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To Survive and Prosper

CHAPTER 11

I headed downstairs, once again hearing the indistinct murmurs of the partygoers enjoying the night. I stopped for a moment to watch Neptune dancing slowly with Weiss among the crowd on the dance floor. He was noticeably nervous, as he was watching his steps to make sure they wouldn't land on her feet but Weiss looked genuinely happy that Neptune finally decided to dance with her, and I couldn't help but smile that I've brought two people together.

Shifting my gaze, I turned again to Ren and Nora who looked like they were having the time of their life with their tango dance together with a few even cheering on them. I have to admit, those two are pretty surprisingly adept dancers themselves. The passionate synergy the two display during the dance makes it quite hard to believe that these two aren't 'together-together' as Nora might claim.

I continued to watch the two for a moment before seeing something else that caught my attention. I spotted Penny dancing by herself while being escorted by two Atlesian guardsmen. I would have approached Penny and asked her about what happened last Tuesday if it weren't for escorts; the fact I once ran away from two of these guys didn't really help, so unfortunately, I had to ignore her for the time being.

It was then I resumed walking. Unfortunately, I also wasn't paying attention to where I was heading, so I ended up colliding with someone. He turned around and I saw the unamused face of Cardin, holding a glass of root beer in his hand

Although he was a face that did not bother me for a long time, my hands instinctively reached at my waist even though I didn't have any weapons holstered. I tried my best to keep a straight face and not show a semblance of fear as my inner being trembled at his glare.

But to my surprise, he didn't do anything to lash out, if anything he was still fearing me, probably remembering the last time I faced him. His face then softened as he tried to be courteous. "Long time, no see, Arc." Believe it or not, he was more or less sincere.

Feeling a mixture of relief and surprise. I stood upright and replied. "Ditto, Winchester."

As much as I wanted to walk away, I just couldn't. There was something astonishing about Cardin's lack of hostility that I decided to remain where I was standing. He just gazed at me for another second before talking once again. "Nice night, isn't it?"

I glanced away and looked at the ballroom for a second before making my response. "Yeah," I replied, for the lack of a better statement.

Cardin took a sip from his drink and sighed as he gave me an empathic look. "Hey, I'm sorry for the way I treated you in the first month. I admit that I was an ass and you really didn't do anything to deserve what we did to you."

He didn't seem to be apologizing out of fear, if he was that scared I'm sure he would have distanced himself from me the moment I bumped tom. Whatever the case, if he knew me more, I doubt he would be saying that but I was more than happy to accept his apology. Aside from locking me at my own locker and throwing saps that led me into the White Fang's shitlist, his bullying didn't actually bother me that much. "All in the past. You're not picking on anyone, are you?"

"Nah, don't worry. Russel and Dove are usually the ones who screw around and I've been trying to tell them to knock it off for a while now," he said in an annoyed tone. "Anyway, you're cool in my book, especially with what you did to the White Fang a few days ago; I never liked those freaks."

I sighed to myself and looked away from him for a moment. "Someone had to do it."

"And you were right to jump to the call," he smiled before raising his glass. "To Jauney-boy."

"To Jauney-boy." I only nodded as I wasn't holding a glass to return his toast.

"Say, has Russel and Dove tried messing with you lately?"

I shook my head. "Not really." Well, unless you count Russel's failed 'assassination attempt' on me during the food fight last Monday.

"Oh good. I was afraid that those idiots would try to get us in trouble with you again," He wiped his forehead in relief.

You can say that again, I thought.

"So, we cool?" he asked.

"We're cool." I gave him a friendly smile. He brightened up as he finished his drink. We were mutually satisfied that we are finally able to make up and that we don't need to be scared of each other anymore.

I left Cardin as I began heading to the seats and approached Sun and Blake. Sun was wearing an outfit no less similar to his usual clothes, aside from the fact that his shirt was buttoned up and colored dark gray while wearing a white tie, basically keeping his style while somehow making it adequate enough to be counted as formal attire. Blake was meanwhile wearing a purple dress that still retains her mysterious beauty while looking absolutely gorgeous.

"Yo, Jaune. I don't know what you just did, but I'm glad to see Neptune finally getting the guts to bust a move," Sun said, looking happier recently.

"You're welcome," I replied before turning to his date. "You look beautiful tonight, Blake."

"Thanks." She flushed to her side, her bow noticeably twitching. "So... Jaune, you don't mind taking me out for a bit?"

"Sure," I replied, it was one of the things I planned to do anyway. She beamed in excitement as I turned to Sun. "You okay with this, Sun?"

"Oh, don't worry about me. I just saw her dance with Yang and it really didn't bother me. It's kinda sweet, actually." he reaffirmed.

"Right then," I said before gently taking Blake's hand. "Shall we?"

She nodded in response and stood up. I took her to the floor before partaking in a dance together.

Dancing with her was quite pleasant, she seemed to be enjoying my company with a smile that I don't usually see her sporting.

Minutes went by, swaying our interconnected bodies without saying a single word to another, I noticed her look upset for a moment.

"Something bothering you?" I asked, concerned about her well-being.

"Oh, I-I'm fine. I was just thinking about the times when you came for my help. I still feel a little guilty for getting you involved in them."

"You don't need to worry about that," I reassured her. "You're here, and we're all happy that you came; that's what matters right now."

"I guess you're right I do really need this. It's actually nice to settle down for once in a while. Makes me ashamed of myself for trying to turn everyone away for the past couple of days," she said, feeling glad if a little regretful.

"We earned this," I said, trying to raise her spirits. "We'll be having our first missions tomorrow so let's try to make the most out of this night while we still have the chance, shall we?"

"Can't argue with that. Thanks again for everything you've done to help me. You're one of the nicest people I've met. I don't think I'm ever going to regret coming here."

"You're welcome." I nodded, not caring if she's being a bad judge of character for once because I want to focus on being happy that she's here with us. "Just doing what a good friend would do."

She frowned for a moment before quickly turning it upside down. We continued to dance for a few more minutes, savoring the soothing presence with each other.

"So, how's it with you and Pyrrha?" She suddenly asked.

"We're doing great. I always wanted to know more about her aside from the things everyone already knew. We're working on getting close. Well, we're not that close but we're getting there," I answered her truthfully and candidly.

She hummed for a moment. "Well, whatever the case. I'll give my best wishes to both of you."

"Thanks. Our friendship means a lot to her; I'll do my best not to let her down," I said as we continued to peacefully dance together.

Once we were done, I escorted her back to her seat where a content Sun was waiting.

"Thanks again," she said, giving me her beautiful smile, something which I enjoyed seeing after being used to seeing her frown.

"You're welcome, Blake," I replied, smiling back at her.

Sun gave me a thumbs-up as I gave him a nod, I turned back and was startled when Team NDGO suddenly approached me to my front. They were wearing dresses colored purple, green, gray, and blue respectively.

"Oh, we finally found you!" Nebula squealed along with her teammates. "We're not bothering you, are we?"

"Wha-what?" I stammered, feeling unprepared to encounter them before answering. "N-No. Don't sweat it, I'm fine."

"Oh, nice. So, you don't mind if we take you out for a dance? Just for a bit? It won't take long."

I hesitated for a moment before I decided to accept as there wasn't any real harm in being invited to a casual dance by people who simply liked me. These had the hots for me indeed but they weren't that crazy. "Sure why not, it's a party after all."

Looks like yesterday's operation did pay off, for me at least. While I do find these girls to be attractive and consider myself lucky that they want me—I still don't plan at being polyamorous, I just thought I'd be nice with these pretty girls and just give them a friendly dance.

"Yes!" Nebula pumped up with her teammates who were just as excited. Nebula turned back to her team. "Okay girls, just like we agreed. I'll be taking him first as the leader. Don't worry, you'll get your chance, you'll just have to wait for your turn."

"As long as you're not hogging him, it's fine by me," Octavia said.

"Good." Nebula turned back to me and took my hand. "Now let us not waste any more time."

I glanced back at Sun and Blake, who were giving amused looks as Nebula drags me to the dance floor.

And there I was—dancing with a fan that adores me for things that I did not intend to do. If Dad was here, he'd be so proud at the number of girls I managed to get a dance with. She was a little anxious, as she was partaking in a partner dance with her idol who she taught was a courageous hero, but she was nonetheless enjoying it and reduced her anxiety by talking about stuff about Vacuo and her team, which was a little too much that I didn't remember enough to write them down. But she did bring up a question that caught my attention.

"This is going to sound a little weird but... are you and Pyrrha together-together?"

I was instantly reminded that certain kinds of people enjoy pairing me with Pyrrha. That question slightly made me sweat, but I still managed to answer as politely and gently as I could. "No, I don't think so. Well, not yet anyway. But we do care deeply for each other; it's what partners do."

"Okay then," she muttered. "Sorry for asking; we just get a little too curious sometimes, and because you two seem to be pretty close."

I just shrugged off my own musings and continued to dance. Their thoughts of me are pretty harmless for the most part and it's actually kind of cute for them to think that, if a bit weird.

Dew came in and cleared her throat. It seems that they were taking turns in order of the initials in their team name. I gave a nod to Nebula and shifted to her teammate. Dew was softer and was slightly more confident than Nebula, though her agitation with me was still visible.

I continued to dance with her until it was Gwen's turn. I've heard of her being a ballet dancer so our dance contained more movement compared to the ones I had with my previous partners. Aside from that, the only thing I could say about her is that she had the most elegant dress among her team. She managed to make the color gray look amazing.

Lastly, it was Octavia's turn. Octavia was easily the most emotional among her teammates. She was pouting at me while her face was almost as red as her hair. It took a bit for her to calm down and showed that she was enjoying it as I gave her a friendly look.

I noticed Pyrrha on her back, standing in the middle of the dance floor, waiting for me. Octavia noticed my stare and looked back.

"Oh," she said. I nodded to her, as she gave me one last bright smile. I gave her a spin before taking her back to her team.

"It was nice dancing with you, Jaune." Nebula said, with her and her teammates each giving satisfied looks.

"Thanks for the company, ladies. Now if you excuse me, there's someone else I need to satisfy." I said before I turned back and went to Pyrrha and took her dance once more.

"Having fun, Mr. Arc?" she playfully asked as if to show that she wasn't too offended when she saw me dancing with other girls.

"As a matter of fact, I certainly am," I smirked. "Don't worry though, I haven't forgotten about my partner."

She gave a chuckle. We swayed our bodies to the ballad when it eventually became slower and quieter as the lights in the ballroom faded down, giving the ballroom a more tranquil tone, with the dancers around us began moving slowly.

I gazed into Pyrrha's eyes as they illuminated in the slightly dim dance floor. Her beautiful face and the soothing atmosphere of the ballroom made me forget all my troubles. All I could think of at the moment was her.

"So, I've been thinking about what you said earlier," I brought up after remembering what she told me in our previous dance. "You really never had a friend like me before, did you?"

She glanced down for a moment and hummed. "I used to have a few friends but I haven't spoken to them for a long time. I couldn't blame them. When I became increasingly famous, I got so distant from them that they thought that I had forgotten about them." She began to frown as I stood there and listened firmly. "They said that they couldn't see me the same way they saw me before I won my first tournament. Ever since then, competition became the only thing I've known, and I never made any meaningful relationships outside of my own family. That is until I met you and became part of this team, and I finally remembered what it's like to have friends again."

She returned her smile as I gave her a comforting embrace, proving to her how much I genuinely care about her despite my self-serving behavior. I did see her be more than a pawn; I always enjoyed our study and training sessions together, and the more I have gotten close to her, the more I'm happy that she's my partner aside from her talents in battle. "As long as we're still partners, I'll always have your back."

I could feel her return the embrace as I comforted her on the dance floor. It was when I experienced such warm peace that I've never felt before, and I didn't want it to end and I'm sure she didn't either.

As I was hugging her, I saw that Weiss was staring in front of me. She was still dancing with Neptune but her eyes were locked onto mine while her partner seemed to be oblivious to her expression. I curiously stared back at her, putting us in eye contact for a few seconds until she looked away from me rather regretfully. It puzzled me for a moment, it made sport the same frown I held before abandoning the thought.

Pyrrha and I let go of each other afterward as we continued to dance slowly to the music. This went on for another minute or so until it abruptly stopped as the spotlight illuminated above the DJ.

"May I have your attention please?" Nora's enthusiastically distinct voice spoke on the microphone. We all turned to the DJ's corner, only to see Nora behind the DJ mixer with Ren at her side, looking like he's making sure she isn't breaking anything. The two actual DJs were standing behind them.

Nora cleared her throat. "Alrighty, since we're in a party that was meant to show the best of us. Allow me to present to you The Pride of Mistral and her partner who recently foiled a bank robbery—The Defender of Podunk!"

Oh no, she's not going to do what I think she's doing, is she? I asked myself as I stood there.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please give it up for Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos!" she gestured and put the spotlight toward us.

We both froze as everyone in the room was staring awkwardly at us, not because it was us ourselves, rather it's because Nora's announcement was so abrupt that everybody including the two of us was still trying to process what was that all about.

I turned to Pyrrha as we looked at each other, "Heh. Nora." I shrugged, chuckling it off before offering my hand to her. "So, shall we?"

"I see why not," she replied with a smirk and took my hand.

The lights turned back on and a faster, upbeat song began playing. People say that I'm a decent fighter as well as a great dancer, and since Ozpin mentioned earlier that dancing and fighting are similar, Pyrrha and I were going to show this crowd how we sparred with each other.

We waltzed around the ballroom, displaying our synergy and coordination as partners. The audience began to cheer at our impressive choreography as Pyrrha and I savored the moment.

Our dance ended with a dip. We looked at each other as we panted while hearing the applause of everyone in the ballroom. We smiled before we stood back up and went to our table together and got some rest as everyone resumed their activities on the floor.

I have to admit, I'm rather thankful for Nora for bringing us to this moment, this was something that I am never going to forget.

We settled down at the table, watching everyone enjoy their night. Our friends were having no less fun, with Neptune dancing like crazy alone. The only thing that bothered me was I noticed that Ruby was missing. I shrugged off the thought, she was probably spending some time with herself somewhere since she wasn't much of a people person at parties.

I suddenly heard doors being slammed open. I looked around until I saw two Atlesian Guardsmen searching around the ballroom as everyone went about with their own business barely acknowledging them at all. Seeing as they couldn't find what they were looking for they turned back and closed the door, making me somewhat curious at what they were up to, but chose to ignore it since I didn't want to worry about something that wasn't my problem.

Like all good things, it sadly had to end. It was already past midnight. Before it ended, there was a short awards ceremony. I won gentleman of the night, likely because of how everyone was charmed with me, with my previous exploit having something to do with it. Cinder won the lady of the night, not bad for an exchange student, she even looked like she worked hard to get it.

Amusingly, the best couple award went to Ren and Nora. Either because they both displayed great chemistry or maybe because Nora threatened to break the host's legs if they didn't win. Knowing Nora, it's probably a little bit of both. I half-expected that award to be rigged for me and Pyrrha I but whatever.

Well, it has been an overall amazing night that I almost forgot that I'll be taking my first mission tomorrow and I was going to need all the rest I could get. I needed to be in my best condition the following morning.

Editorial Note: To clarify the abrupt entry of the two Atlesian Guardsmen, there was a situation at the CCT while the dance was ongoing. Ruby managed to write a record of it after she went in to investigate. The details presented in this excerpt will become more relevant in later entries of this archive.

The Red Rose Diaries: Dance Dance Infiltration.

The night has been… I dunno—fun, I guess? I'm not really into these types of parties. At least everyone else is having a great time. Blake finally decided to go, Yang was hanging out with her pals as usual, Team JNPR was dancing happily together, and heck, even Weiss got a dance with Neptune and I cannot be happier for them. But what surprised me the most is that I saw Penny in the dance too! I really wanted to go talk to her, but there were guards that stopped anyone who tried to get near her. What a bummer, I guess we'll have to wait for another time to finally talk to each other again.

I was hanging around with myself when everyone was watching Jaune and Pyrrha dance. Those two can dance really quite well together. I went outside to get some fresh air since I had nothing better to do inside, which is when I saw some ninja-looking girl running around, jumping from roof-to-roof, looking like was heading to the Beacon Tower. She looked like she was up to no good and it didn't look like anyone was trying to stop her, so I decided to go follow her and see what she was up to.

When I got to the tower, I saw guards knocked out cold on the ground. It became obvious that this person was a villain. So I brought my rocket locker here and grabbed the Crescent Rose, deciding to take matters into my own hands before she could try anything.

I went inside and went to the communications floor since it was the only floor where people actually go. I looked around the place while I had to deal with those stupid heels I had to wear. I called to see if there was anyone around, which is when she decided to show herself. She suddenly started firing crystals of glass toward me which is when I was able to deflect them just in time.

I started shooting at her but she just blocked the bullets off with her hand as if it was nothing. I went in and tried to slash her down, only for her to flip back and fired explosive arrows at me with a bow that literally came out of nowhere.

Before we could keep on fighting, General Ironwood came out after the elevator opened, then suddenly she was gone. The only thing was that he was able to see me and the cracks on the floor and he was not happy about it.

I'm in trouble again, aren't I?