And here we are on Monday, May 17th... Wait a minute. The 17th was a Friday? And two weeks ago? Damn you Ikea time machine. I was lied to.

That said, here's your next chapter of Criminally Good.

Enjoy.

[Chapter 15]

Now, time passed quickly.

I don't know why exactly that was, maybe it was the stress and worry that there was something immense looming around the corner just waiting to come crashing down over my head and overwhelm me was gone.

It had been almost a month, and I felt at ease.

Roman and Neo both had taken to pushing my training to a new level, taking out whatever stops and holds they had before. It was brutal, to say the least. Often, I would find myself winded, bruised and completely shattered after a spar with either of them. I relished in it.

They were going all out, at least so it seemed, and I was making progress. I could land a hit on Neo every once in a while, I could pull Roman into a trap that gave me a fighting chance. It wasn't much, but it was a step up from struggling along against the two completely outclassed.

Even Junior's training and teaching me how to shoot was going well, to the point that I could hit most targets with reasonable accuracy from a decent range.

I laid back in my bed, hands resting comfortably behind my head as I stared up blankly at the ceiling. Today was one of the very few days that I was left to rest and let my Aura recuperate from the constant beatings.

There was a knock at my door before Roman tossed it open, leaning against the frame as he eyed me. "Hey, kid." He said, taking a puff off his cigar.

I sat up and eyed him in return. "What's up?" Generally, Roman left me to my own devices if there wasn't something he wanted to get done, so this was somewhat out of the ordinary.

He took a moment before responding, still eyeing me over. "We're going shopping."

I rose my brows at that. "And we're doing this why, exactly?"

Roman pointed to me, and the gutted parts of the goon suit I had taken to for my everyday wear. "You still look like a wannabe Grimm. Gotta dress to impress."

I didn't bother to argue with him, shrugging my shoulders as I got to my feet. "Right, if you say so."

"That's the spirit, now get moving. We're burning valuable time." He said over his shoulder as he turned to leave my room again.

Having lived with Roman for a few months now, I knew he was a bit out there from time to time, but this just seemed completely random. In the month or so since Junior annexed Area 37's territory, he hadn't said a thing or even seemed to show a care about the old getup I was in. It just seemed out of place to me.

I met Roman out in the living room a few minutes later, the master thief puffing on his cigar as he leaned on his cane slightly. "Alright, kid. Let's get a move on." He said making for the door.

I glanced around, finding that Neo was nowhere to be seen in the apartment either. I didn't bother to think too hard on that detail, following Roman out the door and into the darkened city of Vale.

The two of us traveled in relative quiet, the only sounds being those of sirens echoing in the distance and our steps as we wound our way through the back alleys to wherever I was being led.

After ten minutes worth of walking, Roman led me to the back of some place that dealt in dress clothes for men. The shop had looked closed to me, though that didn't seem to even phase the master criminal. He tapped his cane on the back entrance in a rapid pattern.

A moment later, the lock was turned, and the door opened. Inside was a short, portly man. He didn't have any hair on his head, though made up for that with a thick bushy brown beard. He grinned as he eyed Roman. "Good to see you, Roman. It's been too long."

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" Roman asked offhandedly, taking a puff off his cigar.

The man took a step back from the door and ushered us inside, closing and locking the door behind us.

I looked around, finding that we had been dumped into a back room for the store, likely where the employees got a brief reprieve from the customers if I had to guess.

"So, what can I do for you? Here to get something patched or replaced?" He asked of Roman.

Roman just chuckled and shook his head. "Not this time, Keen." He jerked a thumb back towards me. "We're here to get something fitting for the kid."

The guy who had let us in – Keen, I guess his name was, lit up like a kid on Christmas day. He took a few measured steps over towards me, eyeing me over. "Is that so?" He asked to nobody in particular. "Well, you've come to the right place. I'll get you put together in no time."

Roman took a seat at the small table in the room, nodding with an amused smile on his lips. "You always do."

After about two hours of getting fitted and pawing through a vast array of suits that had been brought before me by Keenan here, I found a getup that I particularly liked.

It was relatively simple: a navy-blue dress shirt paired with a dark gray vest and pants to match the color. Keenan had tried time and time again to get me to go for a jacket or coat like what Roman had, but I was adamant.

Roman had made a push for some nature of tie if I wouldn't be taking a jacket, but I refused. It was simple, sure, but that was fine by me. I didn't need to be the most fashionable, it just had to be effective. If it happened to look good in the process, then I was fine by that, too.

"At least it's a step up from that old crap Junior had you in." Roman commented, his arms crossed over his chest.

I shrugged, looking at myself in the standing mirror. It looked good, no doubt about it. Better than the black dress shirt and faded jeans I had taken to in the past few weeks.

Keenan nodded from beside Roman. "Yes, that looks quite good on you, though I still think it could use a jacket."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Not happening."

He sighed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Your loss then."

I rolled my eyes and stepped down off the raised platform I had been pushed onto so I could look at the suit. It was a comfortable fit as well. While Junior had been more than generous in giving me suits, none of them were exactly good fits. They were only vaguely right, as they were for all of the goons.

Roman looked over to the portly man then. "Alright, how much is this running me?"

Keen tapped his index finger over his lips as he thought. "Call it five hundred lien and we'll be even."

Roman nodded, pulling out a stack of Lien cards that I was all too sure had more money than I had ever seen in my life and paid the man. "Pleasure as always doing business with you, Keen."

Keen nodded, leading us back to the door we had entered through. "Same goes for you, Roman. Remember, if you ever need anything, be sure to give me a call." He said, opening the door for us.

Roman nodded and waved over his shoulder as he led me back out into the night of Vale.

I hummed quietly as I let my hand rest gently on the hilt of Crocea Mors. "How'd you know him?" I asked, glancing over to the master criminal.

"Met him before I became the man you see before you today. Back then I was just any other customer in his shop getting a suit made." He took a drag off his cigar, puffing it out into the night sky. "Eventually he saw yours truly on the news once I made my public debut and we got in contact. He keeps his mouth shut about me; I take whatever business I have relating to clothes to him."

I nodded as I followed along behind Roman. "Was that all we had to do tonight?"

Roman just chuckled. "No, kid. We've got a few more stops."

And so, on through the night we trundled.

It was weird, really.

Other than getting me outfitted in a suit, Roman had taken me to a barber's shop where a shady looking guy with two full sleeves of ink made quick work of the long blond hair I had been growing out ever since I left home.

Once it was finished, I was given a moment to look at it, and despite what his appearance had made me think, it looked pretty good. He kept the shape relatively the same, though cut it down from where it was hanging over my eyes to a manageable length, styled with some nature of gel to keep it in a decent shape regardless of what I did.

Roman then led me to a blacksmith's shop. The smith had taken to fitting me much like the guy who got me a suit had, telling us to come back in a few days and he'd have everything done. Before we left though, the smith did give me a brand-new looking flask, courtesy of Roman.

Roman had also insisted that I give him Crocea Mors, claiming that the old color scheme of white and gold no longer fit with gray and blue.

However reluctant I was, I handed over my blade to the smith so that he could get the colors changed.

Leaving the blacksmith's now, armed with only the small knives I had bought and kept for times like these when I didn't have Crocea Mors, I felt slightly off.

Something was going on with Roman. This didn't seem quite normal, getting me outfitted and cleaned up like this all of a sudden? He had talked about me getting out of the goon suit at some point, but for him to suddenly take the initiative and get it done now? Something was off.

Roman was leading me through town into an area I didn't quite recognize as well. It was the old industrial section of Vale, long since abandoned for reasons unknown to me.

"So, where are we headed, Roman?" I asked, glancing around the area.

Roman sighed and stopped, turning to face me. "Was starting to wonder when you'd ask that question." He said, more or less to himself, puffing on his cigar. "We, my friend, are going to a meeting with some very dangerous people."

I rose my brows at that. He'd never taken me on a meeting like this, generally wanting to keep Neo with him instead. "Got it, we're meeting with dangerous people. Why?"

He rolled his cigar between his teeth for a moment before responding. "Let's just say I've got a boss who's more than a little… paranoid." I nodded, letting him continue on with whatever it was he had to tell me. "She's made it clear that she wants to meet you, since you're tied to me."

I pursed my lips and shook my head. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm a relative nobody; sure, I killed a minor crime boss, but that's it. Why would she want to meet me?"

"Like I said, kid. She's paranoid. You're a close associate of mine – she wants to size you up. See if you're a threat to her." Roman explained, making me frown.

"What? How, it's not like I'd be a threat to her at all?"

Roman sighed and gripped the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "Listen, I'll answer your questions after we meet with her. For now, just take my advice. Make yourself scarce, let me handle the talking and this will all go smoothly. Don't challenge her, don't give her reason to think you're a threat. Got it?"

"Yeah. Sit back, let you do the work, and this will all blow over." I had a lot of questions, one of the many being how this woman was powerful enough to get even Roman to be afraid of her. This being the man who seemed to fear not a damn thing as far as I could tell.

Roman nodded. "Good. Now, just follow my lead." He said, turning and continuing on through the desolate industrial park.

The walk to our destination was short.

We arrived outside an old factory after a few moments, and the first thing that I took note of was that there was a vast number of Faunus wearing white Grimm like masks over their faces. They were all well-armed and looked to be the acting guardsmen for the area.

Roman pushed through them, not even getting a second look from any of the guards who must've either recognized him, or been expecting him to arrive.

Inside the factory, it didn't look nearly as desolate. It reminded me vaguely of the Club, what with the numbers of armed people wandering about, waiting for orders and doing their best to relax while they could.

Neo stood out like a sore thumb in the host of Faunus, her brightly colored hair helping her to stick out even though she was towered over by most of the Faunus present. She met us near a set of stairs that led up to a second floor of sorts.

Roman nodded to her, flicking his cigar to the floor and crushing it under foot. "Let's get this over with." He grumbled quietly to himself, leading Neo and I both up through the factory.

We were led into a small office that might've once been home to the foreman of the factory, as well as any important paperwork required for the job. Any of that had long since been disposed of, only the desk remaining in the middle of the room.

Sat on the desk, one leg draped comfortably over the other was an absolutely stunning woman. She had long pitch-black locks which were draped over a shoulder, framing half her face. Her eyes were by far her next most captivating feature, being a captivating amber color. Her skin was rather pale, making her eyes pop all the more, as well as her red and gold embroidered dress.

Off to her right was a girl around my age, she had chin length green hair, as well as blood red eyes. Her skin was much darker than the first woman's. Strapped to her lower back were a pair of weapons of some nature, the handles only just sticking out from behind her form.

On the left, with his feet kicked up on the desk was a guy who was generally average looking. He had grayish hair color, though it seemed to be natural rather than induced by age or hair dye. He held a smirk as he flipped a coin up into the air, catching it a moment later as it fell, only to toss it back up. He hardly paid us any attention.

"Roman, good. I was starting to wonder if you had stood me up?" The woman sat on the desk cooed quietly, her voice low and seductive in tone.

"You know, I thought about it. Thought about robbing a bank instead, just for the fun of it." His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

She didn't seem to pay it any mind, her gaze tracking to Neo first, and then to me. "And I see you've brought your friends along just like I asked. Very good."

Roman shrugged a shoulder. "I thought to myself 'Hey, if she gets to bring her kids, then so do I.'"

The boy snickered quietly from his seat in the chair. The girl with green hair leveled a glare at him, though she went completely ignored by the boy who kept flipping his coin.

The woman sat on the desk let her lips curl into a grin that had me feeling all kinds of unease. "Do tell me, is this one a mute as well?" She asked as her gaze practically seemed to be digging into my skin.

"Not the point, Cinder. You wanted to see me?" Roman asked, trying to take the focus off of me.

The woman, Cinder, Roman called her, got up off the desk and started to approach me, ignoring Roman all together. "What's your name?" She asked, her voice incredibly low and quiet as she got right up in my personal space.

"C'mon, leave the kid be. We're both busy people and have things to do." Roman tried again, hoping that he could get her attention once again.

I bit back the nervousness that I could at having this woman so close to me, realizing that Roman wasn't going to be able to do much to get her to stop. "Jaune. My name's Jaune." I said, likely sounding more than a little nervous.

Cinder's grin didn't fade as her gaze bore into mine, making me feel like for the life of me she was boring into my soul. "I see." She purred quietly, taking a small step away from me. "So, Jaune, how do you know Roman here?"

Roman sighed and looked to me, his eyes telling me that he was sorry, but he did what he could. I got the message. "He's my mentor. Took me in a few months back, taught me how to survive, how to fight."

Cinder laughed quietly, even that sounding like it was meant to try and lure me in. "Is that so? Well, that must make you special. Roman doesn't take people in often." She took a moment more to look me over, glancing back to Roman then. "I wonder what it is that makes you special, hmm?"

Roman looked as though he was about to answer, but I cut him off. "Y'know, I've been wondering that myself. Why me, of all people?" Cinder looked back to me then, looking somewhat intrigued that I had spoken up. "I mean, I'm a nobody. I had no skills, no prospects, no Lien, nothing. Yet he took me in despite that. Started teaching me, showing me what the world was like, showing me what I had to do to survive here."

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. "I doubt it's anything in particular that makes me special. I'm not. Just lucky enough to have Roman over there take pity and help me out when I needed it."

Cinder nodded a few times as she eyed me over, turning to face Roman then. "Perhaps." She said as she stalked over to the master criminal. "Though that doesn't sound like him to me." She shook her head. "I digress."

"Now, Roman, I assume you know why I've called you here?" She asked, taking a seat once more on the desk.

Roman rolled his eyes. "If I knew that, why would I have had to come?"

She hummed noncommittally. "Here I thought you were an intelligent man. Maybe I was wrong?"

"Taking a shot in the dark, I assume you're wanting a report on the dust I've been able to collect?"

She nodded, her honey sweet smile crossing her lips once again. "There it is. Though I'd also like to know how things are coming along in our other endeavors as well."

Roman nodded, producing a cigar and a lighter, taking a puff before answering. "Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but security has gotten more than a little tight over the past few weeks. Dust shops are getting better security, getting smarter and more armed. Makes my job just a little more difficult."

Cinder raised her brows at that. "Oh? Too difficult for the best criminal in Vale?"

Roman rolled his cigar between his teeth slightly. "I didn't say that. Just that things are going more… slowly than anticipated."

Cinder tilted her head slightly at that. "I see. I expect results, Roman. Not excuses."

"Well, when you've got an easy way around six different kinds of security quickly, I'd love to hear it. Until then, things are going to be slowed down from when we projected." He spat back.

Cinder waved her hand dismissively. "As for your other objective?"

Roman tapped some of the ash from the end of his cigar onto the floor. "Everything is in place. We're just waiting on Atlas to make the move."

Cinder nodded. "And when will that be?"

Roman shrugged. "My contact hasn't said. They'll tell me when they know."

"Good."

Roman raised his brows at her then. "Is there anything else, or are we free to go, your highness?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm once again.

Cinder hummed as she thought on Roman's question. "You are dismissed." She looked then to me. "I look forward to hearing from you, Jaune."

I smiled weakly and made my way from the room, feeling my skin crawl as her gaze tracked my quick exit.

Roman didn't say anything as he led Neo and I both from the compound and out into the late night of Vale.

After about fifteen minutes more worth of walking, we were now in a rather familiar area. This was Junior's territory now if I recalled rightly. We were out in the old warehouse district, and though I couldn't see any of the goons around, I had a feeling they knew we were here.

Roman led me into one of the warehouses that, just like the old factory, had a team of Faunus wearing the same white masks standing guard.

Inside, there wasn't a whole lot to see. Massive crates, some stacked three high were pushed into the back of the warehouse, while several Faunus wandered around.

I looked to Roman then. "Roman, what's all this?" I had at least a vague idea of what was going on, but I'd rather that I be told than guessing at options.

Roman turned to face me and blew out a puff of smoke. "This, kid, is what I've been working on these last few months." I rose my brows, though let him continue. "This here is just a portion of the Dust I've 'collected' from shops all around Vale."

He followed my gaze to one of the Faunus goons he had acting as security. "They're trustworthy enough. The deal we gave the White Fang was we supply them with a percentage of the Dust, they help us with manpower."

The White Fang. That name sounded familiar. I had heard it somewhere before, but where? On the news, maybe? Yes, that sounded right.

"Right… So why do we need all of this Dust? Wouldn't it be worth our time to steal Lien rather than Dust?"

Roman nodded. "Normally you'd be right. But Cinder asked for Dust. All the Dust in Vale, and so here we are."

I bit my lower lip. "About her, Cinder I mean. You said you work for her? Why?"

Roman took another puff off his cigar. "I do work for her, so to speak. She needed help, and came to the best person for the job. That being yours truly."

I frowned. "So, what are you getting out of it?"

Roman chuckled woodenly and waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it, kid. Just know that I'm getting ample payment."

I had a feeling there was more to the story than was being shared here, though I knew that if I pressed him, Roman would just grow more and more evasive about the subject. I nodded. "Right. So, why am I here exactly? You've never included me in your heists and work like this before."

Roman nodded. "Right you are. I've kept you out of this because you weren't ready. Not to mention you had a lot on your plate relating to Junior and his crew." He rolled his shoulders back. "You're here so that you can get familiarized with the operation."

I nodded, and Roman turned to the warehouse at large. "Perry! Get over here!" He shouted out into the building.

A moment later, a small wiry looking Faunus came running up. "What's up, boss?" He asked nervously.

Roman nodded to me. "Perry, this is Jaune. He's one of my associates and will be having a hand to play in future operations. Got it?"

Perry nodded. "Right, yeah. Got it." He looked then to me. "Name's Perry. I'm in charge of management when Roman's not around. Y'know, run the guards and pick out the next target for a heist. That kind of deal."

I nodded in greetings. "Got it."

Perry looked back to Roman. "Need anything else?"

Roman shook his head. "Go back to doing… whatever it was you were before."

Perry ran off again, shouting at some of the Faunus who were sitting around doing nothing.

I looked to Roman then. "So, you're going to start taking me on some of your heists then?" Even though that shouldn't have been something to get me excited, I couldn't help but to feel that way. Finally, I was thought competent enough to be brought along and not be a burden.

Roman chuckled and nodded. "That I am. You're good in practice, but I'd like to see how you do in the field."

"Got it. I assume we're going to be stealing Dust for the most part?"

"That we are, kid. One or two other heists might come up, but we won't have the animals with us for them."

I nodded, not saying anything about the casual racism from Roman towards the Faunus. "Alright, sure."

I started to take a look around, and noticed that I was being given a lot of rather weird and down right suspicious looks from the Faunus around me. They only seemed to be tolerating me because I had Roman at my side.

Hell, I doubted seriously that they even liked Roman. They only tolerated him because they had to, and respected him because if they didn't, they'd probably get the business end of Neo thrown at them.

Regardless, this was a step farther into the criminal underworld.

I couldn't wait.

And there we have it. Short chapter, I know, but I did it because it'll help make next chapter feel better to read rather than rushed and shoved in this one.

That said, we're on to reviews.

Briskpillow - Another fan of Silent Knight, I see. Soon, all questions will be answered. I promise. Soon™.

Exiled Darkness - Yeah, Ruby probably, maybe, definitely won't be okay after what she saw and had happen to her. What fifteen year old girl would be? I don't care if she's a badass huntress in training, seeing someone get killed and then having their corpse drop on top of you is gonna leave some mental scars.

Another Stalker - Glad you're enjoying the story, and Jaune isn't ever the most alpha guy, at least not usually.

Engineer - Ah, paperwork. It will forever haunt the organizers behind any big operation. And you're probably right about Ruby trying to get Jaune to retire from his life of crime. Just you wait until she realizes how deep in he is, working with the White Fang and all. Then there's the issue that Jaune is actually excited and ready to go deeper into this life. Oh dear. Qrow is interesting for me in this fic because he wasn't in the original plan at all, and now that I've had him show up I really like what I've done, and anything involving him is coming on the fly. He clearly likes Jaune and more than likely sees a lot of himself in Jaune as well which is why he's sorta looking out for him. As for not stealing his liquor, well, you're right. Damn, that was something I should've put in there. Oh well. And yeah, he's oblivious and that's probably frustrating as hell for Neo, but she's got plans. Maybe. She's gotta compete with the little red one too.

Greer - See, in the first draft of that chapter, I had Jaune miss and accidentally hit Ruby in the process, shattering her Aura. The kill ended up going to Neo in the first draft, but after reading it over I decided that I liked this outcome more, where Jaune gets to be more of the 'hero.' It very well could be his family, or others. We know that Qrow is watching, which probably means Ozpin is watching, and maybe that's what Qrow was trying to say. I will say, however, that the Arc family will have a role to play in this story coming up soon.

Sgt. Soul Snatcher - Here's his better gear. I definitely wanted him out of the goon suit and in something permanent ASAP, but there wasn't ever a time where it felt right until now, really. Ruby will have her part to play, as will all the other teams when the time comes around. Glad you're enjoying my take on Jaune's dive into criminality.

Moonryu - Glad you like my style and the story / how often I update. I keep this schedule because it keeps me accountable and writing every day so that maybe I'll actually finish a story for once.

X3 - Like I said above, it felt better to me to let Jaune have his 'hero' moment to save Ruby than to give it to Neo like I had done originally. Showed that his development thus far had been for something rather than nothing at all. Knowing Ruby, she'll probably try and pull Jaune out as you're suspecting, hoping against hope that she can pull him out of his life of crime. And you're right, I did make it similar, sorta, to how Summer was with Qrow. And you're right, as the romance plot of this story progresses, if things get a little... heated I'll make it a fade to black or implied but never seen sort of thing. Who knows though, Ruby might be afraid of Jaune, or she might try and pull him out of his dive into darkness and crime.

Imperial Germany - That is one thing I'll deny here and now. The romance sub-plot of this story will end with Jaune having only one SO, no matter the number of times I get the request for both. I definitely think Neo would get stabby with Ruby if she was told to share. For me it's just not how this story was laid out nor my favorite thing to write if I'm honest. It can be good, but not without a lot of planning ahead of time which just isn't here.

EiNyx - Oops, okay, so I definitely didn't mean to be ambiguous about if he was dead or not. Baxton did take a bullet right through the cranium. He is VERY dead, I promise. I too hate the recurring villain because deus ex machina and the writer is lazy. Nothing to fear there.

Jack Redhawke - Shhhhhh. See, I got this genius idea to buy the item labeled Time Machine at Ikea, right? That sounds like fun. And well, it clearly didn't work and it just brought me here. Needless to say my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

JaviGrace - You're right, it could work, maybe, in theory and if I planned it out ahead of time. As it stands now though, it's not an option. I just don't have the framework or the planning done, nor the creativity to find a way to make it work and have it be satisfying to read and have as an outcome. Glad you could find the poll, though.

Deku Momiya - Oh, I see. Someone in favor of everyone's favorite tsundere Weiss. She'll show up in the story real soon, I promise.

And that's a wrap on reviews from last time.

I know I say this at the end of almost every chapter, and you're all tired of hearing it, but holy hell, you're all fantastic for all the support. We just broke 500 follows at the time of writing this, and that just makes me feel all kinds of good on the inside.

Next chapter we have some actual story that we saw in the show RWBY rather than what I made up so Jaune gets development of his own. This is where things might get a little wonky because the timeline feels a little loose, but I promise that I'll try and make it work. Things are about to get ratcheted up to eleven, and it's gonna be great.

Next Chapter: Friday, May 31st (Stupid Ikea Time Machine... I knew that one missing screw was important...)

Till next time, this is Valres signing off.