College Fool is currently in South Korea, so is going to be off the beta grid for a little while, just keep that in mind if there are any mistakes and direct all criticism to me. Other than that, on with the story!

Beta: College Fool

Chapter 10

Contingency plans were wonderful things. They allowed for a rapid and practiced response to a problem, wherein every single piece knew their place in the greater game. Only a fool went into battle without one – and Cinder Fall was no fool. Though the Grimm had been hunted down and exterminated by Ironwood's military automatons, the day wasn't yet lost.

Roman had been captured, escorted away by the General as per the plan – not to mention that Atlas' forces were now spread out across the city. She'd managed to switch the plan over so quickly that they hadn't even revealed their hand with the CCT yet, nor that the White Fang forces had been gathering throughout the city.

Truly, though it had been an obvious loss – this worked just as well for her.

Apart from the current situation, that was…

"- and this is my girlfriend Cinder." Jaune finished the introductions she'd paid approximately no attention to. She already knew the names and background details of Team RWBY, and Mercury had filled her in on his team as well. She wasn't sure how either of them had missed the part where the two teams were best friends… perhaps they'd thought it unimportant.

She would be having words with them about that.

"A pleasure to meet you all," it was a testament to her ability that she managed to keep the seething hate out of her voice. "Jaune has told me much about all of you."

And he would be telling her more over the coming days if she had her way. What better way to get back at Ozpin, to undermine this whole operation of his – than to target the team he wished to use as his pieces? Knowing the enemy was half the battle… and her boyfriend would provide all the information she needed.

Truly even now he proved useful.

"Oh we've heard about you too, vomit-boy can't shut up about you. Though we were beginning to think you were more fiction than fact." The blonde one teased, waggling her eyebrows as though to embarrass her. Apparently Yang Xiao-Long seemed to think she was an innocent teen to blush and go red at the suggestion she was sucking face with someone.

How trite.

Jaune predictably complained about the nickname, not that it bothered her in any way. Her eyes trailed over the various figures, cataloguing their responses. Team RWBY seemed interested, but not bothered by the appearance of her. The only risk had been their leader Ruby Rose, who had seen her not only at the CCT but also when she'd been forced to help Roman out before the Beacon year began. That was a calculated risk however… she'd been masked at the CCT and she very much doubted anyone could have made out her features at such a distance in the dark, in the middle of combat.

Ruby Rose proved her correct through her lack of reaction. Merely nodding to a woman she had once bumped into in the hallways. That, at least, was fortunate.

"Wow." The blonde, Yang, spoke once more. "What a day, eh? Torchwick behind bars, Grimm invasion stopped. Vomit-boy has a girlfriend. I'm not sure which surprises me more. This totally calls for a celebration!"

"The city is still in lockdown, shops are closed for mourning." The Schnee Heiress pointed out, causing the girl to deflate for a moment.

"We could get some food and have a meal together in JNPR's room." Ruby Rose offered. "All of us. Oh, and you can come too uh… Cinder?"

"I would be happy to." she answered, smiling at the little girl she would really have preferred to kill. But of course, a murder on campus would just draw attention… the things she put up with. Still, once they had confirmed that they were leaving, it would be a relatively simple matter to leave a little surprise for them wouldn't it? A dust explosive perhaps… at that point it wouldn't matter if the Headmaster figured out who was responsible.

And this was the ironic thing, wasn't it? Their initial plan had failed, leaving them to fall back to the Vytal Festival for the alternative – which left her, Mercury and Emerald stuck at Beacon. That meant, in some strangely official way, that she was still Jaune Arc's girlfriend.

And this was now public knowledge to the very people she could least afford to act suspiciously in front of. One did not jump into the fray and risk their life to save someone they would dump not a day later – not that her dispatching that Ursa had been any risk to herself… but it no doubt seemed it to them.

The choices were simple. She could break up with him, effect some kind of silly reason for them to split. No doubt he would back off, barring a few attempts early on to change her mind. But like any man he would give up in time.

The problem was how these two teams would react to their leader and friend suffering so. Threats on her person were fairly laughable but they might seek to `fix` or `help` with their sundered relationship – or at the very least pay more attention to her afterwards, if only to glower like little children. That would be a problem if it got in the way of her movements. She still needed to locate the Fall Maiden after all, which meant spending time searching Beacon's lesser used corridors.

On the other hand she could remain with him, use him as she always had while also working him for information on the two teams… If Ozpin was determined to use RWBY as his eyes and ears among the students, then being amongst their circle would allow her to manipulate exactly what it was he heard.

Ozpin would never suspect a loving woman doting on her boyfriend, would he? More than that, if she'd known where this blasted Team were going on their mission then she could have adapted the plan or had them killed. She would have known that… if she had but paid more attention to Jaune's words and less to the things he could do to her.

The next time they were sent out on a mission that might clash with her plans however, if she was close to Jaune – and by extension them – then she would know. It was perfect… literally the only downside to the whole affair was that she would need to continue dealing with her errant boyfriend.

That shouldn't have been a problem. Keep him happy, tempt him along while also making use of his services for her own pleasure. It had never been about emotions – nothing ever had with her.

Why did I save him?

She'd been right at the time… he had become a distraction to her, something that was a weakness and a problem. You didn't encourage problems – you removed them. She should have let him die.

"Come on," warm fingers intertwined with hers as he tugged her along, walking in the middle of the pack towards their shared room. His damned smile was wider than she'd ever seen it before, the teen positively glowing as he held hands with her publically.

It was so sickening...

She hated little displays like that, always had – even now she desired nothing more than to snatch her hand away and keep it to herself. There was no benefit in them touching like this, it only served to leave her without one hand to weave her abilities.

So why did she allow it? It's to keep up the charade, the excuse seemed thin. There were plenty of people in relationships who were less touchy than he was. It keeps him happy – he's easier to deal with when he is content. Wouldn't he have been just as content with what she was already doing to him, behind closed doors?

"Well we didn't get to go on our mission," he shared a secretive little smile with her, "But I'm glad to see you're sticking to the promise we made."

Promise, what was he talking about? "Of course," she smiled back – allowing him to make his own assumptions. Did he mean that throwaway comment about meeting his team after their mission? Had she made a promise about that, she couldn't recall? It hardly mattered – promises were fools who wished to tie themselves to a single outcome. In this case she would humour him, but only because it benefitted her to do so.

I didn't foresee any of this stupidity when I decided to infiltrate Beacon. They said the best laid plans rarely survived contact with the enemy, but this seemed a little out there – even for her.

She made sure to memorise the route to their dorm, noting as well that Team RWBY's was just across the corridor. Jaune's dorm was surprisingly dull as they all squeezed into it, room so short that she was forced to sit on his lap as everyone shared the beds. She almost groaned when she saw that stupid stuffed dog she had won for him, balancing on one of his pillows. Good God, did he actually sleep with the ratty thing?

As everyone sat down and conversation began, Cinder wanted to sigh. Playing the typical schoolgirl should have been an easy task for her. It had been one every other day. But instincts honed by a life of danger were constantly drawing her attention to the redheaded woman in the room, whose gaze was still fixed on her.

Pyrrha Nikos was no danger to her, especially not when she was unlikely to have the callousness to attack her in front of so many people. But Cinder's instincts had been created in constant fights for survival and opportunity.

Simply ignoring someone wishing you ill had never been a viable option in the underworld.

Similarly, Cinder Fall did not take such attention from anyone.

Of course, she could not strike back as she wished to either. And while taking her to task in front of her peers was sure to humiliate Miss Nikos into submission, it would probably turn the rest of the teams against her. It might also cause complications with Jaune, who had to share a room with these people.

There was more than one way to hurt someone, however.

And the flash of pain that came over the jealous girl's face, as Cinder intertwined the fingers of one hand with Jaune's, was oh so satisfying. The way the sadness turned to anger, and then defeat, as their two eyes met…

She lived for that look.

Her attention was diverted however, as the blonde girl started to recount the tale of how they had stumbled upon a White Fang operation and thwarted it. Cinder nodded and gasped at the appropriate moments, shifting slightly as Jaune's arms wrapped around her stomach. From the sounds of it those fools actually believed they'd managed to come across them by accident… as though their teachers had just so happened to arrange their mission in such a way.

Cinder's amusement did take a turn for the genuine when she listened to how the black-haired one had defeated Roman, though the humour was soured by the fact that he had thrown the fight on purpose. Again, they hardly seemed to notice… how foolish were they? Roman was a trained Huntsman in his own right, someone who had defeated so many Hunters and Huntresses sent after him… he wouldn't lose to a single little girl, fresh into her training.

Not in such a humiliating manner. No doubt he had realised they would be moving into the contingency plan the very moment the train set off early – and had created a situation where he could be arrested as they needed him to be. If he had truly wished to escape, then Neo could have affected it in an instant.

Once the tale had reached its conclusion however, it didn't take long to turn back to the elephant in the room. Cinder couldn't help but sigh as a seven pairs of eyes locked onto her, some looking bemused – others embarrassed – but all of them interested in learning more.

"So you and vomit-boy," the blonde cheered, "How did that start!? I want details!" A few of the others leaned forward as well, seemingly interested in the tale. Though she did not miss the sympathetic glances the only other male sent to the scorned Nikos.

Jaune seemed unsure on how to answer, his cheeks flushing. The others no doubt thought it was from embarrassment over the attention being focused on him. Cinder knew it was more along the lines of explaining how they had first gotten together. A story which was perhaps a little too much for innocent ears.

"We bumped into one another." Cinder explained for his benefit, her eyes crinkling in mischievousness as she met Jaune's gaze from the edge of her vision. He laughed nervously and nodded, apparently keen to agree to her not-quite-lie. "And then met in class a few times… I suppose it became official when we did some homework together."

When she had seduced and lured him back to her room… before taking him.

They never did get that homework done.

"That uniform, you're from Haven?" The Schnee indicated to her skirt and blazer, one arm of which was still a little damaged from where it had entered the Ursa. At least the bloodstains had dissolved when the Grimm had.

"Here for the festival with my team, yes."

"Oh, Emerald and Mercury!" Ruby Rose piped up, slamming one fist into her hand. "I saw them leading Torchwick to the prison transport. I didn't see them fighting though."

"We were there." Cinder offered with a shrug. "You likely had enough to focus on, with your being so close to the breach itself."

"Guess so, definitely saw you swooping in to rescue your damsel in shining armour though!" Xiao-Long mocked, punching Jaune lightly on the arm. Though considering she was wearing metal gauntlets, and Jaune rubbed his arm after wards, she probably didn't know her own strength.

Once more the hairs on her arms stood up, alerting her to the glances of her apparent rival.

"Oh well, you know," she waved it off. "I could hardly let it hurt what's mine."

She knew it was childish. A bigger woman would have ignored it. But it was just too satisfying to see the girl flinch like that. She didn't miss the quick glare from the orange-haired teammate for that comment. It was enough to have her breaking eye contact with Jaune's partner first, sparing the girl any more. What was getting into her, bating and taunting the other girl so? She was no danger to Cinder, no matter how established her career was. Petty championship fighting and competitions were nothing compared to the rigours she had been through.

What purpose did alienating the girl serve, other than to make sure Jaune's team had a poor opinion of her? She needed to get her head in the game.

"How did you kill that Ursa anyway?" It was Ren who spoke, the intelligent young man she had considered a potential threat so long ago, "I didn't see you use any weapon, are you a close quarters fighter?"

"I am," she lied. In truth she preferred the bow and twin swords, along with the flames she could summon through dust weaving. But those were abilities used by enemies known by people in this room. She couldn't afford to use any of those skills if she wished to remain hidden. "My semblance allows me to channel heat to my limbs in order to give me extra hitting power."

"And you used that to pierce its hide," the boy nodded his head, "That makes sense. Either way, thank you from all of us for helping Jaune out."

"Yeah – thanks for saving our fearless leader." The ginger girl crowed, apparently happy now that she was no longer targeting the redheaded member of their team. Said redhead nodded as well.

Cinder accepted the praise with ease, tilting her head magnanimously. The excuse as to her semblance would work nicely, especially since her cover for the tournament had always been as a melee fighter. At least this way she could explain away any use of her abilities as part and parcel of this fictitious semblance.

"You never told me about that," Jaune said into her ear.

She leaned her head back into his chest with a sigh, "We never really talked much about combat when we were together."

"Oooh," the blonde Xiao-Long wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. "So I guess there isn't as much homework done as expected in your little sessions, eh? Making sure you have a firm grasp of first – or have you worked your way to second yet?"

"First, second?" She was honestly confused for a moment. It wasn't until Jaune coughed nervously and she saw how red his cheeks were, that realisation dawned upon her. Oh my… a slow smile crept out onto her face at what the girl no doubt thought was quite the risqué question.

"Why don't you field this one, Jaune?" It was petty of her… but he deserved some form of punishment for what he was putting her through.

"Ah well," Jaune's face went even darker, if that were somehow possible, "You see… uh… how do I put this?"

Cinder saw it happen in slow motion. The dark-haired girl, Blake if she recalled, was the first to realise, though her reaction was the smallest too. Her eyes widened for the briefest second, before an amused smirk spread onto her face. She leaned back, content to wait and watch. Lie Ren and his partner the Valkyrie girl were next, the young man letting out a short sigh – though the girl's reaction was much more satisfying, especially the way her mouth seemed to be getting wider and wider.

To her surprise however, it was little Ruby Rose who ruined her fun, "Ohhh, you've already had sex."

"R-Ruby!" the blonde gasped in horror. To Cinder's infinite amusement she then turned to the black haired girl, "Damn it Blake! I told you not to corrupt my sister!"

"I didn't do anything."

The blonde barely seemed to hear it, "Ruby tell me… tell your big sister," she started to shake the little girl back and forth by the shoulders. "You're still innocent right, nobody defiled my little sister!?"

"Y-Y-Yang, l-let go-" It took the Schnee to pry the girl's fingers from her sibling's shoulders. The small leader still looked a little frazzled as she swayed back and forth. "I've not slept with anyone Yang, sheesh. I know what sex is because I'm not seven years old."

"Someone ruined my sister~" the blonde girl wailed dramatically.

This is the team which has been ruining my plans? If Roman could see this he would commit suicide out of principle.

"Don't you think that's a little irresponsible?" All eyes shifted back to Pyrrha Nikos at those words. Cinder found her own narrowing at the frown on the girl's face. Jealousy was one thing and she'd expected this the moment she realised the girl was interested in her stress relief. As far as she was concerned the girl had him not only as her partner, but had shared a room with him for months. If she had somehow failed to make a move in all that time then she shouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if someone else swept in to take him.

Whether that was for a real relationship or just a roll in the hay.

"Pyrrha," Lie Ren whispered. The girl ignored it.

"You're only here for the Vytal Festival. Don't you think it's irresponsible to go that far with someone when you are bound to be broken up later anyway? What if you get pregnant, are you going to demand Jaune follow you to Haven?"

The entire party went quiet after her words. The negativity in her words enough for even the little Ruby Rose to sense, who appeared to be fidgeting with her hands. Xiao-Long seemed equally tense. No doubt she was mature enough to have noticed the rising tension in the room… maybe all the dramatics had even been her way of trying to diffuse it, to distract Cinder away from noticing those jealous little green eyes.

Clearly her eyes weren't the only part of her which was green.

"That won't be an issue," she would have said more, but for the stupid chit cutting her off.

"How can you say that? We're only seventeen – what if you get pregnant or have a child, what if the relationship doesn't work out? Are you really willing to put so much risk onto something like this?"

"I cannot conceive." The words thrust the room into utter silence. "It won't be an issue because I am barren."

The redhead looked aghast, "I-I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!" Cinder ignored it. She should know better than to start what she didn't wish to finish… angry enough to accuse and discredit her, kind enough to feel regret when she achieved that goal. What a bizarre girl.

"Forget about it. It happened a long time ago, Grimm-related." Close enough to the truth in this case, especially when talking about Salem. Cinder had lost the ability to conceive when the woman had bestowed power onto her, that being one of the sacrifices she had needed to make.

As far as she was concerned it was no sacrifice. Children would only be a distraction, a nuisance she would have been unable to deal with.

It didn't seem like they particularly agreed with her assessment.

"I… I sincerely apologise," Pyrrha Nikos looked agonised, like she wanted no more than to reach across and take her hand. "That was insensitive of me, I hope you'll forgive me."

"That's awful…" Ruby Rose whispered, those silver eyes looking so full of sympathy that Cinder almost wanted to accrue the name vomit-girl for herself. Even the blonde looked on in pity, as though the inability to sire brats was some great loss.

Jaune's hands tightened around her midriff, drawing the woman further into his embrace.

"You look exhausted," Mercury apparently couldn't hold back the comment the moment he saw her. Nor could she find it within herself to make anything of it, she felt exhausted after putting up with all the nonsense of those two teams. If she looked half as bad as she felt then Mercury was being very kind with his assessment. Dealing with so much emotion aimed at her had been ridiculous, more so that it was sympathy and pity - two things she had neither need nor want of.

"Jaune Arc is close associates with Team RWBY," she said instead as she sat down on her bed, shaking off her heels. "Why was I not informed of this?"

"We-" Mercury looked to Emerald for help, the smaller girl remained silent however – red eyes wide once she caught Cinder looking at her. "We didn't realise… we were so focused on what their abilities were and who might be a threat-"

"Who someone knows and interacts with is just as dangerous as what abilities they might have." She didn't raise her voice. She didn't have to, for the two of them to realise how hot the water they were in truly was. "That team is Ozpin's pawns and had I known their closeness with him I could have used him to find out more about their mission."

She didn't bother saying their actions might have caused their initial defeat… she didn't need to.

"I-I'm, we're sorry ma'am," Emerald gripped her sheets as she stuttered out her response. Mercury's eyes were firmly affixed to the floor as well. The two of them clearly expected some form of violent response from her, if not now – for the sake of her cover – then later, once they were away from all this.

"This failure… is not to happen again, am I clear?" They each nodded, "I said; am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Very clear ma'am!"

Her anger would not diffuse so easily, but that would have to do for the time being. Their actions had not yet caused their doom, and she could admit to some small guilt on not paying attention to Jaune's rambling about his friends. But she had specifically asked them to find out what they could about Team RWBY… and to miss something like this?

"If they're Ozpin's pawns…" Emerald waited a few seconds, just to see if Cinder would demand silence. When she did not, the girl continued, "Should we look to get rid of them? I know you said before no accidents, but since they're pretty much firmly against us…?"

"Still no accidents." It would have been easy – incredibly so. Not to mention tempting… but it would also raise suspicion for no good reason. "So long as we know who his spies are, we can control what information they are able to pass on. It suits us more for them to remain alive – for now."

"That means you're going to be staying with that guy… doesn't it?" Her silver-haired underling looked disgusted by the idea, which only served to spike that small bit of anger within her further.

"I would not have to, had someone done their job properly." He flinched, "Now I have no choice… we need to maintain contact with them and if they are reporting everything to Ozpin then the last thing I can afford to do is break up with him in front of them. If they even mention it in passing to the man, it will be more attention focused on us than we need."

"What are we supposed to do then, just wait for the Festival?"

Cinder's lips curved, sending shivers down their spines. "Why Mercury, the two of you are going to be helping me in this endeavour. After all, it only seems fair that I introduce my team to my boyfriend's, does it not?"

"Y-Yeah…" Emerald looked physically ill.

"Then it seems only to be expected that my teammates become fantastic friends with both Team RWBY and JNPR, correct?"

"… Yes ma'am…"

Neither of them liked the idea, they had made it clear enough. But they knew better than to argue with or reject her commands… that was good. Things would need to be changed, plans adapted for new variables. Making four students his pawns was an interesting move… it allowed him to have spies among the students who might notice things he did not. But it also opened Ozpin to criticism if they were found to perform poorly.

Amber eyes closed slowly, already imagining the various ways she could ruin that team. Did she discredit them publically, create some kind of scandal, or just break them apart – turn those teenage girls on one another. Whatever she chose, it would need to wait until the last moment, so the Headmaster wouldn't have time to react.

Jaune Arc would be her vehicle for both these things, which was why it was still important to keep him close – to keep him satisfied and eating from the palm of her hand. He had turned from a simple tool into an infinitely more valuable one, but he was still nothing more than a tool.

That she didn't want to throw him aside was of little consequence… he provided her a service, their union was pleasurable – he had become experienced in pleasing her. There was nothing unusual in wanting to continue that, was there? It would be inconvenient, not to mention foolish to push that aside on nothing more than principle.

She didn't care for him at all… that Nikos chit could have him once Cinder had finished with him. The jealous girl could take him and do whatever she wished. Her fingers were white as she gripped furiously at the sheets of her bed.

I'm sure some people will accuse this chapter of Pyrrha bashing, despite my attempts to avoid it. Sorry to say this is realistically speaking how such a confrontation would happen, if not worse. Cinder cares nothing for these people and perhaps is the kind of person to take subtle pleasure in little digs at them.

On the other hand, Pyrrha is a teenage girl in love and isn't going to give up on him. Sorry if you believe this is me victimising her but there is no realistic alternative in my mind. That said, she's still kind enough to feel bad when she believes she has crossed the line.

That excuse Cinder gave as to her combat style? I actually ran with what we see in the show where she wears that outfit and wins a fight by kicking someone in the stomach. In that scene she is unarmed, so I imagine her cover was as melee martial artist like Mercury.

Next Chapter - 23rd May

. com (slash) coeur