Here we go - changed chapter number. Gods, I must be losing my mind.

Chapter 13

There was a strange moment of silence as Jaune closed the door to the classroom and stood outside with Ruby. They both stared off into the middle-distance, their faces slack and their arms stacked with books and sheets of paper.

"That… that was a thing," Ruby whispered.

"Yeah…" He couldn't say he'd expected it. When Oobleck first arranged for him and Ruby to have these sessions together, he figured it would be him and her having to research together, or maybe just Oobleck leaving them to read in private so that he could talk to her and ply her for information. Basically, he'd thought it would be easy going with the focus on the mission.

Not so.

Oobleck had taken one look at them when they stepped into the classroom alone and long after class had ended, and had quickly set upon them with a wide range of intensive lectures and readings, drawing diagrams on the board and quizzing them for good measure. Any suspicions that the man was fudging or faking his teaching credentials went out the window. Oobleck knew his stuff, and more than that seemed to genuinely have a passion for cramming information into their heads.

Jaune was still reeling from the cramming, and he could feel a dull pounding begin to originate from the back of his skull.

"I feel like I learned more in this hour than all of Port's lessons combined," Ruby said.

"I don't think that means much. Does Port even teach us anything?" Jaune rubbed his forehead to try and clear his mind, but it wasn't quite working. "I don't even know where I am. What year is it? Who am I?"

Ruby giggled, though even that sounded exhausted. "Me too. Ugh, he's so scary." She didn't know the half of it. "Why do you need these lessons anyway?" she asked. "Aren't you two years older than me?"

"I was born and raised outside the walls, so we didn't have the same lessons." Jaune went with his prepared excuse, which was still more honest than not. "Fighting Grimm is the same wherever you go, but I don't know all of Vale's little laws and rules."

"Because they didn't apply where you lived," Ruby accepted with a nod. "That makes sense. I lived on Patch, but I guess Signal knew most people would be going to the city so they taught them the laws of Vale. It's close enough, anyway. Yang and I used to come here all the time for shopping or to hang out."

"It was a little further away for me. I wouldn't have been able to make the journey." Not for a casual visit, anyway. Jaune sighed and hefted the books in his arms. "Do you think he really expects us to remember all of this?"

"I hope not…" Ruby stared at them like she was worried they might explode. "If so, I've already failed."

"Me too…"

The two of them shared a quick glance and a laugh, and it was at that moment he realised just how relaxed she was around him. It was enough to shock him to silence, not least of all because he hadn't even noticed it happening. Had this been Oobleck's plan – to break down the barriers between them by putting them through shared misery? If so, it was genius. Evil, but genius.

Unfortunately, his silence – and the fact he was staring – seemed to remind Ruby of just who she was talking to, and her silver eyes darted away. "S-So," she whispered. "Did he say when our next session is?"

Jaune recognised her anxiety for what it was and looked away quickly, hoping not to make it any worse. Damn him and his stupid nerves. It was the socially useless trying to lead the socially inept, and about as successful as one might imagine. "I don't think so. I guess he'll send us another message by scroll."

"Oh, yeah…"

"Yeah," he agreed.

The chasm between them only seemed to grow. He knew all of the theoretical things he should do – and not just from Oobleck's constant lecturing. Mom and Dad were always on his case about opening up, and his sisters were happy to try and make him chat with their friends. He knew he needed to form and hold a conversation; one that was interesting to Ruby, but which wasn't all just about him. No one wanted to hear someone wax about themselves all day. On the same note, it shouldn't all be about her, either, otherwise she'd feel awkward and he'd come across as an even worse stalker.

He knew all that. He just didn't know how. Everyone made it look so easy. His sisters just approached random people and started to talk, and conversations would just appear out of nowhere. Him? Well, the less said the better.

But I have to try, he realised. This isn't just me trying to chat up a girl. I'm working to save lives here.

"So, how are things going with your team?" he asked.

"Huh?" Ruby glanced up at him. "What do you mean?"

"W-Well I was just wondering." His eyes scanned left and right for inspiration, and for some reason he found it in a crest on the wall. "We're both team leaders, right? How are you getting on with that? I don't think I've actually done any leadership things. It's weird."

The topic seemed a good one, for Ruby's face lost its red hue and she nodded quickly. "Me neither. I don't even know what makes a good leader, or even why we need one at all. I mean, all we've been doing is lessons. How does that need leadership?"

"Yeah, totally." He nodded quickly. "I keep wondering if there's something more I should be doing, but no one seems to have any problems."

"Ugh, then you're lucky. Weiss had a problem with me being the leader. It's finished now – she's better," Ruby hurried to add, perhaps afraid he'd tell Weiss. "Ha ha, m-maybe forget I said that?"

"I won't tell her," Jaune promised.

Ruby let out a breath of relief. "Thanks. She was just worried because I was younger than her, I guess. It was all sorted out, though. How about you? Is everyone okay with you being the team leader?"

"I've not had any complaints. Honestly, no one's even batted an eyelid." He realised a second later what a mistake that was, since Ruby's eyes darted to the floor and she sighed.

"Oh…"

Idiot, he cursed. Way to make her feel like there's something wrong with her. Good job! He raised his hands in panic, though what use that was he didn't know. "That's not to say there's anything wrong with you, though. My team is practically filled with people who don't want the position. Heck, I think they'd fight to the death to not be made leader if something happened to me. Weiss is different, right? I bet she wanted to be in charge."

"Yeah, I guess." Ruby smiled a little.

"Why do you think you were made team leader anyway?"

"Huh?" Ruby didn't seem to understand his question, which was a shame since it was kind of his mission to find the reason. Does that mean she doesn't know? It might… but it might also just be her hiding it. If it's a secret, she wouldn't just tell anyone.

He tried to phrase it differently. "Well, I mean Ozpin chose you to be the leader of Team RWBY despite the fact you're two years younger than everyone else. That must mean you're pretty special."

"N-No, I'm not!" Ruby almost shouted.

"Huh, but-"

"I'm not special! I'm… I'm just normal." Her eyes flickered away. "Totally normal."

She's hiding something, he thought. "Then why did Ozpin pick you to be team leader?"

"I-I don't know. Why did he pick you?"

Another mystery Oobleck wanted an answer to. "I don't know."

"Exactly! We both don't know. Maybe there's no reason. Maybe he just picks it randomly."

"Maybe," he allowed, knowing it wasn't true. There had to be a reason, otherwise all these weird things Ozpin was doing wouldn't make sense. Like the fact he took Jaune in at all, or how he stretched the rules for Ruby – or that strange meeting with General Ironwood before Beacon began. He couldn't press her, though. She either didn't know, or she did and wasn't telling him. If it were the latter, he'd need to earn her trust first. "Maybe you're right. I guess I'm just trying to understand why I was chosen to be the leader of my team."

Ruby seemed to relax a little. "Well if you find out, let me know."

"Sure." Jaune waved as Ruby jogged off, and was rewarded with her returning it before she rounded the corner and sped away. Exhaustion aside, it felt like their impromptu study session had worked – at least to a degree. They were still awkward around one another, but at least he'd found a topic they could talk about, that of being team leaders together.

Still, that had been a rather quick denial on the fact she was taken into Beacon two years early. He tried to tell himself it was probably just Ruby being Ruby, but the paranoia wouldn't quite go away. I'll report it to Oobleck tonight, he decided, walking slowly down the corridor. He can make of it what he will. He'll probably be better at it than me anyway. Once it was out of his hands, he could forget about it and go on acting like normal. It would be better that way.

It had only been two days or so since Oobleck consented to give him time away from VSS responsibilities, and it felt both as relaxing as he'd expected and not at the same time, if that even made sense. On the one hand, he didn't have to worry about any crazy missions and that was great, but the added time only served to reveal how far behind he was in class – something that had honestly been just as present before, but which he'd been too distracted to pay any attention to.

I guess even with Oobleck's help, I'm still just a civilian with a few weeks added training. It's probably a miracle I've gotten this far as it is.

Then again, he was down near the bottom when it came to Miss Goodwitch's class. Someone had to be, of course, but he'd have preferred to at least not be dead last. He'd beaten Russel when he'd stolen the guy's knife, but he didn't have another win to his name and most other people did.

Jaune was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the approaching student until the last second. He caught a flash of uniform, and quickly tried to sidestep – only for the person to do the same and catch him regardless. A heavy shoulder slammed into his ribcage and knocked him back. He bounced off the lockers and winced. "Sorry about that."

"You're sorry?" Cardin Winchester sneered. "Oh well, that's great. Watch where you're going next time!"

"You bumped into me," he said. He realised his mistake a second later when a meaty fist caught his collar and pushed him back up against the lockers.

"What was that?"

The very-real spy winced and held his hands up in surrender, the irony of someone in his position being bulled in school very much apparent. Even worse for his ego was the fact he genuinely couldn't do anything about it. Cardin was a bastard, and not just to him, but he was still in the top ten per cent or so when it came to combat ability. Beacon was a dog eat dog world, and right now, job or not, Jaune was at the bottom of the pack. "Nothing, Cardin."

"It didn't sound like nothing, though I suppose maybe that's just you saying what your opinion's worth." He laughed cruelly. "You'd know better than me, I suppose."

A month or two back the look on Cardin's face would have terrified him. He was used to bullies, not that it ever made dealing with them any easier. There weren't that many back in Ansel, but what few they were took real exception to him because of his sisters. They were some of the most beautiful girls in the town, and would often turn down a lot of guys. Somehow, those same guys seemed to think it okay to take out their feelings on him.

They were always careful to make sure it was in ways his sisters wouldn't notice – especially after one had given him a black eye and Sable had realised who. After that it was always bruises on his chest and arms, or more often than not just threats, abuse and mental bullying.

It was also ridiculous how asinine that felt now. He had bigger things to worry about, namely Roman, the White Fang, and whatever else was going on in Vale. Some of that boredom must have shown on his face, because Cardin rammed him back into the lockers again, sneering through gritted teeth.

"You must have thought it was funny the other day in the cafeteria. Did you think I'd forget how you made me look like a fool?"

Jaune wanted to point out how it was Cardin who chose to punch the wall, but thought better of it. This wasn't a problem he could fix or hide from. If he made an enemy of Cardin, it would be an enemy for his entire school career, and unlike his jobs with the VSS, he couldn't hide from or get Cardin arrested. Couldn't beat him, either. Not yet.

The best bet would be to let it happen until he was strong enough to stand up for himself. Speaking out now would just make Cardin hurt him worse.

"It was an instinct," he said. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"Yeah? Well this is instinct too." Cardin reared a fist back. "And I'm not sorry."

Jaune clenched his eyes shut and prepared for pain.

It didn't come.

"I can make you sorry," a female voice chuckled. "If you like."

His eyes cracked open, and he quickly noticed Cardin's hand still held back, but now with a new hand wrapped about his wrist. It was attached to a pale arm leading up to a smooth face with brown hair and a pair of stylish sunglasses. She smiled, and he was instantly reminded of Yang at her cockiest, except that this girl seemed to radiate far more of it.

Cardin recognised her instantly and blanched.

"Oh, it's you again," the girl laughed. "I almost didn't recognise you without that tinfoil suit of yours. You know, when I warned you off my teammate I didn't mean you should find someone else. Maybe I need to give you a bit of a repeat lesson."

Cardin looked like he wanted to sneer, but thought better of it. He clamped his lips shut and tried to pull his hand out of her grip. The girl held on, just to show she was stronger than him. He pulled harder, and this time she released him – the sudden surprise of which sent him stumbling back a few paces. He almost fell, and his cheeks flushed red.

Even though Jaune didn't laugh, Cardin glared at him, and he had a feeling this wasn't over.

"Screw it," he said. "You freak-lovers can do what you want."

"What was that, boyo?" the girl called. She laughed when Cardin increased his pace, fast-marching around the corner and away. "Sheesh, what a prick. Someone needs to get laid, though I pity the girl who bothers with someone like him." She brushed a lock of hair from before her face, before suddenly realising his presence, still pressed up against the locker. "You okay? You can stop trying to become one with the metalwork, you know."

"I'm fine," he breathed, pushing himself off and dusting his blazer down. "Thanks for the help."

"No probs, kiddo. The name's Coco, by the way. Coco Adel."

He extended a hand. "I'm-."

"Jaune Arc," Coco laughed, not shaking his hand but slapping their palms together instead. "Already know. Let's just say a little bird told me. I came around to say thanks, though it looks like I managed to pay back the favour before you even knew it existed. Lucky day for me."

She knew his name? He looked her up and down quickly, noting the tight pants that hugged her legs and hung low on her hips, exposing the tiniest hint of skin. Her hips were jutted out to one side, one hand planted on them as she held her body almost like a model would. When his eyes traced higher it was to find her sunglasses down her nose, brown eyes watching his.

"See something you like?"

He flushed immediately, and it only got worse when she burst out laughing. "N-No, I-"

"Relax, kid." She slapped his arm. "You looked. It's fine. Everyone does it, and I wouldn't have much energy left if I slapped up every hormonal boy to take a peak. Not like I'm undressed or anything, and I'm guilty of checking out guys I like, too." She leaned forward to wave a finger under his nose, the rest of her hand encased in a satiny black glove. "Don't get any ideas though. You're cute in a dorky way, but not my type. Sorry."

"I-I wasn't getting any ideas."

"Hm-hm," Coco hummed in a voice that clearly said she didn't believe him. The curl to her lips told him she was more teasing than serious, however.

"You said you owed me a favour," he said, trying to bring the conversation back on track, or at least away from him looking like a red-faced idiot. "What was that all about?"

"Pretty much what you just saw. I helped you not get pushed around by that idiot." She jerked a thumb in the direction Cardin had left. "You helped my teammate not go through the same the other day."

It honestly took him a second to realise what she meant. "The rabbit faunus?"

"Yep. Her name's Velvet, by the way. She wanted to say thanks, but you scurried off before she could. Thought I'd come offer my own instead."

"I appreciate it," he said. "Even if… well, I can't exactly say I meant to help your teammate…"

"So I heard." Coco didn't seem offended. "Vel told me it was more of an accident, but facts are facts. You helped her out in the end, and I'm more of a results justify the means girl. Either way, I helped you out in return so we're even."

"I guess so. Thanks again." It probably wouldn't be the end of this, not now that he'd accidentally embarrassed Cardin two times in a row. That would be taken as a direct challenge to his superiority – as ridiculous as that notion was in the first place. A temporary reprieve was better than none, however. "How was your teammate?" he asked.

"Velvet's fine. I'll tell her you asked." She grinned. "Maybe say you did it with a red face, too."

Jaune touched his cheeks, but they didn't feel hot. He glared at Coco when she laughed.

"Sorry," she said, hand held out. "It was just too easy. Nah, Velvet's okay. She's made of stern stuff, so something like that won't get under her skin. I had a chat with your friend too, so he shouldn't be going anywhere near her in the future. Not unless he wants to see what a third-year huntress can do to someone like him."

"You're third years?"

"Don't I look it?" Coco pulled a pose that did more to show off her assets than any sign of strength. Jaune's cheeks darkened again as he looked away. Damn hormones.

"It's not that. I'm just… well…"

"You're wondering how someone like him could bully a third year, right?"

His awkward wince was answer enough.

"It's a fair question, I guess. For the record, Velvet could kick his ass – and probably his whole team's while she was at it. She's not as strong as me, but she's much more versatile. Even I'd struggle if she went all out."

"Then what happened?"

"He caught her by surprise. It's nothing too special," she said, noticing his flat expression. "Vel was just in the cafeteria looking for lunch, so she's unarmed, unprepared and not exactly in a good position. Suddenly, someone has hold of her ears – which are basically a part of her body, but not exactly the most resilient of things." Coco mimed with her hands above her head. "Even if she has aura, her ears are still just attached by very small amounts of muscle. It's not like her arm, which has bones and everything else. If someone tugs on them, it's basically like if someone pulled on your ears. It doesn't exactly leave you in a position to fight. If she kicks him and he accidentally grips harder, she'll injure herself. If she tries to twist her body, she might make it worse." She shrugged. "Velvet wasn't trying to lose or acting weak, but having someone randomly come up and grab you by your sensitive bits isn't exactly fair. It would be like if I put a stun rod to your balls, turned it on, then expected you to fight."

Jaune's knees clamped together instinctively. "I guess that makes sense. I didn't realise it was that bad. She's going to defend herself in future, then?"

"If it happens again. It won't. Yats and Fox – they're our teammates, by the way – are basically making sure one of them goes to lunch with her every day. She's kept her guard up since then anyway, but you can't exactly blame her for letting it down in the cafeteria. It's not like you go there prepared for war." Coco looked at him and sighed. "Though you may want to from now on. I doubt me sending him off is going to be the end of this."

"It probably won't be," he admitted with a sigh.

"Geez." Coco ran a hand through her hair and looked away. "Look, I said I don't owe you anymore and I don't, but if you want to sit with us during lunch you can. He won't dare come near while I'm there."

The offer was a generous one, especially from someone like her. Still, he knew it wouldn't be possible, or appreciated. Coco was only doing it to be kind, and he had his own team to hang out with. "I'll be fine, Coco. Thanks for the offer."

"Look after yourself then. If he ever tries anything and I'm nearby, give me a shout. It's not a bother if I enjoy putting down idiots like him." She bumped her fist gently against his shoulder. "Good meeting you, kid. Thanks for giving my friend a hand, even if you didn't mean to."

"Thanks for saving me," he returned. "Even if you meant to."

Coco laughed and wandered off, raising a single hand in farewell. He would have stayed to watch her go, especially with how she swung her hips, but he was worried Cardin might hang around to catch him once she was gone. He scurried off the other way instead, headed back to his dorm and its relative safety. It was all very good to rely on people like Coco to help him, but he'd probably have to deal with Cardin himself if he wanted to get him off his back.

The normal way would be to get stronger and remove any chance of him having leverage, but that would take time and effort, neither of which he didn't have – but he was meant to be focused on Ruby and Ozpin, and didn't want to waste his time with a school bully.

Then again, maybe there's a different way. I'm a spy now.

He grinned.

Maybe it's time I started acting like it.

/-/

Ruby buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Yang, nooo…"

"I'm just saying," Yang laughed, holding her hands up to ward off any incoming pillows. "Look, the guy is clearly interested in you. You can't just ignore that."

"Watch me." She was doing a good job of it so far, even if her face was red and she was clutching her pillow to her chest like it was a lifeline. "You're just reading into it, anyway. Just because he keeps asking about me doesn't mean he… well… you know…"

"Is in love with you?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Heh, you're so cute." Yang's smile had Ruby groaning again. "You realise you probably need to do something though, right? I mean, whatever you feel, this isn't something that's going to stay around forever."

"What do you mean?"

"His feelings," Yang explained. "If he does like you, and you like him back, you might want to do something about it. Before he thinks you're not interested and moves on." She paused for a second, adopting a strange expression. "How do you feel about him anyway? Do you like him?"

"I-I don't know." What kind of question was that!? "It's not like I know him all that well. We haven't spoken much."

"What about his looks?" Yang asked, instantly earning an unimpressed snort from Weiss. "Hey, looks are important. I'm not being shallow here. If Ruby can't even stand to look at him, a relationship wouldn't work for either of them. Attraction has to come from somewhere."

"Don't fight-" Ruby yelped, waving a hand between the two before an argument could form. She'd only just gotten Weiss on board with her being the team leader and didn't want to descend back into that nightmare again. "I don't know what I think. I mean, he's okay, I guess?"

"Not your type?"

"I don't know what my type is!"

"Seriously?" Yang blinked. "You've never looked at a guy and thought he looked cute?"

"No?"

"Handsome?"

"I don't think so."

"Sheesh, I'm not sure whether I should call you innocent or genuinely worry if there's something wrong with you. Wait, just to check – you thought that way about any girls? I won't judge."

Ruby blinked. "No, I don't think so."

"Okay, so it's not that…"

"Maybe she just isn't interested," Weiss suggested, turning a page in her text book. That she could read and listen at once was weirdly impressive and weirdly Weiss at the same time. "Do you have any aspirations for romance in the future?"

"I'd like a family," Ruby said carefully. "I've thought about having kids before."

Yang's smiled turned far too amused.

"About having kids," Ruby repeated, voice stern. "Not about getting pregnant or anything involved in that. I'd like to have kids later on. So, yeah, I guess I have thought of it, but only if it was the right person."

"Well, that's kind of what I'm saying," Yang leaned back on her bed. "He might not be the right guy, but he might be, and if you act all panicked until he gives up, you'll never know."

"You're suggesting she date him?" Weiss drawled.

Yang's eyes flashed red, much to Ruby's horror. "Not that! I'm saying she should talk to him more. Get to know him. See if she likes the kind of person he is, and then maybe – and I mean maybe – consider something more."

Ruby whimpered in fear. The fact that Yang could say it all so easily only made things worse. It wasn't that she was afraid of Jaune; even if she didn't know him well, she felt she was at least a decent judge of character, and he seemed nice. It was just the implications of what Yang was suggesting.

"But I'm bad at socialising," Ruby whined. "Like, really bad!"

"No arguments here," Weiss said, getting a glare from Ruby for her efforts.

"I know you are, sis, but that's never going to get better if you don't try and break out of your shell a little."

"W-What's wrong with the way I am now?"

Yang shot her an amused, if pitying look. "Ruby, being socially awkward at your age is cute. Being it when you're twenty-five isn't, and less so thirty. What's going to happen when you decide it's time, and you want to find someone to start a family with, but you don't even know how to approach a guy?"

"I… I dunno. I'll wing it?"

"Easier to wing it now when the guys are as clueless as you. When you're thirty, people are going to expert a certain level of grace. Let's say you're dating, for instance. If it's your first date ever, you'll make all sorts of little mistakes. At our age, that's not a big deal because the guy you're with might not have much to compare it with. If you're thirty, or even forty, you might be with someone whose been on fifty dates before."

And she'd look like an idiot, ruining any chance. Or worse, she wouldn't even be able to tell someone she liked them in the first place, because she'd be a basket-case of nerves and social anxiety. Ruby bit her lip and shivered on her sheets.

Yang was right. She was totally right – but this was one of those terrible lose-lose things, kind of like going to the dentist when you had a bad tooth. You knew it would suck, but you knew not going would suck, too.

Except this was worse because pain went away and you got a lollipop, while here she'd have to put up with gut-wrenching humiliation for possibly four years.

"W-What if he's not even interested in me?"

To her eternal mortification, it was Nora who sent her a pitying look. "Ruby, the guy is basically always staring at you. Even Ren has noticed."

Ruby wanted to crawl under her covers and die.

"B-But how do I know if I like him?"

"Spend some time with him," Yang suggested. "As a friend, I mean. Just hang out, chat, see what he likes, and see if you click on anything. I'm not saying you have to tell him you're vetting him as a potential boyfriend or something. You're just seeing if anything sparks. How do you feel about him now?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "Weird."

"Weird in a bad way? Like he's some fat old man drooling over you?"

"No," she said. "And ew, thanks. I now have images of Port doing that."

"Ugh, don't remind me. That's already my reality." Yang shuddered, recalling the time the over-large teacher had winked in her direction. "Describe it to me. Picture his face and tell me what you feel. Be as specific as you can."

Ruby glared at her sister but went along with it, if only because she knew she'd be badgered all night if she didn't. And maybe, maybe deep inside, she also kind of wanted to know as well. She closed her eyes and brought up a recent memory of him, almost straight after their study session together and in an awkward moment of silence she could remember vividly because of how stupid she'd felt at the time. Those bits where you were embarrassed were always easy to recall.

He'd been quiet, but she'd noticed his eyes peeking in her direction, focused almost too obviously on her. Whenever she'd glanced back, his had darted away, like he didn't want to be noticed. She had, of course, but she'd not mentioned it – too afraid to bring it up.

Her cheeks heated at the recollection of it.

"Looks like you've got a good one," Yang teased. "What do you feel?"

"Awkward." It was the first thing to come to mind for obvious reasons. "I… My face feels hot, and I want to say something but I'm not sure what. I have ideas, but I keep shooting them down as stupid. What if he's not interested in what I want to say? What if he thinks I'm some kind of weapon-geek? And then I look, and he's looking back, and I look away and my stomach feels kind of heavy and light at the same time." She buried her face into her sheets. "Argh, I don't know."

"It feel like you were on a roller-coaster?"

"More like I was back riding that Nevermore, except if it was doing constant flips and turns." Ruby blinked and looked at her teammates. "Why are you all smiling like that?"

"No reason," Weiss replied, hiding her smile behind her fist.

Ruby didn't believe it for a second. "You never smile! What's happening!?"

"E-Excuse me!?" Weiss shot to her feet.

"Forget her," Yang laughed, pushing Weiss aside so hard, the heiress fell over the back of her chair. She pressed her face close in to Ruby's, and somehow Nora had appeared beside her. The fact their expressions were similar spelled all kinds of bad things. "You said your stomach was doing turns, right? Kind of like butterflies…?"

"Why would there be butterflies-"

"Answer the question!"

"Y-Yes. Maybe. I don't know, it's a stupid question." Ruby blushed and looked away. "You're all over-reacting. Just because a guy keeps looking at me doesn't mean he likes me."

"And keeps trying to talk to you," Yang added.

"And that."

"And encourages his team to sit near ours at lunch, and always makes sure he's opposite you," Weiss said, rubbing her head.

"A-And that…"

"And that when Ren and his team were doing introductions, someone teased that he liked you and his face went red," Nora said, almost flippantly.

"And tha-" Ruby froze as her brain processed what had just been said. "W-W-W-WHAT!?"

"Well, well, well," Yang said, sitting down and throwing an arm around her shoulder – whether that was in camaraderie or to prevent her bolting out the window, Ruby wasn't sure. It still looked a viable escape route, though that ended when Yang's hand clamped down. Definitely the latter. "So, sis. Now that the cat's out of the bag, what do you intend to do? Sit back, stay afraid and let it pass you by? Or get rid of this social awkwardness once and for all?"

The way Yang phrased it made it clear it wasn't much of a choice.

Ruby let out a rattling whine.

This was not what she'd expected when she'd agreed to come to Beacon early. Whatever happened, she had a feeling Crescent Rose couldn't let her fight her way out of this one. With a panicked whimper, Ruby sunk down into her own shoulders and whispered the words that sealed her fate.

"I-I'll do it…"

/-/

Oobleck sipped from his mug and pretended not to notice the man stepping into the room. His eyes remained fixed on the textbook before him, even if they perceived no words. He waited for his visitor to cough before he looked up with a startled expression.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Ozpin asked.

"Of course not, old friend," Oobleck returned, making sure to speed up his voice a little. "I was simply reading a little to refresh my mind. There's never enough in life to take in, especially when it comes to history. Every day is a new lesson."

"History writes itself, after all," Ozpin chuckled, sitting down on the other side of Oobleck's desk and accepting the offering of some coffee from his thermos. "Thank you. It's rare to find another who enjoys the pleasures of a good drink as much as I."

"Pleasure perhaps, but I need the energy more than anything else."

"To keep up with the students?"

"Ha, more in the hopes they will take some from me. To my eternal chagrin, history is as delightful a topic for children as ever. No one wants to sit and listen about what someone did a hundred years ago, no matter how much they could learn from their mistakes."

The headmaster laughed along with him. "That's true, I suppose. Ah to be young again, when you know best and everyone else is clearly an idiot."

The two touched their mugs together in agreement. He'd been no different, of course. The mistakes of others were simply errors he'd felt he would never make. Oh, how wrong he had been. "It's not only that," he said. "Some of my students have picked up the unfortunate habit of falling asleep in class. Though I have no proof, I can't help but feel it odd how that always seems to be after they have a lesson with Peter."

"A most conspicuous coincidence, I'm sure." Ozpin smiled to show he was joking, and that he might have a word with Port later. "Would one of these heavy sleepers happen to be Mr Arc, by any chance? I did notice that you'd drawn him in for a detention."

Interesting. He'd expected Ozpin to ask more about Ruby than Jaune, though this was certainly not an unappreciated development. He kept his eyes from giving anything away and waved a hand dismissively. "Not a detention, Ozpin. You know how much I hate that word. I simply kept him behind to have an additional lesson with myself. Punishing students by depriving them of free time for no purpose seems pointlessly cruel. I'd rather teach them than have them sit in silence or write out lines. At least then they might learn something."

"That's an admirable view to take. How is he doing?"

"His theory work leaves much to be desired, but I cannot fault his effort," Oobleck answered, being sure not to sound too invested either way. "I think he could grow into a worthy huntsman in time. It will take time, however."

"This is a school. We can give him time, and there is no better place to learn. Still, I'm concerned at how much time he spends out of Beacon, particularly late at night."

Oobleck blinked. "I'm afraid I don't quite know what you're referring to. Hm, I wonder if that is why he appears so tired in lessons."

"It may well be." Ozpin watched him intently, but Oobleck had played the game long enough to give nothing away. After a few seconds, the headmaster seemed content with what he'd seen and nodded. "I suppose we'll just have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Not everyone finds it easy to adapt to life at a boarding school."

"I could have a word with him if you would like."

"No, it's fine. I would rather not pry into a student's life. Until it impacts his performance, of course."

Oobleck nodded, and the conversation quickly turned to inconsequential things about lesson plans and the upcoming Vytal Festival. Oobleck answered where he was expected, and made sure to gush about the history of the festival whenever it was brought up. Eventually, after at least half an hour had passed, Ozpin sighed and stood.

"I had best return to my office," he said. "Glynda will notice by absence if I delay much longer, and I doubt my paperwork has shrunk any."

"Is that why you came to chat?" Oobleck teased.

Ozpin laughed. "You know me too well."

Not well enough, it would seem, he thought as the man closed the door behind him. The interest in his sudden decision to keep two students behind for detention was expected, especially keeping in mind exactly whom he had chosen. What was less anticipated was which that would be. He'd thought Ozpin would come with questions about Miss Rose, his little pet project. Instead he's more intrigued by mine. This could prove problematic.

Ozpin's interest in Jaune always had been. Even as it was one of the core reasons for recruiting him to the VSS, Oobleck had nonetheless hoped it would prove nothing more than a red herring. While having an Agent who was of interest to their target was useful, it was also frustratingly complicated, and Jaune was still an amateur. "I suppose this goes to show what happens to the best laid of plans. I'll have to be careful moving forwards."

Idly, he checked his scroll, was intrigued by a requisition request his young protégé had made sometime in the distance between their study session and now. He opened it up and hummed in surprise.

Information on Cardin Winchester? As a request for what could be private material, it had to come through him – and the handlers at the VSS must have passed it on. I don't see how this would be useful in his goal of getting closer to Miss Rose, but I suppose there is no harm.

He approved the request, and stored his scroll away a second later. There were further lessons to prepare for, and cryptic words to work through.

/-/

Roman watched over his men with a keen gaze, belying the relaxed expression on his face. They rushed about below, loading vehicles with crates and checking ones delivered by the White Fang. It was an annoyingly irritating requirement, created only by those blasted animal's lack of common sense and ability. They often marked containers wrong, or filled them overmuch. Dust was as dangerous as it was volatile, but they were amateurs in its handling. The same couldn't be said about those that Roman chose to take on. Would that he had enough of them to handle all of her orders. Alas, he had to make do with what he was given.

"The truck is filled, boss," one of the suited men called, slamming a hand against the closed grill on the back. The truck itself was marked as containing fish caught off the harbour. Each was different, the better to ferry their goods about the city.

"Send it off, Rufus," Roman replied, waving one hand.

The man nodded and got back to work, handing over a clipboard with a map and directions to the driver, another of his men, albeit disguised as someone you'd expect to find behind the wheel. His operation was a well-oiled machine, more a testament to evolution than anything. Like any fledgling criminal, he'd made mistakes early on, but failure had taught him valuable lessons. It was evolution of the fittest, wherein his weaker tendencies had been killed off or removed as police capitalised on them. What was left was proven and tested methods.

He strolled away from the railing, nodding to Neo that she could stay and watch if she wanted to. She looked bored, the poor thing. Logistics had never been her forte, and she hated peaceful times like these. To be fair, he'd told her she didn't need to come. She was probably just bored.

Reaching a secluded part of the warehouse, Roman checked his scroll and waited. She'd said she would call come six – and it was only two minutes until then. The second the number ticked over, the device rang.

"Cinder," he greeted.

"Roman," she returned, just as blandly. "How goes the operation?"

"I sent you the figures this morning as requested. Dust acquisition fares about as well as expected, though those stupid animals have managed to muck things up as usual."

"I heard about a warehouse lost, along with a vast amount of dust."

"Their fault, I assure you. One of them must have been tracked since we were attacked."

"Police?"

"No. Three masked figures – dressed mostly in black and grey, and not White Fang before you ask."

"Interesting. Did they say anything?"

"Not a damn thing." He shivered at the memory, though more at the creepiness than from any real fear. "They were as silent as the grave, though I think that had something to do with their masks. No way they stayed perfectly quiet through all of that. The police showed up afterwards, but the explosions would have drawn them. Official news is that the White Fang messed up and blew themselves up…"

"Not the authorities, then. They are not nearly so gung-ho, and certainly wouldn't kill so many in such a callous manner." Cinder chuckled darkly, and there was no hint of sorrow or sympathy in her. "I suppose I shall have to look into this."

"Do you think it will impact the White Fang's willingness to work with us?"

"I should not imagine so. If anything, it will simply unite them against a common cause. I'll be sure to tell Adam of these monsters who so cruelly slaughtered his loyal followers. I'm sure he'll be incensed."

That was a safe bet. It always was when working with fanatics like that. Roman growled around his cigar, and wondered not for the first time why he was working with them either. It wasn't hard to remember. Better on their side than not, especially with the stuff Cinder had planned. "I've got a friend looking into those masked people," he said. "Nothing's come up so far, but it's only been a few days. He'll have to grease a few more palms before we learn anything."

"Have you recruited more men?"

"As best I can. I'm boosting my numbers, but it's still not enough to meet the amount you want. I'm doing my best here."

"I know, Roman. You're doing well." Cinder smiled seductively, though he knew better than to think it meant anything. "The ineptitude lies mostly with our animalistic friends, though we couldn't have expected any more. They are revolutionaries, after all. It's not in their nature to not draw attention to themselves."

"That's one way of putting it. Bloody fanatics if you ask me." He knew she hadn't, and quickly hurried on before she could say so. "It's going to take longer to recoup our losses than expected. I've been hitting dust store after dust store as it is, and some of them have chosen to cut their losses and close down rather than restock. It's not a limitless resource."

"Then you shall simply need to aspire to something grander."

Roman felt his irritation spike, especially at the smirk on her face. Easy for her to say; she wasn't out here risking her life like he was. "And how, pray tell, do you expect me to do that?" he asked. "There aren't any dust refineries worth raiding out here. All of the good stuff is made by the SDC."

"And they have a shipment coming into Vale soon, for the express purpose of refuelling many of the stores you and your men have hit." Cinder's tone was filled with dark promise, and despite the risks, Roman's eyes lit up.

"Is that so…?"

"Interested, Roman?"

"You might say that. I suppose you'll send me the details?"

"Within the hour," she promised. "I want you to take the White Fang, however."

His good mood vanished almost immediately. "Things would go a lot smoother if it was me and my men. They're amateurs, Cinder. They'll muck it up."

"Perhaps, but there is value in having them be implicated. If our friends are going to cause problems regardless, I don't see why we can't profit from it. There is a certain party I would like to keep… misinformed."

"Ozpin?"

"Among other people." She would say no more. "Take the White Fang and steal what you can. Should they fail as they have before, abandon them. I shall tell Adam they were lost in a battle against the Schnee droids. If any dust escapes your grasp, well… we know where it is headed. You can simply procure it from the stores once more."

Which would be more work for him, of course. Roman nodded, even as he made his own plans to take a few of his boys regardless. He'd feel a little more confident with some brains behind him, and not just the typical empty-headed brawn the White Fang employed. "I'll see it done," he said. "Send me what you have whenever you can. I'd prefer a little time to plan ahead."

"You'll have it Roman. Farewell."

The call ended before he could reply, and he stowed away the scroll with a faint frown. A near-silent step sounded behind him. "Heard that, did you?"

Neo brushed by so she could face him. Though no words crossed her lips, the way she tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow indicated her question.

"We'll be going ahead with it, yes."

She snarled and raised a single hand.

"With those idiots, yes." He sighed around his cigar. "Don't worry, I'll be bringing you along as well, just in case. I'm hardly fool enough to trust my survival to a group who love to martyr themselves at every opportunity."

Neo nodded, satisfied. She ran a finger in a circle and nodded to the warehouse.

"Cinder might find out if we take too many. We'll bring one or two – maybe from the new batch. It'll give them a chance to see what work with us is like. And yeah," he added when she smiled cruelly. "If they get left behind, they won't have anything juicy to spill."

Neo laughed silently.

"If those masked goons show up, think you can handle them?"

She shrugged. Without seeing them in action, it was hard for her to give a real approximation of their ability against her. He appreciated that honesty. It was what made her infinitely more valuable than arrogant fools desperate to prove their worth.

"Well keep an eye out anyway. I'll have you on the ground a fair bit away. I want you running recon for the most part, but feel free to interfere if things get hairy." She nodded and he reached out to rub her hair with an almost fond smile. It took on a more sarcastic edge when she scowled and tried to straighten it out. "Get some rest," he suggested. "I'll handle everything on this end and I'll call you if anything interesting happens."

Neo nodded and winked out of existence, slipping away invisibly. Though he couldn't see her leave, his instincts told him when he was alone once more, and he meandered back over to the railing. His arms rested atop it, he leaned down and watched distractedly as his men worked away below. A cloud of smoke puffed from his lips and he flicked the stub of his cigar away with a tired sigh. His head rose towards the ceiling.

"Don't cross me, old friend," he whispered. "You're not the only one who's grown since those times."

Oooh, spoopy. I've not seen any of the new trailers, episodes or such, so feel free to not spoiler me. I likely won't watch any until there are a bunch out at once, maybe six or seven, but hell, I might wait until the entire season is done first. We'll see.

Next Chapter: 22nd October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur