Hello everyone, I'm back. Yes, after three months with no updates I bring you a new update to "My Sister's Keeper." Apologies for the long hiatus. I was gone for work related business and, after returning, found I'm going to be moving sometime this summer so I've been dealing with that and making sure I have everything I need in order for when I'll be departing. My story updates won't be as frequent between now and then so please bear with me. I'll update when I can but, if I do drop off the map, I'll at least give you some warning beforehand.
Vale – Vale Intercontinental Zoo – Present Day
The Vale international Zoo was one of the Kingdom's highlights and a major tourist attraction, especially during the Vytal Festival. Having been constructed shortly after the close of the Great War, it was a massive undertaking that took several years to complete and had undergone several notable changes. In its original inception, the Zoo had been carved out into four different sections, each one meant to represent one of the four Major Kingdoms, with Mistral and Menagerie combined into one. The sections themselves were meant to mirror the environments of each Kingdom to the point that they were environmentally controlled, in order to add authenticity and believability to each exhibit. In hindsight, while a cleaver and unique idea, it posed a great many problems not only for the Owners and staff but for the patrons as well. The extreme differences in temperature for both Vacuo and Atlas lead to many people being sent to the hospital for everything ranging from heat exhaustion and heat stroke to frostbite. While the Zoo had taken precautions beforehand by providing bottled water and even heavy winter coats for people who didn't have their aura unlocked, the mounting cases lead to the Zoo's temporary closure for renovations.
After reopening several months later, patrons were pleased and even a little bit excited to see the monumental changes that had been made. Just as before, the Zoo had maintained their division of four distinct areas for each of the Kingdoms. The environmentally controlled sections for the native animal species had been maintained, however, these sections had become enclosed, ensuring patrons could remain in a comfortable climate, able to view the animals through thick panes of glass, while the animals themselves were able to roam around in large enclosures in their accustomed environments. As an added bonus a large food court and gift shop area had been installed at the center of the Zoo itself, allowing guests to take a break in-between visits to each of the areas before heading off on their next excursion.
The changes to the Zoo led to increased popularity and revenue for its owners, ensuring the profit lost incurred during its closure was quickly regained within a few months' time. As an added bonus, the Zoo's decision to faithfully adapt the environments to the animals they took care of soon attracted the attention of local and foreign wildlife researchers, eager to study these animals in their natural environment without the need to brave the wilds of the Grimm lands, setting up camp sights and paying Huntsmen for their protection as well as acting as a local guide. This naturally led to talks of possibly adding on another section to the Zoo, this one populated exclusively by Grimm. The idea was quickly shot down by the council not only because they weren't at all eager to have Grimm inside Vale's walls but also the need to hire Huntsmen to standby in case the Grimm broke out of their confinements. Researchers would simply have to remain content with studying them outside the city's walls, not within.
/-/
"Come on, we have to go see the ice wolfs," Jade said excitedly.
"It's pronounced ice wolves," Weiss corrected.
"Don't bother, she's already out of earshot," Jaune remarked, watching Jade disappear around a corner before reappearing to wave them on impatiently.
"I can't believe that someone so small can have so much energy," she huffed.
"Isn't you partner Ruby Rose?" he said with a smirk.
"Shut up," she drawled, earning a chuckle from Jaune. "It's a wonder you manage to keep up with her."
"Typically, I wear her down through training or by taking her to the park. It's all a matter of tricking her into using up all of her energy while conserving your own. Makes it easier to coral her, especially when I have to get her to take a bath."
"I hadn't thought of that. Is that something you learned on the road?"
"More so something I picked up while helping my parents to raise some of my younger siblings."
"Oh," she said, taking a moment to imagine what life must have been like for him back then.
Weiss didn't have a great deal of experience when it came to that. Sure, she had a younger sibling in her brother Whitley, but neither of them had been very close growing up. The rift between them had only grown over the years as Weiss spent every moment she had training or preparing for Beacon. Whenever her sister Winter visited she'd train with her, though they did have moments spent simply talking and catching up with one another. The two of them had been very close as children right up until Winter entered the academy and decided to forfeit her inheritance to pursue a career in the military. Seeing how Jaune interacted with Jade brought back memories, though there were some obvious differences between them.
For one thing, Winter had preferred a "tough love" approached to their relationship. It wasn't abusive by any means. Life in Atlas had been difficult, both in terms of the climate as well as the culture, which in turn contributed to their people's ability to weather the harsher environments while also producing people who were considered cold and difficult. Personally, they considered themselves hardy and adaptive but that was all a matter of perspective. Likewise, Winter's training methods as well as the manner in which she treated and interacted with Weiss had all been strict but loving. It was obvious, at least to them that they cared deeply for one another. Sadly, the same could not be said about their father or their mother for that matter.
Observing the manner in which Jaune handled his sister was both interesting and informative. While Jaune wasn't as strict as her sister, he wasn't a push over either. He allowed Jade a large amount of freedom and independence, even encouraging her to try things on her own while making sure to stay close by should anything happen. The rare moments when Jade attempted to force her way with him often resulted in Jaune showing an uncompromising disposition. He wasn't afraid to stand his ground with her and make her face the consequences of her actions. In all honesty, Weiss respected that about him. It showed a great deal of maturity on his part, especially for someone their age. Not even Yang showed that same level of maturity and she had basically taken on the role of a mother when their own passed away. All in all it left Weiss feeling like she would have liked to have known Jaune while living in Atlas.
Thinking on it, she wondered if they would have been friends or if they would have gotten along? It was a thought that didn't last. Recalling her time spent in Atlas, it was doubtful she would have given him the time of day. Most of the young men, and some of the young women, attempted to gain her favor for nothing more than her family name. Assuming Jaune would have been the same person there as he was now, she knew she would have treated him much the same as she had her other suitors. In fact, that's exactly how she'd treated him when they'd first met. Thinking back on their first night in Beacon, Weiss cringed. His first impression of her had undoubtedly not been the best, especially considering she hadn't been all that kind to Jade.
As they rounded the corner, they saw Jade standing right up against the glass of the enclosure, blending in with the other two dozen children or so already in attendance. They quickly slipped onto a bench set just behind ensuring they were within reach of the girl while also allowing themselves some time to rest their feet. The moment they sat down both teenagers let out a pair of tired sighs, not even caring how they looked slumped against the rock hewn bench. On the other side they could just make out the wolves against the snowy backdrop. Despite being from Atlas, Weiss had never seen snow wolves herself. They were bigger than she'd imagined, the few pictures she'd seen of them in books failed to do them justice. They were huddled near the back, all of them packed together for warmth, while one of them sat on his hind legs scanning the horizon for potential danger. His ears flickered occasionally and Weiss noticed in silent amusement that Jade's did the same, mimicking his movements in a manner that was rather adorable.
"Is she yours?"
Startled, Weiss turned her attention to the elderly voice that had broken through her thoughts. Both she and Jaune looked over at an elderly woman, gray haired and wrinkled, whose expression was crinkled as she smiled at them, pointing over to where Jade was standing mesmerized by the wolves.
"She's my little sister, yes," Jaune said with practiced ease, no doubt having had that same question asked of him on multiple occasions.
"Oh, how wonderful. It's always nice to see older siblings taking care of the young ones. I've no doubt your girlfriend appreciates it as well."
"Girlfriend?" he asked, turning his gaze towards Weiss.
Startled by the woman's assumption, Weiss felt her face beginning to heat up. Jaune could only manage to mirror her as his own face quickly turned bright red. Rather than deny the woman's claims like an intelligent person might have, the pair could only manage to look away from one another in embarrassment.
"N-no, no, we're not, um, we're not dating," Jaune managed to get out.
"Oh? My apologies, I saw you two together and just assumed."
"It's fine. A common misconception," Weiss said, unable to turn her gaze in Jaune's direction.
"Ah, well, it's still a lovely sight to see two young people treating the young ones to a day at the Zoo."
Mercifully any further conversation was cut short when the elderly woman was called away by her grandchildren to go see the next exhibit. She waved them goodbye which they politely returned before she shuffled off. Despite her absence, Weiss and Jaune still found it difficult to look at one another, let alone relax. They shuffled in their seats, keeping their attention focused on anything else but each other.
"You want to get some lunch soon? It's getting close to noon and I think Jade might be getting hungry."
"Y-yes, that sounds nice. It would be a nice change of pace," Weiss agreed, keeping her attention on the stone bench beneath her. And a perfect opportunity to escape this awkward atmosphere she thought to herself.
/-/
One Week Earlier
Jaune sat on his bed, flicking through his scroll as he searched through local attractions around Vale. With the onset of the Vytal festival, many local businesses and theme parks were advertising deals and special packages, all in an attempt to take advantage of the large surplus of tourists that had begun making their way into Vale. It was a sound business strategy, one that was used by local businesses of every Kingdom when their turn came to host the festival. The simple fact that Vale was hosting this year simply made things easier as Jaune now had an excuse to take his sister out to local theme parks and attractions without having to worry too much about his wallet.
The only downside was the massive amount of ads he had to sift through just to find anything in his ballpark. Most of the advertisements were for food, lodging, or restaurants looking to reserve private venues for people who either couldn't or didn't want to watch the tournament at the stadium or at home and instead have a place to hold a viewing party. He'd been looking through them for the better part of an hour, ideally wondering if he shouldn't stop and just start doing an online search to help narrow things down, when he stopped. An advertisement for the Vale Intercontinental Zoo had caught his eye. The main part showing that children under the age of ten were being allowed free admittance had already sealed the deal for him. Adding to that the slashed prices for adults and Jaune was as good as sold.
"Hey Ren, how do you feel about going to the Zoo this weekend as a team?" he asked.
"Hmm, well, neither Nora nor I have ever been to a Zoo before. I've heard good things about the one here in Vale too."
"Think Pyrrha would enjoy it?"
"I think Pyrrha would enjoy anything that didn't revolve around her fame and notoriety," Ren said in a matter-of-fact way. "So, yes, I'm sure she'd enjoy it."
"Good, I'll discuss it with her once she comes back."
"Heelllloo~"
The door to their dorm flew open and slammed shut with a crash that announced Nora's return. While it had come as a surprise in the beginning, everyone had quickly acclimated to the girl's bubbly personality. Jade had become quite close with her, the two becoming two peas in a pod almost immediately. Jaune had been grateful for that as, outside of training, it gave his sister another outlet for her boundless energy and allowed him some time to himself to study.
"Hey Nora, got a surprise for you," Jaune.
"Oh, what is it? What is it?" she asked excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"I'm taking us all to the Zoo this weekend."
"Really?" she squealed. "Renny and I have never been to the Zoo. I mean, we saw a lot of animals when we were traveling through Mistral and Vale but that's not really the same thing."
"Yea, I figured it'd be a nice change of pace for everyone. I've been wanting to take Jade for a long time and I'm sure Pyrrha would enjoy it as well."
"You're taking Pyrrha?" she asked.
"Of course, the whole team is going. I thought I made that clear in the beginning."
"Hmm," Nora mussed, her expression turning from one of inquiry to a devious smile as an idea began to form in her head. Ren took notice immediately, personal experience being enough to warn him that Nora might be up to something and that he'd have to be on damage control.
"We're going this weekend?" Nora asked.
"Yea, that's what I said," Jaune replied. "Why, is something going on this weekend?"
"Yea, see, Ren and I already have plans," she replied.
"You do?" Jaune asked.
"We do?" Ren mimicked.
""Yes, Renny, we do," Nora said, starring at him so intently he was liable to catch fire. "We have a date."
"We do?" Ren asked, showing obvious surprise despite his semblance's attempts to mask it.
"You do?" Jaune echoed, looking between them. "But I thought you two weren't together."
"We're not together-together," Nora clarified.
"But you're going on a date?"
"Yea but it's not a date-date," she stated.
"Uh huh," Jaune said, looking at them confusedly. "I'm honestly still trying to make sense of this."
"You and me both," Ren replied.
"Well, while you do that, Ren and I have some details he need to hash out," she said, taking hold of her partner's arm before bounding out the door. "See you later."
The door swung open as the pair made a speedy exit, nearly bowling Pyrrha over as she made her way inside. The champion watched them as they disappeared down the hall, slowly shutting the door behind herself as she looked towards Jaune for an explanation.
"Did I miss something?" she asked.
"I think you did," he replied, "but, honestly, I'm not entirely sure what it is you missed."
/-/
Jade sat next to Weiss, leaning into the young woman's side as she stared down at the game board. Appropriately called Remnant, the board showed a color coded map of their world, each Kingdom being designated by a distinct color and broken up into districts. On top small models representing Grimm, soldiers, and bullheads were grouped together with a single specialized model set apart representing "The Huntsman" character for each kingdom. Currently, a massive force from Mistral, Yang's units, were directed towards Vale and Ruby's dwindling units. The two sisters had been locked in combat, slowly but surely whittling away at one another's forces, before the older sister used a special card to gain the upper hand, causing Ruby to scramble in a mad attempt to consolidate her forces.
Jade understood somewhat of what was happening. Jaune and his sisters had play this game back in Ansel a few times. He'd even let her act as his sub commander which basically meant she could move his pieces for him while he did everything else. She'd been excited to play it with team RWBY, quickly offering to help Weiss play, only to realize too late that she knew less about playing than she did. At least she knew what pieces to move and where. Weiss was currently struggling to figure out what to do with her cards while Ruby and Yang continued to play unimpeded.
"NOOO!" Ruby squealed.
Jade looked up to see Ruby's forces surround on all sides by Yang's. Vale, having been reduced to just a few small soldier pieces, stood on the brink of annihilation following Yang's next turn. The older sister had a wolfish grin as she watched Ruby bemoan her lost forces, drinking in her metaphoric tears before turning to Weiss.
"Alright, Weiss-cream, you're up."
"I… have no idea what I'm doing," she admitted.
"Here, let me help you out," Yang said, leaning over to look at her cards.
"No, no, I'm fine," she said, leaning down to show them to Jade. "Jade's played before, right?"
Happy to be able to have an active part in their game, Jade looked at the cards, thinking back to all the times she'd watched Jaune play.
"Um, I like this card," she said, pointing to one she recognized.
"We use this one," Weiss said, placing the card down for all to see.
"Oh, that's a good move," Yang praised. "You're Nevermore attacks my fleet, cutting my forces in half. That'll make my invasion of Atlas harder."
"Indeed it will," Weiss replied confidently, turning to smile down at Jade. She smiled back, happy to have contributed more to their game than just moving the pieces.
"But," Yang said, drawing their attention and wiping the smiles from their faces, "trap card."
Immediately, the blonde's hands began moving at a dizzying speed as she rearranged the board. In an instant, their army was swept aside, leaving Yang's as the dominant force on the battle.
"Wha! But I! How?" Weiss squawked.
"Better luck next time," Yang chirped with a smile.
"I hate these games of emotions we play," the heiress bemoaned.
"Hugs?" Jade asked, recognizing her reaction from all the times Jaune had completely demolished one of his sisters to the point that they were in tears.
"Yes," Weiss said, snatching the girl up into a tight embrace.
"It's okay Weiss," Ruby said, zipping over to hug her partner and cry in unison.
"Don't touch me," the heiress said, her sob stricken voice betraying her emotions as she put up little effort to escape Ruby's embrace.
"Heelllloo~"
The door to RWBY's dorm flee open, announcing Nora's arrival before she did. Despite her unexpected and uninvited interruption, this had not been the first time Nora had done something like this. The girl had made it a habit of subverting their expectations, both with her fantastic grades in class as well as her ability to somehow trick the door scanner into allowing her inside despite not being on the same team. While Weiss had attempted to prevent further interruptions from her, the heiress eventually gave up when it became apparent that nothing she did would ever slow the hammer wielding warrior down.
However, her arrival went completely unnoticed. As she and Ren walked inside, the boy took immediate notice of the puddle of tears that Ruby and Weiss were currently drowning in. Jade was stuffed in-between them, looking less like a child and more like a stuffed wolf plushy that was having increasing difficulty breathing. Yang was knelt over a game board, collecting pieces and putting them away while she sported a victorious smirk and Blake was in her usual spot on her bed, book in hand and dead to the world.
"So, I take it Yang beat you all in a game of Remnant," he observed.
"Beat? It was more of a massacre," the blonde replied triumphantly.
"Yea, Jaune's pretty good at it too. He beats us all the time. Maybe you should play him next game?" Nora suggested.
"Yes, we'll enlist Jaune's services in the interest of avenging the proud Kingdom of Atlas," Weiss announced.
"Before you do that, maybe you'd like to release Jade from you grip. I don't think he'll appreciate getting his sister back after she's been suffocated," Ren pointed out.
"What? OH!"
Brought back to reality, both Weiss and Ruby released their grip on the young girl. Jade drew in a large breath, looking no worse for wear despite having been sandwiched between the two girls.
"Jade, are you alright?"
"Yea, Nora's hugs are harder," she replied.
"She's not wrong," Nora admitted unapologetically.
"So, what's up?" Yang asked.
"Jaune's taking Jade to the Zoo this weekend," she replied.
"He is?" Jade asked excitedly.
"Nora, that was supposed to be a surprise," Ren chided.
"Surprise!" she shouted, throwing her arms into the air. Ren could only face palm and shack his head in response.
"That's so cool. We have to go there as a team sometime."
"That was Jaune's plan until Nora told him we couldn't go because we we're supposed to be going on a date."
"Wait, you two are dating?" Yang asked, bewildered. "Since when?"
"We're not dating," Nora quickly clarified. "We'd have to be together. I mean, we are together just not together-together."
"So you're not going on a date?" Ruby asked.
"Well, it's a date just not a date-date."
"I'm confused," Jade said, looking to Weiss for help.
"As are we all, sweetie," she replied, patting the girl's head affectionately. "Could you please get to the point? I doubt you two came here just to announce that you avoided going to the Zoo with your team just to have a fake date."
"Oh, but Weiss, this is merely step one in my multistep master plan," Nora stated.
"Which is?"
"Operation: Get-Jaune-and-Pyrrha-together."
Silence permeated the room. Nora stood with her arms outstretched above her head, like a showman announcing the next act at a carnival. The only sound that could be heard was Ren's hand impacting his face before he shook it in disbelief.
"Operation what?" Weiss asked, looking to Ren for confirmation.
"Nora, we were supposed to do that together," Ruby whined.
"You what?" Weiss snapped, jerking her head over just in time to receive a sheepish look from her partner.
"Relax, I planned for everything. There's no way anything could go wrong."
"Famous last words," Yang mumbled.
"I don't get it," Jade said, looking confusedly between the girls.
"Nora's trying to set up Pyrrha and Jaune to end up together," Weiss stated.
"Huh?"
"We're trying to get them to start dating," Ruby clarified.
"Oh, so they'll be boyfriend-girlfriend?" she asked.
"Exactly!" Nora replied triumphantly.
"Is that what big brother wants?" she asked, curious.
Nora opened her mouth to reply but quickly found herself unable to speak. The girls all glanced around at one another, a silent conversation passing between them. No one said a word but the answer to Jade's question was still fairly obvious. Despite what they were doing, Jaune had made it very clear that he didn't want a girlfriend, or a romantic relationship at all, while he was still in Beacon. Jade and school were his two top priorities. Everything else more or less took a back seat to those. In a very twisted way, what they were doing was a violation of his trust, a betrayal of his personal wishes, one's he'd assumed they all respected. Having a five year old girl point that out through a simple question born out of curiosity was like taking Nora's hammer to their face or one of Yang's signature punches.
"W-well, he didn't say anything about us setting them up on a date as friends, right?" Nora said, attempting to find the silver lining in this debacle.
"By the brother's, you are some of the worst friends Jaune could ever have," Weiss complained as she massaged her forehead.
/-/
Present Day
Jade stood at the large windows looking out into the wolf enclosure. Before now she'd only ever seen wolves in books or in the online videos her older brother allowed her to watch while he was studying. She thought they were the coolest animal on Remnant. It may in part have something to do with being a wolf Faunus herself but that just made them so much more alike. She only wished she could see them up close or better yet touch them. To be able to sit with them, feel their warm fur, or feel their wet noses as they sniffed her face would be so much fun. Unfortunately, her brother had informed her at the last exhibit that the glass the Zoo used was one way. That meant she could see the animals but they couldn't see her. It had something to do with making the experience more authentic but Jade didn't care. She really wanted to see them up close, to lock eyes with them. Instead, she had to settle for simply watching from afar.
Looking around her she could see the other children pressing their faces to the glass, slapping their hands against it or breathing on it to write words in the steam. Some of them had the same fascination with wolves that she had but most had lost interest when it became apparent that they couldn't be seen by them. Jade was more determined than they were, though. She was intent on seeing them up close. She didn't know why but something inside her lead her to think she could reach out to them somehow.
Her ears flickered, mimicking the movements of the large wolf sitting amongst its fellows. At the back of her mind, a strange, fuzzy noise kept finding its way into her head. She'd heard it before. Not long after her brother unlocked her aura she'd started hearing it. It would go away sometimes but always come back. She wasn't sure what was causing it and she hadn't told her brother about it either. He was already focusing on so much, he didn't need her bothering him with anything else. Again, the fuzzy noise popped into her head but this time Jade decided to test something.
"Hi."
The noise stopped immediately. Across the enclosure, the wolf she was watching perked its head up. It looked around, visibly confused, as if he'd heard something but didn't know what it was. The noise came back after a few moments and again Jade spoke out to it.
"Hi."
This time the wolf perked up and looked towards the window. She didn't know if it could see her but somehow it knew she was talking to it.
"Who's there?" the voice asked, no longer that fuzzy noise but a clear voice in her head.
"I'm Jade," she replied.
"Jade?" it asked, the wolf turning its head to look around. "Who is Jade?"
"I'm Jade," she replied.
"Where is Jade?"
"I'm over here," she said, giggling to herself.
"Where?"
"Right in front of you."
The wolf looked forward, its ears twitching as it struggled to discern her location.
"I'm right in front of you silly."
"I do not see you."
"Walk forward."
Unsure but deciding to trust her nonetheless, it walked forward, stepping over its companions as it made its way towards the window. The children who had largely ignored or lost interest in the wolves, looked back with renewed interest. It continued moving forward, coxed along by Jade's instructions, sniffing the air in an attempt to catch her scent. It stopped just short of the window, understanding that it was at the edge of its world, unable to see her but understanding that she was there, standing across from her.
"Where are you?" she heard him ask.
In response, she slapped on her hand on the glass, watching as the wolf jerked its head towards the noise, looking down at where she should be standing. "Right here."
The two locked eyes for a moment, each one gazing at the other with only Jade capable of seeing him. Slowly, it raised its forepaw, placing it against the glass opposite her own. Children around her gasped in excitement and adults whispered madly to one another, obviously put off by what the girl was doing. None of this registered to her as she looked up with obvious glee at the new friend she'd made.
"Jade?"
Hearing her name, she turned to see her brother and Weiss quickly walking towards her, both of them wearing expressions of concern. Weiss was currently looking around at all the stares people were giving them while Jaune's focus was on her.
"Look, look, I made a friend," she said excitedly.
"I see," he said, glancing up at the wolf before returning to her. "I think it's time for us to go."
"Ah, but Jaune," she whined.
"We'll come back and visit another time," he countered, cutting her off before she could start to argue. "How about we get some lunch, okay?"
Mournfully, Jade glanced up at her new friend. Sadly, she couldn't stay here forever. With obvious reluctance she nodded, allowing her brother to pick her up and carry her away from the large crowd that had gathered. As they made their escape, Jade waved back and silently spoke, "bye."
"Goodbye friend Jade."
One Week Earlier – Team JNPR's room
"You two get everything finalized for you date?" Jaune asked the moment Nora and Ren walked back into the dorm.
"We did. Everything's a go," she said, completely missing the defeated expression on Ren's face.
"I see. Well, I guess that just means it'll be me and Pyrrha then," he said.
"Don't forget Jade," Nora chimed in.
"She's still at team RWBY's right?"
"No, she came back with us," she said.
Sure enough, the door opened once more as Jade came toddling inside. She hopped up onto her brother's bed, giving him a tight hug as he planted a kiss on her head and between her ears.
"Did you have fun at RWBY's?"
"Yea, we played Remnant," she said.
"Did you win?"
"No, Weiss and I lost. Yang beat everyone."
"Sounds like she's pretty good at it. I'll have to help you play next time so we can avenge you two."
"Can we play after your date?" she asked.
"My what?" he said, her question catching him off guard enough to miss Nora's bewildered expression.
"Your date with Pyrrha at the Zoo."
"My what?"
"What!?"
The surprised gasp came from Pyrrha who had just stepped out of the bathroom. She'd been busy with a shower but had emerged just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation. She now had a panicked expression, one that was quickly flicking between Jaune and Nora in the hopes that someone would explain everything to her.
"Jade, who told you this?"
"Nora said you were taking us to the Zoo but that I wasn't supposed to tell."
"Did she now?" Jaune said, turning to glare at a very guilty looking Nora who was currently attempting to hide behind Ren. "That was supposed to be a surprise Nora."
"Hehe, it must have just slipped out?" she said, attempting to play it off.
"By the brothers, Nora, I can't tell you anything," he grumbled.
"Welcome to my world," Ren commented.
"So we're going to the Zoo?" Jade asked, teetering on the edge of excitement.
"Yes and, assuming it won't interfere with anything on her end, Pyrrha will be coming with us as well. What do you say?" he asked, turning to break his partner out of her surprised stupor.
"Oh, t-that sounds lovely. I've never been to a Zoo before, at least not as a patron."
"Never?" Jade asked.
"No, I've been there for promotions, often when they were opening a new exhibit or introducing new animals, but never just for fun. My manager and promoters were very strict about that. I had an image to uphold."
"Well now you can at least enjoy yourself without having to worry about what people will think of you. You'll be just like everyone else."
"Everyone else hmm?" she said, considering it for a moment. "That does sound grand."
/-/
A few days passed as the teams eagerly awaited the weekend's approach. Pyrrha seemed especially excited, not only for being able to go to the Zoo but also for being able to spend time outside her career as an Arena Fighter. The subtle (or not so subtle in the case of Nora and Yang) hints being dropped that it was a date left the girl beat red. Jaune still insisted that they were just going as friends and even pointed out that it was more for Jade's benefit than theirs. While Pyrrha appreciated his support, she couldn't help but feel a tugging on her heart every time he denied they were going to be anything on a date.
As they all sat at lunch, discussing the upcoming Vytal festival and the activities they were looking forward to the most, Pyrrha's scroll went off. One glance was all it took to sour her mood, an obvious tell that whomever was calling wasn't someone she expected or wanted to hear from. Politely excusing herself from the table she quickly made her way outside. Jaune watched her go, her expression bothering him enough to warrant excusing himself from the table as well to follow after her. Whatever was going on, he had a feeling she would need a friend there to lend her support should she need it. He made it outside just in time to hear some of what was being discussed and from what he heard Pyrrha wasn't at all happy about it.
"I thought they didn't want to meet for another month?" he heard her say.
Some garbled speech could be heard on the other end, her expression never shifting from the frown she was currently sporting.
"I understand that the Vytal festival is important for their advertisement campaign but- "
She was cut off, more words that went unheard from the other end.
"Can't they hold off for another week? I already have plans this weekend with some friends and- "
Again she was cut off, her frown somehow managing to deepen as the conversation, sounding more forceful if the volume was anything to go by, finally broke through her last line of defenses.
"No, I understand. I'll clear my schedule."
She shut the scroll, leaning against the wall as she expelled a tired sigh and massaged her forehead in frustration.
"Everything alright Pyr?" Jaune asked, startling her in the process.
"Jaune! How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to know that something's bothering you. You want to talk about it?"
"No, I- "she hesitated for a moment, mustering some ounce of courage before taking a breath to calm her nerves. "I just got off from a call with my manager. One of my sponsors, a fashion company that specializes in sportswear, has a new ad campaign revolving around the Vytal festival. Given that our team is going to be participating they wanted to capitalize on my involvement and have me be a part of their commercials for the tournament. All of this had been planned out well in advance and was set to start next month but they've decided they need more time and pushed up their schedule. As a result, I won't have much free time outside of school until the festival starts so I unfortunately won't be able to able to go with you and Jade to the Zoo. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize Pyr," he said, earning a perplexed look from his partner. "This isn't your fault. You had no idea this would happen and even then you wouldn't have agreed to come if you knew. I'll talk with Jade. I'm sure she'll understand if we put off our trip to the Zoo until after you're done with the commercials."
"What? No! Jaune, you've been wanting to treat Jade to something like this for a while. Don't postpone it for my sake. Take her to the Zoo, have a good time. Make some memories with her. You don't know when another opportunity like this will come up, especially with how busy we'll be in our later years in school and after."
Jaune looked at her, mulling her argument over in his head. After a while he conceded, nodding his agreement but otherwise keeping the frown he was wearing plastered on his face.
"Alright, but once the festival is over, we're taking a day to bond as a team. I don't care what plans or excuses any one has, I'll drag you all out myself if it means spending the day together."
"I'll look forward to that," she said, giving him a genuine smile before following him back into the cafeteria.
As they walked back inside, their friends quickly took notice of the change in atmosphere. Before anyone could ask, however, Jaune cut them off, quickly adding that they'd fill everyone in after class. While reluctant, they agreed, but nonetheless found it difficult to ignore the feeling that something was wrong.
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Jaune sat on his bed, starring at his scroll and the confirmation for his purchase of two adult tickets and one child for the Vale International Zoo. He'd gone ahead and made the purchase earlier that week, expecting that it would be himself, Pyrrha, and Jade going this weekend rather than just the siblings. While he wasn't disappointed by the prospect of spending a day out with his sister, the thought that yet another one of his friends would be unable to attend just put a damper on the whole affair. He'd considered putting in a request to be reimbursed for the extra ticket but part of him still held out hope that either Pyrrha's sponsors would give her some slack (unlikely), change their minds about pushing the schedule up (much more unlikely), or Pyrrha herself would say "to hell with it, I want to spend time with my friends" (doubtful within this lifetime but awesome if she did). Jade had been just as disappointed but still remained excited for the upcoming weekend. Jaune couldn't fault her for that. It would still be a great time, just the two of them.
"Hey Jaune," his sister pipped up.
"Yea Jade?"
"Can I invite someone to come with us?"
"You want to invite a friend along?" he asked.
Jade nodded in confirmation. Thinking it over, Jaune realized that their extra ticket might not go to waste. While he'd been hopeful, he hadn't put too much consideration into Jade making some friends with the other kids her age here at Beacon. Many of them were children of the staff currently employed here which meant that they'd at least have something in common with her and would no doubt treat her better than most given Beacon's policy on racism in any form. While not a guarantee, he might be able to convince the Zoo staff to let him trade the adult ticket for another child's one and just let them keep the difference.
"Is it a friend from daycare?" he asked, taking note that he'd need to speak with their parents and ask permission before agreeing.
"No, I want to invite Weiss," she said.
"Weiss?" he said, surprised.
"Yea, I want to invite her."
"Huh," he said, taking a moment to consider it.
His initial reaction was to say no but that was mostly aftershock from the early days of their relationship. Weiss had improved greatly, even taking on the responsibly of mentoring Jade in sword play while Jaune attended his therapy sessions with Dr. Oobleck. Thinking it over it made sense that Jade would have become closer with the older girl and might consider her something of an older sister. It was then that he realized that he didn't know a great deal about Weiss personally. Sure, they talked on occasion at lunch and they'd had a few combined team study sessions but nothing that really lead to him learning more than that she was the heiress to the SDC, had lived in Atlas her whole life, and had a very rocky relationship with her father. A trip to the Zoo might help them to learn more about each other and improve their relationship somewhat.
"I don't see why not. Why don't you go across the hall and ask her?"
"Okay," Jade said, jumping up excitedly and racing for the door. "OOF!"
"You alright?" he asked, looking at his sister sprawled out on the floor, rubbing her head.
"Yea," she groaned.
"You know it helps to open the door first," he teased.
"Grr," she grumbled, avoiding making eye contact as she slipped out the door.
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Present Day – Beacon
Jaune and Weiss trudged their way through Beacon's halls, looking just as tired as they felt. Walking a few feet in front was Jade, wearing a pleased expression as she clung tightly to the snow white stuffed toy of an Atlasian Ice Wolf Weiss had purchased for her at the gift shop. While it had been born of an act to spoiler her and feel like an older sibling, it had also been meant to placate her as well. The incident at the Ice Wolf enclosure had startled both her and Jaune, enough so that they thoroughly discussed the event after they'd taken some time for lunch. After questioning Jade they came to the conclusion that her ability must have been her semblance manifesting itself. It was startling and exciting, mostly because they weren't quite sure if it was actually her semblance at work or if it had simply been a coincidence that had Jade somehow communicating with the wolf. The more they discussed it the harder it became to justify it as anything but a semblance.
They decided to put it off for now. At some point they'd have to test her to find out for sure. Right now, though, both of them were exhausted. Despite living very active lives as Huntsmen and Huntresses, Jade had managed to wear them both down as they moved swiftly to each and every exhibit offered by the Zoo. They had lost track of time to the point that they didn't realize it was getting close to closing time until an announcement came over the intercoms. A short bullhead ride later had them arriving at Beacon, tired and with feet that ached badly, while Jade somehow still had energy to spare.
"You want to go sit down?" Jaune suggested as they passed by one of the common rooms where people could sit and hangout outside of classes or their dorms.
"I don't think I can make it to my dorm otherwise," Weiss agreed, slumping down onto a couch right next to Jaune.
"Uge," he moaned, propping his feet up on the nearby table.
"So much better," Weiss said, kicking off her heels and massaging her feet. "My feet are killing me."
"You're fault for wearing heels," he chided.
"I didn't think we'd be walking around all day," she snapped but found her comment lacking its usual bite.
"We were taking a five-year-old to the Zoo. Just how much walking did you expect we'd be doing?" he asked, looking over to give her a questioning gaze.
"To be fair I don't have a great deal of experience when it comes to younger siblings or family outings in public settings."
"You don't have any younger siblings?" he asked.
"No, I have a younger brother Whitley," she replied. "We weren't very close growing up."
"Well, when you have as many siblings as I did it's almost impossible not to be close with one another, whether you like it or not."
"Out of curiosity, how close were you with your sisters?" she asked.
"Enough so that I couldn't have a crush on a girl without them trying to help me ask her out on a date or coming to my rescue when I was ultimately rejected."
"Sounds fun," she commented, the corners of her mouth quirking into a smile.
"Yea, I always thought it was annoying or embarrassing at the time. Now those are the things I miss most about them. As much of a pain in the rear they could be, they always had my back."
"And now you're passing that on to someone else," she pointed out.
"Yea, I suppose you're right," he agreed.
"Jaune? Weiss? Are you coming?" Jade asked, looking up at the exhausted teenagers.
"No, sweetie, we're too tired," Weiss replied.
"Why don't you head back to the room and wait for the rest of our friends? We'll be along soon. We just need to rest for a minute."
"Okay," Jade said, quickly toddling off to the dorm.
"Think she'll be alright without us?" Weiss asked.
"Nora and Ren should be back from… whatever they were doing and Pyrrha should be back as well from her meeting with her sponsors. She'll be fine."
"You have a point," she conceded. "I'm just going to rest my eyes for a bit before I head back."
"Not a bad idea," Jaune said, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the couch.
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"Oh, this is just too perfect," Yang said, looking at the pair sitting on the couch through her scroll's camera.
Jade had arrived back at team JNPR's dorm a little over ten minutes ago, regaling them with the fun time she'd had seeing all the animals and showing off her new pet wolf. Nora, as always, mirrored the little girl's enthusiasm, hanging off her every word and asking mounds of questions so she could better picture her experience. It was only after Jade had finished that Pyrrha took notice of Jaune's absence. While she wasn't worried about him, especially given his overall combative ability, she found it strange her partner hadn't returned to their dorm yet while Jade already had. After a short trip over to team RWBY's to find Weiss hadn't returned either, Nora immediately called for a manhunt.
They didn't have to search very far as they found the pair slumped on the common room's couch, Weiss leaning her head against Jaune's shoulder with his leaning against hers. They were breathing softly, having no doubt fallen asleep and were completely dead to the world. While Ruby found the scene cute, Pyrrha couldn't help the spike of jealousy that rose up in her chest at the sight.
"That could've been me," she thought to herself, once more cursing her sponsors for moving their timetables up a month.
"Yang, what are you doing?" Blake asked, giving her a partner a wary look.
"Just snagging some primo blackmail material," she replied, smirking as her scroll clicked and saved the picture. "Next time little miss ice queen starts nagging me about something I'll whip this sucker out to shut her up."
"As long as that's all you're doing," Pyrrha replied in relief.
"Oh, I'm not through just yet," Yang said as she stowed her scroll away. "Now," she said, taking out a black sharpie pen, "is when the real fun begins."
Just a little update for the next chapter to follow (hopefully soon given some story decisions I've recently made). I'm going to be introducing some more character development for Jade. While having her as the younger sister architype is all fun and good, she is going to get older as the story progresses which means more experiences to flesh her out. Now, the experience that's coming is one that, admittedly, is going to be a bit controversial and one that most people won't enjoy seeing. It's not R-rated or anything like that so don't worry about adult situations involving kids. It'll be much more tame but also something that'll no doubt get some negative reactions from people. Won't spoil it so I'll end this here.