Weekend Recovery

James Ironwood enjoyed his early morning runs. They were sometimes the only parts of his day where he could simply relax and think in some degree of peace, without meetings, paperwork, or various crisis interrupting him. Here there was nothing but the long track, the simple effort and joy of running, and the occasional other early riser.

His sole companion for the first hour had been Pyrrha Nikos, though the girl had looked distinctly unwell and settled for a slow jog for before she had withdrawn within the locker rooms.

While he couldn't condone drinking to excess, clearly just what she had done the night prior, he could at least respect that she had tried to maintain herself in the aftermath. Less pleasant had been how her presence had brought his mind back to the discussions from last night, and the follow-up conversations with Glynda.

Weiss Schnee was not going to be selected, he could already see as much. His old friend was humoring him with the idea of selecting her, but it was clear he preferred the other choice. And, if the comparison as solely between young Miss Schnee and Miss Nikos, he would gracefully admit defeat. The problem was that it wasn't so simple a comparison.

There was also their teams to consider.

Both groups had a former member of the White Fang, which was something he could not in good conscience condone. He had no issues with the young women being given second chances to find a proper outlet for their skills, but letting them train to become huntresses was one thing. Placing them directly next to a Maiden was something else entirely.

Team RWBY at least had the advantage of its other two members being utterly above suspicion. Indeed, if not for her extreme youth, and her father and uncle's reaction, he would have suggested Miss Rose for the responsibility.

Of course... the ideal candidate in his mind was Winter. She was experienced, skilled, and could be relied upon utterly. The power could be transferred and she could be returned to Atlas to recover under nearly any excuse they wished. But if it had been a struggle for them to even pretend to consider young Weiss, he knew that even proposing his assistant would have resulted in an uproar.

But that is irrelevant now. As much as Ozpin may wish to hide it, his choice is made. Now all that is left is controlling the fallout and ensuring that the proper protections will be in place.

After the Festival that would be simple enough. They would put their 'exchange program' into action, after hinting at such a thing for several weeks beforehand, and remove RAVN and their new maiden from Vale. He would personally see to her training over the remainder of the school year in Atlas, and keep her safe and secure until Ozpin and his huntsman had eliminated Amber's attacker.

Simple, straightforwards, safe.

Of course, the Festival itself would be the problem. They were largely in agreement that it was the most likely time period for Salem to move her Queen to the attack, and that attempting to transfer Amber's powers before said Festival was extremely risky. What none of them could agree on was how said attack would be launched, or even when it would occur during the multi-week tournament. He and Ozpin leaned towards late, likely during the closing ceremonies, where Glynda and several others instead thought it might occur early.

He thought it likely a full scale assault of some form, involving the White Fang as a battering ram. Ozpin believed the Fang would never risk such poor publicity, and that it would be a commando raid of some kind. Glynda thought it would be some kind of combination, with the Fang assaulting noted anti-Faunus elements in the city as a distraction while the Queen went for Amber.

Qrow was the only one who wasn't sure about the attack occurring during the Festival at all. He thought it might occur after, when security would be light and attempting to calm down after the stress of the event.

We just don't know enough. We need more information... as we always do in this day and age.

The sound of another runner entering the indoor track shook him from his thoughts and concerns about Salem and her ilk, drawing his attention to a young lady slowly accelerating on the other side.

She was very tall for a woman, with exceedingly bright blonde hair tied into a long but simple braid, and while she was far too young for him, he could still appreciate her physical beauty. Oddly, she wore a dark red shirt from Vale's public university rather than the dark blue associated with Beacon, and it didn't take many laps for him to decidedly gain on her.

Not a student, likely not a huntress either.

She glanced at him perhaps twenty minutes later, once he had caught up, her cheeks a little red from the effort of running at a fast clip. Her eyes were shockingly blue, and she gave him a polite nod and a slightly breathless, "Good morning!"

"Good morning ma'am." He replied slowing to keep pace, "I know it is not my place, but I didn't believe this facility was open to the public."

"Brother... a professor." She replied, clearly noting that he was taking it easy where she was struggling to keep her strides long. "Said... I could."

Her brother? Given her appearance, there was really only a single candidate. "You are related to Mister Arc?"

"Sapphire Arc." The woman responded, holding out a hand for a slightly awkward shake as they continued to run. "Eldest sister, college student."

"Jame Ironwood, General." He replied, giving her hand a single firm pump. "Headmaster of Atlas Academy."

Those blue eyes widened considerably, and her pace abruptly slackened, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to intrude sir."

"It's quite all right." Ironwood waved her concern away, "I don't mind the company, and please, we're on a track, not standing on ceremony. James is fine."

Sapphire Arc didn't quite look comfortable, but she nodded all the same. "All right James... you mind if I do a few more laps? Not all of us can cheat to stay in shape."

The wryness in her voice made him chuckle, and he slowly accelerated as she picked up the pace once more. "Is he the only Hunter in your family?"

"Dad is." She said, timing her words between deep gulps of breath, "Jaune's the only one of us eight kids though."

He nearly stumbled at that. "Eight?"

The woman gasped out a bit of laughter, "That's usually the response, yeah."

Ironwood shook his head, "I see... and you are the eldest child?"

"Yeah." Sapphire nodded, "Going to college a bit late... had to save up, and mom needed the help... raising everyone else."

I can only imagine. He'd been an only child, and when he'd been young he had occasionally fantasized about what it may have been like to have a sibling or two... but he'd certainly never considered having seven other children around. Their household must have resembled a riot in progress on the best of days.

"There is nothing wrong with accepting responsibilities." He reassured her as they came around a turn, keeping his speed moderate. "What degree do you pursue?"

"Teaching." She replied, a wry smile trying to appear on her face. "Little annoyed with... my brother. Jerk beat me to it."

Even tired she managed to inflict a kind of fond indignation in her tone, and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Jealous, Miss Arc?"

"Little." She said, smile still in place.

James smiled back and fell silent, letting her concentrate on running while he considered the opportunity. Oz had made it clear he wasn't to question Arc or his partner directly, but a polite discussion with the man's sister on how he was settling in would hardly be out of place. So long as he avoided any blatant inquiries as to the man's stability, it would seem harmless enough.

Of course there was a problem with that: conversational tact was not one of his strong suits.

Huntress she may not have been, but he would admit the young woman had determination to spare. She continued her run past the point where he would have expected a civilian to cease, especially considering the speed she was attempting to move at. Eventually she simply exhausted herself, slowing and peeling off into the central oval, though she showed the good sense to walk and stretch rather than collapse.

He emulated her, though only stretching his natural limbs. Strictly speaking he didn't have to, but it was a lazy habit to rely on your aura for everything.

"So," She spoke after perhaps five minutes of silent company. "Not that I'm averse to handsome, older gentleman spending time with me, but... if you want to talk I think you should before this gets awkward."

"True, my apologies." He shook his head, "I was attempting to think of a polite way to inquire after your brother's state."

Sapphire Arc seemed to immediately go on her guard, her friendly nature vanishing somewhat. "What do you mean?"

"I am a soldier, Miss Arc. I know a fellow warrior with demons when I see one." Ironwood told her gently, feeling the weight of his right side even as he spoke. "And as a headmaster, I want to know that my students are going to be well taken care of."

"Oh." She appeared to relax, then abruptly tighten back up again. "Oh. You think..."

"I'm not sure what to think." He moved to sit on a bench while she continued to stretch out her legs, "I merely have concerns. By his own accounts the years since the Academy have not been conducive to recovering from such an event."

The man's sister bit her lip, letting out a long, slow breath. "I'm... not sure really. It's been a long time since I've seen my brother, and this is starting to touch on personal subjects."

Ironwood quickly lifted his flesh and blood hand. "If you aren't comfortable we can of course stop."

That seemed to reassure her somewhat, "No, it's just... Jaune's always kind of been the family's... not pride, our... focus I guess. Not because he's the only boy, but because of what he was like when he was young. We all tend to get defensive about him."

That made his eyebrows lift. "Unusual, considering his skills and record."

Sapphire openly grimaced, "Let's say he's come a long way, and I'm sure that aura and combat school helped a lot. When he was a kid... well, scrawny barely described him, his head was always in the clouds, and he was every juvenile bully's favorite target."

"That kind of thing can give a young man powerful motivation to improve." He noted, "And just as powerful a motivation to do so elsewhere. I take it that was a factor in your parents sending him to Vacuo, rather than to Signal or even Mistral?"

The grimace actually deepened. "Our parents... didn't really approve of his goal to become a hunter. Not because they disapproved of the choice of profession so much as they disapproved of his reason for wanting to be one. I don't think he ever really understood the distinction, and I'm not sure he even gets it now."

Ironwood frowned, "Fortune and glory?"

"Heroism and glory." She shook her head, "He wanted to be like our grandfather, a hero standing alone on the hill, holding back the Grimm all by himself. Being a hunter was a means to reach that goal, rather than the goal itself. He wanted to save people not because he wanted to save them, but because he knew that what heroes did."

"I believe I understand." He nodded slowly, "You don't believe he understood the work, the risks, the sacrifices a huntsman must make. It is not an uncommon mistake made by young children, and why so many parents do not let them attend the preparatory academies at all."

"He really didn't get it." Sapphire agreed, rolling her neck and sighing before walking over, settling onto the bench next to him. "The rest... well, its rather personal to the family. If you're asking if he's a danger to your students, or to himself... I don't think he is. I think this job is actually really good for him, it's letting him help people without making him risk his life. It's something stable."

James considered that, leaning back. The young woman was more or less admitting that her brother wasn't quite mentally stable after what he had gone through, but that she believed that the job was a form of counseling and recovery in its own way. In other words she agreed with Ozpin's assessment.

And, if he was being honest, he couldn't fault the young hunter's lessons. He was very rough in his style, clearly new to imparting knowledge, but connected with the students and focused on practical lessons to drive home the reality of the job.

"What of his partner?" He asked.

"I don't really know her, we've only just met... but I do think that my brother has very odd taste in women." She replied with an almost amused smile, "Did you have any more questions, or is the rest of the interrogation going to occur somewhere else?"

"In a hurry to leave, Miss Arc?"

Sapphire laughed, "Hardly, I was just hoping I could try interrogating you in return. Not every day a prospective teacher meets an Academy Headmaster."

Her amusement was genuine enough that he couldn't stop a chuckle, and he obligingly waved for her to ask away.

Pyrrha felt awful.

Everything was too bright, her head was pounding, and her mouth tasted like Ruby's last attempt at making pancakes. Those things were bad enough, but waking up had also brought with the horrified memories of the night before. She hadn't thought you were supposed to remember being a complete fool when you were drunk... evidently she'd been wrong.

Not that it was all bad, she'd had more fun last night than she'd had in a very long time. Watching Ren and Nora dance, eating gourmet food, realizing just how good mixed drinks tasted, laughing as Miss Neo pointed out inebriated civilians trying to dance or eat or flirt...

Then she'd had one or two more drinks than she probably should have, and had spent the rest of the night draped over her partner babbling her inner-most thoughts. How she was her best friend, how she respected her so much for where she'd come from, how happy she was that Ilia had stayed, how proud she was of her self-improvement, and, of course, how she was debating whether or not she liked her.

Gods... She collapsed into a seat in the gardens, rubbing at her face. What do I even do?

She'd woken up before everyone else, which wasn't unusual, though her emergency trip to the bathroom to throw up wasn't part of her normal routine. Being too mortified to do more than glance at Ilia's sleeping form, she'd dressed in her workout clothes and then staggered out into the dorm's lounge to look up what she should do to feel better.

Most of the 'cures' had struck her as... ill conceived, so she'd simply stuck with drinking plenty of water and then trying to go for her usual morning jog, where she had surely impressed Headmaster Ironwood with her slow speed and unsteady gait. She'd quickly given up all together and instead taken an overly long shower in the locker room.

That had helped, somewhat, but she'd still ended up here, collapsed on a bench in the gardens, wondering what in Remnant she was going to do now.

Physically she knew she'd feel better in a few hours.

Emotionally... she had no idea. Pyrrha guessed that she had a fifty-fifty chance of being confronted when she got back to the room. Ilia tended to either ignore an uncomfortable topic entirely, or to attack it directly without reservation. There wasn't really a middle-ground with her, it was... one of things she liked about Ilia.

She could handle ignoring it, or at least pushing it aside further. But if Ilia confronted her... she had no idea what she could even say.

"Morning Pyrrha!" She winced at the Ruby's shout, looking up to see the young team leader wandering in her direction. "Woah. You feeling ok?"

"Headache." Pyrrha replied, rubbing at her temples. "Miss Neo took us out to a club last night."

Silver eyes blinked a few times, "A club... wait, like a club club? A drinking club?"

"Yes Ruby. That kind of club." She sighed, "It was fun, mostly, but part of me is regretting it."

Ruby seemed to get the message and quieted her voice as she came over, sitting on the bench next to her. "Hangover? Did you drink water?"

"Plenty." It wasn't like her to be so short with her friends, but she couldn't help it.

The other girl nodded slowly, but still looked concerned. "You sure it's just your head? You look really down."

"I..." She hesitated before just letting it out. "...may have blurted things out I'd rather not have, about Ilia."

"Ohhh..." Ruby offered, "Did you tell her that you do like girls?"

"I told her that I don't know." Pyrrha buried her face in her hands as she felt her face heat up, "But... that I was starting to think that I like both. And her. As more than a friend."

"Is... that bad?"

"No! Well... maybe..." She huffed out a breath, "If it goes badly. She's my best friend, my partner. What if it turns out I don't? I don't want to ruin what we have."

Ruby seemed to bite her lip and looked down at her feet as she kicked them. "Maybe you're not thinking about it right?"

Pyrrha blinked and looked at her, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it could go bad, yeah... but what if it doesn't? I mean, look at Jaune and Miss Neo. They were partners too." She seemed to flush a little, "But they're totally together and they seem really happy about it. And my dad and mom were teammates too."

She frowned and tried to think about that through her aching head. What if it did go well? Pyrrha had never been in a real relationship, with anyone, so maybe 'well' was too optimistic. If it didn't go badly... she felt a little light headed at the idea, and she wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"Then there's Ren and Nora." Ruby chirped, "I mean, they say they're not together-together, but they totally are. Especially after last night. They're probably going to make you and Ilia give them space sometimes, so would it be so bad if you two were together too?"

That... could be true, especially... wait. How had Ruby known about last night? And why was she giving her relationship advice? Why was she even awake and in the gardens this early?

"Ruby..."

The girl's cheerful expression turned into an almost painful looking grimace as she tried and failed to keep her smile in place. "Yeah Pyrrha?"

She cleared her throat, "How do you know what happened with my team last night?"

"Um..."

"And it's not even seven. What are you doing up and wandering the gardens?"

"...um..."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "Ruby."

"It wasn't my idea!" She protested, her cheeks turning red, "It was Yang's fault, all of it! I just think you and Ilia would be really cute together and happy, and I wanted to prove her wrong and win before the-"

Ruby abruptly slapped a hand over her own mouth, her eyes wide.

"Win?" Pyrrha felt her mouth open, her hangover getting shoved aside. "Ruby! Did you bet on me and Ilia!?"

"Maybe?" The younger girl not quite squeaked.

Oh gods... I can't believe this. No, wait, it was Yang. She could believe it, she just couldn't believe that Ruby was... "Tell me it's just between you and Yang."

"Um..." Ruby poked two fingers together. "It's just between me and Yang?"

Oh Gods. "...who?"

The other girl coughed, "Um... well, it started as us, then Yang wanted Blake's opinion so she got involved, and then Meral heard and brought MINT so we thought it would be fair to include Weiss. She yelled at us for gambling but really thought that Ilia would be bold, and somehow Cardin heard about it so his team made bets too, and then Miss Neo heard us talking about it at dinner and she put a really big bet in and we all had to match it. Then-"

"I get, I get!" Everyone. Everyone was betting on her love life. What... how was she even supposed to react to that!? "I... oh. You bet I'd ask her out, didn't you?"

"...maybe?" Ruby fidget again. "Well.. yeah, kinda."

She could only blink numbly. "Isn't this cheating?"

"Jaune said there's no such thing as cheating, and Uncle Qrow specifically said there's no cheating in love or war." Came the reply, "So I'm definitely not cheating."

Pyrrha was fairly sure everyone else wouldn't see it quite like that. Wait, she'd said... Neo was involved? If she was, why had she taken them out drinking... oh. "Miss Neo bet on the same thing, didn't she? And she's the one who told you to come talk to me?"

"If by that you mean she texted me last night..." Ruby said. "And again this morning, then yeah."

So not only were her friends trying to set her up, her teacher was trying to set her up. And taking her out drinking to try and push things along. And they were doing so because they had bet on it. "Is... what did everyone bet on, exactly?"

"Mostly who would ask who out when." She replied, "Everyone else thinks Ilia's gonna make the first move, they're arguing about when, but Miss Neo and I think you'll ask her to the dance. Um... I really do think you guys would be cute together, not just saying that."

"Thank you Ruby." Pyrrha said absently, still trying to decide how she should feel. Should be be outraged? Amused? Mortified? Confused? Right now it felt like she was all four, and still hungover on top of that.

One thing is clear at least...

She pulled out her scroll, flicking her thumb over the screen to locate Ilia's number. Ruby noted what she was doing and made a sound like a distressed puppy. "I... was just getting hungry, and I think Blake wanted to do White Fang research so-"

Pyrrha flexed her semblance, and the buttons and buckles on Ruby's uniform became immobile even as the girl tried to get up. She blinked several times, then began to flail and babble as she tried and failed to go anywhere. "Wait, no! Pyrrha! I wasn't even supposed to tell you!"

"I'm sorry Ruby." She tapped Ilia's number. It rang twice before Ilia's tired face filled the screen.

"Oh, Pyrrha." She looked at least as awkward as Pyrrha had felt earlier. "Uh, what's going on?"

"Ruby has something to tell you." Pyrrha couldn't bring herself to repeat it, turning her scroll so that an increasingly panicking Ruby was visible. "Don't you Ruby?"

"...it's really nice out this morning?" Ruby tried.

Pyrrha frowned, "Ruby!"

She tried to evade for nearly a minute, then broke entirely and told her everything she'd told Pyrrha. Ilia turned a mortified shade of blue, then an angry red, and then had settled on a mix where her skin was blue but eyes and freckles were a blazing scarlet.

"Please don't tell Yang!" Ruby asked when she finished, "She said anyone who tells has to pay twice as much and I really don't want to give up those comics."

"Don't worry." Ilia said in answer, "We won't be telling her anything."

Pyrrha blinked, "We won't?"

"Well, not verbally anyway." The room behind her partner spun as Ilia started rummaging around in drawers with her free hand, picking out clothes and noticeably grabbing her weapon. "Pyrrha, I need you to meet me at the Bullhead docks, we're going into Vale."

"Of course..." She hesitated, "May I ask why?"

"Not in front of our new double-agent."

Ruby made another whimpering sound. "I don't think I'm comfortable with that..."

Ilia had looked right into the screen, "You want me to tell Yang and Miss Neo? I could message Mrs. Belladonna as well, I'm sure she'd be happy to pass a note to your dad-"

"I'll do it!"

"Good to hear. You can start your new job by making a list of everyone involved and their bets." Ilia grinned. "I'll be there in twenty Pyrrha."

Jaune sighed as his sister bustled around the small kitchen, her scroll up as she talked with their parents. It had taken a little while to re-arrange things, to hide their weapons and make it look homier, but at least she was helping him out.

"I ran into him at a gym, he's in the city for negotiations with Vale over the new alliance." Sapphire grinned, "He talked with me for nearly two hours about the differences in teaching huntsman and civilians! It was incredible!"

Oh, and geeking out about running into Atlas' Headmaster this morning as she'd been doing all day.

Neo rolled her eyes from where she was sitting on top of him, her back to his chest as they reclined long the couch. She'd been in a bit of a mood, mostly from the telling off he'd given her this morning. While she had at least gotten his sister calmed down enough to come up without accidentally revealing anything last night, the key words were that she had gotten her up here.

Saph was helping cover for them, true, but the new problem was he had no idea how to keep her hidden from Cinder now that she was here. Taking the Bullheads up meant she was in the system, and plenty of students would have seen him rushing to meet her or escorting her back to the tower. Plus a few would have seen her around this morning when he'd let her go exercise before he'd been awake enough to realize the implications.

It was the same problem as if they'd tried to conceal their past from her; even if they managed it for a little while, sooner or later Cinder would figure it out.

Worse, they couldn't exactly tell Sapphire what was really going on. He'd tried to keep the lying to a bare minimum, she was his sister after all, but telling her that her life was in mortal danger just because she paid a surprise visit on her brother? No. Just no. That would lead to all kinds of questions he couldn't answer, and then probably to her going to their parents and Ozpin... or Ironwood apparently.

And... she'd probably be entirely right to do so.

Dammit.

Neo seemed to notice his mood because she shifted a tittle, not quite nuzzling her head against the bottom of his chin.

He let out a slow breath and slid his arms around her waist, holding her tightly. She hadn't quite apologized, Neo simply didn't do that, but she'd admitted that she'd been caught off guard and been more focused on keeping Saph quiet than she had been on considering all of the problems. And at the end of the day, he couldn't really blame her, if he'd run into his sister on the street he'd have probably had a few mental blocks himself. And Saph would have wanted to visit his place eventually..

It's something we'd have to deal with sooner or later. Neo's mistake just made it sooner.

The plan had been to get her back down to her own school around lunch-time, but Saph brought up the idea of calling their mother from here so she could reinforce his story a bit. He'd admitted that would help deflect any suspicion, and they'd decided to call while Sapphire made them all dinner.

"I'll take her back after dinner." He murmured, "The less she's here the better."

Neo twitched her head in a slight nod, her hands signing where he could see them move. If or when Cinder found out, she'd probably threaten him by threatening her. They could stall by replying in kind, threatening her minions. She obviously needed them for something or she wouldn't have brought them with.

He fought down a grimace. I hate that crap... "Yeah. Maybe... if Ironwood likes her, a transfer to an Atlas school?"

A slight shrug, and an admission that it was an idea worth considering. They also might be able to pay Junior to have someone shadow her in the meantime, since he already knew about her.

Which is another problem. The arrangement with Junior had mostly been meant for his father, who could at least protect himself and who he'd thought would be the most likely person to show up and find them. It seems like everything is going both right and wrong, and just wrong enough to screw with us.

Jaune shook his head and pulled Neo a little closer, letting out a long breath. Now wasn't the time to be stressing out, not with Sapphire here.

And besides, there were still the positives. His sister was here and being helpful, while Neo had gone out and unwound a bit. He was enjoying his classes, teaching students and doing honest work helping people, while rough checks of Neo's map compared to Beacon left them very sure that the entrance to Beacon's vaults was somewhere in the tower they were sitting

Progress... one step at a time.

"And of course I'm cooking while Jaune lazes on the couch." Sapphire wandered over, turning so that their mother could see him and Neo. "Some things never change."

"Some things do!" His mother didn't quite scream with happiness but it was a close thing. "Oh my goodness you're beautiful dear! It's much nicer to see you in a... calmer circumstance than our last call, but I have to ask; how did my son ever manage to find someone like you?"

"Hey!" He protested as Neo let out a silent laugh, she signed quickly, letting him translate... "Hey!" An elbow promptly smacked into his gut, making him cough, "She says I looked so pathetic that she just had to adopt me."

Juniper Arc laughed, "Oh you'll get along with my other daughters so well, Coral will absolutely adore you."

Jaune made a mental note to never let them meet. "How are things at home?"

"Not nearly as interesting as things in Vale." She replied smoothly, grinning at his discomfort. "What does she do for a living, and how did you really meet?"

He sighed, "Huntress, she's a regular at The Club."

His mother glanced at something off of her screen, probably his father, but remained all smiles. So at least he knew where he got his habit of grinning through any topic. "Well, at least neither of you will ever want for anything. My son is a prefect gentleman I hope."

Neo craned her neck back to smirk at him, and made a so-so gesture.

"Jaune!"

"She's lying." He retaliated, glaring down at her, "You can tell because both of her eyes are pink, means she's enjoying herself a little too much."

An elbow promptly hit him in the stomach for revealing that, and he had to fight the urge to flare his aura to block it... so instead he coughed and groaned like he should have while Juniper tittered again.

"So, that's Jaune and Neo." Sapphire grinned, turning away and heading back to the kitchen. "I'm sure you can tell which one of them holds the whip."

"Saph!"

His sister just laughed and checked on their food, turning the volume up a bit so that they could still hear Juniper speaking.

"To answer your question Jaune," She said as Neo finally got off of him, heading for her chair at the dining table while he got up and started getting out plates. "Things are normal. Sable had a boyfriend for seven whole days and two dates before your father and Coral drove him off."

Sapphire whistled as she lowered the heat on the chicken, "A new record. How's dad doing?"

"Grumpy."

Nicholas Arc promptly shouted from the background, "I am not!"

"Very grumpy." His wife emphasized, glowering at something off-screen. "Old Mitch decided to retire for good, and the others nominated your father to take his place dealing with Signal and Beacon. So he'll be running a student mission next month, and giving a speech on Patch the month after... and I haven't heard the end of the complaints."

"You make me sound like a teenager!" Thankfully the pair were too engrossed to notice Saph give him a pointed look, and for him to grimace and throw his hands up in surrender. He'd have to figure out something... with his luck Ozpin would assign him to liaise with his father due to family ties or something.

Juniper made a credible grunting sound, turning back to the screen just as his arms lowered. "Because you are acting like one dear. Honestly, he forgets that the extra pay from those will be enough to send Sable and Coral to university as well. At least once we add it to what they've already saved, and assuming they're responsible enough to get jobs in Vale."

"Coral is bothering with school?" He asked as he carried the plates to the table. "Figured she was just going to rely on her writing."

"She claims it's to give her options," His mother said, "But I think she just doesn't want to be separated from Sable. In either case they'll probably be joining you in Vale next year."

Rather, they'd be joining Sapphire. He and Neo would be in Mistral, if things kept going according to plan, more or less. Jaune felt his guilty conscience squirm somewhere in his chest, especially with his mother's reference to Coral's dependence on her twin. He'd make it up to them all when he ended the stupid shadow war. especially to Sable, she'd be... he shook his head, cutting off that line of thought before it could started. It was too painful. "It would be good to see them again."

Juniper beamed at him from the small screen, and started making idle chat with his sister about how she was settling in, and what she thought of Vale. He ferried food to the table while she did, slapping Neo's hand when she went to start eating without the pair of them. That earned him a pouting huff, and a roll of her eyes, again to his mother's utter delight when she saw it over his sister's shoulder.

He'd have rather ended the call at meal time, but Sapphire instead just propped it up as if their mother was sitting at the empty seat at the table.

The pair of them thankfully monopolized the conversation, with he and Neo only having to join in once and a while, at least until his mother had to step out and gave her scroll to his father.

"Son, Sapphire." He greeted, "You must be Neopolitan. A pleasure to meet you."

Neo dipped her head slightly and kept eating... which was, for her, the picture of grace and civility when meeting someone she didn't really care about.

Nicholas regarded her, then seemed to look at him, "How's your job going?"

"Overworked, underpaid." He said, not lying in the slightest. "It's a job."

His father made a low sound of amusement. "When you find one that's different let me know, I'll gladly hang up my sword and join you. Speaking of swords... do you still have Crocea Mors?"

Jaune jerked a thumb at Neo, "She uses it once and a while, when she wants a heavier blade. Didn't think you'd mind."

"Of course not, just don't lose it." Nicholas answered. "Has she modified it?"

"I think she's done a few tweaks here and there, just to the shield though." He shrugged, "She agrees with your idea of uncomplicated weapons."

"Good to hear." He nodded, looking at Neo a little more approvingly. "She treat you right? Mindful of her strength compared to yours?"

The sound of her fork settling onto her plate was the only warning he got before fingers grabbed his ear, hauling him around as he hissed in pain. That sound cut off when she gave him a sloppy kiss, her free hand grabbing onto his throat as it so often did.

Sapphire made a groaning sound while his father let out a bark of laughter, "You've made your point little missy."

Neo made sure to run her tongue over his for an extra moment, just to make it clear she was stopping because she wanted to, not because he'd told her to. She smirked, merrily switching between brown and pink as she leaned back, resuming her meal in a contented fashion.

Jaune sighed as he settled back in his chair, catching his breath, "She likes do that, make sure everyone knows that I'm her personal property."

"Did they kiss!?" His mother shouted from off-screen, "Nicky, you better have recorded that!"

He groaned and flushed as his father sighed. "I'll let you three go, enjoy your meal. I'll let you know when I'll be in the city next month, we can do dinner."

"Sounds good." Jaune said, reaching out to flick the scroll off even as Juniper berated her husband and told them not to end the call. "Gods..."

"Hazel and Jade both want to murder you for escaping." Sapphire informed him as she accepted her scroll back, "In case you were wondering."

"I wasn't." He shook his head, sighing and settling back in his chair. "Thanks again Saph."

"Well... you did give me an interview with Headmaster Ironwood." She smiled, "Even if it wasn't on purpose, I figured I owed you one. He pointed me towards a few classes I hadn't considered taking, but that might actually make Academies consider me as well."

Jaune huffed, "Trying to take my job already Saph?"

"If you can do it, how hard can it possibly be?"

His partner evidently thought that hilarious, almost hissing sounds coming from her lips as she laughed.

He could only sigh, "You ready to head back to your place?"

Saph blinked, "But I haven't shown your girlfriend humiliating pictures of you cross-dressing yet."

Neo froze, then her smile widened to nearly impossible levels as her eyes turned to a soft pink, her hands clapping together as if she'd just been told her birthday had come early.

This is going to be a long night...

Weiss sighed as she stared at the screen, a pencil jotting down yet another date and address, hearing Blake doing the same beside her.

It had been a very long day, and didn't seem like it would end anytime soon.

She had been hesitant about the idea of researching White Fang activity, but had admitted that it would be a good exercise in investigating crimes for when they graduated. And, as Ruby had cheerfully pointed out, it would be an event in team building, and their leader had at least forced Blake to only do said research on the weekends.

Weiss must not have been thinking clearly on the matter, because it hadn't occurred to her until they started that the word 'research' did not go well with the words 'Ruby and Yang'. Oh individually the two were smart enough, she'd admit, and surprisingly studious... but that was school work.

As much as they both obviously wanted to help Belladonna, they didn't have any real passion for the subject and had quickly gotten bored reading nearly identical news articles. On their first day Belladonna had promptly gotten snippy with the pair, as she did not think they were taking it seriously. That was in stark contrast to her, who even in Weiss' opinion was taking this far too seriously.

It had taken Ruby and Yang reminding her that Professor Arc had said this wasn't to be a priority to get her to calm down even a little.

Today's research had started off poorly when Ruby had arrived several hours late, admitting that she'd lost track of time hanging out with Pyrrha. Yang had openly been jealous that she hadn't thought of that, and the blonde's partner had started to lose her temper again. In the end Blake had managed to keep it under control, albeit barely, instead politely asking that the sisters either help them research or else find something less distracting to do.

Ruby and Yang had apologized... and then betrayed her and left for the second floor.

I will not forget this the next time you two need something.

"Any luck? The other girl asked, taking a brief pause to sip from a cup of tea.

"Vale is evidently in the middle of a crime wave." Weiss reported back, "All of it aimed at dust... but it is hard to tell how involved the White Fang is compared to Torchwick."

"They're both involved." Belladonna insisted, "We just need to know how much of this is the White Fang, and how much of it is Torchwick.."

"Does it matter?" She asked, "They're clearly working together, I would think the why they are doing it to be more important. Are they reselling it? Storing it? Shipping it to Menagerie?"

Her teammate's mouth snapped open at the last one, but she seemed to force herself to sit back instead of spouting denials. "...you're right. We need to figure out why as well as who... maybe we should be looking to try and find a pattern."

"Pattern in what?" A male voice asked, making both of them turn to see Sun and his handsome partner approach the bank of computers they were working on. "Ruby and Yang said you two could use some help looking up White Fang stuff."

"Sun, Neptune." Belladonna greeted them, "We're fine, just please don't distract us."

Sun spread his hands, "Not trying to distract you Blake, offering to help. Neptune here's a real geek, total genius on homework."

"Intellectual." The boy retaliated, stepping forwards and offering Weiss a hand a brilliant smile. "Don't think we've been introduced, snow angel."

The giggle came out before she could stop it, get a hold of yourself Weiss! "Weiss Schnee. A pleasure."

He grinned more widely, and actually bowed over her hand rather than shaking it, though he refrained from kissing her knuckles. "Pleasure's all mine my lady. Looks like you're trying to find a pattern to what they're doing?"

"I.. yes!" She fought down the urge to stammer while Blake gave her an incredibly unimpressed look. "It's proving difficult, we have to open each article to check them and try and decide if they were really responsible... then we want to see when it all started."

"You could open them all, but there's a faster way." Neptune pointed at the top of the page, "Go the school's search engine, I'll show you how do to a news search by month for the words 'White Fang'. Then you can chart them and see how they've grown, and you'll know how many articles you really need to check."

She and Blake stared at him, then Weiss quickly shifted her chair over and waved him at the computer. He promptly started messing with it, typing away and pausing to jot down notes on her paper, while Sun sat down by Blake and started asking surprisingly relevant questions as to what they'd already discovered.

Fifteen minutes later Neptune was nodding, "Here we go. Before seven months ago, there was pretty much no mentions of the White Fang on VNN. Maybe once or twice a month. It rose up to a dozen, and it's stayed at exactly twelve headlines involving 'White Fang' along with 'Heist', 'Robbery', 'Burglary', or something like that per month since then."

Weiss frowned, considering that. "That's strangely even."

"Bizarrely so." He agreed, glancing over at Blake. "Any ideas?"

"I got one." Sun spoke up, pointing at the article Blake had assigned him. "This one says a dust shop was robbed by masked faunus of the White Fang, but it doesn't say that anyone got killed, or even hurt. That's weird right?"

Blake leaned over his shoulder, "Were the shop owners fellow faunus?"

"Human." He answered, scrolling back up to show a picture of an old man and young woman who might have been his daughter. "Totally fine."

Weiss felt her eyes widen, her father's ranting over the summer coming back to her. "Neptune, can you do a check on that specific store? How many times has it been in the news over those seven months?"

The boy got the name from Sun, did a few more things, then made a surprised sound. "Three... all of them robberies."

"They're hitting the same stores over and over again." Weiss shook her head, "My father was complaining before I left, said that insurance prices on dust was sky-rocketing in Vale due to crime. That's why... they steal the dust, wait for the insurance to replace it, and then steal it again."

"Sustainable thefts." Blake murmured, "That's... that's not how the White Fang operates. Especially not... not the Vale branch. What about Torchwick?"

Neptune shrugged, "I can try to look it up, but if he's any good they won't even know he's the guy stealing the dust right?"

Weiss grimaced. That had been exactly their problem during their own search. How could they tell what shops the legendary thief was hitting compared to what may just be normal crime in a city this large? But at least they had some information to go off of, and Neptune and Sun proved to be immensely helpful and far more dedicated than Ruby and Yang had been.

Things went well, very well, up until seven o'clock rolled around and it came time to finish up for the evening.

"Blake." Weiss narrowed her eyes when the girl didn't so much as twitch a feline ear at the hour's bell. "That's seven, we're done for the day."

"We can't, we're making progress." She shook her head, not looking away as she clicked on another article, scratching down more notes. "Ruby will understand."

I doubt it. "Sun and Neptune will be here next weekend, won't you?"

Both boys seemed to get it and quickly nodded, Sun going so far as to pat Blake on the shoulder. "We got your back, don't worry."

"But-"

A raspy male voice spoke up from behind them, making her jump. "Take a break kiddo, you're stressin' me out."

"Qrow." Her sister's voice dripped with disapproval, "At least pretend to be a respectable huntsman."

She whipped her head around to see Ruby's Uncle and Winter approaching, slowing to a stop nearby. "Winter, Mister Branwen."

"Weiss." Her sister's lips moved a micro-inch, just enough so that she knew she was smiling and pleased to see her. "I see you've been keeping busy. We heard the last of your conversation, it would seem you're making progress."

"We are." She tried not to notice how stiff her teammate had gone at her sister's appearance, or perhaps it was the uniform her sister was wearing. "But we still have a long ways to go."

Ruby's Uncle chuckled, "Well, I might be able to help with that next weekend. Old man 'Oz assigned me to the White Fang case... you think you can wait a week shadow-girl, and I might have a few actual reports for you to check."

Blake's ears perked up, "...you... would share that with us?"

"More sets of eyes on a problem, more likely you are to figure it out." The man drawled, "Why I let the ice queen here tag along."

Winter twitched slightly. "Qrow."

"Shhhhh... library." Qrow replied with a grin, actually pulling a flask off of his belt and taking a quick sip. "Don't want to cause a scene, now do we?"

Her sister glared at him, then flicked her eyes away as if dismissing him from reality. "Weiss, I would like to speak with you before you retire."

"Of course." She quickly rose and collected her bag, "I'll see you at the dorms Blake... and do be there soon, Ruby meant the time limits." She started to turn, hesitated, then curtsied. "Neptune."

The handsome boy actually blushed faintly, and stumbled to his feet before giving her a quick bow. "Miss Schnee."

Weiss fought down a flush of her own and quickly followed Winter when her sister turned and headed towards the exit. Her sister didn't mention her actions until after they had stepped outside, and gave her a somewhat arch look. "Weiss, what was that?"

Thankfully, that had given her time to rehearse a reply. "I was merely returning the courtesy he extended when we first met, he acted as a perfect gentleman."

"I see." Winter clearly didn't believe her. "Do we need to have a discussion on the proper methods of courting for your age?"

"Of course not!" She replied, "I am well aware of the protocols, and we only just met today."

Her sister hummed, but thankfully dropped the subject, at least for now. It was likely merely a short reprieve, to be revisited if Winter ever caught her looking at a boy with interest again. "Very well. I wished to spend an hour on your summons once more, given that you have the remainder of the evening free."

Weiss inhaled and nodded sharply. "I am positive that I will succeed this time."

"That is the proper frame of mind, far better than your petulance in our last sessions." Winter lifted her chin, pride evident. "Let us see what you've learned."

And a few side plots move, the core plot twitches once or twice, and some fluff is thrown out. Hopefully everyone is still enjoying it. The last section turned out a bit shorter than I thought, but given their resources and time it seemed like about as much as the various kids could figure out just from reading news articles. The Vol2 White Fang plot - Student of Vacuo variation, will be starting in earnest from this point on... so consider the Weiss section a bit of a tease and a hint.

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat