Next plot chapter. Figured I needed to get this out of the way since I'll either update Of Two Different Minds or make that team RWBY-PN Yandere omake. Yandere Maidens is gonna be a terrifying concept...
Apologies if there's not much comedy this chapter. I'll try to go back to it a bit next chapter before we delve into drama stuff again.
Fanfiction Note - I had to post this again here since reviewers can't review a chapter they already reviewed i.e the deleted chapter. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Jaune never told anyone, but he'd always had his doubts about going to Beacon. How could he not? As enamored as he was about being a hero like his great-grandather, the rational part of his mind always knew it was a risk. He had no training, barely awakened Aura, and transcripts that really shouldn't have passed through the first inspection. He'd been in utter disbelief when he got that letter, halfway convinced it was some cruel prank or some kind of mistake. Surely he didn't get away with his forgery, right?
His parents had been in equal disbelief. The only thing that kept him from being refused permission altogether was that they didn't really know how the Huntsman thing worked. They assumed Beacon was a mix of a Huntsman Academy and Combat School and that those who didn't have training could catch up. It wasn't technically a whole lie. Combat classes under Professor Goodwitch was all about training and refining a student's combat skills.
And now he was in a scene from what felt like straight out of his nightmares. His mom and dad barging into the headmaster's office without any care or consideration and dragging him along like an unruly child. Ozpin, of course, looked calm as always and didn't even appear surprised that both his parents had broken any and all sense of etiquette or proper decorum.
"Mr and Mrs. Arc. Is there a problem?" Ozpin raised a brow.
"You're gods damned right there's a problem." His dad growled, "We just found out that our son was the victim of a terorrist kidnapping." Jaune flinched. There was a reason that he didn't tell his parents about the things he got up to. As much as he joked about it before, being hauled away from Beacon was an actual possibility. If mom and dad had their way he'd be safe at home helping in the family business. He couldn't blame them for it, at least not fully. No one wanted their child to be in danger.
"Ah. I suppose Mr. Arc has chosen to tell you this?"
His mom laughed bitterly, "Oh, would that he did, but no, we had to find out from one of his schoolmates." Ozpin hummed, calm as always, while Jaune cringed. Gods damn it, Cardin. Was the guy really so bitter that he'd do this? "I always had my doubts about you being a Huntsman, Jaune, but this? Being taken by some madman who tried to destroy Vale? Why didn't you tell us?"
"I..." Jaune looked away. There was really no way to justify it without only making them angrier. He didn't tell them because they would worry, because they would at the very least try to convince him that Beacon was too dangerous. Hell, he was sure he'd get the same reaction if he told them just how harrowed those first couple of weeks the time team RWBY came to Domremy, they were an actual team. People his parents wouldn't think were any kind of danger to him.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" dad asked, rounding on Ozpin now.
"While I understand your worries, Mr. Arc, what you're asking is unreasonable." Dad's face turned red with anger at Ozpin's reply, "Students of Beacon are considered adults under law, and while Jaune's situation was not the norm, I had no place in informing you in his stead unless he asked me to do so. That Jaune has not informed you is a personal matter. My apologies."
"Dad, mom, just...wait," Jaune pleaded, "I know this looks bad-"
Mom cut him off, "Looks bad?! Jaune, you were kidnapped and tortured!" Jaune winced. Yeah, he couldn't exactly disagree with that. Even team RWBY, who'd prepared for this kind of thing, was absolutely murderous in the aftermath. Difference was all that hate was directed at Adam Taurus, "What would the rest of the family think if they knew?! You almost died, and we would have never known!"
"Because I knew you'd react like this!" Jaune shouted back, forcing the shame down and replacing it with anger. He understood why they were mad, but he didn't ask to be kidnapped by Blake's psycho-ex boyfriend any more than Blake asked him to ram a train into Vale just to spite her. He did the best he could, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, but it's already happened and nothing can change that."
Dad's response was drowned out by the door slamming open and all of team RWBY rushing inside, faces red like they just ran a marathon. Seeing them gave him mixed feelings. As relieving as their presence was, the last thing he wanted was for them to see this situation. Blake still thought it was her fault Adam was a psychopath and she could tell the rest of the team thought they should've been psychic and saw his kidnapping coming.
"What are you all doing here?" Jaune managed to ask.
"Mercury told u- know what, that doesn't matter," Yang shook her head. Of course it was Merc, "Listen, Mr. and Mrs. A, we heard about what happened, and we know you guys are super pissed and worried, but just let us explain."
"Explain what? That our son was almost killed and no one thought to tell his family about it?" Ruby and Blake winced while Yang and Weiss managed to project a strong front, "I understand that you all care about your teammate, but-"
"He's not just a teammate!" Ruby cried, "Jaune's one of our closest friends and an important member of team RWBY-J. We wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him." That was nice of her to say, but he was sure that they'd still be here even without him. Sure they'd have a few more rough spots, but they were still a team, "So...please don't be mad at him. He just didn't want you all to worry."
"It's nice that you're all willing to stand up for my son, but it doesn't change things." Mom shook her head, "There's a difference between fighting mindless Grimm and being targeted by a wilfully malicious terrorist."
"Let's get down to brass tacks then," Ozpin said, "I doubt you simply came here in order to express your grievances. What is it you both want?"
"That should be obvious. Jaune's not going to continue attending this school if all these are the dangers he's going to exposed to," dad said. He'd already heard it before, but seeing the team's reaction to the declaration still hurt. Weiss had barely kept her stoic expression on while Yang looked ready to commit murder. The worst of it all was Ruby and Blake. Ruby looked like she'd just been told he had an incurable disease while Blake's expression was heavy with guilt and shame. She still thought this was somehow her fault.
"Please don't do this." Ruby shook her head, "None of this is Jaune's fault, and he-"
"Still nearly died," mom cut her off, "He almost-"
"But I didn't-" Jaune said, "I almost got out of there on my own and my team, plus Mercury, went there to save me as soon as they heard. If you want to blame anyone, then blame that psychopath who kidnapped me."
"We're not blaming you for being kidnapped, son. What we're mad about is that you didn't tell us." Dad let out a tired breath, "We didn't come here to argue. We've made our choice and-"
"It's my fault!" Blake blurted out. The other members of team RWBY-J snapped to her, eyes wide, "Adam took him to get to me. If anyone should be removed from Beacon, it's me, not him. Please don't do this. Jaune's one my closest friends, I don't want him to be punished for something that's my fault." She was so panicked that the bright clouds outside turned dark and stormy, though no one else paid it any mind.
"Blake!" Jaune hissed. It was nice for her to actually take responsibility, but now was not the time. Especially since this wasn't in any way her fault. And maybe because he was going to try and convince his parents Adam hadn't kidnapped him specifically and was just looking for any old human to torture. Hey, from what Blake told them of the guy it sounded like something he'd do.
"I don't understand. Why would this Adam come want to hurt you specifically?" Mom asked.
"Because-"
"Because she's a Faunus and she helped save Vale," Weiss said, cutting Blake off from admitting to his already pissed off parents that she was a former terrorist. That would've gone over well, "Adam Taurus, the madman who kidnapped your son, is a fanatic who believes that Faunus and Humans are incapable of peace. Seeing another Faunus stop his plans to destroy Vale made him angry. Truth be told, if it wasn't Jaune I'm sure any one of us would've been the ones taken," she lied as easily as she breathed.
"Yeah, that guy's fucking crazy. Jaune was just...unlucky," Yang said after, "Trust me, Jaune did everything right. Heck, he would've gotten outta there even without our help!" Okay, she was laying it on a bit thick there. He doubted anyone would buy that.
"Definitely!" Ruby nodded way too quickly.
"We're not here for arguments or to be convinced," dad said, "We've made our decision. Jaune is leaving this school."
In all the time Jaune knew them, he'd never seen the entire team look so helpless as they did now. Jaune's hands balled into shaky fists and he didn't know whether he should scream in pure frustration at his parents or try to keep what little calm he had left. Even now he understood why they felt the way they did, but he wasn't a kid anymore. He chose to stay with the team even after the Breach, even after Adam, and now here they were taking that choice away from him.
Ozpin coughed, and Jaune hated to admit he almost forgot the headmaster was even there, "If I could interject." Both mom and turned back to him, "While I understand both of your worries, the choice of Jaune's continued enrollment is not in your hands."
"He's our son, he-"
"Is a legal adult in the eyes of the law," Ozpin cut mom off. She looked ready to argue that when his eyes narrowed and she froze, "Future Huntsmen are recognized as independent once they're enrolled into Beacon. Beacon has no tuition fees, and once a student is accepted any and all choices regarding their education fall into the hands of the students and the staff. Families can make their case, certainly, but they have no grounds on the choice."
"He was kidnapped and tortured!" dad shouted.
"And if Jaune chose to drop out of Beacon afterwards then I would have accepted it. But he didn't." Ozpin looked both his parents in the eye, "I understand your grief and anger, I've seen it too many times to count, but I implore you both to listen to your son rather than handing down ultimatums. There's a reason that Jaune chose to stay even after what happened to him."
Ozpin more or less shooed them out of his office after that. After all, there was no more reason for him to be involved in a personal matter until Jaune, and only Jaune, made a choice to stay or leave.
They were barley out of the room when mom rounded on him again, "Jaune-"
"I'm not leaving." He met her gaze with a hard one of his own, "Mom, dad...I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I should have. You shouldn't have found out from someone else what happened to me." He took a deep breath, "And I know you're not gonna want to hear it, but I'm not leaving."
"Even after everything that's happened?" dad asked.
"I knew going to Beacon was going to be dangerous." Especially since he had no training, "But I made the choice to do it even despite that."
He made it sound more noble than it was. Back then he'd just been in it for the glory, because he wanted to be a hero like his great grandfather. Looking back on it now, he couldn't believe how shallow he'd been. The Jaune from before would've just been jealous of the team becoming famous after the Breach and that they were the heroes being trained to stop the Grimm Queen, not him.
And honestly, no matter what arguments he had, he couldn't pretend he started off wrong. He'd faked his trasncripts, failed Inititation, and only managed to stay because Ozpin cut a deal with him. Not for his skills or potential, but because he wanted someone to keep an eye on team RWBY.
"Jaune knows what he's talking about." Ruby stood beside him and gently squeezed his hand, "Jaune's been a crucial part of the team and he's earned his place here."
"Are you even hearing yourself? What if this terrorist goes after you again? What then, Jaune?" mom asked.
"He won't get the chance to. I'll kill him before he can try," Blake said. Mom and dad looked like they wanted to argue until they saw the look in her eyes. Ruby winced, still uncomfortbale with Blake planning pre-meditated murder.
"Son..." dad looked like he was trying to find the words.
"I'm not leaving. I'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear, but I'm not changing my mind." He stood up straighter, trying to look and sound more confident than he felt, "I promise I'll be more honest from the future, but that's all I can really do. We all knew that being a Huntsman was going to be dangerous and we can't change that."
There was no verbal acceptance or a hug goodbye. Mom and just just...left, which in some ways hurt more. They'd come around eventually. The two of them were the same way when Rebecca first said she didn't want to take over the family business and wanted to be a doctor instead. He still remembered the arguments, the days they spent trying to convince each other. All they needed was some time.
Didn't stop him from feeling like crap, though.
"...Damn, that was heavy." Yang huffed and brought a hand through her hair.
"Yes, especially when it seemed like Blake was about to blurt out just a little too much information." Weiss crossed her arms and glared at said girl.
"I was panicking, alright? The last thing I wanted was for his parents to drag him away."
"I heard. One of your closest friends, you said?" Weiss drawled, lips curling up in a lazy smirk, "How sweet."
"Sh-Shut up." Blake looked away, cheeks dusted a faint red. If he didn't know how much of a dumpster fire mess she was, and he wasn't already dating Ruby, he might've fallen for her then and there, "A-Anyway, that doesn't matter. What's more important is finding out who told Jaune's parents. There's no way any of us did it."
"Mom and dad said it was a guy who did it," Jaune said. He wished he asked her who exactly it was, but something told him interrogating her wasn't the best idea right now, "That narrows it down pretty heavily. The only guys who knew what happened are Merc, Cardin, and maybe Ren. There's no way that Merc would tell them anything and Ren doesn't even know who mom and dad are, so that leaves..."
A heavy silence settled over the group for a moment before Blake snarled, "I knew I should've shot him in the face after Forever Fall, but you two-" she pointed to Ruby and Weiss, "-told me not to. 'You shouldn't do that, Blake', 'that's murder, Blake'."
"Well...it is," Ruby mumbled.
"We acknowledge our mistakes," Weiss said, disturbingly quick to excuse away her teammates bloodlust, "But right now this doesn't really help us. So far we've managed to create a stalemate, and the Arcs have no legal basis to remove Jaune, but family is still family. Could you stand your ground if it wasn't just your parents but the rest of your family that wanted you to drop out?"
Jaune's silence said it all. He knew he could, but the doubts would hurt and affect him.
"It's the same as when General Ironwood threatened to have father remove me from Beacon." Weiss grimaced, "While he would have no legal basis to do it, he can do many things to 'encourage' me to drop out of my own volition; the biggest being to remove my status as his heir. While I doubt Jaune's family is as cruel as to do something similar, we should be prepared for anything."
"I've got a plan. I say we go to Cardin and have a friendly little chat about what happens when assholes like him pull shit like this," Yang said with an open toothed grin. It promised horrible things for a certain someone's future.
He expected someone to say something, but no one, not even Weiss, disagreed with her. Jaune didn't know whether to feel flattered or scared that they were willing to go that far, "Guys, you can't kill Cardin."
"I'm pretty sure we can." Blake raised a brow.
"Alright, let me rephrase that. You shouldn't kill Cardin cause that's still murder and he's got a councilman for a father. And I'm pretty sure Ozpin's not gonna be happy about any of you killing someone on campus." That and he still wasn't sure why Cardin did it. Legitimate worry? Unlikely. Did his dad tell him to do it? Mercury still had that scroll vid so it was a risk to do it that way...unless he thought he could sweep it under the rug. Probably wasn't the first time he'd had stuff like that leaked.
Damn it, dealing with politicians was hard.
"Fine, fine, we won't kill him." Yang huffed.
"You can't put him in the hospital either, Yang." Jaune sighed.
"Oh, come on!"
"You're really limiting our options here, Jaune." Weiss frowned.
"Excuse me for not wanting my teammates to be arrested." He sighed again. He loved his team, but sometimes he wondered if insanity was a requirement to be a member of team RWBY.
"Aren't you mad at him, Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"Of course I am, but we can't just attack Cardin." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Look, I'm gonna talk to Merc and see what we can do about this. None of you go and do anything to Cardin, alright?"
"I guess..." Ruby nodded.
"Fine." Yang scowled.
"Of course, Jaune." Weiss smiled.
"I'm gonna shoot him in the face," Blake said.
...Good enough. Jaune walked down the hall and into the elevator. The rest of the team waited till he was gone before Yang spoke up, "So...we're totally gonna make Cardin pay for this, right?"
"Oh, absolutely." Weiss nodded.
"He kinda deserves it," Ruby added.
"I am going to shoot him. In the face." Blake growled.
Cardin Winchester was a dead man walking.
That was the way he felt as he walked down the hall, head swiveling to and fro and watching every corner like a hawk. He'd been that way ever since Professor Goodwitch's class yesterday and he was paired up against Belladonna. She already didn't like him, but she was downright sadistic during their fight. She shot him in the face, then she shot him in the face, then she shot him the face one more time for good measure. Aura kept it from being fatal, but it was still something he felt all night.
She also everywhere he went. Coming out of the infirmary? She was just there, sharpening that blade of hers and staring at him. When he went to the bathroom she also 'just happened' to need to go too and stared at his back the entire walk there. Even when he was going to sleep he could've sworn he was skulking right outside their dorm window, but the rest of his team told him he was being paranoid.
Maybe he was, but then he woke up that morning and as soon as he got outside Belladonna was right there fiddling with her pistol. Then she asked him if he wanted to go sparring again.
He got the hell out of there as fast as he could.
The worst part was he knew exactly why Belladonna was so pissed, 'Fucking Arc.' He couldn't be mad at Jaune, not really. While he still didn't like the guy, and wouldn't shed any tears if he actually did get pulled out, he understood. He'd be pretty pissed if someone got someone from his team pulled out, and if he had his way going to Arc's parents wouldn't have even crossed his mind.
But of course it wasn't up to him. It was up to dad, and he was not a man you said no to. Cardin tried, of course. He told him that Black still had that video, but he wouldn't hear it. Wardes Winchester was a lot of things, but he was not a man who bowed down to threats. If Black leaked that video then he'd fight and deny it; he found that a more palatable idea than letting a couple of teenagers get one over on him.
Even Cardin was surprised to find that Arc apparently never told his parents anything. Dad told him to pose as a worried friend and convince them to pull him out, take him out of the equation so Blanche would have one less pawn, but when he told them about the kidnapping they'd be surprised and angry. He didn't even have to try and convince them before they were off trying to get their son out.
Well, he wasnt out, and now Belladonna was out for his blood.
Cardin rounded the corner and froze when he saw the person across the empty hall. Not Belladonna; maybe someone worse, "Cardin, buddy!" Xiao Long shouted, mouth open in a wide grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. Her eyes that suddenly lit up with a yellow flame when she saw him, "Been looking all over for you! We need to talk."
Nope. He turned and, as soon as he heard her running after him, he bolted too. He only managed a few steps when Schnee came out of the other side, a brow raised and silently daring him to come closer. Freeze to death or burn to death.
Cardin jumped out of the closest window. And no, the fact that he was on the third floor didn't stop him. He didn't meet the ground; instead he met something far worse. Before he could faceplant into the dirt, a burst of red crashed into his vision and he found himself being grabbed mid-fall and being deposited none too gently on the grass. Cardin looked up and crawled back at the sight of Rose staring down at him with a smile on her face.
"You gotta be careful, Cardin! You almost hurt yourself back there!" she said, sounding oh so worried for his safety. He didn't trust it.
"Y-Yeah..." He forced himself into a shaky stand, "I-I really gotta go."
"Oh, what's the rush?" She put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from leaving, and despite being over a foot taller than the petite Reaper he found himself unable to move, "We really wanted to talk to you about something." Her grip tightened and the wind all across the equally empty field reached a fever pitch.
Cardin's screams echoed all throughout Beacon.
"I think your team is murdering Winchester," Mercury said. He didn't sound like he cared in the least but that he felt obligated to say something anyway.
"I'll deal with it later." Jaune waved a hand. They wouldn't actually kill Cardin, but he'd probably be traumatized for a while. Oh well, no one would really care as long as he was still breathing. Cardin got away with bullying that Velvet girl and him for a while without any of the teachers stepping in. Apparently future Huntsmen were expected to either deal with it themselves and the teachers only helped if they were asked by said victim.
Personally he thought that was a dumb rule, but whatever. At least it was unlikely Cardin would go crawling to someone like Goodwitch.
Right now he was going with his assassin best friend to meet with one of Vale's councilmen. That was another thing he had to tell his parents. As much as he promised to be honest with them, there were still some things that were off-limits. Like the fact that his teammates were actually Magical Girls training in order to fight an immortal Grimm Queen. Oh, and that the headmaster was another immortal body snatcher.
The assassin was probably the least weird in that lineup.
"Jaune, Mr. Black, it's good to see you both." Blanche greeted them with a smile. The place Blanche took them to was a cafe that offered private booths. Guess it made more sense than going to his mansion again.
"Hello." Jaune took a seat with Mercury to his left. It was nice not meeting him alone. Weiss would've been better for this, but right now she was too angry and compromised to be her usual calm self...even if it was weird that Blanche asked for both him and Mercury to come by name, "Why did you call us both here?"
"We need to deal with a mutual issue." Blanche pressed his hands together, "I've heard through the grapevine that Wardes Winchester paid you a visit." Jaune barely held back from scoffing. Yeah, the 'grapevine', "And from what I can gather, the topic of your conversation wasn't pleasant."
"How'd you figure that?" Mercury raised a brow.
"Because he's already making steps to throw his weight around ti disparage the Arc's wine business." Jaune's eyes widened. That quick? Shit... "Don't worry, Jaune, I've made my own steps to counter his. Your parents will have to serve different customers, but apart from that there should be little difference in their day to day."
"...Thanks."
"It's a mutually beneficial arrangement." Blanche laughed, "But I do think that now Wardes Winchester is a problem for us both. You denied him something, and he is not a man who takes rejection lightly."
"Still doesn't tell me why you wanted us here," Mercury said.
"Simply put, Wardes Winchester needs to be taken down a peg." His smile turned more feral, exposing his sharp canines, "And I believe that you two would be the perfect ones for this role."
"What? Why us? You're a councilman, don't you have your own people to do this kind of thing?" Jaune asked.
"I do, but even they have their limits to what they can do and where they can go."
"If you're asking us to kill Winchester, you know I could've just done it by myself. No need to drag him into it." Mercury jerked his thumb at him.
"I'm afraid you're misinterpreting my intentions, Mr. Black. While I won't shed any tears if Wardes dies, I'm not at the point that I would hire two students to murder him." And yet he didn't seem susprised at all by Mercury's comment. According to what Mercury told him, Ozpin introduced Mercury as one of his agents. An agent of what exactly he didn't say, "No, I think it's better if we find something a bit less crass. Blackmail."
"You mean when I tried that and he still tried to get Jaune kicked out?" Mercury rolled his eyes, "Dunno if you noticed, but Winchester doesn't seem like the type who gives a fuck what people think of him. He's already on the seat, and it takes more than him threatening one teenager to get him out of it."
"Then find something more." Blanche leaned back on his seat, "Winchester is a brute who looks at every problem as if the only solution is a hammer. He's also corrupt and not afraid to use his position for his personal gain. This is known. No one's gonna react to government corruption, you both know that." They two nodded, which was sort of depressing in hindsight, "Instead I need you to find something that can't be excused away as the typical behavior of a corrupt politician."
"How do you even know there's something more than just him being an asshole?" Jaune asked.
"Because I know the man, and I've noticed he's been spending more and more lien that can be afforded even by his position." Still seemed like a stretch, but Jaune let him continue, "The other members of the council have noticed, but they haven't said anything. Why would they? So long as Winchester doesn't step on their toes, they're not willing to risk their own positions."
"Wow. I like to think I'm cynical, but not a single one? Really?" Mercury laughed, "Aren't there any do-gooders or true believers over there?"
"A few, certainly, but they have to pick their battles; and going to war with Wardes Winchester is no easy task."
"Which is why you're asking us." Jaune pursed his lips, "Wardes knows you're the one behind team RWBY's new pro-Faunus streams, but I don't work for you and it's easy to disavow me or Mercury if anything happens." He didn't hate the guy for it. It was smart, and as much as Winchester Sr. could throw his weight around, he wasn't going to completely go to war with Ozpin over a couple of students.
"Quite so." Blanche nodded.
"Alright, so where do we start?" Mercury said. Jaune gave him a sideways look, "What, you surprised? I don't like Winchester any more than you do, and I'm bored out of my skull just sitting in classes. This is something new, at least. You can back out if you want. Like I said, I can handle it on my own."
"No way. If you're in then so am I."
"Then first I'd like to take you both for your cooperation." Blanche laughed, "Second, I think you can start with investigating a recent string of Faunus disappearances. It started shortly after the Breach, and while my first assumption was misplaced retribution due to the White Fang's actions, Winchester has stonewalled any attempts to investigate the matter. And wth the chief of police in his pocket, that's a very easy thing to do."
"...Wow, I have to admit I'm kinda shocked at just how corrupt Vale is." Jaune sighed.
"It is what it is, Jaune." Blanche hummed sympathetically.
Jaune already had some guesses on what was happening. Blake had told him stories about SDC mercenaries raiding Faunus villages to get unwilling workers - slaves - in the SDC mines. Weiss had been disgusted when she found out and the rest of the team weren't far behind. It would explain the disappearances and where the money was coming from. The SDC would pay a pretty penny for 'new workers'.
"So tell me again why we can't just kill this guy?" Mercury asked.
"Because his murder would accomplish nothing. At best it would change very little, at worst those who share his viewpoints will use his death to prop him up as a martyr to continue his policies. In the world of politics, being discredited is worse than death."
"No, I'm pretty sure croaking still sucks more than that, but whatever." Mercury shrugged and stood, "We'll get on it when we can. I've already got some ideas on where to look."
"You do?" Jaune blinked.
"Sure. Like my dad always said: if you need to know a city, ask the rats."
Rats ended up being a euphemism for hobos. Not that they had much luck. Most of them weren't willing to talk, and those that did made it clear they wanted something a little more than ten lien. Mercury wasn't too surprised and said that was to be expected. He also would've threatened to snap the guy's neck in lieu of payment if Jaune hadn't discouraged him.
It was close to evening by the time the two made their way back to Beacon. Alright, so now he was (un)officially working for a councilman to find blackmail on another one. There was probably a reason why he invited just him and Mercury without the rest of team RWBY. If Jaune had to guess, it was cause he was more expendable. Better he was at risk than one of the Defenders of Vale.
Again, he didn't hate him for it. Besides, Wardes Winchester made it personal.
The rest of them team was already there. Blake was reading, Weiss was studying, and both Ruby and Yang were playing games on their scroll. The very picture of innocence...except he passed by team CRDL's room earlier and saw Cardin in a fetal position. There weren't any physical wounds, or at least not anything that could be proven; and that was all that mattered.
"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby chirped, "Wanna play?"
"Maybe later, there's something I've got to tell you all first."
He told them everything. Technically Blanche didn't tell him to keep it a secret, and credit to the guy Jaune doubted he expected him to. The rest of the team listened quietly until he finished.
"I can help," Blake said, immediately followed by Ruby doing the same, "If it's gathering information then I can-"
"No." He shook his head, "Look, I told you guys because I didn't wanna keep any secrets, but let me and Mercury handle it. If we need any help then I'll immediately say something, okay?"
"The last thing I expected when I enrolled in Beacon was to find myself embroiled in a conflict between two councilors...or that I would be on the side against Faunus discrimination." Weiss smiled wryly, "I suppose I can't complain that it's been boring."
"Compared to magic and the immortal Grimm Queen, I'd say this isn't as weird." Yang chuckled, "Look, I know you said you don't need any help, but I think I can give you both a heads up. I'll check in with Junior over at The Club. I'm sure he knows something about it."
"Junior. You mean the guy you assaulted and whose club you wrecked before you got into Beacon? Why exactly do you think he'll help you?" Jaune raised a brow.
"Oh come on, it was just a little misunderstanding."
"...Did you grab his balls and ask him to call you sir?" Ruby asked.
"Like I said, just a little fun and games." Wow, she didn't like a psycho or anything, "Trust me, it'll be fine. I can check in when we have some free time."
"Which will not be any time soon." Weiss was smiling...why was she smiling? "In-between all the drama we've experienced with Maidens, councilors and our families, we've been neglecting one of our core reasons for being here: our schoolwork."
The rest of the team, Jaune included, groaned. While Weiss had lightened up on their multi-hour nightly study sessions, she was still definitely the most studious in the team, "Come on, Weiss! We're so close to the Vytal Festival! Can't you turn down the school stuff for now?" Ruby pouted. Zwei would have joined her if he wasn't out hunting with Professor Port. And no, he had no idea how that friendship got started.
Weiss continued to smile, "Oh, my dear Ruby, did you forget?" she asked, relishing every word like it was fine caviar, "Because of the Vytal Tournament qualifiers, some things have moved forwards." And then she grinned, "Including our midterm exams."
Ruby flinched back like she'd been struck, Yang gasped in fear, and Blake's book clattered to the floor from her now-shaking hands. Jaune remained calm and didn't at all completely freeze up because he'd forgotten early midterms were a thing.
"Th-That's coming soon?" Blake asked.
"Next week, as a matter of fact." Weiss gave a pleased little hum at their looks of utter despair, "And oh dear, did you not all study despite my generous invitations to do so because, and I quote, 'you are a massive bore, neener neener neener'?"
"...I didn't say neener," Yang muttered.
"Well then, I guess it's not too late to get some cramming down." Both Ruby and Yang looked like they were tempted to bolt right then and there before Weiss covered all doors and windows with her glyphs, "Now, now, let's not make this difficult. I've made study schedules for all of us that targets all of your weakest subjects. Yang, your Dust Studies grades in particular are rather glaring. I'm sure an extra couple of hours will make up for that."
"H-Have mercy!" Yang pleaded.
"Oh, don't be such babies. This is all for your own good." She was enjoying this, the monster, " Now since you're all starting so late rather than spacing it out healthily like I did, we'll have to maximize our time. That means that from now until Wednesday morning, there will minimal breaks, no videogames and comics, no going to clubs, and no sneaking off to spy on the White Fang."
"No!" Blake shouted.
"Y-You monster!" Ruby gasped.
"Don't worry. I'll be gentle." Weiss closed her eyes and hummed.
She was not, in fact, gentle.
I was torn on the Cardin thing. Aside from Cardin being responsible, I was debating on the idea that it was someone else who wanted Jaune out of the way like Sienna or Cinder. Ultimately I went with Cardin since Jaune hasn't made enough of an in-universe impact to be considered important just yet. That and it makes Jaune's motivations to work for Blanche a bit better.
The segment with Jaune's family also went through some re-writes. Originally Blake actually managed to confess to being a former White Fang, which resulted in Mr. and Mrs. Arc being not so keen to have her around their son. The parents were also supposed to an issue an ultimatum to Jaune that he either left Beacon with them now or he would be essentially cut off.
I re-wrote both segments cause it felt way too dark and the parents came across as bad as Jacques for the ultimatum. Instead they're not wholly accepting just yet but have also stopped trying to force Jaune out.
Questions:
1. Do you guys mind if I give Jaune the role of tactician/mastermind? Originally I was hesitant to do so since it felt like he was taking that role away from Ruby, but it might play better to his strengths. I can also justify it as Ruby focusing too much on both Magic and Silver Eye lessons to really have the time to for strategy meetings.
He and Ruby can also share the role and focus on different aspects of strategy.
2. Assuming team RWBY-J does participate in the Vytal Tournament, who do you guys want to be the fourth member participating between Blake and Jaune? The one who doesn't participate will be doing their own thing during the tournament fights. In this case Jaune will have a segment with Mercury exploring Vale's underbelly while Blake will go with Illia and have a conversation about the White Fang's current direction.
3. Speaking of Blake, how would you guys have reacted if she was the one who ended up with Jaune instead of Ruby while they still had their spite war dynamic? It might've made scenes like Adam kidnapping Jaune out of jealousy or Blake being willing to out herself to his parents more poignant if they were together.
Review Answers:
Waterdust5 - It's kinda weird they think a 15 year old is an NTR schemer, but Rule of Funny.
D. . - Yeah, Worst Timeline RWBY sucks, but they're still arguably better than Salem. At least the world still exists if they win.
Chuck B. Winanaki - Deadzone is powerful but also limited since, like Tyrian, Mercury has to be close to the person for it to take effect. That and Mercury also loses his Aura when he uses it, so he can be instantly killed. Also, I doubt he can turn off internal Aura else he would just be killing people by being near them, so Penny is safe.
ReDestrobo - The difference is team RWBY aren't psychopaths like the Seven. While they're flawed, they ultimately do wanna help people and immediately volunteer to fight Salem. They're more Superman than Homelander.