Here's the next chapter of NTF. College Fool didn't get a full chance to look at this, but that's because my parents come back off holiday tomorrow (well, today by reader's standards), and I had to spend the night before cleaning and preparing their house. Not easy after the robbery, and I'll admit, I didn't push the insurance companies as hard as I should have due to my own work and things getting in the way.
As such, much of Friday night was spent making frantic calls, cleaning up and filling their fridge for them.
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: A Stuck at Home Tome
Chapter 37 - Word Games
Jaune wasn't sure what to think when Qrow told them he was to help train them for the tournament. It was a new development, and those things had a habit of being a little intimidating, if only because he was used to having an idea of why and when something would happen. Yang seemed enthused for obvious reasons, but he couldn't help but express his doubt and ask Qrow why he wanted to train them at all.
"Not my idea, kid," Qrow said. "Ozpin asked me to do it for you all as a favour. I've just got nothing better to do."
Ozpin did? Jaune's brow scrunched up as he tried to think of some kind of motivation. The headmaster never bothered with anything like this before, not for him, Team RWBY or even Pyrrha. "Why?" he asked. "What does the headmaster want to train us specifically? Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest with the other teams?"
"No idea on the last bit, but as for the former, Ozpin's worried you guys will have become a target after our last mission." Qrow brought out his hip flask and took a long swig. "Normally, we go up against Grimm and clear a town, and there isn't anyone who's going to complain about that. With the White Fang, though, and with the girl's actions at the warehouse, Ozpin's worried you guys might be targeted." He shrugged. "I guess I'm to give you some basic training, just in case things go wrong."
The explanation calmed him a little and Jaune nodded without thinking, both giving permission and agreeing with it. It was new and unusual, but Qrow's explanation and Ozpin's reason made sense. They're correct too, not that they know it. Well, except that our team will be targeted because Adam is an obsessive bastard and won't leave Blake alone. Still, the training couldn't hurt and the thought of his team having a better chance of survival sat well. More importantly, nothing about it was suspicious. Ozpin's actions made sense. They were logical.
"Jaune isn't fit to train yet," Weiss' interruption made him roll his eyes. "Miss Tsune hasn't given him the all clear and I'm not about to watch him get knocked about by an older huntsman."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was there, you know?" Qrow chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I spent most of it on the roof against that chick." Yang's head perked up as she looked at her uncle, suddenly a little more interested.
"How did that go?" she asked.
"She was a tough one, kiddo. If you see her again, don't let her size fool you. She was fast as hell, flexible as anything, and she has a blade hidden in that umbrella of hers."
"It's really more of a parasol."
"Same thing, mini-ice queen."
"It really isn't," Weiss went on. "An umbrella is used to protect someone from the rain and so is normally a little heavier and made from waterproof material, while a parasol is to protect from sunlight and provide shade. It's lighter and normally more ornamental to provide-" Weiss went on, tone lecturing, as Qrow slowly looked towards the sky and waited for her to finish.
Jaune hid a small smile.
"-and that's why it's an important issue, because she would be able to swing a parasol with more speed, and the material should be easier to cut or damage." Weiss finished. She looked more than a little pleased with herself.
"Yeah," Qrow said. "Thanks… so, yeah, she has a sword, actually, so it's all kind of moot."
"And you got beaten by her," Yang said.
"Noooo, I fought her off."
"But you didn't defeat her."
"That wasn't the objective, fire cracker."
"No, the objective was to stop the train," Yang trailed off with a grin. Qrow narrowed his eyes. "-which didn't happen because she held you off. That means she beat you. Wow, you must be getting old. Are you sure you don't need a walking stick, old man?"
"You'll need one once we're done training," he growled. "Now get up, not you, kid – I don't need everyone on my ass." Jaune sat down when Qrow pointed to him. "The rest of you, I want you doing laps and warming up. If you're so keen to point out how a little girl was able to fight on an even level-"
"Beat you, you mean?" Yang asked. Qrow growled.
"-then you can have a go fighting against me yourselves. Now, get to it. I don't want you able to say you weren't ready when I show you just what a real huntsman can do."
"Sure thing, old man," Yang said, then laughed and ducked his fist as she jogged off. Weiss and Blake rolled their eyes but followed, the three beginning a fast-paced jog around the training field. Qrow shook his head and grumbled something under his breath, before he sat down on the rock next to Jaune.
"Bloody brat. You'd think she'd have more respect for the poor sap who had to burp her." Qrow uncorked his flask and took a long drink, but noticed him staring at it. "Want some?"
"After you just sealed your lips around it? I think I'll pass."
"You're saying I might have a disease?" Qrow laughed. "That's cute coming from you, kid. It really is. I'm surprised you're not a walking ball of STD's. I feel ill just sitting next to you."
"I use protection." He used the best protection, in fact, foreknowledge. Then again, most people couldn't quite rely on trial and error as a method to find out whose privates burned a little too hot. "Shouldn't you be warming up as well?"
"What? You actually think they're going to be able to beat me?"
"No," he admitted, "but I'm just wondering why you're talking to me."
"A combination of boredom and responsibility, I guess. It was kind of my job to get you through Mountain Glenn in one piece." Qrow huffed. "I didn't do a very good job there."
"You just said that girl was strong. It's not like any of those three could have beaten her."
"Maybe, maybe not, but you got captured before that. You going to tell me why you wandered off and got caught anyway?"
"I saw something," Jaune said.
"Heh, liar." Qrow took another drink. "Zwei would have raised hell if anyone or anything came near. You don't have to tell me if you don't want, kid. It's not like you did anything you could get in trouble for… not when it ended up discovering the breach and saving Vale."
So, this wasn't an interrogation? His shoulders relaxed a little. It was probably his paranoia acting up again, but he already knew Qrow's reason for training. Maybe he really was just talking out of boredom. "What are you going to teach my team?" he asked.
"Teach is a strong word. Ozpin asked me to train them, not teach." He grinned and stroked his stubble. "I'm going to make 'em fight me, three on one. I'm then going to kick their asses, but make sure Yang suffers a particularly humiliating defeat. Then I guess I'll give 'em some pointers and make 'em square off against one another."
Childish, embarrassing, yet also useful; the training fit Qrow to a tee, and Jaune laughed. It was easy to see the relation between Qrow and Yang. He wondered what life might have been like if they were both the same age. The thought was pretty terrifying.
"I can't train you, not yet anyway," Qrow continued, "but I suppose you can watch and get a feel for their fighting styles. You're the leader of the team, so it'll be up to you to put your mind to use come the tournament." Qrow show him an amused look. "I've heard about some of your spars. How much do I need to pay you to pull something like that off in one of the matches?"
"A get out of being killed by Glynda card would be nice. I doubt she'd appreciate it."
"Damn shame. Between you and mid, kid, the whole tournament is a bit of a joke. It's a bunch of kids fighting against one another like it matters, like the glory means a damn thing out in the real world. It's painful to watch for proper huntsman, too. You're not good enough; you don't have the right mind-set." He paused to shoot Jaune a knowing smile. "Well, they don't, at least."
"The right mind-set is holding a tazer against someone's crotch?"
"The right mind-set is doing whatever needs to be done in order to win," Qrow said. "Besides, didn't your girlie tell you how she did the same to Torchwick?"
That caught his attention. Jaune looked towards the older huntsman with wide eyes. "No," he said. "Wait, one of them zapped Torchwick in the balls?"
"Little Miss Brooding," Qrow said. It took him a second or two to figure out he meant Blake, and it was only because he already had a nickname for Weiss. "From the sounds of it, she'd have been dead if you didn't bring that thing along. I guess she took a page from your book. I take it you're not going to explain why you brought that, either."
Jaune ignored the question. Honestly, he was just too relieved Blake had come out of it all in one piece. I never realised she was in such danger. Come to think of it, they haven't told me much about what happened to them when I was out of it. It's all just been about me. Gods, he hadn't realised how close the mission came to being a complete failure. If Blake fell there, then the others would have stayed to try and treat her – and the Grimm would have been drawn to the noise of the train and tunnels. They would surely have died.
"Jaune?" Qrow prompted.
"Oh, what? The backpack?" He shook his head. "Ruby and I raided the requisition room. It was just one of a bunch of things I picked up."
"Yeah, I know. Miss Goodwitch decided to confront me on that once it turned out you'd used my signature to get in." He shot Jaune a dirty look. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I'll be in if Ruby's dad learns I basically signed an order to let her have explosive ammunition? I'd like to live to see fifty, thank you very much."
"Yeah," Jaune chuckled. "Me too…" The melancholy threated to take him for a moment, but he quickly imagined Blake sticking a tazer into Torchwick's balls and it vanished. She deserved something special for that. He'd have to see if he couldn't get her some premium tuna. Well, that was if his team let him go out into Vale without an armed escort. They seemed to think just about anyone would abduct him.
"I'm just curious what made you feel like you had to bring all that stuff." Qrow said. "I get that I said to prepare, and I'm not mad, but that was a lot for one mission. What was it, paranoia, fear?"
"Something like that My father always says there's no such thing as being over-prepared."
"Ain't that the truth. Thing is, most people don't learn that lesson until they've been under-prepped and paid for it." Qrow sighed, as though recalling some distant memory. "You ever fucked up like that, kid?"
Jaune's face twisted. He had… not recently, and not in the past repeats – but he could still vaguely recall some pieces of memory from the first few. Back then, he'd been desperate and eager, convinced he could fix everything just because he had another chance. So many mistakes… so many people dead. He couldn't say that, though… not to Qrow. "No. I guess I just learned the lesson from having it hammered into my head."
"See, I'd rather you say nothing than tell some transparent lie like that."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm only seventeen. I haven't lived long enough to experience things like that."
"Yeah sure." Qrow poked him in the forehead. "Those eyes are a little older than seventeen. I've seen that look in the eyes of plenty a huntsman and huntress. Funny thing is, it's never the happy ones. It's always the people who've lost something."
"I think you're reading into things a bit much. Besides, should you really be telling a seventeen-year-old guy you've been staring into their eyes?" Jaune shifted to the side. "Should I be worried?" Qrow rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"Maybe, who can say. Still, I said it before, this isn't an interrogation. If you don't want to talk, don't talk." He sighed and stood up. "No point lyin' about it, though. Anyway, I think it's time to show my darling niece why she's a decade too early to be challenging her uncle." He coughed and raised his voice. "Oi, Yang. You ready?"
"We're ready," Yang called back. "Are you sure you are, though? Isn't it time for your nap?"
"Oh, I'm ready," Qrow growled. He took a step forward, but paused. "Kid… I'm not one for niceties, or for talking depressing stuff through, but if you ever want someone to share a drink with…"
"I'll keep that in mind, Qrow." Jaune grinned. "Thanks."
"Hey, quit stalling, old man. Don't tell me you're getting cold feet?"
"Oh, she's in for it." Qrow drew his weapon and stomped off. Yang's laughter echoed across the training field.
They're so dramatic, Jaune thought. He couldn't help but laugh, however, especially at how they needled and taunted one another. He didn't expect the three of them to have too much hope against Qrow, not when they didn't know his capabilities. Still, they stuck together as the match was started, and didn't let Qrow separate them as he clearly wanted to. Jaune sighed and leaned back on the warm rock, watching them bounce about the field with reckless abandon.
Qrow certainly stuck to his promise to focus on Yang. He smiled as she hit the grass and skittered across the field like a pinball. She didn't give up, of course. Not when it would mean admitting she was wrong. It just wasn't in her nature. So typical of her, he thought with a laugh. She dashed in once more, eyes a blazing red. Then again, I suppose it's one of the reasons she's so much fun to be around.
In fact, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised at how much he wanted to join in. It looked like fun, even if they were getting annihilated. Had he been healthy enough to take part, maybe he could have come up with a plan to help them beat Qrow.
Never thought I'd willingly want to join in on a spar… especially one so pointless. It didn't do anything to help him against what would come, there just wasn't the time for any training to stick. It was just simple fun. Maybe that was why he missed it so?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the grass behind him. His ears identified the heels of a woman. Pyrrha, perhaps?
"Is this spot free?"
His heart turned to ice. It was a sudden terror, overwhelming and sickening. He smiled through it, however, and didn't even look back to the dark-haired woman he knew stood behind him. "Sure," he said. "It's not like I own Beacon. If I did, the dress code would be different."
"I dread to imagine." Cinder Fall settled down beside him. She flashed him a friendly smile, as fake as she was. It would have fooled anyone else. She was good like that. "I've heard of your reputation, after all."
"All of it true, I assure you. It's… I don't quite remember your name."
"Cinder," she said. "Cinder Fall. You, of course, I know the name of. You've become somewhat infamous around Beacon of late."
"Because of the breach?" he asked, and awaited her nod. "I'd rather be infamous for something I remember doing. I wasn't in control of myself back then."
"As I understand. For what it's worth, my team and I understand the implications of being drugged. I'm not sure how the other students can feel so awkward around you for it. It could have happened to anyone."
"Thanks." She was being friendly, suspiciously so. With Cinder, everything was suspicious, and especially to him, but murder and violence were at least understandable. She's trying to get close to me for some reason, that much is obvious. What's her angle, though? It wasn't as simple as making assumptions, not with her. She could be trying to get him alone to kill him, gather information or find a route through to influencing Pyrrha.
Heck, she could just be acting normal for the benefit of her disguise. As a student of Haven, she was expected to interact with other students, after all. The teachers might become concerned for someone who stayed cooped up in their room and never showed their face. That concern would draw attention, which she wouldn't want. Not that he would believe that explanation. This was Cinder… you did not take the easiest or safest choice when it came to her.
Fortunately, he could find out more the easier way.
"Is there a reason you wanted to talk to me, Cinder?" His left hand, on the other side of his body from her, clenched into a tight fist. Even so, he forced himself to smile at her. The rest of his body remained slack. "Not that I don't appreciate the chance to talk to a pretty girl, but it's normally me who has to do the approaching."
"Charmer." She flicked some hair behind her and smiled seductively at him. "No real reason on my part, though. I simply saw you sat here and thought you looked lonely."
"And you intend to keep me company?"
"The thought crossed my mind."
"That's very kind of you." Jaune looked back to the spar and tried his hardest not to scowl. She followed his gaze.
"You're not taking part?" she asked.
"It looks like it."
"Is it because of your injuries?" She feigned concern well, and he had no legitimate reason to deny her an answer. He had reasons, yes, but none she wouldn't find suspicious. He stared ahead and nodded. "I see. I'll admit, I've never been under the influence of such substances myself, but it seems terrifying. Did you know that I was one of the ones you attacked?"
She was? That changed things. When everyone spoke of him attacking friends, he thought they meant actual friends like Ruby or Pyrrha – or allies like Cardin. Maybe my mind wasn't completely gone after all. I must have seen Cinder as a threat, even when I could barely function. He hid his smirk and offered her a sympathetic smile instead. "Sorry about that. I didn't have exactly have any control over myself."
"It is forgiven. Were it not for your partner, I fear we would have assumed the worst and fought back. You might have been hurt."
And I'm sure that would have given you many sleepless nights. He shook his head and mumbled an automatic response, not really interested in what she said, so much as what she meant. Words were tools for her, often lock picks but occasionally needles. She had an intent in approaching him, that much he knew. Was she trying to find out more about him? Had his behaviour at the breach sparked her interest?
It was possible… he'd always been worried about his team drawing her attention, ever since Weiss and the others caused Roman trouble in the warehouses. His eyes flicked back to his team, in time to see Qrow wrapping up the fight. Was Cinder here for them? That was an even more terrifying proposition.
He needed to keep her attention away from them, and if necessary, on him.
Unfortunately, it appeared that luck wasn't on his side. He saw Weiss break off and jog towards him. "Jaune, the fight is- what are you doing here?"
He winced.
"I wanted to talk with your partner," Cinder said. "I can assure you, I mean no harm."
Weiss narrowed her eyes but didn't reply. She scanned the both of them, likely to see if he was doing anything appropriate, but it would be a cold day in hell before he did that with Cinder again. She moved forward, and he cursed as he realised she intended to sit down between them likely to protect him from harm.
Jaune snagged Weiss' wrist first. Her eyes widened in surprise, but he cut off her protest and dragged her in on his left side. She squirmed, but went still as he wrapped an arm around her waist and held on tight. He felt her body go still, and then slowly relax into him. More importantly, he kept his body between Cinder and her. The evil witch watched them both with a curious gaze.
Don't read into it, he pleaded. It's just a guy and his girlfriend sat together and cuddling, there's nothing to see here. There's nothing of interest here. Jaune turned away from her and smiled at Weiss. "Is the fight already over? How did it go?"
"The fight?" Weiss seemed lost. Her eyes traced down to his arm, and then her hands, as she wondered where to place them. In the end, she settled one on her lap, and the other atop his hand which rested against her stomach. Her eyes didn't quite meet his. "We lost the fight. Mr Branwen is a skilled huntsman and I doubt Yang's taunts worked in our favour. I think she thought he'd make mistakes if he was angry, but it only made him fight harder."
"Maybe if she actually made him angry instead of just a little pissed off." If Qrow had truly been furious, he might have messed up. Then again, it would take more than words to generate that response from someone so collected. He felt Cinder's eyes on the back of his head, but did his best to look calm and casual as he talked to Weiss. "What's happening now, then? I take it training isn't over."
"He wants to see Yang and Blake spar against one another, and then me against the victor."
"You learn anything from the fight?"
"I need to work on cutting off people's escape with my glyphs." Weiss pouted. It made her look incredibly cute. His hand gripped her a little tighter. "He was like Ruby, except not quite as fast and twice as slippery. Maybe some kind of maze, or at least some way of moving them in the direction I want."
"He could just smash through any ice structures you made."
"Yes, but that would be a moment of distraction, at least. If someone hits a wall and causes ice to shatter, their eyes will close instinctively to avoid any damage. That's my chance to attack."
"That's surprisingly vicious of you." He smiled. "I approve." He heard Cinder cough behind him. "Have you ever tried making a dome, or some kind of fully enclosed space?"
"I can, but it's difficult. Such things take a lot longer to form and I'd need him to be incapacitated or blind in order to not dodge it."
"Shame." He laughed over another attempt from Cinder to catch their attention. "I take it it's all limited by dust?"
"Pretty much… even though I'm the heiress of the SDC, dust has become rare enough that even I can't get hold of much. It's not a case of money; a lot of places are just sold out."
"I guess that's the-"
"Excuse me," Cinder interrupted with a concealed scowl. It wasn't nearly hidden well enough to fool him, and that only proved she had something she wanted. "I hate to interrupt, but I just wanted to ask a quick question about what we were talking about before."
"Hmm?" Weiss scowled at the other woman. "What does she mean?"
"She was asking me about the breach," he said. "She was one of the people I accidentally attacked. Well, she and her team, I'd guess."
"Quite so," Cinder smiled. "They're all doing fine, however. You weren't able to injure any of them an-"
"He wasn't in control of his own actions." Weiss shook her head. "You can't blame him for what happened. He holds no responsibility for any damage caused." Weiss' frigid tone made him cringe. Gods, this was not the `keep her out of Cinder's sight` he'd hoped for. Luckily, Cinder seemed more amused than offended.
"I'm not trying to sue him, Wei-"
"That's Miss Schnee, thank you. I don't think we know one another well enough."
"Miss Schnee, then. As I was saying, I'm not here to insult him. Rather, I wanted to express our team's sympathies for what happened, along with our understanding. There are no hard feelings among us."
"We appreciate it," Weiss said. "He appreciates it."
Jaune sighed and placed his other hand on hers, pushing it back down into her lap. "Weiss, it's fine. I can speak for myself." He chuckled nervously and sent Cinder an apologetic shrug. "We're under a lot of pressure, sorry. Most other people aren't exactly willing to be friends with us right now." Cinder smiled understandingly.
"Perhaps that would change with a demonstration," she said.
"What, drug me up and not have me attack someone to prove I'm not a psychopath?" He winced when he felt Weiss dig an elbow into his side. She did not look amused by the suggestion. Cinder, on the other hand, laughed.
"Not at all, Jaune. I merely meant that our teams could become friends. It might calm people down to see you interacting normally with people who you previously attacked." Her laughter trailed off as she looked at him. "What do you think?"
I think this means it's me or my team you're interested in. He cursed to himself and glanced back to Yang and Blake's spar, as though distracted. If she just wanted to cover herself or find out if I was a threat, she could have done that without inconveniencing herself. By asking to be friends, though, she creates more work for her and her team. She wouldn't do that if she didn't think there was something to gain from it.
Damn it, damn it, damn it…
He'd been a fool to think she would put up with them interrupting her plans three times in a row. Cinder was adapting, as she always did. She was making plans. Now, how did he get rid of her without sounding suspicious?
"I think we'll be fine," Weiss said. His eyes flicked to her, but Weiss stared into Cinder's. "We wouldn't want to put you and your team through the same, and we already have people we're quite close to. Thank you for offering, but I think we'll pass. Right, Jaune?"
Jaune was about to quickly try and argue, to recover before she offended Cinder – but froze. That was it. Weiss was a genius! He couldn't say no to Cinder because it would raise her guard and make her think he knew something about her, but Weiss definitely could. More than that, whether she realised it or not, she was playing the jealous girlfriend quite well.
He could play the cowed boyfriend just as easily. He ducked his head and laughed nervously. "Uh… yeah, sure. S-Sorry Cinder. Weiss has spoken."
"So I see." She rolled her eyes and rose to her feet. "Well, I can see that I'm interrupting a moment. I do apologise. If you change your mind, or find yourself… unburdened," she smiled and pointedly did not look at Weiss, "then know that my offer stands. For now, I'll bid you a speedy recovery, Jaune. Get well soon."
"Sure, thanks." He waited for her to move away before he dared to even feel relieved. His shoulders relaxed and he let out a long breath.
I dodged the bullet there, but this doesn't mean it's over. Cinder isn't one to give up, and there's more than one way to find out about us. I'll need to make sure she doesn't approach Team RRNN. Beside him, he felt Weiss relax against his side and couldn't help but smile. It looked like he wasn't the only one who'd felt less than comfortable around her.
"I wasn't trying anything with her," he said. "I promise."
/-/
Jaune's words caught her attention, enough so to drag it away from the beautiful woman who sashayed away from them. Even the way she carried herself was alluring. It felt intentional, manufactured… fake. She was used to people putting on airs, to people who carried themselves with diplomatic grace, as opposed to genuine kindness.
"I never said you did anything with her. I have eyes, Jaune."
"Well, it's just that you seemed awfully antagonistic. Have the two of you met before?"
Was he being serious? She looked at him for a few seconds, and then groaned when she realised that he really was. "Jaune, of course I've met her before. She nearly roasted me alive. She sent you to the hospital."
"Oh, right…" He blinked, and to her annoyance, looked genuinely surprised. "I'd honestly forgotten that."
"Yeah, well, I didn't."
She didn't forget, and she didn't forgive, either. She forgave it even less, when that same woman then approached him with the kind of fake facade of someone after something. Was did she want from him? Was she trying to seduce him? No, don't be foolish. Even if she was, that's none of your business, Weiss. He doesn't belong to you.
"I just think there's something off about her." She looked away awkwardly when he shot her a sharp look. "I'm not saying anything bad, just… I get a strange feeling around her." Yeah, jealousy, her mind unhelpfully supplied. "Maybe it's just lingering resentment over the whole training accident thing."
"Yeah, maybe." Jaune shrugged. "Well, it's not like I was eager to have that conversation anyway. You helped me out."
She had? A part of her would have thought he'd have wanted such a woman's attention. He always did before. No, he hasn't slept around in a while. Not since… not since I confessed to him. Her eyes fell to the arm about her waist, and the hand her own rested atop of. It felt warm and firm on her stomach, but more importantly, it felt like it belonged. There was no awkwardness there, despite it being alien for anyone to touch her so informally.
It felt good. She liked it… she liked the sense of possession it suggested, even if the thought would have normally angered her. She was Weiss Schnee. No one could possess her. And yet… she couldn't help but feel there would have been no complaints if he claimed it.
Not that I wouldn't mind saying the same about him. Ugh, she groaned. Winter was right… she really hadn't gotten over him. He'd said no, and like some kind of insistent stalker, she wanted to keep pushing. No doesn't mean no forever, right? He only said no at that moment. What if I changed his mind?
Didn't most people go through that normally? She seemed to recall her mother explaining how she'd initially turned down her father. Okay, maybe that was a bad example but still, the point remained. In fact, she was fairly sure Jaune had mentioned his father being rejected numerous times by his mother. Compared to her family, Jaune's was loving too. It was proof. She wanted to cheer, but settled for blinking away her fantasies as she realised Jaune was trying to get her attention.
"Weiss? Hello, you there?"
"Huh, what?"
"I asked you a question." A slow smile spread across his face. "Lost in thought?"
Yes, and there was no chance in hell she was going to tell him what of. "Sorry, what were you asking?"
"On the train, back in Mountain Glenn. You saw me when I was… not thinking straight, right?"
She did. She hated to even think back on it and sighed at him bringing it up. "I saw," she said. "Whatever happened, though, it wasn't your fault. I told you before, you barely hurt me. I'm not made of glass, Jaune."
"I know, I know." His hand rubbed her stomach and she felt herself melt against him. He smiled. "I wasn't going to ask that, I promise. It's just… I wanted to know if you saw me fight against any of the White Fang."
"We saw the results, but not any actual combat. When we found you, it looked like you had already been engaged with Torchwick for several minutes." She frowned. "Why do you ask? Is there something you wanted to know?"
He paused for a moment, almost as though caught. She wondered if he would answer the question at all, but after a few seconds of thought, he nodded. "I wanted to know how I fought when I could barely think. I know some things can be instinctual, but I'm just a little surprised I could get that far in that state. I should have been throwing up, not kicking ass."
"Most of the White Fang didn't seem very well-trained. Blake thinks it might have been intended as a suicide mission from the start."
"It's not…" Jaune sighed. "The people you found, did it look like there were signs of combat? Did it look like a fight took place, or like I snuck up and took them out before they knew it?"
Weiss leaned back a little, surprised or maybe even a little concerned at the question. He looked serious, though, so she did her best to remember. It wasn't hard. Some of those carriages had been covered in more blood than any one man could contain. She could still recall the frozen terror on their faces. "Definitely combat," she said. "Jaune, some of those faunus were impaled on their own weapons. Why all these questions?"
"I'm just trying to piece it together. Isn't it normal to not like a big hole in your memories."
Yeah, but you never cared before. Why the sudden change? Weiss opened her mouth to ask, but was cut off by an ear-piercing whistle. She winced, along with Jaune.
"Hey, mini-princess. It's your turn." Qrow grinned from his position next to an exhausted Yang and Blake, sprawled flat on her back. "Quit cuddling with your boyfriend and get over here."
"Uncle Qrow!" Yang punched his side. "Why did you have to interrupt?"
"I'm sorry, what? I couldn't hear you over the sound of you losing three on one against me."
"Ugh, you are such a child."
"I think you missed of an adjective there, Yang. I'm a victorious child. Anyway, get over here. Your sister will have my balls if you get pregnant on my watch."
Weiss' cheeks felt like they might catch fire. She glanced to Jaune, in time to see him cough awkwardly and remove his hand from her stomach. She didn't think she'd ever hated someone as much as she did Qrow Branwen at that point.
"Um, go break a leg," Jaune laughed.
Oh, she'd do more than just break it.
/-/
What was that about? I didn't even realise we were so close. He sighed and lifted up his hand. He could still feel her beneath his fingertips. Don't fall for her, Jaune. You know you can… you know it would be too easy.
You know how it will end.
His hand wiped against the grass, to get rid of the sensation. His eyes traced Weiss as she appeared before Yang, as the two nodded, and as Qrow lifted Blake away. He didn't watch the fight, however. It wasn't important.
So… he'd fought the White Fang normally, had he?
He hadn't considered it before, or rather the implications of it. It was a single huntsman against a horde of untrained civilians. That was never a good option for the civilians, and even less so in an enclosed space where only two or three could attack at once. Even out of his mind, he would have still been strong enough.
But there was one thing that bothered him still.
He looked to his other hand and opened it. On his palm were several small indentations, where his nails had dug into skin when Cinder first appeared. It stung briefly, but it was the slow drip of crimson fluid that he focused on.
His aura should have prevented that.
It hadn't… which meant it was still not working as it ought to. If that were true, however, then he'd have surely died on that train. The White Fang had guns on their side, and only a huntsman's aura protected them against those.
That meant his aura worked… it protected him, shielded him.
But if so, then why was it not doing so now?
Where had it gone?
/-/
Blake took a deep breath and tried to calm her frayed nerves. She flitted from one shadow to the next, ever-onwards towards the elevator that led to the headmaster's office. He was in a meeting with other members of staff. She'd make sure to check that. Her team were busy too, it being several hours since their training session. Jaune was asleep, Weiss watching him, and Yang with her sister. Now was the perfect time.
Not was the worst time.
This is madness, her mind warned. It wasn't anything it hadn't been saying for the past few hours. He was the headmaster of Beacon, a powerful huntsman with decades of experience. If he caught her, she would be in a world of trouble. That was if he caught her, of course.
She was no stranger to placing great risks on her ability to infiltrate a dangerous location. It was what she'd been doing for the White Fang so several years, and SDC encampments could be just as dangerous as this, if not more. At least Ozpin didn't have an army of robots that could detect heat signatures on hand. He wasn't a paranoid Atlesian officer, nor an SDC Executive with millions to spend on security. He was just a teacher. Even if he was powerful, his office was still just that of a teacher's. So long as he was absent, the risk ought to be low.
And the rewards might very well be worth it, she thought as she slipped into the elevator once she'd made sure no one was looking. It whirred near-silently upwards. Yang is relying on me for this. Jaune is too, though he doesn't realise it yet. The door swished open.
"Headmaster Ozpin?" Blake called. She waited, just to see if he was present. If he were, she could claim she'd come for some other reason and excuse herself once he answered. Fortunately, it seemed he was still at the meeting. She paused for another few seconds, then walked cautiously into the room.
It was empty. She was in.
This feels too easy, she thought. One of her hands reached down to her hip, but Gambol Shroud was still in her locker. She rolled her eyes for even thinking about it, and then for her paranoia as well. Of course it was easy, this was just his school office. It wasn't like he had his personal fortune stored under his desk.
Once she was sure she wouldn't be interrupted, Blake crept across the office and settled down into his seat. It was comfortable, very comfortable, but a little too large for her. The tall back reared up above her, and she felt like a child in an adult's seat. Shaking her head, she pulled herself into his desk and ran her fingers across it, looking for the access button to his terminal. It was underneath, a common place to hide it – because it's a normal desk, she reminded herself. The varnished wood slid aside, a keyboard rising up from it, even as a screen flickered into life before her eyes.
Perfect.
Her fingers darted across the keys, eyes focused on the various folders and documents he had across his desktop. Most of them, she ignored, but it was the student registry she wanted, assuming he had access to it. He did, luckily. She ducked into it and ran through the letters, searching for Jaune Arc. She let out a bated breath as she found his file.
I've done it, she thought. She licked her lips and opened it.
-Password Required-
"Damn it!" Blake hissed. It did feel almost too good to be true. "Why would he leave his terminal unlocked but have a password for individual folders?" she groaned. "How would he remember that many passwords?"
"I've been told I have a good memory."
Blake reared back in panic. A hand against the back of her seat prevented her from jumping out, however. She glanced behind her to see a green suit, then trailed her eyes up to meet those of the headmaster.
"Good evening, Miss Belladonna." He smiled. "I wasn't aware you were coming to pay me a visit."
Her heart fell. Should she run, should she try to escape? It was her immediate thought, but this wasn't some SDC Security Officer. He knew her name, where she slept and had influence over her. He could end her tenure in Beacon as easily as he could have her arrested. "How?" she whispered.
"How did I know?" Ozpin chuckled and stepped around the desk. To her embarrassment he took one of the simple wooden seats and left her in his opulent one. The comparison didn't do anything to change their roles, however. "When you entered my office, you set off a silent alarm," he said. "Normally, it's to alert me to anyone who has come for an appointment, but since I was in a meeting with my colleagues at the time, I decided to come and see what it was." He lowered his glasses to look at her. "Imagine my surprise when I see a particular student perusing my files."
That explained how he'd known, but not how she failed to detect his entry. Her eyes darted to the elevator, but he caught her.
"I have an alternative entry, should I need it." His smile said he wouldn't be informing her of it. "Of course, it is not I who should be answering questions, don't you think?"
Blake shrunk in on herself. She didn't speak. There wasn't any point, really. No amount of excuses would get her out of this, nor would anything else she might say. If Ozpin was upset with her stubborn defiance, he didn't show it. If anything, he looked amused.
"You have broken the rules in entering the office of a teacher without permission," he said, "but because you were unable to access that folder, you did not break any laws. You have nothing to fear but a detention with Miss Goodwitch." He smiled and took a sip of coffee. "Then again, perhaps that is reason enough to fear."
She looked up in shock. She wasn't going to be expelled? Ozpin seemed to understand her concern easily enough.
"Far be it for me to deprive our people of a potential huntress. In terms of legality, your actions are ill-thought out and deserving of punishment, but surely no more so than the actions of others. Mr Arc, for instance, assaulted several peers when he was under the influence of drugs. Technically speaking, he should have been expelled for that."
Anger surged to life within her. Her head snapped up, to look directly into the headmaster's eyes. "He didn't have any control of his actions!" she said. "You can't hold him responsible for what happened!"
"Ah, a reaction…" He chuckled when she ducked her head and cursed. "Fear not, Mr Arc suffered no punishment for his actions and won't. It was merely an example. Breaking into my office was foolish, accessing my terminal even more so, but you have not yet acquired anything for which I would feel the need to punish you unduly. You will serve a detention, and I trust this will not happen again."
"It won't, sir." Blake ducked her head, more than aware of how kind he was being. He had every right to do worse to her. "Thank you… and I'm sorry."
"If you'll forgive me frank nature, you do not look very sorry."
Blake's head snapped up. "I am. I didn't mean to-"
"Get caught?" Ozpin laughed when her cheeks flushed. "Miss Belladonna, while we have not had much reason to interact personally, I believe I know enough of your past to say you are a young woman not unused to making difficult decisions. As such, I believe you are sorry that you were caught, and didn't intend to be, but that you are not at all sorry for attempting this in the first place." He paused to watch her. "Is that right?"
She didn't answer. How could she? He was pretty much spot on. If only I knew the password, I could have gotten in. I could have found what I needed.
"I thought as much," he said. "We all have reasons for the decisions we make, and I dare say if someone can apologise so soon after making their choice, then it was ill-thought out to begin with. Tell me, my dear, what is it you wished to find?"
She didn't have to tell him, she knew that. He'd as good as said she would only get a detention, so she could have shrugged and let it go – but a part of her was desperate. I've already come this far. I've already tried and failed. I can't afford to keep failing. She looked up into his eyes.
"I wanted to find out why you recruited Jaune into Beacon." She wouldn't mention Yang or Sun. There was no need to bring them into it.
"Recruited?" Ozpin asked. "Whatever do you-"
"I know he didn't want to attend. I know you had something to do with Yang and how it led to Jaune being taken in as well."
"Well, it seems Miss Xiao-Long has shared that story with you." Ozpin leaned back but didn't seem too upset by the line of questioning. "I did push the issue on Mr Arc, I shall admit."
"Why?"
"Potential, I suppose. In truth, I was more interested in your partner. As much as he may not believe it, a decision was necessary to ensure Miss Xiao-Long didn't suffer for her crimes."
"That place was part of the criminal underground," Blake said. She'd seen as much when they went down there, and Yang told her. "Why arrest and charge her for something like that?"
"Because when she was arrested, they had committed no crimes." Ozpin sighed. "Had they attacked her, I might have been able to claim it as self-defence, but the two of them incapacitated all who attempted to stop them. I was left with a situation where the only one to blame for the whole debacle was a prospective student of mine. I did not wish to lose Miss Xiao-Long. Mr Arc, came as an added bonus, but that was all."
That was it? It wasn't what she'd hoped for, nor anything that could help her or Yang in figuring out what was going on. The disappointment must have shown on her face, for Ozpin sighed.
"I take it that was not the answer you wished for?" he asked. It wasn't, no. She'd wanted something about him being involved with the White Fang in the past, or being a victim of an attack. She'd hoped for something obvious, a story they could understand, that they could use to figure out why he did things and use to help him. Ozpin sighed. "Miss Belladonna, why don't you tell me what it is you wished to achieve? If it bothers you, I shall not share the information – nor will I consider any additional punishments above what you have already received."
She bit her lip and tried to keep the words in. He was good, she would admit. He managed to sound just supportive enough, just kind enough, that she wanted to trust him. Years dealing with racism warned her against that, however.
But she was desperate… she needed something – and he was the only person left that she felt might have the answers.
She told him.
She told him everything – bar who else was involved in her scheme. Ozpin sat through it calmly. He didn't interrupt, even if his eyebrows rose once or twice. He would always adopt a calm face a moment after, sipping his coffee as she explained. When she was done, he sighed.
"I see. I cannot fault your desire to help a teammate, Miss Belladonna, but your execution could perhaps use work. Might I ask why you did not simply ask Mr Arc?"
"He would never tell me," she scoffed. "He's too good a liar, or maybe just too good at distracting us whenever he doesn't want to talk about something. He always does it, even if it's something little or unimportant." Blake blew out some air from her nose. Her eyes narrowed as she bit back a growl. Jaune could be so irresponsibly irritating! "Sometimes it feels like he has a million secrets he won't share with us."
"All men have secrets, my dear. Some are not for sharing."
"Well, maybe they should be when they start nearly getting you killed. I know about secrets, I have my own, but the moment they came back to try and hurt my team, I told them all about it! Jaune… it feels like he runs into danger all the time and yet we still don't know why."
"I must admit some surprise." Ozpin said. "I was not aware any secrets of his had endangered your team as of yet." He had a point, but missed out the rather obvious factor. Blake scowled and glared at him.
"Jaune is part of our team. If he gets hurt, then it affects the team. I just… it's so frustrating to know he's hurting himself and won't ask us for help."
"You sound angry."
"I am," she agreed. "He has no respect for his safety, yet treats us like glass. We're expected to sit on the side lines and stay safe as he runs around risking his life. I'm not made of glass and I'm not going to shatter if a Grimm hits me. None of us are!" She sighed and rubbed one hand down her face. "I feel like we will shatter if he dies, however. Of course, getting him to realise that is just about impossible." Ozpin chuckled to himself.
"It's not unusual for those who care about others to prioritise their safety," he said. "It's also not unusual for some to forget that others might wish the same in return. Some of us spend so much time believing we are the only ones who can do something that we forget the world does not revolve around us."
Exactly, that was exactly it! Jaune acted like he was the only one who could deal with Mountain Glenn, like he had to save her at the docks. Even when she and the others went out to the warehouse, and did absolutely fine, he got angry because they went without him. He was angry because he felt they'd be dead if he wasn't there to hold their hand every step of the way. Blake sighed. She felt emotionally exhausted. "I just want him to treat us like equals," she said. "I'm not asking him to change or do things differently."
"You just want him to ask for your help." Ozpin finished. Blake's eyes widened.
"Yes. I just want him to work with us, to let us help him like he's helped us. He can't keep doing this. Sooner or later, he's going to burn out."
Blake's rant finished as suddenly as it had begun, and it wasn't until she heard the headmaster's soft laughter that she realised all the things she'd said. He tricked me, she realised. He used my emotions against me. I've never been so angry before, I've never given so much away. She clenched her eyes shut and cursed herself for a million different kinds of a fool. She'd gotten sloppy. Jaune always seemed to make her mess up like that.
"An interesting reason, I will admit." The Headmaster rose to his feet and finished the last of his coffee. "I suppose at the very least, it confirms my decision not to punish you further. While misguided, your intent was not to cause harm or damage Beacon in any way."
"I wouldn't do that." she said.
"I believe you, Miss Belladonna. In fact, I find myself quite impressed to see you now; compared to the young woman I once met. I do believe you made mention of how people would not accept you, or how you were not at Beacon to make friends." She glowered and looked away, but there was no denying what they both knew. She'd just ranted about her friend, after all. "Well, I must go and collect a form to fill in for your detention," he went on. "Will you wait here while I fetch it? I shall only be ten minutes or so."
Confusion settled on Blake's shoulders. Wait in his office. Why? She looked up to him, but the headmaster wore only an enigmatic smile. Blake nodded. It took her a second to realise she was still in his seat, and that it made it look as though he were the errant student. The analogy made her cheeks darken, if only because of how stupid it was. "Yes, sir, I'll wait."
"Very good." Ozpin strolled towards the elevator door, but then paused. "Your teammate," he said. "Mr Arc… he is quite the wildcard, is he not?"
"Huh?" She looked at the headmaster.
"Think on it," he said. "I will only be ten minutes, Miss Belladonna."
The door swished open and shut behind him.
Blake stared at it, unsure why exactly he hadn't made her follow or even delayed it until tomorrow. It wasn't like she was going to leave Beacon in the middle of the night. Her eyes trailed down to her hands, still before the keyboard set into the desk.
Her eyes widened. Could he…? No, surely not.
But what if it was so?
She swallowed and brought up the screen once more. It hadn't moved, but she didn't have much time. She brought up the same folder as the last time, and attempted to open Jaune's. It prompted her for a password as it had before, but this time she had one to enter.
Wildcard
It opened.
"He…?" She couldn't finish. She swallowed and ignored it. "Ten minutes," she whispered. "I need to be quick." She flicked through it as best she could. There were his grades, which she ignored, along with information on his family. She didn't want to intrude on his privacy, which felt a weak justification for what she was already doing, but this wasn't for her curiosity. Instead, she found a folder labelled criminal record and delved into it. Surely, it would contain information about the crime Ozpin had apparently pinned on him, the reason he'd been recruited.
It did, but the file didn't offer much in the way of answers. It's like Ozpin said, the only charge is for disorder and criminal damage and it even mentions Yang by name. He told the truth, then. He really did force Jaune here just to ensure Yang's place. There was a mention of a tracker which was worth a raised eyebrow, but she ignored it. If Jaune wore one, he kept it hidden, and probably for good reason. She wouldn't intrude.
Another folder caught her eye as she left the first, one labelled `Movements`. She opened it, curious as to what it might mean. The folder was filled with images, each labelled with a date and time on the bottom. There were hundreds, if not thousands, and Blake let out a long sigh as she looked at them all.
There was no chance she had time the time to sift through all of those. Why did Ozpin even have maps? She opened one in and recognised it as Vale easily enough. There was a marker too, along with a dotted line. "This must be the tracker. I guess these were taken automatically and uploaded to Ozpin's terminal. It's not like he would have had the time to label and date each and every file."
She was about to leave it, but a sub-folder drew her attention. It was labelled with one word "Interesting". Well, let's see what's so interesting, shall we?
Of interest, apparently, were several maps. Far fewer in number and dated more than a few days apart, they were no different from the others. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the dates. Each seemed to come in a pair of two days, with one being the thirteenth and fourteenth of the month, and then another pair being the twentieth and twenty-first. She opened and maximised one of them.
"Jaune was in Vale," she whispered. Her eyes tracked his dot and the line he'd left behind. Apparently, it was a map which showed his movements over the course of a single hour. She checked the time at the bottom, and then reared back. "One-thirty in the morning? Why would he be out in Vale at that time?"
She closed it down and opened another. This one was much the same, albeit at a point before midnight – but still on a weekday. Jaune's tracker suggested he'd left Beacon and gone into the city, but that couldn't be right. This is silly. It even claims he went into the ocean at one point, but unless he's got a secret life as a skinny dipper, I doubt he'd bother with that.
If he wanted to swim, Beacon actually had a pool, not to mention the water's edge down the cliff. He didn't need to go all the way into the city – and certainly not to go swimming in the sludge off the industrial district.
Wait, the industrial district? Wasn't that where the two of them had gone looking for White Fang warehouses?
Blake pulled out of the image and inspected the dates once more. Damn it… she couldn't remember the exact dates when they'd gone out. She'd been too busy at the time and it wasn't like she kept a detailed diary of her vigilante activities. The month fits, though. The second image always seems to have limited movement too. Jaune comes into Vale, but just kind of sits in one spot for an hour before returning.
Could that be the times when she went with him? There was no tracker for her, of course, but she could easily imagine herself crouched by his side. The maps certainly seemed to match up, even if the detail wasn't that good.
If anything, the fact they had been out on those days as good as proved it.
But why would he have come the day before as well? I did tell him about the places I wanted us to check out, but what would be the point going there on his own?
The answer hit her like one of Yang's punches. It had much the same effect too, rattling her so hard that she fell back in Ozpin's seat. No… surely not? Would he really have gone that far, just to prevent her fighting the White Fang?
What a stupid question… of course he would.
Blake heard the elevator whir and closed the terminal once more. Her hands shook as she did, her mouth unusually dry. When the headmaster entered, she doubted he could possibly have missed how shaken she looked.
He didn't once comment on it.
He gave her a detention slip, warned her against breaking into his office – and sent her on her way.
Yang…
Yang had to know.
I realise Jaune has been rather passive, these last few chapters, but I'd just like to say that is on purpose. He is recovering, but the world continues to move on despite this. There isn't much else for me to say here, as I kind of need to take a running jump at Professor Arc now. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter - The Daughter's Duo move closer to discovering things, but Ozpin has his own games, as always.
Next Chapter: 6th May
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur