crimson.

"One final surprise for me Suzume," The woman purred despite the agony her wound must have been giving her, "Your resolve has always been remarkable, but slitting their throats yourself to keep them from me?" The woman shook her head in amusement. "How I wish I could have plucked you before the wizard."

Suzume chuckled despite his own pain spiking with each breath. "Get in line." He muttered, already eager for death.

The woman on the other hand actually crooned as she lowered him to the floor. "But Suzume," She purred as she propped him against the singed concrete of the bunkers wall, straddling his lap barely a second later, finger tips slowly trailing from his chest to his sides as she leaned in to brush her lips against his ear, "I'm clearly the only one here." She whispered, her voice as heated alongside her nails as they dug into his sides to burn through his armor.

His screams though were muffled as her lips covered his, the thick tang of blood quickly filling his mouth.

Gem blue eyes flashed open, aura rippling, rattling the metal portions of his bindings and singing the cloth ones. The doctor and nurse currently examining him jumped back while their guard quickly drew his weapon, training the device on him in barely a second.

Decades of discipline instantly crushed his initial reflex and Suzume forced himself to relax. "Apologies, nightmare."

The doctor hesitantly adjusted his glasses. "I-is that so?"

Suzume gave the man a look of blatant skepticism. "What, heartless terrorists can't be afraid of the dark to?" He asked snidely for the simple amusement of watching his guests seethe. It was almost as amusing as watching the doctor and nurse skirt timidly about the small cell despite their anger, chiefly whenever they had to get within a foot of the bed. Touching him directly was process all of its own. He couldn't see their guard's face thanks to the man's helmet but his body posture was anything but relaxed. The stupid fool hadn't even put his gun away.

Rolling his eyes tiredly, Suzume took stalk of his current situation. It had been almost a week since he'd spoken to the general, a week of nothing to do but analyze their conversation and try to stop himself from sleeping. One with more success other thanks to the slight excessive drug use on his nurse's part.

"I bet she's a screamer," Shiro commented from where she sat on the edge of the bed, "You can just see it in that innocent look, no nurse should look that innocent unless their suppressing themselves." Suzume gave the generously curved woman yet another quick inspection, one of many since she'd first appeared, before flicking his gaze to the dark-haired woman.

'Could you not voice my inner thoughts Shiro, she can barely handle me 'relaxed' let alone curious.' Suzume replied with his thoughts knowing she'd pick up on them.

Shiro snorted as she jumped off the bed. "Like its anyone's fault but your own that your still here." She stated dryly as she danced about the room, raven hair turning white as she did.

Suzume rolled his eyes. "The general is more conflicted then we've ever seen him and Atlas is the only Kingdom that is even remotely prepared for what is possibly coming."

Shiro promptly jumped on top of him, straddling his waist, hair turning light orangish red adopting a sniffling pout barely an inch from his face. "But onii-chan," She whined, "It's so boring here." When all she received was a dull look she glared, hair returning to black. "Seriously Suzume, what's the point, you already said it yourself, Copperstone can't be convinced of anything let alone by you."

Sapphire eyes hardened. 'Don't tell me the obvious Shiro, but as of now, I don't have another move worth making.' The woman recoiled from his anger like she'd be struck. It was the closest that she ever could be as far as Suzume knew. Unfortunately, the aura pulse that accompanied the rebuke caused a number of machines to fry, sparking violently.

The doctor and nurse both recoiled violently even as the guard in the corner trained his weapon on Suzume in the space of a heartbeat. The blond only gave him a dry look in return. "Pull the trigger and I break your arm." When his audience didn't move Suzume simply snapped, "Either shoot or let those two finish their work. Either way you'll be telling the general to get his ass down here, I'm sick of waiting."

"How do you plan to do that?" Suzume was impressed the man managed to keep himself from stuttering let alone speak at all. That really didn't mean anything his aura shredded his bindings, metal and fabric alike.

The guard fired for what little good it did him, the bullet thankfully shattering against Suzume's aura instead of rebounding dangerously. The man didn't get a second chance, his weapon shattering in the blonde's grip, his other hand catching the man's throat. The struggle ended quickly as the man passed out from asphyxiation.

Suzume looked at the doctor. "Please inform the general we need to talk." He stated bluntly before he began removing the guard's armor and uniform only to look up when neither of them moved. "Now please."

"I-is tha-that all?" The doctor stuttered.

Suzume rolled his eyes and prepared to throw the both of them out but stopped himself just as quickly. "On second thought you should stay," He pointed to the nurse, the girl quickly panicking but Suzume ignored it, "This guy sure isn't going anywhere without help." He gave both of them a look of exasperation when both remained still. "What?"

"A-aren't you w-worried they'll s-storm the cell?" The nurse managed to stutter.

Shiro laughed while Suzume rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Escalating this to a hostage situation would be worse, I just need the general to get the message that I'm done with him procrastinating." He stated as he finished stripping the guard down to his underwear. "Now, if you please?" He gestured towards the cell door with a flamboyant bow he totally wasn't stealing from Remus.

"Aren't you forgetting something Suzume?" Shiro asked, still seated on the bed.

Suzume blinked for half a second before chuckling. "Just a second please." He crouched once again and grasped the guard's hand. The bone snapped wetly, the man waking up from the pain screaming. "I'm man of my word afterall." Suzume stated as he began to dress.

The doctor and nurse were quick the help the now injured man from the cell while Suzume opened the scroll he'd liberated from man. Cracking the password was impossible but it was possible to do a crude factory reset without it and Suzume only needed a means to connect to the web. It would still take the good general an hour at least before he got here after all.

Shiro curled up next to him the second he reclined on the bed, scarlet nails raking against his chest through the thin fabric of his recently acquired T. "You couldn't have done that days ago dear?" She asked, playfully rhetorical.

'I would have if I'd known just how indecisive that old man would be even after I gave him all that.'

She giggled, straddling him easily. "And if he 'does' choose to just have you killed?"

He smirked, dark sapphire eyes flashing to electric blue briefly before darkening once again. 'I'll let you have them.'

Shiro let out a sultry moan. "Oh sweetheart, you're to kind." She all but purred as she rubbed herself against him. Suzume hissed and shivered as his body responded. The lights in the cell died abruptly, giving him an all too familiar view of Shiro's heated gaze as she glanced about the nearly pitch black, the only remaining light emanating from her eyes. "Ah Atlas you never change." She commented sweetly.

She'd barely finished speaking before an obnoxiously loud alarm blared to life. Wincing, Suzume stood while Shiro pouted. 'One second love, I'll take care of this." He stated lightly before stepping out of the cell that had been left wide open.

The short walk down the hallway was cut off abruptly by the guards at the security check point, all of them leveling high powered assault rifles instead of the pistol his gracious clothing donator had been provided. Suzume didn't even bother to pull his hands from his pockets. "Please turn that off," He asked politely, "I promise I have no intention of going anywhere or hurting anyone without reasonable cause."

He could tell that the guards picked up that 'reasonable cause' included not silencing the alarm. He was a little surprised how willingly they complied even with his recent demonstration. "Thank you for being so understanding." He stated politely before returning to the cell.

Blake shuddered at the man's twisted apathy. Before she could read further the sound of the bathroom's lock clicking open made her look up as Ruby came back out. The redness around her eyes had thankfully diminished but they still lacked the brightness that Blake had always found so endearing.

Unable to take the sight, Blake set her scroll aside and climbed to her feet. Her partner didn't even notice her until Blake caught her shoulder. Ruby looked at her in surprise but didn't resist when Blake did something completely out of character and hugged the smaller girl gently. Ruby didn't say anything, only hugged her back with only the briefest of hesitations.

Blake didn't know why seeing the girl cry hurt her so much. Yes, human or not, Ruby was sweet, innocent and had all the signs of a lifelong friend but Blake had only known her for a few short days. The unfounded protectiveness was a frightening as watching an arrogant Schnee stand and place her hand on her hurt teammate's shoulder, trying to offer what little her cold upbringing could offer.

Blake didn't know how he did it but what little she had left of her world was falling apart and somehow, someway, Jaune Arc was firmly to blame.

IIIII

Yang instantly heard the sound of someone singing Karaoke as she entered the bar. The song was from a fairly popular band and whoever was singing it was pretty good, but something about it seemed off. She couldn't place why though until she spotted Jaune on the stage holding the mike. She assumed her hair was what gave her away when his gaze matched hers almost instantly, giving her a sly wink as he continued to sing. She was quick to take one of the barstools, carefully watching the last of the performance.

That's the price you pay
Leave behind your heartache, cast away
Just another product of today
Rather be the hunter than the prey
And you're standing on the edge, face up 'cause you're a

Natural

That last word came with the distinct feeling of hollow mockery, the bitter resentful kind no one ever laughed at.

A beating heart of stone
You gotta be so cold
To make it in this world
Yeah, you're a natural
Living your life cutthroat
You gotta be so cold
Yeah, you're a natural

Once the song finished, he handed the microphone off before jumping from the stage, easily weaving through the crowd to reach her. "You wouldn't happen to be following me, would you?" He asked with a cheerfully suggestive smile.

She snorted. "Hardly," before gesturing to the stage with her chin, "The song was good, you on the other hand sounded way to sarcastic."

Jaune laughed in faux embarrassment. "Yeah, that song kind of brings out the cynic in me."

Yang eyed him for a second before turning towards the bartender. "Strawberry sunrise and a crown apple sprite for my friend." The older man smirked before winking at Jaune as he set about preparing the drinks.

Jaune snickered as he took the empty stool beside her. "Ruby would be scandalized."

"She'll get over it, now what's your issue?"

He blinked in surprise. "Issue?"

Yang gave him a deadpan look. "Vomit boy, you've been prowling campus for the last two days like an Ursa Major with its tail on fire."

He grinned in amusement while accepting the drink from the bartender. "You'd be the one to know wouldn't you."

"I would," She snapped crisply, "And any further attempts to change the subject will include your own experience in the subject."

A dangerous smile over took the taller blonde's expression as he leaned forward suggestively. "Don't threaten me with a good time."

IIIII

My Assh- cough- Excuses

Fate: Suuuuuure

What a fucking chapter, total mess but honestly, it's my favorite one yet.

Too soon for Raven? Probably but I decided that I didn't want to start pulling in those OC's without a little more back story to why they even exist in the first place.

Now is it just me or is Pyrrha ridiculously easy to Mary Sue the fuck out of even after she's so naturally Mary Sued. Honestly though, I have to be ripping someone off. Twenty four thousand fic's is too many for someone not to liken her to the third Kazekage before me. Don't care.

Important Note: Arkos is a hard ship for me. It's boring and doesn't fit this story. Pyrrha was created solely for the purpose of dying (her name hint hint) hence my nickname of Martyr. She also died solely for the stories benefit of unlocking Ruby's eyes and shattering Jaune. They should have gone with the surprise kill like Serious Black or the trapped and know way out like Jiraiya but no, they had to go with Itachi's pathetic example and martyr herself. I love Pyrrha, I honestly really do but outside of making her ridiculously over powered her character's a mess to work with without killing, ignoring, or making her a direct hero. For those who got the pun at the beginning of the sentence and groaned good for you. For those that didn't, situational awareness.

Concerning the whole age deal, that's the worst it'll get I promise, Cinder's twistedly possessive, not a pedophile.

Natural by Imagine Dragons,

Questions, comments, concerns? Can't fix what I don't know people.

My still existing morals as a writer: (cheesy chirping cricket sound effects)

Fate: . . . No comment. . . but yes.

No flames will be deleted or reported but do attempt to actually clarify what set you off, that way I can A) not do it again or B) add even more. If this is beyond you, at least attempt to be creative about it.