The rest of the week flew by for Jaune and RWBY. They were sitting in their last class, which was Grimm Studies, and were listening to Port going on with another of his stories. Time seemed to be going in slow motion and Jaune was losing his mind. His nerves were already on edge and this boredom was not helping him in the slightest. Luckily, the bell sounded and the class was dismissed. RWBY made their way to their dorm while Jaune went with his team to the library. He had already told them that he was going to spend a night in town by himself to blow off some steam. They didn't ask questions, mostly because by now they all knew if Jaune didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't. They told him to have a good time before he left them to their fun at the library. Jaune stopped by the locker rooms to grab his swords, armor and Kuroibarra.
He made his way to the dorms and knocked on RWBY's door and soon Ruby opened it. Jaune just stared at the girls. They were all wearing new outfits and they looked gorgeous in his opinion. Eventually Ruby waved her hand in front of his face and he snapped out of it. "You okay, Jaune?" She asked him.
"Yeah. Sorry about that." He said slightly embarrassed.
Yang gave him a teasing smile before she spoke, "See something you like, Hero?"
Jaune blushed slightly, "Uh, yeah. Sorry but I'm not used to seeing you girls in anything besides your battle attire and uniforms. You all look great by the way." He smiled.
The girls all blushed at that and Blake had to resist from kissing him in front of her team. "Thank you, Jaune. That means a lot." She said when she got her senses back.
"Well, since you all are dressing for the occasion, I might as well too." He smirked and walked to his dorm. "Give me five minutes." He said as he entered his dorm. He placed his swords on his desk and his armor on his bed he went to his closet to grab the clothes he got from Velvet and Coco. He put his black jeans on and attached his greaves to them before he put his belt on that he got from Weiss. He attached Kuroibarra to the back, in between his fire and wind clips, along with his scroll, between his fire and water clips. He put on the skin tight long sleeve black shirt that extended up his neck. He then wore his vambracers, rerebrace and chest plate over his shirt before he grabbed the silver hoodie to put over it all. He had it zipped only half way up so you could see the white armor on his chest along with the black shirt. He finally attached his swords to his back and made sure his gloves were on comfortably before he made his way back over to RWBY's. He knocked and Ruby opened it again and the four girls just stared at him.
Jaune smirked at them, "See something you like?" He said, imitating Yang.
The girls shook themselves from their stupors and blushed. Jaune chuckled at them before Ruby clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Right! Everyone remember their roles?"
Weiss started, "You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."
Blake spoke next, "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."
Yang followed up, "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."
"And I will be tagging along with Yang to make sure she doesn't get arrested or cause too much damage to the city. So, I'm babysitting." He said with a smile and Yang punched him on his arm and pouted. Everyone laughed at that.
"Great!" Ruby said with enthusiasm. "We'll meet up tonight near Yang and Jaune to go over what we found. Let's do this!"
"Yeah!" they all heard a voice coming from the window and on reflex Jaune grabbed Kuroibarra and threw it at the voice. Luckily for the person, Jaune was out of practice and it got lodged into the windowsill. They all looked to see Sun hanging upside down by his tail outside the window looking shocked.
"Damn it, Sun." Jaune said as he walked over to the window and pulled out his dagger. "You're so lucky I'm rusty." he said as he put his dagger away.
"Sorry, jeez!" he said as he flipped into the room. "Didn't think you'd react like that. So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick prick?"
"Sorry, Sun, we don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby said.
Sun looked at Jaune with a raised eyebrow before Jaune answered the unasked question, "I found out from the get-go and refused to not be included."
Sun nodded, "Well, I'm agreeing with my blonde brother and so does Neptune." He said as he pointed his thumb out the window.
The five leant out to see Neptune standing on the ledge by the window, acting cool. "Sup?" is all he says.
"How'd you even get up here? Ruby asked.
"I have my ways. But seriously, can I come in? We're like really high up." He said nervously.
Jaune just sighed, "Don't be a baby. I jumped out of this window before and I was fine." He said this as he helped Neptune inside. They stood in a circle and Ruby decided on the new plan.
"Alright, Sun, you'll go with Blake. Since you're also a Faunus, you can back her up if things hit the fan." Sun stepped beside her and Blake didn't look happy. She gave Jaune a sideways look and Jaune just smiled with a small nod, meaning 'It's fine.' She gave her own nod and accepted the team up. "And, Neptune can go with Yang and Jaune."
"Uh, Rubes, my bike sits two." Yang said raising two fingers.
"And even though I could keep up on foot, I don't wanna burn through my supply of lightning dust just yet, Rosebud." Jaune added.
Ruby thought about that and sighed, "Guess that means Neptune can tag along with us." Weiss looked happy at this and looked at Jaune who put a fake smile on for her. "Alright, let's head out!" Ruby declared.
They all started to leave and Jaune whispered, just barely audibly, "Be careful." Blake heard him and just nodded to him.
Jaune eventually found himself on Yang's bike, seated behind her and holding onto her as she drove in and out of traffic at high speeds. He was shocked by this at first but eventually came to the conclusion that this was Yang and shouldn't be surprised at this point. He also realized this was the closest he's been to her in a while. He could smell her shampoo because of their close proximity and he could only smile. Unlike Blake, Yang had a way to just energize him when she was near. He was taken out of his thoughts when she spoke over the wind. "Going too fast for you, Hero?"
Jaune just rolled his eyes, "Yang, I literally move as fast as lightning. If anything you are too slow."
She turned slightly to look at him. "That a challenge?" she asked seriously.
Jaune just smirked, "It is."
She turned back to the road, "Better hold on tight then."
Jaune just smiled, "Yes, ma'am." Was all he said as he wrapped his arms around her stomach a bit tighter and scooted closer to leaned against her back. She smiled and blushed before she kicked it into high gear and drove even more erratic if that was even possible.
They soon made it into a ruined part of Vale and they arrived at their destination. The two got off the bike and Yang removed her helmet. "That fast enough for you?" she smirked at him.
He returned it, "Close but I'm sure you just did that so I would hold you."
She just smiled and teasingly said, "I'll never tell." She started to walk away with a noticeable sway in her hips, "Come on, my friend is in here."
Jaune shook his head slightly with a smile before following her, "And where is here?" Jaune saw two people dressed in identical black suits and hats with red sunglasses but as soon as they saw Yang they ran into the building. Jaune just raised an eyebrow. "Yang, what did you do the last time you were here?"
Yang shrugged, "Asked for information and when they were being rude, I kicked their asses." She said before she added sheepishly, "And maybe destroyed the club."
Jaune just sighed and ran a hand down his face, "I really shouldn't be surprised by your antics anymore, Sun Fire." She just smiled at him. They made it in time to see the henchmen close the doors behind them. Yang cracked her knuckles but Jaune placed his hand on her shoulder, "Allow me to get the door for you, Milady." She smiled and nodded. He grabbed Kakiri's handle with his right hand and his eyes shifted to red before he kicked the door in. He saw a number of henchmen holding guns at him and all he did was raise an eyebrow before Yang stepped forward.
"Guess who's back!" is all she shouted but no one lowered their weapons.
"Mind defining friend for me? Because if they're your friends than I must be your husband by this point." Jaune said casually and missed Yang's blush.
Soon a big guy in a suit stepped forward. "Stop, stop! Nobody shoot! Blondie, you're here. Why?"
Yang just walked forward, "You still owe me a drink." She said as she started to drag him away. Jaune just chuckled and followed her, missing the stares he got from the twins standing at the door.
The big guy was now behind the bar and Yang was in front of the bar and was handed a Strawberry Sunrise. She was sipping it and he looked to Jaune. "You want something?" he said somewhat rude.
Jaune shrugged. "Might as well. Rum and coke." He said as he put some Lien on the table. The big guy took the money and handed Jaune his drink. He took a sip and found it perfect. He soon noticed Yang looking at him with a smile as her finger traces the top of her glass. "What?"
"Didn't know you drink." she said teasingly.
"I didn't but your uncle is a bad influence. Besides, with my aura levels one drink doesn't do much." Jaune said as he took another sip.
"So, is this your boyfriend, Blondie?" The big guy asked while crossing his arms over his chest.
Yang just turned to him, "That's not any of your business. What you need to know is that if you don't tell me what I want to know, I may make an even bigger mess than last time, Junior."
Junior gulped before turning to Jaune, "Don't look at me. I'm just here to make sure she doesn't kill anyone." He looked at her, "But maiming and serious injuries are still allowed."
Yang smiled evilly and turned back to Junior, who was now sweating bullets. Jaune turned away and leaned against the bar sipping his drink. He was fine with letting Yang handling this, the old bad cop and not caring cop always works. Soon he heard a conversation from two of the henchmen further down the bar from them.
"I don't understand why the boss puts up with that bimbo." The first one said.
"He's probably getting some on the side. I mean, look at her. There's no way she hasn't been around the block once or twice." The second said in a sneer.
"True. Maybe if we pay her enough she'll give us a go." The first said and they both started laughing. That was until Jaune grabbed them by their throats before he threw them across the club and into the far wall. They fell and saw Jaune walking over, clearly angry.
"Wanna say that again? Because I'm all ears!" he shouted while cracking his knuckles. He soon saw all the other henchmen pull their guns and aim at him. "Wrong choice." Was all he said before the air around him burst into flames, making him look like some kind of demon. "Who's got the balls?" was all he asked with a sadistic smile on his face. They were all shaking now. "Thought so. Now, let me make this clear. Any of you so much as look at Sun Fire wrong and I'll have to show you what happens when I'm pissed." He said with a commanding tone as the henchmen were still shaking in their boots. He stared them down for a little while before he extinguished the flames. He walked back over to the bar. Junior was terrified and Yang was just shocked. "Has he talked yet?"
Yang just shook her head, "No. He's being difficult." She turned back to Junior with her eyes red now.
Junior was terrified of the two red eyed blondes staring him down. "I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them, which is something I can relate to!" He shouted the last part to the henchmen.
Yang just sighed and finished her drink, "Come on, Jaune." She started walking away from the bar. Jaune finished his drink before following her.
"We get everything we needed?" He asked.
"Everything we can. Hopefully the rest of the team is having better luck." The two of them were now outside and it was on the colder side. Jaune used his Semblance to create a small fireball in his hand to keep them warm. They were waiting to hear from the rest of the team. "You didn't need to do that, Jaune. I can handle myself."
"I know. But they pissed me off. They have no right to talk about you like that." He got slightly angry and the fireball got hotter and bigger before he calmed down and it returned to normal.
"Let them talk. Not like it matters what they think about me, as long as the people who matter know the truth."
"Maybe but they shouldn't talk about you when they don't know just how amazing you really are." Jaune said honestly.
Yang just smiled, "Keep this up and I'll think you've fallen for me."
Jaune didn't say anything before he took a deep breath and looked at her in the eyes. "I have." He said with as much honesty as he could.
Yang's eyes went wide and she hugged him tightly. "You, you idiot! Why haven't you told me sooner?" Jaune lost his concentration and the fireball faded out of existence.
Jaune just sighed, "Because it's complicated." Yang just looked at him confused. Jaune closed his eyes and steeled himself. He looked back to her. "Yang, you aren't the only one I've fallen in love with." Her eyes showed shock but Jaune had to continue or he'd lose his nerve. "I've fallen for you, Blake, Pyrrha and most recently, Weiss and Ruby. I didn't know what to do. I want to make you all happy but I knew that wasn't possible and eventually I'd hurt all of you. My mother found out and told me to just listen to my heart and do what it says. And it's telling me that I love you all." He turned away slightly. "And that just makes me sound so conceited."
Yang was just staring in shock but eventually she found her voice, "Do any of the others know?"
Jaune nodded, "Blake does. She knows everything and she's the one that is trying to convince me to go along with... 'it'."
"It?" Yang asked.
Jaune took another deep breath, "My mother said that even if I fell in love with and even dated multiple girls, that my family would accept it. Blake heard this and agreed to it, as crazy as that sounds." He looked back to her. "She thinks that as long as I love you all equally and treat you with respect, we could make it work."
Yang was going through a mental overload at this point, "You want a harem?" She said in disbelief.
Jaune just shrugged, "I don't know. I want you all to be happy, if I can do that and if you all are okay with that then I would agree. But, if not." He sighed, "I would let you all go and let you find someone else to be happy with."
Yang was just taking all of this in. She didn't know what to say. Jaune was always so honest, even now she could hear the sincerity in his words. He truly cared for all of them and he wanted them to be happy. But, could this actually work? Could she be okay with this? The train of thought was broken when both of their scrolls started to go off. Blake's voice came through, "Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-" She was interrupted by Sun. "HELP! Big robot! And it's big! Really big! That Torchwick prick is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!"
Yang spoke up, "Where are you guys?"
Both of them turned to see Blake and Sun running through the street behind them with a Paladin in hot pursuit and Sun was shouting, "HURRY!"
Jaune just turned to Yang, "That was convenient." Yang quickly jumped on her bike and Jaune grabbed Raikiri's handle and his eyes shifted to yellow. "I'll go on ahead."
Before she could argue, Jaune took off in a bolt of lightning. Yang just muttered out, "You better be safe. We have things to discuss."
Jaune followed behind them but only caught up when they were running down the highway. Jaune went full speed past the Paladin and landed on a car in front of Sun and Blake. "I thought Yang was the one that started trouble? Not you, Kitten."
"Can we talk about this later?" Blake asked. Jaune nodded before he raised his hand into the air. He channeled all of his electricity between them before he shot a giant arc of lightning at it. The Paladin got hit and stopped for a few seconds before it started to run at them again.
Jaune was breathing hard as his eyes shifted back to normal, "Well, that didn't work." Soon the Paladin was taking blasts from above and all three of them saw Neptune jump off of an overpass and impale it with a trident. Sun quickly created two clones and sent them at the Paladin. They shattered against it and Sun jumped towards it with his bo staff, but it just spun and knocked Neptune into him. Which sent those two off the highway. Jaune just sighed. Soon Weiss jumped down from another overpass and impaled Myrtenaster into the road to create a sheet of ice. It lost its footing and slid directly at Weiss. Jaune drew Kakiri with his right and Dokiri with his left. As his eyes shifted to the respective colors, he used his aura and jumped towards it. He intercepted the Paladin before it could reach Weiss and the force pushed the two off the ramp and landed below. Jaune jumped and rolled to land beside Ruby.
Soon the rest of RWBY joined them and the Paladin moved towards them, ready to fight. "Freezer Burn!" Ruby shouted as she, Blake and Jaune jumped backwards as Weiss and Yang created a mist. Jaune was so glad Ruby told him about their team moves. The Paladin starts to fire but Ruby and Jaune jump forward to cut into it causing it to falter. "Checkmate!" Ruby shouted another command. Weiss and Blake ran forward and started attacking the sensors and weak points. Jaune decided to attack its blind spot, using both his sword with his enhanced strength. The Paladin fired off some missiles, Weiss and Blake were able to dodge them but Jaune took one due to his lessened speed but it only dazed him because of his improved endurance.
Jaune stood up and saw Weiss block an energy blast before sending a Glyph at Blake. Ruby called for another command, "Ladybug!" Ruby and Blake used their increased speed, Blake's due to the Time Dilation Glyph, to start attacking the Paladin's legs. They both jumped up and cut off its left arm. Jaune grabbed it before spinning and smashing it into it, sending the whole thing off balance. Yang jumped onto the back of it and started to unload shots into it. The Paladin ran backwards and smashed her through two pillars before embedding her in the third and punches her through it. Jaune lost it and threw the arm at it before slamming his fist onto the ground. The Paladin took the hit before it was impaled by four earth spikes through the legs.
Yang rose up with her Semblance in full effect. The Paladin threw a punch and Yang countered it with her own. The remaining arm is shattered from the force. "Bumblebee! Ice flower!" Ruby shouted. Weiss and Ruby managed to freeze the Paladin with a combo of Ice Glyphs and Crescent Rose's bullets, and along with the earth spikes, completely immobilized it. Blake, meanwhile, was spinning Yang around with Gambol Shroud. Yang gave Jaune a look and he held his hand out. She grabbed it and the two continued to gain momentum. As they were closing in, Yang let go of Gambol Shroud and the two hit it with all their strength, one with Ember Celica and the other with a fist of fire. The Paladin was sent flying and it shattered on impact with Roman falling out.
As he was getting up, dazed, he was saying, "Just go this cleaned..." he looked to see Yang fire a shot and Jaune throw a fireball. But he was saved by an ice cream colored girl, who dropped in front of them and deflected it with an umbrella. "Always a pleasure! Neo, if you would…" She curtsied with a bow and Yang charged forward to punch them, only for them to shatter and for her to get hit by the fist of another Paladin.
Jaune managed to catch her and slow them down. He could tell that her aura was low. He looked up to see this new Paladin running towards them. Quickly handing Yang to Blake before he shot forward and caught the fist it threw. He then stomped the ground and formed two stone pillars that sent it backwards. Jaune had enough at this point. He impaled his swords into the ground before he removed his sheathes from his back and used his strength to throw them. They landed in the ground about thirty feet away. He then removed his hoodie and handed it to Blake, "Get to my sheathes. That should be far enough for you girls to not get caught up in it." She looked at him confused until she understood what he meant. Blake and Weiss helped Yang to her feet and started moving away with Ruby as quickly as possible.
As soon as they were by the sheathes, Jaune focused and used what he learned from practicing Particle; he started to weave the burning fire in his aura with the crushing earth that also resided in him. The new energy formed quicker and more powerful than ever before. As the fusion was completing, he picked up his swords and combined them. A wave of scarlet energy erupted from his body, turning all the ground within twenty feet of him into molten rock. The Paladin sank slightly into it and the girls could feel the intense heat from it, even from ten feet away. Jaune stood in the middle of the molten rock, on the only patch of solid ground left. He was wielding a longsword that was a few inches longer than Hyokiri and Mokukiri but was still shorter than Jinkiri, due to Kakiri's new broadsword form. The circuits and edges were glowing scarlet and so were his eyes. "Erupt, Yogankiri!"
The Paladin regained its footing but then they all heard a masculine voice come from the robot, "Impressive, human scum. But this won't stop me! We will make you kneel to the White Fang!" It shot a volley of missiles towards him and Jaune just raised his hand, a wave of lava came up and absorbed the missiles before it solidified and exploded. Before the White Fang member could react, Jaune swung his sword upwards and sent a wave of molten rock towards it. It was hit and sent backwards and as it slowed down, Jaune stomped his foot to send up five molten rocks from the ground and sent them at the Paladin. It got bombarded before opening fire on Jaune with all of its guns. Jaune brought up another wave of lava to solidify it into a wall and shot off to the side with his aura. He started to surf on the lava by solidifying the lava below him and turning it into an impromptu surfboard. He made a series of slashes and sent crescent shaped molten rock from the ground at the White Fang member. The rock started to heat up the metal of the Paladin, warping it before the rock solidified again.
Jaune winced in pain and noticed that his sleeves were burnt up to his elbows from the intense heat and he had severe burns on his arms. 'Better wrap this up, now.' Jaune thought before he jumped with his aura and landed in front of the Paladin, he impaled Yogankiri into the ground and liquefied the ground below the Paladin and it sank up to its waist. Jaune started to slash into it, the heat of the blade melting into the metal with each slash. It punched him in the chest to try to get him away from it. But he tanked the hit but slid back a few feet. The Paladin went for a last ditch effort and tried to fire its energy blast at close range. Jaune swung Yogankiri with two hands into the ground and the lava it was stuck in erupted. The Paladin was thrown up by the force of the eruption and slammed into the ground shortly after. It was barely recognizable now, from the impact and the intense heat warping the entire thing.
Jaune tore open the cockpit and the beaten White Fang member fell out of it. He was still in uniform but he could see his wolf tail. In a ragged voice he started to speak, "Do it, human. I don't need your pity. Finish what you started!"
Jaune raised his sword with the intent to bring it down through his chest but stopped. He was beaten and his death would just be one more he'd have to live with. He lowered his arm and pointed his other hand at the molten rock, solidifying it. "No. Your life isn't worth more of my soul." Jaune stated as he was walking away. Jaune looked to see that his shirt sleeves were burnt off completely now and the burns went almost up to his shoulders. His armor was also red hot at this point and his chest plate had a huge dent in it. If not for his aura, his chest would've been crushed, going by how the armor looked. He was making his way over to RWBY and they were all shocked by his display.
But something inside of him told him to turn around and as he did he saw the White Fang member holding a rifle and aiming it at the girls behind him. The world seemed to go in slow motion. Not even hesitating, he quickly jumped to his right and swung his sword towards him. A wave of molten rock surged towards the White Fang member as he heard the shot. Jaune felt his aura shatter and the bullet tear into the left side of his chest before it exploded out of his back. Jaune landed on the ground and dropped his sword as he heard someone screaming in intense pain.
Jaune was also in a world of pain, now that his aura was completely gone. He felt something wet and warm underneath him as he rolled to his back. His vision started to go black when he heard people screaming. He turned his head to see RWBY running towards him. Whatever they were saying, he couldn't understand. But he had content smile as his world continued to grow darker, 'At least they're safe.' Was the last thing he thought as his vision went completely black.