Heyyy, I'm done moving out of my apartment. Here's the next chapter. And a cool quote.

"Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is."

- Albert Camus

Mr. Arc was currently enjoying a nice new room.

Movable bed with little casters, and white sheets with a warm orange cover.

Curtains could be unfolded around that bed to hide him from the cruel real world that was Beacon.

The window showed a nice, peaceful park with birds singing melodic tunes.

A kind, beautiful nurse came regularly to examine the healing process of his muscles and check on him.

Also, Mr. Arc's friends came to visit him a few times too.

Mr. Arc smiled and made casual conversation with these friends, calming them down when they were worried and asking them about their day.

He was fed, cared for, he could sleep all day.

A nice break from his fourteen-hours-a-day training plan, in the nurse's humble opinion.

Mr. Arc should have been happy.

But it seemed Mr. Arc was not happy at all.

In fact, the first day he arrived in the infirmary, Mr. Arc woke up and waited that Miss Schnee and Miss Rose and the nurse leave the room.

Then, a couple minutes after, for some unknown reason, he snapped.

He started smashing objects around.

Why, even though this room was so nice and comfy?

Naturally, the nurse came back to see what was wrong.

Mr. Arc politely apologized with an unreadable expression.

The nurse told him it was okay, there was another nice comfy room for him ready to go.

"That's what miss Goodwitch is here for." She had tried to joke to relax the boy, but he didn't react.

So she led him to the other room and said he needed to take it easy and rest his body.

Mr. Arc nodded silently, and requested that what happened stayed between them. She had warned that she needed to give an explanation to miss Goodwitch but she wouldn't divulge information to anyone else, so he needn't worry.

After a moment of staring at the boy worriedly, the nurse eventually left the room.

After she closed the door, she pressed her ear against the door.

It was only natural that she was still suspicious that he snapped again and destroyed the second room.

"Sniff, sniff."

…It sounded like Mr. Arc was very sad.

Whatever issues Mr. Arc had, it seemed it had taken a toll on its emotions, breaking his composure.

Now, it had been a few days since he arrived in the infirmary.

Of course, the nurse knew his body didn't really need that much rest.

His body had already fully healed during his first night. Probably the fastest recovery she'd ever seen from such muscle tear.

However, after witnessing his changes of mood, the nurse felt it was better for Mr. Arc to take a little break from school.

You see, the nurse was not just a nurse. She was the Beacon nurse. She had several other degrees in various medical fields.

It was only natural for her to notice that there was clearly something wrong with the boy.

After all, ever since that day, Mr. Arc had been in a somewhat depressed state.

He smiled in front of her, and when his friends came back, but he really didn't fool anyone.

The nurse tried talking to him about that access of rage, but he stubbornly refused to answer her questions.

The day of leaving the infirmary approached, and the nurse grew increasingly more worried.

If the boy was released in that state of mind, he would probably throw himself into work again and lash out eventually.

"… and then miss Goodwitch said we're going on a trip to Forever Fall! Isn't it awesome, Jauney?"

"It is."

"And then, and then, she made a quick presentation! Turns out, we're going to harvest some sap! SOME SAP! Now, as my disciple, Jauney, I expect you to gulp at least three bottles before calling it a day."

"Of course."

"We'll need to bring our weapons cause apparently the forest is infested with Ursas. It'll be the opportunity to show you how to ride one!"

"Really. I'm looking forward to it."

"Nora." Ren sighed. "You're not supposed to ride Ursas. You're supposed to just kill them."

"Oh, don't worry, Renny, don't worry! We're going to kill them, that's why, might as well have some fun with the giant bears before we obliterate them! Right Jauney?" Nora grinned excitedly and punched Jaune's shoulder lightly.

Usually, he would have caught such a jab instinctively, but today he let it slide.

"Right." He nodded distractedly.

"Seeeeee?" Nora smiled triumphantly. She punched Jaune's shoulder again. "Good disciple, I knew you had potential."

"Take it easy, Nora." Pyrrha frowned, grabbing her wrist.. "He's still recovering."

"He can take iiit!"

"Are you feeling better, Jaune?" Ruby asked worriedly. "You still seem a little tired."

"My body has fully recovered. I can go back to class now."

"The nurse doesn't seem to agree with you." Pyrrha pointed out.

Jaune sighed, leaning back in his pillow. "This is just a waste of time. I need to get out of this infirmary."

"But the nurse said you shouldn't. It's just a few more days, I'm sure you can take it." Ruby said.

Pyrrha and Ren nodded along with her while Nora grumbled something unpleasant about the nurse under her breath.

Jaune sighed loudly, staring at the ceiling.

"Didn't you bring something for him, Ruby?" Pyrrha gently reminded her partner.

"Ah, yes! I nearly forgot!" Ruby's eyes widened and she took something out of her bag. "Here!"

Jaune took it. "A box of cookies…?"

"And here!"

"A glass of… warm milk?"

"And here!"

"A video-game… Kung-Fu Ninja Slayer Ultimate Death 2? Uh…"

"Ah, you're right!" She snatched it from his hand and gave him another cartridge. "The first one was way better!"

"Are you kidding!" Nora exclaimed. "You could ride freaking Mistralian dragons in the second one!"

"Um…" Jaune hesitated.

"Take them both!" Nora insisted, forcibly closing his hands on the games. "You'll judge for yourself."

"Okay..."

"Here." Ren also gave him something. "It's a mixture of several plants that will increase your body's vitality."

"Oh, thanks..." Jaune started smiling as his friends kept giving him presents.

"I also brought something for you." Pyrrha giggled. "To make your stay more... enjoyable."

She gave him a poster.

"Hm, what's this about?" Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Pumpkin Pete's?"

"No..." Pyrrha smirked. "Unfold it."

Jaune did.

He gasped when he saw what it was about.

"Pyrrhaaaa..." Jaune rolled his eyes at the silly girl who wore the biggest grin. "Take it back."

"What is it, what is it!" Nora snatched and unfolded it, revealing it to everyone.

"A poster of Weiss…?" Ruby was confused. "Is that a concert? Wait, she sings?"

"Ooooh!" Nora admired the poster. "It's perfect! It'll make the room more enjoyable for you, Jauney!"

"Just take it back." Jaune growled, no longer smiling.

Nora paused as she noticed the expression on his face.

"Ah, take it back, take it baaaack!" Nora shouted, panicking as she saw Jaune revert back to a depressed state.

"Did she say something to you?" Pyrrha asked.

"No." Jaune sighed. "Everything's fine." He drank Ren's plant infusion. "Uwaah. It's disgusting."

"I know, right?" Ren nodded excitedly, as if the more disgusting, the better it was.

"Thanks for everything." Jaune smiled.

"You're welcome." Ren nodded.

Yang was making her way to the infirmary with Weiss and Blake.

They had agreed with team RPNN that Jaune should not be getting visits from seven people at the same time, so they split in two teams.

"Sup, Lady Killer!" Yang called as she slammed the door open.

"Hey..." Jaune waved back, putting on a smile.

"Wow, you really need to get out of here," Yang commented as the three of them took a seat next to his bed.

"Here, this is the notes I took for you in class." Weiss gave him a pile of paper, all business as usual.

"Oh, thanks."

"So, did the nurse agree to let you go?" She asked.

"Not yet, no."

She sighed. "I suppose there's no choice then. Don't you find it too boring in here?"

"A little."

"I've brought you a book that I personally enjoyed," Blake said, putting a book on his bed table. "It'll help you kill the time."

"As long as it's not porn."

"Wh-wha?!" Blake stuttered, sputtering excuses. "I-I don't know what you're implying!"

"Eeeh~" Yang grinned to her partner, "I see, so that one titled 'ninjas of love' was..."

"A romance story." Blake finished hurriedly.

"Then you won't mind if I read it?" Yang smirked, and Blake widened her eyes.

"No, um…" She looked away, "I don't have it anymore."

"I'm pretty sure it's still on the shelf." Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"It's not!"

"Don't worry, Blakey," Yang grinned, putting her arm on her shoulder, "We won't tell anyone… Well, maybe I'll tell our friends from RPNN."

"I don't know," Blake crossed her arms stubbornly after jumping away from Yang's grasp, "what you're talking about. It's good literature with great plot!"

"Great 'plot', huh?" Weiss smirked, wriggling her eyebrows, "Should I assume it has great 'justice' too?"

"H-how do you know that jargon?!"

"U-um..." Weiss widened her eyes, "That's, um..."

"Eeeeeh, what, I don't understand!" Yang looked back and forth between the two, "What does it mean? Jaune, you know it, right? Tell me!"

Jaune was studying Weiss's notes.

"Hmm? What?" He looked up, noticing the silence.

"Give me that," Weiss frowned, taking her notes from his hands. "The nurse told you not to work."

"This nurse is annoying." Jaune groaned. "Once I'm out of here..."

"Once you're out of here, you will not go back to that insane training schedule!" Weiss ordered.

"What, but I can take it!" Jaune complained, "I need it to catch up!"

"You being here is proof that it's dangerous!" Weiss pointed out, "The three of us agree on that, you can't go on like this."

"How about you give me arguments instead of just telling your decision?" Jaune narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms.

"Fine!" Weiss huffed, and took out a paper from her bag.

"What's that?" Yang wondered.

"The list of reasons to not do what he did."

"You made a list…?" Jaune gaped, amazed, and winced as he saw there were two pages. "Okay, never-mind, you don't have to read it…"

"Will you follow a standard schedule from now on?" Weiss asked him to be sure.

Jaune sighed. "Guess I'll have to."

"We'll be watching you," Blake narrowed her eyes.

"Y-yeeeeah." Yang said awkwardly. "They'll be watch-"

"We." Weiss glared at Yang.

"... watching you." The blonde girl finished, ignoring the heiress.

"There's really no need to do that." Jaune sighed.

"I know!" Yang hissed at him, getting glares from Blake and Weiss. "U-uh, so you're here until…when?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Monday, the nurse said."

"Don't you have a part-time job tomorrow?" Weiss wondered, recalling. "At Tukson's book trade?"

"Yeah. Guess I won't be able to work."

"Tukson's book trade?" Blake repeated, "Is it a bookshop? I need a little spare money, I could replace you for the day if you wan-"

"No!" Jaune shouted suddenly, eyes wide.

"Why not?" Blake's bow flattened on her head, disappointed.

Something was definitely wrong with that bow, Yang decided.

"Well, uh… Tukson isn't very… I mean, he's working with some people you don't want to get involved with."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. They were searching for you."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "…Did they say why?"

"Um..."

He hesitated, glancing at Weiss and then at Yang.

"They're part of… your former organization." Jaune said evasively.

Apparently, that meant something to Blake, because her eyes widened in fear.

What organization were they talking about?

"Y-you know, and you're working with them?" Blake asked, crisped.

"No, I'm just working for Tukson to earn a little money. He's the one working for them. I didn't tell them that I knew you if that's what you're worried about."

"I see..." Blake sighed in relief, before staring at Jaune curiously.

"What do they want from you?" Yang frowned.

"Nothing good." Blake groaned darkly.

"Well, you can come to us if there's any problem." Weiss decided, to which Blake hummed in vague agreement. "Also, I've been realizing something lately. Even though we're on the same team and we work together quite often, we don't know each other very much. How about we try to do something about it?" She asked, staring at Jaune, the leader.

It seemed like a decent idea to Yang, even though Blake didn't seem to like it very much, judging by her horrified expression.

Jaune blinked, confused. "Sure?"

"Never mind…" The heiress sighed. "Let us talk about it when you feel better."

"If you say so." He shrugged.

"Jaune," Weiss sighed. "What's wrong with you? You've only given short answers since Ruby brought you to the infirmary that day."

"Nothing's wrong," Jaune said.

"Bullshit," Yang called.

"It'll go away eventually." Jaune waved it away. "It's not something you need to worry about."

"It is, I can tell." Weiss insisted stubbornly. "We can tell!"

"Weiss… it's best if we don't pry too much." Blake suggested. "Everyone has problems they need to deal with themselves."

"But-"

"Don't you have class right now?" Jaune interrupted.

They looked at the clock.

"We have Grimm studies in five minutes!" Weiss's eyes widened and she stood up, panicked. "We're going to be late!"

Nice diversion, Jaune, color me impressed. Yang narrowed her eyes at him as Weiss ran outside.

"We have to go! Sorry, Jaune!"

"Bye, Jaune." Blake said quickly, following after the heiress.

Yang frowned. Was leaving their leader alone in this creepy room really the right thing to do here?

Seriously, he looked awfully depressed. It was not just going to fade away by leaving him alone, was it?

Yang stopped herself in front of the door just before leaving, deciding something.

"I'll stay a bit more," She called to Weiss and Blake, "You go on ahead."

"Are you sure?" Weiss raised an eyebrow, "You'll be late!"

"I won't be late, I promise," Yang swore.

"Fine, but hurry." Weiss nodded, and the two girls hurried away.

"Yeah, yeah." Yang waved them away, not caring one bit about a lesson with professor Port.

Heh.

She couldn't be late if she didn't go to class at all.

Heheheheee. She felt like Ruby stealing a bunch of cookies right now.

She closed the door and turned back to Jaune.

He was staring through the window, contemplating some frightening concept with empty, dead fish's eyes.

He probably didn't even notice her staying behind.

Yang sighed to herself, frowning. That Jaune was not who she was used to at all.

Where was the teasing Jaune that gave her an excuse to not apologize by angering her?

Now he looked like he aged ten years in a week.

That was no good at all.

It was no use to constantly worry about whatever issue he had. He needed to let go and keep moving forward.

"Jaune..." Yang hesitated, wondering what to say.

He didn't even notice her, continuing to stare into space.

Goddammit, Jaune. You're not making this easy at all, are you?

"Ah, screw it." Yang groaned and grabbed his arm, making him gasp in surprise. "You're not staying here rotting in a bed any longer. Let's get out of here!"

"Eh?"

She jumped through the window, dragging Jaune behind her.

"What about your lesson?"

"What lesson," She laughed. "You mean that nap session with professor Port as background lullaby?"

"But… Wait, where are we going?"

"Dress you up first," Yang grinned, walking fast towards their dorm, "And after that, make a little trip and get you a goddamn drink, Jauney! That's where we're going!"

"But…" Jaune paused, frowning. "Huh, that's actually not a bad idea."

"You're goddamn right it's not a bad idea!"

Later

"Weiss explained to us the conversation you had with the nurse," Yang said, walking fast as Jaune followed after her through the streets of Vale.

"…And?"

"My semblance is Temper Tantrum, Jaune. Your issues right now, they've been my whole life. I know a lot about anger and controlling it. Let me show you one of the ways I deal with it."

So, his team knew about his supposed 'anger' problems, now?

"Drinking?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"No, you little rascal." She laughed as she punched him lightly. They arrived at a series of small garages.

Yang approached one of them, seized the front door and pulled it up.

"Oooh…"Jaune gaped, as he felt he was supposed to.

"This," Yang grinned as she showed her bike, "is Bumblebee! My little bumbaby!"

"So it is a family thing..." Jaune nodded in understanding, referring to Ruby and her scythe, Crescent Rose.

"Get on!" Yang ordered as she climbed on her bike, and got the engine running, roaring angrily.

"Um..." He hesitated.

"Get. On!"

"Okay, okay… Jeez." Jaune reluctantly got behind her on Bumblebee, her beautiful yellow motorbike.

It was all right, motion sickness was not supposed to happen on bikes. Supposedly.

"Keep a good grip," Yang grinned, placing his hands on her waist, making him flush a little. "Aaaand… Let's goooo!"

Jaune's eyes widened as Yang suddenly picked up the speed.

Soon, they were out of the city, driving on a campaign road.

Yang slowed down her bike.

"Look, Jaune. Only by riding a bike, can you experience something like this! This wind, even this heat, or those smells… You can feel everything with your whole body!"

"… I've never experienced something like this before!" Jaune wondered, genuinely amazed by the array of sensations.

"It may be a little 'dangerous', but we have Aura, and it gives me a sense of freedom!" Yang continued, and Jaune could see she was really passionate about what she was saying, "That's why, driving Bumblebee is one of the greatest joys of my life! That's one of the things I do to deal with my anger!"

A combination of exhilaration, fear, relaxation, and pleasure, that changed people forever.

Physical and emotional pleasure, with a layer of anxiety and adrenaline.

Because of that, Jaune's senses were heightened and his perception was at its best.

He could feel everything.

How the smells varied constantly.

How the temperature changed in unique ways, as if he was actually feeling the variations that the meteorologists usually talked about.

How he suddenly paid attention to the slightest detail that could result in a potential crash.

And more than everything, that sense of freedom.

Riding a bike was without a doubt one of the best experience he lived.

They stopped at various locations that Yang wanted him to see.

A small mountain, giving them a view of the whole city of Vale.

A little restaurant near a bridge going over a large river.

A giant wall where various artists had drawn graffiti.

A giant meadow surrounded by forest, on the center of chich stood the biggest tree Jaune had ever seen.

And other interesting, beautiful landscapes.

Honestly, it felt a bit like a date, but there was no way that was the case, so Jaune pushed the thought out of his mind.

After the most enjoyable trip of his life, Yang and Jaune finally returned to the city.

In the distance, the sunset was coloring the sky with orange clouds, as they were driving on a high placed road on top of hills.

Finally, they arrived back into the city and stopped in front of The Club.

Yang looked at him expectantly as she parked her bike. "Well?"

"…I need one of those." Jaune admitted, giving a small smile.

"Yep." Manus agreed in his ear.

"Hell yeah you do!" Yang smiled happily before taking his hand and dragging him inside.

"Huh, look who's back," Junior commentated. "Try not to end up fighting, this time."

"No promises," Yang winked as they sat down. "A Strawberry Sunrise for me, please. With a little umbrella."

"Aren't you too young to drink?" Junior groaned.

"It's fine, Jauney here needs it." Yang tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "Remember what happened last time you said that line?"

"Fine. If it's for Jaune." Junior grunted, glancing at him.

"Something strong." Yang specified.

"Here," the barman slid him a glass of a transparent liquid.

Jaune grimaced when he sniffed the drink. He could smell the alcohol already.

"Zone… That's not a good idea." Manus warned.

He stared at his glass, the adrenaline of the ride slowly settling down, and the bad thoughts coming back.

"We're slowly merging..." he recalled Manus's words. "I'm slowly becoming more human… and you're slowly becoming more Grimm."

He was slowly transforming into a Grimm.

His nature as a human was being changed.

Would he lose his normal, human feelings too?

Some of the best things he expected from life, were probably no longer possible because of that.

Dating, marrying a nice girl and founding a family. Those were some of Jaune's humble dreams.

No longer possible. How could he, if he became a Grimm?

Confessing to Weiss.

That was no longer worth it, was it? How could he risk their partnership, when he didn't even know the changes occurring in his body? Changes that were going to change his character. Even if she liked him back, there was no way he let her go through that.

Even his dream, becoming a Hunter.

What if he became the hunted?

He was changing completely, body and mind.

Even that nice sensation of the trip on Yang's bike, those amazing sights, maybe he would no longer feel any of their beauty once he was fully transformed.

In the end… He had no idea what to expect in the future.

He was scared. Scared of all the possibilities, scared of ignoring what exactly was changing in his body. Why was this happening to him? What was going to happen from now on?

Would he start feeling the need to kill humans too, eventually?

If it came to that, and he couldn't control these pulsions...

I'll just have to kill myself. Before I kill someone.

Those were the kind of happy, cheerful thoughts that Jaune had been pondering all week, alone in the room of the infirmary.

Minutes later

"Are you sure?" Yang repeated, disappointed.

"Never saw her, or heard of her." Junior shrugged, giving her back the picture of her biological mother. "Sorry, blondie."

"I see… I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Yang sighed, putting it back in her pocket.

"Jesus… What the hell is wrong with the kid?" The man grunted.

Yang turned to glance at her leader.

He was staring at his glass with dead eyes, almost crouched over it, a complicated expression on his face.

That expression, she had seen it something like before. On her dad's face.

She frowned. He was really in a dark place.

What happened to the teasing Jaune? The Jaune that suggested he massaged her chest, to make her avoid having to apologize to him?

...Wait, no, she didn't really want that Jaune back.

However, she would not let him stay in that state, she had to help him in some way, to get through this.

Even though, she showed him all the unexpected, wonderful things that Remnant possessed.

Was it not enough to cheer him up?

She took a sip of her drink, humming as she observed Jaune waving off the Malachite twins, who were trying to talk to him.

Finally, she stood up, having come to a decision, and walked to Jaune's seat, tending him a hand.

Jaune looked up at her, confused.

Yang just smiled encouragingly, like she did when she'd been trying to get a shy, awkward Ruby to meet and talk to more people.

Reluctantly, he took her hand and she gently pulled him on his feet.

Yang smiled to Jaune as she slowly started to move in rhythm with the music, still holding Jaune's hands.

She guided him along towards the dancefloor, slowly increasing their speed.

Jaune began to smile a little as their movements accelerated, both circling around in the dancing stage, her right hand holding his and her left hand placing his on her waist.

Conveniently, the music accelerated – probably the DJ observing them – causing them to continue twirling around accordingly, and Jaune actually started to laugh, getting excited. He even began to take more part in their movements as they enjoyed dancing.

A crowd formed around them, cheering them on.

What the hell, he was super good at dancing!

Honestly, now she was following his lead as they danced and swayed to the song gracefully.

Then, the music slowed down, making them adapt to a slower rhythm, where their bodies were closer, almost hugging each other. Jaune rested his head on her shoulder, and she rested hers on his.

Finally, the song ended, and they came to a beautiful halt perfectly synced.

Yang hugged him tight for a second, trying to show some support, to relieve him from whatever he was going through.

She pulled back, and stared at him in the eye, waiting for him to say something, their faces rather close to each other. She was hoping that little experience cheered him up somehow.

"Thanks," Jaune smiled gratefully at his friend.

"Do you get it now?" Yang smiled softly. "No matter how many issues you have, you need to remember, sometimes you just have to keep moving forward, to just… live!"

"Just live?" He hesitated.

"Let's just live!" She sang happily as the song was played and she dragged him to the bar. "Day by day, and not be conquered by our sorrows! The past can't hold us down, we must break freeeeee..."

… Was the alcohol getting to her already? He took his eyes off her for one minute and she was already like this?

Still, such a simple answer, Jaune wondered as he considered his friend. No, he could say Yang was his best friend now. She was so strong, literally and figuratively, his admiration for her had sky-rocketed to new heights.

"Inside we're torn apart~, but time will mend our hearts~, move onward, not there yet, so let's just liiiiive!" Yang continued to sing cheerfully.

To just wait and see, enjoy life and make the best of whatever happened. Such a carefree attitude, could it really be the answer to his issue? No, to all of his problems?

Spend time to prepare for the future, also spend time enjoying the present, and find some to remember the past as well, but keep the three separate?

"Let's just live! Just one day, let's forget about our problems!" Yang continued to sing, and winked at him, motioning him to join her. "Let's fall in love with life and just beee freeeeee!"

Jaune grinned and began to sing with her. "The sun will never fade, the night won't steal our day… Let's dance, and laugh, and love and let's just live!"

They ended the song with a loud laugh, and came back in front of their respective drinks.

"Yay, your first real party!" Mélanie smirked with her sister, waving encouragingly at him.

"That was some nice dance moves," Militia added. "You'll have to teach me, okay, Jaune~"

"Um..." Jaune eyed his drink warily, still hesitating.

"Don't drink that, Zone!" Manus hissed in his ear.

"Come on Jaune," Yang giggled, nudging him on the shoulder, "Drink, you'll feel better!"

"It's on the house, kid!" Junior grunted, nodding to his drink.

Really? Well then… How could he refuse!

"Zone, you shouldn't!" Manus warned, hissing in his ear, "This is a bad idea, we don't know how you'll react, with your emotional issues!"

"Shut up, Manus, or I'll cut you off my shoulder!" Jaune threatened happily, earning a couple of confused gazes. He smirked as he raised the glass, while Manus gaped quietly, astonished by the threat.

"Aaaand, cheeeers!" Yang giggled and clinked her glass with his.

"Cheers!" The Malachite and Junior did exactly the same even though they didn't know what they were celebrating, and even a random small girl he didn't know followed through with them.

Oh well, Jaune shrugged as he swallowed the strong alcohol in one gulp. I'll just let go of everything for once...

"W-wait, don't drink it all at once!"Yang gasped, panicking "Idiot, NO!"

Meh, what could possibly go wrong…?

The day after, in the morning

When Jaune opened his eyes, he tried to get a sense of his surroundings.

"…maybe I shouldn't have raised that flag. Ugh..." Jaune groaned, gripping his head.

Because, it turns out, a lot of things could go wrong.

Or go good, depending on how you see things.

Jaune really wasn't sure how to feel when he realized he woke up in the same bed as Melanie and Militia.

"What the… Aouch, my head..." Jaune winced at his headache. "What… happened?"

He looked around him as he sat up on the bed.

He didn't know what room he was in. Where was he? There was a big mess in the room, clothes scattered everywhere and it stunk of alcohol, despite having gotten used to the awful smell.

Melanie and Militia were sleeping at his right and left sides, respectively.

Jaune pulled up the sheet to cover their bodies so they didn't catch a cold.

Did he… spend the night with the twins? Did they …?

Jaune gripped his head, groaning pitifully.

He couldn't remember…

Suddenly, Weiss's face appeared in his head, angry and offended.

He felt guilty, even though they weren't together at all, he felt like he let her down somehow.

Even though he still wasn't sure what happened last night. He needed to find out.

As he thought that, he suddenly remembered who he came with last night. He looked around in panic.

Oh god… Where was Yang? Oh crap… If she was involved... Where was she?

He stood up, and the world swayed around him. He tried to take a step, but his foot caught onto something and he fell on the ground like the wreck he was.

"Uuuurgh..." Jaune reached a chair and managed to sit properly on it.

Then, he remembered, there was someone else with him last night. Someone that never left his side.

"Manus," Jaune croaked, waving his right arm around.

It buzzed a little as if awakening. A tired eye popped into his palm, like usual."Zone...? You're awake?"

"What the hell happened last night." Jaune demanded.

"Last night... You had lots of fun and pleasure last night." He summarized perfectly. "Also, you might have doomed us both."

"P-pleasure? With who?"

"That's what you focus on, huh…" Manus narrowed his eye. "You're too carefree, Zone. Does it really matter?"

"Of course it matters!" Jaune hissed angrily, "I need to know if I've done things… like..."

"Like?"

"Like, forcing myself on them or something like that." Jaune muttered.

After all, there was no way any girl would willingly do it with him, right?

"Huh?" Manus frowned, confused. "No, from what I remember, you were all enjoying yourselves."

Jaune blushed bright red when he heard that. "I-I see… That's... embarrassing."

"Humans..." Manus rolled his eye.

"You can't really blame me for wanting to fill up the blanks in my mind, can you!" Jaune protested.

"Shhht." Manus hissed suddenly. "Do you hear this, Zone?"

Jaune fell quiet, listening to the silence.

No, there was a sound. A noise of… flowing water? With splashes. How did he not notice it before?

"Someone's… taking a shower?" He wondered weakly, settling his gaze on a door where the noise was coming from.

Oh god, it was totally Yang, wasn't it. Oh crap, did they actually…?

As he thought that, the sound stopped, and they heard the shower curtain ruffling. Then the door opened.

A rather small girl stepped out, covered in a towel.

It wasn't Yang.

"… Who are you?" Jaune asked as he let out a sigh of relief.

Not that he thought Yang was unattractive, but he didn't think of her that way. Plus, he didn't want to lose her friendship over something like that.

After helping him so much yesterday, Jaune was really grateful to her. Screwing her while they were drunk was a poor repayment, and would have most likely endangered their friendship.

The small girl – she had tri-colored, pink and brown hair with white streaks, along with mismatched eyes – winked prettily at him, causing him to blush bright red, knowing the implications.

If she was there, in this room's bathroom taking a shower, then did it mean…?

She started putting on some clothes, getting rid of the towel, so Jaune looked away.

"Y-yesterday… did we… How?" Jaune struggled to express himself, still suffering from his hangover.

He risked a glance back to the small girl.

She was already fully dressed: white jacket with pink interior, brown pants, black gloves, and black and white boots with high heels.

How she dressed up so fast, he had no idea, but she looked ready to go. Wherever she needed to go.

She picked up an umbrella on the wall, and turned to him, blinking innocently.

"Did we sleep together?" Jaune asked again, completely blunt.

The girl nodded, giggling. She pointed to herself, and then to Melanie and Militia who were still snoring softly on the bed, and then to him.

"I-I see..." Jaune shifted uncomfortably on his chair, finding the situation awkward as hell.

He didn't dare ask her name, as he probably wasn't supposed to have forgotten everything. Most likely, they had met last night, so it would be rude to ask such a thing.

Wait, no. He already asked her who she was before, there was no need to worry about that.

Dammit. He really was in no condition to socialize.

Oh well, she seemed like the quiet type anyway.

"Hm? Where is she?" Jaune wondered. He didn't even notice, but the girl had left. He looked around, searching for her, but she was gone.

"Good riddance..." Manus mumbled, wary and distrustful of the girl.

"What the hell is going on." He groaned, rubbing his face with his hands.

It could have been worse, Jaune supposed.

At least he didn't pass any ring on their fingers, or he would've had to rename this story 'A drunken Malachite marriage' or something like that.

"It doesn't matter. There's more important, Zone." Manus declared with a serious tone.

"Really? What?"

"Your training, Zone!" He snapped, "It's ten in the morning and we haven't started our training routine yet, despite having finally left the infirmary! You've been slacking off too much lately!"

"… Goddammit, Manus."

Thanks for reading.

I can already feel the shipping/pairing wars coming for me. That's okay, for I am ready. Go on, unleash your reviews on me.

Hm?

Why is this chapter so late, you ask?

Here's a bonus story for you.

Naccarat was editing the latest chapter of his story on the Document Manager, looking for any mistake or typo. He preferred using the Document Manager to do that because he used the Grammarly extension for Chrome, which corrected his awful English way better than Libre Office did.

His eyes narrowed, settling on a particular line.

"Huh, that line makes more sense before Yang takes Jaune out on her bike." He mumbled and selected the words to cut and paste the line at another place.

On his keyboard, which was an azerty type, the 'w' and the 'x' were just next to each other.

So he inadvertently pushed CTRL + W instead of CTRL + X.

It closed the tab.

"E-eh?"

Naccarat quickly opened back the document manager of the fanfiction site, a feeling of dread surging in his heart.

He didn't save his changes... and half of his chapter was gone.

"nnnNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!" He screamed like Darth Vader, waking up the neighborhood.

So yeah, that's what happened. How silly of me.

Serves me right for writing on the Document Manager, I guess.

Next chapter: Monday 26th February